NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Steelers-Ravens flexed to Sunday night in Week 17



There was little doubt that the NFL would be flexing the Rams and Chargers out of Sunday Night Football in Week 17, but the game that will be taking its place comes as a surprise.

The league announced on Sunday that the Steelers and Ravens will now square off at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC. The battle for Los Angeles will move to 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS.

While the Steelers and Ravens are longstanding rivals, the Steelers are playoff longshots who could be eliminated before kickoff and the Ravens may be without Lamar Jackson for the fourth straight game. There are also a couple of games that seemed like better candidates for the spotlight that comes with being on Sunday night.

The Buccaneers-Panthers game will help decide who wins the NFC South, the Dolphins-Patriots game has Wild Card implications in the AFC, and Sunday’s Packers win means their game against the Vikings can also factor into the playoff race.

Those games will all be played on Sunday afternoon, however, and the Steelers and Ravens will close out the day’s schedule.

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2 teams with lousy records and a blowout to boot... yuk!

 

Wake me when its over, plz.

 

Looks more like they’re TEing all over the broncos

 

Baker Mayfield and Russell Wilson spent the first three months of the 2022 season in the category of disappointing quarterbacks, but Mayfield’s season has taken a turn in the right direction in December.

Mayfield completed 24-of-28 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns to help the Rams rout Wilson and the Broncos 51-14 on Sunday. It’s Mayfield’s second win in three games with the Rams and it has put a positive spin on a season that saw him become a punchline while playing poorly for the Panthers.

 

Higgbeed to death.

 

Sure now he decideds to go off if only my bench got points.

 

Buccaneers win 19-16 in overtime



The Buccaneers played ugly football once again on Sunday night, but that didn’t stop them from getting a win in Arizona.

After falling behind 16-6 in the fourth quarter, the Buccaneers scored 10 straight points to tie the game and then forced a Cardinals punt on the first drive of overtime. Tom Brady completed five straight passes, including a 16-yard pass that moved the team to the fringes of field goal range. A 13-yard catch-and-run by Russell Gage moved Brady to six straight completions and set the stage for Ryan Succop‘s game-winning field goal attempt.


Succop hit from 40 yards and made the Bucs 19-16 winners in overtime.

The win means the Buccaneers can clinch the NFC South with a victory over the Panthers next Sunday. They will be the fourth seed in the NFC if that happens.

Brady threw two interceptions to Marco Wilson earlier in the game, but he was able to hit Rachaad White for the team’s only touchdown of the game before his sharp work in overtime. Leonard Fournette ran 20 times for 72 yards and caught nine passes for 90 yards over the course of the evening.

Cardinals quarterback Trace McSorley was 24-of-45 for 217 yards in his first NFL start. He avoided disaster for much of the night, but a pitch to running back Keontay Ingram on the drive after White’s touchdown clanged off Ingram’s hands and Buccaneers defensive lineman William Gholston recovered to set up a game-tying field goal.

Arizona will be in Atlanta next week in a game that only matters for draft position. Despite looking no better than the Cardinals for most of the night, Tampa has a lot more to play for next weekend.

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Big win for the Bucc's, but wrapping up the South with a win vs the Panthers wont be no easy task.

 

NFC Playoff Picture After Week 16: Eagles Remain Top Seed Despite Loss

Christmas weekend brought a split schedule on Saturday and Sunday across the NFL that had plenty of implications on the NFC playoff picture.

The Eagles fell to the Cowboys and failed to lock up the NFC East and No. 1 seed in the conference. The Vikings kept their outside hopes of the top seed alive with a 61-yard game-winning field goal to beat the Giants. Meanwhile, the Commanders were blown out by the 49ers and don’t know who their starting quarterback will be as they cling to the conference’s final playoff spot.

And that synopsis only scratches the surface. Let’s take a look at the full NFC playoff picture after Week 16.

