The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
Opinion
San Antonio-(RYM)-Week 8 was the week of the backup QB with Trevor Siemian, Cooper Rush, Geno Smith and Mike White all winning after there starting QB went down or miss the games.
Teams on bye- Raiders & Ravens
Packers 24, Cardinals 21
I TOLD EUNICE!!!! I TOLD HER!!!!
Packers CB Rasul Douglas stares down the Arizona fan base are making the game sealing interception during the last minutes of Thursday Night Football (Evan Siegle, packers.com)/Green Bay Packers
Good:
Rasul Douglas was at one point in seating in The Cardinals video room with the other practice squad guys wondering "what can I do to make it to the active roster." That is when The Packers came calling, even if it was only due to injuries, and became the Thursday Night Hero with the game-sealing INT.
The Cardinals did all they could to rally around Kyler Murray to win the game, he walked them up and down the field to almost stay undefeated.
Bad:
The Packers defense lost DE Kingsley Keke with a Concussion which hurts them even more. The defense is lacking, yes they make stops when they need to, but they make the games way too close. If they want to finally make it back to the promised land they need to fix the issues on the defensive side.
The Cardinals offense trailed for the better part of the whole game, and with DeAndre Hopkins hurt it showed a huge hole in the offense.
Ugly:
Quote from Kyler Murray after the game "We weren't on the same page, and it cost us." They started slow once again in the first half and I said this before if they do not fix the slow starts they will not be able to win games vs the stronger teams and I was 100% right. I understand they kept it close but the slow start hurt them a lot.
Overall:
The Packers are hot but still have to fix small things. The Cardinals have shown holes, now it's up to them to fix them if they want to win games and make the playoffs.
Panthers 19, Falcons 13
I was shocked to say the least
Good:
Another team did not listen to us till after they had no other choice. The Panthers finally ran the hell out of the ball with a season-high 47 times. With CMC slated to come back soon, one cannot wait to see what Chub Hubbard and he can do when they get mixed in the game.
Nothing good here, for The Falcons.
Bad:
The Panthers have a full RB room with CMC, Chuba Hubbard, Royce Freeman, and Ameet Abdullah right now it is a committee but once CMC comes back how will they run the room that is a huge question they must answer and fast.
The Falcons looked like a hot mess out there. The offense could not move down the field, whatever game plan they had was not working but did they change it? NOPE!!! and now they are missing their top WR Calvin Ridley (I am guessing you are missing Julio right about now?)
Ugly:
The Panthers have an ugly issue in the books now with Sam Darnold out due to a concussion if he needs to miss an extended amount of time can there back win games?
Overall:
The Panthers ran the ball and won, who would have thought that works? The Falcons have to figure out life without Calvin Ridley, simple as that.
Dolphins 11, Bills 26
Interesting Game
Bills QB Josh Allen escaped a Dolphins defender (Craig Melvin) / Buffalo Bills
Good:
The Bills started slow but got things going and came out with a W. It was an ugly W but a W nonetheless.
The Dolphins are fighting to keep not only their teams together and win games yes they lost but they held the second-ranked scoring offense to just 3 points and that is a victory in itself.
Bad:
We will talk about The Bills issues in The Ugly section.
The Dolphins have questions in many areas but what can they do? Sell away players to stock on draft picks since the trade deadline is coming or will they stick to what they have and rearrange it to make it work?
Ugly:
When you match The Bills vs The Dolphins, The Bills come out as the better team. Yet in the first half, they could not stop the blitz and had put together 4 magic drives at the end of the game just to win it. They need to work on fixing the OL issues because converting only 5 3rd downs won't get them to the Super Bowl.
Overall:
The Bills have issues but nothing that can't be fixed. The Dolphins are making games close but still have a long way to go.
49ers 33, Bears 22
It was a really good game
Good:
The 49ers needed to beat The Bears, because the next few games arent easy at all. They will need to win them to stay in the wild card race.
The Bears are showing signs of getting their stuff together and if they can connect on offense and defense we can see a turnaround for The Bears (also helped Nagy was not there to mess things up).
Bad:
The 49ers need to get Deebo Samuels involved more in the offense with 6 catches he had 171 and is only 200 yards short of a 1k yard season, if they keep that up then the run game can open up in the action play.
The defense let the offense down for The Bears on Sunday by allowing the 49ers a massive comeback in the second half, if they want to win games they will need to solidify that defense (and having Mack back will help).
