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https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/11/20/los-angeles-chargers-afc-west-nfl-week-11-peter-king-mmqb
NFL Week 11: Bolt of Reality Hits AFC West, While NFC East Race All But Over
By Peter King
HARRY HOW/GETTY IMAGES
I don’t know where to start, with six weeks and one game left in the 2017 regular season. I’ll opt for the headlines:
• Chargers, 4-6, best team in fraudulent AFC West.
• Eagles, MVP Wentz put stranglehold on NFC East
• If playoffs started today, Ravens (really?) would be in them
• Peterman throws like “Seinfeld” Peterman in NFL debut
• Bills, playing for defensive head coach, allow 101 points in 8 days
• Jerry Jones seems headed for defeat in Goodellstakes
• Someone stole the Chiefs, who are missing
• Browns 2-35 in last 25 months, but Wentz still can’t play for them
• Last four teams finish bye week; NFL schedules parade
• Brady still king of world
• Cool two-point conversion saves Saints’ streak
AFC WEST: BIZARROWORLD
Since Oct. 8, the AFC West’s power teams—Kansas City, Denver and Oakland—are 4-14.
Since Oct. 8, the AFC West’s weaklings, the Los Angeles Chargers, are 4-2.
“I’m glad the division is coming back to us,” Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said from California on Sunday night. “We dug ourselves a pretty big hole, and this team did not know how to win early on.”
Go figure. Two months ago the Chiefs dispatched New England and Philadelphia, Denver was 2-0, and the Raiders just mauled the Jets to go to 2-0. L.A. was 0-2. Sad sacks. But now the Chiefs have lost all pretensions of being the deep-strike offensive team that embarrassed the Patriots in Foxboro; the loss to the Giants on Sunday made them look like the John Mackovic Chiefs.
Denver is on a six-game losing streak, and GM John Elway called them “kind of soft” the other day—a clear indictment of rookie coach Vance Joseph. Oakland lost by 25 to New England on Sunday; no one would have been surprised if it was by 45.
But the Chargers put 54 on the Bills on Sunday, coming off a terrible loss at Jacksonville last week. “Last week we stunk it up,” Lynn said. “Worst lost of my NFL career. Championship teams don’t made decisions like we made last week. So we played this game today angry.”
With Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram playing like the best 1-2 pass-rush threat west of Jacksonville, and with Philip Rivers and Keenan Allen rediscovering their combined greatness, the Chargers are going to be trouble if Kansas City (6-4) keeps slumping and L.A. (4-6) can make up another game or two quickly, starting on Thanksgiving at similarly desperate Dallas.
After the 54-24 rout of the Bills, Lynn told his team it reminded him of a Bible verse—2 Timothy 1:7 … For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. “Our guys have heart, they play for each other, and they refuse to give in,” Lynn said. “I just thought of that verse, because I think it’s who we are.”
* * *
THE EAGLES HAVE CLINCHED* THE NFC EAST BEFORE THANKSGIVING
*Just about.
The 37-9 annihilation by Philadelphia (9-1) of Dallas (5-5) on Sunday night gave the Eagles a four-game lead (plus tiebreaker edge) over the Cowboys … and it all but assures that this will be the 13th straight year this weird division does not have a repeat champion.
The Eagles are just too good, and Dallas just too flawed. For the Cowboys to rebound, missing Ezekiel Elliott and Sean Lee (and probably Tyron Smith too) Thursday against the Chargers, with a season that ends with games against Seattle and Philly, seems just too impossible.
The MVP race now seems to be a northeast affair. Tom Brady and Carson Wentz are both plus-20 in touchdown-to-interception differential, both north of a 103 rating, and both with a good chance of piloting the top-seeded teams in their conferences.
Brady’s got a 9-percentage-point lead in accuracy and has thrown for 716 more yards than Wentz. Picking between them could be like picking between Venice and Paris for your honeymoon. And Brady (50 touchdown passes, four interceptions since opening day 2016) doesn’t look like he’s going to give an inch in this race.
The Eagles have never been in such a strong position to win a Super Bowl. And there’s one X factor that could make it even more attainable. Most teams are struggling physically by this point of the season. Philadelphia got back its number one cornerback, Ronald Darby, from injury Sunday night, and he had an interception of Dak Prescott.
Second-round cornerback Sidney Jones, recovering from an Achilles tear, could return in December. What a boost they should give, particularly against strong receiving corps (Vikings, Saints, Rams) that the Eagles could face in January.
* * *
WITH SIX WEEKS AND ONE GAME TO GO …
Playoff matchups if they were played now:
NFC wild-card games: Seattle at New Orleans, Carolina at Los Angeles Rams. Philadelphia and Minnesota would be the 1-2 seeds.
AFC wild-card games: Baltimore at Jacksonville, Tennessee at Kansas City. Pittsburgh and New England would be the 1-2 seeds.
Man, those early AFC games … yikes. Glad we’ve got six weeks to get some clarity there. Jacksonville is one of the most interesting teams the league has seen in years. Great pass rush, excellent linebackers, wonderful corners, suspect offense, injured superstar runner.
The Ravens are just 5-5, including a 37-point loss to the Jags. But Baltimore has shut out Cincinnati 20-0, Miami 40-0 and, on Sunday in Wisconsin, Green Bay 23-0. “To be able to come in here—you know we only play here once every eight years—and win a game at Lambeau Field … this is a pretty historic place,” said Joe Flacco after embarrassing the Packers.
The AFC’s biggest game down the stretch is New England at Pittsburgh on Dec. 17. That could decide home-field through the AFC playoffs.
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A WINDOW INTO THE AGING OF FOOTBALL PLAYERS
So this isn’t as much as a headline of the weekend as it is a realization: I’m not sure Tom Brady’s a total outlier. We’ve assumed Brady, playing so well at 40, is the singular exception to the rule that says football players can’t play so well from their mid-30s to the mid-40s. (And maybe they can’t; except for punters and kickers we don’t have much of a track record on players playing well beyond 38 to 40 years old.) But I think that may be because we’re at the dawn of a new age of players turning this into a lifestyle, the way Brady has.
