| If The Season Ended Today in the AFC: Even with their win over the Colts, the Chiefs still sit outside the playoff line. On the other hand, the Ravens are tied in record, and ahead on tie breakers, in the AFC North: If The Season Ended Today in the AFC: AFC ConfNew England East 10-2 6-2Denver West 9-2 6-2Indianapolis South 8-3 6-2Baltimore North 6-5 4-3LA Chargers WC2 7-4 6-2Jacksonville WC3 7-4 4-2 Buffalo WC1 7-4 4-3Pittsburgh 6-5 5-2Houston 6-5 5-2Kansas City 6-5 3-4 The 6-5 Chiefs should get to 8 wins as the Titans and Raiders remain on their schedule. The other four games are tough ones – at Dallas, Houston, Chargers, Denver. – – -Jimmy Traina of SI.com notes ratings gold mine incoming for CBS on Thursday: @JimmyTrainaPhenomenal day for CBS with the Chiefs and Cowboys winning. Game on Thanksgiving was already going to set the record for most-watched regular season game ever. Now the stakes are raised even more. Question now is how close does it get to 50 million viewers. Plus a Super Bowl Halftime Show worthy halftime act in Post Malone! Plus Tony Romo analyzing his two favorite teams! So many NFL fans trying to figure out which one of the two to root against! We wrote the above flippantly – then checked with Google AI which confirmed our human intuition. The most disliked NFL team is a close call between the Dallas Cowboys and the Kansas City Chiefs, with recent surveys and social media analysis pointing to the Cowboys, while other data has favored the Chiefs. Both teams are frequently cited due to their on-field success and high-profile players. Dallas Cowboys: Historically, the Cowboys have often been called “America’s Team” and have frequently been ranked as the most disliked team. Reasons for this include their long history of success, large fanbase, and sometimes controversial status, which can lead to animosity from other fanbases, says CW33.com and this Reddit thread. Kansas City Chiefs: In recent years, the Chiefs have risen in prominence as a frequently disliked team due to their consistent success, including multiple Super Bowl appearances and wins, and the high-profile media attention on their players, especially quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, according to Sports Illustrated and this YouTube video. Some reports have even placed them above the Cowboys as the most disliked team based on social media sentiment, notes theScore.com. |
| NFC EAST |
| DALLASTodd Archer of ESPN.com on how Brian Schottenheimer’s Cowboys are playing with heart: – Coach Brian Schottenheimer likes to tell his Dallas Cowboys team that a game can’t be won in the first, second or third quarters. It can be won only in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys certainly tried to show that a game can be lost in the first two quarters Sunday, going down 21-0 to the Philadelphia Eagles with the game barely 18 minutes old. But in the final 42 minutes, the Cowboys put together a franchise-record-tying comeback to beat the Eagles 24-21 on a 42-yard field goal by Brandon Aubrey as time expired. As music blared from the speakers inside the locker room, defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa waved a flag with Marshawn Kneeland’s name and No. 94 on it. Eighteen days earlier, Kneeland died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. In the past seven days, the Cowboys have won their past two games. “Brian has got this team with no quit in their vocabulary,” owner and general manager Jerry Jones said. “They will not quit. They’ve obviously had a real setback from the loss of a teammate. And they’ve had a setback from not being the team that we wanted to be in the early part of the year. But I hope all of our fans agree with me that they showed a lot of grit. They showed a lot of want to. And they certainly showed they haven’t given up as far as giving us a chance to actually get in the playoffs this year.” At 5-5-1, the Cowboys remain on the outside of the playoff chase at the moment. Their path to winning the NFC East will likely need a collapse from the 8-3 Eagles that matches what happened Sunday. A path to a wild-card spot is no sure thing, either. |
NEW YORK GIANTSAfter Sunday’s OT loss to the Lions, the Giants have had 4th quarter leads in 5 games, including double-figure leads in four of them – and lost all 5. The DC responsible for not protecting them became unemployed on Monday. Chris Cwik of YahooSports.com: After giving up at least 24 points in each of their past six games, the New York Giants are reportedly moving on without defensive coordinator Shane Bowen. The team fired Bowen on Monday, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The move comes a day after the Giants allowed 34 points in an overtime loss to the Detroit Lions. Despite 366 passing yards and three combined scores from quarterback Jameis Winston, the Giants eventually fell to the Lions due to New York’s defense being unable to contain Detroit running back Jahmyr Gibbs. The 23-year-old Gibbs ran for 219 yards on just 15 carries. He scored two touchdowns heading into overtime before taking his first overtime carry 69 yards for his third score of the game. The Giants couldn’t muster a response, falling 34-27. The loss dropped New York to 2-10 on the season. The loss also marked the fifth time this season the Giants allowed their opponent to score at least 33 points. It also marked the third straight game in which the Giants’ defense allowed a fourth-quarter comeback. After leading 20-10 after the third quarter in Week 10, the Giants allowed the Chicago Bears to score two fourth-quarter touchdowns in a comeback win. The next week, New York allowed the Green Bay Packers to score a game-winning touchdown with four minutes to play. The Giants led by a point prior to that score. And in Week 12, the Giants led by 10 points in the fourth quarter before allowing the Lions to score a touchdown and kick a field goal to send the game into overtime, where they won thanks to Gibbs’ run. Bowen, 38, was originally named the team’s defensive coordinator ahead of the 2024 NFL season. The Giants ranked 21st in points against during his first season at the helm, allowing 24.4 points per game. Those numbers regressed in 2025. Through 12 games, the Giants rank 30th in points allowed, giving up 27.8 points per game. Bowen was hired by former Giants head coach Brian Daboll, who was fired by the team after Week 10. With Daboll gone, Mike Kafka was hired as the team’s interim head coach. Firing Bowen was Kafka’s first major move in his new role. Giants linebackers coach