Photo by Gus Stark/Getty Images Philadelphia might be opening a roster spot for Jordan Mailata’s return. The Philadelphia Eagles waived third-string tight end Jack Stoll on Tuesday afternoon, according to an official team announcement. One must wonder if the Birds are opening a roster spot for Jordan Mailata, whose 21-day practice window to return from injured reserve was opened on Monday. If that’s the case, that’s really good news. Fred Johnson has done an admirable job filling in at left tackle but Mailata is an unquestionable upgrade. Stoll is now subject to waivers, as are all players following the NFL trade deadline. We’ll see if another team claims him or not. If Stoll goes unclaimed, the Eagles could look to add him back on the practice squad. Stoll rejoined the Eagles in late August after spending the 2024 offseason trying to make the New York Giants’ roster. He originally signed with the practice squad but was signed to the roster to provide more depth at tight end. Stoll served as TE2 behind starter Grant Calcaterra while Dallas Goedert missed multiple games due to hamstring injury. All told, Stoll’s logged 201 offensive snaps and 88 special teams snaps this season. His three targets have resulted in two catches for 10 yards. Speaking of Goedert, he was listed under “did not participate” on Monday’s injury report due to an ankle issue. The Eagles being willing to waive Stoll seems to indicate that Goedert will be able to play. Otherwise, Calcaterra is the only healthy tight end on the roster. The Eagles also do have E.J. Jenkins (who is out of temporary elevations) and C.J. Uzomah on the practice squad. And they can re-sign Albert Okwuegbunam if they really wanted to; he’s still a free agent … though he did work out for the Cincinnati Bengals on Tuesday.
Eagles waive Jack Stoll
Week 10 Lockdown Report: The NFL’s best defenders at preventing separation in coverage
Steelers’ Joey Porter Jr. has prevented separation on 65.42% of his opportunities this season, the highest rate in the league.
PFF grades: Struggles of Joe Noteboom, Jonah Jackson were real
Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images Offensive line woes played a large part in disappointing loss to Dolphins Not much went right offensively for the Los Angeles Rams, and that led to a disappointing Week 10 loss to the Miami Dolphins. LA started three new faces along the offensive line. The results were mixed, but RT Joe Noteboom and C Jonah Jackson particularly struggled. The Rams had no choice but to replace Rob Havenstein with someone new, as the veteran RT was out with injury; however, LA voluntarily replaced impressive rookie Beaux Limmer in the starting lineup and there was a deep drop off to Jackson. Second-year LG Steve Avila also made his return and played well by most measures. Let’s take a look at the Pro Football Focus (PFF) grades from Monday Night Football as we put this painful loss in the rearview. Top five grades on offense: 1 – Tyler Johnson, WR: 83.0 2 – Puka Nacua, WR: 73.5 3 – Jordan Whittington, WR: 73.1 4 – Matthew Stafford, QB: 70.2 This was Stafford’s third-highest rated game on the season, but still it left for wanting as LA left key third down conversions and potential touchdowns on the field. This was the veteran signal caller’s sixth-straight game throwing an interception, and he entered Monday Night Football leading the NFL in dropped interceptions. It seemed that Stafford turned a corner on Thursday Night Football versus the Minnesota Vikings, but his last two outings have been subpar considering the Rams full receiver corps is back in the fold. The box score reflects 32/46 passing (69.5%) for 293 yards, an interception, four sacks, and a passer rating of 77.5. PFF credited Stafford one big-time throw and no turnover-worthy plays. He did earn a fumble grade of just 32.0 after a strip sack. Matthew Stafford is intercepted for the sixth straight game, the longest INT streak of his career. pic.twitter.com/a5ecAXRQhZ — Arye Pulli (@AryePulli) November 12, 2024 5 – Cooper Kupp, WR: 68.3 Taking all the receivers together at once here. We can’t put much of the blame of this loss on the receiving corps if four of the five top grades went to that group. Notably, Demarcus Robinson was further down in the grades at 58.7 after he managed just one catch on five targets for 23 yards. After hauling in four touchdowns over his last two games, Robinson was largely a non-factor in this contest. Nacua: 9 catches, 98 yards Kupp: 7 catches, 80 yards Johnson: 3 catches, 25 yards Whittington: No targets Other notes on offense: It’s pretty evident where to point the finger and find blame in pass protection. Steve Avila did not allow a single pressure at left guard. Alaric Jackson was the next best lineman at two pressures. Kevin Dotson and Jonah Jackson both allowed three pressures each. Their PFF pass blocking grades were 