The Sunday Circle

After a brief hiatus, the Sunday Circle is back! Your home for NFL weekly recaps as well as a player who may have broken out and a player you might need to worry about. 

Raiders 36, Cowboys 33 (OT)

This Thanksgiving we were all thankful for this game with how the rest of the slate went. Desean Jackson finally made his presence felt in Vegas with a long 56-yard touchdown to get the game started. This game was back and forth the whole way with Dallas mounting a comeback to tie the game up in the final minute but in the end, it was Vegas who was able to capitalize in overtime with Daniel Carlson hitting a 30-yard field goal to end a crazy back and forth game. 

Packers 36, Rams 28

In a game that could very well end up being the NFC championship game, it was the Packers who struck first with an Aaron Rodgers touchdown run. The Packers’ defense was stifling, forcing three turnovers including a pick-6 by Rasul Douglas to essentially put the game away. Aaron Rodgers is putting his name into the MVP conversation with another game with over 300 yards and three total touchdowns. The Rams look to be in a little trouble losing their third straight game. They are going to run into some problems if they can not find a consistent running game.

49ers 34, Vikings 26

Stop me if you have heard this one before, but the Vikings were involved in another one-score game. The 49ers dominated Minnesota up front rushing for over 200 yards. Deebo Samuel might be the most versatile player in the league rushing for almost 70 yards and 2 TDs as a receiver. The biggest loss for the Vikings on Sunday was the loss of star running back Dalvin Cook. In a time where they need to make a push for the playoffs, Minnesota will have to hope Cook’s shoulder does not keep him out long term. 

Football team 17, Seahawks 15

It appears that the Carrol-Wilson era in Seattle might be coming to an end. Washington’s run defense stumped Seattle’s offense holding Seahawk running backs to 18 rushing yards all game. In what was a very ugly game all around the one star of the game was Antonio Gibson who rushed for over 110 yards. The biggest question mark of the game was D.K Metcalf who has been quiet the past couple of weeks and it looks like Russ is not even targeting him on offense. He ended the game with 1 catch for 13 yards. Now sitting at 3-8 the Seattle regime as we’ve seen it for the last decade appears to be coming to an end. It will be interesting to see if Seattle chooses to move on from Wilson and Carrol or if they decide to keep Russell. 

Player who may have broken out – Kendrick Bourne (New England)

Kendrick Bourne has put up a few big weeks now but he may have officially broken out last week catching five balls for 61 yards and two touchdowns. Bourne has been pretty good all year but with the progression of Mac Jones and the Patriots offense, Bourne could be poised for an even bigger role for the rest of the season. One of the things that stuck out to me was how much Belichick loves him. After the game, Belichick was pumped about Bourne’s performance, and for a guy who never shows much emotion that could mean something for Bourne’s role in the offense.

Player to be concerned about – Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh)

For the second time in the history of the Sunday Circle Roethlisberger finds his name on the concerned list. Roethlisberger looked terrible against the Bengals this week throwing one of the worst pick-6’s I have seen in a long time and it just looks like he does not have it anymore. Pittsburgh’s offense seems to be short check-down passes from Ben or a deep shot down the sidelines that are rarely on target. Pittsburgh’s offensive line was a concern going into the season and that concern has turned to reality with Ben’s lack of mobility he has just been unable to escape pressure and it has tanked Pittsburgh’s offense. If it wasn’t for a late garbage-time touchdown by Pat Friermuth the offense would have been shut out by Cincinnati and it looks like that may be the norm moving forward for Pittsburgh.