Tag: NFL Week 14

Chase Young receives game ball for outstanding performance against Giants

Chase Young was awarded a game ball after New Orleans beat the Giants, in what Darren Rizzi called his best game as a Saint:

The New Orleans Saints held on for a 14-11 victory over the New York Giants in Week 14, and clearly, the defense had a lot to do with ensuring that win. Chase Young ended the matchup with 51 total snaps, 12 pressures per Pro Football Focus charting, a pass breakup, and an assisted tackle with no penalties.

For those who hold value towards PFF grades, Young had a 89.6 defensive grade, including a 75.0 pass rush grade and a 87.8 coverage grade funny enough. Overall, Young has been spectacular at rushing the passer this season, with 53 pressures and 5 sacks on the year, but this game was definitely an outlier as he managed to really ramp up his pressure on the opposing QB Drew Lock.

This was noticeable all day long, as Lock was having an extremely difficult time getting the ball out on time and delivering accurate passes. A strong performance for Young, and hopefully a sign of things to come in the remaining games for the 2024 season.

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Chase Young tied his career-high in pressures against the Giants

Next Gen Stats: Chase Young has the fourth-most quarterback pressures in the NFL, having tied his single-game career-high against the Giants on Sunday

Chase Young led the New Orleans Saints in pressures. against the New York Giants. He may not have brought down Drew Lock, but, per Next Gen Stats, Young recorded 10 pressures, nine of which came against Joshua Ezeudu. This performance ties Young’s career high in pressures.

No Saint has recorded this many pressures in a game this year. To make it even more impressive, Young registered six pressures in less than 2.5 seconds. That’s the most quick pressures by a Saints defender since 2018.

In a way, this game is a microcosm of Young’s season with the Saints. Sacks continue to elude the free agent acquisition, but he’s been getting pressures all year. He entered the game with the fifth-most pressures in the NFL, and moved into fourth place after Sunday’s high output.

Some feel as if Young isn’t living up to the hype because of low sack numbers. He’s only at 3.5 on the season, which ranks fourth on the team. On a similar note, that would be one of the reasons his game could have flown under the radar.

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B/R says Kendre MIller is making the case for more carries

The stat sheet doesn’t wow you, but Kendre Miller had a strong return from injury. Are more carries in his future?

Your opinion of Kendre Miller’s performance differs depends on if you’re looking at the stat sheet or going by the eye test.

The stat sheet would say Miller had a pedestrian return from injury for the New Orleans Saints. That isn’t farther from the case if you watch him play against the New York Giants.

Miller ended the game with 10 carries for 32 yards and a rushing touchdown. The road to those 32 yards wasn’t easy. He was regularly showing the ability to fight through contact and fall forward. Miller also continued to show a burst when running the football.

It was hard day for him and Alvin Kamara. Both rushers were operating in traffic for most of the game. Despite the conditions, Miller felt like a bright spot of the offense.

The 10 carries was enough for Bleacher Report’s NFL staff’s biggest takeaway from the game to be Miller’s emergence. They said, “Kendre Miller flashed enough to earn more snaps in the season’s remaining weeks.”

Miller crossing 10 carries a game is their preference. It would allow Kamara to remain involved in the passing attack without taking on too big of a workload.

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Saints’ special teams was a tale of two halves vs. Giants

Special teams had their worst half of the season against the GIants, as described by Darren Rizzi. Then, they made the play of the day to close out the game:

Special teams is Darren Rizzi’s bread and butter, and it stood out for the majority of the New Orleans Saints’ Week 14 matchup against New York Giants. But the game’s third phase was in the spotlight for both good and bad reasons.

The two most notable moments on special teams were Rizzi letting loose on Matthew Hayball and Bryan Bresee leaping over the Giants’ blockers to block a game-tying field goals.

The stark contradiction between those moments is a good representation in the difference between each half of play.

Rizzi was extremely disappointed in the way his unit performed at the beginning of the game. “Our special teams had one of, maybe the worst half of the year in the first half.”

Things changed in quarters three and four. “We turned around and made some plays there in the second half. It’s kind of ironic that we ended up winning the game on a special teams play because we were having one of our worst days in recent memory.”

That improvement is highlighted by Bresee’s phenomenal play, but Hayball redeemed himself with two, much more successful, punts later in the game.

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Bengals fans sort of celebrate team’s lucky win vs. Cowboys

Bengals fans had plenty to say after the Week 14 game against the Cowboys.

The Cincinnati Bengals shocked by actually coming out on the right side of a one-score game on Monday night, besting the Dallas Cowboys 27-20.

Granted, the Bengals needed a mind-numbing mistake from the Cowboys on special teams to actually pull out the win. That and 369 passing yards and three scores from Joe Burrow, with 177 of those yards and two scores going to Ja’Marr Chase on his 14 catches.

Still, a win is a win and the Bengals technically aren’t eliminated from playoff contention just yet.

As one can probably imagine, Bengals fans had plenty of things to say about all of it after the game went final:

 

 

 

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Instant analysis after Bengals beat Cowboys, live to fight another week

Instant analysis after Bengals vs. Cowboys in Week 14.

