Quickly before we dive into this one, since not everyone has a great idea of how European soccer competitions, specifically the Champions League, are structured, we’ll give a quick run-down. This is pretty important background information to why this moment made our top 10 list for 2019. Feel free to skip this next paragraph if you have a decent understanding of the Champions League.
The UEFA Champions League is a tournament that sets out to crown one club as the champion of European club soccer. The structure is similar to the FIFA World Cup where 32 of the best teams from all of Europe are drawn into 8 groups. Then each group plays a home-and-home round robin schedule, and the top 2 teams from each group advance to the knockout stages. Each knockout fixture is determined over two matches, one game at each club’s home stadium, with the scores from both matches being aggregated to determine the winner. If the aggregate score is tied, then the first tie-breaker used to determine a winner is away goals. Whichever team scored more goals in their opponent’s stadium advances. If that doesn’t solve it, then extra time, and potentially penalty kicks, are utilized. The Champions League is *the* premier tournament in club soccer, with the final each year drawing 2-3x the viewership of the Super Bowl.
On to Liverpool and Barcelona. These two giants of clubs came into their semifinal tie with 5 Champions League titles a piece. This fixture was potentially the biggest headliner of the entire tournament as both teams were loaded with talent and play in two of the most famous stadiums in Europe. Barcelona, along with Lionel Messi, also featured two former Liverpool stars in its lineup in Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho who were sold for and €82M and €145M respectively. Liverpool, meanwhile, were seeking to avenge their loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League final in the season prior.
Liverpool played about as well as any team could in the intimidating atmosphere that is Camp Nou in Barcelona, but found themselves 3-0 down when the final whistle blew on the first leg of the tie on April 30. An opening goal by Suarez, followed by two from Messi (including an unbelievable free kick) were the difference.
Heading back home, Liverpool would need to score at least 3 goals to force extra time, but if Barcelona were to grab an ever-valuable away goal, Liverpool would then need 5 to advance. This would be a reasonably difficult feat against just about any club, but needing to accomplish it against Barcelona without the services of two of their three attackers in Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah seemed impossible.Things got off to a favorable start though as Divock Origi tapped in a follow up after a great run from captain Jordan Henderson to make the score 1-0 at halftime. Midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum was subbed on at the start of the second half and had an immediate impact, scoring twice in quick succession to level the aggregate score by the 56th minute. Having climbed all the way back, the outcome would be decided in the last half hour of the game, plus extra time/penalties if needed. They would not be needed as it turned out. Some clever thinking by Liverpool right back Trent Alexander-Arnold on a corner kick will go down in history, as he took the corner quickly, and caught the Barcelona defense napping to find Origi alone in front of the net who guided the ball into the top corner. Leading 4-3 on aggregate in the 79th minute, Liverpool would grind out the final 10 minutes to complete one of the greatest comebacks in sports history.
The Reds would go on to defeat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in the Champions League final, collecting their 6th European title and first since 2005.
9. Stephen F. Austin beats #1 Duke at Cameron Indoor.
On November 26, Stephen F. Austin, a small school in East Texas, did the improbable by knocking off #1 Duke 87-85 in overtime at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Over the past 3 years, SFA has become known as a potential bracket buster come March, however Duke had not lost a home game in 150 games. The Blue Devils came into the game as 28 point favorites.
The Lumberjacks were able to stifle Duke’s offense the entire game and were able to take away the Blue Devil’s home-court advantage. Duke led by 5 at the half, however the Lumberjacks were able to bounce back in the 2nd half to force overtime. It was in overtime where the Lumberjack magic came to life as mass chaos would ensue.
With 15 seconds left, Duke’s Tre Jones missed a jump shot but Wendell Moore snagged the offensive rebound. Moore kicked it back out to Jack White who passed it back to Jones. Jones drove to the lane however the Lumberjack forced him to make an errant pass. The ball kicked away and was grabbed by Lumberjack Gavin Kensmil who then passed it to Nathan Bain. In a frantic dash across the court, Bain laid the ball in at the buzzer in front of the Cameron Crazies to give the Lumberjacks the upset victory.
