Deion Sanders, also known as “Prime Time,” has swept the sports nation as head coach at Colorado. That nickname isn’t for everyone. Namely, Daniel Jones. The QB affectionately known as “Danny Dimes” probably won’t be touching the “Prime Time” nickname anytime soon.
Jones and the Giants hosted the Seahawks in the national spotlight on “Monday Night Football.” Jones entered with a 1-11 record in his career in prime time, the worst record of any QB with at least 10 starts since 1970. The second-worst? Andy Dalton. Worse yet: things didn’t get any better for Jones and the G-Men in Week 4. Here’s an updated look at his record, with Seattle securing a blowout win:
Jones’ only win in prime time was against the Commanders last December: A 20-12 victory that ended on a questionable non-call — potential pass interference on the Giants in the end zone on fourth down with the Commanders driving to tie the game.
That win snapped Jones’ nine-game losing streak in prime time to begin his career. It’s also been long forgotten, especially after the Giants opened the season with an embarrassing 40-point loss on “Sunday Night Football” against the Cowboys.
Any Daniel Jones apologist might point to the fact that the Giants were not expected to win many of these games. They have been a betting underdog in 11 of his 12 starts in prime time. You can’t expect him to have a winning record in those situations. He’s played on a losing team for most of his career, up until last year, and he’s often matched up with a much better opponent on national TV.
There’s some truth there. My counter, though: Jones’ numbers in these spots don’t help his case. He has 12 touchdown passes and 18 interceptions in 13 prime time starts, compared with 50 touchdowns to 22 interceptions in all other games.
Monday could’ve been Jones’ best chance to end his horrors in prime time, as the Seahawks had been lit up by opposing QBs this season. That is, until Monday’s matchup, when the Seattle defense sacked him time and time (and time) again.
A silver lining: Jones proved he could be a one-man band of sorts in Week 2. He became the first player in Giants history with 250 pass yards, 50 rush yards, two touchdown passes and a rush touchdown in a game, and he did that in the second half alone. Michael Vick (2010 at Washington) was the only other quarterback to have a half like that since 2000. That’s really impressive, even if it was against the Cardinals. But other than that, it’s been a nightmare of a start to the season for Jones and the 1-3 Giants.
Devon Witherspoon and the Seattle Seahawks defense had a dominant night against the New York Giants offense, specifically torturing Daniel Jones over the course of the game. Witherspoon had two sacks and an interception return for a touchdown — the first Seahawks player to accomplish that feat in a game.
Witherspoon’s pick-six for a score essentially ended the Giants comeback attempt late in the third quarter and caused a viral sideline moment between Jones and head coach Brian Daboll.
The Seahawks rookie cornerback easily read the route and took the ball 97 yards the other way for the score. Witherspoon admitted after the game it was easy to decipher where Jones was going, and it helped lead to a franchise-record 11 sacks.
“We knew he liked to stare down his first target,” Witherspoon told NFL Network after the game. “We were just trusting the game plan the coaches laid out for us. He had his back turned and a lot of guys were winning the one-on-one matchups up front. Without them, we couldn’t make the plays that we made.”
After spending a day with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during their minicamp in May, I left thinking they would be the NFC South winner, even with Tom Brady gone.
They still have a lot of top-tier veteran players, while adding a nice mix of young speed to the roster. They also have Baker Mayfield at quarterback, which I thought would be good enough to get them the division title back in May.
When I went back to visit the Bucs in training camp in July, things changed. Mayfield was in a quarterback competition with Kyle Trask — yes, it was real — and the bright outlook of May seemed to dim, at least in my mind, by late July.
So I picked the New Orleans Saints to win the division before the season.
Now a month into the season, the Bucs lead the NFC South, doing so on the basis of an impressive road victory against the Saints on Sunday in New Orleans. At 3-1, Todd Bowles did a nice job of getting his team to respond against a division rival on a short week after a terrible showing against the Philadelphia Eagles last Monday night.
Mayfield is a big reason why. He was 25-for-32 for 246 yards and three touchdown passes against the Saints. The guy who seemingly always plays with a chip on his shoulder responded in a big way after a so-so showing against the Eagles.
