THE DAILY BRIEFING
AROUND THE NFL
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If The Season Ended Today in the NFC:
x-Philadelphia East 13-2 1 8-2
yx-Minnesota North 12-3 1 7-3
yx-San Francisco West 11-4 1 9-2
Tampa Bay South 7-8 1 7-3
x-Dallas WC1 11-4 2 8-3
NY Giants WC2 8-6-1 3 4-6-1
Washington WC3 7-7-1 4 4-6-1
Seattle 7-8 1 2 5-6
Detroit 7-8 -1 2 5-5
Green Bay 7-8 3 5-5
Things to remember – if the Packers win their last two, they would finish ahead of Detroit, and the Seahawks lose the tiebreaker advantage over Detroit.
Sneaky big game this week is Cleveland at Washington. If the Browns win, the Packers make the playoffs with wins over Minnesota and Detroit, even if Seattle wins two.
NFC South
Tampa Bay 7-8 3-1
Carolina 6-9 1 3-1
New Orleans 6-9 -1 2-3
If the Bucs win their final two games, vs. Carolina and at Atlanta – they are champions.
If the Panthers win their final two game, at Tampa Bay and at New Orleans – they are champions.
If the Saints win their final two games, at Philadelphia and vs. Carolina AND the Buccaneers lose their final two games, they (the Saints) are the champions.
If the Saints lose at Philadelphia, the Panthers would lose the division even if they beat Tampa Bay and lost at New Orleans – provided Tampa Bay won at Atlanta.
If the Saints lose at Phialdelphia, the Panthers beat the Bucs and the Saints and Atlanta rise up to win Week 18 – the Panthers would be the champs at 7-10 in a three-way tie with the Buccaneers and Saints.
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NFC NORTH
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GREEN BAY
Peter King lays it out:
R-E-L-A-X. So Aaron Rodgers said there was a chance. There was, and is. After the upset of the Dolphins Sunday, Green Bay makes the playoffs by beating the Vikes and Lions at home, and Washington losing to either Cleveland or Dallas. Rodgers at the Vikings on Wild Card Weekend, getting comfier with his rookie receivers by the week, is a prospect the Purple World would dread.
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MINNESOTA
Peter King:
The Vikings can’t play a game that’s a rout. They’re 12-3, and their last 11 wins have been one-score games, including the 27-24 win over the spunky G-Men that required a 61-yard field goal at the gun.
With three clear losses, the Vikings have a +9 win differential and a +5 point differential.
– – –
King points out the accomplishments of PK GREG JOSEPH:
Greg Joseph, kicker, Minnesota. Kick a game-winning 61-yard field goal at the gun to beat the Giants 27-24 and get your team to 12-3, win Special Teams Player of the Week. Hitting all 19 of your field goals inside the 50- for the season is a nice consolation prize too.
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NFC EAST
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PHILADELPHIA
First QB JALEN HURTS, now T LANE JOHNSON…Late injuries are hitting the Eagles. Tim McManus of ESPN.com:
The Eagles are hopeful that four-time Pro Bowl right tackle Lane Johnson will return for the postseason, but he has a torn tendon in the abdominal area and is not expected to play again this regular season, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Johnson underwent an MRI, which confirmed the nature of the injury, which he suffered late in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
Jack Driscoll replaced Johnson at right tackle for the remainder of Saturday’s game. Moving forward, the Eagles also have the option of sliding Jordan Mailata over from left to right tackle and replacing Mailata at left tackle with 2019 first-round pick Andre Dillard.
Johnson was forced to leave the Eagles’ Week 14 game against the New York Giants with an abdominal strain. He was listed as a limited participant for a portion of practice the next week but played against the Chicago Bears and did not carry an injury designation into the Cowboys game.
The Eagles also are dealing with an injury to starting quarterback and MVP candidate Jalen Hurts, who missed Saturday’s game with a sprained shoulder. His status also is uncertain to play against the New Orleans Saints in Week 17, league sources have told Schefter.
Johnson, 32, was selected to his fourth Pro Bowl this year, and he had started all 15 games for the Eagles this season. He has not allowed a sack since Week 11 of the 2020 season, a stretch that spans over 28 games, according to Pro Football Focus data.
The Eagles boast the NFL’s best record at 13-2 and would clinch the NFC East, the conference’s top seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with another victory.
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WASHINGTON
Ron Rivera faces a tough QB decision as the Commanders face a huge game with Cleveland. John Keim of ESPN.com:
Washington Commanders coach Ron Rivera benched Taylor Heinicke for Carson Wentz in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s loss at the San Francisco 49ers, but Rivera said he isn’t yet sure if that’s a permanent move. Rivera said he’ll name a starting quarterback early in the week.
