| NFC NORTH |
| DETROITWR JAMESON WILLIAMS has abandoned his appeal to NFL Justice. The Athletic: The NFL has officially suspended Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams for two games without pay following a violation of the league’s performance-enhancing substances policy, the league announced Thursday. The third-year speedster accepted the suspension via a statement released by representation, Alliance Sports Management, in which he described the initial news as a “complete surprise.” “I don’t take supplements or vitamins and I am overly cautious about even taking over-the-counter medicine,” Williams’ statement read. “At no time have I ever taken something in an attempt to cheat or look for an unfair advantage. I understand that I am responsible for everything that goes into my body and I have to take accountability in this instance. … It is disappointing to accept this suspension, and it will hurt me to be away from the team as they prepare this week.” The 23-year-old wideout will be eligible for reinstatement after Detroit’s Week 9 game against the Green Bay Packers. This marks the second suspension of Williams’ pro career after he was sidelined for four games in 2023 for placing a bet on a non-NFL game from an NFL facility. Colton Pouncy of The Athletic on what the Lions might do in his absence: It’s not easy replacing a player with Williams’ natural speed, but fortunately, the Lions have options and one of the league’s best offensive coordinators in Ben Johnson to help account for his absence. The first option has to be (Kalil) Raymond. Raymond is a twitchy player with enough speed to replicate some of the things the Lions ask of Williams. When the Lions entered the season with questions about their receiver depth, Raymond was always the player they’d turn to in a pinch. He’s a smart, reliable veteran who knows the playbook and has chemistry with Goff. The last two games alone, Raymond has caught seven passes for 111 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown against the Vikings was a perfect design for a player with his quickness, and perhaps a glimpse of what the Lions could do with him if Williams has to miss time. Raymond is the closest thing the Lions have to a one-for-one Williams replacement, but perhaps they simply turn to others on the roster to pick up the slack. Patrick has been excellent as a third receiver in this offense, and seems ready for more of a workload. Before Williams, there was Josh Reynolds — a reliable, big-bodied target who was always where he needed to be. Patrick has looked the part Reynolds used to play as he’s grown more comfortable with the playbook. He’s savvy, can make tough catches and really shows his effort as a blocker. He’ll be needed. LaPorta isn’t off to the same record pace we saw from him as a rookie, but that’s more a testament to the weapons the Lions have on offense. The tight end hasn’t needed the same volume because of the explosive plays the Lions have gotten from Williams, in addition to defenses paying more attention to him. LaPorta isn’t one to complain about lack of targets, which makes him a perfect fit in this locker room. That said, it could be time to get him more involved. LaPorta is a chain mover, there when called upon. It’s always nice for a team to have an All-Pro tight end to rely on when it needs him. |
| GREEN BAYHat tip Jay Cuda for this one Most TD passes since start of 2023 Jordan Love 47 Baker Mayfield 46 Dak Prescott 44 Josh Allen 41 |
| MINNESOTAThe Vikings lost a game – and they lost star LT CHRISTIAN DARRISAW. Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com: Minnesota Vikings left tackle Christian Darrisaw was walking with crutches Thursday night after suffering a left knee injury in the second quarter of his team’s 30-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said afterward that his team is “keeping our fingers crossed that we get some positive news” but otherwise wasn’t certain about the severity of Darrisaw’s injury. Darrisaw, who has been having a Pro Bowl-caliber season, was blocking with 35 seconds remaining in the first half when Rams safety Jaylen McCollough fell into the knee. Team medical officials helped Darrisaw walk directly to the locker room as the Vikings finished out the half. He was replaced by veteran David Quessenberry. The Vikings had taken possession of the ball at their own 3-yard line, but they had all three of their timeouts. Rather than kneel on the ball to close out the half, O’Connell said he wanted to see if the offense could move into position for a score. The Rams had one timeout, which would have required the Vikings to kneel twice within a narrow space between the line of scrimmage and the end zone. “They had dime defense on the field, so I thought we could maybe pop a run,” O’Connell said. “Don’t know if we were necessarily targeted versus that group out there, which I think if we are, maybe that ball’s got a chance to [move]. If we get off and rolling with the timeouts we had left at the time, get that first down, then there’s a chance to maybe try to dial some stuff up and not give them any chance at doubling us up there with them starting out the second half.”– – -After a hot start defensively, the Vikings have now allowed 26.8 points per game since Week 4. That’s 24th in the NFL in that span. That includes games against QBs JORDAN LOVE, AARON RODGERS, JARED GOFF and MATTHEW STAFFORD. |
| NFC EAST |
| WASHINGTONZak Keefer in The Athletic with a long look at the preparation of QB JAYDEN DANIELS. The excerpt below focuses on his time with the Commanders, but he also explains how he got that way: His alarm buzzes at 4:45 a.m. each morning, but most days Jayden Daniels doesn’t need it. He’s already awake, driving through the predawn darkness, pulling into an empty parking lot at 21300 Coach Gibbs Dr. The routine he started his final year at LSU has become a staple of his rookie season in the NFL. “You always here this early?” Adam Peters asked after bumping into Daniels in the hallway around 5:30 a.m. a few weeks ago. Peters, the Commanders’ first-year general manager, was headed to the weight room. Daniels was about to watch some film. “Usually, it’s a little earlier,” Daniels told him. “But I had to make an extra stop today.” Peters looked down. Daniels was holding two boxes of donuts, gifts for his offensive linemen. For a while, his teammates didn’t know he was showing up so early; Daniels studies with the door shut and doesn’t tell anyone he’s there. But in time, the car that kept beating them to the building, day after day, week after week, started to tell them something. A few started to wonder: is it normal for a quarterback to show up this early? “Not normal for most,” says linebacker Bobby Wagner, a 13-year veteran bound for the Hall of Fame. “Normal for the great ones.” After Washington took Daniels second in April’s draft, the team’s new center, Tyler Biadasz, figured he’d start coming in early to work with the rookie on exchanges. He showed up at 6 one morning and realized he was late. Daniels was already on the practice field, repping that day’s walkthrough. Alone. Terry McLaurin knew after his first practice. Daniels hadn’t been on the field 15 minutes — hadn’t been in the building a week — and he was already making checks at the line of scrimmage. Then the rookie made a throw that cut through the teeth of the defense, a throw McLaurin remembers in detail five months later. “Here’s why this play is different,” the sixth-year Pro Bowl wideout says. “The receiver’s running a crosser, and most guys wait to release it until he clears the hook defender in the middle of the field. They wait until that window opens up, you know? “Jayden threw it before there even was a window. I’ve never seen a rookie do that.” Linebacker Frankie Luvu was on the field that day. He saw the throw. He knew, too. “We gotta get our s— right on defense,” he told himself, “because we got ourselves a quarterback.” A quarterback? This team? After churning through 27 starters and 10 coaches during the Dan Snyder era — winning just two playoff games in 24 years — as one of the NFL’s proud franchises dissolved into dysfunction? There were league investigations and Congressional hearings. Leaked emails. The name change. The railing collapse. RGIII’s knee. Cover-ups. Lawsuits. And losing. Years and years of losing. “I’ve seen this place from afar, and there was always this black cloud over it,” says Washington tight end Zach Ertz, who spent eight-plus years beating up on the franchise as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. “This was an organization that always had talent, but you were never worried about them long-term. “With new leadership, a guy like Jayden, the right group around him … this city has waited for this.” Still, this is a scarred franchise and a scarred fan base trying to shake that lingering fear that’s been beaten into them for 30 years.– – –On draft night four months later, Daniels waited one pick to hear his name called. He’d been No. 1 on Washington’s board all along, ahead of Caleb Williams, who went first to the Bears. “You put in all the work in the early mornings, the late nights,” Peters told him over the phone. “I couldn’t be more proud to pick you to represent our franchise.” Then Peters handed the phone over to Dan Quinn. The coach was more direct: “We’re gonna kick a lot of ass together.” Wilson texted a few days later, wanting Daniels’ thoughts on his new team. “We’re going to the playoffs,” Daniels wrote back. Wilson shook his head — the kid was nothing if not ambitious. But this wasn’t college football. The rookie needed to temper his expectations. “Brother, this is the NFL,” Wilson wrote. “This is different.” Daniels wouldn’t budge. “No, listen to me,” he replied. “We’re going to the playoffs.” They meet at 9 a.m. every Saturday, an hour before the rest of the team has to be in the building. Inside the room, it’s just the quarterbacks and skill position players. The 23-year-old rookie stands at the front, running through the 10 or 12 scripted plays the offense plans to open the game with a day later. Daniels reminds them of the audibles he can check into and the coverage beaters he’ll be looking for. “We’ve never had meetings like that here,” McLaurin says. “Not since I’ve been here.” Kliff Kingsbury, Washington’s first-year offensive coordinator, designed his system around Daniels’ dual-threat ability — “The way he runs, it