NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Steelers' George Pickens says Jaguars have 'hope defense,' while Rayshawn Jenkins has faith in his cornerbacks

 

Thursday Night Football: Bills move to 5-3 with 24-18 win over Bucs



The Bills needed a win. The Buccaneers needed a win.

Only one team got what it wanted on Thursday Night Football.

Buffalo beat Tampa Bay 24-18, rebounding from Sunday’s loss to the Patriots. The Bills moved to 5-3, while the Bucs fell to 3-4.

The Buccaneers made it interesting, but not as interesting as they would have had they not taken 7:21 off the clock on a 17-play, 92 yard drive in the fourth quarter. Two Bills penalties on fourth down kept the drive alive, and then on a third fourth-down play, Baker Mayfield found Mike Evans for a 24-yard touchdown.

The ball glanced off cornerback Christian Benford’s helmet before Evans secured it.

On the two-point conversion, Mayfield had all day before Jordan Phillips tipped the pass that Cade Otton caught in the end zone for a successful conversion. That cut the Bucs’ deficit to 24-18 with 2:44 left.

The Bucs, who had all three timeouts and the 2-minute warning, didn’t get the ball back until 21 seconds remained. They got as close as their own 45 before a Hail Mary attempt. The ball fell incomplete in the end zone.

Mayfield finished 25-of-42 for 237 yards and two touchdown. Rachaad White had seven catches for 70 yards and nine rushes for 39 yards. Chris Godwin made five catches for 54 yards and a touchdown.

The Bills rolled to 427 yards. But after opening the second half with a touchdown, giving them a 24-10 lead, the Bills didn’t score again. They were 2-for-4 in the red zone on the night.

Bills punter Sam Martin was the hero of the second half. He had no punts in the first half but four in the second half for a 45-yard average, with three downed inside the 20. The Bucs started their final four drives at the 3, 4, 8 and 20 after Martin punts.

Josh Allen went 31-of-40 for 324 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Khalil Shakir had six catches for 92 yards, and Gabe Davis caught nine passes for 87 yards and a touchdown. James Cook had 14 carries for 67 yards.

 

Dolphins expect Tyreek Hill to play Sunday



When wide receiver Tyreek Hill missed Dolphins practice with a hip injury on Wednesday, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa cast some doubt on his availability for this week by saying “somewhere down the line we’re going to get” Hill back in the lineup.

The line turned out to be a pretty short one. Hill returned to practice on Thursday and head coach Mike McDaniel said on Friday that he saw enough from the wideout to make him believe he will be good to go against the Patriots.

“He had a phenomenal practice,” McDaniel said, via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

McDaniel was less certain when it came to safety Jevon Holland and cornerback Jalen Ramsey. He said decisions will be made after Friday’s practice and that the Dolphins are “prepared for either scenario.”

 

Tyreek Hill can be first player in 62 years to hit 1,000 receiving yards by Week 8

Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill may hit 1,000 receiving yards before the season is half over.

Hill currently leads the NFL with 902 receiving yards this season, which means if he has 98 yards against the Patriots on Sunday, he’ll have 1,000 for the season. In Week Eight.

It’s been a long time since anyone has done that. The last player to hit the 1,000-yard mark in receiving by his team’s eighth game of the season was Charlie Hennigan of the 1961 Houston Oilers in the American Football League. The only other players to reach 1,000 yards by Week Eight were Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch in 1951 and Don Hutson in 1942.

Hill also has four different games this season with at least 150 receiving yards and a touchdown — something no one has ever done five times in a season.

Before the season, Hill made noise about reaching an unprecedented 2,000 receiving yards in 2023. He has a great chance to be more than halfway there, less than halfway through the season.

NBC

 

Dalvin Cook frustrated with role in Jets' offense amid trade chatter: 'It's a different scenario for me'

With the NFL's Oct. 31 trade deadline sitting four days away, plenty of players will hear their names bandied about as candidates to be shipped out of town.

Different reasons abound for why a player might be considered a trade candidate, from an expiring contract to an ill fit to lack of production. New York Jets running back Dalvin Cook is one of those players whose production has not lined up with the expectations after he signed with Gang Green during training camp.

Cook admitted Thursday he's frustrated by his situation and touched on the trade rumors.

"It's a different scenario for me, like I said, it's all different for me," he said. "But it's something I can't control, that my name's been floated around in trade rumors. It might be a good thing. Maybe a bad thing. You never know."

