MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

Jim Harbaugh confirms X-rays on Justin Herbert’s ankle were negative

Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh confirmed that X-rays on Justin Herbert’s ankle were negative. He expects the quarterback to undergo an MRI.

Herbert aggravated his high ankle sprain during Sunday’s loss to the Steelers, missing the final 10 snaps.

Harbaugh had no additional update on Herbert.

“Today will be a day of evaluation and treatment. By Wednesday, we’ll be able to give more specific updates,” Harbaugh said, via video from Joe Reedy of the Associated Press.

Herbert completed 12 of 18 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown Sunday before Taylor Heinicke replaced him.

The Chargers play the Chiefs on Sunday.

PFT

 

Report: Gardner Minshew will remain the Raiders QB

Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce suggested that a quarterback change was possible for the team’s Week Four game against the Browns, but it doesn’t look like one is coming.

Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com reports that Gardner Minshew will remain the team’s starter. Aidan O’Connell replaced Minshew and led a touchdown drive during the team’s Week Three loss to the Panthers.

Per the report, no change at quarterback was ever seriously pondered.

Minshew has completed 73.7% of his passes for 747 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions in the team’s first three games. The Raiders have lost two of those three games and continued inability to post victories will make it likelier that the Raiders look elsewhere on offense.

PFT

 

Mike Tomlin wants Justin Fields “singularly focused” on starting for Steelers

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin isn’t making any pronouncements about the long-term starter at quarterback, but he also isn’t doing anything to suggest it won’t be Justin Fields.

Fields moved into the starting role when Russell Wilson hurt his calf ahead of the season opener and he’s presided over three straight wins for the Steelers. On Tuesday, Tomlin said at his press conference that Wilson is set for another limited practice on Wednesday and that Fields’s only focus should be on starting for the Steelers against the Colts.

“As we walk in the building tomorrow, I want Justin singularly focused on starting for us,” Tomlin said.

Tomlin has repeatedly said that the team could consider other options when Wilson’s participation level changes and he said that again on Tuesday, but the longer Fields is the starter for a winning team the less likely it is that the Steelers are going to rock the boat.

PFT

 

Mike McDaniel on this week’s QB: We have to take it a day at a time

The Dolphins won’t play until Monday night in Week Four and it sounds like the extra day will come in handy.

Skylar Thompson left last Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins with a chest injury and the Dolphins don’t know if he’ll be able to play at this point. At a Tuesday press conference, head coach Mike McDaniel was asked if the team would go with Tim Boyle or Tyler Huntley in the event that Thompson is not cleared to play. McDaniel indicated that the team will take as much as they can before making any decision.

“As Skylar progresses, I think that leaves variables more vague,” McDaniel said. “I think we have an important 48 hours to see where he’s at and also to get in front of the rest of the quarterback room. Talk with them, talk with coaches, talk with some of the players to get them most comfortable with the varied uncertainty. We’ll just have to take it a day at a time, there’s a lot of stuff on the table.”

Boyle replaced Thompson against Seattle with Huntley serving as the emergency quarterback less than a month after signing with the team. He’ll have more time under his belt when the Dolphins face the Titans, but it remains to be seen if that’s enough to give him a shot at running the offense.

PFT

 

Mike Tomlin on Justin Fields: I like his steady demeanor, I like that in a leader

Head coach Mike Tomlin reiterated on Tuesday that he isn’t going to make a true decision on the Steelers’ QB1 until he has to, Justin Fields is in line to start the fourth game of the season on Sunday.

Fields has helped pilot Pittsburgh to a 3-0 start, with Tomlin saying on Tuesday that there’s “no question Justin has played well. And that’s exciting for him and for us.”

“As I mentioned here repeatedly, I like his steady demeanor,” Tomlin said. “I like that in a leader. He doesn’t ride the emotional roller coaster when things are going good, or things are going bad. Guys can rally around that. He’s steady. He’s a competitor. He likes to compete. He doesn’t turn down things. He’s aggressive in play, scrambling, and so forth. It’s just been fun to get to know him and not only know him as a guy but know him as a competitor.”

Fields has completed 73.3 percent of his passes (55-of-75) for 518 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He’s also rushed for 90 yards with one touchdown.

“I want to see him improve in all areas, to be quite honest with you,” Tomlin said. “Knowing what those areas of needing improvement are, are difficult sometimes when you don’t have a shared experience. So a component of me getting to know him is just maintaining that posture, challenging him to improve in all areas, and as we gain more experience together, I’ll be able to narrow that focus on things that become repetitive or trending.”