Charlie Bullen is expected to serve as the team’s interim defensive coordinator the rest of the way, per NFL Network. Rapoport credits interim coach Mike Kafka with the move, although we suspect there could be a higher power at work. With the loss, the 2-10 Giants became the first team eliminated from playoff contention. This on the tragic end of the game from Saad Yousuf of The Athletic: After New York lost to Detroit, Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers shared a since-deleted post on X questioning the integrity of the team’s intentions. “Sometimes I think they b makin us lose on purpose!” Nabers posted. “Cause it’s no way, bro you throw the ball instead of runnin it to make em burn 2 timeouts?? then you dnt kick the field goal.??? Then they have to go down and score!!! Football common sense!!!! Am I missing something?” The sequence Nabers was referring to occurred in the fourth quarter at Ford Field. The Giants got the ball with just under 10 minutes left in regulation, clinging to a 27-24 lead. New York managed to milk almost seven minutes off the clock and got down to the Detroit 6-yard line. On fourth-and-goal, with 2:59 left in the fourth quarter, the Giants opted to go for it rather than kick a field goal and increase the lead to six points to force the Lions to go the length of the field. A Winston pass fell incomplete and the Giants turned the ball over on downs. The Lions moved the ball down the field and tied the game with 28 seconds left on Jake Bates’ 59-yard field goal. The Lions went on to win the game in overtime. The final incompletion had no effect on the clock management as time stops on the change of possession. The Giants did throw an incompletion on 2nd and goal at the 2, so Detroit only used 2 of its 3 timeouts in that sequence. There is a theory that the DB has espoused in other situations that you don’t kick a field goal to go up six when a first down (or touchdown) on 4th down wins the game. Teams down 3 tend to play for only the tie to get to a 50/50 overtime, while a team down six plays a four-down game for a winning TD. That said, six yards at the goal line was a taller order than some fourth down conversions. Here’s Kafka after the game with thoughts from Ed Valentine of BigBlueView.com: It took all of two games for New York Giants interim head coach Mike Kafka to land in the crosshairs of a hot debate about a late-game decision. This one, of course, Kafka’s decision to try for the touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the 6-yard line with three minutes left and the Giants trying to protect a three-point lead against the Detroit Lions. The Giants failed, of course, Jake Bates barely made a 59-yard field goal to force overtime and the Giants lost, 34-27. “Our decision was a correct one. I stand by it,” Kafka said after the game. “We took points to go up 10 points.” This is the point I have been making on social media. Kafka went for the one way he knew the Giants could win despite a defense that has again and again come up short in big spots — by trying to establish a two-score lead with less than three minutes to play. “We did want to be aggressive,” Kafka said of the fourth down call, which saw quarterback Jameis Winston fail to connect with tight end Theo Johnson in the back of the end zone. “Wanted to just go up two scores.” The Jaguars, who eventually won, also went for it on fourth down up three. Seth Walder explains the math: @SethWalderRemember: kicking to go up 6 is a great way to give opponent better field position and lose by 1. Our model strongly agreed with Giants decision.  One way to see Giants clearly made correct call: their win probability if they kicked would have been almost identical to going for it and failing. WP Kick: 79.4%WP Go-Fail: 79.2% (WP Go-Convert: 98.4%) @SethWalderWhy are those first two numbers almost identical? Because: A. Kicking meant giving Lions much better field position.B. Either way you lose with a Lions TD.C. Go-Fail means surrendering a FG you are still tied.D. Teams play sub-optimally conservative when down 3. |
| NFC SOUTH |
| TAMPA BAYIt made sense for QB BAKER MAYFIELD to sit out the second half Sunday night no matter how severe his shoulder injury might be – and now Buccaneers fans await an MRI. Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com: Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield suffered a left shoulder sprain in Sunday night’s 34-7 loss to the Los Angeles Rams and did not play in the second half. He will undergo an MRI on Monday to determine the severity of the injury, according to coach Todd Bowles. After leading the Buccaneers on a touchdown drive late in the second quarter, Mayfield went into the medical tent on Tampa Bay’s sideline. He was listed as questionable to return because of the injury to his non-throwing shoulder but came back in for Tampa Bay’s next drive. After attempting a long pass on the final play of the first half, Mayfield fell to the ground and appeared to be in pain again. He was labeled doubtful to return after halftime, then was ruled out later in the third quarter. He was seen on the sideline with his left arm in a sling. “He hurt it earlier [in the game], said he was fine, he went back and then reaggravated it on the last play [of the first half],” Bowles said. Mayfield was 9-of-19 for 41 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions before leaving. He was replaced by Teddy Bridgewater, who will start for Tampa Bay if Mayfield misses time. Bridgewater was 8-of-15 passing for 62 yards against the Rams on Sunday. His last start came in Week 17 of the 2022 season while with the Dolphins. “Very confident in what Teddy can do,” Bowles said. “With a full week of practice, taking every snap, every play, we think he’ll be fine.” Bridgewater arrived in Los Angeles on Sunday morning after attending a funeral in Miami. “My mentor actually passed away and I went back home for his funeral, so I got here today about 10:30 this morning and had to play in the game,” Bridgewater said. “I think it’s pretty cool. My lifestyle is more like a rock star, I guess. But it’s unfortunate that, you know, it came by way of injury.” Bridgewater didn’t want to speculate about whether Mayfield would be available against the Arizona Cardinals next Sunday to start a three-game homestand. “You never want to see guys injured, especially your leader,” Bridgewater said. “But Baker’s a tough guy, man. He tried to come back out there and tough it out for the guys. That says a lot about him, says a lot about this team.” |
| NFC WEST |
