Mike White? Who’s he? Well, now we know. Siemian and Geno came through, too. What a week is was for relief quarterbacks.
Backup quarterbacks everywhere. Coming into this week, we already had backup QBs expected to start for the Jets, Washington, Seahawks, Cowboys, Texans, Bears. In addition to a third-string for the Jets, we got surprise appearances by backup quarterbacks on the Saints, Panthers, Rams, and Eagles. If you’re keeping track at home, that’s ten unexpected quarterbacks this week alone! It feels like we are seeing so many more backups this season, and I’m guessing the guys over at NFL headquarters are trying to find a way to avoid something like happening again.
The Bengals got screwed. I would like this to be all four storylines. The Bengals were on the receiving end of an all-time lousy call. They were called for a helmet-to-helmet hit on a tackle where the defender’s head was below the receiver’s knees and nearly touched the ground. It is embarrassing that the official somehow thought it was an illegal hit initiated by the Bengals defender. I won’t be getting over this one anytime soon.
Anyone seen Odell? If you ask a casual football fan in a city outside of the AFC North, I bet they haven’t seen a single snap of Odell Beckham Jr. This week, he had one catch on one target for 6 yards, and he has only shown up in two games this season. In total, he has 17 catches for 232 yards and hasn’t seen the end zone. The very run-heavy Browns could use a second dimension, and they sure aren’t getting it from OBJ. This Top 5 receiver is currently ranked the 75th receiver.
Washington-Denver was one to forget. Washington Denver football game was an impressively terrible performance. After penalties and an end-zone interception, The Broncos had a chance to ice the game, but they proceeded to fumble (they recovered), throw an incomplete pass, and fumble again (WFT recovered). Washington returned the favor with check-down pass after check-down pass, a sack, and a last-second throw that landed about ten rows up in the stands zone. It was incredibly entertaining for the wrong reasons.
Week 8 Team Power Rankings
Saints: After Jameis went down in the second quarter, it felt like it was all going to fall apart. But Trevor Siemian came in for damage control did a lot more. He got the job done. Hand up, though. I’ll admit I started writing about Brady’s comeback and game-winning drive the second the saints gave him the ball back with over a minute to go. It just felt like one of those classic Brady comebacks that we’ve seen fifty times or more. But his record-setting 38th four-touchdown performance wasn’t enough this time.
Jets: Yeah, whatever. They won. But it wasn’t a fair fight because NYJ was playing with five extra players (wearing white and black stripes). They took down the AFC leader even without their starting QB and got a much-needed second win of the season.
Patriots: New England went into LA and took down the Chargers, and the game didn’t feel as close as the final score showed. After taking the lead in the second quarter, the Chargers’ offense didn’t deliver, just like it didn’t against the Ravens. It was a big win for New England because it keeps the Pats afloat in a close AFC playoff race.
Packers: The Packers had a massive win over the Cardinals. This battle of 13-1 (combined) teams came down to the last drive. After a turnover on downs by the Packers, the Cards drove it from their own 1 to the Packers 5. Murray threw a ball towards AJ Green, but it ended up in the hands of the wrong team. Win, Packers. Green Bay now holds the NFL Conference lead (with Arizona at 7-1.
Mount Rushmore Rankings
Justin Fields, 175 passing yards, 103 rushing yards, two TDs (one pass, one run). Fields shined in a losing effort, making jaw-dropping plays look routine. In a performance I haven’t seen since the days of Mazziel at Texas A&M, Fields found the end zone and claimed the hearts of Bears fans everywhere.
Mike White, 405 yards, three TDs. Mike White put the Jets on his back and carried them to a massive win over the Bengals. White was an unexpected hero this week and probably just solidified an NFL roster spot for the rest of his NFL career. Remember that when the Jets knocked Drew Bledsoe out of a game, Tom Brady entered in relief … and never left. Turn about his fair play. This time, the Pats injured the Jets’ starting QB and enter Mike White.
AJ Brown, ten catches, 155 yards, one TD. Brown was the Titans’ leading man–and they needed him to get the Colts in OT. Brown’s best performance of the season came at a much-needed time. Brown and Henry are a dangerous 1-2 combo for the Titans, and I’m sure Ryan Tannehill would love to see more of what he got out of Brown on Sunday.
Geno Smith, 195 passing yards, three total (two passes, one run). Smith finally showed his talent in the win over the hapless Jags. Geno had been struggling in his understudy role to Russell Wilson. With a bye week coming up–giving Russ more time to recover–Sunday’s game might have been the last we’ll see of Geno this year. If so, the bright side is that the win might have extended his NFL career (somewhere) as a relief QB.
