Outcomes from Week 12 show that football games and championships are won in the trenches and by keeping points off the board. These are two ingredients that have created the winning formula that has been around since this league was first founded. Teams today are realizing that and are going back to that philosophy. Quarterbacks are still necessities for winning football. But quarterbacks without a rock-solid defense and a pounding running game are just Steven Tyler without Aerosmith. You are just getting screams and no music.
This season, the passing game has taken a backseat to what these backfield ball carriers have been able to do for their teams. The league has seen the lowest passing yards per game averages since 1996 and the highest rushing yards per game averages since 1983. Also, compared to the past few seasons, only a few high-scoring games have occurred this year. Defenses are becoming one of the main improvement focuses for many teams this season. Here are week 12 takeaways that make those notices so evident.
Josh Jacobs is the Green Bay Packers
Quarterback Jordan Love needs to be living up to his billing with injuries and on-field mistakes putting the Packers in bad positions at times. It is like he is trying too hard to live up to the hype after a superb season he had last year and the fat contract Green Bay granted him last summer. It had come to times when Josh Jacobs and the defense had to clean up the mess he made. He and Xavier Mckinney haveas been performing like the best free agent signings this organization has made since Charles Woodson in 2006 and Reggie White in 1993.
He is one of many running backs who changed places this season and, like those other running backs, have been making an impact on their new teams. Only Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry have more rushing yards this season than Josh Jacobs. Jacobs now has rushed for 100-plus yards in a game for the third time this season, and his three touchdowns against the 49ers last Sunday was the third time in his career that he scored that many in a game. Jordan Love showed that he can play game manager with his 2 touchdown passes and just 163 passing yards with a decent 13-for-23 passing day without any turnovers. He could've had three touchdowns if Christian Watson caught the one he dropped.
Watson was wide open, leaving San Francisco's secondary in the dust on that play. It's a perfect example of how much Jacobs' presence opens up this Packers offense. Before that play, there was a draw play to Josh Jacobs that went for a first down, leaving the 49ers defense guessing for the rest of the game, uncertain whether they were going to run it or throw it. Those kinds of plays and that kind of balance within the offense can elevate the Packers to new heights.
His 202 carries are the third-most in the NFL, and his seven touchdowns are tied for tenth in the league. Because of his production, the Green Bay Packers have the 3rd-best rushing offense in the league with an average of 151.6 rushing yards per game. They have the 4th-most rushing yards gained (1,668) and 7th-best yards per carry average in the NFL (4.8). The Packers can go very far with their elite defense, a decent passing attack led by a talented quarterback, a genius head coach, and the boar they have for a running back who is also graceful as a gazelle. A running style that is similar to Emmitt Smith.
The Best Running Back in the NFL Plays Where the Liberty Bell Rings
Without a doubt, the best free agent signing of the 2023 season is Saquon Barkley's signing with the Philadelphia Eagles. His pair of touchdowns, 255 rushing yards with 47 receiving yards to add against the Rams, shows how important it is to install a system that's the right fit for the player. It was the best game of his career so far in the best of many more spectacular seasons he is to have with the Eagles. You've seen this sort of change happen with Jerome Bettis, Marshall Faulk, Christian McCaffrey, and other running backs who got out of the situation they were stuck in to strive for better programs more suitable for their style.
Barkley has been Mr. Everything for the Eagles, leading the team in touchdowns, touches, and yards from scrimmage. He is currently leading the NFL in carries (223), rushing yards (1,392), yards per carry (6.2), rushing yards per game (126.5), touches (250), and yards from scrimmage (1,649). Last Sunday night was also the second straight game of scoring multiple touchdowns and the fifth game this season in which he did so. Leapfrogging Derrick Henry for the league's top spot for rushing yards after just one week. At the rate he is going, it is possible that he can leapfrog Eric Dickerson for the NFL record for most rushing yards gained in a season. Nick Sirianni's offense already had two 1,000-yard rushers for the past two seasons and now has a third in Saquon Barkley. But Myles Sanders and D'Andre Swift aren't Saquon Barkley; they're not even in the same hemisphere as him regarding skills. Nor is any other back in this league. You have to be born of another species to do the things Barkley can do on the football field.
With his versatility and supernatural abilities, the Eagles are the 7th-highest scoring offense in the league, number one in rushing yards per game with 193.4, and total rushing yards gained this season with 2,127. They are the only team that has eclipsed over two thousand total rushing yards right now. His blend of rushing and receiving skills has surely given Philadelphia's offense a new dimension and helped the passing game out slightly. Their passing offense is just 25th in the league for passing yards gained per game, with a 195.7 average. Facing this offense full of stars, with Saquon being the brightest star, opposing defenses with so many names to pay attention to end up feeling like they're playing "Where's Waldo" when trying to look for number 26 on the field.
C.J. Stroud, Sophomore Jinx?
This is perhaps the worst game of C.J. Stroud's young career. Two awful interceptions, with one coming off a badly missed throw supposedly going to John Metchie underneath the coverage, went to Titans cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr. before halftime, with the score being tied at 17. That interception easily set the Titans up for a field goal before the halftime buzzer. The second interception in the third quarter at the 1:39 mark, down six, was a headscratcher. He was throwing to Nico Collins on a crossing route coming from the right, with Titans linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr. covering him underneath. Murray covered Collins so well that where there was no way Stroud couldn't have seen him.