| LOS ANGELES RAMSAfter Sunday’s battering of the Buccaneers, the Rams have supplanted all others, even the Chiefs, as Super Bowl favorites. Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com on that and QB MATTHEW STAFFORD’s standing as MVP favorite: With their 34-7 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday night, the 9-2 Los Angeles Rams have the best record in the NFC. It is the first time the Rams have held an outright lead in the NFC since Week 13 of the 2018 season, according to ESPN Research. Coach Sean McVay said though it’s “a good thing” to have the No. 1 seed with six games to go, the only thing the Rams can control “is to have a great week of preparation.” “I love the way we’ve responded from some setbacks,” McVay said. “I love the way that we’ve handled a little bit of success. And through 11 weeks, I’m proud of them. Now, let’s see what we can do through 12. “And I’m very confident that we’re going to give ourselves the best chance to do that because I’m betting on the people in that locker room.” Three of the Rams’ final six regular-season games are against teams currently above .500 (Carolina Panthers, Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks). ESPN Analytics projects the Rams to be the favorites in each of their final six games. The Rams are also the Super Bowl favorites. According to ESPN Research, this is the first time the Rams are Super Bowl favorites at any point of a season since December 2018, when they were favorites entering Week 14. “I think our mentality is still just go out each and every week and find a way to win,” Rams defensive end Kobie Turner said. “And I think that’s what makes us great, honestly, to be able to have the humility of the past two years and having to know when November comes, it separates the contenders from the pretenders and it’s about figuring out a way to go out and pick up another W. “And so we’re not out here looking at our record and getting caught up in that. We’re just focused on how are we going to go and pick up the next W?” During the Rams’ six-game winning streak, Los Angeles has been led by quarterback Matthew Stafford, who is the favorite to win NFL MVP (-185) ahead of New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (+210). “He’s playing like the most valuable player in the league,” Rams wide receiver Davante Adams said. “You can see it in the numbers, the way he’s taking command of the huddle and the offense, the way him and Sean [McVay] put things together and work throughout the week together to put together a good product for us. Just all around. I mean, he’s a great leader and obviously knows how to put points on the board and keep this offense moving.” On Sunday against the Buccaneers, fans at SoFi Stadium chanted MVP after Stafford’s second and third touchdown passes. Stafford completed 25 of 35 passes for 273 yards and three touchdowns in a game that was largely decided by halftime. “When you got a quarterback like that, like a first-ballot Hall of Famer, where you just know he’s going to go out there, he’s going to put up points, it makes it easy on us,” outside linebacker Jared Verse said. “But we know every time we come down to the sideline, we can take a little breather, we can take a little breath. And we just got to go out there and hold them down.” If Stafford is named the league’s most valuable player, he would be the oldest player in NFL history to win his first MVP, according to ESPN Research. He would also be the third-oldest player to win it. Stafford has thrown 27 consecutive touchdown passes without an interception, according to Elias. It is the longest streak by any player since play-by-play was first tracked in 1978. “It’s hard to put it in words,” Adams said of Stafford’s streak. “… Most quarterbacks can’t throw 27 passes without throwing a pick.” Gilberto Manzano of SI.com elaborates on Stafford: The criteria for how we view quarterbacks doesn’t apply to Matthew Stafford. There’s a consensus understanding that he’s an all-time great, but he’s rarely been talked about as the best at his position throughout his 17-year career. Right now, however, Stafford is the MVP of the league. It’s his trophy to lose, and one that he may need for his case to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but more on that later. Stafford continued his historic pace of pushing and protecting the football during the Rams’ dominant 34–7 win over the Buccaneers, which put Los Angeles (9–2) in position for the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Stafford is the best quarterback on the best team through 12 weeks. He’s thrown 27 consecutive touchdowns without an interception, the longest streak by any player since at least 1978. Still, Stafford would get picked fourth or fifth on most quarterback rankings, behind Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. Maybe some pundits would take Stafford over the Bengals’ Joe Burrow, who has struggled to stay healthy in recent seasons. But others would vouch for Justin Herbert because of his skill set and say it’s not his fault that he’s had poor surroundings with the Chargers. (Sounds similar to how football pundits talked about a young quarterback in Detroit more than a decade ago.) Stafford doesn’t get the same praise as the quarterbacks above because he’s 37, and it’s become a tradition for draft experts to have the Rams take a quarterback in the first round of their respective mock drafts. When Stafford was a young gunslinger with all the talent in the world, he was often left out of the top five for quarterback rankings because his team was a perennial loser, with the Lions making the playoffs in only three of their 12 seasons with Stafford—going 0-for-3 in the postseason. Stafford often had enough respect to land somewhere in the top 12, but his status dropped lower with each wasted season in Detroit. Stafford overcomes back injuryIt seems like ages ago when Stafford couldn’t practice this summer because of a bad back. The panic alarms went off when Stafford didn’t return to practice as expected and instead went to some fancy, high-tech chamber to help heal his back. It’s now clear the Rams and Stafford just had a unique summer plan to help their veteran quarterback be at his best for when it mattered most. Whatever it was worked because Stafford is having a career year and has a strong chance to capture his first MVP. The offseason plan has been so effective that it has led to Stafford being elite on a weekly basis. Fellow MVP candidates Jonathan Taylor, Drake Maye and Josh Allen