MVP After Week 2?
Well, if you listened to the football internet on Friday Morning then we had our unanimous MVP for this season already sorted. Josh Allen was lights out on Thursday night, managing to relegate Jared Goff’s own excellent evening to a mere afterthought. Of course, following the game, football twitter was awash with Allen/Lamar comparisons, with both sides laying out their own arguments for whichever side of the line they stand.
My point in all of this, though, is why? Why do we have to only be able to make an argument for one? We are in an era where we are blessed with an extremely high level of quarterback play, of which Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson stand at the pinnacle (yes with a couple of others). In 10 years, when the two are retired, along with many of their current peers, I have no doubt that we will look back on these years in the same way that we do with Brady, Manning, Rodgers, and Brees. Yes, I am a Ravens fan, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t find admiration and enjoyment for the level of play we are getting currently. If you are determined to enjoy only your team’s play, then you are missing out on a lot that this sport, and your experience, have to offer.
Injuries
Before getting to the games, I need to touch on injuries. I feel awful for Jayden Daniels. He worked so hard last year to come back. We saw in ‘Quarterback’ how his elbow dislocation affected him. To suffer the same injury again is heartbreaking. He seems like such a good guy, life really just isn’t fair at times.
Staying in the NFC, Caleb Williams picking up a hamstring injury was bad luck. Watching him jump away from the tackle, only to see his face as he went down, he knew what had happened. We just have to hope that it isn’t too serious. Reports that he was walking around after the game are promising, but we will have to wait and see (edit – looks like he avoided major injury, we now have to wait and see how quickly he returns). The league is better when its stars are playing.
Defensive Turnarounds
Last year, the Bengals’ Defence was appalling. This year, maybe they really have turned a corner. Yes, the Texans were short-handed, but to hold them to 3 points, having seen that same team put 31 on the Bills, was impressive. That said, it may not have been the most impressive part of the game. That is, of course, reserved for Ja’Marr Chase. It seems that most weeks he makes some sort of ridiculous play and this week was no different. That toe tap touchdown was a thing of beauty. The Bengals look like the real deal through two weeks.
Annoyingly for me, the other Defence that looked really good was the Saints. The Ravens are blooding a new offensive line and that will comewith peaks and troughs. This week was a trough. The pressure was in Lamar’s face quickly and often on Sunday. He was pressured on 39.5% of his dropbacks, and on those passing attempts went 5/9 for 17 yards and an interception, per PFF. Yes, the Ravens were short-handed, but that’s no reason to take anything away from the Saints. It does seem that some Harbaugh holdovers remain, Doyle going away from Derrick Henry in the second half was a break the Saints took full advantage of. It’s a long season, and the Ravens will be fine. The NFC South though, appears to be a two horse race, place your bets now.
Whilst I don’t want to list off every team who played better this week, I do also need to give a nod to the Broncos. After nothing short of a horror show in Week 1, both sides of the ball came out firing, well, after half-time at least. The Broncos Defence did well to limit the Jags to 10 points in the first half, and 13 overall. With the Offense finding its feet in the second half do we finally have the real Broncos back ready to press on, that’d be nice, if only to stop, or at least challenge, a Chiefs march to the AFC West crown.
To Be a Fly on the Wall in the Bucs Locker Room
This was supposed to be Baker’s revenge. To show Cleveland what they could have had. Instead, behind some halfway decent play from Deshaun Watson, the Browns put paid to that. At times it really felt that Baker was a little too hot under the collar. I understand that he plays with a chip on his shoulder the size of a small planet, but this was just not his week. Did the two hour weather break the impetus they were driving with? Who knows, but the Bucs need to forget about this week quickly. Baker played down the revenge angle after the game, and perhaps that’s true. I don’t believe that privately though he believes that. A bad day at the office after last week is highlighted in his stats. In Week 1 he posted an 82.1% completion percentage, down to 61.8% yesterday. He was under pressure early as well on Sunday, an interception and 3 sacks in the first half stunted the bright start the Bucs would have been looking for.
Denzel Boston though! Two weeks, two touchdowns. Whoever the Browns bring in to take over from Watson has certainly got some good young players to work with. All credit to Todd Monken, the second he took the job he was a dead man walking as far as being given any hope of succeeding. I hope he is given more than just this year because he could make these perennial bottom feeders interesting quickly.
