The Good
The surprise win of the week was easily the Minnesota Vikings 22-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers. In their first game without running back Adrian Peterson, the Vikings overcame injuries and snapped the Panthers’ 14-game home winning streak on Sunday. It was Carolina’s first home loss since Nov. 16, 2014. Quarterback Sam Bradford, who was traded to the Vikings after losing Teddy Bridgewater for the season, completed 18-of-28 for 171 yards and one touchdown. Marcus Sherels returned a punt for a score, but the true winner is the Vikings’ defense. Could the “Purple People Eaters” be back? The Vikings defense sacked reigning NFL MVP Cam Newton eight times, one resulting in a safety by Danielle Hunter, and caught three interceptions. Minnesota allowed 205 yards of offense in the first half, but laid the hammer down in the second, allowing 101 yards. “Our team believes,” Vikings’ head coach Mike Zimmer said. “No one else believes, but I think our team believes. They believed that they could come in here and win.”
Bonus: Trevor Siemian continues to surprise me every week. In the Broncos 29-17 win against the Bengals, Siemian had a 65.7-percent completion rate (23-of-35) for 312 yards and a career-high four touchdowns, with no turnovers. He became the first quarterback in NFL history to do this. Pretty fantastic for a guy that went in the seventh round.
The Bad
As a Ravens fan, there was nothing bad about how the Philadelphia Eagles beat down the Pittsburgh Steelers, 34-3. Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz threw for 301 yards and two touchdowns. Running backs Wendell Smallwood and Kenjon Barner also scored touchdowns. The “Steel Curtain” would be disappointed to know that the Steelers defense gave up 426 yards of offense.
This was the Steelers worst loss in 27 years. Head coach Mike Tomlin simply put it, “we got our butts kicked.” It wasn’t just a struggle on the defensive side of the ball. The Pittsburgh offense was held to its lowest point total in five years. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was sacked four times and threw an interception. Steeler fans are hopeful that this is only a temporary setback, especially with running back Le’Veon Bell returning this Sunday against the Chiefs.
Bonus: Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick had the worst game of his 12-year career. He threw six interceptions in the team’s 24-3 loss to the Chiefs and finished the game with an 18.2 passer rating. Fitzpatrick was fully aware that he pretty much blew the game for his team. “We don’t really need to try to put it on anything else. I think that was pretty evident,” he said on Monday.
The Ugly
I wasn’t sure whether Odell Beckham Jr.’s hissy fit was bad or just plain ugly. In Sunday’s 29-27 loss to the Washington Redskins, the New York Giants wide receiver was being covered by rival cornerback Josh Norman like white on rice. However, Beckham was able to contribute seven receptions for 121 yards. Apparently that wasn’t enough for the third-year receiver. On the sideline, Beckham was shouting and getting into a fighting match with the kicking net. The kicking net ultimately won when it smacked him in the face. Cameras also caught the 23-year-old tearing up after an Eli Manning interception.
As funny as it was to watch a grown man act like a child, it was ultimately embarrassing. Giants head coach Ben McAdoo said, in a conference call on Monday, that his receiver needs to “control his emotions better.” Hopefully Beckham can get himself in check before Week 17’s rematch with the Redskins.
Bonus: Can we talk about Cam Newton’s outfit during the post-game press conference; looking like the Monopoly man.
(Bob Leverone/Associated Press)
