rozomaldini NFL Column, Week 18

Green Bay hold Ace in the Pack

NFL Week 18 Sunday Preview

By David McDonnell

I hope the Seattle Seahawks lose against the LA Rams later today because I want to see another do-or-die clash when the Green Bay Packers host the Detroit Lions.

How things stand in the NFC playoff position are as follows: Only one of Green Bay, Seattle and Detroit, in that order, can progress to the postseason and two of the hopefuls, the Packers and Lions, compete against one another at Lambeau Field at 1.30 am (GMT)  later tonight.

Should  the Seahawks beat their NFC West divisional rivals, the Rams, then only Green Bay can overtake them in the seedings with a victory. However, should the Seahawks fail to win then the winner of the Lions v Packers will be playing football next weekend. 

I hope you can follow that. 

NFC 

Lions v Packers 

The last time these sides met was on November 6th when the one-win Lions gave Aaron Rodgers one of his toughest days in the green and gold with a 15-9 victory. At the time no one expected that the Packers with a record of 3-6 and playing terribly would make the playoffs.

I certainly didn’t. That the Lions would be on the cusp of achieving the same feat was unthinkable at the time. I remember Dan Campbell at the after-match press conference saying he wanted to go home and drink a beer, after snapping a five game losing streak when some critics were calling for his head. 

But Dan Campbell is made of stern stuff and so is Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who has sharpened up to look as good as he has done for much of the last decade and a half.

So where has it gone right for both sides? Let’s start with the Packers. 

The emergence of rookie Christian Watson at wide receiver has been a huge factor and he has racked up nine touchdowns since that loss to Detroit in November. With huge speed after the catch, Watson has the potential to hit a home run on every play. Green Bay have leaned heavily on their run game with Arron Jones and AJ Dillon making telling contributions and the return from injury of David Bakhtiari at left tackle has also been a significant addition in recent weeks. 

However, in the last few games the Green Bay defence has woken up and is making the telling contribution.

It starts up front where they are starting to put pressure on opposing QBs and I have been banging on all season about the talent they have across their linebackers and defensive backs. All of a sudden the Packers D are playing as a unit and competing hard and in particular Jaire Alexander at corner-back and rookie linebacker Quay Walker have stepped up. 

If the Green Bay defence continues to do excel, they could be a potential Superbowl outsider from the NFC.

Tonight, the Detroit Lions’ scorching attack stands in their way.

There is a feeling of optimism around this Detroit team that I have never felt with the Lions before and many of their standout talents are still young in NFL terms.

The strength of this team is their offence. The Lions O-line has been the bedrock of this attack and they have had huge success running the ball. The are anchored at centre by former first-round pick Frank Ragnow and bookended by tackles Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell, who were also drafted as first round talents in recent years. They have allowed their running backs to make hay.

Their best RB is D’Andre Swift who has clocked up 845 all purpose yards and eight touchdowns, while his partner in crime Jamaal Williams has accrued 994 yards and 15 touchdowns.

This team can beat you from the pocket as well and Jared Goff has had a resurgent career year by putting the ball on the money for his receivers throughout the season. In his last five games, Goff has thrown 12 touchdowns with zero interceptions. His best weapon is Amon Ra St Brown, who has become an NFL superstar this season and they have just got the 12th overall pick in the 2022 draft, Jamison Williams, back from injury in recent weeks.

The Lions will be comfortable if the game turns into a shootout. It is when they have been at their best this season. 

On defence, their best players are their youngest players with rookies Aiden Hutchinson, Kerby Joseph and Malcolm Rodriguez adding to other young talents in Jeff Okudah at corner and Derrick Barnes at linebacker. They are not the finished package on defence by nay means and they will be coming up against a better Aaron Rodgers than the one who didn’t throw a touchdown pass in November. 

This game could go either way and to be honest I am expecting a shootout. It should be fun to watch and worth staying up for. I’ll call the Packers to win in front of a packed home audience, as I feel their defence has more playmakers that could make the difference in the fourth quarter.

AFC 

There is still one place to play for in the AFC after the Jaguars beat the Titans last night to win the AFC South. 

In the running are the Patriots, Dolphins, and Steelers, who play the Bills, Jets and Browns respectively. 

After a very difficult week in Buffalo, I can’t see any team beating the Bills this weekend in what should be a very emotional game after Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest on the field last Monday. I think it will have a galvanizing effect on the team and their supporters coupled with the fact that they are a much stronger team than the Pats at the moment. 

It should be well contested but New England lacks the firepower to cause too much damage to the Bills. I would be surprised if Bill Belichick can pull out a win given the circumstances and I don’t usually write off the old man.  

That leaves the Dolphins, with Skyler Thompson at quarterback, needing to beat the New York Jets. I wouldn’t be very confident that Miami will win but the Jets are very poor on offence right now. I am not in any way convinced by Mike White at quarterback. But with Joe Flacco starting, it will make things trickier but I expect the Dolphins to pull out a win because their need is greater. 

Should they lose, it leaves the door open for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who should be able to account for the Browns. The Steelers have been getting healthier and more experienced by the week and they are in a much stronger place than they have been all season with their D-line balling out and rookie QB Kenny Pickett looking more comfortable by the week under centre. 

Of the three hopefuls, I’d like to see the Steelers in the postseason. 

rozomaldini NFL Power Rankings

Week 18 Power Rankings

By Conor Perrett 

This past week’s set of games have shaped up for many anticipated fixtures for the last week of the NFL season that is sure to leave us with final day dramatics. With two spots in the playoffs still up for grabs and a No. 1 pick in the draft to sort out, It’s set up to be a cracking finish.  

  1. Kansas City Chiefs (13-3)

Last Week – 1st

With the current state of the NFL, it’s all about offence and the Chiefs are the best in the league in that department. Patrick Mahomes just became the third player in NFL history to throw for 5k passing yards in multiple seasons, and looks set to win his second MVP trophy. It’s tough to bet against Mahomes and Andy Reid but the defence will need to be better if they want another Super Bowl.

Kansas’ defence is currently 23rd in defensive DVOA and great teams in the playoffs will take advantage of that. It’s also not a great sign that the underwhelming Russell Wilson has had his best two games of the season against the Chiefs’ defence.

Up next: at. Raiders, Saturday 9:30 p.m. GMT

  1. Buffalo Bills (12-3)

Last Week – 2nd

Buffalo had a juggernaut of a game planned against the Bengals this Monday night, but it was tragically stopped after safety Damar Hamlin collapsed with 5:32 minutes left in the first quarter.

With Hamlin’s health still unknown, out of respect we won’t talk about Bill’s football and send our prayers to him.  

Up next: vs. Patriots, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

  1. San Francisco 49ers (12-4)

Last Week – 3rd

It wasn’t a perfect performance for the Niners this week, but they got the job done in the end. Before their game against the Raiders, San Fran would have been jumping at the chance of Jarrett Stidham as the new starting QB, but he showed flaws in their defence. 

Brock Purdy struggled to push the ball downfield at times, but he is yet to blow up or look flustered. With the weapons of Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk, they look deadly as ever and are still in the hunt for the No. 1 seed in the NFC. All that’s needed is an Eagles’ loss to the Giants and a win for the 49ers in Arizona to secure a first-round bye.

Up next: vs. Cardinals, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

  1. Cincinnati Bengals (11-4)

Last Week – 4th

Similar to the Bills, out of respect for Damar Hamlin, his wellness is more important than what happened in the first quarter of this game.

