Marcus Mariota rises while Aaron Rodgers falls
A quick preview as Week 11 rolls on in the NFL…
Who’s hot
Marcus Mariota. It has been a nice progression in Year 2 for the Titans quarterback, now triggering one of the hottest offenses in the NFL and heading to Indianapolis with a chance for Tennessee (5-5) to go over .500 at this point in the season for the first time in five years. Since Week 5, with the Titans winning four of six games during that span, Mariota has thrown an NFL-high 17 touchdown passes against just three picks. It helps to have the running game led by DeMarco Murray, who is second in the NFL with 930 yards. Yet Mariota, dangerous with his feet, too, has made a mark for cashing in opportunities. Now comes another opportunity to finally beat Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts, who have won 10 in a row against Tennessee.
Pressure’s on
Aaron Rodgers. With the Green Bay Packers carrying a three-game losing streak into Washington, the franchise quarterback can’t urge the Cheeseheads to merely “R-E-L-A-X” as he did during early-season struggles in 2015. Instead, he’s defending Mike McCarthy, maintaining that criticism of the Green Bay coach is “ridiculous” – even though it was Rodgers himself who raised eyebrows recently when he said the energy level wasn’t where it needed to be. This is what happens when you’re losing, even for a former NFL MVP, whose offense – lacking a running game – is a shell of previous versions. Rodgers sparked the Packers to a comeback victory during his last visit to FedEx Field, just 10 months ago in the opening round of the NFC playoffs. He could use another type of comeback now.
Key matchup
Patrick Peterson vs. Stefon Diggs. The “shutdown cornerback” hardly exists in the NFL anymore, but there are still some studs. The supremely athletic Peterson is one of them, and arguably the best. Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians didn’t hesitate this week to telegraph that they would assign him to cover the Minnesota Vikings’ big-play receiver. It’s possible that Arians, who has fudged in the past when declaring strategical intentions, was merely being coy. But because it’s Peterson, there’s merit to the idea. In any event, it could be the difference in a must-win game at Minnesota pitting two teams whose seemingly Super Bowl aspirations have been derailed by extreme disappointment. The woes of the Vikings offense – including the season-wipeout injuries to Adrian Peterson and Teddy Bridgewater, then coordinator Norv Turner’s resignation – haven’t stopped Diggs (tied for fourth in the NFL with 61 receptions) from being a force. He caught 13 passes in each of the past two games, which is why the idea of a matchup against Peterson – who sometimes gets bored by the lack of passes in his direction – is such a compelling matchup.
Rookie watch
Jared Goff. The wait is over. Los Angeles Rams coach Jeff Fisher reversed field – declaring as recently as Monday that Case Keenum would continue to start at quarterback – and decided to finally start the No. 1 pick overall in Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins. Fisher – who sat Steve McNair for his entire rookie year, then coached Vince Young to NFL Rookie of the Year plaudits – maintained for weeks that the Cal product wasn’t ready. Apparently, Goff made enough strides behind the scenes to warrant the big switch that fans at the Coliseum have been chanting for. Why now? One theory is that the Rams wanted a pop this week as they also broke ground on their new stadium in Inglewood. The stadium won’t be completed until 2019. How long it takes for Goff to become the face of the franchise remains to be seen. He is taking over a unit ranks next-to-last in the NFL and is facing a hot Miami team that brings a robust D-line led by Ndamukong Suh and Cameron Wake. Goff could find himself under all sorts of duress. Poise will be a virtue.
Next man up
Percy Harvin. The sometimes-dynamic, injury-prone receiver is back after scrapping his most recent sabbatical a couple of weeks ago to re-sign with the Buffalo Bills, who need the boost for a receiver corps thinned by injuries. After playing about a quarter of the snaps (21) off the bench at Seattle in Week 9, the next step looms Sunday with Harvin expected to crack the starting lineup at Cincinnati. When healthy, Harvin is a big play waiting to happen. But it’s too bad that his career has been defined by the string of physical challenges – including hip, ankle and shoulder injuries – that have short-circuited his immense talent and caused him to walk away on multiple occasions. In nine NFL seasons, Harvin has played 16 games just once. The previous four seasons, he played just 19 of 64 regular-season games. Here’s to hoping that he can stay healthy for a good stretch.
Stomach for an upset
Ravens at Cowboys. The last time the Baltimore Ravens visited Dallas, they wound up raining on the sentimental parade that was the Cowboys’ final game at Texas Stadium in 2008. This time, they have the opportunity to be halt the NFL’s longest winning streak at eight games. It’s possible. The Ravens will bring the NFL’s No. 1-ranked defense, which despite the intense persona of former NFL Defensive Player of the Year Terrell Suggs, has flown way under the radar. Baltimore is also No. 1 vs. the run, allowing 71.3 yards per game and 3.3 yards per rush as it faces NFL rushing leader Ezekiel Elliott (1,005 yards, 5.1 per rush). Squashing the high-profile Cowboys stars would force people take notice. So far, the Cowboys have passed every test since a Week 1 loss. Rookie quarterback Dak Prescott has already gotten the best of two quarterbacks – Ben Roethlisberger and Aaron Rodgers – with Super Bowl titles on their resume. Now comes another in Joe Flacco.
If the playoffs were today…
Three teams from the NFC East would be in. The NFC Least no more, it’s the only division where every team has a winning record. What a stark contrast to last year, when Washington claimed the division at 9-7 and the 4-12 Cowboys had the worst record in the NFC. Now Dallas is in worst-to-first mode with the NFL’s best record (8-1) and barring a Cowboys collapse the other three teams are the front-runners for the wild-card slots. At the moment, the Philadelphia Eagles (5-4) are the odd team out, but they are just a half-game behind Washington (5-3-1) for the sixth seed and one game behind the New York Giants (6-3). And when they get out of the division, the NFC East teams are a combined 18-5-1.
Did you notice?
Derek Carr will lead the Oakland Raiders against the Houston Texans in Mexico City on Monday night. But it was not long ago that another Carr — David — was at the helm for the Texans. Derek's brother did not fare as well, and one of the biggest differences between the brothers' careers to this point may be the protection they each received. Oakland has allowed an NFL-low 11 sacks. As a rookie in 2002, David endured an NFL-record 76 sacks — more than Derek has taken in his entire NFL career (66), now in its third season. In five years in Houston, David was sacked 249 times. Sometimes, the younger sibling gets the breaks.
Stat’s the fact
Joe Thomas, Cleveland’s iron man left tackle, still hasn’t missed a game, a start, a Pro Bowl selection or even an offensive snap since drafted third overall in 2007. He heads into Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh with an NFL-longest streak of 9,550 consecutive offensive plays. With the Browns (0-10) languishing as the NFL’s only winless team, Thomas in the midst of a less-filling streak: a ninth consecutive losing season. Cleveland’s last winning season (10-6) came in Thomas’ rookie year. Since 2008, when the current streak of losing seasons began, the Browns are 37-101.