Brown bonanza, Zimmer zingers win day
In honor of Super Bowl 50, here are 50 things we learned in Week 9:
1. Cam Newton, MVP candidate. Discuss. (But not until you have read the next 49.)
2. Blaine Gabbert, MVP candidate. (Just kidding.)
3. Vikings DL Linval Joseph continued his great play, though it is not getting noticed too far out of Minnesota. That could change soon. Said teammate Brian Robison: “He’s having a Pro Bowl-type season. I am going to lobby for him. If he doesn’t (go), it’s a travesty.” We agree.
4. Steelers WR Antonio Brown, 17 catches for 284 yards. He might have saved the Steelers’ season all by himself.
5. Unfortunately, Brown might not see those numbers again for a while. Ben Roethlisberger left with a foot injury and is expected to miss a couple weeks. Been that kind of year for the Steelers.
6. And welcome back, Sammy Watkins. We don’t hear anybody in Buffalo criticizing his work ethic after eight catches for 168 yards and a great fingertip TD catch.
7. Peyton Manning is 0-2 in returns to Indianapolis. And he didn’t get to set the career passing yardage record there. Somewhere Jim Irsay is smiling. Broadly.
8. Colts coach Chuck Pagano should have tried that fake punt thing right before the end of the half. Instead, the Colts went into their fake punt coverage routine. Just sayin’.
9. Did the Falcons, down by four points, really kick a field goal with three minutes go and the ball on the 1-yard line? They never saw the ball again. Cue Herman Edwards: “You play to win the game.” You don’t play to not lose.
10. We’ll say this. The BroncosColts game was as entertaining as we thought it would be when the schedule was released last spring.
11. Here is the respect — or lack thereof — the Patriots had for the Redskins: They went for it on fourth down on their first possession and then attempted — successfully — an onside kick after their first TD.
12. One Greg Hardy note: The NFL Players Association reportedly had access to the Greg Hardy photos and still fought to get his suspension reduced. Just wanted to make sure everyone knew that.
13. So the Saints will allow Sean Payton to shop for a new job after the season? We bet he’s not allowed to bring Rob Ryan with him.
14. The Packers left town two weeks ago with a chance to establish themselves as Super Bowl contenders with games at Denver and Carolina. Two losses later, they return to Green Bay with their bandwagon losing supporters faster than Jeb Bush.
15. That Mike Zimmer-Jeff Fisher postgame handshake, if you can call it that, was as brief and as cold as we’ve seen in a while. Jim Schwartz and Jim Harbaugh were laughing, though, calling them both amateurs.
16. And Zimmer didn’t hold back, calling Lamarcus Joyner’s hit that knocked Teddy Bridgewater out of the game a cheap shot and saying, “If we were out on the street, we probably would’ve had a fight.”
17. And one more: Zimmer said Rams coordinator Gregg Williams’ defenses “are all like that.” And our thoughts turned to Bountygate.
18. If interim coach Dan Campbell has done anything in Miami, he has made sure the Dolphins have perfected the play in which Ryan Tannehill’s not ready for the shotgun snap and the opponent gets a safety. Two games in a row. Yikes.
19. Instant replay: The Marcus Mariota-to-Delanie Walker 61yard touchdown in the first quarter. Just watch it for the pure entertainment of seeing two Saints fighting for an interception and the ball bouncing to Walker. OK, Saints fans won’t enjoy it.
20. Rams coach Fisher, for some reason, went for two points in the first quarter. It failed. He lost in overtime. Had he kicked the point-after … well, you know. Sometimes coaches just need to get out of the way.
21. The Titans scored a firstquarter touchdown for the first time since Week 1.
22. Newton tore down a Packers banner before the game in Carolina. “You’re not gonna sell a Whopper at a McDonald’s, know what I’m saying?” was his explanation after the game. Respect.
