NFL Week 5

With week 5 of the NFL season now in the books, teams are starting to show their true colors. The scores this week were: 

Patriots over Colts 38-24, Bengals over Dolphins 27-17, Bills over Titans 13-12, Steelers over Falcons 41-17, Lions over Packers 31-23, Jets over Broncos 34-16, Panthers over Giants 33-31, Browns over Ravens 12-9 (OT), Chargers over Raiders 26-10, Rams over Seahawks 33-31, Cardinals over 49ers 28-18, Vikings over Eagles 23-21, Texans over Cowboys 19-16 (OT).

The player of the week has to be Drew Brees, who broke Peyton Manning’s record for most career passing yards. He had a great game in general, in an expected blowout, finishing 26-29 with 363 yards. The record was broken in spectacular fashion on a 63-yard touchdown catch by rookie Tre’Quan Smith. 

There were fireworks for different reasons in New York, where both teams had quite the interesting week. While the Jets seemed to exorcise some of their demons Sunday, the Giants had to face their biggest one. Although Sam Darnold was not spectacular, the Jets put together a great team win. Isaiah Crowell was stellar, setting a franchise record with 219 rushing yards on 15 carries. Bilal Powell was in the mix as well, adding 99 yards. Robby Anderson had two big touchdown receptions. They consistently pressured Case Keenum defensively, and theylooked good on special teams as well. As for the Giants, their closely contested loss was a side story to the Odell Beckham Jr circus. He organized a TV interview where he proceeded to trash his team, and deflect all blame away from himself. This drew the ire of Coach Pat Shurmur, who was clearly heated after the game. This had to be one of the dumbest ideas ever, especially considering how relentless the New York media is.

Mason Crosby had about as bad of a Sunday as one could have. In a game where both offenses looked as advertised, it was decided by three missed field goals by the Packers veteran kicker. Green Bay was already put behind the eight ball after Detroit recovered a muffed punt on their own 1-yard line and scored an easy touchdown. Ty Montgomery also had a huge kick return called back because of a penalty. It takes those kind of quirky things for a team to lose despite having a 521 to 264 advantage in total yards.

Someone actually did have a day as bad as Crosby’s; the Dolphins. Miami had full control for the vast majority of theirgame against the Bengals, and still somehow found a way to lose. They lead Cincinnati 17-3 going into the fourth quarter, but went on to totally implode. That cannot happen for a team that wants to seriously compete. Considering that it followed a poor showing against the Patriots last week, the Dolphins may be one more bad loss away from being done.

The Chiefs keep rolling, as the now sit 5-0. They faced a stiff challenge in the Jaguars’ defense, but creative scheming made things look easy. Travis Kelce had 100 yards on 5 catches, even with stellar coverage LB Myles Jack on him. The pre-snap motion and big play threats like Tyreek Hill had Jacksonville confused all game. The Jags had chances on offense, but a series of bad luck prevented them from getting back in the game. Pat Mahomes did throw his first pick of the year, but it turned out not to matter. The Chiefs’ passing defense was nonexistent again, having allowed 430 passing yards to Blake Bortles. As good as this team is, pass defense may be their downfall eventually.

The Rams continued to impress on offense against Seattle, and they had to use some unfamiliar faces in the process. After losing Brandin Cooks and Cooper Kupp to concussions, Jared Goff kept producing with Robert Woods, Josh Reynolds, and KhaDarel Hodge. Although Goff did not have his best game, he still finished with 321 yards and completed 72 percent of his passes. That type of efficiency is hard to match. Although they lost, the day was not all bad for Seattle. The smashmouthSeahawks are back, as they are re-establishing themselves as a power running team. Chris Carson finished with 116 rushing yards, and Mike Davis finished with 68. They had 6.1 and 5.7 yards per carry, respectively. The play action game was opened up, and Russell Wilson connected on two big touchdowns as a result. Tyler Lockett continued to impress. All of a sudden, Seattle’s offense looks legit again. The Rams run defense was 23rd in the league entering the game. That may be their only flaw, but Seattle took advantage. If this is a sign of things to come for Seattle, then they just might find themselves in the playoff mix at the end of the season.

