With the Los Angeles Rams’ 30-23 win over the Minnesota Vikings this afternoon, LA has officially earned a playoff spot, firmly in the NFC West driver’s seat. Their good fortune made even sweeter when the 49ers lost to the Titans, the Cardinals losing to the steaking Colts and the Seahawks Bearing down to Chicago.
Jimmy Garoppolo was so putrid in the 49ers’ 20-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans, that San Francisco General Manager John Lynch accidentally liked a tweet mocking his quarterback. Talk about getting into the Christmas spirit of giving the business to someone most deserving of it. The little forgotten detail about this whole “tweet-gate” thing that disturbs me isn’t that it was supposedly accidental, but that Lynch did it during mass with his family. C’mon man, you wait to trash someone after mass is over, never in a house of God!
Jimmy G finished 26-of-35 for 322 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions, ending with a mediocre 88.1 passer rating. Mediocre is basically the story of Garoppolo’s career so literally no one should be surprised by this outing. I understand I shouldn’t get on someone who was on a hot streak as recently as last week, but Jimmy has proven unreliable in the biggest games and that may never change. These notable game moments caught by one fan should put any Garoppolo backer on edge:
Jimmy Garoppolo destroyed this team pic.twitter.com/so5Yo6Ixsm
Deebo Samuel was the team’s leading receiver, grabbing nine passes for a game-high 159 yards. Samuel also ran the ball five times for 32 yards. While Samuel didn’t have a rushing score for the first time in several weeks, nor did he have a touchdown of any kind, he was the Niners’ clear MVP on the field Thursday night.
Deebo Samuel sets up 1st and goal after this elusive run! pic.twitter.com/vX4QE8G0Lw
Just give the ball to Deebo.
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/Priq18MPz0
Next Week: The 49ers host the Houston Texans to probably give them a solid @$$-whooping. However, the Texans just destroyed the Chargers so maybe it won’t be as solid as SF would prefer.
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All good things come in threes, especially Arizona Cardinals losses. The Cardinals lost their third in a row, 22-16 to the Indianapolis Colts to FINALLY lose their grip on the top spot in the NFC West. Los Angeles must have been on Santa’s nice list this year. Perhaps they’ll get their only wish of a Lombardi Trophy. LA’s stadium already gets to host the Super Bowl so Santa answered one of their wishes.
Kyler Murray went 27-of-43 for 245 yards and a touchdown pass to Antoine Wesley, finishing with a 85.9 passer rating. So much for his MVP campaign, but did anyone really believe that would last? Murray also ran four times for 74 yards, including this 57-yard scramble:
Kyler Murray pic.twitter.com/q4YukPmLAp
Chase Edmonds returned from injury and stepped up for James Conner who was out due to heel problems. Edmonds rushed 16 times for 56 yards and this touchdown to tie up the game late in the first quarter:
CHASE EDMONDS. ¡TOUCHDOWN! #RedSea | #INDvsAZ
Chase was on the case against the Colts, becoming the Redbirds’ leading receiver in the process, snagging eight passes for 71 yards. Other leading pass catchers for the Cardinals included Zach Ertz who caught eight passes as well for 54 yards. Christian Kirk added seven receptions for 48 yards.
Next Week: The Cardinals travel to Dallas to take on the Cowboys in a game that’ll mark Arizona’s fourth consecutive loss. This is the most faith I’ve ever had in a Mike McCarthy-coached team so don’t you dare choke away this trust Cowboys.
I’m not going to lie, I enjoyed the Seattle’s 25-24 home loss to the Chicago Bears more than any of the others this week. One, because it was unexpected (the Cardinals losing to the Colts was going to happen because Arizona has played like a steaming hot pile of garbage as of late.) Two, I HATE the Seahawks under Pete Carroll with a burning passion and I’m not afraid to admit it. Watching them fall apart since throwing it from the one-yard line has been an absolute thrill for me.
Now that I have my little mini-rant out of the way, let’s move onto this shell of an organization. DK Metcalf started out the game’s scoring with a bang, having this stellar 41-yard touchdown reception:
It started with a moon ball and ended with a moonwalk into the end zone. @DangeRussWilson to @dkm14 for the 41-yard touchdown.
#CHIvsSEA on FOX pic.twitter.com/kFC5bzdr7w
This appeared to be the start of a monster day for Metcalf but he only had one other catch that went for no yardage. Him and Russell Wilson haven’t been on the same page in a while, so any chemistry they shared has to be fractured at the moment. Speaking of Wilson, he didn’t have the worst day, finishing 16-of-27 for 187 yards and two touchdowns. Seattle which used to be unbeatable at home throughout the Wilson-era, dropped to a new low:
Seahawks QB Russell Wilson finishes the 2021 calendar year 1-5 in home games as a starter.
His lone victory was over the 49ers.
Running back Rashaad Penny didn’t look like a bust for yet another week which is what happens when you play some of the league’s worst run defenses. Penny carried the ball 17 times for 135 yards and a touchdown. On defense, linebacker Bobby Wagner, the NFL’s leading tackler, added 12 more stops, and broke his own franchise record in the process:
The legend just continues to grow.
With his 10th tackle today, @Bwagz has set the franchise record for tackles in a season with 168, breaking the previous mark held by…@Bwagz! pic.twitter.com/SI8y2hxhcm
Next Week: The Seahawks stay home to play the Lions. Detroit has played a lot of their opponents close this season so I wouldn’t expect this one to be any different. In fact, I could see the Lions pull an upset in the Emerald City as the Hawks have lost their home-field advantage in 2021 (along with just about everything else.)