After a thrilling win over the Bills, the Eagles remain on top of the NFL:
1. Philadelphia: 10-1
2. San Francisco: 8-3
3. Baltimore: 9-3
4. Kansas City: 8-3
5. Dallas: 8-3
6. Miami: 8-3
7. Detroit: 8-3
8. Jacksonville: 8-3
9. Pittsburgh: 7-4
10. Buffalo: 6-6
We have another 1 v. 2 matchup this week, with the Eagles hosting the 49ers in another Game of the Week. The Eagles are really dominating the spotlight this year. That game will be at 3:25 P.M. Central Time on Sunday, and it should be a good one. That's the only Top 10 game of the week, but of course you can watch Alabama play Georgia on Saturday.
We survived for another week last week, as the Titans got past the Panthers. This week, I'm going with a Monday night game -- the Jaguars at home against the Bengals. I don't like picking against the well-coached Bengals, but this late in the year my options are limited:
Previous Survivor Picks (home teams listed first):
1. Baltimore 25 - 9 Houston
2. Buffalo 38 - 10 Oakland
3. Kansas City 41 - 10 Chicago
4. Philadelphia 34 - 31 Washington (OT)
5. Detroit 42 - 24 Carolina
6. Miami 42 - 21 Carolina
7. Seattle 20 - 10 Arizona
8. San Diego 30 - 13 Chicago
9. New Orleans 24 - 17 Chicago
10. Dallas 49 - 17 N.Y. Giants
11. San Francisco 27 - 14 Tampa Bay
12. Tennessee 17 - 10 Carolina
I think the same thing is true for the Cowboys as for the Dolphins--no wins (yet) over teams with winning records. I am now rooting for a Cowboys-Dolphins Super Bowl.
ReplyDeleteNoon games are close to wrapping up:
ReplyDeleteTennessee 19 - 22 Indianapolis (4th)
New England 0 - 6 San Diego (4th)
New Orleans 21 - 33 Detroit (4th)
N.Y. Jets 8 - 13 Atlanta (4th)
Pittsburgh 3 - 17 Arizona (3d)
Washington 15 - 38 Miami (4th)
Houston 22 - 17 Denver (4th)
I'm glad I didn't take Pittsburgh in Survivor Pool.
Tennessee 25 - 25 Indianapolis (4th)
ReplyDeleteNew Orleans 28 - 33 Detroit (4th)
N.Y. Jets 8 - 13 Atlanta (4th)
Pittsburgh 3 - 17 Arizona (3d)
Washington 15 - 45 Miami (4th)
Houston 22 - 17 Denver (4th)
New England 0 - 6 San Diego (F)
Tennessee 25 - 25 Indianapolis (OT)
ReplyDeleteN.Y. Jets 8 - 13 Atlanta (4th)
Pittsburgh 3 - 17 Arizona (3d) (delayed by weather)
New Orleans 28 - 33 Detroit (F)
Houston 22 - 17 Denver (F)
New England 0 - 6 San Diego (F)
Washington 15 - 45 Miami (F)
Atlanta beats the Jets 13-8. Colts beat the Titans 31-28 in OT. That completes the noon schedule, except for the Pittsburgh game, which has just restarted with 4 minutes left in the 4th quarter.
ReplyDeleteArizona beats Pittsburgh 24 to 10.
ReplyDeleteHere are the scores from the 3 o'clock games:
ReplyDeleteCarolina 3 - 7 Tampa Bay (3d)
Cleveland 10 - 13 Los Angeles (H)
Philadelphia 6 - 14 San Francisco (3d)
Tampa Bay and Los Angeles are actually at home. So the scores look like this:
DeleteTampa Bay 7 - 3 Carolina (3d)
Los Angeles 13 - 10 Cleveland (Half)
Philadelphia 6 - 21 San Francisco (3d)
Philadelphia destroyed the Niners in the NFC Championship last year, so that score is a bit of a surprise.
Tampa Bay 14 - 10 Carolina (3d)
ReplyDeleteLos Angeles 13 - 10 Cleveland (3d)
Philadelphia 13 - 27 San Francisco (3d)
And that's all for me today.
ReplyDeleteJacksonville 14 - 14 Cincinnati at the half. I was very nervous about this pick -- the Bengals are really good, they have a great coach, and this was a Monday Night game. But honestly, the other choices weren't much better.
ReplyDeleteI probably should have just gone with Tampa Bay over Carolina, but you have to think the Panthers are going to win another game at some point. Oh, well.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, my advice is to avoid Monday Night games -- and don't pick against the Bengals.
ReplyDeleteJacksonville 14 - 21 Cincinnati (11:50 left in 3d Quarter).
ReplyDeleteI've seen the Bengals in this mood before. When they are like this, they are very difficult to beat.
Trevor Lawrence: 11-15, 126 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT's, rating of 120.4
Jake Browning: 19-21, 261 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT's, rating of 134.3
Of course, the Jaguars were heavily favored because Jake Browning was playing QB for the Bengals. But if he keeps playing like this, then the Bengals are actually the better team.
