The Ringer - Everything You Need to Know About Week 12 of the 2021 NFL Season2021-11-29T13:12:06-05:00http://www.theringer.com/rss/stream/225715542021-11-29T13:12:06-05:002021-11-29T13:12:06-05:00Who’s Making the Playoffs and Winning the Super Bowl in This Unpredictable NFL Season?
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<p>We’re almost through Week 12 of this NFL season, and yet we might know less about teams and the standings than we did in early September. So who’s going to make the playoffs? And which team will take home the Lombardi Trophy?</p> <p id="TwYBs8">Every week, the aim of this Monday column is to make sense of what we watched on Sunday. As you can probably imagine, that has often felt like a futile endeavor this NFL season. </p>
<p id="oFvFsx">It’s been a <em>Benjamin Button</em>–ass year in pro football, where the further we get into the calendar, the less we seem to know about this big, dumb league. Week 12’s fresh batch of confounding results did nothing to change that—but that won’t stop me from using this space to try to predict how the next two months of NFL football will play out. Here are my picks for how the playoff field will shape up. And since we’re already throwing out predictions, I’m offering up a Super Bowl pick in the process. </p>
<h3 id="5a6Yej">AFC Division Winners</h3>
<p id="LTMvKb"><strong>1. Kansas City Chiefs (13-4)</strong><br><strong>2. New England Patriots (12-5)</strong><br><strong>3. Baltimore Ravens (12-5)</strong><br><strong>4. Tennessee Titans (11-6)</strong></p>
<p id="GAjIpJ">As someone in the content business, I’d like to thank the Chiefs for giving us plenty of material to work with this season. We got our “What’s wrong with the Chiefs?” articles out last month, and now we’re seemingly a week or two away from a wave of “How the Chiefs turned things around” pieces. </p>
<p id="Q36Z7Q">Kansas City currently sits a game back of the Ravens in the race for the AFC’s no. 1 seed and just a half-game back of the Patriots for the no. 2 spot. And while Baltimore and New England have tricky schedules ahead, the Chiefs have the league’s 24th-hardest slate the rest of the way, according to Pro Football Focus, including three straight divisional games coming up. I’m making this pick based on the assumption that Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid will get the offense going again. The defense has started to figure things out in recent weeks, but the offense has scored more than two touchdowns in a game just once since Week 7. If Kansas City is going to make me look smart for picking it, Reid had better come out of the bye week with new strategies for beating the zone defenses his team has been seeing every week. Some improved turnover luck for Mahomes wouldn’t hurt, either. </p>
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<p id="QofoaC"><br>The Chiefs aren’t the only AFC contender with a suspect offense. In fact, all four of my division winners have big question marks on that side of the ball. The Ravens haven’t reached the 20-point mark since Week 9; <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2021/11/19/22790724/titans-offense-derrick-henry-identity">the Titans are completely lost without Derrick Henry</a>, A.J. Brown, and Julio Jones; and for all the love Mac Jones has received during his successful rookie campaign, he still ranks 20th in expected points added per dropback among qualified passers, according to TruMedia. The difference between those three teams and Kansas City? They don’t have Mahomes and Reid pulling the strings. </p>
<p id="4QvNDk">I think we can all agree that Tennessee is out of the running for the no. 1 seed after it followed up a shocking defeat to the lowly Texans with an uncompetitive showing in New England on Sunday. But the Titans still have the AFC’s best odds of being a division winner, according to <em>FiveThirtyEight</em>, thanks to the massive margin they cultivated last month. The Colts are probably the best overall team in the South, but Sunday’s tough loss to Tampa Bay pretty much ended their chances of catching Tennessee in the standings. Even if Indy is able to finish 4-1, which would require a split of games against the Cardinals and Patriots, the Titans would have to go 1-4 over that same span against this schedule:</p>
<blockquote><p id="t8UaaE"><em>Week 14: Jaguars (home)</em><br><em>Week 15: Steelers (away)</em><br><em>Week 16: 49ers (home)</em><br><em>Week 17: Dolphins (home)</em><br><em>Week 18: Texans (away)</em></p></blockquote>
<p id="XZJ8Bw">It’s possible. But not likely. </p>
<p id="bc909U">The race is much tighter in the AFC North, which could be decided by the Bengals-Ravens matchup in Cincinnati the day after Christmas. But in order for that game to matter, the Bengals will have to navigate a brutal schedule down the stretch. Four of their last six opponents have at least a 50 percent chance of earning a postseason berth, according to <em>FiveThirtyEight</em>. And the two “easy” games will be on the road in Denver, which is always a tough assignment, and in Cleveland against a Browns team that has already beaten the Bengals once this season. The Ravens’ schedule isn’t much easier, but their toughest remaining games—against the Packers and Rams—are in Baltimore, and they already have a one-game cushion over the Bengals. Cincinnati could prove to be the better team over these next four weeks and still lose the division. </p>
<p id="PelRJS">In the AFC East, things are far less complicated. The two remaining Bills-Patriots matchups will decide the division, which probably tips this in New England’s favor. That’s not to say that the Pats are the better team—I’d lean toward Buffalo given the choice between the two—but I can’t think of a worse matchup for this particular Bills group. That is especially true for Buffalo’s defense, which has had issues against power running teams all season. Making matters worse, the Bills will likely have to sweep the two matchups to repeat as division champs.</p>
<h3 id="4bOPPK">AFC Wild-Card Teams</h3>
<p id="vInhnL"><strong>5. Buffalo Bills (11-6)</strong><br><strong>6. Cincinnati Bengals (10-7)</strong><br><strong>7. Los Angeles Chargers (10-7)</strong></p>
<p id="oc8YFz">With the Bills and Bengals firmly in control of the first two wild-card berths (if they don’t win their respective divisions), the final spot will likely come down to the Chargers and Colts. And once again, the deciding factor for me is the schedule. While Indianapolis has tricky games against the Cardinals and Patriots looming, Los Angeles just needs to win the games it will be favored in. Even if the Chargers drop next week’s game against the Bengals and the Week 15 home game against the Chiefs, wins over the Giants (home), Texans (road), Broncos (home), and Raiders (road) would be enough to get them over the finish line. This conversation would be <em>a lot</em> different if the Colts had been able to beat the Bucs on Sunday, and we wouldn’t even be having this discussion if they hadn’t thrown away the Titans game (and the division) in Week 8. But such is life when Carson Wentz is your quarterback.</p>
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<h3 id="mpHiw2">NFC Division Winners</h3>
<p id="5awPAU"><strong>1. Green Bay Packers (14-3)</strong><br><strong>2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (14-3)</strong><br><strong>3. Arizona Cardinals (14-3)</strong><br><strong>4. Dallas Cowboys (13-4)</strong></p>
<p id="ugXQth">As wild as this NFL season has been, the NFC’s divisional races probably won’t be very interesting over the next four weeks. According to <em>FiveThirtyEight</em>’s prediction model, the NFC East is the only division still up for grabs, as the Packers, Buccaneers, and Cardinals all have at least a 95 percent chance of coming out on top. And after the Eagles lost to a Giants team missing half of its receiver depth chart, I’m going to go out on a limb and say the Cowboys are the clear favorites to win the East. </p>
<p id="5Is2Zm">That doesn’t mean these four teams don’t have plenty left to play for. The coveted no. 1 seed—and the bye that comes along with it—is still in play for each of them. But as strange as this may have sounded a few weeks ago during Aaron Rodgers’s foray into public health, the Packers look like the most stable team in the conference. Green Bay has won nine of its past 11 games started by the 2020 MVP, and I’m not sure we’ve seen the best of this offense, which ranks eighth in passing DVOA and 12th in rushing DVOA. Those aren’t bad marks, but this unit was top-five in both categories a year ago and is arguably more talented now than it was then. The defense, meanwhile, has transformed into one of the more reliable units in the conference, thanks in large part to a secondary that has stepped up in the absence of star corner Jaire Alexander. Defensive coordinator Joe Barry has coaxed good play out of Kevin King and Rasul Douglas, which should allow him to use Alexander as more of a roving chess piece when he returns. So if the special teams can get its shit together—I’m looking at you, Mason Crosby, and [<em>insert whichever punt returner the Packers decide to trot out there next</em>]—Green Bay should cruise to the no. 1 seed. </p>
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<p id="ZlSI7n">Of course, Green Bay still has to catch Arizona in the standings. The Cardinals hold a half-game lead over the Packers, but Green Bay owns a tiebreaker thanks to its victory in Arizona last month. That Kliff Kingsbury’s team has managed to maintain its lead in the conference with both Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins sidelined with injuries is a minor miracle, but the Cardinals’ remaining schedule includes games against the Rams, Colts, and Cowboys. Murray and Hopkins will have to pick up right where they left off before the injuries if the Cardinals are going to hold on to the top seed. That’s a tough ask. </p>
<p id="k8pol7">The Bucs have an even rockier path to the no. 1 seed. If both the Packers and Cardinals take care of business, the defending champs will have to win out just to stay even with them in the standings … and that still won’t be enough, as the tiebreaker would leave Tampa Bay with the no. 3 seed. With visits upcoming from the Bills and Saints, who always seem to give Tom Brady issues, it’s looking like the Bucs will have to win multiple road playoff games to get back to the Super Bowl. That wasn’t an issue last season—but the NFC is a little stronger at the top this time around. </p>
