Tag: NFL

Dan Quinn says he has a lot of respect for Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey

When a player totals 1,385 all-purpose yards and 14 touchdowns in just nine games, he ought to earn the respect of just about everyone.

Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey has set the NFL on fire in 2019, racking up 1,385 all-purpose yards and 14 touchdowns through just nine games.

Falcons head coach Dan Quinn, who sees McCaffrey twice a year, is just as impressed as everyone else.

Speaking on Monday ahead of Atlanta’s Week 11 matchup with Carolina, Quinn said he was most impressed with McCaffrey’s growth as an every-down back.

Coming into the draft a few years ago, many labeled McCaffrey as a third-down back that was not worthy of a high draft pick. The Panthers ignored those critics and took the talented all-purpose back in the first round.

The move would pay off as McCaffrey is legitimately in the MVP discussion this season. The Falcons, despite a 2-7 start, will look to win their second straight NFC South game when they take on Carolina this Sunday.

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49ers kicker Chase McLaughlin shanked a kick so badly, it landed in a Levi’s Stadium tunnel

LOOK OUT!

To his credit, San Francisco 49ers kicker Chase McLaughlin had a good game in Week 10.

He nailed three field goals on the night, including the one at the end of regulation that sent Monday’s thrilling overtime Niners loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

But the one he missed in overtime? Not good.

It was from 47 yards out … and it was a bad miss wide left. Just how much of a miss was it? So bad that it landed in a Levi’s Stadium tunnel, a moment captured on camera. That also ignited everyone on Twitter to meme-fy the shank.

Here’s the McLaughlin miss:

And where it landed:

And the Twitter reaction:

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Demaryius Thomas among 6 unsung heroes from Jets’ win over Giants

Sam Darnold and Jamal Adams deserve all the credit for the win, but these veterans and rookies stepped up in a huge way in the Jets’ win.

The Jets’ 34-27 win over the Giants was a team effort. Almost everyone chipped in to help the Jets earn their second victory of the season, especially with an injury-riddled roster.

Sam Darnold and Jamal Adams deserve most of the credit for the win, but there were plenty of other players that helped at various positions on the field. Players stepped up for injured teammates or bad play and immediately contributed on both sides of the ball. A couple rookies even stood out.

Here are six unsung heroes from the Jets’ Week 10 win.

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Falcons drop to pick No. 6 in updated 2020 NFL Draft order

The Falcons delivered a satisfying win over the Saints on Sunday after an extremely disappointing first eight weeks of the season. However, fans had already begun to shift their focus to the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Falcons delivered a satisfying win over the Saints on Sunday after an extremely disappointing first eight weeks of the season. However, fans had already begun to shift their focus to the 2020 NFL Draft.

Atlanta’s Week 10 victory won’t change that, although it was a reminder that this team may not be bad enough to get that top-five pick fans were holding out hope for.

According to Draft Wire’s updated 2020 draft order, the Falcons’ win over New Orleans dropped them to pick No. 6.

That probably won’t be high enough to land someone like Ohio State’s Chase Young, but they could still wind up with a top prospect such as Iowa DE A.J. Epenesa, LB Isaiah Simmons, or one of several defensive backs.

Atlanta faces its second of five straight NFC South matchups this weekend when the team takes on the Carolina Panthers.

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Cardinals’ Week 10 defensive snap counts and observations

See how the 85 defensive snaps were divided up against the Bucs.

Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 10, the Arizona Cardinals played a whopping 85 defensive snaps. Let’s see how that playing time was divided up and what it means.

Defensive line

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Corey Peters, 56; Rodney Gunter, 53; Jonathan Bullard, 43; Zach Kerr, 29; Michael Dogbe, 10

With Clinton McDonald on injured reserve, there was no one left on the bench except for Zach Kerr, who is still hurt. Dogbe played a season-high 10 snaps.

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Cardinals’ Week 10 offensive snap counts and observations

See who played and for how long. Andy Isabella got more playing time.

The Arizona Cardinals played 70 offensive snaps on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Let’s see how the playing time was divided up and what it means.

Quarterback

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Kyler Murray, 70

This continues to be good news. Murray has played every offensive snap except for three when he was pulled in the final moments of the loss to the New Orleans Saints.

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The good, the bad and the ugly of the Cardinals’ 30-27 loss to the Buccaneers

Have a look at what went well and was didn’t go so well for Arizona.

The Arizona Cardinals finished up one of their most heartbreaking losses of the season falling to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by the score of 30-27 in an entertaining shootout.

Both offenses combined for over 870 total yards in an offensive display of fireworks. Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray continued to stake his claim for NFL Rookie of the Year with a dominant 324-yard, three-touchdown performance, Cardinals wide receiver Christian Kirk caught six balls for a career-high 138 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

While the Cardinals offense did their best to out-shoot a dangerous Tampa Bay offense, it was not enough. The Cardinals had some moments in all aspects of the game that prevented them from securing the victory.

Here are the good, the bad and the ugly moments from the Cardinals vs. the Buccaneers matchup:

The good: Fireworks in Raymond James Stadium

Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

As stated earlier, the Cardinals passing offense had a day to remember.

Kyler Murray accounted for 368 yards of total offense while engineering two drives that accounted for 75 and 96 yards. He also finished with a 69.8 out of 100 QBR.

The Cardinals torched a Buccaneers defense that came into the league with the No. 31 ranked pass defense. Christian Kirk completely victimized Buccaneers cornerbacks Ryan Smith and Sean Murphy-Bunting on his touchdowns of 69 and 33 yards.

