National Football League

[SHAD0W93]

If the game was in NE Pats could have had a chance but in Miami the Dolphins have beat them consistently, even when Brady was still there.

 

[jmdirt]

CLE@SEA - Watson still out, not that it matters (maybe he just doesn't want to play in Cleveland anymore?). I see a tough, fairly low scoring affair. Seattle has to find a way to run the ball just enough.
KC@DEN - I fully expect the Chiefs to win. But this is the kind of game a top team runs a risk of sleeping on. No one thinks Denver is a great team, but they are improving every week. At home, against a key rival. Any given Sunday...

SEA runs the ball well until they get down inside the 15 or so. They have to be able to score 6 more often when they get down there. The O line can't run block when the D line and LBs are all coming forward so they need to have some edge passes to get across the line.

KC, as we have discussed a lot, plays like they are bored sometimes. If they plan with that mentality sprinkled with a little 'DEN can't beat us' then they could drop this game.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Body count piling up before the first games were even over. And this is only quarterbacks: Tyrod Taylor out for the Giants and taken to the hospital. Someone named Tommy DeVito stepped in at QB. Kenny Pickett injured for the Steelers and Mitch Trubiski in. Taylor Heiniki in for the Falcons after a concussion to Riddler. Stafford out for the Rams with a bad thumb. Kirk Cousins injued for maybe the first time I can ever recall. Since the Vikings back-up Nick Mullens is already on IR, rookie Jaren Hall got the call, and promptly was sacked and fumbled. With another ironman Ryan Tannehill out, Titans started Will Levis, who had been third string (played great!).

At the rate things are going, maybe Carson Wentz phone will ring soon?! Kaep won't of course. Good ol' boys got rid of him for good.

 

[Nomad]

Kirk Cousins is done for the year:

 

https://twitter.com/x/status/1718729627013726643

View: https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1718729627013726643?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

 

[Unchained]

Let's be clear..Geno Smith doesn't know who Eddie Vedder is and does not have Pearl Jam in his headphones during warm up..I know the commentators are trying to be inclusive but gimme a break..

 

[Unchained]

Body count piling up before the first games were even over. And this is only quarterbacks: Tyrod Taylor out for the Giants and taken to the hospital. Someone named Tommy DeVito stepped in at QB. Kenny Pickett injured for the Steelers and Mitch Trubiski in. Taylor Heiniki in for the Falcons after a concussion to Riddler. Stafford out for the Rams with a bad thumb. Kirk Cousins injued for maybe the first time I can ever recall. Since the Vikings back-up Nick Mullens is already on IR, rookie Jaren Hall got the call, and promptly was sacked and fumbled. With another ironman Ryan Tannehill out, Titans started Will Levis, who had been third string (played great!).

At the rate things are going, maybe Carson Wentz phone will ring soon?! Kaep won't of course. Good ol' boys got rid of him for good.

You have to wonder if the longer season, extended travel and Thursday night games are going to have guys like Dan Marino getting a call..Good ol' boy greed is going to redefine attrition.. With the money the way it is, lots of college players are going to skip a year or more if they hear any NFL interest.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Vikings do not have a 3rd string QB. They now have 1 single QB, rookie Hall, that's it, who was so-so in pre-season. They don't even have another QB on the practice squad. A quick search shows the best free agent QB is probably Colt McCoy. I don't have any faith in Carson Wentz, at all. I consider Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco retired. Maybe Bryce Perkins is next? Minnesota had XFL DC Defener quarterback Jordan Ta'amu in camp, but cut him. Ta'amu is mobile, but I don't now how great of a passer he is. I think Luis Perez, who won the XFL championship and played in the past for the Rams may be available. That's about it. I'm not sure any other teams are willing to give up a current back-up QB in a trade at the rate bodies are piling up.

 

[Unchained]

Dirt post some audio of you screaming at the last minute touchdown!!!

 

[Unchained]

Purdy from magic to miserable.. and those 2 last plays.. throws a pick..gets a gifted call as defenders falling over blocking linemen and after Purdy gets a Christmas gift he fumbles.. Yikes..

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Purdy obviously struggling. But let's credit the Bengals. They won this game and looked great. Not having Williams and Samuel obviously hurt SF, a lot. SF also seems thin in the secondary. Did anyone catch the odd stat? Kyle Shanahan is 0-36 when trailing by more than a TD in the 4th quarter. But there's another way of spinning it, he's 63-50 in his career. Which means he's only been beaten 14 times as a head coach by more than a TD.

Incredible end to the Jets-Giants game. I love it when cameras showed Jets fans filing out of the stadium with a minute to go after they turned it over on downs. Imagine you're in the parking lot, crying about your team losing, and you hear a huge roar from the stadium.

