NFL Week Eight: Brees ties single-game TD record in Saints win, Broncos dominate Packers

Every Monday morning, Section 215’s Akiem Bailum gives an in-depth and unfiltered look at all of the latest sports news in The Monday Morning Realist. You can follow Akiem on Twitter @AkiemBailum.

No D in NOLA

Nov 1, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) celebrates after a win against the New York Giants in a game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Saints defeated the Giants 52-49. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Realists, maybe it was only me, but throughout the day but it just seemed as though things were going to build up to a crescendo that was going to culminate in the much-talked about Sunday Night Football matchup between the Broncos (Peyton Manning) and the Packers (Aaron Rodgers).

The New York Giants and New Orleans Saints would do their best to ensure the football-viewing public that there was more on the slate than just #18 vs. #12 on Sunday Night. After all, both Big Blue and the Who Dats have Super Bowl-winning QBs on their rosters too.

Except in the Super Dome on Sunday, the Giants and Saints’ defenses looked like they should have been playing on Saturday let alone under the bright lights of the NFL.

How proficient were the offenses in this game? New York and New Orleans only combined to punt a grand total of six times.

SIX TIMES. Compare and contrast that with the San Francisco 49ers, who themselves nowadays look like a team that punts six times in a half.

At 4-3, the Giants have once again resembled a team that while not great, appears to be following the exact same formula that won them their two Super Bowls—average-to-good during the regular season and worldbeaters in the postseason.

But they’re in an NFC East with Washington and Philadelphia right on their heels. Neither one of those teams are exactly the best in the conference now, but it does not matter as long as you win it.

And a few weeks ago, the New Orleans Saints were practically being written off by almost every football writer and aficionado around (hand raised thanks to the Graham deal). But since beginning the season 0-3, the Saints have become winners of three of their last four games. At home against the Giants, they had the chance to make that four out of five.

And they did…but both defenses, again, apparently forgot that it was the day AFTER Halloween, not the actual Halloween day. Trick or Treating was over defenses, get your heads in the game!

Realists, if that game went to overtime, Drew Brees and Eli Manning would probably still be throwing touchdowns as we speak. When the Giants’ equaled the Saints’ tally of 49 with a 49 of their own, overtime was all but assured, right? Right?

Not so much. The final punt of the game would be from New York’s Brad Wing to the Saints’ Marcus Murphy. After a fumble and recovery by the Saints’ Willie Snead, Wing was flagged for a facemask.

That meant 15 more yards after a punt return that was already in New York territory. One Kai Forbath field goal later, the Saints found themselves with a 4-4 record.

The NFC East once again reinforces itself as a wide open division where the Giants, Eagles, or Redskins could probably win and the Cowboys still are without Tony Romo. But the NFC South may get interesting because of the Saints attaining the 4-4 record.

New Orleans’ second-half schedule on paper looks to be a walk down Bourbon Street (partygoers included). Their last eight games are against the Titans, Redskins, Texans, Panthers, Buccaneers, Lions, Jaguars, and Falcons. Six (and arguably seven) of those are winnable as New Orleans already beat Atlanta earlier this season.

If Brees puts up numbers like he did today (maybe not having to throw for seven TDs again) but the 40/50, 511 yards, and 140.5 rating, and he has two receivers with over 100 yards (Benjamin Watson-9 for 147, 1 TD, Marques Colston 8 for 114, 1 TD), the Saints will be winning six or seven of those games.

Mark Ingram also rushed for 80 yards on 16 carries.

When we mention a Manning throwing for six touchdowns, it is usually Peyton, but in addition to the six TDs, Eli threw for 350 yards and completed 30 of 41 passes. Three touchdowns and eight receptions for 130 yards sounds like Odell Beckham, Jr. doing Odell Beckham, Jr. type things.

Rashad Jennings got 54 yards on 10 carries.

As mentioned a few paragraphs above, the Saints stay at home next week to play Tennessee. The Giants will continue their road trip through the NFC South next week at Tampa Bay.

Final: Saints 52, Giants 49

Did Someone Say Tampa Bay?

Nov 1, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin (22) carries the ball in front of Atlanta Falcons strong safety Kemal Ishmael (36) in overtime at the Georgia Dome. The Buccaneers won 23-20 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Is it just me…or are they sound the alarms once again in Atlanta?

Atlanta—a much maligned city that the national media says does not exactly have the best of sports fans and is an area up to its Peachtree Towers in out-of-towners.

It is also a city that since the Braves won a championship in 1995 that has experienced disappointment after disappointment after disappointment from its professional sports teams.

So when the Falcons go on a cold streak as they seem to have now as of late, the usual narrative from the Atlanta sports fan is, “Here we go again. Another season of hope slowing to a half moreso than traffic on the Downtown Connector.”

