Category: Houston Texans

Posted on by

Takeaways as the Broncos beat the Browns to make it five wins in a row

Embed from Getty Images

From the brink of elimination at 1-5 the Denver Broncos have managed to rally and all of a sudden find themselves at 6-5 and only sitting outside of the playoff picture due to an in-conference tie-breaker with the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts. 

The win streak has now extended to five games and those five have come against teams in or around the playoff hunt in each conference. Sunday’s win was perhaps the most impressive of the bunch and here are my takeaways from it.

Most complete game of the season 

Sunday was the first time this season that it felt the Broncos had played four quarters of well-executed football in all three areas of the game.

Embed from Getty Images

The performance was polished and the football on each side of the ball was complimentary, the offence had an identity and rhythm that it set early, while the defence continued its trend of bruising play forcing turnovers regularly.

In the games prior to this one in the winning streak, we had seen glimpses of what this team could be if they were able to glue everything together and play complementary football for an entire game, and on Sunday we were able to see the closest thing to that, that we have seen all year against one of the AFC’s best teams this year in the Cleveland Browns.

This team can be a playoff team 

When the Broncos began their run of wins they seemed like they’d be a team that would eventually fall away when it got to crunch time due to a really difficult run of games that looked too much for the side we had seen so far in 2023. 

In reality, the team have completely turned their fortunes around and they are deservedly in the playoff hunt and being brought up in meaningful playoff conversations for the first time since Peyton Manning retired.

Embed from Getty Images

Not only are they in the conversations surrounding playoff contention but they are also playing football that could well see them sneak into the playoff back door, they control the time of possession, and take the ball away frequently. A recipe for success it seems. 

A poor in-conference record hampers their projected chances of getting into the playoffs but there isn’t a more in-form team in the NFL right now than the Broncos and they have all the momentum in the AFC heading into a crucial December which will define the AFC playoff picture. 

The blueprint for Sean Payton’s Broncos has been laid out 

Sean Payton’s objective wasn’t to make this team a playoff team overnight, after last season’s horrendous year the expectations were understandably low for this group. 

Payton was tasked with managing Russell Wilson, bringing him back up to a respectable level of quarterback and laying down a blueprint for his Broncos going forward. 

Embed from Getty Images

It’s safe to say he has done both of those and then some only twelve weeks into his competitive Broncos tenure. 

Wilson is looking like a good quarterback again (not to his Seattle Seahawks levels but good enough), and the blueprint is laid for this team. 

This team will outwork their opponent, they will hustle and fight on every down for every yard of the field. When on offence they’re going to bruise you in the run game and open up the field in the passing game after establishing a run game behind a dominant run-blocking offensive line. 

Defensively they will rough you up and knock you off your stride, resulting in takeaways like we’ve seen in the last five weeks.

Still not killing off teams, especially on turnovers

Embed from Getty Images

I said before that the performance was as close to complete as we had seen, but it wasn’t quite perfect and there are still kinks that need ironing out. 

Namely, the lack of points off of takeaways, when the offence can’t score meaningful points off of turnovers, it allows opponents to hang around and in the playoffs, it will always come back to bite you. 

If the offence can become more clinical when the defence gives them the ball with favourable field positions this team could be a force to be reckoned with in the future.

The lack of a vertical threat

In the opening two weeks, it looked like rookie Marvin Mims Jr. would play a big part in Payton’s offence as a vertical threat taking the top off of the defence after the run game draws the defenders in. 

Embed from Getty Images

Through 12 weeks we’ve rarely seen Mims used in that role and he plays primarily as a return man at current in this structure. 

Jerry Jeudy has been used mainly as the deep target but often it feels like the Broncos lack the vertical threat to truly stretch a defence and Mims feels like he has the potential to be that man.

Week 13 preview

In week 13 the Broncos enter playoff football territory and it starts an incredibly tough run of three straight road games. 

The stretch kicks off as the Broncos travel to Houston to face Demeco Ryans’ Texans led by rookie sensation C.J. Stroud.

Embed from Getty Images

Stroud is a shoe-in for AFC Offensive Rookie of the Year and he has lead the Texans to an improbable playoff-challenging run. 

Last week they suffered a costly loss to their division rivals so will be looking to get their playoff surge back on track this Sunday. 

This game could prove to be pivotal for both teams’ playoff hopes acting as a big tie-breaker for playoff seedings come early January. 

For the Broncos their poor in-conference record also adds extra pressure to this game and it feels like the Broncos are in must-win territory now. 

Embed from Getty Images

After Houston they travel to the Los Angeles Chargers before jetting back across the country to face the Detroit Lions in week 15, so a win for the Broncos could just give them an extra push to get them over the line in this tough road stretch and the playoff race in general. 

For the UK Broncos fans, they can catch the game live on Sky Sports NFL on Sunday with the team going on air at 5 pm and kickoff at 6 pm.

Posted on by

PICK SIX – Week 10

That was Week 10, folks. Shaun Blundell and Sean Tyler have picked six topics for discussion: the final International Series game in Germany, late wins for the Browns and the Texans, a return to form for the 49ers, Cee Dee Lamb bigging himself up and clutch kickers. What more could you ask for?

It’s not how you start

I make no apologies for taking up more column inches with another piece about the Cleveland Browns. Years of misery will mean that clinging to the first sign of success is almost inevitable so here we are again. The point this week though is for the longest time, it felt like I would be writing about another Baltimore win in this one-sided rivalry. Quite literally the longest time…

Somewhat aptly for this column, Deshaun Watson threw a pick six with his first pass of the day. Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton tipped the pass intended for David Njoku up in the air, collected the ricochet himself and took it to the end zone. Just 40 seconds were on the game clock and Baltimore had the lead, one they held for the remaining 59 minutes and 20 seconds. The only problem? The Browns took their first and only lead of the day as the clock struck zeroes, when Dustin Hopkins drilled a 40-yard game-winning field goal. It is the longest time any team has trailed and gone on to win a game since 2000.

