2017-18 NFL (Week 14)

Games I watched (some of):
Saints 17-20 Falcons
Good game. Thought there might be more scoring but you knew it would stay close. Sure enough, felt like the Saints were gonna get the game winner in their typical late-game fsahion but Brees threw a pick in the end zone instead (nice grab!). A Saints W probably would've finished off the Falcons, so in the interest of competition I'm glad to see the Falcons offense get another crack at relevance. Not too late for the Saints to fade but it feels like they've got the division won.

Vikings 24-31 Panthers
Fun game! The Panthers stuffed the Vikings like no one I've seen lately. The Panthers defense has been up and down (they were up today), while the Vikings D has been steadily good all year long. But today the Panthers ran well and used their short passing game to move the ball effectively. I was surprised. This is the best, the most complete, the Panthers have looked all year. Meanwhile, this is the most the Vikings have struggled all year--though they were still one long Cam Newton scamper away from stealing this game. Good game between two good teams, I suspect it won't play out this way if they meet again.

Eagles 43-35 Rams
Honestly the most impressive part of this game was that after the Eagles lost their golden child QB, Nick Foles came in and finished off the win. Not bad. They didn't fall apart, they didn't lose control, they gathered themselves, took a deep breath and got it done against one of the best teams in the league. The Eagles legitimately outplayed the Rams, too. I was impressed by Wentz but I stayed impressed with the Eagles after he went down. The Rams are still gonna win the NFC West and you gotta figure without Wentz the Eagles are beatable now.

Ravens 38-39 Steelers
I watched all the fun games this week, that's rare. All season long the Steelers have gotten by even though they've rarely looked like the better team and this game was no exception. They got it done down the stretch but, man, they made Joe Flacco look like a baller--how can that be a good thing? Neither defense got much going here, in the 4th quarter especially, it felt like both offenses were going to do whatever they wanted. The result isn't all that surprising, though the sheer amount of points comes as a shock. The Steelers have clinched the playoffs and snuck into 1st place in the AFC though they do not seem like the best team; the Ravens are still on track for the playoffs (because I think the Titans and Bills will fade down the stretch) 


Other results:
Colts 7-13 (OT) Bills
I was able to catch most of the OT of this game--man, I caught all the fun games this week! Playing in a foot of snow (no exaggeration, just for the record) was just cool to look at. There was no passing game available so this was just two teams bashing it into each other as hard as they could. Thought Buffalo was going to pull out the win, then the Colts tied it up with a minute to go. Felt like the Colts were gonna break one off in OT but instead the Bills had an improbable deep pass followed by Shady McCoy getting free and rumbling through the blizzard for the game winner. Somehow the Bills are still alive in the AFC, so they may want to preserve that foot of snow when the Dolphins show up this weekend. The Colts are...oh yeah...they're awful.

Bears 33-7 Bengals
This was a match of two teams going in the opposite direction. For as bad as the Bears have looked at times this year, they've got a good core going forward: Trubisky finally had a good game, looking like a legit starting QB and Tarik Cohen looked dangerous between the tackles again. Throw in that the D performed pretty well despite injuries and this team has a lot to look forward to (as soon as they get a new coach). The Bengals, on the other hand, were showing off the end of an era. I'm guessing Coach Lewis and QB Dalton will both be gone next year, wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of cuts across the defense and wouldn't even be shocked to see AJ Green in a draft day trade. The Bengals had moments this year when they didn't look completely inept but you knew the ineptitude would rear its ugly head again soon enough because it just a top-to-bottom tired organization. They need big changes, whereas the Bears only need minimal moves and then some time to marinate.

Packers 27-21 (OT) Browns
Thought the Browns had a decent chance to get their 1st W but then they slopped it up in the 4th quarter and let the Packers come back on them. The buzz is that Aaron Rodgers is ready to return so the Packers really needed this 2-game winning streak. I dunno: they've been so bad without him that I just don't see how even the great Aaron Rodgers can lift these guys up (and the Packers were my pre-season pick to win it all!). The Browns have moments where they try hard and look like a football team and then moments with they gack it away. Bad as they've been, I still think they can still score a W (ouch! Ravens, @Bears, @Steelers coming up....uh, maybe not).

Raiders 15-27 Chiefs
Division games, man. Either the perfect time to get back on track against a familiar opponent or the worst time to get snaked by a team that knows you too well. Coming into this game I thought the Raiders were the former and the Chiefs were the latter. Nope. The Chiefs were bleeding badly, like a big ol' fluffy bunny waiting to get gobbled up by the wily predator....the Raiders are just not wily. So instead of announcing themselves as back in it by vanquishing the Chiefs, it was the Raiders who got vanquished by the Chiefs, who are now back in it. If the Chiefs can keep it going with a W against the Chargers next week, they'll be in....really?....great shape heading into the playoffs. That said, I think the Bills and Titans fade from here so while the winner of the Chiefs-Chargers game is almost certainly in the playoffs, I think the loser probably is too. (Remember this time last year, the Raiders were looking so good, then we all got bummed because Carr broke his leg and they got smoked in the playoffs instead of giving the Pats a run? Man, did that ever really happen?)

Cowboys 30-10 Giants
Saw none of this game and I'm glad. The Cowboys are a mix of too little and too late. The Giants are just awful, where do they go from here?

Lions 24-21 Bucs
Saw none of this game and I'm glad. Ugh! Technically the Lions are still hanging around though they've never looked like a playoff team all season long. The Bucs are imploding badly these days. New coach for them soon? (Uh, new QB too?)

Niners 26-16 Texans
Both these teams are looking ahead to next year. They have both have their QBs of the future, like kids on Xmas eve, they're just counting the days til they can unwrap their present.

Jets 0-23 Broncos
Yeah, no idea what happened here.

Titans 7-12 Cards
The Titans have 8 wins, how did that happen? They're still ahead in the Wild Card chase, how is that possible? And where do the Cards go in the off-season? I have no idea what they will look like in August.

Redskins 13-30 Chargers
Thought the Redskins might give the Chargers trouble but then the game started and it was pretty much over instantly. The Chargers control their own destiny and are still playing good football.

Seahawks 24-30 Jags
This game was notable for the epic Seahawk-instigated brawl at the end of the game. Blake Bortles suggested its because the Jags just kicked their asses for 60 minutes and they got frustrated (I suspect he's right). The Seahawks are in a dogfight with the Panthers and Falcons (and Packers?) for the next 3 weeks, they need to pull it together. As for the Jags, they're looking like a legit playoff team really for the first time all year. And, yeah, I'm still really looking forward to the Jags-Chargers tilt that's looming.

Pats 20-27 Dolphins
Not surprised the Dolphins played the Pats close (they usually do), not even surprised the pulled out the W. But how on earth did the Pats give up 27 points to the Dolphins? I didn't see so I don't know. An annoying loss for the Pats but probably doesn't really matter. I think they'll beat the Steelers next week (and again in January wherever they play). As for the Dolphins, what's up with the offensive explosion in the last coupla weeks? Where has this been? And will it be back next year? (Magic 8 Ball says: "Outlook not good")