The Daily Briefing Monday, January 1, 2024
THE DAILY BRIEFING
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The AFC:
w-l conf 18 Baltimore North 13-3 8-3 PIT Miami East 11-5 7-4 BUF Kansas City West 10-6 8-3 lac Jacksonville South 9-7 6-5 ten Cleveland WC1 11-5 8-3 cin Buffalo WC2 10-6 6-5 mia Indianapolis WC3 9-7 7-4 HOU Houston 9-7 6-5 ind Pittsburgh 9-7 6-5 balt
Nothing changed in terms of order Week 17, except Denver and Cincinnati were eliminated, as everyone won except Miami.
First of all, Buffalo is not in. And, we think the Bills chances of being eliminated from the playoffs, even at this point, are a lot higher than ESPN’s 3%. Here is what has to happen without ties:
According to ESPN, Buffalo has a 97% chance to make the playoffs after their win over the Patriots.
If Buffalo beats Miami in Week 18, the Bills clinch the AFC East for the fourth consecutive season along with the number two seed in the AFC.
If the Dolphins beat the Bills in Week 18, Buffalo would require outside help to potentially grab a playoff spot. The Bills would need either a Steelers or Jaguars loss to still secure a wild-card berth.
So, if the Steelers win on Saturday night against resting Baltimore, let’s call that 75%
And Jacksonville wins its vital game against mediocre Tennessee, let’s call that 60%.
The chances both of these will happen, based on the above odds are 45%.
So the Bills will be win or out on Monday against Miami. Even if you think the Bills are 60% against the Dolphins, the chances Buffalo is out is more like 18%.
What do the Steelers need? Well first the win over the Ravens. Then either Tennessee over Jacksonville – or the aforementioned Bills loss to Miami.
And if the Steelers lose to the Ravens, there is still an odd scenario that gets them in. If Jacksonville loses to Tennessee, Pittsburgh and JAX are tied at 9-8 – and then the tiebreakers shift by the obscure Denver-Raiders game. The Broncos are the proxy for Pittsburgh, the Raiders are the proxy for the Jaguars – the winner of that game between two uninvolved teams deciding the 3rd Wild Card.
The NFC:
W-L Conf 18 San Francisco* West 12-4 10-1 LAR Dallas East 11-5 8-3 was Detroit North 11-5 7-4 MIN Tampa Bay South 8-8 6-5 car Philadelphia WC1 11-5 7-4 nyg LA Rams WC2 9-7 7-4 sf Green Bay WC3 8-8 6-5 CHI Seattle WC3 8-8 6-5 arz Minnesota 7-9 6-5 det Atlanta 7-9 4-7 no
Seattle and Green Bay were tied at 8-8 a year ago (along with the 8-8 Lions who were at a tiebreaker disadvantage with Seattle).
Why does Minnesota linger here? Well if they were to get to 8-9 with a win over the Lions (who may or may not be motivated to get the 2 seed by putting pressure on Dallas with a win). If the Vikings win they need Chicago to beat Green Bay, Arizona to beat Seattle and the Falcons to beat the Saints.
If the Falcons beat the Saints – and the Panthers beat the Buccaneers – the Falcons are NFC South champs.
Also, while the Rams are in the playoffs, they have not locked the 2nd Wild Card and the likely date in Detroit. If the Packers win, and the Rams lose to the 49ers, Green Bay takes the 6th seed and the Rams fall to 7th and get a road trip to the NFC South winner – which might be an easier path.
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A Scorigami:
@NFL_Scorigami
19h MIA 19 – 56 BAL Final
That’s Scorigami!! It’s the 1084th unique final score in NFL history.
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NFC NORTH |
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DETROIT Peter King’s take on the big story of the weekend:
The Detroit officiating debacle. You’ve no doubt seen the end of Dallas’ 20-19 win over Detroit, and the Lions flying into orbit when referee Brad Allen disallowed the two-point conversion that likely would have won the game 21-20. I think there’s blame on both sides—the officials and the Lions. It’s too easy to demonize Allen, although he should have handled the play much better.
After Amon-Ra St. Brown scored to cut Dallas’ lead to one with 23 seconds left in the game, coach Dan Campbell kept the offense on the field, choosing to go for two and the win. Before the play, left tackle Taylor Decker (number 68) and right tackle Penei Sewell (58) walked over to Allen, while backup tackle Dan Skipper, number 70, jogged in from the sideline to join them with Allen for a moment. Then Allen jogged toward the Dallas defense and announced to the stadium, “Number 70 is an eligible receiver. Number 70 is eligible.”
