NFL Musings, Week 10: Peyton Manning is Done

Peyton Manning Sets the All-Time Passing Record, Looks Like He Should Retire All in One Day

Peyton Manning reached a pinnacle, then fell off a cliff. Well, that’s not entirely fair. He’s been losing the battle against age/gravity for most of this year and a half, but on a day when he officially surpassed Brett Favre to become the all-time passing yardage leader in NFL history, Manning also put forth the worst game of his prolific career.

How bad was it? Manning completed five passes to Broncos and four to Chiefs players, and had several others that could have been intercepted. Those interceptions were not fluky plays or tipped balls. Using adjusted yards per attempt (which subtracts 45 for every interception), Manning’s performance is one of the five worst since 1978, for QBs with 15 or more passes thrown.

I know we like to bury everyone prematurely, but Peyton Manning is done as a good starting quarterback. We’ve now seen a very bad playoff game that was one of his worst starts ever, an opening game that was one of his worst starts ever, lots of interceptions in between, and now definitively the worst game he has ever played.

Maybe he can have a good day or two going forward, though I’m not optimistic. He was on the injury report this week with a rib and a plantar fasciitis foot injury and maybe he can sit out and get healthy for a short stretch, but then you are relying on a 39-year-old to stay healthy after he has shown signs of decline whether on the injury report or not. Last offseason, Ryan Glasspiegel wrote about how he should pull a Roger Clemens because he wasn’t going to stay healthy enough to perform for 16 games.

He’s now at 9 touchdowns and 16 interceptions through 9 full games. It’s very reminiscent of the last season of the guy he just passed: Brett Favre had 10 touchdown passes and 16 interceptions thrown through the first 9 starts of 2010.

The difference of course is that Denver is very much in contention, but for a 7-2 team, they seem to be on the brink. If you haven’t watched him, it’s hard to imagine that Peyton Manning would not only get benched for a bad game but also just outright replaced by an unproven player in Brock Osweiler. But it may happen soon. It would be a tough way to go out for #18.

Lions and Packers Show that in Sports, No Outcome is Pre-Ordained

The Detroit Lions had not won in Lambeau Field since December of 1991, before Brett Favre had even become a Packer. They came into this game as a decisive underdog thanks to a 1-7 start, despite Green Bay’s recent struggles.

For most of the game, Detroit controlled the flow, and frustrated the Packers’ offense. Still, for die-hard Lions fans, the warning signs of further heartbreak were unmistakeable. Matt Prater missed not one, but two extra points on the day, including the final one that would have pushed the lead to an almost insurmountable 9 point lead with less than two minutes remaining.  A touchdown and two-point conversion seemed inevitable.

Green Bay got the touchdown, as Aaron Rodgers hit Justin Perillo. However, the two point attempt was knocked away from Davante Adams by Crezdon Butler. Then, before Lions fans could even exhale, this happened.

Now, if we were writing a script, the Lions would have gone on to lose in heartbreaking fashion. But sports doesn’t follow a script, so even after all the foreshadowing, Mason Crosby’s field goal attempt missed and Detroit walked away victorious from Lambeau for the first time in 24 years.

New England Survives Against the Giants

Speaking of flipping a storyline on its head, again the Patriots were poised to lose an undefeated season to the Giants. New York had a chance to either run clock or score a touchdown against the Patriots late, but didn’t do either, settling for a go-ahead field goal. That allowed New England to survive a would-be interception, get a fourth down conversion, and get just into Stephen Gostkowski’s range to keep the undefeated season going.

Of course, Julian Edelman suffered a broken foot, and in back-to-back weeks, the offense has lost a key playmaker.

Does Rob Ryan Survive the Bye Week?

The Saints were 32nd in the league in pass defense entering Sunday. They exited it ranked 33rd in the 32-team league. That’s how bad it was on Sunday, where Washington racked up almost 400 yards of offense in the first half. Matt Jones took a simple swing pass for 80 yards. It was embarrassing. Rob Ryan will not be unemployed long, though. Where else you gonna find a guy with the last name Ryan that can occasionally have a defense that is not a complete dumpster fire every five years or so?

UPDATE: The answer is emphatically “NO!”

Ravens Drop 7th Close Game of Year in Gut Punch Fashion

Untimed down losses are the worst losses. Baltimore had the game clinched with Blake Bortles bobbling a last second snap and then trying to get rid of the ball, except Elvis Dumervil grabbed his facemask.

Baltimore is now 2-7, and all 9 games have been decided by 8 points or less. The record for most single possession losses in one season is nine, by several teams, most recently the 2014 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2013 Houston Texans, 2012 Detroit Lions, and 2011 Minnesota Vikings.

No-Huddle Attack

Steelers 30, Browns 9: Big Ben came off the bench to throw for a billion yards. Oh, and this happened.

Bucs 10, Cowboys 6: Game of the day, folks.

Bears 37, Rams 13: This one deserves a wow. The Rams defense had been playing well and got crushed in this one. Meanwhile, Nick Foles has been terrible for the last month.

Panthers 27, Titans 10: Something something Cam Newton TD celebration.

Dolphins 20, Eagles 19: Eagles had a 16-3 lead first quarter lead. Mark Sanchez may be the starter next week after Bradford’s shoulder injury.

Vikings 30, Raiders 14: Adrian Peterson ran for over 200 yards and Teddy Bridgewater only had to throw 22 times in this one. Minnesota leads NFC North heading into next week with Green Bay.