Tag: Sunday Night Football

Joe Bachie ruled out of Sunday Night Football matchup

Joe Bachie will not play on SNF due to a hip injury

In the NFL, the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Chargers are linking up for a matchup on Sunday Night Football. In the primetime matchup, the Bengals are going to be without a former Spartan.

Joe Bachie has been ruled out for the game due to a hip injury. Bachie has appeared in all ten games for the Bengals this season.

The timetable for his return is unclear.

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3 bold predictions for Chargers in Week 11 vs. Bengals

Sunday Night Football will be in Los Angeles for the Chargers-Bengals in Week 11, a huge matchup for AFC playoff implications.

We’ve got a huge matchup in Los Angeles that will have major implications on the AFC playoff picture. The Chargers are coming off three consecutive victories, and at this point, Jim Harbaugh’s unit seems destined for the postseason.

On the flip side, the Bengals fell to 4-6 last week and have hung on for dear life in the playoff picture. Here are some bold predictions for this week’s contest.

Quarterbacks combine for 550+ passing yards

The quarterbacks in this matchup, Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert, have been playing unbelievable football recently. Each of them is undoubtedly a top-10 quarterback in the NFL. Herbert has looked fully healthy since the team’s bye week and has been the main reason for their recent winning streak. Burrow is playing at an MVP level, as he’s the league leader in passing yards and tied for the most touchdown passes.

Joshua Palmer hauls in catch of 40+ yards

The Bengals’ pass defense is exceptionally vulnerable, allowing the 10th-most yards through the air in 2024. In particular, the Chargers offense should be able to target Cam Taylor-Britt on the outside. The Bengals cornerback has allowed 37 receptions this season, the 11th-most in the league. A guy like Palmer should be able to take advantage of this and connect on a deep ball with Herbert. Palmer has just one touchdown the season but has six straight games with a catch of at least 24 yards.

Gus Edwards scores first TD as Charger

After 13 rushing touchdowns in 2023, Edwards has still yet to find the endzone as a Charger in 2024. There may not be a better opportunity than this weekend, as the Bengals have allowed 13 rushing TDs this season. That’s tied for fifth most in the NFL, and Edwards reclaimed the backup running back role last weekend.

Is Nico Collins playing tonight? Latest injury updates for Texans WR

Nico Collins is dealing with a hamstring injury entering Sunday’s matchup against the Detroit Lions.

The Houston Texans return home for Sunday Night Football in what could be a potential Super Bowl preview vs. the Detroit Lions. While the Texans will have Tank Dell back in the lineup, one player could be out for another week.

Despite being activated off the injured reserve, wide receiver Nico Collins was always going to be a game-time decision. Will the Texans’ top target be able to play in Week 10 against the NFC favorites?

That’s the only question Texans and Lions fans alike will want answered ahead of their primetime clash at NRG Stadium.

Nico Collins injury update

Collins, who missed the past four games with a hamstring injury, was officially designated to return on Friday. That opened a 21-day window during which Collins could practice with the Texans without taking up space on the team’s 53-man roster.

On Saturday, the Texans activated him to the 53-man roster, but still listed him as questionable for Sunday’s game. His status was always expected to be murky, especially given that he hadn’t gone through a full practice in nearly a month.

Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans was noncommittal when questioned about the 25-year-old’s status for Sunday’s contest against the NFC North leaders.

“Nico, he’s doing good,” Ryans said after Wednesday’s practice. “We’ll see where he ends up.”

On Sunday, the Texans listed him as inactive. He’ll need a bit more time to recover before taking the field.

When will Nico Collins return?

Barring a setback, it’s expected that Collins will be cleared for Monday’s Lone Star showdown at AT&T Stadium against the Dallas Cowboys. Houston’s being patient with its No. 1 receiver, knowing its next three contests will bode in its favor.

Second-year receiver Tank Dell, who also appeared on the injury report with a back injury, is good to go. He’ll serve as the No. 1 weapon for C.J. Stroud against a pesky but penalty-riddled Lions’ secondary.

Nico Collins stats

Collins, who last played in Week 5’s win over the Buffalo Bills, caught a 67-yard touchdown pass from Stroud in the first quarter before leaving for the remainder of the evening. He entered Week 5 as the NFL leader in receiving yards with 567. Collins also ranked third in catches with 32 and led the Texans with three receiving touchdowns.

Texans WR depth chart?

With Collins sidelined and two-time All-Pro Stefon Diggs on the season-ending injured reserve, here’s a look at the Texans receiving depth chart entering Week 10.

  • Tank Dell
  • Robert Woods
  • John Metchie III
  • Xavier Hutchinson
  • Steven Sims

Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik praised Dell’s performance after taking over as the leading receiver last Thursday.

Since Diggs’ departure, Dell has collected 10 catches for 141 yards and one touchdown on 13 targets.

