| If The Season Ended Today: NFC ConfChicago North 9-3 6-2LA Rams West 9-3 4-3Philadelphia East 8-4 7-3Tampa Bay South 7-5 5-2Seattle WC1 9-3 5-3Green Bay WC2 8-3-1 6-1-1San Francisco WC3 9-4 8-2 Detroit 7-5 4-4Carolina 7-6 5-3Dallas 6-5-1 3-4-1 At this point, the Bears and Packers in the NFC North and the Big Three in the NFC West appear to be in the playoffs in some form (with the Lions really needing a win Thursday against the Cowboys). Carolina is a half-game back of the Buccaneers in the NFC South with two head-to-head meetings still to come. Dallas is trying to chase down the Eagles in the NFC East. If The Season Ended Today in the AFC: AFC ConfNew England East 11-2 7-2Denver West 10-2 6-2Jacksonville South 8-4 5-2 Baltimore North 6-6 4-4LA Chargers WC1 8-4 7-2Indianapolis WC2 8-4 6-3Buffalo WC3 8-4 5-3Houston 7-5 6-2Pittsburgh 6-6 5-3Kansas City 6-6 3-4Miami 5-7 2-5Cincinnati 4-8 4-4 Big games this week – Dallas at Detroit (Thurs)Pittsburgh at Baltimore (Early CBS)Cincinnati at Buffalo (Early FOX)Indianapolis at Jacksonville (Early CBS) first meetingChicago at Green Bay (Late FOX) first meetingHouston at Kansas City (Sun night)Philadelphia at LA Chargers (Mon night) The Chiefs are slowly sinking in the wide-open Super Bowl odds (ESPN Bet). But the Chargers, two games ahead of the Chiefs in the same division, still have three times longer odds. Two teams from the same division sitting at 1-2. The second meeting between the Rams and the Seahawks is a Thursday night affair in Seattle on December 18. The two teams with double-digit wins (New England and Denver) are still not in the top four. The NFC leader (Chicago) has the 15th longest odds! Los Angeles Rams +450Seattle Seahawks +700 Buffalo Bills +950Green Bay Packers +950Denver Broncos 10-1Philadelphia Eagles 10-1New England Patriots 11-1Indianapolis Colts 12-1Kansas City Chiefs 17-1Baltimore Ravens 18-1San Francisco 49ers 25-1Jacksonville Jaguars 28-1Houston Texans 28-1Detroit Lions 28-1Chicago Bears 40-1Tampa Bay Buccaneers 45-1Los Angeles Chargers 50-1Dallas Cowboys 70-1Cincinnati Bengals 150-1Pittsburgh Steelers 180-1Carolina Panthers 300-1- – -We remember when there were just four teams in the CFB playoffs If we still had that, we would have the Ohio State/Indiana winner, the Georgia/Alabama winner and then a lot of arguing between Texas Tech (if it beat BYU), the Indiana/Ohio State loser and the SEC which would want the other two spots for Texas A&M and the Georgia/Alabama loser. Now, people are getting frenetic about the mighty Miami Hurricanes, Notre Dame, Texas, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, BYU. Although actually with the current balance in CFB, those aren’t as distant from the top as the mid 10s teams would have been a few years ago. With that in mind, we would propose that instead of going to meaningless bowl games, CFP sponsors a Frustrated Four tournament, sort of like the NIT in basketball. December 27 Miami/Notre Dame vs Vanderbilt at Gator Bowl, Jacksonville BYU vs Texas at Kinder’s Texas Bowl, Houston January 2 winners meet at Duke’s Mayo Bowl, Charlotte |
| NFC NORTH |
| CHICAGOThe Bears sit atop the NFC at the moment, despite what their coach says is a substandard passing game. Kevin Patra of NFL.com: Ben Johnson has his Chicago Bears sitting atop the NFC after Thanksgiving. Friday’s win over the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, coupled with the Los Angeles Rams’ loss in Carolina on Sunday, vaulted the Windy City warriors to the No. 1 seed. Holding the top spot heading into Week 14 isn’t Johnson’s goal. “It doesn’t mean anything,” Johnson said on Monday, via the team’s official transcript. “There are five games left, so we’ve got a long ways to go, and we have not been guaranteed a spot in the tournament yet. We have to earn that. And the only way you can earn that right is by finding a way to win the next game. So that’s where our sole focus is.” The Bears have found a way to win plenty over the past two months. Friday marked their fifth consecutive win, and Johnson’s club has won nine of its past 10. An opportunistic defense, which leads the league with 26 takeaways, and an offense that takes advantage of late-game opportunities have been the winning formula for the Bears. Johnson’s rushing attack, which was slowed early in the season, has found its footing. Chicago stampeded Philly last week, rushing for 281 yards and two scores. D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai each had 125-plus rush yards and one touchdown in Week 13, becoming the first Bears teammate duo each with 100-plus rush yards in a game since Walter Payton and Matt Suhey in Week 10, 1985. The biggest impediment to Chicago holding on to the top spot during the final five weeks might be the passing game, which comes and goes, along with Caleb Williams’ accuracy. It’s been a roller-coaster season for the second-year quarterback. There are moments when he looks like a top-5 passer in the league. Next, he’ll sail an out-route 10 yards over his receiver’s head despite a clean pocket. In the Philly win, Williams completed 17 of 36 passing for 154 yards with a