Cold Open
Cam Newton's return, so sudden and electric, rejuvenated the Panthers in their best win of the season. Now all signs point toward Superman starting under center this weekend, against Washington. At this stage in his career, Newton will always mean more in Carolina than anywhere else. Of course, some flashes of "remember when" like we saw on Sunday have fans buzzing. But the truth is, flashes are often times just that -- flashes. Newton will have a touchdown or two, or three the rest of this season. However, expecting some magical welcome-home-playoff-party is far fetched.
The reality is, Carolina's situation comes down to the health of its superstar, Christian McCaffrey. The Panthers were 3-0 with Sam Darnold under center and their running back healthy. Darnold and the team went into the tank the moment McCaffrey injured his leg. Now, with him back, it runs simultaneous with Newton's return. Look beyond the headlines on this one, no matter how fun Newton's return may appear.
Ten-Yard Gain
No. 1: For Rex Ryan, it isn't just about taking shots at Robert Saleh -- it's also about a clear angle he's playing. Being a blowhard media member fits Ryan, but when he discusses the Jets and their head coach, he's letting owner Woody Johnson know that he wants back in. Rex's true coaching glory was with the Jets, and times haven't been better in the New York since his firing. Rex wants back in -- don't let the war of words make you think otherwise.
No. 2: The Cowboys and Mike McCarthy deserve credit. Now, we could do without motivational Anti-Monkey Butt powder, but a dominating win is a win. They could've very easily won a tight game against the Falcons, but they took the wake-up call the Broncos delivered them seriously. That, in many ways, is probably McCarthy's best moment as this team's coach.
No. 3: The Rams can trade away every pick from here until 2040, it won't win them a Super Bowl if Matthew Stafford can't stop putting the team in early holes. Stafford has thrown on or more lousy interceptions in back-to-back weeks. On Monday night his pick-six wasn't on him, but the forced pick Odell Beckham's way was. Good teams punish you for turning it over. If the Rams fail to reach the Super Bowl, it really feels like Stafford's miscues will be why.
No. 4: Pete Carroll blaming the referees for the Seahawks' 17-0 road loss to the Packers on Sunday was so weak. In the NFL, officials are terrible weekly. Their errors are magnified by slowed-down replay. The Seahawks probably did get screwed on multiple occasions, but they scored zero points in a game in which they held Aaron Rodgers to just 17.
No. 5: Chase Young suffered a torn ACL and is now out for the rest of 2021. Consequently, he'll be a major Year 3 question mark. Young skipped OTA's to cash in on commercial filming. This was supposed to be the league's most dominating defense, led by Young who was, in many ways, a total zero on the field all season. He'll face immense pressure, off a devastating knee injury, to return and not feel like a bust in 2022.
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No. 6: I won't be fooled by the Bucs. I won't be fooled by the Bucs. I won't be fooled. They lost to the Saints when Jameis Winston suffered a season-ending ACL injury. Then they went on bye to regroup, and returned with an absolute stinker against Washington? Now they have a Monday night game against a Giants defense playing much better of late. This should be a get- right moment for Tampa, but something feels off.
No. 7: The Chiefs' burial was premature, as everyone should've anticipated. They're once again in first place in the AFC West race before Thanksgiving. Patrick Mahomes is just too brilliant to become ordinary. It's not how you start, it's how you finish. Kansas City still remains as good a bet, if not the strongest bet, to become AFC champions for a third straight season.
No. 8: Is anyone going to address the elephant in the room in the young quarterback world? Justin Herbert may just be a solid, ordinary quarterback. He has flashes of brilliance, but he plays average way more than brilliant on a week-to-week basis. The fact the Chargers couldn't bury the Chiefs for their slow start has every bit to do with Herbert than anyone else. I'm not saying Herbert won't be a multiple time Pro-Bowler, but it felt like media members wanted to make it Herbert's birthright that he's a top-five quarterback.
No. 9: An NFL game ending in a tie will never cease to amaze me -- especially when a young player is unaware that you can tie. Najee Harris was the latest victim, as his Steelers played an exceptionally ugly brand of football against the winless Lions. It's borderline shocking that anyone of us thinks that the NFL is this unanimous, understood league; yet, too many college players don't know the rules (or in Ryan Tannehill's case, don't know the divisions).
No. 10: Mac Jones is a better quarterback than Baker Mayfield. Recently, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports made a great comparison of Mayfield to Marcus Mariota, and how the Titans had to make a difficult decision. Jones hasn't gotten the credit he deserves from me because I still believe on any other team, he'd be a disaster. But, he isn't on any other team. He's with the Patriots, and with a great coach who puts his players in positions to succeed. He shouldn't apologize for that. In this same situation, I'm convinced more than ever that Mayfield would be much worse.
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Five Games to Chew On
Bengals at Raiders: Zac Taylor admitted this week that his trips to Vegas are usually spent at the craps tables. Ironically, that's all his team has done for two-plus weeks -- play like craps. The Raiders' annual November-December collapse feels underway with two straight losses. This feels like 'Survivor' for an AFC wild cad berth, after both teams led their divisions in mid-October.
Washington Football Team at Panthers: The Washington Football Team lost Chase Young for the season, but they did hang on and surprise everyone with a brilliant winning effort against the Bucs. Now, Ron Rivera will get to play his former franchise quarterback in Cam Newton. If Carolina wins this game, there'll be no end in sight for Cam mania.
Saints at Eagles: The Eagles are starting to shape themselves as the best worst team ever. Last week, winning in Denver was another moment where you can't quite figure out how the Eagles are stashing wins. Now they get a desperate Saints team at home. The Eagles can become as good a bet as any for the final NFC wild card spot if they beat the struggling Saints.
Cardinals at Seahawks: It's do-or-die time for Seattle with Russell Wilson at home. Another loss, and they become only better than the Lions in the NFC standings. The Cardinals need Kyler Murray back badly, but at what cost if his ankle isn't truly healed? An Arizona loss this week, and it could feel like they missed a golden opportunity to distance themselves from the Rams for home playoff games.
Cowboys @ Chiefs: The gem of the weekend got much more attractive following Kansas City's dominance in Vegas on Sunday. Are the Chiefs back? If they are, this game has the potential for real offensive fireworks, as two of the best quarterbacks in football duel it out in the late Sunday window. Let's see if the Monkey-Butt bottles pay off for the Cowboys this weekend. Wow, what a sentence.
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My Picks
A 2-1 week has us back on the right track. I'm now 20-10 overall this season. For this week, it's three dogs. Woof woof.
Colts (+7.5) at Bills: The forecast in Buffalo calls for some November rain and some wind at a brisk 48 degrees. This may help Buffalo defensively, as they allow the most yards through the air per play. However, the Bills have struggled covering spreads as big favorites. They finally did it last weekend against Mike White and the Jets, but the Colts aren't that. I think Indy brings the wood defensively and plays a tight game. This is just too big a spread to expect a blowout, especially if the Bills are thinking ahead to primetime on Thanksgiving night.
Saints (+2) at Eagles: The Eagles continue to be a difficult team to wager on or against. However, one thing is certain: their inconsistency. The Saints feel like they're ready to tumble out of the playoffs without Jameis Winston, but with a difficult Bills opponent awaiting them on Thanksgiving they can't afford to lose this game. Sean Payton is too good a head coach to realize that. This comes down to Payton versus Nick Sirianni. Since 2006, under Payton, New Orleans is 54-30 against the spread when coming off a loss, including 3-0 ATS this season.
Seahawks (+2.5) vs. Cardinals: Kyler Murray's health status is still up in the air at the time of print. If he does play, who really knows just how mobile he'll be on that bum ankle. I have to think that Russell Wilson shook out some cobwebs against Green Bay, and won't get shut out in consecutive weeks. Playing in Seattle used to mean something for home field advantage. Now I'm getting points at home with Wilson? This is a shot worth taking.
Football Food of the Week
Fried Mashed Potato Balls. Balls have certainly been a theme of late on The DA Show. I featured Chicken Parm balls two weeks ago in this column. Pat Boyle featured other balls on Trash Tuesday. This week, we're marrying balls with Thanksgiving. One of our best listeners and Tweeters is Adrianna from Boise, who's heard the Food of the Week critics and dropped this in my lap. A crunchy outer shell and mashed potatoes exploding in your mouth. What could be better? Here's the recipe Adrianna sent our way: https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a22566735/fried-mashed-potato-balls-recipe/
Thanks for reading as always, and enjoy Week 11. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @MrazCBS.