Steve Brownlee

When it rains, it pours, which this time of the year we can only hope for — otherwise it would be about 8 to 10 inches of snow.

Using that metaphor, I had one really good topic for this week’s Armchair QB column exactly a week ago, then another one fell into my lap on Monday night.

Let’s start with Thursday’s action.

CUT MALACHI CORLEY!

Who is that who’s got my goat, you say?

Just the New York Jets ball carrier who didn’t listen to me in this column just hours before his game last Thursday.

That’s when I said, “Don’t drop the freaking ball as you cross the goal line!”

I made that point in last week’s Armchair column talking about Chicago Bears’ defender Tyrique Stevenson, who was celebrating before the Hail Mary pass was thrown by Washington that pulled a victory out of that particular jaws of defeat the previous Sunday.

I mentioned that while that play was bad, was stupid, was whatever, it doesn’t amount to the level of hot-dogging it you see when players with the ball going uncontested into the end zone try to drop the ball just as they’re grazing the goal line.

Corley mistimed his drop — as it seems happens so often — and instant replay showed that he lost control of the ball just BEFORE it reached paydirt. From what I remember, the ball bounced through the end zone for a Texans’ touchback.

Way to go on what was going to be your first pro career touchdown.

Somehow, the Jets pulled out the victory anyway, no thanks to this hot-dogger.

He committed this deed maybe six or seven hours before most of you saw my column earlier that day.

If only Malachi had seen it, he could’ve saved himself a lot of grief.

Now onto Monday night.

Tampa Bay lost to Kansas City 30-24 in overtime, no doubt because the Buccaneers went for an extra point in the final minute of regulation that only tied the game, instead of having the “courage” to go for two points and the lead.

At least that’s what a bunch of the national (i.e., New York) media pundits were saying on TV sports shows on Tuesday morning. And yes, one of the guys did use the term “courage” — or the lack of it — talking about kicking the extra point.

All I can say is — Did you people watch the game? The WHOLE game? Or did you go off for a potty break when Tampa scored and kicked the extra point with 27 seconds left, assuming that with a tie score the game was going to OT?

Apparently, that’s what all those bozos in New York did.

Twenty-seven seconds doesn’t sound like much, especially spelled out as two words like I just did, rather than as two digits.

But with all three timeouts left, it was plenty of time for Chiefs’ QB Patrick Mahomes to mount a scoring drive. He only needed to get to about the Bucs’ 45-yard line to set up his kicker, Harrison Butker, for a 63-yard field goal that he’s capable of hitting.

What happened after the score was tied 24-24 was that Tampa kicked off into the end zone, which under the current rules, not only didn’t take any time off the clock, but placed the ball on the KC 30.

As it was, the Chiefs moved the ball nine yards to its 39 and then punted with 13 seconds left. I know this as I watched a replay of the game — well, just the last minute or so of regulation — on the NFL Network on Tuesday afternoon.

But with a tie score, the Chiefs couldn’t be too aggressive — an interception likely would’ve set up Tampa with an immediate field goal try, or worse, a pick-six (interception returned for a TD) would’ve all but instantly ended the game.

On the other hand, if the Bucs had gone for and made a 2-pointer on the previous TD, then Tampa would’ve led 25-24. And Mahomes & Co. knew they would’ve had to let it all hang out trying to move the ball the 25 or 30 yards necessary to get in Butker’s range.

If you thought that KC would have no problem moving the ball 70 or 75 yards in OT to score the game-winning TD, you have to think he could’ve easily picked up the 25 yards to get in field-goal range in 27 seconds — and with three timeouts.

At least when the game went to OT, the Bucs had a 50-50 chance of winning the coin toss and getting the ball first — and possibly last like the Chiefs did.

OK, now let’s get to this week’s games, with the Packers getting one of this week’s four byes:

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Today, 8:15 p.m.

Cincinnati at Baltimore — It’s hard to count on the Ravens’ defense, which plays OK sometimes, pretty poorly at others. However, the Bengals always seem to have a bad “D” and Baltimore’s offense has certainly found a higher gear. Ravens, 31-26.

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Sunday, 9:30 a.m.

