Is it really an NFL Sunday without the Minnesota Vikings playing on it? No matter the answer they still play the games.
It feels like 2nd-year quarterbacks Jared Goff and Carson Wentz are dueling even when their teams are facing each other. That's what happens when a couple quarterbacks go 1-2 in the NFL Draft. People will always wonder which thrower is the best. They were both great yesterday. Each threw four touchdowns. Each led their team to 51 points.
Jared Goff vs. New York Giants:
14/22 for for 311 and four touchdowns
Those touchdowns covered 8, 52, 67, and 4 yards.
He made it look easy. A lot of it was due to a terrific combination of clever play-calling and a nice collection of explosive playmakers. Some of it was due to a Giants defense that looked like it had better things to do. Rams receivers were running free throughout the game.
Carson Wentz vs Denver Broncos
15/27 199 yards and four touchdowns
Those touchdowns covered covered 32, 15, 27, and 4 yards.
Wentz and the Eagles are really starting to hit their stride. A sparking, and league-leading, 8-1 record is a clear indication of that.
The Eagles visit the Rams in Week 14. Hopefully both starting quarterbacks are still standing and healthy. Rams vs. Eagles. Goff vs. Wentz for the first time. That should be fun for football fans and make the NFL and FOX happy.
Despite boasting the best record in the league, the Eagles felt the need for a boost at the trade deadline. They acquired running back Jay Ajayi from the Miami Dolphins to add to their collection of running backs. He was active in his first game with his new team. The Eagles probably went into the game hoping that he could get a few touches. He did much more than warm his feet in his new offense. He had only eight carries but he led the Eagles in rushing with 77 yards. 46 of those yards came on a touchdown run. Nice debut.
The Eagles halfback snaps broke down like this.
Corey Clement 28
Jay Ajayi 17
LeGarrette Blount 16
Wendell Smallwood 6
Kenjon Barner 2
On 69 offensive snaps
The Eagles have an interesting mix of runners. Ajayi and Blount can pound the ball. Ajayi can do more than that. Clement is probably the most versatile of the bunch. Smallwood and Barner are the most explosive. Despite the mix and talents of each, Ajayi should get the bulk of the carries once he's comfortable in the offense. He looks pretty comfortable already. When healthy and not in someone's doghouse, Ajayi's a difference-making back.
More Goff. A lot of talking heads and supposed experts were ready to write off Jared Goff as another #1 pick bust after a shaky rookie season. A couple things on that rookie season. The 2016 Rams were a mess. Head coach Jeff Fisher was fired about halfway through Goff's seven starts. And the young quarterback was a rookie adjusting to the NFL in the middle of that mess. Many questioned the selection of Goff at the top pick of the 2016 NFL Draft. Many tossed out his glowing college stats as the result of a spread offense without actually viewing how he generated those stats. Many felt that his shaky rookie season justified those questions. Just as I wondered if NFL decision-makers made their way to Berkeley in 2004 to watch Aaron Rodgers play football I've wondered if any ever traveled to Berkeley to watch Goff play football. Rams general manager Les Snead did. He traded up to the top pick to insure that he got his quarterback. Only one person needs to fall for a player. Goff started for a terrible Cal team and a head coach that didn't recruit him as a true freshman. A true, skinny freshman. The line couldn't block for him and the players didn't really fit the new offensive system that was forced upon them. Goff was always eerily calm in the pass rush chaos around him and managed to lead a talent-poor Cal offense to a lot of touchdowns. He got better and grew as a leader each season. It was obvious to anyone that made their way to Berkeley that he had the arm and poise of an upper level NFL quarterback. Actually, he looked a lot like the quarterback that's playing for the Rams right now.
The best game of the day was played in Seattle. Washington Redskins vs. Seattle Seahawks. A lot of people, perhaps most people, like high scoring, Oklahoma vs Oklahoma State-like, affairs. Defensive fights are fun too and the Redskins and Seahawks played one. It was a fun game. Especially if you had no other interest than good football fun. The Redskins managed only two productive drives against the Seahawks. The last one was in the last 1:30 of the game. It took about 30 seconds and it was the winner. 17-14 Redskins.
Both defenses played great. Every yard was a challenge for both offenses.
The Redskins must hope that left tackle Trent Williams' knee heals soon. T.J. Clemmings played in place of Williams against the Seahawks and he allowed 37-year old Dwight Freeney to look like 27-year old Dwight Freeney. Clemmings spent the last two years getting nearly every Vikings quarterback killed. The Redskins just happen to be hosting the Vikings next week. The Redskins had better hope that Williams gets healthy soon.
The Seahawks made the strong move of adding left tackle Duane Brown at the deadline. He started his first game with his new team. His addition didn't bring about immediate offensive line improvement. Quarterback Russell Wilson was routinely on the run from Redskins pass rushers. Fortunately for the Seahawks Wilson is very good at making things happen on the run. The Seahawks line has to improve. Brown will help but the line has to get used to each other and improve as a unit.
Wilson threw two interceptions and a third on a two-point conversion. He was real fortunate not to have about five more. He tossed a bunch into coverage. Several were in the hands of Redskins defenders. Wilson often throws into coverage hoping that his guy comes down with it. His guy often has. Yesterday, it was the defense had the better shot at his throws.
Some quick thoughts from Week 9.
When the Kansas City Chiefs stormed to a 5-0 start some talking heads quickly crowned them champs. Others looked back only a year to a Vikings team that started 5-0 only to fall into a 3-8 finish. But the talking heads honked about these Chiefs being different. They were stronger, excelling in all phases of the game. They are 1-3 in the weeks since that unbeaten start and their supporters have departed for Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Los Angeles. I doubt that the Chiefs will tumble out of playoff contention as the Vikings did. They are a stronger team and a healthier team. The point of this is that no team should be crowned in Week 5 as anything other than a team playing well.
The Houston Texans, and all NFL fans, were dealt a serious blow when they lost stunning rookie quarterback DeShaun Watson to a season-ending knee injury in a practice last week. It's always difficult to switch gears to the backup quarterback. It's more difficult when that switch has to take place on the fly after the game plan is already planned. It's even more difficult when that switch is from the thrilling, versatile Watson to Tom Savage. The Texans did the best they could against the Indianapolis Colts yesterday. It came down to the last play in the 20-14 loss. The Texans are also the most recent team that probably wishes that they had signed Colin Kaepernick in the offseason.
32-year old running back Adrian Peterson carried the ball a career-high 37 times against the San Francisco 49ers yesterday. No one should be surprised by those 37 carries. Peterson's a beast. Too many people look at that age and the manner in which he's always run and assumes he's done. I guess they forget that he's really only played one season over the last three years. He's rested, ready, and freakishly able to carry the load for a team. Peterson gained 159 yards on those 37 carries. He was the only back in the league to rush for over 100 yards yesterday.
Sundays are better when the Vikings are a part of it.
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