FMQB: Final Push
Crazy AFC South:
Despite being the division of mediocrity, the AFC South is one of the more exciting races to follow this year. The Colts, Texans and Titans are all either 8-6 or 7-7 going into the final 2 weeks, with the two 8-6 teams meeting in Week 17. There was a range of emotions on Sunday in the division, with Indy a game behind both Tennessee and Houston. There was a point in the 1st quarter that you could realize that the Colts were going to beat the Vikings (yes, the 1st quarter). There had to be some scoreboard watching to see that both Tennessee and Houston were losing. But inexplicably both ended up staging crazy comebacks; the Titans dropping the nearly invulnerable at home Chiefs, and the Texans coming back with a backup QB.
Quick Hits:
- CANNOT believe the Titans beat the Chiefs at Arrowhead! Ryan Succop (ex-Chief kicker) for the win kicking a rock 52 yards.
- Probably equally surprised that the Giants have beaten the Cowboys twice, but just lost to the Eagles last night
- I’ll continue to say it, but the Panthers have had 4 games that 90% of the time you win. They are those 4 ugly losses away from being 10-4 right now.
- Excited for the slate of games on Saturday. Christmas worked out just perfectly this year with the schedule to set up a Saturday of fun for most people. Yours truly got a new sound bar for Christmas and can open it a day early 🙂
Stat of the Week:
Dak Prescott tossed up the 2nd highest completion percentage in NFL history (min 30 attempts) with 88.89% on Sunday. Where are the calls for Romo now?
Stat of the Week #2:
Ezekial Elliot only needs 257 yards in his last 2 games to break Eric Dickerson’s rookie rushing record
Stolen Stat of the Week #3:
Rodgers is 4-of-6 when passing 40 or more yards downfield in the final two minutes of regulation. The rest of the NFL is 2-of-39 in those situations
Stolen Stat of the Week #4:
In Matt Moore’s past 10 starts (dating back to 2011), Moore is 7-3 and has thrown 19 touchdowns to six interceptions.
Stat of the Week #5:
Drew Brees is leading the league in Passing Yards (4559) and TD’s (34), yet somehow didn’t even go to the Pro Bowl.
Stat of the Week #6:
Elliot and Prescott are the first Rookie QB/RB duo to ever be elected to the Pro Bowl
Celebration Stat of the Week #7:
The Salvation Army, received $182K in online donations in the 13 hours after Elliot jumped into the giant red kettle
Playoff Quick Hits:
- New England, 12-2, clinched a first-round bye for an NFL-record seventh straight year.
- Oakland, 11-3, clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2002.
- Green Bay, once 4-6, controls its own destiny right now
- The Seahawks have sneakily gotten into a strong holding of the #2 seed
- Wow, Dolphins with the decisive win with a backup QB to stay in the WildCard lead!
- Same with the Texans!
Question of the Week:
Why did Mike Zimmer have the massive eye patch in the 1st half, and not after halftime?
Double Standards:
Although a fan of his play, Odell Beckham Jr’s off field antics can be pretty annoying. He brings up a good point however, in saying that if it was him that jumped into the Salvation Army kettle, he would have been fined. We see a lot of this in the league, and I think it’s safe to say that the character you portray gets you places. Jerry Rice got every Pass Interference call because of who he was. Tom Brady gets roughing the passer penalties. Sometimes when it’s obvious, it raises eyebrows. Example was when Cam Newton got smoked in the helmet after giving himself up for a slide. You see the flag and are thinking “wow, he actually got a call for once.” But nope, it was taunting on him because he tossed the ball at the guy who just blasted him. FMQB readers know I’m not a fan of God’s Gift to Man Cam, but even that one was a bit questionable.
The Browns are 0-12 since Terrell Pryor said the team could win out. That’s garbage
Photo credit: NFL.com