Justin Tucker misses an extra point for the first time in his career – he was previously 222 for 222 – as Saints hold off Ravens in final minute. https://t.co/2BuiPB8gpC pic.twitter.com/jYVrIregqS
— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) October 21, 2018
I had a feeling this misadventure of clutch kicking that has been the 2018 NFL season would catch up to my guy Justin Tucker at some point. What a brutal time to miss your first career extra point…
Never trust kickers. EVER.
I don't even trust Justin Tucker anymore. Guilt by association
— Realest Law Murray ? (@LawMurrayTheNU) September 16, 2018
Tucker wasn’t the only kicker in Week 7 to have a forgettable moment. Here’s Dallas kicker Dan Bailey Brett Maher failing to tie the game at FedExField:
Lo falloooo ?????@dak cumplió acercando el balón y Maher no pudó con el intento que mandaba el juego a tiempo extra #DallasCowboys 17-20 #HTTR #DALvsWAS #NFLMX pic.twitter.com/RrKOgFUFD0
— NFL México (@nflmx) October 21, 2018
And it looked like Tampa Bay K Chandler Catanzaro would join this dubious tandem when he pushed a 40-yard field at the end of regulation against the Browns. Fortunately for Tampa Bay, the game was tied. And I’m all for happy endings, so congrats to Catanzaro for winning the game on a 59-yard field goal in overtime.
Second-guessing coaches is another activity that can fall into low-hanging fruit territory. Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel eschewed a game-tying extra point attempt and went for two instead. The pass failed, the Titans lost to the Chargers, and … well, you saw what happened to Tucker later in the day. I have a bigger issue with what happened to the Philadelphia Eagles. They had a multiple-possession lead with the ball in the fourth quarter, and they did not run the football until they completely blew the lead to the Panthers. Unacceptable! We were gifted with more New York Giants drama as well, with head coach Pat Shurmur calling for an ultimately inconsequential two-point conversion that also failed. The Giants then traded Eli! But Apple, not Manning. There’s always next week.
Teams of the Week:
NE, PIT, HOU, KC
WAS, MIN, NO, LA
Winning units:
DEN run offense (RB Phillip Lindsay)
LAC pass rush (DT Darius Philon)
NE special teams (WR Cordarrelle Patterson)
IND run offense (RB Marlon Mack)
HOU run defense (OLB Jadeveon Clowney)
DET run offense (RB Kerryon Johnson)
MIN run offense (RB Latavius Murray)
CAR run defense (ILB Luke Kuechly)
TB pass offense (WR Mike Evans)
NO special teams (K Wil Lutz)
LA run offense (RB Todd Gurley)
WAS pass rush (OLB Ryan Kerrigan)
KC pass offense (RB Kareem Hunt)
ATL pass rush (DT Grady Jarrett)
Looking ahead to Week 8
Open Dates – Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles Chargers, Tennessee:
Falcons WR Julio Jones has 812 scoreless receiving yards this season; the NFL record for most scoreless receiving yards in a season is 963, by HOF Art Monk in 1991. No Cowboys receiver is averaging more than 50 yards receiving per game, so they dumped a first round pick to Oakland for WR Amari Cooper – who is averaging 48.0 receiving yards over his last 20 games. The only teams the Chargers have lost to are the Chiefs and the Rams; trust them if you want to. Tennessee QB Marcus Mariota has started five games this season and has only one win (OT against the Eagles).
Dolphins at Houston: Strock Osweiler revenge game! Miami’s pass defense is good, while Houston’s run defense is good. These teams rarely see each other, and they both feel underwhelming despite winning records. But the Texans are surviving these games, while the Dolphins are trending down lately.
Ravens at Carolina: Baltimore is taking their top-ranked defense on the road, but the Panthers are defending quite well this season too. Points will be at a premium as both teams are over .500 but outside of the division lead.
Packers at Los Angeles Rams: Green Bay is coming off their week off and will certainly be asking QB Aaron Rodgers to keep his 400-passing yards streak alive. I do not expect Green Bay to have an answer for Rams RB Todd Gurley.
Saints at Minnesota: It’s a rematch of the Minnesota Miracle! The matchup to watch here is New Orleans RB Alvin Kamara against Minnesota LBs Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr. The Vikings have a strong run defense, but Kamara should have mismatches in the passing game.
Patriots at Buffalo: The Bills made the playoffs last season, so they get to host Monday Night Football in Buffalo for the first time since 2008 and only the third time since 1994. What could possibly go wrong?!