“He took advantage of some matchups, and some plays worked out where we had given him plenty of opportunities in the last three or four weeks,” Slowik said. “Sometimes, you can’t control the coverage.” 

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. The game will be nationally televised on NBC. 

Lions add new DE before Week 10 matchup vs. Texans

The Detriot Lions are adding in a defensive end just in time to face off against the Houston Texans in Week 10 on Sunday Night Football.

The Houston Texans must prepare for the Detroit Lions, but must also study some Cleveland Browns’ defensive line tape.

The Lions acquired Za’Darius Smith in a trade with the AFC North franchise early Tuesday morning, adding a veteran pass rusher to their defense just a few hours before the 3 p.m. 2024 NFL trade deadline.

Smith, who’s racked up five sacks in nine games this season, is expected to be good to go when the Lions (7-1) take on the Texans (6-3) on Sunday Night Football in Week 10.

Smith, 32, has been a constant No. 2 option in the pass-rushing department over his decade in the Pros. The three-time Pro Bowler has 65 career sacks over the past 10 seasons with the Browns, Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers and Baltimore Ravens.

Houston’s offensive line should at least know what to expect from Smith since Laremy Tunsil, Juice Scruggs and Shaq Mason went head-to-head with him twice down the stretch last season, including in the AFC Wild Card Round. Smith recorded two sacks on Christmas Eve against Case Keenum in the Browns’ 36-22 win during the regular season.

The Texans had the last laugh after taking him out of the game in a 45-14 win the following month in the wild-card matchup at home.

The Lions, winners of six straight and NFC favorites, have struggled to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks since Defensive Player of the Year candidate Aidan Hutchinson broke the tibia and fibula in his left leg in a Week 6 win over the Dallas Cowboys.

Hutchinson was the star player, but not the only defender to sustain a season-ending injury, as fellow edge rusher Marcus Davenport suffered a knee injury last month. Detriot has recorded five other quarterback hits by defensive linemen in the past two games.

Houston’s offensive line could be in trouble if Smith starts hot. The Texans have allowed the second-most sacks (31) and the fourth-most pressures (89) through nine games this season.

“We have to be at our best at all times,” offensive lineman Tytus Howard said Monday. “We see everybody and hear everybody talk. We just have to be better because, at the end of the day, if we do our job, they don’t any reason to be talking about us.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. The game will be nationally televised on NBC.

NFL makes ‘Sunday Night Football’ flex decision for Week 11

The NFL won’t flex the Broncos-Falcons game to ‘Sunday Night Football’ in Week 11.

The Denver Broncos‘ showdown with the Atlanta Falcons in Week 11 will remain an afternoon game.

The Broncos-Falcons game was a candidate to be flexed from a 2:05 p.m. MT timeslot on CBS to a 6:20 p.m. MT Sunday Night Football window on NBC. Following Denver’s ugly loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, the NFL has decided to go a different route.

The Cincinnati Bengals (4-5) and Los Angeles Chargers (5-3) have been flexed into the SNF window for Week 11, the league announced Monday. That matchup was picked over the Broncos (5-4) vs. Falcons (6-3).

The original SNF game scheduled for Nov. 17 featured the Indianapolis Colts (4-5) against the New York Jets (3-6). To make room for the Bengals-Chargers game, the Colts-Jets matchup was flexed to 11:00 a.m. MT on CBS.

Denver’s game against Atlanta will remain an afternoon kickoff on CBS. The Broncos have one more scheduled prime-time game this season — a Monday Night Football showdown with the Cleveland Browns in Week 13.

The NFL is also yet to finalize dates and times for Weeks 17 and 18. Denver could be flexed to a Saturday for either of those two weeks later this season.

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Chargers vs. Bengals flexed into Sunday Night Football

The Chargers will have three primetime games in a span of four weeks.

The Chargers will be playing in primetime in Week 11.

The NFL announced that Los Angeles’ matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Nov. 17, will now be Sunday Night Football on NBC. The game will kick off at 5:20 pm PT.

Originally, L.A. and Cincinnati were scheduled to play at 1:25 pm, with the game set to be televised on CBS. Now, it replaces the contest between the Jets and Colts.

With the Chargers slated for Sunday night, they will play three primetime games in four weeks, with the other two being against the Ravens (Monday night in Week 12) and the Chiefs (Sunday night in Week 14).

The last time the Bolts and Bengals met was in 2021. Los Angeles won, 41-22.

Bengals-Chargers flexed to Sunday Night Football in Week 11

The Bengals-Chargers in Week 11 will be the SNF game thanks to flexing

The games that aren’t as attractive as they seemed when the season started are getting shuffled.

Latest case in point is Monday’s decision to move the Indianapolis Colts-New York Jets game out of the Sunday Night Football slot on Nov. 17. The Colts-Jets will be a 1 p.m. ET kick.

The flex will see the Cincinnati Bengals-Los Angeles Chargers game, which was originally to kick at 4:25 p.m. into the SNF 8:20 kickoff.

Yes, folks Aaron Rodgers no longer has the juice to keep the Jets in prime time.

The Bengals, who face the Ravens on Thursday, will play back-to-back primetime games for the first time since Weeks 4 and 5 of 2022, when they hosted the Dolphins on Thursday Night Football and traveled to play Baltimore on Sunday Night Football.

Vikings kicker Will Reichard finally missed a kick: Here’s what it means

Rookie kicker Will Reichard missed his first kick on Sunday night against the Indianapolis Colts, meaning he’ll finally get a haircut.

Not much went right for the Minnesota Vikings in the first half of their Sunday Night Football game against the Indianapolis Colts. The interior offensive line has been getting blown up all game, leading to a ton of pressure on quarterback Sam Darnold.

Darnold has not handled that pressure well, getting sacked three times in the first half, and getting pressured several more times. One of those sacks resulted in a fumble and a scoop-and-score for the Colts defense. Darnold also threw an interception early to compound the issues the Vikings are having early.

One consistent for the Vikings this season has been rookie kicker Will Reichard. Reichard was perfect on the season coming into the game, making his first 14 field goals of the season, including four kicks of 50+ yards. Reichard was also perfect on his extra points on the season, making his first 20 in a row.

Unfortunately for the Vikings, their fans, and Reichard’s hair, “was” is the operative term in that last paragraph. Reichard missed his first field goal of the season Sunday night against the Colts, missing a 53-yard kick in the second quarter and bringing his streak to an end.

Reichard’s special teams coach, Matt Daniels, mentioned earlier this season that Reichard was not cutting his hair until he missed a kick. That means Reichard is going to have a new look when he shows up to practice next week.

To make matters worse for the rookie kicker, Reichard missed a second kick to close out the first half, this one from considerably closer, as he doinked a 31-yard field goal off the upright. Missing multiple kicks in a game is not something Reichard is used to, as he only had three games at Alabama with multiple missed kicks in his five seasons in Tuscaloosa.

If it can go wrong for the Vikings, it has in the first half.

Broncos vs. Falcons could be flexed to ‘Sunday Night Football’

The Broncos’ home game against the Falcons in Week 11 could be a strong candidate to get flexed to ‘Sunday Night Football.’

The Denver Broncos‘ home game against the Atlanta Falcons on Nov. 17 could be flexed to prime time.

Mario Vetanze, a certified posture exercise professional and massage therapist who lists Broncos players among his clients, has been leaking the team’s uniform combinations ahead of Denver’s games this season.

This week, Vetanze tweeted that he’s hearing “rumblings” that the Broncos will wear orange jerseys with orange pants against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 11 because the game could be flexed to Sunday Night Football.

The Denver-Atlanta game is currently scheduled to air on Fox at 2:05 p.m. MT. A flex to SNF would make it a 6:20 p.m. MT game on NBC.

If the game is flexed to SNF, an announcement would arrive by mid-week because the NFL has to give teams at least 12 days of notice.

The current matchup scheduled for SNF that week is the New York Jets (3-6) hosting the Indianapolis Colts (4-4). One could argue that the Broncos-Falcons game is a more intriguing matchup, and it will mark safety Justin Simmons’ return to Denver.

Stay tuned. If the game is flexed, an announcement is not far away.

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Cowboys superstar LB unlikely to play vs. 49ers in Week 8

Micah Parsons is likely out for Week 8 per Adam Schefter.

It appears the banged up San Francisco 49ers are going to avoid facing Dallas Cowboys superstar edge rusher Micah Parsons when the two teams face off Sunday night.

Parsons was a non-participant Wednesday and Thursday for the Cowboys, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the three-time All-Pro is unlikely to recover from his ankle injury in time to play Sunday night.

This is a significant deal for a 49ers offensive line that has struggled at times this season. It’s also helpful for quarterback Brock Purdy who has generated some pressures of his own by holding onto the football too long.

Without Parsons, Dallas may have to resort to more blitzing to generate pass rush which is something Purdy and the 49ers’ offense should be able to take advantage of.

Parsons had 21 pressures and only 1.0 sacks in four games before his injury. He had 40.5 in the three seasons prior to this one, including a career-high 14.0 last season.

Without Parsons and edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence, who is on IR with a foot injury, the Cowboys have relied on a rotating cast of pass rushers to provide pressure.

Interior lineman Osa Odighizuwa has 17 pressures to lead the non-Parsons and Lawrence Cowboys. Odighizuwa, edge rusher Chauncey Golston and linebacker Eric Kendricks all have two sacks each per Pro Football Focus.

With the 49ers dealing with a host of their own injuries on offense, they’ll take the reprieve of missing Dallas’s top edge rushers in Week 8.

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