WELCOME TO THE FIX IS IN'S WEEK-BY-WEEK REVIEW OF THE 2020 NFL SEASON

So, how's your 2020 going? That good, huh? Sorry to hear. My year's been interesting because despite being unemployed thanks to the Covid-19 shutdowns and my city getting torched and looted by "peaceful protesters," if certain things come to pass in the last few months here, 2020 could go down for me as being a pretty good year all things considered. But you're not here to learn more about my life (or politics), you're here for FOOTBALL, or more apt, the NFL's version of football (which is a completely different thing than actual, honest-to-goodness football).

Last year I predicted the Super Bowl would come down to the Kansas City Chiefs (good pick!) and the Chicago Bears (bad pick!) with the Chiefs winning (good pick!) because of the need to elevate the newest "Chosen One" in Patrick Mahomes. So, what does 2020 have in store of NFL fans? Hell if I know. Without the typical preseason hype machine to dig into, it's really tough to determine who the league will hand pick to elevate to its top tier. Sure, Tom Brady on the Buccaneers is a bit of a no-brainer story-wise, and Mahomes and the Chiefs aren't about to vanish, but I think it'll take a bit of time for things to sort out this season. What may happen is that some head coach/player/team gets Covid and battles back from the illness to conquer the league. That'd be a story, wouldn't it? Something all NFL fans -- and people in general -- could relate to (even if it's a bunch of made-up nonsense). Typically, too, I'd say look out for the LA Rams/Chargers and/or the Las Vegas (!) Raiders due to each team opening up a new stadium this season, but without fans to fill it, does the league need to throw each franchise a bone as they're wont to do? So, in essence, I have no 2020 prediction because the way this year's been going, no one could've predicted where we all are now, and good luck guessing where this league will be come 2021.

It's rare that a member of a winning team claims a game was fixed, but that's what Smith clearly stated in that interview. Usually, "the fix was in!" is the cry of the loser as an explanation of why the expected outcome went against someone. But that's not the case with Smith. Good for him to speak the truth. I just wonder if the hosts circled back to this interview on Monday, the day after "their" Buccaneers won the Super Bowl, and considered what was said because Super Bowl LV did not seem legitimate.

This is a rather baseless conspiracy theory involving the game: Sarah Thomas, the first female to officiate a Super Bowl, has a 14-year old son named Brady. Was he named after Tom Brady? If so, was she really an unbiased official in this game?

But this is not a baseless theory about the game: this was a defensive holding call against the Chiefs which negated a Tom Brady interception.

In fact, this was one of eight first half penalties that were called on the Chiefs -- seven of which were the subjective type, which is to say, were based on the officials' judgements as opposed to the one penalty on the Buccaneers, a defensive offsides call, which in effect has to be called as it's procedural. KC was called for defensive holding (twice), defensive pass interference (twice), unnecessary roughness, offensive holding, and unsportsman-like conduct. All told, in the first half, KC had eight penalties for 95 yards -- giving the Bucs six first downs in the process -- while TB had one penalty for five yards. This was the story of the first half which ended with the Bucs up 21-6.

In the second half, after the Bucs took a 31-9 lead -- which wound up being the final score -- each team was flagged three more times. KC was charged with a false start, offensive holding and defensive holding while TB was flagged for defensive holding, roughing the passer and taunting. Again, none of these calls -- which didn't really level the playing field officiating-wise -- made a difference in the game's outcome. It was the first half flags which changed the course of the game.

Notice, by the way, Tampa's offensive line wasn't once flagged for holding. They weren't flagged for holding against Green Bay in the NFC Championship Game, either. Are they that good as a unit that they don't need to hold, or is it that the refs simply chose to overlook such fouls to insure Tom Brady was properly protected? For any football fan, this fact shouldn't make sense. But here we are.

The other main question from this game is two-fold: How much did the fact that Andy Reid's son, an assistant coach for the Chiefs, caused a DUI car crash which sent a 5-year old to the hospital with life-threatening injuries affect the game? And what was with the Chiefs' offense and their play calling in the Super Bowl. This stat might be the most telling:

I haven't watched every Chiefs game all season nor did I see every Bucs game, but from what I did see, I know the Chiefs rarely looked this disorganized on offense and the Bucs defense never locked down a team like they did in the Super Bowl. Granted, the Chiefs offensive line wasn't 100%, and the Bucs defensive strength lies in its line, so the advantage was with Tampa. But everyone knew this pre-game. The Chiefs certainly had to know this, and yet, what did they do to combat it? What did they change, game-plan wise? Anything? Because clearly Mahomes, with his bad toe, was running for his life all game, and most of the time, throwing up prayer passes milliseconds before getting sacked. For "offensive guru" Andy Reid, that's unfathomable. But again, here we are.

So, what role did that DUI accident play in all of this? Reid, of course, claims it meant nothing from a football standpoint as the game plan was in place a week before the Super Bowl which was before the crash. Really? Seems kind of callous given the circumstances. Who wouldn't have that at the forefront of their mind, regardless of playing in the Super Bowl or not?

Another question is was it on the NFL's mind? Could this off-the-field incident influenced the NFL? Could this be why the officiating was so lopsided? Maybe the NFL didn't want Roger Goodell handing Andy Reid the Lombardi Trophy while his son just days before nearly killed two children while driving under the influence. Maybe those were questions better left unasked and the entire situation was better left alone. Who's to say?

But in the end, this game's outcome was a win-win for the league. Brady getting another ring is a great story (even if you hate Brady, it likely made you pay attention to the outcome), and had Mahomes and KC won, then the "passing the torch" moment would've been equally well-received and written about ad nauseum.