Cook has looked slowed from the start, generating 109 yards on 39 carries in 95 offensive snaps in six games. He hasn't had a contest with more than 33 rushing yards on the season, far below the standard he set in Minnesota.

"We all thought it was going to be more than it is," Cook said, via the team's official website. "Of course it's frustrating. I'm an honest person, man. I want to play. That's just anybody. It's frustrating, it's new for me. I come from getting the ball 20 times a game. Of course it's frustrating. It's something I've been adapting to."

Cook hasn't earned 20 touches a game, particularly with how well Breece Hall has looked behind the same offensive line. Still, the veteran said he has no plans to ask general manager Joe Douglas for a trade.

"As a player and as a man, I prepare myself, I work my tail off. I just want the situation to be best for both sides," he said. "I'm not going into JD's office and tell him I want to go somewhere. When a player gets into the business side. It kind of dictates how you go about your day. I wake up every day thinking how I can get better."

Given Cook's replacement-level production thus far, it's difficult to imagine anyone trading for the 28-year-old running back. A Jets player who could be more easily moved is edge rusher Carl Lawson.

Lawson, a former big-money acquisition, has been squeezed out of the Jets' deep edge-rush rotation, playing just 71 snaps in four games this season. The veteran noted he wouldn't have imagined things playing out as they have and just wants a shot at getting on the field.

"I've always wanted to help the Jets win, I've always wanted to be the best version of myself for the team," Lawson said. "But at the end of the day, I do want to be a football player, I do want to produce, I do want to help, because I'm a football player, not a cheerleader."

NFL.com

 

San Francisco running back Christian McCaffrey can tie a longstanding NFL record on Sunday against the Bengals.

If McCaffrey scores a touchdown on Sunday, it will be his 17th straight game reaching the end zone, which would equal the NFL's all-time record.

The record currently belongs to Lenny Moore of the Baltimore Colts, who scored a touchdown in every game from October 27, 1963 to December 13, 1964. (These records include postseason games; Moore's streak ended when he failed to score a touchdown in the Colts' playoff loss in 1964, while McCaffrey scored touchdowns in all three of the 49ers' playoff games last season.)

The last time McCaffrey was kept out of the end zone was Week 12 of last season against the Saints.

YAHOO

 

Thats recently changed. According to a report on ESPN, Cook is going to talk to Douglas about a potential trade.

 

Raheem Mostert is expected to play Sunday

The Dolphins will have cornerback Jalen Ramsey in the lineup for the first time this season when they take on the Patriots on Sunday and they are set to have running back Raheem Mostert on the field as well.

Mostert was listed as questionable to face New England because of an ankle injury, but expressed optimism about his status after returning for limited practices on Thursday and Friday. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that he will indeed be active for Week Eight.

Mostert has nine touchdowns in seven games this season, so his presence will be a welcome one.

Cornerback Xavien Howard (groin) is set to be a game-time call while safety Jevon Holland (concussion) is not expected to play this weekend.

 

Browns to gauge status of RB Ford during warmups, source says

Cleveland Browns running back Jerome Ford, listed as questionable for Sunday's game vs. the Seattle Seahawks because of a sprained ankle, is expected to test his ankle in pregame warmups before the team makes a final decision on his status, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Ford made a surprise return to practice Friday after missing time earlier this week because of the right ankle sprain suffered in last week's win at Indianapolis.

Ford, who has had to pick up the slack with star Nick Chubb out because of a season-ending knee injury, had been expected to miss at least one game for the Browns (4-2).

Ford is another playmaker for backup quarterback P.J. Walker, who will start against the Seahawks (4-2). Deshaun Watson continues to be sidelined by a strained right shoulder. Walker came off the bench last week after Watson took a big hit in the first quarter.

ESPN

 

Denver, Colorado...

 

Falcons defense made a play, Ridder takes them down field for a FG, 3-0 start in Nashville.

 

4th n inches and Minshew with a great play action tosses to Pittman Jr for a Td. Saints got burned, 7-0, Colts.

 

McLaurin for a TD, Washington up on the Eagles , 7-0.

 

And Kamara answers. 7 up.

 

Hill gets a TD for Miami... clearly on his way to 1 million yards.

 

So sitting hopkins with an unkown qb worked out really reallly wel.....crappy the word um looking for is crappy

 

The 1pm et Final Scores...

 

Emerson Jr with the pick for the Browns... Pete Carroll's head has exploded.

 

Bengals up on the 49ers at the Half, 14-10. Thats fine by me.