Up next: vs. Ravens, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

  1. Dallas Cowboys (12-4)

Last Week – 6th

The Cowboys find themselves in an interesting position heading into Week 18, with their playoff seed still up in the air. Currently they sit fifth and have done so for the better half of the season. If Philadelphia were to have a late season collapse and results go their way, Dallas could see themselves at either of the top two positions in the NFC.

All that you could ask of this team late in the season is to cut down on the turnovers. Dak Prescott has had some questionable turnovers as of late, but their strong defence has them first in turnover margin in the NFL and by some distance.

Up next: at. Commanders, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

  1. Philadelphia Eagles (13-3)

Last Week – 5th

Philly were the best team in the NFL with Jalen Hurts on the field. But Hurts hasn’t played for the past two weeks, and the Eagles have dropped both games. While their Gardiner Minshew offence looked good against Dallas a week ago, it came up short against the Saints. Philadelphia’s only score came by way of a heroic effort by A.J. Brown, as they cannot afford to wait any longer for Hurts if they want to progress far in the postseason.

Up next: vs. Giants, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

  1. Los Angeles Chargers (10-6)

Last Week – 9th

It feels a bit weird having this Chargers team this high after things looked bleak just a month ago, but they’ve carried themselves up here. Suspect contenders falling also helps, but LA have been one of the better teams in the league over the past three weeks. Their defence ranks first in defensive DVOA over that time and Justin Herbert has started to get some weapons back on offence.

Now , the Chargers look set for the No. 5 seed, setting up a game against the winner of Jaguars vs Titans on Wild-Card weekend.

Up next: at. Broncos, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

  1. Jacksonville Jaguars (8-8)

Last Week – 10th

Similar to the Chargers, Jacksonville has been shot out of a cannon the past four weeks to climb this high. The emergence of Trevor Lawrence has been what’s got them to this point, but will their 27th DVOA ranked defence be strong enough to get them any further?

With a Saturday night clash against the Titans setting up a winner-takes-it-all matchup, the Jags will be favourites and if they can get past that, Jacksonville will be hosting a playoff game at a minimum.

Up next: vs. Titans, Sunday 1:15 a.m. GMT

  1. Detroit Lions (8-8)

Last Week – 12th

After getting absolutely dominated by the Panthers just a week ago, Detroit returned the favour to the Bears in a beatdown on Sunday. I mentioned last week that this young team can’t let all the work they have done over the past two months get undone because of one bad game, and they took that to heart.

Granted it was against the Bears, but apart from one big run, this defence contained the ‘new’ Justin Fields better than anyone else this season. Sacking him seven times on the day, Fields had just 30 net passing yards on the day, with five of Chicago’s six second half possessions being three-and-outs. When you then put that with an offence that is 5th in points per game, they are very dangerous. 

Detroit could also have an early playoff game this week when they take the trip to Lambeau field on Sunday Night. If the Rams can return the favour for Matthew Stafford and their Super Bowl by beating the Seahawks, it would mean the winner of Lions vs Packers would take the last wild card spot in the NFC.

Up next: at. Packers, Monday 1:20 a.m. GMT

  1. Green Bay Packers (8-8)

Last Week – 13th

Five weeks ago when Green Bay had a record of 4-8, it looked to be an unfamiliar lost season. But a second half of a season resurgence, that has seen them takedown playoff contenders Miami and Minnesota over the past two weeks, has got them back to what they know best. 

Entering the last week of the season, the Packers know their destiny. Win against Detroit and they are in the playoffs, while losing would mean they’re going to be watching it from the comfort of their home.

Up next: vs. Lions, Monday 1 :20 a.m. GMT

  1. Baltimore Ravens (10-5)

Last Week – 8th

Baltimore was one of the suspect contenders I mentioned earlier in the rankings. It feels wrong for them to be this low with the turnaround they have had on defence, but without Lamar Jackson at quarterback, it’s bad.

First half of the season the offence was carrying the defence, but during the second half, it’s been the other way round. Here’s to hoping they get a healthy Jackson back and can compete as one just in time for the playoffs.

Up next: at. Bengals, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

  1. Minnesota Vikings (12-4)

Last Week – 7th

With a 12-4 record and the NFC North wrapped up many weeks ago, the Vikings are probably the most wanted team to face in the playoffs. Their 20th ranked, -19 point differential on the season tells the story. Let me explain; despite winning eight more games than they have lost. When adding up having many points Minnesota have won or lost by, it tallies to -19 points.

They’ve feasted on one-score games, using some sort of dark magic to come out on top every time. But when faced with a true challenge, apart from their miraculous win in Buffalo, they have been stepped on like a piece of gum on the streets of London. When you look at their three losses to fellow NFC teams they could meet in the postseason. The Eagles, Cowboys and Packers have beaten the Vikings by a combined 78 whooping points.

Up next: at. Bears, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

  1. New York Giants (9-6-1)

Last Week – 14th

The Giants punched themselves a ticket to the playoffs this week, when they took down the Colts 38-10 in dominant fashion. Completing this goal in the first year of their rebuild is a great accomplishment for Brain Daboll and his staff. They are turning this ship around quicker than anyone would have thought. 

Reports are also starting to come out with New York looking to extend both Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley. Extending Jones may be a risk with this being the first season where we’ve seen adequate play from him, but Daboll seems to have a skill in turning risky QB’s into greatness.

Up next: at. Eagles, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

  1. New England Patriots (8-8)

Last Week – 17th

The Patriot’s offence may be concerning, but if their defence continues to not only stop teams but score for them as well.  It’s been an up and down season for New England in that sense, but it can end on a high if they beat Buffalo this Sunday. A win against the Bills would guarantee the Patriots the 7th seed in the AFC and book themselves into the playoffs. However, will the NFL let this game go ahead after the trauma faced by the Bills players on Monday night?

Up next: at. Bills, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

  1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-8)

Last Week – 18th

Once again, it looked like Tom Brady and the Buccaneers’ offence was going to keep shooting themselves in the foot early on. However, they found a mismatch with Mike Evans late on and it resulted in them winning the NFC South division. 

If we’re being honest this team doesn’t belong in the playoffs discussion, but with how the NFC works they are. Now, Tom Brady gets to host a playoff game and no matter how bad his team is, it’s hard to bet against the GOAT.

Up next: at. Falcons, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

  1. Miami Dolphins (8-8)

Last Week – 11th

When we talk about a rollercoaster of a season, this Miami team should be the definition of that. After winning their first three games, the Dolphins followed that up with three losses. Things got back on track when they won five games straight, but now they are currently on a five game losing streak. On that run they have flown up and down our rankings and now find themselves slap bang middle. 

A playoff appearance is still viable, but they will need to beat a Jets team without their starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

Up next: vs. Jets, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

  1. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-8)

Last Week – 19th

If you’ve been reading these rankings weekly, you would have known we have been following the Steelers streak of .500 season for the past few weeks. That streak is still alive after a late win against the Ravens on Sunday. Now, if Pittsburgh wins next week and the Dolphins and Patriots lose, not only will they have a winning record, they’ll also make the playoffs after a 2-6 start.

Up next: vs. Browns, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

  1. Seattle Seahawks (8-8)

Last Week – 22nd

Seattle’s win against the Jets this Sunday was huge and keeps their hopes of the play-offs alive. Their rushing attack averaged 5.2 yards per carry against a strong Jets defence, after many weeks of that department being underwhelming.

Despite currently sitting in the No. 7 seed, the Seahawks will need a few results to go their way to progress. A win against the Rams will be a good starter and then a Packers loss will cement their placing.

