Gulp. If you go back to my Week 3 Winners and Losers article, you’d probably see that I…uh…said something along the lines of Zach Wilson and Justin Fields are terrible and I’m going to stop mentioning them in future Winners and Losers articles because they’ll stay terrible. In a perfect example of how things can change INSTANTLY in the NFL, (and how wrong I can be) both Wilson and Fields are back on the list, but this time for the right reasons.
Around the NFL, there were many surprises, but none greater than Zach Wilson and Justin Fields absolutely tearing it up in Week 4. But they weren’t the only stories. Actually, the Bears blowing a 28-7 lead with Fields having the day he did to the BRONCOS, is probably the most Bears thing ever. Christian McCaffrey is quietly making a very good case for winning not only the OPOY but also the MVP award. C.J. Stroud continues to light up NFL defenses and establish himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the league.
Losers
Joe is TOO Cool.
It really appears that Joe Burrow may have taken the “Joe Cool” moniker way seriously. Burrow, so far this season, has just been bad and looks like me trying to get out of bed in the morning. Maybe it’s because he didn’t play preseason or he’s hurt but whatever it is he’s been bad. Looking back, the Bengals should have probably rested him to get him fully healthy. It’s not like they can be any worse. He needs to get back to who he is and quicker than Ezra Miller committing a crime because the Bengals will be locked in a cage, unable to escape before long.
The Bengals are paying Burrow 255 million dollars to be a difference maker behind center, like Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes are for their teams. So far? You could probably replace him with a handful of QBs making a whole lot less and get the same, if not more, production. 1-3 isn’t a good place to be, but it’s a long season. But if you let it get to 1-4 and 1-5? That’s REALLY not a good place to be. The Bengals are still contenders in my eyes if they can get things right.
Matt Uber-Flustered
It was the 3rd quarter. There’s 4 minutes left and Justin Fields just threw his 4th touchdown of the day. Fields was having a career day and a game that could potentially turn his career around. He was everything he hadn’t been in the previous weeks. Then a complete collapse, almost exclusively due to the horrendous coaching decisions made by Eberflus and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. Fields was having a career day through the air, and suddenly they took the ball out of his hands. You have to wonder what that did to Fields’ confidence because you’re having your best game EVER and saving your career in the NFL, only for the coaching staff to STILL take the ball out of your hands. Eberflus needs to be gone. As soon as possible. For Fields’ sake.
Matt La-Does-He-Know-He-Has-Aaron-Jones
Aaron Jones is the best player on the Green Bay Packers offense. He touched the ball 6 times in a 14-point loss. Ok. He was coming off injury. Maybe he was hurt? If he was still hurt to the extent that he could only touch the ball 6 times, he shouldn’t have been active at all. But he was active, and in a game where Jordan Love was struggling, LaFluer failed to take the pressure off and get his best player involved. In fact, LaFluer has seemingly forgotten he has Jones many times over his tenure in Green Bay, instead relying on only Aaron Rodgers’ (and now Jordan Love) arm to win games. He needs to either get Jones involved in the game plan or hire someone to remind him that he needs to get Aaron Jones involved. If I were Brian Gutekunst, I wouldn’t hesitate to make a change in the coaching staff if things don’t change.
Desmond Ridder
Yeah, I couldn’t figure out a wordplay on this one, just like Desmond Ridder can’t figure out how to be a good quarterback. Ridder had another bad outing, adding 3 more turnovers (2 INTs and 1 fumble) to his season total and a measly 62.7 QB Rating. Luckily for him, last week I called Justin Fields and Zach Wilson very terrible quarterbacks, so he’s got a little bit of hope to bounce back next week. Ridder needs to turn it around because I wouldn’t be surprised if Arthur Smith turns to Taylor Heinicke sooner rather than later because Atlanta still has a chance of capturing the NFC South title in a weak division or even a Wild Card spot in a weaker-than-usual NFC.
Tom Brady, Where Art Thou?
Things are NOT going well in New England. We are probably witnessing the Mac Jones era in New England coming to a close, soon. Jones had huge shoes to fill, upon his arrival in New England (the literal GOAT) and the hope was maybe his feet would fill 1/10th of the shoe. Right now, Mac Jones is very much walking around barefoot. He’s got no luster and no appeal. Even Wilson and Fields, who had literally one ELITE game in their careers (Week 4), showed more in that game to get a lot of people to believe in them again, than Jones has in over 2 years. Astounding.
Also, Bill Belichick needs to probably retire. If I won 6 Superbowls and were the winningest coach in NFL history, I wouldn’t taint my legacy in later years just because I had Mac Jones playing quarterback.
Winners
…Let Russ Cook…?
Everyone is making fun of the Broncos, as they should. Their defense is legitimately the worst defense in the league and you don’t let someone score 70 on you and get away with it. But quietly, after a year of dramatic hate, Russell Wilson is putting together one heck of a season with Sean Payton at the helm. Wilson currently has 1,014 passing yards, 9 touchdowns to just 2 interceptions, a 67.2 completion percentage, and a 106.7 QB Rating. He is on pace for a 4,310 yards, 38 touchdown, and 9 interception season. These are prime Russell Wilson statistics. The Broncos have got to be encouraged by this output and it’s sad that this will get overshadowed by a generationally bad defense. If they EVER get their defense back to even average, the Broncos will be a tough play for any team in the league.
An RB In the MVP Convo in 2023
What Christian McCaffrey is doing this season…is mindblowing. It is simply not normal. McCaffrey, through 4 games, has exactly 600 all-purpose yards and no less than 7 (S-E-V-E-N) touchdowns on 6.1 yards PER TOUCH on nearly 25 touches per game. Folks, this is a 2,550-yard and 30-touchdown pace. Read it again. 2,550 YARDS AND 30 TOUCHDOWNS IN A SINGLE SEASON FOR A RUNNING BACK. What Christian McCaffrey is doing is nothing short of greatness. If he stays healthy and keeps up this ridiculous pace, it won’t matter that he’s not a quarterback. He will be the NFL’s Most Valuable Player. Quote me on that.
Oh Great. You’re Gonna Make Us Believe Again.
Zach Wilson. My oh my. Seemingly the entire media on your back (including me). Your teammates liking posts against you on social media. NFL Hall of Famers publically slandering you. And how do you respond? Come out, put on one hell of a show, outplay Patrick Mahomes, and nearly upset the World (sorry Noah Lyles) Champions. What a way to answer. Best of all, he showed that he can play in this league and why he’s a starter. For the first time in his young career, he looked like the Number 2 overall pick who’s overflowing with talent and traits. Now, he’s just got to string some games together. Play well 2 weeks in a row. Then 3 weeks in a row. Luckily for him, he’s got the perfect punching bag in Week 5 with the Broncos and their JV defense. Zach if you read this, we all believe in you. Go do your thing.
He’s part 2 of this bunch. Justin Fields was coming off a nightmare 3 game stretch into Denver. Luckily for him, the Broncos defense was perfectly willing to let Fields regain some of his lost confidence. Fields had a career day, looked extremely calm, poised, and confident against Denver on Sunday, everything he hadn’t been in the weeks before. Wilson’s game will get more recognition because of his primetime slot and the team he played against, but don’t forget about Fields. He still looks like he could turn into Chicago’s answer at quarterback. And Justin? We’re all rooting for you too. Stay confident. Stay poised. Just do your thing. We know you’re talented. Just do it over and over. Put it together. You’ll get there.
