NFL - NEWS & NOTES

I liked how they highlighted the 2 CBS right before they got burned.

 

Wonder how long that knee has bothered him I don't think he has looked right for weekd

 

Smallwood running all over the Rams.

 

Of course some of that gets negated. So not on the stat sheet.

23-13 Eagles with 3:11 to go in the 3rd.

 

That is an interception (or fumble) by Goff on a botched play.

 

Goff is playing like shit.

 

Does that loss by the Rams clinch homefield for the Saints?

 

Nick Foles leads the Eagles back...

The Eagles had long ago proven they can win games with Nick Foles. The biggest games, even.

But this season looked like too much of a mess for any one player to fix.

Instead, Foles led the Eagles to a 30-23 win over the Rams on the road, the kind of steady performance which makes them glad they have him in reserve.

The win moves the Eagles to 7-7, and within a half game of the final wild card spot in the NFC, and gets them back on the kind of footing that makes them think they ought to win games.

It would be unfair to Carson Wentz to suggest his absence has anything to do with it. It’s just the presence that Foles carries into the huddle is tangible, the kind of thing that coming off the bench to lead a Super Bowl run buys him.

Foles’ numbers Sunday were only OK (24-of-31 for 270 yards and an interception), but they didn’t seem as twitchy as they’ve been this season. The Rams turned a 17-point fourth quarter deficit into a one-score game late. But instead of hacking up a 17-point lead like they did against the Panthers earlier this year, the Eagles dove on a fumble by Rams punt returner JoJo Natson, and were able to play enough defense to hang on.

That has nothing in particular to do with Foles, but the 2018 Eagles were largely known for the plays that went the wrong way at the wrong time. That might eventually be the epitaph on their season.

But for a night, Foles was back, and so was the sense they could win games like this. (PFT)

 

No but it if the Saints win tomorrow it'll be close to clinched.

 

So Eagles and Texans is going to be interesting. Eagles will need the win to stay alive if the Vikings win or the Panthers win their next 2. While the Texans likely need to win out to get the bye as the Pats can't lose to the Bills or Jets can they?

 

Sean McVay: We’ve got to figure it out fast...

The Rams have looked like one of the toughest teams to beat in the league for most of the season, but the last two Sunday nights have told a different story.

They followed up a 15-6 loss to the Bears in Week 14 with a 31-23 home loss to the Eagles on Sunday night. It’s the first time the Rams have lost back to back games since Sean McVay took over as head coach last season and the losses have been marked by six Jared Goff interceptions, a drop in production by Todd Gurley and an overall slowdown by an offense that couldn’t be stopped earlier this season.

“We’ve got to be able to figure this out and figure it out fast, because we’re doing things these last couple of weeks that are totally uncharacteristic of what good football teams do, of what we’ve done … It’s guys making mistakes we typically haven’t seen,” McVay said, via Peter King of Football Morning in America.

The Rams have already booked passage to the playoffs, which leaves them with games against the Cardinals and 49ers to use as attempts to get back on track for what they hope is a long stay in the postseason. (PFT)

 

Cowboys, in Bill Parcells' parlance, "took the cheese."

Burn every single one of those "Hot Boyz" hats and jackets they had made up...or, at the very least, put them in mothball until the achieve something meaningful.

That said, I'be be very surprised if Dallas didn't handle the Bucs easily to wrap up the NFC East.

 

Me too but this season has been bonkers.

 

Frank Gore not expected back this season...

Dolphins running back Frank Gore sprained his foot in Sunday’s loss to the Vikings and went for an MRI on Monday to determine the severity of the injury.

It’s reportedly severe enough to force an early end to Gore’s season. Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Gore is not expected to play again this year after receiving the results of tests on the foot.

Gore turns 36 in May and isn’t under contract for the 2019 season, so it stands to reason that Sunday’s game might have been his final one as an NFL player.

Working against that idea would be the fact that Gore showed he can still be a productive back in 2018. He ran 156 times for 722 yards while playing 40 percent of the snaps in a timeshare with Kenyan Drake.

Those 722 yards give Gore 14,748 rushing yards for his career, which leaves him in fourth place in NFL history. He’s 521 yards behind Barry Sanders for third place, so a return in 2019 would give him a chance to move even higher on the list. (PFT)

 

Melvin Gordon on track to return after nearly playing last week...

The Chargers will limit running back Melvin Gordon at Monday’s practice, coach Anthony Lynn said. But it appears Gordon will make his return Saturday against the Ravens.

Gordon missed the past three games with a knee injury.

The Pro Bowl running back tested his injured knee before pregame warmups Dec. 13, hoping to play, but the Chargers held him out. How close was Gordon to playing against the Chiefs?

“Very close,” Lynn said, via Gilbert Manzano of the Orange County Register. “He looked good in pregame. It’s just without having a full week of practice. . . .If we had played that game on Sunday, he probably would have played. But because we had an early game on Thursday, and no full-speed practices, I didn’t think it was wise to put him out there.”

Gordon’s backup, Austin Ekeler, remains in concussion protocol. He will undergo further testing Monday. (PFT)

 

McCaffrey with a 50-yard TD pass on what appeared to be him running up the gut on 4th and a short 2. He passes it to a TE that ran through untouched and uncovered since they thought he'd block.

 

Now 7-3 after a Saints FG.

 

Ron Rivera and Cam Newton the blunder duo.

Panthers lead 7-6 at the half but oh my God are they clueless.

 

The Panthers will be eliminated with a loss, a Vikings win or tie OR an Eagles win coupled with a Cowboys win/tie. The Panthers can get by the Cowboys if they fall to the wildcard. It's their only tiebreaker outside the Eagles.

 

Saints hang on for wild 12-9 win over the Panthers...

The Saints may not have to play outside again this season.

And after the shift they put in against the Panthers, they’ll be glad to get inside.

The Saints hung on to a wild 12-9 win over the Panthers and moved to 12-2, giving themselves some margin in the quest for home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

They finish up with the Steelers and Saints at home, and would play at home throughout the NFC playoffs as long as nothing weird happens. That’s important, since they’re 5-0 in the playoffs at home, and 1-5 in places other than the Superdome.

And even though the Panthers are now 6-8 and all but eliminated after losing their sixth straight game, they turned in one of their best performances of the season.

Cornerback Donte Jackson also had a pick-two on his interception return of a conversion attempt, a decent summation of a night that was weird from start to finish. The Panthers held Drew Brees to 203 yards and an interception, and when the Saints had a chance to seal the win, the Panthers forced a fumble which went through the end zone for a touchback.

Carolina couldn’t do anything with the ball on their final chance, with Cam Newton unable to capitalize on the momentum his defense offered. Of course, his shoulder is injured, and he can’t physically do much more. He threw for 131 yards and was picked off once, and their only touchdown came on a pass from Christian McCaffrey. (PFT)