Chops316 Monday Morning Quarterback: 2020 Week 12

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The twelfth 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 great slate of contests this week. Most of the matchups weren't good and some teams barely got by lesser opponents while others shot their playoff hopes in the foot.

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.

AFC South Showdown Part II



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The Colts were chasing Derrick Henry all afternoon
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Two weeks ago the Indianapolis Colts rode into Nashville and laid a beating upon the Tennessee Titans. In Week 12 the Titans returned the favor. In spades. The Titans steamrolled the Colts in Indianapolis 45-26.

In the first meeting between these squads the Colts did a good job of limiting the Titans passing attack. This time Tennessee responded by unleashing the beast known as RB Derrick Henry. Henry steamrolled the Colts defense for 140 yards and 3 TDs. In the first half. Whoo! Henry’s onslaught gave Tennessee a 35-14 lead at the half and from there they coasted to an easy win.

Derrick Henry’s monster performance (27 carries, 178 yards, 3 TDs) forced the Colts to change their defensive attack, which opened up opportunities for the passing game. QB Ryan Tannehill (13/22, 221 yards, 1 TD) and WR A.J. Brown (4 receptions, 98 yards, 1 TD) took advantage. The Titans could have put up bigger numbers, but with the game well in hand they just burned the clock in the second half. Tennessee improved to 8-3 and took sole possession of 1st place in the AFC South.

Time for a bold prediction: I say the Titans will win at least 10 games this season! Wait, you don’t think that’s a bold prediction? I’m bucking some serious trends here. The Titans have finished each of the previous four seasons with a 9-7 record.

The Colts had a golden opportunity to take control of the division lead and the crucial tie-breaker between the two teams with a win at home, but they blew it. The defense had no answer for Derrick Henry, aside from chasing him down the field. QB Philip Rivers (24/42, 295 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) put up some garbage time stats and the RB committee only chipped in with 56 yards in 21 carries. The Colts fell to 7-4.

The Student has become the Master



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After making a complete joke of the Bucs defense Tyreek Hill decided to tackle himself in the endzone
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In a game featuring a former great QB facing off against the current best QB in the game now, the Kansas City Chiefs bolted out to a big lead and held on to defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-24.

Despite the close final score, this game was over after the 1st quarter. KC QB Patrick Mahomes looked up in his huddle and noticed WR Tyreek Hill standing there. Then as the Chiefs came to the line of scrimmage, Mahomes scanned the Tampa defense and saw they had no one who could stop Hill. Being a man of opportunity, Mahomes decided to exploit the mismatch. Again and again. Hill caught 7 passes for 203 yards and 2 TDs in the 1st quarter!

The Mahomes to Hill connection propelled the Chiefs to a 17-0 lead after the first quarter. I think the Chiefs said this game is too easy and left the field after that. The Chiefs seemed to go into neutral after that initial explosion, leaving lots of yards and points on the field. It’s like they knew they had the game won and decided to take it easy. QB Tom Brady led Tampa on two TD drives in the 4th quarter to make the game interesting before the Chiefs took possession and ran out the clock with a few first downs.

It was like the Chiefs were mocking the Bucs, letting them come close before sealing the deal. Patrick Mahomes (37/49, 462 yards, 3 TDs) shred the Bucs and could have had an even bigger game if some of his receivers not named Hill caught a few balls that hit their hands. Of course Tyreek Hill (13 receptions, 269 yards, 3 TDs) made up for it. Hill scorched the turf with big plays that gave the Chiefs a huge lead before the Bucs decided maybe they should try and double or even triple team the guy. The Chiefs improved to 10-1 and 1st place in the AFC West. It is apparent KC is the team to beat this season, if their ego doesn’t get in the way. Sometimes the Chiefs easily get a lead and seem to lose interest. It could cost them in the future.

The Bucs have a bye-week coming up and they need it. This team is a mess right now. The defense got embarrassed by Hill on multiple drives before they changed the coverage. By that point the Chiefs had a 17-0 lead and it was too late. The defense was lucky the Chiefs got sloppy after the 1st quarter, they left a lot of points on the field.

