Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images Tee Higgins looks primed to make his return vs. the Commanders in Week 3. The Cincinnati Bengals received good and bad news on the injury front ahead of Thursday’s practice. The bad news is that defensive tackles Sheldon Rankins and BJ Hill are both day-to-day and are not expected to practice today, so their status for this week and beyond is very much in question. The good news is that wide receiver Tee Higgins and defensive tackle Kris Jenkins are both going to practice today, according to head coach Zac Taylor. “Get him into practice and see where it goes from there.” Zac Taylor on Tee Higgins. “He’s a top player in this league. That makes every grouping better.” — Mike Petraglia (@Trags) September 19, 2024 Zac Taylor says going to work Kris Jenkins and Amarius Mims more into practice this week and see how they do and if they can help Monday. No practice for Rankins and Hill (hamstrings) today, but no further update. — Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) September 19, 2024 Getting Higgins back will be massive for the Bengals offense, which showed a lot of potential last week vs. the Chiefs but struggled mightily in Week 1. This offense is easily among the NFL’s best when Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase are both healthy and on the field together. As for Jenkins, the second-round rookie was expected to have a decent role in Year 1, but a thumb injury that required surgery led to him missing the first two regular-season games. If he can play this week, Jenkins will have a major role vs. the Washington Commanders if both Hill and Rankins are out following their Week 2 injuries.
Tee Higgins and Kris Jenkins set to practice; BJ Hill and Sheldon Rankins are day-to-day
The Colts better not pull a stunt like the Panthers did with Bryce Young
Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images Stay far away from this model if you are the Colts. The quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts has struggled two weeks into the season. Anthony Richardson has flashed at times. Anthony Richardson has floundered at other points. To that, I say, so what? That is part of the development of a young quarterback, especially one as young and inexperienced as Richardson. The Colts didn’t select him fourth overall because he was polished. They drafted him for the “what could be”. That is still overwhelming present in his game as long as the team doesn’t do something completely boneheaded. Enter the Carolina Panthers. Bryce Young has struggled. There is no doubt. Young has also had three head coaches in 19 regular season games. Young has no offensive line, and the talent in the receiver room was gutted to get him to Carolina. I love a good Adam Thielen, but his best days are behind him. The team made an incredibly bold and ill-advised (in my opinion) move to bench Young just two games into the season. To me, this says his days in Carolina are over. When you have an erratic owner who makes rash decisions, Young could come back, but his confidence is crushed. Not only that, his trade value is rock bottom. The Colts will be wise to stay as far away as possible from this model with Richardson. I want to see the team and Richardson flourish this year. I want to see him take that next step and take the team to the playoffs. That might not happen, though, and that’s ok. He needs repetition and experience. Putting him on the bench because he struggles isn’t going to do that. He needs to get sacked, fumble, throw interceptions. He needs to see exotic coverages and blitzes. He needs to be in the game when it is a blowout and when it’s a fourth quarter drive for the win. All of that collectively is essential if we want to see anything close to his potential. Fans, coaches, and players alike need to be patient. Richardson might not pan out. We don’t know. We also don’t know whether he will two weeks in the 2024 season. We need much more data on him. You can’t watch that bomb to Alec Piece off his back foot and then a silly interception against the Packers and start demanding Joe Flacco. As an irrational fan, ok, but that isn’t how it works. That isn’t how it should work. The decision made by Carolina is going to set them back 5-6 years. Maybe Young was sunk cost and moving on was best. Not sure. Just ask the Browns how that worked out with Baker Mayfield though. The Colts will be well served to give Richardson an extremely long leash. He has always been a boom or bust prospect. I am here for the boom.
Week 3 key matchups: Hobbs faces tough test in Thielen
Nate Hobbs | Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images Las Vegas has a good chance to get a ‘W’ in the home opener Week 3 serves as the home opener for the Las Vegas Raiders and the Raiders have a good chance to start the season 2-1 with a game against the Carolina Panthers. Dating back to last season, the Panthers have been the worst team in the league and the 2024 campaign has gotten off to a rough start with two blowout losses for the NFL’s worst point differential at negative 60. That being said, anyone who has been a fan of the team over the last 20 years knows this has the potential to be a “trap game” for the Silver and Black, so the three matchups below are still very important for Las Vegas to win. Nate Hobbs vs. Adam Thielen While Hobbs has taken on a bigger role this season, lining up as a boundary corner as well as over the slot, he’s still primarily a nickelback with 73 snaps at that spot compared to 41 out wide according to Pro Football Focus. To no surprise, Hobbs has been playing at a high level so far this season as he’s only been targeted twice and hasn’t allowed a completion yet while logging a pass breakup. That has resulted in a meager 39.6 passer rating when targeted and a 75.2 coverage grade from PFF that ranks 20th among cornerbacks. But the four-year veteran is about to face his toughest matchup of the season so far. Despite dealing with poor quarterback play last year, Adam Thielen caught 103 passes for 1,014 yards while taking 69.1 percent of his snaps in the slot. While his production hasn’t been impressive so far in 2024 with just five catches for 69 yards, Thielen is still the Panthers’ leading receiver as those figures are the most on the team. Also, Carolina opted to make a quarterback change ahead of the contest as Andy Dalton gives the team a better chance to win than Bryce Young. Dalton started one game for the Panthers last season, and that happened to be Thielen’s most productive game of the year with 11 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown. Those two well-tenured veterans should have some chemistry together so expect Hobbs to get tested on Sunday. Davante Adams vs. Jaycee Horn/Mike Jackson Photo by Michael Owens/Getty ImagesDavante Adams It’s no coincidence that the Raiders’ offense showed signs of life for the first time this season when Adams started getting the ball. He finished last week’s game with nine catches for 110 yards and a touchdown while the majority of that production came in the second half, when the team scored 20 of its 26 points. Especially with Las Vegas struggling to get the ground game going, the offense needs to run through its best player. That being said, the Panthers do have a couple of quality cornerbacks. So far in 2024, Horn and Jackson have taken turns guarding an opponent’s No. 1 receiver and both have been solid to start the year. Horn didn’t get targeted in Week 1 and while he did give up a 29-yard touchdown to Quentin Johnston last Sunday, the fourth-year pro also managed to record a pass breakup and an interception. Meanwhile, Jackson was picked on more in the season opener, giving up five catches for 47 yards on six targets, but he’s coming off a more productive outing with one grab surrendered for 11 yards on three attempts. That should make for an interesting battle this weekend. Brock Bowers vs. Jordan Fuller Bowers’ career has gotten off to a hot start as he’s currently leading all tight ends with 15 catches for 156 yards through two games. The rookie has also been impressively efficient as PFF has him down for 2.64 yards per route run which ranks third at the position. Similar to Adams, the Raiders’ offense has been at its best when the first-round pick has been getting the ball. So, the team needs to continue to give Bowers touches to keep the momentum going, and he should have a favorable matchup. While Fuller has a solid reputation, he struggled mightily in the Panthers’ season opener by giving up five completions on five targets for 116 yards and two touchdowns. Granted, a lot of that production came against wide receiver Rashid Shaheed. But Fuller yielded two catches for 26 yards, a touchdown and a first down to tight end Juwan Johnson, and a catch for 18 yards when covering the slot against New Orleans. Per PFF, Bowers has spent 56.5 percent of his pass snaps as a slot receiver and 33.9 percent as an in-line tight end, so he should see Fuller often during Sunday’s contest.
