Tag: NFL Week 13

Saints’ playoff hopes feel dashed after loss to Rams

The Saints aren’t mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, but after their loss to the Rams, hope is in low supply:

The New Orleans Saints loss to the Los Angeles Rams doesn’t mathematically eliminate the Saints from playoff contention, but it made surely feel impossible.

The Saints currently sit four games behind the Washington Commanders, who hold the last wild card spot. New Orleans would have to win four of their last five games which includes beating the Commanders and hope Washington loses four of their last five in order to catch them. Then the Saints have to hope none of the other teams ahead of them make it to nine wins.

The Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are tied at the top of the division with six wins. That’s two games ahead of the Saints and New Orleans doesn’t have the tiebreaker over either squad. Had New Orleans beat the Rams, they’d be just one game behind, and we’d be having a different conversation.

Most importantly, the loss to the Rams dropped hope in the Saints as a team back to where it was prior to the two game winning streak. Some of the same flaws returned. The schedule isn’t hard, but games against the Commanders and Packers would be critical in making ground on the division leaders.

Losing to the Rams made all of those hopes go from feeling improbable to impossible.

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Saints linebacker’s role changed significantly after coaching change

Willie Gay saw zero snaps on Sunday despite the Saints’ struggles stopping the Rams’ rushing attack. His role has clearly changed since Dennis Allen was fired:

Willie Gay didn’t see a single defensive snap against the Los Angeles Rams. The first explanation you’d think of is the New Orleans Saints played more defensive backs to stop Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. It sounds good until you look at how Week 13 actually transpired.

The truth is the Saints couldn’t stop running backs Kyren Williams and Blake Corum on the ground. The Saints’ poor run defense was their biggest struggle on Sunday, and Willie Gay still didn’t see the field. You’d think he’d join Demario Davis and Pete Werner at some point.

Joe Woods replacing Dennis Allen as the defensive play caller directly coincides with a drop in Gay’s snaps. In the past three games, Gay’s snaps have went from 13 to 6 to 0. That consistent fall suggests Woods doesn’t see Gay as valuable an asset as Allen did. At the same time, we aren’t seeing other linebackers get those snaps. Davis and Werner were the only Saints linebackers to get on the field against the Rams.

Sunday’s game was the most glaring example of Gay’s absence. It’s hard to point at this being an aberration or the product of game planning when the snaps have dropped consistently. At this point it appears Gay is being phased out of the defense.

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Rookies on both sides proved their potential in Saints vs. Rams

Jared Verse registered six pressures and the game winning play, but Taliese Fuaga allowed 0 pressures all game. The future’s bright for both:

Jared Verse absolutely wrecked the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. It was the rookie edge rusher who hit Derek Carr’s arm as he was throwing to win the game for the Los Angeles Rams.

One person he didn’t run through was fellow rookie Taliese Fuaga. Ironically, on that game winning play Fuaga was right there, but Verse rushed against tight end Foster Moreau. Credit to Los Angeles for how they schemed that pressure.

The Fuaga versus Verse was the battle we wanted to see, and both rookies lived up to the billing. Verse registered six pressures on the day but Fuaga didn’t allow a pressure the entire game.

Fuaga continues to be the bright spot of the offensive line. Sometimes an unit gets beat so bad everyone shares the blame, but Fuaga handled himself great in pass protection.

On 41 pass blocking snaps, Fuaga allowed pressure zero percent of the time. There were snaps he lined up in front of Verse, but it wasn’t the main event we were hoping for.

Instead, Verse wrecked the game by rushing from different places and Fuaga walked away with another clean game. Both teams feel more than satisfied with their first-round pick.

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Tyrann Mathieu not expected to miss time due to shoulder injury

Tyrann Mathieu left the Rams game with a shoulder injury, but the Saints expect him to return against the Giants next week:

After making a tackle on Kyren Williams, Tyrann Mathieu exited the New Orleans Saints Week 13 showdown against the Los Angeles Rams with a shoulder injury. The injury occurred in the third quarter and the safety never returned to the game.

Mathieu was seen on the sideline with a brace on his arm with his helmet on. That was a good sign, and there’s more good news on the way. Per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill, the Saints do not view the shoulder injury as a serious injury. The expectation is for Mathieu to return to the lineup next week against the New York Giants.

