| NFC EAST |
| DALLASBryan DeArdo on how excruciating 2024 has been for Cowboys season ticketholders: The Dallas Cowboys’ Monday evening began with a piece of their stadium’s roof falling to the turf. It ended with a 34-10 loss to the Houston Texans that included some unwanted history. The Cowboys have trailed by at least 20 points in each of their past six home games, an NFL record. As you’d expect, Dallas lost each game. That run of futility began with January’s playoff loss to the Packers and continued during Monday night’s defeat to its in-state rival. Fittingly, the history-making score was courtesy of Texans running back Joe Mixon, who gave Houston a 24-point lead after scoring his third touchdown run of the night with 3 minutes, 16 seconds remaining. Mixon’s touchdown tally Monday night equaled the amount of touchdown runs Dallas has compiled through 10 games this season. It’s hard to fathom that, not too long ago, the Cowboys had won 16 straight games inside AT&T Stadium. That seems like a distant memory now, as Dallas’ home stadium has become one of the NFL’s easiest places to win for opposing teams. New Orleans Saints L 19-44Baltimore Ravens L 25-28Detroit Lions L 9-47Philadelphia Eagles L 6-34 Houston Texans L 10-34 – – -Mike McCarthy will not be put out of his misery and will coach the next seven games with QBs COOPER RUSH or TREY LANCE. Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com: Mike McCarthy is a dead-man walking. That seemed like a given before the season when Jerry Jones decided not to extend his head coach’s contract. The Cowboys assuredly will move on from McCarthy, and most of the rest of the coaching staff, after this season. But they will not change coaches during the season, the owner reiterated after Monday night’s 34-10 loss to the Texans. “I have made a change early on a coach with Chan Gailey, and I’ve always regretted that, and I’ve made a change during the season [with Wade Phillips] and regretted that, and that’s the music I’m listening to,” Jones said, repeating what he said after last week’s loss to the Eagles. Gailey went 10-6 and 8-8 in 1998 and ’99 respectively and was fired despite back-to-back playoff appearances. Phillips was fired in 2010 after a 45-7, non-competitive loss to the Packers dropped the Cowboys to 1-7. Jason Garrett took over as interim coach and was hired for the full-time job in 2011. McCarthy came into this season with three consecutive 12-win seasons. But the Cowboys set him up for failure in 2024 by not doing anything in free agency while letting key players walk out the door. The Cowboys lost their fifth consecutive game on Monday, falling to 3-7. It already is the franchise’s most losses since 2020, McCarthy’s first season, when they went 6-10. The Cowboys appear headed toward their worst season since at least 2015 when they were 4-12. Jones, though, isn’t worried about McCarthy losing the locker room or the team quitting on him. “You don’t need to worry about anybody in that locker room giving everything they’ve got and more and how bad they feel when they get beat on a play or get beat in a quarter or the whole game, at all,” Jones said. “I don’t ever worry about that.” The Cowboys are 45-32 in McCarthy’s five seasons, with a 1-3 postseason record. He and the entire coaching staff are in the final year of their contracts. This summation of the Cowboys’ plight from Jane Slater of NFL Network: @SlaterNFLI don’t think it’s all on Mike to be clear. In speaking with a number of people lately, it’s the whole dynamic. Ignoring the glaring needs before the season, injuries, stubbornness from top down to coaching, difference of opinion on personnel and inadvertently it lands on Mike. But the frustration is there and it’s not inconceivable to think that maybe a different voice gives something to the rest of the season. Mike himself has to be frustrated. I also believe both Mike’s have tried to get through to the guys but not everyone is receiving it and given alll the issues that’s basic human psychology but this is a very deflated group right now. – – -Mike Florio is critical of a McCarthy coaching decision that did not work out Monday. Another prime-time game, another key coaching decision potentially changes everything. The Cowboys, down by 10, got a 64-yard field goal from Brandon Aubrey to make it a one-score game with 4:16 to play in the third quarter. A head-slap foul by Texans defensive lineman Derek Barnett forced Dallas coach Mike McCarthy to make a decision. By all appearances, he didn’t think twice about it. Take the points off the board, and take a fresh set of downs at the Houston 31. But here’s the reality. Even if the drive had ended in a touchdown, it still would have been a one-score game. And it would have taken more time off the clock. Why not take the points, kick to the Texans, and force them to do something with the next possession? What would Houston’s mindset have been at that point? They’d outplayed the Cowboys all night, but they led by only seven points. And they’d just blown on the prior Sunday night a 16-point second-half lead to the Lions. Would the Texans have been a little tight? Absolutely. A failure to convert a first down would have given the Cowboys the ball back, down seven points. Instead, the drive ended with a failed fourth down and two by the Cowboys at the Texans’ eight, and it remained a two-score game. Before too long (thanks to a strip-sack fumble return by Barnett), it was a three-score game, and it was basically over. Yes, it wouldn’t have been as big of an issue if the Cowboys had gotten seven after taking three off the board. But it still would have been a one-score game when Houston next had the ball, with less time for the Cowboys to tie the game and win it than if the Cowboys had kicked off the field goal. Anayltics are important to football. But they must yield to the intangible realities of momentum — especially when facing a team that blew a seven-point lead against the Jets in Week 9 and a 16-point lead against the Lions in Week 10. Field goal or touchdown, it would have been a one-score game. Why not make it a one-score game with the 64-yard field goal and see if Houston can avoid blowing it again? The actual key coaching decision may have been going for it on 4th-and-2 at the 8. |