Plenty happened in between these bookend plays. The Browns overcame two separate 14-point deficits and a 15-point deficit, including being down by two touchdowns with just nine minutes left. They muffed a punt inside their own 10-yard line, extended a Baltimore scoring drive twice by giving up back-breaking penalties on third down plays and missed an extra point when attempting to tie the game. It came down to a final drive when down by a solitary point, with just over four minutes remaining.

Watson was sacked on a first down play but was able to connect with Amari Cooper on 2nd and 19 for a 17-yard gain. A few runs later, one of which featured Jerome Ford being pushed by literally the entire Browns offense for seven or eight yards more than he had any right to pick up, the stage was set for Hopkins to redeem himself and secure the defining win of the Kevin Stefanski era. The Browns and Steelers are now just half a game back from the Ravens as we enter a huge week in the AFC North. [SB]

Embed from Getty Images

Houston, we are a problem

Before the season kicked off, I bet many Bengals fans looked at the schedule and marked the matchup with the Houston Texans, coming off a 3-13-1 season, as a home win. Well, those prognosticators will be tucking into some very humble pie right about now.

Last week, I described this Texans outfit as young, feisty and fun. As a Cincy fan who’s just watched his team lose 30-27 to a walk-off field goal, the “fun” bit is sticking in my throat a little. But if I take my tiger-striped goggles off for a second, there can be no denying that’s exactly what they are.

Cincinnati could point to the absence of Sam Hubbard and Tee Higgins, plus Ja’Marr Chase’s bad back, as possible factors in their below-par performance. Joe Burrow struggled to find a safe pair of hands, other than two 64-yard plays: when Chase – double-teamed for most of the contest but still able to rack up 124 receiving yards from five catches – raced away for a score, plus a catch-and-run by Tyler Boyd (117 receiving yards). Boyd also had two uncharacteristic drops, one of which might have been the game-winning TD.

That said, their opponents had personnel issues too, with both Nico Collins and Dameon Pierce missing and Derek Stingley Jr coming back from IR after eight weeks out. But while the Bengals looked out of sorts, there were no such woes for Houston, who stuck more than 550 total yards on their hosts.

Devin Singletary rushed for a career-high 150 yards and a score on 30 carries, despite the team entering the game 27th in the NFL in rushing yards per game. Meanwhile, Noah Brown proved he’s more 7Eleven (“always open”) than Ja’Marr Chase with 172 receiving yards on just seven receptions, beating his own career high set only last week. Stroud (356 passing yards, 1 TD/1 INT and a rushing TD) averaged 11.9 air yards per attempt and out-threw Burrow (347 yards, 2 TDs/2 INTs).

This isn’t a post-mortem of the 5-4 Bengals, who have no time to lick their wounds before Thursday’s divisional showdown with the Ravens, but rather a celebration of the Texans. They just kept finding ways to succeed, whether it was stand-in kicker Matt Ammendola making three FGs on his debut or Sheldon Rankins getting three sacks. With four wins in their last five, Houston (5-4) have now crept above Cincinnati and into the final Wild Card spot in the AFC, and are looking more than worthy of it. Underestimate them at your peril. [ST]

Embed from Getty Images

Get your kicks on

Dustin Hopkins has already had some love today so now it’s time to praise a few more kickers. It seems as though some additional ice was injected into their veins this weekend as five games were decided by a field goal as time expired. That’s a new NFL record on a single day, with three being the previous high mark. Hats off to all of those guys that truly proved that kickers are people too.

Hopkins’ game-winner came from 40 yards out as the Browns won on the road in Baltimore. Two more kickers ignored the jeers of the home supporters to lead their teams to victories on the road. Matt Ammendola kicked a 38-yarder for the Texans after another exquisite CJ Stroud final drive positioned Houston to complete a deserved upset against the Bengals. Elsewhere, Riley Patterson was the Lions hero as they outlasted the Chargers in a shootout. Credit must go to Dan Campbell who gambled on a fourth down despite being in field goal range when dialling up a pass play to Sam LaPorta. The play worked and ensured that Justin Herbert would not get a chance to respond. The last five Chargers possessions resulted in touchdowns but the defense just could not get a stop.

Then there was Jason Myers slotting from 43 yards away for Seattle to defeat the Commanders. Geno Smith and DK Metcalf took over the final 50 seconds of the game to put the Seahawks into position after Washington had tied the game, with Sam Howell again playing well. The final one on Sunday went to Matt Prater who chipped one in from 23 yards for the Cardinals to give Kyler Murray a return-to-action win. The final drive saw a brilliant Murray scramble on a 3rd and 10 play where, as we have become accustomed to, he danced around in the backfield dodging tackles before officially recording a 13-yard rush. A real sign of encouragement for Arizona fans that he was able to do this in his first game back after his ACL injury.

And we still have time for more kicker respect. On Monday Night Football, Wil Lutz became this week’s sixth kicker to deliver a walk-off winner, as the Broncos’ mini-revival continued with victory over the floundering Bills. Buffalo even generously put 12 men on the field to allow Lutz the luxury of a practice attempt, which he pushed wide right. The mistake proved incredibly costly as a redo from five yards closer split the uprights and gave the Broncos a 24-22 win. [SB]

Embed from Getty Images

Has big Mac had his chips?