On offense the Bucs have even bigger problems. Head coach Bruce Arians wants to run a high-risk, high-reward downfield offense populated with big throws. QB Tom Brady (27/41, 345 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs) doesn’t have the arm strength to be that guy anymore. Brady is struggling with the play calling and those struggles are turning into turnovers.

The fault in this situation lays on the shoulders of Arians. Brady is who he is. No amount of training or eating weird foods or going to bed earlier than your grandma can change the fact that he isn’t a young man. Arians has to coach based on the players he has, not what he dreams in his head. He’s calling a game for a Tom Brady of ten years ago. Brady can’t air out defenses these days. He needs a conservative game plan with the backing of a running attack to set up play-action passes. You give him that and he has the experience to pick his spots for big plays by reading how the defense reacts. You ask him to chuck and duck and you are going to get beat.

The Buccaneers drop to 7-5. They have a very soft schedule after the bye so they should still easily make the playoffs. But they will be a Wild Card team, no home playoff games in their future. That’s bad news, because Brady has never been good on the road in the playoffs. Even when he was wasn’t ancient.

Send in the Clown


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If you’ve been reading my MMQB posts for a while you know I am no fan of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Right now I imagine anybody who roots for the Denver Broncos is on my side. The New Orleans Saints crushed the Denver Broncos 31-3 as Denver was forced to play without a QB.

Yep, all four of their QBs on the roster were thrown on the Covid list by the NFL on Saturday despite the fact only one tested positive. The game should have been moved, but it wasn’t. And the sad part is the Broncos got screwed because of an ongoing argument with the league. Don’t believe the NFL’s bullshit that it had anything to do with player safety. It didn’t.

First let’s talk about the game. With all their QB’s unable to play, the Broncos were forced to call up rookie WR Kendall Hinton off the practice squad to fill the position. Hinton played a little QB at Wake Forest before switching to WR. His last season as a QB was 2018, when he attempted 8 passes. Hinton had about 4 hours of meeting and practice time to prepare for the Saints.

The results were exactly what you would have expected when a WR is given less than 24 hours’ notice he’ll be a QB. Hinton completed 1/9 passes for 13 yards with 2 INTs. The stats don’t matter, this kid was put into an impossible situation and he put the effort in to do the best he could. He has my respect and I’m sure the respect of everyone in the Broncos organization. The Broncos fell to 4-7.

Knowing Denver wouldn’t be able to score much, the Saints used a run-heavy game plan to put some points on the boards and burn up the clock as fast as possible. Good thing too because their QB Taysom Hill (9/16, 78 yards, 1 INT) wasn’t much better than Hinton. Hill was better on the ground (10 carries, 44 yards, 2 TDs) and was aided by RB Latavius Murray (19 carries, 124 yards, 2 TDs) and RB Alvin Kamara (11 carries, 54 yards). The Saints improved to 9-2, first place in the NFC South.

Now let’s talk how the NFL let this farce happen. Last Tuesday all four QBs on the Broncos roster (Drew Lock, Brett Rypien, Blake Bortles and Jeff Driskel) got together on their day off to study game film at the Broncos facility. Apparently they didn’t wear masks. On Thursday Driskel tested positive for Covid. The Broncos sent this information to the league office immediately and were told on Saturday afternoon that all the QBs were ineligible to play on Sunday.

Now the NFL office will be the first to tell you it’s a QB driven league and we all know they aren’t afraid to make ridiculous rules in order to protect the “sacred cows” of the game. So how could they expect the Broncos to take the field on Sunday without one? Denver contacted the NFL to ask that the game be moved to Tuesday, when Lock, Rypien and Bortles would all be eligible to play if they didn’t test positive. The NFL said nope, it’s your problem, deal with it.

As I write this post the Steelers/Ravens game has been postponed for the third time. Maybe they will play on Wednesday, a week after the game was originally scheduled. Several other games this year have been rescheduled, why was the Saints/Broncos game ordered to go on as if nothing was wrong?

It had nothing to do with player safety. It had everything to do with the ownership situation in Denver. Denver owner Pat Bowlen died last year and left the ownership of the team to a three person trust who is supposed to run the team until they decide which of his seven kids will get the team. The trust has yet to make a decision and the rumors are the kids who lose out are preparing to sue.

