Tag: Week 9

49ers shut down facility after player tests positive for COVID-19

The San Francisco 49ers have shut down their facility after a player tests positive for COVID-19 ahead of Week 9 against the Packers.

The San Francisco 49ers are just days away from having lost to the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field. The 49ers, who have been riddled with injuries all season, were just dealt another blow on Wednesday morning when a player tested positive for COVID-19.

San Francisco issued the following statement via Twitter:

“The San Francisco 49ers were informed today that a player has tested positive for COVID-19 and the individual immediately went into self-quarantine,” the 49ers said. “Our organization has entered the NFL‘s intensive protocol and we are working with the league on contact tracing to identify high risk individuals. All team functions will be conducted virtually today.

“The health and safety of our players, staff and community are the organization’s highest priority. We will continue to work closely with the NFL and medical professionals and will follow their direction.”

The 49ers and Packers are set to square off in just over 24 hours on “Thursday Night Football.” That game remains a go, for now.

No Seattle players have tested positive for the coronavirus as of his post.

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Seahawks climb back up into top 5 in USA TODAY’s NFL power rankings

The Seattle Seahawks have climbed back up into the top five in USA TODAY’s NFL power rankings ahead of Week 9.

The Seattle Seahawks took quite a hit in the weekly NFL power rankings when they dropped their first and only losing contest of the year to the Arizona Cardinals.

But after Week 8 and an impressive win over the division-rival 49ers, the Seahawks are clawing their way back up. After Sunday’s victory, Seattle is back in the top five of the USA TODAY’s rankings, jumping all the way up from No. 6 to No. 3.

“QB Russell Wilson is nearly on pace for a 60-TD season,” writes Nate Davis. “More important, Seattle is on pace for its first No. 1 seed since 2014, when it lost Super Bowl XLIX.”

The Steelers – the league’s lone undefeated team – sit in the top spot once again.

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Chargers open as slight favorites over Raiders in Week 9

Vegas sees the Los Angeles Chargers as favorites heading into their Week 9 matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Los Angeles Chargers (2-5) are looking to pick up their first divisional win since 2018 after facing another heartbroken loss, this time to the Denver Broncos last Sunday.

Going into this weekend’s contest, the Chargers are favored by a point over the Las Vegas Raiders (4-3) in Week 9 of the 2020 regular season, per BetMGM.

Advantage was on Los Angeles’ side after being up by the score of 24-3, but the ongoing meltdown continued, which then led to the team staring at a scoreboard of 31-30 in Denver’s favor.

Meanwhile, the Raiders picked up their fourth win of the season over the Cleveland Browns which was guided by a dominant defensive outing and running back Joshua Jacobs who ran for 128 yards.

Sunday’s matchup will begin at 2:05 p.m. PT and will be televised on FOX.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

Detroit Lions protect three practice squad players in Week 9, including two hybrid EDGE rushers

Detroit Lions protected three practice squad players in Week 9, including hybrid EDGE rushers Kareem Martin and linebacker Anthony Pittman. Cornerback/gunner Dee Virgin was also protected per usual.

Detroit Lions protected three practice squad players in Week 9, including hybrid EDGE rushers Kareem Martin and linebacker Anthony Pittman. Cornerback/gunner Dee Virgin was also protected per usual — he has been protected every week available this season.

The Lions have been very consistent with how they have utilized the protection designations for their practice squad players, only protecting five players over the whole season leading up to this week. In previous week’s the Lions have actually protected fewer players than the maximum allowance, as they have only focused on these specific players.

In addition to Virgin, the Lions protected quarterback David Blough and tight end Isaac Nauta every week available, until each was eventually elevated to the active roster. Running back Kerrith Whyte was protected each week available up until he landed on practice squad injured reserve in Week 5. While running back Jonathan Williams was protected in Week 1 — and will join the active roster later today.

So what changed in Week 9?

EDGE Trey Flowers was just placed on injured reserve. While Everson Griffen has completed his onboarding process and was added to the active roster Monday, the Lions likely felt they needed some extra insurance on the edge.

Martin is the player on the practice squad who is stylistically the closest to Flowers/Griffen, but Pittman has been with the team for the last 18 months and has seen time at JACK linebacker late last season.

