Post by spiderfan on Feb 8, 2023 14:40:21 GMT -8
Hello everyone of SCtoC it is me, Spiderfan here. Since the NFL Honors are coming up, I thought it would be a good time to post my annual "best of" column with the best segments (at least IMO) from each week of the regular season. Without further ado, let us begin!
The Tinys didn't shrink? (from Week 1)
As long time readers are aware since the very first year of this column the NFC team from New York has gotten a lot of flack from me due to the fact that they have been anything but Giant. They have been Tiny, hence the New York Football Tinys nickname that I bequeathed onto them in 2017. Usually a segment about them would feature me mocking them and posting a clip of Reducto from Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law to go with said mocking segment. However, that is not the case this week. This week the Tinys grew at least this week into Giants.
Coming back from a 13-0 halftime deficit against a good Titans team on the road would be an impressive feat in and of itself. It was the way they did that impressed me. After tying the game at 13 in the second half, the Titans scored to make it a 20-13 game. The Giants drove down the field, scored a TD, and went for the win. Reducto had the shrink gun ready and... the Giants made it. They took a 21-20 lead. The game wasn't over though, the Titans drove right down the field got into FG range, Randy Bullock lined up for a 47 yard kick, and at moment I thought about this very column and about the aforementioned appearance of Reducto. The ball was kicked, and it was no good! Of all the games this week, this was the most shocking outcome to me. Kudos to Brian Daboll for getting his guys ready to play and ready to win. We shall see if this is a sign of things to come, and if the Giants continue to be Giant.
20+ point comebacks?! (from Week 2)
It isn't very often that you see NFL teams comeback from 20+ point deficits. It is even less common to see multiple comeback from such deficits in the same day, but they did on Sunday.
First, you had the Miami Dolphins come back from a 21 point hole with 12 minutes to go in the game against the Baltimore Ravens. I had originally planned (as tends to happen when writing these columns) to discuss the efficiency and excellency of the Baltimore Ravens offense. To be fair they did score 38 points in the game... the problem is they only scored 3 points the entire second half. That wouldn't have necessarily been a problem if not for the fact that the Ravens defense ended up being a well cooked duck. Seriously, giving up long bomb TDs late in a game that you are winning by a massive margin is inexcusable, not only by the players themselves, but by the defensive coordinator Mike McDonald.
When Tryeek Hill is given open space, either because he is covered one on one or there is a lack of coverage, he is going to score touchdowns. Same goes for Jaylen Waddle. You can't always count on Tua sucking. Sure, Tua has been a disappointment as an NFL player, but there was a reason the Dolphins tanked to get him and it wasn't because he sucked at the college level.
Secondly, you had the Arizona Cardinals come back from a 20 point hole at halftime to win against the Las Vegas Raiders. I had originally planned (yes, I used that phrase choice again) to talk about how the Cardinals were the most shocking disappointment of the season thus far. Well, they showed why at least on paper why they are one of the better teams in the NFL. Offensively and defensively they made the plays they absolutely had to make, whether it was Kyler Murray coming with a clutch TD and 2 point conversion at the end of regulation of Isaiah Simmons forcing the fumble that was ultimately returned for the game winning touchdown in overtime.
A Complete Team Loss (from Week 3)
One of the things that makes the NFL better than college football (amongst other reasons) is the inherit parity. No one is more physically dominant than the other, which means that teams (at least when mostly healthy) are on an even playing field. What then matters is coaching and the players making the plays (or not) they need to make to win the football game. This explains why a team that looked like one of the worst teams in the NFL through the first 2 weeks of the season can in Week 3 upset one of the best teams in the league. Of course, I'm talking about the Colts upset of the Chiefs.
During the week and even Sunday morning when everyone was talking about the Chiefs would absolutely for sure total lock 100% beat the Colts, in the back of my mind I was like "this is either going to be the easy Chiefs win that is expected or the Colts are going to do what "bad" teams do to good teams, make the game way closer than previously thought, and win the thing." Welp. That's what ended up happening. But for it to happen, the Chiefs had to put themselves in position to lose. For a "good" team like the Chiefs, who normally put themselves in position to win games, there has to be things going array and to say things went array for the Chiefs would be an understatement. They lost in every phase of the game.
Offensively, the Chiefs did not come up with the plays late in the game they needed to make. Travis Kelce dropping a TD that would have put the Chiefs up 11 late in the 4th quarter? Patrick Mahomes throwing an INT when the Chiefs were near FG range to tie with seconds left? Those are game losing plays.
Defensively, the Chiefs gave up a nearly 9 minute drive in the 4th quarter aided by Chris Jones picking the worst possible time to trash talk and become cause of an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, after a sack that would have forced the Colts to either punt or attempt a crazy long 4th down. Instead Chris Jones did the aforementioned trash talking, the penalty flag was thrown, the Colts drove down to win the game. A game losing penalty that kept what ended up being a game losing drive alive.