That wasn't as head-scratching as his Dan Orlovsky impersonation running alongside the back of the Titans' endzone, resulting in a sack that was really a self-committed safety. With the score being 30-27, the Titans are leading, with one minute and seventeen seconds left in the fourth quarter, and it's third down and seventeen yards away from the first down mark. The pocket was collapsing, but Stroud could have shifted up or ran up the middle as the pocket was only breaking down around him. There was a small opening on his left between left tackle Laremy Tunsil and left guard Juice Scruggs. The second option could have been to shift up in the pocket and dump the ball down to tight end Dalton Schultz below. There was a lot of room ahead of Schultz with Joe Mixon in front of him to help clear the way for him.
Speaking of Joe Mixon, there needed to be more of him running the football last Sunday. They only had 14 carries and 22 yards rushing, with 1.6 yards per carry. This season, the Texans are 4-2 when Mixon gains 100 rushing yards or more and 1-3 when he either doesn't or isn't present in the lineup. His impact on the offense was also evident during week 11 against the Cowboys when he rushed for 109 yards on 22 carries and scored the only three offensive touchdowns for the Texans in a 34-10 win. The defense can hold their ground, but sometimes Stroud, with the many turnovers he has caused over the past few weeks, has been putting them in a bad position.
Yes, he is the most pressured quarterback in the NFL this season. Only Caleb Williams from the Chicago Bears has been sacked more times than him. Yes, he doesn't have Stephon Diggs to throw to anymore due to his season-ending injury. Nico Collins has been in and out of the lineup due to his health. This is the third straight where he has thrown an interception and the third game of the season when he has thrown two or more interceptions. The accuracy issues plus the inability to read coverages he had in college have returned, as nearly all of the interceptions he has thrown this season were off target or due to not seeing the defender underneath the route. So far, he has a quarterback rating of 51.3 and a passer rating of 86.0 while being second in the NFL in most poor passes made with 67.
The Seahawks and Ravens are playing Defense Again
Two teams that have been experiencing defensive woes throughout the first half of the season seem to be getting it back together now. Each team is coming off a good defensive performance two weeks in a row against efficient offenses. Both teams are either on top or need to catch up in first place of their tightly contested divisions. The Seahawks and Ravens are building defensive momentum for sure chances of making it to the playoffs.
Seattle, fresh off their first win over the 49ers in six tries, faced a streaking Arizona Cardinals team climbing the statistical charts to the number one spot in the NFC West with a 6-4 record. A Cardinals team with three consecutive games totaling at least 350 yards of offense and scoring at least 28 points. Under the defensive-minded Mike Macdonald, the Seahawks restrained the Cardinals' big red attack with spectacular pass coverage and blitz schemes from the perimeters of the pocket. A prime example of how well they performed was on Cob Bryant's pick-six off of a whirling Kyler Murray pass that was caused by Devon Witherspoon coming in on a blitz from the right side. He first was going to tackle James Connor until he recognized the fake handoff, so he adjusted himself towards Kyler Murray, rolling to the right, and was able to get to him enough to disrupt his pass that was going to Cardinals wideout Michael Wilson in the flat.
The Seahawks' defense put Arizona's running game in check by holding James Conner down to 8 yards on 7 carries and shut down rookie phenom Marvin Harrison Jr. to just 3 catches and 47 receiving yards. The Cardinals offense only conjured up two field goals and didn't score a touchdown for the first time this season. For the second week in a row, the Seahawks held an offense to under 300 total yards. Two Sundays ago, Christian McCaffrey rushed for just 79 yards on a 4.1 yards per carry average and held Brock Purdy to 159 passing yards while picking him off once. Holding the 49ers offense to just 17 points, eventually setting up Geno Smith's game-winning touchdown run. Macdonald has installed a mixture of zone and man coverages for the Seahawks to take away deep passing opportunities for opposing offenses. With their last two wins against divisional opponents, the shift in the NFC West may be shifting towards Seattle to come out on top. As long as their defense continues to improve.
Despite their stalwart tackling machine Roquan Smith being present for their Monday night matchup with Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers, Baltimore did a spectacular job in fending off their lightning-striking offense. After the Chargers opened the game with a 10-0 lead, the rest of the way got tougher for their offense. For a while in the second half, the Ravens held the Chargers running game to -6 yards rushing up until the last three minutes of the game. Los Angeles would finish with 83 total rushing yards the entire game and barely 200 yards passing (202 to be exact). The Ravens forced the Chargers' offense into throwing the football 36 times, limiting Justin Herbert with little time to throw it.
As they sacked Herbert four times while hitting him another three, their pass coverage was as tight as a noose, forcing Justin Herbert to a 75.2 passer rating, his lowest of the season. Monday night was also the first time this season in which Justin Herbert didn't throw a touchdown. Nate Higgins, Marlon Humphrey, and Tre'Davious White performed effectively with the way they blanketed the Chargers' wideouts to the point where the officials mistook their handcuff coverage for pass interference. None of the Chargers' wide receivers had more than six catches, and all totaled just 145 receiving yards for the night. With the Ravens returning to their defensive form from last year by limiting opposing quarterbacks to no passing touchdowns and a passer rating of less than 80 for three of the past four weeks, their offense is the best in the league. There is no doubt Baltimore can capture the AFC North title for the second year in a row and will soon again become the home of the best team in the NFL.
Main Image via
Comments