Week 9 has come and gone, and we learned more about certain teams and divisions, while getting more confused by others. I will lay out some overreaction’s and not overreactions that NFL fans are thinking today about their teams.
Overreaction:
The Steelers are the best team in football. Yes the Steelers remained undefeated after BARELY beating the Cowboys on Sunday. This was my lock of the week, and I expected this game to be over by the second quarter. This game went down to the very last play, a sort of Hail Mary attempt by the Cowboys on the Steelers 25 yard line that fell incomplete. The Steelers did not deserve to win this game. They were outplayed by the Cowboys in almost every facet of the game. Their “dominant” defense consistently let Garret (who the hell is this guy) Gilbert walk up and down the field on them. The Steelers offense wasn’t much better until the fourth quarter when they started to get things going a bit. Either way, they got out-gained in this one, and no one should be looking at this as a good win for Pittsburgh. It brought up a lot of question marks for this team heading into the second half of the year.
Not an Overreaction:
The Buffalo Bills are Super Bowl Contenders. I know it’s a crazy sentence to read but it’s true. I had my skepticism on this team, especially their defense, but after what they just did to Russell Wilson, I can’t deny that they are contenders. Josh Allen is starting to look like the best quarterback out of the 2018 draft class. He heard all the media talking about how good Russell Wilson has been this year, and how the Seahawks were going to rout the Bills and what did he do? He promptly threw for 415 yards, 3 touchdowns and a rushing touchdown. He balled out. The Bills offense is top five in the NFL, and they proved they can score with the best of them. Mix that with a defense that yesterday forced the MVP hopeful Russell Wilson into four turnovers and watch out. The Bills defense hasn’t looked like they did last year, but they showed flashes of it yesterday. They consistently blitzed Wilson, and trusted their secondary in coverage. If this team can get that type of effort from their defense week in and week out, they are dangerous come January.
Overreaction:
The Giants are going to win the NFC East. I can’t believe I have to write this one, but I’ve read and seen many people thinking the Giants have a chance to win this division. The Eagles will win this division and I think they’ll do it rather easily. The Giants have won five games since naming Daniel Jones the starter in 2019. Four of those wins have come against Washington. That means Daniel Jones has only won one game against a team not named Washington. How you can read that statement, and think the Giants are going to win the NFC East I don’t know. The Giants defense is playing very well, and are a lot better than most people thought, but they can’t win with Jones running the show. Giants fans need to start getting excited for the upcoming draft and finding Jones’ replacement instead of getting excited at the thought of the Giants winning the division.
Not an Overreaction:
The Colts should start Jacob Eason. As a Colts fan, I know this is bias and most NFL fans have no idea who Jacob Eason even is. Every NFL fan does know who Philip Rivers is, because he’s been playing forever, and still has the ugliest throwing motion of any person to ever be in the NFL. I have to sit down every Sunday and watch my Colts play, knowing Philip Rivers is the guy they believe gives them the best chance to win. The Colts coaches and front office have to either A) Not watch the games or B) Philip Rivers has some kind of blackmail on them. It makes no sense how this guy remains their starter. I get that they have a 5-3 record and their on track to make the playoffs, but no one is scared of the Colts with Rivers at QB. It’s such a shame too, because the Colts have a top three defense in football that is going to waste. I don’t know if Jacob Eason is the answer and he could very well lose every game the rest of the season if they were to put him in, but it’d be a lot better then watching old man Rivers look like he’s throwing a shot put every time he drops back. It’s time the Colts move on and it’s time Rivers calls it a career. If the Colts even think about re-signing him in the offseason, someone needs to look into Chris Ballard and see if he’s being held hostage or something.
Overreaction:
The Raiders are a contender. The Raiders moved to 5-3 yesterday after a last play review against the Chargers. As of right now the Raiders are in a playoff spot, and I can see them making the playoffs, but they are not serious contenders. I don’t see them making any noise in the playoffs and if they do get in I expect them to be one and done. They have an average offense and an average defense, and I don’t trust Derek Carr to make the big time throws in crunch time. The Raiders got out-gained by 120 yards yesterday, and Carr was only able to throw for 160 yards against a bad LA defense. Barely sneaking by bad teams isn’t impressive and people shouldn’t be over hyping the Raiders today.
Not an Overreaction:
The Miami Dolphins will make the playoffs. The Dolphins pulled off a thriller yesterday against the Cardinals, winning 34-31. Tua played a very efficient game going 20/28 with 2 touchdowns. He also added in 7 rushes for 35 yards on the ground. The Dolphins have now won four in a row, and with their remaining schedule, Dolphins fans should be getting excited. The Dolphins have the Chargers, Broncos, Jets, Bengals, Chiefs, Patriots, Raiders, and Bills left in their season. I see the Dolphins winning at least four of those games, possibly five. With a 10-6 record the Dolphins would be in great shape to get one of the three Wild Card spots. If their defense can keep up the level of play, and Tua can play mistake free football, watch out for the Dolphins the second half of the season.
Overreaction:
The Seahawks are no longer Super Bowl contenders. Is there anyone in the NFL more underappreciated than Russell Wilson. In yesterday’s game, before he could even blink he’s already down 14-0 and he’s only possessed the ball once. Wilson was constantly behind because he has one of the worst defenses in the NFL. He had to try to play Superman again yesterday and bring his team all the way back. He did bring them back to only being down 27-20 until the Bills offense responded with a touchdown. It was clear that Wilson didn’t play his best game, and forced some throws due to the time and score of the game, but he should not be the blame. The Seattle defense even with Jamal Adams there is terrible. Teams can throw all they want on them, and the Seahawks only hope is Russell Wilson and their offense is able to score more. The thing is though, Wilson will do that most of the time. The Seattle Seahawks are going to be Super Bowl Contenders as long as Russell Wilson is at QB for them. He consistently wins in spite of his defense and I think he will do it again in the playoffs this year.
Not an Overreaction:
The Saints are a top five team in football. My pre-season Super Bowl pick is back. They absolutely dominated the Bucs on Sunday night football, and regained first place in the NFC South. Michael Thomas is back, and even though he didn’t have a huge game, the Saints offense looked like they were in a much better rhythm on Sunday. Their defense also finally showed how dominant they can be, forcing Brady into three interceptions and limiting Tampa’s offense to only three points. The Saints have an easier schedule coming up, and I think they will win the division and set themselves up for a deep playoff run. It seems like the stars are starting to align for Drew Brees to have the perfect retirement gift.
Cam's Corner 