Category: NFL

The 2020 NFL season is continuing to deliver. Week 5 was filled with incredible highs and heartbreaking lows. Let’s break down one of the wildest weeks in recent memory.

Bears 20-19 Buccaneers

For the first time in… history, perhaps, Tom Brady had a complete lapse on the football field. The Bucs QB not knowing it was 4th down on the game’s deciding play was the culmination of a night filled with mistakes, anger, and poor play from Tampa Bay. The Bucs got off to a 13-0 start, but two TDs in the last 2 minutes of the first half from Chicago (thanks to a questionable fumble call) put the Bears right back in it. The second half was fairly back and forth as the game became a battle of field goals. Tampa’s offense looked very sluggish in the absence of WR Chris Godwin and RB Leonard Fournette, and the offensive line looked overwhelmed by a fantastic Bears front. Star LB Khalil Mack had his way with the Bucs’ tackles, much to the dismay of Tom Brady, who was barking at his offensive linemen all night long. The Bears offense and QB Nick Foles did what they needed to do when it mattered most, leading to the game-winning field goal from Cairo Santos with 73 seconds left. It was an ugly game for both sides, but it showed us a lot about these teams, especially as they head into some tough upcoming games. I’ll get into that more tomorrow.

Panthers 23-16 Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are finally cleaning house. After their 5th loss in 5 tries, both HC Dan Quinn and GM Thomas Dimitroff were fired. It was a move that was a long time coming as the Falcons have never been able to get their franchise back on track after 28-3. Outside of an early touchdown, it felt like Atlanta was never truly in this game, as the Panthers controlled the tempo from start to finish thanks to more great play from their offense, led by QB Teddy Bridgewater. Behind 313 yards passing and 2 touchdowns, the Panthers cruised to a close, but seemingly easy win in Atlanta. The Panthers are now on a 3 game win streak, despite being without RB Christian McCaffrey in each of those games. It has been a very impressive stretch that is a testament to the coaching of HC Matt Rhule and experience of this offense, which has come together quite nicely. The Falcons now turn to Raheem Morris as interim HC for the rest of 2020 as they try to right the ship. Or, perhaps Atlanta will tank for a QB in this year’s draft. It’s safe to say that they are firmly in the Trevor Lawrence Sweepstakes™ as one of the league’s 3 winless teams.

Raiders 40-32 Chiefs

For the first time in his career, Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes has lost a game by more than 7 points. The Raiders walked into Arrowhead on Sunday and put on an offensive clinic. The game was a shootout from the jump, as both teams traded big play after big play en route to a 24-24 halftime score. After a scoreless 3rd quarter, the Raiders came out firing in the 4th, scoring 16 unanswered to all but ice the game. They were helped out by Mahomes throwing his first interception of the season to S Jeff Heath, who almost returned it for 6. Kansas City almost mounted an improbable comeback, but the Raiders run game picked up huge first downs to put the game away late. In the end, QB Derek Carr threw for 347 yards and 3 touchdowns, including a 72 yard bomb to 2020 1st round pick WR Henry Ruggs III. RB Josh Jacobs also added 77 yards and 2 TDs of his own. This was a return trip to Earth for the Chiefs, who had won their previous 13 games dating back to last year, including the playoffs. These are the Kansas City Chiefs, so they will be fine, but this defense did not look good at all, and the offense was struggling mightily for almost the whole second half. Meanwhile, the enigma that is the Las Vegas Raiders finally got their signature win under HC Jon Gruden. If they can keep the momentum from this game going forward this season, then the silver and black will be right in the thick of the AFC playoff race.

Cardinals 30-10 Jets

Not much to talk about here. New York Jets very bad. Adam Gase very bad. Joe Flacco very bad. The Cardinals got back on track, as I predicted, and got good performances out of all their star players. QB Kyler Murray had another good game that was not in vain as he threw for 380 yards and a score to WR DeAndre Hopkins, who had 131 yards of his own. The Jets never had a chance in this game, as their abysmal offense could barely move at all. Perhaps they could have done more had QB Sam Darnold played, but I seriously doubt it. This is the worst team in football by a wiiiiiiiide margin, and they are seemingly getting worse by the week. Now there are talks of RB Le’Veon Bell being traded, which I’m sure Bell is dying for. The team is terrible, the culture is terrible, the coaching is terrible, and the fans are miserable. They’re probably dreaming of Trevor Lawrence more than they’re dreaming for a win.