When this year’s International Series games were announced, some UK fans bemoaned the fact that we were given the Falcons and the Titans while our German cousins could look forward to seeing the Dolphins, Chiefs, Colts and Patriots. Had that been the Andrew Luck-era Colts or the New England that won seven Super Bowls under Tom Brady, they might have had a point. But the 2023 Colts and Pats are an entirely different kettle of fish. In short, they’re both a bit rubbish and I didn’t envy anyone in Frankfurt one bit.

The final score of Indianapolis 10-6 New England tells you everything you need to know about the league’s 50th regular-season contest outside the United States. But if you’re a glutton for punishment, here’s more. Indy’s 10 points were a season low, Gardner Minshew threw an interception but no touchdowns and they converted just five third downs. Yet the Patriots somehow contrived to be worse, with Mac Jones’ latest horror interception at the 1-yard line earning him a spot on the bench for the final drive, during which his replacement Bailey Zappe threw into triple coverage for another pick. Jones also took five sacks before halftime, with Dayo Odeyingbo responsible for three of them.

The win, unglamourous and unimpressive as it was, at least leaves the Colts at 5-5 and still within the ‘In the hunt’ playoff bracket. As for the 2-8 Pats, Bill Belichick equalling his worst-ever start – alongside his first season as HC back in 2000 – leaves them propping up the AFC.

And where does this latest demotion leave Mac Jones as the Pats head into a bye week, I hear you ask? After the game, Belichick told reporters that he “thought it was time for a change”. He also declined to say who would start in Week 12 against the Giants. Even if a week off gives the team a chance to work a few things out after three straight losses, I can’t say I envy anyone with a ticket to that game either! [ST]

Embed from Getty Images

Bye week big winners

The scene was set on Sunday for the Jaguars to stake their claim as genuine Super Bowl contenders. Instead, the San Francisco 49ers reminded everyone that they are very much in that conversation.

Both of these teams were fresh from a bye week, and it’s safe to say that both were trending in opposite directions. The Jags had won five straight after successfully navigating a London tour and the follow-up schedule without a bye week. The Niners were riding a three-game losing streak and many people were starting to question the legitimacy of them as a team and Brock Purdy as the quarterback in particular.

If you did not know which team was playing in which colour, you would be excused for getting the teams mixed up. San Francisco dominated from start to finish. They forced a three-and-out on defense to start the game and then began their own offensive day with a touchdown, Purdy finding Brandon Aiyuk for the score. They went on to record four turnovers on the day, limiting the Jags to just a solitary field goal. Brock Purdy returned to form with a three-touchdown day while piling up 296 yards through the air. George Kittle was huge, Deebo Samuel was back and perhaps the biggest surprise on the day was that Christian McCaffrey didn’t find the end zone for the first time in living memory.

All of a sudden, the Jaguars have the upstart Houston Texans nipping at their heels in the AFC South. The Jags offense has been a concern for a while now and Trevor Lawrence has seemingly not taken the big leap forward we’d have expected in year three. He was responsible for two interceptions and a fumble in this one, leaving yet more questions on the table as we head towards the business end of the season.

On the other hand, the Niners stay atop of the NFC West with the same record as Seattle. I have no doubt that San Francisco is by far the superior team out of those two outfits and expect them to carry this momentum forward into their upcoming head-to-heads in the next month. [SB]

Embed from Getty Images

Cee Dee sets new records

With the Dallas Cowboys again honouring veterans on the NFL’s Salute to Service weekend with red, white and blue stripes on their helmets, let’s also honour wide receiver Cee Dee Lamb’s performance. By his own admission, he is the best. “I’m the top receiver in this game,” he confidently announced after their 49-17 demolition of the New York Giants. “There’s no question about it.”    

OK then, let’s check the facts behind his claims. Having snagged 11 balls for 151 receiving yards, plus posting a receiving and rushing touchdown, on Sunday, he became the first player since at least 1970 to catch 10+ passes for 150+ yards in three consecutive games. And to show how hot his current streak is, since Week 6, the wideout leads the NFL with 617 receiving yards, despite Dallas having a bye during that span, and has had four straight games with 100-plus receiving yards. So yeah, he’s got a strong case for being WR1 in the league at the moment.

Maybe rolling over the feeble Giants isn’t all that impressive but scoring seven TDs, posting 640 total yards, outgaining their opponents by 468 yards and recording 32 first downs can’t be bad, whoever you’re facing. So let’s also salute HC Mike McCarthy and OC Brian Schottenheimer as they swept the Giants by a combined score of 89-17 this season.

While Lamb was pretty much unguardable wherever he popped up, he wasn’t the only star to shine at AT&T. Brandin Cooks bashed out 173 yards and a TD on nine catches, while Michael Gallup added 70 and a score on just two receptions. If all three wideouts can stay in sync with an on-point Dak Prescott (404 passing yards, 4 TDs/1 INT), the Cowboys offense could really cause some damage down the stretch.

Dallas’ home winning streak has now been extended to 12 games, currently the league’s longest run, but there’s a caveat: this year’s victories have come against the Raiders, Jets, Patriots, Rams and Giants… hardly the toughest of tests. The real challenges lie ahead, with the Seahawks, Eagles and Lions waiting in line. If Lamb, Prescott and the rest can dispatch them, then we’re going to have to tip our cap, raise a flag and set off a 21-gun salute to America’s Team. [ST]

Embed from Getty Images
Posted on by

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]

Embed from Getty Images

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]

Embed from Getty Images

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]

Embed from Getty Images

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]

Embed from Getty Images

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]

Embed from Getty Images

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]

Embed from Getty Images
Posted on by

PICK SIX – Week 5

We’re five weeks into the season and we – Shaun Blundell and Sean Tyler – are here to pick six more things that caught our eye in the last round of games. This week, our interest-o-meter was set off by the Bears waking up, the Bills going to sleep and the Steelers defying all logic, plus CJ Stroud, Brock Purdy and Bill Belichick. Let’s pick the meat off the bones.

