The Titans miraculous 22-21 win over the Cardinals needs a nickname. I like “The Holy Roller Strikes Again” because it reminded me so much of the original “Holy Roller” play that Ken Stabler, Pete Banaszak, and Dave Casper used to be the Chargers 21-20 in 1978. I was 11-years old and playing in the backyard when my dad started screaming for me that day. I thought someone was dead. When I got in the house, he said, “You have to see this.” There was no screaming in our house Sunday. The Lions blowout of the Bengals was being shown, and I did not stick around for the OT to see “The Holy Roller Strikes Again.”

It is very rare for one NFL team to steamroll another on the ground enough to win. It is even more uncommon for it to happen after a team falls behind by 17 points. But that is what the Panthers did to the Dolphins in their 27-24 win. Carolina ran the ball 32 times for 239 yards. RB Rico Dowdle led the way with 206 yards on 23 carries. The Panthers average 7.0 yards per carry, better than the QCYPA of both Bryce Young (6.633) and nearly equal to the QCYPA of Tua Tagovailoa (7.194).

Miam HC Mike McDaniel probably will soon be ex-HC Mike McDaniel. The Dolphins cannot cover, fall behind, and abandon the run (in part because their O-line is weak). McDaniel called just 14 runs against Carolina despite holding that 17-point lead. It was the third time this year he called 15 or fewer runs (all losses). That is surprising for a Kyle Shannahan disciple.

Baltimore is another team that is running a whole lot less because its defense cannot cover anybody. In the Ravens last 3 games (all losses), Greg Roman called fewer than 20 runs. Philadelphia joined the club in its first loss of the season to Denver. Despite a big lead going into Q4 and Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia ran the ball just 11 times, well below their 32.75 rush attempts average going into the game.