I visited Dallas tight end Jason Witten, 35, a week ago Monday in Dallas, and spent seven hours with him on his day off, as he recovered and rehabbed while preparing to play his franchise-record 241st game for the Cowboys. I wanted to track Witten because he plays a physical position, he’s 35, he’s missed one game (as a rookie, in 2003), and two practices in 15 years of professional football … and because he’s totally changed how he prepares and how he uses technology to stay on top of his nagging physical issues.
Watch the extended version of the video I did for NBC to see what I mean about Witten’s dedication, and what he does on a Monday.
It’s not just Witten. Lots of people around the league think there’s a metamorphosis going on, and players will almost routinely be playing the most physically demanding positions well into their late 30s—assuming they’re comfortable taking the risks of head trauma they know are part of the gig.
“You’re hitting on something I’ve seen for a little while,” Saints coach Asshole Face said on Sunday. “It’s changed the last five, six years. It’s changing now. We just brought in a sleep specialist to talk to the team this year. We have a sleep tank for players, a cryo-chamber, masseuses on Friday.”
Witten says he’s learned from reading what Brady’s done, and learned from the Cowboys athletic trainers who have taught him about dry-needling, an acupuncture-like treatment designed to soothe pain in specific areas of the body; jet-stream-focused water-pressure treatment in fitness pools; and other tissue-enhancing aids like compression pants and deep-tissue massage and dynamic stretching and flexing the day after the body has been stressed or injured.
Witten says early in his career he believed the day after the game was for rest, purely, and maybe a massage. Now he realizes he’s got to move, and he’s got to attack his vulnerable areas. ”I feel a lot better this time of year, this year, than I did six or eight years ago at this point of the season,” said Witten.
“I’ve read a lot about Brady,” he told me. “It’s inspiring what he’s doing. I really think he’s changing the game. Tom and his team have created a formula for all of us.”
You’ll enjoy the video, particularly if you’re a person who exercises or who has wondered about some of these players defying convention when it comes to career length.
* * *
• As Cleveland continues to lose, and as rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer continues to struggle and lead the league in interceptions, Paul DePodesta, the Browns’ chief strategy officer, will be haunted by the decision to pass on Carson Wentz two drafts ago. DePodesta said the team didn’t think Wentz would be a top-20 quarterback in the NFL. Well, he might be a top five quarterback, right now. …
• The Chiefs are simply not a dangerous team going downfield anymore. Remember the bombs-away stuff Alex Smith did with rookie back Kareem Hunt and wideout Tyreek Hill in the opening-night rout of the Patriots? Gone. Perhaps the best deep chance the Chiefs had against the Giants on Sunday was an option-pass bomb by the tight end, Travis Kelce, that was intercepted.
Kelce said, “Teams are running the cover-2 on us, and until we can beat cover-2, we are going to struggle.” In other words, the Chiefs may have to hit some doubles before going back to trying for the home runs. Teams have moved the fences back. …
• The Rams got slapped in the face at Minnesota. Let’s see how they react in a continuation of a tough stretch after the Vikings: Saints at home, at Arizona, Philly at home, at Seattle, at Tennessee.
* * *
The Saints Are ‘Just Stacking Wins’
SEAN GARDNER/GETTY IMAGES
These Saints are dangerous. You just can’t put them away. When Washington scored on Kirk Cousins’ third touchdown pass of the game with six minutes to play, New Orleans trailed 31-16, and the team with the stingiest defense in the league over the last month looked doomed.
It was an uncharacteristic day for the New Orleans D, the most interesting new defensive unit in the league. The Saints had won seven in a row entering Sunday’s game against explosive Washington, and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen told him team: You’ve been playing a lot of games that weren’t very close. But this one, I guarantee you, will be different. Allen was right. In the previous four games, the Saints had won by nine, eight, 20 and 37, and allowed just 12.3 points per game.
But Kirk Cousins was making some superstar plays, including one that he’ll remember for the rest of his life. Third quarter, Washington ball at the Saints’ 40, the Saints show an all-out blitz.
“We didn’t just show it,” said New Orleans safety Vonn Bell, part of the young nucleus of the Saints’ back end. “We sent the house.’’
Rarely do you see a blitz like this one. Eight men came, four from the linebacker/secondary unit. Bell was one of the three Saints who popped Cousins hard just as he threw. Amazingly, Cousins had the guts and the accuracy with three men hitting him to find Ryan Grant for the touchdown.
With that score, and with Cousins playing a truly superb game, I asked Bell this: How were you still hanging in, down 15 late, knowing you guys hadn’t played that well?
“No panic, Bell said. “Coach said before the game it was going to be a fight for four quarters, and that’s exactly what it was. When we scored and tied it up, we weren’t really surprised.
The tie. That was a superb call in itself. The Saints scored two touchdowns in the final three minutes of regulation to climb within 31-29, and coach Asshole Face called a two-point conversion play that left Washington flat-footed. Drew Brees faked a handoff to the right, then pitched to Alvin Kamara running to the left pylon. He made it easily.
Now, to keep the sole lead in the NFC South over 7-3 Carolina, New Orleans would have to survive one last drive by Cousins, and overtime. With nine seconds left in regulation, Washington had the ball at the Saints’ 44. Cousins needed a mid-range completion to get into field-goal range.
“I missed so many plays—I just really had to make this play,” Bell said.
Missed so many plays? Bell had 13 tackles … and then this: Bell blitzed from Cousins’ blind side and slammed into him, causing the ball to flutter away.
“We needed a spark then,” said Bell. “We needed energy. I messed up a lot in this game—I know I did. But here, I hit a home run. We needed it.”
Overtime. Washington ball. Vernon Davis drop. Cameron Jordan sack. Samaje Perrine drop. New Orleans ball. Mark Ingram ran 51 yards in two plays against a bushed Washington defense, and Wil Lutz’s 28-yard field goal won it.