had rough outings in Week 12. Stafford had another three touchdown passes against the Buccaneers, the fourth time he’s thrown at least that many in his past five games. He also hasn’t thrown an interception since Week 3 against the Eagles. Finally, Stafford is getting credit for being the best at his position, even if it’s only for one season. Again, the discussions are always different when Stafford is involved, so it likely won’t hurt his Hall of Fame credentials that he was never talked about in the same light as Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Mahomes. However, it must be sweet having a career season three years away from 40, especially because the discussion of retirement has followed Stafford the past few years and all he’s done is deliver four standout seasons since arriving in Los Angeles in 2021. It got louder when Stafford dealt with an elbow injury the summer after winning the Super Bowl, playing in only nine games in ’22 because of concussions and a spinal cord contusion injury. The MVP award would be a testament to his longevity despite all the hits he took during his Detroit years. It would also solidify his case for being a first-ballot Hall of Famer. And, yes, this should be about the Rams’ quest to win a second Super Bowl with Stafford, another trophy that would make Stafford a lock to be enshrined into Canton on his first try. Still, having an MVP to his name will end any potential debate about whether he should be regarded as the best across multiple eras. The prestigious award will make voters forget that Stafford has never been named an All-Pro and that he’s somehow only been selected to the Pro Bowl twice in his decorated career. Maybe the individual awards won’t matter because of the respect Stafford has created for himself. Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger needed multiple Super Bowls to gain Hall of Fame chatter. Roethlisberger had the stats, but he also never made an All-Pro team. He has a shot of being a first-ballot Hall of Famer because of his hardware. As for Stafford, he could still get in on his first try with only one Super Bowl and no MVP. But there’s an opportunity for Stafford and the Rams to have it all. Everything is right there for the taking in after he was rarely within reach of top-tier prestige during a dozen years with the Lions. Stafford has gotten better with age. It’s time for the Rams to crank up the MVP campaign because Stafford deserves it all. |
| SEATTLEA significant Seahawks season record has fallen before Thanksgiving. Brady Henderson of ESPN.com: – Before Mike Macdonald gave Jaxon Smith-Njigba a game ball Sunday night, the Seattle Seahawks coach asked his team what week it was in the NFL schedule. It was Macdonald’s way of bringing context to the historically strong season his team’s star receiver is putting together. It continued in the Seahawks’ 30-24 win over the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium, as Smith-Njigba caught eight passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns. With his most productive game of the year, Smith-Njigba broke DK Metcalf’s single-season franchise record of 1,303 receiving yards. Metcalf had topped Steve Largent’s old club record in the 16th and final game of the 2020 season. Smith-Njigba, the NFL’s leading receiver this season, broke Metcalf’s mark before the calendar turned to December. “Eleventh game, 12th week,” Macdonald marveled to reporters. “That’s pretty good.” Smith-Njigba has led the Seahawks in receiving in all 11 games. According to ESPN Research, only one other player in NFL history — the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Jimmy Smith in 2004 — has had that long of a streak as a team’s leading receiver to begin a season. This was the eighth time this year that Smith-Njigba has topped 100 yards, and he hasn’t finished any game with fewer than 79. “It’s unbelievable, man, just the way that he’s been able to play this year, every single game,” quarterback Sam Darnold said. “It’s tough to be that consistent, but I think it starts with his attitude and his prep that he puts in throughout the week. So, no surprise whatsoever. He’s a really good player.” Smith-Njigba now has 1,313 receiving yards on the year, putting him on pace to top the NFL’s single-season record of 1,964 that Calvin Johnson set in 2012. Smith-Njigba has caught 80 passes on 108 targets, as the Seahawks have run the ball on by far the highest percentage of offensive plays of any team in the league. “He’s done an incredible job of making the most of the opportunities, over and over again,” said fellow receiver Cooper Kupp, who made a run at Johnson’s record when he won the league’s receiving triple crown with the Los Angeles Rams in 2021. “There’s been games where it’s like, man, we’re not throwing the ball a ton. But every opportunity he has to make a play, he’s doing it. That’s hard to do in this league. Everyone knows that the passing game is obviously going to be going through him, and he just continues to make plays. It’s pretty impressive to watch.” Darnold and Smith-Njigba gave the Seahawks a 10-3 lead in the second quarter when they connected on a 63-yard touchdown. Smith-Njigba wasn’t Darnold’s first read on the play, but he found the receiver open on a deep corner route after pre-snap motion left him matched up against safety Amani Hooker. “Credit to Sam just seeing it, sticking with me and understanding that I’m going to adjust my route mid-play,” Smith-Njigba said. “So, for him to be able to see that and put the ball up and get me a chance, I think that’s elite, championship football and something we hope to continue.” They connected again early in the third quarter on a 13-yard throw into the end zone, giving the Seahawks a 23-3 lead. It was Smith-Njigba’s first multi-touchdown game of the season and gave him seven TDs of the year, a career high for the 2023 first-round pick. According to ESPN Research, it was his second career game with 150 receiving yards and two receiving scores, tying Largent, Brian Blades and Tyler Lockett for most such games in team history. Smith-Njigba finished with 100 catches last year to tie Lockett’s single-season team record. He’s on pace to shatter that mark this year, though he has a way to go to top the team record of 14 touchdown catches that Doug Baldwin set in 2015. But the receiving yards record is now his. “It means a lot,” he said. “This organization is a great organization, and great receivers have came through here. Honestly, I look at it as a team award … because without