| If The Season Ended Today in the NFC: If The Season Ended Today in the NFC: NFC W-L Conf Last Week %Detroit North 12-2 8-1 1 100 (playoffs)Philadelphia East 12-2 7-2 2 100 (playoffs) Tampa Bay South 8-6 6-3 4 83 (+12%)LA Rams West 8-6 5-5 8 54 (+24%)Minnesota WC1 12-2 7-2 WC1 100 (playoffs)Green Bay WC2 10-4 5-4 WC2 99 (+2%)Washington WC3 9-5 6-3 WC3 78 (-3%)Seattle 8-6 4-5 3 36 (-29%)Atlanta 7-7 6-3 9 36 (-2%)Arizona 7-7 3-6 10 13 (+4%)San Francisco 6-8 4-6 11 1 (-7%)Dallas 6-8 4-5 12 1 (–) The Vikings have clinched a berth in the playoffs and the Rams have moved ahead of the Seahawks, for now, in the NFC West. Here is what the three top contenders in the NFC West have left Rams – at NY Jets, Arizona, SeattleSeattle – Minnesota, at Chicago, at LA RamsArizona – at Carolina, at LA Rams, San Francisco In a case of rock-scissors-paper – the Rams beat the Seahawks in their first meeting, the Seahawks have swept the Cardinals and the Cardinals beat the Rams in their first meeting.- – -The AFC lines up in extremely orderly fashion with the AFC North title about the only thing of interest. Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com on how the AFC playoffs could be basically set by 7:30 EST Sunday – but that would require the Patriots to win in Buffalo: As the NFL playoff picture comes into focus, it may come into too clear a focus for the AFC to have meaningful football played down the stretch. By Sunday afternoon, it’s possible that the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage in the AFC could be clinched, that all four divisions in the AFC could be clinched, and that all three wild card berths in the AFC could be clinched. That would leave the entire AFC with very little to play for in Weeks 17 and 18. The first thing that would have to happen is the Chiefs win and the Bills lose this week. That would clinch the AFC No. 1 seed for the Chiefs, and leave the Bills as AFC East champions who would be playing at home in the first round of the playoffs but would have to go to Kansas City if they advance that far. Then, the Steelers beating the Ravens would clinch the AFC North for Pittsburgh. Houston has already clinched the AFC South, so the Steelers would be the fourth and final AFC division winner. If the Chargers win while the Bengals, Dolphins and Colts all lose, that would clinch all three AFC wild card spots, for the Chargers, Broncos and Ravens. And that would leave us with a very clear AFC playoff picture with two weeks to go: The Chiefs would have the 1 seed and the first-round bye, the Bills, Steelers and Texans would have their divisions and play at home in the first round, and the Chargers, Broncos and Ravens would be wild cards playing on the road in the first round. There would still be some jockeying for the 2-4 seeds and the 5-7 seeds, but the playoff picture would largely be determined. And the final two weeks of the regular season would largely be irrelevant in the AFC. |
| NFC NORTH |
| CHICAGOAdd OL DOUG KRAMER to the list of folks who have made costly blunders for the Bears. Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com: Mental errors have had a big hand in the Bears’ current eight-game losing streak and they added another entry to the list in Minnesota on Monday night. Offensive lineman Doug Kramer failed to report as eligible when he came into the game as a fullback and a D’Andre Swift touchdown run that would have made the score 13-7 in the third quarter was taken off the board as a result. The Bears settled for a field goal and the Vikings continued on their way to a 30-12 win. After the loss, Kramer said that the blunder was “100 percent on me.” “Forgot to report,” Kramer said, via Kevin Fishbain of TheAthletic.com. “Ran on the field, clock was running down, got in the huddle and ran the play. It’s an unacceptable mistake. Obviously I apologized to all my teammates, everyone on the offense. Things like that can’t happen.” The 2024 Bears have allowed Hail Marys and blocked field goals on the final plays of losses and they saw former head coach Matt Eberflus melt down in the final moments of a Thanksgiving loss to the Lions. They have not been good enough on the field to overcome those kinds of mistakes and the next Bears head coach is going to have to clean up that part of the game for the future to be brighter in Chicago.– – -Jon Greenberg of The Athletic makes the case that DC Brian Flores of the Vikings would be a great choice as the Bears next head coach. Like a thirsty man wandering through a desert, I required an oasis. So in the wake of the Bears’ eighth straight defeat, I found relief in the Vikings locker room on Monday night. I didn’t go to bask in their reflected glory after a 30-12 victory on Monday Night Football. I went to talk to defensive players about their coordinator, Brian Flores. “Y’all not taking him from us!” Vikings safety Josh Metellus said with a laugh as I explained the concept of the interview. Flores should be a top candidate for open NFL head coaching jobs this offseason. So, why not the Bears, who are, last I checked, in desperate need of an NFL head coach. “I hope not,” rookie linebacker Dallas Turner said. “I really hope not. I would love Flo to be here.” “If Flo went to Chicago,” said Vikings linebacker and Eden Prairie, Minn., native Blake Cashman, “I don’t think us, as the Vikings, who would want to play against him.” “You know what,” Vikings cornerback Shaq Griffin said. “I root for my guy to go and do anything he needs to do to take care of his family. But whatever you do, take me with you!” He was kidding. I think. It’s easy to go into a winning locker room — the Vikings are 12-2 despite quarterback issues of their own going into the season — and ask players how great their coaches are. But you can sense when guys are just talking to fill time and when they really mean what they say. I can say, without equivocation, that the Vikings defensive players adore Flores. “Man, I feel like it’s different for us because he’s somebody who really, truly put his trust in the guys in this defense,” Griffin said. “He makes a lot of calls, does a lot of things, but he kind of lets this defense run how we need to. You got nothing but love for a guy like that. He runs a crazy defense, but he’s got the guys to do it. We’ll run through a brick wall for that guy. We got true love for that guy in this defense.” Flores was run out of Miami after three seasons — the last two of which were winning ones — and he’s sued the league and its teams, focusing on three specifically, for discriminatory hiring practices. The lawsuit is still ongoing. But he didn’t go into hiding. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin brought him in as a position coach, and that led to the Vikings gig, which he has turned into proof that he deserves another shot at the top. But Flores isn’t an offensive genius and the conventional wisdom is that rookie quarterback Caleb Williams needs an offensive guru. I get it. It would make sense that Bears GM Ryan Poles — if he’s the one leading the search for the Bears’ fifth head coach since Lovie Smith was fired after the 2012 season — and his boss, Kevin Warren, are looking for their Kevin O’Connell, the coach who has the Vikings playing for the top seed in the NFC. Williams’ development is the key for the Bears escaping their perennial doldrums, which were again on excruciating display in front of a national TV audience. The Bears went 1-for-12 on third downs and turned the ball over twice by failing to convert on fourth-and-1. Thomas Brown has three more games left in his interim coaching for the Bears, and he’s popular with his players too. But this team needs a full housecleaning of the coaching staff (if not the front office). As a “leader of men,” Flores has a locker room full of support. But what about as a leader of quarterbacks? Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa doesn’t have warm memories of their shared time together in Miami. Flores has said he’s learned from that experience, but should the Bears trust him with Williams? “I think the best part about Flo is he wants everybody to reach their true potential,” Metellus told me. “I don’t know Caleb, but from what it seems like, Caleb is a guy who is very competitive, who wants to win, and he’s going to do whatever it takes to win. So to have a guy like Flo who’s going to push you to be that, you almost need that. “You don’t want anybody to tell you you’re great. You want somebody to tell you what you’re not great at so you can get better. And I think, Flo’s the type of guy to change anybody’s locker room immediately, offense or defense.” What we’ve seen this season is the Bears need a change agent. Matt Eberflus was an odd choice nearly three years ago, which fits with how the Bears generally do business. That is to say, they do it poorly and often backward. The Bears whiffed with Eberflus. Poles struck out again by not firing his coach after last season when coaches like Jim Harbaugh were on the market and Williams was coming into the organization. We can argue about the Bears setting Poles up to fail by interviewing head coaches before he was hired in 2022, but since he took credit for the quick decision on Eberflus at their introductory news conference nearly three years ago, he takes the blame today. What matters now is finding someone better. Maybe it’s Detroit’s Ben Johnson or Joe Brady out in Buffalo. Maybe it’s Mike Vrabel, late of the Tennessee Titans. They all seem like good choices. Certainly better than what the Bears had and have. Of course, the Bears had a chance to hire Flores already. He was the second coach they interviewed in January 2022. He wasn’t one of the finalists teed up for Poles. The names change, but the results follow a pattern. No one will ever forget the Bears passed on Bruce Arians to hire Marc Trestman. Halas Hall has a stupefying effect, it seems. With Williams in the building, Poles, Warren and whomever else is making the decision need to get this right, and no one can be confident they will. There are would-be offensive gurus who get hired every coaching cycle and many of them flame out because they’re not real head coaches. There’s more to the job than X’s and O’s. As the saying goes, the Jimmys and Joes matter a lot. Poles has to bring in better talent — no more Yalies at left tackle or backup linemen at fullback — and he needs a coach who can lead the entire team. Maybe that’s Flores. Beyond the trust the veterans have with him in Minnesota, Metellus said he can see the effect Flores has on players like Turner, the Vikings’ first-round pick, who had a sack Monday night. “He’s been doing a great job with our young guys,” Metellus said. “I mean, we got DT balling out today. That’s a product of Flo being on him, being persistent, wanting him to be better, to do better.” For his part, Turner said he relishes playing for a coach like Flores, who set a high standard. “Honestly,” Turner told me, “it’s a blessing, really a blessing, to have a coach like that for my first year in the NFL.” There’s no question Flores is intense and exacting. The Bears need that kind of energy in Halas Hall, where losing has become commonplace. But if you listen to the Vikings, Flores is more than a hard-ass. He’s a football leader that real football players want to follow. “He makes work a lot of fun and he’s a fun coach to play for,” Cashman said. “And at the end of the day, I think that’s what teams are searching for, a coach that brings a lot of joy and excitement for a football team.” Fun, joy, excitement, winning. These are novel concepts for a team as downtrodden as the Bears, but I think they are worth a try. Maybe Flores is too. |
| MINNESOTALots of love in the house Monday night for stricken WR Randy Moss, for WR JUSTIN JEFFERSON and others. Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com: In a private moment last week, Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson sent a text message to one of his heroes. Jefferson had heard that Hall of Fame receiver Randy Moss was being treated for cancer, and he wanted to wish him good luck. A few days later, he made that tribute public. Jefferson gave Moss a shoutout Monday night after catching a 7-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter of the Vikings’ 30-12 victory over the Chicago Bears, looking into the ESPN camera and shouting: “We love you, Randy. That’s for you.” After the game, Jefferson spoke in heartfelt tones in the Vikings’ locker room. “I’m grateful for what he has done for this game,” Jefferson said while wearing a purple replica Moss jersey, “and what he has done for me as a kid. Just watching him and being a fan of him, I’ve always got to show love to him.” Moss announced Friday that he had undergone a six-hour surgery to remove a cancerous mass from his bile duct, after earlier having a stent placed in his liver. He said he was hospitalized for six days and would be undergoing radiation and chemotherapy treatment while taking a leave from his role as an analyst on ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown.” The Vikings opened Monday night’s game by sending two of Moss’ former teammates, Cris Carter and Jake Reed, to midfield as honorary captains during the coin toss. Each held one side of a Moss jersey, prompting him to respond via X: “LUV U ALL.” “It was amazing seeing those guys,” Jefferson said. “Those are the guys before us. Those are the big three before me, [Jalen Nailor] and [Jordan Addison] came in. … They were brothers when they were playing and still are. It’s great to see the amount of love they still have for each other.” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell, who was Moss’ teammate in 2008 when both were with the New England Patriots, said the Vikings met internally last week to decide how to honor him. “You could feel the love for him in the building tonight,” O’Connell said “He means the world to this organization. His name is up in the rafters in the Ring of Honor, He’s a Hall of Famer … and we’re behind him every step of the way. Care about him, love him. We just wanted to do whatever we could with the platform of ‘Monday Night Football.’ Hopefully, he was watching and if it gave him any joy at all, it was well worth it because that’s how we feel about him.”– – – Ben Solak of ESPN.com sings the praises of Kevin O’Connell: The Big Thing: Kevin O’Connell-Sam Darnold is the new Sean McVay-Jared GoffIn Week 3, I wrote about Darnold, Justin Fields and Andy Dalton — three veteran quarterbacks with surprisingly strong starts. I was suspicious of the 3-0 Vikings, fresh off a statement win against the Texans, in large part because of Darnold’s history of shaky quarterback play. Here’s what I wrote then: “The question facing Darnold and the Vikings is whether they can sustain this. It is wicked hard to outscheme every Sunday opponent for a month, for two months, three, four. Almost everyone who does it comes from this offensive tree — Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan and Mike McDaniel. O’Connell’s offense is far more similar to McVay’s than what Shanahan’s and McDaniel’s have become, and McVay went for the big upgrade at quarterback (Matthew Stafford) to make his life easier. Winning on the chalkboard every week for 20-plus weeks is just too tall of an ask.” Stylistically, that comparison made a lot of sense. Goff was only one year into his career when he came under McVay’s tutelage. It was a harrowing start, but McVay turned it around by sticking Goff under center, running a ton of play-action and using his excellent arm to consistently hit intermediate windows off those run fakes. Schematically, that’s similar to what O’Connell had done for Kirk Cousins for the past few years, and it’s what he was doing with Darnold again. But it also felt like something defenses had already solved. We know the end of McVay and Goff’s story. Eventually, defenses knocked McVay’s training wheels off Goff’s bike, and he teetered his way out of McVay’s favor, which necessitated the Stafford acquisition. But the other half of that story is Goff. He wasn’t the quarterback McVay needed for his new offense, but he had smoothed over many of the rougher edges of his game with his years of experience. And when he landed in Detroit, he bloomed — better late than never — into an excellent veteran passer. When I made the comparison after Week 3, I was thinking of the coaches — how McVay couldn’t prop Goff up for that long, and how O’Connell would run into the same roadblock. In Week 15, I’m making the comparison again — but this time, for Darnold. I think he truly can recover his career in much the same way Goff has in Detroit. The offensive insulation that O’Connell has around Darnold right now remains extremely similar to that which McVay had around Goff in their heyday (2017-18). Darnold lines up under center on 29% of his dropbacks, which is the third-highest rate in the NFL. He also hits a play-action fake on 27% of his dropbacks, which is eighth highest. Those are the classic hallmarks of the McVay system, and they’re still used to prop up Goff (first in both metrics this season in Detroit). But Goff runs a lot more quick game in Detroit now than he did in those early years with the Rams, as 37% of his passes are out in under 2.5 seconds, compared to 25% in his Super Bowl season with L.A. In 2018, Goff hammered the intermediate level of the field off those long play-action dropbacks and rollouts, and 37% of his passes traveled at least 10 yards downfield. This season, that’s at 29%. It shouldn’t be a surprise that Goff, six years removed from his Super Bowl run with the Rams, is playing quarterback a little differently under a totally different offensive coordinator on a totally different team throwing to totally different pass catchers. Similarly, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that McVay is moving away from that offense and staying ahead of the schematic curve. The moment Stafford stepped in for Goff, the Rams lined up in the gun a lot more, their play-action rate dropped and they relied on more quick-game concepts. This is how innovation works. You can’t run the same stuff that worked last season — defenses are on your heels. That inescapable truth is why McVay has run from the eponymous McVay offense. It’s why Shanahan has run from the Shanahan offense (check Brock Purdy’s play-action rate this season). It’s why Matt LaFleur’s Packers offense is a split-back gun running team now. It’s why Mike McDaniel’s Dolphins have become the fastest time-to-throw team in football. Evolve or die. But that truth is not inescapable. One man from the tree stayed the course, played the hits and survived the changing tide. That man is O’Connell, who is doing exactly what worked for Cousins for years and exactly what McVay did for Goff more than five years ago for Darnold right now. There is no quick-game revolution in Minnesota as there was in Detroit and Los Angeles. Darnold’s 3.09-second time to throw is below only Lamar Jackson’s and Jalen Hurts’, both of whom skew their time to throw with prolonged scrambling dropbacks. For Darnold, this isn’t a function of scrambles — it’s a function of those extended play-action dropbacks that allow routes to develop at the intermediate and deep levels. In fact, 26% of Darnold’s pass attempts are out in under 2.5 seconds, which is the lowest rate in the league this season by a comfortable margin. He’s as far from second-place Anthony Richardson as Richardson is from 10th place (Hurts). In the entire NFL Next Gen Stats database going back to 2016, there is only one quarterback besides 2024 Darnold who had fewer than 30% of his pass attempts come out in under 2.5 seconds. You saw his stat earlier. It was 2018 Jared Goff. O’Connell is treating 2024 Darnold like 2018 Goff because Darnold has the same weaknesses; he doesn’t see the field fast and can panic when pressured. But he also has the same strength — a downright beautiful arm. The Vikings need all those intermediate and deep routes (34% of Darnold’s throws go at least 10 yards downfield) to maximize Darnold’s talent for high-difficulty throws, as well as the elite route running and ball tracking of Justin Jefferson, and the similar tool kit of his sidekick in Jordan Addison. But where the 2018 Rams could spam the same six play-action crossers and digs until the final bell rang, the 2024 Vikings have to contend with defenses that have seen McVay’s greatest hits for years and have counterpunches. That’s what makes the O’Connell-Darnold season so impressive. They are swimming against the current and still making headway..