Supposedly (and I'm writing this Monday at noon), the preliminary ratings were high for the game, with Boston actually having higher numbers than Tampa Bay, so I'm thinking the NFL and CBS got what they and their advertising partners wanted: a lot of eyes on their TVs during the game. And that's what really matters. Who gets the rings and who doesn't is an afterthought. This is a business. The business is entertainment. And getting tickets sold, fans watching TV, and people everywhere commenting on the game or the ads is what this is all about. Don't fool yourself with thinking it really mattered to the powers-that-be that Tom Brady got his seventh ring. What mattered is what made everyone money.

LATE UPDATE: Actually, while the ratings were good in Boston, overall the Super Bowl's ratings were in the dumps. Perhaps the lowest since Super Bowl III. Hard to say if that included the numbers from people streaming the game, however. Don't despair, though. It'll still be the most watched TV show of the year...as it is every year.

The NFL is a long time removed from being a running league. Did anyone really think it was about to promote the most RB-like QB in Lamar Jackson over the QB in Josh Allen who's grandma now has a hospital wing now named after her? C'mon, people. You know better than to think the Ravens stood a chance in this one. The Bills could be headed to a Super Bowl as the media hype surrounding this team has progressed each week (if you missed the pregame monologue, it leaned very heavily in the Bills' favor), but if they do get in, I think they'll be the fall guys for whichever team represents the NFC. While the NFL wants/needs to build up a roster of young talent -- and all four AFC QB were under the age of 25 -- I don't know if Allen has earned the moniker of "Super Bowl Champion" just yet.

CLE v KC: What a shocker. The Chiefs won. But the NFL's "Chosen One" Patrick Mahomes left the game with a concussion. There was a chance that Baker Mayfield and the Browns had a shot to win this, but c'mon, Mahomes has a concussion, he's not dead. Though there's early buzz that'll be "difficult" for Mahomes to clear protocol by Sunday's game against Buffalo, I think we all know that even if Mahomes just kinda, sorta clears protocol, he'll be out there. I think the Bills only hope is if Mahomes really (and just to be clear, I'm wishing him no ill will) has post-concussion issues and absolutely cannot suit up. If that's the case, Josh Allen and the "Bills mafia" will be the fall back choice, but I think everyone else in America will want more of Andy Reid, Mahomes, and the Chiefs high-flying offense out there on Super Sunday.

TB v. NO: I got this one wrong, but I'm not completely surprised. In fact, this might've been the only "surprising" outcome of the weekend. Tom Brady once again is taking his team to the Conference Championship game. Yet his win is the NFL's win. Yes, I thought Brees might go out with more aplomb given how he's been treated over the past few years -- they never stopped prime time games to celebrate Brady's passing records like they did for Brees -- but he looked weak out there against the Bucs D. Three interceptions coupled with a Saints fumble was more than enough to put the Bucs over the top. So, I guess Brees and the Saints only Super Bowl will come during their famous "The Saints saved New Orleans post-hurricane Katrina" era when the team was doing Visa commercials and they were literally sainted by the NFL and ESPN. So, we get Brady v Rodgers instead of Brees v Rodgers in the NFC Championship Game. Will the hype really suffer from such an outcome? I think not.

So, four remain: KC, BUF, TB, and GB. In this time when NFL ratings are suffering the same as all sports leagues' rating are dropping, I'm certain the NFL is going to give viewers the biggest bang they can for the buck. That would put Josh Allen and the Bills on the outside looking in, assuming Mahomes is at least 90%. And if Mahomes is in, does it matter if it's against Brady or Rodgers? Not really. Brady getting there would break the "Super Bowl curse" in which no host city's team has ever played in a Super Bowl (the game is in Tampa Bay this year). Of course, I did bring up months ago that perhaps in a major psy-op, having a "home" team play in a "home" Super Bowl during the pandemic when we all have had to stay home would be quite fitting. Brady being the guy to do this, as well as being the rare QB to take two different teams to the Super Bowl, would firm up his GOAT standing. But this year has been all about the Aaron Rodgers love as he's been named MVP since Russell Wilson lost the early season title around Week 8. So, are we getting a "State Farm" Bowl? Perhaps. It was the most chosen matchup in my Super Bowl contest. Are you readers learning? We'll see....

Then, the Steelers decided to stick to their running game, despite the fact that they haven't been able to run the ball all season long. Couple that with a couple Ben Roethlisberger interceptions, and the Browns were up 28-0 at the end of the first quarter. Game over. Sure, Big Ben and the Steelers cut the lead to 11 at one point, but c'mon. No team -- outside of the Falcons (and in the Super Bowl) -- is going to blow a 28 point lead, especially when the refs aren't helping and the players don't seem to really be trying. Oh, and also when your head coach is punting on his opponent's 38-yard line (yes, they did this). There were all sort of questions about what head coach Mike Tomlin did Sunday night, but while everyone attacked Eagles (now former) head coach Doug Pederson over his decision to pull Jalen Hurts after three quarters when down three points, claiming he was tanking the game (something I wouldn't refute), no one dare say Tomlin was doing the same on the Steelers. But to an outsider, I think similar lines could be drawn, regardless of PIT making somewhat of a game out of it (you don't want people turning the game off, do you?) And now, much like the Bills, the Browns have their first playoff win in over a decade, and Progressive Insurance has their spokesman alive for yet another week. Way to go, Baker. Now good luck with that defense which just gave up 500+ passing yards to Big Ben stopping Mahomes and the Chiefs in their tracks.