Here’s problem number one: Decker, Sewell and Skipper all went to Allen—likely to try to confuse Dallas about who exactly the eligible lineman was. Allen should have been crystal clear with them and confirmed who the eligible lineman would be. Usually what happens is a lineman who is reporting as eligible will say to the official, I’m reporting as eligible, or something similar, while making a motion up and down his jersey, the motion that signifies a lineman who is eligible. If Allen was wrong in calling 70 as eligible, the Lions should have immediately objected and said, No! No! It’s 68 who should be the eligible lineman!
When Detroit lined up for the two-point try, it was 68, Decker, the left tackle, who had no one to his outside and was clearly able to be an eligible receiver—assuming he made it clear to Allen he was that person. Then the play happened, and the Cowboys didn’t pay attention to Decker until it was too later, and Decker caught the two-point pass from Jared Goff.
The Lions should feel angry because Allen seemed to be in a rush to get the play going, not to get the play right. But the Lions seemed to be so intent on fooling the Cowboys—and they did; no one covered Decker—that they confused the official in the process. And in not challenging Allen’s announcement of who was reporting eligible in the approximately eight seconds before the snap of the ball, the Lions were in effect saying that Allen was correct.
The NFL’s now going to have to create a clarification to this rule. Only players who are reporting eligible should be allowed to go to the referee before a snap, and players who report must make the motion on the front of their jerseys. It’s cool to try to pull the equivalent of the hidden-ball trick, but there’s too much that can go wrong with it in a rollicking football stadium, and we saw that Saturday night.
By Monday morning, Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com, presumably after conversations with NFL Officiating or an ex-ref, has a pretty good explanation of what went on:
With the Eagles losing to the Cardinals on Sunday, Saturday night’s outcome in the Detroit-Dallas game becomes even more significant. As does the two-point play nullified by an illegal touching penalty based on a communication blunder regarding who was and wasn’t reporting as eligible.
In a nutshell, the Lions sent offensive lineman Dan Skipper — who routinely reports as eligible as the tight end in jumbo sets — onto the field. Skipper ran toward referee Brad Allen, as if Skipper were reporting as eligible. At the same time, two other offensive lineman (including tackle Taylor Decker) approached Allen from the other direction.
Allen interpreted the exchange as Skipper, not Decker, reporting as eligible.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the NFL does not plan to change the procedure for players reporting as eligible. The league views the situation as an effort by the Lions to engage in deception and gamesmanship that backfired.
Basically, the Lions wanted the Cowboys to think Skipper was reporting as eligible and that Decker was not. Which would have caused the Cowboys to cover Skipper, not Decker, when the play unfolded. The problem is that, in trying to confuse the Cowboys, the Lions confused Allen.
Skipper running toward Allen was not an accident. Skipper was trying to create the impression that he was reporting as eligible, as he routinely does. (Last week against the Vikings, for example, Skipper reported as eligible six different times.)
Part of the problem is that the Lions relied on verbally communicating the eligible/ineligible information to Allen without using the clear, inconspicuous non-verbal signal of the eligible player running his hands over the front of his jersey. It was, apparently, part of the effort to confuse the Cowboys. Which, in turn, confused Allen.
After the game, Lions coach Dan Campbell said that he explained the play to the officials before the game. The question becomes whether Campbell explained the play itself, or whether Campbell explained his plan to set the play up with an effort to confuse the Cowboys as to who was, and wasn’t, eligible.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Brad Allen was not present for the pregame meeting with Campbell. That’s standard procedure. It’s not known whether Campbell explained that a shell game of sorts would be played before the play to confuse the Cowboys. It’s hard to imagine Campbell articulating that.
Think about it. “Look,” Campbell might have said, “we’ve got a play in the game plan tonight that includes throwing a pass to a tackle. But here’s what we’re gonna do. We’ll be making it look like a different guy is reporting as eligible than the one who is really reporting as eligible, because we want to confuse the Cowboys about who is and isn’t eligible. So when that happens, go along with it, OK?”
It’s hard to imagine Campbell being so candid about the trick that the Lions were trying to pull. Articulating it that way sounds a little off. It sounds a little wrong. It sounds a little like something a team probably shouldn’t be trying to do. Like something that is on the wrong side of the line of what is and isn’t fair.