Sam and without the protection and without [Rashid Shaheed] and Coop, this doesn’t happen. So, I’m grateful and thankful, blessed for my team and blessed to be a Seahawk.” With their win, the Seahawks improved to 8-3 on the season and 12-2 in road games since Macdonald became the coach in 2024, the best mark in the NFL in that span. They entered Week 12 with a league-high 20 turnovers but did not give the ball away on offense for only the third time this season, though they committed 11 team penalties for 69 yards and went just 2-of-7 on third down and 2-of-4 in the red zone. They needed every bit of Smith-Njigba’s latest big game to hang on despite being double-digit favorites against the league’s only one-win team. “He’s got tremendous ability, and he’s a great talent, and he’s an incredible worker, but I would say it’s a team thing,” Macdonald said. “He’s not the only guy running routes out there. He’s not the guy protecting. I think our offensive staff does a great job of moving him around, which is not easy to play multiple positions and move around. It’s hard for guys to do that. It takes a lot of effort. It takes a lot of elegant simplicity to make him get into all these different spots. “And I think the guys around him are playing at a high level, too, and I think we can be better. I think today we were a little sloppy operationally offensively. We need to clean that up. We’ve got to be better in the red zone. All these things we want to be able to improve on I think will allow him to even take it to another level.” |
| AFC WEST |
| KANSAS CITYIn the long run, would it be best for the Chiefs to miss the playoffs? Mike Sando of The Athletic ponders that: Had the Kansas City Chiefs lost Sunday and fallen below .500 instead of overcoming a double-digit deficit to beat Indianapolis, I was going to make the case that missing the playoffs would be best for the franchise in the long term. That still might be true. 1. Kansas City overcame a 20-9 deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Colts. How excited should Chiefs fans be? The Chiefs could use a high-end running back to convince coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes to lean into the ground game, both by design and in the calls they make over the headsets and at the line of scrimmage. Kansas City could also use a high-end pass rusher to help 31-year-old Chris Jones close out games against top quarterbacks. “At the end of the day, I think you will see that come back to bite them,” an exec from another team said of the pass rush, specifically. Beating the Colts to barely break the surface with a 6-5 record does not change those things. But there were a couple of encouraging signs for those hoping the Chiefs might become more than a team that runs from the shotgun, and then only out of obligation. Kansas City’s 16 carries by running backs from under center against the Colts tied for the second most in 144 total games with Mahomes in the lineup. The Chiefs averaged only 2.9 yards per rush on these — they really need a back whom defenses must respect — but that low average included three short runs for first downs with a yard to go. After Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt combined to average 3.7 yards per carry in 2024, the Chiefs brought both back and drafted Brashard Smith, a converted receiver, in the seventh round. That signaled satisfaction with the status quo. Hunt has not averaged more than four yards per carry in a season since 2021. He ranks third in success rate (minimum 100 carries) this season thanks to his effectiveness in short yardage, but Mahomes has more explosive rushes (seven) than Hunt (three) and Pacheco (three) combined. Before Sunday, the Chiefs were famously 0-5 in games decided by eight or fewer points this season, a reversal from their 11-0 record in these one-score games last season. For all the focus on Mahomes and the offense, the defense was culpable in those five defeats this season. Using EPA per play, the Chiefs ranked 12th on offense and 27th on defense when filtering only for one-score games entering Week 11. That was down from sixth and 17th last season, respectively. The Chiefs’ defense held the Colts to 10 first downs and 255 yards Sunday, by far Indy’s lowest totals in both categories this season. Why, then, might missing the playoffs be best for the Chiefs in the long run? Because that’s what it might take for Kansas City to honestly reassess its direction on offense. “They can then have a real assessment as to who they want to be and how they want to get there,” the exec said. The Chiefs have become increasingly dependent upon Mahomes to create explosive plays in the absence of a viable running game, with turnover at receiver and with tight end Travis Kelce aging. The game against the Colts should be instructive even in victory. Mahomes averaged 3.2 seconds to throw, be sacked or complete a scramble, the longest in the NFL in Week 12. That included 23 plays at 3.5 seconds or longer, second most for Mahomes in those 144 total starts. Though the Chiefs’ rate of explosive passes has ticked up near 17 percent this season, which ranks ninth, Mahomes’ time to throw on those plays is 3.3 seconds, the longest of his career. This reflects what we already know: Kansas City does not present sufficient run threat, through formation or personnel, to incite the hesitation among defenders that is required for creating easy explosives. The Chiefs do not punish defenses with play-action the way the most explosive offenses typically do, despite employing the core run concepts about as frequently. “Being in the gun with the back offset is not a run threat,” an opposing coach said. “They got away with it because the back (Pacheco) was pretty good for a while, and they’ve had enough pass threats that Mahomes can scramble around and make plays anyway. But the play-action, the way they do it, is not a real sell.” Kansas City running backs are hitting explosive rushes (12-plus yards) on 3.8 percent of qualifying chances. That ranks 254th out of 256 teams since Mahomes became the full-time starter in 2018 (the 2024 Chiefs ranked 253rd). That’s the sort of stat that hits harder when you’re watching Bo Nix and Daniel Jones in the playoffs from your couch. Inconvenient truths are easier to shrug off when your superhero quarterback gets you to the AFC Championship Game every season regardless, as the case has been in Kansas City. “The first crack I saw in them, in my opinion, was when Andy was asked about running the ball (last week), and he basically said he was calling runs, but Mahomes was changing at the line,” an exec from another team said. “The way he said it, that the quarterback was doing it, did not feel Andy-like.” Nothing would have felt less Andy-like, less Mahomes-like than seeing the Chiefs with a losing record through 11 games. Thanks to Mahomes and an improved defense, the Chiefs might still be on their way. Receiver Rashee Rice, back from suspension since Week 7, could help elevate the pass game. He had eight catches for 141 yards against the Colts. The time to throw on his longest reception, a 42-yarder, was 4.4 seconds. “I think Rashee Rice is that guy and you will see the best version of the Chiefs’ offense come to life toward the end of the season,” another exec said. “It happens every year. They’ve gotta go through it. Until they get a real running back in there, they are always going to live like this.” |