takes the soul of your defense,” Peters gushed on draft night — without putting too much on the rookie’s shoulders. A heavy dose of short, timing-based throws are mixed in with a stout run game and the occasional deep shot, a healthy balance the young passer can manage. Seven games in, the Commanders are third in scoring (30.1 points per game) and Daniels leads the league in completion percentage (75.6). Marcus Mariota, Daniels’ backup, says the discipline of his decision-making is rare for a rookie, especially one drafted this high. There are certain expectations that greet a first-round quarterback the minute he walks through the door, expectations Mariota — the No. 2 pick in 2015 — knows well. Too many chase highlight plays, Mariota says, the ones they built their name on in college. “So many times young guys in this league are trying to impress people,” he says. “They wanna extend plays and live up to their draft spot. Jayden’s very much, ‘I’ll take what you give me. And if you give me the big one, I’ll take that, too.’” Sloan, now LSU’s offensive coordinator, has followed Daniels’ rookie season closely. Nothing’s surprised him. He can’t help but laugh when he thinks back to the question he kept getting from NFL evaluators last spring. They all wanted to know if Jayden Daniels was ready to be a pro. “Listen,” Sloan kept telling them, “he’s already a pro.” |
| NFC SOUTH |
| CAROLINAMarc Ross of NFL.com offers this bold prediction for Week 8: Marc RossBryce Young will get the start for Carolina after Andy Dalton injured his thumb in a car accident earlier this week. In his first start since Week 2, Young returns refocused and with confidence, enjoying the best game of his season — and young NFL career — against the Broncos, leading the Panthers to their second win of 2024. |
| TAMPA BAYNot that a 15-yard penalty would have made up for the injury to WR CHRIS GODWIN, but Jonathan Jones of CBSSports.com writes that it came when the Ravens executed the banned hip-drop tackle. Sources tell CBS Sports the NFL has determined the tackle on which Chris Godwin suffered a dislocated ankle was indeed a hip-drop tackle. The tackle is at least the ninth such instance of the now-prohibited hip-drop tackle the NFL has sought to eradicate from the game. But by the start of Week 8, there have been zero on-field penalties for the play. Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith is facing a fine of $16,883 for what would be his first offense of the new rule, and Smith is able to appeal that fine with the league. The league has said the hip-drop tackle has an injury rate 20-25 times higher than that of other tackles. It spent more than a year monitoring the play and coming up with how to define it so that it could be legislated out of the game. The NFL rulebook defines the hip-drop tackle technique as a defender either grabbing or wrapping a runner with both hands or arms, then unweighting himself by “swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and trapping the runner’s leg(s) at or below the knee.” The tackle is supposed to be flagged for a loss of 15 yards and a first down. So far, not one of the at least nine tackles that were later identified as hip-drop violations has been penalized on the field. It’s possible other tackles in Week 7 were deemed hip-drop tackles, which would increase the total. Sources predicted in the offseason there wouldn’t be many flags thrown, in large part because of the difficulty in officiating the play with so many elements in real time. But some question whether a fine after the fact is sufficient for such a play. “That is no disincentive,” one team executive said this week. “For all the reasons they want to take it out of the game, I don’t see a fine that’s sparingly applied — at best — doing what they want it to do.” Godwin’s injury is by far the most significant seen this season with the tackle. Houston running back Joe Mixon missed three games earlier this year after he was the victim of the tackle. Last year the NFL saw between one-to-two hip-drop tackles per week, and the pace is the same through the first seven weeks of this season. NFL EVP of football operations Troy Vincent said earlier this month that teams have been “outstanding” with sending in video to the league trying to learn more during the season about what is and is not a hip-drop tackle. Back in March, the NFL Players Association released a statement ahead of the league outlawing the tackle by asking the NFL to reconsider its position. “While the players have consistently advocated for health and safety advancements, any prohibition on the ‘hip-drop tackle’ technique is unfair to players and unrealistic to implement,” the union said in a statement. “It places defensive players in an impossible position by creating indecision in the mind of any tackling player, puts officials in an unreasonable situation that will result in inconsistent calls on the field, and confuses our fans.” The Godwin tackle occurred with about one minute left as the Buccaneers attempted a “Monday Night Football” comeback against the Ravens. Godwin caught a Baker Mayfield pass and was in the process of getting yards when Smith brought him down from behind on a play that resulted in such a gruesome injury that ESPN opted against showing replays. |
| NFC WEST |
| LOS ANGELES RAMSWR COOPER KUPP returned (as did WR PUKA NACUA), the Rams beat the Vikings and suddenly Los Angeles is in the thick of the NFC West race. Coach Sean McVay downplayed all the trade talk after the game. Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com: For the first time since Week 1, the Los Angeles Rams had receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua back on the field together in the team’s 30-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night. Rams coach Sean McVay would like it to stay that way. Amid reports that the Rams had approached teams about trading Kupp before the Nov. 5 trade deadline, McVay said he was “really glad” to have him back on the field. “And that’s what I expect to stay that way,” McVay said. Kupp, who had been out since spraining his left ankle in Week 2, had five catches for 51 yards and a touchdown. Nacua led the team with seven catches for 106 yards on nine targets. “Teams reached out,” McVay said when asked about the trade speculation. “Some of the things that I’ve seen out there, they’re just not true.” Kupp said he’s “not thinking about that stuff,” but said he thought there was something “kind of cool about all that stuff going on outside of the facility, but on a short week, every minute spent preparing, trying to get ready to come out here and play. “And so it gave me the opportunity to focus in on just being where my feet are, being able to prepare as best I can and come out here and let it rip,” Kupp said. “And all that stuff is what it is.” While the Rams expected to get Kupp back after he was inactive against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 7, the team kept Nacua’s return closer to the vest. Nacua sprained a posterior cruciate ligament in Week 1 and was placed on injured reserve. The Rams started his 21-day practice window to return from IR on Tuesday and activated him before Thursday’s game. McVay said he found out Monday from vice president of sports medicine and performance Reggie Scott that there was a chance Nacua could play this week rather than waiting until Week 9 against the Seattle Seahawks. “[Nacua] said, ‘I don’t know, I’m feeling pretty good,'” McVay said. “He went and had a workout session where he ran routes and did a great job. His movement looked good. I talked to him, and I said, ‘Do you want to try to give this thing a shot?’ And he said yes.” McVay, who has preached the importance of “return to performance” vs. “return to play” when discussing players returning from injury, said Nacua “had shown that he was ready for that performance.” “And this guy’s mindset, his mentality … he’s a war daddy, he’s a stud,” McVay said. “I love his play energy and what he brings. He was ready to go tonight, and he made a big impact on the game.” Because of the short week, Nacua wasn’t able to take part in a padded practice. Quarterback Matthew Stafford said he had thrown Nacua “one, maybe two balls in practice this week, and that’s the first time since the first game.” It was Nacua’s eighth career game (out of 19 played) with 100 receiving yards. That’s tied with Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson for the second most within a player’s first 20 career games in the Super Bowl era, according to ESPN Research. The Rams scored a season-high 30 points Thursday, snapping a streak of 10 consecutive games with fewer than 30, according to ESPN Research. And while McVay said “everybody had a hand” in the victory, there’s no doubt about the “spark” and “energy” the return of Kupp and Nacua brought to the offense. “There’s a confidence, there’s a comfort, there’s a rapport that’s been established with Matthew and Cooper over the years and then Puka and Matthew last year and then leading into this season,” McVay said. “And so, these guys are ballers. “And Matthew brought out the best in everybody. But I thought Puka and Cooper were ready to go. They made an impact.” Look at this – the 49ers in last at the moment: Seattle 4-3 0-1 Arizona 3-4 2-0Rams 3-4 1-1San Francisco 3-4 1-2 So if Seattle loses to Buffalo and the Cardinals and 49ers win over the Dolphins and Cowboys respectively this week: Arizona 4-4 2-0Seattle 4-4 0-1 San Francisco 4-4 2-2Rams 3-4 1-1 |
| AFC WEST |
| DENVERWR JOSH REYNOLDS is now the second NFL wide receiver to take a bullet this season (actually, unlike 49ers WR RICKY PEARSALL, this involved two bullets). Jack Baer of YahooSports.com: Denver Broncos wide receiver Josh Reynolds was one of two men wounded in a shooting after leaving a strip club last week, according to court documents obtained by 9News’ Janet Oravetz. Reynolds, 29, was reportedly shot twice, once in his left arm and once in the back of his head. According to a statement the Broncos released Thursday, the injuries were minor: “Josh Reynolds was a victim of a shooting on Friday in Denver and received treatment for minor injuries. Out of respect for the legal process, we will defer further comment on this matter to the authorities.” Reynolds was also reportedly at the Broncos’ facility on Thursday. He is currently on injured reserve with a broken finger and has not played in a game since Oct. 6. The incident reportedly occurred at 3 a.m. last Friday, with authorities receiving a 911 call about a shooting around Denver’s Southmoor Park area. The caller reportedly said he was driving and had been shot, then stopped responding. A second 911 caller reportedly followed, saying two of his friends had been shot and needed an ambulance. He was running during the call and said they were being shot at. Officers reportedly found the group via GPS tracking, with the wounded Reynolds among them. Another man was shot in the back, while a third victim was wounded by shattered glass. All three had scrapes from climbing over a fence. Police reportedly located the victims’ vehicle on Interstate 25 with “numerous bullet defects in the rear drivers’ side and front windshield.” The victims reportedly said they were at a strip club called Shotgun Willies and left without incident at 2:45 a.m., at which point two drivers began following them in their own vehicles, shooting at them. Two men, Burr Charlesworth and Luis Mendoza, were later arrested on Wednesday. Mendoza was reportedly seen in a strip club surveillance video enter the club at midnight, watching the victims rather than engage with the entertainers and following them out. Three vehicles were later seen following the victims out of the club’s parking lot. Charlesworth reportedly said after he was arrested he was “helping” a friend who had asked him to follow the victims due to a prior conflict, but denied he was the one shooting. Reynolds is in his first season with the Broncos after signing a two-year, $9 million contract last offseason. Before that, he played eight seasons total with the Los Angeles Rams, Tennessee Titans and Detroit Lions, with a career high of 618 receiving yards in 2020. It’s unclear how his wounds will affect his return to the field It sounds like a lot of bullets were fired. And a shot “to the back of the head” is a minor wound. Wow. |
| KANSAS CITYThis from WR DeANDRE HOPKINS after arriving in Kansas City after time with the Cardinals and Titans: NFLonCBS“I haven’t played meaningful football in a couple of years.” DeAndre Hopkins during his first press conference as a member of the Chiefs.– – -Garrett Podell leads off his list, at CBSSports.com, of Things We Didn’t Expect This Season with QB PATRICK MAHOMES: Patrick Mahomes is off to the worst start of his career, playing mediocre football Three-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the best quarterback alive, is playing mediocre football. That’s probably the most jarring sentence in football these days. He has six touchdown passes to eight interceptions through six games, all victories by the Kansas City Chiefs. That makes Mahomes just the second quarterback in the last 30 years with more interceptions than passing touchdowns in a 6-0 start with the other being 2015 Peyton Manning, per CBS Sports Research. Manning threw seven touchdowns to 10 interceptions that year in which his arm completely gave out as he aged while dealing with a serious neck injury. That season was Manning’s last in the NFL. Let’s look at a few more things that illustrate just how truly stunning Mahomes’ play in 2024 has been. Last week was the first time in his career that he finished a game with more interceptions (eight) than passing touchdowns (six) on the season since the end of his rookie year in 2017 when he had one interception and no passing touchdowns after his first career start in Week 17 at the Denver Broncos. This season, Mahomes has the same amount of touchdown passes as New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (six) and one fewer than both Carolina Panthers quarterback Andy Dalton (seven) and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Joe Flacco (seven), who has only played in three games. His six to eight touchdown-to-interceptions is the worst among the NFL’s 24 quarterbacks who have started all of their team’s games this season. Sure, the Chiefs don’t have the world’s greatest receiving core outside of an aging Travis Kelce (35-years-old). Kansas City planned to have Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, but a preseason shoulder injury has him sidelined through at least the entire regular season. Rashee Rice suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 4, which led to the Chiefs bringing back a late-career JuJu Smith-Schuster, but he suffered a hamstring injury in Week 7 that already has him ruled out for Week 8. The Chiefs have attempted to address this issue by trading a conditional fifth-round pick to the Tennessee Titans for a 32-year-old DeAndre Hopkins on Wednesday. That could help lift Mahomes’ game slightly, but it’s still shocking to see the league’s best quarterback playing mediocre football. |
| AFC NORTH |
