This article is part of our NFL Reactions series.
There were a few notable storylines from Sunday's wild slate, but aside from game-by-game hits the most coherent single theme might be the triumphs of the rookie quarterbacks, who aside from Josh Rosen and the cursed Cardinals went 3-0 as Baker Mayfield, Lamar Jackson, and Josh Allen secured big victories, no doubt leaving the latter three fanbases dreaming on the future.
Mayfield was especially dominant, completing 19-of-26 passes for 258 yards and four touchdowns in a 35-20 victory over Cincinnati that wasn't nearly as close as the scoreboard might imply. That one was a proper dismemberment even before they headed into halftime with a 28-7 score, and that it all occurred with his recently fired ex-head coach serving on the other side as a... run defense consultant (???) certainly made it a bit more interesting. Damarious Randall and even Mayfield himself both extended "shade" to Jackson in ways you might have seen in the game highlights on whatever network you were watching. The Mayfield-Jackson-Todd Haley saga of 2018 is certainly one of the best to keep in mind the next time we evaluate any quarterback in particular; it's perhaps the best since Jared Goff-Jeff Fisher as far as illustrating the profound damage an incompetent coach is capable of. Mayfield struggled before Freddie Kitchens took over, and a game like this one would be out of the question if Jackson and Haley were still mismanaging the show. As Bruce Arians continues to subtly lobby publicly for a job
There were a few notable storylines from Sunday's wild slate, but aside from game-by-game hits the most coherent single theme might be the triumphs of the rookie quarterbacks, who aside from Josh Rosen and the cursed Cardinals went 3-0 as Baker Mayfield, Lamar Jackson, and Josh Allen secured big victories, no doubt leaving the latter three fanbases dreaming on the future.
Mayfield was especially dominant, completing 19-of-26 passes for 258 yards and four touchdowns in a 35-20 victory over Cincinnati that wasn't nearly as close as the scoreboard might imply. That one was a proper dismemberment even before they headed into halftime with a 28-7 score, and that it all occurred with his recently fired ex-head coach serving on the other side as a... run defense consultant (???) certainly made it a bit more interesting. Damarious Randall and even Mayfield himself both extended "shade" to Jackson in ways you might have seen in the game highlights on whatever network you were watching. The Mayfield-Jackson-Todd Haley saga of 2018 is certainly one of the best to keep in mind the next time we evaluate any quarterback in particular; it's perhaps the best since Jared Goff-Jeff Fisher as far as illustrating the profound damage an incompetent coach is capable of. Mayfield struggled before Freddie Kitchens took over, and a game like this one would be out of the question if Jackson and Haley were still mismanaging the show. As Bruce Arians continues to subtly lobby publicly for a job interview with the Browns this offseason, it will be interesting to see if Kitchens runs the offense next year under Arians, for whom Kitchens coached tight ends, quarterbacks, and running backs at various points for all of the 10 years prior.
Jackson's effort was sloppier with two interceptions, but he did well by otherwise completing 14-of-25 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown while running for another 71 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg is seemingly incapable of balance, opening the game with eight passes versus one carry for Jackson following last week's starting debut where he ran a ridiculous 26 times versus 19 pass attempts. Jackson should generally run the ball once for every 2.5 pass attempts, and in a consistent fashion rather than the bursts of extremely lopsided usage that Mornhinweg orchestrated in these two starts. Whereas Mayfield is locked into his starting role, I don't get the impression that Mornhinweg or John Harbaugh especially want to see Jackson in the starting lineup. I'd guess Joe Flacco (hip) starts as soon as he's able, though it'd be an admission of obsolescence by the coaches to do so.
In contrast to Jackson, Allen's performance probably assured his starting role for the rest of the year, even with Matt Barkley's strong showing before the bye. Allen was hit-or-miss but the hits were big ones, including a 75-yard rail gun shot to Robert Foster for a touchdown, a 45-yard run, and a 14-yard touchdown run. Allen's accuracy will probably always be an issue and he's still liable to make the wrong reads, but his arm strength, athleticism, and toughness give him something to work with if a coach can accommodate him with an unconventional offense. It'd be nice if the Bills got to providing him some wide receiver and offensive line talent this offseason, too.
