THE DAILY BRIEFING
| If The Season Ended Today in the NFC – Washington would be a tiebreaker away from all four NFC North teams in the playoffs, the Rams and Buccaneers are among those on the outside and the Vikings have a three-game lead in the NFC North with wins over each of the other three teams.
14 teams are within a game of the playoff line (4-4) – and the Panthers who were an extra point away from taking the NFC South lead are not one of them.
Overall Div Seed Conf
Philadelphia East 7-0 1 5-0
Minnesota North 6-1 1 5-1
Seattle West 5-3 1 3-3
Atlanta South 4-4 1 3-3
Dallas WC1 6-2 2 5-2
NY Giants WC2 6-2 3 3-2
San Francisco WC3 4-4 2 4-2
Washington 4-4 4 2-3 LA Rams 3-4 3 3-3
Tampa Bay 3-5 2 3-2
Green Bay 3-5 2 2-3
Arizona 3-5 4 2-4
New Orleans 3-5 3 2-4
Chicago 3-5 3 1-5 |
| NFC NORTH |
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MINNESOTA
The Packers kept QB AARON RODGERS, but lost WR DAVANTE ADAMS and LB Za’DARIUS SMITH. They miss Smith, who is one of Peter King’s Defensive Players of the Week:
Za’Darius Smith, outside linebacker, Minnesota. A huge game for the former Raven and Packer, showing that it was a great signing by Vikes GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah to pilfer him from the Pack. Smith sacked Kyler Murray twice in the first half, stunting two Arizona drives. And with the Cards trying to get back in the game, down 34-26 with 26 seconds left at the Vikings’ 37-, Smith sacked Murray a third time (this is not easy to do, by the way, sacking Murray three times in a football game), making it desperation time, third-and-17 in the final seconds for the Cards. |
| NFC EAST |
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PHILADELPHIA
Bo Wulf of The Athletic on WR A.J. BROWN’s big game:
It takes a certain amount of foresight and responsibility to enjoy the party fully while making sure to avoid a hangover. One game after he concluded “Philly is lit,” A.J. Brown was the life of the party Sunday afternoon. His 156 receiving yards were a career high and included three sparkling touchdowns, all in the first half. The first, a 39-yarder over Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick that opened the scoring for the Eagles, came on a play when it looked like Brown had stopped running mid-route. That’s because he wasn’t really in Jalen Hurts’ progression as the play is designed.
“That’s the thing with Jalen,” Brown said at the podium after the game. “You never know what to expect, because I (was) not supposed to get that ball. And I looked, I was just trying to clear it out for (DeVonta Smith), get the safety out of the way. And I looked up, the ball was in the air, and I’m like, ‘Oh, s—.’ … I gotta at least try to go do something. I know Minkah was back there and he was playing it like a center fielder. I’m glad he wasn’t that aggressive, so I had to be the aggressor.”
Brown’s next two touchdowns of 27 and 29 yards, respectively, were nearly identical and came on beautiful throws by Hurts down the right sideline. On both, Brown raced past single coverage and caught the ball over his shoulder in the end zone before the safety arrived. It was only the fourth time since the merger that an Eagles player topped 150 yards receiving and scored at least three touchdowns, and the first since Kevin Curtis in 2007. On this afternoon, just as he’s been all season, Brown was everything the Eagles expected when they traded for him.
“Throw that motherf—er to No. 11,” said Lane Johnson. “He just had a hell of a game. It was one of those games where I’m sitting back and blocking, I see the ball in the air and I see him making catch after catch. Special player.”
Just as the team’s leaders preach the importance of “not getting bored” at 7-0, Brown found reason to fault his game even after a monster performance. He dropped one deep ball opportunity in the second half that would have been called back for a penalty anyway. He had another drop on a slant and then was caught from behind by Fitzpatrick at the Steelers’ 11-yard line on a 43-yard catch and run early in the fourth quarter that earned him some razzing from teammates. He thinks that was the first time he’s been caught from behind in the NFL.
“We wasn’t perfect out there,” he said. “The score may say something, but we wasn’t perfect. And we know we got stuff to clean up. Like I said a couple weeks ago, this team is hungry. And most importantly humble. We know it’s a lot of work to be done. We still have not played a complete game. And I promise you everybody in this room gonna know when we play a complete game. Because we believe in each other and once we do that, the whole world will know that.”
The Eagles’ defense had a party of its own, sacking Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett six times and forcing two turnovers. Leading the charge was former Steeler Javon Hargrave, who notched two sacks and forced a fumble that was recovered by Avonte Maddox. Two years after a dispiriting 38-29 loss in Pittsburgh, Hargrave and the defensive line were out for a measure of retribution. |
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WASHINGTON
WR TERRY McLAURIN made the most of playing in his hometown. Peter King:
Terry McLaurin was born in Indianapolis. He went to high school there. As a kind, he went to Colts games and loved Marvin Harrison and Peyton Manning. In 2013, he was Indiana’s Mr. Football. On Sunday, he returned to the shrine of his youth, Lucas Oil Stadium. “I dreamed of playing on this field one day,” he told me from Indianapolis Sunday night. “To be here, to have this happen the way it did, well, God is just so good.”
Colts up 16-10, 41 seconds left, Washington ball at the Indy 34-. Washington quarterback Taylor Heinicke, flushed from the pocket, couldn’t find a receiver. Scramble drill. “I just tried to find an opening, just tried to get in his vision,” McLaurin said. “With Taylor, no play’s dead.” So McLaurin found himself one-on-one with the 2019 defensive player of the year, Stephon Gilmore, inside the five-, and Heinicke, hoping for the best, let it fly. McLaurin and Gilmore are both 6’-0”, but Gilmore’s more of a physical player. McLaurin said contested catches were a struggle for him in college, but he worked on fighting for 50-50 balls, and it showed here. McLaurin rose for the ball, and he got higher than Gilmore.
“I saw the ball the whole time, and when I went up for it, I just knew it was mine. I wanted to attack this ball, fight for it. There was no way it wasn’t mine.”
McLaurin and Gilmore each had hands on it, but McLaurin fought for it and won it, and when he fell to the ground he wasn’t dropping it. He got up, emotional and screaming, “THIS IS MY CITY! THIS IS MY CITY!” Heinicke followed on the next snap with a one-yard sneak, and Washington, 4-4, came away with a season-saving win, 17-16. The Commanders, winners of three straight, are in the NFC Wild Card race midway through what looked to be a lost season three weeks ago.
“Terry’s that dude,” Heinicke said. And wouldn’t you know: Harrison was in the house Sunday, and asked McLaurin to take a photo with him. That’s what you call a big day for the local kid.
