The only man who can stop Tom Brady’s brilliance is Bill Belichick

Philadelphia Eagles rookie quarterback Carson Wentz did indeed throw 60 days in Sundays 32 -1 4 loss at Cincinnati and he missed often. Twenty-four times as a matter of fact. Though three of those were actually completed to Bengals defensive musicians. Such fights were to be expected for someone who was only a two-year starter at a FCS college, but after a solid start to the season, his performance has deteriorated as defenses have adjusted to him. He now has 10 interceptions in his last seven games, and there appears to be some tension between Wentz and psyche coach Doug Pederson, a mentor of quarterbacks. Pederson, in recent commentaries has said Wentz needs to work on his auto-mechanics. Wentz said he simply missed on some flings. This is probably more of the typical frustration that comes after a loss and not a dispute between a quarterback and his coach. But Wentz will likely have more days like Sundays before things get better.

Gif of the week

How boring the NFL would be without Raiders punter Marquette King. He might be the first punter in recent memory to get an unsportsmanlike penalty on a play in which he was hit. King who sometimes celebrates his punts with dances, or his famous pony ride against the Broncos was not happy to be knocked to the ground while delivering a punt in the Raiders 38 -2 4 over Buffalo. So imagine his exultation at observing the foul had been noticed by the officials. Perhaps if he had danced for exultation without the flag in his hand a penalty wouldnt have been called. But dancing with the officials flag does qualify as a personal foul penalty and the NFL is just slightly less fun.

Fantasy player of the week

Wouldnt it have been awful if you had meditated Joe Flaccos meandering season of mediocrity , noted that he had more interceptions than touchdowns and picked someone else as your favorite starting quarterback? Not when you could predict the Ravens were going to throw the ball nearly every play on Sunday and that Flacco would complete 36 -of-4 7 passes. Surely, you knew those 36 finishes would go for 381 yards and that four of those catches would be touchdowns. Thank goodness you didnt do something silly and sit Flacco for Drew Brees playing at home where he is almost always unstoppable.

Stat of the week

0. The combined total of pass completions between Bears quarterback Matt Barkley and San Franciscos Colin Kaepernick in the first quarter of their play Sunday. It was a horrible 15 minutes. In reality, it was the most difficult 15 minutes of quarterbacking in 28 times, going back to 13 November 1988 when the Planes and Patriots mixed for zero finishes in a one-quarter. That play, played at age-old Monster Stadium,featured former college sun Doug Flutie against Ken OBrien and was won 14 -1 3 by New England. Together, the two finished with 17 finishes in video games. That was much better than Kaepernick and Barkley, who were horrible in the snow on Sunday. At least Barkley managed to put together an afternoon that wasnt too miserable, completing 11 of 18 passes for 192 yards. Kaepernick, playing in his first snow play, was dreadful, completing one of four passes for four yards before being replaced by Blaine Gabbert. It was a performance that should make one severely question the Kaepernick analysisthat appeared in this space last week.

Elsewhere around the league

— Seattle safety Earl Thomas left the Seahawks 40 -7 trampling of the Panthers with a fractured bone in his lower leg. Obviously disappointed, Thomas mailed a melancholy tweet during the game that said: This play has been good to me no sadness. A lot is running through my intellect including retirement thank you for having all the prayers.

— Denvers first-round draft selection Paxton Lynch induced his second start of the season fill in for the injured Trevor Siemian. He did not have a terrific debut, throwing for simply 104 yards and no touchdowns but was not intercepted. Jacksonvilles Blake Bortles was picked off twice and the Broncos won 20 -1 0, sliding into the last AFC wild card slot.

— Houstons Brock Osweiler and the Packers Aaron Rodgers did better in the snow as Lambeau Field was glazed in white during Green Bays 21 -1 3 succes. Both boys only managed simply over 200 passing yards but they threw for two touchdowns each and no interceptions.

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