Wentz played the final two series in a 37-20 defeat that dropped the Commanders to 7-7-1. They remain in the seventh and final playoff spot.
Rivera said he would evaluate the situation, talk it over with his offensive coaches and make a decision. Washington will host the Cleveland Browns (6-9) next Sunday.
Commanders offensive coordinator Scott Turner said he would not make a “knee-jerk decision” but used the fourth quarter as a chance to evaluate Wentz’s game. Rivera also said he didn’t want to see the 49ers “tee off” on Heinicke.
“It was an opportunity for us to see where Carson was, and he did a nice job,” Rivera told reporters after the game. “We’re in a pretty good situation now.”
Wentz last played on Oct. 13, when he broke his right ring finger in a 12-7 win over the Chicago Bears. He returned to the active game-day roster last week.
Wentz completed 12 of 16 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown in two series of work against San Francisco (11-4).
“We’re all competitors. I won’t sugarcoat it: We all want to be out there,” Wentz said. “If we lose that in this position, we’ll be out of it real quick. So it would mean a lot [to start], but that’s out of our control. We’ll both prepare and work our tails off and nothing will change because of the circumstances. Whatever happens, happens.”
Heinicke said he is accustomed to being in this situation — always an underdog or on the verge of losing his job, especially in the NFL.
“I’ve heard things like that my whole life,” Heinicke said. “I try not to pay attention to it. I control what I control, and that’s going out and playing as hard as I can — and that’s what I feel I did. If they need to put Carson in there, OK. I’ll come to the facility every day, work hard and be the best I can.”
Heinicke played one of his more efficient halves of the season in the first two quarters, completing 8 of 11 passes for 89 yards and a touchdown. Another drive ended at the 1-yard line when Washington failed to convert a fourth-and-goal. He threw a second touchdown pass in the third quarter.
But in the fourth quarter, Heinicke lost one fumble at his own 11-yard line, leading to a 49ers field goal. On the next possession, he was intercepted — this time at the Commanders’ 25-yard line, resulting in a second field goal and 27-14 deficit.
“I was pretty banged up, and the last two drives were turnovers, so I get it,” Heinicke said. “Carson did a good job.”
Rivera said Heinicke played “pretty good” in the first half and also said that to “pin all the turnovers on him would be tough. Those weren’t his issues. There were some things we could have done better.”
Still, that was enough for Rivera to make the change to Wentz. Washington’s offense had moved the ball during Heinicke’s starts; the Commanders were 13th in the league in total yards during his first seven starts. However, they were 25th in the red zone and scoring and 27th on third downs.
Rivera was pleased with how Wentz played.
“He had good command of what we were doing,” Rivera said. “He stood tall in the pocket and got the ball out quickly a couple times and threw some good balls.”
Washington traded two third-round draft picks to the Indianapolis Colts and swapped second-round picks in March to acquire Wentz. He has a salary-cap hit of $26.7 million in 2023 but has no guaranteed money left, so Washington could cut him without any financial penalty. But the Commanders do want to find out if he can be their guy in the future or not.
If Wentz starts, he would be playing in an offense that is more run-heavy than when he played in Washington’s first six games. The coaches hope that would lead to more success for Wentz.
“Our ability to run the ball takes a lot of pressure off the quarterback,” Rivera said. “This is a different unit from the group he played with. There are some things that shows what he can do when he does have the opportunity to stand tall in the pocket.”
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NFC SOUTH
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CAROLINA
The big win over the Lions cost the Panthers their outstanding CB JAYCEE HORN. ProFootballRumors.com:
The Panthers came into this week knowing they needed to win every remaining game to make the playoffs and took a huge first step by beating the surging Lions handedly. With two games remaining, if they can go on the road twice and beat the division-leading Buccaneers and the Saints, they can punch their ticket to the postseason. Unfortunately, that job just got one degree harder as they will be going into those two games without starting cornerback Jaycee Horn.
Horn left Saturday’s win over the Lions late in the game with a broken wrist, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. This late in the year, the injury is likely one that will end Horn’s sophomore season, his second straight season with an early exit.
Last year’s top-10 draft pick for the Panthers’ rookie season ended after he had only started three games. A fractured foot landed Horn on injured reserve and he would sit out the remainder of the season,
– – –
Peter King:
Running can be sexy, to some. The Panthers rushed 43 times for 320 yards, a 7.4-yard average, and the result was predictable: Carolina 37, Detroit 23. Talk about bursting the bubble of all the good feels for the Lions, who came in on a 6-1 roll. It’s the 6-9 Panthers who exited this game looking like much more of a playoff threat than the Lions. And, of course, Carolina can win the NFC South by sweeping games at the Bucs and Saints. Pretty crazy, after starting 2-7.
