And I Was So Close to Acceptance

• The truth is that I was totally ready for acceptance. I accepted that the Green Bay Packers were going to be slaughtered by Pittsburgh Steelers. I had come to terms with it. Because, really, at this point, there is not a single advantage to the Green Bay Packers winning another game this season. Every victory would only lower their draft pick. BUT THEN they had to go and put on the showing they did on Sunday night. To take one of the best teams in the league and go down to the wire! AND THEN LOSE! What are you doing to me?? They’re making me regress in my grieving process!

• There were so many good things happening in the game! Brett Hundley completed 65% of his passes for three touchdowns, no interceptions, and a 134.3 passer rating. The defense forced three turnovers. That gorgeous last touchdown drive, including the ice-cold fourth-down conversion. Oh, the pain!

• Let’s talk about running back Jamaal Williams. With 39 seconds left, tie game, on second down, Williams picked up three yards, and then ran out of bounds, thus stopping the clock so that Pittsburgh didn’t have to take a timeout. When the Packers punted a couple of plays later, the Steelers had 17 seconds and two timeouts to work with, and they made it work. Jamaaaaal!

• But I can’t lay the blame all on Jamaal. First of all, he contributed 135 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, and he played great (almost) all game long. Plus, it’s not his fault that the Packers went three-and-out on that last drive when a single first down would have taken them to overtime. Hundley didn’t have time to tell Williams not to run out of bounds. On the previous play, the nefarious TJ Watt delivered a helmet-to-helmet hit on Hundley that went uncalled. The Packers should have been given 15 yards and a first down, but whatever. Because of the hit, coach Mike McCarthy was asking Hundley if he was alright and good-to-go. This delayed the communication of the playcall and Green Bay had to hurry to the line, without Hundley being able to tell Williams to stay in bounds. I don’t know if the Packers would have survived overtime, but it would have been nice to have at least had the opportunity.

Maybe one day Brett will get these calls. 

• All of this is moot anyway because of Antonio Frickin’ Brown. Can’t really do much about this nonsense.

• That's just run-of-the-mill stuff for this dude.

• And then the Steelers’ nobody kicker who missed an extra point decides to kick the longest field goal made at the hardest stadium for field goals. 

• The Packers certainly looked improved, and I’m very happy for Brett. Buuut, do we want the Packers to improve at this point?? I hate to say it, but isn’t the answer …. no?

• Heartbreaking end to the Lions-Vikings game. Minnesota was up 30-23 when Detroit threw an interception on their own 16-yard line, effectively ending the game. Minnesota ran out the clock with a few run plays before attempting a 17-yard field goal …. which was BLOCKED and returned for a TOUCHDOWN!! OMG tie game, going to overtime!!!!!!!!!! Except … there was a penalty on the Lions on the return. Vikings keep the ball and kneel it out. 

• Latavius Murray is the tallest running back I’ve ever seen! He’s 6’3”!

• The Cleveland Browns, at 0-11, are the first team to be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. So much for a run-the-table comeback.

• Atlanta’s Mohamed Sanu is a very good receiver (as the Packers secondary can attest), but he’s also a very good quarterback, too. His career passer rating is perfect: 158.3.

• I was planning to sit down and watch the Eagles this week to see what all the hype is about. Philly looked amazing, but the problem is that it's hard to tell anything against the hapless Chicago Bears. They lost to the Packers, after all. At halftime, the Eagles were up 24-0 and Chicago had ZERO first downs!  

• The Carolina Panthers running back (#28) is very dedicated selling the fake on Cam Newton’s keeper. 

• Stupid #98 cost the New York Jets a chance at a comeback. (It’s a former Packer!!) New York cut the lead to five with five minutes left. Carolina was trying to running the ball to play out the clock, forcing the Jets to use all their timeouts. New York’s defense did its job, stopping the Panthers on first and second downs, leading to 3rd-and-11, which resulted in an incompletion … but #98 couldn't help himself and hit Cam Newton late. Instead of punting, Carolina got a fresh set of downs and were able to kick a field goal with 21 seconds left to seal the game. SHAME!

• I don’t even know who Mr. Jones on the Buffalo Bills is, but he’s got some serious anti-gravity moves! 

• Great game between Jacksonville and Arizona! Who would have thought that Blake Bortles vs. Blaine Gabbert would be so much fun?? It was boring 10-16 game in the second half with a stretch of six straight punts when things got exciting. Jacksonville returned a fumble for a touchdown to go up 17-16. Arizona responded on the next drive, and completed a two-point conversion. A 68-yard punt return set up Jacksonville’s touchdown on the next drive to tie everything up at 24 halfway through the fourth quarter. The teams traded interceptions on successive drives. Arizona went three-and-out, and then Jacksonville did the same. BUT, as so often happens, Jacksonville’s coach, with less than a minute left, foolishly decided to throw the ball on that drive. (Why do coaches always do this??) The incompletion stopped the clock, and when the Jaguars failed to convert on third down the next play, the Cardinals got the ball back with just 16 seconds left. It was enough time for a couple surprisingly impressive throws to put the Cardinals in field goal range, including the gorgeous catch from DJ Foster (see below). Then the ancient Phil Dawson pulled his creaky bones onto the field to kick a career-long, game-winning field goal. 

Patriot legend, DJ Foster helped put the Cardinals in FG range for the game winner! 😤😤 pic.twitter.com/qug1CV2yjA

— '03 Kliff Kingsbury (@fearthe_beard11) November 27, 2017

• Invite the Philadelphia Eagles to your wedding. 

• As I’ve mentioned, I like the team celebrations that have been happening this year with the relaxed celebration rules. You get more a lot more fun/silly/creative stuff than you do the stupid taunting and crotch-grabbing of individual celebrations that make old codgers like me grumble about the kids these days. 

• Julio Jones has had three 250-yard receiving games in his career!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No other receiver has every had more than one 250-yard game. 

• It's been a tough season, but watching the Dallas Cowboys implode has been a huge comfort in this trying time.

• Surely, the Cowboys defense was a comfort to Philip Rivers, as well. Rivers completed 82% of his passes for 434 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, no sacks, and a 149.1 passer rating against Dallas. 

• Goodness gracious, there was yet another brawl this week, featuring old friends Aqib Talib and Michael Crabtree. Both are loudmouth idiots, but Talib is a frequent offender as a dirty player so I’m going to blame mostly him. He couldn’t help himself from snatching Crabtree’s chain -- again. Both were rightly ejected, and then suspended for two games. Two games seems harsh, but considering the history between these two, it’s probably best to encourage them to use restraint in future meetings.  

• Next week, the Packers face the 4-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and I'm so torn over whether I want them to win or not! I hate having to cheer for losses! I feel like a traitor. Maybe I can cheer for Jordy and Brett and all my faves to have good games, but for them to lose on a bad call or fluke play or something. An unhappy compromise, but it's the best I can do. 

Here's a picture of Jordy so we can all end on a happier note.