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Week 14 brought us more exciting action, blown calls, and big performances. Here are my observations:
The Good
-Behind a rookie third string quarterback Devlin "Duck" Hodges, the Pittsburgh Steelers are now 8-5 after their 23-17 win over the Cardinals and are the sixth seed in the AFC playoff picture. But most of the credit to how the Steelers have maintained their level of success goes to head coach Mike Tomlin. Tomlin has been the Steelers head coach for 13 years now and has not had a losing record. This season is perhaps his best coaching job and he should be coach of the year.
-Props to Falcons' quarterback Matt Ryan for becoming the 10th passer in NFL history and second fastest to amass 50,000 passing yards. At 4-9, the Falcons are in full-blown draft preparation mode with their playoff chances long down the drain. However, when history is made, we should all appreciate it. Ryan has been one of the most consistent quarterbacks in the league for years now and may have cemented his Hall of Fame bid.
-The Titans have been on a roll lately. They've won four in a row and are on the verge of making the playoffs. While the switch to Ryan Tannehill from Marcus Mariota at quarterback will be credited with the bulk of the success of their turnaround, running back Derrick Henry should get some as well. In that win streak, Henry has 599 yards rushing and seven rushing touchdowns. His 103 yards in their 42-21 win over the Raiders was his lowest output of the streak.
The Bad
-Bucs quarterback Jameis WInston could be the first quarterback in NFL history to lead the league passing yards, touchdowns...and interceptions. He's currently second, tied for second, and first respectively in those three categories. He's having an awesomely terrible season.
-I mentioned earlier how the Steelers beat the Cardinals earlier, I didn't mention a key play that led them to that win. Early in the 4th quarter down by 10, Cardinals' rookie quarter back Kyler Murray had a 4th&2 on the Steelers' six yard line. He more than likely could've run for a 1st down, but instead opted for a pass that was picked off by Steelers' outside linebacker T.J. Watt. here's to hoping Murray will learn from his rookie mistakes.
-The refs have made tons of poor calls this season. Another contender for the most egregious was a personal foul on Ravens' safety Earl Thomas. He was flagged after a teammate pushed him causing him to fall over Bills' quarterback Josh Allen. Sometimes, there's judgement needed when making certain calls. The refs should've known and seen the circumstances here and swallowed the whistle. Good thing it didn't cost the Ravens the game.
The Ugly
-The 49ers beat the Saints in one of the year's best games so far. However, they lost three key starters: center Weston Richburg is done for the year with a torn patellar tendon, while outside linebacker Dee Ford and corner Richard Sherman are out multiple weeks with hamstring injuries. For a team currently in control of the top spot in the NFC, these injuries couldn't have come at a worse time.
-The Patriots have long been seen as cheaters who've mostly skated away from significant punishment. They even had Spygate 2.0 come up this week, but it lasted maybe an hour or so and was simply a mixup. However, they had three calls go against them in their 23-16 loss to the Chiefs: a fumble return for a touchdown that was blown dead, a potential touchdown taken off the board after being wrongly ruled out of bounds, and a blatant pass interference not called. The funniest part: seeing all the Northeastern media cry for them after they routinely tell others to shut up for the same thing.
-In a scene reminiscent of the band being on the field during an early 80s Cal-Stanford game, the Rams' cheerleaders and mascot had to be told to exit the field of play just before halftime of their game versus the Seahawks. Not sure who's at fault here, but this should never happen in an NFL game. There's a guy on the sideline with a spotter and their job is to enter the field of play when there's a commercial timeout and leave when it's over. They have gloves and a vest to signal everyone that needs to know when play should be stopped and started. Perhaps the Rams' cheerleaders should pay better attention.
If we were to judge the Super Bowl contenders like books in a spades game, I'd say the NFC has three (49ers, Saints, Seahawks) and a strong possible (Packers); while the AFC has one (Ravens) and three possibles (Chiefs, Patriots, Bills). While some may laugh at the Bills being a possible, I'd argue to look at their defense. Some may also think the Seahawks and/or Packers aren't true contenders, but they have players at the ultimate position that'll always keep them in the conversation. While the Saints may have lost a shootout at home to the 49ers, that game was so close, it's hard to say one should be considered a strong favorite over the other. The Ravens have arguably the league MVP, a playoff ready run game, and a salty defense that'll keep them as the favorite until proven otherwise. These last three weeks of the regular season will serve as a playoff audition. It may also serve as a peacock ceremony for those that are in but want to flex their muscle and jockey for positioning. Either way, we have meaningful football left in the regular season.
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When the Texans decided to part ways with OC Bobby Slowik last week, some were surprised DeMeco Ryans would pull the cord so quickly.
But others have been calling for Slowik's removal for most of the season with CJ Stroud and the offense showing significant regression, and Stroud getting repeatedly beat up behind an offensive line constantly baffled by stunts and twists.
To Stroud's credit, he took his fair share of blame for the struggles on offense this season, never throwing the coaches or scheme under the bus.
Which led many people to believe Stroud wanted Slowik to return. CJ even spoke about the challenges of learning a new system and how he didn't know how quarterbacks were able to pick up a new system every couple of years, hoping he wouldn't have to do that.
However, ESPN Houston's Lance Zierlein on Monday spoke about Stroud's relationship with Slowik and if it was really as tight as it appeared to be in press conferences.
Which makes sense on many levels. Stroud had to be losing faith in the offense based on results, and Coach Ryans did not give Slowik much of an endorsement when meeting with the press last week.
There have also been rumors that ownership was frustrated with the state of the offense, after giving Slowik and members of his staff a raise after a terrific 2023 season.
Who could blame them? The offense was the main reason Houston kept getting blown off the field in almost all of their primetime games. The cherry on top had to be the offense getting shutout on Christmas against the Ravens with all the world watching on Netflix.
While we believe Stroud had to give his blessing to move on from Slowik, at the end of the day the decision was DeMeco's. As a defensive coach, watching his offense fail to correct the same mistakes all season long had to drive him nuts.
Who will be the next OC?
KPRC2's Aaron Wilson reported some possible candidates which includeRams passing game coordinator/ tight ends coach Nick Caley, Ohio State OC Chip Kelly, Vikings QB coach Josh McCown, and the Texans current QB coach Jerrod Johnson. Houston also interviewed Syracuse OC Jeff Nixon on Monday.
Personally, I'd rather the team bring in a coordinator with experience. But we'll see which way DeMeco leans soon enough. Hopefully he already had someone in mind before letting Slowik go.
Be sure to watch the video above as we examine what ultimately got Slowik fired, the top OC candidates, and how players and coaches view the opportunities and challenges in Houston.
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