LAR v SEA: This was the only game I got wrong (so far) from my picks last week. I thought Russell Wilson would be a better selling point than Jared Goff and the Rams, but the Seahawks magic fell off the team as the season progressed to the point of being just another team, really. Then I remembered something. If the Rams won (which they did), they'd play Rodgers and the Packers, giving you a "best offense versus best defense" sort of storyline to promote. But if you take that one step further and have the Rams beat Green Bay (either by score, injury or Packers' covid outbreak), you set up a potential Rams v Saints NFC Championship rematch which would be a rematch of the famed non-called pass interference penalty which propelled the Rams to the Super Bowl two years ago. Think about that! Of course, the Saints then get their revenge and move on to the Super Bowl, but they hype around that would be something. I don't think it'll come to pass because the NFL isn't about to prevent a Rodgers v Brees/Brady NFC Championship, but as an alternative, it's a great back-up plan.

TB v WAS: Without Comeback Player of the Year Alex Smith, this game was over before it started. Not that Smith was a world beater, but his story is inspiring. But with him not even dressing for the game and some nobody starting at QB for WFT, did you really think the NFL would dare let Tom Brady's season end like that? Losing to a sub .500 team? With a 3rd or 4th string (who can count) QB? Nope, he was destined to play against Rodgers and/or Brees -- perhaps both.

CHI v NO: Somehow the Bears managed to keep this close with a halftime score of 7-3 even with calls like this going against them.

This was another game that was over before it started. Again, think of the choices: Drew Brees or Mitchell Trubisky? Who does the NFL want to hype? The Bears QB who wasn't given the 5th year option on his contract, or the legend who twice had primetime games stopped so fans could relish his setting of new NFL passing records? It's something the league didn't even do for Tom Brady. It's also why I think the Saints beat the Buccaneers in the Divisional round. Talk is Brees is done after this season. Will he go out like Peyton Manning with a Super Bowl win? Not sure because it seems as if we've all seen that movie before, yet Brees does get a lot of media love and the hype wagon suddenly appears to be hitched to him and the Saints. But no matter the case, either Brees or Brady is going to the NFC Championship and is likely to face off against Rodgers. For the NFL, it can't ask for much more.

WEEK 16

Five teams had the opportunity to lock up a playoff spot this week. Five. All of them lost.

In no particular order: Despite leading 21-7 at halftime, the Colts lost to the Steelers 28-24. The Browns lost their top four WRs and two LBs because of "close contact" with covid, and promptly lost to the 1-13 Jets by a score of 23-16. The Titans went into Green Bay and couldn't figure out how to play in the snow. They were wiped out 40-14. Interestingly, the refs seemed to be (once again) on the Packers side, and I wasn't alone in thinking this. For example:

With the Ravens beating the Giants, the AFC wound up with four teams all standing on the edge of the playoffs with 10-5 records: BAL, TEN, IND and CLE. How fortunate for the NFL and its broadcast/advertising partners, no?

Elsewhere, the Washington Football Team, without starting QB (and Comeback POY) Alex Smith, lost to the Panthers. Dwayne Haskins, who was WFT's #1 overall draft pick last season and a team captain, started the game at QB. He was benched mid-game and outright cut afterwards. But thanks to his poor play coupled with the Cowboys suddenly reemerging as somewhat decent by beating the Eagles, now the WFT v PHI game was "flexed" into the Sunday Night Football slot because the game is for all the marbles in the bad NFC East, with the Cowboys still a possible playoff team should they win in Week 17. Of course, calls like this helped Dallas a bit on Sunday:

WEEK 14

The Monday Night Football presentation was one of the most professional wrestling style football games I've ever witnessed. Not only was the final score just plain silly (47-42), but it came against two of the "better" defenses in the league. The final play of the game, which was a Browns "let's try as many laterals as we can" play, ended in a safety which -- go figure -- allowed the Ravens to cover the point spread (of -3 or -3.5 depending on your betting outlet of choice).

But the real drama came at the hands of Ravens QB Lamar Jackson. He went absent from the Ravens bench in the second half with "cramps," and ESPN showed him walking/trotting rather oddly to the Ravens locker room. While he was out, the Browns mounted an improbable comeback and took the lead. Needing a win to "stay alive" in the playoff hunt, the Ravens were desperate for a TD to win the game as time was running out. But then, their back up QB (who's name I'm not going to bother to look up) went down with a knee injury at the two minute warning. Straight out of the WWE -- and I mean straight out of the WWE -- here comes Lamar Jackson trotting back out of the locker room to save the day. Sure enough, Jackson leads the Ravens to a TD, But then the Browns "somehow" score a TD of their own to tie it! And yet, still in regulation, Jackson again brings the Ravens downfield where they kick the game-winning FG (which was then followed by the nonsensical safety).

Of course, it's been called the "Game of the Year," but in reality, it was ridiculous. There were nine rushing touchdowns in the game: the most since 1922! There were three lead changes (with a tie mixed in there) in the fourth quarter alone. But it was the Lamar Jackson "cramps" story-line in this game that made it all the more questionable because it was just too Hollywoodish to believe. Yet, so many people bought it hook, line, and sinker.

The other interesting game of note this week was the Buccaneers v Vikings game. On paper, it looked just like a typical Bucs win over a middling Vikings team, 26-14. But the Vikings kicker -- the once reliable Dan Bailey -- missed three FGs and an extra point. That's 10 points he was responsible for that the Vikes missed out on. Interesting, no? Plus, non-calls like this all seemed to lean the Bucs -- that is to say -- Tom Brady's way:

The Vikings had the ball twice as long as the Bucs (40 minutes to 20), but allowed more sacks (six to none) and turned the ball over more (two to one), but could've easily won this game had Bailey not tanked it so badly.

But want did the NFL want? Tom Brady and the Bucs' playoff chance to slip away or to have the Vikings in the mix? You tell me.