Eight in a row now. I wondered what the Saints’ locker room was like, and what this young team thought of itself after three straight 7-9 seasons. It’s mid-November, and the 8-2 Saints have already exceeded their win total of the previous three seasons. “It’s really not something we’re thinking about,” Bell said. “We’re just stacking wins. The only thing that matters is the next one.”
Music to a coach’s ears. Especially with a killer schedule coming up: at the 7-3 Rams, 7-3 Carolina at home, at the 5-4 Falcons. It’s remarkable to watch the development of the Saints after their 0-2 start.
* * *
The Award Section: Nathan Peterman Earns Goat Status for Five-Interception Performance
OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Antonio Brown, wide receiver, Pittsburgh. Three touchdown catches against the defense of Hall of Fame Steeler alum Dick LeBeau is impressive enough. But the third one was one of the prettiest catches of the year, a one-hander on the right side of the end zone, Brown securing the ball against his helmet as he fell to the ground. He continues to be 1 and 1-A with Julio Jones atop the NFL Receiver Greatness Board. For the game: 10 catches for 144 yards in the Steelers’ 40-17 rout of the Titans. This was the first offensive explosion against a good team that Pittsburgh’s had this year, and Brown was the keystone.
DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Casey Hayward, cornerback, L.A. Chargers. Per Pro Football Focus, Hayward allowed a 0.0 passer rating in the eight balls thrown his way, intercepting two, batting down two, and allowing one inconsequential completion in the incredibly weird 54-24 rout of Buffalo.
Anthony Harris, safety, Minnesota. With 4:11 left in the first half of a 7-7 game against the Rams, L.A. rookie wideout Cooper Kupp steamed toward the end zone and a Rams’ lead, but Harris, a third-year player from Virginia, forced a fumble at the 1-yard line that turned around a very big game. Harris added a team-high seven tackles in a statement win for the Vikes.
Landon Collins, strong safety, New York Giants. Collins in 2017 hasn’t had a lot of days like the 2016 Collins, the one who was a serious candidate for Defensive Player of the Year. But he was immense in the 12-9 stunner over the Chiefs. He had 14 tackles and an athletic interception of—I’m serious—Travis Kelce.
Matthew Judon, outside linebacker, Baltimore. The Ravens beat a toothless Green Bay team for the first Packers home shutout in 11 years, and Judon, out of that football factory Grand Valley (Mich.) State, led the way. By halftime, this is what he’d done: forced a fumble recovered by the Ravens, stoned Randall Cobb for zero yards, sacked Brett Hundley for minus-12 yards, sacked Hundley for minus-13 yards. The Ravens dominated the feeble Pack.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Stephen Gostkowski, kicker, New England. In a quarter-and-a-half of the high altitude of Mexico City, Gostkowski kicked field goals of 62 (a Patriot record), 51, 40 and 29 yards, missing none. One of the best days of an outstanding career.
Matt Prater, kicker, Detroit. On a day with 23-degree wind chill and 16-mph winds buffeting Soldier Field, Prater stepped up to try a 52-yard field goal in a tie game with 1:35 left. As with many of his pressure kicks in the past couple of years, Prater’s boot was perfect. Detroit 27, Chicago 24. Three wins in a row.
T.J. Watt, defensive end, Pittsburgh. Give an assist to special teams coordinator Danny Smith for a smart, overloaded-to-the-right field-goal rush early in the second quarter, with Watt cleanly blocking a 48-yard Ryan Succop field goal try that could have tied the game at 10. Sparked by this excellent field-goal block design, Pittsburgh outscored Tennessee 30-10 the rest of the way.
COACH OF THE WEEK
Ben McAdoo, coach, New York Giants. So the Giants were one big lost cause, 1-8 coming off an embarrassing no-show performance at the previously winless Niners last week. The owner had to release a statement saying he wouldn’t fire McAdoo during the season. The tabloids mocked McAdoo, and COO John Mara. McAdoo began meeting with his players individually, telling them the season was not lost.
McAdoo appealed to fans during the week to come to the game Sunday against the AFC West-leading Chiefs—vanquishers of New England and Philadelphia—and said he loved their chances against Kansas City. In the game, the defense played like the 2016 Giants. The 12-9 overtime win wasn’t really all that surprising. Maybe the man does still have a grip on the locker room after all.
GOAT OF THE WEEK
Nathan Peterman, quarterback, Buffalo. His ascension to the starting job was controversial to begin with, replacing the popular Tyrod Taylor. And the fifth-round rookie had the kind of nightmare game that will be hard to overcome. First 18 minutes as a pro football player: four interceptions. Buffalo never had a chance.
The Bills (5-5) lost their third in a row, and barring a miracle finish by the team, a generation of Bills fans seems destined to experience their 18th straight season cheering for a non-playoff team. One more thing: Peterman had more picks in 18 minutes than Taylor (three) had in eight games. Wait, another final thing: Peterman threw a fifth pick in the last minute of the half. What a disaster.
Connor Barth, kicker, Chicago. Down 27-24 with under a minute left, the Bears get a fourth-and-13 run for a first down from Mitchell Trubisky, then a pass from Trubisky to put Chicago in field-goal range. With eight seconds remaining, here comes Barth to try a 46-yard field goal to send the game to overtime. Snap perfect. Hold perfect. Kick 20 feet wide right. A miss is a miss, but this was a ridiculous miss.
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Things I Think I Think
1. I think the 297 straight starts at quarterback for Brett Favre will be a tougher record to break than Jerry Rice’s 1,549 career receptions. I note that after Eli Manning moved into second place Sunday with his 209th straight start at quarterback for the Giants.
If Manning were to pass Favre, he’d do it in Week 3 of 2023. Manning would be 42 years, 9 months old. Favre’s 297 games are the equivalent of 18 full seasons and nine games into the 19th.
