Listening to Brockhampton’s New Orleans as I write this, “The feeling’s never the same, you chase what you couldn’t gain. I’m so accustomed to flames, I couldn’t tell you what’s fire.”
Thought my Colts bet would push, but then Frank Reich went for it on 4th down in overtime on Indy’s side of the field. The Texans stopped them and got the ball with 24 seconds left. Deshaun Watson throws it to Hopkins to get into field goal range and Houston wins. Reich said he wasn’t playing to tie. Well Frank, a tie is better than a loss in every playoff scenario and in my wallet. Damnit Frank. Vinatieri broke the NFL record for field goals made. The man is clutch and consistent. Luck threw a completion 51 yards in the air. Andrew can throw deep again!! I was thinking he was going to have a late stage Peyton Manning noodle arm for the rest of his career, it seems I was wrong. The former North Carolina State running back, Nyheim Hines, introduced himself to the NFL with two touchdowns and 73 total yards. It was an exciting game that neither team should have lost. Frank Reich has probably kissed his sister before.
Aaron Rodgers and the Packers covered and won against the Bills. Buffalo scored 27 first half points last week against the Vikings. They didn’t score in either half in this one. Josh Allen had two interceptions and a lost fumble. Bills offense had like 5 too many 3 and outs. McCoy had 5 carries for 24 yards. Packers are going to have to keep winning if they want to keep pace with Chiacago.
The Bears won behind Mitch Trubisky’s 6 touchdowns. The most for a Chicago QB in the Super Bowl era. Tarik Cohen went off as well. Cohen had 20 touches for 174 yards and a touchdown, essentially making Jordan Howard obsolete. Ryan Fitzpatrick was 9/18 with an interception and Jameis Winston was 16/20 with a TD and two interceptions. Neither played great. Akiem Hicks got ejected for touching an official. DeSean Jackson still has wheels and is averaging over 20 yards a catch. Taylor Gabriel had 7 catches on 7 targets (104 yards and two TDs) and has found a nice home in Chicago. Bears are 3-1 and leading the NFC North.
Marcus Mariota and the Titans beat the defending Super Bowl champions in overtime behind a Corey Davis touchdown. Davis had 161 yards and a touchdown on the day. Ertz and Jeffrey had over 100 yards receiving for the Eagles. Philly is 2-2 having lost both road games this season. Philly’s o-line, secondary, and play-calling could all use some work. Wentz looked solid though. You don’t hear much about this Titans team, but they are 3-1 with quality wins over the Jaguars and Eagles.
The Patriots were up 24-0 on the Dolphins at halftime. Tom Brady threw two interceptions, but Ryan Tannehill played awfully. Josh Gordon caught two balls for 32 yards. The Patriots latest “rehab” project looks like it is off to a good start. Gronk left the game early, but “should be fine.” Dolphins did not record a sack. Sony Michel had 25 carries for 112 yards in a week in which Georgia running backs went off across the league.
Nick Chubb had 3 carries for 105 yards and 2 touchdowns. A silly good game for him. Chubb broke 4 tackles on his second touchdown run. Browns lost, but they covered. Good teams win, Great teams cover. Gruden got his first win in a decade. Refs were bad for both sides in this one. Browns need to cover the tight ends a lot better if they want to string together some wins. Lee Smith was wide open every time he was targeted and Jared Cook had 110 yards with two touchdowns.
The Cowboys got a needed win against the Lions. Dak and Elliot played the best games of their season. The Cowboys got a win without Sean Lee. The Lions should have ran Kerryon Johnson more. Lions secondary let up too many big plays. Demarcus Lawrence did his best Demarcus Ware impersonation with 3 sacks on the day.
In what I thought was the best game of the day, the Bengals beat the Falcons. Keanu Neal, Ricardo Allen, and Deion Jones being on IR for the Falcons was, what I believe, to be the difference in this game. Atlanta had no answer for Tyler Boyd, AJ Green, John Ross, and Eifert. Speaking of the IR, Eifert had a Gordon Hayward-esque ankle injury. It is sad because he is seriously snake bit, but his mullet is awesome.. Joe Mixon should be back next week, so the talented Giovanni Bernard will most likely take a backseat. UNC football sucks now, but they were good with Gio.
Jaguars rolled over the Jets. Jets lack an offensive playbook it seems. They only ran 14 times, they do the same play to Enunwa like 10 times a game. Jets had two big plays called back for a penalty. Blake Bortles threw a completion 64 yards in the air. Dede Westbrook was open all day for Jacksonville.
The Seahawks were down at halftime, but rallied to beat the Josh Rosen led Cardinals. Chris Carson was out, but Mike Davis had 21 carries for 101 yards. Bruce “armchair coach” Arians said Arizona was using David Johnson wrong. They involved Johnson more in the passing game this week. Earl Thomas was lost for the season. Le’Veon Bell said he will continue to be the bad guy even after Thomas stopped holding out, came back, and was lost for the season. Mike Iupati had a great game at left guard for Arizona. David Johnson had 7 carries for 51 yards when running behind Iupati. Cards seem like the Jets in the sense that they need a bigger offensive playbook. JJ Nelson should be utilized more.
The Chargers came back to beat the 49ers after being down 14-6 after 1 quarter. Phil Rivers has been playing excellent all season long. Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler may be the best backfield duo in the league (well at least untill Mark Ingram and Kamara get going). CJ Beathard had a great game, but the 49ers just couldn’t seem to tackle or get stops when they needed them. Derwin James is making a case for the best safety in the league as a rookie. I was shocked on draft day when he slipped to pick 18. He is a top 10 talent. I am going to give another offensive lineman some love here, Russell Okung played a great game. Gordon and Ekeler had 12 carries for 81 yards running behind Okung. Antonio Gates got another touchdown….
The Saints beat the Giants. Saquon Barkley has had 100 total yards or more in every game in his young career. Barkley also scored a pretty sweet touchdown. Barkley had a higher top speed (20.86 mph) than Tedd Ginn in this game (19.76 mph). He is an athlete. Odell still doesn’t have a touchdown on the season. Sterling Shepard had 10 catches on 10 targets. There were no sacks in this game.
The Ravens, John Brown, and Justin Tucker beat the Steelers. Pittsburgh just can’t sustain drives without their “Bell” cow. Flacco completed 28 passes to 11 different people. Ryan Switzer led Pittsburgh in receptions with 7. Ravens looked great in all 3 phases of the game. Baltimore has a great offensive playbook, unlike the Giants, Jets, and Cardinals.
14-14-3 on NFL down 1.38 units
Case Keenum over 279 passing yards at -110 for 3 units. KC gives up 362 passing yards a game. Keenum averages 275.5 yards threw the air at home. The Chiefs give up the most points per drive on the season. Broncos and Keenum should be able to move the ball in this one. 2-0 on Qb prop bets on the season. Let’s keep it rolling.
Phillip Lindsay 1+ rushing Td(s) at +130 for 3 units. Lindsay does not have a rushing touchdown on the season, but I think he gets one here. 4 Broncos have a rushing touchdown on the season, it is Phillip’s turn now. Lindsay averages 6 YPC. He can break a big one here against the Chiefs. Kansas City gives up 111 rushing yards a game. KC has given up 3 rushing touchdowns on the season.
Broncos over 2.5 sacks at +100 for 3 units. Von Miller. Broncos average 3 sacks a game.
