NFL: 6/1 gets it done for this tidy treble on Sunday’s Redzone matches

Are there any quarterbacks left in this sport?

Andrew Luck’s retirement was the big story before this season and given the track record of signal-callers getting hurt since then, he may well have had a point.

Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Cam Newton and Mitchell Trubisky are just a few examples, but the injuries sustained certainly lend credibility to his stance. Not that he needed it in the first place.

But when quarterbacks go down, coaches pipe up – and clever play designed are coming your way thick and fast. Let’s dive right in.

Baltimore (-3.5) @ Pittsburgh – EVS

Sunday, 18:00

This is definitely my favourite line of the week. Pittsburgh have been stacking up on the defensive side of the ball now for a while. The addition of Minkah Fitzpatrick effectively takes away Jackson’s slot receivers, but that’s not a focal point of this offence.

Long gone are the days where he won’t challenge coverages vertically anymore – he means business. Not to mention, they’re coming off the back of an embarrassing loss. This refocuses players, teams and staff – and what a venue in which to bounce back.

Mason Rudolph got by thanks to riding James Conner last week, but Baltimore will always shut down the run. The way to beat them is by going 10 personnel, and that means Rudolph will have to throw the ball.

An absolute car crash waiting to happen.

Jacksonville @ Carolina (-3.5) – 9/10

Sunday, 18:00

Here’s the tale of two inexperienced, soon-to-be error-prone quarterbacks. When assessing them, we first need to look at their safety blankets, as they’ll always be the quick release option.

Myles Jack is a thumper. Can he stay with Christian McCaffrey in coverage? No. Can Carolina stack up against James O’Shaughnessy and stuff the run consistently enough on first down? Absolutely.

Luke Kuechly is a freak among men and there’s no hope this Panthers D gives up anything easy to Gardner Minshew. Carolina also probably have an edge on the better receiving corps. When this one’s all set and done, it’s honestly hard to see Jacksonville not committing three or four turnovers.

Leonard Fournette is going to get about 25 carries for 52 yards and everyone’s going to say the team are one-dimensional again. It’s a fickle little sport we have.

Oakland (+5) @ Chicago – 9/10

Sunday, 18:00

Oakland have been largely functional. I know that doesn’t help the narrative we’d all like run off, but it’s true.

Josh Jacobs hasn’t exactly looked a star or anything, but there’s enough of a run game there to hamper the pass rushing attempts of the teams they’ve played so far. That’s the best way to attack Chicago, too. Quick routes, screens and runs between the tackles. Eventually, Eddie Jackson will wheel around on a play-action pass and Tyrell Williams will make a grab for 60 yards. It’s just what he does.

The Bears are naturally without Trubisky and while I find Chase Daniel to be one of the better backups in football, I wouldn’t be quick to jump on him as the long-term starter, despite the semi-serious fan outrage suggesting otherwise.