AROUND THE NFL
Daily Briefing
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Partly because of the imbalance in the conference (three of the four really bad teams are in the AFC) and partly because of a 31-27 advantage in inter-conference games – the playoff line for a tightly-packed AFC is 6-5, while it will be 5-6 when we look at the NFC tomorrow. If The Season Ended Today in the AFC:
W-L Div Conf
Baltimore North 8-3 1 5-3
New England East 8-4 1 6-1
Tennessee South 8-4 1 5-3
Kansas City West 7-4 1 2-4
Cincinnati WC1 7-4 2 5-2
Buffalo WC2 7-4 2 5-4
LA Chargers WC3 6-5 2 4-3
Las Vegas 6-5 3 4-3
Denver 6-5 4 3-4
Indianapolis 6-6 2 5-3
Pittsburgh 5-5-1 3 3-4
Cleveland 6-6 4 3-5
Miami 5-7 3 4-5
This is at the 2/3rd mark of the NFL season. The big news is Baltimore takes over the top spot while Tennessee slides to 3rd. Buffalo pulls one spot ahead of the Chargers on the Wild Card list.
Back after Week 6, at the 1/3rd mark, the Patriots, Chiefs and Steelers – the AFC’s three biggest brands were all on the outside looking in. Now, the Patriots and Chiefs are in command of their divisions, but Pittsburgh still struggles. Here is how things looked after Week 6 – basically New England and Kansas City have displaced Denver and Las Vegas:
W-L Div Rank Conf
LA Chargers West 4-1 1 3-0
Baltimore North 4-1 1 3-1
Buffalo East 4-1 1 3-1
Tennessee South 3-2 1 2-1
Cincinnati WC1 3-2 2 2-0
Denver WC2 3-2 2 2-2
Las Vegas WC3 3-2 3 3-1
Cleveland 3-2 3 1-2
New England 2-3 2 2-1
Pittsburgh 2-3 4 2-2
Kansas City 2-3 4 1-3
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NFC NORTH
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MINNESOTA
How badly hurt is the shoulder of RB DALVIN COOK? Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:
Running back Dalvin Cook writhed on the grass at Levi’s Stadium after taking a hit in the third quarter of the Vikings’ 34-26 loss to the 49ers on Sunday. Cook grabbed at his left shoulder, was carted off the field and did not return.
Cook is scheduled to undergo a magnetic resonance imaging exam Monday, according to coach Mike Zimmer, who said he didn’t know if the injury could end his season. A league source confirmed Cook had dislocated his shoulder. Cook went down on his 16th touch after 49ers defensive lineman Kevin Givens broke through the offensive line, tackled him for a loss of 4 yards and jarred the ball loose for a fumble.
“I know Dalvin is going to bounce back,” receiver Justin Jefferson said. “We don’t know how serious that injury is, but just keeping him in our prayers and hopefully he’s OK and comes back for us.”
Cook has a history of shoulder problems going back to Florida State, where his right shoulder was surgically repaired in 2016. He was one of three Vikings starters evaluated for injuries in the second half.
Cook has a history of shoulder problems going back to Florida State, where his right shoulder was surgically repaired in 2016. He was one of three Vikings starters evaluated for injuries in the second half.
This as we go to press:
Vikings running back Dalvin Cook will miss some time with the shoulder injury he suffered on Sunday, but he is expected to return this season.
Cook was diagnosed with a torn labrum and dislocated shoulder that will likely result in him missing a few games, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
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NFC EAST
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DALLAS
The coach of the Cowboys, and much of his staff, goes into COVID jail. Todd Archer ofESPN.com:
The Dallas Cowboys’ COVID-19 outbreak has now reached head coach Mike McCarthy.
McCarthy was placed in COVID-19 protocols Monday and will not coach Thursday against the New Orleans Saints. Sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Dianna Russini that McCarthy tested positive for the virus. In a statement, the team said McCarthy “will continue to direct, and be in involved in, all meetings and game preparations on a virtual basis for the remainder of the week, including Thursday’s meetings in New Orleans.”
The team will conduct all of its Monday meetings virtually and proceed with its regularly scheduled practice.
The Cowboys will also be without offensive line coach Joe Philbin, assistant offensive line coach Jeff Blasko, strength and conditioning coordinator Harold Nash and assistant strength and conditioning coach Kendall Smith. So far, right tackle Terence Steele is the only player not playing this week because of COVID-19.
A league source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter there are “up to eight positives in Dallas. Details still rolling in.”
Running backs coach Skip Peete missed the Nov. 14 game against the Atlanta Falcons because of the virus.
Wide receiver Amari Cooper is expected to return to practice Monday after he missed the past two games on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
After minimal COVID-19 issues last season, the Cowboys have been hit much harder by it this season. Pro Bowl right guard Zack Martin missed the season opener on the COVID-19 list. Linebacker Keanu Neal and Cooper, who were the only two unvaccinated players on the 53-man roster, missed two games apiece on the COVID-19 list. Defensive end Randy Gregory, kicker Greg Zuerlein, guard Brandon Knight and defensive end Bradlee Anae also missed games on the list.
McCarthy would be the fourth head coach to miss a game while in COVID-19 protocols since last season. Kevin Stefanski missed the Cleveland Browns’ playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Kliff Kingsbury of the Arizona Cardinals and Matt Nagy of the Chicago Bears each missed a game this season.
The team has not said who would replace McCarthy on Thursday. Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn spent parts of six seasons as head coach of the Falcons. Special teams coordinator John Fassel was the interim head coach for the Los Angeles Rams in 2016.
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PHILADELPHIA
If you believe a train or bus ride of two or three hours is easier than a plane ride, Peter King would point out reasons to support the Eagles down the stretch:
This NFC East travel factoid interests me: The Eagles won’t get on an airplane for the last eight weeks of the NFL regular season. The Philadelphia slate starting in Week 11: New Orleans, at Giants, at Jets, bye, Washington, Giants, at Washington, Dallas. The Cowboys get on five planes in the last eight weeks of the season. The Dallas slate: at Kansas City, Las Vegas, at New Orleans, at Washington, at Giants, Washington, Arizona, at Philadelphia. No real moral of the story there, and I doubt it matters much if at all, but it is quirky that the Eagles flew six times in the first 10 weeks and zero times in the last eight.
