The 2024 NFL season is 5 weeks and there have been some very big surprises so far – both good and bad. I don’t think anybody saw the Commanders playing this well this early in Jayden Daniels career and a big congratulations to them as it’ been a long long time since they’ve been relevant. And on the opposite side of this – I think a lot of people would have been surprised that the Cincinnati Bengals are 1-4 through 5 games and have looked bad at times through the first month and change. And in today’s video we’re going to discuss some of the biggest realities of the 2024 NFL season. There will be a couple of good situations discussed and a few not so good situations discussed and like always – we will breakdown the teams current situation, the long term outlook, what they realistically can do this season and everything in between. And this is a video I am very excited to dive into and without further ado – let’s begin
And we are starting today’s video with one of the biggest realities so far and it’s that the Los Angeles Rams need to rebuild. They are 1-4 after a loss to the Green Bay Packers in week 5 and I know not every team is dealt the same hand of cards entering the season – especially when it pertains to injury – but the Rams were always going to be in an uphill battle even if they were healthy. This team lost in the wild card round of the playoffs to the Lions last year and entered the 2024 season with deep postseason aspirations. The rams ran the ball really well in 2023 as they finished top 12 in every major rushing category – and they had 10 games in which they ran for over 100 yards as a team. If you recall – the Rams went 7-1 in the final 8 games of the 2023 season to finish with a 10-7 record despite starting the year 3-6.
And not surprisingly – most of those 100 yard games came during the back half of the 2023 season. Through 5 games the Rams have ran for 100 yards twice and surprisingly – they are 0-2 in those games – which were losses to the Bears and Packers. The main reason I think they should commit to a rebuild is because I like a lot of the young players on this roster – but the main problem is I don’t think they have enough to seriously compete and to try and get a second super bowl in 4 years – and I think the Rams internally think that too. They of course can’t outright say it but I do believe their draft selections and free agent signings along the trenches show that they want to have the foundation for tomorrow’s roster – and I mean this by selecting players like Jared Verse, Braden Fiske, and Steve Avila in the top 2 rounds in each of the last two drafts.
I absolutely loved the Jared Verse selection when it was made as I thought he had a very high floor as a player and at minimum – the Rams would be getting a really solid pass rusher that can consistently push the pocket and be a 6-8 sack guy per year – and this at minimum by the way. I wasn’t the biggest Braden Fiske fan in the 2024 draft process but Braden has played solid through the first 5 games and they look like they have two solid starters along the defensive line over the next few years. The main problem with the Rams isn’t Matthew Stafford himself – it’s that he’s 36 years old and not going to be improve to the player he was a couple of years ago. He didn’t have his best game against the Packers and players are going to have down games – but this is much bigger than a single game in which one of their touchdowns was a walk in pick 6.
This team reminds me a lot of the Vikings in their final year with Kirk Cousins where they have a lot of good players, but it’s not enough. I know Sean McVay is obviously one of the best coaches in the league, but it’s not as simple as trying to find the next Sam Darnold or Baker Mayfield and go from there. And recently Sam had a bad game himself. I think the Rams are a good team when healthy – and are certainly a top 7 team in the NFC and I have no doubts a healthy 2024 Rams team could go to the playoffs – and maybe even win a playoff game. But I don’t think this is an elite team and their secondary also has a ton of holes. And this is why I think one of the biggest realities for the 2024 season – is that the Rams need to rebuild – and now. Because if they drag this along – then they could very easily be another run of the mill team.
We’re onto Cincinnati to discuss the Bengals and the situation here is ugly. The Bengals are now 1-4 after a 41-38 loss to the Ravens and the Bengals lone win in the 2024 season was against the Andy Dalton led Panthers in week 4. The reason why this situation is bad is because the Bengals have unintentionally cornered themselves and they have one option to win football games. And that’s for Joe Burrow to play at an MVP level and pray the defense shuts the opposing team down one more time than the Bengals offense is shut down.
Cincinnati has put up 105 points in the past 3 weeks and are 1-2 in those games. And the situation is also ugly in Cincinnati because this is a good football team – that’s now in a position where they don’t have to win out – but there’s no margin for error. They play the Giants and Browns in each of the next two weeks and they should improve to 3-4 – although the Giants looked really good against Seattle – but Cincinnati has a lot of tough games down the stretch.
They also play the Ravens again, they go to LA to play the Chargers, they play the Steelers twice, and they go to Dallas as well. And the end of the game sequence from the Bengals against Baltimore was awful as they were gifted a turnover by the Ravens – and they had the ball to start on Baltimore’s 38 yard line. And to this point in the game – Joe Burrow was 30/39 for 392 yards and had 5 passing touchdowns. Ja’Marr Chase proved time and time again why he is worth a big contract – and had 193 yards and 2 touchdowns – and they took the game out of their hands and ran the ball 3 times to attempt a 50+ yard field goal. And I think that’s a potential locker room altering loss – and that’s In terms of guys believing in coaching and the leadership of the organization.
