December 2018 – VITO'S VIEWS

A quick look ahead to NFL Week 17

Five quick takes looking ahead to Week 17 in the NFL:

1. The final day of the NFL season is difficult to handicap because some teams who are locked into their playoff positions, like New Orleans and Dallas, have nothing at stake. And teams like Tampa Bay and Arizona, who are likely to fire their coaches, don’t have much motivation. And a team like the Bears can get a first round bye only if they beat the Vikings and the Rams lose to Oakland. The Bears may not have much motivation in the second half if the Rams are winning big. The best game, Indianapolis at Tennessee, has been flexed to Sunday night for the final regular season game of the year as both teams will be fighting for a playoff spot. This is like a play in game for the playoffs. A total of 11 games have playoff implications.

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A quick look back at NFL Week 16

Five quick takes looking back on Week 16 in the NFL:

1. Going into the final Sunday of the season, 16 of the 32 teams have been eliminated from the playoffs. Two playoff teams are set. The Saints will be the top seed In the NFC and their seeding can’t change. And the Cowboys are locked in fourth seed. Three other NFC teams – Rams, Chicago and Seattle – are in playoffs, but their seedings could change. Either Minnesota or Philadelphia will get the other slot. In the AFC, New England, Houston, Chiefs and Chargers are in the playoffs but their seedings could change. The Ravens win the AFC North with a win over Cleveland and the Colts and Titans meet in the final game with the winner getting in. Pittsburgh needs a win over the Bengals and a Ravens loss to win the division.

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A quick look ahead at NFL Week 16

Five quick takes looking ahead to Week 16 in the NFL:

1. With just two weeks left in the regular season, the NFL has no more Thursday games which most teams will welcome because they are not popular with the players. Instead, the league has two Saturday games and 13 games plus the final Monday night game of the year this weekend. In the final week all 16 games will be played on Sundays so it is an even playing field for the playoffs the following week. Three teams, the Rams, Saints and Bears, have clinched division titles and two more, the Chiefs and Chargers, have clinched playoffs berths. Continue reading

A quick look back at NFL Week 15

Five quick takes looking back on Week 15 in the NFL:

1. Wouldn’t be the story of the year if Nick Foles comes off the bench to take the Eagles to the Super Bowl again? It seems a fantasy and even if the Eagles win their final two, they have to get help to even make the playoffs. Still, Foles gave them hope when he led the Eagles to a 30-23 win over the Rams. But it can’t happen again, can it? Continue reading

A quick look at NFL Week 15

Five quick takes looking ahead to Week 15 in the NFL:

1. There are only 12 games being played Sunday along with a Monday night game because there were two games played Saturday. The NFL plays Saturday games once the college football regular season ends. In the two Saturday games, the Texans beat the Jets 29-22 and the Browns beat the Broncos 17-16. The Texans win all but wrapped up the AFC South Division title with a 10-4 record. They can clinch Sunday if both the Colts and Titans lose. The Browns win surprisingly kept their faint playoff hopes alive at 6-7-1a remarkable record for a team that won one game the last two years. And the Broncos are still alive at 6-8 but are likely to miss the playoffs and that will put more heat on general manager John Elway. This will likely be the third consecutive year the Broncos have missed the playoffs since last winning the Super Bowl. They are 20-26 in that span, and while Elway is an icon in Denver, his acumen as a GM is starting to get questioned.

2. After losing the Miracle in Miami game last Sunday, the Patriots are in danger of not getting a first round bye if they don’t beat the Steelers. The Patriots are 9-4, the first time they’ve lost four games since 2015. But with home games against the Jets and Bills in their final two games, the Patriots figure to finish 12-4 and get a first round bye if they win this one. The Steelers are reeling with three consecutive losses and have a history of struggling against the Patriots. They’ve lost the last five to the Patriots, including a playoff game. The Steelers at 7-5-1 are only a half game in front of the 7-6 Ravens, who host Tampa Bay. The Steelers play at New Orleans next week so they could lose five in a row and miss the playoffs if they don’t beat the Patriots.

