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The Athletic (paywall)
Baker Mayfield’s wild game, Cowboys’ woeful run D, more Week 6 thoughts: Quick Outs
Stat check: Dallas Cowboys’ run defense EPA
It’s no exaggeration to say the Cowboys have one of the worst run defenses of the modern era.
Six weeks into the season, the Cowboys have surrendered minus-22.31 cumulative EPA on run plays, according to TruMedia. Nobody else is in the same stratosphere right now — the Los Angeles Rams rank 31st at minus-8.08. Teams are running on Dallas both efficiently and at a high volume.
That’s bad enough framing as it is but few other teams have been in that range since the turn of the century. Since 2000 (which is as far back as TruMedia goes for this), the Cowboys’ cumulative run defense EPA is the fourth-worst mark through six weeks. Only last year’s Carolina Panthers, the 2022 Browns and the 2002 New York Jets were worse. In fact, out of 798 individual team seasons over that span, just six defenses have fallen below the minus-20.00 mark.
Dallas is in rare territory right now.
Drawing the Detroit Lions in Week 6 was a perfect game to put all of those issues on display, too. The Cowboys let things get out of hand early and never had a shot at recovering.
I know Micah Parsons was out Sunday, and a couple of Dallas linebackers were sidelined, too. But this has been a bad run defense for most of the season, and its Week 6 performance fell right in line. This game was not a blip — and it’s hard to see how things can take a turn for the better, even when some guys return to the lineup.
Bleeding Green Nation
Eagles injury updates on Dallas Goedert, Jordan Mailata, and Darius Slay
Latest news.
Goedert left the game after playing just three snaps due to a hamstring injury. The starting tight end “could be out for a few weeks,” according to the Inquirer’s Jeff McLane.
It sounds like Goedert could avoid going on injured reserve, which would cause him to automatically miss at least four games. So, there’s that.
Mailata told SportsRadio 94WIP’s Afternoon Show the following:
“It’s a hammy injury and I’m gonna miss a couple of games. It’s really my first hamstring injury and just trusting the team in whatever direction we go forward with.”
It’s unclear if “couple” means literally two. I’m no doctor, but, given the way he’s walking in the preceding video … seems like he could miss more than just two. We’ll see.
Slay is “trending toward being good for Sunday” after suffering a knee injury against the Browns, per McLane.
Big Blue View
Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns not practicing as Giants begin prep for Eagles
Injuries to key players mounting for New York
As if losing start left tackle Andrew Thomas to surgery for a Lisfranc injury wasn’t bad enough, the New York Giants were without two other star players on Wednesday as they began practicing for Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence (hip) and edge defender Brian Burns (groin), the team’s best defensive players, did not practice.
The other Giant held out of practice on Wednesday was punter Jamie Gillan, who missed last Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals with a hamstring injury.
The Giants are now without Thomas on offense and edge defender Kayvon Thibodeaux (on IR with a fractured wrist). They could also now be without Lawrence and Burns for a key divisional clash against the 3-2 Eagles and returning former Giants star Saquon Barkley.
The Athletic (paywall)
Saquon Barkley wanted to be a ‘Giant for life.’ Why did his dream unravel?
In hindsight, it obviously would have been better if Schoen had budged on Barkley and tagged Jones. If the Giants had tagged Jones, they would have been able to move on with no strings attached after his disastrous 2023 season. Even a lucrative contract for Barkley would have been significantly cheaper with far smaller salary cap implications than Jones’ deal.
But it seems that Barkley driving a hard bargain created hard feelings with Schoen. The GM already had offered more than he preferred to a running back, and Barkley’s refusal to accept the Giants’ offer forced Schoen to cave in the Jones negotiations. Schoen took the rare step of pulling his outstanding offer to Barkley after the franchise tag deadline.
The scars from the negotiations were evident during “Hard Knocks” this offseason.
Schoen described how the emotionally “draining” experience took “10 years off my life.” He cracked to the team’s public relations staff at this year’s combine that, “I wanted to give (Barkley) a lot of money a year ago, and he didn’t want that. There’s nothing I can do about that.”
The animus went both ways. Barkley broke his silence on the negotiations at his youth football camp in Jersey City, N.J., in June of 2023. Barkley said he was “frustrated” by “misleading” leaks about the Giants’ offers that omitted important elements like guaranteed money.
