Post by spiderfan on Nov 20, 2023 22:15:30 GMT -8
Happy Days Before Thanksgiving SCtoC! I'm Spiderfan, your official NFL Analyst, and we have a giant stuffed turkey amount of stuff to talk about, so without further ado, let us begin!
Season Ending Injuries
This week was a reminder that football is a rough game, as the biggest headline coming out of Week 11 has to be the season ending injuries that will effect 3 potential playoff teams. During Thursday Night Football, the Cincinnati Bengals lost quarterback Joe Burrow to a wrist injury that may or may not have been season ending due to it being an aggravation of a previous undisclosed wrist injury (as of this writing the details are still murky on that). What we do know is that the Bengals, who for most of the Burrow era have been in the Super Bowl conversation, are now a team that will be lucky to make the playoffs. I was actually surprised to see Jake Browning (the Bengals backup who was notable for being the QB of the CFP 2016 Washington Husky team) was still in the NFL after all this time. The Bengals being out of the championship conversation really puts the AFC more in play than it has been in the last couple years, and certainly more in play than it was expected to be before the season.
Also, during Thursday Night Football, the team playing against the Bengals, the Baltimore Ravens suffered their own season ending injury that will effect their championship hopes, with Ravens TE Mark Andrews falling victim to a cracked fibula AND an ankle ligament injury. Considering that Andrews has been the primary weapon of the Ravens passing game this year, it is hard to see the Ravens being a championship type team without him. Because of the new weakness of the AFC North, the Ravens should still find a way into the playoffs, if for no other reason than because the Ravens can default back to the Option-style run game offense that was effective in previous years (and was only dropped because of the injuries Lamar Jackson suffered).
The team that in a big picture sense lost the most was the Cleveland Browns, because if not for Deshaun Watson's season ending shoulder injury (that he got sometime against the Ravens I guess?), the Browns would be able to capitalize on the weaknesses of the Bengals and Ravens, and with Watson finally showing signs of being the guy they traded an insane amount of assets for and with their defense being stellar, they could have put themselves in the championship conversation. Instead, they are going to be fighting for their playoff lives now that they are being led by rookie out of UCLA Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
You would think that the Steelers would have the most to gain from these injuries to their AFC North rivals, except, and call it a hot take if you like, considering they lost to a DTR led Browns team and have been scraping by for weeks now, they might not even be a playoff team themselves or if they are, a weak #7 seed.
Super Bowl 57 Redux
The two teams that played in Super Bowl 57, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs have both been dominant just like they were last season in their respective conferences. The eye test and analytics will tell you that neither of them are of the same quality that they were last year. Looking at a potential Super Bowl rematch, I've been under the lingering thought that the Eagles would beat the Chiefs if they played in the Super Bowl again. Well, while their game wasn't the Super Bowl it was on Monday Night Football and wouldn't ya know, the Eagles won and they deserved to, they were the superior team. Jalen Hurts played better than Patrick Mahomes. The Eagles receivers in comparison to the Chiefs receivers looked like, I don't know, insert something really good vs something really bad in your mind, because that is what the difference was. Same with the offensive line. Now, to be fair the Chiefs defense did what they were supposed to do, and the Chiefs special teams will give the Eagles special teams something to work on in the film room this week.
I have been a proponent of Patrick Mahomes for as long as he has been playing, but as I've talked about before, he isn't going to be able to overcome a receiver corps that is worse than the best WRs in the XFL. The Bengals are out of the race. The Bills are barely in the race. While the Chiefs are more definitively in the race than their two major previous year playoff rivals are, my biggest hot take coming out of Week 11 is that someone other than the Chiefs is going to represent the AFC in Super Bowl 58. As a Chiefs fan I hope I'm wrong, but as a NFL analyst looking at things objectively, I have a hard time arguing with that conclusion.
Jimmy Johnson To Be Inducted in the Cowboys Ring of Honor
Not too long ago I was talking to my father who is a long time Cowboys fan about Jimmy Johnson being in the Pro Football Hall of Fame yet not being in the Cowboys Ring of Honor. He asked me if I thought it would ever happen. Was Jerry Jones really that petty even after all these years and his grand wealth to not put Jimmy Johnson in the Ring of Honor? I answered yes, with the caveat that Johnson would be put in after Jerry's passing by the Jones kids. Since Jerry and Jimmy are nearly the same age, working under that idea, it was reasonable to assume that in the event that the Jones kids put Johnson in, it would be posthumously for him as well.
