| Crazy stat: In the Lions’ Week Three game against the Cardinals, Amon-Ra St. Brown caught seven of the eight passes Jared Goff threw him. That’s good, but what has happened since then is remarkable. The one incomplete pass in that Week Three game is the last time St. Brown didn’t catch a pass that was thrown to him. From the end of that Week Three game against the Cardinals through Sunday’s game against the Packers, Goff has thrown 30 passes to St. Brown, and St. Brown has caught all 30 of them. That’s an extraordinary accomplishment for a quarterback and a wide receiver. Goff is leading the NFL in completion percentage at 74.9 percent, and St. Brown is leading the NFL in catch percentage having caught 81.4 percent of his targets. They’re playing pitch-and-catch like no other pair in the NFL, and Lions coach Dan Campbell said after the win in Green Bay that the two of them have a unique rapport. “The connection between those two? It’s special. Those two have been clicking now for four years — really three and a half, it started about halfway through that ’21 season and it’s just built from there. If you’re a quarterback, we’ve got a dang good one, but it’s easy to throw to a guy like St. Brown because he gets open, he’s got body control, balance, he can separate, he’s got quickness, he’s got play speed, strong hands,” Campbell said. “They’ve done it well enough that they can think without speaking. They know each other, what they’re getting ready to do, and all that. So it’s special and they make each other better.” When a reporter asked Campbell about the streak of 30 consecutive completions, Campbell said not to jinx it. “I hate it when you guys do that,” Campbell said. “Somebody finds something and then what happens when it’s incomplete? Could you just keep that to yourself?” The Goff-St. Brown combination is too good for anyone to keep quiet about. The 30 straight completions includes the last 3 Goff-St. Brown passes against the Cardinals. We could also mention that in that span St. Brown completed a pass – so the last 31 pass plays he have been involved in have all been comple. So in the last five games – Goff is 27-27 to St. Brown and “just” 61-78 (78.2%) to other receivers. Goff has completed 88 of 105 in those last five games – 83.8%. |
| NFC NORTH |
| CHICAGOAdam Jahns of The Athletic on the aftermath of getting waxed by the Cardinals: Chicago Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson didn’t know when he was going to play against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. He just knew he wasn’t going to start. He was told about his demotion on Wednesday and briefly left practice to regain his composure before returning. “We’re all human,” Stevenson said. “I feel like if you don’t hear something that you want to hear, I feel like everybody has an opportunity to walk away and collect themselves.” Bears fans across the country probably did the same multiple times on Sunday while watching the Cardinals trounce their favorite team 29-9 at State Farm Stadium. If the Double Doink ultimately broke former coach Matt Nagy, then the Hail Mary appears to be the tipping point for coach Matt Eberflus and his team. It’s a storyline that lingered throughout a turbulent week and into Sunday. It was there on the field as Stevenson, who played behind Terell Smith, didn’t take the field until the defense’s third series. And it was there in the locker room after the game. “I feel like I was just tested as far as the media, as far as proving to my guys I’m not going to let the media bring me down and just proving to the whole building that one play doesn’t define me, which that is true,” said Stevenson, who made seven tackles and two pass breakups. “And when I get my opportunity, just come out and do what I did today.” It’s never a good sign when the players start mentioning the media. Just like it’s disconcerting when players openly question coaching decisions and then their head coach asks them to keep those thoughts and grievances in-house.– – –There’s another back-breaking, confidence-killing play to discuss. Cardinals running back Emari Demercado broke free for a 53-yard touchdown run on third-and-5 with 12 seconds remaining in the first half. It gave Arizona a 21-9 lead at the break. Eberflus took the blame for his play call: a pressure with two deep safeties. “I could have called a better call,” Eberflus said. The Cardinals ran through the Bears, piling up 213 rushing yards and scoring three touchdowns. Demercado’s score was this week’s version of the Hail Mary. It’s another Eberflus decision to question and scrutinize. Nickelback Josh Blackwell — who played behind rookie Reddy Steward on Sunday — blitzed off the left edge, while right defensive end Austin Booker dropped into coverage and missed a tackle in the open field. “Good play call by them,” said safety Kevin Byard, who was blocked by receiver Greg Dortch. “Obviously, they got us in the blitz or whatever so he’s able to kind of come through the line untouched or whatever. Yeah, it was a tough play.” The Bears are 4-4. But it doesn’t feel like it. They don’t feel like a team on the rise with a young, promising quarterback. Not when Williams is 22-for-41 passing for 216 yards against one of the worst pass defenses in the league. And not when Williams is sacked six times by a defense that struggled to get to QBs before Sunday afternoon. The Bears feel like a team with a young quarterback teetering on change. Again. Chicago, you know how this goes. Williams is new to all of this. So is team president/CEO Kevin Warren. Many that now work in the Bears organization are, too. That pit in the stomach that Bears fans feel is a familiar one. It’s a mixture of many feelings. It’s the anger that always accompanies ugly losses. It’s the frustration, disappointment and dissatisfaction that comes with watching another head coach and offensive coordinator produce poor results week after week. For some, it could be the creeping doubts about another quarterback drafted with a first-round pick. But for all, it’ll always be that feeling of “Here we go again” with the Bears. “We got to circle the wagons,” said Eberflus, whose team is now 3-18 on the road in his 2 1/2 seasons. “We got to do a really good job of staying tight. That’s what you do in times of adversity. We got everybody we need in that circle