Not to be disrespectful of Rice’s mark, and that, too, may never be passed. But I think it’s realistic to think a couple of great receivers will come along (or are here now) who one day could threaten Rice’s mark. If Antonio Brown (708 catches, age 29) stays healthy and continues his pace from the past five years—both big ifs—he’ll be around 1,500 catches at age 36. I’m not saying it’ll happen. I just think it’s more possible than a quarterback starting every game for 19 years.
2. I think these are my quick thoughts on Week 11:
a. It’s official: Chip Kelly gave up on LeSean McCoy about nine years too soon.
b. That Khalil Mack sack of Tom Brady in Mexico City was an amazing thing. Did you see it? Mack swatted aside Rob Gronkowski, then slipped by a power-block from right tackle Cameron Fleming and got one huge hand on Brady, dragging him down. Speed, quickness, power … all on the same play.
c. That two-point conversion call by Asshole Face, the fake handoff/pitch and then the toss to Alvin Kamara, was tremendous. Caught Washington flat-footed.
d. Anyone ever see a 100-yard interception return that wasn’t a touchdown before Dre Kirkpatrick did it Sunday in Denver? Bueller? Bueller?
e. Alex Smith is giving all the Mahomes-in-2018 fans a lot of ammo the last two weeks.
f. You sounded good to me, Greg Olsen.
g. Marvin Jones, with the best double move of the weekend. Totally messed with Bears corner Marcus Cooper’s head on what turned out to be an easy touchdown throw from Matthew Stafford.
h. Beautifully designed rub route by Washington on the 16-yard TD throw from Kirk Cousins to Chris Thompson.
i. Cam Heyward is the most underrated great player in football. Hard for any Steeler to be underrated, but he’s the best all-around defensive lineman they’ve had since Aaron Smith—and Smith was underrated too.
j. Jay Cutler was right at the end of last season about retiring.
k. Nice, accurate TD throw from Blaine Gabbert, his touchdown toss to Larry Fitzgerald in the first half at Houston.
l. Poor, inaccurate interception from Joe Flacco, underthrowing Danny Woodhead near the Green Bay goal line, a fairly easy pick for Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.
m. Matt Moore’s like the Energizer bunny.
n. Myles Garrett’s going to be a great player. We bash Cleveland’s front office for everything else. Let’s give ’em credit for bypassing other options and taking a player who looks like he can play in Von Miller’s league.
o. Still: Hue Jackson is 1-25 as Browns head coach.
p. Is it just me, or did Philadelphia center Jason Kelce, when he introduced himself on the NBC telecast Sunday night, look very much like Jesus?
3. I think Brett Hundley’s play is making moot Aaron Rodgers’ potential return in Week 15. Hundley has played five games since Aaron Rodgers got hurt, including the last 52 minutes of that game, at Minnesota. He’s 1-4. His performance Sunday against Baltimore, in a game the 5-5 Packers had to have to be strong playoff contenders down the stretch in a power conference, was poor. Hundley is just not an instinctive player.
He took a fourth-down sack to start the third quarter that was just not smart. I’ve said this before, but this could be a good learning experience for Mike McCarthy. His backup quarterback, on a team when a backup has been needed fairly often, is a very important player, and the backup should be getting some playing time in the fourth quarter of games that have been decided—and maybe in the first three quarters of some other games. Hundley just does not look ready to succeed against pressure.
4. I think I need to note that Larry Fitzgerald moved into fifth place on the all-time receiving yards list, passing Tony Gonzalez on Sunday. With 15,157 yards, Fitzgerald needs 778 yards to move up three more spots, to number two, behind only Jerry Rice in NFL history. He also signed a contract for the 2018 season last week. So there a good chance that, barring injury, Fitzgerald finishes his career behind only Rice.
And this came to mind recently: Fitzgerald is a lover of football history, and he respects those who came before him quite a bit. The competition for the all-century team at wide receiver will be fierce, but I think he’d be a strong competitor for one of the four spots, particularly if he finishes second all-time, with a good playoff résumé.
5. I think the announcement in Mexico on Sunday that the league will play a regular-season game there in each of the next four seasons, at least, means the league is likely to play a minimum of five of its 256 regular-season games outside the United States through 2020. That’s a lot of home games for teams to be giving up. Take those 20 games.
Three will be Jacksonville “home” games. (I always have thought the Jags are candidates to play more than one home game overseas, but we shall see about that.) Let’s assume the Raiders, Chargers and Rams are four or five of those games, because they have stadiums being built. So 12 or 13 teams—if you assume one per team—are going to have give up a home game each over the next four years. That’s going to be an internal battle across the league in the next couple of years.
6. I think I can’t believe Jim Harbaugh would leave Michigan right now. But with the Wolverines being as disappointing as they’ve been this year, I’d probably at least make the phone call Jan. 2 if I were the Giants.
7. I think—and no one will buy this as an impartial opinion because I work for NBC as well as The MMQB and Sports Illustrated—I loved the SkyCam in Titans-Steelers on Thursday night. Here’s why: I love to see what a quarterback sees when he takes the snap, and this was the perfect way to put yourself in the quarterback’s shoes. The running backs’ shoes too, as they took handoffs and looked for holes. When you needed to see a different look, you saw it on replay. If you didn’t like it, that’s fine. It’s just a football game. Why does every one have to be shown the same?
8. I think this is what it comes down to for Jameis Winston: He was drafted with two strikes, like it or not. Whatever happened with the Uber driver in Arizona last year(BuzzFeedreports that a female Uber drive claims Winston grabbed her crotch during a late-night ride; he denies it, passing it off on people he was with that night), Winston cannot afford to be implicated in anysexual misconduct incidents.
No matter what happens in this case, he’s rekindled the “aha!” sentiment among those who believe Winston was guilty of sexual assault while at Florida State. He deserves to be judged innocent until the driver’s claims are investigated. But this is a worrisome case for the Bucs. Winston cannot give any reason for this organization to doubt its decision to trust him to be a long-term quarterback and face-of-the-franchise player.
