REVIEW Week 11 #MoorePicks

What’s up, guys! It was a good week of games, a couple expected outcomes and plenty of surprises, and in terms of my predictions I had a rough time of it. But without further ado, let’s get into the review.

My record for this week’s lineup of games was:

6-8

THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL: CARDINALS VS SEAHAWKS (LOSS)

MY SCORE: 37-34

FINAL SCORE: 21-28

This was definitely a shootout, as I thought, the Cardinals were just unable to pull it out. But more importantly, Russell Wilson only threw 5 incompletions on 28 passes, the running game was great, decent defensive game, and the Seahawks are back to winning ways. Even better, they’ve got the Eagles next week.

SUNDAY GAMES @ 1:00

LIONS VS PANTHERS (WIN)

MY SCORE: 21-28

FINAL SCORE: 0-20

The Lions managed to be average again. No points on the board, 3-14 on 3rd downs, only 185 yards of offense, and couldn’t capitalize on two interceptions. If you’re the Panthers you’ve got to be over the moon. No Bridgewater, no McCaffrey, and you still get the shutout. Gotta love that kind of week.

JAGUARS VS STEELERS (WIN)

MY SCORE: 7-42

FINAL SCORE: 3-27

The Steelers could have put up more points against this defense, but who cares? The defense is all anyone ever wants to talk about. Just 3 points allowed, got to the QB twice, held them to a 4-13 third down efficiency, and picked Jake Luton off 4 times. The Steelers looked good, the Jags looked bad, what else is new?

PATRIOTS VS TEXANS (LOSS)

MY SCORE: 24-17

FINAL SCORE: 20-31

I mean, you had to know the Texans were going to have a good game some time. Why not have that game against this average Patriots team? 435 yards of offense and they put up just two touchdowns, it’s not good enough. The Texans slide by the Patriots in a good win amidst a rough schedule. And they get to go feast on the Lions next week.

RAVENS VS TITANS (LOSS)

MY SCORE: 31-20

FINAL SCORE: 24-30

The Ravens are a top 4 team, they’re a top 4 team! Why do we keep lying to ourselves? The Ravens only significant win this year was against the Colts. The other 5 opponents? The Browns, Texans, Washington, Bengals, Eagles. Any big game on their schedule they’ve lost (Chiefs, Steelers, Titans) I still don’t buy the Titans being contenders, but they showed up in a big game, and Derrick Henry couldn’t be stopped (that last run was insane.) Big win for the Titans. Big loss for the Ravens.

EAGLES VS BROWNS (LOSS)

MY SCORE: 21-17

FINAL SCORE: 17-22

I know you might think I’m hating on the Browns by including them in the above list, but that’s only because the Ravens have had their number for a while. The Browns look better than they have in 20 years. They’re pulling out games they’d normally lose. These guys are 7-3. They deserve playoff time more than the Ravens, and I look forward to seeing them there. I do not look forward to seeing the Eagles. I can’t believe they’re taking up a playoff spot right now.

FALCONS VS SAINTS (WIN)

MY SCORE: 21-35

FINAL SCORE: 9-24

No Drew Brees? No problem. I heard a lot of Taysom Hill hate going into this game. The momentum the entire Saints team had from week 10 was bound to carry them through and it did. And look at Hill’s numbers: 18-23, 233 yards, no picks. He out threw Matt Ryan by a yard and Ryan threw two INT’s. So there’s some Taysom Hill love. On the other side, the running game was non-existent. They haven’t had a great run offense all year but it back fired in this game. They’ve got to figure that out.

WASHINGTON VS BENGALS (LOSS)

MY SCORE: 20-24

FINAL SCORE: 20-9

Not good. Not good for Cincinnati. Your backup, Ryan Finley is really awful. You’re bottom of the table in every category outside of the pass and your QB goes down with a. season ending injury. It’s going to be very ugly for Cincinnati now. And on the other side, of all the team’s in the NFC east this is the team I want to see the most in the playoffs. Through all the blues I like Alex Smith, and I think he’s a solid QB if he cuts down the INT’s. This is a good win for them.

SUNDAY GAMES @ 4:00-4:30

JETS VS CHARGERS (WIN)

MY SCORE: 21-24

FINAL SCORE: 28-34

The key to winning: you’ve got to beat the Jets, and they did. Due to a decent defensive outing and Justin Herbert. The guy accounted for 366 of the teams 376 total yards. That’s ten yards that DIDN’T have something to do with him. I don’t like the coaching, the defense, the running game. But I like Justin Herbert.

DOLPHINS VS BRONCOS (LOSS)

MY SCORE: 27-10

FINAL SCORE: 13-20

Speaking of coaching, here’s a good example of bad coaching. I don’t give a flying flip if Ryan Fitzpatrick gave the team a “spark.” Tua was 11-20 for 83 yards. He was having a bad game. He hadn’t made any major mistakes, despite being sacked 6 times. Why in the world do you pull him out of the game? Chew out your offensive line, make defensive adjustments, don’t show a lack of faith in your starting quarterback who’s been nothing but good since he started. TERRIBLE decision. Awful. The Broncos though, 7.3 yards per play, 459 total yards. Way to get your offense going. Fantastic win.

COLTS VS PACKERS (WIN)

MY SCORE: 34-30

FINAL SCORE: 34-31

I felt thus would happen and it did and it brought some normalcy back to my evening. It was a shootout and in the end the Packers turned the ball over too much. They’re a good 7-3 team, not a great one. Oh guess who’s 7-3 too? The Indianapolis Colts. If a few years ago you told me the Colts would be 7-3 with Phillip Rivers at the helm I would have said “Where the heck is Andrew Luck?” Jokes aside, this is a defense to be concerned about.

VIKINGS VS COWBOYS (LOSS)

MY SCORE: 28-14

FINAL SCORE: 28-31

This is a REALLY good win for the Cowboys. The Vikings sauntered into this game and left with their heads hanging. It’s one of those wins you can really build off of. That’s what this was. And when’s the last time this offense put up 31 points? Oh yeah in Dak Presscott’s last game... RIGHT. The Vikings owe this loss to two fumbles and a so-so defensive performance.

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL: CHIEFS VS RAIDERS (WIN)

MY SCORE: 38-28

FINAL SCORE: 35-31

This was closer than I thought. And it was certainly a thriller. But the Chiefs outlast the Raiders, move to 9-1 on the season, and can breathe a breath of fresh air—oh is that the Bucs on the schedule next week. I’m looking forward to that game more than Thanksgiving. The Raiders should be proud of their performance. I am. This team is entertaining to watch, they give great teams trouble. They do their homework. They have the opportunity to win these next two games against an unpredictable Falcons team, and the predictable Jets.

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL: RAMS VS BUCCANEERS (LOSS)

MY SCORE: 21-31

FINAL SCORE: 27-24

I apologize. I do. I overlooked something, and I’m sorry. I overlooked the Rams defense. They’re a game changer, they show up and prevent teams from putting up points. They did here and they won the game for the Rams. Any other team and 27 points might not be enough to beat Tampa, but against this defense it is. All that said, I still don’t trust the Rams, but we’ll talk about that another time. Tom Brady’s got to play better... There, I said it. Never thought I would.

Bad week overall, but my Steelers got the W so it’s a victory week for me. To my readers, hope you have a great Thanksgiving. And as always, until next time.