NFL football: Brady returns to the Patriots? Bengals, bete noire of the Chiefs

Sunday number 13 made a lot of things clear. The Bengals are the bete noire of the Chiefs, the Niners would have been the number one contender for the Super Bowl in the NFC but now that they have lost Jimmy Garoppolo all season, they have to tail behind the Eagles and probably the Cowboys as well. The Ravens may not even make the playoffs now that Lamar Jackson is in the box for a few weeks. In short, a lot of irons in the fire, but the main scene, even on this day, is taken by the 45-year-old Tom Brady. On Monday Night, with just over three minutes to go, Tampa was losing by 13 against New Orleans when the Bucs’ quarterback took the chair: sensational comeback and touchdown of the final overtaking (17-16) with 3″ to go. The biggest Ever. And speaking of Brady…

bill and tom together again?

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Bill Belichick is the greatest coach in NFL history. Point. But this time he messed up and not a little. The decision to entrust the management of the attack to Matt Patricia, a genius of the defense, was one of the biggest mistakes of his career. And Mac Jones seems to be paying for it. It is no coincidence that he exploded on the bench during the match lost at home with the Bills, asking for more long balls. The Pats are still in playoff contention but the offense is pathetic. Even if they got there, they wouldn’t go any further. They are in the middle of the ford, they have to figure out whether to go forward (and probably drown) or go back (or take a real offensive coordinator next year, we are talking about Kliff Kingsbury, now head coach at Arizona). What if Brady comes back? The rumor starts flying in New England, and it’s not unsubstantiated. Giselle is gone (she was pushing hard to get away from the cold of Boston), her oldest son is in college in New York. He loves Bob Kraft and vice versa. And Bill? Well, are we sure that he would oppose a last hurrah with Tb12 who would teach Mac a thing or two before definitively leaving him the reins (provided he is the right man)? For now it’s fantasy football, but be careful to assume it can’t happen.

Burrow superstars

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If the line protects him, Joe Burrow is in the top 2-3 qb in the league. Sunday he did and he led Cincinnati to a third straight win over Pat Mahomes. It is not a coincidence, if anything a trend. And the Chiefs may have played home factor in the AFC. Even if the Bills have a tough schedule (Jets, Miami and Cincy). The Bengals appear to be back to the ones that went all the way a year ago. KC has nothing to reproach himself for, he’s missing “In the Jungle”. And he probably remains the favorite in the AFC.

Miami and Niners

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The other big match on Sunday was in Santa Clara. The Niners’ thousand defenses sent Tua Tagovailoa into a tailspin. And here it is too. Jimmy G’s broken foot is a huge blow to San Francisco. Brock Purdy did not disfigure but entered the field without having anything to lose. To the third qb and moreover Mr. Irrevelant (this is how the last overall pick in the draft is called), one could not ask for the moon, he made his own but to think that now he can become the man of providence who helps them get there (the defense would take care of them) at the Super Bowl, it’s a bit too much. Such a pity. Carolina has cut off Baker Mayfield, who might arrive in the Bay, to serve as a reserve. Unthinkable to give him the keys to the Ferrari … he would crash at the first corner. The Dolphins, on the other hand, confirmed themselves as a playoff team, they won’t find a beast like Fred Warner on their way every Sunday.

AJ’s revenge

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They didn’t want to pay it and they paid for it. The Titans preferred not to break the piggy bank for the contract that AJ Brown was asking for and he packed up and moved to Phila. On Sunday he wanted to remind Tennessee how wrong he was. It was written to happen. Inexplicable, however, how many people still don’t give credit to the Eagles, who really have everything to get to Glendale in February.

Vikings and Lions

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Even Minnesota continues to find no admirers despite its 10-2 record, second only to Phila’s 11-1. True, he always wins out of breath, but after all, bringing home games with only one possession behind also means being a winner. We, too, prefer Phila and Dallas, (complete San Francisco would have been ahead of them all). But honor to the great season that Minny is having, with the number one receiver in the league, Justin Jefferson. And honor also to the Lions, who if it hadn’t been for the wicked management of the clock in the Thanksgiving game with the Bills, would now be riding a positive streak of 5 games. And Sunday is precisely Detroit-Minnesota.

the return of watson

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Bad, bad, actually, very bad. It was normal after almost two years without playing for DeShaun Watson to struggle. Curious however how the Browns have scored 27 points without a touchdown of the attack: punt return, interception and fumble. In short, he did all of Houston, for better and for worse.

who stops dallas?

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Explosive attack to say the least. On Sunday Night he trimmed 54 at Indy. He has two elite running backs in Zeke Elliott and Tony Pollard, three top wide receivers in Cee Dee Lamb, Michael Gallup and Noah Brown, a Mr. tight end in Dalton Schultze. The qb…well, maybe Dak Prescott isn’t the best. But that could be enough because the defense is super. Now we’re talking about Odell Beckham Jr. Are we sure he’s needed?

Raiders

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Hush hush they are putting things in order. Playoffs? Hm, difficult. But not impossible. The calendar helps them, now they look like a team. Maybe boss Davis was right, patience was needed. We’ll see if Josh McDaniels has found the right alchemy to make a serious team. Davante Adams’ talent covers many holes. In the meantime, however, they win and it is already something. The next one (Thursday) will be against the Rams, who with Sunday’s defeat set a record for the worst record after 12 games (3-9) of a champion team. After Cooper Kupp, Matthew Stafford also waved the white flag, the season is now over.

the super bowl of the week

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Chiefs-Eagles. We will be trivial and repetitive. We would have put San Francisco if Jimmy G hadn’t cracked, we admit it. But now more than ever, Phila above all. And we are not afraid of losing Kansas City. At the moment.