Of course, the Eagles just lost a winnable game after busing/training to the Meadowlands.
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NFC SOUTH
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CAROLINA
Coach Matt Rhule will once again call on QB CAM NEWTON this week. Adam Maya ofNFL.com:
Cam Newton didn’t finish the Panthers’ blowout loss in Miami, but he will start their next game in Carolina.
The former MVP struggled mightily Sunday, in his third appearance since rejoining the Panthers in early November. Newton completed just 5 of 21 passes with a touchdown and interception before being substituted for P.J. Walker in a 33-10 loss to the Dolphins.
Afterward, Panthers coach Matt Rhule said the decision to swap quarterbacks was driven by poor pass blocking and Walker having a better handle on the two-minute offense.
“I’m not making any changes right now,” Rhule said. “At the end of the day, we weren’t protecting the quarterback.”
Newton will have two weeks to be better prepared, as Carolina has a bye before taking on Atlanta. After going unsigned for the first half of the season, the 11th-year veteran latched on with his original team days before making a cameo in its win over the Cardinals. Last week, he made his first start and played well despite a seven-point loss to Washington.
But he won’t have RB CHRISTIAN McCAFFREY. Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com:
Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey‘s season is over.
The team announced that McCaffrey has been placed on injured reserve after hurting his ankle in Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins. It’s the second time he’s been placed on injured reserve this season and he will not be eligible to be activated a second time.
Head coach Matt Rhule said on Monday morning that X-rays were negative and that McCaffrey would go for further tests. The team’s announcement said that findings from an MRI led to the decision to put McCaffrey back on the injured reserve list.
It’s a major disappointment for a player who only played three games last season. He missed five games during his previous stint on injured reserve, so he’ll end this season having missed 23 of the last 33 games for the Panthers.
McCaffrey has a guaranteed salary of $8.1 million for the 2022 season, but there are no guarantees beyond that point and the last two seasons make it a lot less certain that he’ll be seeing out his current deal in Carolina.
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NEW ORLEANS
An update on QB TAYSOM HILL from Jeff Duncan:
@JeffDuncan_
I’m told that Taysom Hill has been battling a plantar fascia injury in his foot. There are varying degrees to this injury, but if you’ve ever had one, you know it’s extremely painful. Drew Brees dealt with a plantar fascia injury in both 2015 and last season.
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TAMPA BAY
RB LEONARD FOURNETTE was the key to the big win at Indianapolis. Peter King:
“At halftime,” running back Leonard Fournette told me after Bucs 38, Colts 31, “I told Tom, ‘This game will end with either me or you winning it. This sh–‘s gonna end with one of us doing it.’ ”
Let’s see: 31-31, 2:41 left. Bucs ball, first-and-15 at their 31-yard line. The 6-0, 228-pound Fournette, physical, off left tackle for 11. Brady to Cameron Brate for six, then Brady to Fournette, a swing pass out of the backfield to the right for 13. Fournette busting behind the right side for eight. Chris Godwin on an end run for three. Then, from the Colts’ 28, Fournette over left tackle, with Chris Godwin his personal protector downfield knocking away a DB, for a 28-yard touchdown.
This was the fourth pick in the 2017 draft. Fournette had two 1,000-yard seasons in Jacksonville, and had a 222-yard rushing day in Denver in 2019, then was a surprising cut by Doug Marrone at the end of camp in 2020. With three rushing TDs and a fourth in the air, Sunday was Fournette’s shining moment in the NFL. He carried the Bucs to a win over a good team on the road after trailing by 10, and he pep-talked the team at halftime. Fournette won a Super Bowl ring in Tampa last year, but he became a championship running back with that four-TD performance Sunday in Indiana.
“A year ago, I was cut from the Jaguars,” he said from Indianapolis. “I remember it like it was yesterday. I reported at 6:30 in the morning, was told the coach wanted to see me, and he cut me. I was in shock. Never saw it coming. Teammates crying. Coaches shocked. But adversity hits you, and how are you gonna respond. What are you gonna do? I was still upset about it when Tampa picked me up. But I thank the Bucs for giving me a chance. On a day like today, I thank the coaches for believing in me and giving me all these chances.”
Fournette’s going to get more of those chances. A power-back with that offense could make it lethal, and it might be needed with a defense that’s been more attackable this year than last.
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NFC WEST
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ARIZONA
Is this something from the rumormonger Adam Schefter?
@AdamSchefter
Oklahoma has targeted Cardinals’ HC Kliff Kingsbury as one of the potential replacements for Lincoln Riley, league sources tell ESPN.
Kingsbury has one year remaining on his contract after this season.
As we go to press, a non-denial from Kingsbury, Myles Simmons ofProFootballTalk.com:
(Schefter’s repport) gave reporters an opportunity to ask Kingsbury about the report on Monday.
Kingsbury wasn’t quite as forceful as Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin when issuing a denial of interest in a college job, instead generally declining to discuss the topic.
“I don’t get into those things,” Kingsbury said, via Darren Urban of the Cardinals’ website. “My sole focus the last couple of weeks has been the Chicago Bears.”
Kingsbury was later asked why he didn’t flatly say he has no interest in the job.
“We’re in-season, we’re 9-and-2, just not a topic I want to touch right now,” Kingsbury said.
With as well as the Cardinals have played this year, it would be bizarre for Kingsbury to have any interest in heading back to college. It also wouldn’t necessarily make much sense for Oklahoma to have a strong interest, given that Kingsbury was fired after going 35-40 at Texas Tech from 2013-2018 — a program in Oklahoma’s conference.
But, as Schefter noted, Kingsbury has just one more year remaining on his Cardinals contract. So it would make sense for Kingsbury’s representation to try and parlay some external interest into a raise and extension, especially considering Arizona’s success so far in 2021. And that, in turn, is why Kingsbury likely wouldn’t go full Tomlin in his Monday response.
The timing is so awkward, as Oklahoma can’t afford to keep the job open until such time as Kingsbury could exit the Cardinals in a classy fashion.
