Ten Thoughts on the NFL

1) I may be the only person without an actual rooting interest in one of the four NFC East teams that is intrigued by their race for the division lead, but it’s like a train wreck I can’t take my eyes off. The Eagles lost this weekend, 27 to 17 to the Giants, but still lead the division with a 3-5-1 record.

The 3-7 Giants are the hottest team in that division with 2 wins in a row, but the Ron Rivera led Washington Football Team (2-7), with comeback quarterback Alex Smith getting them into the playoffs is a story I would love to see.

2) The race for first in the NFC West is also going to be a fun one to follow. The Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, and Seattle Seahawks are all tied atop the division with 6-4 records and they all have head to head matchups to look forward too.

The Rams and Seahawks have playoff experience to fall back on, but there’s something special about the Cardinals this year. Quarterback Kyler Murray is playing at an MVP level and this ridiculous Hail Mary to DeAndre Hopkins must have this team believing they can do anything.

3) I found this statistical nugget about Murray intriguing because it mentions former Chicago Bears All-Pro quarterback Johnny Lujack.

Arizona quarterback KYLER MURRAY rushed for two touchdowns and threw a game-winning 43-yard touchdown pass with two seconds remaining in the Cardinals’ Week 10 win.

Murray is the first quarterback in the Super Bowl era and fourth quarterback in NFL history to rush for a touchdown in five consecutive games, joining JOHNNY LUJACK (six consecutive games in 1950), TOBIN ROTE (five in 1956) and Pro Football Hall of Famer DUTCH CLARK (five in 1936).

Murray has 10 rushing touchdowns this season, tied with JOHNNY LUJACK (10) for the most by a quarterback in his team’s first nine games of a season in league annals.

Lujack only played 4 years with the Bears before retiring after his second consecutive Pro Bowl, but he could have gone down in history as one of the Bears all-time greats.

4) The NFC South leading New Orleans Saints took a hit with news of quarterback Drew Brees being out for a while with multiple rib fractures and a collapsed lung, but also with some lingering issues to his throwing shoulder that he needs to heal up.

Brees being out will give some advanced time for back up QB Jameis Winston to show that the Lasik surgery he had this offseason was well worth it and that he deserves to find a starting gig in 2021.

5) The hottest team in the AFC, besides the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers, is the Miami Dolphins who have won 5 straight games.

The Dolphins bucked the trend of getting a young up and coming offensive mind when they hired defensive assistant Brian Flores away from the Patriots in 2019 to be their head coach. At 6-3, Flores already has improved on last year’s 5-11 record, and he has the ‘Fins currently as the 6th seed in the conference.

6) Speaking of the Dolphins, they released running back Jordan Howard yesterday.

In five games this year, Howard had 29 offensive touches for 30 yards.

There’s a place in the league for a guy with his skills, but it has to be a place with a great offensive line and a place where his power style will complement the lead back.

7) I hate how much I love everything about this play.

From the play design, to the pass protection, to Aaron Rodgers’ play fake, to DeVante Adams’ lulling the defensive back to sleep before kicking it into high gear, and then finally jumping up for the catch.

Just a pretty play.

Damn.

8) This was a heady play by Nick Chubb.

It may have sucked for some of your fantasy teams, but it allowed the Browns to take 2 knees and get out of there with a win to move to 6-3.

A few weeks ago we saw Atlanta’s Todd Gurley try to pull up before scoring a TD against the Lions, but his momentum carried him across the goal line, which led to Detroit having enough time to drive down and score the game winner.

9) And speaking of the Lions... They pulled off another miraculous comeback, this time against Washington, as Matthew Stafford drove then into field goal range with just 16 seconds left in the game. Two Stafford completions sandwiched around a roughing the passer penalty gave kicker Matt Prater time for this.

10) I’m a fan of Allen Robinson’s, but I don’t think the Bears should sign him to a long term contract or hit him with the franchise tag this offseason. This Bears team has too many offensive issues, and while a number one wide out is nice to have, it’s nicer if there’s a quarterback that can get him the ball consistently and if there’s an offensive line that can give consistent protection so the QB can do his job.

Until the Bears figure out their line and quarterback, there’s no point in locking Robinson down for the 2021 season. Either let him walk and get a comp pick, or tag him with the sole intention of trading him.

Plus, he clearly seems frustrated with the current state of his offense, and his agent was Tweeting his frustrations last night too.

10a) I was a guest this morning on the SB Nation NFL Show and I got to talk about the sad state of the Bears...