<h3 id="oi8LIm">NFC Wild-Card Teams</h3>
<p id="x2giRV"><strong>5. Los Angeles Rams (12-5)</strong><br><strong>6. San Francisco 49ers (10-7)</strong><br><strong>7. New Orleans Saints (9-8)</strong></p>
<p id="uHcZ7e">The first two wild-card spots are pretty much locked up. The Rams would have to implode to lose the no. 5 seed, and the 49ers’ win over Minnesota on Sunday helped them leapfrog the Vikings and raised their odds of making the playoffs to 72 percent, according to <em>FiveThirtyEight</em>. </p>
<p id="FSg8k1">Here’s where things get interesting: The 5-6 Vikings are currently clinging to the final wild-card spot in the conference, but there are <em>seven</em> teams within one game of them, including the Falcons, Bears, and Giants. It isn’t the most impressive bunch, but there is one team that could rise from the muck and overtake Minnesota for the final spot. You read the header above this section, so you know I’m talking about the Saints.</p>
<p id="mj0srm">I know, I know. It’s a tough sell, especially after that showing on Thanksgiving. But hear me out: While you were busy watching way too much football on Sunday, <a href="https://www.nola.com/sports/saints/article_651b31fc-5086-11ec-9735-2b97428a94e3.html">Alvin Kamara, Ryan Ramczyk, and Mark Ingram were quietly returning to practice</a>, and they appear to be in line to play on Thursday against a Cowboys team that will be missing its head coach due to COVID protocols. New Orleans doesn’t even have to win that game to keep its playoff hopes alive. Hell, it can even lose the Week 15 game against Tampa Bay and the math still works out. The rest of the remaining schedule isn’t all that difficult:</p>
<blockquote><p id="Chy1gy"><em>Week 14: Jets (away)</em><br><em>Week 16: Dolphins (home)</em><br><em>Week 17: Panthers (home)</em><br><em>Week 18: Falcons (away)</em></p></blockquote>
<p id="1o55AK">Sure, the Saints are still relying on Trevor Siemian to make this work, but his job will be a lot easier with Kamara back. Just force-feeding no. 41 touches isn’t an ideal strategy, but it’s a hell of a lot better than whatever the Saints have been doing in his absence. </p>
<p id="2cN0Tz">The Vikings’ remaining schedule isn’t much harder than New Orleans’, but it does include a trip to Green Bay and a visit from the Rams. There are also very losable games against the Bears and Steelers sprinkled in, and the loss in San Francisco erased any margin for error. With Dalvin Cook suffering another injury in the loss and the depth issues on the defensive line, there is a lot of pressure on Kirk Cousins to carry this team. Those are words you never want to hear. </p>
<h3 id="wWjmKe">Super Bowl: Packers Over Chiefs</h3>
<p id="9A0eUA">Is this my attempt to speak the first Rodgers-Mahomes matchup into existence? Perhaps. But the Packers are the most complete team in the league right now. They should earn the all-important bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, and Rodgers looks like the best quarterback in a league where quarterback play dictates everything. If you’re a Bucs fan, I can’t blame you for being upset with this pick after what happened in January. But Tampa Bay’s secondary, which played such a big role in the NFC title game last season, has taken a massive step back, while Green Bay’s secondary, which also helped decide that game, is much improved. That will be the difference in a potential rematch. </p>
<p id="Mn6rhD">As for the Chiefs pick … I know it doesn’t really make sense. The defense is playing better, but there are still holes all over the roster. And the offense only appears to work against units coached by Gus Bradley. But Reid and Mahomes have earned the same benefit of the doubt we used to afford the Brady-led Patriots when they struggled, and picking New England was rarely a bad move. </p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="cv37Jc">Kansas City’s experience (and home-field advantage) might be enough to get it through a flawed AFC, but the Packers (or whichever team emerges from the NFC) won’t be so easy to overcome. So Green Bay is my pick to take home the Lombardi Trophy. A championship-parade speech by Rodgers would be the most fitting way to cap off this nonsensical season, after all.</p>
https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2021/11/29/22807964/nfl-playoff-race-week-12-wild-card-division-winners-super-bowlSteven Ruiz2021-11-29T08:22:52-05:002021-11-29T08:22:52-05:00Week 12 Fantasy Football Awards
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<figcaption>Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>The guys also induct the next player into the 2021 Fantasy Burn Book and recap our day of prop bets</p> <div id="dHBrpG"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 152px; position: relative;"><iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/4iPLeeiJ1tzYGgeitq3Fyn?utm_source=oembed" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="encrypted-media;"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="i5GqYf"><br><a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/4iPLeeiJ1tzYGgeitq3Fyn?si=a1e957ccd4a548ce">We recap the Week 12 slate</a> by giving out awards, including Late Season Lenny, Guy You Don’t Want to Admit Is Great, M. Night Shanahan, We’re Not Mad Just Disappointed, and more. Later we induct the next player into the 2021 Fantasy Burn Book and recap our day of prop bets.</p>
<p id="NgWL9Y">Email us at <a href="mailto:ringerfantasyfootball@gmail.com">ringerfantasyfootball@gmail.com</a>.</p>
<p id="dqBRGs">Hosts: Danny Heifetz and Danny Kelly<br>Associate Producer: Mike Wargon</p>
<p id="8RuoWP"><strong>Subscribe:</strong> <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/0XLPhMzcKmxoNziHkVkYpR">Spotify</a> / <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ringer-fantasy-football-show/id1523722173">Apple Podcasts</a></p>
https://www.theringer.com/2021/11/29/22807483/week-12-fantasy-football-awardsDanny HeifetzDanny Kelly2021-11-29T08:18:58-05:002021-11-29T08:18:58-05:00A Beautiful Bears-less Weekend, the Bulls Have Some Issues, Fans Gone Wild, and RIP Virgil Abloh
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<figcaption>Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Plus, Jason tries to make sense of that awful Thanksgiving game in Detroit, and how the Bears’ organizational incompetence has made Matt Nagy a sympathetic figure</p> <div id="acnjRM"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 152px; position: relative;"><iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/038eDKW5eF19S5A6IG4Qdb?utm_source=oembed" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="encrypted-media;"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="do4Knf"><br><a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/038eDKW5eF19S5A6IG4Qdb?si=i6LP7Ff-SOaDGkWxp7Zkug">The Bears didn’t have to play on Sunday</a>, and Jason and the city of Chicago rejoiced. Jason tries to make sense of that awful Thanksgiving game in Detroit, and how the Bears’ organizational incompetence has made Matt Nagy a sympathetic figure (4:25). The Bulls have dropped two of their last three, and officially have some issues. The lack of shooting has become worrisome when you begin to think about what this team’s ceiling could be in the Eastern Conference (30:07). In Outside the Chi, Jason takes a look at fan behavior across sports in the wake of LeBron James having two Pacers fans ejected earlier in the week (41:05). Plus, the hip-hop community lost a creative force today as Illinois native/fashion mogul Virgil Abloh died at the age of 41 (56:03).</p>
<p id="NTPa84">Host: Jason Goff<br>Producers: Steve Ceruti, Chris Tannehill, and Jessie Lopez</p>
<p id="QlmiF3"><strong>Subscribe:</strong> <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/4vysikWxVk1s5Ebv5UK5dJ?si=mwxICe2VR9-soTC8d71FJQ&dl_branch=1">Spotify</a></p>
https://www.theringer.com/2021/11/29/22807479/a-beautiful-bears-less-weekend-the-bulls-have-some-issues-fans-gone-wild-and-rip-virgil-ablohJason Goff2021-11-29T08:16:18-05:002021-11-29T08:16:18-05:00Week 12 Recap: Rams Lose Again, Bengals Smash Steelers, and Herbert Struggles
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<figcaption>Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Kevin, Nora, and Ben also talk about the Niners winning their third straight and the Ravens winning a sloppy game against the Browns</p> <div id="qQELzk"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 152px; position: relative;"><iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/4VABIkPlBi2ZcmBGWl90hJ?utm_source=oembed" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="encrypted-media;"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="yohV1t"><br><a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/4VABIkPlBi2ZcmBGWl90hJ?si=-MnYCBw0QbmQFKPNrov-1A">Kevin and Nora are joined by Benjamin Solak</a> to talk about the Packers handing the Rams their third loss in a row (2:09). They also talk about the Niners winning their third straight, the Ravens winning a sloppy game against the Browns, and much more (22:55). Then Steven Ruiz joins to talk about Justin Herbert’s performance in a loss to the Broncos and Tua’s recent performances as the Dolphins have won four straight (1:39:04).</p>
<p id="MWZ1ES">Hosts: Kevin Clark and Nora Princiotti<br>Guests: Benjamin Solak and Steven Ruiz</p>
<p id="NQPiDe"><strong>Subscribe:</strong> <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/3sYLdv261f5jLvEgDLU9PD?si=PwTF-GumR7qtUP5FZdCKOQ">Spotify</a> / <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fpodcast%2Fthe-ringer-nfl-show%2Fid1109282822%3Fmt%3D2&xcust=xid:fr1570809570442jba%7Cxid:fr1571141035709iah%7Cxid:fr1571400354183cfa%7Cxid:fr1571745693269afb%7Cxid:fr1572005002168iib%7Cxid:fr1572350612110bei">Apple Podcasts</a> / <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-ringer/ringer-nfl-show">Stitcher</a> / <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/ringernflshow">RSS</a></p>
https://www.theringer.com/2021/11/29/22807475/week-12-recap-rams-lose-again-bengals-smash-steelers-and-herbert-strugglesKevin ClarkNora PrinciottiBen SolakSteven Ruiz2021-11-29T03:47:32-05:002021-11-29T03:47:32-05:00The Winners and Losers of NFL Week 12
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<figcaption>AP Images/Getty Images/Ringer illustration</figcaption>
