QB Notebook: Jordan Love Enters The MVP Race; C.J. Stroud Earning Big Extension

Welcome to the Quarterback Notebook, where I’ll cover the past week in NFL quarterbacking — from the most interesting passers, plays and storylines to some other stuff that caught my eye while watching film this week. This week, we'll make an MVP case for Jordan Love, give C.J. Stroud his flowers, and take a look at the Eagles' new starting quarterback. Let’s talk quarterbacks. The MVP odds, with Love sitting around ninth or 10th depending on the sportsbook, might make you think otherwise, but I’m calling my shot early here. Love doesn’t have the numbers you’d expect from a viable MVP candidate, but he has plenty of time to fix that after a slow start, mostly due to shoddy pass protection. The Packers' offensive line is still an issue, but Love appears to have learned to mitigate it over the last few weeks. In Sunday night's win over the Cowboys, he got a chance to show a national audience how a great quarterback can thrive under overwhelming pressure. Love did it in a number of ways. Like just standing there and running his reads as the pocket collapsed around him: Or by sidestepping the rush and creating a throwing window, as he does by looking off the linebacker on this audacious pass: Throwing a fadeaway that hits the receiver in stride to maximize YAC will also get the job done: Hitting an anticipatory throw before an unblocked rusher is another way to beat the pressure: Shifting the protection to pick up the blitz also works, but you still may have to throw it early in case your tight end whiffs on his block: It’s rare to see a quarterback play his best ball when the conditions around him are at their worst. But that’s what we’re seeing from Love, whose quick pressure rate (24.5%) and average time to pressure (2.35 seconds) are the worst in the NFL. Even more impressive, all that pressure hasn’t pushed Love into a conservative shell. He’s still as ambitious as ever and was bombing ludicrous passes downfield against Dallas—as he did against Chicago the previous week. I felt like I needed a cigarette after watching it. Love’s stat line on Sunday night would have looked even better if his receiver hadn’t forgotten how to catch. You could put together a sweet highlight reel just by compiling the deep passes they dropped. Love (with some help from the overachieving defense) is keeping the Packers in the NFC North race, and he’s receiving little help. Beyond the drops, the team has the league's worst pass protection and a run game that ranks dead last in the NFL by a wide margin, averaging 59.8 yards per game. The next-worst rushing team, Dallas, averages 76 yards a contest. That this team is sitting at 4-2 and holding onto the fifth seed in the conference is a minor miracle. Replace Love with another quarterback not named Patrick, Josh, or Lamar, and they’d be headed for a top-10 pick. Whether Houston will give Stroud the big-money extension he’s seeking is no longer in question. Now it’s just a matter of how much the Texans will have to fork over to get him to sign. Before the two sides put off contract talks until after the season, Houston was reportedly willing to pay Stroud in the $50 million range, putting him somewhere in the top-12 of the highest-paid quarterbacks, but the 25-year-old decided he’d rather play through 2026 and see where the market was at next offseason. With quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson, Drake Maye, and Caleb Williams due for extensions, and the cap projected to jump again, $60 million per year will be the starting point for quarterbacks seeking a new deal. I don’t want to exaggerate Stroud’s improvement. I thought he was significantly better than the public perception. He did a lot of heavy lifting for a Houston offense with no semblance of a running game, a receiving corps ravaged by injuries, and a first-year offensive coordinator who was still searching for his own play-calling identity. After his return from a concussion in Week 13, Stroud put up solid numbers and even better tape. A horrific performance in the playoff loss to New England obscured how well Stroud had been playing. Since Week 13 of last season, Stroud has Pro Football Focus’ sixth-highest passing grade (right ahead of Maye), he ranks 11th in expected points added per play (right ahead of Joe Burrow), eighth in yards per attempt (right ahead of Patrick Mahomes), and fifth in PFF’s "big time throw" metric (ahead of Josh Allen, Dak Prescott, Brock Purdy and Justin Herbert). Only four quarterbacks have fewer "turnover-worthy plays," according to PFF. Stroud has been playing good football for a while, but this season he’s leveled up in a few key areas. Playing out of structure is the big one. Stroud will never be a creative force, like a Mahomes or Allen, but he looks more comfortable throwing on the move now. His 13.8% completion percentage over expected on scramble-drill throws is a career high, per Next Gen Stats. He’s already generated 7.8 EPA on scramble runs, putting him on pace to shatter his career high (11.8), and Stroud hasn't thrown an interception under pressure this season. Stroud has always been a solid performer in structure; now he’s becoming a reliable one when things break down. Sunday’s win over Jacksonville offered a glimpse at the progress Stroud has made in that area. The Texans put up 34 points against a strong Jaguars defense, largely thanks to Stroud’s play under duress. The Jags defense generated five unblocked pressures. Stroud didn’t take a single sack and went 5-of-5 for 69 yards. He also made one of the season's throws with a defender right in his grill. Stroud has also performed better against the blitz, which isn’t surprising. The Texans brought in offensive coordinator Nick Caley last season to put more on Stroud’s plate before the snap. It was the first time he controlled the protections and could change plays at the line of scrimmage. There were some growing pains early last season, but the plan is starting to bear fruit. Now Stroud can put out fires before they erupt after the snap, which was the goal when the coaching staff handed him the keys to the offense last offseason. "I’ve never played quarterback," Caley told me last August. "I’ve coached offense for well over a decade, but you learn things and see things from a quarterback’s perspective. We [as coaches] can prepare all we want, but the pictures could change … When you have a quarterback who understands the intent of what you’re doing, he can solve problems for you. He can get you out of bad situations and get you into favorable ones." Stroud is now fully capable of solving problems for Houston’s offense—at least the ones he can control. This idea that Stroud hasn’t improved since his rookie season is mostly nonsense. While he