– – –I’m ready to call O’Connell the third-best offensive coach in football, just below Shanahan and McVay. I haven’t seen a coach thumb his nose so flagrantly at the opposing sideline as O’Connell is this season since McVay’s 2018 run. He’s just better than you. He has too deep of a bag. It doesn’t really matter if we all know his quarterback’s the weak point of the offense, because you can’t get through the insulation. You can’t break the armor the playcaller has built around his passer. And remember, there’s no Bill Belichick to run into in the playoff field this season (though there is Vic Fangio). Which brings us back to Darnold. Nobody knows just where he’s going to play next season and if there will be his version of Ben Johnson waiting for him when he lands there. But he has proven that if someone lines the pins up for him, he can knock them down, over and over again. Even after all of his years suffering on an Adam Gase-coached team and seeing ghosts at the line of scrimmage, he still has a ridiculously live arm that opens up windows unavailable to other quarterbacks. When Goff left McVay, I would have told you his career was chalked. But his success had given him both confidence and experience, which buoyed him until the next offense was built for his skill set. Why can’t the same happen for Darnold, now that Goff has proved the concept possible? You can see this season already smoothing over Darnold’s rough edges. He is attempting aggressive passes but largely avoiding interceptions. He’s holding the ball long and still taking a lot of sacks, but it’s paying off with huge completions. Darnold is finally learning how to play within himself because he has been afforded an opportunity he never got with the Jets to figure it out, where there was never enough support. Eventually, Darnold will lose his training wheels just as Goff did — whether because defenses catch up to O’Connell, injuries hamper the offense or he wears a different jersey in 2025. It will be shaky at first, just as Goff’s first year in Detroit was. But don’t count me among those who might be surprised by a long, productive starting career for Darnold from this moment forward. The path has been blazed for him, and he just needs to follow |
| NFC EAST |
| DALLASRB RICO DOWDLE has fueled the Cowboys’ late season surge. Ralph Vacchiano of FoxSports.com: Cowboys: They are so much better when they employ a balanced offense and rely on their rushing attack. This game was more proof of that. Running back Rico Dowdle had 25 carries for 149 yards. In the past four weeks, he has averaged 21 carries for 119.5 yards and the Cowboys, not surprisingly, are 3-1 even though they’ve been playing without QB Dak Prescott. Before this stretch, Dowdle ran the ball more than 12 times just once in nine games. Some of it was because the Cowboys were getting behind early, but not all of it. Since Prescott went down, Mike McCarthy has been forced to lean on his rushing attack a lot more, and the results have been excellent. It’s a lesson he needs to remember if he’s brought back next year. |
| WASHINGTONGreg Auman of FoxSports.com notes that QB JAYDEN DANIELS was back to pinpoint accuracy on Sunday – and he has a special connection with WR TERRY McLAURIN: Commanders: Nobody is going to catch Ja’Marr Chase for the NFL lead in touchdown receptions this year, but Washington’s Terry McLaurin is a worthy runner-up, with 11 now after a pair of touchdowns in Sunday’s win. Jayden Daniels and McLaurin have a special connection — the rookie QB has 11 scoring passes to McLaurin and six to everyone else on the team. On Sunday, their two scores gave Washington an early 14-0 lead before the Saints slowly clawed their way back. Daniels deserves all the praise heaped upon him as a rookie phenom. On Sunday, he was 25 of 31, which works out to an 81% completion percentage, his third game this season with at least 80% on at least 25 throws. No other rookie in NFL history has ever done that. Justin Herbert is the only other QB with even two such games as a rookie. |
| NFC SOUTH |
| ATLANTAEven in victory, the struggles of QB KIRK COUSINS continued Monday night. Marc Raimondi of ESPN.com: The Atlanta Falcons snapped their four-game losing streak and kept their hopes of winning the NFC South alive Monday night after their 15-9 win over the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. But the team still has a glaring issue: its quarterback play. Kirk Cousins was 11-of-17 for 112 yards with one touchdown and one interception in a game the Falcons leaned heavily on their rushing attack. Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier combined for 34 carries. Cousins has nine interceptions in his past five games with just a single touchdown pass during that span. His first-quarter, 30-yard lob to wide receiver Drake London was his first touchdown pass since Week 9 — when the Falcons were 6-3 and in control of their division. “He’s got to play better and obviously, you got to go back, you got to get to look at everything,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said. “But he wants to play better. He’s got to play better. We’ve got to find a way to get him to play better.” Morris did not say he was ready to make a switch at quarterback. The Falcons drafted quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick in the NFL draft in April, a few weeks after signing Cousins to a four-year, $180 million free-agent contract. Atlanta (7-7) focused so heavily on the running game that Cousins did not throw on first down in the first half. It was the first time that has occurred in his 13-year career. Cousins threw two interceptions against the Minnesota Vikings last week, but had 344 yards through the air. Those big plays were not there against the Raiders and the Falcons went 4-of-13 on third down. Morris said Cousins showed improvement against the Vikings, coming off a four-interception performance against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 13. When asked if Monday was an improvement or regression for him, Cousins said it was “a little of both” and the biggest issue for him right now is “decision-making.” “So that you’re not putting the ball in harm’s way and not trying to be too aggressive,” Cousins said. “And I think that’s really the key. Protect the football.” It was the fewest number of