Dominos are starting to fall in the NFL as week five of the 2022 season wrapped up. TIBS News looks at the takeaways from the week.
Carolina Panthers fire head coach Matt Rhule
A 37-15 loss to the San Francisco 49ers was the nail in the coffin for Rhule as he was fired less than three years into a seven-year, $62million (£56.1m) contract.
He was fired with a record of 11-27, including this year’s 1-4 start. Under Rhule, the Panthers went 1-27 when allowing 17 or more points, including 25 losses in a row.
Since Rhule took over the team in 2020, the Panthers are near the bottom of the NFL on the offensive side of the ball – thanks to a carousel of quarterbacks and poor game planning.
The Panthers also fired defensive coordinator Phil Snow, a decision the Panthers owner David Tepper indicated was made by interim head coach Steve Wilks.
Commanders Coach Ron Rivera openly blames QB for 1-4 start
A Carson Wentz interception on the goal-line condemned the Washington Commanders to a 21-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans Sunday. When Rivera was asked after the game what the difference was between his team and the other teams in the division, he simply replied ‘quarterback’.
While Wentz is fourth in the league with 1,390 yards, he has a 38.0 QB rating, good for 24th in the league. The NFC East is the only division in football to have three teams with four wins, while the Commanders drag their feet at 1-4.
The past two seasons they dug out of a similar hole. In 2020, they were 2-6 but in second place by only 1.5 games. Washington finished 5-3 and captured the division title by one game. It will be significantly harder to repeat this.
The Packers’ defence might be as big as a problem as their offence
Just as they couldn’t seem to stop the Bailey Zappe-led Patriots in the second half the week before, the Packers were horrible against Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley and the New York Giants in the second half in London. The run defence in particular has been looking very vulnerable, which is alarming because that means you don’t even need to be a high-octane passing team to believe you can come back against them.
One of the reasons the Packers weren’t too worried about the time Rodgers and the offence would need to get things together this year is that they believed they had an outstanding defence that could hold other teams down while they worked on that. To this point, it has not shown a consistent ability to do that.
Packers’ defensive co-ordinator Joe Barry came into the job with a poor record, but many believed that he never had the kind of talent he now has on the Packers. This is objectively true but what has worried many is that he is producing the same results with better talent, the same issues he had in Washington is creeping up on him now. Fans are clamouring for Barry to go but there is no reason to believe he won’t survive the season.
By Charlie Parker
