Injuries, Injuries, Injuries ... that sums of the week. The End! Ok, so I will include more, but that really was it.
Game of the Week
New England Patriots 29 Buffalo Bills 26. Several games could qualify here, like the Chiefs over the Raiders in a battle of AFC West undefeateds, but the resurgence of the Patriots, maybe not to Super Bowl level like last year, but to a highly competitive level really is what puts this game over the top. Nobody was surprised that Kansas City won on the road, but New England's victory is incredibly important not just for the Patriots and their fans, but for fans of the NFL in general who thought Buffalo was going to run roughshod over its division.
Best Team Performance
Chicago Bears. Atlanta's stomping of New Orleans on Monday night was incredibly impressive, but check out these numbers: (1) Jets gained only 178 yards total; (2) The Bears stopped the Jets on third down 7 times out of 7, (3) Chicago Bears possessed the ball for 42 minutes and 15 seconds; and (4) The Bears DID NOT PUNT!
Least Impressive Team Performance
Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tampa Bay hosted a bad Green Bay Packers team, and proceeded to lose 17-14. The Jets and Dolphins were also contender here.
Most Impressive Individual Performance (Offense)
Tetairoa McMillan, WR - Carolina Panthers. With Carolina running without Jalen Coker and Xavier Legette, its two other starting receivers, McMillan needed to step up - and he did. 14 catches for 192 yards and 2 TDs as Carolina defeated Detroit 32-26. Kenneth Walker's 177 yards on 22 carries merits mention as well, with 2 TDs added-on. Joe Burrow did throw for 428 yards, but his team lost, and he only threw 1 TD against 2 INTs. In fact, the four highest passing yardage totals went to quarterbacks whose teams lost.
Most Impressive Individual Performance (Defense)
Jacob Rodriguez, LB - Miami Dolphins. Rodriguez had 18 total tackles in the game - 9 solo tackles and 9 assists, in the Dolphins 15-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Most Impressive Individual Performance (Special Teams)
Will Reichard, K - Minnesota Vikings. Reichard went 5-5 on Field Goals, the second time this year that he accounted for every single point scored by the Vikings.
Most Impressive Team Performance (Premier League)
International Break.
Most Impressive Individual Performance (Premier League)
International Break.
Goat of the Week
D'Andre Swift, RB - Chicago Bears. Swift's fumble did not cost his team the game or anything, but he was benched, and in his stead Kyle Monangai had 30 rushes for 146 yards and 2 TDs. This backfield is dangerously close to being a platoon, as this was Swift's second lost fumble of the season.
Goat of the Week (Premier League)
International Break.
Breakthrough Performance
Jacob Rodriguez, LB - Miami Dolphins. Already stated above, Rodriguez had 18 tackles in the game against Minnesota. We are witnessing the emergence of a tackling superstar.
Finally
Bayshul Tuten, RB - Jacksonville Jaguars. Although he will never likely be a "bell-cow" back, especially with Trevor Lawrence throwing the ball, but his 17 carries for 73 yards, is a start for the Jaguars to make a legitimate-enough running presence to be a balnaced offensive attack.
Impact Injury
Lamar Jackson, QB - Baltimore Ravens. It could be J'Marr Chase, but Cincinnati can get by without Chase way better than the Ravens can survive without Jackson.
Team Rising
Team Falling
Houston Texans. Even if we were to believe the statistical metrics that show Houston as a To-10 team in the league, the Texans are still 0-4, and it would take two minor miracles (or 1 major miracle) for them to make the playoffs at this point.
Best Teams
(All teams will be ranked by record, even if teams with more losses may be better than a team with fewer losses, since Bill Parcells always said that you are what your record says. The inverse is true for the Worst Teams rankings.) (Yes, I know that you could have a worse record and be better, but we are working off record.)
1. San Francisco 49ers (4-0)
2. Kansas City Chiefs (5-0)
3. Minnesota Vikings (4-0)
4. Buffalo Bills (3-1)
5. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-1)
Worst Teams
(All winless teams will be ranked here until all teams have at least 1 win, then I will rank them based upon which teams I think are the worst, regardless of record.)
32. Tennessee Titans (0-4)
31. Miami Dolphins (0-4)
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-4)
29. Los Angeles Chargers (0-4)
28. Houston Texans (0-4)
Middle Teams
15. Los Angeles Rams (2-2)
16. New England Patriots (2-2)
17. Cincinnati Bengals (2-2)
18. Philadelphia Eagles (2-2)
18. Philadelphia Eagles (2-2)
Last Week's Trivia Question/Answer
Which franchise drafted two Hall of Fame quarterbacks in the same draft? Bonus if you can tell me which year and who the two QBs were.
Answer: Kansas City Royals. 1979 - Dan Marino (4th round); John Elway (18th round).
The Royals other picks that baseball fans know - Atlee Hammaker (1st round); and Craig Lefferts (7th round). That is it!
Preview - Game(s) of the Week
6. Houston Texans v. Tennessee Titans - One of these teams HAS to finally (unless of course they tie!) Just kidding!
6. Indianapolis Colts v. Pittsburgh Steelers. Two mediocre teams (2-2), but this game means A LOT, as it could serve as a tiebreaker for the last wildcard berth down the line. Plus, Indianapolis seems to be playing well.
5. Baltimore Ravens v. Atlanta Falcons - Yes, Baltimore is missing Lamar Jackson, but they still have Derrick Henry, and this Atlanta team has been exciting!
4. Las Vegas Raiders v. New England Patriots. They Raiders proved they could play in a close loss to the Chiefs. The Patriots proved they could be good in a victory over Buffalo. This game could led us know which team is a real contender.
3. Arsenal v. Leeds United. Two of the Top 5 in the Table, although it is early. We might find out how serious of a contender Leeds United is.
2. Chicago Bears v. Green Bay Packers. More so because of the rivalry, but also because Chicago has been playing exciting ball, no matter who the quarterback is.
1. San Francisco 49ers v. Seattle Seahawks. The week's best game, by far, pitting two intra-divisional rivals that also are major contenders for the Super Bowl.
Trivia
The Bears had a 42 minute and 15 second time of possession against the Jets. What team had the longest recorded time of possession in an NFL regular season game, and how long was that possession?
