Minnesota Vikings star running back Dalvin Cook suffered an injury during Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers.
Cook fumbled early in the first half and the Panthers returned it for a touchdown, but that quickly became the least of Minnesota’s concerns. The Pro Bowler remained down on the turf in pain and was unable to put pressure on his right leg as he was helped off the field.
Fortunately, Cook was later spotted jogging and cutting on the sideline. He appeared to be testing out his leg before grabbing his helmet to prepare to return to the game.
Josh Allen suffered what looked like it had the potential to be a serious lower leg injury on Sunday, but fortunately the Buffalo Bills quarterback was able to return to the game.
Allen’s legs bent awkwardly underneath him when he was dragged to the ground by Los Angeles Chargers star Joey Bosa in the second quarter. It looked like the quarterback twisted both of his ankles, and his right ankle and knee folded underneath him. Here’s a video:
Allen was replaced by Matt Barkley, and there were initially fears that he suffered a serious injury. Many were surprised to see him miss only one play.
Allen is having an outstanding season for the Bills, so it goes without saying that they breathed a huge sigh of relief when he was able to re-enter the game. The 24-year-old entered Sunday with 2,871 yards, 26 total touchdowns and seven interceptions on the year. This wasn’t Allen’s first injury scare this season.
Josh Jacobs may be the most underrated running back in the NFL, and the Las Vegas Raiders star showed us a prime example of his tremendous power on Sunday.
During the first half of his team’s game against the Atlanta Falcons, Jacobs lowered his shoulder and ran directly through defensive back Darqueze Dennard. He literally sent Dennard flying through the air and picked up a few extra yards.
Jacobs looked like he may have committed a penalty for lowering his helmet to initiate contact, but no flag was thrown. Even if he were penalized, Raiders coach Jon Gruden probably would not have been upset with him.
We’re used to seeing Derrick Henry abuse defenders like that, but Jacobs showed on that play that he isn’t fun to tackle, either.
Jacobs entered Sunday’s game with 755 rushing yards, which was fourth in the NFL.
The Denver Broncos are dealing with an unprecedented obstacle after all four of their quarterbacks were ruled ineligible to play this week. The team has decided to start practice squad wide receiver Kendall Hinton against the New Orleans Saints, but they would have rather had a member of their coaching staff under center.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Sunday that the Broncos wanted offensive quality control coach Rob Calabrese to start against New Orleans. They felt Calabrese, a former college quarterback who last played at UCF in 2012, had enough familiarity with the team’s offense to run it. The NFL denied the request, however.
According to Mike Klis of 9 News in Denver, the Broncos also inquired about the possibility of having offensive quality control coach Justin Rascati added to their roster. Both requests were denied due to a league rule that prevents teams from stashing potential players on their coaching staff.
Hinton began his college career playing quarterback for three seasons at Wake Forest before switching to wide receiver as a senior. He went 133/251 (53.0 percent) for 1,504 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions at Wake Forest.
The Broncos have repeatedly asked the NFL to postpone their game against the Saints, but Roger Goodell denied the request. All four of their quarterbacks were ruled ineligible after Jeff Driskel tested positive for COVID-19 and it was learned that the three others — Drew Lock, Brett Rypien and Blake Bortles — sat in a room with Driskel while not wearing masks.
Adam Gase has gone back and forth with play-calling duties this season, and it appears he will resume calling plays for the New York Jets with Sam Darnold back in the starting lineup.
Darnold will return from his shoulder injury to face the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. Gase had given up offensive play-calling prior to a game against the Buffalo Bills last month, but ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reports that the head coach is taking the responsibility back. Gase is expected to call plays on Sunday with Darnold back.
The Jets are 0-10 and on the fast track to landing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Many assume Gase is on borrowed time with the franchise, and the same could be true for Darnold. The former USC star is under contract with the Jets in 2021 and has a team option for 2022, but there has been a lot of talk about him potentially being traded this offseason.
Gase had previously indicated that he believed the Jets had a lot more problems than play-calling, and he seems determined to control his own fate down the stretch. New York has averaged just 14.9 points per game this season, which is by far the worst mark in the NFL.
Michigan has essentially been good but not great during the majority of Jim Harbaugh’s tenure as head coach, and former Wolverines star Brian Griese feels a coaching change needs to be made in Ann Arbor.
Following Michigan’s 27-17 loss to to Penn State on Saturday, Griese took to Twitter to call for Harbaugh to be fired. The “Monday Night Football” analyst shared a screenshot of some unflattering stats from Harbaugh’s time in Michigan and wrote “Enough is enough!”
Griese won a championship at Michigan in 1997 and was named Rose Bowl MVP in 1998.
As you can see from the graphic, the Wolverines have consistently come up short in big games since Harbaugh was hired in 2015. Their overall record of 49-22 is not horrible, but Michigan is 1-5 in bowl games and 11-16 against ranked teams. They are 2-12 against top-10 teams and have never beaten Ohio State.
Michigan is 2-4 after Saturday’s loss and on pace for their first ever losing season under Harbaugh. The coach took responsibility for the team’s struggles following a recent embarrassing loss.
Urban Meyer, who consistently owned Harbaugh’s teams when he was coaching at Ohio State, recently offered a bold take for how Michigan might be able to turn things around. It’s possible Harbaugh won’t be around long enough to carry out a plan like that.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians has criticized Tom Brady publicly on multiple occasions this season, but many feel the quarterback is not the one to blame. Some NFL executives and scouts reportedly believe Arians has not done enough to cater to Brady’s strengths.
Many who have scouted the Bucs feel the offensive system has been the primary reason for Brady’s struggles as of late, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. Those scouts and executives have noticed a reliance on the vertical passing game, which has not been Brady’s strong suit for years. That is the style of offense for which Arians has become known, but it’s not hard to believe that a 43-year-old quarterback who has thrived in the short-to-intermediate passing game would not excel in it.
“They want to get their best players on the field as much as they can and try to throw it deep and beat you that way,” one executive told La Canfora. “There’s kind of one way of doing things and if it works, it works. And if it doesn’t, then you’re (screwed). They aren’t willing to try to reinvent themselves to win that particular game.”
Arians has placed blame on Brady multiple time following losses this season, most recently when he said Brady misread coverages in his two-interception performance against the Los Angeles Rams. Brady has chosen not to respond when asked about the remarks, though sources close to him told La Canfora the criticisms have “clearly not gone unnoticed.”
Brady has nine interceptions this season and five in Tampa Bay’s last three games. If you want to know how he has fared in the deep passing game, look no further than these stats.
Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski have teamed up yet again! Treat yourself or a friend with this great Tampa Fiesta shirt. You can buy it here.
The NFL continues to show teams that there will be serious consequences for not following COVID-19 protocols, and the New Orleans Saints and New England Patriots are the latest to face disciplinary action.
The Saints were fined $500,000 and had to forfeit a seventh-round draft pick for violating mask protocols, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports. New England has been fined $350,000 for similar violations.
The Saints’ latest punishment stems from their locker room celebration following their Week 9 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Not all members of the team were wearing masks during the celebration. New Orleans was also found to have conducted a meeting without masks.
New England’s fine stemmed from the way Cam Newton’s positive COVID-19 test was handled in Week 4.
The Saints were punished more harshly because they are considered repeat offenders. Sean Payton was fined $100,000 and the organization was fined $250,000 earlier in the season after the coach failed to following face-covering protocols.
Multiple teams have now been fined for COVID-19 protocols. The Las Vegas Raiders faced a similar penalty to the Saints, and the NFL is clearly committed to enforcing the rules.
Carson Wentz has consistently been one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL this season, and the Philadelphia Eagles are finally planning to give someone else a chance to take snaps in their Week 12 game.
Rookie second-round pick Jalen Hurts has taken first-team reps in practice this week and will get some snaps in place of Wentz in Monday night’s game against the Seattle Seahawks, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports. Hurts has been on the field for some plays this season, but never without Wentz.
Hurts is not expected to play an entire series, but head coach Doug Pederson has implemented a handful of plays for the former Alabama star after a good week of practice.
Hurts has 12 carries for 56 yards and has caught one pass this season. He has also completed both of his pass attempts for 27 yards, though Wentz was on the field for both of those.
Wentz has thrown 14 interceptions this season, which is the most in the NFL. His passer rating of 73.3 is third-worst in the NFL ahead of only Drew Lock and Sam Darnold. There have been numerous calls for the Eagles to bench Wentz, but there is one main reason they have yet to do that and may not this year.
Saturday night’s Triller fight card at Staples Center in Los Angeles headlined by Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. was a roaring success, even if the main event had a bogus outcome.
Tyson and Jones Jr. fought an 8-round exhibition match with a smaller ring, smaller gloves, and shorter round duration than is standard for non-exhibitions. Iron Mike, 54, hadn’t fought since 2005 prior to facing Jones Jr., but he looked good given his age.
Tyson came out swinging and showed off good speed on his punches and his typical ability to strike from close range. He dominated the entire fight and clearly won it. Comparatively, Jones Jr. barely was throwing punches and didn’t appear to land anything of consequence. Despite that, the fight went the distance and was ruled a draw by the three judges.
Chad Dawson scored it 76-76, Christy Martin had it 79-73 Tyson, and Vinny Pazienza scored it 80-76 for Jones.
“Yeah, but I’m good with a draw,” Tyson said afterwards. Iron Mike was pleased because he entertained the fans.
Jones Jr. accepted the result but cracked a joke.
“I wear drawers, but I don’t do draws,” he said.
They talked about fighting a rematch.
“We gotta do this again. Everybody loves Mike. It’s tough taking punches from Mike,” Jones said afterwards.
The entire event was a success because the fans loved it. First, the fight before the main event had the kind of outcome social media was made for. Former NBA player Nate Robinson was knocked out cold by Jake Paul and then got mocked on social media. Play-by-play announcer Mauro Ranallo was excellent, and Snoop Dogg stole the show with some funny lines as part of his commentary during the fight.
If they’re considering putting together another similar card, you can bet the fans will want to see it. The entire event delivered, even if the “draw” ruling did not.
