Lethe200
Senior Member
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- San Francisco Bay Area
Sorry this is so late coming out, but the holidays are a busy time ! I apologize in advance for any errors; I'm rushing to get this out before getting to bed, LOL.
What We Learned From Week 12 in the NFL Pt 1 of 3
Tom Brady has help in TBay, the Bengals are forcing the issue in the AFC North race, and the Rams have some soul-searching to do.
NYT / WashPost / SB Nation / local media / Dec 2, 2021
Buccaneers 38, Colts 31
The Colts put up a battle, but once again Tom Brady did one of his patented last-seconds game-winning TD drive to pull out a thriller. Despite injuries, the Buccaneers have enough playmakers around Tom Brady to make a Super Bowl run. The Colts couldn’t stop RB Leonard Fournette, who finished with 131 total yds and four TDs, including the game-winner.
With the score tied 31-all in Q4, Brady drove the Bucs downfield for a 38-31 lead, using up almost all the clock. But a special teams lapse gave Colts fans last-minute hope, with an electrifying 72-yard kick return by CB Isaiah Rodgers. Rodgers was forced out of bounds at the 32-yd line with only 10 seconds left, and hope ended in frustration when Carson Wentz’s Hail Mary throw was intercepted at the goal line.
The Buccaneers are 5-0 at home, where they are averaging 38.4 points. They entered Sunday 2-3 on the road and hadn’t scored more than 28 points. They are obviously a different, better team at home, and Sunday’s win bolstered their chances of playing there come January.
Carson Wentz played well, but TBay’s defense clamped down in critical situations in the second half. In the first half, Wentz crackled with 197 yds, three TDs and no interceptions. But in the second half, he was a different QB with the Buccaneers’ relentless pressure getting to him. They hit Wentz seven times in all.
Jonathan Taylor, the sizzling Colts RB who scored five TDs last week, was kept in check. He finished with 83 yds on 16 carries, his longest for 15 yds. He never got into a rhythm against a defense that is allowing an NFL-low 81 rushing yds per game.
Mistakes killed the Colts. Indy turned the football over five total times - four of which turned out to be very costly. TBay scored 24 off Indy’s giveaways.
Bengals 41, Steelers 10
The Bengals are making the AFC North title a race. Joe Mixon rushed for 165 yds and two TDs in a rout over Pittsburgh, giving Cincinnati to dream of winning the division for the first time since 2015. The Bengals’ front office, which historically had botched roster builds, turned the franchise around by targeting the right skill-position players at the top of the draft to surround QB Joe Burrow, and spent on the right players in free agency.
After Burrow tore his left anterior cruciate ligament in the 2020 season and the team finished 4-11-1, the Bengals spent like crazy and it’s paying off with a team that is peaking at the perfect time. The OL has been strengthened, with the team’s top prize in free agency, DE Trey Hendrickson (four years, $60 million), effectively ended the game with a Q3 sack-fumble of Roethlisberger. He’s up to 10.5 sacks through 12 games.
As sublime as Burrow’s connection through the air was early this season with the 2021 draft pick Ja’Marr Chase, this Bengals offense runs best through RB Joe Mixon, who wore the Steelers down Sunday. Mixon had 19 carries in the first half alone. He finished with 165 yds on 28 carries with two TDs, his fourth consecutive game with at least two scores.
Ben Roethlisberger looks cooked, and the Pittsburgh Steelers have no plan behind him. In recent years, Roethlisberger often has recovered after horrendous games, but those horrendous games have grown more common, and his performances have grown creakier. In the loss vs Cincinnati, Roethlisberger completed 24 of 41 passes for 263 yds, throwing for a purely cosmetic TD in Q4. He fired two interceptions, one of which former Steeler Mike Hilton returned for a TD.
The Steelers have no choice but to stick with Roethlisberger in what is likely his final season. It is evident that Mason Rudolph, now in his fourth season, is not an NFL starter. The Steelers took a flier on Dwayne Haskins, a 2019 first-round pick by Washington, but he hasn’t even overtaken Rudolph for the backup role. The Steelers will be in the market to draft or trade for a QB this offseason. They don’t have the answer now.
Coach Mike Tomlin has never suffered a losing season, but the Steelers are 5-5-1 and spiraling. They tied the winless Detroit Lions two weeks ago. They just gave up 41 points for the second straight week. With the rival Ravens looming next week, the Steelers have been manhandled along the lines two weeks in a row.
