This week brought more unexpected NFL upsets, an NFC North battle that entertained more than Russell Crowe in Gladiator, and maybe the end of an era for one of the most dominant franchises of the past 10 years. In a season where there has been almost zero consistency between player or team performance, Jonathon Taylor might have made a case to being taken seriously as a MVP candidate. We are getting near the home stretch of the season and it seems like we are unlikely to find any clarity about who is good or bad before the playoffs.
The 2021 NFL Season: Where No Team is Great and Everyone Can Beat Anyone
I keep saying it every week. We leave every weekend wondering if there is any team or teams that are going to grab the season by the balls and demand to be taken seriously as the best team. This week we saw the Tennessee Titans get defeated at home by the Houston Texans and the Buffalo Bills lose in Buffalo to the Indianapolis Colts as Jonathon Taylor found the end zone five times. At this moment in time, there isn’t a division leader in the NFL who hasn’t either had a loss to a far worse team or been blown out in at least one game. Few teams have been able to gain prolonged momentum throughout this entire season. As of today the top two Super Bowl odds are Tampa Bay (+600) and Kansas City (+650) who are two teams that people have been talking more negatively about lately than positively. The beauty of this season is that it feels like the NFL playoffs will be a completely open race as opposed to having some clear favorites like the past. We are in for a very strangle, but special NFL season.
Patriots Increase League Leading Win Streak, Shutout Falcons
Are the Patriots the best team in the AFC right now? You’d be hard pressed to find someone better currently. A team that looked lost without Tom Brady last year, has a rookie QB this year, and a large lack of star power, New England is on a five game winning streak and as the weeks go by the idea of them having the best defense in the league seems like less of a contest. It was pure domination against Matt Ryan and the Falcons on Thursday. The Pats held the Falcons offense to only 165 yards and forced four turnovers while shutting them out in a 25-0 win. The dominance of the defense has allowed rookie quarterback Mac Jones to not have to carry the team like other rookies while still getting the experience of playing for a winning team. Few people would’ve expected New England being this good so soon, but it seems that we forget they have the greatest football coach of all time.
Vikings Avoid Choking, Close Out Game of the Year Nominee Against Packers
Somebody fan me down. As great as it felt to see the Vikings knock off division rival Green Bay, the game as a whole was even better. On the short list for one of the most entertaining games of the NFL season so far, Aaron Rodgers and Kirk Cousins threw for over 700 passing yards in a game that was high octane from the get go. In a game that I expected to be more of a defensive match, especially with how the Packers defense had been playing, both offenses were exploding with huge plays. It ended with a Kirk Cousins game winning drive that led to the game winning field goal by Greg Joseph as time expired. The Vikings are now giving their fanbase a little more hope after two straight wins. Green Bay now comes off a loss as they have a very big game against the Los Angeles Rams next week. It would be pretty surprising if the Vikings were able to complete a division comeback, but there is an outside chance that the Week 17 match up at Lambeau could have multiple stakes. Regardless, these two teams are the class of the NFC North and the only teams trending towards a playoff berth.
Big Cowboys/Chiefs Expectations Turns to Sloppy Snoozefest
This game had an over/under of 56.5 points. The final score was half that at 19-9. It now seems that this was the Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde match which consists of the two teams that have the ability to look unstoppable one game and just terrible the next. Mr. Hyde was out for both of them this week. The Cowboys and Chiefs combined for 5 turnovers and a 40% redzone efficiency. It was a big game for both teams as the Chiefs have suddenly won four straight games and seem to be running away with the AFC West. As mediocre as the start of the season was for Kansas City, they have reason to believe a #1 seed isn’t completely in doubt now. On the other hand, the Cowboys played their second ugly game in three weeks and are really costing themselves a shot at the NFC #1 seed. It’s a wide open race and with top teams losing every week, the Cowboys are just another one of the teams that doesn’t seem like they want to take control of their own destiny.
Arizona Crushes Final Seattle Playoff Hopes
Either Russell Wilson is still injured, very rusty, or something is really wrong with the former Super Bowl winning quarterback. After being shutout in his return back against Green Bay, Wilson struggled again against the Cardinals and was once again unable to throw a touchdown. This seems like it could be heading towards the end of the Wilson and Pete Carroll era for the Seahawks as they find themselves as the second worst team in the NFC. Arizona came away with the 23-13 win with Colt McCoy at quarterback as they continue to play games without stars Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins. Considering the Arizona competitiveness without their best players, a healthy Cardinals team seems like the strongest team in the NFC.
Pittsburgh Steals Win From Chargers Only To Give It Back
What a weird game. For as old and run down as Ben Roethlisberger has looked at times this season, he still finds ways to get the Steeler playmakers the football. Big Ben threw the ball 44 times and had three touchdowns in a game that had a ridiculous fourth quarter. The Los Angeles Chargers entered the final quarter with a seventeen point lead, their largest of the game. The two teams combined for 41 points in that final quarter which included Pittsburgh finally taking a three point lead with 3:24 to go in the game. The lead was short lived as Justin Herbert threw a 53 yard touchdown to Mike Williams as the Chargers took the lead for good in 41-37 win. Considering that crapshoot of the AFC playoff race, this was a big game as it puts the Chargers currently in the playoffs and bumps the Steelers to the first team out. All things point towards the standings continuing to fluctuate, but Steelers fans could end up sweating out a Chargers/Steelers tie break.
Looking Ahead to Week 12
The Thanksgiving Day football games are here! Family, Turkey, and watching the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions put all football fans to sleeper quicker than tryptophan. Seriously, that game is an all timer bad holiday game. In general the Turkey Day games are nothing special. The Raiders seem like their valiant fight to keep this season alive is basically over as they face Dallas. Buffalo/New Orleans is probably the best game, but both teams have looked pretty disappointing in recent weeks. Either way, I’ll be stuffing my face and watching some football.
Fortunately, the Sunday games get better. There’s two big AFC North matchups between the Bengals/Steelers and Browns/Ravens. Cincinnati has a legitimate chance to kick Pittsburgh a little ways down the AFC standings as if they are Jafar giving Aladdin the boot into the Cave of Wonders. The Ravens have been the most consistent team in the North while the Browns have been the most inconsistent. It will be interesting to see if that holds true in their game.
Tampa Bay travels to face a revitalized Indianapolis Colts team. Jonathon Taylor has been a thrill to watch in recent weeks and I’m starting to really like that team. If they can knock off the Bucs, I might be convinced that a Carson Wentz led team could be throwing their hat in the AFC playoff ring.
As crazy as it sounds, the New England Patriots/Tennessee Titans game could be the two best current teams in the AFC. At this moment in time, I’m having a hard time imagining a Titans team that is so banged up on offense can muster enough points to beat the Patriots. Either way, this New England resurgence is something else.
Rams/Packers feels like the game of the week. Matthew Stafford heads to Green Bay, a place where he saw many losses in his time with Detroit. It’s a big game for LA considering how disappointing they’ve played in their last couple games before the bye. Green Bay will want to get back in the win column to jump right back into the NFL Bye race.
Lastly, the Vikings head to San Francisco to play the Niners. These are two teams who have started to turn around their season and the winner will be doing a lot to benefit their playoff chances. Personally, I think beyond the top five NFC teams (Cardinals, Bucs, Packers, Cowboys, Rams) these are the next best teams and I’m excited to see if one separates themselves from the other.