| LAS VEGASIf the Las Vegas offense continues to struggle, it will be without the help of OC Chip Kelly. Bryan DeArdo of CBSSports.com: The Las Vegas Raiders have fired offensive coordinator Chip Kelly following Sunday’s 24-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns. The loss dropped the Raiders to 2-9 on the season. “I spoke with with Chip Kelly earlier this evening and informed him of his release as offensive coordinator of the Raiders,” Raiders coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. “I would like to thank Chip for his service and wish him all the best in the future.” Kelly, 61, was on the job for less than a year. Sunday’s game marked the sixth time this year that the Raiders’ offense failed to score at least 20 points. Over its past three games, Las Vegas scored just 7, 16 and 10 points, respectively. Kelly is the second assistant coach the Raiders have fired this season. The team parted ways with former special teams coach Tom McMahon following their Week 10 loss to Denver. Sunday was largely a microcosm of the Raiders’ offense this season. Against the Browns, the Raiders had just 268 total yards, were 4 of 17 on third down and had just one trip inside Cleveland’s 20-yard line. Quarterback Geno Smith was sacked a whopping 10 times, while first-round pick Ashton Jeanty was held to 50 yards on 17 carries. The Raiders’ offense entered Sunday’s game ranked 30th in the NFL in scoring, 25th in passing, 30th in rushing and in red zone efficiency, and 21st in third-down efficiency. While Kelly surely deserves some blame, it wasn’t like he and the Raiders’ offense was set up to have much success this season. In fact, the team traded one of their few proven skill players — wideout Jakobi Meyers — before the trade deadline. The Raiders have also continuously received spotty play from Smith, who despite his struggles has continued to get the support of Carroll. Kelly was fresh off of winning a national title with Ohio State before returning to the NFL. Prior to the Raiders and Ohio State, Kelly was UCLA’s head coach from 2018-23. He was the Eagles’ head coach from 2013-15 before spending one season as the 49ers coach. Kelly was the highest paid offensive coordinator in the NFL – actually, still is going to be highly paid. Meanwhile, QB coach Greg Olson is likely to be the interim OC.- – -How about Lane Kiffin, the hottest name in coaching, appearing near the top of this list? @raiders1022The last 20 years for Raiders fans Art Shell: 2-14Lane Kiffen: 5-15Tom Cable: 17-27Hue Jackson: 8-8Dennis Allen 8-28Tony Sparano 3-9Jack Del Rio 25-23Jon Gruden 22-31Rich Bisaccia 7-5Josh McDaniels 9-16Antonio Pierce 9-17Pete Carrol 2-9 14 QB’s 0 playoff wins |
| AFC NORTH |
| CLEVELANDEDGE MYLES GARRETT seems to have a date with destiny sooner, rather than later. The Browns have been having a rough season on many fronts. But defensive end Myles Garrett is already on the verge of making history. The 2023 AP defensive player of the year, Garrett has now recorded 18.0 sacks in 11 games. That means he is just 5.0 sacks away from setting the NFL’s all-time single-season record with six games left on Cleveland’s schedule. In 2021, Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt tied the record first set by Hall of Famer Michael Strahan at 22.5 sacks back in 2001. Garrett has long been great, but his 2025 has been nearly unfathomable — particularly with the Browns’ offense as bad as it’s been. With 3.0 in Sunday’s 24-10 victory over the Raiders, Garrett has now recorded 13.0 sacks in his last four outings. Via Browns PR, Myles Garrett’s 14.0 sacks over his last 5 games puts him past Hall of Famer Michael Strahan’s record of 12.5 over a five-game span in 2001 — the year Strahan set the record. Garrett broke his own franchise single-season record on Sunday, as the Browns finished with 10 sacks on Las Vegas’ Geno Smith. Garrett had set Cleveland’s record at 16.0 sacks back in 2022. “The franchise record, I kind of expect that of myself,” Garrett said in his postgame press conference. “Continue to set the bar higher and higher. Feel like I had an angel watching over me today.” As for setting a new single-season record, Garrett said, “If God wills it, I’ll get it,” adding that he’d like to do it in a victory. Garrett’s next chance to pick up sacks will be next weekend against the 49ers. As a team, the 49ers are allowing 1.7 sacks per game, one of the better totals in the NFL. But circle December 7, the Titans come to Cleveland and Tennessee is allowing 4.1 sacks per game, most in NFL. Meanwhile, Mike Sando of The Athletic assesses the starting debut of QB SHEDEUR SANDERS: 3. Shedeur Sanders made his first start! The Browns won! Do with it what you willRookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders stepped into the lineup Sunday for a Browns offense riding a 17-game streak of performances with negative EPA. If he struggled — which was likely, within the broader team context — his many doubters entering the 2025 NFL Draft would have the early confirmation that analysts with strong opinions tend to crave. There was a little something for everyone in this first Sanders start. Sanders became the first Browns rookie quarterback since 1995 to win his debut start. He averaged 10.4 yards per pass attempt, best for any quarterback in Week 12 through Sunday. In classic Browns fashion, the Sanders pass completion that produced the worst result (-1.8 EPA) should have ranked among the best, except receiver Jerry Jeudy lost a fumble after a 39-yard gain. Sanders’ short pass to Dylan Sampson for a 66-yard touchdown and his deep ball to Isaiah Bond for a 52-yard gain to the 2 are the Browns’ top two