| NFC NORTH |
| GREEN BAYMatt LaFleur downplays any advantage the Packers might get from knowing the Lions protection calls (at least as they existed last week). Kevin Patra of NFL.com: If you believe the words of both Dan Campbell and Matt LaFleur, Jahmyr Gibbs accidentally leaking the Detroit Lions’ protection calls ahead of Thursday night’s showdown is much ado about nothing. Gibbs accidentally posted the code words to a host of Lions’ dropback protections on social media last week. Campbell said in a radio interview this week that he “doesn’t really give a crap,” noting that if that’s why Detroit loses, they’re not a very good football team. Asked on Tuesday about using those codes, LaFleur likewise dismissed the importance. “I’m sure our guys aren’t going to sit there and study every code word they have in their offense,” he said. “I mean, you can get this stuff from the TV copies. I mean, there are certain things you can pick up off the TV copies. That’s why most teams, I would say probably every team in the league, listen to what they’re putting out there as well as what the opponent is putting out there and you try to piece it together. Personally, I think it’s probably a little bit overrated.” LaFleur noted that, particularly with division rivals, many of those tendencies are already known through scouting and experience. “I mean, ultimately, you still got to stop whatever it is they’re doing and they’re a good football team,” he said. “Just like most good football teams are going to have tendencies — I’m sure we have a lot of tendencies too. But you got to stop it — and vice versa. When you get tendencies, usually it’s because you’re doing something pretty well, and so you’re going to keep on doing that probably. But I think all that stuff is pretty overrated. Ultimately, it comes down to the ability to go out there, get 11 men on the same page and go execute.” The Gibbs flub was more of a sideshow than an advantage for Green Bay this week. Teams routinely change up their calls to avoid rivals picking them up through TV copies. If obtaining those were a game-breaker, then signing released players from the opponents you’re about to face would be much more prevalent and sought-after. Do things like that happen? Sure, but we’re not talking about codes to the nuclear football here. “It’s not something that we, I would say, over-talk,” LaFleur said when asked if they tell players to be conscious of whether they leak information. “I think the guys understand that nobody wants their information out there for the whole world to see. So, we try to keep everything in-house here. But I don’t think it’s like the end of the world, either. I don’t think you gain a real competitive advantage off of that, personally.” |
| MINNESOTADerrik Klassen of The Athletic takes a look at QB SAM DARNOLD’s performance against the Cardinals (sounds like JAMEIS WINSTON without the INTs): Darnold is the toughest quarterback in the league to pin down right now. In so many ways, he is still the Darnold of old. He takes sacks at a higher rate than most quarterbacks and puts the ball in harm’s way at least three times a week. Those are parts of his game that will never leave. At the same time, Darnold’s risky throws have seldom been punished this year, and he has consistently stepped up in his team’s biggest moments. Darnold has three, four, sometimes five outrageous throws per game, many of which have come late to drive the offense into scoring range. Last week’s game against the Cardinals covered all of that — good and bad. Let’s start with some of Darnold’s struggles, because that’s the version of him we got for about three quarters. Though Darnold’s numbers under pressure and versus the blitz looked solid when he got the ball out, he often did not do that. Darnold was sacked five times Sunday, many of those coming on third down. Cardinals defensive coordinator Nick Rallis found ways to confuse or overwhelm Darnold for a good chunk of this game, and the Vikings didn’t really adjust until the fourth quarter. Darnold also put the ball in danger a lot in this game, although he continues to get away with it. I charted five passes that were outright defended. At least a couple of them over the middle, including an overthrown seam route in the end zone, easily could have been picked off. Darnold was just 4-of-10 into those tight windows. The flip side is that Darnold can make some absolutely nails throws into tight windows. Maybe he’s too willing to try it at times, but when it works, he throws some indefensible passes. Darnold threw the ball through a car wash to find Justin Jefferson deep down the right side to open the fourth quarter. On his very next attempt, he feathered in an out-breaker to Jordan Addison, just over the fingertips of an underneath defender. Shortly after that, he threw a beautiful wheel route to Aaron Jones that Jones dropped in the end zone. When it’s good, there really aren’t many who throw a prettier ball. Darnold, to his credit, also was good when the picture was clear for him. Head coach Kevin O’Connell makes it easy for Darnold more often than not, and Minnesota’s QB usually doesn’t squander those chances. Darnold “missed” just two open-window throws in this game, both of which were defended at the line of scrimmage. Sometimes, you just have to tip your cap to the opposing team’s big guys up front. Sunday’s struggles and eventual comeback made for the full Darnold experience. There’s still a part of his success that feels flimsy to me, but O’Connell continues to enable Darnold in the right ways — and Darnold continues to step up when he is needed most. |
| NFC EAST |
| DALLASAs Mike McCarthy gears up for five games that might steal a Wild Card spot and might get him an extension, he has QB DAK PRESCOTT cheering him on. Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com: Mike McCarthy is in the final year of his contract, and the expectation long has been that the Cowboys will move on after the season. McCarthy was dealt a losing hand when the Cowboys did nothing meaningful in free agency and then expected more with less. Injuries that cost players like Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, DaRon Bland, Zack Martin, Brandin Cooks, Trevon Diggs and Dak Prescott multiple games on the sideline didn’t help. Prescott, who played eight games before a season-ending hamstring surgery, is campaigning for McCarthy to get a new contract with the Cowboys. “Your coach seems like he’s playing on his last contract and [I’m] almost feeling helpless like I can’t help him in this situation, especially a guy you believe in so much and you believe in being your head coach,” Prescott told Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports. “Control what I can control, help and support Mike to every extent that I can.” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said last week that it’s “not crazy” to think McCarthy might return for a sixth season and beyond. McCarthy has served as the team’s play caller the past two seasons, so his departure would leave Prescott to learn a new offensive system with a new offensive coordinator and a new head coach. “I believe in him wholeheartedly,” Prescott said. “I don’t want to necessarily get into the nuts and the screws of it all obviously, but I think he definitely deserves a chance — another contract and a chance to coach this team amongst more influence. ‘On his terms’ may be a good way to say it. “But I wholeheartedly believe in him.” The Cowboys had three consecutive 12-win seasons before starting this season 3-7. They have won two in a row and have the Bengals, Panthers and Buccaneers in the next three games. So, it’s not out of the question they could climb back into contention. But, either way, the Cowboys will have to decide whether they want McCarthy back and, if they do, then it’s up to McCarthy to decide whether he wants to return. |
