Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Here are 5 things to know about Colts’ new WR Alec Pierce.
After trading back with the Minnesota Vikings, Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard waited until pick No. 53 to make the team’s first selection in the 2022 NFL draft.
After much suspense, Cincinnati wide receiver Alec Pierce is the newest member of the blue and white. Here are five things to know about Matt Ryan’s newest weapon:
Get to know a few things about the newest defensive tackle for the #Chiefs:
The Kansas City Chiefs have signed former Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints DT Taylor Stallworth on a one-year deal. A former undrafted free agent out of South Carolina in 2018, Jones spent a pair of seasons in New Orleans before making his way to Indianapolis. The 2021 NFL season was one of his best yet, where he proved he could be a productive member of a defensive line rotation.
Here’s a quick look at four things the Chiefs Kingdom should know about their newest player:
Here are some things to know about Pederson, the new head coach of the Jaguars.
Jacksonville’s roller coaster of a coaching search finally came to an end on Thursday night as owner Shad Khan announced the hiring of Doug Pederson to replace Urban Meyer. Pederson was previously the head coach in Philadelphia from 2016-20.
It’s hard to see past how disastrous this search truly was. Jacksonville fired Meyer 50 days ago, getting a head start on the coaching search in just Week 15. But that time was mostly wasted.
Pederson was the very first candidate to interview, but he was the last candidate to get a second interview. It was more than a month from the time he first met with the Jags to the time he was announced as the coach, and it’s also apparent that he wasn’t the first choice for the job. The team was reportedly deep in negotiations with Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich before an impasse over the retention of general manager Trent Baalke killed those conversations.
Still, despite the way the search played out, the Jags may have gotten a very good coach in Pederson. Here are a few things you need to know about Jacksonville’s new headman.
How have the Philadelphia Eagles built a four-game winning streak? What’s in store for the Cowboys on Saturday night? | From @BenGrimaldi
The Dallas Cowboys are heading into the regular season finale with a record of 11-5 and made the postseason when they wrapped up the NFC East with three games left to play. After what the Cowboys went through in 2020, that’s remarkable achievement.
However, heading into Week 18, there’s a sense of uneasiness. It could just be the opponent on the schedule, the hated Philadelphia Eagles, but more that, it probably stems from the way the Cowboys performed their last time out.
The loss to the Arizona Cardinals wasn’t Dallas’ best effort, and now they only have one game to try and get things headed in the right direction again. That’s never easy against a division rival, or on the road, yet the Cowboys do have a few things going for them. The Cowboys have won every NFC East game, 5-0 this year, and are 6-2 on the road in 2021, with their only losses coming at last year’s Super Bowl contestants. Sweeping the division and winning 12 games would be a great year for the Cowboys.
Now here’s six things to know about their Week 18 opponents, the Eagles.
Here’s what you need to know about the matchup with the Jets.
Jacksonville is coming off a disappointing loss to one of the worst teams in the AFC in the Houston Texans, who won 30-16 on Sunday to sweep the Jags for the season. They now sit at just 2-12, and with coach Urban Meyer already being fired, this team is just trying to limp its way to the finish line.
But there are three more games before it can get there, and the first is a road matchup against another AFC cellar-dweller in the New York Jets, who sit at 3-11. The Jets finished just one game better than the Jaguars last season, and they’re on a similar pace again this time around.
A win may not do Jacksonville a lot of favors, as the team currently sits in position to pick first overall once again, but this is a squad still trying to find any positive momentum to build off heading into the offseason.
With that in mind, here are three things to know about the matchup against New York at MetLife Stadium.
Get to know the new leader of the Jaguars a bit better.
After the latest scandal involving the first-year head coach, Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan fired head coach Urban Meyer early on Thursday morning. Taking his place in the interim role will be offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, who was a member of Matt Patricia’s Detroit Lions staff last season before Meyer brought him in to develop quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
But after a disastrous first 13 games in 2021, Meyer is gone and this is Bevell’s team, at least for the next four weeks. A recent rule change allowing teams to interview coaching candidates up to two weeks before the end of the regular season almost certainly played a role in expediting a decision on Meyer, but that doesn’t necessarily mean Bevell couldn’t be in the running for the full-time position.
