Back with another addition of the Grid Weekly Weekly Recap and well, we had another doozy of a week. Things are getting hot and heavy across the league and I continue to be more impressed every single week.
We will start over in the AFC South where we saw another matchup between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tennessee Titans. Jacksonville is now halfway towards another undefeated regular season after the 24-13 victory on the road. Tennessee fell to 4-3 on the year. Blake Bortles was great once again with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions throwing for 255 yards.
Next we had a matchup between the New York Jets and the Cleveland Browns. Cleveland came out victorious, 27-6. A dominating win on the road for the Browns to improve to 5-3. It was an all around team performance for Cleveland. Quarterback Brennan Connolly threw for 208 yards on 18 of 22 passing with 2 touchdwons.
In other notables, Buffalo traveled to Miami to knock off the Dolphins, 31-23. Each team came in 4-3 and both teams really wanted to have this win underneath their belt. San Francisco was able to knock off Carolina by a score of 34-24.
Welcome again everyone to another edition of Grid Weekly's Weekly Recap. Looking through this weeks games I see a plenty of close games throughout the league. It is very evident that teams are gearing up to give it everything they have during the second half of the season.
In this weeks recap we will start with Oakland at Denver. This was a very tight AFC West matchup that saw the Raiders come out victorious, 12-7. Oakland, now 6-2 on the season was led by Amari Cooper and Parker Webber who each eclipsed 100 yards receiving. There was nothing going on the ground for either team as most of the yards gained in this one were through the air. Oakland also overcame 4 Connor Cook interceptions in the win.
This week in Miami we saw the Dolphins knock off the Cleveland Browns, 26-23. Miami improved to 3-3 on the season as Cleveland fell to 5-3. Wide receiver Jarvis Landry caught 3 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown to lead Miami to victory.
In other notables the Eagles fell for the first time this season, 20-17, against the Jets. A big day from Carson Wentz was not enough to knock off New York on the road. Buffalo won at home against the Giants, 25-22, and the Patriots traveled to Pittsburgh and won 20-6.
Welcome to another version of Grid Weekly's Weekly Recap. What a competitive season it has been to this point. Some teams begin to take their bye weeks as we close in on the middle of the regular season. Each week we gain some more clarity as to which teams will battle for a playoff spot and possibly contend for a title.
We will start with a defensive battle from Los Angeles. The Rams improved to 5-1 on the season after knocking off the Pittsburgh Steelers who fell to 3-2. The cross-country trip didnt seem to effect the Steeler defense as they kept their team in the game all the way till the end. A 13-10 final score featured a bend but don't break mentality by both teams. Quarterback Jared Goff completed 16 of 19 passes for just 195 yards and a touchdown. What a great playoff like battle.
The New England Patriots continued their early season success with a 30-21 victory over the Washington Redskins. Quarterback Dexter Scobee had another stellar week with 294 yards and a touchdown through the air. Running back Amari McElroy punched it in the endzone twice for the Patriots. New England will travel to Pittsburgh next week for a big time AFC matchup.
In other notables the Jaguars won again 31-0 (big surprise). The Eagles also stayed undefeated with a 31-16 victory. What a great season thus far, and it will only get better from here.
Another week closer to the end of the season and the drama continues to rise. A few teams are separating themselves from the pack and look primed for a playoff run this season. In week 5 we saw some close ones that were hard fought on both sides. Lets get to the action.
Our first breakdown of the week will be the Chargers who traveled to Oakland to take on the Raiders. Oakland came into the game 4-0 trying to stay undefeated on the season. The Chargers did not let this occur in this divisional matchup. San Diego pulled off the upset, 17-13. Keenan Allen led the team with 112 yards and a touchdown.
The New England Patriots improved to 3-2 on the year with a 42-31 victory over the Cleveland Browns. The story of this one was quarterback Dexter Scobee who threw for 362 yards and 5 touchdowns. Rob Gronkowski was the main beneficiary with 8 catches for 138 yards and 2 scores. The Patriots will host Washington next week as Cleveland will travel to Houston.
In other notables, Jacksonville stayed undefeated with a 34-17 divisional win over the Texans. Philadelphia also stayed undefeated with a 31-24 home win over the Lions. This means that both Super Bowl teams from a year ago are a combined 10-0 so far this season. Could we be gearing up for a rematch? Enjoy week 6 everyone.
Welcome to another version of the Grid Weekly Recap. We saw another week with tons of battles across the board. Some teams continue their run to the playoffs as we move on towards the middle of the season. Lets get right to the games.
