(Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports)

NFL fans woke up Sunday morning to some interesting news about two teams with young quarterbacks on their rosters. Reports from Jason LaCanfora of CBS News and Adam Schefter of ESPN indicated that Dwayne Haskins and Sam Darnold respectively could be had in a trade before the deadline hits in the NFL.

These moves seem surprising when first viewed, but might not be that crazy if you think about it. In Washington new head coach Ron Rivera was not part of the organization when Haskins was drafted, and he might want to find a quarterback of his own choosing. He brought Kyle Allen with him from Carolina, and while he might not be the long-term answer, perhaps that is an indication of Rivera’s mindset.

Then in New York, the Jets are rumored to be firing Adam Gase at some point, and since the Jets are in line for an early pick, perhaps Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields are the target of that franchise? Moving on from Darnold, even if you cannot get a first-round pick in return, might give you enough draft capital to make a move to the top of the board if necessary.

So, we’re seeing both traded in the next few weeks, right?

Verdict: Medium level of overreaction.

This is only a medium overreaction because in all likelihood just one of them gets moved. Of the two, Haskins seems the one player most likely to be traded, given that Rivera will have more than just this year to turn things around and as such, a clean break from Haskins might be best for both organization and player. In New York, the prospects of trading Darnold and firing a head coach seem to be a bit much to take on at one time. Despite his struggles at times, Darnold remains a quarterback with potential and could be used as a chip in terms of finding a new head coach, similar to Jared Goff in Los Angeles, or even Daniel Jones with the Giants.

The fact that we are even having this discussion, however, reflects a bit of a sea change in the league. Given the new salary structure, it is cheaper for teams to move on from quarterbacks on their rookie deal rather than chase good money after bad. We wondered in the football media world when teams would take this approach, and perhaps that moment is upon us.

(Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports)

With Dwayne Haskins sidelined with an illness and Kyle Allen getting the start for Washington on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, that meant that Alex Smith stepped into the backup slot for Washington.

That also meant that when Allen went down with an injury, Smith entered the huddle for the first time in two seasons.

This was a huge moment for the veteran quarterback, who suffered a horrific leg injury when he was last on the field which led to multiple surgeries, infections, and concerns that he would never play again. It has been a long journey for Smith and his family to this moment, and as such, his status as the league’s Comeback Player of the Year is solidified. Right?

Verdict: Zero overreaction.

Look, I am not sure about the ethics of what I’m about to say, but as a member of the Pro Football Writers Association, I have a vote for the PFWA Comeback Player of the Year Award. I said before the season that if Smith saw regular season action his status as the recipient should be cemented, and that came to pass on Sunday. Sure there are other potential winners, such as Ben Roethlisberger of the 4-0 Pittsburgh Steelers, but seeing Smith take the field, seeing his wife in the stands watching, it is hard not to feel emotional in that moment. Knowing everything that Smith and his family went through just for the chance at a moment like this, and seeing that moment come to fruition, is the kind of story I think many people need in what has been a tough year. He has my vote.

(Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)

In the past two weeks the Kansas City Chiefs knocked off two of the AFC’s premier teams, the Baltimore Ravens and the New England Patriots. In the process, Kansas City revved up the media hype machine, leading many to wonder how in the world you stop their offense.

Perhaps the Las Vegas Raiders found one way: Out score them. Derek Carr and the Raiders went into Arrowhead Stadium and came away with a huge win, as the offense put 40 points on the board. Carr attacked downfield in the vertical passing game, prompting Jon Gruden to take a bit of a shot at those at Pro Football Focus who wonder about Carr and his average depth of target: “We threw the ball down the field. Some of the Pro Football Focus statisticians will have to scratch their head.”

So now the Raiders are 3-2, and it’s time to consider them a playoff team right?

Verdict: No overreaction. 

Carr is getting more vertical in the passing game, and it was not just Sunday against the Chiefs. Back in 2019, Carr posted an Intended Air Yards of just 6.3 according to NFL Next Gen Stats, second-to-last in the league. This season? Carr has an IAY of 7.1, a bit of a jump and ahead of eight other quarterbacks. Against the Chiefs on Sunday his IAY was 9.0, tenth-most among passers.