The most shocking thing I have seen in the NFL this season is the news that Jimmy Johnson is going into the Cowboys Ring of Honor. I genuinely thought it was never going to happen in either of their lifetimes. Literal books have been written on the subject of the infamous Jerry Jones-Jimmy Johnson feud/divorce (written by arguably equally infamous Skip Bayless whose coverage of the Cowboys back then led him to where he is now). Documentaries have been done about it. It has created a negative aura around the Cowboys organization for decades. And yet, that is all in the past now and peace has finally been made. Wow. Just... wow.
What the Jets Should Have Done
When the Jets benched Zach Wilson in the 3rd quarter against the Bills in favor of Tim Boyle, I thought about where the Jets screwed up at the QB position. While the Jets never intended for Wilson to play a down this season, as the original plan was Aaron Rodgers, the Jets should have been better prepared in case of a Rodgers injury. Others have had a similar take, but here is the way I look at it specifically: Jets GM Joe Douglas should have worked with Aaron Rodgers and OC Nathaniel Hackett to find a backup.
Find someone who Rodgers respected and/or knew Hackett's offense to be the guy who could steer the ship in the event that Rodgers got hurt. Because the Jets didn't do that they are now a floundering team that because of their losing record is unlikely to get Rodgers back this season, which was something that was supposed to get the Jets back on the Super Bowl track. Maybe Rodgers comes back anyway just to prove a point about how much of a physical specimen and good teammate he is, only he knows that at this point. What do I know is that the Jets are not in near as good of shape as they were a couple weeks ago, and if he hadn't already Zach Wilson has shown himself to be one of the biggest draft busts ever.
I Remembered!
I actually thought that with Justin Fields return and with the positive momentum that the Bears right before and during the Lions game, they would actually hold on to double digit fourth quarter lead. I thought that I was going to write about how Matt Eberflus might keep his job and how they could use their draft picks to build around Fields. And then I remembered my Week 4 take of "Never Underestimate How Bad a Bad Team Can Be" and ultimately was unsurprised when the Bears completely blew it.
As a notable sidenote congratulations to the Lions for their best record in 10 games during the Super Bowl era!
Other Thoughts:
-Even though they didn't win against the Dolphins, it was a closer than I thought it would be. The effort that Antonio Pierce is getting out of his players is definitely noticeable. Whether or not effort alone is good enough for Piece to keep the job is yet to be seen.
-The Jaguars performance against the Titans is a bounce back win if I've ever seen one. To blowout the Titans after being blown out by the 49ers is impressive, at least to me anyway.
-Having seen the spectacular things he did at TCU for the Horned Frogs, rookie Chargers WR Quentin Johnston dropping a wide open pass late in the 4th quarter was not something I expected to see. In fact that might have been the most shocking on field thing I saw on Sunday.
-While not I'm nearly as into the Houston Texans as I was when I started this column, every win they get at this point makes me smile. I'm glad that they are back to being a respected and well talked about team.
-Bryce Young beating CJ Stroud head to head for the only win of the Panthers season looks better and better for Young every game the Panthers lose and the Texans win. It'll probably be the thing that keeps Young from going the way of Josh Rosen and being booted after one year.
-The Commanders having 6 turnovers against the Tinys, will eventually be the thing that gets Ron Rivera fired. If he was ever going to keep his job, beating teams such as the Tinys was key to that goal. Losing and losing in humiliating fashion I might add, only quickens the inevitable.
-It was a fun 30ish minutes when it looked like the Buccaneers might have an epic 4th quarter comeback against the 49ers. Shame it didn't last.
-My insistence on Drew Lock For Starter took a hit after his lackluster filling in for Geno Smith against the Rams. Although it is worth mentioning that both times that Geno has suffered an injury that resulted in Lock getting playing time, Geno was ultra determined to get back on the field, which he did now twice. So it clear to me that Geno fears Lock taking his job. Maybe he will on Thanksgiving...
-It's a hot take for sure, but Josh Dobbs' "Linsanity" type run feels over. That isn't to say that the Vikings don't win some games and stay firmly in the playoff hunt, but the hype and excitement around Dobbs will not be the same as it was going into Sunday Night Football against the Broncos.
-Aw great. Now I gotta hear everyone in the national sports media complex talk about how great Sean Payton is and how Russell Wilson isn't washed up, etc.
And with all that said that is all for this week's Red Hot Gridiron. As always I hope ya enjoyed and I hope ya have a safe and happy Thanksgiving, a time that has reminded many why football is the greatest game in the world. This is spiderfan out.
