Quick Slant: TNF - You Survive, or You Don't
Mat Irby’s Quick Slant * Raiders * Broncos I once worked on a movie in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Frankly, I loved it; I’m not from anywhere like the high desert, so it was a chance to experience an entirely different social and environmental context. In the middle of it
Quick Slant: MNF - Wind in an Empty Hall
Mat Irby's Quick Slant * Cardinals * Cowboys It’s hard to fathom now, but the Arizona Cardinals used to be part of the NFC East as recently as a quarter century ago. Before the Houston Texans existed, the NFL was in dire need of realignment; expansion and team migration
Quick Slant: SNF - The Convergence of Sports Hopium and Unfeeling Pragmatism
Mat Irby's Quick Slant * Seahawks * Commanders “You are what your record says you are.” Legendary HC Bill Parcells would toss out this line from time to time, and it would land like a fire blanket. One of the most familiar pastimes of sports fans worldwide is seeking an
Quick Slant: TNF - The NFL's Halloween Edition Features Two Teams Trying to Spring From the Grave
Mat Irby’s Quick Slant * Ravens * Dolphins Wanna play a game? It’s Halloween—a time where we revel in the most stomach-churning, disgusting, and terrifying things; what better way to celebrate the awful than with a matchup between the 2025 Ravens and Dolphins? Hold your nose when I say
Quick Slant - MNF: The Chiefs' Voltron
Mat Irby’s Quick Slant * Commanders * Chiefs The Commanders had a moment, fleeting as it was, when it appeared they could be the team to beat in the NFC East. The Eagles had lost two straight, including a puzzling dismantling by the Giants on TNF. Despite their nearly unstoppable offense,
Quick Slant: SNF - One Final Act Before the Curtains Close
Mat Irby’s Quick Slant * Packers * Steelers I was living in the Dallas area during the week when Super Bowl XLV was played at Cowboys Stadium, now AT&T Stadium. It snowed that week, then that snow thawed a little and turned into black ice, and then it snowed
Quick Slant: TNF - Within the Vast Band Between Good and Bad
Mat Irby’s Quick Slant * Vikings * Chargers The Chargers are 4-3 but feel like a team on a slow spiral out of control. Despite losing all-everything LT Rashawn Slater before the season’s outset, they came to the gates like the best team in the league through the first three
Quick Slant: SNF - Between a King's Crown and a Jester's
Mat Irby’s Quick Slant * Falcons * 49ers Matt Ryan pressed his right foot into the turf at the ten, swung his hips, and lofted an easy pass to Tevin Coleman, who caught it at his waist as he sprinted alone in the right flat near the numbers. Coleman had lost