interceptions he has thrown in three games and Cousins had no fumbles. He leads the league in both categories — 16 and 12 (tied with Baker Mayfield), respectively. But certainly, the outing was not up to his standards, either. When Cousins was asked about Morris’ remarks that he needed to play better, the quarterback said: “I don’t think that’s a mystery.” “I think the last few weeks I would say I need to play better,” Cousins said. “Raheem says it, but it’s stating the obvious, and every week you kind of go through your process and you plan to go out there and play the very best you can. And so, this week will be no different.” As Mike Florio studies the response of Raheim Morris, he is becoming convinced that a QB switch is in the works. The quote that landed on Twitter wasn’t particularly ominous. The full comments definitely were. Speaking to reporters after Monday night’s sluggish and ugly win over the Raiders, Falcons coach Raheem Morris did not rule out benching quarterback Kirk Cousins. If anything, Morris strongly hinted that it’s going to be considered. The first question on Cousins ended with this: “Can you assess Kirk’s play tonight and where you’re at . . . in terms of him as the starting quarterback moving forward?” “He’s got to play better,” Morris said. “And, you know, obviously, you’ve got to go back, you’ve got to be able to look at everything. But, you know, he wants to play better. He’s got to play better. We’ve got to find a way to get him to play better. And, obviously, we’ll get to work tomorrow, and that’s part of our process, right? You go and look at the tape, you review with the people it needs to be reviewed with, you know, we get all the coordinators in the room, we’ll talk with everybody and we’ve got to play better at the quarterback position.” Look again at the question, and then at the answer. It starts with Morris saying Cousins needs to play better. It ends with Morris saying the Falcons have to play better at the quarterback position, without mentioning Cousins or Penix. While film study and meetings among coaches will be a factor, there’s another important angle to consider. What are the players saying to other players and to coaches? Are they ready for a chance, after seeing what Cousins has done through 14 starts — capped by five games featuring a passer rating below 80? After giving his answer about quarterback play, Morris was asked a more specific followup question about Cousins: “If he can’t [play better], are you prepared to replace him with Michael Penix?” The answer was far from “no.” And, in this context, anything other than “no” is “maybe” at best, “yes” at worst. “You know, we’ve got everybody on our roster for a reason, right?” Morris said. “We’ve got so much to get better at. And, like, those things will always be discussed. That’s just the nature of the beast in football. It’s just so heavily talked about at the quarterback position because there’s only one guy out there. You know, so, like for us, man, our mentality is to find a way to win the next game, and that’s just the mentality that we’re gonna have.” With the Falcons facing a short week, and given the plan to meet and to review the film today, be prepared for the possibility of a leak, followed by an announcement, that Cousins is down and Penix is up. It shouldn’t surprise anyone if it happens, based on the things Morris said after last night’s narrow win. |
| NEW ORLEANSIt is looking like the Saints will be proceeding without QB DEREK CARR the rest of the season. Myles Simmons of ProFootballTalk.com: There’s some new reporting pouring cold water on Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi’s assertion that it’s not “a reach” to think Derek Carr will be cleared by the end of the season. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, Carr is considered “very unlikely” to return this season. Carr’s left hand is fractured in two places. Rapoport notes the quarterback recently underwent further examination, which determined he’s at least a few weeks away from withstanding contact. Given that there are only three weeks remaining in the season, Carr isn’t likely to return. In his second season with the Saints, Carr has completed 67.7 percent of his passes for 2,145 yards with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions in 10 games. |
| TAMPA BAYPete Prisco of CBSSports.com says we should be watching the Buccaneers going forward There is a team lurking in the NFC that nobody will want to play come playoff time. It’s the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I thought the Bucs could be a playoff team this season. In fact, I picked them to win the NFC South. But after watching them do what they did to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, I am even more impressed by what they are as a team. After falling behind, 17-10, in the second quarter, looking like a team that would flounder on the road, the Bucs scored 30 unanswered points in the second half on their way to a 40-17 blowout. The Bucs had 505 total yards, 222 on the ground, and Baker Mayfield threw four touchdown passes against the league’s top-ranked scoring defense. The Tampa Bay defense harassed Justin Herbert all day long and limited him to 195 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. In the second half, he couldn’t do much of anything. The Bucs are now 8-6 heading to the final three games, leading the NFC South. Mayfield is a big reason why. He has 32 passing touchdowns, the most of his career. He threw two to Mike Evans on Sunday, both on big plays for the veteran receiver. When you combine a tough, bruising running attack with Mayfield’s right arm, the offense is tough to stop. The defense has had injury issues all season, but getting their corners healthy and getting defensive lineman Calijah Kancey going has been big for that unit. The starting safeties are still out, but the backups held up against Herbert. Tampa Bay is up to 12th in my Power Rankings this week. It closes the season with a road game at Dallas this week, followed by home games against the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints. Those teams have a combined record of 14-28, which means the Bucs have a real shot to run the table. If they do, they’ll win the NFC South, clinch the third or fourth seed in the playoffs and play a home game. Like I said, nobody will want to play this team in the postseason. They can score on anybody and when the defense is healthy, that unit can be really good — a great mix of young and old on that side of the ball. Tampa Bay showed last year it could win with Mayfield and gang in the playoffs. Now they are seasoned some, which should make them even more dangerous this time around. That’s why they have to be considered a team that can go on a run in the playoffs and seem to be getting hot at just the right time. |
