Category: Kansas City Chiefs

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PICK SIX – Week 14

Angry quarterbacks. Ineffective quarterbacks. Quarterbacks defying expectations. Quarterbacks orchestrating improbable comebacks. More by luck than design, Shaun Blundell and Sean Tyler’s selections seem to focus on the impact – both good and bad – that “the most important position in sports” had across the NFL this week. 

Second big loss steals the headlines

Ten days ago, Pittsburgh (then 7-4) were a good AFC Wild Card bet. Their offense suddenly clicked in their first game post-Matt Canada and their defense remained solid. But two home losses in a week, to two of the league’s worst teams, have dented their postseason aspirations. After losing to the 2-10 Cardinals, they faced the Patriots (also 2-10) on Thursday night and tasted defeat again – their third loss in four.

To right the wrongs of the previous weekend, the Steelers needed to start fast against New England but did the complete opposite, conceding a TD within four minutes. They countered with a field goal but the Pats turned a Mitchell Trubisky interception into another seven points, and soon went 21-3 ahead. Credit where it’s due, Pittsburgh fought back to 21-18 but the damage was done. And the loss was historic, making the Steelers only the second franchise ever to lose consecutive home games to teams with 10+ defeats.

The Patriots did enough. Bailey Zappe threw three TDs, Zeke Elliott posted 140 scrimmage yards and a receiving tuddy, Hunter Henry caught the other two on just three receptions and ex-Steeler Juju Smith-Schuster recorded 90 yards on four catches. In contrast, Trubisky’s 35 passing attempts yielded just 190 yards while Najee Harris (29 rushing yards) and Jaylen Warren (11) trailed their QB in an anaemic ground game. Dionte Johnson was the only Steeler to surpass 29 receiving yards.

Matt Canada may be gone but the offense has clearly stalled again since that coming-out party against Cincinnati three weeks ago. Some players admitted taking Arizona lightly and after Thursday’s loss, Minkah Fitzpatrick suggested history had repeated itself. “Too many people… just walk out here and think they’re going to make plays. We need to have more people who want to work for it, not expect it to be handed to them.” The fact that the home crowd were baying for Rudolph Mason to replace Trubisky speaks volumes about this blunt offense. But the defense – usually their redeeming feature – gave up 21 points before half time to the team ranked dead last in points per game. They’ve trailed by three scores twice in five days, having not done so for a decade, so alarm bells must be ringing.

Despite the win, other results mean the Pats are the first team officially eliminated from the AFC playoff race, leaving them with little to play for but pride and draft order. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh slip from fifth to eighth in the conference standings. Some disgruntled fans are calling for Mike Tomlin’s head but his team would have to go no better than 1-3 against the Colts, Bengals, Seahawks and Ravens to even post his first-ever losing season. Then again, the way they’re playing at the moment, that’s entirely possible. Things need to turn around fast if the SS Pittsburgh is to stay afloat. [ST]

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Flacco has Browns dreaming

Maybe it’s fourth time lucky in Cleveland? If quarterbacks 1, 2 and 3 don’t work, then surely calling up a semi-retired, 38-year-old gunslinger fresh off his couch in November will surely prove to be the tonic? Crazier things have happened, and in an AFC race that nobody seemingly wants to separate themselves in, maybe the old head of Joe Flacco is exactly what the Browns need in this late-season stretch.

After a positive debut in defeat to the Rams a week ago, there was little mystery that Flacco would get the call again against the Jaguars. When it was made official in the hours leading up to kick-off, a sudden sense of calm and optimism came over the Dawg Pound. Flacco has shown his ability to push the ball down the field and set about compiling an opening drive covering 75 yards, finished by a perfect play-action pass of 34 yards to tight end David Njoku.

That was the first of three Flacco touchdown throws, with Njoku snagging another and David Bell recording his first NFL touchdown on another play-action pass on a 4th down. It seems as though Kevin Stefanski is incredibly comfortable calling a game with the veteran at the wheel but the question is how far can this relationship take the Browns?

Flacco was far from perfect on Sunday. He threw a poor interception and also gave up a fumble. The Browns also trotted out their punter on eight separate occasions, which demonstrates that this was a day when the result was all-important against another AFC foe. If Flacco can increase his comfort level, build the chemistry with the weapons around him and limit the turnovers, the Browns (complemented by their solid defense) are well poised to be a tricky opponent come play-off time.

The 31-27 win moves them to 8-5, tied with the Jaguars who benefitted from both the Colts and Texans also losing on the day. With six teams now at 7-6 in the AFC, the playoff race is truly hotting up. A win against the Bears this weekend would see the Browns with one foot in the door of the January matchups and maybe this most bizarre of seasons at the quarterback position, even by Browns standards, could have an unlikely ending. [SB]

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Vikes edge punt-filled snoozefest

Minnesota Vikings 3-0 Las Vegas Raiders. Wow. I honestly can’t remember seeing such a pathetic effort before but NFL.com reliably informs me that it is the eighth such scoreline since 1950. And you don’t need to be a genius to know that this was a 6o-minute stinker.

Neither offense could move the ball, as illustrated by the sheer quantity of third downs (34) and punts (17), and the lack of combined total yards (433). Only one team, the Raiders, made it into the red zone and that solitary excursion ended in a fumble. Even the Vikings’ Greg Joseph, who scored the game’s only points with just two minutes left, had missed an earlier field goal attempt. If you didn’t watch it (lucky you), here’s what you missed:

1st half: Punt. Punt. Punt. Punt. Punt. Missed FG. Punt. Punt.
2nd half: Punt. Fumble. Punt. Punt. Punt. Punt. Punt. Punt. Punt. Punt. FG. Interception. Punt. Fumble.

There’s a solid case for saying both defenses played well but in truth, this game was all about offensive ineptitude and poor quarterback play. Not helped by a leaky O-line and Josh Jacobs’ inconsistent play, Aidan O’Connell was swimming against the tide in shark-infested waters all night. Finishing with a line of 21-of-32 for 171 yards and an INT, it’s hard to see why the coaching staff think he’s a better option that Jimmy G.

And it wasn’t any better on the other side. Josh Dobbs, who almost lost the starting job during Minnesota’s bye week, was overrun with pass rushers and took five sacks, two courtesy of the irrepressible Maxx Crosby. Then Justin Jefferson, finally back from a hamstring injury, left the game after a blow to the ribs and things rather fell apart. Having completed just 10 of 23 passes for 63 yards, Dobbs was pulled in favour of QB3 Nick Mullens, who led the game-winning drive. Alas for Dobbs, there will be questions about whether he starts this weekend. It was fun while it lasted but the Passtronaut seems to have come back down to Earth with a bump.

A third straight loss for the Raiders leaves them at 5-7 and needing snookers to secure January football, while this strangest of victories elevates the Vikings to 7-6 and keeps them in the NFC playoff bracket. But regardless of their differing prospects down the stretch, what either team does next week has to be an improvement, surely? [ST]

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Cry baby

Spoiler alert… officials are human beings and occasionally get calls wrong. But Sunday night at Arrowhead, in the Chiefs’ 20-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills, was not one of those occasions, certainly not when it comes to the play that has made a lot of noise since then. Kadarius Toney was offside, end of story.

Yes, it’s a real shame that a moment of individual brilliance by Travis Kelce was wiped out by a flag. On the receiving end of a Patrick Mahomes toss, Kelce was making his way up field when three Bills defenders converged towards him. He brilliantly threw a lateral to Toney, who high-stepped into the end zone for what would have been the go-ahead score. Unfortunately for the Chiefs, there was yellow laundry on the field. Toney had lined up offside.

Since then, the debate has raged as to whether he should have been given a warning that he was incorrectly aligned. The referees often give players the heads-up but they are not obliged to; they are there to officiate the game. It was a mental error by the wide receiver that cost his team in a big moment of a big game. Three incompletions later and it was game over.

The reaction of Patrick Mahomes, who went off at the referees at the conclusion of the game and also post-match, would have been of more concern to the league. Mahomes rightly or wrongly has been positioned as the face of the product and his reaction would not have gone down well in NFL HQ.

To his credit, Mahomes said he regrets the way he reacted and what he said to Bills quarterback Josh Allen when the two met on the field after the game. “Wildest f—ing call I’ve ever seen,” Mahomes was heard saying to Allen. “Offensive offsides on that play, man. F—ing terrible.” Later, he was more contrite. “I was still hot and emotional but you can’t do that, man. It’s not a great example for kids watching the game.”

The Chiefs are unlikely to receive a lot of sympathy when it comes to refereeing decisions in general and the Mahomes memes will no doubt do the rounds the next time a questionable call goes against them. [SB]

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Let Jake Bake

“He’s a stud. So calm, collected. Overseeing everything so well. He’s just been balling. No other way to put it.” Any guesses which QB this quote refers to? Josh Allen perhaps? Maybe Lamar Jackson? Dak Prescott?

Nope. These words, from the mouth of tight end Tanner Hudson, were about the Bengals’ backup QB, Jake Browning – and he isn’t wrong. Stand-in quarterbacks aren’t starters for a reason. We’ve already touched on what Trubisky, Dobbs, Mullens and O’Connell put on tape this week, but one of the rare exceptions – so far at least – seems to be Joe Burrow’s replacement in Cincinnati.

The unproven 27-year-old was thrown into action midway through their loss to the Ravens three weeks ago when Burrow popped a wrist ligament, ending his season. In that baptism of fire, the former Washington Husky gave us what we expected: not a lot. He improved a bit in another divisional loss to the Steelers but last week, the guy went nuts, earning the AFC Offensive Player of the Week award for his match-winning performance against the Jaguars (32 of 37 for 354 yards, one passing TD and one rushing TD). And then this Sunday, against another playoff rival in the Indianapolis Colts, he did it again, going 18-of-24 (75%) for 275 yards and two touchdowns, and ran in another score to boot. Let’s just say he seems to have found his footing.

Instead of falling out of contention as expected, the Bengals’ 34-14 win keeps them in the playoff race amid a gaggle of 7-6 teams (the Colts among them). Zac Taylor and his offensive staff deserve credit for calling plays that suit Browning’s game – they’re suddenly killing it with screen passes and leaning way more on the running game to produce a balanced, efficient offense that can also crack out a few explosive plays. The fact that they beat a fellow playoff contender without Burrow, with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins combining for just five catches and a rookie running back (Chase Brown) as their leading receiver says it all. And if it doesn’t, how about “his 79.3% completion rate is the best by any quarterback in NFL history through three career starts”?

Many Bengals fans – who have suffered more than their fair share of disappointment, believe me – wrote their team off the minute Burrow’s season was done. Numerous national pundits did the same, while chatrooms and social media were awash with talk of tanking and draft order. But the discourse has quickly switched to “what if” scenarios about possibly sneaking into the postseason. Their 0-4 divisional record doesn’t do them any favours and it’s going to be an uphill climb, but the fact that they’re still in the race at all is largely down to JB6’s efforts over the past fortnight. [ST]

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Tennessee win a tight ’un

On Monday Night Football, with just 3:08 left in regulation time, the Tennessee Titans trailed the Miami Dolphins 27-13. At that point, according to Next Gen Stats, they had a 0.4% chance of winning. And yet, with Will Levis recording a career-high 327 passing yards, they turned it around and walked off with an improbable 28-27 victory against a Miami team that would have returned to the top of the AFC rankings had they won.

There’s no doubt that Miami had this game safely in the bag. During the fourth quarter, Tennessee were making the bookies who made them 14-point underdogs look like mind-readers. They muffed a punt and fumbled away a couple of other possessions, two of which led to Miami scores. But despite the killer turnovers, Mike Vrabel’s team didn’t quit. They may be all-but-mathematically out of the play-off race at 5-8 but they kept fighting, despite a two-touchdown deficit and time running out.

Levis led the turnaround, capping a 75-yard drive with a no-look, cross-body TD pass to an on-fire DeAndre Hopkins (seven catches for 124 yards). A successful two-point conversion closed the gap to six points, breathing life into the game as a contest. Then, after a key defensive stop by the Titans, Levis went to work again, matriculating his way down the field to set up the grandstand finish: Derrick Henry rushing in from three yards for the go-ahead score.

As for the Dolphins and their league-best red zone offense, they drove inside Tennessee’s 3-yard line three times but didn’t get a TD on any of them. Raheem Mostert ran in two scores and now leads the league with 18, as well as tying single-season franchise records for total and rushing TDs, but Miami’s offense went off the boil while the enigmatic Tyreek Hill left the game for a spell with an ankle injury. That can’t happen if they are to progress deep into the play-offs.

With Dallas, Baltimore and Buffalo still to come on the schedule, the 9-4 Dolphins really needed to win this one and not doing so may yet come back to bite them when the AFC seedings are calculated. But let’s not take anything away from the Titans, who became the first team in NFL history to win in regulation time after trailing by at least 14 points with under three minutes remaining. Quite the comeback. [ST]

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Takeaways as the Broncos earn huge road win over AFC West rival Los Angeles Chargers

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For the first time since 2019, the Denver Broncos won an AFC West matchup on the road, toppling the Los Angeles Chargers in Sofi Stadium to improve to 7-6 on the year. 

After a disappointing loss last week, Sean Payton’s team needed to bounce back quickly in a road divisional matchup and they did just that in comprehensive fashion. 

So, on that note, let’s get into my takeaways from the Broncos’ 24-7 victory over the Chargers.

Playoff hopes are alive 

The loss in Houston felt like a real gut punch to Broncos fans and losing a tiebreaker to a playoff-chasing team will always sting. 

With that said the Broncos had still earned themselves the right to be in the playoff mix and due to other results going their way on Sunday they’re back in the thick of the wildcard chase. 

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Beating the Chargers all but eliminated them from playoff contention, while the Las Vegas Raiders also fell to a defeat, condemning them to another year without a playoff game.

Elsewhere, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Houston Texans both lost in week 13 so they now make up two of the six teams with a record of 7-6 in the AFC wildcard hunt. 

The Buffalo Bills won a close game in Arrowhead to move them to 7-6 as well as holding the Cheifs back to 8-5 (one game ahead of the Broncos in the AFC West). 

The Cincinnati Bengals, led by backup quarterback Jake Browning, also demolished the Colts moving both teams to 7-6, completing the six-way tie for the last two wildcard spots. 

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The playoff race is as tight as ever in the AFC with three teams on 8-5 records and the six aforementioned 7-6 teams all gunning for first place in their division as well as wildcard berths.