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SAN FRANCISCO
Kyle Shanahan is Peter King’s Coach of the Week:
Kyle Shanahan, coach, San Francisco. The season was on the brink three weeks ago this morning. The Niners had just lost to Arizona to fall to 0-4 at home and 3-5 overall, and the big, bad Rams were due in Santa Clara the following Monday. Shanahan was 34-41 as a head coach, and he seemed headed to his fourth losing season out of five. In the three games since, the Niners have been one of football’s most efficient teams, turning it over once, scoring 31, 31, and 34 points, and running for 536 yards in those three wins. Shanahan has managed Jimmy Garoppolo superbly, and the embattled quarterback is playing his best since midway through 2019.
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Everything’s lovely and winnable with QB JIMMY GAROPPOLO at the moment, but Ian Rapoport of NFL.com hears he is still done with the Niners after 2021. Adam Maya of NFL.com:
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan suggested last week that it’s conceivable that QB Jimmy Garoppolo could return to the team in 2022.
But it’s not at all the club’s intent, according to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport. The 49ers intend to trade Garoppolo in the offseason to clear the deck for first-round draft pick Trey Lance, who is being groomed for the role from the sideline as a rookie this season.
“Absent a Super Bowl run, which at this point is still theoretically possible, this is the 49ers’ plan next season: start Trey Lance, trade Jimmy Garoppolo. Not a surprise there, they’ve been pretty up front about that,” Rapoport said Sunday on NFL GameDay Morning. “What Garoppolo is doing now is increasing the value of picks the 49ers get in a trade involving him, and they make it more likely that a place he wants to go would want to take him.”
With Garoppolo at the helm for all but one start, the 49ers are 5-5 and remain in the playoff hunt, albeit in a tough division with the Cardinals and Rams among the top teams in the NFC. Garoppolo has completed 170 of 254 passes this season for 2,112 yards, 12 touchdowns and only five interceptions. A strong finish would certainly make him more appealing around the league. It’s also worth noting that the 2022 quarterback draft class isn’t projected to be especially strong, which could bolster the market for free-agent quarterbacks and trade-worthy veterans like Garoppolo.
Four years ago, the 49ers traded a second-round draft pick to the New England Patriots for Garoppolo, then promptly signed him to a lucrative five-year, $137.5 million contract.
Now, it appears he’s on his way to being traded once again.
The DB thinks a 49ers Super Bowl run is more than theoretically possible.
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LOS ANGELES RAMS
As FOX went off the air, Troy Aikman said something to the effect that if the Rams don’t play better than they have in the last few weeks they “might not win another game.”
Dan Graziano of ESPN.com on whether such a statement is an overreaction:
The Rams could miss the playoffs
A 38-26 loss in Green Bay is not, in and of itself, cause for concern or shame. But big-picture, there are definitely some cracks in the Rams’ veneer.
The Rams are 0-3 since they traded for Von Miller and 0-2 since they signed Odell Beckham Jr., and by now, they were supposed to have been asserting themselves as a major — if not the major — NFC power. Of their seven wins, only one came against a team that currently has a winning record, and that was over the Bucs way back in Week 3. Since then, they’re 0-4 against such teams, with losses to Arizona, Tennessee, San Francisco and Green Bay.
They should be fine next week at home against Jacksonville, but road games at Arizona, Minnesota and Baltimore await — as does a season-finale rematch against the 49ers. At some point, the Rams are going to have to go toe-to-toe with at least one other real playoff contender.
The verdict: NOT AN OVERREACTION. The NFC playoff race is fascinating right now. The four division winners look pretty well set. Three (besides Dallas) are playing well right now, and all four have healthy leads.
But the three wild-card spots? Anybody’s game. The Rams currently sit fifth in the conference at 7-4, but they’re just one game in front of the 49ers, two ahead of the Vikings, Falcons and Saints, 2½ ahead of the Eagles, Panthers and Washington and, heck, three ahead of the Giants and Bears.
You’d rather be the Rams right now than any of the other teams in the wild-card mix. But if they keep losing to teams with winning records, they could lose ground to whichever one, or ones, get hot. L.A. needs to lock in and start looking like the team they were in September.
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Peter King:
I think Matthew Stafford is morphing into bad Stafford at just the wrong time. Three games in a row with a pick-six (even through the one against the Niners was gift-wrapped by Tyler Higbee) is not the way Sean McVay wants to head into the Rams’ stretch run.
Stafford’s Pick 6 brought the name of another QB up who had some good numbers but didn’t win. Lindsay Thiry of ESPN.com:
Among the self-inflicted wounds Sunday, Stafford continued a recent trend of turnovers as he lost a sack fumble in the first quarter and later threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown to give the Packers a 36-17 third-quarter lead.
The 13th-year quarterback has committed six turnovers, including throwing five interceptions — three of which have been returned for touchdowns — in the past three games. Stafford’s three pick-sixes are the most in the NFL this season and he’s the first quarterback to put together such a streak since Matt Schaub went four straight games throwing a pick-six in 2013.
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It is good to be a lawyer for the City of St. Louis as the Rams knuckle under in a big money settlement. Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com admires their haul:
The partners in the law firm of Dowd Bennett LLP and Blitz Bardgett & Deutsch had 276.5 million reasons to be thankful this week.
Unde the settlement agreement reached on Wednesday between the NFL and the City of St. Louis, St. Louis County, and the St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority, the law firms representing the plaintiffs get 35 percent of the $790 million settlement, plus their costs, via the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. That’s at least $276.5 million; the litigation costs (travel, deposition fees, computerized research, and even photocopies at perhaps 25 cents per page or more) will be over and above the payment of fees.
That’s a shocking amount, on the surface. But that’s how it works. The lawyers representing the plaintiffs operated on a contingency fee. As you’ve surely heard on countless TV commercials, “We don’t get paid unless we get money for you.”
The practice of contingency fees allows those who can’t afford to hire a lawyer to do so. No money is needed up front. No regular invoices get submitted. No financial obligation (other than costs, which often are waived) arises if the case goes to pot.
It’s one thing for a family with little or no means whose primary breadwinner suffered a serious injury in a car accident to hire a law firm on a contingency fee. They can’t afford to hire a lawyer. And they can’t navigate the process of claims adjusters and courtrooms and judges and juries in order to get the full amount of compensation that a skilled and experienced lawyer can get for them.