– – –
Why does everyone hate Daniel Snyder who many of us have never heard speak? Who has never been charged with a crime? Mike Florio:
Commanders outside counsel John Brownlee was offered to PFT for a potential interview because he wanted to address, among other things, an allegedly “well-funded, well-orchestrated and well-documented [smear] campaign” against team owner Daniel Snyder. When the interview recently occurred, I asked Brownlee a simple question.
If there’s a “well-funded, well-orchestrated and well-documented smear campaign,” who’s behind it?
“You asked the best question,” Brownlee said, “and I’m not quite sure. I think it started probably with the India campaign.”
That’s a reference to the defamatory article about Snyder that originated with an India-based website, sparking litigation in India and various companion efforts in the United States to gather evidence.
“I think that was a big part of it,” Brownlee said. “You’ve got a lot of interesting and odd combinations, and I’ll raise a couple of those. You know, first of all, you have Congress who all of a sudden gets involved in this, right? They really have no jurisdiction here. And I think some of the Republican members have pointed that out, right? This is the [House] Oversight & Reform Committee looking into a private football team. And so why did they do that? What was pushing them? Well, then, if you look behind that, there’s a law firm called Katz & Banks. . . . And they have in many ways kind of become the de facto counsel for the Congress. We sent a letter to Congress several weeks ago, and Congress never responded, but Katz & Banks did. And they were defending congressional action. They were defending people they don’t represent. And so you’ve got this odd combination of this law firm and of course, this is the same law firm that brought the allegations against Justice Kavanaugh in his hearings and represented, I think, one of the — at least the principal accuser. And so you’ve got a lot of this swirling about, I don’t know who funds them, if anyone. I don’t know what their motivation is. I don’t know what they’re trying to accomplish. But I know that they’re working closely with Congress. I’m not sure why Congress is interested, but when one of the members of Congress was questioning, the Commissioner, what she said was is, ‘Why don’t you make him sell?’”
So if I understand Brownlee’s position, and I’m not entirely sure I do, someone is using Katz & Banks and Congress to try to force Snyder to sell. But Brownlee doesn’t know who it is.
At one point, it seemed that the people working the hardest to bring down Snyder were his limited partners. The theory was that they couldn’t find a buyer for their own shares, so they tried to force Snyder to sell his interest — which would then potentially allow them to sell theirs, too. After Snyder bought out his partners, however, the argument that they’re trying to bring him down makes less sense. At that point, they have no reason to care.
But somebody cares, as far as Snyder and, in turn, Brownlee are concerned. We still don’t know who it is. We may never know.
And there’s still a chance that no one is behind it. That the current situation represents the natural and organic reaction to the behaviors that were rampant for years in the Commanders organization, and that anyone who is trying to advance an agenda that entails forcing Snyder out simply believes that it’s the right thing to do, and the most appropriate outcome to the current situation.
How did Congress get involved? They weren’t until someone leaked the Jon Gruden emails that were gathered as part of the Beth Wilkinson investigation. That prompted renewed focus on the fact that the NFL brushed the Wilkinson investigation under the rug. Which possibly caught the attention of Congress.
Sometimes, there isn’t a grand conspiracy. Sometimes, shit just happens. And it’s possible that, in this case, that’s exactly what’s occurring.
And, with the two teams meeting in Indy – the Commanders pointed out that Colts owner Jim Irsay’s repeated attacks on Snyder are a violation of the NFL constitution – something even Florio had to agree with:
Colts owner Jim Irsay keeps talking about Commanders owner Daniel Snyder. On Saturday, Snyder’s team issued its strongest remarks yet in response to the latest comments from Irsay.
“It’s unfortunate that Mr. Irsay continues to behave in a way that clearly is in violation of the Constitution of the NFL,” a Commanders spokesperson told the Washington Post in a statement issued on Saturday. “We look forward to playing his team on Sunday.”
There’s actually some merit to the notion that Irsay could be violating the league’s Constitution & Bylaws. Article IX, Section 9.1(C)(4) prohibits any owner from “publicly criticizing[ing] any member club or its management, personnel, employees, or coaches and/or any football official employed by the League. All complaints or criticism in respect to the foregoing shall be made to the Commissioner only and shall not be publicized directly or indirectly.”
In the past 11 days, Irsay has repeatedly raised publicly the question of whether the owners should consider removing Snyder, and Irsay has repeatedly complained publicly about the toxic workplace that was maintained under Snyder’s management of the team. |
| NFC SOUTH |
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CAROLINA
Peter King breaks down Carolina’s heartbreak:
It was so weird.
Atlanta led 34-28 with 23 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Carolina had the ball, first down, at its 38-yard line with no timeouts left. Quarterback P.J. Walker, not noted for his arm strength, dropped back to pass out of the shotgun and from his 35-, let fly a long bomb down the left side of the field, toward wideout D.J. Moore, who basically was in a scramble drill, the type of route a receiver runs when a quarterback just wants his targets to run to an open space. Moore was covered by a linebacker, Rashaan Evans, and cornerback Dean Marlowe as Walker let the ball fly.
The ball traveled 67.6 yards in the air, per Next Gen, ridiculously long for a quarterback not noted for a big arm.
When the ball left Walker’s hands, per Net Gen, it had a completion probability of 11.5 percent.
Marlowe was within 0.8 yards of Moore when the ball was on both of them—considered close coverage.
This was not a Hail Mary. This was a play that Walker was legitimately trying to hit Moore on.
“I am shocked he threw it that far,” Atlanta coach Arthur Smith told me. “I thought it would just die at the 10.”
“I’ve never seen a better throw than that,” Evans, one of the cover guys, said.
Moore caught it a couple of yards deep in the end zone, with Marlowe draped on him. The 11.5 percent chance of completion was the most unlikely of any TD pass in the NFL this season, according to Next Gen.
“It’s one of the greatest backyard plays I’ve ever seen,” Smith said. “It took a year off my life. Give P.J. Walker credit—he made one of the great throws a quarterback can make.”
Part II:
Moore took his helmet off to celebrate. It’s a dumb rule, but it is a rule: A player is flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct if he takes his helmet off in the field of play to celebrate. This was a no-doubter. The touchdown made it 34-34, with the PAT to come. Now, the Falcons had a choice: Enforce the 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty on the extra point, making Eddy Pineiro try a 48-yard kick for the extra point, or enforce it on the ensuing kickoff, making Pineiro kick off from his 20- instead of his 35-.
Smith discussed it with special-teams coach Marquice Williams. They had about 20 seconds to decide before having to inform ref Shawn Hochuli. “Pineiro has a history of missing between 40 and 49,” Smith told me. I looked it up: At the moment of decision, Pineiro in his career was 19 of 20 from 30-to-39 yards out, and 11 of 16 from 40-to-49 yards out.
Smith told Hochuli he’d take the 15 yards on the PAT, not the kickoff. That lengthened the PAT from 33 to 48 yards. And Pineiro kicked it wide left.