| NFC WEST |
| SEATTLEThe Seahawks are feeling better about QB GENO SMITH. Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com: Geno Smith underwent imaging on his injured knee Monday, and it appears the Seahawks quarterback escaped serious injury. The MRI showed no structural damage and no fractures. “We’re fortunate. A lot of positive, optimistic signs coming out of the tests,” head coach Mike Macdonald said Monday, via Brady Henderson of ESPN. “Geno’s a beast, man. He’s in here working out in the morning, working through it. I know he’s still feeling it, but this guy’s tough as nails.” Smith injured his knee on a low hit from Packers rookie linebacker Edgerrin Cooper in the third quarter. Smith did not return, playing 35 of 59 snaps in the 30-13 loss. Smith went 15-of-19 for 149 yards and an interception. The two-time Pro Bowler has completed 69.9 percent of his passes for 3,623 yards with 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions this season. |
| AFC WEST |
| KANSAS CITYAn update on QB PATRICK MAHOMES from ESPN.com: The Chiefs then will face the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day, completing a stretch of three games in 11 days. Mahomes was removed from the Chiefs’ 21-7 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday midway through the fourth quarter after being hit while throwing a fourth-down pass that was incomplete. On the play, Mahomes was dragged down from behind by Cleveland defender Dalvin Tomlinson while also getting hit high by Mike Hall Jr. Mahomes was 19-of-38 for 159 yards and two touchdowns before leaving the game. Mahomes was hit on several pass attempts and was pressured 21 times, according to ESPN Research. Mahomes has a history of ankle injuries, including a similar one against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1 of the 2019 season. But perhaps most memorable one came during the playoffs in the 2022 season, when Mahomes hurt his ankle in a divisional-round win over the Jaguars, then played through the pain to help the Chiefs beat the Cincinnati Bengals for the AFC title and the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl. A reminder that not everything the Chiefs do turns to gold. Adam Teicher of ESPN.com: The Chiefs on Monday waived running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, a former first-round draft pick who had fallen far down their depth chart. Edwards-Helaire had hinted at the move in a message posted to X. “Love ya KC!” Edwards-Helaire wrote. “A family I didn’t know I needed, y’all made a Kid from Baton Rouge dreams come true! “To Chiefs Kingdom , its all love and the support I had in troubling times will forever be unmatched from you guys! With love!” Edwards-Helaire, who hasn’t played this season, was the fifth of five running backs on the Chiefs’ roster, behind Isiah Pacheco, Kareem Hunt, Samaje Perine and Carson Steele. The Chiefs will need the roster spot soon. Wide receiver Hollywood Brown returned to practice last week and could be activated from injured reserve in time for Saturday’s game against the Houston Texans at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs drafted Edwards-Helaire out of LSU in 2020. He led the team in rushing that season with 803 yards, but his production decreased every year after that. He lost his starting spot to Pacheco during the 2022 season and never got it back. |
| AFC NORTH |
| BALTIMOREIt sounds like WR DIONTAE JOHNSON will be getting paid to do nothing after serving a one-game suspension. Jason Owens of YahooSports.com: Diontae Johnson and the Baltimore Ravens are taking a break. The Ravens announced Monday that Johnson has been excused from team activities in the aftermath of a one-game suspension for his refusal to enter a game. The Ravens announced Johnson’s status in a one-sentence statement. “We have mutually agreed with Diontae Johnson to excuse him from team activities this week,” the statement reads. Head coach John Harbaugh said this when asked about Johnson’s status at his Monday news conference ahead of Saturday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers: “All I’m really thinking about right now is Pittsburgh and getting our team ready for Pittsburgh,” Harbaugh said, per The Athletic. “He won’t be here this week, and next week will take care of itself.” Johnson is coming off a one-game suspension during Baltimore’s win Sunday over the New York Giants for conduct detrimental to the team. The Ravens announced Johnson’s suspension last Wednesday with a statement that Johnson refused to enter a Dec. 1 game against the Philadelphia Eagles that Baltimore lost, 24-19. “We have made the difficult decision to suspend Diontae Johnson for our upcoming game against the New York Giants for conduct detrimental to the team,” a Dec. 4 statement from general manager Eric DeCosta reads. “Diontae’s suspension stems from refusing to enter our game against the Philadelphia Eagles.” Harbaugh previously declined to clarify that Johnson would remain on the Ravens roster during his Dec. 2 news conference. That was after Johnson was a healthy DNP against the Eagles but before the Ravens revealed that he’d refused to enter the game. “We’ll just work it out and see where we’re at over the next few days and this week,” Harbaugh said. Now Johnson’s been suspended for a game and given the vague designation of mutually agreeing to be excused from team activities. The Ravens have so far declined to address Johnson’s long-term status with the team. But Monday’s statement makes clear that he won’t be active for Saturday’s game. |
| AFC SOUTH |
| TENNESSEEBen Arthur of FoxSports.com thinks the Titans will be on the QB market soon with QB WILL LEVIS dooming himself with turnovers: Titans: Have we officially seen the end of the Will Levis era in Tennessee? It’s certainly a possibility, as he appeared to be benched after four turnovers — three interceptions (including a pick-six) and a lost fumble — in Sunday’s loss to the Bengals. Mason Rudolph didn’t play much better, maybe giving Levis a reprieve, but the nail may already be in the coffin for the former second-round pick’s QB1 prospects in 2025. Any confidence the team seemed to have in him over the previous five games, when he showed significant improvement, seemed to evaporate with one of the worst performances of his career. The apparent benching is notable as coach Brian Callahan had previously been adamant about Levis playing, as long as he’s healthy, to assure a full evaluation. Most in the scouting community is down on the 2025 quarterback class, and the Titans’ current positioning could make it difficult to get Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward. So maybe a veteran quarterback is on the table for next season, someone like Russell Wilson or Sam Darnold, assuming they’re available. — Ben Arthur |
| AFC EAST |
| BUFFALOSome bigtime Bills numbers from Fox Sports: * Bills have scored 17 total touchdowns with no sacks and no turnovers in the last three games combined; they are the only team since the 1970 merger with three straight games of five or more touchdowns, zero turnovers, and zero sacks. * Bills are the second team all-time to snap multiple 10+ game win streaks in a season when including the playoffs, joining the 2009 Jets; they snapped the Lions’ 11-game win streak this past Sunday and snapped the Chiefs’ 15-game win streak in Week 11. * Bills now have a 21-3 record in December/January regular-season games over the past five seasons, the best in NFL in that span. * Bills have scored 30+ points in eight straight games, tied for the longest streak within a single season in NFL history; have scored 40+ points in consecutive games for the third time in franchise history. |
| MIAMIWhen the preseason started – QBs SKYLAR THOMPSON and MIKE WHITE battled for the backup job behind TUA TAGOVAILOA. Now, both are gone with TYLER HUNTLEY the only other QB on either the active roster or practice squad. Myles Simmons ofProFootballTalk.com: Skylar Thompson has reached the open market. Thompson has cleared waivers and is now available to sign with any team. The Dolphins waived Thompson on Saturday. In three games this season, Thompson completed 21-of-33 passes for 187 yards. He started the Week 3 loss to Seattle. A seventh-round pick in 2022, Thompson has played 10 career games with three starts. He’s completed 58.7 percent of his throws for 721 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. He also started Miami’s 2022 playoff loss to Buffalo, completing 18-of-45 passes for 220 yards with one touchdown and two picks. Could Teddy Bridgewater be on the horizon? His first season as a high school coach is over – with a state championship. Steven Taranto of CBSSports.com: In his first season coaching football after retiring from the NFL, former Louisville Cardinals star and pro quarterback Teddy Bridgewater led Miami Northwestern Senior High School to the Class 3A Florida High School Athletic Association state title on Saturday night. Bridgewater, who took over this year as coach for his alma mater, led the Bulls to a 41-0 triumph over previously undefeated Raines. With a state title, Bridgewater capped off a swift turnaround for Miami Northwestern after the team had gone 4-6 in 2023. The Bulls went 12-2 on the season, finishing the year on a 10-game winning streak and outscoring its opponents 262-12 in five postseason games. With its 2024 triumph, Miami Northwestern now has a claim to eight state titles overall. After excelling as a player at Miami Northwestern, Bridgewater starred in college at Louisville before being taken by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Although a devastating knee injury in 2016 derailed his career, Bridgewater went on to once again become a starting quarterback for the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos while also playing for the New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions. Bridgewater, 32, retired from playing to pursue coaching after spending the 2023 season as a backup on the Lions. Miami Northwestern is 10 miles south of Hard Rock Stadium down I-95.- – -Mike Florio seems to think the Dolphins need a change – perhaps of head coach: Miami’s last chance to turn a failed season around came on Sunday in Houston. The Dolphins failed to capitalize, thanks in part to three interceptions thrown by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Each of the three passes were meant for receiver Tyreek Hill, who once boasted that Tua is the most accurate quarterback in the NFL. “The bad news first is that there were in fact three interceptions,” coach Mike McDaniel told reporters on Monday when asked about the trio of miscues. “That’s the bad news. The good news is both Tyreek and Tua have been very accountable, and both say it’s their fault. That’s what you want. It’s the second-best to not having the discussion at all because it didn’t happen, but I think it’s very important as you move forward within the NFL season to prepare for the next opponent that guys, your whole locker room, is pointing the thumb, not the finger . . . . And the best way to ensure that is your captains are handling themselves that way. I think, I hear both of them, the things that they could have done and I think that’s a — I can let them argue over that responsibility because at the end of the day, the responsibility of the ball goes to everybody and the only way that you’re going to make sure that that mistake or those mistakes don’t happen again, is if you have accountability to have standards of play that don’t allow for that. So I was happy with their response to the situation because what you don’t want are people talking about what the other person could do, because they’re not the other person, that doesn’t help what we’re trying to do.” That’s fine. But it’s far better not to have anything to be accountable about. For Tua and Tyreek, it’s three very bad plays. Three interceptions. Whether Tyreek was in the wrong place or Tua made a bad decision or threw a bad pass, it shows that there’s a ceiling. On the Dolphins. On Tua. Perhaps on McDaniel. After the firing of Brian Flores and the hiring of McDaniel, the franchise went overboard to prop up Tua. Which is fine. At some point, however, he needs to prop up himself. Time after time, he has had a chance to validate the team’s faith in him, and he has failed. As Simms has said in the aftermath of Sunday’s loss, the team’s highest-paid player (at $55 million per year) needs to step up in key moments. More often than not, and particularly when not playing at home and/or against a great team, Tua doesn’t. And there’s nothing the Dolphins can do about it. Not until 2027, that is. The contract the Dolphins gave him (while bidding only against themselves) ties him to the team through 2026. Is Tua good? Yes. Can he run the team’s Harlem Globetrotter offense, keeping defenses guessing as to where the ball is? Absolutely. Does that show travel? It does not. Which means that, for at least the next two years, the Dolphins are destined to be contenders for a quick postseason exit, not contenders for a championship. |
| NEW YORK JETSWhen the Jets lost to Miami, 32-26, in Week 14, it was a Scorigami – the first 32-26 game in NFL history. Well, what about Sunday’s 32-25 win at Jacksonville? Nope. It was the 3rd 32-25 regular season game in NFL history, the last in 2006. The Cardinals beat the Eagles, 32-25, in a 2009 playoff game, as well. But we did have a Scorigami last week as Buffalo won the first 48-42 game over the Lions. The 1090th unique score in NFL history.- – -Thomas Dimitroff, who had a decent GM run with Atlanta, emerges as a Jets candidate. Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com: The Jets have completed an interview with Thomas Dimitroff for their vacant General Manager post, the team announced Monday. Dimitroff, 58, is the first candidate to interview with the team since the Jets fired Joe Douglas on Nov. 19. Dimitroff was the Patriots’ director of college scouting from 2003-07 and the Falcons’ G.M. from 2008-20. Dimitroff, a 28-year veteran of the NFL, was recognized as NFL Executive of the Year in 2008 and in 2010. In his first draft with the Falcons, Dimitroff selected Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan with the No. 3 overall selection. From 2008-12, the Falcons had five consecutive winning seasons and went to the playoffs four times while claiming the NFC South division title twice. After changing coaches from Mike Smith to Dan Quinn, the Falcons advanced to Super Bowl LI to the end of the 2016 NFL season. After departing the Falcons, Dimitroff helped created a football analytics company, SumerSports, in January 2022. The company says its aim is to provide “the best in class quantitative analysis aimed at creating precision in player acquisition and roster management in the NFL.” Jets Chairman Woody Johnson is leading the searches for a General Manager and head coach. He hired The 33rd Team in a support role to help identify and vet candidates in addition to coordinate interviews. Jeff Ulbrich and Phil Savage are serving as the team’s interim head coach and General Manager, respectively. |
| THIS AND THAT |
| THE RIVAL LEAGUEFor the first time since the Donald Trump-led USFL in the early 1980s, the NFL has a significant rival for the services of some of its players – it’s called the NCAA. Not for every player, but we are seeing how it makes more sense (and cents) for quarterbacks who have eligibility remaining to stay in college rather than enter the NFL Draft. And perhaps at other positions. Consider the case of Texas QB QUINN EUERS who probably will be on the move from Austin even if the Longhorns take the CFP title. And, his best financial option for 2025 will be another school even as Texas casts him aside for QB ARCH MANNING. This Tweet last week from NFL Rookie Watch got things started: Quinn Ewers reportedly “has a deal on the table” from a team in the Big 10 for $4 million to transfer next season and forgo the NFL Draft. Ewers is reportedly debating on transferring and staying in college for another season or entering the draft. Several NFL scouts reportedly have Ewers ranked “outside” of their Top-4 QB’s in this year’s draft. The Longhorns QB is going to get the BAG with either decision he makes. Ohio State, Penn State, Oregon, USC, and many other possibilities could possibly be on the table for the Longhorns QB Michigan State was subsequently said to be that Big Ten school. And Euers agent has apparently “shot down” that tale, implying his client will either go to the NFL Draft or stay at Texas. DAZN.com says this is the NFL rookie contract scale – presumably the total of the four-year mandatory deal: How much do players outside the first round earn?In the second round, contracts start at $9.9million and drop to $6.3million. The third round goes from $6million to $5.5million, while the parameters for the fourth round are between $4.5million and $4.8million. This number continues to decrease right until the end of the seventh round when the final draft pick – known as Mr Irrelevant – will be able to sign a $4.09million deal. Here is a case of Washington State QB John Mateer spurning the Cougars for SEC riches next year – said to be in excess of $3 million. Andrew McCarty ofAthlonSports.com: On Monday one of the most talented quarterbacks in college football hit the transfer portal after putting up nearly 4,000 total yards and 44 total touchdowns. Washington State quarterback John Mateer threw for over 3,000 yards with 29 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. He added another 826 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground while leading the Cougars to an 8-4 record in the Pac-12. Over the weekend, Washington State coach Jake Dickert spoke with Mateer, who informed the team he was entering the transfer portal after a strong season. “I think a John will be the best player in the country next year,” Dickert said. “He informed us that he is going to hit the portal. The biggest thing for our program is it proves our process is working. We are offering a bunch of kids who don’t have power 5 offers and developing something really special.” During his meeting with reporters, Dickert revealed Washington State had a seven-figure offer on the table for Mateer, but the quarterback opted to enter the transfer portal anyway. The star quarterback has been predicted to land at Oklahoma, where former Washington State offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle is the new offensive coordinator. Reports earlier in the week indicated that Mateer already holds a $3 million offer from an SEC program. Now it appears he’s ready to leave Pullman for a new team – potentially in the SEC, despite holding a strong offer from his current program. That apparently is $3 million for one year. QB BRYCE UNDERWOOD is making close to that – and he still hasn’t thrown a single pass in college: The biggest news in college football this week was the NIL-influenced flip of star high school quarterback Bryce Underwood. Originally committed to the LSU Tigers, there were reports that the school was offering him a deal that would pay $1.5 million annually for four years. It was a deal that the Michigan Wolverines were willing to blow out of the water. Desperate for a long-term option under center, they made Underwood an offer he could not refuse. Their four-year deal was reportedly worth $10 million, with some reports saying that he could make up to $12 million during his time in Ann Arbor. The No. 1 rated quarterback and overall player in the 2025 class, it makes sense why schools were offering him so much money. Now, consider the case of QB BROCK PURDY – banned by the terms of the current collective bargaining agreement from getting a raise for his three seasons to day. His cumulative pay for that period is – $2,885,346. We think the days of quarterbacks jumping to the NFL with eligibility remaining with anything but a surefire first round grade are behind us until the NFL loosens up the rookie part of the collective bargaining agreement. |
