FACT #1: @EJackson_4 has the most (5) defensive TDs in the NFL since the start of the 2015 season.
FACT #2: He was drafted in 2017. ¯\_(?)_/¯ pic.twitter.com/2S6UqNk7q5
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) November 27, 2018
A lot happened in the NFL this past week, but the most important events happened on Thanksgiving. The Chicago Bears started backup QB Chase Daniel, but it’s always better to have a backup with starting support than it is to be Detroit QB Matthew Stafford, who is dealing with an absolute depletion of skill talent around him. Eventually the heat-seeking missiles that are the Bears defenders got to Stafford by the fourth quarter, resulting in a go-ahead pick-six to FS Eddie Jackson, and a game-sealing end zone INT to CB Kyle Fuller. The Bears have a 1.5 games lead on the Minnesota Vikings, with Chicago having defeated the Vikings in their only meeting so far this season.
The Dallas Cowboys are getting more out of WR Amari Cooper than the Oakland Raiders got out of him, and it is lifting the games of both QB Dak Prescott and RB Ezekiel Elliott. Cooper has the same number of receptions (22) and targets (33) in four games with the Cowboys as he had in six games with the Raiders this season. But after torching Washington’s secondary on Thanksgiving, Cooper now has 69 more yards and two more touchdowns with Dallas on those same number of targets and receptions in two fewer games. Prescott went from an 87.4 passer rating pre-Cooper to a 102.4 passer rating in four games with Cooper. And now Elliott went from 4.7 yards per carry and three TD runs pre-Cooper to 5.4 yards per carry and three TD runs in four games with Cooper. The Cowboys are on a three-game win streak and now lead the NFC East. Cancel the Raiders.
New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees threw an INT on Thanksgiving! It was only his second this season. He made up for it by finding four former undrafted free agents for TD passes to complete a season sweep of the Atlanta Falcons. The Carolina Panthers are nosediving, so now the Saints have a four-game lead in the NFC South.
Teams of the Week:
NE, BAL, HOU, LAC
DAL, CHI, NO, SEA
Winning units:
CHI pass rush (FS Eddie Jackson)
DAL run offense (RB Ezekiel Elliott)
NO offensive line (QB Drew Brees)
BAL run offense (QB Lamar Jackson)
BUF pass rush (DT Kyle Williams)
SEA special teams (K Sebastian Janikowski)
CLE offensive line (QB Baker Mayfield)
NE run offense (RB Sony Michel)
PHI offensive line (QB Carson Wentz)
TB pass offense (WR Adam Humphries)
LAC run offense (RB Melvin Gordon)
DEN pass rush (NT Shelby Harris)
IND pass offense (TE Eric Ebron)
MIN pass defense (CB Trae Waynes)
HOU run offense (RB Lamar Miller)
Looking ahead to Week 13
Saints at Dallas: The Saints have won ten games in a row, but it ends in Texas due to Dallas’ ability to rush the passer at home and run the football.
Rams at Detroit: We’re finally done with bye weeks, so every team has played the same number of games again. The Rams will clinch a playoff spot this week.
Vikings at New England: Fortunately for Minnesota CB Xavier Rhodes, his hamstring is intact; it looked like it exploded in front of a live viewing audience Sunday night. Expect the Vikings to blitz as much as possible.
Chargers at Pittsburgh: RB Melvin Gordon is injured, just in time for the Steelers to win another home game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
R*****s at Philadelphia: Of course Washington acquired ILB Reuben Foster; this is the same organization that signed OLB Junior Galette after the Saints released him. The loser of this game can forget about the postseason.