EPA gainers on offense this season. “The nicest play was the scramble against the unblocked blitzer for the 52-yard gain,” a coach from another team said. “He felt the pressure immediately and got away to his right, threw a nice ball without getting his feet set.” The Raiders’ defense played a role, but Cleveland has faced other weak defenses this season, including Cincinnati’s in Week 1. For Sanders to have a hand in the two biggest plays of the season after completing 11 of 20 passes is good for him. On the downside, the interception Sanders threw in the second quarter could have been a killer against a good team. It was one reason Cleveland ranked ahead of only the Raiders, Vikings and Buccaneers in offensive EPA per play (-0.25) in Week 12, making it 18 consecutive games in the red for Cleveland’s offense, the fourth-longest streak since 2000, per TruMedia. “A lot of people want to see me fail,” Sanders said after the game, “and it ain’t going to happen.” The odds are high that Sanders, like every recent Browns QB, will struggle statistically. He did not hold the ball too long as a general rule Sunday, contrary to his reputation in college. “They played with two open edges all the time (at Colorado) and couldn’t block,” an exec said. “That isn’t going to be the case in Cleveland.” Cleveland finished Sunday’s game with -12.1 EPA on offense. Teams in that general range (-15 to -10) have won 24 percent of the time since 2000. With 10 sacks from the Cleveland defense, including three more from Myles Garrett, the Browns finished Sunday with +21.4 EPA on defense. Teams in that range (+19 to +23) have won 91 percent of the time since 2000. Football is a team game. The Browns won a game most offenses would have lost. Next up is Decision 2025, Week 13: whether coach Kevin Stefanski sticks with Sanders or goes back to fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel, whose injury cleared the way for Sanders to start. Garrett, meanwhile, is up to 18 sacks, 4.5 shy of Michael Strahan’s and T.J. Watt’s single-season record, with six games to play. Lawrence Taylor is the only player with four three-sack games in a season (1986) since sacks became an official stat in 1982. Garrett has three such games in the past four weeks, giving him eight in his career. His 13 sacks since Oct. 26 are the most on record in a four-game span. |
| PITTSBURGHPittsburgh’s once sizeable lead in the AFC North is down to half a game. But QB AARON RODGERS should be back for Sunday against Buffalo. Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com: Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said he expects Aaron Rodgers to be ready for next week’s game after Pittsburgh lost 31-28 on Sunday to the Chicago Bears. Rodgers, who fractured his left wrist against the Cincinnati Bengals a week ago, was not active against the Bears and did not serve as the emergency third quarterback. Mason Rudolph started in his place. “I anticipate him being ready for next week [against the Buffalo Bills],” Tomlin said. “It was a prudent decision to make. Certainly, it wasn’t a fluid week for him. It was a fluid week for Mason in terms of reps and so forth, and so I think it’ll be in our rear view as we move forward. I’m hopeful of that.” On Tuesday, though, Tomlin suggested that Rodgers didn’t need to practice in order to play Sunday. “He’s the type of guy — and has the type of profile — that doesn’t require a lot of physical work in an effort to be ready to play,” Tomlin said at his weekly news conference. “And that’s helpful.” After sitting out Wednesday’s practice, Rodgers wore a wrist stabilizer and was a limited participant in practice Thursday and Friday. Tomlin said he decided Saturday that Rodgers would not play, and he told Rudolph the same day that he would start. Some teammates said they found out Sunday that Rodgers wouldn’t play, including center Zach Frazier. “Found out today,” he said, adding that it didn’t change anything for him or the offense. “I feel like you know both the quarterbacks prepared well, and we were ready for either one to go today. And obviously, Mason was ready. He prepared all week and was confident in the game plan. We were confident in him.” When asked if Rodgers wanted to play Sunday, Tomlin said that’s the standard for the 41-year-old quarterback. “Aaron always wants to play,” Tomlin said. A surly Rodgers arrived at the stadium about three hours before the game and walked a lap around the field before heading to the locker room. Soon after, Tomlin told CBS sideline reporter Evan Washburn that Rodgers would not play. Rodgers, who was not in uniform, spent the game on the sideline and engaged with his teammates. “He was active in the game, kind of telling us what he saw,” Frazier said. Rudolph added: “I think he knows this isn’t my first time doing this, so he wasn’t talking my ear off, but he provided some support and some extra set of veteran eyes from the sidelines.” In his first start since Week 17 last season, Rudolph completed 24 of 31 attempts for 171 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown to tight end Pat Freiermuth. But Rudolph also threw an interception on his first pass attempt when he targeted DK Metcalf deep. Rudolph also fumbled as he was sacked by Montez Sweat. |
| AFC SOUTH |
| INDIANAPOLISBill Barnwell will no doubt have more on this later: @billbarnwellColts went three-and-out on their last four possessions: Run for -2 ydsIncomplete passIncomplete pass, punt Incomplete pass7-yd completionIncomplete pass, punt Incomplete passIncomplete pass6-yd completion, punt 4-yd completionRun for 5 ydsRun for -2 yds, punt |
| JACKSONVILLEAnother win for the Jaguars, not because of QB TREVOR LAWRENCED, but despite him. Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com: The Jaguars pulled out an overtime win in Arizona on Sunday and quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s three touchdown passes helped get them that victory. Lawrence’s four turnovers also kept the Cardinals in the game. They returned a fumble for a touchdown and one of Lawrence’s three interceptions set up a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the game. After the win, Lawrence acknowledged that he has to take better care of the ball but said he won’t compromise the aggressiveness that he plays with in order to make that happen. “People can watch the tape and make their own judgments,” Lawrence said, via the team’s website. “I’ll watch it and do the same. [I] had some tough plays out there. Those guys make good plays as well. I have to be smart with the ball. We had four turnovers and they were all on me. I own that. I have to do my job, take care of the ball and not put our defense in tough spots. Totally get that. I’m never going to play scared. I’m going to continue to let it rip and I think that’s why we had a chance at the end of the day is because you keep playing. Never going to apologize for that, but I will say cannot turn the ball over four times. I own that and I have to clean that up.” Sunday’s win moved the Jaguars to 7-4 and they’re in the thick of the playoff race despite Lawrence posting his lowest quarterback rating since his rookie season. It’s hard to imagine them getting far if he doesn’t improve down the stretch, so the Jags will have to hope that the good starts to outweigh the bad in the near future. |
