Four Verts: Lamarvelous Jackson is up to his old tricks

The midpoint of the NFL season is rapidly approaching. The picture of who these teams really are is becoming clearer by the game and there have been some surprising results. This week’s Four Verts column starts off with a team that not many had being a competitive squad this year — and they’ve put themselves in position to make a surprise run toward the playoffs.

Texans are real deal players in the AFC South

Sometimes fortune favors the bold and that appears to be the case in Houston.

Just one year after going 3-13-1, the Texans have already matched that win total in 2023. Not only does their future look bright after hiring DeMeco Ryans as head coach, and adding C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson in the draft, but their present is bright as well coming off of their win over the New Orleans Saints. The Texans are tied for second place in the AFC South, which is far better than most people had them pegged for at this point in the season.

Stroud hasn’t been perfect, and just threw his first interception of the season, but he has given the Texans’ offense a sense of playmaking and skill that Houston hasn’t had in a few years. He’s decisive, accurate and willing to drive the ball down the field — all great traits for rookies to have as they get used to the speed of the NFL.

Stroud plays behind an offensive line that should continue to get healthier and already features arguably the best left tackle in the game in Laremy Tunsil. Stroud walked into a situation that’s not terrible for a rookie quarterback and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik looks to be the next play-caller from the Shanahan tree to be a force in the NFL.

Anderson has been one of the better edge rushers in the league as a rookie, even if the sacks aren’t coming yet. He has only one sack this year, but is an incredibly disruptive defender in his own right. According to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, Anderson ranks 16th in pressure rate among all edge rushers with at least 100 pass rush attempts this season (15.9%). He’s coming off a game with a whopping seven pressures against the Saints and has been as good as advertised. Anderson is a high-floor, high-ceiling prospect who looks worth the Texans’ draft day gamble to acquire him.

Two rookie studs are leading the way for this team right now, but they have a handful of veterans and younger players who are also stepping up. Ryans and general manager Nick Caserio had a clear plan for putting this team together. Jimmie Ward’s familiarity with Ryans’ defense has been helpful for the Texans and cornerback Steven Nelson has continued his strong play from last season. If Derek Stingley Jr. can develop into a force coming off of the hamstring injury that landed him on injured reserve, this team could really ascend up the AFC South standings as the season moves on.

With the Colts losing quarterback Anthony Richardson for the rest of the season and losing stalwart defensive tackle Grover Stewart for the next six games, the Texans have a prime opportunity to try and keep pace with the 4-2 Jaguars. It may be a tall task for a team that’s still breaking in a new quarterback, but Stroud’s competence paired with the infrastructure around him gives them a real chance to power through the rest of the season and make the playoffs.

Maybe the AFC South is a stretch due to the presence of Doug Pederson and Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville, but this Texans season is full of possibilities.

Lamarvelous season is back in full swing

The Ravens are back as true contenders in the AFC and it’s no secret that their success has largely been generated by their superstar quarterback, Lamar Jackson. The Ravens’ offense has had up-and-down moments, but the gravitational force that allows this offense to function is still very much alive and well.

Jackson’s raw box score numbers aren’t indicative of how well he has played this season and how well he has translated his immense skills into a totally different style of football than he has played in the NFL. Even in the games where his supporting cast is floundering and not being a huge asset, Jackson has remained a consistent force for the Ravens’ offense.

Even with the changes and upgrades the Ravens made this offseason, they’re still singularly focused on how far Jackson can take them in each game. Zay Flowers has been an instant impact as a rookie wide receiver, but the Ravens are still searching for someone to step up as a consistent contributor at wideout outside of him. Odell Beckham Jr. has been in and out of the lineup with injuries and hasn’t quite caught a groove with his new team. Rashod Bateman also hasn’t been much of a factor, leaving Jackson in the familiar place of spamming targets to tight end Mark Andrews — which is certainly not a bad thing considering Andrews’ high talent level.

The Ravens’ inconsistencies outside of Jackson make his performance that much more remarkable. According to data provided by Ben Baldwin of RBSDM.com, the Ravens rank sixth in success rate (46.8%). Jackson is the Ravens’ leading rusher this season with 327 yards at 5.5 yards per carry up, and also has the most rushing touchdowns (four) and first downs (23). It’s a heavy workload for Jackson, but it’s also one that he’s uniquely capable of handling.

At some point, someone else is going to need to lend a helping hand to Andrews and Flowers. Flowers needs some degree of space to go through the growing pains of being a rookie, which are not conducive toward the goal of winning a Super Bowl. Still, there may be some untapped upside with the current form of Beckham that can get the Ravens stability that takes some weight off Jackson.

