Another wild and entertaining week of NFL football is behind us. Let’s review what happened in the final slate of games in September.
Dolphins 31-13 Jaguars 
Thursday Night Football was the Ryan Fitzpatrick Show as the Dolphins’ 37 year old QB completed 90% of his passes and scored 3 total touchdowns en route to a blowout win. Not a lot of people saw Miami’s dominant performance coming (especially not me). This looked like a very solid team all around, but perhaps it should be taken with a grain of salt as they were playing one of football’s worst teams who were without their best WR. The bright spot of the game for Jacksonville was rookie RB James Robinson, who was their leading rusher and receiver in addition to having 2 touchdowns, making fantasy owners elated. I’m not sure where the fight that the Jags had for Weeks 1 and 2 was on Thursday. Maybe they couldn’t muster it in a short week. Maybe they remembered they were tanking. Either way, they certainly looked like the Jaguars of old.
Bears 30-26 Falcons 
I really don’t have the slightest idea how, but the Atlanta Falcons did it again. The Bears were down 16 points with just over 6 minutes left in a game in which they played so poorly that they benched their QB Mitchell Trubisky. Former Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles entered the game and didn’t provide the spark that Chicago needed, especially after throwing an INT in the endzone. Up 2 full scores with time winding down, the Falcons must have felt good about being close to their first win of 2020. The Bears found the endzone but failed to convert on a 2 point conversion to cut the lead to 10, still 2 scores behind. After a defensive stop and a touchdown 2 minutes later, they found themselves down just 3. Two and a half minutes later, they did it again, this time with an incredible throw under pressure by Foles to WR Anthony Miller, and the Bears somehow found themselves ahead 30-26. Falcons QB Matt Ryan tried to lead his team down the field to win the game, but threw an interception to seal another inexplicable Atlanta loss. The Bears continued being the comeback kids, and the Falcons continued being the laughingstock of the NFL. No team had ever blown 2 15+ point leads in the 4th quarter in a season before, and now Atlanta has done it in back to back weeks. If Dan Quinn is still this team’s head coach next season… or even next month… I would be very disappointed. But not surprised whatsover.
Bills 35-32 Rams 
What an insane game. The Bills jumped out to a vaunted 28-3 lead on Sunday against the Rams behind more stellar QB play from Josh Allen. Their defense was making LA’s offense look like that of a high school team. But a 28-3 lead in this league means DRAMA. A flip switched for the Rams as they stuck with their gameplan, didn’t panic, and ripped off 29 unanswered points. Jared Goff looked very poised in leading his team back from a massive deficit, and got lots of help from his WRs Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods as well as his great RBs in Darrell Henderson and Malcolm Brown. Up by 4 with 4:30 to play, the Rams simply needed to stop the Bills one more time. They actually did, as the Bills failed to convert on a 4th down, but an awful (and I mean awful) DPI call gifted Buffalo a first down. Josh Allen took advantage of the gift and found TE Tyler Kroft for a game winning touchdown with 15 seconds left. This battle of undefeateds didn’t disappoint at all, and I think that these are two of the best teams in football. It’s just a shame that it came down to an awful call from the officials.
