We are basically a quarter of the way through the 2024 NFL regular season. While some players have far exceeded expectations — Washington Commanders rookie Jayden Daniels among them — others have left something to be desired. Marc Ross identifies nine individuals looking to bounce back after an underwhelming first month.
After tearing his Achilles four snaps into the 2023 campaign, Rodgers entered this season as a question mark. Personally, I was skeptical of a 40-year-old fresh off a major injury being able to regularly produce at a high level. Turns out my concerns were valid, at least in the early goings. Rodgers has enjoyed one great outing … and three underwhelming efforts. Outside of the Week 3 performance that saw a vintage Rodgers complete 77.1 percent of his pass attempts for 281 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a romp over New England, the four-time MVP has completed fewer than 62 percent of his passes in each of the other three games, with his worst output coming this past Sunday in a bad 10-9 loss to the Broncos at MetLife Stadium.
The offense — which ranks 22nd in total yards, 21st in scoring and 18th in passing — is a highly disjointed operation. Several aspects have led to New York’s poor play on that side of the ball. Rodgers attributed the latest loss to “too many mental mistakes, too many poor throws, and then we just missed some easy stuff, some protection stuff that should’ve been easy, some route-adjustment stuff that should’ve been easy.” This is all true, and these issues have jumped off the screen for most of the season. That’s why it’s been a struggle for this offense to find an identity early. The run game is all over the place, with Breece Hall and Braelon Allen running through opponents in style … or completely disappearing (Hall had 10 carries for 4 yards against Denver).
Rodgers wants things run a certain way — that much is clear — and his difference of opinion from head coach Robert Saleh appears to be an emerging issue. The veteran quarterback has to figure out a way to help get everyone on the same page schematically. Rodgers’ rocky start and undisciplined aspects of this offense are what’s holding this 2-2 team back. The Jets are going to go as far as Rodgers takes them, and right now, they’re kind of stuck in the mud.
Lawrence looks nothing like the quarterback who took the Jaguars to the Divisional Round two seasons ago. Sure, he still makes some spectacular throws, but he’s missing open targets too often, as evidenced by his 53.3 completion percentage this year. He’s averaging fewer than 190 passing yards per game and has thrown just four total touchdown tosses over Jacksonville’s four losses.
Doug Pederson was asked about the play-calling after the Jags’ latest defeat, and the head man seemingly threw his players under the bus: “As coaches, we can’t go out there and make the plays, right?” It felt as if he were talking directly to Lawrence, who signed a five-year, $275 million extension in June and has now lost nine consecutive starts going back to last season. I can’t say for certain where the disconnect lies, whether it’s between Lawrence and offensive coordinator Press Taylor and Pederson, or Lawrence and the other 10 players on the field. Ranking 29th in scoring and 25th in total yards just doesn’t cut it for an offense that isn’t getting much help from the defense.
Looking to the run game — by far the best part of the offense (ranking 13th in the NFL) — could help jump-start this inconsistent unit, taking pressure off Lawrence a bit. At this point, the staff must do something different.
OK, admittedly, this case is different than the others on this list, seeing how the rookie has barely seen the field. The question is, when does New England break the glass on Maye?
The Patriots are sitting at 1-3 with the worst offense in total yards (238.8 per game) and passing yards (112.3). Should New England continue to field a stale offensive unit with veteran Jacoby Brissett under center, or is it worth rolling out the would-be franchise savior behind horrendous O-line play? It’s a tough call because you don’t want to immediately curb the 22-year-old’s confidence, but the current version of the Pats can’t sustain drives or keep this team competitive. This is a talent-poor offense to begin with, and Brissett’s limitations further emphasize that.
Maye’s time is coming — or should be. The QB went No. 3 overall for a reason, and it’s likely he would provide some sort of spark with his physical gifts. It might not be pretty at the start, but Maye is more than capable of stretching the field with his arm and evading pressure with his mobility.
