https://www.5toolsportspodcast.com/podcast/episode/1c19faf9/working-for-the-weekend

Monday night football recap

Chicago Bears 19 Minnesota Vikings 13

- Bears have lost 4 in a row

- Nick Foles is now injured

- The Bears offense is still not very good, and the change in play-calling duties from Matt Nagy to Bill Lazer is a head-scratcher.

Bill Lazer's top offense as an OC was in 2014 with the Miami Dolphins; they ranked 15th in pts, and 13th in yds per game.

In two seasons with the Bengals (2017-2018), his offenses ranked 22nd and 26th in total yds. Last night the Bears failed to get anything going amassing 149 total yds.

The Punter Pat O'Donnell had 221 net punt yds on the night.

We are talking about an offense that failed to get anything going against a Vikings defense that ranks 7th worst in the NFL in net yds per pass attempt.

The Bears are in free fall, and the Vikings control their destiny at 4-5 with games against the Cowboys, Panthers, and Jags coming up. Vikings are on a 3-game win streak.

(Justin Jefferson 8 of 10 targets for 135 yds).

(Kirk Cousins 25-36, 292, 2-1).

(Dalvin Cook 30 att 96 yds).

Weekend NFL thoughts and playoff race adjustments and updated MVP race?

NFC East

The entire NFC East has a shot at the playoffs. The Eagles had a chance to take some type of control of the division but failed to do so vs the Giants.

Daniel Jones is becoming a more dynamic player because of his ability to run the zone read. Jones had 244 yds passing and 64 yds rushing.

NFC West

That Hail Mary for the Cardinals was an MVP moment for both Deandre Hopkins and Kyler Murray. But has there been a more impactful player for their team in 2020 than Deandre Hopkins? Aside from his high-volume usage, he won a game on a Hail Mary that put his team in first place of the NFC West. The NFL MVP Award has become similar to the Heisman Trophy in CFB as a QB top-heavy award. But if there was a year where a non QB was going to take the MVP, it is 2020. As of right now, Deandre Hopkins is the NFL MVP, and if he continues to average 9+ targets a week, he has a great shot at winning the award.

NFC North

Packers will win the division.

NFC South

New Orleans is now going to be without Drew Brees for an extended period.

Woody's dream of seeing Jameis redemption came to fruition on Sunday and might continue, though I did hear that they are opening the competition this week. It's hard to tell how this will go for the Saints. As of right now, they are the front runners to win the division. We have to see how a Jameis or Taysom, or a combination of the two, will fair for a week before we know what to expect.

The Bucs redeemed themselves by blasting a feisty Panthers team. Brady threw for 341 yds and 3 TD's and completed 72% of his throws. Ronald Jones was awesome, he still runs into a wall and misses open holes, but he is very good when he doesn't. He had 192 yds on 23 attempts and a 98-yard TD run. He averaged more than eight yds per att. That is exactly what the Bucs needed to get back on track after being deleted a week ago vs. the Saints.

AFC East

The Bills and the Dolphins are in position, but the Patriots keep hanging around. The Dolphins were impressive once again, and the Patriots found a way to football the Ravens in a rain soaked and windy night. The Patriots were able to run the football; Harris and Newton Combined for 141 rush yds. The Pats defense held Lamar in check. More on Lamar when we get to the AFC North.

AFC North

Steelers are the front runners.

AFC West

It is the Chiefs division to lose, with the Raiders in position to claim a playoff spot.

How Teams are Defending Lamar.

This season's Ravens offense has been largely unchanged; they use shifts and motion at a 69% rate compared to 2019, where they shifted or used motion 71% of the time. They utilize play action at a 35% rate compared to 2019's 33%. Teams are using smaller defenders even against the bigger personnel sets that the Ravens love to use.

The ravens have already seen 30 more plays of defenses deploying 6 DB's to this point in 2020 than the entirety of 2019. Teams realize they need to have speed on the field to stop Lamar.

Brandon is prepping some college football ranking adjustments after the weekend; pick a team you think is shining everybody.

The top 5 teams as of today are

Alabama

Notre Dame

Notre Dame controls their destiny and is in the driver's seat to face Clemson in the ACC title game. If Clemson wins a rematch, the Irish could still get in.

Ohio State

Justin Fields and Ohio State are rolling, but their schedule is very soft. They missed a game because of Maryland having too many Covid positives a week ago.

Florida

Florida's on fire right now. They will have to beat Alabama in the SEC title game to keep the Pace. Kyle Trask is moving up the Heisman charts. He has been on fire, throwing 28 TD's in just six games, which is a near Joe Burrow pace from 2019.

Clemson

Trevor Lawrence will be back.

Heisman

Justin Fields

Kyle Trask

Mac Jones