The Rams were able to handle the Browns at home to improve to 3-1 on the season. The final from Los Angeles was 24-6. Rookie Cedric Broughton had a great game with 111 yards and 1 touchdown. Quarterback Jared Goff completed all but 4 passes for 196 yards and 1 touchdown. Todd Gurley added 2 touchdowns on the ground for the Rams.
Philadelphia headed to Washington and demolished the Redskins by a score of 41-7. This helped them improve to 4-0 on the season as the Redskins fell to 3-1. Looks like it is going to be a battle for the NFC East this season. Carson Wentz threw for 223 yards and 2 touchdowns, but the story of the day was running back Thomas Rawls. He ran for 189 yards and 3 scores. We will see if he can carry this momentum through the rest of the season.
Each week I will be selecting 2 or 3 games that really catch my eye to recap. We have had a great season so far and I don't expect anything less as we move forward.
Welcome back to another edition of the Grid Weekly Recap. As we move along in the season we see more and more critical division matchups. This week was headlined by Jacksonville vs. Tennessee, Los Angeles vs. Seattle, and Carolina vs. New Orleans.
We will start in Jacksonville where the Jaguars continued to dominate the AFC South (as well as the rest of the league). A 28-0 shutout and gave Jacksonville a 3-0 record early in the season. T.J. Yeldon led the way with 103 yards and 3 touchdowns on the ground as the Jaguar defense forced Marcus Mariota into 3 interceptions and held him under 100 passing yards. Next week Jacksonville will travel to Denver to take on the Broncos as the Titans will host Cincinnati in week 4.
Seattle was able to knock off the Rams in a tight divisional matchup in week 3. The final score was 13-10 in this defensive battle. C.J. Prosise led the offense for Seattle with 93 yards on the ground. Russell Wilson did connect with Doug Baldwin for 1 touchdown from 10 yards out. Seattle will host New Orleans next week as the Rams will host Cleveland.
Carolina traveled down to New Orleans still looking for their first win of the season. They were not able to get it as the Saints won the game 30-27 on a last second field goal. Quarterback Riley Dareus led the way completing 20 of 27 passes for 352 yards and 2 touchdowns. Brandin Cooks hauled in 7 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown. As mentioned earlier, New Orleans will travel to Seattle next week as Carolina will host Atlanta in another divisional matchup.
Other notables include, Philadelphia improving to 3-0 with a 28-14 win over the New York Giants. Washington kept pace, now 3-0, with a 21-13 win over Minnesota. Oakland won a divisional game over the Chargers, 24-14 and now are 3-0 on the season.
Another week, another slew of great games. Week 2 saw some teams get on track, some continue their hot start and some continue to fall. Every game matters when it comes to playoff positioning at the end of the year and some teams are well on their way to making a playoff run while some are still looking for answers.
This week we saw tons of close games. We will get started with the closest of them all between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys. In a defensive battle, Dallas was able to squeak out a victory 15-14. Ben Talley completed 13 of 20 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown in the win. On the other side Dallas forced Green Bay quarterback Brett Hundley into 5 interceptions on the day. A monster 126 yard, 2 touchdown day from Randall Cobb was not enough for the Packers to grab their first win of the year.
The San Francisco 49ers were able to defeat the New Orleans Saints 31-17 for their first win of the year. New addition Jameis Winston threw for 195 yards and a touchdown in the win. Kenny Stills was Winston's favorite target, hauling in 4 catches for 106 yards and a touchdown. This was New Orleans first loss of the season and they will host the Carolina Panthers next week in a NFC South showdown. San Francisco will host the 2-0 Cleveland Browns.
In other notable games, Jacksonville continued their winning ways by knocking off the Panthers 17-3. The Raiders won a nail biter over the Chiefs, 26-20, to improve to 2-0. Los Angeles traveled to Atlanta to knock off the Falcons 38-24. And lastly Philadelphia started their season 2-0 with a home win over the Bills, 31-23.
Next week features some heavyweight matchups across the league, including some early season divisional games that will have large implications later on in the season.
Week one is now in the books. The offseason rust was shook off by most teams as they came out firing in the new season. Eight games were decided by one possession in a highly contested slate of games. Lets recap the highlights of week one.
Jacksonville started off their title defense with yet another win. A monster day from Allen Hurns was key in a 35-3 rout of the Indianapolis Colts. Hurns finished the day with five catches for 168 yards and three touchdowns. Andrew Luck was never able to get it going as he was intercepted three times. Tight end Dwayne Allen was the bright spot for the Colts as he finished with seven catches for 168 yards.
Seattle was able to knock off Carolina in a tight one for their first win of the season. Turnovers killed the Panthers as Cam Newton threw three in the game. He did throw for 325 yards and three touchdowns to three different receivers to keep his team in the game. Seattle had a balanced attack and was able to keep the Carolina defense on its heels all game. Russell Wilson completed 9 of 13 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown.
The Philadelphia Eagles, who lost in the Super Bowl a year ago started their season with a win against the New England Patriots, 34-26. Carson Wentz had a near perfect game completing 19 of 23 passes for 316 yards and two touchdowns. Dexter Scobee threw three interceptions that doomed the Patriots in this one. The Eagles will host Buffalo next week, as New England will host Baltimore.
Other notables included a defensive battle in Arizona where the Falcons won 13-10. The Saints marched in to Houston and stomped the Texans 34-7 and Tennessee won a tough road game against the Chargers, 20-14. And with that the 2019 season is officially underway.
Will anyone ever stop the Jacksonville Jaguars? This is one of the many questions heading into the 2019 regular season. The Jaguars will begin another title defense as they will go for their fourth, yes fourth, Super Bowl win in a row. Last season there was tons of competition but no team could knock off the Jaguars as they finished the season undefeated. Lets get right into a division by division breakdown.
We will start in the AFC South. Jacksonville has obviously dominated this division and will look to do so again. Last season their closest competition was the Tennessee Titans who finished six games behind the division champs. They were followed by Houston and Indianapolis who both finished the season 4-12. I expect that this division will shake out about the same way this season. Houston did add some pieces in the draft and I expect them to be the most improved. Rookie wide receivers Andrew Bacon and Chrishon Gary will join a healthy DeAndre Hopkins to form a lethal set of weapons for Derek Carr.
Over to the AFC East we find the Miami Dolphins who were able to edge out the Buffalo Bills last season for the division title. Every team in this division finished .500 or better last season and we will likely see a competitive end again this year. Can Miami repeat or will another team step up and take the reigns as AFC East champs.
In the AFC West, Denver will look to build on last season success that saw them win the division by three games over the Chiefs and Raiders. San Diego, who finished 2-14 last season, hopes they can improve enough to challenge some teams in the division. I expect Kansas City or Oakland to challenge Denver for the division title and one could steal it away late in the season.
To round out the AFC we get the AFC North. Pittsburgh, who had a tremendous run last season, will look to defend its division title after winning by six games a year ago. Their 14-2 record was second in the AFC and gave them the first round bye. They did not lose a division game and it will be tough for anyone to challenge them this season. Cincinnati finished second at 8-8 and they will try to record a winning record and possibly challenge for a wildcard spot. Any division is up for grabs but this one just screams Pittsburgh to me.
Over to the NFC now and we will start with the NFC East. Here is where we find the Super Bowl runner-ups in the Philadelphia Eagles. What a great run they had just a year ago, falling just short of glory. They did not even win this division last year which says a lot about the competition. Washington claimed the title in 2018 with a 12-4 record. Philadelphia finished two games behind that at 10-6 but earned a wild card berth. New York and Dallas both finished around .500 and could easily challenge for the title in one of the tightest divisions in all of football.
In the NFC West we see the Los Angeles Rams who won the division and finished 15-1 a year ago. Seattle finished second at 10-6. Even though there was a five game spread there, I could see this being a little closer in 2019. Los Angeles was upset in the playoffs last season but I expect that this will only motivate them and I think we will see them heat up more towards the end of the season. Arizona and San Francisco will look to improve so that they could challenge for some upsets in the division and a possible wild card spot.
Down to the NFC South we find the Carolina Panthers who won the division by five games a year ago and earned the second seed in the NFC. Atlanta will look for some improved production from second year quarterback Denton Watson as they look to challenge Carolina for the division title. Tampa Bay and New Orleans will look to improve from their 4-12 campaigns after a few changes to their respective rosters. Look for this division to be decided late in the season.
And to finish off out preview we have the NFC North. Minnesota wont he division a year ago in week 17 of the regular season. In arguably the worst division in football I expect Chicago to take control early and never let off the gas. Minnesota ran into some trouble in week 1 of the preseason and will likely fall to 0-2 to start the season. If Green Bay or Detroit can improve it is possible that they could challenge for the division since it is possible for this division champion to be between 8 and 10 wins.
