Surprises in the 2022-23 Football Season
The NFL is in full swing and a lot
has happened for me to unpack. I know the MLB ended with the World Series and
the NBA also just got into the swing of things but I thought I’d start with
football.
Let’s talk about the surprises that
we’re seeing.
The Jets. The New York Jets have a winning record at 6-4 and a +13 point
differential. Generally, I’m used to having them be last in the AFC East and
being without a competent quarterback. Now they’re third in the AFC East but
still without a talented quarterback. Something has to happen in the QB room,
as Zach Wilson is not a great team player and with nothing to show for it. The
backup is 37-year-old Joe Flacco who’s injured right now. The third string and
the guy that will start on Sunday against the Bears is Mike White, who had one week of fame last season and then
sunk back down to the bottom of the barrel. The team is playing well though,
and we just have to hope it’s not another last-place finish.
The other New Yo-, New Jersey team,
the Giants, is the second surprise.
They have an even better record than the Jets at 7-4. They’re doing everything
even better than the Jets. Their offense is somehow humming along. The QB
Daniel Jones is as mediocre as it gets, but isn’t doing as much to hamper his
team’s performance. The star on the team is the running back Saquon Barkley who
is serving as a workhorse running back, completely contrary to his role.
Barkley is a quick, shifty back, not meant to carry the ball 30+ times in a
game, but hey, it’s working for them. The Giants do have the hardest schedule
for the remaining games coming up. It's tricky to say whether they'll keep it
up.
What I don’t understand is why the Los Angeles Rams are doing nothing this
season. They’re the reigning Super Bowl champions yet they sit at 3-7.
Something is going on with QB Matt Stafford. Is age catching up to him? Is
Cooper Kupp not turning into Superman for the second season in a row slowing
the Rams down? Is it their lack of an effective run game? Well, I can certainly
tell you it’s not their defense as they’ve allowed a fairly decent amount of
points this season. Further, Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey will never play
inconsistently, so it has to be something on the offense. Unfortunately, it
doesn’t look like they can turn it around this season.
The Vikings are making a statement at 9-2. They already have one of the
best 1-2 punch wide receivers in the NFL, Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen.
Their running back Dalvin Cook is playing at an elite level. But the surprise
and the guy lifting this team from mediocrity is Kirk Cousins, a top-10 QB in
football this year. It’s ridiculous. Their defense is filled with above-average
players, but who’s complaining, they’re at the top of the NFC North and finally
beating out the Packers for the 1
spot.
Speaking of the Packers, it turns
out they aren’t that good without the best wide receiver in the league. When
they lost Davante Adams, their whole season went down the drain. I guess age
really is catching up with Aaron Rodgers. The Packers’ defense, usually a solid
defense, has not been great this season. They have good numbers individually,
but the team stats tell a different story, and that story is not letting
Rodgers put up a fight in a game.
Lastly, what is going on in the AFC
West? The Raiders and the Broncos, two teams that were supposed
to make up one of the scariest divisions in football, are both 3-7. The Raiders
traded for Davante Adams who, on paper, would make up one of the scariest
offenses in the NFL, but Derek Carr is not making anything happen with them.
Although Adams is having a pretty solid season so far, with 10 touchdowns in 10
games, the offense seems to be stuck in place, even with all the injuries. Josh
Jacobs had a stint of being the best running back in history, but he went back
to sleep. Worst of all, the Raiders’ defense is atrocious. Can’t even talk
about them, they’ve just been underperforming.
The Broncos seem to get worse from
last year. Russell Wilson came to Denver and has thrown seven touchdowns so
far. Their run game has been nonexistent as their leading rusher, Melvin Gordon
III, is no longer on the team after they released him. The receiving game can
only be weak because of a weak quarterback and the best receiver being injured.
But don’t go blame this on Jerry Jeudy for getting injured. Even before his
injury, Wilson could only find his two best receivers, Jeudy and Courtland
Sutton, for four touchdowns in nine games. On defense, they’ve been just as bad
as the Raiders, not getting any pressure to the QB and not defending the pass
very well. I was really looking forward to seeing the AFC West terrorize teams,
but the Kansas City Chiefs are by
far the best team in the division and they’ve been playing like it.