did take a step back in his second season, his numbers have improved since then. Based on advanced metrics (which are generally more informative than traditional stats), Stroud’s third season was even better than his rookie campaign. In 2026, he’s on pace for his best season yet, and it’ll make him a lot of money. It doesn’t matter who’s starting at quarterback; the Eagles offense stinks. With Jalen Hurts out on Sunday against the Panthers, Philadelphia turned to their prized backup, Tanner McKee, and the results were the same: a lethargic performance in a low-scoring loss. It wasn’t fair to blame Hurts for all the offensive woes, and the same goes for McKee, who made his first meaningful start on Sunday. The 2023 sixth-round pick didn’t stand much of a chance. A faulty run game and a frustrating number of penalties kept him behind the chains all game. The pass protection remains subpar, and offensive coordinator Sean Mannion doesn’t know how to work around it. Even with that in mind, McKee’s weaknesses were apparent. He doesn’t have a strong arm—it looked like he was throwing a weighted ball—and he’s a bit of a statue in the pocket. That combination of factors makes performing under pressure a tall task for McKee. Carolina picked up on that and cranked up their blitz rate. But there were positives as well. While McKee lacks Hurts’ mobility and arm talent, he doesn’t shy away from targeting the middle of the field, and he gets rid of the ball quickly. McKee’s 2.42-second average time to throw was the second lowest of the season for Philadelphia, which contributed to the Eagles posting their second-lowest pressure rate allowed. If this were a high-functioning offense, those aspects of McKee’s game might have helped. But this unit isn't in shape to prop up a quarterback like McKee, who needs a strong run game and an effective play-action attack to do his best work. He’s a good fit for what Philadelphia wants its offense to be, but he can’t provide what it needs right now. It needs a quarterback comfortable with playing out of structure and creating when plays break down. Those are hard to find on the trade market, and you certainly won’t find one in the pool of available free agents. If I’m Eagles general manager Howie Roseman, I’m calling Indianapolis to see what it would cost to get Anthony Richardson, the former first-round pick who lost his job to Daniel Jones last offseason. Richardson may lack familiarity with Mannion’s system, but he should be well-versed in Nick Sirianni’s, having played for Shane Steichen, who worked under the Eagles head coach before taking the Colts job. Either way, I still don't count Philadelphia out of the NFC East race. The division-leading Giants are down to their third quarterback, the second-place Cowboys might have the league's worst defense, and the Commanders are headed in the wrong direction. Justice for the former journeyman backup! Fitzpatrick wasn't wrong when he unloaded on Bo Nix on Thursday night, though some Broncos fans, including Aqib Talib, took exception. "Bo Nix is not playing competitively," he said. "It's almost disrespectful to the quarterback position how he's playing football right now." To be fair to Nix, the Seahawks defense didn’t give him many downfield opportunities, but his aversion to throwing downfield fits the season's broader pattern. And with Nix refusing to scramble, he’s bringing nothing to the Broncos offense. As Fitzpatrick says, the third-year quarterback needs to be more competitive and take more chances. Could Fitzpatrick have been nicer about it? Sure, but his analysis was spot on. Justin Herbert had another rough go on Sunday, but this bomb to Quentin Johnston reminded everyone how talented he is. And if you’re wondering: no, the Chargers did not score a touchdown on that drive. Just take the sack, Justin.

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Upon Further Review: Just How Off We Were On Rams, Chargers; Ashton Jeanty A Bust?

I might as well own this one: I was badly wrong. Predicting is not my favorite part of the job, but we were asked for a bold prediction in January, so I called for the Los Angeles Chargers to win the Super Bowl on their home field this season. Days before the season started, they asked for a Super Bowl prediction, and I doubled down, picking the Chargers to beat the Los Angeles Rams in an all-Los-Angeles Super Bowl. So the Chargers are 0-6. The Rams are 2-4. At this point, I'm just hoping the game isn't moved from SoFi Stadium. Everybody loved the Rams, as oddsmakers' favorites to win it all, even before they brought Aaron Donald out of retirement. With the Chargers, the addition of Mike McDaniel and a healthy offensive line seemed like a recipe for Justin Herbert getting over the hump. Instead, they're a combined 2-10, and one city has two of the NFL's biggest disappointments. The Rams' first three losses were to the San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills — three of the 10 best teams in the league — that's understandable, but Sunday's loss was at home to the Arizona Cardinals, who were 1-4 and 30th in our weekly power rankings. Arizona is 2-0 at SoFi this season, somehow with more wins there than the Rams (1-2) and Chargers (0-3) combined. The Rams are third in the NFL in total offense, third in total defense, and somehow 2-4, with special teams and four missed field goals playing a role in that. The Chargers are even more astounding. To be winless and losing close games is one thing, but their point differential is minus-61, only one point better than the lowly Dolphins. The defense has missed former defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, off to the Ravens, and the offense has regressed under McDaniel. Six games in, no Chargers player has caught more than one touchdown pass. By comparison, the Raiders have four such players. Two years ago, Herbert threw three interceptions in the entire season. This year, he has at least one in all six losses. Back to the Rams, they were the oddsmakers' favorite to win the Super Bowl entering the season — in the last 20 years, they're just the second preseason Super Bowl favorite to have a losing record after six games, following the 2015 Seahawks, who rallied from a 2-4 start to finish 10-6, but lost to the 15-1 Panthers in the divisional round. Only four Super Bowl favorites in the last 50 years had losing records at this stage, and none of them made a conference championship game. Now the Rams and Chargers will be meeting up at SoFi, but not in February. They play a week from Sunday, and in theory, one of those teams should escape with a victory. The Chargers, now that the Texans have won two straight, are easily the league's most glaring underachievers. The Rams lost two key players to injuries on Sunday: receiver Davante Adams and