Month: November 2019

The 1972 Dolphins can break open the champagne.

Now that San Francisco became the last unbeaten team to lose Monday night, it is official that the Dolphins are the only team ever to record a perfect season in the league’s first 100 years.

In the league’s early days, four teams didn’t lose a game but all had ties. That doesn’t mean the Dolphins were the best team in the first 100 years. They probably weren’t in the top five, but they took advantage of window between the Green Bay dynasty of the 1960s and the Steelers dynasty of the 1970s to get their perfect season.

The Packers won five titles and Steelers won four and the 49ers, the team of the 80s, won five although the final one was in 1994. The Dolphins only won two.

The San Francisco loss means the NFC race is wide open. The 49ers now lead the Seahawks by just a game in the loss column and still play five winning teams, including the Packers, Ravens and New Orleans.

The Packers and Saints are also just a game behind the 49ers in the loss column. It also was one of those Any Given Sunday weekends as three 1-7 teams all won, notably the Falcons upending the Saints and the Dolphins, who are supposed to be tanking, winning at Indianapolis.

The third was the Jets beating the Giants although that wasn’t much of an upset.

Positives

—The Dolphins dumped Ryan Tannehill as part of their tanking program. The Titans signed him and he’s 3-1 since replacing Marcus Mariota, including the win over the Chiefs Sunday, and has them in the playoff hunt at 5-5. Tannehill even scored on a two-point conversion.

—Another team that took advantage of the Dolphins’ tanking program was the Steelers. They gave up a first-round pick for Minkah Fitzpatrick, and he has four interceptions and two returns for touchdowns in the last three games, including one Sunday against the Rams. They’ve won four in a row after a 1-4 start without Ben Roethlisberger and are in the wild card hunt at 5-4.

—Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson has now beaten previously unbeaten New England and winless Cincinnati in the last two weeks. He does his thing regardless of the competition. The skeptics say he can’t keep playing this way long term without getting injured but the Ravens are living in the moment.

—The Seahawks are living on the edge, winning an overtime game for the second week in a row. They beat the 49ers on Jason Myers 42-yarder against San Francisco at the end of overtime.

—Kirk Cousins led the Vikings to a big prime time come from behind road win in Dallas with two touchdown passes. He was 6-13 with the Vikings and Redskins in prime-time road games. Dalvin Cook was the key to the victory for the Vikings, who are now 7-3. He ran for 97 yards including the go-ahead touchdown on fourth down and had 86 receiving yards.

Negatives

—The Giants are finding out Eli Manning wasn’t their only problem. They have lost six in a row with rookie Daniel Jones at quarterback, including an embarrassing loss Sunday to the Jets and coach Pat Schurmur is 7-19 in his past two seasons. Will he get a third season? We’ll see.

—The Rams are having a major Super Bowl hangover after losing in Pittsburgh. They’re 5-4, haven’t scored an offensive touchdown in their last 19 possessions and Jared Goff looks lost.

—Adam Vinatieri has now missed six extra points this year, including a critical one in the loss to the Dolphins. It looks like he stayed one year two long at age 47.

—Jimmy Garoppolo is now 16-3 as a starter for the 49ers after the home loss to Seattle. But he had three turnovers in the loss. He has to play better down the stretch. He plays Kyler Murray Sunday and then has a three-game stretch against the Packers, Ravens and Saints. The 49ers can’t afford any more losses like the one to Seattle after Chase McLaughlin of the 49ers missed a potential game winner from 47 yards out earlier in overtime that was shanked so badly it went into the tunnel. He made a 47-yarder with one second left in regulation to send the game in overtime. He was kicking because Robbie Gould was sidelined with an injury. San Francisco opened the door for Seattle to win when they got the ball back with less than two minutes left and threw three consecutive incomplete passes, taking only 25 seconds off the clock and giving the Seahawks time to drive for the game winning field goal.

—Count Carolina’s Ron Rivera as the latest coach to not understand when is the right time to go for two. He did it early in the fourth quarterback with the Panthers down 24-16. That meant they needed both a touchdown and two-point conversion to send the game in Green Bay into overtime in their final drive. They didn’t score anyway, but it was a head scratching decision by Rivera.

This is the time of year when the leaves turn, there is a chill in the air and the NFL games have a lot at stake as teams jockey for position in the playoff race.

