FOXBOROUGH — Defending a back-shoulder throw isn't easy. In fact, when done right, that play can be downright unstoppable.
"Yeah, it's definitely difficult," Marcus Jones told me this week. "We're not looking at the quarterback, we're looking at the receiver, so we're kind of trying to react off of him."
That's the thing. Back-shoulders are not called in the huddle. It's an on-the-fly adjustment made by not just one, but two players — the quarterback and the receiver.
"They're a reactionary play," Josh McDaniels said. "If you beat the guy on the go route, it's a go route, you know? So, two guys are really doing a good job of being on the same page in the moment. They have to make a split-second decision about whether that is or isn't an opportunity for that."
The Patriots essentially ended the game on Sunday in New Orleans by doing this very thing. It was third-and-9, and a failure to convert would have given the Saints one more chance. Instead, Maye recognized tight coverage toward the boundary, and in that moment, he and Kayshon Boutte understood what was about to happen.
"It's not something that happens overnight," Boutte said to me. "It's something we worked on during training camp, and something that we've been working on consistently. It's just a matter of a good throw and a good catch. But as far as the back shoulder, it's all about focus. You've got to fight through contact and catch the ball at the same time."
Sounds so easy, but the reality is something entirely different.
"Certainly, ball placement and the reaction by the receiver have always been so important to that play being successful," said McDaniels, "because he has to feel it being a back shoulder, see the ball thrown as a back shoulder, and then do the hard thing, which is he's got to have body control, strong hands. Usually, there's some kind of contact. You have a contested catch, and then finish the play."
You don't look at Boutte in a uniform like you would, say, D.K. Metcalf or A.J. Brown, and think 'That dude ought to be illegal.' He's not overly fast - he's told us that - nor does he look like he was carved out of granite. But Boutte has feel, and as he's developed, shown a willingness to fight for his space and, eventually, for the ball.
"Playing X receiver in the NFL, there's not really too much off coverage. Really, it's always press, two hands down, single-hand jam," Boutte said, explaining why he's wired this way. "So it's being able to fight through contact and run your route. I think the refs just let you play honestly. Not too many penalties. I would say it's just me versus you all day."
Jones agrees, saying he converses with the referees frequently on game day.
"They'll be like, if the receiver has a hand on you and you have your hands on them, then it's fair game. So it's kind of a feel-type of system."
If a smaller corner - any corner, really - doesn't re-route the receiver, he's already vulnerable to being victimized by the back-shoulder. And even if he does, there's no guarantee that he can prevent the wideout from eventually stacking him anyway.
"Back shoulder is meant for the guys not that fast," opined former Patriot Devin McCourty. "They fight to stack the corner so they can get the ball over the top. The DB doesn't want to get caught behind because they can go up and get the ball, like (DeAndre) Hopkins. But then, when you stay on top, they hit you with the back shoulder."
"It's the National Football League; a lot of cornerbacks try not to get beaten deep, so they play high shoulder," Boutte observed.
That style, of course, then makes them vulnerable.
"I would say to stop back shoulders, you've got to get your eyes around, no matter if you man turn (when you turn toward the receiver), or if you stay top down (defending the deepest route)," Jones said. "It differentiates. But most corners, they try to play top down so they can see, and then also don't get the receiver in a spot where they feel as though they can get on top."
An athlete like Jones is capable of still making a play on the ball, but it's an unenviable position to be in, and when done right - as Maye to Boutte proved - it is borderline unstoppable. Just remember how much goes into it the next time it happens, because it will.
SOUND THE ALARM?
After a 4-0 start, the Bills are suddenly reeling, losing two straight and falling out of first-place in the AFC East. They head into their bye week searching for answers.
"We'll figure out things on offense, defense and special teams," Sean McDermott said. "We've got to start over and start from ground zero and figure this thing out and work our tails off to do it."
After being unable to corral Maye two Sundays ago, the Bills' defense got shredded faster than pork (or, if you prefer, chicken) at your local BBQ joint. The Falcons put up 335 yards in the first half (!), and while Buffalo tightened up in the second half, they were unable to dig out of a 21-7 hole.
But the Josh Allen-led offense is having its fair share of problems in recent weeks as well. And this is where the "everyone eats" mantra might need to be re-evaluated. The Patriots showed no fear of the Bills' pass catchers and played a ton of man-to-man. The Falcons relied more on zone, but blitzed Allen coming off the bus. He was pressured on over 47% of his dropbacks, the most since the AFC Championship game in 2020.
"I think just go back to the drawing board," right tackle Spencer Brown said. "Technique-wise, practice hard. But yeah, you don't ever want to see your quarterback getting hit. You don't want to pick him up off the turf. You don't want to see him holding his arm or his stomach or whatever's going on. So, they pay us to protect. So, that's our job and we're supposed to do it."
