1/04/25
1/03/25
AFC NORTH REVIEW
CLEVELAND BROWNS – 3-13
Cleveland
seemed like a team that could’ve potentially surprised some people coming into
the season. Many had hoped that Deshaun
Watson would return to how he had once performed as the Houston Texans
quarterback before all his off-field issues.
That was not even close to the case for him, or this miserable Browns
franchise this season, thus now they are looking at next season hoping that
Watson can at the very least stay healthy.
Watson hasn’t been able to play a full season yet for the Browns, which is
one of the reasons why they went ahead and restructured the quarterback’s
contract. Now if they were to cut ties
with Deshaun, they would accrue a dead cap of $119 million after June 1st. This team still possesses a huge threat on
defense, along with a lot of talent coming from their skilled positions such as
their wideouts, tight ends, and running backs.
This is a loaded division with the likes of the Ravens, Bengals, and
Steelers, though the Browns could be right in the thick of things if they could
just get consistent average or better play from their quarterback.
CINCINNATI BENGALS – 8-8
The
Bengals are certainly not out of the playoff discussion for this year just
yet. Tomorrow is their biggest game of
the season and will tell us whether they’ll still potentially have a shot to
make it in, though, even with a victory they will still have to wait until the
Dolphins and Broncos games come to an end before they get clearance on their postseason
hopes. Joe Burrow is creating a lot of
controversy over who the MVP should be this year with his superb play this
season. The biggest part of the
controversy is that the Bengals are on the cusp of not making it into the
playoffs but at no fault to Burrow’s play or the offense in general. Lou Anarumo, Cincy’s defensive coordinator, doesn’t
have his defense at the same level of play as he did last year. This is the main cause of the team’s issues
this season, while also the complication in why Burrow is not the favorite to
win the MVP. Joe Burrow leads the league
in passing yards (4,641 yards), completions & attempts (423, 606), yards
per game (290.1 ypg), and touchdowns (42).
He is also second in QBR with 76.7 and has the third-best QB rating this
season (109.8).
Cincinnati
may possess the best offense in NFL history to not make the playoffs come
Sunday night. What they have achieved
this year on that side of the ball is ridiculous. We know how great Burrow is but the crazy
thing about this offense is that they didn’t seem to miss a beat even when they
were without starting wide receiver Tee Higgins for a handful of games. How could they have so much success without
their 1B wideout? Easy, they still have
Ja’Marr Chase, a clear top three wideout since he came into the NFL. Don’t believe he’s the cream of the
crop? Chase is atop the list in
basically every category that exists for the statistical production of his
position! The man is first in receptions
(117 rec), receiving yards (1,612 yards), touchdowns (16 TDs), yards per game
(100.8 ypg), yards after the catch (761 yac), and first-down receptions (71
FD).
Zac
Taylor and Burrow have the Bengals on a five-game winning streak as of late. Another win for Cincy this week over the
Pittsburgh Steelers would not only help themselves in a major way by staying
alive in the hunt for January football but would also help the Baltimore Ravens
win the AFC North. If the Bengals were
to make the playoffs one would think that Burrow would then become the clear
favorite for this year's MVP. Ja’Marr Chase
is also playing for a historic accomplishment, the WR triple crown. The last time any wideout finished the
regular season as the leading receiver in yards, receptions, and touchdowns was
Cooper Kupp in 2021. There have only
been four wideouts that have achieved this feat (Kupp in 21, Steve Smith in 2005,
Sterling Sharp in 1992, and Jerry Rice in 1990) Chase will become the
fifth. In this, the last game of the
regular season, on the road the Bengals are the odds-on favorite (-2.5) against
a recently sliding Pittsburgh Steelers team.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS – 10-6
The
black & gold or black & yellow Steelers have had a very interesting
season so far. Mike Tomlin has long
proven his worth to the city of steel and the rest of the NFL, having never
ended a season with a losing record. He
once again showed just how great of a head coach he is this year, recording a
record of 10-6 with one more week remaining in the regular season and a chance
to win the AFC North with another win this week. Pittsburgh has a long history of marching out
some of the very best defenses the NFL has ever had, this year is no
different. The problem with the Steelers
has been their offense, particularly since the retirement of future Hall of
Fame QB Ben Roethlisberger. This season
Tomlin wanted to solve the team’s typical reason for a lack of success in the
past couple of years, the quarterback position.
With a pair of savvy moves in the offseason coach Tomlin along with
General Manager Omar Khan brought in two previous starting QBs from last season
to attempt to fix those issues. Both
Justin Fields and Russell Wilson have shown adequate play as the Steelers starters,
though it was rather clear that Wilson gave them more upside in the short term
to compete with the high-powered offenses that their divisional foes possess.
While
Tomlin is certainly in the running for the COTY award, they also have a top
DPOTY favorite in T.J. Watt. This
version of the Steelers' defense may not be the “Steel Curtain” though they are
still one of the best defensive units in the league. Watt is just one of the reasons why they are
in that small group of elite units leaguewide.
Another player who has been a game wrecker who doesn’t get nearly enough
credit is veteran defensive tackle Cam Heyward.
He is now 35 years old, in his 14th season yet has played
like someone with half his wear & tear.
They have playmakers all over this defense like safety Mikah Fitzpatrick,
linebackers Alex Highsmith, and ex-Raven Patrick Queen. Pittsburgh received great news as it has been
reported that they will get their starting cornerback Joey Porter Jr. back for
this divisional game in a must-win matchup.
Teryl Austin’s defense has been rolling on all cylinders this season and
looks ready for the challenge against this incredibly talented Cincinnati
Bengals offense on Saturday Night. The
Steelers are currently breathing rare air in a three-game losing streak, though
they have already clinched a playoff spot they still have a Division
Championship on the line. Knowing the
type of head coach Mike Tomlin is he doesn’t just want this one for potentially
taking the AFC North title, but also to make a statement ahead of their playoff
game. Those that may be quick to think
the Bengals will walk into Pittsburgh, bully them around in their stadium, and walk
out with a win, let me just remind you that these Steelers already beat the
Bengals in Cincy back in week 13 when they put 44 points up on the Bengals.