“We’re not sexy,” interim coach Steve Wilks (5-5, stunningly) told me post-game. “We’re not the classic NFL team that’s going to throw it all over the place. But like I’ve told [offensive coordinator] Ben McAdoo, there’s nothing more demoralizing to a defense than not being able to stop the run.” The Panthers, lately, have added some misdirection and more motion to the run game because, as Wilks said, “You look around the league, and you see window-dressing and misdirection causes problems for the defense in the run game.”
Rushing for 320 yards is pretty damn demoralizing. And what Wilks has done with his team is to prioritize what they do well – run – behind a strong line and a renewed sense of pride in his 11 weeks as coach. “I’ve told our guys, ‘Act like a champion every day,’ and I think they’ve responded well to that. That’s how they’re acting.”
So, whatever happens in the last two games, Wilks has restored the pride in the franchise. I asked him if that should be enough to be seriously considered for the full-time job. “Straight honestly,” he said, “I don’t look at it that way. I’ve done this job before [in Arizona, for one season], and even though it was only for a year, I understand what’s important. Stay in the moment. Win today. Try to beat Tampa. That’s all that matters.”
We should mention, as King does not, that the Panthers actually passed for 250+ yards, too.
It was only the 2nd time this century that a team has rushed for 300+ yards and passed for 250+. Also the 49ers vs. Buffalo in 2012 who gained 621 yards (311 rush, 310 pass).
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TAMPA BAY
The 2022 Buccaneers have 7 wins – and in none of them did they score more than 21 points. The Buccaneers are 0-3 when they do top 21.
One more such win and they will tie for the most in this century.
WINS WHEN SCORING 21 POINTS OR LESS SINCE 2000
PIT 2001 8 (13 total wins)
CHI 2005 8 (11)
BAL 2001 7 (10)
NYG 2016 7 (11)
TB 2022 7 (7)
All the other teams had wins where they scored more than 21 points. The Buccaneers are the only team with 7+ total wins, none in game where they scored more than 21.
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NFC WEST
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SAN FRANCISCO
Peter King:
Niners-Bengals Super Bowl? They’re each on at least a seven-game win streak; the Niners’ eight is the best in the league. Factoid That Will Make Sean McVay Vomit: On Oct. 17, the Rams and Niners both woke up with 3-3 records. Since that day, San Francisco is 8-1, the Rams 2-7.
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LOS ANGELES RAMS
More signals that Sean McVay wants someone from a network to call. Jason Burgos of Sportsnaut:
The speculation that Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay could walk away from the franchise at the end of the season is starting to build momentum again.
The Rams had a magical 2021 season. They were one of the best teams in the NFL throughout the year and it seemed like every major move they made worked out perfectly. A trade for Matthew Stafford delivered them the franchise quarterback they needed, and in-season deals for veteran stars Von Miller and Odell Beckham Jr. proved to be the final pieces to a championship puzzle.
However, it has been a very different story in 2022. Miller and Beckham Jr. are gone, Stafford wasn’t healthy from the start of the season and came nowhere close to finishing it, and even superstar wide receiver Cooper Kupp was knocked on in November with season-ending ankle surgery.
The Los Angeles Rams enter Week 16 with the third-worst record in the league and are one of only six teams in the NFL that have already been eliminated from playoff contention. It should come as no surprise then that after much conjecture in the offseason that McVay could step away from the sport after reaching the top of the mountain, the speculation about retirement has started up again after an awful season.
With the Rams 2022 campaign being a disaster and no real evidence the team can immediately return to Super Bowl contention next year, some around the NFL believe McVay could now pull the trigger on his temporary retirement from the league at 36.
On Friday, The Score NFL contributor Jordan Schultz revealed that an executive in the NFL told him the Rams coach leaving the franchise at the end of the season is back in play and a very real possibility.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Sean walked away, at least for a year. He almost did it once. … I think he’s really tired. It wouldn’t shock me at all if he left.”
Has QB BAKER MAYFIELD cheered up McVay? Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com:
– After Baker Mayfield’s best performance in his short tenure with the Los Angeles Rams, coach Sean McVay was asked whether the quarterback has been as good as or better than his expectations since Mayfield joined the team on Dec. 6.
