JIM LANG’S 10 NFL THINGS: WEEK 6
Hi there, I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving weekend. I also hope everyone enjoyed another week in the NFL filled with drama, excitement, and a whole lot more. Without any further delay, it is time for my thoughts on the week that was in the NFL.
1 – Jon Gruden – After it was revealed that Gruden sent a series of emails that were racist, homophobic, and extremely critical of commissioner Roger Goodell over a seven-year period, all hell broke loose. In the aftermath of the New York Times story, Gruden had a meeting with Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis and decided to resign (geez, you think?!). This is what bothers me the most, the Raiders under Al Davis broke so many barriers for minorities and women in the NFL. Al Davis hired a Latino coach in Tom Flores, making him the first minority head coach in the NFL. He hired Art Shell, who became the first African American coach to lead his team to a Conference Championship. He hired Amy Trask as the first woman to be the CEO of an NFL team. Al Davis was all about inclusion and diversity. His motto was Just win, baby! Al wanted winners, no matter their race, religion, or sexuality. Shame on Jon Gruden. Shame on a man who coaches the Raiders. And no, I am not naïve enough to think that Gruden is the only high-profile person in the NFL who thinks that way.
2 – Thursday Night – For my money, the toughest division in the NFL this year is the NFC West. Thursday night was another example of just how good the teams are in the division as the Seahawks hosted the LA Rams in Seattle. Even though both teams scored a combined 10 points in the first half, it turned out to be a wild game as the Rams beat the Seahawks to improve to (4-1) on the year. Thumbs up to Seattle’s Michael Dickson for the pulling the rare ‘double punt.’ The Seahawks lost twice Thursday night. They lost the game to fall to (2-3), not good. They lost quarterback Russell Wilson in the 4th quarter with an ugly looking, badly sprained finger. Wilson hurt himself as he tried to throw the ball with Aaron Donald in his face. Donald was a force of nature Thursday night. Wilson’s injury is rough news for Pete Carroll and the Seahawks. Wilson arrived in Seattle in 2012 and he has never missed a game, a streak of 149 games. Wilson had to undergo surgery to repair the finger, and he is gone at least the next four weeks. That means Geno Smith will be running the Seahawks offence for a while. The Seahawks face the Steelers, Saints and Jaguars before their bye week. After that, they face the Packers and Cardinals, just about the same time Wilson is ready to come back.
3 – Kickers! – Unlike other positions in football, a kicker only has one main job, kick the football. Kickers are paid to kick the football through the uprights. Beginning Thursday night, to Sunday and then again on Monday night, fans witnessed one of the worst displays of kicking you can possibly imagine. The end to the Packers and Bengals game was a farce as each kicker missed field goal after field goal. Mercifully, Mason Crosby ended the game in over-time when he put one through from 49-yards out to send the Packers home a winner. Missing field goals is bad, but missing the extra point is way worse. Going back to the start of Week 5 on Thursday night, kickers missed a mind boggling 12 extra points this week! No wonder coaches look so stressed all the time.
4 – Justin Herbert – In one of the most entertaining regular season games we have seen in years, Justin Herbert led the Chargers to a wild win over the Browns. Herbert threw for close to 400 yards and four touchdowns and ran for one more as the Chargers beat the Browns in a game that had eight lead changes. Herbert now has more 300 yard passing games in the first two years of his career than any other quarterback. More than Dan Marino and Patrick Mahomes, and we still have a long way to go this season. Herbert is skilled, well coached and has excellent weapons to work with. But more than that, he looks to be in complete control the whole game, no matter what the score or the situation. He is a special quarterback.
5 – The Buffalo Bills – Outside of a playoff win, the Bills win over the Chiefs Sunday night was their biggest in a long time. The Bills didn’t just win, they served notice to the Chiefs and the rest of the AFC that they are on a mission this year. Josh Allen was awesome, with his legs and his arm. And that Bills defence is something special. Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier has been around the NFL a long time and he has build some good defensive squads in his day, but what he is doing in Buffalo this year might be his finest work. Next week the Bills face the Titans, then they go on a bye week. After that, they play the Dolphins, the Jaguars, and the Jets.
