By Brandon Simmons
What Does Jalen Hurts’ First Win Mean for the Eagles?
The Philadelphia Eagles beat the New Orleans Saints Sunday behind the play of Eagles rookie QB Jalen Hurts, which was his first career start. Hurts was named the starter this past week after he replaced QB Carson Wentz in the 2nd half of last week’s loss. Hurts had himself a pretty great day against one of the top teams in the NFC. The Oklahoma product finished the game throwing 17 of 30 for 167 yards, 1 touchdown and ran for 106 yards. However, the stat line that mattered most was he threw 0 interceptions.
There might be a lot of overreaction as to how good he was and with good reason. Hurts was inserted into the starting QB position at a time when the offense was feeling defeated, literally and mentally. Wentz was not playing his best football, which is certainly going to affect the offense. The coaching staff saw enough from the Packers game to let him take over for this past week, and the next, and he did not disappoint. Hurts was mobile when he needed to be and kept the offense on the field for long drives. He was even able to find Eagles wide receiver Alshon Jefferey for his first touchdown reception of the season. The Eagles are in a tough spot at this very moment. They are 4-8-1 on the year but in a division where they are mathematically within reach of the title. Still, that particular race gets tighter as the season nears the end, and Philly might not be prepared to have a respectable playoff trip. They already named him the starter for Week 16, so their best bet is to keep him in the strating spot for the reminder of the year.
Did Cam Newton Seal his Fate with the New England Patriots?
When the New England Patriots got beat by the Los Angeles Rams last Thursday, it may have wrapped up the team’s playoff chances and sealed the fate of Cam Newton’s future with the team. The Patriots were demolished 24-3 as Newton was completely beat down. He finished the game throwing 9 of 16 for 119 yards, 0 touchdowns and was sacked 4 times in the game. This demoralizing loss came in the wake of the Pats beating the other L.A. team, the Chargers, in the same stadium 45-0 earlier in the week. It was a game in which Newton had another game throwing under 100 yards.
The week in L.A. for Newton and the Patriots kind of represent their season of the two matched together: high highs but low lows. There are games where Newton has put on some of his best work and his performance got New England the win; but there are also games where he did not play as well, and it cost the team greatly. Much like the team overall, Newton has dealt with some challenges this season. The 31-year-old QB has been adjusting to the playbook with his strengths. In addition to that, Newton tested positive for COVID and missed a few games during the season. On a larger scale, the Patriots have had players miss out on games, or the season entirely, due to COVID issues. Simply put, when things have been good, they’re good, but not so much when it’s the opposite.
It’s going to be hard to consider Cam Newton for a longer stay because of a couple of factors that come into play. Newton is only signed for a 1 year deal, so after this season, he will be back on the free agent market. It would not be surprising if the Patriots look at Jared Stidham for the rest of the year to help make their decision at QB, considering he was drafted just last year in the 4th round. New England currently holds the 13th overall pick, which is still a good position to draft a solid QB. This is also a good insurance policy, should they not find a better QB in the free agent market (i.e. Dak Prescott who is coming off of injury but may or may not be signed by the Cowboys by the time offseason hits). In other words, the Patriots have options if they use them wisely. Besides all that, if the Patriots were committed to Newton, they would have given him more than 1 year. He is a former MVP and took a team to a Super Bowl, so he’s not unfamiliar with being competitive. But as he gets older in his career, the strengths of his skillset may take a backseat. Last Thursday’s matchup might be a glimpse into what Newton is now, or it could be just an off night. However, his off games have become a little too prevalent for a team such as the Patriots and it might just get him off the team.
Will Timing be a Playoff Team’s Best Friend?
The Pittsburgh Steelers has been the top seed in the AFC up until last Sunday, when a loss to the Buffalo Bills coupled with a win by the Kansas City Chiefs, knocked them down to number 2. It should also be noted that the loss to the Bills was part of the 2 game losing streak after the team started 11-0. For Pittsburgh, it’s not about the where they are in the postseason but the when. There have been teams that catch fire at the right around postseason time and make a deep run into the postseason. Take a look at the Tennessee Titans and their playoff work last year. They got hot on a couple of games and took that momentum in the postseason knocking off the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens. The Steelers experienced the negative side of timing, as their poor play over the last couple of weeks costed them a first round bye. The other bad news about that is it does not appear the Chiefs will be slowing down anytime soon to relinquish that number one seed.
In the postseason, the team playing great at the time is going to win it all, but that is never reserved to one specific squad. This postseason is going to be a mix of inexperienced QB’s, inconsistent teams as well as both deserving and undeserving teams. With the addition of a 7th seed, the importance of timing becomes even more heightened because nobody wants to get caught slipping in a tough matchup by a team that would not be there in previous seasons. For some teams on the edge of the Wild Card, they have been in “playoff mode” because every game in these last few weeks will go towards keeping their playoff hopes alive. Teams such as the Miami Dolphins, Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens and Las Vegas Raiders are primed for these momentuous postseason runs, as they fight to either stay in their seeding or break into the Wild Card. But whether it’s a team on the bubble or residing in the top seed, all of these teams are on the postseason clock.
Shoutouts/Shutouts
Shout out to Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson for his literal comeback to win the game. In the 4th quarter of the Monday night game, against the Cleveland Browns, Jackson reportedly went into the locker room due to cramps. He was out until the 2 minute warning, when the Ravens were down 35-34, but on 4th and 5, threw a 44 yard touchdown catch and run to Ravens wide receiver Marquise Brown. After Cleveland responded with a field goal, but Jackson answered with a field goal drive of its own. While it was said that Jackson went into the locker room for cramps, the streets (internet) will tell you different.
Shut out to the Houston Texans for having an embarrassing showing of their QB against a team that has been criticized for missing out on said QB. Sunday, the Texans were destroyed by the Chicago Bears 36-7. Since 2017, the Bears were always criticized for passing over Texans QB Deshaun Watson in favor of Mitchell Trubisky, who they took number 2 overall that year. Even if you’ve started watching football in 2017, you would know the Bears made a huge mistake passing on Watson, or Pat Mahomes, but it still would’ve been nice if the Texans could’ve made it look like they made a mistake on one day. However, it’s hard for your franchise quarterback to show out when he’s missing his top 3 receivers and offensive line letting him get sacked 6 times. Three games left for this season and the postseason is shaping up. The game with the Cleveland Browns visiting the New York Giants was flexed into Sunday Night Football a couple of weeks ago. The Browns are still clinging to their playoff spot after losing to the Ravens on Monday night. The Giants are 1 game behind the Washington Football Team for first place in the NFC East, and a win could very well put them back on top. The marquee matchup this weekend will hands down be the New Orleans Saints hosting the Kansas City Chiefs. Realistically, the Saints are unsure if QB Drew Brees will be returning, the quarterback matchup might not be that enticing. However, these two teams will not shy away from going at each other as they are both fighting for playoff positioning. The Saints are trying to regain the number one seed while the Chiefs are trying to retain it. The Saints defense will have its work cut out for them against Chiefs QB Pat Mahomes and wide receiver Tyreek Hill. But until then…I’ll holla.
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