The NFL preseason is well underway now, and though these games continue to mean less and less for the players that will decide the games that really count come September, they do need to be completed on our way to week one. With these games and the training camp practices that run alongside them come unfortunate injuries, the first of which was realized Wednesday when it was announced rookie tenth overall pick J.J. McCarthy will miss his debut season after meniscus surgery.
Elsewhere around the league at the most important position on the field, the Denver Broncos have an ongoing QB battle, and with our other two downs we’ll cover some of the defensive moves trying to slow down the QBs that are defining the game more and more.
Let’s set the tone at the line of scrimmage and get after it with another edition of four downs.
First Down
No JJ More Problems: The NFC North is looking like one of the toughest divisions in football, and unfortunately for the Minnesota Vikings they’ll be going into battle without national championship winning QB J.J. McCarthy. The Michigan man was far from the perfect draft prospect, but the same can be said about the QBs selected ahead of him too, one of which went first overall in the same division with Caleb Williams in Chicago. McCarthy went to an ideal situation where Vikings fans fresh off watching Kirk Cousins plateauing level of play could see the QB develop while throwing the ball to dynamic receivers like Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.
Unfortunately, the injury news for the purple people eaters only got worse on Wednesday, as Addison was carted off the practice field. This even more limited offense is now in the hands of Sam Darnold, who may have started the season as QB1 anyway. The Vikings kept Darnold mostly on ice in their first preseason game, giving the bulk of playing time to McCarthy who threw two touchdowns, Nick Mullens, and Jaren Hall.
The Vikings have been stuck for seemingly forever as a team that’s easy to figure out and scout against, and never reaching the mark where they’re considered contenders against other elite teams. On the other side of the ball, their defense did well to change this narrative last season with Brian Flores coming in and completely shaking up their defensive look. This is a team that forces the issue on defense now and attacks the ball much better, and pairing that with some of the excitement McCarthy may have had in store as a rookie would have been fun to follow in Minnesota this season. Instead, this team is falling right back into old ways. Darnold is far from the worst backup QB option, but how long the Vikings stick with just him as the only experienced option will go a long way in showing how they want to approach this season. Is it over before it ever really began, or is there another option out there to bring some life to a talented roster?
Second Down
Old dog, New tricks: The Dallas Cowboys have one of the most recognizable faces in the league coordinating their defense this season in veteran Mike Zimmer. The 68-year has been out of the NFL entirely since 2021, providing some intrigue to what new looks he can bring to a Cowboys defense that has plenty of talent still in place from when they were consistently among the league’s best under Dan Quinn. Zimmer has stayed in football over this time, working in the college ranks as well as scouting the NFL from afar for an outlet called the 33rd Team that gives a platform to high-level former coaches and personnel decision makers.
Zimmer’s specialty has always been in the secondary, where he now joins forces with longtime NFL cornerback Al Harris as the Cowboys’ secondary coach. Harris was promoted to assistant head coach this season, showing the emphasis the Cowboys want to put on getting the most out of a talented secondary that welcomes back Trevon Diggs to join forces with DaRon Bland and Jourdan Lewis.
In the Cowboys’ first preseason game at the Rams, Zimmer’s defense picked up right where Quinn’s left off in the secondary by taking the ball away four times. A would-be fifth interception to seal the game was called back by penalty, and the Rams scored at the last second to come away with a meaningless win. The Dallas defense did this all without Diggs, Bland, or Lewis even seeing the field, and the pass rush was missing both Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence.
The narrative when the season begins for the Cowboys is a familiar one, as all eyes are on what they can do about a lack of postseason success, but getting into December and January as a team that’s much harder to play against compared to recent Mike McCarthy ones would be a huge step in this department. The early return on Mike Zimmer is that he can help his old team do just that on defense, while McCarthy looks to build on calling his own plays for a high-flying offense a year ago, and special teams coordinator John Fassel remains one of the league’s best with new schemes to draw up thanks to the league’s change to a dynamic kickoff return.
How ’bout them Cowboys?
Third Down
Headed South for the Winter: Staying on the defensive side of the ball before we get back to more QB talk, the Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots pulled off a trade on Wednesday to send Pats DE Matthew Judon to the Falcons. The Patriots get a third round pick in return for a player that seemingly had interest from around the league, but wasn’t going to be easy to pry from New England’s roster.
The Falcons made the most stunning pick of this year’s draft by selecting Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. fourth overall, passing on all sorts of talent that could help them right away. Building a team that can get to the playoffs out of a weaker division around Kirk Cousins should be their focus, and now just in time for the season they are showing some impetus to do so by adding pass rush depth.
A quick look at the Falcons depth chart up front doesn’t show a ton of names that average fans will be familiar with, as it’s no secret this is a team that’s struggled to get to the quarterback for a long time. Judon is immediate help in this department if he can stay on the field, only playing in four games last season.
Fourth Down
Mile High Musical Chairs: True NFL quarterback competitions feel like a thing of the past, but we are perhaps seeing one in Denver. The Broncos are as desperate a team as any to get competent QB play for HC Sean Payton, and in the first week of the preseason tried out three arms with Bo Nix, Zach Wilson, and Jarrett Stidham. The rookie Nix out of Oregon was the only one to lead a scoring drive, playing 39 snaps and attempting 21 passes with 15 completions.
Draft projections on Nix were as wide spread of any QB prospect many have ever seen, but the Broncos have never been afraid to stick to their evaluation process and take a player they feel is deserving of the spot. Making Nix the 12th overall pick in this year’s class was certainly a statement, but it gives the Broncos a chance to develop real young talent at the position for the first time in a long time.
How they balance trying to get the most out of Nix early on without throwing him to the wolves, while also understanding the apathy fans and even other players on the roster would have about trusting Wilson or Stidham to start given their lack of successes elsewhere, will be fascinating to watch play out.
Note: Thank you for reading my first post here at the Broadway Breakdown. As a reader from the beginning, and close friend to site creator Nick, it’s great to contribute about my most passionate sport in football. Nick and I have attended everything from New York Yankees playoff games to NFL games and the 2018 NFL Draft to Bruce Springsteen concerts together, and had a whole lot of fun enjoying the thrill of it all. As his former color commentator for Montclair State athletics on WMSC radio, Nick has always been great at reeling in the many directions my creative ideas can go, which will save you the Breakdown reader from seeing this homepage flooded with coverage of everything from Montana and Montana State athletics (where I currently reside) to international cycling and the upcoming title defense for American Sepp Kuss at the Vuelta Espana. For Dallas Cowboys specific content, you can read my work all season long at Blogging The Boys, but I’m looking forward to keeping with the theme of this site and sticking to the local teams as well as general NFL thoughts here in Four Downs every week.
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