Oct 24, 202111 min read

DJ's NFL Breakdown

NFL is getting HOT! Arizona is feelin' 1hunna in the desert as the lone undefeated. King Henry is on his horse singlehandedly wipin' out armies; and takin' names. Young star-studded AFC signal callers are growing rapidly; and just straight up noise from all 32 teams as we approach week 7. My NFL breakdown will catch you up on any astray deets you have been missing out on, it shows who is straight ballin', and tackles the loudest headlines before week 7's anarchy begins. *Pause*

RUN IT.

Who's Hot:

Now with week 6 in the books; we only have six teams with 1 loss or less across the NFL. The NFC is hoisting 5 of those 6. Ravens are the lone alpha in the AFC thus far, while the NFC has the Packers, Cardinals, Rams, Cowboys, and the Bucs' leading the way and setting the pace. All six teams are lit like a wick; but two teams have really put the league on notice and are straight blazin' on the gridiron:

Cardinals

Arizona is ridin' their first 6-0 start since 1974 as they are winning with and without their coach- Kliff Kingsbury. Arizona isn't blowing teams out, but they are beating quality teams and doing it on the road. Cardinals beatdown three playoff teams from last season in Cleveland, Los Angeles (Rams), and Tennessee. They spanked the Titans in their home opener. They spanked Cleveland with authority last week. Not only are they playing great on the road and scoring vastly; they are doing it consistently and balanced throughout each aspect; as they are the 6th best offense and 10th best defense. Hard to call them a fluke right now. Plus they have a man under center who is hands down the favorite or top 2 favorite to be the NFL MVP going into week 7.

Kyler Murray has been a human highlight reel as he is soarin' his birds into being a serious contender out of the NFC. The dude is just straight up filthy with the football in his possession. K1 has the third best QBR in the league while running for his life, causing foolishness from defenders, breakin' ankles and just being a savage with the rock. The playmaking and mobility has always been superb; but what he is doing throwing the football and being smart throwing it, has been the real eye opener to the league. Murray is spotting the ball incredibly and has shown a Russell Wilson type deep ball. The receivers have been great improvising and getting open for their QB. AJ Green is showing a new haven and the same work we saw in Cincy as he has been great the last few weeks. The lame people on twitter swore that Arizona is just a retirement home and that the signings of Watt & Green show no value. Hmm. Cha thought. JJ Watt has been good. Green has been good. Rondale Moore has been great... as I predicted. The young defense; mostly the linebackers in Collins and Simmons have been rock solid and are growing into real playmakers on the defensive side. Byron Murphy might just be playing as the best corner in the league right now, with top 3 being a no doubt. Murphy is straight ballin' just like all his boys. Cardinals are hot and stand alone as the only undefeated... now they just need to make sure not lose to the Texans this week. If you don't take my words in volume on the seriousness in the desert; then just ask a fired up JJ Watt about his boys and their potential:

video via @AZCardinals//twitter

Ravens

How about Lamar Jackson and those Ravens. Flyin' high just like the Cardinals. They are coming off a monumental dub over a fiery LA Chargers club. Now the Chargers, if they beat the Ravens last week, then they would be in this spot instead. The Ravens had other plans and completely kicked their a**. Despite currently having the 7th most rushing yards in the league; Jackson isn't really litin' up the stat sheets, but he has answered the call for Baltimore every time they needed him and needed him in the clutch. Ravens first three games were shaky. They drop the opener in a thriller; they escaped with a needed "monkey off the back" dub over KC; then go and barely beat a winless Lions team under what is now known as "Lions' circumstances". Despite the slow start; the Ravens have set on fire winning their 5th game in a row and three of them coming over striving teams in the AFC.

The win over Denver was dominant; then they go and beat Indy in a thriller in Primetime. Even though Goggle man was a prime reason for the Ravens win after he missed what would have been a game winner for Indy as time concluded in regulation; Lamar was superb in the clutch. Superb. Proving to be a true to form superstar. The Ravens have been much better in the 4th/clutch since the MNF loss in week 1 to Vegas. They got the job done against Indy and carried that momentum into a highly anticipated matchup with the Chargers this past week. A matchup in which the Ravens straight up DOMINATED. I was shocked by the win and the score. Lamar and the passing game struggled, but the they ran for 167 yards and the defense was flawless thumping a fiery LAC offense and Justin Herbert as they caused two turnovers to 5 in a row. A big win for the Ravens as they are now out in front in the AFC heading into another anticipated inner conference battle against a good Bengals team. Lets see if they can keep the train rollin' or if the Bengals get 'em by the wing.

