2021 NFL Week Nine Score Report

Wow, NFL...  Just in the 4th quarter:

• Late slide for a no-call on the protection on Justin Fields.
• Next play, a clear Roughing the Passer -- no-call.
• Couple of plays later, you call DPI on Chicago where, if anything, it was an OPI push-off -- that makes the game 26-10 Pittsburgh.
• After a Chicago punt, the returner is DOWN and contacted, but the announcers are talking about punching the ball out -- touchdown, and, as I type, the game is now 27-26 Chicago, already a Cliffhanger, and we'll see about the last minute situation!
• Oh, and, on the field goal drive to make it 26-20 for Pittsburgh. a penalty on Chicago for taunting -- now, if the ref heard something, I can believe it.  But the call appeared to be made when the Chicago defender contacted the ref when the ref intentionally bumped HIM!!!  (Found a Tweet with a video, that should be the last word proving the NFL rigs it's games.)
• And now 59 seconds, and the Steelers have the ball in field goal range...
• 30 seconds to go, and here's the field goal to make it the fourth game this week (and thirtieth this season) to have a game-changing score in the final minute or overtime.  It'll still be one short of the nine-week NFL record, but it will be on pace for the same Week 9 of the year that is the current record:  2015 (which had 31 through nine weeks).
• AND IT'S GOOD.  OF COURSE, NFL!!!!  OF FUCKING COURSE!!!!  29-27 Pittsburgh, and still enough time to do something crazy if so inclined!!!
• And, because WHY NOT?  65 yard field goal attempt for a Chicago win at the guuuuuuunnnnn...  Short.  Pittsburgh wins 29-27.  Thanks for watching this NFL Scripted Production.

sigh  You couldn't make it more obvious if you fucking TRIED!!!

Even the Yinzer knows it was bullshit!!!

A special heartfelt conglaturation to the Pittsburgh Refs for a hard-fought win against the Chicago Bears.

Their efforts allowed seven points to be shaved off the score in some of the most heinous refball seen in years.

This wasn't a football game. This was a fucking farce.

— Schlasser (@UrinatingTree) November 9, 2021

(UrinatingTree is from Pittsburgh, is a Steelers fan per se, and has also called on Bears coach Matt Nagy to go scorched-Earth on the refs, because Nagy is about to be fired anyway!!!)

Anyway, the week's numbers:

• Another low-scoring week:  44.57 PPG.  (Last year's Week 9 was another big one:  52.92 PPG)
• This included the lowest-scoring NFL game in the NFL in a little over 2 calendar years -- October 20, 2019 Week 7, San Francisco went to Washington and beat them 9-0.
• It was also the last NFL game before Jacksonville and Buffalo needed to fumigate the stadium afterward (9-6) which did not feature a single touchdown.
• Season average:  46.84 (Last year:  50.65)
• Home teams were 7-7 for the week -- 64-69 for the year.  (Last year:  5-9 for 65-67-1)
• The Over was also 7-7 for the week -- 60-74-2 for the year.  (Last year:  9-4-1 for 71-58-4)
• Another beating against the number for favorites this week:  THREE AND TEN (one game kicked a pick).  That's 57-77-1 for the year.  (Last year:  5-8 for 54-75-1)
• Straight up, another losing week.  6-7 for 80-55 for the year.  (2020:  9-4 for 84-45-1)
• Team with more penalties this week was 4-8 for 56-63 for the season.  (Last year:  5-6 for 48-65)
• 183 penalties in the 14 games this week -- a tick over 13 a game.  For the 136 games so far this season, 1,709 (12.57 pens per game).  (Last year:  147 in 14 games Week 9 (10.5 per game), and 1,504 in 133 games this season (11.3 per game))
• So scoring is down almost four points a game, penalties are up 1 1/4 per game, halfway through the season.
• Four Cliffhangers, all within the last minute -- so 30 of the latter, one short of 2015.  35 Cliffhangers (last two min/OT) for the season.  (Last year:  1 Cliffhanger, the Monday nighter, for 24.  For the record, last year had six of the 24 so far not be in the last minute.  So 18 in the last minute and overtime.)
• That's right...  The NFL has had nearly TWICE as many Cliffhangers, and TWICE as many games come down to a changing score in the last minute over last year...
• Record Watch:  2015 Week 10 had three games decided in the last minute of regulation, so the NFL will need four next week to get to record pace again.
• Eight of the 14 games finished within one score, 65 for the season (still not up to 50%).  (Last year:  9 for 69 total, for 52%)
• The other six games were all non-competitive, and included losses by the Cowboys, Bengals, and Rams -- hoo boy, have I got some figuring to do for the Politicals...  50 non-competitive games for the year now.  (Last year:  3 for 41 total)
• And that field goal miss (the first in 41 straight for the Chicago kicker -- again, don't blame him, that was 65 yards!!) was the third Last Chance Miss of the week, for 30 for the season.  (Last year:  7 for 45)