It’s a mess and the NFL isn’t happy about it. The league wants one person and one person only to be the representative voice of the ownership for each team, right now the Broncos have three. Roger Goodell has threatened the Broncos with massive fines if they don’t clean up the mess, but that will only lead to the Broncos suing the league if Goodell goes through with the threat. Because of the legalities, there isn’t much Goodell can do without creating a publicity nightmare in the courts.

However the commissioner can find other ways to hurt the team, like forcing them to play a game without a QB. That’s why this game wasn’t rescheduled. What a load of bullshit. It’s not only a slap in the face to the ownership trust, it’s a slap in the face to all football fans who wish to see the best product possible on the field.

The Broncos should have refused to play by striking. Apparently that’s how Baltimore finagled a third postponement, by telling Goodell the team would strike if they were forced to play on Tuesday. It would violate the basic agreement, but what could the NFL do? Nothing, unless they were willing to face a countersuit from the NFLPA in the name of player safety during a pandemic. Whose side do you think the press would take?

Wild, Wild NFC West



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It was a brutal day for Jared Goff and the Rams
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Top to bottom the NFC West is the most competitive division in the NFL this season. A couple of upsets shook up the standings this week and might have given one team a clear cut path to win the division.

In New England the Arizona Cardinals dominated the Patriots in every stat except the final score as the Pats kicked a last second FG to win 20-17.

Arizona outgained New England by over a hundred yards, won the turnover battle and held a nearly ten minute advantage in time of possession. How in the hell did they lose this game? Mainly because despite all those advantages the Cardinals failed to put points on the board. A missed FG didn’t help either. The Patriots barely moved the ball all game, yet took advantage of their couple of scoring opportunities.

Patriots QB Cam Newton (9/18, 84 yards, 2 INTs) stunk throwing the ball. He was better rushing, gaining 46 yards on 9 carries. The Pats won because their defense held the Cards down and set up some easier scores with short field drives. New England improved to 5-6 and making the playoffs is still a longshot.

Cardinals QB Kyler Murray (23/34, 170 yards, 1 INT) was contained by Bill Belichick’s defensive scheme and since he represents at least 90% of Arizona’s offense it isn’t surprising they lost. The running attack was good (34 carries, 138 yards, 2 TDs), but not enough to win. The Cardinals fell to 6-5.

In Los Angeles the Rams were flying high after defeating the Seahawks and the Buccaneers in back to back weeks. Apparently they got too high as the 49ers brought them back to Earth by upsetting them 23-20.

This was an ugly game full of turnovers. Not unexpected by the 49ers who are still missing guys on offense, especially QB Jimmy Garoppolo, but really bad for the Rams who are pretty healthy. The Rams sloppy play let the 49ers build a 17-3 lead. The Rams stormed back to take a 20-17 lead in the 4th quarter, but then they ran out of gas on offense. The 49ers came back to score 6 points on two FGs to steal the win.

49ers QB Nick Mullens (24/35, 252 yards, 1 INT) used WR Deebo Samuel (11 receptions, 133 yards) to move the ball down the field. The Niners improved to 5-6 and need some big wins in the next couple of week to move back into the playoff picture.

It was a bad loss for the Rams, a loss that knocked them out of first place in the division. QB Jared Goff (19/31, 198 yards, 2 INTs) had a terrible game. Rookie RB Cam Akers (9 carries, 84 yards, 1 TD) helped lead the comeback that ultimately fell short. The Rams fell to 7-4.

On Monday Night the Seattle Seahawks reclaimed the top spot in the NFC West by beating the Philadelphia Eagles 23-17. It wasn’t a great night for the Seattle offense, but you don’t need to have your “A” game when facing a team from the NFC (L)East. A “C-“ effort is usually good enough.

The Seattle defense has been brutal all season, but Philadelphia made them look like the Legion of Boom had returned. The Eagles went three and out on their first five possessions. The Seahawks sacked Eagles QB Carson Wentz six times and picked him off once for the game’s only turnover. The Eagles scored a meaningless last second TD on a Hail Mary toss and converted the two point conversion. If it wasn’t for that last garbage time play, the Eagles stats and final score would have been downright putrid.

