Lots of blowouts and road wins this week. My goal with this column has always been to try and explain the whys of a game and not just rehash the whats. But this week is going to be tough because it really boils down to the fact that a lot these games were a good team versus a bad team.
If you look at how well amateurs like me did in their picks for the week – across the board – we all did pretty well. There weren’t many surprises as far as wins and losses. There were some surprises in how poorly some teams played (ahem, Dallas and Arizona).
We are reaching the point of the season where teams are going to start making decisions on their future. There are a few teams that are stuck at .500 and are they going to try and find a player that might help them get over the hump? What about teams that are struggling? Is it time to make a coaching change? Is it time to try and plan for the next offseason by trading some players and stockpiling picks for the draft?
Fans can only be patient for so long. There’s nothing worse than a losing season with a coach/general manager who thinks they are just a player away. Getting stuck in that mediocrity circle is torture. Burn it down guys if you aren’t making the playoffs!
Here’s what I saw in each of the games:
SF @ SEA
Geno Smith the story is much better than Geno Smith the football player. It’s a weird situation. If all you do is watch the box score, or look at his stats, he seems like an above average quarterback. But watching the game, you can see his throws are late, high, or off target. Too often his throws lead his receivers into big hits. And if you don’t think that’s true or an actual problem, pay attention to his receivers after the play. You can see the frustration building on their faces.
On the other side of the game, San Francisco got the win and showed signs of their former selves. Red zone offense is still a problem for them, and the defense still feels underwhelming. A couple of years ago, there was a big deal made about how teams that faced the 49ers lost the following week. It was a measure of how physical that team was. They are missing that, and it might be the thing that keeps them from advancing in the playoffs.
JAX @ CHI
What a time for the Jaguars. Trevor Lawrence finally finds his throwing accuracy and now his receivers can’t seem to catch the football. I honestly can’t see this coaching staff surviving past next week if they lose again in England.
Caleb Williams handled the pressure from the Jaguars front line well. He took some unnecessary hits – and a couple unnecessary sacks – but he used his legs well scrambling for extra yards. These past couple of games he’s felt very connected to the offense which is a good sign for the rest of their season.
ARI @ GB
Arizona showed up for this game. I know this because there were players in white jerseys on the field. But other than that, you couldn’t tell me this was a team ready to play football. They didn’t have the right cleats early, they were slipping all over the field. They couldn’t make a play on offense or defense until Green Bay was up 24-0 and had taken their foot off the gas. This was a bad showing for a team that has played well against the top talent in the NFC so far this year.
Jordan Love was showing off in the first half and making it look easy to get big chunks of yards. This is the Green Bay offense we’ve all been expecting this year. Josh Jacobs was great providing the tough yards on the ground all game. The defense might give up yards, but no one is creating turnovers like this team. An opportunistic defense with a power offense is going to be trouble for the league.
IND @ TEN
I continue to be impressed with Tennessee’s run defense. Their defensive tackles are impossible to move. In this game they also got a great push in the pass rush and helped keep Flacco under pressure all game. The offense leaned on the run game and short passes to move the ball and control the clock. It wasn’t until the very end that Levis threw his inevitable bad pass and turned it over. Probably why they were still in the game in the fourth quarter. If the coaching staff can’t trust him to push the ball to his wide receivers throughout the game then they should realize he’s not the guy to lead this team.
Flacco managed to keep the game close and take advantage once the Titans made mistakes late. Indianapolis is a well coached team and they did a great job scheming their offense. For example, they used motion and stacked formations to get Downs covered by a linebacker on more than one occasion. They got a touchdown and a crucial first down late in the game on this matchup. Great coaching!
HOU @ NE
Joe Mixon was dynamic. It wasn’t just playing the Patriots that proved that. When Mixon was resting, the Texans struggled to gain yards on the ground, just like they did the last few weeks while he recovered from his ankle injury. The difference between having him on the field and not was stark. CJ Stroud is more confident this year in the offense and his abilities. He’s pushing the ball downfield more and taking more chances with his throws. It’s creating more explosive plays, but its also leading to more turnovers. The coaching staff is going to have a tough time balancing that, but in big games, these turnovers could be the difference between winning and losing.
We all knew the Patriots were going to lose this game. The bright spot is that Drake Maye looks like a franchise quarterback. He has an effortless delivery and he showed he can make all the throws. If they can find some combination of offensive lineman that can give him time, he might be able to pull them out of the cellar before the end of the season.
TB @ NO
Tampa Bay is like a kid hopped up on sugar. They explode with phenomenal energy, crash, recover, finish. Baker Mayfield on script, the first plays they script for every game, is magical. He’s efficient and the offense clicks. As soon as they are off script, his game changes. The offense struggles. The defense has to carry the team until they find their rhythm again. I’m sure its maddening for the fans, but right now its working.
Rattler looked good in his first start. He seemed comfortable in the pocket and was running the offense as if he had been starting all season. The problem for New Orleans is that he just doesn’t have a NFL starter arm. He’s going to be a solid backup in this league, but for a team that is struggling and without Carr for a few more weeks, that’s a bad sign. You still have the second quarter of this game Saints fans!
CLE @ PHI
Of all the teams coming off a bye, Philadelphia was the most disappointing. On their first drive, three and out. Second drive? They had to go for it on fourth down and then punt three plays later. These are the seven plays you had two weeks to practice? This is how you come out to play Cleveland? There was a thought that AJ Brown returning would somehow fix this offense. He played great, but the problem is Jalen Hurts and the coaching staff. Hurts is inaccurate and he’s forcing the ball into coverage while missing his open receivers. Had they played any other team on Sunday, this was probably a losing effort.
