1. No one cares if the Bengals’ defense is trash or if Colston Loveland only scored that game-winning touchdown because of bad tackling. That game-winning throw by Caleb Williams was immaculate —possibly
the most “superstar” throw we’ve seen from him in the NFL, considering the circumstances. Enjoy it, and enjoy these cardiac Chicago Bears being the clutchest team in the league. Who knows when you’ll see anything like this again?
2. Random note: my fantasy football team has a weird glitch where having an absolutely awful defense that surrenders a ton of points is good for you. Guess which defense I just picked up off waivers last week and scored me so many points I would’ve won if I only played them against my opponent’s entire squad? If the Bengals’ defense is going to perform like this for me every week, give me the trophy now.
3. I like Raheem Morris, but “Clapgate” is a little ridiculous. The Falcons coach has internet sleuths trying to catch Patriots players “simulating” Michael Penix clapping for the snap, which they claim caused an early snap that resulted in a crucial intentional grounding penalty. The best they could find was safety Jaylinn Hawkins trying to get teammate Carlton Davis’ attention as a receiver motioned into his zone. Sometimes unfortunate stuff happens in football, and the Patriots certainly have that past history with Bill Belichick to consider. But Belichick’s gone. Plus, the Falcons might not have been in such a desperate position if their kicker hadn’t blown a key extra point just before that play. They had plenty of chances to put New England away before that, too, after harassing Drake Maye for much of the afternoon. Sometimes, it’s not them. It’s just you.
4. We used to be a proper civilization. But now? You don’t even get two pumps anymore, as Rico Dowdle discovered after his third-quarter TD run. All these goofy penalties for having too much fun or “disconcerting signals” are killing the vibe, y’all. Side note: how the $&@# are the Panthers 5-4? They are literally neck-and-neck with the Bears in the playoff hunt. Just…how?
5. Your semi-annual reminder that the Dallas Cowboys continue to be a completely unserious franchise that never fails to disappoint the nation in primetime. Getting pieced up by Jacoby Brissett in the year 2025 (or any year, really) should get your primetime slot privileges revoked. Putting the circus inside a palace doesn’t make the operation less of a circus.
6. If you like film breakdown clips, especially in this poisoned era of NFL interference, Matt Waldman does a great job. Before targeting Ashton Jeanty as his muse for his solid performance on a terrible Raiders team, he did the Lord’s work spreading the gospel of Caleb Williams, pumping the brakes on any alarm over the Bears’ young star. Check out his work, and get smarter about the game.
7. The Seahawks’ passing offense looks completely unfair right now. It’s not even just that Jaxon Smith-Njigba is basically a set-him-and-forget-him 100-yard receiver each week. Now, they’ve got blazing-fast rookie Tory Horton smoking people for touchdowns? Sam Darnold has like three guys running wide open on every play. Good for him and Baker Mayfield on finding new homes that fit them so well. May they ball long and prosper.
8. I know Kyle Shanahan basically has to go back to Brock Purdy when he’s healthy enough to give it a go this year, regardless of how well Mac Jones has played in relief. Not just because of the money invested in Purdy but because Mac is, well, still Mac. So why did Shanahan mentioning that Purdy’s turf toe injury simply won’t fully heal this season feel like the slightest of bet-hedges? Like they might try to play out the Mac Jones string until there’s an egregious dip in performance? Or so if Purdy’s starting job (at least for this season) isn’t guaranteed from week to week if he’s not quite himself? Might be reading into that too much, but hey…sometimes coaches don’t like messing with a good thing. So far, Jones, who threw for two more TDs against the Giants, has been more than worth the investment as a backup.
9. The Broncos might be the best “meh” team in football. Their defense is phenomenal, of course, leading the NFL in sacks through nine weeks. But Bo Nix is so annoyingly mid that I can’t get over it. Imagine how good this team could be if they had Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye. The fact that we have to watch graphics teams put up Nix’s record as some kind of confirmation of his top-tier status among his 2024 QB peers galls me to no end. I’m imagining the chaos if Nix gets the ol’ Daniel Jones-Giants payday after next season so Denver can continue getting little-bro’d by the Chiefs and Chargers with him at the helm.
10. Note to NFL coaches: when your team is losing by 31 points with half the fourth quarter gone, the game is over. Whatever value there is in having your second-year QB, who is just returning from injury, in the game that late is massively overshadowed by the possibility of said QB getting hurt again. Now, the Commanders will be missing Jayden Daniels for another few weeks, which will effectively end their season, and they’re lucky the dislocated elbow he suffered wasn’t even worse. Just like with a ball-carrier fighting for extra yards against five people, sometimes you need to know when the journey’s over. Because when you refuse to cut your losses, you experience even bigger ones. Here’s hoping Washington hasn’t ruined Daniels like they did with RG3.
