BEARS, COLTS, SAINTS AMONG
NFL'S STATEMENT MAKERS IN WEEK 10
Thanksgiving is less
than two weeks away. We're hitting the stretch run of the 2018 regular season.
It's go time. Separation time. Statement time.
Here are the biggest statements
from the 10th Sunday of this NFL campaign, Schein Nine style:
1) THE CHICAGO
BEARS ARE MAKING THE PLAYOFFS
I loved every single element of
Chicago's pasting of Detroit. Don't let the somewhat-misleading final score
of 34-22 fool
you -- that was a beatdown. And how the Bears executed
it was noteworthy.
Mitchell
Trubisky, who has experienced a true roller-coaster ride of a
season, had to play better -- and he did. A healthy Allen Robinson (six
catches for 133 yards and two touchdowns) certainly helped, but Chicago's
second-year signal-caller played with noticeable confidence and accuracy while
completing 23 of his 30 passes for a career-high 355 yards and three
touchdowns. It was his team, his show. And he
didn't throw a pick. Inspiring stuff.
Chicago was wise to get Khalil Mack right
and healthy for the second half, and the game-wrecking terror returned to the
gridiron and led the assault of Matthew
Stafford (who, by the way, has been sacked 16times
in the last two weeks).
Now 6-3, the Bears have
a huge Sunday night game on tap, with the 5-3-1
Vikings visiting Chicago. It's time to raise the bar. The Bears should
win. And they will. Matt Nagy's squad is hitting double-digit wins and making
the playoffs.
2) THE
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS ARE MAKING A PUSH
Last week, I called the
Jaguars-Colts contest an elimination game, predicting Indianapolis would win
and make a run. The former happened, as Indy forced a late
turnover to hold on and beat the Jaguars, 29-26.
And now the latter's happening, thanks to the return of one of the NFL's
marquee players.
Andrew Luck has
been Andrew Luck all
year -- and it's awesome. On Sunday, the Colts QB
logged a sixth straight game with at least three touchdown passes, the league's
longest active streak. Think about the weight of that -- and it's not even the
most encouraging stat from a Colts perspective. Luck hasn't
been sacked a single time over the last four games. Jacksonville,
formerly known as "Sacksonville," managed just two hits on Luck all afternoon.
And that's the difference with these Colts: a real line. (Finally!) Left
guard Quenton
Nelson currently gets my vote for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Third-year center Ryan Kelly has
also been a huge key.
Still wish Frank Reich
would've played for
the tie against Houston -- 4-4-1 would feel better than 4-5 in
the moment -- but I believe in Indy rolling down the stretch. Check the schedule. It's
doable.
Of course, the Colts do
still have a pair of games left against the Titans,
including next Sunday's
showdown in Lucas Oil Stadium. And Tennessee has become a pain to
play against, because ...
3) MIKE VRABEL CAN
COACH
At 5-4, Tennessee sits between
the Texans (6-3)
and the Colts (4-5)
in the AFC South standings. But the Titans just
posted their most inspiring regular-season win in quite some time: a 34-10
shellacking of the Patriots.
Mike Vrabel gave it to his former
coach, Bill Belichick, just like ex-Patriots defensive
coordinator Matt Patricia did earlier
this season. But Vrabel's success will stick. Other than the foolish
decision to go for two in London against the Chargers, Vrabel's had
a great debut season as head coach. His team is tough. His defense, allowing a
league-low 16.8 points per game, is stout. Sunday marked the Patriots'
worst loss since the infamous Week 4 defeat to the Chiefs back
in 2014. That's all Vrabel. New England was held scoreless on its final nine drives
of the game.
Vrabel has also injected Marcus
Mariota with swagger, while Matt LaFleur has given the QB a
strong system. Over the last two weeks, Mariota has completed 69.8 percent of
his passes, piling up four touchdowns against zero picks. Corey Davis (seven
catches for 125 yards and a touchdown) is coming into his own in Year 2.
Former Patriots running
back Dion Lewis had his say,
and it was splendid.
Something I couldn't have
imagined saying a few months back: Can't wait for Titans-Colts
this coming Sunday!
4) THERE'S A
DIFFERENT -- POSITIVE -- FEEL AROUND THESE LOS ANGELES
CHARGERS
Another Sunday, another Chargers win.
Los Angeles dispatched with the lowly Raiders, 20-6.
Exactly one year ago today, the Chargers lost an
overtime game in Jacksonville. Since then, they've gone 13-3, with a
six-game winning streak currently in tow.
Philip Rivers is
still playing at a Hall of Fame level;
the 36-year-old is squarely in the mix for MVP. The talent around him is
amazing. Melvin Gordon is
a bona fide star, riding a five-game
hot streak of epic proportions. The Bolts are in quite a groove,
with a pair of home games on tap against the Broncos (3-6)
and the Cardinals (2-7).
9-2 beckons. And here's the scary part for the rest of the AFC:
Joey Bosa has
yet to even play a snap this season.
5) THE AFC GOES
THROUGH KANSAS CITY
With the Patriots'
loss in Nashville, the Chiefs,
who took care of
business against Arizona, are now two games up on New England in the
race for the No. 1 seed. At 9-1, K.C. has created separation from the Chargers (7-2)
and Steelers (6-2-1),
as well. This is huge, heading into next Monday's juicy
Chiefs-Rams bout in Mexico City. Big-time Game of the Year potential
there.
Patty Mahomes continued to show
why he's the leading MVP candidate, recording his fourth straight passer rating
of 120-plus on Sunday. Sammy Watkins had
to sit out Sunday's game with a foot issue. No matter. Tyreek Hill was
unstoppable in the passing attack, catching seven balls for 117 yards and two
touchdowns. Shoot, the Chiefs are
even starting to play a little defense with Justin
Houston back in the lineup.
Andy Reid's group is currently
the class of the AFC.
6) THE NEW ORLEANS
SAINTS DIDN'T FALL INTO THE TRAP
Coming off of a statement
win over the Rams, and with games coming up Eagles and, New
Orleans faced a potential trap game Sunday in Cincinnati. But the Saints didn't
just beat the Bengals; they stole their soul. 51-14! And
it wasn't even that close.
Sean Payton is a Hall of Fame coach. The Saints are
so great and so tough. That's Payton. And how about Drew Brees,
posting another near-perfect game: 22 of 25 for 265 yards and three touchdowns,
with a rushing score for good measure? This offense is unstoppable.
7) THE DALLAS
COWBOYS ARE ALIVE IN A JUMBLED NFC EAST
I thought Dallas would keep it
close vs. the Eagles on
Sunday night, but I didn't expect one of the most competitive, intense and
fun-to-watch games of the year. After moments of futility and indecision early, Dak Prescott was
clutch and great in the second half. Ezekiel
Elliott was a force of nature. And Dallas' defense showed off
its talent, with opportunistic plays by Leighton
Vander Esch and Jeff Heath.
The Cowboys' 27-20 win in
Philly put a hold on all the chatter about the organization
needing a cleansing. Now, I think Dallas still does need a
makeover, but the Cowboys are
suddenly right in the thick of a muddled division race. The Redskins are
out in front at 6-3, but Washington has been depleted by injuries. The Eagles should win
this division, but they're tied with Dallas at 4-5, with the Cowboys
currently holding the head-to-head tiebreaker. Dallas has 10-win talent,
despite not always playing like it. On the plus side: It might not even take 10
wins to own this division.
8) 'DANGEROUS'
BAKER MAYFIELD CAN DELIVER THE GOODS
After guiding the Browns to a 28-16 win
over Atlanta, Cleveland's rookie signal-caller told the assembled
press that he had awoken that morning "feeling
dangerous." It's this kind of swagger -- and efforts like
Sunday's, in which Mayfield completed all but three of his passes while posting
three touchdowns and a 151.2 passer rating -- that make the Cleveland
head-coaching job quite attractive.
And Mayfield isn't the only
exciting youngster on this roster -- far from it. In fact, fellow rookie Nick Chubb gashed
Atlanta to the tune of 176 rushing yards, authoring the longest touchdown run
in franchise history with his 92-yard
scamper in the third quarter.
9) SEAN MCDERMOTT
STILL HAS THE BUFFALO BILLS' ATTENTION
Matt Barkley under
center? No problem. Buffalo humbled/embarrassed/smoked the Jets in
New York, 41-10.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Monday that the Jets
don't plan on firing Todd Bowles during the season, but let's be
honest: He's done. The Bowles era of Jets football
is on borrowed time, with the unofficial dagger coming in a 31-point home loss
to a lowly division rival on its fourth starting quarterback.
It's a shame that McDermott
botched the QB situation for much of this season, particularly when he kept
turning to Nathan
Peterman, who shouldn't even be in this league. Beyond that bizarre
blind spot, McDermott can flat-out coach, especially when it comes to defense.
And Buffalo's effort on Sunday was telling. Despite being well under .500
(3-7), these Bills are
still competing every Sunday.
Now, fix the line and get some
receivers in the offseason. Give the raw-but-talented Josh Allen a
chance.
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