Both the Steelers and Falcons have been major disappointments thus far, and Atlanta wilted under the pressure on Sunday. Matt Ryan got hit all game, and never got in a rhythm as a result. He was sacked six times. Julio Jones did not have a catch until the fourth quarter. This offense has had some rough stretches ever since Steve Sarkesian took over as OC, but it looks particularly bad now. Whether it’s better playcalling, or adjusting some pass blocking schemes, he needs to figure things out fast. As for Pittsburgh, they took control early with their James Connor-led running attack. He got seemingly every touch on their opening drive, which ended in a touchdown. He finished with 185 total yards, and had three plays of at least 25 yards. The Steelers took control early, and Atlanta struggled playing from behind.

The Vikings are starting to resemble their team from last year, and the Eagles are looking less and less like theirs. After getting killed by the Rams last week, the Vikings’ defense looked much improved Sunday. They constantly got pressure on Carson Wentz. He was able to attack the middle of the field with short passes, but he never got comfortable on five step drops. Jay Ajayi only had 29 rushing yards (he was placed on IR after the game), so the run game was never established. The inability to make big plays makes Philly appear less threatening than last year. Kirk Cousins looked great again for Minnesota, continuing to justify his contract. He had 301 yards and completed 81 percent of his passes. He has now completed 30 passes in four straight games, becoming the only player ever to do so. On top of that, Adam Thielen has emerged into a star. He became the first player ever to have five straight games with 100 receiving yards to start a season. The Vikings showed just how good they are when everything comes together.

The biggest story to come out of the Texans-Cowboys game was Jerry Jones being critical of Jason Garrett punting in overtime in 4th and 1, allowing Houston’s game winning drive. The game was there for the taking, but the lack of aggressiveness ultimately cost them. The reality is that Dallas’ offense has looked terrible for a while now, and maybe Garrett really did nothave confidence they could pick the yard up. If Ezekiel Elliot does not have a huge game, no one seems to step up for Dallas. His 84 total yards were not enough on Sunday. Dak Prescott looks like a below average quarterback right now. The lack of fire from Garrett and Prescott is problematic since they’re supposed to be the leaders of the team. Despite their continued offensive struggles, Dallas’ defense is becoming pretty scary. Leighton Vander Esch and Jaylon Smith were both great, combining for 21 tackles. DeMarcus Lawrence had a relatively quiet game, but he constantly attracts blockers, which opens things up for others.

Houston’s offense almost looks like the Michael Vick era Falcons, with DeShaun Watson running around trying to make plays. When things are clicking, the offense looks great. But Watson’s recklessness and proneness to getting hit could ultimately cost them. Especially considering how recently he has had a serious injury. The red zone play calling, and the o-line play, have been awful. This team has a lot of talent, but it is not humming how it should be.

In what was an ugly game, the Browns pulled out a gritty win against the Ravens. Cornerback Denzel Ward had a great game. He shut down Raven receivers all game, and finished with a pick and a blocked field goal. Baker Mayfield struggled, largely due to the Ravens’ ability to keep him from running. He did very little until the end, when he made just enough plays down the stretch. Michael Crabtree had 66 yards, but that was overshadowed by costly drops in crunch time. Alex Collins played well in the first half but struggled mightily in the second. The lack of running game played into the hands of Cleveland’s defense.

As a side note, this is Cleveland’s fourth overtime time out of five total. Extra time feels like a foregone conclusion to them at this point.

NFL Week 3

Every week of the NFL season is its own journey, and that was evident by some of the odd results this week. This week saw the Vikings get destroyed by the Bills, and the Patriots lose convincingly to the lions. The Titans beat the Jaguars 9-6. It was unwatchable, so I did not. The strangest result of all may have been the Browns getting their first win in 635 days.

