NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Jaguars taking it to the Titans in Nashville, 33-17... Going to be some more fire there at this rate.

 

Eagles rolling the Giants and I have the feeling they are not done scoring yet... 41-13, 5:30 to go 4th.

 

The Seahawks list Ken Walker III (ankle) and DeeJay Dallas (ankle) among their inactives for today’s game against the Panthers.

That leaves them with Travis Homer, Tony Jones Jr. and Godwin Igwebuike at the position.

They will have receiver DK Metcalf, who was questionable with a hip injury. He is dressed.

The Seahawks’ other inactives are receiver Penny Hart, cornerback Artie Burns, cornerback Justin Coleman, tackle Jake Curhan and defensive end Shelby Harris.

The Panthers won’t have veteran safety Xavier Woods, who is inactive with a knee injury. He was questionable after being limited in practice last week.

Woods is third on the team in tackles.

Myles Hartsfield is expected to start alongside Jeremy Chinn.

The Panthers’ other inactives are linebacker Cory Littleton, defensive lineman Daviyon Nixon, backup offensive lineman Larnel Coleman and wide receiver Rashard Higgins.

PFT

 

Eagles clinch playoff spot with 48-22 rout of Giants

 

My first look at Brock Purdy and Im impressed already. Great poise.

 

Chiefs' Travis Kelce becomes fastest tight end to reach 10,000 receiving yards

Travis Kelce's stellar 2022 season has reached another milestone.

In Sunday's game against the Denver Broncos, the Kansas City Chiefs star became the fifth tight end in NFL history to reach 10,000 yards receiving and the fastest to accomplish the feat.

Kelce surpassed 10,000 yards on a 38-yard reception in the first quarter.

He hit the mark in just his 140th game, shattering the previous standard set by Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez, who reached 10,000 yards in his 177th contest. Along with Gonzalez, whose 15,127 yards are the most in league history by a tight end, Kelce joins Shannon Sharpe, Antonio Gates and Jason Witten in the TE 10,000 club.

Entering Week 14, Kelce needed just 26 yards to hit 10K.

Earlier in the season, he surpassed Rob Gronkowski for the most 100-yard games for a tight end.

The 33-year-old is in his 10th season and has been a Pro Bowler seven years running. However, he might be turning in his best and most notable season yet.

NFL.com

 

This 49ers team tonight looks like world beaters... rolling the Bucc's like nobodies business, both sides of the ball too. That #1 ranked defense is playing like it also.

They are stacked.

 

Panthers run for 223 yards in toppling Seahawks 30-24

 

Chiefs outlast Broncos for 34-28 win

 

Brock Purdy and the 49ers blow out the Buccaneers, 35-7

 

Kyle Shanahan: Deebo Samuel “most likely” has high ankle sprain



49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said receiver Deebo Samuel did not fracture his left ankle. It confirmed a PFT report that the injury will not end Samuel’s season.

Samuel is expected to undergo an MRI on Monday, but Shanahan said the injury “most likely” is a high ankle sprain.

His prognosis depends on the severity, but Samuel and the 49ers surely will point to the start of the postseason on the weekend of Jan. 14 for his return. That is five weeks away.

Samuel was injured on a 3-yard run up the middle with 5:10 remaining in the second quarter. He had four carries for 21 yards and a touchdown and four catches for 43 yards.

Samuel entered the day with 87 touches for 776 yards and four touchdowns.

PFT

 

Sunday Night Football: Justin Herbert throws for 367 yards, Chargers defeat Dolphins 23-17



The Chargers entered Sunday’s game with one of the league’s worst defenses, particularly against the run.

But without three key starters in safety Derwin James, cornerback Bryce Callahan, and defensive tackle Sebastian Joseph-Day, Los Angeles shut down Tua Tagovailoa and Miami’s explosive offense to the tune of a 23-17 victory.


For the second consecutive week, Tagovailoa was bad against a West Coast opponent. He was just 3-of-15 passing at halftime for 25 yards. He finished the game 10-of-28 for 145 yards with a touchdown.

Not that Tagovailoa had many completions, but one of his few accurate throws went to receiver Tyreek Hill for a 60-yard touchdown in the third quarter. That made the score 17-14 Chargers.

But that three-point margin would be brief. Los Angeles drove down and got a field goal to make the score 20-14. Then in the fourth quarter, Los Angeles used a 17-play drive to take up 8:39 off the clock and kick a field goal to make it a two-possession game with just 2:40 left in the contest.

With no timeouts, the Dolphins got a 55-yard field goal to make the score 23-17 with 1:10 left. But they didn’t recover the ensuing onside kick, and the Chargers were able to kneel out a victory.

Justin Herbert played clean, efficient football, finishing 39-of-51 for 367 yards with a touchdown. He set a new career-high in completions.

Having Mike Williams and Keenan Allen healthy on the field at the same time no doubt helped. Williams caught all six of his targets for 116 yards with a touchdown. Allen had 12 catches on 14 targets for 92 yards.

It was tough sledding for Austin Ekeler running it, as he had just 45 yards on 15 carries. But he had a 1-yard touchdown at the end of the second quarter that capped a 13-play, 90-yard drive on fourth down. And he caught eight passes for 59 yards.

But Tagovailoa’s ineffectiveness downed the Dolphins from the start. Without the bomb to Hill, he would’ve been he’s 5-of-21 for 52 yards with 11:19 left in the fourth quarter.

Hill played through the second half with an ankle injury. Running back Jeff Wilson also suffered a hip injury in the first half and didn’t return.

Having lost their last two games, the Dolphins will once again be on the road in Week 15. But they have a particularly short week, as they’ll fly home to Florida on Sunday night and play at Buffalo next Saturday.

The Chargers winning improved the team’s record to 7-6 and kept the Chiefs from clinching the AFC West. They’ll host the 7-6 Titans next week.

PFT

 

Dre Greenlaw intercepted Tom Brady, then got him to autograph the ball



Tom Brady suffered one of the worst losses of his NFL career on Sunday, but he was classy in defeat.

49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who intercepted a Tom Brady pass in the 35-7 win over the Buccaneers, approached Brady after the game with the ball and asked him to sign it. Brady obliged.


Cameras caught Greenlaw talking to Brady after the game.

“Please, could you sign the ball?” Greenlaw said, and Brady took it from him and signed it. “You’re the greatest ever. It’s an honor for us, for real. I’ve been watching you since I was 2 years old.”

Brady stayed on the field after the game and was embraced by several 49ers players who had similar sentiments after they had beaten the greatest of all time.

PFT

 

Lions firmly in playoff race with Dan Campbell, Jared Goff helping to propel turnaround

DETROIT -- When a team struggles year after year, with the number of defeats being surpassed only by the level of frustration, its fans can be forced to entertain themselves during games. So perhaps supporters of the Detroit Lions should be forgiven for doing a wave that lasted more than five minutes on Sunday, while their offense was seeking to extend a lead over the Minnesota Vikings midway through the fourth quarter.

Truth is, Lions fans no longer need a wave because the days (and years) of heartache and disappointment could well be over.

If nothing else, Detroit's 34-23 victory before 66,374 spectators at Ford Field seemed to be confirmation that these are not your father's Lions. Or your grandfather's Lions. Shockingly to everyone but themselves, they have won two in a row, five of six, and are firmly in the race for the NFC's seventh and final playoff spot despite being 6-7 overall.

"We're in this thing," coach Dan Campbell declared.

No one outside the organization envisioned such a possibility at the end of October, when over a three-day stretch the Lions left league observers shaking their heads. They lost to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, fired defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant on Monday, and traded tight end T.J. Hockenson, one of their best players, on Tuesday.

