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The NFL world continues to turn at breakneck speed. Two weeks ago it seemed the Jets were on the right track and the Bills were world-beaters — now, in back-to-back weeks, the Jets have struggled to score points while the Bills lost back-to-back games to other (presumed) AFC bluebloods.
One thing that remains consistent: Some kickers just don’t miss…
THAT’S OUR ALL-TIME LEADING SCORER 🫡 pic.twitter.com/BeQo2Wn2So
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) October 6, 2024
The Athletic NFL writers Mike Jones, Ted Nguyen and Dan Pompei share their thoughts on all of these storylines and more.
The Cardinals upset the 49ers in Santa Clara while the Rams and the Seahawks lost at home. How does the NFC West stack up now?
Nguyen: It’s still the 49ers’ division to lose. In two of their three losses, they blew leads late in the game. They always seem to have one rough stretch every season before going on a run. Losing kicker Jake Moody, who was hurt in the first quarter trying to make a tackle, was big on Sunday. It affected how aggressive they had to be because they couldn’t settle for field goals. Luckily for the 49ers, the division-leading Seahawks dropped a game against a bad Giants team on Sunday. San Francisco plays in Seattle on Thursday night in a monster game that could have implications late in the season. Before the season, I thought the Cardinals were a team that wasn’t good enough to truly compete for the NFC West title but they were feisty enough to be a thorn in the side of teams with playoff aspirations — that’s exactly what they were on Sunday. Also, the fact that every team in this division is close right now is buying time for the Rams to get healthy and try to make a run.
Jones: It’s still too early to know. This is going to be a dog fight down the stretch. The 49ers and Seahawks will battle for the divisional crown, but the Rams and Cardinals will scratch and claw to ensure that they do everything in their power to push San Francisco and Seattle. I still believe that by the end of the season, San Francisco will prove itself as the best squad in the NFC West, and Seattle will probably reach the postseason as well. But it’s going to be wild!
Pompei: Ask again Friday morning after the 49ers and Seahawks play — their Thursday night game will be telling. At this point at least, those two are the favorites in the division. It’s no coincidence they both have tough defenses. The 49ers are the most talented team in the division when healthy, and if they get healthier as the season goes on they will be a December force. The Seahawks should contend too. And the Rams are a little like the 49ers in that they could get better as they get healthier.
The Jets were close but, for a second straight week, too uneven offensively to come away with a win. If you’re GM Joe Douglas, do you trade a Day 2 pick (and maybe more) and convince his boss to pay up for Davante Adams?
Nguyen: With Aaron Rodgers’ age and their defense, the Jets have a small window to make some noise. I would trade a Day 2 pick to get Adams. Unless Douglas really doesn’t believe this team has a shot at winning late in the year, he has to make this move. This offense desperately needs another playmaker on the outside. Rodgers got what he wanted with the Jets — in Green Bay, he complained about the motion-heavy, play-action-heavy system. With the Jets, he has a static offense with him at the controls, and without a lot of schematic advantages. They need someone to take the attention away from Garrett Wilson and take defenders out of the box. Adams would do that for them. He won’t solve all their issues but just his gravity would be a force multiplier for this offense.
Jones: Adams isn’t going to fix all of the Jets’ ills. Sure, he’s worth a Day 2 pick, but they’re not one player away. They have protection issues along their offensive line. Their defense struggles to stop the run and is only middle of the road in generating takeaways. And their quarterback is suddenly forcing things and turning the ball over. Adams’ presence could help make Aaron Rodgers more comfortable; having someone opposite Garrett Wilson that can win 1-on-1 matchups would certainly make life easier for any quarterback. In theory, Adams would also add some much-needed explosiveness to a Jets offense that entered this week ranked 29th in the NFL in total yards and 27th in points. But does he suddenly make them elite? I don’t think so. He would probably have a better shot at a Super Bowl if he went to a team like the Ravens.
Pompei: As long as the compensation is not too unreasonable, a trade makes sense. The Jets already made it clear they are all-in when they acquired Tyron Smith and Mike Williams in the offseason, and then traded for Haason Reddick. They should remain all-in and try to take advantage of whatever Rodgers can give them. They have not inspired confidence with their play lately, but the Jets are 2-3 and in second place in the AFC East, just a game back of the 3-2 Bills. The boost Adams could give them — both offensively and emotionally — would be worth the risk.
Somewhat similarly, for Buffalo, is the offense’s regression the past two weeks just a matter of back-to-back road games against good opponents, or is there something more worrisome going on with this Josh Allen-Joe Brady production?
Jones: What’s worrisome is that the Bills decided that Josh Allen was good enough to carry them and shipped off Stefon Diggs and didn’t devote a lot of resources to dramatically upgrading the supporting cast. Yes, they drafted Keon Coleman, but you can’t expect a rookie to fill the shoes of a perennial Pro Bowl wideout in his first season, and far too heavy a load rests on Allen’s shoulders. The Bills’ defense also suffered losses in free agency, and holes went unfilled even though Buffalo’s top competitors in the AFC include elite offenses in Kansas City, Baltimore and Cincinnati. So, the fact that the Bills couldn’t get the job done against playoff teams in back-to-back weeks shouldn’t come as a surprise. This roster doesn’t measure up.
