NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Kirk Cousins leads Vikings to win...

Kirk Cousins may never be as good as Aaron Rodgers.

But for a night he was good enough, and won a night game for a change.

The Vikings quarterback was sharp in their 24-17 win over the Packers, earning his money and putting his team in good position for the final month of the season.

He finished 29-of-38 for 342 yards and three touchdowns, and made the timely plays when he needed them. It was more of an efficient night than eye-popping, but he he was clearly the better quarterback of the two.

It was his fifth win in 17 tries in prime time, but more importantly, it puts the Vikings (6-4-1) in the best spot for the top wild card berth in the NFC. (PFT)

 

Chargers to be without Melvin Gordon for a few weeks...

Chargers running back Melvin Gordon had his MRI last night, and the Chargers are going to have to adjust.

According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Gordon suffered a Grade Two sprain of his MCL, an injury which will cost him a few games.

The hope is that he’ll be able to return before the end of the regular season, but that won’t help them in next week’s prime time game against the Steelers.

Gordon has gained 802 yards and scored nine touchdowns this year, providing the balance to their offense along with Philip Rivers‘ resurgent season. He had missed one game earlier this year with a hamstring problem.

That leaves a bigger burden for Austin Ekeler, and the only other backs on the roster are rookies Justin Jackson and Detrez Newsome. (PFT)
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Really a tough blow to the Chargers, but if he comes back in time to tune up for the playoffs, all should be good. Someone needs to step up in a big way.

 

I don't wish poor on anyone but this does help the Steelers a bit for next week.
Sorry for thinking it.

 

Thanksgiving game went a l-o-o-o-o-o-n-g way to making me feel a lot better about parting with a #1 for Cooper. In four games with Dallas, Cooper's line is now 22-349-3.

 

Only Randy Moss, Jerry Rice had more TD catches by age 30 than Gronk…

Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski caught the 78th touchdown pass of his career on Sunday, and that puts him in some very elite company.

The 29-year-old Gronkowski is now tied for third all time for the most touchdown catches in NFL history for a player in his 20s. Randy Moss, who had 101 touchdown catches before turning 30, and Jerry Rice, who had 95 touchdown catches before turning 30, are the only players with more. Terrell Owens also had 78 touchdown catches before his 30th birthday.

Gronkowski should catch at least a few more touchdown passes this season, before turning 30 in the offseason. He won’t catch Rice or Moss, but 80 or 85 touchdown catches before turning 30 is not too shabby.

Injuries have limited Gronkowski for much of his career, and he’s already talking about walking away from the game. So it’s safe to say he won’t finish with anything close to Rice’s incredible total of 197 touchdown catches. But he’s already done more in his 20s than almost any player in NFL history. (PFT)

 

Definitely proving the doubters like myself wrong, at least for now. I know that my gripe was that I didn't think it made them that much better right now - so very specifically, that's not the case. Cooper's addition has kept them very much alive in the playoff discussion, which I wasn't expecting. All of a sudden, that's a lot more exciting team to watch.

 

Changes have begun in a disappointing season for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Jags fired offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett on Monday, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, via a source informed of the move.

The team later confirmed the firing.

"We would like to thank Nathaniel for his hard work and dedication to the Jaguars organization, and we wish him and his family the best moving forward," coach Doug Marrone said in a statement. "These are always tough decisions, but as the head coach, I have to do what I think is best for this football team."

Hackett becomes the first fall-man for a continually inept Jacksonville offense. The termination comes after the Jags' seventh straight loss to fall to 3-8 after starting the season 3-1.

"It wasn't anything negative, [Marrone] just decided to make a move," Hackett told Rapoport. "I guess he didn't think I was good enough, that's the only thing I can think of. It's a shock."

Hackett added: "I knew Doug had thought about it. I guess the football Gods had it out for me. We started off hot, had so many injuries, we were a completely different team. Guys busted their butts, but you can only do so much. I wish I could've figured something out." (NFL.com)

 

Jack Doyle in hospital with kidney injury, will miss rest of season...

The Colts have won five straight games to plant themselves in the thick of the playoff race in the AFC, but their offense suffered a blow against the Dolphins on Sunday.

Colts head coach Frank Reich announced on Monday that tight end Jack Doyle is in an Indianapolis hospital after suffering a kidney injury. Reich said Doyle’s prognosis was good and that he should be released soon, but he will not return to the field this season.

Reich said, via Stephen Holder of The Athletic, that Doyle tried to return after taking a big hit in the second half, but wasn’t feeling well enough to continue playing. Reich went on to say that Doyle needed to have a procedure and that the coach got a text later on Sunday night informing him about the severity of the issue.

Doyle missed time earlier in the year with a hip injury and caught 26 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns in six games this season. He had one of those touchdowns in the 27-24 win over the Dolphins.

The Colts have Eric Ebron, Erik Swoope, Ryan Hewitt and Mo Alie-Cox at tight end, but the latter three were all out on Sunday because of injuries. (PFT)

 

NFL suspends Leonard Fournette one game...

As of Sunday night, the expectation within the league office was that Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette would not be suspended. Between Sunday night and Monday night, that changed.

The NFL decided to impose a one-game suspension on Fournette in response to his decision to both leave the bench area on Sunday and fight with Bills defensive end Shaq Lawson.

NFL V.P. of football operations Jon Runyan issued the suspension under the two rules that Fournette violated — the rule against unsportsmanlike conduct, and the unnecessary roughness rules, which prohibits throwing a punch at an opponent. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, others in the league office saw it differently, but it’s Runyan’s job to make the final determination.

“Sportsmanship is the cornerstone of the game and the League will not tolerate game-related misconduct that conveys a lack of respect for the game itself and those involved in it,” Runyan wrote in the letter to Fournette. “Video of the incident shows that you were not a participant in the play and that you ran from your sideline to the opposite side of the field to insert yourself as an active participant in a fight. Once you entered the fight area, you struck a member of the opposing team. Your actions adversely reflected on the NFL and have no place in the game.”

Fournette will have the right to appeal the suspension within three business days. The hearing, if there’s an appeal, will be conducted by Derrick Brooks or James Thrash.

Fournette undoubtedly will appeal, especially if his contract contains language invalidating the remainder of the guarantees under his rookie deal in the event of a suspension. If such language is in the contract (remember the Roquan Smith controversy?), then more than $7 million in guarantees becomes wiped out, allowing the Jaguars to release Fournette after the season with no further financial obligation.

Any other discipline arising from the incident, which resulted in the ejections of Fournette and Lawson, will be handled in the form of fines. (PFT)

 

Texans run for 281 yards in 34-17 victory over Titans...

The Texans won their eighth consecutive game with a relatively easy 34-17 victory over the Titans.

Houston moved to 8-3, maintaining its two-game lead over the Colts in the AFC South. The Titans fell to 5-6.

The Texans and Colts play in two weeks.

It was the first game the Texans have played without their owner, Bob McNair, who died last week. The team honored him before the game and then during the game with a convincing win.

Houston gained 281 of its 462 yards on the ground, with Lamar Miller gaining 162 yards on 12 carries, including a 97-yard touchdown. It was his most rushing yards since he picked up 175 on 14 carries for Miami in a game against the Texans in 2015.

Deshaun Watson gained 70 yards and scored a touchdown on nine carries. He appeared to lose a fumble at the end of a 34-yard run to the Tennessee 12 in the fourth quarter, but replay upheld the ruling on the field that Watson was down by contact.

Two plays later, Watson threw his second touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas. Thomas scored on touchdowns of 12 and 10 yards, catching four passes for 38 yards.

Watson finished 19-of-24 for 210 yards and two touchdowns. DeAndre Hopkins caught five passes for 74 yards.

Marcus Mariota was nearly perfect, finishing 22-of-23 for 303 yards and two touchdowns, but it wasn’t nearly enough.

The Texans sacked him six times, including 2.5 by Christian Covington and 1.5 each by J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus. Watt also had a forced fumble that the Titans recovered.

Derrick Henry lost a fumble, and the Titans were stopped short on fourth-and-one from the Houston 2. (PFT)

 

As far as rent-a-player deals go, this one certainly does seem to be working out for Dallas.

The media will focus on the Cowboys being 3-1 since he joined the roster, but I'd say being 2-0 within the division since he joined is more important. Beating Washington got them a split for the season, so the Redskins no longer have the head-to-head tiebreaker. The split is the only divisional loss for both teams up to this point. Beating the Eagles means they'll have no worse than a split in that head-to-head comparison.

Philly and Washington still have both of their own head-to-head games remaining, so they could knock each other out of potential tiebreakers based on divisional record if they split those games.

 

Washington claims Reuben Foster on waivers...

Linebacker Reuben Foster has a new team, and a playoff contender has a guy who was among the 32 first-round picks in 2017.

Per multiple reports, Washington claimed Foster on waivers.

The move clears the 49ers of any remaining financial obligation to Foster. His prior suspension, however, likely wiped out the remaining guarantees under his rookie contract. That voiding of the guarantees also will apply to Washington.

But the real question isn’t the money but his availability. With a charge of misdemeanor domestic violence pending, the league office could place Foster on the Commissioner Exempt list, making him unavailable until his legal situation is resolved (but forcing Washington to pay him, if they don’t cut him). Thereafter, an unpaid suspension could be imposed.

It’s still a low-risk move for Washington, giving them dibs on a quality player who may finally wake up after being cut by the team that drafted him. Of course, the fact that Foster has been accused of domestic violence on multiple occasions could create a P.R. problem for Washington. But it’s clear that the team is choosing winning on the field over standing on principle — primarily since teams only stand on principle when the player isn’t good enough to help them win. (PFT)
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As I stated previously, I was hoping no team would sign this clown... way to go Washington.

It will come back to bite them in the ass.

 

The ONLY thing that exonerates them is the fact they released a statement that he would not participate in any way with the team until the case it heard, this came our before the Commissioners exemption against him. But, I still think it's a dick move. If the 49ers released him that quickly, then there MUST be something to the charges.

Then again, we have a child abuser still playing in the league, and just a couple of years after being found guilty he tells a reporter he had to "discipline the child with a belt just the other day"...Then he laces up his cleats the next Sunday.

 

Don't think he's a "rent-a-player." Cooper's a long-term investment for Dallas.

 

so happy the EAGLES didn't take him. i had a colleague bash me for not taking him. he rode me for weeks after the draft as the Eagles made a huge mistake by not taking him. i stood by the Eagles pick. Happy to see im right on this one !

 

Anybody shocked that Washington claimed Reuben Foster needs to be reminded that they are still called the Redskins.

 

What does that have to do with them claiming him?

 

We'll discuss this some on the podcast.