By Brandon Simmons
Josh Allen Does Everything but Win
Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen had himself a bittersweet afternoon. Allen powered a huge comeback against the Los Angeles Rams that fell short of a win. This run saw the Bills QB total 6 touchdowns, in which he ran for 3 but also threw for 3, 1st player in NFL history to accomplish this feat in this manner.
The result of this game reads like Josh Allen’s suspect challenge: Suspect does everything he can to win the game but comes up short. In this case, he may have played an almost perfect 2nd half just to fall flat, in which you could justifiably place the blame in other areas, such as coaching, with some questionable play calls at the end. It might be one of the few times tht the Josh Allen experience narrative – which has come about in the past few seasons – has actually highlighted the luck that follows him, or doesn’t. However, that same luck excuse can be made for a lot of QB’s. Essentially, you have to play to create your own luck, something that the greatest QB’s have figured out eventually.
Eagles Having Feathers Ruffled
Stop me if you heard this before: The Philadelphia Eagles seem to have a feud brewing between their starting quarterback and star wide receiver. Rumors of tension between Eagles QB Jalen Hurts and wide receiver A.j. Brown have seem to swirling. Sunday, after the win against the Carolina Panthers, Brown told reporters that the passing game needed some work. Monday, Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham implied there were some personal things happening, but later cleaned it up. Still, it did not really extinguish any notion of a potential rift.
A Jalen Hurts/A.J. Brown feud is not on the level of Donovan McNabb/Terell Owens situation, but it may very well have huge implications down the line. We’ve seen how these situations play ou, not just with The Philadelphia Eagles, but with any team where a QB is beefing with the star receiver. Brown’s criticism of the passing game is found the fact that Hurts thrown for under 200 yards in the last 3 games. Where he falls short and loses the argument is that Philadelphia has been winning in that same stretch, with Hurts throwing 4 touchdowns and 0 picks, but also watching running back Saquon Barkley put on spectacular performances during this same time frame. Hurts’ game is not the down the field throwing style; he’s more of a midfield, ball control type of QB. He’ll take shots down the field, but the opportunities won’t be frequent. Brown can’t be mad at this, especially when Philly is 11-2 and he’s likely to break 1,00 yards on the season, despite missing a few games. The reality is, Brown could be sent away should this situation fail to resolve. Philly can build around Hurts a lot easier than replacing him. Brown is a special talent, but should the Eagles send him somewhere that he won’t be a fit, then they would do it for high draft picks.
How Much Longer Can Kirk Continue?
Atlanta Falcons QB Kirk cousins has always brought a competitive stability to teams but things might be going out on him. Sunday, the Falcons lost to the Minnesota Vikings – Cousins’ former team – as he threw for 344 yards and 2 touchdowns. It was the 4th consecutive loss for the Falcons, a team that, at one point, looked to be fighting with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the NFC South crown.
The Kirk Cousins era in Atlanta has certainly underwhelmed. It was belived that Cousins would come in and not only elevate this team to a competitive nature, but also help some of the younger skills players, such as Falcons wide receiver Drake London and Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts, develop into the weapons the fans aspire them to be. It might’ve happened for London and the other receivers but not so much for Pitts. Combine that with the fact that Atlanta is in danger of missing the postseason. It makes you wonder if it was worth giving Cousins that big bag of money, especially when you drafted Michael Penix, jr. in the top 10 and intend to use him as your QB of the future. You didn’t pay him to be a bridge QB and develop Penix, but rather run up some wins as the younf QB develops. Kirko Chainz has to get it together before he gets his chain snatched.
Shoutouts/Shutouts
Shout out to the Minnesota Vikings defense for another impeccable TD celebration. Sunday, against the Atlanta Falcons, Vikings safety Josh Metellus picked off the Kirk Cousins. As a celebration with the defense, Metellus and safety Camryn Bynum performed the dance routine from White Chicks. Earlier this season, it was Bynum who did the celebration imitating the Raygun dance from thisnpast Summer’s Olympics and recently the group reenacted the Parent Trap handshake.
Shut out to the Dallas Cowboys for the most unfortunate of bounces. Monday, against the Cincinatti Bengals, the Cowboys were locked in a tight battle in the 4th quarter. They made a stop on 3rd down before the 2 minute warning with a chance to get the ball back. On the Bengals punt, a Cowboys player partially blocked it while their teammate tried to recover it, but fumbled it to the Bengals which gave Cincy a new first down. Eventually, the Bengals won the game off of a touchdown catch and run by wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase.
Week 15 is here and some more teams are either heading to the chopping block for the playoffs or trying to clinch a playoff spot. The Los Angeles Rams visit the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday Night Football, in a game that could be the Niners’ last hope for the postseason. The Pittsburgh Steelers visit the Philadelphia Eagles, with both teams looking to stay at the top of their divisions. The Seattle Seahawks will host the Green Bay Packers, a game where each team is carving out their n own playoff spot. But until then…I’ll holla.
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