The week started with the Raiders beating the Chargers Thursday night to keep themselves in the hunt at 5-4. The Chargers, meanwhile, fell to 4-6, dealing the playoff hopes a possible crippling blow.

It now appears the 8-1 Patriots and 6-2 Ravens are in position to win division titles while the 6-3 Texans, the 5-3 Colts and even the 4-5 Jaguars and 4-5 Titans are vying for the AFC South title.

The 6-3 Chiefs and 5-4 Raiders are battling for the AFC West title. That means eight teams are battling for six playoff spots. The other six teams have at least six losses.

In the NFC the 5-3 Cowboys and 5-4 Eagles are vying for the NFC East title while the 7-2 Packers and 6-3 Vikings are going for the NFC Central title and the 7-1 Saints have a two-game lead over the 5-3 Panther in the South.

San Francisco, the league’s only unbeaten team at 8-0, has the edge in the West over the 7-2 Seahawks and 5-3 Rams.

Game of the Week

The unbeaten 49ers will be going for 9-0 when they host the 7-2 Seahawks on Monday night. This may be a better game on paper than it is on the field. Despite the Seahawks record, they haven’t been that impressive this year although Russell Wilson is having an MVP type year so they always have a chance.

Game of the Weak

The two New York teams meet only once every four years in the regular season and this won’t be a memorable one with the Giants 2-7 and the Jets 1-7. The loser remains in contention for the top pick. Both coaches, Adam Gase of the Jets and Pat Schurmur of the Giants, are desperate for a victory. Gase is already on the hot seat and Schurmur is 6-18 in his second year.

What to watch for

—This is the year of the backup quarterback and Brian Hoyer is the latest one to get a shot with Jacoby Brissett sidelined with an injury. If Brissett has to miss a game, this is the one to miss. The Colts are playing Miami and should get a win to tie Houston, which has a bye, for first place in the AFC South.

—Patrick Mahomes, who was sidelined with a knee injury, returns to the lineup just in time because the Chiefs only have a one game lead over the resurgent Raiders in the AFC West. They need a win at Tennessee and hope Mahomes is at full strength and is at the top of his game after the layoff.

—The Pittsburgh Steelers have clawed back to .500 after a 1-4 start and now play a critical game Sunday when the host the Rams. A victory keeps them in the wild card race and they have a favorable schedule with two games with Cleveland sandwiched around a game with Cincinnati and then games with Arizona, Buffalo and the Jets before they close the season at Baltimore. The Steelers could get on a roll if they beat last year’s Super Bowl losers.

—Baltimore is the first team since the 1976 Steelers to rush for 150 or more yards in eight of the first nine games. They should be able to do it again Sunday when the face the winless Bengals as Lamar Jackson figures to have another big game.

—NBC gets another good game Sunday night when the Vikings go to Dallas with a lot riding on it for both teams. The Vikings are a game behind Green Bay while the Cowboys are a game ahead of Philadelphia in the loss column in their respective divisions. The game may turn on which Kirk Cousins shows up for the Vikings because he tends to be inconsistent. The key for Dallas is to get the lead in the fourth quarter because Cousins isn’t noted for bringing his team from behind at the end.

The scenario is the President of the United States attending a college football matchup of the top two ranked teams in the AP poll and there are protesters.

No, I’m not talking about Donald Trump’s visit to Alabama: I’m talking about 1969, a year that was one of the most memorable in college football history.

It started that summer when the late, great ABC executive Beano Cook convinced Texas and Arkansas to move their game to Dec. 6 for national television.

It wasn’t expected to be a game for No. 1 during the season because unbeaten Ohio State was ranked No. 1 and rolling to the national title.

Then came the first of the nine memorable Border War games between Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler and Michigan upset Ohio State.

Suddenly, Texas and Arkansas were ranked 1-2 and President Nixon decided to attend the game. There were Vietnam War protesters outside the stadium. Listening in London was a Arkansas graduate named Bill Clinton.

Nixon came with a plaque to award to the winner designating they were the national champions. Texas won and got the plaque.

But that was not the end of the story. Texas still had to play in the Cotton Bowl.

The bowl bids went out before the Ohio State was upset and unbeaten Penn State turned down an invitation to go to the Cotton Bowl to meet Texas.

They figured at the time a Texas-Penn State wouldn’t be for the national title and they preferred to go to sunny Miami for the Orange Bowl against Missouri.

