Jake with a slight title change, though he has the opening backdrop right with the NFL's obsession of the new Power Couple of Sports and Entertainment...
Here's his Top 10 Most Rigged/Unreal Plays of the Week, so you can follow along here (without endorsement of some of his non-football opinions -- the video is used to show some of the plays I've mentioned previously and others I have not).
10) Texans-Jaguars. Trevor Lawrence's one interception in the game (2:28 3rd quarter, Texans lead 24-10), Jake thinks this one is scripted -- I'd need a better look than the field level, because, in this video, it actually looks like the defender broke on the route and, hence, became the receiver, intended or otherwise.
But there's a more telling situation. The cameras caught Lawrence grinning as he left the field. Not unakin to that classic "Don't rip my shirt off, everyone will see the signaling wire" from Houston-Yankees when Houston got the walk-off home run off Rivera to get to the World Series that year. THAT probably has a bit more heat on it than the play itself. Look at the look on Mariano Rivera's face, and you'll see why Jake probably included this play.
9) Chiefs-Bears, the Traylor Touchdown, I don't need to further go into that. Kelce left wide open with a 4-yard cushion for the touchdown everybody (sans Bears fans) wanted.
He thinks the NFL is paying Taylor Swift too. I'm not 100% on that, because I do have to wonder, and especially believe, if it happens this is (at least represented enough as) a legit relationship and is headed for probably the greatest millionaire cross-pollination of sports and entertainment in quite a few years.
I make no secret: If they seriously are in love (and already having "visited Mom" is an indication), this season might well be over and it's Ring Number Three, following by Ring Number One, if you know where I'm going. I would not question that it might not be "real", but it may still be happening -- and it would be in the spirit of what I once heard a rival on one of his... more general-interest... podcasts when discussion came up to all the athletes at the Olympics:
"THEY'RE FUCKING!!!" -- Nate Bender, from the defunct Refresh podcast.
Not only have sales shot up, but the viewership for the Chiefs-Bears game was up 63% over previous for the female 18-49 demographic -- one of the main "Swiftie" demographics.
But Jake forgot a very important part to this:
On the last series of the first half, Patrick Mahomes had a Bears player roll up on his ankle and leg, and could well have lost his Achilles. He was injured, but completed the half carefully.
Then he came out for the second half, drove down the field, got this touchdown -- THEN was done for the day, even though the game was Ridiculous to Nothing.
8) Bengals-Rams, RETURN OF THE DOINK -- though, I remember seeing this live and was wondering if that might actually have been more the intended target of the kick, rather than magnetized to the doink. Field goal makes it 16-9 Cincy, 3 minutes to go in the third.
7) Packers-Saints, Magnetic Glove charge. 14-0 New Orleans, 36 seconds to go in the half. I don't endorse Jake's views outside football, but I DO want you to listen at about 5:45 of the video.
Jake makes the key point -- the ball STOPS, COLD...
You would literally have to have that watermelon or basketball-crushing grip you see faked in pro wrestling to pull something like that off.
Jake then replays an ad for the "Ultimate Reception" football and gloves. Note, and I said this before, the advertisement says they are only banned in high school and college.
6) Cowboys-Cardinals. 28-16 Arizona, three minutes to go, and you throw it RIGHT TO the defender, one of three triangling the receiver. Yeah. Dallas never sees the ball again.
Psst... Rigged AND thrown. They took a dive, on top of the refball...
5) But the two previous interceptions don't hold a candle, Jake believes, to Commanders-Bills -- one of four Washington gave in the rout. Figuring the Commanders quarterback makes no effort to make the pass evade a defender 10 feet from him. You watch for yourself, you be the judge.
4) Ravens-Colts, a little more than 2 minutes left after a fourth-down stop by the Colts defense, down 17-16... Of course, the fun part...
Jake had to correct me on this one. The on-screen official, even though he's looking RIGHT AT IT, doesn't call it, but the referee comes in from off-screen and does.
3) Jets-Patriots, Jets down 5, 1:26 to go, 4th and 10 at their own 45. My exact words on the play: "Fourth and 10, you throw it two yards..." ... to a covered receiver. Yeah.
2) Dolphins-Broncos. the first of the ten Dolphins touchdowns on the day. What Jake wants you to see is, first, when Tyreek Hill (who has enough of a rep, you'd THINK someone would actually deign to cover him!) catches the ball, he is basically ten yards open -- each way. And the supposed safety just gets blown by like he's a batter and Hill is a 100 MPH fastball.
1) (And a Jake Candidate for Most Scripted Play of the Season). It's a kickoff return, Jacksonville has just scored, down 17-10 in the third quarter. Another one of those muff punt returns that somehow end up in the endzone for a touchdown -- for the team that muffed it!
Whiffs, and #83 puts #10 to the turf so he can't make the play... Touchdown and effective ballgame to Houston.
----------------
Which kinda brings me to what I would consider, three weeks in, the singular Plays of the Rigged Year:
1) Traylor. Has to be, even though most of the others on this list actually decided games, this was easily the most blatant.
2) Jets punt return refball to win in overtime on 9/11.
3) Pittsburgh Pick Six with a little help to open MNF.
4) 2-point conversion last-play DPI no-call so that Denver loses to Washington.
5) I'll call Houston-Jacksonville, that punt return #5. Had a lot less to do with storyline or direct result than the other four.
