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The Falcons attack has been great, but the defense has concerns for the team in a 1 to 3 hole. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
The first quarter of the NFL season is behind us – excluding, for the time being, participants in this week's Monday Night Football (Broncos and Chiefs) and teams who are unlucky enough to be eligible for Fourth week pass (Panthers and Redskins) – which was a great hope. for the future and major concerns for the present.
The league is filled with talented young quarterbacks. The notation is through the roof. Some candidates who appeared vulnerable early recovered while they were entering the second quarter of the year.
But in a loaded NFC, some pre-season favorites are likely to miss the playoffs this season. And there is one in the AFC that seems to have serious problems as well. This is where we begin our study of the biggest stories of the fourth week of the NFL season.
These three pre-season favorites have real concerns.
Everyone knew that the margin of success of the NFC was slim due to the abundance of quality shifts within the conference. As we wrote before the season, we could say at the beginning of the year that 14 of the 20 best smugglers in the league resided in the NFC.
Although we can spend all day debating the exact order, it is clear that the level of talent at this position is high, and the NFC quarterback, who entered the season as the biggest point of Questioning, Mitchell Trubisky, is the subject of NFL discussions this week after throwing six touchdowns in the overwhelming Bears victory over Tampa Bay. He graduated from a player who could only run the first 15-part scenario of his coach Matt Nagy to a quarterback who helps make Bears legitimate contenders to win the NFC North.
[[[[The Bears believe in Mitchell Trubisky and may not be alone anymore.]
Beyond the winners of the four divisions, there are only two playoff spots, which means that teams that started in the season among the top contenders in the league run the risk of missing the playoffs after departures slow.
Three teams are probably the most exposed, in descending order of concern: the Falcons, the Vikings and the Eagles.
Atlanta's defense problems seem difficult to overcome. After a 37-36 last minute loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the Falcons are awarding 30.5 points per game and 1 to 3 points, two games behind the New Orleans Saints and last place in the NFC South. The injuries played a big role, as three of their best young defenders are lost for the year: Deion Jones, Keanu Neal and Ricardo Allen.
After losing to the Eagles in Week 1, they discussed the need to fix their red zone problems. They did it: they scored 11 touchdowns in their last 13 tries in the red zone, averaging close to 30 points per game.
But the defensive problems go back to the recent struggles of the team, which scored 4-12 in 2013 and 6 to 10 in 2014. Whatever the quality of the attack, the Ryan Falcon are doomed if they can not stop their opponents.
"We just have to take charge of it, that's exactly what it is at the end of the day," said cornerback Desmond Trufant. "Myself, all the other leaders of the team, we must play better. Offense is doing its job right now, so we have to maintain it and get turnarounds, get stops and put them on the ground. We must do our part. "
The Vikings are still in shock after losing 38-31 to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night and entering 1-2-1 on Sunday in Philadelphia. The Vikings coach, Mike Zimmer, said that he had never coached a secondary coach who played as badly as against the Rams. They lost 29 points to the Green Bay Packers, 27 to the Buffalo Bills and 38 points to the Rams in their last three games. Believe it or not, they are now at a game and a half behind the Bears.
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The Eagles are 2-2 after the loss in overtime against the Titans on Sunday. Their level of concern is not the same as that of Atlanta or Minnesota, in part because quarterback Carson Wentz is still recovering strength and the Eagles have one of the best defenses in the league. After four games, NFC East also seems less competitive than North or South. But the margin of error is slim in the NFC, as we mentioned, and a defeat against the Vikings next week would allow them to catch up.
A pretender preseason of the AFC in danger: the Pittsburgh Steelers, who dropped to 1-2-1 with their defeat against the Ravens on Sunday night. Their defense flees. They do not have Le'Veon Bell, and it seems unlikely he will join the team at any point in the season. They look nothing like a playoff team at the moment. Even worse, they play in a division with two teams that have been impressive so far – the 3-1 Bengals and Ravens – and a third that is on the rise in the Cleveland Browns (more on them and their rookie QB in a bit).
