Category: The All-22

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Previewing Week 4’s biggest NFL matchups

Lions-Packers! Dolphins-Bills! Browns-Ravens! Steelers-Texans! Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar preview Week 4’s biggest NFL matchups.

With three full weeks down in the 2023 NFL calendar, it’s time to look ahead to the most compelling matchups in Week 4 of the season. As always, Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup, and Doug Farrar of USA Today’s Sports Media Group, have you covered with comprehensive tape study and advanced metrics.

This week, the guys break down these genes:

  • Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers
  • Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills
  • Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns
  • Pittsburgh Steelers at Houston Texans
  • Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar” 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: How Jordan Love can singe Detroit’s defense with big-time vertical throws

The Lions will be tested this Thursday night by Jordan Love’s tight-window deep throws. Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar break it down in “The Xs and Os.”

In the first half of the Green Bay Packers’ Sunday game against the New Orleans Saints, Packers quarterback Jordan Love completed just seven of 16 passes for 74 yards. The Packers were down 17-0 when they went in the tunnel, and this looked like it could be a blowout. Dennis Allen’s Saints defense is maybe the best in the NFL at tying pressure to match coverage, and Love was having all kinds of problems with it.

Then, in the second half, Love completed 15 of 28 passes for 185 yards, one touchdown, and one interception — still not amazing numbers, but the ways in which he was able to make tight-window vertical throws in the second half turned out to be a major factor in Green Bay’s 18-17 comeback win.

The first big-time throw came with 1:53 left in the third quarter, and Love made a brilliant 30-yard pass to backside slot receiver Romeo Doubs out of a five-wide empty look against the Saints’ Cover-3. Love did a great job of maintaining the concept despite the Saints’ flip from two-high to single-high, but also against safety Tyrann Mathieu disrupting the timing of the route after he dropped down.

The second big play came with 12:30 left in the fourth quarter against Cover-1. Cornerback Alontae Taylor was in aggressive man coverage against rookie receiver Jayden Reed, who pushed back on Taylor’s bumpage until he broke outside. Taylor stumbled for a split second, and that’s how you get a 22-yard completion.

The third big play came with 4:13 left in the game, and this 30-yard completion helped to set up Love’s game-winning touchdown pass to Doubs with 2:59 left on the clock. This was Reed against Taylor again — this time, from the frontside outside slot. And Reed did two important things against Taylor on this play — he took outside leverage well, and he got a subtle push in Taylor (Saints fans may debate the definition of “subtle” here) to get open just enough for Love’s deep pass.

“I think we were just going [into] two-minute mode, going a little bit faster and taking some more shots downfield,” Love said after the game of the difference in the second half. “We were getting a lot of man-to-man coverage and receivers were just capitalizing on those opportunities and just making plays for us.”

Love also had high praise for Doubs and Reed.

“Those guys are special. They made some great plays when we needed it most. That’s a credit to everybody. It wasn’t perfect a lot of that game, but guys never flinched and they showed out, showed up and they played to the end.”

The Detroit Lions, who face off against the Packers in Thursday night, have allowed seven opponent completions of 16 or more air yards (the NFL’s definition of an explosive passing play) on 11 attempts for 177 yards per Sports Info Solutions, so that’s something to watch.

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get into why Love is able to succeed in these concepts, and how the Lions’ defense will be challenged to stop him — especially with those bang-on downfield throws.

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You can watch this week’s full “Xs and Os” video with all the key matchups for Week 4 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: Detroit’s precision, motion could cause problems for Green Bay’s defense

The Lions have a precise passing game with motion that could upend the Packers on Thursday night. Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar break it down.

The Detroit Lions under offensive coordinator Ben Johnson don’t use pre-snap motion a ton in the passing game, but when they do, it’s generally effective and explosive. Through the first three games of the 2023 NFL season, per Sports Info Solutions, quarterback Jared Goff has 45 dropbacks with pre-snap motion, which ranks 24th in the league. But with motion, he’s completed 31 of 41 passes for 357 yards, 231 yards, three touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 115.6 — fourth-best in the league.

One reason that the Lions are so good with motion is the precision of their receiver splits and concepts. Johnson sets Goff up to hit open reads with different motion ideas, including the speed motion that has taken the NFL by storm… especially in Miami.

This 22-yard pass to receiver Kalif Raymond against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3 had Raymond running across the formation pre-snap to get a full head of steam, and that put him ahead of cornerback DeAundre Alford in Atlanta’s Cover-3. Goff could turn his back with play-action and then hit his back foot to throw with confidence.

The good news for the Green Bay Packers, who the Lions face on Thursday night, is that their middle-of-the-pack defense is actually quite good when dealing with motion in the passing game. Joe Barry’s defense had allowed 26 catches on 37 attempts for 228 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 72.8, which is the NFL’s sixth-lowest.

This Rasul Douglas interception against the Atlanta Falcons and quarterback Desmond Ridder in Week 2 was a somewhat similar concept, with running back Bijan Robinson running that fast motion across. However, Robinson didn’t exploit the deep coverage against Cover-3 the way Raymond did for the Lions, and Ridder decided to throw over the middle, with far less than the desired effect.

There’s motion to indicate, and motion to disrupt. This appeared to be neither. The Lions will provide a tougher test for the Packers because of that offensive precision than the Falcons or Chicago Bears have.

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys got deeper into that idea.

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“When you watch their offense, you just get a really strong sense that it all works together so efficiently, and very rhythmically,” Greg said. “It comes down to, how do you disrupt timing? There are different ways to do that, but you’re trying to disrupt timing.”

Option 1 for any defense to disrupt receiver timing is to press those receivers, but motion obviously complicates that equation.

“I spoke to a defensive coach this week who said that it’s possible to jam motions, but it takes a lot of work, and it’s very hard,” Greg continued. “The whole thing with dealing with receivers because the ball comes out quickly is that it’s tough deal when you deal with motion. It’s harder to jam receivers on the move, particularly when they’re motioning across the formation.”

Which the Lions can do very well.

You can watch this week’s full “Xs and Os” video with all the key matchups for Week 4 right here:

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

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Secret Superstars: The top underrated players for Week 3 of the NFL season

From De’Von Achane to Tank Dell to Hjalte Froholdt to Terrel Bernard to Kendall Fuller, here are the Secret Superstars for Week 3 of the 2023 NFL season.

There are all kinds of reasons that NFL players are underrated.

Perhaps they’re in systems that don’t best show their skills. Maybe they’re buried on a depth chart. Or, they’re in somebody’s doghouse, and their coaches can’t see their potential. Sometimes, young players haven’t quite put it all together, but there are enough flashes to make you sit up and take notice, and when it does work, it’s all good.

Week 3 of the 2022 regular season features players at every position who showed up and showed out despite their underrated statuses, and here at Touchdown Wire, it’s our job to point them out.

Here are the Secret Superstars for Week 3 of the 2022 NFL season.

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus unless otherwise indicated). 

The All-22: Dolphins had the perfect game plan in historic 70-point performance

The Miami Dolphins put up a historic offensive performance on Sunday, and here’s how they did it from the All-22 view.

There are wins, there are beatdowns, there are absolute ass-whoopings, and then… there’s what the Miami Dolphins’ offense did to the Denver Broncos’ defense on Sunday in a 70-20 thrashing the likes of which professional football has rarely seen.

Mike McDaniel’s offense put up 726 total yards, becoming the fourth team in NFL history, including the postseason, to score at least 70 points in a game and the first in 57 years, joining the Chicago Bears (73 points in the 1940 NFL Championship on December 8, 1940), the Washington Redskins (72 points on November 27, 1966), and the Los Angeles Rams (70 points on October 22, 1950).

Dolphins hit 70-point mark against baffled Broncos

Per NFL Research, the Dolphins are the second team in NFL history, including the postseason, to record at least 700 yards of total offense in a single game, joining the Rams on September 28, 1951 (735 yards of offense).

Miami has recorded 1,651 total yards of offense this season and surpassed the 2011 New England Patriots (1,621 yards of offense) for the most-ever by a team through its first three games of a season.

The Dolphins have scored 130 points so far this season and surpassed the 2013 Denver Broncos (127 points) and 1966 Dallas Cowboys (127) for the second-most ever by a team through its first three games of a season. Only the 1968 Cowboys (132 points) had more.

So, yeah… pretty historic stuff.

Here are all 10 of the Dolphins’ touchdowns in historic 70-20 beatdown of the Broncos

“Shame on us if you put a ceiling on what you’re capable of,” McDaniel said after the game. “If you just worry about the right things, you don’t worry about anything but your technique and fundamentals and your assignment within the team. You don’t worry about stats, you don’t worry about credit, it’s amazing what a group of people can do going in one direction. I think the points don’t carry over, but I do think this is a meaningful game for a lot of guys to understand to not let an opportunity on the field together slip through your fingers in any way, shape or form because collectively, we have all the right people to do some pretty cool stuff on the football field. I think that’s just incredible. It just goes through my mind like a Rolodex, like all of the intentional work that goes into it by the players.

The Dolphins dumped the entire Rolodex of plays on Vance Joseph’s defense, and here’s how they did it to such a ridiculously successful degree.

The 49ers seem to think that Giants QB Daniel Jones is seriously overpaid

After Daniel Jones’ underwhelming Thursday night game, several 49ers defenders implied that the Giants’ quarterback is seriously overpaid.

Outside of the second half and overtime of their Week 2 win over the Arizona Cardinals, the New York Giants have woefully underperformed on offense this season. And in Thursday night’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers — a 30-12 loss that the Giants were never in after a 3-3 start — quarterback Daniel Jones did little to impress. Jones completed 22 of 32 passes for 132 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception, and that yardage total tells you all you need to know about Big Blue’s approach in the passing game. Overwhelmed by an injury-ravaged offensive line against San Francisco’s dominant fronts, Jones was pressured on 15 of his 34 dropbacks, per Pro Football Focus, which is unsustainable for any quarterback.

After the game, several 49ers defenders made it clear that they were unimpressed with Jones, and found the four-year, $160 million contract he signed this offseason to be… well, farcical.

“The dude did not want to throw the ball,” one unnamed 49ers defender told Mike Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle. “Early on, you could tell it wasn’t gonna happen. Everything was a checkdown. At that point, we knew what time it was.”

Linebacker Dre Greenlaw had no problem putting his name on his opinion of Jones.

“A lot of people who make all that money don’t even deserve it. I think they took a chance [when they paid him]. I mean, he’s not bad. And if you ain’t got nothing better…”

Per Silver, the hits just kept on coming.

“Yeah,” conceded Niners cornerback Charvarius (Mooney) Ward, “forty million dollars a year is a lot of money.”

Another S.F. defender called Jones’ salary “unbelievable.” Still another used the word “ridiculous.” Said a third: “That’s a travesty, man.”

Ward was also happy to discuss the interception Jones threw with 3:48 left in the game, though it wasn’t Jones’ fault — he threw a slant on time to tight end Darren Waller, Ward matched Jones over the middle, Waller couldn’t bring it in, the ball bounced up in the air, linebacker Fred Warner almost caught it, and the ball floated to safety Talanoa Hufanga.

“It makes you hungry,” Ward said. “At the end of the game, every DB on the field was playing for a pick. Huf was the lucky guy to get it. I had a good assist. I was happy to help. We were on our P’s and Q’s tonight.”

Jones wasn’t, and in the doing of that undoing, he left the 49ers wondering what the Giants were thinking with that contract.

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Previewing Week 3’s biggest NFL matchups

With tape study and advanced metrics, Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar detail Week 3’s biggest matchups in this week’s “Xs and Os” video and podcast.

It’s time for Week 3 of the NFL season, and Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup, and Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire, are here to preview the biggest games and the most exciting matchups in the new week.

This week’s games:

Buffalo Bills at Washington Commanders: How Sam Howell has impressed just about everybody.

Los Angeles Chargers at Minnesota Vikings: What might Justin Herbert see from Brian Flores’ offense? Based on this year’s trend, it could be just about anything.

Chicago Bears at Kansas City Chiefs: Justin Fields is clearly on the outs with his coaches. How can the Bears put together a functional passing game?

Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Where are we with Jalen Hurts’ pocket vision after two weeks, and why Baker Mayfield is looking so good in Dave Canales’ offense.

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: Sam Howell shows high-level QB traits early in his NFL career

Sam Howell of the Washington Commanders has shown high-level traits in his short NFL career. Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar break it down.

