Category: NFL News

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.

Download and follow the 49ers Talk Podcast

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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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Running Backs

Week 3 Expected Points

Player

Team

EP

FPOE

PPR

Aaron Jones

MIN

25.1

0.7

25.8

Jonathan Taylor

IND

21.2

5.3

26.5

Chuba Hubbard

CAR

20.1

7.8

27.9

Kyren Williams

LAR

20

11.6

31.6

David Montgomery

DET

18.5

2.7

21.2

Derrick Henry

BAL

18.4

12

30.4

Breece Hall

NYJ

18.3

0

18.3

Zack Moss

CIN

18

2.7

20.7

Alvin Kamara

NO

17.8

-2.1

15.7

Brian Robinson Jr

WAS

17.4

-6.7

10.7

Devin Singletary

NYG

17

3.8

20.8

Jordan Mason

SF

16.7

-5.9

10.8

Najee Harris

PIT

16.7

-3.1

13.6

Saquon Barkley

PHI

16.5

17.1

33.6

Zach Charbonnet

SEA

16.2

9.5

25.7

De’Von Achane

MIA

15.8

-7

8.8

Carson Steele

KC

15.7

-7.3

8.4

D’Andre Swift

CHI

14.5

-8.3

6.2

Bijan Robinson

ATL

14.1

-0.9

13.2

James Cook

BUF

14

4.7

18.7

Rachaad White

TB

13.9

-5.4

8.5

Travis Etienne

JAC

13

-0.5

12.5

Javonte Williams

DEN

12.9

-4.8

8.1

Josh Jacobs

GB

11.8

-6

5.8

Roschon Johnson

CHI

11.8

-1.6

10.2

JK Dobbins

LAC

11.7

-3.3

8.4

Rico Dowdle

DAL

11.1

-2.5

8.6

Miles Sanders

CAR

10.9

0.1

11.0

Jahmyr Gibbs

DET

10.5

-0.2

10.3

Samaje Perine

KC

10.2

-3.2

7.0

Jerome Ford

CLE

9.9

0.1

10.0

Braelon Allen

NYJ

9

0.8

9.8

Cam Akers

HOU

9

0.9

9.9

Khalil Herbert

CHI

8.9

-8

0.9

Alexander Mattison

LV

8.7

4.7

13.4

Bucky Irving

TB

8.7

2.7

11.4

Cordarrelle Patterson

PIT

8.5

-0.7

7.8

Emanuel Wilson

GB

8.5

8

16.5

Jaleel McLaughlin

DEN

8.5

-0.1

8.4

Ty Johnson

BUF

8.4

5.2

13.6

Chase Brown

CIN

7.3

1.6

8.9

Tony Pollard

TEN

7

-1.1

5.9

Ray Davis

BUF

6.7

2.6

9.3

Tyjae Spears

TEN

6.5

3.6

10.1

Antonio Gibson

NE

6.2

0.5

6.7

Tyrone Tracy Jr

NYG

5.9

0.1

6.0

Jamaal Williams

NO

5.6

-4.7

0.9

James Conner

ARI

5.6

-2.1

3.5

Alec Ingold

MIA

5.5

-1.1

4.4

Justice Hill

BAL

5.5

1.9

7.4

Roschon Johnson (CHI, 11.8 Expected Points)

The Bears running game is atrocious. D’Andre Swift, who was signed to a three-year, $24 million contract this offseason, has rushed for 68 scoreless yards on 37 carries (1.8 YPC) and has caught only six passes on 10 targets. Currently the RB27 in expected fantasy points (34.4), Swift’s negative 15.0 fantasy points over expected ranks 114th at the position.

It doesn’t help that the Bears ranked 31st as a team in yards before contact per attempt (0.71 YBCO/ATT), but it’s far easier to replace the starter at running back than it is to replace an entire offensive line.

Enter Roschon Johnson.

The…

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