ReplyDeleteSee, the problem is that the Jaguars think of themselves as a team that's good enough to win the AFC South. The Bengals think of themselves as a team that's good enough to win the AFC. Obviously, I was hoping that Cincinnati had packed it in. But they have not.
ReplyDeleteSo now it's up to Trevor Lawrence. I need him to win this game for me.
ReplyDeleteJacksonville 21 - 21 Cincinnati (5:26 left in 3d)
ReplyDeleteWow! The Jags go 84 yards in 12 plays to tie the game. Lawrence now 17-23 for 196 yds, 2 TD's, and 0 INT's. What a game!
Oh, my! The Bengals try a trick play from deep in their own territory, and their wide receiver throws an interception! Jags take over at the Cincinnati 9. Need to take advantage here.
ReplyDeleteOn 4th and goal from the six-inch line, Trevor Lawrence does that play where you jump up and reach the ball over the goal line. He holds on to the ball long enough for the touchdown to count:
ReplyDeleteJacksonville 28 - 21 Cincinnati (3:10 left in 3d)
This would be a good time for the Bengals to give up.
The Bengals do not give up. On first down, they run a draw play that goes 36 yards to the Jacksonville 44.
ReplyDeleteBut Jacksonville holds, and Cincinnati punts to the Jacksonville 9.
ReplyDeleteJacksonville 28 - 21 Cincinnati (50 seconds left in 3d)
Jags go three and out, and they punt to their own 48.
ReplyDeleteJacksonville 28 - 21 Cincinnati (14:43 left in 4th)
Jake Browning, who is apparently the best quarterback in the NFL, quickly leads the Bengals to another touchdown.
ReplyDeleteJacksonville 28 - 28 Cincinnati (9:27 left in 4th)
Check out these stats:
Lawrence: 19-26, 208 yds, 2 TD's, 0 INT's, rating of 122.0
Browning: 24-28, 300 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT's, rating of 123.2
What a game!
I disagree with the folks who say the NFL isn't as good as it used to be. There are a lot of bad teams, but there have always been a lot bad teams. When folks think about the NFL in the 70's, they aren't thinking about watching the Giants play the Packers, because those teams were awful.
ReplyDeleteOn 3d and 11, from the Cincinnati 28, Lawrence collapses when his lineman's foot is shoved into Lawrence's ankle. Lawrence can't leave the field on his own, and we may be here for awhile. ESPN goes to commercial.
ReplyDeleteJacksonville 28 - 28 Cincinnati (5:43 left in 4th)
We come back from the commercial, and Lawrence is being helped from the field. The Jags miss their field goal attempt, and I'm pretty sure they are sunk.
ReplyDeleteJacksonville 28 - 28 Cincinnati (4:59 left in 4th)
Lawrence is pretty obviously not coming back, so all Browning has to do here is get into field goal range.
ReplyDeleteI take full responsibility for this loss. I never should have picked against Cincinnati. That was a big mistake. You have to pick against the Panthers instead.
ReplyDeleteBrowning had gotten the Bengals down to the Jacksonville 32, but now Cincy faces a 3d and 22 from the Jacksonville 44. With 2:37, the Bengals call time.
ReplyDeleteFacing 4th and 14 from the Jacksonville 38, Cincy tries a 54-yard field goal. It's good, and the Bengals are 2:28 from victory.
ReplyDeleteJacksonville 28 - 31 Cincinnati (2:28 left in 4th)
Germany is really good at penalty kicks, and well-coached NFL teams generally have a strong kicking game. I've watched Washington for over 30 years, and I don't think they've ever made a 54-yd field goal on the road to take the lead with less than 3 minutes to go.
To be honest, I think the Jags were a bit too confident that they had driven Cincinnati out of field goal range.
DeleteSo now it's all up to C.J. Beathard, the Jacksonville backup. He attended the Battle Ground Academy in Franklin, Tennessee, and then played college football at the University of Iowa.
ReplyDeleteOn first down, Beathard runs with the ball, and fumbles. Jacksonville recovers, but now Beathard appears to be hurt.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I should have considered that the Bengals love to play on the road. They beat Kansas City on the road to win the 2021 AFC Championship. They stomped Buffalo on the road in last year's AFC playoffs. They are just deadly on the road. And they've been great here. On the road, against an 8-3 team playing for the number one seed on Monday Night, the Bengals have outscored Jacksonville 10-0 in the fourth quarter.
ReplyDeleteOK, Beathard is back. On 2d and 1 from the 34, he hurls the bomb, but it doesn't work. 3d and 1.
ReplyDeleteBut then Beathard completes a pass out to the Jacksonville 48. And then another to the Cincinnati 47.
ReplyDeleteNow Beathard throws a swing pass, and the runner dashes down the sideline to the Cincinnati 28. First and 10 with 1:04 left.