It’s different with organizational clients that have ongoing revenue streams and budgets and the ability to pay lawyer bills as they go. The St. Louis plaintiffs would have had — and should have had — a lot more in hand post-settlement if they’d understood the strength of their case, and if they’d hired a law firm to handle the case at an hourly rate, assuming the risk of being out a lot of money in fees if they’d lost.
That said, the profit incentive may have made the lawyers more determined to push and fight and scratch and claw for every last penny as they went toe to toe with Big Shield. Lawyers getting paid by the hour wouldn’t have had the same skin in the game. The same big-ass carrot dangling in their faces as they chased a multi-billion-dollar entity through the lawyers and levels of the court system for justice against an entity that believed it was above accountability.
Regardless of the precise reasons of the various St. Louis entities to opt for a contingency fee over paying by the hour with no guarantee of getting any payment from the NFL as a result of the litigation, there’s a $276.5 million question to be asked of whoever within the three entities agreed to treat this significant piece of corporate litigation like a run-of-the-mill personal injury case. Because whatever fees the law firms would have racked up over the past five years, there’s no way the total amount would have been as much as they’ll now be getting.
Florio has more thoughts to – on how Kroenke was willing shell out more, how the NFL put a kibosh on that and how he thinks $276 mil seemed like a good amount of payday vs. effort to the St. Louis attorneys:
An expansion team was never on the table as a pre-trial settlement possibility. It was a way out of the worst-case scenario; the extinguisher behind the glass. To get to the point at which Goodell would have broken it, the NFL had to lose very big at trial — and it had to lose to Kroenke on the question of whether Kroenke alone would be the one to pay.
As to the former point, a source with knowledge of the dynamics of the mediation process tells PFT that Kroenke’s lawyers were ready to pay more than $790 million to end the case, and that the league’s lawyers intervened, drew a hard line at $790 million, and got the deal done. It’s unclear how much more Kroenke’s lawyers were authorized to offer.
So why didn’t St. Louis keep pushing? Although the final decision was made by the relevant public officials and not by the lawyers, the lawyers have tremendous influence over the process. In a situation like this, the client ALWAYS asks the lawyer what to do, before doing it. Where, as in this case, the individuals calling the shots aren’t directly pocketing cash that ultimately belongs to taxpayers, they’re even more likely to seek guidance as to the “right thing to do.”
For the lawyers, the right thing for them to do became very simple. The question was to take $276.5 million (35 percent of the settlement) plus costs now, or to keep fighting and pushing and chasing a pot that may be bigger, the same, or smaller. Tp keep fighting and pushing and chasing through Thanksgiving weekend. To keep fighting and pushing and chasing through December. Tp keep fighting and pushing and chasing through the New Year. To keep fighting and pushing and chasing through a major, high-stakes, multi-week trial set to commence on January 10. To keep fighting and pushing and chasing as the NFL appeals the judgment to and through every possible court in the land.
That’s a basic reality that will never be explained by St. Louis sources to St. Louis media outlets. At the end of the day, the supposedly final offer on Tuesday entailed a contingency-fee carrot far too plump for the lawyers to ignore. The easiest cases to try are the ones where the best settlement offer is nothing or close to it. As the numbers becomes bigger and bigger, it’s harder and harder not to take the bird in the hand, and to stop fighting and pushing and chasing what eventually could be none in the bush.
As explained last week, a contingency fee makes plenty of sense for clients without the funds to pay monthly legal invoices. While it would have been ridiculously expensive for the public entities who sued the NFL to finance the five-year litigation, there’s no way it would have cost $276.5 million. And if, at the end of the day, the lawyers were getting paid not by the outcome but by the hour, they possibly would have encouraged the client to keep fighting and pushing and chasing. (Also, it would have been prudent for the public officials to insist on a fee structure that would have dropped the percentage above a certain level; for example, 35 percent of the first $100 million, 30 percent of the next $100 million, 25 percent of the next $100 million, and so on.)
It’s cynical, I know, to view the legal profession as so blindly driven by maximizing revenue, minimizing risk, and slamming the books shut on a case when there’s a viable way out. As someone who occupied that world for 18 years, it’s also very realistic. In my opinion, the lawyers called the shots on this settlement, directly or indirectly. And the lawyers of the 17-partner Dowd Bennett firm and the nine partner (technically “member”) firm of Blitz, Bardgett, and Deutsch will be carving up one hell of a turkey for Christmas, with $276.5 million plus full reimbursement for five years of litigation costs flowing into the coffers by the time the ball drops in Times Square. Although the specific agreements cut between the firms and among the partners may dramatically change the eventual distribution, it works out to more than $10.6 million per equity holder in the two firms.
Going forward would have put that payday at risk. It would have entailed plenty more work and effort and worry and risk. In the end, they may have devoted two or three more months to the process and finished in the same spot, at $790 million. And then there would have been layers and levels of appeals.
So, yes, it was very smart for the lawyers to take the deal. For the public entities and the citizens they represent, the better course may have been to push for more. Especially if more entailed a plausible flicker of an expansion team.
As we said many times once it became clear and obvious that the NFL would not be able to avoid a trial in St. Louis, the plaintiffs had a tiger by the tail. Instead of pulling as hard as they could, they let go.
Within the legal profession, they say that a good settlement means that both sides aren’t happy with the outcome. If, as in this case, both sides seem to be happy, the reality is that one side has reason to be — and that the other side is just fooling itself.
We’ll leave it to you to decide which shoe fits which foot in this one.
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AFC WEST
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LAS VEGAS
And, TE DARREN WALLER should be available for the Raiders soon and for your Fantasy team in the playoffs. Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com:
Raiders tight end Darren Waller appears to have dodged a bullet when it comes to the knee injury he suffered in Thursday’s win over the Cowboys.
Waller went for an MRI and other tests on Friday to determine the extent of the injury. NFL Media reports that those tests showed a strained IT band and no signs of a serious injury that would keep him out for an extended period of time.
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AFC NORTH
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BALTIMORE
QB LAMAR JACKSON became the rare QB to win with a 4 INT performance. Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com:
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson once again did something the football world has rarely seen. He’s just not happy about this one.
In beating the Cleveland Browns 16-10 on Sunday night, Jackson became the first quarterback in eight years to win a game after throwing four interceptions. QBs had lost 41 straight games when throwing four picks.
