What a first week of NFL action we had in Week 1! In what was shadowed by Aaron Rodgers’ injury, it was great to have football back.
Last week I had Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson and Dak Prescott on my Duress List. Rodgers, unfortunately, got hurt on his fourth drive, Wilson showed flashes of promise but the Broncos fell to the Raiders and Dak, despite only throwing for 143 yards, won 40-0 at the Giants. Now as we prepare for week 2, let’s take a look at the quarterbacks under duress after their performances in week 1. Starting off with….
Daniel Jones
Well, well, well, What happened to Danny Dimes?! The £40m-a-year quarterback had 40 points dropped on him (excuse the pun). He had a horrendous game in the week opener scoring a total of 0 points. Jones actually ran the ball fairly well early on but he threw two interceptions (including a pick-six) and was sacked seven times. He completed 15 of 28 passes for a measly 104 yards, with a passer rating of 32.4. To put that into context of how poor Jones was, if he had spiked the ball for every possession he would have had a passer rating of 39!
In fairness to Jones, Dan Quinn’s defence was on a different type of smoke! They pressured Jones on 62.2% of his dropbacks which is the third-highest pressure rate in the last four years. The Giants’ offensive line was no match for the Cowboys’ pass rush led by Micah Parsons, who’s been touted as a modern-day Lawrence Taylor. But to not put any points on the board at home to a divisional rival is no doubt the worst way to begin your new £40m-a-year contract which he got in the offseason.
If the Giants are to have any playoff aspirations, they’ll surely need to beat the Arizona Cardinals, who let’s be real, are tanking this season to pick USC’s Caleb Williams in the 2024 draft.
Next game: Arizona Cardinals @ State Farm Stadium
Josh Allen
It’s the turnover machine, Josh Allen. After the Bills’ overtime loss to the Jets, Allen personally admitted that the loss was down to him.
He threw three interceptions (all to Jordan Whitehead) and fumbled twice and his poor play gave the Jets fans life after the sad exit of Aaron Rodgers early on. The divisional loss also saw Allen go to a poor 0-5 record in overtime games.
Since the Wyoming Alum signed his six-year $258m deal in 2021, in 34 regular season games, he’s had 41 turnovers and since he was drafted in 2018, he’s had 90 turnovers in the regular season and playoffs which is the most out of anyone during that time.
He also needs to get his all the Bills’ playoff defeat in the divisional round against the Bengals, all-world wide receiver Stefon Diggs back onside who’s shown signs of frustration with Allen’s play. There were rumours during the Summer that Diggs was still unhappy after making just five catches for 30 yards in the Divisional Round loss to the Bengals last season and he was even sent home from training camp. Is he tired of Allen’s careless play but who knows? He’ll need a huge game and a big contribution from his number-one receiver this weekend because going 0-2 in the AFC East will be difficult to come back from.
Next Game: Las Vegas Raiders @ Orchard Park
Zach Wilson
Despite winning last week, Zach Wilson is under severe pressure for this week. The 2021 #2 pick Zach Wilson will have to come in and play snaps for the remainder of the season unless they get a veteran QB in.
It’s crazy because Wilson was not thought of as an option this season. It was all about four-time MVP winner and future hall of famer Aaron Rodgers. The blame for the Jets’ fall last year was purely on the lack of a competent quarterback which was highlighted by Wilson’s play in where he threw for six touchdowns and seven interceptions in 2022.
Once he was dropped after a week 11 loss to the Patriots last season, his teammates wore Mike White t-shirts in support of their new QB in their game against the Minnesota Vikings.
To be fair to Wilson, he did salvage the game for the Jets by leading them on a drive to tie the game with the Bills which they won in overtime but everyone thinks their Super Bowl dream is over now that Rodgers is gone. Also, he’s only going to be up against the deadliest pash rush and secondary in football as he heads to Dallas. It could get ugly for Wilson who has the weight of New York City to shoulder.
Next Game: Dallas Cowboys @ AT&T Stadium
