We are now 4 weeks into the NFL season and a lot has taken place in a short amount of time. Some teams – like the Minnesota Vikings are off to terrific starts despite the media thinking they may be in for a last place division finish, while the Jacksonville Jaguars have had a genuinely awful start. Not every team entered the year with Super Bowl expectations as some teams like the Arizona Cardinals are very clearly rebuilding, while teams like the Kansas City Chiefs are competing for a Super Bowl. Obviously we all know there can only be one Super Bowl champion each and every year – but the reality is – there’s probably a dozen teams – if not more – that legitimately think they are going to win the Super Bowl this year. And to be honest – they have to. They can’t enter the facility on a Monday and say oh well we play a tough team this week and we’re going to lose because we’re not good enough to beat them. That’s not how the NFL works. And in today’s video we are going to break down the biggest threats to 4 NFL teams – that internally – think they can win the big game this year. And there is a lot to dive into with each of the 4 teams in today’s video – and without further ado – let’s begin
And we are starting today’s video by discussing the Dallas Cowboys. The Dallas Cowboys are 2-2 after a win over the Giants on Thursday night in week 4 with a score of 20-15. And Dallas started their year off with a win over the Browns in week 1 and they looked good in that game. But since then it’s been an up and down ride with a lot more downs than ups. And I have a few concerns with this team as we transition to the middle of the season. Dallas has ran for 100 yards just once in their first 4 games and that was against Cleveland back in week 1. And even within that game – Dallas ran for just 102 yards. Breaking that down even further – CeeDee Lamb had 25 of the teams rushing yards and one of my biggest concerns for Dallas is – they are insanely one dimensional on offense. And they’re not going to do anything of note unless this changes – which it’s not – at least not in 2024. Dallas is averaging just 3.5 yards per carry and they’re leading rusher through 4 weeks is Rico Dowdle who has just 134 rushing yards. This offense is insanely reliant on Dak Prescott and while Dak will put up numbers – as that’s never been a question – the media pressure and the jokes people get in about this team not going to an NFC championship game since the 90’s – are not going to stop this year either. The only way it would stop is if Dak has one of the best games in his career in back to back weeks in the postseason – meaning in each of the wild card and divisional round of the playoffs.
And thinking outloud – I don’t think the Cowboys would beat a combination of the Lions, Seahawks, 49ers, Packers, or Vikings in back to back to games just to get to the NFC championship game. I also really worry about their rookie left tackle Tyler Guyton too. Like you would expect from a rookie left tackle who was drafted near the end of the first round and for the tackle who was the 7th tackle off the board – he’s struggled through the first 4 games at times and has been credited with allowing 4 sacks in 4 games. There were a couple of reps in particular against Kayvon Thibodeaux in week 4 where KT was really taking him to school and I think that’s very concerning for the season long outlook of the Cowboys because Kayvon is not a particularly great edge rusher. I was happy for KT in this game – but his struggles in the NFL have been well documented – and there’s patches of games where you flat out don’t notice him – but he got the best of Guyton multiple times. Terrance Steele has also had a particularly rough start to the 2024 season and I personally never thought Dallas was going to go to the Super Bowl this year – but I thought they would be playing better than they are through the first 4 games. And their schedule doesn’t relent either as they play both the Steelers and Lions before their week 7 bye – and there is a non zero chance this team enters their bye with a 2-4 record.
It is unfortunate for the Cowboys that they will likely be without both Micah Parsons and Demarcus Lawrence until after their week 7 bye and this is per Tom Pelissero, but neither of those guys have anything to do with the problems Dallas has offensively. The Cowboys have a particularly tough stretch coming up and I don’t think they’re going to have enough in the tank to beat other great NFL teams.
The Baltimore Ravens absolutely dismantled the Buffalo Bills in week 4 to the tune of a 35-10 victory and looked like the team we knew they could be all along. It’s not an exaggeration to say there is no other NFL team like the Baltimore Ravens. No other team is close to having a Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry on their roster – and the only team that’s close is the Washington Commanders who’s quarterback and running back duo is Jayden Daniels and Brian Robinson Jr. And while I like Brian Robinson Jr – there is a vast difference between him and King Henry. And over the last two games – Baltimore’s rushing attack has really come to life as they’ve ran for over 270 yards in each of the last two games. Not surprisingly they won both games, and put up 63 combined points too. And when the Ravens play like this – their biggest threat – as simple as this sounds – is themselves. There’s not many teams that’s going to be able to beat a healthy Baltimore Ravens team like this and I will say for the sake of Bills fans – that not having 3 defensive starters against Baltimore was obviously going to impact the game – but especially when it’s 3 of your best defensive starters in Matt Milano, Terrell Bernard, and Taron Johnson.