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https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/11/20/los-angeles-chargers-afc-west-nfl-week-11-peter-king-mmqb
NFL Week 11: Bolt of Reality Hits AFC West, While NFC East Race All But Over
By Peter King
HARRY HOW/GETTY IMAGES
I don’t know where to start, with six weeks and one game left in the 2017 regular season. I’ll opt for the headlines:
• Chargers, 4-6, best team in fraudulent AFC West.
• Eagles, MVP Wentz put stranglehold on NFC East
• If playoffs started today, Ravens (really?) would be in them
• Peterman throws like “Seinfeld” Peterman in NFL debut
• Bills, playing for defensive head coach, allow 101 points in 8 days
• Jerry Jones seems headed for defeat in Goodellstakes
• Someone stole the Chiefs, who are missing
• Browns 2-35 in last 25 months, but Wentz still can’t play for them
• Last four teams finish bye week; NFL schedules parade
• Brady still king of world
• Cool two-point conversion saves Saints’ streak
AFC WEST: BIZARROWORLD
Since Oct. 8, the AFC West’s power teams—Kansas City, Denver and Oakland—are 4-14.
Since Oct. 8, the AFC West’s weaklings, the Los Angeles Chargers, are 4-2.
“I’m glad the division is coming back to us,” Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said from California on Sunday night. “We dug ourselves a pretty big hole, and this team did not know how to win early on.”
Go figure. Two months ago the Chiefs dispatched New England and Philadelphia, Denver was 2-0, and the Raiders just mauled the Jets to go to 2-0. L.A. was 0-2. Sad sacks. But now the Chiefs have lost all pretensions of being the deep-strike offensive team that embarrassed the Patriots in Foxboro; the loss to the Giants on Sunday made them look like the John Mackovic Chiefs.
Denver is on a six-game losing streak, and GM John Elway called them “kind of soft” the other day—a clear indictment of rookie coach Vance Joseph. Oakland lost by 25 to New England on Sunday; no one would have been surprised if it was by 45.
But the Chargers put 54 on the Bills on Sunday, coming off a terrible loss at Jacksonville last week. “Last week we stunk it up,” Lynn said. “Worst lost of my NFL career. Championship teams don’t made decisions like we made last week. So we played this game today angry.”
With Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram playing like the best 1-2 pass-rush threat west of Jacksonville, and with Philip Rivers and Keenan Allen rediscovering their combined greatness, the Chargers are going to be trouble if Kansas City (6-4) keeps slumping and L.A. (4-6) can make up another game or two quickly, starting on Thanksgiving at similarly desperate Dallas.
After the 54-24 rout of the Bills, Lynn told his team it reminded him of a Bible verse—2 Timothy 1:7 … For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. “Our guys have heart, they play for each other, and they refuse to give in,” Lynn said. “I just thought of that verse, because I think it’s who we are.”
* * *
THE EAGLES HAVE CLINCHED* THE NFC EAST BEFORE THANKSGIVING
*Just about.
The 37-9 annihilation by Philadelphia (9-1) of Dallas (5-5) on Sunday night gave the Eagles a four-game lead (plus tiebreaker edge) over the Cowboys … and it all but assures that this will be the 13th straight year this weird division does not have a repeat champion.
The Eagles are just too good, and Dallas just too flawed. For the Cowboys to rebound, missing Ezekiel Elliott and Sean Lee (and probably Tyron Smith too) Thursday against the Chargers, with a season that ends with games against Seattle and Philly, seems just too impossible.
The MVP race now seems to be a northeast affair. Tom Brady and Carson Wentz are both plus-20 in touchdown-to-interception differential, both north of a 103 rating, and both with a good chance of piloting the top-seeded teams in their conferences.
Brady’s got a 9-percentage-point lead in accuracy and has thrown for 716 more yards than Wentz. Picking between them could be like picking between Venice and Paris for your honeymoon. And Brady (50 touchdown passes, four interceptions since opening day 2016) doesn’t look like he’s going to give an inch in this race.
The Eagles have never been in such a strong position to win a Super Bowl. And there’s one X factor that could make it even more attainable. Most teams are struggling physically by this point of the season. Philadelphia got back its number one cornerback, Ronald Darby, from injury Sunday night, and he had an interception of Dak Prescott.
Second-round cornerback Sidney Jones, recovering from an Achilles tear, could return in December. What a boost they should give, particularly against strong receiving corps (Vikings, Saints, Rams) that the Eagles could face in January.
* * *
WITH SIX WEEKS AND ONE GAME TO GO …
Playoff matchups if they were played now:
NFC wild-card games: Seattle at New Orleans, Carolina at Los Angeles Rams. Philadelphia and Minnesota would be the 1-2 seeds.
AFC wild-card games: Baltimore at Jacksonville, Tennessee at Kansas City. Pittsburgh and New England would be the 1-2 seeds.
Man, those early AFC games … yikes. Glad we’ve got six weeks to get some clarity there. Jacksonville is one of the most interesting teams the league has seen in years. Great pass rush, excellent linebackers, wonderful corners, suspect offense, injured superstar runner.
The Ravens are just 5-5, including a 37-point loss to the Jags. But Baltimore has shut out Cincinnati 20-0, Miami 40-0 and, on Sunday in Wisconsin, Green Bay 23-0. “To be able to come in here—you know we only play here once every eight years—and win a game at Lambeau Field … this is a pretty historic place,” said Joe Flacco after embarrassing the Packers.
The AFC’s biggest game down the stretch is New England at Pittsburgh on Dec. 17. That could decide home-field through the AFC playoffs.
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A WINDOW INTO THE AGING OF FOOTBALL PLAYERS
So this isn’t as much as a headline of the weekend as it is a realization: I’m not sure Tom Brady’s a total outlier. We’ve assumed Brady, playing so well at 40, is the singular exception to the rule that says football players can’t play so well from their mid-30s to the mid-40s. (And maybe they can’t; except for punters and kickers we don’t have much of a track record on players playing well beyond 38 to 40 years old.) But I think that may be because we’re at the dawn of a new age of players turning this into a lifestyle, the way Brady has.
