There were some big trades. The Cowboys got Quinnen Williams (1st and next year’s 2nd?) from the Jets. The Raiders traded Jakobi Meyers (who was asking to be traded) to the Jags (can’t remember the picks). The Hawks got Rashid Shaheed, whom I really like, for a 4th and a 5th. The Jets also traded to Sauce Gardner (for two 1sts) to the Colts.
Actually, Dallas gave up their 2nd round next year and the better of their two first round draft picks, the one they got from Green Bay and their own, for 2027. That was a little surprising that it wasn’t the other way around. Dallas also got rid of Mazi Smith.
That’s a lot, but a really good DT is hard to find. Hopefully for the Cowboys, Williams lives up to that. (They also got Logan Wilson from the Bengals.) The Cowboys are going all in this year.
Raiders@Broncos
I don’t know if the Raiders defense just played great or the Broncos offense isn’t that good. Perhaps the truth is some combination of the two. In any event, the Raiders defense was mostly a bright spot.
Unfortunately, the ST and the offense were not (although Cole had two tremendous punts, although maybe one was due to luck). What is troubling is the miscues and errors (e.g., the pass bouncing off Jeanty’s hands, the blocked punt). These things really cost the game for the Raiders. I also felt like Kelly didn’t really marry the run and pass game well. They’re more predictable in shutgun (I.e., they’re going to pass or the run game isn’t much of a threat).
Cardinals@Seahawks
The start to the game was like the start of the Saints game. The Seahawks blitzed their opponents in the first quarter. Having said that, more than anything else Darnold’s turnovers overshadows the entire game. He just can’t be trusted in a muddy pocket–the ball gets knocked around. At this point, I would say there is a high chance it will happen in the future. In terms of strips, I think his long wind-up is the issue. In terms of tipped balls, I don’t know what the problem is, but if anyone is in his face (the tipped ball went off a teammates helmet), there’s a decent chance the ball will be tipped into the air. (There have been other plays like this during the season that did not result in turnovers, luckily.)
The run game got going which was nice to see, but again Darnold’s turnovers ruined this for me.