Two games into his Steelers career, it’s already time to pull the plug on Mitchell Trubisky

Two games are plenty to write off the former top pick.

Now and then, it’s suggested a change of scenery could do a struggling veteran NFL player well. They might even thrive in escaping a situation that probably fed into their inconsistencies. It can be heartening, speaks to relatable stories of redemption, and does not apply to Mitchell Trubisky and the Steelers wholeheartedly.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Question marks surround Trubisky and an inept offense as he and his team are set to take on Insert Team in a primetime game. You could substitute in “Packers” from Trubisky’s old Bears days or the Browns on Thursday Night Football, and it’d be indistinguishable.

What was true from 2017-2020 in Chicago remains entirely correct: Trubisky isn’t a viable long-term starter in the NFL. And probably never will be.

Now, you might say it’s still too early to write off Trubisky and to let first-round rookie Kenny Pickett give it the old college try. Two games aren’t nearly enough to understand what a player brings to the table. I get it. A short leash does no one under center any favors. Unfortunately, that would only be true if Trubisky wasn’t:

  1. 28 years old (decidedly NOT a young quarterback)
  2. If this wasn’t the very same Trubisky we saw struggle to read defenses for almost half a decade along Lake Michigan.

Such a deficiency doesn’t simply go away because the closest body of water to his new team is now the Allegheny River.

Through just eight quarters of football, Trubisky has been so ineffective as the Steelers’ passer that it bears wondering how anyone believed this experiment would work out in the first place. Right now, the veteran QB is 29th in the NFL in passing yards (362). Some of the players notably ahead of him include:

  • Perennial journeyman Jacoby Brissett (the Browns’ current starter)
  • Daniel “I Will Make The Most Out of Chance No. 4” Jones in New York.
  • Geno Smith. Really

While some of the players just behind Trubisky include the 49ers’ Trey Lance (now injured; played one game in a driving rainstorm) and his replacement in Chicago, Justin Fields (also played one game in a driving rainstorm; has a historic 28 total passing attempts thus far).

Trubisky’s average yards per attempt is 5.1, and his total air yards — a measure of big chunk plays a quarterback creates rather than their receiver getting yards after the catch — is 25th in the NFL with 231 total. This is a far cry from the last instance Trubisky was a starter in 2020 in Chicago when, in 10 games, he managed to finish … 32nd in air yards. It’s wild how Trubisky didn’t magically learn how to challenge defenses downfield in the one year he spent trying to absorb ability by osmosis as Josh Allen’s backup in Buffalo. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I understand the Steelers’ have a gifted receiving corps capable of making huge plays at any moment. But with that kind of non-threatening output, you might as well just hand off to the running back every play. The quarterback becomes redundant — an offensive conduit no defense is afraid of or has to game-plan for. And you’re wasting that receiving talent, to boot.

As my pal and colleague Christian D’Andrea wrote after Trubisky’s listless 168-yard, one touchdown, one interception performance against the Patriots last Sunday — the Steelers should know better about their quarterbacks, too:

The Steelers are well aware of the damage a passer who can’t throw downfield creates; that pretty much sums up the final two years of Roethlisberger’s career.

Pittsburgh and Mike Tomlin might have a good reason for waiting to throw Pickett in. We’ve seen many young quarterbacks struggle before they were “ready.” But if the Steelers’ best recourse is to let Trubisky take live reps and keep the seat warm for The Future while their offense coughs up dust every week, that noble plan won’t last long.

The pick: Browns 17, Steelers 10

Neither of these teams boast very explosive offenses, but the Browns have one of the NFL’s premier offensive lines and Nick Chubb. They’ll bowl over their rivals in a decisive and clinical low-scoring affair.

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Bill Belichick’s praise of Lamar Jackson had NFL fans thinking he wants him on the Patriots

Is Belichick being slick or just complimenting a great player?

When it comes to helping (and planning against) great quarterbacks, few people might have a better understanding of the position than Belichick. From coaching Tom Brady for two decades to trying to defend greats like Peyton Manning, Belichick has certainly been around the block.

