Are the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback-proof?
During the Mike Tomlin era in Pittsburgh, the Steelers have never finished with a record below .500. In recent years, the teams constructed didn’t seem destined to keep this streak alive, yet they did every time. This year’s squad seemed like the team to do it, with the quarterback options being Russell Wilson coming off a dreadful two-year stint in Denver and Justin Fields, who never found traction to start his professional career.
With Wilson, who was the projected starter all preseason, being ruled out the first six weeks, Fields was announced as the top guy in Pittsburgh. In those six games, Fields played arguably his best football, leading the Steelers to a 4-2 record, throwing for 66.3 completion percentage and totaling 10 touchdowns.
Once Wilson became healthy, he took over the QB duties, leading Pittsburgh to consecutive victories against the New York Jets and Giants. Wilson has looked like the player he was in Seattle, throwing for over 260 yards and contributing two touchdowns in each game, while also not committing any turnovers.
Though Pittsburgh is yet to play any divisional games, they only need three more wins (or two wins and a tie) to secure the 18th consecutive season above .500. With the recent acquisition of Mike Williams, Pittsburgh seems to be one step closer to keeping the streak alive.
Is the 2024 NFC North the greatest division of all time?
If you were to say that the NFC North was the best division in football a few seasons ago, people would’ve thought you were crazy. However, this season the division has a chance to go down as the greatest in NFL history with the pace it’s on. The Lions, Packers and Viking are all at least three games above .500 currently, with the last place Bears sitting with a 4-4 record.
With a combined win percentage of .697 through nine weeks, the NFC North is 41 points higher than the 2013 NFC West and 2007 AFC South for the best division in a single season.
The biggest factor the rest of the way will be the teams’ ability to win games outside the division, as no NFC North team has played more than two games within the division. However, with Jared Goff leading Detroit’s offense, the best scoring offense in football, Sam Darnold having a breakout season in Minnesota, Green Bay winning by any means necessary and Caleb Williams showing flashes of the superstar Chicago saw in him, it is definitely an obtainable achievement for the division.
Is this the best team Washington has ever had?
The Washington Commanders have been one of the most mediocre franchises in the NFL for the last decade, having just two seasons with a winning record. Following a catastrophic 2023 season, the Commanders earned the second overall pick, selecting LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, after a Heisman winning season. Though he was expected to become a star for the franchise, it wasn’t anticipated by many that it would be this year.
After a week one loss to the Buccaneers, the Commanders are 7-1 since then, with the only loss coming to the reigning MVP Lamar Jackson by one score. Daniels has led this Washington offense to becoming top three in yards and points per game. Wide receiver Terry McLaurin has finally found the connection with a quarterback that had eluded him to begin his career. Third-year running back Brian Robinson Jr. has produced at his best rate, due to Daniels’ ability to open up the offense.
Defensively, the team is middle of the pack, but just significantly boosted their secondary, acquiring cornerback Marshon Lattimore.
Though Daniels has been exceptional, he can’t take all the credit as head coach Dan Quinn and coordinators Kliff Kingsbury and Joe Whitt have rejuvenated a seemingly dead Washington team. This is the first time Washington has started 7-2 in nearly three decades. The Commanders have a favorable schedule the remainder of the season and with the franchise single season win record being 15, it isn’t totally outlandish to say this season’s Washington team could make history.
Are the Chiefs inevitable?
The Chiefs have been the best franchise in football since drafting Patrick Mahomes, having a 12-win advantage over the next best team. The franchise’s success is completely due to his play, winning 2 MVP awards and the 2018 Offensive Player of the Year award, leading Kansas City to four Super Bowls, winning three and taking the Super Bowl MVP each year they won.
However, this season has been different from years past. Mahomes is having a “bad” season, at least for his standards. Yet, Kansas City is undefeated. In none of the previous seasons of the Mahomes era has Kansas City been unbeaten by the time the calendar turned to November. Not to mention that the offense has been without running back Isiah Pacheco since week two and is without Rashee Rice for the rest of the season.
Now, they have replaced those holes with Kareem Hunt and DeAndre Hopkins, while “old reliable” Travis Kelce remains Mahomes’ go-to target.
Still, it’s inconceivable that Kansas City could be unbeaten this deep into the season. No team has won three consecutive Super Bowls, but the way Kansas City is trending, that statement won’t stand much longer.
Will Tua be the next NFL star to have his career cut short?
Since being drafted, Tua Tagovailoa has crafted a solid career, when he has managed to stay on the field. Health has always been something to hinder the southpaw quarterback, even dating back to college. His final collegiate game, Tagovailoa was removed with a dislocated hip.
Since debuting, he has missed 10 games, including Miami’s 2022 Wild Card game. During the 2022 season, Tagovailoa would suffer two concussions throughout the season. After a healthy 2023 season, injuries weren’t really on the forefront of many minds for Tagovailoa.
However, he would suffer a concussion in Miami’s week two loss to the Buffalo Bills, landing him on the IR for four weeks. While Tagovailoa has come back and looked decent since returning, it still begs if one more concussion will force him into an early retirement. In 2020, we saw seven-time Pro Bowl linebacker Luke Kuechly hang his cleats up due to the concussions he’d suffered. Could Tua be the next player to call it a career early?