Steelers 38-29 Eagles

The Keystone State battle did not disappoint. There is a ton of stuff to get into from this game. Let’s start with the losing side, who put up a much better fight than I anticipated. The Eagles were often down but never out on Sunday. Each time Pittsburgh retook the lead, they were met with resistance from the Birds. RB Miles Sanders had a somewhat weird game with 80 yards and 2 TDs, with 74 of those yards and 1 of those touchdowns coming on a 74 yard touchdown in the 1st quarter. QB Carson Wentz had another one of those Carson Wentz games where he played just well enough to keep his team in the game, but still made mistakes that ended up costing his team the game. He had 2 more interceptions, with one of them leading to a Steelers touchdown that gave them a very comfortable cushion. He still threw for 258 yards and 2 touchdowns, with the once no-name WR Travis Fulgham catching 10 balls for 152 yards and a score, but it was not enough. The Steelers were too much to handle on offense, as rookie WR Chase Claypool caught 7 passes for 110 yards and 3 touchdowns, in addition to scoring another TD on the ground. QB Ben Roethlisberger had himself a game with 239 yards and 3 TDs on 80% completion. Pittsburgh’s offense, which was a major question mark for me, finally showed up to play, but their defense looked a bit suspect against a team that had no business moving the ball as well as they did. They still showed up when they needed to, but it was questionable. The Steelers are now 4-0, bit their opponents are an abysmal combined 3-15-1. Their next 2 games are against Cleveland and Baltimore. It’s time to see if this team is truly a contender or a team that beats up on the league’s worst.

Rams 30-10 Washington

It’s official: Dwayne Haskins was not the problem. The Washington Football Team finished Sunday’s contest with 108 total yards, the 3rd lowest mark in a game in 50 years. The coaching staff, especially OC Scott Turner, is that bad. QB Kyle Allen made his first start for Washington and, quite predictably, the offense looked horrible. Allen did lead a 1st quarter TD drive that was capped with an impressive TD run, but that was about it. The story of the game was Allen being knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury after a big hit from Rams CB Jalen Ramsey, allowing Alex Smith to enter the game at QB. It was Smith’s first action since his gruesome leg injury 693 days beforehand. It was absolutely incredible to see him back on a football field, and it is a testament to how hard of a worker and how much of a fighter he is. I wasn’t the biggest fan of him as our QB, but I love him for who he is and how he never gives up. I am so happy that he was back out there, and even happier that his family got to see it live. That being said, I was holding my breath on every play. It doesn’t help at all that his offensive line decided they didn’t want to play, allowing Smith to be sacked 6 times. The team gave up a total of 8 sacks on the day in an absolutely shambolic performance by both the offense and the defense. But Dwayne Haskins was the problem. Sure. On the other side of the ball, the Rams offense looked pretty good, as it has so many times this season. They weren’t met with much resistance from the Washington defense, but I will still give them credit. QB Jared Goff had a nice, efficient game, outside of a poor interception to Washington CB Kendall Fuller. LA’s defense dominated the game for 4 quarters to help keep the game locked for the Rams. The game ended up being ugly in the second half thanks to a downpour of rain, but it was never in doubt. Rams HC Sean McVay returned to Landover and stuck it to his old team with authority, because as he knows all too well, the Washington Football Team is far too predictable.

Ravens 27-3 Bengals

We need to get Joe Burrow an offensive line for the greater good. The Bengals rookie QB was getting battered for 60 minutes on Sunday thanks to his offensive line continuing to play like the worst in football. Burrow was sacked 7 times, and the offense could not do a thing. The Bengals were scoreless for the first 59 minutes and 28 seconds of this game for crying out loud. Cincinnati better start drafting some tackles if they want to protect Burrow, otherwise he’s in for a long career with the Bengals. Sunday’s performance was a masterful one by the Ravens defense, which is getting back into a groove. They locked up the Bengals offense all game long, including a 53 yard fumble return TD by rookie LB Patrick Queen. The Baltimore offense did its job as well, despite only 180 passing yards from QB Lamar Jackson. This team’s passing offense is arguably its biggest concern, but if the defense can keep playing at this level, then it might not matter.

Texans 30-14 Jaguars

As I predicted, the first game without Bill O’Brien was a win for the Houston Texans. Good for them, and interim HC Romeo Crennel, who became the oldest man to ever be a HC on Sunday. Houston was in control for a large majority of the game, despite a decent outing by the Jacksonville offense. QB Gardner Minshew II had another 300 yard game with 301 and added 2 TDs. But Jacksonville could not overcome two things: the Texans passing game, and themselves. QB Deshaun Watson threw for 359 yards and 3 TDs, with 161 yards and a score going to WR Brandin Cooks. RB David Johnson also had a nice game on the ground with 96 yards on 17 carries. But more importantly, the Jaguars couldn’t get out of their own way. On an imperative 4th down late in the game, with a chance to get back into it, Jacksonville called a ridiculous trick play in which they snapped the ball directly to RB James Robinson, who fumbled the football and turned it over. I’m not sure if HC Doug Marrone or OC Jay Gruden was responsible for that, but regardless, it was inexcusable, and it costed the Jags a shot at coming back. Jacksonville has now lost their last 4 games, and coaching has been a large factor in all 4. Perhaps they should follow in the Texans’ footsteps.

Dolphins 43-17 49ers

This one was… shocking. The Dolphins absolutely boatraced the 49ers all afternoon long on Sunday in one of the more unexpected outcomes of 2020 so far. Miami came out of the gate firing and didn’t look back for a second, leading by 14 at the end of the 1st quarter, 23 at the end of the 2nd, and winning by 26. The offense looked fantastic as QB Ryan Fitzpatrick put together another impressive performance with 350 yards and 3 touchdowns on 78.5% completion. They got whatever they wanted against a 49ers defense that played absolutely awful football. But as bad as San Francisco’s defense was, it was not nearly as bad as their offense. QB Jimmy Garoppolo played perhaps the worst game of his life with 77 yards, 2 REALLY bad INTs and 0 TDs on 7/17 passing for a whopping 15.7 passer rating. Jimmy G ended up getting benched for C.J. Beathard, who played a much better game, although it didn’t end up meaning anything. The Niners struggles are still going strong against teams not from New York, and it appears as though it might be time to make some decisions. If Garoppolo continues to play poorly and not perform like the QB that took this team to the Super Bowl just one year ago, and that this team is paying over $100 million dollars, then it might be time to move on.

Browns 32-23 Colts

Perhaps the best game on paper in Week 5 did not disappoint. It was a fun, classic feeling game on Sunday afternoon in Cleveland. I felt that the Indianapolis defense would keep them in this game, but the Browns’ overpowering offense was the story in this game. Thanks to a great first half, the Browns were in control for a large majority of the game, despite a couple of interceptions from QB Baker Mayfield. Even the Cleveland defense showed up in a big way, picking off Colts QB Philip Rivers for a touchdown in the 3rd quarter, forcing a safety, and only allowing one offensive touchdown. We already know that the Colts offense is a bit sluggish thanks to the lack of ability that Rivers brings to the table, but Sunday showed us that this team could be so much more dangerous with a better QB. They had so many drives that ended up deep in Browns territory, but ended with 3 points due to the lack of ability to move the ball any further. The defense also played its worst game of the year, but I truly think that says more about the Cleveland offense, which has cemented itself as one of the league’s best. If this game did anything, it’s that it furthered the narratives that we already had on these teams.

