Ravens vs. Steelers: Derrick Henry and Najee Harris may impact tempo Larry Brown Jr. Both Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry and Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris rank in the top ten in rush attempts for the 2024 season. Henry ranks No. 1 with 184 attempts while Harris has 157, sitting at No. 8. In their week 11 AFC North divisional matchup, which running back will dictate the pace? Sunday’s forecast may yield gloomy weather as the Steelers look to remain ahead of their rival in the AFC. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has already expressed a concern with defending the very deep depth chart of the Ravens offense. So, expect Tomlin to rely on Harris and reserve running back Jaylen Warren to feature numerous carries versus the Ravens’ No. 1 ranked rush defense. Henry’s usage may actually be more critical for the Ravens if his team wants to prevail on the road. With Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt’s pass-rushing threat, Ravens’ offensive coordinator Todd Monken cannot get pass-happy this weekend. Granted, Henry, a minimum of 19 carries will be important if the Ravens want to dictate the game tempo. Tomlin never seems to get off schedule, and his determination is clearly expressed in his dedication to Harris and the Steelers ground game. Harris only has 645 total rushing yards compared to Henry’s 1,120, but Tomlin insists on feeding him the ball, knowing that the offense relies on his production. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh must be mindful of the Steelers’ game plan and counter by using Henry to control the game tempo and extend offensive drives.
Ravens vs. Steelers: Derrick Henry and Najee Harris may impact tempo
Vikings Could Benefit from Greater Use of Double Tight Ends
Brad Rempel-Imagn Images It’s also trending among top offenses in the league Success in the modern NFL is founded on passing the ball well. It’s a passing league and the rules have changed over the years and decades to favor passing. And over the years the use of 11 personnel (3 wide receivers) has become the most used offensive personnel group. Most teams use it at least half of all offensive snaps and some use it as often as 90%, but the average this season is 60.9%. For the Minnesota Vikings, they’ve used 11 personnel on a nearly average 56.9% of their offensive snaps. The longstanding counter to 11 personnel usage offensively has been the use of nickel personnel defensively, where a defensive back replaces a linebacker, giving the defense three cornerbacks to counter the three wide receivers on offense. But in recent years the rise of two-deep or split safety shell coverages to limit chunk passing plays has made the use of 11 personnel less effective. In fact, the league average EPA/play in 11 personnel has been negative for the last three seasons. By contrast, EPA/play in 12 personnel is positive this year and has been in two of the last three seasons. But more importantly, for offenses able to pass well from 12 personnel, the gains in terms of EPA/play have significantly outpaced the best in 11 personnel. In EPA/play terms, the top ten 11 personnel offenses have averaged 0.18 EPA/pass whereas the top ten 12 personnel offenses have averaged 0.34 EPA/pass – nearly twice that of 11 personnel. So How Can 12 Personnel Help the Vikings? The Vikings have not done as well this year in 11 personnel, ranking 15th with an EPA/pass of 0.00. That’s a whopping 0.01 better than league average but given the receiving weapons the Vikings have at their disposal, and that the Darnold-to-Jefferson connection has been the most potent in the league so far this season from an EPA standpoint, it really isn’t great. Worse, 11 personnel has been a disaster in the red zone for the Vikings. They rank 27th in EPA/pass in the red zone with 11 personnel at -0.48. What’s happened is that defenses have begun using split safety shell coverages more often against the Vikings, which has allowed them to crowd Jefferson and more generally limit the Vikings’ chunk plays, especially in more recent games. That culminated in the Jaguars game when they used split safety coverage over 90% of the time. And in the red zone, teams are seeing that the Vikings rank 6th in passing touchdowns, but 30th in rushing touchdowns, so they’re playing coverage against the Vikings in the red zone betting they won’t be able to run it in. That’s led to a deteriorating red zone TD conversion percentage for the Vikings, which