2024 NFL Mock Draft: End-of-season quarterback decisions lead to surprising picks

How many NFL teams will stick with their current quarterbacks? A high number could make for an interesting first round of the 2024 draft.

Now that the 2023 NFL regular season is over, every team turns its attention to the draft — even those teams that are part of the postseason. Area scouts will start to move to the home facility to interact with scouting directors and general managers, and with the scouting combine less than two months away, it’s time to start putting your big boards together.

This applies especially to those teams with crucial quarterback decisions to make. For the purposes of this mock draft, we’ll assume that the Chicago Bears are sticking with Justin Fields, the Arizona Cardinals are committed to Kyler Murray, the Tennessee Titans think they have a future franchise quarterback in Will Levis, and the New York Jets think that eventually, Aaron Rodgers will stop shooting his mouth off long enough to play quarterback in 2024.

Conversely, the Washington Commanders, New England Patriots, New York Giants, and Atlanta Falcons will avail themselves of the best draftable quarterbacks possible in the interest of turning things around.

So, four quarterbacks go in the first round here, with more teams looking to build around the guys they’ve already got. That makes for one notable omission (Oregon’s Bo Nix), and a whole bunch of talented prospects at other positions pushing themselves up the boards.

The Eagles’ defense is a disaster, and they’d better fix it with a quickness

The Eagles’ defense hit rock bottom when it got pushed around by the Arizona Cardinals. Is there any hope for improvement before the postseason starts?

The defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles currently rank 27th in Defensive DVOA after finishing third last season, which isn’t good enough for anybody in the building. So, the team made the decision in mid-December to replace first-year defensive coordinator Sean Desai as a play-caller  with senior assistant Matt Patricia, whose experience with the New England Patriots under Bill Belichick from 2004 through 2017 held some weight.

Or, the Eagles were just throwing stuff against the wall to see what would stick. At this point, either explanation is equally plausible.

Not that things have gone any better with Patricia at the helm. The Eagles were profoundly embarrassed last Sunday by the Arizona Cardinals in a 35-31 loss that saw their defense allow 221 rushing yards, 5.5 yards per attempt, 130 yards after contact, 14 first downs, and a league-worst (for Week 17) 0.18 EPA per attempt on 40 carries. That this all happened to a team that counts former Philly defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon as its head coach put some extra sting on it.

“I do believe,” head coach Nick Sirianni said post-game after the run defense debacle. “I still believe in the guys in that locker room, the players. I still believe in the coaches. I think we’ve got the guys in this place to get turned in the right direction. We don’t have much time, obviously, right. We’ve got one more game before playoffs starts, and we’ve got to do everything we can do to get back on track this upcoming week.

“I think there’s been spurts, obviously, the last couple games where we played good ball on defense. Tonight wasn’t one of those times.”

As Sirianni said, there isn’t much time before the postseason begins, and if this is the state of the Eagles’ defense, they’ll be lucky if they aren’t pushed around from start to finish — and it could be a very early finish.

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys got into the reasons for these issues from a formerly great defense.

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Now, let’s investigate why Philly’s defense has fallen apart this season.

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Previewing Week 18’s biggest NFL matchups

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys preview the final week of the regular season with tape and metrics.

It’s time for Week 18 of the 2023 NFL campaign — the final week of the regular season — and Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup, and Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire and the USA Today Sports Media Group, are here to get you ready for the most important games, playoff scenarios, and interesting matchups:

Kansas City Chiefs-Los Angeles Chargers — Why the Chiefs wouldn’t even be a playoff team without Steve Spagnuolo, and how Kansas City’s defense got four sacks in five plays against the Bengals on Cincinnati’s final drive.

Philadelphia Eagles-New York Giants — The Eagles had best fix their leaky run defense before the playoffs, and the Giants could be a stern test in that regard.

Houston Texans- Indianapolis Colts — C.J. Stroud is back for the Texans, and he’ll face a Colts defense with a lot of underrated players. The winner takes the AFC South.

Los Angeles Rams-San Francisco 49ers — The 49ers have wrapped up the NFC’s one-seed, so they won’t play many of their starters, but it’s time to recognize a Rams defense defined by two rookies, and more underrated players.

Buffalo Bills-Miami Dolphins — Two up-and-down teams are fighting for control of the AFC East, and it could come down to which unit figures itself out: Buffalo’s offense, or Miami’s defense.

Chicago Bears-Green Bay Packers — The Bears won’t make the playoffs, but they have a fascinating decision to make about Justin Fields’ future. Meanwhile, Packers quarterback Jordan Love has been as good as anyone at his position in the second half of the season.

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar” right here:

You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

James Conner TD run gives Cardinals stunning win over Eagles

The Cardinals went into Philadelphia and shocked the Eagles

This is the weekend of good luck for the Dallas Cowboys.

After getting the break of breaks against the Detroit Lions, the Cowboys sat home and watched the Arizona Cardinals stun the Philadelphia Eagles, 35-31 at the Linc on Sunday.

The Cardinals came in 3-12. In the bizarro world of the NFL, two of Arizona’s four wins have now come against Philadelphia and Dallas.

The winning points came on a James Conner 2-yard run with 32 seconds left.

That would be the Cardinals of Jonathan Gannon, who was the Eagles’ defensive coordinator until leaving for the desert.

The Cowboys and Eagles head into Week 18 tied at 11-5.