BALTIMORE RAVENS – 11-5
Baltimore
is in a rather sticky situation heading into their final week of the
season. They currently sit in third
place in the AFC and even though they cannot move up in the rankings they can
certainly wind up moving back. Usually,
you wouldn’t exactly want to go into your last regular season game playing your
starters, but the Ravens haven’t locked up the AFC North yet with those pesky
Pittsburgh Steelers on their tails. The
Ravens lost to the Browns back in week eight and had it not been for that loss
they would be able to rest all their starters for their next week’s matchup which
has yet to be determined. Baltimore has
one more win than Pittsburgh but the same division record which is why they
need to make sure they come out of this week with a win. If they were to come up short to the Browns
and their QB Bailey Zappe, who was named their week 18 starter just a day ago,
well then, the late game between the Bengals and Steelers would become all that
more interesting.
When it
comes to this year's MVP you can take your pick, Saquon Barkley, Josh Allen, Jared
Goff, and possibly even Joe Burrow (if they make the playoffs) but I think that
Lamar Jackson should still be heavily involved in those discussions as well. I understand Lamar won the award last season,
though he has already topped his numbers from last year’s season-long
performance. Jackson may be ranked 5th
in passing yards as we approach week 18, though the man is averaging more yards
per pass than any other QB while also pacing the league in both passer rating (121.6)
and QBR (78.0). He has also thrown 39
touchdowns (tied for 2nd) and just 4 interceptions. There has only been one season-long starter
that has thrown fewer picks this season (Justin Herbert, 3 INTs). In addition to his passing don’t forget Lamar
has also done some damage to the ground. Baltimore’s quarterback has scored
another 4 TDs, rushing for 852 yards (21st in rushing yards) while
averaging 6.6 yards per rush (the best average among any player who’s attempted
at least 130 or more runs).
Baltimore should get an easy win this week and
you’d think they will have a large enough lead after the first half so they can
at least rest their starters for the second half of their game. With a win over the Browns, the Ravens will
lock up the AFC North with another division title regardless of the outcome of
the Steelers game. If this ends up being
the case, then Baltimore will host either the Chargers or the Steelers in the
Wild Card Round of the playoffs. The
Ravens end the regular season tomorrow at home against Cleveland and are the
heavy favorites (-19.5) ahead of their 4:30 PM ET kickoff.
12/31/24
12/28/24
NFC NORTH STARS
The Green Bay Packers accomplished
something last Monday night that no other team has been able to pull off this year. For the first time this season, a team was shut
out. It isn’t particularly surprising,
the Packers have a good defense plus the New Orleans were missing their QB,
running back, both of their starting receivers, their swiss army knife (Taysom Hill)
plus a handful of other starters. It was
the first time the Saints had been shut out in over two decades. Minnesota was also victorious last week in a
game with a hungry Seattle Seahawks group.
The Vikings were in charge for most of that game, but Seattle did make
it interesting late in the fourth quarter when their offense started to come to
life. Geno marched his guys down the
field on an 11-play drive, taking up over six minutes of the clock in the process. Sixty-eight yards later Smith threw a
touchdown that would put them up by four points, leaving only four minutes and
twenty-one seconds remaining. On the
ensuing drive, Sam Darnold showed us once again how potent this Vikings offense
can be as it only took thirty seconds on four plays to go 70 yards for another
score. (Vikings B. Murphy was penalized on a face mask hold for 15 yards). Seattle got the ball once more, and tried a 60-yard
field goal, but ultimately missed.
Jordan
Love has propelled the Pack to 11 wins already this season. They could potentially end the season as one
of only a few teams to ever win 13 games yet not win their division. If you think that sounds weird how about the
fact that they could also wind up as the third-best team in the North? Yeah, crazy. That’s just how darn good this
NFC North group of teams have been this year.
History shows that there have never been three 13-win teams within the
same division. When the Packers met the
Vikings earlier this season the Vikings got the best of the Packers, winning
31-29. The turnovers are what played the
biggest role in the end the first time around, Green Bay had four, while
Minnesota had three. Matt LaFleur could
only watch as his offense went scoreless in two of the first three-quarters of
the game. Then Love almost brought them
all the way back for a win as the cheese heads cheered their Packers on as they
scored 22 points in the fourth quarter, but to no avail still losing by two
points.
PACKERS OFFENSE:
POINTS PER GAME- 27.5 (7TH)
TOTAL YARDS P/G- 377.3 (4TH)
RUSH YARDS P/G- 147.3 (4TH)
PASS YARDS P/G- 230.1 (12TH)
SACKS ALLOWED- 16 (2ND)
PACKERS DEFENSE:
POINTS PER GAME- 19.1 (6TH)
TOTAL YARDS P/G- 312.1 (6TH)
RUSH YARDS P/G- 102.5 (8TH)
PASS YARDS P/G- 209.7 (9TH)
TOTAL SACKS- 43 (6TH)
Minnesota
hasn’t just been one of the best teams in the entire league this year but is
also silently attempting to do something that no one could’ve foreseen coming. Kevin O’Connell has had his team in a great
position all season long to contend for the NFC North Championship. With a win this week, they can do just that heading
into a week 18 game against one of the league's best offenses in their number
one rivals, the Detroit Lions. Many
thought that Sam Darnold couldn’t become a true franchise quarterback after his
tenure with the New York Jets. Though in
hindsight if we knew then what we know now in terms of the Jets franchise and
how it has been run for years we would have been a little less critical of Sam.
The
Vikings beat the Packers in their prior meeting during their 5-game win streak. They have only lost two games so far this
season and both losses came after that win streak. The first was against the Lions, 31-29 and
the other loss was to the Rams in Los Angeles 30-20. Since the second loss in week 8 Minnesota hasn’t
lost another game, winning 8 straight games.
It is almost unthinkable with how great the Lions and Eagles have been
this year that the Vikings still have a very good chance of locking up the
number one seed in the NFC. They hold
their destiny in their hands. Two more
wins and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs plus the additional bye
week before playing a postseason game.
VIKINGS OFFENSE:
POINTS PER GAME- 26.4 (9TH)
TOTAL YARDS P/G- 346.3 (12TH)
RUSH YARDS P/G- 111.1 (16TH)
PASS YARDS P/G- 235.3 (8TH)
SACKS ALLOWED- 46 (24TH)
VIKINGS DEFENSE:
POINTS PER GAME- 18.4 (3RD)
TOTAL YARDS P/G- 335.8 (16TH)
RUSH YARDS P/G- 87.1 (2ND)
PASS YARDS P/G- 248.7 (30TH)
TOTAL SACKS – 44 (5TH)
This
will be a very tough game to try and predict.
They are evenly matched on the offensive side of the ball. Even the defenses are comparable, the one big
difference I can see is against the opposing team's passing. Green Bay allows 209 yards in passing yards
(9th) while Minnesota is conceding an average of 248 yards (30th)
a contest. It makes sense that the
Vikings are giving up the 30th most pass yards a game when you think
about how Brian Flores's (MIN DC) defense leads the league in QB pressures on
both 1st and 3rd downs.
One of the key matchups I will be looking for is Josh Jacobs vs. the
Vikings 16th 16th-ranked rush defense. The other one is rather obvious, Vikings' one-two
receiving threat in Jefferson & Addison going up against Green Bay defensive
backs. Especially now that the Packers
will be without their top cornerback Jaire Alexander after being ruled out with
a knee injury. I am leaning toward the -1.5-point
favorites, the 13-2 Minnesota Vikings at home.
NFC WEST GRUDGE MATCH - CARDINALS VS. RAMS
Los Angeles heads into a home game in week 17 with
a ten-point win after a road trip to the East Coast. Last week the Rams beat Aaron Rodgers and his
New York Jets in a game that saw very little offense. There was a total of 563 yards between both
teams. Now the Rams have two regular season
games remaining, both divisional games.
This is the healthiest the Rams have been all season, and it comes at
the best possible time. The Cardinals
are coming into town this week, they last played one another in week two. Next week however will be the most important
week for L.A. regardless of whether they win or lose on Saturday Night.
I guess
I’ll go ahead and address the elephant in the room before I go any
further. Everyone who’s read my articles
knows I have been backing one NFC West team since the beginning of the
season. This team had a rollercoaster of
a season, and it seemed they had turned the corner this time. I really thought this would be their year though
we’ll have to wait until next year to see if the Arizona Cardinals can achieve what
I had hoped to see this season. However,
the Cardinals still showed a lot of perseverance, resilience, and strength as a
team through their ups and downs. I believe
their play this year will only coarsen the entire unit on both sides of the
ball for the following year. Kyler’s back
to his rookie form, this being his first full season since his injury two years
ago. James Conner is still running hard,
plus this was the best O-line play I’ve seen out of a Cardinals team in a
while. Arizona’s second-year head coach Jonathan
Gannon is the right fit for this franchise, and I fully expect him to be there
for the next several seasons.
They say good things will come to those who
wait. Patience is a virtue; this is certainly
the case for the fanbase of these Arizona Cardinals who haven’t seen a single
playoff win in the past nine years. Gannon’s
team may not be eligible to make the postseason, but they can play spoiler to
one of the other two teams in their division.
If the Cardinals beat the Rams on Saturday night it will be a season
sweep for the Cards, although it would also help the Seahawks in a winner-take-all
scenario between them and the Rams in their week 18 matchup. The other side of this would be if the Cards
came up short in a loss, causing the Seattle Seahawks ultimately, to become all
but eliminated from playoff contention.
Next
year should end with better results for Kyler Murray's statistics and the Cardinals'
overall record. Further expectations for
this club lie in the Murray to Harrison Jr. connection, which I firmly believe to
become quite a perilous one. A building block
in tight end Tre McBride has been put in place and they must continue to build
around him. They may draft a younger running back to help keep Conner fresh thus
slightly lessening his workload. For
those that may not remember, in their first meeting in week two the Cardinals
steamrolled the Rams in Arizona 41-10. Though,
in all fairness, Mike LaFleur’s (Los Angeles OC) offense was struggling to
start the year with several key injuries to the O-line, Puka Nacua, and Cooper
Kupp (Kupp was injured in that week two game).
Arizona had a leaky defense for a lot of this season, it looked as
though they were starting to turn it around but that is the side of the ball
that is keeping them from making the playoffs.
CARDINALS OFFENSE:
POINTS PER GAME- 22.9 (12TH)
TOTAL YARDS P/G- 353.4 (11TH)
RUSH YARDS P/G- 145.8 (5TH)
PASS YARDS P/G- 207.6 (20TH)
SACKS ALLOWED- 26 (5TH)
CARDINALS DEFENSE:
POINTS PER GAME- 22.8 (15TH)
TOTAL YARDS P/G- 342.0 (20TH)
RUSH YARDS P/G- 129.5 (22ND)
PASS YARDS P/G- 212.5 (15TH)
TOTAL SACKS – 39 (11TH)
Just
when you think the Los Angeles Rams are down and out, they come back in a major
way, bouncing back after overcoming a season in which they were plagued by
injuries. How do you fight when your top
two wideouts are lost for a lengthy amount of the season? How about when three starters on your O-line
go down? Maybe add in the fact that the Rams'
all-time best defensive player in the history of their team retires leaving your
defense with a bunch of young players with little to no experience, while you
also lose your defensive coordinator of the previous three seasons. It’s seemingly all a part of the Sean McVay
system. They were continuously able to
weather the storm no matter how powerful it became. Sports Illustrated says that only 11.5% of NFL
teams that have started the season with a 0-2 record from 1990-2023 have been
able to make the postseason. While that
is an impressive statistic, I think you’ll like this one better; of that 11.5%
of teams (32 teams) that were able to make the playoffs, just 17 of those 32
were able to win their divisions (6.1%).
