NFL defenses beware: the Lamar Jackson leviathan may have woken up
At 4-2 heading into their game against the 5-1 Detroit Lions, the Baltimore Ravens hadn’t fully taken flight. They had the league’s second-best defense but were struggling to put together a consistent offense. Unfortunately for the Lions, Baltimore were clicking on both sides of the ball on Sunday, putting together a 28-0 halftime lead and eventually winning 38-6. With the victory, the AFC North leading Ravens made a case for being potential Super Bowl champions while bringing the Lions back down to earth.
The key to the Ravens’ offense remains Lamar Jackson, who was boosted in the offseason by the arrival of receivers Odell Beckham Jr, Nelson Agholor and first-round pick Zay Flowers. Under new offensive coordinator Todd Monken, Jackson came out flat-footed in his regular-season debut, going without a passing or rushing touchdown in a Week 1 win over the Houston Texans. He regained his rhythm with a fourtouchdown game against the Cleveland Browns in Week 4 but his team had red zone struggles as recently as last week’s win against the Tennessee Titans.
“We just have to a better job of – like I said – scheming it, do a better job of executing it when we have those opportunities,” Monken said just a few days ago, acknowledging the offense’s most pressing weakness.
Whatever adjustments Monken made in the last week, they provided dividends. Against the Lions’ defense, the Ravens went four-for-four in the red zone in their first four drives of the game, giving their defense more than enough cushion to render the rest of the game irrelevant.
Jackson was once again their notso-secret weapon. Although he initially had a reputation as a run-first QB – there was a time when so-called experts were telling Baltimore to convert him into a running back – Jackson is nigh-unstoppable when he has his passing game going. He certainly had it against Detroit: he went 21-for-27, passing for 357 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also mixed things up, rushing for 36 yards and one additional touchdown. (OK, he lost a single fumble in the game but, given everything else, we’ll give him a pass on that one.)
Jackson’s a dangerous dual threat because of his ability to break free from defensive pressure and make plays with either his arms or his legs.
Of his three passing TDs, the most impressive was only possible because of his uncanny scrambling ability as he managed to keep a play alive for a mindboggling 9.24 seconds before nailing a throw to Agholor.
It was the best of times for the Ravens and the worst of times for the Lions, who stumbled after being hyped as a dark horse Super Bowl contender after the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers lost their undefeated season bids last week. As soon as boosters began making the case for Detroit having the best team in the NFL their long-suffering fans immediately feared that the Football Gods were setting them up to be exposed as Paper Tigers. It turns out they were right.
The good news for the now 5-2 Lions is that they are still on top of the NFC North. In fact, no other team in their division is above .500. It’s not their record that is the issue, however: the problem is that the Ravens left their defense totally exposed. It’s possible that no team could have beaten Baltimore on Sunday but the beatdown was the exact opposite of a “moral victory.” With the loss, their upcoming game against the Las Vegas Raiders suddenly feels like a litmus test of how real the Lions actually are.
MVP of the week
Myles Garrett, defensive end, Cleveland Browns. Here’s a confession: it’s typically easier to make an offensive player MVP of the week. Defenses tend to work as a collective, making individual contributions somewhat more difficult to track.
Sometimes, however, the best player on the field is clearly a defensive one. As was the case for the Cleveland Browns during their 39-38 comefrom-behind win over the Indianapolis Colts. Garrett had two strip-sacks for the Browns, one of which was recovered for a touchdown, nine tackles and a blocked field goal, during which Garrett hopped over the Colts’ line. Garrett essentially wrapped up this award before the first-half was over.
As the final score suggests, Cleveland needed Garrett just to stay in the game. The Browns’ passing game struggled under backup quarterback PJ Walker. He came on for Deshaun Watson, who threw the team’s first interception of the day (the Browns later said Watson was replaced to “protect” him but did not specify an injury. Watson said he’s “not sure” if he reinjured the shoulder that has troubled him the last few weeks. His career in Cleveland continues to be mystifying). The Colts took a 38-33 lead late in the game but two questionable penalties set up a Kareem Hunt rushing touchdown that ended up being the difference. Thanks to Garrett’s dominant first half, the Browns improved their record to 4-2 while the Colts fell to 3-4.
