NFL

Why the Patriots Will Go Undefeated

With immediate family in the Boston area, I was fortunate enough to grow up watching my favorite sports teams win multiple championships. Beginning in 2001 with the Patriots, the championships kept flowing into Titletown, USA with the Pats winning Super Bowls in ’01, ’03, ’04, and ’14 (with 2 heartbreaking losses in the title game to the New York Football Giants mixed in there), the Red Sox taking home the title in ’04, ’07, and ’13, and even the Celtics and Bruins taking home championships in ’08 and ’11 respectively. Yes, life as a Boston sports fan has been good to me in my 21 years, but the Patriots have been the constant winner out of all the recent Beantown dynasties, and I believe that they have what it takes to complete the 3rd perfect regular season in NFL history, and heres why:

 

1st in Points Scored– Through 10 weeks, New England leads the league in points scored. This offense rivals that of 2007, which had Randy Moss on it, and leads leads the league in passing yards as well. They are playing like a well oiled machine and at the helm of said machine is an angry Tom Brady. You won’t like him when he’s angry.

Terrific Tom- Brady has looked at his most prolific, leading the league in touchdown passes with 24 while only throwing 3 interceptions, which is the least in the league among qualified “starters”. He also is 3rd in completions, trailing only Phillip Rivers and Drew Brees, who are the highlight of their team’s offenses.

Stout Run D- Not since 2004 has the Pats D looked this good. the passing stats against them are a little skewed because of their “bend but don’t break” defense that gives any fan a heart attack near the ends of games, but don’t be fooled; the Patriots are legit at stopping the run. They have allowed 1 more yard than the 1st place New York Jets and are 4th when it comes to allowing points. Chandler Jones is looking the best he has in his entire career, and 1st round pick Malcom Brown is beginning to emerge, making this defense even more scary going down the stretch.

 

 

Week 8 Recap in the NFC

Saints quarterback Drew Brees tied an NFL record by passing for seven touchdowns in Sunday’s win over the Giants. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

If you are a fan of a shootout, there was a game for you. If you wanted stellar defense, there was a game for you. If you love old-school, hard-hitting football, there was a game for you. Basically what I am saying is that Week 8 was just flat out fun!

 

New Orleans Saints (4-4) 52  New York Giants (4-4) 49

This game looked like something straight out of the Big 12, with two high powered offenses and frankly no defense. Saints QB Drew Brees was able to out-duel (40-50, 511 YDS, 7 TD 1 INT) Giants QB Eli Manning (30-41, 350 YDS, 6 TD). Both teams combined for 13 TDS, which went on to be a new NFL record. The Giants were up with less than 2 minutes in the game, when a great punt return by the Saints brought them into position for a game-winning field goal.

Going forward, the Saints will play the Tennessee Titans and the Saints will play the Tampa Bay Bucaneers.

 

Denver Broncos (7-0) 29 Green Bay Packers (6-1) 10

Many had written off Payton Manning as just a washed-up QB, but boy were they wrong. Along with Manning throwing over 340 yards, the Broncos held Packers QB Aaron Rodgers to a career-low 77 passing yards. The Packers simply could not get anything going all night, with RB Eddie Lacey stymied in the backfield, and an outstanding Broncos secondary covering any openings that Rodgers could find.

The Broncos will take their undefeated record on the road next week against the Indianapolis Colts. The Packers will try to regroup from their first loss by traveling to Charlotte to take on the Carolina Panthers.

 

St. Louis Rams (4-3) 27 San Francisco 49ers (2-6) 6

It seems like the Todd Gurley show is hot as ever in St. Louis as he continues to rack up yards on the ground, despite only playing 4 games. Gurley ran over 133 yards and 1 TD on a 49ers team that is a huge shell of its former self. Along with Gurley, the Rams defense accounted for 3 sacks and a safety. If you look past their record, the Rams can continue with their upswing if they keep giving the ball for Gurley.

For Week 9, the Rams will take on the Minnesota Vikings and the 49ers will face the Atlanta Falcons.

 

Other Week 8 Scores:

Buccaneers 23  Falcons 20 Final/OT

Cardinals 34 Browns 20

Vikings 23 Bears 20

Seahawks 13 Cowboys 12

 

 

Week 7 Recap in the NFC

As I type this in the wee early hours of Monday, Week 7 in the NFC was a wild one. Let’s take a look at just how these games broke down:

Carolina Panthers (6-0) 27  Philadelphia Eagles (3-4) 16

While the doubters still believe the Panthers are the worst undefeated team left, this game proved that playing old-school and hard-nosed pigskin still brings a W. While Panthers QB Cam Newton threw 3 interceptions, albeit 2 not his fault, running backs Jonathan Stewart and Mike Tolbert took up the slack. Stewart went on to be the 1st RB to run over 100 yards against the Eagles in 18 games. Along with the Offense, the Panthers D had multiple sacks thanks to Jared Allen and Kawann Short.

On the Eagles side, they fell flat after their victory last week against the Giants. QB Sam Bradford was sacked 5 times and at times looked very shaky in the pocket. Down one point 6-21, RB Ryan Mathews was able to break off a 61-yard TD run that brought the Eagles back into the game, but could not simply stop the Panthers defensive onslaught.

Going forward, the Carolina Panthers will take their undefeated streak up against the Indianapolis Colts next week during Monday Night Football. As for the Eagles, they will collect themselves and take this loss going into their Bye Week.

 

Seattle Seahawks(3-4) 20  San Francisco 49ers (2-5) 3 

In what has become the laughing stock of the NFC West, the Seahawks and 49ers played a dismal game Thursday night in which both teams showed how much of a shadow of their former selves they have become. Seattle started out hot and was able to put their offense on cruise control soon after, with the help running backs Rawls and Lynch.

As for the 49ers, QB Colin Kaepernick continues to show a decline at his position as well as the offense as a whole. With RB Carlos Hyde still dealing with the lingering injuries, the defense has no way to help carry the load as they have been decimated.

Going forward, the Seahawks will face the Dallas Cowboys in Week 8 and the 49ers will face the St. Louis Rams.

 

Washington Redskins (3-4) 31  Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-4) 30 

In the largest comeback in team history, the Washington Redskins came back from 24 points down behind QB Kirk Cousins 3 TD passes to defeat the Bucs. With this game looking over before halftime, the Redskins fighting back shows that the NFC East is still up for grabs and that Tampa Bay continues to disappoint.

Washington Redskins’ Kirk Cousins threw for 317 yards, which is surprising considering his 3 INT in the previous game where his hold on the starting QB position fell under further scrutiny. The Redskins Defense clinched the win when Bucs WR Charles Sims fumbled with 12 seconds left in the game.

Tampa Bay will look back at this game as a what-if. Blowing a 24-point lead is no easy feat but apparently their Defense made sure it was a reality. While QB Jameis Winston played a very efficient game, going 21-29 for 297 yards and 2 TD’s, and RB Doug Martin rushing over 136 yards, their effort was simply not enough.

Looking at Week 8, Tampa be will be facing the Atlanta Falcons and the Redskins will face the undefeated New England Patriots.

 

Other Scores in the NFC:

  • Atlanta Falcons 10  Tennessee Titans 7
  • New Orleans Saints 27  Indianapolis Colts 21
  • Minnesota Vikings 28  Detriot Lions 19
  • St. Louis Rams 24  Cleveland Browns 6
  • New York Giants 27  Dallas Cowboys 20