A couple of Week 2 scheduling oddities –

There are two shared stadiums in the NFL, and usually one of the tenants is home each week.  But in Week 2, both Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles and MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands of New Jersey will be dark as the Chargers, Rams, Giants and Jets are all on the road.

Also, all five teams based in Pacific time zone – the Rams, Chargers, Seahawks, 49ers and Raiders – will be on the road.  Arizona, is home for a game played on the same time, but it is actually Mountain Standard Time, not Pacific Daylight Time.

NFC NORTH

CHICAGO

In his first NFL game, WR ROME ODUNZE sustained a knee injury.  Brendan Sugrue of USA TODAY:

The Chicago Bears got a hard-fought 24-17 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, but they didn’t escape the game unscathed when it came to injuries. Head coach Matt Eberflus met the media on Monday afternoon and revealed that wide receiver Rome Odunze suffered a knee injury and will be getting an MRI to determine the severity.

During the press conference, Chicago Sun-Times reporter Jason Lieser asked Eberflus about the status of DJ Moore and Keenan Allen, who both left the field at different times after getting banged up. Eberflus wasn’t concerned about either veteran before bringing up Odunze. “The only real concern we have is Rome’s knee,” Eberflus said. “We’ll have to see where that is, and he’s getting an MRI today. We’ll see where it goes from there, and I’ll be able to let you know more on Wednesday.”

Eberflus didn’t specify when the injury took place, but said it was a blocking play. It may have taken place on a screen to Velus Jones, where Odunze got rolled up by the Bears’ ballcarrier. He didn’t exit the game immediately, but left one play later hopping to the sideline as noted by Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic.

GREEN BAY

The Packers are not going to put QB JORDAN LOVE on IR and they are going to let QB MALIK WILLIS start.  Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com:

The Green Bay Packers do not plan to put quarterback Jordan Love on injured reserve, which means they think the recovery from his left knee injury will be on the shorter end of the timeline. In the meantime, they will prepare the recently acquired Malik Willis to be their starting quarterback on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.

Green Bay traded a seventh-round draft pick to the Tennessee Titans for Willis the day before final roster cuts last month. If he starts Sunday’s home opener at Lambeau Field, he will do so just 20 days after he joined the Packers.

Willis served as the backup in Friday’s season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil and took the final two snaps — an incompletion and a sack — after Love sustained a sprained MCL in his left knee with 6 seconds left in the 34-29 loss.

The only other quarterback currently with the team is Sean Clifford, who served as Love’s backup last season but is now on the practice squad. The Packers can use a game-day elevation to activate Clifford for the game without adding him to the 53-man roster.

“Yeah, if Jordan’s not cleared, then we’ll start Malik and Sean will be the backup,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said Monday.

“Why Malik over Sean? Because Malik’s on the roster and he’s our No. 2 quarterback and that’s the way we’re going to roll.”

LaFleur also said the Packers have no plans to sign a veteran quarterback from the outside.

Willis has made three career NFL starts — all in 2022 as a rookie third-round pick — and the Titans went 1-2 in those games. In the lone victory, which came over the Houston Texans, Willis threw just 10 passes, completing six for 55 yards with no touchdowns and an interception. Both of the Titans’ touchdowns in the 17-10 win came from running back Derrick Henry.

In his three starts in 2022, he completed 25 of 49 passes for 234 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions. He did not reach the 100-yard passing mark in any of those games. He rushed 20 times for 95 yards and a touchdown in his three starts combined.

“I think he’s put a lot of time and effort into this thing,” LaFleur said of Willis’ approach since he joined the team. “He’s grinded, he’s learned the terminology and is able to spit out the playcalls, and we’ve got confidence in him. I think if he’s given a full week of preparation, a full week of practice, I’ve got confidence he’ll go out there and perform at a high level.”

While LaFleur didn’t technically rule Love out for this week, it’s unlikely Love would be ready to go against the Colts. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Saturday that the timeline for Love’s return is in the three-to-four week range. After facing the Colts, the Packers play at Willis’ old team in Tennessee and host the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 29. If Love misses all of those games, then perhaps he could return for the Oct. 6 game at the Los Angeles Rams. Players who go on injured reserve have to miss four games.

“If he gets cleared, we’ll give him every opportunity like we always will,” LaFleur said. “I know he’s doing everything in his power. I know he’s spending a lot of time trying to get back as soon as possible. But certainly we’re not going to put him in a position where if he can’t protect himself that he’d go out there.”

Neither Willis or Clifford is an appetizing option, but presumably the choice of Willis comes with the hopes that he can make enough impromptu plays with his feet to keep the Packers above water.

In fact, there seems to be a chance Love could go as early as Sunday.  Brandon Carwile of USA TODAY:

Despite injuring his knee injury in last Friday’s season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Green Bay Packers aren’t ruling out quarterback Jordan Love from playing in Week 2. Initially, it was believed that Love would miss multiple weeks with an MCL sprain. However, head coach Matt LaFleur stated on Monday that they will give Love every opportunity to suit up for the Packers’ Week 2 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts. If Love is not cleared to play, then Malik Willis will be the starting quarterback.

“If Jordan is not cleared, then we’ll start Malik, and Sean (Clifford) will be the backup,” LaFleur said Monday.

LaFleur would not put a percentage on the likelihood of Love playing but said that he is doing “everything in his power” to get back as soon as possible. LaFleur said they would be cautious with Love and obviously wouldn’t put him in a position where he couldn’t protect himself. Green Bay’s head coach also confirmed that Love is not going on injured reserve.

MINNESOTA

Gilberto Manzano of SI.com is quick to eat crow over his preseason prediction for the Vikings:

I’ll be the first to say my bold—or dumb—prediction of the Vikings finishing 3–14 likely won’t come to fruition because of how well they played in the 28–6 victory against the New York Giants. And I won’t use the excuses of this being one game and the Giants are terrible.   

Just wanted to get that out of the way because I noticed a few YouTube videos of Vikings fans mispronouncing my first name and crushing my prediction. I enjoy the banter, and I’m not afraid to make fun of myself for wrong takes. But don’t worry, I’m still Heel-berto (wrestling fans will appreciate the play on words), because my mind hasn’t changed on the Vikings being a nonplayoff team this season.

But let’s start with the positives because the Vikings clearly aren’t a three-win team. They’ll be competitive because of a talented defense and an impressive group of skill players. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores called a flawless game to smother the Giants’ offense early and often.

Now for the turn to negative town. I’m just not sold on Darnold doing what he did to the Giants on a weekly basis. It was a stellar performance, but the schedule will get tougher with upcoming games against the San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans. The schedule is tough overall, which is why I wasn’t high on the Vikings. But Kevin O’Connell is a standout coach who’s capable of guiding his team to a few upset wins regardless of the circumstances.

Darnold still has plenty to prove, but him slinging the football with ease at Metlife Stadium after being handed a crappy situation with the New York Jets is one of the best stories from Week 1. It was a perfect start for the Vikings after a tough training camp, which included the season-ending knee injury to rookie QB J.J. McCarthy.

NFC EAST

DALLAS

The Cowboys are perfectly fine with Mike Zimmer as their DC as Dan Quinn tries to rally division rival Washington.  Todd Archer of ESPN.com:

Nobody on the Dallas Cowboys’ defense knows what a Mike Zimmer defense is supposed to look like more than linebacker Eric Kendricks.

Kendricks spent the first seven years of his career with the Minnesota Vikings when Zimmer was the head coach and defensive playcaller. When the Cowboys signed the veteran to a free agent deal this offseason — stealing him away from the San Francisco 49ers — it was so he could help the rest of the players understand what Zimmer wanted.

In the Cowboys’ 33-17 win against the Cleveland Browns in Week 1, it looked exactly how it is supposed to look.

The Cowboys limited the Browns to 230 yards on offense. Cleveland converted just two of 15 third-down opportunities. Deshaun Watson was sacked six times and hit 17 times. He was intercepted twice. The Browns ran for 93 yards on 19 carries, but 39 of those yards came on Watson scrambles.

Ten of Cleveland’s 14 possessions did not cross midfield. In the first half, they were held to one first down.

“I feel like it’s a different crew now,” Kendricks said. “We have different bodies. We have different guys. We have a different soul. But at the same time, the nucleus is the same and we’re going to build off of today. I keep saying, ‘We’re going to build,’ but it’s true. There’s a lot of things we can still clean up.”

Zimmer had been away from the NFL sidelines after he was fired by the Vikings in January 2022, and he had to follow a coordinator the players loved in Dan Quinn. In three years under Quinn, the Cowboys led the NFL in takeaways, and Micah Parsons led a pass rush that was among the NFL’s best.

Zimmer, who was a Cowboys assistant from 1994 to 2006 and coordinator from 2000 to 2006, was brought in this offseason to shore up a defense that needed to be its best at the most important moments.

The Browns’ longest play from scrimmage was a 29-yard catch-and-run from tight end David Njoku. They had only one other play of at least 20 yards. Amari Cooper, the former Cowboys receiver, caught two passes for 16 yards while lining up mostly against rookie cornerback Caelen Carson.

“Zim was cooking,” DeMarcus Lawrence said. “The whole defense felt it. We was on the same page. It was a beautiful thing. Definitely happy we got Zim in our corner, calling the shots out there, seeing what we see.”

Said cornerback Trevon Diggs: “Everyone’s buying into their responsibility.”

Diggs was playing his first game since tearing the ACL in his left knee in practice last September. He had one of the interceptions. Kendricks had the other.

And it was a bit of Zimmer at his best.

On second-and-14, Kendricks moved to the end of the line next to Parsons. At the snap, Parsons rushed the quarterback while Kendricks dropped into coverage. Reading Watson’s eyes, Parsons deflected the pass that Kendricks was able to corral for the first interception.

The Cowboys turned that into three points and a 20-3 lead with 51 seconds left in the first half.

“I just thought they set the tone with the production,” coach Mike McCarthy said.

Kendricks had his first two-sack game since 2016 against McCarthy’s Green Bay Packers. He became the fifth player since 1982 to have an interception and two sacks in a team debut, according to ESPN Stats & Information. (The only other Cowboy to do so was Tommy Haynes in 1987 in a game featuring replacements during the players’ strike.)

Linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, playing his first game after missing his rookie season with a torn ACL, had nine tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss and two quarterback hits.

Parsons had his third straight opener with a sack, tying DeMarcus Ware (2010-12) for the longest streak by a Cowboys player since individual sacks were first tracked in 1982.

Lawrence had his first multisack game since he had three in a win against the New York Giants on Sept. 26, 2022. And he lamented some sacks he missed.

So did Parsons, who had a sack and a team-high eight pressures.

“I think I missed like two or three, bro,” Parsons said. “[Watson] is tough. I’m going to have nightmares tonight for sure. I’m supposed to start this year off with three [sacks], but no, it’s OK.”

Sixteen games remain. The opportunities will be there, but the Cowboys know a defense that has been good in recent years is going to remain that way and maybe get even better.

“It’s just Game 1,” Lawrence said. “We’ve got a long way to go. Lot of learning still do to. Lot of chemistry to bond together.”

NEW YORK GIANTS

Mike Sando of The Athletic on two offseason decisions that Giants ownership may regret (and he’s not ever talking about not drafting the successor for QB DANIEL JONES):

2. Hard knocks continue for Giants: ‘He didn’t want to be perceived as meddling’

Two of the Giants’ biggest offseason moves — a messy divorce from defensive coordinator Wink Martindale and letting Saquon Barkley leave in free agency — made the team’s football leadership vulnerable to damaging narratives in a potential make-or-break season.

To say those vulnerabilities surfaced in Week 1 would be an understatement.

Coach Brian Daboll’s clashes with Martindale precipitating the coordinator’s resignation in January raised the stakes if the defense fell off.

“The narrative there can’t be that their defense took a step back without Wink, because if that happens, the media is going to say, ‘See, the head coach is unable to do this, that and the other,’” an NFL exec said in March.

While the Giants’ offense was primarily responsible for the 28-6 loss to Minnesota on Sunday, the defense struggled at times to stop a journeyman bridge quarterback. Watching Darnold complete nearly 80 percent of his passes for 8.7 yards per attempt was not helpful, especially after Barkley rushed for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns for the Eagles on Friday in Philadelphia’s victory against Green Bay.

“I’ll have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia, I’ll tell you that,” Giants owner John Mara told general manager Joe Schoen in March with the “Hard Knocks” cameras recording. “Just being honest. I’ve been around enough players. He’s the most popular player we have by far.”

Cameras later showed an unhappy Mara leaving Schoen’s office when news broke that Barkley indeed was signing with the Eagles. Owners care which players are most popular with fans. GMs draw philosophical lines on issues such as paying top dollar for running backs who are 27-plus years old and carrying heightened injury risk.

I wished cameras had captured the discussion a year earlier when the Giants decided to pay quarterback Daniel Jones. Who pushed hardest for that deal? I also wondered how the Barkley situation might have played out in the absence of cameras.

“My feel is John Mara, if not for Hard Knocks, would have put his foot down (to stop Barkley from leaving), but he didn’t want to be perceived as meddling,” a long-tenured exec from another team said.

These are the internal machinations that make the game off the field as interesting as the game on it.

“The owner is thinking, ‘Barkley has been one of our best players for years, the players on the team respect him and I don’t want him to beat us twice,’” another exec said. “But the fact of the matter is, the Giants aren’t very good and they may lose to Philly twice anyway.”

NFC SOUTH

ATLANTA

The Pistol is now part of the repertoire for QB KIRK COUSINS.  Mike Sando of The Athletic:

Zac Robinson’s debut as Atlanta’s offensive play caller was a little curious.

New quarterback Kirk Cousins was in the pistol formation 26 times, a career high for him. Cousins was in the pistol just 108 times previously in his career, per TruMedia, with 96 of those snaps stemming from his long-ago seasons with Washington.

The Falcons, 18-10 losers to Pittsburgh at home, ran the ball 21 times in those 26 pistol snaps. They rightfully were worried about exposing Cousins to injury against all-world Steelers pass-rusher T.J. Watt. Falcons coach Raheem Morris said getting the play call into the huddle late contributed to a fumbled exchange. Whatever the case, this was not the debut Atlanta sought.

CAROLINA

David Newton of ESPN.com signals that you should pick Carolina’s opponent each week in your Survivor Pool.

– Bryce Young dropped back three steps Sunday on the first snap of his second season for the Carolina Panthers and got rid of the ball quickly, just as his coaches preached to him all offseason.

The play had all the elements new head coach Dave Canales hoped would get the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 draft off to a fast start. The new interior line with guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis set a clean pocket to give their 5-foot-10 quarterback a clear vision.

New No. 1 receiver Diontae Johnson ran the route as cleanly as he had throughout training camp, giving Young an easy target over the middle.

Young missed — badly.

He overthrew Johnson by about 10 yards and the Saints were there for the interception.

“It’s just a play we have a lot of confidence in,” said wide receiver Adam Thielen, who looked more like the intended receiver because the pass was so bad. “They gave us a different look than how we set it up and they made a play. Yeah, I mean it was disheartening.”

A new coach. A new scheme. Same result for Young.

What ensued in the 47-10 loss, the worst opening-day setback in team history, provided little hope that Young or the Panthers can turn the corner from last season’s NFL-worst 2-15 record.

To add to the “here we go again” feeling, Pro Bowl defensive tackle Derrick Brown suffered a potential season-ending knee injury that he’s getting a second opinion on but likely will require surgery.

Brown’s injury might have been easier to handle had Young shown signs of improvement, but he did little to suggest he’ll meet the expectations that come with being the top pick in the 2023 NFL draft.

Young’s Total QBR (10.7) was the second lowest of his nascent career after a 2023 season in which he ranked 29th (34.1) out of 30 qualified quarterbacks. His 32.8 passer rating was the lowest as a pro, and his 43.3 completion percentage (13-of-30 for 161 yards with two interceptions) was his second-lowest.

Even worse, his passer rating under pressure of 0.0 (2-of-9 for 24 yards with an interception and four sacks) was the worst in the league on a weekend when the average quarterback had a rating of 62.6 under pressure.

This after a preseason in which Canales was so confident Young was ready to take a step forward that he played him and the first team only one series in three preseason games.

The only positive Canales had on Young’s performance afterwards was his pre-snap operation.

“That was kind of my biggest concern, and I thought we did a really good job,” Canales said.

Statistically, the only positive was that Young averaged 10.6 air yards per attempt, the second highest of his brief career after averaging 6.7 as a rookie. So he was at least trying to get the ball downfield more, but the results weren’t great, completing only 3 of 9 passes of at least 15 air yards, which included both interceptions, according to ESPN Stats & Information. That led to little to no success for an offense that in many ways was as dysfunctional as the one that finished last in the NFL in 2023.

“It’s stuff that I could’ve done a better job of and accounted for … adjusted to,” Young said. “I definitely can do better there.”

He has to or the Panthers will again end up with the worst record, the top pick in 2025 and have to decide whether to draft another quarterback to replace Young.

As far as playing Young more in the preseason, the 43-year-old Canales admitted “that’s something we have to think about.” Canales also could have opened with a run to help settle down the team after New Orleans took a quick 7-0 lead on a 59-yard touchdown pass.

But ultimately this falls on Young, who like last season, looked overwhelmed and outmatched whether he was in the pocket or scrambling.

The first interception amplified that.

“I thought [Johnson] had good space,” Canales said. “I thought he did a good job of separating there, so it was just a matter of [the] me-to-you factor, get that ball to him in that space.”

Canales has found something positive to say about everything since becoming the team’s third head coach since 2022. He began almost every post-practice press conference during training camp with some version of “what a great day,” even when it rained.

But on Sunday he found little that was positive, and there was no evidence Young has or will take a stride forward after a rookie season when he ranked at or near the bottom in most key statistics.

All the new pieces put around him didn’t seem to help. Johnson, the star of training camp, finished with two catches on six targets for 19 yards.

The Saints sacked Young on Sunday as many times as they totaled in a pair of wins against Carolina last season.

After reviewing film, Canales said only one of the four sacks was on Young. He took part of the blame, saying he left the quarterback in the pocket like “a sitting duck.” He also said Carolina was outcoached offensively. “We didn’t give our guys enough to give them simple solutions.”

The only positive Hunt saw was “we’ve got a game next week [Los Angeles Chargers in Charlotte] that we can come back and try to change what we just did today. That’s a positive.”

Canales didn’t offer hope for a quick turnaround, noting “it’s a long journey to become us.”

“We all have this shared vision of what we can become, and until we feel that, until we feel those drives … we know we’re not there yet,” he added.

NEW ORLEANS

An auspicious debut for playcaller OC Klint Kubiak.  Mike Sando of The Athletic:

The Saints scored on their first nine possessions twice in 258 total games with Sean Payton as head coach from 2006-21. They did it Sunday in their first game with Kubiak as coordinator.

Kubiak’s father, Gary, was head coach or offensive coordinator for top-10 scoring offenses 15 times in 23 seasons. His son exceeded expectations for any coach making his debut as a caller, regardless of pedigree.

The Saints’ 47-10 victory against the Panthers said plenty about Carolina. The Saints’ defense (+19.1 EPA) and special teams (+5.4 EPA) played outsized roles, helping New Orleans start four of its drives in Carolina territory.

Still, the Payton-era Saints played weak opponents as well. This game Sunday marked only the third time since 2000 that the Saints scored on nine possessions in one game. They never scored on more possessions in one game over that 407-game span.

NFC WEST

SAN FRANCISCO

RB CHRISTIAN McCAFFREY is a late scratch, RB JORDAN MASON replaces him and the 49ers win handily.

So anyone who would have bet on the Jets with news that McCaffrey was ailing would have lost.

But, in the postgame, Mason blurts out he “learned” he was starting on Friday and the injury report hall monitors are demanding an investigation as McCaffrey only went on the injury report the next day.  Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com:

When running back Christian McCaffrey became a surprise scratch for Monday night’s game against the Jets, my first thought was that it probably wasn’t a surprise to the 49ers.

After the 32-19 win over the Jets, McCaffrey’s understudy confirmed it.

Jordan Mason, who went from undrafted in 2022 to 28 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown, let the cat out of the bag during a post-game interview with ESPN’s Lisa Salters.

She asked Mason when he knew he’d be starting.

“Maybe Friday, Friday night,” Mason said. “Something like that.”

But the 49ers didn’t apply the “questionable” label to McCaffrey until Saturday. If Mason knew he’d be starting on Friday, the 49ers knew it, too. And they worked the injury-reporting system to hide the truth for as long as they could.

That’s not a knock on Mason. He told the truth. In so doing, he exposed the inherent flaw to a set of rules that allows a team to label a player as “questionable,” even if there’s no real question internally about his status.

On one hand, it’s permitted by the broad-brush process for disclosing injuries and player status. On the other hand, it underscores the existence — and value — of inside information.

The 49ers (as evidenced by what Mason said) knew the truth. No one else did, presumably. In a world without legalized gambling and fantasy football, there’s an all’s-fair dynamic that applies. But with money now changing hands based on decisions made in reliance on the information the team has provided, it’s a problem.

Should McCaffrey had been listed as doubtful? At a minimum, absolutely. There’s also a case to be made that he should have been ruled out.

Indeed, if the 49ers were playing tonight’s game at New York, he possibly would have been downgraded to out, because he possibly wouldn’t have made the cross-country flight with his calf/Achilles tendon injury.

For all anyone knows, the 49ers knew for more than a few days that McCaffrey wouldn’t be able to go. The biggest clue came via the first injury report from last week, when his calf injury suddenly became an Achilles designation, too.

And while the 49ers might have broken the spirit if not the letter of the rules, the rules are so loose and incomplete that it allows teams to take subtle liberties.

The 49ers simply wanted to win. Keeping the Jets in the dark for as long as possible helped them, strategically. But it also impacted the wagers (especially prop bets) that were placed in advance of the game.

By keeping the information secret until it was time to declare the inactive players, it worked. No one knew McCaffrey wasn’t playing.

Except for Mason. And presumably the coaching staff.

That said, the 49ers will surely slip into cleanup-on-aisle-five mode, claiming that Mason misspoke or whatever. Regardless, it’s clear that tonight’s development wasn’t nearly as stunning to the 49ers as it was to the rest of the world.

If the NFL is going to continue to stuff its pockets with gambling money (which includes allowing team owners to also own up to five percent of companies that operate sports books), the NFL has an obligation to come up with a more transparent and accurate way of leveling the playing field for folks who are legally wagering money based on incomplete information.

Especially when those who knew the truth were in a position to take full advantage of it, if only by sharing that information with folks who could put their money where their inside information is.

Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com:

49ers running back Jordan Mason had a big game filling in for the injured Christian McCaffrey on Monday night, but when Mason talked to the media afterward he wasn’t in a good mood.

Immediately after the game, Mason told Lisa Salters of ESPN that he found out Friday night that he would be starting in place of McCaffrey. That would indicate the 49ers violated the NFL’s injury reporting rules by failing to disclose that McCaffrey’s injury would keep him out. But between talking to Salters and talking to reporters at his post-game press conference, someone clearly explained to Mason that his comments could get the 49ers in hot water.

A reporter asked Mason, “When did you find out that you’d be in the starting lineup?” and Mason gave a halting reply in which he seemed to blame the media for what he had said on national television.

“That question right there is why I’m mad,” Mason answered. “That’s why I don’t like really talking to the media, because you say one thing wrong, and then, you know — I don’t know. Just skip that question.”

But Mason wasn’t wrong for answering Salters’ question honestly. The 49ers were wrong for telling Mason that McCaffrey was out 72 hours before the game, but waiting until 90 minutes before kickoff to tell everyone else.

We think Kyle Shanahan has it about right here, but Mike Florio isn’t buying:

During his post-game press conference, coach Kyle Shanahan denied it.

“I never told Jordan he was gonna start,” Shanahan told reporters. “Told him he had to be ready a bunch. But it might have been [running backs coach] Bobby [Turner] or somebody trying to pump him up. But I knew he was gonna have to play a lot. Told him that it wasn’t gonna be like usual.”

Shanahan also explained the decision to not dress McCaffrey, due to the calf and Achilles injury.

“Just same stuff that was bothering him all week,” Shanahan said. “There was a little too much today. Game-time decision. He came in, just talking to him about it. It was still there. Thought it was gonna be smart to keep him out. And glad we did.”

No one would expect the 49ers to admit they knew McCaffrey wasn’t going to play as of Friday. Again, it’s one of the flaws of the injury-reporting system. There’s plenty of ways for teams to engage in gamesmanship, given the broad-brush, bare-bones realities of the injury reports.

Regardless, Mason said what he said. And whatever he was told ended up being accurate. Far more accurate perhaps than the team’s injury report that listed McCaffrey as questionable.

It seems that the Niners were hoping to play McCaffrey, but with a lighter than usual workload.  That didn’t work out.  Don’t think they “knew” he was out.  But we imagine they did tell Mason something like “Christian may not be able to go, be ready to play a lot.”

AFC WEST

KANSAS CITY

Coach Andy Reid teases that the Bengals may see WR HOLLYWOOD BROWN.  Adam Teicher of ESPN.com:

Andy Reid on Hollywood Brown’s chances of playing on Sunday against the Bengals: “He’s getting close. I know he’s feeling better.”

AFC NORTH

CLEVELAND

At first, the announcement of a new lawsuit seemed to indicate that QB DESHAUN WATSON had returned to his old ways with women.  But if you study the timeline, its just a plaintiff who has taken her time filing for behavior from the Houston period of his life.  Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.com:

A new civil lawsuit filed in Houston on Monday accuses Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson of sexual assault and battery in October 2020, when he was a member of the Houston Texans.

According to the lawsuit, the alleged actions occurred before Watson and a woman, who goes by the pseudonym “Jane Doe” in the court filing, were set to have dinner at the woman’s apartment.

The lawsuit states that Watson met the woman, a single mother, at a Houston restaurant and bar, managed to get her phone number and initially attempted to have her meet him at the Houston Galleria for a date. Reluctant to meet Watson in public, the woman instead agreed to a dinner date at her apartment, according to the lawsuit.

On the evening of the date, according to the lawsuit, she said Watson had trouble finding her apartment and began aggressively yelling and screaming at her on the phone, saying he didn’t “have time for this.”

The lawsuit alleges that, while applying makeup in her bathroom, the woman then found Watson “completely naked on her bed, lying face down on his stomach.” Watson then requested the woman massage his buttocks and the woman “tried to appease Watson by rubbing his back, rather than his buttocks,” according to the lawsuit.

Watson then turned over and “continued to demand that Jane Doe massage him, gesturing from his knees to his groin,” according to the lawsuit. The woman told Watson that she was not a masseuse, to which Watson asked her what she wanted to do instead, the suit alleges.

Before the woman could answer, Watson “partially disrobed Jane Doe and penetrated her vagina without consent, implicit or explicit,” according to the lawsuit, which also alleges that Watson sexually assaulted the woman for several minutes before she escaped and grabbed a heavy piece of decor for self-defense. Watson then “stormed out of Jane Doe’s apartment,” according to the lawsuit.

The NFL declined comment. A spokesperson for the Browns did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Watson, 28, served an 11-game suspension in 2022 after more than two dozen women accused him of sexual assault and inappropriate conduct during massage sessions. A pair of Texas grand juries declined to pursue criminal charges against Watson, but he served his suspension after the NFL and the NFL Players Association reached a settlement in his disciplinary matter.

Watson also had to pay a fine of $5 million and undergo mandatory evaluation by behavioral experts and follow their suggested treatment program before being reinstated by the league.

The lawsuit filed Monday is unrelated to the lone civil suit remaining from the women who accused Watson of sexual misconduct during massage sessions. However, the same attorney, Tony Buzbee, is representing the latest woman to sue Watson.

Watson settled 23 of the 24 civil lawsuits filed against him in the summer of 2022.

If you believe the complaint, he wanted a public date, and she invited him over to her place.

Mike Florio on how much the Browns would suffer in cap dollars if they shed Watson at the end of the season – and how a suspension helps their cause.

The new lawsuit filed against Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson possibly — key word, possibly — sparks a chain of events that could culminate in the league suspending Watson, the Browns voiding his future guarantees, and the Browns releasing him.

If it were to happen before the start of the 2025 season, the Browns would avoid $92 million in currently guaranteed salary obligations.

That said, it would still come with a cost. Not in actual dollars but in cap dollars.

Watson’s contract eventually would trigger a total cap charge of $80.77 million. If he was released after June 1, 2025 (or designated as a post-June 1 release), the cap charge would be $26.935 million for 2025 and another $53.835 million for 2026.

It’s still better than paying Watson another $92 million (which also would hit the cap, in time), if they decide after this season that they’d welcome the chance to void the remaining guarantees.

None of this matters unless and until the league successfully suspends Watson for the new lawsuit. The NFL might not want to pick at a two-year-old scar.

Moreover, because a suspension would give the Browns a lifeline from the final two years of a potentially disastrous contract, the league might be more inclined to not help the Browns out of a fully-guaranteed contract that created plenty of consternation for the NFL — and that ultimately sparked a collusion grievance due to the refusal of teams to give other veteran quarterbacks fully-guaranteed deals.

PITTSBURGH

The Steelers are quick to name QB JUSTIN FIELDS as the starter this week – which means QB RUSSELL WILSON won’t have a chance to prove Sean Payton wrong to his face.  Bryan DeArdo of CBSSports.com:

The Pittsburgh Steelers are sticking with Justin Fields as their starting quarterback for another week, coach Mike Tomlin confirmed on Tuesday. Fields gets the start over Russell Wilson in Sunday’s Week 2 matchup against the Denver Broncos. The decision means Wilson, who is still dealing with a calf injury, won’t get to face the team that cut him loose this offseason.

In Week 1, Fields started and led the Steelers to an 18-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons. He went 17 of 23 for 156 yards in addition to his 57 yards on 14 carries. While he didn’t lead the Steelers into the end zone, Fields did engineer six drives that ended with Chris Boswell field goals.

Fields’ successful start included a 12-yard run on a third-down play on Pittsburgh’s opening drive that led to a field goal, a 12-yard completion to George Pickens on the Steelers’ next drive that also led to a field goal, and completions of 33 and 40 yards downfield to Pickens that — you guessed it — also set up Boswell field goals.

Wilson missed significant time this summer after he initially injured his calf just before the start of training camp. Despite his limited practice reps, Wilson played well enough during the preseason to maintain his pole position over Fields as Pittsburgh’s QB1. He went 10 of 12 passing during his two preseason games.

On Sunday, Pittsburgh’s offense will face a Denver defense that gave up 26 points during its Week 1 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The Broncos were specifically soft against the run, as Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker rumbled for 101 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. Expect the Steelers to test Denver’s run defense early and often with Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren.

AFC EAST

BUFFALO

Don’t worry about the hand of QB JOSH ALLEN.  Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.com has some other injuries though:

– Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen has been cleared to participate in Monday’s walk-through practice and play in the team’s game against the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night, coach Sean McDermott said Monday.

Allen was listed by the Bills as a full participant in Monday’s walk-through.

Allen injured his left (non-throwing) hand in the team’s 34-28 Week 1 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.

The Bills will be without 2023 second-team All-Pro nickel cornerback Taron Johnson (forearm) in the game against the Dolphins after he left Sunday’s game on the first drive. Cam Lewis is the team’s backup nickel. McDermott did not have a timeline on his return and said they are still doing “research” into that. The coach also said it “is looking like” defensive end Dawuane Smoot (toe) will be ruled out for Thursday’s game.

MIAMI

The body cam footage is out on the detention of WR TYREEK HILL, literally on the road outside the parking lot of Hard Rock Stadium.  We don’t know what he did to get stopped, but the video commences as he initially fails to roll down his window as commanded by the lead cop.  Then, when he only partially lowers it, he is commanded out of the car and immediately put on the ground on his face.

Was he cooperating fully?  Eh, maybe not.

Was he resisting?  Nope.

Safid Dean and Tom Schad of USA TODAY:

The video showed a chaotic three minutes during a traffic stop that has led to an internal investigation by the Miami-Dade Police Department.

Police in Miami Gardens, Florida pulled Hill over, informed him he was speeding and told him to pull forward to begin the traffic stop.

“Don’t knock on my window like that,” Hill told the officer repeatedly at least seven times. “Give me my ticket, bro, so I can go. Do what you have to do.”

After Hill rolled his window up again, the officer knocked on the window twice more.

“Keep your window down or I’m going to get you out of the car. As a matter of fact, get out of the car. … Get out of the car right now. We’re not playing this game. Get out. Get out!”

As the door of Hill’s McLaren 720S coupe raised up, at least three officers began pulling him out of the car and onto the ground.

“Hey Drew, hey Drew, I’m getting arrested dude. I’m getting arrested,” Hill said as he’s brought to the ground. Hill was speaking to Dolphins head of team security Drew Brooks, who later arrived at the scene.

Hill was placed in handcuffs, standing on the curb while another officer attempted to bring him down to the ground in a seated position.

“I just had surgery on my knee! I just had surgery on my knee!” Hill said. “Chill bro, chill bro.”

Hill complained about knee pain several times, saying “My whole knee hurt right now, bruh. I can’t even move.” Hill repeatedly asked if he could stand because of his knee.

“I’m not playing today bruh, because that dude (expletive) my knee up. Like he really tackled me on my knee on this damn cement, bruh,” Hill said.

Hill said at another point: “Like my whole knee is (expletive) up because of this.”

“I’m not playing today, all because of y’all,” Hill said. “But I appreciate the check y’all gave me, though. I appreciate the check you gave me. Appreciate it.”

As the main officer explained to another officer what led to the stop, Hill can be heard in the background saying: “I’m just being a Black man, that’s it. I’m just being Black in America, bruh. … I’m just being a Black man in America, bruh, with a nice car.”

An officer informed Hill he is being cited for careless driving and driving without a seatbelt.

Hill’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus is seen leading Hill, who is no longer in handcuffs, back toward police.

Hill shakes hands with the group of officers, including the one who initially pulled him over.

Hill tells the officers “Respect, for real. It’s nothing personal. Appreciate it. Appreciate it.”

“I still got love for y’all,” Hill added as he walked away. “I still want to be an officer one day. I’ve got respect for all of y’all.”

“Hey don’t knock on my window like that,” Hill can be heard saying to the officer, who in turn asked Hill why he wasn’t wearing a seat belt.

The first officer attempted to explain why he was trying to get Hill’s attention with the knock and Hill, who had appeared to already give the cop his license, responded by asking the officer to give him a ticket so he could leave and then rolled the window back up.

The officer objected to the window and when Hill brought the window down slightly, the cops ordered Hill out of the car.

.

Hill could be heard saying that he was going to get out of the vehicle when a second officer pulled open the car door and yanked the Dolphins receiver out of the car and brought him to the ground with the assistance of a third officer.

“Hey Drew I’m getting arrested,” said Hill, who was holding his phone and appeared to have his agent Drew Rosenhaus on the phone at the time.

Hill could then be seen being placed in cuffs as multiple officers surrounded him.

“When we tell you to do something you do it, you understand?” an officer said. “Not when you want, but when we tell you. You’re a little f–king confused.”

Hill was eventually brought to his feet and moments later when he wasn’t quick enough to sit on the curb after being asked to by an officer, another cop came in and aggressively pushed him down.

“I just had surgery on my knee,” Hill tried to inform the cop.

“Did you have surgery on your ears when we told you to put your window down,” the officer screamed back.

Miami-Dade Police director Stephanie V. Daniels said in a statement that the department was releasing a combined 105 minutes and 33 seconds of body camera footage to the public in an attempt to show transparency.

“The department is committed to conducting a thorough, objective investigation into this matter, and we will continue to update the public on the outcome of that process,” the statement read.

So there are two Drews in play here – Drew Brooks, the Dolphins security chief and agent Rosenhaus.

So this tweet from Ryan Stanzel is not accurate –

@rstanzel

One of things that I noticed in the Tyreek Hill bodycam footage is they’re all calling for Drew Rosenhaus. No Dolphins security chief. No management. The most powerful man in the NFL.

The Miami-Dade police union says you take your chances with their members when you don’t hit a high standard of “cooperation.”

The union representing Miami-Dade police officers said in a statement Monday that Tyreek Hill was “uncooperative” and was “redirected” to the ground while in handcuffs during his detainment before the Miami Dolphins’ game Sunday only because he refused orders to sit.

“Before the Dolphins game yesterday, an incident occurred where Tyreek Hill was placed in handcuffs before being released. First, to be clear, at no time was he ever under arrest. He was briefly detained for officer safety, after driving in a manner in which he was putting himself and others in great danger,” Steadman Stahl, the president of the South Florida Police Benevolent Association, said in a statement.

“Upon being stopped, Mr. Hill was not immediately cooperative with the officers on scene who, pursuant to policy and for their immediate safety, placed Mr. Hill in handcuffs. Mr. Hill, still uncooperative, refused to sit on the ground and was therefore redirected to the ground,” Stahl added.

“Once the situation was sorted out within a few minutes, Mr. Hill was issued two traffic citations and was free to leave.”

Sources told ESPN’s Jeff Darlington on Monday that Hill received citations for careless driving and a seat belt violation. The Dolphins’ Calais Campbell was also detained when he stopped on the scene to offer Hill support, but he did not receive a citation, sources told Darlington.

Meanwhile, Hill’s attorney, Julius Collins, said in a statement later Monday that, “Mr. Hill’s legal team is exploring all legal remedies that may be available to Mr. Hill as we believe that the officers’ actions on September 8, 2024 were excessive.”

On Sunday, the Miami-Dade Police Department released a statement from Director Stephanie V. Daniels, who initiated an “immediate review of all details surrounding the incident.” Three hours later, Daniels announced that one of the officers involved was “placed on administrative duties while the investigation is conducted.”

Said Stahl: “While we wait for the investigation to run its course, based on what we know, we stand with the actions of our officers but look forward to further open communication moving forward. While we are confident in the actions that led to the stop of Mr. Hill, as with any investigation, we will wait for all of the facts to come out, along with any explanation Mr. Hill may have for his actions that initiated this unfortunate incident.”

During an appearance Monday on “The Andy Slater Show,” Stahl said the union has not been able to view body camera footage and officers didn’t know who they had pulled over Sunday morning.

Stahl said Hill’s driving pattern caught officers’ attention; he was allegedly driving at a “high speed through a congested area” and Hill “did not want to comply” when asked to roll down his window.

“If Mr. Hill would have just complied, it would have just sped the process up. He chose not to, he chose to escalate the situation and turn it into something bigger than the Dolphins’ win itself,” Stahl said.

In his statement, Collins disputed that Hill refused to roll down his window.

“To be clear, the traffic-stop of Mr. Hill by officers of the Miami Dade Police Department originated as a traffic infraction but was then escalated after Mr. Hill provided officers his driver’s license and then rolled his window back up,” Collins said in his statement. “One of the officers then knocked on Mr. Hill’s driver side window and advised Mr. Hill to keep his window rolled down otherwise he was going to get him out of the car. Mr. Hill had his window rolled down and that officer then demanded Mr. Hill out of the vehicle even after Mr. Hill complied with that officer’s request to keep his window down. Immediately after, another officer then aggressively approached Mr. Hill’s vehicle and stated something to the effect that ‘if we have to break that f—ing window we will.’ Mr. Hill rolled down his window each time he was requested to do so by the requesting officers.”

NEW YORK JETS

Ryan Phillips of SI.com:

Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets did not have a good night.

The Jets were hammered by the San Francisco 49ers 32–19 on Monday Night Football in Week 1, and Rodgers didn’t have a good game. He made it through the first game without suffering a devastating injury, so that was an improvement on 2023, but it still wasn’t a great night.

Rodgers was visibly frustrated on multiple occasions. At one point, cameras caught him completely ignoring offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who was attempting to show him something on a tablet.

That look says, “Not now, Nathaniel!”

Rodgers finished the night completing 13 of 21 passes for 167 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. The Jets struggled to move the ball consistently all night, and while Rodgers did make some really nice throws, it wasn’t close to enough.

Tyrod Taylor actually replaced Rodgers late in the game and led a scoring drive, completing 6 of 8 passes for 36 yards and a touchdown pass.

It’s possible he was actually listening when Hackett was talking.

THIS AND THAT

DEION FALLING

A year ago at this time, Mike Sando of The Athletic found NFL execs buzzing about the possibility of Deion Sanders securing a head coaching job in the league.  Not so much now:

One year ago, Deion Sanders had NFL execs buzzing about his prospects as a future head coach in the league. They loved his authenticity and thought he was the rare all-time great player able to get his own players to outperform their talent. The path Dan Campbell has cleared with Detroit seemed to work in Sanders’ favor as well.

But with Nebraska defeating Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes 28-10 on Saturday, Coach Prime is 1-1 this season and 1-7 in his last eight games.

“Now, he looks like a guy who lacks detail, his hard-edged style is running people out of there and he is just really promoting his son,” one of the execs intrigued by Sanders last year said.

What has changed besides the results on the field?

“There is nothing wrong with what we said last year, that he tells the truth and connects with players,” another exec said. “But there’s a lot more that goes into it than connecting with the players and telling the truth to the media about the state of college athletics. A lot more goes into winning, like blocking and tackling and protecting the passer and having the quarterback not scramble so frequently that everything is off timing.”