What's Batman Got To Do With The NFL?

That’s another Sunday(and Saturday) in the books for the NFL. We’re going to do some rapid fire through all the games where we will mix in some playoff talk and also why players like Jake Browning could’ve died a hero, but maybe he lived long enough to see himself become the villain.

Let’s run through the games, talk MNF, and mix in a few other things.

Vamos.

NFL Saturday

🏈The Bengals were down 17-3 with 4 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter. Jake Browning led an epic comeback where the Bengals would score 21 in the 4th and win in overtime with an Evan McPherson 29-yard field goal. Browning finished with 324 passing yards, 2 TDs, and 1 INT while completing 29 of 42 passes. He’s only the 2nd QB to throw for over 300 yards on the Vikings this season and it appears he’s made the transition from hero to villain in this backup QB saga. Bengals, 27, Vikings, 24.

🏈The Indianapolis Colts beat up the Pittsburgh Steelers with a 30-13 win. Gardner Minshew led the Colts to another W while going 18 for 28 for 215 yards and 3 TDs. The offensive woes continued for the Steelers as they finished with 216 total yards.

🏈 The Denver Broncos were a no-show for their game in Detroit. The Lions beat the Broncos 42-17 and scored all of their points in the last 3 quarters. Jared Goff threw 5 TDs including 3 to TE Sam LaPorta. Russell Wilson completed just over half of his passes for Denver and he fumbled the ball once as well. Denver still has some work to do. I haven’t done all the math but I think the Lions can clinch a playoff spot win next week and it might even clinch them the division.

NFL Sunday

🏈It’s the NFL so this is going to happen but it just seems like it’s happening to the Bears more frequently this season. The Chicago Bears let up a 10-point lead in the 2nd half to the Cleveland Browns and the Bears can add a check mark in the loss column. This wasn’t some overly impressive offense game. Justin Fields threw 2 INTs but they were only Hail Mary plays at the end of each half. Joe Flacco might’ve collected some yards but he completed 28 of 44 passes. He threw 2 TDs but also threw 3 INTs. The real drama came on the last play when Bears receiver Darnell Mooney had the ball in his hands on the final Hail Mary but couldn’t complete the catch. Cleveland sits in the first wild card spot as of today.

🏈 The Bucs and Baker Mayfield sailed into Green Bay and handed the Packers their 2nd loss in December. Playoffs were looking promising for GB just two weeks ago but now they’re getting out of reach. Baker completed 22 of 28 passes for 381 yards and 4 TDs. Green Bay’s Jordan Love completed 29 of 39 passes for 284 yards and 2 TDS.

🏈The Houston Texans beat the Tennessee Titans 19-16 in overtime. Case Keenum got the win for Houston with CJ Stroud being out with a concussion. Keenum threw for 229 yards 1 TD and 1 INT.

🏈 I thought the Jets would lose but I didn’t think it would be this bad. The Jets got blanked by the Miami Dolphins 30-0 and the Jets are ELIMINATED from the playoffs. What do you know, Aaron Rodgers was going to be “cleared to play” next week. I’m sure we won’t see him until next year now but we’ll still hear all about how he had the fastest Achilles recovery ever.

🏈 The Kansas City Chiefs caught a break this week with a matchup against one of the worst teams in the NFL, the New England Patriots. Patrick Mahomes threw 2 interceptions along with 2 touchdowns while his receivers struggled to make the easy plays again. Kansas City 27, New England 17.

🏈 We were all hoping Tommy DeVito could march into the French quarter of New Orleans and have them start serving Italian wedding soup and chicken cutlets instead of beignets and jambalaya but the New Orleans Saints had other plans. The Saints beat the Giants 24-6 and Derek CArr threw 3 TDs while completing 23 of 28 passes. You know what kind of stinks? When you’re the Giants and you just get beat. You didn’t fumble, you didn’t throw picks. You just got… beat. The Saints keep themselves in the playoff hunt but they need the Bucs to drop some games.

🏈 Let’s just laugh out loud together. The Atlanta Falcons lost to the actual worst team in the NFL, the 2-12 Panthers. We’re not spending time on this. The Panthers won 9-7.

🏈 The Washington Commanders put up a big fat 0 in the first half of a matchup against the LA Rams but would try to make a comeback in the 4th quarter but came up short. The Rams would be the Commanders 28-20 thanks to a big day from both Matthew Stafford and Kyren Williams. Stafford completed 25 of 33 passes for 258 yards and 2 TDs. Kyren William ran the ball 27 times for 152 yards and a touchdown. The Rams snuck into the 7th seed in the NFC, a surprise position considering how their season started.

🏈 The SF 49ers clinched the NFC West division with a 49-29 whooping of the Arizona Cardinals. Brocky Purdy, the potential MVP of the season, only threw the ball 25 times in the win. Purdy completed 16 throws for 242 yards and 4 TDs. You never would guess who also had a big day for the Niners. Yup, Christian McCaffrey. CMC finished with 5 receptions for 72 yards and 2 receiving TDs. He also ranked the ball 18 times for 115 yards for a touchdown.

🏈 In another lopsided afternoon game, the Dallas Cowboys apparently forgot their game plan at home because they looked lost in Buffalo last night. The Bills dominated the Cowboys in all aspects of the game last night. Dak Prescott had zero time to throw last night and zero open receivers the entire game. On a rainy day in Buffalo Josh Allen hardly had to throw the ball. James Cook had 25 rushes for 179 yards and a TD and diced up the Cowboys D for some big first downs. I wouldn’t want to get matched up against the Bills in the playoffs if I was an AFC team. The good news for Dallas is even with the big loss, they still clinched a playoff berth.

🏈Just a few plays can make a difference when it comes to an NFL game. The Jags missed two field goals in the first half on a windy night in Florida and they had some time management issues at the end of the first half where they should’ve probably gotten some points on the board. Mix that in with 5 or 6 plays where you’re about to take down Lamar Jackson for a sack but then he escapes for a big gain or big throw and I’m not really sure how you can win a football game. The Ravens won 23-7 and remain at the top of the AFC standings and have clinched a playoff berth.

Monday Night Football

The Philadelphia Eagles didn’t even need to play a game yesterday and they still clinched the playoffs. Even with clinching, they still need to play the Seahawks in a Monday Night Football matchup in Seattle.

📺️ Gametime is set for 8:15 pm on ESPN

💰️ Philadelphia is favored at -4 and the O/U is 45.5

👀 This game was originally supposed to be played yesterday but the NFL flexed this out to Monday Night Football in place of the Chiefs/Patriots matchup. The joke is on the NFL as this could still be a matchup of backup QBs. Jalen Hurts has traveled on his own to the game as he’s been dealing with an illness and didn’t want to get anyone on the team sick. Marcus Mariota is the backup for the Eagles.. Seahawks QB Geno Smith is dealing with a groin injury and is unlikely to play, which would leave Drew Lock as the starter.

Steph’s Streak Has Ended

Steph Curry has hit a 3-pointer in 286 straight NBA games. That streak ended last night when the Warriors held off a Portland Trailblazers team 118-114. Curry was 0 for 8 from beyond the arc. The last time Curry played a game and didn’t hit a 3-pointer was Nov 8, 2018. 🤯 

Another Player Enters The Transfer Portal

USC freshman QB and former #1 prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, Malachi Nelson has entered the transfer portal. Nelson was probably going to be the next man up in Southern California as Caleb Williams is likely going to declare for the NFL Draft in the next few weeks. The QB room is going to look a little different for Lincoln Riley.

That’s all for today. Have a great start to the week!

-The Daily Breakroom