5. The Colts Have Some Serious Decisions to Make
It's definitely a rough time to be an Indianapolis Colts fan right now.
Their GM was fired last week, they just fell to 2-5, and Daniel Jones has been one of the worst starting quarterbacks in the league this year.
They traded Quenton Nelson and Deforest Buckner on Tuesday afternoon and there continues to be trade rumors surrounding more of their top players, including running back Jonathan Taylor.
Shane Steichen is coaching for his job every week, and it'll become even more difficult to win games if this rumored fire sale of their best players does indeed happen.
The Colts will likely have a top draft pick, decisions to make at head coach and quarterback, and a roster depleted by trades. There's a lot of uncertainty in Indianapolis right now.
Whoever takes over as GM will have plenty of decisions to make under an impatient ownership group.
The next few months will be very interesting for the Colts, as their offseason rumors and discussions have already become more interesting than their regular season.
6. Drake Maye Is Back, and He's Better Than Ever
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye was really struggling to start the year.
In Weeks 1–3, Maye ranked 29th in EPA per pass and 23rd in passing success rate, throwing just one touchdown to six interceptions.
Data from Sumer Sports among 31 quarterbacks with at least 50 dropbacks.
His start was painfully frustrating for Patriots fans. How could a quarterback who finished as the MVP runner-up and played in the Super Bowl last year suddenly look so bad?
Fortunately for New England, those struggles didn't last long. Over the last four weeks, Maye has looked like his old MVP-caliber self.
In Weeks 4–7, Maye ranks first in EPA per pass and second in passing success rate, with 12 touchdowns to just two interceptions.
His most recent performance against the Chicago Bears on Thursday Night Football was no exception. Although a late interception proved costly in their loss against the Bears, Maye threw for 321 yards, averaging 10.4 yards per attempt while completing 77.4% of his passes.
I'm not sure what changed, but he is playing like an MVP candidate again.
His recent performance has obviously been impressive, but what stands out to me even more is how he responded to adversity.
Maye faced plenty of criticism and ridicule during those first three weeks. But rather than letting it define his season, he's bounced back and is playing some of the best football of his career.
That's what you want from a franchise quarterback.
You're not always going to have your best stuff. But how you respond to those moments says a lot about the kind of player and leader you are.
And Maye has responded about as well as you possibly could.
I'm impressed with Maye the football player, but I'm even more impressed with Maye the person and the mental fortitude he's shown through all of this.
7. Maybe We Got a Little Too Excited About the Raiders
After a 3-0 start to the year, the Las Vegas Raiders have lost four straight. And looking at their opponents during those stretches explains a lot.
Their three victories came against the Miami Dolphins, Los Angeles Chargers, and New Orleans Saints.
Their four losses? The Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, and most recently, the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
So you win three straight against three of the worst teams in football, then lose four straight to four of the best teams in football.
So if you add up three wins and four losses, what do you get?
After a long, grueling afternoon with my calculator and ChatGPT, I finally got my answer…
3-4.
The Raiders play the Jets next week. Their performance against a mediocre Jets team should tell us a lot about where they stand. Then they face the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, and Cleveland Browns before their bye.
That'll be an interesting four-week stretch. Not sure how that'll go.
One thing I do know is that the Raiders need to get Ashton Jeanty going. They spent a high draft pick on him and have yet to see high-level production.
Las Vegas ranks 31st in both EPA per rush and yards per carry.
You're putting way too much on your 38-year-old quarterback with that formula.
Can this Raiders offense get more from Jeanty and reignite the excitement from earlier in the season?
Let's find out right after these messages!
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