By protecting both, the Lions will have the opportunity to see how Griffen acclimates this week in practice, while also allowing Martin and Pittman to compete for an emergency role. If coaches don’t feel Griffen is ready to fully contribute by Saturday, they can promote the winner of the emergency competition to the active roster for this week’s game.

Lions Wire Fantasy Football Weekly: 2020 Week 9 preview

Breaking down who to start and sit and offering fantasy football advice for Week 9

Often times some people will focus mostly on statistics when it comes to fantasy football, but during your fantasy season there is normally a certain natural feel for the game that you need to have in order to win.

When should you bench certain players? When do you need to cut ties on underperforming stars? How to value trade offers? There are no numbers or analytics that can fully answer those important questions, but those owners that deal with the ups and downs of a season the best are often there at the end of the season fighting for the championship.

Lions at Vikings fantasy focus

The Detroit Lions continue their season of ups and downs. They continue to preach consistency, but the team as a whole has been anything but consistent in 2020 and this goes for their fantasy football performers as well.

Looking at this week’s game against the Minnesota Vikings, there are a few key fantasy options on both sides. Dalvin Cook (RB Vikings) and Adam Thielen (WR Vikings) are two crucial pieces for Minnesota. Adrian Peterson (RB Lions) and T.J. Hockenson (TE Lions) will be players to consider for your lineups when it comes to the Lions this week.

Recent games in Minnesota have often not been fun at all for Matthew Stafford, and he will have to be very good to give the Lions a chance this week. Dalvin Cook won many fantasy owners their matchup last week where he had over 200 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns, which is an amazing game. Will Cook be able to have a similar game against the Lions poor ranking rush defense?

Keep your eye on a few of these key players, but with no Kenny Golladay (WR Lions) and Stefon Diggs, the former Vikings wide receiver now in Buffalo, this isn’t a very exciting fantasy football matchup when you look at it on paper.

Start/Sit

Start
Matt Ryan (QB Falcons)
Adrian Peterson (RB Lions)
Stefon Diggs (WR Bills)
T.J. Hockenson (TE Lions)

Sit
Lamar Jackson (QB Ravens)
Johnathan Taylor (RB Colts)
D.J. Moore (WR Panthers)
Rob Gronkowski (TE Bucannears)

Top 3 projected players by position

Quarterbacks
Russell Wilson, Seahawks
Josh Allen, Bills
Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs

Running Backs
Dalvin Cook, Vikings
Derrick Henry, Titans
Alvin Kamara, Saints

Wide Receivers
Davante Adams, Packers
Stefon Diggs, Bills
Tyler Lockett, Seahawks

Tight Ends
Travis Kelce, Chiefs
Darren Waller, Raiders
T.J. Hockenson, Lions

Team Defenses
Washington
Steelers
Patriots

Kickers
Younghoe Koo, Falcons
Harrison Butker, Cheifs
Justin Tucker, Ravens

Waiver wire options

Drew Lock (QB Broncos)
Jake Luton (QB Jaguars)
Damien Harris (RB Patriots)
Wayne Gallman (RB Giants)
Allen Lazard (WR Packers)
Marvin Hall (WR Lions)
Eric Ebron (TE Steelers)
Logan Thomas (TE Washington)

Intriguing games and players in Week 9

(Week 9 Bye Weeks: Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams) 

Green Bay at San Francisco, Thursday 8:20 PM, EST

  • GB: Aaron Rodgers (QB), Aaron Jones (RB)
  • SF: Tevin Coleman (RB), Brandon Aiyuk (WR)

Seattle at Buffalo, Sunday 1:00 PM, EST

  • SEA:  DeeJay Dallas (RB), Greg Olsen (TE)
  • BUF: Zach Moss (RB), Stefon Diggs (WR)

Detroit at Minnesota, Sunday 1:00 PM, EST

  • DET: Marvin Jones Jr (WR), Matthew Stafford (QB)
  • MIN: Justin Jefferson (WR), Kyle Rudolph (TE)

Miami at Arizona, Sunday 4:25 PM, EST

  • MIA: Tua Tagovailoa (QB), Miles Gaskin (RB)
  • AZ: Christian Kirk (WR), Kyler Murray (QB)

Pittsburgh at Dallas, Sunday 4:25 PM, EST

  • PIT: James Washington (WR), James Conner (RB)
  • DAL: Michael Gallup (WR), Tony Pollard (RB)

New Orleans at Tampa Bay, Sunday 8:20 PM, EST

  • NO: Drew Brees (QB), Michael Thomas (WR)
  • TB: Tom Brady (QB), Antonio Brown (WR)

Bottom Line

Don’t get so fixated on the past statistics that you forget about what might happen in the future. Don’t focus so much on the numbers that you forget that feel for the ups and downs of fantasy football and the NFL as a whole.