Browns 34-20 Washington 
Do I have to talk about this game? Alright, fine, I’ll do it. Washington’s loss this Sunday in Cleveland was not fun. This was a game of momentum swings, as only one team scored in each quarter. Washington certainly looked better early as QB Dwayne Haskins Jr. was poised in the pocket and delivered nice throws, including a touchdown to WR Dontrelle Inman to put the Football Team up 7-0. Washington had all the momentum and was driving again in the 2nd quarter to try and extend the lead, but a bad miss on a high throw from Haskins led to an interception and a huge return from Karl Joseph. The Browns got the ground game going with star RB Nick Chubb to go take advantage of the Haskins mistake and go up 10-7. The 2nd year QB looked to shake off the mistake, but instead made another one, as he threw another interception with under 2 minutes left in the half. It was a horrible play from Haskins, who stared down his intended receiver the whole play, allowing the Browns LB to read the play like a book and make the play. The Browns took advantage again, scoring another TD to go up 17-7 at halftime. The WFT was down, but not out, as they ripped off back to back touchdown drives in the 3rd quarter, with Haskins looking great again. To start the 4th quarter, the Browns responded with a touchdown of their own and regained the lead, 24-20. With the game in his hands, Dwayne Haskins made the same mistake he had been making all game long. He stared down his receiver on a short curl route over the middle, was read the whole way, and picked off. It was his 3rd INT of the game, with all 3 being inexcusable. It only got uglier from there, as the Browns reached the endzone, followed by a Myles Garrett strip sack of Haskins, and one last Browns field goal before the game was finally over. 4 Dwayne Haskins turnovers led directly to 24 Browns points. Washington seemed like the better team in this game, but mistakes killed them. If Dwayne Haskins does not improve his play, then this team is going nowhere. If he can fix his mistakes and play as well as I know he can, then this team can win a lot of games. I am hoping and praying for the latter.
Titans 31-30 Vikings 
Unbeaten vs. winless saw both teams retain the 0’s in their respective columns. The Titans improved to 3-0 behind SIX (6) Stephen Gostowski field goals. The Vikings played well; I’d argue that they were actually the better team on Sunday. Kirk Cousins was finally getting it going in the air, finding his receivers who were starving after last week. Adam Thielen caught a touchdown, and rookie WR Justin Jefferson out of LSU, the Vikings 2020 1st round pick, finally burst onto the scene with 7 catches for 175 yards, including a 71 yard bomb capped off by a great dance into the endzone. Star RB Dalvin Cook was eating as well, with 181 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. TE Kyle Rudolph made a spectacular catch to put the Vikings up 30-25, but the Titans got back to back field goals to take a 1 point lead. With the chance to lead his team to victory, Cousins threw his 2nd interception of the game to seal the 3rd Vikings loss in 3 games. Much like Atlanta, this doesn’t feel like a team that is as bad as their record. Regardless, losses are losses. And they’re stacking up quickly in Minnesota.
Patriots 36-20 Raiders 
The Patriots looked like one of the league’s most complete teams in Sunday’s domination of the Raiders. QB Cam Newton delivered through the air when called upon and RBs Sony Michel and Rex Burkehead gashed the Vegas defense on the ground and through the air, respectively. Michel had a fantastic 117 yards on just 9 carries, and Burkehead was the team’s leading receiver en route to accounting for 3 total touchdowns. New England’s outstanding defense, which speaks for itself with its play, shut down the Raiders offense, which looked so good last Monday night, entirely. This team might not be the flashiest or the most exciting to watch, but they are a well-oiled machine that gets it done in every facet of the game. Bill Belichick is doing Bill Belichick things, and the Patriots are still contenders in the AFC.
49ers 36-9 Giants 
Alright, New York football team, from the top. The New York Football Giants are really, really, REALLY bad. I cannot stress it enough. San Francisco was seemingly missing their entire team, yet they absolutely dismantled the Giants for 4 quarters. Against the 49ers B team, New York QB Daniel Jones put up a pedestrian 179 yards and 1 interception on 17/32 passing. The Giants didn’t score a touchdown all game. I really don’t know what I can say. It’s absolutely embarrassing. This game was either a testament to how strong of a team San Francisco is and how great of a coach Kyle Shanahan is, or to how awful of an organization the Giants have become and to how much Joe Judge is not built for this job. Either way, the Giants are officially in the Trevor Lawrence Sweepstakes™.
Bengals 23-23 Eagles 
The year is 2020: Donald Trump is president, a global pandemic has shut down the world for several months, and ties are still a thing in the NFL. I really do have a disdain for ties. Sunday’s contest at Lincoln Financial Field was very hard to watch, largely in part due to Eagles QB Carson Wentz continuing to be absolutely dreadful. The 5th year signal caller (who still hasn’t mastered the playbook according to HC Doug Pederson???) threw 2 more interceptions to bring his total to 6 on the year. QB Joe Burrow was getting annihilated all game en route to 8 sacks thanks to not having an offensive line, but his Bengals were able to take advantage of Wentz’s mistakes as they led for most of the 4th quarter. Finally, with the game in the balance, Wentz decided to do something (for once) by leading the Eagles down the field and running in the game-tying touchdown with 21 seconds left in the game. Overtime was a puntfest, but the Eagles had a chance to kick a 59 yard game-winning field goal. The players were lined up, but the Eagles moved early to push them back. So, the Eagles punted, again, and the game ended in a tie. The Eagles continue to look awful, and Joe Burrow still refuses to go down without a fight.