Mayfield was why I thought Tampa Bay could win the division in the first place. But when the competition became a reality, and Mayfield seemed to be pressing when I was there for training camp, that changed my thinking.
Then he bounced back in the preseason to take the job, and now Tampa Bay has won three of four, including two road games at Minnesota and at New Orleans. That has the Bucs up to 10th in my Power Rankings this week as they head to their bye. After that, it’s a big home game with the Detroit Lions, followed by a home game against the Falcons. Is 5-1 out of the question? No way.
The Big Apple had big expectations going into the 2023 NFL season — bigger, perhaps, than at any time in recent history. Despite having a single combined playoff victory over the previous decade, both the Giants and Jets figured to be in the postseason mix, if not compete for a Super Bowl altogether. But offseason dreams have proven to be just that so far.
The Jets made it all of four plays before losing prized acquisition Aaron Rodgers to a severe injury, reverting control of their sudden title aspirations to much-maligned former first-round pick Zach Wilson. The Giants, meanwhile, lost 40-0 in their prime-time home opener, and have seen their biggest stars of 2022 fall back to Earth in additional drubbings since.
So which of MetLife Stadium’s ailing franchises has been more disappointing in 2023? And more importantly, which one has a better chance of rebounding for a potential playoff run down the road? Let’s dive in.
Who’s more disappointing: Giants or Jets? daniel-jones-giants.jpg Getty Images This kind of depends on how we assess Aaron Rodgers’ injury. On its own, it clearly represents the most upsetting turn of either team’s season — and in fact one of the most disappointing twists of the entire 2023 season. Even if you were skeptical about Rodgers’ ability to guide New York to a Super Bowl, he was sure to be an entertaining upgrade for a playoff-caliber roster. No one could’ve predicted he wouldn’t complete even a single pass in his hotly anticipated Jets debut.
But if we expand our view, it’s possible to argue that Rodgers’ injury was/is far more disappointing than the Jets as a whole. Sure, the abrupt change of plans at quarterback was a supreme letdown, but that was at least partially out of the team’s control. (They didn’t exactly give the former MVP a sturdy offensive line, so they don’t get a full pass.) As soon as Zach Wilson took over five snaps into Week 1, expectations were immediately reset.
The Giants, meanwhile, entered 2023 coming off a Divisional Round playoff bid, with Brian Daboll winning Coach of the Year for his rejuvenation of quarterback Daniel Jones, running back Saquon Barkley and Co. They committed lucrative money to upgrades on both offense (tight end Darren Waller) and defense (linebacker Bobby Okereke). And yet, even taking into account early-season injuries to key starters like Barkley and left tackle Andrew Thomas, they’ve been just as bad, if not worse, in every respect.
Put it this way: with Wilson still scraping to shake the “bust” label as the Jets’ signal-caller, no one is surprised Gang Green is struggling to keep up in the AFC East. But not even Giants skeptics may have anticipated just how bad Big Blue would be to open 2023. Consider that, four weeks in, only the hapless and headline-stirring Bears have drawn a worse DVOA rating, and no other NFL team has scored fewer total points. That’s right; with 46 points during their 1-3 start, the G-Men have been outscored by:
a flailing Bengals team captained by a one-legged Joe Burrow, a Patriots team that benched Mac Jones out of mercy in Week 4, a Raiders team that’s onto rookie Aidan O’Connell at QB, a Steelers team that has fans far and wide demanding staff overhaul, and oh yes, a Jets team led by Zach Wilson. The Giants’ production hasn’t just been lacking; it’s been historically bad. Behind a shoddy line that’s surrendered more sacks than all but the Commanders, who at least have a young QB who can sling it downfield, the G-Men have been outscored by 68 combined points in first halves alone, which according to The Ringer is tied for the worst mark by any team since at least 2000. A whopping 31 of their 46 total points (67%) came against the rebuilding Cardinals. And even QB Daniel Jones’ best work, as a scrambler, underscores a cold reality: when he isn’t risking his body as a runner, the Giants cannot move the ball.