Regardless, the only way the Lions could have properly prepared Allen for that moment would have been to get Allen in on the ruse. He clearly wasn’t. The Lions ran their plan so well that it confused Allen. And, frankly, it’s on the Lions to find the sweet spot between confusing the opponent and not confusing the officials.
So, no, the NFL won’t be changing the procedure. It’s up to the teams to use it the right way. If they deliberately confuse the situation as a matter of strategy, they have to accept the consequences of potentially confusing the officials, too.
ProFootballZebras endorses this take:
@footballzebras New Year is hours old and I completely agree with @ProFootballTalk’s take here. It aligns with our reporting— and hits all details correctly. Allen could have slowed and pumped the play clock, but this nails everything
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MINNESOTA Do we agree with Scott Kacsmar here?
@ScottKacsmar Huge tactical error by O’Connell to go with Jaren Hall tonight. Turnovers be damned, Mullens would have moved the ball all half long against this defense.
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NFC EAST
Whoa. Is Josina Anderson onto something?
@JosinaAnderson Change is circling the NFC East.
One potential move, would be unexpected.
Daboll?
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PHILADELPHIA Peter King wonders if these Eagles are fixable:
I watched a good chunk of Arizona’s 35-31 win over Philadelphia Sunday, and what amazed me is something pretty simple—the Eagles defense could not get off the field. Three things I noted:
The Cardinals had the ball all day. Imagine a team that hadn’t scored 30 all season scoring 35 against the conference champs who were playing to win the division with a prayer at home field—and holding the ball for 39 minutes and 39 seconds, some 66 percent of the game.
The Eagles, with Haason Reddick and an infusion of quality youth up front, are 24th in sack rate in the league and have given up 34 touchdown passes. That’s stunning. We all thought Darius Slay and James Bradberry could hold up another year, but they can’t; Bradberry’s tied for league-worst with nine TD passes allowed, per PFF.
A sign of any bad defense is a poor third-down conversion rate, which takes into account pass-rush, whether linebackers can make plays sideline to sideline and pass-defense. The Eagles are 30th in the league, allowing 46.4 percent conversion on third downs. That’ll drag down any team.
Barring a surprise Dallas loss in Washington Sunday, Philly will open the playoffs at the NFC South champ. Maybe they’ll find a way to win because they’ve got proud players. But that looked like a beaten team Sunday, losing to the previously 3-12 Cardinals.
A note from Scott Kacsmar:
@ScottKacsmar Just dropping this here.
The 2023 Eagles are the 6th team in NFL history to win at least 11 games after allowing 400+ points.
2020 Titans 2022 Vikings 🤓 2018 Chiefs 2020 Browns 2016 Falcons
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NFC SOUTH |
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CAROLINA Owner David Tepper had a bad day in Jacksonville. Clayton Freeman of the FloridaTime-Union:
Besides a miserable offensive performance with seven first downs, the ejection of defensive lineman Derrick Brown and the team’s first shutout loss for 21 seasons, Panthers owner David Tepper also ended the afternoon in the eye of an off-field storm after the Jaguars mauled Carolina 26-0.
Video posted to social media by a Jacksonville Jaguars fan after Sunday’s Jags victory shows a man resembling Panthers owner Tepper throwing the contents of a drink cup out of his private box and onto fans below during the fourth quarter of the New Year’s Eve game at EverBank Stadium.
The video, posted to Twitter/X by user @Kahuna_Med, shows the fourth-quarter incident, including a man throwing the liquid — although not the cup itself — onto fans in the stadium bowl below the box, then turning away in disgust. Several fans, presumably doused by the liquid, react by spinning toward the box in apparent anger.
In the original post, the user includes the text, “When the @panthers owner throws a drink on @jaguars fans!” The man pictured throwing the drink resembles the Panthers’ owner, and was wearing black pants similar to those that Tepper wore during a pregame video previously released by the club.
No statements from the Jaguars, Panthers or EverBank Stadium have followed the incident, nor have any of the organizations officially confirmed Tepper’s involvement as of Sunday night. In a email to USA TODAY Sports, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said, “We are aware of the video and have no further comment at this time.”
It is unclear what occurred in the box either before or after the video’s events. A television display in the boxes, however, appears to indicate that the drink-throwing incident occurred immediately after Panthers quarterback Bryce Young threw an interception to Jaguars rookie safety Antonio Johnson, which concluded the shutout.
