We’re now into the business end of the NFL season. It’s the stretch of the season where teams fall off the wagon, start to find their feet, or begin focusing on next year’s draft. This week we had the usual slate of Thanksgiving games, but unlike recent years, all three games were incredibly watchable. A nice change of pace for sure. The Sunday games were hectic as well, leaving us with plenty to discuss and dissect, so let’s do it.
Credit to Jacoby Brissett
Barring injury, Jacoby Brissett will likely never start another game again for the Cleveland Browns with Deshaun Watson set to return next week against the Houston Texans. Even outside of everything Watson-related, that’s a shame. Despite the Browns being 4-7, Brissett deserves a ton of credit for how he’s handled himself on and off the field this year.
On the field, he’s played like a top-half quarterback. He’s 13th in EPA per dropback, per RBSDM, and has completed a career-high 64 percent of his passes for 2398 yards and 11 touchdowns. He’s a quarterback in the mould of a classic pocket passer, with a big arm and scattershot accuracy that he’s reigned in this season, and he’s helped keep the Browns’ offense ticking. The Browns’ offensive identity is largely focused on Nick Chubb and the running game, so Brissett hasn’t been asked to do too much, but he’s played well and potentially played his way into another contract with a team in 2023.
Off the field, he’s been a credit to a team that has lotsof PR rebuilding to do – and that’s all we’ll say on the matter.
The Eagles keep on running
Speaking of teams whose identity is based on their effectiveness at running the ball, the Eagles absolutely torched the Green Bay Packers’ run defense on Sunday night. Overall, we got a great game that finished 40-33 with the Eagles coming out on top, but it was clear in the early stages that the running game would be a central part of the game script.
The Eagles gashed the Packers to the tune of 363 yards at 7.4 yards per attempt. Jalen Hurts and Miles Sanders combined for 300 yards, while complementary backs Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott added the other 63. It was a clinic. The Eagles dialled up options, gap scheme runs, zone runs, and quarterback sneaks to carve up the defense. Everything worked.
It’s a real reminder of what the Eagles can do in just one facet of the game. But it also opens up passing lanes for Hurts to exploit. And while he only had 153 passing yards on 16 completions, he was still efficient, throwing touchdown passes to Quez Watkins and A.J. Brown. Their calling card remains the same, though. And why shouldn’t it?
Trevor Lawrence is the man in Jacksonville
Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, Trevor Lawrence is already a good NFL quarterback and he had the greatest moment of his young career on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. The Jaguars were down by 7 with just 2 minutes left, meaning Lawrence and the offense had to work 75 yards down the field to get a touchdown in the two-minute drill. He started off the drive with an incomplete pass and a sack before completing a 16-yard pass to Christian Kirk on 3rd & 21 and a 10-yard pass to Marvin Jones on 4th & 5 to keep the drive alive.
Lawrence then hit Zay Jones for a 29-yard gain. Another great throw. And he followed it up with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Jones to bring the game within one point. Credit to Doug Pederson. He could have settled for the extra point to tie the game and take it to overtime, but aggressive play calling has always been his nature, and he opted to trust the momentum and talent of Lawrence and go for two. It worked, as Lawrence hit Zay Jones on a quick out to give the Jaguars a 28-27 lead. One they wouldn’t give up.
The 2021 first-overall pick completed 78 percent of his passes for 321 yards and three touchdowns, leading his second game-winning drive of the season. After a rough first year in the NFL, Lawrence is finally settling in.
Tee Higgins continues to shine sans Chase
A rematch from last season’s playoffs, the Bengals vs Titans was always going to be a hotly contested game between two teams looking to make it back to the postseason. The star of the show was once again Tee Higgins, who made timely catches all game long. Higgins caught 7 of his 9 targets for 114 yards and a touchdown en route to helping the Bengals to a 20-16 victory.
Higgins has all the talent of a true number one receiver. He has great hands, is a big target with good route-running, and he can win against all types of coverage across all three levels. And he’s still only 23 years old. He demonstrated one of his best attributes, his ability to win downfield, against the Titans in the fourth quarter. Joe Burrow targeted Higgins down the right sideline on a go-route, throwing towards Higgins back shoulder, and the former Clemson receiver showed his ability to readjust his body after winning the route with his physicality, and came down with the ball for the touchdown.
Right now, he’s the best passing option for the Bengals until Chase returns, but if he was on nearly any other team in the NFL, Higgins would be a constant WR1 and he’s proven that over the last few weeks.
Justin Herbert, the social media quarterback
Journalism is often about driving narratives. Sometimes, though, that gets done even in the face of logic. Let’s for example take one particular member of the media who has referred to Justin Herbert as the “social media quarterback” because of all the great throws he makes. However, this person doesn’t think Herbert is clutch, or that he can get it done when it matters the most. This despite Herbert already having 12 game-winning drives in his career, with the latest coming against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday night.
Herbert was excellent against the Cardinals, in spite of a banged up offensive line and receiving corps, completing 74 percent of his passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns. He consistently made great decisions in the face of pressure, evading a blitz and hitting DeAndre Carter while rolling left, or stepping up through the pocket to scramble for a big gain, Herbert is an expert processor and decision-maker and showed it.
The idea that Herbert isn’t a clutch or quarterback that knows how to win isn’t a smart or real take. He’s been one of the most talented quarterbacks in the NFL for the last three seasons and moments like this are a gentle reminder why. But don’t expect the culprit to change his tune.
-Thomas Valentine
Twitter: @tvalentinesport
Photo: Alexander Jonesi. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.