of men in there and the staff members in there and the coaches in there. We got everybody that we need. Take an inward look and making sure we’re doing things the right way. It starts with the coaches first and it starts with that practice on Wednesday.” We’ve heard this all before, though. That’s part of the problem. Eberflus made similar comments last season just like Matt Nagy, John Fox and Marc Trestman did before him. You don’t talk like that when the wins are adding up behind good quarterback play. You don’t talk that way when you find ways to win games on the road. No, you talk that way when you’re losing in disappointing, maddening ways. “We got to find a way to win,” linebacker T.J. Edwards said. “That wasn’t good enough.” Like they did with the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars, the Bears should be able to handle the New England Patriots at Soldier Field on Sunday. But Williams and the Bears offense should have had a better day against a Cardinals defense that ranked 27th in opposing QB passer rating, 26th in passing yards allowed, 26th in rushing yards allowed, 24th in scoring and 32nd on third down before Week 9. The Bears are beat up. The team clearly missed defensive end Montez Sweat, safety Jaquan Brisker, nickelback Kyler Gordon and left tackle Braxton Jones against the Cardinals. It also didn’t help to lose defensive tackle Andrew Billings (chest) and right tackle Darnell Wright (knee) during the game. But now the doubts and questions are adding up like the injuries. The meat of the schedule awaits the Bears. They haven’t played one divisional game. They routed some awful teams but couldn’t hang with the middle-of-the-pack Cardinals. “You got to fight back,” cornerback Jaylon Johnson said. “To me, you got to find and take pride in what the hell (we’re) doing out there. … We got to figure out what it is and each man’s got to look themselves in the eye and figure out how they can make plays, how they can impact the game better. And really, we just got to find ways to win — especially on the road.” |
| DETROITThe Lions go outside, into foul Wisconsin weather, and make a statement win. Dan Campbell expected it, per Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com: The Lions played indoors in their first seven games this season and their 6-1 record showed that they could handle controlled conditions, but there were questions about how they’d fare outdoors in unpleasant weather before Sunday’s game in Green Bay. It turned out to be no big deal for the NFC North leaders. After surrendering an early field goal, the Lions scored 24 straight points en route to a 24-13 win that featured 124 rushing yards, no turnovers on offense and an interception return for a touchdown by safety Kerby Joseph. When the game was over, head coach Dan Campbell said that the win illustrated the way the Lions are constructed to win in any setting. “I’m not shocked one bit that we came out here and played pretty good football out in the elements,” Campbell said in his press conference. “We’re built for this, man. It doesn’t matter just because we play indoors. It doesn’t matter. We can play anywhere. We can play in the snow, we play in the rain, we play in the mud. That’s just us. We are built to win, man.” The Lions have two more outdoor games in the regular season, but they don’t come until Weeks 16 and 17. If they keep playing as well as they have through their first eight games, they may have the NFC in hand at that point and that would ensure every postseason snap they take in pursuit of the franchise’s first Super Bowl takes place indoors. There were/are reports that the Lions are poised to land Cleveland EDGE Za’DARIUS SMITH. Mike Sando of The Athletic on the Lions now – and the Lions if they add a quality rusher like Smith: The Detroit Lions cannot necessarily claim to be the NFL’s best team with the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs riding a 13-game winning streak. But after another important victory, this one by a 24-14 margin over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, there is a conversation to be had, at least. The question is, have the Lions done enough to maximize their championship chances after losing elite pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson to a likely season-ending leg injury last month? They planned to acquire 32-year-old pass rusher Za’Darius Smith from the Cleveland Browns, according to a Pro Football Talk report, and they still could do more before the trade deadline passes Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET. 1. If Za’Darius Smith is the big acquisition for Detroit at the deadline, have the Lions done enough? The Lions aren’t alone among NFC North contenders dealing with a significant injury. The Vikings, already playing without projected starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy, lost left tackle Christian Darrisaw and moved to acquire Cam Robinson from Jacksonville to replace him. The Packers are facing uncertainty at quarterback while a groin injury hinders Jordan Love. Everyone has issues in November, but no other top contender this season has lost a player of Hutchinson’s caliber at a premium position. Looking back over the past couple of decades, only a couple of comparable situations stood out where a potential contender lost an elite pass rusher before the deadline: • The 2011 Houston Texans lost Mario Williams, who had five sacks in the first five games before landing on injured reserve. They had a rookie named J.J. Watt on the roster and rode out the season, finishing 10-6 and losing in the divisional round. • The 2020 Arizona Cardinals lost Chandler Jones, who was coming off a 19-sack season in 2019 but had only one sack through five games of 2020. They were 5-2 at the deadline and acquired Markus Golden, who had three sacks for the Cardinals that season and 11 in the next. That team finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs. • Also that season, the San Francisco 49ers lost Nick Bosa to a season-ending injury in the second game. They also lost quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo right before the deadline, so they did not make a major move, instead acquiring Jordan Willis for a late-round pick swap. The Lions are better than any of those teams with or without Hutchinson. They have more