Reacting and overreacting to everything that happened in the Sunday afternoon games of week 16 …
Things that made me dizzy
Seahawks are winning the West the old-fashioned way: How far away are we from the “Let Russ Cook” days – it’s back to defense (and a little help from Jared Goff’s gruesome play), Russell Wilson’s timely playmakers and an overall conservative outlook on life. The goal line standard for the third quarter will be one they talk about in the NFC West Championship VHS.
Ben Roethlisberger, as a young Ponce De LeOhn: That is the stuff. Under 24-7 in the second half, the Steelers started to attack the downfield and Roethlisberger even-gasp!– has made a number of hits. The result was 342 passing yards (the most he’s had since week 16 of the 2018 season) and three touchdowns in a comeback win to take the AFC North.
Diontae Johnson Redemption: You know about the drops, and he left a touchdown on the field when he got a wrong reading on a downfield route against the Colts. But this connection belongs in the Louvre …
Chiefs Live on the Edge Because … They Feel Like It ?: For 58 minutes it was an absolute grind against an inferior opponent in a match they didn’t win well. Then, repeatedly on the final drive (except for the near-interception AJ Terrell dropped), Mahomes had all the time in the world and multiple weapons running down uncovered. Sunday was just as ugly a win as it was in the Mahomes era, but the thread is, when it’s time to turn it on, the Chiefs turn it on.
Those Andy Dalton Cowboys Can’t Be Stopped: According to Mike McCarthy’s analytics department, Dallas has 108 (one hundred and eight) points in a three (3) game winning streak.
Cowboys Receivers vs Eagles DBs: It was the biggest mismatch we’ve seen since, well, probably Saleh vs. Kingsbury on Saturday.
Chase Young Dominant Again: After a third quarter strip-sack (actually his second of the day, although statistically the first was mistakenly considered interception), play-by-play man Ian Eagle commented, “Chase Young, advocating for Defensive Rookie or the year. ” That’s a bit like saying, “Gheorghe Muresan, plead for the tallest man in the room.”
Chargers find a way to win a game they led by 13 points in the fourth quarter: That’s a three-game winning streak for the Anthony Lynn boys, which should be enough to save his job.
A Jets Winning Streak !: And their 335-meter attack was their second-highest total of the season. Trapped in the No. 2 pick, have a second first-rounder and a total of five picks in the top 100 of April’s draw, and are getting back the man who should be the nerve center of their defense (CJ Mosley).
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Regrets
Why did they put it back on that week 18 ?: The league office making yet another team plays less than 48 hours after losing an entire unit of COVID protocols, showing a complete lack of understanding of how an NFL team functions.
Colts cannot close it on violation: After taking a 24-7 lead, they threw an interception three times – including two three-and-outs – and had a total of two first downs over four drives. Offense closes games in 2020 and Indy had none of it in the second half in Pittsburgh.
Explain yourself, Jared Goff:
Dwayne Haskins is an absolute mess: The new coaching staff didn’t do him any favors, but yes, Sunday was as ugly as it gets. Six runs, three turnovers and Taylor Heinicke beat him in relief. Soccer team still wins division with victory next week in Philadelphia.
Younghoe Koo pushes it: He’s had a Pro Bowl year in Atlanta, hitting 35 of 36 when he went in on Sunday before pushing the potential tying kick of 39 wide to the right. It was an on-brand end to the loss in Kansas City.
Things Get Rocky for Jalen Hurts: The Eagles weren’t built for long-term offense, and the Cowboys kept it all to themselves after a long first-quarter touchdown against DeSean Jackson. Philly scored just one field goal in the last 50 minutes of the game, with Hurts adding two Wentz-ian red-zone turns (one ugly interception, one questionable fumble on a scramble).
Steelers’ Desperate Battle to Get a Yard: That’s why they kicked fourth-and-1 from midfield when a conversion sealed the win.
This Trubisky Interception: This is, initially and purpose, arguably the worst bit of quarterbacking of the post-merger era.
Even Brandon Allen Chooses This Texan Defense !: No offense to Brandon Allen – well, I wouldn’t blame him if he took it some insult to that statement – but Allen threw for 371 yards and scored 37 points in Houston (his highlights in his previous six career starts were 240 and 24).
Brandon McManus’ Fresh New Take on the Double-Doink: In his return to the field, the Broncos kicker thundered the left upright from 42, got another chance from five yards closer due to an offside penalty, and immediately the left thundered upright.
Ball protection from Nsimba Webster: The Rams have had one of the worst special teams in the league this season (haunted by the ghost of Bones Fassel!), And Webster, bringing back kicks, only avoided losing a disastrous fumble on a third quarter point. It would have been his second big sales of the month; he tends to capture territory that is only fair.
Exhibit B in the Case Until Get rid of the design:
What a neat franchise the Jaguars are: There’s nothing like staging a match amid a raging pandemic involving a team with no interest in competing because the NFL has built a system that offers disproportionate rewards for gross incompetence. What’s the point of sending them to Indianapolis next week? Anyway, love to play for your new team, Trevor Lawrence.
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Moments we will tell our grandchildren about
Receiver slot to receiver slot TD: Bill Belichick’s heart grew three bars that day.
To “roughen” the compass: Sometimes you just laugh at yourself. Or someone else. Like whoever it was who threw this flag.
DeSean Jackson after the defense: Ahhhh, that brings me back …
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What we’ll talk about this week
NFC East Death Match !: The Eagles are eliminated and the remaining teams (Cowboys, Giants and Football Team) play a three-player match on a cube-shaped field to decide who will represent football’s saddest division in the postseason.
The bears control their fate – and, in a sense, the fate of all of us: Wait, no, just the first part. Mitchell Trubisky is pretty much the same guy, but they’ve built up a more QB-friendly attack and trust him to do things like, say, throw the ball out of the scrimmage on third and six. They’re kidding themselves when they think a long-term marriage will work, but Trubisky will be a nice backup / development project for a savvy coach. And if the defense is turned upside down in January, who knows what could happen in the tournament.
Rams stand with their backs to the wall: If the Bears beat Green Bay in what could be a pointless Week 17 game for the Packers, the Rams-Cardinals loser would go home. The rams have no one to blame, except themselves – well, more specifically …
What to do with Jared Goff ?: A long-term question as they won’t be able to make any changes to the staff or system at this point, but he’s been brutal in the second half of the season. We’ve seen him do it in the past – as recently as the Buffalo comeback in week 3, and last season he was great. But Rams’s attack has no downfield element, and Goff’s decision-making continues to get worse, especially late in the down. As we move into January, his game couldn’t be more daunting.
Dolphins win again on Sunday: In the form of the Texans’ loss to the Bengals, where Miami now has the third overall pick of April’s draft. That begs the question: should they take another 15 minutes – let alone, we’ll talk about it later.
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