is now down to 19th at 53.33%. The good news is that the Vikings have the 9th highest EPA/pass in 12 personnel at 0.26 and rank 4th in the red zone at 0.9 using 12 personnel The thing is, the Vikings use 12 personnel below league average in the red zone at 19% (league average is 21.3%), and only slightly above average overall at 23.6% compared to the league average of 21.5%. Some of the top offenses in 12 personnel are using it on 30%+ of their snaps so far this season, and an even higher percentage in the red zone. The Vikings could do that too. In fairness to Kevin O’Connell, he only just recently got T.J. Hockenson back, so the prospect of ramping up double tight end sets may not have been as attractive with Johnny Mundt when it comes to also playing your best eleven as much as possible. But against the Jaguars last Sunday, the Vikings used more double tight end sets, in part to either force the Jaguars into single-high safety coverage (which Darnold and Jefferson are more effective against) or gain the advantage in running the ball or targeting underneath routes in front of the safeties- often to tight ends. They also had success running the ball out of 12 personnel as well. Overall, using 12 personnel should be a win-win-win for the Vikings’ offense. First, the Vikings have the highest graded double tight end combo in the league according to PFF, with Hockenson ranked 3rd and Oliver 6th. Hockenson has the 5th highest yards per route run (1.83) after his first two games among tight ends, while Oliver has the 2nd highest passer rating when targeted (146.2). So, as receivers they’re both targets to have on the field. Oliver has shown in recent games how underrated he is as a receiver. Secondly, should opposing defenses continue to use split safety shell coverages and double Jefferson, using 12 personnel will give the Vikings the numbers advantage in the box in the running game, which in turn may allow them to have better production running the ball, including more explosive runs. Third, using 12 personnel doesn’t take Justin Jefferson off the field. If the defense moves to single safety coverage, that could open things up a bit for Jefferson. Or, the Vikings could also work Jefferson on some underneath routes to get him the ball in yards-after-catch situations. Either way, using 12 personnel can more effectively present a ‘pick your poison’ approach to opposing defenses. Whether wide receivers Jefferson and Addison/Nailor, tight ends Hockenson and Oliver, or running backs Aaron Jones and Cam Akers, the Vikings have weapons to beat opposing defenses whatever they plan to dial up to stop them. We’ll see if Kevin O’Connell uses more 12 personnel in the future, beginning with the Titans game on Sunday, to drive efficiency and scoring on the offensive side of the ball. Stay tuned. Follow me on X and Bluesky @wludford
Chiefs-Bills Friday injury report: JuJu Smith-Schuster will play in Buffalo
Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images In Week 11, Kansas City plays Buffalo on Sunday afternoon. Each practice day of the season, the Kansas City Chiefs release an official injury report leading up to the next game. This week, the Chiefs travel to western New York to play the Buffalo Bills on Sunday at 3:25 p.m. Arrowhead Time. Here is the Chiefs’ final official injury report of the week, including official designations: Chiefs Player Ps Injury Wed Thu Fri Status Charles Omenihu (PUP) DE Knee LP LP LP OUT Isiah Pacheco (IR) RB Ankle LP LP LP OUT JuJu Smith-Schuster WR Hamstring LP FP FP – Mike Danna DE Pectoral FP FP FP – Mecole Hardman WR Shoulder/Toe FP FP FP – DeAndre Hopkins WR Knee FP FP FP – Kareem Hunt RB Knee FP FP FP – George Karlaftis DE Abdomen/Ankle FP FP FP – Patrick Mahomes QB Ankle/Hip FP FP FP – Wanya Morris T Knee FP FP FP – Derrick Nnadi DT Triceps FP FP FP – Bills Player Ps Injury Wed Thu Fri Status Dalton Kincaid TE Knee DNP DNP DNP OUT Keon Coleman WR Wrist DNP DNP DNP OUT Matt Milano (IR) LB Biceps LP LP LP OUT Amari Cooper WR Wrist LP LP LP QUEST Spencer Brown T Ankle DNP DNP LP QUEST Josh Allen QB Left Hand FP FP FP – Reggie Gilliam FB Hip FP FP FP – Quintin Morris TE Shoulder/Hamstring FP FP FP – Mack Hollins WR Shoulder FP FP FP – Curtis Samuel WR Pectoral/Foot FP FP FP – DaQuan Jones DT Foot FP FP FP – Casey Toohill DE Knee FP FP FP – Terrel Bernard LB Ankle/Pectoral FP FP FP – Dorian Williams LB Knee FP FP FP – Christian Benford CB Wrist FP FP FP – Kaiir Elam CB Shoulder FP FP FP – Taylor Rapp S Foot/Shoulder FP FP FP – Some notes Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (hamstring) was upgraded to full participation on Thursday — and logged another such practice on Friday. After missing the last three games, he is good to go against the Bills. Running back Isiah Pacheco (fibula) and defensive lineman Charles Omenihu (ACL) remain on the team’s Reserve/Injured and Reserve/PUP lists after being shown with limited participation all week. They are out for the matchup in Buffalo. The Chiefs listed eight other players on this week’s reports, including quarterback Patrick Mahomes (ankle), left tackle Wanya Morris (knee) and defensive end Mike Danna (pec strain). All were full participants in all of this week’s practices — and will play on Sunday. Now that Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker (left knee) has been added to the team’s Reserve/Injured list, he is no longer listed on the injury report. Pete Sweeney has more on that here. Two Bills players missed practice on Friday: tight end Dalton Kincaid (knee) and wide receiver Keon Coleman (wrist). Both have been declared out for Sunday’s game. Linebacker Matt Milano (biceps) is on the Reserve/Injured list. He was once again a limited participant on Friday — and is out for the game against Kansas City. Wide receiver Amari Cooper (wrist) was listed as a limited participant in all three of this week’s practice days. He’s missed Buffalo’s last two games — and is listed as questionable for this one. Right tackle Spencer Brown (ankle) did not practice on both Wednesday and Thursday but was upgraded to a limited participant on Friday. While he’s been hopeful he’ll play on Sunday, he‘s now questionable for the game. The Bills listed 12 full participants, including quarterback Josh Allen (left hand). For the Thursday injury report, click here.
Tom Brady continues heaping praise on Ravens QB Lamar Jackson
Tom Brady continues heaping praise on Ravens QB Lamar Jackson Kevin Oestreicher The Baltimore Ravens drafted quarterback Lamar Jackson in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft. Ever since, he has gone on to become one of the best quarterbacks the league has ever seen, evolving his game each year. One of the legendary quarterbacks who has always had Jackson’s back is Tom Brady, who had massive success in the NFL. Brady gave out awards for Week 10’s action, and Jackson earned praise for his performance against the Bengals. https://Twitter.com/koestreicher34/status/1856556529643557154 Jackson is well on his way to winning his third MVP and has had an unforgettable season so far. The respect he’s earned across the league spans far and wide, but Brady has always been in his corner.
Indianapolis Colts Injury Report: LT Raimann Ruled OUT While LB Speed Is QUESTIONABLE
Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images The Indianapolis Colts released their Friday practice report. The Indianapolis Colts today released their Friday injury report for Week 11 of the NFL season ahead of their Sunday game against the New York Jets The final practice report for #INDvsNYJ. pic.twitter.com/3glNdX6br5 — Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) November 15, 2024 Left tackle Bernhard Raimann has been ruled OUT Sunday’s game against the New York Jets due to a knee. Raimann has not practiced all week due to the injury. With Raimann OUT this week expect to see rookie Matt Goncalves line up at left tackle in place of Raimann at left tackle. Goncalves does have some experience on the left side as he already started one game in place of Raimann in week 9 and also replaced Raimann in week 10 when he exited with the knee injury. Goncalves will have his hands full with the Jets defensive line in just his second game starting. Linebacker EJ Speed is listed as QUESTIONABLE for Sunday’s game against the Jets with a knee injury. Speed was limited twice at practice this week but looks to have progressed steadily, managing to be a full participant today. If Speed cannot play Sunday expect Grant Stuard to get the start in his place who has been playing exceptionally well when asked to start recently. All others listed on the injury report go into the game without an injury designation for Sunday’s road trip to Minnesota. Braden Smith, DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart had scheduled rest days. Whilst Michael Pittman (back), Julian Blackmon (shoulder) also go into the game injury designation free as deemed healthy enough to play in the road trip to New York.
Community pulse: Dealing with bad memories
Raiders | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Sadly, the ‘worst’ memories have piled up Sometimes, our weekly Tuesday Community Question can serve as some therapy time. Sometimes, it helps top talk it out and discuss the pain. And, sadly, we know there has been long periods of pain for the great, passionate and faithful members of the Raider Nation. The current situation, of course, for the franchise isn’t great, but there have been worse times for this fan base. Our Tuesday Community Question this week was what was your worst moment as a fan of the Raiders? Unfortunately, there have been a lot of moments that are worthy of being a “worst moment” for Raiders fans. Again, sometimes, it helps to express your thoughts. Here are some of your responses and he’s to better times soon: Exiled Raider Lol, my worst moment as a Raider fan? I’m not dead yet, which means I probably haven’t seen it yet. When I started following the Silver and Black Plunkett was slinging the ball. We were a powerhouse then with playoffs almost guaranteed every year and two Superbowl wins close together. But Plunkett retired, Bo got a career-ending injury, and we came down to earth. Finally, Gruden and Gannon came around, and for a moment it looked like we were on our way to proving that greatness lay ahead. But Al couldn’t handle sharing the spotlight, so Gruden got shipped off to Tampa and embarrassed us in the Superbowl. But the worst came soon after. All, realizing his mortality but not his shortcomings in a new era of Football, made mistake after mistake and we became bottom feeders. His son, a smart business-man turned out to be horrible as a football guy, and with two short exceptions, we remain a bottom feeder. But hope springs eternal they say, so here I am still. Indy! 50+ years in the Nation means a lot of bad memories. I had trouble deciding since all the games, plays, etc… already mentioned apply – it’s hard to pick one. But I think one of the biggest mistakes we’ve ever made was hiring McD. Just totally unbelievable to me and I suspected on day 1 it would not end well. But nobody could predict he was going to do this much damage to the team. Black Man wearing Silver The Tuck rule was the worst for me because all my Mom’s side of the family is from Boston. Having your grandmother, who never liked football, call you and tease you and you can’t say anything back because it’s your grandma was horrible. Here are some others that rank high on my list: Brett Favre MNF game after his dad passed Marc Bulger first start (2002) beating us Jason Campbell breaking his shoulder Tyson Bagent beating us Baker Mayfield off the couch to beat us Andy Dalton and the Panthers beating us 2009 opening MNF loss to the Chargers after we scored on a 4th and long from #2 to Murphy Almost every 1st round draft pick the last 20 yrs (outside of Mack, Jacobs & Brock) Bloodylimey Tough call. Just a couple of examples: Going back to: 1990/91: AFC Championship game- 51-3 loss in Buffalo, after losing Bo Jackson… forever. 1995: OT loss in KC. when in FG range, decided to go for the extra yards, on a rub route over the middle to Tim Brown, only for the Zebra to ‘rub’ TB out and James Hasty returned it 64 yards for the game winning pick-6. I was watching in a bar with 2 KC fans who I worked with… oh, the horror! then a month later, attending the Broncos game with my Ex (A Bronco fan) getting shut out 27-0… Still the Raiders were 8-2, heading for the PO’s, then Jeff Hostetler gets mashed in the Cowboys game, season over, 6 straight Losses to end up with a 8-8. This season specifically hurt, as that was the season I felt most confident in the Raiders pdxsilverguy Rob Lytle fumbled. Tom Brady did too. The beatdown by Tampa. Bo Jacksons injury. Living in Portland and being force fed Seattle Seahawks games after 1976. I still hate the Sea Chickens to this day for that reason alone. Nunchucks Way too many worst moments as a Raider Fan to list…2003 to 2024…Loss after loss after loss…coach after coach after coach…QB after QB after QB…Consistently the worst Defenses any professional team has ever seen year in and year out!…Even the water boy sucks!!!! Big Dog Al passing and leaving the team to his clueless son. TheGhostOfJanikowski 1. Tuck Rule 2. Trading Khalil Mack 3. 