Steelers 28-21 Texans 
The Steelers got off to a slow start on Sunday as the Texans jumped out to a 14-3 lead. But it was almost all Pittsburgh from there on out, as they continued to look very solid on both sides of the football. For the first time in 25 games, the Steelers didn’t turn the ball over. QB Ben Roethlisberger did his thing, throwing for 2 touchdowns, and RB James Conner continued looking very strong with 109 yards and a touchdown on just 18 touches. #GetDeshaunWatsonATeam is also still going very strong. The Texans are now 0-3 and reeling. Yes, they have played 3 of the league’s best teams, but as I said before with Minnesota (who they ironically play this week), losses are losses. On a similar note, the Steelers are now 3-0 with wins against three 0-3 teams. Despite that, you can see this team is very well-rounded and ready to compete in the tough AFC North.
Colts 36-7 Jets 
Alright, New York football team, from the top. The New York Jets are really, really, REALLY bad. I cannot stress it enough. The worst team in football continued doing worst team in football things as they were torn into a million little pieces by the Colts on Sunday. QB Sam Darnold, who loves showing flashes of greatness before showing us tidal waves of atrocity, threw a whopping 3 interceptions, all of which being horrible reads with two of them being returned for touchdowns. The Colts defense, which has been great all season long, continued looking like one of the best in football, much to the avail of fantasy owners such as myself. Yes it was the Jets, but great play is great play. The Trevor Lawrence Sweeptstakes™ frontrunners need to hit reset on the entire team. It’s time to get Adam Gase out of New York with swiftness, and it’s time to find a new franchise quarterback. Sam Darnold is officially not it.
Panthers 21-16 Chargers 
This game was a snoozefest with an almost legendary finish. Justin Herbert’s Chargers struggled against a pretty bad Carolina team despite a monster game from WR Keenan Allen (13 catches, 132 yards, 1 TD). Herbert didn’t have a bad game with his 330 yards passing, but his two turnovers (an INT and a fumble) costed the Chargers points, and potentially even the game. Even still, Los Angeles still had a chance to win the game late. The Chargers tried a hook-and-ladder play with Keenan Allen and RB Austin Ekeler, but Ekeler dropped the lateral and the clock struck 0:00. Had Ekeler caught that lateral, he had a clear path to the endzone and a win for the Chargers. But, the what-if remains a what-if, and these two teams now both sit at 1-2.
Buccaneers 28-10 Broncos 
Tampa Bay keeps on getting better and better. The Bucs played a nearly flawless game on Sunday in Denver in some pretty flawless uniforms. Tampa debuted the all-pewter getups in style as they dominated the reeling Broncos for 60 minutes. QB Tom Brady played his best game of the young season, throwing for 297 yards and 3 TDs. WR Mike Evans had a pretty funny statline of 2 catches for 2 yards and 2 TDs. But the star of the show was the Bucs defense. They locked up Jeff Driskel and company and suffocated the Broncos for only 226 total yards. If this Tampa team can play this dominantly against the contenders of the NFL, which I think they can, then this team will be a force to be reckoned with.
Lions 26-23 Cardinals 
Kyler Murray finally struggled in 2020. And it wasn’t very pretty. The star QB threw 3 INTs and the Cardinals paid the price for it. They stayed in the fight all game long, and Kyler still found ways to dazzle, including a touchdown run in which he snatched #3 overall pick Jeff Okudah’s ankles, and WR DeAndre Hopkins continued to put up monster numbers (10 catches, 137 yards) but it wasn’t enough. Lions QB Matt Stafford continued being one of the league’s most resilient players, never giving up and leading his team to victory with a drive that ended in a game winning field goal as time expired. Every team struggles against bad teams from time to time, so I don’t think it’s ill-advised to panic in any way with the Cardinals. But Kyler’s performance was a bit rocky, and that cannot continue. I don’t think it will.
