The Daily Briefing

THE DAILY BRIEFING AROUND THE NFL The Athletic has counted the punts in the last two Thursday night games: Two straight weeks the Thursday Night Football winner has scored all of 12 points. Twelve! If there’s an argument against making players play a game on three days of rest, this is it.   In more…

THE DAILY BRIEFING AROUND THE NFL Leaking to Adam Schefter, the NFL doesn’t quite back the calls of referees Jerome Boger and Carl Cheffers, but they do not say they were in error either: @AdamSchefter A league source said today that “there is no backing down on enforcing rules that are in place to protect…

THE DAILY BRIEFING AROUND THE NFL Scott Kacsmar spots a trend: @ScottKacsmar #NFL Teams to score 30 points in a game, Weeks 1-5 2022: 25 2021: 44 2020: 64 2019: 39 2018: 44 2017: 34 2016: 40 2015: 36 2014: 43 2013: 44 2012: 42 2011: 41 2010: 31 2009: 33 2008: 38 2007: 34…

THE DAILY BRIEFING AROUND THE NFL Carl Cheffers did not want to leave upstanding Jerome Boger all by himself for making an incomprehensible roughing the passer call.  Adam Teicher of ESPN.com has the explanation offered by Cheffers: Referee Carl Cheffers said he followed the roughing the passer rule when he penalized Chiefs defensive tackle Chris…

THE DAILY BRIEFING AROUND THE NFL Peter King, normally a player safety advocate, assesses Jerome Boger’s roughing call and the banishment of QB TEDDY BRIDGEWATER over a slight hitch to his gate after a tackle the way most of us do.  And Dean Blandino agrees: Are you thinking what I’m thinking?   That we had…

THE DAILY BRIEFING AROUND THE NFL NFC NORTH CHICAGO OC Luke Getsy challenges the conventional wisdom on the quality, or lack thereof, of play from QB JUSTIN FIELDS so far this season.  Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com: Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields ranks last in the NFL in completions (34), attempts (67), passer rating (58.7) and…

THE DAILY BRIEFING AROUND THE NFL NFC NORTH DETROIT PK DOMINIK EBERLE who missed a pair of PATs on Sunday (and also kicked off out of bounds) is gone.  Kirkland Crawford of the Detroit News: The Detroit Lions have a new kicker, and it was not one of the four they worked out on Tuesday.…

THE DAILY BRIEFING AROUND THE NFL NFC NORTH DETROIT Coach Dan Campbell fixed the Lions offense in the middle of last year, to the point that they are now the NFL’s best attack – at least in terms of yards and points. Now, he is focused like a laser on the team’s awful defense.  Jeremy…

THE DAILY BRIEFING AROUND THE NFL The NFL has set a record for competitive games, by one metric, in Week 4 and for the first four weeks of the season.  Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com: For the first time ever, 15 games in a single week of NFL action were close in the fourth quarter.  …

THE DAILY BRIEFING AROUND THE NFL This from Mike Florio: Through four weeks (after tonight), the NFL season has been as exciting as ever. Maybe more exciting than ever.   There’s a reason for it. According to the league, there have been 49 games within one score in the fourth quarter this season. That’s the…