"The Stack" 10-30-17
Deshaun Watson had himself a game against the vaunted Seattle Seahawks defense Sunday throwing for over 400 yards and four touchdowns to go along with over 50 yards rushing. The Texans unfortunately would lose 41-38.
The Stack is back on this Monday and we may have seen the best NFL game of the season yesterday. It’s going to be awfully difficult to top Texans-Seahawks. We’ve got reaction to that game plus all of the other games from Sunday including the ones impacted by the weather. We will talk World Series tomorrow. Some of these games, including last night’s game five have been epic. Now though let’s get right to it and see what’s in “the stack” for today, Monday, October 30th:
Vikings 33 Browns 16
The Vikings started off slowly in this one. In fact the Browns had the lead at halftime for the first time all season long, but as the game wore on Jerrick McKinnon and Case Keenum made too many big plays and the Browns couldn’t stop them and couldn’t respond. The Vikings are now 6-2. The Browns remain winless. Oh the pains of being a Browns fan.
Bills 34 Raiders 14
Don’t look now, but the Buffalo Bills are 5-2 and 4-0 at home this season. Their defense was at it again against Derek Carr and the Raiders forcing four turnovers. LeSean McCoy ran for over 150 yards and had a touchdown to ice the game. The Bills playoff drought may be on the verge of ending. They certainly are making a name for themselves. The Raiders continue to be a huge disappointment. Defensively and offensively, they just are not the same team that we saw last year or the team they were talking about being in the offseason.
Bengals 24 Colts 23
Give the Colts a lot of credit. A week after looking like they quit on their head coach, the Colts gave the Bengals everything they could handle and probably should have even won the game, but a pick six in the fourth quarter put them behind and they could not come back. It’s a big win for the Bengals who are still breathing, albeit barely in the AFC North.
Patriots 21 Chargers 13
Strange day in New England. The weather wasn’t great. The Patriots offense wasn’t great. Stephen Gostkowski and the kicking game were not at their best, but after giving up a long touchdown run to Chargers running back Melvin Gordon early in the game, the Patriots defense was the story in this one. The limited Philip Rivers and company and picked off Rivers at the end of the game to seal the victory. The Patriots are starting to come into form.
Saints 20 Bears 12
Drew Brees may have not thrown a touchdown in this game, but thanks to his running game and his defense, he didn’t have to throw one. It helped that he was going against Trubisky and the putrid Bears offense. Still, the Saints have now won five games in a row and their defense is a major reason why. They have really turned things around.
Falcons 25 Jets 20
In a heavy rain, it was the dome team that made the plays late. A long pass to Julio Jones (54 yards) and a long run by Tevin Coleman (52 I believe) helped set the Falcons up with a couple of scores that would help give them the lead. Their defense would make plays down the stretch too. Falcons kicker Matt Bryant was also big going four-for-four on field goals and helping the Falcons snap a three game losing streak.
Eagles 33 49ers 10
Weather was also a factor in Philadelphia, but it didn’t matter to Carson Wentz and the Eagles who soared high against the 49ers. Alshon Jeffrey caught a long touchdown pass and the defense stepped up with a pick-six of their own to help move the Eagles to 7-1. In case no one told you, they are the only team in the league with only one loss.
Panthers 17 Bucs 3
The Panthers were in another 17-3 game, but this time they were on the other side of it this time around thanks to their suffocating defense which frustrated Jameis Winston and the Buccaneers offense all game long. Cam Newton wasn’t spectacular, but he didn’t have to be as the Panthers handed the Bucs a crippling loss to their season.
Seahawks 41 Texans 38
Game of the year to this point or at the very least one of the top two or three. Back and forth these two teams went. I'll save thoughts on Texans owner Bob McNair and the comments he made at the NFL owner's meetings a couple of weeks ago that came out in an espn.com investigative piece for another time. Deshaun Watson was absolutely incredible throwing for over 400 yards and four touchdowns to go with over 50 yards rushing becoming the first player in NFL history to that. He did throw a few interceptions including one that was returned for a touchdown by Earl Thomas in the first quarter. Still, the Texans looked like they had a win in their pocked when Russell Wilson threw an interception with two minutes and change to go in the fourth quarter, but the Seahawks defense came up big and Wilson redeemed himself with his pass to Jimmy Graham for the go-ahead score. Four lead changes in the second half. What a game! Maybe we’ll see these two teams in a Super Bowl in the not so distant future.
Cowboys 33 Washington 19
It was raining cats and dogs in this one, but Ezekiel Elliott still had a big day on the ground with over 150 yards rushing and two touchdowns despite fumbling on his first carry of the game. Kirk Cousins didn’t have the best of games, but in that weather it is tough to blame him. Still, Washington is now 0-3 in the division and it seems very difficult to envision them making a huge playoff run given all of the injuries they have.
Steelers 20 Lions 15
The Lions offense was the better unit in this one, but a 97-yard touchdown pass to JuJu Smith-Shuster helped boost the Steelers to a lead that the Lions could not come back from. The Lions only have themselves to blame as they failed to score a touchdown in this one on any of their trips into the redzone. You won’t win many games failing to score a touchdown with all of those trips in the redzone.
Denver Broncos @ Kansas City Chiefs 8:30 PM ET ESPN MNF
The Broncos are a mess on offense and though they say they have solved everything this week, I’ll believe it when I see it. Their defense can slow down Tyreek Hill, Kareem Hunt and Alex Smith, but it’s going to be awfully tough to fully stop them. With their offense stuck in neutral, the Chiefs should win this one comfortably.
Prediction: Chiefs 27 Broncos 10
Coming up Tuesday: MNF reaction, World Series thoughts and more
