Post by spiderfan on Oct 27, 2020 11:08:27 GMT -8
Happy Halloween SCtoC (I know it isn't Halloween yet, but I'm gonna wish it to ya anyway) it is I Spiderfan, the official NFL Analyst of this great website and with Week 7 of the National Football League season in the books, it is now time for Web of Football. Let us begin!
Awesomeness in Arizona
The old rule of thumb is that you play until the clock hits zero. The Arizona Cardinals followed that rule and then some in their win on Sunday Night Football. See, the Seattle Seahawks had control throughout the vast majority of the game having a double digit lead almost the entire game. Seahawks QB Russell Wilson was tearing apart the talented defense of the Cardinals and the Seahawks defense contained what can be an explosive offense for the Cardinals. Notice how I used the word contained and not shut down? That is important because the Cardinals were never truly out of the game, despite the immediate desire to think they were.
The play of the game IMO was when late in the 4th quarter down by 10 the Cardinals were held to a FG attempt that would have cut the lead to 7... except the Seahawks committed a leverage penalty that gave the Cardinals a 1st down. This would then lead to a TD by the Cardinals to cut the game to a 3 point game, which when combined with the Cardinals defense holding the Seahawks to a 3 and out on the next series, made for an easier end of game situation for the Cardinals offense having to get into FG range as opposed to scoring a TD. The Cardinals would get that FG and the game would go into one of the more wild OT periods I have ever seen.
The Seahawks get the ball first, but don't manage to score any points and punt the ball away to the Cardinals giving them a chance to win with a FG. The Cardinals actually drive into FG range and set up K Zane Gonzalez with a 41 yard FG attempt, however to avoid a delay of game penalty, Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury calls a timeout which in an ironic twist ices his own kicker. The Seahawks get the ball back and Russell Wilson hits WR DK Metcalf in stride no one able to stop him and the Seahawks win on a walkoff TD.... except there was an offensive holding call and the on the next play Wilson would throw an interception. The Cardinals would then get into FG range yet again and this time win the game 37-34.
The Seahawks are no longer undefeated and the Cardinals and the Rams (who will be the subject of the next segment) are now 1 game back in the NFC West, but looking at the NFC I would be surprised that if under the new 7 team playoff format the NFC West doesn't produce at least one wild card team. Congrats to the Cardinals for their biggest win so far of the Kliff-Kyler era!
Contender in Los Angeles?
No, I'm not talking about the Chargers (although maybe someday under Herbert they will be), I'm talking about the Rams who on Monday Night Football dominated the Chicago Bears. On offense, Rams QB Jared Goff looked the best he has looked since their run to Super Bowl 53 and the offensive play calling by Sean McVay exposed the vaunted Bears defense. Speaking of defense, Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey, and the rest of the Rams defense shut down Bears QB Nick Foles and the Bears offense. The Bears on occasion would get yards and even get into the redzone, but the Rams defense kept them from getting any points in the redzone. The only offensive points for the Bears came on a 42 yard FG attempt by Bears K Cairo Santos in the 1st quarter. The other thing worth mentioning was that Rams P Johnny Hekker was able to flip the field for the Rams on a consistent basis, thus putting the struggling Bears offense way into their own territory and preventing them from ever getting consistent momentum.
Before the season, I was pessimistic about the Los Angeles Rams after their mediocre showing in 2019, but in 2020 the Rams are looking legit with a 5-2 record now just a game out of the top spot in the NFC West. The trick for the Rams will be their upcoming games against both the Cardinals and the Seahawks. If they can come out of those 4 key division games with a .500 or better record? That will show that the Rams are indeed legit contenders.
Other thoughts:
-The Cowboys not caring about Andy Dalton's injury makes them the least likeable team in football IMO.
-The Tinys are pathetic, in a laughable way.
-The Falcons are pathetic, but in a sad way.
-Either the Eagles and The Artists formerly known as Redskins are going to win the NFC East. The battles between the two will be interesting television.
-Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow are both young studs who are currently hamstrung by not good teams.
-The Buccaneers and Chiefs are gonna meet up in the Super Bowl aren't they?
-The Patriots dynasty isn't dead yet. Buffalo has the potential to kill it next week.
ROAD TO 0-16
1 team is currently 0-7. I will keep doing this segment until that team has a win or a tie. The team that is currently without a win or tie is:
New York Jets
Y'know when the Jets were up by 10 against the Jets, I thought I would be writing a segment about how Buffalo was collapsing and begin a new recurring segment (which may or may not happen depending on what happens with the Jets). Instead, the Bills led by Josh Allen and Cole Beasley came back and defeated their AFC East rival. Adam Gase and Sam Darnold both continue to suck, and with the Chiefs on the horizon the Jets are currently 20 point underdogs. Yikes.
ROAD TO 16-0
1 teams is currently undefeated. I will keep doing this segment until that team has a win or a tie. The team that is currently without a win or tie is:
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Titans fought as hard as they could to comeback from a 27-7 deficit, but the Steelers survived and with the aforementioned Seahawks loss, the Steelers are the lone undefeated team in the NFL. I would be shocked if Big Ben Roethlisberger isn't the comeback player of the year, if no other reason than the fact that his return has rejuvenated the Steelers franchise. They are in the same division as the Ravens and play the Bills and Colts later in the year, so I don't know if they'll go undefeated, but they'll certainly have a good record going into the postseason.
Well, that is all for this week's edition of Web of Football. As always I hope ya enjoyed and it is worth mentioning that we are almost at the midway point of the season, so the best is yet to come and I hope ya stick around to see it with me. This is spiderfan out.