Welcome to Part I of my Monday Morning Quarterback Post for Week 9. The secret word for this week is UPSET. Damn there were upsets or near upsets all over the league. Good teams playing like garbage, bad teams playing like contenders, it was just a crazy slate of games. Even my beloved Dallas Cowboys were caught up in the insanity. What the hell!
The really weird thing is the team that was most ripe for an upset due to injuries, the Arizona Cardinals, were the only contender to kick someone's ass. I shouldn't say "only" contender, the Titans did a fairly good job as well. If anyone can make heads or tails to what happened in Week 9 feel free to let me know because I have got no clue.
The Lions, Seahawks, Buccaneers and No-Names all had a bye this week. Congrats to all the brave NFL fans who managed to survive a week without the exciting Detroit Lions! I'm sure Lions fans were happy to finally enjoy a week where their team didn't lose.
Just remember I am a Dallas Cowboys fan and I'm extremely biased. I'm also sickened and pissed this week. Feel free to agree or disagree about anything mentioned here. All comments are welcome.
Stampede!
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Broncos 30 Cowboys 16
Oh boy. Don’t be misguided by the final score. The Broncos thoroughly kicked the Cowboys ass in all phases of the game. Dallas didn’t do diddley squat until garbage time. It was fitting pro wrestling legend The Undertake was at this game. Dallas needed one.
Even worse for me, the #1 Cowboys fan, Fox cut coverage of this game early and I missed the garbage time scores. Screw you Fox, I didn’t give a crap who was going to win the Ravens/Vikings game!
I’ve dumped on the Broncos a few times this season. They normally disappear against good teams. Denver has a pretty good defense and a below average offense. Well in Dallas they had a great defense and pretty good offense. The defense put a lot of pressure on Dak Prescott while still doing a good job in coverage. They also contained the Dallas running attack early on and with Dallas falling behind big they had to rely more on the pass.
As well as the Broncos defense played, the Cowboys didn’t do themselves any favors on offense either. Dak looked rusty coming back from his calf injury, his accuracy was up and down. He missed a few deep throws where his target got open. When he was accurate the receivers, mainly CeeDee Lamb, dropped a lot of catchable balls.
The Broncos offense exposed the Cowboys defense. If you looked at the stats before the game, they’d tell you Dallas gives up a lot more passing yards than rushing yards and you might think Dallas is better at stopping the run. If you watched the Cowboys games you would know this isn’t true. The offense has been so explosive this season most opponents abandon the run early. This week Dak and the Boys never found their footing and the Broncos were able to stick to the ground game to great success.
I have to tip my hat to Denver. Dallas has played some good defenses this year and nobody figured out how to slow them down before. Damn what is it about the Broncos? The Cowboys have now lost seven straight games to Denver. The last time Dallas beat them was in 1995. Dallas won the Super Bowl that season and I don’t have to tell you how long ago that was. I was young and still had all my hair!
Teddy Bridgewater (19/28, 249 yards, 1 TD) made a few really nice throws, but he didn’t really lead the offense. It was powered by the rushing attack as Javonte Williams (17 rushes, 111 yards) slashed through the defense and Melvin Gordon (21 rushes, 80 yards, 1 TD) ground out the tough yards. Tim Patrick (4 receptions, 85 yards, 1 TD) made a couple of important catches. Nice balanced attack by the Broncos, who dominated time of possession by controlling the ball for more than 40 minutes.
The defense was superb, stifling Dallas in the air and on the ground before garbage time. Just an excellent game on the road by Denver, who improved their record to 5-4. The Broncos are tied for third in a tightly contested AFC West were all four teams are separated by one game. They will host the Eagles next week.
My Cowboys were simply trash this week. No need to quote stats because they mostly came in garbage time and aren’t even impressive with the extra padding. Lots and lots of things to clean up on both sides of the ball. One bright spot on a terrible day was rookie linebacker Micah Parsons. He continues to impress as he recorded 10 tackles and 2.5 sacks. Too bad his teammates didn’t chip in more. The Cowboys fell to 6-2, first place in the NFC East. They’ll host the Falcons next week.
I know what you are thinking, this must have been the upset of the week. Oh no, not this crazy week.
The Upset Of The Week
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Jaguars 9 Bills 6
The Bills were 15 point road favorites against the Jaguars and as expected Josh Allen had a big game. Oh wait, Bill’s quarterback Josh Allen had a terrible game. It was Jacksonville defensive end Josh Allen who had the big game and helped lead the Jags to the biggest upset of the season. My brain nearly exploded as I followed this game on the game ticker.
Dear Lord Buffalo, how the hell did you let this happen? Entering this game the Bills had the #1 scoring offense in the league, the Jaguars had the #28 ranked scoring defense. Buffalo averages a little over 32 points per game while the Jags give up 29. This game had total blowout written all over it.
Instead the Bills struggled to move the ball. Turnovers aided in killing drives and setting up what ultimately became the game winning field goal for Jacksonville. You know your offense stunk out loud when you lose to a team that only gained 218 yards of total offense.
The Jaguars hero of the game was their own Josh Allen. He recorded 8 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception and 1 fumble recovery. His interception set up the winning score and his fumble recovery killed the Bills last drive that was deep in Jacksonville territory. It was literally a game-saver.
The Jags offense was brutal, but early on they made some hay. Trevor Lawrence (15/26, 118 yards) hit 8 out of his first 11 passes as Jacksonville scored two field goals in their first three possessions. Their last field goal was a gift from the defense as the offense died after those first two field goals.
The defense harassed Josh Allen the quarterback, shut down the Bills few rushing attempts and forced game-changing turnovers. Huge win for the Jags, who improved to 2-6, third place in the AFC South. They’ll visit the Colts next week.
If the Jaguars offense was brutal, then the Bills offense was downright offensive. Good teams should never lose to an opponent as bad as Jacksonville without extenuating circumstances of massive proportions. The Bills had none. Josh Allen (31/47, 264 yards, 2 INTs, 1 fumble) reverted back to being the turnover machine he was when he first entered the league. Shame on head coach Sean McDermott for not giving him any support by calling for only 9 running plays. McDermott put the entire offensive load on Allen’s shoulders and Allen had a lousy game. That’s why you need a balanced offensive game plan.
The Bills fell to 5-3, not a good record for a team with this much talent. I think they were guilty of looking past the Jaguars and they paid the price. They better not make the same mistake when they got to New Jersey to face the Jets next week. Although the Jets are probably even worse than the Jags. The Bills still lead the AFC East, but don’t look now the Patriots are only half a game behind them.
More Upsets!
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Giants 23 Raiders 16
The Raiders have been carrying a lot of baggage this season having to do with numerous off field issues. The weight of hauling that load around might have caught up to them this week as they looked fairly uninspired against the Giants.
Both teams scored a TD on their opening possession. The rest of the first half turned into a kicking show filled with punts and field goals. The Raiders held a 13-10 lead at halftime. It went downhill for Las Vegas from there.
The Raiders took the opening kickoff for the second half and Derek Carr preceded to throw the game away with a pass that was intercepted by Xavier McKinney for a 41-yard pick six. Las Vegas fought back with a field goal on their next possession before the rest of the game ended in disaster. The final three Raiders drives ended in a missed 25 yard FG attempt, an interception and a fumble.
The Giants defense has been playing much better after a lousy start to the season. Safety Xavier McKinney’s two interceptions resulted in ten points for the Giants. New York needed those points as their offense wasn’t exactly pretty. Daniel Jones (15/20, 110 yards, 1 TD, 1 fumble) was accurate, but mainly with dump offs and check downs. He didn’t drive the ball down the field.