With their remaining schedule, there’s no reason why the Denver Broncos can’t sneak into that sixth or seventh seed in the AFC come January.

Defence is back to its best 

The Broncos’ early season defensive struggles have been well-documented, as has their recent resurgence over the last seven games. 

Last week they didn’t have the same venom as they have done in recent weeks and they allowed Houston to get comfortable and produce chunk plays around them. 

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This week, Vance Joseph brought the heat and they didn’t allow Justin Herbert or the Chargers offence any chance to settle into the game. 

Herbert was even taken out of the game at halftime because of a suspected fractured index finger on his throwing hand meaning Easton Stick came into the game in the second half. 

The recipe for the Broncos’ success this season has been winning the turnover battle, in Houston they failed to do so, but this week they were around the ball like Hawks. 

They forced two fumbles as well as an interception, which teed up Javonte Williams to rush in for the go-ahead score. 

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Jaquan McMillian had a standout day flying off the edge, blitzing the quarterback from his nickel-corner position all day long and almost had a strip sack fumble recovery which he took to the house only for it to be called back for an incomplete pass instead. 

If the defence can maintain this level of play like we’ve seen during the miraculous mid-season turnaround then they can beat anyone left on their schedule. 

Offence is struggling to find consistency 

Despite the near-flawless play on defence, the scoreline should have been much more convincing than it was, but the offence just couldn’t get into a consistent groove. 

They struggled to move the ball in the first half and needed a Jonathon Cooper interception inside the 10-yard line to allow them to put up any points in the first half.

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It improved somewhat in the second half and Russell Wilson totted up two passing touchdowns, one to Adam Trautman wide open in the endzone and the other a deep ball to Courtland Sutton which was impressively hauled in taking him to double-digit touchdown receptions in 2023.

Brandon Staley’s defence has been playing well in recent weeks and that can’t be ignored, but if the Broncos are going to make a run the offence needs to back up the great play by the defence and string some drives together to get an early advantage in games.

Six doesn’t go into two

We’ve spoken about all the 7-6 playoff teams, but when it comes down to seeding there are only two wild card spots left to fill. 

The Cleveland Browns are 8-5 and the chances are they will be in the first wildcard spot, with the Baltimore Ravens currently having the one-seed at 10-3.

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In the AFC South, the Jacksonville Jaguars lost to the Browns and are now 8-5 themselves, they’re currently the four-seed in the AFC but the Houston Texans are also lingering at 7-6 just outside of the playoffs coming off of a disappointing loss to the New York Jets. 

Elsewhere, the Steelers, Bengals and Colts are all playing with backup quarterbacks and have shown holes in their games recently. 

The Texans might have to field Davis Mills in their divisional road matchup with the Tennessee Titans next week because CJ Stroud entered concussion protocol in their game against the Jets.

That leaves the Broncos and the Bills, who both have their starting quarterbacks still on the field and both are playing with momentum down the stretch. 

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The Bills have a difficult schedule, in week 15 they welcome the Dallas Cowboys before travelling to Miami in week 18 to face the Dolphins. 

As for Denver, they will take a trip to the faltering Detroit Lions next Saturday before hosting the New England Patriots, Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders in their final three games. 

A 3-1 record across that run would see the Broncos finish the season 10-7 and most would hope that gets you into the playoffs. 

However, in such a stacked AFC wildcard race you would be a brave person to place any bets on which of the six 7-6 teams will make the playoffs at the end of the season.

Week 15 preview 

In week 15 the Broncos will headline the NFL’s Saturday Showcase window when they enter Ford Field to take on Dan Campbell’s Detroit Lions in primetime. 

The Lions started the season hot and were the subject of conversations having them in the conversion with the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers atop the NFC playoff picture.

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Fast forward eight weeks and their performances have been unconvincing and they’ve lost three games across that stretch including a demolition at the hands of Justin Fields.

They scraped over the line against the Bears as well during that stretch, as well as having narrow victories over the Chargers and the New Orleans Saints, winning by less than a touchdown in each game. 

They’re certainly a team to be got at and the way the Broncos have been playing recently there is no reason to be afraid of the Lions. 

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This could be a huge road win that propels the Broncos into the playoffs ahead of a key two-game home stretch before finishing the year on the road in Las Vegas.

UK viewers can catch the game live on Sky Sports in the early hours of Sunday morning with coverage starting at 1:15 am GMT.

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PICK SIX – Week 13

Week 13, eh? Unlucky for some. As Shaun Blundell and Sean Tyler discuss below, DK Metcalf failed to secure a Seahawks win despite his supersonic exploits, the Titans’ special teams unit had a rough day and two more starting QBs got injured. But maybe fans of the Dolphins, Niners and Packers aren’t quite so superstitious, as things turned out all right for them. Let’s dig into the details.

Not very special teams

The third phase of the game doesn’t get talked about half as much as it probably should do. Maybe the sign of a good special teams unit is that they don’t get much attention because they’re efficient in their operation. Unfortunately, this week, the Tennessee Titans have some column inches heading their way after a disastrous showing from the now former Craig Aukerman-led unit. Yes, we have a Week 13 coaching change – it was that bad!

It’s not unfair to say the unit cost the Titans what would have been an unlikely win against the suddenly charging Colts (winners of five straight games now). They had a lead in the fourth quarter when the wheels started to come off. Lining up to punt the ball away, the unit failed to shift its protection as Indianapolis overloaded to one side. It allowed safety Nick Cross a free run at Ryan Stonehouse and he got home comfortably, blocking the kick with ease. 

A fortunate bounce of the ball later and linebacker Grant Stuard was rumbling 18 yards into the end zone. In a bizarre sequence, the Colts went for two and ended up conceding a rare “pick-two” when Amani Hooker picked off the Minshew throw and returned it the distance for a five-point swing. Surely lightning wouldn’t strike again on the next Titans drive? 

Just three plays later, the punting unit was out again. This time, the Colts blitzed their gunner, Tony Brown, from out wide. The Titans had squeezed an extra lineman in the middle to help prevent another free rusher like the last go-around, which meant that due to his exquisite timing, Brown had a free run at Stonehouse. The collision this time happened before the punter even had a chance to begin the kick process so technically this goes in the book as a fumble. The Colts recovered and settled for a field goal.

It was a crazy game that ended up in overtime with Nick Folk taking on punting duties, as Stonehouse got injured on the second gaffe. The Colts ultimately won it in overtime with a Michael Pitman Jr. TD. The Titans will rue those nine points given up by their punt unit. It has cost Craig Aukerman his job and you have to think that, even with credit in the bag, Mike Vrabel has a warm backside of his own after yet another loss. [SB]

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DK ignores speed limit signs

Six receptions from eight targets, 134 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Sounds like an MVP performance for a winning team, right? But unfortunately for DK Metcalf, that wasn’t quite the case. The Seahawks receiver may have been a one-man highlight reel but his team came up short, losing 41-35 to the Dallas Cowboys in a humdinger at AT&T Stadium on Thursday night.

Seattle started fast. They bagged touchdowns on five of the first seven drives, ending a run of only three TDs over the last four weeks in some style, and Geno Smith passed for 334 yards, 3 TDs and an INT. Metcalf put his team on the board on their third play of the game. Facing a 3rd-and-9, Smith fired a perfectly placed dart between two defenders, Metcalf snagged it in stride and took it to the house for a 73-yard catch-and-run touchdown.

TV viewers could’ve been mistaken for thinking they’d hit the fast-forward button as, during the play, he hit 22.23 mph – making him the fastest ball-carrier this season. He topped Tyreek Hill’s 22.01 mph from Week 5 and ran faster than anyone since Raheem Mostert clocked 23.09 mph in Week 2, 2020. For added context, Usain Bolt’s 100m world record (9.58 seconds) works out at an average of 23.4 mph, although that does include getting up to speed from a stationary start. Afterwards, Metcalf said he had flashbacks to another game against Dallas in 2020, when he got run down by a determined Trevon Diggs for a turnover. “I just saw the ball in the air and nobody was in front of me. Last time I was in the open field, there was a defender behind me and he knocked it out of my hand. I was trying not to relive that moment.”

Having given the Seahawks a 7-3 lead – the first time the Cowboys have trailed at home this season – Metcalf went on to score a 1-yarder just before halftime and his third TD of the night, doubling his season’s tally, nudged Seattle 35-27 ahead at the start of the fourth. But for all his efforts, two late field goals and a Jake Ferguson touchdown closed the game out for the 9-3 Cowboys. In contrast, the Seahawks, now 6-6, stuttered to the finish with three straight turnover on downs, denting an otherwise an impressive offensive performance.

After his record-breaking run, the 25-year-old Metcalf gave the audience yet more to talk about: his American Sign Language (ASL) skills. Metcalf has been fined almost $100,000 for excessive celebrations and unsportsmanlike conduct so learning ASL to avoid further fines for taunting is a smart move. But on Thursday, Metcalf didn’t use it to trash talk; rather, he signed “standing on business” (or “taking care of your responsibilities”) in the end zone. And he certainly took care of business. It was just a shame that three touchdowns and almost breaking the sound barrier weren’t enough to earn the victory. [ST]

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Revenge… for now

We never got to see the best version of San Francisco vs Philadelphia in the NFC Championship game last year with Brock Purdy suffering an unfortunate injury early in that game. The rematch was therefore hotly anticipated, with the league-best Eagles (10-1) hosting the rejuvenated Niners coming in on the back of three successive wins. In the end, it was another one-sided affair but not because of injuries; it was simply that San Francisco just dominated.

Things had started off well enough for the Eagles. They put together two lengthy drives before stalling in the red zone and settling for Jake Elliott field goals. The lead stayed at 6-0 as the defense restricted the Niners to a pair of three-and-outs to start the game. Unfortunately for the Eagles, they were the last stops they made all game as the 49ers scored touchdowns on each of their next six possessions.

The day really belonged to Deebo Samuel. He had talked a fair bit of trash in the run-up to the game but backed up his words with a career day. He found pay dirt three separate times in the same afternoon for the first time ever, taking a pair in through the air alongside a 12-yard rushing score. It doesn’t really do him justice to say he had a pair of touchdowns through the air. Technically, yes he did, but on both occasions, it was all about yards after the catch.

As per Next Gen Stats, “Deebo Samuel gained a career-high plus-88 yards after catch over expected, the fifth-most YACOE in a game by any player since 2018.” When you consider that he finished the day with four grabs for 116 yards total, it’s incredible to think that he was only expected to gain a measly 18 yards and ended up with the stat line that he did.

The Eagles have been doing just enough in recent weeks but they came up against a superior foe on this particular occasion. The rushing defense has been a problem since the bye week and they need to get into much better shape in that regard before these two teams almost inevitably meet again at the back end of January. [SB]

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High on a Hill

The league MVP is essentially a quarterback accolade. QBs have won it 47 times, way more than running backs (16 times) and defensive players (twice). Even a kicker took the honours in the strike-affected 1982 season. But wide receivers? Never. However, in a down year for QB play, Tyreek Hill’s case is increasingly hard to ignore.

At a rain-soaked FedEx Field on Sunday, Hill scorched the Washington Commanders in a 45-15 win, with five catches for 157 receiving yards and two TDs. For his first (in the third play of the game), Hill flew past Quan Martin, waited for Tua Tagovailoa’s underthrown ball to catch up and still motored home untouched for a 78-yarder. In the second quarter, he did it again, this time burning up CB Kendall Fuller on a 60-yard TD. By halftime, Miami were 31-7 ahead and pretty much home and hosed, leaving half an hour of garbage time.

Hill’s record for the season now reads 93 catches for 1,481 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. The latter two metrics lead the NFL, as does his 123.4 receiving yards per game. That puts him on pace to have the NFL’s first 2,000-yard season, breaking his own single-season record (1,964 yards) in the process. Such an historic achievement will surely make the Cheetah the Offensive Player of the Year but is he a bona fide MVP candidate? There’s a bias towards QBs and if a wide receiver has a historically great season, the chances are his quarterback did too. In 2021, Cooper Kupp had 1,947 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns but received just one MVP vote, while Aaron Rodgers received 39. Tagovailoa currently has the fourth-shortest MVP odds, but 42% of his passes and half his 24 touchdown throws have gone to Hill, outlining the importance of the star wideout to his success. The WR himself is sixth in the MVP betting so rule him out at your peril.

On the defensive side, things are looking a bit dicey health-wise for Miami, with linebacker Jaelan Phillips lost for the season last week and three more starters – Jerome Baker, Terron Armstead and Rob Hunt – leaving the field on Sunday. Luckily, this Dolphins side have the league’s most explosive offense to balance things out. Sure, they’ve trounced the minnows – none of the teams they’ve beaten has a winning record – but they haven’t troubled the elite teams yet. Miami may have reached 9-3 for the first time since 2001 to lead their division by three games and head the entire AFC but their losses came against the Bills, Eagles and Chiefs – exactly the calibre of team they’ll meet in January.

On current form, Miami should see off the Titans and Jets but might struggle in their final three games (Cowboys, Ravens and Bills). An 11-6 record will be more than enough to make the postseason but whether it’s enough to retain the conference’s top seed remains to be seen. As with Tyreek’s individual hunt for records and honours, everything is ahead of them, it’s just a matter of keeping it going. [ST]

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Add Trevor and Kenny to the list

Aaron Rodgers, Joe Burrow, Deshaun Watson, Anthony Richardson, Daniel Jones, Kirk Cousins: all starting quarterbacks who are done for the season (keep dreaming, Aaron). Add to that list Derek Carr, Justin Fields, Matthew Stafford, Kyler Murray and Ryan Tannehill, who were all pegged as starters in preseason (Murray was on IR) and have all missed significant time. This brutal season shows no signs of slowing down as we can now add Kenny Pickett and Trevor Lawrence to that list.

Pickett suffered an ankle sprain in the Steelers’ surprise loss to the Cardinals. A week after the offense had shown some signs of life, it had been a pedestrian first-half display before Pickett was injured on a 2-yard scramble. Compounding matters, it set up 4th-and-1 at the goal line, which the Steelers failed to convert. Pickett did not return and Mitchell Trubisky could not generate much in his time on the field, as Pittsburgh dropped what could be a crucial game. Pickett is not being placed on IR so the hope is he may be back for the playoffs, should the Steelers get there, but he will likely miss at least a few weeks.