Notre Dame then ended its self-imposed bowl ban and agreed to go to the Cotton Bowl where they lost to Texas, which was declared the national champion.

Penn State beat Missouri in the Orange Bowl and went unbeaten and finished No. 2.

Penn State was upset but could only blame themselves for not accepting the Cotton Bowl bid.

We’ll never know whether Penn State would have beaten Texas but they had more talent and shouldn’t have been ranked behind Texas.

It showed how flawed ratings are. Penn State was still being downgraded as an eastern football team and Joe Paterno was still early in his career.

They had two future NFL Hall of Famers in Jack Ham and Franco Harris plus Mike Reid and Lydell Mitchell.

Texas had just one player – tackle Bob McKay – drafted on the first round and none of the Texas players became NFL stars, much less HOFers.

Penn State never got over the Nixon plaque.Paterno even turned down a White House invitation to honor their perfect season.

And four years later when Nixon was engulfed in Watergate, Paterno, a Republican, said, “How could he know so much about college football in 1969 and so little about Watergate in 1973?”

Those were the days.

After only two underdogs won last weekend, five did this past weekend although only one was a shocker – Green Bay losing in San Diego.

Denver beating Cleveland with a quarterback who had never take an NFL snap was an upset but a mild one because the Broncos were at home playing against Cleveland.

The Chiefs beating Minnesota was another mild one, as was Miami’s first win over the Jets. The Jets are such a mess they can’t even beat a team that is tanking.

The most talked about one was the Ravens handing New England its first loss. But we won’t know until later in the season if this was a real upset.

Baltimore may be the better team because the Patriots were feasting on an easy schedule. And John Harbaugh has a great record in primetime at home. He is 13-1.

Still, the Patriots are noted for having one clunker so we have to wait and see how they rebound. They have their bye this week and then then play at Philadelphia, home against Dallas, at Houston and home against Kansas City. Those four games will tell us what kind of team they have.

Meanwhile, the home teams got it together Sunday. All of them won if you don’t count Jacksonville as playing at home in London. The road teams won Thursday and Sunday nights. And San Francisco heads into the second half of the season as the league’s only unbeaten team.

But they still have Seattle and Green Bay at home and Baltimore and New Orleans on the road. They won’t go unbeaten against those four teams.

Positives

—Bill Belichick usually has the answer against young quarterbacks. He didn’t against Lamar Jackson as the Ravens piled up 372 yards. Baltimore is now a real contender although Jackson may still be taking too hits with his running.

—Seattle is showing what a difference the quarterback makes. They are probably not as good as they were when they made back to back Super Bowls a few years back. But Russell Wilson is a much better quarterback than he was then. He threw five touchdown passes against the Bucs.

—Brandon Allen had never taken an NFL snap, but he got the start in Denver because Joe Flacco is out for the year with a neck injury and helped the Broncos beat Cleveland. It was a big day for quarterbacks named Allen. Josh and Kyle also posted victories for the Bills and Panthers.

—The Pittsburgh Steelers overcame a 1-4 start but in 1976 by winning their last nine games. But that was the team of the decade with nine Hall of Famers. It’s probably more impressive that this year’s Steeler team also overcame a 1-4 start and evened their record at 4-4 with a victory over the Colts. The Steelers won’t win their last nine, but they are back in the playoff hunt.

—The officials can’t use the in the grasp rule and blow the whistle when Deshaun Watson appears to be in the grasp. Unless his knee is down, Watson has an uncanny knack of eluding defenders and did it on an international stage by leading the Texans to the victory over the Jaguars. Their pass rushers were frustrated as they appeared to be on the verge of sacking him several times only to have him slip away and make a play.

Negatives

—If the Miami Dolphins wanted to tank the season, they should have kept Adam Gase as their head coach. For reason that still aren’t clear, the Jets hired him and they’re worse on his watch than they were last year. The Jets even lost to the tanking Dolphins, who may now lose the top pick to Cincinnati, the last winless team.

—Adam Vinatieri, who had rebounded from a rocky start in the first two games, missed a 43-yard go ahead field goal with 1:14 remaining as the Colts lost to the Steelers. Colts coach Frank Reich is still supporting him, but the Colts may be in the market for a new kicker next year.

