Category: Denver Broncos

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Takeaways from the Broncos’ victory over the Green Bay Packers

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The Denver Broncos are in the win column once again ladies and gentlemen! 

This season has been full of narrow losses and teething problems, although it might be short-lived, having another win under the belt is a refreshing feeling for those who align themselves with the Broncos. 

Here are my takeaways from the Broncos’ second win of the year. 

Run game finding its groove

The Packers’ run defence isn’t the best by any stretch of the imagination but the Broncos ran the ball well throughout the game. 

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The running backs were consistently churning yards on first and second down, setting the passing offence up with manageable third down yardage which is what we expected this Sean Payton offence would look like. 

The Broncos ran the ball 25 times in the game for 145 yards, and the Packers just couldn’t stop Javonte Willams or Samaje Perine in the running or passing game.

Defensive consistency

The defence has finally looked to have regained some of their form from last season stringing together three good games. 

They’re still a long way off their stellar performances from a year ago under Ejiro Evero but they’re showcasing the ability that everyone knew they had. 

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There’s an argument to be made that the Broncos’ defence was unfortunate to give up the two touchdowns that they did. 

Romeo Doubs’ touchdown should have been awarded as an interception to Patrick Surtain II according to CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore and Jayden Reed was in the right place at the right time to catch a dropped ball in the endzone by Doubs to make it 17-16 late on.

The pass rush struggled and there is still a concern that the front seven lacks dynamism and depth but P.J. Locke stepped up when it mattered and grabbed the game-sealing interception late in the day getting Denver in the win column.

Offence moved the ball well

Akin to the first takeaway, the offence looked promising moving the ball through all four quarters. 

Russell Wilson looked good moving the ball through the air and as mentioned prior the running attack consistently gained yards on the ground. 

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Wilson could have had two touchdowns in the game but one was chalked off early in the game due to a penalty.

It is concerning that the offence can’t convert their drives into touchdowns and often in the red zone there is a tendency to go ‘three-and-out’. 

Despite having a redzone percentage around the league average, the Broncos have only scored 14 touchdowns off of their 70 drives this season. 

Second half offence is still shaky

The offence in the second half has been extremely poor so far this season, failing to score in the third quarter of four out of seven games so far this season. 

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Outside of their scripted drives, the offence often fails to find fluidity, especially in the second half. 

This week that issue was mitigated and the Broncos looked to move the ball well throughout the game, despite some shaky play in the second half and it is a concerning trend for the season.

Week eight preview 

Coming off a positive performance and a needed win, the Broncos face arguably the toughest test in the league when they welcome the Kansas City Chiefs to Mile High next Sunday. 

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Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs will be looking to extend their dominant run over the Broncos, their win streak currently sits at 16 wins and they will be hoping to make it 17 on Sunday. 

The Broncos are out of playoff contention and will just be playing for pride in the final ten weeks of the season and many will be playing to try and earn roster spots for their next teams beyond the Broncos. 

One way for Payton to repair some of the damage his short tenure has done among Broncos country is snapping the streak and stopping the red-hot Chiefs from running away from the rest of the AFC once again.

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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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Takeaways from the Broncos’ Week Six loss at the Chiefs on TNF

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The Broncos haven’t been gifted many primetime windows in the last eight seasons, and the way the Broncos have played in those eight years, can you blame the schedule makers for giving the primetime windows to other franchises? 

It was more of the same on Thursday night primetime this week as the Broncos extended their winless run against the Kansas City Chiefs to 16 games, and counting, whilst also, slipping to 1-5 on the year and well and truly putting to bed any lingering hopes of a playoff berth for Sean Payton in his first year in Denver. 

Over the first four weeks, there was a strong argument to be made that the Broncos could (and probably should) have been 4-1 over the opening quarter of the season. Losing in two one-score games at home in the opening two weeks and only losing by multiple scores last week against the Jets due to a turnover that became a score late in the game.

The same, unfortunately, cannot be said about this week’s loss in Arrowhead, so without further ado, here are my takeaways from the Broncos’ loss to the Chiefs. 

Rushing offence 

Starting with the positives, the run game started the game well, Javonte Williams had a couple of bruising runs in the opening quarter which looked more like the Williams we’re used to seeing in Broncos Country. 

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The Broncos ran for 115 yards on the night and it was clear that Payton wanted to control the time of possession early in the game and keep Patrick Mahomes off the field. 

It seems Payton has been managing the snaps of Williams in the opening six weeks of the year, which is sensible considering the injury he had and the way he plays, one does have to wonder how long Payton can keep limiting the snaps of one of the Broncos’ only playmakers on offence though.

