The Lions-Texans proves the NFL’s watchability problem this year is real

Football might have a watchability problem.

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks so much for reading today. We appreciate you for giving us a bit of your time.

Did you see the Lions-Texans game Sunday night? If you did, I’m sorry.

I’m not going to lie to y’all — by the time Jared Goff threw his third interception, I tapped out. That game was unwatchable for me! There were seven total interceptions between the two quarterbacks and two fumbles (both recovered by the offense).

THE WORST QBS: Jared Goff is a lock on our grossest QB performance list this week.

I wasn’t subjecting myself to that foolishness. Yes, folks. I am saying I’m too good for sloppy football. Especially when the team I root for isn’t involved. If it’s my team?  Maybe I’ll stick it out. Otherwise? No. Absolutely not. Y’all are out of your minds.

This game was exciting, yes. But it was exciting in the same way that it’s exciting to watch a dumpster fire. When you see one, you’ve probably never seen one before. So you’re like, “WOW. A dumpster fire!” But then, you realize what you’re watching. And you’re like, “Huh. This is a dumpster fire.”

That’s the perfect way to describe the Lions’ improbable (and undeserving!) comeback. Detroit made history by being the first team since 1970 ever to throw at least five interceptions, be down by 15 points or more, and still find a way to win the game.

That’s awful. To me, it says much more about the game’s actual quality than it does about how resilient or awesome that comeback was. To pull off a comeback of that nature, your opponent has to kind of stink. And we’re talking about two teams who are supposed to be Super Bowl contenders here. The Lions might even be the best team in the NFL!

I guess it’s great to be able to find a way to win games no matter what. And y’all know I’m a Dan Campbell guy.

But, man. This was bad. I couldn’t do it. Sorry. I do not love football that much!

This game speaks to an overarching problem I think football has right now. The quality of play in the NFL just isn’t quite what it used to be. Tom Brady (of all people!) tried to warn us about this and we didn’t listen. But he was right: A lot of mediocre football is being played these days.

How do you fix this? I don’t know. But somebody needs to find a way. Because, man, a lot of these games stink.


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Giannis is a child

Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

That was Jaylen Brown’s response after Giannis Antetokounmpo left him hanging on Sunday.

The Bucks’ star elbowed the reigning Finals MVP in the head on an offensive foul during their matchup against one another. Giannis seemed to be making a piece offering to Brown when he did this instead.

I like it! Give me a little bit of spice in my hoops, man. This is fun. I mean, the elbow wasn’t fun. It was kind of dangerous. But it happens! The rest of this is a good time.

Brown got the last laugh with the 113-107 win. Antetokounmpo’s Bucks are 2-8 and still have a lot to figure out at this point.

But it seems the slow start hasn’t broken Antetokounmpo’s spirit. Not yet, anyway.


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The Bears are … bad?

Oct 13, 2024; London, United Kingdom; Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus watches from the sidelines against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second half during an NFL International Series game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

A few weeks ago it looked like the Chicago Bears were in a solid position in a tough NFC North division.

They weren’t at the top, but at 4-2 they were in solid position to make a run if they could just scrounge up a few wins over the next few weeks.

Those next few weeks have not gone well. Chicago has only scored 27 points total in three straight losses. Worst of all? Robert Zeglinski says the Bears are breaking Caleb Williams:

“After a promising start to the year, the Bears appear to be breaking Caleb Williams, and they seem to be quitting on their coaches.

The Bears cannot continue on like this for another eight games. The players have clearly made their statement about how they feel about the current situation. Parading on with no meaningful changes whatsoever (offensive coordinator Shane Waldron getting fired/losing play-calling duties? Eberflus getting fired? Both getting fired?) would be a slap in the face to their current roster and any fans still, somehow, watching them.”

This team has got to have the worst vibe in the NFL by far.


Quick hits: What we learned in Week 10 … Jerry World’s big flaw … and more

— Here’s Christian D’Andrea on everything we learned from Week 10 in the NFL, including the Jets being a mess.

— The sun shining through the roof of AT&T stadium completely disrupted the game between the Cowboys and Eagles multiple times. Fans roasted Jerry Jones for defending it.

— Are we the Chiefs and Lions on a collision course for the Super Bowl? Week 10 makes you think so.

— Ricky Pearsall might be breaking out for the 49ers and that’s awesome to see. Here’s Charles Curtis on his fantasy impact.

Bryce Yong, guys!!! He’s making progress. Maybe. Christian has more on that.

— Here’s Shawn Hoculi calling penalties in German. This is cool. Prince Grimes has more.

That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for rocking with us today. We appreciate you.

Peace.

-Sykes ✌️