I know people are going to be hyper-critical of Rosen right now, but with them I'll need to just express disappointment while otherwise pointing toward the previously mentioned lesson with Goff. Michael Bidwill might be dumb enough to give Steve Wilks another year, but there's your problem.
There were of course other big individual stories from Sunday, so onto those...
• It's only due to unreasonably strong seasons from Pat Mahomes and Drew Brees that Philip Rivers isn't the MVP favorite. He was great Sunday but not unusually so by his 2018 standards, even as he set an NFL record by opening the game with 25 straight completions, eventually finishing 28-of-29 for 259 yards and three touchdowns. That he did that while facing four sacks and seven quarterback hits makes it substantially more impressive somehow. Through 11 games Rivers has completed 69.5 percent of his passes at 9.1 yards per atempt with 26 touchdowns to six interceptions. If Melvin Gordon misses time with the knee injury that was unspecified as of press time, then Rivers' owners might benefit from increased usage.
• Andrew Luck continues his incredible comeback season, throwing three touchdown passes for the eighth straight game. It's a great look for Frank Reich or a bad one for Chuck Pagano – or both perhaps – that this is clearly the best supporting circumstances Luck has ever played with, even with one of the worst wide receiver rotations in the league. Considering his history, it seems almost impossible that Luck has been sacked only 11 times after a previous career 16-game low of 27 sacks, as well as two seasons of 41 sacks. It's curious that Luck isn't running in 2018, especially since the likes of Chester Rogers and Ryan Grant can't possibly be open much, but perhaps it's for the best if it keeps him healthy. If the Colts add a second competent wide receiver after the great T.Y. Hilton, Luck could be even better in 2019, at least in terms of his current 7.1 YPA.
• Speaking of the Colts offense, Marlon Mack suffered a concussion Sunday that would seemingly result in a return of the Jordan Wilkins-Nyheim Hines committee if Mack isn't cleared in time for Week 13. Otherwise, Eric Ebron continued his unchallenged reign as the league's most perplexing player, following up his zero-target game against Tennessee – which of course followed his three-touchdown game against Jacksonville – with another two touchdowns against Miami, including the game winner. It helped that Mo Alie-Cox (calf) didn't play against Miami after playing more snaps than Ebron each of the three prior games. Particularly if MAC is back next week, Ebron's projection would become messy again despite the ridiculous fact that he has 12 touchdowns from scrimmage in 11 games.
• To go back to Robert Foster from earlier: he really is someone who should be owned in dynasty leagues, and it might be time to consider him in deeper redraft formats, too. At the risk of repeating myself, the guy is a former blue chip recruit who was expected at one point to serve as Alabama's No. 1 receiver before injury troubles pretty much sent him to the NFL with a blank resume. He has 4.41 wheels and 199 yards and a touchdown in his last two games, on just seven targets. Zay Jones still has an NFL future, in my opinion, but Foster has to be the most feared receiver on this team right now.
• John Dorsey gets a lot of love from football media, presumably because of his tough guy schtick, but if the Browns can't get Jarvis Landry going then a full inventory of Dorsey's GM work in Cleveland won't look so flattering. It was easy to get the first overall pick right, and Nick Chubb in the second round was probably an even easier call. The other most productive players in Cleveland were inherited, reducing Dorsey's most meaningful contributions to the horrible Josh Gordon trade and the decision to make Landry the third-highest paid receiver in the league.
• The 49ers should have benched Nick Mullens following his dud showing against a Giants defense that just isn't good. If they don't bench him after completing 18-of-32 passes for 221 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions against the Buccaneers then I worry that Kyle Shanahan might be coaching with an undiagnosed concussion. Mullens sees the field a little better than C.J. Beathard, but in addition to a weak arm he has poor accuracy, whereas at least Beathard has a strong arm and good athleticism that could mold into something better. I doubt Beathard is ever any good, but to be fair he didn't get that many pass reps at Iowa, and the Shanahan offense is basically an inversion of the Ferentz one.
• Given that he practiced "fully" all week, Ronald Jones was seemingly a healthy scratch despite his technical designation with his hamstring injury. It's not a good look, but I'm holding out hope that the soon-to-be-fired Dirk Koetter will prove substantially responsible for this.
