| 49ers EDGE NICK BOSA is done for the year, so is Cardinals RB JAMES CONNER and Chargers RB NAJEE HARRIS. That’s just part of this NFL.com list of Week 3 injuries: Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner will undergo surgery after injuring his ankle during Sunday’s loss to San Francisco, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported. Rapoport added that Conner is undergoing tests to determine the full extent of the damage, but the veteran will be out indefinitely. Chicago Bears tight end Colston Loveland (hip) did not return after exiting in the second quarter. Cincinnati Bengals running back Samaje Perine (right thumb) was ruled out after exiting in the second quarter. Guard Dalton Risner (calf) exited in the second half. Cleveland Browns right tackle Dawand Jones exited in the first quarter with a knee injury against Green Bay. Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (ankle) was ruled out. Lamb told reporters after the game that he “absolutely” feels like he can play next week, per The Athletic. Owner Jerry Jones told reporters that team doctors said Lamb’s injury does not appear to be as serious as it could have been, per The Athletic. Defensive lineman Kenny Clark (ankle) and cornerback Trevon Diggs (shoulder) also were ruled out in the second half. Green Bay Packers right tackle Zach Tom (oblique) and left guard Aaron Banks (groin) exited in the first half against Cleveland. Houston Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. (abdomen) was ruled out after exiting in the first quarter against Jacksonville Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce (concussion) and cornerback Kenny Moore (calf) were ruled out against Tennessee. Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Dyami Brown (shoulder) was ruled out after exiting in the second quarter after Houston. Las Vegas Raiders tight end Michael Mayer (concussion) was ruled out against Washington. Los Angeles Chargers running back Najee Harris exited the game in the second quarter with ankle injury and was ruled out after getting carted to the locker room (update – Harris tore his Achilles and is done for 2025) Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Javon Hargrave exited with a chest injury against Cincinnati.New York Giants running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. (shoulder) was ruled out during the first half against the Chiefs. New York Jets linebacker Quincy Williams (shoulder) was ruled out against Tampa Bay. Cornerback Sauce Gardner was evaluated for a head injury but returned. Philadelphia Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson (neck) and cornerback Adoree’ Jackson (groin) did not return against the Rams. San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa (knee) was ruled out after a first-quarter exit. Kyle Shanahan told reporters after the game that initial tests don’t indicate Bosa has an ACL tear, but he will undergo more testing on Monday. Shanahan added that the team is not ruling out anything regarding a potential Bosa knee injury. Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (hamstring) was ruled out against New York after exiting in the second half. Head coach Todd Bowles told reporters after the game that Evans tweaked his hamstring and doesn’t have any further details. Safety Christian Izien (quad) was also ruled out. Defensive lineman Logan Hall (groin) did not return. Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin (quad) exited in the second half against Las Vegas. Safety Will Harris (ankle) was ruled out with an ankle injury after exiting in the second quarter. NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported that Harris suffered a fractured fibula but will undergo more tests to determine the full extent of the injury. |
| NFC NORTH |
| GREEN BAYThis: @nathanmarzionThe Packers as a team had a 15.5 PFF pass blocking grade on Sunday, the lowest for any team in any game since 2021. Since PFF started collecting data in 2006, the Packers had previously never had a game with a pass block grade lower than 39. A historically bad performance. Is the reverse true – did the Browns have the best pass rush grade? And this: @DaireCarragherThe Packers have trailed for 0:00 of game time this year and are not undefeated lol Charean Williams with more on the pride of the Packers OL before the fall: Packers offensive lineman Rasheed Walker made a bold statement last week: “I think we can go undefeated honestly. . . . Pound for pound, I look at these teams, and I don’t really see who’s better than us honestly. That’s why I can say that so confidently.” Three days later, the Packers were upset by the Browns 13-10. It seems at least some of the Packers ate the cheese. Packers coach Matt LaFleur didn’t mention Walker specifically in his Monday comments, but LaFleur appeared to be referring to Walker’s comments from last week. “The goal — and I’ve said it to you guys a million times to you guys; I don’t think I’ve obviously said it enough to our team — the goal is to go 1-0 every week, and it pisses me off when we start talking about things outside of the next game, things that are way down the road,” LaFleur said, via Dave Schroeder of WBAY. “Keep the focus on the present, on the now, and worry about getting better each and every day.” The Packers looked like the best team in the NFL — or at least one of the best — in the first two weeks. They looked like that most of Sunday, too, before the Browns scored 13 points in the final 3:38 to snatch victory out of the jaws of defeat. The Packers won’t go 17-0, but they still have a chance to be a special team. LaFleur will ensure his players focus on the Cowboys this week and nothing beyond that. “I think it’s always good reminder, like, ‘Hey guys, pump the brakes on everything. We’re just trying to win one game at a time,’” LaFleur said. “And if you’re thinking [like that] or have your sights set on anything outside of that, I think you’re focused on the wrong things.” |
| MINNESOTAAfter blitzing the Bengals, did QB CARSON WENTZ move ahead of QB J.J. McCARTHY? Maybe. Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com: Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy is no longer wearing a boot on his sprained right ankle, and the team hopes to “get him up to speed quickly,” coach Kevin O’Connell said Monday. But McCarthy has already been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and O’Connell notably declined to say if he was 100% committed to McCarthy resuming his starting role once he is healthy. Backup Carson Wentz led the Vikings to their best offensive performance of the season in Sunday’s 48-10 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, throwing for 173 yards and two touchdowns while committing no turnovers. Monday, O’Connell was asked about the certainty of McCarthy regaining the starting job whenever he is physically ready. “First and foremost,” O’Connell said, “he’s got to get healthy. And then, I don’t think it’s one of those things where it’s, hey, he’s healthy the night before a game, we’re going to throw him out there and say, ‘Hey, go figure it out’ type of thing.” O’Connell also said he did not want to play McCarthy until his mobility and ability to practice are no longer affected by the injury. He noted that McCarthy missed the Vikings’ Sept. 11 practice during preparations for their game against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2, when his fiancée was giving birth to their son. McCarthy struggled in the game and then reported heavy soreness in his right ankle the next morning. “I think we saw, as phenomenal as he was getting prepared for the Atlanta game, he did miss practice that week,” O’Connell said. “And when you’re in the phase of building up the 10,000 reps and 10,000 hours of what it takes to play the position at a very high level, which we know J.J. McCarthy is going to do, you can’t cut corners on that. And that also doesn’t require an answer on that question today.” During the offseason, Sam Darnold, who started for Minnesota in 2024, left in free agency, and the Vikings passed on signing Aaron Rodgers because they were committed to developing McCarthy. He finished Week 2 with the NFL’s second-lowest QBR (20.3), ahead of only the Tennessee Titans’ Cam Ward. O’Connell pushed back last week on suggestions that starting Wentz amounted to a soft benching for McCarthy. On Monday, he said “there is value” in McCarthy watching a veteran quarterback play the way Wentz did against the Bengals. “Sometimes, it’s the reactionary ability to still consistently play with the rhythm and the poise and the decision-making,” O’Connell said, “and all that becomes much easier when you’re taking the right footwork and you’re balanced throughout the drop and reading with your feet. That can be an incredible weapon for a quarterback, whether they’ve played 20 years or they’ve played two games.” McCarthy will travel with the Vikings during their upcoming road trip to Dublin, Ireland, and London for games against the Steelers and Cleveland Browns, respectively. Unless he returns in time for the Browns game, McCarthy would then get extra time to recover during the Week 6 bye and, in theory, be ready to play in Week 7 against the Philadelphia Eagles. Meanwhile, Vikings left guard Donovan Jackson had surgery Monday to repair a wrist injury he originally suffered in Week 2. O’Connell said that Jackson, the No. 24 pick of the 2025 draft, should return by Week 7. He’ll be replaced in the starting lineup by veteran Blake Brandel. |
| NFC EAST |
| DALLASTodd Archer of ESPN on the disturbing trend of the Dallas defense: How bad is the Cowboys’ defense? Just like last season, the Cowboys are 1-2. Just like last season, they can point to their defense as a reason. Except in 2024, the run defense was porous, giving up 190 and 274 yards on the ground in losses to the Saints and Ravens. This season, it’s the pass defense. A week after Giants QB Russell Wilson threw for 450 yards and three scores, Williams lit up the Cowboys with four touchdown passes. But it was a soul-crushing, 19-play drive that did in the Cowboys during the third quarter. The Cowboys haven’t pressured the quarterback, have given up the big play and can’t get a stop when it matters. None of that is a good thing. Stat to know: In the season-opening loss to the Eagles, the Cowboys gave up one pass play for 25 yards or more. In their past two games, they have given up 12 — seven last week and five against a Bears offense that would not be confused with the high-end units the Cowboys will face as the season goes along. According to ESPN Research, it’s the most such plays the Cowboys have allowed through three games over the past 25 seasons. And to make it worse, the five touchdown passes allowed of 25 yards or more lead the NFL, too. — Todd Archer We should point out that in Game 1, the Eagles barely tried to test the Dallas defense. And in the last two games, they have been strafed by QBs RUSSELL WILSON and CALEB WILLIAMS who have been ineffective in their other four games. |
| NEW YORK GIANTSSomeone named Joe Osborne offers: Joe Osborne@JTFOzDaniel Jones on the Giants: He’s gonna get Brian Daboll fired Daniel Jones on the Colts: He’s gonna get Brian Daboll fired What a roller coaster for QB RUSSELL WILSON in 2025 – awful Week 1, brilliant Week 2, awful Week 3. He may be evicted from the ride for Week 4 in favor of a Dart thrower. Myles Simmons of ProFootballTalk.com: Will Russell Wilson still be the Giants’ starting quarterback in Week 3? Head coach Brian Daboll left the possibility wide open that the team will move in a different direction. After New York’s offense looked listless against Kansas City on Sunday night, Daboll did not definitively say Wilson will continue as the starter for the team’s Week 4 matchup against the Chargers. “Like I said yesterday, in order to improve the passing game — I’d say that was the No. 1 thing we need to improve from yesterday,” Daboll said, via SNY. “As a collective, everybody’s got to be doing the right stuff. So, it’s not all on one guy. There’s multiple reasons why certain plays didn’t come out the way we wanted them to come out. And we’ll continue to do that.” While reporters tried to pin down Daboll on whether or not he was considering making a QB change or if Wilson was still the starter, Daboll deflected. “We’re working through all personnel decisions. We’ll do that in the next few days,” Daboll said. “I’d say we’re evaluating everything.” Jaxson Dart, the team’s No. 25 overall pick from this year’s draft, has made limited appearances over the last two games. On Sunday night, he kept a run for 3 yards while also handing off twice to Cam Skattebo. He would be the presumed starter if Wilson’s time is up. Has Dart hit the checkpoints properly to become the starter? “Well, we put him in the game for the last two weeks,” Daboll said. “We wouldn’t put anybody in the game that we don’t feel confident with.” Again, Daboll said nothing definitive. The Giants have scored single-digit points in two of their first three games, with the exception being the 37-point, 506-yard outburst against the Cowboys in Week 2. But Wilson’s performance was poor on Sunday, illustrated by him finishing 18-of-32 for 160 yards with two interceptions. Malik Nabers had just two catches on seven targets for 13 yards. We’ll see how the Giants operate throughout the week. But when a head coach gets this vague about a quarterback situation in a Monday news conference, change is often on the horizon The big problem was not getting the ball to New York’s best player. Jordan Ranaan of ESPN.com: Stat to know: Malik Nabers had no receptions through three quarters. The Giants couldn’t get the ball to their star receiver one week after he had nine receptions on 12 targets for 167 yards and two touchdowns. Nabers finished with two receptions for 13 yards on seven targets against the Chiefs. The lack of production is a rarity. Nabers had caught at least four passes in every game of his NFL career coming into Sunday night. — Jordan Raanan |
| NFC SOUTH |
| ATLANTAThe Falcons are making a move with OC Zac Robinson, but it only involves his vantage point on game day. Myles Simmons of ProFootballTalk.com: After getting blanked by the Panthers on Sunday, the Falcons are going to try something a little different for their Week 4 matchup against the Commanders. Head coach Raheem Morris told reporters in his Monday press conference that offensive coordinator Zac Robinson will move from the coach’s booth to the field. Via Will McFadden of the team’s website, Morris noted a main reason Robinson will move is to improve communication and “get [Robinson] closer to the action.” Robinson has been the Falcons’ offensive coordinator since Morris was hired as head coach in 2024. He was previously with the Rams from 2019-2023, serving as pass game coordinator/QBs coach for his last two seasons with the club. Through three weeks, the Falcons rank No. 31 in points scored with just 42. The team is also last with just one touchdown pass. The Falcons had not been shut out since Week 11 of the 2021 season. The club hadn’t been shut out on the road since Week 11 of the 2015 season, coincidentally to the Panthers. |
| CAROLINAA couple of notes on QB BRYCE YOUNG after Sunday’s 30-0 win over the Falcons. Young is now 3-1 against the Panthers and 4-25 against the rest of the NFL. His other wins are against Arizona, the Giants and Houston. He lost the first game of his career in Week 1 in 2023. He now has a 3-game winning streak against the Falcons with one win in each of the last three seasons. He only started once against Atlanta in 2024 with Andy Dalton losing the other meeting. Of Young’s 7 wins, this was the first one where the Panthers had a lead of more than 2 points at the end of regulation (2, 2, 1, OT, OT, OT). With 2 of the OT wins by 6 points, the sum total of the margins for the first 6 games was 20 points. |
TAMPA BAYThe fact that this appeared on the Buccaneers official twitter account was, er, surprising: Tampa Bay Buccaneers@BuccaneersThe best uniform combo in the @NFL. Period. One of the first acts of current ownership was to jettison the uniforms dominated by “Creamsicle” Orange and replace it with a new logo and Red-and-Pewter, with the latter color hailed as unique in all of sport. Does this herald a more universal switch back to orange in a base uniform with the old logo or did the team’s social media get ahead of the thinking of ownership? |
| NFC WEST |
| ARIZONAJosh Weinfuss of ESPN.com with some thoughts on the Cardinals offense: What will the Cardinals do at running back without James Conner? As the Cardinals wait to find out the extent of Conner’s ankle injury that took him out of the game, Arizona’s first option at running back will be Trey Benson. Behind Benson will be a rotation of Emari Demercado and Bam Knight, who was inactive Sunday. Before Conner’s injury, Arizona used Benson to spell Conner and on third down. With Benson likely to slide into the primary role, Demercado could become the third-down back. Trend to watch: Coach Jonathan Gannon said last week that in order for Arizona’s offense to be at a premium, wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. needs to touch the ball more. But Harrison’s unassuming start to the season continued with three catches on six targets for 44 yards. He now has 10 catches, 17 targets, 142 yards and a touchdown in the season. — Josh Weinfuss Unmentioned by Weinfuss is that Harrison had an egregious drop Sunday on a play that would have netted 40+ yards. QB KYLER MURRAY got the ball to him on that pass and the Cardinals got nothing |
| LOS ANGELES RAMSWR PUKA NACUA (with an assist from QB MATTHEW STAFFORD who has helped other receivers in the past) is quietly putting up world class numbers: @The33rdTeamFBAfter his 112 yard performance on Sunday, Puka Nacua is averaging 90.6 receiving yards per game for his career That ranks 2nd all time among players with 30+ games played, trailing only Justin Jefferson (95.4), per @pfref 🔥 |
| SAN FRANCISCODespite the growing injury list, Albert Breer of SI.com sees a championship contender in the 49ers: With a little injury luck, Kyle Shanahan’s team has a real chance. Because, really, right now should be the hard part for the 49ers—when they’re taking their lumps with younger players learning key roles, and cornerstones such as Brock Purdy, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk working their way back from injuries. Yet here we are, and San Francisco is now 3–0, having fended off a rising young Cardinals group at home Sunday, and with a showdown against the Rams two weeks away. Sunday was by no means easy for the Niners. But it was revealing. With the game tied at 13 and 5:19 left, Mac Jones threw a bad pick. On the Niners’ next possession, with Jones throwing out of his end zone, guard Dominick Puni got called for holding nearby, resulting in a safety that put Arizona up 15–13. At that point, the clock showed 3:15, and the upstart Cardinals were probably two first downs away from vanquishing the Niners on the road, and taking a 3–0 record into their Week 4 game against Seattle. “It was a message throughout the game: Don’t leave anything on the field,” ninth-year linebacker Fred Warner told me afterward. “It was a super gritty game. It was hot, it was low-scoring and you think, We held them to six all game and then give up a score, then a big stop, then the offense has a safety. It was these big swings late in the game and at the end. It was everyone doing their one-eleventh, not trying to do anything ultra-special.” Sure enough, that was just it. One of the rookies the Niners have in a prominent role, cornerback Upton Stout, broke a pass up on third down right after the two-minute warning to get the ball back. Then, Jones chipped down the field, hitting on completions of 11, 10, seven, 11 and 20 yards (that last one was a Christian McCaffrey catch-and-run) to position Eddy Pineiro for a chip shot to win the game. Maybe the most encouraging thing of all for the Niners is that, with all the young guys they’re relying on after so much offseason attrition, and even those who have come in as the big names have gotten hurt, no one is really pressing. “It speaks to the maturity of those young guys that have come in,” Warner said. “It’s all about the preparation they’ve put in to be ready for their moment, because they knew from OTAs that they were gonna have a chance to come in and be guys for us right away. My hats to them for being prepared for that moment. They’re only going to continue to get better.” At least on paper, with a manageable schedule moving forward, the Niners should be able to do the same—with a shot to sweep their first run through the division coming on the Thursday of Week 5 against Los Angeles. Because just as the young guys settle in, get more confident and start to play faster, some of the older guys should filter back in the lineup. Again, some luck will be needed too. Getting good test results Monday on Nick Bosa’s knee injury, which sounds like it could be pretty serious, would really help. But the Niners have done this before, so there’s plenty of reason to look at the team’s start and think that the team could be really, really good by the time the playoffs draw near. “Of course we want to get some of that firepower back, the guys who’ve been injured,” Warner said. “But honestly, our mindset is being better next week than we were this week and finding a way to win next week. And like you mentioned, if we continue to keep our head down and keep working, with our young players continuing to get better …” … There’s plenty that group could accomplish. Which, given the history in San Francisco, probably shouldn’t surprise anyone. |
| SEATTLEBrady Henderson of ESPN.com was impressed with the Seahawks again the lowly Saints: The only real trouble the Seahawks might have faced on Sunday at Lumen Field would be determining which aspect of their blowout win over the New Orleans Saints was most encouraging. Was it their special teams, which blocked a Saints punt and returned another one 95 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter to kick off an all-three-phases beatdown? Was it the offense, which found the end zone on its first four possessions and scored seven straight times on their way to 37 points? Or was it the defense, which allowed only a pair of field goals through three quarters and 284 total yards despite being short-handed again in their secondary? You could even say it was the fact that the Seahawks had their 44-13 win wrapped up early enough to pull most of their starters at the start of the fourth quarter, giving them some valuable rest with a quick turnaround to a pivotal division game against the Arizona Cardinals (2-1) Thursday night (8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video). “Just a great, great team effort,” coach Mike Macdonald said after the Seahawks improved to 2-1. “Guys played extremely, hard, played together, complementary football. Our offense was efficient … and defensively we played hard. We did a great job, and really the story of the day, honestly, is our special teams unit.” Macdonald gave special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh a game ball after his group helped get Seattle’s rout going. It started with rookie Tory Horton scoring on a 95-yard punt return — the longest in franchise history — to give the Seahawks a 14-0 lead. D’Anthony Bell blocked a punt on the Saints’ next possession, setting the offense up for the first of two short touchdown runs by Kenneth Walker III. Horton (three catches, 32 yards) fell to the fifth round of the draft after a serious leg injury cut his final college season short. He was mostly a spectator over the spring while working his way back from surgery, but since then he’s been validating rookie safety Nick Emmanwori’s summer proclamation that he’d be the “steal of the draft.” After beating out the since-cut Marquez Valdes-Scantling for the WR3 job, Horton scored on his first NFL catch last Sunday in the Seahawks’ win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Then he made it three touchdowns in two weeks when he hauled in a perfectly-placed fade ball from Sam Darnold in the second quarter, putting Seattle up 28-3. “Even having a good game in Pittsburgh, catching that first touchdown, he was still eager and hungry this whole last week, wanting more and asking a ton of great questions like I’ve talked about a ton with Tory,” Darnold said. “He’s just continuing to grow and I know that he’s going to continue to get better — and want to get better.” Darnold (14 of 18, 218 yards, two touchdowns) played efficiently and mistake-free over three quarters before giving way to Drew Lock at the start of the fourth. According to ESPN Research, he went 7 of 8 (88%) for 158 yards and the two scores on passes at least 10 yards downfield, which was the highest completion rate of his career on such throws. Darnold’s other touchdown was to Jaxon Smith-Njigba on the opening possession, marking the second straight game in which the Seahawks have finished their first drive in the end zone. Smith-Njigba (five catches, 96 yards) now has 323 receiving yards on the season, the best three-game start in team history. “Came back from the dead,” Macdonald said of Smith-Njigba, who was added to the team’s injury report as questionable on Saturday after experiencing flu-like symptoms. “It was pretty cool. Not quite the Jordan flu game, but it was pretty solid.” Macdonald and general manager John Schneider have started referring to theirs as a 70-man roster as opposed to the standard 53. That counts the practice squad, which they instead call the “ready squad.” The point has been to underscore the importance of role players stepping up, which has been the case in the Seahawks’ two wins. They beat Pittsburgh last week despite missing Pro Bowl cornerback Devon Witherspoon (knee) and Emmanwori (ankle), a key sub-package player they drafted in the second round. Those two remained out Sunday while Pro Bowl safety Julian Love (hamstring) joined them on the sideline. Ty Okada (nine tackles, half sack) started for Love, while Kendrick (interception, three passes defensed) and Bell (one tackle for loss) again stepped in for Witherspoon and Emmanwori as Seattle’s slot corner and big nickel, respectively. Kendrick, claimed by Seattle after the Los Angeles Rams waived him on cut-down day, now has two interceptions in as many weeks. He’s dropped two more would-be picks, with another going through his hands Sunday. “He’s got to go to the Leslie Frazier school of ball drills,” Macdonald joked. “There’s a lot of cool game plan things, little nuances to the game plan that he picks up and executes that doesn’t necessarily show on the scoreboard, and to me, that’s what fires me up the most because those are little edges that we chase throughout the week …” |
| AFC NORTH |
| CLEVELANDDeion Sanders speaks out and advises his son QB SHEDEUR SANDERS to play the long game. Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.com: Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, the head football coach at Colorado and father of rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders, said he anticipates that his son will start for the Cleveland Browns this season. Speaking during an appearance on Jason and Travis Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast released Monday, Deion Sanders was asked what advice he has for his son. “Be patient and be ready,” he said. “You got to be ready when it’s time. But when it’s time, you’re going to know. And it’s coming up. I got a prediction. I ain’t telling nobody. I got a feeling when it’s going to go down. But it’s going to go down this year. … He’s going to get a shot.” Sanders also confirmed an ESPN report that his son told the Baltimore Ravens not to select him in the 2025 NFL draft. He also revealed that the Philadelphia Eagles called on the third day of the draft. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Sept. 13 that the Ravens were planning to draft Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round with the No. 141 pick. However, the former Colorado star, who played for his father, let it be known to Baltimore that he didn’t want to be on a roster with Lamar Jackson, where he wouldn’t have a chance to play anytime soon. Deion Sanders explained his son’s mindset. “I played for Baltimore, so me and [former Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome] are cool,” Deion said. “We understood that whole conversation, and he wanted to talk to Shedeur as well as he wanted to talk to me. And I put Shedeur on the phone, and I don’t want to say how it went, but how in the world can somebody fault him for saying or thinking, ‘Why in the world would I go back up Lamar [Jackson] for 10 more years?’ “I’ve never sat on the bench and said, ‘Well, I learned a lot today.'” The Ravens instead drafted offensive lineman Carson Vinson with the 141st pick and the Browns traded up to the 144th pick to select Shedeur Sanders. Currently, he is third on Cleveland’s depth chart behind starter Joe Flacco and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel, who was taken in the third round. Sanders has been running the scout team offense in practice, along with Gabriel and practice squad quarterback Bailey Zappe. “My response is I’m focused on the now,” Shedeur Sanders said after the Browns’ loss to the Ravens in Week 2. “I don’t really talk about anything in the past, and whatever happened in the past, it is what it is. I’m more focused on now. I’m more focused on how this game that we just gone and had and figuring out how to move forward from now.” The Browns are 1-2 but secured their first victory of the season Sunday with a 13-10 win over the Green Bay Packers. Flacco, in his second stint with Cleveland, has struggled, throwing the second-most interceptions in the NFL (four) and posting a 38.2 Total QBR, which ranks 28th out of 32 qualifying quarterbacks. Coach Kevin Stefanski, though, said Flacco will start in the Browns’ Week 4 road game against the Detroit Lions. |
| AFC SOUTH |
| INDIANAPOLISDan Graziano asks the unthinkable – QB DANIEL JONES an MVP consideration? But decides he is not: Daniel Jones is going to be in the MVP conversationThrough the first two weeks, Jones — the reclamation-project quarterback the Colts signed to compete with former No. 4 draft pick Anthony Richardson Sr. for their starting quarterback job — ranked second in the NFL in passing yards, first in yards per attempt, sixth in Total QBR and had three rushing touchdowns on top of all that. He kept it rolling, completing a cool 18 of 25 passes for 228 yards in a more Jonathan Taylor-centric lopsided victory over the Titans. Jones looks like a different guy. After going 7-for-9 for 130 yards and a touchdown on passes thrown at least 10 yards downfield on Sunday, he’s now completing 65% of such throws this season. He completed 50% of them in his first six seasons in the league. Sunday’s win improved Indy’s record to 3-0 — a full three games ahead of the reeling two-time defending AFC South champion Texans (though only one game ahead of the plucky 2-1 Jaguars). The Colts have punted once so far this season. They’ve scored on 77% of their offensive possessions — the highest such mark for any team in its first three games over the past 45 seasons. If the Colts end up winning their division — something they haven’t done since 2014, when Chuck Pagano was their coach and Andrew Luck was their quarterback — and Jones keeps playing like this in coach Shane Steichen’s offense, this isn’t the last time you’re going to hear someone talk about Jones’ MVP qualifications. Verdict: OVERREACTION I have full respect for what Jones is doing, and I think it’s sustainable to some degree. The Colts’ formula feels not unlike the one the Giants employed when they made the playoffs with Jones at quarterback in 2022. This Colts team probably has a better roster than that Giants team did. But it’s just way too early for this kind of talk. The combined record of the teams the Colts have beaten is 1-8. Let’s see how they handle themselves against an angry Rams team next week in Los Angeles, or against a good-looking Chargers team three weeks later. Let’s see Jones stay healthy and consistent, which he hasn’t done for much of his career. And even if he does keep it rolling, let’s see if the MVP voters take it seriously. Even after the great performance Sam Darnold had in Minnesota last season, he still got only three fifth-place votes and finished 10th in the MVP balloting. This is an extremely fun story, and Jones and the Colts can absolutely win the AFC South. But MVP? Daniel Jones? That still feels as though it’s a galaxy far, far away. |
