Weekly NFL Review/Preview: Defense Wins Championships

We are in Week 7 of the NFL season, and five teams are still undefeated. There are some things most of these teams have in common, and that is defense. The old saying is "Defense wins championships", and that couldn't be more true, as was evidenced by the Seahawks' (the #1 defense) thrashing of the Broncos (the #1 offense) in the Super Bowl two years ago. The five remaining unbeaten teams are the Patriots, Packers, Panthers, Bengals, and Broncos. The Pats (second in the league in total yards per game and pass yards per game), Pack (fifth in rush yards per game, tied for tenth in total yards per game), and Bengals (third in total yards per game) have some of the top offenses in the league, but their defenses aren't too shabby either (New England is ninth in total defense and tenth in points allowed per game, Green Bay is 11th in pass yards allowed per game and third in points allowed per game, and Cincinnati is ninth in points allowed per game). The other two unbeatens, Denver and Carolina, rely on their defenses a lot more. The Panthers are unblemished despite losing top receiver Kelvin Benjamin before the season thanks to a defense that ranks fifth in total yards allowed, seventh in yards allowed per game, third in total points allowed, and seventh in points allowed per game. The Broncos still have a zero in the loss column despite an ugly performance from Peyton Manning so far thanks to a defense that ranks fourth in total yards allowed, second in yards allowed per game, third in pass yards allowed per game, fifth in rush yards allowed per game, fifth in total points allowed, and fourth in points allowed per game. You obviously need offense to score points, but to reiterate the old saying, defense wins championships.
Stats courtesy of ESPN.com


Week 6 Review


Top Games (home team listed last)

Broncos 26, Browns 23, OT
This often looked like a game where neither team wanted to win. Peyton Manning continued to struggle, throwing an interception early, but the Broncos still took a 10-0 lead into halftime thanks to a pick-six by Aqib Talib. The Browns came back, like they did against the Ravens. aided once again by big play tight end Gary Barnidge, who had two touchdowns. Cleveland took the lead on an interception returned for a touchdown by Karlos Dansby, but didn't convert the two-point conversion, making the score 20-16. The Broncos then quickly retook the lead on a 75-yard pass from Manning to Emmanuel Sanders. The Browns kicked a field goal to tie it at 23 with a minute and a half left, and then forced the Broncos to punt. Cleveland got in to Denver territory, but then Josh McCown, trying to get the pass off as he was being pressured, was picked by David Bruton. The game went into overtime, and the Broncos won the coin toss. However, Peyton Manning was intercepted for a third time (put in Brock Osweiler!) around midfield, setting up the Browns with a good opportunity to put it away. But instead, they went backwards on three straight plays (two of them sacks) and had to punt. Denver then ran the ball down the field and kicked the game-winning field goal.

Bears 34, Lions 37, OT
The Lions finally started churning on offense in this game, and Calvin Johnson (166 yards receiving) finally started looking like Megatron again. Both teams aired it out (744 total passing yards between the two teams, 246 total rushing yards between the two teams). The Lions were aided by a questionable Golden Tate touchdown catch that was in his hands for a few seconds as he went into the endzone before getting knocked into the hands of a defender. The officials reviewed it (all scoring plays are reviewed), but they stuck with the original touchdown call. They also were helped by a fake punt late in the fourth quarter. On fourth and two from their own 32, they ran a direct snap and got 30 yards on it (they would eventually kick a field goal on that drive). Bears kicker Robbie Gould kicked 29-yard field goal to tie it at the end of regulation. Each team punted it twice in overtime, and then the Lions, led by Matthew Stafford and Johnson, drove down the field and kicked a game-winning 27-yard field goal. That secured the Lions their first win of the season.

Panthers 27, Seahawks 23
This was a battle between what was a good defense (Seattle) and what is a good defense (Carolina). The Seahawks have gotten off to a surprisingly slow start, starting 2-4 and uncharacteristically struggling on defense, while the Panthers are off to a surprisingly great start, starting 5-0 and playing great defense to go with the strong play of Cam Newton. The Seahawks were up 17-7 after a wonderful 40-yard touchdown catch by Ricardo Lockette, and tacked on a field goal to make it 20-7 midway through the third quarter. Then Cam Newton led a comeback. Three long drives were capped by two one-yard touchdown runs by Johnathan Stewart and a Steven Hauschka 43-yard field goal. Then, down three with 32 seconds to play, Newton found tight end Greg Olsen for a 26-yard touchdown that ended up being the game-winner.


Top Performances

Lions WR Calvin Johnson vs. Chicago (W 37-34 OT): 6 catches, 166 yards, TD
Johnson returned to form against the Bears, showing the Calvin Johnson we all know and love, including on the game-winning drive, where his catch helped set up the deciding field goal.

Texans DB Andre Hal @ Jacksonville (W 31-20): 3 tackles, 2 INT, TD
Hal's two interceptions helped Houston beat the Jaguars, and his 31-yard pick-six with 7:55 left in the fourth quarter helped the Texans pull away (it made the score 31-14).

