John Woz, Jr. | October 28th, 2019
The 7-0 San Francisco 49ers continue on the rich vein of form, and rookie Nick Bosa once again showed why he was a top draft pick. Bosa had an unbelievable game with three sacks in yesterday’s 51-13 demolition over the 4-3 Carolina Panthers. The league’s basement teams are still losing, and the Cincinnati Bengals may win the right for the first overall draft pick.
Superb 49ers
We start this week’s NFL Week 8 Notebook the hottest team in the NFC. The 49ers mean business. Nick Bosa is showing why he is as good as his brother, Joey. The rookie is a pivotal part of the 49ers pass rush trio. Robert Saleh’s defense held the Panthers to 130 yards rushing.
The 49ers are improving on offense. Kevin Coleman had a huge game with three first-half touchdowns, he added another in the third quarter. The 49ers ended the first half with a 24-point advantage. Kyle Shanahan has good players all over the field. Pro Football Focus ranks George Kittle as the league’s No.1 tight end. Expect Shanahan’s team to move to 8-0 next week when they take on the 3-4-1 Arizona Cardinals.
The Chicago Bears are bad but Bosa is elite
The Los Angeles Chargers and Chicago Bears game featured two teams who have regressed from their 2018 form. The Chargers almost fell to 2-6, but Eddy Pineiro missed a field goal with four seconds left on the clock. Pineiro’s miss gave the Chargers a 16-15 win moving them to 3-5.
Joey Bosa had another monster game for the Chargers with two sacks, he also forced a turnover. Bosa’s rookie contract comes up after the season and Tom Telesco needs to pay him as a top pass rusher. Telesco can not afford to lose Bosa to another franchise.
The Bolts committed too many penalties, but the Chicago offense couldn’t capitalize. Mitchell Trubisky had another miserable game, he finished 23-35 with 253 yards and an interception. The third-year pro had plenty of opportunities in the Red Zone but his passes went astray.
The Bears’ offensive line gave up four sacks on the day. Trubisky isn’t the player to lead the Bears to success. Let’s see if Ryan Pace opts to select a quarterback in the 2020 Draft. Chicago’s 3-4 record means the NFC North title is going to the Green Bay Packers or the Minnesota Vikings.
Patriots defense is elite
Tom Brady‘s offense continues to struggle but the 8-0 New England Patriots defense had another huge game in the 27-13 win over the Cleveland Browns. Brady was 20-36 with 259 yards and two touchdowns.
Adam Butler led the line well on the other side of the football. Butler had two sacks on Baker Mayfield. Jamie Collins Sr. had 12 solo tackles, two quarterback hits, and 1.5 sacks, rounding off a good performance.
Bill Belichick keeps finding ways for his team to win. The Patriots are unchallenged in the AFC and another deep post-season run looks to be in the cards. The Browns fall to 2-5.
Eagles bounce back to stay alive in the NFC East
The 4-4 Philadelphia Eagles won’t lie down. They bounced back from a dud in Dallas to beat the Buffalo Bills 31-13. Carson Wentz was 17-24 with 172 yards and a touchdown. The Eagles held the Bills to 98 yards rushing and 169 yards receiving.
Consistency is a problem for Doug Pederson‘s team. The Cowboys remain one game ahead of the Eagles in the NFC East.
The Bills did not register a single point in two quarters. Their loss is disappointing, and it moves them to 5-2. It will take a miracle to prevent the AFC East division going to the Patriots for the umpteenth time.
Rams batter awful Bengals
Cooper Kupp blew the doors off the Cincinnati Bengals at Wembley, London. Kupp had a monster game with seven receptions for 220 yards and a touchdown. Jared Goff finished 17-31 with 372 yards and two touchdowns.
The 0-8 Bengals continue on the downward spiral. The franchise needs a clear out. Andy Dalton had a rough time under center as his offensive line gave up five sacks for a loss of 32 yards.
Cincinnati had 334 yards net offense, but they couldn’t capitalize against the Rams defense. It will only get worse for the Bengals as they face the Baltimore Ravens in Week Nine. There are some bad teams in the NFL, but Zac Taylor’s is the worst of them all. It is difficult to see where Cincinnati’s first victory is coming from.
Two Minute Drill
Taylor isn’t the only NFL head coach in the hot seat. Dan Quinn looked on as the Atlanta Falcons lost again. Matt Schaub stood in for the injured Matt Ryan. Schaub threw for 460 yards. Atlanta is now 1-7, and a top draft pick looks to be in the cards. The 6-2 Seattle Seahawks posted 21 points in the second quarter. Tyler Lockett had six receptions for 100 yards.
On the other side of the football, Marquise Blair had nine solo tackles. Bobby Wagner and Jadeveon Clowney each registered a sack for a loss of 17 yards. Sunday’s win is important for the Seahawks as they tried to keep pace with the 49ers at the top of NFC West.
The Detroit Lions moved to 3-3-1 after a 31-26 shootout win against the New York Giants. The Lions snapped a three-game losing streak as Matthew Stafford improvised with a flea-flicker to set up a scoring drive. Stafford threw three touchdowns passes on the night.
The Tennessee Titans moved to 4-4 after a 27-23 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jameis Winston threw two interceptions on the night. Logan Ryan secured the win for the Titans with 42 seconds on the clock when he intercepted Winston’s pass. Can Bruce Arians continue to trust Winston as an NFL franchise quarterback?
The Indianapolis Colts had a narrow victory over the 2-6 Denver Broncos. This was not a game for the neutral fan. Denver led 6-3 at half-time. Adam Vinatieri‘s 51-yard field goal secured the win with 22 seconds left on the clock. The Colts move to 5-2 on the season, but can they mount a challenge in the race for the AFC Championship? Frank Reich has guided his team to three straight wins. Next up for the Colts is the Steelers.
Drew Brees returns for the Saints
The New Orleans Saints won their fourth game at home to maintain a good run of form after a 30-9 victory of the Arizona Cardinals. Brees returned as a starter for the Saints after recovering from injury. He finished 34-43 with 373 yards of three touchdowns.
Michael Thomas and Latavius Murray each had 100-yard games and a touchdown. The Saints posted four sacks for a loss of 23 yards, three on Kyler Murray and one on Brett Hundley. The Cardinals move 3-4-1 on the season. The 49ers are next up for Kliff Kingsbury‘s team.
Jaguars hound Sam Darnold
It’s rough for New York Jets fans right now. Sam Darnold’s season goes from bad to worse. The Jets lost 29-15 on the road to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Josh Allen and Yannick Ngakoue led the Jaguars defense with two sacks each. The Jaguars defense posted eight sacks for a loss of 51 yards on Darnold, who also threw two interceptions.
Chiefs lose to the resilient Packers
The Kansas City Chiefs lost to the Green Bay Packers despite sacking Aaron Rodgers five times for a loss of 49 yards. The Chiefs secondary couldn’t cope with Aaron Jones, who had seven receptions for 149 yards and two touchdown receptions.
The Chiefs fall to 4-3, but maintain the overall lead in the AFC West. The Packers are enjoying a hot streak of four games. That trend looks set to continue next week when the Packers face the Chargers in L.A.
Final Word
There were mixed emotions for the Houston Texans on Sunday night. The Texans ran out 27-24 winners over the Oakland Raiders, but it was not all good news for the franchise. J.J. Watt suffered an injury to his pectoral muscle. Watt confirmed on social media that he will miss the rest of the season.
This game can be beautiful and it can also be brutal. Absolutely gutted that I won’t be able to finish the season with my guys and give the fans what they deserve. I truly love this game and can’t stand letting you guys down. Thank you for all of the thoughts & well-wishes.
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) October 28, 2019
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