Impressive win for Washington, extending their winning streak to 4 games in a row. We now sit at the 6th playoff spot and with some wiggle room to move up.
Taylor Heinicke wasn’t statistically impressive, but he played a tough and fearless game. Heinicke is slowly but surely cementing his future as the potential long-term solution at QB for Washington.
Antonio Gibson ran hard carrying the ball 23 times and had some solid catches for a combined total of 111 yards.
I was happy to see how TE John Bates was more involved in the offense. Also, glad to see Adam Humphries being better utilized than in the last 3 previous games.
It was such a bummer seeing Logan Thomas getting injured and coming out of the game. Losing him sucks; he is such a big target for Heinicke — plus, he is a very good blocking TE. Unfortunately, he has been put on IR and is done for the rest of season. Hopefully, Ricky Seal-Jones is clear to return quickly, as he was already emerging as a legit target for Heinicke before getting injured.
The defense continues to show signs of improvement, especially in the secondary; this unit is playing much tighter than earlier in the season. Kendall Fuller is playing like the experienced Super Bowl-winning CB he is.
Cowboy killer Montez Sweat might be back for this upcoming Dallas game, which will add an extra weapon to pressure Dak. But his recovery remains uncertain. I hope he returns for some of the last few games of the season.
With that in mind, this is Dallas Week for Washington — it is all about beating Dallas and advancing our playoff seed position. We play them twice in 3 weeks — we are 1-0 in the division, and all of our remaining regular-season games are divisional games, so we truly control our own destiny — We are built for December football, and beating Dallas at home this Sunday will propel this team to believe that we can make a deep run in the post-season.
The Cowboys continue to be the heavy favorite by the talking heads in sports media. So it would be beyond awesome to beat Dallas and to put the entire NFL on notice — The Washington Football is indeed coming…..
#BEAT DALLAS
WFT 17 — RAIDERS 15
COWBOYS 27 — SAINTS 17
Dallas beating up on teams on slumps does not impress me. Dallas is full of holes, and their defense is overrated and overhyped by sports media. Next up, Dallas visits Washington. Advantage, Da Washington Football Team.
No legit starting QB and no Alvin Kamara equals no chance for New Orleans. It feels like Drew Brees retired a year too soon. Next up, New Orleans visits the NY Jets. Advantage, New Orleans Saints.
NY GIANTS 9 — DOLPHINS 20
The Dolphins have won 5 straight games to propel them into playoff contention. Next week, Miami has their bye week.
The NY Giants are done, simple as that. A massive overhaul of coaching slash management is in order. I don’t feel sorry for them; John Mara and the entire Mara clown-ownership family had this coming. Next week, the NY Giants visit the LA Chargers. Advantage, LA Chargers.
EAGLES 33 — NY JETS 18
The Eagles refused to go down quietly into the night, even though they should. Gardner Minshew was sensational covering for injured Jalen Hurts. Minshew has the tools to be a starter somewhere in this league, and I would not be surprised if he is starting for a team in need of a QB next season. Next up, Philly has their bye week.
Not much was expected from the NY Jets this season, and in a way, they have kind of overachieved at 3-9. Next up, the NY Jets host New Orleans. Advantage, New Orleans Saints.
LA RAMS 37 — JAGUARS 7
The LA Rams ended their 3 games losing streak, although this win came against a 2-10 rebuilding Jacksonville team. So let’s wait and see how LA finishes this last few weeks of the NFL regular season. Next week, LA has a huge season-defining game at Arizona. Advantage, Arizona Cardinals.
The Jaguars have tons of issues to address in the off-season to be competitive in 2022. However, Trevor Lawrence seems to be made of the right stuff to lead this Jacksonville team for many years to come. Next week, Jacksonville visits Tennessee. Advantage, Tennessee Titans
SEAHAWKS 30 — 49ERS 23
The Seahawks shocked the hell out of me here; I was about to close the lid on their season. But this win leaves Seattle mathematically still alive for a wildcard spot. Next week, Seattle looks to continue to add victories while visiting Houston. Advantage, Seattle Seahawks.
San Francisco squandered an opportunity to inch closer to a playoff spot — and with this loss, they have put themselves on muddy waters to clinch a post-season berth. Next week, San Francisco visits Cincinnati, another win-needy team. Advantage, San Francisco 49ers.