With the Patriots facing the Ravens (-2.5) this Sunday, Belichick’s praise toward Jackson’s direction on Wednesday was noteworthy. One of the greatest coaches of all time knows what Jackson is capable of. As anonymous people in the league continue to lob what feels like unwarranted criticisms at the Ravens’ superstar, Belichick isn’t buying it.

For someone who usually keeps tight-lipped about most situations in public, Belichick didn’t mince his words in complimenting the Baltimore talisman:

“… He’s the type of player that’s an MVP candidate.”

It doesn’t get any more succinct or salient than that. (Note: After winning the award in 2019, Jackson became one of only two unanimous MVPs in NFL history after Tom Brady in 2010).

Belichick also knows firsthand how the multifaceted Jackson can tear apart his own defensive scheme. In two career games against Belichick’s Patriots, Jackson is a combined 41-of-57 for 412 passing yards and three touchdowns and has gashed New England for 116 rushing yards (on 4.3 yards per carry) and two scores on the ground. The Ravens went 1-1 in both affairs.

As Jackson plays this season without the mega (fully guaranteed) contract he was seeking, acclaim like this from one of the best to ever roam a sideline holds more weight. And hey, perhaps Belichick will end up being right: Jackson’s next deal, wherever it happens, will very likely reflect his status as a superstar signal caller.

Who knows? It might even happen in New England.

Orioles’ Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson somehow corralled easy pop-up after wild bobble

Even accidental teamwork makes the dream work!

In a surprising 76-71 season in Baltimore, the Orioles might have the makings of a bright future if they stay patient. Should Baltimore evolve into a bona fide contender in the coming years, it might happen thanks to the efforts of young players like baseball’s former No. 1 prospect Adley Rutschman and burger-loving Gunnar Henderson.

On Tuesday night against the Tigers (-1.5), the pair “teamed up” on a wild bobble that almost became a complete disaster for Baltimore. When Detroit’s Willi Castro sent a ball up into the air for what should have been an easy pop-up out for the Orioles, Rutschman and Henderson both found themselves in a position to make a play.

The bad news is that the miscommunication led to a bobble from Rutschman when Henderson’s glove and arm weren’t quite out of his way. The good news is that Rutschman showed impeccable concentration to somehow keep this ball from hitting the ground:

Wow. How Rutschman manages to stay with the ball after that bobble, I don’t know. Credit to him for salvaging the accident and keeping the easy out in the Orioles’ back pocket. For his own efforts, Henderson would later hit his first-ever home run at Camden Yards:

While Baltimore would eventually lose 3-2, it certainly wasn’t because two of their bright young players didn’t come to play.

Darius Slay picked Kirk Cousins off and promptly gifted the ball to James Harden on the sidelines

There are some good vibes rolling in Philadelphia!

In every phase of the game, the Eagles looked dominant while tearing apart the Vikings (+3) on Monday Night Football.

With his rocket arm and electric mobility, Jalen Hurts had the Philadelphia offense absolutely humming. A terrific effort stymied Kirk Cousins and one Justin Jefferson almost out of the game completely on defense. It was Darius Slay — primarily assigned to cover Jefferson — who not only shut down the superstar receiver but added a pair of picks as a cherry on top of a 24-7 Eagles win.

It was also Slay who shut down a promising Vikings third-quarter possession in the red zone by jumping in front of a Cousins pass for Jefferson:

That’s one way to close a drive on defense.

Aside from the pick itself, Slay’s play might have been most notable for what he did after in a celebration. The superstar corner wasted no time running over to the first row of the stadium to give a “special fan” the interception ball.

That special fan happened to be 76ers star guard James Harden:

That’s a sight Philadelphia sports fans have to love. The Eagles and 76ers smiling and laughing together in a big-time performance. Does it get any better for Philly?

The Titans’ Mike Vrabel couldn’t stomach the Bills’ beat down and NFL fans roasted him

Vrabel REALLY couldn’t take watching his team’s beatdown.

The Titans and Mike Vrabel entered their Monday Night Football matchup with the Bills (-10) hoping to rebound from a shocking Week 1 defeat to the Giants. Unfortunately, with Buffalo being a juggernaut and all, they weren’t willing to give ground to Tennessee’s request.