Pineiro missed a cake field goal in OT too, from 32 yards out (again, wide left), and Atlanta’s Younghoe Koo won it with a 41-yarder with 1:55 left in overtime.
“So many waves of emotion in a game like that,” Smith said. “Lotta crazy things happened, and you’ve got to make a lot of decisions in a short period of time. If you don’t have a resilient team, things could go south in a hurry.”
Lotta crazy things? How about this one: A man taking his helmet off on the field is the difference between a team being in first or fourth place this morning.
Eddy Pineiro was 12 of 12 on normal-distance PATs this year. He’d missed five kicks of his 16 tries in the forties. If D.J. Moore doesn’t take his helmet off, it’s very likely Carolina sits alone in first place today with a 3-5 record, including the tiebreaker-favoring 3-0 in division games. Instead, Pineiro missed, and the Panthers, 2-6, are alone in last place.
That is the craziest thing about the 2022 NFL season.
The Panthers wouldn’t have been “alone” in first place since Atlanta and Tampa Bay would also have been 3-5. But they would have had the first place designation due to the current status of the tiebreaker. |
| NFC WEST |
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SAN FRANCISCO
Peter King on RB CHRISTIAN McCAFFREY’s coming out party with the 49ers:
Last Thursday, the 49ers’ assistant head coach, Anthony Lynn, asked Christian McCaffrey, the Niners’ new running back: “Can you throw? Ever thrown a pass in a game?”
It had been four years, but yes, McCaffrey had done it. Late in the 2018 season, against New Orleans, he took a handoff from Cam Newton, the New Orleans defense surrounded him, and he lofted a spiral 17 yards downfield to tight end Chris Manhertz, all alone. Touchdown.
“I sent them the video of the play,” McCaffrey said.
“I wanted to make sure they knew I could throw,” he said, laughing, over the phone from the Niners’ locker room at SoFi Stadium Sunday night. You could tell from his voice that he was pretty proud of it. “As soon as they asked, I figured it might be something for Sunday.”
Yes, it just might be something for Sunday. By the time McCaffrey got to practice Friday, a halfback-option throw was in the gameplan—a backward pass from Jimmy Garoppolo to the right side, McCaffrey taking a couple of jab-steps like he was running a wheel-route, hoping to draw in the defense, just like he had in 2018 in Carolina. Then, if it worked and the defense got sucked in, wideout Brandon Aiyuk would have a clear path to the end zone. And the career running back, they all hoped, would be able to loft it over coverage.
“We repped it a couple of times in practice, then in the [Saturday] walk-through,” McCaffrey told me.
“Was Aiyuk open when you repped it?” I said.
“He was open every time,” McCaffrey said.
“So you knew it’d be called,” I said. “What were you thinking when the play got called, and you’re there in the huddle?”
McCaffrey said: “Let it rip. Let it rip, you know? It’s there. The play’s there. You just gotta make it.”
History’s written by the winners. In sports, history is made by the winners, and for the third time in 10 months, San Francisco, with a new star, is writing football history against the Super Bowl champions.
“I’ve got to ask,” I said to McCaffrey amid the din of the locker room, “did you know you’re only the fourth player since the 1970 merger who has thrown a TD pass, caught a TD pass and run for a TD?”
“I found out today,” he said. “It feels good. Really good. It’s a cool stat, but there’s a bigger stat.
“The win.
“To be able to go into a winning locker room, with great players, on a new team with so many guys who can make plays, it’s just exciting.”
He’s another one. Shanahan thought just what any football coach would think about a great back with the ball on the flank—he’ll draw a lot of attention, and maybe a good wide receiver could leak out and assuming McCaffrey wouldn’t get tight, he’d be able to hit Aiyuk for an easy touchdown. So the halfback-option play got practiced, and the Niners warmed up before Sunday’s game at SoFi.
“I threw a little before the game,” McCaffrey said, “but I didn’t want to make it too obvious.”
Five plays into the second quarter, down 7-0, Shanahan called it. “My arm was loose,” McCaffrey said. “I just thought, if BA is open by a step, let it rip. I knew when the corner came up a little [and Aiyuk had a step on two safeties], he was gonna make the catch it I put it out there. That’s not an easy catch. He had to turn his shoulder for the ball, and he made me look really good.”
The reality is it was a very good throw, a spiral floating 34 yards in the air to Aiyuk, who caught it in stride at the two- and scored easily. That tied it. McCaffrey’s nine-yard TD catch, on a play where he was a Jimmy Garoppolo afterthought late in the third, gave San Francisco the lead for good, 17-14. And he powered into the end zone early in the fourth from one yard out, bulling into 287-pound defensive tackle Marquise Copeland, giving the Niners a 24-14 lead and essentially ending it.
The Niners, 4-4, trail surprising Seattle (5-3) by a game. The Rams, 3-4, will have an uphill fight in the division, particularly after a second division loss to the Niners. It wasn’t lost on McCaffrey when he took the field at SoFi Sunday that he very well could have been suiting up for the home Rams had the trade gone down differently. Even the son of a well-traveled former NFL receiver wasn’t altogether ready for the uncertainty of a trade.
“This has been such a weird two weeks,” he said. “I grew up in the business so I understand it’s a business but you don’t really know how to act until you experience the actual event. I didn’t think about where I’d go till I got the call from [Carolina GM] Scott Fitterer.
“It was weird. I practiced that Thursday, went to meetings that Thursday, went home, and [Fitterer] called, and the next day, early, I was on a flight and practiced with the 49ers Friday. It’s a crazy league. But I loved the 49ers run game. I knew that’s where God wanted me to go and now I’m happy to be here.”
On a couple of plays Sunday, McCaffrey stood outside the celebratory group of players while they got all happy. It’s like he wasn’t really in the club yet, and he was still learning who everyone was and making sure he didn’t overstep his bounds. But players accept great players. McCaffrey is one of those.
“I can’t even put into words how happy I am,” he said. “It’s a crazy journey in the NFL. You see this stuff happen and you never think it’ll happen to you. But it has. I’m glad it did.” Niners are too.
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SEATTLE
Michael Shawn-Duggar of The Athletic on the suddenly happy Seahawks:
Eight weeks into the season, the Seahawks (5-3) are a legitimately good football team. That much is clear after the defense strung together a stellar performance for the third consecutive week and the offense continued to score at one of the highest clips in the league en route to beating the New York Giants, 27-13, on Sunday afternoon. The Seahawks have won three straight, all by double digits, and remain alone atop the NFC West standings.
“We’ve turned a corner,” running back DeeJay Dallas said. “Offense is clicking. Defense is clicking. Special teams is coming together now. The sky is the limit for us.”
