In case you’re underneath the impression that NFL particular groups this season have been particularly wonky, you’re utterly and completely right.
Nonetheless, as bizarre because it particular groups had been by means of the primary 11 weeks of the season, nothing may fairly examine to what occurred on Sunday. Kicker misses and miscues have been legion, however Sunday noticed much more blunders than typical.
Most distinguished of all was Austin Seibert of the Washington Commanders. The seven-year veteran got here into Sunday excellent on extra-points, and 25 of 27 on his discipline purpose makes an attempt, this season.
After which got here the utter catastrophe Seibert put himself in towards the Dallas Cowboys in a 34-26 Commanders loss. With 48 seconds left within the first quarter, Seibert missed a 51-yard discipline purpose. No shock there, as his solely two misses this season had come from 50 or extra yards. Then, after Jayden Daniels scored a landing on a 17-yard run with 9:59 left within the third quarter, Seibert missed his first extra-point try of the season. It didn’t appear an enormous deal: Washington nonetheless led 9-3 towards a Dallas group who’ve been woeful all season.
Seibert suffered one other blow when his kickoff was returned 99 yards for a landing by KaVontae Turpin to provide the Cowboys a 27-17 lead late within the fourth. That was dangerous information for a Commanders group within the playoff hunt, however the landing had way more to do with Turpin’s expertise than Seibert’s deficiencies. Seibert even booted a 51-yard discipline purpose with 1:40 left to slim the deficit to seven factors and provides the Commanders a faint whiff of hope. And there’s at all times hope towards these Cowboys. First, Dallas recovered Seibert’s onside kick however had been pressured to punt. Then, with 33 seconds left, Daniels hit Terry McLaurin on a miraculous 86-yard landing during which Dallas, as has develop into routine this season, forgot how you can sort out.
The rating was 27-26 and all Seibert needed to do was make the additional level and nearly actually ship the sport into time beyond regulation. You possibly can guess how that went.
However there was extra to ache to return for Seibert. He tried an onside kick on the very subsequent play after his miss, and Cowboys security Juanyeh Thomas returned the darned factor for a 34-yard landing to place the sport utterly out of attain. Two successive performs from Seibert had value his group victory over a detested enemy in a season the place they’d began to reverse their latest status as a hapless franchise. It additionally doomed the 7-5 Commanders to a 3rd straight defeat simply as their NFC East rivals, the 9-2 Philadelphia Eagles, are on a seven-game win streak. It’s arduous to think about a passage of play being extra painful for a single participant in NFL historical past. Seibert’s haunted expression instructed the story in a single picture.
Give Seibert credit score – some gamers would fairly drop one thing heavy on their foot than face the media after so many debacles, however he was a standup man. He refused in charge the dangerous snap on the second missed additional level, and he refused in charge the hip damage that had prompted him to overlook the Commanders’ two earlier video games.
In a season the place particular groups have been something however, Seibert will develop into the unlucky personification of these struggles with one of the vital agonizing video games any kicker has ever had.
MVP of the week
Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles. As if issues weren’t dangerous sufficient for the 2-9 New York Giants (extra on them in a minute). Barkley, the operating again they deemed expendable this offseason, rolled proper over a extremely competent however very younger Los Angeles Rams protection on Sunday evening for 255 speeding yards and two TDs because the Eagles boat-raced the Rams, 37-20. Pending the outcomes of Monday evening’s sport between the Baltimore Ravens and the Los Angeles Chargers, Barkley leapfrogged Baltimore’s Derrick Henry for the NFL’s lead in speeding yards with 1,392 yards to Henry’s 1,185. Barkley had landing runs of 70 and 72 yards, and put up the ninth-most speeding yards in a single sport in NFL historical past.
Earlier than Giants followers surprise the place this was earlier than, there’s no technique to think about this model of Barkley in New York – or most wherever else. He’s enjoying behind one of the best offensive line he’s ever had by far, and he has a quarterback in Jalen Hurts who amplifies Barkley’s speeding menace along with his personal mobility. It’s a primary instance of the proper participant within the excellent scenario, and one more personnel hit for Massive Blue.
Video of the week
The Carolina Panthers performed the defending Tremendous Bowl champion Kansas Metropolis Chiefs a lot nearer than anybody may need anticipated. In truth, the sport was 27-27 with 1:49 left after Carolina transformed a two-point try.
So, the Panthers gave the ball again to the Chiefs and hoped that Patrick Mahomes wouldn’t do one thing ridiculous. That hope, in fact, was in useless. With 48 seconds left, Mahomes trucked for a 33-yard run that took the ball to the Carolina 22-yard line, and arrange Spencer Shrader’s game-winning discipline purpose as time expired.
In case you assume you’ve seen one thing like that earlier than … properly, you just about have. In final season’s Tremendous Bowl, the rating was 22-19 within the San Francisco 49ers’ favor earlier than Mahomes’ 19-yard scramble arrange his game-winning landing go to Mecole Hardman three performs later.
As was the case with a lot of the Chiefs’ 10 victories this season, it wasn’t fairly … however a win is a win.