defensive lineman Kobie Turner. They still have enough talent to salvage a wild-card spot even from 2-4, but that turnaround needs to start now. The NFC East and NFC South could both have division winners close to .500, so you could see two wild cards as favorites on the road to open the playoffs. Regardless, the only playoff game that will be held at SoFi will be on Valentine's Day. It's not even a season and a half, but with the Las Vegas Raiders losing three straight, we can revisit how underwhelming running back Ashton Jeanty has been since Las Vegas took him with the No. 6 overall pick last year. Jeanty has played 23 games now, and in just four of those games he has averaged even 4.0 yards per carry, a very pedestrian measure of rushing success. In the Week 5 loss to the New England Patriots, he had 10 carries for 27 yards, and in Sunday's loss to the Bills, he had 10 carries for 22. Consider it this way: There have been 91 players who got 350 or more carries in their first 23 games — that's more than 15 carries a game — and of those 91, Jeanty ranks 85th with just 3.54 yards per carry. The six worse than him? Karim Abdul-Jabbar, Rashaan Salaam, Leonard Russell, Trent Richardson, Errict Rhett and Curtis Enis. That's rough company, and the common thread is high draft picks who earned a heavy workload and the benefit of the doubt early, then were quickly discarded. Richardson went third overall and was out of the league after three years. Same for Enis, who went fifth. Two spots above Jeanty is Leonard Fournette, a No. 4 overall pick who was cut by the Jaguars after three years. Few backs have come into the league with more promise and excitement than Jeanty, who rushed for 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns in his last year at Boise State. You can blame some of his rookie-year struggles on an offensive line decimated by injuries, but the Raiders spent big to bring in center Tyler Linderbaum, and Jeanty's numbers got worse, going from 3.7 yards per carry last year to 3.2 in 2026. Of 28 backs with 60-plus carries, Jeanty has the second-worst average, ahead of only Cleveland Browns standout Quinshon Judkins. This past Sunday, Jeanty was outperformed by Mike Washington, a fourth-round rookie from Arkansas who's averaging 4.9 yards per carry and making a case to chip into Jeanty's workload each week. The Raiders had the makings of a strong young core in rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza, Jeanty and third-year tight end Brock Bowers, but you wonder if Jeanty will still be the offensive focus by the time Mendoza takes over. The Steelers have pulled out back-to-back wins for a share of the AFC North lead, and a surprising part has been rookie receiver Germie Bernard, who has stepped up amid injuries to Michael Pittman Jr., Roman Wilson and Ben Skowronek. Bernard, a second-round pick from Alabama, totaled seven catches for 60 yards in his first four NFL games, but has exploded in the last two weeks, first with six for 80 in the win against the Colts, then a true breakout game Sunday in Tampa. Bernard finished with 11 catches for 87 yards, including the winning touchdown in overtime for his first NFL score. "I just love everything he’s doing," Steelers coach Mike McCarthy said. "I mean, he’s accepted the challenge. We have a lot on his plate and he’s handling it ... he’s playing really good football for us." Pittsburgh trailed 13-0 with 1:28 left in the first half, but Aaron Rodgers found Bernard twice for gains of 12 and 14 yards to set up a field goal at the end of the half. He's made an impact in volume as well. In the last 50 years, only three Steelers rookies have gotten 80 receiving yards in back-to-back games: George Pickens in 2022, Santonio Holmes in 2006 and Louis Lipps in 1984. "I always say you have to make the most of your opportunities," Bernard said of his overtime touchdown, reaching the ball out over the goal line. "I got the ball in my hands and I saw DK [Metcalf] had the block, so I knew I had to make it count. ... I did what I could for the team to have success." Bernard is still learning. Pittsburgh missed a fourth-down conversion when he caught a pass at the line to gain and backed up briefly, allowing himself to be tackled short of the stick. On the whole, the Steelers are thrilled with his progress. If Bernard can continue at his recent pace, the Steelers' rookie receiving records are within reach — JuJu Smith-Schuster has the yards record at 917 in 2017, and running back Najee Harris has the receptions record at 74 in 2021. "You need to ease expectations, but there comes a time when the confidence starts to match the potential, and I think we're reaching that time with Germie," Rodgers said after the game. "Very proud of him. Obviously, the fourth down, probably should just catch it and (not) back up. But he made a lot of nice plays today, a lot of smart plays, a lot of good catches. Obviously, super smart there. Catch, kind of broke a tackle, reach out for the game-winning touchdown. We had to have it."

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Report Details Expected Eagles Punishment For Handling Of Jalen Hurts Blood Clot

The Philadelphia Eagles are not being disciplined for how they handled quarterback Jalen Hurts’ blood clots, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because conversations between the league and team were to remain private. In a statement released Tuesday, the NFL said officials had been in contact with Eagles medical personnel and the Cleveland Clinic in London throughout the process of Hurts being treated. "The league’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Allen Sills, arranges for medical resources with leading providers in every international market with approval from the NFL Players Association," the league said. "Medical care for players is provided by club medical staff in coordination with independent doctors." Sills and other officials are expected to address reporters at the league's annual fall meeting later Tuesday in New York. Hurts is on injured reserve and expected to miss the rest of the season after a blood clot in his left calf traveled to his lungs. The Eagles and agent Nicole Lynn said Monday that Hurts has deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary emboli. His treatment involves blood thinners, and Hurts will not be allowed to participate in any football activities until he is off them. Hurts played in London against Jacksonville on Oct. 11, three days after informing medical staff of the injury after practice. He was initially diagnosed by specialists in London with a left calf superficial vein thrombosis. Reporting by The Associated Press.

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QB Stock Market Week 7: Is C.J. Stroud Back? Is Patrick Mahomes Evolving?

