NFL trend watch: Baker Mayfield swashbuckles as Mayo’s Pats stumble

Upward trend

baker mayfield

The MVP race is heating up with Jared Goff and Jordan Love entering the scene as Lamar Jackson continues his run for a third award after throwing five touchdowns came against the Buccaneers Monday night football. Tampa Bay’s quarterback may not have been at Jackson’s stratospheric level on Monday, although Baker Mayfield turned in another big outing that included 370 yards through the air along with two early interceptions and three successive touchdown drives late in the game. game. Mayfield was at his gruesome best as he demonstrated his credentials as Tampa’s leader, overcoming adversity of his own making as well as the losing receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin get injured during the game.

The 29-year-old was richly rewarded for a career year in 2023 with a $100 million contract extension this offseason, and he’s holding up his end of the deal with a follow-up that’s even better. Mayfield leads the NFL in touchdown passes with 18, while ranking third in completion rate at 70.5% (six percentage points higher than last season). Efficiency and accuracy issues have improved since his time in Cleveland: he finished 21st^street in success and completion rate in the first year with the Bucs after turning 28 years old.^th on what’s at stake with the Browns in 2020. That Mayfield is so high on the charts now represents a hugely promising rebound.

Related: The Browns’ sad, sordid Deshaun Watson era nears its predictable endpoint

The road to get here has been difficult, being dumped by the Browns of all teams would trigger imposter syndrome in the most armored minds, but Mayfield has continued to fight. It will be fascinating to see how this outlier underdog continues to struggle without Evans and Godwin in the fray.

Rookie defenders

It’s easy to forget about defensive talents starting their life in the NFL, such is the weight of expectations on quarterbacks and receivers selected in the first round.

Seattle took Byron Murphy II with the 16th^th overall pick this year, and has quietly exceeded expectations whenever he’s been on the field. With the defensive tackle healthy, they have gone 4-0 and lost the three games Murphy missed with a hamstring injury. Seattle’s run stops are where he’s had the biggest effect: they’ve allowed 126 yards per game – helping limit the opposition to just 14.3 points per game – with him and 172 yards/34.7 points per game without him. He’s been a steady hand, making some flashy plays while diverting his teammates’ attention so they can get to work. Seattle defensive end Dre’Mont Jones was free to torment Kirk Cousins ​​with four quarterback hits, a sack and a pass deflection on Sunday while Atlanta was stuck in the mud battling Murphy.

At Seattle’s NFC West rivals, this year’s 19^th Overall pick Jared Verse is making a name for himself with the Rams. The edge rusher is generating pressure with a 27% success rate, the fourth-highest in the NFL. The Raiders certainly felt Verse’s presence as two of their quarterback attacks created vital turnovers. The problem is that so far he only has one catch. If Los Angeles can target their missile, they could have an elite playmaker.

Downward trend

New York Giants

“I really don’t understand the Giants thing. (Barkley) was their best player,” Bill Belichick said on the Pat McAfee show. “For a couple million dollars more they could have kept him. Instead, they put a guard or someone, I don’t know. The offensive line doesn’t look very good.” The former Giants defensive coordinator didn’t hold back in his assessment of the poor decision-making that led to a rout of former hero Saquon Barkley and the Eagles en route to a 2-5 start.

However, it was inevitable that Barkley would remind the Giants of his value, as Belichick noted that the team’s biggest problem is how exposed quarterback Daniel Jones has been behind a poor offensive line torn apart by the loss of left tackle. Andrew Thomas for the season.

Thomas’ replacement, Joshua Ezeudu, a guard, allowed two sacks and three pressures, while former seventh overall pick and, more importantly, tackle Evan Neal watched the horror show unfold from the sideline. Neal will most likely face the Pittsburgh Steelers to see how effective he can be, but the omens are not good for whoever plays quarterback if a first-rounder is not considered ready to step in immediately when his stone is injured. .

Maybe Neal’s stock is still down after allowing Jones to be sacked 11 times in a single game last season. It would certainly help explain why the G-men are kicking the tires of veteran free agent DJ Humphries in an attempt to smooth things over.

Jerod Mayo

There was no expectation that New England’s head coach would instantly turn the team around in his first season with the Patriots, not with a roster that earned a top-three pick in this year’s draft. But the signs are grim that anything is likely to improve, even if rookie quarterback Drake Maye has played fairly well in his two starts. The Patriots have lost six in a row with an offense that produces 14.1 points per game and a defense that allowed the Jaguars (2-5) to score 22 points in a single quarter.

Worse, Mayo called his team soft after the win in London while preaching throughout his career that his style is “demanding without degrading.” He’s right that the team has been failing in games (over the last five outings, New England has allowed 167.4 yards per game on the ground), although surely a better option for Mayo would have been to adjust its training practices privately. Your players may agree that they haven’t been good enough. They might also be a little confused and upset heading into a winnable game against the New York Jets. Performance against their rivals can say a lot about how Mayo’s players feel about their head coach.