Defence looked good 

The defence held its own for the second week running and held this explosive offence to only one touchdown in the game which is incredible to say, especially when they’ve had 70 points scored against them in one game on the road already this year. 

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For the opening four weeks, the conversations in Broncos country have revolved around the offence keeping up their level of play and the defence giving them a chance to win games by holding opponents to a somewhat modest total of points. 

In the subsequent two weeks, the conversation has flipped and now Broncos fans are looking for the offence to be competent at the very least and asking the defence to retain their level of performance.

Offence falters again 

Speaking of the offence, for the second week in a row they’ve failed to show up in games that have well and truly been there for the taking. 

Last week Russell Wilson had the ball in his hands with the chance to lead the offence down the field and take the lead late in the game, instead, Wilson fumbled the ball and the Jets ran it in to win the game. 

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This week the Broncos weren’t even close to the Chiefs despite them only reaching the endzone once. 

They couldn’t move the ball and the wide receivers couldn’t get open at all for Wilson to find them and get the offence moving down the field. 

One of the only bright spots in the Broncos pass game this year, Marvin Mims Jr., wasn’t even on the field after his error against the Jets last Sunday appears to have rubbed Payton up the wrong way. 

Without Mims, the offence has no vertical explosiveness, and for a receiver room that is supposedly all on the trade block, they’ve done nothing but harm their trade stock in the last two weeks.

Roster moves are pending

As mentioned previously, it isn’t just the receivers who are up for sale, according to several reports, the entire roster besides superstar Patrick Surtain II is on the trade block for the Broncos. 

Whether Payton wants to blow things up quite to that extent or not is up for discussion and it doesn’t seem like the fire sale will be quite that wholesale. 

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Nonetheless, besides a handful of promising young pieces on either side of the ball and a couple of highly paid new free-agent acquisitions it feels like the large majority of this roster would be eligible for trade if general manager George Paton picked up any calls in the coming weeks. 

Some of the more highly spoken about players in trade rumours have been: Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson, amongst others. 

Most believe those are the four players that would garner any relevant haul for Paton and as a result, they are the ones most likely to be traded, especially as the Broncos are desperate for picks as they attempt to rebuild their roster.

Week seven preview 

Looking ahead to next Sunday, the Broncos turn their attention to their game against the Green Bay Packers who are coming off of a bye in week six. 

The Packers have had a mixed season with highs and lows before heading into an early-season bye. No one has encapsulated that more perhaps, than quarterback Jordan Love who took the reigns from Aaron Rodgers in the offseason. 

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Love’s play has been inconsistent and injuries on offence have led to some subpar play from the Packers which might bouy this resurgent Broncos defence across the last two weeks. 

The defence is stacked with talent but play-caller, Joe Barry, is public enemy number one amongst cheeseheads and his play-calling has resulted in numerous losses already this season in games the Packers should have been winning. 

Fortunately for the Broncos, they have had an extended week to prepare for this game and come back refreshed and, hopefully, rejuvenated ahead of Sunday.

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They desperately need a win this week at home, before they lock horns once again with the Chiefs again in week eight, and then go on their bye in week nine. 

If the Broncos don’t win on Sunday they could realistically be 1-7 coming off their bye with a brutal stretch to end the season later in the year, including road trips to Buffalo, Detroit and the Chargers as well as a home game against the Browns.

It’s not a must-win game for any playoff implications but it’s certainly a must-win game if Payton and Wilson want any credibility coming out of this disastrous start to their campaign in Denver.

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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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Takeaways from the Broncos’ week five loss to the Jets

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With so much riding on this game surrounding Sean Payton’s preseason comments and the comeback win last week, it felt like this was a game where the Broncos could really turn the tide of their season at home to a struggling Jets side. 

In reality, it was a watershed moment for all the wrong reasons and Broncos country is starting to feel that all-too-familiar disappointment once again before the leaves have even started to fall off the trees in autumn.

So here it is, four takeaways from the Broncos’ loss to the New York Jets.

Worst the offence has played this season 

In the opening four weeks a lot of blame was levelled at the defence, for good reason, however, this week, the offence took the reigns. 

The defence was getting stops in the first half and if it hadn’t been for a bad safety in the first quarter, the Broncos would have been in an even more dominant position heading into halftime.

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In the second half the offence completely fell apart, with four three-and-outs and a fumble culminating in minus eight total yards of offensive production in the second half until a 60-yard touchdown drive to make the score 24-21.

The defence managed to come up clutch late in the fourth quarter with an interception but once again the offence failed to fire and Russell Wilson fumbled the ball to Bryce Hall who iced the game, returning it for a touchdown.

The offensive woes were highlighted when the Broncos gained good field position from a special teams play from their own punt and two snaps later, the Jets regained possession due to a poorly executed end-around double pitch. 

Hopefully, it’s a blip and the offence will return to their levels from the first four weeks, if they hope to even lay a glove on the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday Night Football, they’ll have to.

Defence inconsistent again 

The defence carried their late-game momentum from last week into the opening stages of this game against the Jets.

In the first half, the defence held Zach Wilson and the Jets to 20 total yards of offence in the first quarter. 

In the second quarter, the Jets started to move the ball better but once again the Broncos’ defence held them to only three points.

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In the second half though, they couldn’t stop the Jets from moving the ball, particularly Breece Hall who notched 177 rushing yards and a touchdown.

The pass rush got home four times and Patrick Surtain II picked off Zach Wilson to give the Broncos the ball back with time running down to go ahead but the offence couldn’t capitalise. 

After the year the defence has had, Sunday was encouraging, however, the inconsistencies were still frustrating to see.

Payton ate his words 

Sean Payton’s comments about Nathaniel Hackett’s head coaching job in Denver last year are common knowledge now among anyone who follows the NFL.

On Sunday, Payton was made to eat those words, the loss doesn’t change the past but it certainly raises questions about how much of last season was on Hackett. 

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The offence has undoubtedly looked better under Payton than it did under Hackett but in general they still appear to be a poorly coached team. 

Is that hangover from the last regime? It’s unlikely because there are plenty of new faces in the building.

One thing is for certain, after the comments he made Payton made himself a target especially heading into this game, and it spectacularly backfired on him.

The fire sale has begun 

On Monday, NFL insider James Palmer suggested that a fire sale of Broncos talent may commence soon in light of the team’s 1-4 record. 

It’s no surprise that the team are looking to start a rebuild again and with the current salary cap situation and the lack of draft capital, it seems trading assets away is the only option. 

It’s highly unlikely that the Broncos will be worse than the Chicago Bears and the Carolina Panthers this season, at the very least, so the number one overall pick and therefore Caleb Williams seems like a pipedream. 

Despite that, Russell Wilson’s play hasn’t been the reason the Broncos are 1-4 so would a quarterback really be the target? 

Albeit, the Broncos certainly have tradable pieces on offence and defence so if Payton and general manager George Paton believe that’s the way they want to go then they could definitely receive a lot of capital in return.

Week 6 TNF preview 

It doesn’t get any easier for the Broncos, next week, a trip to Arrowhead awaits to play the formidable Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night. 

The Broncos have lost 15 straight against their AFC West rivals and the Chiefs have started the season hot, despite not being wholly convincing.

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The Chiefs sit at 4-1 and are on a four-game win streak after their loss to the Detroit Lions on the opening night of the season. 

The Broncos slipped to 1-4 and are once again gearing themselves up for a winter bereft of playoff football and more top-ten draft selection talk in springtime.

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Takeaways from the Broncos’ Week Four Comeback Victory

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After three arduous weeks, and a nervous first half, the Sean Payton era has finally delivered its first win in Broncos country. It wasn’t pretty, it was the furthest thing from assured and by no mean perfect, but Payton and the Broncos won’t care, they’re now in the win column and anything can happen from here. 

So on the first victory week of the season, here are my takeaways from the Broncos’ road win against the Chicago Bears.

Comeback W 

A win is always sweet, but a win from 28-7 down is a beautiful way to win a game. From a team standpoint in the long term, it also provides a reason to be positive for Broncos fans as well. 

The team showed great poise, grit and determination to rally around each other after halftime and provided that they can play complimentary football, they can be a watchable team.

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It’s refreshing to see all three phases of play contributing to a win especially after they had their backs against the wall on the road in a crucial game for the season.

These are the types of performances that seasons can hinge upon and momentum may well be swinging in Denver’s favour now heading into week five.

Jaleel McLaughlin

It always seems to be the way, every year the Broncos manage to unearth one or two gem rookie players that make an impact in orange and blue. 

This Sunday it was the turn of undrafted running back, Jaleel McLaughlin, out of Youngstown State to make his impact known to the NFL world. 

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The shifty and elusive runner saw more involvement in the offence after Javonte Williams left the game early with a hip injury and he made his opportunity count. 

McLaughlin put up 72 yards on the ground and 32 in the receiving game as well as scoring the Broncos’ first touchdown of the day. 

His change of direction and quick burst of acceleration was something the Bears defensive line couldn’t handle all day. 

Second half 

The performance in the second half was pleasing from the offence, defence and special teams, it felt like after halftime something finally clicked under this new leadership group. 

The offence was moving the ball well and looked like they could attack the Bears on the ground or through the air if they needed to and they just couldn’t be stopped.

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The defence finally started to make some plays and recorded two turnovers in the fourth quarter which swung the game in the Broncos’ favour. 

This was the moment that Broncos fans had been waiting an eternity for, well-executed football in every area of the game and giving themselves every chance of winning the game. 

First half defence 

Despite the positives, there were obvious red flags throughout the game and those came mostly during the first half when the Broncos found themselves 21-7 down going into the half in a must-win game to keep their season alive. 

Credit to Justin Fields, the former Ohio State dual-threat quarterback had his best game as a pro on Sunday and he showed the potential that his talent can elevate him to. 

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However, he was also helped by Vance Joseph’s incredibly soft defensive coverages and a plethora of blown zone assignments. 

Joseph played off-man coverage packages far too often, giving Fields easy quick passing options and with the current lack of pass rush Fields just picked the Broncos apart in the air.

On three crucial games in the half, middle linebacker Alex Singleton lost tight end, Cole Kmet, in zone coverage, once for a big third down catch and twice for a touchdown. 

In these ill-disciplined moments, games can be won and lost and although the Broncos fell on the right side of the win this week, they are 1-2 in one-score games through the first four weeks of the season and with better pass coverage they could well be 3-0.   

Discipline 

Speaking of discipline, the flags against the Broncos once again totted up this week. 

33 penalties have been called against the Broncos already this season and they committed seven this week. 

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It’s not necessarily the frequency of the penalties they’re giving up, it’s when they occur and the nature of them. 

Four false start penalties were called on Sunday and too often the Broncos find themselves on the backfoot on offensive drives due to poor penalties surrendering momentum before they’ve even begun.

Week five preview 

It can be easy to get carried away, especially after a win which has been so long in the making, but the Broncos now need to carry their late-game momentum into another winnable game next week at home to the New York Jets.

The game comes packed with storylines, none fierier than the battle between sidelines, after Sean Payton’s comments about former Broncos head coach, Nathaniel Hackett’s work with the team last year. 

Hackett failed to make a full season as head coach of the Broncos despite so much preseason hype, and after Payton was hired this offseason he called it, “one of the worst coaching jobs in history.” 

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Hackett is now the offensive coordinator of the Jets and he will be hoping to cause an upset back in Mile High, but he will be without future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers. 

Instead, third-year quarterback, Zach Wilson will be under centre for the Jets and after a promising Monday Night Football performance against the Kansas City Chiefs, the former BYU man will be hoping to come away with his first win of the season as a starter. 

Away from the headlines, the Broncos will hopefully be buoyed by the probable return of safety Justin Simmons, while Baron Browning has entered his window to be activated off of the PUP list. 

Safety, PJ Locke and cornerback, K’Waun Williams can both be activated off of the injury reserve list this week getting help to the secondary. 

Hopefully, Frank Clark and Josey Jewell can return to the defence, after an extra weekend of rest missing the Bears game on Sunday, and add some more power to the front seven. 

Whether the Broncos were 4-0 or 1-3 heading into this week Broncos Country and Mile High were always going to be fired up for this one, and it will be some atmosphere as this war of words finally takes to the field at 9:25 pm BST on Sunday.

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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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Six Takeaways from the Broncos’ Humiliating Week Three Loss

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70 points. Only three teams in the history of the sport have ever put up 70 points in a game and that’s what happened to the Broncos on Sunday afternoon. It was a historic humiliation that shattered records for all the wrong reasons in Broncos Country. 

At the end of the game, the Miami Dolphins had the chance to beat the record and score a field goal to make it 73 points but former Broncos ball boy Mike McDaniel opted to kneel and close the game out, sinking the Broncos to an embarrassing loss and an 0-3 record. 

Here are my takeaways from the week three matchup in Florida. 

Russell Wilson is NOT the problem

The media and Twitter box score fans have been quick to jump back on their anti-Russell Wilson agenda this season, but the nine-time Pro Bowler is having a fine year in Denver. 

He’s proving his haters from last year very wrong, playing smart football and looking like a top-10 quarterback in the league in his opening three games of the season. 

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Wilson threw for 306 yards off of 23 completions which, for context, was only three yards fewer than Tua Tagovailoa from the same number of completions. 

