Quick Reaction to NFL Week 9
Y’all already know what it is. We are back again with some commentary on the latest week in the NFL. We had a lot of great games this week, so I’m going to skip the corny intro and dive right into it.
The Niners are on a roll, and now they are the only team that remains undefeated. San Fran’s offense was cookin and the last time Jimmy G scored this much, he was in a hotel room with Kiara Mia. The Niners D did not look as dominant as usual, so I’ll give Jimmy some credit for contributing to the win this week. The Oregon boys continue to represent, as DeForest Buckner had himself a nice sack, and Arik Armstead made his presence known just by standing there and looking big. For the Cardinals, I think they have a lot to look forward to in the near future. Kyler Murray was a great pick for them, and I think the decision to dump Josh Rosen was a good call. If the Cardinals are able to make defensive adjustments, if their offense can get going, and if Kyler can continue to dominate, I could see them winning six games next year.
It’s not getting any easier for Bears fans. The offense was held to 14 points and Trubisky was has just 125 passing yards against this atrocious Eagles secondary. Keep in mind, this is the same secondary that got torched by Kirk Cousins. But Mitch is no Kirk Cousins. And I thought Nagy was going to get fired after last week’s loss, but it looks like they’re going to let him finish out this disappointment of a season. What’s more embarrassing for the Bears is how their “elite defense” allowed Carson Wentz to throw a touchdown pass. That just can’t happen if your team is completely reliant upon the defense. For the Eagles, Zach Ertz is looking like his old self again, which means Wentz has another star player to over throw.
Well… it finally happened. Haskins got his first NFL start, and it couldn’t have been more disappointing. The Skins put up nine points, all of which came from field goals. To be fair though, the Bills Mafia does know how to lock down on defense. Adrian Peterson was the one bright spot for the Skins, proving yet again that older is better in the NFL. The next time a team has a young running back like Melvin or Le’Veon trying to negotiate, they should just pick up Shaun Alexander. For the Bills, they have found their man in Josh Allen. He can throw, he can run… the man does it all. And with 1.5 yards a carry on Sunday, he proved his efficiency on the ground. The Bills are a force to be reckoned with in the AFC East and I’m sure they’ve given Belichick a fair share of panic attacks.
The Raiders vs Lions was a close one. And it was a very exciting battle for mediocrity. The Raiders were able to pull this one out, thanks to great performances by Josh Jacobs and Derek Carr. And Josh’s success has been quite the surprise to me. With Jacobs looking like the frontrunner for offensive rookie of the year, it appears that we might have a former Bama running back that isn’t a complete disappointment. The Raiders offense was cookin, and I’m sure they made AB a little jealous. Not that he needs the NFL or anything. But if he did, he would be jealous of the Raiders offense this game. On the other sideline, the Lions also made sure to eat on offense. Matt Stafford had over 400 yards with 3 TDs, and Marvin Jones played a great game as well. But of course, I had him on my bench in fantasy. Of course.
Are the Chargers back?! They steam rolled the Packers on Sunday, making Aaron Rodgers look more boring than he does in those State Farm commercials. The Chargers made sure to kick four field goals, which is everything we would expect an NFL offense to do. Teams won’t take a 4th down risk, yet their players are out there playing CTE bingo, literally risking their lives every time they step out onto the field. Anyway, the one highlight of the game was Melvin Gordon, who got in the end zone twice for the Chargers. Green Bay had nothing going the whole game. And after watching a game like this, you have to question how far the Packers will go this season. They have looked pretty damn good on most occasions, but then you have a game like this where your team looks like the Jets or the Dolphins. Should be interesting to see where they go from here.
The Patriots vs Ravens game was a bit of a shock. Although, we knew that the Pats hadn’t played any serious competition the entire season. It’s like Bama and how they always choose to play against teams like Colorado State. Lamar Jackson ripped apart this elite Patriots defense, proving yet again that him and Saquon were the two best backs drafted last year. In all seriousness, Lamar has been killing it this season and he deserves the Vick comparisons. Let’s just hope he doesn’t own a dog. The man can juke like crazy, and he makes it look like a video game any time that he’s out there on the field. The Patriots, on the other hand, are getting a much needed bye week, where I’m sure Belichick will tear his defense a new one. I still think the Pats are the AFC favorite, but they have to figure out Lamar first.
Say goodbye to Minshew Mania. The Washington State alum looked pretty bad on Sunday, and it was announced this week that Nick Foles will be returning as the starter in week 10. So there you go ESPN, you can stop shoving this guy down our throats. These sports networks are probably more disappointed by this news than they were with the Zion injury. Anyway, the Jags looked terrible while the Texans are starting to look more and more like a playoff contender. Deshaun Watson did his thing, Hopkins got a TD, and Carlos Hyde ate up the Jacksonville defense all game long. I’m not sure how much Jalen Ramsey would have helped, seeing as the Jags frontline couldn’t contain Carlos to save their lives. El Guapo was making it ugly out there for the Jags faithful.
The Dolphins’ defeated season was ruined after they beat the pathetic New York Jets on Sunday. I really wanted to see it. I needed to see a team go 0–16. But of course, Sam Darnold had to take that joy away from me. The Jets QB was pretty bad out there, and although he wasn’t see any ghosts this week, he did still manage to get some boos from Jets fans. I’m starting to question if the Jets will ever be good. They get Le’Veon, they get a young QB with potential, and they still manage to look worse than they did in the Rex Ryan era. As for the Dolphins, Fitzmagic was on full display. The legend threw for 3 TDs to go along with five rushes for two yards. He’s chasing Brady for the QB rushing title. In all seriousness, it’s looking like Kenyan Drake was the problem for Miami. Another Bama running back who can’t get it done in the league.
The Titans took the L on Sunday and really could have used Mariota as their QB. Tannehill had a pretty rough outing, throwing two interceptions and ultimately losing the football game for Tennessee. Derrick Henry and his dreads did it all for the Titans, scoring both a rushing and receiving touchdown. The Titans would have put up more than 20 points if Marcus was on the field. Anyway, the Titans are pretty garbage, so it will be nice to see Mariota hopefully get moved to a better team. As for Carolina, the Panthers learned this week that Cam would be out for season, so Kyle Allen better keep his big boy pants on. And by that, I mean he better be ready to hand the ball off to Christian McCaffrey 20+ times a game.
The Broncos hopefully learned something from their matchup with the Browns on Sunday: If you bench Joe Flacco, you’ll win the football game. Brandon Allen was money for Denver, throwing two TD passes in his first career NFL win. Phillip Lindsay has also been consistently good for the Broncos, which is a shame because my guy Royce needs more carries. Believe me, Denver will go as far as Royce Freeman can take them. They just need to give him a fair chance. As for the Browns…boy oh boy they are terrible. I thought I was done talking about them last week, but they continue to amaze me with how shitty they have been. Baker didn’t throw any picks this week, so that’s good. But this offense needs to do more against a team that’s as bad as the Broncos. The sophomore slump has been real for Baker and it’s looking like Odell already wants out of Cleveland. He might be the Kyrie of the NFL.
As always, thank you for sticking around for my NFL weekly reactions. We’re at the mid point of the season where it’s getting easier to spot the teams who are for real vs those who won’t last. Should be exciting to see the Dolphins finish 9–7.
