Category: NFL News

On Saturday, we witnessed Patrick Mahomes hobbling up and down the field at Arrowhead Stadium to lead the Kansas City Chiefs back to their fifth consecutive AFC Championship in a 27-20 win against the upstart Jacksonville Jaguars. We also saw the Philadelphia Eagles tie their biggest margin of victory in a playoff game in franchise history with their 38-7 curb-stomping of their NFC East rival, the New York Giants.

Sunday around the NFL was pretty wild as well. The Cincinnati Bengals marched into Buffalo and trounced the Bills, 27-10, to prevent a neutral site AFC Championship Game. The Cowboys had multiple chances, but they couldn’t overcome an injury to running back Tony Pollard, as well as their poor execution, in their season-ending 19-12 loss at the San Francisco 49ers. 

The second week of the NFL playoffs included the league’s eight most elite teams, so there was obviously some high-level football being played. However, there was also plenty of confounding football as well across the weekend. Here are some of the head-scratching decisions that occurred this divisional round weekend.

Chiefs’ handling of Patrick Mahomes’ injury

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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…

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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…

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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

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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.

The Los Angeles Rams and former Pro Bowl receiver DeSean Jackson have mutually agreed to seek a trade partner ahead of the Nov. 2 trade deadline. Rams coach Sean McVay confirmed the news on Friday. 

The 34-year-old Jackson signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract with the Rams this past offseason. He has not been a big part of the Rams’ offense though seven games. He has not played in more than 32 percent of the Rams’ offensive snaps this season. In last week’s win over the Lions, Jackson was targeted just once and did not catch his only target from quarterback Matthew Stafford. He has eight receptions on 15 targets for 221 yards and one touchdown this season. 

Jackson’s last significant season was in 2018, when he caught 41 passes for 774 yards and four touchdowns as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Injuries limited Jackson to just eight games during the 2019 and ’20 seasons. He spent both of those seasons in Philadelphia, where he was a three-time Pro Bowler from 2008-13. 

One of the best deep-threat receivers over the last two decades, Jackson has led the NFL in average yards per catch on four separate occasions. For his career, Jackson has caught 620 passes for 10,877 yards for an average of 17.5 yards per catch. 

Here’s a look at four potential landing spots for Jackson. 

Green Bay Packers

Green Bay just suffered the loss of tight end Robert Tonyan, so the Packers may be in the market for a new receiver to help offset that loss. The Packers went out and signed Randall Cobb at Aaron Rodgers’ request this offseason, so it’s not unreasonable to think that they would do the same with Jackson if Rodgers makes a similar request. 

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We’re reaching the midway point of the NFL season already, somehow. We have a slate with some interesting games on tap this week, but we decided to focus on the ugliest games on Sunday’s slate. The games that nobody wants to bet on? We’re examining those head on. These six games might not get you excited, but the lines are definitely intriguing and could offer some value. All lines are as of Friday afternoon and via BetMGM.

Would you rather back the Eagles or 49ers as road favorites laying over a field goal?

The Philadelphia Eagles are favorites for the first time this season, and they’re laying 3.5-points on the road against the winless Detroit Lions. After a disgusting display on Sunday night, the San Francisco 49ers are laying 4-points in Chicago against the Bears. Which ugly road favorite are you backing?

Pete: Dan Campbell is 0-7, but I like what I’ve seen from him in his first rodeo as an NFL head coach. His team is bad, and that’s why they are winless. Jalen Hurts is the biggest example of fantasy gold, real football trash since Tim Tebow. I can see Detroit winning this game outright. On the other hand, the Chicago offense has been putrid. Justin Fields is not ready, Allen Robinson is missing in action and the team’s best offensive player is Khalil Herbert. I don’t love the 49ers, but I can’t back the Bears right now. Give me the 49ers.

Greg: The Bears are on pace to throw seven touchdown passes this year. Their offense is so gross and the Niners aren’t much better. They should have flexed this game to London. I think Detroit gets their first win of the season on Sunday. Philadelphia isn’t an intimidating team on either side of the ball and the Lions have had a lot of close calls. I’ll take San Francisco.

Would you rather lay over a field goal with the Browns or the Seahawks?

Story continues

We have the Cleveland Browns laying 3.5-points at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Browns have gotten healthier with Baker Mayfield, Nick Chubb, Jarvis…

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One of the NFL’s biggest surprises thus far has been the Cincinnati Bengals, who are 5-2 and in first place in the AFC North entering Sunday’s game against the New York Jets. After an overtime loss to the Packers in Week 5, the Bengals have responded with convincing wins over the Lions and Ravens. It has not been that type of season for the Jets, who are just 1-5 following last week’s 54-13 loss to the Patriots. 

We’ll preview the game along with offering a prediction for Sunday’s outcome. Here’s how you can follow the action in real time. 

How to watch 

Date: Sunday, Oct. 31 | Time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, New Jersey)
TV: CBS | Stream: Paramount+ (click here)
Follow: CBS Sports App 
Odds: Browns -3, 42.5 

When the Bengals have the ball 

If the Jets want to have any chance of an upset, they will have to do something to disrupt the rhythm between Joe Burrow and rookie Ja’Marr Chase. The duo connected eight times for 201 yards and a touchdown in last Sunday’s win in Baltimore. Through seven games, Chase has caught six touchdowns and has averaged over 100 receiving yards per game. Look for Robert Saleh’s defense to pay extra attention to Chase while forcing Burrow to rely more on his other playmakers. The Jets also can’t fall asleep on the Bengals’ rushing attack, which continues to be led by Joe Mixon. 

When the Jets have the ball 

The Jets’ offensive line has to hold their own against a Bengals defense that is tallied the fifth most sacks in the NFL. Specifically, the Jets’ line will have to keep an eye on defensive ends Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard. Hendrickson leads the Bengals with 6.5 sacks, while…

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