Packers coming on, NFL power rankings, Cowboys issues and more
The Green Bay Packers are getting decent quarterback play, but it’s a good defense and a punishing ground game carrying the day.
Aaron Rodgers isn’t playing close to his highest level. The Packers allowed 563 yards on Sunday. Matt LaFleur is a rookie head coach still finding his way.
Oh, Green Bay is 4-1 and has a legitimate claim as the NFC’s top dog.
The Packers took down the Dallas Cowboys at JerryWorld on Sunday, 34-24. At one point late in the third quarter, Green Bay led 31-3 and the large contingent of fans clad in green and gold made it feel like a home game. For the folks who made the trip, the saw their contender beat another one in an emphatic statement.
Green Bay was able to force three Dak Prescott interceptions while chewing up almost 37 minutes in time of possession. The defense allowed Prescott and Co. back into the game late, but the game had already been largely decided.
Most importantly, it wasn’t Rodgers who beat Dallas with a magic show. Magic shows are fun, but by nature, a gigantic illusion. There’s not enough substance. On Sunday, the two-time MVP threw for 238 yard and zero touchdowns, averaging seven yards per attempt. It was a mundane day for a great player who has been having many mundane days this season. It hasn’t mattered, chiefly because Rodgers finally has a complete team around him for the first time in a decade.
Against the Cowboys, Aaron Jones rushed for 107 yards and scored four times. The defense consistently provided short fields and made splash plays, putting Dallas in a hole which it never fully recovered from.
Now, the Packers head home for a pair of games against the Detroit Lions and Oakland Raiders. While Detroit has played legitimate football, it’s fair to say Green Bay should win both before a Sunday night affair at Arrowhead Stadium with the Kansas City Chiefs.
While LaFleur deserves a bevy of credit for revamping the offensive approach, general manager Brian Gutekunst has been the silent hero. Gutekunst practically rebuilt an aging, declining defense from scratch over the past few years. In 2018, he traded back in the first round and still managed to select corner Jaire Alexander in the first, and then his counterpart Josh Jackson in the second.
This spring, Gutekunst landed edge rusher Rashan Gary and safety Darnell Savage, who is playing across from free-agent pickup Adrian Amos. That secondary is behind an addition pair of pass-rushers in Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith, two signings which have been fruitful for Green Bay in the early going.
To make a Super Bowl run, the Packers do need to figure a few things out. The offense has curbed significantly in the second half. The run defense has been vulnerable between the tackles. Rodgers, while it’s great for Green Bay to thrive without his brilliance, will eventually need it. These points are all real.
What’s also real is the Packers are 4-1 with a ton of room for improvement. It’s a damn fine place to be in early October.
Power rankings
10 stars who need to be better for their contending teams
1. Jared Goff, QB, Los Angeles Rams
2. Kirk Cousins, QB, Minnesota Vikings
3. Sony Michel, RB, New England Patriots
4. Baker Mayfield, QB, Cleveland Browns
5. Frank Clark, DE, Kansas City Chiefs
6. Carson Wentz, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
7. Joey Bosa, DE, Los Angeles Chargers
8. Laremy Tunsil, OT, Houston Texans
9. Eric Ebron, TE, Indianapolis Colts
10. Marcus Mariota, QB, Tennessee Titans
Quotable
"“The snap is good, the ball is down, the kick is up, the kick is good! Break out the bowties. This one is for Mr. B! Cardinals win it, 26-23. The first win of the Kliff Kingsbury era.”"
– Arizona Cardinals radio announcer Dave Pasch calling the team’s win in the aftermath of owner Bill Bidwell passing away.
Arizona beat the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, vaulting it from the ranks of the winless. The win is memorable for a variety of reasons, all eloquently touched on by Pasch in his call of the game-winning field goal.
Podcast
Random stat
The Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles are the only teams with a 4,000-yard single-season passer.
Info learned this week
1. Cowboys don’t have reason to panic after loss to Pack
Dallas was 3-0. Now its 3-2. The difference? Competition level and offensive execution.
The Cowboys beat up on the New York Giants, Washington Redskins and Miami Dolphins. Then came the New Orleans Saints and a 12-10 loss. This weekend, a sound defeat at home to Green Bay, made close with a fourth-quarter barrage.
Too little, too late. The Cowboys are 3-2 and their lead in the NFC East has evaporated.
So should Jerry Jones and Co. be worried? Yes, but not panicked. After being a juggernaut for three games, quarterback Dak Prescott has been decidedly average over the past two. The splits?
First three games: 925 yards, nine TDs and two INTs
Last two games: 223 yards, two TDs and four INTs
The chunk plays have been there. The decision-making has not. Past performance tells us Prescott is a not a turnover machine and isn’t likely to become one.
The defense is also playing well, even while allowing 34 points to Green Bay. The Packers only notched 335 yards. They were largely aided by the trio Prescott turnovers, holding the ball for almost 37 minutes. The Packers only averaged 5.2 yards per play.
Dallas can’t be happy after losing to a pair of contenders. Still, there are ample reasons to believe the Cowboys have better days ahead.
2. Raiders show moxie, maturity in win over Bears
It’s easy to look at the Oakland Raiders beating the Chicago Bears and wonder what’s wrong with Chicago. It’s wiser to give credit to the Raiders.
Leading 17-0 at halftime, it appeared Oakland would cruise to an upset win in London. Then, Derek Carr tossed an errant pitch to Josh Jacobs. The Bears recovered in the Raiders’ red zone, scored, and minutes later led 21-17. Oakland responded with a long drive that resulted in a fumble at the goal line. After another stop, the Raiders drove 97 yards for the game-winning score before intercepting Chase Daniel to end the game.
