Also read: State of forces
It’s not the way that counts, it’s the result. Talk to the Kansas City Chiefs who have found yet another avenue to victory, securing their division title and a very favorable position one month before the NFL playoffs.
With two consecutive championships in our pocket, we give ourselves ammunition for a third. But, the road will not be paved with yellow bricks to the promised land.
Other teams are preparing their response and we had some great demonstrations during the week’s matches.
Here, without further ado, are the lessons to learn from Week 14 in the NFL.
Sam Darnold secures a nice contract
The resurrection of Sam Darnold was the story of the NFL’s early season with his surprising performance at the helm of the Vikings’ offense following the departure of Kirk Cousins.
Then, a little regression occurred in his case and since he will be a free agent next year, some wondered if the Vikings were not going to look at other options with a high draft choice on the sidelines waiting for getting his chance after a devastating injury. (JJ McCarthy, 10th overall pick in 2024 who misses the season in the infirmary)
Sunday, for the return of Kirk Cousins in Minnesota, Darnold showed that he was not going to make it easy for his organization when the time came to make the decision.
📺: #ATLvsMIN on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/ZywUjIuoD4
— NFL (@NFL)
December 8, 2024“/>
A convincing 42-21 victory with a 347-yard passing performance and, most importantly, five touchdowns.
A virtually perfect match for the Vikings quarterback and a demonstration of coach Kevin O’Connell’s creativity in the diversity of games.
Jordan Addison was Darnold’s top target on Sunday and if the offense proves that way this winter, the team could make some noise in the playoffs…and Sam Darnold could then pass on Go and demand a big contract in the spring.
Who is the real Kyler Murray ?
About a month ago, the Cardinals offense put on some nice shows and Kyler Murray was developing chemistry with Marvin Harrison Jr., to the point where we wondered if Murray would be on the short list of MVPs this season.
Except that after three consecutive defeats, a sequence during which Murray threw five interceptions, including two on Sunday against the Seahawks, we wonder what the true identity of the dynamic Cardinals quarterback is.
Capable of turning a match around with his powerful arm and his speed with the ball in his hands, Murray is also capable of making bad decisions, thus slowing down his team’s chances.
— Triple Sports News (@TripleSportsNew)
December 8, 2024“/>
Murray’s real problems, when looking at trends, are his reactions to opposing pressure. When he does not have time to operate, his average drops drastically and his decisions are volatile. When he has a few seconds in front of him, he cuts through opposing defenses.
The other teams, inevitably, adjust. This explains, in part, the three consecutive defeats and the drop in production over the past month.
Now that the playoffs seem to be a distant dream, we will have to find solutions in Arizona because we cannot always change coaches and coordinators to resolve the manufacturing flaws of a polarizing quarterback.
The Rams and the surprises
44-42, a mark that shows a spectacular match and if we told you that the Bills had once again stolen the show, we would have believed us.
But it was veteran Matthew Stafford and the Rams who added a victory to their record despite Josh Allen’s historic performance. A meeting that could confuse the issue.
On one hand, we separate the Bills from a potential role as a top seed in the playoffs. On the other hand, Los Angeles is staying alive in its own playoff race against the Seahawks and it will play out until the end of the season.
Afterwards, we wonder, could the team surprise this winter?
— Rams in Spanish (@VamosRams)
December 10, 2024“/>
Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp form quite a pair of receivers and health is back in sunny California. The 2022 Super Bowl champions appeared to be slowly heading toward a rebuild after retirements and the inevitable decline of some veterans, but Sean McVay knows how to spice up his sauce every season and the team is in the running behind Stafford’s powerful arm .
Los Angeles has a game behind the Seahawks with, on the schedule, the 49ers, the Jets, the Cards and finally Seattle. Not a worrying skewer if the team plays like it played against the Bills on Sunday.
It’s the perfect time to showcase your best form of the season.
Bucs heading to the playoffs
With the setbacks of the Falcons (especially Kirk Cousins) and the injuries plaguing the New Orleans Saints, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers seem to have free rein to win the division.
The problem is that the team was more shaky a few weeks ago, but things have recovered.
🔥🔥🔥
Baker has been special. pic.twitter.com/iyfkrpjaMn
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball)
December 3, 2024“/>
Three consecutive victories for Baker Mayfield and his cronies. Mike Evans is fully healthy and the backfield with Bucky Irving and Rachaad Withe controls the tempo of the games by accumulating at least 100 more yards than the opposing teams for three weeks.
The schedule is still favorable to the Bucs between now and the end of the season and, this is not insignificant, Tampa has the only victory against the powerful Lions this season. Beautiful business card before playoff football.
Casually, Baker Mayfield is fourth in passing yards this season behind Joe Burrow, Geno Smith and Kirk Cousins. Same thing in terms of touchdowns (28). The problem is interceptions. Mayfield has thrown 13 passes to the other team this season and let’s just say those turnovers color the Bucs’ performance.
Even with two wins in the last two weeks, he threw two interceptions per game. A pace that will be costly against good NFL teams.
In bulk
– Most Interceptions (15)
– Lowest Passer Rating (89.0)
– Worst TD/Int ratio (1.13)
– Highest Interception % (3.4%)
– Lowest TD % (3.9%) pic.twitter.com/zOZ8KgzLTt
— The Sports Numbers (@thesportnumbers)
December 8, 2024“/>
The experience Kirk Cousins in Atlanta, let’s say that regrets must set in with the bill that came with the quarter of experience. Maybe we could give Michael Penix Jr. a chance, see what he has in store.
We wanted more from the Bears, so much more. But with a 4-9 record and cleaning up among the coaches, we are already looking towards next year in Chicago.
With that, I wish you another excellent week of football and it begins Thursday, on our airwaves.
