NFL - NEWS & NOTES

A little pregame preview razzle-dazzle from NFL.com...

When Kansas City (7-2) plays host to Philadelphia (8-1) on Monday, it will mark the seventh regular-season matchup between the previous year's Super Bowl participants in NFL history. The Super Bowl winners hold a 5-1 advantage in those rematches, a lopsided gap in the Chiefs' favor.

If they hope to host an NFL-record sixth straight AFC Championship Game come January, now is the time for the Chiefs to begin shifting into high gear.

Meanwhile, the Eagles have enjoyed a top-three scoring offense for a second consecutive season and hold the NFL's best record, but their brutal post-bye schedule features five straight .500-or-better opponents who made the postseason last year. Keeping momentum is imperative.

1. What does Jalen Hurts have in store of an encore? Hurts did nearly everything in Super Bowl LVII except win. He tied the Super Bowl record for rushing touchdowns with three and set the record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 70. On top of that, Hurts threw for 304 yards and another score, becoming the first QB in Super Bowl history to lose after amassing 300-plus total yards and four-plus total touchdowns. He might find it difficult to near those numbers again Monday for a multitude of reasons. For one, this iteration of the Chiefs boasts a far more tenacious defense than the one nine months ago. Kansas City is allowing just 15.9 points per game. Led by George Karlaftis (six sacks), the Chiefs are tied for second in the league with 31 sacks, and they’re averaging 7.1 quarterback hits per game. Hurts is also running a touch less than last year. He’s averaging 35.1 rushing yards per game in 2023 compared to 50.6 in the 2022 regular season, and continuing his hot streak through the air -- eight TD throws in his past three games -- will be tested by Dallas Goedert’s absence due to a fractured forearm. A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, who have combined for 109 catches, 1,538 yards and 10 touchdowns, will draw even greater defensive attention, and they can only pick up so much slack. Philly’s other WRs have combined for 12 catches, while the TE room outside Goedert has contributed two. More assets will need to step up to give Hurts the best chance at being his heroic self.
2. Chiefs O seeks an end to its funk. Kansas City has managed just two offensive touchdowns in its past two games. The team is averaging 23.1 points, 368.7 total yards, 264.9 passing yards and 1.9 giveaways per game, all of which are its worst marks since Patrick Mahomes became starter in 2018, per NFL Research. The crux of the issue has been an undependable group of wide receivers failing to develop enough chemistry with the two-time Most Valuable Player. Rookie Rashee Rice has been the best of the bunch with 32 receptions for 378 yards and four touchdowns, but no other WR has collected more than 20 receptions or scored more than once. Not a single one of Mahomes' wideouts has managed a five-reception game yet this season. And even though Travis Kelce has had six such games already, the tight end is not immune to the ill effects of an uninspiring WR corps. He’s slumped along with them the past two outings, resulting in just nine catches for 72 yards during that span. Luckily for Kansas City, Philly’s secondary is vulnerable. It ranks 28th in the NFL in passing yards allowed. The Eagles are first against the run, though, so Mahomes, Kelce and Co. would benefit from snapping out of it rather than resorting to a slugfest for running lanes.
3. Can Philadelphia get to Mahomes? The Eagles entered Super Bowl LVII needing just two sacks to tie the 1984 Bears’ single-season record for sacks (72). Instead, the Chiefs blanked them and went on to capture the Lombardi Trophy. Philadelphia isn’t on the same torrid pace it was then -- it is tied for the fifth-most sacks in the league with 30 -- but the defensive line is still plenty dangerous. As of Week 10, it ranks third with 154 QB pressures. That effort has been paced by Josh Sweat (50 pressures with 6.5 sacks) and Haason Reddick (43 with 7.5). Jalen Carter has been disruptive, as well, with 31 pressures, four sacks and an average pass rush get-off time of 0.82 seconds -- second only to the Chiefs’ Chris Jones (0.80) among defensive tackles, per Next Gen Stats. It’ll be difficult once again to get home against Kansas City, which has allowed a league-low 12 sacks, but pressure alone could change the trajectory of the game. Patrick Mahomes’ passer rating drops from 113.6 in a clean pocket to 49.4 under duress, and his five interceptions under pressure this season are tied for second-most.
4. SB LVII storylines return. A couple of the same narratives were covered ad nauseam in the lead up to last season’s big game, but they still resonate. Andy Reid is inextricably linked to the Eagles after serving as the team’s head coach for 14 seasons from 1999-2012. He led the Eagles to four straight NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl appearance while racking up a franchise-record 130 wins. It’ll be up to Philadelphia head coach Nick Sirianni to stop Reid from going 5-0 against his former team. Since Sirianni took over in 2021, K.C. and Philly possess the league’s best records -- 33-10 and 31-12, respectively. Center Jason Kelce, one of the few holdovers from the Reid era along with Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox, will also suit up against his brother Travis once again. The two have more combined first-team All-Pro selections (nine) than any brother duo in NFL history. They've both put together illustrious careers, although Travis can hold a few things over his older brother. The tight end currently leads the Super Bowl ring count, 2-1. Also, just as the Eagles are winless against their former head coach, Jason is still in search of his first victory in this friendly sibling rivalry.