| NEW YORK GIANTSAdam Schefter is among those hearing that the Giants will stay the course with the duo of GM Joe Schoen and Coach Brian Daboll despite the downward spiral of 2024. Dan Duggan of The Athletic has his doubts about their ability to get the team the QB help it needs. Giants general manager Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll signed quarterback Daniel Jones to a four-year, $160 million contract in 2023. Jones was benched Monday 16 starts into that contract. Schoen and Daboll signed Drew Lock to a one-year, $5 million contract this offseason to be Jones’ backup. But when Jones got benched, the Giants leapfrogged Lock and are going with No. 3 QB Tommy DeVito, who was already on the roster this offseason on a minimum contract. One of the arguments for giving Schoen and Daboll a fourth season is to grant them the opportunity to draft and develop a quarterback. But their misevaluation of quarterbacks with loads of NFL experience over the past two offseasons should cause concern about the duo’s ability to land a franchise QB from a draft class lacking can’t-miss options. Schoen and Daboll have been boosted by their roles as assistant GM and offensive coordinator, respectively, in Buffalo when the Bills turned Josh Allen from a raw quarterback prospect into a perennial MVP candidate. And some solace can be taken from their documented interest in Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye in this year’s draft. But the reality is that Schoen and Daboll have had three offseasons to find a quarterback, and they landed in this mess. That’s not a comforting thought, especially with them likely feeling pressured to take a quarterback in next year’s draft. That’s how a team ends up using the sixth pick on a quarterback like Jones. Here are more thoughts on the Giants’ first quarterback change in five years: The holes in that theoryOne of the rebuttals to Schoen and Daboll whiffing on the Jones contract is the notion that ownership forced their hand. There’s nothing more than circumstantial evidence about ownership’s fondness for Jones to support that theory. Meanwhile, there is evidence Schoen and Daboll were on board with building around Jones. Ownership’s affinity for Jones wasn’t a secret when Schoen and Daboll were hired. John Mara uttered his infamous, “We’ve done everything to screw this kid up,” line at Schoen’s introductory news conference. Still, ownership didn’t prevent the new regime from declining Jones’ $22.4 million fifth-year option for the 2023 season within months of being hired. Fast-forwarding to this offseason, it was abundantly clear Mara wanted to retain running back Saquon Barkley. But even coming off a 6-11 season, Schoen stood his ground and let Barkley walk in free agency to the Philadelphia Eagles, which was Mara’s nightmare scenario. So to buy the theory that ownership forced Schoen and Daboll to extend Jones, one has to believe they went against ownership’s wishes immediately after they were hired and again coming off a losing season but not when their equity was at its highest after a playoff win. That doesn’t add up. Schoen could have pointed to his first year in Buffalo when the Bills overachieved and reached the playoffs behind steady play from inherited quarterback Tyrod Taylor. That surprising success didn’t fool the Buffalo front office, as it traded Taylor after the season and moved up to take Allen in the 2018 draft. There was little chance of the Giants following the Buffalo blueprint to the extreme of dumping Jones after the franchise’s first playoff win in a decade. But the franchise tag was a reasonable compromise if Schoen and Daboll had serious reservations about Jones. Ownership obviously wouldn’t have fired Schoen and Daboll if they insisted on the tag because they weren’t sold on Jones as the long-term answer. And that’s where it comes back to the lack of evidence that they were forced to extend Jones. Schoen has admitted that he made mistakes coming off the playoff run in 2022. He spoke last week about being “blinded” by the success of that season, which is alarming considering they only won nine games and had a negative point differential. It’s not hard to believe Schoen and Daboll convinced themselves that they could win with Jones, who was 25 and coming off the best season of his career. Their actions — tagging Barkley, trading for tight end Darren Waller, restructuring contracts to facilitate free-agent signings — demonstrated their belief they would build off their 2022 success. Of course, that was a miscalculation. Forget building on 2022; Jones put together the worst 16-game stretch of his career after signing the extension. Even if re-signing Jones complied with ownership’s wishes, Schoen and Daboll have to own the quarterback’s failures the past two seasons. Lock-ed out?There was no suspense regarding Jones’ fate after his dismal performance in a loss to the Carolina Panthers before the bye week. But it was a surprise the Giants tabbed DeVito as the replacement instead of Lock. Daboll indicated he’s hoping to rediscover the “spark” DeVito provided when pressed into starting duty as an undrafted rookie last season. DeVito’s run as the starter, which was forced by injuries to Jones and veteran backup Tyrod Taylor, was