16. Tennessee Titans
(5-5. Last week: 21)
Don’t look now, but the Titans, once left at death’s door for the 2019 season, are starting to look a little frisky. They certainly were in their 35-32 win over the Chiefs, which included a four-play, 61-yard winning drive that took less than a minute off the clock and continued to redefine Ryan Tannehill’s legacy as an NFL quarterback. Tannehill started the drive with a 18-yard scramble, nearly hit A.J. Brown on a deep throw down the left side, and then hit on a tight-window deep throw to tight end Anthony Firkser and the game-winner to receiver Adam Humphries.
LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOO #KCvsTEN @ryantannehill1 to @adamhumphries13 🙌🏽 pic.twitter.com/zgMhN2efCr
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) November 10, 2019
Running back Derrick Henry was the real star of the day with his 188 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries, but this is a team that has not had a functional quarterback since Marcus Mariota became a shell of his former self over the past couple seasons. Perhaps Mariota can experience a Tannehill-like rebirth with another team in 2020. Right now, it’s Tannehill’s story that’s one of the most surprising of this season.
15. Philadelphia Eagles
(5-4. Week 10 Bye. Last week: 14)
The Eagles got bad news during their bye week, as wide receiver DeSean Jackson was placed on injured reserve with a core muscle injury. Jackson hadn’t really been a factor all season outside of an eight-catch, 154-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Redskins in Week 1, and his definite absence further complicates things for an offense in desperate need of speed and separation at any of its receiver positions. Signing wideout Jordan Matthews for his third stint with the team isn’t much more than spackle, and the pressure will be on Philly’s defense more than ever in the second half of the season if Doug Pederson’s team wants any part of the postseason. Given the rabid inconsistencies in that defense through the first half of the season (especially in coverage), that’s a rather large request.
14. Indianapolis Colts
(5-4. Last week: 13)
Though Jacoby Brissett had thrown 14 touchdowns and just three interceptions before suffering a sprained MCL in Week 9 against the Steelers, there were Colts fans who considered Brissett expendable. Those people are probably rethinking that position after their team’s 16-12 loss to the Dolphins, in which backup quarterback Brian Hoyer completed 18 of 39 passes for 204 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. This after Hoyer threw a 96-yard pick-six to Minkah Fitzpatrick to help lose the Steelers game. Hoyer was without star receiver T.Y. Hilton against the Dolphins, Frank Reich’s offense couldn’t get much going on the ground, and Adam Vinatieri continued a troubling 2019 season that suggest the greatest kicker in NFL history might need to hang ’em up. But the real story for the Colts is how they look without Brissett under center. It’s time to acknowledge that, perhaps especially in his absence.
13. Dallas Cowboys
(5-4. Last week: 12)
Throughout Dallas’ game against the Vikings on Sunday night, Dak Prescott was clearly on a roll, completing 28 of 46 passes for 397 yards, three touchdowns, one interception and several outstanding tight-window throws from both in and outside the pocket. So it was rather strange that with the Cowboys down 28-24 with 1:33 left in the game and the Vikings loading up to stop the run, the Dallas coaching staff would call two straight running plays. Ezekiel Elliott lost a total of three yards on those plays, Prescott couldn’t hit Elliott on fourth down, and the game was effectively over, although Prescott had another brief chance before time ran out in a last drive that ended with a Hail Mary interception. Oft-criticized head coach Jason Garrett insisted that his team would continue to maintain its identity as a running team, but when your franchise back has just 50 yards on 18 carries coming into that sequence, maybe it’s time to switch your identity. Once again, we are left with questions about Garrett’s role in play-calling versus the role of offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who’s been quite effective when left alone to do his thing.
12. Oakland Raiders
(5-4. Last week: 15)
Last week, I pointed out that the Raiders, in their Week 9 win over the Lions, were the first team since the 2015 Seahawks to have rookies score four touchdowns in a victory. Anytime you can put your draft class against the cream of the mid-decade Seahawks, your staff is doing something right. Against the Chargers last Thursday, it was time for Oakland’s rookie pass-rushers to show up. This they did, as Clelin Ferrell and Maxx Crosby combined for three sacks and 10 total pressures. Rookie running back Josh Jacobs also scored the game-deciding touchdown in a 26-24 win that put the Raiders over .500 — that was the Raiders’ league-leading 13th touchdown by a rookie in 2019. Oakland’s personnel staff, led by general manager Mike Mayock, has put together the NFL’s most impressive rookie class this season. There’s simply no way Jon Gruden’s team would be in playoff contention had Mayock and his people not done such an incredible job up and down their draft board.
11. Buffalo Bills
(6-3. Last week: 9)
One of the reasons — perhaps the primary reason — the Bills selected Josh Allen with the seventh pick in the 2018 draft, despite serious concerns about his accuracy to all levels of the field, was Allen’s howitzer of an arm. Buffalo’s coaching staff surely thought it would be relatively easy to correct this. Not so, and it really showed in the Bills’ 19-16 loss to the Browns, in which Baker Mayfield made a few more plays than Allen did. Buffalo’s defense allowed a crushing 82-yard drive late in the fourth quarter, but it was Allen’s inability to respond that should really concern the team. Per Pro Football Focus, Allen was 0-for-5 on passes of 20 or more air yards in this game, and for the season, he’s completed just 12 of 43 such passes for 350 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions and a passer rating of 39.7. Only Carolina’s Kyle Allen has a worse passer rating on deep balls among quarterbacks who have taken at least 50% of their team’s snaps this season, and Kyle Allen was nobody’s idea of a franchise quarterback when the season began.
10. Carolina Panthers
(5-4. Last week: 7)
Sometimes, there’s just the one thing you need to fix. The Panthers have a decent bridge quarterback in Kyle Allen, one of the best yards-from-scrimmage threats in the league in Christian McCaffrey, and a pass defense that is very tough to throw against. But their run defense? Yikes. Carolina is tied with Cincinnati in allowing a league-worst 5.2 yards per carry, and it’s never good to be tied with the NFL’s worst overall defense. The Packers exploited this obvious weakness in a 24-16 win, as Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams ran wild against a front seven that should be better than this, based purely on personnel. The Panthers will try to fix this issue against the Falcons and their 3.8 yards-per-carry average next week. Long term, this is the kind of thing that could upend everything else as the Panthers try to contend for the postseason.
9. Kansas City Chiefs
(6-4. Last week: 8)
Patrick Mahomes welcomed the NFL back to his own experience after missing two weeks due to a knee injury with 36 completions in 50 attempts for 446 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Mahomes did all he could do; the problem was, Kansas City’s defense didn’t do much to help. As a result, Mahomes became the 13th quarterback since 1950 to have his team lose in a game in which he threw for over 400 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, and suffered two sacks or fewer. Steve Spagnuolo’s defense looked helpless against Derrick Henry and Ryan Tannehill in the Chiefs’ 35-32 loss at Tennessee, and with the Raiders moving up the AFC West ladder, Kansas City looks vulnerable in ways it rarely did last season.