When looking over your roster, place a good amount of value on those consistent players that always seem to come through week after week. Consider cutting those players that are very inconsistent.

These immeasurable aspects of fantasy football are often what help decide who makes the playoffs and who doesn’t. If you have a good feeling about a player, don’t always ignore that when the analytics say otherwise. A consistent team that also isn’t afraid to bold at times is often one that wins. That is true not just in fantasy football but also on the actual gridiron.

 

Chiefs release updated depth chart for Week 9

A look at the latest depth chart for the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Kansas City Chiefs have released their updated depth chart ahead of their Week 9 game with the Carolina Panthers.

There are just a couple of changes to the depth chart this week. Remember that these depth charts are considered to be unofficial. They’re assembled by the team’s PR staff and not the coaching staff. They don’t always accurately reflect what will happen on game day, especially since it’s crafted earlier in the week before the team has practiced or made any significant transactions.

Let’s take a look at this iteration of the depth chart and see what we can learn about the 2020 Chiefs:

Rush to Judgment: Cooper Rush may start at QB over DiNucci in Week 9

The Dallas Cowboys’ offense did not look good in Week 8 against the Philadelphia Eagles. A bigger test comes to town when the team returns home to host the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 9. The Steelers have one of the league’s top defenses and Dallas …

The Dallas Cowboys’ offense did not look good in Week 8 against the Philadelphia Eagles. A bigger test comes to town when the team returns home to host the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 9. The Steelers have one of the league’s top defenses and Dallas has recently learned that backup QB Andy Dalton is going to miss at least a second-consecutive game.

Dalton was knocked out in Week 7 with a concussion, but a positive COVID-19 test has been added to his plate along with still being in the protocol. Seventh-round rookie Ben DiNucci started against the Eagles and was overwhelmed. It looks like the club may go elsewhere for a starting solution against the Steelers, as former backup Cooper Rush may get the nod.

Rush was signed last week to the club’s practice squad, but after DiNucci’s lackluster showing, may jump from third string to starter per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Earlier on Tuesday, owner Jerry Jones said that the start for the small-school DiNucci was too much on the youngster’s plate. DiNucci was 21 for 40 for just 180 yards and eight of his completions were throws behind the line of scrimmage.

“I think that it was a lot for him. I think we certainly, as a team, paid the price to have him come in and under those circumstances. And that’s almost trite. It was frankly more than he could handle. I don’t know what you could have expected for somebody to come in under those circumstances. But they’ve got, Philadelphia, if they’re strong anywhere, they can bring the pressure and they can bring some challenges defensively. They did. It was dramatic. And, so, it’s tough to win a ballgame like that.”

It was apparent from when franchise quarterback Dak Prescott went down against the New York Giants the club was not enthusiastic about DiNucci possibly seeing time under center this season.

The team immediately signed Garrett Gilbert off the Cleveland Browns practice squad. They also looked to add David Blough off the Detroit practice squad that same week, but the Lions moved him to their 53-man roster to protect him.

Last week they signed Rush, a 2017 UDFA who spent his three seasons backing up Prescott in Dallas. He was a street free agent but spent 2019 in Kellen Moore’s offense, which means he’ll enter the week with more experience in the system than the overwhelmed DiNucci.

Whether or not it will make a difference for the 2-6 Cowboys remains to be seen. Rush showed promise in the 2017 preseason, but didn’t play all year and never elevated himself since and was replaced by Dalton as the primary backup with the move to Mike McCarthy as the head coach.

Now he’s back in the fold and could be under center on Sunday.

He’s thrown just three passes with only a two-yard completion on his resume.

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7 fantasy football waiver wire targets ahead of Week 9

Fantasy football wavier wire claims and targets ahead of Week 9.

Fantasy football has hit the middle point of the regular season and now, more than ever, a waiver wire pickup could make all the difference for your team. That’s especially the case with a couple of tough injuries that occurred in the NFL this past week.

