Five weeks into the season, the NFC East looms over the rest of the NFL. There are six teams with one or zero losses, and three of them reside in the division that sent the 7-9 champion to the playoffs two years ago.
The Philadelphia Eagles are the only undefeated team to survive a comeback attempt by Keeler Murray in Arizona. The New York Giants tied their overall win last year with London’s upset at Green Bay. The Dallas Cowboys have won four in a row after an opening loss with Copper Rush to Dak Prescott at quarterback. The leaders of Washington… well, now they have a name.
This is what you need to know.
The NFL needs to make trade austerity reviewable. Three minutes before the end of the game and the Atlanta Falcons led 21-15, Grady Jarrett burst into the corner and Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady fell to the ground in third place, rolling over him without additional malice or excessive physicality. . And it looked like the Hawks would get the ball back with a chance to lead to win the game, to complete an angry comeback after falling 21-0 early in the fourth quarter.
And so he learned. Jarrett was called in by Jerome Boger’s team to manhandle bystanders, which was unnerving and infuriating. Jarrett couldn’t have done any more than he did to prevent Brady’s injury. The call allowed the Pirates to banish the game and steal the Falcons’ chance for a team-changing victory.
This moment provided a prime example of why bystander fear should be reviewable. Protecting midfielders is good for the health of the league, and restrictive rules are smart. They are also difficult to legislate. When Jarrett jumped to his feet, he probably looked, in real time, on the field, like he was putting his full weight on Brady. Watching the 20 second video will fix the error.
It would be easy to ensure that midfielders are protected through the rule while also ensuring that there are no serious game-defining penalties. One did it on Sunday and ruined what could have been one of the most exciting finishes of the day.
The crime of the gloomy rams. One of the sequences in Los Angeles’ 22-10 loss to the Cowboys symbolizes the incompetence of the Rams’ offense. Late in the third quarter, the Rams took control of Dallas’ 29-yard rush after a grueling kickoff. They tried a trick game that didn’t work. They returned 10 yards with a penalty. Matthew Stafford threw a 1-yard spike to Allen Robinson, then a 5-yard pass to Robinson. On fourth and fourth, Matt Gay missed a 51-yard field goal.
Remember when Sean McVeigh put LA at the forefront of offensive football? Those days seem like a long time ago. The Rams’ offense consists of short passes to Cooper Cope and Drake. Kupp converted a short screen into a 75-yard touchdown on Sunday, and they still have just 10 points. Injuries along his offensive line made it impossible to contain Micah Parsons and the rest of the Cowboys’ fearsome Front Seven. With Odell Beckham Jr. a free agent in rehab and Van Jefferson injured, the Rams have no viable skill players outside of Cobb. Robinson was surprisingly dumbfounded, unable to develop chemistry with Stafford and looking less explosive than he had in Chicago.
It should come as no surprise that rams lack depth. His strategy of sacrificing cloud-like star options is rightly celebrated; The Lombardy Cup at its facilities is not going anywhere. But it also makes recruiting mistakes more punishable. Last year, the Rams used the 57th pick on fast wide receiver Tutu Atwell. Atwell had a 54-yard gain against the Cowboys, but he’s a tool player at best and mostly a non-factor.
When Ramez chose Atwell, Amon Ra Saint Brown was on the board. But the Rams don’t even need a star. They just need a skillful player, like Nico Collins or Josh Palmer, two other receivers who were available when the Rams took Atwell. All teams miss the draft, but come close without the high-volume, high-quality picks.
Zack Taylor chose poorly. In two ways, poor game management cost the Cincinnati Bengals a chance to win a tight, stellar game before a 43-yarder Justin Tucker gave the Ravens a 19-17 win and a lead in the game. North Asia on Sunday night in Baltimore.
The Bengals could have leveled the score late in the third quarter, but Taylor opted to score the fourth and shoot from a 2-yard run when trailing 13-10. At that location, a field goal for the Bengals would have insured a worst-case goal when they got the ball back. That spot on the field also negated some of the Ravens’ defensive weaknesses: The Bengals couldn’t get Patrick Quinn into space, for example, or rely on the box defense for a quick finish. And Joe Burrow doesn’t pose a goal-line threat like the mobile midfielder does. Taylor called for the condemned shovel pass that he had no chance.
The Ravens kicked up a field to climb six, at which point the Bengals responded with an epic drive. Maybe it was too epic. At some point in his long 13-game journey, Taylor seemed to realize that he was going to have a chance to run out the clock. But the ravens had all their feces, and the flares were running out of field. Really, his stubbornness was only making it easier for the crows to kill the clock before they got the upper hand. When Burrow lost a one-point lead, the Ravens were in the perfect position: They had Lamar Jackson against a tired defense and the best player in NFL history. Tucker’s kick passed without time.
This can be very challenging: the Bengals scored less than two minutes before moving on down the road. But coaches must consider every last detail. The pace of the Bengals’ lead mattered as much, if not more, than the result. It cost them.
The Vikings dominate the NFC North. Minnesota didn’t play like the dominant team, racking up close wins over central opponents in three straight weeks. But the Vikings took their record to 4-1 and, more importantly, 3-0 in the division.
The Vikings’ strength contrasts with the capricious Packers, who exploited a 17-3 lead in London against the Giants on Sunday. Aaron Rodgers said after last week’s overtime win over the New England Patriots 27-24 that the Packers’ success was not sustainable. He was right on Sunday, when his team made big mistakes, he couldn’t finish driving in the second half and couldn’t stop the race.
The locker room after the game included some disturbing comments. Rodgers chided cornerback Jair Alexander for saying he would only be worried if the Packers lost next week; In Rodgers’ mind, “showing” the theoretical loss is harmful. Running back Aaron Jones seemed to question coach Matt LaFleur’s last-minute call, as the players passed twice when they needed a yard to keep the lead alive.
Broncos in rough and uncharted waters. Within weeks, the excitement surrounding the acquisition of the star midfielder and young offensive coach turned into boos from home fans, or they simply walked off the field. Russell Wilson was one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL. He coached Nathaniel Hackett as a father on vacation trying to order a printed menu in a language he doesn’t speak. The Broncos are the second-lowest scoring team in the NFL and are lucky to be 2-3 with a tough schedule ahead of them.
What will happen next? Given the unprecedented nature of the situation, nothing can be taken off the table. The Broncos have new owners, the Walton-Penner family, who haven’t traded Wilson or signed Hackett. No one knows how they tend to deal with unpleasant returns.
The Broncos are five games into Wilson’s $245 million contract, and he’s already playing like he’s on the verge of decline. ESPN reported that Wilson was playing through a shoulder injury and received an injection Friday to treat it. Unless the Broncos turn things around, it will be great to see the repercussions.
The Giants proved that training is important. The most surprising team of the day is also the most surprising team of the first five weeks. The Giants stunned the Packers in London, 27-22, behind another strong performance by Sacon Barkley’s renewed return. They improved to 4-1, matching their win total from last season for Joe Judge in Brian Dabol’s sophomore year.
The Giants benefited from setbacks by Rodgers, including a third sack that put them out of reach early in the third quarter. They dominated the ball with Barkley, who deserves early consideration as the offensive player of the year.
Daboll has changed a lot in Giants, but his influence is most evident in the mods he makes to the game. The Giants outnumbered their opponent 70-39 in the second half.
The Patriots coaching staff also had a great day. Bill Belichick continued his years-long habit of making Jared Goff’s life miserable. Belichick frustrated Goff four years ago in the Super Bowl with a game plan that Goff has yet to recover from. In the Patriots’ 29-0 win on Sunday, Gauff’s deceptively strong season (he entered the NFL third in passing yards) came to an abrupt halt. He completed 19 of 35 passes for 229 yards with an interception and felt safety Kyle Dugger score and return 59 yards for a touchdown.
As for the attack, Belichick’s top lieutenants, Matt Patricia and Judge, received justifiable criticism. But they deserve credit for setting up fourth-round pick Bailey Zappy in his first start. Getting into the game comfortably from the front helped, but Zappe was 17 of 21 for 188 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Gnu Smith makes the Seahawks look great. Seattle lost, 39-32, in New Orleans, but that wasn’t Smith’s fault. The quarterback continued his stellar season with 268 yards and three unopposed touchdowns.
Smith is one of the best stories of the season. A second round draft pick in 2013, he has been on the reserve since 2015. He is best known as the midfielder who lost his job when one of his teammates broke his jaw due to a financial dispute. But the Seahawks turned to him after trading Wilson, a move many interpreted as coach Pete Carroll using 2022 to reset the roster.
Within five weeks, Smith was one of the best passers in the NFL. He completed 75.2 percent of his shots and averaged 261 yards while recording nine touchdowns to just two interceptions. Going into this week’s entry, Pro Football Focus ranked Smith as the best quarterback in the NFL. He was better than Wilson in every way, and he wasn’t even close.
The Seahawks had two first-round picks and two second-round picks when they tackled Wilson, and it didn’t cost them anything in between. Whether it’s good luck or a great rating, it works great.