The Cincinnati Bengals remained alive in primetime on Monday night, beating the Dallas Cowboys 27-20.

Cincinnati needed a monster effort from Joe Burrow Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase to overcome the defense again, but a few late breaks finally went their way.

Here’s a look at some quick notes, numbers to know and takeaways from the game.

Quick thoughts

  • Defense, if nothing else, is consistent. What appeared to be a blown coverage on a blitz let the Cowboys score an easy touchdown to make it 7-0.
  • The missed tackles are again a huge issue, with one notable potential backfield stop going halfway down the field.
  • Joe Burrow is still playing MVP ball, even firing off a touchdown pass before Ja’Marr Chase had even gotten out of his break on the route.
  • The girlfriend of Bengals kicker Cade York — a Cowboys cheerleader — had a special moment during the game.
  • Bengals just couldn’t get out of their own way again, playing down to the competition while fumbling, throwing picks and putting forth a lackluster defensive effort in the second half.
  • Burrow, while not injured, added a sleeve to his knee after hit.

 

Key stat

18: Number of targets for Ja’Marr Chase, who was almost the entire offense on the day. He turned it into 14 catches for 177 yards and two scores.

 

Game balls

QB Joe Burrow: The interception wasn’t great, obviously, but one has to consider just how much Burrow has to do to keep his team in games right now. He threw for 369 yards and three scores.

RB Chase Brown: There’s no doubt about Brown as the lead back and his big day on the ground and as a receiver was just proof of what fans already knew.

 

Top takeaway

Reset incoming: The defense is headed for a blowup. The effort on missed tackles is horrific and has been for most of the year. Many of the angles are bad and the entire unit is slow. Expect most of the major, veteran names to finish out their last few games in stripes over the next few weeks.

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Orlando Brown Jr. headlines Bengals inactives list vs. Cowboys

Bengals announce inactives for Week 14 vs. Cowboys.

The Cincinnati Bengals listed some notable names among the team’s inactives for Monday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys. 

There, two starters and some key depth are featured, in addition to this week’s roster moves that forced players to injured reserve.

The full inactives list the Bengals issued:

  • WR Charlie Jones (groin)
  • S Daijahn Anthony
  • OT Orlando Brown (fibula)
  • TE Tanner McLachlan
  • DT Sheldon Rankins (illness)

Offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. and defensive lineman Sheldon Rankins were already announced as out on the final injury report.

Earlier in the week, the team lost kicker Evan McPherson and linebacker Logan Wilson to injured reserve.

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Lions film review: Breaking down Brodric Martin and Pat O’Connor vs. the Packers

Lions film review: Breaking down defensive linemen Brodric Martin and Pat O’Connor vs. the Packers in Week 14

Thursday night’s thrilling win over the Green Bay Packers is one the Detroit Lions will remember for a long time, something head coach Dan Campbell emphasized in his postgame locker room speech. One of the reasons is because of how well a defensive front missing five of its seven starters held up well in the critical division win in Week 14.

For this week’s film review, I chose to focus on two of the prominent replacements for that Lions front, defensive linemen Pat O’Connor and Brodric Martin. They’ve both been with the team all year, raising expectations for their play more than the guys who just walked through the door in Allen Park.

I watched every play from O’Connor and Martin, focusing specifically on them in both the sideline and end zone angles via the All-22 tape.

I try to be transparent with my evaluation methodology. A win on a play earns a plus; a loss earns a minus. Not every play earns a mark, nor is it supposed to–especially for the interior linemen on both sides of the ball.

Here’s what I saw in watching the All-22 vs. the Packers and focusing on O’Connor and Martin in the middle of the Lions defensive line.

Pat O’Connor

O’Connor earned the lowest Pro Football Focus grade of the entire Lions defense for the game. And while there is some variance to his performance across the 43 snaps he played against Green Bay, I came away from the focused rewatch expecting him to be among the top five Lions defenders in Week 14.

One great example of O’Connor making a play that doesn’t get rewarded by Pro Football Focus came in the second quarter. Lined up as a shaded nose to the center’s right, O’Connor latched on and rode with the center, clearing out an attack hole for Alim McNeill to fill behind him and Brian Branch crashing around the outside on a run blitz.

O’Connor gave himself up on the play so his defensive mates could make the tackle. That McNeill slipped and Branch (in a rare bad game) took a poor angle was not O’Connor’s fault. No. 95 earned a plus from me on this play because if he tried to anchor, it would’ve disrupted McNeill and Branch’s roles. That they didn’t complete them shouldn’t downgrade O’Connor.

Later on that drive, O’Connor forced Love to throw later than he wanted and it resulted in a deflected INT in the back of the end zone. Detroit was (legitimately) guilty of pass interference on the play, negating the takeaway. Again, that doesn’t take away from O’Connor’s up-the-gut pressure helping create chaos for Green Bay’s offense.