If you want to know if any of them have won a Super Bowl, the answer is
yes. Three of those such teams (1.1%) were
able to come away with a Lombardi Trophy.
However, the Rams started this season 1-4. The Statistics for teams that have started 1-4,
yet still made the playoffs are far fewer, with just 6 teams being able to
overcome such a tragic start to their seasons.
Four of those six teams were even able to win a playoff game. The bad news for the Rams is, upon finding such
a comparable team to them in the Tennessee Titans, they did make it out of the
first round of the playoffs, but they did not make it past the Conference Championship
round.
Los
Angeles did not make it back to fall short though and I expect them to win the
NFC West whether they win or lose tomorrow night. I don’t want to start any rumors here, but I
do remember a few weeks ago when a member of the media had asked head coach
Sean McVay about a possible Aaron Donald return if the Rams were able to make a
playoff run. McVay responded in the best
possible way, saying that he respects that man entirely too much to even
speculate on such a matter and that he would never reach out to the retiree,
but that if Donald ever were to reach out to him, he would then and only then take
him back for one last run. It was very
puzzling to witness some of the Rams home games this season and see that there appeared
to be almost as many if not more visiting fans, than Rams fans in Sofi. Maybe they don’t have as many fans as I once thought,
maybe more of the L.A. fanbase belongs to the Chargers, or is it because they seemed
like a doomed and gloomy team early on?
Whatever the case maybe I need all Los Angeles Rams fans to start showing
admiration for this compelling story of a team!
RAMS OFFENSE:
POINTS PER GAME- 21.9 (15TH)
TOTAL YARDS P/G- 331.5 (15TH)
RUSH YARDS P/G- 107.5 (19TH)
PASS YARDS P/G- 224.0 (13TH)
SACKS ALLOWED- 28 (7TH)
RAMS DEFENSE:
POINTS PER GAME- 23.1 (18TH)
TOTAL YARDS P/G- 351.1 (24TH)
RUSH YARDS P/G- 131.4 (25TH)
PASS YARDS P/G- 219.7 (18TH)
TOTAL SACKS – 25 (32ND)
It
may pain me to say this because I have been rooting for Arizona since last August,
but I believe that with the Rams' offense fully healthy they will torch the
Cardinals. Stafford is still one of the
best football QBs. Arizona may have the
edge when it comes to the tight end position and maybe even a slight edge with
their offensive line, but the Rams have one of the very best wideout tandems in
the league. They also possess a younger,
more versatile runner in Kyren Williams.
The Cardinals' defense has also averaged slightly better numbers than
the Rams. However, L.A. has been on the
upswing as of late, while Arizona has faltered the past few weeks. I previously pointed out this game will take
place on Saturday Night at Sofi Stadium and the rallying Rams are being favored
by -6.5.
12/23/24
CHRISTMAS DAY SPECIAL PART II- RAVENS VS. TEXANS
In the second time slot for the
Christmas Day special that has been brought to Netflix by the NFL, we will see another
matchup with two more AFC playoff teams.
The Houston Texans are still a fun team to watch, though they are not the
same explosive Texans that were blowing up the league last season. Last year we witnessed this exact game played
in the postseason. The Baltimore Ravens bulldozed
this team in the Divisional Round, winning 34-10 at home. Baltimore has beaten Houston in five straight
meetings, currently leading the all-time series 12-2-0. The last time the Texans captured a win over
John Harbaugh was in 2014 at Houston (25-13).
What can I say about the Purple and
Black? Well, it’s no secret that all
their successes this season have been surrounded by what Lamar and Henry have
been able to do this year. Lamar is
coming off an MVP season and is making a stalwart case to hoist that award in back-to-back
years. Action Jackson is one of the most
amazingly gifted talents the NFL has ever seen and what he can do as both a passer
and runner never ceases to amaze. Baltimore’s
QB is ranked 5th in passing yards (3,787), 1st in average
yards per pass (8.9), and 5th in yards per game (252.5). The only quarterback with more touchdown
passes this season is Joe Burrow with 39, Lamar has thrown 37. There is also only one QB better than Jackson
in interceptions thrown (4 INTs). When
it comes to QBR (75.5) he’s second to Josh Allen while pacing all quarterbacks
in passer rating (120.6). This offense
with Todd Monken has often appeared to be a match made in heaven. Their play-caller has looked like a genius
for much of the season, though we also know how good the talent on the field
is.
Derrick Henry has also been on a
statistical tear all season. They call
him “King” Henry for a reason! Henry has
given way to Saquon Barkley for the leading rusher this season and it appears
as though he may very well take the title by the end of the next two weeks. Anyhow, Henry has already amassed 1,600 rushing
yards this year and is less than 400 yards from a 2,000-yard season. He is tied with Barkley for the most yards
per carry and ties Barkley with the second-most rushing TDs (13). Henry’s 78 rushing first downs place second,
while his 87-yard run is the longest run from scrimmage this season. While the Texans have had a decent defense
this year, their weakness has been their run defense. There is no doubt that Moken will dial up a
bunch of runs for Henry to remind everyone yet again why he is notoriously
known as the King of rushing.
RAVENS OFFENSE:
POINTS
PER GAME- 30.1 (3RD)
TOTAL
YARDS P/G- 423.7 (1ST)
RUSH
YARDS P/G- 181.2 (2ND)
PASS
YARDS P/G- 242.5 (5TH)
SACKS
ALLOWED- 23 (4TH)
RAVENS
DEFENSE:
POINTS
PER GAME- 23.3 (19TH)
TOTAL
YARDS P/G- 338.0 (16TH)
RUSH
YARDS P/G- 83.1 (1ST)
PASS
YARDS P/G- 254.9 (31ST)
TOTAL
SACKS- 47 (2ND)
Houston has been a good team this season,
though not the same formidable bunch that they showed us a year ago. The offense has regressed, while also banged
up for vastly most of the year. The
O-line play has been very bad this time around, especially in pass protection. Houston’s big men have allowed the sixth most
sacks this season, C.J. has been sacked the second most (47 times) of any
quarterback this year. Between the line
not being able to hold up for Stroud in addition to him having to play without
each of his three best targets at different times this season, it has been
frustrating for both C.J. and the Texans to say the least. They have continued to fight throughout everything
they’ve had to deal with. Let’s not forget,
even though they didn’t come away with the victory they played the Detroit
Lions better than most teams in the league had this year. They are now coming off a game in which they
lost to the Chiefs on Saturday in a tough battle. The hardest part of that game was when Tank
Dell caught a touchdown early in the third quarter for what should’ve been the
tying score (missed PAT) but as Dell caught said score his teammate went to the
ground and fell into his knee causing engrossed concern for the wideout. Tank ended up with a torn ACL and dislocated kneecap. It was a lamentable situation for the young
receiver who came back earlier this season from another injury and is now lost for
the second straight year to a season-ending injury.
TEXANS OFFENSE:
TOTAL
POINTS P/G- 23.1 (13TH)
TOTAL
YARDS P/G- 323.3 (20TH)
RUSH
YARDS P/G- 109.6 (18TH)
PASS
YARDS P/G- 213.7 (18TH)
SACK
ALLOWED- 48 (27TH)
TEXANS
DEFENSE:
TOTAL
POINTS P/G- 21.8 (9TH)
TOTAL
YARDS P/G-307.3 (4TH)
RUSH
YARDS P/G- 106.8 (11TH)
PASS
YARDS P/G- 200.5 (6TH)
TOTAL
SACKS- 46 (T-3RD)
The Texans may have played KC tight
last week though I don’t know if they will be able to do the same here against
Baltimore. If you want to take down the Lamar-led
Ravens, they will need to figure out a way to score way more than 19
points. This will be an even harder task
without Dell when they’ve already been without Diggs. If they are going to do it, they will have to
keep a clean pocket for Stroud. This
will also prove to be quite difficult as the Ravens are second in the NFL with
47 sacks. Texans OC Bobby Slowik will
need to find ways to have C.J. get the ball out quickly to tight end Dalton
Schultz, running back Joe Mixon, or his top target on the outside, Nico
Collins. The biggest weakness of the Ravens'
defense has been their ability to engage in pass defense. They are allowing the second most passing
yards per contest and if they can somehow pass protect that will be their best
chance to rain on Baltimore’s Christmas Day parade. The game plan for Baltimore should provide a
simpler plan to be crowned with another win and possibly the AFC North title
barring a win from the Steelers. As I briefly
mentioned above, Todd Monken will need a run-heavy approach which will be no
problem for this team. Houston’s offense
hasn’t been great, though their defense is ranked inside the top ten in every statistical
classification other than against the run.
They cede 106.8 yards per game (11th) and the Ravens should
be able to widen that amount to about 160-190 yards if I should be so bold. Baltimore is going into this game as the -4
point favorite and I like them to win outright on a short week.
CHRISTMAS DAY SPECIAL- KANSAS CITY @ PITTSBURGH
After
an awesome week 16, the NFL will be back with only two days in between. That’s right, week 17 is already geared up
with two Christmas Day specials. After
the Chiefs, Texans, Steelers, & Ravens played this past Saturday, all four
teams will be back to play their week 17 matchups with swapped opponents for an
added jolly bonus to our day of gifts and cheer. The Ravens will suit up to take on the
Houston Texans on the road at 4:30 PM, while the first game will feature a
contest between the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers at 1 PM. To go from playing on a Saturday to playing
again on Wednesday does seem a bit odd at first, but when you think about it
the same thing happens when a team plays on Sunday followed by a Thursday Night
game the next week.
Kansas
City is coming off yet another win which isn’t all that surprising, though the
Houston Texans had played them very close.
Next up for the Champs is their toughest test of the season. The Chiefs have played some good teams this
season, eight of which are playoff-bound.
That said, they’ve only played two teams with defenses of the same level
of difficulty (Chargers & Broncos).
Pittsburgh has one of the best defensive units in the league and ranks
within the top ten in multiple categories.
The Steelers own the Chiefs in their all-time series 23-14-0, though
since Mahomes has been in the league Kansas City is a perfect 3-0 against them. A lot has been left to be desired by this
squad, yet Andy Reid has his team atop the entire NFL and a two-game lead in
the AFC with a 14-1 record this year. That
one blemish came from Buffalo, but it seems like it will almost be impossible
for the Bills to take the AFC’s top spot away from last year's defending
Champs. I know it is like having a song
on repeat to hear this same old message, though the reality of this team has
been the strength of their defense.
Steve Spagnuolo’s
coaching of this defensive unit is the main reason the Chiefs have been coming
away with a bunch of wins they had no business walking out with. They have been victorious in ten one-score
games, five have been by three points or less, while four games were won by two
or fewer points. After researching KC’s
wins with such point differentials, Statmuse.com shows they are currently ranked
as 7th all-time in games won by less than three points (four teams
tied with 6, two teams tied with 7) and presently placing second in victories
of two or fewer points (Packers had 5 such wins in 1989). Here’s where I'm going to blow your mind, the
total amount of games they’ve won by a touchdown or less this season may not
seem like a huge deal, right? Well, it
is because the Chiefs are ranked first all-time in NFL history with this
statistic. How this team is consistently
able to do this is just plain and simply crazy.