Pompei: The Bills just lost two games on the road against Super Bowl contenders, so we shouldn’t overreact. They remain a contender themselves, but this isn’t a newsflash: They don’t have enough playmakers on offense. The narrative that trading Stefon Diggs could be addition by subtraction was almost certainly misguided. Replacing Diggs with Justin Jefferson, as the Vikings did, was one thing; replacing him with Keon Coleman is another. Maybe it could have been a plus if the Bills replaced him with a similar talent, but they have left Allen without enough receiving options who can get open, make tough catches and be creative with the ball in their hands. It might be this team’s undoing.
Nguyen: It is definitely concerning how inefficient the offense is. They simply don’t have enough weapons. Tight end Dalton Kincaid, who they drafted in the first round last season, hasn’t been the force that they thought he would be. Keon Coleman, who they drafted in the second round this year, could develop eventually but they need him to be a much bigger part of the offense right now. Khalil Shakir is their best receiver but he shouldn’t be in a No. 1 role. Yes, the Bills lost to two contenders on the road, but their goal is to win a Super Bowl and the last two weeks put their biggest issues in the spotlight. Unless Coleman and Kincaid get better fast, Allen might just not have enough help to get him over the hump this season.
Aside from a time machine, is there anything the Cleveland Browns can do to save this season — on either side of the ball?
Pompei: The only thing that could save a season like this for the Browns is a star quarterback. They have one who has lifted his teams before, but this is a different Watson than the younger version, who was transformative for Clemson and later for the Texans. He is part of the problem, not the solution. The solution is likely to be a 2025 first-round draft pick (which may be a very high one), or a veteran acquisition next March. The Browns probably would be best served by turning the page on Watson sooner rather than later. It’s very possible Jameis Winston would at least give them some spark.
Nguyen: They can sit Watson and see what they have in Dorian Thompson-Robinson and pray that he shows out and gives them a glimmer of hope that he can save the franchise. Right now, the franchise’s long-term plan has blown up in their faces, and in spectacular fashion. Watson isn’t just not playing well, he’s playing like one of the worst quarterbacks in the league. The offensive line is in shambles and he isn’t getting a lot of protection, but there are opportunities that Watson is not taking advantage of and he makes the issue worse by holding on to the ball. The defense, which was suppose to carry this team, has regressed and Myles Garrett is dealing with multiple injuries. If the Thompson-Robinson route isn’t the way, their best hope is to sink far enough to get the first pick in the draft.
Jones: The Browns are pretty much screwed. They can’t magically fix their injury-riddled offensive line. They can’t rush Nick Chubb back in his rehab from last year’s devastating knee injury. And they can’t bathe Deshaun Watson in some kind of magic potion to turn him back into an elite quarterback. Watson is a shell of himself; he passed for only 125 yards and a touchdown on 15 of 28 passing on Sunday. Cleveland’s offense was 1-for-13 on third downs. The Browns keep hoping that Watson is going to regain his feel for the game, but he just looks lost. He’s still owed a ton of money, but the Browns need to seriously consider a switch to Jameis Winston to see if he can give their offense a spark. Maybe improved offensive production would help ease pressure on the Browns’ defense. This is a talented unit, but they got gashed for 434 yards by a Commanders offense led by rookie Jayden Daniels, who basically had his way with them, passing for 238 yards and a touchdown and rushing for another 82 yards. In general, there are no obvious season-saving fixes for the Browns.
After a collapse at home against the Ravens, are the Bengals cooked?
Pompei: If any team can come back from a 1-4 start, it’s the Bengals. They did O.K. last year after starting 1-3, and they did okay the year before after starting 2-3. They will have an opportunity to get to 3-4 with two wins against teams that have struggled — the Giants and Browns. Then they can get to .500 with a win over the Eagles. Burrow plays his best when the stakes are highest, and the coaching and personnel are solid. We haven’t heard the last of the Bengals.
Jones: They’re not cooked. That was a painful loss, but the season isn’t lost. There’s still a lot of football left, and the next 12 games feature five divisional games. The immediate stretch includes dates with the hapless New York Giants, the snake-bitten Browns, the disjointed Eagles, the middling Raiders and then a rematch with the Ravens. That means the Bengals could actually improve to 5-4 before they face the Ravens again. Cincinnati’s offense finally appears to have regained its explosiveness. They have topped the 30-point mark in three straight weeks. They just needed a few key stops from their defense in each of the last three games, and they could have emerged with a win or two. Yes, it sounds like coulda-shoulda-woulda. But the fact is, the Bengals still have a legit chance to turn this thing around.
Nguyen: Looking strictly at the 1-4 record, I thought they were very, thoroughly cooked — well-done, crispy, burnt. A 1-4 start is hard to come back from but they have two games in a row against the Browns and Giants before facing off with the struggling Eagles and Raiders at home. If they can take advantage of this stretch, they’ll be back in the race. I’m not sure if this team is good enough to be truly in championship contention but I’m sure they’ll make things interesting toward the end of the season. Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins are too good to be counted completely out, but the defense just isn’t good enough for this team to make a real run.
(Top photo: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)