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| Kirk Cousins is now #2 on the Redskins all-time Rookie list for single-game passing yards. Photo credit to SB Nation. |
The Giants had not been held scoreless in more than 15 years
until the Falcons, the Falcons, did
just that yesterday. After Atlanta’s 34-0 route of the defending Super Bowl
champions, the first home win against such an opponent in Matt Ryan’s career, I
am left to guess whether the game did more to answer questions about the
Falcons or raise questions about the Giants.
I’ll cop out and say it was a little of both. This game said
a lot about the Falcons character. It remains to be seen what that would count
for in the playoffs, but this was an important statement for them to make. New
York, on the other hand, has been back and forth the past five weeks and even a
bounce-back game against Baltimore next Sunday will do little to immediately
answer questions about them.
Denver’s win in Baltimore felt like a bigger blowout than
the 34-17 final score indicated, but I found it disturbing that Joe Flacco said
it feels like they are 0-14. That game, while important, was not the
end-all-be-all of the season, and Flacco’s comments should be very indicative
to Ravens fans of what kind of postseason they can expect: a short one.
Green Bay got out to a nice lead against Chicago. They let
the Bears claw their way back, but did not give up the lead as they clinched
the NFC North and put Chicago in serious danger of missing the playoffs with
three NFC East teams to contend with. Brandon Marshall’s press conference
really got to me, I feel for the guy, but that isn’t enough if the team doesn’t
make plays.
Credit Indianapolis for fighting in Houston. The Texans were
playing for the AFC South title while the Colts were playing for a chance to
take it from them when they meet again in Week 17. The Texans took care of
business to clinch their second consecutive division crown, and the second in
franchise history.
There isn’t much to say about the game in Miami. The
Dolphins kept their near impossible chance of making the playoffs alive with a
24-3 win, but it was against the Jaguars so I can’t say enough how little that
means.
Tampa Bay is done. They have not officially been eliminated,
and neither has New Orleans, but the Saints are a whole lot closer to the
playoffs after yesterday’s game. After Tampa Bay got upset by the Eagles last
week, I expected a bounce-back for them. I didn’t think they would win, simply
because the game was in New Orleans, but I never expected them to get shut out by the Saints. This is one of the worst
defenses in the league and Tampa Bay, a team with one of the best balanced
attacks in the NFL, could not put up one point in a 41-0 route. Turns out the
Bucs were pretenders after all.
Adrian Peterson carried the Vikings to a big win in St.
Louis. The Rams were fighting to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, and now
they have been all but snuffed out. Peterson topped 200 yards for the second
time this season. Last time it wasn’t enough, but yesterday it was. The Rams
put up a valiant effort and late in the game it looked like they might make it
back, but Minnesota had put up enough to outrun St. Louis in a 36-22 win that
has them now ahead of Chicago based on tiebreakers.
I had to save the Redskins for last. You all know I am a
huge fan, and yesterday was a game worth getting excited about. Kirk Cousins
struggled early in the game, throwing a pick that lead to a Cleveland
touchdown, but he settled down, Kyle Shanahan delivered an excellent game plan,
and the Redskins get into a groove that the Browns could not knock them out of.
Everything went Washington’s way yesterday, including a fumble by Santana Moss
than Pierre Garçon somehow ended up on top of. Considering those breaks never
go the Redskins’ way, I think it’s safe for Redskins Nation to start getting
pumped.
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