Mathieu has had to deal with a litany of injuries this season. He’s maintained a frequent presence on the injury report, but he has yet to miss a game. That trend isn’t expected to change this week. Expect Mathieu to appear on the injury report during the practice week and hope for limited participation instead of DNP.

The secondary’s communication is led by Mathieu. If he isn’t able to go on Sunday, New Orleans will have to replace his play on the field and his leadership. Neither is an easy task.

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Joe Burrow just put the Bengals on notice after latest loss

Joe Burrow said a lot about the future of the Bengals in just a few words.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow didn’t hold back in his postgame presser after the Week 13 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Asked about how the Bengals need to change things up in AFC North play after another divisional loss, Burrow said the following: “We need to change a lot of things this year. We haven’t been good enough to win games.”

More of a general answer, but it was the beginning of a trend during the presser. The Bengals are 11-23 under Zac Taylor in the division, so it certainly applies.

But it didn’t stop there.

When asked about his perspective on the rest of the season, Burrow sent a message to the locker room, too: “We’ll learn a lot about who we have in the locker room, the guys we can count on going forward and guys that we can’t. I think the next five weeks are gonna say a lot about who we can count on and who we can’t.”

That’s a massive statement, and one can just feel the weight behind it in how it relates to not just this season but into 2025 and beyond.

And what about Burrow being willing to throw his opinion in and ask for changes? Burrow said he tries to “give your opinion in ways that you feel comes over the best” and that those players who tough it out “will be remembered by how we handled this.”

None of this should be taken as Burrow giving up on this season, of course. But there’s a vibe of evaluation for 2025 already happening. And given the disparity between his MVP-level play and the offense compared to the struggling defense, it only makes sense.

From here on out, massive change is inevitable. Who might stick around and why hinges on how the next month unfolds around Burrow and the cornerstones of the franchise.

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Darren Rizzi says Saints would have played for the win late vs. Rams

Aggression was the order of the day for the Saints, and Darren Rizzi says the plan was to go for two, not hope for overtime, had they scored a late touchdown:

Darren Rizzi’s undefeated two-game run as the New Orleans Saints’ interim head coach has officially come to an end after Sunday’s 21-14 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

And even after all of the praise Rizzi has received, there were a lot of questions surrounding some of the decisions he made. One of those had to do with the offense’s late-game strategy.

Rizzi said after the game that he would have gone for the two-point conversion if the team would have scored a touchdown late in the game. He said in the postgame press conference that the team was going for the victory and that they recognized they were “reeling on defense” after several Los Angeles possessions drained the clock in the second half.

Nevertheless, that did not come to pass at all because the Saints never did get that late-game touchdown. Derek Carr was under pressure on the final play and no receivers got open against the Rams’ coverage before the pass rush got to him.

Trailing 21-14, they needed a bit more with seven more points there toward the end to tie, and eight, which would have derived from a touchdown and a two-point conversion, to get a victory. Rizzi planned to go out on his terms rather than ask his gassed defense to win the day in overtime, but it never got to that point.

The Saints will look to get back on the right track when they hit the road to face the New York Giants next Sunday.

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Fantasy football inactives, injuries and weather: NFL Week 13

Week 13 weather, injury updates and gameday inactives for the fantasy football lineup decisions.

Sunday updates will begin when teams start releasing official pregame inactives and starter information to the league. This is typically around 90 minutes prior to the kickoff of their game.

Weather forecasts are courtesy of The Football Database.

Week 13 gameday inactives, weather and notes

KEY GAME-TIME DECISIONS

Early games: QB Trevor Lawrence (active), WR Alec Pierce (active), RB Breece Hall (active), WR Demario Douglas (active)
Afternoon games: WR DeVonta Smith (inactive)
Sunday night: QB Brock Purdy (active), WR Keon Coleman (inactive)
Monday night:

Early games

Los Angeles Chargers at Atlanta Falcons (1:00 p.m. ET)

Kickoff Weather: 51°F, clear, W 11 mph (retractable-roof dome)

Chargers

Inactives: LB Denzel Perryman, OT Brenden Jaimes, LB Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste, CB Cam Hart, QB Easton Stick and OG Jordan McFadden

Lineup notes: RB J.K. Dobbins (knee) was placed on IR, and LB Denzel Perryman (groin) was ruled out. TE Will Dissly (groin) had a full session Friday and is good to go. WR DJ Chark Jr. is active.

Falcons

Inactives: PK Riley Patterson, RB Jase McClellan, LB JD Bertrand, CB Mike Hughes, OT Brandon Parker, OT Elijah Wilkinson and LB Rashaan Evans

Lineup notes: WR Drake London (hip) and PK Younghoe Koo (hip) elevated to full from limited Friday and will play.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals (1:00 p.m. ET)

Kickoff Weather: 29°F, cloudy, WNW 10 mph

Steelers

Inactives: LB Alex Highsmith, OT Max Scharping, WR Scotty Miller, RB Jonathan Ward and QB Kyle Allen

Lineup notes: LB Alex Highsmith (ankle) was deemed doubtful and is indeed inactive.

Bengals

Inactives: DL Sheldon Rankins, LB Logan Wilson, TE Tanner McLachlan, WR Trenton Irwin and WR Charlie Jones

Lineup notes: RB Zack Moss (neck) remains on IR. LT Orlando Brown (leg) and QB Joe Burrow (wrist) will play. LB Logan Wilson (knee) couldn’t get ready in time.

Arizona Cardinals at Minnesota Vikings (1:00 p.m. ET)

Kickoff Weather: Dome stadium

Cardinals

Inactives: TE Travis Vokolek, DL Julian Okwara, WR Xavier Weaver, OT Christian Jones and DT Khyiris Tonga

Lineup notes: S Jalen Thompson (ankle) was limited all week and draws a questionable tag.

Vikings

Inactives: DT Levi Drake Rodriguez, S Jay Ward, CB Dwight McGlothern, C Michael Jurgens, OG Ed Ingram, QB Brett Rypien and TE Josh Oliver

Lineup notes: LT Cam Robinson (foot) will give it a whirl after being deemed questionable to play. LB Ivan Pace (hamstring) went on IR.

Indianapolis Colts at New England Patriots (1:00 p.m. ET)

Kickoff Weather: 34°F, cloudy, SW 11 mph

Colts

Inactives: C Tanor Bortolini, WR Josh Downs, WR Ashton Dulin, OT Braden Smith, LB Isaiah Land, QB Sam Ehlinger and CB Darren Hall

Lineup notes: WR Josh Downs (shoulder) is out. RT Braden Smith (personal) is as well. WR Alec Pierce (foot), WR Michael Pittman Jr. (back) and LT Bernhard Raimann (knee) all practiced fully Friday and are active.

Patriots

Inactives: DT Jaquelin Roy, OG Lester Cotton, QB Joe Milton III, LB Titus Leo, OG Tyrese Robinson, LB Marte Mapu and WR K.J. Osborn

Lineup notes: WR Demario Douglas (ankle) and LT Vederian Lowe (shoulder) are active. Both starting safeties Kyle Dugger (ankle) and Jabrill Peppers (knee) are ready to go as well.

Seattle Seahawks at New York Jets (1:00 p.m. ET)

Kickoff Weather: 37°F, cloudy, WSW 12 mph

Seahawks

Inactives: CB AJ Finley, QB Jaren Hall, WR Dareke Young, SS Jerrick Reed, DL Michael Morris, LB Trevis Gipson and CB Nehemiah Pritchett

Lineup notes: TE Noah Fant (groin), WR Tyler Lockett (knee) and WR DK Metcalf (shoulder) all will go.

Jets

Inactives: CB Jarrick Bernard-Converse, OT Max Mitchell, LB Braiden McGregor, RB Israel Abanikanda, LB C.J. Mosley and C Jake Hanson

Lineup notes: LT Tyron Smith (neck) went on injured reserve. RB Breece Hall (knee) overcame a questionable tag and will be out there, but the same cannot be said for LB C.J. Mosley (neck).

Tennessee Titans at Washington Commanders (1:00 p.m. ET)

Kickoff Weather: 41°F, cloudy

Titans

Inactives: TE David Martin-Robinson, CB Gabe Jeudy-Lally, RB Joshua Kelley and OT Leroy Watson

Lineup notes: RB Tyjae Spears (concussion) will be back out there this week. WR Calvin Ridley (ankle) had a full session Friday and will play.

Commanders

Inactives: CB Marshon Lattimore, OG Andrew Wylie, QB Jeff Driskel, S Dominique Hampton and DT Phidarian Mathis

Lineup notes: RB Austin Ekeler (concussion) will miss at least four games on IR, joining PK Austin Seibert (hip). CB Marshon Lattimore (hamstring) is inching closer but will miss another contest. RB Brian Robinson Jr. (ankle) and WR Noah Brown (knee) are good to go after full practices Friday. Washington waived 2023 first-round pick CB Emmanuel Forbes.

Houston Texans at Jacksonville Jaguars (1:00 p.m. ET)

Kickoff Weather: 58°F, mostly cloudy

Texans

Inactives: WR Steven Sims, DL Jerry Hughes, DT Folorunso Fatukasi, OG Nick Broeker, WR Xavier Hutchinson, S Jalen Pitre and LB Jamal Hill

Lineup notes: DE Will Anderson Jr. (ankle) is good to go after a full session Friday.

Jaguars

Inactives: RB D’Ernest Johnson, OT Javon Foster, DT Jordan Jefferson, QB C.J. Beathard, LB Yasir Abdullah and DE Esezi Otomewo

Lineup notes: QB Trevor Lawrence (shoulder) is ready to return. RB Tank Bigsby (ankle) practiced fully all week and is good to go.

Late-afternoon window

Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans Saints (4:05 p.m. ET)

Kickoff Weather: Dome stadium

Rams

Inactives: RB Cody Schrader, QB Stetson Bennett, DE Brennan Jackson, C Dylan McMahon and OT Warren McClendon

Lineup notes: TE Tyler Higbee (knee) remains on the PUP but saw limited work in Wednesday and Thursday before a full session on Friday. He’s out one more week. RT Rob Havenstein (ankle) was a full-go Friday and will play.

Saints

Inactives: WR Mason Tipton, RB Jordan Mims, QB Spencer Rattler, C Erik McCoy, DT Khristian Boyd, LB Jaylan Ford and OG Lucas Patrick

Lineup notes: RB Kendre Miller (hamstring) and WR Chris Olave (concussion) remain on IR. RB Jamaal Williams (groin) is active.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers (4:05 p.m. ET)

Kickoff Weather: 52°F, cloudy

Buccaneers

Inactives: LB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, QB Michael Pratt, TE Devin Culp, DE Earnest Brown, S Tykee Smith and CB Tyrek Funderburk

Lineup notes: LT Tristan Wirfs (knee, foot) was limited all week but will give it a go. WR Mike Evans (hamstring) had full sessions Wednesday and Thursday but was limited Friday. He carries no injury tag, though. LB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka was downgraded to out.

Panthers

Inactives: CB Akayleb Evans, TE Ja’Tavion Sanders, CB Shemar Bartholomew, DT Jaden Crumedy, WR Jalen Coker, S Jammie Robinson and OT Jarrett Kingston

Lineup notes: RB Miles Sanders (ankle) was placed on IR. WR Jalen Coker (quadriceps) and TE Ja’Tavion Sanders (neck) are out. WR Adam Thielen (hamstring) was limited Friday, but he’s good to go.

Philadelphia Eagles at Baltimore Ravens (4:25 p.m. ET)

Kickoff Weather: 40°F, cloudy

Eagles

Inactives: OG Darian Kinnard, CB Darius Slay, WR DeVonta Smith, WR Johnny Wilson, QB Tanner McKee, OL Nick Gates and OG Trevor Keegan

Lineup notes: WR DeVonta Smith (hamstring) was close but will miss another week, joined by CB Darius Slay. WR Parris Campbell was signed to active roster from Philly’s practice squad.

Ravens

Inactives: C Nick Samac, RB Keaton Mitchell, LB Kyle Van Noy, WR Devontez Walker and S Marcus Williams

Lineup notes: LB Kyle Van Noy (hamstring, neck) is, but LB Roquan Smith (hamstring) managed a full practice Friday, and he’ll suit up.

Sunday Night Football

San Francisco 49ers at Buffalo Bills (8:20 p.m. ET)

Kickoff Weather: 27°F, cloudy, heavy, lake-effect snowfall expected before kickoff

49ers

Inactives: OG Aaron Banks, S Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, CB Deommodore Lenoir, QB Brandon Allen, DE Nick Bosa, OT Trent Williams and DT Jordan Elliott

Lineup notes: DE Nick Bosa (hip, oblique) and LT Trent Williams (ankle) are out this week. QB Brock Purdy (shoulder) is indeed active after a one-game absence.

Bills

Inactives: LB Javon Solomon, CB Kaiir Elam, LB Edefuan Ulofoshio, WR Keon Coleman, C Will Clapp, TE Dalton Kincaid and QB Mike White

Lineup notes: TE Dalton Kincaid (knee) is out. WR Keon Coleman (wrist) won’t be out there. LB Matt Milano (biceps), WR Mack Hollins (shoulder), WR Amari Cooper (wrist) and WR Curtis Samuel (pectoral) all are available.

Monday Night Football

Cleveland Browns at Denver Broncos (8:15 p.m. ET)

Kickoff Weather: 35°F, mostly clear

Browns

Lineup notes: WR Jerry Jeudy (knee) has practiced fully all week and carries no injury designation. LT Jedrick Wills (knee) and WR Cedric Tillman (concussion) were ruled out.

Broncos

Lineup notes: WR Josh Reynolds (hand) his questionable. QB Bo Nix (back) avoided an injury tag.

Taysom Hill carted off after big hit vs. Rams

Taysom Hill was carted off after a big hit against the Los Angeles Rams. The New Orleans Saints star is a huge loss:

This isn’t what you want to see. New Orleans Saints do-it-all tight end Taysom Hill went down with an injury late in Week 13’s game with the Los Angeles Rams, leaving the game on a medical cart after initially being evaluated on the field.

Hill had taken a direct snap out of shotgun and ran to the left, picking up just enough yards to convert a fresh set of downs in Los Angeles territory. But he collided with several players on his way to the turf. Hill’s helmet collided with his teammate Cesar Ruiz’s shoulder pad, but the more serious injury appeared to be his left leg getting trapped between a couple of Rams defenders as it hit a helmet.

His return was officially announced as doubtful. Hill raised a fist to the crowd chanting his name as players from both teams wished him well. Hopefully he makes a clean recovery and this wasn’t as bad as it looked.

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Marquez Valdes-Scantling kept his touchdowns streak alive in Week 13

Marquez Valdes-Scantling has been effective in stretching the field, and his deep touchdown led to the Saints tying the game against the Rams:

It took Marquez Valdes-Scantling a game to get adjusted to being a part of the New Orleans Saints offense. After that first week, Valdes-Scantling has been everything the Saints desired from him.

The Saints wide receiver room is empty in general, but Valdes-Scantling was brought in to specifically replace Rashid Shaheed’s ability to stretch the field. Mission accomplished. Over the last three weeks, the in-season addition has caught four touchdowns and three of them have been longer than 25 yards. Valdes-Scantling is the second player in Saints history to score four touchdowns in his first four games, joining Donte Stallworth.

Against the Los Angeles Rams, Derek Carr connected with Valdes-Scantling early in the fourth quarter for a 28-yard touchdown. This continued the trend of Carr targeting his new wide receiver on vertical routes.

The Saints followed up the touchdown with a two-point conversion to tie the game at 14 points. Valdes-Scantling has become the field-stretcher the team desperately needed after injuries sidelined Shaheed and Chris Olave. Carr wants to throw the ball deep and Valdes-Scantling gives him a reliable target.

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Saints starting offensive lineman carted off with injury vs. Rams

New Orleans Saints left guard Nick Saldiveri was carted off with an injury against the Los Angeles Rams. They were already down two starting offensive linemen:

This isn’t a loss the New Orleans Saints could afford. Second-year left guard Nick Saldiveri was filling in for Lucas Patrick against the Los Angeles Rams when his left leg buckled under him during a play, leaving the young pro grasping at his knee as team medical staff attended to him.

Saldiveri was carted off for further evaluation. That made him the third interior lineman to miss this game due to injury; both Patrick and starting center Erik McCoy were preemptively ruled out on the inactive list. Unfortunately for Saldiveri, this is a bit of a pattern for him. He’s dealt with calf and shoulder issues ever since the Saints drafted him out of Old Dominion and tasked him with learning left guard after a college career spent mostly at right tackle.

So their depth was being tested by the Rams. Veteran backup Landon Young stepped in to the left guard spot to relieve Saldiveri, though undrafted rookie Kyle Hergel was also an option. We’ll have to wait and see whether this injury was as serious as it looked.

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