My Redskins chance to run the table and win out ended on a failed two-point conversion play with about a minute left in the fourth quarter. All in all, I like how this team is showing guts and is playing better to finish up the season strong. Bill Callahan has gotten this roster playing tough. Dwayne Haskins got banged up but ended up finishing up the game. Terry McLaurin had a one-handed highlight TD catch in the fourth quarter. Derrius Guice was hit in the knee at the end of a run and got pulled out of the game (looks like he will be out for the rest of the season), this sucks, because he seemed to be getting on rhythm before getting hurt.
We are fortunate to have Adrian Peterson in our line up. He has been the most dependable and consistent running back for the last two seasons. Cris Thompson, Bryce Love, and Guice have not been healthy, and Smallwood is not explosive enough to be a constant running threat. Peterson fits our offense, fits what Callahan likes to run. It is a no brainer that we need to bring him back next season. The foundation of our running game starts with AP, and Guice is the future of it. There are a bunch of online rumors circulating about the potential firing of Bruce Allen soon, and I hope those rumors turn into reality, and it is not just wishful thinking. There is also lots of potential Head Coaching rumors flying around online, linking some names to the Redskins, names like Ron Rivera (former Panthers HC), David Shaw (current HC at Stanford University), Eric Bieniemy (current Chiefs Offensive coordinator), Mike Tomlin (current Steelers HC), to name a few. I am not overly excited about any of those names, although Ron Rivera would be an interesting proposition, but more on him and this possibility when the season ends.
My Current overall disposition regarding my Redskins: Waiting for Bruce Allen to be Fired.
And now for the rest of the league…
Cowboys 24-Bears 31: Mitch Trubisky had himself his best game ever. He made some fantastic plays against this overrated Dallas team and kept their playoff hopes alive. All the talk about moving on from Trubisky has been silenced for at least a week until this Sunday when they play the Packers, which I believe they can win. For the Cowboys to win the division and make the playoffs, they have to win out and hope for the Eagles to lose along the way. Nothing will bring me more joy than seeing the Cowboys eliminated from playoff contention and having another miserable offseason.
Eagles 23-Giants 17: Zach Ertz caught the game-winning game TD in overtime to save the Eagles season. The Giants looked more competitive with Eli Manning at QB, which reinforces my idea that Eli will be starting elsewhere for a contender next season.
Ravens 24-Bills 17: Second straight week Lamar Jackson has faced two excellent defenses (49ers last week, Buffalo this week), and although his numbers do not show much, he still managed to defeat two pretty good teams. It is important to note that Baltimore has only two losses, and they came early in the season (week 3 against the Chiefs and week 4 against the Browns), they have not lost since week 4. All of a sudden, the Ravens appear to be the most dangerous team in the NFL. The Bills lost another close game, bringing their record to 9-4, and just one game behind the Belicheaters. Hopefully, they will get on a winning roll and take division title from the Patriots.
Chiefs 23-Patriots 16: Kansas City needed this win badly. They have three winnable games at the tail end of the regular season schedule to get into a winning streak heading into the playoffs. New England continues to struggle against dual-threat Quarterbacks; they have lost to Lamar Jackson, Deseaun Watson, and now Pat Mahomes. They struggled early in the season against Josh Allen, and they still have to play him again in a few weeks, which could potentially determine the Division winner. Brady is in dire need of more talented receivers; all he is got is Edelman, and it is not enough.
Titans 42-Raiders 21: Ryan Tannehill has led the Titans out of the abyss into playoff contention while the Raiders’ playoff run is essentially over. Nevertheless, the Raiders should feel encouraged going into the off-season. Nobody expected them to be contending this late in the season, and they surprise all the sports media talking heads.
Rams 28-Seahawks 12: Sean McVay started rerunning Gurley, and all of a sudden, the Rams are back in the mix of things and looking like a dangerous offense. Seattle’s impressive five-game winning streak came to an end, but the next two games appear to be winnable, leading up to their final game of the season against the 49ers. This NFC West division is red hot.
Vikings 20-Lions 7: Bounce back victory for the Vikings, which puts them at one game behind from the Packers. I have a feeling the Vikings will win out and host a Playoff game. The Lions show some promise earlier in the season, but they have now lost six games in a row. Matt Patricia’s seat is getting hot.
49ers 48-Saints 46: Best game of the football weekend and maybe the whole season. San Francisco won the game by a field goal with only a few seconds left in the game. It was Jimmy G’s best performance this year, and George Kittle had a monster highlight catch. I have a feeling these two teams will meet again in the playoffs.
Jets 22-Dolphins 20: This was a field goal game, about 9 field goals between both teams. The jets scored a couple of TDs to make the difference in this game.
Chargers 45-Jaguars 10: Nick Foles has been benched for the remainder of the season in favor of Gardner Minshew and it has made no difference, the Jaguars are awful, and it has nothing to do with the QB. The Chargers ended their three-game losing streak, but the playoffs are no longer a possibility. They need to finish up the season strong.
Falcons 40-Panthers 20: Ron Rivera was fired last week. Panther’s new owner wants to get a head start on finding a new Head coach. This new owner did not hire Rivera and reportedly wants to hire his own “type” of coach (whatever that means). Apparently, Rivera being the winningest coach in Panthers history, a two-time NFL coach of the year, plus three NFC South titles and a Super Bowl appearance. All of that was not what this new owner deemed acceptable. Atlanta is trying to finish the season on a positive note and save Dan Quinn’s job.
Browns 27-Bengals 19: The Browns are trying to finish up the season winning out but with no chance at the playoffs, making them the biggest disappointment of the season. Baker Mayfield is not what the hype machine told us he was supposed to be. The Bengals have only 1 victory for the whole season, and as of this week, they are officially the worst team in the NFL.
Buccaneers 38- Colts 35: This was a back and forth entertaining game. James Winston is an interception machine, but he also throws lots of TDs, which makes Tampa Bay fun to watch. The Colts have lost two in a row and are self-destructing, putting themselves out of the playoff race.
Steelers 23-Cardinals 17: The Steelers’ playoff hopes are still alive, and the next few weeks will be crucial for their playoff chances. Kyler Murray has made me a believer, and I like the progress this Arizona team is making under first-year coach Kliff Kingsbury.
Broncos 38-Texans 24: Drew Lock might be the answer at QB Denver has been looking for since Payton Manning retired. The Texans got caught napping and got blown out early in the game — lousy loss for Houston.
Rod Rioja 