I know the ball was bobbled on the attempt but to assume a 50+ yard field goal is automatic and that we have the game won is a bad thought process – and there’s no way around it. Even if it’s a prime Justin Tucker – I would prefer my team to try and get a first down and to have it be a 43 or 44 yard field goal – rather than have it be a 53 yarder when it didn’t have to be. There is one thing I also worry about with the long term outlook of the Bengals and it’s that they’re going to stick with Zac Taylor for a long long time. And the reason for that is Mike Brown – the Bengals owner – despite being a very wealthy man is not rich compared to other NFL owners. Pro Football Network did an article on the NFL richest owners in August – and Mike Brown was the only one estimated to not be a billionaire.
The reason we bring this is up because an NFL team can make as many coaching changes as they want – as long as ownership is willing to pay. And i think this is a reason Marvin Lewis was the head coach of the Bengals long after he should have been fired. He was head coach of the Bengals from 2003 to 2018 and never won a playoff game. And having a high net worth does not translate to Mike Brown having $900 million dollars in cash – and that’s another reason why the stadium is now named Paycor stadium – so they can afford the big contracts for Joe Burrow and probably Ja’Marr Chase in the near future. But I don’t think they’re going to fire Zac Taylor despite another inevitable postseason loss. So I think the Bengals are stuck where they are – which is a solid team that has a lot of flaws that starts with the coaching staff. And I know they’re 1-4 – but I do think they’ll bounce back and when you think about the Bengals outlook – do you think they are winning 3 straight road playoff games just to get to the Super Bowl with this defense? Because I don’t. And due in large part to this – this situation is not great
The Minnesota Vikings are now 5-0 after defeating the Jets in London with a score of 23-17. And I know the initial thought when you saw the thumbnail of today’s video may have been that the Vikings are cursed and that there is no chance they will actually go to the Super Bowl. But I didn’t include Kevin O Connell or Sam Darnold or even Justin Jefferson on the thumbnail for a reason. It was Brian Flores. And the biggest reality through the first month into the season is that this is a super bowl caliber defense. The Minnesota Vikings defense flat out makes offenses uncomfortable.
They held the Giants to 6 points back in week 1 and after that game it was “well it’s a good start but they played Daniel Jones and the Giants may be selecting in the top 5 o the 2025 NFL Draft so no big deal. The real test would come in the ensuing 4 weeks as they played the 49ers, Texans, Packers, and Jets in 4 consecutive weeks. And to the surprise of everyone – even the most loyal Vikings fans – they won all of them. And a big reason for that has been the defense. It hasn’t been just the defense though as Sam Darnold has played really good football for most of 2024 outside of one game – which was the most recent game against the Jets – and he did miss several throws in this game – but the defense prevailed. The Vikings defense has two touchdowns in 5 games – both of which were scored by Andrew Van Ginkel – and they also intercepted Aaron Rodgers 3 times in week 5.
The Vikings run defense has been terrific through 5 games – and they’ve allowed 100 yards just once – which was back in week 2 against the San Francisco 49ers and to running back Jordan Mason. Being able to bring in guys like Andrew Van Ginkel, Blake Cashman, and Jonathan Greenard in free agency was critical because it allowed Brian Flores to really unleash the defense he wants to play. And when you have a defense that likes to blitz like Flores does – while also playing a lot of drop 8 coverage – which is exactly what it sounds like – rush 3 players and drop 8 into coverage – along with how fast the linebackers are and and how quickly they can go sideline to sideline – this is a recipe for disaster for opposing offenses. The Vikings have only played two games at Us Bank stadium through the first 5 games and they allowed 24 total points to the 49ers and Texans – not in each game by the way – but total.
The way the Vikings want you to beat them is to throw a lot of out routes or passes to the backs in the flat which is very frustrating to try and methodically beat a team with a 12 or 13 play drive because it’s what the defense is giving you. There’s not a lot of windows in coverage aside from the cover 2 hole shots Jordan Love was hitting in week 4 – and that was the lone 400 yard game the Vikings have allowed through the first 5. They play Detroit in week 7 and that’s going to be an insanely difficult game for this team because the Lions have no weaknesses offensively. And that’s going to be one hell of a chess match between Ben Johnson and Brian Flores. The Vikings schedule was brutal through the first 7 games of the year and at minimum – they will exit the first 7 with a 5-2 record. Their schedule lightens up a bit after that, and there is a reality where this team can win 12 or 13 games – due to a combination of the defense, and the offense simply not turning the football over. And if the Vikings can do that – as in not turn the ball over – they can go a long long way. And it starts with the Brian Flores led defense.
The Biggest Realities Of The NFL (So Far) is discussed on Youtube and within the video we also discussed the Pittsburgh Steelers! They are in a tough situation with seemingly no way out. I hope you enjoy!
