Ten Thoughts on the NFL

1) The Miami Dolphins jumped out to a 10-0 lead over the Kansas City Chiefs, they sacked Patrick Mahomes three times and they forced him into three interceptions, and K.C. still racked up 448 yards in total offense and won 33 to 27.

Mahomes’ “bad” day saw him throw for 2 TD passes and 393 yards.

Next up for the Chiefs is the New Orleans Saints, who just lost a tough one to the Philadelphia Eagles.

2) The Monday Night Football game between the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns was wild.

A combined nine rushing touchdowns (which tied an NFL record from 1922*), wide out Jarvis Landry completed a pass, missed kicks from Cody Parkey, a sad dog in the stands, new shoes for Lamar Jackson, countless poop jokes on my Twitter feed, Bowser with an interception, a tip-drill two-point conversion, a Willis Reed moment from Lamar, a :47 second TD drive orchestrated by Baker Mayfield to take the lead, a 55 yard Justin Tucker with :02 left on the clock, and a Cal-Stanford lateralpalooza that went backwards for a safety to close out the scoring in Baltimore’s 47 to 42 win (the first ever NFL game to end in that particular score).

The 8-5 Ravens are currently on the outside of the AFC playoff race, but those wildcard spots are going to come down to the wire and be a lot of fun.

*2a) I just wanted to mention the games from 1922 because those old school names are the frog’s eyebrows. The Rock Island Independents beat the Evansville Crimson Giants, 60-0, and a few weeks later the Racine Legion had nine TDs of their own against the Louisville Breckenridges, in their 57-0 win.

3) The Indianapolis Colts took it to the Las Vegas Raiders 44 to 27, and the loss prompted the Raiders to fire defensive coordinator Paul Guenther. Rod Marinelli was named interim D.C., but the rumors are already circulating that Wade Phillips is angling for the job.

Las Vegas needs a spark as they are also on the outside of the playoff picture at 7-6.

The Colts are tied with the Titans at 9-4 atop the AFC South in another fun playoff race.

4) The top seed in the NFC now belongs to the Green Bay Packers, who also clinched their second consecutive NFC North title with their win against the Lions. Aaron Rodgers is just making things look so easy, and the Packers will be a tough out in the playoffs.

5) Another NFC team with an offense chugging along is the Los Angeles Rams.

Jared Goff and the passing game struggled against the New England Patriots, but they showed they can lean on the ground game with rookie running back Cam Akers who had 29 carries for 171 yards in L.A.’s 24 to 3 win.

6) While the Rams offense is starting to click, their defense has been good all year thanks to Aaron Donald, who looks like a good bet to win his third NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award.

He makes Rams’ game appointment television.

7) Not sure who needs to hear this, but “quarterback wins” is not a stat.

8) The NFC East leading Washington Football Team had two defensive TDs in their 23-15 win against the San Francisco 49ers, and believe it or not, they are the “hottest” team in the NFC with four straight wins. QB Alex Smith left their last game with a leg injury, but he’s hopeful he’ll be able to play this Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks.

If they can knock off Seattle, the NFC will need to take notice of the WFT.

9) Emmanuel Acho is my favorite failed NFL player.

10) I was happy seeing my favorite team get the win on Sunday, but as the day progressed the reality that the win affected the Chicago Bears 2021 draft slot set in.

They are currently set to pick 15th.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll always want to see them get the W, but stumbling to a .500 record and missing the playoffs is the worst thing possible for this franchise. The team could even win out for a 9-7 record and miss out on the postseason this year.