Cowboys 17-15 Vikings: Well the Cowboys didn’t run over this team like they did before but did enough to win since the Vikings are a mess on offense. 1. The Vikings defense showed up with two forced fumbles but they couldn’t stop RB Ezekiel Elliot having over 100 all purpose yards and TD. 2. QB Dak Prescott didn’t have the greatest game but threw a 4th quarter TD to Dez Bryant when it mattered. 3. It was a field goal game with four but three coming from the Vikings since their offense isn’t any good without 2 OT’s and Adrian Peterson.
Chiefs 29-28 over the Falcons: Well the Falcons blew this game with two soul crushing interceptions being returned for points. 1. Safety Eric Berry who is fully recovered from cancer treatments for Hodgkin’s lymphoma returned to his hometown to put on a show with a pick 6 and a pick 2 after the Falcons had gone ahead. QB Matt Ryan threw another interception in Berry’s direction on a two point conversion which he did return for the game winner. 2. RB Devonta Freeman had over 100 all purpose yards and 2 TDS while his counterpart RB Spencer Ware had 2 TDS one receiving and rushing, while WR Albert Wilson had a rushing TD. 3. Even QB Alex Smith had a good game with 270 yards and one TD pass that went to Ware.
Lions 28-13 over the Saints: 1. The story was the Lions defense which picked off QB Drew Brees three times and didn’t let him throw a TD pass. They even held RB Mark Ingram scoreless only letting the FB John Kuhn get a TD. 2. On the offensive side QB Matthew Stafford had over 340 and 2 TD passes going to RB Theo Riddick and WR Golden Tate who also had 145 yards, with most of those coming on his 66 yard reception TD. 3. Kicker Matt Prater was perfect on the day with 5 field goals and one extra point.
Patriots 26-10 over the Rams: 1. Without TE Rob Gronkowski who had season ending back surgery, the Patriots used the run game and the slot receivers to easily dispatch the Rams. As RB LeGarrette Blunt had a TD and slot receiver Chris Hogan had TDS. Kicker Stephen Gostkowski had four field goals. 2. New England’s defense picked off rookie QB Jared Goff two times and only let a garbage time TD to Kenny Britt plus a field goal for the game.
Broncos 20-10 over the Jaguars: 1. The Broncos won because of defense, rushing attack and special teams. RB Devontae Booker had a TD and kicker Brandon McManus had two field goals, but the most exciting play was the pick 6 by Bradley Roby. 2. It might be coaching and a losing environment but QB Blake Bortles had another bad game with 2 picks and the team’s only TD, which was his rushing TD.
Packers 21-13 over the Texans: People can relax now like QB Aaron Rodgers has said famously before. But let’s take a moment to realize they have beaten two bad or underachieving teams, the Eagles who have a rookie QB who hasn’t been good since week 3, and they faced Brock Oswiler who leads the league interceptions and JJ Watt has been out all year. 1. Both Rodgers and Osweiler had 2 TD passes and no picks but it was a game decided by one TD. 2. WR Jordy Nelson had one of those TD passes and over 115 yards. 3. But the Packers defense forced a fumble and had the FB score a TD, while Houston’s kicker almost missed an extra point.
Bengals 32-14 over the Eagles: Both sides of the ball showed up for Cincinnati. 1. The defense picked off rookie QB Carson Wentz three times and had a sack. While QB Andy Dalton had over 300 yards while he threw 2 TD passes to TE Tyler Eifert and Brandon Lafell in place of injured AJ Green. RB Jeremy Hill scored as well in place of injured RB Giovani Bernard, and kicker Mike Nugent had four field goals.
Ravens 38-6 over the Dolphins: This might effectively end Miami’s playoff hopes after being smoked by the Ravens. 1. QB Joe Flacco had over 380 yards and 4 TD passes despite one pick. His TE Dennis Pitta had 2 of those and RB Terrence West caught one of those TD passes and had a rushing TD. 2. Miami did force a fumble and picked off Flacco but only had a TD and failed on the two point conversation attempt, plus missed a field goal as well.