I visited Dallas tight end Jason Witten, 35, a week ago Monday in Dallas, and spent seven hours with him on his day off, as he recovered and rehabbed while preparing to play his franchise-record 241st game for the Cowboys. I wanted to track Witten because he plays a physical position, he’s 35, he’s missed one game (as a rookie, in 2003), and two practices in 15 years of professional football … and because he’s totally changed how he prepares and how he uses technology to stay on top of his nagging physical issues.
Watch the extended version of the video I did for NBC to see what I mean about Witten’s dedication, and what he does on a Monday.
It’s not just Witten. Lots of people around the league think there’s a metamorphosis going on, and players will almost routinely be playing the most physically demanding positions well into their late 30s—assuming they’re comfortable taking the risks of head trauma they know are part of the gig.
“You’re hitting on something I’ve seen for a little while,” Saints coach Asshole Face said on Sunday. “It’s changed the last five, six years. It’s changing now. We just brought in a sleep specialist to talk to the team this year. We have a sleep tank for players, a cryo-chamber, masseuses on Friday.”
Witten says he’s learned from reading what Brady’s done, and learned from the Cowboys athletic trainers who have taught him about dry-needling, an acupuncture-like treatment designed to soothe pain in specific areas of the body; jet-stream-focused water-pressure treatment in fitness pools; and other tissue-enhancing aids like compression pants and deep-tissue massage and dynamic stretching and flexing the day after the body has been stressed or injured.
Witten says early in his career he believed the day after the game was for rest, purely, and maybe a massage. Now he realizes he’s got to move, and he’s got to attack his vulnerable areas. ”I feel a lot better this time of year, this year, than I did six or eight years ago at this point of the season,” said Witten.
“I’ve read a lot about Brady,” he told me. “It’s inspiring what he’s doing. I really think he’s changing the game. Tom and his team have created a formula for all of us.”
You’ll enjoy the video, particularly if you’re a person who exercises or who has wondered about some of these players defying convention when it comes to career length.
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• As Cleveland continues to lose, and as rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer continues to struggle and lead the league in interceptions, Paul DePodesta, the Browns’ chief strategy officer, will be haunted by the decision to pass on Carson Wentz two drafts ago. DePodesta said the team didn’t think Wentz would be a top-20 quarterback in the NFL. Well, he might be a top five quarterback, right now. …
• The Chiefs are simply not a dangerous team going downfield anymore. Remember the bombs-away stuff Alex Smith did with rookie back Kareem Hunt and wideout Tyreek Hill in the opening-night rout of the Patriots? Gone. Perhaps the best deep chance the Chiefs had against the Giants on Sunday was an option-pass bomb by the tight end, Travis Kelce, that was intercepted.
Kelce said, “Teams are running the cover-2 on us, and until we can beat cover-2, we are going to struggle.” In other words, the Chiefs may have to hit some doubles before going back to trying for the home runs. Teams have moved the fences back. …
• The Rams got slapped in the face at Minnesota. Let’s see how they react in a continuation of a tough stretch after the Vikings: Saints at home, at Arizona, Philly at home, at Seattle, at Tennessee.
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The Saints Are ‘Just Stacking Wins’
SEAN GARDNER/GETTY IMAGES
These Saints are dangerous. You just can’t put them away. When Washington scored on Kirk Cousins’ third touchdown pass of the game with six minutes to play, New Orleans trailed 31-16, and the team with the stingiest defense in the league over the last month looked doomed.
It was an uncharacteristic day for the New Orleans D, the most interesting new defensive unit in the league. The Saints had won seven in a row entering Sunday’s game against explosive Washington, and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen told him team: You’ve been playing a lot of games that weren’t very close. But this one, I guarantee you, will be different. Allen was right. In the previous four games, the Saints had won by nine, eight, 20 and 37, and allowed just 12.3 points per game.
But Kirk Cousins was making some superstar plays, including one that he’ll remember for the rest of his life. Third quarter, Washington ball at the Saints’ 40, the Saints show an all-out blitz.
“We didn’t just show it,” said New Orleans safety Vonn Bell, part of the young nucleus of the Saints’ back end. “We sent the house.’’
Rarely do you see a blitz like this one. Eight men came, four from the linebacker/secondary unit. Bell was one of the three Saints who popped Cousins hard just as he threw. Amazingly, Cousins had the guts and the accuracy with three men hitting him to find Ryan Grant for the touchdown.
With that score, and with Cousins playing a truly superb game, I asked Bell this: How were you still hanging in, down 15 late, knowing you guys hadn’t played that well?
“No panic, Bell said. “Coach said before the game it was going to be a fight for four quarters, and that’s exactly what it was. When we scored and tied it up, we weren’t really surprised.
The tie. That was a superb call in itself. The Saints scored two touchdowns in the final three minutes of regulation to climb within 31-29, and coach Asshole Face called a two-point conversion play that left Washington flat-footed. Drew Brees faked a handoff to the right, then pitched to Alvin Kamara running to the left pylon. He made it easily.
Now, to keep the sole lead in the NFC South over 7-3 Carolina, New Orleans would have to survive one last drive by Cousins, and overtime. With nine seconds left in regulation, Washington had the ball at the Saints’ 44. Cousins needed a mid-range completion to get into field-goal range.
“I missed so many plays—I just really had to make this play,” Bell said.
Missed so many plays? Bell had 13 tackles … and then this: Bell blitzed from Cousins’ blind side and slammed into him, causing the ball to flutter away.
“We needed a spark then,” said Bell. “We needed energy. I messed up a lot in this game—I know I did. But here, I hit a home run. We needed it.”
Overtime. Washington ball. Vernon Davis drop. Cameron Jordan sack. Samaje Perrine drop. New Orleans ball. Mark Ingram ran 51 yards in two plays against a bushed Washington defense, and Wil Lutz’s 28-yard field goal won it.