What also scares me for the Ravens is their coaching staff at times can press and we’ve seen that in two of the first 4 games. They should have never lost to the Raiders, and the Cowboys game was a lot more nerve-racking for the Ravens team and ultimately their fan base – then it should have been. Not every game is going to be like the Bills game in week 4 where you hold an MVP candidate’s offense to just 236 total yards on 12 first downs and send a message by being the more physically dominant team, so I do worry about the coaching staff in the coming games against the Bengals, Commanders, and Bucs and it’s because of how many losses they’ve had – by way of blowing a double digit lead – since the start of the 2021 season.
They’ve lost 9 games in which they’ve had a double digit lead since the start of the 2021 season and I think the worry with this will wear off with time – but it is worth noting. And as much as we criticized Todd Monken for the 2023 AFC championship game in which Baltimore running backs ran the ball a total of 6 times – I think the Ravens are starting to realize how simple their offense should be – and it’s to run the football until the defense proves they can stop you. And if anyone remembers the old Marshawn Lynch clip of running the ball through an individual’s face – that’s how the 2024 Ravens should play. I have no concerns with the talent on this roster and I think it’s one of the most complete rosters in the league – as even when Mark Andrews looks to be done – or looks to be a tad over the hill – they have his replacement already on the roster in 3rd year player Isaiah Likely. The human element in football is so real and there’s a reason the games are played, and not on paper. And the biggest threat to me for the 2024 Ravens – is the coaching staff getting too cute with it, or shooting themselves in the foo time and time again. They are a very good team, and they have the talent to win the Super Bowl.
Up I-95 to Philly to discuss the Birds and the potential problems the Eagles may face. We’re not going to focus too much on the Bucs game from week 4 because they were out 3 big offensive starters in AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith and – future hall of famer Lane Johnson. It’s already hard enough to win a game when your top two receiver are missing – let alone when it’s one of the best duo’s in the entire league. But what we will focus on is a few things that surfaced in this game – with or without the 3 starters. Not having AJ or Devonta doesn’t change the concern I have with Jalen Hurts pocket presence. Jalen was sacked 6 times in this game and they weren’t all on the offensive line. He was also just 6/14 for 53 yards under pressure – and I will acknowledge I think that improves with both receivers playing – but the pocket presence is what I worry about most for the sake of the Eagles season – at least offensively.
I have a lot of concerns with the defense and ultimately the coaching staff as well. After they put up 34 points against the Packers in week 1 – and in a game where they didn’t start off great – I thought this team could build on that and legitimately make a run – strictly due to how talented this roster is. But after a few more weeks – there’s glaring problems that can’t be ignored. The defense hasn’t been great outside of one game which was the New Orleans game. That was one of Jalen Carter’s best games as a pro, but expecting that every single week isn’t a realistic scenario. In the other 3 games they’ve allowed at least 385 yards or more defensively and and it was highlighted by a 445 total yard game by the Bucs in week 4. They’ve only forced 2 turnovers in 4 games and the Eagles have had a big problem turning the ball over offensively as they’ve committed 8 turnovers in 4 games – which as you can expect is near the bottom of the league. I also really worry about Nick Sirianni and the future he has with this organization. I don’t think he’s going to be a Super Bowl winning head coach and I think there’s times where he out thinks a situation and ends up with a terrible result. The end of the first half against the Saints is most notable because the Eagles were in the midst of a 15 play drive and had a 4th and 1 on the Saints 15 yard line with 15 seconds left in the first half.
They went for it and didn’t get it and left points on the board. And even if they got it – did it really matter if they had a 26 yard field goal instead of a 32 yard field goal? I trust Jake Elliott in both situations and these are the type of decisions that lose games. The Eagles dominating the Saints as much as they did and only winning by 3 is the epitome as to why I am worried about this team in the long run. They also have 0 first quarter points all year and since their game in Brazil- they have 52 points in 3 games – which equates to just 17.3 points per game. And again – if you want to exclude the Bucs game because of the 3 big starters out – which is a quarter of their sample size at this point – then they have 38 points in the two non Brazil games. I really about this teas defense, and Bryce Huff has been an absolute disaster since joining the team this offseason. Their defense is largely predicated on Jalen Carter making a big play, Josh Sweat getting a pressure, and praying everything holds up in the back end. I think Quinyon Mitchell has done alright as a rookie corner – but when we talk about setting your players up for success – the Eagles pass rush hasn’t been there and it’s not setting Quinyon – or anybody else up for success in the secondary either. I think the Eagles have a lot of problems, and the coaching has played a big part into why the Eagles have disappointed to start the year
“The Biggest Threats To These 4 NFL Teams” breakdown can also be found on Youtube:
