Early indicators: Offenses on march
Pressure on defensive units as points piling up
Tony Dungy seemed to be in pain during NBC’s pregame show Sunday night when he pleaded: “Play some fundamental defense, please.”
Sorry Tony, not this season. At least not yet.
Oh, the Rams and Giants didn’t make the scoreboard explode in the 17-9 Rams victory. The Colts, who Dungy led to a Super Bowl title, and the Bears did their parts as the Colts won 19-11. That’s two out of 11 afternoon games, and with both the Giants and Bears, it was ineptitude on offense more than stingy defense that kept the numbers sane.
Otherwise, it was a points free for all — again.
“We can score points when we need to,” said Browns QB Baker Mayfield after a 49-38 road win over the Cowboys.
Much of the Week 4 scoreboard had winning scores beginning with a 3 and totals beginning with a 5. Or a 6. Or, in Browns-Cowboys, an 8 — as in 87 as the Browns won 49-38.
The Seahawks beat the Dolphins 31-23 in Miami. The Seahawks have scored 30 or more points in four consecutive games for the first time since 2015.
The Browns (3-1) brought in Kevin Stefanski to bolster their offense and change their culture. The Browns’ new coach has unleashed a dynamic, if inconsistent, attack on three opponents who have combined for a total of three wins.
“We are four games into this,” he said. “We are finding different ways to win, which I think is important because there are some really good opponents out there and they run different styles of defense. We are going to have to attack them in different ways.”
Different ways, same ways, offenses are running rampant.
“We have said that it is pick your poison on what you want to defend,” Mayfield added.
There’s even some aged poison for defenses out there: a couple of forty-something QBs named Brady and Brees who tore apart the Chargers and Lions, respectively.
Despite a pick six, the Bucs’ Tom Brady threw for 369 yards and five TDs to five receivers. Drew Brees saw his Saints fall behind 14-0 before leading them to five straight TDs.
The Bills, a defense-first team in recent years, have scored at least 27 points every game and 30 or more the last three outings, all victories.
“You watch Buffalo’s offense, they do a lot,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said after his team lost to the Bills 30-23. “The quarterback (Josh Allen) can complete passes left-handed. The guy’s a beast standing back there. They got a pretty good attack.”
Boosting many of those proficient attacks are some pitiful defenses. Yes, it makes for excitement, humongous stats and lots of happy fantasy football players. It doesn’t make for impressive football, unless you prefer the flag type of game.
The Cowboys allowed a franchiserecord 307 yards rushing in the loss to the Browns and became the first team since the Raiders in 2012 to allow 38 or more points three games in a row in the same season.
“The points are outrageous, the time of possession is totally lopsided, and we’re minus-7 in the turnover ratio,” new Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said. “That’s not a winning formula.”
Not even in flag football, Mike.