3. The Packers are still alive in the NFC wild card chase at 5-7-1 after beating Atlanta last week in Joe Philbin’s first game as interim coach. And they play a Bears team they have a history of dominating. They’ve won the last five and 15 of last 17 against the Bears, including a playoff game. And they beat the Bears 24-23 in the opener. But the Bears are 9-4 and are likely to end the Packers‘ chances of a winning season.

4. The 8-5 Cowboys play at the 7-6 Colts and despite the similar records, the Cowboys are in a much better playoff position with the lead in the NFC East. The Colts, meanwhile, have to win just to stay within two games of the 10-4 Texans and are likely fighting for a wild card spot. But the Colts can only think of what might have been. They lost to the Teans earlier this year in overtime after coach Frank Reich went for it on fourth down instead of punting and probably getting a tie. And he kept going for it on 4^th and 1 against the Jaguars instead of kicking field goals and lost 6-0. If he’d taken the tie against the Texans and had taken the field goals against the Jaguars and won that one, the Colts would be 8-4-1 and would be playing to tie the Texans for the AFC South Division lead.

5. Can Nick Foles do it again?. Just as he did last year, he’s being called on to save the Eagles season now that Carson Wentz is out of the Rams game with a back ailment. The defending champion Eagles are struggling at 6-7 while the Rams are 11-2 although the Bears beat them 15-6 last week. The Eagles must win their final three games to have a winning record after winning the Super Bowl last year. It’s now or never for them.

A quick look back at NFL Week 14

Five quick takes looking back on Week 14 in the NFL:

1. The nominations are now closed for the Play of the Year award. It goes to Miami for its double lateral play on the final play of the game that gave the Dolphins a 34-33 victory over the Patriots and left Tom Brady with a 7-10 record in Miami. It will go down as one of the most memorable plays in NFL history. And what made it all possible was a rare gaffe by Patriots coach Bill Belichick. With the Dolphins lining up for their final play on their 31, Belichick put in his Hail Mary defense with Rob Gronkowski lined up as the deep man. The problem with that strategy was that the Dolphins couldn’t try a Hail Mary because Ryan Tannehill couldn’t throw it 75 yards into the end zone. Instead, threw a 14-yard pass to Kenny Stills, who lateraled to DeVante Parker, who lateraled to Kenyon Drake, who ran the last 52 yards for the touchdown. He first cut inside to keep Gronkowski in the middle of the field and then outraced Gronk to the sidelines and scored as Gronk stumbled. It was a play for the ages and kept the Dolphins wild card hopes alive.

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A quick look ahead at NFL Week 14

Five quick takes looking ahead to week 14 in the NFL:

1. The 10-2 Kansas City Chiefs face their first big test without Kareem Hunt when they host the 7-5 Baltimore Ravens Sunday. The Chiefs routed the Raiders last week without Hunt, but the Raiders weren’t really a test. The Ravens have won three in a row with rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson, but he will have a tough time winning a duel with Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs also can’t get caught looking ahead to Thursday night’s critical division showdown against the Chargers, who figure to beat the Bengals Sunday to boost their record to 10-3.

2. The defending champion Eagles face the Cowboys for the second time in five games and need a victory to stay alive in the NFC East race. The Eagles, who lost at Dallas 27-20 on Nov. 11, would virtually be eliminated from the division race if they get swept by the Cowboys. That would give the Cowboys, who are currently 7-5, the tie-breaker and a two game lead against the 6-6 Eagles. The Cowboys are coming off a stunning 13-10 victory against New Orleans last week and seem to be in the process of saving Jason Garrett’s job. He’ll survive if the Cowboys win the division title.

3. The Los Angeles Rams are currently the top seed in the NFC at 11-1 but face a challenge in Soldier Field in Chicago Sunday night against the 8-4 Bears, who are leading the NFC North. The Bears suffered a surprising 30-27 overtime loss to the Giants last week. The game will feature an interesting duel between Jared Golf of the Rams and Mitch Tribusky of the Bears, who is still trying to show the Bears didn’t make a mistake in taking him over Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson in the draft year ago. Tribusky missed the last two games with a shoulder injury and the Bears went 1-1 with Chase Daniel at quarterback but Tribusky is ready to return this week.