Bears 26-6 over the 49ers: It was 6-0 for most of the 1st half till the Bears woke up. 1. RB Jordan Howard did all of the scoring on offense with over 115 yards and 3 TDS. This time QB Matt Barkley was pick free but in a snowstorm they ran it mostly. 2. The Bears defense had a forced fumble and 6 sacks sacking QB Colin Kaepernick so much that they got him benched for his poor play in favor of Blaine Gabbert. Leonard Floyd sealed things with a safety.
Raiders 38-24 over the Bills: 1. QB Derek Carr led his team to score 29 unanswered points. He threw his 2 TD passes to WRS Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper while RB Latavius Murray had two rushing TDS. 2. While DE Khalil Mack had a forced fumble and a sack. 3. Again Buffalo only scored rushing TDS as backup RB Mike Gillislee had 2 TDS and Lesean McCoy had 190 all purpose yards. QB Tyrod Taylor scored the other rushing TD but had a pick and fumble. 4. Kicker Sebastian Janikowski kept the Raiders in it early with four field goals.
Steelers 24-14 over the Giants: 1. The Steelers showed up on both ends of the ball as the defense picked off QB Eli Manning two times and had a safety. 2. On offense QB Ben Roethlisberger 2 TD passes and a pick with over 280 yards. One of those TD passes went to TE Ladarius who had 110 yards while of course the other went to WR Antonio Brown. RB Le’Veon Bell had over 180 all purpose yards too. 3. New York did have an interception and forced fumble on defense with two sacks. Manning did have two TD passes but the interceptions undermined his game. WR Odell Beckham JR had a 100 yard receiving game wasted, as rookie WR Sterling Sheppard and RB Rashad Jennings had the 2 TDs.
Cardinals 31-23 over the Redskins: The Cardinals played like they should be playing with a complete game effort on both ends of the ball. 1. QB Carson Palmer had 3 TD passes and 300 yards. RB David Johnson had 175 all purpose yards, leading his team in receiving and rushing yards and had 2 TDS one of each. 2. On defense they had two sacks, a forced fumble and a pick. 3. Outside of QB Kirk Cousins TD pass and rushing TD, (he did throw a pick and fumble the ball) it was all field goals for them as they kicked three field goals.
Buccaneers 28-21 over the Chargers: 1. Both team’s lead RB had a TD for their team and both team’s QB had an interception, Jameis Winston (1), Phillip Rivers (2). 2. A major difference was that Tampa Bay’s kicker made two of his three field goals, and San Diego’s missed his only attempt as those are free points in a way. 3. Yes Rivers threw 3 TD passes to Winston’s one but one of River’s interceptions was returned for a TD. Rivers actually outrushed Winston which is funny if you think about it. Tampa Bay played as a team better than San Diego which was the difference.
Seahawks 40-7 over the Panthers: It’s safe to say we can put a fork in the Panthers but you can never trust Atlanta or the youth of Tampa Bay but with four games left at best they would be 8-8, and the teams ahead of them could finish 7-9 but that’s a long shot. 1. RB Thomas Rawls had a rebound game with 2 TDS and had over 115 all purpose yards. QB Russell Wilson’s only TD pass was to TE Jimmy Graham but was taken out early since it was a blowout. 2. The defense had a forced fumble and an interception of backup QB Derek Anderson, who started in place of Cam Newton who was benched for the start of game for pre game misconduct of not wearing a tie. 3. Carolina’s defense even in a blowout had a pick, forced fumble and three sacks. 4. WR Tyler Lockett had 130+ all purpose yards and even scored a rushing TD and kicker Steven Hauschka had four field goals.
Colts 41-10 over the Jets: 1. QB Andrew Luck throws 4 TD passes 3 of them going to TE Dwayne Allen while WR TY Hilton had over 140 yards receiving. 2. The Colts defense picked off QB Ryan Fitzpatrick two times and they put in rookie Bryce Petty who also threw an interception. 3. With the Jets down the whole game, RB Matt Forte and their running game wasn’t any factor as the Jets had one TD and a field goal. Both QBS were throwing it all the time to try to catch up but to no avail.
Bye Week: Titans Browns