The byes are done, the European games are finished, high school football tournaments are over, the college basketball teams will be taking their exams, and it's time to return our attention to the NFL. We appear to be in a transition season, with long-time powers in the AFC -- the Chiefs, Ravens, and Bills -- yielding to more traditional powers -- Denver and New England. As for the NFC, the Eagles could be going into the type of mysterious swoon that sank their season in 2023, while the Rams look very strong. Here's ESPN's top ten:
1. Los Angeles; 10-3
2. New England: 11-2
3. Seattle: 10-3
4. Denver: 11-2
5. Green Bay: 9-3-1
6. Buffalo: 9-4
7. San Francisco: 9-4
8. Jacksonville: 9-4
9. Philadelphia: 8-5
10. Chicago: 9-4
Miami (6-7) is Number 21. Washington (3-10) is Number 25.
The Game of the Week is in Foxboro, where the Patriots have the chance to virtually clinch the AFC East by beating the Bills. That's a noon Central game. In the afternoon, we have another great matchup: the Number 4 Broncos hosting the Number 5 Packers in a rematch of Super Bowl XXXII. Those are our only top ten matchups, but the afternoon also features what should be an entertaining game between the Number-1 Rams and the Number-11 Lions. So you really should stay inside on Sunday and watch the NFL.
I'm listening to "Sunday Funday" on Sirius/XM "On Broadway," hosted by John Tartaglia. This show, which runs from 1 PM to 7 PM Central each Sunday, is my favorite show on this channel.
ReplyDeleteNFL Scores:
ReplyDeleteChicago 14 - 0 Cleveland (2d)
Cincinnati 0 - 7 Baltimore (2d)
Houston 20 - 7 Arizona (2d)
Jacksonville 21 - 7 N.Y. Jets (2d)
Kansas City 10 - 3 San Diego (2d)
New England 21 - 0 Buffalo (2d)
N.Y. Giants 0 - 13 Washington (2d)
Philadelphia 17 - 0 Oakland (2d)
"Wait for It," from Hamilton. Still the best show on Broadway since Evita.
ReplyDelete"I'm Just a Girl Who Can't Say No," from the 2019 revival of Oklahoma. Many people did not like this revival, which portrayed all the characters as dangerous rednecks. But I liked it a lot, and I think the characters are, in fact, all dangerous rednecks.
ReplyDeleteExcept for the peddler-man.
DeleteIn case you were wondering whether the Giants are tanking, the Commanders just had a punt return for a touchdown.
ReplyDeleteTeams shouldn't tank.
DeleteI thought the Giants yesterday were the most blatant tank job I've ever seen.
DeleteChicago 14 - 0 Cleveland (half)
ReplyDeleteCincinnati 0 - 14 Baltimore (half)
Houston 23 - 7 Arizona (half)
Jacksonville 31 - 10 N.Y. Jets (2d)
Kansas City 13 - 10 San Diego (half)
New England 24 - 14 Buffalo (3d)
N.Y. Giants 7 - 22 Washington (half)
Philadelphia 17 - 0 Oakland (3d)
"Gee, Officer Krupke," from West Side Story. An early example of what Stephen Sondheim could do with the English language.
ReplyDeleteChicago 21 - 3 Cleveland (3d)
ReplyDeleteCincinnati 0 - 17 Baltimore (3d)
Houston 30 - 7 Arizona (3d)
Jacksonville 31 - 13 N.Y. Jets (3d)
Kansas City 13 - 13 San Diego (3d)
New England 24 - 21 Buffalo (3d)
N.Y. Giants 14 - 22 Washington (3d)
Philadelphia 31 - 0 Oakland (4th)
Down 24-7 on the road, the Bills have scored three touchdowns in a row. They now lead New England 28-24 early in the 4th quarter.
ReplyDeleteSure looks to me like Josh Allen and the Bills are going to win the Super Bowl.
DeleteIn Kansas City, the Chargers have shut down the Chiefs' offense and they now lead 16-13 early in the 4th.
ReplyDeleteChicago 28 - 3 Cleveland (4th)
ReplyDeleteCincinnati 0 - 17 Baltimore (4th)
Houston 33 - 14 Arizona (4th)
Jacksonville 41 - 13 N.Y. Jets (3d)
Kansas City 13 - 16 San Diego (3d)
New England 24 - 28 Buffalo (4th)
N.Y. Giants 14 - 29 Washington (4th)
Philadelphia 31 - 0 Oakland (4th)
Washington has lost nine in a row, but they have no chance to out-tank the Giants.
New England immediately strikes for another touchdown, and the Pats lead 31-28 with 9:49 left.
ReplyDeleteBut the Bills are not finished! They score another TD with 6 1/2 minutes left, and take a 35-31 lead in New England. What a game!
ReplyDeleteProbably the hardest I've ever rooted for the Patriots.
DeleteThe Chiefs drive to the Charger 15, but Mahomes (who's running for his life on every play) throws an interception. The Chargers lead 16-13 with 12:37 to go, they have the ball, they're better than Kansas City, and this game should be the end for the Chiefs' dynasty.
ReplyDeleteKansas City has been in every AFC Title Game since 2018 -- a total of seven AFC Championships in a row. It's one of the greatest runs in NFL history, but they will have to rebuild.
ReplyDeleteAndy Reid is 67 years old, and you really have to wonder if he will want to stay around for a rebuild.
ReplyDeleteChicago 31 - 3 Cleveland (4th)
ReplyDeleteCincinnati 0 - 24 Baltimore (4th)
Houston 33 - 20 Arizona (4th)
Jacksonville 48 - 20 N.Y. Jets (4th)
Kansas City 13 - 16 San Diego (4th)
New England 31 - 35 Buffalo (4th)
N.Y. Giants 14 - 29 Washington (4th)
Philadelphia 31 - 0 Oakland (F)
"Thank Goodness," from Wicked the Movie. This is the best song in the soundtrack, and one of my favorite Broadway numbers ever.