1. Eagles (13–2): The Eagles dropped their second game of the season, and first since early November, in a wild 40–34 divisional affair against the Cowboys on Christmas Eve. With Jalen Hurts out of the lineup due to a shoulder injury, backup Gardner Minshew filled in to throw for 355 yards and two touchdowns, but his two interceptions proved costly in the close rivalry loss. The Eagles will look to bounce back in Week 17 against the Saints, but it remains to be seen whether or not Hurts will be healthy enough to return under center.

2. Vikings (12–3): All it took for Minnesota to gain ground on Philadelphia for the No. 1 seed in the NFC was a 61-yard Greg Joseph field goal as time expired to beat the Giants 27–24 on Saturday afternoon. The field goal conversion was a career-long for Joseph and set a franchise record as well.

After an unfathomable comeback against Indianapolis in Week 15 and clutch playmaking down the stretch Saturday, Minnesota is still alive for the No. 1 seed. The Vikings will have to win their final two games and the Eagles would have to lose their final two games in order for Minnesota to earn the top seed, as Philadelphia owns the tiebreaker thanks to a 24–7 win over the Vikings in Week 2.

The Vikings head to Lambeau to take on the Packers in Week 17.

3. 49ers (11–4): The legend of Brock Purdy continued Saturday, as the final pick in the 2022 draft once again proved that he belongs in the NFL. The former third-string quarterback completed 15-of-22 pass attempts for 234 yards and two touchdowns in San Francisco’s 34–20 win over Washington. Star tight end George Kittle led the way for the 49ers, hauling in six catches for 120 yards and two touchdown passes from Purdy in the blowout victory.

San Francisco heads to Vegas to face the Raiders in Week 17.

4. Buccaneers (7–8): The Buccaneers continued to flirt with offensive incompetence for most of Sunday’s Christmas tilt against the Cardinals. But in the end, Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay offense made pivotal plays down the stretch of regulation and in overtime, which culminated with a Ryan Succop 40-yard game-winning field goal to win 19–16. Tampa Bay remains the best team in a very bad NFC South, which they can clinch at home with a victory in Week 17 against the Panthers.

5. Cowboys (11–4): Dallas knocked off shorthanded Philadelphia in a wild 40–34 win on Saturday to keep hopes of capturing an NFC East title alive. Dak Prescott threw for 347 yards and three touchdowns while receiver CeeDee Lamb caught 10 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns. The Cowboys head to Nashville on Thursday night to face the Titans.

6. Giants (8-6-1): The Giants lost for the fourth time in their last six games on Saturday, finding themselves on the receiving end of a 61-yard Greg Joseph field goal as time expired to lose 27–24. Week 17’s tilt against the Colts is a critical matchup for the Giants as they look to solidify their place in the NFC wild card picture.

7. Commanders (7-7-1): The Commanders looked listless at times offensively Saturday in a 37–20 blowout loss to the 49ers. Starting quarterback Taylor Heinicke was benched for former starter Carson Wentz as coach Ron Rivera looked for a spark for Washington’s inconsistent offense. Rivera refused to name a starter for Week 17 against the Browns as Washington clings to its playoff life.

In the Hunt:

8. Seahawks (7–8)

9. Lions (7–8)

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AFC Playoff Picture Ahead of Week 17: Bengals, Ravens Clinch Spots

With the Week 16 matchup between the Packers and Dolphins set, the AFC Playoff picture becomes clearer with just two weeks to go in the regular season.

Here’s the AFC playoff picture ahead of Week 17:

1. Bills (12–4): Buffalo already clinched a playoff spot and the AFC East crown, further exemplifying their dominance with a 35–13 win over the Bears on Christmas Eve.

2. Chiefs (12–4): Kansas City also has their division locked up, but the team will look for more in the coming weeks. The Bills are the No. 1 seed in the AFC thanks to an October win over the Chiefs, giving them the tiebreaker. Kansas City will look to win out and hope Buffalo drops at least one more game to take the lead.

3. Bengals (11–4): Cincinnati locked up a playoff spot with a 22–18 win over the Patriots, but they still haven’t clinched the division. The Ravens also clinched a spot and are right behind them in the standings.

4. Jaguars (7–8): Improbably, Jacksonville is somehow atop the AFC South and could very well return to the postseason for the first time since 2017. The Jaguars soundly beat the Jets 19–3 on Thursday Night Football, but they’re not out of the woods just yet. They’re tied with the Titans and will play their last game of the season against them. The matchup could very well decide the division.

5. Ravens (10–5): A 17–9 win over the Falcons saw the Ravens earn a playoff spot for the fourth time in the last five years but they won’t be satisfied with that. Baltimore is one game behind Cincinnati in the standings but won the first key matchup between the two in October. If the Ravens win next week and the Bengals lose, then their Week 18 matchup will decide who wins the division.

6. Chargers (8–6): No matter what happens on their Monday night matchup with the Colts, Los Angeles’s position at the No. 6 seed will not change.

7. Dolphins (8–7): Miami just couldn’t get it done against the Packers on Christmas Day and lost 26–20 largely in part because of Tua Tagovailoa’s three interceptions. They have a narrow lead on the rest of the field and will look to end their four-game skid against the Patriots in Week 17.

In the Hunt:

Patriots (7–8)

Jets (7–8)

Titans (7–8)

Steelers (7–8)

SI

 

The NFL is looking into this play by Mac Jones... Possible disciplinary action may follow. Just waiting to hear from the League.

 

All the talking heads are saying the bengals are the team you dont want to see in the afc playoffs. I think its the Jags. Why? First off they are playing with nothing to loose house money if you will there is absolutly no pressure on them to do anything while whoever they play will have all of the pressure. 2. Trevor Lawrence is gaing confidence each and every week 3. Im not sure they have played their best game yet

 

Hackett has been fired by the Broncos.

About time this was a bad fit from the beginning. Look theynhired hackett thinking the were getting A a ron but it didnt happen so they made the move to Wilson. Hackett then tried to force a square peg into a round hole bynforcing Wilson to run the offense he would have used for Rodgers. The results as you could have guessed were horrible. Will wilson bounce back next season under a new coach? Most likely if they place one who will build the offense to Wilsons strengths. Even then not sure they are competing in the very talent QB heavy afc.

 

The Broncos fired head coach Nathaniel Hackett on Monday and they’re reportedly named an interim head coach to see out the final two weeks of their season.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the team has installed senior assistant coach Jerry Rosburg as the interim boss.

Rosburg was hired a couple of weeks into the season to assist Hackett in game management. The Broncos let the clock run down before trying a 64-yard field goal in a Week One loss to the Seahawks and the home crowd counted out the play clock in Week Two because the team was having trouble avoiding delay of game penalties.

The Broncos avoided making some of those mistakes over the next 13 games, but Hackett’s game management was never a strong suit and likely contributed to Monday’s decision to fire him before his first season in the job came to an end.

Rosburg has never been a head coach. His previous NFL experience came as a special teams coordinator, including a 2008-2018 run with the Ravens.

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Jim Irsay: Jeff Saturday may be Colts head coach in 2023, Chris Ballard will definitely be our GM



Colts owner Jim Irsay doesn’t know who his head coach will be in 2023, but he’s strongly considering keeping interim head coach Jeff Saturday.

Irsay said in an interview with ESPN that he won’t decide the head coach until going through a full interviewing process after the season, but that he wants Saturday to be in the mix for keeping the job on a permanent basis.

“Head coach is unknown until the interview process goes forward,” Irsay said. “Jeff I believe is an outstanding candidate.”

While the head-coaching job is in doubt, Irsay says there’s no doubt who the Colts’ GM will be in 2023.

“Chris Ballard will be our General Manager,” Irsay said.

The Colts won their first game with Saturday as their interim head coach but have now lost four in a row.

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NFL will fine Mac Jones $11,139 for low block on Eli Apple

 

Chargers clinch Playoffs with a win tonight.

 

Derwin James doing some head-hunting out there... he needs tossed.

 

and he is out... DQ'ed