at stake as the deadline nears. Their potential options fit into categories. Pipe dream/clickbait headliners: Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas RaidersMyles Garrett, Cleveland BrownsTrey Hendrickson, Cincinnati Bengals Older vets likely to be available: Za’Darius Smith, BrownsJadeveon Clowney, Carolina PanthersPreston Smith, Packers (tricky within the division) Younger players in the final year of their deals:Baron Browning, Denver BroncosAzeez Olujari, New York Giants Two players went off the market before the regular season began: Matt Judon, acquired by Atlanta from New England for a third-round pick; and Darrell Taylor, acquired by Chicago from Seattle for a sixth-rounder. The Patriots dealt Joshua Uche to the Chiefs last week. It’s fun to dream up deals like Detroit sending multiple first-round picks with, say, backup quarterback Hendon Hooker to the Raiders for Crosby, but those deals are rarely the ones that materialize during the season. There still is precedent for upgrading with a pass rusher at the deadline. Lions general manager Brad Holmes was with the Los Angeles Rams when their 2018 acquisition of pass rusher Dante Fowler helped L.A. reach the Super Bowl. Holmes had left the Rams for the Lions when Los Angeles landed Von Miller from the Denver Broncos at the 2021 deadline for second- and third-round picks. Miller had nine sacks with the Rams, including four in their playoff run to a Super Bowl victory. “Post Impact”2021 Rams Von Miller (age 32) Won SB: 4 sacks2014 Patriots Akeem Ayers (25) Won SB: Key tackle2018 Rams Dante Fowler (24) Lost SB: Key hurry2015 Patriots Akiem Hicks (25) Lost CC: 4 hurries2021 Chiefs Melvin Ingram (32) Lost CC: Key sack2016 Patriots Kyle Van Noy (25) Won SB: Half-sack2023 49ers Chase Young (24) Lost SB: 1 sack2021 49ers Charles Omenihu (24) Lost CC: 1.5 sacks2020 Ravens Yannick Ngakoue (25) Lost DIV: N/A2023 49ers Randy Gregory (30) Lost SB: N/A2015 Panthers Jared Allen (33) Lost SB: N/A2022 Eagles Robert Quinn (32) Lost SB: N/A Where would Smith land on the above list of notable in-season pass-rush additions made by contenders over the past couple of decades? “I’d rather have him than almost all of the above,” said an evaluator who studied Smith’s performance in 2023 but has not watched him as closely this season. “Good player, fits a need and has a contract for 2025 already.” Hutchinson was one of a kind. His pressure rate in five games this season was 25 percent, the highest for an outside pass rusher in a single season since at least 2019 (minimum 150 pass-rush snaps), according to Pro Football Focus, via TruMedia. Smith’s pressure rate was 16.5 percent last season, which ranked 18th, between T.J. Watt and Chris Jones (his five sacks could not compare to the combined 29.5 for Watt and Jones). Smith’s 13.9 percent pressure rate and five sacks this season have come for a team that has led on only 19.7 percent of plays, the fourth-lowest rate. Detroit has led on nearly 65 percent of plays, second only to the Vikings, so the rushing situations will be more favorable in Detroit. “Great pickup,” a veteran offensive coach said of Smith. “You might only need him to play 20 snaps a game.” Detroit, with the NFL’s second-youngest snap-weighted defense behind that of the New York Giants, ranks seventh in defensive EPA per play this season, up from 24th in 2023. “(Offensive coordinator) Ben Johnson gets all the run there, but how’s (defensive coordinator) Aaron Glenn doing, D-ing up Green Bay like that after losing his safety (Brian Branch) to an ejection?” an AFC coach said. The Packers outgained Detroit 411-216 but struggled on third down (including four dropped passes), got stuffed on fourth-and-1 and suffered a pick six right before halftime, a primary reason Green Bay finished with -3.3 EPA on offense. Big defensive games against Arizona, Dallas and Tennessee account for much of the Lions’ No. 7 ranking on defense. There isn’t a high-powered offense on the Lions’ schedule until Green Bay in Week 14, Buffalo in Week 15 and possibly San Francisco in Week 17. Once the trade for Smith — or any other pass rusher — goes through, unleashing the new addition in the playoffs will be the priority. BetMGM still has the Chiefs as the Super Bowl favorites at +425, with the Lions second at +500, followed by the Baltimore Ravens (+600), Buffalo Bills (+800) and 49ers (+1000). “Detroit has more talent than K.C., good coaching and is tougher,” an exec from another playoff-caliber team said, adding that if he were allowed to bet on any team to win it all this season, his money would be on the Lions. To that point about toughness, which Kansas City is not lacking in the least, a defensive coach made an observation after watching portions of the Lions’ victory over the Packers. “Have we transformed to where Green Bay with its well-manicured coach looks like they should be in a dome while tough, red-faced Dan Campbell looks like he should be the one on the frozen tundra?” this coach said. “Because the ‘rug’ team (Lions with an indoor stadium sporting artificial turf) was the one securely handling the ball in the cold rain with 15 mph wind.” The Packers have done such a good job drafting and developing, most notably at the receiver position, that analysts rarely even mention them as a candidate to make a move at the deadline. Green Bay perpetually owns the NFL’s youngest roster, or close to it. The Packers also did not lose Hutchinson. The Lions did. Led by Holmes and Campbell, Detroit has built patiently for five years, trusting its ability to develop homegrown talent while taking steps each season. Now top contenders, and with the NFL’s third-oldest offensive team on a snap-weighted basis, the urgency is building. The Lions time to strike could be right now. |
| NFC EAST |
| DALLASRB EZEKIEL ELLIOTT was a healthy scratch on Sunday as the Cowboys wearied of his lack of commitment and attendance. Jane Slater of NFL.com: @SlaterNFLEzekiel Elliott is a healthy scratch today. The first of his career. According to a number of sources, Elliott has been distracted this season. Aside from habitual tardiness, he’s missed three team meetings with Friday’s meeting the final straw. Both parties decided it was best he didn’t make the trip to Atlanta. Dalvin Cook and Rico Dowdle will be expected to carry the load this afternoon. #Cowboys Bill Barnwell of ESPN.com with a long look at what went wrong Sunday in Atlanta and what probably will go wrong moving forward: Dallas Cowboys (3-5)Week 9 result: Lost to Atlanta 27-21While the final score might hint at a close game, the six-point margin dramatically overstates how well Dallas played. Its offense converted just one of its first nine third-down attempts. It failed on two fourth-down attempts, including a fake punt, and wasn’t able to attempt a third because it had 12 men on the field. It trailed by two scores for significant portions of the second half before a late touchdown pass from Cooper Rush to Jalen Tolbert made things look close and a failed onside kick ended the game. Rush was in the game because the Cowboys had lost quarterback Dak Prescott to a hamstring issue. Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, the other big contract inked during team owner Jerry Jones’ “all-in” offseason, suffered a shoulder injury late in the game, although he was able to return before the game ended. If you thought the Cowboys’ offense was struggling with Prescott and Lamb, imagine what it would look like without those two pillars. The most damning thing to say about the Cowboys is that the offensive identity they’ve had since the Bill Parcells era has been broken. For whatever issues they’ve had over the past two decades, when their offensive line has been healthy, they’ve been able to rely on the line as the building block for the entire attack. That hasn’t been the case this season, as a new-look line has struggled. Left tackle Tyler Guyton, the team’s rookie first-round pick, was benched for a game earlier this season before returning to the lineup. Terence Steele, an undrafted free agent find on the right side earlier in his career, hasn’t been the same since a torn ACL in 2022 and has allowed eight sacks this season, per NFL Next Gen Stats. The interior of the line hasn’t looked as strong without Tyler Biadasz, who has been a key contributor at center for the division-leading Commanders. Sunday should have been a get-right opportunity against the Falcons, who have had the league’s worst pass rush for what has felt like a generation of football. Raheem Morris’ defense had just six sacks through its first eight games, the fewest for any team over the first eight games of a season since 2010. Instead, the Cowboys allowed Prescott to be sacked three times on 27 dropbacks before he exited. While he has some culpability for his sack totals, the line allowed six quick pressures and 27 total pressures, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. That happened with the Falcons losing their top defensive lineman in Grady Jarrett, who left in the third quarter with an Achilles injury. Guyton was penalized three times on a day when Dallas was flagged nine times on offense for holding, false starts and offensive procedural penalties. It had 12 men in the huddle on a fourth-and-1 and committed a false start on first-and-goal from the 1-yard line. One way to help out a struggling line is to use motion and try to create confusion on the defensive side of the ball. Last season, the Cowboys helped propel their offense forward after the bye week by upping their motion usage. Before Week 7, they used motion at the snap at the league’s second-lowest rate and ranked 14th in expected points added (EPA) per play. Afterward, they upped their motion rate to league average and topped the league in EPA per play. With the league as a whole upping the rate of motion at the snap by nearly 20% this season, the Cowboys are back down to 29th in rate of motion at the snap. Coach Mike McCarthy has blamed that on game script, but in the first half of games, they have used motion at the snap at the third-lowest rate of any team. And while the 2023 team was the second best in football in terms of EPA per play when it used motion at the snap, the 2024 team ranks 25th by the same metric. Teams might be able to get by without motion or great pass protection if they can run the football. Sunday actually was a rare game when the Cowboys had some success on the ground, in part because they didn’t play their retirement community of running backs, with Ezekiel Elliott benched and Dalvin Cook limited to six snaps. Rico Dowdle played in the primary role and had 12 carries for 75 yards, comfortably the best performance of the season by a Dallas back. It seemed telling about McCarthy’s confidence in the run game that his team went to a jet sweep to Lamb on a fourth-and-1 attempt, only for it to fail when tight end Jake Ferguson couldn’t block Jessie Bates. The defense seems equally lost. In the Dan Quinn era from 2021 to 2023, the Cowboys were one of the most terrifying units in football, leading the NFL in sack rate, pressure rate and interception rate. They could be vulnerable when they fell behind and had to stop the run, but they were able to alter games and influence offensive playcalling with the threat of what they were able to do getting after the quarterback. The 2024 team hasn’t been awful rushing the quarterback, but it’s nowhere near what it was over the prior three seasons. It ranks in the top 12 in both sack and pressure rate. It has just four interceptions and six takeaways all season, figures it had already topped by the end of Week 2 a year ago. The splash plays aren’t there for this defense. The defense has fallen apart when it doesn’t get after the quarterback. During the Quinn era, when the defense failed to get pressure, it still posted the third-best QBR allowed of any defense. That unit has fallen to 29th in QBR without pressure this season, allowing passers to average a league-high 9.0 yards per attempt in those situations. On Sunday, Kirk Cousins tore the Cowboys apart without pressure, going 11-of-13 for 112 yards with two touchdown passes. The Cowboys have been without three key contributors on defense in defensive ends Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence and cornerback DaRon Bland. It’s hard to be great without those guys. But that’s also a symptom of the problem that plagued this franchise over the summer. Despite Jones’ protestations, the Cowboys weren’t anything close to “all-in” over the spring and summer, as they waited until the end of the summer to re-sign Lamb and inked Prescott on the opening day of the regular season. In the meantime, they lost starters on both sides of the ball without finding meaningful replacements. Biadasz and Tyron Smith left on the offensive line. Running back Tony Pollard joined the Titans. Edge rusher Dorance Armstrong followed Quinn to Washington. Cornerback Stephon Gilmore spent most of the offseason unsigned in free agency before joining the Vikings. In turn, the Cowboys’ two biggest additions were veterans on the downside of their respective careers. Elliott has averaged 3.1 yards per carry before being inactive for Sunday’s loss. He has even given up a handful of pressures in pass protection. Linebacker Eric Kendricks has been a player other teams have targeted throughout the season. In the Week 8 loss to the 49ers, coach Kyle Shanahan must have been licking his chops when Dallas defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer lined up in the classic Double A-gap pressure front he has shown throughout his career. Shanahan put Deebo Samuel in the backfield and then motioned Samuel out into the formation before the snap, forcing Kendricks to abandon that front and go out into coverage. Samuel badly beat Kendricks on a wheel route for a big gain, then shook Kendricks’ tackle downfield to add extra yardage after the catch. Even Brock Purdy ran away from Kendricks on a scramble for a first down. The Cowboys added defensive end Carl Lawson during training camp, and he had both of their sacks Sunday. But as a result of the cutbacks they made in the process of negotiating and agreeing the Prescott and Lamb deals, this team doesn’t have the depth to handle any sort of meaningful adversity. Against the Falcons, they were forced to give significant snaps to Dowdle, wideout Jalen Brooks, defensive end Tyrus Wheat and cornerback Caelen Carson, late-round picks and undrafted free agents who wouldn’t be playing meaningful roles for most teams with Super Bowl aspirations. That doesn’t even consider struggling veterans such as Kendricks and Steele, who are delivering replacement-level play on larger salaries. Dallas had a season like this in 2020, McCarthy’s first year with the organization. He put veteran defensive coach Mike Nolan in a coordinator’s role for the first time in six years, but the Cowboys couldn’t fit the run all season, got rolled over and ranked 28th in scoring defense. Prescott suffered a season-ending ankle injury in October, and the offense couldn’t consistently score without him. After the season, with no leverage, Jones gave Prescott a massive extension. They turned things around immediately by getting their 2021 offseason right. McCarthy fired Nolan and hired Quinn. They traded down two spots in the first round and still managed to land Parsons, who became the league’s biggest defensive bargain. Lamb and cornerback Trevon Diggs, the team’s top two picks in 2020, emerged as superstars on rookie deals. When they hit on Tyler Smith, Ferguson and Bland in the 2022 draft, they had a core of cost-controlled talent surrounding an expensive core. Now, that core is about to get more expensive when Parsons gets paid this offseason, and the young players aren’t as promising. The team’s top two picks in 2023 were defensive tackle Mazi Smith and tight end Luke Schoonmaker, neither of whom look like starters. The only regular from that class might be linebacker DeMarvion Overshown. Guyton, the team’s top pick in 2024, has struggled. It’s too early to give up on those guys, but they don’t look as promising as prior classes did. That all leads the Cowboys to their intractable problem: If they couldn’t make a deep playoff run with Prescott, Lamb and Parsons making $70 million per season, how do they do it when they’re making $130 million per year? Teams need to have their young, cost-controlled players excel, their stars stay healthy and their coaching staff staying ahead of the game and maximizing the talent they have on the field. Right now, it doesn’t feel like any of those things are happening in Big D. More injury issues. Todd Archer of ESPN.com: Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott knocked on the wooden lectern when asked whether there was a chance he would miss some time because of a hamstring injury that knocked him out of Sunday’s 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Prescott will undergo an MRI on Monday to determine the severity. Owner and general manager Jerry Jones called it a “high hamstring” injury. “I mean, it’s hard for me to say. I would say that I’ll be out there next week,” Prescott said of the Cowboys’ Week 10 meeting vs. the Philadelphia Eagles at AT&T Stadium on Nov. 10. “Once again, I’ve got to see. Luckily, I can say I’ve healed fast, I’ve progressed fast on injuries and things, so thankful for that. Got to get a picture of it. When we get a picture of it, I guess we’ll see how bad it is. “It’ll take a lot for me to not be out there, I’ll say, personally.” Additionally, Cowboys star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is dealing with a right AC joint issue with his shoulder and is set to undergo an MRI. Jones said he is hopeful Lamb can continue to play since he was able to play through it on Sunday. Prescott suffered his injury after a 5-yard scramble late in the third quarter. On the next play, cameras caught him grimacing as he threw a wobbling 10-yard pass to Jalen Brooks on the wide side of the field. “I felt it when I was getting up from the run. I can’t even say that I felt it running,” Prescott said. “The tackle, maybe something on the tackle. Yeah, I don’t know, but when I was standing up, I felt something actually. Didn’t think it was much. You get tired. It’s a physical game. A lot of times you feel different things and they kind of go away.” |
| NEW YORK GIANTSMike Sando of The Athletic with more on the Giants motivation to bench QB DANIEL JONES: With the Giants falling to 2-7 after a Daniel Jones lost fumble created the biggest single-play EPA swing of this 27-22 defeat to Washington, coach Brian Daboll predictably faced more questions about his quarterback’s viability. “The words ‘Daniel Jones’ and ‘injury guarantee’ are going to come up so much this year,” a 2024 Quarterback Tiers voter predicted before the season. We are getting closer to that point with every Giants defeat because Jones’ contract carries $23 million in injury guarantees for next season. That’s money the team could avoid paying by releasing Jones after the season, unless Jones were to suffer a serious injury during the second half of this season. In that case, the team could become liable for all or part of that money ($12 million of it becomes fully guaranteed at the start of the 2025 league year, which is March 12). These sorts of considerations have, from all appearances, led other teams to bench high-priced, low-producing starters in recent seasons, from Derek Carr in Las Vegas to Russell Wilson in Denver. Those teams waited until Week 17 before benching their starters. Derek Carr $40,000,000 2022 Week 17Russell Wilson $37,000,000 2023 Week 17Daniel Jones $23,000,000 TBD Would the Giants turn to backups Drew Lock and/or Tommy DeVito earlier than that? The intensity of the New York-area media market differentiates that situation from others. Jones also has much less career production than Wilson or even Carr had previously. He has also suffered serious injuries more frequently, including last season. Did the Giants run the ball so much early in Week 9 because Daboll feared putting the ball in Jones’ hands? A variation of the question arose at Daboll’s postgame news conference after the Giants passed only six times in 22 chances on early downs in the first 28 minutes against Washington. The 27.3 pass rate in those generally neutral situations was the lowest for the Giants in 45 total games since Daboll became coach. One of those six early pass plays doomed Jones’ statistical line Sunday. It also might have doomed the Giants to their defeat. And it will lead to continued speculation about Jones’ viability. The Giants had first-and-10 from the Washington 29-yard line in the first quarter. Jones took a sack and fumbled. The Commanders took over at the Giants’ 31 and soon scored the game’s first touchdown. This single play cost the Giants 8.1 EPA, the biggest swing on any single sack in Week 9. (If the officials had not blown the play dead, the fumble would have been returned for a TD, making the EPA swing larger.) One factor working in Jones’ favor: He is getting the ball to rookie receiver Malik Nabers, whose nearly 29 percent team target share ranks third in the league behind Justin Jefferson and Garrett Wilson. The DB saw Jones on Sunday. He wasn’t all that bad, just not good enough. We wonder what he would be like in “quality backup” role. |
| NFC SOUTH |
| CAROLINAThe Panthers with their second win of the season and QB BRYCE YOUNG with his first of the season, third of his career but the first one where he gets to take a knee. He may not start next week. Anthony Rizzuti of USA TODAY: Did Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young do enough in Sunday’s triumphant outing to secure the starting nod over Andy Dalton next week? We’ll soon find out. Head coach Dave Canales faced that inevitable question following his team’s 23-22 win over the New Orleans Saints, where Young came through with his second straight positive performance. But, as expected, we’re still a little ways away from learning the answer. “Not yet,” Canales replied when asked if he’s ready to name Young as the Week 10 starter. “We’ll take in all the information, watch the film, we gotta process. We gotta make sure we look at all this stuff, and we’ll let you guys know in the next couple days.” Young—who completed 16 of his 26 throws for 171 yards, a score and an interception—orchestrated the first game-winning touchdown drive of his career this afternoon. He led the Panthers on a four-play, 64-yard possession, one that ended in a 16-yard visit to the end zone by running back Chuba Hubbard, to give them a 23-22 lead at the 2:18 mark of the fourth quarter. Over the past two weeks, Young has connected on 63.5 percent of his passes for 395 yards, three touchdowns and three picks. We thought Rizzuti had mis-reported on his reference to a first game-winning drive, but we see he wroter “first game-winning TOUCHDOWN drive”. Young did have two game-winning drives last year, but both ended with field goals. |
| NEW ORLEANSThe Saints have canned Coach Dennis Allen – and there is no mistaking that owner Gayle Benson did the deed. Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com: The New Orleans Saints have fired coach Dennis Allen after losing their seventh straight game Sunday, the team announced Monday. Special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi has been named the interim coach. The Saints won their first two games this season but haven’t won since, with their latest loss coming to the Carolina Panthers in a 23-22 defeat. “Dennis has been part of our organization for many years. He is highly regarded within the NFL. He has been extremely loyal and professional and most importantly an excellent football coach for us. All of this makes today very tough for me and our organization,” Saints owner Gayle Benson said in a statement. “However, this decision is something that I felt we needed to make at this time. I wish nothing but the best in the future for Dennis and his family. He will always be considered in the highest regard by me and everyone within our organization.” This is the first midseason firing for the Saints since the late Tom Benson purchased the team in 1985. The last in-season firing occurred when Dick Nolan was fired after an 0-12 start to his third season in 1980. The team also made an in-season coaching change in 1996 when Jim Mora resigned after a 2-6 start, and New Orleans then went 1-7 under Rick Venturi. Allen, who replaced Sean Payton as the coach in 2022, went 18-25 as the team’s coach. “That’s a message heard loud and clear. … Got to find a way to win,” one player told ESPN regarding Allen’s firing. This is the first time since 1999 the Saints have lost seven straight games. The team went 3-13 that season and fired coach Mike Ditka and general manager Bill Kuharich. Saints general manager Mickey Loomis defended Allen in January after the Saints finished 9-8, citing several Hall of Fame coaches who had slow starts to their careers. Instead, the Saints made sweeping changes to the offensive staff and parted ways with longtime offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael. While Allen inherited much of Payton’s staff when he took over in 2022, most of the coaching staff had been hired by Allen by his third season. Quarterback