The Seahawks offense looked listless outside of one player: D.K. Metcalf. Metcalf (10 receptions, 177 yards) turned the Eagles secondary into toast. He didn’t score a TD himself, yet his plays set up most of Seattle’s scores. QB Russell Wilson (22/31, 230 yards, 1 TD) did most of his damage when throwing the ball to Metcalf. The Seahawks improved to 8-3.

The Eagles simply look like crap. The defense was OK when Seattle didn’t give the ball to D.K. Metcalf, but when Seattle did the Eagles couldn’t stop him. On offense the Eagles once again ran everything through QB Carson Wentz (25/45, 215 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) whose ugly stats are even worse when you consider he gained most of them in garbage time. Despite Wentz’s failings, the Eagles only rushed the ball 10 times. Another God awful game plan by Doug Pederson. The Eagles fell to 3-7-1.

Around the League


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The Packers were grateful for the return of QB Mitch Trubisky
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On Sunday night the Green Bay Packers took full control of the NFC North by walloping the Chicago Bears 41-25. The game wasn’t even that close, the Bears did most of their damage in garbage time.

The Bears defense was missing DE Akiem Hicks and they looked lost without him. Green Bay’s running back duo of Aaron Jones (17 carries, 90 yards) and Jamaal Williams (17 carries, 43 yards, 1 TD) ran the ball with ease. QB Aaron Rodgers (21/29, 211 yards, 4 TDs) picked the Bears apart when the Packers weren’t running the rock. The Packers scored 41 points in three quarters and then stood around for the final quarter waiting for the game to be over. The Packers improved to 8-3.

Bears QB Mitch Trubisky (26/46, 242 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs, 1 fumble) accumulated most of his numbers in garbage time. Before that he was turning the ball over left and right. Not a great way to help a defense that was struggling for once. The Bears fell to 5-6 and have lost five games in a row.
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Who are the Las Vegas Raiders? I’ll be damned if I know. The Raiders, who hold victories this year over the Saints and Chiefs, were destroyed by the Atlanta Falcons 43-6.

The Falcons defense is downright rotten, but you wouldn’t know it by watching this game. They created 5 turnovers and sacked QB Derek Carr five times to create opportunities for their offense. And the offense delivered despite a relatively quiet game (22/39, 185 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) by QB Matt Ryan. The Falcons improved to 4-7.

The Raiders mailed this one in. They only managed to score 6 points against a defense whose previous low in points given up was 23. And it was the sad Detroit Lions who scored those 23 points. Good Grief. Huge letdown for a team that needs to fight for a playoff spot. The Raiders fell to 6-5.
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The New York Giants were in a sweet spot this week, getting to face a Cincinnati Bengals squad missing QB Joe Burrow and RB Joe Mixon. And in true NFC (L)East fashion, they almost blew it. The Giants barely scraped by the Bengals 19-17. Ugh.

Giants QB Daniel Jones (16/27, 213 yards) left this game early with a hamstring injury, but the Giants weren’t exactly setting the world on fire when he was still in the game. TE Evan Engram (6 receptions, 129 yards) and RB Wayne Gallman (24 carries, 94 yards, 1 TD) did the heavy lifting on offense. A win is a win, but you can’t feel that great when you only score 1 TD against the Bengals. The Giants improved to 4-7, with a tiebreaker good enough to lead the NFC (L)East.

The Bengals were lost on offense without Joe Burrow. The defense stepped up and the special teams scored a TD when Brandon Wilson returned a kickoff for 103 yards, but it’s tough to win without any offense in the NFL. Just ask the Bears. The Bengals fell to 2-8-1.
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The Vikings tried to give their game away on Sunday, but the Panthers refused to take it as Minnesota eked by Carolina 28-27.

The Vikings held a slim 10-7 lead in the 3rd quarter when they contracted a serious case of fumblitus. Fumbles on back-to-back plays were both recovered by Panthers S Jeremy Chinn, who ran back both turnovers for TDs. Chinn set an NFL record for defensive players by scoring TDs on consecutive plays, in less than 10 seconds of game time no less.

A fumble by kick returner Chad Beebe gave Carolina another three points in the 4th quarter. Yet despite scoring 17 points on turnovers, the Panthers had no answer for Vikings QB Kirk Cousins (34/45, 307 yards, 3 TDs) who led Minnesota to the comeback win with the help of rookie WR Justin Jefferson (7 receptions, 70 yards, 2 TDs). The Vikings improved to 5-6.