Up next: vs. Rams, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

  1. Carolina Panthers (6-10)

Last Week – 20th

Carolina had a chance to extend their hopes for the division title to next week, but slipped up against the Buccaneers. The loss eliminated them from playoff contention, but don’t let that take away the credit interim head coach Steve Wilks deserves. The job he has done over the last 11 weeks could earn him the permanent head coach job, after turning around Carolina’s 1-4 start. However, it has emerged they are one of the teams along with the Broncos who have talked with Jim Harbaugh about the position of head coach. 

Up next: at. Saints, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

  1. New Orleans Saints (7-9)

Last Week – 23rd

The Saints got their most impressive win of the season when they took down the Eagles. Cowboys and 49ers fans will probably be more happy about the result, but New Orleans have started to look better after a rough start. With people in the NFL media starting to think a Sean Payton return could happen, it might mark the only good news the Saints will have this season.

Up next: vs. Panthers, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

  1. New York Jets (7-9)

Last Week – 15th

The Jets were one of the more exciting teams in the NFL early in the season, however, their inability to find consistent production at QB position has been their downfall. It led them to miss the playoffs for a 12th consecutive year. 

A healthy Jets team in 2023 with competent QB play could be dangerous, but GM Joe Douglas must be smart about this decision or he could fall into the same trap Chris Ballard did in Indianapolis.

Up next: at. Jets, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

  1. Tennessee Titans (7-9)

Last Week – 21st

Tennessee still has a shot to win the AFC South division after a horrible last month of football. They will be beaten up going into the game, but a win against the Jaguars will be enough to host a playoff game. Their identity has almost solely been Derrick Henry and the NFL is built on the passing game. The Titans don’t have the quality at the wide-receiver position to be like that and unfortunately they will need a retune in the off-season to fix that.

Up next: at. Jaguars, Sunday 1:15 a.m. GMT

  1. Cleveland Browns (7-9)

Last Week – 24th

Deshaun Watson only threw the ball 18 times on Sunday, but in that time, he threw three touchdowns and finally started showing why the Browns decided to hand him a lucrative guaranteed deal. 

The Browns’ defence in the recent weeks has also seen improvement. Their defence has jumped from 21st to 13th in defensive DVOA over that span, with it feeling better late than never.

Up next: at. Steelers, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

  1. Washington Commanders (7-8-1)

Last Week – 16th

It may feel rational but the decision to start Carson Wentz this past Sunday could be a fire-able offence for head coach Ron Rivera. Just three weeks ago Washington were in pole position for one of the last two wild-card spots in the NFC and now they’ve been eliminated – Rivera didn’t even know the Commanders could have been eliminated until it was brought up during his post-game press conference.

Rivera made the decision to return Wentz to the lineup, and in a must win game he threw three interceptions to zero touchdowns. The consequences were missing out on the playoffs and just a few days later Washington dropped Wentz for the last game of the season.

Up next: vs. Cowboys, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

  1. Las Vegas Raiders (6-10)

Last Week – 25th

The Las Vegas Raiders weren’t supposed to have a chance against the 49ers but they at least put up a fight. With a new look Vegas side that had Jarrett Stidham taking Derek Carr’s place at quarterback, the offence scored 34 points against a Niners defence that felt impenetrable.

But still Josh McDaniel’s side blew a 10 point lead and found a way to lose games they stand a chance of winning. Fans will look at this game as a moral victory, but with pre-season expectations of playoffs at a minimum, the Raiders season has been nothing short of a failure.

Up next: vs. Chiefs, Saturday 9:30 p.m. GMT

  1. Atlanta Falcons (6-10)

Last Week – 27th

Atlanta ended a five-game losing streak this week with a 20-19 win against the Cardinals. The Falcons are in an interesting spot with Desmond Ridder. Ridder hasn’t been disastrous, but he also shouldn’t be the reason Atlanta pulls their hat out of the QB ring for the upcoming draft. 

Going into their third season under this regime, they will need to start competing more next season. With a Tampa team that is undecided at the QB position and the Saints about to experience cap hell, the division will be wide open for them.

Up next: vs. Buccaneers, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

  1. Los Angeles Rams (5-11)

Last Week – 26th

After their dominating win against the Broncos on Christmas, they came back down to reality this past Sunday. They suffered a 31-10 defeat where the Chargers ran over them. On the offensive side the Rams continued to try to run the rock and actually had some success. Akers topped the 100-yard mark on 19 carries at a 6.5 yard per carry pace. 

But the Rams season was lost many weeks ago and the big decisions that will need to be taken now, is what happens with the future of their superstar players and coach after an injury riddled season.

Up next: at. Seahawks , Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

  1. Denver Broncos (4-12)

Last Week – 30th

Denver have had an underwhelming season by all means this year, but their two most impressive games have come against our No. 1 ranked team in this rankings. In those two games Russell Wilson turned back the clocks and used his legs as a weapon more. It seems that is the way to get the best out of Wilson and something the next head coach of the Denver Broncos will need to consider.

Up next: vs. Chargers, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

  1. Arizona Cardinals (4-12)

Last Week – 28th

If there was a sim button for the Cardinals to skip the end of this season, they would be pressing it over and over again until it blew up. It feels the front office and head coach could be gone by this time next week with them needing to construct their roster again. Arizona does have what they think to be a franchise QB, but he will be needing another offensive-minded head coach to try and get the best out of him. What makes it harder is Kyler Murray looks set to miss the majority of his next season with his ACL injury.

Up next: at. 49ers , Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

  1. Chicago Bears (3-13)

Last Week – 29th

This Bears team right now may be the worst team on paper in the league. They can easily make an argument to have the worst offensive-line, wide-receivers and defence in the league. They do happen to have a game changing weapon in Justin Fields, but without any help it will be pointless having him. Chicago will hold a top-two pick in the draft but there doesn’t seem to be any offensive weapons viable for that pick. That may not be the end of the world though, as they can trade the pick for a king’s ransom.

Up next: vs. Vikings , Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

  1. Houston Texans (2-13-1)

Last Week – 31st

While the team is likely still some way away from contending, drafting a quarterback with the top pick in the draft should inject some life into a currently lifeless franchise. Head coach Lovie Smith has done some nice things with this team, but with an unpredictable front office, there’s a realistic chance this team could be looking for their fourth head coach in four years.

Up next: at. Colts , Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

  1. Indianapolis Colts (4-11-1)

Last Week – 32nd

No team’s futures look as dull if owner Jim Irsay is being serious when he gave a vote of confidence for head coach and general manager, Jeff Saturday and Chris Ballard. It is worth taking what owners say with a pinch of salt, but it seems he genuinely believes it. The Colts should have a top-6 pick in the upcoming draft and they must hit on that pick if they want to turn things around.

Up next: vs. Texans, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

rozomaldini NFL Column, Week 15

Walk-Off Wins Galore 

Week 15 Monday Review Column 

By David McDonnell

Yesterday we put another incredibly exciting weekend in the books with three walk-off wins, two of them in overtime.

Most of the rest of the games were just very close for the most part so let’s get to it and review the best of yesterday’s action. 

Walk-off wins 

The best place to start is in Las Vegas which finished in the most unpatriotic way for the Patriots. 

For anyone who was on the wrong end of the Pats playing mistake free football and grinding out wins for almost a quarter of a century, yesterday they got some payback and then some more, with what can only be described as a wonderfully unexpected epic finale. 

It was the Master versus the Apprentice as Belichick came up against his long-time offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels in what turned out to be a very entertaining contest.