ReplyDeleteJacksonville has 2d and 2 at the 20. Beathard is overrun for a one yard loss, and Jacksonville calls its last timeout with 37 seconds left.
ReplyDeleteESPN reminds us that Jacksonville just missed a field goal. On 3d and 3, Beathard runs again and is tackled at the 22. Cincinnati calls time with 28 seconds left.
ReplyDeleteOK, here's the field goal try with 28 seconds left. It's a 40 yard attempt. The kick is good! And we're all tied with 26 seconds to go.
ReplyDeleteJacksonville kicks off into the end zone. It seems like people used to have all sorts of strategic kickoffs, but now everyone just kicks into the end zone.
ReplyDeleteOn first down, Cincy runs a draw out to the 43. They call their last time out with 20 seconds to go. What do prevent defenses do, kids?
ReplyDeleteBrowning throws a short pass, and the runner fights his way out of bounds at the Cincy 46 with 12 seconds left.
ReplyDeleteBrowning throws another short pass, and the clock runs out. Overtime!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, under the rules of Survivor Pool, if the game ends in a tie, I would be eliminated.
ReplyDeleteBetween 1992 and 1997, Kentucky lost an overtime game in the Elite Eight (to Duke and Christian Laettner), lost an overtime game in the Final Four (to Michigan and the Fab Five), and lost an overtime game in the National Championship (to Arizona and the referees). I still find that to be amazing.
DeleteIn 1983, UK lost in overtime to Louisville in the Elite Eight. In 2005, UK lost to Michigan State in double overtime in the Elite Eight. In 2019, UK lost to Auburn in overtime in the Elite Eight. If you're keeping track, that's four seasons where UK was an overtime away from the Final Four.
DeleteIn 1998, UK beat Stanford in the Final Four: 86 to 85 in overtime. I think that's the only time I've seen the Cats win a late-round NCAA game in OT. And that UK team ended up winning the whole thing.
DeleteJacksonville wins the toss and takes the ball. Cincinnati kicks into the end zone, and the Jags will start on their own 25.
ReplyDeleteBeathard faces a 3d and 7 at the Cincy 45. He scrambles to his right and throws a bomb, which is CAUGHT at the Cincy 3 yard line. But it doesn't count, because Jacksonville was flagged for holding.
ReplyDeleteNow Beathard has a 3d and 17 at his own 45. He throws a dump pass over the middle that is overwhelmed. The Jags will punt with 5:32 left.
ReplyDeleteI understand the psychology of pro football, but it was pretty stupid for Jacksonville to take the ball there. They should have kicked off, and then they could have tried to win the game with a field goal if they held Cincy. There was just no way Beathard was going to lead Jacksonville to a touchdown. Now the Bengals can win with a field goal.
ReplyDeleteCincy gets out to its own 47 with a circus catch. 4 minutes left.
ReplyDeleteThis really is like watching a playoff game. It's that good.
ReplyDeleteBig play here. Bengals face 3d and 9 from their own 48 with 3:30 left. Does Browning complete a huge pass to the sideline to keep the drive alive? Of course he does. Cincinnati is down to the Jacksonville 42.
ReplyDeleteI would never make it as a football coach. I'd call blitzes on almost every play.
ReplyDeleteThe thing about football is that we remember all the spectacular plays, but really the team that wins is almost always the team that makes the fewest mistakes. So what a coach should really do is drill his team to make as few a mistakes as possible, and then figure that over time, he'll win his share of close games. I get this. I know that's what everyone should do. But I couldn't do it. I'd end up like Buddy Ryan.
DeleteJake Browning attended Folsom H.S. in Folsom, California. He then played four seasons for the University of Washington. He led them to the Rose Bowl in his senior year, where they lost to Ohio State.
ReplyDeleteCincinnati gets a first down at the Jacksonville 31, and that should do it.
ReplyDeleteI'm out no matter what. I'm pretty sure Cincinnati is going to run down the clock, and kick the field goal with almost no time left. So the best case for Jacksonville is a tie.
ReplyDeleteI really need Jacksonville to block the kick and run it back.
ReplyDeleteOK, Jacksonville had two timeouts, so they were able to stop the clock. Cincy has a 4th and 9 at the Jacksonville 30 with 1:50 left. Here comes the field goal kicker. Again, I think Jacksonville should have kicked off to begin the OT.
ReplyDeleteFor a man who just kicked a 54-yard field goal, a 48-yarder is nothing. The field goal is good, Cincinnati wins 34-31, and I am out.
ReplyDeleteI now think Jake Browning will lead Cincinnati to the AFC Title.
ReplyDeleteFinal stats for Jack Browning:
ReplyDelete32-37, 354 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT's, rating of 115.5
Lawrence: 22-29, 258 yds, 2 TD's, 0 INT's, rating of 125.4
Beathard: 9-10, 63 yds, 0 TD's, 0 INT's, rating of 92.9
Hooray for football!
ReplyDelete