Welcome to a weekly look at the NFL’s next round of games. A peek that will be less quarterback-crazy and more about offensive lines, defense, running games, maybe even the occasional punter, and all things that make this the greatest team game ever invented, not the star-driven individualized sport that way too many of us try to make it out to be. An effort will be made to keep the tone somewhere between “Going old-school” and “Get off my lawn!”
Rant of the week
Thanks to the beginning of the end of Jonathan Gannon’s career as an NFL head coach, neither the Cardinals (2-3) nor the Colts (4-1) should have to worry this week about Indianapolis receiver Adonai Mitchell or Arizona running back Emari Demercado letting go of the football before crossing the goal line. One would assume this sudden NFL trend of selfish goal-line gaffes is over after two weeks, but hey, let’s not totally underestimate the next bone-headed modern player who’s more interested in how he looks than doing the job he’s paid to do.
A week after Mitchell’s showboating blunder turned a 75-yard touchdown into a fumble for a touchback in a one-score loss to the Rams, Demercado upped the ante of stupidity by flipping the ball away prematurely on what would have been a 72-yard score and a 28-6 late lead in a game the Cards lost 22-21.
The price for that decision was much greater and probably won’t be paid in full until the Cardinals completely distance themselves from Gannon’s viral sideline altercation with Demercado by firing him, probably before Gannon’s third season as head coach is over. The team already fined him $100,000 after he apologized publicly and to Demercado, so good luck regaining control of that roster. And, oh yeah, Gannon has another hole in his sunken ship – he’s become the first coach to lose three straight games on walk-off scores.
Did Gannon go too far by making contact with Demercado’s chest and striking his shoulder pad? Even Mike Ditka himself might say yeah, but let’s tap the brakes a bit. A: You can’t transfer normal human decorum to an NFL game-day sideline, so stop all the “you don’t ever put hands on …” arguments. Even Andy Reid and Travis Kelce have jostled on the sideline. B: Demercado was in pads, and any of us of a certain age who played any level of this game can remember an angry coach slapping a pad or two. C: The mistake was so egregiously selfish and came when every coach in the league was showing clips of Mitchell and telling their players not to be that guy.
Going forward, if you want to look cool, do what the great Earl Campbell used to do after running over an entire defense: hand the ball to the referee after the play is over and the goal line crossed.
Quote of the week
I woke up this morning and didn’t feel great about it, honestly.
Stat of the week
$49.5 million. That’s the difference per season between what the 49ers are paying starting quarterback Brock Purdy ($53 million) and what they’re paying backup Mac Jones ($3.5 million). Purdy is 1-1 with four touchdowns and four interceptions. Jones is 3-0 with six touchdowns and one interception. Sounds like a great time to give Purdy more time to rest all that ails him.
Game of the week
49ers (4-1) at Buccaneers (4-1). For the first time since 2014, the NFL has no undefeated teams heading into Week 6. The league is also coming off a record-tying six double-digit comeback victories in Week 5 — a feat that’s happened only six times, the last coming in 2013. There are six 4-1 teams, four of which are in the NFC. Two of them meet in Tampa Bay, where the 49ers continue to render anyone else’s injury excuses hollow while the Bucs keep on riding MVP front-runner Baker Mayfield. In last week’s 38-35 win at Seattle, Mayfield went 29 for 33 (87.9%) for 379 yards and two touchdowns to become the first player in NFL history to throw for 375 yards with fewer than five incompletions.