With all the plays made by the defense and special teams, the Panthers should have pulled this one out. The offense was lifeless as QB Teddy Bridgewater (19/36, 267 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) missed a lot of throws in his Minnesota homecoming. The Panthers fell to 4-8.
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The Buffalo Bills defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 27-17 in another sloppy game. Seems like a trend this week. The Bills turned the ball over three times, but the Chargers were unable to take advantage of the gifts.

Bills QB Josh Allen (18/24, 157 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) wasn’t at his finest in this game, but his teammates bailed him out. WR Cole Beasley threw a 20-yard TD pass on a trick play and the running back committee added 172 yards on 30 carries with 1 TD. The Bills defense played well too by shutting down the Chargers rushing attack and only allowing Los Angeles to convert 3/16 third down plays. The Bills lead the AFC East with an 8-3 record.

The Chargers just don’t know how to win. They failed to take advantage of turnovers and three sacks by DE Joey Bosa. On offense QB Justin Herbert (31/52, 316 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) had another three hundred yard game, but needed 52 pass attempts to get there. The Chargers fell to 3-8.
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Much like the Giants, the Cleveland Browns were in a sweet spot this week facing a tanking Jacksonville Jaguars squad who were down to their 3rd string QB. And much like the Giants, the Browns nearly blew this gift by squeaking past the Jags 27-25.

Simply put the Browns offense was good while their defense was bad. QB Baker Mayfield (19/29, 258 yards, 2 TDs) found a connection with WR Jarvis Landry (8 receptions, 143 yards, 1 TD). On the ground, the Browns simply pummeled Jacksonville with RB Nick Chubb (19 carries, 144 yards, 1 TD) and RB Kareem Hunt (10 carries, 62 yards). The Browns offense did what they were supposed to do, beat up a bad defense. The Browns improved to 8-3.

I have to give the Jaguars credit, outmanned on paper they put up a helluva fight and were only an unsuccessful two-point conversion away from forcing overtime. QB Mike Glennon (20/35, 235 yards, 2 TDs) had good game, especially when you take into consideration this was his first start in 3 years. Undrafted rookie RB James Robinson (22 carries, 128 yards, 1 TD) had another big game. The Jaguars found a diamond in the rough with this guy. Jacksonville fell to 1-10, even though they played like they forgot about the tank.
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Of course there is no sweeter spot in the NFL then having a game against the dumpster fires, also known as the New York Jets. The Miami Dolphins were the lucky recipients this week and easily won 20-3.

No Tua at Qb for the Dolphins this week, he injured his hand during practice. No problem, the Dolphins still have QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (24/39, 257 yards, 2 TDs) who enjoys tormenting his former team. WR DeVante Parker (8 receptions, 119 yards) was his favorite target. The Dolphins improved to 7-4 and have another sweet matchup next week against the Bengals. Can the Dolphins sneak into the playoffs? It’s possible.

QB Sam Darnold (16/27, 197 yards, 2 INTs) came back this week and the Jets are even worse with him than without him. If that’s possible. The Jets continue their epic tank by falling to 0-11.
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It's Tuesday night as I finish this post and I'm still waiting for the Steelers/Ravens game that was supposed to be played on Thanksgiving. Will they play tomorrow? I say yes because the NFL is really out of options at this point.

The league had been kind of lucky so far with Covid, but we all knew a scenario like this was going to come eventually. Why didn't the NFL schedule an extra bye week this season to avoid this mess? Oh yea, I forgot. All they care about is money and since TV deals are already in place an extra week on the schedule wouldn't put any more cash in their pocket.
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I almost did it. I came so close to writing a MMQB post without mentioning my Dallas Cowboys. But then this little golden nugget fell into my lap. The game between Dallas and the No-names on Thanksgiving attracted an audience of 30.3 million viewers, the biggest television audience the NFL has seen since the Super Bowl back in February.

Remember a few weeks ago when Ben Roethlisberger said the Steelers were really America's Team? I do. Fuck you Ben. You guys are barely the most popular team in Pennsylvania. Whether you love them or hate them, the Cowboys will always be America's Team.

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Thanks for reading, I do appreciate it. Let me know your thoughts on Week 12 in the comments.



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