Welcome to the “Casual Fan” section of The Show Notes! This is where I talk about sports. Certain aspects of what you read here, such as the depth of the analysis and amount of objectivity, will vary depending on a number of different factors. I promise to always be entertaining, though. Typos and grammatical errors are a direct reflection of my hatred of generative AI. If you like this, check out my show!

Another week in the books, and another week of Winners and Losers!

It’s rare to see a player’s performance get this universally trashed after a win, but that’s how bad Nix played in Denver’s 17-14 OT win over the Seahawks. His refusal to even attempt to move the ball downfield triggered a post-game rant from Thursday Night Football analyst/former NFL QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, and has many questioning the Broncos’ Super Bowl chances despite Denver being 4-2. Through 6 games, Nix is averaging about 70 fewer yards of total offense compared to last season as Denver’s offense is tied for dead last in yards per play. That’s bad! On the bright side, this is sweet vindication for those of us who watched Nix do this week after week against SEC defenses and couldn’t figure out how he was getting so much NFL hype.

The Rams sent K Harrison Mevis packing after his two missed FGs played a huge role in the team’s 37-34 OT loss to the Bills last week. The hefty Mevis, known as the Thicker Kicker, had missed 4 of his 7 attempts of 40+ yards this season. Enter Blake Grupe. Listed at 84 lbs lighter than Mevis, Grupe also appeared to be more accurate, nailing a 44-yard attempt in the first quarter. Unfortunately, that’s all we saw of him as he tore his ACL attempting to make a tackle on the ensuing kickoff. Can’t help but think a little extra mass could have helped out there. Punter Ethan Evans came on to make his first career extra point late in the 4th, but the Arizona Cardinals won it on Chad Ryland’s 6th field goal of the game. The Rams, who came into the season with Super Team hype, are now at the bottom of the NFC West at 2-4.

Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon has gained only NFL fame for spending her Sundays on the Indianapolis sideline wearing a headset and taking notes as though she was one of the team’s assistant coaches. Unfortunately, her studious approach to NFL ownership hasn’t paid off this year, as the Colts fired GM Chris Ballard after a loss to the previously winless Titans dropped them to 2-4 on the season. Ballard’s biggest crime was his failure to find a replacement for quarterback Andrew Luck, who shocked everyone by retiring during the 2019 preseason. Daniel Jones’ performance last year made them think perhaps they’d found a solution, but he has turned back into a pumpkin right in time for Halloween.

Sunday’s performance was exactly what Jacksonville had in mind when they traded up to select Hunter 2nd overall in the 2025 NFL Draft. I mean, yeah, they lost, but Hunter became the first NFL player since Brian Dawkins in 2002 to have an interception and a receiving touchdown in the same game. After winning the Heisman as a two-way threat at Colorado, Hunter struggled to handle double duty as a rookie. The Jags seemed to try to simplify things for him by having Hunter focus more on his cornerback duties. However, he played a much more significant offensive role this week, recording multiple receptions for the first time in 364 days.

Dawkins’ performance deserves a little more talk because of how rare it was. He also recorded a sack and a fumble recovery in that game for the only Quadrafecta in NFL history. Even crazier, the touchdown reception ended up being the only catch of his career, and came courtesy of a shovel pass from running back Brian Mitchell. Imagine doing all of this before the Motorola Razr was invented. Dawkins was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.

The reason Hunter’s team didn’t come away with the win was because of a very good C.J. Stroud performance. Stroud’s rookie season earned him a top-10 finish in MVP voting, but he looked anything but in the following two seasons. His 6 interceptions and 5 fumbles in two postseason games last year seemed to point to him being the main obstacle in the path of a Texans’ Super Bowl run. Sunday was Stroud’s third 300+ yard game of the year, equaling the number of times he reached that mark in the previous two seasons combined. While Stroud’s performances haven’t necessarily translated to wins, the Texans are on a two-game winning streak with some very winnable games in their immediate future.

Ah, that was fun! Hopefully, we get a little bit more exciting slate of games this week. Need help keeping track? Subscribe so you get the world’s greatest weekly sports watch guide right in your inbox first thing Thursday morning! See you then!