We are almost halfway through the 2021 NFL Season, and yet still, this list will look different than that from the weeks before. The list includes a switch from one quarterback from top dud to top stud, a first time selection at both running back and linebacker and one of the mainstays on the stud list turning in an uncharacteristic day. Rookies, and all players in the NFL, in fact, will not be able to show up week to week, but you better believe when they don’t, I will be here to call out their performances. And when they do succeed, they will be put right back in the hot seat to perform in the upcoming week.
So buckle up and take a look at this week’s Studs and Duds:
Studs
Justin Fields
Week 8 Stats: 19/27, 175 YDS, TD, INT, 10 ATT, 103 YDS, 1 TD vs. San Francisco 49ers
Justin Fields by no means had a perfect day Sunday in the Bear’s loss to the 49ers. Fields threw for under 200 yards for the fourth straight game and fumbled twice, although he lost neither of them. However, the type of game the Fields displayed is one that shows major promise for the future of the Ohio State product and could potentially lead the Bears to steal some games from future opponents.
Fields posted his best passer rating (84.7) and highest completion percentage of the season (70.4%) of this season, and although the 175 yards and 1:1 touchdown to interception ratio leave much to desire, it is what he did on the ground that combines with these numbers to remind NFL fans of what Lamar Jackson did with the Baltimore Ravens early in his career. His 103 yards on the ground represent his most of the season, and since recording just six carries for 13 yards in his first two starts, he has added 24 carries for 184 yards in his last three, illustrating a quarterback development in his pocket awareness. This was especially apparent on possibly the best play of the day in the NFL, where on a 4th and 1 play, Fields was instantly met by two defenders after a play action handoff, faking out one and avoiding the tackle of the other and reversing the entire field to take home a 22 yard touchdown scamper.
Fields kept the Bears in the game late in the fourth quarter, and as well as he played, 467 total yards by the San Francisco offense is hard for any rookie quarterback to overcome. Fields also threw an interception with under two minutes to seal the game for the 49ers, throwing into double coverage, although the ball tipped off of his receiver Darnell Mooney’s fingers. Fields was electric on Sunday, and although there were plenty of mistakes for the young quarterback, if the Bears defense can get back to full health and allow Fields to play ahead, Chicago could put up a formidable offense in the weeks and years to come.
Elijah Mitchell
Week 8 Stats: 18 ATT, 137 YDS, 1 TD vs. Chicago Bears
On the flip-side of that Bears-49ers game is the only repeat on the studs list this week, who just keeps on proving he might be the best pure rusher to come out of this draft class.
Elijah Mitchell put up his best performance of the year, averaging 7.6 yards per carry against a Bears defense without Khalil Mack and Eddie Jackson for much of the game. The outing was Mitchell’s second straight 100+ rushing game and his third of the season, all in which he averaged over five yards per carry. Mitchell has also exhibited toughness and the ability to run with power, keeping his feet moving and pushing over multiple Chicago defenders to get into the end zone. Despite missing two games due to injury, his 433 rushing yards ranks second among all rookies and 16th overall in the NFL. Going into Week 9, Mitchell is dealing with a rib injury that will keep him limited during practice on Wednesday, continuing the common theme for San Francisco running backs, but if Mitchell is able to play, stay healthy and contribute, he could stave off the return of Jeff Wilson Jr. from injured reserve in the coming weeks (and potentially end up back on this list).
Michael Carter
Week 8 Stats: 15 ATT, 75 YDS, 1 TD, 9 REC, 95 YDS vs. Cincinnati Bengals
It has been an up and down season for the fourth round draft pick of UNC, mainly being limited by a Jets offense continually playing from behind in games. Known as an athletic runner with elite speed and the ability to catch the ball, Zach Wilson had shown an inability to utilize these talents early on.
Carter has turned it on in his absence.
After just missing last weeks’ honorable mentions (19 TOUCH, 104 TOT YDS), Carter aided surprising star Mike White in dismantling a stout Bengals defense. His 15 carries, 77 yards and 5.4 yards per carry were both season highs, and his 9 catches and 95 yards led the entire Jets’ receiving core in Sunday’s win. His touchdown on the opening drive of the game is also his third in the last four games. The Jets’ used Carter and former Maryland running back Ty Johnson (5 REC, 71 YDS) to allow White to settle in with some easy completions, and he got much more than that from the talented rookie, who consistently took screen passes and broke tackles to gain double digit yardage. This game might be what jumpstarts the former Tar Heel going forward, as he has proved the last two weeks that if given the touches, he has what it takes to lead the Jets’ rushing attack on all three downs.
Micah Parsons
Week 8 Stats: 11 TCKL, 4 TFL vs. Minnesota Vikings
A rookie long overdue from joining this list, and just the second that I have added all year, is Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons.
Sorry for you defense lovers, I just love me some offense. I’m trying to balance.
Parsons has been front-runner for Defensive Rookie of the Year all season long, becoming what the Cowboys thought Jaylon Smith was going to be for them. In primetime action, Parsons was flying all over the field, making impressive open field tackles on the Vikings running backs behind the line of scrimmage, recording four tackles for loss. So far on the season, Parsons has 42 tackles, with his 11 on Sunday night marking his highest total so far, and has added two and a half sacks to his stat line. His efforts awarded him NFC Defensive Player of the Week and led the Dallas Cowboys to an impressive win without starting quarterback Dak Prescott. Parsons should be a shoo-in for Defensive Rookie of the Year, and look for the former Penn State linebacker to wreak havoc on NFL offenses for the foreseeable future.
Honorable Mentions:
Davis Mills – 29/38, 310 YDS, 2 TD, 1 INT vs. Los Angeles Rams
Najee Harris – 26 ATT, 91 YDS, TD, 3 REC, 29 YDS vs. Cleveland Browns Elijah Molden – 2 TCKL, 2 PD, INT vs. Indianapolis Colts
Duds
Trevor Lawrence
Week 8 Stats: 32/54, 238 YDS, TD, INT vs. Los Angeles Chargers
It was between Trevor Lawrence and Mac Jones for the duds list this week, and while Jones was not his usual self (18/35, 218 YDS), he did not need to be for his team to secure an upset win over the Chargers and avoided any turnovers.
And when looking a little more closely at Lawrence’s numbers, this could be his worst of the entire season.
Coming off of his best game of the season, facing a vulnerable Seahawks team without Russell Wilson and sporting the third most passing yards allowed in the league, Lawrence looked primed to get his rookie season on track, but the momentum halted in blowout fashion. In a 31-7 rout, the Jaguars leaned on Lawrence to get them back in the game, giving the former number 1 overall pick 54 passing attempts on the day – his most of the season so far. In those passing attempts, he averaged just 4.4 per attempt, with his longest completion of 17 yards coming on a short pass to his running back James Robinson, and recorded an abysmal 11.7 quarterback rating, lower than a game earlier this season in which he threw three interceptions. Lawrence was not able to score the team’s first touchdown pass until the second to last drive of the game, and it took him until a fourth-and-five play inside of the two minute warning to do so with the game completely out of reach. With such otherworldly expectations coming into the season, Lawrence has not so far been able to meet even mediocre ones, throwing for 8 touch one passes and 9 interceptions in just 7 games. It appears as if a much slower development will be necessary for the young quarterback, and he will continue to be the most watched rookie for the rest of the season.
Ja’Marr Chase
Week 8 Stats: 3 REC, 32 YDS, TD vs. New York Jets
After gushing all over Ja’Marr Chase a week ago, he went from by far his best performance of the year to far and away his worst.
The rookies faced a New York Jets team that played its best game of football, and they did so by focusing in on Joe Burrow’s favorite weapon. The Jets were able to limit
Chase to just 4.1 yards per target on his 9 targets, of which he caught just three passes. Chase also proved his early critics right early in this game, dropping his first two targets, including one right in front of the right pylon in the end zone for what would have been the first touchdown of the game. However, he did keep his Fantasy owners at least somewhat happy, dancing around in the back of the end zone as Burrow scrambled and catching a bullet pass just inside the white lines for his seventh touchdown on the year. Even in the games that Chase puts up less than stellar numbers, he has been able to at least find the end zone, but this was the first in which he looked vulnerable to extra attention from the defense. The key is to limit his big play opportunities, and although this game will go in the dud column by his standards, look for Chase to bounce back in short order.
DeVonta Smith
Week 8 Stats: 1 REC, 15 YDS vs. Detroit Lions
Another rookie recap, another dud put up by the former Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith. I felt bad putting him under the microscope again after a mediocre, but not terrible performance against the raiders, but against a winless Lions team on Sunday, he was almost invisible.
On just three targets, Smith recorded one catch for just 15 yards, with his other two possessions being a drop and a deep ball that, if connected on, could have gone for 40+ yards. It was another week of limited offensive production for the Eagles passing attack, as Jalen Hurts threw the ball just 14 times in an absolute blowout over Detroit. Hurts has continued to hurt (no pun intended) Smith’s production this season, with his clear inability to throw the deep ball wasting Smith’s uncanny speed and ability to get open, which he has shown despite the targets and yardage totals. However, Smith’s lack of size prevents him from establishing anything more than a deep threat role, and Hurts this season has favored his tight ends and running backs in the short passing game.
At this point in the season, it feels as if the Eagles refuse to establish a deep passing game and favor an offense focused on short-yardage, which by nature will limit the capabilities of the talented Smith. Check back in next week and see if Smith can find some sort of role in this offense against a Los Angeles Chargers defense that has struggled over the last two weeks.
Kyle Pitts
Week 8 Stats: 2 REC, 13 YDS vs. Carolina Panthers
Kyle Pitts has been the two-face of NFL rookies this season. I mean, just look at these last two weeks.
After his whopping 163 yard performance last week, Pitts was as invisible as Smith, posting two catches for just 13 yards on 6 targets, tied for the team lead with former Titans and now NFL journeyman Tajae Sharpe and running back Mike Davis. Now, this day is more than likely the result of Matt Ryan, who recorded just 146 yards of offense and failed to register a pass of more than 18 yards, and I do believe that he is no longer the offensive threat he once was, but how can numbers be possible from a guy with this amount of size and speed? The Falcons offense has been inconsistent all year, and although the yardage totals have been there overall, they have had little success getting into the red zone. This is where Pitts was supposed to thrive, yet, the Falcons have only 16 total drives inside the red zone and have only scored 11 touchdowns total. Last week, the Falcons had one such red zone drive, and Pitts was not targeted. In fact, Pitts has not been targeted in the red zone in his last three games for a grand total of eight on the season.
I do not think anyone expected Pitts to be a 100 yard receiver every week, but duds like these and 1 touchdown so far through 7 games question whether Atlanta’s offense is capable of using Pitts to his potential – putting him in a similar conversation to DeVonta Smith. Both of these night and day games were also without star wideout Calvin Ridley, who announced he will take some time away from football for mental health concerns. We should not expect either of these two Kyle Pitts’ to come out consistently, but hopefully a mix of the two – somewhere in the 70-80 yard range with a touchdown every other week – will add some consistency and red zone attack to a struggling Falcons offense.
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