Their Wink Martindale-led defense hasn’t been remotely good enough to offset this, entering Monday night’s matchup ranked 30th in points surrendered per game, 27th against the run and 18th against the pass. They don’t preserve leads because they never have any; while the Jets have at least stayed in ballgames, edging the Bills and going to the wire with the Chiefs and Patriots, the Giants have been blown out in three of their four matchups. All this to say, while the Jets have endured greater disappointment in the form of Rodgers’ loss, the Giants have easily been the more disappointing team to date.
Who’s more likely to rebound: Giants or Jets? USATSI This one isn’t as difficult to assess. Even if you feel, somehow, that the Jets have been more disappointing, the path ahead looks greener for Robert Saleh’s squad. Let’s start with the talent disparity: despite the star-studded loss at QB, Gang Green boasts superior weapons on both sides of the ball, including the reigning Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year. This has translated on “D,” by the way, where the Jets have ranked 12th in scoring and 15th in passing despite already playing the Bills, Chiefs and Cowboys and barely keeping their own offense on the field.
Speaking of offense, Wilson may deserve most of the flak he gets, but it’s Daniel Jones who actually has more turnovers (8) than Wilson (5) through four games, and the latter flashed elite tools zipping the ball in a near-upset of the Chiefs in prime time. Patrick Mahomes wasn’t completely fibbing when he told Wilson post-game on Sunday night that he’s “got the talent.” Even if he just progresses to something like a mid-tier starter, he’s got the weapons, the defense and the O-line-offsetting mobility to keep New York feisty in close games. Jones, meanwhile, has neither the line nor the pass catchers to truly get out of his rut.
Then there’s the schedule: whereas the Giants have the fifth-toughest remaining slate, according to PlayoffStatus.com, the Jets clock in at 13th. And while the Jets’ division may be loaded with star power in Buffalo and Miami, the Bills, Dolphins and Patriots hold a combined record of just 7-5 after four weeks, compared to the 9-3 mark held by the Cowboys, Eagles and Commanders in the Giants’ NFC East home.
None of this is to say the Jets are locks to be back in the title mix. We’re probably talking about a wild-card bid at best. But a year after the Ravens made it to the dance with Tyler Huntley starting in place of an injured Lamar Jackson, the Jets seem much likelier than the Giants to remain relevant late in the year. And that’s not accounting for a miraculous Rodgers return in January.
Welcome to the Week 5 picks! At least I think this is the Week 5 picks. To be honest, I’m not sure if we’re even doing picks anymore. Now that Taylor Swift has taken over the NFL, picks don’t matter, the only thing that matters is Taylor.
The Chiefs are now 2-0 when Taylor shows up at one of their games, but more importantly, I am now 2-0 picking the Chiefs when Taylor shows up at one of their games. The only thing more impressive than that streak is that I’m 1-0 when Jake From State Farm randomly shows up at an NFL game.
Jake from State Farm in the building for the Eagles vs. Commanders game. pic.twitter.com/QVOKLTAczG
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 1, 2023 I have no idea why he was sitting next to Donna Kelce. Also, I think I can read Donna Kelce’s face there and I’m pretty sure it’s saying, “This is so awkward. I don’t even use State Farm. Where is Taylor? I miss her.”
OK, that’s enough talking about Taylor, let’s get to the Week 5 picks.
Actually, before we get to the picks, here’s a quick reminder that you can check out the weekly picks from every CBSSports.com NFL expert by clicking here, but you don’t need to click over this week, because we have more important things to go over right now, like why you should sign up for the Pick Six newsletter that we have here at CBSSports.com.
Based on my unscientific research, I’ve found that roughly 57% of the people who read this picks column wish they could get an email from me every day. Well, YOU CAN. I write the Pick Six newsletter and it comes out every week day. If you want it sent to your inbox, all you have to do is click here and subscribe. Once you sign up, you’ll start getting one email per day where I’ll be touching on every NFL-related topic I can think of and even ones that I can’t think of. If you’re wondering how that’s possible, you’ll have to subscribe.
Alright, I’m going to stop with the self-promotion so we can actually get to the picks.