It’s also unclear what repercussions Tepper might face from the league or elsewhere as a result of the incident.
Joseph Person, who will presumably still be covering the Panthers in Charlotte for The Athletic, after this:
Tepper, a hedge-fund billionaire, could face a fine for his actions. But considering that Tepper is worth $20.6 billion, that’s not really going to leave a mark.
If the league wanted to do Panthers’ fans a favor, they’d ban Tepper from Bank of America Stadium for the next five weeks or so and let someone else hire the Panthers’ next head coach and, possibly, the next general manager.
Much of what Tepper touches in the business world might turn to gold. But since buying the team in 2018, just about everything Tepper has touched when it comes to football has turned to crap.
• He’s fired three head coaches in-season in less than six years.
• Carolina has posted a .316 winning percentage (31-67) that is the NFL’s second-worst over that span, just one game behind the New York Jets’ mark of .306 (30-68).
• The Panthers have made zero playoff appearances since Tepper purchased the team from Jerry Richardson.
• Tepper passed over Steve Wilks for the head-coaching job last winter after the Charlotte, N.C., native went 6-6 as interim coach, won over the locker room and nearly got the Panthers into the postseason.
• He walked away from a state-of-the-art training facility in Rock Hill, S.C., after disputes with Rock Hill and York County over public financing for the $800 million project.
And that doesn’t even include all the quarterbacks, executives and soccer coaches Tepper has cycled through since arriving in Charlotte.
But back to Sunday. Again, we don’t know what prompted Tepper to toss his drink into the crowd and throw his cup down in disgust while a stone-faced Fitterer stared straight ahead.
It doesn’t matter. As an NFL owner, Tepper has to take the high road and not get pulled into public controversies. Failing that, Tepper at least needs to have stronger people around him who aren’t afraid to tell him to quit acting like a child. Following a 17-10 loss at Tennessee on Nov. 26, Tepper walked out of the visitors locker room at Nissan Stadium, shook his head and yelled, “F—!” The next day he fired coach Frank Reich after just 11 games, the second-shortest tenure in NFL history for a head coach who coached at least one regular-season game.
Tepper’s approval rating has bottomed out this season, which began with a lot of the promise following the arrival of rookie quarterback Bryce Young with the No. 1 pick.
But it became clear early that Fitterer had failed to surround Young with enough playmakers or adequate pass protection. Young was sacked six more times Sunday against Jacksonville, which came in as the NFL’s 25th-ranked defense. That’s now 59 sacks on Young this season, the 11th-highest, single-season total in league history with one game remaining.
The Panthers fell to 2-14 and need to beat Tampa Bay next weekend to avoid finishing with the NFL’s worst record since the league moved to a 17-game schedule in 2021.
In most years, Tepper would have the No. 1 pick as the consolation prize to this rotten wreck of a season. But that belongs to the Chicago Bears after the Panthers packaged it as part of the trade to move up and take Young first overall this year.
Young was coming off his first 300-yard passing game last week in a loss to the Green Bay Packers. But Sunday started ominously for the Panthers when kicker Eddy Pineiro injured his hamstring during warmups and cornerback Jaycee Horn told coaches and trainers he couldn’t play due to a toe issue.
Linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill handled the opening kickoff. But the Panthers wouldn’t need him again, as they were shut out for the fourth time in team history — and for the first time in 21 years.
The Panthers managed just 124 yards, the fourth-fewest in franchise history, and seven first downs, tied for the second fewest.
“The way we were trending,” interim coach Chris Tabor said, “I didn’t see this performance coming.”
And yet as bad as the Panthers were on the field Sunday, Tepper’s behavior in the owner’s box was worse. It was both a pathetic and fitting end to 2023.
Scott Kacsmar makes a point:
@ScottKacsmar This better result in a large fine when the league fines players (who make far less money) for very insignificant actions on the field like finger pointing.
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NFC WEST |
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LOS ANGELES RAMS What took them so long?
The Rams need a new kicker as they head into the postseason.
Los Angeles has waived Lucas Havrisik, the team announced on Monday.
Havrisik had another poor showing in Sunday’s win over the Giants, missing a pair of extra points. The Rams also elected to go for an early fourth down in New York territory instead of attempting a field goal and didn’t make it. Head coach Sean McVay recently noted that Havrisik’s struggles have affected his decisions and play-calling.
