Week 6

Broncos 17, Seahawks 14

Snoozer of a Thursday night game.  ‘Hawks started with a nice drive that stalled at the 37 so a Myers FG made the game 3-0.  The Broncos actually played some decent offense as they scored on TWO consecutive drives as Dobbins and Harvey each scored TDs on short runs.  Broncos went to half with a really nice 14-3 lead.  It looked like the offense took a nap and didn't  wake up for the 3^rd and most of the 4^th quarter.  It was bad Bo all over again.  Check-down Charlie.  Terrible offensive football, just puke-worthy.  Fortunately for the Broncos, their defense is playing well.  Despite not having their top two cornerbacks, they were able to pick off Darnold twice, and “hold” JSN to 134 yards – but he didn’t score.  The ‘Hawks made it a close game by scoring a TD by Holani and converting the 2 pointer to get within 3 points.  The Broncos could’ve sealed the W twice late in the fourth quarter, including a free possession as the defense came up with an interception, but blew those opportunities with some very questionable calls by Nix.  They couldn't convert any third downs to hold onto the ball and run clock.  Darnold put a nice drive together and they tied things up to get to OT.  Of course Broncos did nothing with their first drive, and then McMillian came up with yet another big-time interception to set the Broncos up for the game winning 53-yard FG.  Broncos got the win, but in their last 7 possessions of that game, they gained 24 yards.  Horrible; they should be ashamed.

Texans 34, Jaguars 31

Jags stayed in London for the week, and the Texans were coming in for this game, but the Jags looked a bit sluggish.  They turned the ball over on downs in the first quarter, and had a TD called back on a penalty.  CJ has been playing much better as of late, and he had a good day against the Jags D early.  He finished the day with over 300 yards and 2 TDs.  Lawrence did a good job keeping up with the Texans.  He had a good day too with over 300 yards and 4 TDs.  The Texans had managed to pull away a bit as they led 31 -21 after the 3^rd quarter.  Jags scored a TD early in the fourth, and then got a big break as Travis Hunter picked off CJ in the endzone to end that drive.  Hunter had himself quite a game catching 4 passes for 59 yards and a TD along with that int.  The Jags converted his pick to a FG but left a bit too much time on the clock.  CJ was able to get their kicker well in range (he’s got a 70-yarder in there – I know it) and Little sealed the Texans win with a 49-yard FG.

Pats 26, Jets 19

Jets started well with a nice drive, but had their TD called back on an offensive interference call.  They were only able to get a FG on that drive, and did little else in the first half.  Drake Maye picked up where he left of last week, he threw for 3 TDs and 235 yards – no interceptions.  His first came at the end of the first half with a nice 42-yard bomb to Doubs.  The Pats then took advantage of the Jets’ inability to go 1 yard on 3 plays and turned that into a FG.  That was the Jets’ second time they turned it over on downs.  The Pats finished the half with a TD to lead 17 - 3 at the break.  Geno was able to get things going a bit in the second half to make things interesting.  He hit Cooper for a TD, and turned a Pats fumble into a FG to move w/in 4 points.  The Pats scored another TD to pull ahead and the Jets couldn’t keep pace.  They were only able to score a couple FGs, as the Pats were able to get the ball back and kill the clock.  Nice win for the Pats.

Steelers 26, Buccaneers 19

Steelers needed OT to finish this game and the were trailing the whole day, up until the fourth quarter when they tied it up 16-16.  The Bucs took advantage of a tipped ball to intercept Rodgers, setting up a FG, and Daniels hit Egbuka for a TD to start the game.  The Steelers took advantage of a Daniels interception and a long pass interference penalty to get close, and then Boswell’s 58-yarder tied things up.  The Steelers scored another FG when they got another pick from Daniels.  He redeemed himself a bit with a great drive late in the fourth for the tying FG.  The Steelers were able to score a TD on their initial possession, and the Bucs were unable to match.  Tough win for the Steeler, but they did what they needed to do for the win.

Browns 12, Ravens 10

Seems like we said this when Harbaugh was HC – you know you guys have Derrick Henry back there, right? And he can play all FOUR quarters?  This one was vintage 70’s football as the Ravens built themselves a 10 point cushion with Henry runs and some good D.  Browns were unable to get on the scoreboard before the end of the first half.  The Browns were able to get a decent drive together in the 3^rd quarter and Szmyt hit a 48-yard FG.   Then the Ravens made a few mistakes.  They missed a FG, and Henry fumbled which led to the Browns TD.  The Browns had a chance to take the lead, but Szmyt missed his second 48-yarder.  The Ravens were unable to do anything on their next drive and gave him another chance.  He took advantage as he kicked the 37 yard game winner.  Another AFC North matchup.  Wasn’t pretty at all, but it was competitive.  All teams in the AFC North are over .500.  Strange year.

Bears 31, Falcons 23

Williams is BACK.  After a few weeks on the bench due to a bad hammy – Caleb was on the field Sunday, and he performed.  Not much rust as he threw for 300 yards and a TD.  And as per usual the Bears RBs had good days.  Johnson and Swift both scored TDs (2 for Swift) and they rushed for a combined 100 yards.  Swift scored one of his TDs after a Falcon muffed punt which led to their 21-7 halftime lead.  The Bears kept rolling in the second half with a TD and a FG, the FG after another kick snafu by the Falcons.  The Falcons were able to score a couple TDs to make  things respectable.  Penix finished the day with 225 yards and 3 TDs, but the Bears where never in danger.  Really nice game for the Bears and Williams after the injury time.

