The thirteenth Sunday of the NFL season is in the books so here are the different thoughts and opinions I have on various things I witnessed this past weekend. Some teams are ascending, some are declining and some just continue to stink up the league. Just remember I am a Dallas Cowboys fan and I'm extremely biased. Feel free to agree or disagree about anything mentioned here. All comments are welcome.
Defense wins championships
The high scoring New Orleans Saints rolled into Dallas Thursday night averaging 37.2 points per game. DeMarcus Lawrence and the rest of the Cowboys defense were not impressed.
In a year where scoring is reaching all-time highs, Dallas showed defense still matters by beating the Saints 13-10. I love it!
Not just because the Cowboys won (which is awesome), but honestly I'm getting tired of some of the crazy video game like scores this year. There is enough of that in college ball, I want to see some nasty defense. We are long past the days of Doomsday, The Fearsome Foursome, Steel Curtain, Purple People Eaters, etc.
The Cowboys D absolutely dominated the Saints. Brees could only muster 127 passing yards, while Kamara and Ingram were held to 63 rushing yards in 18 attempts. If it wasn't for a dumb roughing-the-kicker penalty by Randy Gregory, Dallas probably would have only given up 3 points. Linebackers Leighton Vander Esch and Jaylon Smith just smothered the Saints, they are quickly turning into the best LB tandem in the league.
The Cowboys offense did just enough to win this one. Dak was efficient throwing the ball, 24/28 248 yards 1 TD, but his fumbling issues reared their ugly head again. He leads the NFL with 11(!) fumbles this season. Not all of them were lost, but he had better start holding on to the ball. It is unbelievable how this team has turned their season around after that ugly loss to the Titans. I'd hate to see them blow it by failing to hold onto the damn ball.
Third time is the charm
The Chargers/Steelers game Sunday night was a tale of two halves. Pittsburgh dominated the first half and led 23-7 at the half. The Chargers were lucky to get that one first half TD. They got a little help from the referees when an obvious false start was witnessed by everyone on the planet except the officiating crew and Rivers hit Travis Benjamin with a 46 yard bomb.
San Diego Los Angeles stormed back in the second half by scoring 23 unanswered points and taking a 30-23 lead. The Steelers woke up to tie the score at 30. They needed a defensive stop bad. They didn't get it. Rivers worked the offense and the clock to maneuver the Chargers into position to kick a last second game-winning field goal.
If there is one thing the Chargers are known for it is blowing game-winning kicks. It is their unfortunate legacy. So of course kicker Michael Badgley missed the attempt as time expired. But the Steelers jumped offsides on the play and the Chargers were given 5 yards and an untimed down. Badgley lined up for attempt number two and the Steelers blocked it. OT right? Nope, Steelers were offsides again. The Chargers were given another 5 yards and a third attempt to make the game-winner. Now only 29 yards away, Badgley proved the third time is the charm by finally making the kick to give Los Angeles a 33-30 victory.
The funny part about the third kick was the Steelers were offsides again. Are you kidding me Pittsburgh? If Badgley would have failed for a third time, the Chargers would have moved another 5 yards closer and been given a fourth chance. Or maybe not. According to former head of officiating Mike Periera (who does a fantastic job analyzing the refs on FOX), if the officials determined Pittsburgh was intentionally moving offsides to prevent a score, which they obviously were, they could have simply awarded the Chargers 3 points without even making another attempt. I never knew that rule was on the books. Too bad it didn't happen. It would have been hilarious.
It was a huge loss for Pittsburgh who fell to 7-4-1 with the Ravens breathing down their necks. And a historic one too. Sunday was the 176th time the Steelers were ahead by at least 16 points at some point in a home game. They were undefeated in the previous 175 games (174-0-1) making Sunday's loss the biggest choke job in Pittsburgh's home history. If dad was still around the TV might not have survived.
Declawed
A month ago the Panthers were sitting pretty with a 6-2 record. After losing to the Buccaneers 24-17 this week, their record now sits at 6-6 and playoff hopes are dying fast.
Cam Newton has to take the blame for this one. The Bucs defense has been decimated by injuries and they are lit up week after week. I guess Newton felt bad for them as he doled out 4 INTs to ruin his 300 yard, 2 TD performance. After the game he said he takes this loss personal. Throwing your team's season into the toilet will make you introspective.