Special teams wise, the Chiefs played horrendously. Skyy Moore messed up on multiple kick returns, one of which led to Colts points, you had a missed extra point, a botched fake FG, and a missed FG that would have made the game a 7 point game, theoretically making it so the game would have been decided in overtime not regulation.
Which leads me to my last point. The Chiefs coaching staff looked like they gave way under the pressure. When you have a head coach and special teams coordinator being giving each other dirty looks and being chippy on the sidelines late in the game, that isn't a good look. An even worse look is when you have a head coach separating your franchise quarterback from an argument with your offensive coordinator at the end of the first half. The rumors about Patrick Mahomes and Eric Bienemy not being fond of one another appear to have validity.
This segment reads and is at least partially pro-Chiefs biased. Here's the thing the Colts didn't play all that great. I'd love to tip my hat to the Colts and say they were totally the better team, but as I watching the game, it didn't feel that way. What ultimately matters though is the scoreboard and on the scoreboard the Colts won. This is a total hot take, but after seeing the sideline interactions, I'm not optimistic about the Chiefs going forward. Will they be outright bad? Probably not. Will they be dominant like they have been? I very much doubt that at this point.
How To Lose A Game Even You Should Win (from Week 4)
Ravens-Bills, the game is tied 20-20 in the 4th quarter after a 17 point rally by the Bills. The Ravens have the ball, are chewing clock, getting first downs, and getting down the field in their usual efficient effective manner. With less than 4 and a half minutes to go, the Ravens are inside the 5 yard line and it is 4th and Goal. Ravens HC John Harbaugh makes the decision to go for it. I absolutely agree with that decision. Not only is it a short yardage situation that should be makeable, once made you have a 7 point lead and worse case scenario, with how little time left there is in regulation the game goes to overtime. If not made, you force the Bills to drive 70 some odd yards to get into FG range and could potentially score a game clinching safety with the right defensive play call. Things could go right or wrong. They went the worst possible way for the Ravens. How? Because not only did the Ravens not make it, Lamar Jackson threw an interception in the end zone which gave the Bills a touchback and 20 yards of field position.
Nonetheless, the Ravens could have gotten a defensive stop and tried to win the game anyway. They did not get a defensive stop. Not only did they not get a defensive stop, the Ravens offense did not see the ball again. Why? Because when the Bills were inside the 10 yard line instead of letting the Bills score and giving their offense a chance to force the game into overtime (or knowing John Harbaugh going for 2 and the win), the Ravens defense did not let the Bills score, thus letting the Bills chew the rest of the game clock out. The Bills would kick a FG and win the game.
The Ravens 2 losses this season have come about because of choking. Suffice it to say if the Ravens want to get where they want to go, they can't be blowing leads like they have been. It is a starting trend for what should be one of the better clubs in the National Football League.
The Wash (from Week 5)
I said the following in my predictions column:
4.) Denver Broncos
You can call sour grapes all you want for me picking the Broncos this low. I don't care. Russell Wilson looked washed up last year and it doesn't matter that the Broncos have a relatively quality roster. They are in a tough division and with mediocre to slightly above average QB play (which is what Wilson will end up bringing, not MVP level football), I think the Broncos are going to miss the playoffs yet again.
You can call sour grapes all you want for me picking the Broncos this low. I don't care. Russell Wilson looked washed up last year and it doesn't matter that the Broncos have a relatively quality roster. They are in a tough division and with mediocre to slightly above average QB play (which is what Wilson will end up bringing, not MVP level football), I think the Broncos are going to miss the playoffs yet again.
Wilson's horrendous play on Thursday Night Football (and his bad play overall this season) might be the best schadenfreude the NFL has seen in a LONG time, if you are a fan of the Seattle Seahawks and/or don't like how left the Seahawks. Overthrows, missed reads, throwing interceptions that to paraphrase Tony Gonzalez on the TNF post game show, would get a young quarterback benched, and having the ball taken out of your hands at a couple different points late in the game because of lack of confidence by coaches, only to have the ball be put back in your hands and utterly fail to redeem yourself. What it made all worse was that the Colts were just as bad and Matt Ryan is washed up too! Which led to what might be the most embarrassing moment in the history of the Denver Broncos
At the time I started this column years ago, I referred to the Broncos as the Lolcows, due to their laughable status as a franchise as that point in time. Right now? To quote the Joker himself, it'd be funny if it weren't so pathetic. To see a player who at one point in time was one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL become a shell of his former self, a washed up has been who is holding the team back, makes me kind of sad actually. Y'know who is also sad? Broncos GM George Paton, who's decision to not only trade for Russell Wilson, but then give him a long term nearly 250 million dollar contract, will end up (in all likelihood) with him and the rest of the Broncos front office being unemployed at the end of the season.
