It’s rare for a quarterback to fit into the first two picks of the NFL Draft. And will both of these quarterbacks become superstars? That has never happened before in modern times, believe it or not.
This year’s class looks set to change that history.
It’s too early to declare victory for Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels. One season later, the first two picks of the 2012 NFL Draft, Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, looked like Superstars, coming after RG3’s ACL injury. But Williams and Daniels are likely to be among the best quarterbacks in the NFL for some time. And the stage is set for a memorable NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year race.
Williams got off to a better than average start as a rookie quarterback, but it looked poor compared to Daniels’ blazing hot start for Washington’s commanders. Sunday in London, it looked like Williams might be a match for Daniels.
Williams threw four touchdowns and had a great performance in the Chicago Bears’ 35-16 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars are a scary team with perhaps the worst defense in the NFL, but that didn’t hurt Williams. But he looked worthy of being the No. 1 overall draft pick. He showed great vision, utilized his improvisational skills, made play after play and had some impressive throws. His touchdown to Keenan Allen in particular was a masterpiece. In both, he put the ball exactly where Allen needed it to score. It’s not normal for a quarterback to look that good in his sixth game.
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) reacts as he leaves the field after the win over the Jaguars. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Williams is slowly progressing and getting better and better each week. The Bears are 4-2 as the quarterback quickly figures out the NFL. Daniels seemed to have mastered the NFL from day one, which is even rarer.
Daniels didn’t have a banner day in Sunday’s 30-23 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, but that didn’t put much of a damper on the start of his rookie season. The Ravens are one of the best teams in the NFL, but Daniels still completed 24 of 35 for 269 yards and two touchdowns.
The loss dropped the Commanders to 4-2, and few expected them to have that record after six games. Daniels is unbelievable and he put Washington in the game on Sunday. It’s not his fault Washington lost. Commander is not as good as Raven.
The history of quarterbacks going 1-2 in the NFL Draft is not good. The best pairing may have been Jim Plunkett and Archie Manning in 1971, but Plunkett did not find success with the Patriots franchise that drafted him. Jared Goff and Carson Wentz each had their moments, but after one great season, Wentz disappeared fast. Most of the 1-2 pairings include Rick Miller, Ryan Leaf, Tim Couch, Zach Wilson, and Bryce Young (although the latter two still have a shot at redeeming themselves) . And it’s not just Williams and Daniels, Drake Maye looked pretty good in his first NFL start Sunday, and Bonnix has had his moments this season as well. This group of rookie quarterbacks looks strong.
It’s a little hard to believe, but there has never been a successful draft class where a quarterback went with the first two picks. Chicago and Washington are happy to see history seemingly being made with this class. The Commanders and Bears will play in two weeks, and that game will feature two of the NFL’s best quarterbacks. Already.
Here are the remaining winners and losers from Week 6 of the NFL season.
winner
NFC North: It’s difficult to get four playoff teams from the same division. The math is hard to work out, especially when a team suffers a loss in a tough divisional game.
However, the NFC North appears to have the four best teams in the NFL. The Minnesota Vikings are 5-0. The Detroit Lions are the clear favorites. The Bears are 4-2. And the Green Bay Packers are getting better because their quarterback is getting better.
Jordan Love looked very good in dismantling the Arizona Cardinals 34-13 on Sunday. He threw three touchdowns in the first half and appeared to be fully recovered from his Week 1 knee injury. Love ran for 258 yards and four touchdowns. The Packers will be fine. The only problem is that they play in the best division in football.
Houston Texans: The New England Patriots aren’t a very good team, and rookie quarterback Drake Maye didn’t change that in his debut. But one of the telltale signs of a good team is leaving room for doubt against inferior opponents, and the Texans passed that test Sunday.
CJ Stroud looked like an MVP candidate again, and the Texans didn’t miss Nico Collins, the NFL’s leading receiver, who went on IR with a hamstring injury in an easy win over the Patriots. Maye wasn’t too bad, but there was never any doubt that the Texans would win.
Joe Mixon returned to Houston’s lineup. It was a reminder of how versatile and unstoppable the Texans offense is when he stays healthy. Mixon totaled 132 yards and two touchdowns.
Beating the Patriots will not make Houston a championship contender. But at 5-1, the Texans look as good as any team in the NFL.
Ravens Offense: Derrick Henry changed everything for the Baltimore Ravens.
It’s not often that an MVP quarterback’s offense changes its identity, and that’s a positive thing, but that’s what happened in Baltimore. Henry had 132 yards rushing and two touchdowns, Lamar Jackson passed for 323 yards, Zay Flowes received 132 yards and Mark Andrews reemerged with 66 yards to lead Washington’s Commanders to a 30-23 victory. I did.
Jackson never came back to work with him, but he does now. Baltimore can attack multiple stars and move the ball any way they want. It will be very difficult to slow down the Ravens this season.
loser
Sloppy Browns: Cleveland hasn’t been a good team otherwise this season, and making bad mistakes in the wrong era doesn’t help.
Last week, the Browns wanted it on fourth down near the end zone, but with 12 men in the huddle, Deshaun Watson walked to the sideline in frustration. The Browns’ best chance to tie a close game against the Philadelphia Eagles this week was going for it on fourth-and-goal with about four minutes left. But left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. had a false start, which moved the Browns back to the 13-yard line. The Browns figured that was too far to go for it so they settled for a field goal, which didn’t do Cleveland much good at that point. It was probably the wrong call to kick the field goal but it’s not like head coach Kevin Stefanski had a great option. They trailed 20-16, but Jalen Hurts hit a huge hit to AJ Brown Downfield. They never got the ball back after completing the pass and the Eagles went on to win 20-16.
It’s Browns season. They’re not good, Watson can’t make plays when he needs to and the Browns don’t help themselves with bad mistakes. It looks like a losing season for Cleveland (1-5).
Tennessee officials: Officials held no grudge against the Tennessee Titans. They don’t care which team wins. NFL is not equipped. However, two bad non-calls in the fourth quarter destroyed any chance the Titans had of coming back to beat the Indianapolis Colts.
Twice on the third pass, the Titans threw to DeAndre Hopkins, and there was enough contact that it should have raised the flag. Neither was called. The first was a terrible mistake by officials that sent Titan head coach Brian Callahan into a tirade against officials.
The Titans probably shouldn’t have sucked the punt on fourth-and-7 with less than three minutes left after the second non-call, but they were hoping to get the ball back. They did, but had enough time to run one desperate play that never got off the ground. The Colts won 20-17. Titans won’t be happy when they watch the replay.
New Orleans Saints: Remember when the Saints were 2-0 and seemed like the surprise of the NFL? That doesn’t seem like just a month ago.
The Saints have lost four in a row since that hot start. Sunday’s loss was hard to avoid, with rookie fifth-time quarterback Spencer Rattler getting his first NFL action in place of the injured Derek Carr. But it was still disappointing. The Saints fell behind 17-0 and took a 27-24 lead at halftime, but then gave up big plays to Chris Godwin, including one in which he corralled a 55-yard score after several poor tackles. continued. The Saints failed to gain any momentum on offense or defense in the second half, losing 51-27.
The Saints looked like a huge surprise to start the season. At 2-4, those good vibes are long gone.
