Simply while you assume every thing goes proper, alongside comes Carson Wentz.
There was a wonky stat floating round on Sunday afternoon. It identified that Wentz, the Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback, was one sport away from enjoying a whole season with out throwing an interception on the street. It’s a neat stat. And it will be significant if Carson Wentz was not … Carson Wentz.
Ah, however Carson Wentz is Carson Wentz. Sunday afternoon’s 28-11 collapse in Jacksonville represented a full 10 on the Wentz-ing Scale. The quarterback threw two interceptions on two consecutive performs. He fumbled – once more. One absurd sack adopted the opposite. Misreads. Blissful toes. Unhealthy selections. The works.
Indianapolis entered Sunday with a easy playoff situation forward of them: Win they usually have been in. It was the identical final week. They failed then. They failed on Sunday.
It doesn’t get a lot simpler than a Week 18 journey to the hapless Jags, a crew with two wins on the season, ranked thirty first in defensive effectivity, and with simply seven turnovers all 12 months – half as many because the second-lowest determine within the league. This was a Jacksonville crew with nothing to play for besides future contracts. It’s a crew with a rookie quarterback, nonetheless looking for his sea legs in a rudimentary offense. It was a sport performed in entrance of a hometown crowd that arrived, en masse, extra concerned with carrying clown wigs to roast their proprietor than the sport itself.
The Colts fell flat on their faces. They didn’t simply lose, they have been embarrassed. They have been overwhelmed up within the trenches for a second straight week – on each side of the ball. Frank Reich, the crew’s head coach and play-caller, shifted to a pass-centric strategy, ditching the run sport that had carried the crew by means of its 6-1 midseason stretch. The ball was put in Wentz’s palms. Take us to the promised land.
Even by the requirements of the best Wentz-ings, this was one thing particular. Greater than every other high-level quarterback, you'll be able to really feel Wentz’s indecision seeping by means of the display screen. You may virtually see the cogs churning. Ought to I throw this?I shouldn’t throw this. I’m not gonna throw this. Bleep. Did I simply throw that?
MY GODpic.twitter.com/Yge32azLBr
— Austin Gayle (@PFF_AustinGayle) January 9, 2022
Sunday’s efficiency had been coming. Barfing up turnovers is a part of the entire Wentz Expertise, he has simply had an uncommon quantity of turnover search for prolonged stretches this season. ProFootballFocus, the NFL’s main charting service, charted 16 “turnover worthy” throws from Wentz heading into Sunday, with over half of these approaching the street – and that may be a conservative determine. Towards the Jaguars, he lodged his eighth fumble of this season, a career-low by his requirements, however pushing nonetheless pushing his whole variety of turnovers for the season as much as 14 – and his turnover-worthy performs nearer to the mid-20s.
A reminder: The Colts are nonetheless resulting from ship the Eagles a first-round choose for Wentz within the upcoming draft. Wentz can also be on the books for $28m subsequent season, good for the Tenth-largest cap hit of any participant within the league.
Indianapolis have constructed a superb roster. It’s the type that's tailor-built for a get-hot-for-a-month postseason run: A bruising offensive line; a younger operating again whose skill-set enhances one of many league’s most bountiful run video games; playmakers at each degree of the protection. On each side of the ball, the Colts have sensible coaches, all on the slicing fringe of the place the sport is at and the place it’s going.
Then there’s the quarterback spot. The Colts wager that Reich’s revolutionary fashion might curb a few of the quarterback’s baser instincts, that they might scheme round his flaws, hiding a few of his decision-making points with nifty play designs. They may deal with the dangerous, they theorized, as long as it didn’t arrive on the worst time attainable. They wager that they might navigate by means of the common season, and that Wentz’s off-beat playmaking chops could possibly be a difference-maker in a good playoff sport.
On Sunday, that every one went bust. Two weeks in the past, the Colts had the look of a stealth contender. Now, they’re outdoors trying in, as soon as once more going through long-term questions on the place they go as a franchise and what they do at quarterback.
Video of the week
A third and 9 QB sneak!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. What a 🤡 present pic.twitter.com/SyyL9AmYRL
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) January 9, 2022
You noticed that proper. That’s the 4-12 Giants operating a really apparent quarterback sneak on third-and-9 within the second quarter of a Week 18 sport. I remind you: ESPN’s Adam Schefter has reported that Joe Decide will probably be again as head coach for the 2022 season. Decide has weaponized his particular mix of rah-rah nonsense to such a level that Giants proprietor John Mara has claimed he sees one thing of the Invoice Belichick or Invoice Parcells within the younger coach. The video above – and actuality itself – would point out in any other case.
There is no such thing as a franchise that may head into the offseason in a deeper gap than the Giants.
MVP of the week
Dan Campbell, head coach, Detroit Lions. The Preventing Dan Campbells emptied the playbook in opposition to the Packers handy Detroit a 34-31 win. The Lions ran an assortment of trick performs to convey some much-needed oomph to a ropey offense. Coming into the day, the Lions held the primary total choose within the upcoming draft. The win dropped them to second, with the Jags leaping into the primary spot. It’s been a troublesome 12 months for Campbell, however a win on Sunday was the type that can provide a franchise and its fan-base hope heading into the offseason. The roots of one thing are there – a troublesome, bodily fashion, with some inventive schematic designs on each side of the ball. Like all dangerous groups, the Lions are a quarterback away. However quarterback apart, the foundations of a very good crew are there.
Stat of the week
Thirty years. We've a doozy for you this week: No human in historical past has ever despatched a textual content message in regards to the Bengals successful a playoff sport. The Bengals final playoff win: 1991. The primary textual content message that was ever despatched: 1992.
The Bengals head to the playoffs for the primary time for the reason that Andy Dalton-Marvin Lewis-AJ Inexperienced axis led the franchise to 3 painstaking defeats in a row. This time, the Bengals enter the postseason with Sleeper Contender standing. Cincinnati have all of the substances: They’re second within the league in explosive play price on offense; they've the league’s greatest deep menace; they've a cool defensive scheme; they will rush the quarterback with 4; in Joe Burrow, they've one of many league’s most interesting third-down creators.
The one factor holding the Bengals again: Their head coach’s sport administration. The Bengals will face the Raiders within the wild-card spherical subsequent week. In the event that they’re in a position to beat Wealthy Bisaccia and co in Cincinnati, you greatest consider the 5G will probably be working additional time in Ohio.
Quote of the week
“These different three groups have top-shelf quarterbacks, which is clear to all people.”– Vic Fangio on what separates the Broncos from the remainder of the AFC West
The NFL’s teaching carousel is already up and operating. The Broncos fired Fangio on Sunday morning following Saturday evening’s 28-24 loss to the Chiefs and three shedding seasons. On his means out the door, Fangio supplied a well timed reminder to potential head coach candidates to not bounce to a head teaching job for the sake of the moniker. It’s about choosing the right job. And the appropriate job means choosing the right quarterback.
Fangio’s days as a head coach are doubtless over, however he instantly vaults to the highest of the defensive coordinator energy rankings. Denver, with a shaky possession state of affairs and dodgy quarterback room – in a loaded division – is unlikely to be on the prime of the record for any of probably the most sought-after head teaching candidates. The Broncos’ supreme plan could be to swing a coach-quarterback double-deal, tempting Aaron Rodgers away from Inexperienced Bay with the quarterback bringing a coach of his selecting alongside for the experience.
The Broncos have a gifted core, and their status for organizational competence will see them land certainly one of this carousel’s prime names. However the job will solely be pretty much as good because the crew’s capacity to discover a quarterback within the offseason.
Elsewhere across the league
The present goes on. Ben Roethlisberger accomplished a fourth-down move in additional time to arrange a game-winning area to earn the Steelers a spot within the playoffs. Roethlisberger’s goodbye must wait no less than one other week. Kudos to the Ravens, although. In a pleasant little bit of petty, Baltimore confirmed a video ‘tribute’ to Roethlisberger throughout a late-game timeout, through which they confirmed nothing however highlights and headlines of the quarterback getting sacked or shedding. That’s the way you do a rivalry.
The Niners rallied again from 17-3 down on the half to beat the Rams 27-24 in additional time to safe a spot within the playoffs. Jimmy Garoppolo delivered a pair of clutch drives to first prolong the sport after which give the Niners the lead in additional time. A late Matthew Stafford interception sealed the win and a playoff berth for San Francisco.
The street to the Tremendous Bowl within the AFC will undergo Tennessee. The Titans wrapped up the primary seed within the AFC with a 28-25 win over the Texans. With the win, Tennessee secured the all-important (and sole) bye week, which can give Derrick Henry an added week of relaxation earlier than he returns to the fold. It’s onerous to overstate the significance of the win for the Titans. They've, for probably the most half, been a multitude on offense with out Henry, rating twenty eighth within the league in EPA per play since Henry fell out of the line-up. With Henry, the Titans have championship upside.
The Cowboys rediscovered their offensive bluster on Saturday evening as Dak Prescott threw for 295 yards and 5 touchdowns. Dallas’ star-driven car has seemed sluggish for a lot of the second half of the season. However Prescott et al re-found their early-season magic over course of the final three weeks, simply in time for the playoffs. The Cowboys’ mix of offensive effectivity and the playmaking chops they convey on protection is hard to match anyplace within the NFC.
NFL Community reviews that the Seahawks don't have any plans to commerce Russell Wilson within the offseason, although whether or not Wilson has plans of his personal stays unknown. Seattle are staring down a alternative between bringing again Pete Carroll and the crew’s personnel czar or bringing again Wilson. NFL Community reviews that a “mutual” parting of the methods between Carroll and the Seahawks is, at this stage, the likeliest consequence.
As anticipated, Matt Nagy is out in Chicago. The Bears job has a strong basis – a younger, gifted quarterback; gifted gamers at each degree of the protection – however it’s unlikely to be on the prime of any candidate’s record. Justin Fields is a sound start line, however the remainder of the offense wants greater than a schematic facelift. Whereas the protection has began to age and creak, with a number of items of the defensive core are set to age out of their prime, hit free company, or are prone to be cap casualties this offseason.
Mike Zimmer is predicted to be out in Minnesota, too. The Vikings head into an offseason through which they've $40m in assured cash (sure, actually) tied up in Kirk Cousins. That might signify the third-highest cap maintain of any participant within the league. The Vikings ditching Zimmer may be an try at a comfortable reboot, grabbing an offensive-minded coach to attempt to squeeze extra out of the Cousins-led offense. Alternatively, the Vikings can commerce Cousins earlier than the draft and save themselves $30m, punting on the entire Zimmer-Cousins period and beginning afresh.
Save the most effective for final, and all that. The Chargers and Raiders eschewed the much-discussed Kneel-Down Bowl in favor of enjoying out the Recreation of the 12 months. On a tense, back-and-forth evening, the Raiders wound up the 35-32 winners, establishing a wild-card tie in opposition to the Bengals. It was a unprecedented evening in Vegas, that includes a efficiency for the ages from Justin Herbert and a wonky late-game timeout from Brandon Staley that basically value the Chargers a playoff spot. With the Raiders operating out the clock for a tie in additional time – a consequence that might have despatched each groups to the playoffs – Staley took a timeout to attempt to drive a cease on third down. The Raiders picked up the primary down, kicked a game-winning area aim, and dumped the Chargers from the playoff.
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