We are well and truly into the meat and potatoes of the new NFL season, with five weeks of action now in the rear-view mirror. That means it is time for another week of analysis and a quick reminder of some of the highlights from the most recent slate of games before we turn our attention to Week Six.
Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Week
Offensive – Emeka Egbuka | Wide Receiver | Tampa Bay Buccaneers
For the first award of the week, we are highlighting a player who has now made this list for the second time this season. That is Tampa Bay’s first-round pick, Emeka Egbuka, who once again put on a show against a very good Seattle Seahawks secondary, headlined by the likes of Devon Witherspoon and Josh Jobe.
Through the early part of the season, Egbuka has been a revelation for Baker Mayfield, who has been without some of his key contributors like Bucky Irving and Chris Godwin. In their absence, the rookie has more than picked up the production through the air, with his high-floor abilities already translating to the NFL level. This weekend, Egbuka had a career day as he hauled in seven catches on seven targets for 163 yards and a touchdown.
He did it through his versatility, as Baker was able to find his number one option at all levels of the field. That included plays down the sideline after lining up out wide, or over the middle after shifting into the slot, where he caused plenty of problems for the Seahawks defence.
To reinforce just how good he was this weekend, Egbuka posted an absurd 4.66 yards per route run, along with an average depth of target of 19.7. That number is especially important for Egbuka, as many believed coming out of college that he would primarily operate between the sticks, rather than as someone who could consistently win downfield.
Defensive – Jahdae Barron | Defensive Back | Denver Broncos
This one might be a bit briefer, just because rookie defensive players haven’t really hit the ground running, other than Abdul Carter, who through five weeks has already featured on this list twice. This weekend, we’re opting for a player who, yes, only played 10 snaps, but while he was on the park, he managed to make quite the difference against the reigning champions..
Denver’s first-round pick this year was a Swiss Army knife on the back end of the Texas defence last year, and was touted to bring that same versatility to Sean Payton’s secondary. This weekend, against the Eagles’ passing attack, when Barron was deployed he was excellent. He was targeted three times during his 10 snaps and allowed only one catch for zero yards. He also broke up one of the Eagles biggest passes of the day on their final drive.
What was also great to see from Barron was him flashing his skills in the run game, where in his limited snaps he managed to get downhill and generate two stops.
Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week
Offensive – C.J. Stroud | Wide Receiver | Los Angles Rams
After a disappointing sophomore year in the league, there has been plenty of pressure on C.J. Stroud to become that top-seven quarterback many thought he was after his rookie season. This was a great opportunity for Stroud to take on a depleted Ravens side and make the most of the talent discrepancy between the two teams.
He did exactly that, throwing 24 of 27 passes for 244 yards, four touchdowns and, best of all, zero turnover-worthy plays on the day. What was Stroud’s superpower as a rookie was his ball placement and accuracy, which drew comparisons to a player like Joe Burrow. After that seemingly went missing for about 12 months, this weekend he flashed that he still has that pinpoint level of accuracy, finishing with a ridiculous 88.9% adjusted completion percentage.
His two best plays of the day showed off his quality skill set. He launched a deep ball off a shifted launch point, connecting with Christian Kirk for 48 yards. The next highlight was his scramble for 31 yards which is something I’d like to see from Stroud more often, because he can definitely make plays with his legs. So maybe becoming more than just a pocket passer could do a lot schematically for his offence going forward into the season, if he can turn that scrambling into a pattern.
Defensive – Nik Bonitto | Edge Rusher | Denver Broncos
Another week, another pass rusher finds their way to the top of this week’s defensive list, and this time the player is from the NFC. That man is Denver Broncos’ uber-athletic sack artist Nik Bonitto, who is quickly becoming one of the premier pass rushers in the game. He took that leap last year when he recorded a career-high 13.5 sacks after becoming a full-time starter under Sean Payton, and that momentum has carried into this season.
Through the early part of the season, Bonitto has seven total sacks, which leads the league by two through five games.
This weekend against the Eagles Bonitto was all over Jalen Hurts, who could usually escape sticky situations in the pocket thanks to his athleticism. However, that wasn’t the case against Bonitto. Lined up against All-Pro left tackle Jordan Mailata, he recorded five pressures and three total sacks, generally coming in big moments during Eagles drives.
The biggest play from the former Sooner came on the Eagles final drive of the game when they had 1st and 10 on the 37-yard line. On that rep, Bonitto used a speed-to-power pass rush and got into the chest of Mailata, which is something not many players can do. Bonitto, who was said to be undersized coming out of college, drove him all the way back into Jalen Hurts lap before bringing down the Eagles signal caller, putting their drive in a tough spot.
Game of the Week | Buccaneers vs Seahawks
As always, the last award of the week goes to the game of the week, and I think there was one clear option over the weekend. This was the showdown between the Seattle Seahawks, who hosted Todd Bowles and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in front of their lively home crowd, the 12th man.
Entering the game, both sides were 3-1, and looked like teams that could make some serious noise in the NFC come playoff time. And I don’t think much has changed after the game, even with one side adding a second loss to their record.
The headline of the game was the battle between two quarterbacks, who have followed eerily similar career paths to this point. Both were top-three picks in the 2018 NFL Draft, and both bounced around the league after failing to settle in at their first few stops. Eventually, they each found a team willing to give them a chance to play their game, and now they’ve become two of the better quarterbacks in the league.
Both of them showed that in this one, leading their teams to 35 and 38 points respectively. Darnold threw 28 of 34 for 341 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception, while Mayfield countered by going 29 of 33 for 379 yards and two touchdowns.
Outside of the quarterbacks, both sides saw their former Ohio State first-round pick receivers go off against decent defences. We’ve already spoken about Egbuka, but on the other side of the battle, Jaxon Smith-Njigba also went for 132 yards and a touchdown, meaning the two combined for 295 yards and two touchdowns.
The end-of-game drama was also special, as in the fourth quarter, both sides were throwing constant haymakers. Baker Mayfield led another eventual game-winning drive, and he’s quickly becoming one of the best in the league at doing just that. Sadly for Sam Darnold, who had a chance with about a minute to go for a tying or go-ahead score, he threw the unluckiest of interceptions. The ball skimmed the head of a Bucs defensive lineman, before falling into the lap of veteran linebacker Lavonte David, and with that interception, he called game for the Bucs and closed out a phenomenal mid-season battle.