Cowboys 37-34 Giants

This was a spectacular game in Arlington on Sunday which was unfortunately highlighted by a horrific moment in recent NFL memory. Cowboys QB Dak Prescott was rolled up on after a short run and suffered a compound fracture and dislocation of his ankle in a gruesome injury that broke the hearts of players, media, and fans all across the country. I was personally very emotional for Dak, who has been through so much in his NFL career, and was so close to getting paid in a big way. Seeing him getting carted off the field in tears was just heartbreaking. We’re all praying for you, 4. At the time of the injury, the Cowboys were losing thanks to some impressive play from the Giants on both sides of the ball, highlighted by a 46 yard pick six of Prescott. Dak lead his team back from 14 down, including a wild trick play in which he caught a touchdown from WR Cedrick Wilson. Backup QB and former Cincinnati Bengal Andy Dalton came in for Dallas, and struggled for a while as the Giants retook the lead with less than 9 minutes to play. The Cowboys got a late field goal to tie the game, stopped the Giants with less than a minute to play, and the Red Rifle hit WR Michael Gallup on back to back amazing throws to set up the game-winning field goal. It was an inspiring win by a team that was absolutely devastated by the loss of their franchise QB. Dallas now sits atop the NFC East at 2-3, and I think they’re in very good hands with Dalton. The Giants are now 0-5 and still very much a contender in the Trevor Lawrence Sweepstakes™. It was their best game of the year, but it still wasn’t enough. Next up for them is Washington, in what might be one of the worst games you will ever see.

Seahawks 27-26 Vikings

Russell Wilson did it again. As if there were any doubt. The Seahawks looked absolutely lethargic for over a half of football as they could barely move the football against a Vikings team that was not scared of the challenge. The Minnesota offense was churning on both the ground and through the air as they jumped out to a 13-0 lead. The Seahawks drove for a touchdown for their first points of the game, then were gifted a short field on a fumble, scored another touchdown, and then were gifted another short field on a spectacular INT of Cousins by LB K.J. Wright, and scored another touchdown to take a 21-13 lead in the blink of an eye. Three TDs in two minutes from a team that couldn’t buy a point in the first half got them right back into it. Cousins responded with an impressive drive ending in a TD to Adam Thielen, then hit Thielen for another touchdown with 7 minutes left in the game to put the Vikings in the driver’s seat. The ball was back in Wilson’s hands, and everyone expected the Seahawks to take the lead right back led by the most clutch player in football. But shockingly, Russ threw a sloppy interception to seemingly seal Seattle’s fate. All Minnesota needed was a few first downs. The Vikings got inside the redzone and were stopped short of the line to gain, and facing 4th and inches, had two choices: go for it and end the game with a first down or kick a field goal to take an 8 point lead with less than 2 minutes to play. HC Mike Zimmer preposterously chose the former, and the Vikings were stopped. Russell Wilson had a chance at redemption, and did not make the same mistakes twice. On a 4th and 10 with his back to his own endzone, he hit WR D.K. Metcalf on a beautiful deep ball down the left sideline. He drove his team all the way down to the goal line with about 30 seconds to play, but Seattle couldn’t punch it in on 3 straight plays. Facing 4th down with 15 seconds left, Wilson found Metcalf again for the game-winning touchdown. It was another game-winning drive led by Wilson, who is always built for the moment. The Seahawks were outplayed all night long, but Russ somehow managed to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat to lead his team to 5-0. He is firmly in the lead for this season’s MVP. It’s not even close.

