This week’s NFL ratings show that on average, about 8 million people watched Thursday night’s Rams Raiders classic on Amazon. However, with just over 12 minutes left in the game, Baker Mayfield started his second drive from the end of the Rams, and he was down 16-3. The whole audience was probably made up of Rams fans, Raiders fans, desperate Thursday night gamblers, and me…and I was paying to call from the Riviera Men’s Grill It sounded like Al Michaels had as much attention on the game.
And sports were played just like sports, with all 38 of us hooked and watching a game that was, until then, a tiresome roadkill. If the last 10 minutes of her was exceptional, he wouldn’t watch a 3 hour movie. We’re not eating badly in the hope that strong desserts will make up for it all. But a three-hour (his four for college) football game might bring something never seen before… jumping out of a plane and leading a new team to a dramatic victory like a quarterback.
Landing in Los Angeles just 46 hours before kickoff, Mayfield moved the Rams more than 173 yards on two drives, ultimately leading to a touchdown. A brilliant 23-yard touchdown Van wrapped his pass in his Jefferson arms, as if Mayfield handed over the baby. Just like that, the disastrous Super Bowl defending his champion took the most unexpected victory, and the Raiders went to bed satisfied with everyone but his fans, and everyone who chose Vegas to cover. .
It was the second straight NFL game in which a quarterback orchestrated a spectacular comeback from a 16-3 deficit. It wasn’t whether he would come back to beat the Saints, but how long it would take him to do it (it was 2 minutes and 20 seconds after all).
Coming into Thursday night, Mayfield didn’t even reach the level of “damaged goods.” He’s like the NFL’s version of a goodwill donation, which he tosses into the bin for a tax deduction on New Year’s Eve afternoon. , almost never read a secondary or perform a two-minute attack.
But Thursday night, Mayfield ran two back-to-back death-defying drives with far more confidence and precision than many other starting QBs can manage… I did so without even knowing the names of my teammates. field with him. Whether he will rejuvenate his career or whether this was his last highlight is irrelevant for now. He did exactly what he was supposed to do and won the NFL’s accolades for it. Patrick Mahomes, Cordarrelle Patterson, JJ Watt, and many others flooded his Twitter account with congratulations and praise.
The Rams-Raiders are also an interesting counterpart to the ongoing World Cup. Most of his 8, 15, or 20 million fans who watch an NFL game will say football is too boring, but, ironically, Thursday night’s game is an emotional affair. It was close to a World Cup match in terms of intensity. Gets the NFL generally happy with the scores. After one team has made a huge jump worth two zeros, the other team turns the whole thing upside down with his two late his scores. Boredom, tiredness, tension, euphoria… that’s all.
Like injury-time wins at the World Cup, Thursday night games are what keep sports fans going, and why we all have a lifelong fascination with children’s games. It’s the reward for spending hours, seasons, years on Unlike the movie, the ending is not fixed. Unlike music or art, repeated experiences do not bring the same joy. Sudden and unexpected victories are a joy to behold, whether it’s a driveway horse game or the Super Bowl. And it’s always, always a possibility.
The Cardinals will face the Patriots next Monday. This match is literally no one’s must see. Perhaps we’re pushing our luck to the breaking point and hoping for his finish on a miracle week night for three consecutive weeks… but hey, you never know. And that’s why we’ll see.
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Contact Jay Busbee (jay.busbee@yahoo.com) or Twitter (@jaybusbee).