| If The Season Ended Today – AFC Last wk Overall Conf1 1 Kansas City West 4-0 4-02 5 Baltimore North 4-1 2-03 2 Jacksonville South 4-1 3-14 3 Buffalo East 4-1 2-15 7 New England WC1 3-2 3-16 8 Denver WC2 3-2 2-17 6 Las Vegas WC3 3-2 2-28 4 Cleveland 3-2 1-29 9 Pittsburgh 3-2 2-210 11 Cincinnati 3-2 2-2 Baltimore’s OT win over Atlanta sends the Ravens all the way to #2 while Pittsburgh and Cincinnati’s wins basically do Butkus. NFC Last wk Overall Conf1 1 Minnesota North 5-0 4-02 2 San Francisco West 5-0 3-0 3 3 NY Giants East 3-1-1 2-1-1 4 4 Carolina South 2-2 2-15 10 Green Bay WC1 3-2 2-26 9 Detroit WC2 3-2 2-17 5 Chicago WC3 3-2 2-28 6 Seattle 3-2 1-29 7 LA Rams 2-3 2-110 8 Atlanta 2-3 2-111 11 Philadelphia 2-3 1-212 12 Dallas 2-3 1-2 Green Bay jumps five spots and the NFC North has a stranglehold on the Wild Card. The defending Super Bowl champs are out of the playoffs as are the Super Team, the Rams. |
| NFC NORTH |
| GREEN BAYMatt Schneidman of The Athletic sings the praises of WRs CHRISTIAN WATSON and MATTHEW GOLDEN: Christian Watson and Matthew Golden can be one of the NFL’s best wide receiver duos. Heck, they might already be. Through five weeks, their 871 combined receiving yards are more than any receiver tandem in the league. Watson ranks fifth with 474 receiving yards and Golden ninth with 397. Watson’s six touchdown catches rank second behind reigning Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba, while Golden’s two scores are two more than he had in his rookie regular season. The Packers’ offense thrives on the explosive passing game, and those two are at the heart of it. “It’s hard to stop two guys who can run all the routes and stretch the field like that,” Watson said. “If you try to, it’s going to give us other opportunities elsewhere.” Sunday’s blowout win over the Chicago Bears showed just how good Watson and Golden can be as a one-two punch. (It also helps that the offensive line is giving quarterback Jordan Love more time to find them.) We also saw the byproduct of a transformed Green Bay wide receiver room. Since trading star pass catcher Davante Adams before the 2022 NFL Draft, the Packers have spread the ball around. Coach Matt LaFleur has shared the love between players like Watson, Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, Dontayvion Wicks and Golden, all five of whom were on the team last season. Allen Lazard was even WR1 for a season, and a past-his-prime Randall Cobb got in on the action a couple of years ago, too. With the New England Patriots signing Doubs in free agency and the Packers trading Wicks to the Eagles, less meant more for Watson and Golden, especially after Reed’s season-ending neck injury in Week 2. That was evident Sunday, with Watson seeing a team-high eight targets while catching six passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns and Golden catching six of his seven targets for 123 yards. Third on the Packers in receiving on a day when Love threw for 367 yards was tight end Tucker Kraft, who hauled in all five of his targets for 64 yards. Since Adams left, no Packer has eclipsed 857 receiving yards in a season (Reed in 2024). Through five games, Watson is on pace for 1,612 and Golden for 1,350. Running back MarShawn Lloyd was asked after Sunday’s game where the duo of Watson and Golden rank in the league. “One,” Lloyd said. “To me, it’s one.” “Those are two guys that are dominant factors,” Love added. Watson has struggled to stay healthy for extended stretches throughout his career, which might be the primary reason he isn’t widely considered one of the league’s premier receivers. That time could be coming to an end. Through his first four seasons, Watson started 51 of a possible 72 games in the regular season and playoffs. He’s been on the field for every game since returning from his torn ACL in Week 8 last season, aside from a meaningless Week 18 game against the Minnesota Vikings in which the Packers rested starters. Over that 15-game stretch, which began with a ramp-up period as he returned from a significant injury, Watson has caught 64 passes for 1,121 yards and 13 touchdowns. He’s evolved from strictly a deep threat with shaky hands to a receiver with rock-solid mitts who can make plays anywhere on the field. “Christian really been one of them top guys in the league for a long time,” linebacker Zaire Franklin said. “Even when I played against him, he was the guy we was looking at. We was all worried about ‘9,’ and the fact that he’s able to put it all together now, man, I couldn’t be happier for him.” For Golden, it was only a matter of time. The sea of people in the Lambeau Field parking lot erupted when the Packers drafted him No. 23 overall in Green Bay last year. His rookie campaign fell well short of that hype, as Golden battled injury and a crowded depth chart while finishing tied for 85th among wide receivers with only 44 targets, tied for 84th with 29 catches and 78th with 361 receiving yards in 14 games played. His talent was always there, most notably the stick ’em hands we saw on display Sunday when Golden hauled in a couple of deep balls through traffic. He more so needed a bigger opportunity and better understanding of a complex offense that requires a lot from its wide receivers. Reed said Golden would be “dangerous” entering Year 2 — and dangerous he has been. Golden already has as many targets as all of last season, and he’s eclipsed his receiving yards total by 36 in about one-third of the games. “I told him since Week 1, he the one that I been most looking forward to seeing, just everything that he been able to do since I been here,” Franklin said of Golden. “I mean, I don’t even really know what I would compare his game to, just the three levels that he’s able to affect the game and all the stuff he’s able to do.” You were hard-pressed to find someone frustrated inside the Packers’ locker room after Sunday’s game besides maybe kicker Trey Smack, but Golden wasn’t completely thrilled with how the prior three hours transpired. “He had a couple more yards than me today,” Golden said of Watson. “I’m really mad about it.” Of course, Golden was being facetious, but two uber-talented wideouts pushing each other like that can only help a suddenly rejuvenated Packers offense. Maybe they’re not at the level of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, Adams and Puka Nacua or Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams just yet. But Watson and Golden are coming, so good luck to opponents trying to slow them down. “I feel like with me and Christian, we can get really anywhere, underneath, over the top. It’s a lot of things we can do with speed. It’s hard to really cover it,” Golden said. “Me and Christian got a lot of confidence in each other, man. We push each other each and every day. We in competition. That’s how we treat it. “He came out there and did exactly what I knew he was gonna do, and I know he would say the same about me. So I appreciate him, man, because he pushes me each and every day, and I’m just grateful to be in a room with a guy like that.” |