The Raiders were healthier than they have been on offence all season with both Hunter Renfrow and Darren Waller in the starting line-up and it was the latter that got things going when he ghosted past the defence to catch a touchdown pass. 

In the third quarter, safety Kyle Duggar showed his offence how to score touchdowns when the veteran read Derek Carr like a book for a pick-six.

Rhamondre Stevenson had been the standout player on the Pats offence with 172 rushing and with less than four minutes left in the game, the running-back cut through the Raiders defence for a touchdown. 

It put the ball back in Derek Carr’s court and the QB didn’t disappoint and retook the lead when he found Keelan Cole in single coverage with a great throw over the top to tie the game with 32 seconds left.

It was a controversial call as one of Cole’s feet looked to have gone out of bounds, which wouldn’t have made the Pats head coach very happy. 

Worse was to come for Belichick.

Just as we prepared ourselves for the third overtime of the night, we got one of the most memorable plays of his reign in New England when Jacoby Myers made a game deciding brain fart after the clock had already reached zero. 

What a crazy NFL moment, one for the ages!!!!

Let’s take a look from another angle.

It must have been a very satisfying score for Chandler Jones, who was traded away from the Pats a number of years ago.

In fairness to Belichick, he didn’t throw Jacobi Myers under the bus in the press conference afterwards.

Cowboys v Jaguars

In the second quarter the Dallas Cowboys must have thought they were well on their way to securing their playoff position when they took a 14-0 lead but it didn’t turn out that way as this game went to overtime before it was decided. 

Trevor Laurence has just turned the corner in recent weeks and the many doubts about him delivering on his unquestionable potential are fading by the week. Ever since he got that late win against the Ravens a few weeks ago, he has been excellent and this week it was all about keeping up with the Jones. 

Laurence found his favourite target Zay Jones for three touchdown passes, the best of which was this Trev throw on the run for a 59-yard score. 

It reduced the Cowboys lead to 10 points and it was game on!!!

Dak Prescott has been inconsistent of late and threw an interception and the Cowboys were duly punished when Laurence found Marvin Jones on third down late in the third quarter to leave just three points separating the sides. 

Dak then led a drive to retake the lead when he found the very impressive Noah Brown with the minutes remaining. At the very end of regulation, Riley Patterson kicked over from 48 yards to send the game to overtime. 

The game was decided when a ball thrown by Dak was deflected and Rayshawn Jenkins capped a red letter day, where he had 18 tackles and two interceptions, with this walk-off 52-yard pick-six.

With it the Jags playoff chances are greatly renewed and they are now only one game behind the Tennessee Titans, who have lost their winning mojo. 

The best moment of the Titans v Chargers game was this heads up play by corner-back Roger McCreary, who jumped out of play and passed the ball midair to Joshua Kalu for an amazing interception. 

Justin Herbert has been balling of late and he found Mike Williams late in the game to set up a field goal, which Cameron Dicker dispatched for the win.

The result puts the Chargers in the sixth position in the AFC on 8-4, just ahead of the Miami Dolphins after beating them in their head-to-head matchup a week ago. 

The third walk off win of the night came as the Texans surprisingly brought the Kansas City Chiefs to overtime. 

With the score tied 24-24, the Texans stopped the Chiefs first drive in overtime and had the chance to drive for a game0winning field goal. However, Frank Clark punched the ball clear from Davis Mills for a fumble and on the next play Jerrick McKinnon ran in from 26 yards for the walk-off win. 

The Texans have won only one game all season but they are competing hard every week and general manager Nick Caserio has knocked their draft class out of the park and given this franchise a solid base to build on going forward. 

Lovie Smith seems to be enjoying his seat at the top table and this Texans team is heading in the right direction. 

Jets v Lions

A game that had huge playoff significance saw the Lions win the sixth game in their last seven outings, this time against the New York Jets. 

The first score of the contest was a 47-yard punt return from Kalif Raymond. 

Zach Wilson was under centre for the New York franchise and he had a good day throwing for 317 yards and two touchdowns. He routinely found Garrett Wilson and threw an excellent pass to  CJ Uzomah in the second quarter. 

Wilson did throw a costly interception in the third but he found Uzomah for a second TD that saw the Jets into a late fourth quarter lead. 

The Lions responded when Dan Campbell went for it on fourth and inches, which resulted in a play-action call that saw Brock Wright go for a 50 yard touchdown.

It gave Detroit a three-point lead and Wilson managed to put them into field goal range but Greg the Leg couldn’t force overtime with his 58-yard kick. 

Round Up

There was another late finish as the Saints won on the road against their divisional rival Falcons.

The New Orleans offence can be unpredictable with their two QBs continuing to rotate and both Andy Dalton and Taysom Hill found Juwan Johnson for touchdowns. 

It was third-round pick Desmond Ridder’s first NFL start for the Falcons but it wasn’t enough to bring home the W. Instead, it was another rookie that caught the eye on the day as running-back Tyler Allgeier averaged 8.1 yards per carry for 139 yards and a touchdown. 

Ridder did have a chance to lead a late drive with the scores 18-21 but rookie Drake London caught the ball to pick up a first down, but lost it in contact and the Saints recovered it to effectively end the game. 

The Bengals are now the top seed in the AFC North after staging a second half comeback against the Bucs.

It was an impressive win but an even more so a demoralising loss as the Buccaneers went from leading by 17 points late in the second quarter to trailing by 17 by the middle of the fourth quarter. 

A lot of it was of their own making. 

First Gio Bernard seemed surprised to be snapped the ball during a punt, then a 23 yard sack on Burrow was called off for a foul. This was followed up by fumbles by Brady and Fournette on successive drives. Inextricably, the Bucs didn’t even manage to get out of their own half for the entire third quarter. 

All these mistakes were punished on the scoreboard and the Bengals led 20–17 by the end of the third quarter. Burrow then found Chase at the start of the fourth in an all too easy turnaround.

The Steelers defence shut down Carolina’s rushing attack with Chuba Hubbard their leading rusher with a mere 10 yards. The best of the Steelers three touchdowns was this angry run from Najee Harris, who got into the endzone for the fourth game in a row. 

Bret Rypien threw 21/26 as the Broncos overcame a tame second half challenge from the Arizona Cardinals that had Trace McSorley replace the injured Colt McCoy at quarterback. 

The Eagles extended their record to 13-1 after a hard fought affair with the Bears in Chicago. 

Justin Fields almost won Touchdown of the Week for the fourth time this season, but he was judged to have stepped out of play with this amazing effort.

He did find Montgomery soon after to finish the touchdown drive. However, Jalen Hurts showed what he could do with ball in hand and ran for two touchdowns in helping the Eagles to another road win. 

All four teams in the NFC East currently occupy playoff positions after the Giants won against the Commanders that also had its share of late drama. 

Here is a link to that match report: https://tinyurl.com/bdxpj8er

Watch out for our Monday Night Football preview a little later. 

rozomaldini Monday Night Football, Week 14

Pats in Playoff Picture 

By David McDonnell

The Patriots have been going under the radar all season but with four weeks of the regular season to go, they find themselves in play-off positions as the seventh seed in the AFC. 

Their task on Monday Night Football was to win on the road against the Cardinals and their task got a lot easier when Kyler Murray suffered what looked like a serious non-contact injury.  He was karted off the field only a minute and 21 seconds into the contest and was replaced by veteran QB Colt McCoy.

