The NFL really knows how to keep you engaged.  Between the rule changes encouraging offense, instant replay, seemingly infinite camera angles and probably 28 teams that are remarkably close in talent, you get results like you did on Sunday.  That is why the NFL is king and it isn’t even close.

Week 7 – Fantastic Finishes

  • Go for 2 or Not? – In London, the LA Chargers were able to build a lead with big plays, but the Titans who hadn’t scored a lot lately controlled the clock for over 35 minutes.  The Chargers defense was gassed.  The Titans used the final 5 minutes to drive the length of the field down 7.  After some helpful penalties, QB Marcus Mariota threw a TD pass on 4th and 1 from the 1 yard line.  Coach Vrabel decided to go for 2 and the win.  Probably not wise, since the Chargers were getting gashed in the 2nd half.  Then after another penalty gave them the 2 point try from the 1 yard line, Mariota passed the ball incomplete securing the Charger win, 20-19.  Crazy finish for the Londoners to see!
  • One Yard Short – The Bears hosted the Patriots on Sunday, and they jumped out to an early lead behind some big plays by QB Mitch Trubisky with his legs (not arm).  Still, the Bears gave up 2 special teams TDs one on a kick off return after a Bears TD which swung the momentum and later a punt block returned for a TD.  The Bears trailed by 7 with 24 clicks left.  Trubisky got a couple of completions to their own 45 yard line for one final play.  He rolled a bit and chucked the ball with a hand in his face when WR Kevin White (yes, the former 1st rounder) caught the ball in the crowd at the 2 yard line and was stuffed at the 1 yard line as time expired….Final Score 38-31.
  • Browns in OT, Again?!? – The Browns were getting crushed, but finally in the 4th quarter, QB Baker Mayfield and the gang got hot.  With 14 unanswered points, the Browns tied the game with 2:28 left only to have QB Jameis Winston drive his team into position for a game winning FG, but K Chandler Catanzaro pushed the attempt Wide Right for another OT trip.  In OT, it was a battle of ineptness.  The game looked like another tie for the Brownies, but with 1:50 left in the OT period, Tampa Coach Dirk Koetter decided to kick the 59 yard FG (really questionable decision), and Catanzaro nailed it for the win!!  Final Score 26-23.
  • Snap Infraction? – The Redskins played a great game Sunday, but even with holding RB Zeke Elliott to his lowest rushing total on the year, the Cowboys had a chance to tie the game with a late drive.  QB Dak Prescott and crew wasted a lot of time once they crossed mid-field, and clearly Coach Jason Garrett was settling for the FG.  So the Cowboys lined up for a 47 yard FG attempt.  However, the Redskins line appeared to jump off sides, but the call was a “Snap Infraction” which on replay looked like the Dallas long snapper shifted the ball slightly to get a grip on the ball.  The penalty moved the ball back 5 more yards increasing the FG attempt to 52 yards.  K Brett Maher had a solid strike on the attempt, but the ball pulled left and hit the upright for a miss (which would have been good from 47 yards), 20-17 final.  Dallas falls to Washington who is now in 1st place by themselves.
  • Saints Go Marching In – The Ravens #1 Defense was looking solid with a 17-7 lead to start the 1st quarter.  However, QB Drew Brees and Coach Sean Payton kept the pressure on scoring 17 fourth quarter points (the first 2nd half TDs against this defense all year) taking a 7 point lead.  However, the Ravens’ QB Joe Flacco deftly moved the team down the field with 2:03 left to play.  Flacco hit WR John Brown up the sideline to apparently tie the game.  K Justin Tucker lined up for the extra point, and inexplicably missed his first career extra point kick (previously made 222 in a row) giving the Saints the win, 24-23.  Incredible.

I’m not sure we will have another week with such incredible games, but there is always next week to prove me wrong.

NFC Showdowns in Week 8

There are 2 epic battles that will determine future seeding in the NFC playoffs.  I am pretty happy with the way the networks decided to handle these, unlike this week.  The flexing of CIN-KC instead of NO-BAL proved to be a mistake.

  • Marquee Match Up #1 Packers at Rams – Green Bay travels to Los Angeles to take on the 7-0 Rams.  The Packers are coming off of the bye and despite playing poorly prior to the bye, they sit just a half game back in the North Division and holding the 2nd Wild Card spot.  The Rams are the league’s best team with the 2nd best offense in yards and 3rd in points per game.  The Packers defense is probably not up to the challenge, but you just cannot count out QB Aaron Rodgers who should be slightly better with the extra week of rest.  Check out this game on Fox at 4:25 Eastern/3:25 Central.
  • Marquee Match Up #2 Saints at Vikings – A rematch of the epic NFC Divisional Round game in January, the 1st place in the NFC South at 5-1 New Orleans Saints go back up the dome in Minneapolis to play the now 1st place in the NFC Central Vikings.  The Saints just got that big win on the road at Baltimore and face a Vikings defense that has played well in back to back outings.  Vikings’ QB Kirk Cousins needs to keep pace with the Saints offense, and maybe the Saints will slow down WR Adam Thielen with went for over 100 yards for his 7th straight time.  This game is on Sunday Night Football on NBC at 8:20 Eastern/7:20 Central and should be the game of the day.

Bye Weeks:  Falcons, Cowboys, Titans and Chargers

Wegs NFL Index – Week 8

Wegs Index – 10-24-18

Top 5 Teams – Not a ton of change here despite the losses at the top.  

  1. LA Rams – Just dominating on both sides of the ball again – DT Aaron Donald led the defense to 7 QB sacks.
  2. Bears – The Bears are still an Index darling despite dropping 2 straight.  If they wouldn’t have given up 2 Special Team TDs, then they should have won the game over the Pats.
  3. Ravens – Tucker costs the Ravens a shot at OT, but you have to like the response by Flacco in the clutch after the defense finally shows some breaks.  This is a playoff team.
  4. LA Chargers – Chargers get the win with the Titans error at the end of regulation and without RB Melvin Gordon.  The Chargers have only 2 losses to Rams and Chiefs.  Watch out when Bosa comes back after the bye.
  5. Seahawks – Another Index darling to edge out the Chiefs (who are just behind Seattle).  Let’s see how they play at Detroit to see if this is just an error in the Index.

Bottom 5 Teams – No real surprises here.

28.  Bengals – The worst over .500 team out there.  The Chiefs nuked this team in prime time.  They are now 31st in Yards Against.  I’m going to see them spiral down at this point forward.

29.  Giants – Their lack of strength on the Offensive and Defensive lines really shows up against teams with out class them.  The Giants look like they will be selecting that QB in the Top 5 in 2019.

30.  49ers – The 49ers may have lost their starting QB and RB, but why is this defense so bad, maybe it is the -15 TO differential, an NFL worst.

31.  Cardinals – That putrid effort on Thursday got OC Mike McCoy fired (again).  The Cardinals are 32nd in Yards Gained at 220 Yards/Game, a full 143 yards below the league average and oh, 31st in Scoring at 13.1 PPG.

32.  Raiders – The sell off continues with WR Amari Cooper traded to Dallas for another 1st round pick.  The Raiders are in full rebuild mode.  Hard to see this team moving up too much in the coming weeks.

On to Week 8.

Wegs

 

About the author

I'm a 49 year old, twice divorced guy with a 20 year old. The blog has morphed a bit lately. Not just sports or dating, social commentary and now some stories from my past experience.