| NFC EAST |
| DALLASAre the Cowboys, coming off a loss to the then-winless Buccaneers, really the favorite in the NFC East? @toddarcherESPN Analytics gives the Cowboys a 63% chance at winning the NFC East. They are one of four teams with a better than 60% chance of winning the division. San Francisco (89%), Jacksonville (87%) and Kansas City (79%) are the others. They have combined for just three losses; the Cowboys are 2-3. |
| PHILADELPHIANick Sirianni went on at length about all the factors that went into his clock management in the final seconds in London. He makes some good points about giving his kicker the best chance to actually make the field goal versus scoring with no time on the clock. A long tweet from Zach Berman: @ZBermNick Sirianni on the final minute of the game, one day later: “Leading up to Jake’s kick, we practice that situation every Wednesday. Every single Wednesday, we practice what we call two-minute to four-minute. It’s a little more complicated than I think people understand. My opinion is that people stop trying — you get to around the 35, you’re in range, and people stop trying to advance the ball forward. When you advance the ball forward, you make the kicker’s job easier. We are all trying to do our part to help each other be at their best. You guys can look up the percentages when the ball gets in certain spots on the field leaguewide. “Because if you don’t make the kick, nothing else really matters. So, in that situation, you’re trying to move the ball forward. Running it is an option, obviously, but with what Jacksonville was doing in that particular case, it wasn’t going to be an option. You saw what happened when we ran it on the third down. I never think that it’s something that you can say, ‘OK, I’m going to wait till third down to pass the ball.’ You have no idea how many times it’s going to take you to advance the ball a little bit more forward. “We didn’t get any yards and got an incomplete pass on the first play. We gained yards on the second play, and then on the third play, we ran it and lost yards there against a full-out pressure. You have to gauge what the defense is doing — I end up watching those situations each week and any two-minute to four-minute from a — Not only do we practice it, I’ll study those situations throughout the week, whatever I deem kind of came up that way in pro football. In my opinion, I think you see a lot of times teams take their foot off the gas there. Now, you’d love for the last play of the game to be your kick, but you’d also say, ‘Hey, if I can get that clock under 20 seconds, you’re accomplishing that as well.‘ Leading into that last play, I said what I said yesterday. I stand by that. I did not make the decision that I wanted to make there in that particular case, and it cost us. There’s nothing else to be said about that. “But leading up to Jake’s kick, to answer your question, that’s my thought process there, to bring you inside that a little bit without giving too much information. That’s my thought process in that situation. I stand by what I did in that situation, had eight seconds left to go in the game once we gave the ball back to them, and that’s where my decision is that I regret what I did then after that. But to give them back the ball with eight seconds left, I think we did what we needed to do as an offense, and you obviously saw the success of Jake’s kick in that particular case.” |
| WASHINGTONThis: @GrantPaulsenThe Commanders are 3-13-1 over last 17 games. 🏈 The wins vs 2-12 NYG, PHI’s backups in Wk-18, vs SEA. One good win over a season of games 🏈 8 of 13 losses by double digits; 7 by 17+ (21, 22, 21, 24, 31, 11, 17 and 17). Over his last 6 seasons as HC, Dan Quinn is 32-43-1. |
| NFC WEST |
| ARIZONABridget Riley of YahooSports.com with more on the dealing of WR MARVIN HARRISON, Jr.: The wide receiver, who was traded to the Texans on Sunday, had early signs of discontent with the Cardinals after his request was declined for a Seeker catching machine made by Monarc Sport, per The Arizona Republic. Harrison, who was selected fourth overall by Arizona in 2024, used the advanced robotic throwing machine valued around $50,000 that can replicate the speed and trajectory of an NFL quarterback during his days at Ohio State. Upon his transition to the NFL, the 24-year-old wanted to continue to use as a part of his daily routine. “He just made it a part of his routine every single day, making sure that every single minute that he had free to get better, he was making the most of it,” Kyle McCord, his quarterback while at Ohio State, once told The Republic. Yet, that request was denied by the Cardinals and it’s unknown who made the decision within the organization. Harrison, son of Hall of Fame receiver Marvin Harrison, went on to make the hefty purchase himself. The incident has resurfaced around Sunday’s trade, which occurred after Harrison expressed his unhappiness with a reduced role in the Cardinals offense. He was outperformed by fellow young receiver Michael Wilson, who agreed to a three-year, $75 million extension this offseason. Houston also acquired a 2027 seventh-round pick in exchange for a 2027 second-rounder and a 2027 sixth-rounder to Arizona. The move makes Harrison the fourth of the six top-10 picks by the Cardinals in the past decade to leave the organization. The other two include lineman Paris Johnson Jr., who is out for the season with a torn left bicep, and rookie running back Jeremiyah Love, who is averaging just 49 rushing yards through five games. The Cardinals are 16-39 under general manager Monti Ossenfort, who said the team needed to “continue to develop” its core of young players during the offseason. Yet, the organization let go of one of its young top players. Harrison tallied 62 receptions for 880 yards and eight touchdowns in his rookie season. Last year, he only had 608 yards for four touchdowns in 12 games. Before his trade was reported, he was listed as inactive for Sunday’s 45-21 loss to the Lions. With his move to Houston, Harrison will be reuniting with former Buckeyes teammate quarterback CJ Stroud. During his final college season with the quarterback, he racked up 1,263 yards for 14 touchdowns. |