Bills vs. Jaguars: Highlights from Week 3 practice
Bills vs. Jaguars: Highlights from Week 3 practice: Bills vs. Jaguars: Highlights from Week 3 practice Share this article Nick Wojton The Buffalo Bills are moving on to their their Week 3 contest against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Prior to that, preparations are underway. Most weeks, the prep begins on Wednesday. Largely considered “Media Day” each week, cameras are allowed into the facility at One Bills Live, including a quick portion at the start of that day’s workout. After that, clips and images from the practice are shared to social media and a roundup of those as the Bills (2-0 )get ready to host the Jaguars (0-2) can be found below Bills vs. Jagars: Week 3 practice Bills vs. Jaguars: Week 3 practice Bills vs. Jaguars: Week 3 practice Bills vs. Jaguars: Week 3 practice Bills vs. Jaguars: Week 3 practice Bills vs. Jaguars: Week 3 practice Bills vs. Jaguars: Week 3 practice Bills vs. Jaguars: Week 3 practice Bills vs. Jaguars: Week 3 practice Bills vs. Jaguars: Week 3 practice Bills vs. Jaguars: Week 3 practice Bills vs. Jaguars: Week 3 practice Bills vs. Jaguars: Week 3 practice Bills vs. Jaguars: Week 3 practice Bills vs. Jaguars: Week 3 practice Bills vs. Jaguars: Week 3 practice Read all the best Bills coverage at the Democrat and Chronicle and Bills Wire. Share this article Like this article? Sign up for our newsletter to get updates to your inbox, and also receive offers from us, our affiliates and partners. By signing up you agree to our Privacy Policy Email View all newsletters
Vikes Views: Who Has the Best Game Against Their Former Team?
Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images The Minnesota Vikings will host the Houston Texans on Sunday. There were several players that switched jerseys this offseason. There will be some familiar faces at the bank and the Texans will see a couple of familiar faces in purple. Who has the biggest game between these players? Danielle Hunter – Hunter had a quiet game one, but came back in Week 2 with 1 1⁄2 sacks against Chicago. Brian O’Neil is listed on the injury report with an elbow injury. If he isn’t playing or is slowed down at all, Hunter might be able to take advantage. Also, he’s really good and might just be able to do damage even if the OL is healthy. Hunter still has it. OMG pic.twitter.com/IrTdEyKwY5 — Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 16, 2024 Stephon Diggs – Diggs had a nice 1st game in Houston with only 33 yards, but 2 TDs. 37 yards last week against the Bears with the Texans offense struggling. Diggs is likely to be the one most vocal about returning, but he’ll have to prove he can do something with CJ Stroud before he’s my pick. Blake Cashman – Cashman was everywhere last week. He’s a huge reason the 49ers offense could not move the ball consistently last week. He’s leading the team in tackles and looks like prime Eric Kendricks to me out there. Could be another important week with CJ Stroud giving the defense fits. Jonathan Greenard – Greenard led the team with 7 pressures last week. It only led to one sack for him, but he is disrupting the offense. The stats will eventually come. I think Greenard will be looking for a multi-sack game on Sunday. They should’ve paid him. Jon Greenard has a career high 12.5 sacks after just 15 weeks PAY THAT MAN pic.twitter.com/tsFP4KV6ZI — Jordan Pun (@Texans_Thoughts) December 19, 2023 Cam Akers– It’s not really a revenge game for Akers, but he probably doesn’t love having to leave Minnesota after tearing his Achilles. Akers came in last week and had 7 rushes for 32 yards. Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce are likely to be out for the Texans. That puts Dare Ogunbowale and Cam Akers into action. Could be a day for Akers to prove he’s healthy enough to play significant time. Shaquill Griffin – Griffin spent 10 games last season with the Texans and made 6 starts. He was released mid season on a one year deal and then went to Carolina. I am sure he doesn’t like how it was handled in Houston. He’s been excellent the first two games in Minnesota. Teams aren’t even throwing his way. He might have a huge impact, but not have stats to show it. Hoping he can get his first INT in purple on Sunday. Case Keenum – just wanted to say hi to Case on the IR. Hope your foot heals up and you’re back next season.