The New England offence has been one dimensional throughout this season playing a traditional smashmouth football style of offence and when Rhamondre Stevenson also left the fray with an injury, it meant that the Pats were without their two starting running backs as Damien Harris was already ruled out pregame.  

At the time I wondered if we would see a change of approach to the Pats offence and I got a definitive answer of No!!!

Instead the Patriots leaned on their two rookie running-backs and that approach was rewarded when sixth round rookie Kevin Harris got the first touchdown of the game and his career.

In the second quarter James Conor managed to run through the middle of a pile and out the other side for a touchdown, while being tackled by Devin McCourty. 

The Pats added to field goals to leave the score 13-13 at half time. 

That was as good as it got for the Cardinals on the night as the New England defence took over in the second half. 

A defensive touchdown gave them a seven-point lead when DeAndre Hopkins fumbled the ball while holding it in one hand, and Raekwon McMillan returned it for a 23-yard score.

Rookie Marcus Jones, who has caught the eye in recent weeks scoring touchdowns on special teams and on offence, then got his first interception of the season, which must be some kind of record.

Later in the drive Mac Jones found Hunter Henry for 39 yards to set up first and goal. At the start of the fourth quarter rookie running-back Pierre Strong, who went on a 44 yard run in the first half, also got his first touchdown of his career to make it a two-score game.

The Cardinals never threatened after as the Patriots defence dominated. In the end they finished with six sacks, three for Josh Uche, an interception and the forced fumble that was returned for a touchdown. 

Bill Belichick has a talented group of young players in New England. If they can add a few pieces to the offence in the off-season, it won’t be very long until they are back in Superbowl conversations. 

For now, with a 7-6 record, the play-offs will do. 

The Chargers and the Jets rate the same in the win-loss column and it should be an interesting race between the three teams to see who is still playing football after Week 18.

Of the three, my two-cents would be on the Chargers.

rozomaldini Monday Night Football, Week 14

MNF: Patriots v Cardinals

By Conor Perrett 

The football hasn’t stopped this weekend and tonight on Monday Night Football, we have two teams heading in the wrong direction, trying to rescue their season. 

With the Cardinals coming off a bye week, they host a New England team facing a backlash after a poor offensive performance last week.

Arizona Cardinals (4-8)

Power Rankings: 25th

DVOA Rankings: Offence: 29th, Defence: 24th, ST: 28th, Overall:  30th

The Cardinals’ defensive coordinator Vance Joseph made some comments during the week that raised eyebrows. 

When talking about the Patriots offence, Joseph said: “It’s a very conservative passing game, a lot of screens. It’s how a defensive guy would call offensive plays.” 

Joseph knew who he was aiming at he said this, with former defensive coordinator Matt Patrica running the Pats offence now. A move that came with lots of criticism and Joseph lined up to take some shots himself.

Trash talking is always fun to see in the league, but it comes at a risk. Making comments like this can back-fire, especially when the Cardinals defence has itself been poor. They have stars at all three levels of the defence, but have failed to get the best out of any of them. New England’s offence might be a good start to turn that around, but it’s a risky bet to go up against Bill Belichick like that. 

On the other side of the ball, the Cards offence has to start performing to what we saw at the start of last season. The Patriots have struggled with No. 1 receivers as of late, so with Hopkins back,  expect him to be heavily involved if Kliff Kingsbury knows what he’s doing.

New England Patriots (6-6)

Power Rankings: 15th

DVOA Rankings: Offence: 24th, Defence: 3rd, ST: 10th, Overall: 12th

The Patriots’ playoff chances are plummeting weekly and a loss to the Cardinals would drop them under .500 and leave them last place in the AFC East. Bill Belichick has worked his magic on defence, having it playing at an elite level for the majority of the year. 

But the complete opposite can be said for New England’s offence.

Things won’t get much easier for the Patriots with starters Jakobi Meyers , Isaiah Wynn and Damien Harris all expected to miss the game. Their loss will only add to New England’s worries as Matt Patrica tries to change the narrative around their offence. 

The biggest question marks will be at the offensive tackle positions. With Wynn set to miss the game with a foot injury, back-up Marcus Cannon remains on IR and third replacement Yodny Cajuste is labelled questionable. With left-tackle Trent Brown also questionable, the Patriots top-4 tackles are all in doubt for the game.

Prediction

With Arizona set to host this game you would expect that to be an advantage, but it actually might not be. The Cardinals have only won one game at home all season.

Both teams are a bit beaten up heading into the game, but Arizona do hold the advantage of a bye week to prepare for the game. New England themselves have had a bit extra time by playing on last week’s TNF, so in the grand scheme of things it evens itself out. 

Hopkins and Hollywood Brown will cause trouble for the Patriots man-coverage but the defensive line should have its way with an average Cardinals o-line.

It has all the markings to be a low scoring game with how both teams have been performing as of late, so I will learn towards the better coach. Belichick is no ordinary coach and Kingsbury has shown us nothing in his career that says he belongs in the NFL. Even with maybe the better roster and home advantage, I can’t see it making too much of a difference and see New England travelling back with the win.

Patriots 21-20 Cardinals 

rozomaldini Thursday Night Football, Week 13

Bills dominate Patriots on TNF

By David McDonnell

Josh Allen was in sensational form on Thursday Night Football as the Bills dominated this AFC East divisional clash with the Patriots.

The Patriots got off to a great start in this contest and in the first quarter Mac Jones made a good offensive read and he got the ball out to Marcus Jones who stepped inside a would-be tackle and took it to the house.

The standout rookie special-teamer is listed as a defensive back and this was his first snap on offence and he got another NFL touchdown to add to his growing collection. 

It threw the gauntlet down to the Bills and Josh Allen picked it up. 

After hurdling his way in a first and goal, two plays later Allen First faked a hand-off to Singletary and threw to Stefon Diggs in the endzone. It was excellent route running by Diggs who caught his 10th touchdown of the season. 

On the next Bills drive,  Allen scrambled to the right, brushed off a tackle and just before he ran out of road, he anticipated a throw to Gabe Davis for a second Buffalo touchdown. It was a terrific play and another highlight to add to his MVP candidacy. 

Let’s look at that TD against from another nagle.

The Buffalo quarterback was on fire and showing what sensational arm talent he has. He made a 60-yard throw on the run look effortless as he found Diggs over the top by the TD and was called back for holding. 

At the start of the fourth quarter Singletary punched another six pointer in after a nine minute drive to leave the Bills 23-7 up. Both teams added a field goal to round out the scoring.

Mac Jones was clearly frustrated in the fourth quarter with Matt Patricia’s play calling.

rozomaldini Smashmouthing Football, Thursday Night Football, Week 13

TNF: Bills v Patriots

By Conor Perrett 

The AFC East is still very much up for grabs, and the outcome of Thursday night’s matchup between the Patriots and Bills could make the divisional race even more interesting. 

After Thanksgiving last week, both teams will be playing on Thursday for the second consecutive week, with Buffalo opening as 3.5 favourites in the bookies. 

New England Patriots (6-5)

Power Rankings – 14th

DVOA Rankings: Offence – 25th, Defence – 2nd, ST – 9th: Overall – 11th 

New England currently sit at the bottom of their division but the AFC East is still very much within reach for them, if they win at home tonight. Buffalo won’t be an easy test though, with them being one of the most well rounded teams in the league. 

Bill Belichick’s defences have tended to struggle against running QBs and Josh Allen has 36 career rushing touchdowns, 12 more than any other quarterback since entering the league in 2018. With an injured elbow as well, Allen may look to take to his feet more, but this year’s Patriots defence is better than past seasons. The matchup on this side of the ball will be a heavyweight bout. 

