The Raiders feature two talented young offensive players – Josh Jacobs and Darren Waller – that could wreak havoc if the Jets can’t stop them.
The Jets return to Metlife Stadium on the heels of a great defensive performance in a win over the Redskins. Though they ended up allowing 17 points – which is coincidentally tied for the fewest they’ve allowed all season – the Jets defense had only given up three points before Washington scored twice in the final 10 minutes.
Gregg Williams’ crew will look to continue its hot streak against the Raiders, a team that sits in the middle of the pack in scoring (22.5 points per game, 17th in the league). They’ll need to rely on their dominant run defense as well as locking down two of Oakland’s young offensive weapons – running back Josh Jacobs and tight end Darren Waller. Cincinnati shockingly held the Raiders to only 17 points thanks to six sacks and two takeaways, and the Jets should be able to do at least that in Week 12.
Here are four keys to the Jets defense vs. the Raiders.
Touchdown Wire ranks the 32 NFL teams in terms of stability and potential at the game’s most important position over the next 3-4 seasons.
Tom Brady might be the best quarterback ever, but he’s not the best in the NFL right now. He certainly won’t be the best in 2022.
He’s human, after all, and at age 42, regression is inevitable even for someone with six Super Bowl rings. That puts the New England Patriots in an uncertain situation at quarterback two or three years down the road. The New Orleans Saints, with 40-year-old Drew Brees under center, find themselves in a similar scenario.
Other teams, such as the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers, likely will face difficult personnel decisions at the quarterback position much sooner than that. Only a handful of teams, notably the Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks, appear secure in their quarterback situation for years to come.
All this got us thinking about the quarterback situations of the future — and where each of the NFL’s 32 teams ranks in terms of preparedness at the game’s most crucial position.
By quarterback situations, we mean the full overview of each team’s quarterbacks group, including backups and a potential succession plan, if necessary. For this exercise, we will define the future as three to four years down the road.
To help form these opinions, we consulted with a blue-ribbon panel of one former head coach, two former general managers and one current general manager. They were asked for their thoughts on each team’s quarterback situation. They provided insight to inform our rankings.
With that in mind, we present Touchdown Wire’s future quarterback rankings for every NFL team, from worst to first:
32. Miami Dolphins
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Earlier this season, many observers accused the Dolphins of tanking to earn the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and presumably select a quarterback. Since then, Miami (2-8) has been eclipsed by the ineptitude of Cincinnati (0-10) and Washington (1-9), so the Dolphins might not get the first QB off the board. Currently, the Dolphins have Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh Rosen on their roster. Rosen has failed in his playing time. There’s no way he’ll be back next year. The Dolphins have the option to hang onto Fitzpatrick, 36, who’s currently under contract next season at $5.5 million. It makes sense to keep Fitzpatrick around for one more year to help groom a young quarterback. That could be LSU’s Joe Burrow, Alabama’s Tua Tagavailoa (although his recent hip injury now complicates his draft status), Oregon’s Justin Herbert or Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts. Two members of my panel said they like Burrow better than Tagovailoa. Either way, it’s going to take some time to develop a young quarterback.
31. Chicago Bears
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For the moment, Mitchell Trubisky is Chicago’s starting quarterback. But it doesn’t appear that he will be in that role next year — although he remains under contract and the team holds a fifth-year option on the No. 2 overall pick from 2017. Given his level of play this season, it’s highly unlikely he will receive the option year, and he might not even see 2020 with the Bears — although the cap hit for cutting him would be slightly more than $9 million. The Bears are 4-6 after going 12-4 last year. There’s one main reason for the decline. That’s Trubisky. My panelists say he’s holding the offense back and could end up keeping a good team out of the playoffs. All four panelists agree Trubisky should be nothing more than a backup. Current backup Chase Daniel’s contract expires after this season. So there’s no telling who will be Chicago’s quarterback next year. Maybe the Bears will draft a quarterback. But with a talented roster already in place, the Bears should be first in line to sign New Orleans backup Teddy Bridgewater as a free agent.
30. Cincinnati Bengals
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Veteran Andy Dalton has been benched, and the Bengals are giving rookie fourth-rounder Ryan Finley a shot. There should be no turning back to Dalton, even though he remains under contract for 2020 with a $17.5 million scheduled salary. The Bengals can cut Dalton after the season without any salary cap ramifications. It’s too early to judge Finley. Cincinnati is going to end up with an early draft pick and could have a shot at Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert or Jalen Hurts. The Bengals will be starting over. But, given their current state, that’s not a bad thing. “Dalton had more than enough time and couldn’t win consistently,” one panelist said. “I have no idea what they have in Finley. But they have to draft a quarterback if they’re sitting there at No. 1 or 2.”
