The seventh Sunday of the 2019 NFL season is in the books so here are the different thoughts and opinions I have on various things I witnessed this past weekend. It was a glorious weekend of football. Absolutely glorious! I can't even imagine why I was so depressed last week. OK, I can but lets not dwell on the past. It's time to move on!

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.

Thanks I needed that!

Last week I couldn’t have been any more depressed about football after the Cowboys lost to the lowly New York Jets. Talk about hitting rock bottom. Let’s just say I feel a little bit better this week after the Cowboys stomped the Eagles 37-10. Yay football, I love you again!

The narrative the past several weeks is the Cowboys can only beat bad teams. Congratulations Philadelphia, you are a bad team! Worse than the Jets!

After three weeks of nothing going right for Dallas, Sunday night almost everything went right. The Eagles won the toss and elected to receive the ball. The Cowboys forced a fumble several plays later and scored a TD on a beautiful 20 yard run by WR Tavon Austin.

The Cowboys kicked off and forced another fumble two plays into the Eagles second “drive”. This time Zeke Elliott smashed the ball into the endzone to give the Cowboys a 14-0 lead barely six minutes into the game. It was such a sight for sore eyes. Two huge problems Dallas has had was taken care of early: forcing turnovers and getting off to a slow start offensively.

The Eagles cut the lead to 14-7 before the end of the first quarter, but their night was essentially over after that. Dallas kept the pressure on and outscored Philadelphia 23-3 over the final three quarters.

Somebody on the Dallas coaching staff woke up and remembered the Cowboys are supposed to be a running team. The Eagles came into this game with the NFL’s second ranked run defense, allowing 72 yards per game. That shouldn’t matter against a team built to run the ball and in this game it didn’t. The Cowboys racked up 189 rushing yards on 36 carries with 3 TDs. It was beautiful. Zeke Elliott led the way with 111 yards on 22 carries.

QB Dak Prescott was efficient: 21/27, 239 yards, 1 Passing TD, 1 Rushing TD, 1 INT. The interception came late in the game when Dallas had a big lead and he just chucked one down the field trying to pile on the score. It was a dumb throw, but the game was in hand anyway. The Cowboys controlled this game on the ground and Prescott made the crucial throws to keep drives moving.

The Cowboys defense finally showed up and played the way they are supposed to play. They put pressure on QB Carson Wentz, sacking him three times and forcing him into two turnovers. The Eagles ran the ball alright, but the Cowboys were happy to let them run as they had a big lead and it kept the clock moving.

I have to talk about Dallas K Brett Maher. He kicked a 63 yard FG, longest in Cowboys history. This on the heels of kicking a 62 yarder last week. He became the first kicker in NFL history to have made three 60+ yard FGs in his career.

The Cowboys now head into a much needed bye-week since they have a lot of guys nursing injuries.

One final note about the Eagles. Two weeks ago LB Zach Brown claimed Kirk Cousins was the Vikings weakest link. Cousins burned the Eagles and Brown was cut. This week head coach Doug Pederson came right out and said the Eagles would beat the Cowboys. The Cowboys responded by beating the tar out of Philly. Pederson is now 2-5 against Dallas. Maybe, just maybe, the Eagles should keep their big mouths shut before they head to Buffalo next week. Or not, it makes me so happy to watch them eat crow.

Da Saints

**Bears couldn't catch Bridgewater** Source

The Saints offense was supposed to struggle this week. Already missing QB Drew Brees, they had to face the vaunted Bears defense without RB Alvin Kamara and TE Jared Cook as well. Hell even Las Vegas thought they would struggle, the odds implied a 17 point performance. Turns out it was no Brees, no Kamara, no Cook, no problem as the Saints pounded the Bears 36-25 in a game that was not nearly as close as the final score looks.

The Saints are now 5-0 without Drew Brees. Backup QB Teddy Bridgewater has filled in very well and had another good game against Chicago: 23/38, 281 yards, 2 TDs. New Orleans paid Bridgewater big money to back up Brees and that insurance policy has been well worth the money. RB Latavius Murray had to shoulder the rushing load without Kamara and he also delivered nicely: 27 carries, 119 yards, 2 TDs.

The Bears defense had a rough day, but to be fair their offense gave them zero help. I mean zero. Through the first three quarters the Bears offense accumulated 94 total yards and four first downs. It was putrid. QB Mitch Trubisky returned and looked terrible. He padded his stats in garbage time, but when the game was still on the line he couldn’t hit anything. It didn’t help he was constantly running for his life either.

