The biggest trend I saw in this week’s games was not about the x’s and o’s of the game. It wasn’t a new strategy or formation. It was the absolute littering of the field with yellow flags. It was awful this week. Just ask Al Michaels who made his opinion well known on Thursday night watching the Dallas/Giants game. But it didn’t stop there. Penalties wiped out touchdowns in multiple games.

In Atlanta/New Orleans, a holding call wiped out a touchdown by Bijon Robinson. Later, on a desperation throw, a penalty gave Atlanta the field position they needed to kick the game winning field goal. In the Rams/Bears game, penalties wiped out two sacks on Caleb Williams. In the Browns/Raiders game, Amari Cooper had a bomb TD catch called back on a penalty.

The point is these types of penalties are called every week. But this week just seemed to be more penalizing because of the plays that were nullified. Football is a team sport, each player relying on the others to do their job. This past Sunday, the officials made it more difficult for teams to do just that.

On to the games:

NO at ATL
The New Orleans defense almost made enough plays to win this game. In fact, with all the talk about the powerful offense, this defense is getting overlooked for the work they are doing this season. Giving up a special teams touchdown and a pick six made this a tough game for the Saints to win. The biggest mistake this defense made was a pass interference penalty that allowed the Falcons to kick the game winning field goal.

The Atlanta offense does not look good. Cousins is throwing the ball too much and the receivers are looking slow. Not a lot of yards after the catch and that has a lot to do with the passes Cousins is throwing. His passes are low. His receivers are having to reach and dive for the ball, stopping their momentum and trapping them against the defender. It’s almost impossible to get yards after the catch like that. Cousins’ completion percentage stays high, his stats look efficient, but the game flow is off. There needs to be a greater focus on getting the ball to the running backs, who are explosive, but not getting the ball. The Falcons are lucky to win this one, if they keep playing at this level they will struggle the rest of the way.

LAR at CHI
The story of this game was the reemergence of D’Andre Swift. He finally broke out both as a runner and a receiver. The rest of the Bears offense struggled. The offensive line is still allowing too many pressures on Caleb Williams. For his part, Williams is still holding the ball way too long. He needs to read the coverage and get rid of the ball. Instead he keeps holding on to it thinking he can make a big play. Sustaining drives depends on making several positive plays in a row. When Williams can apply that, this offense will be better.

Stafford is really missing Kupp and Nacua. He’s getting the ball out and moving it through the air, but the comfort level isn’t there. Every yard feels harder than it needs to be, and in this game at least, they kicked field goals instead of scoring touchdowns. By the fourth quarter, both the offensive and defensive lines looked gassed. This team needs a bye week.

MIN at GB
28-7 Minnesota in the first half. 22-3 Green Bay in the second half. I was excited to watch this film and see what changes or adjustments were made to cause such a flip in the script.

But I was disappointed. Minnesota’s defense got complacent and conservative for most of the fourth quarter. The score was much closer than the game. Even in garbage time, Jordan Love was still turning the ball over trying to make plays. This was his first game back from injury, but it looked a lot like his game against the Eagles. A lot of stats, but not a lot of winning plays.

Sam Darnold was great in the first half, but even he was throwing some dangerous passes. The difference was that his didn’t hurt his team. The bottom line is that both of these teams are very good and the rematch is going to be for playoff seeding.

PIT at IND
TJ Watt where are you?

I imagine a lot of Steelers fans were wondering that as the game unfolded. The Colts offensive line was dominant in this game. For most of the game they simply pushed around what was the best defense in the league. And I think that was the biggest story coming out of this game. Indy was able to run the ball efficiently and make plays downfield.

Justin Fields found his athleticism out of the pocket in the second half and it almost brought them back in the game. But I hope that isn’t a sign of things to come. Fields was electric in Chicago doing these things, but he wasn’t winning games. Injuries in the running back room might make the Steelers think they need to use Fields as a running back, but that’s a recipe for disaster. Then again, he hasn’t proven he can win games with his arm and decision making. Maybe Russell Wilson is going to start seeing the field soon.

DEN at NYJ
This is the game film that you just burn and don’t even bother watching. The weather was horrible and it definitely affected both offenses. How do you have 7 completions for -7 yards, Denver?

I think the biggest thing that came out of this game was the hint that there might be a rift building between Aaron Rodgers and Coach Saleh. The news is already covering the disagreement about how Rodgers’ cadence might have led to the many offsides penalties in this game. But it was Rodgers response that caught my attention, (paraphrasing) “that’s one way to look at it, another would be to hold those people accountable.”

Calling out a head coach, in the press, and saying hold your players accountable is not a good look for the team. I agree with Rodgers one hundred percent here. But it makes me think that maybe this isn’t the only issue behind closed doors where accountability is concerned. The Jets are 2-2 and haven’t looked like a very good offense this year. Maybe this is the first public shot that ends up costing Saleh his job at the end of the year.

PHI at TB
Philadelphia came out with the same five man defensive front they used to shut down the New Orleans offense last week. But instead of slamming in to it over and over, Baker Mayfield started attacking the edges. Quick throws on wide receiver screens, swing passes, and quick slants got the ball outside and let the playmakers on his team break tackles and get big gains. Philadelphia was down 0-24 before they got their first first down.

Jalen Hurts’ accuracy is becoming a problem. Sure they are dealing with injuries to AJ Brown and Donta Smith, but his bad throws are not even close to his receivers. Couple that with a defense that is struggling and this feels like a bad team.

