STAMFORD, CT – Happy Christmas, y’all. Hope Santa brought you the goods. Here are some quick thoughts on the Three Exciting Christmas Day NFL Games.
Raiders Upset Chiefs
Is it time to at least put at least some of the blame for the Chiefs’ struggles on Mahomes? The only drop I saw in this one was by Travis Swift Kelce, his most reliable target. Mahomes had a bad pick-six right after his botched exchange with Pacheco led to a scoop-n-score. That was your ballgame.
Mahomes was running for his life and taking big hits. Several throws were off-target and a second apparent interception was overturned. Is it too late to bring Bienemy back? He can’t be happy in Washington.
Aidan O’Connell completed one lousy pass for one yard in the entire second half and only 62 in the entire game. But they won somehow, with a relentless pass rush, a strong running game, and no turnovers.
The Chiefs really need a deep threat. Maybe they should have traded for Giants WR Darius Slayton instead of Kadarius Toney. That guy will be out of the league soon.
Give Antonio Pierce the job in Vegas already.
Eagles Hold on Against the Giants
Just like that, the Tommy Cutlets Era is over. The Giants clearly didn’t trust him, calling a lot of runs and quick bubble screens in the first half. Tyrod came in and they let him play QB and he damn near pulled off the comeback.
The Eagles will probably still win the NFC East because they play the Cards and Giants again, but they might not make it out of the first round. Other than the line, the defense is brutal. And the offense doesn’t look capable of outscoring good teams.
Taylor only completed seven of 16 passes but one was a 70 yard bomb TD to Slayton. I reckon they’ll stick with Tyrod next week against the Rams.
Maybe the Giants can play spoiler and knock the Eagles out of the division lead in week 18. Wait, that would help the Cowboys. So crap, either way.
Ravens Smash 49ers
I didn’t think there was a team in the league capable of roughing up the Niners like that. Purdy marched them down on his first drive and it looked like business as usual. But he threw a bad pick in the end zone and the script flipped. Purdy was tentative after that and threw three more interceptions.
I didn’t think Lamar was the MVP but he sure looked like one last night. The man is an impossible open-field tackle. McCaffrey might have passed Purdy in the MVP race as well.
Even our old friend Sam Darnold made Purdy look bad by coming in late and bringing the Niners back. More fuel to the “Purdy is a systems QB” crowd. It’s hard to pick a favorite at this point, but Purdy might be out.
That’s it for me. Come back tomorrow for the Angry Grinch Ward.