“For those reports to come out and try to make me look like I’m greedy or whatever, that’s not even close to being the truth,” Barkley said.
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Articles
ESPN
NFL MVP watch 2024: Ranking candidates on award odds, stats
To gauge who the leading candidates are heading into Week 7, we asked 15 experts to vote on the top contenders.
Our panel — Mike Tannenbaum, Matt Miller, Jordan Reid, Lindsey Thiry, Seth Walder, Dan Graziano, Field Yates, Jeremy Fowler, Matt Bowen, Jason Reid, Dan Orlovsky, Ben Solak, Kalyn Kahler, Aaron Schatz and myself — compiled a list of our top MVP candidates, which served as the basis for our consensus top-five contenders.
3. Jayden Daniels, QB, Washington Commanders
Current odds: +1200
2024 stats: 1,404 passing yards, 6 TDs, 2 INTs, 73.7 QBR (322 rushing yards, 4 TDs)
Don’t fall into a trap of thinking it’s normal for rookies to be in the mix of the MVP conversation, even though it’s happening for the second straight season. This is rare, which is the best way to describe what Daniels is doing in Washington.
The Commanders are 4-2 and sitting on top of the NFC East, and Daniels is the biggest reason. He’s leading the NFL in completion percentage (75.3%), which might not mean much if he was playing without aggressiveness. But Daniels is also fourth in yards per attempt (8.5), suggesting the offense is hardly being stripped down to account for his inexperience.
What would need to happen for us to see our first rookie MVP crowned since Jim Brown in 1957?
This would require huge signature moments from Daniels, something he’s already shown himself capable of. His Week 3 performance on “Monday Night Football” got people talking when he threw two touchdowns, ran for another and completed a remarkable 91% of his passes — the highest single-game completion rate by a rookie ever. His playmaking ability makes a performance like that possible at any time. It’ll likely take a few more of those to earn an MVP case, but we certainly can’t rule it out.
Pro Football Talk
If Jets trade Haason Reddick to NFC team, they owe the Eagles a second-round pick
PFT has confirmed that the price the Jets will pay to the Eagles increases from a third-round pick in 2026 to a second-round pick in 2026, if the Jets re-trade Reddick to any NFC team. (That nugget was first reported on Tuesday by Josina Anderson.)
Frankly, the entire exercise feels like an effort to let Rosenhaus and Reddick see what’s out there. Or, more accurately, what’s not out there. Once Reddick realizes there isn’t a better contractual offer elsewhere, Reddick might be ready to do a deal with the Jets.
This might be the best time to do a deal with the Jets. As one source observed on Tuesday, the trade for Davante Adams suggests that Jets owner Woody Johnson is determined to create the impression that he made the right decision by firing coach Robert Saleh.
That mindset could get Woody to pay Reddick more than he would have before Saleh was sent packing.
ESPN
NFL Week 7 latest buzz, predictions, questions, fantasy tips
What are you hearing on the Browns’ ticking Deshaun Watson clock?
I have no idea how badly he has to play in order to get benched. Cleveland coach Kevin Stefanski said very clearly, again, Monday that Watson would be the starting quarterback. The Browns continue to project an evidence-free belief that things will get better for Watson if they stay the course. At this point, their only way out of his contract appears to be if the league suspends him again.
The worst part is Watson has no obvious incentive to get any better. If you know you’re going to get paid $2.5 million a week no matter how you perform and you know you can’t lose your job no matter how you perform, how motivated can you be to do the necessary work to improve?
There’s no strategy, no front-office maneuvering that can make this more palatable should he continue to struggle. I’m still baffled by Watson’s play and hold a sliver of hope that a once-top-five quarterback can regain the confidence a 29-year-old should have in his game. But even coaches who have prepared for Watson this season and recently held that same hope are now admitting he looks done.
My sense through all of this is the Browns are resigned to their fate, having no choice but to ride this out and hope things turn. Any decision to bench Watson would inevitably involve team owner Jimmy Haslam and general manager Andrew Berry, and they need to give Watson superfluous chances to rediscover even a semblance of his old game, due to the contract.
Pro Football Focus
2024 NFL quarterback rankings ahead of Week 7
In this quarterback rankings breakdown, we’ve evaluated the top performers based on PFF passing grades. Using insights from Premium Stats, we’ll also present a variety of key grades beyond passing grade, including grades under pressure, from a clean pocket, against the blitz, using play action and more.
