It seems that more than half of the league is still in contention for a playoff position. Heading into “Monday Night FootballThe Kansas City Chiefs are not included in this week’s coverage. We won’t cover the Kansas City Chiefs who are off this week or Philadelphia Eagles or Green Bay Packers who do not play until Monday, we don’t know anything about them yet. Takeaways are available for all 17 teams. We’ll talk about the lessons we learned. Some are broad and others are specific.
Jonathan Taylor could be an alien. Taylor ran 32 times against the Falcons for 244 yard and three touchdowns. He seemed to have the entire offensive on his back throughout the game, leading the Colts’ win in Germany over the Falcons. Taylor ran a season’s-long touchdown run (for any football player) of 83 yards to give Indianapolis the lead, and then scored the game winning score from eight yards. He is now leading the league with over 200 yards of rushing, and almost 400 ahead of the second-closest player. Even if he isn’t the favorite, he’s still in the running for MVP.
It’s not as impressive as it seems. The Broncos barely managed to win a game against the Las Vegas Raiders last Thursday. The combined record (Titans vs. Eagles vs. Jets & Giants vs. Cowboys & Texans versus Raiders et al) of all the teams they beat this year is a paltry 23-48-1. CBS Sports’ research indicates that this is the lowest strength of victory of any 8-2 team or better since the Raiders of 2000. Only Philadelphia is above.500 and it was a double digit comeback that won the game. The defense has been excellent. The offense is not good and the team has been aided by a ridiculously easy schedule.
TreVeyon is here. In this game, the explosive rookie runningback scored from 55 yards out and 69 yard out. He now has 38 runs for 277 yards with two scores in his last three matches, including two starts. During this time, he added five receptions of 35 yards. He is up to 5.3 yard per carry for the season. This puts him far ahead of Rhamondre Steveson, who has been less effective. The genie is out of the bottle.
When the defence is in good health, it is an entirely different animal. How much difference does it make to have both front and back line players in the lineup? Seahawks defense ended the Cardinals game before it even started with two strip-sack touchdowns. The second quarter had barely begun when the Seahawks scored their first score. Seahawks’ defense has allowed just 16.8 average points per game. This includes the Buccaneers game where they arrived injured. The Seahawks are terrorizing quarterbacks, forcing turnovers and only allowing run games in garbage time.
Matthew Stafford is at his highest level in his career. Stafford has 25 touchdowns, two interceptions and is completing 67.1% (or 7.9 yards) of his passes. He is leading the league for passing yards per match. He became the first ever quarterback to throw at least four touchdowns in three consecutive games and no interceptions. He is throwing ropes of ice everywhere. He layers the ball on the field, to Puka Ncua and Davante Admason as well as all four tight ends. In several sportsbooks, he’s the favorite to win MVP. He’s completely locked in.
When Justin Herbert isn’t in Superman mode, they can win. They won this match against the Steelers thanks to a strong defense (221 yards total, 11 first-downs, 10 goals, three takeaways), and some good running. Herbert had a bad night with an average of less than seven yards per attempt, and he took five sacks. They still won. It’s likely that they will have to deal the issues with the offensive lines for the rest the season. However, when the defense is as good as it was on Sunday night, the team can overcome a poor offensive performance.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3)They need their injured player back. Mike Evans and Bucky Irvin can’t return fast enough. Bucs offense did not do much against Patriots until late in the game. Tampa accumulated 115 out of 371 yards, despite being down by multiple scores. It’s also possible that the defense will be vulnerable to large plays. Kyle Williams scored a catch-and run touchdown in the opening quarter. TreVeyon hddenson made two huge runs, from Patriots’ territory to the end zone. When you play as aggressively and as often as the Bucs have, it can happen. But be on guard.
