Giardi: NFL Notebook - How do Patriots slow the Josh Allen train? Plus, the Eagles have their hands full with AJ Brown

What makes Josh Allen so good?

"Everything," Milton Williams said, succinctly, before adding, "We know the type of player we gonna see. He was the MVP last year. You see it. He's doing something crazy every Sunday. We just gotta be ready for it."

But how do you get ready for a player who can literally do it all, and has matured so much that he can just as easily do it within structure as he did - and still does - when chaos is happening around him?

"It's really like - that's real football," Carlton Davis said. "Nothing is schemed up. It's not anything that you're game-planning. He's just out there playing backyard football. I don't want to downplay it, but it's real football."

Gone are the days when Bill Belichick and his defenses would just toy with the young Allen. Then, they would build a cage and force the wild stallion to play from the pocket. But even if the rush didn't get home, the Pats were constantly changing the picture pre- and post-snap with their linebackers and defensive backs, often confusing Allen. Belichick would also remind his defenders not to worry about being glued to the checkdown option because the young QB wouldn't throw it. Those first couple of seasons, the Bills' QB looked like he would never get over that mental hump.

Then came his third season, the 2020-21 campaign. His completion percentage jumped from 58.8% to nearly 69%, an unheard-of leap (no qualifying QB had done that since 1994). Allen has been dominant and scheme-proof since.

So how do you best defend the indefensible? Mike Vrabel was asked about how to strike a balance between being aggressive and maintaining the gap discipline needed against a mobile quarterback.

"Well, there's always going to be an extra gap in there unless you send two guys," Vrabel said. "So, there's a gap somewhere in there if you rush four. There's a gap in there if you rush five. But, again, I think that it's just good, coordinated, relentless, coordinated rush.

"Even when guys are free, he makes a miss. He spins, or he'll extend out past the numbers to the red line and continue to make plays down the field. Or, heaven forbid, he scrambles up the middle and makes a move on a guy like he's done in the past in the last couple weeks, or breaks the stiff arm out. So, again, it's a huge challenge any time that he's carrying the football. And then, obviously, the accuracy and kind of the timing that he's had throwing the football will be something that we'll have to work on."

Perhaps the Pats can coax a turnover out of Allen, although a) they haven't been proficient in that regard through the first month of the season (2 INTs, 0 fumble recoveries) and b) like everything else, the Bills signal caller is keeping the ball out of harm's way. Allen has thrown one interception and, per PFF, has just two turnover-worthy plays (defined as a pass that has a high percentage chance to be intercepted or a poor job of taking care of the ball and fumbling). Still, this team is embracing the challenge.

"It's about to be so fun, bro. It's about to be a movie," Davis said. "For real. It's about to be nice. It's about to be lit. Sunday Night Football. Division game, and they've been running the division the last couple of years. So it's going to be fun to go out there and compete."

ONE TO WATCH

I'm going to get ahead of this because I know the questions are coming. Still, it's doubtful the undefeated Eagles would trade A.J. Brown during the season, even after his cryptic tweet following another low-target afternoon in Tampa.

“If you’re not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way,” the since-deleted post read.

That came after Brown declined to talk to reporters following the win. So why wouldn't Philadelphia make a move now if they're dealing with a perpetually unhappy player?

We'll start with the money, because it's almost always about the money (I can hear Mo Vaughn on WEEI many years ago). Moving on from Brown would cost Philadelphia a dead cap of nearly $90 million. Now, while we know GM Howie Roseman is not afraid of taking chances and has manipulated the cap better than anyone over the last handful of seasons, that's a massive chunk. There's also the fact that the Eagles have paid him around $30 million in real cash over the last several months (signing bonus). How would that conversation with owner Jeffrey Lurie go? My guess is not well, even with Roseman's run of success.

Then there's the whole football aspect of this equation. Yes, Devonta Smith is a former first-round pick, an excellent route runner, and a damn good player. But he's not on Brown's level. Very few are. Brown has that combination of size - he's 6'1", 226 pounds -  strength, speed, and hands that is rare, even in this area of pass catchers. Last year, he went for over 1,000 yards despite falling outside the top 40 in targets. So it's incumbent on head coach Nick Sirianni to keep Brown in the fold, even as his frustrations with Jalen Hurts and this passing game continue.

"Obviously, A.J. is very important to this football team," Sirianni said Monday. "I know he wants to contribute and do the things he's capable of doing. He wants to contribute into these wins, and he's had a couple games where he hasn't been able to for different reasons.

"I question nothing about his desire to play great football, his desire of being a good teammate, his desire to be here."

Brown has only had one 100-yard game this season (Week 3 in the win over the Rams). Otherwise, it's been 27 yards or fewer in the other three performances. It's possible we could be headed for another clearing of the air between receiver and quarterback. Late last year, en route to a Super Bowl. Brown and Hurts met for similar reasons, and Brown had an excellent postseason. However, the 28-year-old has made it clear that his numbers matter, even beyond the sizable paycheck. If this offense, and Hurts in particular (consider his numbers against zone defenses), continue to struggle, Sirianni is going to have his hands full keeping the waters calm.

Meanwhile, Brown apologized for his tweet, claiming it was a misunderstanding. 

“This is my home,” he said. “Unfortunately, I did it to myself (by tweeting). I wouldn’t even say unfortunately. I did it to myself. But this is my home. I love it here. But you just see frustration because, obviously, we want to be great. Most definitely. I want to be great as well.”