“I’m hot,” Jackson said. “I feel like those drives, when the interceptions came, we could’ve done something on those drives. We could’ve put points on the board.”
Jackson then tapped his chest: “I just told my team, ‘That’s me. I owe y’all.'”
The last starting quarterback to win after throwing four interceptions was Andy Dalton, who beat the Ravens in the 2013 season finale when he was with the Cincinnati Bengals.
On Sunday night, Jackson threw a career-high four interceptions, and all the picks came when he wasn’t pressured. He was intercepted three times on his final five passes of the second quarter, and he was then picked off early in the fourth quarter on an underthrown deep pass to tight end Mark Andrews.
Fortunately for Baltimore, the Browns only converted three points off those turnovers.
Asked if there is a common denominator on his interceptions, Jackson said, “I mean, it’s one game that it happened. They just made great plays on those interceptions. It wasn’t like I was throwing it right to them.”
The Ravens (8-3) now hold the AFC’s top seed with six games remaining, and they’ve won the past two games without much help from Jackson. Last week, Baltimore prevailed at the Chicago Bears without Jackson, who was sidelined with an illness. On Sunday night, the Ravens won despite Jackson turning the ball over on nearly one-third of their drives.
The reason Baltimore maintained a one-game lead atop the AFC North is because of its defense, which held the NFL’s top rushing attack to 40 yards on the ground, forced three turnovers and constantly harassed Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield.
“I think it’s pretty obvious that [Jackson has] done some special things [and] won us a lot of games, sometimes almost by himself,” Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey said. “If you look at the top five quarterbacks in the league, no one has a great game every time. So, for us to pick him up, it was just special — and to end the game on defense. ‘Wink’ [defensive coordinator Don Martindale] talks about, ‘Protect each other,’ and I felt like that’s kind of what we did today.”
Considered among the favorites in the NFL MVP race entering Sunday, Jackson is tied with Ryan Tannehill for the most interceptions in the NFL at 12. He has thrown three more interceptions this season than in any of his previous three campaigns.
But Jackson did show resiliency in overcoming his mistakes against the Browns. After throwing three interceptions in the second quarter, Jackson was visibly frustrated on the sideline. He then opened the second half with a fadeaway, 13-yard touchdown pass to Andrews in which he dropped back 20 yards to elude pressure. He also led Baltimore with 68 yards rushing.
“Nobody gets flustered, and it starts with Lamar,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “Lamar wants those plays back, and he’s a massive competitor. Yet he doesn’t let it take control of him. He’s able to push it aside, and he’s able to go play the next series and give you great football. It’s really a rare trait. To me, that’s one of the things that makes him the quarterback that he is.”
Baltimore has won six straight one-score games (within eight points), which matches the longest win streak in these close games in franchise history. The Ravens also did so in 2012, the year of their last Super Bowl title.
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CLEVELAND
Peter King with a conventional take:
I think I don’t want to get too hyped over one game, or a recent run of play, but I don’t know how anyone watches the Cleveland Browns last night or for the last month and says, “It’d be a swell idea to pay Baker Mayfield franchise-quarterback money.”
The banged up Mayfield will continue to start ahead of QB CASE KEENUM. Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com:
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski described his team’s performance on Sunday Night Football as “very, very disappointing,” and described himself as “frustrated” with his offense. But he insisted that Baker Mayfield will remain the starting quarterback.
Asked by a reporter after the game if a quarterback change could be coming, Stefanski said “No. No. Let me ask you a question: Why would we do that? We’re not doing that.”
Why would the Browns bench Mayfield? Perhaps because he has had ugly numbers while the Browns have scored a grand total of 27 points over the last three games. Perhaps because Mayfield is obviously struggling with injuries. Perhaps because they won the one game backup Case Keenum started in Mayfield’s place this season.
All those issues aside, Stefanski indicated that he puts more of the blame for the Browns’ offensive struggles on himself than on Mayfield.
“It is very frustrating to not score enough,” Stefanski said. “We’re just not doing a good enough job and it starts with me.”
Mayfield completed just 18 of 37 passes for 247 yards against the Ravens. The Browns aren’t going to win many games down the stretch if Mayfield keeps completing less than 50 percent of his passes. But they aren’t going to consider a different quarterback.
Now, RB KAREEM HUNT’s dad is taking shots at Mayfield, although not particularly mean ones. Patrik Walker of CBSSports.com:
Baker Mayfield is seemingly trapped in the Bermuda Triangle and, in there, it’s not simply the loss column he can’t escape lately. He’s also battling against very public and visceral criticism of the parents of teammates, and it began when Odell Beckham Sr. skewered the play of Mayfield just ahead of his son being released by the Cleveland Browns mid-season.
This time, after struggling wildly in the loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night, it’s the father of running back Kareem Hunt who’s taking his shots at the Browns quarterback while insisting he’s nothing like Beckham Sr. — who took to social media to post clips of Mayfield’s play to crutch his point.
“Now I’m getting people on my Facebook saying I’m being like OBJ’s daddy, and I’m not,” said Kareem Hunt Sr. on Facebook, via Brad Stainbrook of 247Sports. “I’m stating facts on football and what we see: he’s limping, he’s scared to throw the ball and they know he’s hurt. [They’re] going to keep listening but, if people don’t like what I’m saying, unfriend me. I’m not jeopardizing nothing.
“I got a right to speak. I ain’t posting no videos. Have a good day. Go Browns, hopefully.”
There’s something about that added “hopefully” that adds a bit more sting to his comments. The situation between Mayfield and Beckham flew off of the rails after the controversial comments made by Beckham Sr., and time will tell how the Browns running back will smooth over his father’s words to Mayfield (something Beckham Jr. had no interest in doing).
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PITTSBURGH
Jason LaCanfora of CBSSports.com comes terribly close to throwing in the towel on the 2021 Steelers:
Can the Pittsburgh Steelers compete in the AFC North? Sounds crazy to say, but it’s a fair question to ask after their complete unmasking in Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon.
The harsh reality for the Steelers is that this season is starting to look and feel a lot like last year, only they weren’t the league’s last unbeaten team this November when things began to unravel again. In fact, this lopsided defeat (41-10), which started getting away from the Steelers from the opening drive, was far too similar to their playoff loss to the Browns from last January, and continued an ugly trend of a second-half-of-the-season slump that is far too similar to 2020 for any Steelers coach or executive to have to contemplate.
