The Good
After a 13-year playoff drought, the Oakland Raiders clinched a spot in the postseason with a 19-16 win over the San Diego Chargers. If the playoff spot wasn’t sweet enough, the Raiders also took control of the AFC West. The Chargers led by 3 going into the third quarter until a 27-yard run by Raiders running back Latavius Murray and a 22-yard pass from quarterback Derek Carr to Seth Roberts put the team in Charger territory. The Raiders took the lead after a 44-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski and sealed the win when Reggie Nelson intercepted Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers with 1:37 left.
Bonus:Â Arizona Cardinals running back Kerwynn Williams ran for a 49-yard touchdown with one shoe on. Williams lost the shoe between two defenders who still couldn’t stop him.
The Bad
Monday night wasn’t great for the Washington Redskins offense, as team fell 26-15 to the Carolina Panthers. Redskins tight end Jordan Reed took an additional L that night when he was ejected from the game. His team was down 23-9 when Panthers safety Kurt Coleman was blocking him. Reed felt like Coleman took a cheap shot on his left shoulder. Reed then threw a punch at Coleman’s helmet, earning him an unnecessary roughness penalty. Reed’s shoulder injury has been a nagging problem since he suffered a separated AC joint on Thanksgiving Day. Before the ejection, Reed was hardly targeted in the primetime loss. He left the game with one reception for six yards. The fourth-year player was visibly frustrated all night. That frustration clearly bubbled over. I don’t know what’s worse. The fact that Reed punched Coleman in the helmet, which probably hurt his hand more than anything else, or, that after the punch, Reed danced around like he was Muhammad Ali in the ring.
The Ugly
Dang! The Jacksonville Jaguars wasted no time, after a 21-20 loss to the Houston Texans, to fire head coach Gus Bradley. After the loss, the Jaguars fell to 2-12 making Bradley’s career record in Jacksonville 14-48. Team owner Shad Khan made the announcement shortly after the lost in Houston. The haste to fire Bradley comes off a little tacky. Why couldn’t the team wait until they were back in Jacksonville? I’m just hoping Bradley was able to get a separate flight from Houston to avoid an awkward trip with his former team.
