Category: NFL News

The NFL playoffs are fast approaching their anticipated finale, with Super Bowl LVIII just around the corner. In the meantime, the 2024 coaching cycle is in full swing, with close to a half-dozen teams already naming new head coaches and several still in search of a top candidate. In the end, more than 20% of the league will enter the new season with fresh leaders on the sideline.

It’s impossible to know which of this year’s hires will actually pan out. Some years, the least-celebrated promotion ultimately has the last laugh. Just as in free agency, big names don’t always translate to big results. This is a team game, remember, and that means coaches, like quarterbacks, are often affected by the staff and supporting cast around them.

But how do the hires register right now? Here’s our best attempt to grade each of the head coaching additions:

Jim Harbaugh
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We’ve seen big-name hires from the college ranks flounder before (see: Urban Meyer, Matt Rhule, Chip Kelly), but the difference is, Harbaugh’s been an undisputed winner everywhere he’s coached, and that includes the NFL. One win away from a Super Bowl title with the 49ers back in 2012, now he’s back on the West Coast with a franchise quarterback and playoff-caliber roster already in place, guiding the team he once played for in the ’90s. It’s a perfect match, pairing a talented but sometimes-sheepish contender with a rugged program-builder who knows how to dial up splashy offense. The AFC West is interesting again.

Grade: A

Dave Canales
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Impatience has been the name of the game in Carolina, with owner David Tepper burning through coaches and QBs in recent…

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Cincinnati Bengals v Kansas City Chiefs

Below is a look at the league’s most extreme run funnel and pass funnel defenses through the Divisional Round — teams being consistently attacked on the ground or through the air regardless of game script.

Having an understanding of which defenses are being bludgeoned via the rush or pass should help us identify matchups that may be better than we think in Super Wild Card Weekend DFS contests and other fantasy formats.

Not every game, of course, features a clearcut run or pass funnel defense. I’ve broken down both of this weekend’s games, even if there are no trends in how a defense is being attacked. My hope is to provide a basis from which you can make your all-important lineups decisions in this condensed slate.

And please remember at all times: The process.

49ers vs. Lions

We have a classic pass funnel vs. pass funnel matchup here. Detroit and San Francisco, however, are pass funnels for two very different reasons.

Teams have leaned hard on the pass against the 49ers because Kyle Shanahan’s hyper-efficient offense has poured on the points and forced opponents to abandon the rush in the second half. No team saw a higher pass rate over expected against them than the 49ers during the regular season. San Francisco opponents had a 62 percent neutral pass rate this year, the second highest rate in the league.

This has largely covered for a Niners defense that can be had on the ground; we saw as much in the Divisional Round when Aaron Jones had 108 yards on 18 carries, with an obscene 5.2 yards after contact per rush. The Packers posted a lofty 50 percent rushing success rate against the 49ers.

The Lions, on the other hand, have been mercilessly attacked via the pass because they’re quite bad at defending the pass. This is analytics. Teams passed at a 61 percent rate against Detroit in neutral situations in 2023; only seven teams saw a higher neutral pass rate against them. From Week 13 to Week 18, Detroit faced the NFL’s…

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For the most part, Troy Aikman and the Dallas Cowboys delivered in big moments during their 1990s dynasty that produced three world championships in a four-year span. 

For whatever reason, the Cowboys have gone the polar opposite way since winning their last title in January of 1996. The franchise seems to always come up short when it matters most, a fact that Aikman recently acknowledged following Dallas’ season-ending loss to the Green Bay Packers on Super Wild Card Weekend. 

“Pretty shocked,” Aikman said of the Cowboys’ early playoff exit, via The Athletic. “I really liked this team all year long. I thought they were really talented. … It’s just the same old story, and I don’t mean that as a criticism. It’s just when I’m asked about the Cowboys as to why they have struggled, they’ve put together some really great regular seasons. 

“They just have not, for whatever reasons, played their best football when the games matter most. That’s what you have to do. That’s the key to winning in the postseason and then getting to the Super Bowl. What the answer is to that, I’m not sure.”

Aikman may not have the answer, but he’s probably hoping that someone within the Cowboys’ organization does. 

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones clearly feels that a head coaching change at this juncture is not the answer. Jones decided to keep Mike McCarthy on as head coach despite the Cowboys’ second early playoff exit in three years under McCarthy, who has one year left on his current contract. 

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The champions of the AFC and the NFC will vie for the Lombardi Trophy (Getty Images)

One of sports’ biggest events, the annual spectacular of the Super Bowl returns in 2024 as the NFL’s showpiece decider heads for a new location.

Las Vegas will host the game for the first time: Allegiant Stadium, opened in 2020 and built at a cost of nearly $2b, has been the home of the Raiders for the last four seasons.

Last year’s Super Bowl was a thriller, with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs pipping the Philadelphia Eagles to secure their third Lombardi Trophy.