So, as it stands, the playoffs have pretty much sorted themselves out already. The only one hanging around that I thought would be certainly in is the Raiders. Thanks to that miracle Ravens win, they stand on the outside looking in. Yet, I can't believe the NFL will want everything wrapped up by Week 15. A couple of surprises should still spring up in the final three weeks. And I'll telling you, watch out for the Washington Football Team (man, I hate typing that name). ESPN is already talking about how the "only" team that could beat the (current No. 1 seed) Packers is the WFT. Scary, no?

Also, despite the crazy MNF game, the NFL is suffering from a ratings problem. It's actually affecting both the TV networks and their advertisers. Personally, I think the NFL is suffering because of the "get woke, go broke" phenomenon. As much as some embraced it, I believe many fans outright rejected it and decided to turn off the NFL (and the NBA, MLB, etc).  Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe covid is affecting how people watch TV or how they decide to consume sports (if they consume them at all). But get ready, as it appears the NFL's advertisers are going all-in on being "woke" for the Super Bowl. Like it or not, more is coming....

I'm not saying this game wasn't fixed, but usually you normally wouldn't until :12 seconds remained in the game to insure an outcome you wanted to occur. Two things came out of this result. One, the Jets fired their defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. As Cris Carter would say, he was the perfect "fall guy" for the situation. Williams, you may recall, was the DC in New Orleans who was directly involved in the infamous "Bountygate" scandal that derailed the Saints after the were gifted a Super Bowl win. In reality, why Williams was allowed to coach again after that incident is a question unto itself.

The other development following this game was that everyone (on Twitter at least) was emphatically calling this a "tank job" to insure the Jets kept a lock on that No. 1 overall draft pick (since the 1-11 Jaguars lost yet again). People seemed upset by the Jets tanking -- if that is indeed what they're doing -- and thought head coach Adam Gase should've been shown the door as well. I'm not going to deny the latter, but as for the former, when teams tank in the NBA (which occurs yearly), many come to the defense of the practice. Why the change of heart for the NFL, I don't know, but here we are.

And now time for your bad calls of the week:

We'll talk about how the playoffs are shaping up next week, but it's interesting to note that the Ravens have been a serious thorn in the side of the NFL since Thanksgiving due to their covid outbreak, and on Tuesday night (yes, Tuesday night football!) Ravens WR Dez Bryant had to be scrubbed from the game due to a positive test even after he warmed up to play in the game...and had met with, talked to, and bro-hugged a few former teammates on the Cowboys. Now, the league has had to reschedule games and push them all over the week to get them played because of how late in the season it is, but has the NFL punished Baltimore for any of this? Not yet. But the Raiders, the were fined and lost draft picks because of "mask violations." Seriously. They were hammered for these infractions while the Bronocs had to play a game without a QB last week, yet the Ravens, well, they just go on their merry way without any league punishment. Seem a bit disingenuous to you?

Poor, misguided Noah. He hasn't been in the league long enough to understand what really matters to the powers-that-be. See, I believe the PIT-BAL game was treated differently than the NO-DEN game for two reasons: One, the PIT-BAL game is a divisional match-up with playoff implications while the NO-DEN was neither (although the Saints are certainly playoff bound at this point). The league didn't care if the Bronocs were destroyed as it mattered not to anyone outside of Denver. But the second, and perhaps more important reason, was the the PIT-BAL game was a NBC prime-time game. NBC lost money on this. They lost a prime-time game, and wanted something, anything for their investment. Hence, this game had to happen and in a way that best benefited NBC.

Of course, having it ultimately played on Wednesday afternoon isn't really giving NBC much in return (we'll see what the ratings are). Meanwhile, FOX scored HUGE on Thanksgiving with the WAS-DAL game. Wait, what? Two bad, sub-.500 teams drew a big audience? Yes. In fact, it was the most watched TV event since the Super Bowl (which, believe it or not, is always #1). It was a game that ended 41-16.

This country really has problems.

But fear not, it's going to get worse. Check out the future of the NFL (and sports programming in general): Megacasting! Yes, the same game broadcast on several networks at once so you, the fan, can't escape it:

I bet you can wait for that, being able to see all of these bad/non-calls which affect the outcome of these games overlooked by multiple commentators. Like these two non-calls on Sunday night which helped turn the tables against the Bears in their game versus Green Bay (and this doesn't include the early "roughing the passer" call which, during replay, clearly showed the Aaron Rodgers wasn't hit in the head, but rather the shoulder):

That kind of tweet/statement, coming as it does from ProFootballTalk -- an "official" NFL source/outlet -- is telling. Perhaps quite telling. Yet, does PFT actually then reveal any inside information? Nope. So, it's a crack in the armor, but not exposure. Wouldn't it be nice to see some actual investigative reporting coming out of such a source?

What a bunch of nonsense. Granted, the Bears were the least penalized team this week with one penalty for five yards. Of course, it's hard to call something like holding against a team when their offense goes three-and-out throughout the third and fourth quarters. Still, even the Vikings were only flagged four times, just not this time on a clear blow to the head of Foles. THIS IS THEIR JOB: TO CALL "CLEAR AND OBVIOUS PENALTIES."

Are they doing it? No. As was discussed on Thursday Night Football, holding calls in the NFL have been cut in half this season as compared to last. BY HALF. Even Buck and Aikman on TNF pondered that stat, recognizing that it's not like players aren't holding. For this momunmental change in officiating to have occurred, it had to have been by official NFL edict. The league HQ told its officials to "stand down" unless blatant. Keep games flowing, protect QBs (Sorry, Drew Brees, didn't work out for you), let the offenses roll (as fans love high scoring games), and fingers crossed, ratings won't go down the drain as they have with other sports during this pandemic. This is a clear cut example of games being manipulated across the board. If the refs are selectively -- very selectively -- enforcing the rules, and not doing it by the "letter of the law," then if/when flags are thrown becomes more impactful, and probably, more game changing.