6 – In Dak we trust – Bad news for the NFC East, Dak Prescott is healthy and playing great football. Dak had another solid day as the Cowboys beat the injury-riddled New York Giants. Dak has thrown 10 touchdowns in his past three games and the Cowboys offence is firing on all cylinders. Best of all, Dak’s performance comes one year after his nasty, season-ending injury. The way he’s playing now, you would never know that Prescott suffered an injury like that only 12 months ado. By the way, how about a little love for Cowboys corner back Trevon Diggs? Through five games, Diggs has six interceptions, including a pick-six.
7 – 5-0 – The Arizona Cardinals survived a scare from the 49ers, but in the end, they remain the only undefeated team in the NFL. This win wasn’t about Kyler Murray, it was more about J.J. Watt and the Cardinals defence. The Cardinals D came up with four stops on 4th down attempts by the 49ers. They also came up with a textbook goal-line stand as they prevented rookie Trey Lance from running into the end zone. That is what makes the Cardinals so dangerous, they can win games with more than just their offence.
8 – Bradyville – Tom Brady’s numbers Sunday would be impressive for a quarterback of any age, let alone one that is 44 years-old. Brady threw for over 400 yards and five touchdowns as the Buccaneers beat up the Dolphins. What is impressive about those numbers is the fact that until Sunday, Brady had never thrown for over 400 yards and five touchdowns in a single game. And he did it in his 22ndseason in the NFL!
9 – Dan Campbell – Pity the poor, winless Detroit Lions. They scored a touchdown and then pulled off the two-point conversion to take a 17-16 lead with 37 seconds left to play against the Vikings. Kirk Cousins hooked up with Adam Thielen to put the Vikings into field goal range. Then, sorry Lions fans, Greg Joseph nailed the game winner from 54 yards out. Afterwards, Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell was choking back tears as he spoke to the media. He obviously loves his players and wants them to do well. Coaches are not robots, they care, and they grow close to their players. I loved that Campbell was that emotional after a loss like that, and I am sure his players feel the same way.
This and that – Once again, there were a number of nasty injuries. Saquon Barkley, to Ju-Ju Smith-Schuster, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire all suffered serious, to potentially season ending injuries this past week. Staying healthy in the NFL is getting harder and harder. The Chiefs defence is even worse than I thought. Through five weeks they have allowed 163 points, dead last in the NFL. Until Andy Reid and his coaching staff have to find a way actually stop a few teams. After yet another 100-yard game, Derrick Henry made some NFL history on Sunday. No running back in the history of the NFL, not Jim Brown, not Terrell Davis, nobody has run for more yards in a 40-game span than Derrick Henry. Henry has run for a remarkable 4,792 yards in his past 40 games.
10 – Monday Mayhem – Week 5 wrapped up Monday night in Baltimore as the Ravens host the Indianapolis Colts. In the first half, it was all about Carson Wentz and the Colts. At halftime John Harbaugh and the Ravens made some adjustments and said a few things to the players, because in the second half, it was a different game. LaMar Jackson ended up having the best game of his career as the Ravens overcame a 19-point deficit and beat the Colts in overtime. In the end, Jackson passed for a franchise record 442 yards, threw four touchdowns and ran for another 62 yards. Jackson accounted for 499 of the Ravens 523 yards of offence Monday night. Jackson is now the only quarterback in the history of the NFL to threw for 400 yards, four touchdowns, zero interceptions and have over 50 yards rushing in a single game.
Week 6 kicks off Thursday night in Philadelphia as the Eagles host Tom Brady and the Buccaneers.
Other games to keep an eye next week include: the Ravens and the Chargers (take the over!) and the Browns and the Cardinals.
I will talk to you next week.
(Jim Lang is Canada’s foremost NFL expert. Follow him on Twitter at @JimLangSports)
Love it Jimmy!