Ugly:
The Bears saw life without Matt Nagy and it was good, till the defense allowed the 49ers to come back, if they want to win games they will need to stop allowing 30 points in games or start looking at next season.
Overall:
The 49ers won an ugly game but now comes the hard part of the season. The Bears can't beat a struggling 49ers team so I am not sure who they can beat (The Lions maybe?)
Browns 10, Steelers 15
Did you see Myles Garrett’s costume? Sensational!!!
Good:
The Steelers tried to trick The Browns with a special teams trick play and ended up losing their Kicker yet they still were able to come up with a win if that is not saying don't count them out then IDK what is.
The Browns had one heck of a slugfest and stayed in the game as much as possible.
Bad:
Right now the biggest concern for The Steelers is how long will Chris Boswell be out since he did leave the game with a concussion, if he is going to miss an ample amount of time then who can replace him they do have rookie punter Pressley Harvin III but as you saw they didn't have a lot of confidence in him.
I'll get to the Ugly part of The Browns.
Ugly:
The Browns had a lot of mental mistakes that killed them especially when they needed it the most, and the injury monster is hitting them hard. But what is a real conundrum here is the passing game, what in the world is going on with it? Between OBJ and Jarvis Landry they only had 71 yards and 1 fumble if they cannot figure it out the offense will be the reason they do not make the playoffs.
Overall:
The Steelers have questions in the kicking game but they won so celebrate. The Browns are hurting badly with injuries but more on offense.
Eagles 44, Lions 6
I really thought The Lions were going to win
Good:
The Eagles took some sound advice from their arch-rivals in the NFC East and ran the hell out of the ball which then helped open up the passing game and much more for them but I mean not like we have all been saying that since day 1.
They did not get shut out so yay for that.
Bad:
They played great on Sunday but can they keep up the production? I mean it's not like they beat Dallas or The 49ers, they beat up on the winless Lions so for them to show that they understand how to win games they will need to prove it next week vs The Chargers.
This was The Lions worst game to date and was very close to getting shut out it was bad but I will cover more in The Ugly.
Ugly:
The Lions have problems, but not more than the OL they are missing two of their starters, and this is one of the many reasons they are hurting in games. If they cannot get it together and at least bolster the OL to give QB Jared Goff some protection that 08 seasons will rear its ugly head.
Overall:
The Eagles won but it was The Lions so next week will be the real test. The Lions were the first team to go 0-16 and now might be the first to go 0-17.
Titans 34, Colts 31-OT
I am questioning the Titans right now
Titans WR A.J. Brown walks in for a TD vs The Colts on Sunday (Donald Page)/Tennessee Titans
Good:
The Titans proved they can win play bad and still win games, which is very important especially moving forward and into the playoffs.
The Colts made it a close game and even had the lead early in the game.
Bad:
As much as we love seeing King Henry being fed, I am not sure if this is such a good thing. His usage is starting to show normally he breaks off 1 or 2 good 15+ yard runs but we didn't see that versus The Colts and eventually, he is going to have a game where either he cants move the ball due to a lot of usages or something worse.
The Colts need to pray they win some more because a wild card spot is the only way to get in the playoffs now for them.
Ugly:
Right now The Colts schedule is not favorable for them to make the playoffs and with the way, Carson Wentz played on Sunday it is questionable at best.
Derek Henry broke his foot and now might be done for the season, can The Titans win without him? I say no, so for them the best case scenario is Henry only misses a few weeks.
Overall:
The Titans won, well see moving forward. The Colts need to hope and pray.
Bengals 31, Jets 34
WTF JUST HAPPENED?!!!!!!
Jets QB Mike White celebrates a TD with with G Greg Van Roten/New York Jets
Good:
Mike White was the Cowboys 6th round pick a few years ago. After spending time in the practice squad with both Dallas and The Jets he gets called up due to Zach Wilson being hurt and he made the most of his first time starting by going 405 yards and 3 TD which made him the first 400 yard passer for The Jets in 327 days what a hell of a first start.
The Bengals played their hearts out and did all they could to keep the game close and show the world they are not the same old team from years past.
Bad:
The Jets have a great back up but it is still Zach Wilson's team but now with the amazing start Mike White had will they keep him moving or start Joe Flacco who they got via a trade with Philly?
The defense showed its very young colors today but we will talk more in The Ugly.
Ugly:
The Bengals were brought down to earth on Sunday. The young defense blew an 11 point lead and the offense stammered at times, The Bengals past came back to bite them but as ugly as that is, they needed a humbling game like this for them to get back on track.