| BALTIMOREThe Browns are among those who have noticed that RB LAMAR JACKSON is now operating in a sweet spot when choosing between the pass and the run. Kevin Patra of NFL.com: Two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson has raised his game to another stratosphere in 2024. The Baltimore Ravens have dug themselves out of an early-season hole thanks to the blistering play of the offense, led by Jackson and running back Derrick Henry. The evolution of Jackson’s game has caught the eye of opponents. “He’s gone from a run-first quarterback to a pass-first quarterback that can make plays with his feet,” Cleveland defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said, via the Browns’ official team website. “They’ve pretty much opened the whole passing game up to him and he can rely on that, but he also has those legs that he can make explosive plays.” While Jackson still leads all quarterbacks in rushing, the damage he’s done with his arm has defenses grasping for answers. If Jackson continues to be precise with his arm, and Henry gallops over them late in games, how are defenses to counter? Blitzing Jackson used to be one option for defensive coordinators. The QB was below average in terms of EPA per dropback versus the blitz over the previous four seasons. However, he’s seeing the field better in 2024, getting the ball out before the rush can collapse, and not relying primarily on his escape ability. Through seven weeks, Jackson generated the seventh-best passer rating (119.9) and completion percentage (70.4 percent), and is tied for the second-highest EPA per dropback at (+0.46) against the blitz. In neither of his previous MVP seasons did Jackson complete more than 62.5 percent against the blitz. Jackson leads all qualified QBs with a 118.0 passer rating and 455 rush yards in 2024. If he keeps that pace, he’d become the first QB to lead in both passer rating and rush yards in a season since Steve Young did so in his 1994 MVP season. Jackson is also second in pass yards per attempt (9.1) and TD-INT ratio (15-2) “When we say there’s another level, it’s just like, alright, like we didn’t know there was another level because he’s been playing on such a great level and high level,” Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah said when asked if Jackson has stepped his game up this season. “He’s using his feet, he’s doing miraculous plays, extending plays as all great quarterbacks do.” In recent seasons, Jackson has had some of his worst games against the Browns. In his last five starts against Cleveland, the QB has averaged 142.2 passing yards per game with a 6-to-6 TD-INT ratio, a 75.3 passer rating, and just 40 rush yards. Jackson has been held under 70 rush yards in each of his last five starts versus the Browns. Although these stats indicate his running has remained pretty constant over the years, right at 10 carries per game: LAMAR JACKSON Per game Carries Yards2018 9.2 43.4 2019 11.7 80.4 2020 10.6 67.0 2021 11.1 63.9 2022 9.3 63.7 2023 9.3 51.3 2024 10.4 65.0 |
| AFC EAST |
| BUFFALOThis made Garrett Podell’s CBSSports.com list of “Things We Didn’t Expect This Season”: Josh Allen has kicked the turnover bugBuffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen drew comparisons to Hall of Famer Brett Favre for years because they both are known for having a cannon for a right arm as well as a turnover problem. Since entering the NFL in 2018, Allen ranks third in the league in passing touchdowns (179), but in his first six seasons (2018-2023), he led the league with 78 interceptions. Now, Allen has played immaculate football with 12 passing touchdowns an no interceptions to start 2024. That makes him only the third quarterback in NFL history with 12 or more passing touchdowns and no interceptions through the first seven games of a season, joining Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles (2013) and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith (2017). Allen’s consecutive games without an interception is the longest streak by a starting quarterback in Bills history. During his first season of the 2020’s without Stefon Diggs, one would’ve thought Allen would have had a tougher time avoiding interceptions when throwing to less-experienced receivers — excluding Amari Cooper whom the Bills acquired via trade with the Cleveland Browns in Week 7. Surprisingly, that simply hasn’t been the case. |
| MIAMIIt’s all systems go Sunday for QB TUA TAGOVIALOA. Kevin Patra of NFL.com: Tua Tagovailoa has cleared the final hurdle for his return to action. The Miami Dolphins quarterback passed through concussion protocol on Friday, putting him on a path to be activated from injured reserve ahead of Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals, coach Mike McDaniel told reporters. “After going through the process and having a practice where we were able to initiate some contact with him,” McDaniel said, “and then he met with an independent doctor and was fully cleared. He was out of the protocol.” The news was expected after Tagovailoa got in a full workload at practice on Thursday. Miami has been optimistic about the QB’s return from his latest concussion. He’s expected to be activated off IR before Sunday’s tilt. McDaniel reiterated that Tagovailoa met with a “laundry list” of medical experts as part of the protocol and “zero of them recommended” that Tagovailoa retire from football. “He’s done an outstanding job of not doing anything but controlling what he can control,” McDaniel said of Tagovailoa’s recovery. “So in that, he’s put his best foot forward to take care of himself as well as to be the leader of this football team, just in a different way. In all of that, he’s been fully engaged, but he’s also become very aware that he is not interested in becoming a coach anytime soon, that his love is playing football. “He’s eager as everybody is. If you had any questions about how valuable he is, I think it’s pretty obvious.” The Dolphins offense has gone in the tank since the starting QB was injured in Week 2. McDaniel’s club went 1-3 without Tua, scoring 40 total points — 10 points per game. On the season, the Dolphins have the last-ranked scoring offense (11.7 PPG), which would be the lowest PPG by the franchise all-time (15.2 in 1966, Miami’s first year as a franchise). Last year, the Dolphins averaged 29.2 PPG, second in the NFL. In Tagovailoa’s stead, the Dolphins used three quarterbacks: Skylar Thompson (one start), Tyler Huntley (three starts) and Tim Boyle. Thompson went down with a rib injury in Week 3. Huntley exited Week 7 due to a shoulder injury and is not expected to be available in Week 8. Miami also inked veteran C.J. Beathard to the practice squad this week. McDaniel did not say Friday whether Thompson, Boyle or Beathard will back up Tagovailoa. “I’m pretty sure I know who it is,” McDaniel said, “but I want to make. After this practice, I think we’ll know with absolute certainty, but I need to let the full work week play out before I stamp it.” Despite missing the past four games, Tagovailoa remains the only Dolphins player with two-plus pass touchdowns in 2024 — he has two passing TDs. Huntley (1) is the only other Miami player to have a pass TD this season. Miami hopes that Tua’s return jumpstarts the offense and keeps its hope alive for a postseason run in the final 11 weeks. |
| NEW YORK JETSLike him or not, QB AARON RODGERS is great copy. He showed of the skills that made him a Celebrity JEOPARDY! champion earlier this week. Cory Woodward ofYahooSports.com: New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers cracked open his closest dictionary to explain why the sky is not falling in the Meadowlands. Speaking with media on Wednesday, Rodgers tried to explain how there is still time for the Jets to turn things around after their 2-5 start that saw coach Robert Saleh fired from his job. Rather than go with his tried-and-true “R-E-L-A-X” approach from the Green Bay Packers, Rodgers tried to show off an expanded vocabulary. “Thankfully, we’re not to the denouement of this season,” Rodgers said about his team, per SNY. “There’s still a lot of time left. I think it’s important that we all just stay as sanguine as possible.” |
| THIS AND THAT |
| THE FACE MASK PENALTY THAT WASN’TThe Rams clinched their 30-20 win over the Vikings on Thursday night when LB BYRON YOUNG was awarded a safety after he grabbed QB SAM DARNOLD by the face mask, jerking his head around on his path to the ground in the end zone. Young’s reaction signaled that he knew he had committed the obvious infraction. But no flag flew. The game was effectively over, rather than Minnesota getting a first down at its own 20 with 1:36 remaining. Tra Blake was the referee who replays showed looking directly at Darnold, then signalling safety, but amazingly FootballZebras claims it wasn’t his call: @footballzebrasThe facemask call is not reviewable to put a flag down, and in real time the wing officials said the grab was at the shoulder. Yes, there was involvement of the shoulder but there was a grip of the face mask. Referee from behind does not have the angle to make that call Does this explanation also imply by saying to “put a flag down” that a review can pick up a flag thrown for face mask, but not throw one? Blake did cop to the bad angle excuse for his apparent misfeasance. Tom Dierberger of SI.com: “Well, on that play, the quarterback was facing the opposite direction from me so I did not have a good look at it,” Blake, who has refereed NFL games since 2020, said after the game to a pool reporter. “I did not have a good look, and I did not see the face mask being pulled, obviously. The umpire had players between him and the quarterback, so he did not get a look at it. He was blocked out as well. “So that was the thing, we did not see it so we couldn’t call it. We couldn’t see it.” Darnold was visibly upset after the no-call, as was coach Kevin O’Connell and the rest of the Vikings’ offense. “On the field we definitely did discuss it because they did bring up a concern,” Blake said. “We discussed it as a crew, but we weren’t able to see it on the field so we weren’t able to make that call.” So while they “discussed it as a crew” couldn’t the “eye in the sky” have whispered the truth in their ears? Mike Florio is among the many who were outraged: The Rams probably would have won anyway. But the way the door was slammed on the Vikings serves as a clear and obvious reminder of one of the biggest flaws in the league’s current replay system. Face mask fouls continue to be not reviewable. It’s one of the original safety rules, passed long before the NFL had its epiphany regarding player health. At one point, the league ditched the distinction between major and minor (five-yard) fouls and made any grabbing and pulling of the opponent’s face mask a personal foul — 15 yards and an automatic first down. So why has it never been