Here’s an idea: Maybe let’s see how these games play out before we jump to conclusions.
Narratives were drastically changed in Week 11, because as it turns out, the Chiefs aren’t all the way back and the Broncos aren’t total frauds after all.
Denver (9–2) recorded a 22–19 upset over its divisional rival, putting itself in an ideal situation to win the AFC West and end Kansas City’s long reign in the division. It’s starting to get to the point where the Chiefs might miss the playoffs altogether, as they stare at a 5–5 record, two games behind a wild-card spot because the seventh-seeded Jaguars (6–4) hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over them.
Everyone was ready to fork the Jaguars after the collapse against the Texans, but they had a dominant 35–6 win over the Chargers on Sunday. And Bryce Young’s stock was dipping before he guided the Panthers to a 30–27 overtime victory over the Falcons to revive the team’s playoff hopes.
We also learned plenty about the Seahawks in their 21–19 loss against the Rams. Seattle looked like a bona fide Super Bowl contender, but its quarterback might be holding the team back from truly keeping pace in the loaded NFC.
However, there’s a lot of sudden mystery in Cleveland after rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders filled in for fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel in the second half of the 23–16 loss against the Ravens. Let’s break down why Browns coach Kevin Stefanski’s future in Cleveland may depend on a player he clearly doesn’t trust.
Sanders struggled in his regular-season debut, but the rookie fifth-round pick wasn’t exactly put in the best position to succeed. Throw in the fact that Stefanski has been reluctant to give Sanders starting snaps in practices, it’s not surprising that Sanders couldn’t pull off the upset vs. Baltimore. Sanders went 4-of-16 for 47 yards and one interception, and added three carries for 16 yards after replacing Gabriel, who left in the third quarter due to a concussion.
Regardless of Gabriel’s availability next week, it’s time for the Browns to start game planning with Sanders, and Stefanski’s job might depend on it. Gabriel has been just as bad as Joe Flacco was in this Browns’ offense, which doesn’t bode well for Stefanski, especially after Flacco went on to deliver high-level performances for the Bengals. Yes, the surroundings are much better in Cincinnati, but Cleveland should be doing more with the promising weapons it has, including rookie running back Quinshon Judkins and wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and Cedric Tillman.
If Stefanski can get the most out of Sanders in the coming weeks (the Browns face the Raiders, 49ers and Titans next), the coach can show his value and not give the organization any doubt about his job security. Cleveland will likely again search for a quarterback in the first round next year, and if Stefanski goes 0-for-3 in terms of getting production from Flacco, Gabriel and Sanders, maybe he’s not the right coach to develop a quarterback. Let’s not forget that Stefanski also didn't get much from Baker Mayfield and got disastrous results from Deshaun Watson.
The Browns (2–8) need to be 100% certain about Stefanski or run the risk of firing him a year from now to possibly stunt the growth of the incoming rookie quarterback. That’s what happened to Cam Ward, Caleb Williams and Young with head coaches fired during their respective rookie seasons.
Stefanski, however, has had success in Cleveland, evident by his two Coach of the Year awards, but that hardware isn’t enough to overlook all the losing and poor offensive performances in Cleveland the past two seasons.
There’s now enough of a sample size to know Gabriel isn’t the quarterback of the future. It’s time to see what they have in Sanders.
The Seahawks (7–3) had football pundits split into two categories heading into Sunday’s showdown against the Rams (8–2). Some believed Seattle was a top-three team in the NFL while others saw an overrated team in need of a signature victory.
I’m taking my victory lap here because I was in the latter category for most of the season. Not only were the Seahawks overrated, they also appear to be pretenders with how poorly Darnold and his offense played in Los Angeles.
Seattle’s defense, at least, is as good as advertised, allowing Darnold several opportunities to get back in the game, but he didn’t find a rhythm until the final four minutes of regulation. The Seahawks can’t be trusted as Super Bowl contenders because Darnold still has a tendency to make one or two costly mistakes on a weekly basis, even in games that go well for his team. Darnold went 29-of-44 for 279 yards and four interceptions against the Rams.
However, it wasn’t all Darnold’s fault; an inconsistent rushing attack only averaged 3.9 yards per carry on 35 attempts, Also, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and AJ Barner were the only pass catches who stepped up.
Let’s credit Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula for frustrating Darnold and not giving him easy looks downfield, as the Seahawks only averaged 6.3 yards on Darnold’s 44 pass attempts. Shula also had an impressive game plan in last season’s wild-card game, when the Rams sacked Darnold nine times when he was with the Vikings. Shula’s defense didn’t register a sack on Sunday yet still managed to cloud Darnold’s vision from the pocket. Surprisingly, neither side recorded a sack in the high-level defensive battle.
Perhaps I’m being too harsh with my analysis of Darnold, but he had a killer interception in the loss against the Buccaneers and a game-ending fumble in the setback vs. the 49ers in the season opener. Seattle is now 0–3 against playoff-contending teams in the NFC. Crushing the Saints, Commanders and Cardinals twice doesn’t really say much.
Again, coach Mike Macdonald has produced a strong defense in his second season in Seattle and the NFC West race is far from over, with these two teams playing each other for a Thursday night battle on Dec. 18. But the Seahawks were a step behind the Rams for nearly four quarters and it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Shula’s defense played better than Macdonald’s unit.
Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young took several tough hits in Sunday's overtime win over the Falcons. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images
I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who was shocked to see Young deliver 448 passing yards and three touchdowns during the come-from-behind overtime win against the Falcons.
Young set a single-game franchise record for passing yards. It was the QB play that the Panthers expected to get on a consistent basis after sending a handful of draft picks to the Bears for the right to select the Alabama product No. 1 in 2023.
It’s been a rough two-and-a-half seasons for Young, but he now has a golden opportunity to silence his critics and make himself plenty of money in the process if he’s able to guide the Panthers into the playoffs. Carolina (6–5) is only a half game behind Tampa Bay (6–4) in the NFC South standings. The two divisional foes play each other twice in the final three weeks of the regular season.
There was plenty of chatter about Young’s future in Carolina after an embarrassing home loss to the Saints last week. The Panthers have a potential QB dilemma looming because they have until May to decide whether to pick up the fifth-year option on Young’s rookie deal. To put it bluntly, Young hasn’t proven to be a franchise-caliber quarterback with how inconsistent he’s been since entering the league. But he finally flashed his high potential and showed plenty of toughness returning from an ankle injury to ignite a 14-point comeback against a divisional rival.
Young also helped himself by displaying a strong connection with first-round rookie receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who had eight catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns vs. Atlanta. The Panthers have a lot invested in Young and McMillan, just like the Falcons do with Bijan Robinson, Drake London and Michael Penix Jr. But so far Carolina’s rebuild is moving faster than the one in Atlanta, which just dropped to 3–7 and was swept by its NFC South rival.
The Panthers have been very inconsistent, but everything is still right in front of Young and the rest of this pesky squad.
Speaking of pesky and inconsistent squads, how about Jacksonville? The Jaguars picked up a crucial win over the Chargers on Sunday to drastically boost their playoff hopes.
Jacksonville took several gut punches in recent weeks, from Travis Hunter’s season-ending knee injury to the 19-point choke job against the Texans. Throw in Trevor Lawrence’s uneven performances this season, and the Jaguars had several reasons to fold at home vs. the Chargers. But somehow they dominated a playoff-contending team and delivered a statement win that could pay dividends down the stretch for playoff seeding.
With all their concerns, the Jaguars (6–4) won’t be getting much respect as a contender even with the win over L.A., but they’re likely going to remain in the playoff mix and now have head-to-head tiebreakers over the Chargers (7–4) and Chiefs (5–5), whom Jacksonville beat in Week 5.
Now the Jaguars will get ideal opportunities to improve their ongoing issues, facing the struggling Cardinals and Titans in the next two weeks before an AFC South showdown against the Colts in Week 14. Jacksonville also has a second meeting with Tennessee in Week 18 and gets the two-win Jets in Week 15.
Suddenly, the Jaguars are well positioned to make the postseason after putting aside their recent setbacks to steamroll the Chargers.
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