Saints 30-27 Chargers

For the first time in 2020, I got the exact score of a game right in a prediction! I definitely didn’t expect the game to go the way it went in terms of how badly the Chargers blew it, but still, it feels nice to be exactly right. The Chargers came out firing on all cylinders led by rookie QB Justin Herbert, who threw 3 first half TDs to lead his team to a 20-3 lead. Herbert looked as mobile and as strong as ever, and his arm was dropping jaws all across America. New Orleans’ offense looked lifeless as QB Drew Brees struggled for almost the entire first half, highlighted by a very poor interception that led to a touchdown for LA. The Saints reached the endzone right at the end of the half to cut the lead to 10, and cut it to 7 in the 3rd. Brees found TE Jared Cook on a beautiful deep ball in the 4th to tie the game, and the Chargers’ lead was officially blown (again). Both defenses held up for almost the rest of the quarter, but on a pivotal 3rd down with less than 4 minutes left, the Saints secondary blew their coverage on Chargers WR Mike Williams who was wide open and walked into the endzone for a go-ahead touchdown with 3:40 left. The rookie delivered again as he did all night for his 4th touchdown of the game. But, this is the Chargers, so of course they had to blow it. The Saints drove right down the field and tied the game on a Taysom Hill touchdown run with 52 seconds left. But even then, the former Oregon QB didn’t give up. Herbert led his team down the field and set up a potential game-winning field goal, but kicker Michael Badgley doinked it off the right upright, and the game went to overtime. In OT, the Saints took the lead on a field goal, and after a big drop by Chargers rookie WR K.J. Hill, stopped LA on 4th down to win it. It was another blown lead by LA, who has now lost their last 4 games despite deserving to win each game. Herbert is still winless as a starter, but should be undefeated. The rookie shut up any and all doubters with 264 yards and 4 touchdowns, but even he isn’t good enough to stop the Chargers from being the Chargers.

Titans 42-16 Bills

Tuesday night’s battle of undefeateds showed us quite a bit about each of these teams. The Tennessee Titans aren’t the flashiest or the most exciting, but they just win games. Everyone on the team does their job and it works to perfection. Tennessee was in control from start to finish as both their offense and defense executed from start to finish. CB Malcolm Butler picked off Bills QB Josh Allen twice, RB Derrick Henry was running people over and throwing people off him like they were JV players, and QB Ryan Tannehill put up another efficient and dominant game. HC Mike Vrabel’s squad does their job week in and week out, winning games and shutting down great teams, even dating back to last year. Even with their COVID-19 issues, they put together a masterclass against a Bills team that is very good. This Titans team is certainly one of the league’s best, and now they have put the NFL on notice with this huge win in primetime. This isn’t the end of the world for Buffalo, but they definitely need to tighten up as they take on the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday evening.

All stats taken from ESPN.

Another week, another slate of games filled with offense and storylines. Let’s get into it.

Broncos 37-28 Jets

This game was much more entertaining than I ever could have imagined. Maybe I should’ve expected this from 2 teams playing for absolutely nothing. The game got off to a very exciting start with Jets QB Sam Darnold ripping off an incredible 46 yard TD run that probably should never have happened, but the Broncos were watching Trevor Lawrence highlights in the locker room and didn’t want to play defense. Broncos QB Brett Rypien got the call for his first career start, and was playing fairly well for most of the game. He found rookie WR Jerry Jeudy for a long TD and spread the ball out all over the field to a completely depleted offense. He did throw a pick 6 to get the Jets back into it late; New York even took the lead with 6 minutes left. But, a late field goal and dagger TD gave Denver their first win of 2020. This was an ugly game for the Jets defense, who committed so many personal fouls that Broncos HC refused to let his players shake hands with any New York players. Nothing says “a Gregg Williams defense” like no discipline and dirty play. The Jets have strengthened their grip on the Trevor Lawerence Sweepstakes™.

Bengals 33-25 Jaguars

Just as I predicted, QB Joe Burrow got his first win on Sunday. The Bengals rookie signal caller looked great once again, becoming the first rookie QB to throw for 300 yards in 3 consecutive games. He got a ton of help offensively (for once), especially from RB Joe Mixon, who ran for over 150 yards and accounted for 3 total touchdowns. The Jags didn’t play a poor game by any means. QB Gardner Minshew II threw for 351 yards and 2 scores, both to WR DJ Chark. But they could not keep up with the Cincinnati offense, which played its best game of the year with over 500 total yards. If the Bengals attack can play this well consistently, then there are plenty of games to be won.

Browns 49-38 Cowboys

Oh my, where to begin with this one. The Browns came out of the gate firing, scoring first on a trick play that saw WR Jarvis Landry launch a touchdown to WR Odell Beckham Jr. Dallas retaliated to gain a 14-7 lead, including a long touchdown to an emerging star, rookie WR CeeDee Lamb. Cleveland then ripped off an unimaginable 34 unanswered points. The Browns had a whopping 24 point second quarter en route to a 17 point halftime lead, and they didn’t look back (for a time). QB Baker Mayfield was dotting the Cowboys defense and the Browns running game was relentless. Unfortunately, star RB Nick Chubb was rolled up on and injured. Chubb will likely miss up to 6 weeks, but luckily, Cleveland still has Kareem Hunt and D’Ernest Johnson, who was somehow the Browns leading rusher on Sunday. After going up 41-14, the Browns defense kinda gave up, allowing QB Dak Prescott and the Cowboys to do that thing they always do in the 4th quarter where they score a bunch of points and try to come back and make the loss look much less embarrassing than it is. Dallas scored 24 unanswered points to cut the lead to just 3. Then, the Browns put the game away in spectacular fashion. Odell got his number called on a reverse play on which he broke tackles and left Dallas defenders in the dust en route to a 50 yard touchdown to finally put the game away for Cleveland. The Browns are now 3-1 and the offense looks fantastic. HC Kevin Stefanski has finally realized the potential of this team. The Cowboys are now 1-3, and should 100% be 0-4 if the Falcons weren’t, you know, the Falcons. This team is very talented offensively, as Dak Prescott is on pace to break records and has put up great numbers so far this year, but why do they only play well offensively once they’re down by a huge margin? They start super slow, the defense (which is absolutely dreadful) get them in a major hole, and then Dak statpads to an impressive statline and they make the loss look “respectable”. This team needs to make some changes if they want to improve. I personally hope it doesn’t happen.

Saints 35-29 Lions

We need to start giving the Lions more crap for not being able to hold on leads. With their blown 14 point lead on Sunday, they made some incredible NFL history. The Detroit Lions are the only team to blow six (6) straight double digit leads and lose. They are 0-6 in their last 6 games in which they were up by 10+ points. How is that even possible? Maybe it’s because Matt Patricia is a horrible head coach. He is now 10-25-1 in Detroit with several blown games and awful performances. The Saints scored 35 straight points after the Lions started the game up 14-0. For being a “defensive” head coach, his defenses have been atrocious. Yes, the Lions made it a game in the end, but they didn’t really. Even up 14-0, it never felt like the Lions had a grip on this game. Saints QB Drew Brees shook off an early interception and played a good game, leading his team to victory in what was likely their last game without star WR Michael Thomas. The Saints need every win and weapon they can get this season, as their schedule doesn’t get much easier. The Lions need to hit the reset button if they want to have a chance to win more than 5 games a year. Patricia needs to go.

Seahawks 31-23 Dolphins

This game went along fairly predictably. Seattle was in control from wire to wire, but Miami stuck around due to the Seahawks nonexistent pass rush, allowing QB Ryan Fitzpatrick to rack up over 300 yards passing. Seahawks QB Russell Wilson continued to put up big numbers as well, tossing for 360 yards and 2 touchdowns. His 16 TDs through 4 games tied the NFL record, equaling Peyton Manning’s total through 4 weeks in 2013. There’s not much to be said about this game, but I can think of 2 major takeaways. First, it’s time to start preparing rookie QB Tua Tagovailoa to play in Miami. Fitz gets the job done to an extent, but Tua will give this team the hope and “pizzazz”, if you will, that this team needs. It’s a talented group that needs that spark. And second, how does Tyler Lockett only have 2 catches Russ? My fantasy team did not appreciate that.

Buccaneers 38-31 Chargers

This was quite the game down in Florida. LA jumped out to a 24-7 lead behind some incredible throws by rookie QB Justin Herbert and a long pick 6 of Bucs QB Tom Brady. Herbert continued looking like the quarterback of the future in Los Angeles, as he found WR Tyron Johnson for a long TD on a drop dead gorgeous throw. The Bucs slowly worked their way back into the game, as Brady became the living embodiment of the going from leaning back to leaning forward in your chair meme. Brady tossed 5 touchdowns to 5 different receivers and threw for 369 yards to bring his team back and lead them to victory. The Chargers did regain the lead late in the 3rd quarter behind another beautiful deep touchdown throw from Herbert, but Tampa controlled the game the rest of the way. It was the 222nd regular season win in Tom Brady’s career, giving him the most wins of any player at any position in NFL history. It was a great QB battle between two players born 21 years apart from each other. The Bucs continued to look like one of the best teams in the NFL, and the Chargers have to be excited about their future with Herbert at the helm.