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<p>The Steelers’ no-show, Cordarrelle Patterson’s evolution, the Waddle, and the rest of the highlights and lowlights from Sunday’s NFL action</p> <p id="lAMThb"><em>Every week this NFL season, we will celebrate the electric plays, investigate the colossal blunders, and explain the inexplicable moments of the most recent slate. Welcome to Winners and Losers. Which one are you?</em></p>
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<h3 id="L8DIQ7">Winner: A Reversed Rivalry</h3>
<p id="kT8FRa">There are few truly lopsided rivalries in NFL history. Surely you’re thinking of some of the easy answers: What about Patriots-Jets? Well, it turns out New England had some bad decades—<a href="http://mcubed.net/nfl/ne/series1.shtml">they’ve won only 56.6 percent of games against New York in the Super Bowl era</a>. What about Packers-Lions? Closer, <a href="http://mcubed.net/nfl/gb/series1.shtml">but still under 60 percent</a>. You want some real carnage? Look at Steelers-Bengals.</p>
<p id="lnaosq">Among teams that have been in the same division continuously since 1970, Steelers-Bengals is the second-most-lopsided rivalry. (The surprising leader: Vikings-Lions.) Entering the 2021 season, Pittsburgh had a 65-35 record against Cincinnati, a solid 64.4 winning percentage. (That’s not including the two postseason matchups between the teams, both of which the Steelers won.) After all, Pittsburgh has won six Super Bowls; Cincinnati zero. Pittsburgh has 20 Hall of Famers; Cincinnati has three (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cincinnati_Bengals#Pro_Football_Hall_of_Fame_members">and that’s including barely-a-Bengal Terrell Owens</a>). Pittsburgh has swept the season series with Cincinnati 22 times, including a four-year stretch from 2016 to 2019 when Cincinnati didn’t win a game. In the past 30 seasons, Cincinnati has swept the season series only twice—in 1998 and 2009. </p>
<p id="svt7yV">But the tide is turning. Pittsburgh is riding out the last days of Ben Roethlisberger, who occasionally just falls over for no particular reason. Cincinnati is in its second year with Joe Burrow, who looks very much like the QB that fans hoped he would be after Cincy took him first in the 2020 draft. Last month, Cincinnati beat Pittsburgh 24-10 behind three touchdowns from Burrow. Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd, a Pittsburgh native and Pitt alum, <a href="https://bengalswire.usatoday.com/2021/09/28/tyler-boyd-comments-steelers-quitting-mike-tomlin-responds/">said that he’d never seen the Steelers “give up” like they did toward the end of the game</a>.</p>
<p id="BZNT8X">Pittsburgh responded by … getting dominated from start to finish in a 41-10 loss. Joe Mixon had a career-high 165 yards, Burrow went 20-for-24 passing and ran for a TD, and former Steeler Mike Hilton had a pick-six on Roethlisberger:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Glad to have you in Cincinnati <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeHilton_28?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MikeHilton_28</a><br><br>Watch on CBS <a href="https://t.co/Gxz7clJGXP">pic.twitter.com/Gxz7clJGXP</a></p>— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Bengals/status/1465039020220633088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2021</a>
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<p id="l0XWQH">After Mixon scored his second touchdown to give Cincinnati a 41-3 lead, the whole offensive line did a dance in the end zone. (I think C.J. Uzomah tried to join in, but got the tempo way wrong.)</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Mixon TD and then it’s DANCE TIME <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bengals?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bengals</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WhoDey?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WhoDey</a> <a href="https://t.co/jTinb79TUe">pic.twitter.com/jTinb79TUe</a></p>— Mark Slaughter (@MarkVSlaughter) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkVSlaughter/status/1465055234657447938?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2021</a>
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<p id="MSI2ke">Cincinnati swept the season series against Pittsburgh for the first time in 12 years—and won the two games by a combined 45 points, the largest aggregate margin of victory ever. Nobody commented on whether Pittsburgh gave up in the game. But how enthusiastic did Pittsburgh look about chasing down yet another Big Ben pick?</p>
<div id="ML4p2W">
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Eli Apple's back shoulder INT leads to a big <a href="https://twitter.com/Bengals?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Bengals</a> return! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RuleTheJungle?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RuleTheJungle</a><br><br> : <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PITvsCIN?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PITvsCIN</a> on CBS<br> : NFL app <a href="https://t.co/TseYSJfSCc">pic.twitter.com/TseYSJfSCc</a></p>— NFL (@NFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1465022106723237891?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2021</a>
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<p id="ZmuhOh">Pittsburgh is stuck in the past, when Roethlisberger was great and beating the Bengals was easy. But in the very real present, it feels like this rivalry is about to get slightly less lopsided. </p>
<h3 id="wCCFHB">Loser: Kirk Cousins</h3>
<p id="LMc9IE">When a quarterback takes a snap from a center, the two players share a shockingly close moment with each other. The things a quarterback says about a center’s butt <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/2017/8/9/16118190/quarterback-center-exchange-butts">reveal the deeply personal nature of this relationship</a>—Aaron Rodgers says he pays close attention to his center’s butt height and sweatiness; Jim Harbaugh instructs his QBs to find their center’s asshole with their knuckles. (My editor let me keep “asshole” in this article <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2013/1/21/3900908/jim-harbaugh-coaching-tips-quarterback-play">because it is a direct quote</a>.) Outside of the adult film industry, it’s tough to imagine coworkers having more intimate knowledge of each other’s anatomy.</p>
<p id="tNCAD8">And no current NFL QB shares more of these moments with their center than Kirk Cousins. In the modern NFL, most snaps are taken from the shotgun, but the Vikings prefer to do things the old-fashioned way, by having Cousins shove his hands under his center’s butt and take the ball. In 2019, <a href="https://www.sharpfootballstats.com/snap-rates%E2%80%94shotgun-v-under-center%E2%80%94off-.html">the Vikings took 70 percent of their snaps from under center,</a> while the league average was 37 percent; <a href="https://www.sharpfootballstats.com/snap-rates%E2%80%94shotgun-v-under-center%E2%80%94off-.html">in 2020, they took 64 percent</a>. They’re <a href="https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/nfl/shotgun-formation/2021/offense">down to 56.5 percent this year</a>, but that still leads the league. Cousins has expressed a deep familiarity with his centers’ butts. In 2019, <a href="https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/08/minnesota-vikings-kirk-cousins-garrett-bradbury-sweaty-butt">he went on a lengthy training camp speech about the butt sweat of Garrett Bradbury, the team’s first-round pick</a>, urging the Minnesota scouting department to pay more attention to butt sweat. Apparently, the team listened—in November, Minnesota benched Bradbury for Mason Cole, although nobody has confirmed whether the benching was butt-sweat-related. </p>
<p id="RW8OGE">But apparently, Cousins hasn’t gotten familiar enough with Cole’s butt yet. As the Vikings tried to fight back in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against the Niners, Cousins sneaked up behind right guard Oli Udoh on a critical fourth-down play and placed his hands under Udoh for the snap. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Vikings had to take a timeout before their 4th down play as Kirk Cousins lined up under his guard and tried to take the snap. <a href="https://t.co/M9aNgeN0pj">pic.twitter.com/M9aNgeN0pj</a></p>— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) <a href="https://twitter.com/NFLonFOX/status/1465112401062289410?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 29, 2021</a>
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<p id="HL6rfb">The clock was running down, and Cousins had to get his hands under a butt quickly. But I can’t believe he picked the wrong butt. His running back and right tackle quickly started hollering and pointing at Cousins to correct his error. With time running down, Cousins had to burn a critical timeout to avoid a delay-of-game penalty. Minnesota failed to convert the fourth-down attempt, and never scored again, losing 34-26. </p>
<p id="bvBild">Cousins is not the first quarterback to do this. Troy Aikman <a href="https://nextimpulsesports.com/2018/09/21/troy-aikman-shares-hilarious-story-of-accidentally-putting-his-hands-under-a-guard-instead-of-the-center/">has a story about a time that he lined up under a guard</a>. The only example I remember of this happening in an NFL game came in 2016, when Tyrod Taylor <a href="https://twitter.com/FRANCHISESPORTZ/status/785219874230444032">called for a shotgun snap when he wasn’t behind the center</a>, leading to the ball flying backward and Taylor taking a sack for a huge loss. But Taylor wasn’t under center—he didn’t have to approach the butt like Cousins did. </p>
<p id="POqvqk">The most famous QB-under-the-guard moment belongs to Willie Beamen, the third-string QB for the Miami Sharks in <em>Any Given Sunday. </em>When called into action for the first time in his career, Beamen throws up in the huddle and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoKB96b3Vfo">then sticks his hands under the wrong guy’s butt</a>. It’s a bad sign when your real-life quarterback does the same things Hollywood script writers make fictional quarterbacks do to show that they’re comically unprepared for pressure situations.</p>