subject to replay review? It requires little time to see that it happened. The evidence is always clear and obvious. And the consequences of the failure of the officials to spot it in real time can be devastating. On Thursday night, the failure of the officials to see that Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold’s face mask had been grabbed and pulled on the game-cementing safety eliminated any chance Minnesota had to drive the length of the field and force overtime. If the foul had been called, the Vikings would have had a first down at their own 20, with 1:36 to play. Consider the manner in which replay review has expanded over the years. More and more things that weren’t reviewable have become reviewable. And with the recent proliferation of replay assistance, the NFL is doing more than ever before to support the folks in black and white, who have a far different view of the action on the field than the rest of us. When something like that is missed, it can quickly be fixed. But because the rules continue to prevent the review of face mask calls, nothing could be done. Even on a scoring play (which is always reviewable), a face mask can’t be reviewed because it never can be reviewed. Thursday night’s mistake didn’t just screw the Vikings. It robbed the league and the fans of a chance to witness whether the Vikings could drive the length of the field, score a touchdown, convert a two-point try, and force overtime. And with the NFL’s full and complete embrace of all things gambling, folks who had bet their money on the Vikings to win had a nonsensical glitch in the rules decide the outcome of the wager prematurely. And, yes, at some point, an outcome like that will create a major problem for the league. Hopefully, this will be the example that forces change. Hopefully, someone will be reporting on Friday that the Competition Committee will discuss in the offseason whether to make face mask non-fouls reviewable. What’s the argument against it? (I’ll wait.) No one can say it will slow the game down. When it happens, it’s obvious. And it’s obvious that the NFL has failed to address something that should have been addressed long ago. Whether for player safety, competitive fairness, the integrity of the wagers, or any combination of the three, it needs to happen. Even though the NFL typically resists changing the rules during a given season, it’s something that should be changed now. As long as the flaw persists, the chance remains that it will happen again. What if it happens in crunch time of a postseason game? What if it decides the Super Bowl? While it’s unlikely that it will change now (even if it should), it definitely must change in the offseason. Failure to do so will amount to (ongoing) malpractice by the league. Again, what’s the argument against it? I’ll wait. On a slightly related topic, Florio explores the line for drawing a fine for criticizing the officials where “ridiculous” from QB AARON RODGERS was okay, but “travesty” from EDGE MYLES GARRETT was not. The NFL announces on a weekly basis all fines for on-field, in-game rules violations by players. The NFL doesn’t announce other fines imposed on players, including whether a player was fined for criticizing officials. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the league did not fine Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers for criticizing officials in the aftermath of a Week 6 Monday night loss to the Bills. “It seemed a little ridiculous,” Rodgers said in his press conference about a game that featured 22 penalties. “Yeah, some of them seemed really bad. Including the roughing the passer on me. That’s not roughing the passer. Might as well play Sarcastaball if we’re gonna call those things. And I thought the one on [Jets defensive tackle Javon] Kinlaw was not roughing the passer, either.” Rodgers also said that a Jets touchdown by rookie running back Braelon Allen was wiped out by a “phantom holding call.” Last December, the NFL fined Browns defensive end Myles Garrett $25,000 for criticizing officials after a win over the Jaguars. “The officiating was a travesty today,” Garrett said at the time. “It was honestly awful. And the fact that they’re letting them get away with hands to the face, holding, false starting — I know they called a couple, but damn, they could have called it all game. . . . “I mean, respect to those guys, it’s a hard job, but hell, we have a hard job as well. You can’t make it harder by throwing holding and hands to the face out the rulebook. And like I said, I got a lot of respect for those guys, but we get scrutinized for the plays that we don’t make. So someone has to hold them accountable for the plays or the calls they don’t make. And they need to be under the same kind of microscope as we are every single play.” It’s unclear where the line is. Garrett, however, was on the wrong side of it. Rodgers stayed on the right side of it. Assuming that there even is a line that gets applied fairly and consistently. We also wonder whether it matters how bad the calls being criticized actually were – and whether or not the criticism seems to be about a particular blown call versus a blanket condemnation of an entire crew for an entire game. |
