Photo by Tyler Schank/Getty Images The Detroit Lions announced that they’ve elevated 2 wide receivers for Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers. The Detroit Lions announced the elevations of two wide receivers for Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Both Tom Kennedy and Tim Patrick are now eligible to play on Sunday, joining the rest of the wide receiving crew: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and Kalif Raymond. The Lions are a little banged up at the receiver position, with rookie Isaiah Williams already declared out, and Jameson Williams questionable with an ankle injury. At this point, there’s no reason to expect Jameson Williams to miss Sunday’s game, as he practiced (in a limited fashion) all three days this week. That said, Kennedy gives the Lions some extra insurance at every wideout position. Earlier in the week, offensive coordinator Ben Johnson explained why they elevated Kennedy from the practice squad last week. “He’s a little bit of a blankie for us because we know if something were to happen, he can play X, F, Z, he can play every spot at the receiver spot,” Johnson said. “We feel really good about what he can bring to the table, and I think that gave him the nod last week.” It’s worth noting that this is already Kennedy’s second elevation from the practice squad. Players are only allowed to be elevated three times per season. So if Detroit uses Kennedy’s final elevation next week, the only way he’ll be able to play for Detroit the rest of the season is if he’s signed to the 53-man roster. The more intriguing call-up from the practice squad is Patrick, who signed with the Lions after the Broncos released him in the team’s final cutdowns. Patrick is a six-year vet who has started 37 games over his career. He’s lost the last two seasons to serious injuries (torn ACL in 2022, torn Achilles in 2023), but prior to those injuries, he had put together back-to-back 700-yard seasons with a collective 11 touchdowns. Patrick is the Lions’ leading candidate to take over the WR-X role, but it’s unclear how big a role that will be, given that he’s only been with the team for two-and-a-half weeks.

Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images Previewing Philadelphia’s Week 2 matchup. The Philadelphia Eagles are gearing up for their home opener against the Atlanta Falcons at Lincoln Financial Field. In order to preview this Week 2 Monday Night Football matchup, I reached out to our enemies over at The Falcoholic. The dazzling Dave Choate kindly took the time to answer my questions about this upcoming battle. Let’s take a look at the answers. [For my answers about the Eagles, stay tuned to TF.] 1 – Everyone’s talking about how Kirk Cousins appears to be less than 100% coming off the Achilles injury. To what extent are you concerned about him this week? What kind of offensive adjustments do you expect to see, if any? Cousins and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson were careful to say that the quarterback is fully healthy this week, and he was sprinting around and taking snaps under center during practice this week to seemingly prove that point. Taking the Falcons at their word, it still seems to me that the game plan and Cousins’ play indicate that he’s not totally comfortable just yet, which is an ongoing concern. I think we all need to see him playing better and looking more confident in his movements and passing to alleviate that concern. Adjustments-wise, I’d expect that if Cousins is healthy and adjusting nicely post-injury, we’ll see at least a little more work under center and more play action, which won’t be hard after they somehow didn’t work a single play action pass in to the game plan last week. The biggest non-Cousins problem last week was a level of predictability the Steelers quickly keyed in on, so a little more subterfuge and a little more work with play action given that Cousins excels there would go a very long way against a tough Eagles defense. 2 – The Falcons didn’t allow a touchdown in Week 1. How confident are you in Atlanta’s defense slowing down the Eagles’ offense? I think they’re going to need to force some turnovers to prevent this one from being a lot uglier than it was against the Steelers. Atlanta did a really nice job of slowing the run and clamping down on non-George Pickens options in the passing game, forcing the Steelers to eschew the middle of the field entirely and settle for field goals. There are too many weapons on Philadelphia’s offense for me to feel confident they can hold them to under 20 points, and 20 is probably the floor if this unit plays extremely well. I’m looking for a good day from the interior of this defensive line and a pair of capable pass rushers at inside linebacker in Kaden Elliss and Troy Andersen, and I’m hoping Jalen Hurts is more willing to throw to where Jessie Bates and Justin Simmons will be lurking. Turnovers will change the complexion of this game; if the Falcons can’t get them, it’s likely to be an ugly one. 3 – At this point in time, do you feel like Bijan Robinson was worth the No. 8 pick? If the team could do it over, would you rather have them take Jalen Carter (who went one pick after him) or another player instead? I love Bijan the person and the player, but the offense he’s been mired in and his usage have been frustrating through his first season-plus. It’s hard not to imagine what Carter, for example, would look like in Atlanta for a defensive front that could be truly dominant with him. That said, I’m not ready to say I’d do it over again, because I think Bijan is so good that once the offense is more than just giving him the ball and hoping for the best, he’ll shine in a way that makes it clear why the Falcons prized him. I don’t think I’ll ever be totally on board with spending a top ten selection on a running back, but I think it’s inevitable that he gets as close to justifying the pick as any back can if Atlanta can stop being so dysfunctional on that side of the ball. 4 – Can you give us some insight on the Falcons’ injury situation? They’re relatively healthy at the moment. Nate Landman is a quasi-starter splitting snaps with Troy Andersen at inside linebacker, with a focus on early downs because he’s such a capable run stopper, but he’s dealing with multiple injuries and may be a bit limited even if he plays. Cornerback Antonio Hamilton missed last week and will probably miss this game, too, but he’s the fifth cornerback. They’ll probably elevate a corner from the practice squad to fill in. The only other slight concern is that starting right tackle Kaleb McGary is banged up, but I am expecting him to play. The Falcons have to do a better job of getting him help if he scuffles this week, though he at least doesn’t have to face T.J. Watt. 5 – Who wins this game and why? With the Eagles currently listed as 6.5-point home favorites, what’s your score prediction? And then what do you generally expect for the rest of this Falcons season? I’ve got something to the tune of 27-20 Eagles, which is me making some major assumptions about offensive improvement that I hope won’t look silly after the game. It’s difficult for me to see the Falcons going into Philadelphia in primetime a week after struggling the way they did against Pittsburgh and coming away with a win. I think a couple turnovers will help make it a closer game, but I’ll be shocked if it’s a nail-biter in the end. I think there’s a strong chance they start the year in an 0-3 hole, given that the Chiefs are up next, and rebound to win 8 or 9 games once they find their footing on offense. This is a talented team with a defense that’s quietly for real and an offense that has the ability

Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images Last week, the Washington Commanders found more offensive success than the score would indicate against Tampa Bay. Can Detroit exploit the same weaknesses? Last week, the Washington Commanders got manhandled by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a score of 37-20. Baker Mayfield and the Bucs offense looked like they didn’t miss a step following the departure of former offensive coordinator Dave Canales for the Carolina Panthers’ head coaching job. However, Washington’s offensive showing was better than the score would indicate. Rookie QB Jayden Daniels made his air debut to the tune of 184 passing yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions. On the ground, though, he managed 88 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 16 rushing attempts. It likely would’ve been more, but Daniels fumbled the ball three times on the day, losing two of them. If we take a look at where Washington distributed the ball on offense, it tells a promising story for the Lions. Over 75 percent of the Commanders’ passing yardage came through their running backs and tight ends. That, combined with Daniels’ rushing yardage and volume, illustrates a weak Buccaneers’ linebacking corps that should provide ample space for the Lions’ offense to work on their short game. Bold prediction of the week: Jared Goff throws for 3+ touchdowns against Tampa Bay After starting the season with a very whelming one touchdown and one interception last week, Jared Goff will be looking to rebound against the Bucs. The box score doesn’t include at least one dropped interception by the Rams defense, too. Goff didn’t look his best last week, but his mishaps came predominantly on deep or outside passes, which he hasn’t historically leaned on too heavily. This came against a Rams’ defense that overhauled their passing game to compensate for the loss of Aaron Donald. While Goff had more time to throw, he was doing so against a tight middle and was dared to go deep. The Buccaneers showed in Week 1 that they aren’t as stout of a defense. The Commanders offense was able to distribute the ball through the short game against Tampa Bay, and that’s good news for the Lions offense. That means more passes to Sam LaPorta, Jahmyr Gibbs, and David Montgomery. After the Lions struggled to get the ball to Amon-Ra St. Brown in the opener, I wouldn’t be surprised if that also means more quick screen passes to St. Brown and Jameson Williams as well. This is all good news for the Lions’ offense. There are few teams, if any, that can match up with the Lions’ best skill players when they have the ball in space. Against Tampa, they’ll have the ball in space plenty. That should mean matching Washington’s 20 points and then a whole lot more, in what will likely be a shootout against the potent Buccaneers’ offense. For Jared Goff, that means 3+ passing touchdowns, a mark he hit three times last season.