Current Top 5 in Power Rankings

Better Get It Together

Kansas City collectively do not look like a team that can make it to three straight Super Bowls. To be frank; they look like the very same team we saw in the Super Bowl in February. I won't say they are completely lost and won't make the playoffs. They had without a doubt; one of the hardest schedules the first 6 weeks as they played all of the AFC's best. What does need to be said is that they need to get their sh** together. They are third in the AFC West with the Chargers and Raiders playing good ball and thriving as the weeks go, and they have Denver that can cause a buzz. I don't see the Chiefs getting another first round bye with this slow start and with the teams across the AFC that look much more sharper. Teams aren't blitzing Mahomes to the degree we saw in the past. Yet he still has his pocket collapse, causing him to run around and force the ball into trouble. KC's receivers need to get better at getting open. That o-line needs to buckle down. We can say Mahomes isn't playing superb or MVP caliber; but it's still Mahomes and he has always showed he can flip the switch in any game. The offense should not be as big of a worry as the defense is, but they do need to limit the turnovers. They have the number 2 offense; but that offense is still turning the ball over and forcing a weak defense to face more challenges.

Chiefs' defense is getting thrashed. They can't apply any pressure which is causing that thin secondary to be exposed. They will be happy to have Frank Clark back from injury to hopefully help apply SOME pressure. Chiefs should not have given up 30 points to Philadelphia. They shouldn't have to score 40 points every week in order to win. I couldn't imagine if they didn't have the Honey Badger back there. What happened to Chris Jones? They better get it together man. Or they will be watching the Chargers run away with the division and will see their playoff hopes be buried.

Biggest Losers: Lions or Jaguars?

The Jaguars just got their first win... in London of all places; to end the second longest losing streak in history. Please don't let that seem like this team is ready for a turnaround. They aren't. The Lions and Jaguars have been the two biggest losers thus far as we can't really keep putting Houston down. These teams actually had expectations. Those expectations are now completely out the window. You have the head coaches crying, yelling, and grindin' on some kitty at college bars. Oh and in Ohio of all places; just straight up nasty. I mean for the love; Jacksonville and Detroit are straight comedy at this point. I had people that actually said I was wrong about Urban Meyer(HA)! Unfortunately those same wackos said Trevor Lawrence is the truth. It's bad y'all. It's bad. As a cherry for the top; the Lions' fans get to watch Jared Goff play QB in tune while Matt Stafford soaks up the high life in LA. It's real tough so far amongst these two.

The biggest loser has to be Jacksonville though. I am not surprised one bit they won in London. Khan is going to send this team to London; just watch. The Jags' blowout lost in the opener to the Texans still is what really does it. They have kept scores close against some of the best NFL squads in the Titans, Bengals, and the undefeated Cardinals. Trevor Lawrence is also playing better than Jared Goff but the plain and simple with Lawrence is that he isn't living up to any of these expectations. He just isn't. The man mostly failing expectations is Urban Meyer. Offense is middle of the pack when compared to rest of the league but Meyer's play-call and player usage in the most important parts of the game is the main problem. That and he's out in the middle of nowhere in bloody Ohio grindin' on any blonde that isn't his wife. The guy is literally falling apart. Maybe the win in London will help Meyer somehow not be a failure but I can give a realistic hypothesis; it won't.

Ballers of Late

AFC:

Get those crown shiners out because the king is back to full form! Derrick Henry went OFF against the Seahawks as he stormed his Titans past another 30 point out-burst Seahawks squad. The Titans looked as if they were going to head to a 0-2 start until the King put his team on his back. That was just the start. Henry has been on a TEAR in the past weeks. Scoring toudys and throwin' bodies to the floor. Not sure what his hate is towards the Bills and Jags' but he seems to always want to hurt them. The King scorched both teams with three toudys each in back to back weeks to lead the Titans to victories. The dub over the Bills was a huge moment for the Titans heading into a meeting with the Chiefs.