This week’s scores were: Browns over Jets 21-17, Saints over Falcons 43-37, Eagles over Colts 20-16, Chiefs over 49ers 38-27, Titans over Jaguars 9-6, Ravens over Broncos 27-14, Rams over Chargers 35-22, Bears over Cardinals 16-14, Bills over Vikings 27-6, Redskins over Packers 31-17, Dolphins over Raiders 28-20, Panthers over Bengals 31-21, giants over Texans 27-22, Seahawks over Cowboys 24-13, Lions over Patriots 26-10, Steelers over Buccaneers 30-27.

Despite the oddness, a few teams continued to look dominant. The Chiefs scored at will against the 49ers, who are now doomed to mediocrity after losing Jimmy G for the season with a torn ACL. Washington and Carolina look like real contenders in the NFC all of a sudden. The Dolphins, whose great preseason got no attention, appear to be hitting their stride as well.

The Rams continued to display their dominance in their 35-23 win over the Chargers. Against a great defensive roster (minus Joey Bosa), the Rams’ offensive explosion continued. They finished with 521 total yards, and a whopping 33 first downs. Robert Woods finished with 104 yards on 10 catches, making him Jared Goff’s third leading target in as many weeks. The Chargers has chances to keep the game close, but inexperience and a couple coaching mistakes cost them in the end. On Sunday, the Panthers showed what their upside is when Christian McCaffrey plays well. He had a monster game 184 rushing yards, and consistently produced big plays. When he is doing that, it opens up the passing game and the read option for Cam Newton. Things will only improve once Greg Olsen returns. The Bengals offense looked good for the most part, but a couple of picks cost them the game. Andy Dalton was being assaulted by an improved defensive front for Carolina. Considering Joe Mixon was out, and they lost A.J. Green, things could have went worse. Ultimately, this game was about how good Carolina can be.

The biggest story from Redskins-Packers game was the stellar performance from 33-year-old running back Adrian Peterson. He finished with 120 yards on 19 attempts, averaging 6.3 yards per carry. Alex Smith has continued to look like the right quarterback for this team. They were playing against a gimpy Aaron Rodgers, but still.

The Colts were full of optimism about their offense coming into this year, due to the return of Andrew Luck and new coach Frank Reich. Things have not looked quite right, and it may be because Luck’s shoulder still isn’t right. For Philly, Carson Wentz looked solid in his return from injury. He was moving around well, and he orchestrated a great game winning drive ate the end.

The Detroit Lions already seemed to be falling apart this season, and first year coach Matt Patricia was taking much of the blame. The team needed to respond this week to salvage the season, and they did it against Patricia’s old employer. The offense, which sputtered in the first two weeks, soared due to improved play by Matt Stafford and commitment to the run. Rookie running back Kerryon Johnson rushed for 101 yards on 16 carries, becoming the first Lion to surpass 100 yards in a game since Reggie Bush in 2013. On top of that, Detroit controlled the ball for over half the game, and Stafford completed 75 percent of his passes. As for New England, their flaws may be starting to show finally. Their limitations at receiver were obvious in the first two weeks, and they looked particularly bad Sunday (only three were active). That could be because Patricia used to be their defensive coordinator, or because the run game did not take any pressure off Brady. Or that Detroit took them out of rhythm by controlling the clock. The Pats offense, however, has basically resorted to hitting check-downs. It seems like double teaming Gronk is an effective way to shut down the Patriots offense now. Dare I say, maybe Bill Belichick needs to be more creative?

The Saints faced the Falcons this week, and it played out as expected; all offense, no defense. On a day where he set the NFL completion record, Drew Brees was 39-49 with 396 yards and three touchdowns. The Saints continued to utilize multiple weapons throughout the game. Michael Thomas had 10 receptions, and a NFL record catches through the first three games of the season with 38. Alvin Kamara, a running back, had 15 catches for 124 yards on 20 targets. Matt Ryan was no slouch for Atlanta, going 26-35 for 374 yards and five touchdowns. Rookie Calvin Ridley benefited from a clear matchup advantage in the slot, finishing with seven catches for 146 yards. It seemed like whoever had the ball last would win, and that happened to be New Orleans.