Eight in a row now. I wondered what the Saints’ locker room was like, and what this young team thought of itself after three straight 7-9 seasons. It’s mid-November, and the 8-2 Saints have already exceeded their win total of the previous three seasons. “It’s really not something we’re thinking about,” Bell said. “We’re just stacking wins. The only thing that matters is the next one.”
Music to a coach’s ears. Especially with a killer schedule coming up: at the 7-3 Rams, 7-3 Carolina at home, at the 5-4 Falcons. It’s remarkable to watch the development of the Saints after their 0-2 start.
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The Award Section: Nathan Peterman Earns Goat Status for Five-Interception Performance
OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Antonio Brown, wide receiver, Pittsburgh. Three touchdown catches against the defense of Hall of Fame Steeler alum Dick LeBeau is impressive enough. But the third one was one of the prettiest catches of the year, a one-hander on the right side of the end zone, Brown securing the ball against his helmet as he fell to the ground. He continues to be 1 and 1-A with Julio Jones atop the NFL Receiver Greatness Board. For the game: 10 catches for 144 yards in the Steelers’ 40-17 rout of the Titans. This was the first offensive explosion against a good team that Pittsburgh’s had this year, and Brown was the keystone.
DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Casey Hayward, cornerback, L.A. Chargers. Per Pro Football Focus, Hayward allowed a 0.0 passer rating in the eight balls thrown his way, intercepting two, batting down two, and allowing one inconsequential completion in the incredibly weird 54-24 rout of Buffalo.
Anthony Harris, safety, Minnesota. With 4:11 left in the first half of a 7-7 game against the Rams, L.A. rookie wideout Cooper Kupp steamed toward the end zone and a Rams’ lead, but Harris, a third-year player from Virginia, forced a fumble at the 1-yard line that turned around a very big game. Harris added a team-high seven tackles in a statement win for the Vikes.
Landon Collins, strong safety, New York Giants. Collins in 2017 hasn’t had a lot of days like the 2016 Collins, the one who was a serious candidate for Defensive Player of the Year. But he was immense in the 12-9 stunner over the Chiefs. He had 14 tackles and an athletic interception of—I’m serious—Travis Kelce.
Matthew Judon, outside linebacker, Baltimore. The Ravens beat a toothless Green Bay team for the first Packers home shutout in 11 years, and Judon, out of that football factory Grand Valley (Mich.) State, led the way. By halftime, this is what he’d done: forced a fumble recovered by the Ravens, stoned Randall Cobb for zero yards, sacked Brett Hundley for minus-12 yards, sacked Hundley for minus-13 yards. The Ravens dominated the feeble Pack.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Stephen Gostkowski, kicker, New England. In a quarter-and-a-half of the high altitude of Mexico City, Gostkowski kicked field goals of 62 (a Patriot record), 51, 40 and 29 yards, missing none. One of the best days of an outstanding career.
Matt Prater, kicker, Detroit. On a day with 23-degree wind chill and 16-mph winds buffeting Soldier Field, Prater stepped up to try a 52-yard field goal in a tie game with 1:35 left. As with many of his pressure kicks in the past couple of years, Prater’s boot was perfect. Detroit 27, Chicago 24. Three wins in a row.
T.J. Watt, defensive end, Pittsburgh. Give an assist to special teams coordinator Danny Smith for a smart, overloaded-to-the-right field-goal rush early in the second quarter, with Watt cleanly blocking a 48-yard Ryan Succop field goal try that could have tied the game at 10. Sparked by this excellent field-goal block design, Pittsburgh outscored Tennessee 30-10 the rest of the way.
COACH OF THE WEEK
Ben McAdoo, coach, New York Giants. So the Giants were one big lost cause, 1-8 coming off an embarrassing no-show performance at the previously winless Niners last week. The owner had to release a statement saying he wouldn’t fire McAdoo during the season. The tabloids mocked McAdoo, and COO John Mara. McAdoo began meeting with his players individually, telling them the season was not lost.
McAdoo appealed to fans during the week to come to the game Sunday against the AFC West-leading Chiefs—vanquishers of New England and Philadelphia—and said he loved their chances against Kansas City. In the game, the defense played like the 2016 Giants. The 12-9 overtime win wasn’t really all that surprising. Maybe the man does still have a grip on the locker room after all.
GOAT OF THE WEEK
Nathan Peterman, quarterback, Buffalo. His ascension to the starting job was controversial to begin with, replacing the popular Tyrod Taylor. And the fifth-round rookie had the kind of nightmare game that will be hard to overcome. First 18 minutes as a pro football player: four interceptions. Buffalo never had a chance.
The Bills (5-5) lost their third in a row, and barring a miracle finish by the team, a generation of Bills fans seems destined to experience their 18th straight season cheering for a non-playoff team. One more thing: Peterman had more picks in 18 minutes than Taylor (three) had in eight games. Wait, another final thing: Peterman threw a fifth pick in the last minute of the half. What a disaster.
Connor Barth, kicker, Chicago. Down 27-24 with under a minute left, the Bears get a fourth-and-13 run for a first down from Mitchell Trubisky, then a pass from Trubisky to put Chicago in field-goal range. With eight seconds remaining, here comes Barth to try a 46-yard field goal to send the game to overtime. Snap perfect. Hold perfect. Kick 20 feet wide right. A miss is a miss, but this was a ridiculous miss.
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Things I Think I Think
1. I think the 297 straight starts at quarterback for Brett Favre will be a tougher record to break than Jerry Rice’s 1,549 career receptions. I note that after Eli Manning moved into second place Sunday with his 209th straight start at quarterback for the Giants.
If Manning were to pass Favre, he’d do it in Week 3 of 2023. Manning would be 42 years, 9 months old. Favre’s 297 games are the equivalent of 18 full seasons and nine games into the 19th.
