NFL Week 8: Sucker punch
The Packers' defense is a problem, C.J. Gardner-Johnson keeps antagonizing everyone, and the Chargers' curse strikes again.
The 1-5 Vikings were a six-point underdog for a road game against the 5-1 Packers. They left Green Bay with a six-point victory.
The latest twist in an unpredictable Packer season saw one of the franchise’s biggest rivals gash holes through the brushed nickel colander head coach Matt LaFleur dressed up as an NFL defense. Dalvin Cook, back from injury for the first time since Week 5, ran for 100+ yards and scored four touchdowns … in the first three quarters. Minnesota didn’t suffer a third-down stop until the game was almost over. The Vikings’ first non-touchdown drive of the game ended with 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
It was a gaping wound for a battlecruiser once primed to rule over the turbulent seas of the NFC. The Week 8 Packers looked every bit like the club that was blown off the field in last year’s conference championship game by a 49ers team that ran wherever and whenever the hell it wanted. Green Bay lost that game, and a place in Super Bowl 53, when Raheem Mostert ran for four touchdowns and 200+ yards, validating concerns about a 13-win team that failed to live up to its billing.
That’s a problem. It’s not an especially surprising one.
Green Bay did little to address the issues that ultimately sunk a team that won the NFC North last season but couldn’t threaten for a Super Bowl spot. The Packers looked at a roster with glaring holes at linebacker and wide receiver, then spent their first two draft picks of 2020 to select a quarterback (when they already had Aaron Rodgers) and running back (when they already had Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams). Their biggest free agent acquisition was Christian Kirksey, an oft-injured ILB who lasted three games before landing on IR.
These concerns were papered over as a pissed-off Rodgers lit the world on fire in a 4-0 start. They came back to roost in a 38-10 loss to the Buccaneers in Week 5. Tom Brady threw for a pair of touchdowns, Ronald Jones and Ke’Shawn Vaughn combined for 155 rushing yards on 28 carries, and a rattled Rodgers was sacked four times and hit 13 more.
But that was against a contender with a world-class roster. On Sunday, the Vikings proved even a team without playoff hopes can embarrass the Pack.
Cook’s dominance was the headline, but a usually stable secondary suffered, in part thanks to cornerback Kevin King’s absence. Kirk Cousins looked competent in a competitive game for one of the first times all season, racking up a 138.1 passer rating and an uber-efficient 11.4 yards per attempt on a day when he only needed to throw 14 passes. This wasn’t a function of getting burned deep; it was a reflection of the team’s inability to make tackles and stop big plays at their source.
That frustration bled through to Green Bay’s coverage when the Vikings did turn upfield in big moments. Minnesota’s third touchdown of the day was made possible by a pair of third-down pass interference penalties that turned borderline uncatchable passes into first downs inside the 10-yard line. The Packers held two Pro Bowl-caliber wideouts, Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson, to 53 total yards between them, yet still managed to give up a gruesome 6.6 yards per play to Football Outsiders’ 21st-ranked offense.
The problems don’t solely belong to the defense. Rodgers’ offense struggled to move the ball after its first two drives (much like it had against Tampa two weeks earlier), even against a Minnesota secondary ravaged by injuries and inexperience. Passes to anyone other than Davante Adams were a problem. Rodgers had three touchdowns and a 108.7 passer rating when targeting his top wideout, including this absolute dime in a scuttled comeback effort:
He had zero touchdowns and an 88.3 rating when targeting anyone else.
What’s the fix here? The good news is the offense will get WR2 Allen Lazard and RB1 Aaron Jones back from injury in the coming weeks, both of whom bring valuable ammunition to any shootouts. King is expected back soon and Kirksey is eligible to come off injured reserve as well, though the latter wasn’t exactly lighting the world on fire in his first three games in green and gold (three missed tackles, zero tackles for loss, and an average tackle depth of 6.3 yards upfield all suggest he’s inferior to the man he replaced, Blake Martinez. This is notable because Martinez is not very good, either).
