Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images A classy gesture from the Detroit Lions caught the eye of former Lions DT Damon “Snacks” Harrison. Last week, the Detroit Lions traded for defensive end Za’Darius Smith, hoping to bolster their pass rush and run defense after suffering many injuries at the edge defender position. While fans were eager to see Smith play in a big “Sunday Night Football” contest with the Houston Texans, the coaching staff took a different approach. Smith was scheduled to have his bye week prior to the trade, and the Lions wanted to honor that. So before he even came to the facility, the Lions gave him two days off. Smith used those days to check in on his Florida home and family, which had been impacted by recent hurricanes. When Smith arrived with the team on Friday, Lions coaches determined it was in everyone’s best interest if he didn’t play on Sunday. “There was a thought about playing him, but we just felt like the right thing to do was just sit him this week, we just did,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “We’ll let him get his bearings and, there again, that’s a game off his body and now we can go.” That gesture caught the eye of former Lions defensive tackle Damon “Snacks” Harrison. A mere six years ago, Harrison was in a nearly identical situation in Detroit. He was traded to the Lions at the deadline, having not yet had his bye week. But because Detroit already had their bye, there was no break in the season for him. But unlike the current regime, the Lions immediately played Harrison, and the nose tackle ended up being the eighth player at the time to have played in 17 games in a season. Detroit opted not to start him in his first game in Detroit, but he still played 62 percent of snaps in his first game as a Lion. So what did Harrison have to say about Campbell’s gesture with Smith? I’d run through an army tank for dude if he’d done that for me! I finally see what the players, staff, and city of Detroit see in him…Dan THE Man!!! https://t.co/Kus8lBE9kV — Billy (@snacks) November 14, 2024 “I’d run through an army tank for dude if he’d done that for me!” Harrison tweeted on Wednesday night. “I finally see what the players, staff, and city of Detroit see in him…Dan THE Man!!!” While Harrison provided a nice bump for the Lions defense down the stretch of that 2018 season, his time in Detroit would come to an abrupt end in 2020. Despite handing him an extension in August of 2019, the Lions cut him six months later. At the time, Harrison called the move a “mutual parting,” but later he admitted he was “hell-bent” on leaving Detroit during the 2019 season. You have to wonder if things would have played out differently for “Snacks” had there been different management in charge of Detroit back then.

Kyle Terada-Imagn Images Lions LB Derrick Barnes is back in Allen Park, where he gave an update on his rehab, and shared some thoughts about the block that injured him. Detroit Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes was back at the team facility this week for the first time since his Week 3 leg injury that will likely cost him the rest of the 2024 season. For the past few months, Barnes has been in the very early stages of recovery after surgery to repair MCL and PCL tears. He’s been doing physical therapy in West Lafayette while sporting crutches and a brace. Now, the crutches are gone, the brace is off, and he couldn’t be more thrilled to join his teammates and coaches back in Allen Park. “Got to see everybody, I got to see the coaches bring joy to me,” Barnes said Wednesday in his first media appearance since the injury. “The coaches in there with me and we’re laughing and giggling the whole time. So you know, it feels good. “Being away is just not for me. I can’t. Me and Alex (Anzalone) were joking, I was like, ‘Man, I won’t miss football when I retire,’ because it’s like, all this work that I put in, the lifting and running. I was like, ‘I ain’t gonna miss that.’ And then you get away and something like this happens, and I miss it all. So it feels good to be back.” Barnes’ rehab begins phase two back in Detroit. Working behind the scenes—along with fellow injured defender Aidan Hutchinson—Barnes began an intensive process this week with Lions director of player health and performance Brett Fischer. Both Fischer and Hutchinson are already pushing him to reach his goals, and Barnes was surprised by his progress already. “I didn’t know I was gonna be able to ride the bike today,” Barnes said. “Got on the bike. Did a little bit of walking inside of the water, which was good. My legs were super stiff. Today was the first day I felt kind of normal.” Barnes didn’t have a timeline for his recovery, and wouldn’t say whether he’s still aiming for a return this season. The focus is more on getting better each individual day. That said, he admitted the success of the team is an extra motivation to get back on the field as soon as possible. “Yeah, of course. A hundred percent,” Barnes said. “I mean, man, those guys out there balling, man, it’s amazing to see. […] I think probably the game days is the most days where I feel down. I’m like, ‘Man, I really wish I was there.’ But it brings me joy to see what his team is accomplishing.” Barnes was injured against the Arizona Cardinals when tight end Tip Reiman crossed the formation and delivered a cut block directly into his right knee. Derrick Barnes R knee injury video-Direct impact to knee, fortunately foot not planted -Looks like lateral side hit which could cause MCL sprain. -Placed on IR. If non-severe MCL, could be back in 4-6wks. pic.twitter.com/WKYGHwaKbM — Jimmy Liao MD | Detroit Lions Morning Rounds (@JimmyLiaoMD) September 25, 2024 Barnes thinks those types of blocks have no place in the game today. “I think it should be banned,” Barnes said. “I think that the offense gets a lot of leeway. More than a defense. It’s football, though. I never sit there and complain about it. I do the hitting and then when I get hit, something like this happens. But nah, I don’t really agree with the play, but like I said, it is football, it does happen. You know, I would never wish that upon nobody.” Currently, there is a rule that bans blocks below the waist if they occur 2 yards outside the tackle box or 5 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. This block, however, clearly occurred in the “legal” area. But Barnes is beyond that, looking forward, and remaining optimistic about his future. While he wouldn’t commit to be already being ahead of schedule in his rehab, he certainly believes he’ll get there. “I will be. Let’s put it like that. Pretty soon I will be ahead of schedule.”

Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images A Week 11 preview with Gus Logue of @bigcatcountry about the matchup between the Detroit Lions and Jacksonville Jaguars. More Detroit Lions football is right around the corner, and we would never pass up the opportunity to get some intel from the opponent’s perspective. We called on Gus Logue of BigCatCountry.com to give us a glimpse into how and why the Jacksonville Jaguars have found themselves at the bottom of the standings, how they’ll navigate life without Trevor Lawrence in the immediate, and how the rest of the team is shaping up ahead of this Week 11 matchup. Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan made quite the proclamation at the beginning of the season. “Make no mistake: this is the best team assembled by the Jacksonville Jaguars ever,” Khan said. “Best players. Best coaches. But most importantly, let’s prove it by winning now.” Two months since he made those comments, the Jaguars have lost three games in a row to find themselves at 2-8, tied for the worst record in the NFL. Who is most to blame here: Khan and his comments, the players, or the coaching staff? I believe the issues in Jacksonville stem from coaches not putting players in the best position to succeed rather than players not executing. The latter has certainly popped up, but here’s an example of the former: first round rookie Brian Thomas Jr. was balling through the first two months of the season (33 catches, 573 yards, 5 touchdowns). However, since Christian Kirk went down with a shoulder injury in Week 8, Thomas Jr. only has 4 catches for 34 yards. You would think that’d he’d be more productive with Kirk out but Jaguars offensive coaches have made no efforts to adjust the game plan to feature him. It’s inexcusable. I don’t think Khan deserves blame, at least not for this specific season, because he’s no football junkie. He didn’t pore over the depth chart and compare it to previous seasons. He didn’t watch Thomas Jr. tape and conclude that he’d fix the offense. He has a very small circle and trusts the people he’s hired to make decisions… so it’s clear that Khan was told by someone he trusts—almost certainly general manager Trent Baalke—that this roster was legitimate. And now he looks like a fool for reciting the “best team assembled” line. The players are not blameless, but this season falls on the front office and coaching staff. The house needs to be cleaned. Trevor Lawrence missed last week’s game against the Minnesota Vikings with an AC joint sprain that could lead to the team shutting him down for the rest of the season. Do you feel like that’s the right move for Lawrence and his development? What encouraged you about Mac Jones’ performance against the Vikings? What concerns do you have about this offense the rest of the way if he’s the starter from here on out? Doug Pederson said Wednesday that Lawrence will be out for Sunday’s game in Detroit, but the team is optimistic about a possible return after its Week 12 bye. I’m wary about the team winning enough games to save the head coach and general manager, but I also think Lawrence should return to the field if possible. He only turned 25 last month and would develop more on the field than off. A best-case scenario for the Jaguars may be losing badly in Detroit, firing Pederson during the bye, and allow Lawrence to return and try to win games without Pederson (and Baalke) benefitting from his stardom. Mac Jones threw for 111 yards, 0 touchdowns and 2 interceptions with a fumble lost last week. He ranks dead last in passer rating among 45 quarterbacks with 30-plus attempts this season. The most encouraging part of Jones’ performance against Minnesota was the takeaway that Lawrence truly does a lot of heavy lifting for this offense and is a special talent. I struggle to imagine how the Jones-led Jaguars can reach double-digit points in Detroit. Jacksonville’s defense, despite ranking 31st in defense DVOA and 32nd in pass defense DVOA, kept them in last week’s contest against the Vikings, picking off Sam Darnold three times–including two interceptions in the red zone. Was this defensive effort an anomaly propped up by timely turnovers, or is there reason to think the Jaguars might be turning a corner defensively? I’m taking it as a reason to think the Jaguars might be turning a corner defensively. Even with Sam Darnold behind center, holding a Kevin O’Connell-coached and Justin Jefferson-led offense to zero touchdowns is impressive. And while the takeaways did mask 400 yards of offense and 4 red zone trips for Minnesota, the Jaguars registered its second-lowest Time of Possession in franchise history—the defense was put in a tough circumstance and still did enough to win. I’m bullish on the entire unit continuing to improve over the second half of the season under Ryan Nielsen, who’s in his first season coordinating Jacksonville’s defense. The Jags have had a solid run defense for a few years now, thanks mostly to Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker setting