NFL Week 5 picks Chicago (0-4) at Washington (2-2) Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET (Amazon Prime Video)
It took five weeks, but we have officially hit the part of the Thursday night schedule where the games are so bad that there’s a 40% chance that Al Michaels will retire before kickoff just so he doesn’t have to call the game.
When Michaels doesn’t like an upcoming game that he has to announce, he doesn’t even try to hide it. As a matter of fact, let’s listen to Al as he tried to get the country pumped up for this Thursday’s game.
Al Michaels doesn’t have a whole lot to say on the Bears-Commanders Thursday Night Football promo. #TNF 🏈📺 pic.twitter.com/eMd101dTdJ
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 29, 2023 Was it just me, or did Al Michaels not sound enthused about #TNF Bears-Commies Pt. 2?
— David Kroening (@Khrome61) September 29, 2023 It is not just you David, but in Al’s defense, I don’t think anyone is really feeling enthused for this game. There’s no reason for Bears fans to watch because it will just be four quarters of torture and there’s no reason for Commanders fans to watch because then that means you also have to watch the Bears play for three hours, which doesn’t seem worth it.
Amazon needs to re-think how they market this game. If they want more than seven viewers, they definitely need to announce RIGHT NOW that they’ll be loading a five dollar gift card into everyone’s Amazon account every time a touchdown gets scored on Thursday. That would actually be a win-win. Amazon would get huge ratings because people would want the free money and Amazon could potentially win again because there’s a 50% chance that there would be no touchdowns scored. I mean, this is the Bears and Commanders.
The Bears have given up the second-most passing yards in the NFC through four weeks and I don’t see them getting much better at stopping the pass between now and Thursday, so I’m going to have to take the Commanders.
The pick: Commanders 27-20 over Bears.
Tennessee (2-2) at Indianapolis (2-2) 1 p.m. ET (CBS, Paramount+)
I’ll be honest here, I don’t even want to pick this game and that’s mainly because I’ve whiffed on every Titans game I’ve picked this season. There are 32 teams in the NFL and through four weeks, there is only one team that I’ve gone 0-4 picking, and yup, you guessed it, that team is the Titans.
I LIVE IN NASHVILLE, I WATCH MORE TITANS FOOTBALL THAN ANYONE BESIDES MIKE VRABEL AND I STILL SOMEHOW CANNOT FIGURE THIS TEAM OUT. I’ve picked them to win twice and they lost both times. I’ve picked them to lose twice and they ended up winning both times. This is maddening. This is clearly a sign that I need to move out of Nashville, I’ll be talking to my wife tonight.
So how have I botched this up so badly? Glad you asked.
In Week 1, I thought for sure that the Titans would win in New Orleans, but then Ryan Tannehill decided to play the worst game of his life. He threw three interceptions, and even with that, they still only lost by one (16-15) to the Saints. I’m still bitter about.
In Week 2, I was going to pick the Titans to beat the Chargers, but Ryan Tannehill played so badly in Week 1 that I talked myself out of it. I literally wrote, “I think Tennesee could pull off the upset, but in the end, I think this game will turn into a repeat of Week 1 for Tennessee where everyone but Tannehill plays well enough to win.” I ended up picking the Chargers to win by three in a game that Tennessee would win by three (27-24).
After watching Tannehill bounce back in Week 2, I thought to myself, “Man, if he plays like that in Week 3, they might be able to beat the Browns,” so I picked them to beat the Browns. Not only did they not beat the Browns, but they got destroyed 27-3.
In Week 4, I picked the Bengals because I’m a Bengals homer, but also because I thought Cincinnati’s defense would give Tannehill fits and that Cincinnati would win a low-scoring game. In the end, the Bengals defense did not give Tannehill fits. As matter of fact, the only fit right now is the one I’m throwing because I’m 0-4 with my Titans picks.
I’m placing 100% of the blame for my 0-4 record on Ryan Tannehill. You never know if he’s going to show up and even if he does show up, you don’t know if he’s going to play like Ryan Leaf, Matt Ryan, Ryan Lindley, Ryan Fitzpatrick or another Ryan that I can’t think of right now. I now know why Titans fans are so frustrated with him. The Titans could literally beat the 49ers one week and then lose to the Bears by 41 the next week and no one would be surprised.
