MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

Lamar Jackson: We’ll have an answer for Miami’s cover zero this year



Last year, Miami’s defense solved Baltimore’s offense on a Thursday night in November.

The Dolphins played a lot of cover zero, sending multiple defenders to blitz while leaving defensive backs in one-on-one matchups with receivers. They limited the Ravens to just 4.3 yards per play while picking up five tackles for loss, four sacks, and a total of seven quarterback hits. Quarterback Lamar Jackson finished the game 26-of-43 passing for 238 yards with a touchdown and an interception — that was scored late in the fourth quarter — and an interception. He rushed for 39 yards.


Plus, Baltimore was just 2-of-14 on third down in the frustrating 22-10 loss.

The two teams meet again this week, this time in Baltimore for the Ravens’ home opener. And Jackson is confident his team has a better plan for what coordinator Josh Boyer’s defense will bring to the table on Sunday.

“They just caught us off guard, really. We hadn’t really gone over defenses doing all-up zero against us — like, just all-up flat-out zero,” Jackson said in his Wednesday press conference. “But I feel like we’ll have an answer for it this year. We watched film — watched a lot of film on those guys— because we don’t want it to happen again.

“Other teams did zero, but it was just the way they did it that kind of affected us. But like I said, we’ll have an answer this time around if they do the same thing.”

In his own Wednesday press conference, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said, “We would have been negligent if we hadn’t” worked on scheming against cover zero, which elicited some laughter from assembled media.

“It was something we needed to get a lot better at, and we studied it the whole offseason,” Harbaugh said. “We’ll have a plan for it and hope it works, because these guys are probably the best in the league at doing it right now. They do it more than anybody, they do it better than anybody and it’s just something they’re committed to. I have all the respect in the world for what they’re doing defensively.”

We’ll see if the adjustments Baltimore’s made to combat Miami’s blitzing scheme are effective on Sunday.

PFT

 

Brandon Staley: Justin Herbert is “OK,” with an abdominal injury



Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert took a big hit to the midsection in the second half of Thursday’s loss to the Chiefs. He missed only one play (by rule) and then kept on going.

The injury, whatever it was/is, affected him. He was pointing while on the sideline to an area on the left side of his torso. At one point, he passed on a chance to run for a first down while in obvious discomfort.


Via Daniel Popper of TheAthletic.com, coach Brandon Staley told reporters after the game that Herbert is “OK,” and that Staley doesn’t expect the injury to be an issue going forward. Staley said Herbert is dealing with an abdominal issue, possibly ribs.

Herbert, who was getting X-rays after the game, did not speak to the media.

Herbert has three extra days before a Week Three contest against the Jaguars. There’s clearly an issue that needs time to heal, at a minimum. Time will tell whether Herbert eventually misses time.

He was nevertheless heroic in his effort to reverse the outcome on Thursday night, and he made a couple of big throws to cut the final margin to three.

PFT

 

Brandon Staley must be a doctor also.

 

Patrick Mahomes: Spreading the ball around makes Chiefs a hard offense to stop

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed passes to nine different receivers in Thursday night’s win over the Chargers, and he also completed passes to nine different receivers in the Chiefs’ Week One win over the Cardinals. He says that’s all part of the plan.

Mahomes said after beating the Chargers that the Chiefs expect to spread the ball around a lot this year, keep defenses guessing, and be the kind of offense that is difficult for any defense to prepare for.

“With the amount of tight ends, running backs and receivers that we have, it’s going to be everything,” Mahomes said. “It’s going to be a lot of guys catching passes, it’s going to be running the football, it’s going to be throwing the football, it’s going to be deep passes. It makes us a hard offense to stop. And when the defense plays the way they played today, we’re going to win a lot of football games.”

The departure of wide receiver Tyreek Hill was a major offseason story, but through two weeks Mahomes hasn’t missed Hill much: Mahomes has completed 73 percent of his passes, for 8.0 yards per pass, with seven touchdowns and no interceptions, and the Chiefs are 2-0.

PFT

 

Mac Jones is good to go.

The Patriots quarterback was back at practice as a full participant on Friday after missing Thursday’s session with an illness. Jones — who was also listed on the injury report with a back issue — has no injury status for Sunday and is expected to play.


Jones was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice, too.

Outside Ja'whaun Bentley (toe) is also expected to play. He did not practice on Wednesday and was limited on Thursday but a full participant on Friday.

Offensive tackle Trent Brown (ankle), linebacker Raekwon McMillan (thumb), running back Pierre Strong (shoulder), cornerback Shaun Wade (ankle), defensive back Adrian Phillips (ribs), and safety Joshuah Bledsoe (groin) are all questionable.

