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It’s (a little) cold outside, which means it’s time to get cozy and get ready for the holiday season. The NFL will keep the pressure on us for the next few weeks before the playoffs begin, giving us a good opportunity to slow down and focus on the important things around us, like Netflix needing to nail down Christmas Day after a terrible performance with Jake Paul. -Mike Tyson fight.
Netflix better clean this up before the NFL shows up on Christmas
This is a no-judgement zone. I promise. As someone who held a watch party at his apartment to watch the “fight” between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, I’m in no position to judge how people decided to spend their precious electric bill on Friday night.
However, I will consider myself, and everyone who attended that miserable final card, an expert at streaming things from Netflix. We endured a disaster of almost biblical proportions while trying to feed our porridge from the digital pig feeder. The broadcast obviously couldn’t handle the amount of people trying to get in and watch the latest celebrity boxing match, which is a good time to shout from the rooftops: THE NFL IS COMING TO NETFLIX FOR CHRISTMAS!
Right now, this looks like a disaster waiting to happen. At times, it seemed as if Netflix was streaming this fight through a TV screen. game boy color. And that was on a Friday night, when there were still other things to see and people were out enjoying the start of their weekends. Netflix’s next entry into the streaming wars will feature four of the league’s top teams playing on its service.
The Chiefs will travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers in a game that will help decide the top of the AFC playoff picture. The Ravens will take on the Texans in another game between two of the most popular and entertaining teams in the league right now. Oh yeah, Beyoncé will also be performing at Ravens-Texans halftime. This is the perfect storm of intense viewership that will test Netflix and their ability to hold together what will be the most-watched streaming entity they have ever had.
For all of us who are going to bypass our families’ time to hide away and watch some intensely important NFL games, this broadcast is our life force. And if it goes the same way as Tyson and Paul’s pillow fight, we’re in for a world of small talk that’s never as bad as you imagine it to be in your head. The horror. The audacity. Get it right, Netflix. This is the only reason to log into that streaming service anyway.
New England appears to have a superstar in the making at quarterback
The Patriots could have done it again. Drake Maye has hit the ground running since replacing Jacoby Brissett as the team’s starting quarterback this fall. Maye appears to be improving week by week, and his elite athletic ability combined with his understanding of what is asked of him in the Patriots’ offense has rejuvenated this franchise after fumbling at quarterback in the years since he left. from Tom Brady to Tampa Bay.
This is different than what Mac Jones was able to accomplish as the Patriots’ starter when he was a Pro Bowler as a rookie in 2021. It feels like something has real staying power.
There were people who were a little concerned about Maye’s ability to function behind a shaky offensive line, but he is much better than Brissett during his time as a starter. Maye’s expected points added per dropback (0.04) improves dramatically over Brissett’s (-0.19). The Patriots’ success rate on putbacks is seven percentage points higher under Maye, and Maye is drawing less pressure and getting sacked at a lower rate. Despite all the issues associated with putting Maye in the lineup, he has definitely given the team a better chance to win than their previous quarterback situation.
Even in the dismal atmosphere that is the Patriots’ offense, Maye has been able to produce explosive plays and execute the offense on time. He’s not afraid to make tough throws under pressure and has the arm strength to make some real 1% throws that most quarterbacks can’t even dream of. This is high praise, but Maye’s playing style feels somewhere between a cross between Josh Allen and Justin Herbert. He has the wherewithal to stay in the pocket and execute plays as directed, but the overwhelming athleticism and arm strength to make some truly incredible off-script plays.
In a world where it seems so Many teams have extreme quarterback situations, having a quarterback with legitimate MVP talent is a blessing. Josh Allen and Tua Tagovailoa are in the division and now have a quarterback who will be capable of leading elite offenses if they can continue to build supporting casts.
I feel sorry for everyone who was fed up with the Patriots for 20 years. It looks like they’ll be back sooner rather than later with another inevitable quarterback talent at the helm.
Jaguars? Come on
Alright. The Lions and Jaguars are clearly in different universes when it comes to what they expect from their seasons right now, but damn! 52-6? Even with Detroit being the best team in the league, it is still difficult to score so many points while allowing so few points. Even with Mac Jones in the lineup and poor defense on the other side, there’s no reason he should get beat up that bad.
The Jags were beaten so thoroughly that we’re going to run through some numbers from this game to get an idea of how horrible the finish was.
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The Lions averaged 5.78 points per series. They scored a touchdown on their first seven drives of the game. The score was 49-6 at the end of the third quarter. Get up, jaguars!
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Detroit averaged 13.6 net yards per attempt. For reference, the league leader in this category is the Baltimore Ravens, who have 8.6 net yards per attempt on the season. That’s a 58% increase in the league leader in a sample size of a game.
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The Lions offense earned 36 first downs on 76 plays without the aid of penalties. They got two first downs on penalties, giving them 38 first downs in 76 plays on the day. Fifty percent of the time they were on the field, they got a first down. If you remove those first down penalties and stick with what they earned on their own merits, they converted a first down on 47.4% of their plays. The Ravens also lead that category on the season with 34.4% of their plays going for first downs.
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According to TruMedia, Jared Goff averaged 1.04 expected points added per dropback. That basically means that every time the Lions called a pass play, they gained a full value point. For every seven Goff dropbacks, the Jaguars allowed one valuable touchdown, which is remembered when you remember they allowed SEVEN STRAIGHT TOUCHDOWN DRIVES to start the game.
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44.2% of the Lions’ rushing plays were five or more yards. They simply physically displaced the Jaguars’ defensive line over and over again.
That’s just not NFL quality play by the Jaguars. Yes, your season is over and Doug Pederson is toast, but fight back next time.
The 49ers don’t look like themselves.
After falling to 5-5 at the hands of the Seahawks, the 49ers’ season looks like it could potentially be on life support. Due to a crowded NFC West this year, the 49ers find themselves at the bottom of the division, with the same record as the Rams and Seahawks, while the Cardinals have a slim one-game lead over the rest of the division with a record of 6-4. . Their season is certainly not over, but they may not have what it takes as they are currently constructed to make the playoffs, let alone go to the playoffs.
One thing that is really working in this offense is Brock Purdy. Amid losing Brandon Aiyuk and not having Christian McCaffrey at the peak of his powers, Purdy has performed admirably for the 49ers. They still rank in the top five in dropback success rate and expected points added per dropback as the effectiveness of their running game has declined. They ran the ball a little better against the Seahawks than they have in recent weeks, but they still lack the explosives on the ground that made them such a dangerous offense. Still, Purdy along with George Kittle, Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings have done enough in the passing game to keep them stable and moving in the right direction.
The defense has also taken a step back from recent seasons where they simply are not the dominant unit that people have become accustomed to. They still have ace defensemen in Fred Warner, Nick Bosa and Deommodore Lenoir on their roster, but they are a defense that can be had in certain circumstances. Overall, they are just a middle defense that has high-end talent. Enough to win games, but no longer impenetrable.
Due to attrition and perhaps some roster management strategies, the 49ers simply don’t have the big shield and sword they normally have when trying to stay atop the NFC. Purdy and the passing game will keep them in these games, but their upcoming schedule will prove difficult as they try to fight until the end of the season to reach the wild card round. Getting a first-round bye is certainly off the table given the way Detroit is performing right now.
The 49ers will close the season with games against the Packers, Bills, Bears, Rams, Dolphins, Lions and Cardinals. PHEW. That’s a tough race for any team, let alone a team that is fragmented and currently at the bottom of its division, no matter how small that deficit may be. The 49ers could find themselves out of the playoffs, and miss at least the NFC championship game, for the first time since 2020.