Things That Made Me Giddy
Breshad Perriman in a Foot Race:
Bills Defense Finally Delivers: Six days after the Patriots beat them with a 46-to-3 run/pass ratio, and three weeks after Jonathan Taylor ran absolutely wherever he wanted against them, the Bills defense couldn’t get off the field in the first half in Tampa, their first game without Tre’Davious White. But they owned the second half and got a series of crucial stops in forcing overtime. And in OT, they were victimized by a barely-converted-third-and-short, a phantom pass interference flag, then a well-schemed play on the game-winner. This was, at least for a half, the defense they need.
Brandon Aiyuk to the Pylon: The 49ers survive Cin City (it must be miserable to play 69 defensive snaps against this Niners offense) as the third-best run-after-catch threat probably in the NFL and certainly on his own team walks it off.
Cleveland in December: Both the city, the weather and the team that plays in them. Regardless of the near-meltdown late, this was, stylistically, how the Browns are built to win games—dominant defense, run game and complementary passing offense.
Myles Garrett: AKA Alucard.
Cowboys Can Win in Different Ways: Dak Prescott was, simply put, struggling in Washington, but the defense—most notably and least surprisingly, Micah Parsons—took over early.
Taysom Hill Shows the Saints What They Were Missing: Specifically, a way to generate offense with their punchless receiving corps. He had 73 of the Saints’ 203 rushing yards against the Jets (including a 44-yard TD to clinch it), and added an unambitious but efficient 15-for-21 for 175 yards passing.
Broncos Are Hanging Around: They’re now 6–0 when they get multiple takeaways in a game (and 1–6 when they don’t).
George Kittle Nearly Saves Christmas: An exceptional third-and-10 catch to set up the should’ve-been-game-winning field goal. Kittle was incredible in Cin City, finishing with 13 catches for 151 yards.
NFL Schedule Makers Do Have a Sense of Humor: Sending the Giants defense to face Justin Herbert one week after getting Tua Tagovailoa in Miami. You couldn’t find two greater extremes as far as the stress the quarterback puts on a defense. It’s like sipping club soda then chasing it by chugging some 200,000-scoville hot sauce.
The ‘Wheels On The Bus’ Thing in Kansas City: Being petty is fun. Though I’m not sure it’s entirely necessary when beating an opponent for the 15th time in 18 matchups.