Bears emerge from hibernation

It’s fair to say that Chicago have not been having any fun lately. They came into Thursday night on a run of 14 losses stretching back 350 days (the longest losing streak in their 104-year history). They had just squandered a 21-point lead to the Broncos. Their DC resigned in Week 2. Exiled WR Chase Claypool was shipped off to Miami. And before the game, the passing of franchise legend Dick Butkus was announced.

But, as the saying goes, it’s always darkest before the dawn and on TNF, they – one of the league’s two remaining winless teams – finally got the dub they’d been so desperate for. The Bears travelled to Washington to face a feisty Commanders team that took the Eagles to OT the previous week and despite starting as six-point underdogs, they got a deserved 40-20 victory. They shot out to a 27-3 halftime lead but unlike last week, the Bears didn’t buckle when injuries, not least to RB Khalil Herbert, started to bite. Indeed, they sacked Sam Howells five times.

But it was the connection between Justin Fields and DJ Moore that decided this matchup. Despite only completing 15 passes to just three different players – Moore, plus tight ends Cole Kmet and Robert Tonyan – Fields (282 passing yards/4 TDs) torched Emmanuel Forbes and Kendall Fuller all night. With 617 yards, eight TDs and one INT in his past two games, he suddenly seems to have found his groove.

Moore was the main beneficiary, with a career-high (and TNF-high) 230 receiving yards and 3 TDs from just eight catches. That haul makes him the first Bears player in the Super Bowl era with 200+ receiving yards and 3+ receiving TDs in a game. Moore’s numbers were boosted by chunk plays of 58, 56, 39, 32 and 20 yards, and he could’ve had another big TD had a fourth-quarter bomb not been overthrown.

So, after an entire year of losing every which way, the Bears – and HC Matt Eberflus – can finally enjoy a W. Which means you can drag that meme, which showed Chicago as the only franchise across the big four US sports leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL) that hadn’t won a game since Elon Musk bought Twitter in October 2022, off your desktop and into the recycle bin. [ST]

Embed from Getty Images

Stroud and proud

It has been a record-breaking start to a career for Texans quarterback CJ Stroud and during the Week 5 21-19 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, he added more records to his name. He has now started his young NFL career with 186 passing attempts without throwing an interception. That mark eclipses the 176 attempts made by Dak Prescott when he started in the NFL and sets the new benchmark for 2024 and beyond.

It is one of those stats that could be meaningless, however. Essentially tossing the ball into the stands on every play would avoid an interception but wouldn’t be an ideal gameplan to win in the NFL. The fact is, Stroud has accomplished this feat while playing well and pumping much-needed life and optimism into the Texans franchise.

He may not have had his best game on Sunday but the big players show up in the big moments. Down by 6 with just under seven minutes to go, Stroud orchestrated an 11-play, 75-yard drive that culminated in a beautiful 18-yard touchdown strike to tight end Dalton Schultz. It moved the Texans in front but it would be the last time Stroud touched the football as the Falcons managed the clock, to kick a game-winning field goal as the clock hit zero.

It would not be an understatement to suggest that Stroud doesn’t have the most stellar of supporting casts. With that said, it seems as though the Texans have found the answer at the most important position on the field. Stroud is giving his team every opportunity to win, he is not turning the ball over and he will surely only continue to get better and better. Houston may have found a really good one. [SB]

Embed from Getty Images

To err is human

These days, everything is ‘smart’: our TVs, our central heating, our phones, pretty much every piece of tech has gone beyond automation and is now seemingly capable of sentient thought. The robots will soon take over, believe me, and the revolution seems to have started, ever-so-quietly, in the most unexpected of places: among the ranks of NFL quarterbacks.

Last month, Chicago QB Justin Fields blamed his ‘robotic’ play on his coaches, who were feeding him too much information. That’s just what a robot would do, isn’t it – blame us unpredictable, flawed humans for making him look too mechanical. Not convinced? OK, fair enough. But how do you explain Niners quarterback Brock Purdy?

The last name picked in the 2022 NFL draft has now been at the helm of 10 straight regular season wins since starting for the 49ers. He is a machine – literally. The so-called Mr Irrelevant has yet to lose (other than the time he had to leave the field in the first quarter against the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game, presumably to have a circuit board resoldered or his mainframe rebooted). He had just one incompletion last week against Arizona and has yet to throw an interception five games into the new season. In his latest outing – Sunday’s 42-10 trouncing of Dallas – he went 17 of 24 for 252 yards and a career-high four TDs, three of them to George Kittle. He’s improving week by week without regression: that’s machine learning for you.

Broadcaster Kyle Brandt, the co-host of Good Morning Football, has this running joke that Purdy is an AI experiment. He’s had some fantastic rants about Purdy not bleeding, sweating or even blinking, and his conspiracy theory has even been picked up by the UK press. “I think there is a conspiracy that will certainly come out years from now that they wanted the first artificial intelligence player,” he told The Mirror. “They’re like: ‘We need to start introducing AI into the game.’”