| PHILADELPHIAThis from ProFootballFocus.com: Only two interior defensive linemen picked up more than six pressures this week, and they both played for the Eagles. Milton Williams led the way with nine while Jalen Carter had eight. |
| WASHINGTONAs a sign of changing times, there appears to be a chance for the return of the name Redskins for Washington’s football team. At least one sign is that media are using the name Redskins in their stories about the possible change rather than “the former name.” Monica Sager and Katherine Fung of Newsweek take a look at the issue (using the word Redskins no less than nine times): The NFL’s Redskins became the Washington Football Team in 2020, then the Commanders in 2022, but the team may return to the identity it previously held for 87 years. Commanders owner Josh Harris has expressed support for a name reversal since he took over the team last year. Harris and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell visited Capitol Hill on Monday to lobby for a bill that would help revitalize Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. A senior Senate staffer told Newsweek that U.S. Republican Senator John Thune of South Dakota was among the lawmakers who met with Harris and Goodell. Newsweek reached out to the NFL and Harris’ representatives for comment Tuesday morning. The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources recently passed the D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act, which would transfer the land with the former stadium and its vicinity to the D.C. government for up to 99 years. The bill now moves to the Senate floor for a full vote. There is no guarantee that the Commanders would build their next stadium at the site, but it’s possible that the football team returns to its home from 1961 to 1996. A name reversal would be “a win against this woke mindset / sensitivity we’ve seen the last couple of years,” conservative influencer Amir Odom told Newsweek. “Why are we politicizing sports team names?” he asked. “There’s more to worry about in this country than grown men fondling balls on a field and what name we refer to them as.” “Let’s let this be a cultural and community thing. It’s one thing for politicians to share their opinion but to get this involved is a bit much.” Is the Redskins Name Coming Back?Harris, who bought the football team from longtime owner Dan Snyder last year for $6.05 billion, had previously said the old Redskins name, originating in 1933, would not return. But Harris’ group includes NBA legend Magic Johnson, who told NBC News otherwise. “Everything’s on the table, especially after this year,” Johnson told journalist Craig Melvin last year. “We’ll see where we are with the name.” Some fans have even urged President-elect Donald Trump to change the team’s name back when he returns to office. In September, ML Football, the credentialed media for everything football related, announced that the family of the Blackfeet chief featured in the logo wants the team to change its name back to Redskins. “90 percent of Native Americans supported the Redskins name,” the post reads. “People are fed up with everything being offensive,” Odom said. “If they change the name back it’s definitely a cultural win for keeping things how they are no matter the origin since context has changed. I feel like this could be a nod to keeping historic statues up despite the origins.” Why Did the Washington Redskins Change Their Name?“Redskin” is sometimes used as a discriminatory slang term against Indigenous people in the United States. Amid the Black Lives Matter protests that followed the death of George Floyd, Snyder faced growing pressure from sponsors, including Nike, FedEx and PepsiCo, to change the team’s name. The league and team announced in July 2020 that it was “undergoing a thorough review of the team name.” Snyder had insisted for over two decades, however, that he was not going to abandon the Redskins name, even as Indigenous advocacy groups fought to get rid of it. In 2020, more than a dozen tribal leaders and organizations sent a letter to Goodell calling for the league to force Snyder into changing the team’s name. Criticism surrounding the name started in the 1960s and gained larger public traction in the 1990s. The team rebranded itself as the Washington Football Team in 2020 before becoming the Commanders in 2022. But another name change could hurt the team, Jim Rocco, author of the coming book, Sports Crisis Communications: Cases & Controversies, told Newsweek. “It’s always bad for a sports brand to sway this way and that in the face of changing political winds. You tend to make your fans dizzy,” he said. “In this case, the idea is actually a little crazy. What’s going to happen if the Democrats retake control of Congress? Will they change the name again?” David Aaker, known as the “father of modern branding,” agreed that the team is in “a lose-lose situation.” “Whatever route will upset some people and cause their support of the team to be reduced and that will not be offset by those that ‘won,'” Aaker told Newsweek. “If the name change is made I would not make a big deal out of it.” Will the Original Redskins Logo Be Used?Republican U.S. Senator Steve Daines of Montana previously threatened to block legislation pertaining to the RFK stadium site until the NFL and Commanders agreed to honor the old Redskins logo. In a letter to Fox 5 WTTG, Daines said that the former logo, which depicted Blackfeet Chief Two Guns White Calf, acted as “a symbol of pride, strength and honor” and that it should not be censored. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which Daines leads, approved legislation last week that would fund revitalization of the D.C. football stadium site. Who Is the Face of the Original Redskins Logo?Daines told Newsweek he is now in favor of the bill because the Indigenous family credited with designing the original logo is now satisfied with the team’s efforts to honor Walter “Blackie” Wetzel’s work. There seems to be “good faith negotiations” with the league around the old logo. It is expected to be included on alumni shirts for those who played while sporting the Redskins logo. “My goal has always been to support the Wetzel family and tribal stakeholders in their goal to bring the iconic Blackfeet logo back to a place of prominence,” Daines told Newsweek. “Native Americans in Montana have diverse views on the Redskins nickname but they overwhelmingly agree that the Blackfeet logo is a symbol of pride, strength and honor. I’ve insisted that the NFL, Commanders and their corporate sponsors celebrate it, not censor it.” A Commanders team spokesperson on Monday told Newsweek that there are no plans to bring the logo back. It was developed in 1971 by Wetzel, a former leader of Blackfeet Nation. The Redskins image is a composite of Native American photographs, including one featuring a Blackfeet chief. |
| NFC SOUTH |
| ATLANTAMarc Raimondi of ESPN.com on what ails the Falcons and QB KIRK COUSINS: — The Atlanta Falcons were riding high after a Week 9 win over the Dallas Cowboys. They upped their record to 6-3, the team’s best start since 2016, the season in which they went to the Super Bowl. At the time, the Falcons boasted a 4-0 division record, including a sweep of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, their next closest NFC South rival in the standings. Atlanta’s rallying cry of “Outrun the South” was coming to fruition. The Falcons are on a three-game losing streak and now statistically tied atop the division at 6-6 with the Buccaneers. Atlanta still holds the tiebreaker, but has a more difficult schedule in its final five games, starting with Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings (1 p.m. ET, Fox). Furthermore, the last two games especially have been rife with red flags. In Week 11, the Falcons were drubbed by the Denver Broncos, 38-6, the franchise’s worst loss in three seasons. Coming off a bye in Week 13, quarterback Kirk Cousins threw four interceptions in a 17-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. During the Falcons’ three-game losing streak, Cousins has thrown six interceptions and no touchdown passes. He has the third worst quarterback EPA in the NFL during that stretch. Where are the areas the Cousins and Falcons can improve to save their playoff hopes? Let’s take a look at significant stats and trends, courtesy of ESPN Research. Long-distance planThe most glaring difference between Cousins over the first nine games of the season and in the last three has been his inability to get the ball down field. That has been a strength of Cousins throughout his career. But during Atlanta’s losing streak, Cousins is 10-of-24 for 217 yards with three interceptions and no touchdowns on throws of 15 air yards or more. Cousins was 32-of-61 for 821 yards and five touchdowns, though still five interceptions, through Week 9. Cousins and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson either need to figure out the issue with chunk-yardage throws or dial things back to a more conservative offense. Lean on BijanIf Cousins’ struggles getting the ball down the field to wide receivers like Drake London, Darnell Mooney and Ray-Ray McCloud III persist, the Falcons can always continue to feature running back Bijan Robinson. Not only in the running game, but also as a pass catcher out of the backfield. Robinson has the fourth most yards after the catch (477) in the entire NFL. Zac Robinson clearly saw that coming off the bye week, because Robinson had a season-high 26 carries as well as six catches against the Chargers in Week 13. Limit turnoversThis is an obvious one. Cousins will be the first person to admit his decision-making needs to get better. He has the most interceptions (13) in the league, as well as the most fumbles (12). The odd thing is teams haven’t really been blitzing him, but they have been getting enough pressure to at least rattle Cousins lately and force him into a mistake. Against a standard pass rush (four defenders or fewer) over the first nine weeks, Cousins completed 72% of his passes with 15 touchdowns and six interceptions. During the losing streak, he’s completed just 61% against a standard pass rush with six interceptions. When pressured by the Chargers, Cousins was 3-of-9 for 10 yards and two interceptions. Seeing redCousins is fifth in the NFL in passing yards (3,052). Robinson, London, Mooney and McCloud are all having strong seasons in terms of yardage. But once they get close to the red zone, things seem to fall apart. Atlanta has the third worst goal-to-go touchdown percentage in the league (56.3%) and is tied for the seventh worst red zone touchdown percentage (50%). Head coach Raheem Morris and Zac Robinson have both talked over the last few weeks about fixing the red zone offense. It’ll be necessary down the stretch. Re-establish PittsPerhaps an antidote to the Falcons’ red zone woes could be tight end Kyle Pitts, who was drafted No. 4 overall in 2021 in large part because of his size (6-feet-6), length and his ample physical abilities. Pitts could be a frequent Cousins goal-line target, but has not been. In fact, he’s kind of disappeared since catching for passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns against the Bucs in Week 8. Pitts has a combined five targets over the last two games with just one reception. He has one reception or less in three of Atlanta’s last four games. Pitts has had ups and downs in his four-year career, but the Falcons need to hope that another upswing is coming over the last five games. |
| TAMPA BAYOC Liam Coen is part of, but not all of, the growth of Tampa Bay’s running game according to Derrik Klassen of The Athletic: The Tampa Bay run game is one of this season’s quiet miracles. In 2022 and 2023, this run game was firmly entrenched in the bottom of the league. The Bucs could not block a soul and could not find a core group of concepts out of which to build an identity. At a certain point last season, then offensive coordinator Dave Canales clearly treated the run game as a chore to keep defenses honest rather than as a serious part of the offense. I can’t say I blame him for it, either. That has not been the case under Liam Coen this year, at all, and there are a few reasons for that. Coen comes from the Sean McVay coaching tree, so it’s hardly a surprise he’s more committed to — and affluent in — making the run game work. Bringing in free agent Ben Bredeson to play left guard and drafting Graham Barton to play center, as well as getting some natural second-year development from right guard Cody Mauch, also has helped fix what was arguably the NFL’s worst interior offensive line the past couple seasons. The foundation of a good run game is nothing without the players to make good on it, though. Rachaad White, who was already on the roster, has played admirably with better surroundings. But it’s really Irving who has been responsible for taking things to the next level. He’s been more than “good for a rookie.” He has been straight-up good. Through 13 weeks, Irving ranks ninth in the league in rushing yards over expected (+121) among running backs, per NFL Pro. He ranks seventh in RYOE per attempt (+0.9), if you sort by runners with at least 100 carries. Similarly, Irving is second only to Jacksonville Jaguars RB Tank Bigsby in yards after contact per carry (4.4) among runners with triple-digit rushing attempts. Irving’s pop and springy footwork are exactly what has been missing from the Bucs’ run game for years. White is good as a battering ram, but he does not get the offensive line out of jams or pop explosive runs as consistently as Irving can. Irving has been a spark of electricity for a room that desperately needed it. He is going to give the Bucs a dangerous 200 or so touches a season for the next half-decade. That’s a home run of a fourth-round pick by GM Jason Licht. |
| NFC WEST |
| ARIZONAThe two toughest backs to tackle are in the NFC West per ProFootballFocus.com: It’s tight at the top when it comes to which running back has forced the most missed tackles. Najee Harris (66) and Josh Jacobs (68) are in contention, but right now, the top two are James Conner and Kenneth Walker III with 70. |
| LOS ANGELES RAMSCarmen DeSilva of USA TODAY on a disruptive stat where LB BYRON YOUNG leads the NFL: Jared Verse, Braden Fiske and Kobie Turner get a ton of attention and praise along the Rams’ defensive line, and for good reason. They’re crucial pieces up front, but Byron Young is a player who should not be forgotten. Since coming in as a third-round rookie in 2023, all he’s done is make plays for the Rams. He has 84 total pressures in the last two years, according to Pro Football Focus, and before Sunday’s win over the Saints, he went nine straight games with at least three pressures. Beyond just sacking the quarterback, he finds ways to create turnovers by generating pressure off the edge. In fact, he’s better at it than any other player in the NFL. According to Next Gen Stats, Young is the only player in the league who has forced at least five turnovers via pressure this season. T.J. Watt and Danielle Hunter are tied for second with four, and five other players (including Verse) have three. It was Verse’s pressure against the Packers that led to a pick-six by Jaylen McCollough. He also forced a fumble against the 49ers that Braden Fiske recovered, creating a takeaway in the Rams’ win over their rivals. He had three other pressures that led to interceptions, as well, giving him five turnovers created by pressure on the year. Young’s 34 total pressures rank fourth on the team and his six sacks are tied for the most of any Rams player this year – after tying for second on the team with eight sacks a year ago. Young may not get the attention that Verse and Fiske do, but his impact on the Rams defense shouldn’t be ignored. He’s been a big reason for their success this season, as evidenced by the five turnovers he’s created. |
| AFC WEST |
| DENVERThe Broncos started the 21-day practice clock for WR JOSH REYNOLDS 21 days ago. Either his hand is not healthy or he has been displaced by other receivers. In any case, he has been waived with the expiration of the practice window. Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com: Faced with the deadline to bring wide receiver Josh Reynolds back on to the roster from injured reserve, the Denver Broncos waived the eight-year veteran Tuesday. The Broncos, who had designated Reynolds to return from injured reserve Nov. 13, had to either move Reynolds to the 53-player roster this week or keep him on injured reserve to retain him. With two rookies now regularly in the receiver rotation to go with Marvin Mims Jr. in his second year, the Broncos chose to waive Reynolds instead. If they choose, they could bring Reynolds back to their practice squad if he clears waivers Wednesday. If he goes unclaimed, Reynolds would be a free agent, able to sign with any team. He had 12 receptions for 183 yards and one touchdown in five games, having suffered a fractured finger Oct. 6 on his touchdown catch against the Las Vegas Raiders. Reynolds signed a two-year, $9 million deal with the Broncos in free agency this past March and the Broncos will pay him $4.245 million guaranteed for his five-game tenure. Broncos coach Sean Payton, who said it was “good to have [Reynolds] back” Nov. 13 when Reynolds returned to practice to start the 21-day clock, has continued to laud the efforts of rookies Devaughn Vele and Troy Franklin. Both have worked their way into the rotation at receiver — Vele is second among the team’s wide receivers in catches (33) and yards receiving (377). Mims had his second career 100-yard receiving game in Monday night’s win over the Cleveland Browns with 105 yards on three catches, including the Broncos’ longest scoring play of the season, a 93-yard catch-and-run touchdown. Reynolds has been on injured reserve since he hurt his hand, but he also was one of two men injured in a shooting in Denver in October. Reynolds suffered what police termed as “non-life threatening” injuries to his head and left arm. Denver Police later announced they had arrested two men in connection to the shooting: Burr Charlesworth, 42, and Luis Mendoza, 35. They were charged with six counts of first-degree attempted murder, six counts of first-degree assault and additional felonies. Reynolds has not spoken publicly about the incident. |
| LAS VEGASEveryone should be like EDGE MAXX McCARTHY. Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com: The Raiders fell to 2-10 with their Black Friday loss to the Chiefs, so they’re assured of having a losing record for the third straight year and the fourth time in defensive end Maxx Crosby’s six NFL seasons. Crosby was a guest on Let’s Go! this week and host Peter King asked him if he ever gets ticked off by all of the losses. Crosby admitted that losing sucks because he is as “competitive as they come,” but said that he has worked to make sure he doesn’t engage in the kind of negative thinking he sees from a lot of other people. “I care about winning more than anything on the planet,” Crosby said. “So, yeah, there were points in the season where I feel like I was losing my mind. I had to really reset. The best version of me is not just being a great player but a great leader and being the best version of myself, bringing positivity. Because I can sit around and be negative and be like everybody else in the world right now. If I live in that, I’m just like everybody else and I’m not like everybody else. I feel like I’m here for a reason, and I could fall into that trap and be part of the crowd or I can be a leader. And that’s what I choose to be.” The Raiders’ results show the limits of positive thinking and a real change of fortunes is only going to come with better coaching and an upgraded roster, so Crosby will have to wait until at least next year to stop trying to smile through the darkness.– – -QB AIDAN O’CONNELL did some good things last week per ProFootballFocus.com: Aidan O’Connell completed five passes on balls thrown over 20 yards in the air, the highest number of any passer in Week 13.– – -The DB presumes that the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year race is between QBs JAYDEN DANIELS and fast-closing BO NIX. Gilberto Manzano makes the case for TE BROCK BOWERS, but ultimately finds him wanting: The last thing any football writer should do is upset Las Vegas Raiders fans. But I committed to writing about stud rookie tight end Brock Bowers after he torched the Kansas City Chiefs with 10 catches for 140 yards and a touchdown during the Black Friday game. It was a sensational performance that needed recognition—just not for Offensive Rookie of the Year. I really tried my best to convince myself that Bowers should be the frontrunner for the award, but I couldn’t go there, not when quarterbacks Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix are also playing well. But don’t worry, Raiders fans. I said plenty of good things about Bowers in this week’s Fact or Fiction and he better be in the running for a different accolade. Let’s take a look at a few end-of-year awards before we head into the final stretch run of the regular season. Brock Bowers should win Offensive Rookie of the YearManzano’s view: FictionI wanted to find a way to boost Bowers’s campaign for Offensive Rookie of the Year, but that was a bit difficult because I still believe that award belongs to Daniels, who had a strong bounce-back performance in the victory over the Tennessee Titans last week. But before I continue saying why Bowers isn’t the OROY, first, let me praise the Georgia product for being a dominant weapon on a bad Raiders team. Bowers has been the best tight end in the NFL this season and needs to be selected for First-Team All-Pro. Raiders fans should riot if Bowers doesn’t get the recognition there. O.K., maybe not. That’s extreme, and Bowers might lose some votes to Cardinals tight end Trey McBride. But you get the point. Bowers might already be the best tight end in the league as a rookie. He has a league-high 84 receptions and his 884 receiving yards rank fourth in the NFL. Now, going back to the OROY race. I’m undecided on whether Bowers should be ranked ahead of Nix, who has the Denver Broncos in playoff contention. The Raiders’ stud rookie tight end is certainly a top-three candidate, though. But an endorsement for the top three OROY candidates isn’t really a sexy headline. And for those complaining that this award shouldn’t be just about the quarterbacks, seven of the past 11 OROY winners have been non-quarterbacks: Garrett Wilson, Ja’Marr Chase, Saquon Barkley, Alvin Kamara, Todd Gurley, Odell Beckham Jr. and Eddie Lacy—yes, Eddie Lacy. Quarterbacks C.J. Stroud, Justin Herbert, Kyler Murray and Dak Prescott won the award in the past 11 years. Raiders fans will be annoyed about Daniels and Nix getting most of the attention in the final month of the season, just like last year when Los Angeles Rams fans wanted wide receiver Puka Nacua to get more love for his record-setting rookie season. Unfortunately for Nacua, Stroud delivered one of the best rookie seasons ever for a QB, similar to when Herbert beat Justin Jefferson for the award in 2020. It’s not easy playing the quarterback position and Daniels, Stroud and Herbert quickly cemented themselves as star signal-callers. But it would be pretty cool if Bowers becomes the first tight end to win rookie of the year. (As a side thought, I can’t wait to hear in a few years how many teams didn’t even consider taking Bowers in the top 15 because he was listed as a tight end.) The Raiders missed on drafting one of the top six quarterbacks in the draft this year, but they got it right by taking Bowers at No. 13. I’m sure some teams are kicking themselves for not taking him in the top 12 and many others are doing the same for not moving up in the draft order to get him. |
| AFC NORTH |
| CINCINNATIYou might wonder who might purchase the real Batmobile. Wonder no more. Christian Arnold of the New York Post: Joe Burrow revealed in the first episode of “Hard Knocks: In Season with the AFC North” that he had purchased a Batmobile during a conversation with teammates Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. The conversation about Batman’s vehicle came early in the premiere episode of the HBO program while the Bengals quarterback was talking at practice with his two receivers. “Have I told you I bought a Batmobile?” Burrow says to Higgins in the moment, which prompted the receiver to ask if he had gotten it delivered yet. “I don’t get it for like a year, but I bought it,” Burrow responded to the question. The scene then jumped to show a post on X by “Lights, Camera, Barstool” about Warner Bros. selling 10 “fully functional but not street legal” replicas of the Batmobile from the Christopher Nolan “Dark Knight” trilogy. Chase joined the conversation and suggested that he has to go all in as the “vengeance Batman where he had the s—ty ass eye thing on.” “I think I gotta go all in and go for like the expensive Batsuit too, yeah,” Burrow chimed in. The trio later joked that the club could be the best place to break out the Batmobile and a Batsuit. “I’d wear that bitch to the club,” Higgins said. Chase followed the comment up, noting that Higgins would “Get lost in there” and that “It’d be so dark in there.” Burrow then joked that Higgins would be in the club using the Batman suit cape as a dance accessory, which Higgins himself then mimicked. The practice took place before the Bengals dropped an AFC North showdown against the Steelers on Sunday. |
| CLEVELANDWe thought sure that QB JAMEIS WINSTON would rank higher on this list: MOST PICK-SIXES THROWN 1 Brett Favre+ 32 2 Matthew Stafford 30 3 Dan Marino+ 29 4 Joe Namath+ 28 5 Drew Brees 27 Peyton Manning+ 27 33t JAMEIS WINSTON 14 Winston has 3,112 pass attempts. So 1 Pick Six thrown for every 223 passes. Broadway Joe threw 28 in 3,762 passes. Or one in every 134 passes. All of the others at the top have at least 8,000 passes. Namath seems to be in a class by himself. Others in the Winston range of 1 in every 200 passes or so include: Steve DeBerg 20 in 5,024 pass attemptsJay Cutler 19 in 4,920Norm Snead 22 in 4,352Ken Stabler 16 in 3,793 So we think, just by eye-balling the list – that on a per pass basis among QBs with a significant number of passes – Namath was the most prolific, followed by Snead (1 in 197), then Winston. What about the other end of the spectrum? Players with fewer that 1 Pick Six thrown for every 1,000 passes include: Aaron Rodgers 6 in 8,080Steve Young 4 in 4,190Ron Jaworski 4 in 4,117Patrick Mahomes 4 in 4,017Carson Wentz 3 in 3,308 And the undisputed champ – Josh Allen 2 in 3,501 or 1 in every 1,750 passes Allen has not thrown a Pick Six since 2019! |
| PITTSBURGHMike Tomlin, who should be in the Coach of the Year conversation with Dan Campbell (and we would say no one else except Andy Reid who always should be), shines on AFC North Hard Knocks in the opinion of Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com: The latest season of Hard Knocks, which premiered on Tuesday night, features all four AFC North teams. But one person stood out as the star of the show: Mike Tomlin. Tomlin, the Steelers head coach who has never had a losing record in his 18 seasons on the job, let the NFL Films cameras and microphones demonstrate exactly why: He has a gift for relating to his players. That was true in a team meeting on Thanksgiving morning, when Tomlin made certain everyone on the team had a place to celebrate. “Happy Thanksgiving. I’d like to open my home up to anyone and everyone in here,” Tomlin said. And it was true during the Steelers’ win over the Bengals, when wide receiver George Pickens was knocked down on his route on the Steelers’ first drive, leading the Bengals to take an early lead on a pick-six. Pickens looked dejected as he walked off the field, so Tomlin grabbed him for a one-on-one conversation that the viewers were able to hear. “I need you to stay with me. This shit isn’t going to decide the outcome of the game. That’s not going to decide the outcome of the game. Look at me! You alright? Alright, let’s go,” Tomlin told Pickens, who would go on to be the Steelers’ leading receiver in the game. And it was true in Tomlin’s interactions with linebacker Nick Herbig, whom Tomlin encouraged in a team meeting during the week, telling him he wanted to see him force a fumble against the Bengals. “Herbig, we gotta lay it on the ground this week,” Tomlin told him at the team meeting. Sure enough, Herbig strip-sacked Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow to set up a Steelers touchdown. When Herbig got off the field after his big play, Tomlin was there to assure him he knew he’d step up for his team. “Let’s not act surprised. This ain’t a lightning strike, man, you’re built for this,” Tomlin told Herbig. As the Steelers clinched their victory, Tomlin celebrated with his players and assistant coaches on the sideline. “I love it when a plan comes together,” Tomlin said. “It feels good, don’t it?” Hard Knocks had to feel good for Steelers fans. |
| AFC SOUTH |
| HOUSTONTom Brady isn’t as ready to condemn EDGE AZEEZ AL-SHAAIR. Jason Owens ofYahooSports.com: Tom Brady has thoughts on Azeez Al-Shaair’s hit on Trevor Lawrence, and they might arrive as a surprise, considering the source. Brady thinks quarterbacks should shoulder more of the blame when it comes to hits deemed late on quarterback slides. The former Patriots and Bucs quarterback spoke about the topic during an appearance with “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” on Tuesday. Brady told Cowherd that he has “mixed emotions” on the topic, then told the story of a lesson his teammates taught him early in his career when he got his helmet knocked off after sliding late. “If you’re gonna slide, you better get down,” Brady said his teammates told him. “These guys are coming to get you.” He then expressed sympathy with defensive players when they’re in a position of making split-second decisions on whether to hit a quarterback. “Defensive players have to be aggressive,” Brady said. “That’s their nature.” Brady continued matter of factly that quarterbacks are responsible for their own safety, which shouldn’t be strictly up to defenders tasked with stopping them.ZE “The quarterbacks need to take better care of themselves,” Brady said. … “When you run, you put yourself in a lot of danger. And when you do that, I don’t think the onus of protecting an offensive quarterback who’s running should be on a defensive player. I don’t think that’s really fair to the defense.” Brady didn’t make that comment directly about Lawrence and Al-Shaair, nor did he directly declare that Lawrence slid late. But he reached his conclusion in a conversation about the controversial hit that concussed Lawrence and sparked a brawl between the Jaguars and Texans. Al-Shaair has since apologized for injuring Lawrence, but hedged on whether his hit was actually late. His coach, DeMeco Ryans, full-throatedly defended Al-Shaair in a message similar to Brady’s that put the onus on Lawrence to protect himself. |
| INDIANAPOLISWhen he’s on his game, he’s on his game. A QB ANTHONY RICHARDSON factoid fromProFootballFocus.com: No player has a higher percentage of big-time throws than the 7.4% posted by Anthony Richardson. |
| AFC EAST |
| BUFFALOA ProFootballFocus factoid: No player has caught more balls without dropping one than Khalil Shakir with 60. |
| NEW YORK JETSQB AARON RODGERS has no intention of stepping aside as Jets QB for the final five games. Shanna McCarriston of CBSSports.com: During the offseason, many had the New York Jets in the Super Bowl conversation. Flash forward a few months later and the team is 3-9, fired its coach and general manager and rumors are circulating that some in the organization want Aaron Rodgers benched while more talk has Rodgers wanting out of New York all together at season’s end. Safe to say the wheels have fallen off, but despite the struggles, Rodgers says he wants to “finish the season the right way.” For Rodgers, that means being on the field as the starter, as long as he stays healthy. Reports late last month said Rodgers has played through multiple injuries this season and has resisted scans, to avoid a significant injury popping up and sidelining him. He’s been on the injury report, but has started each game this season. The future Hall of Famer maintains that he is feeling good and wants to continue to be QB1 for the Jets. “My body feels great, I want to be out there with the guys,” Rodgers said on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday. Before the season, Rodgers said his goal was to win the Super Bowl, but he also revealed another goal he had post injury, after going down with a season-ending injury just four offensive snaps into last season. “One of my goals this year coming back from the Achilles was to play all 17 games,” Rodgers said, adding that he wished it was more because he was aiming for a playoff run. Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said on Monday that No. 8 will be the starter going forward because “we think he gives us the best opportunity to win.” Rodgers echoed Ulbrich saying he is planning to lead the offense, even if the team continues to lose. Following the loss to the Seattle Seahawks this week, Ulbrich didn’t commit to his QB plans. “Not as of today,” he said, via The Athletic, when he was asked about a quarterback change, but later clarified saying Rodgers is “our quarterback.” Rodgers was also noncommittal after the game, saying, “Yeah, I don’t know. We’ll figure that out when we have those conversations.” Even though Rodgers has implied he wants to finish out this season, there are reports that he could be wearing a different uniform come 2025. He is a long shot to stay with the Jets, according to NFL Media. “As far as my future goes, I haven’t told anybody in my life that I wanna play in 2025 [but not for] the Jets,” Rodgers said. “That’s 100% false. … I’m gonna wait and see what happens at the end of the season if they want me back. … I’ve really enjoyed my time in New York. … I’ve made some great friendships with the team, and I’ve enjoyed living in Jersey. So I’m not jumping off ship.” |
| THIS AND THAT |
| BROADCAST NEWSAlready a rich man, Stephen A. Smith is close to becoming richer. Andrew Marchand of The Athletic: ESPN and Stephen A. Smith are in negotiations on a historic deal that is in the six-year, $120 million range, sources briefed on the negotiations told The Athletic. The near $20 million per year contract is not yet completed. While Variety reported that a deal was close to fruition, one very important figure appears unsatisfied where things stand. That person is Stephen A. Smith. When asked over text if a deal is close, Smith simply responded, “False.” After a brief back-and-forth about the particulars, Smith added, “Here’s my quote, ‘I was born AT NIGHT, not last night. I don’t talk about my contract negotiations. Never have. Never will.” The $20 million a year would be the most ever paid to an ESPN on-air personality without it being tied to a licensing deal. ESPN’s initial offer was for $18 million per year, which Puck first reported. The two sides have also discussed both five- and six-year options for the potential length of the contract, according to sources briefed on the talks. If consummated, the contract will mostly be paid by ESPN but will have small components from Disney Entertainment and a gambling company, presumably ESPN BET, the network’s sports gambling arm. ESPN declined comment. Smith, 57, is currently making $12 million a year at ESPN, which is divided up between $8 million in salary and $4 million for his production company. He also currently has multimillion separate sports gambling deals. The entertainment component will allow Disney to have a first-look for any projects that may develop. Pat McAfee currently makes more than $17 million per year for ESPN to license his daily show. He pays all the people on his program. He also is believed to make a separate fee for “College GameDay.” “Monday Night Football” boothmates, Troy Aikman ($18 million per year) and Joe Buck ($15 million per year) make the most pure salary of anyone at ESPN. Tom Brady has the highest known salary at $37.5 million per season to call NFL games for Fox. Peyton Manning’s exact pay from ESPN is tied into his production company, Omaha Productions, and is believed to be in a similar range as Brady. Now, Smith could be a $20 million a year man, but it is apparently up to him. |
| THE 12-TEAM CFBWith one week to go, the Committee strikes by giving big brands Alabama and Ohio State the benefit of the doubt at the expense of Ole Miss, Miami, SMU and other lesser lights. Losing to Michigan barely harms the Buckeyes, while being defeated by a good Syracuse team crippled the Canes. Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY: The penultimate College Football Playoff rankings show how the race for the 12-team field has settled into form with only conference championship games remaining in the regular season. With at least eight and maybe nine teams already locked into place, there should be very little controversy with the final rankings should favorites take care of business on Friday and Saturday. But messiness is lurking around the corner. Based on Tuesday night’s rankings, the one game that could throw the whole debate into chaos is the ACC championship game between No. 8 SMU and No. 17 Clemson. After backing into the matchup with help from No. 12 Miami and No. 22 Syracuse, the Tigers could take a fourth bid away from the SEC by knocking off the Mustangs. Another matchup with heavy playoff implications will be in the Mountain West, where No. 10 Boise State and No. 20 UNLV are set to meet for the second time this season. And the biggest takeaway from Tuesday night involves Ohio State, which came at No. 6 after losing to rival Michigan. The Buckeyes and Alabama lead the winners and losers from the latest playoff rankings: Winners Ohio StateDropping just four spots from last week is a huge win for the Buckeyes, who are now in line to host an opening-round playoff game despite Saturday’s loss and the ensuing fourth-place finish in the Big Ten. The committee looked past that miserable finish to the regular season and focused on Ohio State’s two marquee wins against No. 3 Penn State and No. 9 Indiana. Another advantage in the comparison with No. 7 Tennessee are each team’s losses: No. 1 Oregon and Michigan for the Buckeye against Arkansas and No. 5 Georgia for the Volunteers. That’s a comparison that favored Ohio State. The No. 11 Crimson Tide were able to stay well ahead of No. 14 South Carolina despite the Gamecocks’ rivalry win against Clemson. Based on the precedent set on Tuesday night, this leaves Alabama as the next in line to earn a playoff bid should one spot open after conference championships are held this weekend. The one result that would derail Alabama’s chances is Clemson winning the ACC, since SMU seems in position to earn an at-large bid with a loss. Two ACC teams in the bracket would result in just three SEC teams, leaving the Tide as the first team out. UNLVThat UNLV rose to No. 20 virtually guarantees the winner of the Mountain West will end up as the top-ranked team in the Group of Five. The Rebels were helped by Tulane’s loss to No. 25 Memphis, which knocked the Green Wave out of playoff contention and robbed No. 24 Army of the chance to add a much-needed marquee win. While in line for a playoff bid by beating Boise State, UNLV would not receive an opening-round bye as the fourth-highest conference champion; that final spot would very likely be taken by the Big 12 winner. Losers ArmyYou have to wonder about what could’ve been: Had Army pulled off an enormous upset of No. 4 Notre Dame two weeks ago and Tulane topped Memphis, you could’ve mapped out a scenario where the Black Knights would’ve joined the Mountain West winner as the second Group of Five team in the field. Now four spots south of UNLV, Army has increasingly long odds of capturing a playoff berth. But there’s plenty left to play for, beginning with the chance for the first conference crown in program history before meeting rival Navy to end the regular season. South CarolinaThe hottest team in the SEC and one of the red-hot teams in all of the FBS will eventually be boxed out of the playoff by two key losses: to Alabama and No. 13 Mississippi. It’s hard to complain about the Gamecocks’ ranking when all three teams have the same record and the Tide and Rebels own the head-to-head tiebreaker. But South Carolina has been on a roll, taking six in a row with three wins against teams in this week’s rankings, and would’ve been a very tough matchup for any opponent in the opening round. Stewart Mandel on how the Committee always seems to reason in a way that advances Alabama’s case – even if that’s not what they did previously: It appears college football’s Selection Sunday could be a lot less suspenseful than college basketball’s. The committee basically announced their decisions on the final bubble teams Tuesday night. Playoff committee chairman Warde Manuel even declared that the committee will not be making any further evaluations of teams that are done playing, so … sorry Miami! Hope you like Pop-Tarts. Las Vegas strongly shifted the odds of Playoff selection away from Miami and toward Alabama on Tuesday morning. Should the committee members be investigated for feloniously tampering with betting? — Bdhatch If so, that should be an easy case for them to crack. Check for geotagging data for any bets placed from the Gaylord Texan Resort, specifically the queso bar in the banquet room next to the hotel meeting space. In all seriousness: No. I think bettors were just smart enough to follow the golden rule of CFP selections: It’s ‘Bama, stupid! If the current rankings hold up, this will be the fifth time, dating back to the BCS, that the Tide wound up in a last-one-in situation; only once, in 2022, were they left out. They’re like a walking poster for how arbitrarily the committee shifts its rationale from week to week, season to season. Case in point: In 2017, an 11-1 Alabama team with wins against No. 17 LSU and No. 23 Mississippi State got the last Playoff berth instead of 11-2 Big Ten champion Ohio State. That year, Alabama did not make its conference title game. The Buckeyes had wins over two top-10 teams and a third ranked No. 16, while the Tide’s best win was over No. 17 LSU. We were told that Ohio State’s second loss, a 55-24 clunker at Iowa, was the difference-maker. The lesson: Don’t suffer bad losses. Fast forward seven years to Alabama vs. Miami. This time the Crimson Tide have the extra loss, and it’s a doozy: 24-3 at 6-6 Oklahoma. Whereas Miami’s two losses were close ones at 9-3 Syracuse and 7-5 Georgia Tech. But now, we’re told, it’s OK to have the worse record if you have the better wins. The lesson: It’s ‘Bama, stupid! Personally, I don’t believe there’s a right or wrong answer here. When you get down to the last few teams, you’re not going to be able to avoid flawed resumes. It’s so very on-brand, though, that the committee did not apply this reasoning nearly anywhere else in its top 12. Its No. 2 team, 11-1 Texas, has no Top 25 wins now that Texas A&M fell out, while its No. 5 team, 10-2 Georgia, has three — one of which is Texas. Its No. 3 team, 11-1 Penn State, has fewer Top 25 wins than its No. 6 team, 10-2 Ohio State, which beat the Nittany Lions on their home field. And its No. 9 team, 11-1 Indiana, arguably has a thinner resume than No. 12 Miami. In all three cases, they ordered the teams primarily by number of losses. But then, when it came to the last spot, they suddenly remembered it’s supposed to matter who a team beats. Just in time for Alabama. Joe Rexrode, also of The Athletic, likes downgrading Miami, but would have nudged Ole Miss ahead of Bama among the three-loss SEC teams: The College Football Playoff selection committee made the words of their chairman from a week earlier look silly, and they should all be commended for it. To a point. To the point of the Miami Hurricanes being eliminated from CFP contention with Tuesday’s penultimate rankings. That’s the big thing the 13-person committee got right Tuesday, and it came off as a pleasant surprise after several weeks of overrating the Canes, after chair Warde Manuel seemed to telegraph that the relative weakness of Miami’s profile would not count against it. “Teams can only play the (conference) schedule that’s in front of them,” Manuel said after the previous rankings. “They can only play the opponents that they have. So we take the stance that we’re going to really look at these games, we’re going to look at the stats, we’re going to look at the strength of schedule, but we’re also going to look at how teams are performing against the competition that they have. From our perspective, if it was just about strength of schedule, we wouldn’t be needed.” That comment came before Miami lost 42-38 at Syracuse. Still, it could have been used to justify keeping the 10-2 Hurricanes in, and it almost did. They dropped from No. 6 to No. 12, with 9-3 Alabama jumping two spots to No. 11 and taking the last at-large bid as of now — if No. 17 Clemson beats No. 8 SMU in the ACC title game, SMU could hang in and bump Alabama out. In penalizing Miami, the committee thought beyond the simplicity of counting loss totals, valued good wins over “good losses” and ejected a team with a poor strength of schedule and no ranked wins. It’s not Miami’s fault that it didn’t play Clemson and SMU this season, but it’s not to Miami’s credit either. It is to the credit, or good fortune, of The SEC Three — three-loss Alabama, Ole Miss and South Carolina — that they played and beat better teams than Miami. The Hurricanes should have dropped below all of them, which has nothing to do with ACC/SEC and everything to do with body of work. Also, the more I look at it, the more I think No. 13 Ole Miss should have received the nod over Alabama. That one is very, very close. No. 14 South Carolina has a case, too, but when it’s this tight and the Gamecocks lost to Alabama and Ole Miss, the head-to-head results should register and differentiate. And they did. First, let’s celebrate the positive, all due respect to Miami. The committee seemed in previous rankings to be valuing those confounding “good losses” over quality wins (that’s still the case with Penn State, for the record). As someone who has done the mock NCAA men’s basketball selection process and has observed that process for a long time, wins mean more to that committee than losses. That committee, in essence, asks: “Can this team win games in this tournament?” Miami could have done damage. Certainly, Cam Ward and the Hurricanes can score, leading the nation at 44.2 points per game. ESPN’s Heather Dinich, who covers the committee, noted it “likes this offense and Cam Ward” in predicting Miami would make the cut Tuesday. Ward is second in the nation at 343.6 passing yards per game, behind only Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord — has anyone mentioned recently he once played for Ohio State? — at 360.5 per game. McCord helped those numbers with a cool 380 and three touchdowns in Saturday’s upset of the Hurricanes to push 9-3 Cuse into the rankings at No. 22. That dropped Miami to 60th nationally in scoring defense (23.9) and 42nd in yards per play allowed (5.19). Against a schedule ranked No. 68 in The Athletic analyst Austin Mock’s metric. Sure, the most recent outing to cost Miami a spot in the ACC title game was a close loss, just like a 28-23 loss to 7-5 Georgia Tech on Nov. 9. But the Hurricanes’ best win this season continues to be a 52-45 escape of a Louisville team that couldn’t quite sneak back into the rankings after thumping rival Kentucky. The SEC Three also could only play the schedules that were in front of them, and Ole Miss came away with a 28-10 home win over No. 5 Georgia and a 27-3 road win over South Carolina. Alabama beat Georgia 41-34, South Carolina 27-25 and No. 19 Missouri 34-0, all at home. South Carolina might be playing as well as anyone — and that’s something the committee should be discussing as well. Is a team getting better or worse? South Carolina and Miami, for example, would appear to be teams going in different directions. South Carolina just beat Clemson 17-14 on the road. The Gamecocks also beat Missouri 34-30 and newly unranked Texas A&M 44-20. All of those wins from The SEC Three are better than any of Miami’s wins. Transitive football does tell us Miami crushed 7-5 Florida on the road, 41-17, while Ole Miss blew it by losing 24-17 at Florida on Nov. 23. That counts as the other mentionable win on Miami’s schedule, but anyone who has watched Florida this season also sees dramatic improvement from September to November. Ole Miss also lost at home to 4-8 Kentucky, which is bad. And had a 29-26 loss at LSU, which isn’t. I give Ole Miss the edge over Alabama (which is a change from the 12 I submitted after Saturday’s results, for the record) based on current quality of play. Alabama lost 40-35 at 6-6 Vanderbilt, 24-17 at No. 7 Tennessee and, recently and alarmingly, 24-3 at 6-6 Oklahoma. That one pushes Ole Miss ahead in my mind. South Carolina actually has the best losses, to the other two of The SEC Three, and to LSU. Again, wins beating losses. Yay, committee. Strength of schedule rankings? South Carolina 12, Alabama 19, Ole Miss 51. Maybe that’s the difference for Alabama. I don’t think it’s brand name, though I expect Lane Kiffin to amplify all such complaints from Ole Miss fans in the days to come. It’s just so close. Certainly closer than Miami compared with any of the three. |