| LOS ANGELES RAMSThis: @OptaSTATSThe Rams are the only team in NFL history to: amass 400+ total yardsgain 30+ first downsscore 5+ TDsconvert 50% of their 3rd downshave 0 turnovers …and yet lose the game. Largely unstoppable, but they declined to go for the win at the end with a 2-point conversion. After the game, Coach Sean McVay was mad that his third down run before the blocked overtime field goal was so anemic. Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com: After the Rams missed a field goal attempt and had another blocked in Monday night’s 37-34 overtime loss to the Buffalo Bills, coach Sean McVay said Los Angeles will “evaluate everything” about the kicking unit. Rams kicker Harrison Mevis missed a 50-yard field goal attempt wide left in the first quarter and had a 48-yard kick blocked in overtime that would have been the winner. “In the kicking game, especially with our PAT, field goal, not even close to good enough,” McVay said after the loss. “It cost us the game tonight.” The Rams have had three blocked field goal attempts since the start of last season, tied for the most in the NFL, according to ESPN Research. The Rams have had 81 missed or blocked kicks under McVay (since 2017, including playoffs), which is third most in the league. “I felt like I hit it good,” Mevis said. “That’s all I can tell you. I mean, I hit it good, gave it a chance. I’ll have to look.” On the play before the blocked kick, the Rams faced a third-and-5 from the Buffalo 30. Rams running back Kyren Williams was stopped for no gain on the play. After the game, McVay said he wished he had a better play call on third down. “I’m sick that we came up short, and I’ll be regretting kicking that and not having a better call to be able to go for it on third down and go to fourth or whatever it was,” McVay said. “And that’s on me.” McVay said, “It’s been a while since I’ve been this pissed after a game.” “We go out there and we give the opportunity for our special teams to kind of go out there and get a field goal,” said Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua, who finished with 17 catches for 138 receiving yards and a touchdown. “We got to be able to execute, and if that’s not what we wanted to do, we got to find a way to convert on the critical downs.” The Rams fell to 2-3 despite Matthew Stafford going 40-for-54 for 383 yards and three touchdowns. Los Angeles is in third place in the NFC West behind the 5-0 San Francisco 49ers and 3-2 Seattle Seahawks. |
| SEATTLEQB SAM DARNOLD has been mortal so far in 2026. Andrew Destin of The Athletic is concerned: It took just five offensive plays for Sam Darnold’s 2026 season to go haywire, but fewer than three weeks for him to return from a rare ailment ahead of schedule. More than a month removed from injuring his glute tendon against the New England Patriots, though, the Seattle Seahawks’ starting quarterback has not quite picked up where he left off in 2025. Darnold threw two interceptions during Sunday’s 32-29 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, marking the third consecutive game with at least one pick. The defeat dropped Seattle to 3-2 and two games behind San Francisco in the NFC West, and Darnold acknowledged that there were at least a couple of throws he would have liked back because of his decision-making and ball placement. “Just got to continue to trust myself, trust my feet, trust what I’m seeing, which I’m doing,” Darnold said. “But, yeah, just got to be better (at) taking care of the football.” Throughout his nine-year NFL career, Darnold has flung his fair share of interceptions — 87 in 104 games. But he’s been significantly more protective of the ball (and more prolific) since taking over as starting quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings in 2024 and then joining the Seahawks last year. In 2024 and 2025, both Pro Bowl seasons for Darnold, he threw 2.31 touchdowns per interception, above the NFL average of 2.11 over that span, according to TruMedia. Yet to start the 2026 season, Darnold’s touchdown-to-interception ratio is 1.4 (7 to 5) across a small three-game sample (plus five snaps in the opener). Darnold’s early-season regression isn’t limited to interceptions. His statistics through Week 5 in 2025 — when the Seahawks also started 3-2, with Darnold playing in all five games — were better across the board than 2026’s figures so far, from completion percentage (73.1 to 64.3) to yards per attempt (9.3 to 7.7), interception rate (2.2 percent to 5.1) and sack rate (4.3 percent to 8.4). He’s been pressured more often (42.7 percent of dropbacks, up from 36.1), and more of those pressures are turning into sacks (19.1 percent, up from 11.3). Even if Darnold hadn’t missed most of two games, the disparity in the numbers is wide. In both seasons, Darnold was playing with a new offensive coordinator and play caller, both of whom he knew from his year with the 49ers in 2023: Klint Kubiak and Brian Fleury. Coach Mike Macdonald conceded Monday that Seattle’s pass game hasn’t “really clicked yet” under Fleury, a first-time play caller. Macdonald said Darnold, who took much of the blame for that on Sunday, has been a “great representation” of the Seahawks’ shortcomings so far. “When your quarterback is one of those guys leading the charge saying, ‘Hey, I got to do X, Y and Z better,’” Macdonald said, “I think it sets the table for everybody else that played to have the same mentality. And, I think if you have that same mentality, you got a really good chance to improve.” There are several ways the Seahawks can help Darnold, namely by giving him a more impactful ground game. Seattle ranks last in the NFL in expected points added on rushes (-40.5) this season, per TruMedia, in no small part because of the absences of Zach Charbonnet, who has been out since January with a knee injury, and rookie Jadarian Price, who is on injured reserve with a chest injury. Charbonnet is not expected to play Thursday night against the Denver Broncos “as of right now,” Macdonald said. Reserves Emanuel Wilson and George Holani have each been thrust into more regular duty, with the former taking on a lead role in the interim after three seasons as a backup with the Green Bay Packers. Wilson and Holani both fumbled Sunday. More than half of the Seahawks’ negative EPA on rushes (-23.3) has come on four lost fumbles, including -7.0 EPA on Holani’s fumble at the goal line that San Francisco recovered for a touchdown before halftime Sunday. “We’re doing everything we can to get the job done,” Wilson said after letting out a deep sigh. “Week 3, we had a rough start. And then, it carried on to this week. I feel like we’re doing fine. Just the turnovers that’s really costing us.” Wilson, Holani and Price have two fumbles each, as does Rashid Shaheed. Darnold has none after leading the NFL with 11 last season. Otherwise, much has remained the same with Seattle’s offense. Through Week 5, the Seahawks rank 17th in total rushing yards (530), 20th in yards per carry (3.8) and 20th in success rate (34.8 percent). Last season at this time, they ranked 17th (565), 23rd (4.0) and 21st (38.2), respectively, in those categories, even with Kenneth Walker III and a healthy Charbonnet. Star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba continues to produce at an elite level, too, even though a true No. 2 wideout has yet to separate himself from the rest of the pack. Smith-Njigba’s 583 receiving yards lead the league and exceed last year’s five-week total by 49. And as egregious as Seattle’s four turnovers against the 49ers were, Macdonald correctly pointed out that the Seahawks are yielding possession at a similar rate to early last season. The Seahawks have nine turnovers through five games, one more than last year. Opponents have scored 44 points off those takeaways this year, tied with the Los Angeles Chargers for the most in the NFL, compared with 27 at this point in 2025. What’s starkly different is that Darnold is off to a much bumpier start than his debut season in Seattle. Not that his teammates, who were vocal in supporting Darnold throughout the 2025 season, have lost any faith. “I think everybody here’s got his back,” tight end Eric Saubert said. “We’re going to ride with him no matter what happens. He’s the man, and takes this very seriously. He’s elite at what he does. That’s our leader.” Saubert agreed with Macdonald that Seattle’s offense has not yet performed up to the team’s standard, and not because Fleury is the Seahawks’ third play caller in as many seasons. Saubert credited Fleury for “getting us in the right looks,” saying the offense needs to execute better. “I don’t think anyone’s panicking or anything,” Saubert said. “We feel comfortable in what we’re running and super supportive of him as a play caller. Obviously, yeah, we could do better in some places, and as the season goes, the mentality is that we get better and better each week. … But so long as we’re on the rise and are working towards that, no one here is concerned.” Including the playoffs, the 2025 Seahawks rattled off wins in 14 of their final 15 games en route to winning the Super Bowl. Over that stretch, Darnold completed 65 percent of his passes for 3,474 yards with 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, as Seattle developed a stronger rushing attack led by Walker. He also rewarded his teammates’ faith with a turnover-free postseason. Until Price or Charbonnet (who appears closer to a return) is back, though, the onus to improve Seattle’s offensive operation might fall largely on Darnold. “It’s a whole different year,” Darnold said. “We’re not in the business of comparing this year to last year. There’s a lot of things that we need to get better at, plain and simple. And we got to have a sense of urgency to do that.” |
| AFC WEST |
| LAS VEGASAfter the Patriots came hard after QB KIRK COUSINS, Ben Solak of ESPN.com wonders if its time for the more mobile QB FERNANDO MENDOZA: I think … Kirk Cousins will get one more start before Fernando Mendoza timeCousins has been totally solid for the Raiders this season. Relative to expectation and contract, there has been nothing disappointing about his play. That said, the Patriots went after him Sunday. New England defensive coordinator Zak Kuhr blitzed Cousins on 41.2% of his first-half dropbacks, per NFL Next Gen Stats, and got a 53% pressure rate and two sacks for his trouble. Although Cousins is a wily veteran capable of identifying blitzes and carving them up with hot routes, he’s also 38 years old and was not particularly mobile even a decade ago, let alone now. The Patriots’ game plan was apparent and smart. With starting cornerbacks Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis III both unavailable due to injuries and a couple of depth corners also laid up, Kuhr tried to break the Raiders’ passing game at the pocket before Cousins could attack his inexperienced cover men. On paper, it didn’t work too great — Cousins was 10-for-15 with 123 yards and a score through two quarters. But it got the Patriots off the field when they needed it. Cousins has 10 dropbacks on the season in which he, at any point, starts to scramble. Only Michael Penix Jr., Matthew Stafford and Jordan Love have fewer. He has just three actual scrambles (dropbacks on which he crosses the line of scrimmage to run). Only 7.6% of his throws have come with him on the move (only Stafford and Jared Goff have lower