Five Wide: 2022 Week Twelve

By Thomas Willoughby

It’s a weird time for the NFL, and sport in general. This winter world cup really has thrown the cat among the pigeons, and finding time to watch like 18 hours of uninterrupted sport at the weekend sounds like a dream, but it’s a nightmare, in reality.

I don’t like it! And now I’ve got the prospect of choosing between the Three Lions and the Failing Falcons this weekend? How will I possibly choose!

Anyway, back to the good stuff. Five more things that happened this weekend, and then it’s onto the week ahead!

The Mike White Stripes

The 2021 draft was perceived to be the most stacked for quarterbacks in a good few years. Trevor Lawrence was touted as the surest thing since Andrew Luck, Justin Fields had an excellent college career with Ohio State that helped him live up to his early pre-Georgia (Netflix-funded) hype, and there were a couple of intriguing prospects with the physical caused the San Francisco 49ers to sell the farm for a shot at one of them. Of course, they landed Trey Lance, whose season ended early in week 2. The other, Zach Wilson, was taken 2nd overall by the New York Jets. He’s currently staring down the barrel of his career in New York.

As mentioned last week, Wilson’s post-match comments had his own team wondering about whether he should carry on as their starter. Robert Saleh made the call to bench Wilson, with the caveat that his career with them wasn’t over. Personally, I read this as a minor punishment. A week on the naughty step, the world gets to see how inept the Jets offense is, and Wilson is reinstated so his development can continue. The problem is that the Jets won. The problem is that his replacement looked pretty good.

22/28, 3 TDs, 0 INTs, 315 passing yards and a win. Former 5th rounder, Mike White, looked every bit capable of leading this Jets outfit competently and efficiently. Yes it was only the Bears, without the aforementioned Justin Fields, but that’s still impressive. The Jets reacted to White, in a way they haven’t with Wilson. So the question now becomes, what so you do with him?

The Jets, incredibly, are in a playoff race. No, I don’t think any of the 3 QBs on their books give them an excellent chance in January, but I do think both White and Flacco can galvanize the team in a way Wilson cannot. His comments did more than hurt him publicly; they lost him support privately. I think the Jets turn to Wilson again at some point this season, but only if the year starts to get away from them. Until then, they’ll ride the hot hand. And I suspect, privately, the Jets front office is discussing whether or not Wilson should be included in the New Year sales. Don’t be shocked to see him suit up elsewhere in 2023.

F Them Wins

Back in week 5, we called the NFC West the division of broken promises. I think that descriptor is pretty apt, given how the Rams’ and Cardinals’ seasons have gone. I’m saving the Cardinals for a later week, which will become apparent when we return them. But the Rams? Good gravy what’s going on there?

Yes, they have injury issues. Stafford is out, possibly until the end of the season, and Aaron Donald might well see his season shut down. That doesn’t excuse where they’re at right now. 3-8 has them all but done in 2022, and this season certainly has the feeling of a lost one.

What I want to know is; what next? A regime defined by “F them picks” means they currently have a top 3 draft pick…that Detroit currently own. How can you possibly set about rebuilding a roster that’s clearly in need of refreshment without the tools to do the job? This season feels like a write off for Les Snead and company, but this offseason might well be tier biggest yet. Good luck.

Choose Love

Jordan Love was a high ceiling, low floor prospect heading into the 2020 draft, and the Packers thought they were being smart rolling the dice on a player they thought could be their next starting quarterback. Since then, he’s started exactly one game, and hasn’t looked the part, while Aaron Rodgers has thrived. On Sunday night, however, Rodgers picked up a knock that would see him fail to return to the game. The reigns were handed to Love, who could have hardly asked for a better showing against the side with the league’s best record. Did we just see the future?

Small sample size, yes, but 6/9, 113 passing yards and a touchdown against these Eagles is a pretty good effort from Love. Unlike his solitary start last season, it looked like the Packers actually had an idea how to use him. He looked comfortable, composed, and injected something into the team, enough to bring it close.

At 4-8, the Packers season is all but done. Rodgers has been playing with a broken thumb since London, which might explain his play, but the Packers must have one eye on the future right now. I’d look at giving Love a run as the starter, if for no other reason than to see what he can do with an extended stint in that role. But you must wonder; how much are they second-guessing that contract extension right now?

The Quarterback Carousel of Carolina

The Carolina Panthers have been through 3 quarterbacks this season. That feels like a record. Each has shown a flash or two to suggest they’re capable of leading this team for the rest of the season, and potentially next and beyond. Each has shown plenty of reasons why they should not be that. This weekend, the Panthers started the third of those three players. Sam Darnold, who started 2021 as the Panthers QB1, got his chance to show what he can do. The Panthers won a game, too.

Darnold didn’t do anything spectacular. His stat line wasn’t overly impressive, and he didn’t even do anything particularly well. He just came up against a really really bad Broncos outfit incapable of achieving the basics. But he won. That’s the most important stat of all. Would Either PJ Walker or Baker Mayfield have won on Sunday? I’m hard-pressed to argue that they would have.

Darnold will start the next 2 games, and the Panthers will lose both. I haven’t even checked their schedule, lock it in (listen to the Touchdown Review Show to hear me lock those in), and the cycle will begin a new. One of Mayfield or Walker will get another shot, and win in 3 weeks time. So how do the Panthers solve their QB woes in 2023 without a top 3 draft pick? It’s simple: sign 18 different mid-level QBs, and play a new one every single week. It’s fool-proof.

Playoff Dirge

Come to terms with it right now. THere will be a team with a losing record hosting a playoff game this post-season. The NFC South is a joke. An aberration. Yes, I know I talked about it a little while ago, but it bears repeating; this division is absolutely dead right now, and it’s not coming back to life.

At 4-8 you have the New Orleans Saints and the Carolina Panthers. I won’t repeat myself on the Panthers (just scroll up), but the Saints. Woof. They held the mercurial 49ers to only 13 points on Sunday, and responded with 0 of their own. They pushed the chips on 2022 over the offseason, and they’ve lost big time. Good work.

Then to the Falcons, who came away from their “easy” stretch of the season with a 2-3 record, and throwing away winning opportunities for fun, They host the Steelers this weekend, before a bye. Atop the tree are the Buccaneers, who seemed to have turned a corner after a weekend in Munich, but are slipping about all over the place again.

I have the Bucs winning the division by virtue of not believing any of their division mates being capable of winning more games then they. But this was not the team Brady un-retired for, and I would bet anything he’ll run his retirement papers to the reception desk the moment their season ends. Horrid division.

Features Image Credit: Rusty Jones-AP Photo

THOMAS IS A WRITER, AND REGULAR GUEST ON THE TOUCHDOWN REVIEW SHOW PODCAST, FOR THE TOUCHDOWN. YOU CAN FIND HIM @WILLO290592 ON TWITTER

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