Outside of Patrick Mahomes, there may not be a quarterback who is as important to the total success of his offense than Jackson. He’s the best runner on this team and he’s throwing the ball at an MVP level, even with the lapses of help from the players around him. Just go watch the Steelers game. Yes, he messed up the end of game situation prior to the Steelers winning, but the Ravens should have never been in that situation.

Lamarvelous is back doing the heavy lifting for the Ravens’ offense, which is OK for now, but it may not be sustainable for the entire season. A big game against the 5-1 Detroit Lions on Sunday will tell us more.

Bills are facing a tough road, but they’re OK

This probably isn’t the start that the Buffalo Bills were hoping to have, even as they sit at 4-2 at the early portion of the season. They dropped a game in London to the Jaguars and barely squeaked by the Tyrod Taylor-led Giants on “Sunday Night Football.” They’ve suffered a slew of injuries on defense and haven’t quite found a rhythm on offense, but it’s not time for the Bills or their fans to jump ship on the season yet, even working with the fact that their goals are going to be aimed toward winning the Super Bowl.

The Bills have lost cornerback Tre’Davious White, linebacker Matt Milano and defensive tackle DaQuan Jones for the season — three huge losses for their defense. White and Milano are well known as dominant players, but Jones has quietly developed into one of the best defensive tackles in the league. Their presence will be missed and it already has been felt during their loss to the Jaguars. These injuries will be a tough problem for the Bills to manage for the rest of the season, but this roster still has a lot of talent on it from top to bottom to keep them in the hunt for the Super Bowl.

Everything starts with Josh Allen, who is unquestionably one of the elite quarterbacks in the game today. He has his moments where he can start running around in the pocket like it’s a video game, but for the most part has developed into a steady hand who can make rare plays. His touchdown pass to Quintin Morris on Sunday showed what kind of quarterback he is, just barely fitting a (likely ill-advised) throw in between two closing defenders. It’s the type of talent that can win a Super Bowl, especially when paired with an elite pass-catching option like Stefon Diggs.

It’s not just Allen and Diggs who have the juice on this Bills’ team. Gabe Davis is solid, high-variance secondary wide receiver and Dawson Knox paired with Dalton Kincaid gives the Bills a solid 1-2 punch at tight end — even if they’re still figuring out the best way to become a 12 personnel team.

None of these teams are finished products just yet and that even applies to a team like the Bills, but their floor is so high even with the talent that they’ve lost throughout the season. Ed Oliver has covered up some of the slack on defense, easily playing the best football of his career and finally developing into the game-wrecking defensive tackle they drafted him to be in 2019.

The rest of this season is going to be a challenge for the Bills, one that tests the group they’ve built and some younger players who are going to have to step up into full-time roles. However, the Bills have too much talent, even with the losses they’ve accrued. Allen is still their quarterback, which is about as good as it gets outside of Patrick Mahomes. Beating a beleaguered Giants team at home 14-9 is concerning, but every team in the NFL is a tough out — just like the Bills.

Signs of life from the Panthers’ offense

The 2023 NFL season has not been kind to the Panthers (0-6), but they finally showed some life in their 42-21 loss at the hands of the Dolphins. Bryce Young, who has had a rough start to the season, looked like a functional quarterback for long stretches of the game and the Panthers were able to give him some support on the ground with help from Chuba Hubbard.

Look, it’s a low bar based on what this offense has put together through the first month and a half, but progress is progress. The Panthers actually have made some progress since their opener. Young is learning how to adapt his physical stature and skills to a much bigger and faster style of football than the one he played at Alabama. He hasn’t gotten a whole lot of help from his offensive line this season, which has been a bit of a surprise considering how well this same unit played to close last season.

For the season, the Panthers rank 30th in yards per play (4.4) and 28th in percentage of drives ending in a score (29.2%). There hasn’t been much to latch onto before they played their latest game against the Dolphins, but a bright spot has emerged in recent weeks. Veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen has quickly become the preferred option in the passing game for Young and he has delivered, catching 40 passes for 443 yards over the Panthers’ past four games. Thielen is on pace for 1,442 yards and 11 touchdowns this season, which would easily be the most productive season of his career.

Panthers head coach Frank Reich also made the decision to hand over play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, who will be calling plays for the first time. There’s no way to know how Brown will fare in his new role, but there isn’t a whole lot of room for the Panthers to get worse on offense. That’s how bad it has been.

Carolina is still extremely far away from fielding an offense that scares people, but Young is becoming more comfortable as an NFL quarterback each week. The experience is going to be key for him considering he doesn’t have the top-end physical talents who can create easy plays for him as he learns. Young has a steep learning curve, but there are signs of progress with his decision-making, decisiveness and accuracy.

Hey, more progress is better than none. Their playoff hopes for this year are most certainly dashed unless Brown is the next Bill Walsh — this team just needs to take things week by week. The game against the Dolphins was a solid first step.