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Pittsburgh Steelers
“It was a struggle. I didn’t really feel anybody blink or any guys operating away from the problem,” mentioned Mike Tomlin with a glad snarl after the Steelers dispatched the LA Chargers on Sunday.
Tomlin has solid a workforce anticipated to battle into the leaders of the AFC North. He may have discovered a franchise quarterback in Justin Fields, who’s rising in confidence. His athleticism can also be serving to enhance offensive manufacturing, so the workforce’s scales aren’t tipped so violently towards TJ Watt and the Steelers protection. The Steelers outgained the Chargers on the bottom – a key victory that noticed LA’s JK Dobbins shut down from a powerful 10 yards per carry heading into the sport to solely three in Pittsburgh – with Fields contributing a speeding landing. But it surely was within the passing sport the place Fields’s quickness and velocity of thought lifted Pittsburgh. Towards LA’s blitz, Fields went 8 for 9 for 119 yards and a landing with no turnover-worthy performs.
Up subsequent are a juicy succession of 1-2 groups: the Colts, Cowboys and Raiders. Beginning with Indianapolis, the Steelers needs to be assured of roaring to 4-0 because the matchup seems very fairly from Pittsburgh’s perspective. Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has the operating energy in Najee Harris and Fields to punish a Colts protection conceding 179 yards per sport on the bottom. Watt will even be assured he can harass Indy’s quarterback Anthony Richardson into persevering with a droop stuffed with errors and missed throws.
Inexperienced Bay Packers
The arrow is pointing up for sturdy protection giving groups an edge in 2024. The remaining unbeaten groups – Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Kansas Metropolis, Buffalo and Seattle – present that overwhelming drive, left-field innovation and/or enjoying two excessive safeties might be pivotal.
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One other workforce snapping at that group’s heels are the surging Packers. Reward is due for Matt LaFleur’s reinvention of Malik Willis right into a practical quarterback. However much more credit score needs to be heaped on the numbers Jeff Hafley’s protection is placing up.
Inexperienced Bay are the premier defensive playmakers within the NFL, main whole turnovers (9) and turnover differential (+7). The takeaways have come at an excellent clip too, with three in every sport, and the Packers have already matched their interception depend from final season with seven.
Xavier McKinney has three of these. The protection was picked up from the Giants as a Swiss Military knife for Hafley to maneuver round at will as a way to continually change what an offense is seeing. Thus far this aggressive method is working. McKinney has lined up at sturdy security, publish security, linebacker and even on the line of defense. Inexperienced Bay’s move rush is working too. Towards the Packers, Jalen Hurts was pressured persistently, Anthony Richardson was pushed to distraction and Will Levis took a whopping eight sacks. A giant consider Sunday’s victory over the Titans was Inexperienced Bay’s enchancment in stopping the run, after conceding greater than 100 yards on the bottom in weeks one and two. Much less speeding (simply 11 makes an attempt and 33 yards) meant extra passing from Levis and much more probabilities for the league’s most opportunistic backfield to money in. It’s trickle-down economics that ought to pay dividends for a run on the postseason.
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The famous person quarterback
Week three was a lower than stellar weekend in a lower than stellar season for an uncomfortable variety of the highest-profile quarterbacks within the NFL. We should always begin with the elephant within the room. The Dallas Cowboys are paying Dak Prescott $231m in assured cash over the subsequent 4 years and are sitting at 1-2 after shoddy output in successive house losses. Does that really feel like good worth? His earth-shattering contract might signify a high-water mark for overpaying. After which there’s Cleveland’s $230m in ensures for Deshaun Watson that represents a dismal failure of team-building – and character – for the 1-2 Browns.
Elsewhere, No 1 total picks are damaging model Huge QB too. Of the 9 lively within the NFL, 5 had been defeated (Caleb Williams, Trevor Lawrence, Joe Burrow, Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield) and two are backups (Bryce Younger and Jameis Winston), leaving solely two to gather a win (Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford). This present crop’s lustre seems to be fading quick as “generational” quarterbacks equivalent to Lawrence and Burrow (each additionally within the mega-money stakes at $200m and $218m assured respectively) are winless with their playoff probabilities already reeling.
Lawrence’s credentials took the extra vital battering on Monday evening. Burrow, no less than, has performed in a Tremendous Bowl and has thrown 5 touchdowns to zero interceptions this season. Sure, Lawrence performs on a flawed Jacksonville workforce. However so does Stafford, who beat the San Francisco 49ers with out elite receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua and 6 offensive linemen out on injured reserve.
Questions needs to be raised over how closely the crown is weighing on Lawrence. The Jags’ choice to quickly rename their stadium “TrEverBank” continues to deliver his shortcomings into higher aid. Forcing Lawrence to be a famous person when, except for his imposing stature, he comes throughout as a modest, reserved determine appears like a plan hatched to pump up the comparatively low market worth of the Jaguars, slightly than to assist their prized asset obtain his potential.
The image grows darker nonetheless with Younger in Carolina. Solely 18 begins into his profession, he already seems unlikely to have a lot of a future with the Panthers. Does he simply not have it or did enduring 14 defeats final season shatter his confidence? The Bears ought to take into account how they deal with their star in gentle of Younger’s struggles. Williams seemed a lot better throwing the ball in opposition to the Colts, and he smashed the Bears’ single sport whole for passing yards by a rookie. The three turnovers nonetheless, one in every of which was a horrible choice on a late throw, had been a lot much less encouraging. Rookie errors are anticipated. However repeated rookie errors throughout a complete season pressured by enjoying behind the Bears’ shoddy offensive line might trigger lasting harm. Chicago had been by no means going to the Tremendous Bowl this yr, so why not have Williams sit behind a veteran he can be taught from (this is able to, in fact, require signing somebody apart from Tyson Bagent)? It labored for Patrick Mahomes.
