Dwayne Haskins named Redskins’ starter for remainder of season

Former Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins has officially been named the Washington Redskins starter for the remainder fo the season.

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Former Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins is getting the shot he’s been dreaming of. That’s because he was named the starting quarterback for the Washington Redskins for the remainder of the season Monday by interim head coach Bill Calahan.

Haskins had already been given the starting nod when Case Keenum went into concussion protocol, but it was thought to be a cup of coffee until he was back and fully healthy. However, the firing of head coach Jay Gruden may have thrown a bit of a wrench into things and precipitated the desire to get the rookie quarterback the experience needed to evaluate and move his development forward.

So, after starting two-straight weeks, Haskins is now the guy through the rest of the season.

The Dwyane Haskins era in Washington has officially started. Let’s see how this kid slings it around the last seven games of the year. The Redskins face the New York Jets Sunday.

Bucs underdogs at home in Week 11 for the first time all season

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers face the New Orleans Saints in Week 11 as home underdogs.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a big Week 10 win over the Arizona Cardinals. Not only did it stop Tampa Bay’s four-game losing-streak, but it was also the team’s first game at Raymond James Stadium since Week 3.

A grueling 1-4 road stretch had the team at 2-6 before Sunday’s big win. But, if the Bucs want to continue to climb back to .500, they’ll have to take down Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints next Sunday.

New Orleans is coming off a stunning 26-9 home loss in Week 10 to the Atlanta Falcons, and the risk of falling further behind in the NFC playoff picture will have them playing in desperation mode against the Bucs.

Sportsbooks like New Orleans in this one as the Saints have opened up as -5.5 point favorites. It’s the first time the Bucs have been underdogs at Raymond James all season.

Remember, though, Week 5’s loss to the Saints was the start of the Bucs’ four-game skid, so revenge is very much on the mind of this team. I wouldn’t be surprised if this line moves before the game in favor of Tampa Bay.

As the Atlanta Falcons proved, when playing a familiar division foe, records mean nothing.

[Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.]

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Chargers travel to Colorado to prepare for Mexico City battle with Chiefs

After having the weekend off, the Chargers are hitting the road to prepare for next Monday’s matchup against the Chiefs in Mexico City.

After having the weekend off, the Chargers are hitting the road to prepare for next Monday’s matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs in Mexico City.

The Bolts are traveling to Colorado Springs, Colorado, for a week of practice ahead of the division battle, yet another must-win game in order to stay alive in the playoff race.

The team will have four practices at Air Force Academy in order to acclimate to Mexico City’s altitude. They will be at 6,000 feet above sea level for a few days before being tasked with playing at about 7,200 feet above sea level.

The Chargers don’t do anything like this to get ready for the Denver Broncos, whom they play annually a mile above sea level. But this will be a good trip for L.A. to get away, spend more time together and regroup after a slew of games that got away from them throughout the course of the season.

Sitting at 4-6, Los Angeles will need to be at their best in the final stretch of the season in order to make the playoffs. Realistically, they can’t lose a single game. If they are able to win out, the team would likely capture the AFC West title for the first time since 2009.

It all starts next week against the Chiefs, who have dropped the last four of their six games. Despite the struggles, the Chiefs are still a loaded team on both sides of the ball led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

Monday night’s kickoff against Kansas City is slated for 5:15 p.m. PT and will be televised on ESPN.

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Should Ohio State still be ranked at the top of the CFP Rankings this week?

Both Ohio State and LSU will have a case to make when it comes to being ranked No. 1 in the next College Football Playoff Rankings.

After totally dismantling Maryland this past week in a 73-14 win, does it still warrant Ohio State being ranked No. 1 this week in the College Football Playoff rankings? On Saturday Ohio State put up the most points against any Big Ten team since 1950. That — in itself — is quite impressive.

But the Buckeyes weren’t the only team that put on an impressive showing.

With the huge win against Alabama and four top 25 wins, LSU has a good argument to be number one when the rankings come out Tuesday night. The Tigers’ resume that includes high caliber wins  is tough to argue, but it poses the question of what the committee values the most? Pure dominance or wins against ranked opponents? In other words, is it best resume, or most dominant and impressive team via the eye test and metrics?

We digress and discuss …

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Next … LSU’s case

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Good, bad, and ugly from the Packers’ victory over the Panthers

We recap the good, bad, and ugly moments from the Green Bay Packers 24-16 win over the Carolina Panthers.

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Following a stinker of a game against the Los Angeles Chargers, the Green Bay Packers returned home to Lambeau Field, where winter arrived just in time to help the Packers against the Carolina Panthers. The Packers rode the likes of Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams to a victory, beating the Panthers 24-16. Sunday’s game had a little bit of everything, but more importantly, it gave Green Bay another signature win before their bye week.

Thanks to the win, the Packers are now 8-2, and will head into their bye week as one of the best teams in the NFC. As they get healthy and aim to fix some mistakes, the team is undoubtedly in the chase for a first-round bye, and their first game out of the bye will be an important one, as they look to take on the presently undefeated San Francisco 49ers.

Let’s take a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly from the Packers’ 24-16 victory over the Panthers.

The Good

  • Aaron Jones: There’s not much left to say about Aaron Jones that hasn’t already been said. The leader of the Packers running back room and possibly MVP of the offense once again proved his worth on Sunday, as Jones ran for 93 rushing yards and three touchdowns. He finished the game averaging 7.2 yards per carry and was crucial to the Packers killing some of the clock late in the fourth quarter. As good as Davante Adams is, and with all respect to Aaron Rodgers, there is an argument that Jones has been the best player on the Packers offense in 2019. The Packers will undoubtedly be leaning on him as they continue to play down the stretch.

  • The Smiths: The Packers’ dip into free agency during the offseason continues to pay off. Za’Darius and Preston Smith once again wreaked havoc on the Panthers offensive line and young quarterback Kyle Allen. The pair combined for two sacks and seven quarterback hits, with Za’Darius adding in a bunch of other pressures to boot. Preston Smith has already hit his career-high in sacks, and with Za’Darius not too far behind his own, it’s been clear that these two have completely changed the Packers defense for the better.
  • Red zone defense: For the last six weeks, the Packers defense has been anything but the elite unit that many thought they had become to start the season. However, the Packers “bend but don’t break” mentality on defense has proven to work so far. Although Green Bay gave up 401 yards to the Panthers, they were able to shut them down when Carolina got into the red zone, forcing a turnover and a late goal-line stand that won them the game. The Packers’ defense continues to be extremely opportunistic and live off of turnovers, and while that might be troublesome when it’s not working, the Packers have proven that when they need to, they’re able to tighten things up.

  • Kenny Clark: The Packers’ best defensive lineman had a quiet October, but he produced one of his best games of the 2019 season. He played a big part in limiting Christian McCaffrey to 108 rushing yards and was consistently disruptive as a pass rusher.

The Bad

  • J.K. Scott: To Scott’s credit, he did finish the game with a couple of nice punts, but it was a rocky game for the young kicker. After starting off the season on fire, Scott has once again cooled along with the weather. In a wet, snowy game at Lambeau Field on Sunday, Scott’s first couple of kicks were flat out awful, and as a whole, his punts averaged just 35.3 yards, with his first two kicks giving the Panthers great field position. Scott has been extremely streaky this year, and it’ll be interesting to see how he bounces back following the bye.
  • Penalties: The Packers played a much more disciplined game this week then they did against the Chargers last week, but an alarming trend of penalties killing the team is starting to pop up. Green Bay finished the game with 10 penalties totaling just 64 yards, but the manner in which they came was rough. On offense, false starts and delay of games doomed some of the Packers drives, and late in the game with the Panthers on a potential game-tying drive, both Za’Darius and Preston Smith were caught offsides in crucial moments. It didn’t come back to bite them on Sunday, but giving teams extra chances to beat you is never good, and something the team will have to work on.
  • David Bakhtiari: A surprising entrant on this part of the list, Bakhtiari has struggled during the last couple of weeks. Coming into the season as an All-Pro candidate and one of the best left tackles in the league, Bakhtiari has looked like anything but recently. Not only was he beat a handful of times on Sunday, but he’s been whistled for a ton of penalties that have severely hurt some Packers drives in recent games. The bright side of things is that whether it’s a minor injury or just a stretch of poor play, it’s a safe bet that Bakhtiari will turn things around at some point.

The Ugly

  • Pre-halftime play: It’s important to note that as far as this play is concerned, I believe the decision to go for it was the absolute correct one, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. Just prior to the end of the first half, the Packers had the ball on the Panthers 1-yard line with two seconds remaining. Instead of kicking a field goal, the Packers opted to go for it and were stuffed for a 3-yard loss. Not only was Aaron Jones not on the field, but the Packers lined up in a heavy formation, essentially letting the Panthers know they’d be trying to run straight up the middle. Not only did Panthers defensive end Gerald McCoy, who blew up the play, say he knew what was coming prior to the snap, but David Bakhtiari also whiffed on a blocking attempt, which ended any chance of the play succeeding. Going for it was the right decision, but they’ll need better plays for those moments in the future.

Meet the 2019 European Challenge Tour graduate class

Here are three names to look out for in 2020. Connor Syme of Scotland made 12 of 26 cuts in his rookie year and finished 126th on the money list. England’s Matthew Jordan is a links specialist and won the 2017 St Andrews Links Trophy. Poland’s Adrian Meronk becomes the first Polish player to play on the European Tour and won four times in college at East Tennessee State. Keep an eye out for these players in 2020.

Here are three names to look out for in 2020. Connor Syme of Scotland made 12 of 26 cuts in his rookie year and finished 126th on the money list. England’s Matthew Jordan is a links specialist and won the 2017 St Andrews Links Trophy. Poland’s Adrian Meronk becomes the first Polish player to play on the European Tour and won four times in college at East Tennessee State. Keep an eye out for these players in 2020.

Meet the 2019 European Challenge Tour graduate class

Here are three names to look out for in 2020. Connor Syme of Scotland made 12 of 26 cuts in his rookie year and finished 126th on the money list. England’s Matthew Jordan is a links specialist and won the 2017 St Andrews Links Trophy. Poland’s Adrian Meronk becomes the first Polish player to play on the European Tour and won four times in college at East Tennessee State. Keep an eye out for these players in 2020.

Here are three names to look out for in 2020. Connor Syme of Scotland made 12 of 26 cuts in his rookie year and finished 126th on the money list. England’s Matthew Jordan is a links specialist and won the 2017 St Andrews Links Trophy. Poland’s Adrian Meronk becomes the first Polish player to play on the European Tour and won four times in college at East Tennessee State. Keep an eye out for these players in 2020.