The win kept Cincinnati (7-4) a game behind the Ravens, who beat the Cleveland Browns in prime time.
What We Learned From Week 12 in the NFL Pt 1 of 3
Tom Brady has help in TBay, the Bengals are forcing the issue in the AFC North race, and the Rams have some soul-searching to do.
NYT / WashPost / SB Nation / local media / Dec 2, 2021
Buccaneers 38, Colts 31
The Colts put up a battle, but once again Tom Brady did one of his patented last-seconds game-winning TD drive to pull out a thriller. Despite injuries, the Buccaneers have enough playmakers around Tom Brady to make a Super Bowl run. The Colts couldn’t stop RB Leonard Fournette, who finished with 131 total yds and four TDs, including the game-winner.
With the score tied 31-all in Q4, Brady drove the Bucs downfield for a 38-31 lead, using up almost all the clock. But a special teams lapse gave Colts fans last-minute hope, with an electrifying 72-yard kick return by CB Isaiah Rodgers. Rodgers was forced out of bounds at the 32-yd line with only 10 seconds left, and hope ended in frustration when Carson Wentz’s Hail Mary throw was intercepted at the goal line.
The Buccaneers are 5-0 at home, where they are averaging 38.4 points. They entered Sunday 2-3 on the road and hadn’t scored more than 28 points. They are obviously a different, better team at home, and Sunday’s win bolstered their chances of playing there come January.
Carson Wentz played well, but TBay’s defense clamped down in critical situations in the second half. In the first half, Wentz crackled with 197 yds, three TDs and no interceptions. But in the second half, he was a different QB with the Buccaneers’ relentless pressure getting to him. They hit Wentz seven times in all.
Jonathan Taylor, the sizzling Colts RB who scored five TDs last week, was kept in check. He finished with 83 yds on 16 carries, his longest for 15 yds. He never got into a rhythm against a defense that is allowing an NFL-low 81 rushing yds per game.
Mistakes killed the Colts. Indy turned the football over five total times - four of which turned out to be very costly. TBay scored 24 off Indy’s giveaways.
Bengals 41, Steelers 10
The Bengals are making the AFC North title a race. Joe Mixon rushed for 165 yds and two TDs in a rout over Pittsburgh, giving Cincinnati to dream of winning the division for the first time since 2015. The Bengals’ front office, which historically had botched roster builds, turned the franchise around by targeting the right skill-position players at the top of the draft to surround QB Joe Burrow, and spent on the right players in free agency.
After Burrow tore his left anterior cruciate ligament in the 2020 season and the team finished 4-11-1, the Bengals spent like crazy and it’s paying off with a team that is peaking at the perfect time. The OL has been strengthened, with the team’s top prize in free agency, DE Trey Hendrickson (four years, $60 million), effectively ended the game with a Q3 sack-fumble of Roethlisberger. He’s up to 10.5 sacks through 12 games.
As sublime as Burrow’s connection through the air was early this season with the 2021 draft pick Ja’Marr Chase, this Bengals offense runs best through RB Joe Mixon, who wore the Steelers down Sunday. Mixon had 19 carries in the first half alone. He finished with 165 yds on 28 carries with two TDs, his fourth consecutive game with at least two scores.
Ben Roethlisberger looks cooked, and the Pittsburgh Steelers have no plan behind him. In recent years, Roethlisberger often has recovered after horrendous games, but those horrendous games have grown more common, and his performances have grown creakier. In the loss vs Cincinnati, Roethlisberger completed 24 of 41 passes for 263 yds, throwing for a purely cosmetic TD in Q4. He fired two interceptions, one of which former Steeler Mike Hilton returned for a TD.
The Steelers have no choice but to stick with Roethlisberger in what is likely his final season. It is evident that Mason Rudolph, now in his fourth season, is not an NFL starter. The Steelers took a flier on Dwayne Haskins, a 2019 first-round pick by Washington, but he hasn’t even overtaken Rudolph for the backup role. The Steelers will be in the market to draft or trade for a QB this offseason. They don’t have the answer now.
Coach Mike Tomlin has never suffered a losing season, but the Steelers are 5-5-1 and spiraling. They tied the winless Detroit Lions two weeks ago. They just gave up 41 points for the second straight week. With the rival Ravens looming next week, the Steelers have been manhandled along the lines two weeks in a row.
The win kept Cincinnati (7-4) a game behind the Ravens, who beat the Cleveland Browns in prime time.