Seahawks 38-31 Cowboys 
There’s so much to unpack from this game that I don’t even know where to begin. How about we start with the Seahawks offense, which continued playing lights out football thanks to the MVP frontrunner Russell Wilson. Russ casually tossed 5 more touchdowns against the Cowboys to bring his total to 14 through 3 weeks, the most in that time span in NFL history. 3 of them came to WR Tyler Lockett, which my fantasy team was very thankful for. It could have been 6 TDs for Wilson, but WR DK Metcalf inexplicably had the ball knocked out of his hands before scoring thanks to a complete lack of awareness and an overwhelming desire to showboat. On the other side of things, QB Dak Prescott continued to put up stellar numbers in this revamped Cowboys offense. He threw for an incredible 472 yards and 3 TDs to keep his team in the game, but had some costly turnovers that gifted Seattle points. Dallas kicked a field goal to go ahead 31-30 with 4 minutes left, and Russell Wilson, who was as poised as ever, led his team down the field with ease. The drive was capped off with a beautiful rainbow throw over the top to DK Metcalf, who redeemed himself by catching the game winning touchdown. The Seattle defense would then pick off Dak one more time to seal the victory. The Seahawks are now 3-0, but have been gashed week after week on defense. Obviously the offense is special, but if Seattle doesn’t step it up defensively, then it could mean bad news in the playoffs.
Packers 37-30 Saints 
Aaron Rodgers is still a bad man. Sunday Night Football didn’t disappoint whatsoever as the Packers and Saints played an instant classic in the Superdome. Even without Davante Adams, Rodgers was making incredible deep throws left and right, especially to WR Allen Lazard, who has burst onto the scene this season. ARod finished with 283 yards and 3 TDs, with 146 of those yards and 1 of those TDs going to Lazard, and the Packers didn’t turn the ball over for the 3rd straight game. On the other side of things, Saints QB Drew Brees continued his short-yardage, dink and dunk play that New Orleans has executed so well in the last few weeks. The high profile target was obviously RB Alvin Kamara who caught a whopping 13 balls for 139 yards and 2 TDs, including a long catch and run in which he ran through seemingly the entire Packers defense. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as the Packers out-executed the Saints and Rodgers outsmarted the New Orleans defense late to put the game out of reach. Green Bay has proven that they are one of the league’s best teams, and New Orleans is counting the days until they get Michael Thomas back.
Chiefs 34-20 Ravens 
The match that was hyped up to be the Game of the Year in the 2020 NFL season can be described in just 3 words: Patrick Mahomes Masterclass. The Chiefs QB played one of the best games of his career on one of the biggest regular-season stages. He threw for 385 yards and 4 TDs as he executed Andy Reid’s insane offensive gameplan to perfection. You don’t often see an underhand shovel pass to a FB for a touchdown or a passing touchdown to an offensive lineman, but Andy Reid said screw it, let’s do them both in the same game. Mahomes threw dime after dime as Kansas City not only looked absolutely unstoppable offensively, but very tight defensively. This game wasn’t nearly as close as the score would suggest, and it’s thanks to the Chiefs defense locking up Ravens QB Lamar Jackson for 60 minutes. Lamar and the Baltimore offense struggled all night long as he couldn’t even muster 97 passing yards. The Ravens were out-coached and outplayed all game long, outside of a single kick return touchdown. The narrative around Lamar Jackson not being able to win big games only gained more traction last night. He’s now 0-3 against the Chiefs in his young career. The good news is, he’s 21-1 against the rest of the NFL (in the regular season). But the Ravens won’t be dominating every game. If they cannot show up against the best teams in the league or play from behind, then perhaps they won’t be as formidable as we thought.
All stats taken from ESPN.
Raza Talks Sports 