NFL Week 8: Sunday scaries
The NFL knows how the celebrate Halloween, in its own way.
The word “scary” doesn’t always imply a negative situation. Sometimes a new experience can be scary but rewarding. Or a good horror movie — The Shining, The Exorcist, anything from the mind of Jordan Peele — can frighten you in the best of ways.
Other times, scary is scary, in the worst of ways, like Elon Musk buying Twitter and immediately sharing deranged conspiracy theories. Or a horror movie so disturbing that, even as an adult, you have to sleep with the lights on (this is why I avoid most films in this genre!).
On Halloween weekend, with fans dressed up in costumes throughout the country (and in the UK), the NFL delivered scares of both the good and bad variety. Let’s talk about them.
Enter, if you dare.
Scary Terry returns home
Terry McLaurin is one of the easiest players to root for in the NFL. I’ve heard nothing but universal praise for him, about both his character and work ethic, from the time he stepped foot on Ohio State’s campus all the way through to his first NFL contract extension.
He’s never been a big fan of being called “Scary Terry,” a moniker that never quite fit his personality, but he’s lived up to his nickname on the field. In fact, he’s the main reason the Commanders are currently on a winning streak. He was clutch in their win over the Packers last week, and with the game on the line this week, Taylor Heinicke knew who to target:
What made that catch, and the subsequent win, so special is that McLaurin is from Indianapolis and even had Colts season tickets growing up. On Sunday, he was the star at Lucas Oil Stadium, playing in front of friends and family who were cheering on the hometown kid, the one who sent the hometown team packing.
The enemy that the Rams and Jets can never vanquish
A few days ago, I predicted that the 49ers would continue their regular season winning streak over the Rams, while the Jets would finally beat the Patriots. I went 1-of-2 (and honestly knew I was taking a swing with the Jets).
The Niners won their eighth straight matchup (not including the playoffs) against the Rams and looked like a team that could be very dangerous in January, especially if they get anywhere close to being healthy again. Jimmy Garoppolo was nearly perfect throwing the ball, and San Francisco’s defense held LA to just 223 total yards and 4.0 yards per play. But the 49ers got their biggest boost from recent addition Christian McCaffrey:
His record-setting day not only offered a glimpse of what he can do in this offense, but it had to be extra bitter for the Rams, who were outbid by the Niners for McCaffrey’s services.
Over on the East Coast, the Jets dropped their 13 straight game against the Patriots. In Week 7, I was so worried that Bill Belichick’s defense would eat Justin Fields alive when New England hosted the Bears on Monday night. Instead, it was the other way around.
Not so with Zach Wilson, who threw for 355 yards but was intercepted three times and struggled under pressure (and without the running game to lean on). This was the Jets’ best chance in a while to finally end their skid against the Patriots, and Wilson couldn’t rise to the occasion.
I suppose it’s only fitting that Belichick’s historic victory — he now sits alone in second place in all-time coaching wins — came against the Jets, a team he’s dominated in his career and was head coach of, ever so briefly.
A.J. Brown terrorizes the Steelers
The Eagles’ aggressive decision to trade for A.J. Brown this offseason keeps looking better and better. Brown has given Jalen Hurts a veteran No. 1 receiver that he can trust, and that has helped Hurts’ development as a passer.
On Sunday, Brown had his best game as an Eagle yet, with six catches for 156 yards and three touchdowns. He straight up embarrassed several Steelers defenders in the process:
The Eagles are now 7-0 and continue to look like the most (only?) elite team in the NFC. As long as the Brown-Hurts connection remains this strong, they’ll be hard to beat. Not that anyone has yet.
The Jaguars and Lions are reliving the same nightmare
Last year, the Jaguars snapped their 20-game losing streak with a win in London. This year, their losing streak heading into the UK was much shorter (four games), but the only team to end their slump was the Jags’ opponent, the Broncos.
The Jaguars’ six losses this year have all been decided by one score, and they all follow pretty much the same script: the defense can’t hold on and a late turnover (interception, fumble, on downs) seals it.
