Bears in London and Saleh Jettisoned – 5 NFL storylines

Michael McQuaid of Pro Football Ireland looks at some of the key storylines ahead of the sixth week of the 2024 NFL season, which gets under way tonight (1.15am Irish time) with the visit of the San Francisco 49ers to the Seattle Seahawks.

Back to London

The NFL returns once again to London this weekend, with the Chicago Bears going up against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Jags got their first win of the season last weekend at home to the Indianapolis Colts – one which was very much needed.

One element for the Jags which needs to be improved on this weekend is their defence. In the last three weeks, their defence ranks last in the league, allowing nearly 1000 passing yards and nine touchdowns in this period. With statistics like that, Bears QB Caleb Williams may be licking his lips ahead of the match-up on Sunday.

The rookie quarterback for the Bears has shown improvement in recent weeks. Last weekend, Williams threw for over 300 yards and had two touchdowns on the day. Crucially, the former USC man had no turnovers and his confidence is improving week on week.

One interesting element ahead of the game is the travel that each team has planned. The Bears landed in London on Wednesday morning, going through a full day of practice. The team will practice in England on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week, with a Saturday of rest planned prior to Sunday’s game. That is a considerable amount of time in the British capital. We saw a similar plan from the Baltimore Ravens last year and they performed well.

The Jaguars are no strangers to London and will stay in the same hotel, train in the same facility and take part in a number of different media events. That being said, they leave Florida later on Thursday, for a Friday morning arrival. They have two games in London over the next two weeks, so it seems like Doug Pederson wants to keep the time away from their facility to a minimum.

This is a big weekend for the league. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will be in London, as well as many other executives over the span of the weekend. As speculation around a potential Dublin game continues to rise, their presence and comments will be interesting to monitor.

The rise of the Commanders

When Commanders defensive end Efe Obada visited Dublin and Belfast in the summer for two Pro Football Ireland events, he was quietly optimistic about the direction that the team was going in. “This is a big year,” he said, smiling while waiting to go on stage in Belfast.

He was spot on. Through five weeks, Jayden Daniels has become the first quarterback in NFL history to produce 1,000 passing yards and 250 rushing yards. That is some going. The rookie quarterback’s ability to combine both his passing talent and rushing skill is hugely effective in the team’s offensive prowess. Last weekend against the Cleveland Browns, Daniels had a slight dip in his passing efficiency, when he completed 56% of his passes for 238 yards – still putting him on course for an average competition percentage of 80% through the first five weeks.

Let’s be clear here – the Commanders are in uncharted territory. Not only is their defence fun to watch, they are breaking records in the process. They are the first team in the Super Bowl era to score at least 150 points in their first five games with a rookie quarterback at the helm.

Enter the Baltimore Ravens into the mix this weekend. Washington will make the short journey to Baltimore to take on a team who are fresh off a 41-38 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 5. Yes, the Ravens have an MVP calibre phenom at quarterback, but defensively they have been very impressive. On average through the first five weeks of the season, the Ravens defence has only allowed 60.4 rushing yards per game. When you read the stats for the Commanders above, this really paints an intriguing picture. Will Daniels be able to win through passing mainly through the air instead of rushing against a potent defence? If he can, the expectations for the NFC East outfit need to be taken up a gear.

This should be a cracker of a game on Sunday.

Dallas and Detroit

One of the biggest issues going into this game for the Dallas Cowboys will be that of its run defence. Through the first five weeks of the season, America’s Team rank last in the league in rush yards per game, while they are in joint-fifth place for touchdowns allowed. While that statistically is the case, the Cowboys defence is eighth in EPA (expected points added) per play. What this means is while the team allows yards and points, the Cowboys at times can perform better on high pressure, third down or big play situations. Still, you would like to see this improve from them over the next few weeks. There have been strong performances, but still this defence crucially looks and is being defined as vulnerable. The Lions rely heavily on their running game and the Cowboys need to address this – if they don’t, they could be run over this Sunday.

The Lions through five weeks have been fun to watch. Yes, they have a great running back duo in David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, but when you have a leader in the locker room like their quarterback Jared Goff, this team and fanbase believe anything is possible. Through the first five weeks of the season, Goff has had 23 completions gaining 20 yards or more, which leads the NFL.

For the Cowboys, their quarterback Dak Prescott has shown a real mix of performance. At times through the first section of this season he has looked inconsistent. His current completion percentage is 65.4%, which is middle of the pack in the league. After a bumper $240m contract renewal, Cowboys fans will want to see more, especially when he has four interceptions in the first five games of the season.

It feels like a crucial game for Dallas – if they want to put a marker down on their NFC rivals, they need to win this game. It’s early October, but every down and game matters.

The Parting Glass

When Jets owner Woody Johnson fired head coach Robert Saleh on Tuesday, the internet exploded. It was a shocker, regardless of the team’s performance in London.

We followed the team closely last weekend, both at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and also at the airport when they headed back within two hours of the game finishing. There has been a lot of negativity from Jets fans towards offensive coordinator Nathanial Hackett in recent days. The former Broncos head coach was one of the first members of staff on the bus to leave Tottenham on Sunday – and the first to head into the airport. The best way to describe the mood in the locker room would be to compare it to a wake. You could have heard a pin drop.

At the time of writing, the Jets move on, and it seems that Hackett will survive another week. They have elevated Jeff Ulbrich to the position of head coach for the foreseeable. Ulbrich has a defensive focus. He has transformed the Jets defence over the past few seasons and the main advantage for the team is the fact that he is in-house and knows the players and management. Time will tell how the team will perform. They welcome the Buffalo Bills to Metlife Stadium on Monday night in a crucial AFC East match-up.

Like the song The Parting Glass, Saleh is now on a journey of reflection. “If I had money enough to spend – and leisure time to sit awhile”, rings clear. Saleh will head on vacation, knowing he will make over $20,000 from the Jets organisation each day over the next two years. There is no doubt that he will walk into a defensive coordinator job by the beginning of the 2025 NFL Season.

Bye bye Ky 👋 @AZCardinals take an early lead!

📺: #AZvsSF on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/EUHKDDLEoO

— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2024

Packers and Cardinals

This is a game for the offensive enthusiast this weekend. Through the first five weeks of the season, Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray has more than shown that he can be a significant threat to any team with his legs. His 50-yard touchdown run last weekend against the San Francisco 49ers highlighted his dual threat capability. Murray’s speed and skill could pose an issue for the Packers defence. The Wisconsin outfit have not been consistent enough on the defensive side of the ball through five weeks and this needs to be elevated.

Another element for this match-up is the fact that the Cardinals have struggled defensively in the first few weeks of the season. They are towards the bottom of the league in terms of points allowed – and yards per play. Green Bay will look to utilise their offensive weapons, using Josh Jacobs as much as possible on key short second- and third-down situations.

Over the past five weeks, Enniskerry’s Dan Whelan has been playing to a Pro Bowl level. Whelan has punted 18 times for 823 yards, averaging 45.7 yards per punt. His consistency is improving and he is turning into a viable field position weapon for Green Bay. It’s exciting to consider the level he could reach even by the end of this current season.