Atlanta Falcons
29:20 Victory against the San Francisco 49ers
by Fredix
After starting the season with two losses, the Falcons successfully turned things around in the following weeks. Against the previously undefeated 49ers, they somewhat surprisingly prevailed in an undeniably entertaining game.
Crucial after the early 3:14 deficit were turnovers before (fumble) and after (interception) halftime, which allowed the Falcons four consecutive scoring drives. With the 23 points scored, led by quarterback Michael Penix, who delivered a strong and flawless performance, they turned the game around and, thanks to the Panthers' loss, are now within striking distance of first place in the division, making them our winner of the week.
Carolina Panthers
13:43 Loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
by DM79
For example, the New York Jets, who handed the Miami Dolphins their first win, or the Arizona Cardinals, who managed to make Bo Nix look really good, could also be here. But no team was as off as the Carolina Panthers.
In the 13:43 game, the performance was a multi-organ failure of the entire team. The defense allowed 258 rushing yards, meaning Baker Mayfield, in his comeback after a thumb injury, only had to throw eleven passes for 64 yards (seven completions).
Bryce Young completed only 14 of his 27 pass attempts for 163 yards, throwing one touchdown and two interceptions, and one of his five (!) sacks resulted in a pick-six. With him, week after week, you never know if you're getting Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde.
However, the most symbolic scene was the extra point attempt after Darren Waller's touchdown. Just as it seemed the Panthers might turn things around, with Young finding Waller for 50 yards in the endzone, the subsequent extra point attempt by Ryan Fitzgerald was blocked by Tykee Smith and returned by Zyon McCollum across the entire field into the Panthers' endzone for two points. This is how even a touchdown becomes a success for the opponent.
By halftime, the game was practically decided at 6:33, and instead of confirming their strong performances against the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles, securing a win against a division rival, and capitalizing on the Saints' loss, they have (as every year) made the NFC South exciting again.
J.J. McCarthy (Quarterback, New York Giants)
27:21 Overtime Victory against the Houston Texans (20/28, 252 Passing Yards, 1 Rushing Yard)
by DM79
Again, several players put themselves forward for this accolade, such as Michael Penix Jr., who significantly contributed to the Atlanta Falcons' victory over the 49ers with three TD passes, or Jaxon Smith-Njigba with his nine receptions for 150 yards, a touchdown, and 60 yards after the catch.
However, I chose J.J. McCarthy because, in his second game and against the Texans – one of the NFL's best defenses – he delivered a remarkable performance. As the starting QB for the N.Y. Giants – a position he earned last week in the close loss against the New Orleans Saints with 243 yards in the fourth quarter – he gained 99 yards in the first quarter alone, including two long passes of 42 yards to Malik Nabers and 47 yards to Malachi Fields.
He already harmonizes very well with Nabers, especially in his first two starts. Although no touchdown pass appears in his stats at the end, this should not diminish his contribution to the success.
He put the Giants in position with his passes, and the running game, along with the perfect combination with Jameis Winston for the tush pushes, provided the points and thus the important victory, allowing them to remain the only team with a positive record leading the NFC East.
In the end, his stat line was 20/28 passes for 252 yards with 0 TDs, but also zero interceptions.
If he continues like this, he will most likely not displace Jaxson Dart, but he will certainly recommend himself for a starting position with another team, and perhaps he will have a similar Cinderella story as others before him. It wouldn't be particularly unusual for a QB who was with the Vikings…
Patrick Mahomes (Quarterback, Kansas City Chiefs)
3:20 Loss against the Seattle Seahawks (19 of 33 passes, 165 Yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT)
by Fredix
Mahomes stands here as a representative for the Chiefs' offense, which failed to get going either on the ground or through the air.
Admittedly, the Seahawks are an opponent with a very good defense, and Mahomes was also missing one or two receiving options. But a total of only 213 yards is a negative record for the Chiefs in the regular season with Mahomes as quarterback.
Not a single play reached the red zone, which has not happened with Mahomes before; no pass over 20 yards and no run over 10 yards, something that hasn't happened even with Andy Reid as the Chiefs' head coach.
Even superstars like Mahomes have a bad day sometimes, and this game was one of the worst of his career, an occurrence that happens to him very rarely, if at all.
Caleb Douglas (Wide Receiver, Miami Dolphins)
28:25 Victory against the New York Jets (2 Receptions, 70 Receiving Yards, 2 Touchdowns)
by DM79
I chose one of my Dolphins this week, as opportunities to write something positive about this team won't come often this season.
Caleb Douglas was drafted at position 75, coming from Texas Tech, and Matt Winston (then the Dolphins' Director of College Scouting) already stated back then that he possessed the athleticism, physicality, and speed they desired in a wide receiver for the new system.
While he will certainly need to continue to confirm performances like the one against the Jets in the future, it shows that good players don't always require 1st-round picks (see, for example, Puka Nacua, who was drafted as the 177th overall pick).
Upon his return after a three-game injury layoff, he caught only two passes from Malik Willis, but they were significant. The first one, for seven yards, gave the Dolphins a 7:0 lead and thus his first touchdown of his rookie season, but even more importantly, it was the first lead the Dolphins had all season (on Week 7!!).
As New York seemed to be finding their rhythm in the final quarter, he turned a short pass from Malik Willis into a 63-yard touchdown run, acrobatically staying in bounds.
You still have to score two touchdowns from three targets and two receptions, and the second TD ultimately made the difference, as that lead held until the end.
Other rookie wide receivers like KC Concepcion (Browns) or Omar Cooper Jr. (Jets) could also have made a strong case, but in a weak offense like that of the Dolphins, such performances – especially when they are game-deciding – count even more.
85.2
by Fredix
Brian Flores' Minnesota Vikings defense is known for frequently blitzing opposing quarterbacks, but against the Indianapolis Colts, this was taken to a new level: QB Daniel Jones was blitzed on 85.2% of dropbacks, including his game-ending interception by Harrison Smith.
This incredibly high blitz rate is the highest since 2016, when data began to be recorded.
In any case, success proves Flores and the Vikings right; they are the only remaining undefeated team. Flores has elevated the risk of sending more pass rushers at the expense of pass coverage into an art form and constantly pressures opposing quarterbacks by creating confusion in the opposing offense with creative blitz packages, making it unclear who is blitzing and who is not.
DM79:
Nuances:
In elite sports, it's often about nuances; these decide whether fans in the live chat or the next day's article speak of a world-class performance, or if the player is cursed, deemed overrated, and quickly labeled a miscast.
As an example, I'd like to use the Patriots' Thursday Night Game against the Chicago Bears (though other examples like Packers vs. Lions would also have fit). Among other things, it was the showdown between the 2024 Draft's Number 1 pick, Caleb Williams, and the Number 3 pick, Drake Maye.
If one compares their statistics, they lean more towards Williams, firstly because the Bears ultimately won, but also because he had no interceptions.
However, when placed side-by-side, one must admit that Maye's 321 yards, which led to two passing and one self-scored rushing touchdown (a 77.4% completion rating), would often be enough to win a game – but then there was the interception in the Bears' endzone with the score at 7:13, when Maye tried to pass to Eli Raridon but was intercepted by Bears linebacker D’Marco Jackson. The Bears then completed the ensuing 70-yard drive with a TD, extending their lead instead of falling behind.
But it becomes even more apparent when looking at the Bears and especially two of their key players. Caleb Williams completed 22 of 33 pass attempts (66.7%) for 308 yards and two passing touchdowns; he scored no rushing touchdown, but also threw no interception.
However, if we look at the fourth quarter, there were two drives I want to highlight. In the first, there was a 3rd & 11 from their own 13-yard line. Christian Elliss got to Williams at the 1-yard line but couldn't bring him down decisively, and Williams not only escaped but also found Rome Odunze for 21 yards, keeping the drive alive. At the end of this play, Kicker Santos attempted a 53-yard field goal, which was missed (Doink) and led to calls for his dismissal in the DAZN live chat.
The Patriots, however, quickly punted the ball away again, and the Bears engineered an almost identical drive, including a 3rd & 9 from their own 10-yard line at the start, into Pats territory. At the end of the drive, it initially looked like a relatively easy field goal until Williams was sacked. This led to a 58-yard field goal attempt (a career-high for Santos), which he made right down the middle, extending the lead to 30:21.
About 30 minutes later, he received one of four match balls from coach Ben Johnson; had he missed, he would have been seen as a loser by everyone, and if the Pats had completed their drive with a TD at 27:21, the loss would have been attributed to Williams (because of the sack) and especially Santos. Thus, these nuances led to the win. It's very close at the absolute top.
Fredix:
The Salary Cap:
The salary cap is intended to ensure that the league becomes more balanced and that no single team dominates it. Unlike, for example, European club football, a wealthy club should not be able to buy a star-studded ensemble. This is well-known, and a salary cap also exists in other major US sports leagues with the exception of MLB, and by and large, the system works, right?
Well, yes, but: It's a complex topic, and other aspects, such as the short schedule or the distribution of centrally marketed league revenues in combination with the cap, seem equally important for a balanced league.
The fewer games there are in the regular season, the more important the outcome of each individual game. In a single playoff game, individual plays are more crucial than in a best-of series, and the outcome of the season or playoffs becomes harder to predict. Also, good management, scouting, and player development are probably more important than a salary cap and independent of it.
So what does the salary cap achieve? It is an important building block, alongside a high proportion of centrally marketed league revenues. The latter alone would hardly be sufficient. However, the cap also protects teams from themselves and from exploding salary costs by preventing them from outbidding each other indiscriminately. In other words, it guarantees teams their profit, regardless of how successful or unsuccessful they are, because the revenue split is approximately 50/50, meaning, simply put: each team and its owner receives as much each year as all the team's players combined.
A look beyond the obvious to MLB underscores this function of a salary cap: While the differences within that league are very large, and the payroll strongly correlates with sporting success, this year, two teams are facing each other in the championship series that are found in the lower half of the league in terms of player salaries, and both were already the best teams in the regular season.
Yes, on one hand an exception, on the other hand: The Collective Bargaining Agreement is expiring, and if it were up to the teams, a salary cap would be implemented. The players' union, contrary to what one might assume, is against it, and a lockout even seems possible. So, the salary cap is in the interest of the teams and their owners, not the players.
Would I prefer a league without a cap? No, probably not; it certainly has its justification. I also enjoy engaging with the topic, and recently I've been fascinated by the fact that there isn't just one purpose or perspective, and the comparison with MLB and the positions of teams/league and players/player unions has opened up a new, previously unknown view on the subject for me.
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