Hold off on anointing Patriots defense
Bucs QB Winston bearing unfair share of blame
There are two weeks left in the NFL’s regular season, and the holidays might not be happy for every team. But with just four playoff berths clinched, there’s room for plenty of shifting.
Here are five overreactions we’re pushing back on after Week 15:
THE PATRIOTS HAVE THE NFL’S BEST DEFENSE
Statistically speaking, the New England Patriots allow the fewest points in the NFL at 16.6 per game.
Sunday’s 16-3 victory against the Denver Broncos showed that the Patriots have a capable defense — one that has played well in spots this season — and one that shouldn’t prevent them from being Super Bowl contenders. And that’s surprising after the team traded defensive end Chandler Jones to the Arizona Cardinals this offseason and sent linebacker Jamie Collins to the Cleveland Browns in October.
It’s difficult to believe New England’s defense is better off without Jones and Collins. But the addition of linebacker Kyle Van Noy and the emergence of linebacker Elandon Roberts and defensive end Trey Flowers have the unit playing above the level of the the sum of its parts.
But New England’s defense has been propped up recently by a weaker schedule. The Patriots have faced the offensively challenged San Francisco 49ers, New York Jets, Los Angeles Rams and Broncos in four of the last five weeks. And in those games, New England allowed 11.8 points per game.
So do the Patriots have one of the top defenses in the league?
The Seattle Seahawks remain one of the most talented units, even with safety Earl Thomas out with a broken leg. The honor, then, might have to go to the New York Giants. In the last two weeks, the Giants have limited the fourth-ranked scoring offense of the Dallas Cowboys to seven points and the capable Detroit Lions to six. New York has not allowed a touchdown in the last 24 possessions.
And even with defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul recovering from a sports hernia, the Giants have an active pass rush, stout run defense and playmaking sec- ondary. Headed into the postseason, the Giants might be sleepers to make a run. WINSTON ISN’T READY TO LEAD A PLAYOFF RUN
Let’s start by acknowledging that Sunday was not Jameis Winston’s best game.
In a 26-20 loss to the Cowboys, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers second-year quarterback turned the ball over four times and came up short in his attempt to lead a game-winning drive.
Although Winston made poor decisions on some throws, all the blame for this loss cannot be heaped solely on him.
Tampa Bay’s offensive line made Dallas defensive end David Irving — a player signed off of the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad — look like the second coming of DeMarcus Ware. Irving had two sacks, and he disrupted the Bucs offense enough to throw off the timing of plays. The Cowboys sacked Winston four times.
Two of those led to fumbles by Winston, one of which he lost.
Tampa Bay fell to 8-6 but remains alive in the NFC South and wild-card races.
The Bucs defense is the strength of the team, and it went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the NFL. As long as Winston protects the ball, the Bucs should continue to be dangerous down the stretch. THE TITANS ARE REAL CONTENDERS The Tennessee Titans have made strides, having won three in a row, the last two vs. the Broncos (8-6) and Chiefs (10-4).
With a power rushing game, the emergence of quarterback Marcus Mariota and a defense that makes plays when it has to, the Titans are a young team that can compete in the AFC South and make the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
Though Sunday’s 19-17 win at Arrowhead against the Chiefs might look like a signature win, this was more about Kansas City letting an opportunity slip away.
On two occasions, the Chiefs had the ball inside the Tennessee 10-yard line.
The first came in the second quarter when running back Spencer Ware was stuffed on a fourthand-goal rush from the 1. The second came in the third quarter when quarterback Alex Smith threw an ill-advised interception in the end zone to cornerback LeShaun Sims.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Chiefs were gifted a golden opportunity when the Titans scored a late touchdown and attempted a two-point conversion that failed, rather than try the extra point to tie the score.
Kansas City then held a onepoint lead, and all it had to do was milk the clock. It went three-andout.
Give the Titans credit. They did enough to win in a tough environment. But their days of challenging the AFC’s power brokers might be a year or two away. AFTER FIRING BRADLEY, THE JAGS SHOULD BLOW IT UP
The Jacksonville Jaguars squandered another opportunity and sank to 2-12. So much for those preseason playoff hopes.
After the game, the team announced it had fired coach Gus Bradley but that general manager Dave Caldwell would “be charged with exploring all options to hire the best head coach possible.” That indicated Jacksonville would not be rebuilding its entire power structure, a wise decision.
Caldwell has stocked the roster with young and dynamic playmakers, including wideout Allen Robinson, cornerback Jalen Ramsey and defensive end Dante Fowler. There have been misses, but the roster is in much better shape than it was years ago. Caldwell deserves credit for that.
The market is small, expectations have been low, ownership has been patient and there’s plenty of talent in place.
The Jaguars job is a solid role, one that could serve a number of offensive-minded candidates.
The biggest concern moving forward is for the next coach to solve the Blake Bortles quandary.
The third-year passer has regressed, completing 57.8% of his throws with 21 touchdown passes vs. 16 interceptions. Mostly to blame is his elongated windup.
That project could intrigue offensive coordinators such as Kyle Shanahan of the Atlanta Falcons and Josh McDaniels of the Patriots.
And while the transition could prevent Jacksonville from competing in the AFC South next season, there are plenty of pieces in place to make the Jaguars contenders again. BENCHING OSWEILER WAS A SHORT-TERM MOVE
Despite the massive contract the Houston Texans gave quarterback Brock Osweiler over the offseason, it’s looking like Houston will have a backup quarterback down the stretch who is making an average of $18 million over the next four seasons.
Osweiler struggled again Sunday, and coach Bill O’Brien eventually benched him in favor of third-year pro Tom Savage.
O’Brien said Monday that Savage would start the Week 16 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Savage, who faced a 13-point deficit when he replaced Osweiler, led Houston to a 21-20 victory against Jacksonville, completing 63.9% of his passes for 260 yards.
Savage was decisive and accurate. He avoided mistakes. He cycled through his reads. He didn’t turn it over. These are all things Osweiler has struggled with, especially in recent weeks.
The Texans are tied atop the AFC South with the Titans at 8-6. The two meet in Week 17.
“We don’t make decisions based on how much a guy gets paid,” O’Brien said afterward. “We make decisions on what’s the best way to win a game.”
O’Brien made his short-term decision, but the franchise needs to make another decision in the offseason about its quarterbacks.
Stay tuned.