Beyond just Carr, the Raiders are getting contributions in the passing game from new acquisitions such as Nelson Agholor and rookie Henry Ruggs III. These two, especially Ruggs, are giving Gruden’s offense more explosiveness. This is not your father’s Gruden West Coast passing offense.

Put these elements together and yes, this is potentially a playoff team.

(Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports)

For the second week in a row, an organization made the decision to remove their head coach and general manager. Last week it was the Houston Texans, who fired Bill O’Brien (who was occupying both spots) and this week the Atlanta Falcons made the move, dismissing both head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff.

With their loss Sunday to the Carolina Panthers the Falcons fell to 0-5 on the season, and right now are in the running to land a top draft pick. Even still, this does feel like a panic move right? This is a team just a few years removed from an NFC Championship and a team that was just minutes away from securing a Lombardi Trophy that year. Firing these two men is a massive overreaction. Right?

Verdict: Not at all.

Quinn and Dimitroff had a great run in Atlanta, putting together a winning team and getting so close to the mountaintop. However, sometimes a vision and a direction get stale over time. Quinn was known for his defensive prowess, but the Atlanta defense was bad the past few season, and the 23 points given up to the Panthers on Sunday was actually the lowest amount scored against them this season. Prior to that the Falcons had given up 38, 40, 30 and 30 points in their first four games. That’s not good defensive football.

As for Dimitroff, this comes as a bit of a surprise, given some of the rosters he put together. He assembled a great offense during his time in Atlanta and landed players such as Matt Ryan and Julio Jones. But the struggles on defense could also be due to some of the moves Dimitroff made on that side of the football. Most recently the team reached – in the opinion of many – on A.J. Terrell in the first round. Then you look at some of the other moves made on defense during his tenure, such as signing Dunta Robinson, Tyson Jackson, and Ray Edwards, and you can see how the misses on that side of the ball began to pile up.

Even though he leaves as Atlanta’s longest-tenured general manager, Dimitroff’s dismissal was not a panic move either.

(AP Foto/Don Wright)

The Pittsburgh Steelers are 4-0. The Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns are each 4-1, and the Ravens’ single loss came at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs and the Browns’ only loss came against those very Ravens. The division is the only in football to have three teams with four or more victories. Looking around the landscape of the NFL, this is the best division in football right?

Verdict: Massive overreaction.

We need to add a bit of context to this discussion. Thanks to the magic of NFL schedule-making, the teams in the AFC North are matched up this season with the teams in the NFC East. You know, the division that we called perhaps the worst in football just a week ago? The teams in the NFC East are a combined 4-15-1. So let’s put that out in the open.

Now expand the map a little. Sure, the Steelers are 4-0. But who have they played? The 0-5 New York Giants. The 1-3 Denver Broncos. The 1-4 Houston Texans, and the 1-3-1 Philadelphia Eagles. A combined record of 3-15-1.

The Cleveland Browns? They have played the 4-1 Ravens, to be fair. But also the 1-3-1 Cincinnati Bengals, the 1-4 Washington Football Team, the 2-3 Dallas Cowboys, and the 3-2 Indianapolis Colts. A combined record of 7-12-1

And those Ravens? They’ve played perhaps the toughest schedule of them all. The 4-1 Browns, the 1-4 Texans, the 4-1 Chiefs, the 1-4 Washington Football Team, and the 1-3-1 Bengals. A combined record of 11-13-1.

Until I see more, I’m not ready to declare this the best division in football, given the strength (or lack thereof) of their opponents to date.

(Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)

Last week it was backup quarterback Nick Mullens who gave way to C.J. Beathard, in the second half of a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

This week it was starter Jimmy Garoppolo, benched in a loss to the Miami Dolphins.

Garoppolo, in his first game back after suffering a high ankle sprain, was largely ineffective against Miami. He completed just seven of 17 passes for 77 yards and a pair of interceptions, and was benched at halftime after the second of those turnovers put the Dolphins in position to kick a field goal as time expired in the first half.

Perhaps we have danced around this question long enough. The 49ers have a quarterback problem, right?

Verdict: Medium overreaction.

Lower body injuries have a tendency to impact quarterbacks even when they return to the lineup. Quarterbacks such as Carson Wentz and Deshaun Watson, after returning from ACL tears, needed time on the field to rebuild confidence in their lower extremities. When you are unsure if that knee is going to hold under you when moving in the pocket or transferring weight on a throw, the recovery is going to be longer than expected, even resulting in some uneven play.