Eli Manning needed to play a great game to get the Giants’ fan base off his back, and he did exactly that. Manning finished 25-29 with 297 and two touchdowns. Also, with Houston still pressing in the fourth, Manning led a nine-play, 77-yard drive that ended with a short TD pass to Sterling Shepard. The Giants’ big three of skill guys came up huge. Beckham had 109 recedingyards, Shepard had 80, and Saquon Barkley had 82 rushing yards with 35 yards receiving. Also, the Giants finally benched tackle Ereck Flowers for Chad Wheeler, which may have helped. The Texans continue to show their flaws, which are costly despite their ability in most areas. Their running game and o-line played very poorly, making Deshaun Watson’s job virtually impossible. He finished 24-40 with 385 yards and two TDs. He also threw a bad pick to Alec Ogletree while Houston was trying to make a comeback. He still has great ability, but he does not seem the same as last year. Time will tell whether he has truly digressed, or if the team’s flaws have become too great for him to overcome.

Seattle looked improved on offense this week, and much of that was due to recommitting to the run game. Chris Carson finished 102 yards and a TD on 32 carries. He saw increased playing time after first round pick Rashaad Penny fumbled, and Carson made the most of it. Russell Wilson was 16-26 for 192 yards and two TDs. The sluggish Cowboys’ offense continued to struggle Sunday, with Dak Prescott only throwing for 168 yards and 2 picks on 19-34 attempts. He has failed to surpass 200 yards for nine of the last eleven games, dating back to last year. The entire offense looks different than it did when Dak was clicking two years ago. Dez Bryant and Jason Witten are gone, and the o-line is no longer dominant. They are obviously trying to figure out how to properly use Tavon Austin, but he has not come close to finding a consistent role. Dallas’ defense has been a pleasant surprise, but they will not be able to carry this team. The offense needs to improve, soon. As great as Ezekiel Elliot is, it’s hard to be effective when the other team can constantly stack the box.

On a final note, the Baker Mayfield era began in Cleveland. The energy in the stadium when took over was infectious and obvious to everyone. It’s only one game, but he may be the guy to finally make Browns football exciting again.

NFL Week 2

The second week of the NFL season has concluded. Some fans are thrilled two weeks in, and depression is setting in for others. It is still too early to make bold predictions (although I have a big one coming), but the true makeup of each team is starting to take shape. The scores this week were: Bengals over Ravens 34-23, Falcons over Panthers 31-24, Colts over Redskins 21-9, Titans over Texans 20-17, Buccaneers over Eagles 27-21, Chiefs over Steelers 42-37, Dolphins over Jets 20-12, Chargers over Bills 31-20, Vikings and Packers tie 29-29, Saints over Browns 21-18, 49ers over Lions 30-27, Rams over Cardinals 34-0, Jaguars over Patriots 31-20, Broncos over Raiders 20-19, Bears over Seahawks 24-17.

The majority of this week’s games were not exactly exciting. It did produce a bunch of big storylines though. It already looks like a Rams-Chiefs Super Bowl is around the corner (my bold prediction), although I constantly talk about not overreacting. Patrick Mahomes had another stellar performance, Ryan Fitzpatrick picked up where he left off, and Blake Bortles shut up his critics for once. The Packers lose controversially, and the Browns curse is downright depressing now.

The Patrick Mahomes legend was born last week, and it only grew more on Sunday. He threw for 326 yards and 6 touchdowns. He set the NFL record for most TD passes in the first two weeks of the season with ten. Although the Chiefs’ defense is not thrilled about allowing 37 points, they were playing one of the leagues’ most potent offenses in Pittsburgh. The fact that Mahomes outplayed Big Ben speaks volumes. Andy Reid has built an unbelievable skill position group in Kansas City, surpassing any of the great groups he had in Philly. Due to Mahomes’ arm strength and decisiveness, they are being utilized to their full potential. Barring injuries, the Chiefs look like the favorites in an improved AFC.