<p id="5bLRWr">Unfortunately, Cousins is less talented than Willie Beamen. And when the clock runs down, Cousins has a history of getting flustered. He famously <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIHrDMrJJ5g">once took a knee instead of spiking a ball when trying to score in the two-minute drill</a>. This is a problem for Minnesota, because 10 of its 11 games have been decided by one score. Every single Vikings game is close, and their quarterback is a man who can’t identify the correct butt under pressure. </p>
<h3 id="nZxBFg">Winner: Cordarrelle Patterson</h3>
<p id="uOP8Pw">For eight seasons, Cordarrelle Patterson was one of the NFL’s great what-ifs. A first-round pick by the Vikings in 2013, Patterson established himself as one of the greatest—or perhaps <em>the</em> greatest—kick returners in NFL history, but nobody could really figure out how to use him on scrimmage plays. In 2015, the Vikings completely eliminated Patterson from offense, using him exclusively on special teams. Bill Belichick took a flier on him in 2018, but it lasted only a season. He bounced around from team to team, never finding a starting role on offense. Like Devin Hester before him, Patterson mystified NFL head coaches. He is one of the most dynamic players in the league, a rocket-powered speedster who can make magic with the ball in his hands. How could nobody figure out a role for this should-be superstar?</p>
<p id="gZMEJo">But the Atlanta Falcons have finally cracked the code and figured out how to use Patterson. He’s taken over the Falcons’ starting running back role this season and he had his best offensive game ever on Sunday, with 16 carries for 108 yards and two touchdowns—all career highs.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Cordarrelle Patterson for MVP.<a href="https://t.co/77mh54VwVC">pic.twitter.com/77mh54VwVC</a></p>— FantasyLabs NFL (@FantasyLabsNFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/FantasyLabsNFL/status/1465025863452405760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2021</a>
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<p id="kAppyA">You might think that as a former kick return specialist and wide receiver, his primary skill is running in straight lines. But Patterson bowled some dudes over Sunday, too:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/ceeflashpee84?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ceeflashpee84</a> running with authority <br><br> : <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ATLvsJAX?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ATLvsJAX</a> on CBS<br> : NFL app <a href="https://t.co/c5RL8AlUKh">pic.twitter.com/c5RL8AlUKh</a></p>— NFL (@NFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1465058430972882944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2021</a>
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<p id="I6y8eG">The Falcons are still taking advantage of Patterson’s versatility—just a few weeks ago, he had 126 <em>receiving </em>yards in a 27-25 win over the Saints. No matter how they get him the ball, he is their key to victory. Last week, Patterson was injured, and the Falcons were shut out in a 25-0 loss to New England. In Atlanta’s five wins, Patterson is averaging 16.6 touches; in Atlanta’s six losses, Patterson is averaging 8.7 touches. The Falcons have removed Patterson from returning duties—and why not? He’s their most dynamic offensive playmaker! They can’t afford to have him get hurt on a kickoff!</p>
<p id="dFkJPK">The Falcons are 5-6 and have been on the losing end of some of the ugliest games of the year—but there’s something really fun going on with their offense. <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2021/10/25/22744240/winners-and-losers-week-7-kyle-pitts-dan-campbell-fan-negotiation">A few weeks ago, we wrote about the way they’re using tight end Kyle Pitts</a>, and they’re the team that’s finally figured out Patterson. Their top tight end is a wide receiver, and their top running back is also a wide receiver. Now that they’ve realized that Patterson needs to get the ball early and often, they have a legit shot at making the playoffs—laugh, but the Falcons are tied for the 7-seed in the NFC playoff picture. </p>
<p id="BsuJ85">At 30 years old, Patterson is sitting at the top of an offensive depth chart for the first time in his career. I’m a little bit mad he hasn’t been playing this way for a decade, but mainly I’m thrilled we are finally getting to see him shine. </p>
<h3 id="aIr8eS">Winner: The Return of Returns</h3>
<p id="UqGvtj">The downside of Patterson’s emphasis on playing offense is that his legendary kickoff return career may be over. Avery Williams was Atlanta’s primary return man on Sunday, even though Patterson was healthy. </p>
<p id="S0AGUy"><a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/10/23/20927787/cordarrelle-patterson-kickoff-return-touchdown-career-record">Patterson was the NFL’s last great kickoff returner</a>. Return touchdowns have almost disappeared from the game after the NFL changed its rules on kickoffs to emphasize player safety. <a href="https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/NFL/returns.htm#all_returns_season_totals">There were 25 kickoff returns for touchdowns in 2007</a>, the most in league history; there were just five in 2018. In 2010, five players had multiple kickoff returns for touchdowns. <a href="https://stathead.com/football/psl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=single&order_by_asc=0&order_by=av&year_min=2000&year_max=2021&ccomp%5B1%5D=gt&cval%5B1%5D=2&cstat%5B1%5D=kick_ret_td&age_min=0&age_max=99&season_start=1&season_end=-1&height_min=0&height_max=99&weight_min=0&weight_max=500&bmi_min=0&bmi_max=100&undrafted=E&draft_year_min=1936&draft_year_max=2021&draft_type=B&draft_pick_in_round=pick_overall&conference=any&seasons_comp=%3E%3D&seasons_val=-1&pro_bowls_comp=%3E%3D&pro_bowls_val=-1&all_pros_first_team_comp=%3E%3D&all_pros_first_team_val=-1">Since 2013, only one player has done it</a>: Cordarrelle Patterson in 2013, and Cordarrelle Patterson again in 2015. It seemed like the kickoff return touchdown would die with Patterson.</p>
<p id="PRUhfX">But as Patterson abandons special teams, another Viking has picked up his shield. Minnesota running back Kene Nwangwu did this against the 49ers:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">KENE NWANGWU. He's done it again!<br><br> : <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MINvsSF?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MINvsSF</a> on FOX<br> : NFL app <a href="https://t.co/GHBLv5kVhJ">pic.twitter.com/GHBLv5kVhJ</a></p>— NFL (@NFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1465102942176878592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2021</a>
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<p id="ZTWBgd">Nwangwu suffered a knee injury in preseason and spent the first seven weeks of his rookie season on injured reserve. His first NFL kickoff return was Week 9 against the Ravens—and his second NFL kickoff return was a 98-yard touchdown.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">KENE NWANGWU GOES 98 YARDS.<br><br>Kickoff RETURNED. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SKOL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SKOL</a> @KWang3_<br><br> : <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MINvsBAL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MINvsBAL</a> on FOX<br> : NFL app <a href="https://t.co/eegXYoWL5a">pic.twitter.com/eegXYoWL5a</a></p>— NFL (@NFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1457435236631859203?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2021</a>
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<p id="MUlj13">There have been six kickoff returns for touchdowns this NFL season. Two of those are by Nwangwu, who has played only four games. The rest of the league has four touchdowns on over 700 attempts, meaning roughly 0.5 percent result in touchdowns. Nwangwu has two touchdowns on eight attempts, meaning 25 percent of his returns go for touchdowns. </p>
<p id="PE4X6k">If you’ve never heard of Nwangwu, that’s OK. He was a backup running back at Iowa State, where he scored five total touchdowns in four seasons. (Breece Hall, the starter, scored 21 touchdowns in 2020 alone.) But Nwangu <a href="https://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/18142417">had a ridiculous kickoff return for a touchdown</a> as a freshman, and <a href="https://247sports.com/college/iowa-state/Article/Iowa-State-football-news-Kene-Nwangwu-showcases-athleticism-during-NFL-pro-day-163056909/">ran a 4.29-second 40-yard dash at his pro day</a>. Nwangwu had been trapped behind a prolific running back at ISU, but it was clear he could fly in the open field, and that was enough for the Vikings to use a fourth-round pick on him. </p>
<p id="56JyPr">What’s next for Nwangwu? If Patterson is a blueprint, we can expect more brilliant special teams play and frustrated coaches. (People <a href="https://twitter.com/CourtneyRCronin/status/1465123374493888513">are already asking Mike Zimmer whether Nwangwu needs more carries at running back.</a>) But really, we can’t know what’s next for this guy—it’s been six years since anybody had two kickoff return TDs in <em>an entire season</em>, and Nwangwu just did it in his first month. I just hope he gets to keep flying. </p>
<h3 id="EGfj0B">Loser: Jalen Reagor</h3>
<p id="dyMfN1">In 2015, the Eagles used their first-round pick on Nelson Agholor, a wide receiver who struggled with the “receiving” element of his position. Agholor had 224 catches in five years with Philadelphia, and according to Pro Football Focus, he had 22 drops. In 2019, he dropped <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f3szySUu_U">a wide-open, potentially game-winning catch against the Falcons</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9Vs4qe_1lw">a potentially game-tying catch against the Patriots</a>. That same year, a Philadelphia native became famous for telling a local news reporter that he had <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJv_T4qUEt0">caught children thrown from a burning building—“unlike Agholor.”</a></p>
