1. Is it just me, or was there a lot of bad football happening this past week? The Monday night game between the Bills and Vikings, who were absolutely offensive offensively, was just the cherry on top. Maybe it’s just the number of backup/backup-level quarterbacks playing across the league due to injuries and ineptitude. It made teams and quarterbacks who are actually good, like Joe Burrow and Jordan Love, look like they’re playing an entirely different sport. Maybe we should just give everyone
a bye week next week.
2. The Vikings are cooked. Brian Flores’ defense is awesome. But even they can’t carry quarterback play this bad for a whole season and postseason. It’s just unrealistic. Eventually, as happened against a persistent Bills offense in the second half, being on the field three-quarters of the game breaks you. Minnesota, to be fair, did try to address their QB situation by signing Kyler Murray. Unfortunately, he’s been hurt a lot and not that effective when on the field. Can’t get worse than what Carson Wentz just did against Buffalo, though. Their defense will win them a few games, but they can’t win their division like this.
3. Speaking of which…the Chicago Bears now lead the NFC North through nine weeks. Exactly how they drew it up! Slogging through a 2-1 record without Caleb Williams and then winning the ugliest offensive game since the Miracle in the Desert back in 2026? The Bears are back, baby. For real, though: being 7-2, with wins over both of last year’s Super Bowl participants, is a major accomplishment so far for a team many expected to take a step back. The road doesn’t get easier from here, including plenty of games against their divisional opponents (all of whom have six wins or more). But they’re built for it.
4. I don’t know whom the Chargers think they are, exactly. But there need to be a bunch of veteran players not on that team by the time the trade deadline passes this afternoon at 4 p.m. ET. That is a thoroughly uncompetitive, unserious football team, and they should have no delusions about making the playoffs. Follow the Eagles’ example. They just traded defensive tackle Jordan Davis to the Jaguars after trading starting center Cam Jurgens away to the Ravens last month. Khalil Mack, Rashawn Slater, Derwin James. Hell, trade Dicker the Kicker if anyone will send anything for him. Start selling. Now. Otherwise, everyone’s got to get fired immediately.
5. The Jags are getting cooked already for sending a 2027 first-round pick and a 2029 second-rounder to Philly for Davis. That’s a pretty steep price, and that’s coming from a guy whose team just traded two firsts for Jeffery Simmons. Draft capital—the idea of the unknown—is extremely valuable, which Eagles general manager Howie Roseman knows well. When you’re as good as he is at drafting defensive linemen, sending away a good one is no big deal. Here’s what I’ll say in Jacksonville’s defense, though: we as a football community might not be fully appreciating how “premium” a good/great defensive tackle is. But the league seems to be angling in that direction. Great interior defenders make everyone behind them better, meaning you don’t have to allocate as much capital to the positions behind them. Plus, interior pressure on quarterbacks is probably even more devastating than edge pressure. Bottom line: yeah, it’s an overpay. But that doesn’t mean the price isn’t worth it if Davis is even partly what Simmons has been for the Bears so far.
6. Not going to lie, I’m loving the trend of calling horrible, interception-worthy throws “deli meat” or “meatball subs.” I’m not sure if it originated with defensive players, reactor culture, or transitioning from baseball, where throwing one right down the middle to a hitter is a “meatball.” I don’t care. Give whoever came up with this idea a raise, and give Tom Brady a few million more for leaning into it. It’s hilarious.
7. I hope the Eagles start Joe Milton for the rest of the year for the entertainment value alone. Because yeah, this guy is going to struggle to complete the most basic throws (and might accidentally kill one of his receivers with a screen pass). But when it comes to rolling out or chilling way back in the pocket on play-action, the anticipation of wondering how far/how hard he’s about to chuck the ball is intoxicating. Just once, we need him to try to air one out from like his own 25-yard line to the end zone. I bet he could do it. And the Eagles are going absolutely nowhere. So you might as well live with it.
8. For a guy leading a 3-5 football team, C.J. Stroud has been playing some insane ball. He’s on track for easily the best statistical year of his career with 16 touchdowns (his previous season-high is 23) and just two interceptions, and he just dropped 384 yards and five scores on the Chargers with a patchwork-quilt offense around him. The Texans might not do anything this year, unfortunately, especially with the Jaguars running away with the AFC South. But if there’s any argument for still extending Stroud after this season is over, even if they miss the playoffs, this is as good as any. It won’t be what, say, Caleb Williams or Drake Maye is likely to sign in the next few years. But someone’s going to pay Stroud handsomely as long as he keeps this up.
9. My verdict on the Shedeur Sanders performance, since you’re so interested in it? If I’m grading on a curve, let’s call it “B+,” especially because of the plays he made down the stretch to get the Browns in position to send the game to overtime and eventually challenge for a shot to win it in the end. He definitely outperformed most backups pressed into service this week. But in terms of “representative NFL starting quarterback,” that game is a C at best. Not discounting what he did down the stretch, but even some of the big plays he produced down the field were on underthrown balls his receivers had to adjust to or make incredible catches on. It’s hard to come away thinking anything but, “Thanks for your service, kid. Now sit right back down on that bench.” Again, not bad after that rough first half. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves saying he needs more burn. He really doesn’t.
10. Question for the group: who’s the next head coach to get the axe this season? My hot take: Jim Harbaugh. Because ain’t no way that Chargers team should be this awful. Others, like Aaron Glenn with the Jets or Shane Steichen with the Colts, are playing for teams actively tanking/blowing things up. They know the score. The Harbaugh experiment has run its course, and one more loss might send him. Let us know what you think.