In nine games with Los Angeles, Havrisik has hit 15-of-20 field goals and 19-of-22 extra points.
Havrisik is the second kicker the Rams have moved on from this season, as the club cut Brett Maher after seven games. He was 17-of-23 on field goals and 12-of-13 on extra points.
Los Angeles briefly had Mason Crosby on its practice squad, but elected not to sign him to the 53-man roster. Crosby then signed with the Giants and missed multiple kicks on Sunday, including a potential go-ahead 54-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter to seal the Rams’ victory.
The Rams will take on the 49ers in Week 18.
Beyond the eight kicks Havrisik missed, the DB saw quite a few that took peculiar trajectories through posts.
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AFC WEST |
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DENVER Peter King with this take on the QB RUSSELL WILSON situation:
The downfall of Russell Wilson. In an early-morning meeting last Wednesday, Broncos coach Sean Payton told the 35-year-old Denver quarterback he was being benched for Jarrett Stidham for the final two games. Two points to be made here:
Wilson alleged that Broncos GM George Paton asked or demanded that Wilson adjust the injury guarantee in his contract in midseason, to delay for a year major guarantees in his contract; if he didn’t, the quarterback would be benched. That’s outrageous. It’s the ultimate example of a bad-faith threat. The Broncos agreed to terms of a contract in 2022, and then, in middle of the 2023 season, when they’d just beaten Super Bowl champ Kansas City, they asked Wilson to change his contract to make it easier for Denver to cut him after the season. “It was a low blow,” Wilson said. The lowest. Mark Maske of the Washington Post reported Sunday that the NFLPA threatened legal action against the Broncos at the time, and that the threat violated the CBA. Of course it did. The Broncos backed down, but the NFL should discipline the franchise for this.
It’s hard to shake the impression that Wilson’s play, despite being an improvement over his disastrous 2022 debut in Denver, wasn’t a fit with Payton’s offense. Denver had averaged just 20 points a game while losing three of four at the time of the benching, and the Broncos were 30th in total yards for the season. When Payton screamed at Wilson on the sideline at Detroit 16 days ago, it seemed clear the coach was upset about one or more cardinal rules of the offense Wilson hadn’t followed.
The upshot is that Denver will be moving on from Wilson in 2024. My bet is Payton will choose Stidham as his QB1 to start 2024 unless Stidham totally bombs in the season finale at Vegas Sunday. Wilson? Way too early to tell, but I’m sure the Raiders, Steelers, Falcons and Patriots will kick his tires.
And this:
Goat of the Week
George Paton, general manager, Denver. This is what good GMs do NOT do: Go to the starting quarterback after the biggest win the team has had in years (over KC in week eight) and ask to re-do his contract in a team-advantageous way, so the quarterback loses all faith in the team and so that the players unions threatens legal action for such a bush-league maneuver. Just in case Paton needs some advice on good GM-ing.
Not sure why Paton’s being singled out here – we don’t have the feeling that he is the alpha dog in Denver.
This update on QB JARRETT STIDHAM after he hung 16 on the Chargers. Myles Simmons of ProFootballTalk.com:
Despite winning Sunday’s matchup over the Chargers, the Broncos were eliminated from postseason contention.
Not that there was much question, but Denver will stick with Jarrett Stidham at starting quarterback when the club faces Las Vegas in Week 18.
“I thought Jarrett did a good job after seeing the tape with the ball security, all those things you want to see from that position,” head coach Sean Payton said on Monday, via Troy Renck of Denver7. “A lot of positives to build off of.”
In his first start for the Broncos, Stidham finished 20-of-32 for 224 yards with a touchdown in the 16-9 win. Denver’s offense finished with 313 yards, 16 first downs, and 7-of-17 on third down.
Now we’ll see what Stidham can do in a start against his former team to end the season.
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AFC NORTH |
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BALTIMORE Jeff Kerr of CBSSports.com makes the simple case for QB LAMAR JACKSON winning his second MVP Award:
Jamar Jackson locked up the MVP Overreaction or reality: Reality
The Ravens are the best team in the AFC when Jackson is their quarterback, as Jackson and the Ravens offense put up a whopping 56 points against a Dolphins defense that allowed just 14.8 points per game over the last six weeks.