Being that the NFL is a league full of copycats and superstitious people, I really think veteran quarterbacks will have a harder time forcing trades. Matthew Stafford showed that type of trade can result in franchise altering glory. Russell Wilson showed it can result in franchise altering disaster. There will be teams who will take the latter view of a potential veteran quarterback trade.
Sure, the Broncos could go on some crazy win streak and avert disaster, so it might be totally unfair to say that. But is there any reason to think that will happen other than the argument of "there is still 12 games left?" It's only going to go downhill from here in my opinion. If I'm wrong, I'll talk about this segment later in the year as an example of just how wrong I can be. At this point? I think I'm justified in thinking I'm right on the money.
The Rematch (from Week 6)
After much hype and being broadcast on every CBS station across the land (there were late window games on FOX, but not CBS), the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs met head to head for the first time since their now famous duel in the 2021 Divisional Round.
The vast majority of the first half was a disappointment to say the least. Turnovers and punts led to a game that was 7-3 late in the first half. At that point I was planning to write this segment as a discussion on a bad game that didn't live up to expectations. Like usual, my previous planned segment was thrown out the window. The Josh Allen led the Bills on a 99 yard drive to give the Bills the lead and then the Chiefs responded by getting into FG range with less than 20 seconds left (where does that sound familiar) and tying the game at 10. The Chiefs missed a FG on their opening series of the second half, which made it so that when the Bills scored a TD on their opening series of the second half they could take a 17-10 lead. The Chiefs responded equally 17-17.
The play that looked like it was going to put the ultimate outcome in favor of the Chiefs was when the Bills went for it on 4th and 3 near midfield and didn't make it. It was a questionable call, not only because of the high powered offense of the Chiefs, but because it was a tie game in the start of the 4th quarter, and the play reeked of desperation. It didn't ultimately matter as much as one would think because the Chiefs only managed to kick a FG. Later in the 4th quarter, the Bills scored a TD, forcing the Chiefs on a TD drive which was for naught because Patrick Mahomes threw an INT. Bills win.
Even though the outcome was close, I look at the Bills win against the Chiefs, like I did at the Bills win against the Rams. Sure, they won, made plays, and have playmakers. At the same time it doesn't feel like the Bills are a particularly dominant team either. Unlike certain birds from Pennsylvania that I will talk about later, I don't look at the Bills as a team that is a no doubt contender. The AFC is still up for grabs in my opinion. That isn't to say the Bills couldn't make a run at it, I could see it happening. I could also see them losing in the Divisional Round of the playoffs to the Chiefs... again.
Matty Ice to the Glue Factory (from Week 7)
The first thing that popped into my mind when it was announced that the Colts had benched Matt Ryan was this article from not even 2 days ago:
After looking like they had finally figured it out, the Colts came back down to earth. My prediction of them making the playoffs is shaky at best currently. The last two sentences you just read? Those were originally going to be in other thoughts as my thoughts on the Colts THEN Ryan got benched. Now my thoughts are... still the same which is why I copy and pasted those sentences into this segment.
See, I don't think Sam Ehlinger is very good and not because of the generic "Oh he is a 5th round pick" nonsense that would come from someone who never saw him play in college. I actually watched him play in college for Texas and he wasn't very good. In fact I still believe that the guy who he replaced as the starting QB of Texas (who would later transfer to SMU) Shane Buechele is a better QB. Sure, Ehlinger is scrappy and determined, but that is all he has going for him. That style of play had mixed results in college, and I will go out on a limb and heavily doubt its success in the NFL.
The Most Disastrous Penalty of the Season (from Week 8)
Penalties are never good. Especially in late game situations as they can put the other team in position to win the game. On Sunday though, we saw the rare penalty that is such a bad penalty, such a poor decision, that the team lost the game because of it. The team? The 2-5 Carolina Panthers who despite having fired the overpaid and underqualified Matt Rhule for having a terrible tenure, despite the once promising (and likely XFL bound) Baker Mayfield entering the football purgatory that is injured reserve, despite trading the post Cam Newton face of the franchise Christian McCaffrey, AND despite being led by interim HC Steve Wilks and one time third string quarterback (and XFL legend) PJ Walker, were in position to be tied for first place in the NFC South, putting themselves in the playoff conversation when not too long ago the conversation was about having the #1 pick in the NFL Draft. The other team? The 3-4 Atlanta Falcons, a team that has overperformed the low preseason expectations and managed to put themselves in position to be in first place in the NFC South with a victory.
The Falcons held a 34-28 lead with less than 30 seconds to go in the game. That's when Panthers QB PJ Walker threw a deep ball all the way down the field to WR DJ Moore. A Hail Mary type play that was actually completed! It looked like the Falcons would at yet another humiliating choke to their decades long history of humiliating chokes. The tide had been turned on the Panthers season! Celebration! DJ Moore threw off his helmet... which you can't do as it counts as unsportmanlike conduct, which is a 15 yard penalty, meaning that instead of the game winning extra point being a 33 yard attempt, it was a 48 yard attempt. The kick was up and...... NO GOOD!