So there you have it. The analysis of 2019 is complete. Now lets see what surprises the regular season has in store for us and who can finish their season off with a Super Bowl victory. First, you will have to dethrone the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are Super Bowl champions! They were able to close out a 19-0 campaign with a 35-27 win over Philadelphia. What a season it was for the Jaguars as it just always seemed like they would pull out the close ones. The Super Bowl was no exception. Blake Bortles completed 12 of 15 passes for 169 yards and 2 touchdowns in the win. Allen Hurns turned in a big performance with 2 touchdowns and 89 yards receiving. The Jaguars defense forced Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz into 3 interceptions on the day that really turned the tide of the game. Much like last week Philadelpia was led by Phillip Dorsett and Jordan Matthews. They combined for 10 catches, 204 yards and a touchdown but it was not enough. What a season by Jacksonville.
Now that the season is over teams will begin prepping for an exciting offseason. Teams will look to gain an advantage heading into next season through free agency and the draft. The offseason is a time to grow for teams as well as individual players. Look for some teams to make major improvements next season and challenge for a spot in the playoffs.
Then there were two. We are now four quarters away from crowning a Super Bowl champion. This week we saw two very close conference championship games that leaves us begging for more. Here is a breakdown of both games.
We will start in the AFC with the still undefeated Jacksonville Jaguars. They were able to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers this week, 26-20. They will have a chance to complete a 19-0 season next week in the Super Bowl. Jacksonville was led by quarterback Blake Bortles who completed 16 of 26 passes for 328 yards and two touchdowns. Allen Robinson eclipsed 100 yards catching 7 passes for 129 yards and a touchdown. A stellar day by Le'veon Bell was not enough to give the Jaguars their first loss of the season.
Over in the NFC the Eagles marched in to Carolina to knock off the Panthers, continuing their postseason run. The final score was 28-24. The Eagles were led by two wide receivers who had very similar games. Jordan Matthews had 7 catches for 96 yards and a touchdown while Phillip Dorsett hauled in 5 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown.
Which will prevail in the biggest game of them all? Will it be the red hot Philadelphia Eagles or will the undefeated Jacksonville Jaguars cap off a marvelous season? Either way a champion will be crowned and a city will celebrate.
After a wild divisional round we are now set up for conference championship weekend. Who will advance to the Super Bowl and inch closer to the top of the mountain? Lets recap the divisional round.
In the NFC we will start with Philadelphia traveling to Los Angeles to take on the Rams. The Eagles were on a mission to knock off the top seed Rams and did so 20-14 in overtime. Overcoming three Carson Wentz interceptions the Eagles were able to keep the game low scoring and pull off the upset. Wentz threw for 289 yards and a lone touchdown. The Eagles will travel to Charlotte next week to take on the Panthers in the NFC Championship. The Panthers were able to stifle the Washington Redskins offense and win 19-3. Cam Newton was flawless. He completed 16-19 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns. The Redskins were picked off a combined four times. one interception was thrown by Kirk Cousins and three by backup A.J. McCarron. Cousins left the game early with an abdominal tear and did not return.
Over to the AFC now where the undefeated Jacksonville Jaguars got their postseason underway with a 17-15 comeback win over the Buffalo Bills. Trailing Buffalo 9-7 entering the final quarter Jacksonville was able to outscore the Bills 10-6 in the fourth. Blake Bortles had a less than stellar game throwing for 191 yards and 5 interceptions, but his lone touchdown to Allen Robinson was enough to keep their season alive. Robinson led the team with 114 receiving yards. Who will the Jaguars host in the AFC title game? That would be the Pittsburgh Steelers. They won, also in comeback fashion, 20-10 over the Miami Dolphins. Ben Rothlisberger was able to throw for 208 yards and a touchdown to carry his team to victory. 100 of those yards were to Martavis Bryant who also had a touchdown.
So this is it. Next week we will see Philadelphia travel to Carolina and Pittsburgh travel to Jacksonville for the right to head to the Super Bowl. We have an exciting few weeks in store to wrap up the season.
The regular season culminated with a very exciting week 17. Many teams fighting for either a spot in the playoffs or playoff positioning. You don't see another week in the regular season with as much on the line as this. Lets get right to the action.
