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Baltimore Ravens
Remember when the Ravens were unexpectedly off balance at 0-2? No, me neither. The rebound from a lengthy preseason was emphatic: three one-score wins over Dallas (although more of a blowout as the Cowboys scored 19 in garbage time), Cincinnati and Washington, with a thrashing of the mighty Buffalo Bills thrown in. The source of this dominance has been coordinator Todd Monken, who has punished his mighty offense from last season.
It all starts with quarterback Lamar Jackson, who may not be the leader for MVP with oddsmakers, a spot reserved for Patrick Mahomes until the Chiefs lose a game, although at his current level, which was virtually unplayable against the Commanders, he should tip his hat have to finish. trick for Kansas City’s QB this year. We know Jackson can do it all: 40 yards on the ground pushed the 27-year-old (what?!) into second place on the list of total rushing yards by a quarterback with Mike Vick’s No. 1 spot in sight as he dissected Washington. with short and medium passes to budding receiver Zay Flowers. The crucial development this season has been how Jackson’s dual threat has maximized the output of running back Derrick Henry and Henry’s threat, boosting the passing game in play action.
After some tentative first steps, Monken has discovered that his best strategy is to keep it simple and let opponents beat themselves. Needing a 30-23 stop, Washington’s defense was in good position on 2nd-and-8, with Baltimore at their 32-yard line with 2 minutes, 44 seconds remaining. Until they weren’t anymore. Jackson threw to Henry, who fumbled for 27 yards, effectively ending the game. The Commanders escaped by betting the house on a Jackson design run while covering their left side while Henry ran through the right side untouched. By combining a regular feed of carries for a runner of Henry’s caliber with touches for Jackson, the defense crumbles without the Ravens having to make risky long throws or trick plays. Things are coming so easily to them that Henry’s success rate is now the highest of his career at 57%, which in turn helps Baltimore step on the gas pedal late in games. Their last six drives against Washington: TD, TD, FG, TD, FG, game over.
Henry’s overall numbers complete the picture for how much more he has to offer. After six games and 704 yards, he is just 117 behind Baltimore’s leading rusher all of last season: Jackson. And he’s doing all this at age 30 with over 2,000 rushing attempts in his legs. After a few more wins, it might be time to get Henry’s workload under control and ensure his final form is fit for the postseason.
Ricky Pearsall
It’s encouraging to hear that Ricky Pearsall has been on the field for the San Francisco 49ers. The rookie wide receiver started practicing Monday, just six weeks after he was shot in the chest during an attempted robbery. His comeback opens an evaluation period where the team can decide whether or not to take him off injured reserve in their Super Bowl rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs. Pearsall’s remarkable return could be the talisman the 49ers need to bring back some cheer after an unusually rough start. Dominick Puni was certainly optimistic after watching his fellow rookie warm up. “It just put a smile on my face. He seemed as happy as can be, it was just great,” said a right guard who may have to lean into this happy spot when handling defensive tackle Chris Jones on Sunday.
NFC North
There is a new best division in football. The title can now move from the AFC North to their cousins in the NFC. Last year’s champs all had winning records at season’s end, this year’s darlings look set to do the same, and some of the worst in the division are the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers at 4-2 . Their dynamic defense and impressive quarterbacks in Caleb Williams and Jordan Love should maintain winning records, while the Minnesota Vikings are sure to move from 5-0. The big question mark hangs over the 4-1 Detroit Lions and whether their mediocre defense can handle the loss of keystone Aidan Hutchinson for the season.
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Las Vegas Raiders
Najee Harris is a running back that is hard to be excited about. Even his own team is struggling. Pittsburgh declined to pick up his fifth-year option this offseason and has largely been vindicated. Harris was off to his worst start to the season after five games in which the inexplicably lacking power back regressed to an average of 54 yards per game with zero touchdowns on an ice-cold 3.2 yards per carry. That is until everything changed, as often happens with a trip to Las Vegas.
Harris beat the Raiders into submission with his first touchdown and 100-yard game of the year, while Justin Fields played a punishing cameo role with 60 yards and two scores. The Steelers had little strategy other than to run the ball as Fields struggled through the air, but Las Vegas still had no answer. Clearly something is rotten in the state of Nevada, remember this is a team that also lost to the Carolina Panthers. Since the use of the atmosphere criterion in choosing the head coach, things have taken a turn for the worse. It’s an unfortunate but toxic, unforced error, as the ill will toward Antonio Pierce continues to mount at an ever-increasing pace as last year’s good times fade into greater relief.
On the field, it’s easy to point to a defense that doesn’t get their due as the reason for Pittsburgh’s dominance, although the real problem lies with an offense that can’t move the ball on the ground while QBs Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell turning the ball over. on a regular basis. The defense seems completely exhausted trying to pick up the pieces for a team with a running game that adds nothing at a catastrophically low league-high EPA per rush of -0.46, forcing the ball into the hands of inept quarterbacks . If the Raiders are so tired that they let Harris walk all over them, they are in real trouble.