I am not sure how it's possible; but the more you run this dude, the better he gets. Henry is on a crazy tear the past two games and the past three seasons. Henry is the first running-back to put up 100+ yards and 3 toudys in back to back games since LT did it in his 2006 MVP campaign. The King has more touchdowns than 29 NFL teams. He is straight doing it all for the Titans and now is on pace to become the first man to rush for over 2,000 yards in more then one season and would do it in back to back seasons. Henry is a straight savage and is setting a hall of fame pace as he has the most yards in a 40 game span:

Derrick Henry is feeling disrespected by not receiving any MVP votes after his 2K szn last year; now with the Titans amongst the top in the AFC, he is demanding his damn respect and showing to be a MVP candidate this season. It's not all power either; the dude shows unthinkable speed for his size. Watch him hit 21 MPH on this electric touchdown run and hail the king:

video via NFL//twitter -- All rights to the NFL

NFC:

K1 is showing us that he is going to be one of the faces of this league for years to come with his electric playmaking, stellar pass placement, and just pure athleticism as he has the Cardinals undefeated at 6-0 and looking to be a true contender for Lombardi. Murray has been unreal so far and is doing it with elite efficiency.

K1 has the second best QBR and leads the league in passing completion percentage. Two big factors in Arizona's offensive attack and undefeated record. When you think efficiency- you think of prototypes like a Brees, a Manning, a Brady etc. Now we have a guy breakin' ankles, litin' up highlight reels, and being a consistent nominee for Top 10 plays of the week. Murray has been straight up electric. We all rave about his mobility and playmaking. As we should, but it's his patience, growth in the pocket, and touch passing that needs to be raved and are bullet points under his name for being a front-runner for MVP. Here is three beautiful throws that are picked from the bottom of the jar from his MVP caliber season so far:

video via NFL//twitter -- All rights to the NFL

3 Headlines to Close

Ja'Marr Chase Proves Right

I wanted the Bengals to draft Ja'Marr Chase from the very get-go to elevate Joe Burrow. But man oh man; Chase hasn't only elevated Burrow, he is forming into a young phenom in just his first six games. Chase is killin' it so far as a rook as he ranks 4th in the NFL in receiving yards; tied for 4th in touchdowns; and is 2nd in receiving average. The stats obviously don't lie; it's what Chase is doing as a route runner and more importantly as a clutch receiver for his QB that is most impressive.

Chase and Burrow are only going to get better as a duo as the games progress, the same way they did back in college. Chase is only going to get better as a route runner, and as a player. Chase continues to make outstanding catches, rather with acrobats or pure possession receiving. The Bengals' faithful is feelin' on cloud nine as they are rockin' on top with the best in the AFC and have a young phenom in the making at receiver.

TB12 Really might play to 50

Tom Brady somehow looks better than he has ever looked. It's mind boggling. The dude is playing out of this world at 44. Brady is so pure in the pocket and now is loaded with weapons. TB12 and co. are third in the NFL in points per game and hoist the second best passing offense. Captain Brady is the man behind the reigning champs' ship; and he is the man in the stat leaderboards for NFL gunslingers like always.

The Buccaneers still need to figure things out in the secondary on defense and reducing penalties; but as long as they have the GOAT they will be fine. Brady and Byron Leftwich are proving to be quite the duo in orchestrating the dominant offense in The Bay. Lets actually pause and give love to Byron Leftwich and his greatness with the headset on.

We all thought Brady was kidding around when he said he wants to play until he is 50... I don't see much comedy in that statement; I see a potential reality. Brady just doesn't slow down. Now at 44, he looks sharper and more confident than ever before. He says he is chasing Michael... we shall see how far the GOAT can go.

Kickers Stop Blowing Games

The NFL kickers stink! No words of wisdom or support from me. In no way should they be missing this many kicks. More importantly, in no way should they be missing them at the rate that they are. Week 5 had the most missed field goals/PATS of any week in history. This season, NFL kickers are converting only 92.4 percent of their extra-point attempts from the 15-yard line, the lowest success rate since the 1979 season (91.3 percent), when extra points were attempted from the 2-yard line. We have guys losing games because they aren't doing their job. Get it together kickers! This is unacceptable!