PFT

 

Justin Herbert has fractured rib cartilage

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert was hurting after a shot to the ribs late in Thursday night’s loss to the Chiefs and head coach Brandon Staley offered an update on his condition on Friday afternoon.

Staley said that Herbert suffered fractured rib cartilage, which he noted was better than a fractured bone. He termed Herbert day-to-day and said the team will know more about his outlook next week.


One plus to playing on Thursday is that Herbert will have some extra time to heal before the Chargers return to the field. They host the Jaguars on September 25.

Herbert missed one play as the result of the injury, but returned and threw a touchdown pass that cut the Chiefs lead to 27-24 before Kansas City recovered an onside kick to put the game on ice.

PFT

 

Tough guy

 

Terrible news...

Trey Lance is expected to have surgery to repair leg fracture



49ers quarterback Trey Lance‘s Sunday ended when he hurt his ankle in the first quarter against the Seahawks and it looks like his season has come to an end as well.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Lance is expected to have season-ending surgery on his lower leg in the near future, but PFT has learned, via a league source, that it is not 100 percent certain to end his season. Either way, Lance is set to miss a significant amount of time.

Lance went down at the end of a short run and his leg buckled under him in an awkward fashion. Medical personnel immediately put an air cast on his lower right leg and the reaction from players on both teams made it clear that Lance had suffered a significant injury.

Jimmy Garoppolo replaced Lance as the 49ers’ decision to rework Garoppolo’s contract to keep him as Lance’s backup paid off on Sunday. Now it looks like Garoppolo will be the starter for the rest of the year.

PFT

 

Kyler Murray: I had to take over in the second half



The early window of games on Sunday featured remarkable comeback wins by the Dolphins and Jets and the Cardinals closed the afternoon window with another one.

After falling behind 20-0 and 23-7, the Cardinals scored the final 16 points of regulation to force overtime and then beat the Raiders 29-23 when cornerback Byron Murphy returned a fumble for a touchdown. Quarterback Kyler Murray threw his first interception during a dismal first half, but he was the motor for the team’s rally.


Murray threw a touchdown to Greg Dortch in the third quarter and then scrambled back and forth across the field to score a two-point conversion after the second Arizona touchdown. Murray then ran for a score on the final play of regulation before hitting A.J. Green for the game-tying two-pointer and threw a great pass to Hollywood Brown on fourth down in overtime, but Brown couldn’t hold on after a hit by 49ers safety Duron Harmon.

After the game, Murray was asked about his mindset in the second half.

“I had to take over . . . had to do whatever it took to win. That was my mindset,” Murray said, via Paul Calvisi of ArizonaSports 98.7.

Murray’s efforts allowed the Cardinals to avoid an 0-2 start and the team will be hoping that he can keep things going when they host the Rams in Week Three.

PFT

 

A fan struck Kyler Murray in the face after Sunday’s overtime win



After the Cardinals managed to reverse a 20-0 deficit and beat the Raiders in overtime, Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray had a moment to remember.

Via the Associated Press, someone at the game struck Murray in the face.


A Las Vegas police spokesman confirmed to the AP that a battery complaint was made after the game. Murray wasn’t named as the complaining party, but the allegation was that “a spectator at the stadium struck a professional football player.”

An investigation is ongoing. Here’s a video of a portion of the incident. Here’s another angle of it.

Murray was celebrating with fans after cornerback Byron Murphy returned a fumble for the game-winning touchdown. That’s when one of the fans hit Murray.

Good for Murray to follow the proper channels, and to do something about it. The fan crossed the line. Murray exercised restraint in the moment. The fan should face all appropriate consequences.

PFT

 

WOW

 

Kirk Cousins is still not ready for prime time.

On the heels of an impressive season-opening showing, Cousins' longstanding shortcoming came to fruition once more in Week 2.

The Minnesota Vikings quarterback threw three interceptions during a dismal 24-7 loss to the host Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football. With the defeat, Cousins fell to 2-10 in his career on Monday night -- the worst record in league history according to NFL Research.

Cousins' final stat line saw him finish 27 of 46 for 221 yards, a 2-yard second-quarter touchdown to Irv Smith, the aforementioned three picks and a 51.1 QB rating. Despite the trials and turnovers of Cousins, Vikings rookie head coach Kevin O'Connell shouldered the blame, citing Minnesota's lack of offensive balance as it attempted in vain to dig out of a 17-point halftime hole.

"I thought Kirk battled tonight," O'Connell said. "Put him in some tough spots, and I think our overall offensive philosophy, when we do not succeed in activating those things, it puts a lot of pressure on the quarterback, and that's where I once again put this one 100 percent on me."

Eagles counterpart Jalen Hurts was shining as Cousins and the Vikings were stumbling in the second half, scoring three total TDs as Philadelphia built its 24-7 lead. It led to just five Minnesota rushing plays in the second half.


"I think that getting behind early we probably had to throw a little more often than we would have liked, and didn't stay as balanced as we'd like to be," Cousins said, "and it's probably more just the nature of how the game went, and we certainly want to be balanced as best we can."

Cousins was terrorized by Darius Slay in the second half, as the Eagles' cornerback blanketed Vikings standout wideout Justin Jefferson and had two picks. And though the first-half deficit might well have dictated the pass-heavy approach in the second half, the Cousins-led offense was nearly as woeful in the initial 30 minutes of game time. The Vikings began the game with back-to-back three-and-outs and finished the first half with two more.

"Part of the challenge is we didn't stay on the field, we didn't run enough plays, and so those three-and-outs early aren't how we want to start," Cousins said.

While the Vikings' offense went from a balanced approach that produced three-and-outs to a passing frenzy that produced interceptions, the Eagles defense got after Cousins throughout the game.

Cousins was pressured on 33.3% of his dropbacks, per Next Gen Stats, and sacked twice. He was 6 of 14 for just 51 yards, a TD and two interceptions under pressure.

"I think their defense deserves credit," Cousins said, "they did a good job with rush and with coverage, and the combination made it tough for us."

Cousins' three interceptions gave him 11 since 2015 on Mondays, which is the most in the league, per NFL Research.

Whether it was the pressure of the bright lights or the Eagles defense, Cousins floundered in familiar fashion with all the world watching.

NFL.com

 

49ers work out five quarterbacks



With Trey Lance out for the season, the 49ers have only Jimmy Garoppolo and Brock Purdy available at quarterback on their roster.

They’ve set out to find at least one more.


According to the transaction wire, San Francisco worked out five quarterbacks on Tuesday: Kurt Benkert, Garrett Gilbert, Mike Glennon, Kevin Hogan, and AJ McCarron.

Of the five passers, Glennon has the most NFL playing experience. He has appeared in 40 games with 31 starts since entering the league as a third-round pick in 2013. While he’s started nine games over the past two seasons, he hasn’t won a start since 2017 when he was with Chicago.

Last year with the Giants, Glennon completed 54 percent of his passes for 790 yards with four touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

McCarron has appeared in 17 games with four starts, Hogan nine games with one start, Gilbert eight games with two starts, and Benkert one game.

While Garoppolo has been with the 49ers since the club acquired him in 2017, Purdy was a seventh-round pick in this year’s draft.

Lance underwent successful surgery to repair a fibula fracture and ligament disruption on Monday.

PFT

 

Jerry Jones says Dak Prescott could play as soon as Week 4



Cowboys owner and General Manager Jerry Jones thinks Dak Prescott may surprise people with how quickly he returns from the injury to his throwing hand.

Jones said on 105.3 The Fan that it’s still too soon to say when Prescott will be back on the field, but it’s possible that he’ll miss only one more game and play in Week Four against the Commanders.

“I don’t know that anybody knows [when he’ll be back],” Jones said. “But when he [gets enough strength in his hand], then you’ll probably see some real advancement in his timeline. I don’t know when that is. I do know that with a good airing out last week, everybody recognizes that he’ll be back sooner than later as far as the timeline. It really could be a minimum of two weeks up here in my mind [Washington in Week 4]. Now, that’s very optimistic. But he’s got the kind of repair there that will allow him not to have a lot of fear of re-injuring it. It’s just a question of the grip. But it’s a big question.”

The good news for the Cowboys is that backup Cooper Rush played well in Prescott’s absence on Sunday, giving them more confidence that they can win while Prescott is out. But it would be even better news if it turns out that Prescott doesn’t have to be out for long.

PFT

 

Mitch Trubisky: I gotta get these playmakers the football



Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is preaching patience with the team’s offense after a pair of lackluster outings to open the season, but that will only last so long if the team continues to have a hard time moving the ball.

One thing that would help is hitting on more explosive plays. Their longest gain to this point is a 32-yard reception by tight end Zach Gentry while preseason star George Pickens has just two catches for 26 yards and both Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool are averaging under nine yards a catch.



Quarterback Mitch Trubisky said on Tuesday that the offense has the ability to attack defenses down the field and that he needs to do more to take advantage of chances to do so.

“It’s there, and we had our opportunities,” Trubisky said, via Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “I think earlier, I can take shots downfield. I think I can look for 14 more often, George. He’s doing a great job for us, and I just gotta get these playmakers the football. Whatever route they’re running, I just gotta get them the ball. It really comes down to me making better decisions, being aggressive and putting ourselves in that position.”

The Browns defense has given up long touchdown passes in each of their first two games and Jets quarterback Joe Flacco had four scores in total last Sunday, so Thursday night might be a prime moment for the Steelers to start stretching things out.

PFT

 

Trubisky can’t do that, so fire the bum.

 

Jameis Winston also has an ankle injury



Saints coach Dennis Allen said earlier in the day that Jameis Winston was limited in Wednesday’s practice. Winston injured his back in the season opener.

But the practice report revealed Winston also has an ankle injury.


Winston downplayed his injuries after practice, saying “a lot of guys are playing with something.”

Winston has four fractures in his back, and whether he’s really “feeling good” as he insists or not, the quarterback is making no excuses.

“I’m feeling. . . . My main goal is to find a way to get better every day, whatever it is with my body, whether it’s conceptionally, as a leader,” Winston said, via video from the team. “Like I’m trying to find a way to get better every single day. That doesn’t stop no matter the circumstances.”

Cornerback Paulson Adebo (ankle), running back Alvin Kamara (rib), right tackle Ryan Ramczyk (elbow), receiver Tre'Quan Smith (shoulder), tight end Taysom Hill (rib), safety Marcus Maye (rib), fullback Adam Prentice (shoulder) and receiver Deonte Harty (foot) also were limited.

PFT

 

Baker Mayfield: No one’s hitting the panic button yet



The Panthers have only played two games this season, but it feels like their season could be over if they don’t find a way to win against the Saints this weekend.

Starting 0-2 leaves teams with a very difficult road to a playoff berth and 0-3 makes that exponentially more difficult. With speculation already floating about head coach Matt Rhule’s job security, that might lead some to wonder if the Panthers might be close to flipping into panic mode as they try to salvage their season.


Quarterback Baker Mayfield has his own concerns for the future thanks to being in the last year of his contract, but he said on Wednesday that he doesn’t see panic setting in around the team.

“Each week you need to have a sense of urgency to win,” Mayfield said at a press conference. “The no-panic mindset comes from the fact that we are just now going into our first division game. . . . Nobody’s hitting the panic button yet. It also helps that we’ve lost by a total of five points.”

The slim margin of the two losses may help in Mayfield’s eyes, but others would see that as a sign that the team is missing the kind of execution and coaching that allows them to do all of the little things well enough to win games. Panicking probably wouldn’t change that, but the Panthers need to find something that will.

PFT

 

Justin Fields tries to clarify postgame comments that angered Bears fans



Justin Fields didn’t have a good night on Sunday, throwing for only 70 yards and running for 20 in a 27-10 loss to the Packers. It dropped the Bears quarterback to 0-3 against the Packers in his career.

His night got worse when, after the game, a reporter asked Fields whether the loss hurt more because of how much Bears fans want to turn around the lopsided rivalry since Aaron Rodgers became Green Bay’s starter.


Fields got himself in trouble with Bears fans, saying, “Yeah, it hurts more in the locker room than the Bears fans. At the end of the day, they aren’t putting in any work. I see the guys in the locker room every day. I see how much work they put in. Coming out of a disappointing loss like this, it hurts.”

On Wednesday, Fields tried to clarify his comments from Sunday.

“Yeah, I was mad after the game. I’d like to address this now to get everything cleared up,” Fields said, via Courtney Cronin of ESPN. “There was a thing I said on Sunday after the game where I said the fans don’t put in work. First off, I was frustrated after the game. Number one, I didn’t want to talk to you guys. I wasn’t in the mood to come and talk to you guys. So, I should’ve done a better job of explaining what I meant by that.

“What I meant by that is I’m talking about work regarding the game on Sunday, winning the game. I don’t know any fans. I don’t know what they’re doing in their personal lives. I respect every fan that we have. I’m glad that we have fans. I would never disrespect anybody on what they do or what they love to do. It came off like that. Some social media outlets, they quoted my quote, and they got a big buzz out of it. So, of course, they did a great job doing that. Of course social media is going to do that. But I just wanted to clear that up.”

Fields said he learned an important lesson after stirring up social media with his comments.

“I talked to my dad about it, and as long as I’m going to be in this position there’s going to be stuff like that that pops up, so just knowing that as long as I’m in this profession that it’s never going to go away, so just got to either be really clear to everything that I say, be really descriptive to what I mean, or really just don’t say anything at all,” Fields said.

PFT

 

Kyle Shanahan confirms that Trey Lance is out for the rest of the year



In the aftermath of the broken ankle suffered by 49ers quarterback Trey Lance in Week Two, some uncertainty had emerged as to the question of whether Lance has a chance to play again this year.

On Wednesday, coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters that Lance will not return later in the regular season, or in the postseason (if the 49ers make it there).


“He’ll be out until next season,” Shanahan said.