 In the Jaguars v Packers game, three TDs -- two by JAX, one by GB -- were called back because of holding. That's impactful. Literal game changing decisions. All three appeared to be the correct call to make, but you don't often see it happen so much in one game. (By the way, in this game -- allow me my Packers-hating moment -- the Jaguars were set up to win. Being down 24-20 with under two minutes remaining, the Jags had the ball around the Packers 40-yard line, needing a TD to win. Then, suddenly, either the Packers D woke up or the Jags O-line fell asleep, and the Packers sacked the Jags QB on three straight plays. THREE STRAIGHT. Game over. The Packers were without their starting two CBs, yet at this critical juncture of the game, the JAX coaches couldn't figure out any effective pass routes for their WRs to advance the ball. I get the Jags are 1-7 -- now 1-8 -- and starting a rookie QB in his second game, but again, how smart are these coaches?)

The Sunday night game, played between BAL and NE, had an interesting officiating moment as well. Was this third-and-one QB sneak by Cam Newton actually successful?

That's crazy.

Secondly, in relation to the above game, check out this tweet and see if you get its point:

Both of these plays were unusual. Nick Chubb decided to run out of bounds near the end of the game rather than score a TD, and after Hopkins caught the "Hail Murray," AZ decided to kneel down rather than attempt an extra point. Perhaps both were "wise" coaching decisions -- Chubb not scoring allowed CLE to run out the clock, rather than giving HOU time to score twice (despite barely scoring at all during the game), and the kneel down made sure that the Bills didn't block the extra point attempt and return it for a 2-point score of their own, and thereby winning the game in an even more miracle-type of fashion -- but both choices wound up costing bettors. Well, those that bet on CLE and AZ. Both teams won, but failed to cover the point spread, thanks directly to these two decisions.

The scary part is, for a lot of people, this mattered more than the actual game result. Can't say I know how much money swung who's way, but I guarantee you it was more than $5. That's what the fear over the spread of legalized gambling is all about: the actual outcome of these games don't matter as much as the outcomes versus the point spread. What bothers me is that the more legalized gambling spreads (which I am in favor of), the more of the coverage of all sports, not just the NFL, is going to be about how this, that, or the other thing matters to bettors (which I'm against). The media conglomerates that fund sports are getting in bed with gambling companies, and the more those relationships become symbiotic, the more the lines between fandom and gambler, and ESPN and a sportsbook will blur. And the results won't be pretty.

Looked like PI live, and to me, still looks like PI. After a brief conference the refs decided it wasn't, and Tom Brady's Bucs walked off the field with the W. This, of course, wasn't the only call that seemed to favor Tampa Bay down the stretch, but it's one that even made more than a few people wonder if the play was reversed, and Tom Brady made that throw, would the refs have made the same call and picked up the flag?

Another reversal that seemed to defy logic came towards the end of regulation in the Saints v. Bears game. Was this a fumble?

Originally, it was ruled a fumble, but once again after a meeting of the minds, the call was reversed. Once again this season, the refs weren't leaning in the Saints favor (can't wait to see the calls on Sunday night when they play Brady's Bucs). This change saved the Bears and allowed them to tie the game moments later on this drive (only to blow the game in OT in typical Bears fashion).

Of course, the NFL doesn't really hold its officials accountable. Often the refs don't speak to the press or have to answer any tough questions, and when a player or coach openly complains about the officiating, that person is fined by the league. Nice system, no? So, it comes as no surprise that when Ravens head coach John Harbaugh questioned the time remaining in his team's critical divisional game against the undefeated Steelers, Harbaugh received "no answer." What's he going to do about it?

Perhaps the worst thing to happen all week was the Sunday night game between the Cowboys and Eagles. Nothing specifically happened in this game, it was just bad football. Really bad football. So bad that every "blue check-mark" and sports fan was complaining about it on Twitter. Why does that matter? Because it showed that no matter how awful the game was, the NFL has such a stranglehold on sports fans they won't stop watching. Turn it off, people. Don't bitch about it. Walk away. But they won't (or can't). And because of this addiction to the NFL this story pops up in the immediate aftermath of that horrific Sunday night prime-time affair:

Even terrible football is worth $1+ billion plus here in the USA. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

I get that mistakes are made and communication fails even among the best of us, but c'mon. That throw, under zero duress, is ridiculous. It was just the icing on the cake to this show. Not only that, but AZ's win tightened the playoff race in the "best" conference in the NFL.

In other news, the "win probability" stat keeps getting trotted out, and the Falcons continue to prove that it's a nonsense stat which no one really cares about except in situations wherein the stat proves itself to be stupid.

Did it help that the Lions were gifted a few extra yards thanks to referee incompetence? Maybe, but who really cared about the outcome of the Lions v. Falcons game anyway?

What really mattered was whether the Buccaneers committed a penalty this week or not? And you'll be relieved to know that they were actually flagged four times! Four! Wow. And somehow they managed to overcome that hardship and destroy the Raiders 45-20.

Speaking of the Bucs, and I don't think I've mentioned this before here, but Tampa Bay is hosting the Super Bowl this season. Wouldn't it be a real "coincidence" that in this year when we've all been quarantined at home that Tom Brady (The G.O.A.T.) of all people would break the "Super Bowl curse" (in which no host team has ever played in a home Super Bowl) and play in the first-ever home stadium Super Bowl? Wouldn't that be a major public psy-op for you? It doesn't appear our government is going to free us anytime soon, and given that the city of Tampa Bay isn't going to get a major finanacial windfall from hosting the Super Bowl since most of the surrounding events and travel won't take place, this year is perhaps the best year to ever have the "conspriacy theory" of the Super Bowl curse come to an end. If it does, well, you heard it hear first.