ReplyDeleteBuffalo hangs on for a 35-31 win. It's the first time in 120 games that the Pats have blown a 17-point lead at home. I'm proud of the Bills for making such a brave stand.
ReplyDeleteI don't have the stuff anymore to hate the Bills. Thirty years ago, maybe 20 years ago, I would've hated the Bills.
DeleteI used to hate the Bills, but I have hated the Broncos and the Patriots for much longer than I've hated the Bills.
DeleteThe Chargers, meanwhile, have been hammering Mahomes the whole game, and now it looks like they've knocked him out of the action. He was running for his life, as usual, and they bent his legs in a way that legs are not supposed to bend.
ReplyDeleteWashington gave the Giants two fourth-quarter fumbles, but the Giants were not to be out-tanked, and the Commanders' nine-game losing streak will come to an end.
ReplyDeleteGiants still lead the all-time series with Washington: 108-75-5.
ReplyDeleteGardner Minshew comes in to replace Mahomes. He throws an interception with 14 seconds left, and the Chiefs' season is effectively over.
ReplyDeleteThe noon games are all finished:
ReplyDeleteChicago 31 - 3 Cleveland
Cincinnati 0 - 24 Baltimore
Houston 40 - 20 Arizona
Jacksonville 48 - 20 N.Y. Jets
Kansas City 13 - 16 San Diego
New England 31 - 35 Buffalo
N.Y. Giants 21 - 29 Washington
Philadelphia 31 - 0 Oakland
The Finale from "Ain't Misbehavin'" This number is a joy -- go watch it on YouTube to see what they could do on Broadway when we were kids.
ReplyDelete"The Ballad of Guiteau," from Assassins, a very strange musical by Sondheim that I personally, think is a work of genius.
ReplyDelete"You Can't Stop the Beat," from Hairspray. You can't find a more entertaining number than this.
ReplyDeleteHere are the 3:25 PM Central Games:
ReplyDeleteDenver 0 - 6 Green Bay (2d)
Los Angeles 7 - 10 Detroit (2d)
New Orleans 0 - 7 Carolina (2d)
San Francisco 14 - 10 Tennessee (2d)
Seattle 3 - 3 Indianapolis (2d)
"Whatever Lola Wants," from Damn Yankees, the best musical ever written about the Washington Senators.
ReplyDeleteIn 1954, Richard Adler and Jerry Ross wrote "The Pajama Game," which won the Tony for best Musical. In 1955, they won again for "Damn Yankees." Ross, who wrote the lyrics for these two great shows, died of a lung disease in November 1955. He was only 29 years old.
ReplyDeleteHere are Philip Rivers's stats from the first half of the Colts' game with Seattle:
ReplyDelete10/16, 81 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT's, rating of 96.1
The Colts lead 13-6 in Seattle.
At this point, my brother and I were texting back and forth about whether the Dolphins should sign Marino.
DeleteDenver 21 - 23 Green Bay (3d)
ReplyDeleteLos Angeles 34 - 24 Detroit (3d)
New Orleans 10 - 17 Carolina (4th)
San Francisco 31 - 10 Tennessee (3d)
Seattle 9 - 13 Indianapolis (4th)
The Seahawks use six field goals to beat Philip Rivers and the Colts: 18 to 16. A great game!
ReplyDeleteIt was terrific. I was ultimately glad that Indianapolis lost for the sake of the Dolphins' less-than-1-percent playoff chances (per NFL.com), but I also really enjoyed Rivers. In no other way is this comparison apt; however, I have a little place in my heart for 1970s Jerry Lee Lewis performances, and yesterday Philip Rivers reminded me of Jerry Lee Lewis in the 1970s.
DeleteFinal stats for Rivers:
ReplyDelete18/27, 120 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT, rating of 73.1
The afternoon games are finished:
ReplyDeleteDenver 34 - 26 Green Bay
Los Angeles 41 - 34 Detroit
New Orleans 20 - 17 Carolina
San Francisco 37 - 24 Tennessee
Seattle 18 - 16 Indianapolis
AFC South Standings:
ReplyDeleteJacksonville: 10-4
Houston: 9-5
Indianapolis: 8-6
Tennessee: 2-12
AFC West:
ReplyDeleteDenver: 12-2
San Diego: 10-4
Kansas City: 6-8
Oakland: 2-12
NFC South:
ReplyDeleteTampa Bay: 7-7
Carolina: 7-7
Atlanta: 5-9
New Orleans: 4-10
NFC West:
ReplyDeleteLos Angeles: 11-3
Seattle: 11-3
San Francisco: 10-4
Arizona: 3-11
There was a boxing video game years ago where you gradually moved up the ranks for championship contention. You started out fighting a powderpuff named "Glass Joe," and, if you kept winning, you eventually got to fight really tough guys who looked like combinations of Rocky opponents and Mike Tyson.
ReplyDeleteThough they've been winning a good bit through the middle of the season, the Dolphins' playoff chances dwindled to next to nothing a couple of weeks ago. I feared they might not even show up last week against the Jets. But they did, and it felt like we beat Glass Joe. Tonight against the Steelers is the next opponent--still nowhere near a championship-level opponent but definitely a tougher customer. Go, Dolphins!
NFL East:
ReplyDeletePhiladelphia: 9-5
Dallas: 6-7-1
Washington: 4-10
New York: 2-12
NFC North:
ReplyDeleteChicago: 10-4
Green Bay: 9-4-1
Detroit: 8-6
Minnesota: 6-8