NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Bears cleared to return to team facility Friday



The NFL has cleared the Bears to return to Halas Hall on Friday, the team announced Thursday night.

The Bears sent everyone home from their facility Thursday after center Cody Whitehair tested positive for COVID-19.

The Bears will resume football activities Friday at their team facility under the NFL’s intensive protocol.

The team did not provide an update on Whitehair and whether his initial positive test was confirmed by subsequent testing.

Two other offensive linemen — Germain Ifedi and Jason Spriggs — are on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Defensive back Michael Joseph also is on the list.

Spriggs tested positive for COVID-19, with Ifedi going on the reserve/COVID-19 list after contact tracing determined he was a close contact with Spriggs.

The Bears are scheduled to face the Titans in Nashville on Sunday.

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The Panthers are set to get Christian McCaffrey back this weekend.

McCaffrey has been out since Week 2 with an ankle injury, but has been practicing for the last two weeks and head coach Matt Rhule said at his press conference that he anticipates activating the running back from injured reserve on Friday or Saturday.

The Panthers have used Mike Davis as their lead back since McCaffrey was injured, but there’s usually been little work for other backs in Carolina when McCaffrey’s been healthy enough to play.

Left tackle Russell Okung (calf) is listed as doubtful to face the Chiefs. Safety Jeremy Chinn (knee), defensive end Marquis Haynes (shoulder), and defensive tackle Zach Kerr (toe) are listed as questionable for the game.

NBC

 

Fifteen NFL teams currently have COVID-19 issues



If only the pandemic truly had disappeared after the election.

The nationwide COVID-19 outbreak continues, with six-figure cases and single-day records over each of the past two days. And the NFL is feeling the impact of it.

Currently, 15 teams have issues with the virus, in one form or another. In no particular order, they are the Ravens, Texans, Colts, Broncos, Chiefs, Cowboys, Packers, Bears, 49ers, Cardinals, Eagles, Raiders, Lions, Falcons, and Dolphins.

That’s nearly half the league, presently struggling with some issue or another related to the pandemic.

“As we’ve repeatedly said, as long as the pandemic is endemic in our society there will be positive cases, particularly as we see spikes in our communities,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said via email earlier this morning. “Our protocols anticipate that, and are designed to identify it early, isolate the individual and stop the virus from spreading within a team. The protocols have worked and it’s a testament to the hard work of thousands of individuals. We knew it was going to be difficult. It takes all of us to working every day to continue to meet this challenge.”

He’s right on all counts. But it won’t get any easier as the virus continues to spread in the places where NFL teams are located. Unless and until the league implements home-market bubbles, all players, coaches, and essential personnel will leave the facility each day and go to a place where they could contract the virus. Between the incubation period and the lag between test collection and test result, infected players and coaches can enter the building and spread it before anyone even realizes what has happened.

That’s why every coach should be explaining every day to every player and staff member that it should be assumed that everyone in the building has it, because anyone can have it on any given day. Masks, distancing, and all other protocols become critical to avoid an outbreak that can cancel games, wipe out game checks, and otherwise derail a season that somehow has made it through eight full weeks with all games played.

NBC

 

Does anyone know how the NFL determines playoff seeds?

Do the 4 division champions automatically get the top 4 seeds (in order of overall record) or does a team that wins a division with a lessor overall record than the rest of the qualifiers (ie: this year's winner of the NFCE) just get the lowest seed?

 

The Eagles are currently listed as the 4 seed in the NFC seeding on the CBS sports App. Whatever that's worth

 

I saw that. But I've also seen conflicting seedings. Can't find anything definitive from the NFL.

Maybe I'm just not looking in the right place.

 

This is how its done at, USA Today...

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks are in good shape after the first eight weeks of the 2020 NFL season.

They would hold the top seeds in the AFC and NFC playoffs were the postseason to begin today.

Pittsburgh (7-0) is the NFL's lone remaining unbeaten team. Seattle (6-1) and the Kansas City Chiefs (7-1) are the only two teams with one loss.

The Arizona Cardinals (5-2) would be the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoffs, were the postseason to start after Week 8. They would take on the No. 3 seed Green Bay Packers (5-2) in the first round.

The top seed in each conference gets a bye in the playoffs and the other division winners get the No. 2 through No 4 seeds.

The No. 5, No. 6 and No. 7 seeds go to the non-division winners with the best records.
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NFC playoff picture after Week 8:
No. 1 Seattle Seahawks (6-1)

No. 2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-2)

No. 3 Green Bay Packers (5-2)

No. 4 Philadelphia Eagles (3-4-1)

No. 5 New Orleans Saints (5-2)

No. 6 Arizona Cardinals (5-2)

No. 7 Los Angeles Rams (5-3)

NFC playoff matchups:
No. 2 Buccaneers vs. No. 7 Rams

No. 3 Packers vs. No. 6 Cardinals

No. 4 Eagles vs. No. 5 Saints

New Orleans currently wins a tiebreaker with Arizona based on win percentage in conference games.

Los Angeles wins a tiebreaker over Chicago based on head-to-head win percentage.
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AFC playoff picture after Week 8:
No. 1 Pittsburgh Steelers (7-0)

No. 2 Kansas City Chiefs (-1)

No. 3 Buffalo Bills (6-2)

No. 4 Tennessee Titans (5-2)

No. 5 Baltimore Ravens (5-2)

No. 6 Indianapolis Colts (5-2)

No. 7 Cleveland Browns (5-3)

AFC playoff matchups:
No. 2 Chiefs vs. No. 7 Browns

No. 3 Bills vs. No. 6 Colts

No. 4 Titans vs. No. 5 Ravens

Tennessee currently wins a tiebreaker with Indianapolis based on win percentage in conference games.

Baltimore wins the same tiebreaker over Indianapolis.

Three NFC West (Seahawks, Cardinals, Rams) and three AFC North (Steelers, Ravens, Browns) teams would be in the postseason, were it to begin today.

 

They are considering adding an eighth team to the playoffs in each conference

 

No. I think seven is too many.

 

It’s only for this season. Probably to help offset some of the lost revenue from this season.

 

Ravens add Dez Bryant to active roster



Dez Bryant is back.

Bryant, the veteran wide receiver who has been on the Ravens’ practice squad, was called up to the active roster today. That makes him eligible to play tomorrow at Indianapolis.

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson sang Bryant’s praises this week.

“Oh man, he’s a great route runner, strong hands, he’s dialed into the playbook; he’s always asking me questions about the playbook – stuff like that,” Jackson said. “He wants to compete. I just can’t wait until he gets out there with us on Sundays and fully practices with us.”

Bryant hasn’t played in an NFL game since the end of the 2017 season, so he has three years of rust to knock off. But now Bryant is poised to return to the field.

NBC

 

Jets QB Sam Darnold (shoulder) doubtful to play Monday vs. Patriots...

Giants WR Golden Tate out vs. Washington, not traveling with team...

 

Dalvin Cook and the Vikings destroy the Lions



Vikings running back Dalvin Cook has been unstoppable since returning from a groin injury last week.

Cook topped 200 yards from scrimmage in last week’s win over the Packers, then had 206 rushing yards and 46 receiving yards today in a 34-20 win over the Lions. The Lions’ defense was in shambles, and only had 10 players on the field on a 70-yard Cook touchdown run.


With Cook leading the way, the Vikings dominated, and the Lions’ defense could do nothing. This is Year 5 for Lions General Manager Bob Quinn and Year 3 for Lions head coach Matt Patricia, and all their talk about building a tough, physical defense has been exposed as just talk. The Vikings pushed them around all day today.

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford had an ugly game after missing practice all week because he had close contact with someone who had COVID-19. He eventually got injured and replaced by Chase Daniel, who threw a touchdown pass, but only in garbage time.

The Lions seemed to want to get Adrian Peterson his first ever touchdown as a visitor in Minnesota, but he couldn’t do much. On one occasion Peterson got the ball at the 1-yard line but lost four yards on the play, and on another Stafford tried to force the ball to Peterson in the end zone when he wasn’t open.

It was a terrible game for Detroit, which drops to 3-5 and appears close to having to blow everything up and move on, perhaps without Quinn, Patricia or Stafford. This team is going nowhere.

The Vikings improved to 3-5 and are trying to dig their way out of a deep hole they fell in to start the season. It may be too late, but they’re playing good football at the season’s halfway point.

NBC

 

Ravens’ offense turns it on late to win in Indianapolis



The Ravens’ offense struggled through most of today’s game with the Colts, but they made plays when it mattered most.

Lamar Jackson had 170 yards passing and 58 yards rushing, scoring a rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter, to earn a hard-fought 24-10 win at Indianapolis.

Colts linebacker Darius Leonard was excellent in a losing cause, and a big reason the Ravens’ running backs couldn’t get anything going all game. Other than Jackson, the Ravens ran just 52 yards on 25 carries.

But the Colts’ offense couldn’t do anything. Philip Rivers completed short passes almost exclusively, and the Colts’ running backs couldn’t find any holes. It was an impressive display from the Ravens’ defense.

The win improves Baltimore to 6-2, and allows them to retain some hope of catching the Steelers in the AFC North. The Colts drop to 5-3 and a game behind the Titans in the AFC South.

NBC

 

Titans shut down Nick Foles and the Bears



How bad was Bears quarterback Nick Foles today? So bad that if Mitchell Trubisky were healthy, Foles probably would have been benched.

But Trubisky was out with a shoulder injury, so the Bears stuck with Foles, who was terrible in a 24-17 loss to the Titans. Although Foles’ final numbers didn’t look bad, the Bears really didn’t start moving the ball until garbage time, after the Titans had an insurmountable fourth quarter lead.

Their third consecutive loss drops the Bears to 5-4, and a team that had legitimate playoff aspirations a few weeks ago suddenly doesn’t look like a safe bet to make the playoffs at all.

The Titans’ offense wasn’t great either, but it didn’t need to be with the defense shutting the Bears down and also getting a 63-yard touchdown on a fumble return by Desmond King, who just arrived in a trade with the Chargers.

Tennessee snapped a two-game losing streak and is now 6-2 and appears to be the favorite to win the AFC South. This defense is good, but unfortunately won’t get to play against Foles every week.

NBC

 

Giants beat Washington for second time this season



The Giants are 0-7 against every NFL team other than the Washington Football Team, but they have secured a season sweep of their NFC East rivals.

Win No. 1 came when they thwarted a Washington two-point try that would have given them a win and this Sunday’s victory was only a little bit less stressful. The Giants went from being up 20-3 at halftime to clinging to a 23-20 lead as Washington drove the ball down the field ahead of the two minute warning.

They got the ball into Giants territory, but needed a bit more yardage for a field goal. They wouldn’t get it. Alex Smith threw too high for J.D. McKissic and Jabrill Peppers picked the ball off. The Football Team would force a punt that got the ball back, but Logan Ryan picked him off to seal the second Giants win of the season.

Smith entered the game when Kyle Allen suffered an ugly ankle injury in the first quarter and he made a strong case to be the starter moving forward before the late picks. He was 24-of-32 for 325 yards and a 68-yard touchdown to Terry McLaurin. McLaurin had seven catches for 115 yards and Cam Sims had three catches for 110 yards to pace the offensive effort.

It was Smith’s first 300-yard game since November 4, 2018 and we’ll learn this week if he’ll start against the Lions in Week 10.

The Giants will host the Eagles as they try for their first win over a non-Washington team since Week 15 of last season. The attempt to get that win would be helped by another turnover-free performance from quarterback Daniel Jones. He snapped a nine-game turnover streak on Sunday and went 23-of-34 for 212 yards and a touchdown.

The Giants also got good outings from running backs Wayne Gallman and Alfred Morris as they combined to run 23 times for 135 yards and a touchdown on the afternoon.

NBC

 

Josh Allen, Bills defense star in 44-27 win over Seahawks



Russell Wilson played in Buffalo for the first time as an NFL player on Sunday and he’s unlikely to be in a hurry to return.

Wilson turned the ball over four times and got sacked five times as the Bills outlasted the Seahawks for a 44-34 victory. Wilson threw three interceptions in a loss to Arizona earlier this year and has now turned the ball over seven times in Seattle’s two losses this season.

While the Bills Defense was making life difficult for Wilson, Josh Allen was thriving despite a Seattle pass rush that came up with seven sacks of their own. Allen was 31-of-38 for 415 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for a fourth quarter touchdown that put the Bills up 41-20 after the Seahawks had closed within seven points.

Buffalo’s defense got two sacks and a forced fumble by A.J. Klein, a sack and fumble from Jerry Hughes and a key early interception in the end zone by Jordan Poyer. That pick kept the Seahawks down by two scores and ensured they’d be playing catchup for the rest of the afternoon.

The final score reflects some stat padding by the Seahawks, who got touchdown passes to Chris Moore and DK Metcalf that made the final score look a bit more presentable. Wilson’s turnovers and the defense’s inability to force any of their own conspired to make those 34 points nowhere near enough to get the job done this weekend.

While the defense was not good enough overall, the return of safety Jamal Adams and arrival of defensive end Carlos Dunlap paid some dividends. Dunlap had a sack, two quarterback hits and three tackles for loss while Adams had 1.5 sacks, three quarterback hits and a tackle for loss.

They’ll try to do more of the same against the Rams next weekend. The 7-2 Bills will move on to Arizona and the Seahawks will be hoping they have a similar performance in store for their NFC West rivals.

NBC

 

Going Gonzo here;

With precision thrusts and jabs the Buffalo Bills stomped the balls off the Seattle Seahawks today.

Josh over 400 yards in the air and ran one in too. Buffalo had a net 4 turnovers after subtracting the zero they muffed.

 

Chiefs hold off Panthers on Joey Slye’s missed 67-yard FG on final play



The Chiefs moved to 8-1 with their fourth consecutive victory, but the Panthers did not make it easy.

Carolina pulled out all the stops, going 3-for-3 on fourth down, including a fake punt, gaining 435 yards, attempting two onside kicks and matching the Chiefs almost blow for blow. It wasn’t enough as Kansas City held on for a 33-31 victory.


The Panthers got as close as the Kansas City 49 on their final comeback attempt, but with two seconds left, Matt Rhule opted to let Joey Slye attempt a record field goal. The 67-yard try never had a chance.

Slye’s 51-yard attempt in the third quarter hit the left upright. That opened the door for the Chiefs to take their first lead, and they did.

The Panthers led the entire first half before Kansas City scored on a 4-yard pass from Patrick Mahomes to rookie running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire with 4:42 remaining in the third quarter. It gave the Chiefs a 20-17 lead.

Mahomes went 30-of-45 for 372 yards and four touchdowns. Travis Kelce caught 10 passes for 159 yards, and Tyreek Hill had nine receptions for 113 yards and two touchdowns. Demarcus Robinson and Clyde Edwards-Helaire had the team’s other scores.

Teddy Bridgewater was 36-of-49 for 310 yards and two touchdowns. Christian McCaffrey, playing for the first time since spraining an ankle in Week 2, had 18 carries for 69 yards and a touchdown and 10 catches for 82 yards and a touchdown.

Curtis Samuel made nine catches for 105 yards and a score.

NBC

 

Congrats, Dan... Bills smacked em around today.

Nobody in their right mind is going to want to go to Buffalo and play the Bills, lol.