There’s a lot we didn’t see coming this year. OK, there’s a lot I didn’t see coming this year. Bo Nix’s regression has been fierce. C.J. Stroud’s rebound has been remarkable. And Patrick Mahomes’ return to being … well, Patrick Mahomes, has been a joy to watch. Let’s get into all of that and more in this week’s QB Stock Market. These aren’t your typical QB rankings. I’m focused on contextualizing the fluctuations of starters' performances throughout the season. I don’t write about every quarterback every week, but I dive deeply into the most compelling performers. No one — not even Josh Allen — is safe at the top. No one — not even Tanner McKee — is stuck at the bottom. There is room for quick ascent — and rapid decline. One question holds the most importance: What have you done for your team lately? Previous: Offseason | Preseason | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 The Giants have a relatively easy decision to make this week. They’re almost definitely going to promote J.J. McCarthy to QB1. Winston is a good bridge QB or a backup. He can help you win a few games. But he’s not a QB that you can build an offense around. Now, I’m not totally sure that McCarthy is either. But in Week 6, he did enough to make us curious. In the fourth quarter against the Saints, he racked up 243 passing yards. Just in the fourth quarter! Justin Herbert’s season high is 226 yards. There were a few things that we saw from McCarthy in his 2026 debut. He layered a pass into a soft spot in the Saints defense (above), which was exactly the throw that the Vikings didn’t trust him to make. He also generated explosive plays, with four in this game — despite only posting 17 during his Vikings tenure. Let’s not sugarcoat it, though. McCarthy has been in New York for just a few weeks. He doesn’t know the depths of the offense. And in this appearance, he was playing against one of the league’s worst defenses in what initially looked like garbage time. And he completed only 11 of his 21 passes (5.24%) for 243 yards, a touchdown and an interception. This wasn’t a sterling or impeccable performance. It’s possible — likely even — that the Giants later turn back to Winston, who has been serviceable, especially given all the adversity that’s stacked against a backup. But McCarthy is a compelling option to, at least, explore while the NFC East is still an open race. He is also the type of asset who could appreciate and net a Day 2 pick this offseason. There are layers of upside. If he knows the offense well enough to play, let McCarthy play. Nix has been objectively bad this year, and he seems to get worse every week. Week 6 against the Seahawks might have been up there with his three worst performances of his career — going all the way back to his rookie year, when everyone proclaimed him a bust in those first few weeks. Nix’s performance was so conservative that he looked like he was playing scared, finishing the game with an average air yards attempt of 2.98. He checked it down, he threw underneath and he could not — for the life of him — complete a pass of more than 10 yards downfield. Normally, we’d chalk that up to Seattle's defense. But 1) the Seahawks' defense has been gettable this year for QBs, and 2) this has been more of the same from Nix for the past three weeks. That’s why Amazon Prime analyst Ryan Fitzpatrick boiled over after the game. "Bo Nix is not playing competitively," Fitzpatrick said on air. "It’s almost disrespectful to the quarterback position how he’s playing quarterback right now. … He has no trust from his coach, he calls a screen play on third-and-8. … I can only imagine how Sean Payton feels. I mean, Sean Payton, [offensive coordinator] Davis Webb, everybody that blocks for him. He’s not competing right now." Well, let’s talk about Payton and Webb. Because they haven’t made life easier for Nix. Payton named Webb the playcaller before the season. At that point, Webb changed the terminology for the playbook. Essentially, Nix learned a new language this offseason. So, when Payton took back playcalling duties two weeks ago, the head coach changed the terminology back to the original playbook. That means Nix has had to forget what he learned this offseason. That also means a newcomer such as receiver Jaylen Waddle has had to learn another language — after joining the team this offseason and learning the system with Webb’s terminology. I understand that Payton felt like he had to do this. But all this change must be difficult for the third-year QB to manage in a situation where he’s, frankly, already playing poorly. Even before the changes, Nix looked confused. Look no further than his previous game against the Rams when he was constantly putting the ball in harm’s way. I don’t know how the Broncos fix this — nor do I know how long it’ll take. This is on Nix. But it’s not only on Nix. I think Payton — with all this mismanagement — deserves blame for the QB’s regression. You would have no way of knowing that Tyler Shough is playing through two broken bones in his left hand. The dude was a heat-seeking missile for contact this past week against the Giants, particularly late in the game — when he put his body on the line to lock up a narrow win for the Saints. I don’t think that’s necessarily smart in the long term. But on a day when he completed 53.3% of his passes, it did call for him to make up for the lack of efficiency in the passing game with some efficiency in the rushing game. And to that point, the inefficiencies were not all on him. The Saints had five drops, per PFF, with a drop percentage of 23.8 — the highest of the season by far. No doubt, Shough also missed some chances. He had overthrows to receiver Bryce Lance in the second quarter for what would’ve been a big play — and also on a scramble play to tight end Juwan Johnson. But this was anything but a crisp performance from the entire Saints unit. I still like the ways Shough seems to be improving. I can’t help but mention that Nix’s regression is something that’s distinctly possible for Shough, who does many of the things well that Nix did last year. But on the whole, Shough is a more polished and consistent player than Nix. And so I don’t see a massive regression coming, particularly not with Jordyn Tyson back at practice this week. His highly anticipated return — coupled with running back Travis Etienne’s return down the line — could make the Saints' offense into something special. This might be the finest performance of C.J. Stroud’s career. At this time last week, we were wondering if this Jaguars had the best defense in the NFL. They forced two interceptions out of Drake Maye. They forced two interceptions out of Joe Burrow. They sacked Deshaun Watson five times. And even after this shootout loss to the Texans, Jacksonville is third in points allowed per game (17.3). Its defense is excellent. Stroud was just better. He lit the Jags up for 312 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. His completion percentage over expected was 12.8%, per NextGen Stats. And it was not just about dinks or dunks. No, this performance was also about the big-time throws. Stroud delivered two deep passes that were so difficult and so impressive. The first was a shot along