If New England wants to win this game, they will have to do it through Mac Jones.

The offence has been stagnant all year, but last week we finally saw the Pats passing game come to life. The Bills will not have Von Miller this week which will help, as their pressure rate with and without him drops from 39.3 percent to 26.6. Buffalo still has an elite defence but if Jones can stay clean in the pocket, there might be some openings for him to exploit.

Buffalo Bills (7-3)

Power Rankings – 4th

DVOA Rankings: Offence – 6th, Defence – 3rd, ST – 3rd: Overall – 1st 

Buffalo currently sits a game behind Miami in the division, with a seat in a Wild-Card spot. It likely isn’t what anyone within the Bills organisation hopes for, so some divisional wins will be crucial to host a playoff game. Earning a victory on Thursday night would keep Josh Allen and Co. in the mix to push themselves further up the seeds and achieve them goals.

Missing Von Miller will be a big loss for this team over the next couple of weeks, meaning others will need to step up to stop New England’s rushing attack. It’s the strongest part of their game and if they can do that, they’ll be in good shape to secure their ninth win of the season.

Previous Matchups

2021 Season:

Week 13 – Patriots @ Bills, 14-10 Patriots Win

Week 16 – Bills @ Patriots, 33-21 Bills Win

These teams are meeting at the same time as last year where the Patriots took down the Bills in a low scoring affair. Since then both teams’ defences have only improved but you would say New England’s offence has regressed.. 

Prediction

On a normal slate of paper the Bills have looked a far more impressive team than the Patriots this season. Despite having similar defences, with the Patriots slightly ranked higher through DVOA, the offences don’t compare with the superstars Buffalo have on that side of the ball.

Injuries have started to pile up for them though, with the trenches having some significant losses in EDGE rusher Von Miller and OT Dion Dawkins.

If the Patriots offence can show up like they did last week then this game has a chance to be real close. The problem with that, is we don’t know if such performances were a fluke or real. For that reason I can’t trust what New England has out there and will lean towards the better offence.

With a weaken O-Line, Allen may take to his feet more, something that we know this Patriots defence can struggle with. He has the far superior weapons and a blueprint on how to beat this Patriots defence might have been put out last week for them to copy. 

Bills 20, Patriots 13

rozomaldini Thursday Night Football, Week 12

Thanksgiving NFL: Patriots v Vikings

By Conor Perrett 

In our next preview of the Thanksgiving games, we’re travelling back up north to Minnesota, as they prepare to host the New England Patriots in the late kick-off at 1.30 a.m. GMT. 

Both teams are coming off low scoring games from themselves. The only difference is Bill Belichick and the Patriots preference is that way and the Vikings hit a major hiccup to their season last time out. 

Minnesota Vikings (8-2)

Power Rankings – 11th

DVOA Rankings: Offence – 19th, Defence – 18th, ST – 26th: Overall – 24th

Despite the 8-2 record, which leaves Minnesota for the tied 2nd best record in the NFL, via football outsiders DVOA’s metrics, they rank 24th in the league.

The gap between the two is enormous and paints a picture into the Vikings performances this season. Minnesota has had the fortune of a fairly easy schedule in the league, but has suffered when playing the big teams. Their win against Buffalo will famously go down as one of the craziest endings in the NFL, but defeats to Eagles and Cowboys have been less watchable.

Minnesota are coming off the biggest lopsided loss in the NFL this season when they lost 40-3 to Dallas. Their offensive gameplay failed miserably and it was an even worse day at the office for the defence. 

The offence, run by former Rams offensive-coordinator Kevin O’Connell, looks promising with Justin Jefferson, Dalvin Cook and TJ Hockenson who are all stars at their respective positions. The problem may just be the guy throwing them the ball, Kirk Cousins. 

Cousins’ current EPA per dropback this season is minus-0.06, which ranks 26th among the 35 quarterbacks. In a new scheme it’s fair to give him time but there’s been questions about Cousins’ ceiling for some time. Cousins has always struggled when the lights are on him in prime-time games and Thursday night will be no different. 

Maybe a win tonight, he can change the agenda around him against the best defence in the league.

New England Patriots (6-4)

Power Rankings – 13th

DVOA Rankings: Offence – 26th, Defence – 1st, ST – 5th: Overall – 11th

Post Tom Brady, the New England Patriots are in a very different place concentrating more on the defensive part of the game now. New England’s defence is 1st in defensive DVOA as they specialise in suffocating their opponents. 

The defence has carried them through games this year, most recently against the Jets when they won without scoring an offensive touchdown.That’s been the story of the Patriots season so far. 

Defence exceptional, but offence diabolical. The main cause to that has been the quarterback position. Mac Jones has been poor in the passing game and opposing defences have taken advantage of that. The running game hasn’t been too bad, ranking 18th in EPA per rush, but teams have made an effort to stop that and force Jones to beat them.

Prediction

I think it’s safe to say this game will be on the lower end of scoring. I like the Vikings offence but feel the Patriot’s D will match up well against them. 

The Patriots’ offence hasn’t been good this season by any measure, but when the Cowboys scored 40 against the Vikings last Sunday, it creates blueprints for other teams to use. 

Belichick is the master of that and will take advantage of an inexperienced coaching staff. It will be hard to win on the road but I see it being close towards the end of the game and the underdogs Pats taking the win at the end of Thanksgiving.

Patriots 13-10 Vikings

rozomaldini NFL Column, Week 11

Mahomes and Herbert duel it out 

Week 11 Review column 

By David McDonnell 

With another week almost in the bag, we got a Sunday day filled with some cracking matches and late drama, as the cream of the NFL continues to rise to the top. 

One of the most compelling games and the one I am going to start with this week was the late prime-time kick-off between the Chiefs and their division rival LA Chargers, as two of the best two quarterbacks in the game Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert dueled it out for four entertaining quarters.

Chiefs v Chargers 

Herbert’s performances have also been trending upwards as he has been getting healthier recently and he got not one, but two major boosts before kick-off when both his top receivers Mike Williams and Keenan Allen returned to the starting line-up. This certainly helped the former Oregon Duck QB produce his best performance of the season. 

He was sizzling throughout and on his first drive, he gave Allen his first catch of the season before throwing a 50-yard bomb to Joshua Palmer, who has started to make a name for himself in the interim.

Kansas City started the contest by scoring on each drive but the Chargers defence kept getting them off the field on key third downs. The visitors had to wait until the start of the second quarter when Mahomes found his favourite target on Travis Kelce, who high-stepped into the endzone. 

A pattern was beginning to emerge with the team in possession retaking the lead and that would continue throughout. Austin Ekeler finished off a second quarter drive before Cameron Dicker kicked the home Chargers into a 13-20 half-time lead. 

The teams continued to battle it out in the trenches and it took until the first play of the fourth quarter when Mahomes found Kelce on the 10th play of another long drive and the tight-end ran in along the right side his second six-pointer to put his side in front once more. 

With the game in the balance coming down the stretch, there were two turnovers. First Allen fumbled but three minutes later his teammates bailed him out by retaking possession. 

I have been saying for a number of weeks that Herbert should use his legs to pick up first downs and he was excellent at running in college and he must have been reading my column because he started to do just this on his last drive.  He then found Keenan Allen along the right sideline, and the returning wideout did incredibly well to haul in the ball to bring the play to the 16-yard line. 

Herbert then found Palmer with a dart into the endzone as the Chargers took a late lead with 1.46 remaining.