It’s obviously just a bit of fun but what if he’s actually right? With someone (something?) this consistent, this dependable, you can’t rule it out. Maybe it’s a Truman-Show-style social experiment but until Purdy shows that he’s fallible – and I’m not talking about them programming an algorithm into the matrix to make him appear more human – I’m with Kyle. Brock Purdy’s a machine, the 49ers are going 17-0 and the day the robots take over is closer than you think. [ST]

Embed from Getty Images

The GOAT keeps being slaughtered

It’s been a long time since we’ve heard the boo birds at Gillette Stadium but this Sunday, they were out in full force. It’s been a quiet three years post-Tom Brady, with most fans giving Bill Belichick plenty of time and grace to rebuild the powerhouse franchise of the first 20 years of the millennium. Those heady days of winning 17 out of 20 divisional titles, nine conference championships and six Super Bowls feel like a lifetime ago.

For New England, the head coach is still the face of the franchise, and therein lies the problem. Name a superstar on the New England roster. You can’t. They don’t have any that you could name. But they do have plenty of journeymen. Ezekiel Elliot last played quality football three or four years ago. JuJu Smith-Schuster was the Steelers’ number 1 receiver three or four years ago. Hunter Henry, the tight end, may have become something special in San Diego – and no, that isn’t a typo, that’s how long ago it was. And I haven’t even mentioned Brady’s ‘replacement’, Mac Jones, as that’s a whole other story.

Normally, a Belichick defense will at least keep things tight. How does shipping 72 points in two weeks sound? The Cowboys are a team that can rack up points on any given week but the Saints? New Orleans had scored less than 21 points in 10 straight games, yet they rocked up to Foxborough and put up the biggest shutout scoreline against the Patriots in their history (34-0). 

The quote from the press conference Belichick used after the game was: “So just plain and simply, we’ve got to find a way to play and coach better than that. So that’s what we are going to do: start all over and get back on a better track than we’re on right now.” Maybe the answer is that the Patriots truly start again and hand the keys over completely, as this current version of New England is a mirage of what once was. [SB]

Embed from Getty Images

No jet lag for the Jags

On reflection, the second International Series game of the season, a 25-20 win for the Jaguars over the Bills at Tottenham Stadium, didn’t quite live up to the hype. The game only kicked into life midway through the fourth quarter, when the teams traded four TDs – two each. Until then though, it had all been rather attritional, with the defenses on top and offenses struggling to fill the highlight reel.

Sure, the Jags secured their second win on these shores in a week and deserved to move to 3-2. Trevor Lawrence threw for 315 yards but only one TD – the game’s opener to Zay Jones – leaving the bulk of the damage to be done by Travis Etienne (136 yards and 2 rushing TDs) and Calvin Ridley (seven catches for 122 yards). They did have some trouble with drops and fumbles, but their D stepped up when needed, forcing the Bills to punt six times and leaving them with under 22 minutes of possession.

Beforehand, this clash looked to be one of the better of the 35 contests to be staged in our capital, and many – me included – were expecting a shootout. Both teams are tipped for postseason action and the Bills, who had scored 123 points in their last three games, were arguably the hottest team in the league. Yet they rarely showed it. Josh Allen threw for just 23 yards in the first quarter, the Bills mustered 29 rushing yards all game and they committed 11 penalties for 109 yards. With Greg Rousseau, Tre’Davious White and Shaq Lawson already out, Matt Milano leaving early with a broken leg, DaQuan Jones also injuring a pec and the returning Von Miller on a snap count, it was mainly left to AJ Epenesa (with two of his team’s five sacks) to keep things competitive on the defensive side. A scoreless third quarter meant that theoretically, everything was still to play for but the Jags looked in control and always stayed a score or two ahead.

On Friday’s media day, Stefon Diggs called his QB ‘sleepyhead’ and Allen himself admitted to having “a few coffees” to stay awake, even though he doesn’t normally drink the stuff. Then in the post-match presser, he confessed “We never felt like we got into a rhythm until late in the game.” Which does make you wonder: how much of a factor is the international travel? The Buffalo team flew in to the UK overnight on Thursday and stayed up to practice on Friday, in an attempt to overcome the five-hour time dfference. But it didn’t seem to have the desired effect, with the Bills looking like they had yet to acclimatise or adjust to a game that kicked off at 9.30am Eastern time.

By contrast, Jacksonville had been in London for 10 days, having beaten Atlanta at Wembley the week before. I guess the success of the Jaguars’ extended stay makes back-to-back games in London more likely in the future, but it also raises the question as to whether it will give them a massive advantage. [ST]

Embed from Getty Images

The Steelers top the North. How?

“The AFC North: toughest division in football” is a line often thrown around by commentators. But after five weeks of the season, the toughest thing about it is figuring out if any of the teams are actually any good. There is a solitary game between the four divisional rivals after the opening quarter of the season. The team at the top? The one with a minus 31 point differential: the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In an awful game full of mistakes and miscues from both sides, the Steelers somehow managed to conjure up 14 points in the 4th quarter to beat the Baltimore Ravens 17-10. It started with a safety on a blocked punt. The next drive resulted in a field goal so the Steelers were just two points behind. The final seven minutes of the game were simply bizarre.

The Ravens punted again but this time the Steelers muffed the return, setting up Baltimore at the Steelers 7-yard line. Lamar Jackson inexplicably threw an interception. The Steelers edged towards field goal territory when Kenny Pickett unleashed his best pass of the day, 41 yards to George Pickens, for a touchdown. It surprised everyone in the stadium and it also gave Lamar the ball back with 1:17 to go. He fumbled, and the ball was recovered by TJ Watt. Surely it was game over?

Even then, Pittsburgh seemingly didn’t want the win. They knelt twice, forcing the Ravens to use timeouts, and were going to kneel a third time. But on the play, there was an illegal procedure so it brought up 4th down after running just 13 seconds off the clock and going backwards 6 yards. They kicked an FG but that still left Lamar with one last chance of redemption… until a Watt sack on 4th down ended the game. Somehow, Pittsburgh improved to 3-2.