Sunday’s loss may force general manager Brian Gutekunst to get proactive with a roster that’s trapped between a win-now quarterback and a recent draft philosophy targeted toward building for the future. Green Bay would be smart to work the phones leading up to Tuesday’s trade deadline, whether that means a lower-profile deal (like freeing Neville Hewitt from the Jets) or a big swing to bring a superstar to Wisconsin (well hello, J.J. Watt).
The Packers, as currently constructed, can absolutely win the NFC North. They can absolutely win a playoff game. But can the team that got embarrassed and obliterated by Dalvin Cook (and, to a lesser extent, Kirk f---ing Cousins) be a Super Bowl contender? Absolutely not.
Fortunately for Green Bay, there’s still two more days to search for a quick fix to restore order at Lambeau Field. Get to work, Brian Gutekunst. — CD
Week 8 results, in five words or fewer
Raiders 16, Browns 6
Baker Mayfield, still not back
Bills 24, Patriots 21
Colts 41, Lions 21
Chiefs 35, Jets 9
Bengals 31, Titans 20
Vikings 28, Packers 22
Steelers 28, Ravens 24
Ravens’ mistakes keep Steelers perfect
Dolphins 28, Rams 17
Seahawks 37, 49ers 27
Broncos 31, Chargers 30
Saints 26, Bears 23 (OT)
Saints’ fourth straight ugly win
Eagles 23, Cowboys 9
C.J. Gardner-Johnson, the NFL’s most punchable player
It’s hardly a surprise that a defensive back knows how to talk trash. But Saints safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson must be on a whole other level, because in less than a month’s time, he’s managed to get punched twice, first by his own teammate and then by an opposing wide receiver.
Last month, the Saints’ No. 1 receiver, Michael Thomas, was given a one-game suspension by the team for throwing a punch at Gardner-Johnson during practice. The Saints won their game without Thomas, thanks in part to Emmanuel Sanders stepping up for a 12-catch, 122-yard performance (and because they were playing the Chargers, see below).
On Sunday afternoon, Bears receiver Javon Wims was ejected from the game for doing this:
Gardner-Johnson had provoked Wims earlier in that quarter when he snatched Wims’ mouthpiece, and Wims tried to retaliate by grabbing Gardner-Johnson’s mouthpiece and then smacking him in the helmet.
Wims not only got kicked out of the game (and will likely receive a fine and/or suspension), he also cost the Bears 15 yards. Nick Foles threw a pick on the next play, which the Saints turned into three points. So, Gardner-Johnson apparently knows what he’s doing when he gets under people’s skins.
And while I don’t condone Wims’ actions, I also understand why he did it. Gardner-Johnson is the same guy who mocked Tarik Cohen for being short last season and who poked Anthony Miller in the eye earlier in the game. I mean, I kinda want to punch him too:
— SH
The Week 8 Pain Index
In some ways, this NFL Sunday was ideal for a Halloween weekend that’s on the cusp of Election Day. There were several out-of-the-ordinary results: the one-win Vikings upset the five-win Packers, while simultaneously the one-win Bengals were doing the same to the five-win Titans. The Bills beat the Patriots for just the third time in 18 tries. The Patriots dropped their fourth game in a row, their longest losing streak since 2002.
In other ways, Week 8 was business as usual. Russell Wilson continued his MVP campaign. The Chiefs blew out the Jets, who again failed to score a touchdown. The Saints held on for a “harder than it should’ve been” win. The Steelers toughed it out to remain unbeaten. An NFC East game, technically still football, aired in primetime.
And there was one other constant that we expect from each and every Sunday: soul-crushing pain for a few unlucky franchises. This week, we “honor” two teams that are less than two years removed from a Super Bowl appearance, and another team that is, sadly, a familiar face around these parts. — SH
3. Rams
Jared Goff is the worst kind of quarterback. He’s not good enough to win games on his own, but he’s not bad enough to sink a franchise so low that they can go out and get a better one with a high draft pick. Granted, four turnovers is more of just a really bad day, not Jets-esque or anything. And it’s not just him. The Rams offense — which had 471 yards compared to just 145 for the Dolphins — looks flat this season, like the classic ghost costume for Halloween with the holes cut in the wrong parts of the sheet, and that’s probably me being a little generous. This is not a team that scares the Seahawks in the NFC West race, or, hell, even the Cardinals. — RVB
2. Patriots
Despite some uncertainty about what the post-Tom Brady Patriots would look like, their season began promising. After three weeks, they were 2-1, with wins over two pretty decent squads (Dolphins, Raiders) and a close road loss to a legitimate Super Bowl contender (Seahawks). Then Cam Newton got Covid, and it all fell apart.
