There really is only one major headline this week…the firing of another head coach in the NFL. Last week, I predicted that Matt Eberflus wouldn’t be the Bears’ head coach in 2025 and that the legendary Bill Belichick would step in.
I cited many reasons. One, he desperately wants to get back into the league to overthrow Don Shula’s all-time win record. Two, he wants to prove he can do it without the GOAT, Tom Brady, at QB. He never won before Brady, and he couldn’t win after Brady. Three, he can still physically and mentally do the job. And four, he loves it.
In Rocky 2, Rocky asks Micky if he can work at the gym, and Micky says he is like royalty there. Rocky responds that he loves it and needs to be around it.
Men like Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are the same…they eat, sleep, and breathe football and desperately need to be around it. Although Brady probably could still do it week in and week out on the field, he’s now in the booth. Belichick has about 46 different jobs related to the NFL, but unlike Brady, he could still be on the field, part of a team. Next year, he will be.
So now, to the game that has led to this first chess piece falling. This year, the Lions hosted their annual Thanksgiving Day game against divisional rival Chicago Bears. The Bears have been reeling after a 4-2 start, which was literally a Hail Mary away from being 5-2.
Since then, it’s been all downhill. They had lost four in a row, and heading into Ford Field, it looked like they’d definitely end the day losing five in a row and having a 4-7 record. But a funny thing happened on the way to the theater…(Ironically, Lincoln was assassinated at the Ford Theater.) The Bears found themselves in this game.
After being down 16-0 at the half, the two teams swapped TDs in the third quarter. But in the fourth quarter, the Bears scored 13 points and were within three points with the ball, with a chance to win or at least tie the game.
With a little over 30 seconds on the clock, Caleb Williams took an unavoidable sack, pushing the Bears back to Detroit’s 41-yard line. The sack made it 3rd and 26 with the clock ticking. They still had one timeout. With the entire country screaming at the TV for them to call a timeout, Williams inexplicably ran a play.
Running the play wasn’t necessarily the worst thing because, with the timeout in their pocket, Williams could use the entire field and throw a short, safe pass in the middle to help them get into a slightly better FG range.
But what the issue turned into was like watching a car crash happening in real time. With nothing but chaos on the sideline, the play clock ran down to six seconds before Williams snapped the ball, effectively making it the game’s last play. Unless Williams found the endzone, even a completed pass short of a TD, there were zeros on the clock, ballgame over…and Eberflus’ career over as well. If the play was run sooner, an incomplete pass would have made it 4th and 26, and they could have at least attempted a 58-yard FG to tie the game. But with the clock reading zero, they couldn’t even do that.
You know it’s bad when, after the game, Hall of Fame HC Jimmy Johnson said he has never seen anything like it in 70 years around the sport at any level. And although it’s lousy to be fired around the holidays, especially the day after Thanksgiving, there is no way Bears’ upper management and ownership could have him on the sidelines for another game.
Each favorite won in the other three games on Thanksgiving and Black Friday. The Packers thoroughly dismantled the Dolphins, who look and feel like the AFC’s version of the 49ers. Interestingly enough, the 49ers have a similar matchup this week…on the road against the 9-2 Buffalo Bills.
Every time the Dolphins seem to be making headway and momentum, they fall back. Granted, heading into the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field in a primetime matchup isn’t easy, but good teams are able to overcome it. It is obvious this team does not like the cold weather. Tua Tagovailoa hasn’t won a game under 40 degrees, and he’s 1-7 in games under 50 degrees. Unfortunately, he plays in a division against Buffalo, NY, The Meadowlands, NJ, and Foxboro, MA teams.
The Cowboys have shown some heart. They have now won two in a row and are 5-7, with a winnable matchup next week against the 4-7 Bengals. The win against the Giants was inexplicably their first home win of the season. Cooper Rush is a serviceable quarterback, and the team is rallying around him.
They now have Micah Parsons back, who is seemingly on a mission to put the entire team on his back single-handedly. And they even had a running game, with Nico Dowdle gaining 112 yards on 22 carries and a TD. The victory officially knocked the Giants out of the playoff race. They are the first of 18 teams who will be home for the playoffs.
And then there’s the Kansas City Chiefs. Last week, I said they may be the worst 10-1 team in history. They are now the worst 11-1 team in history. They have so much will and the heart of a champion that it’s truly awe-inspiring. What makes this season so bizarre is that they appear more vulnerable each week and can’t be beaten. If they ever actually put it together, they will not be denied.
As it is, they don’t look like they will be denied anyway. If the season ended today they have the no.1 seed, and even though Buffalo beat them head to head, a playoff matchup would be in Kansas City, not Buffalo.
The Chiefs could only beat the Raiders 19-17 in Kansas City in an Amazon-only game on Black Friday. This game should never be this close between these two teams. They again won a close game on a bizarre last-second play. With 15 seconds on the clock, the Raiders had the ball on the 33-yard line in what would have been a 50-yard FG attempt. Daniel Carson had already missed three FGs over 50 yards in the game, and instead of just attempting the FG, HC Antonio Pierce wanted to run another play to take more time off the clock. They were set up in the shotgun, and the center snapped the ball to a not-ready Aiden O’Connell. The ball bounced off the QBs shoulder…. The game was over—another crazy ending in a season of craziness.
The most jarring stat is that five teams in the AFC have better pt differentials than the Chiefs do. They are only sitting at +54 pts. To give a comparison, the Commanders have a +57 pt differential and are sitting at 7-5. It’s remarkable. They are the first team that has clinched the playoffs. It is their 10th straight season in the playoffs. And with their loss, the Raiders officially became the second team out of the playoff chase.
We are getting close to the end of the Fantasy Season, and some of these injuries may be of importance to you:
Washington Commanders-Austin Ekeler: Out with a concussion
Los Angeles Chargers-JK Dobbins: Out with a knee injury
Indianapolis Colts-Josh Downs: Out with a should injury
Los Angeles Rams-Tyler Higbee: Out with a knee injury
Philadelphia Eagles-Devonta Smith He is listed as questionable with a hamstring injury.
San Francisco 49ers-Brock Purdy is listed as questionable due to a shoulder injury.
Buffalo Bills-Dalton Kincaid: Out with a knee injury