I still don’t think that they will be able to win a third consecutive
Super Bowl, however, they did just welcome back two of the biggest pieces of
their offense back into the lineup. Mahomes
must be thrilled to have his starting running back Isiah Pacheco (first game
back was in week 13) alongside offseason addition receiver Marquise “Hollywood”
Brown.
CHIEFS OFFENSE:
POINTS PER GAME- 23.7 (11th)
TOTAL YARDS P/G- 338.9 (13th)
RUSH YARDS P/G- 112.9 (15th)
PASS YARDS P/G- 225.9 (12th)
SACKS ALLOWED- 36 (17th)
CHIEFS DEFENSE:
POINTS PER GAME- 18.5 (3rd)
TOTAL YARDS P/G- 307.2 (3rd)
RUSH YARDS P/G- 91.4 (3rd)
PASS YARDS P/G- 215.8 (17th)
TOTAL SACKS- 34 (22nd)
Mike Tomlin
is walking into a home game on Christmas Day with a whole lot on his mind. The Steelers just lost their second straight
game this time to their storied rivals, the Baltimore Ravens. It is very hard to see this Pittsburgh team
dropping three straight even if their next opponent is the Chiefs. They are still in first place in the AFC
North and by the end of Christmas Day, with a loss to KC they could very well
give the North title away to Baltimore if the Ravens can gain a victory over Houston. Russell Wilson has played very strong for
Pittsburgh this season leaving a lot of his previous doubters in his dust. The Steelers are seemingly always top defense,
with great play out of Watt, Heyward, and Fitzpatrick they certainly pose a
serious threat to the Kansas City Chiefs that they haven’t seen this year. If they can get a healthy George Pickens back
into the lineup he can cause some mismatches for Kansas City’s pass
defense. The Chiefs' pass defense is
currently the 17th-ranked unit in the league and is honestly the only weakness
that they have had so far this season.
The Steelers have
been struggling on offense without Pickens and may not be much of a threat to the
Chiefs if he is unable to go on Wednesday.
He has been their best offensive weapon to stretch the field this year. In their last three games, the top-receiving
production came through wideout Calvin Austin III catching 4 passes for 65
yards, and 5 receptions for 65 yards in week 15. In week 14 tight end Pat Freiermuth led them
in receiving with 3 catches for 48 yards.
I can’t stress enough what he has meant to this offense and their team
in general. Pickens is starting to look like
he will become the type of player he was advertised to be. He still hasn’t reached his ceiling in his
third year as a pro out of Georgia and is only 8 receptions along with 290
receiving yards away from surpassing his career highs.
Defensively
as I already mentioned Watt has been widely in the talks for DPOTY for weeks
now. Their DC Teryl Austin has them
playing elite-style football, only allowing 299 points total this year to
opposing offenses (T-7th).
Steelers have also only yielded 4,851 total yards through 16 weeks of
the season which ranks 11th among the rest of the league. They are ready to show the rest of the NFL
that they can surprise some teams. They have
a huge opportunity to make a strong case for that if they can get a win on
Christmas Day against Patrick Mahomes, and Andy Reid alongside the rest of the
Chiefs.
STEELERS OFFENSE:
POINTS PER GAME- 23.5 (12TH)
TOT YARDS P/G- 324.9 (19TH)
RUSH YARDS P/G- 126.0 (11TH)
PASS YARDS P/G- 198.9 (25TH)
SACKS ALLOWED- 40 (21ST)
STEELERS DEFENSE:
POINTS PER GAME- 19.9 (6TH)
TOT YARDS P/G- 323.4 (11TH)
RUSH YARDS P/G- 102.7 (7TH)
PASS YARDS P/G- 220.7 (20TH)
TOTAL SACKS- 36 (16TH)
This
game should not disappoint as the NFL has given us a game with two top-ten teams,
both of which possess top defensive units.
This has all the makings for some great holiday football with two of the
smartest NFL head coaches of all time. On
one side of the field will be the two-time Super Bowl Champion Andy Reid while
coaching adjacent to him will be another Super Bowl-winning coach, Mike Tomlin. By no surprise, the Chiefs are the early favorites
for this game -2.5 on the road. In
Tomlin’s 18-year career as the Steelers head coach, he has only had a three-game
plus losing streaks ten times within nine seasons (Steelers had 2 such losing streaks in 2019). Call me crazy but I am leaning towards the
Steelers in an upset on Christmas Day.
NFC EAST WEEK16 REVIEW
DALLAS COWBOYS- 7-8
The Cowboys have already been eliminated from
playoff contention however, they have continued to fight even without key
players that are pivotal to the structure of their team. They’ve been decimated all year long on
defense with half their starters missing time.
They lost their starting quarterback, Dak Prescott, and were down the
tight end Jason Ferguson to injuries.
DaRon Bland was hurt through the first 11 games of the season. Tonight, he reminded everyone just how
special a player he is. Bland showed up
in a massive way taking his opponents to the turf for 8 tackles, 7 solo, 1 pass
defended, plus the game-winning play, stripping the ball away from Buccaneers
running back Rachaad White. There was
only 1:40 left on the clock when the fumble took place. Tampa Bay was attempting to complete their
fourth-quarter comeback but unluckily it came while being down only two points
and without enough timeouts to help them get the ball back. With the 26-24 loss Tampa no longer holds
their own fate for the postseason.
Dallas has now won four of their last five games, are now 7-8, and
appear a little more like the team we thought they would be this season, at
least from a defense perspective. They
would undoubtedly be better on offense too had Dak and Zack Martin played.