TD and an interception. Williams has been over the 60% completion mark just four times this season and hasn’t hit that low bridge since Week 8. Williams is on pace to be the first QB to rank last in the NFL in completion percentage and have his team earn the No. 1 seed since seeding began in 1975. The last QB to rank even in the bottom 5 on the No. 1 seed was Rex Grossman, who led the Bears to Super Bowl XLI in 2006, per Opta Stats. Johnson admitted the passing game needs work. “There’s a number of [throws] that we’ve been talking about where we have to fundamentally be correct,” the coach said. “The primary receiver, when he is open, we want to make sure we hit him. And then, all of our pass catchers, we just harped on it today. We need to be more disciplined in our route detail. It’s not where it needs to be. Our depths are not proper all the time. Our steps aren’t. And so, everybody’s got a role to play to get this pass game cleaned up. It’s not where it needs to be. We’re winning in spite of our passing game, not because of it. None of us are pleased with that right now.” The good news for Chicago is that even as Williams goes through growing pains, the Bears continue to win. The better news: Johnson is building his QB for the future, not the present. The first-year coach isn’t hopping off the track and giving Williams a ton of RPOs or WR screens to hide his struggles. He’s still asking the QB to run his under-center, play-action game. The coach is trying to build a QB for the long haul. “I thought that [Friday] was one of the better jobs he’s had in terms of getting the play call, calling it in the huddle, getting the motions, the shifts,” Johnson said of Williams. “We had a lot of moving parts there in that game to create some eye candy for those defensive players, and I thought he executed it really well for the most part. I screwed up a play call, and he made it right for me. And so, that was good to see. He’s getting better each and every week in that regard of playing the quarterback position. Like I said, it’s all hands on deck for us to clean up this passing game to make it more of a weapon.” In the meantime, Williams has made enough big plays, particularly late in games, to stack wins. After some early-season rockiness, Johnson has done a masterful job coaxing his team to victories, calling excellent games and covering over inadequacies. The Bears enter a pivotal stretch, starting with Sunday’s game against bitter rival Green Bay. “It’s a big week. We know how important this rivalry is,” Johnson said. “… Two of the most winning franchises in the NFL, and I think that continues to be the case. So, it’s a big one.” The Bears have never had a 4,000-yard passer and QB CALEB WILLIAMS has fallen slightly off the pace. At his current rate, he gets to 3,826 if he plays all 17 games. That’s 12 yards short of the Bears record of 3,836 by Erik Kramer in 16 games in 1995. |
| DETROITMore injury woes for CB TERRION ARNOLD. Eric Woodyard of ESPN.com: The Detroit Lions have placed second-year cornerback Terrion Arnold on the injured reserve list with a shoulder injury, which will sideline him for at least four games. Arnold, 22, has started in seven of his eight appearances this season, logging 31 total tackles, eight passes defended and an interception. He missed Monday’s practice after being injured in the Thanksgiving Day loss to the Green Bay Packers. Arnold was originally expected to be “out for a long time,” according to Lions coach Dan Campbell, following a Week 5 shoulder injury against Cincinnati but was able to return earlier than expected after seeking a second opinion. He was also sidelined for two games after sustaining a concussion in Week 10 against the Washington Commanders. The Lions selected Arnold with the 24th pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft out of Alabama. |
| NFC EAST |
| NEW YORK GIANTSDT ABDUL CARTER was benched again for a problem during the week. Jordan Dajani of CBSSports.com: New York Giants rookie pass rusher Abdul Carter was benched for the first quarter of the team’s eventual 33-15 loss to the New England Patriots on Monday night after he was late to a meeting, per On3Sports. It marked the second time in the last three weeks that Carter had been benched. When the Giants starting defense took the field on Monday night, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft was nowhere to be found. However, Carter entered the game in the second quarter and recorded one sack to go along with four tackles. The Patriots had already jumped out to a 17-0 lead before Carter took his first snap. Interim coach Mike Kafka said that it was “his decision” to bench Carter. When the rookie was asked why he was held on the sideline for the opening quarter, he refused to give any details. “Shit happens,” Carter said. “I ain’t going to get into detail, like I said, shit happens.” In Week 11, Carter was held out for the opening series vs. the Green Bay Packers. It was reported that the rookie was benched for sleeping through a walkthrough. Carter said this was untrue, and that a schedule change led to his confusion. He claimed he was getting treatment at the time he should have been at practice. We saw a salacious reason for which Carter was allegedly benched, but that has proven to be from a parody account. This from Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post: Source: #Giants Abdul Carter was benched again for missing all/part of a team responsibility, a league source tells me. That’s twice in three games under interim head coach Mike Kafka. Part of a recurring theme this season. |
