The NFL jokingly stands for “Not For Long.”  And it is true, the average career for a player is around 4 years.  A coach – about the same.  So, when you have big stories that rock the league, the changes come swiftly.

Week 13 Review – No Tolerance?

  • NFL Fails Again – I will definitely write more about this another time, but RB Kareem Hunt was cut from the KC Chiefs this past weekend when TMZ got a hold of a video of an incident from earlier this year.  I understand the NFL asked the Chiefs to back off on their own internal investigation, however the video surfaced and then the Chiefs acted immediately.  Beyond the intolerable violence towards a woman, Hunt lied to the team about the incident.  So, Andy Reid did the right thing.  Will it hurt their Super Bowl hopes?  Maybe, but the NFL continues to botch all of these situations publicly and in their efforts to investigate behind closed doors.
  • McCarthy Era Over – Green Bay won a Super Bowl with Coach Mike McCarthy in 2010.  However, Aaron Rodgers is arguably the leagues best QB, and the Pack have not been back to the Super Bowl since.  In fact, this year will mark the 2nd consecutive year they have missed the playoffs after going for 8 straight years.  The bottom line here is McCarthy’s play calling ability has not moved along with the NFL.  The publicized feud between Rodgers and McCarthy has been well documented, and the truth is without Rodgers on the field, this team is terrible.  So, it is time for new leadership and direction.  As a Bears fan, I’m sad to see him go, as this means the Pack will be better (probably immediately).  Rodgers paired with an innovative offensive mind (Lincoln Riley, perhaps) may set the league on fire.  In the meantime, the Pack will play out the string under Interim Head Coach, Joe Philbin.
  • Dallas Is for Real – Maybe it was the Amari Cooper trade or the Sean Lee injury at LB paving the way for LB Leighton Vander Esch to take the field, but the Cowboys are on a roll.  This time they dismantled one of the league’s best offenses in the Saints.  Following a familiar formula, the Cowboys are running behind Zeke Elliott and the speed on defense can handle any attack.  The Cowboys won the game, 13-10 moving to 7-5, and now they are set to play the defending champs in Jerry’s World this week.
  • Chargers Show Mettle On the Road – The Chargers went to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers without RB Melvin Gordon.  Early on, the Steelers dominated the game and looked to make short work of the West Coasters.  However, QB Phillip Rivers (who deserves serious MVP consideration) led this team back.  Plus, coupled with RB Justin Jackson’s efforts and a punt return, the Chargers roared back hitting a game winning FG (despite a few misses that were nullified by penalty).  The 33-30 win puts the Chargers just one game back of the Chiefs in the West still and at 9-3 tied for the 2nd best mark in the conference with Houston and New England making that date Thursday Night Game in Arrowhead in Week 15 huge.
  • Seahawks Hold Playoff Spot – With another big win at home against the 49ers, 43-16, the Seahawks are now at the 5th seed in the NFC ahead of this week’s opponent Vikings.  The Seahawks have recaptured that formula of winning football by running the ball, timely passing and great defense.  Hard not to like this team.
  • Ravens Continue To Win – QB Lamar Jackson has now led the Ravens to 3 straight wins, this time on the road at Atlanta.  Jackson continues to do it all in the wins, and more importantly, the time of possession battle, 39:39 to 20:21.  That keeps the league’s best defense fresh to pummel opposing offenses, like the high powered Falcons in this weeks, 26-16 win.  They are firmly in the playoffs as the 6 seed now.
  • Don’t Forget About the Pats – Oh right, the Patriots, well, they simply crushed the Vikings on Sunday, 24-10, and quietly have moved up all the defensive metrics.  As they sit at 9-3, all it will take will be on KC slip up to grab home field advantage back.  The Patriots are not doing it with offense as in the past 2 seasons, but more of complementary football – running for over 100 yards most weeks and giving that less than talented defense a break to get off the field quicker.

Week 14 Key Games

  • Ravens at Chiefs (-6.5), 1 PM Eastern/12 Noon Central on CBS – Maybe not the glamorous match up you might expect, but that conflict of styles.  The Ravens are the #1 defense for a reason, and that includes playing teams like the Saints and Falcons with similar attacks to KC.  KC better figure out a way to stop the run in this one.  A win by the Ravens would nearly cement their playoff spot.  A loss by the Chiefs would put them out of the 1 seed and needing to beat the Chargers next week for the division.
  • Colts at Texans (-5), 1 PM Eastern/12 Noon Central on CBS – The Colts are 3 back in the AFC South to the streaking Texans (9 in a row!), but the Colts need to keep pace with the Broncos and Ravens to keep their playoff hopes alive.
  • Eagles at Cowboys (-3.5), 4:25 PM Eastern/3:25 PM Central on FOX – This is really the key battle for the NFC East division.  With the Redskins reeling and QB injuries, it is going to come down to these teams.  Tied on division record, the win gives one squad the clear advantage.
  • Rams at Bears (+3), Sunday Night Football, 8:20 PM Eastern/7:20 PM Central on NBC – The Rams are back on top of the NFC, and they will take on solid Bears defense in Soldier Field.  Trubisky should return for the Bears in this one, and they need him.  The offense has been just ok with Daniel under center.  I fear the Bears will be in a game they cannot keep up in, however, the crowd should help them make it exciting.
  • Vikings at Seahawks (-3), Monday Night Football, 8:15 Eastern/7:15 Central on ESPN – The Vikings are not great on the road and travel to the Pacific Northwest where the 12th Man is as tough as it gets.  The Seahawks are a hungry, young bunch that believe in the formula.  This win would put Seattle firmly in the Wild Card, while the Vikings are just one step ahead of the pack and a loss puts them back in the fray.

NFL Index

NFL Index W14

Top 5 Teams

  1. Bears – Still on top as Top 5 in every category but Yards Gained, TO Differential is incredible (+12).
  2. Saints – Saints take a loss at Dallas, but the Metrics are strong – #1 in Scoring Differential (+12.5).  They will bounce back this week.
  3. Chargers – Actually tied with Saints at #2, Chargers a really good – Top 10 in every category but TO Differential (+5), but can they beat the Chiefs?
  4. Rams – Big game at Bears to settle this Index on the field.  Rams are Top 3 in 4 of 6 categories, but Yards Against (367.3) and Points Against (24.8).
  5. Texans – Not a fluke winning streak like a lot of sharps think, the Texans are Top 12 or better in every category, and 3rd in Points Against (19.6).

Bottom 5 Teams

28.  49ers – The Niners aren’t good.  Not bad in Yards Gained or Against, but 29th in Points Against and a league worst in TO Differential now (-20).

29.  Jets – Every category is 23rd or worse.  They are 30th in Yards Gained (301.0).  The Jets are a rough watch, despite covering the spread at Tennessee.

29.  Bengals – The Defense is the culprit – Worst in Yards Against (433.1) and Points against (30.9).

31.  Raiders – Raiders have improved slightly to tie the Cardinals for last in the Index.  29th in Points Scored, 28th in Yards Against, 31st in Points Against and a league low in Scoring Differential (-12.3).

31.  Cardinals – The offense is the league worst still even with win at Green Bay – Yards Gained (239.3) and Points Scored (14.6).  Yikes.

We have 4 games left in the regular season.  It should be a fun ending to a crazy season.

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.