Some weeks, it is more difficult than others to find interesting nuggets that go beyond the numbers. This is one of those weeks, however, when it is quite easy.
Just before the half, Aaron Rodgers took his team down the field to the 50-yard line with 8 seconds to go. With one play left, he heaved his patented lofty bomb, getting as much as he could to allow his receivers to get under the ball. For the fourth time in his career, the prayer was answered. It still wasn’t enough for the Jets to prevail.
The league’s 32 owners met today, and one of the things on the agenda was whether or not to allow Tom Brady to become minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders. The sticking point was whether or not his financial investment was worth the ownership stake he was taking. In the end, the owners were ok with the package, and he is now officially part-owner…effectively killing any rumors of a second comeback. I’m not sure if even Brady’s greatness can turn that disaster of a team around.
In his weekly interview on local 105.3 in Dallas, Jones wasn’t in a very jovial mood. He didn’t care for a question or tone of the interviewers and, in essence, threatened the interviewer’s job on air, saying that if they didn’t change the line of questioning, he could make sure to get different interviewers moving forward. They nervously laughed, thinking he may be joking around, but to their dismay, he was not and reiterated his sentiment by saying, “I’m serious”. That’s no way for someone who just celebrated a birthday to react…even if his team lost at home by 38 points.
Tuesday was a day of trades in the NFL. For the past couple of weeks, it has been widely known that Davante Adams has wanted to leave Las Vegas. He had proclaimed his desire to play for two franchises…more specifically, two QBs. He wanted to play with Aaron Rodgers and the Jets or Derek Carr and the Saints. When Carr went down last week, Adams’ landing spots were cut in half. Rodgers got his man, and coming off of a disappointing Monday night loss bringing them down to a 2-4 record, it’s not a second too soon. It will be interesting to see how Rodgers does as he keeps bringing the band back together. It’s ironic that on the same day, Tom Brady snags a piece of the Raiders, the team loses its biggest star.
The other big-name WR moving is Amari Cooper. He was supposed to be the no.1 WR for Deshaun Watson, but the two have never been able to connect, and the Browns are looking at a lost season. Cooper’s fantasy value should explode as he will now be catching passes from Josh Allen in Buffalo. It only cost the Bills a third-round draft pick.
It has been announced that the first flexed game of the season will be the week 8 matchups between the Bears and Commanders. In what was originally a 1 pm matchup, the suddenly exciting Bears and Commanders have been flexed to the 4pm “game of the week”. It should be a great matchup between the top two rookie QBs. One of these two will leave the field as a clear favorite to win the rookie of the year.
On the other end of the spectrum, the 1-5 Patriots are playing the 1-5 Jaguars this Sunday morning in London. Maybe it’s fools gold, but I still have faith in Trevor Lawrence and HC Doug Pederson to turn this fiasco of a season around. I have to believe that the rope is getting very short, and despite the owner’s vote of confidence, a loss to the woeful patriots could be the last straw for Pederson. Patriots HC Jerod Mayo is in no jeopardy of losing his job. With back-to-back games against the Jags and then a home tussle against the Jets, they could actually string two wins together to get to 3-5…and with rookie QB Drake Maye at the helm, hope springs eternal.
I’ve never seen a season with more streaks. After starting the season 3-0, the Seahawks have lost their last three. The Falcons were sitting at 1-2 and have won three in a row. The Saints looked like world beaters, averaging over 40 points per game after week 2, but they have now lost four in a row. The Bears were 1-2, but that seems like world’s ago. They’ve won three in a row and are in the thick of the playoff hunt. The Jets were 2-1 and looking like they’d compete for the division in the AFC East. They’ve now lost three in a row and have fired HC Robert Saleh. The Ravens were 0-2, but have won their last four games to take over the lead in the AFC North.
There are three 2-4 AFC teams who are only one game outside of the playoffs at this point in the season. The Bengals, Raiders, and Jets are all 2-4, and it will be interesting to see if any of them can claw their way into the playoffs. Of the three, one has seemingly thrown in the towel, with the Raiders trading Davante Adams to the Jets, who are clearly going for it. The Bengals have so much talent that they can literally beat any team on any given Sunday. Of the three, I’d give the Jets and Bengals a puncher’s chance, with the Bengals as the most likely to see postseason action.
The Vikings are 5-0 and could end this week looking up at the Lions. The two teams are facing off this week, and the Lions are sitting at 4-1. A win will put each team at 5-1, with the Lions winning head-to-head. This is the best division in football, and all four teams could wind up in the playoffs.
Winning in the NFL is tough, and winning on the road is tougher. Winning back-to-back road games is really difficult. Stroud went into New England and easily handled the hapless Patriots. This week, they have a really tough test against the Packers and Jordan Love in Green Bay. This was actually my preseason Superbowl matchup. Love is playing very well, and at home, the team is tough to beat. If Stroud can lead the Texans to a road win this week, it will be a huge feather in his cap and put him in elite status…if he isn’t already there.
The Vikings have a tough matchup against the Lions, and the Chiefs are in San Fransisco in a Super Bowl rematch against the 49ers. Although the 49ers haven’t been playing like a Super Bowl team this season, they are still a tough opponent, especially at home. It will be interesting to see if Kansas City and Minnesota can prevail to stay undefeated. This week can literally end having two, one, or zero undefeated teams.