23. Tom Brady threw an interception. And made a tackle. We don’t get to write those two sentences very often.
24. Our favorite tweet Sunday came from Brian Murphy, colum- nist for the St. Paul Pioneer Press: #Rams owner, billionaire Stan Kroenke used 3 security guards to block media from using press box restroom in publicly built TCF Bank Stadium.
25. Our second favorite came from Mike Periera at Fox: Todd Gurley’s hair was out of bounds #STLvsMIN. The rest of him was in bounds. Yes, this really happened.
26. And, finally, our third came from the Steelers Twitter account during a DeAngelo Williams run: He gone. (One problem: He wasn’t. Not even close.)
27. Some guys still can’t make extra points and the Rams’ Greg Zuerlein nailed a 61-yard field goal. He and Sebastian Janikowski are the only kickers with two 60-yard-plus field goals.
28. He doesn’t get noticed because he plays for Jacksonville — sorry, Jags fans — but this was the sixth consecutive game with a TD for WR Allen Hurns, the longest active streak in the league, according to ESPN Stats.
29. Bills RB LeSean McCoy running north-south remains one of the game’s biggest threats to score from anywhere on the field. His 48-yard TD in the first quarter was his eighth career TD of 40 yards or more. Just wish he’d keep the compass pointed that way more often.
30. At one point Sunday, according to Jeff Howe of the Bos
ton Herald, Tom Brady was playing behind a college right tackle at left tackle, a college right guard at left guard, an undrafted rookie center and a center at right tackle.
31. Titans LB Brian Orakpo got two unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties. One one play. Let’s just say he was hot.
32. Why the Jaguars are the Jaguars: Down 21-16 but driving in the fourth quarter, they fumble. After the defense holds the Jets, they fumble the punt. Next play: The Jets score a TD to put the game away.
33. DeSean Jackson returned to the Redskins lineup for the first time since Week 1. The deep threat they have been missing, they said. Three catches for 15 yards. We bet that loosened up the defense.
34. We remember the good ol’ days when NFL games took three hours.
35. So we all are confused about when a catch is a catch in this league. And after watching the officials grant that last Packers interception, when CB Damarious Randall was bobbling the ball and got only one foot inbounds, we’re not even sure when
an interception is an interception.
36. You know you have been around awhile: Ryan Fitzpatrick is the first NFL quarterback to start and beat the same opponent for five different teams. Yeah, we’re looking at you, Jacksonville.
37. Eddie Lacy’s tough season continues. He lost a fumble that set up a Panthers field goal, finished with 10 yards on five carries and did not touch the ball after the third quarter.
38. So the 49ers trade away TE Vernon Davis and his replacement, Garrett Celek, scored two TDs in the first half.
39. Congratulations to Mike Mularkey. But one game does not an interim coach make. Just ask Campbell.
40. The Colts should just punt the ball out of bounds. Every time.
41. They came up short, but the Raiders’ refusal to quit in Pittsburgh bodes well for the young team.
42. There was a Colin Kaepernick sighting.
43. Remember when people were talking about a FalconsPackers NFC Championship Game?
44. Good to see Jason PierrePaul back on the field. He has a lot of work to do. But good to see him back.
45. He has taken a lot of abuse this season, so there has to be part of everyone who felt good for Andrew Luck on Sunday.
46. Of course, it’s hard to believe Houston (3-5) no longer has a share of first place in the AFC South.
47. The Panthers finished with 130 yards rushing against the Packers. It’s the 19th game in a row they’ve had 100 yards on the ground. Old school, baby.
48. A day to forget for Bucs WR Mike Evans with five drops. Seemed fitting that kind of day would end with his desperation lateral being returned for a touchdown on the final play.
49. Brandon Browner. He helped make the Titans’ Mariota look like a seasoned veteran and took his frustration out on a reporter in the locker room. There’s nobody else, Saints?
50. Bengals, Panthers, Patriots. All 8-0. Just like we thought when the season started.