55.6 and 46.2, respectively. The biggest problem was Joe Noteboom at RT. He allowed six total pressures (including a sack) and earned a pass blocking grade of 53.7. Top five grades on defense: 1 – Kobie Turner, DT: 90.8 Turner recorded four pressures and batted a pass. He was all over the field versus the Dolphins and was effective against the run with a grade of 80.7. look at Kobie Turner’s hustle pic.twitter.com/SFqdNM56CX — Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) November 12, 2024 2 – Christian Rozeboom, MLB: 90.0 This was probably Rozeboom’s best game of his career. He earned a PFF coverage grade of 91.9. In coverage as the nearest defender he allowed just two of five targets for 35 yards with an interception and two pass breakups. Christian Rozeboom : 3 tackles, career-high 3 passes defensed & an INT pic.twitter.com/dq5r8MzG9X — Lee Harvey (@MusikFan4Life) November 12, 2024 3 -Jared Verse, OLB: 89.7 On a single play Verse sacked the quarterback, forced a fumble, and then recovered the ball. It was a seemingly game-changing play until the Rams offense couldn’t take advantage. Verse’s Monday night finished with a team-leading five pressures. He also recorded three run stops. Hand Jared Verse the DROY already pic.twitter.com/TJzAW64svH — Bryce DeGroat (@NFL_Convo) November 12, 2024 4 – Tyler Davis, DT: 82.0 Davis played only 17 snaps on defense but made his presence felt. 10 of his snaps came against the run. He was most effective as a pass rusher where he recorded a pressure on seven rushes. 5 – Omar Speights, MLB: 77.0 Speights has been given more opportunities out of the bye week and following Troy Reeder’s stint on injured reserve. He’s played well at times, particularly at penetrating the backfield and making tackles for loss. He earned a rush defense grade of 77.8 in this game with two run stops. Notably, Speights was on the field for more snaps than Rozeboom at 39 versus 33. Other notes on defense: Three of the above listed players are members of the Rams rookie class. After the rookie duo of Jaylen McCollough and Kamren Kinchens made splash plays and combined for three interceptions last week against the Seattle Seahawks, they both struggled versus Miami. McCollough was given a 37.8 defense grade (17 of 18) by PFF and Kinchens was the Rams lowest-graded defender this week at 27.6. Kinchens was blamed for allowing a touchdown in coverage. Tua to Hill! Big TD for Miami! pic.twitter.com/yHP8DyyHge — PropSwap (@PropSwap) November 12, 2024
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin jabs Ravens WR Diontae Johnson ahead of Week 11 matchup
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin jabs Ravens WR Diontae Johnson ahead of Week 11 matchup glenn erby The Ravens sent the Carolina Panthers a 2025 fifth-round pick in exchange for veteran wide receiver Diontae Johnson and a 2025 sixth-round pick. Johnson spent five seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, amassing 391 catches for 4,363 yards and 25 touchdowns. He was selected to play in 1 Pro Bowl. Now with Baltimore, Johnson hasn’t been much of a factor through two games, and Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was asked about his former pass catcher. Being as blunt as he typically can be, Tomlin clarified that he wasn’t thinking about Johnson, with Baltimore having more important weapons to plan for. Johnson has just one catch for six yards, and Tomlin’s comments come just hours after Ravens head coach John Harbaugh told the media that the wide receiver would have an increased role as we advance.
Which current college football player would you add to the 2024 Bengals?
Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images Imagine Abdul Carter opposite of Trey Hendrickson. Greetings, Bengals fans! It’s safe to say the Bengals’ roster could use some more firepower. So, for this week’s Bengals Reacts, we decided to take it to the college level to see who could help this team the most right now. Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham would be a great choice since that’s easily one of the Bengals’ biggest weaknesses. An edge rusher like Tennessee’s James Pearce or Penn State’s Abdul Carter could do wonders on the opposite side of Trey Hendrickson. Might I interest you in Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty to take this offense even further? If you could add any college football player to the Bengals roster, who would it be? This is for this season specifically, so positions like wide receiver receiver and offensive tackle don’t exactly need to be addressed at the moment. Vote below and send us your thoughts in the comments section! Please take our survey Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Cincinnati Bengals fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys. And as always, WHO DEY!
Vikings Links: Will the Vikings Make The Playoffs?
Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images Can Sam Darnold lead the team to the playoffs? As we review the game against the Jaguars, we look forward to the Titans game. The question on everyone’s mind is can Sam Darnold lead the team deep into the playoffs or will his turnovers cost the team dearly? At the start of the season there were not many lofty expectations for Darnold so he has over delivered. Still, once you get the appetite whet, those expectations grow. I am hoping Darnold is able to at least clean up the turnovers. Seeing more of the field is going to take time of which we may not have a lot of. Regardless, it has been a good journey this season and I expect it to get better before we all get our hopes destroyed. After all, it is the Vikings way no? Minnesota Vikings News and Links NFL teams with the most deceiving records: 49ers primed to contend; Vikings in trouble? Minnesota Vikings (7-2) Deceiving: For the worse There’s no denying the impressive leadership of coach Kevin O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, who’ve consistently built and/or nurtured their personnel to withstand major blows. Since starting 5-0 in surprisingly seamless fashion, though, the Vikings have outscored opponents by a combined one point. They haven’t had a decisive, multi-score victory since Week 3 in late September. Brian Flores’ defense remains opportunistic, and Justin Jefferson always gives you a chance, but their most pleasant surprise, Sam Darnold, is gradually regressing, now leading the NFL with 13 turnovers. They’re likely still playoff-bound, but for how long in a tough NFC North? Vikings survive in Jacksonville as Mac Jones out-disasters Sam Darnold Sam Darnold did his best to lose this game for the Vikings. Mac Jones wouldn’t let him. Jones turned the ball over three times in the fourth quarter, failing to take advantage of several opportunities to take back the lead. The Vikings’ defense stepped up in a big way, leading Minnesota to a 12-7 victory on Sunday in Jacksonville despite three interceptions from Darnold and remarkably poor red zone execution by Kevin O’Connell’s offense. Vikings Film Room: Do they have a major problem with QB Sam Darnold? One of the biggest factors in the game was quarterback Sam Darnold. Despite completing 24-38 for 241 yards, Darnold threw three interceptions that could have been five prevented the Vikings from scoring a touchdown and went 0-5 in red zone situations. Throwing that many interceptions is bad, but were they the result of bad process, poor throws or something else? I took a look at the tape to get the answers. ‘Full transparency to our team’ – Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell sends firm message about status of QB Sam Darnold It’s not going to be popular with the entire Minnesota Vikings fanbase, but Sam Darnold is the starting quarterback. With the game in the rear view mirror, the topic of Darnold still being the starting quarterback, specifically head coach Kevin O’Connell making a major point of it in the locker room about how much faith they have in him. “Sam (Darnold), everyone in this locker room knows you are the guy that’s gonna take us there.” He was asked about that moment on Monday and gave some really good perspective on it. “In those moments, I don’t think about those things ahead of time and I certainly wouldn’t have thought about that ahead of time of not scoring a touchdown yesterday. So, it’s one of those things. We’re just in the moment, speaking from the heart and what I really think and believe, both the good things that allowed us to win the football game and the foundation of our belief in one another. It would not be as authentic if an opportunity like that made us change the way we think about everything. But at the same time, I think it’s important we look at it with a really close eye together and make sure that anything that can be coached is coached and we hold that standard. And at the same time, areas where I can help Sam [Darnold], because there’s plenty of those too. So, I think it’s just a matter of making sure full transparency to our team, even though it ends up being much more transparent to just the folks in that room every a week, but it is important for everybody in that room to hear me say that, not for any other reason than it’s the truth.” Vikings Proposal Lands Ex-Pro Bowl QB as Sam Darnold Insurance The Minnesota Vikings‘ honeymoon with Sam Darnold seems to be over after he’s thrown five interceptions the past two weeks and leads the NFL with 13 turnovers. Despite Darnold’s three turnovers in Week 10, the Vikings escaped with a 12-7 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars — but fans have grown weary that Darnold can truly lead the team deep in the playoffs. Backup Nick Mullens isn’t the answer if Darnold is having an off night. In three starts in 2023, Mullens threw eight touchdowns and eight interceptions. However, The Ringer’s Steven Ruiz entertained another possibility: signing free agent Ryan Tannehill. “We know that Mullens isn’t the solution to the turnover issues. Darnold may be an interception machine, but he provides the offense with a much higher ceiling, which makes up for the lower floor,” Ruiz wrote. “Tannehill, who is currently a free agent, could be a more viable solution and has previously had success in a similar style of offense in Tennessee. He’s comfortable operating from under center in a play-action-heavy attack (which [head coach Kevin O’Connell] would appreciate), and he’s not afraid to give his talented receivers a chance on 50/50 balls down the field (which Justin Jefferson would appreciate).” Vikings snap counts, notable PFF grades from win over Jaguars Top 5 PFF grades on offense (min. 20 snaps) 1. Hockenson — 85.6 2. O’Neill — 75.0 3. Oliver — 74.7 4. Jefferson — 67.6 5.
Raiders vs. Dolphins odds for Week 11: FanDuel shows confidence in Miami
Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images After the Miami Dolphins beat the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football to end Weke 10, FanDuel’s oddsmakers see them as favorites against the Las vegas Raiders in Week 11. The Miami Dolphins kept a pathway to the AFC playoff picture opened on Monday night when they beat the Los Angeles Rams, snapping a three-game losing stream and ending a four-game winning streak by the Rams. The 23-15 win was not a clean game for the Dolphins, with interceptions and fumbles still popping up at inopportune times, but they did enough on offense and, when they did make a mistake, the defense was there to assist. It felt like the first complete game Miami has played this year. The oddsmakers at FanDuel sportsbook seem to agree. The Dolphins opened as 7.5-point favorites for their Week 11 meeting against the Las Vegas Raiders. That spread is tied for the second-largest line of the week, trailing just the 13.5 points the Detroit Lions are favored over the Jacksonville Jaguars. After weeks of the Dolphins looking inept on the field and their betting lines matching, the Dolphins put together a solid performance, and the oddsmakers seem to have responded. Miami is -390 on the moneyline for the straight-up win, while the Raiders are +310 to pull off the upset. The point total is 44.5. Can the Dolphins put together two wins in a row as they look to move up from the 10th position in the AFC playoff picture? Are the Dolphins in a position to make a run back into contention in the wild card race? A second-straight win could actually make their playoff hopes come a little more into focus.
The Lions proved championship DNA in spite of their worst game
Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Three quarters of hell were erased by a team that doesn’t know how to quit. Well that was crazy, wasn’t it? When you see stuff pop on a screen that says “no team since 1970” you know it’s nuts, and when you then reckon that we’re talking about the AFL/NFL merger, where the prior period was loopy in stats anyway, it gets more nuts. The Detroit Lions were nuts against the Houston Texans. Nuts nuts nuts. On this episode of the Pride of Detroit PODcast, we break down one of the craziest games already from the 2024 Lions campaign. After a hellish start, the Lions proved how strong they can be in the comeback. We discuss Jared Goff’s up and down night, getting back on the mend, the return of Jameson Williams and how the Lions are going to keep this all up. Carlton Davis had a night, plus breaking down what looks to be an All-Pro sort of game from Brian Branch; a chance for James Houston to get back into the spotlight, and more attention for Aaron Glenn in the future coaching search as his defense continues to win games for the Lions time after time. Thank you as always for your support of the Pride of Detroit PODcast. If you’re not subscribed, make sure to do so to get all this content and more delivered to your favorite podcasting app. Subscribe to the PODcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow Pride Of Detroit on Twitch to get notified when we record the PODcast live and chat with us. Video replays are available on Twitch and YouTube.
Evan Neal showed signs of improvement vs. Panthers — film study
Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK Let’s break down Neals performance in his first real action of 2024 The New York Giants started Evan Neal in Week 10 for the first time in 2024. Neal returned from offseason ankle surgery and rehabilitation toward the end of training camp. Turbulence plagued Neal’s first two years, as injuries and poor play seemingly marred his confidence. The Giants are more than two years removed from selecting Neal No. 7 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft, and they were hesitant to give Neal a shot at starting. Andrew Thomas suffered a season-ending foot injury in Week 6. Brian Daboll and the Giants gave Josh Ezeudu the initial opportunity and then signed Chris Hubbard off the 49ers’ practice squad to start two games. Neither Ezeudu nor Hubbard stabilized the line, so the Giants moved Jermaine Eluemunor to left tackle, which opened up the opportunity to start Neal on the right side. The Giants’ overall offensive line was solid against one of the worst defenses in the league. Neal appeared more confident and decisive. According to NFL Pro, Evan Neal allowed just one pressure on 41 pass block snaps (2.4%), setting a career-low in pressure rate allowed (min 10. pass blocks). Neal faced Jadeveon Clowney on 27 pass rush matchups, allowing his sole pressure on the day (3.7% pressure rate allowed). Neal shone as a run blocker. He executed play-side and back-side blocks well, created creases when base blocking, and reached well. Pro Football Focus had an elite 93.4 run-blocking grade. Neal’s pass-blocking was graded at 80.6 — these were career-high single-game grades for Neal. Offensive line coaches Carmen Bricillio and James Ferentz deserve credit for assisting Neal and ensuring he was positioned to succeed. Theo Johnson helped Neal out often, but not always. I was impressed with the communication between Greg Van Roten and John Michael Schmitz, who worked well to help Neal. Neal looked solid in his return; some issues persist, and I’m uncertain if they’re rectifiable. Still, the 24-year-old saw the football field in 2024 and played well. That’s a step in the right direction. The breakdown is below: please leave a comment and let us know what you think.
