Week 6 brings a quick turnaround after Monday’s Bills-Rams finale: the Seahawks and Broncos meet Thursday in another iteration of the Russell Wilson bowl, the Texans face the Jaguars in London on Sunday morning, Caleb Williams is expected back for the Bears against the Falcons Sunday afternoon, and Micah Parsons apparently will not play in his revenge game against the Cowboys on Sunday night, according to ESPN.
ESPN’s Solak says he expects Kirk Cousins to get one more start for the Raiders before the team turns to rookie Fernando Mendoza. Cousins has been solid relative to expectations and his contract, but New England’s plan Sunday exposed a key vulnerability.
Patriots defensive coordinator Zak Kuhr blitzed Cousins on 41.2% of his first-half dropbacks, per NFL Next Gen Stats, yielding a 53% pressure rate and two sacks, according to ESPN. New England deployed that approach with starting corners Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis III unavailable because of injuries and other depth options also sidelined.
ESPN detailed specific Cover 0 looks that disrupted the Raiders’ passing game. On a third-and-5 snap Cousins could not backpedal enough to create time and a pass was broken up by third-year corner Charles Woods in his first career start. On a third-and-14 play Cousins floated a vertical throw to Tre Tucker that Kindle Vildor — called up from the Patriots’ practice squad — made uncatchable. Still, Cousins was 10-for-15 for 123 yards and a touchdown through two quarters.
Solak noted Cousins’ limited mobility as a factor. Cousins has 10 dropbacks this season in which he at any point began to scramble — only Michael Penix Jr., Matthew Stafford and Jordan Love have fewer — and he has just three actual scrambles, ESPN reports. Kuhr’s plan banked on that lack of escapability to free rushers and simplify assignments for inexperienced corners.