a fun distraction during a miserable season, and he was efficient during a three-game winning streak. But Italian-themed celebrations aside, DeVito’s time as the starter needs to be put in perspective. The Giants created 12 takeaways during the three-game winning streak. They have just eight takeaways in 10 games this season, so a repeat of that type of dominant defense is unlikely. DeVito also got two of those victories against the Patriots and Commanders, who both finished last season with four wins. DeVito’s performance against a quality Packers team on “Monday Night Football” was a true highlight, but he immediately crashed back to earth and was benched midway through a game two weeks later for Taylor. DeVito was sacked 36 times in the eight games he played significant snaps last season. The offensive line for most of those games featured LT Andrew Thomas, LG Justin Pugh, C John Michael Schmitz, RG Ben Bredeson and RT Tyre Phillips. In other words, he wasn’t playing behind the ragtag group the Giants assembled for much of the season. The current line may not be any better than that with Thomas out for the season and Evan Neal back at right tackle. Daboll said the decision to start DeVito isn’t a reflection on Lock. That’s an impossible claim to take seriously. DeVito was under contract for the minimum this offseason when the Giants targeted Lock, who had made 21 career starts over five seasons, to be the backup. That was a priority signing due to questions about Jones’ health and performance. Lock spent the entire spring as the first-team quarterback as Jones rehabilitated from a torn ACL. Lock then became the No. 2 QB in training camp when Jones returned. Lock suffered a hip injury in the first preseason game, but he opened the season as the No. 2 quarterback despite still dealing with the injury. Lock was the backup for each of the first 10 games, with DeVito relegated to the emergency third QB role. When Daboll was seeking a “spark” while trailing the Eagles 28-3 in Week 7, Jones was replaced by Lock for the fourth quarter. So why did DeVito jump Lock on the depth chart when Jones was permanently benched? The only rational explanation is that Daboll and Schoen were spooked by what they saw from Lock in his preseason and regular-season appearances. That only amounted to two quarters of action, but Lock looked so bad that it’s entirely possible leadership was concerned about how ugly it would get if he took over as the starter. DeVito has limitations, but he’s likely viewed as a safer option. DeVito showed he can be a game manager last season, only throwing three interceptions on 178 attempts. Lock threw an NFL-high 15 interceptions on 443 attempts in his last extended action during the 2020 season. It would be a terrible look for Schoen and Daboll if the offense got worse after benching Jones and turning to Lock. It won’t be a great look if DeVito flops, but they have to believe there’s at least a chance he provides a baseline level of competency. Daboll needs to squeeze whatever he can out of DeVito. If it’s revealed that the offensive problems weren’t Jones’ fault, the coach will face increased scrutiny. Showcase? Slow downThe idea the next seven games are a showcase for DeVito is far-fetched. Yes, if he channels Kurt Warner in 1999, then the Giants will need to recalculate their quarterback plan. But they witnessed DeVito start six games last season, benched him for poor play and didn’t even consider him as an option for the No. 2 job this offseason. As noted, the Giants are going to be in the market for a quarterback in next year’s draft. It’s conceivable DeVito could play well enough to enter the equation as the backup, but the Giants likely will target a more established veteran as a bridge option. So DeVito will most likely wind up back as the No. 3 quarterback next year unless he makes an extraordinary improvement from last season. No riskThe Giants made Jones the No. 3 quarterback, which is evidence that this decision is at least partly based on his $23 million injury guarantee. Schoen and Daboll would never announce that publicly, and there’s no need to since there are legitimate performance-based reasons for the benching. But going from the starter to inactive on game day indicates the Giants are done with Jones so they don’t want to risk an injury that will trigger the $23 million guarantee. The Giants will surely cut Jones sometime before the start of the new league year in March. That will leave them with a $22.2 million dead money charge on the 2025 cap while creating $19.4 million in cap savings. Taking the plungeWhen the Giants inevitably draft a quarterback next year, it will be their first plunge into the QB pool since taking Jones in 2019. They are one of three teams not to draft a quarterback since 2019. The Chiefs, who took Patrick Mahomes in the first round of the 2017 draft, and the Seahawks, who took Alex McGough in the seventh round of the 2018 draft, are the others. Beyond that trio, the Bills, Bengals, Jaguars, Cowboys and Buccaneers are the only teams not to take a quarterback since Schoen and Daboll arrived in New York in 2022. |
| NFC SOUTH |
| CAROLINAQB BRYCE YOUNG will be the QB Sunday against the Chiefs in Charlotte – and rookie RB JONATHON BROOKS will indeed make his debut. David Newton of ESPN.com: Coach Dave Canales said he “fully expects” running back Jonathon Brooks to make his NFL debut after spending the first half of his rookie season rehabbing from ACL surgery last November at the University of Texas. Young won his past two starts before the bye week, helping the Panthers (3-7) to consecutive wins for the first time since 2022. “This is about the continued progress, Bryce looking more and more confident,” Canales said Monday as the team returned from its bye. “Just an aggressiveness to his play … and of course the end result, winning. “He continues to do things to put us in a position to put him back out there and continue to build on that.” The Chiefs (9-1) are coming off their first loss of the season, a 30-21 setback to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Young led the Panthers to a 20-17 overtime win against the New York Giants in Munich and a 23-22 victory against the New Orleans Saints in his past two starts. The top pick of the 2023 draft is 2-3 this season and 4-17 for his career. He was benched in favor of Andy Dalton after an 0-2 start, but got the job back after Dalton suffered a thumb injury in a minor car accident. Brooks will team with Chuba Hubbard, fourth in the NFL in rushing with 818 yards. Canales said he doesn’t expect running back Miles Sanders to play. Is it silly of the DB to think the rested Panthers may have a shot at a Chiefs team coming off a loss in Buffalo? |
| NFC WEST |
| SAN FRANCISCORB CHRISTIAN McCAFFREY has had 100+ scrimmage yards in his two games back, but he feels he can do better. Kyle Shanahan thinks he’s been just fine. Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com: 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey was more critical of his play against the Seahawks after Sunday’s loss than head coach Kyle Shanahan was when he discussed McCaffrey’s play on Monday. McCaffrey ran 17 times for 79 yards and caught four passes for 27 yards in the 20-17 49ers loss and said after the game that he feels he “can be a lot better” than that. History backs up that feeling, but Shanahan didn’t find much to pick apart about McCaffrey’s performance. “I think Christian’s doing a good job,” Shanahan said, via 49ersWebzone.com. “I didn’t think he had any opportunity for some big ones. They kept him contained pretty good, especially in their two shell defenses, so there might have been one run he left a little bit out there. But I don’t think I’ve ever said that there isn’t a run that you left a little bit out there in a game. But I think Christian’s doing a good job.” McCaffrey had 107 yards from scrimmage against the Buccaneers in his 2024 debut in Week 10, but has not scored a touchdown yet and the entire 49ers offense was missing explosive plays against Seattle. Getting that part of McCaffrey’s game in gear would be a significant development as the 49ers try to put everything together for a strong finishing stretch. And QB BROCK PURDY is on the injury list. Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com: On an already lengthy injury list full of some of the biggest names on the team, the San Francisco 49ers had another significant addition Monday: quarterback Brock Purdy. Coming out of Sunday’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Purdy is dealing with soreness in his right (throwing) shoulder, according to Niners coach Kyle Shanahan. At first blush, the shoulder issue does not appear to be long term, but Purdy will be watched closely when the Niners begin their practice week Wednesday. Advertising “He’s day-to-day,” Shanahan said. Shanahan wasn’t sure if there was a specific play that directly affected Purdy’s shoulder but said the soreness is likely the result of hits Purdy took during the game against Seattle. Shanahan added he didn’t think the shoulder soreness affected Purdy during the game. Purdy was 21-of-28 for 159 yards with a touchdown and an interception against the Seahawks while being sacked twice. He also rushed five times for 40 yards and a touchdown where he took some additional hits. Still, Sunday’s game was a slog for a Niners offense that had its lowest total yardage output (277) since Week 6 of last season and couldn’t muster any plays longer than a 22-yard completion to wideout Jauan Jennings. |
| AFC WEST |
| LAS VEGASWith one more week until QB AIDAN O’CONNELL (broken thumb) can come off IR, the Raiders will stick with QB GARDNER MINSHEW II as the starter Sunday vs. Denver. They are not going to give QB DESMOND RIDDER a spin per Coach Antonio Pierce on Monday.- – -Dianna Russini of The Athletic is among those hearing that Tom Brady will not be a passive minority owner as the Raiders look at QBs and more for 2025: • New Raiders minority owner Tom Brady represents “excellence,” according to Raiders majority owner Mark Davis. While Brady is busy broadcasting for Fox and may have only 10 percent equity in the Raiders, I expect his involvement in running the team to be closer to 90 percent. We already know the organization wants to lean on Brady when picking a future quarterback. One of Davis’s strengths is his openness to listening to experienced football people, and he values Brady’s understanding of what it takes to win at a high level. |
| LOS ANGELES CHARGERSIn case you wondered, when he scored the go-ahead TD Sunday night, RB J.K. DOBBINS was following instructions. Albert Breer: The Los Angeles Chargers already look like a Jim Harbaugh team. There are the broad-strokes ways to see it, in how they win up front; run the ball; play sound, smothering defense; and empower their quarterback not to have to win the game on his own—and just play football. Then, there are moments where it comes out. One happened just before J.K. Dobbins’s 29-yard, go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter of Sunday night’s 34–27 thriller of a win over the Cincinnati Bengals. When the call came in, Dobbins asked his running backs coach, Kiel McDonald, whether he should, if he got in the open field, try to score or just hit the deck, allow for the clock to run down and the field goal team to kick the game-winner at the buzzer. McDonald responded, Yeah, eff it—score. Center Bradley Bozeman gave Dobbins affirmation seconds later, saying, “Go. Score.” Dobbins did, and in doing so effectively put an end to the Bengals’ furious comeback from a 27–6 deficit. It dropped Cincinnati to 4–7 and put a proud Bengals group on playoff life support. It also set the Chargers up, at 7–3, to pursue bigger things. |
| AFC SOUTH |
| HOUSTONThe Texans have been muddling along recently, but now they have WR NICO COLLINS back and RB JOE MIXON cooking. DJ Bien-Amie of ESPN.com: Texans coach DeMeco Ryans called running back Joe Mixon “a force” after his three-touchdown performance in Houston’s 34-10 win over the Dallas Cowboys on “Monday Night Football.” Mixon did the heavy lifting for the Texans’ offense as he scored all of its offensive touchdowns and rushed for 109 yards. His three rushing touchdowns were the second most he has had in a single game in his career. Mixon tied a Texans single-game record for rushing touchdowns, becoming the fourth player in franchise history to accomplish the feat. But Ryans and Mixon gave credit to the offensive line for paving running lanes for the former Pro Bowl back. “Joe, when he’s on, he’s a force for us,” Ryans said. “The run game starts with our offensive line. I challenged them to play fast, play aggressive. I thought they did a really nice job. I really like the way we just kept churning it in the run game, and proud of the guys for stepping up to the challenge.” According to ESPN Research, 79 of Mixon’s 109 rushing yards came before contact, including him going untouched on a 45-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter, which was the longest score of his career. This was Mixon’s sixth straight game with a rushing touchdown, tying the longest streak in Texans history set by former All-Pro running back Arian Foster in 2011. “I think everybody was dialed in on the game plan, and we came out here and executed for four quarters,” Mixon said. “It was a great thing to see the O-line pretty much go out there and impose their will. … It was a time in the fourth quarter when the [offensive line] was like, ‘Man, let’s take it to these boys.’ And I’m like, ‘s—.’ I went to [Texans offensive coordinator] Bobby Slowik and I’m like, ‘Man, them boys trying to run it.'” The offensive line opening holes for Mixon also helped quarterback C.J. Stroud have an efficient game: He completed 67.6% of his passes, tying his third-highest completion percentage of the season, for 257 yards with an interception. He also went 8-for-8 on passes off play-action for 99 yards, according to Next Gen Stats. And most importantly the offensive line limited pressure on Stroud to only 36% of his drop backs, lower than the season rate of 41% coming into Monday. “[They were] amazing, I was back there chilling a lot of times,” Stroud said. “I thought we mixed up the protections pretty well. Always things to clean up, but definitely took a step forward. That’s what we wanted.” Mixon became the third player in NFL history to have at least 10 rushing touchdowns in his first eight games with a new team, and the first since running back Eric Dickerson in 1983 with the Los Angeles Rams, according to ESPN Research. “We put it together in the pass game and run game. So that’s something we can build from,” right tackle Tytus Howard told ESPN. “Just take these games and stack off of it for the rest of the season, we know what we got to do. It was like our best week of practice, all season, so you got to build on that.” |
| INDIANAPOLISAlbert Breer of SI.com says that being benched lit a productive fire under QB ANTHONY RICHARDSON: We can start with the obvious. Anthony Richardson played his best football, and maybe the best football of his short NFL career when it was needed most in Sunday’s 28–27 Indianapolis Colts win over the New York Jets. He got the ball back with 13:03 left after Aaron Rodgers and the Jets had marched 59 yards in six plays to take a 24–16 lead. The Colts had been outscored 24–3 since the waning moments of the first half. Things were bleak. And their embattled QB responded. First, it was Richardson directing an eight-play, 80-yard drive with Shane Steichen leaning hard on the 22-year-old. The quarterback finished the drive 5-of-7 for 69 yards, completed chunk throws to Michael Pittman Jr. and Alec Pierce, and capped it with a dart over the middle to slot receiver Josh Downs coming out of the backfield—on the kind of easy-money underneath throw that the staff has been working him to look for. Then, it was responding again after the Jets used up 7:30 of the clock, drove 53 yards, and extended the lead to 27–22 with a 35-yard field goal. On the second play of Indy’s next possession, Richardson pump-faked to Downs, getting the corner to bite, and dropped a dime down the sideline to Pierce for 39 yards. The play set up his next throw, which he ripped down the seam to Downs for another 17. That got the Colts to the Jets’ 10, and two plays later, Indy went student-body left and Richardson barreled in for the game-winning score. Now, of course, the past few weeks were tough on Richardson. The key, though, was his reaction. As I heard it, the normally mild-mannered Floridian was pissed about the Colts’ decision. It lit a fire under him. He worked his tail off to be ready for whenever his next chance might come—knowing that Steichen’s decision was simply about playing the best player. And when Joe Flacco stumbled badly last week with three interceptions in a 30–20 loss to the Buffalo Bills, that created another opportunity, and Richardson was prepared to put together the kind of day he had in Jersey. Bottom line: The Colts made the decision to bench him three weeks ago, needing to give the rest of the team the best chance to win, and hoping that Richardson would use the circumstance the right way. He did, and maybe, just maybe, it was a turning point in his young career (though they play the Detroit Lions next week, which might make that harder to see for the rest of us in the short-term). |
| JACKSONVILLEAlbert Breer of SI.com is among quite a few in the NFL who would not let GM Trent Baalke linger: The Jacksonville Jaguars need a clean sweep. Yes, Sunday felt like a final straw sort of game day. The Lions didn’t just beat Jacksonville. They took their manhood. The final score was 52–6. The Jags were outgained 645 to 170, and had 10 first downs to Detroit’s 38. The 475-yard disparity in total offense was the most in an NFL game since 1979 (h/t to Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith for that stat). The Lions averaged 8.5 yards for each time they snapped the ball. Jacksonville’s hitting its bye week at 2–9. Doug Pederson’s in his third year, and after starting his run as Jags coach at 2–6, then winning 15 of 20 (and 16 of 22 if you include the playoffs), he’s somehow pivoted right back into the hole he dug out of, with 14 losses in his past 17 games. Clearly, it’s time for a change. But that can’t just be Pederson. There were rumblings leading up to Sunday that GM Trent Baalke—who’s proven to be a survivor now with two teams—might not necessarily be resigned to the safe fate as the coach he helped hire in 2022. And if that’s the case, then much bigger questions should be asked of the folks who run that team. Things may not be as toxic as they were under Urban Meyer in 2021, but they aren’t in a good place right now. As last year’s team finished 1–5 after an 8–3 start, rumors flew that Baalke wanted Pederson to make major staff changes, and that Pederson’s right-hand man, Press Taylor, was in the GM’s crosshairs. It’s been pretty well known since then that things aren’t, and haven’t been, great between the organization’s top two football officials. If this were an isolated incident, that’d be one thing. But Baalke clashed with Jim Harbaugh in San Francisco, and pushed Harbaugh and many of his coaches out after a wildly successful four-year run, to install Jim Tomsula as his replacement. Seven years later, he re-emerged in Jacksonville, was promoted to GM after Doug Marrone and David Caldwell were fired, then kept on after the disastrous Meyer experiment blew up in everyone’s face. So given that, and the existing discord between him and Pederson, it’d make no sense to go through another half measure of keeping on a GM and letting a coach go. Now, to be fair, Jacksonville’s roster isn’t a total disaster. There are building blocks. Trevor Lawrence is one, even if he’s not blameless in his team’s listlessness. Josh Hines-Allen is another. But there are more guys on the roster, such as Tyson Campbell and Christian Kirk (and Cam Robinson before he was traded), that qualify as good players making great money, a dynamic that’s made the team wonky in its construction. Which is just another reason why it’s time to bring in someone new, who can reset everything. I think Bill Belichick will listen, given his relationship with Shad Khan’s son, Tony, as long as he can set it up the way he wants. I think some bright, young offensive coaches, like Lions OC Ben Johnson, could be lured by the chance to do for Lawrence what Sean McVay did for Matthew Stafford after Stafford was the victim of such mismanagement in Detroit. I think the Jags legitimately have a solid job to sell here. But that’s only so if they reset in the front office, the same way they will on the coaching staff. Because if you’re really looking for something new, then you wouldn’t risk having the same Baalke story told again. |
| AFC EAST |
| NEW YORK JETSThe one-time Ambassador to England is expected to re-assume that role per Dianna Russini of The Athletic: Both the NFL and the Jets are operating as if owner Woody Johnson will leave the organization again when (or if) he’s nominated the ambassador to the United Kingdom by President-elect Donald Trump. In 2017, Johnson was nominated for that position in January but didn’t leave until the summer, once he was confirmed. Christopher Johnson, his brother and the vice chairman of the Jets, took over in his stead. It appears headed that way again, and plenty is hanging in the balance for the organization — the Jets will need to decide on their quarterback, head coach and possibly general manager this offseason. I’m told no decisions have been made on any of the above, but let’s be clear: There is no guarantee Aaron Rodgers will be back in a Jets uniform in 2025. Rodgers, who turns 41 in December, said this week that he wants to play next year, and while Woody Johnson hasn’t been thrilled with his star QB’s performance, Rodgers has a strong relationship with Christopher Johnson. The next month-and-a-half will help shape the team’s decision. The Jets do not owe Rodgers any guaranteed money in 2025. They would need to pay him a $35 million option bonus plus his $2.5 million salary if they decide to bring him back. Rodgers has a cap hit of $23.5 million. They are projected for a top-10 pick — No. 8, per Tankathon — which could put them in a position to draft a quarterback too. Armando Salguero of Outkick with more: Johnson was present at Mar-A-Lago in the weeks leading up to the election. And multiple reports have emerged citing NFL and political sources that Johnson could be joining the Trump administration – again. Trump in 2017 appointed Johnson the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom. It was a post Johnson is said to have enjoyed. And to this day he is proud of the work he did in strengthening “the special relationship between the US and the UK, by promoting security and economic prosperity over a range of issues,” Johnson’s biography in the Jets media guide reads. Johnson is so proud of his time as ambassador, the media guide refers to him as Ambassador Johnson throughout. That’s not a misprint. During a conference call following Johnson’s firing of coach Robert Saleh, the owner was referred to as “Ambassador Johnson” by members of the Jets public relations staff moderating the call. So it seems possible, if not plausible, Johnson will help hire a new head coach, make a decision on general manager Joe Douglas, and then head across the pond. Jeff Ulbrich Isn’t Getting HiredAs to Ulbrich, he’s gone after his interim term ends, multiple NFL sources believe. His record would confirm that barring a major rally. The Jets were 2-3 under Saleh before he was fired. They’re 1-4 under Ulbrich, and he was blaming himself for much of Sunday’s beating. “I did a poor job of getting this team ready …,” he said. Douglas, coincidently, was hired by Christopher Johnson in 2019 while he had control of the Jets when Woody Johnson was serving in England. The Jets have never sniffed a playoff berth with Douglas as the GM. In fact, they’ve never had a winning record in his five full seasons, with this one not looking too promising, either. The Jets are 30-63 with Douglas as the general manager. More on how Johnson’s decision to fire Saleh has not worked from Albert Breer ofSI.com: To me, it goes back to the decision to fire Robert Saleh in the first place. The prevailing reaction to that from the locker room was, simply, How in the world does this help us now? Six weeks later, it looks like all those players were on to something—thinking the defense was the team’s strength, and doubting that axing the architect while spreading a really good coordinator thin would help. That the defense couldn’t stop Richardson shouldn’t surprise anyone. Over the team’s first five games, under Saleh, the Jets were allowing 17 points and 255 yards per game. Those numbers, in the six games since Jeff Ulbrich became interim coach, have grown to 26.2 and 346, respectively, proof that this is about way more than Rodgers. |
| THIS AND THAT |
| THE 2025 COACHING CANDIDATESDianna Russini of The Athletic is thinking that Mike Vrabel is the name to know for the upcoming vacancies. The judge, jury and executioner wants back in. It took Bill Belichick one Super Bowl title, as a 14-point underdog to the “Greatest Show on Turf” St. Louis Rams, to gain complete control of the New England Patriots organization. The results were historic. Belichick’s success in New England with Tom Brady — six Super Bowl titles over two decades — earned him the trust of ownership and gave him the authority to operate with little oversight. The setup with another team might not be quite the same. Belichick wants as much authority as he can get in his next job, but very few teams are willing to grant any candidate the kind of freedom he had in Foxboro. Regardless, make no mistake: Belichick wants to be an NFL head coach in 2025. “Coaching is in his blood; he wants this,” a person close to Belichick shared over text. Belichick has spent this season working in media, appearing on seemingly every network and podcast as he tries to stay top-of-mind with the goal of working a whistle, not a microphone, next season. The 72-year-old is staying ready. The names — and themes — of the upcoming coaching cycleSeven head coaches were hired last winter; many across the NFL expect that number to be higher this year. The most coaches hired in a cycle is 10, most recently after the 2021 season. This upcoming coaching cycle might not hit double digits, but it will be close. It’s not even Thanksgiving week, there is still so much football to be played, yet conversations about the next wave of coaches are already brewing among owners and their front-office staffs. Search firms are collecting information, agents are making calls, and, most importantly, teams that know they want a change are already meeting internally to discuss the possibilities. From what I gather, flirting season is in full swing. • It’s too early to say whether Ben Johnson, the Detroit Lions’ highly regarded offensive coordinator, will become a head coach, but he is widely considered one of the top candidates. Despite interest last season, he chose to remain with the Lions to continue to learn and grow. With that in mind, the playcaller hopes to work with a strong owner and quarterback, but I’m told he will be particular about his pick. We’ll see if this is the cycle when he decides to jump in. • Coach Prime isn’t landing at The Star. The 57-year-old University of Colorado coach and Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback has said publicly he wants to stay in college football, despite some theories that Jerry Jones is targeting his former star. Sanders holds an 11-10 record over two seasons with the Buffaloes, and as of now, I have not spoken to a team decision-maker interested in bringing Sanders in as an NFL head coach. (A real shame; his sunglasses would be perfect for that glaring sun in Dallas.) • For now, the former player-turned-coach getting the most hype around the league is former Titans head coach and current Browns consultant Mike Vrabel. As owners look around at the league’s successful head coaches, the culture-builders stand out (think Dan Campbell, Mike Tomlin and Raheem Morris). Vrabel fits into that category, a former player who can unite a locker room while holding his players accountable. Vrabel was a finalist for the Chargers and Falcons jobs last year. He wants to coach in 2025 and I expect him to have his pick of available jobs. • Speaking of Vrabel, a decision-maker expecting to make a coaching change pointed out to me a trend they are focused on bringing to their team for 2025: a physical brand of football. Pointing to the Chargers, Chiefs, Packers, Lions and Eagles, he made it clear that this season has proven running the football is part of a winning foundation. Trends always make their way back around! |