 

To me, that's the far more important part of the story. By suspending Jackson, the league is also saying the officials on the field totally effed up, missing a penalty that created the turnover that set up a score in a 1-point game.

Vikings got screwed, and the league just admitted it without actually saying it.

 

48 times before, a team had 40+ minutes of possession and +3 or more on turnovers. All 48 of those teams won the game.

Chicago just made it 48-1 with their meltdown against Detroit. The Bears had the ball for 40:24 and were +3 on turnovers in that loss.

 

Monday Night Football: Eagles escape with a 21-17 victory over the Chiefs



The Eagles somehow, some way won in Kansas City, escaping with an improbable 21-17 victory.

The Eagles moved to 9-1, while the Chiefs fell to 7-3.

The Chiefs will leave kicking themselves. They led 17-7 at halftime but dropped passes, including one that would have given them the lead with 1:42 left, and twice turned it over in the red zone.

Philadelphia took its first lead with 6:20 remaining on a quarterback push play, which was Jalen Hurts’ second rushing touchdown of the day. The 1-yard run for the lead was set up by Hurts’ 41-yard throw to DeVonta Smith.

The Chiefs had chances on their final four drives to either increase their lead or take back the lead. Their final four drives ended with a fumble, a punt, a punt and on downs.

With 13:15 left, Kansas City had a first-and-10 at the Philadelphia 14 when Patrick Mahomes completed a 5-yard pass to Travis Kelce. But Bradley Roby punched out the ball, and Nicholas Morrow recovered.

On their next drive, the Chiefs reached the Philadelphia 39 before Watson dropped a perfectly placed pass on third-and-four and Andy Reid surprisingly decided to punt. Tommy Townsend’s punt went into the end zone for a net of 19 yards.

After the Eagles drove 80 yards for their first lead, the Chiefs gained only 3 yards on three plays and punted.

The Chiefs’ final drive began at their own 9 with 2:49 left. Kansas City converted a fourth-and-two on Mahomes’ 4-yard throw to Kelce. On the next play, Mahomes hit Kelce for 13 yards, and the Chiefs got another 15 yards on Fletcher Cox’s roughing penalty on Mahomes.

But then, two plays later, Marquez Valdes-Scantling dropped a 51-yard touchdown, and Mahomes was called for grounding on the next play. On fourth-and-24, Watson dropped another pass that would have given the Chiefs a first down.

And that was that.

The Chiefs lead the NFL with 26 drops this season.

It ruined a good night for the Kansas City defense, which sacked Hurts five times in the first half and held the Eagles to only 238 yards. Chris Jones and Trent McDuffie each had two sacks, and L’Jarius Sneed had an interception of Hurts.

The Chiefs gained 336 yards but couldn’t get out of their own way.

Mahomes threw an interception in the red zone in the first half, with Kevin Byard picking him, as the Chiefs went 2-for-4 in the red zone with only 14 points.

Mahomes went 24-of-43 for 177 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Isiah Pacheco ran for 89 yards on 19 carries.

Hurts was 14-of-22 for 150 yards and an interception. He ran for 29 yards and two touchdowns. Smith caught six passes for 99 yards.