the sideline to Nico Collins in the first quarter, in which the Pro Bowl wideout laid out to haul in the perfectly placed pass. And that was only the second-best play. Even better, Stroud fired the ball downfield — with linebacker Dennis Gardeck blocking Stroud’s line of vision and arm follow-through — to receiver Jaylin Noel. With 45 seconds left in the second quarter, this throw helped the Texans get a score before the half in a tight game. The Texans won this game because of Stroud. Not because of DeMeco Ryans and the defense — or Collins. Not because of the Marvin Harrison Jr. trade. Think about how far he’s come in just the past nine months. The Jaguars are a playoff team — and perhaps the second-best team in the AFC behind the Chiefs. Think about what Stroud looked like against the Patriots and their elite defense in the postseason. It’s a sizable (and long-awaited) improvement for the fourth-year QB — and at a crucial moment ahead of his contract negotiations. Stroud was the No. 1 reason for the Texans’ win. He is the reason why they can still make the playoffs. He might even enter the MVP conversation if he can keep this up. It has been an impressive season for Jordan Love — but an especially impressive two weeks. While his stat line this past Sunday against the Cowboys (23-41, 277 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) won't blow anyone away, know this: Love had three potential long touchdowns hit his receivers in the hands. There were two to Matthew Golden and one to Christian Watson. He also had a rushing TD. In other words — with a little luck (and help from his receivers) — this might’ve been a repeat performance from the previous week when he dropped bombs on the Chicago Bears’ defense. It's not crazy to think Love would’ve had 400 passing yards. In one sense, I think Green Bay's offense is becoming one-dimensional. And it’s the deep game. But for now, that has been enough to right the ship for the Packers, who started the season 1-2. Their running game is still abysmal. Their offensive line isn’t a group of world beaters. Running back Josh Jacobs should help them as he returns from the Commissioner’s Exempt List. Still, Love is going to have to carry this unit for the majority of the season, which isn’t something we’re accustomed to seeing him do. But after what we've seen him do recently — and throughout last year — it’s easy to believe he can handle the pressure. Joe Burrow’s completion rate is up to 71.4% this year, which would be a career high. His success rate (52.5%) is the second-best clip of his career. After years of slow starts, the Bengals are off to a strong one at 3-2. The only problem is that the rest of the AFC North is off to a stronger start — all sitting at 4-2. Trevor Lawrence saw the Texans’ most aggressive game plan of the season, with Houston blitzing at 39.5%, the highest blitz rate all year for their defense. He picked them apart, completing 8 of 17 throws for 126 yards and two touchdowns against the blitz. And still, with Stroud playing out of his mind, Lawrence’s production (four passing touchdowns) wasn’t enough. There is only one quarterback in the NFL who has a positive EPA per dropback against pressure. And it’s Patrick Mahomes. What does that mean? Only one quarterback in the entire league can add value — improving the Chiefs’ scoring abilities — when he’s pressured, per NextGen Stats. That’s the thing about pressure. That’s why teams pay enormous sums to edge players and even the rare defensive tackle who can rush the passer. It’s because every other quarterback in the league detracts from the offense when he’s pressured. Over the past five seasons, no QB has ever done this. Not even Mahomes. Josh Allen came the closest in 2022 (minus-0.02). So the real translation is that Mahomes is having an otherworldly season. Maybe quietly. Because I’m not sure folks have truly appreciated how good he’s been. The irony is that it’s not totally about Mahomes. It’s also about Kenneth Walker III, who has been so incredible that opposing teams have had no choice but to stack the box. Walker has rushed against the third-most stacked boxes among RBs — behind only the Ravens' Derrick Henry and, interestingly, the Raiders' Ashton Jeanty. And between those three against stacked boxes, Walker has recorded 3.7 rush yards over expected per carry, while Henry is at minus-0.3 and Jeanty is at minus-0.2. It’s no coincidence that Mahomes is having an unreal season against pressure while Walker has been unreal against stacked boxes. It’s just two players defying everything we know about football. It’s two players who are on another level. That’s why it hasn’t mattered so much who is playing left tackle or wide receiver for the Chiefs. Mahomes and Walker are currently the entities that matter most for their offense. They feed off each other and there’s nothing opposing defenses can do about it right now. For the first time this season, Purdy failed to complete a touchdown pass against the blitz. Which … some might see as a sign of an incoming regression from his MVP-caliber season. I’ll chalk it up to a game that wasn’t particularly competitive until late, thanks to the Commanders' incompetence. He had the most absurd play of the week — a 12-yard push pass on third-and-8 that had no business being attempted. But it’s Josh Allen. So everything was fine. It was better than fine. It was a six-point play.

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NFL Best And Worst: Josh Allen Puts On A Show; The Rams Hit A New Low

Josh Allen did what?! The Bears are back?! And have the Rams and Chargers finally hit rock bottom?! As I do every Monday night, I’m here to break down the best and worst from the week's NFL action. Coming out of Week 6, let’s focus on plays, team developments and offenses: Josh Allen gives us constant reminders that he’s equal parts Superman and magician. Late in the third quarter of the Bills’ victory over the Raiders, Buffalo faced a third-and-long in the red zone. Allen dropped back, stepped up in the pocket, rolled to his left, juked a defender who tried to sack him from behind and, with four Raiders closing in on him, flipped (!) a 12-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Keon Coleman. Just an unbelievable play. The touchdown pass was the 258th of Allen's career, tying him with Hall of Famer Jim Kelly for the franchise record. And there are many more to come for the 30-year-old Allen. There’s nothing I can say about him that hasn’t already been said. On the shortlist of best quarterbacks on earth, Allen has shown time and time again that he can put the Bills on his shoulders. The former league MVP can kill a defense through the air or on the ground. He can overwhelm you with his rare strength and power as a quarterback or with the kind of creativity we saw Sunday against the Raiders. But this question persists: Does Allen finally have enough help around him to reach a Super Bowl? As the 5-1 Bills enter their bye week, they face concerns about their defense and receiver production. Buffalo ranks second-worst in total defense and 28th in points allowed, while none of its pass-catchers are averaging more than tight end Dalton Kincaid’s 52.5 receiving yards per