Week 12 was about storylines that need to calm down.
Please raise your hand if you’re tired of hearing about the rocky relationship between Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown. Maybe that will die down after the Eagles fell to the Cowboys, 24–21, despite a strong passing performance from the on-again, off-again friends.
As for another tiring storyline, the divide that Shedeur Sanders’s draft slide created dominated headlines and talk shows in the lead up to Sander’s first career start with the Browns. Sanders was impressive in the Browns’ 24–10 win over the Raiders, but let’s focus on what he displayed on the field and not overreact to one performance.
All right, let’s get to what we learned in NFL Week 12.
Eagles need to get more from Saquon Barkley, not A.J. Brown
It’s a bit ironic that Hurts finally got Brown involved in the offense, and the Eagles still ended up losing to the Cowboys after a 21-point collapse.
Maybe running back Saquon Barkley should be the one complaining about his usage in this offense, not Brown. It’s head-scratching that the Eagles had a three-touchdown lead and Barkley finished with only 10 carries for 22 yards. Hurts went 27-of-39 for 289 yards and three total touchdowns, including two on the ground. Brown recorded eight catches for 110 yards and one touchdown.
I get that Brown doesn’t like being an expensive blocker, but the Eagles are at their best when they’re dominating both sides of the lines, especially when Barkley is efficiently running between the tackles. Barkley has only one 100-yard rushing game this season, a year after rushing for more than 2,000 yards and winning the Super Bowl. On Sunday, Dallas had 125 rushing yards compared to the 63 for Philadelphia. Even the Cowboys’ defense applied more pressure than the Eagles’ unit, which was red hot coming into Sunday.
The storyline of Brown’s and Hurts’s relationship has gotten stale and maybe now it will go away after the Eagles (8–3) blew it in Dallas, despite having a solid outing from the passing attack. It’s possible both sides go their separate ways in the offseason. For now, though, it should be all about getting Barkley on track because this team won’t repeat as champions with how he’s played most of this season.
Sanders needs to remain the starter after promising results vs. Raiders
It got tiring hearing the Sanders haters and the Sanders supporters bicker this past week, picking up a heated argument that started in April during the draft.
There’s going to be a case study in the near future about how emotionally invested these two sides were in Sanders’s career before his first regular season start. Finally, there’s evidence of what Sanders can do with a full week to prepare as a starter. Finally, we can analyze what Sanders did on an NFL field without being accused of being a hater or a homer. Actually, never mind. One side will be upset regardless of what I say next.
Judging from what I saw on the field on Sunday, Sanders had an impressive starting debut and should remain the starter. Please don’t come for me, Sanders haters. Please don’t run with my words, Sanders supporters, as if I called the rookie signal-caller a savior for Cleveland.
Who the heck knows where Sanders goes from here, but he made several plays against the Raiders’ poor defense, including unleashing a 52-yard bomb to Isaiah Bond. He did enough to avoid pressure from star edge rusher Maxx Crosby to not let him wreck the game plan. He also leaned on his playmakers to do the heavy lifting at times, including on a screen pass to running back Dylan Sampson, who took off for a 66-yard touchdown.
Sanders also had his bad moments, such as throwing an interception directly to defensive end Charles Snowden. There was a blend of good and bad, but overall, it was a solid day for the Browns.
Coach Kevin Stefanski needed this performance from Sanders (11-of-20, 209 yards, one touchdown, one interception) to show he’s not living off his two Coach of the Year awards. This Browns offense has been among the league’s worst the past two years, but finally, there was competent quarterback play and well-designed schemes. Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean Stefanski was wrong to have Joe Flacco and Dillon Gabriel ahead of Sanders on the QB depth chart to start the year. Maybe the Browns liked Gabriel better leading up to the draft and decided to take a chance on Sanders after his draft slide to the fifth round. These are the Browns, after all—scouting hasn’t exactly been a specialty for this franchise this century. Call it a series of bad decisions, but it seems Sanders benefited from waiting his turn.
Again, it was only one game against the Raiders. But this was a step in the right direction for Sanders and the Browns’ coaching staff. Now, it’s about building off what took place in Las Vegas. Also, don’t forget to give credit where credit is due.
Ravens aren’t that much better than the Steelers
As expected, the Ravens (6–5) caught the Steelers (6–5) atop the AFC North standings thanks to a beneficial schedule that has resulted in a five-game winning streak.
But this divisional race is far from over because the Ravens aren’t that much better than the Steelers, even with a healthy Lamar Jackson, who struggled in the 23–10 victory over the Jets on Sunday. Jackson has been off his form since returning from a three-game absence due to a hamstring injury.
In his first game back in Week 9, Jackson was sensational in the second half against the Dolphins, when it became clear that Baltimore was on the verge of digging out of a 1–5 start with a handful of losing teams next up on the schedule. But Jackson had a rough first half in Miami, which was the same case in Minnesota the following week before the Ravens made halftime adjustments.
On Sunday, Baltimore trailed New York 7–3 at halftime. Last week, the Ravens went down to the wire with the Browns, who were forced to go with Sanders off the bench after Gabriel sustained a concussion.
Credit to Baltimore for playing stellar defense and leaning on running back Derrick Henry, but this team could have trouble once the schedule gets more challenging if Jackson doesn’t find a rhythm earlier in games. The two-time MVP has been held under 200 passing yards in three consecutive games and has only one touchdown pass and two interceptions in that span. Jackson has also been a nonfactor as a runner, failing to crack 40 rushing yards since Week 4 against the Chiefs, when he injured his hamstring.
The Ravens could very well make it six consecutive wins against the struggling Bengals on Thanksgiving. But if Jackson fails to carve up one of the worst defenses in the league, that could be a bad sign before a Week 14 home showdown against the Steelers. The two AFC North rivals will meet again in Pittsburgh in the regular season finale.
The Steelers have their own problems, losing four of their past six games before a critical game in Buffalo this week. They fell to the Bears, 31–28, with Aaron Rodgers sidelined on Sunday. But Pittsburgh’s defense has improved in recent weeks, and that could be enough to hold off Baltimore and its sluggish passing attack.
It’s not a given J.J. McCarthy will be the Vikings’ starter next season
At this point, it wouldn’t make sense for coach Kevin O’Connell to bench struggling second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy because the Vikings need a miracle to make the postseason. Minnesota was embarrassed by Green Bay, 23–6, and is now 4–7.
On the bright side, this won’t necessarily be a wasted season if McCarthy shows improvement and real potential for being a franchise-caliber quarterback in the final six games. But it’s hard to envision that right now with how poorly McCarthy has played, and it doesn’t help that he can’t even be trusted to stay healthy. McCarthy missed five games earlier this season due to an ankle injury and was sidelined all of his rookie year with a knee injury.
If McCarthy wasn’t a 2024 first-round pick, he likely would have been benched. McCarthy finished 12-of-19 for 87 yards and two interceptions in the loss in Green Bay. But the Vikings made a huge investment in McCarthy and are now forced to give him more playing time to see what they have in the Michigan product.
Also, the pressure needs to be on O’Connell to make life easier for his young quarterback. O’Connell can’t be given a pass for his previous success with other quarterbacks. He and GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah made the bet on McCarthy and passed on re-signing Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones. It’s on them to fix the stagnant running game and awful offensive line. Minnesota whiffed on the signings of center Ryan Kelly and guard Will Fries.
With poor surroundings, it’s tough seeing McCarthy making a late turnaround this season despite having Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison as his receivers. It’s starting to look like the Vikings will add a reliable veteran to compete with McCarthy next season.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Saquon Barkley, Not A.J. Brown, Is the One Holding the Eagles’ Offense Back.
