Blog

We are now two weeks away from the playoffs. Time has flown by. We have now seen our last NFL game in the year 2021. A lot of things have happened in this season that I could’ve never predicted in my wildest dreams. However, that’s the beauty of the NFL. It is so unpredictable every single week. And it always has the power to nearly make or break my week. Let’s get into it.

1. The Colts are getting hot at the right time despite injuries & COVID-19 issues

The Colts are on a three game winning streak and are not showing any signs of slowing down soon. Even after losing center Ryan Kelly, Darius Leonard & guard Quenton Nelson, they went down to Arizona and won a tough game against a good Cardinals team. Carson Wentz was great, throwing for 225 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. And as always, MVP candidate Jonathan Taylor showed up running the ball 27 times for 108 yards. The defense, even without the leader Leonard, held strong against the Kyler Murray led air-raid attack. Indianapolis will finish their season at home against the Raiders and then travel to Jacksonville for the season finale. They are sitting at 9-6 right now and are challenging for that AFC South crown, which currently belongs to the 10-5 Tennessee Titans. We shall see how that goes down.

2. Justin Jefferson is different

Ever since him and Ja’Marr Chase were embarrassing defensive backs on Saturday’s, I just knew Justin Jefferson was going to be a special NFL player. Today he broke the record for most receiving yards by a player in their first two years, surpassing fellow LSU Tiger Odell Beckham Jr. Jefferson is now sitting at 2,851 receiving yards after today’s game against the Los Angeles Rams. Despite the Vikings losing 30-23, Jefferson had a great game grabbing eight catches for 116 yards. Jefferson now has two consecutive seasons with over 1,400 receiving yards, over seven touchdowns & a Pro Bowl appearance. He is an X-Factor for this Vikings team and the only way from here is up for the 22 year-old Louisiana native.

3. Joe Burrow is also… different

Those LSU boys just know how to play good football. Joey B and the boys are currently sitting at an impressive 9-6 after going 4-11-1 last year. He’s also thrown for a combined 682 yards and five touchdowns the last two weeks. He has gone three weeks without throwing an interception with his season totals sitting at 30 passing touchdowns to 14 interceptions. The Bengals control their own destiny, sitting at first place in the AFC North. However, they face a massive test next week against the red-hot Kansas City Chiefs and then close the year away in Cleveland. I’m just really happy to see Joe Burrow succeed after such a gruesome knee injury last year. They said he wasn’t going to be handle the pressure this year due to the team drafting Ja’Marr Chase instead of a lineman. Look now, Burrow is wheeling and dealing while Chase is the Offensive Rookie of the Year favorite. Their playoff chances are in their hands, let’s see if they can pull it off.

4. The Cowboys dropped a 50 burger on Washington’s head while clinching the NFC East

Oof. Not really much to say about this game besides the fact that it was just pure dominance. Dak Prescott played one of the best games of his career throwing the ball for 330 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. The defense also stepped up, recording five sacks, two interceptions and scoring twice. The Cowboys are going to face a tough final two weeks as they host the 10-5 Arizona Cardinals and then they’ll travel to Philadelphia to play the Eagles. That game will be huge for playoff implications so expect that to be an absolute dogfight. Efficient football led to a cruise-control victory for a Cowboys team that desperately needed it after being in so many close games this year. Let’s see if the powers of JerryWorld can finally propel this team to an NFC Championship for the first time since 1995.

5. Josh Allen & Co. put on a clinic today

That was depressing. The Bills did not punt. The Bills did not allow a sack and the Patriots defense couldn’t get a single turnover. That was a good-old ass kicking. If J.C. Jackson gets that pick to start that fourth-quarter drive or if Christian Barmore doesn’t jump off on 4th & 7, maybe I’m writing a different article here. However, the Bills genuinely did dominate in all phases of the game. They will go on to host the Falcons next week and then travel to MetLife to finish the year against Zach Wilson and the Jets. The Patriots will be finishing their season against Jacksonville (home) and the red-hot (Miami Dolphins). If they can’t win both of those games it’ll be a close call for the AFC playoff race. I’m sure hoping it doesn’t come to that for my own mental health. At least Damien Harris is over 850 yards and 10+ touchdowns.

A long weekend for myself. The Celtics lost, Patriots lost and I lost by five in the fantasy playoff semi-finals because Tyreek Hill decided to only catch the ball twice. It’s okay though… We move. This is YSN, until next time, signing out.