The Jacksonville Jaguars rounded off the week with a Monday Night Football encounter with the Bengals. With the game tied at 28-28, Lawrence was leading the Jags up the field, just outside of the red zone. The play that silenced the stadium was a Cincinnati sack. With pressure being applied by Trey Hendrickson, it was left tackle Walker Little that inadvertently stood on the ankle of Lawrence when dropping back in pass protection. Lawrence dropped to the ground in obvious pain and took a long time to be helped off the field. 

At time of writing, we do not have an update on the severity of the ankle sprain but you have to imagine that Lawrence will miss some time at least, with CJ Beathard acting as his understudy for now. Insult was added to injury as the Jags went on to lose the contest in overtime, keeping the Bengals’ slim playoff hopes alive and pulling the Jags back within striking distance of Indianapolis in the AFC South. Jacksonville fans will be keeping fingers crossed and eyes glued to the internet for updates on their signal caller. What a brutal season to play quarterback! [SB]

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Love changes everything

As anyone who’s read Shakespeare or the Romantic Poets will know, love can blossom in the unlikeliest of places… even Green Bay, Wisconsin. Yes, we’re talking Packers QB Jordan Love here. The guy is suddenly the guy, with 11 touchdowns, two interceptions and three wins in his last three outings.

Two seasons ago, Love made his first career start against the Chiefs, stepping in at the last minute for the COVID-striken Aaron Rodgers. Alas, the young QB got blitzed to smithereens and lost his debut 13-7. But this Sunday night, he turned the tables on the reigning Super Bowl champions, posting 267 yards and three touchdowns while orchestrating a 27-19 win.

Love got hot at the start of each half. In the first, two 75-yard drives left the young QB with figures of 10 of 11 for 109 yards and two touchdowns – one each to Ben Sims and Christian Watson. Kansas City inevitably fought back to 14-12 in the third quarter but Love kept his team ahead with a 33-yard rainbow to Romeo Doubs on a 4th down before making a 12-yard connection to Watson, who ‘climbed the ladder’ to beat his man and snag his second TD of the night. It marked Love’s fourth game with 3+ passing TDs and no INTs this season, equalling Brock Purdy for the most this season.

After falling to 2-5, their worst start to a campaign since 2005, the Packers have steadily recovered under Love’s leadership. And since their bye in Week 7, Love has nailed 14 TD throws, more than anyone not named Dak Prescott. He is happier standing in the pocket now and has eight TD passes and zero INTs against the blitz, according to ESPN; only Tua (10:1) has been better. And he’s clearly confident enough to air it out now, connecting on some of those go routes that used to fall shy of their intended target. In short, he’s becoming everything the Green Bay front office told us he would be but no one believed.

On a run of four wins in five that includes the scalps of Detroit and Kansas City, Matt LeFleur’s team find themselves at 6-6 and occupying the final Wild Card spot in the NFC. Given their current form and remaining schedule (no opponents currently above .500 lie in wait), the unthinkable is starting to look more than likely: the Packers will be playing meaningful football in the New Year.

Notably, Sunday’s defeat, which knocks the Chiefs off the top of the AFC perch, was also the first loss that Taylor Swift has seen in person since she started dating Travis Kelce. She’s been to five games now and was, until this week, KC’s lucky charm. So which is the greatest Love story now, eh? [ST]

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PICK SIX – Week 12

This week’s NFL action was nicely spread out over several days, due to the holiday season in the United States. But while our American cousins gorged on turkey and pumpkin pie – and football of course – Shaun Blundell and Sean Tyler set to work picking six more things to discuss from the Week 12 slate. This week, we expand on two players breaking records, the Steelers’ rejuvenated offense, our first Black Friday game, the sub-par NFC South and possibly the best game of the season so far.

DaRon sets Bland-new record

During his team’s annual Thanksgiving Day game on Thursday, Dallas Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland snared his fifth pick-six of the year, setting a new single-season record in the process. He intercepted Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell and returned it 63 yards, eluding Howell, Brian Robinson and Terry McLaurin on his way to the paint.

The ensuing celebration lasted so long that Head Coach Mike McCarthy had to call a timeout before the extra point attempt. And the timing couldn’t have been better for the Californian, whose family was in town for the holidays. “It means everything to break the record in front of them,” Bland said postgame, “and do it on Thanksgiving Day is another thing to be thankful for.”

As well as sticking a cherry on the top of a comfortable 45-10 victory, the play vaulted the second-year cornerback above Eric Allen, Jim Kearny and Ken Houston in the NFL record books for the most defensive TDs in a season. Bland also becomes the leader in career pick-sixes in Cowboys franchise history.

Even last year, as a rookie drafted from Fresno State in Round 5, the promise of what was to come was evident in the five interceptions he made while filling in for an injured Jourdan Lewis. But this season, the step up has been exponential. The 24-year-old has transformed into a premier defensive playmaker, accumulating 48 tackles, 13 passes defensed and a league-leading seven interceptions.

This year, Bland has yet to go more than two consecutive games without a touchdown. His journey into the record books began even before he was thrust into the starting lineup when Trevon Diggs tore his ACL in practice ahead of Week 3. His 22-yard pick-six in an opening-day 40-0 rout of the Giants was soon followed by scores against the Patriots (54 yards), Rams (30 yards), Panthers (30 yards) and now the Commanders. His five defensive TDs are two more than any other team has accrued this season (the Colts and the Seahawks are the closest with three) and within the Cowboys camp, he only trails Cee Dee Lamb on either side of the ball. For added context, his tally is just one shy of the New York Jets’ entire offensive output.

With six more regular season games still to go, Dallas fans will be keen to see if Bland can extend his record yet further. But for now, his exceptional instincts and ability to read the game is something every Cowboys fan should be thankful for. [ST]

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Steelers win – with offense

The Pittsburgh Steelers finally ended the longest streak in the league for most games without 400 yards on offense in Week 12. They officially surpassed the 400-yard mark, in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against their divisional foes from Cincinnati, with a 13-yard run from Najee Harris.

The last time they put up 400 yards in a single game was way back, some 1,162 days ago — in Week 2 of the 2020 season. The 424 yards was also the most gained by their offense since the 429 posted against the New Orleans Saints in Week 16 of 2018. It was a welcome sight for an offense that ranked 28th in yards per game entering the pivotal AFC North matchup.

Despite only scoring 16 points in the victory over the Bengals, there’s little doubt that the Steelers offense looked as good as it has all season. The game came just five days after the firing of Matt Canada as the team’s offensive coordinator. Quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan and running backs coach Eddie Faulkner are working in tandem as interim OCs, with Sullivan calling plays from the sideline and Faulkner handling the bulk of the other day-to-day responsibilities.

The obvious conclusion from the eye test was a more explosive attack. The opening play of the game saw a 24-yard connection to Pat Freiermuth – the first of six plays over 20 yards. The tight end went on to register over 100 yards receiving. Najee Harris also had his best game of the season as the Steelers dominated time of possession and outgained an opponent for the first time all season.

Now, the Green Bay Packers hold the longest active streak for most consecutive games without 400+ net yards, holding an 18-game streak dating back to Week 11 of the 2022 season. [SB]

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Another black day for the Jets

The NFL does like to hitch itself to traditional holidays and milk them for all they’re worth. It’s had games on Christmas Day for decades and Thanksgiving matchups since 1934, with the late night game becoming an annual thing in 2006. Now, amid the retail madness that is Black Friday, the NFL has jumped on the bandwagon again.

At 3pm ET on Friday, the New York Jets – in black uniforms, naturally – played host to the Miami Dolphins in an all-AFC East clash, mirroring the three divisional games from the previous day. The first-ever Black Friday match was aired exclusively by Amazon Prime Video for free (even for non-Prime members) and inevitably, money lies at the heart of the development. The Thanksgiving Day games have separate TV rights and after CBS, Fox and NBC took their noses out of the trough, there was none of the $1 billion pie left. Undeterred, Amazon proposed an annual game the day after, to coincide with its biggest shopping event of the year, and shelled out $100 million to the NFL for the privilege.

Through the 11-year deal, they should make a healthy return on their investment through interactive adverts and QR codes for viewers to scan before, during and after the game. The ads were even tailored to different audiences – depending on whether the viewer was already a Prime member, for example. This latest move in the battle for consumer dollars during the holiday season is designed to encourage millions of football fans to leave the malls early, head home for the game and continue shopping from the couch, smart phone in hand, via Amazon. Ker-ching!

On the field, as expected, it was a one-sided affair, with Miami sealing a 34-13 win in a fast-emptying stadium. Raheem Mostert (94 rushing yards) ran in for two scores, Jaylen Waddle led the receiving corps with 114 yards and Tyreek Hill (nine catches for 102 yards) handed the ball from his 7-yard TD reception to his new wife Keeta (Keeta and the Cheetah? Cute!). But for the Jets, things got ugly… and stayed that way. Tim Boyle’s Hail Mary attempt being returned for a 99-yard pick-six by Jevon Holland pretty much summed up their day.  

But what now for BFF (Black Friday Football)? Well, the fixture is already being talked about as an annual affair and franchises like the Cincinnati Bengals have already volunteered to be the regular host, much like the Cowboys and Lions are on Thanksgiving. Not surprisingly, the NFL politely declined Cincy’s offer and opted to go with New York, the country’s biggest retail market – at least for now. Lucrative though that may be, the league should think twice before agreeing to head back to MetLife Stadium for the next one because on the day after Thanksgiving, Americans have probably had enough turkeys. [ST]

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11k Kelce

It’s not been a bad few months for Travis Kelce. Super Bowl champion, tick. Dating pop megastar, tick. Fastest tight end to reach 11,000 career receiving yards, tick.

His latest feat was accomplished on the back of a 27-yard reception in the second quarter against the Las Vegas Raiders, which contributed towards his tally of 91 total yards on six receptions. It was a gorgeous connection and fitting that such a play would be the record breaker. Kelce bullied Divine Deablo off the line and broke towards the corner. Mahomes dropped a dime into his bucket with a safety closing in and a couple of other trailing defenders narrowing the window.

It was a much-needed contribution that helped the Chiefs rebound from an early 14-point deficit. The aforementioned 27-yard catch came on the pre-half-time drive where KC knotted up the scoreboard and they would not look back. Recent second-half struggles were nowhere to be seen as Kelce and co. moved the ball with ease, gaining 17 second-half points and a big division win just when things were starting to look a little tricky for the Chiefs.

Kelce’s new mark, reaching 11,000 yards in just 154 games, comfortably eclipses the previous record set by Tony Gonzalez (191 games). The question now becomes whether Kelce can hunt down the other record held by Gonzalez: most receiving yards in history for a tight end. That currently sits at 15,127 so there’s still some way to go. Having just turned 34, Kelce would realistically need a strong finish to this campaign and probably sustain at least three more seasons at this level. Antonio Gates is next on the list to surpass, followed by Jason Witten so they are the next two hurdles to overcome. And while he is Patrick Mahomes’ most reliable target, it would be foolish to bet against him.

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Falcons heading north in the South

On Sunday, Taylor Heinicke’s hamstring injury meant Desmond Ridder came back in from the cold after his Week 9 benching but with his proclivity for turnovers (six lost fumbles and six INTs), it won’t be QB play that takes Atlanta to the playoffs, should they get there. Indeed, it was their RBs and DBs who starred in a 25-14 win over the New Orleans Saints. Atlanta’s ground attack cranked out an impressive 228 yards, with rookie Bijan Robinson rumbling for 91 rushing yards and a score, backed by Tyler Allgeier (64), Cordarrelle Patterson (43) and Ridder himself (30). On the other side of the ball, Jessie Bates’ 92-yard pick six was the game’s highlight, while his timely punch-out to force a Taysom Hill fumble on the 9-yard line wasn’t far behind.

The win not only ends a three-game losing skid but also vaults Atlanta over their opponents and up into first place in the basket case that is the NFC South. Last year, all four teams posted losing records, with the 7-10 Saints, Panthers and Falcons all trailing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who snuck into the playoffs at 8-9. These things are often one-season anomalies but in the worst division in football (© everyone), history is repeating itself. Pre-season, this was ranked the weakest pool by every pundit who proffered an opinion. And sure enough, all the other divisional pacesetters are currently 8-3 or better but here, the Falcons head the pack at 5-6.

The Panthers, now 1-10 after Sunday’s loss to the Titans, are the worst team in football. To be fair, they’d been decimated by injuries even before this weekend, when Leviska Shenault, Vonn Bell and others joined the growing list of casualties. But even so, rookie QB Bryce Young just isn’t cutting it and after 11 games, their offense sits at or near the bottom of the pile in just about every metric. No wonder HC Franck Reich got the Order of the Boot yesterday, not even getting to one-and-done. No one here’s making the postseason via the Wild Card route but the fact that Carolina can still win this dumpster fire of a group is mindboggling.

Their next opponents are the Bucs (4-7). It seems the post-Tom Brady experiment with Baker Mayfield hasn’t worked and with the NFL’s worst rushing attack and the second-worst pass defense, they may also be in the market for a new head coach soon. After more erratic play in a 27-20 loss to the Colts this weekend, they’re stuck in third place, behind the Saints (5-6). In the Big Easy, star man Alvin Kamara isn’t exactly tearing up trees, Michael Thomas is back on IR and the red zone has become their kryptonite.

So, by default, that leaves the Falcons – a team that hasn’t bettered seven wins since 2017 – as the least-worst bet for the NFC South crown as we enter December. The Dirty Birds are 3-0 in the division and there’s no team with a winning record left on their schedule. Looking down the stretch in the NFC South, there’s only one week left without a divisional clash of some sort and the final one – the Falcons/Saints rematch – may yet decide which of these unworthy teams hosts a playoff game. I’m hardly sticking my neck out by predicting there’s more ugly football to come in the remaining weeks but however bad it is, at least it’ll be competitive! [ST]

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Game of the season… so far

What a game! Buffalo 34-37 Philadelphia. It was a game that ebbed and flowed, and ultimately came down to some more Jalen Hurts brilliance as the Eagles found a way to secure yet another win. 

It was rather baffling and stupid that the home crowd booed off the team at halftime despite their impressive record to date. Yes, the Bills had been good, dominant in fact. They left six costly points off the board with a field goal block and a field goal miss either side of the half-time whistle. Josh Allen had a great night, throwing for more than 330 yards, but he could only look on as Hurts and company took over in the second half.