The Washington Redskins/Football Team/Commanders/INSERT NAME HERE have been looking for a franchise quarterback since the halcyon days of Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins (both selected in the 2012 draft), and they may just have the solution to that long problem in second-year man Sam Howell, taken in the fifth round of the 2022 draft out of North Carolina.

Howell’s collegiate career was odd. He looked like a first-round talent in 2020, when he completed 237 of 348 passes for 3,586 yards, 30 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. Then in 2021, Howell was without his top two receivers (Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome) and his top two running backs (Javonte Williams and Michael Carter), who had all left for the NFL. He still played decently, completing 217 of 347 passes for 3,056 yards, 24 touchdowns, and nine interceptions, and become more of a runner, but it seemed that the NFL had downgraded him.

Now, the NFL might regret it. This season, in his second and third NFL starts, Howell has completed 46 of 70 passes for 501 yards, three touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 95.0. Howell is thriving in Eric Bieniemy’s offense, and he’s making a ton of big plays with high-level quarterback traits.

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” Greg (of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup) and Doug (of Touchdown Wire) had a lot to say about Howell’s ability to knife through the NFL.

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(Note to our viewers: I kept referring to Howell’s 2021 season when I meant his 2020 season, because I’m an idiot). 

“I think there’s a lot to like about his tape,” Greg said. “He’s very tough in the pocket, he’s willing to stand and deliver in the face of pressure, he does not flinch at all. He makes throws with bodies around him and maintains his firm base. He still steps toward his target, and he’s very fundamentally driven in the way he throws the football. He’s an over-the-top thrower, which you don’t see a lot in the NFL anymore, but that’s really important for him in the same way it was important for Drew Brees. Because when you’re six feet tall, and you throw with that three-quarter delivery, which a lot of quarterbacks do, that hurts you, because you’re six feet tall.

“He’s got a good arm, and for a guy who’s only started three games, I think he sees things pretty well. I think he knows where to go with the ball, he doesn’t force the ball, and he doesn’t look hurried in the pocket. I really like what I’ve seen in these two games from Sam Howell this season.”

Perhaps Howell’s most impressive throw this season so far came with 11:53 left in the third quarter of Washington’s 35-33 win over the Denver Broncos last Sunday. Howell had a backside switch release with receiver Jahan Dotson and tight end Cole Turner, and that — plus the release route run by tight end John Bates — forced Denver’s quarters coverage to the bunch side of the field. That put Terry McLaurin one-on-one with cornerback Damarri Mathis, and when you’re one-on-one with Scary Terry with a 10-yard bump, things probably aren’t going to go well for you.

Meanwhile, Howell did a nice job of evading pressure with pocket movement to his left, and you can see him looking safeties Justin Simmons and Delarrin Turner-Yell off, and making the precise throw into converging coverage.

The Buffalo Bills will be dealing with this offense on Sunday, and it’ll be a serious challenge for Sean McDermott’s group.

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: Justin Herbert vs. Brian Flores is a chess match to savor

When the Chargers and Vikings play on Sunday, pay attention to the chess match between Vikings DC Brian Flores and Chargers QB Justin Herbert.

Both the Los Angeles Chargers and the Minnesota Vikings come into Sunday’s matchup with 0-2 records, but we shouldn’t overlook this game from a schematic perspective. That’s because Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores is one of the most unpredictable coaches in his position in the NFL, and Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert has the physical and mental tools to nuke just about any weird defense you want to throw at him.

Moreover, the Chargers are getting it done in the run game as well, and this could be a problem Flores doesn’t want to revisit. In Week 2 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Flores started the game with some pressure looks, but called far more five-man “umbrella” coverages out of big nickel.

Per Sports Info Solutions, in Week 1 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Vikings had a light box on 37% of their defensive snaps, which ranked 28th in the league. Against the Eagles, the Vikings had a light box on 63% of their defensive snaps, which led the league. The Eagles responded as you should against all those light boxes — by running the ball 48 times for 259 yards and three touchdowns. 

The Chargers have run the ball this season 61 times for 294 yards and three touchdowns. Both Austin Ekeler and Joshua Kelley have played well, so you wonder what the strategy will be here.

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” Greg (of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup) and Doug (of Touchdown Wire) got into the adjustments Philly offensive coordinator Brian Johnson made against all those coverages, and what we might see in Week 3.

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The Vikings did give up two explosive plays to the Eagles in Week 2, and this is something to monitor, bccause both came against blitzes. There was this 54-yard pass to DeVonta Smith against a six-man pressure and Cover-2 in which both Smith and A.J. Brown were open on mirrored vertical routes…

…and this 63-yard pass to Smith — another six-man pressure and some highly questionable coverage on the back end.

The problem with Herbert, as the Tennessee Titans found out last Sunday, is that even when you throw drops into coverage at him post-snap, he can still make bang-on throws like this 42-yard laser to Keenan Allen.

And when pressured this season, per Pro Football Focus, Herbert has completed seven of 15 passes for 104 yards, two of his three touchdowns, and no interceptions.

(Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

Most likely, Flores will pick his poisons carefully and switch it up against Herbert. No matter what, it’ll be a fascinating back-and-forth.

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: Why Baker Mayfield is lighting it up in the Buccaneers’ offense

Baker Mayfield has been cooking for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar are here to break down why with the All-22.

Sometimes, all you need is the right home.

Baker Mayfield has been with four teams over the last three seasons — the Cleveland Browns, the Carolina Panthers, the Los Angeles Rams, and now the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who signed the 2018 first-overall pick to a one-year, $4 million contract this offseason.

Through two games — both wins — Mayfield has been dialing it up in first-year offensive coordinator Dave Canales’ system in ways we haven’t often seen from him in the past. Mayfield has completed 47 of 68 passes for 501 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 105.1 — fifth-best among quarterbacks taking at least 50% of their teams’ snaps this season.

Mayfield has been specifically great in 11 personnel (one tight end, one running back, three receivers), which has been his ideal personnel group in past seasons.

How Baker Mayfield can be a top-tier quarterback — in the right offense

In 2023, Mayfield has completed 31 of 44 passes out of 11 personnel for 324 yards, and all three of his touchdowns. Route concepts out of that group seem to give Mayfield a more comfortable picture.

But two of Mayfield’s explosive throws have also come out of 12 personnel, with two tight ends, a running back, and two receivers. That included this 70-yard catch by Mike Evans in which tight end Ko Kieft was in the backfield, and tight end Cade Otton was aligned to the right side of the formation. At the snap, both Kieft and Otton blocked for Mayfield’s front side, and that game Mayfield the time he needed to hit Mike Evans on the backside deep comeback. From there, it was Evans outracing everybody, and once again, this was not Mayfield’s first read. Safety Elijah Hicks came after Mayfield on a long blitz, turning the coverage from a two-high look to Cover-3, and Mayfield was all over it.

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys discussed why Mayfield is thriving in Canales’ offense. As we saw on that second play, protection has been a major factor.

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“They’re very protection-based, which is smart with Mayfield,” Greg said. “Because Mayfield is the kind of quarterback where, the longer he’s in the pocket, the less comfortable he gets. His feet start to get jumpy, he loses his base, his mind works too fast, and he loses clarity of what he’s seeing.

“So, what do you have to do with Mayfield? You have to put him in a situation where he’s in rhythm. Where he can hit the back foot, and the ball can come out. Protection becomes critical, and they are doing protection first in terms of bodies, and in terms of alignment.

“The other thing that has really stood out is the use of Chris Godwin. Godwin a year ago led the NFL in [regular-season] targets [94] and receptions [67] from the slot. This year, he’s actually lined up more often outside than from the slot.”

Greg then further detailed that 24-yard pass to Godwin shown above.

“It was Dagger — everybody runs Dagger — and it was a classic case of what I’m talking about. Otton started in the backfield, he was able to release through the line because it just turned out to be a four-man rush, and so Mayfield was comfortable. He was able to throw with great timing.”

The Bucs face off against the Philadelphia Eagles and their dominant defensive front on Monday night, which will surely test Canales’ protection concepts and Mayfield’s internal clock. But so far through two games, Mayfield has completed 21 of 27 passes under pressure for 230 yards, one touchdown, and a passer rating of 123.1.

Game on, as they say.

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.