"You know, I do not think I'm at the same level as anyone right now," Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said after the loss.
Pittsburgh will host the Falcons next week in a match that both teams have to play and then play in Cincinnati the following week.
Other stories to watch
– It is a league led by the quarters and the young quarters progress. No quarter has made better steps than Trubisky. He was fragile the first three weeks of the season, but during the Bucs' 48-10 explosion, he did everything right, from short passes to deep throws. He was 19 out of 26 for 354 yards and six touchdowns.
"He's very competitive," linebacker Bears Khalil Mack said after the match. "And a special talent. And you can see him today. "
Baker Mayfield and Josh Rosen made their NFL debut, and they offered positive things. Mayfield is engaged in a shootout with Derek Carr in an overtime loss to the Oakland Raiders. Mayfield made 21 passes for 295 yards and two touchdowns, but also had two interceptions and lost two fumbles.
[Analysis: The Patriots just reminded the rest of the NFL that they aren’t done yet]
"You know that when you make a lot of mistakes, it's not going to happen," said Mayfield. "That's all there is to do with the fundamentals on our roads, so I can put the ball back in the right place at the right time. Yes, they scored, scored points tonight, but we gave them the opportunity to do that. We have returned the ball too often.
The Cardinals did not want to start Josh Rosen so early, but Sam Bradford's poor play forced him. The recruit was not bad. The Seahawks' defensemen congratulated him for taking part in his first, second and third readings. His number was not great – 15 to 27 for 180 yards – but he did not turn the ball over and he looked like a good quarterback to the NFL.
"He did not fall, even though we had some passes here," said Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks. "He encouraged his teammates, stayed the course, continue to try to handle the offense well. The guy is very posed, very confident and I liked him there, commanding the caucus and leading this offense. "
From Trubisky to Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson in the 2017 draft class, to Mayfield, Rosen, Josh Allen and Sam Darnold, there's a lot of hope for the young quarterbacks in the league.
The Earl Thomas saga is over in Seattle. No more business conversation. No more withholding tax in practice. No more talks of extension. Thomas was injured at the ankle during the 20-17 win over Arizona, and he officially signed as Seahawk. While he was being transported to the locker room, he made an obscene gesture toward the Seahawks sideline.
[Earl Thomas gives Seahawks’ sideline the finger while getting carted off]
His position was that he did not want to sacrifice himself in the practices and the camp if he did not have more money. The Seahawks were reluctant to award him a third contract because he was in danger of hurting himself and not signing the contract. The Seahawks might have had to trade it to Dallas if the Cowboys had offered a second-round pick. If he is able to play next year, he might not get this contract of more than $ 10 million that would give the Seahawks a third round compensatory choice in 2020.
-The controversy on the watch shots disappeared for a week. It appears that the mid-week conference call with the league and the competition committee reduced the number of personal foul calls dealt to the quarters. After an average of over 10 a week, it was only two sunday.
"The discussion of the league's new rules on extension will not go away. These rules state that each team has possession unless there is a touchdown at the beginning of what is now a 10-minute session, not going away. Three games were played in overtime Sunday, but at least decisions were made to avoid ties. The Titans scored during a touchdown to beat Philadelphia five seconds from the end. After 5:27 had eaten the first two goods, the Raiders scored a goal to beat Cleveland, 45-42.
The strangest thing was the Colts' loss to Houston. Both teams scored goals in the field with their first possessions. That left only 1:50 for the Colts. There was only 27 seconds left for Colts coach Frank Reich, who qualified for 4th and 4th place in the 43rd minute. Andrew Luck did not finish. Watson made a 24-yard pass and the Texans converted the winning goal to win the game.
There were two links in the first two weeks. Since the NFL's extension in 1974, no season has more than two draws. Based on the early season results, it is fair to guess that this record will be broken.
More coverage of the NFL:
Bucs coach calls for his own shot after Jameis Winston replaces Ryan Fitzpatrick in defeat against Bears
Frank Reich's decision was not stupid. It was bold and admirable. It was also wrong.
With Le'Veon Bell still missing, Steelers' season unfolds
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