The Philly QB had five total touchdowns including three through the air. They included one to DeVonta Smith, who continues to turn heads towards the business end of the campaign. AJ Brown and Olamide Zaccheaus caught the others. 

It was almost in vain, however, as the Bills edged ahead after the two-minute warning. The problem, however, was that Hurts still had time. The Eagles drove into field goal range and Jake Elliott booted a 59-yarder to force overtime. The Bills won the toss and Josh Allen got down to the Eagles’ 22 but Buffalo had to settle for another FG. That gave the Eagles yet another life. They grasped it with both hands and capped a nine-play drive with a Hurts 12-yard scramble for the win. The Eagles yet again found a way, and their quarterback proved yet again he can be the difference maker in the big moments. [SB]

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PICK SIX – Week 11

Returning to pick six more talking points from the latest week of NFL action, Shaun Blundell and Sean Tyler discuss the Jaguars and Bills rebounding nicely, a banged-up Geno Smith, the faltering Chargers and the charging Lions, plus an intriguing Monday Night matchup between the top seeds in each conference.

Welcome back Trevor

The Jacksonville Jaguars will have been thrilled to deliver an offensive breakout when putting divisional rivals Tennessee to the sword. Despite their positive record, the Jags have stumbled on the offensive side of the ball for weeks now and were smarting from the beating they took at the hands of the 49ers last weekend. That can now be relegated to being “old news” after this week’s 34-14 win.

Trevor Lawrence looked composed and eliminated the mistakes that had been so costly last week. He didn’t turn the ball over and completed 75% of his passes for 262 yards and a couple of touchdowns. It was a particularly nice day for Calvin Ridley who was the recipient of both touchdown tosses. His 103 yards marks the third time he has reached three figures during the campaign but was the first time since early October.

The first Ridley touchdown was a beauty. He faded to the back corner of the end zone and Lawrence put the ball right on him. The sideline, however, was not Ridley’s friend and he had to show great footwork to get both feet down just inside the playing surface. The second was a similar concept via play action from the signal caller.

Lawrence also found success in the rushing game, again finding a pair of scores. He scrambled in from 9 yards to cap the opening drive of the third quarter and scored from 5 yards out in the fourth. The rest of the ground game saw a committee approach, with 30 totes of the rock divided between the three running backs. It complemented an all-round display that the Jags have been craving for weeks.

The defense continues to play at a decent level. They limited the Titans to just two of seven on third down plays and shut down Derrick Henry and the running game. We said last week that the Jaguars will need to raise their game to be considered a real threat come January. The Titans certainly aren’t the level of competition they will be expecting to come up against but as a tune-up game, this ticked the boxes nicely. [SB]

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Chargers gonna charger

LA Chargers fans start each season with optimism and belief. “This will be our year”, they say, every single time, but it never is. Their team either underwhelms or the wheels fall off completely. This year is no exception. As ever, they have the personnel on offense (Justin Herbert, Keenan Allen, Austin Ekeler) plus an expensive defense containing Derwin James Jr., Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack, yet 2023 is turning into another wobbly wheel kind of season.

Los Angeles now sit at 4-6, 13th in the AFC, and their chances of making the playoffs in a hyper-competitive conference are fading fast. The Brandon Staley era has reached a critical point and one suspects the next seven games (if not the next couple) might determine if his seat becomes too hot to return to next year. He was hired for his defensive knowledge yet his team consistently ranks among the worst in the league in points allowed (29th, 21st and 24th since 2020). In Sunday’s 23-20 loss to a poor Packers team, the unit continued to be the Achilles heel. Jordan Love was gifted the first 300-yard passing day of his career and until then, Green Bay had the second-longest active streak (27 games) without reaching that benchmark. 

Inevitably, there were mistakes, like a huge pass interference call against Asante Samuel Jr. that handed the Packers a first down in their game-winning drive. And there were injuries: a tearful DE Joey Bosa left the field on a cart in the first quarter with an ankle injury. It wasn’t all plain sailing on offense either. The usually reliable Keenan Allen dropped two potential TD passes while Austin Ekeler fumbled inside the 5. The Chargers came into this game with the second-best red-zone efficiency in the league but went 1-for-4 where it mattered most.

Of course, there were a few bright spots too. Tight end Stone Smartt rumbled in from 51 yards for his first career TD while Khalil Mack secured two sacks (11 for the season). Yet the Chargers still squandered opportunities and lost another one-score game. Five of their six losses have now been by three points or fewer and they’ve yet to beat a team over .500.

Having failed to win a division title since 2009, we’ve been here many times before, only this time, ownership might have seen enough. The franchise has only fired one coach during a season but Staley is doing his best to be the second. With a league-worst pass defense, it’s only fair that reporters question his play-calling in post-game pressers but he still defends himself to the hilt, albeit in an increasingly irritated way. Well, the Baltimore Ravens, the league’s second-highest scoring offense, come to SoFi Stadium this Sunday so let’s see what he has to say after that – if he’s still here, that is. [ST]

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Seahawks out on a limb

Geno Smith had an up-and-down day as the Seahawks let a lead slip against the LA Rams in what could be a costly 17-16 defeat. As seems to be the recent pattern, the Seattle offense started hot with Geno orchestrating an 88-yard touchdown drive. It culminated in an 8-yard toss to DK Metcalf on a simple slant route down low. The offense continued to move the ball, posting field goals on its next two drives. Those three possessions accumulated 193 yards of total offense; the next seven yielded just 38 more.

To be fair to Geno, though, he was absent for a couple of those drives. A big hit from Aaron Donald put him on the sidelines, forcing Drew Lock into action. It was a complete and utter disaster. His final stat line was a measly two completions for 3 yards from his six passing attempts, along with an interception. The play, an underthrown deep shot for Tyler Lockett, breathed further life into the Rams’ comeback. When Geno exited the game, the scoreboard read 16-7 in favour of Seattle. He returned after that interception with the Seahawks down by a point and just 1:31 on the clock.

He had “convinced” Pete Carroll that he was able to go back in the game and immediately showed he had enough arm strength. He connected with his favourite duo, hitting Tyler Lockett for 13 yards and then DK Metcalf for 21 yards, moving the Seahawks into field goal range. A helmet malfunction then led to a poor play call as, rather than throwing again to make the field goal attempt more manageable, Seattle elected for a run that only gained 2 yards. A spike later and it was all there for last week’s hero Jason Myers to take the glory again. Alas, he pushed the FG attempt wide to the right from 55 yards away.

The Seahawks have a rough schedule ahead – two games with the 49ers along with contests against the Cowboys and Eagles – so this loss could be a big one. They need to find consistency as these patchy performances are becoming all too common. What is abundantly clear is that Geno’s arm better be OK because if it isn’t, it’s Drew Lock season and you may as well stick a fork in them now. [SB]

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Lions taking pride in success

Only four teams – the Browns, Texans, Jaguars and Lions – have never reached the Super Bowl but if the season ended today, all four would qualify for the postseason. Among them, Detroit have never won the NFC North nor hosted a playoff game at Ford Field so the fact that they are 8-2 for the first time since 1962 is mightily impressive.

You’ve got a heart of stone if you’re not enjoying what’s going on in the Motor City, where Dan Campbell is among the front-runners for Coach of the Year and his team have become one of this season’s feel-good stories. On Sunday, stunned by four turnovers (including three INTs by Jared Goff), they looked out of sync and trailed the Chicago Bears by 12 points with four minutes left. For context, teams down by at least 10 points with four minutes remaining were 0-83 before Sunday.

The Lions defense allowed their opponents 334 yards and 25 first downs but tightened up just in time to let their offensive colleagues stage an improbable comeback. Goff suddenly rallied, leading his team to 17 points in the final quarter to salvage a 31-26 win, with David Montgomery nudging Detroit in front with a 1-yard TD run with just 29 seconds remaining. A walk-off strip-sack safety by Aidan Hutchinson sealed the deal, spoiling Justin Fields’ return from injury.

Detroit join the Eagles and Ravens as the only teams with at least eight wins on the board and they still have four winnable division games to come, plus the Saints, Broncos and Cowboys. They have long been known for having a soft underbelly but this was exactly the type of come-from-behind, never-say-die victory that will see the new-look, knee-biting Lions progress well into the postseason. And you certainly can’t begrudge their long-suffering fans the chance to experience that for a change. [ST]

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Chiefs stutter while Eagles soar

A Super Bowl rematch months in the making played out on Monday Night Football, but the result this time was different. The Eagles improve to an NFL-best 9-1 record while the Chiefs join a cluster of AFC teams with three defeats, throwing the conference race up in the air.

It was an all-too-familiar tale for Kansas City as their once-potent offense failed to ignite once more. A comfortable 10-point lead at the half was not enough as their six second-half possessions resulted in four punts and two turnovers (one on downs). The receiving core is a real concern as we head towards the postseason.

Marques Valdes-Scantling will be the name getting most criticism after a key drop on what would have been a potentially game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter. A dime was tossed by Patrick Mahomes as MVS flew passed Bradley Roby from the slot but he couldn’t reel the pass in. It completed a miserable night for the group as Justin Watson finished as KC’s leading receiver with just 53 yards.

The Chiefs defense once again held up its end of the bargain, limiting Jalen Hurts to just 150 yards through the air. It wasn’t enough though. The Eagles have become masters of winning games despite not playing particularly well and this was no different. Two Hurts rushing touchdowns, including the now seemingly obligatory 1-yarder, helped the Eagles complete the comeback and take the spoils 21-17.

The Eagles appear to be a class above in the NFC. You could make a case for the Lions or 49ers but week in and week out, it feels as though Philly will find a way (how on earth did they lose to Zach Wilson though?). The Chiefs, on the other hand, are heading for uncharted waters where the AFC may not run through Arrowhead for a change. One thing is for certain: they need to get this offense firing if they are going to be a serious threat to the Eagles should there be another rematch in a couple of months’ time. [SB]

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Brady’s bunch back on track

Last week, Buffalo’s offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey was fired and quarterback Josh Allen admitted “our backs are against the wall, the clock’s ticking.” Well, just a few days into Joe Brady’s spell as interim OC, the Bills saw off the Jets 32-6 to post their first win in three weeks. Those 32 points were the most allowed by the Jets since 2021.

After an understandably slow start, with three field goals and a punt in their first four possessions, the offense came alive. Allen (275 yards, 3 TDs) hit five straight completions for 145 yards and two TDs, including an 81-yard bomb to Khalil Shakir. The win came despite more Bills’ defenders landing on the treatment table. With three starters already on IR, corners Dane Jackson and Taron Johnson both left the game with head injuries, and safety Taylor Rapp sustained a worrying neck injury. At least trade-deadline pick-up Rasul Douglas, who had two sacks and a fumble recovery, is still healthy.

When all is said and done, all victories are equal: they are each worth one W. But what does beating this abject Jets team really mean? On a day when Gang Green went 0-for-11 on third downs, allowed six sacks and managed only 155 total yards, Zach Wilson was benched late in the third quarter in favour of QB3 Tim Boyle. Wilson (7-of-15, 81 yards) was awful; he didn’t even complete a pass to a wide receiver. (Heck, even punter Thomas Morstead completed an 18-yard pass for a first down on a fake punt, kickstarting their first successful touchdown drive in a staggering 41 attempts!) Post-game, Robert Saleh wouldn’t commit to naming his starter for the Black Friday game against the AFC East-leading Dolphins but by Monday night, Wilson had been demoted beneath both Tim Boyle and Trevor Siemian. Ouch.

As for the Bills, much stiffer tests lie in wait, with trips to Philadelphia and Kansas City coming up either side of a bye week. If they’re going to make the playoffs, Brady’s offense will need to repeat this level of performance against teams of a higher calibre than the New York Jesters. [ST]

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PICK SIX – Week 9

Well, that was Week 9 folks, which means we are already halfway through the regular season. Crazy, huh? Still, at least Shaun Blundell and Sean Tyler are here to pick six more things to mull over. With young quarterbacks, strong AFC North performances, the floundering ‘Phins and a new era in Las Vegas catching the eye, let’s just dive right in…

Schwartz plays another hit tune

It would have been music to the ears of Jim Schwartz and his Browns defense when the Arizona Cardinals decided to trade away Joshua Dobbs this week and start rookie Clayton Tune. The Browns defense has caused carnage for many a quarterback this season and Sunday was possibly their greatest hit yet.

Tune was involved in all three of the turnovers forced by the feasting Browns. Two were interceptions, one of which was brilliantly reeled in by an athletic leap from Denzel Ward, who is arguably having the best season of his career. The other turnover was a forced fumble recovered by Myles Garrett following a sack by interior defensive lineman Shelby Harris. The sack was one of seven on the day for the unit, which also added an additional 14 tackles for loss. When you consider that Arizona ran 45 plays on the day, that equates to 47% of them losing yardage.

It’s not the first time we have looked at this Browns defense in this column but it continues at an incredible pace. The front four were that dominant yesterday that the blitz was only sent on 12% of plays. The Cardinals were held to just one of 12 third-down conversions as well as failing on their only fourth-down attempt. The deepest Arizona got into the Browns half was the 40-yard line and the play from that spot resulted in the Sione Takitaki interception. 

The end result was just 58 yards of offense generated by the Cardinals, their lowest output in franchise history, and their first shutout since 2018. To put it into further context, the Browns managed 59 yards in one offensive play with Deshaun Watson finding Amari Cooper deep. If Watson can shake off some of the obvious rust and produce even average quarterback play, this Browns team will be one many want to avoid. [SB]

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Ravens in a rush

Say what you like about the other AFC divisional leaders but I think the Ravens are currently outplaying the Chiefs, Dolphins and Jaguars. And with Kansas City and Miami both on byes this week, Baltimore could well be the top seed in the conference this time next week. They have also proven that they’re far superior than at least two NFC division front-runners of late, following up their shellacking of Detroit in Week 7 with a 37-3 trouncing of NFC West pace-setters Seattle on Sunday. Both came into M&T Bank Stadium at 5-2 and both left with a flea in their ear and their tails between their legs.

What was billed as the top tussle of the early afternoon slate proved to be a decidedly lopsided contest by halftime and became a massacre by the end. Seattle’s offense managed a paltry 151 yards, went one of 12 on third downs and secured just six first downs – one fewer than the number of scoring drives their opponents had.

