"The Stack" 10-5-20
The Stack is back on this Monday and it was a pretty weird weekend in the NFL. We already knew Pittsburgh @ Tennessee was postponed to week 7. Then Saturday came and we found out that New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton and the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad quarterback tested positive for COVID-19. Would more positive tests follow? Fortunately for the NFL, no. As of the writing of this blog, there have been no additional tests for either team. They didn’t play their game on Sunday. Instead it will be played tonight at 7:05 PM ET on CBS. The New Orleans Saints then on Saturday night had their fullback test positive, but it proved to be a false positive and the Saints were able to proceed with their game against the Detroit Lions. We are living in an age where we need to be extra careful when it comes to COVID-19. That includes all NFL teams. The Titans are being investigated by the league and the NFLPA to make sure protocols were followed. Considering they have 20 positive tests or so, it doesn’t seem likely, but we’ll find out. Now then, let’s take a look and recap & react to the game that did happen in the NFL in week 4 for today, Monday, October 5th:
Ravens 31 Washington 17
Fortunately the Baltimore Ravens were playing a bad team in Washington, because they didn’t play that great. Lamar Jackson had an interception and for the most part, the offense wasn’t its normal self. But they were better than they were Monday night and they were playing a worse team to help get them back on the winning path.
Bucs 38 Chargers 31
Rookie quarterback Justin Herbert and the L.A. Chargers were taking Tom Brady and the Tompa Bay Gronkeneers to town. Their defense had a pick six and they were in control of the game. Bu then with 48 seconds left in the first half, the Chargers had the ball at their own 8-yard line. The Bucs had one time out and rather than just taking a couple of kneeldowns and going into the half, the Chargers tried to run it, but Joshua Kelly fumbled it. The Bucs recovered and scored a touchdown before half. It completely swung momentum in favor of the Bucs and Brady took full advantage in the second half. The Chargers briefly regained the lead after the Bucs took it away from them, but the Brady and the Bucs would get it right back. Big comeback win for the Bucs. Tough loss for the rookie and the Chargers.
Seahawks 31 Dolphins 23
It wasn’t Russell Wilson’s best game, but the Seattle Seahawks are still a pretty unstoppable force on offense even when Wilson isn’t on his A-game. Chris Carson ran for a couple of scores and Wilson added two passing touchdowns while the defense kept Miami out of the endzone all but once. The Dolphins gave it a good effort, but the Seahawks are just too good.
Vikings 31 Texans 23
In a battle of winless teams, the Minnesota Vikings were the team that was more desperate. Despite the week they had with their facilities being shut down, they were crisper on offense with both Adam Thielen and rookie wide receiver Justin Jefferson amassing over 100 yards receiving. Dalvin Cook added over 100 yards rushing and the defense played their best game of the year despite playing over half of it without star safety Harrison Smith who was ejected for a helmet-to-helmet hit in the second quarter. Things are tough in Houston, but for Minnesota, they are showing some signs of life which is nice.
Saints 35 Lions 29
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before….the Detroit Lions had a double-digit lead in a game and lost. The Lions jumped out a 14-0 lead against the New Orleans Saints before Drew Brees and company took over, scoring touchdowns on their next five possessions. The Lions just couldn’t get back into it and now fall to 1-3. The hot seat is getting hotter for head coach Matt Patricia.
Browns 49 Cowboys 38
What…a…game! Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys were hot early on. Prescott was 9-for-10 with two touchdowns and a perfect 158.3 passer rating as the Cowboys had a 14-7 lead, but they didn’t hold onto it for long. Mainly because the Cowboys couldn’t hang onto the ball. They had another couple of fumbles and couldn’t stop the Cleveland Browns rushing attack despite Nick Chubb getting injured. Kareem Hunt came in and played great. Odell Beckham Jr. had two receiving touchdowns (one from Jarvis Landry and the other from Baker Mayfield) and ran for the game-clinching touchdown as the Browns prevailed. They had a 41-14 lead before the Cowboys had a furious fourth quarter rally with 24 unanswered points, but OBJ’s touchdown run iced the game away. What a win for the Browns. For the Cowboys, their defense is a disaster and they are destroying great games from Prescott. He is the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 450 or more yards in three straight games. Beyond impressive. Why haven’t the Cowboys signed him to a long-term deal yet?
Bengals 33 Jaguars 25
Congratulations to Cincinnati Bengals rookie quarterback Joe Burrow for winning his first career NFL game. Burrow was great again on Sunday and was aided by running back Joe Mixon’s 151 yards rushing and two rushing touchdowns to go with a receiving touchdown helped lead the Bengals to victory. The first of many on would imagine for Burrow and the Bengals.
Panthers 31 Cardinals 21
Okay, Arizona Cardinals…WTH? Kyler Murray and the Cardinals offense was held in check for large parts of the game and the defense offered little resistance to Teddy Bridgewater and the rest of the Panthers offense. If the Cardinals want to be taken seriously, they have to be able to play consistently and be able to beat the bad teams. Not a good loss for the Cardinals, but congrats to Bridgewater. I am very happy for him as I would imagine most Vikings fans are.
Rams 17 Giants 9
This game was awful pretty much the whole way through. The Rams didn’t do much on offense at all. The best part of the game was the postgame fight between L.A. Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey and New York Giants wide receiver Golden Tate. Apparently there is some bad family blood between the two of them. Giants are still winless.
Bills 30 Raiders 23
Josh Allen and the Bills continue to roll. Allen was great once again throwing for a couple of scores and rushing for another one as the Bills handed the Raiders their first loss in Vegas. The Bills are for real and it is going to take a masterful defensive effort to stop them.
Colts 19 Bears 11
So much for Nick Foles being the answer to the Chicago Bears’ problems at quarterback. Foles and the Bears offense were generally awful and offensive as the Colts took them down. The Bears defense did a good job of limiting the Indianapolis offense, but the Bears struggled against Indy’s defense. Maybe Trubisky is going to be back under center. Or maybe Foles will be better next week. Who knows.
Eagles 25 49ers 20
I know that the San Francisco 49ers had a lot of injuries, but I thought they would be able to beat the offensively challenged Philadelphia Eagles. A practice squad wide receiver scored the go-ahead touchdown and then they got a pick-six. What happened? Good for Carson Wentz and company to get off the winless track. We’ll see if they can keep it up.
2-1 New England Patriots @ 3-0 Kansas City Chiefs 7:05 PM ET CBS
I previewed this game on Friday and the only thing that has changed is that Cam Newton will not be playing quarterback for the Patriots. That means the Chiefs are going to beat them down even more especially given that the Patriots just flew in today.
Prediction: Chiefs 34 Patriots 17
0-3 Atlanta Falcons @ 3-0 Green Bay Packers 8:50 PM ET ESPN MNF
Look at it this way Falcons fans…at least you won’t have a lead in the fourth quarter to lose when you play the Packers tonight. Even without Devante Adams, Aaron Rodgers and company will have no problem beating the Falcons.
Prediction: Packers 37 Falcons 27
Coming up Tuesday: MNF reaction, baseball preview & thoughts on the weekend in college football