Three Cardinals receivers had 70 or more receiving yards in Christian Kirk, Larry Fitzgerald and the surprising second-round rookie in Andy Isabella who is coming off of his second consecutive game of at least 70 receiving yards.

This is easily the best performance that the Cardinals have had on the road this year.

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Steelers vs Browns: 3 big causes for concern this week

Here’s what we are worried about this week vs the Browns.

Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

It goes without saying the Pittsburgh Steelers are on a roll. Winners of four in a row, Pittsburgh has risen from the ashes like a fiery phoenix, reborn after a 1-4 start. Three of those four wins have come at home but this week the Steelers go on the road to Cleveland to take on the Browns. Here are our three big concerns this week.

The short week

Everyone knows the football on Thursday night is sloppy. Teams have very little time to recuperate from the previous game, much less prepare for the next one. The Steelers have been notoriously slow starters this season on offense so having a short week only compounds those worries.

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ESPN names Kevin Colbert Steelers MVP of 1st half of season

Kevin Colbert has never been more aggressive than he has been this season.

When you think of team MVP in the NFL, the first person that comes to mind isn’t going to be the general manager. Most think about it from the perspective of a particular player or perhaps even a coach. But when ESPN asked their staff of beat writers to name the midseason MVP of their perspective teams, Pittsburgh Steelers writer Brooke Pryor went another direction with GM Kevin Colbert.

First-half MVP: General manager Kevin Colbert. The Week 3 move to trade a 2020 first-round pick for Dolphins safety Minkah Fitzpatrick was met with skepticism given the Steelers’ uncertain future at quarterback. But Colbert’s big swing is paying off early: Fitzpatrick has four interceptions, including a 96-yard pick-six against the Colts. The former first-round pick has been a game-changer, and Colbert’s move to trade for him on an inexpensive rookie contract will likely continue to pay off.

Colbert has had his busiest offseason/season to date. First he trades away Antonio Brown, then trades up in the 2019 NFL draft to land linebacker Devin Bush and finally made the in-season move to acquire safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.

This team is in the thick of the playoff hunt but just imagine where this team would be if quarterback Ben Roethlisberger hadn’t been lost midway through the second game? Colbert might not be coming back after this season if this is the case he’s certainly going out with a bang.

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NFC Playoff Picture: Where do the Saints stand after Week 10?

The New Orleans Saints may have lost their Week 10 game with the Atlanta Falcons, but the NFC playoff picture is far from locked in place.

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Week 10 delivered plenty of surprises to the NFL, painting the playoff picture in sweeping, sometimes-erratic strokes. It brought big changes for some Super Bowl contenders and a painful reality check for other playoff hopefuls, the New Orleans Saints among them. The Saints may have fallen flat against the Atlanta Falcons, but they weren’t the only favorite to get upset this week. Let’s run through the games that impacted this week’s standings.

Green Bay Packers 24, Carolina Panthers 16

What a game for the Packers, who were able to run often and effectively on what’s been a mostly-strong Panthers defense. Their two-headed attack of Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams combined for 156 rushing yards in a game that saw snow pile up as the afternoon drew on. Green Bay’s defense showed up with several sacks and frequently pressured newly-minted starting Panthers quarterback Kyle Allen, who put up a fight but wasn’t able to clinch a tough win on the road. Christian McCaffrey was effective as ever but ultimately came up short at the goal-line on the game’s final play.

Pittsburgh Steelers 17, Los Angeles Rams 12

The Rams hoped to rally down the stretch after the Jalen Ramsey trade, but his arrival didn’t give them enough juice to defeat the Mason Rudolph-led Steelers. Quarterback Jared Goff has continued to nosedive since signing his huge contract extension in preseason, and the Rams’ season may be sinking too fast for the rest of the team to pull him back up to competence. They’re a distant third-best in the NFC West at 5-4, but theoretically have enough time to bounce back.

Minnesota Vikings 28, Dallas Cowboys 24

This game was all about Dalvin Cook: he picked up 97 rushing yards and 86 receiving yards, giving the Cowboys defense fits throughout their Sunday Night Football matchup. His efforts were instrumental to keeping pressure off mistake-prone quarterback Kirk Cousins and finding a way to win, though Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott threw for nearly 400 yards in a game that was competitive down to the wire. The NFC East race is as cloudy as ever, which is good news for the Saints, who currently sit above them all in projected playoff seeding.

Seattle Seahawks 27, San Francisco 49ers 24 (OT)

A contender for the game of the year saw the 49ers receive their first loss this season, even if Seattle did its best to lose. Their best defenders (linebackers Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright) each dropped game-winning interceptions late on Monday Night Football, and the Seahawks coaching staff took the ball out of their franchise quarterback’s hands with multiple run-run-pass-punt sequences down the stretch. Still, Russell Wilson found a way to put his team in position to win, even if coach Pete Carroll made an insanely cowardly decision to punt from his own 45-yard line late in overtime. Neither of these teams should feel good about their chances of playing the Saints in the postseason.

Here’s what the projected NFC playoff picture looks like after Week 10:

NFC standings

  1. West: 49ers (8-1)
  2. North: Packers (8-2)
  3. South: Saints (7-2)
  4. East: Cowboys (5-4)
  5. Wild card: Seahawks (8-2)
  6. Wild card: Vikings (7-3)

In the hunt

  • Rams (5-4)
  • Eagles (5-4)
  • Panthers (5-4)
  • Bears (4-5)

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