Meaning that instead of an epic miraculous season changing memorable play, DJ Moore single handedly lost the Panthers the game. Yes, the Panthers did have a chance to win the game in overtime, HOWEVER they would not even been in overtime if it wasn't for Moore's penalty. A penalty that without a doubt is the most disastrous of the season in my mind. If there was one that worse, feel free to share it with me.
Congratulations to the Atlanta Falcons for being on the winning end of a humiliating choke! Who knows? Maybe this is a turning point for the Falcons, and they become a playoff team.
One Teams Season Changing Win is Another Team's Season Changing Loss (from Week 9)
Do you like boring games with lots of three and outs and punts? Do you like games between two teams that are under .500 that shouldn't be relevant but are because of the amount of players that people recognize and the fact that one of the teams plays in a division that sucks eggs like Squidward Tentacles? No? Well too bad, because if you watching NFL football on Sunday more than likely you saw at least some of the Rams-Buccaneers game because it was broadcast nationwide on CBS.
The only truly notable things that happened were as follows: Cooper Kupp having a 70 yard TD catch because Todd Bowles learned nothing from last year's NFC Divisional Round game and decided to all out blitz, leaving arguably the best WR in the NFL wide open AND the final game winning TD drive for the Buccaneers. Everything else was incredibly uncompelling.
Focusing on the other part of the game that was actually compelling, I think the Buccaneers have turned their season around. After struggling all season long and having just a horrible game against the Rams, with 44 seconds left and no timeouts Tom Brady led his team 60 yards for what felt like an easy TD drive. For as bad as the Buccaneers played, the Rams could not put them away, and as fans of the NFL know, not putting away Tom Brady led team can very well lead to a loss. The emotion on the sideline and of the fans in the stands was palpable.
I figured a turnaround would happen at some point as I have repeatedly said in "Other Thoughts", I just didn't know when. I think this win against the Rams is the beginning of a turnaround for the Buccaneers season. Now, saying that a turnaround has started is an admittedly hot take, but frankly I'm willing to go out on a limb and have a hot take because now more than ever I think the Buccaneers are going to win the NFC South and go to the playoffs.
As for the Rams, as I have repeatedly said in "Other Thoughts" they STILL are suffering from the Super Bowl hangover. Unless the Rams go on some crazy winning streak and/or the Seahawks and 49ers both fall apart, I don't see the Rams winning the NFC West. More importantly and realistically because of the quality of the NFC at large, I don't see the Rams making it as a wild card either meaning the 2022 Rams would go down in history as yet another defending champ to miss the playoffs. Maybe Aaron Donald and Sean McVay should have retired.
American Football in Deutschland (from Week 10)
On Sunday, the first ever NFL regular season game played in Germany was held in Munich between the Tommy Bay Buccaneers and the Seattle Seahawks. The lack of a prior regular season game played in Germany surprised me, because for those of you who know your non-NFL league history, the Frankfurt Galaxy of NFL Europe were the most popular team in NFL Europe. I'm all about spreading the greatness of football to other parts of the world, so as a NFL analyst (and Seahawks fan), being witness to history was something to be excited about.
The game itself vindicated my insistence last week that the Buccaneers had begun a turnaround was entirely accurate as the Buccaneers played their best game of the season. The Buccaneers defense held the Seahawks to only 3 points for the first 3 quarters, and the Buccaneers offense had its best running performance all year. This of course allowed for Brady to not get hit as much as well as an increase in the amount of play action passes, which left the Seahawks defense on its heels.
The Seahawks offense scored a couple of garbage time TDs late, which even though they were garbage time TDs, were still impressive looking. If only they had managed to have those earlier in the game, they wouldn't have been garbage time TDs. Obvious, I know, but I am the type of football pundit to make obvious observations as long time readers know.
Considering coming into the game the Seahawks were one of the better teams in the NFC and considering the fashion in which the Buccaneers defeated the Seahawks, my ultimate takeaway is that the rest of the football world should watch out because the Super Bowl contender Buccaneers are back.
Mahomes vs Herbert is nonsense (in more ways than one) (from Week 11)
I know that what I'm about to say is biased due to my Chiefs fandom, but I don't care: Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert are NOT rivals. The Chiefs and Chargers have history going back to the AFL, but that wasn't talked about when the Chiefs and Chargers played each other on Sunday Night Football, it was all about "Mahomes vs Herbert". In the 5 times they have played against each other the Chargers have won a grand total of once. Not only that, but it would down right insane to compare the two as far as talent is concerned. Mahomes can do things that very few quarterbacks have ever done. Herbert on the other hand is a big armed QB that is overhyped because the national sports media world (most of which mind you is at least partially based in LA) desperately wants the team in their town to be good. I have nothing against homerism when it is made clear to the audience or is subdued where one can't tell there is homerism. What I do have something against is homerism that is hidden from the audience. Such a phenomenon is disrespecting the audience as far I'm concerned.
It's also not fair to a player like Justin Herbert (or for the whole Chargers team for that matter) who end up underachieving the artificially high expectations that are put on them, let alone Patrick Mahomes who ends up not getting the credit he deserves because he's lumped in with someone who isn't in the same stratosphere.
Crashed Jet (from Week 12)
After last week's loss to the Patriots in which the Jets offense put up a staggeringly high three points, Jets QB Zach Wilson was asked if, in his opinion, the offense let the defense down, considering the defense held the Patriots offense to only 3 points. Wilson said no, which caused a massive uproar in New York, which because national sports media is either fully or partially based in New York, meant that Wilson's response got an insane amount coverage. I didn't mention it last week because I thought the uproar would die down. Little did I know that because of the aforementioned New York bias, the uproar would have legs well into the week.
It was a refreshingly honest answer in my opinion, although in football, honesty doesn't always end up being the best policy. Especially when in Wilson's case he's putting up a Jamarcus Russell-esque statline. Openly admitting that you aren't self aware about your own poor play is bound to rub people the wrong way. So, Wilson was benched and replaced by Mike White who's performance last year against the eventual AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals caused a hype flight that crashed into the ground 2 weeks later after a horrible performance against the Bills.
How did White do this year? Well, 315 yards and 3 TDs ain't bad that's for sure. It is worth mentioning that the Jets went up against the "scrappy with a bad record" Bears without Justin Fields, so it isn't as impressive as last year's initially impressive performance. The Jets have to go up against the Vikings and the Bills in the next 2 weeks, so we'll find out if White can put himself in position to replace Wilson long term, or if this is yet another flash in the pan. I tend to think the latter personally, but I could easily be wrong.
Deshaun Watson's Return (from Week 13)
A lot has changed since the column I wrote detailing the road to the Texans drafting Deshaun Watson. At the time, the Texans were contenders looking for the missing piece that would get them to the Super Bowl. The closest they ever got was being up 24-0 in the 2019 AFC Divisional Round against the Chiefs. Since that game? The Texans have a record of 9-35-1 and 4 head coaches (3 if you don't count Romeo Crennel who was the interim in 2020 after Bill O'Brien got fired). Faces of the franchise like Brian Cushing, DeAndre Hopkins, Jadaveon Clowney, Whitney Mercilus, and JJ Watt amongst others are long gone. The founder of the Houston Texans, the man who brought NFL football back to Houston Bob McNair has passed away as well. After O'Brien left the team in disastrous condition and was finally fired, the only thing notable about the Texans was the fanbase's hated of now former Executive VP of Football Operations Jack Easterby, who was brought there BY O'Brien and who got the flack that O'Brien deserved, but never got because the Texans fanbase never truly hated O'Brien like they should have.
Watson himself went through a scandal that I won't talk about this family friendly forum, but suffice it to say, his reputation at this point may very well never recover. The Browns ignored the scandal, as they wanted to rid themselves of Baker Mayfield, which considering Mayfield's horrendous play for the Panthers may have actually been a good decision by the Browns front office. Regardless of the moral and football arguments for trading away the future for Deshaun Watson, the Browns did and so after an eleven game suspension, Watson returned in a game the Texans should have won, but didn't.
I want to take this opportunity to retract my statement from last week's Other Thoughts segment where I said "Outside of the Georgia Bulldogs, I'm not sure the Texans would beat anyone this point." The currently #1 ranked and favorites for the College Football Playoff National Championship University of Georgia Bulldogs would beat the Houston Texans.
The Cleveland Browns won by a final score of 27-14. TWENTY ONE of those points were from non-offensive touchdowns. Meaning that barring a fumble at the 1 yard line on a botched QB sneak, a pick six, AND a kick return TD, the Texans would have won. The Texans defense, just like in the old days did their job. The offense on the other hand was downright embarrassing. To think there was a time when I was talking about a Kyle Allen bandwagon. At this point my hype for Kyle Allen is my second worst take of all time (My worst being Josh Allen is going to be the next Jamarcus Russell before the 2018 draft).
In the end despite the boos and being rustier than a car at a Lightning McQueen meet and greet, Deshaun Watson came out with a 1-0 record as the Browns QB.
The Thursday Night Miracle (from Week 14)
I always say at the end of each week to remember that football is the greatest game in the world. Never was that personal belief more validated than on Thursday Night Football. Keep in mind that I'm not a Raiders fan nor a fan of the Rams. In fact due to my mutual fandom of the Seahawks and Chiefs, I don't have much reason to have a rooting interest for the Raiders or Rams in a game they participate in. Going into this week the prospect of the lowly Rams going against the not tanking yet bad Raiders was not exciting. Why would there be reason to be excited? The Rams are without their various stars (Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, and Aaron Donald) and the Raiders are in "bad team that wins a bunch of late season games to pump up their win total and reduce their draft stock and still not make the playoffs" mode. On Tuesday, there became reason to be excited.
