The Arizona Cardinals battled the visiting San Francisco 49ers in a game between two rebuilding teams.  A low scoring affair, the game came down to the last minute where Arizona’s rookie quarterback showed the reason why the Cardinals drafted him so high.  Josh Rosen steadily moved the Cardinals down the field and threw a 9 yard touchdown pass to Christian Kirk with 34 seconds left for the victory.  Final score, Cardinals – 18, 49ers – 15.

It was an ugly win, but a win is a win and for the Arizona Cardinals this win is a step in the right direction.  So there is reason for hope in the Valley of the Sun.  Who knows, with a few more play makers and a new offensive line, this team may be competitive in the near future.

Let’s take a look at this weeks Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders images.  Click here to the Cardinals gae day gallery of images.

From the BBC:

A cheerleader for the San Francisco 49ers appeared to kneel during the US national anthem at an NFL game on Thursday, echoing recent player protests.

The woman, who has not been identified, was pictured kneeling before the team’s game against the Oakland Raiders.

The 49ers are the former team of Colin Kaepernick, who knelt during the anthem as a protest back in 2016.

His aim was to highlight police brutality against African-Americans.

While the rest of the cheerleading squad held pom-poms aloft in unison during the Star-Spangled Banner, one woman knelt down and put her hands on her hips.

If confirmed, it would be the first time an NFL cheerleader has protested in this way, although five members of a college team in Georgia did so last year.

For context, there is a precedent for conduct with respect to the flag and this may help explain why kneeling for the national anthem in front of the national flag is considered controversial, even while trying to bring attention an important social cause.

The Flag Code covers all aspects of etiquette in relation to the Stars and Stripes, including how to behave when the anthem is played. The code is never enforced, however, and there is no punishment for breaching it.

The code states that persons present are expected to stand and face the flag, if there is one. Civilians should stand to attention with right hand over heart, while military personnel in uniform and veterans should salute throughout. A recent amendment to the code said that military personnel out of uniform could also salute.

Controversial?  Appropriate or inappropriate?  You decide.

The John Gruden experiment has been an utter failure so far and in Week 8, the Indianapolis Colts were the latest team to decisively beat the Raiders.  Using a strong rushing attack and riding the arm of Andrew Luck, who threw for three touchdowns, the Colts defeated the Raiders 42 – 28.

We all knew going into this season, the Raiders were in rebuild mode, especially after letting perennial All Pro Defenive End/Linebacker Khalil Mack go in free agency.  Most people believed that there was enough left on the roster to be respectable after coming off a 12 – 4 record just two seasons ago, but drastic personnel moves have not panned out this year and the Raiders are reeling at 1 – 6.

I think most Raiders fans hoped that bringing back John Gruden after a more than a decade removed from coaching, would wake up the echoes and return the Silver and Black to a commitment to excellence, but that hasn’t happened…yet.

Tradition is a good thing.  It ties us to our past and guides us into the future.  Exceptional organizations build tradition and foster it.  Vestiges of a glorious past serves to inspire and show us the way to a better future.  And if the Raiders are not quite back to the level of their glorious past, the Raiderettes have maintained that legacy and tradition established by Al Davis and Al LoCasale. 

So let’s take a look at the latest images of Football’s Fabulous Females, the Raiderettes.  And click here to view the Raiders full game day gallery from Week 8.

The Raiderettes…iconic.

The Kansas City Chiefs are the best team in the AFC and a big reason for their success has been the play of their second year signal caller Patrick Mahomes.  He is making big plays like no other young quarterback that I have seen in the last twenty years.  Whereas other great quarterbacks may consistently throw for 250 yards and two or three touchdowns, Mahomes throws for over 300 yards and three touchdowns per game.  In short, Mahomes is nothing short of a scoring machine and he can single-handedly win a game for the Chiefs, but the amazing thing is that they have more weapons than young master Mahomes alone.  They have a top 10 running back in Kareem Hunt.  They have a top 10 wide receiver in Tyreek Hill.   And you know what…all of these young stars are under 25 years old. 

And yeah, the Chiefs won again.  This week they defeated the Denver Broncos, 30 – 23 to improve to 7 – 1 on the season.  Quite impressive.

The Chiefs have something else positive going for them…the Kansas City Chiefs Cheerleaders, so let’s take a look at this week’s images.  Click here to view their game day gallery.

 

It was big game week in Los Angeles.  Anytime you have one of the NFL’s glamour teams come into town to play, it’s a big deal and it was an even bigger deal with Fox making this game, “America’s Game of the Week”.  And then there’s future hall of famer, Aaron Rodgers, a man so gifted that he can almost single-handedly win the game for the Packers. 

This was a highly competitive game between two teams that are favored to make the playoffs.  In the case of the Rams, they are the favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl and came into the game with an unblemished record.  On the other side, the Green Bay Packers were still recovering from the lingering effects of Aaron Rodgers knee injury that he sustained in the first game of the season.  He’s been playing better of late, but for those who have followed his game, we know that he is not the same as he is when he’s healthy and that limits the explosiveness of the Packers on offense.  And it is the Packers offense that makes them special.

The Packers were led by a strong defensive performance that held the Rams scoreless in the first quarter, but the Rams found their way offensively after halftime.  In the end, the game was decided in the final minutes when Greg Zuerlein hit a 34-yard field goal with 2:05 left and Ramik Wilson forced and recovered Ty Montgomery’s fumble on the ensuing kickoff return.  Rams win 29 – 27 to stay unbeaten.

Let’s turn our attention to the Los Angeles Rams Cheerleaders, who looked resplendent in their throwback inspired cheerleader uniforms.  Click here to view the Rams game day gallery.

 

The rematch between the Vikings and the Saints wasn’t the last second thriller like last year’s playoffs, but it was almost as good…if you are a Saints fan.  A strong defensive effort by the Saints stymied the Vikings and led to a couple of turnovers, one of which was an interception returned for a touchdown.  Drew Brees had an uncharacteristically mediocre day, but it was good enough to prevail.  Saints win 30 – 20 to improve to 6 – 1 on the season and stay within one game of the conference leading Rams.

Though the loss was disappointing for Vikings fans, their spirits should be raised by this week’s Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders photos.  Click here to view the Vikings game day gallery.

The Cincinnati Bengals played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week and it was another close game that was decided by big plays by big players.  Jameis Winston, the Buccaneers quarterback, threw four interceptions and was replaced by Ryan Fitzpatrick, who gamely brought the Bucs back to tie the score at 34 with 1:05 left in the fourth quarter.  But the Bengals have a few big play players of their own and Andy Dalton promptly drove his team down the field where Randy Bullock kicked the game winning field goal.  The Bengals were led by Dalton’s 280 yards and two touchdowns and Joe Mixon rushed for 123 yards and another two touchdowns.  Bengals win 37 – 34.

The Cincinnati Ben-Gals braved the chilly weather to cheer on the Bengals to victory.  We have posted a few images from the Bengals for your enjoyment.  Click here to the Bengals game day gallery to see all the images.