OK, '72 Dolphins enjoyers. You can breathe a sigh of relief.
There will not be an undefeated team this year. The Eagles went into Monday night 8-0 to take on the Commanders at home. Many thought Philly would preserve their spotless record and improve to 9-0, but Taylor Heinicke had other ideas.
The Eagles still had a last gasp down 26-21 in the 4th quarter. Well, two, I guess. OK maybe three. Maybe.
They did nothing with their first attempt and had to punt. They still had one more chance to get a stop and get the ball back. On 3rd down, Heinicke was in desperation mode, scrambling around trying to find someone to throw to with the Eagles defense closing in on him. With no other options, Heinicke simply took a knee...and then Eagles LB Brandon Graham ran into him, earning an Unnecessary Roughness penalty and an automatic 1st down.
There have certainly been rougher Unnecessary Roughness penalties... but it was enough to draw the flag. Even still, the Eagles were still able to force one more punt, giving them one last play on offense to win the game from deep in their own territory.
But that didn't happen. They tried a lateral play (is it a lateral play if the team doesn't complete a single successful lateral?). DeVonta Smith caught a quick pass from Jalen Hurts, fumbled it in an attempted backward pass, which was then collected by the Washington defense in the endzone for a touchdown, which I'm sure mattered to somebody out there.
Heinicke and the Commanders? Well, they celebrated.
Yes, Heinicke was given the royal treatment despite going 17/29 for 211 yards, no TDs and one INT. Terry McLaurin accounted for 128 of those yards and no other WRs totaled even 30. The Commanders had 49 rushing attempts on the night. But Heinicke was the one who got run into on a busted play, so, let the coronation begin.
In another unlikely event, the Vikings pulled off a stunner against Buffalo to bring their record to 8-1. Justin Jefferson had an all-time best-catch contender on a must-convert 4th & 18, and... you really need to see it to believe it.
I mean, holy fucking balls, right??
You just know the NFL showed up to test that man the next day.
The Vikings ended up having a 4th & Goal on the 1-yard line. The ensuing QB sneak attempt failed, which according to Bills Twitter, ended the game.
"FOURTH. DOWN. STOP. BALL GAME!!" the official Bills account tweeted.
Fortunately for Minnesota, Bills Twitter does not decide when the game ends.
The Bills offense took over, and on the first play, Josh Allen tried a QB sneak just to prevent a safety, and I think we can say he succeeded. Instead of a safety, Allen fumbled the ball in the endzone, and the Vikings recovered for a defensive TD that gave them the lead.
The Bills would extend the game, however, driving down the field in a remaining seconds to tie the game with a field goal and send them to overtime.
The Vikings got a field goal on their drive to take the lead. The Bills also got themselves into field goal range. But then Allen tried to laser a throw into the endzone to win the game, only for it to be intercepted by Patrick Peterson.
"Ball game," as they say.
What could honestly be more shocking than that?
How about 638-year-old Matt Ryan scrambling for a personal record 39-yard run?
As football analyst Mina Kimes said, "Play cover 1 against this man at your own peril!!!!"
In the abysmal AFC South, maybe the Colts playoff hopes aren't totally in the gutter...especially now that they know they have Lightning McQueen as their QB.
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