The Skillz Report

2017 NFL ICY HOT TD, Week 5

 

(originally written 10/12/17)

 

 

 

What is NFL ICY HOT TD, anyway? I'll tell you—ICY HOT TD = In Case You Had Other Things To Do.

While some of us are able to watch NFL football all Sunday long and follow it up with postgame analysis/highlight shows well into the night...many of us can't. I aim to bring those fans bits of trivia, data, and news  they likely missed on Game Day.

Such as:

 

• Despite five turnovers, the Rams had a chance at victory near the end of their clash with division rival Seattle. However, rookie Cooper Kupp couldn't haul in a wide-open TD pass—it was a tad far but certainly catchable; in the opinion of USA Today, the throw was QB Jared Goff's best of the day. The Rams did eventually go down, 16-10.

 

• In part due to Kupp's whiff, Goff threw an NFL-season high 25 incompletions.

 

• Seattle S Earl Thomas ruined my fantasy week, as it turned out, when he stripped Rams RB Todd Gurley near the goal line as he attempted to score. I wound up losing by those six points, as did the Rams.

 

• In Carolina's 27-24 win at Detroit, much-hyped rookie Christian McAffrey made it into the end zone for the first time. Though his carries have withered away to almost none lately, he was able to haul in Cam Newton's shovel pass and race eight yards to paydirt. (FYI, it took papa Ed 21 games to score his first, as opposed to Christian's five.)

 

• Leonard Fournette became the youngest in NFL history to score a 90-yard touchdown, helping Jacksonville to a 30-9 demolition of Pittsburgh. Not only is the rookie RB just 22—he was clocked at 22 MPH!

 

• Baltimore's Mike Wallace—a benchwarmer on my fantasy team until this week—rewarded me by catching three passes for 153 yards. He entered the game with nine catches and 76 yards all year.

 

• On Thursday Night Football, Patriots QB Tom Brady tied Peyton Manning and Bret Favre's record of 189 regular-season wins by beating the Bucs 19-14, but he also threw his first pick of the season.

 

• More from the above game: veteran Bucs RB Doug Martin returned from suspension with 74 yards on the ground, while teammate Nick Folk missed three field goals (31, 49 and 56 yards) after missing two in Week 4. He's since been placed on IR with left (non-kicking) knee tendinitis.

 

• I recall an episode of the cartoon Beetlejuice from my youth in which he, Lydia and the other "good guys" faced a group of irreputables on the baseball diamond. Using one dirty trick after the other, the "bad guys" injured every one of their opponents until just Lydia and Beetlejuice remained...and still lost. 

 

• This week, the New York Giants' WR corps suffered similar luck when all but one of their five receivers was knocked out of the game with injury—including star Odell Beckham with a broken ankle you do not want to see. Unlike their animated counterparts, the Giants were defeated (by the Chargers).

 

• So decimated were the Giants that TE's Evan Engram and Rhett Ellison were pressed into duty at receiver.

 

• Los Angeles beat New York despite intentionally spotting the Giants two points in the 1st—a premature snap forced LA QB Philip Rivers to swat the ball through the end zone to prevent a Giants touchdown.

 

• Indianapolis beat visiting San Francisco in overtime on K Adam Vinatieri's record-breaking 10th game-winning overtime field goal—which seems a little low, considering he's been kicking since the Nixon administration, but there you go.

 

• Just as Vinatieri gave reason to celebrate after the first 60 minutes, two other legends incited cheers beforehand. On hand for the unveiling of his statue outside Lucas Oil Field, former QB Peyton Manning threw a pregame touchdown pass to former WR Reggie Wayne—they did this 76 times during their careers, including postseason.

 

• On his eventual 72-yard TD reception, Eagles WR Nelson Agholor abused Cardinals rookie S Budda Baker in such a way that I cannot describe it in words. See it for yourselves.

 

• Miami safety Reshad Jones returned a fumble 38 yards for a touchdown in their 16-10 victory over Tennessee. Why it stands out—no one else on the field moved much during the play, incorrectly assuming the fumble was in incomplete pass from Titans QB Matt Cassel.

 

• Former Browns QB Josh McCown, now with the Jets, beat the team that cut him after last season 17-14. If Hue Jackson keeps his job much longer, part of the reason could be his finally benching scuffling QB DeShone Kizer in favor of Kevin Hogan, who played decently in defeat. 

 

• If Jackson is let go soon, part of the reason could be his decision to pass up an easy game-tying field goal in the 4th and unsuccessfully going for it on 4th-and-2.

 

• To my fantasy delight, A.J. Green put up 189 yards on seven catches, helping his Bengals slip by the Bills 20-16. However, both of Cincy's starting CB's (Dre Kilpatrick and Pacman Jones) left with injuries.

 

• It was a wild one in Houston, where the host Texans not only lost to the Chiefs 42-34, but also lost star DE J.J. Watt, whose leg was broken in the 1st when he fell into it with his other leg—you cannot produce luck worse than that. For Watt, that's two straight years cut substantially short by injuries.

 

• On Monday Night Football, Chicago's Mike Glennon sat in favor of young Mitchell Trubisky, who threw a TD pass but also a crucial interception. Meanwhile, after sitting the past three contests with a knee bone bruise, Minnesota's Sam Bradford attempted a return but aggravated his injury in the 2nd quarter; Case Keenum then took over. The Vikings won 20-17.   

 

 

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