On a side note, whilst bringing up former Washington Huskies, I was very happy to see Jonah Coleman get his first NFL touchdown. Nothing much to read into it as part of a bad day for the Broncos running backs but nice to see nonetheless.
Surprise Packages
There was one point in the fourth quarter where the Browns, Titans, and Jets were all winning their matchups. Whilst only one of them managed to hold on, it just makes the point that on any given Sunday, anything can happen. It is still early in the season and every coach/co-ordinator is still working out how they want to fine-tune their units, but nothing can be taken for granted.
Of the 3, the Titans were the most surprising to me. The general consensus was that the Jets had the players to be a better team this year. Even the Browns roster, quarterback aside, is loaded with young talent. The Titans though, appear devoid at a lot of positions. Carnell Tate and Wan’Dale Robinson have done next to nothing so far, combining for 4 receptions and 36 yards yesterday. Whilst they cannot purely lean on Cam Ward, who is going to need some help from his Offense at some point, yesterday will have given the team, and its fans, a little hope going into Week 3.
The Colts also appeared much improved after an abject Week 1 showing. Taking the Chiefs, who were dominant in Week 1, to overtime, on the back of a more effective Offense shows promise. Josh Downs looks to have taken a step, one that may be sorely needed after another injury to Alec Pierce, who re-injured the heel that he had surgery on over the summer.
The Defence though, is clearly still an issue. After giving up 507 yards to the Ravens in Week 1, they gave up 523 yards to the Chiefs at a clip of 6.7 yards per play. They weren’t able to get off the field on long Chiefs’ drives, something that is going to need to change. At their current pace, the Colts would concede 8,755 yards across a 17-game season, comfortably beyond the existing record held by the 2012 Saints. I don’t expect that pace to continue, but it’s a fairly alarming illustration of just how much work this defence has to do. Should the Colts continue to be this porous then they stand to concede 8,755 yards by the end of Week 18, I’d expect things to improve, but who knows, perhaps we are seeing history being made in real time.
One Last Thing – Monday Night Football
Well, that was rather one-sided. After being comfortably beaten by San Francisco in Week 1, the Rams responded by putting 28 points on the Giants and holding them to just six. Matthew Stafford threw for 327 yards and four touchdowns, with Davante Adams accounting for 195 of those yards and two scores. Not bad when you’re missing Puka Nacua. Adams looked every bit the player we’ve watched terrorise defensive backs for years, and Stafford became just the sixth quarterback in NFL history to reach 427 career touchdown passes, moving past Philip Rivers in the process. I know we’re only two weeks in, and I’m certainly not going to declare the Rams fixed after one game, but this was a fairly emphatic response to their opening-week embarrassment.
For the Giants, though, the result almost feels secondary. Jaxson Dart suffered a knee injury on the opening drive, and suddenly a game that promised to tell us a little more about New York’s progress became a rather miserable evening. Jameis Winston came in and completed just 11 of 27 passes for 111 yards, while the Giants managed only 182 yards of total offence. The Rams deserve credit for that, particularly with Aaron Donald making his return, but it’s difficult to draw too many conclusions about New York when their starting quarterback barely featured. Hopefully Dart’s injury isn’t as serious as initially feared. After the injuries we’ve already seen this week, the last thing the league needs is another young quarterback facing an extended spell on the sidelines.
My Sunday
After promising my wife, and myself, that I wouldn’t let a loss piss me off, I was sorely tested yesterday. I can deal with the loss itself, particularly against a Saints team that looks much better than it has in recent years. It was the familiar manner of the loss. I am used to the Ravens throwing away fourth-quarter leads, but I am not desensitised to it. This year was supposed to be different, the start of the next chapter. That a hangover remains shouldn’t be surprising, and I fully expect Jesse Minter and co to pull things together. Yesterday was a reminder that changes don’t work 100% of the time right away.
Perhaps that’s the lesson I need to take from this weekend. I opened by saying we should spend a little less time arguing about which great quarterback we’re allowed to appreciate, and then spent my Sunday letting a Ravens loss get under my skin. Easier said than done, apparently. But there was some brilliant football played this weekend, even if some of it came at Baltimore’s expense. I’m going to try to remember that next Sunday. No promises, mind.
I will be back on Sunday with the next edition of the First Down. As always, if you have read this far, thank you. If you liked it, please do tell your friends and family. If you really liked it, the subscription bar is at the bottom of the home page.
And do yourself a favour, find a recipe for lasagna soup, it is well worth it!