<p id="5F68ad">The Eagles let Agholor walk after the 2019 season and used their first-round selection in the 2020 draft on another wide receiver: TCU’s Jalen Reagor. In <em>The Ringer</em>’s 2020 NFL Draft Guide, <a href="https://nfldraft.theringer.com#jalenreagor">Danny Kelly listed Reagor seventh among receivers,</a> noting that “drops could be a concern.” Of the 41 receivers listed in <a href="https://pff-cfn-production-premium-content.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/2020-nfl-draft-guide/2020%20NFL%20Draft%20Guide%20V4.0.pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=ASIA5KGCRUIOV45JMDXZ%2F20211128%2Fus-east-2%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20211128T225742Z&X-Amz-Expires=3600&X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEP3%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FwEaCXVzLWVhc3QtMiJGMEQCIHpG%2FO8nwMxj41EVdo9snglDiIbmpOvUQ%2BxBiiKeuv9BAiADlfRn%2Fe1eSMbcZZfexUnqVWPYpLR6wMuAAT9HX6yyGiqMBAjG%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F8BEAIaDDkxNTIzNjAzNzE0OSIMWMytJ9ZBMHZIZ2IZKuADABzBlQ30fK6xoQvmMKMWx4zMuWRB8RSO%2FRxkSlq0LNfw7XXv9ODNXnE2Jpc1Mzk0u%2Bty2gs7GluUqbeRMsyi8nAL3lFzLJbbKJfAAT6pbxWzjUbrMvWqVraa7oe9sH%2Fug6dAzGpv2pUC11hWAJz2FQoc6U2%2BIxd6I6seokO5jnMD1pRVmYZt%2F1LEd9z1JERH%2FFCldzM%2BzcwWix4awgktppcHxm%2BgzD4jv1c8YXOvpBJ98z5Qf8MEBACHPs01Ioa%2FNb9%2BvNYiWgIYjKx9pWOscmePzq3n%2B8rMgHFDZDKfDD3df9KNL3aqV0izePO07Pn2pbRRmqrz3505eKwrrURFd9C6uQsb43BuEuDeIzh9Wtk7G%2FD8BINHGWfyUrI8vh9Fn4p1B16ttx2amK9tZqqXMIMV8%2BOx9aDgsyarHun%2FlOxBqdfuTpM9mFlkn33Kc8hHd14x25R9xmTKcN7h4Y02PoSEDrtf59KzBXa3ktFlWpHW0s4XmydcwDmIqr3ETAcwgOp7RJWQkCMzPfBIyzJLQI%2Bf2z0pCX32HdYNFDZmxc2y2ycznRBcDtMc%2FYtcut2jijluYnYVwlljraDLbvuPECOTjus3LxTU%2FEkA%2FY026eUhAFCr2KokiG62dMbs57btMNTbj40GOqYBW3AGQopMZ3TtTOlIJWF%2Fb%2FgBJei3TRl4p5ChhhGdt9GOI3Z%2BS5901K3ekLrzjOceW8PDXAd46UyLLDGYhG3Hvufe9H8QztYsZOJ4GwgodbnZ8ciw8GzIHYu3nXkIZrxhkGDzGRysOHE8q5zsMDyiTTbDfwxY76zzbqaaciYAS5FRxQddUEq4loImIteIFYYa6UYyjsxOSnoN%2BEcV9ZupA%2B8cTy9ppQ%3D%3D&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=bc4fdf1c1f2d8c1cbae16594b52b3e8b64778f2109281d225024f23de21fde9e">the 2020 PFF Draft Guide,</a> Reagor had the fourth-highest drop rate. But the Eagles made Reagor the fourth receiver off the board. Clearly, the best way to replace a receiver with questionable hands was to get another receiver with questionable hands.</p>
<p id="ECHZJS">Reagor has been a massive disappointment. His first NFL catch in his first NFL game went for 55 yards; he hasn’t had a <em>full game</em> with that many yards since. Entering Sunday, he was sixth on the Eagles in receiving yards, behind Quez Watkins, taken 179 picks after Reagor in the 2020 draft, and Zach Ertz, a tight end who was traded over a month ago. In Philadelphia’s previous four games, Reagor had four catches for 5 yards. Reagor <a href="https://stathead.com/tiny/FVzIW">is 18th in receiving yards among players selected in the 2020 draft,</a> well behind players like Justin Jefferson, Tee Higgins, and Michael Pittman, all of whom were available when the Eagles picked Reagor. </p>
<p id="AJk9Pr">But Sunday, Reagor had an opportunity to change the way Eagles fans think about him—actually, two opportunities. As the Eagles were trailing the Giants 13-7 with roughly a minute remaining, Jalen Hurts threw a bomb that hit Reagor in the hands right at the goal line. Reagor dropped it, nearly resulting in a Giants interception. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Should have been a TD except Jalen Reagor did Jalen Reagor things <a href="https://t.co/mE4nHMP9VQ">pic.twitter.com/mE4nHMP9VQ</a></p>— Shane Haff (@HAFFnHAFF_TPL) <a href="https://twitter.com/HAFFnHAFF_TPL/status/1465062345739313152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2021</a>
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<p id="0yxpag">But Philadelphia still had a shot, and kept looking for the game-winning touchdown. On fourth down, the Eagles’ last chance to win, Hurts scrambled around and looked up to see Reagor open at the goal line. Reagor dropped it, ending the game. </p>
<div id="ffHsA2">
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jalen Reagor HAS to make that catch!! Inexcusable drops late in this game!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Eagles?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Eagles</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyEaglesFly?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyEaglesFly</a> <a href="https://t.co/rPjQgUaBIl">pic.twitter.com/rPjQgUaBIl</a></p>— Brodes Media (@BrodesMedia) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrodesMedia/status/1465063397490409486?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2021</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">This was to win the game. Tough day for Jalen Reagor <a href="https://t.co/coaEN3G4H8">pic.twitter.com/coaEN3G4H8</a></p>— Danny Heifetz (@Danny_Heifetz) <a href="https://twitter.com/Danny_Heifetz/status/1465068540151615490?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2021</a>
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<p id="LPL2vO">One time, the ball bonked off Reagor’s rock-hard hands; the other time, it slid through Reagor’s slippery-wet hands. In addition to losing the game, the sequence seems to have pissed off this year’s first-round wide receiver, Devonta Smith, who is actually good. Smith reportedly asked head coach Nick Sirianni for the ball on the final play, got open, and then had to watch as Reagor’s drops cost Philly the game:</p>
<div id="t93u8d">
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">DeVonta Smith got open twice on final play. Hurts never looked his way.<br><br>Smith threw helmet afterwards in frustration. <a href="https://t.co/gBySfJlDW0">pic.twitter.com/gBySfJlDW0</a></p>— Victor Williams (@ThePhillyPod) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThePhillyPod/status/1465068587647963138?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2021</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Nick Sirianni said DeVonta Smith came up to him before the final play and demanded the ball. Sirianni said he likes that fire from Smith in wanting the ball in crunch time.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Eagles?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Eagles</a> didn’t target Smith on final drive <a href="https://t.co/7hOkfkjR01">pic.twitter.com/7hOkfkjR01</a></p>— Josh Tolentino (@JCTSports) <a href="https://twitter.com/JCTSports/status/1465067849861537794?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2021</a>
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<p id="inWnR1">Reagor has had such a minor role in Philadelphia’s offense over his first two years that fans barely noticed that he couldn’t catch the ball. But Sunday, he got open, and the game came down to his ability to make catches. <em>Just like Agholor.</em></p>
<h3 id="rnTrdL">Winner: Yosh Nijman, Massive Football Robot</h3>
<p id="EngfNo">It’s generally a bad sign when people are talking about your third-string left tackle. Normally it’s something like “Myles Garrett has six sacks today; he’s really destroying our third-string left tackle,” or, “Ahhh! Our starting QB’s leg just fell off after that hit! Why did we have to play our third-string left tackle?” </p>
<p id="8VGvlU">But Green Bay has begun to celebrate its third-string left tackle, Yosh Nijman—and his celebrations. Nijman got three starts earlier this season after an injury to Elgton Jenkins, while starter David Bakhtiari still hasn’t played since tearing his ACL last December. Nijman, who went undrafted in 2019 and played only a few snaps in his first two years in the league, surprised himself and his teammates when he crashed a Randall Cobb touchdown celebration by doing the robot. His teammates said they’d never seen him display that much personality; <a href="https://www.packers.com/news/packers-have-enjoyed-watching-yosh-nijman-s-growth-and-dance-moves">Nijman says he “blacked out” and doesn’t remember doing the dance</a>. He’s sorta like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oXgjQnPfec">that random guy on <em>Chappelle’s Show</em>:</a> Nobody outside of Green Bay knows who Nijman is, but if you look closely, he’s the anonymous figure doing the robot in the background of the Packers’ biggest moments.</p>
<div id="JV5nkZ">
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/YosuahNijman1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@YosuahNijman1</a>’s robot is so smooth, it took <a href="https://twitter.com/tae15adams?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@tae15adams</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/AaronRodgers12?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AaronRodgers12</a> by surprise. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoPackGo?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoPackGo</a> <a href="https://t.co/neCO1Cr9Y3">pic.twitter.com/neCO1Cr9Y3</a></p>— Green Bay Packers (@packers) <a href="https://twitter.com/packers/status/1463979515034705920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 25, 2021</a>
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<p id="zgwVsB">Still, Packers fans had to be a little bit terrified when Jenkins tore his ACL last week, forcing Nijman back into a starting role against the Rams. That’s right—<em>the Rams</em>, who have Aaron Donald and Von Miller. You could just imagine people talking about Green Bay’s third-string left tackle—“and Aaron Rodgers’s career is officially over after the Packers asked their third-string left tackle to block two Hall of Famers.”</p>
<p id="VAYjJ4">But Nijman prevented Rodgers from suffering a cataclysmic injury. In fact, he held his own. Rodgers was sacked once, for no loss. He told Nijman after the game that <a href="https://twitter.com/mattschneidman/status/1465135421478907912">he “forgot about that side of the line</a>” during the game because Nijman did such a good job sealing off the Rams’ fearsome pass rush. In this clip, you can see Nijman pushing Donald around on a fourth-down run play: </p>
<div id="ajqxUg">
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">good luck stopping AJ Dillon on 4th and short <a href="https://t.co/SgYHb0Rvhj">pic.twitter.com/SgYHb0Rvhj</a></p>— packers clips (@packers_clips) <a href="https://twitter.com/packers_clips/status/1465072978127904771?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2021</a>
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<p id="ZhP1tD">So people are now talking about the Packers’ third-string left tackle. After an A.J. Dillon touchdown, the running back introduced a national audience to Nijman’s celebration:</p>
<div id="8l9paO">