Not to be disrespectful of Rice’s mark, and that, too, may never be passed. But I think it’s realistic to think a couple of great receivers will come along (or are here now) who one day could threaten Rice’s mark. If Antonio Brown (708 catches, age 29) stays healthy and continues his pace from the past five years—both big ifs—he’ll be around 1,500 catches at age 36. I’m not saying it’ll happen. I just think it’s more possible than a quarterback starting every game for 19 years.
2. I think these are my quick thoughts on Week 11:
a. It’s official: Chip Kelly gave up on LeSean McCoy about nine years too soon.
b. That Khalil Mack sack of Tom Brady in Mexico City was an amazing thing. Did you see it? Mack swatted aside Rob Gronkowski, then slipped by a power-block from right tackle Cameron Fleming and got one huge hand on Brady, dragging him down. Speed, quickness, power … all on the same play.
c. That two-point conversion call by Asshole Face, the fake handoff/pitch and then the toss to Alvin Kamara, was tremendous. Caught Washington flat-footed.
d. Anyone ever see a 100-yard interception return that wasn’t a touchdown before Dre Kirkpatrick did it Sunday in Denver? Bueller? Bueller?
e. Alex Smith is giving all the Mahomes-in-2018 fans a lot of ammo the last two weeks.
f. You sounded good to me, Greg Olsen.
g. Marvin Jones, with the best double move of the weekend. Totally messed with Bears corner Marcus Cooper’s head on what turned out to be an easy touchdown throw from Matthew Stafford.
h. Beautifully designed rub route by Washington on the 16-yard TD throw from Kirk Cousins to Chris Thompson.
i. Cam Heyward is the most underrated great player in football. Hard for any Steeler to be underrated, but he’s the best all-around defensive lineman they’ve had since Aaron Smith—and Smith was underrated too.
j. Jay Cutler was right at the end of last season about retiring.
k. Nice, accurate TD throw from Blaine Gabbert, his touchdown toss to Larry Fitzgerald in the first half at Houston.
l. Poor, inaccurate interception from Joe Flacco, underthrowing Danny Woodhead near the Green Bay goal line, a fairly easy pick for Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.
m. Matt Moore’s like the Energizer bunny.
n. Myles Garrett’s going to be a great player. We bash Cleveland’s front office for everything else. Let’s give ’em credit for bypassing other options and taking a player who looks like he can play in Von Miller’s league.
o. Still: Hue Jackson is 1-25 as Browns head coach.
p. Is it just me, or did Philadelphia center Jason Kelce, when he introduced himself on the NBC telecast Sunday night, look very much like Jesus?
3. I think Brett Hundley’s play is making moot Aaron Rodgers’ potential return in Week 15. Hundley has played five games since Aaron Rodgers got hurt, including the last 52 minutes of that game, at Minnesota. He’s 1-4. His performance Sunday against Baltimore, in a game the 5-5 Packers had to have to be strong playoff contenders down the stretch in a power conference, was poor. Hundley is just not an instinctive player.
He took a fourth-down sack to start the third quarter that was just not smart. I’ve said this before, but this could be a good learning experience for Mike McCarthy. His backup quarterback, on a team when a backup has been needed fairly often, is a very important player, and the backup should be getting some playing time in the fourth quarter of games that have been decided—and maybe in the first three quarters of some other games. Hundley just does not look ready to succeed against pressure.
4. I think I need to note that Larry Fitzgerald moved into fifth place on the all-time receiving yards list, passing Tony Gonzalez on Sunday. With 15,157 yards, Fitzgerald needs 778 yards to move up three more spots, to number two, behind only Jerry Rice in NFL history. He also signed a contract for the 2018 season last week. So there a good chance that, barring injury, Fitzgerald finishes his career behind only Rice.
And this came to mind recently: Fitzgerald is a lover of football history, and he respects those who came before him quite a bit. The competition for the all-century team at wide receiver will be fierce, but I think he’d be a strong competitor for one of the four spots, particularly if he finishes second all-time, with a good playoff résumé.
5. I think the announcement in Mexico on Sunday that the league will play a regular-season game there in each of the next four seasons, at least, means the league is likely to play a minimum of five of its 256 regular-season games outside the United States through 2020. That’s a lot of home games for teams to be giving up. Take those 20 games.
Three will be Jacksonville “home” games. (I always have thought the Jags are candidates to play more than one home game overseas, but we shall see about that.) Let’s assume the Raiders, Chargers and Rams are four or five of those games, because they have stadiums being built. So 12 or 13 teams—if you assume one per team—are going to have give up a home game each over the next four years. That’s going to be an internal battle across the league in the next couple of years.
6. I think I can’t believe Jim Harbaugh would leave Michigan right now. But with the Wolverines being as disappointing as they’ve been this year, I’d probably at least make the phone call Jan. 2 if I were the Giants.
7. I think—and no one will buy this as an impartial opinion because I work for NBC as well as The MMQB and Sports Illustrated—I loved the SkyCam in Titans-Steelers on Thursday night. Here’s why: I love to see what a quarterback sees when he takes the snap, and this was the perfect way to put yourself in the quarterback’s shoes. The running backs’ shoes too, as they took handoffs and looked for holes. When you needed to see a different look, you saw it on replay. If you didn’t like it, that’s fine. It’s just a football game. Why does every one have to be shown the same?
8. I think this is what it comes down to for Jameis Winston: He was drafted with two strikes, like it or not. Whatever happened with the Uber driver in Arizona last year(BuzzFeedreports that a female Uber drive claims Winston grabbed her crotch during a late-night ride; he denies it, passing it off on people he was with that night), Winston cannot afford to be implicated in anysexual misconduct incidents.
No matter what happens in this case, he’s rekindled the “aha!” sentiment among those who believe Winston was guilty of sexual assault while at Florida State. He deserves to be judged innocent until the driver’s claims are investigated. But this is a worrisome case for the Bucs. Winston cannot give any reason for this organization to doubt its decision to trust him to be a long-term quarterback and face-of-the-franchise player.