2002-2024 Honorable mention: 2016 Carr’s unnecessary injury Millennial Fan Alert…I haven’t seen this team win s**t IoRaider This past 20+ years of being a fan. After our last super bowl loss, I’ll I’ve mostly known is losing… But to be more specific, I’d say Christmas Eve of 2016 is definitely up there. OLD BHOY Viewing: Tuck rule, going from winning and advancing to the screw job in a couple minutes. I remember being in stunned shock.Bo being injured and finding out later he was finished. In attendance: The Monday night game vs KC when Jeff George was the QB and Grbac hit Rison in the corner of the end zone on the last play of the game. I have never seen such a pissed off parking lot. RaiderCode Tough call between ‘Tuck Rule’ and SB loss to Gruden. But there are so many more as well. Rough being a Raider fan. It’s an abusive relationship. Head to the comments section to share your thoughts and join the conversation. You can sign up for a commenting account below and we have full-time moderators to enforce the Community Guidelines. Cheers and have a great weekend,
Buffalo-Niagara Airport pulls amazing troll ahead of Bills-Chiefs
Buffalo-Niagara Airport pulls amazing troll ahead of Bills-Chiefs Buffalo-Niagara Airport pulls amazing troll ahead of Bills-Chiefs Nick Wojton The Buffalo-Niagara International Airport has already won the weekend ahead of the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs doing battle. The Bills (8-2) and Chiefs (9-0) will play in the most-anticipated game of the NFL’s Week 11 slate on Sunday. While Bills Mafia travels well, Chiefs Kingdom does their part too. But Chiefs fans got an amazing troll-filled welcome to western New York thanks to the local airport. As flights from Kansas City landed in Buffalo, the Bills’ famous “Shout Song” was playing over the speakers in the airport. Perfection. A clip of the show at the airport can be found in the WKBW-TV clip below: Read all the best Bills coverage at the Democrat and Chronicle and Bills Wire.
PFF grades are LIVE: NFL Week 11
PFF grades are live! Check out PFF Premium Stats for all grades and numbers from Week 11 of the 2024 NFL season.
What would Jared Verse need to do to win Defensive Player of the Year as a rookie?
Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images Can Jared Verse enter the Defensive Player of the Year Conversation? Coming into the season, the Los Angeles Rams defense was not expected to be very good following the departure of Aaron Donald. There was no denying how much Donald elevated the play of those around him and to not have his presence was certainly going to be detrimental. With that said, since the bye week and even going further back to Week 3, the Rams defense has performed like a top-10 unit. A lot of that has been because of the performance of rookie edge rusher Jared Verse. It would be unfair and unrealistic to say that Verse has replaced Donald. However, he has replaced Donald in the sense that he is the clear star on the defense and gives opposing offenses somebody that they have to game plan around. At the halfway point of the season, Verse is the clear favorite at -200 odds. Adam Beasley of the Pro Football Network who awarded Verse his midseason Defensive Rookie of the Year said, “Verse has been even better in his first nine games than could have been reasonably. He had a strip sack, two total tackles for loss, and a fumble recovery in a game in which the Rams’ offense let down its defense…He’s first in his rookie class in sacks (4.5), pressures (44), quarterback hits (15), hurries (28), and pressure rate (20.2%)…Verse and Fiske are really the only reason the Rams defense has been as competitive as it has been in 2024…Verse is by far the best defensive rookie not just on his own team, but the entire league. He has at least one tackle for loss in seven of his first nine games and 3.5 sacks in his last three. His 11 tackles for loss are tied for second most by any player through their first 11 games since TFLs became an official stat in 1999. The defenders he’s tied with? Von Miller and Micah Parsons.” Verse and Rams would certainly be pleased with a Defensive Rookie of the Year performance. However, with how well he is playing and how he is impacting the Rams defense as a whole, it is worth wondering what Verse would need to do to become just the second rookie in NFL history to win Defensive Player of the Year as well. The only other player to do that also was an edge rusher. That player was Lawrence Taylor of the New York Giants. Taylor finished with 9.5 sacks in 1981 and had one fumble recovery. Like