So what am I going to do this week? I have no choice: I’m picking the Titans to win. If there’s one thing I do trust about the Titans every week, it’s Mike Vrabel’s ability to create a good defesive game plan. If you add in the fact that Tennessee gets to play against a rookie quarterback this week, that seems like a major advantage for the Titans.
The only way this will blow up in my face if Ryan Tannehill plays the worst game of his life. And based on my first four Titans’ picks this year, there’s a 71% chance that happens. I swear to Dolly Parton that I will stop making Titans picks if I whiff on their game this week.
The pick: Titans 20-17 over Colts.
Since I’m 0-4 picking Titans’ game this season, I won’t blame you if you want to check out someone else’s pick for this game, and if you do that, I’d definitely click here to check out the SportsLine Model, which is leaning Under on the total, and it also says one side of the spread has better value! You definitely need to see it before locking in your own picks.
Through four weeks of the NFL season, the league is starting to see the contenders and the pretenders. The San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills, and Philadelphia Eagles certainly fall into the Super Bowl contender category while the Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens are establishing themselves as the top contenders in their respective divisions.
As for the pretenders? The New York Giants, Chicago Bears, and Las Vegas Raiders are certainly on that list. The Pittsburgh Steelers are trying to find their way on there, ditto with the Atlanta Falcons.
As the league is starting to separate the good teams from the bad, let’s discover some trends we’re starting to see with each team. Here’s one thing we learned from each team after this week’s games:
Arizona Cardinals Michael Wilson is becoming a top weapon: Give credit to Wilson for continuing to progress in his rookie season, especially given Josh Dobbs wasn’t on the team at the beginning of training camp. Wilson finished with seven catches for 76 yards and two touchdowns in his return to the Bay Area (played college ball at Stanford) — matching his catch total from the first three games. Wilson is averaging 16.9 yards per catch and has 237 yards receiving through four games (162 the last two). The Cardinals passing game looks a lot better thanks to Wilson’s development.
Atlanta Falcons Does Kyle Pitts exist: Pitts had another subpar game in Sunday’s loss to the Jaguars, finishing with two catches for 21 yards. He only out-snapped Jonnu Smith by six snaps and was out-targeted by Smith (who had six targets to Pitts’ four). The Falcons obviously target tight ends since Smith had six catches for 95 yards to lead the offense. Pitts has just 11 catches for 121 yards in four games on 21 targets. Don’t know how Pitts can get more involved in the offense at this point without a change at quarterback.
Baltimore Ravens They’re the best team in the AFC North: Baltimore flexed its muscle against its divisional foes, winning games on the road against Cincinnati and Cleveland. The Ravens were able to accomplish this with multiple starters out on both sides of the ball. Lamar Jackson has a 74.3% completion rate and a 104.2 passer rating, while also rushing for 220 yards and four touchdowns. The defense is top three in points and yards allowed, making a statement against the Browns offense Sunday (sans Deshaun Watson). This is the team to beat in the division after the first month of the year.
Buffalo Bills Josh Allen turnover woes appear to be behind him: Allen has just one turnover in the past three games after a highly scrutinized Week 1 with he threw three interceptions and fumbled twice. No surprise the Bills have won in convincing fashion in each of the past three games, outscoring opponents 123-33. In this stretch, Allen has completed 76.6% of his passes for 812 yards with eight touchdowns to one interception (125.8 rating), while also rushing for two scores. When Allen doesn’t turn the ball over, he’s an MVP candidate and the Bills arguably have the best offense in football.
Carolina Panthers Bryce Young had his best game, and the offense still didn’t score: It’s tough to watch the Panthers offense, but at least they can take solace in Young going 25 of 32 for 204 yards with a 93.2 rating. The Panthers still have problems getting the ball downfield and creating yards after the catch, which puts even more pressure on Young to perform — especially with a poor offensive line. The offense didn’t score a touchdown and only put up two field goals on nine drives. Some changes need to be made regarding the play calling.