Surely the Steelers won’t win the division playing like this? They are, however, consistent in that they know the limitations of their offence and play behind a big play defence that has 11 turnovers through five games. The rest of the division needs to sort out their Jekyll and Hyde play because as always, Mike Tomlin will get the Steelers to at least .500 by hook or by crook. [SB]

Embed from Getty Images
Posted on by

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]

Embed from Getty Images

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]

Embed from Getty Images

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]

Embed from Getty Images

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]

Embed from Getty Images

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]

Embed from Getty Images

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]

Embed from Getty Images
Posted on by

Rookies of the Week – Week 3

Embed from Getty Images

50-point demolitions, supposed tanking teams pulling off shock wins, and a media frenzy in Kansas. Has the NFL ever been more eclectic than it is at the moment?

Anyway, let’s shake it off and take a look at the standout rookies from Week 3.

Embed from Getty Images

De’Von Achane, Running Back – Miami Dolphins

Achane was outstanding in the Miami Dolphins’ 70-20 victory over the Denver Broncos, rightfully earning himself the AFC Offensive Player of the Week title.

Finishing with four touchdowns and 233 all-purpose yards, Achane became only the second player in NFL history to have two rushing touchdowns, two receiving touchdowns, and at least 200 rushing yards in a game.

Embed from Getty Images

Brian Branch, Cornerback – Detroit Lions

Branch, who was unlucky not to get in my Week 1 article, was outstanding in the 20-6 win against the Falcons. Not only did he hold his own against Kyle Pitts and Drake London in coverage, but he also helped his team stifle fellow rookie sensation Bijan Robinson, limiting him to 60 total yards.

Finishing the game with two quarterback hurries, 11 solo tackles, three for a loss, and two pass breakups, Branch only seems to be getting better.

Embed from Getty Images

Jalen Carter, Defensive Line – Philadelphia Eagles

Carter continued his dominant streak for the third consecutive week, wreaking havoc on Tampa Bay’s offensive line. With half a sack, a QB hit, four pressures, and a first-career forced fumble, he’s proving to be a game wrecker. His 20.5% pressure rate so far this season is not just good; it’s All-Pro level good.

Embed from Getty Images

Christian Gonzalez, Cornerback – New England Patriots

Could Gonzalez be having a Sauce Gardener-type year? It may be early in the season, but if his start is anything to go by, then he is well on pace. In Sunday’s 15-10 win over the Jets, Gonzalez was lined up against Garrett Wilson on 23 of his 41 snaps and held him to only three catches for 18 yards.

Embed from Getty Images

Sam LaPorta, Tight End – Detroit Lions

LaPorta continues his hot streak on this list thanks to an eight-reception, 84-yard showing where he also scored his first touchdown as a pro. He now leads all tight ends in receiving yards with 186 and is second in receptions to T.J. Hockenson.

It’s also a third week in a row for the rookie tight end! To put that into perspective, only two players got on the list three times last year: Garrett Wilson and Dameon Pierce, albeit on a smaller ranking list last year.

Embed from Getty Images

C.J. Stroud, Quarterback – Houston Texans

If Week 2 saw Stroud sneak into my article over Anthony Richardson, then Week 3 was where he cemented his place. The young quarterback had 20 completions on 30 attempts for 280 yards and two touchdowns. His PFF grade of 91.1 when throwing from a clean pocket led all quarterbacks in the league.

Embed from Getty Images

Tuli Tuipulotu, Edge Rusher – Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers haven’t exactly wowed on defence, but that hasn’t deterred Tuipulotu from making his case as an early Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate, and his performance against the Vikings will only help his case. With nine pressures and three sacks in the game, he now totals 12 pressures and three sacks in just two starts this season.

Honourable Mentions: JuJu Brents (Colts), Tank Dell (Texans), Jahmyr Gibbs (Lions), Marvin Mims Jr. (Broncos), Michael Wilson (Cardinals)

Posted on by

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]

Embed from Getty Images

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]

Embed from Getty Images

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]

Embed from Getty Images

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]

Embed from Getty Images

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]

Embed from Getty Images

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]

Embed from Getty Images
Posted on by

Rookies of the Week – Week 2

Embed from Getty Images

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.

Embed from Getty Images

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.

Embed from Getty Images

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.

Embed from Getty Images

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.

Embed from Getty Images

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.

Embed from Getty Images

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.

Embed from Getty Images

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.

Embed from Getty Images

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.

Posted on by

Rookies of the Week – Week 1

Embed from Getty Images

The return of the NFL season really had everything. Shock results, devastating injuries, struggling superstars, and outstanding rookies.

Let’s look at my standout seven from Week 1.

Embed from Getty Images

Will Anderson Jr, Edge – Houston Texans

Emotions may have gotten the better of Anderson pre-game, but he was zoned in as soon as he stepped on the field to start his NFL career. The versatile rusher, who lined up predominantly on the left side, recorded four tackles, three hurries, two quarterback hits, and a sack against the normally elusive Lamar Jackson.

Embed from Getty Images

Jalen Carter, Defensive Line – Philadelphia Eagles

Now that’s why he was touted as potentially going first overall! A 92.1 overall PFF grade puts Carter as the 2nd overall defensive tackle, and it’s not hard to see why. In a monstrous performance, Carter had eight pressures, one sack, and one assisted tackle. It’s no wonder that Mac Jones will be seeing him in his nightmares.