Much was made of Ben Roethlisberger going five weeks without a pick, but the offense remains marginal at best – a pop-gun short passing game reliant on YAC to move the ball downfield – and the offensive line and running game are not nearly good enough to offset the limitations and deficiencies of a nearly 40-year old quarterback who was already at the end this time a year ago. To expect December or January to bring any different results this time around is folly, and with a daunting gauntlet of remaining games for the Steelers (Baltimore, at Minnesota, Tennessee, at Kansas City, Cleveland, at Baltimore) it might be even uglier this time around.
Sunday’s affair was over well before the half, but Big Ben punctuated it with a careless pick-six to make it 31-3 at intermission (the assault continued with a forced fumble in the third quarter as he was hit from behind). It summed up the afternoon. At the half the Bengals had held the ball over 19 minutes (Joe Mixon ran for over 100 yards in the half alone), racked up 18 first downs, went 4-for-5 on third down (Joe Burrow beat the defense on third-and-longs) and compiled 261 yards, while Pittsburgh’s offense simply sputtered.
The Steelers finish November going 1-2-1 in their last four games, beating the Bears with a serious assist from an officiating crew, tying the winless Lions at home, and giving up 82 points in consecutive defeats to the Chargers and Bengals. But this is perhaps even more staggering – since barely beating a COVID-ravaged Ravens team of backups, 19-14, on a Wednesday afternoon last Dec. 2 (dubbed a JV performance by coach Mike Tomlin), the Steelers are 1-5 against division foes.
They managed to lose to quarterback Ryan Finley and the struggling Bengals on Christmas week last year, then lost consecutive games to the Browns — first 24-22 and then 48-37 in the wild-card round — and lost Week 3 at home to the Bengals, 24-10, before edging out the Browns, 15-10, at the end of October. A minus-43 scoring differential at this point in the season is probably pretty telling of how good or bad you are.
Sunday’s drubbing felt a little different than even most of those. The Steelers are looking too old in some areas, and too green in others. T.J. Watt is still working back from injury, the defensive line ain’t what it once was, and the offensive line couldn’t get fixed in just one offseason. Nothing lasts forever, and this run with Ben Roethlisberger continued this franchise’s remarkable run of success. But time is quickly running out on a Hall of Fame career and on this season.
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AFC SOUTH
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JACKSONVILLE
The bright light shone by TE DAN ARNOLD since joining the Jaguars has been extinguished for 2021. Zachary Links of ProFootballRumors.com:
Dan Arnold may be done for the year. The Jaguars tight end has been diagnosed with a grade 2 MCL sprain that will sideline him for 4-6 weeks (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport).
The Jaguars acquired Arnold in late September, shipping former first-round pick C.J. Henderson and a fifth-round choice to the Panthers in exchange for the tight end and a third-round pick. Since then, he’s been a bright spot for the Jaguars in an otherwise trying year.
– – –
The first half of games is a bad time for QB TREVOR LAWRENCE. Jason LaCanfora ofCBSSports.com:
Trevor Lawrence, the first pick of the entire draft and a slam-dunk selection at that, has been unable to do much of anything at all until the Jags are chasing games. That is just their reality. In his last five first halves – obviously the equivalent of 2½ games – he has a total of 417 passing yards. Yes, you read that correctly. That is on 78 attempts, folks (5.3 per attempt!). With no touchdowns and two picks … for a rating of 67.09.
That’s a failure, folks. No other way to couch it.
Lawrence went 12-for-19 for 100 yards and an interception in the first half against a very bad Atlanta defense, and that was probably his best first half since mid-October. Not sure how owner Shad Khan views progress, or what he prizes the most, but is 2-9 with no signs of life as a passing game is what he had in mind making the gamble on Meyer, well, I guess he got what he wanted! It’s been a disaster, and we have seen plenty of other coaches be gone as a one-and-done for far less.
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AFC EAST
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MIAMI
If passing accuracy is your primary measurement of an NFL passer, the current edition of QB TUA TAGOVAILOA is for you. In his last two games, he has hit 54 of 64 passes, that’s 84.4%. And that’s for a decent 8+ yards per attempt.
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THIS AND THAT
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PETER KING’S OVERVIEW
A worthwhile look at the current state of the NFL season from Peter King:
When the calendar turns to December, we should know the lay of the land in the NFL, right? Of course.
Take last year. After 12 weeks, the Steelers were 11-0, the clear number one team in the league. Tampa Bay, on a two-game losing streak with some internal grousing about the dysfunctional offense making the rumor rounds, was 7-5, not a top 10 team as the calendar flipped to December.
This year, well, I’m going to give you the top 10 in the league heading into snow-squall season, and I’m going to give you the five teams who could be this year’s Bucs.
The best team in football heading into December: Green Bay, by an immunized pinky toe (thanks, Joe Buck) over Arizona.
The team that could be the ultimate spoiler: San Francisco. (You thought I’d say Cincinnati, and I almost did.)
Three points to consider:
• Look at the schedule. Who loves psycho 5-6 Minnesota? Not me, particularly with Dalvin Cook headed for the MRI tube this morning to check his troubled shoulder. But the Vikings play Chicago twice and Detroit once in the final six weeks. So abandon faith in the Vikings at your own risk.
• Envy teams with the late bye. In 2018, New England had a Week 11 bye and won the Super Bowl. In 2019, Kansas City had a Week 12 bye and won the Super Bowl. In 2020, Tampa Bay had a Week 13 bye and won the Super Bowl. I sense a trend. So many of my top teams have byes in Weeks 12, 13, 14 this year—KC, Arizona, Tennessee, Green Bay and New England. Kyler Murray, Julio Jones, the pinky toe of Aaron Rodgers, and maybe Derrick Henry will all benefit by the December break. Remember last year, when the Bucs used the first week of December to modify their offense so it wasn’t a bunch of guys just running around? Worked. They were 8-0 the rest of the way, fresh as daisies.