The Giants got much better production from the ground attack. Led by Devontae Booker (21 rushes, 99 yards), New York gained 149 yards on 31 carries. It was one of the few times this year the Giants found success running the rock. The Giants improved to 3-6, tied for second place in the NFC East. New York has a bye next week.
Derek Carr (30/46, 296 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs, 1 fumble) doomed the Raiders with very costly turnovers. The passing game wasn’t real effective when he didn’t turn it over either, 46 passing plays didn’t even result in 300 yards. Like New York their ground game was better (20 carries, 117 yards), but it was underutilized. Carr has been bailing out the Raiders all season, when he struggled this week the offense was lost. Once again, offenses work better with balance.
The Vegas defense held their own with three sacks and a turnover. They were sabotaged by Carr’s turnovers. The Raiders dropped to 5-3, tied for first place in the hotly contested AFC West. They’ll host a team with enough baggage of their own next week as the Chiefs are coming to town.
Falcons 27 Saints 25
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It must be difficult to be a Saints fan this year. You never know which team will show up. Will it be the Super Bowl contender or pretender? This week a new team arrived, the one that makes the normal massive comeback in the wake of the Falcon’s weekly meltdown only to blow it in the end. Good Grief!
Neither team could do much on offense in the first half, but as time wound down in the second quarter Matt Ryan finally put a drive together for Atlanta that ended in a touchdown. The Falcons took a 10-0 lead into the half and expanded it to 17-3 entering the 4th quarter.
Per usual, the fun time in a Falcons game came in the 4th quarter. Fun times for their opponents normally. The Saints kicked another field goal, but Atlanta responded with another TD to take a 24-6 lead. 18 point lead in the 4th quarter, yup time for the meltdown.
The Saints exploded for three quick touchdowns as their offense suddenly came to life and the Falcons offense went into hiding. New Orleans kicked one extra-point, but failed to covert two two-point plays. Still with one minute left in the game the Saints held the lead 25-24.
It should have been safe. It wasn’t. The Saints let Matt Ryan connect with Cordarelle Patterson for a long 64-yard pass play to put the Falcons firmly into FG range. After a few kneel downs to run down the clock, Younghoe Koo kicked the game-winner as time expired.
It amazes me how the Falcons can blow such big 4th quarter leads week after week. But they got lucky this time as Matt Ryan was able to bail them out. Ryan (23/30, 343 yards, 2 TDs) was the entire offense for Atlanta. The ground game was abominable, gaining a paltry 34 yards on 25 carries. Woof. If the Falcons could have run the ball at all maybe they could have bled some clock and not needed Ryan’s heroics.
The Falcons record improved to 4-4, which stuns me as Atlanta has lost to some bad teams this year. They sit in third place in the NFC South. Atlanta heads to Dallas next week and if they upset my Cowboys I just might give up on football.
There is a reason Trevor Siemian is a third string quarterback and the first three quarters of this game exposed it: he isn’t very good at football. But Siemian (25/41, 249 yards, 2 TDs) came alive in the 4th quarter to bring the Saints back from the brink of defeat. At least for a minute before the defense crapped the bed.
Siemian got support from Alvin Kamara (13 rushes, 50 yards, 1 TD) and Mark Ingram (9 rushes, 43 yards) on the ground. Kamara (4 receptions, 54 yards) was also the Saints leading receiver, which doesn’t say anything good about New Orleans receiving corp.
Big loss for the Saints a week after knocking off the Bucs. New Orleans fell to 5-3, second place in the NFC South. The question for head coach Sean Payton this week is whether Siemian’s 4th quarter play earned him another start or does he turn to Taysom Hill at quarterback. The Saints have a tough task next week as they’ll head to Tennessee.
Narrowly Avoided Upset!
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Ravens 34 Vikings 31 OT
The Ravens were coming off of a bye and early on in this game it looked like they forgot to practice during their time off. The offense was dull and the defense was getting pushed around as the Vikings staked a 24-10 lead in the 3rd quarter after Kene Nwangwu returned a kickoff 98 yards for a TD. Another upset was in the making until Lamar Jackson was able to shake off the rust and lead a huge comeback for Baltimore.