Pro Football Focus
2024 NFL offensive line rankings ahead of Week 7
7. Carolina Panthers (Up 1)
Projected Week 7 starters:
Although the Panthers’ offensive line was without center Austin Corbett and right tackle Taylor Moton, the unit did not skip a beat, especially in pass protection. They surrendered just six pressures — and no sacks — on 40 pass plays, leading to a 92.5 PFF pass-blocking efficiency rating that ranked second in the NFL this week.
Brady Christensen, playing at center in Corbett’s place, had a terrific game, as he did not allow a single pressure against the Falcons and earned a 76.0 PFF overall grade.
Best player: Robert Hunt
Hunt is going through a rough patch. After giving up just two pressures over the first four weeks, he has allowed four pressures in his past two games.
9. Philadelphia Eagles (Down 2)
Projected Week 7 starters:
- LT Fred Johnson
- LG Landon Dickerson
- C Cam Jurgens
- RG Mekhi Becton
- RT Lane Johnson
Jordan Mailata, who was once again Philadelphia’s highest-graded offensive lineman, exited Week 6’s game with a hamstring injury and is expected to miss time. Whereas Mailata did not allow a single pressure on 22 dropbacks against the Browns, backup Fred Johnson surrendered two pressures on five pass plays.
Right tackle Lane Johnson returned following his injury, and although he earned just a 53.6 PFF run-blocking grade against the Browns, he allowed just one pressure on 27 dropbacks against a strong Cleveland pass rush.
Best player: Lane Johnson
In Mailata’s absence, Johnson is Philadelphia’s best offensive lineman. His 87.1 PFF pass-blocking grade leads all right tackles this season.
11. Washington Commanders (Down 2)
Projected Week 7 starters:
- LT Brandon Coleman
- LG Nick Allegretti
- C Tyler Biadasz
- RG Sam Cosmi
- RT Andrew Wylie
Similar to Week 5, the Commanders started rookie Brandon Coleman at left tackle, but Cornelius Lucas also played 29 snaps to Coleman’s 30. Whereas Coleman earned a 60.2 PFF overall grade, Lucas’ 72.6 PFF overall grade led Washington offensive linemen in Week 6.
The Commanders’ offensive line struggled in pass protection in the team’s loss to Baltimore. After allowing just two sacks over the first five weeks, the unit surrendered two sacks against the Ravens alone. The group ranked 23rd in PFF pass-blocking efficiency rating in Week 6 after letting up 14 pressures on 43 pass plays.
Best player: Sam Cosmi
Cosmi has allowed pressure on 3.5% of pass plays this season, which is the best rate of his career — with the previous best being 4.3% last season.
18. New York Giants (Up 5)
Projected Week 7 starters:
- LT Andrew Thomas
- LG Jon Runyan
- C John Michael Schmitz Jr.
- RG Greg Van Roten
- RT Jermaine Eluemunor
Second-year center John Michael Schmitz Jr. struggled in pass protection in New York’s Week 6 loss to the Bengals. The Minnesota product’s 39.9 PFF pass-blocking grade was the lowest on the Giants, coming after he allowed four pressures — tied for the most by any center in Week 6.
Right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor is having a great season, especially in pass protection. The veteran right tackle has allowed pressure on 4.2% of pass plays, which is the second-best rate of his career.
Best player: Andrew Thomas
Thomas surrendered two sacks in Week 6 and three in the past two games. He has allowed four in 2024 after not giving up more than five in a season since his rookie campaign.
22. Dallas Cowboys (Down 7)
Projected starters entering bye:
- LT Tyler Smith
- LG T.J. Bass
- C Cooper Beebe
- RG Zack Martin
- RT Terence Steele
Similar to the rest of the team, the Dallas offensive line struggled mightily in a loss to the Detroit Lions. The unit allowed 18 pressures, which was the second-most among offensive lines in Week 6, and ranked just 25th in PFF pass-blocking efficiency rating.
All-Pro right guard Zack Martin was no exception, as he had an uncharacteristically bad day against the Lions. His seven pressures allowed and 16.7% pressure rate are both career-worst marks in Martin’s illustrious career.
Best player: Tyler Smith
Even though rookie Tyler Guyton was active, Smith started at left tackle, where he earned a 71.2 PFF overall grade.