• Beware of teams peaking too soon. The Steelers went 1-5 after Week 12 last year, getting embarrassed in the wild-card game by Cleveland. New England, 10-1 after 12 weeks in 2019, went 2-4 after that, including the ugly Tom Brady swansong wild-card loss to Tennessee. So should you really love New England on a six-game winning streak? Should you really give up on the Rams, on a three-game losing streak? November football matters. December and January football really matters.
The Lead: Top 10
The best teams in the NFL with six weeks left in the season, the teams I think have the best chance to get to SoFi Stadium for Super Bowl 56 on Feb. 13:
1. Green Bay Packers (9-3)
The Packers do the most the best. Aaron Rodgers is the bright, shiny object, but the defense is what’s different in Green Bay, and I say that after two distinctly different two-week stretches. Green Bay gave up 13 points, total, to Patrick Mahomes and Russell Wilson, then 62 points, total, to Kirk Cousins and Matthew Stafford. Odd, of course, but this defense is giving up 20.2 points per game over the first 12 games, and that’s a winning formula when you’ve got Rodgers, Davante Adams and two good running backs.
Three very notable things to me about this team. One: The Packers are winning without their two best defenders, edge player Za’Darius Smith and cornerback Jaire Alexander, who are injured. Two: they’re winning, in part, because of the depth built by embattled GM Brian Gutekunst and rookie defensive coordinator Joe Barry. Three: linebacker De’Vondre Campbell, a free-agent who generated zero buzz in the off-season, has become the nerve center of the league’s seventh-ranked D.
“Talk about an off-season pickup that was absolutely critical,” LaFleur told me Sunday night. “That might be the biggest one. He’s an eraser. He never misses tackles. We made him like the centerpiece of our defense, calling the defense. He’s Batman for us, and he really embraces that role.”
The Packers have the bye this week to heal up, and to consider options on Rodgers’ broken pinky toe. After the 36-28 win Sunday, Rodgers said he would consider options that included surgery and decide today what to do. (Amazing that he ran in the first touchdown of the day Sunday against the Rams, deking Jalen Ramsey in the process. “On a play that was a designed handoff,” LaFleur said. “He just saw everyone go in the direction of the run, so he decided to keep it. I was like, Uh oh. But he gave Jalen a dead leg or something and was able to get in.”)
The slate: After this week’s bye, Green Bay has Chicago at home, at Baltimore, Cleveland and Minnesota at home, then at Detroit. Good race with Arizona for the number one seed.
2. Arizona Cardinals (9-2)
The Cards were 7-0, lost to Green Bay at home, then, without Kyler Murray, went 2-1 pre-bye with the great play of Colt McCoy outclassing the Niners and Seahawks on the road. Crucial play by the Cards without their two best offensive players—Murray and DeAndre Hopkins. Still, they’re 10th offensively and fifth defensively, bolstered by a pass-rush. They’ve outscored foes by 108 points, but their Achilles has been run defense.
The slate: at Chicago, Rams at home, at Detroit, Indianapolis at home, at Dallas, Seattle at home. That’s a tougher road than Green Bay, and because of the Packers’ 24-21 Week-8 win in Glendale, Arizona will have to beat Green Bay outright in overall record to win a head-to-head homefield race.
3. New England Patriots (8-4)
The Pats are one of four teams with the last bye weekend, Dec. 12. It’s shaping up to be great for them. They get an extra day this week prior to next Monday’s game at Buffalo, then the bye, then a Saturday night game with Indy, then another extra day to prep for the Buffalo rematch. There are four AFC teams that could be here—Pats, Bills, KC, Ravens—and I picked New England because of the last six weeks. Not just six wins, but six wins by an average of 25.3 points per game. It’s almost Patriots 2007 version, a rout a week.
I put the Patriots here because Mac Jones shows no sign of the games being too good for him. And because the defensive depth is better than any AFC peer. That depth was helped significantly by the addition of Matthew Judon in free agency. He has 11.5 of the team’s 30 sacks, and has been the perfect puzzle piece for Bill Belichick.
“What was your meeting with Bill Belichick like in free agency?” I asked Judon on Sunday, after New England routed the Titans 36-13.
“I didn’t have one,” he said. “I just signed.”
“No meeting with Bill, at all?” I said.
“Naw,” he said. “I thought free agency would be like ‘Let’s Make a Deal,” but we went through that legal tampering period, I had a couple ideas where I might go, and then I was working out on the day the deals could get done, and I heard nothing. Then we had the offer and I had to decide and boom, it was done.”
Judon’s rush ability has been helped by the depth along the line, plus a secondary that doesn’t miss 2019 Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore. When I mentioned the Patriots now have the Bills twice in 21 days and was he thinking about that, Judon said, “Hell naw. We got a one-game mentality around here. All we care about’s this week.”
The slate: at Buffalo (Monday), bye, at Indianapolis (Saturday), Buffalo and Jacksonville at home, at Miami.
4. Buffalo Bills (7-4)
Truly a mystifying team. It nags at me that the Bills get shredded by 26 at home to a 6-6 team and four days later beat a team playing for its playoff life by 25. It nags at me that Josh Allen has forced more throws in 11 games this year than he did in 16 games last year. It nags at me that in nut-cutting time, Buffalo is 3-3 in the last six games, including a three-point loss at Jacksonville. But Buffalo’s an explosive team with an 18-point win at Kansas City, and with two wins over Miami by a combined 50 points. The Bills also have perhaps the most impressive single defensive stat in football right now. They’re holding opposing quarterbacks to a composite passer rating of 62.8, with eight TDs surrendered and 16 interceptions. That is one pesky pass defense.
The slate: New England (Monday), at Tampa Bay, Carolina, at New England, Atlanta and the Jets at home.
5. Kansas City Chiefs (7-4)
KC’s 4-0 since Halloween, giving up just 12 points a game (two games were against Daniel Jones and Jordan Love) while defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo got some of his key pieces healthy and playing at their traditional levels (Chris Jones, Tyrann Mathieu, Frank Clark). Because this isn’t the steamrolling Kansas City offense anymore—the team is lacking one explosive threat, and it’s showing up in Patrick Mahomes’ play. Mahomes in 2019 and 2020 combined: 11 interceptions. Mahomes in 11 games this year: 11 interceptions. But when I asked him a couple of weeks ago if he ever thought to himself, Man, what’s wrong?, he said no, he hasn’t. That’s the benefit of having a confident playmaker and leader. I just think Mahomes will figure a way to win even if he doesn’t have the same tools.
