Could they not have tried for a field goal?
Note-I can only see the score on my phone, not the action.
Maybe they did.
From the Seattle 40, it would have been a 57 yard field goal. Their kicker, Cairo Santos, has a career-long of 55 yards. And tonight the field conditions were terrible, as it rained throughout the game. So a field goal attempt was really not an option.
It would have been a 57 yard FG attempt, in the rain, so not a high chance of success And it would have only tied the game.
They also made a miraculous 4th down play early in the same drive (seriously, Caleb was awesome on that play and as a Seattle fan I was cussing) so it wasn’t as crazy as it sounds.
Much like in the Thanksgiving game against the Lions, which cost former Bears coach Matt Eberflus his job, the Bears’ clock management on that final drive was again terrible.
They took far too long to get set on several plays, to the point that, between the two-minute warning, until there was just 0:31 left, they had only run three plays. And, then, with the clock stopped after an incomplete pass, they still had to burn a timeout before running their next play, because the play clock was approaching zero.
I wish teams that were eliminated from playoff contention would play more aggressively. Go for it on many more 4th downs, pull a lot more fake punts, flea flickers, laterals, whatever. If you win you win, and if you lose you get an even better draft position.
The Saints went for two in a one-point game with no time on the clock in a must-win game. That was pretty bold. Didn’t work, but it was bold.
Jalen Hurts has been ruled out for the Eagles game against Dallas on Sunday.
Yet now DraftKings is listing the Eagles -7.5; ESPNBet is -7.
This year’s finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame were announced this morning.
There are fifteen “modern era” finalists; as many as five of them will be enshrined:
- Eric Allen, Cornerback — 1988-1994 Philadelphia Eagles, 1995-97 New Orleans Saints, 1998-2001 Oakland Raiders
- Jared Allen, Defensive End — 2004-07 Kansas City Chiefs, 2008-2013 Minnesota Vikings, 2014-15 Chicago Bears, 2015 Carolina Panthers
- Willie Anderson, Tackle — 1996-2007 Cincinnati Bengals, 2008 Baltimore Ravens
- Jahri Evans, Guard — 2006-2016 New Orleans Saints, 2017 Green Bay Packers
- Antonio Gates, Tight End — 2003-2018 San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers
- Torry Holt, Wide Receiver — 1999-2008 St. Louis Rams, 2009 Jacksonville Jaguars
- Luke Kuechly, Linebacker — 2012-19 Carolina Panthers
- Eli Manning, Quarterback — 2004-2019 New York Giants
- Steve Smith Sr., Wide Receiver — 2001-2013 Carolina Panthers, 2014-16 Baltimore Ravens
- Terrell Suggs, Outside Linebacker/Defensive End — 2003-2018 Baltimore Ravens, 2019 Arizona Cardinals, 2019 Kansas City Chiefs
- Fred Taylor, Running Back — 1998-2008 Jacksonville Jaguars, 2009-2010 New England Patriots
- Adam Vinatieri, Kicker — 1996-2005 New England Patriots, 2006-2019 Indianapolis Colts
- Reggie Wayne, Wide Receiver — 2001-2014 Indianapolis Colts
- Darren Woodson, Safety — 1992-2003 Dallas Cowboys
- Marshal Yanda, Guard/Tackle — 2007-2019 Baltimore Ravens
In addition, there are an additional five finalists from the other selection committees; from one to three of these will be selected:
- Seniors category: Maxie Baughan (LB, Eagles, Rams, Redskins), Sterling Sharpe (WR, Packers), and Jim Tyrer (OT, Texans/Chiefs, Redskins)
- Coaches category: Mike Holmgren (Packers, Seahawks)
- Contributors category: Ralph Hay (owner of the Canton Bulldogs, co-founder of the NFL)
Inductees will be announced at the NFL Honors ceremony on February 6th.
Ceedee Lamb is out for the season, so maybe the odds makers think that balances out? Plus the Cowboys run defense is lousy, so Barkley might just run right over them.
There is…a Pop Tart bowl? I am intrigued.
The Pop-Tarts Bowl is played in Orlando, and has gone by something like ten different names over the years, due to different corporate sponsors. It was the Cheez-Its Bowl for a few years, but then Kellanova (formerly a part of Kellogg’s) changed the sponsorship from their Cheez-Its brand to their Pop-Tarts brand last year.
Giants players not a fan of high draft picks, playing their asses off to get this win.
I’m so quarterback-starved as a Giants fan that I’m actually having thoughts like “Well who knows, maybe Drew Lock is the answer?” Dude went nuts in the first half with 7 of 8 for 153 yards and 3 touchdowns to three different receivers. No picks.
Colts staying strong though, down by 8 in the 4th and continuing to move the ball. They actually have playoff hopes if they win this game.
Well the Patriots stunk up the joint on a national broadcast yesterday. Aside from the promising rookie QB, the team is a dumpster fire, and the calls are getting very loud to fire the entire coaching staff. I think Robert Kraft will resist those calls, at least when it comes to HC Jerod Mayo, because it would make him look bad. But perhaps he’ll open up the wallet to bring in more experienced assistants. I suspect there will be some talented coaches who would want to work with Drake Maye.
Somehow I forgot today was Sunday and missed 90% of the first round of games. Some big blowouts. TB with 48 points, Philly with 41, Buffalo with 40. Since it’s a small slate of games for the weekend I guess I really only missed Indy/NYG.
Afternoon games are just CLE/MIA and GB/MIN. Does redzone keep going even though there are two games?
Saquon Barkley gained 167 yards on 31 carries today, helping the Eagles to beat up the Cowboys. He’s now at 2,005 rushing yards for the season, which (for now) puts him in eighth place for a single season, and is exactly 100 yards behind Eric Dickerson’s single-season record (2,105 in 1984).
Rodgers gets yanked after 2 INT in 18 attempts. I can’t help but wonder if he’d have played better the last few seasons if he’d been vaccinated.
He’ll probably get it, but I hate on principle when season records are beaten because more games were added. It doesn’t feel like a real win unless he beats the per-game rate.
No point in needling the man.
While playing for the miserable Raiders, rookie tight end Brock Bowers has set two records today:
- He has passed Mike Ditka for the record for receiving yards for a rookie tight end
- He has also passed Rams WR Puka Nacua for most receptions by a rookie at any position (Nacua set the record last season)