Photo by Jake May from MLive.com
Happy November, everyone!
Even though it was still a bit too warm for my liking, it was nice to bundle up in a blanket and watching some football.
Here’s to another few months of that.
Here’s what we learned from this week.
Packers defeat Panthers 27-19
When Jordan Love plays like that, the Packers are insanely hard to beat.
And since he’s played like that for a month now, the Packers went from “dead on arrival” to “legitimate NFC North threats” in the blink of an eye.
Bills defeat Ravens 36-10
This game was over on the first play of the Ravens drive when Lamar Jackson broke his thumb on a Bills players helmet and had to leave the game.
But can we all just relax on the hot takes?
He broke his thumb on his throwing hand on a freak injury.
He did not quit on his team. He did not plan for this to happen.
Everyone chill.
Bengals defeat Titans 43-36
The Titans had the ball past midfield tied 36-36 with under a minute left and averaging 5.6 yards a carry facing a 3rd and 3.
Instead of running, they dropped back to pass, and Cam Ward got sacked, ruining any possibility of a game winning field goal.
This was a winnable game, and the Titans just gave it away.
Joe Burrow was excellent, but was also a huge part of the reason the Bengals found themselves in OT against the lowly Titans.
Some of the interceptions he threw were really bad.
Cardinals defeat Cowboys 33-30
Minshew Magic is back, baby.
After being down 17-3, the Cardinals switched to Gardner Minshew late in the third quarter.
Here are their drives after Minshew took over.
Touchdown
Touchdown
Touchdown
Touchdown
Punt
Game winning Field Goal
Awesome job by Minshew and the Cardinals offense to come back and win.
HORRIFIC job by the Cowboys defense, but what else is new?
Lions defeat Vikings 19-15
The Vikings putrid offense is wasting an absolutely awesome defense, and it’s a massive bummer to see.
Maybe they’ll get it fixed up, but we’re 7 games in.
How am I supposed to believe that now?
Raiders defeat Jets 38-33
The Jets, on the field, are not that bad.
The Jets, as a coaching staff, are horrific.
Aaron Glenn is a funny guy that seems like a good dude, but it’s time to rip the band aid off.
He has to go.
Steelers defeat Browns 27-6
The Steelers look like clear favorites in the AFC North, the defense looks back to form, and Aaron Rodgers is playing good football.
It’s hard to find a fault at the moment, apart from maybe a lackluster receiving room.
Buccaneers defeat Falcons 16-0
This game was played in a monsoon.
The Buccaneers, who won, ran 56 times and only threw the ball 3 times, not completing a single pass.
The Falcons, who lost, had an even split of 24 passes and 28 runs.
Would you be shocked to find out that the team that threw the ball a lot more in a rainstorm didn’t do well?
Jaguars defeat Colts 42-7
Jaguars good.
Colts very, very bad, and actively tanking now.
The Jets might end up with picks 1 and 2.
Rams defeat Chargers 24-9
Justin Herbert is broken.
This is more than a bad offensive line, or a bad OC, or whatever.
Justin Herbert is throwing horrible passes in clean pockets and turning the ball over.
Frankly, I’m not sure how you fix that.
Broncos defeat Chiefs 28-24
Special teams matter.
I’ve said this for years, and it showed again in Denver on Sunday.
Harrison Butker missed yet another field goal that would have put the Chiefs up 27-21, and made it so that they would only need a game winning chip shot field goal at the end of the game instead of a touchdown, where they failed to get into the end zone.
That’s a game the Chiefs likely should have won, and put a stranglehold on the AFC West.
Now, they’re in a dog fight.
Patriots defeat Dolphins 24-19
The Dolphins play hard.
Considering their overall lack of talent, that’s what you’re looking for from this season.
They play hard, they have a young budding star on defense in Jacob Rodriguez, and Malik Willis and Ollie Gordon are showing signs they can succeed.
They just need more talent.
But the signs are there.
Commanders defeat Eagles 27-10
I know it’s only two years removed from the Eagles winning the damn Super Bowl, and they are incredibly injured, but how bad does this season get before we start to wonder about Nick Sirianni’s job security?
They really don’t look good at all.
Bears defeat Seahawks 34-17
It has been a long time since the Seahawks were absolutely dominated like that.
Teams have beaten them, sure, but it usually came down to them beating themselves.
Not this one though.
The Bears were, far and away, dominant.
This was a statement win.
The Bears are for Super Bowl contenders, if not favorites.
