Nfl Panic Meter: Is Russell Wilson Cooked? Is The Chiefs’ Golden Age Over?

Russell Wilson

Fun fact: nan Giants returned 10 of their 11 violative starters from past year, contempt finishing 29th successful EPA per play past season. The only alteration came astatine quarterback, pinch nan Giants signing Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston, and trading up successful nan first information of nan draught for Jaxson Dart.

It was an overseas strain of organisational arrogance: Ignore that we won 3 games! Our roster is great! Our coaching is great! Daniel Jones was nan problem!

Week 1 suggests otherwise. Jones is now pinch nan Colts, and carved up nan Dolphins’ defense, showing a level of assurance successful his strategy and supporting formed that vanished successful New York. Meanwhile, nan sluggish Giants scored conscionable six points against nan Commanders, nan fewest by immoderate squad successful nan opening week. Wilson looked for illustration nan aforesaid subordinate he was successful Pittsburgh: tin of throwing beautiful heavy balls but offering small else. His athleticism has eroded to nan constituent wherever he tin nary longer reliably break nan pouch and create plays retired of structure. Against nan Commanders, he completed conscionable 2 of 12 passes erstwhile pressured and was sacked twice. And erstwhile playing successful structure, he was indecisive and precocious to present throws.

Giants caput coach Brian Daboll confirmed Wilson will stay nan team’s starter for week two, contempt teasing he mightiness make a change. But really agelong tin Daboll support Dart retired of nan lineup?

Dart flashed capable successful preseason to gain nan starting gig. Understandably, nan Giants want to activity nan rookie successful slow alternatively than throwing him to nan wolves. But nan team’s decision-makers are connected borrowed time. Their champion chance astatine keeping their jobs is throwing Dart connected nan field, fresh aliases not, and hoping for nan best. That whitethorn not beryllium awesome for Dart’s development, but it’s nan Giants’ champion changeable astatine bringing a jolt to their limp offence.

Panic meter: 8/10 – get your limb ready, Jaxson.

Miami Dolphins

The vibes person been disconnected pinch nan Dolphins since preseason. “It’s a awesome day,” Mike McDaniel said a period ago. Why? “Because we are different time person to death.”

McDaniel’s shtick is already wearing bladed pinch nan ‘Phins fanbase, and nan extremity of his coaching tally successful Miami could beryllium conscionable a fewer weeks away. The logic why isn’t conscionable nan 33-8 scoreline astatine nan hands of Indianapolis. It was really nan Dolphins looked. You cognize things are miserable erstwhile Tyreek Hill is throwing his first fight of nan play successful nan first 4th of nan first game.

McDaniel is simply a stepping oxymoron: erstwhile was nan past clip a run-game guru was handed a franchise and nan title was that his squad was not beingness enough? Usually, those coaches are portrayed arsenic neanderthals, retired of measurement pinch nan new-fangled stuff. But nether McDaniel, nan Dolphins person been nan opposite: wonderfully imaginative but committing nan cardinal misdeed of playing soft. They can’t tally nan shot and they can’t extremity it either. Their much-ballyhooed protect beforehand continues to struggle pinch injuries and grounded to unit Jones and nan remade Colts violative line. And contempt each nan pros pinch Tua Tagovailoa’s game, he is nan slightest adaptable backmost successful nan league. When unit arrives aliases nan discourtesy is retired of sorts, he bottoms out.

The Dolphins deficiency nan talent to screen up their shortfalls. McDaniel’s spot couldn’t beryllium warmer.

Panic meter: 10/10 – clip to commencement scouting nan 2026 draft.

The Bills struggled to extremity Derrick Henry connected Sunday. Photograph: Gene J Puskar/AP

Bills defense

I know, I know. The Bills engineered one of nan astir exhilarating comebacks successful convention history against nan Ravens. As agelong arsenic Josh Allen is opinionated upright, nan Bills should beryllium favourites to big nan AFC title game, peculiarly fixed nan weakness of nan AFC East. But extracurricular Allen, siren bells should beryllium ringing.

The Bills defense is simply a mess. They look mini and light, incapable of opinionated up to a downhill rushing attack. No different squad tin rotation retired nan mixed threats of Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry and Zay Flowers, but what happened to nan Bills connected Sunday was arsenic overmuch astir their ain roster and structural flaws arsenic Baltimore’s trifecta.

If anything, it looks for illustration nan Bills built a defense specifically to extremity Kansas City successful January. The scars of aggregate playoff defeats will do that to a team. But location are plentifulness of different threats successful nan postseason, and early grounds suggests nan Chiefs whitethorn not beryllium nan squad to beat.

The Bills play much dime defence (six protect backs) than immoderate squad successful nan league, but person 1 of nan weakest information groups. They invested heavy this offseason successful versatile protect linemen, players who could statement up wrong aliases extracurricular to bring other juice to past year’s rickety walk rush. This is simply a defense that is expected to beryllium arsenic elastic and speedy connected 3rd down arsenic possible. But you still person to get nan opponents to 3rd down. And that could beryllium a chore this year.

Buffalo lacked nan bodies to lucifer up pinch Baltimore’s heavier personnel. The Ravens picked up 199 yards, averaging 14.2 yards per play pinch their bigger bodies connected nan field. When nan Bills stuck to their preferred style of defense, rolling retired other protect backs, Henry averaged 19 yards a carry.

Sean McDermott has pivoted strategies astatine a clip erstwhile nan tally crippled is experiencing a resurgence. Sure, against nan Chiefs aliases Bengals, nan Bills tin flood nan section pinch velocity and beryllium imaginative up beforehand to unit nan pocket. But what if they spot Baltimore again successful nan postseason, aliases nan Chargers, aliases immoderate run-centric offense? What if nan crippled book isn’t successful their favour?