29. Washington Redskins
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The current situation is a mess. Veterans Colt McCoy and Case Keenum, who clearly aren’t the answer, each is in the last year of their contract. The Redskins have little choice but to play rookie Dwayne Haskins, who has five interceptions and two touchdown passes, the rest of this season. Call it an audition for Haskins. But this situation is complicated because the Redskins currently have interim coach Bill Callahan, who took over when Jay Gruden was fired. There will be a new coach next year, and he might not like Haskins. With an early draft pick likely, the new coach might want his own guy. Give up on Haskins after only one season? Arizona did it with 2018 first-round pick Josh Rosen after drafting Kyler Murray. All four of our panelists said Haskins was overrated when he was drafted.
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr righted Oakland’s ship early in the game with this week’s drive, using both his arm and his legs.
The Raiders defense carried Oakland to a 17-10 victory against the winless Bengals, but that doesn’t mean the offense didn’t have its moments.
Rookie running back Josh Jacobs finished with 112 rushing yards on 23 carries. Wide receiver Tyrell Williams and tight end Darren Waller both had more than 75 yards receiving.
But it was quarterback Derek Carr that stole the show in this week’s drive of the game, doing his best impression of the last Raiders QB to take the franchise to a Super Bowl, and to play under coach Jon Gruden, Rich Gannon.
By the time the drive started, Carr already completed his first 11 passes and pulled the Raiders even at 7-7 in the second quarter. Gannon was the last Raiders quarterback to start a game so efficiently, in 2001 under Gruden, according to the CBS broadcast.
Carr didn’t stop there. After a 10-yard run by Jacobs, Carr completed his first pass of the drive to wide receiver Tyrell Williams for 21 yards. A roughing the passer penalty pushed Oakland to the Bengals’ 34-yard line.
Gruden kept feeding Jacobs; the rookie ran twice for 14 yards, followed by a reception for three more and another rush, this one good for five, leading to the two-minute warning. A 3rd-and-2 play at the 12-yard line awaited.
After the break, Carr found wide receiver Hunter Renfrow for 10 more yards. Jacobs ran for a short gain. On second down, Carr just missed tight end Darren Waller in the end zone. Though his reception streak snapped, Carr wasn’t finished evoking Gannon, the former NFL MVP.
After a drop back on third down, Carr bolted for the end zone, bringing to mind many Gannon scrambles on the way to an electrifying TD run.
Carr and the offense scored just enough points to win, but that’s the keyword: win. Though Carr’s offense didn’t perform as they would have liked, they produced yards and were on the field for more than 35 minutes, giving the defense much-needed rest.
Gruden, meanwhile, must be proud of the coaching job he’s done with Carr. The quarterback’s gunslinger style is toned down, and a precise signal-caller, reminiscent of the crafty Gannon, is on display. Given Carr’s superior arm talent, the compromise is something to behold. The Raiders may have won ugly against a bad team, but Carr’s TD run was still a thing of beauty, capping this week’s drive of the game.
Raider’s wire takes a look at the Winners and Losers from a close victory for the Oakland Raiders against the Cincinnati Bengals
The Oakland Raiders never want to give Raider Nation the day off. The Raiders got stuck in a battle with the 0-10 Cincinnati Bengals but came out with the victory in a 17-10 slugfest with the worst team in the league.
The Raider offense was able to move the football with ease but had two critical turnovers that led to the Bengals’ two scores. The offensive line had one of its worst games of the season, allowing a team that came into the game with 11 sacks to finish with three sacks on the stat sheet.
Carr was under pressure for most of the day and was able to maneuver to help keep the offense moving the football.
The Raiders’ defense continued its improvement with a dominant performance against an abysmal Bengals offense. They held the opponent to meager 4.2 yards per play and kept back up quarterback under constant pressure accumulating five sacks on the day. If the Raiders defense continues to improve, it will for sure help the playoff run deep into the season.
Who stood out this week in the win against the Bengals? Let’s look at the winners and losers from the Week 11 victory, moving the Raiders to 6-4.
Despite facing pressure at the third highest rate in the NFL, Russell Wilson has the league’s second best passer rating against pressure.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson has always handled being under pressure well, and the 2019 season is no different.
So far this season, Wilson has a passer rating of 108.7 when under pressure, which ranks second in the NFL behind Derek Carr of the Oakland Raiders (109.2).
The key difference, however, is that Wilson has still seen the third highest rate of pressure (41.8 percent of dropbacks) this season – despite clear evidence that he succeeds when faced with it.