Video by ACC Digital Network
As the Lumberjacks went into a frenzy on the court, Cameron Indoor was silent. In the post-game press conference, SFA coach Kyle Keller said “I told our players, banners can’t beat us tonight. The players have to beat us.” Anytime Duke loses, Americans around the country can rejoice. However, there is call for extra celebration when a mid-major like SFA can knock off Coach K’s team on their home-court.
A sixteen seed had never beaten a one seed in March Madness. The closest any sixteen seed had come to this impressive feat was in 1996 when Western Carolina lost 73-71 to Purdue. However, on March 16th 2018, history was made when the University of Maryland-Baltimore County beat the first ranked Virginia Cavaliers 74-54.
Virginia came into the tournament with championship aspirations as the number one overall seed. They went 31-2 including a 20-1 record in the ACC, arguably the best conference in the NCAA. They had the top-ranked defense in the country and were led by one of the best young minds in college basketball in head coach Tony Bennett. The Cavaliers came into the game as 20.5-point favorites making it the 2nd biggest upset in NCAA tournament history behind Norfolk State’s upset over Missouri in 2012.
On the other hand, the Retrievers were far less talented than the Cavs and were only in the NCAA tournament due to a last second 3-pointer from senior guard Jairus Lyles in the America East Conference championship over Vermont. As one would expect, the Retrievers came in as heavy underdogs and were projected to lose by 20.5 points according to the sportsbooks in Vegas.
However, on this night it was the Retrievers who played as if they were the heavy favorites. The once vaunted UVA defense had absolutely no answer for Lyles who scored a game high 28 points. In the words of Coach Bennett at the postgame press conference, it was a “thorough butt whipping.” America was stunned as millions of brackets around the country were now busted.
While the Retrievers put on a show on the court, it was their Twitter account who stole the hearts of Americans with some of the most memorable tweets of the decade.
The Retrievers would go on to lose in the next round against Kansas State, however their victory over the Cavaliers will live in infamy. In 2019, the Cavaliers would once again be a number one seed in the NCAA tournament. This time though the outcome was far different as they would go on to win the NCAA Division One basketball championship and celebrate by cutting the nets. No college basketball fan will ever forget where they were the night the sixteen seed beat the one seed.
Coming in at #10 for sports moments for the decade is the 2016 NCAA basketball championship where Villanova beat UNC 77-74 off a last second three-point shot. This game was a close back-and-fourth matchup between two powerhouse schools for the NCAA championship.
With 6 seconds left, UNC guard, Marcus Paige, hit an awkward double clutched 3- point shot to tie the game. 74-74. This was one of the most clutch shots seen. The defender jumped to block his shot, but Paiges double clutch allowed him to avoid the block, and still get the shot off. With just 6 seconds, left, most spectators were gearing up for overtime.
Kris Jenkins inbounds the ball to Villanova guard, Ryan Arcidiacono. Arcidiacono dribbles the ball up the floor to the 3- point line, and then turns around to flip the ball to forward, Kris Jenkins, who trailed Arcidiacono. Arcidiacono used his body to shield, so Jenkins could have clean 3-point shot. The shot goes up… and swish. Game over.
This national championship featured one of the best back and fourths in the final seconds of the decade. The game also featured big name players who went on to play in the NBA such as Villanova guards, Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, as well as UNC forwards, Justin Jackson and Kennedy Meeks.
Coming in at #10 on sports moments of 2019 is Joe Burrow’s dominance in college football this season. Not only has his performance on the field been nothing short of spectacular, but he also has an incredible story to how he got to be the Heisman QB for the undefeated LSU Tigers.
Joe Burrow, the 3-star recruit out of Ohio, attended Ohio State University. It was there where he sat on the bench his first three seasons behind quarterbacks JT Barrett, and Cardale Jones. Burrow even got the nickname, “John Burrow,” out of mockery from his other teammates since JT’s first name was Joe. In his fourth year, Burrow lost the starting job to freshman, Dwayne Haskins. That is when Burrow transferred to LSU under Coach Orgeron. Burrow immediately became the starter and lead LSU to 10-3 and 13-0 records back to back years.
2019 was history in the making for quarterback Joe Burrow. Burrow lead to LSU Tigers to an undefeated season, and a #1 seed in the College Football Playoffs. He also won the Heisman trophy after being 15,000-1 odds for the award in the preseason. Burrow’s Heisman victory featured the largest margin of victor ever. Burrow also threw for 4,715 yards (ranked 2nd), 48 touchdowns (1st), and completed 77.9% of his passes (1st). In addition, Burrow won
Davey O’Brien National Quarterback of the Year Award
Greetings, as we settle into the holidays and the new year, it is important that we all take time to reflect on the past year. Therefore, we should especially take some time to reflect on the College Football season. This college football season brought a lot of moments and plays to be grateful for. Here is an accumulated list of plays and moments that ranked among the top of the entire 2019 college football season.
10. Illinois Upsets #6 Wisconsin
Coming in at #10, is the upset for the Illinois Fighting Illini over undefeated Wisconsin, 24-23. Down 13 points near the end of the 3rd, the Fighting Illini stormed back and won the game with a game winning field goal. Illinois were 31 point underdogs, but shocked the nation by giving #6 Wisconsin their first loss of the season.
Along with that particular game and game-winning kick, what Love Smith has done to this program has been impressive. He has this program on the right track, and bowl bound for the first time in 4 seasons. A traditional basketball is starting to make some headway in the College Football realm.
9. Virginia Tech Over UNC in 6 OT
If the LSU- A&M 7 OT game was the flavor blasted Goldfish, than this game is the off-brand Goldfish you find in the back of a Walmart. While this game did not carry the hype of the shoot out in Kyle Field last year (mainly due to being a measly ACC matchup), it did provide a lot of entertainment, and suspense as the game went into 6 overtimes.
A person sees 6 overtimes, and thinks a lot of scoring, but the final score was only 43-41 Virginia Tech featuring only 22 combined points scored in the 6 overtime periods. This game would be higher up on the top moments of College Football the game carried more stakes.
8. Miss State Beats Ole Miss in Egg Bowl Fluke
I look back on this game, and thank this game for giving me entertainment on Thanksgiving day since the NFL game was a blowout. Mississippi State, and Ole Miss were in a classic turkey bowl battle for the state of Mississippi, where Ole Miss was down 7 in the 4th quarter. With 3 turnovers, Ole Miss has struggled offensively the entire game, but managed to mount a 82-yard drive that resulted in a 2-yard Ole Miss touchdown with 4 seconds left to give the PAT the chance to tie the game.
Immediately after catching the touchdown, Ole Miss WR, Elijah Moore, ran to the back of the end zone in Starkville, MS and celebrated the touchdown by imitating to be a dog, and take a leak/ go to the bathroom on the Miss. State field. While the celebration was hilarious especially in a rival game, it immediately drew a flag from the official for excessive celebration. Now all the pressure was on the Ole Miss kicker as a “gimme” PAT to tie it up just got moved back a daunting 15 yards. Like a scene of the movie, the Ole Miss kicker missed the game tying PAT, and Mississippi State came away a win in the Egg Bowl all because an Ole Miss WR wanted to pee like a dog in the end zone.
If you remember… after last year’s Sugar Bowl win and missing the College Football Playoffs, UT Quarterback, Sam Ehlinger, screamed into the microphone “Longhorn Nation, we’re backkkkkk’ during the postgame. For months, the nation has been baffled by this quote. What is the University of Texas back to? Mediocrity? Bowl eligibility? Well we found out this season as in the Longhorns went 7-5 after being ranked #10 to start the season. After every UT loss this year, people all over twitter spammed the video of Ehlinger saying “we’re back” to not let any UT or their fans forget it.
7. UT Being Back
When you reflect on this College Football season, the season would be incomplete if we forgot about the University of Texas “being back” phenomenon, as well as the “horns down” takeover.
Additionally, there seemed to be a lot of drama surrounding the “horns down” gesture this year. Last season, the Big-12 started to penalize teams for making the “horns down” hand sign. After this statement by the Big-12, this seemed to only inspire fans more to show the “horns down” out of mockery. It seemed like regardless of whether UT was playing in the stadium or not, a “horns down” sign was being thrown somewhere to make fun of the Austin school. It got to be such a big deal that College Gameday did a segment over it prior to Texas’s loss to LSU.
6. Baylor’s Incredible Turnaround
On the other hand, arguably the biggest surprise in College Football has been the Baylor Bears. After going 1-11 two seasons ago, Matt Rhule took the Bears to an impressive 11-2 record including a Big-12 championship appearance. Ranked at #7, Baylor has displayed one of the best turnarounds in College Football.
This was a team that lost to Liberty and UTSA at home in 2017, and then went on to beat every Big-12 team except Oklahoma in two years later. Matt Rhule has taken the Bears where no one thought they would be.
With a double-digit win season, Baylor is back in the Sugar Bowl for the first time since 1957.
5. UCLA Beats Washington 67-63 in Shootout
This game deserves to be in Top 10 moments of 2019 because it is a game that we all love to watch: offensive shootout. This game was the game college football fans dream to see on their TV when they are debating on whether to go to sleep or somehow watch Pac-12 football on a late Saturday night. A game that featured 14 passing TD’s and over 1300 yards of total offense, this is the game that we all took apart of in our NCAA 06 video game on the Play Station 2.
Down 49-17 at one point, UCLA stormed back to put up 50 points in the 2nd half including a game-winning touchdown from 15 yards out for UCLA. This game is in the top 10 for the combination of amount of offense displayed, and an incredible comeback.
4. BYU Hail Marry Against Tennessee
If Americans love anything in sports, its a good underdog team. Americans were the underdog in the revolutionary war, and ever since they find themselves rooting for the underdog. The up and coming BYU Cougars went up to face the historically acclaimed Tennessee Volunteers from the SEC. Down 3 with 18 seconds left in the 4th quarter, BYU faced a 3rd & 6 on their own 20 yard line. Tennessee is playing a prevent defense just to keep BYU from a field goal. Next play, BYU QB, Zach Wilson, connects with WR, Micah Simon, on a blown coverage for a 64-yard bomb putting them inside the red zone. This then leads to a clutch field goal from kicker, Jake Oldroyd from 33 yards out to send the game into overtime.
BYU then goes on to win the game in the 2nd overtime by scoring a touchdown. This was such a huge moment this season because it seemed like all was lost for the Cougars, but then they made a miracle play for 64 yards in the last seconds to give them another shot in overtime against a favored SEC team sending Tennessee to 0-2.
3. Clemson Making the Playoffs Again
While Clemson’s season was generally overlooked mostly due to how flashy Ohio State and LSU looked, and the drama of the College Football Playoffs, Clemson still managed to have a very impressive season going undefeated for the 3rd time in 5 seasons. With their undefeated season, Clemson makes the College Football Playoffs yet again making this the 5th time in a row tied for most with Alabama.
This is an incredible achievement for Dabo Swinney and his team as they have made the playoffs for half the decade. This makes them one of the top College Football Dynasties of the decade (probably only behind Alabama). This achievement should be noted regardless of the Tigers’ questionable strength of schedule.
2. Bama Missing the Playoffs
What is better than a team making the playoffs for 5 years straight… a team that finally misses the playoffs after 5 years. Alabama will miss the playoffs for the first time since the College Football Playoffs were formed in 2014. Nearly the whole nation cheered when Alabama lost to Auburn in the iron bowl eliminating their playoff chances. A giant complaint in College Football was the lack of differentiation since Alabama has won the national championship 5 out of the last 10 years, and have been in the playoffs for the last 5 years.
Now nearly the whole country seems rejuvenated watching an NCAAF postseason without Nick Saban and crew.
1.Burreaux Mania & Company
Sitting at #1 College Football moment of 2019 had to be the Ed Orgeron and his Bayou Bengals of Louisiana. The LSU Tigers were the #1 story in college football this year between their new revamped offense, winning the SEC, and Joe Burrow’s Heisman run.
The nation seemed to fall in love with the university after they upset Alabama at home, and of course America’s sweetheart, Ed Orgeron. Beating two top-10 teams, and four top-15 teams made them the #1 seed in the College Football Playoffs, their first appearance since the playoffs origin in 2014.
Along with their team achievements, LSU’s players & staff won a myriad of personal awards including the Heisman, Maxwell, Davey O’Brien, Jim Thorpe, Biletnikoff, and coach of the year. The combination of these made LSU’s overarching success the #1 moment in College Football in 2019.
Howdy everyone and welcome back to this week’s Picks from God. I would like to start off by voicing my discontent towards the Indianapolis Colts and the Seattle Seahawks. For those who didn’t get a chance to read last weeks Picks from God, we went 2-2 (-1U) as we won Tamu CC +10 and U40.5 in Army-Navy game. However, we lost Seahawks -6.5 and O48.5 in the Monday Night Football matchup.
Early in the 4th quarter the Seahawks held a comfortable 20-point lead over the Carolina Panthers. 10 minutes and 2 touchdowns later, the Seahawks win the game by 6 points and therefore, not covering the 6.5 point spread. I have advised everyone to ride the Seahawks money train the whole year, however I believe it’s best if we all got off at the next station. Getting blown out by the Rams and then not covering against the Panthers has me racing for the exits. This team is dead to me.
Jacoby Brissett and Marlon Mack stink. That’s it. The Colts offense is horrendous. How in the great Lord’s name does the over not hit when one team puts up 34 points?!? Just ridiculous.
With that being said, this week the Lord has spoketh to me again and we have a few winners lined up. With a solid mix of NCAA Basketball, bowl games and NFL action let’s dive into Grad School’s Picks from God.
*Grad School Sports reminds you to please gamble responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, please call 1-800-522-4700.
1. NCAA Basketball: Oregon State (-anything*) vs. Texas A&M. *As of publishing, there is no official line for this game. For those who slept through last weeks lesson let me give you some advice. If you want to make money, bet against Aggie Men’s Basketball. I may be an Aggie graduate. However, until Buzz Williams thoroughly renovates that program, I will continue to advise everyone to bet agains them. They have still yet to cover a spread this season and Reed Arena isn’t exactly a rowdy venue anymore. Take whatever the book will give you on the Beavers.
2. NCAA Football: Utah State (-6) vs. Kent State. I like my chances with good quarterbacks and Utah State QB Jordan Love is a stud. Love has thrown for over 3,000 yards and has 17 touchdowns on the year. Couple that with the RB duo of Gerold Bright and Jaylen Warren and I like my chances against a very subpar Golden Flashes team. I like Utah State to show us the Love in the Frisco Bowl.
3. NFL: L.A. Rams vs. San Francisco 49ers (-6.5). The Rams suck. Coming off an embarrassing loss to the Cowboys and being virtually eliminated from the playoffs doesn’t give me hope for this ballclub. I also bet on QB’s and it’s a lopsided matchup in that category. The man Jimmy G is lightyears ahead of Jared Goff and the Niners will be looking to make a statement ahead of their pivotal matchup with the Seahawks in the last week of the season. Also, the last time these two teams met Goff had absolutely no answer for the Niners’ defense and I expect a similar result this time around.
4. NFL: Arizona Cardinals vs. Seattle Seahawks (-9.5). Like that one girlfriend you can’t seem to forget, I am back on the Seahawks after our 3-day hiatus. Am I worried that the Seahawks may be overlooking this Cardinals team with the 49ers’ on the horizon? No. 2 words: Russell Wilson. He will have this team ready to go in a raucous CenturyLink Field. He understands home-field advantage is at stake and I’m looking forward to watching this defense feast on Kyler Murray. Yes, the Seahawks have been unreliable the last two weeks. However, the Lord preaches forgiveness and we should do so now.
Please remember, I am not a professional gambler. So please do yourself a favor and fade me at all costs. In addition, if you do not have the funds or live in an area where gambling is prohibited by law, please do not gamble. As we conclude this week’s picks, lets all remember Jeremiah 29:11. Good luck to everyone this weekend.
This Sunday at 3:25, the Dallas Cowboys travel to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles in a battle for the #1 spot in the NFC East. Both teams come into the matchup with a mediocre 7-7 record sitting at top of the division. What has been a rather underwhelming fight for the division will all come to an end this Sunday. If the Cowboys win, they will clinch the #1 seed in the NFC East making the Cowboys the NFC East champion for the two years in a row- first time in 8 years. On the other hand if the Eagles win, they do not clinch playoff berth, but control their own destiny sitting on top of the division.
