FMQB: Season Finale
Alright, it’s Playoff time!!! Time for the most exciting time of the season, although we’re down to the final 11 games ☹. First, let’s take a quick look at the season as a whole.
Week 17 highlights:
- The Lions schellacked the Packers in Lambeau. Rodgers went down with a concussion. Not a good way to end the season.
- Not sure why the Cowboys played their starters throughout the game when they had nothing to gain or lose. But heck of a final drive and fnal play on 4th down.
- The Vikings had an amazingly disappointing season, especially with supposedly making an upgrade at QB. Although letting Case Keenum walk is looking like a better idea.
- I realize the idea of flexing a “Winner is in, loser is out” game, but having Mariotta out of the game made the end of the season truly anticlimactic. Ravens would have been the ideal game.
Crazy Thought of the Season:
After Week 10, 5 of the 12 eventual playoff teams had a losing record.
Stat of the Week #1:
Nick Foles is 4-1 as a starter this year, Carson Wentz is 5-6.
Stat of the Week #2:
There were 20 1,000 yard receivers, and only 9 1,000 yard rushers this year.
Stat of the Week #3:
Travis Kelce set the NFL record for receiving yards by a Tight End. The record stood for 55 minutes, until George Kittle surpassed Kelce and has the new record with 1,377 yards.
Stat of the Week #4:
Drew Brees broke the passing completion % record, for the 4th time in his career!!! He completed 74.4% of his throws, and has 4 of the 5 best season regarding percentage.
Stat of the Week #5:
In saying that, Brees failed to throw for 4000 yards for the first time since 2005, when he was still a Charger.
Stat of the Week #6:
Julio Jones didn’t score a TD until November 4th, but ended the season with 8
Stat of the Week #7:
The Lions have now beaten the Packers 4 times in a row, it’s their first 4 game win streak in the series since 1983.
Stat of the Week #8:
The Refs broke a record for assessing 3,447 penalties in 2018, which average 7.95 flags per game (I call BS, I’ve seen 7.95 flags in the 1st quarter of some games).
Stat of the Week #9:
Patrick Mahomes ended up with 5097 passing yards (8th most all time), 50 TD’s (2nd most), 12 INT’s, and a 113.8 passer rating (good for 8th best all time).
Stat of the Week #10:
Saquon Barkely had 352 touches, 2,028 total yards, 15 TD’s and 0 Fumbles. All with the 27th best offensive line. Holy cow!
Stat of the Week #11:
Phillip Rivers broke Mark Brunell’s consecutive completion record that stood for 15 years. 4 weeks later, Nick Foles tied that mark with 25 straight completions.
Vikings Crash and Burn:
Yours truly was at the Vikings game to see their season come to an end. It was an awesome atmosphere until about halfway through the 1st quarter. Typical Minnesota fans, you could almost feel the disappointment in the air knowing that they weren’t a match for the Bears. It wasn’t a flashy game, but the Bears defense is legit. I also could not see the Cousins Theilen incident from my seats, but not surprised at all of the frustration.
Quote of the Week:
“We’re gonna get crushed” Vikings fan behind us, after the 3rd play the Bears had on offense
Quote of the Week #2:
“KIRK COUSINS, YOU OWE ME $84 MILLION DOLLARS!!!” Vikings fan
Seriously?
The Patriots gave their game ball to retiring referee Walt Coleman. Same ref who did the Tuck Rule game. The jokes just write themselves folks
For the Record:
- The Cowboys ended the season on a 7-1 stretch (only loss to the Colts), while the Colts ended on a 9-1 streak.
- The Bills won 4 of their last 7, and the Browns 5 of their last 7.
- The longest win streaks to end the season were from the Bears, Colts, Ravens, Eagles, and Falcons. Weird group.
- Watching the Steelers actively cheering for the Browns made me sick, and I’m not a fan of either team
- 3 Teams scored within the final minute of the game, and chose to go for the win and go for 2. Teams went 2 for 3 in those situations, and the 2 teams that were successful (Chargers and Cowboys) are in the playoffs, while the one who wasn’t (Titans) ended up 1 game short.
- The only game that DeShone Kizer has played in and resulted in a win, was the Week 1 comeback against the Bears (led by Aaron Rodgers). The other 17 games have been losses.
Wild Card Preview!
Wild Card week tends to offer crazy upsets, comebacks, and then lame blowouts.
Colts at Texans: These teams know each other and have played twice this year. Teams are 1-1 with the road team winning both games. I think the Texans buck the trend and win at home. I know the Colts are hot, but I don’t think this is their year. Texans 27, Indy 20.
Seahawks at Dallas: They played in Week 3 (this was the infamous middle finger game). I know Dallas is hot, but they’re also cursed in the playoffs. Seattle 23, Dallas 20.
Chargers at Ravens: This is a rematch of Week 16, where the Ravens won on the road. This is my upset pick of the weekend, and I think the Chargers offense gets revenge and Lamar Jackson makes rookie mistakes. SuperChargers 27, Ravens 16.
Eagles at Bears: The Bears defense is just too strong. At somepoint Nick Foles has to run out of magic, and I think it’s this game. I think Trubisky actually does pretty well in his first playoff game, and Bears with 31, Philly 21.
If All Goes to Plan:
Assuming (and that’s a big assumption) that these predictions hold true, next week’s games would be Chiefs vs. Chargers round 3, and Texans at Patriots. NFC would be Rams vs. Bears (ugh) and Saints vs. Seahawks. Let’s see how I do.
FMQB 