NFL's midseason surprises: From NFC East to Aaron Rodgers to Super Bowl hangovers
In life, a surprise can be good or bad.
Same goes for the NFL. And isn't that ironic for a league that emphasizes the control of any variable known to humankind?
Each week, something happens in the NFL that makes us question whether we knew anything about the league at all. That’s the beauty of following the sport, though.
The nuclear nature of professional football makes it easy to be surprised in the moment. But what about the “sustained surprise”?
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TAKEAWAYS: 32 things we learned – one per team – from first half of 2022 NFL season
As we enter Week 9, the midpoint of the season provides a checkpoint for those first-half surprises – the good, bad and ugly.
NFC East
When it came to painting an entire division with a broad brush, the NFC East was everybody’s favorite punching bag for close to a decade. No longer. After the Eagles' win to start Week 9, the NFC East is a combined 24-8. A win from the last-place team, the Washington Commanders, on Sunday against the 6-1 Minnesota Vikings would make every team in the division above .500. Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones, along with an opportunistic defense, have the 6-2 New York Giants off to their best start since 2012 (when they finished 9-7).
The Dallas Cowboys have arguably the league’s best defense – and most talented player in Micah Parsons – and survived a Dak Prescott-less start to the season and are 6-2. They’d be in first place in most other divisions if not for the Philadelphia Eagles, who remain undefeated at 8-0.. No team controls the trenches – on both sides of the ball – like the Eagles, and quarterback Jalen Hurts has played himself into the MVP conversation.
New York Jets
Following a Week 1 loss, head coach Robert Saleh said he would keep receipts from those who doubted his team. The 5-3 Jets backed up their coach by winning games they were supposed to, and that in and of itself is a change from past Gang Green regimes. Last week against the New England Patriots was uninspiring for second-year quarterback Zach Wilson, but the young talent brought in by general manager Joe Douglas – an ex-Eagles front-office member – is admirable.
Atlanta Falcons
An offense led by quarterback Marcus Mariota and missing Cordarrelle Patterson – who could return as soon as this weekend against the Chargers – has an expected points added (EPA) per drive that ranks sixth in the NFL.
What?
Even better, the Falcons have a 4-4 record that is currently good enough for first place in the NFC South. Prior to the season, the Falcons were a prime “tanking” target. They still need a quarterback for their long-term plans, but first place at the midway point is a reason to be excited about the Falcons – especially since this was unexpected.
Trade deadline
The NFL is king of the North American sports universe, but the trade deadline has usually been boring. No big names moved. Not even that many trades were made.
A variety of factors were at play, but you can’t help but wonder if the NFL looked at other leagues that have deadline drama – like MLB and the NBA – and said “gimme some of that.”
The 10 deadline day deals from Tuesday set a new record. Stars that moved teams included running back Christian McCaffrey (Panthers to 49ers) and Bradley Chubb (Broncos to Dolphins).
Seattle Seahawks
Coach Pete Carroll has a system in place to win games. Whatever under-the-surface power struggle existed between he and Russell Wilson now no longer his problem, he’s back to putting his team in playoff position after missing out last season.
That doesn’t give enough credit to quarterback Geno Smith, who has an NFC-leading 107.2 passer rating and is the Comeback Player of the Year favorite thus far. The Seahawks will have a difficult time fending off the Niners for the NFC West crown but can be in the playoff conversation down the stretch.
Packers, Aaron Rodgers
The lack of talent on the offensive side of the ball was glaring heading into the season. But surely, everybody thought, Aaron Rodgers could make up for that.
Clearly, it didn’t pan out that way. Rodgers resorted to throwing teammates under the bus and his own performance has been lackluster with 13 touchdowns against four interceptions and 1,800 yards passing, which is 12th in the NFL. Green Bay has lost four games in a row and should miss out on the postseason for the first time under coach Matt LaFleur.
Buccaneers, Tom Brady
Similarly to the Packers and Rodgers, the assumption – naïve, we now realize – was that Brady and the Buccaneers would figure it out, even after ex-coach Bruce Arians stepped away in March and former defensive coordinator Todd Bowles was promoted to coach.
But the Bucs are 3-5 and Brady has thrown nine touchdowns, a far cry from his league-leading 43 last season.
Brady’s personal life has been in the headlines since August, when he left training camp for 11 days, and last week, he and ex-wife Gisele Bündchen announced their divorce .
Now they host the equally disappointing Los Angeles Rams on Sunday in what was supposed to be a playoff preview. Now it’s to determine which team’s season is really over.
Super Bowl hangovers
The aforementioned 3-4 Rams are third-worst team in the NFL in turnover differential (-5). Matthew Stafford has thrown eight interceptions (and seven touchdowns) as part of an offense that ranks 28th in points and 30th in yards. The good news for the Rams and coach Sean McVay is that they don’t have to face the 49ers, whom they lost to twice, again this season. A road win Sunday, though, would offer some stability.
Things aren’t much cheerier on the other side of the Super Bowl 56 matchup with the 4-4 Cincinnati Bengals. Fresh off a Monday night beatdown at the hands of in-state rival Cleveland, the Bengals have demonstrated inconsistencies on both sides of the ball all season.
Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NFL's midseason surprises: From Aaron Rodgers to Tom Brady to Falcons