CHIEFS 22 — BRONCOS 9
The Chiefs struggled to beat their arch-rivals — and their offense looked shaky for most of the game. Nevertheless, their defense is playing solid as of late, and it is the primary reason the Chiefs are in 1st place in the AFC WEST. Notwithstanding, Kansas City needs to get their offense back on track if they aspire to go deep in the post-season. Next week, Kansas City hosts the Raiders. Advantage, Kansas City Chiefs.
Denver lost a lot of ground in the playoff race with this loss. They are still mathematically alive, but it is a long shot for them at this point. Next week, Denver hosts Detroit. Advantage, Denver Broncos.
LIONS 29 —VIKINGS 27
Detroit finally won their first game of the season, and it came against a division rival which always adds a little extra sweetness to it. Next up, Detroit visits Denver. Advantage, Denver Broncos.
The Vikings took a big hit to their playoff aspirations by losing to winless Detroit. Minnesota’s defense is the biggest disappointment here; they can’t seem to make crucial stops when they are most in need of a stop. Next up, Minnesota, in a must-win game, hosts Pittsburgh. Advantage, Minnesota Vikings.
LA CHARGERS 41 — BENGALS 22
One hell of a statement win for the Chargers. They are now 7-5 and one game behind Kansas City’s division-leading 8-4 record. However, the Chargers are still alive in the division title hunt. Next week, LA hosts the NY Giants. Advantage, LA Chargers.
Ugly game for Cincinnati; they were behind for the entire game, and although they made a last-game rally, it wasn’t enough to overcome such a large deficit and inconsistent play in all areas. Next week, Cincinnati hosts San Francisco. Advantage, San Francisco 49ers.
CARDINALS 33 — BEARS 22
With Kyler Murray and Deandre Hopkins back in the starting lineup, Arizona put an offensive display of firepower that will be tough to contain in the post-season for any opponents. Next up, Arizona rematches division rival LA Rams. Advantage, Arizona Cardinals.
Andy Dalton threw 4 picks, and the game never really felt close for them to have a shot. Strangely enough, Chicago is still alive for a playoff spot, even though they should be eliminated already. Next up, Chicago has a chance to keep their post-season hope alive at Green Bay. Advantage, Green Bay Packers.
COLTS 31 — TEXANS 0
The Colts are slowly but surely creeping up on Tennessee for the division title. Jonathan Taylor continues to be Indy’s X factor. Next week, Indy has their bye week.
The Texans are probably the worst team of the 2021 NFL season, even worst than Detroit, I think. Houston should aim at landing one of those college QBs coming out of next year’s draft and trade or release Deshaun Watson. Rebuilding won’t be successful unless they figure out a way to move on from Watson. Next week, Houston hosts Seattle. Advantage, Seattle Seahawks.
BUCCANEERS 30 — FALCONS 17
The Bucs are on a 3 game winning roll and find themselves within reach of clinching the NFC SOUTH. Tom Brady and Gronk are still a lethal combination; they hooked up for 2 TDs in this game. And as long as Gronk is on the field, Tampa Bay’s offense is legitimately dangerous. Next week, Tampa Bay hosts a wounded Buffalo team. Advantage, Buffalo Bills.
The Falcons are finishing the season better than most people expected and find themselves at a respectable 5-7. Next week, Atlanta visits 5-7 Carolina. Advantage, Atlanta Falcons.
STEELERS 20 — RAVENS 19
This was a massive win for Pittsburgh to keep their season alive. The Steelers are now 6-5 and have a tough road ahead to clinch a playoff spot. Next up, Pittsburgh visits a desperate Minnesota team. Advantage, Minnesota Vikings.
The Ravens squandered multiple opportunities to put this game away. Baltimore is at 8-4 and sits on top of the AFC NORTH, and with 3 divisional games remaining, the Division title might come down to a week 18 final game of the season rematch against Pittsburgh. Next up, Baltimore visits struggling Cleveland. Advantage, Baltimore Ravens.
PATRIOTS 14 — BILLS 10
New England caught Buffalo with an excellent game-plan and exploited Buffalos’s weaknesses. The Patriots have been on 7 game win streak and currently sit on top of the AFC EAST, but Miami and Buffalo still have a shot at catching up. Next week, New England has a bye week.
Buffalo needs to get their run game established to become a complete offense; it is Josh Allen or nothing when it comes to the run game. The Bills have to figure out how to create a better-balanced offense to have a shot at the division title. Next week, Buffalo visits Tampa Bay. Advantage, Buffalo Bills.
Rod Rioja 