The National Football League season continues to progress, almost nearing its midway point with weeks five and six in the books — as well as week seven, which will be covered next week. Both weeks featured a variety of nail-biting matchups that pitted top teams against each other. However, there were a couple of games that resulted in blowouts so severe that some squads began to rethink their futures.

The 47-9 thrashing of the Dallas Cowboys by the Detroit Lions during week six on Oct. 13 was a major example of a blowout stifling a team with playoff hopes. The Lions further cemented themselves as legitimate Super Bowl contenders with a performance that both illustrated the strength of their offense and their stifling defense. Although they sustained the loss of stalwart defensive end Aidan Hutchinson with a broken leg, the Lions and their tough-as-nails look primed for postseason success. For the Cowboys, however, prospects were less bright. Quarterback Dak Prescott continued his less-than-desirable play under center and star wideout Ceedee Lamb faced the complete pressure of the Lions defense due to the Cowboys’ lack of depth as it comes to receiving talent. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones seems particularly irate as a result of his team facing intense scrutiny, blowing up at a radio host who questioned his team’s aggressiveness during an interview.

Week five saw a matchup of the worst quality to date this season. I usually tend to provide more coverage on stellar play, but in this case I will detail the failings of organizations to remain competitive throughout the course of the season. 

On Oct. 6., the Miami Dolphins faced the lowly New England Patriots in Foxborough, MA. The resulting 15-10 score indicates how mistake-prone and ineffective the offenses of these two teams were. However, their individual limitations are due to two of the largest derailers of teams in the NFL: injuries and woeful offensive lines. For the Dolphins, their entire season has essentially been put on ice after quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a scary concussion during week two. Without their proven starter at quarterback, the Dolphins’ replacements at the position have been unable to connect with star receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, leading to an extremely frustrating few weeks for the team. 

On the other hand, the Patriots did not have high hopes for their season like the Dolphins, but their failures have been even worse than expected. First year head coach Jerod Mayo is flummoxed by his squad’s lack of resiliency, even calling them “a soft football team” after a week seven loss. The Patriots have struggled significantly to protect the quarterback, whether it be Jacoby Brissett or his replacement Drake Maye. Their offensive line has seen zero continuity, with the Patriots running different lineups every week thus far. For a team already largely devoid of offensive playmakers, a lack of quarterback protection signals disaster. The Patriots will unfortunately have to wait until next spring’s NFL draft to find a gem that will turn their franchise around.

However, I would be remiss not to mention the startling trend that has begun increasing in intensity during this most current week, week seven. That, of course, is that the injury bug has hit the National Football League once again. While this is expected in a contact sport, recent injuries to quarterbacks have been prevalent, notably including a rib injury to Washington Commanders rookie sensation Jayden Daniels, and a ruptured Achilles for Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns. Both of these injuries were suffered during week seven action, as the wear and tear of the season gets more arduous as time goes on. 

While the NFL has made an effort to reduce the physical toll on players due to advances in sports medicine, the addition of a seventeenth week to the regular season in 2021 definitely has not assisted these efforts. Revenue is admittedly the organization’s central pursuit, but prioritizing the health and safety of the athletes that manifest and create the sport’s value would greatly improve the attitudes of both players and fans alike.