The Patriots wrapped up their 10th straight division title with a comfortable 24-12 win over the Bills on Sunday. Yet something is off – and that something is Tom Brady. The week Brady was named to his 14th Pro Bowl, the quarterback completed just 13 of his 24 throws, passing for a measly 126 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions against an average Buffalo defense.
It’s not that Brady has been bad this season. In fact, Brady has been good, ranking sixth in Football Outsiders’ total quarterback value and down-to-down efficiency metrics. He just hasn’t lived up to his almost impossible standards. Brady has already tossed 11 interceptions this season, more than his previous two seasons combined.
When aging quarterbacks decline, the drop is usually precipitous. That’s not the case with Brady, though: we aren’t in Peyton Manning-2015 territory yet. Almost everything is identical to past seasons, except where the ball ends up once it leaves his hand. He’s missed lots of easy throws, throws he used to make with the regularity of the sun setting in the west. Opposing defenses have blitzed him relentlessly, and he’s caved, something that would have been unthinkable against the Brady of old.
It’s not that he’s dealing with an injury, either. “I feel great. I feel 100%,” Brady said after Sunday’s game. It’s hard to find a fix: if Brady, as he says, isn’t injured, and his arm isn’t impaired, then what gives?
In fairness, Brady’s problems are not entirely self-inflicted. His once telepathic connection with Rob Gronkowski has come in fits and starts – Brady’s second interception on Sunday came thanks to a tipped ball from the creaking tight end. Even the Brady-Julian Edelman connection has been missing for most of the season. The whole team feels like it’s starting to show its age. Gronkowski looks like a guy who contemplated retiring at just 29 last offseason. Edelman looks like a guy coming off a PED suspension and torn ACL. Brady looks like what he is: a 41-year-old dad.
Brady can still hit the heights. We’re only 12 months removed from him posting the greatest statistical performance a quarterback has ever had in a Super Bowl. But bad decisions and errant throws are more a part of his game than they’ve ever been.
Heading to the playoffs, the only reliable part of the Patriots in recent weeks has been their excellent secondary. Did you ever think you would read that in the Brady-Belichick era? I never thought I’d dare write it.
MVP of the week
Nick Foles. In Foles’s last nine starts, the Eagles are 8-1. Sunday’s performance against a strong Houston defense was one of his best to date: Foles tossed four touchdowns on 471 yards passing, including an 83-yard touchdown pass to Nelson Agholor.
Carson Wentz may have more physical gifts, but the Eagles offense seems to function better when Foles is in the game. Foles is willing to take more risks, and he’s better on big-time throws when he does take those risks. On throws that travel 40+ yards in the air, Foles has 11 touchdowns to four interceptions. By comparison, Wentz has just two touchdowns to seven picks.
Who will Doug Pederson start if Wentz is cleared to play in the Eagles’ do-or-die Week 17 game in Washington? And if Wentz isn’t cleared, and Philly makes it to the playoffs with Foles at the helm, is there any scenario in which they put Wentz back into the starting line-up this season?
Stat of the day
Christian McCaffrey set the all-time record for catches by a running back in a season, grabbing 12 on Sunday to take his season total to 106. And McCaffrey became the third back in NFL history to surpass 100 catches and 1,000 yards rushing in a single season, matching LaDainian Tomlinson and Matt Forte.
Quote of the day
“I don’t know what you’re talking about” – Baker Mayfield doesn’t seem to remember his near-30-second stare down of ex-coach and public sparring partner, Hue Jackson.
Baker Mayfield stared down Hue for 30 mins lmao pic.twitter.com/I8EKQss5Oj
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) December 23, 2018
Find someone in your life who, umm, motivates you the way Jackson does Mayfield. Oh, and it’s worth noting: the number of games Jackson won with Mayfield at quarterback: two. The number of games Mayfield has won against a team with Jackson on staff: two.
Video of the day
The punters are fighting back, people.
First up, we had Atlanta’s Matt Bosher delivering one of the biggest hits of the year:
Falcons punter Matt Bosher just made one of the hardest tackles of the season. pic.twitter.com/lstm5awBth
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 23, 2018
Not to be outdone, Dolphins’ punter Matthew Haack delivered his own body slam in Miami.
PUNTERS. ARE. PEOPLE. TOO. 💪 @matthaack21 pic.twitter.com/SgkOJJ8cTi
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) December 23, 2018
A good day for the brand.
Elsewhere around the league
-- The game of the weekend took place in the Superdome, where the Saints pipped the Steelers thanks to a classic Drew Brees game-winning drive with two minutes to play. The Steelers will need help from Cleveland in Week 17 to make the playoffs after the Ravens took control of the AFC North with their win on Saturday.
Probably the greatest unwarranted celebration of all-time
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) December 24, 2018
(via @thecheckdown) pic.twitter.com/pVhKAnyv3W
-- Related: I loved the Steelers’ gutsy call to run a fake-punt with under five minutes to go in a bid to ice the game, even though they didn’t get it. If you’re a result over process kind of person, you probably think it was dumb. I understand, but I’m for coaches doing wackadoo things with the game on the line. Also, it gave us the instantly meme-able, all-time greatest undeserved celebration.
-- Aaron Donald broke the single-season record for sacks by an interior defensive lineman, adding three against the Cardinals to take his total to 19.5 this season. We haven’t seen a force this dominant since Warren Sapp, if ever.
-- What a coaching job by Pete Carroll in Seattle. Few expected the Seahawks to compete after they overhauled their roster and then started the season 0-2. Victory over the Chiefs on Sunday Night Football sealed his team a place in the playoffs.
dEshaUN wAtsOn isN’T A gOod EnOUGh nFL Qb pic.twitter.com/CgZau7YpxS
— Matt Vereen (@MattVereen) December 23, 2018
-- Deshaun Watson is a superstar. He’s been pressured more than any other quarterback in the league this season (40% of his snaps!), yet he continues to make sensational, improvisational plays out of nothing.
-- Dallas clinched the NFC East with a comprehensive 27-20 win over Tampa Bay. Nobody will want to play Dallas in the postseason: their defense is as imposing as any non-Bears group in the league. And while they’re predictable on offense, in Ezekiel Elliott, Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper, the team has a trio capable of taking over a playoff game.
-- Being bad and boring is the worst thing in sports. Welcome to the club, Miami Dolphins. Adam Gase isn’t going to be this year’s surprise coach firing; he’s done an excellent job with a roster wrecked by injury. But the Dolphins need an infusion of ingenuity, not just talent, for 2019.
-- According to Jay Glazer, the Raiders are looking into a plan to play their home games in London in 2018.
