Only time will tell, but just how damaging was Sunday's Week 6 action for the top two picks in the 2015 NFL Draft, Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota?
Mariota was benched as Tennessee fell to a miserable 16-0 defeat in Denver while Jameis was lucky to be kept in the thick of the action at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as he had a nightmare in London as Carolina beat Tampa Bay 37-26.
Around the NFL podcast pundit Gregg Rosenthal hit the nail on the head in our Sky Sports studios on Sunday night when he said, 'People have always asked whether it's Jameis or Mariota who will be the bigger success. It turns out the right answer was neither of them.'
And now what for these two quarterbacks who are playing out their fifth-year options and have yet to be offered a long-term contract by their respective teams?
Let's start with Jameis because I obviously saw much more of his game given we covered it in north London on Sunday afternoon. There were times when he ran around like a headless chicken and brought pressure upon himself.
His decision making was poor, his timing with his receivers looked way off and he was lucky to end the day having committed just six turnovers (five picks and one lost fumble). As hard as this may be to imagine, it could have been much worse.
Bucs head coach Bruce Arians said after the game that Winston doesn't need to be a hero on every play. But surely five years in, you are what you are and it will be hard for this particular leopard to change his spots. He has simply never learned to take care of the football and a frustrating career was encapsulated in a single afternoon.
Winston makes throws that will wow you and he puts up big numbers (an NFL-leading 400 on Sunday) but he has the biggest of brain farts at the most inopportune of moments and it puts his team in a hole that so often proves impossible to dig out of.
Peter King, of NBC Sports, joined us on Sky Sports on Sunday night and admitted he has done an about-turn on Jameis and now seriously wonders if he has a future in Tampa. I have to agree and I think the Bucs move on in 2020.
I also think the Titans will do the same. I don't necessarily feel that Ryan Tannehill will be the guaranteed answer, I just know that Mariota has this offense stuck in cement while wearing deep sea-diving boots.
Mariota was dreadful in Denver as he completed just seven of 18 passes for 63 yards and two touchdowns. His quarterback rating was a woeful 9.5. To put that into context, Mariota could have taken every snap from Sunday and spiked the football into the dirt and he would have enjoyed a rating in the 30s.
Time is running out for this pair and Sunday just accelerated their leaving process.
Who's Hot...
San Francisco's defense...That was a statement win against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night as Robert Saleh's unit raced each other to the quarterback, shut down the run and produced multiple fourth down stands. The 49ers embarrassed Jared Goff and Sean McVay to the tune of holding them to just 48 passing yards. This aggressive unit also found ways to get off the field on the 'money' downs as the Rams went 0 for 9 on third down. Let's also give a mention to a San Francisco attack that did more than enough to win this game without both starting tackles and vital chess piece fullback Kyle Juszczyk. This team is completed and it's hard to envisage them being knocked off a playoff course.
Minnesota's play action pass attack...Kirk Cousins caught fire in a big game last night as he led the Minnesota Vikings to a 38-20 win over the Philadelphia Eagles by throwing for 333 yards and four touchdowns. And so much of his success - which saw him complete seven passes to Stefon Diggs for 167 yards and three scores - has come off play action passes over the last two weeks. In his past two games, Cousins has used the threat of Dalvin Cook to create time to throw and he is averaging 319.5 yards per outing, has six touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 142.5. That's more like it from Cousins and the Vikings and expect the play action passes to remain a staple moving forward.
Deshaun Watson...In the first edition of Patrick Mahomes vs. Deshaun Watson, it was the Texans quarterback who came out on top. And in the process of leading Houston to a 31-24 road win at Arrowhead Stadium, Watson reminded us that Mahomes is not the only dynamic and special young passer in the league. Watson threw for 280 yards and one touchdown but if Will Fuller had taken his catching gloves to Kansas City, that would easily have been 400 yards and four scores. Watson was that on the money with some throws that resulted in flat out drops. And he added 42 yards on the ground and two vital touchdowns. With Watson at the helm - and a better protected Watson at that - this team could be a tough out in the playoffs.
Who's Not...
Kansas City's defense...Much is being made of Patrick Mahomes' injured ankle and, of course, that is an issue. But of greater concern should be Kansas City's inability to stop the run. In Week 5, the Chiefs gave up 180 on the ground in a home loss to the Colts. On Sunday, they allowed Houston to gain 192 rushing yards in another damaging home defeat. If teams are going to play keep-away with the ball, Mahomes is going to grow frustrated on the bench. Kansas City were out-gained in time of possession by more than 19 minutes on Sunday. In a copycat league, the Chiefs can expect more teams to attempt to run all over them... until they prove they can stop it.
The Dallas Cowboys...Jason Garrett was in the running for Coach of the Year honours, Dak Prescott was due a $40 million per season contract and young offensive coordinator Kellen Moore was nailed on to become a head coach in 2020. Those were the narratives when Dallas opened 3-0. They are now 0-3 over the past three games and the mood music has turned sour, particularly when it comes to the long-term contract for Dak and the long-term future of Garrett. There is plenty of time for this talented team to turn things around but Sunday's loss to the previously-winless New York Jets was a real low.
The Los Angeles Rams...The Rams have also turned a 3-0 start into a 3-3 record and Sunday's meltdown against the 49ers raised some serious concerns about Goff at quarterback, McVay at head coach and the lack of a constant running attack. Without a healthy Todd Gurley, everything has changed for the Rams and Goff looks nowhere near capable of winning games on his own. McVay is a wonderful man-motivator and his schemes have been lauded in recent years. Well, now he needs to do the coaching job of his young life to get this team back on track.
The Fast Five...
Sam Darnold showed what a difference a franchise quarterback can make as he led the Jets to victory over Dallas. Darnold threw for 338 yards and two scores and I wouldn't write the 1-4 Jets out of the AFC wild card race just yet.
Kyler Murray is starting to come around for an Arizona Cardinals team who are waking up on offense. Of course, they are totally dead on defense which is why every game is an adventure. But Murray is fun to watch in those battles.
It's official. The Miami Dolphins are the worst team in football, as proven by their 17-16 loss to Washington that only became a contest on Sunday when Ryan Fitzpatrick entered the fray. A failed two-point conversion attempt left fans depressed and sparked wild celebrations in the Miami front office... allegedly!
Lamar Jackson is not of this world. He is some kind of armour-clad superhero from the future when he runs the football. He still has some work to do as a passer but 152 rushing yards is not to be sniffed at.
Fact of the Week
Quarterbacks have rushed for a total of 31 touchdowns through six weeks of the 2019 season. That is more than the 28 through six weeks in 2002 which was previously the best mark in the league since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.
Finish That Sentence
Each week in this spot I ask readers - via Twitter - to randomly send me the start of a sentence and, as we do on our NFL UK Live stage show tours, I will finish the sentence with the first thought that comes into my head. Here we go…
From Ricky Whiting (@ricky6773)... The Titans quarterback next season will be...Jameis Winston!! That is meant as a joke but I reckon if the Titans don't hit in the draft, they would take some of the ups and downs that Winston provides. At least there are ups with him. Mariota is so bland and uninspiring right now it's hard to get excited on any level.
From Burtstown Messi Care @Christian Burt)... Dwayne Haskins has seen limited game action because...*Â *he is not ready on a mental level to lead Washington. I'm all for giving young passers the chance to grow while on the job but if you're not ready, you're not ready. And that is on the Redskins for a) drafting a guy not ready to step into the big leagues and b) not getting him ready over the summer. In a way, I'm glad he's not just being handed the reins because of his first-round status. That would hardly be fair to the other quarterbacks on that team.
From Aldo (@AldoW83)... The ceiling for the Houston Texans if their offensive line holds up is...the Super Bowl. I totally believe that Deshaun Watson is good enough to take this team all the way. If he is protected and can do his thing, I can definitely see him scoring enough points in a one-off playoff match against New England. I would at least give Watson and the Texans a puncher's chance. Watson was not sacked for the second straight game and that is great news because this kid is the real deal and I see Super Bowls in his future.
From Tim Brown (@TimJackBrown99) The team moving to the UK is...going to be the Jacksonville Jaguars. I know some of you get fed up with the whole franchise talk, but the case has only been strengthened after two hugely-successful weekends at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. And whoever comes over is going to be blown away by the new venue. They would, at the very least, split games between Wembley and Tottenham and I actually think Spurs could become the permanent home. As for the Jags, they are a tough sell in the city of Jacksonville and why would they not want the power that comes with being the first international NFL franchise? It puts a lower-tier NFL franchise firmly at the top of the league's pecking order. If the franchise doesn't happen, keep an eye out for the 17-game regular season proposal as that could result in even more games on these shores.
Final Thought...
This is a very quick final thought. Congratulations, Efe Obada! You have been through trials and tribulations that most of us would have no idea about in your lifetime and you have risen to the top of your professional sport. You are a credit to yourself and your family... and to the entire United Kingdom. Take a bow, mate.
