Sunday Games:
New England Patriots 28, Houston Texans 16
Okay, so I got this one wrong.
However, who knew that one player on the Texans would be the MVP for the New England Patriots, due to glaring mistakes.
Yes, I got my pick wrong. However, I did warn about the scenario where that one player (who I named) did not kill whatever chance Houston had:
If the Texans can establish their running game, and if C.J. Stroud avoids some of the glaring mistakes that he made in an uncharacteristically mistake-prone game last weekend, they can win. Especially if they do not make the critical mistakes, especially turnovers.
That was what I wrote in the preview.
What happened?
C.J. Stroud committed four turnovers just in the first half, giving the Patriots some free points and just absolutely brutalizing (possibly killing) his team's chances to win.
So you see, I was wrong with what I picked, yet not entirely wrong.
How could I have known that Stroud would play some horrific, mistake prone football for a second straight week?
Frankly, Stroud puzzles me. I remember just a few years ago, people were saying that he was almost the second coming of Patrick Mahomes. It seemed a matter of time, according to them, that he would start to be the dominant force at quarterback as Mahomes has become.
Really?
Granted, I have not watched his games on a week by week basis. Most of the times that I have seen him have been on nationally televised games. Big games, in other words. And so far, I am not impressed.
No, that's not strong enough. Actually, he has been far worse than unimpressive. He has been positively horrible. A liability to his team in some of the games which I have seen (admittedly, not that many). The game against the Steelers last weekend and the Patriots this weekend are a case in point. Yes, the Texans won the one against the Steelers, but it felt like they won despite Stroud. And in that last game, he actually made some critical mistakes that seriously hurt his team and helped the Patriots to win.
This guy is supposed to be the second coming of Patrick Mahomes?
Sorry, but...umm, no. I have seen Mahomes make mistakes, including in big games. But he usually overcomes them with big plays somewhere else down the line. That just was not the case with Stroud that I could see. I think the Texans would have had a better shot to win if Stroud had not played that last game. Maybe that sounds unfair, but I'm sticking with it. He was awful.
Houston enjoyed a historical season, in terms of what they did on defense. But even that defense cannot necessarily overcome the cost of an offense that commits blunder after blunder, turnover after turnover. That was what seemed to happen on Sunday. At least, that was what I saw.
Frankly, Stroud did not even look like a starting quarterback. Let's stop putting guys on pedestals before they actually earn something to warrant such comparisons to Mahomes. Right now, if I was someone in the position to make such determinations on the Houston Texans, I would seriously question whether this guy should even be the starter next season.
Terrible.
New England won, largely off the strength of the points that they got from those Houston turnovers in the first half. The Pats now go to Mile High to take on the Broncos in the AFC title game.
My pick: Inaccurate
LA Rams 20, Chicago Bears 17 (OT)
Wow, what a game!
Yes, the Rams won, which is what I predicted.
However, the game itself proved unpredictable and, frankly, wild.
And let me just say this: even if the Chicago Bears lost, that one play - almost everyone who saw the game, or even the highlights afterwards, will know which one I am talking about - was one of the greatest plays that I have ever seen.
Of course, I am referring to Caleb Williams throwing what was officially a 14-yard touchdown pass to Tight End Cole Kmet. It was fourth down. The Bears were desperate. And Williams had to scramble backwards to avoid that Rams defensive pressure. Williams kept backing up and backing up.
Admittedly, I thought that was it. He would either get caught and sacked at the most inopportune time possible or he would throw a desperation pass that, one way or another, would have no chance of anything good for Chicago. Then he got a brief glimpse and tossed it way downfield. It looked like a pray throw.
Only it went right where it needed to go. Kmet was there in the corner of the end zone, and calmly caught it with both feet in bounds. A game that had seemed to be over one moment suddenly was going into overtime.
Once it got there, the Bears defense stopped the Rams, and Chicago's offense was methodically going down the field. It looked very promising.
Then the interception when it seemed the Bears got impatient and a bit greedy.
The Rams made them pay, as newly crowned league MVP Matthew Stafford led the team down the field into field goal position. When the ball split the uprights, the Rams had earned a huge road win in the cold and snow of the Windy City.
Now, the Rams head for Seattle for Round 3, this time in the biggest of possible showdowns. The first two were both great and entertaining. Let's hope for another highly entertaining game this time.
My pick: Accurate
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