After the Bills scored quickly and efficiently on their first possession, a Tennesee answer with an early Derrick Henry touchdown to knot it up was the most fight the Titans would show all night. From 5:23 left in the first quarter to 3:49 remaining in the fourth, the Bills would 34 unanswered points, including three of four Josh Allen touchdown passes.

Truly, this 41-7 blowout affair for the Bills was never all that close save for the opening minutes. And that seemed to really bother Vrabel, who couldn’t bear watching the Titans look entirely uncompetitive against the Bills:

That’s the kind of look you have when you’re staring 0-2 in the face, and it’s giving you daggers. As Tennessee’s head coach, Vrabel is understandably upset and probably more emotionally invested than the average. But man — he is going through it.

Flipped video showed Tua Tagovailoa throwing right handed and fans couldn’t believe the difference

Perception really might be everything for Tua.

One of the more stunning results of this extremely young NFL season was the Dolphins’ ridiculous 21-point fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Ravens (-3.5) on Sunday. Not only did Miami score four touchdowns in the final 12 minutes to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, they did it thanks to the show that Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and, of course, Tua Tagovailoa put on through the air.

Now, you might think that a quarterback like Tagovailoa — who threw for six touchdowns and almost 470 yards against Baltimore — doesn’t have much else to prove. But the NFL community has long questioned whether the lefty Tagovailoa has the requisite arm strength to be a viable difference-maker under center.

A new video on Twitter — where the footage is flipped, so it looks like Tagovailoa is launching dimes to Hill and Waddle with his right arm — might make you reconsider some quarterback biases:

That is positively wild! Watch a standard Tagovailoa pass, and it does, indeed, look like the ball comes out with an awkward release. Watch this flipped video, and it looks like he’s got a cannon!

Now, what this actually means for the Dolphins (or any professional quarterback evaluators) is probably nothing. Unless I’m mistaken, NFL teams can’t figuratively flip reality on its head. But this clip sure will make you think about how you view a left-handed quarterback versus a righty.

The Bears’ passing offense is so bad you’d have to go back 40 years to find a worse one

It’s 2022, and the Bears are still figuring out the forward pass.

If you’ve ever paid attention to the Chicago Bears for even a second, you know it’s an organization that has struggled to find The Answer under center for years. Whereas most squads have figured out the forward pass is an entirely legal and viable way to move the football downfield, the Bears are often, instead, at Square One.

But for all their passing ineptitude, you never necessarily think the Bears can get any worse. After all, they’re often already at the bottom of the abyss. Following their latest stinker of a performance on Sunday Night Football against the Packers (-10), that assertion would be incorrect. When it comes to Bears passing offenses, it can and usually gets worse.

Since 2000, four NFL offenses have completed eight or fewer passes in a game. You read that right. Four. Justin Fields and the Matt Eberflus Bears have now done it in back-to-back weeks as they’ve evidently returned to the days of the “T-Formation”:

Even worse, these same Eberflus-Fields Bears are the first squad in four decades to complete 15 passes in the first two weeks of a season. Can I get the biggest of “yikes”?

 

In some extremely minor respects, the Bears’ actions can be explained.

For example, Justin Fields has just 12 starts to his name. And after a year where it can be argued the previous staff with Matt Nagy had little interest in long-term development for Fields, he may as well be starting from scratch himself. Amid his struggles, the quarterback is still technically so very green as a professional passer.

Regarding the overall offensive cast, we’ve documented what little the Bears have in place up front on their offensive line and at their paltry skill positions. And well, two weeks into a regular season, that hasn’t changed! Supposed top weapons Darnell Mooney and Cole Kmet have a combined two catches for four yards in eight quarters of football, while Fields is asunder any time he drops back to pass.

Throw in an inexperienced first-year offensive coordinator like Luke Getsy, still trying to feel his way through matters, and you have the perfect mix of an offense that can barely fly. Fields has 28 passing attempts through two weeks. Not that it’s a precise marker of success, but a lot of quarterbacks have 28 attempts through three quarters most weeks.