—Minshew Magic was great while it lasted but it finally ended in London Sunday when Gardner Minshew looked like a rookie quarterback in the loss to the Texans. In his last two games against winning teams (Saints and Texans), Minshew failed to put a touchdown on the board and he was benched Tuesday for Nick Foles, who is back from his broken collarbone.

—It’s looking more and more like the Bears made a costly mistake three years ago when they traded up for Mitch Tribusky while Watson and Patrick Mahomes were still on the board. He again struggled in the loss to the Eagles and had nine yards of offense on the board in the first half. The Bears will likely be in the quarterback market in the offseason.

—Firing Jay Gruden didn’t do anything to change the Redskins’ losing ways. But you can’t blame interim Bill Callahan for not turning things around. They need a total overhaul starting with the firing of front office executive Bruce Allen. In the 24-9 loss to the Bills, they stretched their string of quarters without a touchdown to 12. Callahan gave rookie Dwayne Haskins his first start and he was OK for a rookie making his first start as he completed 15 of 22 for 144 yards and no turnovers but the Bills still dominated the game. The Redskins are now one of four teams with one win. If they don’t beat the Jets after the bye, they are likely to finish 15-1. It will be interesting to see if owner Dan Snyder, who is the team’s major problem, keeps Allen after this debacle of a season.

The 49ers kicked off the ninth week by edging the Cardinals on Thursday night to join the Patriots as one of two 8-0 teams, although it did nothing to change the perception that the 49ers are feasting on an easy schedule.

In an unusual move, Tyrann Mathieu of the Chiefs even went on Twitter to question their schedule. And Richard Sherman said it wasn’t championship football. But then an easy schedule always helps a good team.

Check the Dolphins’ 1972 schedule when they posted the only perfect record in the NFL’s first century. The Patriots’ schedule also hasn’t been too taxing, either, although they have more of a challenge against Baltimore Sunday.

We will find out how good the 49ers are when they face Green Bay, Baltimore and New Orleans in a three-game stretch later in the season.

The 49ers aren’t even the lock for the top seed yet because the Saints and Packers both have just one loss.

The Patriots, by contrast, are the only team in the AFC with fewer than two losses.

Game of the week:

The 5-2 Ravens host the Patriots in the Patriots toughest test so far. It will be a test for quarterback Lamar Jackson. Considering Bill Belichick’s record of confusing young quarterbacks, Jackson is unlikely to pull off an upset.

Game of the weak:

The 1-6 New York Jets go to Miami to face the 0-7 Dolphins as both teams have a shot at the first pick. The Jets probably get the edge because they seem to be trying to win. Adam Gase will be facing the team that fired him last year and could be fired by two teams two years in a row if the Jets continue to struggle.

What to watch for this week:

—The Colts, leading the AFC South at 5-2, face the 3-4 Steelers without injured T.Y. Hilton. He has missed just five games since being drafted in 2012 and the Colts have lost all five without him. A Steeler win, combined with a Baltimore loss to New England, would put the Steelers just a game behind the Ravens in the AFC North. That would mean the Steelers would be in the playoff hunt with rookie Mason Rudolph at quarterback after failing to make it the last year with Ben Roethlisberger.

—These are tough times for the Redskins. They are 1-7 and will start rookie Dwayne Haskins, who has struggled in two relief appearances. Facing the Buffalo defense will be no day at the park. Haskins has four picks, four sacks, no touchdown passes and a 54.5 completion percentage while completing 12 of 22 passes. This is not likely to go well for Haskins and the Redskins. Look for the Redskins to call a lot of running plays.

—John Elway’s quarterback troubles continue. With Joe Flacco out for the year with a neck injury, Brandon Allen, who’s never taken an NFL snap, will start against Cleveland. He is the sixth starting quarterback the Broncos have had since 2017. The Broncos have decided rookie Drew Lock isn’t ready. Elway was great at playing quarterback, but not so good at finding them when Peyton Manning isn’t on the market.

—The Giants may have rushed rookie Daniel Jones in too early. In six starts, he has one two wins, seven picks and eight fumbles (losing six) and now he goes in prime time against the Cowboys Monday night. He doesn’t look like he is ready for prime time.

—Will Minshew mania travel well across the pond? He has already won rookie of the week honors six times and faces a Houston defense in London that is riddled with injuries. A victory gives the Jaguars a 5-4 mark going into their bye with a decision of whether to stick with Minshew or go back to Nick Foles, who was injured in the opener. Maybe Foles needs to grow a mustache.