The Bears running game was nonexistent. Remind me, why did the Bears trade Jordan Howard? Oh yea, I forgot. Nobody knows why. They only rushed the ball seven times for a pathetic 17 yards with two fumbles lost. Barf. Trubisky needs a running attack to prop him up. He isn’t going to win games on his own.

Battle of the Birds

I’ve always wondered who win in a fight between a raven and a seahawk. OK, that’s a lie. I don’t care about birds that I don’t eat. Yet I thought the Baltimore/Seattle matchup was one of the more intriguing games on the slate this week.

The Seahawks were 5-1, but have won many games by the skin of their teeth. Even against sub-par competition. The Ravens came in 4-2, but have been a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde team. Sometimes they look great, sometimes they look bad, and the rest of the time they fall somewhere in the middle.

Well the good Ravens showed up in Seattle as they beat up on the Seahawks 30-16. Neither offense was spectacular, but the Ravens defense made the big plays. Seattle QB Russell Wilson hadn’t tossed an interception all season until the newly acquired Ravens CB Marcus Peters nabbed one of his throws for a 67 yard pick six. Later in the game Ravens CB Marlon Humphrey returned a D.K. Metcalf fumble for a TD. Those two defensive scores were the difference in the game.

Russell Wilson has played like a MVP this year but he struggled this week: 20/41, 241 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT. Seattle likes to play a run first offense, but the Ravens held the running game in check. Seattle RB Chris Carson rushed the ball 21 times but only amassed 65 yards.

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson didn’t do much through the air (9/20, 143 yards) but his best weapon is his legs. He rushed for 116 yards on 14 carries with a TD. That marks his third consecutive game with at least 100 yards gained on the ground. At the end of the game he was fifth(!) in the NFL in rushing yards.

If I was a Ravens fan I would be concerned. Right now their entire offense relies on the legs of Lamar Jackson. It’s working well now, but eventually all of the hits he takes are going to catch up with him.

WHOO!

**Flair should have slapped a figure four leglock on Quinn and coached the damn game himself** Source

The “Nature Boy” Ric Flair was on the Atlanta sideline before the Falcons/Rams game. That was the highlight of the day for Falcons fans as the team fell to 1-6 after getting beat up 37-10. Apparently RB Devonta Freeman has had enough, he started a fight with Rams DL Aaron Donald. Aaron Donald! Who starts a fight with that monster? Someone who wants to get hurt and miss the rest of the season I guess.

The Rams had lost three in a row, but playing the Falcons this year can cure any team’s ills. This was a team that was to supposed to be a playoff contender. Now they are 1-6 with games against the Seahawks, Saints and Panthers coming up next. It gets even better Falcons fans: QB Matt Ryan left the game in the 4th quarter with an ankle injury.

The Falcons lone win this year came all the way back in Week 2 when they slipped by an Eagle’s squad who were missing half of their offense due to injury. The only pressing news about the Falcons now is whether head coach Dan Quinn gets fired soon or if they wait until the season is over. No way he returns after this debacle.

The Rams finally returned to the win column after three tough defeats. QB Jared Goff played well (22/37, 268 yards, 2 TDs 1 rushing TD) but the running game is still stuck in a rut. Todd Gurley is not the same player he once was and his number were not good again: 18 carries, 41 yards. The Rams have a few more easy games (Bengals, Steelers) before their schedule toughens up again.

My Weekly Officiating Rant

**It's where the league is heading** Source

The new NFL pass interference replay rules are a total joke. During the Giants/Cardinals game, a Cardinals WR fell down with barely any contact from the Giant defender. He obviously tripped over his own feet. The referee threw a flag for pass interference and Giants head coach Pat Shurmur challenged the call.

Not surprisingly the call was upheld. Completely ridiculous. In real time it was easy to see the WR tripped himself, it was even clearer in the replay. The call was wrong, no argument could be made otherwise. Still the league simply refuses to overturn even blatantly wrong pass interference calls.

The Giants lost a timeout and a challenge even though they were right. It amazes me how the NFL continues to flush the credibility of their officiating down the toilet every week. The NFL front office was forced to include pass interference as a reviewable penalty after the debacle in last season’s NFC title game between the Saints and the Rams. Yet they have decided to undermine the new rule by refusing to overturn calls made on the field despite evidence to the contrary.

This kind of crap pisses me off. What is the NFL’s point? Why do they refuse to fix calls with replay when the entire world can see how wrong they are? On top of it all players are automatically fined by the league if they make any comments about wrong calls to the media. What’s the NFL going to do next, oppress Hong Kong? They seem to use a crooked Chinese government as a role model. (By the way I hope that comment gets me banned in China, I could use the free publicity.)