| PHILADELPHIAA segment of Eagles fans took semi-violent action against the team’s struggling offensive coordinator. Tim McManus of ESPN.com: The New Jersey home of Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo was vandalized with eggs early Saturday morning, according to the Moorestown Police Department. The incident occurred after the Eagles’ 24-15 home loss to the Chicago Bears on Friday. A video surfaced on social media of multiple people appearing to throw objects at Patullo’s home. Online posts suggested it was rocks being thrown, but a Moorestown police representative clarified that it was eggs, adding that the investigation is still ongoing. Patullo, 44, has been under scrutiny amid the Eagles’ offensive woes this season. The highest-salaried offense in the NFL ranks 24th in yards (304.8 per game), 23rd in passing (196.3 YPG), 22nd in rushing (108.5 YPG) and 19th in scoring (22.5 PPG). Patullo has been on the Eagles’ staff since Nick Sirianni was hired as coach in 2021. He was promoted from passing game coordinator and associate head coach to offensive coordinator this offseason to replace Kellen Moore, now the coach of the New Orleans Saints. Sirianni reiterated during a conference call with reporters Monday that Patullo would remain the Eagles’ playcaller following a weekend of evaluation. Philadelphia has lost two straight and now is 8-4 entering its Week 14 game at the Los Angeles Chargers next Monday. One would suspect that an online video could be tracked down if the authorities so desired (see UK policing). |
| WASHINGTONMike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com points out an officiating error that nearly scuttled Washington’s fourth quarter hopes Sunday night: During Washington’s final drive in the fourth quarter of Sunday night’s overtime loss to the Broncos, Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota was penalized for intentional grounding on a first and 15 play from the Washington 46. NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay immediately disputed the call. “This is absolutely not grounding,” McAulay said. “He throws it over the head of No. 17, who is outside the numbers. By rule, that is not intentional grounding.” The play happened immediately after a questionable false start, which pushed the Commanders back to their own 36, facing second and 25. McAulay’s interpretation is the correct one. Although it doesn’t appear in the official rulebook, the NFL’s collection of “Approved Rulings” specifically addresses the situation. The language appears in A.R. 8.83. The title of the approved ruling is “Not Intentional Grounding— Receiver Outside the Numbers.” Here’s what it says: “First-and-10 on B40. QBA1 is about to be tackled in the pocket by B1 at the B48 when he throws the ball out of bounds at the B30. The ball sails over the head of eligible receiver A3, who is between the numbers and the sideline. Ruling: Second-and-10 on B40. No intentional grounding. If A3 was inside the numbers, it would be intentional grounding.” It’s a exception to the grounding rule, no different than the one that allows a quarterback to get outside the pocket and throw past the line of scrimmage, even if the pass isn’t thrown not in the direction of or it doesn’t land in the vicinity of an eligible receiver. While the Commanders eventually converted, keeping their game-tying field-goal drive alive, they shouldn’t have had to gain the yardage or to burn the time needed to do it. They would have had more time to win the game in regulation, with a touchdown. |
| NFC WEST |
| LOS ANGELES RAMSThe NFL’s most effective goal line receiver ever is WR DAVANTE ADAMS. Chris Cwik of YahooSports.com: Los Angeles Rams wideout Davante Adams is having one heck of a season. Despite taking a loss in Week 13, Adams managed two more scores, bringing his season total to a league-leading 14. Both of those scores came within the 5-yard line, which actually helped Adams set a record, per NFL.com. With his two scores Sunday, Adams set the record for most receiving touchdowns inside the 10-yard line. The two scores gave Adams 60 touchdowns of that variety. The previous leader, Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, had 58 such scores over his legendary career. Adams also set the record for most receiving scores inside the 10-yard line in a single season. He has nine this year, passing Randy Moss in 2004 and Bubba Franks in 2001. Both had eight receiving touchdowns within the 10-yard line in those seasons. Adams has been a revelation for the Rams’ offense, and has played a major role in Matthew Stafford elevating his play to MVP level in his 17th season. |
| SAN FRANCISCOThe 49ers don’t seem to be expecting a late season return from WR BRANDON AIYUK. Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com: The 49ers have four games left on their regular season schedule and the question of whether wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk will be playing in any of them came up on Tuesday. Aiyuk has spent the entire season on the physically unable to perform list due to the knee injury that he suffered during the 2024 season and the team has not opened his 21-day practice window at this point. The next time to do so would be after this week’s bye, but General Manager John Lynch offered little reason to think it will happen then or at any point this season. “Realistic, I’m not sure,” Lynch said on KNBR. “Hopeful, yeah. I think that’s where I’d leave that . . . We’re a better football team when Brandon’s out there, but that’s probably what it is, hope right now.” The 49ers voided the remaining guarantees on Aiyuk’s contract earlier this year, which head coach Kyle Shanahan said “doesn’t have anything to do with [Aiyuk’s] future” with the club. Given the injury and the contract situation, though, it may be more likely than not that Aiyuk’s next appearance will come in a different uniform. Meanwhile, WR JAUAN JENNINGS continues to irritate the opposition. Mike Florio: 49ers receiver Jauan Jennings made headlines in Week 12 for getting punched in the nuts, and for reacting accordingly. In Week 13, Jennings sparked compelling sound bites from multiple Browns players, following things Jennings supposedly said after Browns defensive tackle Maliek Collins left the game with a season-ending quad injury. “He’s a hoe, and I want that known,” Browns defensive lineman Shelby Harris said. “Like I see why he got punched in the nuts, because he said some things that you should not say to another man, ever. But, like, I don’t respect it because you say that then run behind your O-line. That’s some real soft shit, and I want that known. I see exactly why they punched him in the nuts. I’m surprised nobody[‘s] punched him in the jaw yet.” On Monday, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan was asked about the situation. “Yeah, my understanding was, I mean, it had nothing to do with Maliek,” Shanahan said of the former 49ers. “We’ve got so much love from Maliek. It just sounded like there were players standing around for a while because of the injury, and then they got chirping at each other. I don’t know what words were said, but it sounded like he offended some guys with the words. But it was just about words during an injury time out.” Shanahan said he has talked to Jennings. “I talked to Jauan, I asked him about it, but not in like, I love how Jauan plays. I think Jauan plays to the whistle as well as any player in this league,” Shanahan said. “He’s extremely aggressive and plays as hard as he can to the whistle and he’s been doing that, as Niners fans know and you guys know, since he’s been here. I think sometimes that offends other players and rubs people the wrong way because they’re not used to people going that hard to the whistle. But I think what J.J. is very good at is not breaking rules. It’s just like at Arizona last year when he went to the whistle so hard it offended some of their corners, and they started throwing punches, and unfortunately, J.J. got kicked out too. But not because he didn’t throw a punch or anything. I think J.J.’s been really good at not breaking rules that way, and he gets other guys to break them a lot on him.” Players talk all the time. Sometimes, they cross the line. When they do, other players will react. And Shanahan seems to be fine with talking and/or any other efforts to get under an opponent’s skin, as long as the rules aren’t broken. If it gets a player from the other team to do something that gets him penalized and/or ejected, that’s an advantage for the 49ers. That doesn’t make it right. It’s just another basic reality of pro football. |
| AFC WEST |
| KANSAS CITYAndy Nesbitt of SI.com on the Chiefs at 6-6: With five games left in the 2025 NFL season, Andy Reid and the Chiefs find themselves in a very unfamiliar, and uncomfortable, spot as they are in serious danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2014. The Chiefs sit at 6-6 following their Thanksgiving Day loss to the Cowboys and, according to NFL.com, now have just a 33-percent chance of making the playoffs. That’s shocking considering they’ve been to three straight Super Bowls and have played in the AFC championship game in all seven seasons that Patrick Mahomes has been the starting quarterback. So what’s the Chiefs’ plan going forward? Reid used a rather strange line to describe that, saying on Monday: “We’re gonna go after you every game. That’s how we roll. We’re gonna try to tickle your tonsils on every play and every game. That’s the attitude we’re coming in with and then you let the chips fall where they may.” Uh, O.K. The Chiefs have been struggling lately, losing three of their last four games. Mahomes and the offense have missed some big plays in those losses and now they have