I hate sports

Sunday's NFL contest between the Baltimore Ravens and the Carolina Panthers was a game that made me question my life in general. Why do I even put myself through this? The world may never ever know. I knew what was going to happen before the game, I knew what was happening when it was happening, and I still questioned the result at the end. 

Anyway, it didn't start off all that horribly -- the Ravens had a successful first drive that ended in an Alex Collins touchdown. But things quickly got off the rails, and Collins seemed to be the only player on his team who continued to have a good game (minus the fumble). Linebacker CJ Mosley looked completely lost, the secondary was flustered without Marlon Humphrey and the offensive line was just abysmal.

Credit where its due -- Panthers quarterback Cam Newton had a fantastic game after not practicing a full week. Greg Olsen seemed his usual self as the Ravens D frequently left him open in the middle of the field for god knows whatever reason. 

Baltimore has a lot of work to do if they want to be great at this whole "football" thing.

Extra points:

• Is Adrian Peterson officially back? The Washington Redskins got their third straight win against the New York Giants, and Peterson led the way like old times. Peterson caught his first touchdown pass since 2013.
• In my 'Things That Don't Surprise Me' file, I have the following: Atlanta Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff is a cyclist. Yep, he's one of those annoying people on bikes who take up the entire goddamn road and cause traffic. Take that shit to a trail or something.
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR DeSean Jackson reportedly requested a trade. Jackson saw more production while QB Jameis Winston was suspended and he was catching passes from Ryan Fitzpatrick. However, with Sunday's benching of Winston will he want to stay if Fitz gets the job? The trade deadline is Tuesday. -eyes emoji-
• Cincinnati Bengals DE Carl Lawson​ tore his ACL during Sunday's game. He only has (had?) one sack on the season.
• While we're talking about fallen ACLs, Houston Texans WR Will Fuller tore his on Thursday night and is out for the season. He'll be getting surgery this week. 
• In regular nice-guy fashion, Los Angeles Rams DT Ndamukong Suh said this about Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers: "I don’t know if he likes me. But I don’t really need a response. My response is when he’s getting up from the ground. That’s all I’m excited for." Uhhhh ok
• Indianapolis Colts K Adam Vinateri​ broke the all-time scoring record at the end of the first half on Sunday. He's scored 2,547 points and according to my notes, that's a lot.
• Second worst Ravens WR of all time Jeremy Maclin will not play this season because of an (shocker) injury. He'll need surgery on his hamstring. Might wanna get him some new hands while they're there.
• Imagine not loving Josh Rosen. Could not for a single second be me. Sunday's Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers game was a yawn-fest until the fourth quarter when Rosen led the comeback to win 18-15.
• The Jacksonville Jaguars had a great time in London. Four defenders were "detained" after a "misunderstanding" which led them to "walking out" on a $64,000 bar tab. Nobody seems to really know what actually happened, but it sounds like a fun fucking night.

Things you should read today:

• Cowboys reached out to Nick Saban, others before making Amari Cooper trade (ESPN)
• The Steelers went full-Rutgers and forgot to field this safety punt (Deadspin)
• Chargers DE Joey Bosa not "anywhere near ready" to play despite recent progress (ESPN)
• Justin Bieber probably does know how to eat a burrito after all (USA Today)
• Mike Tomlin talks about the tragedy in Pittsburgh  & honors the victims (NFL)

last word:

My niece on the Red Sox “their mascot is JUST a red sock.”

— Jessica Kleinschmidt (@KleinschmidtJD) October 26, 2018