Contenders reveal some serious flaws
With the NFL’s regular season already through its first eight weeks, many of the top teams have begun to distinguish themselves. Each has things to work on, but the Kansas City Chiefs, Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburgh Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers look like bona fide Super Bowl contenders.
Then comes the next tier of teams: the Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans, Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills, New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams. All appear capable of making playoff runs. But they also have exhibited some alarming weaknesses in recent weeks. Unless corrected, these areas could prove costly.
Here’s a look at some of the potentially fatal flaws for these second-tier teams.
Packers — Run defense
Green Bay certainly opened the season in impressive fashion. Year 2 in Matt LaFleur’s system has rejuvenated Aaron Rodgers and the Packers’ offense has looked unstoppable at times. But so, too, have opposing offenses — particularly their rushing attacks. Teams are finding they can gash Green Bay’s run defense and help keep Rodgers and Co. off the field.
Titans — Pass defense
Tennessee picked up where it left off after last season’s charge to the AFC championship game, opening the year with a 5-0 record. But the Titans have now lost two straight — to the Steelers (no shame) and the Cincinnati Bengals (say what?!).
The Titans have the offense to contend, but they won’t go very far with this pass defense. Tennessee ranks 27th against the pass (268.7 yards allowed per game), with injuries in the secondary playing a part in their struggles but a repeated inability to get to the quarterback playing a larger role.
Ravens — Pass game, discipline
Baltimore suffered yet another loss to a quality opponent, this time falling
to the AFC North-rival Steelers.
As was the case in their loss to the Chiefs in Week 3, the Ravens struggle to consistently execute in the passing game.
Lamar Jackson rushed throws and made poor decisions, throwing two interceptions and losing two fumbles. Meanwhile, his receivers struggle to win one-on-one matchups.
Rams — Pass protection
As the Miami Dolphins reminded us all on Sunday, the key to neutralizing Los Angeles’ offense is to send waves of pressure at quarterback Jared Goff. When he gets flustered, the mistakes follow.
Just as he did while directing New England’s defense in the Super Bowl, Dolphins coach Brian Flores dialed up one cover-zero blitz after another on Sunday.
Saints — Pass defense, pass offense
Improved health will help the offense. Once they get their full collection of weapons back, their effectiveness could improve. However, if opponents can match up well in coverage and force Drew Brees to go deep, the Saints struggle.
Bills — Red-zone efficiency
Despite leading the league in third down conversions (51%), the Bills can’t cash in on the most crucial area, scoring on only 45% of their trips in the red zone, the fifth worst rate in the league.