Russell Wilson has been pressured at the 3rd-highest rate this season (41.8% of dropbacks) and has the 2nd-best passer rating under pressure (108.7).
The leader in passer rating under pressure (Derek Carr, 109.2) has faced the lowest pressure rate (26.1%).
Of course, Wilson’s passer rating without pressure is still much better, so teams may just be taking the lesser of two evils by applying pressure. Wilson does end up getting sacked quite a bit, as a veteran offensive line has battled injuries and ineffectiveness for much of the season, which has forced Wilson to use his legs more than in years past.
The Seahawks are 8-2 thanks almost exclusively to Wilson’s heroics throughout the season, and the MVP candidate will take a much deserved break this weekend before heading to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles in Week 12.
Previewing Sunday’s Cincinnati Bengals at Oakland Raiders Week 11 matchup, with NFL betting odds, picks and best bets
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The winless Cincinnati Bengals (0-9) visit the Oakland Raiders (5-4) Sunday for a 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff at RingCentral Coliseum (on CBS). We analyze the Bengals-Raiders odds and sports betting lines, while providing betting tips and advice on this Week 11 NFL matchup.
Bengals at Raiders: Week 11 preview, betting trends and notes
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The Bengals lost at home to the Baltimore Ravens 49-13 last Sunday, failing to cover as 10.5-point underdogs.
The Raiders beat the Los Angeles Chargers 26-24 at home last Thursday as a 1-point underdog. RB Josh Jacobs’ 18-yard touchdown run with 1:02 remaining capped Oakland’s late winning drive.
The Bengals are 3-6 against the spread (ATS) and 3-6 against the Over/Under (O/U).
Bengals rookie QB Ryan Finley made his first career start last week, completing 16 of 30 passes for 167 yards and one TD with one pick.
Raiders QB Derek Carr has thrown for 2,202 yards with 14 TDs and four interceptions this season.
The Bengals have won the last three vs. the Raiders, dating back to 2012.
The Raiders average 23.1 points per game, ranking 15th. The Bengals are 29th (15.2 PPG).
The Raiders are 26th by points allowed (26.7 PPG), while the Bengals are 28th (28.8 PPG).
Bengals at Raiders: Key injuries.
Bengals: WR A.J. Green (ankle), OT Bobby Hart (shoulder), RG Alex Redmond (ankle), DT Geno Atkins (knee) are questionable. RB Giovani Bernard (knee) is probable, while CB Dre Kirkpatrick (knee) is out.
Raiders: FS Lamarcus Joyner (hamstring) is doubtful, while C Rodney Hudson (ankle), DE Josh Mauro (groin) and CB Trayvon Mullen (illness) are questionable. Jacobs (shoulder) is probable.
Bengals at Raiders: Odds, betting lines and prediction
Nov 10, 2019; Cincinnati, OH; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Ryan Finley made his first career start in Week 10. (Photo Credit: Joe Maiorana – USA TODAY Sports)
The RAIDERS (-10.5, -115) are worth a play. They’re 7-1 ATS in their last eight home games; however, they haven’t won a game by more than eight points this season. The Bengals (+10.5, -106) have lost their last three games by a combined 60 points.
The OVER48.5 (-115) is worth a small-unit play … but just like I suggested last week with Cincy, the STRONGEST PLAY is the 1st-half OVER 23.5 (-134). The Bengals are terrible against the run, ranking last in the league by allowing 173 yards per game. Oakland could score three TDs before halftime.
New to sports betting? Bet $13.40 to win $10 that 24 or more points will be scored by halftime.
Want action on this game? Sign up and bet at BetMGM. For more sports betting picks and tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.
Johnny’s November record: 6-4. Strongest plays: 2-1.
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Quarterbacks Derek Carr and Sam Darnold highlight this week’s list of fantasy football sleepers.
Week 11 could be a difficult one at quarterback for fantasy football owners. Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers and Seattle’s Russell Wilson, two of the best, are in their bye weeks.
That means you could be scrambling for a quarterback. In this week’s edition of fantasy football sleepers, we offer Oakland’s Derek Carr and New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold as suggestions to start. Also, some free advice: don’t be tempted and start Washington’s Dwayne Haskins. Yes, interim coach Bill Callahan named him the starter for the rest of the season, but Haskins is raw and won’t put up a lot of fantasy points.
Here are nine fantasy football sleepers for Week 11:
9. Sam Darnold, QB, New York Jets
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Darnold had a solid game, throwing 230 yards and a touchdown in last week’s victory against the Giants. He’s got a favorable matchup this week against the Redskins. In fact, matchups with the Raiders, Bengals and Dolphins follow that. Darnold could be more than a one-week starter.
