Category: NFL News

Aiyuk enjoys watching ex-ASU teammate Daniels’ film vs. Cardinals originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

As his current quarterback prepares to face the Arizona Cardinals in Week 5 at Levi’s Stadium, Brandon Aiyuk has enjoyed watching his former quarterback carve up the 49ers’ next opponent on film.

In preparation for their NFC West clash with Arizona, Aiyuk and San Francisco are studying film of the Cardinals’ Week 4 matchup against the Washington Commanders, who are quarterbacked by rookie signal-caller Jayden Daniels — Aiyuk’s quarterback in 2019 at Arizona State University.

In speaking to reporters Wednesday in the 49ers’ locker room, Aiyuk was asked what he thought of his former quarterback and close friend’s performance against the same Cardinals defense he and San Francisco’s offense will see on Sunday.

“He’s balling. We’ve been watching that tape against Arizona so far a couple times already today so I’m sure we’ll see it all week,” Aiyuk said. “But excited to see him on tape playing good football.”

In Washington’s commanding 42-14 win over Arizona, Daniels completed 26 of 30 pass attempts (86 percent) for 233 passing yards and one passing touchdown with one interception while carrying the ball eight times for 47 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground.

In four starts this season, Daniels has completed 87 of his 106 pass attempts (82 percent) for 897 passing yards and three passing touchdowns with one interception, along with 46 rushing attempts for 218 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.

Aiyuk and Daniels have remained close friends over the years, and Aiyuk even welcomed the idea of a reunion with his college quarterback on the Commanders had his 49ers contract talks fallen through this offseason.

The 49ers ultimately got a deal with Aiyuk done, and now the star receiver will have to settle for watching his former quarterback from afar.

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We are now a month through the 2024 season, and there have been plenty of surprises that have sprouted up over the first four weeks. On a positive note, the Sam Darnold resurgence in Minnesota, where he has the Vikings undefeated and atop the NFC North, is a development that most didn’t see coming. The same can be said in Washington, where No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels looks like the real deal and has the Commanders leading the NFC East after the opening month. 

While there are plenty of positive storylines for teams across the league after the first four weeks, there’s also the other side of that coin. There are other clubs who were looked at as legit playoff contenders coming into the year that now find themselves floundering. We’ve collected those summer playoff hopefuls who have struggled (to varying degrees) to begin this season and have tiered them in terms of how high their panic level should be going forward.

Panic level: Should be fine

Teams: San Francisco 49ers (2-2), Green Bay Packers (2-2)

Both of these teams have dealt with injuries to key members of the roster.

In San Francisco, the club has seen running back Christian McCaffrey land on injured reserve due to an Achilles injury, and has yet to play this season. Also, tight end George Kittle and wideout Deebo Samuel have managed injuries, while defensive tackle Javon Hargrave is done for the year with a torn triceps. Even in the latest Week 4 win, linebacker Fred Warner suffered an apparent ankle injury. Of course, if these injuries continue to pile up, there should be plenty of cause for concern in the Bay Area. That said, they have a talented enough roster and top-tier coaching staff to absorb these current hits. 

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Fantasy football managers received what appeared to be grim news this past week, as San Francisco 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey — the consensus 1.01 in drafts this year — is dealing with Achilles tendinitis in both legs, which doesn’t seem like great news, even if it isn’t news to the team.

Luckily, several running backs stepped up to post big performances in Week 4, hopefully salvaging your week to carry you to a win. Headlining those big weeks, of course, was King Derrick Henry, who led all running backs in full-PPR scoring, posting his second consecutive 30+ point fantasy day.

How is it that 30-year-old Henry is still averaging a ridiculous 6.0 yards per carry and 131 scrimmage yards per game? How is it that he’s the RB3 in full-PPR scoring despite having just five total receptions on the year? It’s been nothing short of a miracle, it seems, but we all knew good things were bound to happen when you line up Henry in Baltimore’s scheme alongside Lamar Jackson.

While Henry’s an every-week lock for your lineup, other start/sit decisions aren’t as easy. To help you set your fantasy lineups, our fantasy analysts are here with their Week 5 running back rankings for full-PPR scoring formats:

Which running back do you think has a big showing in Week 5?

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USATSI

While he’s known for his power, Kenneth Walker III has some impressive athleticism. The Seahawks talented running back put that element of his game on display during the first half of Monday night’s game against the Lions. 

Walker’s crazy play took place early in the second quarter, when he caught a short pass from quarterback Geno Smith. While it appeared that he was tackled by Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone, Walker somehow stayed on his feet before he somersaulted for a first down. 

Plays like this is what has made Walker such an effective player since he came to Seattle in 2022. Unfortunately for Walker, injuries has been his biggest obstacle in the NFL so far. He missed four games during his first two seasons and was recently sidelined for two games with an oblique injury. 

Walker is healthy now, though, a fact that should only make the 3-0 Seahawks even stronger. 

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With the Bills trailing 21-10 in the third quarter on Sunday night, offensive coordinator Joe Brady called a trick play on which quarterback Josh Allen lined up at wide receiver and wide receiver Curtis Samuel lined up at quarterback. Samuel flipped the ball to Allen, who was hit while trying to throw and fumbled. The Ravens recovered and the Bills were never really in the game after that.