Garoppolo, who suffered a knee injury of his own, now is trying to work his way back from the dreaded high ankle sprain. It did seem to limit him against the Dolphins, both in terms of moving around in the pocket and trying to drive on throws to the deeper areas of the field.

As such, I think we should pause on panicking about the 49ers’ quarterback room. For now. But concern is definitely warranted. This is a team with playoff aspirations, and right now they are three games behind the Seattle Seahawks in the division, and staring up at the rest of their rivals in the NFC West from the basement. But they need to wake up and fast, as Sunday night’s game against the Los Angeles Rams could be a season-defining contest.

Entering Week 5 the Indianapolis Colts had perhaps the best defense in football. According to Football Outsiders’ DVOA, they were the best unit in the game, with a Total Defense DVOA of -25.7%. Over at Pro Football Focus, they had this to say about the Colts’ defense: “Defensively, the Colts are one of only four teams to boast run-defense, pass-rushing, and coverage grades all ranked in the top-10 (the Bucs, the 49ers and the Bears being the others). Their 1.32 points per drive allowed mark is the lowest in the NFL by .22 this season.”

Yet right now the Colts are just 3-2. Perhaps the problem comes on the offensive side of the football:

After 5 weeks, the Colts offense ranks:

– 23rd in yards, 22 in yards per play
– 31st in yards per carry
– 22nd in quarterback rating
– 27th on third down
– 29th in the red zone

And they've scored just eight TDs https://t.co/cp11h1hmkB

— Joel A. Erickson (@JoelAErickson) October 12, 2020

Contributing to this is the fact that Rivers has thrown five interceptions – tying him for fourth-most in the league – and his QBR of 57.6 places him 23rd in the league, just ahead of Mitchell Trubisky.

Given the ineffectiveness of this offense on the whole, the blame starts with the quarterback. So the Colts have a quarterback problem, correct?

Verdict: Medium overreaction.

Rivers has not been perfect this year, and both the film and the numbers bear that out. His best game of the season, back in Week 4 where he completed 17 of 21 passes for 217 yards, a touchdown, an NFL passer rating of 125.6 and an Adjusted Yards per Attempt of 11.29? Yeah that came against the woeful New York Jets. Strip that game away and you have a quarterback with an NFL passer rating of just 83.2, which would place him 29th in the league, just above Dwayne Haskins.

However, head coach Frank Reich is supporting his quarterback. He told 107.5 The Fan this about Rivers on Monday: “Yes, Philip is playing really good football. That is the least of my worries. That is the least of my worries. Philip is playing good football. You are going to have mistakes when you get in situations like that. I know we would want the interception back, but the safety, like I said, is on me. You take that away and you get that one mistake, in my mind, that was the big factor. [The safety] was not the big factor, but the one big mistake with Philip was the interception. That is it.”

At this point in time, I’m inclined to believe Reich. There was going to be a feeling-out process with Rivers coming to Indianapolis, and we are largely living through that. With this defense in place, the Colts do not need to be perfect on offense to win, they just need to be better than Rivers was on Sunday. He can do that much.

(Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports)

Part of the reason for Philip Rivers’ struggles on Sunday had to do with Myles Garrett. The Cleveland Browns pass rusher was ferocious on Sunday, notching a sack and four of Cleveland’s five quarterback hits.

On the year, Garrett has posted six sacks, five quarterback hits, and 21 quarterback hurries, as charted by Pro Football Reference. He has also forced three fumbles, one each against the Cincinnati Bengals, Washington Football Team, and the Dallas Cowboys.

In short, Garrett has been terrorizing opposing passers this season. This ends with him being named Defensive Player of the Year, right?

Verdict: No overreaction.

Browns fans would be right to start campaigning for Garrett to earn DPOY honors. Through the first five weeks of the season perhaps no player has been as much of a handful as he has. Aaron Donald might lead the league in sacks right now, but Garrett is performing at a high level and shows no signs of slowing down. As an offensive coordinator game-planning for him, you need to think about double-teams, about sliding protection towards him, and about using tight ends and running back to chip him before getting into their routes. All of this has a cascading impact on your gameplan heading into the contest. That impact is huge for the Browns right now, and Garrett is the clubhouse leader for DPOY as a result.

(Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports)

Mike Zimmer could not have written a better script for how Sunday night against the Seattle Seahawks unfolded. The Minnesota Vikings got their ground game working in the first half, Kirk Cousins was using play-action and the screen game to keep the Seahawks’ defense on their heels a bit, Russell Wilson was largely an observer from the sidelines, and the Vikings had a 13-0 lead on the road.

But then, all heck broke loose. Dalvin Cook limped to the locker room with a groin injury, Cousins had an interception and a fumble, and suddenly Seattle was on top.

Undaunted, Zimmer’s men fought back. They took the lead and had a five-point advantage with two minutes to go, facing a critical 4th and 1 down in the red zone. Zimmer faced a decision. Kick the field goal and hope eight points is enough against Wilson in the rain, or end the contest right there with a first down?

Zimmer went for it. The Seahawks stopped an Alexander Mattison run, and Wilson did Wilson things. Ball game.

In the aftermath, Zimmer and the Vikings were left to wonder what could have been. However, here is what is right now: They are 1-3 in the NFC North, staring up at the 4-0 Green Bay Packers and the 4-1 Chicago Bears. A loss like that is sure to haunt them the rest of the way, right?

Verdict: Big overreaction.

Now, the Vikings might not climb out of this hole, but they do have a somewhat favorable schedule over the next few weeks. They play the Atlanta Falcons this week, a team in a bit of disarray right now. Then after playing the Packers on November 1st, they face the Detroit Lions, the Chicago Bears, the Dallas Cowboys, the Carolina Panthers, and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Those are winnable games. The schedule sets up for them to make a bit of a run, or at least there is the possibility of such a run. I’ll hold off on declaring them done for at least the next few weeks.

(Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports)

Ryan Fitzpatrick turned in a fantastic performance for the Miami Dolphins in their 43-17 thrashing of the San Francisco 49ers. Fitzpatrick completed 22 of 28 passes for 350 yards and three touchdowns, and posted a QBR of 99.1 in the victory. And this was no “Checkdown Charlie” of an afternoon. Fitzpatrick was taking deep shots any chance he gets, attacking man coverage on the outside and throwing receivers open with anticipation.

Let’s face it, when he is dealing, Fitzpatrick is the most enjoyable player to watch in the NFL.

Verdict: Medium overreaction.

Yes, Fitzpatrick is a ton of fun to watch when he is clicking, as he was early and often against the 49ers. Anytime he saw man coverage on the outside, he was finding his deep routes and throwing dime balls on the boundary. His connection with Mike Gesicki on a corner route was made under duress and with anticipation, enabling his tight end to rip off a huge gain.

But “most enjoyable?” That’s a big list and a stretch.

(Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports)

All of this, everything we have talked about in this piece and others, is taking place with storm clouds above us in the sky. This week provided yet more reminders that the NFL is forging ahead with a season in the middle of a global pandemic, as cases continue to mount both in the United States and within the league. New cases emerged both in Tennessee with the Titans and in New England with the Patriots, prompting the league to postpone their game with the Denver Broncos to next week. That marked the second time that contest was moved due to COVID-19, after it was already moved from Sunday afternoon to Monday night.

Perhaps my mornings begin like many of yours. My eyes blink open, I try and ascertain what time it is, and then I reach for the phone, anxiously wondering what news from the league awaits me when I open up Twitter or my e-mail.

This football season is proving to be a balancing act, done on a high wire spanning the Grand Canyon. With every new positive test we are left to wonder if the balancing act is going to come crashing down, and the dream of a full season will come crashing to a halt. Are we just delaying the inevitable?

Verdict: Medium overreaction.

Within the confines of the NFL, protocols have largely worked. Many feared that once the season began and teams began to move around the country, that cases would explode in each locker room. Yet that has largely not happened, so the fears over the season crashing down around us have not materialized.

But it does remain possible.

We cannot change the fact that this season is happening in the midst of an ongoing pandemic that is showing signs of a potential third wave, right in the middle of cold and flu season. Hospitalizations nationwide are starting to creep up, as are positive cases. This tends to be the pattern with this virus: Things ebb for a while, people perhaps let their guard down, and then the uptick in hospitalizations and cases is soon followed by an uptick in other, darker news.

So the doom scrolling continues.

However, we are not at a panic point yet, with respect to the NFL. So we continue to forge on, and hope for the best.