Games I watched (some of):
Panthers 13-16 Bears
Take out the punt return TD and the Panthers did absolutely nothing in this game. And they still almost won--which is a testament to how uninspiring the Bears are. I can't believe I watched as much of this game as I did. These teams are both hideous, though I think the Bears have a bit more moxy (and they have the Panthers 1st rd pick), while the Panthers just have nothing. Nothing at all (not even their own 1st rd pick!).
Texans 30-27 Bengals
This didn't surprise me. I'm all in QB Stroud, that kid is good, he's cool under pressure, throws a tight spiral, knows what he wants to do with the ball. The Bengals D did not fase him one iota; as for the Texans pass rush, it was in Joe Burrow's face all day, Burrow got hit a lot in this game. The Bengals have been on a nice streak but so have the Texans and I'm not convinced that the Bengals are back. I think I'm more convinced that the Texans can win their division and be a real handful in the playoffs, whereas the Bengals are still in a tough division and simply don't look as good as they have in the last few years. A lot of season left, both of these squads have ups and downs in them.
Browns 33-31 Ravens
Okay, I'm gonna say something weird about the Ravens: I've watched them a few times this year and I am convinced that they have gotten every opponent's worst game. I'm not saying the Ravens suck or that they're overrated or that they have no chance of winning in the post-season (I would, in fact, say all of those things about the Steelers, for example), but I am saying their wins are not as impressive as they look. I say all that to report that I'm not at all shocked that the Browns came back and stole this W, after giving it away early in the game. And, yes, Deshaun Watson has mostly been disappointing but in this game he made plays over and over and came up wincing, grabbing, reaching in pain and never came out of the game. Dude played tough today and made plays and got his team a W and the defense is legit. I think the Browns are better than the Ravens, who are flat out just not as good as they look. I think the Browns go on a run from here and I can see the Ravens scuffling but probably hanging on to a playoff spot.
Broncos 24-22 Bills
Jeez, Bills, what was that? If I told you that the Broncos would get a really great game out of Russell Wilson, a solid performance on D and get FOUR free turnovers, would you say that the Broncos would win the game? Yeah, I would to, but all of that added up to a FG attempt at the buzzer (which, actually, they missed). I get that the Bills are struggling, bad injuries on defense, but before we bury them, let's just remember how awful--brutally fucking awful!--they played and they still should've won. Indeed, they truly bent over backwards to give this game to Denver, who played really good throughout. So before we bury the Bills, let us recall how many unforced errors it took to lose this game and how horribly they played for virtually all 60 minutes and still should've won. I understand the concern about the Bills but I'm not out on them just yet, all they have to do is stop giving games away and they'll start winning again. As for the Broncos, man, they played great on both sides of the ball (not so much on special teams) and still got astoundingly lucky to win this, if you're betting on a Broncos Renaissance, I'd save my money.
The rest of the slate:
Colts 10-6 Pats
NFL games on foreign soil (in this case Germany), are bad for America, bad for the economy, might as well set mom's apple pie on fire. I'm a free market guy but there are limits, if you cross those boundaries you devalue your product--counterintuitive to the money collected from German fans, I grant, but I am convinced the game is worth less tomorrow because the pwoers that be are sucking the value out of it (for themselves) today. Good stewards of the game would never allow regular season NFL games to be played anywhere other than NFL stadiums. Oh, and the Pats suck.
Saints 19-27 Vikings
The Vikings are rolling nicely under the helm of QB Josh Dobbs, who keeps making crazy plays and getting W's. The Saints had to break glass and reach for the Jameis Winston and it almost worked (yeah, that's kinda the whole Jameis Winston era, right? It "almost worked"...). The Saints are still in a horrible division, so their season isn't over and bringing in Jameis may well revitalize their offense. As for the Vikings, well, the Packers can't seem to get it together and no one is catching the Lions, but they might could hang around the wild card and be kinda fun.
Packers 19-23 Steelers
Another week, another mystifying Steelers win. They suck on offense and on defense and on special teams but for some reason that never seems to matter to the Steelers. They just keep winning. And the Packers just aren't right, I don't know if it's Jordan Love, he's not bad but he's not great, which is maybe the worst possibly place for a QB to be.
Titans 6-20 Bucs
The Bucs have moments, man, and their division is terrible, so keep an eye on them. The Titans are just not very good, thought it was the QB but I think it's whole team.
Niners 34-3 Jags
Good win for the Niners, west teams going east usually suck, so this is kind of an amazing blow out, but they clearly have their mojo back. As for the Jags, well, they had been playing well but the AFC just isn't as strong as the NFC this season, is it?
Falcons 23-25 Cardinals
Kyler Murray resurrected and looking in fun form already, ran around and stole a W. And hey, Falcons: why didn't you trade for Josh Dobbs? Why do you continue to act like you can win without a QB?
Lions 41-38 Chargers
Wish I'd watched this one. Two old school slingers going at it, Lions got the W at the buzzer. Why was I forced to watch the Giants get served up like a human sacrifice?
Giants 17-49 Cowboys
I've thought it over but I think I'm convinced: the Giants suck. The Cowboys are pretty good and like all "pretty good" teams, they destroy the awful teams (and struggle against not-awful teams).
Commanders 26-29 Seahawks
Crazy fireworks in the 4th quarter....did me no good because I had the Seahawks at -6.5. Yup, my own fault really. The Seahawks are okay but not great, the Commanders are a team that just isn't good but isn't awful, either (worst place to be in sports).
Jets 12-16 Raiders
I saw none of this game and I have no regrets. The Raiders seem revitalized. Perhaps it is time for NYJ to quit winning games they don't deserve to win.
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