He threw for one touchdown, and one interception, which wasn’t entirely Wilson’s fault anyway, as well as four big-time throws according to PFF. 

He is navigating the pocket well, sensing and escaping pressure much more often, and he seems to be seeing the field and making decisions much more assertively as well as backing his arm on the deep ball much more often.

It has been a positive start to the season for Wilson under the tutelage of Sean Payton and hopefully, he will soon be rewarded for his good play.

Receivers are building chemistry

Even without Tim Patrick for a second straight season, the Broncos have a tidy wide receiver room, on paper at least. 

Jerry Jeudy played for a second consecutive week and Courtland Sutton still appears to be one of Russell Wilson’s favourite targets, while rookie Marvin Mims is a genuine deep-threat target.

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Over the last two weeks, sophomore, Brandon Johnson has also been a pass catcher that Wilson can often lean upon to make a big catch when needed. 

When Greg Dulcich is elevated off of the injury reserve list, the Broncos’ air raid game will be something to behold if they can keep up their three-week momentum.

Special teams touchdown

Over the last couple of years, the Broncos have regularly had one of the league’s worst special teams units every year. 

On Sunday, Marvin Mims proved why the Broncos traded up to acquire him in the draft, returning a kickoff 99 yards to cut the deficit to a measly 43 points (at the time).

Coupled with his long punt return last week, Mims is proving to be the return man the Broncos have been hoping for, for years.

The defence…

When you concede 70, there’s only one place the heap of the blame can go. The defence consistently gave up big gashing run gains to Raheem Mostert and Devon Achane, who combined for six rushing touchdowns between them. 

The defence surrendered 726 yards to the Dolphins in total yards and when Randy Gregory was dropping into coverage against Tyreek Hill, and they were missing 24 tackles it’s hardly surprising. 

After losing to the Raiders in week one, they lost only putting up 10 points in week two, and after last week’s 35-33 loss to the Commanders, Washington only scored a field goal this week and Sam Howell threw four interceptions. 

The Broncos’ defence is a shadow of its 2022 self under Ejiro Evero and despite a largely similar personnel, the change in co-ordinator and scheme hasn’t been effective.

The numbers are staggering and the film is alarming, when looking at this Broncos defence, Vance Joseph is on the hottest seat in the league. 

During the week, Sean Payton has said that there won’t be any firings this week so Joseph has a chance to prove he’s the man for the job on the road in Chicago which is a must-win game.

Fumbles

The Dolphins scored 21 points off of turnovers on Sunday and two of those came from the hands of Courtland Sutton. 

Sutton posted 8 catches for 91 yards and a touchdown but he could have had so much more had he protected the ball better in the open field. 

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Twice he was looking for yards after the catch and twice, Jevon Holland came across and punched the ball out giving Miami a good starting field position. 

Had those 21 points from the turnovers been converted to Broncos points then it may have been more of a tight shootout than the game became.

Officials (again)

Like last week, the officials didn’t cost the Broncos this game, which lies firmly at the doorstep of the defence, however, early in the game they made a questionable call which halted early Broncos offensive momentum.

In the first quarter, the Broncos managed to hang around with the Dolphins and would have gone within a score of their hosts if their touchdown to Sutton had stood. 

Instead, the officials decided to step in and throw a tenuous offensive pass interference call that meant the Broncos had to settle for a field goal on that drive.

It was by no means a game-changing call but once again the officiating levels of the NFL come under the spotlight.

Looking ahead to week four 

The Broncos have entered must-win territory if they have any plans of making the post-season in January, but even more so when their week four opponent is the Chicago Bears.

The Bears have been the worst team in the league so far this season with a faltering offence and a leaky defence. 

Third-year quarterback, Justin Fields has struggled to process defences and the offensive playcalling hasn’t utilised his strengths, while the offensive line has failed to protect him anywhere near enough.

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These two defences gave up 111 points on Sunday so both offences will be licking their lips and trying to lay down a comprehensive marker to get in the win column for the first time this year. 

After their struggles in the ground game against the Dolphins, Justin Fields’ rushing ability is a concern but the offensive form partnered with the Bears’ poor defensive form is a positive sign heading into a huge week four matchup for both teams.

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PICK SIX – Week 3

It’s Tuesday so we – Shaun Blundell and Sean Tyler – are back to pick six things from the Week 3 NFL slate that caught our eye. This time, our interest was piqued by an explosive offense, a brick-wall defence, a struggling quarterback, underdogs upsetting the odds, another tight one between two one-score-game specialists and a record-breaking kicker. So let’s just crack on, shall we?