Video of the week
Think being an NFL official is easy? Imagine trying to make a ruling on whether Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jake Bobo’s leaping catch was a touchdown or not. In real-time, officials thought it wasn’t but after Seattle head coach Pete Carroll challenged, replay determined that Bobo (somehow) landed in-bounds. Even if there wasn’t enough evidence to overturn the call on the field – and there was in this instance – this is the textbook “play so cool that it should have been ruled a catch on vibes alone.” The Seahawks went on to defeat the now 1-6 Arizona Cardinals 20-10, improving their own record to 4-2.
Stat of the week
50. That’s the number of times the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce have connected for a touchdown over the course of their partnership, the fourth-most by any QB and TE combination. It came on National
Tight Ends Day too.
Besides being a famous boyfriend and notable celebrity pitchperson, Kelce may go down as the greatest to play the position. At the moment, the recently retired Rob Gronkowski probably has that status after winning Super Bowls as Tom Brady’s favorite target on two different teams. Kelce, of course, is some way off as far as rings go, but given his almost supernatural connection with Mahomes, it feels like time and health could be the biggest factors in deciding whether or not the 34-yearold eventually ties Gronk for championships.
Meanwhile, he just keeps doing things we haven’t seen in decades. Kelce picked up more than 100 receiving yards in the first half for the second game in a row. No tight end has done that since 2000. In fact, no player at any position has done that in the last five seasons. Mahomes, Kelce and the Chiefs beat the Chargers 31-17, improving their record to an AFC-best 6-1.
Elsewhere around the league
-- The New England Patriots’ 29-25 comeback victory marked Bill Belichick’s 300th regular-season win as a head coach. But it may not have even been the biggest Belichick news of the day as it accompanied reports that the 71-year-old signed a new contract with the Patriots over the offseason. If those reports turn out to be accurate, it seems like this victory will mark the end of the “is this Belichick’s final season” speculation. As for the Bills, they’ve now lost to the 2-5 Pats, the Aaron Rodgers-less New York Jets and spluttered to victory over the woeful New York Giants. An impressive win over the Miami Dolphins aside, they do not look like Super Bowl contenders at this stage of the season.
-- In what could turn out to be a preview of the Super Bowl, the Philadelphia Eagles faced the Dolphins on Sunday Night Football. After a dispiriting loss to the Jets last week, the Eagles smothered the potent Miami Dolphins offense, who were limited to just 244 yards. Philly walked away 31-17 winners and have the best record in the NFC at 6-1.
-- Quarterback controversy in Chicago? Justin Fields didn’t start on Sunday thanks to a thumb injury. So, instead, Chicago started undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent. Bagent didn’t have eyepopping numbers against the Las Vegas Raiders – he threw for just 162 yards on 21-for-29 passing and a single touchdown – but the Bears had two rushing touchdowns and another on defense.
With the 30-12 win, the Bears improved their record to 2-5.
-- Quarterback controversies for everybody? Sam Howell had a pretty lousy day as the Washington Commanders’ starting quarterback, taking six sacks against the Giants. The Commanders had a chance to tie the game late, but the Giants defense forced a stop to secure a 14-7 victory. With the loss, Washington’s record dropped to 3-4.
Meanwhile, the Giants had Tyrod Taylor as signal-caller in place of Daniel Jones, who has been recovering from a neck injury and has been rather ineffective in his first season after signing a $160m contract over the offseason. Taylor threw for 279 yards and two touchdowns as New York secured their second victory of the season, ending a four-game losing streak.
-- The Denver Broncos defeated the Green Bay Packers 19-17. Considering that the Broncos are 2-5 and the Packers 2-4, this game may not end up having any significance on the postseason standings. Why mention it here? Well, it’s entirely because of wide receiver Jayden Reed managing to catch a deflected Jordan Love pass for a touchdown while tumbling down in the end zone. If it weren’t for Bobo’s grab, this would have been the video of the week and it’s proof that in the NFL, even a relatively meaningless contest can provide memorable moments.
-- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense made life difficult for Atlanta Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder who lost three fumbles on the day. The most glaring was when Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Antoine Winfield Jr knocked the ball out of Ridder’s hands, turning a possible touchdown into a touchback. With Ridder contributing just a single rushing touchdown, Atlanta needed someone to step up and be a hero. That someone turned out to be kicker Younghoe Koo who went 3for-3 on field goals, including a 51-yarder with time expiring that secured a 16-13 Falcons victory and put them top of the NFC South.