As the calendar moves to November, we’ve reached a point in the season where it becomes more realistic to project some portions of the playoff picture. There will be plenty of that and more in this week’s All-22!
- Despite a loss to the Lions last week, it seems the Packers are turning the corner after a win against the Panthers on the short week. Certainly the hot seat talk about Matt LaFleur that followed struggles in the first month of the season has gone away. And now it sounds like their best player will be back sooner rather than later.
- Internet discourse that continued from Thursday night basically until the Election Day polls opened yesterday morning showed that the reasons to predominantly go for two in certain situations are still horribly misunderstood and resented. I wrote about that recently.
- The Cowboys have shown yet again that they can’t put teams away as effectively as they should be able to. A primary issue is simply taking their foot off the gas, a habit which has plagued their head coaches for roughly two decades now.
- All 32 head coaches have made it through this point of the season, but several are on the hot seat as we head into the second half. With the latest disappointing collapse, Brian Schottenheimer has added himself to this list, alongside the other most obvious candidates, such as Todd Bowles, Aaron Glenn, and Shane Steichen.
- It seemed a bit strange to many when the Cardinals drafted Jeremiyah Love with the third overall pick just a few week after signing Tyler Allgeier to a contract worth over $6 million per year. After injuries to Love and Bam Knight, Allgeier finally got the chance to give Arizona a return on their investment, and he didn’t disappoint. If that performance is any indication of what he can do in that offense, they will have an incredibly deep stable of running backs who can combine for to do a lot of damage. More on another team in that situation later.
- Baker Mayfield’s return from injury seemed to be the only thing that might have a chance to save Tampa Bay’s season, but as it turns out, they’ve hardly needed him so far. The last two weeks have included a truly hilarious run-pass disparity, with 14 pass attempts (62 total passing yards) and 105 rushing attempts (582 yards). While not sustainable in the slightest, especially with non-divisional opponents coming up, it’s too much of anomaly in the 21st Century to ignore.
- Yet another Lamar Jackson injury has ruined and potentially even ended his season. With a murky contract situation, his future in Baltimore has begun to be questioned. He’s clearly the most accomplished quarterback the Ravens have ever had, and he’s going to be a Hall of Famer. But whether he returns to the team next year or not, these injuries are going to be an unavoidable and unfortunate part of his legacy.
- While it would be nice to simply wish Jackson the best on his recovery and move on, the fact of the matter is that there are real implications that come from his latest injury beyond just his personal health. While this may seem mildly insignificant, one comes in the realm of fantasy football. Many who have Jackson on their team have been treading water, waiting for him to get back from the injury that preceded this one, and he represented their best chance to win down the stretch and make the playoffs. Then he provided zero points before leaving again after one play. I know this because I suffered from such a fate in one fantasy league I’m in and benefitted from playng such an opponent in another league. Regardless of this week’s result, though, anybody with Jackson who will be making the playoffs is going to need another plan at quarterback to get them to a championship.
- In much more important matters, peripheral AFC playoff contenders were seeing their hopes dwindle, but without Jackson, it’s hard to see the Ravens making the playoffs, particularly with AFC North games remaining and a short week matchup against Jacksonville coming up next. While the current standing would reflect the need for one more team to stumble (the most vulnerable candidates seem to be the Patriots, Steelers, and Bengals), the Browns, Raiders, and even Texans have more hope now than they did when it was expected that Jackson would finish out the season and take Baltimore to the playoffs.
- It was nice to see the Raiders pull out another win and their skid. While the playoffs are still a long shot, they have some hope, and the exciting brand of football they’ve played was at least rewarded with a win, whether they make it or not.
- I saw no life from the Colts on Sunday. Teams know when their playoff hopes are fundamentally ruined, their roster is being gutted for assets, and their coach is on the chopping block. This team clearly does. And they’re not the only team; I’ll address another such situation further down.
- The Bengals continued their unfortunate habit of playing down to weaker opponents, which didn’t cost them this week but easily could down the line, particularly if one of the aforementioned peripherals gets hot. Of course, they’ve shown they’re capable of playing up as well as down, but it would be encouraging to see them take care of business more definitively against teams they’re heavily favored to beat.
- The bubble finally burst for the Vikings, who had been winning every week despite lackluster offensive performances. Many things are still right in Minnesota, and it would be a surprise if they didn’t make the playoffs. But Kyler Murray has yet to look like a good fit, and they’re going to be a prime upset candidate if that doesn’t change.
- I would be remiss while addressing this game not to extend best wishes to Jack Campbell on a quick and effective recovery from his devastating neck injury sustained Sunday. We all love this game, but every once in a while, there’s a scary reminder of how dangerous it can be.
- Anyone familiar with my writing here will likely have noticed that I try not to be overly harsh in any criticism I offer, but it can only be put plainly at this point: there’s no excuse for a quarterback as talented and proven as Justin Herbert to be playing this badly. I don’t know if it’s coaching, work ethic, or an injury that’s not being disclosed. But something has to change.
- The Broncos are 6-2, but the eye test has been far less impressive than that. There’s been little to excite or to inspire confidence from anything we’ve seen thus far, and yet they’ve won 75% of their games. In a way, it’s much like last year, though the narrow victories have been less exciting. Still, they’re poised to be a playoff team, and last year’s team was one freak accident away from the Super Bowl. They could scrape their way to the end this season without such an incident, though multiple AFC contenders have looked much better this season than last.
- Emmett Johnson has been a revelation. And he can do everything, despite how much he profiled as a standard runner when he was drafted. He’s an excellent receiver, both out of the backfield and when aligned as one. He makes plays on both sides of the ball on special teams, too.
- Johnson has been good enough to justify being a feature back, but While Ken Walker III has been excellent for most of the season as the clear top dog. When Brashard Smith returns from injury, the three will be a versatile and explosive trio. Andy Reid has had success with such before, and it should be incredibly fun and interesting to see how they are utilized.
- Not unlike the Bengals, the Patriots need to put away bad teams a little more effectively; a comeback shouldn’t have been necessary against the Dolphins. While they’ve proven they belong among the contenders, the argument that they benefitted far too much from winning with a soft schedule last year is showing some merit.
- Like the Colts, the Eagles seem to know their season is finished. They didn’t show much heart in general on Sunday night, and when they had to stop a two-point conversion to stay within two possessions late, it didn’t look like they were even trying to stop Austin Ekeler from putting the game away.
- The Bears re-announced themselves as serious NFC contenders on Monday night, showing impressive stuff on both sides of the ball against the defending champs. With Caleb Williams and the rest of the team getting healthier, they’re getting rolling, too. And they’re going to be a tough out against anyone in the playoffs.
- Specifically, the Bears saw their defense elevated by the addition of Jeffery Simmons, who’s already looking like a worthwhile investment. He disrupted the Seahawks offense constantly, even against an offensive interior that just made a big addition in their own right by trading for Quenton Nelson.
We’re in for another interesting weekend ahead, and should see constant developments in most of these storylines as the season progresses on.