As ever, the attention will not only be on the two competing teams, with another of the world’s biggest musical artists confirmed for the halftime show.

Here’s everything you need to know.

When is Super Bowl LVIII?

Super Bowl LVIII will be held Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sunday 11 February. Kick-off will be at 3.30pm local time (6.30pm EST/11.30pm GMT).

Who is playing in Super Bowl LVIII?

The teams have not yet been decided, but the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions are all contenders.

How can I watch it in the US?

CBS will televise the Super Bowl nationally in the United States, while the game will be streamed on Paramount+. A Spanish-language broadcast will also be available via Univision, and an alternative broadcast aimed at children will be shown live on Nickelodeon.

How can I watch it in the UK?

Viewers in the United Kingdom will be able to watch the Super Bowl on ITV1 or Sky Sports, with online coverage available via ITVX or Sky Go.

Who is performing the halftime show?

Usher will headline the halftime show, with the R&B star expected to be joined by a number of special guests.

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Football is a young man’s game, they say. And this year’s NFL playoffs are backing that up. Not only did this postseason include the league’s youngest team in the Green Bay Packers and a star rookie quarterback in the Houston Texans’ C.J. Stroud, but some of the biggest X-factors going into Sunday’s AFC and NFC championships are first-year players.

Here’s our ranking of the most important rookies still in the hunt for a Lombardi Trophy:

The third-round pick was solid this year, finishing 21 of 25 on field-goal tries (84%), but he notably missed two kicks in Week 18, then had a 48-yarder blocked by the Packers. If the 49ers find themselves in a tight one, his role could be vital. Just ask Bills fans, who watched Tyler Bass send a 44-yard potential game-tying kick wide right against the Chiefs.

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Though the Falcons have interviewed Bill Belichick twice, they may not be close to making a decision on their next head coach.

Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, Atlanta has requested second interviews with Baltimore defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald and defensive line coach Anthony Weaver for the head coaching vacancy.

But with Macdonald and Weaver coaching in the AFC Championship Game, the Falcons will not be able to meet with either coach until next week.

Macdonald and Weaver each interviewed with Atlanta virtually, which means they’ll be able to have an in-person interview during the bye week should Baltimore advance to Super Bowl LVIII. If the Ravens lose on Sunday, then Macdonald and Weaver can interview at any time.

Macdonald has been Baltimore’s defensive coordinator for the last two years. He was also on the Ravens’ staff from 2014-2020 before spending the 2021 season as the University of Michigan’s defensive coordinator.

Weaver has been with the Ravens for the last two seasons as defensive line coach. A Ravens second-round pick back in 2002, Weaver recorded 15.5 sacks in 103 games with Baltimore and Houston.

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Few expected the Buccaneers to make noise in 2023, with Tom Brady gone and playoff standards seemingly lowered. But then Baker Mayfield outperformed his one-year deal under center, helping Tampa Bay to a third straight NFC South title, plus a blowout upset of the reigning NFC champion Eagles in the wild-card round of the playoffs. The Bucs then put up a great fight in their 31-23 divisional loss to the Lions on Sunday.

Perhaps the biggest reason for the resurgence of both Mayfield and the Bucs? Wide receiver Mike Evans, who added to a Hall of Fame case by quickly eclipsing 100 yards against Detroit, fresh off a record 10th straight 1,000-yard regular season. While Evans is a lifelong Buc who figures to be a top offseason priority alongside his current QB, his contract is scheduled to expire in March.

If Tampa Bay allows him to reach the open market without a new deal, here are five logical suitors for the star pass catcher:

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The Packers have yet to punt. They have outgained the 49ers 174 to 153. Yet, they trail 7-6 at halftime on a rainy night in Santa Clara.

The 49ers scored the game’s only touchdown on a 32-yard pass from Brock Purdy to George Kittle. They could have had a bigger lead at halftime, but Packers defensive lineman Colby Wooden blocked a 48-yard field goal attempt by Jake Moody with five seconds left until intermission.

Purdy went 10-of-16 for 125 yards and a touchdown, with Kittle catching two for 41 yards. Christian McCaffrey has nine carries for 33 yards and two catches for 24 yards.

49ers receiver Deebo Samuel injured his left shoulder with 5:18 remaining in the first quarter, taking a direct hit from cornerback Jaire Alexander. He left for the training room before returning but has not re-entered the game. The 49ers list him as questionable to return.

Samuel has two catches for 24 yards.

Packers quarterback Jordan Love is 10-of-16 for 115 yards, with Romeo Doubs catching two for 60. Aaron Jones has run for 49 yards on 11 carries.

The Packers, though, stalled at the San Francisco 11, San Francisco 14 and San Francisco 11 on their three drives. Anders Carlson kicked two field goals of 29 yards, and Love was stopped for no gain on a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-one.

The 49ers will receive the second half kickoff.

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