With that, here are seven wavier wire claims to make in fantasy football ahead of Week 9:

Vegas Watch: Lions open Week 9 as 4-point underdogs to the Vikings

Examining the betting odds, vis BetMGM, of the Detroit Lions Week 9 game with the Minnesota Vikings.

Believe it or not, the Detroit Lions (3-4) are still ahead of the Minnesota Vikings (2-5) in the standings. But, with the Vikings are coming off a strong 28-22 win over the NFC North first place Green Bay Packers and the Lions looking lost in a 41-21 beatdown from the Indianapolis Colts, it’s not overly surprising the good folks over at BetMGM are giving the Vikings an early 4-point edge.

BetMGM has a lot of various bet lines to wager on in this game, but here’s a look at the basic concepts most would be interested in, including the Moneyline, points spread, and over/under.

Moneyline

Lions +165
Vikings -200

Spread

Lions +4 -110
Vikings -4 -110

Over/Under

Total points scored Over Under
53.5 -110 -110

Lions total points scored

Lions total points Over Under
21.5 -189 +145
24.5 -110 -115
27.5 +140 -182

There will also a considerable amount of player prop bets added throughout the week, including touchdowns scorers, the first player to score, quarterback passing props (yards, touchdowns, interceptions, attempts, completions, longest completion), running back props (rushing yards, attempts, rushing + receiving yards), and receiver props (receiving yards, receptions, longest reception).

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

NFL Power Rankings Week 9: Opinions of the Lions future are varied

Taking a look at where the Detroit Lions sit among the collection of Week 9 national power rankings.

Entering Week 9, the national media’s opinion of the Detroit Lions mirrors the fans, with some believing they can string together a series of wins over the next month, while others think the season is basically over and that coach Matt Patricia’s days in Detroit are numbered.

Let’s take a closer look at what the national analysts thought of the Lions’ victory and what the experts are saying this week.

Touchdown Wire: 25 (Previous: 22)

“Thankfully for the Lions, they now enter the more favorable part of their slate of games. Their next four games are winnable, as they face Minnesota, Washington, Carolina and Houston. But any hope Lions fans had last week took a huge blow seeing this one get away from them.” — Mark Schofield

USA Today: 18 (Previous 18)

“They’ve scored first in all seven of their games this season … but haven’t scored enough in four of them.” — Nate Davis

NFL: 27 (Previous: 21)

“The Lions are now 0-3 at home after a 41-21 loss to the Colts that wiped away any goodwill accrued from back-to-back wins. They had a chance to put themselves into excellent playoff position entering the season’s second half, but instead melted down with two turnovers that produced 15 Colts points at the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth. Detroit also lost star wideout Kenny Golladay, who’ll likely miss time after sustaining a hip injury. The Lions face three losing teams over the next three weeks — if they clean up their play, they could still find themselves in the thick of the playoff race come December. But can you trust this team? That’s what I thought.” — Dan Hanzus

ESPN: 24 (Previous: 22)

“Reason for optimism: P Jack Fox. The offense is inconsistent. The defense can’t do much against any team with a winning record. The coaching has been suspect — and has moved away from things that work, like a group of offensive linemen that appeared to coalesce prior to Sunday’s demolition by Indianapolis. But hey, have you seen the punting? Fox leads the NFL with 53.2 yards per punt, best in the league by 2.8 yards. His 47.6-yard net punting average also leads the NFL. And Detroit’s special-teams coverage, led by coordinator Brayden Coombs, has been good. So not all is troublesome in Detroit.” — Michael Rothstein

CBS Sports: 18 (Previous 16)

“Their little surge came back to reality in a hurry with a terrible showing at home against the Colts. The heat is back on Matt Patricia.” — Pete Prisco

Sports Illustrated: 26 (Previous: 20)

“The fact that a win against the Colts would have pushed the Lions over .500 for the first time in the Matt Patricia era is damning. So, too were the results: The Lions yielding 41 points to the Colts in their seventh straight loss at home. Lions ownership billed this as a judgment year for Patricia and GM Bob Quinn, and games like this certainly make reaching that judgment easier.” — Jenny Vrentas

Sporting News: 19 (Previous: 18)

“The Lions couldn’t run the ball on the Colts and also lost wide receiver Kenny Golladay to a new injury. Matthew Stafford managed as well as he could but Matt Patricia’s defense got ripped too much for the QB to make a difference. Consider the coach back on a hotter seat.” — Vinnie Iyer