The NFL had warned its 32 teams for a long time already: even if one of them loses all of its quarterbacks to COVID-19, it would have to play the game on its schedule.
That’s what the excellent Adam Shefter (ESPN) taught us on Sunday. And that’s exactly what happened with the Denver Broncos.
Let’s recap. Reservist quarterback Jeff Driskel tested positive for the virus a few days ago. Since the club’s other three quarters (starter Drew Lock, Brett Rypien and Blake Bortles) failed to follow protocol by not wearing a mask at a meeting Driskel attended, they were forced to take time off. them too for Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints.
The Broncos were hoping they could use assistant coach Rob Calabrese as a starting quarterback, but the NFL did not accept the request. A former Central Florida University Knights quarterback, Calabrese has been an assistant with the team for two years. The NFL also denied the Broncos’ request to postpone the game, which was easily won, 31-3, by the Saints.
The Broncos wanted to see Calabrese at quarterback because he is familiar with their offensive system, which clearly was not the case with Kendall Hinton, who ended up behind center. A freshman catcher on the development team, Hinton had been a reserve quarterback at Wake Forest University.
Hinton only managed one of his nine passing attempts for 13 yards and was the victim of two interceptions. Unsurprisingly, the Broncos favored their ground game with 33 races.
A plan, and quickly!
After what just happened in Denver and with what is going on now with the Baltimore Ravens, who have reportedly had at least 18 positive COVID-19 tests among their players, there is less and less doubt that the NFL will have to adjust his game plan.
It’s one thing to have to postpone a game or have a team play it with drastically reduced numbers in season. It’s another to do it in the playoffs …
Can you imagine if Patrick Mahomes, Ben Roethlisberger or some other star quarterback ever received a positive result 48 hours from a conference final or even the Super Bowl? How would the league react? By asking the team to use their third quarter or a player who had already thrown a few passes in high school?
The bubble towns option for the playoff tournament is being talked about more and more often, and if the NFL is to avoid disaster and be ridiculed, that is precisely what it needs to plan for as quickly as possible, if it’s not already done.
Brady and the Bucs no match
It was perhaps the most one-sided three-point victory in professional football history. The Kansas City Chiefs won, 27-24, over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but it looked like they had won 47-14 …
It was the “Mahomes and Hill Show” in Tampa, especially in the first half. Mahomes already had 359 yards on the odds after the first two quarters, while his top receiver already had 210. Tyreek Hill scored all three Chiefs touchdowns and finished the game with 13 catches for 269 yards.
Poor Carlton Davis III, the cornerback who was assigned to watch Hill most of the time, surely didn’t have a very pleasant evening after the game. Hill laughed at him the whole game.
PHOTO JASON BEHNKEN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tyreek Hill, des Chiefs de Kansas City
It is not so rocket science, however. In order to stop or better contain Hill, who is the NFL’s most explosive and fast receiver, defenses need to give him double cover in almost every game. Either the Bucs didn’t, or the safety half wasn’t responding quickly enough.
Mahomes delivered another majestic performance (37 for 49 for 462 yards and 3 touchdowns) under the watch of Tom Brady, who meanwhile offered some uneven play for the third straight game. Brady completed 27 of his 41 passes for 345 yards and threw 3 touchdowns. But he also threw two more interceptions in the third quarter and took way too long to get going. The game was essentially over when he did it. His stats were empty calories.
Mike Evans ‘two touchdowns in the fourth quarter kept the Buccaneers holding up slim hopes, but it is suspected that they were partly scored because the Chiefs’ defense played too soft behind a comfortable 17 point lead. When nothing was played yet, Brady and company didn’t do much except a few games by Rob Gronkowski.
The release to correct the shooting
With just over a month to go before the playoffs start, the situation is worrying for the Bucs. After three months, there should be better “chemistry” between Brady and his many talented receivers. There are shards here and there, but very little consistency.
Tom Brady and head coach Bruce Arians may say that their relationship is good and everything is looking good, there is clearly something wrong. And that something has to do with the Buccaneers’ offensive system.
Unlike most of his career with the New England Patriots, Brady has to hold onto the ball and throw passes from a good distance with his new team. Arians has always favored passes of 15 yards and more, while Brady and the Pats generally favored short passes of 5 yards.
As was the case when they were downgraded by the New Orleans Saints two weeks ago, the Buccaneers have seen several of their playoffs come to an end after three small games in the first quarter. This slow start gave the Chiefs a 17-0 lead in the first quarter. It becomes virtually impossible to defeat Mahomes and the Chiefs when they have such a cushion.
The Buccaneers will not play their next game until December 13 against the Minnesota Vikings. They will therefore have to take advantage of their spring break to find solutions. With a 7-5 record, they remain in a good position to advance to the playoffs, but if they don’t play much better than they have been since the start of the calendar, their tournament won’t last long.
Towards a double
If the Pittsburgh Steelers are to hold onto the top spot in the American Conference, they’ll need to keep picking up the wins, who are currently 10-0. That of the Chiefs is now 10-1, and we can tell you in a big way that they won’t lose often in the home stretch.
Sometimes it seems too easy for Andy Reid’s men. When well protected, which is usually the case, Mahomes has too many weapons around him to be contained. Did you see his pass to Mecole Hardman after he gained a few seconds by moving to his right in a third down situation? Or his “submarine” pass? Or his 17-yard run to win a first play? Crazy talent.
If Steve Spagnuolo’s defense uplifts the quality of their game at this time of year like they did last year, the Chiefs will be extremely difficult to stop in January. While the Steelers are still unbeaten, the Chiefs have an excellent chance of being the first team in more than 15 years to lift the Lombardi Trophy two years in a row.
