N.3 I San Francisco 49ers
In what was undoubtedly the game of the week, the San Francisco 49ers won 42-38 against the Chicago Bears, giving a thousand emotions to fans of any sporting faith. The game gets to the heart of things literally immediately, with a defensive touchdown by TJ Edwards coming after his interception. But San Francisco still comes out on top, with Brock Purdy making almost no mistakes from then on and making a Patrick Mahomes-style chocolate for Kyle Juszczyk, after an endless scrambler, for the temporary 35-28. With this W, the sixth in a row, the Niners will have a lot to play for in the last game of the regular season to hope for the first seed and rest during the wild card week: their opponents? Just the Seattle Seahawks, currently first in the NFC.
FLOP
N.1 La offensive line dei Los Angeles Chargers
In the Chargers’ defeat against the now splendid Houston Texans (20-16), there is a dilemma: is it Houston’s defense that is incredibly overwhelming or is it gLA that protected Justin Herbert very badly? Both answers are correct, but I would like to focus more on the second option: if you finish with 43.8% of completions (worst in your career) and 4 interceptions you can also play against the Watt brothers, Garrett and Donald, but the OL responsibilities will still be there. Look at any Los Angeles passing play: literally a blink of an eye will suffice and you will see Herbert pressured by at least one (excellent, very often) Houston defender. To the previous numbers add 5 sacks suffered and 38.1% of snaps in which he was pressured by opponents. In short, the Chargers’ OL has suffered a lot from injuries and the consequent lack of continuity… what can I say, it shows.
#2 Whatever comes to mind about Vikings-Lions
Dear readers, what have we seen? Was there a worse way to ruin your Christmas evening? Minnie and Detroit leave us under the tree one of the worst games of the year: the Vikings end up with a total of THREE net passing yards and with Max Brosmer suffering seven sacks; nevertheless, Detroit loses 23-10! Campbell & Co. thus find themselves out of the Playoffs with a day to spare, especially thanks to the 6 offensive turnovers between unwatchable interceptions by Jared Goff and repeated fumbles. A bad end for Detroit, even unexpected, but above all for our Christmas and for that of many potential fans who could have approached this wonderful sport and instead found themselves faced with a terrible commercial.
N.3 La Run Defense dei Green Bay Packers
Green Bay loses again (third consecutive defeat) and does so in an almost unmemorable way against the Baltimore Ravens (41-24). But at least we are seeing some records broken: the 308 yards rushed by Baltimore (it’s not a typo, it’s actually three hundred and eight) are a record for a team visiting Lambeau Field since 1978. What disheartens the Packers fans is that every single opponent with a pair of at least athletic legs, including random backup quarterbacks like Tyler Huntley, have known perfectly how to gain ground against their run defense for practically 10 years. There is no DC that holds, there is no line that holds, it’s all too simple for (almost) everyone. Then, if on the one hand Micah Parsons and Devonte Wyatt are missing and on the other there is Derrick Henry, things get even worse. What should worry Green Bay is that the Playoffs are in two weeks, without Lambeau Field and with fewer and fewer guarantees, from every point of view.
✍️Alessandro Di Marzo for L’intercetto.it
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