Meanwhile, both the Chiefs and the Panthers committed a whopping one penalty each in their respective games. One. That's nearly as legit as being penalty free. What's interesting was that the Panthers opponent was the Saints (who were flagged six times), the team that I believe the NFL has it in for given that they want to prop up their divisional opponent Tom Brady and the Bucs. In fact, while the Saints are not the most penalized team (Arizona is #1), they are the team with the biggest differential against them with 18 more penalties called on New Orleans as opposed to their opponents. This equates to a difference of 318 yards in the Saints' opponents' favor. The next closest team is the Ravens with a -99 yard differential. That's insane. It's also interesting to note that the team which has benefited the most from penalties, at least in terms of net yards, is the Las Vegas Raiders (who played and beat the Saints thanks in part to penalties) with +169 yards in their favor. You can check all of this out for yourself at the NFL Penalties website (which is not an official NFL site).

One last thing about penalties. Even though they seem to be circling the drain, the New England Patriots are the least penalized team, and by a significant margin. So far (and they've only played six games this season due to an early Covid-influenced bye week), the Pats have been charged with 15 penalties versus 31 on their opponents, giving the Pats the biggest positive advantage in flags (but not yardage) in the NFL.

The #2 team behind the Patriots in that category is the Philadelphia Eagles. Now, someone has to win the East, so why not the Eagles? I mean, while I thought the Cowboys could do it, after Andy Dalton got knocked into 2021 this weekend, I'm not so sure Jerry's going to get his way.

But maybe the Eagles won't either. The best "feel good" story in the NFL is really on the Redsk...I mean, Football Team -- if they'd put it together. Not only is head coach Ron Rivera coaching while undergoing cancer treatment, the Redsk...er, Football Team is home to "comeback player of the year" QB Alex Smith. If the Team, and by extension, the NFL gets behind that, especially in the medically aware season of Covid, you'd have a dynamite storyline (once you get past the whole name controversy). One that could sell a 7-9 or 8-8 playoff team. But Washington won't start Smith (yet), so that story will lay in the weeds for a bit.

One last thing this week. The Browns are in playoff contention. Yes, the Cleveland Browns. How and why they are 5-2 is like asking how and why the Bears are 5-2. But there they are. Even though they lost Odell Beckham Jr, Baker Mayfield -- who must have a great agent -- is a national spokesman. You don't often get such a gig right out of the gate. I mean, Kyler Murray doesn't have anything I'm aware of, and he's a #1 pick. And where's #1 pick Joe Burrow's endorsement deals? So, even though he doesn't seem to have it all together, maybe the Baker Mayfield push is upon us. I'm not banking on this by any means, but hey, you never know in a parity-driven-any-given-Sunday league like the NFL.

WEEK 6

Zero penalties. Zero. None. Nada. The Buccaneers played a perfect, penalty-free game. Believe it? Well, that's what the stats book says (they did actually get flagged once, but it was an off-setting penalty situation, so zero penalties were recorded), and it certainly helped get the Bucs a 38-10 win over the undefeated Packers.

So, the marquee match-up between the G.O.A.T. Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers was settled by each team's running backs. Both Brady and Rodgers threw for under 170 yards a piece. Rodgers threw two interceptions, and was sacked five times. It was not must-see TV after halftime as the back-up brigade was on the field for both teams by the time the final gun sounded.

Now, I'm not really a "the NFL and 'Vegas' are in cahoots" guy, but it is interesting that upwards of 80% of the money bet on this game was on Green Bay. Having Tampa Bay run away with this thing certainly allowed the bookies to enjoy a peaceful afternoon. And Rodgers, well, he didn't seem too interested in this game after his two interceptions. He's a moody QB, and maybe the Packers finally faced a "real" team and suddenly realized, "hmm, maybe once again we're not as good as our record says we are." But the overall effort on Green Bay's part was lacking.

On the flip side, Brady's former team the Patriots lost. Again. At home. To Denver. Who won by kicking six (!) field goals. There were a total of three penalties in this game. Seriously. Three. One on New England (for four yards) and two on Denver (for 20 yards). The Patriots are 2-3, under .500, and haven't been in this situation since 2001....when Tom Brady took over as the team's starting QB. So, maybe Belichick isn't the genius everyone thought he was? Maybe getting Cam Newton as his starting QB wasn't so brilliant? Or maybe the refs stopped helping the Patriots and reality is setting in, kinda like in Green Bay, wherein Belichick is starting to realize, "hmmm, maybe we're not a very talented team." And, as insult to injury, only four teams have scored fewer points than the Patriots so far this season: Washington, NY Giants, NY Jets, and....Denver.

But the biggest question remaining is how are the Cowboys still in first place with a 2-4 record after getting squashed by the Cardinals on Monday Night Football? Even though it was played in Dallas, that game was all about being the Kyler Murray coming out party. The Cowboys were doomed, and if you didn't think so - even after Ezekiel Elliot fumbled the ball away twice (shades of Aaron Rodgers' day) - then go back and look at the two pass interference calls that went Arizona's way in the second quarter. In the first, the Cardinals DB basically tackled Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb then picked off Andy Dalton's pass without a flag being thrown (the best former ref turned MNF analyst John Perry could say was that maybe the refs were "out of position" to see the play). In the second, on the ensuing Cardinals drive, a Dallas DB was flagged for PI in the end zone for, I don't know, maybe slightly touching the Cardinals WR? Yeah, this game wasn't meant to be for Jerry Jones's 'Boys.

Otherwise, this week was a dud. What result was surprising? What outcome didn't seem to fit the growing narratives? None that I saw.

WEEK 5

The LA Lakers are your NBA Champions! In the same "season" as Kobe's death, did the outcome surprise you? Did you watch? Did you care? Did you even know the NBA was actually playing? The answer to all of those questions, for me, is "no."