All Jackson did was throw for 321 yards and five touchdowns and have a perfect 158.3 passer rating. Jackson has 3,6678 yards passing with 24 touchdowns to seven interceptions and a 102.7 passer rating — while also leading the Ravens with 821 rushing yards (and five touchdowns).
Jackson can be the youngest quarterback ever at the time of his second NFL MVP (turns 27 on final day of regular season) and can be the first quarterback to win league MVP without a 1,000-yard rusher or receiver since Brett Favre in 1996.
The Ravens have the best record in football and are the best team in the tougher conference. They aren’t 13-3 without Jackson.
The rebuttal from Scott Kacsmar:
1. He absolutely fails the historical standards for MVP, even adding today.
2. He was always multiple spots behind the leader in MVP odds before Week 16.
3. You don’t even have an argument. I have the data and the receipts.
Lamar hasn’t had any down period this year.
But he’s also never been on a hot streak in 2023.
He’s just been steady, which again, never used to win MVP awards, especially for a team with a defense like this.
That’s why I said it’s the default choice.
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CLEVELAND In telling Peter King that he is in the right situation at the moment, QB JOE FLACCO politely implies he wasn’t at his last two stops:
Cleveland’s four-game winning streak behind 39-year-old quarterback Joe Flacco is one of the great stories in the league, obviously. The Browns are locked in as the AFC’s 5 seed now, with a Wild Card meeting at the AFC South champ. Interesting: Cleveland’s beaten all three potential foes—Indianapolis, Jacksonville and Houston—this season. Then … yikes. Could be Flacco and the Browns at Baltimore in the divisional round. The Ravens’ last Super Bowl, of course, was won by Flacco 11 years ago.
I enjoyed Flacco’s take on his role in Cleveland, and minimizing his own importance. He referred to his eight-yard TD route to Elijah Moore on Thursday night when we spoke the next day. It’s actually interesting:
“Playing quarterback has so much to do with the play caller, the offensive line, the running backs, the wide receivers all doing their job of getting open. I threw a corner route to Elijah Moore last night for a touchdown. Imagine if he doesn’t get open there. Then it’s just another incomplete pass. All my job was to do was to hit him once he got open. Kevin [Stefanski] called the play. Obviously you have to be able to do that in the moment and just play football and make the most of those opportunities when they come up. But I mean, this position is reliant on everybody. I think the fact that this is, like, the ultimate team sport has kind of gotten away from us to a certain extent. Everybody wants everything to come down to one guy or two guys. It’s just not the case, man. That’s why this sport is so special. That’s why winning a game at this level is so special.”
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PITTSBURGH Is it true that as QB MASON RUDOLPH is getting things done for the Steelers, QB KENNY PICKETT is sulking? Allison Koehler of YahooSports.com:
There’s trouble brewing in the quarterback room of the Pittsburgh Steelers. That is if you believe Pittsburgh media personality Mark Madden.
Madden posted on X this afternoon that a source told him, “Pickett 100 percent refused to be the backup.”
This makes so much more sense right now as to why Kenny Pickett was inactive leaving Mitch Trubisky as Mason Rudolph‘s backup in the Pittsburgh Steelers win over the Seattle Seahawks.
Adding to the intrigue, Madden said the Steelers writers know that Pickett refused but won’t write about it.
If what Madden stated is true, Pickett needs to take a good, hard look at himself. He’s not earned the right to have this entitled stance, nor has he earned the right to step back in as a starter over Rudolph — who’s played the best ball of his career.
Madden just opened a whole can of worms that will certainly cause a distraction as the Steelers prepare for the 2023 season finale.
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AFC SOUTH |
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HOUSTON Primetime for the Texans Saturday night at Indy.
All 16 of their previous games have been in the early window on Sunday.
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JACKSONVILLE WR CHRISTIAN KIRK should be back for the finale in Nashville. Michael DiRocco ofESPN.com:
The Jaguars lost a key playmaker for the rest of the season but could potentially be getting another back — and maybe their starting quarterback, too.
Coach Doug Pederson said Monday the team could potentially open up the 21-day practice window for receiver Christian Kirk to return from injured reserve on Wednesday, which would open the possibility that he could play as soon as Sunday. That would be a huge boost for the offense because receiver/kick returner Jamal Agnew is going to miss the rest of the season after suffering a fractured lower left leg during Sunday’s 26-0 victory over the Carolina Panthers.