Tomlin did note he’d like to see the offense as a whole start better, particularly on third down. While the club finished 7-of-14 in the category against the Chargers last Sunday, Pittsburgh was 3-of-7 in the first half in the category.

If Fields and the offensive unit can make those improvements, it will only increase the likelihood that he’ll keep that starter’s role whenever Russell Wilson is healthy.

PFT

 

In my personal opinion, it would benefit the Steelers to get the offense rolling. Im not sure just a stout defense is adequate in todays game, but back in the day, defense won Championships. Steelers need to put a way lot more points on the board. Your defense can only do so much.

 

Tyler Huntley will start at QB for Dolphins Monday

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel has resisted publicly announcing his quarterback choice for Monday night, but said earlier this week that he had a pretty good idea about what he would do.

McDaniel revealed his plan on Saturday morning. Tyler Huntley will get the start against the Titans.

Huntley signed to Miami’s active roster last week after Tua Tagovailoa suffered a concussion in their Week Two loss to the Bills. He was inactive as the team’s emergency quarterback for last Sunday’s loss to the Seahawks.

Skylar Thompson started that game, but left with a chest injury. Tim Boyle was the team’s backup quarterback in that game.

Huntley started 10 games while with the Ravens, including a playoff loss, over the last three years. The Dolphins will be hoping he can make their offense more productive than it’s been since Tagovailoa’s injury and a good outing would likely leave him in the job until Tagovailoa is cleared to return.

 

Broncos won despite a historically bad game from Bo Nix

Nix completed 12 of 25 passes for 60 yards on Sunday, a shocking lack of production the likes of which the NFL has never seen: No quarterback in NFL history had ever thrown for so few yards while throwing at least 25 passes and completing at least 12 of them.

It’s a stretch to find even a similar game in NFL history to Nix’s, in which his team managed to win despite his putrid passing. Rick Neuheisel completed 12 passes for 66 yards and won a 1987 strike game. That was the fewest yards on 12 or more completions for a winning QB in NFL history until Nix won while throwing for six fewer yards yesterday.

In NFL history, there have been 39 games in which a quarterback averaged 2.5 yards per pass or fewer while throwing at least 25 passes. After Nix’s win on Sunday, those quarterbacks are now 3-36 in those games. The two previous quarterbacks to win while throwing at least 25 passes and averaging 2.5 yards per pass or worse were both in the AFL and both in 1963: John McCormick of the Broncos and Cotton Davidson of the Raiders.

To Nix’s credit, he didn’t throw any interceptions, didn’t fumble and didn’t take a sack. That helped the Broncos find a way to win. But they aren’t going to win many games with Nix totaling 60 passing yards.

PFT/Smith
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IMO, he won (he, and his team), period, thats the bottom line. He gained very valuable experience, and he beat Rodgers in his back yard. He ought to get a trophy or something.

 

Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson left Sunday’s game with what the team called a right hip injury. Coach Steve Steichen said Monday he did not think it was a “huge, huge injury” for Richardson.

Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that Richardson has oblique and abdominal strains and is considered day to day.

Richardson is not ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Jaguars.

He played only 14 snaps against the Steelers, initially injuring himself on a 14-yard run before returning for two plays and then leaving for good.

Richardson now has missed significant portions of three of the eight career games he has started.

 

Jared Goff throws perfect game to set NFL record in Lions' win



Jared Goff, threw a perfect game, setting an NFL record by completing all 18 of his passes. Kurt Warner held the previous NFL record for passes without an incompletion, going 10-for-10 for Arizona against Houston in 2005.

Goff even caught a TD pass from, Amon-Ra St. Brown... That play helped the Lions become the first team with a 100% completion percentage in a game while having multiple players throw a pass since at least 1933, per ESPN Research.

 

Dan Quinn on Jayden Daniels: It’s not any magic, he absolutely works his ass off

Quarterback Jayden Daniels has gotten off to a terrific start in his first four games, with Washington winning three in a row heading into a Week 5 matchup with Cleveland.

In his Monday press conference, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn was asked what he thinks had led to the young quarterback’s early success in the league.

“I don’t think — it’s not any magic that’s going into this. I know that’s hard to say. But he absolutely works his ass off,” Quinn said. “I would say that, No. 1.”