The slate: Coming off a bye … Denver and Vegas at home, at the Chargers, Pittsburgh at home, at Cincinnati, at Denver. Sneaky tough schedule.
6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-3)
Bad loss to the Saints, bad loss to WFT, easy win over the Giants, impressive win at Indy after training by 10 at halftime. I like the veterans on the Bucs, and not just Tom Brady.
The slate: at Atlanta, Buffalo and New Orleans at home, at Carolina and the Jets, Carolina at home.
7. Baltimore Ravens (8-3)
Something about the Ravens doesn’t feel right. The defense felt right Sunday night, even though the Browns looked incredibly flawed, in a 16-10 Ravens win. But the carelessness of Lamar Jackson, who had his first four-interception game as an NFL player Sunday night, is going end up putting so much pressure on the defense if it keeps up. They could really use the spare parts in the running game to pick up the quarterback. One of the more surprising things about the Ravens being five games over .500 entering December: Opposing quarterbacks have a 17-to-5 TD-to-pick ratio; Jackson’s is 15-to-13. Eventually, on a throwing team, that’s going to catch up with you.
But the Ravens have to hope it’s a blip for Jackson. They’ve shown the ability to coach and manage around some difficult circumstances, and they may have to again this year.
The slate: at Pittsburgh and Cleveland, Green Bay at home, at Cincinnati, Rams and Pittsburgh at home.
8. Dallas Cowboys (7-4)
Lost three of four, and there are things to worry about, such as an overmatched and grabby secondary. I put my faith here in Dak Prescott, a reliable run game, and the most impressive rookie in football. When I see 6-3, 246-pound Micah Parsons chase down a quarterback from behind, visions of Lawrence Taylor dance in my head. Parsons has miles to go before he’s in the same league with Taylor, of course, but Parsons with Randy Gregory and DeMarcus Lawrence—they could all be on the field together soon if Lawrence and Gregory heal on schedule from injuries—would be a brutal trio to stop for any offensive front, particularly a battered one as the regular season winds down.
The slate: at New Orleans (Thursday), at WFT, at the Giants, Washington and Arizona at home, at Philadelphia.
9. Los Angeles Rams (7-4)
Can the Rams survive the worst special-teams in football (muffing punts, slumping Johnny Hekker) and a suddenly careless Matthew Stafford and a defense that’s gone from first in the league last year to mid-pack and allowed 32 points a game the last three weeks? Stay tuned. This is too good a team to be scoring 16, 10 and 28 in the biggest games of the year. There’s no shame in losing to the best team in the league on the road, with Aaron Rodgers pulling the trigger. But the last great team they beat this year is the only great team they beat this year: 34-24 over Tampa Bay two months ago.
The slate: Jacksonville at home, at Arizona, Seattle at home, at Minnesota and Baltimore, San Francisco at home. The Rams are looking very much like the fifth or sixth seed, barring an Arizona collapse.
10. Tennessee Titans (8-4)
No team needs its bye more than the Titans this week. Their top three weapons (Derrick Henry, A.J. Brown, Julio Jones) missed the 36-13 loss at New England on Sunday, and it’s unsure when the receivers will be back—and if Derrick Henry will be back at all this year after foot surgery. Without weapons, Ryan Tannehill has been pretty mortal, putting up 26 points in the past two weeks combined against Houston and the Pats. Still a tough team, but if A.J. Brown isn’t back by mid-December, the Titans are in trouble.
The slate: After the bye, Jacksonville at home, at Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Miami at home, at Houston. Titans should be able to hang onto the AFC South crown, because they’ve swept second-place Indy and have a two-game lead with the tiebreaker edge.
This Year’s Bucs
Now for the teams that could get hot—could, I say—and make trouble in the next six weeks:
San Francisco 49ers (6-5)
Strong run game with the Niners’ last pick in the 2021 draft, Elijah Mitchell, forced into action and playing great (693 yards, 4.8 per rush), under the tutelage of 72-year-old running backs coach Bobby Turner. And Jimmy Garoppolo, the undisputed starter, has turned it over once in the last three games—not coincidentally, all wins. The Niners cannot afford Deebo Samuel’s groin injury to be serious. He’s turned into a first-class phenom, averaging 18.0 yards per catch and 8.1 yards per rush. Road games at the Bengals, Titans and Rams will test them, but I see the Niners as a threatening sixth seed in a weakened NFC.
Cincinnati Bengals (7-4)
We knew Joe Burrow would be a threat, and he’s made beautiful music with a quartet of strong young pass-catchers. But the defense is what’s going to determine this team’s fate. In seven of 11 games, the D has allowed 21 points or less. Tough schedule to finish, with the Chargers, Niners, Ravens and KC at home. I thought Burrow would be this generation’s Dan Fouts, and the Bengals have the kind of bombs-away attack that could beat anyone, home or away. You better have a healthy secondary if you want to compete with this offense in January.
Indianapolis Colts (6-6)
Dangerous as heck, but they’ve got to make it first. After Houston this week and the bye, the Colts are home with New England and at Arizona. Miami is hot, and six other non-division-leaders have six or seven wins in the AFC. So the Colts will likely need to win one of those toughies—Pats or Cards—to be a factor in the playoffs.
Philadelphia Eagles (5-7)
Young quarterbacks are up and down, and I’d have told you before Sunday in East Rutherford that Jalen Hurts has a chance to stave off the front office from going quarterback-shopping in the offseason. Now, who knows. But Hurts leads an offense that averaged 34.5 points a game in the previous four. His run ability helps. This also helps: Four of the last five games for the Eagles are against teams under .500. Imagine a win-and-in home game to close the season against the Cowboys, with Hurts’ future on the line. Must-see TV.
Minnesota Vikings (5-6)
Too many missed chances, too much of a chance that Dalvin Cook (shoulder) could be broken down once his test results come back today. But they beat the Packers 34-31 eight days ago and looked great doing it. The Vikings could rally to make it as the seventh seed—they have two games with Chicago, one with Detroit, one with slumping Pittsburgh—and the Vikes won’t be a team the Packers would want to see on wild-card weekend, even at Lambeau.
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