The challenge was laid down and taken up by Mahomes and the best quarterback in football didn’t disappoint. He was electric on that final drive, picking up first downs with his arms and legs before finding Kelce, who took it into the endzone for the winning touchdown, his third of the night. 

It was a terrific contest and interestingly that victory made it 25 consecutive wins in November and December for Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. For me, with their future Hall of Fame talents in Mahomes and Kelce is rich form, they are my Superbowl favourites. 

Preview Predictions

Cowboys v Vikings

In my preview column on Saturday, I took three swings on how three of Week 11 match-ups would turn out. So like a baseball player, let’s see what my batting-average is this week! 

Firstly I tipped Dallas, which I rarely do, because of how unconvinced I still am by the then 8-1 Vikings, despite all the acclaim that came their way last week for having the joint-best record in football. 

I understood the adulation that came their way after their superb win against Buffalo in Week 10 and it was way over the top and i felt the team would find it difficult to get their feet back on the ground after such an incredible high. Seven days later, Minnasota got demolished 40-3 at home by the Cowboys and the Super Bowl contending Vikings of last week looked just as untrustworthy as the Vikings of every other year.

Dallas were very impressive and their D-line didn’t give Kirk Cousins room to breathe. By the third quarter they had seven sacks and Kevin O’Connell took his QB out of the firing line and put in Nick Mullins, as the game was over as a contest. The Vikes need to reset quickly for a Thanksgiving home game on Thursday versus the New England Patriots. On the night, all the Cowboy stars came out to play, with Tony Pollard shining brightest with 189 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns, with this the pick of the bunch. 

He could have had four but Zeke managed to gobble up two from close range.

My second prediction was that Buffalo would bounce back after two losses on the trot, despite having to travel in snowy conditions to play a home game in Ford Field in Detroit, against an unpredictable Browns. 

The Bills were trailing to an Amari Cooper touchdown in the second quarter when head coach Sean McDermott publicly having words with his star receiver Stefon Diggs, who was clearly upset for not having been targeted all game. With 14 seconds left in the first half, Josh Allen found Diggs unmarked at the back of the endzone for Buffalo’s first lead of the contest.  They would go on to win more comfortably than the  23-31 final scoreline suggests. 

So, two for two so far and my third hot-take was that the New York Jets would win in Foxboro for the first time in over a decade and end their highly embarrassing 13 consecutive losses against their hated division rival the New England Patriots. My belief was that their defensive front would stop the Pats rushing attack and Zach Wilson would be the man to lead them to victory. 

During the game, both defences balled out against the two sophomore QBs with the Jets. Gang Green tallying five sacks of Mac Jones, while the Patriots held Wilson to a miserly -2 yards of offence in the second half. It goes to show that missing half your offensive line and your starting running back against a Bill Belichick defence is never ideal. 

However, with the scores a lowly 3-3 in the fourth quarter, Wilson had the ball with 90 seconds remaining in the contest. Could he lead his side down the field to kick a late field goal to win the contest?

It turns out he couldn’t and when the Jets punted back to the Patriots with 13 seconds left, Marcus Jones took it to the house for an 84-yard winning touchdown. 

So my predictions fell short of a clean sweep and as Meat Loaf used to sing ‘Two Out Of Three Aint Bad.’

Lions v Giants 

A man who went three-for-three yesterday was Lions running-back Jamaal Williams. Anyone who watched Hard Knocks in pre-season will remember him from this speech. 

Well, Williams doesn’t just talk the talk and he scored a hat-trick of touchdowns from close range to become the leading touchdown scorer in the NFL this season with 12. He has found a brilliant thunder and lighting tandem with running-back DeAndre Swift, as Detroit continue their excellent run of late.

Dan Campbell’s charges are now also three-for-three from their last three matches.

This was a surprisingly large defeat for a New York Giants team that were outplayed throughout and Daniel Jones had a game to forget by throwing a pair of interceptions to rookie standouts Aiden Hutchinson and Kerby Joseph. It leaves the Giants with a record of 7-3 and they have four days until they play the 7-3 Dallas Cowboys in an NFC East prime-time Thanksgiving match-up.  

There will be pressure on both teams to win especially with the resurgent Commanders snapping at their heels in a division that has proven to be the strongest in the NFC.  Washington had a comfortable sixth win of the season away to the Texans and they led 20-0 at halftime, thanks to a pair of TDs from Kendall Fuller and Curtis Samuel.  

Ron Rivera confirmed that Taylor Heinicke would continue as starter as Carson Wentz now returns for selection and when asked what Heinicke had shown to be named ahead of  Wentz, Ron replied emphatically: “Winning!” With their defensive line really stepping it up , who knows just how good they might be when Chase Young adds his talents to the line in the coming weeks. 

Bears v Falcons 

This was another cracking contest that had a NFL record to boot when Cordarrelle Patterson ran home his ninth kick-off return of his long and varied career in sensational style.

The former wide-receiver has enjoyed the best years since he came to Atlanta but it was great to get a reminder of the threat he used to be as a specialist returner early in his career at Minnesota.

Justin Fields and Marcus Mariota went toe-to-toe all game and the sides were level many times throughout.  With three minutes to play and the scores tied at 24-24, the Falcons had possession and Mariota took his side up the field for Younghoe Koo, potentially the special teams ‘Player of the Season’, to kick the winning score. Fields had almost two minutes for a late reply but a deflected pass was intercepted to secure an Atlanta win. 

The Bears are a coming team with a lot of young talent and although highly competitive, are finding it difficult to win.  They have a great running game but also in Fields, the most sacked QB in the league so they may need to restructure their O-line to better protect their blossoming superstar.


AFC 

Another two very engaging contests in the late window were divisional match-ups in the AFC West and North. 

There was no coach in the NFL that needed a win this week more than Josh McDaniels and his players duly obliged. Russell Wilson had a decent game for Denver, completing 24 out of 31 attempts on a day when Raiders defensive-end Maxx Crosby wreaked havoc. He was dominant all game with six tackles, two sacks and even managed to block a field goal. 

The Raiders won it in style when Derek Carr found his best friend Devontae Adams, who finished with 141 receiving yards and two touchdowns including this walk-off winning score on the first drive of overtime.

In the AFC North, Joe Burrow was in top form throwing for 355 yards and four touchdowns in a game that was right in the mix until the final quarter as Cincinnati managed to put a bit of daylight between themselves and the Steelers. Tee Higgins also excelled with nine catches for 148 yards, while running back Samaje Perine finished the day with three receiving touchdowns.

If and when Ja’Marr Chase returns, this is going to be a very difficult team to stop and the Bengals are certainly emerging as a dark horse contender from the AFC.

Cincinnati are now 6-4, just one win behind the Ravens at the top of the AFC North. Lamar Jackson ran in the only touchdown in their fourth-quarter win in a punt-fest against the Panthers. 

The Rams season is petering out and they lost Matt Stafford to concussion for the second time in a matter of weeks in their loss to the Saints.

Lastly, the Philadelphia Eagles got back to winning ways to go 9-1 to now have the outright best record in the NFL. 

It looked for a long time that Jeff Saturday might remain undefeated as the Colts head coach and they led for most of the contest. In fact Indianapolis were winning by six points when Jalen Hurts got the ball back with four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. 

The Colts almost got the Eagles off the field after stopping Hurts on a third and two but for a flag thrown down the field for a foul on Sanders and a new set of downs. The in-form quarterback made them pay and tied the game with 90 seconds remaining by running in from close range. A late Jake Elliot PAT was the winning kick as they won 17-16. 