Titans 26, Colts 20

I didn’t see this one coming.  Titans are probably bottom five in the NFL this year, and  the Colts were supposed to compete for a playoff spot.  This one led to Colts GM getting canned Monday and the Colts looking at Peyton Manning for advice or possibly giving him a job.  The Titans sure looked like they were going to go 0-6 as the Colts took a 13-0 at the half lead after a Cam Ward interception.  Colts started their second half with a Taylor fumble which the Titans turned into a FG.  Daniel Jones also throws interceptions, and his second interception set up the Colts second FG to pull within 7.  Following a Colts punt Ward put together nice drive which finished with a TD to Tate.  The Titans then converted  the Colts’ next possession into a blocked punt for a TD (scoop and score) to take the lead.  The Colts answered with a short Taylor TD to tie things up.  The Titans scored a FG on their next drive and forced two 4^th and outs by the Colts to hold onto the W.  Heck of a nice win as their first.  Another tough one for the Colts.

Panthers 25, Eagles 14

Eagles have had a rough road this season, and it's not going to get any better.  Word came down today that Hurts is still having clotting issues, and will be on medication that will take away the rest of his season.  For the foreseeable future – I guess it’ll be Tanner McKee.  And insult to injury, they are missing a lot of guys on offense.  Panthers got off to a quick start with a FG and then took advantage of a horrible punt to score a TD and go up 10.  McKee was able to hit Smith for an Eagles TD, but he struggled throughout the day.  Panthers QB young continues to have a really nice season finishing the day with 281 yards and 2 TDs in a good win for the Panthers.

Saints 34, Giants 27

This was a fun game as there were a couple lead changes as both teams went on scoring streaks.  The Giants got off to a quick 10-0 start as Winston hit TE Likely for some big completions.  The Saints were able to get a FG, and then took advantage of a Giants fumble to score a TD right before the half to take things in even at 10.  Then the Saints started their run.  A run by Kamara scored a TD; during the run Kamara made a career achievement of being one of the few guys in the NFL to have 5K rushing and 5K receiving.  Then the Saints got a Shough rushing TD, and then scored a FG after Winston’s second interception.  This put the Saints up 34-10.  After that – the Giants actually put JJ in there to see what he could do as the Saints put Rattler in there for a while too. He made things really interesting leading the Giants to a couple TDs and a FG to get within 7.  They ran out time though and the Saints got a big win after a couple rough games.  Interesting in this game that Scattebo didn’t get a carry for the Giants in this game.  Guess coach is still mad about those fumbles.

Cardinals 18, Rams 16

Seeing how this season has gone, guess the outcome of this game shouldn’t be THAT surprising, but wow.  Cards were 13 point underdogs here.  Cards scored zero TDs.  All those points came from their kicker Chad Ryland.  Not a great performance by the Rams  at all.  Started out OK as they capped off a drive with a 44-yard FG.  Unfortunately for the Rams and especially Blake Grupe – he was injured on his kickoff as he attempted to make a tackle.  The Rams weren’t sharp at all on offense.  Guys weren’t getting open and Stafford seemed off.  The Cardinals did a great job of keeping the ball and kicking FGs and led 15-9 in the fourth quarter.  The Rams put together a decent drive that was capped off with a 6-yard TD from Stafford to Parkinson.  The PAT was converted by the Rams punter and backup QB holding.  Unfortunately for the Rams, Adams went out in the fourth quarter with an apparent knee injury that will sideline him for a few weeks.  Down 16-15, the Cards put together another good drive, capped off by the game winner by Ryland.  Fun fact – the Cards, yes, the Cards now have more wins in So-Fi than the Chargers and Rams combined.

Bills 33, Raiders 30

If you had $50 bucks on the QB that threw for over 300 yards in this game – would you have put it on Cousins?  This one turned out to be a really good game, and the Raiders were game for sure.  Raiders actually led 7-3 for a hot minute before the Bills took the lead after a TD reception by Shakir.  The game was tied 13-13 at half.  The Bills scored a FG and Allen had a crazy push-pass to Coleman to take a 23-13 lead.  The Raiders stayed in it, though and Cousins hit Tucker with an 11-yard pass to tie things up.  Allen answered with a drive that Cook finished up, and then after stopping the Raiders, a FG to go up 10.  Cousins kept slinging it and they were able to get within 3 after another 44-yarder to Tucker.  That one was a beauty as Tucker had to lay out for the ball in the endzone.  Great throw / catch.  Unfortunately for the Raiders – they were still down 3 and the onside was not recovered.  Exciting game.

Chiefs 22, Chargers 6

Not a whole lot to say on this game.  The Chargers are just broken.  Offensively – they don’t have guys or a plan.  McConkey got hurt again, and defensively they just don’t hold up as  their offense can’t get much going.  The Chiefs were not impressive in this one, but they didn’t need a whole lot.  Walker had another great day with 128 yards and 2 TDs and the Chiefs hit a bunch of FGs to go with it.

Packers 23, Cowboys 13

And it never really looked like that close a game. The ‘Boys are really in trouble when their offense can only put up 7 points well into the fourth quarter.  The Packers D did a fantastic job of putting intense pressure on Dak and confusing him on his reads.  Lamb and Pickins were both held in check and the ‘Boys never did get those offensive explosives that have kept them in games.  Not to mention the two interceptions by Dak.    And don’t let that 23 points by the Packers fool you - the ‘Boys D wasn’t that good.  They could very easily given up 40 had Packers WRs caught all the passes that Love put on the money.  He finished with 276 yards and a TD – but should’ve had a lot more.  He’s been playing really good football these last couple of games.  Great win for the Pack.