The Bears are a rebuilding team and probably going through more growing pains than they’d like. But no professional offense should be masquerading around pretending that fewer than eight pass completions a game is a viable formula in the year 2022. If this is Chicago’s strategy for “evaluating” Fields as the future of the franchise while simultaneously winning games — it’s a guarantee neither goal will see much success.

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Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins scored 28 points in 12 minutes in a wild comeback win and NFL fans were stunned

The Dolphins were COOKING in the clutch!

The Dolphins seemed to be in a tough spot against the Ravens (-3.5) on Sunday.

On defense, Miami had no answer for Lamar Jackson, who was dealing and doing Lamar Jackson things (318 passing yards, three passing TDs; 119 rushing yards, one rushing TD). On offense, Tua Tagovailoa and Co. just couldn’t seem to get any traction, as two big-time picks by Marcus Williams killed promising Dolphins’ possessions and even turned into a quick six points for the Ravens.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Baltimore held a seemingly insurmountable 35-14 lead, and the Dolphins looked like they were dead in the water. That’s before Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, and Jaylen Waddle blew this game wide open:

By the time the dust settled on the cardiac Dolphins’ comeback attempt, they had scored four (!) fourth-quarter touchdowns — including two to Hill and this dynamite last-minute game-winner to Waddle:

Holy. Cow.

A lot had to assuredly happen for the Dolphins (the Ravens offense turning off the jets always helps) to even get into such a position, but what resolve from this Miami group in a 42-38 win. Especially Tagovailoa, who threw for 469 yards (!) and six touchdowns for a 9.4 yards-per-attempt average en route to making Dolphins history:

The Dolphins and Tagovailoa are 2-0 after scoring four touchdowns in roughly the last 12 minutes of play on the road in Baltimore. Football is such a silly, stupid, and wonderful game, isn’t it?

NFL fans weren’t happy about a controversial call on Saints’ Bradley Roby that gave the Bucs a key first down

This was an interesting call by the officials.

For most of Sunday afternoon, the Saints and Buccaneers (-2.5) were locked into a tough, gritty battle at the Superdome. There was a clearly unhappy Tom Brady amidst rampant offensive frustrations. Then, Mike Evans and Marshon Lattimore got heated and fought in the fourth quarter. You know, the usual works of a divisional tilt.

But one call might have shifted this game’s tide into the Buccaneers’ favor. On a late third-and-long throw to Cameron Brate, the tight end would only get nine of a needed 10 yards.

That is before an unnecessary roughness call on Bradley Roby — for apparently making contact with Brate’s helmet on the tackle — extended Tampa Bay’s drive:

Boy, I don’t know about that one. I understand the league’s mandate to protect offensive players more, but I’m not sure Roby actually makes direct contact with Brate’s helmet aside from brushing it on the play. That, to me, is Roby essentially getting a penalty for missing a tackle.

After Roby’s controversial penalty extended the drive, Buccaneers would cap the possession with a Breshad Perriman touchdown and a 10-3 lead. Tampa Bay followed that by forcing four consecutive turnovers (including three Jameis Winston’s picks!) en route to a 20-10 win.

In other words: Roby’s penalty was quite the potential turning point on one play/call for the Saints.

A fight in Buccaneers-Saints turned into late-game ejections for Mike Evans, Marshon Lattimore

Things were getting HEATED in New Orleans!

In the midst of a stifling performance by the Saints’ defense, the Buccaneers (-2.5) and Tom Brady were understandably pretty frustrated for most of the afternoon in New Orleans on Sunday. With Tampa Bay sitting at just three points late during this pivotal divisional matchup, frustrations seemed to come to a head for Mike Evans.

Early on in the fourth quarter, Evans appeared to take exception with some aspect of Lattimore’s coverage/general play on him. In what certainly appears to be a continuation of the receiver and cornerback’s personal rivalry, Evans absolutely laid Lattimore out after the play. And, predictably, all chaos soon broke loose on the Superdome field:

Man, Evans and Lattimore really don’t like each other, huh? (Note: Evans had just three catches for 61 yards at the time of his ejection.)

Both Evans and Lattimore were given offsetting penalties for this skirmish. Though, those penalties were ejections as the stars had to leave at a very important and clutch moment in the game.