In the only Week 8 game between teams with winning records, the Seahawks emerged victorious in large part because the defense is playing lights-out. Minus a Seattle fumble that gave New York the ball at the goal line, the Giants advanced the ball across midfield just three times and came away with just six total points.
Saquon Barkley entered as one of the most productive running backs in the league. He finished with 53 yards on 20 carries and a 1-yard touchdown on a drive that began on the Seahawks’ 2-yard line in the first half.
“I kind of knew we were going to do what we did,” linebacker Jordyn Brooks said. “It was emphasized all week in practice. (Barkley is) the guy they want to get the ball to, so we (had to) make sure we all swarm tackle him. He’s a great player. We did a good job as a unit.”
Jones came into the game as one of the best running quarterbacks in the league. He finished with 20 yards on six carries. None of Jones’ carries resulted in a first down. He came close once, but that moment was an example of the effort and energy that has defined Seattle’s midseason turnaround on defense.
– – –
The Seahawks have one of the best scoring offenses in the league at 26.2 points per game. Quarterback Geno Smith continues to have answers for everything defenses throw at him. And Giants coordinator Wink Martindale threw a lot at him. New York blitzed on 53.7 percent of its snaps. After the game, Smith estimated 20 of those were Cover-0 blitzes, meaning man-to-man coverage across the board and one more defender rushing than the offense can block.
Smith took his lumps, to be fair. He was sacked three times — all on blitzes in the first half. But being roughed up a bit by an aggressive defense didn’t prevent Smith from consistently delivering accurate passes. He completed 23 of 34 attempts for 212 yards, but two of those incompletions were dropped touchdowns, one by receiver Marquise Goodwin in the first half and one by the typically sure-handed Tyler Lockett in the third quarter.
After the Lockett drop, teammates did their part to keep their offensive captain in good spirits. Carroll told Lockett he’s the “best receiver I’ve ever seen,” and it meant a lot for Lockett to hear those words in that moment. Receiver DK Metcalf jokingly asked Lockett what he had for breakfast in the morning, a tactic meant to take his teammate’s mind off the mistake he just made. Free safety Quandre Diggs is one of Lockett’s best friends. His advice to Lockett after the drop: “Just keep being great.”
Lockett did exactly that.
After New York tied the score at 13 with 11:17 to play, Seattle took over at its 25-yard line. Here’s how the first four plays unfolded:
An 11-yard completion to Metcalf on a quick curl route.
A quick pass to Goodwin out of an under-center formation for a gain of 6 yards.
A play-action pass to Lockett for 12 yards.
An out route to Metcalf for 13 yards.
Four passes, four completions. A notable show of faith in Smith, who is playing like one of the best quarterbacks in the league.
“He’s the real deal,” Carroll said.
The fifth play of the drive was the same as the fourth. But instead of Lockett running a comeback on the far side of the field, he signaled to Smith that he was going to run a double move and take advantage of cornerback Adoree’ Jackson, who was squatting on the underneath route. It worked to perfection, and Lockett atoned for his previous miscue — and his fumble that set up the Giants’ only touchdown — with a 33-yard, go-ahead touchdown.
“It felt great,” said Lockett, who had five catches for 63 yards.
That’s what makes the Seahawks’ three-game winning streak feel like anything but a fluke, or the product of playing teams that are underwhelming on one side of the ball for one reason or another. The Giants had an elite rushing attack, and the Seahawks shut it down. New York’s defense is aggressive and befuddles quarterbacks; Smith and the offense were ready.
It’s been the same story for the past three weeks: Both sides of the ball consistently have answers for the problems their opponents present. That’s the mark of a good team, and it’s a quality only a few teams in the NFC can confidently claim.
Through eight weeks, the Seahawks have matched the season win total many betting markets projected for them. And they’re doing it with a new-look defense and a quarterback no one else wanted. Carroll has gone out of his way at times to not just scream “I told you so” in his postgame news conferences. But the 71-year-old coach with national championships and a Super Bowl on his resume decided to take a victory lap Sunday afternoon.
Carroll addressed “all the people that doubt” and began rattling off the common critiques of his team: They run the ball too much at a time when passing is the more efficient way to score and are led by an old coach whose best days are behind him.
“That’s a bunch of crap,” Carroll said. “I’m telling you. Look, we’re doing fine. We’re all right. We’re improving day in and day out.” |
| AFC WEST |
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DENVER
Peter King on Denver trade rumors:
Broncos. One of the league’s most disappointing teams—despite waking up in the second half in London Sunday—has heard from teams on both Chubb and wide receiver Jerry Jeudy. GM George Paton, clearly, would move Chubb, due to be a free-agent in March, having missed 24 games due to injury in his first four years, for a first-round pick, and he may get one. A well-plugged-in GM told me over the weekend the Jets and Dolphins are interested, and interested enough to consider dealing a first-rounder for Chubb. But to make that deal for a significant price, Miami or New York, or any team, would have to have a deal done with Chubb beyond this year. |
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KANSAS CITY
Peter King approves of the Chiefs taking Giants bust WR KARARIUS TONEY:
A couple of thoughts on one done deal, Kadarius Toney from the Giants to Kansas City for third- and sixth-round picks in the 2023 draft. It’s a good risk for KC to take, dealing (approximately) the 105th and 205th picks in the ’23 draft for the 20th pick in the 2021 draft. Toney is just 23; in the right defense and motivated to be a big outside threat for Patrick Mahomes, he could well come alive there. But he was an attitude problem and injury problem pretty consistently with the Giants, playing only 338 snaps and never scoring a TD for the Giants in a year-and-a-half. I think GM Joe Schoen did well in getting a second-day pick plus a late choice for such a tarnished player. |
| AFC SOUTH |
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INDIANAPOLIS
Zac Keefer of The Athletic with some quick thoughts on the debut of QB SAM EHLINGER:
The sentiments after Sam Ehlinger’s NFL debut
“I really wanted to get this win, especially for Sam,” said Colts defensive captain DeForest Buckner. “Shoot, his competitiveness, just the way he came out today, ready to rock.”
But the Colts’ nine-point fourth-quarter lead slipped through their fingers, and the Commanders engineered an 89-yard drive in 2:17 to sneak out of Lucas Oil Stadium with a 17-16 win Sunday. Ehlinger went 17-for-23 for 201 yards and no touchdowns or no interceptions, but made a crucial “blunder” — his word — in the first half, fumbling the ball on the Commanders’ 23-yard-line.
What he did do: prove the move wasn’t a colossal mistake. Ehlinger certainly has areas he needs to improve in, but his scrambling ability gave the Colts’ offense a much-needed spark, and he threw two beauties: a 47-yard bomb to Alec Pierce — the Colts’ biggest completion of the season — and a dime in the red zone to Nyheim Hines that set the Colts up on the Commander’s 4-yard-line.