Kevin Stefanski is a good coach – he’s proven that by now. Continuing to play Deshaun Watson doesn’t make sense. The rumor is that management is forcing him to play Watson because of the salary they are paying. But the body language of the offense can tell you no one believes in him any more. If I was Stefanski, I’d bench him. He’s costing you wins and eventually he’ll cost you your job. I’d rather be fired making the right football decision. And your next employer will be better Kevin, it has to be.
WAS @ BAL
The mirror match.
And you know what, it actually played out very much like that. I want to see this game replayed when Washington has Brian Robinson Jr healthy. Daniels had some big game nerves early on and was erratic with his throws in the first quarter. After he settled down the offense played much better and they stayed in the game. On defense, they had no answer for what Baltimore was doing. They used eight man fronts to try and stop Henry and it didn’t work. They tried multiple blitz packages and Lamar was able to get the ball downfield. This was a measuring stick game for the Commanders. They aren’t there yet, but I think they are a lot closer than many of us thought they’d be at this point in the season.
The first half was all Henry, Lamar, and Flowers. If it wasn’t for an uncharacteristic interception at the goal line this could have been a rout early. Henry in the second half was literally unstoppable and he helped carry the team over the finish line. The ball control offense protected their defense – Daniels was figuring it out by the second half and it could have been a different outcome if Ravens weren’t able to keep stringing together first downs.
LAC @ DEN
Watching this game, I kept wondering if I was really seeing two playoff teams? According to their records, they could be, but neither team looked playoff caliber. The Chargers don’t have any explosive playmakers on their team. They have to sustain drives on the ground and in the short passing game if they want to score. That’s a rough row to hoe over the course of a season.
This was probably Bo Nix’s worst game since the opener. He still showed me something in the fourth quarter. Herbert might have had the better stats in the game, but Nix made more plays.
Yeah, this was a boring game. And it was the AFC West, so even harder to watch. Sorry Broncos and Chargers fans. You might make the playoffs, but someone has to be the sacrificial lamb offered up to the Ravens.
PIT @ LV
What else can TJ Watt do to prove he’s the league MVP? Two punchout forced fumbles in this game – one on the goal line to prevent the Raiders from getting back into the game. He also had tipped balls and applied pressure on O’Connell all game. The Steelers defense is exactly what the Raiders would love to be.
The ball came out of O’Connell’s hand faster and more accurately. He was able to move the ball effectively the whole game, but turnovers killed their drives. Deablo was a beast on the field and a welcome sign for a defense that has been struggling. But with Wilkins out, the run defense was putrid. The Steelers got everything they wanted by running straight up the middle. Until that’s fixed, this Raider team won’t be winning many more games.
DET @ DAL
This was not one of those games where you say, “wow the Detroit coaching staff came in with a great gameplan,” or “wow, the Detroit coaching staff schemed up some great matchups.” This was a gameplan where the coaching staff said, “we are going to line up and physically overpower them. We are the better team, and we are going to prove it.” The Lions ran the ball as much as they wanted. And they were physical and abusive to the Dallas defense. They passed the ball wherever they wanted. And they didn’t care who was in coverage. Everyone was open in this game. This was a complete domination.
Dallas should burn this film. There is nothing good out of their performance.
ATL @ CAR
I’ve been calling for it all season and Atlanta finally delivered. Look how well the offense works when you focus on the run game. Cousins started out erratic with his throws, but after the run game started going, he was able to utilize the play action pass. His accuracy returned and the offense efficiently scored from then on. Defensively, Atlanta gave up yards and points against a Carolina offense that has been struggling. But they continue to get pressure on the quarterback and force turnovers. This looks like a playoff team now, so cleaning up the little things the rest of the season is going to be important.
Carolina is like a pesky house fly. Annoying, hard to get rid of, but ultimately fairly harmless. They are getting great individual performances, but as a team things just aren’t meshing yet.
CIN @ NYG
This was a snore of a game. Here’s the thing I took from it:
Brian Burns spent most of the night using an inside move to break down the Bengals offensive line. Whether he worked a little twist with the defensive tackle, or cutting inside his blocker, he was very effective. He had pressures, sacks, tackles for loss. It was a great performance out of him.
But.
On third down, coming up on the two minute warning, Joe Burrow took the snap. Brian Burns took an inside move. There was no containment on the outside, and Burrow broke the pocket that direction. He threw the ball downfield, got the completion they needed and effectively ended the game. There was a near miss on a fumble on the very next play, but if Burns had stayed at home, he would have got a sack and the Bengals would have had to punt. It was a great play by Burrow and a mistake by Burns (who was having the better game by the way).
BUF @ NYJ
Penalties. Did the Refs think they were playing in this game? They took as many yards as either of these teams. Just a sloppy, undisciplined game from both teams.
The Jets offense looked better. They at least made an attempt at a rushing attack and they had enough success they should have stuck with it. A couple missed field goals might be the thing fans hold on to, but the Jets should have scored touchdowns on both of those drives. Penalties killed them.
The Bills did enough to win, and Josh Allen had his Josh Allen moment at the end. The first couple of weeks, they were able to get yards through the passing game even without a top wide receiver. As the season continues, that issue is becoming more obvious. Without a true number one receiver out there, teams are loading up against the run and making it tough for the Bills offense. They are going to win the division, but this doesn’t look like an offense that can keep up with the Ravens, Chiefs, or Bengals.