Myles in motion for dominant Browns D

Myles Garrett has dominated every game this season. On Sunday, for those of you who only judge a player by his ‘stat sheet’, he dominated there too. He sacked Ryan Tannehill 3.5 times as the Cleveland defense continued its early season form, limiting Tennessee to just 94 yards as the Browns cruised to a 27-3 win. It was a historically bad day for the Titans, who recorded their lowest offensive output since the days of the Oilers. The previous low for the Titans of Tennessee, as we know them today, was 98 yards against Jacksonville in 2006.

Derrick Henry was curtailed to 20 yards on 11 carries. The Titans managed a measly six first downs the whole game and poor punter Ryan Stonehouse had as many punts as any wide receiver had targets. The only score for the Titans came on a drive that started on the Browns’ 17-yard line and went as follows: Henry -3 yard run; Garrett sack and forced fumble -7 yards; completed pass -2 yards. It is the only time any opponent has been inside the Browns’ red zone all season and they went backwards.

Tannehill was under siege the whole time. He was sacked five times, completed 13 of 25 passes for 104 yards and never got Tennessee’s offense moving. Andre Dillard was abused all game by Garrett, Za’Darius Smith and company. And on one play, Garrett had two tight ends following him in motion across the formation in a futile attempt to block him. He continued to motion to the opposite side and in comedic fashion, the offense continued to follow. It led to a delay of game penalty against the Titans and highlighted the fear the All-Pro strikes in his opponents.

An exclamation point for Cleveland’s defense came on the first two plays of the fourth quarter, when Alex Wright and Garrett recorded sacks on consecutive plays, much to the delight of coordinator Jim Schwartz, smiling away on the sideline. This Browns defense is playing at a historic level through three weeks. They have allowed -36 rushing yards before contact this season, while the league average is +94! With the offense showing signs of life and the Browns looking competitive, maybe this is finally the year that Garrett enters the Defensive Player of the Year conversation. [SB]

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Every dog has its day

Before this weekend’s action, the Texans and Cardinals occupied the last two positions in every power ranking I saw. And while they may not be tanking as such, a successful season seemed like wishful thinking for both franchises. 

And so to Sunday. In my Yahoo! Survivor game, 25% of players picked the Jaguars to sink the 0-2 Texans, and a further 15% picked the Cowboys to see off the winless Cardinals. The betting lines reflected this consensus, with Jacksonville giving up 7.5 points and Dallas favoured by 13 on the road. And yet, both ‘dogs rose to the occasion.  

In Houston, the new kids continued to make their mark in a comfortable 37-17 win over their divisional foes. Rookie QB CJ Stroud maintained his hot start to the campaign with 280 passing yards and two touchdowns, making him only the third quarterback ever to pass for over 900 yards in their first three career games (his 906 place him 4th in the league). And don’t forget, he’s yet to throw an interception. Fellow newbie Tank Dell had five receptions for 145 yards and a TD.

Meanwhile, Arizona finally showed they can put it together for a whole game for a change, having outscored their opponents by 34 points in the first half of their previous games but losing both. In beating the Cowboys 28-16, QB Joshua Dobbs impressed with 189 yards and a TD, completed 80.9% of his passes (17 of 21) – including a 69-yard pass to rookie Michael Wilson – and set the tone on the second play of the game with a 44-yard run. Elsewhere, Matt Prater kicked a 62-yard FG, the longest we’ve seen this season so far, and Kyzir White made a red zone INT to close out the game.

So if you had either of these teams pegged as this year’s whipping boys, maybe it’s time to think again. They may be full of young and inexperienced players but they showed spirit in picking up their first wins of the season and perhaps they’re not cannon-fodder after all. In fact, if I were a gambling man, I’d wager the loser of next week’s Bears v Broncos matchup may be a better bet to make the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft than either Houston or Arizona. [ST]

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The Jets are too talented to not make a move, surely?

This year was supposed to be different for the Jets. They were supposed to have Aaron Rodgers leading them to success but a cruel Achilles tear later, the team is now in the hands of Zach Wilson. Their roster is too talented for this to remain the case, surely? Even against a struggling Patriots team, the Jets weren’t able to get the win.

The dreaded coach speak of “he gives us the best chance to win” was thrown out by Robert Saleh after a second consecutive loss with Wilson at the controls. It is scary to think just how bad QB Tim Boyle may be, as the only other quarterback on the depth chart. Wilson was 18 of 36 for 157 yards and no touchdowns, and took three sacks for a loss of 24 yards. Garrett Wilson led the team in receiving with five catches for 48 yards while on the ground, Dalvin Cook and Breece Hall posted 18 yards each.