• Carson Wentz is lucky that he was playing against Eli Manning. Wentz finished with a 108.6 quarterback rating against the Giants, but he couldn't make the plays he wanted to and was reduced to a low-volume, low-aggression approach as Josh Adams carried the offense with 22 carries. I think Wentz is pretty clearly a great quarterback and Doug Pederson is a top coach, but at the very least Wentz has the yips or Pederson has been successfully adjusted to, or both. In either possibility I feel fully confident that they'll figure it out, but that admittedly might not be on a schedule fast enough to please the fantasy owners of Wentz, Alshon Jeffery, and Golden Tate. Luckily for Zach Ertz's owners, he's apparently exempt.
• Speaking of Adams, I'm surprised the Eagles let him get past 15 carries, let alone 20. It wasn't an especially efficient showing with 84 yards and a touchdown (3.8 YPC), but Adams' prospect profile implies staying power as long as he stays healthy. Corey Clement did look the best he has since September, though, providing 45 yards on five carries.
• Speaking of Manning, I think I'll be taking Saquon Barkley even over Todd Gurley next year. I can't imagine what Barkley might do with a top-40 quarterback.
• Alex Collins might be toast. I think he's still an effective runner, but Gus Edwards is the same and Ty Montgomery made the calculus even more confusing by adding 51 yards on eight carries and three catches for 13 yards. I think Montgomery is pretty easily the most talented running back on that roster, but his history of durability troubles means that he's more likely to just screw things up for Edwards and Collins in Baltimore.
• The Seahawks-Panthers game was a weird one, and I think the Seahawks had a uniquely ill-suited game plan to stop Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey would still be a no-doubt top-five pick if drafts were redone today, and those who got him at whatever likely price have benefited hugely from him this year. I feel like this season could easily go down as the best of his career, particularly if Ron Rivera gets fired as he deserves, but for now he's a productive runner at the same time he's the team's leading receiver. That's a categorical boon regardless of the broader specifics.
• D.J. Moore remains limited as a route runner but hopefully the last two weeks convince Rivera to never again run Torrey Smith, Jarius Wright, or even Devin Funchess (back) ahead of him. Curtis Samuel is pretty obviously either the best or second-best receiver on the team, but Rivera has an odd aversion to him and apparently the idea of playing him ahead of Smith and Wright just isn't on the table. I'd still aggressively attempt to acquire Samuel in dynasty leagues – he's a star and Rivera is the only thing blocking him.
• People loved Chris Carson's tackle-breaking highlights even before his insanely ill-advised but still happy-ending hurdle flip against Carolina. I think the simple fact remains that Rashaad Penny is much more talented, and the next time their opportunity levels even out it will become obvious. I'd try to sell Carson in dynasty, no doubt whatsoever. He should be a very helpful player in redraft for 2018, though.
• I don't know if the injury that led Ben Roethlisberger to briefly run to the locker room had a role in his second half struggles, but he looked noticeably sloppy with his throws even aside from the insane nose tackle interception at the goal line to end the game. He was throwing with ugly loft that's difficult to explain if not for some sort of soreness.
• Juju Smith-Schuster is maybe the all-time best reminder of the importance of adjusting for age when evaluating prospects. I badly underestimated him following a disappointing combine where he ran only a 4.54-second 40-yard dash, and considering his extreme youth at the time – he just turned 22 – it's possible that I should have projected an increase in athleticism over the subsequent two years. He still doesn't have plus tools necessarily, but he was way too productive at USC and at too young of an age to have fallen out of his first round.
• As much as I like him as a part-time player, I wouldn't go chasing Ryan Switzer's numbers from that game. Six catches for 67 yards on eight targets is a totally good output, but he doesn't reliably run ahead of James Washington, and Roethlisberger isn't throwing 58 passes next week.
• Phillip Lindsay is a prospect miss of mine I have more trouble explaining. He struggled to average five yards per carry at Colorado and had many games where he struggled to average even four, but he is very clearly the real deal. Royce Freeman is still a good prospect in his own right, but he'll never be a feature back in Denver if Lindsay is healthy. He'll probably never so much as match Lindsay generally, let alone surpass him in any particular respect.