“Massive room for improvement,” he said after the loss. |
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TENNESSEE
RB DERRICK HENRY is one of Peter King’s Offensive Players of the Week:
“This guy is unreal, special,” center Ben Jones said. “Never talks about himself. Gets in the huddle, says, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go. Not about him ever.” Okay, so we’ll talk about him about his 32-carry, 219-yard, two-TD performance in the 17-10 dogfight win over Houston, carrying Malik Willis to a win in his first NFL start. Players in the Titans huddle will now say forever, to relatives and friends, “I played with Derrick Henry. And he was amazing.” On Sunday, Henry tied the NFL record for career regular season 200-yard rushing games. The list:
6: Derrick Henry, O.J. Simpson, Adrian Peterson.
5: Tiki Barber.
4: Jim Brown, Earl Campbell, Barry Sanders, LaDainian Tomlinson.
Man, that is some great company to be in.
Here is the deal – four of those games have come in his last four games against the Texans. He had 211 in the second meeting in 2019, 212 and 250 in the two meeting in 2020, did not play against Houston in either 2021 game and went off for 219 on Sunday.
(hat tip to Michael David Smith)
– – –
Albert Breer of SI.com has noticed the team with the longest win streak in the AFC:
The Titans have won five straight, and I’m paying attention. Tennessee doesn’t have its quarterback, its left tackle, or its No. 1 receiver from last year. Somehow, none of that mattered Sunday. Rookie Malik Willis threw the ball 10 times. The Titans’ leading receiver had 26 yards. And, yet, somehow, Tennessee still was able to grind out 314 yards on the ground, when Houston had to know exactly what was coming.
“It was a mindset,” center Ben Jones told me postgame. “We knew what we needed to do up front, we got challenged earlier in the week, and it takes all 11. No matter if it’s a quarterback, running back, tight ends, receiver. We had receivers blocking downfield for a long touchdown for Derrick [Henry]. So it wasn’t just us; it was all of us. We had a mindset, we knew it, we wanted to control the rock on the road and our defense stopped the run. So we had a mindset and a game plan and we executed.”
Now, it was the Texans, and the Titans won by only seven.
Still, and I’ve said this before, no one is more consistent in living up to their identity anywhere in the league than the Titans. And it’s because, I think, they so uniformly follow the lead of their best players, who happen to be their toughest guys such as Jones and Henry, and the lead of their coach.
That last part, at least, was obvious in an encounter Jones and Mike Vrabel had after last week’s win over the Colts in which Vrabel tearfully embraced Jones, telling him, “I’ve never seen anything like it,” in reference to Jones’s toughness playing through injuries.
“We have a great relationship on and off the field,” Jones said. “He is literally family to me. I talk to him every day, in-season, off-season and he knows I was going through something that day. And whatever it took, we knew we were going to win that game no matter what, and the way it ended, in our hands, no matter how it was, no matter how we were feeling as an offensive line, it was just our offensive line jelling right there at the end.
“Five guys doing everything they could to end the ballgame. And he was just proud of us and he knew we laid it all on the line, no matter what. We kept getting up when we were hurting, and that’s how much he loves us. That’s how much he cares about us.”
So was Jones hurting after this one, too?
“If I ain’t hurting,” he answered, “We ain’t winning.”
And the Titans are winning. |
| AFC EAST |
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NEW YORK JETS
Peter King pulls no punches on QB ZACH WILSON’s play in crunch time Sunday against the Patriots:
Zach Wilson, quarterback N.Y. Jets. On three straight possessions straddling the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth, trailing 16-10 to the hated Patriots. First possession: ugly pick thrown to Devin McCourty. Second possession: really ugly pick thrown/telegraphed lazily to Devin McCourty. Third possession: incomplete, incomplete, incomplete, incomplete, ball turned over on downs, 8:49 left in the game, New England up 22-10. The reason the Jets lost a 13th straight game to the team every Jet fan loves to hate is on one person: Zach Wilson. |
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THIS AND THAT |
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THE FIVE 1ST ROUND QBS OF 2020
Bill Barnwell hasn’t been impressed with any of them – nor QB DAVIS MILLS. It’s Bill Barnwell, so we edit for space:
In recent years, NFL analysts and fans have grown accustomed to the second-year quarterback breakout. Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson won MVP awards in their second seasons, while Carson Wentz was on pace to take home one of his own before suffering a torn left ACL in 2017. Fellow draftees Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts and Jared Goff all took their own major strides forward in their sophomore campaigns.
With five quarterbacks coming off the board in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft, I suspect I wasn’t the only one expecting a breakout or two to join that group this season. Through eight weeks, though, the class of 2021 has been a major disappointment.
Trey Lance went down with a season-ending right ankle injury in Week 2, and sixth-rounder Sam Ehlinger just made his first NFL start in a narrow Colts loss to the Commanders, but the other second-year candidates have struggled. In Week 9, leaving Ehlinger aside, the five other second-year passers posted a combined QBR of just 21.4. Their only win came when one of those five (Mac Jones) won against another (Zach Wilson).
We are about to hit the halfway point of the rookie-contract quarterback cycle for these passers. Organizations have to make meaningful decisions about each of them after their third seasons. For first-rounders, that’s when their fifth-year option commitments come up and teams have to decide whether they want to fully guarantee a fifth season with a significant raise. Quarterbacks drafted later enter the final year of their contracts after Year 3, which means it’s time for them to get new deals, as Hurts likely will this offseason.
With half of their evaluation periods in the books, can you say for sure that any of these quarterbacks are the long-term solutions for their teams? Do any of them feel like they’ve taken that leap? Are any of them even playing better than they did as rookies? Inspired by what I saw in Week 8, let’s evaluate those five passers and see whether there are reasons to be optimistic (or pessimistic) about what we’ve seen from them so far.
Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
Pick in 2021 draft: No. 1
Nominally, if you asked people which of these passers was the closest to looking like a franchise quarterback, Lawrence would be the most common answer. It’s fair to write off last season as an Urban Meyer-riddled fever dream. And at his best, Lawrence looks like the total package. Nobody else in this class has his combination of arm strength, physical tools and pocket presence.
And yet, when you account for the lofty expectations surrounding Lawrence as arguably the best college quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck in 2012, I’m not sure he is any closer to what he was supposed to be than the other guys on this list. The strides he was supposed to take with a better coach and a revamped receiving corps haven’t come this season, and it has cost the Jaguars games.
Jacksonville has lost five straight after a 2-1 start. Lawrence looked solid to begin the season, but he has not been on the right side of the ledger for the Jaguars during this slide. His minus-9.3% completion percentage over expectation (CPOE) over that stretch is the second worst in the league, behind only Baker Mayfield’s. His accuracy isn’t where it should be.
Drops have played a meaningful role, since Jacksonville’s receivers have dropped nearly 7% of his passes during the losing streak, but they don’t explain the whole story. More than 21% of Lawrence’s passes over the past five games have been off-target, the third-worst mark in football.
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Lawrence has 14 incompletions over the past five games on passes that had an expected completion percentage of 80% or more, per NFL Next Gen Stats. Some of these are drops (most notably in the Texans game), but many of them are just poorly placed passes on throws at or around the line of scrimmage. Only one came Sunday, a screen to JaMycal Hasty that seemed set to turn into a big play, only for the pass to be overthrown in the process of the Broncos reacting to the screen.
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The good news for the Jags, at least relative to the competition, is that Lawrence had the best stretch of the season for any of these second-year quarterbacks. Over that 2-1 start, his 72.9 QBR was the league’s sixth-best mark. He completed more than 69% of his passes, posted a positive CPOE and tossed six touchdown passes against one pick. Any of the teams with the passers on this list would trade away a draft pick next week if they could guarantee that sort of three-game stretch from their quarterback in the weeks to come.
Relative to these other passers, exhibiting some semblance of a professional ceiling is a promising sign for Lawrence. Compared to his pre-draft expectations, though, he is still struggling to match up. It’s too early to drastically recalibrate what we think he is capable of doing at the NFL level, but for a signal-caller who seemed to be a plug-and-play superstar by the end of his freshman season at Clemson, he clearly is further from stardom than it seemed.
Zach Wilson, New York Jets
Pick in 2021 draft: No. 2
I’ll spoil it for you here without needing to go to the end of the column: I’m most concerned about Wilson, who might be playing the worst of any quarterback in the entire league over the past few weeks. Nobody is making more puzzling decisions or putting the ball in danger more than he does, and that’s extremely worrisome for a Jets team that is legitimately competing for a playoff berth.
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When Wilson gets out of the pocket and throws, bad things usually happen. The league as a whole is worse when it gets outside the pocket, posting a combined QBR of 39.9, but Wilson’s 4.3 mark ranks 29th. He’s 5-of-28 for 137 yards with two picks, both of which came Sunday. He has generated 7 yards per scramble this season, but he has scrambled only seven times across his five starts.
Inside the pocket, Wilson has been better, even if there are still some issues. His QBR inside the pocket is 53.6, which ranks 14th. He’s averaging a hair under 8 yards per attempt, although much of that is after the catch; Wilson’s average of 7.5 YAC on throws inside the pocket is the most in football.
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The bad news is that he hasn’t yet. I don’t see much difference between Wilson as a rookie and Wilson in his second season. The circumstances have changed, which has allowed the Jets to win games more often without relying on their starting quarterback, but it’s tough for me to look at how the Jets are winning and believe he is a driver as opposed to a passenger.
If you’re thinking of a Jets quarterback who flashed but never got better in a sustainable way during his time with the team, you’re thinking of the guy who feels like the closest comparable for Wilson at the moment. Darnold was the same quarterback for three years, and then beyond a brief spell when he was always playing from ahead in Carolina, he was that quarterback with the Panthers, too.
Darnold did that with a middling offensive line and subpar receivers. Wilson has a deep receiving corps, although his line has been hit hard by injuries, most recently to Alijah Vera-Tucker. Even allowing for those line issues, Wilson has more than enough help to play better. If he is what keeps the Jets from making the playoffs, the honeymoon period will be over.
Mac Jones, New England Patriots
Pick in 2021 draft: No. 15
The honeymoon seemingly already is over for Jones in New England, where the Pats faithful lustily booed him last Monday night and called for backup Bailey Zappe. They got their wish after Jones was fooled into throwing an interception, although it didn’t do much good after a hot first two possessions from the backup. Coach Bill Belichick suggested he intended to reinsert Jones into the game, but after the pick, he didn’t play a single offensive snap.
Back in the starting lineup for the entire game this week, Jones still looked discombobulated. His interception came on a tipped pass by a pass-rusher, but he averaged just 5.5 yards per attempt and didn’t complete a pass longer than 22 yards downfield. Facing a dangerous Jets defensive line, he was sacked six times on 41 dropbacks. The line didn’t have a great day, but he was part of the blame on a few of those sacks, either for not getting the ball out on time or not successfully scrambling away from pressure.
Unlike Lawrence and Wilson, Jones was successful as a rookie. Taking over as the Week 1 starter, he looked mature and comfortable under center from the jump. The Patriots were careful to not place too much on his shoulders, as they typically went to screens and draws in third-and-longs, but he played winning football as a part of a playoff team in New England.
Jones doesn’t look like the same guy this season. What has changed versus the passer who looked like a veteran pro in 2021?
To start, Jones is turning the ball over. In 2021, he started 17 games and threw 13 interceptions, throwing a pick on 2.5% of his pass attempts. He has seven picks across five starts this season. His interception rate has more than doubled; at 5.1%, it’s the highest in the league. He was benched after an interception last week and added another this week.
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It’s fair to wonder how much of this is the move to Matt Patricia’s offense, given that the former Lions coach shifted toward more zone-based runs, which changes the play-action approach. I also think the difference between the 2021 and 2022 attacks is a little overblown, and any coach worth their salt should be molding their scheme to their quarterback anyway. For some quarterbacks, the game slows down in Year 2. Right now, it looks like the opposite has happened for Jones.
Justin Fields, Chicago Bears
Pick in 2021 draft: No. 11
If you saw the game plan against the Patriots in Week 7, you saw a prototype for what the Bears would like to do on offense with their second-year quarterback. Fields was devastating on scrambles, had several designed runs for big gains and worked a heavy dosage of boot concepts and rollouts. When he uses a play-fake and gets outside the pocket, his QBR is a respectable 22nd in the league. He also ranks second in the league among all players in rushing EPA, trailing only Lamar Jackson. Fields’ 11 rushing first downs over expectation is the third-best mark.
The problem is just about everything else. In virtually every situation, Fields is completing way fewer passes than we would expect.
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The only quarterback with a worse overall adjusted completion percentage is Mayfield, who was benched and probably helped get his coach fired. Fields’ off-target rate on the whole is 20.8%, which ranks behind every starting quarterback besides Davis Mills (21%).
Accuracy hasn’t been great, but Fields’ biggest problem has been taking sacks. He was sacked four times on 27 dropbacks by the Cowboys on Sunday, and that actually somehow improved his sack rate.
Fields is taking sacks after scrambling, or while trying to extend plays or in situations where he should be throwing the ball away. I don’t think his sacks in the Cowboys game fit into that category, but he had one classic example in the Patriots game the prior week. Some of those are scrambles that end with him running out of bounds for no gain or a short loss, but he is being hit on 42.1% of his dropbacks, which is the most of any quarterback and more than double the league average.
All the hits and pressure lead to mistakes.
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The thing that’s still so obvious watching Fields is how and when he’s at his best. When he is left to rely on his physical tools and his instincts, he looks great. As a scrambler and working off scramble drills, he can look like the best player on the field. While great scramblers like Allen and Jackson have their own styles, Fields just glides up the field for big gains when given the opportunity. Under pressure, he’s capable of making magic happen.
When Fields is forced to work within the confines of his offensive structure, he hasn’t been anywhere near as impressive. This wasn’t the case at Ohio State, and it’s likely more a product of the talent around him and the limitations of the offenses so far than it is about his capabilities of working within a successful NFL scheme.
For Fields, more than any other passer, 2022 is about survival. There’s cap space waiting next season, as the Bears are essentially using this season to reset and rebuild after the Ryan Pace era. If Fields can stay healthy and not get trapped into too many negative habits, there’s going to be a better offensive line and receiving corps around him next season. Given how frequently he’s getting hit, I’m just worried he makes it to 2023 in one piece.
Davis Mills, Houston Texans
Pick in 2021 draft: No. 67
Let’s finish with Mills, who won the Texans’ starting job by virtue of what he did at the end of 2021, when he posted a 98.6 passer rating and 50.9 QBR over a five-start stretch to end the season. He faced weak competition during that stretch, but he also played one of the league’s toughest slates during his first six-game stint as a starter earlier that year.
During the offseason, the Texans resisted the urge to add a significant backup to Mills, preferring to let things fly with Kyle Allen. Depending on how you viewed Mills, this seemed to either be a smart move to build confidence in a second-year starter or a foolish decision to leave them bereft behind an inexperienced passer. Through the first half of 2022, it feels like the latter.
Mills hasn’t looked anywhere near as exciting as he did during that breakout campaign.
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Mills doesn’t have great receivers beyond Brandin Cooks, but he just hasn’t been accurate. His 21% off-target rate is the worst in the league, and his 66% adjusted completion percentage ranks 28th out of 33 qualifiers. And while a quarterback such as Fields averages 7.5 yards per attempt, Mills is at 6.4 yards per throw, which ranks 29th. The Texans don’t succeed often enough in their passing game and don’t generate enough yardage on the plays where they do complete a pass.
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The Texans used a third-rounder and have two first-round picks coming up in 2023, both of whom project to fall in the top five. General manager Nick Caserio drafted Mills, but the Texans have nothing significant tying them to Mills after this season. It would hardly be a surprise if they drafted a quarterback with one of those picks and pushed Mills to the bench.
If Mills wants to take advantage of what might be his only chance as an NFL starter, there’s no time like the present to level up. He needs to grow more comfortable and confident within the pocket, make better decisions with the football and keep the Texans’ offense on schedule. One second-half hot streak earned Mills a starting job in 2022. He’ll need another one to keep it for 2023.
The short version – tweeted by Michael David Smith:
@MichaelDavSmith
The answer to the “Trevor Lawrence or Zach Wilson or Trey Lance or Justin Fields or Mac Jones?” question may prove to be “None of the above.” |
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PETER KING’s MIDSEASON RANKINGS AND AWARDS
The best:
1. Buffalo (6-1). Played, arguably, the toughest slate so far and beat the Rams, Baltimore and Kansas City on the road. The Bills have five games remaining in a better-than-expected AFC East, but they’re the clear Super Bowl favorites as November dawns.
Close:
2. Philadelphia (7-0). There’s a pretty big line of demarcation between the Bills and everyone. I’ll take the Eagles as the biggest threat, with a defense that’s allowed 17 points or fewer in five of their last six, and a quarterback that’s pretty damn ready for the big stage.
3. Kansas City (5-2). After the Bills beat KC and frustrated Patrick Mahomes two weeks ago, I wrote: “Everything Mahomes did was a struggle. Nothing was easy.” Teams can change a lot from October to January. Andy Reid has time to turn that around and catch Buffalo, but it’ll be a chore.
Will contend to the end:
4. Dallas (6-2). This is the one team at or near the top that could win a playoff game in January 13-9 if it had to. And in a season when scoring is down, that matters. By the way, Tony Pollard is one great threat.
5. Minnesota (6-1). Five straight wins. Five straight one-score wins. Buffalo and Dallas loom back-to-back in November, but it’s hard to fathom the Vikings losing the NFC North and the second (or first, if the Eagles falter) NFC seed.
6. Tennessee (5-2). There’s a lot to like about this team. I just don’t know if the Titans can score with Kansas City, Cincinnati, Philly and Dallas, who are on the schedule in the next nine weeks.
7. San Francisco (4-4). Pressure’s on, Christian McCaffrey. Big edge for the Niners is they’ve got the bye now, then no team of the last nine foes is great. It’s a very manageable stretch run.
8. Seattle (5-3). Averaged 33 points a game in October, so scoring’s not going to be an issue. But Seahawks entered Sunday 29th in yards allowed and 28th in points allowed. That’s an issue if they want to play deep into January.
9. Baltimore (5-3). The Mark Andrews shoulder injury is concerning, but Lamar Jackson loves rookie alternative Isaiah Likely. Here’s an edge: None of Ravens’ next eight foes are over .500.
10. Cincinnati (4-3). I’d have the Bengals higher, but they’ve got Tennessee, Kansas City, Buffalo and Baltimore in the last seven weeks, with the Bills and Ravens in weeks 17 and 18.
11. Miami (5-3). Dolphins are 5-0 when Tua Tagovailoa starts and plays at least three quarters of the game. There is, however, a killer three-game trip down the stretch: at Niners, at Chargers, at Bills. Worrisome. And there is a worrisome D that allowed 40 to the Jets and 27 (and 393 yards) to the Lions. Averaging just 1.9 sacks per game, I wonder how motivated they’ll be to go chase Bradley Chubb before the trade deadline.
If everything goes right, could make a run:
12. N.Y. Giants (6-2). Craziest team in this crazy season. Maybe we should just accept that smart coaches—Brian Daboll, of course, and underrated Mike Kafka and Wink Martindale—can put players in position to win late in games. They’ve done it for much of the season so far.
13. L.A. Rams (3-4). I can feel the draft choices burning a hole in GM Les Snead’s pocket. For once, the Rams are in decent shape with draft capital, with a second- and third- next year and the draft intact in 2024. They’re in play for a pass-rusher and a speed receiver.
14. L.A. Chargers (4-3). Coming out of the bye next Sunday, we still don’t know if the Chargers can be a January threat. This five-pack of games should tell us: at Atlanta, at San Francisco, Kansas City, at Arizona, at Vegas. Pack a suitcase.
15. New England (4-4). The quarterbacking is surprisingly bad, and Pats won Sunday, in part, because of Zach Wilson’s awfulness. Plus, two of the last six games are against Buffalo. But you never know with this franchise.