It was a problem past season, but Allen and nan discourtesy forced opponents into pass-heavy situations. The Bills doubled down connected their attack successful nan offseason, and now they look retired of spot matching up against nan apical offenses successful nan AFC. Given Allen, nan rumor astir apt won’t uncover itself until nan playoffs. But nan Bills request to find reinforcements astatine information and a seasoned manus who tin thief listen against nan tally up front.

Panic meter: 7/10 – nan playoffs are each that matter, and additions are needed earlier then.

The Chiefs successful general

Speaking of leaky defences, nan Chiefs person problems of their own. They were ripped apart by Justin Herbert successful Brazil. The Chargers ditched their emblematic run-based scheme and alternatively allowed Herbert to fling nan shot each complete nan field.

The Chargers exposed faultlines crossed nan Chiefs’ defense. The protect backfield is arsenic advertised: scrappy but lacking players who tin bent successful man coverage. But nan larger interest is up front. Outside Chris Jones, nan Chiefs don’t person a reliable walk rusher – and Jones didn’t move up successful Week 1.

KC paid George Karlaftis $93m this offseason to beryllium a reliable 2nd banana, but he has ne'er been much than a coagulated effort rusher who feeds connected nan scraps of Jones’s brilliance. If Jones is beneath his peak, nan Chiefs are successful a bind.

Steve Spagnuolo is nan champion protect coordinator successful nan sport, but he was near chasing his tail against Herbert. The Chiefs couldn’t reliably unit pinch four, truthful Spagnuolo upped his blitz complaint to effort to manufacture disruption. But plugging much players into nan walk unreserved near his secondary connected islands, and Herbert gobbled it up, completing 11 of 14 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown against nan blitz.

Spagnuolo has proven clip and again that he tin make a serviceable portion retired of ill-fitting parts. Still, his schematic wonkery tin only resistance nan portion truthful far. Even if they attack convention average, it won’t matter if nan offence continues to stall. And pinch Rashee Rice suspended for 5 much games and Xavier Worthy hurt, it could beryllium immoderate clip until nan Chiefs discourtesy is up and firing.

Even dynastic teams person cycles. During nan glory days of nan Belichick-Brady Patriots dynasty, they had limp seasons. They would stumble into nan postseason and exit early. The cardinal building blocks tin stay successful place, but nan ancillary pieces are nary longer up to it, acknowledgment to nan net cap, picking astatine nan bottommost of nan draught bid and misfiring connected important free agents.

The Chiefs person that emotion – a franchise caught betwixt 2 eras. That doesn’t mean they won’t person a heavy playoff tally again – and it’s early successful nan play – but they person much holes to plug and questions to reply than astatine immoderate constituent successful nan past 8 years.

Panic meter: 6/10 – suffer to nan Eagles successful Week 2, and this jumps to 8/10.

The Lions’ violative line

The Lions ran into a buzzsaw successful Green Bay. They took connected 1 of nan champion teams successful nan NFC, caller disconnected nan waste and acquisition for Micah Parsons, while replacing 2 coordinators. Teething problems were ever going to beryllium an issue. But nan Packers exposed immoderate basal flaws erstwhile nan Lions faced nan champion of nan best: they deficiency talent and extent on some lines of scrimmage.

On nan perimeter, nan Lions person arsenic overmuch talent arsenic immoderate squad successful nan league. Their violative weapons are laughably good; their secondary is filled pinch game-breakers. But games are won and mislaid up front. The Packers bullied nan Lions connected some sides of nan ball. Aidan Hutchinson is Detroit’s only dependable walk rusher, and immoderate hopes to offset that shortage pinch nan blitz fell woefully short against Jordan Love.

A much pressing problem is nan violative line. Losing Ben Johnson was nan talk of Detroit’s offseason. How would they header without nan hot-shot violative mind astatine nan controls? But that talk was ever a small overstated; nan nonaccomplishment of halfway Frank Ragnow – who decided to discontinue astatine nan property of 29 – was a bigger deal. More than immoderate different conception of a team, nan violative statement functions arsenic a unit; 5 gigantic bodies synchronising into a cohesive bloc wrong a confined area that offers small separator for error. Penei Sewell is simply a prima astatine correct tackle and Taylor Decker gives nan Lions a serviceable starter connected nan near side. But nan interest is pinch nan interior. The Lions person turned nan wrong complete to Graham Glasgow astatine halfway and young pups Christian Mahogany and Tate Ratledge astatine guard.

Glasgow is simply a constricted player, but Mahogany and Ratledge person talent. Yet nan trio are not up to par pinch what Detroit has rolled pinch nan past 2 seasons. All 3 are people-movers who tin push defenders backmost disconnected nan ball. But each 3 besides person limitations successful walk protection and struggle to move successful space. With Johnson and Ragnow, nan Lions had nan astir varied rushing onslaught successful nan NFL, which helped substance nan league’s champion play-action game. With nan caller interior, they’re constricted successful what they tin call, and worse astatine what they do run. It’s going to return clip to fig retired what nan discourtesy tin awesome in, clip they cannot spend successful nan knife-fight of nan NFC North.

Jared Goff is an fantabulous backmost erstwhile he’s sticking to nan travel of a play. But move him disconnected his spot, and he falls apart. Having a stellar receiving corps is fun, but it won’t matter if Goff is emotion power aliases nan Lions are incapable to move nan shot connected nan ground.

Panic meter: 5/10 – beating nan Bears this Sunday is now a must.