1. Shedeur Sanders proved me wrong…for a week. Sure, he and the Cleveland Browns only beat the Raiders, and Sanders didn’t exactly light things up aside from one nice scramble drill and a YAC special for a touchdown.
But it could’ve been worse—his first NFL action showed us that. The San Francisco 49ers won’t be as forgiving of rookie mistakes. Still, Sanders became the first Cleveland Browns rookie to win his first start since I was in preschool. That’s something, right?
2. Social media might’ve reduced Myles Garrett to a swooning, shocked bystander who couldn’t believe a Browns QB could complete a forward pass on Sunday. But he’s the real story from the Browns’ win over Vegas. 11 pressures and five sacks? At some point, you might as well send all five guys to go block him and leave everyone else alone. Because whatever Pete Carroll’s son’s plan was for blocking him needs to get tossed.
3. I don’t know about y’all, but I personally love Mike Tomlin and Kyle Shanahan supporting their respective players (Jalen Ramsey and Jauan Jennings) after a series of cheap shots the last few weeks—Ramsey getting spit on by Ja’Marr Chase, and Jennings taking a below-the-belt shot from Tre’von Moehrig. You can watch someone punk your players and not have their backs. Little things like that are why both those coaches have had the success they have.
4. While we’re talking coaching: the prevailing sentiment about the Bears is that Ben Johnson is even better than expected. He’s getting praise from all corners for turning this franchise around and doing the Lord’s work on Caleb Williams and this offense. What a difference a coach makes…this time last year, we were watching Matt Eberflus actively find ways to embarrass himself and the franchise on national television. Now, the Bears are winning the NFC North. It’s beautiful.
5. I don’t care if the Giants lost—that Jameis Winston touchdown catch was one of the coolest plays I’ve ever seen a quarterback make. It reminds you just how insane athletic some of these dudes are, even if you don’t think of them as being capable of much outside of dropping back and throwing. If he ever gets to a point where the backup QB opportunities dry up, split him out wide and throw it up to him.
6. JJ McCarthy might be the best argument against caring about a draft prospect’s win-loss record that I’ve ever seen. Because people who watched closely could tell he had it easy at Michigan and didn’t do much particularly special as a passer but were shouted down by the “HE’S A WINNER!” truthers. Well, right now, he’s trending toward being the worst starting quarterback since JaMarcus Russell. So while winning and college success do factor in somewhere, let’s pay more attention when a team doesn’t allow a guy to throw unless it’s third down. There might be a reason for that.
7. I’m still inclined to have Drake Maye atop my MVP leaderboard because there’s no way the Patriots have a 10-2 record without him being awesome. But Matthew Stafford casually playing the best football of his career in Year 17 at 37 years old is one hell of a story. There was a time when people wondered if he’d ever be anything but an empty-calories stat-padder who could do trick shots. Now, I’m pretty sure we can punch his ticket to Canton when he’s done.
8. George Pickens finally did it: he broke the Tomlin Castoff Receiver Curse. Who knew that all he needed was a quarterback who could consistently throw him the football, and he’d instantly become one of the best receivers in the NFL? As long as Jerry Jones and Dak Prescott keep giving him that brainworm medicine, the thought of him sticking around in Dallas for a bit could be fun.
9. So long, Aaron Rodgers. Soldier Field won’t miss you at all. Hope you’ve enjoyed sticking around long enough to see the Chicago Bears get good again. The only thing missing on Sunday was Rodgers being on the field to receive the Corey Wootton farewell his Packers predecessor got. Can’t have everything you want, I guess.
10. A little message to the NFL: some old things are better left in the past. So whatever you do, please do not talk yourselves into bringing Bill Belichick back to your sidelines. He’s cooked, and it might not even have much to do with how good of a football coach he is. Everything around him has been a constant dumpster fire for the last four years, and it’s not worth the hassle.