Not shocked that Denver beat KC, I mentioned earlier it could happen. What surprised me was how sloppy KC played. Mahomes was recovering from the flu, but it wasn't him. He looked 95% the same guy. But there were tackling errors, missed blocks, penalties, inability to get pressure on Wilson, the muffed punt. Still, credit to Denver, they played great and beat KC, period. Wilson again played good, good decisions. No, he's not 2019 Russ, but he doesn't have to be. He's improved to the level his team needs him to with two good games and two good wins in a row. Huge credit to Sean Payton.

Seattle-Cleveland was like a playoff game! Very intense. Walker had his head down after the Browns turned it over at the end, but he has nothing to be ashamed of. Seattle threw everything they could at him, and he keep fighting to the end. Geno didn't have his best day, but he pulled it out when it mattered most.

The Commanders stopped the Brotherly Shove play! Did so by punching/stripping the ball from Hurts as he moved forward after the snap through the scrum. Rivera said they had been practicing a play to stop it. Was that what he had in mind? Because it worked. Next time the Eagles just ran a counter play from the formation and scored. But I don't believe the Eagles are as good as 7-1. They really should have lost today. More than a couple calls really went Philly's way.

Anyone see the "fail mary" like play in the Saints-Colts game? Bomb by Hill had two guys come down with it, with the DB ending up with it, but they gave the ball to the WR. It of course all depends on when the "football play" ends. But looked like an int to me.

Dr. Hyde version of Dallas showed up. Surprised the Rams defense was so lifeless. Strangely enough, 43-20 has never before been an NFL score, in history!

Panthers beat the Texans for their first win. But watching on Red Zone there really wasn't much of anything to watch.

 

[SHAD0W93]

Not shocked that Denver beat KC, I mentioned earlier it could happen. What surprised me was how sloppy KC played. Mahomes was recovering from the flu, but it wasn't him. He looked 95% the same guy. But there were tackling errors, missed blocks, penalties, inability to get pressure on Wilson, the muffed punt. Still, credit to Denver, they played great and beat KC, period. Wilson again played good, good decisions. No, he's not 2019 Russ, but he doesn't have to be. He's improved to the level his team needs him to with two good games and two good wins in a row. Huge credit to Sean Payton.

Mahomes had missed plays as well with three turnovers (one was a f it throw it or take a sack on fourth and long that had been better batting down field position wise) and holding onto the ball to get sacked or have to throw it away. The whole team played bad but usually they bounce back which is good for their big game against Dolphins next week. What stinks for the Chiefs is going from an away game to Europe vs Dolphins playing at home.

Stinks so many quarterbacks and other players are getting injured. Cousins injury should all but derail Vikings season.

 

[movingtarget]

Wheels have fallen off the 49ers 5-0 to 5-3 . Now they have a bye . Just playing sloppy football. Wilks defense isn't working and the defense isn't performing. Burrow basically did what Cousins did last week and they can't stop the run. Bengals got their first run TD of the season against the 49ers !Wouldn't surprise me at all if the 49ers traded for a corner or an edge rusher before the deadline. Bosa doesn't look like himself and they are badly missing Trent Williams. At 17-10 they were still in the game then consecutive picks on Purdy killed the game, CMC tied the TD's record in consecutive games at 17. Wonder how many chances Shanahan will give Purdy before trying Darnold if the losses keep coming. ?

Bengals coming off their bye looked good and seem to have turned the corner with four straight wins. If they reproduce that form more often they will be hard to beat by anyone. All to play for for the 49ers as in the next five game stretch they have to play the Eagles, Jags and the Hawks twice. A few more losses in those games will mean wildcard at best for the playoffs but of course it depends on Seattle's results as well. Rams don't seem to be improving so the NFC West still seems like a two team battle at the moment. This NFL season is looking more unpredictable than ever !

With the injuries it looks inevitable that Wentz will end up back in the league at some point.

 

[Unchained]

Jets Giants- great game
Broncos-KC- gut check for Wilson and the entire team
Seattle- Cleveland- literally anyone's game throughout.. Super fun to watch
49ers- Bengals- problems everywhere.. Purdy throwing the ball crisply into the numbers of the defender. Offensive line have Purdy pressured constantly.. And I like San Francisco offense all said, but 49ers defence didn't show up.. Disgraceful.
Watched too many Charger games to breath easy even with a 40 point lead..not going to relax until fat lady is finished with her first set..

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Evening game a dud. I can't see even the Chargers blowing a 30-7 lead against the Bears midway through the 4th.

I was wrong about Minnesota not having a QB on the practice squad. Sean Mannion is that guy. But I'll still be surprised if they trade for names being tossed out: Brissett, Rush, Winston, Dalton. Two names kicked around are maybes. Tannehill, as he plays a similar game to Cousins, is in the final year of a contract, and the Titans may not need him. Also Case Keenum, who I had forgot about, is on the bench for Houston, but he played under the Vikings coach in Washington, and has good history with the Vikings. But he's also really at the end of his career. This isn't 2017 when he was playing for them and they had a stout defense.

Wonder how many chances Shanahan will give Purdy before trying Darnold if the losses keep coming?

Not unless he's hurt. Seriously. Darnold hasn't shown much. He gets looks because he's slightly better than the last year, or how bad he was for the Jets. He's looked okay throwing mostly short passes, mostly in garbage time or against 2nd and 3rd stringers in the preseason. Purdy can do that. It's far, FAR more likely SF will somewhat simplify their playbook, running more, and call more plays where Purdy gets the ball out within 2 seconds/2-3 quick reads.

The "problem" with Purdy seems easier to fix than layers of problems their defense seem to have.

With the injuries it looks inevitable that Wentz will end up back in the league at some point.

This is just unthinkable to me considering how bad he regressed last year, but you may be right. We're not even halfway through the season and look at how many QBs are injured, just like Nomad predicted.

 

[jmdirt]

Dirt post some audio of you screaming at the last minute touchdown!!!

Its not appropriate for any audience!

 

[Unchained]

Its not appropriate for any audience!

Geno really doesn't smile very much and during the game he had the I am absolutely disgusted face quite a bit

 

[jmdirt]

SEA with a win! They need to clean up the penalties to make their lives easier! Entertaining game.

CIN is rollin'!
SF drops three in a row!
Jets with 4 wins! After AR went down I figured that they might only get five wins for the season.

Cousins and ARodge are both going to be listening to mating dolphins now. Lots of injuries!

 

[jmdirt]

Geno really doesn't smile very much and during the game he had the I am absolutely disgusted face quite a bit

He doesn't seem like a very happy dude when he's at the stadium, but maybe he is just really focused.

 

[Nomad]

Not shocked that Denver beat KC, I mentioned earlier it could happen. What surprised me was how sloppy KC played. Mahomes was recovering from the flu, but it wasn't him. He looked 95% the same guy. But there were tackling errors, missed blocks, penalties, inability to get pressure on Wilson, the muffed punt. Still, credit to Denver, they played great and beat KC, period. Wilson again played good, good decisions. No, he's not 2019 Russ, but he doesn't have to be. He's improved to the level his team needs him to with two good games and two good wins in a row. Huge credit to Sean Payton.

I mentioned it might be a trap game. Factor in Mahomes illness (they said he was pretty bad Sat PM needing two IVs), the lousy weather (record cold for this time of year - I had the opportunity to go to the game but I passed because of the weather. Lol), and the possibility I think KC was looking ahead to their game against Miami next week in Germany.

Uncharacteristically KC had 5 turnovers! Their punt returner couldn't catch a routine punt. Mahomes was getting the ball knocked out of his hand. Receivers were dropping wide open strikes including one in the endzone. Reid looked like he would rather be in a warm restaurant chowing down some burgers instead of standing on the sidelines. IMO, the whole team looked like they didn't want to be there. Let's be honest - Mahomes is a much better playmaker that what we saw today.

Not taking anything away from Denver (first win over KC since 2015), but I just don't see this Russ Wilson led team making the playoffs. IMO, he just doesn't make enough plays for someone of supposedly greatness & a future HOF. He still turns the ball over too much - particularly with fumbles. He panics when he's blitzed. And I think he's one good hit away from a major injury failing to slide soon enough or run out of bounds.

They might win enough games to break 500 (fairly easy schedule with Buffalo & Detroit being the two toughest teams left to play). But I don't think this team is a legitimate SB contender with Wilson at the helm.

 

[Oldermanish]

SEA runs the ball well until they get down inside the 15 or so. They have to be able to score 6 more often when they get down there. The O line can't run block when the D line and LBs are all coming forward so they need to have some edge passes to get across the line.

KC, as we have discussed a lot, plays like they are bored sometimes. If they plan with that mentality sprinkled with a little 'DEN can't beat us' then they could drop this game.

And that's how they won. Geno lost juice on passes for half the game and finally....FINALLY started going to the outside to Fant, Walker, etc. Lockett was great and Metcalf looks injured. Hopefully they'll mend up. Getting a healthy O Line intact will be a big help and isn't Frank Clark in town? That'll add some more D-punch.

 

[Oldermanish]

Geno really doesn't smile very much and during the game he had the I am absolutely disgusted face quite a bit

He didn't have much to smile about between the first Quarter and the last drive. He was taking his bad passes pretty hard. Fortunately the last drive was well-scripted and executed without too much free lancing. Metcalf's block was perfect and could've been the killer penalty if he hadn't thought it through. It kinda looked like he was managing his contact for the refs on that play. Thanks, DK!

 

[movingtarget]

KC turned into Denver. Crazy game. Rarely see Kansas have a game like that. Wilson showing some life.

Eagles and Washington was an entertaining game .Howell had a great first half. Both QBs played well.

Good win for the Vikings but losing Cousins late was a bummer.

49ers annihilated the Cowboys in week five and then totally went off the boil. Even Jimmy G didn't lose three in a row but they have plenty of issues not just the QB. Getting Deebo and Williams back is something but will it be enough to stop the slide ?

Hawks and Browns was an entertaining game as well. Jags were too slick for the Steelers, Etienne's good form continues. Miami were solid and Carr had a better game for the Saints who had a good win. Taysom Hill also played well. Cowboys haven't done much wrong since the 49ers loss and the Chargers had a good win against pretty weak opposition.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Lots of people saying the Chiefs lost the game, as if Denver had nothing to do with it. But this was without question Denver's best game in years, and Russ best game in a Bronco uniform. Russ still made mistakes, a bad pick, a fumble, a few missed throws. But their entire team kept fighting, especially their defense. They ran numerous blitzes, and stunts, and just hustled on every play.

Having said that, I agree with Nomad. They might go 8-9 and finish ahead of the Raiders, but this was probably the best they will ever play. I don't see them getting into the playoffs, and certainly don't see them winning a game if they get there. It would take not only this kind of effort, bad weather, the other team underestimating them and making mistakes.

To me the key with Geno and Seattle was that they were playing a top defense, and while they struggled, when it mattered most Geno was at his best. That's what separates winners from losers much of the time. That game got intense in the last several minutes, and even though Geno looked disgusted, he stepped up and pulled it off. That takes a lot confidence, and inner drive.

In a similar way, the Jets-Giants game was ugly. Not terrible play, just a lot of back and forth with no team able to sustain drives. If you love defense (or punters!), you might have liked the game more. Zach Wilson looked like the 2022 version of himself for over 3 quarters. Missed guys who were open, panicked during pressure, happy feet. But when it got late in the game, and the pressure was at its highest, he stepped up like he never has before. If the Jet defense carried them to this win, he put the offense on his shoulders in the final drives. Mistakes by the Giants helped.

49ers problems to me isn't the offense. It's obvious they miss Williams and Deebo. That, and as I said before, maybe compelling Brock to get the ball out quicker will get things on track. If I were a SF fan I'd be worried about the defense. It's as if one drive, or one set of downs, they play strong, as expected. But the next drive, they either haven't gotten pressure, or the DBs have given up key throws that kept drives going. This problem will be harder to fix, and something that can be exposed come playoff time.

 

[jmdirt]

I have to laugh at the talking heads this morning: Purdy has been the second coming of (fill in your own blank here), but now all of a sudden they are all saying how he was over rated, the honeymoon is over, never was elite, etc...

 

[Unchained]

I have to laugh at the talking heads this morning: Purdy has been the second coming of (fill in your own blank here), but now all of a sudden they are all saying how he was over rated, the honeymoon is over, never was elite, etc...

I have accidentally seen a few post game interviews w Josh Allen and he tries really hard to be mindful and in the moment. He will say repeatedly that what matters is getting the win and it may be an ugly process w fumbles, penalties, sacks, missed field goals, interceptions, you name it, but lots of pros are grounded and say basically one game at a time. Enjoy the win or don't over mourn the loss just move on.. Geno is a decade+ plus into it and he has something important in a never give up factor.
Not saying Purdy doesn't have it, maybe to a lesser degree. Also don't think that Purdy hears footsteps and sees sasquatch coming to sack him..but when I watch he hangs around in an obvious collapsing pocket and makes throws that are at best risky.. You see a Cousins or Brady they airmail a bunch of passes because they don't take every risk..Kittle and McCaffrey are great weapons but in my opinion too heavily used..Purdy is just too much.. Young, last drafted, crazy record and now the surgery comeback.. Who doesn't love a Hollywood movie unfolding before your eyes but I think Purdy is going to need more time..
I have pretty strong negative feelings about players wearing dark sunglasses in a stadium for a night game, that said.. The play by play guys are sort of a broken record about the honeymoon being over w Fields and the Bears..feel the same w him too much pressure to be Tom Brady in a fraction of the time..