Enter Baker Mayfield, the former Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall pick. After being cast aside by the team that drafted him the Cleveland Browns in favor for Deshaun Watson, Mayfield ended up being traded to the Carolina Panthers. Mayfield's Panthers tenure was basically disastrous. Mayfield played poorly (I even said in Other Thoughts recently that Mayfield was playing his way out of the NFL and into the XFL), HC Matt Rhule was fired (and is now at Nebraska), Mayfield got benched after Rhule's firing, was then demoted to third string, and finally put on waivers after he requested his release. It was a shame to see a player like Mayfield seemingly go to waste. Having watched him play college football at Oklahoma on numerous occasions seeing his NFL career fall on hard times was a bummer. With their QB situation being a mess because of injuries and with Mayfield on wavers, the Rams swooped in and claimed Mayfield. Then with less than 48 hours as a Los Angeles Ram and with usual backup QB John Wolford continuing to suffer from injury, Mayfield became the quarterback of the Rams.
Considering the lack of much practice and much knowledge of the playbook, Mayfield played solid early. In fact the Rams put themselves in position to keep it a one possession game after the Raiders went up 13-3. The Rams did not make it a one possession game as Rams RB Cam Akers fumbled the ball in the red zone. The Raiders then went down the field and tried to make it a three possession game. That plan was foiled when Derek Carr decided to throw a downright terrible pass in the red zone. The game stayed at 13-3.
As the second half progressed it was clear that as intriguing as it was to see someone play quarterback with about as fresh off the waiver wire as possible, the Raiders were in control. The Rams offense started to sputter and it felt like eventually the Raiders would put the game away. The Rams did not help their cause when for the second time they came away from the red zone with no points, this time late in the 3rd quarter after multiple penalties. The Raiders would go up 16-3 on the next series. It all came crumbling down for the Raiders after that.
The Rams went on a LONG 17 play 9 minute drive, a drive that was aided by not one, but two Raiders penalties that resulted in first downs for the Rams. The Rams ended up getting it done and finally capitalized on a trip to the red zone with a touchdown. Raiders lead 16-10. Not only did the Raiders have the lead, but because the Rams drive was so long, there was only 3:15 left to in the game, and the Rams had only one timeout remaining. Despite the late game heroics of the Rams offense, the Raiders offense was in clear position to chew the rest of the clock out.... which they did not. The Rams defense forced a Raiders three and out, a three and out which became a three and out after Josh McDaniels decided to not go for it on 4th and 1. Even though the Raiders would have won the game outright had they converted the 4th down, I still think it was a smart decision to punt the ball considering the Raiders were at their own 34 yard line. If they didn't get it, the Rams would be in excellent position to win the game.
Speaking of excellent, the punt by Raiders punter AJ Cole was excellent. The Rams ended up at the 2 yard line with no timeouts left and less than 2 minutes to go. A couple plays into the drive it looked like Raiders had secured victory when Mayfield threw what appeared to the game losing interception... except there was defensive pass interference on the play meaning that not only was the interception called back, but the Rams gained much needed yardage. Then on the very next play Mayfield was sacked, which not only caused a 9 yard loss, but kept the clock running... except there was an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty because Raiders DT Jerry Tillery made the decision to knock the ball out of Mayfield's hands when Mayfield tried to get the ball to the ref for a spike. Again, not only was the sack called back, but the Rams gained much needed yardage.
From there Mayfield came in clutch with great throw after great throw. Despite the lack of Cooper Kupp the Rams receiving game was on point with Ben Skowronek making play after play for the Rams. And then it happened. With 15 seconds left Mayfield went back to pass and hit Van Jefferson in stride for the game winning touchdown pass. If there was ever a feel good epic NFL Films moment it was that play and the subsequent sideline reaction to it. The Rams were as joyous as they have been all season. The 3-9 record, the losing streak, the deficit, none of that mattered. What mattered was that they had won a game in primetime despite all odds. The Raiders sideline was a mixture of disbelief and pure sadness that is only seen when a team suffers a defeat of this magnitude. The playoff hunt, the win streak, the lead, all of that mattered. Their season which after a humiliating start had finally shown some optimism, had fallen back to stark reality of being a likely losing one.
Barring something unforeseen this is my pick for the game of the year bar none. Sure there have been plenty of close games and sure Tom Brady led an epic comeback in primetime himself last week on Monday Night Football, but this game takes the cake. Reminder: Baker Mayfield just came off of being put on the waiver wire less than 2 days before playing against the Raiders. For him to led his team to a comeback victory? Improbable. But that is why they play the games. In fact, it is games like this why I love football especially, NFL football. The competitiveness, the drama, the characters, the emotion, all of it is great.