Later tonight we have a divisional match-up between the Cardinals v the 49ers. Watch out for our MNF preview out later on today!!!

rozomaldini NFL Column, Week 11

Bills Under Pressure: NFL Week 11 Preview

By David McDonnell

In Buffalo right now, snow is piling higher than a Disney Christmas film and during the week Von Miller woke up to find his car buried under about two feet of snow. 

But just as we were starting to rub our hand in anticipation of an NFL snow game, the No Fun League struck again and moved the game to a covered Ford Field in Detroit. 

I’m not a meteorologist but with heavy snow storms on the scene in November, surely we will have one snow game before the end of the season. So for now, let’s keep trucking with three selected games from the Week 11 fixtures. 

Browns v Bills

Who would have believed three weeks ago that the Buffalo Bills could be sitting third in the AFC East division, after successive losses to the Jets and the Vikings? Interestingly they are still the Superbowl favourites in the bookies but it must be concerning to Sean McDermott that they are coming out the wrong side of closely-contested matches.

After losing in unforgettable style to the Vikes last Sunday, this week they are under pressure to bounce back.

So this is my take on why the Bills are struggling of late.

On offence, they can’t run the ball successfully and this is having a number of knock on effects.  

One, Josh Allen is now passing that ball almost twice as many times as they are attempting to run the ball  and because of that they are becoming more predictable. It negates their use of play-action to get big chuck plays down the field as teams are not coming down to pack the box.The Bills did recruit Nyheim Hines from the Colts to their running-back room but so far it hasn’t had the desired effect.

Two, it has been a factor with Josh Allen throwing interceptions as he is now throwing into more congested traffic in the backfield. The two picks by Patrick Peterson last Sunday means that Allen has thrown six interceptions in the last three games and losing the turnover battle 2-4 was a major factor in contributing to their last two defeats.

Three, because they don’t have a running back excelling in the rushing attack, one thing I have noticed recently and I think teams have caught on as well is that Allen almost always runs on third and fourth down, especially late in the game. Call it a superman complex if you will, but it seems that he trusts himself more to get past the marker through his own athleticism and force of will rather than throw to his receiving corp. 

When it works as it certainly did earlier in the season, it looks spectacular and it was very much one of the reasons why he was the early MVP candidate. At the moment it is clear that although passed fit to start, he is playing banged up. In hindsight Buffalo probably should have started with Case Keenam last weekend but I understand why the coaches and players in Buffalo rolled the dice with Allen.

In my opinion, the Bills have great depth on defence but have been missing a number of starters, especially their defensive backs, who were taken to the cleaners by the Vikes. To sum up, Buffalo couldn’t stop the run and they couldn’t stop the pass. Kirk Cousins looked like Joe Montana as he threw for 357 yards with Justin Jefferson catching for 193 yards and a touchdown. All this while Dalvin Cook ran for 119 yards and another TD. 

So why are they still Superbowl favourites? 

For one thing, they haven’t been able to put their best selection of defensive backs on the field but in another week or two that is likely to be the case. Captain Tre’Davious White is not in the squad this weekend but it only seems a matter of time until he is back from a long-term injury,  while first round pick Kaiir Elam and safety Jordan Poyer are likely to feature having both missed the loss to Minnesota. 

They are also missing Tremaine Edmunds and Gregory Rousseau, both good against the run and with ability to rush the passer and their loss could be felt against one of the best offensive lines in all of football at Cleveland, who also possess the best running back in the league not named Derek Henry in Nick Chubb.  

This match-up between the Bills D-line and the Browns o-line should be worth the entrance fee alone and what makes this game more intriguing than it looks on the calendar. 

The Browns have been playing akin to Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde over the last three weeks. Their best performance of the season came against the Bengals on Monday Night Football in Week 8 and they followed this up by allowing the Miami Dolphins 480 yards from scrimmage last Sunday. 

I wonder if Deshaun Jacksion’s return to training had an effect as he undoubtedly would have taken snaps away from Jacoby Brisscett in the lead up to the game and perhaps put questions about whom the other players should look to as the leader of the offence. 

Who knows which Browns will get in Ford Field? 

Cleveland is very healthy on offence. Their plan should be to run the ball behind their impressive offensive line and try to wear down the banged up Bills. I think this would be their best chance of keeping the score tight and then try to win the game in the fourth quarter. 

Especially after losing a high-profile roller-coaster last weekend and the manner in which things unfolded, I am again giving them the benefit of the doubt to Buffalo.  I expect them to  get back to winning ways this weekend. However, should they fall to the Browns, I doubt they will still be favourites in the bookies next week.

Jets v Patriots 

This is another cracking match-up as the 6-3 Jets travel to face the Patriots in Foxboro, a venue where they haven’t been victorious since the 2010 play-offs. This is highly embarrassing for a team that has played there every year since. 

Not only that but should the formbook continue, the Jets will have lost 14 consecutive games against their most hated divisional rivals. 

I have a feeling Sunday may be the day Gang Green gets this monkey off their backs, which might sound strange considering the Patriots beat the Jets in New York only two weeks ago. 

So let me explain! 

In that recent loss, Zach Wilson was the villain on the day as he got intercepted three times, but as i mentioned recently I love the way he throws the ball and I just see enough green shoots in him to believe that he is a young player, who could blossom into an NFL superstar.

In my opinion, the recent loss to the Pats provides Wilson with lessons to improve his game and in time he could see it as a blessing in disguise. For me this is an ideal opportunity in which to show progression with his decision making and also his attention to detail, as he was punished twice  last time out with turnovers that I consider lapses in concentration.

I also want to make clear,  I am not burdening the fate of the game, solely on Wilson’s shoulders because I think he can be a good player. No, I think this Patriots team is limited on offence but have been good at running against most opposition. Where I believe this Jets team is best is in their run defence and Quinnian Williams has become a wrecking ball against the rush and also been good at

helping the D line get after the opposing QB.

It is also Mac Jones first home game, since the Pats fans cheered loudly when he was replaced by Bailey Zappe a few weeks back.  What I like about Jones is he is smart and confidently manages a game, which is what the Pats ask of him to do. But just like Wilson he has struggled for consistency in his sophomore season and he is in a tricky situation for any young player to be in with the outward discontentment from his own supporters. There are many reasons for the difficulties in the Pats passing game but I would put a lack of blue chip talent at receiver and play-calling at the top of my list as to why they are struggling in the passing game, before I would point the finger at Jones at quarterback. 

I’m going for an upset win for the Jets in New England. There I said it. 

Cowboys v Vikings 

The third game that will be good to watch is the Cowboys travelling to Minnesota to tackle the 8-1 Vikings.

The Vikes are coming off the greatest regular season win that i can remember and sometimes it can be hard to figuratively keep your feet on the ground after reaching such heights. The one thing that they have in the locker that will be a problem for the Cowboys is their pass-rush, who have excelled and if Dak plays to the level he did against Green Bay last time out, then the Boys will be in trouble. 

But I like the Cowboys for this game because their need is greatest. The Cowboys need to win to keep up their play-off hopes in a hotly contested NFC East division. They were having an excellent season and their defence should be able to do a lot better than Buffalo did last week in getting after Cousins, who is flying high now but we have seen from him so many times how inconsistent he can be week-to- week.   

For Dallas to win, Dak needs to step up and control the game on offence. With Ceedee Lamb coming off his best game of the season and Tony Pollard also going well, I think they are well-placed to take on a Minnesota team that still haven’t yet convinced me of their merits.