Chicago Bears The coach is a bigger problem than Justin Fields: Chicago wasted a strong performance from Fields as he finished 28 of 35 for 335 yards and four touchdowns to just one interception (132.7 rating). A team that is struggling on offense can’t waste a performance like that, but Matt Eberflus did. Eberflus decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 in a tie game from the Broncos’ 18, but kept the ball out of Fields hands as Khalil Herbert got stuffed. The Bears ended up losing the game and falling to 0-4. Eberflus doesn’t appear to have control of his team on the field and in the locker room. Hard to see him in Chicago past this year.
Cincinnati Bengals Run defense has been a major disappointment: Joe Burrow takes the spotlight in Cincinnati because of his contract and his calf injury, but the run defense has been atrocious. The Bengals gave up 173 yards on the ground and 5.2 yards per carry to a Titans offense that dares a team to stop the run. The run defense has given up 170-plus yards in three of the four games this season and ranks 31st in rushing yards allowed per game and 30th in yards per carry allowed (5.1). This was a top-10 run defense last year, but can’t seem to find its footing in 2023. The Bengals have multiple problems they need to address.
Cleveland Browns The bye week comes at the best time: A Week 5 bye isn’t ideal for most teams, but the Browns could certainly use it after Deshaun Watson missed Sunday’s game with a shoulder injury. Head coach Kevin Stefanski said Watson was medically cleared to go, but the decision was made by Watson to give himself a week to heal. The Browns could have used him after only gaining 166 yards of offense, averaging 2.6 yards per play, and turning the ball over three times. Watson should be healthy when he returns in two weeks, and the Browns can get the running game going again (93 yards and 3.7 yards per carry) as well.
Dallas Cowboys Red zone issues weren’t corrected: The red zone problems were mentioned last week, but they didn’t improve against the Patriots in the blowout victory. Dallas went 1 of 4 in the red zone, one week after finishing 1 of 5. For those counting, that’s 2 of 9 in the red zone over the last two weeks. The play calling in the red zone is baffling and the ineffectiveness of Tony Pollard down there is noticed (27 carries, 59 yards, two touchdowns). The Cowboys are 30th in the NFL in red zone conversion rate (36.8%), but first in third down conversion rate (51.6%). Utterly confusing indeed.
Denver Broncos Rookie running back ignites running game: The Broncos only rushed for 97 yards, but 72 of them came from rookie Jaleel McLaughlin. After Jamaal Williams’ injury, McLaughlin had 72 rushing yards on seven carries (10.3 yards per carry) and had a receiving touchdown. McLaughlin’s 31-yard run has been the Broncos’ only rushing play over 16 yards this season. Sean Payton has been slow with his rookies, but McLaughlin needs to play more going forward — and may have to.
Detroit Lions David Montgomery makes this team elite: Montgomery has been a battering ram for the Lions in the three games he’s played in Detroit, showcasing what he brings to the offense in Thursday’s blowout win over the Packers. He rushed for 121 yards and three touchdowns on 32 carries — giving him 69 though three games. When Montgomery plays, the Lions average 395.7 yards per game. They can score without Montgomery on the field, but Detroit is more complete on offense when he’s healthy. Montgomery’s presence is why Detroit is the best team in the NFC North.
Green Bay Packers They have a good opportunity to get healthy: Green Bay has injuries on the offensive line an din the secondary, which has affected them through the first four games. Good news for the Packers is this. They have 11 days between the Week 4 game and Week 5 matchup with the Raiders (Monday night) than go on their actual bye in Week 6. One game in 23 days is a good opportunity to get Aaron Jones, Christian Watson, Elgton Jenkins, and David Bahkitari healthy. They need these guys for the rest of the year.
Houston Texans C.J. Stroud is making his receivers better: Stroud just continues to impress week after week, but his yards per attempt of 10.2 just demonstrates how in tune he is with offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik. Stroud found Nico Collins for 168 yards and two touchdowns this week, one game after getting five catches for 145 yards and a touchdown from Tank Dell. Stroud is seeing the whole field and trusting the matchups given to him. All of a sudden the Texans offense is good, something that wasn’t even considered prior to the start of the year.