Lions ST coordinator Dave Fipps takes ‘share of ownership’ for too-many-men error
Kimberly P. Mitchell / USA TODAY NETWORK Despite Dan Campbell owning 100% of the blame, Lions ST coordinator Dave Fipp says he has ownership over Detroit’s end-of-half error vs. the Bucs, too. We still don’t know exactly what caused the communication breakdown for the Detroit Lions at the end of the first half that cost them a chance at a short field goal, and we likely never will. But on Thursday, Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp took some of the blame upon his own shoulders. “Situations like that, there’s a lot that go into it,” Fipp said. “They’re all critical, they come at critical moments in the game, that one certainly was for us, and the only thing I will say is any time I’m a part of something. I definitely feel a responsibility for not getting the job done so I take a lot of the responsibility for that also. I know for a fact there’s a lot of things that I could have done different and would do different if I could do it again today, so I feel like I need to take my share of the ownership and responsibility also, certainly.” As a quick reminder of what happened, time was running out in the half and the Lions had no timeouts. After running a play that ended inbounds with about 11 seconds left and the clock running, Detroit had to either rush the field goal team onto the field or spike the football on offense. The obvious decision was to spike the football, but someone had instructed the field goal unit onto the field. So when the ball was snapped to spike the ball, the Lions had about 15 players on the field. The ensuing too-many-men penalty resulted in a 10-second runoff, ending the half without a field goal attempt. The all-22 of the Lions’ spike play/(way) too many men on the field penalty pic.twitter.com/RZ9VkoE0rJ — Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) September 16, 2024 At the end of the game—which the Lions lost by a score of 20-16—an emotional Dan Campbell took the blame entirely. “There’s no way to justify this. It’s a massive error on my part, no one else’s, and it was just between hurry-up field goal and clocking it. And it was 100 percent my fault,” Campbell said. Fipp was asked if he is normally the one who communicates when the special teams unit should take the field, but he declined to give insight into their process. “I won’t get into all of that, but it kind of depends on the situation,” Fipp said. “I would just say it like that.”
NFL Week 3 staff picks: Moneyline, spread, over/under predictions
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/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73596578/2172493131.0.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,0&ssl=1 "The Linc – “This team has real issues”")
The Linc – “This team has real issues”
Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links … Forget the Loss – Iggles Blitz If Saquon Barkley catches that pass, the Eagles are 2-0. Since he dropped the pass and the Eagles lost, the focus seems to be on the result of the game more than anything. What if the Eagles run the ball on third down? What if Nick Sirianni goes for it on fourth down? Would the Eagles still have lost? Should the Eagles have kicked the FG earlier in the game? Even if the Eagles had won, this team has real issues. To me, thinking about the issues is far more important than losing to Atlanta. We all agree that the run defense was terrible. The thing that jumped out to me was yards before contact. RBs were getting untouched to the second level over and over. That has to change. The DL are not winning enough battles up front. Bryce Huff struggled to set the edge. He was especially bad in the second half. The DTs are not controlling the middle with any regularity. Eagles Film Analysis: Depressing defense takeaways from the loss to the Falcons – BGN I had completely lost my head by this point of watching the film. I always look for the positives and understand the coach’s point of view, but I need someone to explain why the Eagles are continuing to slant their defensive tackles. This time, the Falcons cleverly use motion to the same side they are running to, so I am guessing Carter is told to slant to the right, expecting the