NFL Week 12 Overreactions/Underreactions

Should we be worried about the Lions?

Week 12 has come and gone and it gave us some great Thanksgiving Day games, unless you’re a Lions fan. With the many surprises that came along with the week, let’s look at some overreactions and underreactions.

Overreaction: Josh Dobbs should be benched after the Bears game

It’s completely valid to have this kind of a reaction to a historically disappointing performance like Josh Dobbs had on Monday night, but it’s not time to look at benching him yet. This one bad game in no way erases all he’s done for this team since being flung into the starting quarterback role four games ago.

Dobbs is still learning this offense and needs more time before he should be completely written off. Let’s just wait to see what he does when Justin Jefferson comes back.

Underreaction: Brandon Staley should have already been fired

The general consensus in the NFL community seems to be that Chargers’ head coach Brandon Staley is on the hot seat after a 4-7 start this season, but I’m going to take this a step further and say that he should have joined Frank Reich on the jobless coaches list.

The Chargers have the talent on their team to easily be the number one seed in the AFC or at least be closely competing for it. Instead, largely thanks to Staley, they’re struggling to go over .500. While the Chargers have had a relatively difficult schedule this season, one of the most talented teams in the league should not be this bad.

Overreaction: The Lions are vulnerable enough to miss the playoffs

Thanksgiving Day was not pretty for the Lions, but what else is new? The Lions have historically been dismal on Thanksgiving as they haven’t won on the holiday since 2016, even though they play on that day every year. While their loss to their division rival Green Bay Packers may have turned heads, it’s not yet time to panic.

The Lions have had a dominant season this year with success that they haven’t seen since 1962. Realistically the only reason the Lions really lost this game was because of Jared Goff’s three fumbles. As long as Goff and the Lions don’t let this rattle them, they’ll be just fine.

Underreaction: Josh Allen carried the Bills’ offense on his back against the Eagles

Plenty of people have been discrediting Josh Allen this season, but not enough are giving himcredit for his performance vs. the Eagles this past weekend.

Allen threw for 339 yards and two touchdowns but also led the team in rushing with nine carries for 81 yards.

Allen put this Bills team on his back and did virtually everything he could to get the Bills what would’ve been a season-altering win over the Eagles. Add onto this the fact that it rained for most of the game, and it’s clear to see why Allen’s future in Buffalo is in no way in danger.

Ethan Elllis is a third-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email ece5133@psu.edu.