This week, they took a lead with four minutes to go and then immediately gave it up again. The defense surrendered a third long touchdown drive to a Denver offense that had scored just two touchdowns in the previous three weeks. Still, they got the ball back with enough time to regain the lead — and Trevor Lawrence threw a pick on the first play of the possession.
Speaking of teams that have lost five straight because they can’t finish: the Detroit Lions. Once again, the Lions were competitive early on against a tough opponent. But after halftime, the defense was gassed and the offense couldn’t score for the third straight game. Just like last season, they’re seemingly incapable, whether mentally or talent-wise, of coming through in key moments.
Both the Jags and Lions were supposed to be in the bottom tier of the NFL power rankings this season. Yet they looked good enough in September to offer hope that maybe they’d exceed their (admittedly low) expectations. That’s what makes their recent performances so frustrating: the lack of progress we’ve seen since those earlier flashes.
Derrick Henry continues to haunt the Texans
At least since he was in high school, Derrick Henry often looks like a grown man running over a pee-wee team when he takes the field. That was certainly true this Sunday against the Texans:
It was hardly a surprise. Not only do the Texans have the worst rushing defense in the league, but Henry has been unstoppable against Houston the past few seasons, totaling at least 200 rushing yards and two touchdowns in each showdown.
This time, Henry set a franchise record, passing Eddie George to become the Titans’ all-time touchdown leader. His Herculean effort was much needed, too, because it took pressure off of Malik Willis. The rookie quarterback, starting for the first time while Ryan Tannehill was sidelined with an injury, attempted just 10 passes, completing six of them for 55 yards and an interception. Willis wasn’t asked to do too much and he didn’t need to do too much, not with Henry leaving a path of destruction in his wake.
The Panthers and Falcons are The Babadook
A popular meme called “Why Can't You Just Be Normal?” originated from a scene in The Babadook, a movie I will never see because I checked the Does the Dog Die? website and did not like the answer.
The Panthers and Falcons are that meme because I’m not sure either has played a normal game all season (for the Falcons, this is a common theme most years). What had been a back-and-forth battle all afternoon quickly went off the rails in the last 30 seconds.
That’s when PJ Walker uncorked an absolute beauty of a deep ball — arguably the best pass from any quarterback all season — which DJ Moore hauled in for what should have been the game winner:
Unfortunately, Moore took his helmet off in celebration and was assessed a 15-yard penalty, one of the dumber rules in the NFL. Eddy Pineiro then missed the pushed-back extra point.
In overtime, another initially named Panther, CJ Henderson, picked off Marcus Mariota, which helped set up a 32-yard gimme field goal for the win.
Minutes later, the reliable Younghoe Koo connected on his field goal try, sending the Falcons to the top of the NFC South and depriving us of a four-win tie in which every team in the division was 3-5. We were so close!
The revenge of the “has-beens”
Revenge can take many forms. Some prefer to live well; others like it served cold. Two veterans in the NFL have taken different approaches this season when facing off against their former team, as we saw this weekend.
Geno Smith is having a career season and so far, he’s beaten the other teams he’s suited up for:
Smith played just one year with the Giants and started one game, when then-coach Ben McAdoo decided to bench an underperforming Eli Manning. Smith played OK but the Giants lost, and McAdoo and GM Jerry Reese were fired the next day. Manning started the rest of the season.
After downing the Giants on Sunday, Smith chose not to focus on revenge and claimed to have no hard feelings toward the franchise. Whether that’s true or not, Smith is proving that McAdoo and Reese were right to believe in him.
Patrick Peterson, on the other hand, wasn’t shy about the grudge he holds against the Cardinals over how he was treated near the end of his time in Arizona.
Not that you can blame him when this was what he was dealing with:
So Peterson had a little extra motivation this week, and it paid off as he helped the Vikings improve to 6-1. The 32-year-old cornerback had a season-high three pass breakups, including one that prevented a touchdown (he also had a little fun at Kyler Murray’s expense, which seems less called for, no pun intended).
Peterson, along with another ex-Cardinal, Jordan Hicks, earned game balls after the win. And Pat Pete just wants to remind any doubters — like maybe Steve Keim — that 12 years into his career, he’s still got it.