percentages), and his average speed at release of 2.85 mph, per Next Gen Stats, is the lowest of all passers this season. Cousins simply does not move. Quarterbacks such as Stafford, Goff and Penix have much bigger arms to get away with this play style, while quarterbacks such as Aaron Rodgers and Joe Burrow have their elite processing and accuracy to get away with it. At his age, Cousins doesn’t have those cardinal traits. He has enough arm, and he certainly has plus accuracy and processing. But it’s not enough to tip the scales back in his favor. This has not been a death knell for the Raiders through five weeks, as Cousins is 10th in the league in EPA per pressured dropback and 11th in success rate on pressured dropbacks. He’s making do with what he has. But the limitation is apparent, and future opponents will attack it. The Raiders have the Bills in Week 6, the Rams in Week 7 and the Jets in Week 8. The Rams and Jets are above average in blitz rate on the season, and the Bills are right around average. They’re going to come after Cousins and make the bet Kuhr did — that eventually the Raiders’ lack of a running game will stick them in third-and-long, and those blitzes will create early and errant throws. The Raiders might have a solution to this problem: the spry legs of Mendoza that have done little but warm a bench through five weeks. I have no doubt that the Raiders will initially be worse against pressures and blitzes when they first deploy Mendoza. He is a rookie and lacks the Spidey-sense that Cousins has honed over a decade-plus of NFL football. Mendoza will take bad sacks and throw the ball into coverage traps because that’s what rookies do. But he’ll also move. He will create second-reaction throws that have yet to exist in this offense. He’ll allow head coach Klint Kubiak to dust off the rollout sections of his playbook, which were so integral for Sam Darnold in Seattle but have been shelved for Cousins in Vegas. Mendoza is not known as an elite mover, but he’s totally functional — and most importantly, leagues ahead of Cousins. To quickly pivot from Cousins to Mendoza might feel like an early abandonment of a well-laid developmental plan. But I would argue that the pivot is justified. The Raiders are currently 3-2 in a suddenly much-more-winnable AFC West than previously believed. Yes, the Chiefs are 4-0 — but the Raiders went neck-and-neck with them in Week 4, and both the Broncos (3-2) and Chargers (0-5) have been clearly worse than Las Vegas through five weeks. The 1.5 games back should not deter the Raiders from pushing for the division — and in that effort, potentially landing a wild-card berth regardless. I won’t be too upset if they keep riding the Cousins train. Like I said, the lack of mobility is a problem but not one that has totally hamstrung an otherwise solid passing attack. The Raiders could defensibly stick with Cousins for another month or two and still prioritize Mendoza’s development over anything else. After all, benching Cousins after Week 6 would give Mendoza to the Rams and (presumably) Myles Garrett in Week 7 — that’s a stiff ask. But it’s hard to win those first three games … then lose two … and not wonder if the team is closer to contention than expected. And then not wonder whether Mendoza’s timeline should be accelerated to match. |
| AFC SOUTH |
| HOUSTONWhatever the reasons might be that WR MARVIN HARRISON, Jr. failed to generate bigtime production in Arizona – it wasn’t due to a lack of effort. So says Houston coach DeMeco Ryans. Myles Simmons of ProFootballTalk.com: The trade to send Marvin Harrison Jr. from the Cardinals to the Texans became official on Monday as the receiver passed his physical. Head coach DeMeco Ryans told reporters in his Monday press conference that the team is excited to add the young wideout. “He’s another really great playmaker,” Ryans said, via transcript from the team. “He’s crushed a lot of college records. Got multiple thousand-yard receiving seasons in college. All-American, always been a top receiver when he’s been on the field. He has good rapport with C.J. [Stroud] from their time at Ohio State. We’re excited to get him in, add another great player to our group.” Ryans noted that he’s not worried about Harrison picking up a new scheme quickly to impact the club. “The thing that I’ve heard from a lot of people speaking about Marvin is he’s one of the hardest workers,” Ryans said. “That’s the common theme that I’ve heard from multiple people, how hard of a worker he is. I’m not concerned about him picking up the offense and what he can be able to run for us, the things that he’ll be able to do for us offensively. I’m not concerned about it because the kid is a hard worker. He has a great attitude. He’s fired up to be here. When you approach it that way, as he will, he’ll fit right in.” Plus, Harrison’s built-in chemistry with Stroud should speed up that process. Ryans noted the team solicited Stroud’s input on Harrison before executing the deal. “I hope so,” Ryans said. “I think anytime you have players who have spent time together, whether it’s college or other teams, just having that prior relationship definitely helps when you come into a new situation.” The No. 4 overall pick of the 2024 draft, Harrison’s production to this point of his career has not matched that draft status. After catching 62 passes for 885 yards with eight touchdowns as a rookie, he had 41 receptions for 608 yards with four touchdowns in 12 games last season. He caught just five passes for 85 yards with a TD in four games this year before the trade. |
| JACKSONVILLEThe Jaguars have lost their left tackle. Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com: The Jaguars won’t have left tackle Anton Harrison in the lineup against the Texans in Week 6 and it’s unclear when he will be back in action. Harrison injured his knee during the team’s win over the Eagles in London in Week 5 and he is set to have arthroscopic surgery to repair his injury. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that his return timeline will be determined once doctors see the extent of the damage to his knee. Per the report, Harrison could be out for about 3-5 weeks or he could be out for the rest of the season. Walker Little replaced Harrison on Trevor Lawrence’s blind side against the Eagles and will be set to hold down the spot as long as Harrison is unavailable. |
| AFC EAST |
| BUFFALOBuffalo coach Joe Brady was working with an experienced kicker in PK TYLER BASS. Coming out of the two-minute warning, he had a comfortable setup to try the game-winning field goal. He obviously saw how the Commanders squandered their OT opportunity on Sunday. Still, if the FG had missed, the Rams would have had nearly two minutes to WIN THE GAME! Matt Warren of YahooSports.com: The Buffalo Bills beat the Los Angeles Rams on an overtime field goal from Tyler Bass. That’s great. But the decision to take the kick with two minutes left was a mistake, and head coach Joe Brady needs to know that. There are two big reasons it was a mistake, so let’s get cracking. Two minutes was enough time for the Rams to score after a missIt all boils down to this; you add another negative possibility by kicking it with two minutes left. The Bills could have run it down to 30 seconds and kicked the same field goal attempt. In that case, you either win or tie and a loss isn’t on the table without a field goal block return (which could happen at the 2-minute mark, too). A couple of tush pushes and you run out the clock and don’t really have a ton of fumble concern. You don’t even need to hand it off. A miss with two minutes and you know the Rams can drive it and score and you lose. They did it at the end of regulation. Do you open yourself to another fumble? Sure. A false start could add five yards. But it mitigates the chance of a loss. And a tie is much better than a loss. Tyler Bass already missed from closer in the gameBass missed an extra point from 38 yards in the third quarter, but now we are trusting him to make a 44-yard field goal AND if he misses, the Rams have a chance to drive and score and win the game. This was no gimme. This is why running down the clock was the right call. Some more notes on the game managementThe Bills still employ a game management specialist. Marc Lubick has been in that role for three seasons. The Rams absolutely bombed their game management. They probably should have gone for two at the end of regulation. The Bills had only stopped them on one play all game, it felt like. The Rams should not have settled for the long field goal in overtime for the same reason. Second and 10 at the Bills 35, they hit Puka Nacua for 5 yards. A weak run to the right gains nothing to set up a 47-yard field goal. Again, not a solid special teams year and he’s missed kicks that long already in the game. I have criticized a Bills head coach for an overtime decision before. In 2017, Sean McDermott punted in overtime when the Bills needed a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. With a third-string QB slinging it in a blizzard. The Bills ended up getting a stop and driving the length of the field for a win, but it was the wrong decision. And we were critical of McDermott’s game management for most of his career AND if bit them in the butt in 13 seconds and other moments later. That’s why we bring it up even when they win. I am glad it went in. I am glad they won. Let’s do better next time. And this: @RyanPaganettiAwesome win for the Bills. If they were worried about another Cook fumble, they could have tush pushed with Josh 2 more times to get a little farther forward and leave the clock well under a minute. If he missed that, Rams have a very good chance to win the game. – – -The kick made QB JOSH ALLEN an OT winner for the first time. Nick Suss of ESPN.com: That’s one monkey off Josh Allen’s back. Allen led the Buffalo Bills to a 37-34 overtime win against the Los Angeles Rams on “Monday Night Football,” breaking his careerlong winless streak in OT. Before Monday’s game, Allen was 0-7 in overtime, including three season-ending playoff losses despite him averaging 292 passing yards, 75 rushing yards and a couple of touchdowns per game. Against the Rams, Allen came through with his usual late-game theatrics. Across the fourth quarter and overtime, Allen was 5-for-5 passing with 121 yards and ran six times for 91 yards and a touchdown. He also completed a 2-point conversion attempt. But none of that would’ve mattered if not for edge defender Greg Rousseau blocking the Rams’ would-be winning field goal attempt and affording the Bills their chance to end Allen’s overtime streak. “Just didn’t feel like I was in a rhythm [early], wasn’t taking some of the underneath stuff. Fighting mechanically some stuff right now that I’m working on,” Allen said. “But I felt like in that second half I got into a rhythm. Guys made some plays. It’s awesome stuff.” Allen acknowledged he crossed his fingers and hoped against hope that a defender would make a play to extend the game in overtime. After that happened, coach Joe Brady didn’t take any chances. The Rams had stymied the Bills’ passing game, which was already without receivers DJ Moore and Joshua Palmer. So the Bills ran four times, twice with running back James Cook and twice by calling Allen’s number. On those back-to-back carries, Allen accounted for 19 and 13 yards, pushing his game total to 121, the second-best single-game total of his career. Ask Allen and Brady and they’ll both say they’d prefer to win games without asking Allen to run wild; winning games in which Allen runs 10 times with 12 completions is hardly sustainable. To Brady, Allen is a victim of his own talent sometimes. The mechanical issues Allen can fixate on are often manifestations of an awareness Allen possesses that most others don’t. “I want him to just play,” Brady says. “His good is damn good and it’s good enough.” In a game in which the Bills committed 13 penalties, gave up 40 completions, turned the ball over twice, including once in overtime, stunk on third downs on offense, struggled on third downs on defense and couldn’t get their receivers or tight ends involved in the slightest, having Allen’s good was pretty much all the Bills had. And as evidenced by his big smile caught on camera as Tyler Bass’ winning 45-yard kick went through the uprights, Allen’s relief after finally getting that overtime win is more than justified.