Chops316 Monday Morning Quarterback: 2020 Week 11

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The eleventh weekend of the 2020 NFL season is in the books so here are the different thoughts and opinions I have on various things I witnessed this past weekend. Not a bad Sunday of football, plenty of crappy matchups but a couple of exciting overtime games between playoff contenders and a thrilling Sunday night game saved the day. And in case you didn't know, the Cowboys finally won another game. Do you believe in miracles? The Vikings do, hahaha.

Just remember I am a Dallas Cowboys fan and I'm extremely biased. Feel free to agree or disagree about anything mentioned here. All comments are welcome.

Hey I love Minnesota again!


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Ceedee Lamb showed why he was a first round pick with this awesome TD grab
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Last year, in a rare schedule quirk, my Dallas Cowboys and Penn State Nittany Lions faced off against teams from Minnesota on the same weekend. They lost both contests despite being the favorites to win. I didn't handle the adversity well, declaring Minnesota my least favorite state. Well after the Cowboys 31-28 victory over the Vikings this week I can confidently say I love Minnesota again! Congratulations New Jersey, you are back on the bottom of the pile. Don’t look so smug California, you were only saved by the fact that I live closer to New Jersey.

The Cowboys were coming off of their bye and it was obvious they spent the extra practice time getting their act back together. The return of QB Andy Dalton didn’t hurt either. The team played with fire and it was nice to see them competing again. Hell even the awful defense played well. For the first half at least. Yet when the game was on the line the defense forced a turnover on downs as time wound down.

Turnover ratio has been a huge problem for Dallas this season, but not this week. Not only did they win the turnover battle (2:1), they scored 9 points off of turnovers while the Vikings got none. Good things can happen when you stop shooting yourself in the foot.

Without the services of Dak Prescott, Dallas needs to make the running game, specifically RB Zeke Elliott, the focus of the offense. Elliott (21 carries, 101 yards) logged his first 100-yard rushing game of the season and added a 6-yard TD reception. RB Tony Pollard (5 carries, 60 yards, 1 TD) also made big plays. With all the ground support QB Andy Dalton (22/32, 203 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT) had a solid game.

This was the most complete game Dallas played all season. They improved to 3-7 and, believe it or not, can move into first place in the NFC (L)East if they beat the No-names on Thanksgiving. I know, I’m not proud of that either.

The Vikings had their three game winning streak snapped. Their offense didn’t come alive until the second half and the defense stunk all day. Still Minnesota took a lead halfway through the 4th quarter, but not only couldn’t the defense hold it the offense ran out of steam at the end. Kind of sad for a team that was a 7 point favorite to win.

Even sadder when you look at the Vikings stats. QB Kirk Cousins (22/30, 314 yards, 3 TDs, 1 fumble), RB Dalvin Cook (27 carries, 115 yards, 1 TD, 5 receptions, 45 yards, 1 fumble) and WR Adam Thielen (8 receptions, 123 yards, 2 TDs) all had impressive days. Those fumbles were killers though. The Vikings fell to 4-6 and their playoff hopes took a big hit.

Steamrolled Again


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Get the hell away from me, I'm busy teaching you another lesson
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In a rematch from last year’s playoffs, the Baltimore Ravens still couldn’t find a way to stop RB Derrick Henry as the Tennessee Titans beat them in overtime 30-24.

The Titans are notorious slow starters and this game was no different. Halfway through the 3rd quarter a Lamar Jackson TD pass put the Ravens ahead 21-10. Then the Tennessee offense picked up while the defense clamped down. The Titans reeled off 14 unanswered points (2 FGs, 1 TD plus two-point conversion) to take a 24-21 lead with barely two minutes left in the game. Jackson wasn’t finished yet, he put together his best string of passes of the day to lead the Ravens into FG range. A Justin Tucker kick was good and the game went to overtime.

The Ravens won the toss and took the ball. Then they did nothing with it. 4th and 8 led to a punt. The Titans took possession and never looked back. A combination of passes and runs took them to the Ravens 29-yard line in 5 plays. At that point Derrick Henry had enough, he busted through the Ravens defense for a game-winning 29 yard TD run.