Now both teams have had an underwhelming season since the Eagles and Cowboys were predicted to have 11 and 10 wins respectively when both teams can only get a maximum of 9 wins this season. They met previously in October in Arlington where the Cowboys beat the Eagles 37-10. The Cowboys in that game looked dominant and clearly the better team; however, that was nearly 2 months ago and a lot has happened since.
Since that game, the Cowboys have lost 4 out of their next 7 games losing to all teams above .500 except for the Rams. The media has swarmed them regarding the possibility of firing Jason Garrett after losing to the Bills on Thanksgiving, and the Bears in primetime. The Eagles have also experience their share of struggles losing 3 out of their next 7 games including the Dolphins, and nearly losing to the Redskins and Giants.
The Cowboys now come into this game ranked 2nd in passing averaging 300 yards a game, and are 6th in rushing averaging 134 yards a game. On the other side, the Eagles are 16th in passing with 231.5 yards a game, and 11th in rushing with 121.4 rushing yards a game. The Cowboys offense seems to have a little bit of an advantage; however their defenses are similar being next to each other in nearly every team defensive stat. The Cowboys have won 4 games against the Eagles in a row and are looking to add a 5th on Sunday.
Keys to the Game
The key to the game for the Cowboys is to run the ball. The Cowboys have looked the best they have looked recently last week when they beat the Rams, and running the ball was a huge part of it. They had over 250 yards on the ground in their win against the wins. Establishing run will not only open up the pass for quarterback, Dak Prescott, it will eat up the clock and keep the Eagles offense off the field majority of the game.
The key to the game for the Eagles is their defense and their ability to stop the run/force turnovers. The Eagles offense is banged up with only 2 healthy wide receivers, and their running backs are banged up. This offense has struggled to score in the first half the past few games. So if the Eagles defense can put pressure on Dak to force some bad throws, or even some turnovers, then that gives the offense the boost it needs in this rivalry game.
Prediction
Predicting a game that includes the Cowboys is always tough because you never know which team will show up. I think the Cowboys are the healthier, and more talented team. Normally, I would say the Eagles, but the Eagles have struggled against bad teams the past 3 weeks (Dolphins, Giants, Redskins). Additionally, the Cowboys always seem to play well against the Eagles (winning the last 4 games against them). I am going to go with the Cowboys over the Eagles 27-20.
Dallas and Philadelphia will square off 3:25 CT this Sunday on FOX. The winner will most likely win the NFC East, and be the #4 seed in the NFC playoffs. The NFC East champion will most likely host a playoff game against either the Seattle Seahawks or San Fransisco 49ers whichever team is the runner-up.
We’re about 48 hours past the Pats getting back into W column and boy does it feel good. Defense balled out, offense was effective enough, but all in all it felt like the Pats did just enough to get back on track. My thoughts below.
Defense
This defense is absurd. The Pats currently have two of the best corners in the league on the roster. Everyone now knows Stephon Gilmore, candidate for defensive player of the year, and arguably the top corner in the league. He took home two interceptions, including a pick six on the day. He currently boasts a QB rating of 32 against him when receivers he is covering are targeted. This weekend he covered Tyler Boyd, who I pointed out in my game preview is putting together a pretty nice season. Gilmore held him to two catches for 24 yards, but somehow Boyd still thought he won most of their one on one match-ups. Hats off to you for the confidence, Tyler…I guess. Gilmore is currently tied for the league high in interceptions, with six.
His counterpart, J.C. Jackson, is probably a name that most fans of the NFL in general don’t know off the top of their head. J.C. is an undrafted DB out of the University of Maryland. He put together a really good rookie season last year and has only stepped it up from there. He currently touts a QB rating of 28 when receivers he is covering are targeted. Jackson also had two interceptions to add to his season total of 5. It’s pretty rare to find undrafted studs like J.C. The fact that he’s playing DB, one of the toughest individual positions in the sport in my opinion, makes it even more impressive.
It’s no wonder why Zac Taylor said he thought his receivers got “bullied” by the Patriots DB’s. The whole secondary was jumping routes and hitting hard all day long. It was awesome to watch, but even more funny to hear Taylor say that. A first year head coach (also the youngest head coach in the league) probably doesn’t need to be beating down his players at the end of a year like this. Oh well though.. Bengals gonna Bengal.
Special Teams
The special teams group has balled out all season and this game was no different. Jake Bailey added to his stellar rookie season, consistently pinning the Bengals in unfavorable field position. Nate Ebner almost blocked another kick, and the duo of Matthew Slater and Justin Bethel is any special teams coaches’ dream. Since the addition of Bethel, the Pats have not given up a punt return of more than ten yards. That’s truly remarkable when you consider the rate at which the Pats are punting – currently 3rd in the league with 5.4 per game.
Matthew Slater caused a fumble on a punt which turned out to be a big turning point in the game. It was caused by some lucky timing by Slater’s right arm/hand, and a Bengals blocker ever so slightly pushing Slater into the punt returner, which negated a possible penalty for punt interference. The Bengals were furious that nothing was called, and the team really seemed defeated after it happened. Who recovered it you ask? None other than Justin Bethel.
Offense
If you just look at the stats you’d probably think the offense had another lackluster performance. Brady only had 129 yards, Michel had 89 (one of his higher totals for the year), but as a whole, the Pats had 175+ yards on the ground, and the passing game showed a good bit of improvement.
The one big bright spot in the offense was the usage of N’Keal Harry. The rookie only had two catches for 15 yards, but made an awesome diving catch in the back of the end zone, and showed unreal athleticism making a diving over the shoulder catch that was negated due to a penalty. While Harry may not have put up eye popping numbers, it was encouraging to see him out there for a majority of the snaps, and his confidence seemed to be at a high point during this game. I’m looking for him to emerge as a real number two threat down the stretch, he could be really big for this team.
I mentioned one of the keys to this game being the offensive line. The big guys certainly had a better outing than the Chiefs game, but there’s still room for improvement. Marcus Cannon got beat several times by Carlos Dunlap and Sam Hubbard, who both sacked Brady and hit him multiple times. Isaiah Wynn and Joe Thuney led the way and showed off their versatility. Much like my hope for Harry, I still think this group can be way better than they have showed so far.
On the negative side, Mohamed Sanu continues to disappoint. He dropped a pivotal pass on third down, and only caught two passes for 13 yards in total. Phillip Dorsett played nine snaps, as his position as a go to option in this offense seems to be over. Edelman and Brady showed some rare miscommunication as a few passes either missed Edelman or hit off his fingers. I’m sure we’ll never know the extent of his injuries this season, but it’s pretty obvious that Jules is hurting.
On to Buffalo
Buffalo comes to Foxborough this Saturday for the second of three games that will be played on Saturday. It’s a short week for both teams, but I don’t expect that to negatively effect anybody on either side as both realize that this is a pretty big game for both teams.
The Pats need to win this game to retain the 2nd spot in the AFC, if they lose they risk dropping behind the Chiefs, who have the head to head advantage. Unfortunately, the Super Bowl still goes through Baltimore.
For Buffalo, it’d be huge for their confidence going into the playoffs, and further solidify the great season they’re having so far. They’re coming off a huge win in Pittsburgh, Josh Allen is playing well, the defense is the strength of their team, and they’re without a doubt hyped up to go into New England and get a shot at dethroning the Pats.
I’m expecting a dog fight in Gillette. The Bills are going to come out swinging, they’re going to be hyped up, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Pats down early. But it’s going to come down to who can execute when it matters, who wins in the trenches, and who can get open consistently. This will probably be a low scoring defensive battle – wouldn’t want it any other way in December.
It’s game day. Week 15 and we’re on to Cincinnati. Even though the match-up looks extremely lopsided on paper, I’m expecting a hard fought game between a hungry Bengals team and a Pats team that is desperately trying to get it into gear. Here are my thoughts for today’s game:
Are the Bengals that bad?
While the Bengals speed ahead towards picking newly minted Heisman awardee, Joe Burrow, number one overall, they’ve actually shown signs of improvement.
On the offensive side, Andy Dalton, Tyler Boyd, and Joe Mixon have come on as of late. Boyd has quietly put together an outstanding season with 73 receptions (t-12th in the NFL), 833 receiving yards (27th) and 3 TDs. He’s a versatile, quick, and trustworthy receiver the likes of which the Pats are missing right now.
Since his return from being benched, Dalton has put up respectable numbers, and led the Bengals to their first win. He’s a veteran that does a good job managing the game and protecting the ball. I expect him to land somewhere next year as a well paid backup.
In his last 5 games, Mixon has scored once in three of them, and had two games over 100 yards rushing, including 146 last week against the Browns. He hasn’t been close to his top ten fantasy RB rating that most gave him, but nonetheless, he’s a dangerous offensive weapon.
On the offensive side of the ball, I don’t really expect much out of the Bengals. They’re without number two WR, Auden Tate, who was placed on IR this week, so outside of Boyd and Mixon – there’s not much to worry about. I think this could be another dominant game for a Pats D that has slowed down lately.
The Bengals defense has actually been pretty impressive in their last four games. They haven’t given up more than 21 points, and had their two best performances at home vs. the Jets and Steelers holding them to six and sixteen points, respectively.
I think this is a defense that is comfortable and excited playing at home, and without a doubt is relishing the chance to host a struggling Patriots offense. Former Buckeye Sam Hubbard has been playing well as of late, Geno Atkins and Carlos Dunlap have also been effective pass rushers progressing in the right direction. I’m expecting this Bengals defense to treat this as their Super Bowl and play with their hair on fire all day.
Can the Patriots Figure it out?
If there was an entry for “get right game” in the dictionary, they’d probably put this game as the definition. The Pats have dropped two in a row (they’ve never dropped three in a row during the Belichick era) and they’re on the road against the worst team in the league. Here’s what I’m looking for today:
Offensive Line
Last week against the Chiefs was a really bad outing for the line as a whole. Minus the performance of Joe Thuney, who earned an 88 grade from Pro Football Focus, Chiefs defenders were penetrating the Pats line all night. Brady was literally under siege on most of his drop backs. The o-line has been hampered by injuries all year, and starting center Ted Karras is questionable today after not playing last week. He’d be a big upgrade over his replacement, James Ferrentz, who got his first NFL start last week and was a big step down from Karras.
If the offensive line can put a good game together today, it will not only be huge for their own confidence, but the whole offense as a whole. Everything starts up front, it’s a huge reason why the offense rolled at the end of the year last year and into the playoffs. The big men up front dominated, the run game followed, and Brady had time to throw the ball. If the big guys play well today, Brady will have more time to throw, which could be huge for building trust with receivers, and the run game will have more of an opportunity to hit its stride.
Throwing the ball
As it has seemed to be every week, the pressure is on Phillip Dorsett, Mohamed Sanu, and N’Keal Harry to make an impact. Harry barely played last week, and since his mishap in Houston, hasn’t been given much of a chance. However, in his only reception last week, he showed a flash of greatness with his now infamous touchdown that was ruled “out of bounds”. I’m still not over that one, fire those refs.
Anyways, I think this receiving core is more talented than they have shown. I truly believe Harry can be an impact player, and all throughout his tenure in Foxborough, Dorsett has been an ultra reliable receiver. Sanu has been disappointing thus far, and if we had to do the trade deadline over again, I wish the Pats went and got Emmanuel Sanders. Having said that, I still think Sanu can be great on this team.
I’m looking for Josh McDaniels and the offensive staff to finally put together the ‘re-make’ of the offense. Last year they reset the offense to rely heavily on the run, this year the offensive identity is still not set. It’s a con because we’re losing games to good teams now because the offense isn’t in sync. But it’s a pro going forward into the playoffs because teams might not know what to expect.
Pats 24 – Bengals 9
I’m expecting this to be another hard fought game with offensive hiccups, defensive dominance, and in the end a Patriots playoff clinching victory.
I think Brady will begin to get it right with some receivers not named Edelman (let’s hope he stays healthy) and I think Harry is primed to take the next step in this category.
I’ve got the defensive scoring at least one touchdown today – if not I wouldn’t be surprised to see multiple takeaways.
Here’s to a good ‘get it right’ game, and marking 12/15/2019 as the second “we’re onto Cincinnati” game that reignites the dynasty.
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