The Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals were tied 7-7 at one point yesterday. That close game didn't last. The Bengals outscored the Vikings 35-7 the rest of the way.
The Vikings are now 4-10-1. Except for a three week stretch against the Carolina Panthers, New York Giants, and Green Bay Packers to kick off October, the Vikings haven't really played like a 4-10-1 team. Yesterday was the fourth game that they played like the team that their record says that they are.
Adrian Peterson's 11-yard run in the third quarter was his longest of the game. It was also his last run of the game.
Returner/receiver/runner Cordarrelle Patterson was the sole offensive highlight for the Vikings. He's been fantastic all season on returns. As his role in the offense has grown his impact on the offense has grown. I've never seen a football player his size make the cuts that he can easily make. Great vision. Great acceleration. His 35-yard touchdown run showed a blast of that acceleration. He'll be a huge part of the Vikings offense for years.
It's kinda funny, actually kinda scary, to see Vikings itty-bitty corner Marcus Sherels lined up opposite Bengals receiver A.J. Green. Sherels made a real nice play on a deep pass to Green. He prevented a likely touchdown on that play. Sherels is a scrappy, little football player.
A.J. Green gets a lot of deserved attention. Marvin Jones has really come on as an excellent compliment to Green. Jones is another example of the poor scouting of Cal football players. Drafted in the fifth round of the 2012 Draft, Jones joins Aaron Rodgers, Thomas DeCoud, and Keenan Allen as players that somehow eluded scouts in Berkeley. Each played college football at a level that far exceeded where they were drafted. NFL scouts need a new map.
If quarterback Andy Dalton can avoid mistakes, the Bengals should be a serious threat in the AFC. Dalton has dangerous offensive weapons around him. A.J. Green, Marvin Jones, Jermaine Gresham, Tyler Eifert, Giovani Bernard, BenJarvus Green-Ellis. The offensive line needs to get healthy but they did a very good job yesterday keeping the Vikings pass rush off of their quarterback. The Bengals defense surely misses Geno Atkins and Leon Hall but they are still solid from front to back. The Bengals can do some damage in the playoffs but Dalton has to avoid mistakes. And, they have to find a way to win on the road.
Bernard gives the Bengals a unique running back. His 40-yard catch and run against the Vikings was dazzling. I think that safety Jamarca Sanford missed him at least three times on that one play. Bernard is a threat as a runner and as a receiver.
Apparently, New York Jets coach Rex Ryan told his players that he will be fired at the end of the season.
Washington Redskins linebacker London Fletcher is about 99% certain that he's retiring at the end of the season. Fletcher is one of the most remarkable football players in NFL history. The St. Louis Rams signed him as an undrafted free agent out of John Carroll University in 1998. I suppose that it's easy to overlook a 5'10" linebacker out of John Carroll University. Deserving of Pro Bowl recognition almost immediately, Fletcher didn't actually get that recognition until 2009 at the age of 34. He's been selected to the Pro Bowl every year since. Supposedly too small and too slow, London Fletcher has been huge on the football field for a long time. He'll be missed.
Congratulations to Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning on passing Tom Brady for the most touchdown passes in a season. His four touchdowns against the Houston Texans gives him 51. One more than the 50 that Brady threw in 2007.Manning still has another game to add to his record total but with the AFC West division title clinched his workload next week could be light.
According to Broncos quarterback coach Greg Knapp, Manning forced one throw in the first half of this season. I don't think that any of the Vikings three quarterbacks have gone a single possession without forcing a throw.
The Broncos might have lost linebacker Von Miller to a knee injury. That's quite a blow for a team with the Super Bowl in it's sites. At least the Broncos defense learned how to play without Miller for most of the first half of the season.
Maybe, the Indianapolis Colts have gotten out of the funk that has plagued them for weeks. They took down the Kansas City Chiefs 23-7. The Colts defeated the Broncos, 49ers, and Seahawks and then couldn't get out of their own way. Maybe they were trying to figure out how to play without Reggie Wayne. Maybe, this win has them on the right track. Maybe it was the Xbox One's that owner Jim Irsay got the players got them for Christmas. Who knows? Beating the Chiefs was a nice tuneup before the playoffs.
Wow! Tony Romo came through for the Dallas Cowboys at the end of a game.
A Matt Flynn fumble and two offside penalties in the last two minutes killed any chance that the Green Bay Packers had of defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Fortunately for the Packers, no one from the NFC North wants to win the division. The Detroit Lions had another late season collapse. The Chicago Bears were rolled over by the Philadelphia Eagles.
Some people are really slobbering all over the Eagles right now. I guess that they forgot all about this same Eagles team getting thrashed by a 3-9-1 Vikings team just last week. The players have to have a short memory in the NFL. The media always has a very selective memory. It's kinda pathetic.
About a month ago, everyone was handing the NFC North title to the Lions. They were eliminated from that title yesterday by the New York Giants. The Giants! This late season Lions collapse might cost head coach Jim Schwartz his job.
Excellent win by the Arizona Cardinals in their take down of the Seattle Seahawks. In Seattle! The Cardinals have a tough climb for a playoff spot despite a terrific season. The need a lot of things to go their way. I think that the Cardinals should get the NFC North spot in the playoffs.
Seahawks corner Richard Sherman always has some excuse when things don't go his way. I wonder what it is this time.
It's been over three years since Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson last lost a home game as the starting quarterback. He was playing college ball for North Carolina St. then.
Tonight is the last time that the San Francisco 49ers play at Candlestick Park. They move to a whole other county next year. Santa Clara.
Next week, the Vikings will play in the Metrodome for the last time. The Detroit Lions will be the victims.
No comments:
Post a Comment