16. Carolina Panthers
(5-5. Last week: 10)
The Panthers were 4-2 ahead of their Week 7 bye, but they’ve lost three of four since, and Sunday’s 29-3 loss to the Falcons was singularly embarrassing. Quarterback Kyle Allen ran into a buzzsaw unseen since his no-touchdown, three-pick, seven-sack performance against San Francisco on Oct. 27, and given the quality of the defense he was facing this time around, this no-touchdown, four-pick, five-sack outing was even worse. Tight end Greg Olsen called it “a comedy of terrible football,” and he wasn’t far off. Without the efforts of Christian McCaffrey, who caught 11 passes for 121 yards and added 70 rushing yards on 14 carries, this offense with Allen would be an even tougher watch. It’s starting to look as if Allen is more of a work in progress than originally imagined, and the Panthers don’t have enough parts around him to make than transition any easier.
15. Tennessee Titans
(5-5. Week 11 Bye. Last week: 16)
The Titans have an interesting decision to make at the quarterback position, and one assumes general manager Jon Robinson thought about it a bit during his team’s bye week. The Marcus Mariota era is clearly over, as Mariota was benched a few weeks back, and he becomes a free agent at the start of the 2020 league year. But what to do with Ryan Tannehill, who was maddeningly inconsistent through five years in Miami, but has played pretty well in four games as a starter for this team? From Weeks 7-10, Tannehill ranks fourth in the NFL in yards per attempt at 8.5, he’s tied for third with eight touchdown passes and he has just three interceptions. He ranks eighth in passing yards with 1,017, and he’s fifth in passer rating at 107.5. That’s not to say Tannehill is ready for a big-time contract and a multiyear commitment. But he clearly has become smarter and less frenetic in the pocket, and he’s helping his receivers make plays in ways Mariota generally struggled to. The Titans are 3-1 in Tannehill’s starts. At the very least, Tannehill has proven that he can be a valuable bridge quarterback, and with a 2019 cap hit of $1,875,000, that’s as good a situation as you can expect for a franchise that appeared to be in quarterback purgatory.
14. Philadelphia Eagles
(5-5. Last week: 15)
Forget Carson Wentz or anybody else; right tackle Lane Johnson might be the Eagles’ most valuable player. When Johnson was in the game against the Patriots on Sunday, Philadelphia’s offense scored all 10 points it was to score on the day, including a touchdown at the end of a mammoth 95-yard drive that took 9:33 off the clock. But after Johnson left with a head injury in the second quarter and was replaced with Halapoulivaati Vaitai, the Eagles’ recurring issues — receivers who struggle to gain separation and an inconsistent running game — came up to bite them against a New England defense that was quite ready to shut things down. Wentz availed himself to a degree in the 17-10 loss with his team’s final two drives, in which the Eagles at least threatened to tie the game. But in the end, Wentz was pressured frequently and inaccurate just as often, and Doug Pederson was left without his bag of tricks because of limited personnel and limited opportunities.
13. Houston Texans
(6-4. Last week: 8)
Heading into Sunday’s matchup between the Texans and Ravens, the obvious story was the showcasing of Lamar Jackson and Deshaun Watson, two of the league’s most impressive young quarterbacks and legitimate contenders for the NFL MVP award. Problem was, only Jackson showed up. Watson was overwhelmed by a Baltimore defense that has taken on an entirely different cast in the last month — he completed 18 of 29 passes for 169 yards, no touchdowns and one interception in a 41-7 beatdown. Not that this was all Watson’s fault — the Texans were absolutely robbed on an inexcusable non-call for pass interference against Baltimore cornerback Marlon Humphrey, and Watson was sacked six times and hit 10 more times behind an offensive line that was completely unprepared for the Ravens’ voluminous blitz packages. Outside of a 41-yard touchdown run from Carlos Hyde, the Texans didn’t do much on the ground. Conversely, Houston’s defense had no answers for Jackson. This was a litmus test for the Texans, so that they could see whether they were ready to hang with the hottest team in the NFL. The answer was definitive, and not at all positive.