Bills head coach Sean McDermott acknowledged after the game that he and Brady needed to have a talk about that call.

“I think that’s something Joe and I will talk about and something we’ll learn from,” McDermott said. “Certainly a momentum change right there.”

McDermott said he wishes that call hadn’t been made at that point in the game.

“That’s something that Joe and I will discuss at length. I’m sure he wants that call back. I do as well. We’ll learn from that and move forward,” McDermott said.

After the Bills started the season 3-0, the 35-10 loss to the Ravens showed McDermott how much his team still needs to improve.

“The Baltimore Ravens came out and beat us. They outplayed us, they outcoached us,” McDermott said. “We’ve got to identify the problems and get them fixed.”

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The Dallas Cowboys’ win on Thursday night against the New York Giants has certainly come at a cost. Along with linebacker Micah Parsons reportedly suffering a high ankle sprain, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence suffered a foot injury, per head coach Mike McCarthy, and is expected to be sidelined for at least four weeks, making him a likely candidate for injured reserve, according to NFL Media. 

Lawrence is specifically dealing with a Lisfranc injury in his right foot, and since the bones weren’t displaced, he won’t need surgery, ESPN reported on Sunday. His recovery could reportedly require 4-8 weeks. 

“Both Micah (ankle) and DeMarcus Lawrence (foot sprain) are getting second opinions … D-Law’s is worse than Micah’s,” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said on a conference call Friday. “I don’t have a specific timeline, but we’ll get into that a little deeper on Monday. … They are worse than we anticipated.”

McCarthy did say he thinks both Parsons and Lawrence will “definitely” be back at some point during the 2024 season despite the team still working through its evaluation process in terms of what their respective timelines will be.

Lawrence’s absence is a costly one for the Cowboys, who evened their record at 2-2 following Thursday night’s 20-15 win over the Giants. A four-time Pro Bowler, Lawrence already has three sacks, a forced fumble and four tackles for loss this season. He had a sack and a tackle for loss Thursday night prior to getting injured. 

Lawrence, 32, is already one sack away from matching last year’s season total and is on pace to have his most productive year from a statistical standpoint since 2018, when he racked up 10.5 sacks. Lawrence was named to his second Pro Bowl that year and has been named to the Pro Bowl each of the past two seasons. 

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Report: Rams fined $100K for inactive player shoving Aiyuk originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Rams beat the 49ers in Week 3, but Los Angeles reportedly must pay up after the final play of the game got heated.

The NFL fined the Rams organization $100,000 after an inactive player, cornerback Derion Kendrick, shoved 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk during a skirmish in the game’s final moments, NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero reported Saturday, citing sources.

The NFL fined the #Rams organization $100,000 for an incident after the final play last week in which an inactive player shoved #49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk, per sources.

Derion Kendrick, who is on IR, was fined
$5,656 for unsportsmanlike conduct. Kamren Kinchens was fined $5,653. pic.twitter.com/nDZp2Obkhg

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 28, 2024

Kendrick, who is on injured reserve, was fined $5,656 for unsportsmanlike conduct during the incident, and Rams safety Kamren Kinchens was fined $5,653 for taunting.

The dustup occurred at the end of a frustrating 27-24 loss for San Francisco, which squandered a 14-point first-quarter lead to a depleted Los Angeles team at SoFi Stadium. As the game clock wound down in the fourth quarter, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy heaved a desperation throw on the game’s final play and, after a series of laterals, the ball ended up in Aiyuk’s hands before he was tackled to the ground near the Rams’ sideline.

Unrelated to the late-game tussle, two Los Angeles linebackers were fined for actions in last Sunday’s game as well — Christian Rozeboom must pay $7,778 for unnecessary roughness (facemask) and Byron Young was fined $7,014 for a low hit on Purdy.

No 49ers players received fines from the Week 3 game. And now, San Francisco will look to bounce back in Week 4 against the New England Patriots on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium.

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Week 4 kicked off anticlimactically with quarterback Dak Prescott’s Dallas Cowboys winning his 13th consecutive start against the New York Giants in a 20-15 road victory. 

That run of dominance is tied for the second-longest winning streak by a quarterback versus a single opponent since at least 1950 with San Francisco 49ers Hall of Famer Steve Young (13 wins in a row against the Rams) and the GOAT Tom Brady (13 wins in a row against the Bills). Only Miami Dolphins Hall of Famer Bob Griese has a longer streak of wins against a single squad with 17 wins in a row against the Bills. 

Thursday night’s outcome was pretty predictable. Let’s pivot from that game to five unlikely things that could happen in Week 4. Here are this week’s five bold predictions for the remaining slate of games this week. 

Will Jordan Love return for the Packers? Won’t matter. Green Bay gives Vikings first loss of 2024

The Minnesota Vikings are 3-0 and riding high off consecutive wins against the 2023 NFC champion San Francisco 49ers (23-17 in Week 2) and the 2023 AFC South champion Houston Texans (34-7 in…

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