Derek Carr, signed by the Saints in 2023, was also an Allen selection — from the 2014 draft, when Allen was with the Raiders. Allen went 8-28 as the coach of the Raiders and was fired after an 0-4 start to his third season with the franchise in 2014. Loomis also defended Allen again recently, saying everyone needed to look “beyond the results,” alluding to the significant number of injuries the Saints had this season. Some of those injuries included Carr, several starting offensive linemen, and top wide receivers Rashid Shaheed and Chris Olave. Olave sustained his second concussion this season in Sunday’s loss, drawing a rant from former Saints receiver Michael Thomas, who blamed Carr for Olave’s injury in a series of posts to X. “DA is an excellent football coach,” Loomis said in a statement Monday. “This season, we have had an avalanche of injuries. It took its toll. DA has never offered excuses, he fought each day for this organization and this team and that is what makes today disappointing. Dennis has been an integral part of this organization’s success for the better part of twenty years. He will be missed.” The Saints’ fan base, which showed its displeasure by leaving the Caesars Superdome in droves during a 33-10 loss to the Denver Broncos and Payton in Week 7, clamored again on social media for Allen’s firing. Players also took to social media to express their frustration. “We just lost to the panthers… I love y’all New Orleans truly had higher expectations and the best of hopes for us, y’all deserve it,” longtime defensive end Cameron Jordan wrote on X, prompting a flurry of back-and-forth between Saints and Panthers players about their respective 2-7 records. The Saints have struggled on both sides of the ball. The offense scored 11 offensive touchdowns in the first two weeks of the season but has scored just 11 offensive touchdowns since, according to ESPN Research. The defense is ranked 28th in the NFL in allowing 28.6 points per game and ranks last in the NFL in yards per play (6.4), yards per rush (5.5) and yards per game (406), according to ESPN Research. Allen spent the majority of his professional career in New Orleans. He was hired by Payton in 2006 as an assistant defensive line coach and was the secondary coach for the 2009 Super Bowl winning team. Allen left in 2011 for a one-year stint as the Broncos’ defensive coordinator but returned to New Orleans in 2015 after he was fired in Oakland. Allen took over for Rob Ryan as defensive coordinator during the 2015 season and remained in that position until he was promoted to head coach after Payton stepped away after the 2021 season. |
| AFC WEST |
| LAS VEGASAntonio Pierce responds to another loss by firing his OC (and two other key offensive assistants). Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal includes two pieces of information that work against Pierce in his report: Raiders coach Antonio Pierce promised changes after his team’s 41-24 loss to the Bengals on Sunday. He backed up his words with action. The Raiders (2-7) fired offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, offensive line coach James Cregg and quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello on Sunday night, hours after their fifth straight loss. The team’s offense has struggled all season. The Raiders are scoring 18.7 points per game, the seventh-fewest in the NFL. Their problems have included mediocre quarterback play, injuries, turnovers and instability along the offensive line. Getsy, Cregg and Scangarello, who were all in their first season with the Raiders, paid for the team’s performance with their jobs. Pass game coordinator Scott Turner could be in line to replace Getsy. The Raiders have a bye next week. They return in two weeks to face the Dolphins in Miami. Pierce said after the game Sunday he would use the week off to make changes. “That reset, it goes for all of us. It’s a group effort. It’s a team effort. We all have to find a way to get better,” Pierce said. Pierce, who was hired as the Raiders full-time coach in January, had autonomy when hiring his staff. Still, Getsy, Cregg and Scangarello lasted only halfway through the season. Pierce was initially expected to hire Kliff Kingsbury as his offensive coordinator in the offseason, but Kingsbury withdrew from consideration in February to take the same job with the Commanders. Getsy was hired soon after. Washington is scoring 29.2 points per game behind rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, the fourth-most in the NFL. The Raiders’ defense has played even worse than their offense. They allowed the ninth-fewest points in the NFL last season, but they’re giving up the fourth-most this year. Pierce said he will focus on that side of the ball as well during the bye week. “I’ve got a whole week to figure that out, but we’ve got to do that job as a staff,” Pierce said. “We had a high expectation for our defense, and obviously we’re not playing well.” Pierce is in no rush to name Scott Turner his play-caller though. Josh Alper ofProFootballTalk.com: All three coaches were hired by Pierce this offseason and he told reporters on a Monday video conference that it was “100 percent” his decision to part ways with the trio. Pierce also said that he has not settled on who will be calling offensive plays while answering a question about why he made the change. “Just performance, results and production,” Pierce said. “Just wasn’t heading in the direction I wanted it to go. I’ll use the next 24-to-48 hours to sit down with staff and figure out who’s gonna call the offense going forward.” The Raiders have a bye this week and Pierce said he and the staff will use that time to decide who starts at quarterback in Week 11. Gardner Minshew was benched in favor of Desmond Ridder in Sunday’s loss and was benched earlier in the season before returning to the lineup in the wake of Aidan O’Connell’s thumb injury. |
| AFC SOUTH |
