Matt Williamson is a former scout for the Cleveland Browns and spent 10 years at ESPN as a scout and co-host of "The Football Today Podcast." Every Tuesday, Williamson will look at four major developments from the previous weekend of action in the NFL.
Have the Eagles played their way into early Super Bowl contention?
Yes - and to pat myself on the back a bit, I picked Philadelphia to win the NFC East in my preseason predictions.
The biggest reason for my optimism at the time centered around Carson Wentz, with whom I am flat out smitten. But I also thought Philadelphia's defense - with the exception of the cornerback position - would be excellent this year. Both of these prognostications have come to reality, but what I didn't expect was the Eagles to run the ball as well as they have.
An excellent offensive line deserves much of the credit, but so does the play-calling for sticking to the run throughout the course of games. The Eagles are for real and should stay that way for years to come. Their upcoming Thursday night battle against the Panthers could be one of the best games of the season. And oh, by the way ... I picked Carolina to win the NFC South.
What should the Steelers do about Roethlisberger?
There's nothing they can do. Roethlisberger is playing poorly, but of course he won't be benched. For the Steelers to get to where this team could be, however, the quarterback simply has to play better.
Many are now suggesting Roethlisberger is washed up after he threw five interceptions against the Jaguars this past weekend. But he's actually played at that disturbing level all season long, even though the results hadn't been as disastrous until Sunday.
Roethlisberger's deep passing has been especially worrisome, even as the Steelers insist on taking shots downfield. He not only isn't making "wow" plays like he once did, but is also missing far too many open throws. The answer is for Pittsburgh to do what it did about halfway through the 2016 season when it went on its huge winning streak.
In short, this offense needs to go through Le'Veon Bell rather than the quarterback position. And strangely enough, this unit hasn't employed a lot of play-action passing - something it should be calling more often. When it comes to Roethlisberger, think late-career John Elway once he got Terrell Davis. That's what Pittsburgh's offense needs to become.
Can Deshaun Watson challenge Kareem Hunt for offensive rookie honors?
For sure. While I'm still not 100 percent on board the Watson train quite yet, Bill O'Brien has done a masterful job of designing Houston's offense around what the rookie passer does well. That's what strong coaching does for you.
We also know that when award time comes around, quarterbacks always get the benefit of the doubt. Case in point was last year, as I thought Ezekiel Elliott should have beat out his teammate Dak Prescott, but that wasn't the case. Hunt has been outstanding this season and currently deserves to be the favorite while leading the NFL's best team, but he's dipped just a bit by his very high standards over the past two weeks.
Meanwhile, if Jacksonville can reach the postseason, surely it will be on the backs of its defense and Leonard Fournette, so he isn't out of the race either. But the numbers and highlights that Watson has provided over the past two weeks are ideal for the Rookie of the Year award.
Which team is likely to remain winless the longest?
The Browns, Giants, and 49ers have all yet to win a game in 2017. Cleveland is the worst team in the NFL, so it shouldn't be a huge shock to see it along with San Francisco at the bottom of the standings. Both franchises are simply short on talent and clearly rebuilding.
The Giants, on the other hand, are a surprise. They've played like a better-than-winless team thus far and have a few really tough defeats on their resume through five games. But further disaster has fallen on New York with the season-ending injury to Odell Beckham.
It was proven last year that this offense goes as Beckham goes, and not only is he lost, but Sterling Shepard and Brandon Marshall also went down on Sunday. Meanwhile, this is one of the NFL's worst rushing offenses.
The upcoming schedules for all three teams are not favorable whatsoever, so Cleveland, San Francisco, and New York should all be underdogs over the next month or so. However, the Giants do travel to San Francisco in Week 10. That game will be the first win for one of these three downtrodden franchises.
(Photos courtesy: Action Images)