In between those plusses, O’Connor earned a minus for an encroachment penalty. He also earned a minus on the touchdown, a play where pretty much every Lions defender involuntarily wound up on the ground.

Total tally for O’Connor:

12 plusses
5 minuses

The pass rush was where O’Connor thrived, earning 10 of his 12 plusses and just one of his minuses.

Brodric Martin

Martin primarily played heads-up nose tackle (0 tech) in place of injured DJ Reader. This is a role that requires Martin to be an immovable object in run defense and a bulldozer in the interior pass rush. Playing in just his second game of his second season after missing several weeks with a knee injury, Martin did not fare all that well in either capacity.

I think the first Packers drive of the second half was a good comparative spot for O’Connor and Martin. They were on the field together for the first four plays. O’Connor earned a plus on one play, while Martin earned two minuses as a pass rusher. Martin didn’t broach beyond the line of scrimmage on either pass-rush attempt, with one rep as a 3-tech (the rush tackle role) finding the Packers blocker winning a little too easily.

The biggest issue for Martin is that he doesn’t move his feet well, if at all. His initial thrust off the snap is nice, with both arms firing out and generally striking where DL Terrell Williams wants Martin’s hands to land. But too often, his feet don’t follow, leaving Martin overextended and easy to stand up or push aside for the blocker. His hands just aren’t active after that initial punch, either. In this game, he still looked very raw technically and lacked any follow-up plan beyond his initial movement.

Total tally for Martin:

2 plusses
8 minuses

Both plusses came in run defense, with the minuses split evenly between run defense and pass rush.

Quick hit thoughts on the new Lions DL

Myles Adams and Jonah Williams are keepers, based on their first game in Detroit. Adams was very effective with his technique and lateral quickness off the initial move. Williams plays to the stalemate well, something Martin could stand to learn from.

Mitchell Agude, playing as a practice squad elevation, didn’t use his hands well or have a Plan B as a pass rusher. His burst remains very nice, something that made many (myself included) expect Agude to make the 53-man roster over James Houston based on training camp and preseason. Lack of NFL reps showed more than a lack of ability.

 

NFC North watch: Vikings roll, Bears mauled in Week 14

NFC North watch: Vikings roll, Bears mauled in Week 14 after the Lions beat the Packers to kick off the NFL weekend

Week 14 marked the final weekend that included byes for NFL teams. Six teams were off for the weekend, though the entire NFC North was in action.

Detroit and Green Bay kicked off the weekend by playing a thriller on Thursday night, with the Lions improving to 12-1 by beating the Packers in Ford Field, 34-31. Detroit’s win streak extends to 11 games, while the Packers suffered just their second loss since September — both to the Lions. Green Bay is now 9-4.

The Lions host the 10-3 Buffalo Bills in Week 15 in what figures to be one of the marquee matchups of the entire season. Green Bay heads to Seattle for the Sunday night game against the Seahawks, now 8-5 and winners of five in a row.

The other two teams in the NFC North division were also in action. Their outcomes went as expected from afar, for better or worse.

Minnesota

The Vikings welcomed longtime QB Kirk Cousins back to Minnesota, with the Falcons coming to town. It was a close game until midway through the second half, when Cousins and the Falcons got sloppy and the Vikings capitalized.

A 14-13 game with five minutes to play in the third quarter quickly spiraled into a 42-21 Vikings win. Cousins’ replacement in Minnesota, Sam Darnold, threw five touchdown passes in the win. Darnold completed 16 of his 18 pass attempts after the half for 250 yards and three scores.

Minnesota remains one game back of the Lions at 11-2. The Vikings have won six games in a row and play the Bears in Week 15.

Chicago

The Bears debuted new interim head coach Thomas Brown in their first game since now-deposed head coach Matt Eberflus got fired for his epic mishandling of crunch time in Detroit’s win over his Bears.

Things did not get better for Chicago. The Bears were not competitive in any fashion in a 38-13 blowout loss in San Francisco. Chicago attained just one first down in the first half while falling behind 24-0. San Francisco had scored just 37 points in its previous three games–all losses–before lighting up Chicago’s defense for over 450 yards and five touchdowns.

The Bears are now 4-9 after a 4-2 start. They head to Minnesota in Week 15 before hosting Detroit in Week 16.

Report: Saints fear broken hand for starting QB Derek Carr

Report: The Saints fear a broken left hand for starting QB Derek Carr after he went down late in Week 14 matchup

The New Orleans Saints may be in for a quarterback change again, as Derek Carr is feared to have a broken left hand according to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Carr went to run for a first down along the right side of the field and jumped up to try and clear the mark to gain, but came down hard on his left hand/arm with nothing else to protect it from impact, which ultimately led to him being led off to the locker room shortly thereafter. While this is a non-throwing hand injury, it would still be a detrimental injury to the quarterback.

Carr has already missed four games this season due to an oblique injury against the Kansas City Chiefs, and now could be set to miss time if this is the case. We will see how this develops in the coming days, and if he misses time, who will take over at quarterback this time for the Saints as they look to close out the season.