| INDIANAPOLISThe magic of QB JOE FLACCO was missing Sunday night in Minneapolis against the blitz of Brian Flores. He will remain the Colts QB says Coach Shane Steichen with a qualifier. Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com: The Colts made a quarterback change heading into Sunday night’s game against the Vikings, but it did not have the desired effect. Joe Flacco was 16-of-27 for 179 yards and an interception as the Colts put up a season-low 227 yards and failed to score a touchdown in a 21-13 loss to the Vikings. That dismal outing came despite the defense forcing three turnovers and the Colts only picked up 13 first downs, which led to head coach Shane Steichen being asked if Flacco will remain the team’s starter and if he still thinks the veteran gives the team a better chance to win than Anthony Richardson. “Right now, yes,” Steichen said in response to both questions. The rationale for going from Richardson to Flacco was that the Colts are capable of making the playoffs and that Richardson’s inaccuracy was keeping them from reaching their peak offensive performance. A couple more performances like Sunday’s will make the playoffs look like a pipe dream for Indianapolis, though, so they’ll have to be much better at home against the Bills next weekend. |
| AFC EAST |
| MIAMIMiami nearly beat Buffalo in Buffalo. Nearly. Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com: The final score was closer than some of the Dolphins’ past games with the Bills, but the result was still the same. Bills kicker Tyler Bass’s 61-yard field goal at the buzzer gave Buffalo a 30-27 home win that moved them to 6-1 against their divisional foes since Mike McDaniel was hired as the head coach in Miami. The Dolphins had battled back to tie the game twice in the second half before Bass hit the game-winning kick and McDaniel tried to focus on the positives that can come out of the effort. “There’s no moral victories,” McDaniel said, via a transcript from the team. “We lost as a team, and you want all three phases to look at it like they could have been the reason that we won. But there is growth and you do make sure you emphasize that, because you want that to continue. You don’t want it to take a step back. . . . This will hurt, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad thing in the big picture. It just depends on what you do with it. I think the guys are motivated.” Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said, via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, that he thought the game showed “we are taking a step in the right direction,” but slow progress isn’t going to get it done at this point. The Dolphins are 2-6, which leaves them with a lot of ground to make up and no margin for error as they embark on the back half of their schedule. How many wins are on the rest of this Dolphins schedule if they play as they did in Buffalo? In our estimation, greens are games they should win if they are improved, reds are tough, black are tossups. 10 Nov 11 8:15 PM ET at Los Angeles Rams11 Nov 17 1:00 PM ET Las Vegas Raiders12 Nov 24 1:00 PM ET New England Patriots13 Nov 28 8:20 PM ET at Green Bay Packers14 Dec 8 1:00 PM ET New York Jets15 Dec 15 1:00 PM ET at Houston Texans16 Dec 22 4:25 PM ET San Francisco 49ers17 Dec 29 8:20 PM ET at Cleveland Browns18 Jan 5 TBD at New York Jets Maybe they can get to 9-8, maybe. |
| NEW ENGLANDMore good than bad for QB DRAKE MAYE in the OT loss to the Titans. Mike Reiss ofESPN.com: New England Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye delivered a dazzling play to send Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans into overtime with no time remaining in regulation, but he lamented throwing deep on an ill-advised interception that sealed a 20-17 road loss at Nissan Stadium. The dramatic ups and downs sparked feelings of promise and disappointment from Patriots players and coaches as they dropped to 2-7. “The guy’s special, man. The way he competes, the way he plays, the way he continues to fight,” veteran tight end Hunter Henry said of Maye, the No. 3 pick in the draft. “I’m proud of his fight. There is a lot to learn and we’re going to continue to build.” Maye capped off an 11-play, 50-yard touchdown drive at the end of regulation with a play in which he held the ball for 11.82 seconds as he zigzagged through the pocket waiting for a receiver to uncover. He then lofted a 5-yard pass while falling to the ground to running back Rhamondre Stevenson in the end zone with no time left on the clock. Since NFL Next Gen Stats tracking began in 2016, Maye’s effort is the second-longest time to throw on any touchdown pass (regular season or playoffs) behind only Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels’ Hail Mary in Week 8 to defeat the Chicago Bears (12.70 seconds). “That’s Drake. Nobody was surprised. Drake does stuff like that all the time,” cornerback Christian Gonzalez said. “He fought and did all he could.” Maye said he was trying to keep the play alive and credited Stevenson for his receiver-like effort before adding: “But we ended up coming short, so that play really doesn’t matter at this point.” A significant reason was Maye’s final decision of overtime. The Titans had gone ahead 20-17 after kicking a field goal, and the Patriots took over at their own 30 with 2:32 remaining, with Maye’s 11-yard scramble on second down advancing the ball to the 41. On first-and-10, Maye attempted a deep ball over the middle to receiver Kayshon Boutte that hung up in the air and was intercepted by safety Amani Hooker. “We were throwing into the wind and I have to put more on it. Just a dumb decision. Something you’d like to have back,” he said. “Especially in that situation — we could at least tie it up. Sometimes the best play is to throw it away.” Maye, who was cleared from concussion protocol on Saturday, was also intercepted early in the second quarter and strip-sacked in the fourth quarter on a play that gave the Titans a short field and led to a touchdown. He finished 29-of-41 for 206 yards, while adding 95 rushing yards on eight scrambles. The 95 rushing yards were the second most by a Patriots quarterback since 1976 behind only Steve Grogan (103). “If they’re dropping out guys and there are some rush lanes up front, I’m going to make them pay. That’s my mindset,” Maye said. Patriots coach Jerod Mayo credited Maye’s mental toughness and ability to make plays via the run, before noting how the game ended. “He’s a guy out there trying to make a play. I think sometimes as well as he has played, we forget how young he is,” Mayo said of the 22-year-old Maye. “He’s going to continue to develop, and he’ll be a good quarterback in this league. We’ll all learn from this, myself included.” |