Ravens 31-17 Washington

The Washington Football Team put up a good fight on Sunday against one of the best teams in the league. It may have looked like Washington got off to a slow start, but the offense was actually moving along nicely. A fumble on a great play by Ravens DB Marlon Humphrey and a missed field goal spotted the Ravens 2 short fields and resulted in 2 touchdowns. Yes, the Ravens offense looked very surgical from start to finish, but they finished with only 7 more total yards than Washington. QB Dwayne Haskins played one of the better games of his career, statistically, completing 71% of his passes and racking up 314 passing yards. Haskins hit WR Terry McLaurin on a beautiful deep ball and ran for a score late, showing flashes of good play, and hopefully boosting his confidence after a rough outing last week in Cleveland. Another bright spot for Washington was rookie RB Antonio Gibson, who accounted for 128 total yards and scored a touchdown. This team did not play too poorly in a game that I thought they would look lifeless in. They’re slowly improving, and rallying behind HC Ron Rivera is helping bring this team together. They get Chase Young back next week, which will greatly help the defense. I wouldn’t count Washington out yet.

Panthers 31-21 Cardinals

It’s official. The Cardinals were tricking us. In back-to-back weeks they have lost to two teams who really had no business winning. I do think the Panthers are better than many people, myself included, were giving them credit for, but without RB Christian McCaffrey, the fact that they won this game is shocking. After 2 very convincing wins to start 2020, the Cardinals have not looked like the same team in the last 2 weeks. The offense has not been able to get going as QB Kyler Murray threw for just 133 yards on Sunday. RB Kenyan Drake also got knocked out of the game, hurting the run game for Arizona. For the Panthers, QB Teddy Bridgewater looked great, throwing for 276 yards and 2 TDs, as well as running in his first touchdown since his awful knee injury 4 years ago. The Panthers don’t look like a bad team at all, and I think they’ll win many more games this year, especially once McCaffrey returns. Arizona, on the other hand, needs to return to form if they want to keep up in the NFC.

Vikings 31-23 Texans

The Winless Bowl had some pretty big ramifications. The game itself was controlled by Minnesota from wire to wire, although the Texans almost mounted a comeback late. Kirk Cousins had another nice game, throwing for 260 yards and a touchdown with no picks. Houston played a good game offensively and almost tied the game, but the referees ruled a would-be touchdown incomplete to end things. The Vikings left NRG Stadium with their first win of 2020, and the Texans decided to fire HC/GM Bill O’Brien after an 0-4 start. It was a move that was seemingly a long time coming, as the trades that gave away WR DeAndre Hopkins and multiple first and second round picks made zero sense and have set this team back drastically. The fans and players seem very pleased about it on social media, and I think that is completely justified. Yes, under BOB this team was winning and in the playoffs, but they never had that signature win to cement them as an elite team. They could have had it last year in Kansas City, but Patrick Mahomes said no. This is the right move for Houston, and I hope it pays off.

Rams 17-9 Giants

This is one I did not see coming. Yes I picked the Rams to win, but I predicted a 35 point win, not an 8 point one. Both offenses struggled mightily all game long on Sunday, outside of the Rams’ opening drive. I’m not sure how an the offense, which has looked so good through the first 3 games of the year, played so poorly against a Giants defense which couldn’t even stop Nick Mullens last week. But, they still got the job done thanks to a late, long catch-and-run touchdown from WR Cooper Kupp. I, for one, hope the Rams struggle just as much if not more than they did against the Giants when they roll into the nation’s capital next Sunday. But, I don’t think Sean McVay will let that happen.