That drawing board in McDermott's office is one thing, but I'd love a peek at what GM Brandon Beane has in his office. There appear to be some fundamental flaws in how he addressed the roster this offseason, and with the trade deadline approaching, it would be a surprise if Beane doesn't make at least one move, if not more.
Wide receiver is undoubtedly the Bills' top need. With the Saints' Chris Olave possibly being available, Allen would have his best receiver since Stefon Diggs burned Buffalo out in 2022 and 2023. There may be fewer options available, but none that would move the needle like Olave could.
Elsewhere, McDermott puts so much on their safeties' plates, doing so long after the golden years of Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde. The current duo, Taylor Rapp and Cole Bishop, isn't filling those shoes. In fact, Poyer was signed to the practice squad and activated this past week, and he may find himself back in the starting lineup post-bye. Not ideal - Poyer doesn't run like he used to - but just for stability's sake.
The Bills will get two of their free agent signees back from suspension. Both DT Larry Ogunjobi and front 7 chess piece Michael Hoecht are coming off PED layoffs. They will help, but neither is the needle mover that defense — or team — seems to need.
"It's going to eat at me the next two weeks," Allen said following the loss to the Falcons. "So, yeah, I mean, a lot of stuff to clean up. We'll put our focus to our next opponent and go from there."
SWIMMING WITH THE FISHES
Shortly after another heartbreaking loss, this time to the LA Chargers, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa called out teammates, including telling reporters that some were late to a player-only meeting. It wasn't shocking in the sense that the Fins are now 1-5, and hanging on by a thread. However, going public didn't actually endear the veteran to the guys in the locker room or the head coach who had gone to great lengths to support him.
"That's not the forum to displace (sic) that," Mike McDaniel said, adding, “Heavy is the crown of being a franchise quarterback. ... You live and you learn.”
Tagovailoa stepped to the microphone on Wednesday to issue what should have been a mea culpa, but instead turned another version of his blame game.
“As a leader of this team, the Miami Dolphins, the comments that had been said, I would say I’ve made a mistake, and I’m owning up to that right now,” he started. “I’ve talked to guys on the team about it, talked to the leaders about it. They know my heart. They know that the intent was right. But no matter the intent — the intent can be right, but when things get misconstrued, or however the media wants to portray it, that leaves a void of silence and a lot of questions for the guys on our team."
Oh, isn't that rich? Tagovailoa wasn't asked a direct question about the players' only meeting. Honestly, I'm not even sure the local media was aware of it. Yet he, and only he, offered up the information post-game. That, my friends, is finger-pointing at its finest and has absolutely nothing to do with the all-too-easy to blame "media."
“I’ve got to look at myself as the leader protecting the team. I don’t feel like I did that to the best of my abilities. I felt like I let the emotions of the game get to me after the game. That’s something that I can learn from, as a leader on this team. What happens in-house should be protected, and none of that should have gotten out. So, (I) want to publicly apologize about that, want to move forward and now want to focus on the Cleveland Browns.”
Better, but the 50+ million dollar quarterback wasn't done, circling back to the media, who literally just wrote down and recorded the words he said.
“I would say, first and foremost, you get to see who a person really is, as you’re going through the hardships,” Tagovailoa said. “You get to see, ‘OK, does this person start pointing fingers? Does this person take it upon themselves every time? How does everyone go about that?’ I think you kind of get a good gauge about the team that you have as well with that."
Does Tagovailoa realize he just indicted himself? He would be better served by figuring out why his play has been subpar. He's 21st in QBR and passer rating, and has tossed seven interceptions. Only two others have thrown more (Jake Browning and Geno Smith).
MISERY
The Jets' hiring of Aaron Glenn was met with great enthusiasm in the tri-state area. A former first-round pick of the franchise, Glenn worked his way through the coaching ranks and played a key role in the Lions' resurgence as the team's defensive coordinator. But thus far, his head coaching tenure has been a debacle.
The Jets are off to a 0-6 start, and are coming off a lifeless loss in London to the Broncos, where one of New York's only stars took issue with Glenn's approach. If you missed the early morning kickoff, consider yourself blessed. This game set football back decades, a sloppy slog-fest where both quarterbacks looked like they just learned about the forward pass.
But it was Glenn's decision to run out the clock near midfield just before halftime that had wideout Garrett Wilson up in arms. In fact, Wilson threw up both his arms in disgust at the Jets' failure to run a play, and then angrily followed Glenn into the tunnel.
“I just didn’t know exactly what the plan was,” Wilson said. “And once I figured it out, I was disappointed.”
The play before, the Jets reach deep into their bag of tricks to convert a 4th and 1, calling a direct snap to running back Breece Hall. Then Glenn called a timeout. Usually, that's an indicator of a team trying to get points, especially considering it was a 10-6 Denver lead at that time. But the Jets ran on the ensuing play, then Justin Fields got sacked, prompting another timeout with 37 seconds left. On third down, Fields hit a short pass to Josh Reynolds, leaving them shy of the first down. Still, there were 27 seconds left...plenty of time to launch a Hail Mary, or throw something quick to get the first down and then clock the ball. Instead, the clock bled til it struck zero.
