NFL Winners and Losers: Impressions from around the NFL after two weeks of matchups

Every week, the NFL features dynamic plays, statistical oddities, humorous moments and winners and losers — usually the New York Jets. I will investigate some of them here. 

Winner: Interceptions

Last season, the NFL recorded an average of 23 interceptions per week. This has been a long-running decline; the average number of interceptions per week was 24 in 2019, 25 in 2020 and a whopping 30 in 2010. 2021 might break the trend, though, because quarterbacks threw a combined 32 interceptions this week.

Most of the usual suspects contributed to the total number of interceptions. Jameis Winston, an iconic tosser of bad passes, delivered two comedic strikes: One ball hopelessly lofted into the air for an easy interception, another delivered at least 10 yards away from his closest receiver and into the waiting hands of Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn.

Likewise, Carson Wentz flashed his mid-season form by shoveling a ball into the line of scrimmage, resulting in an interception and a personal speculation Wentz might soon turn into “Wentz on the Bench.” Finally, Trevor Lawrence built on his 3-interception debut by releasing a pair of ill-advised picks during his second game. 

But interceptions also won against some less-frequent customers. Joe Burrow managed 199 pass attempts without throwing a pick. On the 200th attempt, he snapped his streak. His next two attempts also became interceptions. 

Interceptions are the scourge of offensive coaches — for them, there’s nothing worse. But the interceptions were fun to watch. There’s something wonderful about watching an NFL quarterback, an impossibly athletic six-foot-something freak of nature, do something inexplicably stupid. It humanizes the players we love, and it delivers lots of laughter. Somewhere, someone is watching Winston’s lowlight reel and cackling. 

Loser: As always, the Jets 

Speaking of interceptions, Jets quarterback Zach Wilson threw four of them. All four were awful plays, and two of his interceptions deserve the joint honor for worst play of the week. But it’s unfair to blame Wilson. Not because it’s his second career game, but rather because MetLife Stadium, the Jets’ home, might be haunted. Unlike the Jets prior field, there aren’t any rumors about famous dead people’s bones being mixed into MetLife’s concrete, but former Jets and USC quarterback Sam Darnold told his coaches that he was “seeing ghosts” amid his own four-pick meltdown in 2019. It’s no wonder that the stadium hosts the two NFL teams with the worst records since 2017. Maybe Wilson is not ready for the NFL, maybe the ghosts got to him. Either way, the Jets lost to the Patriots in a game that was never remotely close.

Wilson might want to ask Darnold for help getting in touch with an exorcist because Darnold’s escape from MetLife is going swimmingly. He diced the Jets in an early revenge game and played good football against the Saints. Now, the Panthers are 2-0 and, as one NFL executive told The Athletic, “he looks a lot better.” It’s amazing what leaving the Jets will do for a player. 

Loser: Tyrod Taylor

Tyrod Taylor was playing really, really well. I mean, really! Yes, I know Taylor’s a career journeyman who specializes in everything average and routinely straddles the line between back-up and subpar-starter level play; however, he leads the league in QB rating so far and was torching the Browns — he went 10 of 11 for 125 yards and two total touchdowns with no picks — until he left the game with an injury at halftime.

Rookie third-rounder Davis Mills replaced Taylor. Minus Taylor playing well, his exit against the Browns wore shades of history. In 2018, the Bills replaced him with then-rookie Josh Allen. Also in 2018, Taylor picked up an injury while playing for the Browns, and they replaced him with then-rookie Baker Mayfield.

In 2020, a scarcely believable example of Taylor’s misfortune occurred: The Chargers team doctor mistakenly stabbed Taylor in the lung, collapsing it and forcing an ER visit. Taylor was then replaced by another then-rookie, Justin Herbert, who promptly relegated Taylor to back-up duties for the season. At this point, Taylor might want to consider the possibility that he’s just destined to be replaced by a rookie quarterback no matter what he does. The universe won’t leave him alone.

On another note, while it’s always unfortunate to see a player injured, it’s especially poignant when the victim is a veteran who waited a year on the bench for a chance to prove his mettle and was finally finding his groove. Taylor is 32 years old. His chances are fleeting, and it’s a shame to watch this one hurtle downstream despite Taylor’s excellent play. Get well soon, Tyrod. 

Winner: Organizational Dysfunction

The Pittsburgh Steelers have employed the same head coach, Mike Tomlin, for 14 years now and have never suffered a losing season under his stewardship. Elsewhere, Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh will finish his 13th season in charge this January with only one losing season on his record.

Both Tomlin and Harbaugh have won a Super Bowl as a head coach. In other words, the Steelers and Ravens are beacons of stability and good management. The Las Vegas Raiders, true to their home city, are, uh, not that. They’re coached by Jon Gruden, who returns after consecutive losing seasons and once said “boy, these rules are confusing” before admitting “I don’t understand football anymore.” Their general manager gained internet fame for imploring people to “look at” a prospect’s “bubble butt,” and the owner bears the haircut of a man who never learned to divorce himself from Supercuts.

Yet somehow, the Raiders are 2-0 after overcoming the Ravens during Week 1 and defeating the Steelers last Sunday. Does that make sense? Not really! The Raiders finished a meager 8-8 last year, and their roster remains largely the same. Further, what little change did occur wasn’t considered positive. For the third consecutive year, the teams’ first draft pick was considered a massive reach and its personnel moves were widely panned.

But whatever. It’s 2021, things don’t have to make sense anyways; I do most of my classes in pajama bottoms; zillionaires are flocking to space; macaque monkeys annexed a city in Thailand and the Browns won a playoff game. So, of course, the dysfunctional Raiders just beat the Ravens and the Steelers. They’ll probably win the Super Bowl, too. Actually, nevermind. That’s in 2022. Hopefully the world will have discovered a little order by then. 

Mac Dilatush is a freshman providing commentary on NFL happenings week to week. His column, “NFL Winners and Losers,” runs every other Thursday.