Each week of the NFL season brings a slew of new questions, but we also answer some old ones. Let’s summarize what we learned in week 5 and what questions we have for week 6 and beyond.
Question: Is Deshaun Watson’s contract the worst contract ever?
Sunday in Week 5 was full of unpredictability, with losers becoming winners, defenses scoring touchdowns, fields flipping, and predictions upended. Everywhere, that is, except for Cleveland…where everything is overwhelmingly, depressingly brand-based. The Browns lost 34-13 to Washington, largely because Deshaun Watson couldn’t do anything against one of the league’s worst defenses.
Watson is playing on a five-year, fully guaranteed contract worth $230 million, which is shaping up to be one of the worst contracts in sports history. (For the Browns, that is. Congratulations to Watson and his agent for pulling off the biggest trade in sports history.) Here’s why the deal we all knew was going to be a disaster was, in fact, a disaster. It’s in
In general, the contracts we consider “terrible” are Washington’s seven-year, $100 million contract with Albert Haynesworth, the New York Knicks’ six-year, $100 million contract with Allan Houston, and the Los Angeles Angels’ six-year, $100 million contract. Almost every contract we offer to anyone. Some important factor makes it “terrible.” That is, if a player is injured and cannot be on the field, if a player is on the field but has a poor performance, or if a player brings trouble off the field.
Signing Watson completes an extremely rare trifecta. Watson was not completely healthy. When you are healthy, nothing is good. And off-the-field suspicions continue to swirl around him. This is a franchise-destroying combination, and Cleveland will be stuck with him for the foreseeable future. Oh, and Baker Mayfield, who was kicked to the curb for Watson, is also being trashed in Tampa.
So unless Watson’s contract is the worst contract ever, he’ll be fine until the real thing comes along. And perhaps Cleveland will be the team to provide that.
It wasn’t a great day in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarborough)
One of the real joys of the early NFL season is when preconceived notions and big-picture decisions are thrown into the wind and it feels like NFC North is a strolling Detroit. Suddenly, this division looks like the strongest in football from top to bottom. We’ll get to Chicago in a moment, but Detroit had a bye week, but they were the first team to go 5-0 and one of two undefeated teams pending until Monday Night Football. Check out how well Minnesota and Green Bay played in Week 5 and got the most out of it. Seize opportunities and avoid the traps that have befallen many other teams. (Sapp, San Francisco, Seattle.) The NFC North could have three teams make the playoffs, but we don’t know which three teams that will be yet, which is pretty impressive.
We will stand by this decision until the Week 6 kickoff, at which point it will no longer be valid.
Question: Is San Francisco safe?
Certain teams receive benefits based on past successes, while certain teams receive no credit based on past failures. The San Francisco 49ers meet the first criterion, and the Arizona Cardinals meet the second. So when Arizona stepped up and defeated San Francisco for an upset win on Sunday, it wasn’t just a reversal of expectations, it was a crack in the foundation of the NFC West. The 49ers went 2-3 on the year. It’s true that Christian McCaffrey’s absence will be a big problem for the team, but as is the classic injury clichรฉ, McCaffrey doesn’t play defense. Every team faces injury issues, with injuries up and down the roster ruining a team’s chances. The Niners were unable to shut out Arizona with a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter, but that’s the bigger concern. San Francisco should be fine, but the Niners can’t afford many more weeks.
Answer: The Ravens are fine.
When Baltimore started the season 0-2, you could hear cries of “What-?” The echoes from the Inner Harbor could be heard all over the country. But Baltimore quickly evened the record with key wins over Buffalo and Dallas, heading into Sunday’s divisional game against Cincinnati on solid ground. They left the instant classic throwdown not only on solid ground, but on a pedestal. Lamar Jackson’s four-touchdown performance was (barely) better than Joe Burrow’s five-touchdown performance, including one of the most spectacular touchdown scrambles seen this year. There’s an air of unrelenting inevitability in Baltimore right now, and that’s exactly what Ravens fans want from this team — Derrick Henry can stomp on it whenever Jackson can’t get out of trouble. That’s the feeling. That 0-2 start is now a distant memory.
Question: Will Buffalo’s business hours close earlier than expected?
The Bills improved early this season, winning their first three games against Arizona, Miami and Jacksonville, but most of those wins turned out to be empty calories. Loses to the clearly better teams, or the clearly more opportunistic teams, Baltimore and Houston, erased the last bit of danger surrounding this team. The Bills’ insane late-game play calling (three consecutive passes from their own three led to Houston’s winning field goal) was lurking behind close games, and it was hard to trust the Bills in tense situations. means it’s impossible. The AFC is now a Cancer conference, but Baltimore, Kansas City and Houston — at least — seem healthier than Buffalo at this point. It’s a long road to January, but it’s currently longer for Buffalo than the teams it expects to face in the playoffs in January.
Answer: Rest assured, Bears fans.
Acquiring the No. 1 draft pick puts you under a microscope next season, whether it’s fair or not, and so far this year the Chicago Bears and top QB Caleb Williams have been under the microscope. It squirms uncomfortably below. Now, I hesitate to give too much credit to wins involving the Carolina Panthers, but Chicago still looked pretty great Sunday afternoon with a 36-10 victory. After scoring an early touchdown, the Bears went on a 30-game scoring spree. Williams threw for 304 yards and two touchdowns, looked comfortable overall on offense and was very comfortable throwing against DJ Moore. The question of Williams or Jaden Daniels will remain for years to come, but as long as Williams performs reliably, it will become a matter of “what if” rather than “what if.” Moreover, above all, playing Carolina is a good way to remind yourself that things can always get worse.