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NFC Hierarchy/Obituary: Week 2 edition

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11) Falcons (0-1): Watch the Falcons' mascot when a huge field goal attempt is good:

And when it's not good:

Last week: 10

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10) Seahawks (0-1): With the Seahawks clinging to a three-point lead late in the game against the 49ers, Riq Woolen had an absolutely brutal final drive. First he got beaten on a deep ball to Ricky Pearsall when he slowed up for some reason. I guess he misjudged the flight of the ball? Top of the screen:

And then on the 49ers' game-winning TD, Brock Purdy threw the ball right to Woolen, who just kind of faded back and let the ball come to him instead of going to get it. Instead, TE Jake Tonges jumped in front of him and made the catch. I mean, this is an absolutely terrible throw that should've ended with an INT and a Seahawks win. Bottom of the screen:

Also, the Seahawks had 150 passing yards on Sunday. A disproportionate number of passes when to Jaxon Smith-Njigba:

Player Targets Rec Yards TD

Jaxon Smith-Njigba 13 9 124 0

Everybody else on the team 9 7 26 0

The DK Metcalf - Tyler Lockett era is over.

Last week: 9

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9) 49ers (1-0): As noted above, the above TD throw by Purdy was very lucky, and should've led to a loss. But in fairness, on the drive leading up to that throw Purdy did make a bunch of plays without George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk.

Also, the Niners' offensive line looked really shaky. That could be a season-long problem. And man, that kicker...

The 49ers escaped with a win over what looks like a bad team, but they don't look anything remotely close to what they were a couple seasons ago.

Last week: 11

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8) Cardinals (1-0): There was a Sheldon Brown - Reggie Bush style hit in the Cardinals-Saints game, by rookie CB Will Johnson on Chris Olave.

Olave even crawled around a little, just like Bush.

Johnson also had an INT that didn't count, and a handful of PBUs. He would have been a first-round pick, possibly in the top half of Round 1, if not for concern over a knee injury. If he's healthy — and he looked like it on Sunday — he's a Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate.

Last week: 8

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7) Lions (0-1): Jared Goff was 0-7 as a starter his rookie season in 2016. The following offseason, the Rams cleaned house and hired Sean McVay.

After he was traded to the Lions in 2021, Goff lost his first eight games of the season before Dan Campbell stripped Anthony Lynn of play-calling duties. Campbell and Ben Johnson shared play-calling responsibilities the rest of the season.Including the Lions' loss to the Packers on Sunday, Goff is unofficially 0-16 in games not called by McVay or Johnson.Last week: 2

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6) Commanders (1-0): Interesting stat from @JustinPenik:

The Giants on 10 different instances had the Commanders on 2nd and 10 or longer. The Commanders averaged 15 yards per play on those plays.

That's coming from a "Giants suck" perspective, and I certainly don't disagree there. But I also think that what makes the Commanders offense dangerous is that they are built to be a great 2nd and long team. Jayden Daniels is a major threat as a runner, so the defense is almost forced to keep eyes on him, which typically means zone defense. And then if you play zone, Zach Ertz and Terry McLaurin are both very good at finding spacing within zone defense.

Last week: 7

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5) Vikings (1-0): I picked the Vikings to win the NFC North, and when J.J. McCarthy threw this awful pick-six to Nahshon Wright, my immediate thought was, "Welp, that's going to be very wrong."

I have to imagine that some of his teammates began doubting him as well. But, McCarthy didn't get down.

And then on three consecutive drives in the fourth quarter, the Vikings went TD, TD, TD, with McCarthy completing 6 of 8 passes for 87 yards, 2 TDs, and a 15-yard TD run on those drives.

My advice to Vikings fans: don't make that above saying into some corny t-shirt. Just enjoy the moment, and hope there are more.

Last week: 6

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4) Rams (1-0): With the Texans driving and trying to score a game-winning TD, Nate Landman and Braden Fiske made one of the best plays of the weekend:

Obviously, that's a great Peanut Punch, but holy crap what a recovery as well.

Last week: 5

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3) Buccaneers (1-0): The Bucs already have one of the best wide receiver duos in the NFL in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, and then they added Emeka Egbuka in the draft.

Also, that is high level quarterback play from Baker Mayfield. Notice the little pump to get S Jessie Bates to bite the cheese on the in route to Evans, and then Mayfield rips it over his head to Egbuka. Outstanding.

Last week: 3

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2) Packers (1-0): In my Week 1 picks, I said that while the trade for Micah Parsons closed the gap between the Packers and Lions, it probably didn't flip their standing within the NFC North. Oops. The Packers looked like the far better team. But also they just looked more confident. And maybe that's what the Parsons trade might signify more than the just the addition of an elite player. With Parsons on board, those players might begin to believe that they can win it all, which is especially important for a Packers team that has the youngest roster in the NFL.Last week: 4

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1) Eagles (1-0): Jalen Hurts was 19-for-23 on Thursday night. His four incompletions? Three throwaways and a Saquon Barkley drop. He threw short all night, mainly because there was nowhere to go down the field, as this video from JT O'Sullivan (@theqbschool) shows in detail:

The one throw that Hurts did uncork deep down the field was an absolute dime to Jahan Dotson. He also made impactful plays with his legs all night. Here are all of his runs, in chronological order (kneeldowns omitted):

Q1 (10:40), 1st and 10, PHI 43: J.Hurts scrambles right tackle to PHI 48 for 7 yards.

Q1 (6:01), 3rd and 4, DAL 4: J.Hurts scrambles right end for 4 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

Q2 (10:38), 2nd and 9, DAL 38: J.Hurts scrambles left end to DAL 29 for 9 yards.

Q2 (8:27), 3rd and 5, DAL 29: J.Hurts scrambles right tackle to DAL 9 for 15 yards.

Q2 (6:58), 2nd and 8, DAL 8: J.Hurts scrambles left end for 8 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

Q2 (1:04), 1st and 10, DAL 15: J.Hurts scrambles right tackle ran ob at DAL 10 for 5 yards.

Q3 (3:56), 3rd and 11, PHI 15: J.Hurts scrambles right end to PHI 23 for 8 yards.

Q4 (13:24), 3rd and 1, PHI 22: J.Hurts up the middle to PHI 23 for 1 yard. (Tush Push)

Q4 (11:05), 3rd and 1, PHI 32: J.Hurts up the middle to PHI 33 for 1 yard. (Tush Push)

Q4 (4:02), 2nd and 10, PHI 24: J.Hurts scrambles left end pushed out of bounds for 3 yards.

Q4 (1:45), 3rd and 3, DAL 45: J.Hurts scrambles up the middle to DAL 33 for 4 yards. (Blouses)

The only run above that could not be considered a successful play by Hurts was No. 7, the 8-yard scramble on 3rd and 11.

Hurts' running ability is often a footnote to the broader analysis of his play. It seemingly is never properly acknowledged for how effective it can be in winning games.

Hurts won that game Thursday night with his legs. If it were some immobile statue of a quarterback — like, even if a very good one — it's probably a loss.