Tag: Pro Dawgs

Despite moving to 11-1 with a 23-20 win over the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving Day, the Detroit Lions have had some bad injury luck on defense this season. They’ve seen stars like Aiden Hutchinson and Alex Anzalone go down and have lost several other pieces, a trend that continued on Thursday.

Former Washington Huskies star defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike was among the players who needed assistance getting off the field and missed the second half after being ruled out with a hamstring injury.

After the game, head coach Dan Campbell offered an update on Onwuzurike and fellow defensive lineman Josh Paschal.

“I feel like it’ll be okay,” he said. “It could be a little bit. They could be down for a bit.”

Onwuzurike had played in every game this season after missing seven contests in 2023 and the entire 2022 season with various injuries. He has 19 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and 10 quarterback hits on the season and is finally becoming the player the Lions hoped he would when the organization selected him in the second round of the 2021 NFL draft.

The Lions have Super Bowl aspirations this season, and the 6-foot-3, 290-pound defensive lineman has shown to be an important piece of the puzzle up front. He now has a week to recover before Detroit’s next game, when they play on Thursday for the second week in a row, on December 5 against the Green Bay Packers, and then has until December 15 to rest when the Lions take on the Buffalo Bills.

Even if he has to miss a few weeks, Onwuzurike may be able to return for a stretch run as Detroit looks to lock up the No. 1 spot in the NFC and the coveted bye week that comes with it.

After a stellar final season with the Washington Huskies that saw him finish second in voting for the Heisman Trophy and get selected No. 8 overall by the Atlanta Falcons, Michael Penix Jr. hardly imagined he’d be spending his rookie season on the bench.

However, because the Falcons had signed veteran Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180-million deal six weeks prior, that’s where he’s found himself to start his NFL career.

In a conversation with SportsCasting.com’s DJ Siddiqi, Penix described the adjustment to his new role.

“It’s not much of a mental adjustment; obviously, it’s just physical,” Penix said. “You’re not out there. I still have the same mentality, just make sure I’m ready each and every day as if I was a starter. I’m always going to be ready. Mental aside, I still have that drive and determination to be great. In order to do that, I have to be ready for my moment. So I stay ready.”

Penix has been ready for his moment on a Falcons team that has struggled at times and has appeared in two games in his first season. He made his NFL debut against his former offensive coordinator, Ryan Grubb, and the Seattle Seahawks and also showed up briefly at the end of a blowout loss to the Denver Broncos.

But as he waits his turn, Penix said he’s plenty learned from the veteran Cousins, who is in the midst of season No. 13 and was reportedly shocked when Atlanta selected the former Washington star.

“We didn’t really talk about the draft,” he said. “It happened, there’s nothing we can do about it. Our conversations are all ball, things that will help our team win football games, and he’s been a great person in the quarterback room. Anytime I have a question, he has answers, he asks me questions, and I’ll have answers. We work together. At the end of the day, our goal is to help this team win football games.”

Read Penix’s full interview with DJ Siddiqi here.

Former Washington Huskies tight end Jack Westover took the long road to achieving his dream of playing in the NFL, which came true on Sunday when the New England Patriots activated him off their practice squad to make his professional debut against the Miami Dolphins.

After suffering a broken collarbone during his senior year of high school, Westover walked on to Chris Petersen’s squad in 2019 and played for his hometown team for five years, earning a scholarship during the 2020 season.

He accrued 87 catches for 849 yards and 8 total touchdowns during his career, fighting through a ruptured ligament and multiple pieces of chipped bone in his wrist, along with a partially torn calf during Washington’s run to the national championship. Westover was also named an All-Pac-12 honorable mention during the 2023 season.

Then, just like in high school recruiting, Westover was passed over during the 2024 NFL draft and went undrafted. But, also like in high school recruiting, his hometown team took a chance on him, and he was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as a priority undrafted free agent.

However, he was unable to make the roster at the start of the season and was signed to the New England Patriots practice squad in early October. After remaining in reserve, the Patriots activated him for their Week 12 matchup with the Dolphins on the road, where he gets an opportunity to play alongside his college running mate, wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk.

A little over a year ago, Rome Odunze was playing for the Washington Huskies as his team went into the LA Coliseum and beat the Caleb Williams-led USC Trojans 52-42 to remain undefeated.

Now, the pair are teammates with the Chicago Bears after general manager Ryan Poles used a pair of top-ten picks in April’s NFL draft to revamp what has been one of the league’s worst offenses for the last handful of years. However, the NFC North has turned into arguably the league’s toughest division, and due to a variety of factors, the most glaring of which has been poor play calling, that offensive breakout hasn’t happened yet.

Odunze leads the Bears with 479 receiving yards, but as the Bears sit in last in their division with a 4-6 record, fans are still waiting for Chicago to turn into the offensive juggernaut they were expected to.

Through all the hardships the Bears have faced, including speculation of Williams being benched for backup quarterback Tyson Bagent, Odunze is remaining positive about his future and his relationship with the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner.

