Welcome to NFL Under Review, a weekly column where I will sound off on misguided narratives, inexplicable coaching decisions, and other topics around the NFL. Each Tuesday throughout the season, you’ll get my takes on what happened the previous weekend, with an eye on what’s to come.
It’s too early to give up on Anthony Richardson.
Disclaimer: I am not a football hipster. I am not tied to specific Richardson takes from the 2023 NFL draft, in which Richardson was picked at no. 4. And I am not someone who says hipstery things like: We live in a microwave society. In fact, I find those kinds of people to be rather annoying. All I’m trying to do here is provide appropriate context for the Richardson discussion that’s taking place this week. The Colts’ second-year quarterback is getting crushed by pretty much every corner of the internet, and I understand why.
Richardson completed 10 of 32 passes with one interception and took five sacks in the Colts’ 23-20 loss to the Texans on Sunday. He also pulled himself from the game for a play because he was tired. On the season, Richardson is completing just 44.4 percent of his passes. Since 2000, there have been 826 quarterbacks who have attempted at least 100 passes through the first eight weeks of a season. Among that sample, Richardson’s completion percentage ranks 823rd. Not good! If we look at all the quarterbacks this season, Richardson ranks last in dropback success rate. There’s no sugarcoating it. Richardson is having a tough time.
So why am I here defending him? Because this really isn’t all that different from what we should have expected. Richardson started just 13 games at the University of Florida and completed 54.7 percent of his passes in college. He has started just 10 games in the NFL and is only 22 years old. Among NFL starters, only New England’s Drake Maye is younger. Against the Texans in Week 8, Richardson missed throws and looked hesitant and uncomfortable at times. But that was always going to be the case!
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This is the prototypical example of a player who needs reps. The part that his loudest critics are ignoring is that Richardson is still showing the upside that got him drafted fourth. Even in a terrible showing against the Texans, he made a couple of 1 percent throws—the type of passes that few of his peers could make—looked dynamic as a runner, and at one point even threw a defensive tackle off of his back. This is a player with a truly rare physical skill set.
On Monday, Colts head coach Shane Steichen wouldn’t commit to Richardson as the starter in Week 9. Maybe Joe Flacco would give Indianapolis a better shot to make the playoffs. But that can’t be the priority. When you draft a quarterback as high as Richardson was drafted, every decision has to be about supporting him and developing him. It’s about enduring the growing pains early with the hope of eventually finding long-term, sustained success.
It might never happen for Richardson. But the Colts need to stay committed to finding out.
Steelers Russell Wilson looks a little like Seahawks Russell Wilson.
Admit it—you didn’t think we’d ever see this version of Wilson again, did you? But that was him! On your TV Monday night, dropping dimes downfield to George Pickens and Calvin Austin III! It was a good reminder to the kids out there: This guy used to be a really, really good quarterback! Wilson went 20-for-28 for 278 yards and a touchdown in the Steelers’ win over the Giants. He looked like his old self. I mean his old, old self. Not the guy we saw in Denver. The guy who directed efficient, explosive offenses for the better part of 10 seasons with the Seahawks.
Let’s be honest. We all thought Wilson’s Steelers era would be a joke. His Broncos era was a disaster, and he’s 35 years old. It’s not like Pittsburgh had some great supporting cast to lift Wilson up. I figured they would try to win with defense and special teams and get by with a passable offense that didn’t make mistakes. The defense and special teams were great Monday night, but the offense was way better than merely passable. The Steelers had 19 plays of 10-plus yards—their season high and tied for sixth most by any team in a game this season. They had five plays of 20-plus yards, including four completions from Wilson—all to different players.
I guess Mike Tomlin knows what he’s doing, huh? A couple of weeks ago, when he decided to make the switch from Justin Fields to Wilson, most people thought he was making a mistake. But the Steelers’ best offensive performance (based on expected points added per drive) of the season came in Week 7 with Wilson, and their second-best performance came in Week 8 with Wilson. At 6-2, they are in first place in the AFC North, and their plus-68 point differential is second in the AFC (behind only the Bills). I know what you’re yelling right now. Pump the brakes, big guy. This team still can’t compete with the big dogs in the AFC. And I mostly agree with that. We’re dealing with a small sample here. But through two weeks, the Wilson experiment is going better than anyone could have predicted.
Woody Johnson has egg on his face (again).
Ohhhhh, Woody. This isn’t going quite as you planned, huh? A few weeks ago, Johnson fired head coach Robert Saleh. He explained at the time that his talented Jets team wasn’t reaching its full potential under Saleh, and he wanted to make a move before it was too late. Why didn’t Johnson come to that conclusion at some point last offseason? Great question, and one Johnson has yet to provide a sufficient answer to.
On Sunday, this version of the Jets seemingly hit rock bottom, losing to the Patriots to fall to 2-6 on the season. They quite frankly looked like the worst-coached team in the NFL. Examples? Glad you asked:
- Before their third offensive play of the game, they couldn’t get lined up correctly and had to waste a timeout.
- After that timeout, Aaron Rodgers threw an incompletion on third down. Instead of going for it on fourth-and-3 from the New England 40-yard line, they went the cowardly route. Rodgers tried to draw the Patriots offside and failed, and the Jets punted.
- With 2:15 left in the first quarter, the play clock was winding down again, and they had to use their second timeout.
- After that timeout, the center snapped the ball into his butt for a fumble (the Jets recovered). Before the next play, the play clock was nearing zero again, and they used their third timeout. Let me reiterate: THEY USED THEIR THIRD TIMEOUT BEFORE THE FIRST QUARTER WAS EVEN OVER! THIS IS NOT NORMAL BEHAVIOR!
