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Nail-biters, blowouts, close games, and games that looked closer than what the final score indicated. Week eight of NFL action had a smorgasbord of the type of games played. Here are my observations:
The Good
-49ers running back Tevin Coleman had a historic performance in their 51-13 romp over the Panthers. He's the first 49er since Roger Craig in '88 to have at least two rushing and one receiving touchdowns in a game; and only the third to have four touchdowns in a game (Jerry Rice in '90 & '93, Billy Kilmer in '61). Oh...and rookie defensive end Nick Bosa had three sacks to aid the 49ers 7-0 start to their season. This was a guy I wanted the Texans to sign in the offseason. Did I mention quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo completed 81.8% of his passes?
-Sticking the best division in the NFL (the NFC West), the Rams had quite a day against the Bengals in London. Jared Goff threw for 372 yards and two touchdowns. 220 of those yards and one of those touchdowns came from Cooper Kupp. While their pass to run ratio was more balanced this game (31 to 26), the offensive attack was still pass heavy. It happened to work this game, but only because it was more balanced.
-Despite losing to the Lions 31-26, the Giants have a bright future. Rookie quarterback Daniel Jones threw four touchdown passes and completed 68% of his passes, Saquon Barkley had 27 touches for 143 yards, and the team traded a 2020 3rd & a 2021 5th round pick for Jets' defensive lineman Leonard Williams. If they resign Williams and continue to develop around Jones and Barkley, this team will be fun to watch for years to come.
The Bad
-In a game pitting the teams with the top two picks in the 2015 draft, the Titans came out victorious 27-23 over the Bucs. One would've expected Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston to battle it out. However, Mariota has been benched in favor of Ryan Tannehill (63% completion percentage and three touchdowns), and Jameis completed less than 50% of his passes. Mariota is most likely out in Tennessee, but Jameis appears to have his coach in his corner as Bruce Arians called out the receivers for Jameis' bad day. Total bleep show.
-Panthers' quarterback Cam Newton is still rehabbing his foot injury according to his coach Ron Rivera. So the team is sticking with Kyle Allen moving forward. The real question is: will they stick with Allen once Cam is healthy? Or even more provocative: will they trade Newton before deadline or get rid of him in the offseason?
-Falcons quarterback, and former Texan, Matt Schaub threw for 460 yards and completed 75% of his passes, but only threw one touchdown pass in a 27-20 loss to the Seahawks. This was one of the games that looked closer than what the score indicated because the Seahawks jumped out to a 24-0 lead at the half and cruised to victory. Schaub's stat line was reminiscent of his Texans days. (I apologize to any Texans' fans for opening up this wound.)
The Ugly
-Broncos quarterback Joe Flacco drove a bus over his coaches, reversed it, and ran over them again in his postgame presser. Flacco (rightfully so I might add) was upset at the lack of aggression, specifically the decision to punt on 4th&5 with the ball on the Colts' 43-yard line. At 2-5, now 2-6, what do you have to lose? The salt in the wound: Flacco expected to miss "significant time" with a neck injury.
-The 3-3 Bears were down 17-16, 1st&10 with the ball on the Chargers' 21 yard line, :43 seconds left in the game and a timeout. Bears' coach Matt Nagy chose to let the clock run, kneel the ball, and opted for a field goal. Given their kicker woes over the last season plus, you'd think they'd go for a touchdown, or a closer field goal at least. The field goal of course went wide left and they lost. What a terrible way to lose.
-After eight weeks of football, there are approximately 207 players placed in injured reserve (give or take a few here and there). Some may have a designation to return, some won't. Football is a tough sport. It won't get any less tough without fundamentally changing it. That said, the league and the owners need to give the players more when negotiating the next CBA. They play the most violent game, and have the least amount of job security and guaranteed money among pro athletes.
Week eight brings about a midpoint of sorts for the NFL season. By the time most of you read this, the trade deadline will be quickly approaching, or have passed. There's already been some player movement as teams who are "tanking" or punting on this season have off-loaded players in favor of draft picks to build for the future. An active NFL trade deadline is another way for the sport to have more mass appeal, as if it needed anymore. The second half of the season should bring about more exciting action. I'm especially looking forward to the lesser teams upsetting their playoff bound opponents. Feeling cheesy. May write a midseason award type of article next week. IDK.
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Dec 16, 2024, 1:52 pm
It was midway through the third quarter of the Oklahoma City-Houston NBA Cup semifinal matchup on Saturday night. Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had just made a short jumper in the lane and, to his delight, a time-out was immediately called.
He needed it.
He retreated to midcourt, crouched down, propped himself up by his fingertips and took deep breath after deep breath. It was that sort of night. And given the way the Rockets and Thunder have defended all season long, such a game was predictable.
In the end, it was Oklahoma City 111, Houston 96 in a game where the teams combined to shoot 41%. The immediate reward for the Thunder: two days off to recover. The bigger reward: a matchup with Milwaukee on Tuesday night for the NBA Cup, with more than $300,000 per player the difference between winning and losing.
“That's what defense does for you,” said Thunder coach Mark Daigneault, whose team has held opponents to 41% shooting or worse a league-best 11 times this season — and is 11-0 in those games. “It keeps you in games.”
The Rockets-Thunder semifinal was basketball, with elements of football, rugby, hockey and probably even some wrestling thrown in. It wasn't unusual. It's how they play: defense-first, tough, gritty, physical.
They are the two top teams in the NBA in terms of field-goal percentage defense — Oklahoma City came in at 42.7%, Houston at 43.4% — and entered the night as two of the top three in scoring defense. Orlando led entering Saturday at 103.7 per game, Oklahoma City was No. 2 at 103.8, Houston No. 3 at 105.9. (The Thunder, by holding Houston to 96, passed the Magic for the top spot on Saturday.)
Houston finished 36.5% from the field, its second-worst showing of the season. When the Rockets shoot 41% or better, they're 17-4. When they don't, they're 0-5.
“Sometimes it comes down to making shots,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “Especially in the first half, we guarded well enough. ... But you put a lot of pressure on your defense when you're not making shots.”
Even though scoring across the NBA is down slightly so far this season, about a point per game behind last season's pace and two points from the pace of the 2022-23 season, it's still a golden age for offense in the league. Consider: Boston scored 51 points in a quarter earlier this season.
Saturday was not like most games. The halftime score: Rockets 42, Thunder 41. Neither team crossed the 50-point mark until Dillon Brooks' 3-pointer for Houston gave the Rockets a 51-45 lead with 8:46 left in the third quarter.
Brooks is generally considered one of the game's tougher defenders. Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the game's best scorers. They're teammates on Canada's national team, and they had some 1-on-1 moments on Saturday.
“It's fun. It makes you better,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “That's what this league is about, competing against the best in the world and defensively, he is that for sure. And I like to think that of myself offensively. He gives me a chance to really see where I'm at, a good test. I'd say I handled it pretty well.”
Indeed he did. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 32 points, the fifth instance this season of someone scoring that many against the Rockets. He's done it twice, and the Thunder scored 70 points in the second half to pull away.
“We knew that if we kept getting stops we would give ourselves a chance,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “And we did so.”