game. Wideout DJ Moore, who’s missed two games due to injury, hasn’t been the WR1 that the Bills had hoped for when they gave up a second-round pick for him in March. The Bills are in great shape as the AFC’s No. 2 seed, but I’m not buying that they’re any more equipped to get over the Super Bowl hump. On a fourth-and-8 in plus territory trailing 15-9 to the Cardinals late in the fourth quarter, Rams coach Sean McVay called a screen pass for running back Kyren Williams. It didn’t work. Matthew Stafford’s pass was a bit behind Williams, who wouldn’t have had room to do much of anything even if he caught the pass because it was poorly blocked. But it was a baffling play call in the first place. In a got-to-have-it, fourth-and-long situation, why was the best choice to throw to a running back sitting behind the line of scrimmage? Yes, it was tough sledding in the pass game for the Rams, who had just one reception longer than 16 yards. But it seemed like a no-brainer scenario to trust your MVP quarterback to find something downfield. In many ways, McVay’s play call there has been a microcosm of the Rams' disappointing 2-4 season. Despite having all the coaching and personnel talent in the world, they’ve regressed just enough in multiple areas. McVay hasn’t been as sharp as usual. Stafford hasn’t been as sharp. The run game hasn’t been as sharp. Wide receiver Davante Adams will be out six-to-10 weeks with a hamstring injury. Special teams issues have lingered from last season. Star edge rusher Myles Garrett’s absence has hurt, but the defense’s lack of finish in the pass rush has been alarming as well. The Rams rank sixth in pressure rate, but tied for 27th in sacks. Their season isn’t over. But no team has a higher sense of urgency right now relative to preseason expectations. Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, who missed the past three weeks with a hamstring injury, didn’t miss a beat in his return for Week 6. He completed 83.3% of his passes for 305 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions in Sunday’s win over the Falcons. After winning back-to-back games in the immediate aftermath of Williams’ injury, Chicago clearly started to miss him in a 31-7 whooping by the Packers in Week 5, a game in which backup quarterbacks Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum combined for four turnovers. So Williams’ return was a welcome sight for the Bears. Don’t sleep on Kyler Gordon being back in the lineup as well. The standout nickel corner began the year on the physically unable to perform list, and there were questions about his future with the team. But he made his season debut Sunday and had one of the best pass-rushing performances by a defensive back of all time: three sacks, three tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. The talk entering the season with the Bears was that they had a juggernaut offense. Truth is, they’re much more than that. Their defense relative to the rest of the league has actually been better than their offense (Chicago ranks sixth in points allowed, 12th in scoring). Of course, that’s been impacted by Williams’ absence. But if Gordon can stay healthy — he’s missed 19 games dating to the start of last season — he’s a force multiplier for an already solid defense. So Chicago has one of the NFL’s best overall teams. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who was placed on injured reserve last week due to a blood clot in his leg, has now been ruled out for the rest of the 2026 season after the discovery of multiple blood clots in his lungs. A joint statement between the Eagles and Hurts’ agent, Nicole Lynn, said the quarterback has deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary emboli. He is said to be clinically stable and has no significant functional limitations but won’t be able to participate in any contact activities while on blood thinners for the foreseeable future. "Jalen’s prognosis is very good, and we expect a full recovery," the statement read, in part. "In the meantime, he will remain active around the team and continue to condition. More importantly, we anticipate that he will have no long-term effects." There are plenty of unanswered questions regarding the handling of Hurts’ condition, including the process that led to him playing and traveling for Week 5 in London, where he was initially diagnosed with superficial vein thrombosis in his left calf. But for the time being, Hurts’ health is the No. 1 priority. Football takes a back seat. The Texans aren’t getting the nod here just because they scored 34 points. It’s because they scored 34 points on the Jaguars’ defense, one of the very best in the league. Quarterback C.J. Stroud completed 70.6% of his passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns against one interception vs. Jacksonville. Six different Houston receivers had receptions of at least 10 yards, including two who had catches over 40 yards (Nico Collins, Jaylin Noel). Even the Texans’ inconsistent run game found success. Houston went over 100 rushing yards for just the second time this season — and did so against the Jaguars’ No. 1-rated run defense. The Texans had season-highs in points (34) and total yards (426) against the Jags, averaging 7.2 yards per play. If the Texans were better than 2-4, Stroud would probably be in the MVP conversation. Not leading it — Allen and Brock Purdy are a step above everyone else right now — but definitely a dark-horse candidate. He’s been that good. If Stroud can keep it up and Houston’s defense gets back to the level it played at last season, when it ranked first in yards allowed and second in opponent scoring, the Texans will have one of the scariest teams in the NFL. Even where things stand right now, with Houston riding a two-game winning streak after an 0-4 start, the Texans are a team to watch later this season. If you thought it couldn’t get any worse for the Chargers, they scored a season-low six points in Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs. They only had 259 net yards of offense, their second-worst mark this season, and quarterback Justin Herbert’s nightmare season continued. He threw his league-high eighth interception, having thrown at least one pick in each of the Chargers’ six games this season. We already knew L.A.’s offense was broken under new OC Mike McDaniel. What we’re learning is that it may not be repairable. Herbert is a shell of himself, operating an offense that doesn’t fit him while having to play Superman with the team’s injury concerns on the offensive line and at wide receiver. Six games is a large enough sample size in the NFL for patience to wear out. The Chargers can’t come out of their bye week without having made a significant change on offense. Both McDaniel's and Jim Harbaugh’s job security should be in question. The Chargers are just the second team in NFL history to start 0-6 after winning 11 or more games in the previous season, according to NFL on FOX Research. Just one other NFL team is winless, the 0-5 Dolphins, who entered the season with nowhere near the expectations that the Chargers did. L.A. could be barreling toward a fire sale ahead of the Nov. 10 trade deadline and a rebuild this offseason.