At home in particular, their offense has been dominant and this weekend, the Ravens posted a season-high 515 total yards. Mark Andrews took his nine grabs for 80 yards while Odell Beckham Jr. had 56 yards and a TD, but the bulk of the damage was done on the ground, with 298 rushing yards (and three rushing scores) dished out at an impressive average of 7.3 per clip. The top 30 rushing performances of the week included four Baltimore players. Justice Hill (40 yards), Gus Edwards (52 yards and 2 TDs) and Lamar Jackson (60 yards) all made their mark, but the new star this week was undrafted rookie Keaton Mitchell. Having not posted a single touch so far this season, Mitchell broke out with nine carries for 138 yards (average 15.3), a long of 60 yards and his first NFL touchdown off a 40-yard scamper.

As well as possessing an ominously effective offense (first in rushing yards and sixth in both yards per game and points per game), the Ravens also boast the NFL’s top defense, sitting second in yards allowed per game and leading the NFL in points allowed per game. They sacked Geno Smith four times – Kyle Van Noy got two on consecutive plays in the second quarter – and their 35 QB takedowns also leads the league.

The 7-2 Ravens have now reeled off four consecutive victories to stay two clear of the field in a highly competitive AFC North and are starting to look like Super Bowl contenders. They are quietly rolling over every opponent they face and could put one hand on the divisional crown by Week 11, with back-to-back home games against Cleveland and Cincinnati coming up. So get the popcorn in, sit back and enjoy the show. [ST]

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Allow me to introduce Joshua Dobbs

It’s not often the game-winning quarterback has to introduce himself to his team’s fans, but that is exactly what happened on Sunday night in Atlanta. The Minnesota Vikings, smarting from the loss of Kirk Cousins, had decided to hand the keys to rookie Jaren Hall. It seemed prudent as newly acquired back-up Joshua Dobbs only joined the team on a deadline day trade and hadn’t even taken a snap with the first team in practice. Hall started the game pretty well but got knocked out of the game with concussion, meaning the stage was set for Dobbs.

In bizarre scenes, the FOX broadcast caught sight of the offensive line and Dobbs going through the team’s five primary cadences as he hadn’t even gone through them before. Dobbs would later admit to not even knowing everyone by name but regardless, it was time to step in and deliver.

Things got off to a rough start as Dobbs was sacked in the end zone on only his third snap. Things did settle down, however, and he led the Vikings to a come-from-behind win on the road. Connecting with Alexander Mattison on a simple 2-yard play action pass, Dobbs later scrambled in from 18 yards away. It was one of a few highlight reel runs as his rushing total of 66 yards proved enough to make him the leading rusher in the game. His best run was arguably on 4th and 7 on the game’s final drive. The play had completely broken down but Dobbs managed to avoid tacklers and keep the drive alive.

It led to a connection with Brandon Powell from 6 yards out with just 22 seconds left on the clock, putting the Vikings in front. Dobbs showed poise throughout and will likely get the nod next week regardless of the injury status of Hall. Just imagine what a week of practice might do! [SB]

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Stroud celebrates with a high-five

Historic. Unrivalled. Miraculous. Words that usually accompany unsubstantiated hyperbole. But in the case of Houston Texans QB CJ Stroud, they’re just factual descriptions of his record-setting day against Tampa Bay.

The rookie signal-caller has certainly had an impressive start to his first pro campaign but in steering the Texans to a last-gasp 39-37 win over the Bucs, he went nuclear. Going 30 of 42 for 470 yards, as well as a career-high five touchdowns, Stroud smashed the single-game record for passing yards by a rookie QB (topping Andrew Luck’s 433 from 2012) and became the only rookie in NFL history with 400-plus passing yards, four-plus passing TDs and no interceptions in a game. Take a bow, son.

Overcoming some initial hesitancy, Stroud morphed into the Terminator, throwing for 364 yards in the second half. The team’s receiving corps all reaped the benefits. Three players eclipsed 100 yards and a score (Tank Dell: 114 yards and 2 TDs; Noah Brown: 153 yards and 1 TD; Dalton Schultz: 130 yards and 1 TD) while Nico Collins also got a TD. Even when that impudent elf Baker Mayfield tried to steal the limelight, putting the Buccaneers 37-33 ahead with just 46 seconds left with a touchdown pass to Cade Otton, the No.2 draft pick didn’t blink. He simply orchestrated his own six-play, 75-yard touchdown drive – connecting with Dell for the winning score – to snatch a clutch win with 00:06 on the clock.

Even when they lost kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn to a quad injury in the second half, this spirited, never-say-die Houston team found a way. Having resorted to fourth-down and two-point attempts instead of field goals and extra points, they finally accepted that a kick was unavoidable inside the red zone. Cue running back Dare Ogunbowale, who stepped up to convert a go-ahead FG from 29 yards out and became the first RB to kick a field goal since 1979. Given the margin of victory, his contribution cannot be understated.

Sunday’s performance must put Stroud in pole position for Offensive Rookie of the Year and DeMeco Ryans (Coach of the Year, anyone?) has the 4-4 Texans in contention in the AFC South, only a year removed from a disastrous 3-13-1 campaign. They’ve already racked up more wins than last year, they sit second in the division and they’ve got a win against the Jaguars under their belt. This team may not be perfect – 10 wins over the past three years and a loss to the previously winless Panthers just last week says a lot – but they’re young and fearless… and above all, fun. [ST]

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Dolphins disappoint in another true test

Are the Miami Dolphins a good football team? Some weeks, you watch them put opponents to the sword and you think they are the team to beat in the AFC. Put them in against a well-matched opponent, however, and things look slightly less rosy. With a 21-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Frankfurt on Sunday, they now have a perfect 0-3 record against teams with a winning record. It should be a real concern for ‘Phins fans as we move towards the business end of the season.

Credit goes to the Chiefs for completely shutting down the Dolphins offense in the first half. They were held scoreless at the break for the first time in the Mike McDaniel era. The highlight, however, was the Chiefs defense putting points on the scoreboard themselves. A short pass found its way to Tyreek Hill but he was stripped of the ball by Trent McDuffie. Mike Edwards recovered the fumble and began to advance it but he looked for all the world that he was about to be tackled or fall down. In a moment of brilliance, he lateralled the ball to Bryan Cook who scampered the remaining 59 yards down the sideline to the end zone.

Miami did threaten a second-half comeback as two third-quarter touchdowns reduced the deficit to just seven points. The Chiefs offense produced nothing in the second half, finishing with fewer than 50 yards in the period but Miami still could not capitalise. In two bizarre drives when attempting the comeback, the Dolphins mustered 34 yards from a 12-play drive lasting nearly 8 minutes, before turning the ball over on downs inside the final two minutes.

They seemed more concerned about giving the Chiefs the ball back with time on the clock than scoring, and paid the price. Raheem Mostert had gashed the Chiefs for 44 yards on runs either side of the two-minute warning, setting Miami up at the Chiefs’ 31. However, they elected to let 40 seconds drain off the game clock before running the next play, which fell incomplete through the air. Two incompletions later and it was fourth down. Symbolically, the Dolphins’ comeback attempt effectively ended on a botched snap as Tua Tagovailoa mishandled – and that was all she wrote. [SB]

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Raiders of the lost art (of winning)

Sometimes, when the atmosphere gets all hot and unpleasant, you just need a good ol’ thunderstorm to clear the air and bring some freshness back. And so it’s proved in Las Vegas. Last week’s storm – a primetime loss, a feisty team meeting where players aired their feelings and the subsequent dismissal of GM Dave Ziegler, HC Josh McDaniels and OC Mick Lombardi – has now abated, the clouds have parted and there are even faint glimmers of sunlight peeking through.

Their 30-6 win on Sunday gave interim HC Antonio Pierce his first NFL victory as a head coach. It came against the team where he spent five years and won a Super Bowl, the hapless 2-7 New York Giants, who seem hell-bent on giving the Cardinals, Panthers and Bears a run for their money in the race to pick first in the 2024 Draft.

The Las Vegas cause was undoubtedly helped by the Giants’ continuing quarterback woes. Daniel Jones, back after three weeks out with a neck injury, took two sacks in the first half and sat out the rest of the game with a potentially serious knee injury. His replacement, rookie Tommy DeVito, struggled again after a tough debut against the Jets a week ago, with picks on consecutive passes in the second quarter leading to 10 points for the Raiders. To his credit, DeVito finished with a respectable 175 yards on 15 of 20 but also took six sacks. But with Jones and Tyrod Taylor both out and two road games on the schedule before their bye, it’s going to be tough sledding for Big Blue.

For all that, the Raiders were more than worthy of their comfortable win, scoring the first 27 points unanswered. Aidan O’Connell looked clean in his second start since replacing Jimmy G, going 9 of 10 for 130 yards before halftime. OK, he didn’t throw a TD pass but he also didn’t give the ball away and didn’t take a sack. Although Davante Adams (four catches for 34 yards) is still being criminally underused, the offense did benefit from Josh Jacobs’ best outing of the year (98 rushing yards and 2 TDs). On the other side of the ball, Maxx Crosby had three sacks. No.98 now has 9.5 sacks for the year, trailing only Danielle Hunter.

How much this result means in the long term remains to be seen but for now, Pierce has steered the Raiders to 4-5, with a shot of reaching .500 when the New York Jets come to town next week. Filmed laughing, joking and enjoying victory cigars in the locker room after the game, these players may yet start to shine – especially now that they don’t have to play for a coach they despise. [ST]

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PICK SIX – Week 8

With no teams on a bye, Week 8 of the 2023 NFL season was jam-packed with talking points. Alas, one half of our regular team, Shaun Blundell, was unavailable for selection this week, leaving Sean Tyler to pick six of them to discuss in more detail. He remembered to change the clocks and didn’t miss a thing so read on for tales of a shock loss for the Chiefs, a tsunami of QB injuries, a terrible New York ‘derby’ and a monster debut for Will Levis.  

New York, New York, so bad they named it twice  

The co-tenants of New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, the Jets and Giants, met in a key battle for a much-needed win and local bragging rights. Although the Jets eventually prevailed, winning a 13-10 OT game in steady rain, I don’t think either team has much to brag about.  

OK, maybe that’s a bit harsh. For the now 2-6 Giants, Saquon Barkley did at least look like he was trying, with a career-high 36 carries for 134 yards. On the other side of the ball, the defense was outstanding for 59-and-a-half minutes. Kayvon Thibodeaux in particular was a game-wrecker, with three sacks, three tackles for loss, three quarterback hits and a forced fumble. As for the eventually victorious Jets, Breece Hall had a nice 50-yard TD reception. Other than that, nope. I got nuthin’.

None of us wanted more than 60 minutes of this Mess-at-MetLife but still, we had to endure endless errors, sloppy play and poor coaching decisions. Where do I start? The fact that these two teams combined for more punts (24) than points (23) tells you everything you need to know. The only reason this can’t be classed as a dumpster fire is because it was raining too heavily.

With Daniel Jones already out for Big Blue, his deputy Tyrod Taylor sustained a rib injury during a sack midway through the second quarter. Taylor went 4 of 7 for 8 yards before undrafted practice squad rookie Tommy DeVito entered the fray. They clearly didn’t trust him to throw the ball as the Giants ran the ball on 33 of their 34 second-half plays, which included a rushing TD by DeVito himself. They ended the game with a historically bad -9 net passing yards, punted 13 times and converted just two of 19 third downs.

Nonetheless, their opponents were no better and after trading eight consecutive punts, the Giants looked to be snoozing their way to victory. Thibodeaux’s final takedown of Zach Wilson, which gave his team the ball at the Jets’ 26-yard line with 1:26 to play and a 10-7 lead, all but iced the game. But after three Barkley runs for a total of nine yards, Brian Daboll opted to send out kicker Graham Gano on the ensuing 4th-and-1. In missing for the second time during the game, he left the door to a unlikely Jets victory slightly ajar. They pushed it and stepped through.

With 24 seconds left and no timeouts remaining, Zach Wilson connected with Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard on consecutive 29-yard passes before rushing to spike the ball with just one second on the clock. Greg Zuerlein’s 35-yard field goal sent the game to overtime. Without a trusted QB, the fast-unravelling Giants inevitably went three-and-out and after the Jets reached midfield on their first possession in OT, a 30-yard defensive pass interference penalty by Adoree’ Jackson moved them into the red zone. Once again, Zuerlein split the uprights to give the 4-3 Jets a third consecutive win they barely deserved. [ST]

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Broncos buck the trend

Just two weeks ago, I wrote about Kansas City beating Denver 19-8, about how well Travis Kelce played and about how they’d won 16 in a row against their AFC West rivals, despite not firing on all cylinders. Well, a fortnight on, the Broncos turned the tables on their divisional foes in the reverse fixture, winning 24-9 and beating Patrick Mahomes for the first time.

Ranked 31st in points allowed and dead last in yards allowed, Vance Joseph’s Denver D unexpectedly kept Mahomes, Kelce and company out of the end zone, holding them to just three field goals. Mahomes, who began the day on the injury report with a dose of the flu, must have been under the weather. He had no touchdowns, three turnovers – two pretty poor INTs and a fumble – and got sacked three times. Kelce led the Chiefs with just 58 receiving yards, not just on Sunday but weirdly the last time they lost to Denver (way back in Week 2, 2015). Also noteworthy is that he’s averaging 46.5 yards when Taylor Swift isn’t in attendance, like this week, and 108 when she is. Go figure.

But it wasn’t just Mahomes and Kelce who looked off-colour. Marquez Valdes-Scantling gave away a fumble, Skyy Moore dropped a crucial TD pass and Mecole Hardman muffed a punt on his own 5-yard line in the fourth quarter, which inevitably led to the Broncos’ third and decisive TD.

The Broncos defense definitely won the day but the offense ate the clock up and did just about enough, despite the KC pass rush sacking Russell Wilson six times. Running the ball 40 times allowed Dange’Russ to be effective in the passing game when called on. He may have only thrown 12 of 19 for a measly 114 yards but he still managed to find Javonte Williams, Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton for touchdowns with a quarter of his completions. And unlike his counterpart, there were no picks to blot his copybook.

Albeit sitting at 3-5, the Broncos now enter their bye week with back-to-back wins, giving them at least some hope for the rest of the campaign, especially with the Raiders and Chargers also stuck on three wins. As for the Chiefs, they travel to Germany to face the Dolphins (also 6-2) in a battle of the top two AFC seeds. To get something from that game in Frankfurt, they’ll need a healthy Mahomes… and maybe a plane ticket for Ms. Swift. [ST]

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Once you strop, you just can’t stop

I’ve always told my kids that tantrums don’t get you what you want and to a large degree, that holds true. But there are exceptions, like when the Eagles’ star wideout AJ Brown threw his toys out of the pram in Week 2, complaining that he wasn’t getting enough of the ball. Well, since his well-documented sideline hissy-fit, he has been unstoppable. Brown now has produced six consecutive games with at least 125 receiving yards, which breaks the league record previously held by the great Calvin Johnson.

Week after week, he makes highlight-reel-worthy catches, trucks defenders and finds pay dirt, and this week was no exception. He racked up 130 yards and two touchdowns on eight receptions in Philadelphia’s 38-31 win over the Washington Commanders as he helped his QB Jalen Hurts to 319 passing yards and four TDs. It also doesn’t hurt that he now has another big-bodied receiver, Julio Jones, alongside him to draw some of the attention away.

Brown has amassed 60 catches for 939 yards and five TDs for the now 7-1 Eagles, although he still trails Miami’s Tyreek Hill in all categories so far (61 catches, 1,014 yards and 8 TDs). But with nine regular season games left, these two are surely in the race for Offensive Player of the Year honours – and who knows, maybe even MVP if their trajectories continue to soar.

Looking back to draft weekend 2022, GM Howie Roseman might also be worthy of the trade of the year award, if there were such a thing, for dealing the 18th and 101st picks to Tennessee for the 24-year-old receiver. [ST]

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Bengals begin to bite back

After a 0-2 start, Bengals fans hoped they’d turn a corner once the statuesque Joe Burrow healed up, just like last year (appendectomy). And in facing the 49ers in Santa Clara this weekend, they also hoped for a trajectory-setting win coming off their bye, just like last year (a 37-30 victory over the Steelers). Well, it appears that 2023 is the new 2022 and their wishes have come true. Cincinnati’s franchise quarterback seems mobile again and they registered their fourth win in five to go 4-3. The 31-17 result leaves the Niners nursing their first home loss in 12 games and QB Brock Purdy contemplating his first-ever home defeat, despite a career-high 365 passing yards.

Make no mistake: even as four-point underdogs, Cincy’s two-score victory wasn’t perfect. For the Niners, CMC posted 118 total yards and two touchdowns, equalling the NFL record of 17 consecutive games with a TD. George Kittle threatened to make it a George Kittle game (149 receiving yards from nine catches were both season highs) and even Brandon Aiyuk’s five catches went for 109 yards. Burrow was also sacked three times. But with their bend-but-don’t-break approach, they conceded yards but not points. Logan Wilson and Germaine Pratt handed Purdy his second consecutive multi-interception game and despite sustaining an ankle injury, Trey Hendrickson soldiered on to claim another sack, taking his season’s tally to eight. 

That was enough to let a rejuvenated Cincinnati offense do its thing at long last. Ja’Marr Chase (100 receiving yards, 1 TD) was impressive once again, Tee Higgins was more involved after a recent rib injury and Joe Mixon (110 scrimmage yards, 1 TD) had his best game of the season. But the Bengals’ fortunes live and die by their franchise quarterback. While nursing a dodgy calf, Burrow was undoubtedly poor. As he healed, he improved and after a week’s rest, he’s seemingly back to his best, carving up the Niners like a pumpkin. His 283 passing yards, three passing TDs and no INTs included a series of 19 straight completions and his 87% completion rate (28 of 32) is the highest recorded against the 49ers in their entire history. The aerial onslaught was complemented by 43 on the ground through quarterback draws, sneaks and off-script scrambles, the likes of which we haven’t seen this year due to his injury, as well as the greatest escapolgy act we’ve seen so far this season.

Looking ahead, San Francisco take a much-needed week off, which should help them reset after three straight losses and get the likes of Deebo Samuel and Trent Williams back on the field. Meanwhile, the Bengals push on to a Sunday Night showdown with the Bills. Much has been made of Cincy’s tough schedule from here on in but if Joe Burrow is as dialled in as he was this week, it’s gonna be one hell of a game.  [ST]

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Will Levis be the answer?

From Levi’s Stadium to Will Levis…

“Not a bad debut,” said master of understatement Mike Vrabel. “He was ballin’, playing out of his mind,” stated Derrick Henry. As for Levis himself, he said “I dreamed of this moment as a kid and to get a win is incredible.”

In place of the injured Ryan Tannehill, the Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback put on an absolute show in a 28-23 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. In his first career start, Levis completed 19 of 29 passes for 238 yards and four touchdowns (one in each quarter of the game) and no picks. In so doing, he joins Marcus Mariota and Fran Tarkenton as the only players in NFL history with four-plus touchdown passes in their NFL debut.

Resplendent in a light blue throwback Oilers uniform, Levis turned back the clock to before the franchise moved east, when the great Warren Moon orchestrated Houston’s offense. Suiting Tim Kelly’s vertical offense perfectly, Levis showed off his cannon of an arm, hitting three TDs of 30-plus yards – the most ever in an NFL debut. All three are now among the 10 longest touchdowns by air distance this season, per Next Gen Stats. It’s also noteworthy that the 6’4” QB was only sacked twice. He can obviously move in the pocket, unlike Tannehill and the other backup, Malik Willis, who seems to have slipped down the pecking order.

It’s a short week for the Titans, who next play on Thursday night in Pittsburgh. The Steelers defense will be more of a challenge than the Falcons were but even a half-decent showing could see the rookie keep the job. His inconsistencies at Kentucky divided opinion when coming out of college but the second-round draft pick has already thrown twice as many TD passes this season than Tannehill (just two in six games). It’s therefore no surprise that Coach Vrabel has already indicated that he will re-evaluate the role once the veteran QB is fully healthy. The clock on Tannehill’s time in Tennessee is ticking louder than ever. [ST]

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Quarterback carnage

Blood. Bandages. Broken body parts. No, I’m not talking about a Halloween fancy dress party, I’m summarising the state of starting quarterbacks after a particularly destructive Week 8 slate.

Arguably the highest profile and most damaging of the injuries on Sunday was the season-ending Achilles tear sustained by Vikings QB Kirk Cousins in the fourth quarter against Green Bay. Now enamoured to many of us through the Quarterback series on Netflix, Cousins had completed 23 passes for 274 yards and two TDs when he went down, leaving rookie Jaren Hall to see the Vikes over the line with three completions for 23 yards in his NFL debut. Despite the 24-10 win, With Cousins’ time in Minnesota probably up now, the team now faces the long-term trilemma of letting Hall continue under center, hoping veteran Nick Mullens can return from a back injury or going shopping before Tuesday’s trade deadline. Andy Dalton or Jameis Winston, anyone?

The New York Giants are also down to the bare bones in the QB room. With Daniel Jones still out with a neck injury, Big Blue have been relying on Tyrod Taylor of late but he got knocked out of Sunday’s game with the Jets with a rib injury that needed hospital attention. Once again, an untested rookie, Tommy DeVito, was called into action. Alas, he completed just two passes for -1 yard and Gang Green stole an OT 13-10 victory, as detailed earlier. The Steelers’ Kenny Pickett (10 completions for 73 yards) also sustained a rib injury in the second quarter of their game against Jacksonville. Coming shortly after a hamstring injury to Minkah Fitzpatrick, it left too much for Mitch Trubisky to compensate for. The stand-in QB mustered 15 passes for 138 yards and a TD, but he also gave away two INTs in a 20-10 loss.

And there’s more. Rams QB Matthew Stafford injured the thumb on his throwing hand twice in their 43-20 loss to Dallas, first during a Micah Parsons sack and then when he hit it against an opponent’s helmet during a two-point attempt shortly after halftime. Brett Rypien (5 of 10 for 42 yards) deputised from then on but it was never going to be.

The Atlanta Falcons also played half a game with stand-in Taylor Heinicke after Desmond Ridder was evaluated for concussion (but cleared to return) in their 28-23 defeat to the Titans. Ridder led his team to just three points, lost a league-leading 12th fumble of the season, took five sacks and threw for just 71 yards before his departure. HC Arthur Smith later confirmed that Ridder’s removal wasn’t performance-based but his choice of starter going forward might well be, given that the team mustered 20 points with Ridder’s deputy. [ST]

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PICK SIX – Week 7

Week 7 of the 2023 NFL season didn’t disappoint when it came to talking points. So much so that our regular scribes, Shaun Blundell and Sean Tyler, were hard pressed to pick just six of them to unpack. But after some deliberation and cogitation, they settled on this little lot for your reading pleasure. Enjoy.

National Tight Ends Day

There are many awareness-raising and promotional days in the calendar and some are odder than others: National Talk Like a Pirate Day. National Men Make Dinner Day. Kiss A Ginger Day. National Cheese Toastie Day. And of course, National Tight Ends Day.

Yes, the fourth Sunday in October has been designated National Tight Ends Day by the NFL since 2o19, when a mic’d-up George Kittle joked that TEs should have their own holiday. This year, Kittle made a music video – featuring some Niners’ teammates, cameos from various TEs around the league and some historic footage of former greats – to celebrate the importance of the position.

So it was almost written in the stars that tight ends were going to play a big role in Week 7. Inevitably, the Chiefs’ Travis Kelce led the league in receiving (12 catches for 179 yards and a TD), as he and Patrick Mahomes celebrated their 50th scoring connection. And with his fifth game of 150-plus yards, Mr Taylor Swift is now only one behind the all-time leader, Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe.

Not to be outdone, a tight end also led the league in receiving touchdowns. A drumroll for the Ravens’ Mark Andrews, please. Baltimore (more about them shortly, Ravens fans) destroyed the previously 5-1 Detroit Lions 38-6, thanks to an MVP-level performance from Lamar Jackson and a solid outing from Andrews. No.89 corralled four targets for 63 yards but two of them went for TDs: an 11-yarder and an 8-yarder either side of halftime.

We can’t move on without acknowledging that funny little dance that Mike Gesicki does when he scores. The Patriots tight end was entitled to his celebratory not-quite-a-griddy as he snagged the game-winning score against the Bills with just 12 seconds left on the clock – a tight end to a game if ever there was one (other dad jokes are available). The catch at the back of the end zone secured an unexpected 29-25 victory against their divisional rivals and keeps the AFC cauldron bubbling away nicely. [ST]

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Signs of life at Mile High?

It was only four short weeks ago that the Denver Broncos were on the wrong end of a 70-point drubbing at the hands of the Miami Dolphins. Fast forward a month and back-to-back decent defensive displays have allowed some small chunks of positivity to be found in the floundering franchise. After completing a 19-17 victory over the Packers, they have now kept their opponent under 20 points in consecutive games. Yes, Green Bay have their own issues but the other opponent in this mini revival was the Kansas City Chiefs.

Let’s not get carried away here though. Yes, the defense has improved but it is still not playing anywhere near Broncos units of years gone by. Too many penalties, not enough men on the field at times, missed tackles… you get the drill. Kareem Jackson was ejected for the second time this campaign after a vicious hit early in the fourth quarter. For those keeping score, he has already had four unnecessary roughness penalties with fines now close to $100,000. It’s hard to imagine that a suspension is not going to be forthcoming. It is systematic of the lack of discipline in the side.

Editor’s note: Jackson has indeed been suspended for four games for his consistent infringements of the unnecessary roughness rules.

Where the defense may offer some signs of life, the offense is really struggling badly. Russell Wilson was improved from last Thursday’s horror show, he couldn’t be much worse. However, it was another game with under 200 yards passing and only two receivers, Cortland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy, registered catches. There is a lack of commitment to the running game, even though individually Javonte Williams is running pretty well. A reverse play that netted the only stat of the day for rookie Marvin Mims Jr. went for minus 11 yards.

Sean Payton was brought in to turn around the franchise and “save” the Russell Wilson trade. As we approach the halfway point of the year, it’s fair to question if it’s a forlorn hope. [SB]

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D-fence!

Many of our favourite players make the highlight reel catches and the spectacular touchdowns. After all, that’s the aim of the game. But I do love a last-gasp defensive play that somehow prevents an all-but-guaranteed score. As they say, the guys on the other side of the ball get paid too and this weekend, two of them definitely earned their corn. As it was, neither play affected the final result but that shouldn’t take anything away from their efforts.

The first one was in the Falcons game in Tampa Bay. With six minutes left and the score nicely poised at 13-10, Atlanta had the ball at the Buccaneers’ 12-yard line on a 1st-and-goal. After a faked handoff, QB Desmond Ridder went left and took a direct line to the pylon, looking to run in his second score of the day. Holding the ball in his right hand, he was almost level with the line when Antoine Winfield Jr. swooped in from behind and punched the ball down, out of Ridder’s hands. The Atlanta players still celebrated, as the initial ruling on the field was that their guy had crossed the plane before losing the ball, but on review, that decision was overturned. In the end, the Falcons held on to win 16-13 but that amazing play from Winfield nearly cost them.

The other piece of phenomenal defending came in the Browns’ 39-38 win over the Colts in Indianapolis. In a thoroughly entertaining end-to-end game, every drive seemed to matter. With half a minute remaining, it looked like Cleveland – trailing 38-33 at the time – had got a vital go-ahead TD on a 1st-and-goal. PJ Walker, deputising for an injured Deshaun Watson, dinked an absolute dime to David Njoku, as he made his way to the front-left corner of the end zone. The 6’4” tight end jumped up, arms aloft, and literally had the ball between his hands when his blue-clad shadow, Rodney Thomas, reached in between his mitts and somehow knocked the ball away. Alas for Indy, Kareem Hunt managed to run in the crucial game-winner 15 seconds later but it was a hell of a play by Thomas nonetheless. [ST]

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Ravens offense joins the party

The Baltimore Ravens have been a tricky team to get a read on. A very good defense, certainly. The offense? Despite a 4-2 record heading into Sunday, it hadn’t been much to write home about. Then Sunday happened.

The Detroit Lions, full of praise and expectation after their own start to the campaign, were put to the sword by a first half offensive masterclass by the Ravens. They took their opening four drives for touchdowns as they opened up a 28-point cushion by the interval. Lamar Jackson rushed for one, threw for two more and Gus “The Bus” Edwards also crossed over. A four-play, 94-yard drive to open up the second half (after turning the Lions over on downs) was the final nail in an already pretty tightly sealed coffin.

The red zone, which had proved problematic recently for Baltimore, was also a big success this weekend. Those opening four touchdown drives all ended through a trip into the red zone. They would end the day with a five out of six touchdown conversion rate against such trips by the end of the day. The reliable Justin Tucker kicked a field goal on the other occasion. 

