Sneaky Storylines heading into Week 9

Joe Mixon undoubtedly is a top three running back this year.

This guy has been my biggest miss of the season coming into the year. Aside from a hip drop tackle cutting games off of his season against the Chicago Bears, Mixon has been arguably the best running back in the NFL. Never failing to top 100 yards across the five full games he’s played is something Mixon wasn’t able to do behind Cincinnati's God awful offensive line. He probably would lead the league in rushing if it weren’t for injury causing him to miss three games and over half of a fourth game, which took him out of the race for leading the league in rushing. The craziest thing about Mixon this year is that he’s well on pace to break his single season rushing record even missing nearly a quarter of the season. It’s astonishing and inspiring how a team ravaged with injury all over the place is sticking around in games solely due to Mixon’s All-Pro season this year. Even the offensive line in Houston is looking far more rough than just one season ago. Constant penalties, missed blocks, horrible reps from their backup offensive guards, and still Mixon is eager to run behind this unit and continually produce. Mixon’s elite vision and ability to jump cut wasn’t on display enough in Cincy due to there being zero holes to run through on a majority of plays. Cincy is so bad at protecting the quarterback and also creating opportunities in the run game that I was genuinely convinced Mr Mixon was just washed up. I’ll tell you what though if he wasn’t on this Texans team not only do I think the Houston Texans are below .500, but I think the Colts are swiping this division fairly easily considering how Stroud’s weapons have been decimated throughout the first half of the season. Mixon has always been a stellar fantasy back, but this level of efficiency carrying this much of a workload at 28 years of age maybe can turn the tides on how the NFL values the running back position. If the Texans easily swipe the AFC South it will be on Mixon’s shoulders and he wants it BAD. Cincy dumped him and he said nothing. He just came out, produced, addressed the media on his hip drop tackle, and came back better than ever. People need to realize how impressive his season truly has been. Just look at what happened to Tony Pollard’s burst when he got hip drop tackled on the Cowboys last season. It was non-existent. No excuses, just production. Rooting for you Joe Mixon.

Jared Goff is the MVP, Today.

I’m not just saying this as a biased Lions fan. Actually coming into the season I was awfully upset by the team giving Goff a massive four year contract when he seemed like a game manager over the course of his career. Boy was I wrong though. The first couple games Jared Goff looked pretty terrible in my eyes. Missing defenders in passing lanes leading to awful picks and being unable to beat the blitz, I got incredibly nervous. His first three games were an absolute atrocity at times, but since that primetime Seahawks game he can’t miss a throw. It’s truly that simple. Every ball thrown is on a rope and he’s completing passes at an elite clip and using the play action passing game to the fullest. He’s beginning to cement himself in that groove that only elite quarterbacks can understand and ride out for a full season. Against the Vikings the only pass he legitimately missed was Khalif Raymond by three yards with pressure in his face that forced him off his spot. That’s always been Goff’s biggest knock. How he performs in the face of pressure. He’s no longer scared to grip it and rip it down the middle of the field while getting rocked, which has amplified his play and taken his performance far beyond what the general public thought his ceiling could be. He genuinely enjoys working with this group of guys and if he can consistently dissect defenses and put the ball into tight windows then the Lions have an incredible chance at making it to the Super Bowl this year. He’s always been doubted as a number one pick, but Brad Holmes came in, slammed his shoulder pads, and said you are the man to Goff. Having a whole city behind him and leading his team to win after win continues to build upon his confidence and it has clearly shown throughout the first seven games of their season. It’s very hard to do what Goff just did two weeks ago. Get punched in the mouth on the road, (3 straight three and outs to start the game), and then come back from a ten point deficit to dominate a stellar Vikings defense, adjusting to their disguised looks that Brian Flores pumps out each and every week. I just hope Goff sustains this level of play and continues his streak of having more touchdowns than incomplete passes. 

Packers defense is horrifyingly good.

With Jordan Love having a rough start to the season playing through an injury that would sideline most,  the Packers have continually relied upon their stout defense to carry them into contention in a loaded NFC North. Xavier McKinney, Evan Williams, Javon Bullard, and Edgerrin Cooper were all huge additions for this team in the offseason and have played lights out through the Packers’ first eight games. Bullard is one of the team’s leading tacklers as a rookie. Edgerrin Cooper is doing everything from making tackles for loss to sacking the quarterback and just has been a valued addition to defend the middle of the football field. Mckinney and Evan Williams on the other hand have been an elite tandem with Mckinney playing the role of swiss army knife moving all around the field and Williams defending the pass at an elite level. In just one season, with the hiring of new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, the Packers have turned their weakness from a season ago into one of their biggest strengths. The scariest part too is if Love does what he did last season it could be scary. He went from a shaky first year starter to a monster turning on the afterburners down the stretch to give his team some momentum to carry into the playoffs. If Love simply protects the football and makes occasional gunslinger highlight reel plays then the Lions are not safe in the NFC North. The only reason the Packers don’t have the best defensive stats this year is because they played the Eagles to start the year and had growing pains and Love has been turning over the ball a ton forcing the defense onto the field far more than they’d expect. Their pass defense has been impenetrable, but their run defense has been so-so as teams have worn them down throughout games, which again can be attributed to how often the unit is forced to be on the field. As Love improves so will this defense in terms of statistics and like the Bears defense I believe this unit is elite. Like the Bears they have all components of a special defense: A good defensive line, an elite secondary, and a formidable linebacking core (Bears is better).

The 49ers are finished.

Every single season in recent history the 49ers seemingly run away with the NFC West in dominant fashion, but this year it’s anyone’s division for the taking. With Christian McCaffrey coming back from an injury that seems like a Madden simulation level of goofiness and Aiyuk done for the year the team is in desperation mode. Who knows if CMC can come back from a bilateral achilles injury with the same burst fans have grown accustomed to. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think this injury ever taken place in the NFL. So with a wide receiving core that is depleted and relying upon Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, and a combination of Ricky Pearsall plus Jauan Jennings, Brock Purdy has to play some serious heroball to separate his squad from Seattle or the Los Angeles Rams. I intentionally didn’t mention the Cardinals because they are a joke on defense and Kyler is not a good passer of the football. The point here is that Brock Purdy has always been a beneficiary of Kyle Shannahan’s ability to put together a plan where Purdy simply has to place the ball into wide open windows for his All-Pro targets. With Deebo and Kittle as the only superstar talents left, their increased usage easily could lead to injury for this cursed football team. I knew it preseason, but if they endure any more injuries this season the ship is bound to sink. It’s crunch time for Purdy as well who still has to prove he is the guy moving forward for San Francisco given he is getting a massive contract in the near future. If Jimmy Garrapolo can get big money then I have no doubt in my mind that Purdy is going to rake in a King’s ransom. The Niners need all remaining targets to survive the season and Dre Greenlaw to absolutely dominate upon his return in order to deny the Seahawks or Rams of the divisional crown.

Is it now safe to say the Bengals experiment has failed?

With Burrow playing his best ball possible all season long one would assume the Bengals would be atop the AFC North, but in reality the season has been a nightmare to date. Their head coach had one of the worst gameplans I have ever witnessed against the Patriots in week 1. The decision in week 5 to run the ball every down against the Ravens after Lamar’s fumble in OT was atrocious and cost them the game after botching a game winning long field goal in embarrassing fashion. Lastly they blew a primetime Chiefs matchup with a horrendous pass interference penalty and a Joe Burrow fumble where the offensive line’s shortcomings led to him getting pummeled for an automatic fumble six. If the Bengals had any other head coach, a single offensive lineman of note, a half decent running back, or anybody on their defense worth a shit outside of their pass rush duo of Hendrickson and Hubbard then the team would easily be above .500 right now. The experiment of only getting superstar skill players has plagued the Bengals every season. Injuries due to intense usage of Higgins and Chase, gaping holes in their roster due to neglecting positions for a few superstar talents, and the gamble to rely upon Joe Burrow’s magic to keep the team afloat hasn’t been anywhere near enough for the team to succeed. Burrow is getting massacred every week with zero protection, the run game doesn’t exist because of how pitiful their line is, their defense can’t stop the run or pass, and the organization is facing impending doom having to pay Hendrickson, Chase, and Higgins very soon. What do they do? That’s a good question that will have to be answered in the near future. I don’t really know what the team should do, but their first move should be to fire Zac taylor because he has been an incredibly ineffective coach that doesn’t aid any area of their football team. So far the guy has avoided any criticism due to a combination of injuries and unfortunate losses that can’t really result in placing the blame solely on the coach. His only accolade has been the one singular Super Bowl appearance the Bengals have had during his coaching tenure due to Joe Burrow heroball.