Big win for the Titans, who are in a dog fight in the AFC South. The Ravens couldn’t stop Derrick Henry in the playoffs last year and not much changed this year: 28 carries, 133 yards, 1 TD. QB Ryan Tannehill (22/31, 259 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) was up and down, but got his game together in the 4th quarter to lead the Titans back. WR Corey Davis (5 receptions, 113 yards) was his top target. The Titans improved to 7-3 and are tied for the lead in the AFC South.

The Ravens have now lost three out of their last four games. The defense is not nearly as good as last year’s unit and the offense is starting to sputter. QB Lamar Jackson (17/29, 186 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) is not throwing the ball well and on the ground (13 carries, 51 yards) teams are figuring out how to contain him. TE Mark Andrews (5 receptions, 96 yards, 1 TD) remains the Ravens only consistent receiver. Baltimore needs more guys on offense to step up, Jackson is not the one-man-gang he was last year. The Ravens fell to 6-4.

Butterfingers


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Green Bay learned you can't win if you can't hang onto the ball
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Wisconsin is the Dairy Capital of the USA and this week the Packers played with butterfingers. Three fumbles contributed to Green Bay losing to the Indianapolis Colts 34-31 in overtime.

The Colts came into this game with the NFL’s #1 ranked defense, but you wouldn’t have known that by watching the first half. Packers QB Aaron Rodgers torched the Colts as the Packers took a 28-14 lead into halftime. The rout was on it seemed. Yet the Colts defense remembered who they were and came alive in the second half. Suddenly the Packers couldn’t move the ball while Indy kept chipping away at the deficit.

The Colts kicked a FG with 11 minutes remaining to tie the game at 28-28. On the ensuing kickoff, Packers kick returner Darrius Shepherd fumbled the ball and Indy recovered on the Green Bay 28-yard line. The Colts couldn’t get a first down, but kicked a FG to take a 31-28 lead. The Packers got the ball back and drove into Indy territory but turned the ball over on downs. With only three minutes left, the Colts could have salted the game away with a few first downs.

Well the Colts did get some 1st downs, but a slew of penalties kept backing them up and stopping the clock. Indy had to punt and the Packers got the ball back on their own 6-yard line with 1:25 left on the clock. Doom for most teams, no sweat for Aaron Rodgers. He nailed WR Marquez Valdez-Scandling with a 47-yard bomb and proceeded to drive Green Bay into the redzone with :43 seconds left. However the drive stalled there and Green Bay had to settle for a game tying FG. Overtime here we come at 31-31.

The Packers won the toss and took the ball. It was the last thing they won on Sunday. Valdez-Scandling, the guy who made the big catch to force overtime, fumbled the ball on the Pack’s second play and the Colts took possession on the Green Bay 30-yard line. The Colts gained 8 yards before K Rodrigo Blankenship kicked a 39-yard game-winning field goal. 34-31 Colts. Great game.

The Colts defense rebounded from a dreadful first half to shut the Packers down by giving up only three points the rest of the game and forcing a game-winning turnover. QB Philip Rivers (24/36, 288 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT) looks old, but is experienced enough to make some plays. RB Jonathan Taylor (22 carries, 90 yards) provided ground support. The Colts improved to 7-3 and are tied with the Titans atop the AFC South. This was a big in for Indy, the offense showed they can pick up the slack if the defense stutters.

The Packers looked great in the first half and fell apart in the second. Add in a serious case of fumblitus and that equals defeat. The Aaron Rodgers (27/38, 311 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT) to WR Davante Adams (7 receptions, 106 yards, 1 TD) connection was as strong as usual, but the Packers got little else going on offense. They were one-dimensional and the Colts were able to adjust. The Pack’s defense gave up 420 yards to a Colts offense that isn’t exactly awe-inspiring. The Packers fell to 7-3, but still comfortably lead the NFC North.

I like to find some weird stats each week and this game offers a doozy. Do you know the last time the Packers beat the Colts on the road? Nope, go back further. Way further. The Packers haven’t defeated the Colts on the road since 1974. 1974! The Colts were still in Baltimore. Green Bay is 0-5 all-time at Indianapolis.