Wilson didn’t turn the ball over but his day was illustrated perfectly on the Jets’ penultimate drive. Down 5 points, on a 4th-and-10 from their own 45, he completed the pass to tight end Tyler Conklin. For 2 yards, on a checkdown, with a Patriot defender right there to effectively seal the ball game for New England. Football is cruel though and there was more heartbreak for the Jets as Randall Cobb should have come down with the Hail Mary on the final play of the game to secure the unlikeliest of victories. Emphasis on the word should.

Wilson is still a developmental QB who hasn’t developed into a starting-calibre player. He’s paying the price of being overdrafted and facing the intense scrutiny of the New York market. The boo birds were out in droves on Sunday night for the franchise’s 15th consecutive loss to Bill Belichick’s team. Some teams just have your number but for the Jets, this is a nightmare they simply have to find a way out of. Teammates and coaches arguing on the sidelines in Game 3 should send warning signals through the building. GM Joe Douglas must do something.

Oh well, it’s the Chiefs up next. Maybe Carson Wentz might get yet another redemption shot? [SB]

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Kickers matt-er

With the Colts missing their starting QB Anthony Richardson, as well as PUP-list running back Jonathan Taylor (remember him?), it was going to take something special for Indy to go to Baltimore and beat the Ravens, one of only two AFC teams with a perfect record after two weeks. Back-up Gardner Minshew fought hard (227 passing yards, 1 TD), Zack Moss posted a career-high 122 rushing yards and the defense largely held Lamar Jackson and co. in check. But in the end, the difference-maker in this intriguing, attritional 22-19 overtime battle was a kicker.

If I’d said that before the game, I reckon 99% of you would’ve put this month’s mortgage or rent payment on it being the Ravens’ Justin Tucker. After all, he’s the best in the league, holds the NFL field goal record at 66 yards and has won many games in clutch moments. But on Sunday, the plaudits went to Colts kicker Matt Gay for his own clutch, record-breaking day. Even the wind and rain from the tail-end of Tropical Storm Ophelia couldn’t blow him off course.

Tucker himself missed a chance to win the game for Baltimore with 1 second left, his 61-yard attempt falling just short of the crossbar, so into OT we went. With the tension building, the teams traded three-and-outs and then both failed on 4th downs, but a 13-yard run from Moss eventually brought Indianapolis within range. Gay obliged, coolly nailing the walk-off winner from 53 yards. Even more impressively, that was his fourth successful kick from over 50 yards in the game, something never before achieved in the NFL. Earlier, he’d drilled home from 31, 54, 53 and 53, the last of which tied the game with under a minute of regulation remaining.

The former Rams kicker, acquired as a free agent in March, has now made his last seven 50-yarders and puts his success down to his ‘tunnel vision’ mentality. “You jog on, kick it and jog off,” he explained afterwards. “That’s the mindset I like to have. I don’t like to think too much about what’s going on. I’m just in blackout mode.”

With ice in his veins and former Colts QB Matt Ryan now in the commentary booth, maybe we’ve discovered Matty Ice 2.0? [ST]

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Close, but this time, no cigar

The Minnesota Vikings were 11-0 in games decided by 7 points or fewer in 2022. After another game that saw the Vikings involved in a close tussle – a 28-24 loss to the LA Chargers – their record this year drops to 0-3 in such games. 

It really does highlight the small margins by which NFL games are often decided. With just 55 ticks left on the clock, Kirk Cousins dialled up a deep ball to Jordan Addison. It looked for all the world it was going to land right in his bread basket. Chargers safety Alohi Gilman, however, had other ideas. He leaped into the air and managed to somehow get his fingertips on the ball, disrupting the potential catch. It fell incomplete, although a penalty elsewhere on the field kept the drive alive.

Three plays later, the Vikings faced 4th-and-5. Cousins zipped a pass over the middle for TJ Hockenson for 9 more yards to extend the drive again. With no timeouts remaining, the Vikes inexcusably let more than 20 seconds drain off the play clock and then called a play that appeared to cause some offensive confusion. Cousins dropped back, looked for Hockenson again but the coverage was tight, the ball was deflected and it looped up towards Kenneth Murray who made a diving interception in the end zone. On another day, maybe even just last season, it sticks in the tight end’s hands.

