Week 15 and as expected, more shenanigans as the playoffs draw near. Seriously, if you never watched football except for about the last 2-3 weeks right before the new year, it’s the most potentially entertaining period of football to see.
The Chargers Lump of Coals
And speaking of division rival shenanigans, Thursday Night Football between the Los Angeles (still San Diego in my mind) Chargers and the Las Vegas Raiders, started Week 15 off with a bang… with a few fired coaches and administrators.
What have I been saying all year? The Chargers needed to dump Brandon Staley. It took an embarrassing loss (61-23) to a division rival for them to finally fire Staley and General Manager, Tom Telesco.
My personal takeaway. Yes I did expect the Raiders to be more successful against the beat up LA Chargers. But honestly with both teams functioning with rookie QB’s in this game, I did not expect such a vast point differential at the end. Especially considering Staley is a defensive coach, it was so shocking for Vegas to constantly put up big offensive numbers in this game.
At the end of the game, I think it was a blessing for the Chargers to lose in such a devastating fashion. Hopefully they can get a fresh start in the offseason and have something to show for next year.
Hang in there Bolts fans. I’m rooting for you.
Don’t Get Crazy
Speaking of questionable coaching decisions when your team is not playing as well as they should, did anyone catch the Jaguars vs. the Ravens on Sunday Night Football?
Most of the time, I like Doug Pederson as a coach. But it appears that since he left Philadelphia after leading the Eagles to a Super Bowl win against Tom Brady and the Patriots, his playoff runs have come up short.
I’m all for calculated aggressive play calls. But the second to the last play on the last drive before the half was questionable. Jacksonville had been struggling in the first half and in my opinion, don’t get cute at that point. The plan should have been to run the play and get down to spike the ball to stop the clock.
It’s not that Jacksonville lacked the personnel to be able to execute a “no huddle” play, but it’s a lot of added pressure:
- If they are already struggling with 2 missed FG and a fumble that lead to a touchdown for Baltimore.
- Trying to come from behind and close the gap in score.
- Not getting the ball first after half time.
Maximize the opportunity you could have had to take a legit shot at the end zone before halftime. The mindset you have going into the locker room during halftime can make or break how you adjust in the second half.
Really? Right Now?
Speaking of adjustments, the Philadelphia Eagles decided to make a significant change at Defensive Coordinator with Matt Patricia. For those lacking in NFL trivia, Patricia was the defensive coordinator for the New England Patriots from 2012-2017. And yes those were the years Brady still played for New England, so there was definitely a balance in offense and defense during that time.
After losing to my Niners and to their division rivals, the Cowboys, apparently Philly thought they needed to step up their defense. Their thought process was not flawed, they definitely needed to improve defensively. They had lost by 43 points in two consecutive weeks. In comparison to what they were winning by last year, the roles should have been reversed.
Cry, Eagles, Cry
But as I have said all…season…long… and I told you it was a marathon… the Eagles are not as dominant on both sides of the ball as they were last year. If you look at many of their games against sub par teams or teams now in contention for playoff positions that are not the 1-3 seeds in either AFC or NFC, the Eagles were winning marginally.
So to make a coaching change, while slightly drastic and not usually done, could have gone good or bad for them. Clearly after the Monday night loss to Seattle, it went bad. They lost that game on a failed defensive stop, with two back to back plays going at the same experienced player in Bradbury. Granted the loss truly came throughout the game.
While Jalen Hurts was not functioning at 100% due to a recent illness heading into the weekend. Philadelphia’s offense is just… well…boring. There is no creativity in their offense. Their go-to run play, despite a great running back they have with D’Andre Swift, was to call QB draw or RPO with a QB keep. If you’re unfamiliar with what those plays are, pretty much it’s just Jalen keeping the ball after the snap and running.
Look, Jalen is talented. But he’s such a muted player to me. Even as elite as the Eagles were last year, Jalen is just not a leader to me. He’s a fantastic athlete. Great for a fantasy football option. But he’s not a leader. Especially with comments at the end of the Monday night game saying “we’re not committed enough.” A leader should not be publicly doubting the commitment of the team.
So now, Philadelphia is the 5 seed in the NFC playoff bracket, despite Dallas getting smacked by the Buffalo Bills.
How ‘Bout Them, Bills!
And what a glorious smack down that was!
I have never been so happy for the Buffalo Bills in my whole life. Granted, I am too young to have lived and remember the Cowboy and Niner dynasty rival battles. But, if you know anything about rivalries and how long they can last, this is definitely a generational rivalry. So I will always be thrilled when Dallas loses.
So of the Top 3 teams in the NFC, my San Francisco 49ers sit at 11-3, with Dallas and Philadelphia at 10-4. San Francisco clinched the playoffs and currently sits at the 1 seed which means we have a bye the first week of playoffs. Byes are such a huge advantage in the playoffs so that you can rest and get back players who may have gotten injured earlier in the season.
Niners Clinch the NFC West
So it was a GREAT weekend.
I will say, though the Niners came out with a win, it was touch and go for a minute. Defense did not look as solid against the run and I am hoping that will be the focus of improvement as we will be playing the Baltimore Ravens on Christmas Day. With Lamar Jackson also being a mobile quarterback and proving to be able to stay in the pocket to deliver the ball, the front four need to box him in the middle and push him into Greenlaw and Warner.
I still think that San Francisco has the better team and the Niners will be playing at home. If only I wasn’t working, I would totally try to fly up for this game.
Maybe I am coming down with a sickness for Monday night. Haha.
Stay tuned for more playoff seeding contention as the New Orleans Saints take on the Los Angeles Rams. Gosh, I have never wished Derek Carr and his guyliner to win so bad. Their matchup will be this Thursday night’s game at 5:15pm (PST) on Prime TV.