Which means more targets and more catches, something the 31st-ranked passing offense has been incapable of giving Brown with any consistency.

SAME OLD BROWNS

There are plenty of teams that have experienced upheaval at the quarterback position for years, or even a decade or two. Then there's the Cleveland Browns, who, for the 41st time since the franchise "returned" to the NFL, will start a different player at the position.

The team announced the decision just hours before flying to London for a game against Minnesota, moving on from veteran Joe Flacco and turning to third-round pick Dillon Gabriel. The 40-year-old Flacco threw six interceptions and just two touchdowns over the first month of the season, and the Browns could no longer justify his presence in the starting lineup after having spent not one, but two draft picks on signal callers in April.

Gabriel doesn't have the notoriety of the "other" guy (we'll get to him a sec). Still, his work first at the University of Oklahoma and then last season for Oregon earned him an invitation to the Senior Bowl. There, to my eyes, he outplayed Jaxson Dart and Jalen Milroe, among others, and if he were five inches taller (he's 5'11", maybe), he would have likely gone in round one. Instead, he ended up in QB hell.

"We have to play better and we have to coach better," head coach Kevin Stefanski said earlier this week. "This is not about one person. My focus is on making sure the offense plays better."

Based on Flacco's ineffectiveness, Stefanski decided to try the first kid. Meanwhile, he's got a second one waiting in the wings. That would be 5th-rounder Shedeur Sanders. However, it appears, at least for now, that Flacco will become the backup, and Sanders will stay as the #3. When he was approached for comment just hours before the Browns left for London, Sanders engaged reporters with a smile and mouthed a lot of words but didn't actually say any out loud. Yes, he mimed his answers. 

Just a week ago, Sanders got headlines for proclaiming he was ready to play "right now."

“I know if you see the quarterback play in the league right now, I know I’m capable of doing better than that,” he said.

Like I said, QB hell...

SPEAKING OF...

The Ravens were one of the betting favorites to win the Super Bowl this year. Their season has taken a serious turn for the worse, and we've only just gotten out of September. They're 1-3, their worst start in a decade. But it goes beyond that.

Baltimore had to place its best front-seven player, Nnamdi Madubike, on season-ending injured reserve due to a neck injury that sounds concerning even beyond the calendar year. He joins another starter on the DL, Broderick Washington, on IR. 

Two-time league MVP Lamar Jackson hurt his hamstring in Sunday's loss to the Chiefs and isn't expected to play against the Texans this weekend. Considering his mobility, that might only be the first of many. He hasn't missed a game since December 2022. Backup Cooper Rush is in line to start versus Houston.

Left tackle Ronnie Stanley (ankle), cornerback Marlon Humphrey (calf), linebacker Roquan Smith (hamstring), cornerback Nate Wiggins (elbow), and fullback Patrick Ricard (calf) also appear to be out for Week 5. Smith had seen a dramatic drop-off in his play dating back to the latter stages of last season, and looked as if he was still playing himself into shape.

"We'll get as many guys back as we can, but we're also preparing for not having some guys back," John Harbaugh said. "We'll be ready to go and play our best game of the year." 

Going forward, the schedule does lighten up considerably (the Ravens' three losses are to the Bills, Lions, and Chiefs), so if they can manage to survive these injuries, there's still a chance to find a way into the postseason.

“We’ve been down these roads and we understand,” Harbaugh said.

NERD NUMBERS

- Here's a gem from Aaron Schatz: "Based on current DVOA of opponents, the 2025 Patriots will have the third-easiest schedule in the NFL since 1978 behind only the 1991 Bills and the 1999 Rams. They only play one team currently in the DVOA Top 12 (the Bills twice)."

- The Cowboys are the first team to rank 1st in total offense and last in total defense entering a week since the 2022 Lions entering Week 5 (shut out 29-0 at NE).

- The Jets have the worst turnover margin in the NFL in 2025 (-7). They are the only NFL team without a takeaway, and one of four teams since 1970 with 7+ giveaways and zero takeaways in their first four games of the season (2023 Giants, 2013 Steelers, 2005 Texans).

- Hurts is the first QB to win a game with 8+ pass attempts and zero pass yards in the second half of a game since Carolina's Jake Delhomme in Week 10, 2008 at OAK (0-9, 0 yds; CAR won 17-6). Delhomme and Hurts are the only 2 QBs to have wins in such games since at least 2000.

- Per Next Gen Stats, Cam Ward has been pressured on 44% of dropbacks in 2025 (3rd highest in NFL). The Titans' rookie has a 37.2 comp percentage when under pressure in 2025 (4th lowest in the NFL).

- The Lions lead the NFL with 34.3 PPG in 2025 (led the NFL with 33.2 PPG in 2024). The last team to lead the NFL in scoring in consecutive seasons was the Saints in 2008-2009 (2009 Saints won Super Bowl XLIV vs the Colts). The only teams to average 33+ PPG in successive seasons were the 1941-1942 Bears.

- Jayden Daniels needs 24 rushing yards to become the 1st player in NFL history with 4,000+ passing yards and 1,000+ rushing yards in their first 20 career games.

- With his next game of 300+ passing yards, Justin Herbert (29) can tie HOF Kurt Warner (30) for 3rd most games with 300+ passing yards by a player in their first 6 seasons in NFL history. He would trail only Patrick Mahomes (41) and HOF Dan Marino (32).