Five Talking Points From Week Six

We’re now a third of the way into the league year. And so far, it has proven to be one of the more unpredictable seasons to date.

In a press conference a few weeks ago, Tom Brady was quoted as saying “there is a lot of average football being played right now” and he’s right. Only three teams appear to be standing above the rest with the Bills, Chiefs and Eagles currently living up to their preseason expectations. As for the rest, well, they range from the good to the bad to the downright awful or an unusual mix of a few.

Consider the Vikings, their record is a very respectable 5-1 but I wouldn’t go so far as to say they’re a good team. Then we have the Rams and Bucs’, two early season favourites who both look lacking in confidence and ideas, both sitting at a very middling 3-3. Then we have the Raiders, who have a terrible record at 1-5 yet still appear to be a good enough team who could turn their season around after the bye week. Somebody make it make sense!

I’m going go and sit in a dark room for a while, whilst I do here are my five talking points from Week Six:

1. Crisis in Green Bay

Firstly, congratulations to the New York Jets. An awesome win away at Lambeau Field takes the team to an impressive 4-2 however, you got some pop last week so let’s get to what is arguably the bigger question. What’s going wrong in Green Bay?

If one thing has been certain in Green Bay over the last 14 years with the team being led by Aaron Rodgers, it’s that the team would have an above average offence. However, failure to invest in the future on that side of the ball over the last ten seasons is now starting to show, as the team has scored its fewest points in s six game stretch (107) since Rodgers has been at the helm.

Green Bay’s offence ranks 24th in points per game and 24th in expected points added (EPA) per play through Week 6 of the 2022 season. They are a sporadic mess that can’t sustain drives and the team is relying on Rodgers to make inch perfect throws in order to generate any explosive plays downfield, where they hope Allen Lazard and rookie receivers Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs can make the difficult, often contested catches. Hardly the recipe for success.

For the last few years, with Davante Adams to rely upon, Rodgers has been able to paper over the cracks and mask the team’s rather bizarre decision to not add further quality out wide. With Adams gone however, that failure is beginning to haunt General Manager Brian Gutekunst and infuriate Rodgers to the point where he this week criticised the offensive play calling in his press conference after this week’s loss.

All is not lost for Green Bay though. The team currently sits at 3-3 for the season and sure, their rookies could take that next step in the coming weeks but with the trade window open, this team would be better served making a statement signing now rather than hoping for something that might never happen.

2. The Zap Attack

There is an old adage within football circles that states “if you have two quarterbacks, then you have none”. I understand its point however, in the modern game, that can simply no longer be the case.

A successful team needs depth at every position, especially the game’s most important one. Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots know that as well as anybody else and as such, we are seeing third choice QB, Bailey Zappe, successfully weather the storm until Mac Jones is able to return.

In his second career start, the rookie fourth-rounder was calm and efficient, trusted in his protection and completed 24 of 34 passes for a total of 309 yards and two touchdowns. Whilst it may well be a surprise to many how well Zappe has played during his brief time in the NFL, perhaps it shouldn’t be.

After all, he set the FBS record for single-season passing touchdowns and single-season passing yardage in his lone season at Western Kentucky after transferring from Houston Baptist. Sure, it’s hardly an elite program but he clearly knows how to sling the ball but with a few weeks worth of first team reps under his belt, coach Belichick clearly liked what he saw from the 23 year old.

Is he going to challenge Jones from the number one spot on the team? I would highly doubt it. But with Zappe playing well under centre, Belichick is under no pressure from New England’s fans or the media, to rush back his number one guy before he is ready. As if Bill cares what anyone else thinks.

3. Dirty Birds Flashing Their Talons

The Arthur Smith led Atlanta Falcons have quietly gone about their business this year but managed to become something of a berserker team in the scrappy NFC South, playing a hard hitting brand of football straight out of a 1985 playbook.

Marcus Mariota had one of his best games as a pro on Sunday against the 49ers. He completed 13 of 14 passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns and ran six times for 50 yards and another touchdown in the 28-14 victory. Against one of the better defences in the NFL — injury-plagued or not — he looked like the quarterback who was drafted No. 2 overall in 2015.

Early in the game, Falcons safety Jaylinn Hawkins scooped up A.J. Terrell’s fumble recovery for a score to take the team to a 14-0 lead. With top cornerbacks Terrell and Casey Hayward forced to leave the game in the second half, Atlanta needed that next man up mentality to hold off the late San Francisco charge.

Replacements Dee Alford, Darren Hall and Isiah Oliver were able to break up plays, record an interception (Oliver) and help the team to force a turnover on downs to preserve the teams lead during the 49ers two possessions in the fourth quarter.

Led by their offseason acquisition at QB of Mariota, the team’s efficient offence is comfortable playing the power running game, whilst the defence gets in the face of its opposition to force mistakes. It might not be pretty, but it gets the job done.

4. Broncos Country, Stop The Ride!

If the answer was Russell Wilson then the question being asked by Denver must have been “which quarterback can we hugely overpay but completely ruin at the same time?”

When Denver signed off on the trade for Wilson back in the early part of the offseason, the Broncos were supposed to be an immediate AFC West contender, heck, many had them as an impactful playoff team. Sadly though for the Mile High faithful, all they have witnessed so far is the rapid decline of a formerly elite level quarterback who looks a mere shadow of his former self.

Whilst Wilson might not be the same player that he was five years ago, it’s hard to imagine such a sudden decline in form in the absence of a major injury and so is Russ really the problem, or is he simply the victim of an overly conservative first time head coach?

Through his first six games as a Bronco, 33-year old Wilson has completed only 58.6 percent of his passes, nearly three percent lower than his worst ever season, resulting in a career-worst 83.4 passer rating in that time. His struggles do coincide with subpar offensive line play and chronic penalty issues but still; the Broncos rank 31st in points per game, 31st in points per drive, 30th in success rate, and 29th in EPA. In almost every conceivable way this offence has been a disaster to behold and there is little to suggest that things will get better in the immediate future.

Nathaniel Hackett has also come under fire for his play-calling in his first six weeks as the Broncos’ head coach. He elected to bizarrely place his team’s Week 1 hopes of victory on a 64-yard field goal and the team has continuously struggled in the red zone.

After losing a second straight overtime game on Monday night to the Los Angeles Chargers to fall to 2-4 on the season, it’s safe to say Wilson and co. haven’t come close to meeting expectations so far.

There is still enough of the season left for the Broncos to be able to turn things around and at least show signs of the team moving in the right direction. That being said, six games could also be enough to tell us that Hackett and Wilson are going to struggle to figure things out if they remain tied to one another.

Russ being set for a possible stint on the sidelines with a hamstring problem might not be the worst thing for the pair as they attempt to make the necessary changes needed to right this rapidly sinking ship. 

5. Allen vs Mahomes Is Money

If the Bills and Kansas City played every week for the rest of the season, I’d watch every game without question. If for no other reason than because the Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes rivalry is the new Tom Brady vs Payton Manning.

It’s almost unbelievable how evenly matched these two teams led by these two superstars are. On Sunday, the Bills had 318 passing yards, and the Chiefs had 319. The two teams have now played five times in the last three seasons. In 300 minutes of regulation, the Chiefs have scored 140 points and the Bills have scored 139.

At the beginning of the year Josh Allen was the clear favourite to win this year’s MVP award and he has been making his claim even stronger as the weeks pass by. Monday night’s performance continued in the same vein as he finished 27-of-40 passing for 329 yards, three TDs and an impressive hurdle of Justin Reid, immediately after which he threw the game winning score to Dawson Knox. If that’s not MVP material then I don’t know what is.

When you watch two greats slug it out, the deciding factor will usually be who will make the fewer mistakes. This time around Mahomes was the one to buckle under the pressure, registering two interceptions for the evening, the second of which sealed victory for the Bills later on in the fourth quarter. Despite those however, the Kansas City QB stood toe-to-toe with Allen finishing with 25-of-40 for 338 yards and two TDs.

This game being played so early in the season is unlikely to define who wins the AFC this time around, that will likely come when the two inevitably meet again in January, but it does give a psychological advantage to one and that’s not something to be scoffed at.