Kudos to the Rams for not quitting and keeping up the good fight despite their record and kudos to Sean McVay for believing in Baker Mayfield and putting him in position to succeed despite the circumstances. You don't see coaches do that for their players nearly as much as they should.
The Greatest Comeback in NFL History (from Week 15)
Much was made of the Colts 4th quarter implosion against the Cowboys 2 weeks ago. A game that was 21-19 entering the 4th quarter, one where an upset was not out of the question, turned into a humiliating 54-19 loss. The Colts entered the bye week on that loss. Jeff Saturday's tenure as interim HC and frankly the Colts season had hit the lowest point of a season filled with lows.
So with the score being 33-0 at halftime against the Vikings, points achieved by numerous FGs and TDs (offense, defense, and special teams all put up touchdowns in the first half) the natural thought to have (or at least the one I had) was that during the bye week, the Colts had circled the wagons and Saturday had successfully managed to motivate his guys to a blowout victory. A remarkable turnaround considering not only the aforementioned loss to Cowboys, but also the fact the Colts were blowing out the Vikings, a team with its eyes on clinching a division title and a high seed in the NFC playoffs, on the road. According to ESPN analytics the win probability for the Colts coming out of halftime was a whopping 98.6 percent. Even with a Vikings TD in the 3rd quarter, the Colts winning probability peaked at 99.6 percent with 3:18 left in the 3rd quarter with the score being 36-7.
After going up 36-7, the Colts offense produced only 5 first downs (including overtime), a fumble, and a turnover on downs (which if it had been successful would have sealed the game for the Colts and I think should have been a first down considering that by the time Matt Ryan fell to the ground he had crossed the down marker, but for some reason they called forward progress before he hit the ground).
The Vikings didn't play perfect though. After cutting the deficit to 15, Kirk Cousins threw an interception. Later after the Vikings had managed to cut the deficit down to 8, they turned over the ball on downs after Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell decided to go for it on 4th and 15 at the 45 yard line. Then after the Vikings had managed to tie the game and take into OT, O'Connell decided to not kick the long FG to take the lead in OT with 5 minutes left and punt the ball, a move that I thought would end up resulting in the game being an anticlimactic tie. As you all know it wasn't.
The Vikings would get the ball back and kick the game winning FG to win 39-36 and achieve the biggest comeback in the history of the National Football League. For as shocking as the outcome was, in 20/20 hindsight the formula was there for a Vikings comeback. Jeff Saturday led Colts in the 4th quarter + early window Kirk Cousins + football karma (now former HC of the Colts Frank Reich led what was previously the greatest comeback of all time when the Bills beat the Oilers back in the 1992 NFL Playoffs) + Matt Ryan (who despite not being the ultimate cause now has the embarrassing distinction of the being QB of the team that choked in Super Bowl 51 and the greatest comeback ever) = Greatest Comeback of All Time.
Will this be the peak of the Vikings season similar to how the Miracle at the New Meadowlands (insert 2010 Eagles Wiki page) or the Monday Night Miracle (insert 2000 Jets Wiki page) were for their teams or will the Vikings go to to the Super Bowl like Bills did? While the answer is still up in the air, there is no doubt that this game will be remembered forever.
Congratulations to the Minnesota Vikings players, coaches, fan base for being a part of NFL history! I SO want to hear highlights of the game called by Vikings radio play-by-play announcer Paul Allen.
Jalen Hurts Has Even More Reason to Be MVP Now (from Week 16)
Last week during the game against the Chicago Bears, Eagles QB Jalen Hurts suffered a shoulder injury. With the Eagles next game being against their hated rival Dallas Cowboys, I thought the Eagles exaggerated the injury as a way to try to mess with the Cowboys heads in an attempt at rivalry trickery. With Hurts' status being up the air for a few days there was much discussion about Hurts, the Eagles, and his status an a MVP candidate. "If the Eagles win with Gardner Minshew doesn't that prove that Jalen Hurts isn't nearly as valuable as previously thought?" the logic went. Another talking point was "Well, if he's out that gives another person a chance to play all the games, therefore Hurts won't get the MVP." As I only do this column once a week, I did not delve into the aforementioned talk show fodder. I much prefer to take pot shots at said fodder after the fact, while taking pot shots at my own bad predictions, while also praising myself for my accurate predictions!
Digressing aside, there should be no doubt about Jalen Hurts' importance to the Eagles are Saturday's loss to the Cowboys. The Cowboys won 40-34 with the Eagles in the red zone in the final seconds. The fact the Eagles were that close to despite a three headed hydra of INTs by Gardner Minshew, multiple read option fumbles that sure looked like a result of lack of chemistry, and Minshew's near lack of mobility as opposed to Hurts' immense amount of mobility leads me to the opinion that if Hurts was the QB, the Eagles would have won. When a single player playing or not playing affects the ultimate outcome of a game, that is the definition of a valuable player. To me Hurts' season now looks even more impressive now that we have seen what the Eagles look like without him, not a #1 seed Super Bowl frontrunner type team. With Hurts in the lineup? The Eagles are a #1 seed Super Bowl frontrunner. If Hurts' doesn't get the MVP because he missed 1 game that will be absurd, in my opinion. Injuries should never be held against players. Especially when we are talking about what will end up being a minor injury in the big scheme of things.