16. N.Y. Jets (5-3). On Sunday a debilitating loss because of the foibles of the supposed franchise quarterback. I don’t see how the Jets compete at a high level with a quarterback playing like Zach Wilson.
17. Atlanta (4-4). I don’t love the Falcons, but I’d be encouraged by a few things: Falcons have a full complement of picks next year and are $64 million under the projected ’23 cap. And they are a feisty, competitive team with wins over the Seahawks and Niners. They might have a home playoff game in January.
18. New Orleans (3-5). My quixotic preseason prediction—Saints will be the NFC’s top seed—lies in ruins. But then they go out and bury the Raiders by 24, and Alvin Kamara comes alive, and you wonder: Can’t they win a bad division?
Just seem too flawed:
19. Green Bay (3-5). I don’t see it turning around, but I might change my mind if GM Brian Gutekunst gets a trusted receiver (Chase Claypool? Nelson Agholor?) before Tuesday’s deadline, and if Romeo Doubs becomes what he presaged in training camp.
20. Tampa Bay (3-5). I don’t see it turning around.
21. Washington (4-4). There’s something about Taylor Heinicke. Teammates love him. Next two weeks—Minnesota, at Philly—will tell everything about whether this team can chase a Wild Card, which seems highly unlikely.
22. Arizona (3-5). One road game in the next 47 days, which would seem to be an edge—until you consider the Cards are 1-4 at home in the last calendar year.
23. Indianapolis (3-4-1). I have no idea how the Colts are alive, but now their fate’s in the hands of the 218th pick in the 2021 draft, Sam Ehlinger.
24. Las Vegas (2-5). I’m stunned to have the Raiders this high, frankly. But I just can’t believe how bad they’re playing, and I think they’ve got to be better with a Jacksonville-Indianapolis-Denver stretch starting Sunday in Florida.
25. Denver (3-5). One half cannot fix a season. But the second half in London was something close to the way Nathaniel Hackett thought his offense and defense would play. Let’s see if they come back after the bye, in Nashville, and show they’re not playing out the string.
26. Pittsburgh (2-6). Last four losses have come to teams that are a combined 16 over .500. Don’t love the Steelers, but like them more than most of the teams in this nether region.
27. Chicago (3-5). The Monday night stunner in Foxboro was certainly a hopeful sign, and an indication that there should be 10 designed runs in every week’s gameplan for Justin Fields.
28. Carolina (2-6). Two players should not be traded: D.J. Moore, Brian Burns. Otherwise, augmenting a 2023 draft that’s already strong (six picks in the first four rounds) should be a high priority. Interesting how hard they’re playing for Steve Wilks, though.
Lost sheep in the pasture of life:
29. Jacksonville (2-6). Second half of this season has to be about consistency for the franchise quarterback. That has been lacking, notably, for Trevor Lawrence, capped by a ridiculous interception on first-and-goal from the Denver one-yard line Sunday in London.
30. Cleveland (2-5). “Hold the fort till Deshaun gets back” was the mantra in August. “Never planned on giving up 27 points a game” has been the reality.
31. Detroit (1-6). The highest-scoring team in football through four weeks then scored six points total in its next two games. Lions gonna lion.
32. Houston (1-5-1). Lost to Malik Willis Sunday. But look on the bright side: Astros are in the World Series. Maybe no one will notice.
My midseason awards:
MVP: 1 Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo. 2 Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia. 3 Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City. 4 Geno Smith, QB, Seattle. 5 Saquon Barkley, RB, N.Y. Giants.
Allen, best player on the best team having his best season, beat the former MVP and Super Bowl winner (Mahomes) on his turf in week six (“Josh Allen feels impossible to play against,” the former Kansas City tackle, Mitchell Schwartz, tweeted Sunday night. Schwartz is right.). Hurts is terrific week in and week out and edges Mahomes for the second spot. Smith is heroic, and if the Seahawks win the NFC West with a strong record, he should be in the discussion, for sure.
Coach: 1 Brian Daboll, N.Y. Giants. 2 Nick Sirianni, Philadelphia. 3 Kevin O’Connell, Minnesota. 4 Mike Vrabel, Tennessee. 5 Robert Saleh, N.Y. Jets.
Last time the Giants were better than competent was 10 years and eight months ago, when they waltzed into Indianapolis and beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Daboll might be the modern-day Parcells. He and his coaches have schemed a team with C talent to play at a B-plus level for two months, even including the 14-point loss at Seattle Sunday.
Offensive Player: Same as MVP.
I hate this category. For those who say, “Give it to the best non-quarterback,” I say: It’s not called Offensive Player of the Year Who Is Not a Quarterback. And Saquon Barkley is not having a better year than Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes. So there we are.
Offensive Rookie: 1 Kenneth Walker, RB, Seattle. 2 Dameon Pierce, RB, Houston. 3 Chris Olave, WR, New Orleans. 4 Drake London, WR, Atlanta. 5 Robert Hainsey, C, Tampa Bay.
Walker’s been sensational recently, exploding for runs of 69, 34 and 74 in consecutive October games. Looks like one of the two strong rookie backs unless Chris Olave goes big in the second half.
Defensive Player: 1 Micah Parsons, edge, Dallas. 2 Aaron Donald, DT, L.A. Rams. 3 Matt Milano, LB, Buffalo. 4 Dexter Lawrence, DT, N.Y. Giants. 5 Von Miller, edge, Buffalo.
So many candidates, and I left off some great ones—Quinnen Williams, Maxx Crosby, Patrick Surtain II, Chris Jones. Parsons strikes me as the most impactful defender of the first half, the player who does the most to keep offensive coordinators up at night, with eight sacks and at least four near-misses for more.
Defensive Rookie: 1 Sauce Gardner, CB, N.Y. Jets. 2 Jaquan Brisker, S, Chicago. 3 Aidan Hutchinson, Edge, Detroit. 4 Jack Jones, CB, New England. 5 Kyler Gordon, CB, Chicago.
Gardner’s been as good as anyone could have foreseen, allowing 43 percent completions and a 51.1 passer rating in coverage through the first seven weeks, per PFF. What’s cool about him is nothing—not facing Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, not seeing Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill against Miami—is too big.
Executive: 1 Howie Roseman, GM, Philadelphia. 2 John Schneider, GM, Seattle. 3 Joe Schoen, GM, N.Y. Giants. 4 Joe Douglas, GM, N.Y. Jets. 5 Brandon Beane, GM, Buffalo.
Roseman’s trade for A.J. Brown and draft of Jordan Davis on the same day last April made this a good year to begin with, and that’s before considering the addition of four defensive starters—linebackers Kyzir White and Haason Redick and corner James Bradberry in free-agency, and corner-turned-safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson in trade. |
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