NFL (2020-2024)

[epzik8]

I told one of my co-workers that Los Angeles beat San Francisco by the score of 12-6.

His response:  "I thought baseball season was over."

There was an NFL Primetime highlight reel around 2000 where Chris Berman jokingly referred to the Chargers as the Padres for scoring a safety.

[mgk920]

With the Packers having pretty much sewed up a playoff spot and the Bears wishing for the best draft position possible, I am expecting the week 18 Chicago @ Green Bay  game to be rating little more than a noon start on Sunday.  The Vikings @ Lions will be the primo prime time game of the weekend.

Mike

[SEWIGuy]

Why would Dan Campbell hand the Bills a TD (and thus the game) on a silver platter with an ill-advised, premature onside-kickoff?  He knew it was a terrible idea but still decided to gift-wrap an early Christmas present to Buffalo.  I get that the Lions can't depend on their defense, but setting up the Bills for an easy TD with that offense?  This may end up costing them the top seed, first-round bye, and perhaps reduce their chance at a Super Bowl.  Who says one play can't change the course of NFL history?

They're now a team that has a good chance of pulling off plays like that.  I'm not saying to always walk the tightrope without a safety net, but I'd rather see the aggressiveness and confidence than the team of yore that would punt on fourth-and-one while 30 points behind. 

He stated that he regrets the onside kick. I don't mind the fourth and short decisions he makes, but the onside kick was a little out there.

[SEWIGuy]

My question is if they are going to announce the flex out of next week's SNF game between the Buccaneers and the Cowboys tonight.

They generally announce them a couple weeks ahead of time. They can't flex the Saturday games because all four teams also play on Christmans. And the only one that you could conceivably flex from Sunday that's better is Philadelphia and Washington. My guess is that NBC just wants the Cowboys regardless.

Per this NFL page, "For Sunday Night Football in Weeks 14-17, the flexible scheduling decision will generally be made no later than 6 days prior to the game."

Right. No later than. But they usually like to announce it earlier if possible.  My guess is that that Miami game will be flexed out but I guess we would need to see who else would be available.

I just read a few things about Week 17. The league has kinda screwed itself with not many compelling games and so many stand alone windows. And apparently Packers at Vikings can't be flexed to Sunday night because the first game was on CBS. (My guess is that Fox then gets the second because its the NFC??)

Pretty much all of the playoff spots are spoken for in the AFC. The NFC still has some intrigue because someone has to win the west, and the Commanders still can be overtaken, but that's about it.

Apparently those decisions will be made this week.

[Roadgeekteen]

Can't believe Goff threw for 5 tds and almost 500 yards in a loss. Gotta stink.

[JayhawkCO]

Can't believe Goff threw for 5 tds and almost 500 yards in a loss. Gotta stink.

Detroit's defensive player attrition is going to come back to bite them.

[thspfc]

I'm wondering what percentage of the Lions fanbase just experienced their first loss as a Lions fan yesterday.

[JayhawkCO]

I'm wondering what percentage of the Lions fanbase just experienced their first loss as a Lions fan yesterday.

Unless you're counting bandwagon/fairweather fans, I don't think any, since I don't think you can call a 3-month-old an actual fan.

[thspfc]

I'm wondering what percentage of the Lions fanbase just experienced their first loss as a Lions fan yesterday.

Unless you're counting bandwagon/fairweather fans, I don't think any, since I don't think you can call a 3-month-old an actual fan.

Yeah I'm referring to bandwagoners.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Can't believe Goff threw for 5 tds and almost 500 yards in a loss. Gotta stink.

Detroit's defensive player attrition is going to come back to bite them.

Barring a serious injury of their own, I've started to view the Eagles as the presumptive NFC favorite due to the Lions' injuries.

[jgb191]

With the Lions losing, it potentially sets up a really juicy Week 18 game between MIN and DET where the winner could not only win the NFC North but also get home field and a bye.

Since this thing can't let me like your comment infinitely many times, I can only give you one like.

As a neutral fan, I would love to see the Week 18 Vikings/Lions game worth watching.  I've never seen either team in a Super Bowl, and the Vikings winning the NFC would be just as feel-good story as the Lions.

I would imagine any fan like myself would love to see any final-week regular-season with some serious impact on the playoff draw or even better act as a playoff game.  It happened last season in Indianapolis when the Texans won it....winner advanced to the Wild Card round, loser eliminated.  And it also happened some years ago when the Chargers visited Las Vegas, and the Raiders won it in OT and advanced to the Wild Card game, and the Chargers were eliminated.  Note in that game both team could have advanced to the Wild Card Round if they had officially tied (eliminating the Steelers).

[Henry]

And just like that, it's going to be another 10-loss, dead-last in the NFC North season for the Bears, thanks to a clunker in Minnesota.

[ZLoth]

For all you Cowboy haters....

DAL is eliminated from playoff contention with: 1) DAL loss/tie OR 2) WAS win/tie

[ZLoth]

From Dallas Morning News (probably paywalled):

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones named 2024 winner of Texas magazine's 'highest dishonor'
Some of the Cowboys owner's 2024 lowlights were pointed out as Texas Monthly named him Bum Steer of the Year.

So, what led to Jones' selection as the award's first-place finisher? The publication pointed out some of the Cowboys owner's 2024 lowlights, including the team's January playoff collapse against Green Bay and Jones' October spat with radio hosts from 105.3 The Fan (KRLD-FM).

Jones' November comments on the sun glare at AT&T Stadium were also a key part of his nomination, being compared with a line from the film adaptation of Anne Rice's "Interview with the Vampire."

FULL ARTICLE HERE

[SEWIGuy]

And just like that, it's going to be another 10-loss, dead-last in the NFC North season for the Bears, thanks to a clunker in Minnesota.

