Rodgers’ injury shakes up NFC
Week 6 of the NFL season featured no shortage of surprises, highs, lows and head-scratchers.
What makes this game so great is that fortunes can change in an instant each week. Expectations shatter, despair trends toward hope, and there’s always something to learn. Here are a few things that stand out upon further review.
RODGERS’ BLOW CHANGES THE NFC
Injury claimed yet another one of the NFL’s stars Sunday. The Green Bay Packers might be without Aaron Rodgers for the remainder of the season after the quarterback broke his collarbone when he was driven into the ground on a hit from Minnesota Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr. Rodgers now joins Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry and New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. on the list of high-profile stars sidelined because of a serious injury.
The Packers are a Super Bowl contender with Rodgers in the fold, but Green Bay’s prospects change dramatically without him. Minnesota, despite Sam Bradford’s injury, owns a 4-2 record and shares the lead in the NFC North. Tip of the cap to Case Keenum for keeping things afloat (he has played in five games, starting four and coming off the bench to direct a win last week).
Elsewhere, the Philadelphia Eagles (5-1), Carolina Panthers
(4-2) and Los Angeles Rams
(4-2) currently lead their respective divisions. Luke Kuechly’s concussion issues could hamper Carolina. But if he’s healthy and Cam Newton carries the offense, that team has to be the favorite.
Back to Green Bay: When Rodgers got hurt, the Colin Kaepernick questions instantly popped up. Such a signing is not the Packers’ style. They believe in staying the course with the guys they have developed behind starters. That’s why Mike McCar- thy said, “Brett Hundley is my quarterback.” The 2015 fifthround pick has work to do (he has to take care of the ball better after throwing three interceptions), but he knows the offense. Like Rodgers, he has good mobility and can make off-script plays.
RETURN OF THE BACK?
Adrian Peterson received his freedom from the New Orleans Saints and a fresh start with the Arizona Cardinals. He dominated in his debut, carrying the ball
26 times for 134 yards and two touchdowns in a 38-33 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The 38 points represented a season high for Arizona, with Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald having their best games of the season as Peterson paved the way. Palmer completed 18 of 22 pass attempts for 283 yards, three touchdowns and one interception and a passer rating of
139.4 — his previous high this year was 94.5. Fitzgerald, meanwhile, had 10 catches for 138 yards and a touchdown. That was only his second 100-yard game this season.
I don’t care what they say about this being a passing league. The running game remains extremely important if teams don’t have a top-tier quarterback.
Establishing the run keeps opponents honest by preventing defenses from pinning their ears back and going after the passer on every play. And then when an offense gets the ground game going, it sets up the play-action passing attack, which leads to more 1-on-1 matchups for receivers, which Arizona took advantage of Sunday.
Several teams seem to be relying a little more heavily on their running backs this season. On Sunday, eight players rushed for 114 yards or more. Seven of those backs — the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Le’Veon Bell (32 carries, 179 yards, touchdown), Chicago Bears’ Jordan Howard (36-167), Peterson (26-134, 2 TDs), Miami Dolphins’ Jay Ajayi (26-130), New York Giants’ Orleans Darkwa (21-117), Rams’ Todd Gurley (23-116) and Saints’ Mark Ingram (25-114, 2 TDs) — led their teams to victories.
ODDS AND ENDS …
uHow about Houston Texans rookie Deshaun Watson, who has tied Kurt Warner and Mark Rypien for the most touchdown passes (15) by a player in his first six NFL games? His Texans are 3-3 following Sunday’s 33-17 victory over Cleveland.
uGiants coach Ben McAdoo benched himself as play-caller, giving the responsibility to offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan, so he could focus on the big picture. The move worked, and New York stunned the Broncos 23-10. Sullivan went with a more runheavy philosophy. After averag- ing just 77.8 rushing yards a contest and calling run plays 31.7% of the time in the first five games of the season, New York went with the ground game on 59.3% of its plays and produced 148 rushing yards.
uThe Falcons face New England next Sunday in a rematch of Super Bowl LI. This week wasn’t the tuneup they had hoped for, as the Falcons blew a 17-0 lead and lost 20-17 to the Dolphins. Coach Dan Quinn said his players must focus on themselves this week and correct problems. The Patriots certainly aren’t invincible with this year’s defense, which ranks last in passing yards allowed. But the Falcons still must learn how to finish off teams.