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The Week 6 Plays That Stood Out: The Rams' Subpar Defense To C.J. Stroud's Heroics

Welcome to The Plays that Stood Out, where we take a deep dive into the moments that shaped the past week of NFL games and try to figure out what they could mean for the teams and players going forward. This week, we’re looking at how the Rams blew a late lead to Arizona, exposing a long-standing problem. We’ll give the Packers defense its flowers after putting Dak Prescott through the wringer on Sunday night. We’ll also break down the small detail that helped the Texans steal a key AFC South game. Alright, now it’s officially time to panic. After Sunday’s shocking loss to the Cardinals, the Rams are last in the NFC West and would need to leapfrog four teams to sneak into the playoffs as the last seed. Forget the whole "super team" thing; at this rate, Los Angeles will have to fight just to make the postseason. The loss to Arizona was especially troubling. Sean McVay said there were no positives to take from the game, and I’m inclined to agree. The offense is getting worse every week, and Matthew Stafford isn’t beating the "washed up" allegations. Even if you want to give McVay and Stafford the benefit of the doubt, the defense still has holes that getting Myles Garrett back on the field won't patch—unless the Rams plan to deploy him at middle linebacker or safety. L.A.’s defense is weak up the spine, and the Cardinals exploited it on the play that essentially won them the game. After a vintage Stafford two-minute drill gave the Rams a late one-point lead, Arizona had 47 seconds to gain about 40 yards and get into field-goal range. Jacoby Brissett needed only one play to do it. A facemask penalty added 15 yards to Jalen Brooks' 21-yard reception, and in an instant, the Cardinals had the ball at the Los Angeles 29-yard line. I don’t want to take anything away from Brissett, who made a great throw to get his team into field goal range, but the defense offered little resistance. Take a look at the wide angle when Brissett hits the back of his drop. With the safeties retreating back like it’s a Hail Mary situation, there is A LOT of air in the coverage. Per Next Gen Stats, there’s a 12.1-yard gap between safety Kam Curl and nickelback Quentin Lake, and a 13.6-yard gap separates Kamren Kinchens and linebacker Nate Landman. That leaves acres of space for Brooks to run into. With Landman’s hips turned toward the right sideline, Brissett can make the throw without worrying about the Rams linebacker making a play on the ball. These soft zone coverages seem to be defensive coordinator Chris Shula's default strategy whenever the Rams need a stop in obvious passing situations. It’s not a bad strategy in a vacuum, but Los Angeles doesn’t have safeties or linebackers who can close those windows quickly enough to make it work. Brooks made what should have been a tough, contested catch with little resistance. These crunch-time defensive breakdowns have become routine for the Rams over the past couple of years, since the team adopted this shell coverage philosophy. Since 2022, they rank dead last in stop rate on "clutch drives," per YUNO Sports. This was the most shocking result of the day, but nobody should have been surprised at how it ended. The takeaway: The Rams can’t bank on Garrett’s return to solve all their issues. General manager Les Snead should be working the phones, asking about linebackers and safeties who can solidify the middle of the defense. With three weeks left before the NFL trade deadline, he still has time to swing a deal or two. And with teams starting to fall out of the playoff race—including the one the Rams share a stadium with—plenty of suitors should be willing to pick up the phone. If Snead can’t find reinforcements, a change in defensive philosophy may be in order. Dak Prescott put up a stinker on Sunday night, but Packers defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon deserves the bulk of the credit for crossing his wires all night. Prescott is one of the NFL’s sharpest quarterbacks before and after the snap, but Gannon threw some looks at him that would have left Tom Brady and Peyton Manning scratching their heads. The red-zone interception early in the second quarter was the shining example and set the tone for the rest of the evening. Green Bay starts with seven defenders crowding the line of scrimmage. The Cowboys run a "levels" concept that looks promising before the snap. With only two defenders over three receivers, it looks like CeeDee Lamb will have to beat the deep safety inside to get open for the touchdown. Evan Williams, the other safety, is on the line to the offense’s left, so he surely wouldn’t be tasked with helping on Lamb’s route, right? Welp, that’s exactly what Gannon asked him to do. That’s a diabolical defensive call. Prescott sees Williams bail at the snap and assumes the Packers are playing Cover 2, with the safety dropping to the deep half. That would have left the deep middle vacant for Lamb's route. But the Packers are playing a form of "Quarters" where the backside safety will "poach" any deep over route by the No. 3 receiver (Lamb in this case), leaving the cornerback on that side locked in one-on-one coverage. These "poach" coverages are becoming more common, but you rarely see them run out of that kind of pre-snap look. Gannon threw a nasty curveball at Prescott. The takeaway: I dismissed the Packers as a playoff contender after that ugly Thursday night showing against the Falcons, but I’m willing to take the L on that opinion. Jordan Love is playing his way into the MVP conversation, and Gannon has the defense punching well above its weight thanks to his X’s and O’s. With Micah Parsons back in a few weeks, the unit could reach another level down the stretch. C.J. Stroud has had to drag the Texans offense to competence all season, but on at least one play on Sunday, his job was pretty darn easy. Fortunately for Houston, it was the play that won the game: Woody Marks’ 19-yard catch-and-run that got the Texans into range for Ka'imi Fairbairn’s game-winning kick. No Jaguars defender was within five yards of Marks, and while it’s easy to blame crappy defense, I’m giving most of the credit to the Texans. Specifically, Marks, whose little jab step at the start of the play created the confusion that left him wide open. The Jaguars were playing a specific form of man coverage where the two linebackers worked in tandem to cover the running back. If Marks goes right, the linebacker to that side picks him up in man coverage; if he goes left, the linebacker to that side takes him. Marks ends up going right, leaving Foyesade Oluokun responsible for the coverage. But the former Yale Bulldog processes the play too quickly. He sees Marks take his first step left and shifts his eyes to his next key. By the time Marks takes his first step to the right, Oluokun is looking the other way. You can see Branson Combs pass Marks off to Oluokun, but he’s already got his eyes on Jaylin Noel. Combs realizes what’s going on, but Houston’s play design creates too much traffic for him to navigate, leaving Marks wide open in the flat. It’s easier to parse through everything frame by frame, but watching it in real time shows how quickly NFL defenders have to process information. One little slip-up can cost you a game. The takeaway: I’m still holding onto my Texans stock after their woeful start to the season, and I suggest you do the same. Stroud is playing the best football of his career, and he is finally getting some help. Wide receiver Nico Collins’ return from injury has given him a go-to guy in obvious passing situations, and second-year offensive coordinator Nick Caley is showing promise as a play-caller after an up-and-down 2025 campaign. Caley still needs to figure out the run game, but he’s giving Stroud answers against whatever defenses throw at him. The play that sprung Marks open was just the latest example. If head coach Demeco Ryans’ defense holds up, the Texans will climb back into the AFC South race. 1. The Ravens offense is predictably struggling without Lamar Jackson, but I’ve still been impressed with Declan Doyle’s creativity. Even in the low-scoring loss to Cleveland, the first-year offensive coordinator impressed with two wildly creative calls. This red-zone formation shift left the Browns defense scrambling. Doyle wasn’t finished. Later in the game, the Ravens ran a play I have never seen before. Doyle had tight end Josh Cuevas line up at left guard. Cuevas was an eligible receiver, but the Browns didn’t have time to sort out their assignments, leaving him wide open for a big gain. 2. Not to be outdone by his former assistant Doyle, Ben Johnson broke out the strangest pre-snap motion I’ve ever seen. Tackle Theo Benedet did jumping jacks as he shifted to the other side of the formation, then Caleb Williams ran a successful QB sneak. Johnson also had receiver Zavion Thomas run a jet motion to add another layer of distraction. This is the type of play you’d draw up on the playground in grade school, but you can’t argue with the result. 3. I don’t have words to describe what Josh Allen did on this third-quarter touchdown pass in Buffalo’s win in Las Vegas on Sunday, so let's just watch the clip. This is why the Bills coaching staff puts up with Allen’s silly mistakes and the "arm punts." His creativity is a net positive for the offense. As long as he keeps pulling plays like this out of his you-know-what, defenses will have to respect it, which makes it easier for his teammates. Look at how much attention Allen commands once he goes into scramble mode.