After an unbelievable week one performance, Ryan Fitzpatrick continued his success right off the bat. He threw a TD on a deep post route to DeSean Jackson the first play of the game. He played great throughout Fitzpatrick rarely strings together two good games, and these two were superstar level. Are the Bucs actually a contender now?

The Rams dominated the Cardinals in every way. Enough said. Arizona will likely switch to Josh Rosen at QB soon, but the Rams have no weakness in their roster. Keep an eye on them moving forward.

The Bengals have scored 68 points in their first two games. That doesn’t mean they’re ready to break their playoff curses yet, but Andy Dalton is looking like a top level quarterback. 

The Browns played well for the second straight week against a playoff team, and they blew it with missed field goals and extra points. Can’t make it up. Sports are better than any soap opera.

Possibly the biggest week 2 storyline was whether or not Aaron Rodgers would play against Minnesota on a bum knee. The decision for him to play came at the eleventh hour, and he was wearing a giant brace on his knee. It was obvious that Green Bay had a game plan to allow Aaron to get the ball out his hand quickly. Despite the fact that the Packers o-line played inspired at times, they had a tough task against an elite Vikings defense. The Vikings continued like a top tier team and Kirk Cousins showed his poise and decision making ability again. Their defense might be the best in football, and they continue to exhibit playmakers at all three phases. In the end of the day, Green Bay should have won. The roughing the passer call against Clay Matthews, which extended the Vikings game tying drive at the end of the fourth. Refs have a very difficult job, but the hit looked legal from every angle to me. It’s unfortunate, especially because the game ended in a dreaded tie.

In a rematch of last years’ AFC Championship game, the Jags have an entirely different offensive approach, and may have conquered their demons. After seeming afraid to let him loose in the past, and blowing a 10 point lead in the playoffs against New England last year, Blake Bortles was given the green light Sunday. And it paid off. Bortles finished 29-45 with 377. On the other side, Brady struggled, throwing for 234 yards. The offense was anemic in the first half, atypical of New England. He seemed listless at times against an elite Jags defense. All in all, Doug Marrone basically out-coached Bill Belichick. Jacksonville vowed to take Rob Gronkowski out the game, forcing Brady to utilize other receivers. It worked; Gronk was held to 15 yards on two catches. The Patriots decided to stack the box on defense to shut down the running game, although Leonard Fournette did not play. Their plan was unsuccessful, considering that Bortles played unencumbered, taking advantage of what the defense gave. 

The Falcons-Panthers game was sadly marred by Atlanta safety Damontae Kazee taking a clear cheap shot at Cam Newton’s head while he was sliding. The Falcons were without their two most athletic defenders in Keanu Neal and Deion Jones, who both got hurt last week. Everyone knew job of stopping Cam’s running was almost impossible coming in, so they clearly tried to take matters into their own hands. In general, bottling Cam up is the key to victory against Carolina. In week 1, Cam had more rushing attempts than Christian McCaffrey. I have always been critical of Cam for not having pocket awareness, but this offense has some issues that are out of his control. All their receivers elect for Jarius Wright look lost in Norv Turner’s system. The loss of Greg Olson makes the situation for Cam that much gloomier. For Atlanta, things are looking rosy again. Matt Ryan was 23-28 for 272 yards and two touchdowns. He struggled week one, as well as the entire offense, and fans wondered why OC Steve Sarkisian was employed. Now, they might just be turning the corner. It may just be one good week, or maybe Matt Ryan is finally building a rapport with Sark similar to what he had with Kyle Shanahan. The Devonta Freeman injury is tough, but the passing game is finally looking as expected. I never overreact to the Falcons, because you never know when the will decide to play poorly. But they have plenty of games like Sunday where they remind us of what their upside is.

