Texans sign DE Derek Rivers to practice squad

The Houston Texans signed defensive end Derek Rivers back to the practice squad.

The journey for defensive end Derek Rivers continues.

The Houston Texans signed the former New England Patriots 2017 third-round pick to their practice squad Monday.

Rivers has been with the Texans in some capacity since signing a free agent contract in March 2021. For 2023, Rivers re-signed with the Texans in March and remained a member of the team’s offseason roster.

At the end of preseason, the Texans waived Rivers and signed the Youngstown State product to the practice squad. On Sept. 12, the Texans signed Rivers to the active roster, but released the defensive end the day before the Week 2 matchup with the Indianapolis Colts.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 category=1365]

Lions injury update after a physical Week 2 loss

Head coach Dan Campbell gave updates on David Montgomery, Big V, Taylor Decker and more

After a physically intense contest in Ford Field on Sunday, the Detroit Lions had a few players in the walking wounded category. Head coach Dan Campbell offered some updates on a few of the injured Lions during his press conference on Monday.

[lawrence-related id=95857]

Shannon Sharpe savagely roasted Zach Wilson: ‘The dude couldn’t play dead in a horror movie’

Shannon Sharpe’s brutal assessment of Zach Wilson is completely true.

There was a slight hope Zach Wilson had improved after taking offseason mentorship from Aaron Rodgers. Those hopes have wholly subsided after the New York Jets quarterback’s first awful start in Rodgers’ absence.

New York visited the Dallas Cowboys Sunday and received an absolute drubbing. Wilson himself was predictably awful, throwing three interceptions while completing less than 50 percent of his passes at the hands of a ruthless Dallas defense. It seems readily apparent that if the Jets want to be competitive in 2023, they need to make a move for a quarterback because Wilson still won’t get it done.

This was a pertinent topic of conversation for ESPN’s First Take crew on Monday. When it came to analyzing Wilson’s performance against Dallas, Shannon Sharpe pulled no punches. He called Wilson a horror movie character who couldn’t even “play dead.”

I mean, phew

We’ll probably never know if this insult is true because Wilson won’t be cast in a horror movie. But what a perfect analogy for a disappointing former top-two pick. Wilson, indeed, can’t even do the most basic job responsibilities of a starting quarterback. That’s why he wilts when he plays.

And that is why Wilson has no long-term future in New York.

Justin Herbert’s machine gun audible was somehow the most confusing part of the Chargers’ dreadful loss

What could Justin Herbert have possibly been referring to?

The Los Angeles Chargers have barely started their 2023 campaign, and they’re already sitting at a disappointing 0-2. It’s becoming abundantly clear that Brandon Staley shouldn’t have returned, and he seems to understand his seat is getting hotter.

But despite all of this chaos, a weird Justin Herbert audible might have been the most puzzling aspect of the Chargers’ deflating defeat to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

Let’s flash forward to the final minutes of the fourth quarter. The Chargers were trying to mount a game-clinching drive and faced a key third-and-long. The CBS cameras captured Herbert using a “machine gun” while screaming out an apparent change in the Chargers’ play call.

I can’t possibly fathom what this is supposed to mean:

I won’t doubt the process of Herbert, a bona fide superstar quarterback who processes the game like a high-tech cyborg. But I really want to hear from whoever put this in the Chargers’ playbook. I don’t think I’ve seen a signal like this before at any level of football.

Texans QB C.J. Stroud noticed increase in tempo against the Colts

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud observed the offense had better tempo in Week 2 against the Indianapolis Colts.

One of the hiccups for the Houston Texans offense in Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens was their urgency coming in and out of the huddle. Indeed the Texans burned a timeout on the first play from scrimmage after a kickoff in the third quarter, an inopportune moment to lack coordination.

Quarterback C.J. Stroud believes the offense performed better with its increased tempo in relaying plays from the sideline and getting to the line of scrimmage.

“Yeah, that was something we wanted to fix and wanted a better game plan with was getting on the ball and putting the pressure on them,” Stroud said after the 30-21 loss to the Indianapolis Colts Sunday at NRG Stadium. “I felt like we did that. We took a step. We’ve got to keep taking steps, not only with that operation, but with other operations. Me getting the play out clean and getting guys lined up in the right spot, I appreciate those guys working with me because it’s a new offense for all of us, and we’re just trying our best.”

Stroud had the second-most passing yards for a Texans rookie in a single game with 384 as he completed 30-of-47 along with two touchdowns.

The No. 2 overall pick credits first-year offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik with relaying the correct play-calls.

Said Stroud: “Bobby’s done a great job of being up front with the communication of what we’re thinking we’re going to do this week and getting the play call into me early.”

Ultimately, the former Ohio State product knows that he is the final distribution point to ensure the Texans avoid delays of game or inefficient timeouts.