The Williams-Odunze connection took a step forward in the Week 3 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, hooking up on six of 11 targets for 112 yards and a touchdown. Last week, though, the rookie duo produced just one completion on three targets. Honestly, outside of that performance in Indy, this pairing has been awfully quiet, with Odunze contributing just four catches for 54 yards in his other three games combined.
A lot of this falls on the rookie quarterback, of course, as Williams has struggled to deliver the ball on time and with accuracy behind a shoddy offensive line. Caleb has shouldered the load in the early part of the season, and it’s hurt the Bears offensively. Getting consistent help from the run game and better pass protection would certainly boost the rookie quarterback’s confidence, and in turn, he’d be able to stay in rhythm and deliver more opportunities to his talented pass catchers.
The second-round receiver has been a ghost through the first quarter of the season. In addition to managing just two catches in four games, Mitchell’s snap count has decreased — from playing 64 percent of the offensive plays in Week 1 to 59 percent in Week 2 then 13 percent in Week 3. His snap count increased slightly to 20 percent in the win over Pittsburgh. When he’s on the field, Mitchell has seen just 13 targets, with most of Anthony Richardson‘s throws missing the mark when the rookie has been open. Joe Flacco also missed Mitchell on three targets in Sunday’s game, with the two clearly not on the same page in one failed connection.
Mitchell’s best bet at the moment is to have Flacco under center because he can deliver a more accurate ball. Richardson’s inaccuracy and inexperience have sunk the Colts several times already this season. Known for his speed and explosiveness, Mitchell was used for the first time in the run game in Week 4 for a 10-yard pickup — that’s something I’d like to see Indy utilize more often, especially with Jonathan Taylor dealing with a high-ankle sprain.
It was jarring to see Kelce be such a non-factor in the first three weeks of the season, as he recorded eight receptions on 12 targets for 69 yards. The future Hall of Fame tight end became more involved in Sunday’s win over the Chargers with seven catches for 89 yards. According to Next Gen Stats, Kelce was targeted on nine of his 31 routes (29 percent), his first time earning a target rate over 16 percent this year. We know how great Kelce is — and still can be in Year 12 — so it was nice to see him and Patrick Mahomes connecting regularly again.
Now with No. 1 receiver Rashee Rice likely out for the season, Kelce must become a bigger factor. That won’t be easy with the perennial Pro Bowler getting double- and triple-teamed, but if anyone can scheme Kelce open, it’s Andy Reid.
Pitts is the biggest mystery in all of football. Coming into the NFL, he was the most talented tight end I had scouted. But he has continually been a non-factor despite still possessing elite skills. I thought the addition of Kirk Cousins would help unlock Pitts’ potential, but other than the 50-yard catch against the Chiefs, the connection has been quiet. I mean, Pitts didn’t have a single catch in last week’s win over New Orleans. All in all, he has just eight receptions on 15 targets for 105 yards and a touchdown through four contests in 2024. Across a 17-game slate, that rate would give him 34 catches, 446 yards and four scores. Not ideal for a top-five pick.
Perhaps the only way for Atlanta to get this guy going is to force-feed him against struggling pass defenses. That opportunity could be on tap with the Falcons facing the Bucs and Panthers over the next two weeks. Pitts could be a major factor in the Falcons, who rank 17th in passing and 19th in total offense, getting to the next level. It’s time to utilize his rare ability.
The Eagles coughed up too much money on Huff (three-year, $51.1 million deal) to get this little production in return. As a rotational pass-rush specialist for the Jets in 2023, Huff recorded career highs in sacks (10) and tackles (29). Through four games (three starts) with the Eagles, Huff has yet to record a single sack and has just two tackles. He has taken a majority of his snaps at the left outside linebacker position in defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s system, whereas Huff found his success last season with the Jets when aligning as a defensive end (on both the right and left sides) most of the time, per Pro Football Focus.
Now in their bye week, the Eagles rank 29th in the NFL in sacks with just six in four games. Fangio needs to figure out a better approach to get the quarterback. Moving Huff back to D-end could be one place to start.
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