Revenge Game


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How do you spell MVP? M-A-H-O-M-E-S
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When the Las Vegas Raiders beat the Kansas City Chiefs back in Week 5 they reportedly took a victory lap in their bus around Arrowhead Stadium. Why the hell not, it’s not every week you defeat the defending champions on the road. Yet apparently the Chiefs took issue with the celebration. They were looking for revenge and they got it Sunday night. Barely.

Despite the facts that the Chiefs were coming off of a bye week and the Raiders defense couldn’t practice all week due to Covid problems, the Chiefs needed some last second Mahomes magic to squeak by the Raiders 35-31.

With the previously mentioned factors playing in the Chiefs favor, let alone the revenge aspect, I expected KC to win this game decisively. Oh boy was I wrong. This was a back-and-forth affair that featured six lead changes before the final whistle blew.

The Raiders took a 31-28 lead after QB Derek Carr hit the ageless TE Jason Witten with a TD pass. The Chiefs only had 1:43 left to try to score with the ball on their own 25-yard line. No problem for Patrick Mahomes. He quickly led the Chiefs down the field and capped off the drive with a game-winning TD pass to Travis Kelce in barely more than a minute. The Raiders had a few seconds left to attempt a miracle play, but Carr was intercepted and the game was over.

The Chiefs defense struggled again against Las Vegas, but this time Patrick Mahomes (34/45, 348 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) had enough time left to bail them out. He used TE Travis Kelce (8 receptions, 127 yards, 1 TD) and WR Tyreek Hill (11 receptions, 102 yards, 1 TD) to batter the Raiders secondary. The RB tandem of Clyde Edwards-Helaire and LeVeon Bell combined to rush 94 yards on 21 carries with 3 TDs. Even when the defense is flat KC has enough firepower on offense to beat anybody. The Chiefs improved to 9-1, but after two battles with the Raiders they should probably hope not to see Las Vegas again in the playoffs.

It’s hard to go toe-to-toe with KC, yet the Raiders did it twice this season and nearly swept the series. QB Derek Carr (23/31, 275 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT) played well, targeting TE Darren Waller (7 receptions, 88 yards, 1 TD) and WR Nelson Agholor (6 receptions, 88 yards, 1 TD) the most. RB Joshua Jacobs (17 rushes, 55 yards, 1 TD) struggled to get rolling, if the Raiders had run the ball more efficiently they might have pulled off the upset. The Raiders drop to 6-4, but have a favorable schedule in front of them. The playoffs are still very much in play.

Around the League


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Taysom Hill had no problem filling in for Drew Brees
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With Drew Brees out of action, the Saints named QB Taysom Hill the starter against Atlanta over QB Jameis Winston. Talking heads all over the T.V. and internet acted shocked and I have no idea why. Why the hell did they think the Saints forked over $21 million to Hill in the offseason, to run a handful plays every week? Obviously head coach Sean Payton has a lot of faith in him and Hill repaid him with solid play as the Saints beat up the Falcons 24-9.

The Saints defense made things easier for hill by sacking Atlanta QB Matt Ryan 8 times and forcing 2 INTs. Hill handled the rest through the air (18/23, 233 yards) and on the ground (10 carries, 51 yards, 2 TDs). The Saints improved to 8-2, first place in the NFC South.

The Falcons were coming off of their bye week and looked like they forgot to practice during the break. QB Matt Ryan (19/37, 232 yards, 2 INTs) was harassed by the Saints all day and the running back committee did squat to bail him out: 14 carries, 54 yards. Terrible performance after having the extra week to prepare. The Falcons fell to 3-7.
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The Pittsburgh Steelers traveled to Florida for a vacation, while they were there they simply showed up and defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-3.

Pittsburgh made this win look easy. QB Ben Roethlisberger (32/46, 267 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) faced little to no pressure in the pocket, WR Diontae Johnson (12 receptions, 111 yards) was his favorite target. RB James Conner got over his slump by running the ball well: 13 carries, 89 yards. The offense looked good and they didn’t have to do too much as the defense crushed the Jags. Pittsburgh remains undefeated at 10-0. Some old Dolphins are starting to get worried.

