Aaron Rodgers’ nightmare start to the season continues, Kyler Murray was locked in a heated argument with a wide receiver and a stat proves the pundits may have got it oh-so-wrong about Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
Oh, and somehow the Tennessee Titans took Super Bowl contenders Kansas City all the way to overtime … despite completing five, yes five, passes all game long.
Foxsports.com.au analyses the biggest storylines in the latest edition of NFL Talking Points!
MORE COVERAGE
From scrap heap to MVP? How a $380m trade ‘mistake’ became an NFL masterstroke
NFL Wrap: Brady makes history in ‘crazy’ comeback; Mahomes’ absurd feat nearly all-time best
‘Next stop … NFL!’: US loses its mind over Aussie star’s ‘perfect’ 68-metre punt
RODGERS’ CAREER-LOW IS ‘BLEAK’ … BUT PACKERS ‘OWE IT’ TO KEEP STARTING HIM
Just about everyone knew Aaron Rodgers wouldn’t put up the same numbers this season without his star receiver Davante Adams by his side, but did anyone expect it to be this bad?
Against Detroit, the team who went into the contest against the Packers with the worst defence in the league, gifting opponents an average of 32.1 points per game.
It seemed all set up for Rodgers to have a decent game.
Instead, as The Guardian’s Joseph Palmer noted, it was anything but.
“Against such a normally porous defence, Rodgers threw a career-high three interceptions (all to rookies on the Detroit defence), including two in the end zone and one off the helmet of a member of the opposing team,” Palmer wrote.
“These errors weren’t on the Packers receivers. Hence the 38-year-old taking out his frustration on a phone. Hence the online mockery.”
Browns thrash Bengals in local rivalry | 01:02
With the 15-9 loss to the Lions, the Packers now hold a 3-6 record — the worst start to a season in 15 years.
Rodgers’ woeful form has, unsurprisingly, led to calls for backup QB Jordan Love to be thrust into the starting role.
However, ESPN’s Dan Graziano believes the brakes should be pumped on any such talk, but did admitted Rodgers’ current situation is “bleak”.
“Look, as long as you have Rodgers, you’re supposed to be able to feel like you can win every game,” Graziano said.
“So as long as you’re not mathematically eliminated, you owe it to yourself, to him and to the rest of your players to keep putting your best quarterback on the field and trying to win.
“But man, it is bleak up there, and the continued struggles make you wonder about Rodgers’ future in Green Bay and what they can do about it.”
$354M STAR’S BLOW-UP SAYS IT ALL ABOUT CARDINALS’ FORTUNES
Things appeared to get heated between Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray and receiver DeAndre Hopkins on the sidelines of Sunday’s game against the Seahawks.
With eight minutes and 24 seconds left in the second quarter and Arizona down 10-7, Murray can be seen appearing to yell at Hopkins while looking animated with his arms outstretched.
Meanwhile, Robbie Anderson — whom the Cardinals acquired from the Panthers last month — can be seen looking stoic while watching the exchange from the bench.
The heated moment happened shortly after Murray hit Hopkins for a 22-yard touchdown midway through the first quarter for a 7-3 lead.
The broadcast even noted that this wasn’t the first time that Murray and Hopkins have gotten into it on the sidelines. Murray has also clashed with head coach Kliff Kingsbury.
The frustration could have stemmed from Arizona’s 3-6 start to the season. After a 31-21 loss to Seattle, the Cardinals are 1-4 at home.
After the game, Hopkins downplayed the exchange with Murray, saying that it’s being blown out of proportion.
“Kyler and I always kind of … that’s who he is and I love him,” Hopkins said.
“Just talking about what we can do. It’s good, I love it, having someone like that that’s emotional and passionate.”
Murray, who lost a pivotal fumble in the second quarter, threw for 175 yards and two touchdowns. Hopkins returned last month from a six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy.
In three games played this season, Hopkins has caught 26 passes for 298 yards and two touchdowns.
The Cardinals visit the Rams on Sunday, with both teams at three wins and sitting in the last two spots in the NFC West.
TUA ‘HAS LOOKED ENTIRELY DIFFERENT’ … AND THE STATS BACK IT UP
Tua Tagovailoa is finally living up to the hype.
The Miami Dolphins QB was at his electrifying best once again in the 35-32 win over the Chicago Bears, completing 21 from 30 passes and clocking up 302 yards with three touchdowns to boot.
OK, sure, that’s one game of several impressive showings this season.
But the fact the 24-year-old tops several charts throughout the league is clear evidence that Tagovailoa is no flash in the pan this season.
According to the NFL site, Tagovailoa tops the league in passer rating with 115.9, yards per attempt with 9.2, touchdown percentage of 6.9 as well as net yards per play at 8.5.
All of this in just his third season in the NFL.
As Fox Sports USA’s Henry McKenna wrote, it’s been some change in fortune from his patchy first year until now.
“He has looked like an entirely different player from 2021, when he threw for 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 13 games,” McKenna said.
“This 2022 version has been studly. He seems to be the absolute perfect quarterback for McDaniel’s system. It’s remarkable, too, when considering how briefly they’ve been working together.”
With such impressive stats this season and the fact he has been pivotal to the Dolphins’ impressive 6-3 record, is Tagovailoa in the MVP conversation?
McKenna believes the brakes should be pumped on such talk, but he certainly “deserves more support”.
“The Dolphins offence was a mess without Tua,” McKenna said.
“And it’s been brilliant with him.
“I don’t think Tagovailoa is the obvious favourite for the MVP award — Patrick Mahomes is right up there.
“But I do think Tagovailoa deserves more support than he’s getting. Over the past few weeks, he has played as well as — or better than — Josh Allen.”
THE ABSURD GAP THAT CANNOT EXPLAIN CHIEFS’ NAILBITER WIN
Kansas City QB Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs on a remarkable last-minute comeback to beat the Tennessee Titans 20-17 in overtime, but one glance at the stats has many wondering how on earth the points total was relatively low.
And on the flip side, how the Titans managed to score 17 points, despite completing a whopping total of five passes all game long.
With rookie QB Malik Willis under centre due to regular starter Ryan Tannehill’s injury, the Titans were up 17-9 going into the fourth quarter at Arrowhead Stadium but collapsed at the worst moment, as the Chiefs scored eight in the final period before adding three in overtime.
At the end of the contest, Willis’ stat line read as follows: five passes completed from 16 attempts for 80 yards.
Compare that to his Kansas City counterpart: Mahomes completed 43 from 68 attempted passes for 446 yards with one touchdown and one interception to show for his troubles.
Mahomes was just two passes shy of the NFL record, but he and Willis did combine to break record.
According to the NFL Research Twitter account, “that gap of 38 completions is the largest in a game in the Super Bowl era,” breaking a 13-year record.
The previous record holders?
That would be the Titans again, with a gap of 36 completions in a 59-0 loss to the New England Patriots in Week Six in 2009.
It’s a real head-scratcher that the Titans’ gap was larger, yet they had victory within their grasp.
But Mahomes and the Chiefs found a way to win and that’s just what Super Bowl contenders do these days.