Many years ago when coach’s challenges were first implemented, Bill Parcells was against it. Not replay, just the fact that it had to be instigated by a coach. He said his job was to coach his team, not officiate the game. He was right. Replay needs a serious overhaul from top to bottom. Then again I could say the same thing about officiating in general.

Around the League

**You can tell the Titans don't win much. They aren't sure how to celebrate.** Source

Another intriguing matchup this week was the Chargers versus the Titans. Not because either team is any good, but because each team seems to find new ways to lose. This week it was the Chargers. The Titans were nursing a three point lead with a minute to go when Chargers RB Austin Ekeler appeared to score a go ahead TD. Replay showed he was down on the one yard line. No matter the Chargers still had 1st and goal on the one. After each team was flagged for penalties, Melvin Gordon appeared to rush it in for the score. Once again replay showed he came up short. On the Chargers next attempt Gordon was ruled down as he came up short, but replay showed he lost a fumble that the Titans recovered.

The Titans held on for the 23-20 win. So in the Chargers last three plays they had two touchdowns overturned and lost possession on a fumble the refs initially missed. I think it’s safe to say the Chargers aren’t big fans of instant replay right now.

The ongoing battle for the #1 pick in next year’s draft took an interesting turn on Sunday. At least for a little while. The winless Cincinnati Bengals and Miami Dolphins each held a lead at halftime on Sunday.

As Vince Lombardi used to say, “What the hell is going on around here?” Have no fear football fans, sanity returned in the second half as both teams blew the game in the end. The Bengals dropped to 0-7 with a 27-17 home loss to the Jaguars while the Dolphins lost in Buffalo 31-21 to fall to 0-6. Whew, they had me worried there for a second. The Bengals and Dolphins face off on December 22 and I hope they are both still winless at the time. I also hope that game ends in a tie.

The Packers beat the Raiders 42-24 in a game QB Aaron Rodgers completely dominated: 25/31, 429 yards, 5 TD passes, 1 rushing TD. Wow! He is only the 3rd QB in NFL history to throw for 400 yards, 5 TD passes and rush for a TD in one game. I could give you a thousand guesses and you still wouldn’t be able to name the other two. Norm Van Brocklin in 1951 and Mark Rypien in 1991. Mark Rypien?

The Raiders defense was shredded, but they did manage to sack Rodgers once. It was the team’s 14th sack of the season. Last year they had 13 sacks total for the year. Always try to find some positive in a loss Raiders fans.

The 49ers moved to 6-0 with their 9-0 victory over the Redskins. It’s a great start for San Francisco, but they are another team that better get its offense moving if they want to make noise in January. It was a soggy, messy day in D.C. yet still only 9 points against the pitiful Redskins defense? Through six games 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo only has 7 TD passes to go with 6 interceptions. He only had 10 yards passing in the first half of this one. The defense is tremendous but you still have to score to win.

Remember all the way back in September when Andrew Luck retired and the Colts fans thought their season was lost? QB Jacoby Brissett had other ideas. The Colts beat the Texans 30-23 to take the lead in the AFC South with a 4-2 record. Brissett led the way with an excellent performance: 26/39, 326 yards, 4 TDs. The Colts have a ton of winnable games left on the schedule and I will be surprised if they don’t make the playoffs. Head coach Frank Reich deserves a ton of credit for keeping this team focused in light of Luck’s shocking retirement.

While I’m taking a trip down memory lane, remember when Vikings QB Kirk Cousins was playing so bad that his wide receivers started organizing a mutiny? I don’t know if it lit a fire under Cousins’ ass or maybe things are simply coming together for him, but he has played up to his big contract the last three weeks. In a big division road game this week at Detroit Cousins delivered: 24/34, 337 yards, 4 TDs. The Vikings won 42-30. Lions QB Matthew Stafford had a great game in defeat: 30/45, 364 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT.

Rookie running back Chase Edmonds was the star of the Cardinals 27-21 win over the Giants. He gained 126 yards on 27 carries with 3 TDs. He also had two receptions for 24 yards. Actually star isn’t a strong enough word for his 150 yards of total offense. Nobody else on the team topped 29 yards on offense. QB Kyler Murray had a quiet game: 14/21, 104 yards, 10 rushes for 28 yards.

The Cardinals are a surprising 3-3-1. The schedule is going to get much tougher moving forward, but this team has taken a step ahead from last season.

Thanks for reading. Let me know your thoughts on Week 7. Feel free to jump on the Cowboys bandwagon.

NFL / officials still terrible

Chops316 Monday Morning Quarterback: 2019 Week 7

Chops316 Monday Morning Quarterback: 2019 Week 7

Chops316 Monday Morning Quarterback: 2019 Week 7