It was Jackson’s best performance of the season by some distance. He was decisive with his legs and more than efficient with his arm. His 357 passing yards were his most since way back in October of 2021. He has seemingly found himself a new favourite target alongside Mark Andrews in rookie Zay Flowers. With Odell Beckham Jr. and Rashod Bateman also getting back up to full fitness, it suddenly seems as though Baltimore has a slew of options with which to attack teams with. 

On their day, the Ravens are a match for anyone and must surely be considered in the Super Bowl conversation if the offensive output stays at this level. [SB]

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Maher culpa

Though it pains me to admit it (as a Bengals fan), there were plenty of positives on show as Pittsburgh travelled west and beat the LA Rams on their own patch. We should’ve seen it coming, as HC Mike Tomlin rarely loses when he’s given a bye week to prepare for his next opponents.

The highlights include an impressive return from IR for wide receiver Diontae Johnson, who gave his sleep-walking teammates – they’d only scored three points in the first half – a much-needed jolt with five catches for 79 yards. Kenny Pickett and George Pickens (107 receiving yards) seemed to click and Najee Harris caught the eye with some nifty hurdling down the sideline. On the other side of the ball, an interception from TJ Watt saw him become only the second player since 1982 with 70-plus sacks and seven-plus interceptions in their first seven seasons.

The Rams weren’t without notable moments of their own, not least a 154-yard performance from Puka Nacua, the backfield committee of Royce Freeman and Darrell Henderson gaining 127 yards between them and two sacks by Michael Hoecht. But on a night when Cooper Kupp was restricted to just two catches for a paltry 29 yards, they needed to lean on kicker Brett Maher. 

Alas, Maher – who signed just before the season started – got a case of the yips, much like he did last postseason for the Cowboys when he couldn’t kick an extra point for love nor money (he missed four of five in the Wild Card game against the Bucs). The wheels seem to come off again on Sunday, despite playing in the controlled conditions of SoFi Stadium. He doinked a 53-yard FG attempt off the left upright, missed a PAT and then missed another field goal, veering left again from 51. Maher did make a 41-yard kick but you don’t need to be a mathematics professor to calculate the importance of those seven missed points in a game that ended 24-17.

The failed extra point was his first such miss of the season but he’s now missed six of his 23 FG attempts. Sunday was his third game this season with multiple misses, leaving him ranked 29th out of 33 kickers. No wonder HC Sean McVay said “We’ll look at it and we’ll see, but he’s got to be better.” Maher himself coughed up a bit of post-match mea culpa, saying: “I’m just a little disappointed for the team. I feel like I could have made a very positive impact on that game and didn’t do my part today.” [ST]

Editor’s note: Maher was released by Rams HC Sean McVay on Tuesday. With no other kicker on the roster, the search for a replacement begins.

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Al Michaels, it’s time to go

I appreciate commentary is a matter of personal choice and opinion. For me, hearing the likes of Kevin Harlan on the play-by-play or the analysis of a recent player such as Greg Olsen doing the colour commentary job improves my enjoyment of the game. Put simply, a commentator should enhance your experience and not ruin it. You only have to look at the reported $165 million that ESPN paid out to bring Joe Buck and Troy Aikman to Monday Night Football for the broadcasters understanding of this too. Which leads me to Al Michaels.

It must have been quite the coup for Amazon when they were announced as the exclusive broadcaster for Thursday Night Football. Michaels had been the voice of Sunday Night Football for many years and, as such, had built himself a reputation for being the man for the big occasion. There have been signs of decline in his output over the past 18 months with the lack of enthusiasm in his voice being the real noticeable difference. Thursday Night saw a new low point.

With the Jaguars and Saints tied at 24 points each and time winding down, Michaels completely botched what turned out to be the game-winning play. Trevor Lawrence dropped back and found Christian Kirk, who ran an excellent whip route against Tyrann Mathieu. Kirk managed to sprint past and in-between multiple Saints defenders on his way to a 44-yard touchdown reception. 

“Christian Kirk, inside the 20, and he goes… and Christian Kirk takes the ball all the way… to about the 1-yard line,” the 78-year-old said while pausing during the play. Then, while Kirk celebrated the touchdown with his teammates, Michaels said: “They’re gonna spot it as [Kirk] thinks he scored the touchdown… And they’re gonna call it a touchdown now.”

He was nowhere near the sideline so I have no idea what Michaels was watching. In terms of enthusiasm, you would be forgiven for thinking Michaels was commentating on a chess game as opposed to an NFL contest. It’s no doubt hard to walk away from something that you love but I’m sorry Al, it’s time to go. [SB]

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PICK SIX – Week 6

Wow, we’re a third of the way through the regular season already. Doesn’t time fly when Travis Kelce is impressing Taylor Swift, the Browns are beating the Niners and Cooper Kupp is doing Cooper Kupp things again? Anyway, here are the thoughts of Shaun Blundell and Sean Tyler on these and some other talking points from the Week 6 slate.

Sweet 16 for Kelce and co.

A day after the premiere of her new concert movie, pop diva Taylor Swift returned to the corporate boxes at Arrowhead Stadium – resplendent in a Red Chiefs jacket – to watch her beau, tight end Travis Kelce, star in a 19-8 win over the Broncos. This was KC’s 16th successive victory against their AFC West rivals. The Last Time Denver won, in 2015, Peyton Manning led them to the Super Bowl.

Patrick Mahomes only threw one touchdown pass and also had an ugly red-zone INT, his fifth turnover of the season. Isiah Pacheco was a solid threat (62 rushing, 36 receiving), rookie Rashee Rice snagged four for 72 and Kadarius Toney reeled in the Chiefs’ only TD. Harrison Butker also took some of the limelight, hitting four FGs including a 60-yarder.

But once again, it was very much the Travis Kelce show. His bad ankle was heavily strapped but he was able to Shake It Off, hauling in all nine of his targets for 124 yards. Exploiting Denver’s zone coverage, he personally outgained his opponents 109-94 in the first half on the way to his 36th 100-yard game (extending his own NFL record) and his sixth against the Broncos. He’s a bit of an Anti-Hero at times but you can’t deny that he is The Man.

We mustn’t forget that the Kansas City defense also played their part. They held Denver to 197 total yards and restricted Russell Wilson to 13 completions, with two interceptions and five sacks. Courtland Sutton (46) was the only Denver receiver with more than 16 receiving yards as Sean Payton was six minutes away from his first career shut-out. Yet somehow, trailing 16-0 in the fourth, Denver made it a one-score game when Sutton caught an 11-yard TD pass with some Style.

Remember, their lacklustre opponents shipped 70 points a fortnight ago so the Chiefs do need to improve offensively. Their inability to turn red-zone trips into touchdowns nearly cost them but luckily, you don’t have to be that good to beat Denver at the moment. And it helps if you have a Travis Kelce on your roster. The Mastermind behind it all, HC Andy Reid, also had an off-night, opting to kick or fake punt on short fourth downs when the Mahomes–Kelce connection was obviously humming.

Still, good teams find a way to win even when they’re not playing at their best and that seems to be the case with KC. This was their second sub-20 score of the season but they still covered the 10.5-point spread (just), progressed to 5-1 and tightened their grip on the top seed in the AFC. Based on recent history, we know All Too Well how this story ends. [ST]

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Browns solve the Brock Purdy conundrum

The Browns needed a brilliant defensive display on Sunday to stand any chance of beating the San Francisco 49ers heading into the weekend. They got it – and then some – in grinding out a 19-17 victory. The Browns defense has started the year like a juggernaut and after the latest win, they became the stingiest unit through five weeks in over 50 years, giving up 1,002 total yards in that span.

Niners QB Brock Purdy was harassed all day. He seemingly looked out of rhythm throughout as the Browns pass rush consistently applied pressure. The box score will only say three sacks but there were a further six QB hits and five tackles for loss recorded. Special credit goes to defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson who was seemingly deeper in the backfield than the 49ers running backs for most of the afternoon. 

Purdy completed just 44% of his passes for a mere 125 yards and threw his first interception of the season for good measure. It’s the lowest output for a Kyle Shanahan-led San Francisco team – that’s how special this Browns defensive performance was – after the Niners scored 42 against Dallas and put up 30-plus points in every game this campaign.

A lot will be made about Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel leaving the contest through injury. CMC had already scored his now-compulsory touchdown on the opening drive when he bagged 45 total yards. His final stat line read 11 carries for 43 yards so yes, he logged eight more carries for -2 yards after the opening drive. He left the game late in the third quarter.

Yes, Deebo was a big miss too but before we make too many excuses for the 49ers, let’s not forget about what the Browns were dealing with. No Deshaun Watson. No Nick Chubb. No Jack Conklin. And for the first time in his career, no Joel Bitonio. The deck was stacked against Cleveland but they had just enough from stand-in QB PJ Walker and company on offense to keep the game close. Walker was only sacked twice the whole day, Amari Cooper reeled in four grabs for 108 yards and the committee approach on the ground yielded 160 rushing yards. So if the Browns offense can get healthy, they have the luxury of playing with the best defense in football. [SB]

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Gang Green scalp the last of the unbeatens

After the Niners’ loss, we were left with just one undefeated team – the 5-0 Eagles – but by the end of Sunday night, the last 100% record in the NFL had also come crashing down. But Philly’s 20-14 defeat wasn’t just their first loss of the campaign; it was also their first loss to the Jets ever.

Despite their unblemished record, Philly haven’t been firing on all cylinders this season but have still found a way to win every week. But not this time. There were too many mistakes offensively and the Jets D came to play. They held the Eagles’ run game in check (Kenneth Gainwell posted just 13 rushing yards and D’Andre Swift ran for 18) and also restricted Jalen Hurts to 28 of 45 for 280 yards, one rushing TD and one TD pass. In playing Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes and now Hurts, the 3-3 Jets have allowed three TD passes but had eight interceptions. Hats off to HC Robert Saleh and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.

The one bright spot for the Eagles’ attack was AJ Brown, who made hay without corners Sauce Gardner and DJ Reed patrolling the New York backfield. His seven catches for 131 yards means he’s posted four consecutive 120-yard games, which makes you wonder why he only got three targets after halftime. In fact, the whole Eagles team seemed to switch off in the second half, having led 14-9 at the break. Their fruitless second-half drives ended punt, punt, interception, missed FG, interception and turnover on downs, and only one went further than 35 yards.

While much of Jalen Hurts’ troubles came through Haason Reddick (two sacks, two tackles for loss) and Bryce Huff (1.5 sacks, nine QB pressures), it was those three interceptions from Quinnen Williams, Bryce Hall and Tony Adams that proved decisive. CJ Mosley also picked up a fumble by Swift. In being handed the ball back four times, New York scored 11 points. That defined the result in a game where Philly outgained their opponents by 100 yards, allowed fewer sacks, gave away fewer penalties and were much more efficient on third down. And other than a Breece Hall rushing TD and Randall Cobb two-point conversion, the only points they gave up came from Greg Zuerlien’s boot.

But for all that, it was the giveaways that killed the Eagles. If they’re going to keep their lofty perch at the top of the NFC, they’ll have to iron out such flaws from their game. Next week’s opponents, Miami, will really make them pay if they don’t. [ST]

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Jags pass the London test

The Jacksonville Jaguars are effectively known as “London’s team” because of their long-standing commitment to playing games in the UK. The International Series will go down as a roaring success once more with great ticket sales and viewership – the two things the league will care about. The big question this season was how would an NFL team respond to playing back-to-back games overseas without a bye week to come home to? 

The Jags completed their London double-header last week by taking down the Bills. But this week was probably the bigger test: how would Jacksonville respond when they returned across the Atlantic? A defensive takeaway and two offensive touchdowns in the opening four series has to go down as a pretty good start. With just over three minutes to go in the third quarter, the score was Jacksonville 31, Indianapolis 6. Game, set and match.

The Jaguars forced four turnovers on the day, including picking off Gardner Minshew three times and forcing a fumble against their old QB to boot. The 37-20 win was powered by defense and special teams, with 17 points coming from those turnovers (20 if you want to include the additional three via a turnover on downs late in the game). The Jags made Indy abandon the running game, which had led to their success against the Titans a week ago. The combination of Zack Moss and Jonathan Taylor were limited to a measly 40 yards on a combined 15 carries.

Jacksonville looked sluggish out of the gates this season but the London trip was described three weeks ago by Doug Pederson as “hitting us at the right time”. His analysis certainly seems spot on. [SB]

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Can the backups step up?

This season, we’ve already seen a few QB injuries. Aaron Rodgers ruptured his Achilles four plays into the season, Joe Burrow has been struggling with a gammy calf, Deshaun Watson hasn’t suited up for the Browns in a couple of weeks and the Colts are currently riding with Gardner Minshew while Anthony Richardson contemplates season-ending surgery on his shoulder. And on Sunday, two more gunslingers went down, making their respective teams’ seasons all the more challenging.      

According to most pre-season pundits, the Las Vegas Raiders (now 3-3) were never going to tear up any trees this year but if they are without Jimmy Garoppolo for any length of time, their campaign will be even tougher sledding than expected. Jimmy G left the Raiders’ game with the Patriots in the first half after suffering a back injury, and was eventually taken to a local hospital for further tests. That left journeyman backup Brian Hoyer to pick up the pieces with the score at 13-3. Despite only throwing 6 of 10 for 102 yards and no TDs, at least he didn’t give away the ball, and eventually steered his team to a 21-17 victory.  

For all his limitations, at least we’ve all heard of Hoyer. When Chicago’s Justin Fields left Sunday’s game with Minnesota with a dislocated thumb after a Danielle Hunter sack, in stepped Tyson Bagent. Have you heard of him? Nope, me neither. The undrafted rookie immediately gave away a sack fumble that Jordan Hicks returned for a pick six. He did score a 1-yard rushing TD in the fourth to make it a one-score game but the newbie was picked off later, as the Bears slumped to a 19-13 loss.

Fields’ season so far has been a bit of a rollercoaster. After two great games against Denver and Washington, Bad Justin reappeared. Before his third-quarter injury, he was just 6 of 10 for 58 yards and an INT. Whether Bagent takes the reins in Chicago for an extended period of time depends on the results of an MRI but given the level of inconsistency at the position, this 1-5 team should be looking to draft a quarterback next year anyway. If the Bears select a Caleb Williams or a Drake Maye, it will push Bagent back down the pecking order (if they keep him at all) so what more motivation does he need to put some film together while he has the chance?