Tampa Bay hasn’t received much attention this season outside of the first-year development of Jameis Winston so unless they do anything of note in the next few weeks, this game (and win for the Buccaneers) may appear to be a blip on the radar in the overall NFL landscape.

This game appears to show more about the Atlanta Falcons moreso than the Bucs because it looks as if the rest of the league has indeed figured out the Dirty Birds from the Dirty South.

Not to mention Atlanta is the perennial playoff team in this equation while One Buc Place is in the throes of a rebuilding process around a guy who wore similar colors in Tallahassee.

The Falcons were at one point in the season among the ranks of the undefeated. They were 5-0 and everyone in the state of Georgia was ready to build a statue of first-year head coach Dan Quinn on the same plot of land where the Falcons are putting their new stadium.

The last couple of weeks coming into this game, the Falcons lost their first game of the season. It was on national television against the Saints by a final of 31-21. Then, Atlanta defeated Tennessee 10-7 (credit to the Falcons defense for that) but it came in a game that against about 20 other NFL teams would have been a loss.

On paper, one would think one of those teams the Falcons would beat would be the Tampa Bay Bucs. Not so much despite being a little bit of a ways away from Raymond James or One Buc.
The Bucs had accumulated a lead of 20-3 thanks to Connor Barth’s foot as he kicked two field goals and Winston’s arm and legs.

Atlanta, during the Matt Ryan era, has developed a knack for coming back late in games and pulling victory from the jaws of defeat. They did so again as the Falcons scored on their final three regulation possessions to tie the score at 20.

Then—in the final seconds instead of going for the win, Lovie Smith’s team decides to play conservative and take a knee to play for overtime. Realists, at this point I was thinking the game was all but won for the Falcons and that they would be 7-1.

Nine times out of ten when you play conservative or play not to lose, you lose. Except this time turned out to be the exception to the rule as the Atlanta defense could not get Tampa Bay off the field. Barth drilled yet another field goal that gave the Bucs a 23-20 lead…

…but also another opportunity for Matty Ice to play hero once again as Falcons fans have become accustomed to.

Except…sometimes not everything goes as according to script. The defense for the Buccaneers came up with a stop when they needed it most (which led to some Falcons fans wanting flags for possible defensive holding on the last play(s)). The Atlanta comeback came up short and the Bucs came away with a road win in Atlanta.

Part of that—was Doug Martin’s 23 carries for 71 yards and Winston throwing for 177 yards on 16/29 passing and one touchdown. Two of the Bucs receivers had 48 yards (Cameron Brate—2 receptions and Mike Evans—3 receptions).

As for the Falcons—Ryan: 37/45 for 397 yards, 2 TDs, and one pick. Devonta Freeman rushed for 88 yards on 21 carries while Julio Jones caught 12 passes (including one touchdown) for 163 yards.
They have struggled as of late, but Atlanta should get a reprieve in Week 9—they play San Francisco who everyone seems to beat these days.

Tampa Bay gets the Giants.

Final: Buccaneers 23, Giants 20

Football is for the Gurley Man—not so much the Kaep-tain

Nov 1, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams running back Todd Gurley (30) celebrates after scoring a seventy one yard touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers during the first half at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Scene: St. Louis. Teams: San Francisco 49ers and St. Louis Rams.

Realists, it still amazes me even after the offseason they had last offseason that the San Francisco 49ers had that they resemble a team that should not be playing on Sundays.

The Niners’ new stadium in Santa Clara does not even have reasonable public transportation to it (even though Bay Area Rapid Transit is working on it and the way the 49ers are played, they may want to hold off on those plans as well.

This is a team that was in the Super Bowl three years ago looking like amateurs.

If anything, this is a game between two division rivals that can broken down into a micro level. The trajectory of the St. Louis Rams (other than the possible move they could make to Los Angeles) appears to be trending upward. That if the 49ers is trending downward and they are getting closer to hitting the bottom.

And unlike in 1849, these 49ers do not look like they’ll be striking gold when they hit that bottom.

The micro level has to do with two players—one from each team. For the Rams, we might as well take a closer look at Todd Gurley and for the Niners, that player is Colin Kaepernick.

Gurley first—between injuries and alleged NCAA violations while at Georgia, his time wearing Bulldogs red & black was not entirely smooth.

His college days are behind him and now he’s an NFL runningback—and look at him. He just completed yet another game where he tallied at least 100 rushing yards. Defensive line coaches probably are starting to fear Todd Gurley as they should. He rushed for 133 yards on 25 carries plus one touchdown.

Needless to say he is on the up and up for his first year and four more words that make one well-recognized sports phrase start to enter my head any single time the ball is in his hands.
Rookie of the Year. That award appears to have Todd Gurley’s name written all over it.

St. Louis may be serving as Gurley’s gateway to greatness while Kaepernick appears to be lost in some Bay Area fog. A lot of it as a matter of fact.