Embed from Getty Images

Zay Flowers, Wide Receiver – Baltimore Ravens

Does Lamar Jackson have a new favourite weapon? Flowers continued his strong preseason with an outstanding showing against the Texans, and much like the later mentioned Bijan Robinson, he was making defenders miss all over the place. Nine catches on ten targets for 78 yards led the Ravens, while he also had two rushes for nine yards.

Embed from Getty Images

Xavier Gipson, Wide Receiver – New York Jets

It’s the stuff that dreams are made of! No one saw the Jets game winner being an undrafted rookie free agent, but here we are. He forced his way into contention due to his electric preseason on special teams, which caught the eye of head coach Robert Salah. Now, thanks to his 65-yard walk-off punt return touchdown, he can now say he is the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.

Embed from Getty Images

Puka Nacua, Wide Receiver – Los Angeles Rams

If you were asked to predict the only rookie receiver to go over 100 yards this weekend, I can guarantee no one would have mentioned Puka Nacua. With Cooper Kupp now on IR, the Rams needed someone to step up, and their fifth-rounder did just that. 14 targets, 10 receptions, and 119 yards. Job done.

Embed from Getty Images

Anthony Richardson, Quarterback – Indianapolis Colts

Richardson wasn’t perfect by any means, as he played conservatively and had an ugly interception, but he is now the proud owner of two NFL records. Against the Jaguars, Richardson not only became the youngest player ever with a passing and rushing touchdown in the same game, but he also became the first rookie in history to have at least 200 passing yards, 40 rushing yards, a passing touchdown, and a rushing touchdown.

Embed from Getty Images

Bijan Robinson, Running Back – Atlanta Falcons

A shared snap count with Allgeier didn’t count against Bijan on Sunday, as he finished with 10 rushes for 56 yards while adding six receptions on six targets for 27 yards and a touchdown in the passing game. Add in five forced missed tackles, including that disgraceful stop-start on an attempted tackle from Frankie Luvu, and you’ve got yourself a debut.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Pull yer finger out! Five teams snoozing through free agency

If you’ve spent the NFL Free Agency period refreshing Twitter every five minutes, waiting to see if your favourite team has signed that coveted WR1 or retained their in-demand cornerback, you’ll have come across the same names time and time again.

The Dolphins have signed or retained 15 players, including David Long, Mike White and Jalen Ramsey. The Texans are suddenly everyone’s destination of choice, with a staggering 18 players (Devin Singletary, Robert Woods, Dalton Schultz and Jimmy Ward among them) putting pen to paper. And the Raiders have seen 21 guys sign or re-sign, from Jermaine Eluemenor, Jakobi Meyers and OJ Howard to Jimmy G.

But what about the other end of the spectrum? Which teams are keeping their eyes shut, their fingers in their ears and their chequebooks in their pockets? Here are my top five teams that need to wake up, smell the coffee and get in the game before the cupboard is bare.

Los Angeles Rams

Current cap space (courtesy of Over the Cap): $11.5 million

Last season, the Rams suffered a major hangover, crashing from Super Bowl glory to a lacklustre 5-12 record and third place in the NFC West. After years of giving away draft picks like candy and taking dead money hits, the chickens have finally come home to roost. The likes of Aaron Donald, Cooper Kupp and Matt Stafford don’t come cheap so it’s time to tighten the belt. Even cavalier GM Les Snead has admitted that “Our DNA is to attack, to hit the gas, but we’re going to hit the brakes a little bit.”

Now, I’m no driving instructor but I think they’ve not so much dabbed the brakes as done a full-on emergency stop. The team have many holes to fill, not least across their defence and yet, at the time of writing, the free agency frenzy seems to have completely bypassed Inglewood, California. In trading enigmatic CB Jalen Ramsey to Miami, they got tight end Hunter Long (one career reception) and a 2023 3rd round draft pick back in exchange, and they re-signed guard Coleman Shelton. And that’s it.

Embed from Getty Images

In contrast, they’ve needed a revolving door for everyone shipping out. As well as Ramsey, who was always going to move on for financial reasons, they’ve lost QB Baker Mayfield, WR Brandon Powell, CB David Long, safety Nick Scott, punter Riley Dixon and kicker Matt Gay. Linebackers Bobby Wagner and Leonard Floyd were also released. We all know that the front office staff are frantically trying to balance the books, but those last two moves in particular seem a little premature. Surely they could’ve waited and seen the lay of the land before letting players of such calibre just walk?

Maybe their limited cap space is hindering their approach but the absence of a first round pick in the draft (yet again) must be a catalyst to do something in free agency, surely?

Green Bay Packers

Current cap space: $22.4 million

As another team that fell from grace last year (8-9, third place in the NFC North), you’d have thought the Packers might have been a bit more active in recent days too. Franchise QB Aaron Rodgers emerged from his darkness retreat with a strange compulsion to pack his things after 15 years and move to the New York Jets, so at least that question has been answered. But it leaves Green Bay with Jordan Love under center. The young QB has spent the last three years waiting in the wings, with just one start to his name, so to say he’s an unknown quantity is an understatement of epic proportions.

The Packers have managed to retain the services of veteran linebacker Justin Hollins, safety Rudy Ford and the Swiss Army knife that is All-Pro cornerback/kick returner Keisean Nixon. But the only players moving to Wisconsin so far are 49ers safety Tarvarius Moore (who was injured all last season) and Rams long snapper Matt Orzech. Let’s face it, however desperate you are for new blood, that’s unlikely to set Twitter on fire.