“At the end of the day, he’s the one throwing me the ball, so our connection is everything,” Odunze told members of the media on Wednesday. “Building that chemistry [is important]. I can’t have great games without him, and hopefully, he can’t have great games without me. He’s doing his thing back there, and when he has that trust in belief in me, it’s something that gives me confidence to go out there and play freely and fast.”

Williams also took some time at his weekly press conference to discuss the connection he’s built with the former Husky star.

“Hanging out, playing video games, communicating, coming in at the same time and learning all of this together and helping each other throughout this time; being able to have all of those little moments, when those big moments happen, you have an idea and trust and belief that you’re on the same page. Right then and there, it showed up,” he said of turning to Odunze twice in key situations on their final drive during Sunday’s 20-19 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

As their connection continues to grow, the one-time Pac-12 stars look like they could be one of the league’s best quarterback/wide receiver combinations.

Even though the Chicago Bears are sitting at 4-6, general manager Ryan Poles can hang his hat knowing that he has some solid offensive building blocks in quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver Rome Odunze, especially after moving on from offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.

Most of Chicago’s offensive struggles can be traced back to Waldron’s poor coaching, which has been heavily criticized by Pro Bowl receiver DJ Moore since his departure. However, while he hasn’t received the same attention as fellow top-ten picks Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers, Odunze has quietly had a strong season.

He leads the Bears with 479 receiving yards, which ranks No. 6 among all rookies, while his 34 receptions and 14.1 yards per catch both rank No. 5 among rookies with 20 or more catches this season.

Chicago has a fairly weak assortment of defenses coming up, as their remaining opponents allow an average of 226.9 yards per game through the air. Odunze garnered a team-high 10 targets in the Bears’ 20-19 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday and turned them into 6 catches for a team-leading 65 yards as his chemistry with Williams continues to get stronger.

That chemistry came to a head with two receptions for Odunze on what should have been a game-winning drive for Williams before Cairo Santos’ field goal attempt was blocked, where the two connected for a gain of 16 yards on third and 19, and then 21 yards on fourth and three.

Odunze has been more than solid all season long, proving his worth as a blocker and pass catcher, and should excel under the guise of interim offensive coordinator Thomas Brown.

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Michael Penix Jr. is still undefeated when he starts against Bo Nix. Although his Atlanta Falcons lost 38-6 to Nix’s Denver Broncos, there was nothing the former Washington star quarterback could do against his Oregon rival.

The No. 8 overall pick from April’s NFL draft didn’t enter the game until midway through the fourth quarter when the game was well out of hand but displayed the impressive arm talent that convinced general manager Terry Fontenot to spend a premium pick on him.

Penix finished a modest 2-4 for 24 yards and was sacked once by Denver’s relentless front. He had an opportunity to connect with fellow rookie Casey Washington downfield for a big gain and made a pinpoint throw to the sixth-rounder, who got both hands on the ball but was injured going to the ground and couldn’t complete the catch.

That throw would’ve moved the Falcons inside the 10-yard line and given Penix an opportunity for his first NFL touchdown, which would have been more than his counterpart Kirk Cousins produced on the day. The veteran, who has taught Penix plenty during his rookie season, finished 18-27 for 173 yards and an interception and was sacked 3 times in the loss.

“Each and every day, I just try my best to be prepared,” Penix told the AP’s Pat Graham after the game. “Just watching Kirk and seeing see how he goes about his day and how he operates at a high level. Just trying to feed off of that so that whenever I do get in the game, I’m ready for those moments.”

Penix got a brief moment on Sunday but may have to wait a while for his first start.

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Former Washington Huskies star wide receiver Rome Odunze hasn’t been as productive as Chicago Bears fans may have hoped during his first season in the Windy City. The 2023 All-American and No. 9 overall pick in April’s draft has racked up 28 catches for 414 yards and a touchdown through nine games as the Bears have struggled offensively.

On Tuesday, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron took the fall for those woes as the organization fired the former Seattle Seahawks coach and turned to Thomas Brown, the team’s passing game coordinator as the interim play caller.

That should greatly benefit Odunze and rookie quarterback Caleb Williams after head coach Matt Eberflus cited “in-game communication” as one of the biggest reasons he decided to make a change.

“After evaluating our entire operation, I decided that it is in the best interest of our team to move in a different direction with the leadership of our offense,” Eberflus said in a statement. “This decision was well-thought-out, one that was conducted deliberately and respectfully. I would like to thank Shane for his efforts and wish him the best moving forward.”

Due to a combination of play calling and offensive line struggles, the Bears rank near the bottom of the NFL in every major offensive category, while Williams has taken 18 sacks over the last three weeks, including 9 in a 19-3 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday.

With the struggles up front, Waldron didn’t do much to help his rookie tandem, frequently calling longer-developing routes that would cause Williams to hold the ball for far too long. Odunze has developed a strong connection with the No. 1 overall pick in recent weeks, and if Brown can call more timing routes to help his quarterback get in rhythm early in games, Odunze could be the biggest benefactor and see a statistical explosion in the second half of the season.

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