If The Season Ended Today In The NFC:

                                               W-L               Conf

 1  Philadelphia        East        8-1                   6-0

 2  Detroit                 North      6-2                   4-1

 5  San Francisco    West       5-3                   4-1

 4  New Orleans      South      5-4                   2-2

 5  Seattle                WC1       5-3                   4-1

 6  Dallas                 WC2      5-3                    2-3

 7  Minnesota          WC3       5-4                   5-2

 8  Atlanta                              4-5                    3-2

 9 Washington                       4-5                    2-4

Two new division leaders as San Francisco moves back into the NFC West top spot while on bye as Seattle crashes and burns in Baltimore.

The Saints are the third different leader in the NFC South since Week 6.

– – –

All that Flex power, all these bad games, and:

@NerdingonNFL

#Vikings at #Broncos will be remaining on Sunday Night Football for Week 11

Still no primetime flexes so far this season…

Will that change in Week 12, with a Thanksgiving flex and date change?

@NerdingonNFL

Monday Night Football is flexible for the first time in Week 12, which is scheduled to be #Bears at #Vikings

This will be the NFL’s best opportunity to get the #Texans in a primetime game this season as they’re set to host the #Jaguars

NFC NORTH

MINNESOTA

Peter King with a good recap of the crazy timeline of QB JOSHUA DOBBS:

On Josh Dobbs

The last 11 months of an itinerant quarterback:

Dec. 20, 2022. Dobbs, on the Detroit practice squad, got a call from agent Mike McCartney. Tennessee had an injury to quarterback Ryan Tannehill and interim GM Ryan Cowden needed a QB to pair with rookie Malik Willis. Cowden watched enough tape to know he wanted Dobbs, who jumped at the chance. Tennessee signed him off the Detroit practice squad.

Dec. 29, 2022. After eight days in the Titans’ building, Dobbs started the last two regular-season games against Dallas and Jacksonville, losing both.

March 23, 2023. In free agency, Dobbs signed with Cleveland, picking the Browns over Tennessee.

Aug. 24, 2023. The Browns traded Dobbs to Arizona, where the new regime of Jonathan Gannon did not feel great about Colt McCoy and David Blough holding the fort till Kyler Murray returned from a torn ACL.

Sept. 10, 2023. Seventeen days after arriving with the Cardinals, Dobbs started at Washington. In week three, he won the first game of his starting career. He retained the starting job until the morning of …

Oct. 30, 2023. Gannon said at his post-game press conference Sunday Dobbs would remain the starter. But he had a change of heart. He called in Dobbs and said he was making a change, but Dobbs would remain with the team through the trade deadline. Good, thought Dobbs; my furniture just got here from Cleveland, and I’ve just moved into a new home.

Oct. 31, 2023. “Better have one bag packed, just in case,” McCartney told Dobbs early in the day. Good thing. The Cards traded Dobbs to QB-desperate Minnesota after the injury to Kirk Cousins. Dobbs made a 5 p.m. nonstop flight to Minneapolis, leaving his furniture, again, behind.

Nov. 1, 2023. Wednesday. First day of the work week. Dobbs reported, took a physical, started getting a crash course with the offense, and got ready to back up rookie Jaren Hall, set to make his first start in Atlanta over the weekend. This would be a week for studying, for learning a new offense, for helping Hall get through his first big NFL test.

Nov. 5, 2023. Strange day all around. Dobbs was back in his hometown of Atlanta, just down the street from his days as an Alpharetta High quarterback. “I looked over and saw the guys on the chain gang,” he said later. “They used to officiate my high school games.” Eleven plays into the game, Hall got concussed. “They told me don’t get hurt, because I’m the only quarterback,” Dobbs said. His first series ended in a safety, the second in a lost strip-sack. He hadn’t taken one snap with the first unit, and was so ill-equipped to play anything more than emergency duty that he practiced the cadence and snap with center Garrett Bradbury between series. In the final two minutes, he led the Vikings 75 yards to the winning touchdown, throwing the decisive TD pass to Brandon Powell with 22 seconds left. Vikes 31, Falcons 28. In the locker room after the game, head coach Kevin O’Connell gave Dobbs a game ball. His new teammates, some of whom he hadn’t met yet, lifted him on their shoulders in celebration.

Five teams, 45 weeks.

“I told [McCartney], this should be a book, or a movie,” Dobbs said an hour after the most unlikely win of this NFL season. “But who’d believe it?”

On Monday, Coach Kevin O’Connell said that QB JAREN HALL remains in the concussion protocol – and that RB CAM AKERS suffered a torn Achilles and is done for the year.

NFC EAST

NEW YORK GIANTS

With QB TOMMY DeVITO as the best option now that QB DANIEL JONES is done, the Giants season is only likely to further spiral into oblivion.  Myles Simmons ofProFootballTalk.com:

The Giants’ fears have been confirmed.

Head coach Brian Daboll said in his Monday press conference that an MRI revealed quarterback Daniel Jones suffered a torn ACL during Sunday’s loss to the Raiders. Jones is now out for the rest of the 2023 season.

With backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor also on injured reserve with a rib issue, Tommy DeVito is expected to take over as the Giants’ starting quarterback. Daboll mentioned that he and G.M. Joe Schoen will talk later on Monday to evaluate the position room.

But there is no guarantee Taylor will be able to return from IR. So it could be DeVito’s job for several weeks.

In his fifth season, Jones completed 67.5 percent of his passes for 909 yards with two touchdowns and six interceptions. He rushed for 206 yards with a touchdown. In six games, Jones was sacked 30 times — taking one on 15.8 percent of his dropbacks.

DeVito has completed 17-of-27 passes in two games for 174 yards with a touchdown and two picks.

New York also has Matt Barkley on its practice squad.

The Giants will play their second of two games against the Cowboys this season in Week 10.

Two words popped into the DB’s head as we read this: Carson Wentz.

How far, and why, has Wentz fallen…

Jimmy Hascup of NJ.com wondered the same thing last week –

The Giants saw what disaster looked like Sunday against the Jets: rookie Tommy DeVito under center after Tyrod Taylor’s injury, completing 2 of 7 passes for minus-1 yards in a 13-10 overtime loss.

In all likelihood, they don’t want to witness that again — even if it seems like Daniel Jones, who has been cleared for contact, will return to the Week 9 lineup against the Raiders. Taylor was released from the hospital Monday afternoon after sustaining a rib cage injury, making him a longshot to play this week. That means DeVito is currently the backup unless the Giants sign a veteran this week.

Daboll told reporters Monday, “That’s definitely a possibility,” when asked if the Giants will add a quarterback.

We’ll help him out. Here are some of the options to consider:

Carson Wentz: The 30-year-old may technically be one of the best available, but he wants to start. Wentz, a 2016 first-round pick of the Eagles, flopped in Philadelphia, Indianapolis and Washington with his last two stops trading him after one season. He has a career 46-45-1 record with 151 touchdowns, 66 touchdowns and 22,129 yards, and his 2022 ended with Washington after eight games (seven starts, 2-5 record) and 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He reportedly reached out to the Jets when Aaron Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles tendon.

Colt McCoy: He could be a good fit. He played two years with the Arizona Cardinals from 2021-22, but he was surprisingly cut at the end of training camp. According to ESPN’s Field Yates, the Minnesota Vikings worked McCoy out on Oct. 10. His previous experience with the Giants is a plus. In 2020, he sat behind Daniel Jones. In five starts, Jones has not lived up to the four-year, $160 million extension the Giants gave him this offseason. Maybe having McCoy around can help Jones get back on track.

Matt Barkley: From 2018-20, Barkley played eight games for the Buffalo Bills with Giants coach Brian Daboll as his offensive coordinator. Before Week 7, the 33-year-old quarterback worked out for New York. Barkley was cut by the Bills during training camp after spending 2022 on their practice squad. The 2013 fourth-rounder has a 2-5 career record. Barkley’s familiarity with Daboll could help because he will understand the playbook.

Ian Book: A fourth-round pick of the Saints in 2021, Book worked out for the Giants in mid-October amid Jones’ neck injury. The 25-year-old has played in one game, going 12 of 20 passing for 135 yards and two interceptions in a loss.

Matt Ryan: The four-time Pro Bowler is a studio and game analyst for CBS Sports and has not said he is done playing in the NFL. His agent also reportedly reached out to the Jets after Rodgers’ injury, but Ryan said he had “no interest in doing that right now.” He has 62,792 yards passing, 381 touchdowns and 183 interceptions in his 15-year career.

PHILADELPHIA

Albert Breer of SI.com says the Eagles are a powerhouse built for the long run.

The Eagles’ win over the Cowboys was yet another example of how to build a winning team the right way. I’m sure people will look at another blood-and-guts effort from Jalen Hurts, or A.J. Brown’s continuing to produce (though he fell below 125 yards for the first time since Week 2), or at some of the timely plays a resourceful Eagles secondary made Sunday, and tell the story of Philly’s 28–23 win over Dallas through that prism.

Rightfully so. All those factors played into Sunday’s drama.

But to me, and the Eagles themselves, none loomed larger than the core of how this Philly team, and so many of its predecessors, was put together: Every element of that build starts at the line of scrimmage.

“I love the way [GM] Howie [Rosemen] put together this team,” 14th-year defensive end Brandon Graham told me postgame. “The biggest thing is keeping us healthy, keeping the rotation good and keeping us fresh as we go, especially as a D-line because our rotation is big. We got people that could be starters other places that are coming off the bench. That’s what I love. We got a bunch of hungry guys, especially me, enjoying my role that I know that every rep counts when I’m out there.

“I’m just thankful for that and appreciative of whenever I’m in, I’m always trying to make it count. That’s what I talk about with [rookie] Nolan [Smith], with me and him being together—just make it count.”

Sure enough, a lot of guys on that deep defensive front made it count at the wire Sunday.

First, there was the stand at the beginning of the fourth quarter, with the Eagles’ getting four straight stops in a goal-to-go situation, with pressure on Dak Prescott forcing the throw to Luke Schoonmaker a bit outside, which had the tight end lunging for the ball and leaving him unable to flash it past the goal line (Reed Blankenship rode him to the the ground just shy).

Then, an in-game adjustment paid dividends. Graham had noticed the Cowboys were doing what the Packers used to with Aaron Rodgers, in getting Jalen Hurts to more aggressively climb the pocket, and get through the B gaps to use Philly’s aggression against the Eagles. So he started doubling back inside on his rush to catch Prescott before he could get away.

The sacks would follow. After a Dallas score cut the Philly lead to 28–23, the Eagles got two in a row—the first by Graham, the second split between Graham and Jalen Carter—to put Dallas in third-and-21 and ultimately set the stage for a turnover on downs. Which, to the dean of the Eagles’ roster, reflected how his unit is working together.

“It was just more about trust that we have for each other, the respect that we have to be able to talk to each other in pressure moments where things aren’t going so right, but we just need somebody to make a play and calm people down,” Graham says. “It’s so much stuff that goes into it. Some people can be frustrated with other guys’ not doing their job. We don’t do that. If we do, the person that is going off, check yourself. It can’t be perfect.”

But it was when it needed to be, and on this night that juncture came with 27 seconds showing, and the ball on the Eagles’ 11. Josh Sweat came screaming off the left edge and right tackle Terence Steele, riding up on a player he knew was trying to push him past the quarterback, then bending and closing on Prescott.

“For Sweat to come out, he just seen me do it, he went to that side on Steele and, boy, you get smart matchups,” Graham says. “He knew that he only had so many seconds before Dak got rid of it. I think it was just cool to see him make his play. I just know as a D-line, it’s about us rushing together, rushing cohesive.”

And it’s about the Eagles’ being loaded there like they are on the offensive line, which is the basis for how Roseman’s put the whole thing together for years.

So go ahead and fawn over the receivers or DBs all you want.

Sunday showed, again, where the foundation for this 8–1 powerhouse is laid—and why the team will remain a powerhouse for the foreseeable future.

– – –

The Eagles will be without TE DALLAS GOEDDERT for a spell.  Tim McManus ofESPN.com:

Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert has a fracture in his right forearm and will undergo an MRI on Monday to determine if there is any further damage, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Either way, Goedert is set to miss time and is an injured reserve candidate.

Goedert was injured in the third quarter of Sunday’s 28-23 win over the Dallas Cowboys, when he took a short pass from quarterback Jalen Hurts and raced up the left sideline for a 28-yard gain. Safety Markquese Bell grabbed Goedert by the right arm to make the tackle and his weight appeared to land on that arm as they fell to the ground.

Goedert exited and did not return, finishing with three catches for 50 yards. Jack Stoll received the bulk of the reps in Goedert’s absence, while Albert Okwuegbunam, acquired from the Denver Broncos via trade in August, made his Eagles debut and played six snaps.

Grant Calcaterra was also sidelined Sunday after suffering a concussion in Week 9 against the Washington Commanders.

NFC SOUTH

ATLANTA

QB TAYLOR HEINICKE is promised at least one more start.  Nick Shook of NFL.com:

Taylor Heinicke provided the Atlanta Falcons with the spark they desperately needed in Week 9. Despite the loss, he’s earned the right to lead the offense again in Week 10.

Heinicke will start at quarterback against Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Falcons coach Arthur Smith announced on Monday, adding he and his staff will re-evaluate the position during the team’s Week 11 bye week.

Heinicke earned the starting job in Week 9 after performing better than Desmond Ridder in relief of the second-year signal-caller in Week 8, and nearly led the Falcons to a home win over Minnesota before backup Josh Dobbs pulled off an unlikely comeback at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Heinicke completed 21 of 38 passes for 268 yards and one touchdown, while rushing three times for 20 additional yards on the ground.

His lone significant mistake — an ugly interception thrown late in the third quarter — led to a pivotal 31-yard field goal converted by Vikings kicker Greg Joseph, giving Minnesota a three-point lead that proved to be important when Dobbs threw a go-ahead touchdown pass with 22 seconds remaining to push Minnesota past Atlanta.

Otherwise, Heinicke served as an upgrade over the inconsistent Ridder, providing the Falcons with some offensive juice and attitude in a hotly contested game between two 4-4 clubs. Because of Heinicke’s performance, Smith feels comfortable enough to proceed with the veteran as his starter for at least this weekend as the Falcons near a potential crossroads in their 2023 season.

TAMPA BAY

The mood in Tampa from Pewter Report (which sometimes seems to know what the high level of Buccaneers management is thinking):

@PewterReport

#Bucs head coach Todd Bowles is firmly on the hot seat.

This loss alone is a fireable offense.

Four straight losses as #GoBucs slide to 3-5 on the season.

This team appears to be going nowhere.

NFC WEST

ARIZONA

Even as the disposed of QB JOSHUA DOBB turned in an incredible performance for the Vikings, the Cardinals are said to be “rallying around” rookie QB CLAYTON TUNE despite his off-key opening act.  Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com:

About 30 minutes after his first NFL start had ended, rookie quarterback Clayton Tune stood in the corner of the visitor’s locker room deep underneath Cleveland Browns Stadium with cameras in his face and his every word recorded.

For one NFL Sunday, at least, Tune was the Arizona Cardinals’ guy. And this was part of the job.

Over the next five minutes, Tune was asked about the Cardinals’ historic 27-0 loss and wasn’t fazed. He was, as his teammates described last week, cool, calm and collected — despite the Cardinals’ 58 offensive yards being the fewest by the franchise since Dec. 4, 1955.

Sunday could also end up being the only time Tune is in the spotlight like that this season.

With Kyler Murray’s 21-day window to be activated to the 53-man roster set to close on Wednesday, Tune could potentially be one-and-done as a starter. There are three options for Murray: Get activated and play next Sunday against the Falcons, get activated and be added to the 53-man roster but not play, or he’s not activated and his season is over.

After the game, coach Jonathan Gannon was asked if Murray is set to return from the right ACL injury he suffered in December.

“I’m not thinking about that right now,” Gannon said.

And Tune didn’t know if he would get a chance next weekend.

“We’ll see,” he said. “Just go back, watch the tape, learn from it and, and assess and show up ready to work.”

The tape, however, won’t be pretty.

Tune’s first start came against one of the best defenses in football and the Browns lived up to the billing. They sacked Tune seven times and intercepted him twice. He also lost a fumble. Tune finished with 58 passing yards on 11-of-20 passing, but his seven sacks accounted for 41 lost yards. The Cardinals were also shut out for the first time since 2018.

“Give Cleveland credit,” Gannon said, “but, you lose the takeaway battle, you lose the explosive play battle, we get outscored by however many yards we got outscored by, you’re not gonna win.”

Tune was admittedly frustrated by the inability to get anything going and was also disappointed in the outcome. He shouldered the blame but half of his 20 throws were out in less than 2.5 seconds.

Not getting into a rhythm took a toll and whenever the Cardinals got something going, a penalty or a turnover curbed the progress.

“It looked like the pocket was breaking down,” Gannon said. “I gotta watch the tape, but it looked like his pocket was breaking down. When you get in a known pass against a really good defense, like they are, you’re swimming upstream.”

Added Gannon: “We couldn’t run it, couldn’t protect, couldn’t throw it. So, a lot of things you get cleaned up from [this] staff.

The run game took little off Tune’s plate. It accounted for just 41 total yards — with 28 coming from Tune. The other rushers — Keaontay Ingram, Rondale Moore and Tony Jones Jr. — had just 13 yards on the ground. However, they barely had time to run. On 21 of Arizona’s carries — five of which were by Tune — ball carriers were hit at or behind the line of scrimmage 11 times.

“Some of that’s on me, as well,” Tune said. “I gotta get the ball out quicker, I gotta find guys quicker. So, I don’t put that on other people. I’m gonna look at myself in the mirror first before I assess anything. I just gotta get the ball out a little quicker.”

Despite the numbers, despite the result and despite him taking the blame, Tune’s teammates walked away from Sunday impressed with how the rookie handled such a rough go.

“I thought for the circumstance that he was thrown into, I thought Clayton played really well,” tight end Trey McBride said.

Tune “fought his ass off,” left tackle D.J. Humphries said.

Tune’s leadership didn’t go unnoticed.

Wide receiver Marquise Brown believes Tune will “bounce back” whenever (or if) he gets another shot.

“I feel like he was good,” Brown said. “Like, he knew he made a mistake, he came to us. He’s not running from it, he’s not hiding from it and I respect him.”

AFC WEST

KANSAS CITY

The Chiefs owned the Dolphins in Germany – on and off the field, per Peter King:

Friday night, coach Andy Reid went to dinner with his wife Tammy in the city. He told his security guy he didn’t need an escort. But the security guy went. When they walked into the restaurant, Reid looked around. All red. “All our fans,” he said. “Amazing.”

During the week, the city was awash in red, and Kansas City fans outnumbered Miami maybe 80-20. On gameday, when the PA announcer said, “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome head coach Mike McDaniel and the Miami Dolphins,” the reaction was cacophonous.

“Boooooooooooo!”

And at the end of the U.S. National Anthem, as is the Arrowhead custom, the singer was drowned out when she sang, “The land of the free, and the home … of the …

“CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEFFFFS!”

“Electric the whole game,” said KC’s Edwards. “Felt like a playoff game. Whole Germany is crazy.”

“It felt like we picked up Arrowhead and dropped it over here in Frankfurt,” receiver Justin Watson said. That is precisely what Clark Hunt and Mark Donovan want to build here.

LAS VEGAS

For now, the mood in Vegas is great.  And at 4-5, they aren’t that far out of it.  Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com:

Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell got his first win as a starter and Antonio Pierce got his first win as interim head coach on Sunday, and afterward O’Connell credited Pierce for the leadership he showed since being installed as head coach during the week.

“He did a great job,” O’Connell said of Pierce. “It was a hard situation, a short week, an unfortunate situation that he took full advantage of. He’s a guy with strong convictions and you can feel his intensity when he talks. Guys believe in him and we just, all around, offense, defense, special teams, did a really good job executing.”

The firing of Josh McDaniels seems to have fired up the Raiders’ players. They’re excited to play for Pierce, who developed a reputation during his playing days as a well-respected team leader and seems to be the same way as a coach.

Of course, it helped that the Raiders were playing against an awful Giants team that was down to its third-string quarterback. The Raiders’ schedule gets a whole lot tougher the rest of he way, with five games remaining against teams with winning records, and Pierce and O’Connell have their work cut out for them.

We are hearing that on his final Thursday as Raiders coach, Josh McDaniels asked Antonio Pierce to speak to the team, then got annoyed for the most petty of reasons.  Christian Arnold of the New York Post reporting on Jay Glazer’s Sunday FOX scoopage:

The more that has come out about the Thursday meeting held just days before Josh McDaniels was fired as Las Vegas Raiders head coach, the more it paints a picture of a team and head coach that was disconnected.

But now an exchange between McDaniels and the man who would replace him, Antonio Pierce, is adding another layer to that airing-of-the-grievances session.

Fox NFL insider Jay Glazer reported on Sunday afternoon that McDaniels took exception to a comment made by Pierce during that meeting.

Pierce had gotten up to speak on behalf of McDaniels and the coaching staff when he started talking about the need for the Raiders to have their own culture.

He used his experience as a member of the Giants the season they won the Super Bowl in 2007-08 as an example.

“He brought up the old Giants team that beat the [New England Patriots], Josh McDaniels’ team, in the Super Bowl in the 2007 season,” Glazer reported. “He said, ‘no matter who we played, we thought we could beat them. We had a game plan where we could beat them. We had to believe that and that’s not here.

“‘We have to believe that at the Raiders, we can beat anybody.’ He finishes up that speech, everyone thinks they’re great except for Josh McDaniels.”

The comments, according to Glazer, did not sit well with the then-head coach and he took Pierce aside to address them.

“Josh McDaniels then goes over to him and says, ‘don’t ever talk about the Patriots like that,’” Glazer continued. “And then you really saw how divided that building got. That got up to Mark Davis and I think Mark Davis looked at it and went, ‘OK, I’m gonna choose the guy who believes that we can win every single week.’”

Glazer did indicate that Pierce has a shot to win the coaching job in Sin City.

Davis replaced McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler on Halloween night.

That Thursday meeting continues to play an important part of the story of how Davis reached the decision to finally make a change.

Earlier on Sunday, it had been reported that McDaniels did not take the comments made in the meeting well and had seemed to check out at practice hours later.

The Raiders then gave a listless effort against the Detroit Lions on “Monday Night Football,” which seemed to be the final straw for team ownership.

– – –

Who realized that Mike Newquist, once a mid-level exec for the Buccaneers, was the CEO of the Raiders?  With the operative word being “was”.

Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com:

Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler aren’t the only two key employees to recently leave the Raiders.

Via Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Raiders and COO Mike Newquist have “parted ways.” The subheadline of the article is a bit stronger and more definitive, explaining the COO was “fired.” Also, the article characterizes the move in the next paragraph as a “dismissal.”

Newquist just arrived in August. No reason was provided for the move.

While not directly connected to the football operation, it’s just another sign of the dysfunction that has happened on the watch of owner Mark Davis. Whatever the reason, the hiring and apparent firing of such a key employee so quickly is not normal behavior.

For the Raiders under Davis, this kind of stuff has become far from abnormal.

AFC NORTH

BALTIMORE

Albert Breer points out that the Ravens have beaten two of the NFC’s best badly, very badly:

To me, the Ravens have the two best wins of the season. And that’s not just about who they came against—though the fact that they were over the Lions and Seahawks counts for plenty. It’s also about just how thorough the beatings were, the former coming by a 38–6 final, while the latter was 37–3, with both of Baltimore’s opponents being bludgeoned to the point where the games were never really competitive.

Oh, and the other thing about all this? The Ravens seem to be well aware you’re not talking about them, despite just how they’ve arrived at 7–2 through nine games.

“Honestly, man, as I think about it, we just playing our style,” linebacker Roquan Smith, traded to Baltimore a year ago last week, told me. “And I feel like when we play our style and we’re at home, we’re very hard to move the ball on. Last week with Arizona, we didn’t play to our standard, we felt like, as a defense. So we was definitely pissed off coming into this week, and just knowing how people were saying Seahawks this, Seahawks that—we take those things personal.

“And at the end of the day, we just knew if we come out and play our style, that it’s gonna be very hard for that team to move the ball on our defense.”

The Ravens’ style Sunday looked very similar to how a lot of dominant Baltimore teams have played over the years, and, again, how it looked two Sundays ago against Detroit, too. Consider:

• In Baltimore’s 38–6 win over Detroit, the Ravens outgained the Lions 503 to 337, and had 23 first downs to their visitors’ 18. But the counts were 459 to 215 and 21 to 10 at the end of the third quarter. The score at that point was 35–0. The Ravens’ first punt in the game came after Baltimore got that five-touchdown lead.

• On Sunday, it was even more lopsided. The 34-point win over Seattle was highlighted by a 515 to 151 edge in yards and a 29 to six advantage in first downs. The Ravens also had over 40 minutes of possession, and rushed for 298 of their yards, at a 7.3 yards per carry clip.

And, if you hear Smith tell the story of it, what happened in between those two games was a factor, too.

Yes, the Ravens won last week in Arizona. But, according to Smith, “We didn’t play to our standard.” Mostly, he continued, the fourth quarter was the problem—Baltimore led 24–7 with less than 10 minutes left, before allowing twin 75-yard touchdown drives, then a late field goal that made it a one-score game with 26 seconds left.

We would say that San Francisco over the Cowboys was a similar win, except the 49ers have tumbled since.

CLEVELAND

The Browns now will be without both their starting tackles.  Jake Trotter of ESPN.com:

Cleveland Browns left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. will go on injured reserve with an MCL injury in his right knee, coach Kevin Stefanski said Monday.

Stefanski said the injury would not end Wills’ season. The IR designation means he will miss at least four games, so the soonest he could be eligible to return would be Week 14 against Jacksonville.

Wills was carted off the field in the third quarter of Sunday’s 27-0 win over the Arizona Cardinals.

He suffered the injury as running back Kareem Hunt was tackled into the back of Wills’ knee on a running play.

Wills, who has 53 career starts with the Browns, had an air cast placed on the knee and was immediately ruled out of the game.

The Browns are already without starting right tackle Jack Conklin, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 1.

Stefanski said that either James Hudson III or rookie Dawand Jones will take over for Wills at left tackle. Jones has started for Conklin all year. Hudson, who replaced Wills on Sunday, has seven career starts at the tackle spots.

Wills was the 10th overall pick in the 2020 draft. In May, the Browns picked up the fifth-year option on his rookie contract, guaranteeing his base salary of $14.175 million for the 2024 season.

AFC SOUTH

HOUSTON

Mike Sando drops some crazy odds that QB C.J. STROUD overcame on Sunday as he names him his midseason NFL Rookie of the Year:

Offensive Rookie of the Year: C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans. His five-touchdown performance during a 39-37 victory against Tampa Bay pushed him past Los Angeles Rams receiver Puka Nacua at the midpoint. Nacua has been the more consistent producer; he trails only Hill and Brown in receiving yards. Stroud has the Texans at 4-4 and filled with hope.

When Stroud and the Texans took possession for the final time Sunday, they trailed Tampa Bay 37-33 with 46 seconds remaining. Seventy-five yards separated them from the end zone. Stroud completed all five pass attempts (minus one spike) for 75 yards and the winning touchdown to Tank Dell.

Teams in similar situations — needing a touchdown to tie or win, having at least 75 yards to go, having 30-60 seconds left in regulation — lose almost every time. The Texans were in better shape than most, having preserved two timeouts. Still, the odds against them were steep.

Since 2000, teams facing that situation had been 0-74 with fewer than two timeouts and 2-20 otherwise, per TruMedia. Stroud helped Houston claim the third victory from those dire circumstances (teams with less than 30 seconds were 0-130).

Houston won despite finishing the game minus-15.6 EPA on defense and special teams, worst in the league for Week 9. Since 2000, teams finishing games with between minus-17 and minus-14 combined EPA on defense and special teams have won just 18 percent of the time (95-432-3). Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Patrick Mahomes and Philip Rivers account for 28 of the 95 victories since 2000.

More from Adam Schefter:

@AdamSchefter

What CJ Stroud accomplished Sunday:

🏈His 147.8 passer rating is the highest single-game passer rating by a rookie quarterback (minimum 30 attempts) in NFL history.

🏈His 470 passing yards are the most passing yards by a rookie in a game in NFL history.

🏈Became the youngest player ever with at least 450 passing yards in a game.

🏈Became just sixth player in NFL history to record at least 450 passing yards and five touchdown passes with no interceptions in a game.

AFC EAST

MIAMI

Despite the loss in Frankfurt, Mike Sando of The Athletic gives his midseason Coach of the Year honors to Mike McDaniel:

Mike McDaniel is my Coach of the (Half) Year, edging out Dan Campbell and John Harbaugh.

My choice:

Mike McDaniel, Miami Dolphins: McDaniel is sure to celebrate his selection here the way he celebrated his team setting an NFL record for yards through five games.

“Mission accomplished,” McDaniel joked then. “We had the whole time, the whole off-season, that was our goal, was output after five games.”

The Dolphins are 0-3 against the only contenders they’ve faced, falling 48-20 to Buffalo, 31-17 to Philadelphia and 21-14 to Kansas City on Sunday. That doesn’t disqualify McDaniel here because he’s done such a great job leveraging his personnel to get record-setting production from an accurate but limited quarterback.

“The offensive numbers and production speak for themselves,” a defensive coach from another team said. “He is calling the offense, he is designing the offense, he’s creating the motions we haven’t seen in the NFL before. They look Canadian to us.”

The Dolphins have great speed at wide receiver, but without McDaniel scheming open those players with creative motions, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa would have a harder time delivering the ball on time. Tagovailoa’s limitations become obvious when opponents disrupt that timing. That is why coaches and execs voted Tagovailoa into Tier 3 before the season.

“Mike does an outstanding job in terms of schematics and looks and optics of things,” another defensive coach said. “It allows Tua to play fast, and Tyreek has space to run his routes. People can’t just roll to him all the time. He doesn’t just have to be a vertical guy or catch shallows and catch-and-runs. He can do it all. The offense showcases all that for him.”

McDaniel’s humility serves him well. Hiring senior assistants can feel threatening for younger coaches, but not McDaniel. He embraced adding defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who was calling defensive plays before McDaniel was born.

“To me, McDaniel is the smartest man in the room, but won’t let you think he thinks it,” an exec said.

Close behind:

Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions: The Lions are playing with expectations for the first time and are living up to them. The team and city have embraced Cambpell’s leadership, reviving a dormant franchise. The Lions are minus-1,000 favorites to win the NFC North and return to the playoffs, a major accomplishment for the franchise.

“Campbell gets credit for overcoming the perception of him from ‘Hard Knocks’ a year ago and believing in his methods,” a team exec said.

Campbell’s candidacy is a continuation from last season when he overcame a 1-6 start. His staff management over the past couple seasons — promoting Ben Johnson to offensive coordinator, staying the course with Aaron Glenn on defense, making an in-season change of the defensive backs coach — seem to have been the right ones.

“These were great moves,” a rival coach said. “He makes sure his vision for playing style is fulfilled, but he is not just old-school Bill Parcells. They are one of the more aggressive fourth-down teams, for example. It’s a nice combination.”

John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens: There were times last offseason when it seemed possible Harbaugh had reached his shelf life in Baltimore, which can happen to even the best coaches after so many years in one place. His quarterback was estranged, he was installing a new offense and his team hadn’t advanced past the divisional round since the 2012 season.

The potential for implosion was there. Instead, the Ravens are 7-2 after hammering Seattle 37-3 in Week 9. They rank eighth in offensive EPA per play while establishing a new identity with increased use of three wide receivers and more measured usage of Lamar Jackson as a runner. The defense ranks second in EPA per play. It has allowed nine touchdowns through nine games, matching the historic 2000 Ravens defense.

“I think it’s interesting that two of the three coaches here (Harbaugh and Campbell) do not call plays,” a veteran coach noted. “So much goes into the game plan, in-game decisions and everything else that you really have to be a top coach to do it all effectively.”

NEW YORK JETS

The Jets are staying above water thanks to an outstanding draft class in 2022 says Rich Cimini of ESPN.com:

Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert has a fracture in his right forearm and will undergo an MRI on Monday to determine if there is any further damage, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Either way, Goedert is set to miss time and is an injured reserve candidate.

Goedert was injured in the third quarter of Sunday’s 28-23 win over the Dallas Cowboys, when he took a short pass from quarterback Jalen Hurts and raced up the left sideline for a 28-yard gain. Safety Markquese Bell grabbed Goedert by the right arm to make the tackle and his weight appeared to land on that arm as they fell to the ground.

Goedert exited and did not return, finishing with three catches for 50 yards. Jack Stoll received the bulk of the reps in Goedert’s absence, while Albert Okwuegbunam, acquired from the Denver Broncos via trade in August, made his Eagles debut and played six snaps.

Grant Calcaterra was also sidelined Sunday after suffering a concussion in Week 9 against the Washington Commanders.

THIS AND THAT

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

While teams are not rushing to take part in “Hard Knocks”, Peter King reports they are volunteering to play internationally.  The sky seems to be the limit for the number of International Game.  He’s chock full of info and rumors:

On Overseas Football

What I’ve picked up on the state of the NFL game outside the United States:

Carolina on deck in Munich. Germany will host one game next year, and it figures to be the Panthers—the only one of the four original NFL teams to declare Germany as a global-rights country that hasn’t been scheduled for a game here—giving up one of six non-division games in Charlotte. Dallas and Kansas City are on the Panthers’ home slate but seem unlikely to play here next year; Carolina wouldn’t want to give up a Cowboys or KC home game. That’d leave the Giants, Chargers, or the NFC West or AFC North foes who finish in a like place to Carolina in the ’23 standings. I went to a Panthers-sponsored cornhole tournament with Steve Smith in the house on Saturday, and the fans there believe they’re the chosen team for Munich next fall.

Five international games next year, and rising. Three in London (two at Tottenham, the Jags at Wembley), one in Munich, and one either in Brazil or Spain—to be determined within the next two months. NFL VP/international Peter O’Reilly told me Saturday that “2025 could be where we might go beyond” the current structure of five outside the U.S. The change has come because the NFL no longer has to twist arms to find teams willing to play a home game outside the country, and it’s a rule now that every team has to play one home game every eight years internationally. “Now,” O’Reilly said, “it is very much teams raising their hands. There’s a reason that the Chiefs and the Patriots are the two designated teams these next two weeks, and that’s based on they have rights here. They raised their hands and said, ‘We want to be over there in Germany.’” (O’Reilly appears on The Peter King Podcast this week. It drops Tuesday by 6 p.m.)

Gut feeling about the future. Spain and Brazil in the next two years, Paris in 2025 or beyond, and Dublin at some point soon. The Steelers would like to play a designated home game there at some point soon and would likely have nine home games in 2025 and 2027. Significant rumors here about Spain being the game site for 2024, likely with the Bears as home team. But stadia in Brazil—after the World Cup and the Olympics in the country in the past seven years—are a bit better, and that could be a factor as well.

Australia? Yes. Lots of interest there—the Rams and Eagles have global-market rights to Australia and New Zealand. Because of the arduous road there (it’s a 15-hour flight from L.A.), a mid-season game would be challenging. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the NFL play a week-one game in Australia at mid-day on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday, perhaps moving the Super Bowl champ to the Sunday night opener. As far as timing, a September game played at noon on Friday would air live in the U.S. at 9 p.m. ET Thursday. Different, but doable.

The Kansas City interest. Clark Hunt took over as the franchise owner in 2006, after the death of his father and team founder Lamar Hunt. Clark Hunt relayed a 49-year-old story to me Saturday night about Germany, and his father’s love of international sport. “In 1974,” Hunt said, “I was 9 years old and we attended the World Cup here in Germany. The first game I saw at the World Cup was in the stadium we’ll play in tomorrow. My dad would be really excited that we’re playing here in Frankfurt this weekend.”

2024 DRAFT

Albert Breer on the current state of the draft order:

The race for the No. 1 pick is beginning to coalesce. Thanks to Tankathon.com, we have a pretty cool resource out there that does the tiebreakers for us year-round and tells us who’d be drafting where if the season ended today.

So here’s what we’re looking at through Sunday night …

1. Cardinals: 1–8

2. Bears (from Panthers): 1–7

3. Bears: 2–7

4. Giants: 2–7

5. Patriots: 2–7

6. Rams: 3–6

7. Packers: 3–5

8. Buccaneers: 3–5

9. Broncos: 3–5

10. Titans: 3–5

As of right now, I’d give USC QB Caleb Williams to Arizona at No. 1, North Carolina QB Drake Maye and Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr. to the Bears at Nos. 2 and 3, Alabama pass rusher Dallas Turner to the Giants at No. 4, and Penn State OT Olu Fashanu to the Patriots at No. 5.

That said, as we’ve written, there were six quarterbacks who were raised to me by scouts as having a shot, outside or not, of making it into the first round, apart from Williams and Maye—Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., Oregon’s Bo Nix, Texas’ Quinn Ewers, Duke’s Riley Leonard and Colorado’s Shadeur Sanders. And with the benefit of a couple more recent conversations, I’d throw LSU’s Jayden Daniels in that bucket, too.

Anyway, it should be a blast to follow where all this goes in the weeks to come.

– – –

Speaking of QB CALEB WILLIAMS – he hasn’t been a “winner” in 2023 as USC’s defense has been so bad (they have given up 40+ points in five of the last 6 games, 34 in the other).  They lost 42-52 Saturday night to Washington, and Williams went into the stands to show emotion with his parents after the game.  Which led to a debate on Twitter as recounted by Fox News:

Williams wearing his heart on his sleeve became a debate sports topic Saturday night and into Sunday morning. Former Baylor quarterback and the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner, Robert Griffin III, weighed in.

Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams, left, gets away from Washington defensive end Bralen Trice during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

“Watching Caleb Williams sobbing with his family after losing the game will BREAK YOUR HEART,” he wrote on X. “This young man pours his heart out for his team EVERY TIME he plays. Any NFL team would be lucky to have him as their QB and this emotion shows how much this game means to him.

“When you pour your all into something and it doesn’t go the way you planned, it hurts. Caleb Williams has a bright future and this type of emotion is the realest moment of his career yet.”

Robert Mathis, a former Indianapolis Colts star who was a five-time Pro Bowler and on the Super Bowl team in 2006, was on the opposite. He responded to Griffin’s remarks on X.

“Sorry @RGIII (all love lil bro) but I gotta chalk this one up in the soft category. He ran and jumped in stance to his mommy and cried. I always tell players ‘I’ll never lie to em’ and this is not the look you want from your trigger man,” Mathis wrote.

Griffin responded, saying he disagreed.

“You know I got mad respect for you OG and I disagree. I know this young man’s story and the mission he was on with his teammates this season. Showing emotion doesn’t make you soft and these young men are human. It might not be what you want to see but it is real and authentic.”

Mathis said he appreciated Griffin’s stance, but left it at that.

And this from the New York Post:

The 2022 Heisman Trophy winner explained his emotional state and said all he wanted to do was spent time with his pooch during the postgame press conference.

“I want to go home and cuddle with my dog and watch some shows,” said Williams, who was standing at the podium and leaned down to speak into the microphone.

“I don’t know. Like, we lost the game. Something you work hard for throughout months, years to have big games like this, try and go win and play your best, each and every one of us.

“We came out with a loss today, so emotionally, I want to go home and I want to lay with my dog.”

Williams has a bulldog named Supa, after his nickname, “Superman,” on the football field.