Could Derrick Henry set the single-season rushing yards record?
After a down 2023 season, running back Derrick Henry departed from Tennessee and joined the run-heavy Baltimore Ravens offense, in hopes of a resurgence. That move has worked wonders for the ninth year star.
Henry has nearly eclipsed his yardage and scoring totals from a season ago, with half of the season remaining, moving the mindset from bettering last season’s numbers to setting a NFL record. Henry is almost exactly halfway to the record with eight games remaining. Henry will need to average about 131.6 rushing yards per game to tie the record.
However, in Henry’s 2020 Offensive Player of the Year season, he finished fifth in single-season rushing yards. Through nine games this season, Henry is ahead of his pace from 2020 by over 100 yards.
The only two things that could derail Henry’s chase for history is injury, which ended a 2021 season bound to set the record, and quarterback Lamar Jackson taking too many rushing opportunities away from him.
Are the Dallas Cowboys closer to a rebuild than a championship?
The Cowboys have had a winning record in four of the last six seasons, making the playoffs each of those seasons. And though they make the playoffs frequently, they haven’t felt like a threat in those seasons.
It feels that Dallas is growing further away from a Super Bowl. The offense replaced Tony Pollard with Ezekiel Elliott, whose numbers have been steadily declining. Besides CeeDee Lamb, the receiving corps is lackluster. Now, with quarterback Dak Prescott expected to miss significant time with a hamstring injury, the offense will only get worse.
As for the defense, they rank 31st in points per game allowed and 27th in yards per game allowed. Though star linebacker Micah Parsons is due to return this week, that only does so much for a miserable defense.
Dallas seems dead in the water at 3-5, with only one divisional game played, a gritty win against a much worse Giants team. With Parsons’ free agency coming up after next season, Dallas seemingly handcuffed with limited cap space and a few veterans hitting the open market at the conclusion of this season, Dallas doesn’t have a direction at the moment and are seemingly drifting farther away from a championship caliber team.
Is Kirk Cousins what Atlanta’s been needing?
For three consecutive drafts, the Falcons used a first round pick drafted offensive weapons: Kyle Pitts in 2021, Drake London in 2022 and Bijan Robinson in 2023. Though all three are ultra talented, the production from each hasn’t fully transferred to the NFL.
Atlanta had four different starting quarterbacks in that time: an aging Matt Ryan, Marcus Mariota passed his prime, low ceiling prospect Desmond Ridder and journeyman Taylor Heinicke. In those three seasons, Atlanta finished 7-10 each time.
Enter Kirk Cousins, one of the NFL’s best passers. With the addition of the veteran QB, each of the aforementioned weapons are on pace to exceed their totals from last season by a decent margin. Even Darnell Mooney, who underwhelmed in all but one of his seasons in Chicago is reaping the rewards of Cousins being under center.
Cousins has led Atlanta to a 6-3 record, with a two game lead in the division and has brought back winning football to Atlanta, with Atlanta’s last winning season being in 2017.
When will the Jets rollercoaster end?
After acquiring Aaron Rodgers last offseason, hopes were high in New York. Those hopes quickly evaporated when he tore his achilles on his fourth play as a Jet. Rodgers returned healthy this season and once again, hopes were high. After losing to the 49ers, the Jets took two games and seemed to be on the right track for a playoff berth.
What proceeded was two losses, the firing of head coach Robert Salah, another loss, the acquisition of Rodgers’ former favorite target Davante Adams and then two more losses.
Finally, the Jets were able to secure a win over the Texans, one which saw the offense be blanked until the second half. While that second half saw three straight touchdown passes, New York hasn’t played consistent football this season and needs so many things to go right for a playoff spot to be secured.
Odds are Rodgers is going to return for another season with the Jets and drama is never something that evades a locker room with him in it. Will ownership make the changes necessary to become a legitimate contender, press the rebuild button or send the Jets faithful for another trip on the world’s worst ride?
Is it too early to label the 2023 QB class?
After the 2023 draft, the quarterbacks had high expectations with the talent each of them displayed in college. Bryce Young struggled in his first season in Carolina, Anthony Richardson was injured after four games and Will Levis didn’t play until midseason. C.J. Stroud was phenomenal, winning Offensive Rookie of the Year and helping the Texans win their first playoff game since 2019.
Stroud had MVP-caliber expectations coming into this season, while the other three were expected to take a step forward production wise.
Instead, all four have regressed in a sense. Though Stroud hasn’t been bad, he hasn’t taken that MVP leap. Young was benched after week two, though he’s since returned to the starter role, even winning his third professional game. Richardson threw for a 44.4% completion percentage and was benched in favor of Joe Flacco. Levis has been bothered by a shoulder ailment and has looked atrocious when he’s on the field.
None of these quarterbacks have played more than 30 games in their professional careers, yet it feels that the narrative has been written for at least a couple of them. Only time will tell if this draft class can improve to the expectations that have been set or if the class will be riddled with busts.
All stats are from ESPN as of Nov. 5.
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