NBC

 

WEEK 11, ITS IN THE BOOKS...

 

PLAYOFF PICTURE AS OF RIGHT NOW...

 

Hopefully the Steelers can salvage this season and start playing some offensive football

 

I seen the handwriting on the wall a while back, But coach Tomlin had his back... apparently, they were friends. With the WR's blowing steam, especially DJ, Harris included recently from the RB position, the Steelers are sick n tired on the offensive side of the ball. Harris even said the offense is just to predictable.

Vanilla!!!!!!

 

I doubt Tomlin considers anyone on his staff a friend. Without being asked specifically why he waited he volunteered that he sees it as his job to absorb all the criticism for the franchise.

So even if he had been considering a change or putting Canada on notice earlier he was never going to make that public. Obviously I'm paraphrasing here.

 

I understand that and it may well be true, but some of the things ive read in the past seemed more like Canada and Tomlin were close, but that is just an insight/opinion on my part too.

 

Eagles-Chiefs drew Monday Night Football’s largest audience in 27 years

The Eagles’ 21-17 win was viewed by an average of 29.02 million viewers across ABC (15.55 million), ESPN (11.49 million), ESPN2’s “Manningcast” (1.92 million) and ESPN Deportes (64K).

It was the largest audience for a Monday night regular-season game since the Cowboys’ 21-6 win over the Packers on Nov. 18, 1996, drew 31.45 million viewers.

 

Kareem Jackson appealed his second 4 game suspension, this time he was denied and will serve 4... The NFL blew the first suspension, it didnt work anyway... maybe players who are not capable of learning should be forced to work elsewhere. I hear his local McDonalds is hiring.

 

Saints place WR Michael Thomas (knee) on injured reserve

Michael Thomas' injury woes aren't behind him.

The New Orleans Saints' three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver is being placed on injured reserve due to a knee injury, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported on Tuesday. Pelissero added that the Saints also signed Marquez Callaway to their practice squad.

Thomas has played in just 10 of a possible 40 games over the previous three seasons and will now miss at least the next four games of the 2023 season for the first-place Saints.

Hamstring and ankle issues caused him to miss time in 2020 before he missed the duration of the 2021 season due to an ankle injury. In 2022, Thomas played in only three games thanks to more hamstring issues and a pedal toe dislocation.

This season, Thomas has played in 10 games for the Saints with seven starts, 39 receptions, 448 yards and one touchdown, having ceded his No. 1 WR status to Chris Olave.

Thomas, who was recently arrested and charged with misdemeanor counts of simple battery and criminal mischief, is no longer the elite talent who was voted AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2019. However, his loss is still a big one for a Saints offense in which he's third in catches and receiving yards.

 

Referee asked Tyreek Hill before Sunday’s game not to show a peace sign

Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill has been flagged and fined repeatedly for sticking two fingers up as he celebrates touchdowns, and before Sunday’s game against the Raiders, referee Bill Vinovich asked him not to do it again.

The first episode of this season’s Hard Knocks showed Vinovich and Hill talking before the game. Vinovich first reminded Hill not to commit any illegal shift penalties, and then asked him not to make a peace sign.

“Have a great game today. Two things: Be sure you get set on your shifts, and no peace signs, please. I don’t want to have to make a decision,” Vinovich said.

Hill protested, “I’m spreading world peace!”

Vinovich answered, “Just don’t do anything after, man.”

Hill caught 10 passes for 146 yards and a touchdown in the win over the Raiders. And he did so without getting called for any penalties.
____
_____________

Vinovich and all the zebras need to shut the fuck up, peace sign? give me a break. These assclowns miss plays, every game, day in and day out, and now some dipshit wants to bitch about a 'piece sign'. wtf

 

I should start a thread 'of'dumbass quotes from Jim Irsay' - but i dont know if we have enough bandwidth to accomplish such a feat.

 

Seriously, is there a back story here? Did he make a statement prior to starting the gesture?

If a peace sign is going to get flagged/fined, I would have to say it's time to outlaw EVERY celebration in the league. WTF are they thinking?

 

Isn’t every celebration basically taunting? How do they decide what is flagable and what isn’t?