The most interesting thing about this column is that from week to week, a player or team can be a winner or loser. The NFL is often said to be a week-to-week league, with the acronym Not For Long. It is similar to New England weather…don’t like the weather, wait a minute.
Here are this week’s winners and losers:
WINNERS:
Caleb Williams now has the Bears sitting at 4-2 and firmly entrenched in the middle of the playoff race. If it weren’t for the undefeated Vikings, they’d have a more realistic shot at winning the division. On Sunday, Williams was 23-29 for 226 yards and four TD passes. It is fast becoming a two-man race for ROTY with Jayden Daniels. Before Sunday, Daniels was running away with the award. He’s still in the lead, but Williams is now in the discussion. He’s second at +155…Daniels is sitting at -190.
Without Rachaad White, Tucker and Irving fared just fine. They combined with 28 rushes, 217 yds, and two TDs. Tucker also caught three passes for another 56 yards and a receiving TD.
In a game with 51 points of offense, many players are bound to put up big stats. Godwin caught 11 passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns.
There is no stopping the king. They say runners who hit 30 yards old start to regress. But not Henry; he’s found himself in the perfect spot in Baltimore. He rushed the ball 24 times with 132 yards and two TDs.
The Packers have now won two in a row with Love at the helm…and he’s definitely shaken off the rust. He was a very efficient 22-32 with 258 yards and four TDs.
Speaking of shaking off the rust…in limited action, Mixon rushed for 102 yards on only 13 carries and a rushing TD. He also caught two passes for 30 yards, one of which was also a TD.
With Nico Collins out, Diggs and Dell had to pick up the slack. They did. The two WRs combined for 13 catches and 134 yards, with two TDs.
It was a tougher game than it should have been, but the Eagles prevailed. Every win will be important this season for all of the NFC East teams since it’s any teams division at this point…well, maybe not the Giants. Hurts was 16-25 with 264 yards and two TDs.
The main recipient of Hurts’ passes was Brown. He caught six passes for 116 yards and a TD.
When the Atlanta running game is on point, the team runs like a well-oiled machine. Allgeier and Robinson combined to rush the ball 33 times and 200 yards. And they scored three TDs.
Goff may not have been perfect like he was earlier this season, but he was pretty darned good. He threw the ball 25 times, completing 18 passes for 315 yards and three TDs.
And when the Lions passing game is clicking, it opens up their running game. In the broadcast, Tom Brady said he thinks the Lions have the most well-balanced offense in the league. Montgomery added 80 rushing yds on 12 carries, along with two TDs.
LOSERS:
This is a tough spot to put these two rookies…but strictly speaking, each of their teams lost on Sunday. Neither played badly. It could be argued each played fairly well, all things being considered. They each passed for an identical 243 yards. Rattler threw a TD pass, and Maye threw three. They each threw two interceptions. Better days are coming for each of them.
Hopefully, better days are coming for Ekeler. He’s too good and valuable to put up such pedestrian numbers. He had nine rushes and caught four passes, but he only had 68 combined yards for the game.
The Titans may be better served with Mason Rudolph at the helm for at least a few weeks…because Levis seems completely inept. He completed 16 passes for only 95 yards.
The Daniel Jones experiment may soon be over for the Giants. HC Brian Daboll cannot keep losing if he wants to save his job. Jones barely completed half of his 41 passes. He threw for 205 yards and an interception.
The Lions destroyed the Cowboys on Sunday and, by all accounts, should be in the winner’s column. They would be if it weren’t for Aidan Hutchinson’s gruesome injury. He broke his leg and has already gone under the knife. Thankfully, it was not a compound fracture. Hopefully, he will have a speedy and successful recovery.
On Jerry Jones’s birthday, no team was a bigger loser than the Cowboys…and not just one player, all of them. From HC Mike McCarthy to QB Dak Prescott, from the entire coaching staff to the entire running game…no individual should be unscathed from this. They are awful at home, seemingly losing by double digits in every game they play. Jones himself can’t escape criticism since he is also the team’s GM and main decision-maker. They have no running game and have depleted their passing game. This is shaping up to be a long season for The Boys.