Eagles bring a passing twist to the Brotherly Shove

The Eagles have now designed at least one passing play out of the Brotherly Shove. Watch out, NFL!

The Philadelphia Eagles are going to spam the rest of the NFL with the Brotherly Shove until and unless the league decides to render the play illegal based on concerns regarding safety that have no real merit. And now, as they showed on this 17-yard pass from running back Kenneth Gainwell to receiver DeVonta Smith with 32 seconds left in the first half against the Arizona Cardinals, the Eagles are starting to grow different concepts out of their favorite scrum.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts pitched to Gainwell with the tush-push fake, and Gainwell caught the Cardinals napping downfield. Given the issues the Eagles have had on offense this season, perhaps a full Brotherly Shove package would do a world of good to turn things around.

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Previewing Week 15’s biggest NFL matchups

In the latest “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get into Week 16’s biggest matchups, the BIlls’ run game, and the Eagles’ backslide.

It’s time for Week 16 of the 2023 NFL season, and Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup, and Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire and the USA Today Sports Media Group, are here to get you ready for the most important games and interesting matchups:

Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings — How rookies Sam LaPorta and Jahmyr Gibbs have come to define the Lions’ offense, and what the Bengals may have taught the rest of the NFL about how to attack Brian Flores’ crazy-quilt Vikings defense.

Dallas Cowboys at Miami Dolphins — Why the Cowboys had best be ready for Raheem Mostert and Miami’s run game, and the keys to the Dolphins’ drastic defensive improvement in the second half of the season.

Baltimore Ravens at San Francisco 49ers — Speaking of drastic defensive improvement in the second half of the season, did you know that the 49ers rank first in the NFL in Defensive DVOA since Week 10? A severe test for Lamar Jackson and Baltimore’s offense, especially without rookie running back Keaton Mitchell.

The guys also get into how the Seattle Seahawks beat the Philadelphia Eagles with the same play twice, and the Buffalo Bills’ amazing journey into becoming a force in the run game.

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Previewing Week 12’s biggest NFL matchups

It’s time for this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” with the guys breaking down Week 12’s biggest NFL matchups.

It’s time for Week 12 of the 2023 NFL season, including three Thanksgiving games, and the league’s first Black Friday contest ever. Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup, and Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire and the USA Today Sports Media Group, are here to get you ready for the most important matchups:

  • San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks — It’s time to stop thinking of Brock Purdy as a system quarterback, and here’s why.
  • Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions — Jordan Love is coming along both in and out of the pocket, and that could mean trouble for the Lions’ defense.
  • Las Vegas Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs — Steve Spagnuolo’s Chiefs defense is among the league’s best, but that’s not the issue here — it’s a Kansas City offense that can’t seem to get out of its own way.
  • Buffalo Bills at Philadelphia Eagles — With new offensive coordinator Joe Brady, here’s how the Bills can do things differently.
  • Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans — Breaking down C.J. Stroud’s three interceptions against the Arizona Cardinals last week, and what they might mean moving forward.

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” video right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

C.J. Stroud continues to make preposterous, impossible throws

Houston Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud continues to make throws that a lot of NFL veterans couldn’t dream of completing.

When it comes to the discussion of the best rookie quarterbacks in pro football history, it might be time to insert C.J. Stroud of the Houston Texans into the conversation. Stroud is lighting the Arizona Cardinals’ defense on fire this Sunday with 19 completions in 25 attempts for 263 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception in the first half alone, and one of those passes — a 40-yard touchdown pass to fellow rookie Nathaniel “Tank” Dell with 26 seconds left in the first half.

The placement of this throw was uniquely ridiculous, but watch specifically how Stroud is able to make the pinpoint deep pass without striding into the throw — this is all upper body.

Stroud has done this before in his rookie season, and it’s something that Greg Cosell and I discussed on this week’s “Xs and Os” video/podcast.

Kyler Murray has Cardinals off fast against Texans

Kyler Murray is a difference-maker for the Cardinals

What a difference a quarterback makes.

The Arizona Cardinals came into Sunday’s game at the Houston Texans off a win over the Atlanta Falcons.

That could be attributed to the team getting Kyler Murray back as its quarterback.

And the Heisman winner from Oklahoma was at it fast against the AFC South team.

Murray went deep, deep, deep, and found a wide-open Rondale Moore for a 48-yard TD.

After the PAT, Arizona led 7-0.

The ugliest winning seasons in NFL history

The 2023 Steelers have an ugly winning season, but it’s not the worst winning season in pro football history. Not even close.

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Folks, the Pittsburgh Steelers just keep winning ugly. In their 23-19 Sunday win over the Green Bay Packers, Mike Tomlin’s team continued its streak of being outgained by every single one of its opponents. This time, the Packers gained 399 net yards to Pittsburgh’s 324. The Steelers are now the only professional football team since at least 1933 to be outgained in every game and still have a winning record.

Impressive? In a perverse way, yes.

Despite this lack of offensive firepower, and a point differential of -26, the Steelers stand at 6-3 on the season, which got us thinking — what are the worst winning seasons in NFL history? Those seasons in which you think to yourself, “There’s no WAY these guys can be winning,” but they are anyway?

As it turns out, the Steelers are nowhere near the worst winning teams in these categories. But it is notable that in all three seasons of Matt Canada’s tenure as the Steelers’ offensive coordinator, the Steelers are either on this list, or in the discussion.