CLEVELAND, OH - AUGUST 17: Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) looks over the defense during the second quarter of the National Football League preseason game between the Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns on August 17, 2018, at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, OH. Buffalo defeated Cleveland 19-17. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire) NFL American Football Herren USA AUG 17 Preseason - Bills at Browns PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxHUNxRUSxSWExNORxDENxONLY Icon180817138
What did we learn
Coaching and officiating in the NFL is at an all-time low. The league is mired in mediocrity right now, and no one team stands out as a great team. Injuries are destroying teams, and the league, in general, looks to be a mess. Check out the top football betting strategies.
1) No clear favorite exists yet
Instead of parity, it looks like we have mediocrity, as it seems almost every team is 2-3 or 3-2. The Bills and Chiefs look like the class of the AFC, but the Chiefs can’t stop the run, and the Bills don’t have much of a running game. In the NFC, the Cowboys and the Eagles look like the best teams, but the Eagles haven’t played anybody, and the Cowboys are getting it done with Cooper Rush and a great defense. Overall the quality of play has been bad, the coaching is at an all-time low, and the officiating has been nothing short of alarming.
2) The NFC East is the top division
Who would have ever thought this would happen? All three of these teams have issues at the moment, but you can’t deny an undefeated team and two 4-1 teams. The starting quarterbacks for these three teams at the moment are Jalen Hurts, Cooper Rush, and Daniel Jones! Will these three teams stay this good? The Eagles, I think, are the more rounded of the three teams and the Giants are the best-coached team of the three. The question will be how big an impact Dak Prescott will have when he returns to the field for the Cowboys.
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Zac Taylor was an issue last year, but it got covered up by the defense and a kicker who was on fire at the end of the season. The playcalling was questionable last season, even during the Super Bowl run. The Bengals are loaded on offense but, for some reason, can’t score. The Bengals defense has not allowed a second-half touchdown all year, but the Bengals find themselves at 2-3. All three losses were by three points, including questionable decisions that lost them those games. Only a fourth-grade pee wee football coach tries to run a double reverse from inside the five-yard line. Bengals management is supposed to be different than it used to be, but my guess is last year’s Super Bowl appearance buys Zac Taylor a couple more years of screwing this up.
4) Josh Allen is the best QB in the NFL
Allen threw for 348 yards in the first half in Sunday’s win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Allen is the most consistent of all the quarterbacks out there right now and he can beat you with his arm or legs. If the Bills can find a consistent running game, they could win it all; Allen is that good!
5) The Steelers are headed back to the 60’s
Before 1972 the Steelers were the laughingstock of the NFL, and they are looking at a 1-7 start if something doesn’t change drastically. The last time the Steelers started was in 1969. The offensive line is bad and the defense has cracks all over it. This will be Mike Tomlin’s first losing season of his career.
6) Trevor Lawrence is looking like a bust again
The issue with Lawrence is not the mistakes he’s making; it’s the fact that most of the mistakes are unforced. At times he has looked like he was turning into the franchise quarterback the Jaguars had hoped they had drafted. The last two weeks would say otherwise.
7) The Titans are hot but have major issues
The Titans have won three straight games, but not all is fine in Tennessee. Injuries are decimating the offensive line, and the secondary play has been atrocious, as it seems every quarterback throws for over 300 yards against the Titans. Mike Vrabel is an excellent coach; if anyone can figure it out, it’s him. Check out the top football odds.
8) The Chargers coach is a moron, but he was playing the Browns
In a weekend filled with bad coaching decisions, Chargers head coach Brandon Staley made the worst decision. Up 30-28 with 1:14 left, Staley went for it on fourth-and-1 from his 46-yard line. An incompletion handed Cleveland the chance for a game-winning field goal try, but the Browns missed. Staley has to be close to wearing out his welcome in Los Angeles.
9) Big Game Kirk Cousins?
In the fourth quarter, this season, Kirk Cousins has been a star! He makes enormous throws at big moments at the end of games, and it has led to three straight Vikings wins, and the Vikings look like the team to beat in the NFC North.
10) Is Justin Fields turning the corner
Fields seems to progress a little more each week, and Sunday’s game was no exception. Fields went 12-of-13 for 135 yards and a touchdown in the second half and added five rushes for 36 yards. And his 52-yard touchdown run would have been the biggest highlight all day if an illegal block didn’t nullify it in the back penalty on Smith-Marsette.
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I am not claiming the Jets are a playoff team, and I know they faced the Dolphins third-string quarterback. Robert Saleh has done an outstanding job with this team, and they now have a balanced offense with a two-headed monster at running back with Breece Hall and Michael Carter. Can the Jets make a playoff run? It is unlikely but possible.
12) The Packers are in trouble
The simple answer to fixing the Packers is to find a deep threat, but where do you find one of those five weeks into the season? The New York Giants dominated in the second half, and the Packers are starting to get in trouble in the NFC North as the Vikings are looking legit.
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