a lot of ground to make up if they want to keep their postseason streak alive. It sounds like they’re going to try to be aggressive down the stretch, which starts this week when they host the Texans, who are 7-5 and also on the playoff bubble. Here is the Chiefs’ remaining schedule 14 Texans Dec. 7, 8:20 p.m. ET15 Chargers Dec. 14, 1 p.m. ET16 at Titans Dec. 21, 1 p.m. ET17 Broncos Dec. 25, 8:20 p.m. ET18 at Raiders Jan. 4, TBD The three toughest remaining games for the Chiefs are against the Texans, Chargers and Broncos. It helps that three of their last five games are at Arrowhead but they could be out of the playoffs completely heading into the Week 17 game against Denver, which is currently fighting for the No. 1 seed in the AFC. The time is now for the Chiefs to make a push but chances are Kansas City will be watching the playoffs from home. That would be weird to see, unless you’re a fan of the other AFC contenders who would love nothing more than to not have to play Mahomes and Co. in the postseason. So the Chiefs are looking at 8-6 with expected wins over Tennessee and Las Vegas. Will two of out three of the tough games to get to 10-7 be enough? |
| LAS VEGASMike Sando of The Athletic reads between the lines and thinks Pete Carroll may be one and done: The firing of Chip Kelly as the Raiders’ offensive coordinator precipitated eyebrow-raising reports from NFL Network insiders Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport. Prepare to read between the lines. Pelissero, speaking on the Rich Eisen Show, said Kelly botched play calls and even called plays not in the game plan. Rapoport, following up on NFL.com, said Carroll forced Kelly to call a version of Carroll’s Seattle offense. This has all the hallmarks of organizational dysfunction. When Carroll took the Seattle job in 2010, he had leverage to hire his own staff without interference. When Carroll took the Las Vegas job in 2025, he was desperate for an NFL return. Carroll was able to hire his sons, but when he did not hire coordinators from his past, such as Darrell Bevell and Gus Bradley, it showed that others influenced the decisions. Carroll surely respects Kelly and defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, but he had no history with either. In a league where time is of the essence, especially for a 74-year-old head coach, why would Carroll sign up for molding veteran coaches to the methods he has spent five decades honing? “When you agree to the staff that you agree to and the wins do not come, that does not become a bargaining chip to get it the way you want,” an exec from another team said. The defense has improved, but Graham, like Kelly, is calling plays the way Carroll would call them. That includes playing base defense a majority of the time (former Seahawks safety Jamal Adams is listed as a linebacker for the Raiders, accounting for more than half of the increase in this area), a huge shift from what Graham did as defensive play caller with the Giants, Dolphins and 2024 Raiders. Graham is playing more single-high safety defense and less man coverage, especially on third down. He’s playing more Cover 3 and is blitzing less frequently. The Raiders lost 31-14 to the Chargers in Los Angeles on Sunday, their fifth loss this season by 17 or more points, tied with the Titans for most in the league. The Athletic’s projection model gives them a 19 percent chance at picking first in the 2026 draft, second behind Tennessee (56 percent). Carroll might try to use this lost Raiders season to argue he needs full control over staff hiring to implement his program (he previously fired special teams coach Tom McMahon). Owner Mark Davis, minority owner Tom Brady and any other stakeholders will have to decide whether that beats moving in another direction entirely. It could be a tough sell. “The idea was, Pete was going to come in and make them a playoff team with a veteran quarterback,” the exec added. “It will now be up to the GM to go through a head-coaching search, in my opinion.” |
| LOS ANGELES CHARGERSAfter surgery on his left hand it sounds like QB JUSTIN HERBERT will be available Monday against the defending Super Bowl champs. Kris Rhim of ESPN.com: – Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert underwent surgery on his fractured left hand Monday in Los Angeles, the team said. Herbert is considered day-to-day, according to the Chargers, who added that his status for their Week 14 home game against the Philadelphia Eagles will be determined later this week. Herbert was hurt in Sunday’s win over the visiting Las Vegas Raiders and said afterward he was preparing like he’d be playing against Philadelphia. The injury occurred in the first quarter, when Raiders safety Jeremy Chinn hit Herbert on a scramble. Chinn’s helmet appeared to connect directly with Herbert’s left hand. Herbert stayed in the game, clearly favoring the hand, and threw a touchdown to wide receiver Quentin Johnston on the next play. The signal-caller then went to the locker room with athletic trainers and missed nine plays while a hard cast and glove were applied to his left hand. Herbert said the most challenging part of continuing to compete was holding on to the football; because of that, the Chargers played the remainder of the game out of the shotgun and pistol formations. Coach Jim Harbaugh said the Chargers will prepare backup quarterback Trey Lance this week for under-center goal-line scenarios, whenever necessary. Typically, Herbert takes all of the team’s first-team reps, but Harbaugh said Lance will get time with the starters in those specific packages. “That’ll be a point of emphasis this week,” Harbaugh said Monday. Harbaugh also marveled at Herbert’s ability to play through the injury. “There’s never any grimace or flinch,” Harbaugh said. “It’s pretty amazing.” Two seasons ago, Herbert fractured the middle finger on his left hand also against the Raiders. The Chargers primarily played out of the shotgun to manage that injury. “I think in terms of experience, I’ve gone through similar things, and so I think it’ll be helpful,” he said. “But at the end of the day, just got to go out there and make sure that everything is good, you’re comfortable.” |
| AFC NORTH |
| PITTSBURGHHappy 42nd birthday today to QB AARON RODGERS. |
| AFC SOUTH |
| HOUSTONDJ Bien-Aime of ESPN.com identifies the Texans X Factor for the final push: X factor for final stretch: Quarterback C.J. StroudThe Texans have an elite defense that’s the No. 1 scoring unit in the league (16.4 points per game allowed). So all Houston needs is an effective offense, led by Stroud, that can score 24 points per game. Usually, that’s all the defense needs to capture the win — it has given up more than 20 points in only two games. Stroud admitted he was a “little rusty” in his return from a concussion Sunday, but the Texans need him to return to form with a defense that could power them to another divisional title and potentially a deep playoff run. — DJ Bien-Aime |
| INDIANAPOLISThe good news is that it does not appear to be a season-ending injury for costly trade acquisition CB SAUCE GARDNER. Tarohn Finley of YahooSports.com: Indianapolis Colts cornerback Sauce Gardner is considered week-to-week with the hope that he returns this season, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Gardner, 25, suffered a calf strain in Sunday’s loss to the Houston Texans. Gardner was acquired from the New York Jets at the trade deadline in exchange for two first-round picks and second-year wide receiver Adonai Mitchell. Gardner has played only three games for the Colts before going down. The Colts are 8-4 and on a two-game losing streak. The Colts will play the 8-4 Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. The winner will lead the AFC South. |
| JACKSONVILLEWe didn’t expect to see a position player reporting a punter for threatening language. Although Titans RB JULIUS CHESTNUT did sound more amazed, then threatened. Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com: – Jaguars punter Logan Cooke allegedly saying he would kill Tennessee Titans running back Julius Chestnut during a skirmish in Sunday’s game is normal trash talk between players, Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said. “I’ve probably heard that said, I mean, 100 times from players in games, so whatever,” Coen said Monday afternoon. Chestnut made the allegation in the locker room after the Jaguars’ 25-3 victory at Nissan Stadium. He said it happened during a skirmish following a fourth-quarter punt, and the two players were immediately surrounded by teammates. Jaguars long-snapper Ross Matiscik grabbed a Titans player and threw him to the ground during the altercation. When it was over, Cooke and Matiscik were penalized for unnecessary roughness. Tennessee cornerback Kaiir Elam and safety Mike Brown also were penalized for unnecessary roughness and Brown was ejected. “I don’t even know what I did [to earn the penalty],” Cooke said after the game. “I was trying to take up for my boy Dewey [safety Andrew Wingard]. It is what it is. We live with each other, we ride with each other. That’s all it is. So, play football long enough, football stuff happens.” Chestnut, who blocked Cooke during Titans returner Chimere Dike’s 47-yard return of a previous punt, said after the game he was “just trying to play hard, and he came up to me and said he was going to kill me. So, I don’t know what made him do that. “… That was surprising to me. I ain’t never seen nothing like that before.”– – -The re-imergence of EDGA JOSH HINES-ALLEN has been a big factor for the Jaguars per Mike DiRocco of ESPN.com: X factor for final stretch: Defensive end Josh Hines-AllenIt took Hines-Allen 11 weeks to get his third sack, which gave him a franchise-record 56 for his career. In the past two weeks, however, he has had three sacks and a league-high 16 QB pressures — one more than Cleveland’s Myles Garrett. The Jaguars need Hines-Allen to maintain that surge because of injuries to defensive end Travon Walker (knee) and defensive tackle Arik Armstead (hand). Walker hasn’t practiced in two weeks, and Armstead couldn’t play with a cast on his hand against the Titans. Hines-Allen will have to carry the pass rush, especially in Sunday’s critical game against Indianapolis with the AFC South lead on the line. — Mike DiRocco |
| AFC EAST |
| NEW ENGLANDThe Patriots, with four wins last year, are the first to 11 wins in 2025! Mike Reiss of ESPN.com: Quarterback Drake Maye and the New England Patriots keep chugging along. Maye turned in a masterful performance in a 33-15 beatdown of the visiting New York Giants on Monday night, going 24-of-31 for 282 yards, with 2 touchdowns and no interceptions as the Patriots improved to an NFL-best 11-2 heading into their bye week. “I think he’s realizing what he can be and what the impact that he makes on this offense and being our conductor,” coach Mike Vrabel said. “He means a great deal to this football team.” The Patriots, who have won 10 straight games, next host the Buffalo Bills on Dec. 14 before a road trip to face the Baltimore Ravens on Dec. 21. If the Patriots beat the Bills, they would clinch the AFC East, breaking Buffalo’s streak of five straight division titles. The 2019 Patriots were the last team other than the Bills to win the AFC East. “Bye week is huge. Felt like a long time coming, but we’re here, and we have some important football after the bye week,” said Maye, who leads the NFL with 3,412 passing yards and is the only qualified quarterback completing more than 70% of his passes this season (71.5%). “We’re looking forward to getting healthy, get some guys back, and make a push.” What made Monday’s victory so impressive was that the Patriots were short-handed in key areas, without starting left tackle Will Campbell (knee) and starting left guard Jared Wilson (ankle), along with two of their top three defensive tackles, Milton Williams (ankle) and Khyiris Tonga (chest), and All-Pro special teamer Brenden Schooler (ankle). They attacked from the outset, scoring a field goal on their opening drive, getting a 94-yard punt return for a touchdown from Marcus Jones, and then feeding off the energy of a pad-thumping hit by linebacker Christian Elliss on quarterback Jaxson Dart along the right sideline to score a quick touchdown for a 17-0 lead late in the first quarter. With the Patriots’ win, their chances to be the No. 1 seed in the AFC went from 37% to 46%, according to ESPN Analytics. When the 23-year-old Maye plays like he did Monday, the Patriots can be a tough team to beat. His touchdown passes — 3 yards to receiver Kayshon Boutte and 33 yards to Kyle Williams — were pinpoint against tight coverage. It marked Maye’s sixth game this season in which he completed 75% of his passes and had 2 touchdown passes, which ties Matt Ryan (2016) for the third most in a season behind Tom Brady (2007) and Jared Goff (2024). Brady and Ryan won the NFL’s MVP award in those seasons. “Just trying to be the face of the offense, trying to be the conductor — want the pressure, want the ball in my hands,” Maye said. “I know they feed off of me and feed off of my energy.” Maye is now the odds-on favorite to win MVP at DraftKings Sportsbook. “It’s been exciting,” veteran receiver Stefon Diggs said. “He’s a young quarterback, showing a lot of promise, a lot of confidence.” Like Notre Dame, the Patriots have two early losses, then a 10-game win streak. In the NFL that will get you to the postseason, even though the losses were to Las Vegas and Pittsburgh. In those 10 games, the Patriots have scored 23+ points in every game. In those 10 games, the Patriots have not allowed a single team to score more than 23 points. As we figure it, if you scrambled all the point totals, team and opponent, there would be an 80% chance the Patriots would still be 10-0 in those games and a 20% chance they would be 9-0-1. Maye has not had a 300-yard passing game this year (he was over 300 for an instant Monday night, but penalties offset his 2nd TD pass). But, in a remarkable show of consistency, he has between 259 and 294 in 10 and more than 200 in all 13.- – -Patriots DB MARCUS JONES is another weapon for New England as Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com details his punt return exploits: Patriots punt returner Marcus Jones broke an NFL record on Monday night that had stood for 75 years. The record for the most yards per punt return had belonged to former Bears punt returner George McAfee, who played from 1940 to 1950 and averaged 12.78 yards returning punts in his career. To qualify for that record, a player needs at least 75 career punt returns. On Monday night, Jones made a spectacular play on the 75th punt return of his career, taking it back 94 yards for a touchdown. Jones ended the night with three punt returns for 124 yards, which gives him 77 punt returns for 1,127 yards in his career. That gives him a career average of 14.64 yards per punt return, breaking McAfee’s record by nearly two full yards. After the game, Jones credited his father and his blockers. “Whenever my dad had me in a parking lot when I was like 4 years old, he used to throw the ball in the air and be like, ‘Track it.’ That was the first thing I thought about,” Jones said. “It’s a long journey with punt returns. Everyone doesn’t want to do it. I find a lot of joy when it comes down to it. At the end of the day, ever since I got in the league, I would say the guys that have been blocking for me, I commend them 24/7. Without them I would not be able to get any yards.” Jones knows that opposing punters often give him high and short punts because they want to limit returns, and he says he needs to balance being aggressive with being smart. “The main thing is decision making,” Jones said. “Of course I want to be aggressive, but I also have to be smart at the same time. Whenever there are punts up there I got to go ahead and fair catch, but I try to take advantage of every opportunity I get, so whenever I get time I try to make a play.” Jones has made a lot of plays in his NFL career. |
