We have all heard it said that the NFL stands for: “Not For Long.” I don’t think there is a more true statement for teams on a winning streak who suddenly have to play a rivalry game in the middle of their schedule. This week was marked by rivalry games. Detroit and the Vikings. 49ers and the Seahawks. Ravens and the Steelers. Chiefs and the Broncos. Patriots and the Bills. Three of those games did not come out as folks would have thought. In rivalry games, records don’t matter. You can throw everything you thought you knew coming into the game out the window. You can be on a hot streak and a rivalry game will humble you. Detroit, Seahawks, and the Steelers came out the victorious underdogs in tough, hard fought rivalry games. These were games they were supposed to lose. They didn’t. All three of these teams made it more difficult for their opponents to make it to the post season.
Detroit led Vikings most of the way…but Vikings win late? NO!!!! Jared Goff leads a game winning drive! With 1:50 on the clock, Goff led a 14 play, 75-yard drive. Goff threw a strike on fourth and two with just four seconds left in the game. It was 4th and two but Detroit had 11 yards to the endzone. Detroit finally earns a win.
Indy Starts Slow but Wins Big. They blank the Texans. As Jonathan Taylor goes, so goes the Colts. They are 7-0 when he has 100+ rushing yards and 0-6 when he doesn’t reach the century mark.
Cardinals win in Chicago. Kyler Murray finally returned from injury and was responsible for four touchdowns. After that horrible performance by Dalton the Bears are hoping Justin Fields gets some X-Men Wolverine genes to heal his ribs fast.
Miami Continues Win Streak. They have won 6 straight after losing 7 in a row. They are the first team in 27 years to accomplish such a feet. Giants still searching for a Quarterback.
Seattle snaps 49ers win streak. Niners can’t find a way to win in the NFC West this year dropping 4. They were swept by the Cardinals and the Seahawks. Their only NFC West win is against the Rams. It shows you, their potential. It also shows you their inconsistency. You never know which Niner team is going to show up on Sunday.
Chiefs win 5th in a row. It wasn’t easy. Denver Broncos Defense locked down Mahomes most of the game. However, in fairness, Chief’s receivers dropped a lot of balls. It was a good thing the Chief’s defense is just now starting to come online and be dominate.
Buccaneers Back to Winning. Falcons back to Losing
Eagles defeat wayward Jets. Eagles need a quarterback and the Jets need an identity.
Chargers win tough on the road. Burrows damages pinky but gamely plays on. Chargers lose Joey Bosa and Bengals lose Joe Mixon during the game. Both squads hope these stars return for the rest of the season.
Raiders uneven play continues. They are edged out by the Washington Football team. Both teams are 6-6 with five games to go.
Cowboys beat Saints at the Dome on Thursday night. Cowboys secured 3 turnovers including a pick six in the final six minutes of the game. Taysom Hill is Tim Tebow without the Heisman. Saints will be hunting for a new trigger man in the off season.
Rams blow out Jaguars. Looks like they found their running back. Sony Michel had 24 carries, 121 yards and 1 touchdown. Sean McVay is back to running the ball and a balanced attack. Will he keep it going? Can the Rams keep it going?
Steelers are one-point winners. Baltimore couldn’t convert the two-point conversion in the waning seconds of the game. Coach Harbaugh made the right call, his defense was beat up and it was time to put up or shut up.
Bill Belichick is a genius. But we all knew that. He saw the weather and said “we ain’t throwin that ball.” I don’t think I would either with 55 mph gusts. During the first half the Patriots ran 24 plays, one of which was a pass completion for 12 yards. 1 pass in 24 plays. Meanwhile their run game was 23 carries for 149 yards and a touchdown. The Patriots had six different ball carriers in the first half. The trend continued in the second half where Mac Jones finished 2/3 for 19 yards and the Patriots ran for a total of 222 yards on 46 carries. Bills had their chances…they failed.