There are as many questions around the Bay Area about if Kaep has lost all confidence in himself as there are buildings near the Embarcadero in downtown San Francisco. In fact, some even believe Kaepernick (who played in a Super Bowl three years ago) should be benched.

Kaepernick again looked like a backup quarterback against Jeff Fisher’s Rams. He was not intercepted but he was sacked on three occasions and he only threw for 162 yards on 20/41 passing. If he does not watch out, he may very well be let go, run out of the Bay Area and end up as a backup on another team.

It is somewhat sad to watch in all reality, but one guesses if he really does miss Jim Harbaugh.

He was their leading rusher as well with 28 yards on six carries. They lost another one of their runningbacks in Reggie Bush (who started for Carlos Hyde) thanks to a freak accident. Their leading receiver in Jerome Simpson only had 34 yards.

Nick Foles threw for 191 yards on 14/23 passing and one touchdown while Tavon Austin had 98 yards on four receptions.

And don’t look now, but the Rams are 4-3. Maybe this will persuade the Rams to stay put in the StL.

Or it may not so Rams fans are definitely enjoying this while it lasts. Those Rams get the Vikings next week in Minnesota while the freefalling Niners play the Falcons.

Final: Rams 27, 49ers 6

Light Inside the Black Hole

Nov 1, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) prepares to throw a pass against the New York Jets in the fourth quarter at O.co Coliseum. The Raiders defeated the Jets 34-20. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

As of today, there are two teams that play NFL football in the Bay Area. The San Jose/Santa Clara….er….I mean….Silicon Valley….er…I mean…San Francisco 49ers are in freefall with a quarterback that is looking like a shell of himself.

As for the team that plays in Alameda County—say what you want about the stadium the Raiders play in or the stadium’s name, but the Black Hole is slowly but surely become re-energized again.
Oakland used to be a team as of late that teams looked at on the NFL calendar as a virtual bye week. Bad team, bad stadium, bad everything.

Thanks to this team led by Derek Carr that appears to be changing.

Realists, New York Jets and Oakland Raiders Week Eight from Oaktown can probably be referred to as the Surprise Bowl and it did not even had to be played in Surprise, Arizona.

Silver & Black and Gang Green have been perhaps the two biggest surprises in the NFL this season. The Jets with Ryan Fitzpatrick as their quarterback was a couple of games ago 4-1 before they ran into the New England Patriots.

The Patriots, who seemingly do not lose anyplace these days, got all they can handle from the Jets but still managed to pull off a victory over New York. The Raiders on the other hand let Philip Rivers back into a game last week, but had managed so much of a lead where it did not matter.

Hence—Oakland upped its mark to 3-3.

The last time there was a quarterback in the NFL with the last name of Carr, it was David Carr who played for the Houston Texans. That Carr was in park most of the time and when it was not in park, it was likely in reverse with all the pressure he faced from opposing defensive lines.

This Carr seems to be in drive and going full speed ahead for the Raiders.

But some news would also be made on the Jets’ side as the game saw the return to quarterback of Geno Smith, who was sidelined after being punched during training camp by a former teammate. This occurred after Fitzpatrick was injured during the game.

The first three possessions for the Raiders all resulted in Carr passing touchdowns equaling a 21-3 advantage for Oakland. The fourth would up that lead to 28-6.

After Smiths’ first touchdown of the game (which was for four yards to Eric Decker) two Sebastian Janikowski field goals upped the Raiders’ lead to 34-13. Kellen Davis later was on the receiving end of Smith’s second touchdown pass of the day which made it 34-20. All other offensive possessions resulted in either punts or losses of downs.

Both teams are looking more and more like playoff teams but the Raiders especially. There has been a palpable buzz around Derek Carr for quite sometime and there is a chance that this year could end up being his coming out party.

And as I mentioned in a previous Realist, with the Chiefs being where they are plus Manning and Rivers staring retirement in the face, the Silver and Black could be the Best of the West for many years to come.

In an immediate sense, they particularly look like a playoff team in an NFL season where the good teams are definitely distinguishing themselves from the bad teams. Seven wins could win the NFC East, the AFC South, or decide a wild card in the AFC.

Carr was 23/36 with 333 yards and four touchdowns. Latavius Murray ran for 113 yards on 20 carries while Michael Crabtree (ex-Niner) had 102 yards and seven receptions and one touchdown.

As for Smith? He threw for 265 yards and completed 27 of his 42 passes, two touchdowns and one interception. Smith was also their leading rusher at 34 yards on two carries as Chris Ivory was held to only 17 yards on the ground on 15 carries. Raiders defense, anyone?

Brandon Marshall accounted for 108 of those yards on nine receptions.

Oakland’s next opponent will be a team that themselves wear a lot of Black (and Gold)—the Pittsburgh Steelers (at Heinz Field). As for the Jets, they play the Jaguars in a game that surprisingly is in the Meadowlands next week and not in London.