But the one thing the NBA did manage to do is completely avoid Covid-19, something the NFL has already failed at doing. This may be the biggest challenge the league has this year (besides keeping fans interested in this nonsense). I'm typing this as Tuesday night football is being played between the undefeated Bills (!) and Titans (!). Now, I'm sure the Titans fanbase isn't among the league's highest, but I'm not sure it's quite fair that the Titans are out on the field having been able to hold just one practice in the past two weeks thanks to the outbreak among the team and staff. What's the league going to do if it happens again? How many games can/will the league shift? Can the NFL have a Week 18? Week 19? They'll have to do some real scheduling gymnastics to get every game played in this atmosphere because every NFL game counts.

So way back on Thursday, the Bears beat Tom Brady's Buccaneers. Seriously. That happened. The Bears won with Nick Foles. Tom Brady forgot what down it was, and ended the game by throwing a dumb 4th down pass thinking (apparently) that it was only 3rd down. Of course, when you're entire career has been assisted by one gifted defensive pass interference or holding call after another, perhaps Tom was just waiting for the refs to do what was expected...only this ain't New England anymore. But it is still Brady, and probably most Bears fans were as shocked as Tom that some yellow flag didn't spoil that victory party after Brady's incomplete pass. But the Nick Foles storyline is alive and well....

Dak Prescott's leg exploded. That was nasty. I could post the video of the play here, but it's too horrific to relive. Does that mean the Cowboys are kaput? Nope. They're in first place, and as crazy as it may seem, I think to stay. Andy Dalton (The Red Rifle - love that nickname) is the type of player the league could rally around, and besides, who else is going to win that division? The Eagles? Giants? Football Team? No, "do it for Dak" could be the same as "do it for Kobe," although the Cowboys do have to play some defense at some point to really contend.

Or do they? The Seahawks really don't play much defense, yet they are undefeated. Now, does it help you cause when your opponents seemingly tank like the Vikings did on Sunday night? Certainly. The outcome of that game was telegraphed from a mile away. Up 26-20, the Vikings had the ball on the Seahawks 15-yard line with a first down and 3:36 left to play. Game over, right? Of course not for Sunday Night Football. Long story short, an offensive holding penalty, a failed fourth down run (which I didn't disagree with strategically, but knew would fail because "drama"), and the Seahawks march right down field, convert one 4th down and then score the go-ahead TD on another 4th down. Now, even though the Vikings were likely doomed because they only had :15 seconds to get a game-winning FG attempt, on second down Vikes QB Cousins threw an incomplete pass...which was ruled a fumble and was recovered by the Seahawks...which the league decided not to review. Everyone was just like, "Welp, game over" and left the field. It was kinda weird, but "Hooray, Seahawks!"

The most stunning outcome of the weekend was the Chosen One's (read: Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs) loss to the Raiders 40-32. But was it really that shocking? Remember, the Raiders are now the Las Vegas Raiders. New town, new stadium, new fan base to build. Granted, there are no fans allowed in the new Vegas stadium, but the game plan that made the Golden Knights a HUGE thing in Vegas (a run to the Stanley Cup Finals in their first season) could play very well in its sequel starring the Raiders. A win like this, a playoff push (and let's face it, neither the Chargers or Broncos are contenders in that division, and really much of the AFC is weak), and the Raiders can conquer Las Vegas like their NHL brethren.

Speaking of which (and sorry, no photos/videos this week to liven things up), who are our contenders this year? Seahawks? Check. Packers? Check. Steelers? Check. Chiefs (despite this loss)? Check. After that....?

But in other words, we have Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, and Patrick Mahomes. That's what matters. The QBs. Derek Carr, Cam Newton, Josh Allen, Philip Rivers, Jared Goff, etc. don't really get people that excited, do they? Sure, Brees and Brady are still in the mix and certainly will be late in the season, but it's going to come down to the big names. It always does. And in this off-kilter Covid-19 plagued season, they'll matter more than ever. The NBA gave LeBron another title. Why not do the same in the NFL with some superstar QB?

Sanders has a very good point. A) He's been in the league long to enough to have seen a lot when it comes to games and how they are officiated. B) The Saints were on the wrong side of calls not just in Week 3 vs. the Packers but also in Week 2 vs. the Raiders (both games which the Saints lost, fyi). And C) He's reaching a conclusion which the numbers have proven thus far in 2020 - the refs are not officiating the game they were just 12 months ago.

This is by the NFL's design. I mean, when ESPN titles an article "How the NFL is manipulating games in 2020: Fewer holding calls, faster games and way more offense," I think my work here is done. But there's more proof.  In this ESPN article we have this choice quote:

What's "clear and obvious?" Was this a "clear and obvious" first down? Helped Seattle seal its win over the Dolphins.

Then how about this one? The play on the left was a penalty against the running back (!) for lowering his helmet. The play on the right was a touchdown. Spot the difference?

Notice two of the biggest changes in that list - besides the total number of penalties called per game - are offensive holding and defensive pass interference. Less of the former and more of the latter. That'll help the offenses out a bit, won't it? Kinda like the Sunday night game between the Packers and Saints. With about three minutes left in the third quarter, NBC was kind enough to inform its viewers that the Packers had been penalized once for five yards at that point in the game. Guess which team was winning? And guess who won? Yep, Green Bay. (The Packers ended up with two penalties for 10 yards, while the Saints racked up eight for 83).

