Welp. Just like that, in the blink of an eye, the Cowboys’ season is pretty much done with. But, in other news, at least the Packers lost! If only the Eagles had lost too. Anyway, this week was bizarre, and surprisingly, there was a multitude of teams who saw their playoff hopes drift away, even in week three.
The Cowboys Will Miss the Playoffs
Yep. After two quality encouraging games to start the year, the Cowboys decided to screw around and lose to the Bears. Now, the loss isn’t as bad as it looks. CeeDee Lamb was injured on the second drive, Javonte Williams lost a flukey fumble, and the offense wasn’t able to capitalize on the good defensive drives. Dak may have thrown 2 interceptions, but they were late in the game when his team was already down 17. So, I wouldn’t say the loss is the worst part. The worst part about this whole ordeal is the fallout from it. For starters, as I mentioned earlier, CeeDee Lamb was injured, and, even though he downplayed it at first, reports are he could be out 3-4 weeks and possibly go on IR. Not only that, Tyler Booker, arguably one of the Cowboys’ top 3 linemen, is now out for 4-6 weeks. With Daron Bland and DeMarvian Overshown still recovering, there’s almost no way that this team can get grounded and fully recover in time to save the season. Past week 11, the Cowboys have arguably the hardest schedule in the league. So, as for now, I see almost no chance for the Cowboys to make the playoffs, at this rate.
The Falcons Should Start Kirk Cousins
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
It was a bad day to be a Falcons fan, as Carolina absolutely wiped the floor with Atlanta, demolishing them 30-0. But don’t fret Falcon’s fans, there is hope. I mean, sure, Michael Penix Jr only completed half of his 36 pass attempts, and he may have thrown 2 interceptions, and he may have led a shutout offensive game, but people tend to forget about a man named Kirk Cousins. Kirko Chains deserves a chance to show everyone just how great he still is. And after a horrendous performance the Falcons put up, is there really any excuse not to at least give him a try? I mean, Penix didn’t even reach the red zone a single time that game, and I’m supposed to believe he deserves a starting quarterback spot? Well, I don’t. Obviously, I’m overreacting, and Penix is the future of the Falcons franchise. But if he needs time, then Kirk Cousins at the very least deserves a chance to perform, especially after what happened to them on Sunday, and how much Atlanta is paying him.
The Saints Are Losing Every Game This Year
It has been an ugly start to the season for the Saints this year, but nothing seems worse for them than this past loss to the Seahawks. In fact, just 15 game minutes into the matchup, New Orleans was already down 21-0. They finished the game losing 44-13. Alvin Kamara struggled, rushing for just 42 yards and averaging 2.3 yards a carry. Spencer Rattler threw an interception, and the Saints had under 300 total yards of offense. New Orleans’s special teams was terrible, giving up a 95-yard punt return and having a punt blocked. Also, New Orleans’s kicker Blake Grupe missed a 52-yard field goal. On defense, the Saints failed to sack Sam Darnold even one time. Sam Darnold had a QBR of 98.0 and a passer rating of 154.2. The Saints are now 0-3 and have scored over 20 points during a single game once. They have given up an average of 37 points a game and have scored an average of 15 points a game. The season is just not going to turn itself around. While I think with rookie Tyler Shough and rookie head coach Kellen Moore, there is still time for the Saints to get a rebuild going, but for now, they’ll have to settle as being one of the worst teams in the league.
The Packers Were All Hype with Nothing to Show for It
Yeah, the Packers totally screwed this past game up. They put up a grand total of 10 points, and lost to the Cleveland Browns. Despite being up by 10 points with less than 4 minutes to go in the game, the Browns were able to rally off a field goal, interception, touchdown, and blocked field goal to set up a game winning 55-yard field goal from Andre Szmyt. Now, here’s the kicker. Jordan Love struggled. He was sacked a total of 5 times. Josh Jacobs struggled. He averaged just 1.9 yards a carry for 30 yards. Micah Parsons struggled, with just 2 tackles on the day. And though the Packers’ defense played well, this loss is pretty demoralizing for a team that could go undefeated, according to Rasheed Walker: “I think we can go undefeated honestly…Pound for pound, I look at these teams, and I don’t really see who’s better than us honestly.” Well, they’ll have to wait until next year to try and be undefeated. Until then, they can correct course and try to prove that they are worth the hype, specifically this Sunday against the Cowboys.
Special Teams Matters
This week was a HUGE week for special teams. Let me read the summary real quick. Game winning field goal for the 49ers, Chargers, Browns, and Buccaneers. Game-changing and game-sealing blocked field goals (with a touchdown on the latter) for the Eagles. Go-ahead blocked field goal touchdown for the Jets. Game-saving blocked field goal for the Browns. A blocked punt and punt return touchdown for the Seahawks. Three missed field goals in the Colts vs Titans game. Two missed field goals by the Falcons. A muffed punt catch against the Panthers. Two missed field goals in the Texans vs Jaguars game. A missed field goal for the Lions. And, a grand total of 2 missed extra points and a missed field goal in the Chiefs vs Giants game. This all but solidifies special teams as an extremely important part of the game of football. Everybody watches football for the touchdowns, interceptions, and electric plays. So much so, that people seem to forget—or completely ignore—the importance of special teams. So, from now on, don’t forget to celebrate the little plays.
Final Thoughts:
A bizarre week in the NFL. And sadly, the Cowboys were unable to give me any hope for the rest of the season. Luckily, as a Cowboys fan, I have been preprogrammed to have delusional hope every year. In fact, I’ve already moved on to next week, where the Cowboys will absolutely destroy the Packers on Sunday Night Football, even without CeeDee Lamb. In all seriousness, it will probably end with the Packers winning 42-14. You heard it here first.