What a crazy week of football!
The good, bad, and ugly from NFL Week 14
Dec 11, 2018, 7:06 am
What a crazy week of football!
Wow! What a week of football! We had upsets, blowouts, and some of the most exciting plays to date! Here's how I saw it go down:
THE GOOD
-The Dolphins pulled off a dramatic 34-33 upset of the Patriots on the final play of the game. They completed a 69-yard hook and ladder play using two laterals to score a touchdown. If you haven't seen the play by now, I question whether or not you are connected to society. Belichek took responsibility for the play, as he should've.
-Chief's quarterback Pat Mahomes Jr. is the league MVP. Not only is he on pace for 50 touchdowns and 5,000 yards passing, but he has highlight reel plays damn near every game. Case in point: his no-look pass for a first down, and his unbelievable 4th down completion to Tyreek Hill that goes against all conventional wisdom.
-The Bears stifled the Rams in an old school, hard-nosed football game. Final score was 15-6. It was the first time the Rams had been held under 23 all season, much less under 10. Whoever said the league is more flag football should watch this Bears team, or the Ravens, the Cowboys play defense.
THE BAD
-The Steelers inexplicably lost, again. This time, it was to the lowly Raiders by a 24-21 margin. The Steelers came into the game 7-4-1 and in control of the two seed via the Pats loss. They left with their third straight one score loss. A play here or there and they could easily be the one seed in the AFC.
-Speaking of the Raiders, they decided to fire general manager Reggie McKenzie. This appears to have been the end of the McKenzie/Jon Gruden power struggle. Ever since the team rehired Gruden as its head coach, he's been in a constant pissing match with those in the front office. Game over. He's won. Here's to hoping the Raiders spent that $100 million dollars on Gruden wisely.
- The Lions won 17-3 over the Cardinals. Your fifth win in the thirteenth game of the season over a three-win team is bad enough, but to do so with only 96 yards passing? That's reason to make your fanbase wear bags over their heads, even in a win.
THE UGLY
-The Skins benched recently acquired quarterback Mark "Butt Fumbler" Sanchez in their 40-16 blowout loss to the Giants. Josh Johnson, also recently acquired, will now be the starter for a team that's down to its fourth option at quarterback. I wonder if they'll call…Tony Romo. Gotcha!
-The Panthers were once 6-2 and being talked about as an NFC contender. Then the Steelers blew them out 52-21 on Thursday Night Football and that started their five game slide. Now 6-7, they'll most likely miss the playoffs and head coach Ron Rivera should be on the hot seat. This team is more up and down in recent years than teenage girl's emotions during prom season.
-Cowboys running back Ezekial Elliott was flagged for lowering his helmet and initiating contact in their 29-23 wild win over the Eagles. He was running towards the sideline and did what comes natural to every running back: lowering himself to brace for contact. However, the refs decided to flag him on the play and negate a would-be first down. Excuse my language, but this s*%# is pissing me off!
Some teams have clinched their playoff spot and/or division already. Others are struggling to the finish line. Then there are the ones who once looked promising and now look like life came at them fast, similar to the former beauty queens/kings in high school that look like life whipped their ass with an ugly stick. Sure is going to be a great finish and playoff run!
Houston center fielder Jake Meyers was removed from Wednesday night’s game against Cleveland during pregame warmups because of right calf tightness.
Meyers, who had missed the last two games with a right calf injury, jogged onto the field before the game but soon summoned the training staff, who joined him on the field to tend to him. He remained on the field on one knee as manager Joe Espada joined the group. After a couple minutes, Meyers got up and was helped off the field and to the tunnel in right field by a trainer.
Mauricio Dubón moved from shortstop to center field and Zack Short entered the game to replace Dubón at shortstop.
Meyers is batting .308 with three homers and 21 RBIs this season.
After the game, Meyers met with the media and spoke about the injury. Meyers declined to answer when asked if the latest injury feels worse than the one he sustained Sunday. Wow, that is not a good sign.
Asked if this calf injury feels worse than the one he sustained on Sunday, Jake Meyers looked toward a team spokesman and asked "do I have to answer that?" He did not and then politely ended the interview.
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) July 10, 2025
Lack of imaging strikes again!
The Athletic's Chandler Rome reported on Thursday that the Astros didn't do any imaging on Meyers after the initial injury. You can't make this stuff up. This is exactly the kind of thing that has the Astros return-to-play policy under constant scrutiny.
The All-Star break is right around the corner, why take the risk in playing Meyers after missing just two games with calf discomfort? The guy literally fell to the ground running out to his position before the game started. The people that make these risk vs. reward assessments clearly are making some serious mistakes.
The question remains: will the Astros finally do something about it?