Safety DeShon Elliott, who signed with Detroit in the offseason after three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, awoke that Tuesday morning to a cell-phone message from his family. Before reading the message he had no idea about the trade. After listening to the message he had no idea about the team's direction.


"The first thing I thought was, 'Damn, are we trying to tank?' " he said. "But then we came in and had a team meeting, and Dan was like, 'That was just a business move. Things happen. It's the league.' All we knew was that we had us. It was us against the league."

You take your motivation where you can find it in the NFL, and since that whirlwind the Lions have been nearly unbeatable. They defeated the Packers, Bears and Giants, lost by three to the Bills, and beat the Jaguars and Vikings, who were seeking to clinch the NFC North title with a victory.

What changed? How did a team that started 0-10-1 last season and 1-6 this year -- a franchise coming off four consecutive last-place finishes and no division titles since 1993, and no playoff wins since 1991 -- turn things around? How did they go from being the same ol' Lions to a club opponents can no longer circle on the schedule?

It began in January 2021 with the hiring of Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes, who believed any change on the field would have to be preceded by a change in culture. That meant finding physical, smart and dedicated players who would not be weighed down by the failures of the past. They would view playing for the Lions as an opportunity, not a curse.

"Brad and I put together a roster that we really believed in, guys who have had to overcome adversity," Campbell told me after Sunday's game. "They never got down. There are guys here from last year, when we only won three games, but we brought them here because they championed the cause. They were about what we were about. Then there are the coaches. They carried the message. They believe in what I believe in."

Second, they wanted a team that could play complementary football, which was missing to start this season. The offense was humming, for the most part, but the defense was hemorrhaging yards and points, particularly through the air. Communication issues and an inability to marry the rush with coverage repeatedly hurt them and caused a trust issue among some players, according to Campbell.

There were players who were unsure of their responsibilities, which caused other guys to try to pick up the slack. But trying to do more created even more problems.

"It snow-balled," said Campbell, who credits coordinator Aaron Glenn for helping to solve the problem. "We simplified things, we got their confidence back and we moved some people around."

in part from/ NFL.com
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They are explosive... especially as of late. If they get in, they could be a problem for some team or two.

 

I saw two things on special teams yesterday that I can't recall having seen before. One was the illegal kick call on a punt. Justin Tucker was able to do a drop kick on an on-sides kick attempt a few years ago, and of course Doug Flutie had the drop kick extra point in his final game. But when the Giants punter muffed the snap and did an impromptu drop-kick, it got flagged for an illegal kick. The penalty turns out to be ten yards AND loss of down = Eagles gain possession ten yards back from the line of scrimmage. Ouch...

The other one was Carolina calling time out as the Seahawks kicker was about to make his on-sides kick attempt at the end of the game. I've seen time outs called as the team lines up - you view the formation and which players are where and then call time out to adjust accordingly. But Carolina interim coach Steve Wilks waited so long to call the time out that it felt more like an attempt to ice the kicker. To some degree, it worked - after the time out, Seattle attempted the on-sides kick in the other direction and was not successful.

 

Interesting.

I seen a o-lineman (Sewell) head out on the snap and catch a pass, i think it was for a 1st down on a critical 3rd down play. The amazing thing was, they designed and practiced that play on Thursday... used it Sunday to perfection to add another embarrassing situation against the Vikings defense.

 

One of my favorite Falcons "fun facts" is along those lines. Atlanta had two comp picks in the 2010 draft, which the team used to draft offensive lineman Mike Johnson and wide receiver Kerry Meier. Both spent multiple seasons on IR, though both did actually play at least one season for the Falcons. (That seemed to be the theme of their 2010 draft class. Johnson was an iron man in college and set a record for games played at Alabama, but he was completely snakebit as a pro.)

The fun fact: the offensive lineman Johnson ended his NFL career with more receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns than the wide receiver Meier, by a count of 1 to 0 in all three categories. It's particularly timely because this year marks the 10th anniversary of his catch, and it happened in a game against the Saints (Atlanta's opponent next week).