NEW
YORK GIANTS- 2-13
It has been a rough season for the G-men to say
the least. Nothing had seemed to go
right from the offseason losses, most notable being Saquon Barkley and Xavier
McKinney. They finally gave up on their
quarterback Daniel Jones, and not to pile onto all the criticism about Jones
but I’ve been saying ever since the Giants replaced Eli Manning in favor of D.J.
that he didn’t seem like he would be a great starting QB in this league. Maybe he was just in the wrong environment, and
maybe he’ll eventually get another chance to lead another team. Either way, the Giants have moved on and have
something to look forward to next season.
One thing that New York fans should be excited about is this rookie
wideout Malik Nabers. He is the real
deal and will only get better as he matures and develops chemistry with whoever
their new starting quarterback will be next year.
The Giants lost their tenth straight game likely
locking up the number one pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. They need a passer and luckily for them, they
will be able to grab a pretty good one with a few of them at the top of any QB-needy
team’s draft boards. It looks as though
the two favorites for New York to draft with the first pick will be either Cam
Ward out of Miami or Shedeur Sanders from Colorado.
PHILADELPHIA
EAGLES- 12-3
The Philadelphia Eagles came into their week 16
matchup red-hot. They had been rolling
on all cylinders, winners of their last ten straight. The Birds came out with grit and determination
to beat down this Commanders group in all facets. They started the game off with an 8-play
drive that led to a rushing TD by Barkley.
Upon Washington’s first
possession, more specifically on their first offensive play, they fumbled the
ball right back to Philly. Then the
Eagles jumped out to an early 14-0 lead, though on their third possession, they
did have a turnover of their own. Kenny
Pickett threw an interception into the chest of linebacker Frankie Luvu. Yep, that’s right Kenny Pickett threw an INT,
he was brought into the game after quarterback Jalen Hurts had to leave the
game. At first, it seemed as though it
would just be a quick visit to the medical tent, then it proved to be more
serious upon the side reporter making it known that Hurts had been brought back
to the looker room and after a further evaluation he had been downgraded to out
with a concussion. It did feel slightly peculiar
how it went down, Jalen got up on the initial play and gave the sideline a thumbs
up and he didn’t seem to show any signs that would make you think anything was
wrong. Though once the offense left the
field Hurts never came back. It was a tough
loss for the Eagles this past week, losing to the Washington Commanders in the
final moments of the game. However, the
bigger loss was Jalen Hurts, hopefully, he will be able to play next week when
the Birds host the Dallas Cowboys who just shocked the Tampa Bay Bucs on Sunday
Night.
WASHINGTON
COMMANDERS- 10-5
The expected winner of the Rookie of The Year
award, quarterback Jayden Daniels displayed the biggest showing of his inaugural
NFL season on Sunday afternoon. Jayden
completed a monstrous game passing for 258 yards on 24/39 passes, threw 5 TDs,
and sprinkled in 9 carries on the ground adding up to another 81 yards. This was the most impressive game from his
rookie campaign to date. With 339 all-purpose yards while scoring five times;
yea I think we just crowned our ROTY.
Though it wasn’t pretty at times, losing the turnover game; 5-2
(Washington lost 3 fumbles, Daniels threw 2 interceptions) while also ceding 13
more minutes of offense to Philly in the time of possession battle will usually
end in a loss. Daniels led the
Commanders on the final drive of the game with 1:58 seconds left, burning up too
much time for Philly to even have another chance to do anything. The rookie took his team 57 yards on nine
plays and ended the drive on a 2nd & goal from Philly’s 9-yard
line when he found veteran receiver Jamison Crowder between multiple defenders
and made a beautiful throw for the touchdown with only six seconds remaining in
the game. That score put Quinn’s boys up
by one point, so they decided to go for the two-point conversion. It was a massive win for the Commanders and with
another win next Sunday Night at home when they take on the Atlanta Falcons,
they can clinch themselves a playoff berth.
12/21/24
PHILLY @ WASHINGTON – QUINN & IN FOR COMMANDERS
The NFC
playoff picture is still fully loaded with only two weeks left in the regular
season. Usually, this would have been the AFC’s situation in years past, but
this year, as of the start of week 16, the NFC still has six teams on the
bubble. Green Bay seems likely safe as the sixth seed, though Washington, which
currently holds seventh place, should be worried. Under the 9-5 Commanders there are still five
teams licking their chops awaiting an opportunity in hopes that Washington will
accrue a few more losses, allowing one of them to jump into a playoff spot. From the body of work the Commanders have
accomplished this season I believe it is a rather easy assumption to say they
will make the playoffs and seal up the final spot for the NFC. The only three teams currently on the outside
looking in that I think could still possibly make it in would be the Seahawks,
Falcons, or Cardinals, however, I could only see that if they were to overtake
the leaders of their divisions.
The
Philadelphia Eagles are firmly placed in the discussions as one of the NFL’s
top five teams. They are presently
riding a ten-game win streak, coming off a heck of a performance in which they exploded
for over 400 yards of offense on the 9th-ranked defense running 77 plays. Philly beat the Commanders at home in week 10
when they ran their way to a victory (228 yards) over one of the worst run
defenses in the league. This time
shouldn’t be much different as they still pose the best-rushing offense (186.2
yards) alongside the league-leading rusher Saquon Barkley (1,688 yards). Nick Sirianni has been constantly proving
doubters wrong all year long. He has kept
the Eagles winning games people said they couldn’t, held the team together when
the media was trying to break up a coach and his QB, and kept the locker room calm
and level-headed when one of their players had misspoken to the media, prevailing
through it all. Barkley has also proven
a whole lot of doubters wrong as well.
Barkley looks likely to surpass 2,000 rushing yards within the next two
games and has been the biggest piece to the puzzle for their success this
season. Jalen Hurts hasn’t been too
shabby himself and leads the NFL in rushing touchdowns with 14 while also maintaining
the 5th best passer rating (104.5).
