# NFL 2018 Regular Season **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 30, 2018, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323 "2018-11-30T06:29:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/101 "2018-12-10T01:04:50Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > My team went from 4-1 to utter garbage seemingly in the blink of an eye. Was it Hue Jackson’s eye? ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/102 "2018-12-10T01:06:58Z")
What the heck was going on with that field in Oakland? They pulled a game from Estadio Azteca and that had better turf. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/103 "2018-12-10T01:18:54Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > What the heck was going on with that field in Oakland? They pulled a game from Estadio Azteca and that had better turf. The field is bad, the stadium leaks, sometimes the plumbing backs up. There’s a reason they’re leaving town. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/104 "2018-12-10T01:35:30Z")
Watching Khalil Mack and Aaron Donald on the same game is fun. They are amazing. ---
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/105 "2018-12-10T01:38:26Z")
This phenomenon of the Chargers winning close games is very disconcerting. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/106 "2018-12-10T02:01:50Z")
Washington Redskins on their 4th QB of the season as Josh Johnson will start the next game. A team with playoff potential in October is now reduced to starting a guy that it thought was out of the league and selling used cars somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/107 "2018-12-10T02:28:48Z")
Gutsy fake punt call by the Rams. Love it. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/108 "2018-12-10T02:59:50Z")
I can’t tell if this Rams-Bears game is terrible or awesome. Maybe both? ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/109 "2018-12-10T03:29:07Z")
It had a safety. So it’s awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/110 "2018-12-10T04:18:22Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I can’t tell if this Rams-Bears game is terrible or awesome. Maybe both? Both. Awesome defensive play. Terrible QB play. It’s amazing a team can win with a QB who throws for 3 interceptions and less than 200 yards, but it’s the Bears. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/111 "2018-12-10T04:49:12Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > Both. Awesome defensive play. Terrible QB play. It’s amazing a team can win with a QB who throws for 3 interceptions and less than 200 yards, but it’s the Bears. It helps when the other QB has **four** interceptions and only 180 yards. In other words, a bad QB is fine when your opponent has a worse one. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/112 "2018-12-10T04:57:42Z")
Browns since firing Hue Jackson: 3-2 Bengals since hiring Hue Jackson: 0-4 ---
**Author:** ![Gus\_Gusterson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@Gus\_Gusterson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Gusterson)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/113 "2018-12-10T14:07:29Z")
I’m no NFL genius, but why didn’t the Pats go for a touchdown instead of kicking the field goal on their last possession? They’re up 30-28. Even if they don’t score at all, the only way the Dolphins can win with 7 seconds left is to make the play they made. The Dolphins wouldn’t be able to make two plays in that time so there’s no chance they’re kicking a field goal. The Pats could have had 36 or 37 points and be sure to win. There’s no difference between being up 2 or 5 points since the Dolphins will be getting 6 or nothing. Am I missing something? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/114 "2018-12-10T14:25:50Z")
The Pats were up by 2. The FG made the Fish get a TD, not an FG. A long FG try from midfield is still a better shot than a Hail Mary from a hobbled QB. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/115 "2018-12-10T14:34:30Z")
The Bears’ defense played the greatest defensive game I’ve seen in the NFL in a long, long time in holding the Great Todd Gurley to 28 rushing yards and the beleaguered Goff to a 19.1 QB rating. It was nothing less than awesome, and it overcame several gaffs by an obviously rusty Trubisky. To be able to still defeat a team like the Rams despite several turnovers of our own and only 15 points was nothing less than remarkable. It’s looking more and more like the a Saints’/Chiefs’ Super Bowl. We shall see. ---
**Author:** ![Gus\_Gusterson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@Gus\_Gusterson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Gusterson)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/116 "2018-12-10T15:27:16Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > The Pats were up by 2. The FG made the Fish get a TD, not an FG. A long FG try from midfield is still a better shot than a Hail Mary from a hobbled QB. The Dolphins got the ball at their own 31 with 7 seconds on the clock and no timeouts. To try for a field goal they would have to move the ball at least 20 yards and get out of bounds in less than 7 seconds. Even if they managed that, they had to then kick a long field goal. Realistically, the Dolphins had one play to score regardless of what the Pats did, so the field goal did nothing for the Pats. A TD would have put the game out of reach. The field goal left it within reach so the effect of making the FG was the same as missing it. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/117 "2018-12-10T16:38:09Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > The Bears’ defense played the greatest defensive game I’ve seen in the NFL in a long, long time in holding the Great Todd Gurley to 28 rushing yards and the beleaguered Goff to a 19.1 QB rating. > > It was nothing less than awesome, and it overcame several gaffs by an obviously rusty Trubisky. To be able to still defeat a team like the Rams despite several turnovers of our own and only 15 points was nothing less than remarkable. > > It’s looking more and more like the a Saints’/Chiefs’ Super Bowl. We shall see. The Bears only TD came with 10 linemen on the field - their usual 5 starters with 4 defensive linemen checked in, a fake handoff to 6-5, 332 lb Akiem Hicks in the backfield (who had a diving TD last week) and play action to back up OT Bradley Sowell. Quite possibly the highest total weight on one given play. I’m enjoying watching the Bears this year for sure. They’ve been pretty close in the games that they lost and they’ve been very good in the games that they’ve won. They have some shortcomings, namely an inconsistent kicker and the inability (or stubborn refusal) to feature Jordan Howard in the running game but they are fun to watch. Their use of trick plays don’t seem to come from desperation but more from “Here’s what we’re going to do, hang on and watch this,” and their defense is playing lights out. Plus they celebrate at Club Dub with a disco ball every time they win. I don’t think they can go all the way this year but it’s a phenomenal turnaround for the team from the John Fox and Marc Trestman years. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/118 "2018-12-10T16:53:20Z")
> [@Gus\_Gusterson](#): > > The Dolphins got the ball at their own 31 with 7 seconds on the clock and no timeouts. To try for a field goal they would have to move the ball at least 20 yards and get out of bounds in less than 7 seconds. Even if they managed that, they had to then kick a long field goal. Realistically, the Dolphins had one play to score regardless of what the Pats did, so the field goal did nothing for the Pats. A TD would have put the game out of reach. The field goal left it within reach so the effect of making the FG was the same as missing it. The situation was 4th down on the Dolphins 4, with 21 seconds left. If the Pats had gone for a TD & failed, the Dolphins would have gotten the ball around their own 4, with at least 15 seconds left, assuming the failed TD couldn’t have taken more than 6 seconds. That gives them time for one, maybe 2 long pass attempts up the sideline followed by a FG attempt - that seems at least somewhat more likely than a TD from their own 31 with only 7 seconds left on the clock. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/119 "2018-12-10T17:23:14Z")
> [@Gus\_Gusterson](#): > > I’m no NFL genius, but why didn’t the Pats go for a touchdown instead of kicking the field goal on their last possession? They’re up 30-28. Even if they don’t score at all, the only way the Dolphins can win with 7 seconds left is to make the play they made. The Dolphins wouldn’t be able to make two plays in that time so there’s no chance they’re kicking a field goal. The Pats could have had 36 or 37 points and be sure to win. There’s no difference between being up 2 or 5 points since the Dolphins will be getting 6 or nothing. Am I missing something? I would probably have gone for the TD there, but one other thing you didn’t mention is a defensive penalty on a hail mary (or whatever) would give the Dolphins an untimed down to kick a FG. ---
**Author:** ![HookerChemical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@HookerChemical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HookerChemical)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323/120 "2018-12-10T17:40:21Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Washington Redskins on their 4th QB of the season as Josh Johnson will start the next game. A team with playoff potential in October is now reduced to starting a guy that it thought was out of the league and selling used cars somewhere. If only there were somebody available who’s capable of backing up Alex Smith. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2018-regular-season/825323.md?page=7)