“I just thought once we converted the fourth down, I thought we were going to try to (score), then we get to another fourth down and — it’s a tough spot to be in," Wilson added. "In the moment, I was like: Man.”
“We were waiting, either a Hail Mary or something,” Denver coach Sean Payton said. “And then the clock just ran out, so that was a little surprising. That’s unusual.”
But that's the Jet experience under Glenn, same as it was under Robert Saleh, and before him, Adam Gase, and so on and so forth. The Aaron Rodgers experiment didn't work. Nor did Zach Wilson and Sam Darnold. Now you can put Fields into this quagmire of suck. There will be no resurgence like the one Darnold is having, or Baker Mayfield, or even Mac Jones. Fields can't play. He completed just 9 of 17 passes in London, for 45 yards. 45! The Jets didn't record a single explosive play, a feat that hasn't been accomplished by any team since 2021 (put that on a t-shirt or a banner). Fields also got sacked nine times and was hit 15 more. But before you shred the offensive line, a majority of those were the quarterback's responsibility. He had receivers open and just wouldn't pull the trigger, a common theme through six weeks.
"I feel like I've been a little bit too conservative in a sense," Fields said on Wednesday, noting he hasn't thrown an interception this year. "Probably just (need to) be a little bit more aggressive. I've always just been big on ball security and not putting the ball in jeopardy, but it comes to a point where you just have to find that healthy balance between trying to maybe fit it in smaller windows and just letting it rip."
Glenn is all for it, although he's spending far too much time getting caught up in petty squabbles with the press.
"But I do know if something bad happens, you guys are going to be bitching about that and about him," he said.
The Jets have aging veteran Tyrod Taylor behind Fields, and even though Taylor is Captain Checkdown, it probably would have been enough to put up more than 11 points against the Broncos. After the game, Glenn was asked if he'd consider benching Fields. He was displeased with that question.
“There’s guys that have bad games,” Glenn said. “That doesn’t mean you just bench them. C’mon, you know better than that.”
For his part, Fields is taking that talk in stride.
"It's happened before, and I've looked back over my shoulder before, but that doesn't do any good for me personally, and it doesn't do anything good for this team," he said.
So here Glenn is, midway through October, and he's on the verge of losing his football team, if he hasn't lost it already. Perhaps he can draw strength from Lions head coach Dan Campbell, who also started 0-6 during his first year in Detroit (and it actually got to 0-8 before his first win). This Jets team has averaged more PPG, had one more one-score loss, and led for over 3x as much time in those spans as Campbell's squad did in 2021. So, you're telling me there's a chance? I guess, but it's clear the Jets will once again be in the market for a quarterback this offseason, and may also deal parts of this year's group by the trade deadline (Hall, CB Michael Carter, DE Jermaine Johnson, and OLB Quincy Williams have been rumored). In other words, a different year, but the same old Jets.
NERD NUMBERS
- Maye is tied with Indy's Daniel Jones for most games with 100+ passer rating (5) in 2025. Only NE QB with more through 6 games is Tom Brady (6 in 2007 MVP season).
- Maye has been pressured on 39.4% of his dropbacks in 2025 (6th-highest in NFL, per Next Gen Stats). He has been sacked 18 times in 2025 (T-3rd most in NFL).
- Joe Flacco became the 4th QB in NFL History to have 300+ passing yards, 3+ passing TD and 0 INTs in a game after turning 40 years old (also Tom Brady, HOF Brett Favre and Drew Brees).
- Ja'Marr Chase led Cincinnati with 16 receptions (career-high), 161 yards, and a TD (tied) in Week 7. That's his 13th career game with 125+ yards and 1+ TDs. Only HOF Lance Alworth (16), HOF Randy Moss (14), and Justin Jefferson (14) have more. Chase also had 23 targets in week 7. That's tied for 3rd-most in a game since targets were first tracked in 1978. Only Brandon Marshall (28 in Wk 14, 2009) and Chris Chambers (26 in Wk 13, 2005) had more.
- Cam Skattebo has forced 23 missed tackles in 2025, per NGS (T-8th most in NFL).
- Justin Herbert recorded his 18th career game-winning drive in the 4th Qtr/OT in Week 6. That's T-2nd-most since entering NFL in 2020 (only Patrick Mahomes has more with 19).
- The Cowboys rank top 3 in the NFL in PPG (29.7, 3rd) and total YPG (387.5, 1st) but bottom 2 in the NFL in PPG allowed (30.7, 31st) & total YPG allowed (411.7, last).
- George Pickens has 1+ receiving TD in each of his last 5 games (longest active streak in NFL).