- Oh, you didn’t think I was finished, did you? They made another cowardly coaching decision in the third quarter, when they opted to kick a field goal on fourth-and-1 from the Patriots’ 11.
- After their last touchdown, they decided to go for two. Good decision! Only problem? They couldn’t get the ball snapped in time and took a delay-of-game penalty. The Jets are apparently the single team in the NFL that doesn’t understand you get only 40 seconds between plays.
Add it all up, and this might have been the worst in-game coaching job we’ve seen all season. I’m not trying to pile on interim coach Jeff Ulbrich here. He was put in a tough spot after Saleh was fired and did not have a lot of time to prepare for everything that comes with being a head coach. But I am more than willing to pile on Johnson.
Saleh was not a great coach, and he was 20-36 in three-plus seasons with the Jets. But Johnson made an impulsive decision to fire him earlier this month, and it has completely backfired. The Jets have lost five straight games, including three straight since firing Saleh. Johnson thought the move would give the Jets a spark. Instead, it has had the opposite effect. The defense has gotten worse—presumably because it lost Saleh, and Ulbrich, who was the defensive coordinator, is now spending his time trying to be the head coach. It’s a complete disaster.
According to DVOA, the Jets now have a 5.8 percent chance to make the playoffs. The only reason to pay attention to this team is for the comedy. Assuming that the most likely outcome plays out, it will be the 14th straight season that the Jets don’t make the playoffs. Given how the league is set up to reward bad teams with high draft picks and easier schedules, that type of streak is, frankly, impressive. In the months ahead, the Jets will likely make more changes—maybe at head coach or general manager or quarterback. But Johnson will still be there pushing the buttons. And there’s zero reason to believe he’ll eventually get it right.
The Bears need to add a “commonsense coach” to their staff.
Everyone needs a truth-telling friend. The person willing to tell you when your shirt looks ridiculous. Or why you shouldn’t quit your job. Or why getting back with your ex is a terrible idea. The truth can be hard to hear in real time, but eventually, you’re thankful. Friends are there to protect you from embarrassment in what can be a cruel, unforgiving world.
Which brings us to the Chicago Bears. The football version of the truth-telling friend is the commonsense coach. Someone on staff whose sole responsibility is to save the other coaches from themselves. Take, for example, the Bears’ baffling decision to hand the ball off to backup offensive lineman Doug Kramer Jr. on third-and-goal from the Washington 1-yard line in the fourth quarter. With a commonsense coach, that play—and the ensuing fumble—would have never seen the light of day. When offensive coordinator Shane Waldron tries to rep that play at practice on Wednesday, that’s where the commonsense coach steps in. “Hell no, we’re not doing that. That’s stupid.” Case closed. Move on to a red zone call that actually makes sense.
Then there’s the Hail Mary sequence at the end of the game. Maybe the commonsense coach convinces Matt Eberflus to play tighter coverage and not give up an easy 13-yard completion to the sideline that set up the Hail Mary. Maybe the commonsense coach suggests sending more than three rushers on the final play or not having a linebacker assigned to spy Jayden Daniels. Maybe the commonsense coach would have noticed that Bears defensive back Tyrique Stevenson had his back to the line of scrimmage and was talking to fans before the ball was snapped. Maybe they would have even suggested calling a timeout. You get the point here.
This season is supposed to be the start of a new era for the Bears. They have a chance to be a playoff team. The days of getting laughed at on national TV should be behind them. Eberflus was willing to ask for help with the offseason glow-up. It’s time to get a little more assistance before the Bears give another game away.
For the first time this season, the Eagles look like contenders.
Believe me, I’m as surprised as you are. After Nick Sirianni celebrated a win by barking at fans in Week 6, I was ready to bury this team. Even after a Week 7 win against the Giants, the offense left me questioning the Eagles’ ceiling. But on Sunday against the Bengals, the Eagles delivered their most impressive performance in quite some time, and now suddenly this team is set up to potentially be a contender in the NFC.
When the Eagles hired Kellen Moore as their offensive coordinator, the belief was that he could modernize the offense and add more easy buttons for quarterback Jalen Hurts. No one expected Moore to reinvent the wheel, but the scheme needed more variety and more answers. We finally saw some of those things against the Bengals. The Eagles ran a season-high 21 plays under center. Hurts targeted the middle of the field. Moore mixed in more play-action, and on those throws, Hurts went 6-for-7 for 142 yards. The Eagles had eight possessions, and they scored on seven of them—four touchdowns and three field goals. Based on EPA per drive, it was the seventh-best game by any offense this season. It was the Eagles’ best offensive performance in any game over the past three seasons.
Defensively, there are reasons to believe that the players are taking to Vic Fangio’s new scheme. In three games since the bye, the Eagles are second in defensive success rate and EPA per drive, and they have allowed just two touchdowns on 31 possessions by opponents. Rookie defensive backs Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean have played well, and the coverage and pass rush units are working well together.
As any self-respecting Eagles fan would tell you, there’s still plenty of time for things to go wrong. Sirianni could get weird again. Hurts could start turning the ball over. The defense could get exposed. Through seven weeks, there were no signs that this team had the makings of an NFC contender. It feels different after Week 8. The Bengals are not a juggernaut, but they are a competitive team with a star quarterback, and the Eagles stomped them. That’s meaningful. The Eagles are now 5-2 and have the fifth-easiest remaining schedule, according to the betting markets. For the first time all season, they look like a team that has a chance.
