Trap games. All good teams can fall victim to them (well, except the ‘73 Dolphins). A trap game is when a highly favored team stumbles, often badly, against a team they should beat to death with a stick.
This weekend, we saw three examples of trap games: Dallas, Buffalo and the L.A. Rams were all 7.5 point favorites or more, and all of them didn’t just lose, they lost in humiliating fashion.
Dallas was a 10- point favorite at home against a Denver team that had just traded its iconic superstar Von Miller. Dak was playing after three weeks off, and Denver had lost three of four. This was a recipe for blowout city, especially considering the Cowboys were undefeated against the spread all season.
You guessed it. Denver went up early and when I looked up, it was 30-0. Every single 50-50 play swung in favor of the Broncos. The Cowboys blocked a punt and somehow Denver ended up with a first down. I’m still not exactly sure how that’s possible.
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Dak was 19-39 for just 232 yards. Zeke went out with a knee injury (although he returned later). The defense gave up 407 yards to an offense that could barely move the ball against the WFT. The Cowboys had two turnovers and their ballhawking D produced exactly zero. It was the first game in which they actually produced zero turnovers.
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It was the definition of a trap game. And no one can accuse them of looking past their opponent since they play Atlanta next week. No, this was a game they should easily have won but they were never even in it.
Another trap game occurred in Jacksonville, where one of the hottest teams in the AFC rolled into Urban Meyer’s backyard and literally just threw up all over the barbeque. Who knew Urban Meyer could coach? The Bills rolled into town as 14.5-point favorites and pretty much sucked from opening kickoff.
The TRASH Jaguars somehow, someway found a way to shut down Josh Allen. I’m not even sure they know how they did it. The Jags picked Allen off twice, and he also fumbled once. The Jags sacked him four times and had six more tackles for losses.
The final score was 9-6.
GROSSSSS. This was the worst game of the year and it’s not even close. The only scoring from one of the best offenses in football was TWO FIELD GOALS. This from a top-10 offense in the NFL. And the Bills defense? You might think keeping Jacksonville out of the end zone would be something to brag about; not when your offense can only manage two field goals themselves.
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It was about as ugly a trap game as you’ll find, and now people might actually think Urban Meyer knows what he’s doing.
Then on Sunday night we got our third trap game of the week. The Titans lost the centerpiece of their entire offense, Derrick Henry, to a season-ending injury who was averaging almost 120 yards a game.
That’s insane.
Without him? They had to rely on 36-year-old Adrian Peterson, who hasn’t even been on a team all year.
Oh, and the Rams just acquired Von Miller. LOL
So many people thought the 7.5 points the Rams were laying was WAYYYYY too low. Most people saw a comprehensive ass kicking coming. Just not with the Titans blowing the doors off of the Rams. The Rams are known for their defense but the Titans D came to play. They picked off Matthew Stafford on consecutive pass attempts for the first time in his career.
The Rams outgained the Titans 347 to 194 and yet this game was never close. That’s the definition of a trap game.
Betting the middle of the NFL season is not for the faint of heart. The reason why is because of trap games just like we saw in Week 9.
So much else happened this weekend, from the Vikings finding another way to blow a big lead, Jordan Love striking fear into every Packer fan's heart with his awful play, the Falcons getting better with their third straight road win.
But it’s the trap games we’re going to remember.
Who’s getting their leg cut off next week?
We’ll be back next week to talk about it.
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