run to go the other way. Baun had a fantastic week last week, but he wasn’t aggressive enough in these situations for me. Nakobe Dean appears to be running to set the edge, but Darius Slay is also blitzing the edge, so I assume that is another mistake as by someone. Lastly, there has been a lot of talk about Bryce Huff’s and Nolan Smith’s inability to rush the quarterback. This is true. But as it stands, I am playing Nolan Smith on every single early down and not letting Huff see the field until an obvious passing situation. Smith is a good run defender. Huff was borderline unplayable on early downs in this game. Will Eagles be able to fix terrible run defense? – NBCSP Don’t worry, the Eagles aren’t the first team in NFL history to allow 315 rushing yards and 6.4 yards per carry in their first two games. It’s happened before. Like Washington in 1944. The 1945 Steelers. And the 1950 Baltimore Colts. The 1952 Dallas Texans and 1959 Washington. Seven other teams as well. But there’s no way around the fact that through two games the Eagles have one of the worst run defenses in NFL history. And Alvin Kamara and his NFL-best 5.7 yards per carry are three days away. Yikes. “We’ve just got to play better run defense at the end of the day,” Reed Blankenship said. “And it goes for all levels, especially when you’ve got secondary guys rotating down. You’ve just got to make tackles. And I’m part of that, too. And we’re going to get that fixed.” If Eagles’ run defense doesn’t improve, the team could implode: ‘This s*** (has to be fixed) right now’ – NJ.com If the Eagles don’t tackle better or aren’t able to dominate at the line of scrimmage, Kamara could finish with better numbers this week. “It’s something that we need to fix right now,” Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean told NJ Advance Media on Wednesday. “It’s not something you gradually get to. It’s f****** you get this s*** done right now with tackling and everything.” Dean was one of several Eagles players who said the run defense has struggled because of the “little details.” Week 3 NFL picks: Jets unanimously chosen to beat Pats on Thursday; will Ravens or Cowboys get right? – NFL.com Why Ali picked the Saints: This could definitely be a back-to-Earth game for the Saints, who have ripped through their first two opponents with remarkable ease. At first glance, facing a traveling Eagles team coming off yet another late-game collapse, quite possibly without A.J. Brown and on a short week should equate to another NOLA win. But Philly is 6-2 when playing on short rest since 2022, while the Saints are 1-5 versus such teams under Dennis Allen’s watch, per NFL Research. That said, DA didn’t have Klint Kubiak’s play-calling in those six contests, which ultimately makes the difference on Sunday. I don’t see New Orleans blowing out the Eagles — Philly’s offense is too potent. But I do see a heavy dose of Alvin Kamara against the Eagles’ suspect run defense combined with timely downfield shots by Derek Carr propelling the Saints past a motivated, Jalen Hurts-led squad. Jalen Hurts says he was dealing with undisclosed injury last week – PFT Even if the illness didn’t limit Hurts’s practice reps, it’s the kind of thing that should have been disclosed. What if the illness had gotten worse? What if between Saturday and Monday the Eagles had downgraded him to questionable or doubtful or out over a previously undisclosed illness? It’s a simple thing for a team to be expected to disclose an illness when the player is ill. Keeping that kind of thing secret does a disservice to gamblers and fantasy-football players. It also creates inside information of significant value. Jason Kelce rips Sixers’ ownership over downtown arena plans – Liberty Ballers Kelce’s stance, like so many others on this topic, makes a lot of good points but doesn’t quite capture the whole picture. His main gripe is that Sixers ownership “strong-armed” the city by threatening to leave to New Jersey. He brought up multiple times how the Cleveland Browns left for Baltimore in 1996 due to a dispute between the owner and the city, and how that experience scarred him growing up a Browns fan. While Kelce is certainly right
Could this loss in 2022 be a contributing factor to the Rams recent injury woes?
Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images An overlooked loss on the medical staff after LA’s Super Bowl win may be the reason for their recent injury struggles The infamous 2022 Los Angeles Rams season was one that fans try to block out from their memories as the team struggle to a 5-12 record after winning the Super Bowl just a year prior. The season was defined by the massive amount of injuries that the team was forced to suffered through. It was something that Sean McVay had not really had to deal with in his head coaching career up to that point, at least on that large of a scale. So what changed in LA that lead to the team going from one of the least injured football teams to the most? One unnoticed loss on their medical staff after the Super Bowl could lead to some answers. In the offseason before the disastrous 2022 season, Rams former offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell was hired as the Minnesota Vikings head coach. In his move to Minnesota, O’Connell took LA’s director of sports science/assistant athletic trainer Tyler Williams with him, promoting Williams to Executive Director of Player Health & Performance after his 15-year stint with the Rams. “Tyler led the cutting-edge sports science efforts with the Rams that played a huge role in the success there,” said Vikings Head Coach Kevin O’Connell back in 2022. “He is extremely bright and a great leader. I’m excited about the positive impact he will make for the Minnesota Vikings.” During Williams’ time with LA, specifically in the span of 2017-2021, the team was ranked in the top 10 healthiest teams each season, with three of the years being in the top four. Williams was also named the NFC recipient of the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society’s (PFATS) Tim Davey Assistant Athletic Trainer of the Year award after the 2020 season. Williams has served as the director of internal education for PFATS since 2017, and is also currently the president of the PFATs Foundation. He’s on the Sports Science Task Force of Research & Innovation Committee and is a member of the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA). He is also on the Lower Extremity Task Force for the NFL Musculoskeletal Community. Following the departure of Williams, the Rams dropped to 29th in the healthiest team ranking, a stark contrast from being seventh in 2021. While Los Angeles rebounded in 2023, injuries still linger through out the season with QB Matthew Stafford, RB Kyren Williams and WR Cooper Kupp all missing time. Obviously, this current 2024 season has only gotten worse since then. Just two weeks into the season, the Rams head into Week 3 down their top two options at WR, three key offensive linemen, their starting tight end, two starting corners and their starting safety. Even kicker Joshua Karty is dealing with a groin injury. On the plus side, all of these injuries have happened early, and if the Rams can patch work this roster together and steal a few wins, they may be able to stay afloat just in time for everyone to come back off of IR. That said, Williams is not returning any time soon and his loss still seems like a factor hanging over the team. Los Angeles will hope for some good fortune on the injury front going forward, but the team may need to at least consider a change to their current rehabilitation and player health program if they hope to change their luck.
Bengals still have 43% chance of making the playoffs, according to ESPN analytics
Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images There is still a lot of room for hope despite the slow start. The Cincinnati Bengals are 0-2 but not out. They just have to get going, like right now. According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, the Bengals have a 43% of making the playoffs. That’s best among all the 0-2 teams: Baltimore Ravens (42%), Indianapolis Colts (22%), Jacksonville Jaguars (22%), Tennessee Titans (12%), Los Angeles Rams (11%), New York Giants (4%), Denver Broncos (4%), and Carolina Panthers (2%). Not only that, but Cincinnati has a better chance of making the playoffs than some 1-1 teams, like the Miami Dolphins (19%), the New England Patriots (15%), the Chicago Bears (28%), and the Bengals’ upcoming opponent, the Washington Commanders (21%). In fact, the Bengals even have about the same chance as the 2-0 Seattle Seahawks. ESPN’s Bill Barnwell explains why the Bengals still have promise by writing that Cincinnati “probably deserved to win” against the Chiefs and that a fumble “victimized” the Bengals’ chances for the second straight week. He adds that he is “optimistic” about the upcoming schedule, as they will face the Commanders, Panthers, Giants, and Cleveland Browns. Barnwell noted that Cincinnati’s next home game after that stretch will be against the Ravens “in a matchup that might decide which of these two teams is in a position to turn things around in the AFC North.” But first things first. If the Bengals don’t win against the Commanders, they will fall to 0-3, and, as Barnwell mentioned in the beginning of his article, since 2002, only one of 103 teams to start 0-3 have managed to make the playoffs (the 2018 Houston Texans). Even if we factor in the current 14-team playoff structure across that time span, Barnwell writes, we would only add the 2013 Steelers to those Texans, making it two out of 103, or just below 2% of such teams with disastrous starts made the postseason. Can the Bengals avoid another letdown against the Commanders? We discuss below: You can also listen on iTunes or using the player below:
