NFL Season Halfway Point Recap

Josh Allen Dominates NFL; Geno Smith Rises to Top 10; Packers In Trouble

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Vince Kim

The 2022-23 NFL season has been incredible to watch for the past seven weeks. From prolific displays by quarterbacks to running backs to the even more incredible runs by the New York Giants and New York Jets, this season has been action-packed from the very start. Let’s go through a rundown of the highlights from recent weeks.

First and foremost, six weeks of playing time have given fans enough time to consolidate their opinions on NFL MVP, and Josh Allen has been the hot topic of each conversation. Allen entered each successive week as an NFL MVP favorite and walked off the field only strengthening his odds through unbelievable performances. In his Week 5 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Allen threw 348 pass yards for four touchdown passes, the second-most pass yards by any quarterback in the first half since 1991 — the other player to accomplish this feat was Patrick Mahomes(359 pass yards in Week 12 2020), who won the NFL MVP in 2018. In Week 6, Allen only strengthened his case against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, outplaying them 24-20 and leading his second game-winning drive this season. Josh Allen seems unstoppable heading into his Week 8 matchup against the Packers this Sunday.

It’s worth noting that the Seattle Seahawks were hopeless after a series of lackluster performances fueled by an injured Russell Wilson and the Seahawks QB’s move to the Denver Broncos this summer. But their new QB Geno Smith has not only filled Russ’ shoes, but has even entered talks of regular season MVP. Smith currently has the highest completion percentage(73.5%) through seven weeks and leads the league in completion percentage over expectation (+9.7%) powered by NFL Next Gen Stats. He has thrown 1712 pass yards and 11 touchdown passes, and Seattle would never be 4-3 without his contributions, which is why fans and the franchise are considering this unprecedented performance to be the start to a potentially amazing career.

Doctor Who Examined Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa Is Dismissed - The New York Times

The season has also seen its share of serious injuries, like 49ers QB Trey Lance’s early exit out of the season with an ankle fracture , Broncos RB Javonte Williams’ season-ending knee injury, and, most notably, Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa’s double concussions throughout Weeks 3 and 4. In Week 3 against the Buffalo Bills, Tagovailoa was hit as he threw the ball, landing on his back and head. He then was slow to get up and began to stumble as he trotted forward, to which the Dolphins medical team ruled him out for the remainder of the first half. Tagovailoa returned the second half, which erupted into huge controversy as the NFL world doubted Tua had passed the concussion protocol properly.

While the NFL and NFLPA launched a joint investigation on the concussion scandal, Tagovailoa was hit yet again in Week 4 against the Bengals and stayed on the ground for several minutes without any movement. He was later carted off the field and ruled out for the remainder of the game as he was sent to the nearest hospital. Thankfully, Tua returned in Week 7 and put on a healthy performance against the Steelers with 261 pass yards and a touchdown, but the frightening turn of events in Week 4 prompted the NFL and NFLPA to update the league’s concussion protocols to better protect its QBs.

Lastly, let’s talk about the Giants… and the Packers. The Week 5 London showdown between the two teams resulted in another upset pulled by the Giants and yet another disappointing week for the Pack, but it provided some insight on both teams’ performance throughout the season. For the first time in the Super Bowl era, the Giants have upset five teams in their last seven games, largely due to RB Saquon Barkley’s stellar performance throughout the season. After a breakout rookie season followed by a string of injuries that prevented him from playing, Barkley has been instrumental to the Giants success so far. They hope to continue this streak against the Seahawks this Sunday.

After huge 1st half, Packers go silent in loss to Seahawks – WKTY

Sadly, the Packers have been arguably the most disappointing team this season. Since their Week 5 matchup against the Giants, the Packers have recorded a three-game losing streak with successive losses against the New York Jets and Washington Commanders. A large part of this is due to a lackluster offense that lost their top wideout Davante Adams last summer, who was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders after QB Aaron Rodgers signed a 4-year $200M deal. As a result, the Packers’ few “good” wide receivers only consist of young players who are largely inexperienced. Coupled with Rodgers’ rather inconsistent passing and the RB duo of Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon failing to produce much, it makes sense why Green Bay has not been doing great this season. Hopefully we can snap our losing streak soon, but our Week 8 matchup against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills only throws the Packers’ season into deeper uncertainty.