The stats aren’t eye-popping, but the poise was. The Raiders haven’t had much success in recent years. Everything was unraveling. Carr stepped up and made plays, the defense held time and again, and Jon Gruden’s club is suddenly 3-2 going into the bye.
3. Teddy Bridgewater is raising his stock with each game
The New Orleans Saints appear to be the NFC’s best. Even with Teddy Bridgewater.
After serving as a caretaker in his first two starts this season — wins over the Seattle Seahawks and Cowboys — Bridgewater stepped up in Sunday’s 31-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 2014 first-round pick threw for 314 yards and four touchdowns, leading New Orleans to a 4-1 start.
Once Drew Brees returns in a few weeks, Bridgewater will return to the bench. Yet Bridgewater is earning a nice contract come this offseason, a pending unrestricted free agent at 27 years old.
The Saints are not only staying afloat with Bridgewater, they’re thriving. He’ll do the same in six months.
4. Pats’ offense needs to improve down the stretch
The Patriots are deserved Super Bowl favorites, but the offense is cause for concern after another uneven showing in Washington.
Ultimately, New England posted 33 points. The box score says all is well. The tape shows a team struggling to keep pockets clean and open running lanes despite playing a creampuff schedule. In the first half, the Patriots scored 12 points with three coming on a turnover in the Redskins’ red zone. An earlier turnover at Washington’s 11-yard line resulted in Tom Brady heaving an ugly interception at the goal line.
The issues are aplenty. Fullback James Develin being placed on Injured Reserve is a significant loss. He’s the lead blocker and a willing pass-catcher. His absence is criminally understated. The Patriots are also without left tackle Isaiah Wynn (IR) and center David Andrews, who is out for the season. Those problems are both evident and mounting.
To this point, the Patriots have played the Pittsburgh Steelers, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills and Redskins. Those teams are a combined 5-18, with Buffalo owning four of the wins.
History says New England figures everything out. Still, the offense remains a worry until further notice.
5. Ravens survive against Steelers, but issues are showing
Baltimore must be relieved. It shouldn’t breathe too easily.
The Ravens snapped a two-game losing streak with a 26-23 overtime victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Justin Tucker tied and then won the game on a pair of hair-raising field goals, putting Baltimore at 3-2 before a home date with the Bengals on Sunday.
Still, there are problems in Charm City. The Ravens lost Pro Bowl safety Tony Jefferson for the year with a torn ACL. The loss is crushing for a unit built on its secondary, allowing coordinator Wink Martindale to blitz consistently. Additionally, the Ravens allowed 500 yards in each of its prior two games, and then needed a last-minute Lamar Jackson drive –and a very questionable roughing the passer call — to avoid losing to the duo of Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges.
Speaking of Jackson, he was awful as a passer on Sunday. After a pair of underwhelming showings in Baltimore’s defeats, Jackson completed 19-of-28 for 161 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions. Ugly.
The Ravens are in the mix. If they don’t improve on both sides of the ball, though, they’ll fall out of the race.
History lesson
John Fox and Dan Reeves share a distinction both are likely simultaneously proud of, and would like to forget.
Both head coaches are the only men in NFL history to reach Super Bowls with multiple clubs and never win a ring. While Bud Grant (Minnesota Vikings) and Marv Levy (Buffalo Bills) each made a bevy of trips and came up short, all eight of their combined failures were each with one team.
Fox lost Super Bowl XXXVIII with the Carolina Panthers before losing a decade later with the Denver Broncos. Dan Reeves also lost with Denver — three times in fact — before getting back to Super Sunday in 1998. There, his Atlanta Falcons to… the Broncos.
Parting shot
Unhappy with your team’s current quarterback situation? Give it a few months.
Before next season, the following starting quarterbacks are scheduled for free agency: Dak Prescott, Philip Rivers, Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota, Tom Brady and Drew Brees.
While most of those names are assuredly staying put, what to make of Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota? Winston is improving under new head coach Bruce Arians, while Mariota continues to flounder with the Titans.
Then there’s Teddy Bridgewater. Bridgewater is discussed above, but he should this year’s version of Nick Foles. Not game-breaking, but a quality player with upside. He’ll have suitors.
Speaking of Foles, there are a group of notables who could be changing uniforms … or retiring. Foles is due $22 million against the cap next season (and $53.875 million over the following two), but with Gardner Minshew impressing in Jacksonville, the Jaguars may look to move on.
In that same gaggle, what happens to Cam Newton in Carolina? The Panthers surely could use his talent under center, but the injuries are piling up. Stacking The Box co-host Geoff Schwartz, a teammate of Newton’s during his rookie year, believes retirement could be in the offing.
In Cincinnati, Andy Dalton is a great bet to turning in his stripes after this rough year with the Bengals. Only 31 years old, he could get another starting gig.
Then there’s Eli Manning and Josh Rosen. One in the twilight of his career, the other hoping to have a few decades ahead. Is Manning willing to play as a stopgap or backup, or does he ride off? Rosen has two cheap years left on his rookie deal, but his future is anything but bright with the Dolphins.
Finally, the incoming crop of rookies is a loaded class. Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert are surefire first-round picks. Joe Burrow (LSU), Jalen Hurts (Oklahoma), Jake Fromm (Georgia) and Jordan Love (Utah State) are possibilities as well.
A whopping 18 quarterbacks are named above. Save your money for a new jersey.