My favorite players the week are…

CeeDee Lamb Cowboys wide receiver

Lamb put his stamp on the game & the Cowboys’ record books.  He caught 13 passes for 227 yards and a touchdown against a good Lions defense.  That pushes his totals for the year to 122 catches & 1,651 yards.  That breaks Hall of Famer Michael Irvin’s team records for both.  He still has a game to play, but now no one can say he needed an extra game to break the record.

Joe Flacco Browns quarterback

The Browns have been around for 77 years. Flacco became the first quarterback in team history to throw for 300+ yards in 4 games in a row.  He completed 19 of 29 passes for 309 yards & 3 touchdowns with 1 interception to blow out the Jets. I’ll bet the Jets wish they had kept Flacco as a backup this year!

Lamar Jackson Ravens Quarterback

Jackson completed 86% of his passes (18/21) for 5 touchdowns & no interceptions.  He averaged 15.3 yards per completion.  The game was important to Miami, but they couldn’t stop the Ravens who rolled up 56 points.

James Conner Cardinals running back

Kyler Murray also had a good day in the upset of the Eagles with 3 touchdowns, but Conner was key for the Cardinals.  He had 26 carries for 128 yards & the game winning score with 32 seconds left.  He also made a great one-handed catch for a touchdown.  Conner was a bludgeon against the Eagles.  He had a 22-yard run, but mainly, he just kept picking up yards at a solid clip.  He averaged just under 5 yards per carry, which helped the Cardinals control the clock.  They held the ball almost 20 minutes longer than the Eagles.

Rasul Douglas Bills cornerback

On a day when the offense was ineffective for much of the game, the Bills defense stepped up.  Douglas had 2 interceptions.  His first put the Bills at the Patriots 14-yard line & led to a score. He returned the second 40 yards for a touchdown.  He also tipped a pass that was intercepted.  He might have been the difference in the game.

Aidan Hutchinson Lions defensive end

They lost, but he did his job.  5 tackles for loss with including 3 sacks.  Even when he didn’t make the tackle, he impacted the game.  He pressured Dak Prescott into a bad throw that was intercepted in the first half.

Jalen Reagor Patriots receiver/returner

The Patriots are offensively challenged, so Reagor’s 98-yard opening kickoff touchdown return was a great start for them.  Unfortunately, they turned over the ball too frequently to beat the Bills.  Reagor also had 1 catch for 39 yards in the losing effort.

Gunner Olszewski Giants punt returner

His 94-yard punt return touchdown with 3:27 left gave the Giants a chance to tie the game or go for the lead on the extra point.  The Giants went for the lead & failed on the two-point conversion.  That was it, but it was a nice return.

My favorite wine of the week was…

Farina Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore 2019 $17.99 13.5% ABV $18.99

50% Corvina, 15% Corvinone, 20% Rondinella, 5% Molinara, and 10% Oseleta

There seems to be an ocean of thin overly acidic Valpolicella out there.  This isn’t one of them!

This is a Ripasso style wine that qualifies as Classico Superiore meaning that it has at least a year of oak aging.  It also cannot be released until 2 years after the harvest.  Ripasso wines are sometimes referred to as “baby Amarone.”  That’s not the worst description.

This wine was initially vinified in separate lots.  The January after harvest, the lots were combined & then the skins from grapes used for Amarone were added to the wine.  This caused additional fermentation which gave some of the raisin like notes from the dried skins (Amarone grapes are dried prior to pressing). Ripasso means essentially re-passed due to the reuse of the skins.  It can lead to more complex wines & that is the case with this wine.  Some Ripasso wines can be high in alcohol, but this one is only 13.5% alcohol, which keeps it light.  It has excellent acid, which balances the 7% residual sugar.

The wine shows chocolate & coffee notes along with deep red fruit that has almost a crunchy fresh note to it. I also noticed some spices, including ginger & black pepper.  It has a long finish that allows the various flavors to linger & mingle on the palate.

At $18.99, this wine is an amazing deal.  It will be excellent while reading a book by the fireplace or paired with a rustic Italian dish, maybe something with pasta & wild game.