| AFC EAST |
| NEW ENGLANDThe Patriots offensive line took a hit while beating Cincinnati. Josh Alper ofProFootballTalk.com: Patriots left tackle Will Campbell left Sunday’s win over the Bengals with a knee injury and it looks like the team will have to try for their 11th win of the season without the help of the first-round pick. Head coach Mike Vrabel said that he didn’t have a full update on Campbell’s condition during a Monday morning appearance on WEEI, but did share that he thinks Campbell will miss their Week 13 game against the Giants at the very least. “We won’t know much,” Vrabel said. “Yesterday was not a great day for us with injuries. There will be some players that went out of that game yesterday that won’t be available Monday night. Hopefully we get some of those guys back. We have an extra day. I won’t be able to tell you much. I wouldn’t imagine that Will’s going play in the game. I don’t think that will be something that will happen. That injury is going to probably be more than a week or two.” The Patriots have a bye after facing the Giants. Left guard Jared Wilson suffered an ankle injury on Sunday, which left the Patriots with Vederian Lowe and Ben Brown on the left side of their offensive line. Special teamer Brendan Schooler and defensive lineman Khyiris Tonga also picked up injuries in the win. |
| THIS AND THAT |
| ATLANTA AND LAS VEGASMike Sando of The Athletic on two teams bucking the conventional team-building strategies – with mixed to little success: 4. The Falcons have arguably committed organizational malpractice. Are the Raiders next? The Falcons have bucked conventional team-building principles since hiring Terry Fontenot as general manager before the 2021 season. They used top-10 draft choices for a tight end (Kyle Pitts at No. 4 in 2021, the highest-drafted TE ever) and running back (Bijan Robinson at No. 8 in 2023) before building out their offensive and defensive lines. Using a top-10 pick for a receiver (Drake London at No. 8 in 2022) was also more of a luxury addition for a team in the early stages of roster building and without an established quarterback. We’ve seen other teams in the building stages make jumps after securing pass rushers (San Francisco with Nick Bosa in 2019, Cleveland with Garrett in 2017) or other cornerstone pieces (Detroit with Penei Sewell in 2021) and, of course, with dynamic QB talents (Buffalo with Josh Allen in 2018, Cincinnati with Joe Burrow in 2020). The Falcons became notorious last year for using a top-10 pick for quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who had significant durability concerns, only weeks after signing Kirk Cousins, who was coming off a torn Achilles tendon, to a deal with $90 million fully guaranteed. This complicated their quarterback timeline without delivering a top one to Atlanta. Finally, the Falcons’ decision to trade their 2026 first-round pick to the Rams for a 2025 first-rounder (used for pass rusher James Pearce) assumed the team would be picking much lower in the 2026 order, but that pick could very well be in the top 10 yet again (even after the Cousins-led Falcons beat the Saints on Sunday). “They thought they were getting the last piece of the puzzle,” an exec from another team said of the trade to land Pearce. “Now, your quarterback (Penix) is having his third ACL surgery. He lumbers already, and he’s going to have to be a pocket passer and he’s got the slowest delivery I’ve seen.”.Which franchise-altering cornerstones have the Falcons added with all those high picks since 2021? That brings us to the Raiders. Like the Falcons, they’ve used recent high first-round picks on a tight end (Brock Bowers, chosen No. 13 in 2024) and a running back (Ashton Jeanty, No. 6 in 2025, right before the Jets selected offensive tackle Armand Membou). Bowers is exceptional, but he was also a luxury pick for a team that badly needed to build along its lines (the eight players taken immediately after Bowers’ selection were all trench players: Taliese Fuaga, Laiatu Latu, Byron Murphy II, Dallas Turner, Amarius Mims, Jared Verse, Troy Fautanu and Chop Robinson). Bowers is a fancy hood ornament on a broken-down car. Also like the Falcons, the Raiders invested in an older quarterback, signing Geno Smith to a deal with $66.5 million fully guaranteed. Smith has played about as poorly as Cousins played for the Falcons before Atlanta benched him. The Raiders could have a top-five pick in the 2026 draft. Will they follow Atlanta’s lead by selecting a flawed quarterback in the misguided belief they might not be picking this high anytime soon? “Who is the next Atlanta?” another exec said. “It’s probably the Raiders.” The difference for Las Vegas is that the Raiders have a seasoned coach in Pete Carroll who, for all his struggles this season, knows how to build programs and is consistent in his approach. The Raiders also have a first-year GM in John Spytek who was college teammates with minority owner Tom Brady at Michigan and worked in Tampa Bay’s personnel department when Brady played for the Bucs. It’s tough knowing who has advocated for what in Las Vegas. Carroll drove the decision to acquire Smith, his former quarterback in Seattle, but who wanted Chip Kelly, fired after the disaster against Cleveland, as offensive coordinator? Who thought it was a good idea to have holdover defensive coordinator Patrick Graham calling Carroll’s defense? What is Brady thinking? “There are so many things we do not know,” the second exec said. “All we see is the result. We don’t know what the Raiders’ vision was when they hired 74-year-old Pete Carroll and gave him a three-year contract. This might have been part of it, to instill culture and learn how to run a football team. This might be a two-year learning process.” |
