There has to be a way of holding NFL officiating to a higher standard while also recognizing that NFL refs are underresourced and not out in a position to succeed. Some of the calls out there are totally bonkers, but they are made by people that by and large are not paid enough, not employed full time, and not given the full use of the technology that could make their lives easier. It is baffling when they fail to correct mistakes after replay, but most of the things that we complain about are not reviewable. If it looks like a giant man’s hand is in another giant man’s face, do you call it because if you miss that call the Packers will hate you, or do you stay silent because if it turns out his hand was on the shoulder pad the Lions will hate you? The answer is that if you’re making the decision based on avoiding being hated, you’re not a good ref. I mean look, bad (and I do mean BAD) calls cost my team two fucking games already this season, but you know who wants us to throw the refs themselves under the bus? The fucking League front office that should be responsible for making it possible for them to do what they’re hired to do.
Of course, they make pass interference reviewable and the officials have basically staged a coup over the rulebook in retaliation, so maybe they suck too.
NE over NYG
Weirdly competitive for the first 3 quarters, with credit going partially to the Giants defense but largely to the struggling Patriots offense, which is missing its starting fullback badly. But Daniel Jones could not stop turning the ball over and eventually the dam broke.
CAR over TB
Bad Jameis showed up again, which is a relief. I keep hearing that there’s some legitimacy to the idea that the Panthers are thinking of sticking with Kyle Allen when Cam is ready again, which is just so blatantly racist. If you want Cam benched when he’s healthy but you aren’t saying the same about Drew Brees, fuck you.
NO over JAX
A real dogfight, and I think the difference here was experience, not just in terms of Teddy over Gardner but also Sean Payton being one of the longest-tenured head coaches in the league. It’s great to see the Saints claim victory in a slugfest on the road with a backup quarterback. Not a lot of teams can do that.
SEA over CLE
Entertaining as always from the Seahawks, and Russell Wilson continued a strong MVP campaign. Lots of fight from the Browns because it was an even-numbered week, but even when they’re competitive Baker’s newfound interception problem is becoming, well, a problem.
BAL over CIN
If you’ve heard that Lamar Jackson is the first QB in the super bowl era to pass for over 200 yards and run for over 150 int he same game, that stat is incorrect. The league has just forgotten about the other QB to do so, because apparently falling in line politically with the racist billionaire owners is more important than balling out.
MIN over PHI
I’m kicking myself because the writing was on the wall for this. This is mid-day home field Kirk Cousins we’re talking about. This is Stefon Diggs (on my opponent’s fantasy team) and Adam Thielen against an Eagles secondary that is straight-up bad at this point. Sure, stifle Dalvin Cook, doesn’t matter. Philly can lick their wounds and prepare for the NFC East Title Bout next week.
WSH over MIA
The ending of this game had big cursed energy. The Dolphins went for the would-be game-winning 2-point conversion in the last minute, and they failed. Ryan Fitzpatrick played half this game but apparently Josh Rosen is still the starter, so that’s interesting. In case I haven’t said it before, I am in the camp of “Tanking in football should be a labor violation because you’re asking people to put their health and livelihood on the line under false pretenses.”
HOU over KC
Deshaun did his best to keep me in my fantasy matchup, and if Will Fuller had caught just one of the 3 TD passes he dropped I would have pulled it off. But they don’t (and shouldn’t) care about that, they care that they went into Kansas City and sent the Chiefs to their second straight loss despite the gut-wrenchingly triumphant return of notable abusive piece of garbage Tyreek Hill. The narrative on the Chiefs coming into the season was that Mahomes couldn’t match last year’s output and the defense would betray them. That’s come to fruition these last two weeks.
SF over LAR
I’m finally ready to take the Niners seriously. The Rams were completely shut down by the pass rush and just couldn’t get anything to happen. Jimmy G is only playing so-so but the team isn’t built to lean on his anymore.
ARI over ATL
So the day that the pope accidentally tweets at the Saints, the Falcons lose on a last-minute missed PAT??? Classic.
DEN over TEN
A shutout!!!!!! The Broncos defense finally looks like a Fangio outfit. I’m trying not to get too optimistic but something got figured out in the run D after the Fournette game. We should be 4-2. Meanwhile Marcus Mariota ceded the second half to Ryan Tannehill because of racism.
NYJ over DAL
All the stats say Dallas won this but the scoreboard says the Jets put a stop to a last minute 2point try and held on. Sam Darnold is indeed a big upgrade over Luke Fuck.
PIT over LAC
A weekly reminder that there are 52 guys on a football team other than the starting quarterback.
GB over DET
Maybe the Packers would have won without all that help, maybe they wouldn’t. The Lions certainly played well enough to win and should be pissed. I feel bad for all of them except Kenny Golladay, who got me within 10 points of my fantasy victory in the first half and then dropped every throw in the second. And obviously I don’t feel bad for Matt Patricia, I hope he gets beard herpes.
Underdogs: 3-3 (10-12)
Locks: 3-1 (20-7-1)
Survivor: 5-1 BAL, NE, GB, LAC, KC, CAR
Don Shula Award Candidates: NE, SF
Matt Millen Sashi Brown Award Candidates: CIN, MIA
Title Belt: NE defended from NYG (7 week reign)
Dangersquirrel vs the NFL 