“It’s my job to make sure that I look at the play clock and that we don’t get any delay of games or anything like that,” said Stroud. “I feel like we took a step in that area.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 category=1416]

Zac Taylor wants Bengals fans to be patient after 0-2 start

Bengals coach Zac Taylor addresses fans after the 0-2 start.

For the second straight season, the Cincinnati Bengals are 0-2 to start the season, and this time the two losses were both against AFC North opponents. The offense largely hasn’t shown up, though it was much better in Week 2, but there haven’t been many encouraging things to point to yet very early into the new season.

Head coach Zac Taylor wants Bengals fans to be patient with the team and said as much after the game.

“Stay patient with us,” he said, according to CLNS Media’s Mike Petraglia. “I know that’s hard to say and listen to. (The fans) want wins, there’s a lot of excitement going into this season. We have a lot of excitement, and we still do. It’s Sept. 17, and we plan on this being a long season. We’ll be excited to make corrections, put this one behind us, and have an electric Monday Night Football crowd as we’ve had here.”

The Bengals 2022 season began 0-2 and finished in the AFC Championship, so Taylor is right. It’s a long season, and while it may be discouraging staring down an 0-2 divisional record as a fan, there is a lot of season to go, and they showed just last year that this team can come back from a slow start.

Taylor said he believes the team is in great shape, and while there are things that can be corrected and adjusted, he feels comfortable with where the team is at now.

“The beauty of this team is we know it’s a 17-game season,” he said. “There’s no overreaction on our end. We have to be prepared for stuff outside our locker room, which is natural. We’re in a very difficult division. We would have loved to come out 2-0; 1-1 would have been fine too. This is exactly where we were last year, and this team is only going to get better with every game that passes.”

While fans might be frustrated with the losses, it should be noted that the team obviously is as well. They have the talent to come back from it and the confidence Taylor is showing should ease some minds.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1]

5 big takeaways from Patriots’ 24-17 loss vs Dolphins

Another comeback, another drive that came up just short. Here are 5 big takeaways from the Patriots’ loss to Miami

Those are the ones that rip your heart out.

A week after their go-ahead drive ended on a failed fourth-down conversion against the Philadelphia Eagles, the New England Patriots decided to rinse and repeat. Down 24-17 with a minute to go against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday night, the Patriots again embarked on a drive to extend the game.

And once again, a fantastic fourth down play that was initially called a first down conversion on the field was overturned by video review, giving their opponent the ball and the ability to run the clock out to end the game.

Here are 5 big takeaways from the matchup.

Bills Wire Week 2 Player of the Game: Josh Allen

Bills Wire Week 2 Player of the Game: Josh Allen (via @TejasVemparala):

The Buffalo Bills’ second game of the 2023 NFL season saw the Bills get in the win column at home against the Las Vegas Raiders. Buffalo won 38-10 in a game that they were comfortably ahead for a majority of it, scoring 17 unanswered points in the second half.

With the Bills getting back to winning ways, many players were excellent and any one of them would deservedly be this week’s winner. We are awarding the Player of the Game Award in Week 2 to quarterback Josh Allen, who was 31-for-37 passing with 274 yards and three touchdowns:

The Bills quarterback was instrumental in the team’s offensive success putting together three sustained drives culminating in touchdowns before halftime and not turning over the ball against the Raiders. This performance comes after a tough outing last week, and many praised Allen’s performances during and after the game.

Buffalo will travel to the nation’s capital next week on Sunday, September 24 at 1 p.m. to face the Washington Commanders.

[lawrence-related id=122495,122424,122462]

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans bemoans inconsistency against the Colts

Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans knows that consistency was a problem for his team in their 31-20 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

The Houston Texans have shown flashes of excellence over the past eight quarters of 2023. However, that is the problem for DeMeco Ryans: flashes.

With the Texans starting 0-2, the rookie coach knows that part of the issue is related to the team’s inability to sustain successful play throughout a full 60-minute contest.

“What I say to our guys after this is, ‘We can’t wait till the second half,'” Ryans said after the 31-20 Week 2 loss to the Indianapolis Colts at NRG Stadium. “Like I did see improvement from game one to game two from our offense, but our defense took a step back. And we can’t have the back and forth. We have to be consistent, and that’s the one thing. Be consistent and don’t have self-inflicted wounds that you’re too far behind and have to catch up.”

The Texans allowed the Colts to gain 353 yards total offense and allowed Indianapolis to convert 6-12 on third downs.

Houston fell down as far as 28-10 at halftime before scoring 10 second half points thanks to a C.J. Stroud touchdown pass — second on the afternoon — and a Ka’imi Fairbairn field goal.

“We can’t play catch-up ball,” said Ryans. “We have to be in it the entire game. So that’s what I say to those guys. I definitely appreciate what they did in the second half, to have that grit to fight back to give us an opportunity there, and we came up a little short. So always encouraged and pleased by that, but we’ve got to start faster.”

The Texans will have a chance to put together a more consistent effort when they take on the Jacksonville Jaguars Sept. 24 for Week 3 at TIAA Bank Field.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 category=601914802]