– – -Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com calls what QB JOSH ALLEN did on Monday a “double-triple”. Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s spectacular performance in Monday night’s win over the Rams was the fourth double-triple of his NFL career. Allen had 10 carries for 121 yards and a touchdown, and he also completed 12 of 19 passes for 210 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. The Bills won 37-34 in overtime. A double-triple is PFT’s stat recognizing a player who has triple-digit yardage in two different statistical categories. Allen previously had back-to-back double triples in two 2018 games, with 231 passing and 135 rushing in Week 13 against the Dolphins and 206 passing and 101 rushing in Week 14 against the Jets. He also had 308 passing and 109 rushing in Week 14 of 2021 against the Buccaneers. The NFL’s all-time leader in double-triples is Lamar Jackson, who has accomplished the feat 17 times — more than twice as many as anyone else in NFL history. Michael Vick, with eight double-triples, is second. The only other double-triple in the NFL this season was accomplished by Jayden Daniels on Sunday, when he had 199 yards passing and 103 yards rushing in the tie against the Giants, when his statistical achievements were overshadowed by his clock management blunder on the last play of the game. So you get a “double-triple” for only 100+ yards passing? We think “200-100” should be the base standard – and here are the leaders: 1 Lamar Jackson 9 2 Josh Allen 4 3 Cam Newton 3 4 Russell Wilson 3 What about “300-100”? Glad you asked. 1 Russell Wilson 1 2 Cam Newton 1 3 Josh Allen 1 4 Lamar Jackson 1 There has never been a “400-100” |
| THIS AND THAT |
| IMPACT FREE AGENTSGarrett Podell of CBSSports.com identifies 10 impact free agents with the top two playing for undefeated teams – and the Raiders have three others: Which 2026 free agents stand out as game-changers for their new squads through the first five weeks of the new season? Let’s take a look at the top 10. 10. Panthers LB Devin LloydContract: Three years, $42 million with $25 million guaranteed The Carolina Panthers (2-2) are atop the NFC South through the first five weeks of the 2026 NFL season, and it’s partially because of Devin Lloyd’s playmaking. In Carolina’s Week 2 demolition of the Cooper Rush-quarterbacked Atlanta Falcons, Lloyd racked up nine tackles, a sack, two interceptions, a pick-six and three passes defensed. That made Lloyd the first player since Zach Brown in 2012 with multiple interceptions, a pick-six and a sack all in the same game. Even though the Panthers had a Week 5 bye, their seven takeaways are tied for the 10th-most in the NFL. Lloyd has a large impact on that statistic. 9. Raiders LB Nakobe DeanContract: Three years, $26 million with $23 million guaranteed The signing of linebacker Nakobe Dean added some much-needed playmaking to the Las Vegas Raiders’ defense. In 2025, their 16 takeaways were tied for the ninth fewest in the league. This season, the Raiders have 10 takeaways, which are tied for the second most behind only the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks’ 11. Dean is a major reason for that with an NFL-most three forced fumbles. It is a little worrisome that the 2026 Raiders are the second team in NFL history, along with the 2007 Denver Broncos, to allow an increasing points and yardage total in each of their first five games of a season, but they’re 3-2 through five weeks. That definitely is exceeding all expectations for Las Vegas early on, after they had the first overall pick in the draft in the spring. 8. Browns G Zion Johnson Contract: Three years, $49.5 million with $32.39 million guaranteed The Cleveland Browns have struggled to put together capable offenses for years for a variety of reasons. Cleveland’s offense is still bogged down by physically diminished Deshaun Watson at quarterback, but left guard Zion Johnson is playing a strong brand of football, particularly in pass protection. Through five weeks, Johnson has not surrendered a sack, and he has allowed just three quarterback pressures and one quarterback hit on 184 pass-blocking snaps. That’s good enough for Pro Football Focus to grade Johnson as the league’s fifth-best pass-blocking guard with an 80.1 pass-blocking grade. Finding quality offensive play in 2026 can be difficult, but the Browns hit on Johnson. 7. Giants TE Isaiah LikelyContract: Three years, $40 million with $26 million guaranteedDespite losing starting quarterback Jaxson Dart with a season-ending knee injury in Week 2, the New York Giants remain in first place in the NFC East division through five weeks with a 3-1-1 record. Free agency acquisition tight end Isaiah Likely is a big reason why New York has been able to maintain any semblance of a coherent passing game despite fill-in quarterback Jameis Winston ranking second-to-last in the league in completion percentage at 57.6%. Likely’s four receiving touchdowns are tied for the fourth-most in the NFL and rank as tied for the most among tight ends leaguewide. His 19 receiving first downs are the most among all tight ends through five weeks this season. With No. 1 wide receiver Malik Nabers still finding his footing in 2026 after returning from a torn ACL, Likely has been a godsend for the Giants’ passing game. 6. Raiders C Tyler LinderbaumContract: Three years, $81 million fully guaranteedThe Las Vegas Raiders are 3-2 in 2026, and if the regular season ended today, they would be the last team in the playoffs. Much of their early-season success is because of their No. 9 scoring offense (26.4 points per game). One of the key components of that success has to do with the team’s improved offense, anchored by three-time Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum. In 2025, the Raiders allowed a pressure rate of 40.5%, the fifth-highest in the entire league. That rate has declined slightly, down to 38.1% in 2026, but it has made a huge difference, allowing 38-year-old Kirk Cousins to perform like a fringe top-10 quarterback statistically this season. Linderbaum has been a huge piece of that improvement with Pro Football Focus grading him as the eighth-best pass-blocking center in football with a 72.9 pass-blocking grade. 