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We’re halfway through the regular season, and that means it’s time for the ol’ midseason reviews. You’ll get a lot of that from the MMQB this week. So this felt like the right place to kick things off. How about we give you one wish for each team over the second half of the season? All right, then …
• 49ers: A healthy offensive backfield—the offense has a chance to be pretty special, provided San Francisco can keep Jimmy Garoppolo and Christian McCaffrey on the field.
Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports (McCaffrey); Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports (Beckham); Mark Konezny/USA TODAY Sports (White)
• Bears: Chemistry between Justin Fields and Chase Claypool. Fields has made major strides the past month, and Claypool’s assimilating quickly would change the dynamic for an offense that has a couple of nice complementary pieces in Darnell Mooney and Cole Kmet.
• Bengals: Offensive line cohesion. Where the revamped group had made strides, Monday night in Week 8 felt like a step back (Joe Burrow was sacked five times by the Browns) with a little improvement on Sunday (two more sacks by the Panthers). There’s still plenty of reason to believe, though, that Ted Karras, Alex Cappa and La’el Collins will be able to protect Burrow the second half of the season and into the playoffs.
• Bills: Tre’Davious White at full strength. The Bills have looked scary through two months without their best defensive player, so it’d be interesting to see how much better a healthy White could make them.
• Broncos: An offensive identity. Denver has struggled to find it, and I think a big part of that has been in trying to manifest what Russell Wilson has long thought he should be as a quarterback. My guess is you’ll see a little more of what he was in Seattle from here on out.
• Browns: Deion Jones becoming a stabilizing force for the defense. As much as we’ve made of the offense staying afloat without Deshaun Watson, the defense has been a bigger problem.
• Buccaneers: Ryan Jensen back at some point. He’s the one guy who I think could be a game-changer, and that’s even if it’s just for the playoffs (if Tampa Bay, currently 4–5 in a struggling NFC South, makes it).
• Cardinals: Some level of consistency. The reason the Cardinals (3–6) have been in so many high-wire games is because of the team’s up-and-down nature on both sides of the ball. And featuring Eno Benjamin, believe it or not, could be one way to get there.
• Chargers: The return of Joey Bosa and Rashawn Slater. They know they’re getting back the former. The latter is more up in the air. Both would make a huge difference, even if guys such as Jamaree Salyer and Kyle Van Noy have performed admirably to plug those holes.
• Chiefs: More steps from their rookies in the secondary. Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson, Bryan Cook and Joshua Williams have potential. And if they can deliver on it, that’d mean a lot in getting past a certain team from western New York.
• Colts: Some fun moments from Sam Ehlinger and, more importantly, clarity on where they are at quarterback going into 2023.
• Commanders: A decision to make at quarterback when Carson Wentz returns from injury—because that would mean Washington is contending, and Taylor Heinicke is balling.
• Cowboys: Tyron Smith’s return. It looks like he’s a little ahead of schedule, and his replacement, first-round pick Tyler Smith, has been really good in his place. Having the two of them together, along with Zack Martin, could make that offensive line a force again.
• Dolphins: A rapid acclimation for Bradley Chubb. We got glimpses from Broncos defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero this year of how Chubb could be moved around and used creatively. And Miami DC Josh Boyer has enough in his bag to build upon that.
Jamie Sabau/USA TODAY Sports
• Eagles: Honestly, good health. I’m not sure there’s any one thing that stands out that Philadelphia needs right now. They may not have the league’s highest ceiling, but you could easily argue the Eagles have the NFL’s most complete roster. So you’re not wanting for much.
• Falcons: Continued development from guys such as Drake London, Kyle Pitts and A.J. Terrell. It seems, at least to me, like Atlanta hit a home run on Arthur Smith. So the culture is right. From here, it’ll be about building a core, and those three should be part of it.
• Giants: A few games where Daniel Jones has to come from behind and deliver consistently on third-and-long. Look, coach Brian Daboll and GM Joe Schoen are off to a phenomenal start. But that doesn’t minimize the muddiness of the QB picture. They still need more information on Jones.
• Jaguars: Better play from Trevor Lawrence on the back end of the season. One criticism common among scouts last year on Lawrence: Man, I thought he’d see the field faster than he does. He still has a ways to go in that area. You’d like to see him make up more ground.
• Jets: Zach Wilson taking the easy stuff. This was an issue with Wilson at BYU, and it’s still an issue with the Jets. He needs to take layups more consistently, which will only open things up downfield for a young and talented receiver group.
• Lions: Something, anything, on defense. Last year, when Detroit’s offense flatlined, Dan Campbell aggressively removed Anthony Lynn as play-caller, and the Lions wound up really finding something in Ben Johnson. Is there a similar move for Campbell this year?
• Packers: Odell Beckham Jr. The way Green Bay’s offense is structured, it needs a guy who can beat man coverage consistently. The Packers have been waiting on Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson to become that guy. Beckham, if healthy, would give them that.
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• Panthers: A good environment internally, one that I think interim coach Steve Wilks can foster. Brian Burns, Jaycee Horn, Ickey Ekwonu, DJ Moore and Jeremy Chinn constitute a heck of a young core. So keeping things from getting toxic around them should be (and is) a priority.
• Patriots: A streamlined offensive identity. The Patriots have been chasing it for six months. They’ve thrown a lot of stuff at the wall through nine games. I think last week and this week you saw the answer start to emerge—with coaches giving Mac Jones more chain-moving layups along the way.
• Raiders: Clarity at right tackle. The revolving door at the position has been the sort of cut that’s led to bleeding all over the team’s line. Getting the right guy in there—and the hope had been it could be rookie Thayer Munford—would help stop said bleeding.
• Rams: Offensive line health. Andrew Whitworth isn’t walking through the door, and it sure looks like the team may have underrated the effect of having an impact left tackle in how it replaced him. Still, if they get healthier, the issue can be manageable.
• Ravens: Can I say Beckham for this one, too? Losing Rashod Bateman was a big deal, in large part because Baltimore’s receiver depth is spotty at best. As it stands now, Devin Duvernay and Demarcus Robinson are the only two wideouts with more than five catches.
• Saints: Full answers on Jameis Winston and Andy Dalton. The quarterback spot is threatening, at this point, to sabotage a pretty talented team for the second consecutive year. So at the very least, they have to come out of this season with a little more clarity on those two.
• Seahawks: Good management of a star-studded rookie class. The six Seattle leans on—Kenneth Walker III, Charles Cross, Abe Lucas, Boye Mafe, Tariq Woolen and Coby Bryant—are vital to the present and future. Can they avoid a few of those guys’ hitting the rookie wall?
• Steelers: Chemistry between Kenny Pickett and George Pickens. Part of the idea behind dealing Chase Claypool was creating more opportunities for Pickens. Going to Pickett over Mitchell Trubisky? Same thing. The Steelers need to get their young guys ready for 2023.
Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports
• Texans: A thorough and complete assessment of Davis Mills. Houston has two first-round picks in 2023, and in ’24, so either Mills is the guy or GM Nick Caserio will have to get that guy over the next 18 months.
• Titans: The right balance in Derrick Henry’s workload. Tennessee’s identity flows through the big man more than it has before, so it needs to lean on him. But it will also need him down the stretch. It’s on Mike Vrabel and Todd Downing to accomplish both things.
• Vikings: Fresh legs for veteran defenders Danielle Hunter, Eric Kendricks and Harrison Smith. If they get that, this Minnesota team, with T.J. Hockenson being a mighty big midseason addition, could make a real run in January in a mediocre NFC.
