Take number one: Call him what you will, Playoff Lamar, Bizarro Lamar, January Lamar, regardless, that guy, and not the incandescent talent who has already won two MVP awards and appeared on a glide path to a third, showed up yesterday in Pittsburgh. I have no idea why this version of Lamar – the one who is trying to force big plays, making bad decisions, turning the ball over, and generally looking lost – shows up at the most inopportune times, but boy howdy did it resemble that 2024 AFC Championship game against the Chiefs and to a lesser extent, Lamar’s other post-season turkeys. Maybe it’s the coaches who are unable to make adjustments or Lamar feeling like a Ferrari being asked to drive the speed limit through a school zone but for a team that looked like the league’s best, they are suddenly sitting at 7-4 and may be at risk of not making the playoffs! Four of their last six games are against teams that are either locks for the playoffs (Philly, Pittsburgh, and Houston) or challenging for a wild-card (Chargers) and while their defense looked great yesterday against a “meh” Steelers offense, should we expect a similar level of play? If not, and Bad Lamar rears his head again with Tucker suddenly losing his kicking mojo, this entire season will have been wasted.
Take number two: I’m marveling at the Steelers. I am. Their defense just throttled Baltimore, there is no other way to describe it. T.J. Watt wrecked that game from the first snap to the last, their secondary was sticky and aggressive, and their linebackers didn’t give Lamar any space to operate. Russ may only be cooking at a low simmer, but apropos of take one, this is a team that knows who it is and is willing to slug it out, grind out three yards and a cloud of dust, and kick six field goals if that is what it takes to win.
Take number three: Did that Josh Allen scramble to seal Buffalo’s win yesterday break the spell the Chiefs have over them? Yes, I know regular season Josh has a winning record against regular season Pat, but the Bills were the better team yesterday and it was not particularly close and that was without Allen’s full complement of receivers. The question remaining for the Bills is whether they want to make a push for the one seed or start load managing some of their players. The division is all but clinched so it’s really more the risk/reward of getting that one week bye versus sneaking in some rest for players down the stretch but playing an extra game and not having home field for the conference championship.
Take number four: Chiefs kingdom should not overreact to yesterday’s loss but they should not dismiss it either. The glaring shortcomings of this team have been on display all season but it was not until yesterday that a team exposed them so thoroughly and then went for the jugular when they had the chance. That said, the remaining schedule has three cupcakes, including the next two, against Carolina and Las Vegas, and four competitive games against the Chargers, Broncos, Steelers, and Texans. Three and oh against the cupcakes and a split with the good teams gets the Chiefs to 14 wins, which should be good enough for the one seed, but does not guarantee it.
Take number five: The Commanders are just toying with our emotions. It’s like that girlfriend you finally broke up with and moved on, but then you run into her years later and all the stuff that made you leave in the first place seems less important and you focus on the good times you had and then two weeks into the reconciliation you are shocked back into reality. Two losses in five days, albeit to playoff teams, is concerning, as is Jayden Daniels’s apparent regression and the return of the second half of the season Kliff Kingbury fade. With the punchless Cowboys up next, the team better right the ship.
Take number six: Sports are cruel, they just are. Imagine you’re a Bears fan right now. Your season started out with so much promise and then within the span of a few weeks, instead of stealing a game on the road in D.C. you lose an a Hail Mary that will be replayed over and over as long as you live, you got pummeled in the desert by the Cardinals, and then, after all the sturm und drang, the o/c firing, the whispers in the locker room, the dead man walking watch on your head coach, you outplay your oldest rival on your home field, your rookie quarterback who had looked lost for the past three weeks leads a picture perfect two-minute drill while flashing all the talent that sold you on him in the first place, you milk the clock down to three seconds, line up for the winning field goal and … it’s blocked. Not only is your season effectively over, but you have now lost twice in the last month on the last play of games you should have won. Brutal.
Take number seven: Good teams beat bad teams. Great teams pummel bad teams into oblivion. That is Detroit right now. And yes, I know they lost another key piece on their defense, but I am pretty sure what they did to Jacksonville is illegal in twenty-three states.
Take number eight: Sneaky Bo Nix for rookie of the year candidacy brewing. I won’t lie and claim to watch enough Broncos football to speak with real intelligence about what this kid is doing right, but the results speak for themselves. Sean Payton may be an arrogant jerk, but that dude has cleaned up a franchise that was adrift and set it on the right path.
Take number nine: Speaking of arrogant jerk coaches, Jim Harbaugh also doing a bang up job with a team that had become the poster child for giving up fourth quarter leads and generally spitting the bit in close games. You think the good people of Chicago aren’t steaming right now that ownership didn’t dump Eberflus in the offseason to make a run at a guy who used to play for them?
Take number ten: Thoughts and prayers to all those who will need to spend more time with their families on Thanksgiving because the late afternoon match up of the Cooper Rush-led Cowboys playing the Tommy DeVito-led Giants will test the patience of even the most die-hard sports fan.
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