The Cowboys are the 19th best team by DVOA, which feels about right. With 14 teams making the playoffs, that means they're just on the outside of that threshold. It's worth noting that three of their four remaining opponents all rank below them in DVOA, as do two of the teams ahead of them in the conference standings. Let's highlight special teams real quick, because it's been bad.
The Pirates enter this winter on a quest to augment their offense in a way that could allow them to contend while superstar hurler Paul Skenes is still in town. Skenes is backed by a solid group of pitching options, including veteran Mitch Keller as well as young arms like Braxton Ashcraft and Bubba Chandler in the rotation along with closer Dennis Santana in the bullpen.
"I think so," he said when asked if he thought he was underrated. "I think the roles that I've had the players that I've played with, you're on championship teams and they have already built their franchise player. So now you're coming in to help them win. So the promotion is on those guys and things you're doing kind of flies under the radar, even though you're having a great season and you're having great games. I could have 20 (points) and eight (rebounds), but you're with [James Harden], [Russell Westbrook], and [Kawhi Leonard] and [Paul George]. And no matter how good your games are, they're promoting them, so you're kind of flying under the radar. But I think the last 2-3 years, I've been able to have my opportunity and it's shown."
It shouldn't come as a shock that the Cleveland Browns are 2-5 through the first seven weeks of the season. The defensive line is very good, yes, and Denzel Ward is still one of the premier cornerbacks in football, but the offense is nothing short of abysmal. Going into the preseason, Kevin Stefanski had four main options at quarterback upon finding out Deshaun Watson would be out for the year: Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders.
The O's just finished up a disappointing 2025 season. After making the playoffs in the prior two campaigns, they fell to the basement of the American League East this year, finishing 75-87. Their lack of rotation depth was a big part of that but the lineup also wasn't great. The team hit a collective .235/.305/.394. The resultant 96 wRC+ was better than just nine clubs in the majors.
The Heat's undermanned offense needs a best-case-scenario season from Nikola Jovic. When critics paint a bleak picture of Miami's outlook, they'll often cite the lack of a superstar as the primary culprit behind all of the doom-and-gloom talk. It's true that's a role the Heat will have to figure out how to fill if they ever want to rejoin the championship race, but that's a long-term puzzle for the front office to solve.
No doubt they need the likes of Springer and his suddenly rejuvenated offense, as well as Daulton Varsho and his Gold Glove calibre defense in the outfield, along with Kevin Gausman to dominate opposing hitters into submission. But if there was one player that the Jays can't afford to lose this postseason, that player is none other than Alejandro Kirk.
Play of the Game: Tua Tagovailoa was sacked at the Patriots 37-yard line on fourth-and-12 with 53 seconds left. That completed a day where, again, the theme was lost opportunity. On the previous possession, Tua threw a fourth-down interception over the middle that was returned 20 yards to the Dolphins 38 with 2:12 left. Bottom-line: The Dolphins needed winning plays from their quarterback.