5. Falcons EDGE Cameron ThomasContract: One year, $3.095 million with $2.5 million guaranteed There may not be a better value free agency signing in 2026 than Atlanta Falcons edge rusher Cameron Thomas. The 26-year-old former third-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals had just three starts through his first four seasons after playing for three teams — the Cardinals, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cleveland Browns — in his first four seasons. New Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski brought Thomas with him from Cleveland to Atlanta for cheap, and Thomas has more than rewarded Stefanski’s belief in him as an every-game starter in 2026. Thomas’ 22 quarterback pressures are tied for ninth in the NFL, and he also has 2.0 sacks this season. Thomas has multiple pressures in all five games this season and at least three in each of the last four games. His arrival is one of the reasons the Falcons are much more energetic in 2026 than they were in 2025. 4. Bengals EDGE Boye MafeContract: Three years, $60 million with $19 million guaranteed It has long felt like the Cincinnati Bengals were a few pieces on defense away from getting back to the postseason with Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins leading their high-flying offense. That’s why the Bengals went on a spending spree defensively this past offseason, trading the 10th overall pick in the draft for defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and then signing both edge rusher Boye Mafe and defensive tackle Jonathan Allen in free agency. Mafe has been one of the biggest game changers in football this season. His 3.0 sacks through five games are great, but he’s also making a consistent impact as a pass rusher on a regular basis. Mafe’s 25 quarterback pressures rank as the sixth most in the entire NFL, just ahead of Danielle Hunter’s 23 and just behind Greg Rousseau’s 29. He is playing like one of the NFL’s best pass rushers through five weeks. That’s money well spent. 3. Raiders QB Kirk CousinsContract: One year, $11.3 million fully guaranteedKirk Cousins still has his fastball at 38 years old. Cousins’ 12 touchdown passes this season are tied with Jared Goff for the second-most in the entire league, and he trails league leader Brock Purdy’s 13 by just one scoring strike. His 1,269 yards passing rank as the seventh most in the league, while his 100.7 passer rating is ninth in the NFL. Beyond the box score, Cousins is also providing an intangible impact as 2026 first overall pick Fernando Mendoza’s mentor this season. His presence is allowing Mendoza to develop on the bench while easing his way into life in the NFL. The lessons Mendoza is learning from the four-time Pro Bowler now will likely pay dividends for the Raiders’ franchise for years to come. 2. 49ers WR Mike EvansContract: Three years, $42.4 million with $16.3 million guaranteed San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is making an early NFL MVP case with the 49ers out to a 5-0 start this season with consecutive wins against the Denver Broncos (the 2025 AFC runner-up) and the Seattle Seahawks (the defending Super Bowl champion). Pick any passing metric, and Purdy ranks as a top-five quarterback through five weeks. A huge reason for Purdy’s prolific production this season is free agency pickup Mike Evans. The six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver balled out with seven catches for 113 yards and a touchdown — with much of that output coming in the clutch — against the Seahawks. During the 49ers’ go-ahead touchdown drive in the fourth quarter that made the score 29-26 with 11:02 left to play, Evans caught four passes for 75 yards and the two-point conversion from Purdy. On Sunday, Purdy averaged 11.3 yards per pass attempt when throwing to Evans and just 4.5 yards per pass attempt targeting every other 49er combined. The 49ers had scored just nine points combined in their prior two games against the Seahawks, but with Evans on the roster in 2026, San Francisco dropped 32 points on Seattle in a road win at the raucous Lumen Field. That’s a massive impact. 1. Chiefs RB Kenneth Walker IIIContract: Three years, $43.05 million with $28.7 million guaranteedThe Chiefs made Super Bowl LX MVP running Kenneth Walker III the highest-paid free agent running back in NFL history with an average per year salary of $14.35 million. He has been worth every single penny for the 4-0 AFC West division leaders in 2026. Last year, Chiefs running backs ranked in the bottom five in the NFL in rushing yards, yards per carry and tackles avoided. Kansas City was on a bye in Week 5, which is why Walker’s 537 yards rushing, the fourth most by any player through the first four games of a season this century, rank second in the league and not first. Despite the bye, he leads the NFL with 42 tackles avoided, one more than Jahmyr Gibbs’ 41. His 6.2 yards per carry average is also the best in the league. Walker III is giving Kansas City Hall of Fame-caliber production early on. He is just the third running back ever to average 130-plus rushing yards per game (134.3) on 6-plus yards per carry (6.2) during a 4-0 start, per CBS Sports Research. The other two running backs to do this are Emmitt Smith (1995), the NFL’s all-time rushing leader, and Jim Brown (1958 and 1963), a player who many of a certain age believe to be the best football player of all time. The last time Walker III took the field, first place in the AFC West was on the line when the then-3-0 Chiefs faced the then-3-0 Raiders in Las Vegas. He powered Kansas City to victory with 177 yards rushing and two rushing touchdowns on 22 carries. That made him the first Chiefs player since Jamaal Charles in 2009 with 175-plus rushing yards and multiple rushing touchdowns in a game. Incredibly, both of Walker’s touchdowns came in the span of 19 seconds with under three-and-a-half minutes left in the fourth quarter. Trailing 19-17, he plunged into the end zone from two yards out to give Kansas City a 23-19 lead. |