After falling behind by two TDs, Jackson went to work in the air and on the ground to lead three consecutive TD drives to give the Ravens a 31-24 lead late in the 4th quarter. But the Vikings didn’t roll over after coughing up a big lead. Kirk Cousins and Dalvin Cook put together a drive of their own, capped off by a TD pass from Cousins to Adam Thielen that tied the game at 31-31.
The Ravens had a minute left in regulation, but couldn’t move the ball much so the game went to overtime. The Ravens won the toss and took the ball. Baltimore quickly drove into field goal range, but Jackson had a pass tipped by a lineman and it was intercepted. The Vikings now had the ball on their own 38-yard line needing only a FG to win. But at that point Minnesota offense had run out of gas. They only managed to gain one yard before they punted back to Baltimore.
The Ravens didn’t waste their second opportunity. Starting on their own 10-yard line, Baltimore mixed passes and rushes to drive all the way down to the Minnesota 18-yard line. With time almost run out, Justin Tucker jogged on the field to kick the game-winning FG and let Baltimore avoid the upset.
Not a great overall game for the Ravens, but a win is a win. Lamar Jackson (27/41, 266 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs) started slow and turned the ball over early. He was much better in the second half as he finally found his rhythm. Marquise Brown (9 receptions, 116 yards) was his top target.
Jackson (21 rushes, 120 yards) was also a monster on the turf. He wasn’t alone as Devonta Freeman (13 rushes, 79 yards) and Le’Veon Bell (11 rushes, 48 yards, 1 TD) were solid. How about that, a balanced offensive attack. Maybe that’s why they avoided the upset. The Ravens improved to 6-2, first place in the AFC North. They’ve got a quick turnaround as they head to Miami on Thursday in what should be another Thursday night stinker. Can’t wait I say facetiously.
The Vikings were in the mix for a win in every game they’ve played this season. Their biggest loss was by only seven points. Yet here they sit at 3-5. The Vikings know how to compete, they still haven’t figured out how to win. Which is concerning since this is a veteran team.
Kirk Cousins (17/28, 187 yards, 2 TDs, 1 rushing TD) was good, he didn’t turn the ball over. Dalvin Cook (17 rushes, 117 yards) was even better running the ball. The offense wasn’t the issue until it crapped out in overtime.
The defense ran out of gas earlier as Baltimore started finding the endzone late in the 3rd quarter. Aside from the tipped pass interception in overtime, the Ravens offense bullied Minnesota. Baltimore scored on 4 of their last 5 possessions. The Vikings are a distant second place in the NFC North and will head to L.A. to face the Chargers next week.
Around the League
Colts 45 Jets 30
One week after getting a rare major mid-week showdown we were given the usual rubbish on Thursday night. Yawn. The Colts buried the Jets and left them for dead. New York crawled out of their grave to throw up some garbage time scores to make the final tally somewhat closer looking, but they were destroyed by Indianapolis.
One week after his impressive debut, Jets quarterback Mike White (7/11, 95 yards, 1 TD) got off to a hot start then left the game after the 1st quarter with forearm tightness. The score was 7-7 when he left, then Indy left the Jets in the dust. Midway through the 3rd quarter the Colts led 42-10 and then they proceeded to stand around and watch the clock rundown.
The Colts offense did whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted to do it in air and on the ground. Carson Wentz (22/30, 272 yards, 3 TDs) redeemed himself after some shaky play against the Titans last week. He had plenty of ground support as the running back duo of Jonathan Taylor (19 rushes, 172 yards, 2 TDs) and Nyheim Hines (6 rushes, 74 yards, 1 TD) steamrolled the Jets front seven.
The Colts defense played well until they gave up in the second half. Indianapolis needed a big win after last week’s debacle and they got it to improve to 4-5, second place in the AFC South. They essentially get a bye next week with the Jaguars coming to town.
The Jets were riding some serious momentum after upsetting the Bengals, but when Mike White went down the team went with him. His backup Josh Johnson (27/41, 317 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT) put up big numbers, but they mostly came in garbage time. One week after stirring up some hype the Jets went back to being the Jets. Their record fell to 2-6, third place in the AFC East. They'll host a Buffalo Bills squad with something to prove next week. I imagine it will get ugly for New Jersey
Dolphins 17 Texans 9
Speaking of ugly, it was a battle for the #1 pick in next year’s draft as the Dolphins hosted the Texans. I guess you could say the Texans won by losing. For the best maybe since the Dolphins have already traded away their #1 pick next year. In the end it probably doesn’t matter anyway since Detroit seems to have a stranglehold on the top draft spot.
What transpired on the field of play may have set the league back 50 years. The two teams combined for 9 turnovers, 9 sacks and 10 punts. Don’t be embarrassed if you puked a little in your mouth after reading that, I did. Somehow the Dolphins won despite losing the turnover battle 5-4.
I’m not wasting much time here, it’s too depressing. The Dolphins improved to 2-7, last place in the AFC East. Yep still behind the Jets, that’s all you need to know. They’ll host the Ravens on Thursday night.
The Texans fell to 1-8, last place in the AFC South. Only the sad Detroit Lions are keeping them out of last place in the NFL period. They get a bye next week to give them more time to figure out why they are so bad at football.
I'll cover the Chiefs/Packers game in the next post, but I'm going to chime in here on the whole Aaron Rodgers saga. Why not, every other asshole in the media has and trust me I'm as a big an asshole as anybody.
In case you live under a rock, Rodgers tested positive for Covid last week. Big deal really since a lot of guys are testing positive each week. However the media has lost their fricking mind as it has come to light that Rodgers isn't vaccinated.
Oh my God, Rodgers lied to everyone! That's what is being reported. Hmm. Rodgers never claimed to be vaccinated. When asked during the preseason if he was vaccinated he responded by saying he was immunized. Now I don't have a fancy degree in journalism or english, but I do have basic common knowledge. Immunized is not the same as vaccinated.
Rodgers danced around the question and apparently most people were too stupid to read in between the lines. The NFL, the Packers and all of his teammates knew the truth. They are the only people who needed to know. Aaron Rodgers is being called out for being dishonest when he never lied. He gave an answer that went above their heads. And if you follow any media you know that isn't very hard. So if you are pissed off because Aaron Rodgers "lied" you should probably be more pissed at yourself for being dumb.
Rodgers is also being accused of violating protocols because he hasn't been wearing a mask during his post game interviews. Interviews where he sits in a room with nobody near him. You think he sits there because he enjoys talking to the media? He does it because the NFL makes him. The same NFL that knows he isn't vaccinated hasn't said a word about his press conferences. So if this makes you mad, be mad at the league for ignoring their own bullshit rules.
I could go on and on but it is the usual bullshit arguments between people who are for or against the vaccine. Rodgers has now become an unfortunate poster boy because he got covid, funny enough because he most likely caught it from a vaccinated teammate. Nobody mentions that.
My final take is this: your health is your business. Do what you think is right for yourself. The NFL players have the press hounding them constantly over personal health questions for a few sensational click bait headlines. Maybe the all the talking heads in the media should give us info on what fans really want. The games themselves. I don't need health advice from Terry Bradshaw and neither should you.
Geez this post ended on a downer. I don't like talking about nonsense but the holier than thou attitude exhibited by the media pisses me off. As you can guess I'm pissed a lot these days. Shitty performances by the Cowboys don't help. I'll try to find a happy place before I post Part II later this week.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave any comments below. Unlike most NFL media I can have a rational conversation. Doesn't mean I will, but I can. ;)