| BROADCAST NEWSMike Florio starts out with the fact that Bengals-Cowboys won’t be flexed and wanders into a call for expansion: Put down the pitchforks and torches. They won’t do any good. We surmised last week, in an item about the potential flexing of upcoming Cowboys games out of key windows, the Week 14 Monday night game between the Bengals and Cowboys won’t be going anywhere, thanks to Homer. And Bart. And Marge. And Lisa. And Maggie. And the rest of the people who live there, in Springfield. As noted by Jay Morrison of SI.com, the game isn’t eligible to be moved because of the artwork, voiceovers, and other work that has already been done for the alternate broadcast. Even without the Simpsons extravaganza, the bar is very high for a flex. Even higher for a Cowboys game. Indeed, the Bengals-Cowboys game was picked due to the extremely high unlikelihood that it would have been flexed, in any event. So with the Bengals 4-7 (and possibly 4-8 at kickoff) and the Cowboys at 3-6 (and possibly 4-8 or 3-9 at kickoff), it will still be Bengals-Cowboys three weeks from tonight. Even with the expanded ability to flex, with Monday night and Thursday night joining Sunday night as of last year, the increased number of standalone windows — and the proliferation of bad teams in 2024 — will make it hard to fill up the one-game-only windows with good games. As recently noted, Week 17 has EIGHT standalone windows, along with the 4:25 p.m. ET game on Fox. The solution to that issue isn’t more games. It’s more teams. And once the league figures this out, get ready for the emergence of reports that the league is considering expansion to 34 teams. Or 36. Or 38. Or 40. |
| 2025 DRAFTChad Reuter of NFL.com on how the bottom teams line up for the first overall pick: This is a look at the first-round order for the 2025 NFL Draft heading into Week 12 of the 2024 NFL season, along with the top five needs for each team. The order is determined by record, using strength of schedule as the first tiebreaker 1 Jacksonville Jaguars2-9 · .579 (strength of schedule)Biggest needs: CB, S, WR, OT, DTThe Jaguars should be evaluating offensive tackle prospects in the top half of the draft as they look to protect Trevor Lawrence. Right tackle Anton Harrison and backup Javon Foster, a fourth-round pick this year, are the only true OTs under contract beyond this season with Walker Little headed for free agency. 2 Cleveland Browns2-8 · .438Biggest needs: WR, QB, OT, Edge, DTCleveland should search for an interior defensive lineman on Day 3 of the draft. They’ll likely need to add depth since Maurice Hurst will be a free agent this spring and Shelby Harris follows suit in 2026. 3 New York Giants2-8 · .534Biggest needs: QB, OT, CB, WR, OGThe Giants must find another outside receiver to help whoever is playing quarterback for them next season. Malik Nabers looks like he will be a star as long as he can stay healthy, but Darius Slayton is an impending free agent and Jalin Hyatt has been targeted just 12 times in nine games in a disappointing Year 2. 4 Las Vegas Raiders2-8 · .534Biggest needs: QB, WR, DT, CB, SThe Raiders’ six-game losing streak does not portend the team will stick with Gardner Minshew as QB1 in 2025, even if the offense continues to perform better down the strech under interim coordinator Scott Turner, as it did on Sunday. Some combination of Minshew, Aidan O’Connell and Desmond Ridder could return next season, but as mentors for one of the draft’s top signal-caller prospects. 5 Tennessee Titans2-8 · .567Biggest needs: WR, QB, OT, S, OGThe Titans’ lack of depth at safety should be addressed in free agency and the draft next spring. The team granted Jamal Adams‘ release request in October, impending free agent Quandre Diggs is out for the year with a Lisfranc injury and veteran Amani Hooker is only signed through next season. 6 New England Patriots3-8 · .383Biggest needs: OT, CB,WR, Edge, OGThe Patriots followed up their nine-sack demolition of the Bears in Week 10 with zero QB takedowns against the Rams on Sunday — marking the fifth time this season New England has registered one sack or fewer in a game. Hard to imagine Jerod Mayo and Eliot Wolf not targeting a designated pass rusher (or two) within the first two days of the draft. 7 New York Jets3-8 · .534Biggest needs: QB, DT, OT, S, CBThree of the Jets’ four leaders in playing time at safety — Chuck Clark, Jalen Mills and Ashtyn Davis — are due to hit free agency after the season. It’s unlikely all three return in 2025, so New York will need to select a back-half defender in April to replenish its secondary. 8 Carolina Panthers3-7 · .434Biggest needs: Edge, WR, C, QB, CBCenter Austin Corbett, who’s in the final year of a deal he signed in 2022, is out for the season after rupturing a biceps tendon in Week 5. His replacement, Cade Mays, could also be playing elsewhere next year. So, Carolina might be in the market for a new pivot this offseason. 9 Dallas Cowboys3-7 · .558Biggest needs: RB, WR, Edge, DT, CB Bringing back Ezekiel Elliott on a one-year deal has not paid off, and Rico Dowdle is in the final year of his contract. So, the Cowboys should absolutely grab a stud ball-carrier in the first two rounds of the draft. 10 Cincinnati Bengals4-7 · .500Biggest needs: CB, WR, OG, TE, EdgeNickel back Mike Hilton is in the final year of his contract and will be entering his age-31 season. Even if he returns, the Bengals should be looking for another cover man to push Cam Taylor-Britt and 2024 fifth-round pick Josh Newton. Taylor-Britt has the size, speed and physicality to be a top corner, but he’s given up a league-high nine touchdowns this season, per PFF. |
