The one-month point of the NFL season annually makes clear how little plans matter. Attrition is inevitable. The best teams more often excel at adaptation than original concept. Injuries are threatening to derail seasons, nowhere more destructively than Baltimore. How coaches and players respond will largely define the season.
Here is what to know.
#### Saquon Barkley’s Eagles encore has been dismal
The Philadelphia Eagles built a 17-3 lead at home over the Denver Broncos, which would have all but guaranteed victory last season. Their running game pulverized defenses and shortened games. Even when opponents knew what was coming, Saquon Barkley running behind Philadelphia’s offensive line was unstoppable.
The consternation surrounding the Eagles’ offense centered around their passing game. Sunday showed their running game warrants at least much concern. One year removed from a 2,000-yard season, Barkley has vanished as a threat on the ground. The disappearance of Philadelphia’s running game was the primary culprit of their stunning 21-17 loss to the Broncos, snapping a streak of 18 victories in games quarterback Jalen Hurts started and finished.
Denver coordinator Vance Joseph’s defense clearly tilted his calls toward stopping the run. The Eagles built last year’s dominance on running whenever they wanted. They barely even tried Sunday. Despite playing most of the game with the lead, the Eagles attempted only 11 runs, six of them for 30 yards by Barkley. The loss of guard Landon Dickerson hurt, but it’s been an issue all year.
Barkley was not a lost cause – he caught a 47-yard touchdown pass on a wheel route. But his running performance is a concern. He’s rushed for 267 yards in five games. Barkley entered Week 5 gaining 3.1 yards per carry, which ranked tied for 41st in the NFL. He might have been the best skill-position player in the NFL last year. The Eagles need to unearth that version of Barkley.
#### Kevin O’Connell has a tricky QB decision
After years in relative exile, Carson Wentz has briefly resurfaced as a key figure of the NFL season. Wentz led the Minnesota Vikings to their second victory in three starts in relief of injured first-year starter J.J. McCarthy, authoring a last-minute touchdown drive behind a makeshift offensive line to beat the Cleveland Browns, 21-17, in London.
Coach Kevin O’Connell faces a delicate situation. Undeniably, Wentz played better in his three starts than McCarthy played in his two. McCarthy, whom the Vikings drafted in the first round last year, is the future of the franchise. He should be able to return from a high-ankle sprain after Minnesota’s Week 6 bye. Wentz, capable of both impressive throws and game-destroying mistakes, may not offer a higher ceiling than McCarthy this season. But he’s been the better quarterback, and every player on the Vikings’ offense must know it.
Does O’Connell stick to the organizational plan and return to McCarthy, who seemed overwhelmed for two weeks? Can he trust Wentz? Wentz’s problem has always been decision-making. His still has high-end physical ability, as he flashed on the game-winning touchdown pass to Jordan Addison between two defenders. O’Connell has shown mastery at rehabbing quarterbacks with raw talent and shaky judgment. Wentz may be viable. It’s unclear if McCarthy will be, at least this year.
Coming out of their bye, the Vikings host the Eagles, then play at the Los Angeles Chargers and Detroit Lions. Three games against quality opponents, including the current division leader, could define their season. And those games will be defined by how O’Connell manages his quarterbacks.
#### It got even worse in Baltimore
Flooded with injuries, the Baltimore Ravens ruled out their MVP-level quarterback, left tackle and three best defensive players. It was going to be bad. It didn’t have to be that bad.
There’s no shame in losing with Cooper Rush playing in place of Lamar Jackson without Ronnie Stanley at left tackle, and with defensive stars Roquan Smith, Kyle Hamilton and Nnamdi Madubuike on the bench. But the Ravens lost to the Houston Texans in a fashion that hinted at deeper issues for a team that entered the season as a Super Bowl favorite.
The Texans entered as the fourth-lowest scoring offense in the NFL. They scored 31 points in the game’s first 34 minutes, never punted and destroyed the Ravens, 44-10, in Baltimore. The Texans scored on their first eight possessions. The Ravens dropped to 1-4 and will face the Los Angeles Rams – who have an extra three days of rest – next week with many of their injured stars still out. They are staring at 1-5 entering the bye.
“Just a complete disappointment,” Coach John Harbaugh said. “We’re going to have to find ourselves.”
The Ravens have the worst defense in the NFL and an identity crisis. After Texans rookie wide receiver Jaylin Noel scored a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, he mimicked Ray Lewis’s signature stomp. Cornerback Jaire Alexander, who is new to the Ravens, attempted to wrestle the ball away from him. In another context, it may have been a prideful deed. With the Ravens getting mauled, it came off as embarrassing.
#### Darren Waller is … back?
The days of Darren Waller as an NFL entity seemingly ended 16 months ago. He announced his retirement in June 2024 after a quiet season with the New York Giants in which he gained 522 receiving yards and caught one touchdown. Waller became a star in the middle of his career after overcoming addiction, but injuries and age had ushered him out of the league.
When the Giants traded Waller’s rights to the Miami Dolphins in July and he came out of retirement, the transaction barely made a ripple. Waller spent most of preseason on the physically unable to perform list. The Dolphins activated him only last Monday night. For two weeks, Waller has resurfaced.
Last Monday night, Waller caught two touchdown passes in just 14 snaps. On Sunday, given a larger role as the Dolphins continue to ramp him up, Waller made five catches for 78 yards and a touchdown.
Beating the New York Jets and losing to the Carolina Panthers doesn’t make the Dolphins a team to be reckoned with. The Dolphins fell to 1-4, and Mike McDaniel’s job status fell back into uncertainty. But Waller’s breakout may be more than a fluke.
#### Tom Brady may not know what he’s doing
As Tom Brady took a more active role as part-owner, the Las Vegas Raiders made three pivotal decisions this offseason. They hired Pete Carroll, acquired and extended quarterback Geno Smith and drafted running back Ashton Jeanty. They were long-term choices, and it’s only been five weeks. But all three appear to be backfiring.
The Raiders have lost four straight after their season-opening victory in New England. They were not competitive in a 40-6 loss at the irrepressible Indianapolis Colts. They have performed more like one of the worst teams in the league than a playoff aspirant.
Given their offensive line issues, the decision to draft Jeanty sixth overall may haunt the Raiders. Jeanty has shown he will be a solid, above-average running back. To justify taking a running back sixth overall, he needs to be a spectacular, offense-carrying force. He’s not that, and it’s not clear he can be.
Smith should have at least raised the Raiders’ floor, but he has been an impediment. He leads the NFL with nine interceptions. Given that he is 34 years old, he’s more likely to decline than improve. The Raiders can get out of Smith’s contract after next season, when he will count $26.5 million against the cap. It won’t be a disaster even if Smith’s performance remains static. But it’s not moving the Raiders forward.
Carroll’s teams tend to improve over the course of the season. But what positive impact has he made? His background is in defense, and the Raiders’ defense has been below average. His last two defenses in Seattle, before he took last season off, both ranked 25th in points allowed. It’s fair asking if, at 74, the league has passed Carroll by.
Brady’s Raiders hired a coach he faced in the Super Bowl, a running back who could theoretically prop up a passing game and a pocket-bound veteran quarterback. Hmmm. If Brady influenced those decisions, he did so in a seemingly myopic way that has not improved Las Vegas’s trajectory.