Eagles-Cowboys Film Review: Jalen Hurts seemed to be hampered by the sun
Well, this Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys game was a bit of a weird one to analyze. I wasn’t too impressed with the offensive game plan, and I’ll explain why below, but there is no doubt the offense improved as the game went on. Offense The Cowboys did a few things schematically that the Eagles last had to deal with a while ago. Cowboys’ defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer showed a lot of “Double Mug” looks with his linebackers standing in both A-gaps. Zimmer is known for this, and I expected the Eagles to be a little bit more prepared for it. The Eagles struggled with who to protect in pass protection, and it led to the running back dealing with a linebacker far too often, even when the Cowboys only sent 4. Surprisingly, the interior offensive line had their worst game in a while in pass protection, and Cam Jurgens, in particular, struggled. As well as this, I thought the Eagles’ offense was too focused on taking shots down the field and didn’t give Jalen Hurts a lot of easy answers. If you add all of these things up, including some poor individual pass protection reps such as the one below from Kenneth Gainwell, then you get some poor reps. The offense took 5 sacks in the first half, which is not good enough. Some were on Hurts, some were on the scheme, some were on the protection and some were possibly because of the sun! (I’m not joking). If you are wondering about the other sacks, here they are. We will look at a couple more later. The Eagles’ best drive of the first half resulted in an interception. It’s an interesting play to break down from a scheme perspective. If I had to distribute blame, this is more of a fantastic defensive play than a terrible mistake by Hurts. I think Hurts’ process is fine here, and this route from Dallas Goedert should be open against this coverage. I’m not even sure that Trevon Diggs is supposed to be covering Goedert here. If Hurts is going to make this throw, he needs to release the ball just half a second earlier and throw it even harder. In the red zone, the windows are very small. I expect Hurts to learn from this mistake and be a bit more cautious when trying this throw again. This is such a fascinating play to look at. If you are looking at the result, then this is a fantastic play. It’s a brilliant throw by Hurts and a fantastic catch by Jahan Dotson. It’s really good to see that Hurts is starting to trust Dotson more, too. This is a real trust throw. However, this play also highlights some of the Eagles’ issues in the first half. They were a bit too focused on the downfield shots. There was another throw where Hurts underthrew DeVonta Smith, which would have been a touchdown, but Hurts couldn’t step up in the pocket due to the quick interior pressure. I do not mind taking shots against pressure at all. I think this play is perfectly fine. I believe the Eagles could have mixed in some more quick game, too. Everything was a bit too vertical, and it left Hurts without options too many times. This is a good example of what I spoke about above. You can argue that Hurts should go to Dallas Goedert here, but I can understand why he is wary of the Cowboys cornerback. Once he doesn’t go to Goedert, there’s just nothing else here. There’s no one in the middle of the field at all. There’s no quick checkdown. Here’s an example where I think the scheme didn’t help the quarterback. I’m just going to talk about the sun now. I genuinely think it made a difference. It’s boring to talk about because we will never know, but I think Hurts was very uncertain about where to go with the football in the second half, and he frequently stared right into the sun. It could have made a difference. What an awful stadium. This is the miss that makes me think the sun was bothering Hurts. Since when has Hurts played it safe on 3rd and very long? In this situation, there is absolutely no reason not to give DeVonta Smith or AJ Brown a chance to make a play. You are going to punt anyway. You might as well just let it fly! This is the worst play of the game. There’s nothing good here. It’s a good example of what I mentioned earlier when I said there are various reasons for the 5 sacks. I don’t like the play call. I’m not too fond of the protection against the stunt, which leaves Micah Parsons one-on-one. I don’t like the sun! Despite all of these reasons, Hurts still cannot fumble the ball. He needs to play with better fundamentals in the pocket because this play could have mattered a lot in bigger games. Right, I’ve got through the negatives now. I will give Kellen Moore and Jalen Hurts a lot of credit. Last year, when the offense was bad. It stayed bad. In this game, the Eagles started to adjust to what the Cowboys’ defense was doing and Jalen Hurts ended up playing a strong second half. This is probably my favorite throw of the game. The pass protection is a lot better. Compare Gainwell’s block here to his one on the first play above. Hurts pocket movement is fantastic. More importantly, unlike the earlier plays, Hurts has an option available to him over the middle of the field. Hurts throws a perfect ball, which enables AJ Brown to get good YAC, too. This is good stuff overall. This is another fantastic play. Everyone goes mental if Hurts takes the sack here with no timeouts left. But he doesn’t! Sometimes, you have to take risks to score points. He makes the Cowboys’ linebacker miss and delivers a strike
