Best: Dalvin Cook really cooked the Steelers Thursday night. That’s right, I said it. Just because it was doesn’t mean I won’t stoop that low. I have no shame. Maybe Pittsburgh should focus more on stopping the run and less on what music they should play at practice. Looking at you, Claypool. Instead of celebrating a first down catch with 30 secs and no timeouts, how about you try to win. But this is about Chef Dalvin, not some dopey receiver. Chef Dalvin was 11 days removed from a dislocated shoulder and was questionable heading into Thursdays game. So him having one of the best games of his career was the last thing on everyone’s mind. His 205 rushing yards is the second highest of his career. He finished the game with 223 total yards on 28 touches with 2 touchdowns. Again, with a bum shoulder. He came out swinging with a 20 yard run with his first carry, as well as a 30 yarder an a 29 yarder that went for a touchdown. He gashed the Steelers D with big runs all night. With the emergence of Justin Jefferson and the veteran Adam Thielen playing lights out, some teams may forget that they also have a top 5 running back in the backfield. The Steelers seemed to be one of those forgetful teams, and they paid for it.
Worst: The Raiders decided to have a team meeting on the Chiefs logo before the game as a show of dominance, and boy did they dominate alright. They were truly dominant in the turnover column. It was an incredible performance. They turned the ball over 5 times, with the first being a Josh Jacobs fumble on the first play of the game that the Chiefs returned for a touchdown. Truly impressive. Maybe they should try to work on fielding a competent offense, and not showing off to a team that crushed you earlier this year 41-14. When the Raiders offense wasn’t in the giving mood, they were failing to reach even midfield, where they so confidently stood before the game. They finally reached their pregame location with 30 seconds left in the first half, and managed to kick a field goal to make it 35-3, so they wouldn’t feel too empty going into the half. It was much of the same in the second half, poor offensive drives and more turnovers. I foolishly predicted that Derek Carr would ball against the Chiefs, but it seemed that Derek Carr balled out for the Chiefs. Maybe he can backup Mahomes in a few years when the Raiders release him. Then he can learn how to be a consistently good QB.
Best: This moment in the Denver game. It’s good to see some wholesome and respectful actions like this in the NFL. This is what it’s all about. Major kudos to the Lions for declining the penalty. Rest in Peace Demaryius.
Worst: Urban Meyer is such a scumbag. Before Sundays games, more news regarding Meyer and his porous coaching ability had leaked. Here’s a recap. He pulled James Robinson, who is by far their best player, out of the game for fumbling on the opening drive, without informing his QB or his RB coach. It wasn’t until Lawrence, a rookie, confronted him that he allowed Robinson to return to the game. Marvin Jones Jr., who is one of the more reserved players in the NFL and a veteran leader in the locker room, was so fed up with Meyers’ criticism of the team and the receiving core that he left the facility and had to be convinced by Meyers staff to come back, only to get into a heated argument with Meyer. Perhaps the most damning news to come out this week is Meyer delivering a speech to his staff that they are losers and he is a winner, and told them to try to counter his insult by showing him their resumes. Are you serious? What kind of leader is this? This is the same man who was such a legend at Ohio State? You can be a bad coach in the NFL and still garner respect from your peers. It’s a tough job and not many people succeed at it but you do the best you can do. At the end, you still leave with your dignity and you can get a coordinator position. You may even get a second chance somewhere down the road. But calling your own staff, who you had a say in hiring, losers will ruin your personal image wayyyy more than any losing record. It honestly reflects even more poorly on you because, according to you, you can’t even get your own staff right. Hue Jackson went 3-36-1 with Cleveland, going 0-16 in 2017, and I GUARANTEE you any organization would rather have Jackson than Meyer. After this season, Urban Meyer will never set foot in the NFL again. It makes no sense to keep Meyer until the end of the season. There is nothing Urban Meyer can offer the Jaguars. Every day he remains employed is a day lost improving Trevor Lawrence. Stop the bleeding before it’s too late.
Best: Micah Parsons isn’t just a DROY candidate, he’s a DPOY candidate. The number 12 pick in the 2021 draft balled out on Sunday, recording 2 sacks, 3 tackles, 1 forced fumble that lead to a defensive TD, and a tackle for loss, bringing his total stats on the season to 12 sacks, 75 tackles, 3 forced fumbles and 17 tackle for losses. To put that in perspective, Khalil Mack recorded 11 sacks, 73 tackles, 1 forced fumble and 14 tackle for losses in his rookie year. Parsons has better stats through his first 13 games. He’s on pace to break the rookie sack record of 14.5 sacks set by Javon Kearse in 1999. Unfortunately, he may not win the award due to Myles Garret and TJ Watt having more sacks this year. He’s also competing with his teammate Trevon Diggs, who’s leading the league in INTs with 9 and has taken 2 of them for touchdowns. However, we should consider the fact that this young stud is a rookie, drafted as an off the ball linebacker, transitioning to an edge rusher. Not an easy feat for a seasoned vet, yet Parsons is flourishing. The Defensive Player of the Year should go to someone who has a major impact throughout each game, and forces opposing coaches to change their game plan simply because they are on the field. Parsons has definitely forced offensive coordinators to adjust their game plan, and he has impacted nearly every game this season just by being on the field. Its amazing how much this Dallas defense, which ranked near the bottom of the league last season, has improved, and it’s all thanks to Micah Parsons and Trevon Diggs. I would be satisfied if either of these players won the award. They both deserve it.
Worst: The Jaguars are so bad, their organization has to be featured on the Worst of Week 14 twice. I would normally give this team a pass, due to the bumbling moron they have for a coach, but if you score 0 points in a game, you almost guarantee yourself a spot in this list. This is the 7th straight week the Jags offense has scored less than 20 points in a game. They had only 192 total yards, making it the 5th time this year the offense accumulated less than 250 yards. Trevor Lawrence flopped yet again, throwing 4 interceptions and 0 touchdowns. That’s his 6th game where he has failed to throw a single TD. James Robinson only recorded 4 yards on 6 carries. I know when you are down in a game, you need to throw the ball, but when your best offensive player is your running back and you only give him 6 carries, what are you doing??? It is clear that the offensive play caller, whether that be Urban Meyer or Darrell Bevell, is not capable of running an offense. Some people may blame the players, with the old argument, “Well, they’re the ones on the field. The players can’t run the plays well enough to win the games.” While the Jags offense is full of rejects and castoffs, the horrible play calling only magnifies the lack of talent on the field, and you get plays like this. If I’m Lawrence or Robinson, I’m looking forward to next season and focusing on not getting injured this year. Here’s to hoping.
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