New York Giants at Carolina — With this game being played in Munich, Germany, does the NFL think Europeans won’t know the difference between championship football and the dregs these two teams trot out way more often than not? That might be true in an era before the Internet, but now I’m sure there’s plenty of translations for what people say about these Giants and Panthers in English on whatever fan sites most Germans are checking out.

Maybe they figure if people can appreciate these teams, in a few years they’ll be overjoyed when the good teams come callin’. Anyway, Giants, 23-19.

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Sunday, 1 p.m.

New England at Chicago — Now for some good ol’ fashioned NFL play. Oh wait, this pair of teams is only about a half-step ahead of what’s being trotted out in Munich, now that the Bears can’t stop a Hail Mary since some of them don’t know when the game is actually over.

With the buzz — I think it’s just about all bad — after the Hail Mary defeat, things only got worse for Chicago in a 29-9 defeat at Arizona on Sunday. This doesn’t seem like a good time to head six or seven time zones away with a potential language barrier getting in the way, too.

On a hunch, I’ll take the Patriots, 24-16.

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Buffalo at Indianapolis — So 39-year-old QB Joe Flacco is trying to resurrect the Colts’ offense in place of “rookie-like” Anthony Richardson. Maybe against a less capable team. Bills, 34-24.

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Minnesota at Jacksonville — I can see the Vikings being one of those teams that looks like world beaters against weak opponents and all befuddled against good teams — like the Lions. Wow, did I really say that? Jacksonville qualifies as a weak opponent on just about every count. Vikings, 33-20.

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Denver at Kansas City — I was looking at the league standings and noticed the Lions have a 110-point differential, 258 for and 148 against. Not surprising for a 7-1 team.

What really surprised me is that the 8-0 Chiefs only have a 56-point difference, 203-147. That’s means their average win is exactly seven points. Great if you can win by that amount every game, but I’m sure there’s two or three 10-point wins in there, meaning there’s a bunch of razor-close scores to balance it out.

Doesn’t sound sustainable to me, but I’ll wait for a better prospect before I pick against KC. Chiefs, 25-23.

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Atlanta at New Orleans — The Saints are back to free-fall mode, while the Falcons actually have a two-game lead in the NFC South. Sounds like a “reverse momentum” pick for the underdog, but I’ve gotta see something out of New Orleans first. Falcons, 30-24.

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San Francisco at Tampa Bay — So the 49ers are supposedly getting several players back soon, including all-everything back Christian McCaffrey. But when they’re actually back, can they be effective in the first game? I’ll stick with the plucky Buccaneers, 26-20.

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Pittsburgh at Washington — Now here’s a good battle. Will it be the Commanders’ offense, which has scored five more points than the Lions (even if it is in one more game), or the Steelers’ defense, which joins the Chargers as the two teams that have given up 25 points less than every other team in the league.

Without delving further into the numbers, I like a team with a veteran QB who doesn’t have to do too much over the rookie who has to play in a high-wire act to keep his attack so elite. Steelers, 27-23.

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Sunday, 4 p.m.

Tennessee at Los Angeles Chargers — Each of the other seven teams that has scored less than 170 points has exactly two wins, but the Chargers, with 159 points scored, are 5-3. Gimme that defense over Tennessee, which happens to be one of those sub-170, two-win teams. Chargers, 20-9.

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New York Jets at Arizona — The yo-yo known as the Jets is due for a down week. Cardinals, 24-20.

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Philadelphia at Dallas — The Eagles seem hard to read. Thankfully, the Cowboys not so much. Eagles, 33-21.

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Sunday, 8:20 p.m.

Detroit at Houston — A battle of division leaders, but while Detroit is plus-110 on the points, the Texans are at plus-one, 201-200. That really shouldn’t mean anything, just a fun reason to take the Lions, 31-24.

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Monday, 8:15 p.m.

Miami at Los Angeles Rams — OK, so the Dolphins looked much better in a 30-27 loss at Buffalo on Sunday with Tua Tagovailoa back in the saddle. But this cross country trip and all those L.A. weapons against a not-so-great Miami defense push me toward the Rams, 29-21.

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Last week — 13-2, 87 percent. Season — 89-49, 64 percent.

Steve Brownlee can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 552. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.