Then again offensive coordinator Norv Turner can't be left off the hook either. QBs have have fire-bombed the Bucs secondary week after week so he went with a pass heavy game plan and downplayed the Panthers rushing attack. RB Christian McCaffrey racked up 106 yards rushing in only 10 attempts, but Turner kept the ball in Newton's hands despite all the turnovers. Turner must be getting senile. For those of you too young to remember, Turner was the offensive coordinator for two Dallas Super Bowl winning teams in the 90s. He had no problem back then letting Emmitt Smith rollover the competition and turning HOF QB Troy Aikman into a spectator. Aren't we supposed to become wiser with age?
The Panthers will probably need to win their last four games to make the playoffs now. Considering two of those games are against the Saints, maybe it's time to look ahead to next year.
The other team from Texas
Without a lot of fanfare, the Houston Texans are the hottest team in the NFL. They won their 9th straight game this week by beating the Browns 29-13. This comes after a poor 0-3 start that included a home loss to the hapless Giants.
Houston ran out of the gate to 23-0 halftime lead and never looked back. They were aided by Baker Mayfield's 3 INTs. So far Mayfield hasn't found a way to blame this loss on Hue Jackson, but give him time.
Mayfield got pretty cocky after lighting up two very poor defenses in Atlanta and Cincinnati, throwing his former coach under the bus by saying the team now has a staff that can win. Then he had to face some real competition and gave the game away. Mayfield has talent, but he needs an attitude adjustment if he is going to take the Browns anywhere.
Back to the Texans. The defense looks good as usual, RB Lamar Miller has turned up the production, QB Deshaun Watson is playing well and WR DeAndre Hopkins is his usual dominant self. The Texans have 4 very winnable games left on the schedule (Colts, Jets, Eagles, Jaguars) and could shock the world by ending up 13-3. Crazy thing is a 13-3 record might not even get them a first round bye in the playoffs. They still trail the Chiefs by a game and even though they are tied with the Patriots, New England beat them in week one for the tie-breaker.
What have you done for me lately
The Packers fired head coach Mike McCarthy after an embarrassing 20-17 home loss to the Cardinals. Maybe if he had a kicker who could make kicks he'd still have a job.
McCarthy should have been left to finish out the season. He did bring home a Lombardi Trophy to Green Bay, he deserved a little more respect. He's received a lot of criticism over his coaching, but outside of Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams he has very little to work with on the offensive side of the ball. The defense has been poor for years and the front office threw in the towel earlier this year by trading HaHa Clinton-Dix. The Packers need changes at the top, they rely way too much on Rodgers saving the day surrounded by mediocre talent. None of their free-agent signings this past offseason have panned out.
I'm sure plenty of head coaching candidates would love a crack at this gig, but really how attractive is it? Rodgers is 35 and injuries are catching up to him. He hasn't been very dynamic this season. Adams is a legit #1 receiver, but the rest of the corp is weak and aging. The Packers haven't had a strong running game since Ahman Green left a dozen years ago. The defense usually sits in the bottom half of the league. As weird as it is, Cleveland is a more appealing option for coaches now. Ouch.
Random Stuff
Odell Beckham Jr. launched his second 40+ yard passing TD of the season in the Giants 30-27 OT win over the Bears. Maybe the G-men can find another position for Manning? He could replace Beckham on the hands team after Beckham avoided the ball like the plague on an onside kick that the Bears recovered. The Giants are no longer a joke, but it's going to be too little too late this year.
The Bears decided to give Mitch Trubisky another week of rest instead of playing him against the Giants. Whoops. Tarik Cohen tried to save the day with his huge game, but it wasn't enough. Luckily for the Bears, the Vikings looked like crap against New England. It's still their division to lose.
The Chiefs didn't miss Kareem Hunt on Sunday as they racked up 40 points on the Raiders, but that KC defense? P U. How do you give up 33 points to a Raiders squad that has given up? The defense is going to hurt this team more than the loss of Hunt as they move forward.
Did my eyes deceive me or did the Jaguars defense finally show up to play? Shutting out the Colts and a red hot Andrew Luck is the kind of performance we used to expect from the Jags, now it is surprising. Cody Kessler got the nod at QB over the much maligned Blake Bortles and played, well, like Bortles but without the interceptions. To be fair he didn't have a lot to work with.
Tom Brady hit 1,000 career rushing yards this week after a five yard "scramble" against the Vikings. 1,000 yards in 19 seasons, all you need to know about Brady's running "skills".
The Broncos revival continued with a 24-10 victory over the reeling Bengals. Another big day for rookie RB Philip Lindsay: 19 carries, 157 yards, 2 TDs. They need to keep riding that horse.
Let me know your thoughts on Week 13.
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