We will start in the AFC with a matchup between two teams battling for a wildcard spot. Buffalo was able to knock off Tennessee 34-18 behind a stellar day from Tyrod Taylor. The Virginia Tech product completed 14-17 passes for 315 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for two touchdowns. Who was on the receiving end of a lot of these passes? How about Marquise Goodwin. He produced 145 yards and a touchdown. This game also ended the season for the New York Jets who needed Tennessee to win to have a shot at the playoffs. The Jets did lose to New England anyway 14-7. With this the AFC playoff picture looks like this. Jacksonville will have home field and get a first round bye as they completed a 16-0 regular season with a 20-0 shutout of the Philadelphia Eagles. Pittsburgh will be the second seed and also receive a first round bye at 14-2. The wildcard round will feature the third seeded Miami Dolphins playing host to the sixth seeded Tennessee Titans and the fourth seeded Denver Broncos hosting the fifth seeded Buffalo Bills.
In the NFC, the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Bears to give a playoff spot to the Minnesota Vikings who beat the Seahawks 24-13. The Vikings were led by Stefon Diggs who hauled in 8 catches for 75 yards and a touchdown. We are now set up for a very exciting wildcard weekend in the NFC. The Rams will have home field at 15-1 and Carolina will receive the second bye with a 14-2 record. The third seeded Washington Redskins will face the sixth seeded Seattle Seahawks in Washington and the fourth seeded Vikings will match up with the fifth seeded Philadelphia Eagles.
Who is ready for some playoff football? Lets see what team can get hot and make a run to the Super Bowl. See you next week Grid.
It was a rookie show for Atlanta in week 17. In a game that showed plenty of promise for the franchise moving foward rookie quarterback Denton Watson threw five first half touchdown passes. Yes, five. Two of them connected with rookie wide receiver Demarcus Phifer.
Atlanta's defense seven turnovers on the game and set up their offense very nicely. You couldn't tell that this team was already eliminated from playoff contention today. They played arguably their best game of the season. I am sure that this will be something that the coaching staff will take and build on heading into the offseason. It looks as if this offense has just the right mix of experience and up and coming talent. Denton Watson improved dramatically towards the end of the season which is a great sign for this team.
Running back Devonta Freeman added 88 yards and a touchdown of his own. Coach Dan Quinn had this to say after the game. "I couldn't be more proud of my guys. To come out and play as hard as they did today, it says a lot about the future of this football team." I agree very much with his comments. Look out next season for a second year quarterback in Denton Watson and second year wide receiver Demarcus Phifer.
As the regular season winds down the intensity only grows. With nine tickets now punched for the post season, many teams are gearing up for a Super Bowl run. Others, such as the Bears, Vikings, Titans, Bills, and Jets head to week 17 fighting to keep their season alive.
In the NFC, the last playoff spot will come down to who can grab the NFC North title. Will it be the Chicago Bears, or will the Vikings step up and take it away? Both teams come in with an 8-7 record. Minnesota will stay at home to take on the 10-5 Seattle Seahawks, who are fighting for playoff position themselves, while the Bears will host the 14-1 Los Angeles Rams. Both games look as if they will be hard fought battles. It will be exciting to see if MVP candidate Teddy Bridgewater can will his team to victory. For the Bears, their two wide receiver attack of Kevin White and Alshon Jeffery will look to carry them into the playoffs.
For the AFC, neither the Titans, Bills, or Jets have punched their tickets for the postseason. The Bills and Titans will meet in week 17 in what is almost set up as a play in game. The winner of this matchup will clinch a spot in the playoffs. The loser will wait and hope that they can edge out the Jets for the last spot. The Jets will host the New England Patriots in what is a must win for them.
In week 16 we almost saw the undefeated Jacksonville Jaguars lose for the first time this season. Tennessee fought hard to the very end as they tried to clinch a playoff berth but fell just short 37-35. Jacksonville will head to Philadelphia to attempt to cap off a 16-0 regular season. Falling behind early in week 16, Blake Bortles rallied his team and finished off a strong second half with 413 yards and 3 touchdowns for the game.
In other notable week 16 scores, Minnesota fell on the road to Buffalo 24-19 in a game that had major playoff implications on both sides. Chicago handled Green Bay at home 34-20 after forcing Aaron Rodgers into 3 interceptions. The Jets kept their playoff hopes alive with a 33-28 win on the road in Kansas City. Philadelphia clinched a playoff berth and gave Carolina only their second loss of the season in Philadelphia 17-14 in a defensive battle.
We are in store for a very exciting week 17 that is sure to produce some fireworks. Sit back and enjoy the show.