NFL - NEWS & NOTES

He may not even have a brain.

 

A stupid one

 

The Philadelphia Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings can both clinch a Playoff spot next Sunday.

Philadelphia Eagles (10-1) (vs. Tennessee (7-4), Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX)

Philadelphia clinches playoff berth with:

1. PHI win + WAS loss + SEA loss + SF loss

Minnesota Vikings (9-2) (vs. New York Jets (7-4), Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS)

Minnesota clinches NFC North title with:

1. MIN win + DET loss

Ahh, that felt good to type that.

 

Ravens did it against the Steelers a couple years ago. They were unsuccessful. I also want to say the Bills did it as well, not sure about that one though.

 

The Steelers did it on Monday night football against the chargers. Walk off Leveon Bell two point conversion from the wildcat.

 

A Detroit loss. I find that funny and a bit odd in that we don't hear it often.

 

It does feel strange to see Detroit mentioned in anything related to the postseason.

 

And thinking of Detroit, an oddity that popped up this week: Detroit won back to back home games in 2016 on the Sunday before Thanksgiving and on Thanksgiving day, so two wins in the same building in a span of five days.

This past week, Ford Field again saw two wins in five days...

...by the Bills.

 

Refs had what might have been their most embarassing non-call of the season in the LV-SEA game. If you haven't heard about it yet, check out the very first play in the highlight package:

NFL.com | Official Site of the National Football League


The player to watch on the interception return is #52 for Seattle, as he comes out of nowhere at the bottom of the screen. That's because he was on the sidelines. He wasn't supposed to be in on the play at all, but apparently he thought the defender was down after making the interception so he ran onto the field to join in on the celebration - and ended up participating in the interception return.

The refs missed it AND the replay officials missed it. All turnover plays are supposed to be automatically reviewed. You'd think the muppets in charge of the replays would catch a guy running from the sideline onto the field and even making light contact with an opposing player.

 

Ugh. I can't get the link above to take you directly to the HIGHLIGHTS package, even though I copied and pasted the specific link for the video. So click the tab that says Highlights and click the video yourself.

Sorry 'bout that...

 

You are right. Was nuts to see him just stay on the field, almost shocked that the play was still going. Thankfully it didn't end up making an impact on either the play or the game result.

You got one hell of an eye, Torgo.

 

I can't take credit for spotting it. I didn't see the game when it aired. I read about the missed call and saw it in the highlights.

 

Monday Night Football: Steelers hold off Colts 24-17



The Colts had a chance for a late win, but Monday Night Football ended the way most of their games have this season. Indianapolis lost 24-17, failing to convert a fourth-and-three at the Pittsburgh 26.

The Steelers improved to 4-7, while the Colts fell to 4-7-1.


The Colts had questionable clock management on their final drive, which began with 4:52 left. Indianapolis snapped the ball with 1:35 left, and Terrell Edmunds sacked Matt Ryan for a 7-yard loss. The Colts snapped it again with 59 seconds left, and, on second-and-17, Ryan ran for 14 yards before sliding.

Indianapolis had three timeouts, but didn’t take one, and the third-down snap came with 34 seconds left. Alex Highsmith stopped Jonathan Taylor for no gain on third-and-three, and the Colts took their first timeout.

Ryan’s fourth down pass fell incomplete as Parris Campbell was well defended by Cameron Sutton and Minkah Fitzpatrick provided help. The Colts begged for a flag, either for pass interference on Sutton or hit on a defenseless receiver by Fitzpatrick, but they got neither.

ESPN rules analyst John Parry said it was a correct decision by officials.

The Steelers ended up with 323 yards, with Benny Snell rushing for 62 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries in place of the injured Najee Harris. Harris had 10 carries for 35 yards and a touchdown in the first half.

Kenny Pickett went 20-of-28 for 174 yards, and George Pickens caught three passes for 57 yards.

Ryan went 22-of-34 for 199 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also lost a fumble on a botched handoff. Taylor rushed for 86 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.

PFT

 

WEEK 12... Its in the Books!

 

A look at the Playoffs Race...

