Every team has played at least a month’s worth of games and regardless of what anybody says, we’ve figured out plenty about how this season is ultimately going to play out. Here are a few more things we learned.
If you thought it couldn’t get worse for the Chiefs, you were wrong
The Chiefs are heading into their worst season since Todd Haley lurked their sidelines like a homeless guy that accidentally got released from the nearest mental ward and it was already bad. Then Sunday happened and Jamaal Charles tore the ACL in right knee and pretty much every reason you had to watch the Chiefs, even as a fantasy football player, were done.
The Chiefs are sitting at 1-4 and travel to Minnesota this week to face the 2-2 Vikings. And while the Vikings aren’t a powerhouse team by any means, no one would pick this present version of the Chiefs to win this game even with Charles suiting up. Now? Please.
Behind Charles, the Chiefs have two guys with a total of 23 carries in five games. Knile Davis has a total of 27 yards and 2.5 yards per carry to go with his single touchdown. Chacandrick West, who they’d really like to step up, has all of 48 yards on the ground, but averages a respectable 4.0 yards per carry.
The Chiefs are looking at signing free agent Pierre Thomas or Ben Tate and either would be OK, but this is a team fighting for a top draft pick and a new coach. For their sake, I hope they get both.
The Bengals have not only taken a step, they’ve taken a stomp
When you think back at this last offseason and all the crap Andy Dalton had to eat after the Cincinnati Bengals’ last playoff loss, you’ve got to feel good for a guy. He got booed at a charity softball game, for God’s sake. What the hell is that?
What Dalton proved against the Seahawks Sunday, coming back from 24-7 in the fourth quarter against that defense to win in overtime is the kind of victory that can not only change the complexion of a season, but of a career. There are four elite teams that are a good helmet and shoulder pads above every other team right now and the Bengals are one of those teams.
The Bengals haven’t scored less than 24 points this season. They’ve won close games against good teams, they blow out bad teams. There’s no weakness here and Dalton deserves a lot of the credit.
Jay Cutler’s not ready to cash in his career just yet
No one has ever looked like he plays the game with less passion than Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler. There’s an entire tumblr dedicated to this, showing delightful images of Cutler with cigarettes photshopped into his mouth and it works so well, you’re kind of shocked none of them are real.
But Smokin’ Jay has picked up a couple of wins this year in a season that the Bears appeared to have given up on, seemingly putting all their decent players on the trading block at once. The minute that happened, Cutler showed up, stubbed out his cigarette, popped on a nicotine patch and began winning games. After starting the season 0-3, the Bears have won two straight and play the Detroit Lions this week. After that, they’ve got the Vikings and the San Diego Chargers. By the time the Bears play the St. Louis Rams on Nov. 15, they could legitimately be 5-3 and in the playoff hunt. Three weeks ago, no one would have believe that was possible.
There’s no question Jim Caldwell gets fired, now the question is when
Caldwell was a joke hire in the 2014 offseason that somehow rode a talented Lions team to the playoffs to lose immediately in the Wild Card round. Even with the team the Lions gave him, I still couldn’t believe Caldwell ran a winning squad. It had to be a fluke.
It was.
Now, Jim Caldwell is terrible, the team he’s coaching is terrible and all is right with the world. The Lions made a huge mistake in bringing him in. There was never a question about that. With Joe Philbin already at home on his couch, there’s a real chance that Caldwell will soon join him. I don’t think he will, but, then again, I figured Philbin would make it to the end of the season. I’ve been wrong before.