Philly boasts one of the top O-lines this year in both pass and run protection. Predominantly known as a run-first offense though
don’t get it twisted because Hurts can beat you with his arm if push comes to
shove. Philly still employs a top receiver
duo in Smith and Brown plus they have one of the best-kept secrets from the
tight end position in Dallas Goedert, when healthy. To repeat the sentiments of my previous article
on the Steelers, and Ravens game, this Philadelphia Eagles defense is also a very
big part of why the Eagles are continuing their great success and momentum that
has provided them with a ten-game win streak.
Vic Fangio is an architect at designing supreme defenses leaguewide. It leaves one to ponder how it didn’t work
out for the Miami Dolphins with coach Fangio.
My thoughts are that some of the veteran players just didn’t understand
his coaching methods or maybe they hadn’t been exposed to an old-school coach’s
beliefs in how to turn around a unit and make it a great one. I don’t exactly know, but what I do know is
as a Broncos fan I saw Denver’s defense become the best in the league with a
bunch of young guys outside of Von Miller and Justin Simmons. The man just knows how to bring the best out
of players, and it shows!
EAGLES OFFENSE:
POINTS P/G- 26.4 (8TH)
TOT YARDS P/G- 373.2 (6TH)
RUSH YARDS P/G- 186.2
(1ST)
PASS YARDS P/G- 187.0 (28TH)
SACKS ALLOWED- 39 (22ND)
EAGLES DEFENSE:
POINTS P/G- 17.6 (1ST)
TOT YARDS P/G- 275.6 (1ST)
RUSH YARDS P/G-102.2 (7TH)
PASS YARDS P/G- 173.4 (1ST)
TOTAL SACKS- 39 (T-9TH)
The Washington
Commanders have been very impressive this season. They have accomplished the unthinkable within
one season after performing as a bottom-barrel team for the past handful of
seasons. What their first-year head
coach Dan Quinn has done for Washington has not gone unnoticed. They drafted a rookie QB, who was thought to
be the second or third-best of his draft class, and with the help of the
coaching staff in addition to Jayden Daniels’ pure athleticism and abilities has
turned into one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Let's not take that for granted or sweep under
the bed. Jayden and the Commanders have
been one of the biggest headlines of this NFL season, if you don’t know you
better ask somebody! Not to sound like a
broken record but Daniels has broken both franchise and NFL rookie records this
year and may continue to do that throughout his career. Kliff Kingsbury may be in the discussion for
head coaching jobs as soon as next season.
Dan Quinn, a defensive-minded coach, has helped his DC Joe Whitt Jr. by turning
this defense around throughout the season.
They were at the back end of every statistical category to start the
season yet have steadily brought them towards the front of the list. With brand new ownership along with a new
General Manager, the Commanders brought a lot of veteran talents into their locker
room to help bring along the youngsters with both their experience and guidance. Bobby Wagner has been a monumental part of
what Quinn wants his defense to look like, hard-working smart players, who will
lay it all out on the line for their teammates every single week. Frankie Luvu, Dante Fowler Jr., and Marshon
Lattimore are all the epitome of the type of players that Dan Quinn wants on
his team. I have no doubts that this
team is going to wind up being a frequent playoff team for the foreseeable future
with the player personnel alongside the coaching staff that they have in the
building.
Kliff
Kingsbury has also had a lot to do with this team's good fortunes. If they can keep him in Washington, then they
will be a dominant scary offense that nobody will want to play. Just this season as a rookie Daniels has been
amazing in his rapport with star wideout Terry McLaurin. One of the best moves they had made in the off-season
was signing seasoned tight end Zach Ertz.
Ertz has been one of Jayden's main go-to targets outside of scary Terry. Adam Peters also got a deal done with one of
the better running backs of the last 5 seasons, signing ex-Charger Austin
Ekeler. They brought in more experience upfront
to bolster their line while also bringing back receiver Jamison Crowder for his
third stint in Washington. They even
drafted rookie Luke McCaffrey, which I have a feeling will wind up as another big
playmaker for them in the next few seasons.
So go ahead and count them out if you want to but they are ascending at
the right time with the Giants and Cowboys plummeting. The NFC may be the Eagles' division right now,
but it is big enough for both teams to make the playoffs for years to come. Technically Washington has not yet clinched a
playoff berth, however, with a win tomorrow afternoon, they can pretty much lock
up the 7th spot. Full disclosure,
they would also need a little help in addition to a victory over Philly. They would also need the Seahawks to lose to
prevent one from overtaking their wildcard while also needing the Falcons to
get a loss for the same reason. I don’t
think that either of those teams will realistically take the Commanders' spot
but instead could potentially wind up winning their respective divisions. With that said, it was reported earlier this
morning that the Atlanta Falcons are considering releasing quarterback Kirk
Cousins, so I don’t believe that the rookie Penix Jr. will be able to win out
and overtake the Buccaneers as the winners of the NFC South. That’s one less thing the Commanders will
need to worry about.
COMMANDERS OFFENSE:
POINTS P/G- 28.3 (6TH)
TOT YARDS P/G- 373.9 (5TH)
RUSH YARDS P/G- 155.5 (3RD)
PASS YARDS P/G- 218.4 (16TH)
SACKS ALLOWED- 38 (21ST)
COMMANDERS DEFENSE:
POINTS P/G- 22.5 (16TH)
TOT YARDS P/G- 321.8 (11TH)
RUSH YARDS P/G- 132.1 (25TH)
PASS YARDS P/G- 189.6 (4TH)
TOTAL SACKS- 35 (T-14TH)
The Philadelphia
Eagles have been on a roll, but I don’t think we can completely rule out a
possible upset here. Two division rivals,
one looking to take ownership of the number one seed, the other trying to make
their first playoff appearance in the last four years. While it is likely that both situations will
play out for these two franchises regardless of the outcome of this game, I like
Washington in this game in an upset. My
thinking here is strictly that with Philly running hot for so long they will
eventually have a down game. That’s where
I believe the Commanders, +3.5 underdogs will sneak in and come away with a win
at home.
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