“He’s doing well,” Pederson said of Kirk, who suffered a core muscle injury on the Jaguars’ first offensive snap against Cincinnati on Dec. 4 and underwent surgery a few days later. “He’s doing really well. I would say there’s a potential to activate his window come Wednesday, so we’ll see where he’s at there in a couple of days, which would be positive if he can do something this week. We’ll wait and see.”
The Jaguars are also taking a wait-and-see approach with quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who missed the Panthers game with a sprained right AC joint. Pederson said Lawrence got treatment again Monday and is progressing well, but they want to see where he is Wednesday to determine whether, or how much, he’ll be able to practice this week.
Kirk was the Jaguars’ leading receiver at the time of his injury (57 catches for 787 yards and three TDs). There have been multiple issues of communication errors between Lawrence and rookie receiver Parker Washington, including one on a play late in the Jaguars’ loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Dec. 4, when Lawrence had to hold onto the ball and got sacked and suffered a sprained ankle.
Agnew had stepped up on offense in Kirk’s absence over the past three games, catching five passes for 135 yards and a touchdown while averaging 24.6 yards on eight kickoff returns.
Pederson also said that receiver Zay Jones, who did not play against Carolina because of knee and hamstring injuries, could get more practice time this week and “hopefully he’s in a position by the end of the week to play in this game.”
Jones has missed eight games this season because of his injuries and has 28 catches for 274 yards and two touchdowns. He set career highs in catches (82) and yards (823) in 2022, his first season with the Jaguars.
The Jaguars (9-7) can win the AFC South by beating Tennessee (5-11) in Nashville on Sunday. That would give the Jaguars back-to-back division titles for just the second time in franchise history. They can still make the playoffs even if they lose to the Titans but would need help from several other teams.
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AFC EAST |
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MIAMI In addition to getting drilled mercilessly by the Ravens, the Dolphins defense may have lost its best player. Myles Simmons of ProFootballTalk.com:
The Dolphins’ fears on edge rusher Bradley Chubb’s knee injury have been confirmed.
Per multiple reports, Chubb suffered a torn ACL during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Ravens.
Chubb will now miss the rest of the 2023 season and it’s unknown when during the 2024 season he’ll be able to return.
It’s the second season-ending leg injury the Dolphins have sustained to their edge rushing group, as Jaelan Phillips suffered an Achilles tear in November.
After coming over to the Dolphins via trade last year, Chubb was having a strong 2023. He recorded 11.0 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, 22 quarterback hits, and a league-leading six forced fumbles.
The Dolphins have clinched a playoff berth, but they need to beat the Bills on Sunday night to win the AFC East and clinch the conference’s No. 2 seed.
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THIS AND THAT
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JIM HARBAUGH There apparently is/was a massive contract extension negotiated and ready for signature for Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh. But, why has he gone out and hired a “football agent” – the legendary Don Yee. This from ProFootballTalk.com:
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh might soon be making a move back to the NFL.
While he has avoided talking about potential pro football interest, his actions say it all. According toESPN.com, Harbaugh has hired agent Don Yee.
Yee represents Broncos coach Sean Payton. Yee also represented quarterback Tom Brady throughout his playing career.
If/when Harbaugh will be pursuing potential NFL interest, it will help him to have an agent with deep NFL connections. He now has one.
Whether that means he’ll be the next coach of the Chargers or the Raiders or some other NFL team remains to be seen.
Jeff Howe of The Athletic wonders whether or not there is a market:
Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh is closing out a controversial season in pursuit of an elusive national championship, but the spotlight isn’t expected to dim after the season.
Harbaugh has flirted with a return to the NFL sidelines over the past two offseasons, and there’s a belief that teams will continue pursuing him during the upcoming hiring cycle. The Carolina Panthers, Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers have already fired their coaches, and more openings are likely on the way within a couple of weeks.
Harbaugh’s credentials are complicated, high-ranking team executives around the league said. While he’s a proven winner who can create a strong culture in the locker room, Harbaugh has a reputation for having contentious relationships with front-office personnel, so team owners must balance the entire equation while determining whether he’s right for the job.
“He’s well-respected as a football coach,” said a team executive, who, like the other sources in this story, was granted anonymity so he could speak openly. “He’s won everywhere he’s been, but what comes with it?”