Next week, the Raiders and Bears face off at Soldier Field so with both teams potentially forced to employ stand-in QBs, each may feel that it’s the perfect time to play the other. [ST]

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Cream of the Kupp

Puka Nacua rightly made all the headlines in the opening weeks of the Rams’ season. Cooper Kupp, however, showed exactly why he has been the league’s leading receiver in recent years with a brilliant display in the LA Rams’ 26-9 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. Kupp was the star turn in a performance that saw Los Angeles rack up 23 unanswered points, fighting back to an even .500 record while dropping their divisional foes to 1-5.

The biggest play of the day for Kupp sprung the Rams into life after a pretty anaemic first half. With no timeouts remaining and the length of the field ahead of them, Matthew Stafford dropped a dime right into the bucket of his star man for 49 yards. This allowed LA to kick a field goal to close out the half. It was nothing more than a simple go route where Kupp accelerated past the coverage and bizarrely, the Cardinals did not have any help over the top.

On the first possession of the second half, the Rams put together a scoring drive covering 10 plays, culminating in Kupp’s first receiving touchdown of the campaign. Again, it was Kei’Trel Clark who was beaten in coverage as Stafford found Kupp at the right pylon. The Rams never looked back. Kupp finished the day with seven catches for 148 yards and the aforementioned touchdown, making up over 65% of the Rams’ total passing attack on the day. 

It was a second half in particular where the Rams leaned heavily on the run so special praise should also be heaped on Kyren Williams who had himself a career day (20 carries, 158 rushing yards and a TD). With that said, when the chips were down, it was always Kupp who had his number called. With a chance to put the game away in the fourth quarter, the Rams faced 2nd-and-17. Two passing plays later, we’d seen two Cooper Kupp receptions and 29 yards gained. He is Mr Reliable and it’s safe to say the main man is back in town. [SB]

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PICK SIX – Week 4

Week 4 of the 2023 NFL season is now in the books and Sean Tyler is back to pick six more things worthy of discussion and dissection (while Shaun Blundell spends his bye week taking in the first of this season’s International Series games). But enough of the preamble. David Montgomery, Khalil Mack, Mac Jones, the Super Bowl favourites, Lamar Jackson and the battling Denver Broncos: you have my attention!

David finally slays his Goliath

Cast your minds back a couple of years to October 2021. Sealing a 24-14 win over the Bears at Soldier Field, Packers QB Aaron Rodgers ran in a late TD, then turned to the crowd and yelled “I own you! I still own you!” It was unnecessarily provocative but factually correct, as he’d just secured Green Bay a 20th win in 23 encounters.

That day, Bears RB David Montgomery was on IR but during his four years there, he lost all seven matchups against the Cheeseheads. But things are different now. In the offseason, he moved 400 miles due west to Detroit – another divisional foe – and on Thursday night, at Lambeau Field, the Lions won 34-20, their fourth straight win against Green Bay. Montgomery finally beat his old nemesis and while Rodgers himself was no longer there, I bet the taste of victory was no less sweet.

He was undoubtedly the workhorse of the game, carrying the rock 32 times – the most by any player this season – for 121 yards. He also rumbled into the paint for a career-best three touchdowns, from 3, 2 and 1 yard out, and had two catches for 20 yards for good measure.

Sure, his average (3.8 yards) suggests volume over efficiency but it was one hell of an effort, considering he missed last week’s game against Atlanta with a thigh injury and was questionable for this one. “To come out here with these guys and get the dub, that’s big for me,” he told reporters. “I can now tell my son that I beat the Packers!”

Another new experience for the former Iowa State man is sitting on top of the NFC North. Chicago never finished higher than second when he was there and the Lions haven’t won the division for 30 years. So after two big road victories (having won the season opener at Arrowhead), you can’t begrudge the 3-1 Lions – and especially Montgomery – their lofty perch. [ST]

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The cream always rises to the top

Before the season, the four teams with the shortest Super Bowl odds were the Chiefs, Bills, 49ers and Eagles. Well, whaddya know: Kansas City and Buffalo are up at the top of the AFC standings at 3-1 while in the NFC, San Francisco and Philadelphia are the only two teams in the league with a 100% record.

After wobbly starts on the opening weekend, the Bills and Chiefs have rediscovered their mojo. Buffalo lost 22-16 to the Jets on the first MNF of the season but have since despatched the Raiders, Commanders and Dolphins while scoring 123 points. This weekend’s 48-20 destruction of Miami was a Josh Allen/Stefon Diggs masterclass, with Allen posting four passing TDs, an 11-yard rushing score and a perfect 158.3 passer rating. The main beneficiary was Diggs, who totalled 120 yards and caught three of those TD passes. Suffice to say, the Bills are looking scarily good right now and should put on a show for UK fans this Sunday.

The Chiefs also bounced back from an opening-day defeat to the Lions with wins over Jacksonville and Chicago, and then eeked out a 23-20 victory over the Jets in Sunday’s late game. They built a 17-0 lead, on the back of a 115-yard/1 TD rushing performance from Isiah Pacheco but two uncharacteristic INTs from Patrick Mahomes at least made it interesting. Nonetheless, the big red machine marches on and they currently sit where you’d expect: top seed in the AFC.

In the other conference, the Niners have looked imperious, scoring exactly 30 in wins over the Steelers, Rams and Giants before seeing off the Cardinals 35-16 this weekend. Unsurprisingly, the stars of the show were once again Brock Purdy (20 of 21 for 283), Brandon Aiyuk (148 receiving yards) and the irrepressible Christian McCaffrey. As well as rushing for 106 yards and 3 TDs, he also made seven catches for 71 yards and another tuddy. Run CMC’s 459 rushing yards this season put him almost 100 ahead of his nearest rival already.

Matching them win for win are the Eagles, carrying on from last season’s Super Bowl run with barely a blip, despite changing both offensive and defensive coordinators. After Ws over the Patriots, Vikings and Buccaneers, they needed OT to see off a spirited Commanders side this weekend. Luckily, AJ Brown (175 receiving yards, 2 TDs) was in the mood and Philly stay undefeated with a 34-31 victory.

So, there you have it. It’s a little demoralising for the other 28 franchises to see the usual contenders setting the pace already but if you had a flutter on one of them to go all the way, you’re probably feeling pretty chuffed so far. Let’s see if they can keep up the pace. [ST]

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Lamar: last man standing in the North

The general consensus is that the AFC North is the NFL’s most competitive division this year. The Bengals had won back-to-back titles, signed Joe Burrow to a historically large contract and brought in Orlando Brown Jr to sure up the O-line. The Ravens signed Lamar Jackson to a mega-deal, picked up Odell Beckham Jr off the street and got all their guys back after two years blighted by injuries. With Myles Garrett and Za’Davius Smith in their ranks, Cleveland are by far the strongest of the four defensively and, as we like to say here at F10Y headquarters, “the Steelers won the offseason” so even their tails were up.

But a month is a long time in football and after just four games, it’s all starting to unravel for three of these teams.

Let’s get the big one out of the way first: the 1-3 Bengals are absolutely awful this season! At the bottom of almost every metric you can think of, the offense is (if you’ll excuse the mixed metaphors) clearly hamstrung by Burrow’s calf injury. He’s almost immobile in the pocket, which makes him a sitting duck. With just three TDs in four games, two outings with only a field goal to show for their efforts, including Sunday’s 27-3 loss to the Titans, and a suddenly leaky defense that let Derrick Henry rumble for 122 yards, run in a score and throw a TD pass as well(!), you can make a solid case for them being the worst team in the league at the moment.

So, to Pittsburgh, now 2-2. Kenny Pickett amassed 15 of 23 for 114 yards and an INT before leaving the field during their 30-6 loss at the Houston Texans with a knee injury. And their defense let the improving Texans rack up 451 yards of offense. For now at least, they contemplate life with backup Mitch Trubisky flinging the pigskin, which surely can’t be a good thing, can it?

And what of the 2-2 Browns? Their defense is, as expected, a force to be reckoned with but again, offensively, there are issues. Nick Chubb’s ghastly knee injury a couple of weeks ago left their running game severely weakened for the rest of the year and on Sunday, Watson was replaced by debutant Dorian Thompson-Robinson due to a shoulder injury. The rookie stand-in completed 19 of 36 for 121 yards, threw 3 INTs and his team scored just three points in a 28-3 humbling by Baltimore. Room for improvement there, for sure, but at least they have a bye week to help them reset.

The 3-1 Ravens are not without their own injury woes, with their left tackle and two receivers missing on Sunday. But they are at least the last of the four teams with a fully fit starting QB… and it’s Lamar Jackson. On Sunday, he ran in two TDs, threw for two more (both to Mark Andrews) and only had four incompletions all day. So it seems whoever’s missing from their ranks, Jackson can still carry the team on his back.

As expected, it’s been attritional and much of it hasn’t been pretty, with the Bengals sinking, the Steelers struggling and the Browns regressing. And unless something changes quickly, the AFC North already looks like its Baltimore’s to lose. So much for competitive. [ST]

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Return of the Mack

The LA Chargers gave up at least 24 points in their first three games and Joey Bosa was sidelined for Sunday’s clash with the Raiders. So was rookie QB Aiden O’Connell – making his first start for Las Vegas in place of Jimmy Garoppolo (concussion) – going to get an easy ride of it? Not on your nelly.

Step forward 32-years-young Khalil Mack. The edge rusher posted double-digit sacks every year from 2015 to 2018 (with Oakland and Chicago), but his team needed him to wind back the clock and regain that kind of game-changing form. And boy, did he prove he can still bring the heat. Mack recorded all six of his team’s sacks, only one short of tying the NFL’s single-game record set by Derrick Thomas in 1990. In so doing, he joins Thomas as the only other player with multiple games with five-plus sacks. Mack now goes straight to the top of the current NFL sack race, joining (the other) Josh Allen and TJ Watt with half a dozen each.

Terrorising the team that drafted him back in 2014, Mack was a one-man wrecking crew who just couldn’t be contained. Coming off both sides like a heat-seeking missile, he also logged nine tackles, five tackles for loss, 10 QB pressures and seven QB hits, giving O’Connell a torrid debut. To say Mack’s sack attack was pivotal to the Bolts securing a 24-17 win is definitely the understatement of the week.

As HC Brandon Staley said afterwards, “He’d been close to having three monster games. Today, he put it all together. This guy’s one of the best edge players of his generation. He’s still that guy.” [ST]

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The comeback kids

Those of you who watch Red Zone on DAZN/Game Pass will be familiar with the Witching Hour. That’s the point, late in the 6pm Sunday window, when Scott Hanson tells us, in his scariest Halloween voice, “it’s the time when wins become losses, and losses become wins”.

Well, you can tell we’re in October already because there was something spooky going on this Sunday. Take the clash between the Rams and Colts, for example. It all seemed plain sailing for Los Angeles, who took a 23-0 lead midway through the third quarter. But once Scott had delivered his line, the witches cast their spells.

A 35-yard TD pass from Indy QB Anthony Richardson to tight end Moe Ali-Cox and a 2-point conversion: 23-8. Then, a missed field goal by the Rams’ Brett Maher followed by a 1-yard rushing TD by Richardson: 23-15. A short TD pass to Andrew Ogletree and another 2-point conversion: 23-23! Frustratingly, once parity was reached, the teams traded punts, the comeback stalled and OT was needed. The Rams finally prevailed, with that man Puka Nacua getting his first TD of a standout debut season, but the Colts deserve a lot of credit for their supernatural 23-point comeback.

Then there was the game between the winless Bears and Broncos. Chicago had built up a 28-7 lead with less than half a minute left in the third quarter so again, enough for a first win of the season, surely? You’d have thought so but no sooner had “when wins become losses” been uttered, the momentum switched and the Broncos went on a stampede.

With 20 seconds left of Q3, Russell Wilson connected with Brandon Johnson for a 4-yard TD. The Bears punted their next possession away and Denver roared back on a 12-play, 70-yard drive that culminated in a Courtland Sutton score. The ensuing Chicago drive ended with a sack fumble of Justin Fields, which Jonathon Harris returned for six. The 21-point deficit was erased in about 8 minutes, and there was still time for the Bears to hand the ball over yet again after a failed 4th-and-1. One magnificent 48-yard play by Marvin Mims later, Denver were in field goal territory and Wil Lutz’s trusty boot secured an unlikely but very welcome 31-28 victory.

So, however big your team’s lead is going into the final quarter, assume nothing – and beware the Witching Hour! [ST]

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Bill and Mac: most heinous

I usually prefer to focus on the positive and the impressive but sometimes, you can’t avoid the tales of woe. So let me introduce you to the main characters of my last observation this week: Mac Jones and Bill Belichik.

On the face of it, the Patriots’ 38-3 gubbing by the 3-1 Cowboys in the late window (what is it with teams scoring 3 points this week?!) wasn’t great. Dallas took last week’s disappointing loss out on New England, who now fall to 1-3. With CeeDee Lamb catching Dak Prescott’s one passing TD and fullback Hunter Luepke running in the only score on the ground, it was again the Cowboy’s defense that starred in this one. Leighton Van Der Esch scooped up the ball for a TD after Jones had the ball stripped out by Dante Fowler, and DaRon Bland jumped a cross-field pass for another pick six (the replacement for the injured Trevon Diggs bagged another INT too). But what makes this game all the more incredible is that it’s the worst defeat Belichick has presided over in his 29 years as head coach. Wow.

Now, you don’t lose by 35 points without several things going wrong and there are many directions in which irate Pats fans can point their accusatory fingers. Some will definitely be aimed at the sieve-like offensive line, and many more at their ineffective quarterback. Jones completed just 12 of 21 pass attempts for 150 yards and turned the ball over three times, leading to 18 points for the opposition, before he was hooked late in the third quarter. His replacement, Bailey Zappe, only competed four throws, which at least makes the news that Jones will start against the Saints this week slightly more palatable.

“We obviously didn’t do much of anything well enough to be competitive tonight,” Belichick said afterwards. “I think we’re a lot better than what we showed out there tonight, but that’s what we showed. That’s what it was. We’ve got a lot of work to do to perform better.”

As the other great mind called Bill (from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure) once said, “the only true wisdom consists of knowing that you know nothing”. So Bill B, forget the last 29 years and go back to the drawing board. [ST]

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