The run defense is still a major problem. Bills’ run defense is one of the league’s worst this season. According to Pro-Sports, they’ve allowed an average of 5.5 yard per carry, ranking second worst in the NFL.Football-Reference. Dolphins clocked 197 yards against them. This was the fourth time that they were hit with 185 or more yards, which is a cause for concern. This is especially true with some defensive players still on the sidelines.
Dan Campbell knows how to dial it up. Campbell took the reins from John Morton as offensive coordinator in this game. The Lions played both efficiently and explosively throughout. Campbell did an excellent job getting the ball to the Lions’ playmakers, including Jameson Williams who was a forgotten player for most of this season. TruMedia says that Sunday’s match against the Commanders was, in the end, the second-best offensive game of the Campbell era, based on EPA. According to TruMedia, the game was ranked sixth in terms of success rates. This is out of 77 games. It’s safe to say that this was a great move, at least for a week.
Caleb Williams has a much better grasp of the pocket. Williams’ 4.6% sack rate is less than half what it was in the previous year when he had a league leading 68 sacks. He evaded the Giants’ pressure repeatedly, and in particular, his scrambles added tremendous value. TruMedia reports that he ran downfield on 41.7% pressure dropbacks. He ran for 64 yards, and scored the game-winning touchdown, against New York. Williams’ throwing was not the best due to several dropped balls, but he made up for it with his ability to run and extend plays.
It’s possible that the injuries to defense will be too much for us to overcome. They are without Nick Bosa and Fred Warner and have lost Mykel Williams and Yetur Gross-Matos. The Rams offensive machine ripped them apart on Sunday. The Niners gave up 401 yard, 31 first-downs, and 42 points against their division rivals. They looked as if they had no chance of stopping them. Injuries will hold them back against quality opponents despite a softer schedule in the coming weeks.
Pittsburgh Steelers (5-4-4)The offense has a stumbling start to the stretch run. The Steelers totaled 221 and 225 yards in the two last weeks against the Chargers and Colts. Four times they have combined to turn the ball over. In any game this season, they haven’t had more than 20 first-downs. The team has yet to pass for more than 249 yards. Only the Jets’, Bengals’ and possibly the Colts’ defenses have they looked legit. And in one of those games they lost. It’s a big problem.
Early-season defensive play was a mirage. Since the Jags stopped forcing more than three turnovers per match, teams have been able to move the football and score against them quite easily. In three of their four last games, they have given up more than 28 points, including 36 against the Davis Mills led Texans. They did, however, still manage to get two turnovers against Houston.
We don’t have to take them serious. It is not serious to lose wire-to-wire by the Saints, who are in a sorry state. The Panthers may have had a few nice victories and Rico Dowdle has the ability to run on anyone, but pass offense is still a major issue in the NFL.
Houston Texans (5-5)Woody Marks will be the new starting running back. Marks outsnapped Nick Chubb on Sunday 60-10, leaving him in the dust. Marks was the starter for the first time in the game and took all snaps on the first drive. According to Pro, he played 80.8% snaps on early downs and 70% of third-downs. Football Focus. He had 14 carries, 63 yards with a touchdown. He also caught two passes for 18 yard. He is the one to watch moving forward.
J.J. McCarthy continues to be a work in process. McCarthy’s potential breakout was discussed a lot after last week’s three touchdown game against the Lions. McCarthy averaged only 5.7 yard per throw in the Lions game. He was more aggressive in his throwing on Sunday and got 200 yards, but also had two interceptions. His average yardage per throw was only 5.9 yards. He did reduce the number of sacks he took and threw to Jalen Nilor for Jalen’s touchdown. However, there is still room for improvement.
Baltimore Ravens (5-4)They are going to win AFC North. Baltimore is just one game back of Pittsburgh. They have two more games to play against them and have a considerably easier schedule. The Ravens are in good shape to have six straight wins and be leading their division when they face the Steelers during Week 14. The Ravens have won three straight games and will face the Browns Jets and Bengals in the next three weeks, while the Steelers are facing the Bengals Bears and Bills.
2025-11-10 19:36:27
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