Final: Raiders 34, Jets 20

This Statement Stands a Mile High

Nov 1, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware (94) celebrates his sack and safety of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) (not pictured) with strong safety T.J. Ward (43) in the fourth quarter at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos defeated the Packer 29-10. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Nov 1, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) celebrates after the game against the Green Bay Packers at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos won 29-10. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

It just seemed throughout much of the day that everything was leading up to Sunday Night in Denver between the Denver Broncos and Green Bay Packers.

After all, NBC had to be salivating when they saw this matchup released on the regular season schedule. Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers are ratings magnets just by virtue of them being Manning and Rodgers.

They could not have asked for an even better subplot to the game—that one of these two teams would no longer be undefeated after the game as both the Broncos and Packers came into this game with zero blemishes on their slate for 2015.

The difference as we know has been that Rodgers has looked like the Rodgers we have become accustomed to throughout this prime years in Green and Gold. Manning has not had the worst year of his career, but it definitely has not been the Manning that was throwing four to six touchdowns a game as a Colt.

The Broncos have been winning games because of their defense. There have been games where Von Miller and company have looked 2000-Ravens-esque or 2013-14-Seahawks Legion of Boom-esque.

Someone on social media put this into perspective—Drew Brees threw seven touchdowns in one game earlier in the day against the Giants in New Orleans. Manning has thrown a total of seven touchdowns for the season entering Week 8.

That is less than one touchdown per week as the Broncos have played seven games entering Week 8. Normally, we are at this point of the season talking about if Manning is going to shatter another touchdown record or passing record.

Realists, to be honest, my pick was Green Bay. I had figured that the Broncos have played a lot of teams that they should beat regardless of whether Manning looks like Manning or if he looks like Tebow, only right-handed.

The Packers are possibly the best team in the NFC and even though they are playing out this season without one of their best offensive threats in Jordy Nelson, it is still a team with Eddie Lacy, Randall Cobb, and friends along with Rodgers, not to mention Clay Matthews anchoring the defense.

Right now the Packers, along with the Carolina Panthers can stake a claim to the title of best team in the NFC.

But the Broncos could not have picked a better time to play their best game of the season.

Manning, instead of looking like AN old Manning, looked like THE old Manning. He was finding his receivers. He was throwing down field and connecting with his targets. It is as if the imposter that was wearing the #18 costume the previous few games was found, and the real Peyton Manning is in that jersey again.

Not only that—but the defense looked like the Broncos defense we had seen so far this season as well. That defense and secondary made life hectic for Rodgers all game.

Rodgers only threw for a total of 77 yards all game. SEVENTY-SEVEN. That is not a typo because normally there is a “two” or “three” in front of that 77. He was also 14/22 passing.

Two teams as well are probably feeling good about what happened—Carolina and Minnesota. The Panthers because they have the defense to do exactly what the Broncos did and the Vikings because all of a sudden, they are now only one game behind the Pack for first place in the NFC North.

Those Panthers face the Packers next week…at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

While it appears that Denver’s statement is clear—we are still undefeated, Manning’s still got it, and do not start making reservations for San Francisco (Super Bowl) yet if you’re a Patriots fan.

And when you throw for 340 yards (with one pick) on 21/29 passing, that can be a rather impressive way to make a statement. Another way? When C.J. Anderson rushes for 101 yards on 14 carries and one touchdown and Demaryius Thomas has eight receptions for 168 yards as they did.

Green Bay’s leading rusher only had 38 yards on 11 carries (Lacy) and their leading receiver only had 27 yards on six receptions (Cobb). It had to feel as if there were 22 men on defense instead of 11 at times (or the whole game).

And as mentioned earlier—the Panthers also pose a ferocious defense and they’ll be facing the Packers next week in Charlotte. As for the Broncos—they get Manning’s former team (the Colts) in Indianapolis next week. This Realist is smelling an 8-0 Denver Broncos team.

Final: Broncos 29, Packers 10

Other Games

Oct 28, 2015; London, United Kingdom; General view of NFL Nike Shield logo at Niketown London in advance of the NFL International Series game between the Detroit Lions and the Kansas City Chiefs. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

New England Patriots defeat Miami Dolphins 36-7

Kansas City Chiefs defeat Detroit Lions (in London) 45-10

Arizona Cardinals defeat Cleveland Browns 34-20

Minnesota Vikings defeat Chicago Bears 23-20

Baltimore Ravens defeat San Diego Chargers 29-26

Cincinnati Bengals defeat Pittsburgh Steelers 16-10

Houston Texans defeat Tennessee Titans 20-6

Seattle Seahawks defeat Dallas Cowboys 13-12

Indianapolis Colts vs. Carolina Panthers (8:30, Monday Night Football)