Caleb Williams is going to have to start over again in year two with a brand new coach and offensive coordinator. The SAME franchise did this SAME exact thing TWICE before with Mitch Trubisky and Justin Fields - retain a mediocre coach for the new quarterback only to fire him in year two.

Compare and contrast with the Commanders having a plan to develop Jayden Daniels from the beginning, including hiring an offensive coordinator who ran a similar offense to what Daniels had in college.

The Bears and McCaskeys get a lot of slack because of their history, but they are run of the worse run organizations in the NFL right now.

[jgb191]

I'm going to make a bold prediction here:  Both the Texans and Chiefs will force multiple turnovers each (both defenses will score at least one TD each); it's going to be a low-scoring affair, the winner will score short of twenty points.  Whichever defense outperforms the other defense will have a higher probability of winning.  Just a prediction, I could be wrong, but this is how I'm seeing the next game.  The Chiefs are favored, whether Patrick Mahomes plays or not, and I don't think I can disagree with that.

The Texans need to win just one of these last three to match their ten wins from last season.

[SEWIGuy]

My question is if they are going to announce the flex out of next week's SNF game between the Buccaneers and the Cowboys tonight.

They generally announce them a couple weeks ahead of time. They can't flex the Saturday games because all four teams also play on Christmans. And the only one that you could conceivably flex from Sunday that's better is Philadelphia and Washington. My guess is that NBC just wants the Cowboys regardless.

Per this NFL page, "For Sunday Night Football in Weeks 14-17, the flexible scheduling decision will generally be made no later than 6 days prior to the game."

Right. No later than. But they usually like to announce it earlier if possible.  My guess is that that Miami game will be flexed out but I guess we would need to see who else would be available.

I just read a few things about Week 17. The league has kinda screwed itself with not many compelling games and so many stand alone windows. And apparently Packers at Vikings can't be flexed to Sunday night because the first game was on CBS. (My guess is that Fox then gets the second because its the NFC??)

Pretty much all of the playoff spots are spoken for in the AFC. The NFC still has some intrigue because someone has to win the west, and the Commanders still can be overtaken, but that's about it.

Apparently those decisions will be made this week.

They have flexed the Falcons at Commanders to Sunday Night in Week 17. Since the Falcons own the tie breaker over the Bucs based on head to head record, the Falcons may still be playoff eligible when that game kicks off. (As long as they don't lose to the Giants next week and the Bucs beat the Cowboys next week and the Panthers earlier in the day.)

[Roadgeekteen]

I'm going to make a bold prediction here:  Both the Texans and Chiefs will force multiple turnovers each (both defenses will score at least one TD each); it's going to be a low-scoring affair, the winner will score short of twenty points.  Whichever defense outperforms the other defense will have a higher probability of winning.  Just a prediction, I could be wrong, but this is how I'm seeing the next game.  The Chiefs are favored, whether Patrick Mahomes plays or not, and I don't think I can disagree with that.

The Texans need to win just one of these last three to match their ten wins from last season.

Texans Chiefs better not be a defensive battle I have Mixon Mahomes (though I might start Stafford) and Noah Gray on my fantasy team.

[JayhawkCO]

I'm going to make a bold prediction here:  Both the Texans and Chiefs will force multiple turnovers each (both defenses will score at least one TD each); it's going to be a low-scoring affair, the winner will score short of twenty points.  Whichever defense outperforms the other defense will have a higher probability of winning.  Just a prediction, I could be wrong, but this is how I'm seeing the next game.  The Chiefs are favored, whether Patrick Mahomes plays or not, and I don't think I can disagree with that.

The Texans need to win just one of these last three to match their ten wins from last season.

Texans Chiefs better not be a defensive battle I have Mixon Mahomes (though I might start Stafford) and Noah Gray on my fantasy team.

The over/under is one of the lowest of any games this week.

[webny99]

Texans Chiefs better not be a defensive battle

Worth noting, the Chiefs have not scored more than 30 points in a game this season. The Texans have scored 30+ a few times, but they've also been rather inconsistent.

[JayhawkCO]

One of the ways I try to plan my fantasy teams is to look at the projected scores based on Vegas odds. Take the over/under and the spread and see who's expected to score the most points. This week, with top 5 highest and lowest scorers highlighted:

Denver (19.5) - Los Angeles Chargers (22)
Houston (19) - Kansas City (22.5)
Pittsburgh (19.5) - Baltimore (26)
Cleveland (19.5) - Cincinnati (27)
Arizona (25.5) - Carolina (21)
Philadelphia (25.5) - Washington (21)
New York Giants (17) - Atlanta (25.5)
Tennessee (19) - Indianapolis (22.5)
Detroit (27) - Chicago (20.5)
Los Angeles Rams (24.75) - New York Jets (21.75)
Minnesota (22.75) - Seattle (19.75)
New England (16) - Buffalo (30.5)
San Francisco (21.5) - Miami (23)
Jacksonville (19.5) - Las Vegas (21)
Tampa Bay (26) - Dallas (22.5)
New Orleans (14) - Green Bay (28.5)

[Ted$8roadFan]

So......rgis happened last night:

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/chargers-take-advantage-obscure-nfl-rule-free-kick-field-goal-last-successful-1976

[SEWIGuy]

The Packers tried this once in 2009.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anHdlA-l7Io

[NWI_Irish96]

One thing to note about trying the free kick as opposed to a normal field goal is that without having to face a rush, the kicker can take a longer run-up to the ball and kick it farther. Didn't matter so much last night as the kick was only 50 yards.

[JayhawkCO]

Realized I have some more forking to do. Somehow I hadn't forked the Colts yet, and time to get some Falcons and Cardinals shovels out too.

Looks like my only mis-allocated fork will be the Broncos, and I still have one to fork between the Seahawks and Rams.