Welcome back from a pretty exciting Week 4 of the NFL season. We had some great games to watch and root for including the Monday night thriller in Denver. As always, this article aims to recap last weeks action and highlight what was impressive and what has left us with some questions. We live by 1 rule in these articles: NO MERCY. There is absolutely nothing left back as we highlight those teams/players that left us with some good impressions and those that left us with some questions. Please take a read and let me know your comments on this weekends NFL action. Enjoy!
If you didn't get a chance to watch the Chiefs / Broncos game on Monday night, you really missed a great game. Denver did a great job limiting the damage by Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense in the first half. Basically the only team to contain them so far this season. Mahomes himself was unimpressive in the first half, missing throws pretty badly and doing damage only by way of running. Personally, I thought we were finally going to see him come back to earth and play like a regular young QB. Nope. Although the boxscore might not indicate and impressive game by the young QB, Mahomes took charge in the 4th quarter, down 23-13, to lead his team to two straight TDs and win the game. He began making all the throws and doing what he does best, escaping the pocket and making incredible throws deep down field. At one point the dude escape to the left side of the pocket and while being taken down by a defender, switch the ball to his left hand (non-dominant) and completed a forward pass to a nearby receiver. Just incredible. The broadcast kept calling him "Showtime Mahomes" and now I know why. It took him almost 3 quarters of the game but boy did Patrick Mahomes come through for his team. Mahomes finished the game 28/45 for 304 yards and 1 passing TD to go along with 7 yards rushing and a rushing TD. The boxscore doesn't do him justice - he was the most exciting player on the field and deserves every bit of the nickname, "Showtime Mahomes."
Another young quarterback, another impressive start. This time, however, from the least talked about young gun, Mitchell Trubisky of the Chicago Bears. This past Sunday shredded the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home to the tune of 354 yards and 6 passing TDs. Even crazier - 5 of those TDs came in the 1st half of football and if the game was even remotely competitive, who knows how many TDs he could have thrown throughout the remainder of the game. Trubisky did this all on just 19/24 and for shi*s and gigs, he also led the team with 53 yards rushing. Just an insane day for the young quarterback who often goes unnoticed behind the likes of Mahomes, Darnold, Goff, Allen, Mayfield and other young QBs. Don't overlook Trubisky though. He and the Bears are off to a great start at 3-1 and lead their division. I give a tip of the hat to Trubisky who had one of the most impressive starts for a QB I can remember in recent history during Week 4.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a mess. We know this. We already covered this in past articles. Their defense sucks. Their offense lacks consistency. And they simply don't look good. I've discussed how I don't know how much of a actual on-field impact having Bell would be for them (he can't solve their terrible secondary) but that I do think it has thrown them off mentally to start the year. Regardless, we did receive news that Bell had personally announced a possible return date. According to ESPN (see Fowler tweet below), Le'Veon Bell has indicated that he will be returning to the Steelers during their Week 7 bye. Meaning he could theoretically suit up as soon as Week 8 but if it is anything like last year, I am sure he has some rust to kick off.
Le'Veon Bell expects to report to the Steelers during the Week 7 bye, a source told @ESPN. Bell definitely plans to play football for the Steelers this season.
Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) October 1, 2018
This of course is assuming the Steelers would be willing to put him to work right away. It is also assuming they won't trade him. According to Adam Shefter of ESPN, the Steelers still remain open to trading him.
Pittsburgh still is expected to be interested in listening to trade offers for RB Le'Veon Bell, per league sources. Bell now planning to report later this month would not dissuade the Steelers from making a deal that made sense.
Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 1, 2018
In any case, this opens a new door of questions. Will Bell play for the Steelers Week 8? Will Bell be traded upon signing the tag? How will he be accepted in the locker room if he tries to report Week 7? There are many many questions remaining and as of now, the Steelers seem to be brushing it off and moving on with the regular preparation. Mike Tomlin himself even publicly stated he has not heard from Bell and although he has heard the report, is not concerned about it until it happens (see USA Today's article on the Bell situation here). And I don't blame the Steelers as it seems they were already stood up once by false Bell promises to report earlier this season.
This one is a bit odd but I couldn't help but notice how crazy of an offensive year it has been so far in the NFL. If you thought this year has seemed a bit more "offensive" than previous years, your not wrong. In fact, 2018 NFL offenses have been breaking records all over the place. Actually, blowing records out of the books to put it lightly. According to the NFL, there have been a record setting 228 passing TDs through the first 4 weeks of the NFL season. The next closest year. . . 2013 when we saw 205 total passing TDs over the same time frame. Think about that - there have already been 22 more TDs thrown this year than the next closest season in NFL history. Thats not all. There have already been 12 - 400 yard passing performances, again the most over the first 4 weeks of the season. Week 4 alone had 5 - 400 yard passing performances, again, a record setting number for a single NFL week. See all that information here. The thing is, we are just getting started and still have an additional 75% of the season to play. There is almost no doubt in my mind this trend will continue and we end the year breaking literally every offensive record in NFL history, whether it be team specific, player specific, or total NFL offense specific. Ok maybe rushing records stay intact, but still.
The saying use to be, offense brings the fans, defense wins championships. This was true not too long ago when dominant defenses like the Broncos, Panthers, and Ravens led their teams through the playoffs. Don't get me wrong, we still have some great defenses in today's NFL, but I think the picture is clear, this league has been shifting ever so slightly for years and now has arrived at pretty much a league dominated purely by offense. Almost nothing favors defense. There a likely a multitude of things to blame including the fact you pretty much can't play defense, hit a guy hard, tightly cover a receiver, or sack a QB. I honestly don't know how players play defense anymore. Regardless, it is the new way of the NFL. A great current example can be found in the Kansas City Chiefs who sit at 4-0 with likely the best offense in the NFL in contrast to their defense which might be the worst in the NFL. Can they win a championship with that formula? Only time will tell I suppose. For me, the question has simply become, can teams win with simply elite offensives?