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">THE ROBOT! <a href="https://twitter.com/ajdillon7?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ajdillon7</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/YosuahNijman1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@YosuahNijman1</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LARvsGB?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LARvsGB</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoPackGo?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoPackGo</a> <a href="https://t.co/hwmfRljYgM">pic.twitter.com/hwmfRljYgM</a></p>— Green Bay Packers (@packers) <a href="https://twitter.com/packers/status/1465100103849500673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2021</a>
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<p id="YkWkKq">Ideally, the Packers will get Bakhtiari back soon. But until then, there are worse options than a 6-foot-7, 315-pound robot. </p>
<h3 id="JdjfGu">Loser: Whomever Chris Simms Picks</h3>
<p id="4eKMkA">I watch NBC’s <em>Football Night in America</em> every week. I tell myself it’s because I don’t want to miss the kickoff of the <em>Sunday Night Football </em>game while I’m writing this column, but I think I must enjoy the show, too. It might be the least annoying and most reasonable of all the sports pregame shows. It seems like everybody involved knows what they’re talking about—at least until it’s time for them to pick the winner of the night’s game. </p>
<p id="jUM90U">Every pregame show has commentators pick the game, but I think NBC is the only one foolish enough to track each commentator’s picks throughout the season. In 2019, Rodney Harrison finished the year with <a href="https://twitter.com/rodger/status/1216110174508933120">a remarkable 7-13 mark picking games</a> on <em>SNF</em>. This would be embarrassing, if understandable, if the crew were picking games against the Vegas spread. But they’re not! They’re picking these games straight up! </p>
<p id="0QrfwI">This year’s bafflingly bad picking performance goes to Chris Simms. Simms was 7-9 as an NFL starting quarterback—but is apparently significantly worse than that when it comes to picking games. He was 4-8 when he picked the Browns to win Sunday night’s matchup against the Ravens:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Chris Simms down to 4-8 on the season. This isn't against the spread! This is straight-up! <a href="https://t.co/fMvdpZPMN8">pic.twitter.com/fMvdpZPMN8</a></p>— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) <a href="https://twitter.com/rodger/status/1465126420649283590?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 29, 2021</a>
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<p id="yagstj">Cleveland lost 16-10 Sunday night. The Browns had a season-low 40 rushing yards. They committed a series of hilariously bad turnovers—here’s <a href="https://twitter.com/NFLEspanol/status/1465152126783344644">Baker Mayfield forgetting how to throw</a>. And <a href="https://twitter.com/NFLOfficiating/status/1465168666329329673">their one touchdown probably wasn’t a touchdown</a>. Long story short, Simms is 4-9 on the year—a 30 percent success rate.</p>
<p id="WMEcoN">Maybe Simms is simply doing his job. His job isn’t to get the picks right—it’s to keep people watching the show, and people would tune out if everybody on the panel said, “Yeah this should be a blowout, the Ravens are way better.” And besides, I have a new reason to watch this pregame show every week—I need to see if this guy can get every pick wrong for the rest of the year.</p>
<h3 id="Z7xKmK">Winner: The Waddle Waddle</h3>
<p id="MN27hn">A few weeks ago, we told the story of former Washington kicker Chris Blewitt, <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2021/11/1/22756833/winners-and-losers-week-8-mike-white-chris-boswell-jared-goff">who accepted his destiny and became an inaccurate NFL kicker</a>. Football is filled with tales of nominative determinism: <a href="https://chiefswire.usatoday.com/2018/06/05/chiefs-udfa-spotlight-arkansas-state-dt-dee-liner/">D-lineman Dee Liner</a>, <a href="https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/T/TeamRo00.htm">Raiders special-teamer Roderick Teamer</a>, Eagles running back Kenneth Gainwell.</p>
<p id="4vMd2n">Luckily, Dolphins rookie Jaylen Waddle has refused to let his name dictate his destiny. In Sunday’s game against the Panthers, Waddle burst through multiple levels of the Carolina defense on a 57-yard catch-and-run:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jaylen Waddle is very fast. <a href="https://twitter.com/D1__JW?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@D1__JW</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FinsUp?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FinsUp</a><br><br> : <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CARvsMIA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CARvsMIA</a> on FOX<br> : NFL app <a href="https://t.co/YhEGbZo5eM">pic.twitter.com/YhEGbZo5eM</a></p>— NFL (@NFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1465034197161033728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2021</a>
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<p id="F8cyTO">Waddle reached a top speed of 21.8 miles per hour on the play, <a href="https://nextgenstats.nfl.com/stats/top-plays/fastest-ball-carriers">tied for the fifth-fastest speed by any player this season</a>. Waddle finished with nine catches for a career-high 137 yards and a touchdown. He has <a href="https://twitter.com/NFL345/status/1465068225008390144">the second-most catches of any rookie wide receiver through 12 games in NFL history</a>. After scoring his fourth touchdown of the season, Waddle celebrated by Waddling:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Former Alabama WR Jaylen Waddle scores a touchdown and waddles. <a href="https://t.co/wDVVKwwSSm">pic.twitter.com/wDVVKwwSSm</a></p>— Michael Casagrande (@ByCasagrande) <a href="https://twitter.com/ByCasagrande/status/1465031917816975360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2021</a>
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<p class="c-end-para" id="ored7W">Waddle explained after the game that he had co-opted <a href="https://twitter.com/NFLonFOX/status/1465070958197149699">teammate Christian Wilkins’s penguin celebration</a>. I guess Waddle had never considered how strange it is to be a ridiculously fast, highly coordinated person named after an animal that walks slowly and clumsily. Until Ricky Seals-Jones balances the ball on his nose in the end zone, it’s the most adorable TD celebration in the league.</p>
https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2021/11/29/22807364/winners-and-losers-week-12-cordarelle-patterson-kirk-cousinsRodger Sherman2021-11-29T03:07:12-05:002021-11-29T03:07:12-05:00A Bizarre NFL MVP Race and NBA Trade Ideas With Cousin Sal and Kevin O’Connor
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<img alt="Tennessee Titans v New England Patriots" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/o9FpKvyhB-d8R1ug-uJozgL4zTM=/236x0:4576x3255/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70203535/1356057439.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Including Bill’s and Sal’s Guess the Lines picks for Week 13</p> <div id="pjz1SD"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 152px; position: relative;"><iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/show/07SjDmKb9iliEzpNcN2xGD?utm_source=oembed" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="encrypted-media;"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="moV8En"><br><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/07SjDmKb9iliEzpNcN2xGD?si=b280cde7858b4add"><em>The Ringer</em>’s Bill Simmons is joined by Cousin Sal</a> to discuss the puzzling MVP conversation, the Patriots’ win over the Titans, Colts-Buccaneers, Vikings-49ers, current playoff standings, Eagles-Giants, the Bengals steamrolling the Steelers, Panthers-Dolphins, the Cowboys’ Thanksgiving loss to the Raiders, Browns-Ravens, and much more (1:15). Then they guess the lines for NFL Week 13 (20:00), followed by Parent Corner (1:07:30). Finally Bill talks with <em>The Ringer</em>’s Kevin O’Connor about some interesting NBA trades as the season progresses (1:18:18).</p>
<p id="vjUlas">Host: Bill Simmons<br>Guests: Cousin Sal and Kevin O’Connor<br>Producer: Kyle Crichton</p>
<p id="adVgLX"><strong>Subscribe:</strong> <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/07SjDmKb9iliEzpNcN2xGD?si=X1S_fYL7REi9NlCpheLw6g">Spotify</a> / <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bill-simmons-podcast/id1043699613?mt=2">Apple Podcasts</a> / <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-ringer/the-bill-simmons-podcast">Stitcher</a> / <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/thebillsimmonspodcast">RSS</a></p>
https://www.theringer.com/the-bill-simmons-podcast/2021/11/29/22807361/a-bizarre-nfl-mvp-race-and-nba-trade-ideas-with-cousin-sal-and-kevin-oconnorBill Simmons2021-11-26T10:58:52-05:002021-11-26T10:58:52-05:00The Winners and Losers of Thanksgiving Day Football
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<img alt="Las Vegas Raiders v Dallas Cowboys" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/zAQV8dR-eAdXevPpaS0w6xTJqkA=/239x0:3071x2124/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70195048/1355572053.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>The refs spent the holiday making questionable decisions—and so did Lions head coach Dan Campbell. Plus: Does anyone know how NFL coin tosses work?</p> <p id="k09tSN"><em>Every week this NFL season, we will celebrate the electric plays, investigate the colossal blunders, and explain the inexplicable moments of the most recent slate. Welcome to Winners and Losers. Which one are you?</em></p>
<h3 id="ABfgWA">Winner: Flags</h3>
<p id="FcSWln">Some people like to watch the parade on Thanksgiving Day; others like to watch the National Dog Show. But I live for one thing: that moment when the Cowboys game returns from commercial break accompanied by soft piano music and little graphics of leaves falling, and a video plays in which the game’s referees wish me a happy Thanksgiving. All the turkey in the world wouldn’t be able to cheer me up if it wasn’t for this tiny vignette of NFL official Shawn Hochuli looking directly into the camera and sending my family good tidings with the same demeanor he’d use to announce that my uncle had committed a neutral zone infraction. This happens every year, and I don’t know why:</p>
<div id="MOmUy3">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">say hello to the bad guys <a href="https://t.co/6pjkxWKO4p">pic.twitter.com/6pjkxWKO4p</a></p>— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) <a href="https://twitter.com/SharpFootball/status/1464029497137807362?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 26, 2021</a>
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<p id="Y5wrWG">But the referees got significantly more airtime in Cowboys-Raiders than just that eight-second snippet. Over 66 minutes of game time, the refs called 28 penalties for 276 combined yards. Dating to 1940, <a href="https://stathead.com/tiny/a7cxh">only 13 games have had more combined penalty yards</a>, and <a href="https://stathead.com/tiny/wc1eA">only 16 have featured more combined penalties</a>. Thursday’s game was just the ninth in NFL history in which <a href="https://stathead.com/tiny/Gm1sF">both teams were flagged at least 14 times</a>. </p>
<p id="p3omC2">Many of those flags were thrown because of Cowboys cornerback Anthony Brown, who was called for pass interference four times. Because defensive pass interference penalties are always marked at the spot of the foul, the Raiders gained 91 yards off of these four flags, resulting in two scores. A first-quarter call set up Las Vegas on the Dallas 1-yard line and quickly led to a Josh Jacobs touchdown; an overtime call on a third-and-18 awarded the Raiders 33 yards and set up Daniel Carlson’s game-winning field goal. </p>
<div id="XkxTol">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Anthony Brown's fourth DPI penalty of the game <a href="https://t.co/ZnjmKUQwja">pic.twitter.com/ZnjmKUQwja</a></p>— PFF (@PFF) <a href="https://twitter.com/PFF/status/1464042708385910785?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 26, 2021</a>
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<p id="gK2GN1">According to AP reporter Josh Dubow, Brown had the <a href="https://twitter.com/JoshDubowAP/status/1464100204001456129">most penalty yards called in a game against any one player</a> since 2009. Last season, only three NFL players were responsible for <a href="https://www.nflpenalties.com/penalty/defensive-pass-interference?year=2020&view=players">more than 91 total yards in pass interference penalties</a>. And prior to Thursday, Brown hadn’t been flagged for pass interference once all season. The only call that had been made against him in 2021 was a <a href="https://www.nflpenalties.com/player/a-brown-dallas-cowboys?year=2021">5-yard penalty for illegal contact</a>.</p>
<p id="UCGVf1">Just by looking at the stats, you’d assume that Brown was completely outmatched all game, tackling receivers any time the ball was thrown in his direction. But that’s not what happened. Outside of the first call, which was made after Brown actively dragged Raiders wide receiver Bryan Edwards, the other three flags were thrown on plays in which Brown’s actions could have been interpreted as 50-50 jostling for the ball. On the last call, Brown seems to have been penalized for breaking up a pass with the back of his helmet instead of turning his head around:</p>
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<p id="7OT8uB">This game reinforced the absurdity of making pass interference an automatic spot foul—the only foul in the league that is enforced this way. Do we trust NFL referees to consistently and accurately enforce pass interference calls? No! We don’t trust NFL referees to consistently and accurately make <em>any</em> calls, and pass interference calls are some of the toughest to make in the sport. That’s why two seasons ago the league temporarily allowed pass interference calls to be reviewed by instant replay, a move that was widely viewed as a disaster, as even instant replay regularly failed to determine whether a play warranted a flag.</p>
<p id="4AgUwA">If defensive pass interference penalties resulted in simply 15 yards and a first down, they would still provide a huge boost to the offense. But the calls on Brown essentially gave the Raiders a touchdown and the game-winning field goal. If we don’t trust refs to make this call, why do we give them the opportunity to completely change the outcome of games?</p>
<h3 id="W234H0">Loser: The Third-and-32 Detroit Lions</h3>
<p id="vf4KqK">For the third time this season, the Lions lost a game on a field goal as the clock expired. They fell to the Ravens in Week 3 when Justin Tucker made the longest field goal in NFL history as time ran out; they lost to the Vikings in Week 5 when Greg Joseph converted a 54-yarder in a similar scenario, making Detroit the first team in NFL history to lose two games in the same season on final-second 50-plus-yard kicks. </p>
<p id="JiVaYm">Chicago’s 28-yard game-winner on Thursday was less dramatic. While the Ravens and Vikings both used frantic last-ditch drives to get into field-goal range, the Bears drove almost all the way to the goal line while running down the remaining clock. </p>
<p id="2SLmDu">With all the close losses (and one tie!), the 0-10-1 Lions feel tantalizingly close to finally winning a game. But in other ways, they seem so damn far away. On Thursday, the Lions twice committed strings of penalties that moved them more than 30 yards back from the line to gain. </p>
<p id="8X15Vc">In the first quarter, Detroit was putting together a successful offensive drive, moving the ball from their own 33-yard line to the Chicago 29. But then the Lions committed back-to-back-to-back penalties—two false starts and a hold—to bring up a first-and-30. This is rare: It marked only the second time this season that a team had faced a first-and-30. </p>
<p id="POQIGr">But things quickly got <em>worse</em>. The Lions lost yardage from there, and the Detroit crowd booed as the team elected to run the ball on third-and-32:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">So, this is <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Lions?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Lions</a> HC: Dan Campbell's 3rd-32 play call?<br><br>And yet somehow they tied the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Steelers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Steelers</a> not long ago? <a href="https://t.co/OiyGA1bp7u">pic.twitter.com/OiyGA1bp7u</a></p>— Lawrence Owen (@Colts_Law) <a href="https://twitter.com/Colts_Law/status/1463939742941208582?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 25, 2021</a>
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<p id="qOCvMo">Then, in the fourth quarter, the Lions committed back-to-back-to-back penalties again—this time, the sequence was a false start and two holds. They were trying to cling to a one-point lead; that wasn’t possible after facing a third-and-32. Detroit punted and never touched the ball again. </p>
<p id="5j52Qq">Before Thanksgiving, there had been only eight third-and-30-plus-yard situations in the NFL this season, and no two had happened in the same game. No team had managed to face multiple third-and-30s in one game since 2016. Detroit’s offense repeatedly moving backward played a big role in the team remaining winless: Chicago scored a touchdown after the first third-and-32 scenario, and hit the game-winning field goal after the second. </p>
<p id="Ylnsgh">The Lions had comical issues all day. They couldn’t get the right number of players on the field for an extra point—as broadcaster Joe Buck noted, they probably aren’t used to scoring touchdowns:</p>
<div id="PGeJl8">
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Joe Buck unapologetically roasts the Detroit Lions after they somehow managed to get penalized for having 12 men on the field on an extra point try. <a href="https://t.co/RWvqjY4nSr">pic.twitter.com/RWvqjY4nSr</a></p>— The Big Lead (@TheBigLead) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheBigLead/status/1463962067594092546?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 25, 2021</a>
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<p id="Enva7F">You don’t make it to December winless without being a deeply broken football team, and the Lions pretty clearly seem broken. They keep getting close to an elusive win, but much like that first-down marker, their target seems to be getting farther and farther away. </p>
<h3 id="8Bo6H3">Winner: Drew Brees</h3>
<p id="9CnWcJ">Earlier this year, NBC had Drew Brees fly to Foxborough to <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2021/10/4/22708279/the-winners-and-losers-of-nfl-week-4">watch Tom Brady break his all-time passing yardage record</a>. But Thanksgiving was a better day for the newly minted media member, as Brees was on the scene for the Saints’ matchup against the Bills. It was Brees’s first time calling an NFL regular-season game; he’d previously called a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lEmcmv4Oc4">preseason game</a> and some Notre Dame games, but this was his first legit action. He slid into Cris Collinsworth’s spot well. (Literally.)</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">That's a veteran slide. <a href="https://twitter.com/drewbrees?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DrewBrees</a> <a href="https://t.co/i5MmYPiivh">pic.twitter.com/i5MmYPiivh</a></p>— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) <a href="https://twitter.com/SNFonNBC/status/1464042000169287685?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 26, 2021</a>
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<p id="p34BMW">The choice of Brees’s first game as a commentator was no surprise: In case you didn’t know, Brees was the Saints quarterback for the past 15 years. (Longtime Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo also called the Dallas game; there were no biased announcers on the Bears-Lions broadcast, because neither franchise has ever had a quarterback good or popular enough to become a national commentator.) And New Orleans went all out for Brees’s return, holding a halftime ceremony for the future Hall of Famer.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Drew Brees' message to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Saints?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Saints</a> fans ⚜️<br><br> : NBC <a href="https://t.co/AC2JNPjVRl">pic.twitter.com/AC2JNPjVRl</a></p>— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saints/status/1464064516480770049?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 26, 2021</a>
