Over the weekend, mistakes cost multiple teams.
Last Saturday, the Redskins played in Nashville against the Titans. Going into the game, Washington controlled its destiny. Despite being on their 4th QB, the ‘Skins still had a chance to win the game. But the Redskins made mistakes that cost them the game–three first downs wiped away by offensive mistakes, like holding calls. Even with a chance to come back late in the second half, interceptions let the dream slipped away.
The Chargers made the same offensive mistakes in Saturday’s game against the Ravens. Yes, they’ve already made the playoffs, but mistakes could very well keep LAC from making a deep run toward their first Lombardi.
Mistakes make or break teams. One mistake I hate to see is quarterbacks trying to force the ball into tight areas. That usually ends up with a bad outcome.
Speaking of interceptions, Tom Brady threw two on Sunday, and he chucked them right into the hands of different defensive players. Yes, the Pats went on to win the game, but a supposed high-caliber team doesn’t make those mistakes.
Mistakes haunted Pittsburgh, too. The Steelers played pretty decently in a tough New Orleans arena, but they made mistakes that resulted in multiple scores for the New Orleans Saints. The Steelers played well on the offensive side of the ball, and the Saints played better and more carefully, too.
Pittsburgh lost two fumbles, something that kept them from winning a game they had to win to remain cemented in the playoff race.
We’re also seeing teams that aren’t lying down, even though they’re out of the playoff race. Consider the Packers’ amazing fourth-quarter comeback against the Jets. They refused to give up and went on to win the game.
An interviewer asked Jalen Ramsey why the Jags played so hard–with seemingly nothing to play for–in Miami. “For the love of football,” he said. I hope we’ll see more of that over the next few weeks.
