Author: nfltalk

The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Buffalo Bills in Sunday’s divisional round showdown, 27-10.

Cincinnati had a 17-7 lead at halftime after a dominant first half and that pretty much continued for the second half. The result sends the Bengals to the AFC title game against the Chiefs at Arrowhead for the second season in a row.

Here’s a look at some of the instant notes and numbers from right after the game.

Quick Hits

— You couldn’t script a better start to this game for the Bengals as Joe Burrow went 4/4 on the opening drive before finding Ja’Marr Chase for the touchdown. Joe Mixon looked steady on the ground in the snow too.

— Ditto for the defense, as Joseph Ossai got pressure on Josh Allen on a 3rd-and-4 to force the Bills to punt on their first offensive drive.

— Burrow and the offense’s next drive? A precise march down the field with good runs on the ground and Burrow finishing it with a touchdown pass to Hayden Hurst. Burrow was 9-of-9 with two touchdowns at that point.

— Trey Hendrickson disrupted Allen for a Bills three-and-out but a sack of Burrow forced the first Bengals punt of the game to end the first quarter.

— Bills figured it out in the second quarter, going 15 plays for 75 yards and a score. The Cincinnati defense struggled with the up-tempo looks, something the Bills would keep exploiting if the Bengals didn’t adapt.

— Center Ted Karras injured his knee and got it taped up, per the broadcast. He was struggling to get up multiple times near the end of the first half.

— An absolute epic fumbling of the NFL’s catch rules while overturning a Ja’Marr Chase touchdown before halftime.

— Bills spent a huge chunk of time marching down the field right after halftime, only to settle for three points. That’s a big win for the Bengals defense that made the score 17-10.

— Fantastic challenge by Zac Taylor on a Joe Mixon touchdown run to get officials to actually call it as such, making the game 24-10.

— Smart again by the coaching…

..

[ad_2]

Read More

USATSI

For the first time in nearly three decades, the Arizona Cardinals hired a general manager from outside their organization this week.

On Monday, Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill hired former Titans and Patriots personnel executive Monti Ossenfort to lead a new era of Cardinals football. But Ossenfort wasn’t the first choice for the job.

Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham was first offered the job, according to multiple sources. Fox Sports was the first to report the news.

Sources say Cunningham, who also was a finalist for the Titans GM job, declined the offer due to reasons related to his “fit” within the organization.

Longtime GM Steve Keim left the organization this offseason after taking a medical leave of absence beginning Dec. 14.

The Cardinals requested to interview at least nine candidates for their vacant GM job and ultimately interviewed seven men. They interviewed three internal candidates: VP of player personnel Quentin Harris, VP of pro personnel Adrian Wilson and director of football administration Matt Harriss. Externally they interviewed Ossenfort, Cunningham, former Giants GM Jerry Reese and Ravens director of player personnel Joe Hortiz.

“All these candidates had excellent backgrounds, impressive résumés and had a vision for the organization,” Bidwill said in a press conference Wednesday. “But as we went through the whole process, it became clear that Monti Ossenfort had the combination of a well-defined vision, a work ethic, character, the background and experience and being with two great organizations the New England Patriots as well as the Tennessee Titans in evolving roles and playing key roles in those…

..

[ad_2]

Read More

The Eagles are well on their way to hosting the NFC Championship Game.

Everything went their way in the first half of Saturday night’s game against the Giants. Jalen Hurts threw two touchdown passes and ran for another while the Eagles defense shut down Daniel Jones and the Giants offense en route to a 28-0 halftime lead.

Hurts looks much closer to his pre-shoulder injury form than he did in the Week 18 game between the two teams. He is 12-of-17 for 118 yards through the air and he’s run seven times for 31 yards at the helm of an Eagles offense that has totally overwhelmed the Giants.

Miles Sanders has run 13 times for 75 yards, Kenneth Gainwell has three carries for 22 yards and Boston Scott ran for a touchdown. Scott now has 11 touchdowns in nine career games against the Giants.

The Giants have picked up just 64 yards as their offense has carried over zero momentum from last Sunday’s win in Minnesota. They’ll need to find something that works in halftime or the second half will be an extended celebration at Lincoln Financial Field.

Eagles dominate in first half, lead Giants 28-0 originally appeared on Pro Football Talk

..

[ad_2]

Read More

Robert Tonyan is done for the season.

The Green Bay Packers starting tight end tore his ACL during Thursday night’s game against the Arizona Cardinals, his agent told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The injury should end his season.

The injury occurred when Tonyan caught a pass from Aaron Rodgers and ran downfield until he was met by Cardinals safety Jalen Thompson. As the two fell to the ground, Tonyan’s left leg twisted awkwardly, and he immediately started grabbing his knee in pain.

Tonyan was eventually able to limp off the field, but that will be the end of his playing time this season.

The loss of Tonyan is a rough blow for a Packers team that saw Tonyan post 586 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns last season, the latter tied with Travis Kelce for most among NFL tight ends. Tonyan had been on his way to a decent year in 2021, with 204 receiving yards and two touchdowns through eight games. More than half of those yards came in his last two games.

The Packers figure to replace Tonyan in the short team with more snaps for veteran Marcedes Lewis. They also still have time to find a reinforcement before the NFL trade deadline on Nov. 2.