Jacksonville QB Jake Luton (16/37, 151 yards, 4 INTs) was completely overmatched. The Jags had zero chance of winning so I have no idea why they made him throw so much. Nothing like ruining your young QB’s confidence. The Jags fell to 1-9.
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Already without RB Christian McCaffrey, the Carolina Panthers were missing QB Teddy Bridgewater this week. Carolina was forced to start QB Phillip Walker, whose last start came in the XFL. Good Grief. Luckily for them the Detroit Lions rolled into town and the Panthers beat them 20-0. Seriously WTF Detroit!

This has to be the low point of the Matt Patricia era. The Lions should have got an even bigger beatdown, but the inexperienced Walker threw two picks in the endzone. Outside of the picks Walker was fine (24/34, 258 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs). He had no problem finding WR D.J. Moore (7 receptions, 127 yards). The Carolina defense, ranked 23rd in the league, sacked Matthew Stafford 5 times and held the Lions to under 200 yards of offense. The Panthers improved to 4-7.

The Lions couldn’t run the ball and couldn’t throw it either. Other than that the offense was fine. Sure they were missing WR Kenny Golladay and RB DeAndre Swift, but they still had Stafford under center and didn’t score a single point against a lousy defense. Woof. The defense gave up a number of big plays to a guy who was playing in the XFL in the spring. Hard to get lower than this, but I have enough faith in the Lions to know they’ll try! The Lions fell to 4-6.
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I’m sure the Patriots thought they turned their season around after beating the Ravens last week. Deshaun Watson let them know they didn’t as the Houston Texans defeated New England 27-20.

With practically zero ground game to support him, Houston QB Deshaun Watson (28/37, 344 yards, 2 TDs) put the team on his back and carried them to victory. He spread the ball around with WR Brandin Cooks, WR Will Fuller and TE Jordan Akins all topping 80 receiving yards. All told Watson connected with 9 different receivers as the Patriots couldn’t cover anyone. Houston improved to 3-7, their first win over a team whose name doesn’t rhyme with Shaguars.

The Texans have the worst run defense in the NFL, yet the Pats RB committee could only manage 86 yards rushing. QB Cam Newton (26/40, 365 yards, 1 TD) stepped up, but couldn’t hang with Watson. Newton found a connection with WR Damiere Byrd (6 receptions, 132 yards, 1 TD). The Patriots fell to 4-6 and can kiss their playoff aspirations goodbye. Forgive me if I fail to shed a tear.
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The weather was ugly once again in Cleveland last week, but the Brown weren’t fazed. They are used to winning ugly. Luckily for them their opponent has been fugly lately. The Browns were victorious over the Philadelphia Eagles, 22-17.

The wet weather played right into the Browns hands as they are better as a run-first offense. RB Nick Chubb (20 carries, 114 yards) battered the Philly defense. QB Baker Mayfield (12/22, 204 yards) wasn’t asked to do much and he didn’t. The Cleveland defense picked up his slack with a pick-six and a safety to score 8 points. The Browns improved to 7-3 and are still in the thick of the playoff race.

I wonder what is going on inside the head of Eagles head coach Doug Pederson. I imagine it’s something like a squirrel chasing its own tail. There surely can’t be any thoughts about football rattling around in there. Pederson has a QB who is a turnover machine, the rain in Cleveland was going to make throwing difficult anyway and the Eagles have an excellent RB in Miles Sanders. No matter, Pederson used a pass-first game script and the result was predictable. Carson Wentz (21/35, 235 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs) makes plays here and there, but his turnovers are lethal. His first INT was returned for a TD by Cleveland and his second came in the endzone in the 4th quarter, effectively killing any hopes for a comeback. The sack Wentz took for a safety didn’t help either. Oh well, as someone who hates the Eagles I enjoyed this game immensely. The Eagles fell to 3-6-1 and will be knocked out of first place in the NFC (L)East by the winner of the Dallas/Washington game on Thanksgiving.
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The Washington No-names beat the Cincinnati Bengals 20-9 in D.C. But the real story of the game was the injury suffered by Cincy QB Joe Burrow.

Burrow (22/34, 203 yards, 1 TD) was playing well and Cincy had a 9-7 lead in the 3rd quarter when disaster struck. Burrow got his leg pinned under him after being tackled to the ground and tore everything in his knee. He could be out for an entire calendar year. Tough break for the rookie who was having a fine season and made the Bengals competitive once again. The Bengals fell to 2-7-1 and you can stick a fork in them without Burrow.

The Bengals were deflated by Burrow’s injury and allowed the No-names to take over the game. QB Alex Smith (17/25, 166 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) only looked decent when throwing the ball to WR Terry McLaurin (5 receptions, 84 yards). Rookie RB Antonio Gibson (16 carries, 94 yards, 1 TD) had a nice game. The No-names improved to 3-7.
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The Los Angeles Chargers faced the New York Jets this week because the game was on the schedule and the league demanded it be played. In case anybody actually cares the Chargers won 34-28.

The Chargers have the ability to blow a lead against anybody, but the Jets stink so bad they couldn’t pull it off. Although they tried to make the final score look interesting. Chargers rookie QB Justin Herbert (37/49, 366 yards, 3 TDs) set a NFL rookie record with his 5th 3 TD game of the season. Now that Joe Burrows is finished I imagine Herbert will run away with rookie of the year honors. The Chargers improved to 3-7.

The Jets dropped to 0-10. The tank lives on! Sadly the Jets look like a better team with the decrepit Joe Flacco (15/30, 205 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) under center than they do with starting QB Sam Darnold.
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The Miami Dolphins were riding the coattails of a 5-game winning streak into Denver this week, but they laid an egg in the mile high city and lost to the Broncos 20-13.

The Dolphins defense had been playing great, but they got chewed up by Denver. QB Drew Lock (18/30, 270 yards, 1 INT) wasn’t great, but made some big plays with WR Tim Patrick (5 receptions, 199 yards). I know, I never heard of Tim Patrick before either. The Broncos pounded the rock all game with RB Melvin Gordon (15 carries, 84 yards, 2 TDs) and RB Phillip Lindsay (16 carries, 82 yards). Turnovers prevented Denver from running away with this one, but still it was a big win over a red-hot team. The Broncos improved to 4-6.

The Dolphins offense struggled to move the ball in any fashion. QB Tua Tagovailoa (11/20, 83 yards, 1 TD) floundered and was benched for QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (12/18, 117 yards, 1 INT) in the 4th quarter. The move fired up the Dolphins so much they were able to score three more points. Yay!

I’m not sure what the point was in benching Tua. Are the Dolphins playing for this year or are they trying to develop a rookie QB? If they are playing for this year they never should have benched Ryan Fitzpatrick for a rookie in the first place. If they are trying to develop a rookie QB benching him when he is struggling isn’t going to do any wonders for his confidence. The point is having him on the field so he can learn from his failings. The Dolphins fell to 6-4.
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The Monday Night game featured two teams fighting for playoff positions in the NFC as the Los Angeles Rams beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-24.

It was a tight game, but not necessarily a well-played one. Neither team could get a running attack going and both QBs made some big turnovers. The difference was Rams QB Jared Goff made some big plays between his mistakes and Bucs QB Tom Brady didn’t.

Goff (39/51, 376 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs) kept the Bucs in the game with his turnovers, which led to 10 points for Tampa, but made enough plays to win. He peppered WR Robert Woods (12 receptions, 130 yards, 1 TD) and WR Cooper Kupp (11 receptions, 145 yards) with passes all night and the Bucs never figured out how to slow them down. The Rams improved to 7-3 and are tied for first place in the NFC West.

Tampa head coach Bruce Arians was smart enough not to abandon his running game this week, even though it was ineffective, in order to protect Tom Brady. Yet it didn’t matter as Brady (26/48, 216 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs) looked like the old fart that he is. His INTs came on awful down field throws that hung in the air and were easily picked off. Only 216 yards on 48 attempts is sad.

The Bucs main problem is Brady doesn’t fit with the offense Arians wants to call. The Bucs have a slew of talented WRs and Arians likes to attack the defense with down field throws. Brady doesn’t have the arm strength any more to do that, he needs a more conservative game script that calls for safer, shorter passes. Unless these two can get on the same page moving forward, the offense is going suffer. The Bucs fell to 7-4.
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Well that wraps it up for Week 11. How did your favorite team do? Let me know in the comments below as I prepare for a Thanksgiving filled with food and football. If you are celebrating I wish you a great holiday. If you aren't celebrating I wish you a great day anyway. See how much nicer I am when the Cowboys win? Thanks for reading.



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