It certainly wouldn’t be unprecedented for owner Shad Khan to promote an interim. He fired Gus Bradley with two games to go in 2016, and interim coach Doug Marrone eventually had the “interim” taken out of his title. There are certainly a lot of more exciting options, such as Tampa Bay offensive coordinator and former Jags quarterback Byron Leftwich, but we can’t rule Bevell out as a candidate.
With that in mind, here are three things to know about him.
A dysfunctional offense that has scored more field goals than touchdowns. A COVID outbreak. Dak Prescott’s dominance. Here’s what to know ahead of the Week 15 tilt. | From @BenGrimaldi
The Dallas Cowboys are resting a little easier this week, knowing they have a cushion in the race to win the NFC East. Beating the Washington Football Team in Week 14 gave them some breathing room, but the goals for the Cowboys are bigger than just winning the division.
Cementing their playoff spot, postseason seeding and getting the offense right are among the things the Cowboys need to work towards as they prepare for their Week 15 opponent. Another rival is on the schedule, the New York Giants, who Dallas thoroughly beat way back in Week 5.
On the surface, this looks like a game the Cowboys should win easily, the Giants aren’t very good, with the GM and possibly a coaching staff that won’t be back. Yet this game is rarely easy. The Giants have a lot of pride and they tend to show up for games against the NFC East teams. The Cowboys need to keep their focus and bring the same intensity they had last week.
Here are six things to know about the Giants ahead of the Week 15 game for the Cowboys.
Jacksonville desperately needs a win this week in a battle between 2-11 teams.
Jacksonville is in a full-on spiral after suffering one of the most embarrassing losses of the last decade-plus on Sunday, falling on the road to the Tennessee Titans in a 20-0 shutout. It was the first time the Jaguars have been held scoreless in a game since 2009, and the team now sits at 2-11 in what has been a disastrous season.
Next up is a home battle against a Houston Texans team that hasn’t fared much better. The Texans defeated the Jags resoundingly in Week 1 in a 37-21 game, but they haven’t found much success since then and sit at 2-11, as well. Another team with a first-year head coach in David Culley, the Texans were widely expected to be the worst team in football this season, and they’ve certainly been among the worst.
But they have an opportunity to get right this week against a team that may be struggling even more. With that being said, though, this is a Houston roster with a multitude of deficiencies that isn’t particularly good at any one thing, and for that reason, it could present a winnable matchup. But the Jags have had a lot of winnable matchups this season, and most of those haven’t gone particularly well.
With that in mind, here are four things to know about this week’s matchup.
From Dak Prescott’s dominance to the streaking Washington Football Team led by Taylor Heinicke, here’s what to watch in the Week 14 contest. | From @BenGrimaldi
The Dallas Cowboys had a rough November, losing three of four after a 6-1 start. December started much better, with a win, ugly as it was, on the road. Now the Cowboys have had their mini bye and are preparing for the final five contests that will determine the team’s fate in the 2021 season. The schedule makers backloaded the league with division games and the Cowboys’ fight to seal the NFC East begins with a game against the Washington Football Team in Week 14.
These are teams heading in opposite directions. While Dallas has struggled recently, Washington has won four straight, including a win over the Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers to kick start their streak. The Football Team has squeaked out wins the last two weeks and managed to get within two games of the Cowboys in the division.
There’s no love lost between these NFC rivals and the stakes are about to get even higher for both teams. Here’s six things to know about football team from D.C. ahead of their Week 14 matchup.
Here’s what you need to know about Sunday’s game between the Jags and Titans.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have their first division rematch this weekend, facing off against a Tennessee Titans team on the road that defeated them in Jacksonville 37-19 in October. The Titans sit at 8-4 and lead the AFC South, but this hasn’t quite been the same team since losing running back Derrick Henry for the season.
Since then, the Jaguars have won two games, defeating the Miami Dolphins in London and shocking the Buffalo Bills, but they still sit at just 2-10 in what has been a frustrating first season for head coach Urban Meyer and rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Winning in Nashville is never easy, and Jacksonville hasn’t managed to earn a win on the road against Tennessee since 2013. Still, this could be another opportunity to upset a potential playoff team, and the Titans look slightly more vulnerable now than they did in October. Here’s what you need to know for Sunday’s game:
