NFL fit to be tied, but not hugged
1. Nothing says “NFL 2016 season” more than having two games, both nationally televised, end in ties in successive weeks for the first time since 1997.
2. Unless it is having a player get a 15yard celebration penalty for hugging an official after a touchdown. (Seattle’s Earl Thomas did it after scoring on a fumble return.) 3. No Hug League > No Fun League. 4. Fittingly, Rob Gronkowski became the Patriots’ career TD leader with a 53yard pass from Tom Brady right down the seam. The pass play nobody can stop — even those defensive whizzes, the Ryan brothers.
5. Jets QB Ryan Fitzpatrick went 3for-14 in the first half. Even Joe Namath was calling for him to be benched. (Not sure why we care what Namath has to say, but he just won’t stop bothering people on Twitter.)
6. The owner, general manager and coach must have hugged Fitzpatrick at halftime or something. In the second half he went 13-for-20 and rallied the Jets past the Browns.
7. The Josh Norman-A.J. Green matchup was worth waking up early to watch. A battle every play. Respect to both.
8. And it’s weird. Norman was flagged five times (three were accepted) and dropped two potential interceptions, yet we think he played a good game.
9. And then he just completely ripped field judge Brad Freeman after the game. Roger Goodell’s eyes went “ka-ching!”
10. Raiders quarterback Derek Carr: 513 yards passing and four TDs in an OT win against the Bucs. Already getting the popcorn ready for Carr vs. the Broncos defense next Sunday night.
11. Aaron Rodgers had 60 yards rushing against the Falcons. A career high. And you thought the Packers were hurting at running back.
12. Speaking of the Falcons, we can’t stress enough how much they needed that win Sunday. Lose that, and memories of last season’s second-half fade are all anybody wants to talk about.
13. The Saints made a defensive stop to win a game. Let that one sink in for a bit.
14. The Eagles’ game against the Cowboys on Sunday night marked the second of three in a row against opponents coming off byes.
15. For the record, the Panthers were the first to score in the early games played Sunday on the mainland with a defensive touchdown.
16. The first to score an offensive touchdown? The Browns, of course. Come on, who else could it have been?
17. Not sure what drives Bengals fans crazier: The stupid penalties this team takes every game or the fact QB Andy Dalton takes sacks on plays where the only thing that will hurt is a sack.
18. Marvin Lewis has been responsible for three of the last seven ties in the NFL. Pretty much sums up his run with the Bengals.
19. State-owned TV (NFL Network) reported that the Bears will have meetings this week to look at the whole operation. That is not a good sign for coach John Fox. 20. If you think you had a bad day, consider this: Jets. Browns. Rainy day. Your afternoon had to be better than that. 21. Nobody likes a tie, but it is still better than putting the ball at the 25-yard line the way they do in the JV games on Saturday.
22. We feel strongly that Bengals RB Jeremy Hill must celebrate TDs with the Ickey Shuffle or be penalized 15 yards. #justsayin.
23. Tom Brady finally completed a TD pass to a wide receiver. It took four games. So there’s that.
24. Tweet from NFL Research: Including his score today, @RAIDERS Donald Penn has 4 career TD, T-most by any player weighing 300+ lbs in NFL history.
25. Yay for the fat guys!
26. Josh McCown’s 228 passing yards in the first half were the most by a Browns QB in the first half of a game since Bernie Kosar in 1986. The Browns were honoring that 1986 team at halftime. Weird.
27. Sebastian Janikowski has made more 50+-yard field goals than anybody else in history ... even after missing two 50+-yard attempts at crunchtime Sunday.
28. How did the Cardinals get this bad this quickly? Just wondering.
29. Did the Chiefs really allow QB Alex Smith to go back in the game after taking a hit to the head? And then they were surprised when he got hurt again? OK, got it. 30. So the Raiders had a record 23 penalties for 200 yards. And won. Uh, that’s not a good look for you, Tampa Bay.
31. If the Colts are not going to cover tight ends, well, then they are headed to 6-10.
32. Panthers QB Cam Newton is finally tired of all the non-calls and said he plans to talk to the commissioner about it. Interesting.
33. Wade Phillips being taken off the field on a stretcher is not something we wanted to see. Be well, Wade.
34. Chargers WR Travis Benjamin had one of those TD catches you just want to see. So put it on today’s to-do list.
35. Chiefs LB Dee Ford had a day he will tell his grandkids about: 31⁄ sacks of 2 Andrew Luck. 36. Kirk Cousins’ performance was overshadowed — somewhat — by the tie and Norman’s postgame comments, but the Redskins QB threw for a career-best 458 yards. Those red-zone trips are still a problem for this team, though.
37. Oh, Chargers. You have first-andgoal from the 2 and have been running successfully. So you throw four consecutive passes? And then wonder why you lost.
38. Great stat from USA TODAY Sports’ Tom Pelissero after the Jaguars changed offensive coordinators: Running backs had just 18 carries over the last two games combined.
39. We can’t argue with firing the offensive coordinator, but there were a lot of Titans running free Thursday night against that Jags defense. But we guess Gus Bradley couldn’t fire himself.
40. Last one on the Jaguars (we promise): Those Color Rush uniforms you wore Thursday night: Ewww.