Colts 19-11 Bears

Perhaps Mitch Trubisky wasn’t the problem. Or maybe the Colts defense is just that good. New Bears starting QB Nick Foles struggled quite a bit against Indianapolis, who has proven to have one of the best defenses in football. They statistically lead the league in yards allowed per game and points allowed per game. They held Chicago to just 3 points for over 58 minutes on Sunday. The offense did what it needed to do as well, scoring a touchdown and netting 4 field goals to control the game from start to finish. This is not a flashy team by any means, but the Colts are very solid all around. They have the roster to compete with many top teams in the AFC. Don’t be surprised if Indy is the team to play spoiler against some AFC favorites later in the year en route to a playoff appearance.

Bills 30-23 Raiders

Josh Allen is still doing Josh Allen things. The Bills QB continued putting up huge numbers on Sunday in Vegas. He threw for 288 yards, 115 of which going to WR Stefon Diggs, who is now the leading receiver in the NFL. The Raiders stuck around for the whole game, but the Bills led the whole way and stomped on Vegas’ throats in the 4th quarter. The Raiders defense continues to be a massive problem for them. They have the talent on both sides of the ball to be competitive, but it needs to translate to more wins against great teams. The Bills are not just a great team, but an elite team. They can beat anyone on any given Sunday. Their next 2 games will tell us a lot more about how much of a contender they are, as they take on the currently unbeaten Titans and Chiefs.

Eagles 25-20 49ers

This was… hard to watch. I really don’t know how Eagles QB Carson Wentz willed his team to victory on Sunday, considering he was playing with Walmart grocery baggers at WR. It seemed like the 49ers were in control for most of this game, despite pretty bad QB play from Nick Mullens. But it turns out that Mullens would truly be San Francisco’s downfall, as he threw an AWFUL pick that was returned for a touchdown to all but ice the game for Philadelphia. Yes, CJ Beathard came in for the Niners and almost led the incredible comeback, but it was far too little too late. The Niners lost a game they had no excuse losing, and now the Eagles sit on top of the NFC (L)East at 1-2-1. I will give credit to Wentz for winning a game with what he was given, but I’m still very bitter about Washington being knocked out of first. Hopefully the Eagles go back to losing, which is more likely than not.

Chiefs 26-10 Patriots

This was interesting. Patriots QB Cam Newton unfortunately tested positive for COVID-19, pushing this game back to Monday evening, and forcing New England to start QB Brian Hoyer. Even with the significant downgrade at QB, the Patriots hung around for a while on Monday. Their defense played a terrific game against the Chiefs offense and QB Patrick Mahomes. New England was in this game for a while, even after having to bench Hoyer for Jarrett Stidham. It wasn’t until Stidham threw a pick 6 thanks to WR Julian Edelman dropping a pass that I could have caught that the Patriots were out of it. I truly think that, had Cam Newton played in this game, the Patriots would have won. I’d keep an eye out for these two teams meeting again in January, because I wouldn’t be so sure that the Patriots wouldn’t come out on top.

Packers 30-16 Falcons

Update: Aaron Rodgers is still a bad man. Missing his 2 best WRs, all ARod did was throw for a measly 327 yards and 4 TDs on 82% completion. Packers TE Robert Tonyan, who you would not know about if he played on any other team, had 98 yards and 3 touchdowns. Green Bay didn’t even need RB Aaron Jones to carry a big load, as Jamaal Williams got plenty of snaps in the backfield and did his thing both running and catch the ball. I tweeted earlier today that Rodgers could take 52 lawn chairs to the playoffs, and it might not be too much of an exaggeration. Rodgers put on a masterclass, and he’s getting his best weapon back next week. Even the defense looked spectacular with star LB Za’Darius Smith and CB Jaire Alexander putting on shows. Alexander held star Falcons WR Calvin Ridley to a shocking goose egg in the receiving column. The Green Bay Packers are the best team in the NFC and they are a force to be reckoned with. The Falcons offense struggled all night against the Green Bay defense, and Atlanta is now 0-4. They probably should be 2-2, but we don’t hand out moral victories here. Sooner or later, coaching changes need to be made. I think they will be made much sooner than later.

All stats taken from ESPN.

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.