Sam Darnold will be the story for the Jets all year, regardless of what else happens. He was again this week, but for less optimistic reasons. He threw a first quarter pick to T.J. McDonald, which was unfortunate considering he started last week that way. The return set Miami up for a TD drive starting from the 15-yard line, allowing them to grab early momentum. The Jets’ running attack was a huge factor week 1, but they were stymied by a superior Dolphins defense. Despite a slow start, the Jets offense did show life. Quincy Enunwa looked impressive for the second straight week, making tough catches and breaking tackles. At the end of the first half, the Jets pushed the ball all the way to the one yard line, only to have time expire since they were out of timeouts. They continued that momentum to start the second, scoring on a Bilal Powell touchdown reception to start the half. On the Dolphins next drive, the Jets recovered a Ryan Tannehill fumble. They appeared to grab the momentum, but Darnold threw an interception in the back of the endzone. Terrell Pryor did not make the proper break, but a veteran QB would probably know better. Darnold made a stellar rollout and throw to a wide open Chris Herndon, who dropped the ball on what would have been a big play. Unlike last week, the Jets looked undisciplined overall. The Dolphins did as well, evident by their constant bad snaps. Overall, it was a sloppy game, but Miami ultimately pulled it out. Miami looks like they could be a big surprise this year, but this game was more about Darnold. He plays on the edge, and always wants to make the big play. He needs to play smarter, but it’s a refreshing change from the Chad Pennington and Mark Sanchez philosophy this franchise has had. He is bringing a high level of excitement to the Big Apple, so hopefully his lack of experience playing quarterback does not become too evident soon.

After many questions about his merit moving forward, DakPrescott looked to have responded on the first drive of the game against the Giants. He threw a deep bomb to Tavon Austin for a touchdown, which immediately grabbed the momentum for Dallas. This does not mean, however, that Dak silenced his critics Sunday. He finished with only 160 passing yards, with 64 of them coming on that Austin play. The Cowboys won because they went back to their bread and butter; pounding the rock with Ezekiel Elliot. He rushed for 78 yards on 17 carries. They still need more production, but getting him involved early and often is their only way to win. As for the Giants, their quarterback and o-line are problematic like a year ago. Considering they have a first year offensive head coach, it is not surprising things are taking time. But Eli Manning seems lost, the line looks almost as bad as last year. They do not have the luxury of letting this continue, because they spent big money to sign OBJ and they didn’t draft a QB number two. Saquon Barkley will show his big play ability every game, but he is limited as an every down back. Unless Eli returns to Pro Bowl form (which is unlikely), things could possibly unravel fast for Big Blue.

The 49ers-Lions game was kind of a slop-fest, but somebody had to win. The 49ers pulled out a much needed win, but they almost gave away a 17-point fourth quarter lead in the process. Jimmy G looked slightly above average for the second straight week, making Niner fans start to question it he was worth the mega contract. He is not totally to blame, because the holes in the roster are being exploited now that teams have film on them. Outside of Jaquiski Tartt, the secondary seem slow and unimpressive. They have little linebacker depth, and DeForestBuckner is their only consistent pass rusher. They don’t have a single number one receiver, especially now with the Marquise Goodwin injury. They did look impressive running the ball, finishing with 190 rushing yards led by Matt Breida’s 138 (66 came on one run). The 49ers running numbers were skewed, considering Detroit gave up 169 yards on the ground to the Jets last week. As for their offense, Matt Stafford looked listless again until the fourth quarter. This type of inconsistent play is troubling, but it was still an improvement from week 1. KerryonJohnson is an improvement at running back, but he’s not quite good enough for Detroit to become a power running team. They have not had a 100-yard rusher in 70 games (Barry Sanders did it three times in a row in 1997). Ultimately, they have an elite receiver group in Golden Tate, Marvin Jones, and Kenny Golliday. A veteran quarterback need to find a way to consistently get the ball in their hands.

So another week is in the books, and things are slowly starting to take shape. I usually do not start declaring things until about week 4, but it is becoming evident who the best team are. So stay tuned, this season is still just getting underway.