| THIS AND THAT |
| WE INTERRUPT THIS RED ZONEMichael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com believes more and more commercials are interrupting the Red Zone: For years, the NFL convinced fans to buy the RedZone Channel with the catchphrase, “Seven hours of commercial-free football.” For fans of RedZone, those times were the good old days. And they’re not coming back. NFL RedZone Channel is now riddled with commercials, making a mockery of the league’s previous claims that the addition of commercials on RedZone would be limited in scope. In Week One, the spin from the NFL was that commercials would barely be noticeable — only four short commercials during the whole seven-hour RedZone broadcast. According to Sports Business Journal, by Week 13 the NFL was running 16 ads during RedZone. Half of those feature the audio of a commercial that’s being shown in one box while football can be seen in another box. The other half take over much of the screen with banner ads while football can be seen on a smaller portion of the screen. In many ways, the commercials on RedZone are worse than the commercials for any other broadcast. During a normal game, the commercials come at a predictable time, when the game is in a timeout and the announcers inform viewers that they’re going to a break. Viewers are prepared for those commercials. On RedZone, the commercials just interrupt the broadcast with no warning, suddenly appearing on the screen that a moment earlier had been showing football. You know, football — the “commercial free” thing the NFL once assured us we were going to watch when we paid for RedZone. But commercials now proliferate on the RedZone Channel, and there’s no reason to believe there’s any end in sight. Commercials will continue increasing, and for football fans, the experience of spending a Sunday watching RedZone Channel will continue to get worse. |
| 2026 DRAFTAn update on the draft status of Texas QB ARCH MANNING with Dane Brugler and Nick Baumgardner of The Athletic giving him a double thumbs up whether it is this year or next: If Texas sneaks into the College Football Playoff and Manning excels, is he back on the 2026 radar? If not, has he done enough to (re)establish himself as a top-10 prospect for ’27? Dane Brugler: If Manning goes pro after this season, he will be a first-round lock. He has too much promise, and there are too many QB-needy teams, for him not to go that high. However, all signs point to him returning, which is the no-brainer decision. His toughness and mobility were differentiating factors that fueled the Longhorns’ upset of Texas A&M, but Manning’s inexperience also was evident in his field vision and ball placement. Based on conversations with NFL teams about the potential of the 2027 quarterback class, Manning is expected to be a contender for the No. 1 pick. Most of this season, especially in Texas’ losses, its offense struggled to run the ball or pass protect with any consistency. But it buttoned up both areas against Texas A&M, and the result was more efficient quarterback play. First on the priority list this offseason for Texas is to make sure left tackle Trevor Goosby, running back Tre Wisner and a few other core members of the offense pass on the NFL and return to help Manning take another jump in his development. Nick Baumgardner: At the risk of angering all the haters, Manning is, has been and will continue to be one of the most physically gifted passers in America. That was true in the season-opening loss against Ohio State, just as it was during the upset win over Texas A&M. No one was making that up. If he declared for the 2026 draft, it seems highly unlikely he’d fall outside the first round. There’s almost no way he’d drop beyond the top 50. I still think he’s a 2027 prospect, though. This has been a frustrating year for Texas, no question, but it’s also been a productive one for Manning in that he’s had to push through it. We need to see more consistency from him in the pocket, both in his processing and in general. It’s not unlike the Ty Simpson discussion: We’re talking about a guy who’s started only one year of college ball. Manning also entered the weekend as the second-highest-pressured Power 4 starter. That’s not because Manning has blindly been running into sacks himself, either, but that he’s just been under constant duress because of a shaky O-line. One assumes that’ll improve next year, too. |
