Around the NFL; Thoughts, Notes and Quotes From all 32 Teams

Let’s take a quick look at interesting tidbits from around the NFL:

Arizona Cardinals: After beating the Bears and Jets by a combined score of 60-15 just a few weeks ago, the Cards have dropped three straight to fall to 6-7.  Could their playoff hopes be slipping away?

Atlanta Falcons: Should Michael Penix be warming up in the Atlanta bullpen?  Kirk Cousins hasn’t throw a touchdown in a month while tossing eight interceptions.

Baltimore Ravens: Rookie tackle Roger Rosengarten is settling in nicely as a pro.  The sack he allowed last week against the Eagles is the only one he has surrendered in his last 203 pass block reps according to PFF.

Buffalo Bills: Josh Allen continues to be one of the best underdog stories in NFL history.  From a player many viewed as a sure bust due to accuracy issues in college, he accounted for six TD’s (3 passing, 3 rushing) this week.  Another MVP type of season for Allen.

Carolina Panthers: Has Adam Thielen dipped his toe in the fountain of youth?  After failing to reach even 60 yards in a game this season, the vet receiver had 102 this week and 99 the week before.

Chicago Bears: Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams has lost a total of 377 yards on 56 sacks.  The record is 489 by Randall Cunningham back in 1986.

Cincinnati Bengals: Despite being one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, Joe Burrow’s career record is just four games over .500 at 34-30.

Cleveland Browns: Since dealing Amari Cooper to the Bills, former New York Jets receiver Elijah Moore has seen an uptick in targets and production, but his consistency varies wildly.  Prior to the deal he had eclipsed 40 receiving yards just once all season.  Since then he’s had games of 66, 85 and 111 yards.  However, they’ve been mixed in with games of just 21, 28 and 34 yards.

Dallas Cowboys: One silver lining to an otherwise disastrous season in Dallas?  The Cowboys may have found a solid running back in Rico Dowdle who has averaged 4.8 yards per rush on 152 carries.

Denver Broncos: Since being held to just ten points in their 10-9 win over the Jets, the Broncos have put up 28 or more points six times.  Three of those have come in each of the past three weeks.

Detroit Lions: Could Detroit be losing defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to the Jets this off-season?  On the latest episode of his flight deck podcast, Rich Cimini of ESPN New York said Glenn told him two seasons ago that the Jets would be his “dream job”.

Green Bay Packers: Rookie offensive tackle Rasheed Walker, a seventh-round draft choice (250th overall) out of Penn State, has been an absolute steal for the Packers.  He has allowed just two sacks on 434 pass block reps this season.

Houston Texans: Sophomore QB CJ Stroud has seen a dip in production this season which should come as little surprise.  Having lost several key receivers for extended periods of time, his performance has still managed to complete 63.3% of his passes to go along with 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Indianapolis Colts: Having gone 2-4 over the past six games, the Colts have a chance to finish strong.  Three of their final four games are against some of the worst teams in the league in the Titans, Giants and Jaguars.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The Jags will face off in a pivotal contest this week against the Jets as both teams sit at 3-10.  The winner of this game will drop several spots in the draft.

Kansas City Chiefs: They just win.  Doesn’t matter who, what, when, where or why.  They just find a way.

Las Vegas Raiders: It seems opposing defenses have finally found a way to slow down rookie tight end Brock Bowers; just force all of the Raiders QB’s to go on injured reserve.  That Bowers may hit 1,000 yards playing with Gardner Minshew, Aiden O’ Connell and Desmond Ridder under center is miraculous.

Los Angeles Chargers: It looks as if second-year linebacker Daiyan Henley is the real deal.  The former Washington State linebacker has already racked up 122 tackles  and is among the NFL’s best cover linebackers.

Los Angeles Rams: Credit the Rams for finding a way to get the job done in terrible conditions this week against the 49ers.  Even an ugly 12-6 win counts in the standings.

Miami Dolphins: The reaction from Dolphins fans after adding Odell Beckham this offseason felt a little bit off.  It seemed some believed he was the Beckham of six or seven years ago.  In reality, did nothing for Miami and was let go this week.

Minnesota Vikings: Sam Darnold just keeps on keepin’ on.  With four games left, Darnold already hit career highs in touchdown passes (28) and yards (3,299).  Minnesota can’t let him hit free agency, can they?

New England Patriots: The Pats don’t have a lot of talent, but they have a young stud QB in Drake Maye, which means they’re a lot closer to being contenders than they were just a few months ago.

New Orleans Saints: With Derek Carr injured, second year QB Jake Haener gets his first career start this week.  We loved his game at Fresno State so it’ll be interesting to see how he does in his first real action.

New York Giants: This team’s quarterback situation is so bad that going the rest of the way without an offensive touchdown would not be a surprise.

New York Jets: With cornerbacks DJ Reed and Brandin Echols hurt this week, might we see rookie Qwan’tez Stiggers get his first NFL start?  We’re also hoping to see recent addition Jaylin Simpson who played both safety and corner for Auburn before being drafted by the Colts this season.

Philadelphia Eagles: This team is a juggernaut right now.  Former Jets offensive lineman Mekhi Becton has been a key piece in paving the way for Saquon Barkley who has a very real shot at winning the MVP this season.  With four games remaining on the season, Barkley has a shot at the 2,000 yard mark as he sits at 1,623 today.

Pittsburgh Steelers: What an incredible story Russell Wilson has become.  Just a few years ago, Nate Hackett had the world convinced that Wilson’s career over.  Under Hackett, Wilson threw just 16 touchdowns to 11 interceptions with a career low 60.5% completion percentage.  Since working with NFL level coaches from that point onward, Wilson has 38 TD passes to 11 picks with a jump in completion percentage to 65%.

San Francisco 49ers: While the internet seems to be buzzing with the possibility of the 49ers moving on from Kyle Shanahan, it just seems such an impossibly dumb move would take place.

Seattle Seahawks: While DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett saw most of Seattle’s targets early on this season, Jaxon Smith-Njigba has emerged in recent weeks as the team’s top receiver.  In fact, Smith-Njigba is fifth in the NFL in receiving yards over the past six weeks (five games) with 523 yards and 4 touchdowns.  Those numbers make JSN one of just three receivers who have averaged over 100 yards per game during that stretch.  The others being Ja’Marr Chase and Jerry Jeudy.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Baker Mayfield gets tons of credit for how well the Buccaneers offense has been playing, but have you noticed the depth in their backfield?  Bucky Irving and Rachaad White get the bulk of the carries and are averaging 5.4 and 4.2 yards per carry respectively.  Third string back Sean Tucker has 33 carries for 236 yards and checks in at 7.2 yards per rush.

Tennessee Titans: Dropping a 10-6 decision to the Jacksonville Jaguars this past Sunday is a low point this season for the Titans.  Tied with the Jets at 3-10, Gang Green fans will be pulling for Tennessee to find a way to pull out a win between now and week 18.

Washington Commanders: Add Dan Quinn to the list of coaches who got a second shot and seems to have learned some lessons after being fired from his last gig.  The retread coach has the Commanders sitting at 8-5.

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