The Commanders spent last week in Arizona after defeating the Bengals in Cincinnati on Monday night. Quinn said he noticed that Daniels was still in the room set up for quarterbacks well into the night running through things again and again.

“[H]e really puts in the work,” Quinn said. “So when the game time comes, there’s a confidence that comes from that.”

Quinn added that the connection in the QBs room is strong, from offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, to pass game coordinator Brian Johnson, to QBs coach Tavita Pritchard, and assistant QBs coach David Blough.

“They really support the hell out of him,” Quinn said. “And featuring players with the things that he can do well — which Jayden can do a lot of things well — but finding those things that the other receivers can do well, different routes, different spots, I think that’s some of this.

“But to think he would start like this, no, I don’t think anybody would’ve said that. But what I would say is, if you’re around him, you feel his work ethic. There’s no magic pixie dust that we’re throwing into him. It is absolutely grinding, working, and a lot of confidence comes from that because he can enter the game knowing he put the work in.”

Daniels has completed an NFL record 82.1 percent of his passes through the first four games, throwing for 897 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He’s also rushed for 218 yards with four TDs.

PFT/Simmons

 

Those Redskins offensive lines (HOGS) from the past were pretty good. I havnt looked at the data available, but I bet the current offensive line is NOT too shabby. It all starts in the un-glorified trenches.

 

Steelers prepare Justin Fields for another start, vs. Cowboys

The Steelers’ first loss of the season apparently won’t be prompting a quarterback change, from Justin Fields back to Russell Wilson, who technically remains QB1.

Asked on Tuesday whether he’s preparing Fields to start the Week 5 Sunday night home game against the Cowboys, coach Mike Tomlin said, “Yes I am,” via Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com.

Meanwhile, Wilson continues to prepare to play again. Nearly four weeks since he aggravated a calf injury, Wilson could be getting closer.

Tomlin told reporters that Wilson will have a “strong work day” on Tuesday, and that Wilson’s practice participation will increase. Wilson, per Tomlin, likely will have a “live pocket.”

Ultimately, Wilson’s work this week will determine his availability for Sunday night’s game. Still, it appears that Fields will start again.

The lingering question is whether Fields will keep playing even after Wilson is healthy. On Tuesday, Tomlin was asked whether he’d stick with Fields even when Wilson is able to play.

“There’s a potential for that, but we’re not there as we stand here today,” Tomlin said.

They could be there, soon. And Tomlin has done a nice job of saying just enough of nothing to keep from making any promises about when Wilson will return.

Basically, Tomlin is ignoring the issue until Wilson is healthy. Once he’s healthy, we’ll all find out what Tomlin will do.

PFT/Florio
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Who is Wilson anyway? Its been so long since he's played. Its not the volleyball is it?

 

Titans coach Brian Callahan said after the game that Levis would undergo an MRI for a potential AC Joint injury. Callahan added that Levis is the team's starter when healthy.


When Healthy...........I say Bench him because Mason Rudolph did a great job last night.....he stays in the pocket and knows how important running the ball is.

 

I wanted the Steelers to keep him also wanted him to start when they signed Trubisky. I don’t know what they had against him, because he always plays pretty good in the years since he first was thrust into the lineup because of Ben’s injury. I think he can get the Titans in the playoffs if he starts the rest of the season.

 

I just hope Coach Callahan keeps him (Mason) going for starter.......I have not heard results from Levis MRI and I hope they keep him on the Bench ?

Will lost the game to Chicago........He lost the game to NY Jets.......the Titans should be 2-2 right now.......PLEASE stay with Rudolph.

 

I know he came in as a reserve replacement, but he only completed 52.9% of his passes, 7 of 19. Career, he is a 63.2% with a 19 TD to 11 INT ratio in 22 games. He isn't going to set the field ablaze.

Just be careful what you ask for...

I am not defending Levis... I wouldn't want him to start for the Browns either. I think you can do much better than Rudolph though. Maybe someone like Ryan Tannehill, lol... I know he ended on a very sour note in Tennessee, but I still think at 36, he's better than Rudolph or Levis.

 

The Dolphins released quarterback Tim Boyle on Friday, the team announced.

It’s an indication that quarterback Skylar Thompson (ribs) is healthy enough to backup Tyler Huntley on Sunday. Thompson is listed as questionable.

Boyle played in Week 3, completing 7 of 13 passes for 79 yards, and was active as Huntley’s backup in Week 4.

PFT
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The Dolphins are one QB injury away from total disaster. If they weren't already in trouble.