Now, for just the second time in the last 19 years, the Patriots are in midst of a four-game losing streak. One of those losses came with Brian Hoyer under center, but Newton returned the following game and hasn’t looked like the same quarterback who played in September. Just look at his splits:
Weeks 1-3: 68.1 completion percentage, 714 passing yards, 2 passing TDs, 2 INTs, 89.7 passer rating; 35 carries, 149 rushing yards, 4 rushing TDs, 0 fumbles
Weeks 6-8: 63.1 completion percentage, 429 passing yards, 0 passing TDs, 5 INTs, 50.1 passer rating; 24 carries, 149 rushing yards, 2 rushing TDs, 3 fumbles (1 lost)
Newton’s lost fumble was his costliest mistake yet. It came on Sunday, when the Patriots were driving for either a game-tying field goal or a game-winning touchdown. With just over 30 seconds left and lined up at the Buffalo 19-yard line, Newton carried the ball for a 5-yard gain before Justin Zimmer poked it out to secure the Bills’ victory.
That’s not to put the blame entirely on Newton, who has received an unfair amount of scrutiny throughout his career. His play had improved from the previous two games, despite working with an all-undrafted receiving corps (N’Keal Harry and Julian Edelman were out with injuries). The defense was missing reigning Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore. Bill Belichick decided to try an onside kick after the Patriots had tied it up in the third quarter, which didn’t work and gave the Bills great field position for their ensuing touchdown.
Still, it was an agonizing way to end a game, especially after Newton had promised to protect the ball better (and he had, up until that point). Even worse for the Patriots was that it came against the Bills, who have played the role of New England’s little brother for years now. Before this weekend, the Bills had lost seven straight to the Patriots. In the past two decades, they were 5-35 against their Massachusetts rivals and wilted whenever they had a chance to threaten the Patriots’ stranglehold over the division.
The Patriots had a prime opportunity with this game to not only end their losing streak, but to hand the Bills a demoralizing loss that proved to the rest of the NFL that the AFC East still ran through Foxborough. Instead, they fumbled it away. — SH
1. Chargers
I don’t believe in curses. Well, I didn’t until the Chargers blew a 21-point lead to the Broncos, dropping them to 2-5 on the season. How else do you explain a team that has now blown double-digit leads four times this season. Four! And the hex isn’t limited to this season either. They’ve squandered four double-digit halftime leads in the last two seasons. They were up 2-3 on the Saints two games ago, ultimately losing 30-27 in overtime. A week before that, Los Angeles had an impressive 24-7 lead over the Buccaneers and lost. They did manage to salvage a win over Jacksonville after watching a 16-0 lead slip away, but, you know, the Jaguars.
So what gives? Sure, you can probably dive into the Xs and Os and spot some disturbing defensive screw ups. That’s the logical explanation, but this kind of losing defies logic. This is evil magic at work.
I think it goes back to the team’s decision to leave San Diego. I don’t recall the NFL and one of its owners ever handling anything so poorly … the NFL! Watching the tears and jeers from a nucleus of loyal fans in San Diego at the end of the 2016 season stung, and I’m not even a Chargers fan (though I have been burned by relocation, RIP St. Louis NFL team). And L.A. went it out its way to make it clear they didn’t want them. Remember the empty seats when they were playing in the tiny soccer stadium? They got booed everywhere they went. The L.A. Times even ran a column that said “we don’t want you.” The Chargers were like the kid in the horror movies who the rest of the townsfolk are so vicious to that aggrieved returns to haunt them, except the Chargers aren’t threatening anyone with a machete; they’re just making some inexplicably terrible football, even when they have things like rookie QB Justin Herbert to get excited about.
This is Chargers football. It’s cursed. — RVB
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