There were a few highly questionable calls that went against the Saints Sunday night, perhaps the worst of which was when the refs granted the Packers a first down after a fourth down run that came a yard short of actually gaining that first down. The Saints challenged and won, getting the ball back, but then for some unknown reason, those same Saints put the ball in Taysom Hill's hands rather than Drew Brees' and Hill promptly held out the football far enough for the Packers to strip it and regain possession. There ended the game. Of course, after last week's loss to the Raiders and this week's to the Packers, I'm starting to think the NFL and its officials have it out for the Saints this year. Why? Because Tom Brady and the Buccaneers are in the Saints division. Which team do you think the league and its networks would rather hype come playoff time?

Elsewhere, the Bears are 3-0. Yes, those Chicago Bears. Who cares? Well, I actually think the Bears may suddenly be a story the NFL could hang a hat on with the unexpected benching of Mitchell Trubisky in favor of former Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles. It may not be much of a story, but the "let's see if Nick the permanent backup QB can do it again" is interesting to some in the media. Much more than Trubisky ever managed to become for Chicago and the league. The refs did seemingly try to take this game away from Chicago by turning a Alan Robinson TD into a Falcons interception via replay (and then taking another Bears TD away via replay as well), but Foles held true and yet again made the "win probability" stat look as stupid as it truly is:

The refs also inserted themselves into the ending of the Rams v. Bills game, helping the hometown Bills get one more shot at a game-winning TD, which they did indeed score. This look like defensive pass interference to you? Game-altering pass interference?

I know I beat the drum against the NFL and its officiating week after week (which is one of the reasons every year I do this I say it'll be my last), but fans needs to recognize what is really deciding outcomes of these games. Some of the players see this and know it, which is why occasionally a tweet like this from Saints (injured) WR Michael Thomas leaks out:

If you're not going to believe me, at least consider his words.

There's a first time for everything, right? But have you ever seen four players all stand around looking at an onside kick like this?

Neither have I. The amazing (sad? funny?) part is that, according to the Falcons' coaching staff, the players on their "hands" team knew what to do in that situation, were aware of the rules, and practiced on such kicks the day before. Yet, they still watched that football spin like a bunch of hippies on acid.

Of course, there was an entire game which took place before this. The Cowboys really outplayed the Falcons, but three first quarter turnovers put Dallas firmly behind the proverbial 8-ball. It took a lot of help, including a Julio Jones dropped TD pass, to get the Cowboys back into the game even before the onside kick sealed the Falcons' fate. Remember last week when I said perhaps the 'Boys tanked one against the Rams because it was their home opener and that the Jerry Jones would be given something back? Perhaps Sunday was it. Or just the beginning of it. Whatever "it" turns out to be, Jerry will get his, no doubt about it.

Then again, "it" could just be more money. As if the NFL needs it, but the TV networks need the NFL and the eyes it draws (anthem protests or not), otherwise this wouldn't be on the table:

Like the new stadiums, you're not shelling out $2 billion and not getting certain "guarantees" attached to it.

WEEK 1

This bit I'm writing on Saturday before Week 1 really kicks off because the opening night game between the Chiefs and the Texans already raised a few eyebrows. I not talking about the "moment of unity" and how some fans openly "booed" through it (how's that for your Freedom of Speech?). No, what was interesting was that for having a limited training camp and zero preseason games, the Chiefs somehow played a nearly perfect game by having a grand total of one (count 'em -- one) penalty called against them: a false start. The Texans were barely flagged as well, and neither team was called for offensive or defensive holding. Think back to the early part of the 2019 season when holding flags were flying constantly (that is, until fans complained about the rate of play), and compare that to the Thursday night affair. Quite a different feeling, no? Think NFL HQ told the refs to "stand down?" I do. And we may see much more of this moving forward.

Come Sunday, guess what?

So this cat tweeted "Very smart of the NFL to cut down on those calls" without apparently realizing what that means in terms of the league's written rules and how manipulated the game is. I mean, he is correct in saying the league was smart not to bog down games as it did last season with all the flags, but when the league does hold back from flagging playsas it should, when the following happens, everyone gets up in arms:

I saw the above play happen live and thought it was PI without any surprise by the call at all. Of course, I also figured the Rams would win their first game in their $5 billion stadium on its opening night, and the call against the Cowboys pretty much insured that (as did Mike McCarthy's odd decision not to kick a potentially game-tying FG earlier in the 4th quarter). I also found it kinda strange that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was instrumental in getting the new LA stadium built, and then his team was there to help open it. Think Jerry knew the fix was in Sunday? Maybe a playoff berth exchanged for an opening night loss? Wouldn't surprise me.

Tom Brady's performance did surprise me a bit. He looked OLD. Like, bad old. Like, no help from the NFL and he starts passing like this old:

Brady still isn't going away just yet. He's too useful to the league to completely bottom out 15 games from now, but he may need a bit more league "help" than most thought to appear competitive as need be. The Bucs may be regretting letting Jameis Winston go....and who'd have ever thought that?

Lastly this opening week, let me just touch on the eggheads attempting to force analytics into the NFL. This league is immune to such breakdowns. It may work in MLB because baseball has really been baseball for over 100 years, but the NFL is a TV show. It doesn't follow the hard, fast rules that the eggheads think will work. Eyeball these two tweets:

So the Bears had a "2% chance of winning," yet they won. Except, you know, they lost - or would've lost had Lions RB Swift not dropped a gift wrapped TD pass - but they came away with a 1-0 record. Are those "chance of winning" percentages accurate, or are they accurate when they work and not when they utterly collapse as they did in this game Sunday? What are they based on? Is there any real worth in them, and if so, to whom exactly?

In the other tweet about "coaching mistakes," the top 4 "mistaken" coaches all won. So what was the mistake? And were those decisions that were made really "mistakes," or were those intential decisions made to keep each of those games closer longer for both the league's and the networks' benefit? If you're not thinking about the game with such a mindset, then maybe yes, those decisions seemed off. But if you think The Fix Is In's way, you know better.