Respond and respond to everything that happened in the Sunday afternoon matches of week 16 …
Things that made me dark
Seahawks win the west the old-fashioned way: How far have we come from the “Let Russ Cook” days – it’s back to the defense (and a little help from Jared Goff’s gruesome play), the timely acting of Russell Wilson, and an overall conservative outlook on life. The goal line of the third quarter is one they are talking about in the NFC West Championship VHS.
Ben Roethlisberger, Like a Young Ponce De Leoha: It is the good. In the second half, the Steelers fell 24-7, and Roethlisberger even –gasp!– took a few hits in the process. The result was 342 passing yards (the most he has had since week 16 of the 2018 season) and three touchdowns in a return to clinch the AFC North.
Diontae Johnson Redemption: You know about the drops, and he left a touch on the field when he made the wrong reading on a downfield route against the Colts. But this connection belongs in the Louvre …
Chiefs Live on the Edge because … They feel like it ?: For 58 minutes it was an absolute blow to an inferior opponent in a match they did not win right. When Mahomes repeatedly on the last ride (except for the almost intercepted that AJ Terrell dropped), Mahomes had all the time in the world and ran several weapons uncovered field. Sunday was an ugly win as in the Mahomes era, but the general thread is: when it’s time to turn it on, the Chiefs turn it on.
Those Andy Dalton Cowboys can not be stopped: According to Mike McCarthy’s analysis, Dallas has 108 (one hundred and eight) points in a three-point (3) finish line.
Cowboys receivers against Eagles DBs: It was Saturday’s biggest mishap we’ve seen since then, and probably Saleh’s against Kingsbury as well.
Chase Young Dominant Again: After a slip in the third quarter (actually his second of the day, though the first one was mistakenly ruled as an interception, statistically), player Ian Eagle said: ‘Chase Young, who’s his argument for Defensive Rookie of the It’s a bit like saying, “Gheorghe Muresan, make his case for the tallest man in the room.”
Chargers find a way to win a game that led them by 13 points in the fourth quarter: It’s a hat-trick for Anthony Lynn’s guys, which should be enough to save his job.
A Jets Winning Streak !: And their 335-yard attack was their second-highest total of the season. They are locked in the number 2 pick, have a second first time and a total of five picks in the top 100 of April’s draft, and get the man who is supposed to be the nerve center of their defense (CJ Mosley) to be. .
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Regret
Why did they set up 18 again that week ?: The league office that puts together another team is less than 48 hours after losing an entire unit to COVID protocols, showing a complete lack of understanding of how an NFL team works.
Colts can not close it on the offense: After taking a 24-7 lead, they beat three times – including two tries-and-outs – throwing an interception and taking a total of two first hits over four slides. The offense concludes games in 2020, and Indy had none of that in the second half in Pittsburgh.
Explain yourself, Jared Goff:
Dwayne Haskins is an absolute mess: The new coaching staff did him no favors, but on Sunday it was as ugly as it gets. Six points, three turnovers and Taylor Heinicke surpassed him in relief. Football Team continues to win the division with a win in Philadelphia next week.
Younghoe Koo prints it: He had a Pro Bowl year in Atlanta, hitting the 35 of 36 that penetrated Sunday before pushing the potential match button from 39 to the right. It was an end to the loss in Kansas City.
Things get rocky for Jalen Hurts: The Eagles were not built for sustained offense, and the Cowboys kept everything to themselves after a long attack on DeSean Jackson in the first quarter. Philly only scored a field goal during the final 50 minutes of the game, with Hurts adding two Wentz-ian red-zone turnovers (one ugly interception, one questionable scramble on a scramble).
Steelers’ desperate battle to get a yard: Therefore, they beat a fourth-and-1 from midfield when a conversion would clinch the victory.
This Trubisky intercept: This is the first goal, perhaps the worst piece quarterback of the era after the merger.
Even Brandon Allen chooses this Texans defense !: No offense to Brandon Allen – well, I would not blame him if he did. some offensive to this statement – but Allen threw for 371 yards and set up 37 points in Houston (his highs in his previous six careers were 240 and 24).
Brandon McManus’s Fresh New Take on the Double-Doink: On his return to the field, the Broncos kicker dived the left upright from 42, he again got a chance five yards closer due to a penalty kick on the outside and the left side thought upright again.
Nsimba Webster’s Ball Security: The Rams had one of the worst units for special teams in the league this season (haunted by the ghost of Bones Fassel!), And Webster, who gives points, only avoid losing a disastrous ploy on a third term. This would have been his second big turnover this month; he tends towards only a catching area.
Exhibit B in the case up to Abolish the concept:
What a neat franchise the Jaguars are: Nothing like organizing a game in the midst of a raging pandemic involving a team not to compete because the NFL has built a system that offers exorbitant rewards for gross incompetence. What’s the point of sending them to Indianapolis next week? Anyway, enjoy playing for your new team, Trevor Lawrence.
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Moments we will tell our grandchildren about
Lock-receiver-to-lock-receiver TD: Bill Belichick’s heart became three sizes that day.
The predecessor “ru”: Sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself. Or someone else. Like whoever it was that threw this flag.
DeSean Jackson gets behind the defense: Ahhhh, that’s taking me back …
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What we’ll be talking about this week
NFC East Death Match !: The Eagles have been eliminated, and the remaining teams (Cowboys, Giants and Football Team) are playing a three-way match on a cubic field to decide who will represent the saddest section of football in the post-season.
The bears control their fate – and in a way the fate of us all: Wait, no, just the first part. Mitchell Trubisky is about the same guy, but they built up a more QB-friendly offense and trusted him to do things like throw the ball outside the line of the third and 6th. They make a joke when they think a marriage will work in the long run, but Trubisky will be a great backup / development project for a smart coach. And if the defense is upside down in January, who knows what might happen in the tournament.
Rams have their backs to the wall: If the Bears had beaten Green Bay in a pointless Week 17 game for the Packers, the Rams-Cardinals loser would have gone home. The Rams have no one else to blame but themselves – well, more specifically …
What to do with Jared Goff ?: A long-term question, as they will not be able to change staff or system at the moment, but he was cruel about the second half of the season. We’ve seen him finish in the past – as recently as returning to Buffalo in Week 3, and he was very good last season. But the Rams offense has no element down the field, and Goff’s decision-making is gradually getting worse, especially late in the off. In the course of January, his play could no longer be discouraging.
Dolphins win again Sunday: In the form of the loss of the Texans against the Bengals, Miami is now holding the third choice of April’s draft. Which begs the question: should they take another quarter of an hour – no matter, we’ll talk about it later.
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