“I think probably better,” McVay said. “But you guys know I was always a fan of him, and I think he’s played really well. And you’ve got to think about too what he’s done to come in here and be able to play around a lot of guys too that haven’t been here, and to be able to lead the charge today. Just an incredible effort. … He has been outstanding.”
On Sunday afternoon, Mayfield led the Rams to a 51-14 victory over the Denver Broncos during a game in which Los Angeles didn’t punt. The Rams scored on all but the last of their nine drives, when they took over on downs with six seconds left in the contest and took a knee. It was the second time under McVay that the Rams didn’t punt in a game.
Mayfield was dominant on Sunday, completing 24 of 28 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns. His completion rate of 85.7% was the second highest in a game in his career. Mayfield also set the Rams’ single-game completion percentage record, passing Kurt Warner (2000) and Case Keenum (2016).
“Coming off the Monday night game and not really playing well on offense, and obviously, I was frustrated with how I played,” Mayfield said. “And for us to play a complete game like that, that speaks volumes.”
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AFC WEST
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DENVER
Nathaniel Hackett joins the ranks of less-than-one-and-done. Michael David Smith ofProFootballTalk.com:
Yesterday’s blowout loss to the Rams was the last straw for Broncos ownership with first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett.
Hackett was fired today, the team announced.
The Broncos have been the NFL’s most disappointing team this season: They traded for Russell Wilson thinking he would be the last piece of a Super Bowl contender. Instead, they’re 4-11 and among the worst teams in the NFL.
The draft picks the Broncos traded for Wilson, and the contract they gave him, make it virtually impossible for them to move on from him. He’s their franchise quarterback, and they need to find a head coach who can win with him. That coach is not Hackett, who is fired before even finishing his first season.
Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com:
Then-Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell and Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn were also finalists for the role. O’Connell was later hired by the Minnesota Vikings, whose resurgent offense has led them to a 12-3 start. Shortly after Hackett’s hire, the Broncos traded five draft picks, including two first-rounders and two second-rounders, as well as three players to the Seattle Seahawks to acquire quarterback Russell Wilson. Wilson was signed to a five-year, $245 million contract extension just before the start of the season.
But the excitement of the Broncos’ offseason quickly fizzled out as Hackett’s in-game decision-making was questioned right from the start of the season.
In Week 1, his call to have kicker Brandon McManus attempt a 64-yard field goal instead of having Wilson attempt to convert a fourth-and-5 in the closing minute of a 17-16 loss to Seattle proved controversial.
“Looking back at it, definitely should have gone for it,” Hackett said the day after the loss. “One of those things, you look back at it and say, ‘Of course we should go for it; we missed the field goal.’ But in that situation we had a plan, we knew 46 was the mark.”
Game management issues continued in the weeks that followed — fans even counted down the play clock during some home games — and former Baltimore Ravens assistant coach Jerry Rosburg was hired in September to aid in-game management decisions. The disconnect between Hackett, Wilson and the offense persisted, however. Hackett routinely stressed he wanted “to build this thing around [Wilson]” and do what Wilson was “comfortable with” in the offense even as Wilson repeatedly said he was comfortable “doing a lot of things.”
At 15.5 points per game, the Broncos are at their lowest point total at this point in a season since 1966.
Injuries to front-line players such as left tackle Garett Bolles, running back Javonte Williams, wide receiver Tim Patrick and outside linebacker Randy Gregory certainly didn’t help matters. But as the season wore on, there was far less conversation in the public domain about Hackett’s willingness to think outside the box in his teaching methods and more about why the Broncos’ offense was so historically bad. Five of the Broncos’ first six losses and eight total have been one-score games.
That was not the case Sunday, as the Denver defense saw the Rams score on eight of their nine possessions. Additionally, backup quarterback Brett Rypien and guard Dalton Risner exchanged words on the sideline after a sequence in the third quarter when Wilson was sacked on back-to-back plays.
Gregory was pulled from the game twice by Hackett, once in the first half when he was flagged after he threw his helmet after a Rams touchdown, and later when he was flagged for a late hit on Los Angeles quarterback Baker Mayfield. “After that second one, we took him out — that’s unacceptable,” Hackett said.
As the teams crowded the middle of the field on their way to their locker rooms after the game, Gregory and Rams guard Oday Aboushi exchanged words — with helmets on — and Gregory punched Aboushi in the helmet. Aboushi responded with a punch of his own before they were separated. Both Gregory and Aboushi were suspended one game by the NFL on Monday.
With the wealthiest ownership group in the NFL as well as a fan base passionate enough, even now, to have given the Broncos a home sellout streak that dates back to 1970, the Broncos’ head-coaching role will be an attractive job.
Jerry Rosburg, the September hire for game management issues, is the interim coach.
