Around the NFL: Travis Hunter has his breakout game in Jacksonville
Around the AFC Bolts Up Folks they re not done Remember a minimal weeks ago when the Chargers suddenly seemed poised to drop out of AFC West contention after a couple losses to the Giants and Commanders Remember how they lost both of their starting tackles for essential time and both their No and No running backs for notable time Somehow head coach Jim Harbaugh has righted the ship enough that Los Angeles now sits at - after a - blowout of the Vikings on Thursday night Justin Herbert is slinging the pill and Los Angeles ground attack has stabilized with second-year back Kimani Vidal who has two -plus-yard games in his last three Tackle Joe Alt s back now too It s still a three-horse race in the AFC West Jags slumping but Travis Hunter soaring After a rough start to his rookie year often not on the same page with QB Trevor Lawrence Colorado Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter broke out last Sunday How about eight catches for yards and the first touchdown of his NFL career How about a pass breakup on defense too Unfortunately this all amounted to a - drubbing for the Jaguars at the hands of the stampeding Rams Jets grounded There may very well be an - crew this season The Jets are hopeless with head coach Aaron Glenn pushing back on reporters weekly and owner Woody Johnson tossing his million quarterback Justin Fields under the bus after another rough outing Now the unit s two best players cornerback Sauce Gardner and wide receiver Garrett Wilson are out for this week s tilt against the Bengals after not practicing all week The irony of all of this The Jets slopfest with the Broncos in London two weeks ago might ve been their best chance to win a competition this year Maye he rise The Patriots appear to have gone from one generational quarterback to another in the span of about five years Drake Maye the third overall pick in is playing unreal football right now after connecting on of passes to beat the Titans - last week He s completing of his passes has total touchdowns against two picks and most of impressively has a literal perfect quarterback rating on throws of at least -plus yards downfield this season If the season ended right now Maye may well be the MVP Around the NFC Back and better in chosen solutions than ever Christian McCaffrey s averaging just yards a carry after a lost season and whispers about his run-game burst still flitter around Twitter with each passing week But in the passing challenge Oh man After seven more catches in a - win over the Falcons last Sunday McCaffrey now sits at third in the NFL with grabs and yards through seven games That s on pace for about catches across a -game season which would shatter the single-season record for an RB of set by Christian McCaffrey in The Castle Rock kid is all right Trouble in the capital The Commanders have lost three of their last four just got ran for points by the Cowboys and are on a crash program for a rude reset after a dream run to the NFC title battle in Sophomore quarterback Jayden Daniels hasn t operated with the magic of his rookie year when healthy and will miss his third encounter of the season on Monday night against a Chiefs group that s won four of its last five no less Washington s passing championship is iffy and its defense is struggling Watch out for Seattle Both the AFC and NFC Wests are an absolute bloodbath The Seahawks are establishing themselves as one of the bulk well-rounded squads in the NFL sitting at - after handling Houston - last Monday QB Sam Darnold is dealing wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba is leading the NFL in receiving yards and the Seahawks defense is conjuring up memories of the Legion of Boom days Not a unit anyone in the conference wants to face right now Related Articles Renck Blame Sean Payton s play-calling if you must but truth is Bo Nix requirements to play better Broncos HC Sean Payton Gambling controversy involving good friend Chauncey Billups hits heavy Javonte Williams revenge tournament Broncos happy for resurgent RB but hoping to slow his Dallas roll Broncos-Cowboys scouting document Pat Surtain Riley Moss face Dallas s dynamic duo CeeDee Lamb George Pickens Broncos podcast What Sean Payton s association must do to run win streak to vs Cowboys Realm watch As the arrangement deadline nears keep a firm eye on the Saints Chris Olave who continues producing behind a quietly-improving Spencer Rattler even as New Orleans continues to slide into the dumps After a -yard two-touchdown performance in the Saints - loss to the Bears last Sunday Olave now has grabs for yards through seven games and could be a difference-maker for a slew of teams at the deadline His name comes up as often as any other receiver in the league in transaction rumors Competition of the Week Green Bay at Pittsburgh Duh This is Aaron Rodgers first time playing his old Packers squad since he was traded to the Jets in and the best version of Rodgers the NFL has seen since that moment too The mobility is nowhere near what it once was but Rodgers still has touchdowns and a quarterback rating through six games The narratives are ripe in this one with the -year-old Rodgers going toe-to-toe with the -year-old Jordan Love who was drafted as his eventual replacement in Green Bay Plus this is a matchup of two four-win teams Packers Steelers Lock of the Week Tennessee at Indianapolis Woof The Broncos Week and Week opponents match up here with inverse records the Titans at - the Colts at - Tennessee has managed to sum more than points just once this year and the Colts haven t scored fewer than in any event this year Daniel Jones and his army of playmakers just hung points on the Chargers last week and Indianapolis defense is good enough to easily handle Titans rookie QB Cam Ward and a struggling offense Colts Titans Upset of the Week Buffalo at Carolina Carolina s offense is touch-and-go behind third-year QB Bryce Young But running back Rico Dowdle is cooking yards through seven games and the Panthers defense has been truly dominant at times shutting out the Falcons in Week and shutting down the Jets admittedly not hard to do last Sunday The Bills are reeling with two straight losses and now face a plucky crew in a hostile surroundings This smells of surprise Panthers Bills Want more Broncos news Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis
