This will be a weekly series where I will be looking at the box score and giving a summary/ my thoughts of how I felt each game went if I was able to watch it. This may change as the season goes on and the article progresses but for now this is how it is.
Steelers 7 Vs Browns 52
It’s rare to see HD blow out an opponent but it happened here and surprisingly he was pretty modest about it. This shows real maturity from him. The tale of this game was the Browns passing game threw 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions while the Steelers offense threw 1 touchdown and 9 interceptions. It’s crazy seeing this but the Tight End Stover had a better passing game then either of the Steelers quarterbacks. Stover threw a 72 yards touchdown pass. When you not only let up something like this but can’t even score more touchdowns than a tight end you know that you aren’t playing good football. HD has turned his season around and is finally putting up games where both the offense and defense are in sync. Watch out, if this continues, HD will be back to the playoffs after missing them last cycle.
Vikings 35 VS Bears 23
The AFC North started with four teams who could potentially make the playoffs and it has fizzled down to two dominant teams and two others who are competing for a wildcard spot. The Vikings don’t even have their quarterback of the cycle and are dominating this season. I can’t imagine how they will be when they aren’t starting journeyman low throw power quarterbacks. Caleb isn’t having a truly bad season, however, he isn’t lighting up the defenses and creating the wins that the Bears need. The offense is better than the defense and when they can’t score it creates problems. As for the Vikings, they are just racking up the wins and it will be interesting to see which team can take them out. So far only the Packers have and they may not even make the playoffs.
Lions 43 VS Colts 28
After starting the season with a loss, the Lions have only lost one other game and if not for being in a division with the Vikings, they would be at the top of any other division. They are playing as good as any team in the league and the offense is the reason. In this one, they had a very balanced plan as they ended the game with 273 passing yards and 240 rushing yards. The defense forced Richardson out of the game by forcing 4 interceptions thrown. It got so bad that Flacco came in for 9 passing attempts. He didn’t play that bad as he completed 6 of them and scored a touchdown. I wouldn’t ever do this personally but maybe a switch at quarterback is needed. The Colts are right there in the thick of things for the AFC South and they have to find a way to not kill themselves with interceptions.
Patriots 27 VS Dolphins 24
When the season started if you would have said that the Dolphins would lose to the Patriots not many would believe it. These two teams are the complete opposite when it comes to team speed, however, none of that mattered in this one. Maye played his game manager style and it was just enough to get the win. This was mainly due to the Patriots defense forcing 4 Thompson interceptions. If you’re going to throw interceptions, why not play the guy who actually has great abilities? The game plan here also didn’t make sense. Only running Achane for 11 plays while throwing the ball 37 times with a 65 overall quarterback isn’t the smart move. The Patriots seem like they are gonna find themselves in the playoffs in season one which is a great accomplishment. The Dolphins are heading for a top draft pick and will struggle with their cap this offseason.
Buccaneers 20 VS Giants 36
I was really hoping the Bucs would lock in here and do me a favor by beating a division mate. Not having Mayfeild here clearly was the key difference as Travis played terribly. He completed 16 of 30 pass attempts for 304 yards, 2 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. The plus side to this was the fact that it ended in a two score game but it seems that the Giants found the Bucs weakness. Without Mayfield, they aren’t quite the same team they have been all season. The Giants defense has been forcing interceptions all season which is impressive given their personnel at defensive back. They are a young defense and all of these forced turnovers will help with the xp going forward. The NFC East is wide open and the Giants have a favorable schedule to win the rest of their games and sneak in as the overall winner.
Cowboys 30 Vs Commanders 16
The Cowboys lock in and beat a quality divisional opponent after losing to a few teams with losing records. They play their best game when they run the ball and let their defense get after teams. They have the best defensive pass rusher in the league and if teams don’t pay attention they will get in the backfield quickly. They can just rush four and will get there in no time. There is a reason that Parsons leads the league in sacks and Lawrence on the other end ensures teams can’t always double team him. They forced Daniels to throw 5 interceptions and that’s all she wrote. Drama and the Cowboys are always good season one and we’ll see if this type of play continues or will he slip up like in previous games.
Chiefs 40 VS Panthers 21
This game went about as expected as anyone would think. The differences between these two teams is staggering. The Panthers would have needed Mahomes to make a lot of bad reads that lead to turnovers and that didn’t happen in this one.Mahomes has been playing great all season and this one wasn’t anything different, He threw for 326 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Bryce Young on the other hand did not play badly either, he threw for 207 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Based on this box score it doesn’t show any turnovers which is great for both teams. The difference was the fact that the Panthers punted three times compared to none for the Chiefs. Both of these teams have opposite paths this season. The Chiefs will be looking at possibly the number 1 seed while the Panthers will be looking at possibly the number 1 pick in the draft.
Titans 49 VS Texans 46
Ants’ sabbatical from Madden last cycle is really showing this season. He had quite possibly the best team and best quarterback in the division and doesn’t have as many wins as he probably should. This was his division for the taking and he may potentially end the season as the worst in the division. Worst news for the Texans is the fact that Stroud will be losing his abilities already and it’s nowhere near the end of the season. Ant has complained about Stroud so maybe this is a good thing but even if he hand picks his own quarterback in the draft, the trade committee wont let Stroud be traded. As for Miles, this was a great win to keep himself in the race for the South. Both quarterbacks played great with Stroud throwing for 5 touchdowns and Levis throwing for 6. That sixth touchdown that was let up by the Texans defense was the killer.
Broncos 40 VS Raiders 28
The Broncos computer strikes again! It’s going to be a sad day in the AFC if this team gets in the playoffs. It will be really interesting to see if this happens and if JT allows teams to be knocked out by them. It happened once and KMAC quit the game during the playoffs. He was allowed to quit and not lose to them. Tough luck to anyone not a streamer who plays them.
49ers 31 VS Packers 45
This was such an unfortunate game for the Niners. Purdy finally put together possibly his best game of the season throwing for 475 yards, 4 touchdowns and 1 interceptions. You would see this and assume that this would be a win especially when the other quarterback, Love, only threw the ball 15 times for 272 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. The running game for each team is the reason for the result of the game. 146 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns for the Packers with 0 fumbles. The bigger story here is about the 49ers and what happened when they ran the ball. They ran the ball and had 5 fumbles with 4 of them being recovered by the Packers. I am not sure what happened on the offense or if conservative was ever put on but to fumble 5 times in one game has to be a record. I would have been livid had this happen to me.
Cardinals 19 VS Seahawks 40
The Seahawks proved that they are the class of the NFC West. I thought this division had a lot of promise and was going to be one of the closer ones, but for one thing or another the rest of the division outside of the Seahawks have struggled. Sam Howell has been sporadically thrown into the game this season and all of this experience has helped his confidence. He dominated the Cardinal secondary by throwing for 278 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Murray wasn’t as effective as he threw for less touchdowns and 3 times the interceptions.
Eagles 30 VS Rams 23
This game pretty much came down to being able to beat the pressing defense of the Rams. I think they pressed and potentially blitzed every play. I tried to run the ball to keep them honest but Barkley was going nowhere against that front. It came down to how my receivers would do versus the pressed man defense. I needed someone to step up. That someone was the man who wanted to be traded earlier in the season. A.J Brown consistently beat his man to the tune of 4 receptions for 143 yards and 2 touchdowns. Smith also had a nice touchdown catch beating the press as his only catch went for 56 yards and a touchdown. The Rams offense had success driving down the field using the outside of the field. I keyed into this on the final drive of the game and forced a game winning interception.
Ravens 40 Vs Charger 43
The Ravens season has boiled down to losing close games. I know they are neck and neck with HD for the division lead, however, if they won any of these close games at the end then it wouldn’t even be a contest. Lamar has had a great season and continued to be good in this one. Both teams’ offenses played great and to be honest you have to be mad at your defense if you’re either team. The Ravens don’t have any excuses, they have one of the best defenses on paper and let Herbert carve them up. You have to be able to step up in games like this and the Ravens couldn’t.
