I don’t think anyone watching Thursday Night Football walked away saying , “Wow that was a great example of how to toss around the ol’ pigskin.” One – because nobody says stuff like that, two – the game didn’t allow anyone the chance to say it truthfully. It was a terrible game between the Bucs and the Panthers (and the refs), but the toughest matchup of the night came from the same sideline – the Panthers offense vs. the Panthers defense.
A quick side note, the storm that came through brought strange camera angles, a delay, and some cooler temperatures from the blistering heat earlier in the day. We didn’t get to 56, but it was a valiant effort.
Congrats to Tampa for having more points as the clock ran out. I can’t give too much credit, because it seemed like the Bucs were kinda just on the field because they had to be. Nothing spectacular happened of their doing, and nothing really happened that Carolina didn’t allow. The problem was Cam couldn’t keep the offense on the field and Luke Keuchly’s squad can’t hold an opponent at bay forever. Before I get after Cam and company, I want to say that the defense played well. Sure, there were some points scored against them, and some plays they wished they could have back, but every time Carolina needed to stop a run, or force a punt, or hold Tampa to a field goal, or get a safety when they had Jameis pinned deep, they seemed to get the job done.
Carolina’s offense, on the other hand, was absolute trash. Remember when McCaffrey dominated the game last week and couldn’t be stopped? Yeah, me too. My fantasy team crushed. NBD. I wrote in last week’s recap that he couldn’t sustain that effort all season. I DIDN’T MEAN STOP GIVING HIM THE BALL COMPLETELY!!
Panthers receivers did a better job this week of making the plays they were supposed to make (and not fumbling in the open field), but that’s only when they weren’t overthrown or had a ball skipped into their feet like one of those rocks you pick up beside a lake and think it’s pretty smooth and go to let off the skip of a lifetime, like maybe six or more skips and when you cut it loose it takes one huge skip way up in the air and lands in the lake a failure. You hate to see that.
Cam Newton has lost his last eight starts, and hasn’t thrown a TD in seemingly forever. At what point is he not the man anymore? My dad would say that day came a long time ago, if he was ever the man at all. He’s done some great things for the Panthers, but he never seemed like the guy who could rally the team to victory. Think back to “the business decision” in the super bowl. His talent has been out of this world at times. I cannot argue that. But it seems that he is fading – rapidly. Will Grier better keep the cleats tied up tight because his number might be called sooner than expected.
NFL referees are laughable. I won’t say more about that, because I believe all fans have a similar opinion on that topic.
Let’s get to some picks for Sunday.
Vikings @ Packers
Seahawks @ Steelers
Cowboys @ Redskins
Colts @ Titans
49ers @ Bengals
Patriots @ Dolphins
Jaguars @ Texans
Bills @ Giants
Chargers @ Lions
Cardinals @ Ravens
Chiefs @ Raiders
Bears @ Broncos
Saints @ Rams
Eagles @ Falcons
Storylines for Sunday:
Will the Vikings remember that they can win games the less Kirk Cousins throws the ball?
49ers and Bengals – somebody has to win. Unless they don’t want to. There had better not be another tie.
Watch the Dolphins win that game.
The Chargers might actually win a game after traveling east.
Jon Gruden has Raider nation knocking on wood. Ketchup man and company have a tough road matchup against the Black Hole.
The Battle of the Birds. Has anyone ever used that? It’s clever. I might get my good buddy LeBron to apply for the trademark.
Enjoy the games on Sunday, and as always, stay Crispy friends! (Please don’t trademark the stay crispy thing, LeBron.)