The NFL Wrap: Saints end Rams unbeaten run as Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers duel

Two of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history met on Sunday... possibly for the final time.
AP
Malik Ouzia @MalikOuzia_7 November 2018

Week nine in the NFL, and to borrow golfing terminology, most teams have now taken the turn. While we celebrated Bonfire Night on these shores, there was no shortage of fireworks across the pond...

No 16-0 for the Rams

The last unbeaten record in the NFL evaporated on Sunday, when the Los Angeles Rams lost 45-35 to the New Orleans Saints. There’ll be no cause for alarm in L.A. yet – there hasn’t been an unbeaten regular season in the NFL since 2007, when the Patriots went 16-0, but ended up losing in the Super Bowl anyway.

In fact, the Miami Dolphins side of 1972 are the only team in the Super Bowl era to complete a ‘perfect season’, winning every regular season game and continuing on to lift the Vince Lombardi trophy.

What will matter far more than this loss is how the Rams bounce back against the Seattle Seahawks next week, and then, more crucially, the Kansas City Chiefs the week after. Losing can do strange things to teams that always win, and only once in the 21st Century has the team who has gone deepest into the season with an unbeaten record ended up winning the Super Bowl (the Colts in 2006).

The Saints ended the Rams' eight-game winning streak and extended their own to seven in the process 
AP

The GOAT-off

Tom Brady vs Aaron Rodgers is the NFL’s Ronaldo/Messi debate. The two met at Gillette Stadium on Sunday night, and despite Brady’s Patriots running out 31-17 winners over the Green Bay Packers, the argument won’t be letting up anytime soon.

The Brady argument goes that the medals, or Super Bowl rings in this case, speak for themselves. Brady has five to Rodgers’ one, a point Rodgers himself raised in the build up to this clash.

The counterargument notes that Brady plays for the Patriots, and that Rodgers would have (at least) five rings too if he had been under centre for Bill Belichik for the best part of twenty years.

Why does all this matter now? Well because, as Andrew Siciliano pointed out, the NFL fixture schedule doesn’t throw up another Packers vs Patriots meeting until 2022, when Tom Brady will be 45. Unless they meet in a Super Bowl, these two legends have almost certainly duelled for the final time.

Julio ‘about time’ Jones

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones finally caught his first touchdown pass of the season in the 38-14 win over the Washington Redskins. Jones has still been playing superbly, trailing only Adam Thielen (who is having a career season) in league-wide receiving yards, but a redzone reception at long last will no doubt be a relief.

More important is the Falcons’ recent revival. Facing the prospect of a home Super Bowl, they somehow contrived to lose four of their first five games, despite playing well in most of them, and being done by a single score on three occasions. They’ve bounced back to 4-4 at the midway stage, and though they face a huge task to overhaul both the Panthers and the Saints for a divisional title, it’s worth remembering that all three qualified for the post-season last year.

Vikings defense is back

Matt Stafford of the Detroit Lions took a battering from the Vikings defense 
AP

And with a bang. Last year, the Minnesota Vikings had the best defense in the league and it almost carried them to a Super Bowl. This year, despite additions on the other side of the ball that should have eased the burden, they’ve faltered. That is until Sunday.

The Vikings D exploded into life with a franchise record ten sacks in the win over the Detroit Lions, with defensive end Danielle Hunter picking up 3.5 on his own. There were ten tackles for loss and a defensive touchdown thrown in for good measure, too.

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