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Stat of the week
There have been a number of kicking malfeasances on Sunday apart from these of Seibert, and that’s been the case all season (together with a number of heroics). However earlier than you assume that it’s taking place at an uncommon charge in 2024, let’s not let recency bias journey issues within the improper course. By the primary 11 weeks of the 2024 season, kickers had made 84.9% of their discipline objectives, and 96.5% of their additional level makes an attempt. Over the past decade, discipline purpose percentages had been decrease each season from 2014 although 2020, and the success charge is only one proportion level decrease than final season’s 85.9%. And this season’s additional level charge has been the best since kickers booted an incredible 99.3% in 2014.
Professional Soccer Reference’s knowledge tells us that there was an uptick in discipline purpose makes an attempt of fifty or extra yards this season, which might clarify a number of the misses, but it surely’s not a large change during the last decade. What has at all times been true is that kicking is an inconsistent and unpredictable artwork.
Elsewhere across the league
— Late within the third quarter of Minnesota’s 30-27 win over the Chicago Bears, Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold appeared to hit Jordan Addison on what grew to become a 69-yard play.
The query was whether or not Addison stepped out of bounds earlier than he accomplished his after-catch trek. Per the printed replays, it appeared that he did – however after the officers reviewed the play, the unique ruling was upheld.
Ordinarily, most individuals would chalk this as much as one other occasion of officers blowing a name, however there’s a subversive and incomprehensible context to this and different replay rulings. As former NFL VP of Officiating Mike Pereira defined, the league will not be allowed to make use of sideline cameras on replay evaluate as a result of not all stadiums have them, and it might throw parity out the window if such replays had been allowed when there are stadium have-nots.
In 2023, the NFL’s general income exceeded $13bn. Even probably the most technically spectacular cameras accessible to the NFL have a tendency to return in at lower than $10,000: we’re guessing that NFL groups may simply pool their cash collectively to cowl the price of getting them in each stadium. Price will not be the difficulty. Income will not be the difficulty. Why the NFL hasn’t standardized its know-how on this regard is nonsensical.
— No quarterback ever desires to be benched, however there’s something to say for the follow of sitting a younger signal-caller down in order that he can spend time processing the complexities of NFL playbooks, and the velocity of NFL defenses. Bryce Younger, who was wanting like one of many league’s worst first general draft picks by means of his 2023 rookie season and properly into this marketing campaign, discovered himself on the bench in favor of Andy Dalton three video games into the Panthers’ season. He didn’t get the starter’s job again till Week 8.
However Younger has began to look extra snug in his function post-benching, and he was completely that in Carolina’s loss to the Chiefs. Younger accomplished 21 of 35 passes for 263 yards, a landing, no interceptions, and a passer score of 92.9. Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo blitzed Younger repeatedly, and Younger threw these blitzes proper again in Spags’ face. Younger was blitzed on a season-high 40.0% of his dropbacks, and he accomplished 11 of his 14 passes for 123 yards and a landing towards a number of disruptors. The tape matched the metrics; Younger simply seems like a special quarterback now.
— After all, quarterback benchings don’t at all times work. In case you thought issues couldn’t get any worse for the New York Giants after they benched after which launched Daniel Jones … properly, assume once more. In Massive Blue’s 30-7 embarrassment of a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, alternative Tommy “Cutlets” DeVito accomplished 21 of 31 passes for 189 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer score of 83.9. Within the first half, earlier than issues bought out of hand and the Bucs performed extra relaxed coverages, DeVito accomplished simply three of 5 passes for 31 yards.
2024 first-round receiver Malik Nabers wasn’t focused till the third quarter, and he was in no way completely happy about that.
“It ain’t in regards to the quarterback,” Nabers mentioned postgame. “Identical factor occurred when DJ [Jones] was the quarterback. Go on the market, first and second quarter, don’t get the ball, and targets on the finish. You possibly can’t try this. Began to get the ball when it was 30-0. What would you like me to do?”
Nabers mentioned that the media ought to “speak to Dabs” [head coach Brian Daboll] about that. Nabers additionally referred to as the efficiency “gentle”, and he wasn’t the one one. All-world defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence mentioned that the Giants “performed gentle, and [the Buccaneers] beat the shit out of us in the present day.”
The Giants are 2-9 in a season that has disappeared down no matter drain they had been circling earlier than, and Daboll is 17-27-1 in his Giants profession. The numbers are dangerous sufficient, however when your greatest gamers are overtly questioning teaching and energy, it might seem that Daboll would be the subsequent Large searching for a brand new job.
Oh … and past Barkley’s efforts on Sunday, it was an excellent day for different former Giants. Defensive lineman Leonard Williams had 2.5 sacks for the Seattle Seahawks in a 16-6 win over the Arizona Cardinals, and security Xavier McKinney bagged his seventh interception of the season for the Inexperienced Bay Packers in a 38-10 beatdown of the San Francisco 49ers. If this wasn’t the worst day in Giants historical past, it was actually on the shortlist.
