NFL Quick Takes: Week 15
Just some thoughts off the top of my head from an eventful week of football.
Good morning, everyone! What a week of football. We were treated to a little bit of everything: historic comebacks, horrible officiating, the worst ending in NFL history, and more. Say what you will about the quality of some of these games, but the product always has a flair for a dramatic.
Here are some of my hot takes heading into Week 16. I’ll try to make them quick.
Bill Belichick has lost it
You can blame Matt Patricia all you want for the Patriots offense’s ineptitude. He’s the obvious scapegoat. There’s no doubt he’s played a major role in the team’s demise this season.
That doesn’t mean Bill Belichick should be let off the hook. This Patriots team is the most sloppy, undisciplined group Belichick has had throughout his 20+ years in New England. It starts from the top.
It was all on display in Sunday’s disastrous loss to the Raiders. They had two touchdowns called back on the goal line during a drive in the second quarter — one because of a pre-snap timeout and one because of a false start. There were more head-scratching moments where that came from well before Jakobi Meyers threw the game-winning touchdown to the other team. This wasn’t anything new. The careless mistakes and penalties have haunted them all season long.
Belichick deserves more blame than Patricia. Yes, I said MORE blame. After all, he made the decision to bring Patricia and Joe Judge on board to handle the offense. You’re right to criticize Patricia’s questionable play-calling, but Belichick is responsible for how things look on the field. And it’s been everything Belichick has preached against in his many decades as an NFL coach. He has lost his luster.
I don’t expect Robert Kraft to make a head coaching change any time soon. I do think he should start to think about it.
Officiating is the worst it has ever been
NFL officiating is such a joke that sometimes one can’t help but wonder if there’s something fishy going on behind the scenes. Week 15 was a blatant example.
Going back to that Patriots game, Keelan Cole’s foot was clearly out of bounds on what turned out to be the Raiders’ game-tying TD. It was obvious to anyone with eyes.
The Commanders-Giants game was even worse. First, Terry McLaurin was called for an illegal formation at the goal line.
Then, of all calls to not make, they let the Giants get away with mauling Curtis Samuel at the end of the game on what could have been the game-tying TD after the two-point conversion.
I won’t even get into all of the hilariously bad roughing the passer calls this season. All I’ll say it’s a disgrace, and it’s only getting worse with each year.
These aren’t the same old Lions
I drunkenly made a bet with friends at a bachelor party in August that the Lions would finish 10-7 on the season. The bet stemmed from a debate about whether the Lions will be better than the Patriots. I still don’t expect the Lions to win their three remaining games and win me some money, but I feel pretty damn good about the results regardless.
With Dan Campbell leading the charge, these aren’t the laughingstock Lions you’ve been accustomed to watching over the years. Their offense is among the best in the league. Their defense was horrendous to start the season but has stepped up amid the team’s recent hot streak. It’s a gritty group and one of the most fun teams to watch this season. We should all be rooting for them to make the playoffs.
Put some respect on Kirk Cousins’ name
I get the whole “Kirk Cousins sucks in primetime” thing. It’s true. The numbers don’t lie. But if we’re going to pile on when he sucks, we better put some respect on the man’s name when he leads the biggest comeback in NFL history.
Cousins led the Vikings back from a 33-0 deficit to take down the Colts on Saturday. He finished 34-of-54 for 460 yards and four TDs. Minnesota is now 11-3 on the year.
Feel free to mock Cousins all you want when the Vikings crumble in the playoffs. Until then, he deserves your praise.
Poor Matt Ryan…
Matt Ryan was a great quarterback for a number of years. Unfortunately, everything he accomplished will be overshadowed by the fact he was on the wrong side of the two largest comebacks in NFL history. The Patriots’ 28-3 comeback in Super Bowl LI and the Vikings’ 33-0 comeback on Saturday. I feel bad for the guy.
The Chiefs might be frauds
Even with Patrick Mahomes looking like this year’s MVP, consider me skeptical about these Chiefs. If you look past their 11-3 record, you’ll see they aren’t nearly as dominant as they’ve been each season since Mahomes entered the picture.
Sunday’s near-loss to the lowly Texans was damning. Before that, the Chiefs barely scraped by the Raiders, lost to the Bills, beat the Titans and Chargers by three, fell to the Bengals and struggled to get past the incompetent Broncos.
No one would be surprised if the Chiefs went all the way. Having the best QB in the league certainly helps. I just think they’re much worse than their record shows.
The 2022 Bucs Super Bowl DVD is going to be crazy
I’m kidding. Sort of.
Tom Brady and the Buccaneers have looked awful. Their struggles continued Sunday as they blew a 17-0 point lead over the Bengals. Brady turned the ball over four times — two interceptions and two fumbles — in the span of 10 plays. Still, they lead the NFC South and could end up sneaking into the playoffs with a losing record.
From there… well, it’s Brady in the postseason… need I say more?
The MVP race just got even more interesting
If I were a betting man, I would have picked Jalen Hurts as this year’s MVP weeks ago. It’s a good thing I’m not a betting man as Hurts’ MVP candidacy appears to be in jeopardy entering the final stretch of the season.
Hurts could miss the Eagles’ Week 16 game vs. the Cowboys due to a shoulder injury. It’s unclear at this point how long he could be sidelined. Meanwhile, Mahomes and Bills QB Josh Allen are strengthening their MVP cases with Mahomes overtaking Hurts as the odds-on favorite.
It’s between those three QBs for the award. Honorable mention for Tua Tagovailoa, who has sucked lately but proved a lot of people wrong this season. That’s another drunken “Justin Was Right” bachelor party storyline, but we’ll get into that another day.
Contenders vs. Pretenders
My list of contenders and pretenders among teams in the playoff picture after Week 15…
Contenders:
Eagles
Bills
Bengals
49ers
Cowboys
Chiefs (still maybe frauds)
Pretenders:
Vikings
Titans
Ravens
Giants
Chargers
Dolphins
Buccaneers
Commanders
Agree? Disagree? Let me know what you think.
Have a great Tuesday.