.@jlbiii3 with the PICK SIX!#TBvsCIN #SeizeTheDEY pic.twitter.com/4GVjKAFuA0
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) October 28, 2018
First things first – it is not midseason yet. Or at least it shouldn’t be. Can we let every team get through at least eight games?! Next week is midseason!
Now that we have addressed that … let’s pour one out for overtime. This NFL season had at least one overtime game in each of the first seven weeks. The closest it got to overtime in Week 8 was in Cincinnati, and not until the Tampa Bay Buccaneers decided that an 18-point second half deficit and four Jameis Winston INTs was what it took to re-insert QB Ryan Fitzpatrick back into the lineup. Fitzpatrick led a Buccanneers rally that erased Cincinnati’s lead, but all that did was set up a game-winning drive from Cincinnati QB Andy Dalton that led to a deciding field goal.
No matter. Fitzpatrick is back in the starting lineup, and it looks like Winston will join Doug Williams, Steve Young, Vinny Testaverde, Trent Dilfer, and Josh Freeman as the Tampa Bay first round QBs who failed to make it to Year 7 on the team. Yes, that would be every first round Buccaneers QB. Winston’s off field behavior is why the door was open for Fitzpatrick in the first place, and Winston’s turnovers define his unreliability on the field.
Winston’s last win as a starter came against the Cleveland Browns, a team that decided to make changes at head coach (Hue Jackson) and offensive coordinator (Todd Haley). Jackson has now had two head coaching tenures marred by pestering instability and dysfunction. Winning three games in three seasons may have had something to do with it too, who knows.
The first quarterback selected in each of the last four NFL drafts has had multiple head coaches by the start of their second NFL season (Mayfield, Trubisky, Goff, Winston)
— Realest Law Murray ? (@LawMurrayTheNU) October 29, 2018
The trade deadline came and went!
- The Houston Texans acquired WR Demaryius Thomas from the Denver Broncos for a fourth round pick; the teams also swapped seventh round picks. The Texans lost WR Will Fuller to a torn ACL, and they responded by snatching their next opponent’s #2 WR. Thomas has really slowed down, as his average yards per reception has dropped five years in a row.
- The Philadelphia Eagles acquired WR Golden Tate from the Detroit Lions for a third round pick. Really makes you wonder what the Dallas Cowboys were thinking. Then again, are the Eagles going to play Tate at RB?
- The Baltimore Ravens acquired RB Ty Montgomery from the Green Bay Packers for a 2020 seventh round pick. Montgomery lost a fumble on the kickoff return that was supposed to set up Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers for a potential game-winning drive against the Los Angeles Rams, so we knew he wasn’t going to be allowed back in Wisconsin.
- The Los Angeles Rams acquired OLB Dante Fowler from the Jacksonville Jaguars for a conditional third round pick and a 2020 fifth round pick. The Rams get draft pedigree at a position of need, as Los Angeles OLBs have only 2.0 sacks this season. That said, Fowler also has only 2.0 sacks this season.
- The Washington [Redacted] acquired SS Ha Ha Clinton-Dix from the Green Bay Packers for a fourth round pick. Clinton-Dix has three INTs already this season, while Washington FS DJ Swearinger already has four INTs. Getting slight Sean Taylor-LaRon Landry vibes from 2007.
Teams of the Week:
NE, PIT, HOU, KC
WAS, CHI, NO, LA
Winning units:
HOU run offense (RB Lamar Miller)
PHI run defense (ILB Jordan Hicks)
CAR run offense (QB Cam Newton)
CHI run defense (ILB Roquan Smith)
CIN offensive line (QB Andy Dalton)
SEA run offense (RB Chris Carson)
KC offensive line (QB Patrick Mahomes)
WAS run defense (DE Matt Ioannidis)
PIT run offense (RB James Conner)
IND run offense (RB Marlon Mack)
ARI pass defense (ILB Josh Bynes)
LA pass offense (RB Todd Gurley)
NO offensive line (QB Drew Brees)
NE run offense (RB James White)
Looking ahead to Week 9
Open Dates – Arizona, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, New York Giants, Philadelphia:
The Cardinals are 2-0 against the 49ers this season! They have the rest of the year to see if they can beat anyone else, and they have already replaced the offensive coordinator. The Bengals have a top-ten scoring offense led by WR AJ Green. The Colts are making strides with their offensive line and run game, though special teams luck has been weird for them; only the Jaguars and Giants have “allowed” more field goals made. Speaking of the Jaguars, they’re really missing and failing to compensate for RB Leonard Fournette’s lost season. The Giants are taking Ls even during the bye week. The Eagles have only one game decided by more than six points so far this season.
Raiders at San Francisco: It’s the last Battle of the Bay! And there are no winners here. Raiders are going to Las Vegas. The 49ers are in Santa Clara. Both teams are terrible. And the game will probably be garbage too, unless Derek Carr spends the evening checking down 30 times. #ThursdayNightBeatdowns
Steelers at Baltimore: Where’s Le’Veon?! Who cares! James Conner is great now, and while he will probably get lowballed by the Steelers in a couple years, all that matters at the moment is that he’s handling voluminous touches very well. The Ravens punished Conner in Pittsburgh, but they are not to be trusted with doing it again.
Rams at New Orleans: The Saints went to Los Angeles last year and took an L because they couldn’t stop Rams QB Jared Goff (354 pass yards, 2 TD, 1 INT). The dome turf works both ways, New Orleans!
Packers at New England: The Patriots are going to get slashed by Aaron Rodgers. That’s all there is to say here.
Titans at Dallas: ESPN’s Jason Witten is from Tennessee and played for the Cowboys. And that’s all there is to say here.