Who Wants the #7 Seed? (from Week 17)
When the NFL re-did their collective bargaining agreement in 2020, an additional playoff team was added to the playoff bracket (the owners couldn't get the players to agree to an 18 game regular season, so in addition to a 17th game an extra playoff game was added to the schedule). Going into Week 18 of the 2022 season, that extra spot is the desire of 3 teams in the NFC and 3 teams in the AFC respectively.
For the NFC it comes down to 2 games: Rams-Seahawks and Lions-Packers. If the Rams beat the Seahawks, the Seahawks are eliminated and the Lions-Packers becomes a win and in game for the Lions and Packers respectively. However, if the Seahawks beat the Rams, then the Lions are eliminated regardless of if they win against the Packers. If the Packers win against the Lions, both the Lions and Seahawks are eliminated, and the Packers clinch the #7 seed.
In the AFC it becomes a food chain situation. The Patriots are currently the #7 seed and they play the Bills. If the Patriots beat the Bills, then the Patriots clinch the #7 seed. However if the Bills beat the Patriots, the next up the chain is the Dolphins who play the Jets. If the Bills beat the Patriots and the Dolphins beat the Jets then the Dolphins clinch the #7 seed. However, if the Bills beat the Patriots AND the Jets beat the Dolphins, then next up the chain is the Steelers who play the Browns. If the Bills beat the Patriots AND the Jets beat the Dolphins AND the Steelers beat the Browns, then the Steelers clinch the #7 seed. If the Patriots, Dolphins, and Steelers all lose, then the food chain resets to the Patriots getting the #7 seed UNLESS the Jaguars lose to the Titans in which case the Jaguars would clinch the #7 seed (Titans-Jaguars is for all practical purposes a win and in game for both teams, but if the Titans lose they are immediately eliminated, while the Jaguars wouldn't be eliminated until either the Patriots, Dolphins, or Steelers win).
One Team's End is Another Team's Beginning (from Week 18)
The 7 or so hours that began in the late afternoon window and ended with the conclusion of Sunday Night Football were something else. The race for the #7 seed in the NFC was kind of complicated, yet not nearly as elaborate as the AFC, as I explained last week
For the NFC it comes down to 2 games: Rams-Seahawks and Lions-Packers. If the Rams beat the Seahawks, the Seahawks are eliminated and the Lions-Packers becomes a win and in game for the Lions and Packers respectively. However, if the Seahawks beat the Rams, then the Lions are eliminated regardless of if they win against the Packers. If the Packers win against the Lions, both the Lions and Seahawks are eliminated, and the Packers clinch the #7 seed.
Thinking bigger picture after the dust settled and I really began to think about all that transpired (and set aside the joy I experienced as a Seahawks fan), I realized that both games featured squads where one was on an upswing and the other on the downswing. Let me explain:
In the case of Rams-Seahawks, the Seahawks have assembled a young core of guys who will be starters or star players for years to come (Tariq Woolen, Kenneth Walker, amongst others) and be aided by starters and potential star players from next year's draft (The Seahawks have the #5 pick in both of the 1st 2 rounds because of the Broncos). Meanwhile, the Rams have core of older players (Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, Aaron Donald, amongst others) and don't have the draft picks to replenish the roster (having traded them to get Matthew Stafford and others). Because of the trajectory of both squads even though Seahawks HC Pete Carroll is the oldest head coach in the NFL at 71, he shows no signs of planning to retire. Contrast that to Rams HC Sean McVay who is only 36 and according to various media reports is seriously considering retirement.
In the case of Lions-Packers, you have a Lions team that almost made the playoffs in Year 2 of a major rebuilding project, a top 5 offense, an improving defense, and similar to the Seahawks has high draft capital that will likely make them better (The Lions have the #6 pick in the 1st round next year). Meanwhile, the Packers are a team that looked outright bad for 2/3rds of the season, lack a quality roster, and are in limbo because while Packers QB Aaron Rodgers keeps thinking about retirement, they have a replacement ready in Jordan Love who the management wants to see, yet don't have an opportunity to see because of Rodgers continuing to play. If/when Rodgers retires or leaves, the Packers will likely begin a rebuild of themselves, while the Lions will be in firm playoff contention, a flip of situation from recent years.
And with all of that said that is all for "The Best of" for 2022. Super Bowl LVII is next! If you haven't already check out our game capsule and remember that football is the greatest game in the world. This is spiderfan out.