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LAS VEGAS
RB JOSH JACOBS signals his weariness of being a Raider. Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
After the Raiders’ 13-10 loss to the Steelers on Saturday night, one that followed the same script that so many others have followed with self-inflicted wounds, Josh Jacobs had seen enough.
As the Raiders’ Pro Bowl running back stood in front of his locker at Acrisure Stadium, he emotionally laid it on the line about a season that turned sideways with the Raiders’ inability to learn from their mistakes.
He was especially referring to an offense that squandered a handful of opportunities, just as it has done time and again during a 6-9 season.
“Yeah, man, it’s bull … for real. I mean it’s bull …,” Jacobs said. “And it’s on us. Everybody wants to talk about the defense, but they made the stops when they were supposed to. We gotta help them out. And I’m tired of saying we gotta help them out. It’s just frustrating.”
Part of Jacobs’ frustration was the Raiders’ inability — and sometimes indifference — to run the ball. Jacobs, the NFL’s leading rusher entering the game, carried the ball 15 times for 44 yards. Not included was a 36-yard gain that was called back because of a face-mask penalty on tight end Foster Moreau.
“We still had opportunities to make plays.” Jacobs said, “I feel like, in times where we were close and we felt like we were going to get a big one, we went away from it (the run).”
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The frigid conditions seemed conducive to running the ball. And the lead the Raiders had throughout the game seemed ideal for a ground attack.
“To win these games … especially when you’re up against a team like this, in the cold, you’ve got to run the ball,” Jacobs said. “That’s a factor on everybody involved from top to bottom.”
Bottom line, Jacobs was angry at another loss in which the Raiders were their own worst enemies. It’s been a theme for far too long.
“I’m tired of dealing with this,” he said. “Every day I come here I bust my (butt). I see the guys bust their (butt). And the result is not there. And, you know for me, the last four years, the result has not been there. And, quite frankly, I don’t know what else to do.”
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LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
Peter King:
Justin Herbert makes the playoffs for the first time with a win at Indianapolis tonight. How cool would Justin Herbert at Joe Burrow in the Wild Card round be?
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AFC NORTH
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CLEVELAND
Peter King crunches the QB DESHAUN WATSON numbers:
Rust of the Week:
In his four games back as quarterback of the Browns, after 100 weeks away from live football, Deshaun Watson has led three touchdown drives on 43 offensive possessions.
Two passing, one rushing. Average offensive yards per game for the Browns with Watson: 295.
The DB has never had Watson quite as high on his list of QBs as some folks – and we’re starting to wonder if his travails with the Browns will enhance the rehab of his former coach Bill O’Brien, now serving as OC at Alabama.
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PITTSBURGH
Peter King channels the Immaculate similarities:
The Steelers got nothing done offensively all game. Two field goals against the impenetrable Raiders in the first 59 minutes—that’s all—with a piddling passing game. Six points on a frigid winterscape at the confluence of the three rivers, with dozens of frustrated Santa Clauses in the stands. The Steelers, desperate in the final seconds to steal a win they probably did not deserve.
Wait. Are we talking Christmas weekend 1972 or Christmas weekend 2022?
Both.
And the Raiders went home both times, on Dec. 23, 1972 and then 50 years and one night later, with a brutally frustrating loss that had Franco Harris’ fingerprints all over it.
It’s eerie. That’s what it is. The Steelers beat the Raiders 13-7 a half-century ago on a TD pass to rookie Harris in the final minute. The Steelers beat the Raiders 13-10 Saturday night on a TD pass to rookie George Pickens in the final minutes.
The first game was the Immaculate Reception game, when Harris picked the ball out of the air and ran it for a shocking 60-yard touchdown to beat Oakland. The second game, three days after Harris died, was a tribute to a hero. Heyward and his teammates wore Harris’ black number 32 jersey to Acrisure Stadium for Saturday night’s game against the Raiders, a game that celebrated Harris’ legacy as he became the third Steeler to have his number retired.
“Everyone in the organization felt Franco tonight,” Heyward told me an hour after the game ended, wearing the black Harris jersey. “It’s one thing to wear the jersey. It’s another thing to embody what he was about, what the Steelers are about. I feel that’s what we did tonight.”
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AFC SOUTH
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INDIANAPOLIS
Don’t expect Jeff Saturday to campaign to have the “interim” removed from his title. Andrew Buller-Ross of Sportsnaut:
Back in Week 9, Indianapolis Colts team owner Jim Irsay had this grand idea to fire his head coach of the past four seasons in Frank Reich, and hire an old pal, former NFL lineman Jeff Saturday, despite having no previous experience.
It was, a strange move, to say the least. While Saturday is certainly respected, he had, as mentioned, no previous head coaching experience above the high school level. Joining a franchise mid-season and then instantly becoming head coach of a group that features 53 players on the roster, plus an additional 15 on the practice squad, is unheard of.
Imagine learning the strengths and weaknesses of that many individuals in a matter of days, or weeks, let alone simply learning their names.
Needless to say, this experiment hasn’t gone as some had hoped, with Saturday’s Colts not only going 1-4 under his direction (Reich was 3-5-1), but it’s the manner in which they’ve been hemorrhaging points as of late that’s so concerning.
First, it was allowing a whopping 33 points in one quarter to the high-powered Dallas Cowboys, and then, the largest comeback in NFL history to the Minnesota Vikings a week later.
At this point, the Colts have hit rock bottom. Jeff Saturday knows it, but what about Mr. Irsay?
When Saturday was given the chance to coach the Colts for the remainder of the season, giving him an eight-game sample size, it was clear that he’d have the opportunity to win the job full-time.
Yet at this point, the Colts have no choice but to conduct a full coaching search, knowing they need to find a more qualified candidate.
Previously, Saturday was all-in on his desire to earn the official head coach position.
“I plan on interviewing (for the Colts job) as long as they want to interview me.”
But now? According to The Washington Post‘s Jason La Canfora’s sources, Saturday “knows he isn’t an NFL head coach.”
The report even flies in the face of what Saturday said just 10 days ago, adding, “even if Jim Irsay wants him to stay, Saturday’s expected to walk away at the end of the season.”
What could have possibly changed in the past 10 days?
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JACKSONVILLE
Peter King:
Doug Pederson, head coach, Jacksonville. When a coach gets fired 35 months after leading his franchise to its first-ever Super Bowl win, that coach is going to have a stain on him. How bad did this coach let it get in three years for him to be fired? Luckily, Jags GM Trent Baalke didn’t let that overly influence his search. Baalke (plus Shad and Tony Khan) saw a coach who is a teacher, who is a leader, who is very good for a young team that had just been battered by the failed Urban Meyer experiment, and who would be great for Trevor Lawrence. His leadership helped when the Jags were 2-6 and flying home from London in what looked like a lost season. They’re 5-2 since, with wins over Vegas, Baltimore, Tennessee, Dallas and the defensively stout Jets in a monsoon. “We’ve got a smart coach and coaching staff,’’ safety Rayshawn Jenkins said. “We lose in London, we’re 2-6, but there was no panic—just the attitude of, ‘We’re a good team, and we’re going to fix it.’ And at this time of year, he (Pederson) is playing it smart as far as the schedule. He gets us off our feet, he takes care of us, and he makes sure our mental is right. He’s been a player. He knows.” Who would have ever thought we’d be saying 15 games into Pederson’s tenure: You do not want to be playing the Jaguars in January. Pederson and his staff, and Baalke’s personnel decisions, have made that happen.
We have seen that the Week 18 game with the Titans at the Jaguars is already a win-and-in game no matter what happens in Week 17. Both teams are 7-8 and obviously that is true if they both win in Texas (TEN at DAL, JAX at HOU) this week. Thoughts from Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com:
The Titans and Jaguars are in an unusual situation heading into Week 17: Both teams know that the game that really matters is Week 18.
The Week 18 Titans-Jaguars winner will win the AFC South, and that’s true regardless of whether either team wins, loses or ties in Week 17. There’s no scenario in which the winner of that Week 18 matchup doesn’t win the division.
That raises the question of whether both teams will rest their starters in Week 17, when the Titans face the Cowboys and the Jaguars face the Texans. It might be better for both teams to keep their best players healthy for the game with the division title on the line than to risk injuries to win a largely meaningless game in Week 17. It is still possible for either the Titans or the Jaguars to be a wild card team, but that’s a long shot. Most likely, the loser of the Week 18 game will miss the playoffs entirely.
What if the Week 18 Titans-Jaguars game ends in a tie? That’s when Week 17 could matter: If Week 18 were a tie, then the Titans would win the AFC South if they win Week 17 and the Jaguars lose Week 17. If either the Jaguars win Week 17 or the Titans lose Week 17, then the Jaguars would win the AFC South with a Week 18 tie.
But what we know for sure is that the winner of the AFC South will be decided in Week 18 in Jacksonville.
Will that be the Week 18 Sunday night game? Perhaps.
But it could also be one of the Saturday ESPN games, with Baltimore at Cincinnati (if it is for the AFC North title) getting the nod. If Baltimore, down a game to the Bengals but with the win in the first head-to-head meeting, wins Sunday over the Steelers, the Week 18 game is for the division title and a home playoff game – and these two teams have more luster than Titans-Jaguars.
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AFC EAST
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NEW ENGLAND
Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com normally sticks to the facts. But he has a nasty tweet for Matt Patricia:
@MichaelDavSmith
It’s hard to imagine an all-around worse offensive/ defensive/ head coach than Matt Patricia.
Coordinated Belichick’s worst defense ever, culminating in the Nick Foles Super Bowl disaster.
Terrible tenure as head coach of the Lions.
Running New England’s offense into the ground.
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NEW YORK JETS
Peter King:
Zach Wilson, quarterback, N.Y. Jets. At this point, it’s almost pitiable to watch Wilson try to be competent. In Wilson’s 40 minutes of football Thursday night, he led the Jets to 44 net yards in 28 plays. Embarrassing. Chris Streveler drove the offense 73 yards in his first possession as a Jet. The Jets can’t play Wilson again this year. They’ve got to get him to the offseason and try, try, try to work on his accuracy and confidence. I don’t see it working, but it’s hard to whack the guy you drafted second overall 20 months ago.
QB MIKE WHITE to the rescue? Rich Cimini of ESPN.com:
The New York Jets, whose slim playoff hopes received a boost over the weekend, will have quarterback Mike White back in the lineup for Sunday’s pivotal road game against the Seattle Seahawks.
White, who fractured at least two ribs in a Dec. 11 hit by Buffalo Bills linebacker Matt Milano, was cleared for contact Monday by doctors, a league source confirmed.
White missed the past two games — both losses — because doctors cleared him to only practice, not play.
This is another setback for former starter Zach Wilson, whose future with the team appears bleak. The 2021 No. 2 pick was benched for three games, but he got another shot when White was injured.
Wilson failed to capitalize and was replaced last Thursday night by fourth-string quarterback Chris Streveler. Booed throughout the game, Wilson completed only nine of 18 passes for 92 yards in the 19-3 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. On Friday, coach Robert Saleh refused to commit to Wilson as his starter in Seattle even if White wasn’t cleared.
White is 1-2 as the starter, with 952 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.
The Jets (7-8), losers of four straight, have an 11% chance of making the playoffs, according to ESPN Analytics. Saleh himself conceded their chances were “far-fetched,” but they got help from the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins, both of whom lost this weekend.
If the Jets win out and the Patriots lose one of their remaining two games, the Jets will make the playoffs for the first time in 12 years.
Zach Wilson goes to 4th string. That’s the plan announced by Coach Robert Saleh on Monday per Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com:
Jets quarterback Zach Wilson has been demoted all the way to the bottom of the depth chart.
Mike White will return to the starting lineup for the Jets this week after he was medically cleared, and Joe Flacco will back White up, head coach Robert Saleh said today.
Wilson will be inactive for Sunday’s game at Seattle. Saleh said that if the Jets have three quarterbacks active then Chris Streveler would be the third, but the Jets have not yet decided whether to use Streveler on Sunday. Streveler came in when Wilson was benched last week and flashed some running ability, which has led to talk that the Jets could use Streveler in a package of plays the way the Saints use Taysom Hill.
The demotion represents the latest indication that the Jets have completely lost confidence in Wilson, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft. It’s hard to believe Wilson will be back with the Jets in any capacity next season.
Despite the disaster that Wilson has become, the Jets still have a path to the playoffs: They’ll get in if they win their last two games and the the Patriots lose one game.
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The NFL lowered the hammer on Jets receiver coach Miles Austin for gambling that had nothing to do with the NFL if Mike Florio has his facts straight:
The legalization of sports betting, coupled with the NFL’s embrace of multiple gambling sponsorships, creates plenty of concerns that would require careful thought, well-crafted strategy, and plenty of money to properly address, in order to create the impression that the league takes the situation very seriously. Arguably, the league has opted instead to throw the book at anyone who steps across the fairly bright line of “thou shalt not bet.”
Violators who gamble on things they shouldn’t get a minimum suspension of one year, no questions asked. Receiver Calvin Ridley, who bet roughly $1,500 on a five-game parlay while absent from the Falcons during the 2021 season, drew a minimum ban of one year. The league has levied the identical punishment against Jets receivers coach Miles Austin, even though he didn’t bet on football.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Austin (who made millions during his playing career) was wagering roughly $50 here and there on basketball games. He didn’t know he was prevented from betting on sports other than football.
