Hot Takes: NFL Week Fourteen

Fourteen weeks down, three to go. Get them hot takes. 

 

1. And Still…..

Everyone expected the Panthers to win on Sunday, but when you’re undefeated and playing teams fighting for the playoff lives, you always get the other team’s best shot. Well, if that was the Falcons best shot, then the game in two weeks shouldn’t be a problem.

Cam Newton continued to solidify his MVP case with 256 yards and three touchdowns, including two bombs to Ted Ginn, who actually caught the ball. While Newton had the offense rolling, the defense made life miserable for the Falcons offense as Josh Norman made Julio Jones look average while the rest of the defense played their part in shutting down Matt Ryan and company.

The Panthers clinched a first round bye with three games remaining and ended up resting their starters in the fourth quarter. Despite the blowout victory, not everything went Carolina’s way. Bene Benwikere, Carolina’s #2 corner, broke his leg and is done for the year. Meanwhile, Cam took a couple of big hits, Greg Olsen tweaked his leg, Jonathan Stewart hurt his foot, and Luke Keuchly had to get his ankle checked out. It appears that everyone is fine, but the regular season no longer matters for this team. It’s now about the playoffs. 

2. Bengals Without Dalton

Well, Bengals fans, here you go. The majority of Cincy and NFL fans love to rip on Andy Dalton for his playoff failures so now they’ll get to experience life without Dalton in the playoffs. Dalton broke the thumb on his throwing hand while making a tackle after he threw an interception, which just goes to show that you shouldn’t throw interceptions and everything will be fine.

You’re up, Mr. Katherine Webb.

If Dalton was truly the problem in Cincy all these years, then this is the first step towards the Bengals winning the Super Bowl. They still have A.J. Green, a solid run game, and a top 10 defense. Now all their quarterback issues have been solved thanks to an Andy Dalton interception. McCarron is the next Brady. Don’t believe me? Just ask him.

Edit: It appears that Dalton might be able to return in the playoffs. Sorry, Cook.

3. AFC Wild Card

The AFC Wild Card race is a ton of fun right now. You’ve got three teams at 8-5 and they have to be loving their situation. The Kansas City Chiefs have won seven straight and are in a position to play the AFC South Champs in the playoffs. I know that the Chiefs have nightmares about Andrew Luck, but we’re talking about a banged up Luck and a Colts defense that just gave up 51 points to the friggin Jaguars. Hell, the Colts may not even win the AFC South, which means the Chiefs defense would get to play whoever the Texans QB is. That sounds pretty nice, right Dustin?

The other two teams in the Wild Card race are the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers. The team that doesn’t get to face the lowly AFC South champ will get to face the Bengals with a back-up quarterback or the Broncos with a back-up quarterback/2016 cold weather Peyton Manning.

I’m too lazy to research, but how many times have both wild card teams in the same conference won the weekend? I can’t imagine it’s happened too often, but if you’re the Chiefs, Steelers, or Jets; you have to be very excited about your potential first round match-up. 

Quick Takes

*Say it with me: JOHNNY! FOOTBALL!

*I know people fear the Seahawks in the playoffs, but they really need a healthy Marshawn Lynch or Thomas Rawls. As good as Russell Wilson is playing, it’ll be extremely tough to sustain that in the playoffs without a serviceable rushing attack.

*If Brock Osweiler can’t beat the Raiders in Denver, I don’t like his chances in the playoffs.