CIN at CAR
Just having Tee Higgins on the field has changed how the Bengals look on offense. Burrow looks more comfortable throwing out there. Chase is getting open easier. Even the run game is opening up. The problem is their defense. It’s absolutely atrocious.

Carolina was successful attacking the outside corners early. The Panthers have big receivers and they were able to take advantage of the Bengals smaller corners, break tackles and make big gains. Andy Dalton has shown this offense is much better than it showed under Bryce Young.

The difference in this game was the double score around halftime. Cincinnati scored just before the half and on the first possession of the second half. A 14-14 game was 28-14 without Carolina getting to touch ball. If not for that, this could have been a down to the wire affair.

JAX at HOU
Jacksonville’s effort in this game was commendable. They played hard and I think they knew losing this game could mean the end of their season. How they respond next week, being down 0-4 is more about their character than any hopes of saving the season.

Houston played a solid game against a desperate team. But they need Joe Mixon back badly. Not just to get the run game going, but to re-instill a toughness to the offense. The offensive line is starting to give up too many pressures on CJ Stroud. This is still a good Houston team, but I liked it a lot more when Mixon was running the ball.

I did notice that Trevor Lawrence was throwing a lot of crossing patterns early in the game. As I focused on it, he was very accurate with those throws but wildly inaccurate on vertical passes. Could part of the problem with Jacksonville’s offense be that Lawrence can’t hit those deep shots anymore?

NE at SF
The difference in talent between these two teams was evident from the very beginning. What surprised me the most was how well the New England defense was at being an irritant to Brock Purdy. They kept him off balance and made him work for every yard. The Purdy to Aiyuk chemistry still isn’t there yet.

New England has had two really bad showings in a row, and I think this is probably the end of their run surprising teams. There’s enough film on them now that teams know what to expect. They are physical and tenacious, but they don’t have the players yet to compete at the top level. They can still win a game or two this year, but it won’t be against the top teams.

Fred Warner is a beast on the defense, and might be working his way up the MVP rankings on the Gridiron Preview!

WAS at ARI
The popular story is about how great Daniels has looked. The inside story is that the Washington offensive line is playing great football. This is a power run team that is absolutely decimating defenses. How do you defend a team that can run power up the middle, have a quarterback with speed on the outside, and a passing game that has weapons all over the field? This is the challenge that Washington is presenting each and every week.

Arizona was extremely successful with their own power run offense early in this game. But Washington was able to take them out of their game script through the scoreboard. Kyler still struggles to make plays when he gets pressure up the middle. Arizona is going to continue to struggle on offense if they force him to play from the pocket. His game is out on the edges and playing with the threat of the run or the pass. Maybe if the Arizona coaches watch what Jayden Daniels is doing they’ll understand how to get the most out of Kyler Murray.

CLE at LV
I’m not sure what’s broken on the Cleveland offense, but something is definitely broken. They can get chunk plays, they look efficient running the football, and Watson has the mobility to make plays with his legs. But for whatever reason they cannot sustain drives. Amari Cooper had a great touchdown play called back on a penalty or else they might have won this game.

Las Vegas finally played a complete game. They might have been missing Crosby, but the defense at every level – defensive line, linebackers, and secondary – played with urgency. The offense did enough to win the game, but there’s a growing problem with the run game. Zamir White isn’t just missing holes and getting tackled for losses. Fumbles are bad, fumbles that get returned for touchdowns get you benched. If the Raiders are going to be a competitive team this year, they running game has to be fixed.

KC at LAC
The Chargers came out firing in this one, but they couldn’t sustain it. If Rashee Rice hadn’t hurt his knee early in this game, the Kansas City offense might have been able to pull away earlier. As it was, this game took a while to break through the defensive stalemate.

Kansas City is going to have to really work on their offensive efficiency now. Without their top two receivers, their top running back, and with Travis Kelce obviously slowing down, the offense is struggling to make plays. Worthy is still a great young talent, but can they rely on him to be the main playmaker going forward?

BUF at BAL
This wasn’t a surprising result for me. Buffalo always has these stinker games throughout the season. I’m not going to take much away from the Bills on this. They are still a very good team, they just ran into a bad set of circumstances.

Baltimore on the other hand, desperately needed this win. More importantly they needed to show they can finish a game in the fourth quarter without letting the other team back in. This was a physical domination type of game, and Derrick Henry’s opening run set the tone for the whole game.

TEN at MIA
Miami is officially in trouble. The coaching staff needs to revamp this playbook and find ways to get the ball into the hands of their playmakers – much the same way the Packers staff did for Malik Willis. This team needs a spark, because some of these players are “me first” instead of “team first” guys. If they don’t start getting their stats, there’s going to be drama.

Tennessee won’t win any style points for this game, but a win is a win. With Will Levis on the sideline the offense remained very much the same – with the exception of the crazy bad plays he dishes out weekly. If he can’t fix that shortcoming, he could find himself in a very similar position as Bryce Young.

SEA at DET
Game of the week? Game of the year, maybe? How do you account for what we just saw?

I’m just going to give a standing ovation for both teams who fought for four quarters and held nothing back. 18/18 for Goff? Kenneth Walker 3 TDs? Big play after big play. Even though they lost, this game is putting Seattle on the radar as a playoff contender. And the way the NFC West is looking right now, they could be a division winner.