Indianapolis Colts Shocking performance by the run defense: The Colts run defense didn’t allow a 100-yard rusher all season, until Sunday. Kyren Williams had 25 carries for 103 yards and two touchdowns — leading the 164 yards the Rams got on the ground. Over the last two weeks, the Colts have given up 350 rushing yards after only giving up 157 yards in the first two games. They need DeForest Buckner healthy and not on a snap count, as no one was able to fill the void.
Jacksonville Jaguars Offense finally showed some progress: The Jaguars offense hasn’t looked like the unit that finished last season, getting off to slow starts in games. They finally scored a first-half touchdown in Sunday’s win over the Falcons, but still only had three offensive touchdowns in three games. The numbers weren’t impressive (300 yards, 36% third down rate), but the four-minute offense in the fourth quarter was executed well, running 23 plays for 109 yards which led to two field goals and sealing the victory (Jacksonville went 3 of 5 on third down on two time-consuming drives). While it wasn’t pretty, Jacksonville did enough late to show positive signs they can move the ball consistently going forward.
Kansas City Chiefs Isiah Pacheco finally got going: Pacheco wasn’t much of a factor the first three games (155 yards, 4.4 yards per carry), but broke through in Sunday’s win over the Jets. He finished with 20 carries for 115 yards, which included a 48-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. The Chiefs were explosive in the opening 15 minutes, accumulating 200 yards and 17 points, as Pacheco had five carries for 59 yards (he had just 15 first quarter rushing yards in the first three games). A good start for Pacheco ignited the Chiefs offense, which needs to happen more efficiently if they are going to get off to fast starts.
Las Vegas Raiders Offensive line failed Aidan O’Connell: Having a bad performance up front isn’t going to help any rookie quarterback making his first career start. The Raiders offensive line allowed 15 pressures and five quarterback hits in the game, causing O’Connell to lose two fumbles and throw an interception. O’Connell was 1 of 5 for two yards under pressure while being sacked seven times. The Raiders didn’t do O’Connell any favors by picking the game to have their worst performance on the offensive line all year, but some of that could be contributed to O’Connell’s inexperience as well.
Last year, Brian Daboll and Daniel Jones were one of the league’s true feel-good stories. This year, they’re throwing tablets in disgust and getting booed off the field. The Giants arrived early last season. They won close games, avoided mistakes and got some bounces en route to the postseason. Those qualities are nowhere to be found in 2023.
Last year, the Giants kept things close, allowing them to stick to their game plan and capitalize on opponents’ mistakes. This year, they’ve been outscored by 68 points in the first half, tied for the worst by any team through four games since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. Last year, the Giants were 11th in turnover margin. This year, they’re tied for 30th. Last year, Saquon Barkley — the Giants’ only above-average weapon — missed just one game (resting in Week 18) and recorded 1,650 yards from scrimmage, seventh in the league. This year, he has already missed two games — including Monday night — and is 108th in yards from scrimmage. He’s still the team’s only above-average offensive weapon. Another thing that hasn’t changed? Jones remains historically awful in primetime. He was pretty terrible — Witherspoon took a not-so-subtle jab — but his supporting cast and especially his banged-up offensive line were even worse.
The NFL is a game of tiny margins … until you start making Giant (pun intended) mistakes. The Giants are finding out this year is not last year. Not even close.
The NFL gifted the New York Giants three prime time games in four weeks to start off the 2023 season, and they responded by getting outscored 94-15 in those three contests. The most recent demolition came on “Monday Night Football” to close out Week 4, where the Giants were defeated by the Seattle Seahawks, 24-3.
Just about everything that could have gone wrong for the Giants did. The offensive line allowed 11 sacks, Daniel Jones turned the ball over three times, including a 97-yard pick six, and the special teams were anything but special. Plenty of boos were heard in MetLife Stadium on Monday night, and Giants head coach Brian Daboll said he can’t even blame his supporters’ anger.
“I’d be upset too if I was a fan,”Daboll said after the game, via NFL.com. “There’s a lot of things we’ve got to do better, and that’s what we’ll try to do.”
