The List: Several hot teams, stars get traded and the death of a legend
The List: Several hot teams, stars get traded and the death of a legend
Although Week 7 featured a few more blowouts, there was still plenty of compelling NFL action. In addition, there was quite a bit of news off the field, although maybe not as juicy as the Jalen Ramsey trade last week. Here is a look at the best and worst from the past seven days.
WINNERS
Saints keep rolling and may get Brees back soon: Drew Brees may return from thumb surgery in time for the Week 8 game against the Cardinals, but the Saints will not rush their star back into the lineup. New Orleans improved to 5-0 with Teddy Bridgewater under center thanks to a 36-25 win over the Bears on Sunday. Bridgewater threw for 281 yards and two touchdowns and Latavius Murray, filling in for an injured Alvin Kamara, ran for 119 yards and two scores. Brees has been out since Week 2, when he hit his hand on Aaron Donald’s helmet.
Maybe that’s all it takes – Three weeks ago, the Vikings were floundering and there was infighting between the team’s offensive stars. Quarterback Kirk Cousins made some adjustments to keep his receivers happy, and the team has enjoyed three straight dominant victories, the latest was a 42-30 win in Detroit. Cousins threw for 337 yards and four touchdowns, Stefon Diggs caught seven passes for 142 yards and Dalvin Cook ran for 142 yards and two scores in the win. Unfortunately for Vikings fans, the team may be without their other star receiver, Adam Thielen for Thursday night’s game against the Redskins after he injured his hamstring on Sunday.
Two remain to Chase ’72 Dolphins – The Patriots and 49ers stayed undefeated this week and both defenses dominated. San Francisco won a 9-0 rain-affected game on Sunday in Washington and New England dominated the Jets on Monday night. The 49ers held the Redskins to 181 total yards in their victory, while the Patriots accomplished two things that hadn’t been seen in the NFL for quite a while. After the 33-0 win, New England joined the 1942 Bears as the only teams in league history to post two road shutouts by at least a 30-point margin. Also, the Patriots have outscored their opponents 223-48 so far this year. The plus-175 margin is the highest through seven games since the Buffalo All-Americans outscored opponents by 218 in the first seven games in 1920. That’s right, we’re celebrating 100 years of the NFL and the Patriots are challenging a record that was set in year one.
Kicking record falls in Dallas – Cowboys kicker Brett Maher launched a 63-yard field goal at the end of the first half of the Sunday night game against the Eagles, but he is no stranger at that distance. Maher dropped a 62-yarder against the Jets at the end of the first half last week and also hit one from 62 yards last December against Philadelphia. Sunday’s field goal makes Maher 3-for-3 from beyond 60 yards and the first player in NFL history to hit three field goals of 60 or more yards.
Jaguars get some good news – Nick Foles returned to practice on a limited basis this week. The Super Bowl winning quarterback with the Eagles broke his clavicle in Week 1 and is unable to return until Week 11, but it is encouraging to see him practice. While one Super Bowl star is on the mend, Jacksonville picked up a second in Malcolm Smith. The linebacker had six sacks, a pass defense, a fumble recovery and an interception returned for a touchdown to help him earn game MVP honors in Seattle’s 43-8 win over Denver in Super Bowl XLVIII. Smith suffered a torn pectoral muscle that cost him the 2017 season, then spent last year with the 49ers before being released in August.
NFL pledges an investment in Village – The league owners voted to invest up to $10 million in the Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village in Canton, Ohio, the site of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Village is looking to add two hotels, a field house for conventions, an office building, retail establishments, an indoor water park, and several youth fields. The entire cost of construction is estimated at $268 million and is expected to begin at the end of this year or early in 2020. The $10 million investment averages out to $312,500 per owner.
Don’t mess with Fletcher Cox – Score one for the Second Amendment! Apparently, Cox was at his New Jersey home when his girlfriend’s ex decided to show up. He damaged her car with a baseball bat and tried to break into the house by throwing rocks through the front door. However, the defensive lineman met him, armed with a shotgun, and chased the would-be intruder off. Cox has 12 solo tackles, four tackles for loss and a sack in seven games this season, but it’s clear that opposing offensive players are not the only ones who should be scared of him.
Weekly stat leaders – There were several big statistical games once again in Week 7. Cousins’ opponent, Matthew Stafford, threw for 364 yards and four touchdowns with one interception in Detroit’s home loss to Minnesota. Philip Rivers passed for 329 yards, but Ryan Tannehill and his 312 yards helped the Titans beat the Chargers. Jacoby Brissett (326 yards) and Deshaun Watson (308) each starred in the Indianapolis-Houston game, but Brissett tossed four scoring passes to help the Colts come out on top. Finally, Aaron Rodgers was the top passer this week, completing 25 of 31 passes for 429 yards and five scores in Green Bay’s 42-24 win over Oakland.
Cook had the NFL’s top rushing total and Murray also put up big numbers for the Saints, but there were other stars. Chase Edmonds ran all over the Giants, finishing with 126 yards and three touchdowns in Arizona’s road victory. Leonard Fournette rushed for 131 yards as the Jaguars kept the Bengals winless. Rookie Josh Jacobs ran for 124 yards in the Raiders loss. Sony Michel only had 42 yards but scored three times in New England’s victory on Monday night. Finally, Lamar Jackson ran for 116 yards in Baltimore’s win in Seattle. The quarterback now ranks sixth in the league with 576 rushing yards (Cook leads with 725, followed by Fournette with 715).
Diggs topped the receiver list with 142 yards, but the bigger star came from the other side of that game. Marvin Jones Jr. caught 10 passes for 93 yards and found the end zone four times in a losing effort. A surprise star emerged in Cincinnati, as Alex Erickson had 137 yards in the Bengals loss. Michael Thomas caught nine passes for 131 yards in the Saints win, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling caught two long passes and finished with 133 yards in the Green Bay victory.
LOSERS
Chiefs lose the face of the franchise – During the second quarter of last Thursday’s 30-6 win over the Broncos, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered a dislocated kneecap on a quarterback sneak on fourth down. He could miss anywhere from three to six weeks, but Kansas City is still holding out hope he can play Sunday night against the Packers.
More trades affecting playoff teams – With the NFL’s trade deadline less than a week away (Tuesday at 4 p.m.), some of the league’s better-positioned teams are looking for that one move that could push them over the top. The unbeaten 49ers made a statement by acquiring two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders from the Broncos. San Francisco also gets a fifth-round pick in 2020 and sent third- and fourth-round selections back to Denver. Sanders has 30 receptions, 367 yards, and two touchdowns this season.
In order to combat this new move, the Seahawks sent a fifth-round pick to the Lions for safety Quandre Diggs and a seventh-rounder. Diggs has six career interceptions and has totaled 17 solo tackles in five starts this year.
Patriots wide receiver Josh Gordon was placed on Injured Reserve after suffering a knee injury against the Giants two weeks ago. New England replaced Gordon on the roster by acquiring Mohamed Sanu from Atlanta for a second-round pick. Sanu has 377 receptions for 4,300 yards and 25 touchdowns in eight seasons with the Bengals and Falcons.
Bears and Jets have issues – The 36-25 final score may not indicate the level of dominance the Saints showed against the Bears on Sunday. Mitchell Trubisky threw for 254 yards and two touchdowns, but missed several throws an NFL quarterback should complete. The running game was non-existent, the defense failed to stop Teddy Bridgewater, the special teams coverage units missed assignments and allowed a blocked punt for a safety, and receiver Anthony Miller decided to run his own routes rather than the ones the team designed.
Meanwhile, in New York, things were so bad for Sam Darnold that the quarterback was heard telling one of his coaches “I see ghosts” while wearing a microphone for ESPN. Head coach Adam Gase and running back LeVeon Bell put the blame on the cable company, saying that comment never should have been put on the air, but the Jets were playing a first-class defense. That being said, there is no reason for Darnold to complete only 11 of 32 passes for 86 yards and four picks.
Chargers done-in by replay, - One of the closest games of the weekend was in Tennessee. The Chargers were driving when Philip Rivers found Austin Ekeler with a pass in the flat. Ekeler thought he got into the end zone, but after review, the ball was placed on the one-yard-line. Los Angeles was pushed back by a false start penalty, but Tennessee gave the yardage back with a pass interference call on the next play. Melvin Gordon, who held out to start the season, though he scored, but again, replay ruled him down short of the goal line. Gordon tried again, only to be stopped again and ruled down. The Titans disagreed and thought Gordon fumbled the ball, and they turned out to be right after a review. Tennessee took control and ran out the clock on a 23-20 victory. So to recap, the Chargers had two touchdowns taken off the board and committed a turnover, all based on booth reviews. For what it’s worth, at least Gordon learned his lesson about holding out, stating “I know I won’t miss another training camp again” after the game.
Bengals fine, suspend Glenn – Cincinnati imposed a one-game ban and a $200,000 fine after the offensive tackle missed practice last week. The team and player have been at odds since Glenn suffered a concussion during the second preseason game. Glenn has missed nearly two months of action, but last week, an independent neurologist cleared him to resume football activities. The situation has escalated to include an altercation with a member of the coaching staff, doubts over the legitimacy of the injury and Glenn asking coach Zac Taylor to release him.
AB’s claims take a hit – Antonio Brown’s attempt to recover $30 million in “guaranteed money” from the Raiders hit a snag when the team submitted text messages during the discovery phase of the potential litigation hearing. Raiders owner Mark Davis received texts from Brown asking for his release before the season began. Brown decided to fight the NFL’s new helmet rule, having an altercation with new Oakland general manager Mike Mayock, and spending months recovering from frostbitten feet caused by a cryogenics accident were all more worthwhile endeavors than actually showing up to training camp.
Osweiler retires after seven seasons – The tall (nearly 6-foot-7) quarterback was drafted in the second round of the 2012 Draft by the Broncos out of Arizona State. After three years of backup duty, Osweiler started for an injured Peyton Manning during the 2015 season. Manning returned to lead the Broncos to Super Bowl 50, but Osweiler’s play led to him signing a four-year, $72 million contract with the Texans for 2016. His stay in Houston was short, as inconsistent play led him to be traded to the Browns after just one year. He never played for Cleveland, had slight success in his return to Denver and a stop in Miami, but was not signed after becoming a free agent at the end of last season.
Raiders great Willie Brown dies – The Hall of Fame cornerback passed away on Tuesday at age 78. Brown had 54 career interceptions, including 39 in 12 seasons with the Raiders after spending his first four years in Denver. The nine-time Pro Bowler and five-time All-Pro was a part of Oakland’s 1967 AFL Championship team, which lost Super Bowl II to the Packers. Brown returned a Fran Tarkenton interception 75 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XI, as the Raiders won their first NFL championship, 32-14. He later spent 10 years as a defensive backs coach with the franchise and had been the Director of Staff Development in Oakland since 1995. He is survived by wife, Yvonne, and three children.
-By: Kevin Rakas