Monday, December 3, 2018

NFL Week 13 Thoughts - Ying and Yang

 The Steelers had never lost a night game at home with Big Ben as the QB. They had never lost a game when leading by 16 points in their storied history.

The way the first half went I didn't think the Chargers had a chance. They got lucky on their first two TDs, the false start no call and a pass that should have been picked gets popped up in the air and ends up in Keenan Allen's hands. For the game Allen caught 14 for 148 yards and should have had more. Rivers missed him a couple times and Allen slipped on another.

I don't know if it would have been different with Gordon, but the 2nd game with him out and the Chargers had just 2 yards rushing in the first half and the protection for Rivers isn't as good.

Chargers were down 23-7 at the half, but when Desmond King returned a punt for a TD, suddenly the score was tied at 23. Chargers went against their M.O. by going for two twice. It's taking some NFL teams a long time to decide to go for two when the score calls for it and the Chargers were one of them. Glad to see that coach Lynn isn't afraid to go for it went he needs to.

Why didn't Justin Jackson play in the 1st half? I like the kid and I don't know what the Chargers are going to do with Gordon, Eckler, and Jackson on the roster next year. Jackson's stat line; 8 carries, 64 yards, and the go ahead 18 yard TD run, all in the 2nd half.

Badgley gets 3 shots at the wining FG when the Steelers were off side twice. They were off sides on the winning kick also, but since Badgley made it the Chargers declined the penalty.

Did anyone catch Russell Okung's intro? "Russell Okung, Wakanda Tech." He even said it with an accent.

Quick thoughts on the rest of the NFL...

Did I just miss it or did the Kareem Hunt story just suddenly get public attention? I didn't hear anything about it until it was announced that the Chiefs released him before the game Sunday.

Arizona upsets Green Bay 20-17 and Mike McCarthy gets fired after the game. I know that the Packers haven't played well the last two years, but since McCarthy was hired the Packers have the best wining percentage in the NFC. I'm betting McCarthy lands a job as soon as the season is over.

The Texans are the team flying under the radar. The Chiefs are the talk of the NFL. The Chargers are everyone's sleeper pick. The Patriots will always be in the conversation as long as Belichick and Brady are there. But the Texans are sitting at 9-3, leading the AFC south, and on a nine game winning streak. Even a team trailing them, the Colts, have gotten more press than the Texans. Looking at their schedule it's not out of the question that they finish 13-3. It's not hard to imagine a scenario where the Texans get the #1 seed.

On the other hand, the Bengals are fading fast after starting the season 4-1.

The Ravens are a lot better with Lamar Jackson at QB. Can't understand why John Harbaugh is even considering putting Joe Flacco back in as the starter.

How did the Colts, who were on a roll, get shut out by the struggling Jaguars?

Don't look now, but the 'Boys are back! The team everyone loves to hate or America's team depending on which side you're on. Regardless, they lead the NFC East and is the divisions best team right now. The Saints came into Week 13 scoring 37 pts/game. How did the Cowboys hold them to 10 points?!

What happened to the Panthers? A month ago they were contenders at 6-2...the last 4 weeks they got blown out by the Steelers, and lost to the Lions, Seahawks, and Bucs. Crazy that the closest game was vs. the Seahawks.

Wow, the injury list was long this week. It's so long I'm inserting this link - Week 14 injuries.

No comments:

Post a Comment