Overall:
The Jets are strange because one minute they are amazing the next they stink I just am not sure what to think. The Bengals took a Jet (get it?) back down to earth but it is not as bad as we think.
Rams 38, Texans 22
Turned out like we expected
Good:
The Rams had a 3 game stretch vs 3 of the worst teams in the NFL (Giants, Lions, Texans) one can say they could have easily trapped themselves in one of those games, but they won each of them and improved to 7-1.
Davis Mills played has been playing some extra extraordinary football especially if you consider what he is missing, maybe he is not as bad as we think and he could win a few games if he had some help.
Bad:
The Rams have a problem, what was once a very stacked WR room is now a shell of its former self. DeSean Jackson requested a trade and was inactive for the game, Rookie Tutu Atwell suffered a shoulder injury but did come in the game to catch a 68-yard pass but who knows how healthy he truly is. Also, Van Jefferson limped off the field, if they want to keep moving the ball and winning games they will need to be active before the trade deadline and get some reinforcements.
The Texans front office has done it again and traded away their leading rusher, anyone had around 4 billion dollars I can borrow so we can buy The Texans and fix them up?
Ugly:
The Texans need the below to win at least one.
Better OL
More consistent WR play
Better run play
Defense getting short field for the offense with turnovers
The defense needs to score points
But let us be serious they are going to get any of those and with the lack of draft capital who knows when they will be able to compete.
Overall:
The Rams are moving forward. The Texans front office has failed once again.
Patriots 27, Chargers 24
I did not see that coming
Good:
The Patriots play some ugly games but somehow they stay mentally strong and pull off wins.
The Chargers at least scored this time around vs The Patriots.
Bad:
The Patriots filled the game vs The Chargers was filed with costly penalties, ball-security issues, and play calling that has us scratching our head. If they want to keep winning they will need to change these issues or they will be back to the loser bracket before they know it.
The Patriots love to beat up on young QBs and Justin Herbert was no exception he was hit 11 times, sacked 3 times, and threw 2 INTs, 1 of which was returned for a TD. I just am not sure what happen here Herbert went from MVP to rookie in .05 seconds.
Ugly:
Outside of the QB issues The Chargers have right now, they also have issues in the secondary both CBs Micheal Davis and Asante Samuel Jr. are both hurt and although they have Derwin James Jr. and Chris Harris Jr. they can't do everything for them to get back to winning they will need to find help.
Overall:
The Patriots won, now time to get a look at next week. Chargers what happened?
Jaguars 31, Seahawks 7
They finally one with Geno Smith
Good:
The Seahawks finally played a complete game with the offense and defense connecting as one to win a game and get them back on track to try and make the playoffs.
The Jaguars scored 7 points so smile.
Bad:
There is a lot of questions for The Seahawks but the one question that we all have is will Russell Wilson return after the bye? He is eligible to return after the bye week but that will only be 4 weeks in the recovery timetable. Will they decide to hold him off or speed him back?
Can we get Trevor Lawrence some help, please? but skip to The Ugly.
Ugly:
The Jaguars have no number 1 WR, lack debt in the running game, no offensive live protection, and of course, a coach who does not game plan. How is he supposed to grow and get better when no one is helping him? The Jaguars front office needs to help Lawrence or they will have an Andrew Luck situation sooner rather than later.
Overall:
The Seahawks played complementary football, but can they keep it going? The Jaguars need to help Lawrence simple as that.
WFT 10, Broncos 17
The Broncos finally won!!!
Good:
The Broncos won that is all I can say here.
For The WFT the bye week is here so rest and hope the second half of the season is better than the first half.
Bad:
The Broncos are just annoying on offense, when they need to run the ball they ignore it. When they need to give Teddy some time to throw they don't, when they need to keep a tight formation they don't. I just am not sure what they can do anymore to win close games down the stretch.
The WFT is so inconsistent on both sides of the ball that we can't even blame it on the fact that they are a young team, I mean it's that bad.
Ugly:
The WFT offense has only been able to get 1 TD, 2 FG in 13 trips to the Red Zone but has also come out with 2 INTs, 3 Blocked FG, and 5 loss of downs, I mean even Eunice and I could come up with better stats than that. They need Fitz Magic back sooner rather than later or they will be trapped in another bad year.
Overall:
The Broncos offense is frustrating but it's better than The WFT who is at best just sad.
