Schrock's Week 15 takeaways: 49ers' loss to Cowboys was draft win
Week 15 of the NFL season opened with a Duck Bowl in Las Vegas and ended with Baker Mayfield sticking it to his old coach Freddie Kitchens and the New York Giants.In between, the 49ers went to Dallas and put up a fight in a 41-33 loss to Andy Dalton. But was the loss, an otherwise meaningless blip in a forgotten season, a bad thing? For the 2020 49ers? Sure. For the future of the organization? Not at all.As the 49ers were coughing up the ball left and right in the Lone Star State, the New York Jets took their ticket to the Trevor Lawrence lottery, doused it in kerosene and lit it on fire. Welcome to Duval County, Trevor. You'll like the weather and the tax structure. And, hey, at least you're not a Jet. Good on the 2020 Jets for fighting hard and making sure they didn't go down in history as an 0-16 team. But man, what a wasted opportunity for a franchise to finally find the star quarterback it has been searching for. To be clear, Justin Fields is also really talented, but he's still two pegs under Lawrence.In the desert, two former Oklahoma quarterbacks went toe-to-toe as Kyler Murray and Jalen Hurts exchanged eye-opening plays in the Cardinals' 33-26 win. Loss aside, Hurts was impressive and it's beginning to look like the Carson Wentz era might be over.The playoff picture is getting solidified and so is the draft order. Let's take a look at what we learned in Week 15.
On Saturday, the New York Jets' brass sat somewhere and watched the future of their franchise shred No. 2 Notre Dame in the ACC Championship Game.
Trevor Lawrence, the Clemson star who missed the Tigers' first game against the Fighting Irish, went 25-for-36 for 322 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 90 yards and a score.
Lawrence is seen as the best quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck. He's a surefire generational star who can lift whatever terrible franchise drafts him to relevancy.
The Jets were going to be that team. They were going about everything the right way. Adam Gase was going to stick the year out as head coach. There was no better way to ensure the losses kept piling up. They fired defensive coordinator Gregg Williams after his all-out blitz cost them a win against the Raiders, but secretly the brass had to be happy entering Sunday. The Jets were 0-13 and with games against the first-place Rams, Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots left on the schedule, 0-16 was in their grasp and Lawrence with it.
The plan was in place. The Jets would stuff Gase in a cannon and fire him into space. They would hire a head coach who could help Lawrence reach his astronomically high ceiling, draft Gotham's savior and the Jets would be on the fast track back to relevancy.
In 60 minutes Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, that all went out the window. The Jets roared out to a 13-0 lead on the Rams and held on for dear life, winning 23-20 to make sure they wouldn't join the 2008 Detroit Lions in the record books.
That's all fine and dandy. Going 0-16 is, after all, a blemish that's impossible to rub off as a franchise. But the Jets' win, what likely will be their lone victory, could cost them ... everything.
And I'm not being hyperbolic.
With the win, the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-13) have leapfrogged the Jets for the No. 1 pick due to strength of schedule.
Lawrence, who will play No. 3 Ohio State in the College Football Playoff Semifinals, can breathe easy knowing he's no longer destined to don the green and white of the NFL's marquee train wreck franchise.
Instead, he'll head to Duval County. Are the Jaguars a better franchise than the Jets? Look, it's a horse race that's not worth handicapping.
But being doomed to the Jets is a fate that should be wished on no one, and especially not a generational talent like Lawrence.
Remember at the NFL Scouting Combine when someone asked Jalen Hurts if he wanted to work out as a running back?
Man, that didn't age well.
Hurts was seen as a developmental NFL quarterback prospect coming out of Oklahoma, one who would need a few years to sit before being thrown into the fire.
He got 13 weeks before the Eagles, who drafted him in the second round, stapled Carson Wentz to the bench and gave Hurts the starting job.
Hurts was OK in his first start. He threw for 167 yards, ran for 106 yards and led the Eagles to an upset win over the Saints. Coach Doug Pederson designed a good game plan around Hurts' strengths, getting the ball out of his hands fast on screens and quick outs and not asking Hurts to make a lot of reads in the middle for the field.
It was a good debut, no doubt. But throwing for 167 yards while not having to make throws in the middle of the field isn't anything to write home about.
But what Hurts did Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals was the stuff of a future franchise quarterback. Hurts went 24-for-44 for 338 yards and three touchdowns while adding 63 yards and a touchdown on the ground in a 33-26 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
There's no denying the juice Hurts has brought to a lifeless Eagles' offense under Wentz. He has yet to throw an interception as a starter and became the first player in NFL history to throw for 500 yards and rush for 150 in his first two career starts.
The Eagles fell behind 16-0 quickly against the Cardinals, but Hurts rallied Philadelphia by throwing three second-quarter touchdowns to bring the Eagles within six at halftime. Late in the third quarter, Hurts scored from 7 yards out to tie the game.
The rally eventually came up short, but Hurts' performance should excite and worry the Eagles' front office.
If Hurts continues this play to close the regular season, he'll join the like of Kyler Murray, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow as part of the up-and-coming wave of NFL star quarterbacks. Continued success from Hurts will make it almost impossible for the Eagles to hand the starting job back to Wentz for 2021 even though they are financially committed to him. They would face a dead cap hit of $59 million if they cut Wentz and one of $30 million if they trade him.
A trade isn't impossible, and if Hurts closes the season with two more eye-opening performances, Wentz's day in Philadelphia might be numbered.
Through two starts, Jalen Hurts looks like he's on track to be a franchise quarterback. That's going to make for a complicated offseason in Philadelphia.
Derek Carr did everything he was supposed to in 2020. He had arguably the best year of his career, and the Raiders are going to miss the playoffs because the defense couldn't stop Rick Moranis' Little Giants from going up and down the field.
Carr has been sensational. Full stop.
All of that brings me to Thursday night. Carr left the game in the first quarter with a groin injury and was replaced by Marcus Mariota, who had not taken an important snap since losing his job to Ryan Tannehill last season.
Mariota entered the game and went 5-for-5 on his first drive, capping it off with a 35-yard dime to Darren Waller for a touchdown.
Mariota was sensational. He 17-for-28 for 226 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown. He wasn't perfect, as a poor throw behind Zay Jones was picked off late in the fourth quarter. He missed Nelson Agholor down the middle of the field in overtime.
Mariota's performance Thursday night showed what has always been true about the 2015 No. 2 overall pick: When he's confident and the offense is tailored around what he does well, he's a no-doubt starting quarterback in the NFL.
Unfortunately for the Raiders, Jon Gruden's play-calling oscillated between letting Mariota cook and trying to not to lose.
Mariota came in the game and went 5-for-5. Then, the Raiders opened the next drive with a handoff to third-string running back Theo Riddick that lost 5 yards and led to a punt.
On the next drive, the Raiders rode Josh Jacobs to the end zone. They followed that up with an 11-minute drive led that mainly relied on Mariota's arm and legs to get them into the end zone.
In overtime, Mariota chewed up the Chargers with his legs, getting the Raiders down to the 4-yard line. Then, Gruden ran it into the line twice and then called a rollout pass to the fullback which had no chance, resulting in a field goal.
The modern NFL asks quarterbacks to be able to beat teams with both their arm and legs. Last year, Gruden would harp on Carr's reluctance to use his legs to extend plays and move the chains. Carr has done that more this season, but he's not the athlete Mariota is.
Carr is expected to be out 10-14 days with the groin injury, meaning Mariota should at least get one more start and perhaps finish out the season. That will give Gruden a chance to tailor the game plan around Mariota's strengths, incorporating more read options and getting Mariota out on the edge where he can hurt teams with his arm and legs.
It will give Gruden a chance to see what his offense can do with that added dimension. It will also give Mariota a chance to audition for a starting gig elsewhere in 2021.
I don't expect Mariota to take Carr's job. There's no controversy. Not yet. But it will be interesting to see the Raiders' offense with Mariota at the helm.
He looked like a different quarterback than the one that was benched in Tennessee last season. The Raiders allowed him to get healthy, work on his mechanics and get his confidence back. They might have saved his career in the process, whether he continues it in Las Vegas or elsewhere will be up to Gruden and Mike Mayock after this season.
No NFL team wants to lose. The players are thinking about one thing and one thing only: Getting a win on Sunday.
But let's be honest about the 49ers' 2020 season. It's been an unmitigated disaster. There was no "Revenge Tour." No Super Bowl return. It was a season filled with injuries and almost no memorable moments.
They entered Sunday at 5-8 with an outside shot at a playoff berth. A win over the Dallas Cowboys would have kept an unrealistic dream barely alive.
Instead, the 49ers turned the ball over four times and lost 41-33. It was another disappointing loss in a forgettable season, but it's one that could pay off down the road.
With the loss, the 49ers (5-9) are inching closer to a top-10 pick. They currently sit at No. 12 but have a good chance to move into the top-10 over the final two weeks of the regular season. With games against the Cardinals and Seahawks remaining, it's fair to assume the 49ers, quarterbacked by Nick Mullens or C.J. Beathard, will finish the season at 5-11.
The Los Angeles Chargers (5-9) are two spots ahead of the 49ers, but they close with games against the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs. There's a chance the Chiefs will have the No. 1 seed locked up by then and will have nothing to play for. Either way, the Chargers should at least win one more game. The Cowboys sit three spots ahead of the 49ers, but have toss-up games with the Eagles and Giants to close. One win in there and the Cowboys will drop behind the 49ers. I don't expect the Lions, Panthers or Falcons to win another game, meaning all three should finish higher than the 49ers.
We're not here to talk about quarterbacks. We've done enough of that. But the 49ers' loss to the Cowboys just might ensure them a top-10 pick. Maybe that's quarterback Zach Wilson or Trey Lance. I doubt it, though. My guess is they'd look at a cornerback like Caleb Farley or Jaycee Horn to replace Richard Sherman, or perhaps an edge rusher like Gregory Rousseau to pair with Nick Bosa.
Either way, a team with a win-now roster should be getting another top-tier draft talent at a position of need. That's a big win for a team that will have a healthy Bosa, George Kittle and perhaps Jimmy Garoppolo next season.
Losing can't ever be categorized as good. But the 49ers' loss Sunday in Dallas isn't one to stew over. In fact, it's one that could be the key to landing them their next franchise star.