Embed from Getty Images

Worryingly, there has been more traffic heading in the other direction. The biggest red flag is the departure of Allen Lazard, who has shown Rodgers the way out with a $44 million move to the Jets. Robert Tonyan returns to his native Illinois as the Bears’ new tight end, while defensive linemen Jarran Reed and Dean Lowry have left for Seattle and Minnesota respectively.

So what should they be doing? Well, filling the Lazard- and Tonyan-shaped holes seems like a good place to start, as Love will need more weapons than Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson to aim for. Should fellow free agents Randall Cobb and Marcedes Lewis also move on, the team will have lost those responsible for over 40% of their receptions, receiving yards and TD catches from last year. Yikes.

Safety Adrian Amos and kicker Mason Crosby may yet find new homes as unrestricted free agents too, so more gaps across the roster are expected. You have the most available cap space of our five teams here so get to it, Cheeseheads!

Los Angeles Chargers

Current cap space: $16.1 million

Every August, we’re told that this is going to be the Chargers’ year… and every January, we confirm that it wasn’t. So you’d have thought that to change the tide, Rams GM Tom Telesco and HC Brandon Staley would have spent March wheelin’ and dealin’ like their lives depended on it.

Well, not really. Much of their work to date has been spent restructuring the contracts of Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack, Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, which did at least save them a cool $40 million in cap space. They also re-signed some of their own, including backup QB Easton Stick, OT Trey Pipkins, DL Morgan Fox, punter JK Scott and TE Donald Parham Jr.

The only guy to come through the “in” door so far is veteran Minnesota linebacker Eric Kendricks. Sure, the former All-Pro can replace Drue Tranquill – off to pastures new with the Chiefs – and help with Kenneth Murray’s development but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Embed from Getty Images

Somehow, CBS gave the Chargers’ efforts to date an A- grade but I’m unconvinced. As well as the lack of newcomers, star running back Austin Ekeler has been given permission to seek a trade after extension talks hit the buffers. And safety Nasir Adderley’s retirement also needs addressing. I’d like to think the Bolts might use some of their $16 million to pursue someone like John Johnson, recently released by Cleveland, but they’ll have to be quick – they may face competition from the likes of Cincinnati.

Talking of which…

Cincinnati Bengals

Current cap space: $17 million

Weirdly, I’ve seen the Bengals featured in an article about teams that are smashing free agency and even PFF gave them an A- grade but as a Cincy fan, I couldn’t disagree more.

One of the widely expected departures, LB Germaine Pratt, did not come to pass as feared, thanks to the lure of $20 million over three years. But the reigning AFC North champions couldn’t hang on to either of their starting safeties: Jessie Bates heading to Atlanta wasn’t news, but Vonn Bell joining Carolina came as more of a shock. Furthermore, running back Samaje Perine opted to move to Denver and TE Hayden Hurst followed Bell to the Panthers.

Embed from Getty Images

In response, they did fill Bell’s shoes with the versatile Nick Scott from the Rams, and a few depth pieces were retained or added here and there (guards, punt returner, long snapper, etc). And then there was the big one: LT Orlando Brown Jr coming over from conference rivals Kansas City for “just” $64 million. While not elite, he’s still a notable upgrade from Jonah Williams, who would’ve been shuffled over to the right side. However, this acquisition immediately triggered a trade request from Williams’ camp. 

So, in summary, the Bengals have gained a solid blindside tackle to protect Joe Burrow but will now need to upgrade at RT. They don’t have any tight ends of note under contract, now that recent target Foster Moreau has left the game after a cancer diagnosis. And their sparse RB room is still dominated by Joe Mixon, who many believe isn’t worthy of his $12 million cap hit. (And I won’t entertain the Zeke Elliott rumours unless he signs on the dotted line.)

So it’s high time Cincinnati made some moves before there are no options left. Right tackle, tight end and running back remain the glaring holes, while another safety and corner wouldn’t hurt. Some will come in the draft, of course, but securing another free agency vet or two before then would enable them to go ‘best player available’ to a degree. So watch out for movement on Vikings TE Irv Smith, Packers safety Adrian Amos and even Kansas RB Clyde-Edwards Hilaire in the coming days and weeks.  

Baltimore Ravens

Current cap space: $6.7 million

Our last “get a move on” candidate is another AFC North team: the Ravens. Of course, one of the league’s most compelling narratives in recent weeks has been about the future of franchise QB Lamar Jackson. Having been unable to reach a long-term deal, he’s been given the non-exclusive franchise tag, which will cost Baltimore $32.4 million (nearly 15% of their total salary cap). It also means they can match or exceed any offers from other teams or let him go for two 1st round picks. And the superstar QB has indicated that he’s ready to fly the nest.

Embed from Getty Images

But it seems the quarterback situation has hamstrung the team so much that they’ve been unable to do any other business. Indeed, Baltimore remain the only one of the league’s 32 teams not to have brought in anyone new at all. Sure, they’ve retained running back Justice Hill, cornerback Trayvon Mullen and safety Geno Stone, all on one-year deals, but that’s not going to cut the mustard. In the other column, guard Ben Powers (who allowed just one sack last year), safety Chuck Clark (traded for a 7th round pick in 2024) and TE Josh Oliver have left the building.

Maybe they can find a way to beef up their receiver room, especially with Rashod Bateman coming off foot surgery? (Even Marlon Humphrey has been tweeting that OBJ should become a Raven.) Replacing free agent corner Marcus Peters might also be prudent.

Either way, having played on the franchise tag last year, the Jackson saga has dragged on for over two years now and it’s impacting Baltimore’s ability to make other moves. The Ravens have shown that they are open for business but alas, no-one’s buying at the moment. But with only five draft picks this year, they can’t do much to boost that roster until someone comes calling for a former league MVP gunslinger. And time is ticking away…