How could he not know that, you may ask? The problem is that two standards apply. Players can bet on sports other than football; coaches can’t. As the source explained it, some coaches (especially former players who became coaches) aren’t aware of the distinction.
But the league doesn’t care. There’s no explanation or discretion or anything other than “come back, one year.”
And the league leaked the information to its in-house media conglomerate before Austin’s appeal had been resolved. Two days before Christmas.
Per the source, Austin’s contract expires after the season. Why not let him just finish the year and quietly walk away?
That, of course, would have prevented the NFL from putting a head on a spike at the border of DraftKing’s Landing.
Meanwhile, others get far lesser punishments for arguably far greater affronts to the game or The Shield. Six games for steroids. Six games, baseline, for domestic violence. Eleven games for Deshaun Watson‘s extended pattern of trying to make massage therapy sessions into sexual encounters.
The league will say there can be no toleration of any type of gambling, which requires the extreme punishment even in the most innocuous of cases — and even if the coach can truthfully say he didn’t know he couldn’t bet on sports other than football. That’s fine, as long as the league brings that same energy to other ways that the intersection of football and legalized gambling can create problems.
One easy (but unrealistic) approach would be to stop taking money from sports books. The fact that Austin was suspended for using an app created by a sports book that sponsors the NFL makes the whole thing seem next-level nutty.
Of course, the horse has long since left the barn on that one. The revenue stream won’t be abandoned, not at this point. But some of that money should be used to shore up officiating (full-time officials, for starters), to embrace technology that will assist in the officiating of games (cameras in all pylons, for example), and to adopt clear and firm policies and practices for protecting inside information (such as injuries that aren’t commonly known).
Until the league makes it clear that steps are being taken to avoid far greater threats to the integrity of the game than an assistant coach betting $50 on basketball games, any effort to publicly shame him and then to push him out of the NFL for at least a year looks like window dressing aimed at creating the impression the league is taking the many threats presented by legalized gambling seriously.
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THIS AND THAT
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BROADCAST NEWS
Peter King has been briefed by NFL TV execs:
The NFL had no choice but to move away from DirecTV. The league has wanted out of the DirecTV partnership for a couple of years at least. Putting a big dish on the side or roof of a home is pretty yesterday, and the numbers reflect that. DirecTV had 25.4 million subscribers in 2015; just seven years later, per Fitch Ratings, the company has 13.3 million subscribers. Conversely, anyone with a smart phone, computer/tablet/laptop or smart TV can get YouTube TV.
Look what’s happened to the connected-TV world. Ten years ago, almost 100 million Americans had cable or satellite TV. That is forecast to be cut in half by 2025. To get YouTube TV, all you need is internet access and a device. It’s just far easier as a user experience.
The moolah. The NFL will make at least $2 billion a year, on average, from the deal. That’s up at least $500 million per year from DirecTV’s rights fee. There will be escalators for the NFL over the deal’s seven years, much of that related to how many streamers YouTube can attract. One thing about rights fees. Keep in mind that most media rights deals escalate over the years. So the league could get significantly less than $2 billion in early years, and significantly more in year seven. But the average of all the TV deals will pay the league about $13.2 billion per year. That means each team would be due an average of $412 million per year in TV fees. That’s up from $250 million per team per year under the old TV deals.
The salary cap. Players get 48.5 percent of most team revenue, including TV. So in the average season from 2023 to 2029, the TV rights deals will raise the salary cap $78 million per team.
International broadcast rights. Forgot those. They’ll be going up. All are short-term deals. Particularly in countries with football fever like Germany, it’s not a pittance—though that German TV contract does last through the 2025 season.
Seven years. Every one of these TV/media deals either expires or the NFL can opt out of after seven years—after the 2029 season. By design by the NFL.
YouTube TV is likely to innovate. Expect better graphics, with analytics and new ways to see the game—though nothing’s been finalized yet.
FOX and CBS, the Sunday afternoon homes of NFL games, have to be nervous. If a viewer pays for the new YouTube package, that will supply every game in the 6.5-hour window on either smart TVs or phones or computers. So it’s another pull away from needing cable to be able to see NFL games. (NBC, ESPN/ABC and Amazon Prime Video are not affected because their games are not on Sunday Ticket.)
One option YouTube TV should strongly consider: the single-team option. It’s common sense: Would a Browns fan but marginal full-NFL fan in Salem, Ore., pay $250 or so to get every NFL game? Why not offer a Browns fan all 13 or 14 of Cleveland’s games not on Sunday Ticket for, say, $75? I know the NFL has thought of this in the past, and it’s time the league and YouTube TV agreed to implement it.
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