Season Ending Injury and Stunning Loss Reset the Playoff Picture in the NFC, AFC: Events that Sparked my Interest, Week 14

Week 14 had a lot of interesting moments that caught my eye. Between the blizzard in Buffalo to the AFC South race, there were a lot of things I could write about this week and it wasn’t an easy choice. But as Gameday went on, the injuries and results from must win games piled up, the Events that Sparked my Interest fell became obvious.

Eagles get an Important NFC win, but at a Huge Cost

Last week I wrote about how I thought the Philadelphia Eagles would make the playoffs, but that they were due for a loss at some point and that happened against the Seattle Seahawks. Quarterback Carson Wentz’s favorite target, tight end Zach Ertz left that game with a concussion and didn’t play on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams. The Eagles beat the Rams in a shootout, clinching the NFC East, but it wasn’t pretty.

With 4 minutes to go in the third quart, Wentz ran for a touchdown which would be called back, but while diving into the end zone, his legs/knees got folded and while he managed to complete the drive, he headed straight for the locker room.

Yesterday it was confirmed that Wentz tore his ACL and is out for the year, adding onto the list of star players who are out for the year. So, while the Eagles have the head to head advantage against the Rams, they don’t have their quarterback. Yes, Nick Foles has proved that he can play and win in the NFL, but he is no Carson Wentz.

Foles’ play is something I’m interested in seeing the next three weeks, as the Eagles try to lock up the number one seed in what has become a mess of an NFC.

Patriots Loss Sets Stage for huge game against the Steelers in Week 15

The New England Patriots were stunningly upset by the Miami Dolphins on Monday night – putting quarterback Tom Brady’s road record against the Dolphins at 7-9 – and that created some major issues for the team when it comes to the number one seed in the AFC.

While there is virtually no way the team does not make the playoffs, the fight for the top seed in the AFC, or even a first round bye has just gotten a lot harder. Prior to the Dolphins game, they had the number two seed by virtue of the Pittsburgh Steelers owning the tie breaker. The Steelers beat the Ravens on Sunday Night, winning their division. A win against the Dolphins would have locked up the AFC East and kept pace with the Steelers, setting the stage for when the Patriots and Steelers meet in Week 15, since the winner would own the head-to-head tiebreaker, and very likely the number one seed.

But the Pats loss to the Dolphins complicates things. If they win next week, they would have the number one seed, but there would still be two games left to play. Both teams should win in Weeks 16 and 17, with the Pats playing the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets, and the Steelers taking on the Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns.

But, if the Steelers win next weekend, the Patriots would be in trouble. First off, they would be lock up the number one seed, because even if they lost out and the Patriots won out, the Steelers would still have the head to head tie breaker. But, it gets worse.

With the Jacksonville Jaguars beating the Seattle Seahawks, the Jags gained ground on the second seed. If they win out, they would be 12-4, and if the Patriots won their final two games after losing to the Steelers, the two teams would have the same record, but Jacksonville would get the seed via their better conference record.

Simply put – because the Patriots lost to the Dolphins in a stunning upset, their hopes for the number one seed in the AFC rely upon running the table, and if they lost, they would need help from the Texans, 49ers, or Titans (which brings up a host of other playoff scenarios) to have a first-round bye, something the beat-up team needs and has had annually since 2009.


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The Case for Abolishing Thursday Night Football: Events that Sparked My Interest, Week 10

Like what happened in Week 3 after President Trump’s remarks on player protests, only one thing really sparked my interest in week 10: the injuries that occurred during the Thursday Night Football game between the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals. Unlike the game between them last season, this one didn’t end in a 6-6 tie after 75 minutes on the field. Instead, 10 (and possibly 11) got injured in some capacity and had to leave the field. With that in mind, here is the case for abolishing Thursday Night Football.

Injuries

Last December, Richard Sherman wrote an article for The Players Tribune about why Thursday Night Football doesn’t work for the players. He explained what the week looks like for players when they do and don't play on Thursday, and how their bodies aren’t physically ready for games after only four days.

Other players have expressed their dislike for the game for the same reason, including quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and offensive lineman Richie Incognito.

With players not able to be fully healed, the chances of injury go up, and so do injuries in actuality. This has a wide range of consequences, including poor play, minimal fan interest, and the next reason for abolishing Thursday Night Football.

Decreased Play the rest of the Season

Aaron Rodgers, Odell Beckham Jr, Andrew Luck, David Johnson, Joe Thomas, JJ Watt, and Cliff Avril are among the players on the growing list of top players whose injuries have impacted their team’s season. This means that with every one of these injuries, the season gets less and less interesting. Rodgers’ injury took the Green Bay Packers from a Super Bowl contender to a team with no playoff hopes, Watt’s injury coupled with injuries to fellow Houston Texans Deshaun Watson (QB) and Whitney Mercilus (LB) killed the team’s aspirations for winning the AFC South.

When given the choice, fans won’t tune into an uninteresting game, nor will they watch a team who can no longer compete come November, let alone December. To a fan who will tune into ESPN next Monday that isn’t a diehard Atlanta Falcons or Seattle Seahawks fan, the game is suddenly a whole lot less interesting. Richard Sherman is out. Kam Chancellor may not play. Three defensive linemen will be playing hurt. The list goes on.

It doesn’t matter how you slice it, injuries are hurting the NFL season (as they always do) but the injuries from the Hawks/Cardinals game proves how much Thursday Night Football is killing the season.

Matchups are Awful

Forget the injuries, let’s go to the matchups. All teams must play on Thursday Night Football and generally games are divisional matchups. This means that, in theory, they should be good games. But, you know what? That’s wrong.

Thursday Night Football games have been some of the absolute worst games the past few seasons, providing us with matchups like Miami at Baltimore and the Bills against the Jets. The only people who tune into these games are the people who live in those markets and are fans. Even then, there are problems for those fans: the games start at 8:30pm EST.

Having Thursday Night, Sunday Night, and Monday Night football games start at 8:30 means that they aren’t over until almost midnight on days where people go to work the next day. No sane person will watch a game at home until midnight.

Between injuries, how they impact the regular season, matchups, and bad start times, it’s easy to understand why the NFL needs to abolish Thursday Night Football.

Subscribe to my blog via email to get an update any time something is posted. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter at @KidReporter363 for other updates about my writing and check out all my content at haydengoldberg.contently.com. Please leave your feedback in the comment section, I reply to everyone and take any and all feedback, ideas, comments, etc. under consideration.

The Injury Bug Strikes Again and the Cowboys leave Aaron Rodgers Too Much Time: Events that Sparked My Interest, Week 5

The fifth week of the season is the first week a team can have a bye (save the Buccaneers and Dolphins who had theirs week 1 – this is a whole other issue, see my post on a safer NFL season – due to Hurricane Irma) and one big team had theirs this week – Atlanta. Being a Super Bowl contender, I think that Falcons would much rather have had their bye later in the year in order to get healthy (which again is another issue, see my player safety post). Among the other notable things during Week 5, the Jets have a winning record and are tied for the AFC East lead and Alex Smith the notorious, “game manager,” threw for over 300 yards for the second time this year (third time with 293+ yds). This is the first time in his career he’s eclipsed that amount multiple times in a season.

But, there were two things that really got my attention this week: one quarterback giving another too much time and the injury bug striking again.

Cowboys Give Aaron Rodgers and the Packers Too Much Time

Its common knowledge that if your team is down at the end of the game, your team needs to march down field, score, and take the lead. It’s also common knowledge that if the team that is beating you is the Green Bay Packers, then you need to take as much time off the clock when you go downfield as possible because if given more than about 40 seconds (needing a touchdown to win) or 25 seconds (needing a field goal) Aaron Rodgers will march downfield and win the game for the Packers.

Last week Tom Brady left Cam Newton too much time the end of the game and this week it was Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys who left Rodgers too such. The Cowboys scored a touchdown after a 9 minute drive late in the fourth quarter to lead 31 to 28 and they didn’t leave Rodgers 10 seconds, or 30 seconds, or even a minute to score the overtime forcing three points. Instead, they left him SEVENTY THREE SECONDS. I repeat – 73 seconds! You do not give Aaron Rodgers one minute and 13 seconds to score 3 points at the end of game, let alone with one timeout to stop the clock for the field goal. You just don’t do it. Period. Jerry Jones was right when he said the team left Rodgers too much time because he is right.

The Cowboys could easily have won this game but they threw it away and it could end up costing them when it comes to playoff seeding in December.

Giants and Texans Seasons Take Hits with Key Injuries

Lets start with the Giants, who coming into Week 5 were already 0-4 and playing another 0-4 team - the Chargers - in a game that would have serious implications to who receives the number one pick in the draft. The Giants lost, but worse things happened. On the same drive, Wide Receivers Brandon Marshall (#2 on Depth Chart) and Sterling Shepard (#3) exited the game with ankle injuries. Then Dwayne Harris fractured his foot (#4 on chart). In the fourth quarter, Wide Receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (#1 on chart) was carted off the field with a gruesome ankle injury. The giants top 4, count'em 4 wide receivers were injured in one game, three of whom left due to an ankle injury. Shepard is the only one who isn't out for the year. 

For some reason the loss of 4 of the 5 receiver on the Giants roster hasn't deterred quarterback Eli Manning who is still optimistic about the season.

Sadly, the Giants weren't the only team to get hit by the injury bug in Week 5. J.J. Watt, who is more than a star athlete to the people of Houston, Texas suffered a devastating injury in the Sunday Night Football game against the Chiefs and is out for the season.

On Monday he tweeted, "I can't sugarcoat is, I am devastated. All I want to do is be out there on that field for my teammates and this city. I'm sorry." 

Out of everyone in the world, Watt has the least to be sorry and his tweet demonstrates how much he means to the people of Houston. He was already a folk hero in Houston but after raising some $37 million for the victims of Hurricane Harvey, his meaning to the city rose even more.

The NFL needs to change the way it's season is scheduled because, among other things, this is the second season in a row where his season has ended prematurely. Cliff Avril's career is in doubt after an injury he suffered two weeks ago, one of the NFL's best receivers is out for the year. The  NFL has multiple options for what they can do, but you can check out my thoughts here.

Subscribe to my blog via email to get an update any time something is posted. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter at @KidReporter363 for other updates about my writing and check out all my content at haydengoldberg.contently.com. Please leave your feedback in the comment section, I reply to everyone and take any and all feedback, ideas, comments, etc. under consideration.