4. Two surprising teams with similar records – the 6-5-1 Minnesota Vikings and the 7-5 Seattle Seahawks – will meet in Seattle Monday night. The Vikings are surprising because they thought they would be doing better after luring Kirk Cousins from Washington with a huge contract while the Seahawks are a surprise because they were supposed to be in a rebuilding phase, but are still in the hunt for a wild card playoff spot.

5. In a game between two of the most disappointing teams in the league, the 4-8 Falcons will visit the 4-7-1 Packers. Both teams have coaching issues. The Packers will be playing their first game after firing Mike McCarthy with four games left in his 13^thseason. Joe Philbin will fill in as interim head coach. For the Falcons, Dan Quinn, who has never lived down 28-3, is fighting for his job so there is more at stake for the Falcons if they want to try to save Quinn’s job.

A quick look back at NFL Week 13

Five quick takes looking back on Week 13 in the NFL:

1. The most significant game of the week was Arizona’s 20-17 victory over Green Bay that led team president Mark Murphy to dismiss coach Mike McCarthy with four games left in his 13th season. McCarthy was destined to be fired at the end of the season after a SI.com story chronicled the tensions between him and quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The loss caused Murphy to move up the timetable. He handed the interim job to Joe Philbin on an interim basis as he begins a search for the next coach. Finding the right coach to coexist with Rodgers won’t be easy, especially if the coach wants to run an offense Rodgers doesn’t like. Tough times may be ahead for the Packers. And if Rodgers is in decline, things could get more complicated.

2. The New England Patriots seem to be ready for a late season surge that could give them the top seed in the playoffs and home field advantage as they scored a convincing 24-10 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. The Patriots have gone 8-1 since a 1-2 start. The Patriots pounded the Vikings with their ground game as seven players combined to run 39 times for 160 yards, led by Sony Michel’s 63 yards on 17 carries. Tom Brady even reached a rushing milestone, going for five years to reach the 1,000-yard mark in his career. The Patriots may be heading for another Super Bowl appearance.

3. Rookie Lamar Jackson boosted his record to 3-0 as a starter as the Ravens beat the Falcons, 26-16. His passing is still a work in progress, but he ran 17 times for 75 yards. The 7-5 Ravens are now just a half-game behind the 7-4-1 Steelers in the battle for the AFC South title after the Steelers lost to the Chargers. Baltimore goes to Kansas City this weekend and to the Chargers in two weeks so Jackson is going to be tested.

4. The Los Angeles Rams keep rolling towards getting the top seed in the NFC as they boosted their record to 11-1 and clinched the NFC West with a 30-16 victory over the Detroit Lions. The Rams played like a team that knows it doesn’t have another important game until the playoffs. The Rams let Detroit hang around and were ahead only 16-13 in third quarter before pulling away. The Lions dropped to 4-8 as Matt Patricia is the latest Bill Belichick protégé to struggle as a head coach. Patricia took over a team that was 9-7 last two years and is 4-8 and headed to double digit losses this year.

5. The Kansas City Chiefs played their first game without Kareem Hunt, who was cut after a video surfaced of him assaulting a woman, but it was against the Raiders so they still put up 40 points to beat the Raiders, 40-33. Without Hunt, the Chiefs were led in rushing by Spencer Ware, who had only 47 yards in 14 carries. It didn’t matter because Patrick Mahomes threw four touchdown passes, but the Chiefs will have a more difficult time to get to the Super Bowl without Hunt.

A quick look at NFL Week 13

Five quick takes on Week 13 in the NFL:

1. After New Orleans surprising loss in Dallas, the Los Angeles Rams have the inside track on home field for the NFC playoffs with a 10-1 record. Now they have to avoid a letdown when they go to Detroit to face the struggling 4-7 Lions, who have taken a step back under new coach Matt Patricia. The Rams’ high-powered offense is second in the NFL in yards per game and third in points per game and only have to avoid being overconfident against the Lions.

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