After successful stints as the head coach at the University of San Diego (2004-06) and Stanford (2007-10), Harbaugh quickly turned around a San Francisco 49ers organization that hadn’t delivered a winning record in eight consecutive seasons. Under his leadership from 2011-14, the Niners tallied 44 regular-season wins (fourth-most in the NFL), two NFC West titles and a trip to Super Bowl XLVII. But relationships had strained, and Harbaugh and the Niners agreed to split following an 8-8 season in 2014.
Harbaugh has coached his alma mater since 2015, but speculation has swirled for years that he could return to the NFL. He interviewed with the Vikings two years ago and the Broncos last offseason, when he also spoke with Panthers owner David Tepper about their vacancy.
This season, Harbaugh has served two separate suspensions — one self-imposed from Michigan for recruiting violations and another from the Big Ten relating to the program’s sign-stealing scandal — which has only furthered the notion the 60-year-old could be inclined to find a fresh start in the NFL.
One executive believed Harbaugh’s approach would jell nicely with the Raiders’ brand. Or if the Bears opt for a coaching reset, the franchise’s first-round draft pick in 1987 would be marketed as an organizational savior. Because of Harbaugh’s strong personality and presence in front of the camera, he’d also shield his quarterback — whether it’s Justin Fields or a high draft pick such as Caleb Williams or Drake Maye — from some of the outside pressure that comes with the position.
“I couldn’t tell you what individual teams will value, but I suspect some owner would take a look at a successful college coach with NFL experience,” another league executive said.
Harbaugh has leverage, assuming he isn’t worried about future ramifications from school and NCAA investigations. He has established Michigan as a consistent national powerhouse, and it surely appears he has the backing of the fan base despite the suspensions. Harbaugh could essentially ask for a blank check and personnel control.
“He can probably ask for whatever he wants,” the first executive said.
Of course, it’s up to the owner to decide whether to entertain those demands. First, the organization must decide why things went south for Harbaugh in San Francisco. How much blame does he deserve relative to ownership and high-ranking executives including former general manager Trent Baalke? How accountable is Harbaugh for his role in that departure? And has he taken steps toward self-improvement?
Similarly, each executive polled for this story said, Harbaugh isn’t the most popular figure among NFL front offices, including personnel people and scouts. One high-ranking executive said, despite years of visiting Harbaugh’s college programs, the head coach never spoke to him.
“I would think he’s going to garner interest (this hiring cycle),” another executive said. “But the GM pairing will be important.”
On the surface, that might come across as sour feelings that shouldn’t get in the way of winning football games at the NFL level, and there’s certainly merit to the idea of overcoming differences to work toward a common goal.
But what if it’s more than that? What if Harbaugh is set in his ways, and the 49ers’ fallout wasn’t a one-off event? Like it or not, every NFL head coach needs a building full of allies. When a team faces adversity — a controversy, a lost season or even a losing streak — it’s a necessity for everyone to rally together rather than split apart. Leaks, either to the owner or the media, can be the fastest way for a coach to lose the team and his job.
“As a general manager, you have to be able to work with the head coach,” another executive said. “That’s very important. I’m not sure how many future GMs he’s close with.”
It’s fair to question whether Harbaugh would be a good fit in Carolina, where Tepper’s hands-on approach could become an issue. And if it becomes a bidding war for Harbaugh, there’s reason to believe the Chargers won’t be a primary suitor, though their ownership has said that entering their coaching search, “everything will be a possibility.”
The rest of the job openings will be important to watch. More so, will those teams keep their GM in place or allow Harbaugh to select his top personnel chief?
“Is he tough to work with?” an executive said. “What’s the chemistry going to be with the GM? You’ve got to be comfortable with his quirky personality.”
For an owner, Harbaugh would bring instant marketability and a track record suggesting success should be on the horizon. It’s logical to be attracted to a candidate with those attributes.
It’s also essential to assess the entire equation by talking to as many people as possible who have worked alongside Harbaugh over the past couple of decades. If there’s reason to believe he has evolved, great, Harbaugh should be viewed as a priority coaching candidate.
If there are still questions, the cost of winning may extend beyond the checkbook. That’s a level of comfortability an owner and their trusted front office must agree upon.
And it’ll continue to be a key talking point as Harbaugh prepares for Monday’s Rose Bowl against Alabama and a potential national championship appearance a week later. Because when Michigan’s season is done, NFL teams will attempt to seek necessary clarity on Harbaugh’s fit with their organization — if they haven’t started that process already. |