12. Indianapolis Colts
(6-4. Last week: 14)
Remember when Jacoby Brissett threw 14 touchdown passes and just three interceptions in the first nine weeks of the season, and yet the overwhelming narrative was that he was just a widget between Andrew Luck and the Colts’ next franchise quarterback? After two games with Brissett out due to an MCL injury, and Brian Hoyer vomiting the ball all over the field, Colts fans might want to take a closer look at the starting quarterback they do have. Against the Jaguars in a 33-13 win, Brissett wasn’t dominant by any means — he completed 15 of 24 passes for 148 yards, one touchdown and one interception — but he didn’t need to be dominant, either. Indy got 100-yard rushing performances from both Jonathan Williams and Marlon Mack (who suffered a fractured hand in the game), Brissett ran for a 5-yard touchdown, and the Colts enjoyed the greatest touchdown celebration for a play that didn’t turn out to be a touchdown in NFL history: The Quenton Nelson Keg Stand!
They might have taken @BigQ56's touchdown away.
But we'll always have this. pic.twitter.com/qoh9Znt1n9
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) November 17, 2019
The All-Pro guard came up just short of his own rushing touchdown, but this was primo stuff.
“I almost cried, because that celebration was pretty cool,” Brissett said after the game. “I hope that still can be nominated as one of the best celebrations, because I don’t know how they picked him up.”
We agree, and this game gives the Colts positive momentum as they prepare for the Texans next week in a game that could tilt the balance of power in the AFC South.
11. Dallas Cowboys
(6-4. Last week: 13)
Last week, the Cowboys fell short against the Vikings because head coach Jason Garrett took the ball out of Dak Prescott’s hands late in the game and called two unsuccessful run plays against a defense that hadn’t allowed a rushing first down all evening. This time, Garrett and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore kept the ball where it belongs in this particular iteration of Dallas’ offense — with their franchise quarterback. Prescott shredded Detroit’s man coverage in a 35-27 win, completing 29 of 46 passes for 444 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Per NFL Research, Prescott now has four games this season with at least 375 passing yards and two touchdowns, tying him with Joe Montana in 1990 for the most such performances through the first 10 games of a season in NFL history. Only Peyton Manning, who had six such games in 2013, has had more in a full season.
After the game, Moore talked about the specific shift from running back Ezekiel Elliott to Prescott as the fulcrum of this offense.
“At the end of the day, we’ve got the highest-paid runner and a really, really good offensive line, that draws attention,” he said. “Whether it eventually flips or impacts in other ways as we continue to throw it, we’ll keep doing what we do.”
What they do is to succeed when Prescott is their main man.
10. Oakland Raiders
(6-4. Last week: 12)
Another week, another opportunity to praise a Raiders rookie class that looks as strong as any in recent seasons. This time around, it was fourth-round pass-rusher Maxx Crosby who stood out, with four sacks, four tackles for loss, three quarterback hits, and a forced fumble in Oakland’s 17-10 win over the Bengals — a win that has Oakland pressing Kansas City for first place in the AFC West. Derek Carr was great, completing his first 14 attempts, and tight end Darren Waller continued a season in which he appears to be impossible to cover consistently.
Per Josh Dubow of the Associated Press, the Raiders rank first in the NFL in rookie scrimmage yards (1,676), first in rookie touchdowns (14), first in rookie rushing yards (937), first in rookie receptions (73) and first in rookie sacks (10). That the contributions have come from up and down the draft board and don’t include the efforts of injured first-round safety Johnathan Abram, who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 1, makes it all the more remarkable. General manager Mike Mayock (another rookie) should get serious Executive of the Year consideration, especially if the Raiders make the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
9. Buffalo Bills
(7-3. Last week: 11)
Over his past five games, Bills quarterback Josh Allen has thrown eight touchdown passes and no interceptions. Buffalo is 3-2 in those games, but it’s another indicator that this is an under-the-radar team determined to be taken seriously. Not only was Allen accurate on deep throws in a 37-20 win over the Dolphins in ways he’s struggled to be before, but he’s also gained a command of the offense that could have been called into question in previous stretches. This 40-yard touchdown pass to John Brown was a rocket to exploit a clear hole in zone coverage …
Dropping dimes. #BUFvsMIA | #GoBills pic.twitter.com/BQ7vYbqo2V
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) November 17, 2019
And this 9-yard touchdown pass to Brown in the fourth quarter showed an impressive ability to hit a timing throw into a tight window.
Another touchdown for John Brown! #BUFvsMIA | #GoBills pic.twitter.com/D6K751wAmM
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) November 17, 2019
Allen also scored a rushing touchdown, his seventh on the season and the 15th of his two-year career.
JA17!#BUFvsMIA | #GoBills pic.twitter.com/ioWbR46gkf
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) November 17, 2019
The Bills also picked up a season-high seven sacks against Miami’s overwhelmed offensive line, but it’s Allen’s recent development that makes the Bills a tough team to count out any week.