Verse, his impact on the Giants defense was immediately felt. Marcus Mosher of The 33rd Team looked back on Taylor’s rookie season. Said Mosher, “Taylor recorded 9.5 sacks and one interception as a rookie, but the stats don’t tell the story. Before Taylor arrived, the New York Giants had gone 18 seasons without making the postseason. However, in Taylor’s first year, the Giants had the No. 3 ranked scoring defense and not only made the playoffs but also defeated the Eagles in Round 1, advancing to the Divisional Round for the first time since 1963. Taylor changed the game and changed how teams account for star pass rushers.” A similar case could be made for Verse and his impact on the Rams. As it stands, TJ Watt is the favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year with -200 odds. Verse isn’t even in the top-10. With that said, after Aidan Hutchinson got hurt, there hasn’t been a defensive player that has necessarily been standing out. Watt may be the favorite, but only has 6.5 sacks. Players like Myles Garrett and Nick Bosa only have 5.5 and seven sacks respectively. Trey Hendrickson currently leads that category with 11. As it stands, Verse currently has 4.5 sacks, but that could be 6.5 or 7.5 had he not missed a handful earlier in the season. He’s currently sixth in the NFL in pressures and which leads Watt. He also has a higher pressure rate than Watt and Bosa as well. Since Week 7, Verse has been the 10th highest graded defender via Pro Football Focus and is second in the NFL in pressures behind only Hendrickson. The special thing here is that Verse is only a rookie. He is this good during his rookie season and similar to Donald, it’s almost going to get to a point where it becomes boring talking about how good he is. Teams are doubling Verse at a rate of 25 percent. That’s the second-highest rate among edge rushers behind only Myles Garrett. Like Taylor during his rookie season, stats don’t tell the whole story. Coming into the season, the Rams defense was consistently getting ranked inside the bottom-10 around the 25th or 26th spot. However, that was before they traded Ernest Jones to the Tennessee Titans. On the defensive side of the ball, the Rams have $30-million less than the next lowest team. This is a group that was very clearly re-building. However, since Week 4, the Rams rank 5th in overall defense EPA and they rank second in quarterback pressure rate and a lot of that has to do with Verse. Again, this is a group that many expected to be in the bottom-5 and ever since they’ve found their footing, it has been a top-5 group. It’s no coincidence that the Rams rise on defense has coincided to when Verse started to player much more disciplined. Because of players like Donald and Stafford, the Rams haven’t necessarily had the drought that the Giants had before Taylor. With that said, Verse’s impact has been felt in a similar fashion. He may not be in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation now, but given that nobody is running away with the award, it isn’t completely out of reach either. For Verse to enter the conversation, he would likely need to finish with at least 12 sacks and continue to have a positive impact on
Ravens WR Rashod Bateman on Diontae Johnson settling in: ‘It’s been amazing’
Ravens WR Rashod Bateman on Diontae Johnson settling in: ‘It’s been amazing’ Kevin Oestreicher The Baltimore Ravens’ wide receiver corps has stepped up to the plate in a big way during the 2024 season. Players such as Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman have performed well, while others have also had their moments. Bateman was asked about the acquisition of a new wide receiver, Diontae Johnson, who hasn’t had much of an impact since coming over from the Carolina Panthers. However, Bateman sang Johnson’s praises, saying it’s been “amazing” having the veteran settle in and calling him a phenomenal football player. “It’s been amazing. Diontae [Johnson] is a phenomenal football player; we’re glad to have him. He definitely gives us more weapons, [and we can] be more creative with our offense. [I’m] definitely excited to see what we do with him and do with this offense.” Johnson will suit up for his third game in purple and black on Sunday against his other former team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. A revenge game could be incoming, as he certainly has all the tools to put his talents on full display in Baltimore if given the opportunity.
