NFL Week 12 -- Spaghetti Western

went from 2 to 7 just like that

 

Snow angels and a snowball fight? Post-game shows will never be the same.

 

The Steelers record on the road on Thursday nights is one of the few "weird stats" gambling touts throw out that I actually would buy. Mainly because they are one of the most consistent teams in football and Tomlin is such a consistent coach - no matter who the QB is. If I was still in a survival league, I probably would have picked the Browns (mainly because at this point in the year I doubt players have great options).

 

Does Tomlin view these as scheduled losses? Only explanation I have.

 

Jameis, is that you?

 

He certainly coached like it. Tomlin talked after the game about the team taking too long to get into the flow. That sounds like a coach who didn't have his team ready to go and it isn't the first time. They were sloppy all night. His fourth-down gambles were bad decisions and poor play calls. His time management late in the game was disastrous.

It was a perfect example of how to lose to a bad team. The weather didn't help. It negated the Steelers advantage on special teams. The rare Boswell miss and the shanked punt were huge. The Browns got away with a few things, like a blatant hold of Herbig that allowed Winston to scramble for a touchdown on fourth down and a pick on the the fourth-down conversion pass to Jeudy on the winning drive, but I have a hard time blaming the officials for missing a few in those conditions. The Steelers just couldn't get a consistent rush against a team with two scrubs at tackle. The chip and double-team excuse doesn't work for Watt any more. He's just not playing anywhere near his previous levels. The Steelers are supposed to have an excellent defense, but the shank doesn't excuse giving up a game-winning drive like that to lose the game.

 

I do think the Browns are a 7-8 win team if Watson never stepped on the field this season. There are too many flaws to be an 11-win team again, but that’s a competitive team if it gets even an average performance at quarterback.

 

I get that. My issue was not calling it grounding. I know Queen affected the throw, but that was a quarterback in the pocket just tossing it where he had no receiver to avoid a sack.

 

That's why I have so much respect for what the Lions have done this season. For the most part, when they've been clearly better than their opponent, they step on their fucking throats from the opening kick.

 

Imagine saying “That Jared Goff is a stone cold killer” four years ago.