the edge on either side, but the secondary is finally starting to click. The defense transitioned from a 3-4 zone-heavy attack to a 4-3 man-heavy philosophy, so combine that with Nielsen being a newcomer, and there was always going to be some growing pains. Is there a player or two you could highlight from this Jaguars team that may fly under the radar nationally and will ultimately surprise Lions’ fans by their level of compete? Tyson Campbell and Darnell Savage have been the best players in Jacksonville’s secondary, especially in recent weeks, but Jarrian Jones deserves love as well. He’s a third-round rookie out of FSU who mostly played on the boundary in college but has now locked down Jacksonville’s nickel role. He recorded his first interception in Week 8—a really cool moment where Jones applied film study and immediately told his position coach on

Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Here’s everything you need to know about the Eagles’ Week 11 ‘Thursday Night Football’ division game. The Philadelphia Eagles (7-2) are on a five-game win streak, and are back at home in Week 11 to take on the Washington Commanders (7-3) on Thursday Night Football. There was a quick turnaround heading into Thursday’s game, but thankfully, the Eagles beat the Cowboys so badly last week that some of the starters were able to get rest at the end of that game. Thanks to that win, the Eagles currently sit atop the NFC East, but it’s a close battle with the Commanders, and this game will have definitely have implications. Quarterback Jalen Hurts had two turnovers in Dallas, this after playing super clean football since the bye week. Still, they were a bit happenstance, and he was able to bounce back to have a great game. As good as the offense played, the Eagles’ defense is on another level. They’re back dancing in the endzone after take-aways, and being general menaces to their opponents each week. The secondary is in good hands with Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, and Zack Baun’s been among the best inside linebackers in the league the past few weeks. The group will have one of their bigger challenges against rookie QB Jayden Daniels — although the former LSU quarterback is a familiar face for a lot of the Georgia Bulldogs in Philly — and a Washington team that is on the rise. It’ll also be the first time TE Zach Ertz will return to Lincoln Financial Field as a player for the Commanders. Ertz has been a red-zone favorite this season, so he’ll be itching to get into the endzone on Thursday. Here’s everything you need to know about how to watch the game. TV Schedule Date: Thursday, November 14, 2024 Time: 8:15 PM ET Channel: Amazon Prime Video Location: Lincoln Financial Field | Philadelphia, PA Announcers: Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit, Kaylee Hartung (field reporter) Referee: Adrian Hill (Eagles are 10-9 in 19 games as field judge, side judge, or referee) SIRIUS: 225 (WAS) | 226 (PHI) Online Streaming Prime Video | NFL+ [phone and tablet only] Odds via FanDuel The Eagles are favorites for their Week 10 home game on Thursday night. Washington Commanders: +3.5 (+168) Philadelphia Eagles: -3.5 (-200) Over/under: 48.5 History Lesson Washington leads the all-time series between these teams, 88-84-5, but the Eagles have won five of the six most-recent meetings. The Eagles won both of their matchups against the Commanders in 2023, winning in overtime, 34-31, and then beat them again just a few weeks later, 38-31. Social Media Information BGN Facebook Page: Click here to like our page BGN Twitter: Follow @BleedingGreen BGN Manager: Brandon Lee Gowton: Follow @BrandonGowton Eagles 2024 Regular Season Schedule Week 1 – vs. Green Bay Packers IN BRAZIL (Sept. 6, 8:15 PM ET, Peacock) Week 2 – vs Atlanta Falcons (Sept. 16, 8:15 PM ET, ESPN) Monday Night Football* *Nick Foles Retirement Celebration Week 3 – at New Orleans Saints (Sept. 22, 1:00 PM ET, FOX) Week 4 – at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Sept. 29, 1:00 PM ET, FOX) Week 5 – BYE WEEK Week 6 – vs. Cleveland Browns (Oct. 13, 1:00 PM ET, FOX) Week 7 – at New York Giants (Oct. 20, 1:00 PM ET, FOX) Week 8 – at Cincinnati Bengals (Oct. 27, 1:00 PM* ET, CBS) *Game was flexed to an earlier kickoff; previously set for 4:25 PM ET Week 9 – vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (Nov. 3, 4:05 PM* ET, NBC) *Game was flexed to an earlier kickoff, previously set for Sunday Night Football Week 10 – at Dallas Cowboys (Nov. 10, 4:25 PM ET, CBS) Week 11 – vs. Washington Commanders (Nov. 14, 8:15 PM ET, Amazon Prime) Thursday Night Football Week 12 – at Los Angeles Chargers (Nov. 24, 8:20 PM ET, NBC) Sunday Night Football Week 13 – at Baltimore Ravens (Dec. 1, 4:25 PM ET, CBS) Week 14 – vs. Carolina Panthers (Dec. 8, 1:00 PM ET, FOX) Week 15 – vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (Dec. 15, 4:25 PM ET, FOX) Week 16 – at Washington Commanders (Dec. 22, 1:00 PM ET, FOX) Week 17 – vs. Dallas Cowboys (Dec. 29, 4:25 PM ET, FOX) Week 18 – vs. New York Giants (TBD)