Buccaneers 36, Saints 27
I did not see it coming
Good:
The Saints felt deflated when Jameis Winston was carted off the field with a potential season-ending leg injury, then Trevor Siemian came into the game and told the defense to give him some help, and what did they do? They forced 3 turnovers and Siemian took over at the helm and became the hero of the game.
With TB12 as your QB, you are never out of the game and that was enforced on Sunday when The Bucs overcame a 16-point deficit to make the game one hell of a nail-biter.
Bad:
The Saints need to look at what is going to happen to Jameis Winston, if he's going to be out a few weeks then will they stick with Trevor Siemian with Taysom Hill thrown in the mix till his back or if he's done for the season will they go get Cam Newton? Too many questions to answer.
The Bucs big issue right now is turnovers, they are not going to win the Super Bowl if they do not get the turnovers in check.
Ugly:
BUCS STOP WITH THE PENALTIES!!!! 11-99?!!!! How?!!!!! Come on that is a whole football field. If they want to win games they need to cut it out! Lucky for them they had the same issue last year and were able to fix it so lets us hope they can do the same now.
Overall:
The Saints hope Jameis Winston is okay. The Bucs need to fix the penalties.
Cowboys 20, Vikings 16
I will say it again
HOW BOUT THEM COWBOYS?!!!!!!!!
Cowboys WR Amari Cooper catches a 5-yard TD over Vikings CB Cameron Dantzler during Sunday Night Football(AP Photo/Jim Mone)/Dallas Cowboys
Good:
I will be the first to say that when I saw that Dak was inactive, I changed the channel and stopped watching Sunday Night Football because I counted My Cowboys out. BOY WAS I WRONG?!!!!!!! Cooper Rush went for 24-40 for 325 and 2 TDs, he did that a fumble and 1 INT but he still stood calm against the turnover and threw a 5 yard TD to the back shoulder of Amari Cooper to take the lead at the end of the game. I am speechless.
The Vikings had a huge first drive by taking 5 minutes of the clock in the first quarter and capping it off with a beautiful Adam Thielen 20 yard TD pass which led to my heart sinking when I saw the notification that we were down already 7-0 to start.
Bad:
Again Tyron Smith is hurt with an ankle injury and could miss some time lucky for The Cowboys, Terence Steele played LT last year with Smith out, but it is something we must be worried about.
The Vikings failed to put the Dakless Cowboys away, last year OROY Justin Jefferson was 2 for 21 yards and might as well have just stayed on the sideline, add on to that Kirk Cousins was just uncomfortable in the pocket and could not capitalize on the turnovers, it was just all bad outside the first drive of the game.
Ugly:
In The Ugly, I want to call myself out for being ugly on my Dallas Cowboys and not trust how different this team is. So do the Dallas Cowboys I am sorry.
Overall:
The Cowboys are different and I am excited. The Vikings are up to the same old same old.
Giants 20, Chiefs 17
I am in shock on over the game
Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill celebrates a TD with fellow WR Byron Pringle during Monday Night Football game vs The Giants (Steve Sanders)/Kansas City Chiefs
Good:
The Chiefs won the game but it was an ugly win and if it was not for the 2 FGs by Harrison Butker we would be talking about a whole different game.
Daniel Jones and The Giants had The Chiefs on their heels for most of the game and played lights out.
Bad:
The Chiefs had to overcome once again dig themselves out of one ugly hole, but more on that in The Ugly section.
The Giants were ready to build a house and somehow ended up digging a hole but like The Chiefs more on that in The Ugly.
Ugly:
The Chiefs had 2 turnovers and 12 penalties for 103 yards and somehow were able to come out with the win, but is that because they played a deflated Giants team or because they are finding ways to win? I would go with the latter on this one. They lacked rhythm and just did not look like The SB winning Chiefs that we know. If they want to be back in the playoffs they will need to fix the turnovers and penalties otherwise they won't be able to dig themselves out of the same hole again.
The Giants need to fix the OL and get a new coaching staff. They had the game won and lost it, Daniel Jones was hot but yet could not get comfortable in the pocket and got sacked 3 times and hit many other times. When Jones was comfortable he was able to beat up on a struggling Chiefs secondary but of course, HC Joe Judge called a horrible game and did not stick to the run even though they had shown success with the run. Do not get me wrong the WRs dropped balls that should have been caught but still had they stuck to the run things would have been different.
Overall:
The Chiefs won but that hole they dug today is getting deeper and deeper by the day. The Giants need a change at HC.