The 1-3 start for this Giants team is a tad surprising. New York went 9-7-1 last year, made the playoffs, won a playoff game while Daboll won NFL Coach of the Year and then the Giants added talent on both sides of the ball in the offseason. However, it would appear New York has taken a step backwards.
Jones was given a four-year, $160 million deal this offseason, and has responded with two touchdowns compared to six interceptions in the first four games of the season. New York has the second-worst offense in the league in terms of total yards per game (252.0), and has scored the fewest amount of points (46).
“I mean obviously I didn’t play well enough,” Jones said after the loss to Seattle. “It was unacceptable and I let the team down, so I’ve got to fix it. I’ve got to work hard to get it right and I’m going to do that.”
Daboll was asked late Monday night if he anticipated making any changes. He responded saying “no.” The Giants will look to turn things around Sunday against the 3-1 Miami Dolphins.
Neither the Bears nor Commanders are thought of as offensive powers, but both teams scored four touchdowns last week leading into their Week 5 matchup of Thursday Night Football. The Bears fell to the Broncos, 31-28, and the Commanders nearly upset the defending NFC champion Eagles before losing in overtime, 34-1. Can both teams put together another strong offensive performance for NFL DFS lineups on Thursday Night Football? Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. ET at Washington’s FedEx Field.
Bears quarterback Justin Fields struggled to begin the season before completing 28 of 35 passes (80%) for 335 yards and four touchdowns last week. Can he repeat this performance and be trusted in NFL DFS lineups on sites like FanDuel and DraftKings? DJ Moore had his best game in Chicago with eight receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown, so can daily Fantasy football players feel confident to use those two in NFL DFS stacks given their NFL DFS matchups? Before locking in any NFL DFS picks for Thursday Night Football, be sure to check out the NFL DFS advice, strategy, and stacks from SportsLine daily Fantasy expert Mike McClure.
McClure is a legendary professional DFS player with more than $2 million in career winnings. He uses a powerful prediction model that simulates every snap of NFL action, taking factors such as matchups, statistical trends, and injuries into account. This allows him to find the best DFS values that he shares only with members at SportsLine. His methodology has led to enormous cashes on FanDuel and DraftKings.
He took down two high-stakes tournaments on FanDuel in 2020 and recorded a pair of top-10 finishes in tournaments with over 130,000 entrants on DraftKings. His lineups also finished inside the top 1% in more than a dozen other tournaments. Last year, he won the DraftKings Millionaire Maker twice and the FanDuel Million once.
Now, McClure has turned his attention to Bears vs. Commanders on Thursday Night Football and locked in his top daily Fantasy football picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.
Top NFL DFS picks for Commanders vs. Bears One of McClure’s top NFL DFS picks for Thursday Night Football is Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin. The 28-year-old is coming off his best game of the season with eight receptions for 86 yards against a strong Eagles defense. McLaurin had his third straight 1,000-yard season for Washington last year and has emerged as the unquestioned WR1 for the Commanders.
The Bears have allowed at least 27 points in each game this season and teams are scoring 34.3 points per game against them this year, the second-most in the NFL. This should allow plenty of opportunities for McLaurin to produce against a defense allowing 383.3 yards per game, the sixth-most in the league. Washington has scored at least 30 points in two of its last three games and all this lines up for a huge day from McLaurin.
Part of McClure’s optimal NFL DFS strategy also includes stacking McLaurin with quarterback Sam Howell. The fifth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft has thrown for at least 290 yards in two of his four games this season, including completing 29 of 41 passes for 290 yards and a touchdown last week against the Eagles. He also added 40 rushing yards in his best running game of the season, adding additional Fantasy football value on the ground.
The Bears have allowed the second-most Fantasy points to quarterbacks this season. They’ve allowed three passing touchdowns in three of four games this season also and Howell has four touchdown passes this season. Russell Wilson completed 75% of his passes (21 of 28) for 223 yards and three touchdowns last week against Chicago. This is a strong matchup for Howell against one of the worst pass and scoring defenses in the NFL. See the rest of McClure’s NFL DFS player pool here.
