Five In A Row Now

The Minnesota Vikings were 1-4 at one point. And that was with QB Kirk Cousins at the helm. Since his season ending achilles injury, the Vikings have won two games with newly acquired QB Josh Dobbs guiding the offense. Their win streak currently sits at five games now with their home victory over the New Orleans Saints. Dobbs hasn’t been doing this all by himself with the Vikings defense playing at an elite level during this win streak. It should be noted that Minnesota has been without WR Justin Jefferson for most of this time as well. WR Jordan Addison has played up to his first round draft status and TE T.J. Hockensen has quickly become one of the best tight ends in the league. There hasn’t been any kind of a consistent running game all year long and yet, the Vikings might be making Detroit a little nervous down the stretch in the NFC North.

A Frustrated Observer

Look, I get it. Buffalo doesn’t have three important players on defense who are lost to injury for the season; Tre’Davious White, Matt Milano and DaQuan Jones. With that being said, their lack of depth was not something that I thought would become a gigantic problem for them. It’s showing on defense in their last two games against Cincinnati and Denver. The other and more frustrating problem for the Bills is the fact that QB Josh Allen is doing what he can’t afford to do and that’s turn the ball over. To be fair, if a receiver doesn’t catch a pass that comes off his hands, that isn’t on Allen. Yet, there are too many of these turnovers and that is taxing to the now lackluster defense. After their disappointing loss at home to Denver, the decision was made to fire offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey. Next in line will likely be head coach Sean McDermott and possibly the front office as well if this season ends in a complete disaster. There’s a chance it won’t end in disaster, but taking a look at their schedule to finish the year it ain’t going to be easy.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Just when it was starting to look like the Cleveland Browns had turned a corner and were heading toward the top of their division. They are dealt a season ending shoulder injury to QB Deshaun Watson. Make no mistake, this Browns team is riding their defense most of the way. Watson has been in and out of the lineup this year, but it was officially done after their win against Baltimore. He was showing signs of his glory days in Houston. Even with RB Nick Chubb having gone down with a torn ACL early in the year, the running game has been effective with Jerome Ford and Kareem Hunt. The inconsistencies at quarterback will likely continue with P.J. Walker and rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson. The defense will have to continue to carry on, but the AFC North is stacked and their quarterbacks are a lot better than Cleveland’s right now.