These two teams are always involved in one-score games so it was almost guaranteed that this contest would boil down to the final play of the game. Their victory moves the Chargers to 1-2 while the Vikings remain winless at 0-3. It is really difficult to say if either of these teams are good, bad or indifferent. What is easy to say, however, is that this is why we love the NFL because games like this are the norm every weekend. For the Vikings’ sake, they need to get on the right side of one of these close outcomes soon before the season is lost before it has truly begun. [SB]

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Miami turn it up to 10

Taking a knee to close out a big win is akin to a victory lap and usually worthy of high-fives and backslapping all round. But in the case of Miami’s 10-touchdown (yes, 10!) mauling of the Denver Broncos on Sunday, some fans might have been slightly disappointed. That’s because, had their team successfully attempted a field goal from the Broncos’ 28-yard line instead, they’d have equalled the all-time NFL record of 73 points, set by Chicago in a postseason game back in 1940.

As it was, HC Mike McDaniel didn’t want to rub salt into some very raw wounds, and his team’s 70-20 win still brought the second-highest points tally ever in the regular season (Washington hit the Giants for 72 in 1966). His team also became the first to score five rushing TDs and five receiving TDs in a game.

In a non-contest described by Broncos HC Sean Payton as “embarrassing”, Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa – the bookies’ current favourite for MVP – posted a perfect first half, completing 16 of 16 for 206 yards with two TDs and no INTs. Along with some other starters, he was pulled in the fourth quarter, so finished with ‘only’ 309 yards and four touchdown passes.

With a hugely dominant Miami offense racking up 726 total yards – the second-most in NFL history – players were literally lining up to score. No doubt, fantasy owners were rubbing their hands with glee as Raheem Mostert rushed for 82 yards and 3 TDs, and logged 60 yards and a TD through the air. Meanwhile, De’Von Achane posted 203 rushing yards with two scores, plus a further 30 yards and two TDs receiving (both from absolutely filthy no-look backwards shovel passes from Tua). On another day, Tyreek Hill’s 157 yards/1 TD, or even Chosen Anderson’s 68-yard TD, might have been newsworthy but not today.

Even without WR2 Jaylen Waddle (concussion protocol), Miami’s offense cruised to the top of the league in yards per play, yards per game and points per drive. The defense also forced multiple turnovers for the second straight game. So are they the best team in the AFC East, the conference or even the league right now? Maybe, but we should know more next week when they face the Bills, scorers of 75 points over the last two games themselves. So get your sparklers, marshmallows and hot chocolate ready, there’s gonna be fireworks! [ST]

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Rookies of the Week – Week 2

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Another week in the books, and boy am I glad I extended this from three rookies to seven! These guys are setting records every week.

Let’s look at my standout seven from Week 2.

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Sam LaPorta, Tight End – Detroit Lions

It’s a position with one of the hardest jumps from college to professional; however, no one told LaPorta as he set an NFL record last weekend. With his five receptions for 63 yards, Sam is now the first tight end in NFL history to have five or more receptions in the first two games of their career.

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Marvin Mims Jr., Wide Receiver – Denver Broncos

Two catches were all it took for Mims Jr. to appear on this list. In the first half of the Broncos game against the Commanders, Mims had two targets, two receptions, 113 yards, and a touchdown. Unfortunately, though, he was unable to add to that as he wasn’t targeted again for the rest of the game.

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Puka Nacua, Wide Receiver – Los Angeles Rams

In Week 2, Nacua continued to make waves as he hauled in 15 catches for 147 yards. He has now set the record for most receptions for a single game by a rookie, as well as the record for most receptions by a rookie through their first two weeks with 25.

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Ivan Pace Jr., Linebacker – Minnesota Vikings

Could the Vikings have found one of the steals of the draft? After an impressive start to his career, Pace was given the starting job this week, and he repaid his coaches with seven tackles and one sack. Amazingly, he also has the highest pass rush grade among all linebackers.

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Bijan Robinson, Running Back – Atlanta Falcons

A second week in a row for Bijan on this list, and if he continues to play the way he’s started, he might not leave. Robinson had 124 yards of rushing against the Packers, with the highlight being a 19-yard run early in the second quarter featuring a surplus of missed tackles.

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John Michael Schmitz Jr., Center – New York Giants

After a tough start to the season, Schmitz bounced back immediately with a dominant performance, helping the Giants in their comeback win against the Arizona Cardinals. Schmitz played all 68 snaps in the game, allowing only one sack and posting positive grades in both run blocking and pass blocking.

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C.J. Stroud, Quarterback – Houston Texans

The Texans might be 0-2 to start the season, but that’s no fault of the young rookie. It was an outstanding performance against the Colts, as Stroud threw for 384 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. He is currently the fourth-highest quarterback in passing yards with 626, despite being the most sacked quarterback across the first two weeks.