 

Elijah Mitchell will miss 6-8 weeks with his knee injury



Elijah Mitchell‘s knee injury was more serious than expected, and the 49ers running back will miss 6-8 weeks.

“It wasn’t the news we were looking for,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said in a conference call with local media, via Jerry McDonald of the East Bay Times.


The team initially thought Mitchell had an MCL sprain that would keep him out 2-4 weeks.

“He’s pretty disappointed,” Shanahan said. “Everyone knows how good Elijah’s been, how hard he’s worked to get back from his last one and how good he’s been playing since he came back. To be right back there, I know he was real down on it. He’s had some real bad luck. He got rolled up on and it was a bad position for him to be in.”

Mitchell, who set a franchise rookie record with 963 yards rushing last season, only returned from an injured reserve stint on Nov. 12. He injured his knee in the season opener and missed seven games.

Mitchell had 34 carries for 183 yards the past three games while splitting time with Christian McCaffrey as the 49ers’ lead back. McCaffrey came out of Sunday’s game with “knee irritation” so the 49ers will monitor him this week as they get ready to host the Dolphins.

Rookies Jordan Mason and Ty Davis-Price could see more playing time this week. Mason had five carries for 25 yards on Sunday against the Saints.

PFT

 

Bears safety Eddie Jackson left Sunday’s game against the Jets with an injury that looks like a serious one.

Jackson suffered what the team believes was a significant Lisfranc injury, according to NFL Network.


Although he is still being evaluated, that would almost certainly mean his season is over and could even affect him into next season. Lisfranc injuries, which refer to damage to the bones and/or tendons in the middle of the foot, can sometimes cause players to miss as much as 12 months.

The 28-year-old Jackson is a two-time Pro Bowler who has started every game this season and leads the Bears with four interceptions.

Jackson has two more years on his contract and has a base salary of $13 million next season.

PFT

 

With Eddie Jackson dealing with a significant Lisfranc injury, the Bears are bringing in another defensive back.

Chicago is signing veteran safety Adrian Colbert, according to agent Drew Rosenhaus.


Colbert was last with the Titans during this year’s training camp. He was released in the roster cuts to 53 players.

A 49ers seventh-round pick in the 2017 draft, Colbert has also spent time with the Seahawks, Dolphins, Chiefs, Giants, Patriots, Jets, and Browns. He’s appeared in 39 career games with 22 starts, recording eight passes defensed, a pair of forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery.

While Jackson is still being evaluated, a Lisfranc could cause him to miss at least the rest of the 2022 season and cold affect him into 2023.

PFT

 

Jeff Saturday on not using timeouts: “I thought we had plenty of time”



On the Colts’ final offensive drive in Monday night’s loss to the Steelers, Colts coach Jeff Saturday repeatedly let the clock run rather than call timeout, resulting in the Colts ending the game with two unused timeouts. Saturday said afterward that he didn’t see why he should have called any timeouts on the drive.

“I thought we had plenty of time, I wasn’t really concerned,” Saturday said. “We still had timeouts. I wasn’t too concerned.”


On three consecutive plays after the two-minute warning, the Colts were tackled inbounds and did not call timeout, even though they had all three timeouts. The last of those plays was a Matt Ryan 14-yard run up the middle on second-and-17, and Saturday said he didn’t call timeout because he wanted to see if the officials ruled that Ryan had run for a first down.

“When he was going down, I couldn’t tell where they were gonna start him from going down, right? If he was gonna get the first down. And then we got there, I expected us to get on the ball and have another play, a little bit quicker than that. But again, this wasn’t a press for time. We just didn’t make enough plays,” Saturday said.

Pressed by reporters about not using his timeouts, Saturday said he didn’t think the Colts needed them.

“I didn’t feel like time was of the essence at that moment,” Saturday said. “I thought we had a good play, I felt like we would get to it. . . . I felt good about the call before, I felt like we’d have time, we would have timeouts afterwards, we were in striking distance, so I never felt like the pressure of needing the timeout.”

The Colts called timeout only once in the second half, before their final offensive play, an incomplete pass on fourth-and-3. That turned the ball over to the Steelers on downs, and they kneeled down once and ended the game, without the Colts using their final two timeouts.

PFT