Once again, it’s the latest edition of “Notes, Quotes, and Colts,” yet another collaboration from pfgVIBE co-founders Julie Voigt and Russell S. Baxter. We take a look around the league. The Indianapolis Colts came up just short against the defending Super Bowl champions in Week 12. And the playoff picture in the AFC remains muddled.
Notes:
Let’s Take Two
On Thanksgiving afternoon at Ford Field, the Bears made it two wins over the Lions this season with a 16-14 triumph. Three days later, the Cincinnati Bengals completed their first season sweep of the rival Pittsburgh Steelers since 2009. There’s a long way to go when it comes to division foes completing their two-game sets in 2021. But after 12 weeks of play, divisional rivals are a perfect 6-0 this season when it comes to wrapping up a pair of wins.
20 Something
It has been a wild year when it comes to the eight teams that won division titles in 2020. And it’s been an even more unpredictable 12 weeks when it comes to the 14 clubs that qualified for the postseason a year ago. The Indianapolis Colts, Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the only playoff clubs from last season that haven’t lost at least one game by at least 20 points. And it’s happened to the Chicago Bears three times in 2021.
Keep an EYE on the WFT
Thanks to a 17-15 win on Monday night over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 12, the Washington Football Team has suddenly won three straight games. And with a 5-6 record, they trail the first-place Dallas Cowboys by only two games. There is a clash with the Raiders this Sunday. But Ron Rivera’s club will close the season with five consecutive games vs. their NFC East rivals – including two with the first-place Cowboys and unpredictable Philadelphia Eagles.
Quotes:
“That is one of the best football teams I’ve played in my eight years. They are extremely talented and they’re not even at full strength.”
Las Vegas Raiders’ quarterback Derek Carr following the team’s 36-33 overtime win at Dallas
“We’ve kind of got that momentum back that we had earlier in the season that we knew we could have. We had that little stumble, but these guys have a ton of confidence. The standard is really high for them. They can handle these wins responsibly. We put them behind us, and we’re going to move on to the next one. We’re on to the Chargers…”
Cincinnati Bengals’ head coach Zac Taylor following the team’s 41-10 rout of the Pittsburgh Steelers
Colts:
Knock. Knock. Who’s there? Run. Run who? Run the ball.
It was a match-up of two teams headed in the right direction. In the end, the Buccaneers rallied for a 38-31 victory. So why can’t the Colts play four solid quarters? It’s happened too many times this season, most notably in the Monday night overtime loss at Baltimore.
The NFL’s leading rusher appeared to be underused. Jonathan Taylor totaled on 16 carries for 83 yards and one touchdown. He didn’t seem to be part of the game plan at times.
In the end, it’s hard to ignore those five turnovers. This was a Colts’ team that gave up the football only 10 times in their first 11 games. A strip sack by Buccaneers’ edge rusher Shaq Barrett seemed to change the momentum of the game when Wentz and company were in a position to add to a 24-14 lead.
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