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<p id="lRBrWF">What’s more, everybody in the stands probably wished that they were cheering for Brees in the game. The Saints got absolutely wrecked by the Bills, losing 31-6. New Orleans fell into a 24-0 hole and failed to score until the fourth quarter. It was the fourth loss in as many starts for quarterback Trevor Siemian, who was the team’s fourth-stringer last season while Brees was on the roster. But Jameis Winston is out for the year after tearing his ACL, and supposed backup Taysom Hill didn’t play a snap on Thursday. He was active, but recovering from a foot injury.</p>
<p id="GIuBKT">(It’s unclear exactly <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2021/11/17/22787363/taysom-hill-sean-payton-trevor-siemian-new-orleans-saints">what the Saints are doing with Hill</a> right now. Is he too hurt to play? Are the Saints keeping him from his usual utility role because they don’t want to risk aggravating his injury further in case Siemian gets hurt? Either way, the Saints clearly think it’s working, because they <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1462884861895712776">signed him to a contract extension</a> last week.)</p>
<p id="atA5Jc">This team needed Brees—but instead, he was giving commentary on Siemian’s hilarious habit of dropping back 10 to 12 yards in the pocket, exacerbating his arm weakness and making it easy for Buffalo to sack him:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Bills defense is taking advantage of Trevor Siemian's long dropbacks. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NextGenStats?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NextGenStats</a> powered by <a href="https://twitter.com/awscloud?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@awscloud</a>. <a href="https://t.co/08geIZeuCc">pic.twitter.com/08geIZeuCc</a></p>— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) <a href="https://twitter.com/SNFonNBC/status/1464070613761503266?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 26, 2021</a>
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<p id="bHGEwP">What a night for Brees. He stood in the middle of a stadium packed with tens of thousands of fans chanting his name, many of whom skipped Thanksgiving dinner at home not to watch their struggling football team, but to cheer for their former hero. And the millions of fans at home likely thought: <em>Damn, the Saints are terrible—it’s a shame Brees is in the booth</em>. Playing football is nice, but so is being retired when everyone keeps screaming your name and thinking about how good you were.</p>
<h3 id="ln3QHC">Loser: Dan Campbell</h3>
<p id="TjlSHB">Brown wasn’t the only person on Thursday who was flagged for a critical third-down penalty that led to a game-winning field goal—but he was the only player. Lions head coach Dan Campbell called back-to-back timeouts on the Bears’ final drive, incurring a rare defensive delay of game penalty that made life significantly easier for Chicago on a key third down.</p>
<p id="QPl9pH">Campbell <a href="https://www.mlive.com/lions/2021/11/dan-campbell-lions-called-costly-double-timeout-because-half-the-secondary-was-in-wrong-defense.html">spoke about his decision after the game</a>, explaining how much of his secondary was lined up incorrectly as a result of a miscommunication, and how he figured that taking the penalty would be better than allowing the Chicago play to run. He said that if the Bears threw a pass “out in the flat, it was about to be a touchdown,” so taking a 5-yard penalty instead was the easy call. </p>
<p id="KjQjZQ">But that doesn’t make Campbell’s decision-making any less perplexing! Even if we overlook the ridiculously embarrassing nature of his team <em>failing to properly communicate coming out of a timeout</em>, Campbell’s reasoning still doesn’t track. The delay of game penalty presented the Bears with a third-and-4 instead of a third-and-9. After intentionally taking a penalty to set up that third-and-4 situation, Campbell’s team came out in a defense that … didn’t actually defend the first-down marker 4 yards away.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Dan Campbell gets a 5 yard penalty for calling back to back timeouts, this is what they show on defense!?!?!?!?! <a href="https://t.co/R3vrP2dF5r">pic.twitter.com/R3vrP2dF5r</a></p>— Ben (@benschueren) <a href="https://twitter.com/benschueren/status/1463973121967464454?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 25, 2021</a>
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<p id="NJIrle">The Bears picked up the first down on a 7-yard pass to Damiere Byrd, allowing them to run out the clock and kick an easy game-winning field goal. If Campbell’s Lions had simply allowed a touchdown following their supposed miscommunication, Detroit would have at least gotten the ball back with a chance to respond. Instead, Campbell’s penalty <em>and</em> the bad defensive call all but assured Chicago would end the game on top.</p>
<p id="QJ2LlB">I’ve <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2021/11/24/22800625/detroit-lions-dan-campbell-winless-record">praised Campbell for his persona</a>, but this was a disastrous example of late-game management—some of the worst from any coach in any game this season. Campbell’s energy hasn’t helped Detroit win any games yet, and his late-game decision-making just helped it lose one. </p>
<h3 id="CItSSV">Winner: Egg Bowl Shenanigans</h3>
<p id="PaLsXd">Thanksgiving is one of the few days each year in which big-time NFL games and big-time college football games happen concurrently. The most-watched NFL games of the season are on; so too is the Egg Bowl between Ole Miss and Mississippi State. NFL and college games take place simultaneously on lots of other Thursdays, but usually it’s a matchup like Jaguars-Bengals going head-to-head with something on the level of Miami-Virginia. This game featured a Rebels team ranked ninth in the country with a potential first-round draft pick in quarterback Matt Corral, and a Bulldogs team that has wins over Texas A&M, Auburn, and Kentucky. </p>
<p id="WJDoZR">The game didn’t feature a <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/11/29/20987904/thanksgiving-football-winners-losers-jason-garrett-egg-bowl">game-deciding piss penalty</a>, but it still brought its fair share of shenanigans. My personal highlight: This sequence in which Mississippi State dropped touchdown passes on first, second, <em>and</em> third downs, and then missed a field goal on fourth down:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">That entire sequence, as called on Mississippi State radio: <a href="https://t.co/f3ubDBCdtz">pic.twitter.com/f3ubDBCdtz</a></p>— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) <a href="https://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1464055268967428106?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 26, 2021</a>
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<p id="RdJFKb">The NFL will never give you a sequence this spectacular. Yeah, it’ll give you perfect touchdowns, and if you’re lucky it’ll give you one embarrassing blooper. But it will never give you multiple wide receivers and a kicker mind-melding to create 50 gallons of Failure Stew. Ole Miss won 31-21 to secure a berth in one of this season’s top bowl games. Now, roughly half of an American state will spend the next 360-plus days thinking about the time their team collectively became disinterested in scoring from the goal line against their biggest rival. </p>
<h3 id="huub5Y">Winner: Coin Toss Confusion</h3>
<p id="VhBI8T">This Thanksgiving started with a bang, as both the Lions and Bears made it clear they were uninterested in playing football. Detroit won the coin toss and elected to defer their decision to the second half. This is essentially choosing to kick the ball off, but there is a slight possibility baked into the rulebook that the opponent will accidentally give you the ball to open <em>both</em> halves, which almost happened in a 2019 game between the Cowboys and Rams. For a second, it looked like this might be the case, as the Bears also announced that they wanted to defer:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">chalk up another weiird Thanksgiving coin toss lol <a href="https://t.co/mkXch8HfSY">pic.twitter.com/mkXch8HfSY</a></p>— alex (@highlghtheaven) <a href="https://twitter.com/highlghtheaven/status/1463928873977098245?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 25, 2021</a>
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<p id="eXqOWY">Here we had two teams standing at midfield, both announcing their refusal to make a choice. In an ideal world, they would have simply stood there, deferring, until the NFL called off the game. Unfortunately, the referee stepped in, repeatedly barking “YOU WANT THE BALL?” at the Bears until the Bears realized they were supposed to say that they wanted the ball.</p>
<p id="WqjgMF">A more critical coin toss happened later Thursday, as the Cowboys-Raiders game went to overtime. Las Vegas captain Foster Moreau had to call the toss. Knowing his answer would decide who got the ball first in the extra period—and perhaps a bit surprised that he, Foster Moreau, was the Raiders’ captain—he took a lengthy and unconfident pause before incorrectly calling for heads:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">MAKE UP YOUR MIND <a href="https://t.co/IbOk6NiFDq">pic.twitter.com/IbOk6NiFDq</a></p>— alex (@highlghtheaven) <a href="https://twitter.com/highlghtheaven/status/1464039689711763459?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 26, 2021</a>
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<p class="c-end-para" id="0RS053">I deeply love listening to NFL players make decisions on microphones. Sometimes, we get a “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sch_TAVAyn0">BOOM, WE WANT THAT MOTHERFUCKER</a>”; other times, we get a squeaky and tentative “heads?” The NFL could probably get rid of the coin toss—but if the time ever comes to make that decision, I hope the league defers.</p>
<aside id="vtpqGs"><div data-anthem-component="newsletter" data-anthem-component-data='{"slug":"ringer_newsletter"}'></div></aside>
https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2021/11/26/22803217/thanksgiving-day-winners-losers-referees-dan-campbell-drew-breesRodger Sherman