Steelers QB Landry Jones vs. Arizona (W 25-13): 8-12, 168 yards, 2 TD
Jones came in for the injured Mike Vick (who was playing for the injured Ben Roethlisberger) and somehow managed to beat the Cardinals, playing efficiently, managing the game very well, and throwing two touchdown passes on his way to compiling the highest QB rating of any quarterback in the NFL last week (149.3).


Play of the Week

It's always fun to watch when some guy jumps over the long snapper and blocks a field goal. That's what Patriots linebacker Jamie Collins did Sunday night against the Colts. A defender can not touch the long snapper, but completely clearing him is completely legal. Collins timed it right, jumped cleanly over, and easily blocked the kick with his body.


Play of the Weak

The Play of the Weak was relatively easy to choose this week. If you watched the Sunday night game or have been on social media since then, you have probably seen this play, along with memes and jokes about it. The Colts tried to fake the Patriots out with some kind of student body right type of play. Except the Pats weren't fooled, and Griff Whalen, who was the center on the play, snapped it to Colt Anderson, who was right behind him. Whalen was going up against two New England defenders, and, while I'm a communication major, I know one-on-two is not a favorable matchup.


Week 7 Preview


Quick Picks (home team listed last)

Last Week: 10-4
Season: 51-29

Byes: Bears, Bengals, Broncos, Packers

Seahawks 27, 49ers 24 (Thursday, 8:25 PM, CBS/NFL Network)
Bills 32, Jaguars 23 (Sunday, 9:30 AM, Yahoo)
Browns 24, Rams 21 (Sunday, 1:00 PM, CBS)
Buccaneers 28, Redskins 22 (Sunday, 1:00 PM, FOX)
Falcons 42, Titans 17 (Sunday, 1:00 PM, FOX)
Saints 34, Colts 31 (Sunday, 1:00 PM, FOX)
Vikings 28, Lions 24 (Sunday, 1:00 PM, FOX)
Steelers 19, Chiefs 20 (Sunday, 1:00 PM, CBS)
Texans 32, Dolphins 24 (Sunday, 1:00 PM, CBS)
Jets 32, Patriots 38 (Sunday, 1:00 PM, CBS)
Raiders 27, Chargers 32 (Sunday, 4:05 PM, CBS)
Cowboys 31, Giants 35 (Sunday, 4:25 PM, FOX)
Game of the Week: Eagles 22, Panthers 26 (Sunday, 8:30 PM, NBC)
The Panthers continue their undefeated quest at home against the Eagles on Sunday Night Football. The Eagles started the season off slow, but Sam Bradford, DeMarco Murray, and company have gotten it together the past two games, beating the Saints and Giants pretty soundly.
Ravens 14, Cardinals 32 (Monday, 8:30 PM, ESPN)


Fantasy Sleepers

Saints QB Drew Brees @ Indianapolis & Chargers QB Phillip Rivers vs. Oakland
Brees, who has over 300 yards in four of the five games he's started, goes up against the Colts' 28th-ranked pass defense on Sunday. Meanwhile, Rivers, who leads the league in passing yards by a pretty wide margin (2,116 to 1,761), gets the Raiders' 31st-ranked pass defense.

Cardinals WR John Brown vs. Baltimore & Jaguars WR Allen Robinson vs. Buffalo
Brown has heated up the last two games (before last week's bye week), totaling 75 receiving yards and 73 receiving yards, respectively. He also faces the lowly Ravens, who are 27th in pass defense (so Brown's quarterback, Carson Palmer, wouldn't be a bad start either). Robinson had two touchdown catches last week, and the Bills have given up 13 receiving touchdowns this season, third-worst in the NFL.

Titans QB Zach Mettenberger vs. Atlanta & Buccaneers RB Doug Martin @ Washington
With Marcus Mariota banged up for Tennessee, it looks like Mettenberger will get the start, so he's worth a flier against the league's 3rd-worst pass defense. Martin, or "Dougernaut", as he now calls himself (so much better than "Muscle Hamster"), is coming off two strong performances (106 yards and a touchdown vs. Carolina, and 123 yards and three total touchdowns vs. Jacksonville) and a bye week, and faces Washington's poor run defense.

Fantasy Busts

Jets D/ST @ Patriots & Titans D/ST vs. Atlanta
The Jets defense is usually a solid option in fantasy, but obviously not this week against the offensive juggernaut that is the Patriots. Same goes for the Titans defense, which has been pretty good thus far, against Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Devonta Freeman, and company.

Steelers WR Antonio Brown @ Kansas City & Buccaneers WR Mike Evans @ Washington
I'm advising you to stay away from Brown for one more week with Landry Jones looking like the favorite to start this week. Jones was solid last week, but had his eyes on Martavis Bryant (137 yards, 2 TD), not Brown (24 yards). Evans was been lackluster the two weeks before the bye, and in Week 5 Jameis Winston targeted Charles Sims more in a 38-31 win over Jacksonville.