NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Dolphins star Tyreek Hill’s iconic celebration, a flash of the peace sign as he races off to the end zone, has struck fear into defenders, annoyance into NFL referees and has provided plenty of work for the league’s office that handles fines.

To wit, Hill was fined for throwing up deuces back in October. But in a hilarious interaction with officials that was caught by microphones before the Raiders-Dolphins Week 11 game, referee Bill Vinovich cut Hill off at the pass, asking the speedy wideout not to flash the peace sign during the contest.

Hill’s reaction was pure gold. Check out the amusing back and forth between Hill and Vinovich, an interaction captured for HBO's in-season Hard Knocks.



Amazing. Vinovich, tells Hill to make sure he “gets set on the shifts” before adding that he wants to see “no peace signs” from the Dolphins wideout as line judge Mark Perlman listens. Hill had the perfect comeback, though, amusingly saying that he’s “spreading world peace.”

Hill’s opponents probably wouldn’t agree with that statement, as they’re often eating his dust when they see the Dolphins speedster flash the gesture with the end zone in sight.

Hill, who said he’s aiming to break the NFL’s single-season receiving yards mark—1,964 by Detroit’s Calvin Johnson back in 2012—before the season started, is well on his way to doing just that, as he has amassed 1,222 yards with seven games left to go.

Hill seems to be getting everything he wants on NFL fields these days … except for the ability to spread world peace among NFL defenses.

SI

 

THANKS!​

 

THANKS!​

 

25 Thanksgivings ago, Randy Moss created one of the most memorable stat lines ever

It was the greatest Thanksgiving performance. It was one of the most memorable stat lines ever.

Three catches, 163 yards, three touchdowns, in a 46-36 win.

Vikings receiver Randy Moss, a rookie at the time, exploded against the Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day, 25 years ago.

Each catch was more impressive than the one before it, capped by a 56 catch and run that started with a broken tackle and ended with a full-stride juke that helped him explode past a defender who thought he had the angle.

Moss had extra motivation that year, after slipping to No. 21 in the draft. He vowed to “rip the NFL up.”

He had even more juice against the Cowboys. They had promised to draft him if he was available. He was available when they were on the clock with the eighth overall pick. They took defensive end Greg Ellis instead.

Moss still had a chip on his shoulder 12 years later, after being traded to the Raiders then the Patriots then back to the Vikings. The chip had the size of a mountain 25 years ago this Thanksgiving.

Did he get the most out of his incredible talent? No. He could have been the best receiver of all time. He was nevertheless the most dangerous. The most explosive. The most fun to watch.

I keep waiting for another Randy Moss, 25 years later. We all do. Until he shows up, we can just watch the highlights from Thanksgiving Day 1998.
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Best ever TG game I ever seen.

 

The most memorable thanksgiving performance ever would be OJ Simpson running for 273 yards against the Lions in the 70,s

 

I am rooting for the Packers today.

 

Commanders owner Josh Harris plans to evaluate Ron Rivera after season, barring unforeseen circumstances

When Commanders owner Josh Harris officially took over the franchise in July, he made no sweeping changes, choosing to take the year to thoroughly evaluate the team he had purchased.

The planned patience includes the job status of coach Ron Rivera and the rest of those currently in charge in Washington, along with those in the front office. Sources say the goal has been to take the entire season.

Harris and the team's brass still anticipate evaluating Rivera's body of work after the final game of the regular season (if the Commanders don't make the playoffs) as they enter a crucial offseason.

Yet the Commanders head into today's Thanksgiving Day game against the Cowboys reeling from a defeat that Rivera admitted was "a low point for sure." That brutal loss to the Giants, a team that started undrafted rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito, has stung.

What's unclear for the team going into Thursday's game is if last week's crushing loss to the Giants, coupled with a blowout loss to the Cowboys (if that were to happen today) would change the plans.

History has shown that an ugly nationally televised outcome can trigger movement -- even if the hope going in was just the opposite.

Rivera is among the most respected coaches in the NFL, sporting a 102-97-2 career record, with the last 26 victories coming with the organization he took to the playoffs in 2020.

The organization stood behind him when he beat cancer, and Rivera stood up front fielding endless questions from the media amid multiple off-the-field investigations into the franchise during Dan Snyder's ownership (Snyder sold the team during the offseason).

Rivera has also forged a strong relationship with Harris. The two have a mutual respect, and they have engaged in lengthy football conversations. Making a move during the season is not the team's desire.

After the season, it will be up for evaluation.

And regardless of if there is a change, there is a lot to like looking toward 2024. Ownership remains optimistic long term, specifically with the expected nearly $90 million salary-cap space, significant draft capital thanks to the Oct. 31 trades of Montez Sweat and Chase Young and a well-resourced ownership group.

The goal would be for the Commanders to show some progress the rest of the season, to prove they are going in the right direction, and a strong showing today would help.

Harris also knows, sources point out, that rarely does a coaching change trigger any sort of stabilization of a situation. Sometimes after an initial bounce, the team can descend into much worse territory that would not help anyone.

All the more reason why the hope is for status quo until Week 18, if the on-field product allows.

NFL.com

 

Jordan Love, Rashan Gary lead Packers to 29-22 win

This was not the Thanksgiving celebration that the Lions had in mind.

The Packers opened Thursday’s game in Detroit with a quick touchdown drive and never trailed on their way to a 29-22 win over the NFC North leaders. Quarterback Jordan Love and edge rusher Rashan Gary led the way to the win for Green Bay.

Love threw touchdown passes to Jayden Reed, Tucker Kraft, and Christian Watson while going 22-of-32 for 268 yards. Love also converted a late third down with a 37-yard run in perhaps his best game since taking over as the starting quarterback at the start of this season.

Watson had his most productive day of the year with five catches for 94 yards and rookie Malik Heath had several key catches while playing in place of Dontayvion Wicks.

The performance comes a week after a strong game in a win over the Chargers and the Packers have to be encouraged by the progress that Love and the offense are showing after some rough outings earlier in the season.

The opposite is true for the Lions defense. Thursday’s outing was their third subpar one in a row and the offense wasn’t able to do enough to overcome it this time around.

Gary had three sacks and forced Lions quarterback Jared Goff to fumble twice. He recovered the second one, which came on a fourth down early in the fourth quarter, and safety Jonathan Owens returned the first one for a touchdown in the first quarter. Goff lost a third fumble on a scramble and the Packers pressured him throughout the game, so there wasn’t much to like on either side of the ball for Detroit for much of the day.

The Lions tried to mount their second-straight comeback from two scores down in the fourth quarter. A drive into the red zone with under seven minutes to play ended on an incomplete pass, but they got a touchdown from wide receiver Josh Reynolds with 41 seconds left to play. They converted a two-point pass to tight end Sam LaPorta to make it a one-score game before failing to recover an onside kick.

Goff finished the day 29-of-44 for 332 yards and two touchdowns, the turnover issues of the last two weeks are likely to be the main focus in the aftermath of the loss.

Playing on Thursday will give the Lions a little extra time to iron out what’s gone wrong for them on that front and on defense in the last few weeks. They’ll be in New Orleans to face the Saints in Week 13.

The Packers are now 5-6 and they’ll try to keep things rolling at home against the Chiefs. If they can pull off a win in that Sunday night game, playoff chatter will start to get louder in Wisconsin.

 

Dolly Parton sings Queen and she sang it backwards. We are the champions/ we will rock you,Jolene would have rolled over in her grave.

 

Man, the Commanders OL sucks. Not all that impressed with the play calling, but that’s likely a result of the crap OL play

 

The Seahawks will officially have their quarterback for the Thanksgiving matchup against the 49ers.

Geno Smith is active after he was listed as questionable with a right elbow injury entering Thursday night.

Smith was listed as a non-participant on Monday, limited on Tuesday, and full on Wednesday on Seattle’s injury reports. Multiple reporters on the Seahawks beat noted that Smith wasn’t on the field for early pregame warm-ups. But Seattle was expected to limit Smith’s pregame reps after he suffered the elbow injury during Sunday’s loss to the Rams.

In 10 games this season, Smith has completed 65.3 percent of his passes for 2,404 yards with 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Running back Kenneth Walker, however, is inactive with an oblique injury. He was doubtful for the contest after being a non-participant on all three injury reports.

After rejoining the Seahawks last month, Frank Clark is a healthy scratch for Thursday night’s game. He’s recorded five total tackles in four games for Seattle this season.

On the other side, 49ers guard Aaron Banks is active after he was questionable with a toe injury. But fellow guard Spencer Buford (knee) is inactive. Jon Feliciano is expected to start at right guard in place of Buford.

San Francisco’s inactives are Buford, quarterback Brandon Allen, offensive lineman Ben Bartsch, running back Tyrion Davis-Price, defensive lineman Kalia Davis, linebacker Jalen Graham, and tight end Brayden Willis.

Seattle’s inactives are Walker Clark, offensive tackle McClendon Curtis, offensive tackle Raiqwon O’Neal, receiver Dark Young, and nose tackle Cameron Young.

Kickoff between the 49ers and Seahawks is slated for 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.

 

Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland made NFL history Thursday.

He returned an interception for a touchdown for the fifth time this season. His 63-yard pick-six broke the NFL record he had shared with Eric Allen (1993), Ken Houston (1971), and Jim Kearney (1972) since last week.

His other touchdowns this season covered 22 yards against Daniel Jones, 54 yards against Mac Jones, 30 yards against Matthew Stafford and 30 yards against Bryce Young, with his pick of Young coming last week.

 

49ers take control of NFC West with 31-13 victory over Seahawks



The 49ers look like they’re completely over that three-game losing streak.

San Francisco has now won its third game in a row after the bye, defeating division-rival Seattle 31-13 on Thanksgiving night.

Like most of the Niners’ victories this season, their offense was efficient and their defense was dominant. Christian McCaffrey rushed for two touchdowns in the first half, taking in a 1-yard and 8-yard score. Deebo Samuel also rushed for a 2-yard touchdown in the first half, as the 49ers had a 24-3 advantage at halftime.

The Seahawks made things interesting in the second half with Jordyn Brooks’ pick six in the third quarter followed by a Jason Myers 30-yard field goal.

But Seattle’s offense couldn’t muster much else from there.

49ers quarterback Brock Purdy hit receiver Brandon Aiyuk for a 28-yard touchdown with 7:51 left in the contest to remove all doubt.

Purdy finished 21-of-30 passing for 209 yards with a touchdown and an interception. McCaffrey finished with 114 yards rushing on 19 carries and caught five passes for 25 yards. Samuel led with 79 yards on seven catches.

The Seahawks managed just one first down on their first five possessions and missed a field goal to end the first half. Already nursing an injury to his throwing elbow, Geno Smith was 19-of-27 for 180 yards with no touchdowns and an interception. He was sacked six times as the 49ers racked up 11 quarterback hits — four by Nick Bosa alone.

Bosa and Javon Hargrave reached finished with 1.5 sacks. Bosa also had two tackles for loss.

Seattle managed just 14 first downs, 220 total yards, and was 3-11 on third down.

With the win, the 49ers move to 8-3 with a commanding lead in the NFC West. After their mini-bye, they’ll play the Eagles on the road in Week 13.

The Seahawks fall to 6-5, having lost three of their last four. They’ll have a “normal” week, as they’ll play the Cowboys on the road next Thursday night.

 

I noticed the same thing about the o-line for Washington. I dont know if its coaching or their just bad, or both, but on 3rd n short or any pretty obvious run-play they didnt get leverage at all off the snap... they seem to stand up and allow the defensive front to go low and do all the leverage work and basically push the o-line back, then just spin-off and hit somebody. I also noticed a lot of tackling by the Cowboys D was pretty intense, they were hitting with a purpose or attitude (punishing)... hard hitting for sure and i can appreciate that.

Howell was all over the place in his passing downs, more like improv than a game plan. That larger than life laminated paper Bienemy was holding may have been a map out of Dallas, not a play book.

 

Commanders fire defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio

A blowout loss to the Cowboys on Thanksgiving was the last straw for Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio.

Del Rio was fired today, according to multiple reports. Also reportedly fired was defensive backs coach Brent Vieselmeyer.

Del Rio is in his fourth year as the defensive coordinator in Washington, and he has often faced criticism, but head coach Ron Rivera has stood by him in the past. Now Rivera, whose own job is in peril, has decided to pull the plug. Rivera is himself a former defensive coordinator and will likely handle the defensive play calling himself for the rest of the season.

The 60-year-old Del Rio previously had three seasons as head coach of the Raiders and nine seasons as head coach of the Jaguars. He has also been a defensive coordinator in Carolina and in Denver.

NBC

 

De’Von Achane is not expected to play on Friday

It looks like the NFL’s first Black Friday game will be played without Dolphins running back De’Von Achane.

Achane was listed as questionable because of the knee injury that knocked him out of last Sunday’s win over the Raiders and the team’s decision to elevate Darrynton Evans from the practice squad seemed to signal that the rookie would be inactive. Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that Achane is indeed not expected to play.

Achane returned last week from a stint on injured reserve, but hurt the same knee that landed him on the list in the first place. Head coach Mike McDaniel indicated that pulling him from the Raiders game was precautionary and it appears the Dolphins want to give him more time to get closer to 100 percent.

Evans will join Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson as backfield options on Friday.

PFT

 

Three things to watch for in Dolphins-Jets Game... 3pm et

1. How will Tim Boyle fare in his first start for Gang Green? Heading into Friday’s game, Boyle has three career starts under his belt with the Lions in 2021. Boyle’s 0-3 as a starter, and over 18 career appearances, he’s averaged 175.3 passing yards with three touchdowns and six interceptions. In relief of Zach Wilson on Sunday, Boyle went 7-of-14 passing for 33 yards during three drives against the Bills. The bright spot for Boyle is that he’s surrounded by young playmakers, with Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson. Hall, who is coming off a torn ACL in his rookie season, has started all 10 games for New York, averaging 4.6 rushing yards per attempt. Boyle and the Jets could lean more on Hall to open up the passing game for Wilson, who is on pace for 1,000-plus receiving yards for the second straight season.
2. Can Tua Tagovailoa continue his MVP play against the Jets? Tagovailoa enters Week 12 as the only QB with 20-plus passing touchdowns and fewer than 10 interceptions (21 TDs and eight INTs). Tyreek Hill has turned in a stellar second season with Tagovailoa and head coach Mike McDaniel. Hill is the first player in the Super Bowl era with 1,200-plus receiving yards in his team's first 10 games in a season, per NFL Research. Hill is currently on pace for 2,077 receiving yards, which would surpass Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson’s single-season record of 1,964 yards in 2012. New York has a history of containing the Cheetah, however. In 2022, Hill recorded fewer than 50 receiving yards in both games against the Jets. Hill didn’t have Tagovailoa throwing the ball in those matchups, though. With Tagovailoa set to be under center, Miami’s dynamic duo will hope to continue its chemistry on the road.
3. Top corners share the spotlight at MetLife Stadium. Friday will be the first time Jalen Ramsey and Sauce Gardner share the field. Ramsey, who made his season debut in Week 8, has lifted Vic Fangio's defense since his return from a knee injury. With Ramsey’s presence in the lineup, Miami’s pass defense has allowed 17 points per game, 191 pass yards per game and an 80.3 passer rating to opposing QBs. Meanwhile, Gardner has been a lockdown corner who quarterbacks have avoided throwing at. In nine games, Gardner has only allowed 24 completions and one touchdown. The Dolphins (7-3) sit comfortably in the AFC East, with Buffalo trailing behind at 6-5. As for the Jets (4-6), they're on the outside the AFC playoff bubble as the No. 14 seed, below the Raiders and Chargers (teams they lost to). If the Jets manage to secure a win, it would provide Aaron Rodgers a chance to practice on his birthday on Dec. 2. This is a date that he's been targeting for recently since he suffered a torn Achilles injury in Week 1.

NFL.com

 

Three things to watch during the game

That 80 inch TV stack shrink while you’re in line waiting
That hot chick two spots in front of you
Your wife blowing up your credit card
Oh and the dolphins killing the jets