Each week of the NFL season brings a slew of new questions. There are also some answers to old questions. Let’s summarize what we learned in week 8 and what questions we have for week 9 and beyond.
Answer: Jaden Daniels is the truth.
We always want to believe that we’re watching generational greatness the moment it happens, but this week I’m confident that the NFL I can say that I actually saw the highlights.
With a few words of “Long live Mary,” Jaden Daniels reversed the fortunes and perception of an entire franchise, wiping away the last stain of the Daniel Snyder era and establishing himself as one of the notable QBs of his generation. established a position. Despite hurting his ribs, Daniels threw for 326 yards, 75 of which came in the final 12 seconds and 52 yards on the final play. This allowed us to win the match.
Everything about this moment — from the losses to the wins, from the cinematic unfolding of the football, from the eruption of the home crowd, even from the moment of karma from the Bears’ vitriolic Tyrik Stevenson — is football perfection. Euphoria, glee — instead of getting angry every time someone tries to denigrate a sport with such condescending little “sports ball” scum, they never experience such unmitigated joy. I’m just a little disappointed that there won’t be one. their life.
Oh, I apologize to Bears fans. But if the beleaguered Washington franchise can have a moment like this, you can too.
Question: Could Jameis Winston be the savior of the franchise?
Look, literally any game in Cleveland would have been better than the ineffective and expensive quarterback play the Browns got from Deshaun Watson this season. But when the famous weirdo Jameis Winston shows up, you know something memorable is going to happen, one way or another, even before the game begins.
And lo and behold, Winston threw for 334 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. — Leads Cleveland to an upset of the mighty Ravens. Even by NFL Any Given Sunday standards, this might have been the Any Given Sunday game of the year. A team that hadn’t shown any noticeable momentum all season stepped up and punched the AFC North powerhouse in the face.
Is it sustainable? Probably not. Winston will likely come back and throw 3 INTs and zero touchdowns. Can Winston lead the Browns to the playoffs? No; only Tennessee has a worse record in the conference.
Question: Is Kirk Cousins ready to lead the Falcons?
There was a lot of understandable skepticism about the Falcons’ future-changing plan to go all in on Kirk Cousins. An underperforming franchise facing an underperforming quarterback? What would work? So far, the Falcons have been in two steps forward, one step back mode, but Sunday’s game against the Bucks was definitely a step forward.
An unequivocal victory over the only real division challenger, culminated by a defensive stand in the final game that the Falcons have failed too often…these are moments that add to something more. Cousins threw four more touchdowns on Sunday, and Raheem Morris’ administration appears even more willing to use all of the Falcons’ offensive weapons. This team isn’t at Detroit’s level yet, but it’s more than capable of making some noise in the playoffs.
The immediate future favors the Falcons. Atlanta will play Dallas, New Orleans and Denver before the bye, while Tampa Bay will play Kansas City and San Francisco before the break. This is a good opportunity for Atlanta to create more divisional breathing room with the Bucks and give Cousins and the offense more time to settle into a winning rhythm. Let’s see if it lasts.
Answer: Will the sun set on the Bengals in 2024?
It’s too early to close the door on any team other than Tennessee, Carolina and the two New Jersey-based teams, but after Sunday’s loss to the Eagles, the Bengals already feel like they’re dressing up for the offseason break. . If your leading rusher gains 32 yards and your leading receiver gains 73 yards, your offense won’t work. Then, when the score was tied at 17 with 4:16 left in the third quarter and they lost 37-17, their defense wasn’t working either.
The Bengals are currently 0-4 at home and 3-5 overall, with their only wins coming against Carolina, Cleveland and the Giants, three of the teams not eligible for the playoffs. “We’re not good enough. We’re not good enough, so we’ve got to be better,” Joe Burrow said after Sunday’s loss. I wish it were that easy.
Question: When is a punt a victory?
Sometimes, when the seasons aren’t going well, you find joy in the little things… you know, like a good punt. Look at the beauty of Logan Cook of the Jaguars.
It was a 73-yard boomer that hit at the 10-yard line and skipped out for 1 yard, pinning the Packers deep in their own half. This is the punt version of golf’s perfect approach: 350 yards to kick-in eagle. The Packers won the next series with a three-and-out, but unfortunately the Jaguars finished the game off, allowing a last-minute drive and a game-winning field goal in the final minute. Jacksonville is 2-6, four games out of first place in the division, but at least the kicking game is on track.
Answer: Yes, the end of national ties is important.
Have you ever noticed that “National Donut Day” comes around every six weeks?Social media is all over these kinds of special holidays, like discussing pizza toppings on National Pizza Day or sharing stories with brothers and sisters on National Siblings Day. Loves to show love. These are not sacred dates like Christmas or Halloween. They are purely marketing concoctions that function to coddle us.
The NFL has never encountered an unacceptable trend, and now it has National Tight End Day, a made-up holiday that the league and its broadcast partners happily shove in our faces all day Sunday. has arrived. But this was weird. The tight end really stepped up. The tight end scored 16 touchdowns on 177 receptions Sunday, the most in league history. Heck, it’s like the NFL has a script and forces teams to follow it.
Hey, wait a minute…
Anyway, now that the door to substitute holidays is open, let’s get weird. Let’s have National Overgame Backup Quarterback Day, National Surly Postgame Wide Receiver Day, and National “Don’t Put Up Big Numbers While on My Fantasy Bench” Day. Everything. Let’s do it!