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Jameis Winston's Super Surprise For Breast Cancer Survivors: 'Nothing Short Of Amazing'

When the American Cancer Society offered Vina Morris a ticket to a New York Giants game, she figured that was the extent of it. She’s a breast cancer survivor and founded a non-profit to help promote breast cancer awareness. This seemed like a nice, small reward. What she didn’t know was what came next. When she got to MetLife Stadium, she was quickly escorted to the field, where she posed for photos with other breast cancer survivors. That’s when Giants quarterback Jameis Winston snuck up from behind the group. And then he gave Morris two tickets to Super Bowl LXI. "I had no clue," Morris, who founded AfroPink, told me on Monday. "I was just asked, as a survivor, if I wanted to go to a Giants game. That was all. I was completely surprised. Oh my God, did you see me? I was jumping up and down like a little girl. I was so giddy and happy and excited." That’s just part of the joy the 32-year-old Winston tries to bring with his yearly gathering of breast cancer survivors at one of his games during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This year, in partnership with the NFL and the American Cancer Society, he invited a group of 10 survivors to watch the Giants’ game on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints. Once there, they were given blue Giants T-shirts with Winston’s No. 19 in pink on the front. They also got tickets for a suite and pre-game passes for down on the field. That’s when Winston showed up for photos, to present Morris with her Super Bowl tickets, and to thank the survivors for their ability to "still rise every single day, no matter those circumstances, and put on that smile and shine bright like the sun we have today." "It’s one of the most rewarding things I get to do," Winston told me. "We want to give these women a special experience, but every year I feel like I’m the one walking away blessed. Hearing their stories, sharing some laughs and just spending time together means so much. Football is a game we love, but opportunities like this remind me that our purpose goes far beyond what happens on the field." Helping breast cancer survivors has become a passion for Winston, who has held an annual event at games since he was with the New Orleans Saints in the early 2020s. He was inspired by the stories of his Aunt Lois in Birmingham, Alabama, and his Aunt De-De and cousin Tonda in Louisville, Kentucky, who are all survivors of the terrible disease. "Seeing what they’ve gone through and how they’ve continued to fight really puts things into perspective," Winston told me. "It started with wanting to honor them, but God has blessed me with a platform to encourage so many other women and families going through that same battle." That encouragement and recognition mean a lot, and so does the awareness Winston brings with his actions. It’s a disease that affects one in eight women, according to the American Cancer Society, which estimates that 321.910 women will be diagnosed with it in 2026 alone, and 42,140 will die. And for the many, many survivors, there is no escape from their diagnosis. "We never stop thinking about it," Morris told me. "We might not talk about it a lot, but trust me, it’s on our minds constantly. "And it’s gestures like that, that can brighten someone’s day to know our lives matter, our stories matter. But it also brings to the national stage that people are surviving this. It doesn’t have to be a death sentence. You have support." That support is the primary reason Winston holds this event. He knows, from his own experiences with his family members, that it’s important that women with breast cancer know they’re not alone. "What people don’t understand is that as breast cancer survivors, it’s a very lonely journey for some of us, if you don’t have any support," Morris told me. "So it means a lot when you have a celebrity, a quarterback of the New York Giants, who wants to do something nice for you and brighten your day. (Breast cancer) changes you forever. So to know someone who is willing to do something to help celebrate the trials and tribulations that we go through as survivors, is nothing short of amazing." Winston feels the same way about the survivors. He was inspired to do this by the way his aunts and cousin fought. But he finds more inspiration in every woman he meets who’s fought that battle, too. "These women are the definition of strength and resilience," Winston said. "They’ve faced challenges that most people can’t even imagine, and they continue to show up with courage, faith and a positive spirit. That’s inspiring to me. They remind me to be grateful, to keep fighting through adversity and to never take a single day for granted. "If I can encourage them even half as much as they encourage me, that’s a win." That’s why, when he handed the Super Bowl tickets to Morris, he called it a "small" gesture, especially "compared to what you’re doing and what you’re achieving." She earned the tickets not only through her own battle, but for founding AfroPink in 2020 — a non-profit she told me is about "awareness, access and action" (AfroPink.org). She used her own story to make sure people have access to "factual information" about breast cancer, as well as knowledge of how they can take action about their health, and how they can survive. "Vina has an incredible story," Winston told me. "To overcome breast cancer twice and then dedicate herself to helping other women through AfroPink says so much about who she is. She’s using her experience to make a difference in other people’s lives, and that’s exactly the kind of impact we want to celebrate." Morris believes Winston should be celebrated, too. "First of all, anyone that wants to work to help others, when you have the means to do so, is a great human being to me," she told me. "And he’s just an amazing human being. That’s just a really nice thing to do."

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