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  • What we learned in NFL Week 5: Lions legitimately good, Patriots worst team in football?



    By Zak Keefer
    2h ago



    He probably won’t admit it, but Nathaniel Hackett had to enjoy that one. Even as nervy as it got at the end.

    After the Jets’ offensive coordinator was trashed during the preseason by new Broncos coach Sean Payton — “one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL,” Payton infamously said of Hackett’s one-year run in Denver — Hackett largely brushed off the comments, mindful that the two teams would meet five weeks into the season.


    On Sunday, Hackett and the Jets sent Payton’s Broncos to 1-4.

    The Jets capped the 31-21 victory with a Quincy Williams strip-sack of Russell Wilson, which cornerback Bryce Hall scooped up and returned for a game-sealing score. Despite a late interception, it was the second strong showing for Zach Wilson in as many weeks (maybe Aaron Rodgers’ pep talk worked?). Robert Saleh deserves credit for the job he’s done of late. His Jets are 2-3, and despite the rockiness that followed Rodgers’ Week 1 injury, all is not lost in New York.


    “We probably could’ve blown that team out of the water,” Saleh said, asked about his team’s red zone struggles Sunday (the Jets settled for four field goals inside the Broncos’ 20). He later added that Hackett got a game ball.



    The Broncos, meanwhile, remain quite terrible. Wilson is now 5-15 in two seasons in Denver, and without a 21-point, second-half rally last week in Chicago, the Broncos would be winless in 2023.

    There’s not much left for Payton to say, other than the glaring fact that his team is among the league’s biggest disappointments so far.


    Across the NFL, the Bengals looked right again, at least for one week. And Ja’Marr Chase looked unstoppable.

    Despite still not playing their best football, the Eagles are 5-0. They dropped the Rams 23-14 in Los Angeles.


    In Pittsburgh, T.J. Watt walked off the Ravens with some help from Kenny Pickett and George Pickens, spoiling Baltimore’s bid to sweep their AFC North rivals on the road this season.

    In Atlanta, Bijan Robinson’s one-handed, behind-the-back catch, Desmond Ridder’s 329 passing yards and Younghoe Koo’s 37-yard field goal as time expired helped the Falcons stave off C.J. Stroud and the Texans. But don’t overlook the sizzling start for Stroud, who’s now 184 pass attempts into his career without an interception, the best start in NFL history.


    In Minnesota, Travis Kelce briefly left the game, got an X-ray on his ankle, then returned and caught a touchdown in the Chiefs’ 27-20 victory against the Vikings, pushing the reigning champs to 4-1. On the flip side, another disappointing loss leaves the Vikings 1-4.

    In Miami, the 4-1 Dolphins made history (again) in their 31-16 win against the Giants: Their 2,599 yards are the most by any team five games into the season in the Super Bowl era. The Dolphins are also one of two offenses in league history with more than 2,500 yards in five games, joining the 2000 “Best Show on Turf” St. Louis Rams.


    Here’s what else stood out from the afternoon slate of Week 5:


    The Lions aren’t just a fun story. They’re legitimately good.


    Dan Campbell’s Lions aren’t merely a feel-good story, a popular preseason pick to turn some heads in 2023. They’re more than that. They’re a well-coached, well-balanced, dangerous football team, an upstart that’s finally, finally giving fans in the Motor City some semblance of real hope.


    More than that, five weeks in, they look like NFC contenders.

    Detroit steamrolled the hapless (and still winless) Panthers on Sunday, 42-24, in a game that wasn’t close after the second quarter. Dating back to last season, the Lions have won 12 of their last 15. They’ve beaten the Chiefs, Falcons and Packers. They have a top-10 offense and a top-10 defense. And they’ve established themselves as the team to beat in the NFC North.


    Campbell admitted to having some worries ahead of kickoff, worries his team eased quickly and definitively.

    “You tell your team your concerns, you talk about it, and your team tells you, ‘Coach, just freaking relax,’ and they did that today,” Campbell said.


    “They came out, they set the tone for the game and really never let off the gas.”

    The Lions’ 4-1 start is the best for the franchise in 12 years. For a team that has made the playoffs just three times this century, and hasn’t won a postseason game since 1991 — that was three years into the Barry Sanders era — this is starting to look and feel like it could be the year things change in Detroit. Start with this aim: the Lions haven’t won a division title since 1993. There’s still a long way to go, but if they end that streak, Detroit would host a playoff game for the first time in three decades.



    Are the Patriots the worst team in football?


    Hey, at least the Bears are looking better these days.

    Not once in his gilded, 23-year run in New England has a Bill Belichick team looked this lousy five weeks into the season, and you have to go all the way back to his first season — 2000 — to find one that’s even comparable. Though the Patriots became somewhat accustomed to slow starts during the Tom Brady era, this is wholly different: They look like one of the worst teams in football.


    After Sunday’s embarrassing 34-0 loss to the Saints in Foxboro, the Patriots are 1-4, tied for the worst start of the Belichick era (they were also 1-4 in 2000; they finished 5-11 that year). They haven’t scored a touchdown since Week 3. The offense is averaging a league-low 11 points per game, and starter Mac Jones, who leads the league in pick-sixes, has been pulled late each of the past two weeks, a pair of lopsided losses that have been mostly foreign to this franchise since the turn of the century.


    Against the Cowboys and Saints, the Patriots have been outscored by a staggering margin of 72-3.

    That’s right: The single-worst loss of the Belichick era (35 points) was followed by the second-worst loss of the Belichick era (34 points).


    “Kind of the same old story,” offensive lineman David Andrews said after the loss, summing up last two weeks.

    “Plain and simple, we’ve got to find a way to play and coach better than that,” Belichick said. “So let’s go start all over and get back on a better track than we’re on right now.”


    Start all over? We’re five weeks into the season. And these flaws, and a gross lack of talent on offense, won’t be easily fixable.

    The offense under Bill O’Brien, who’s back for a second stint as offensive coordinator, has been abysmal. On Sunday, the Patriots’ first six drives looked like this: two three-and-outs, two punts, a pick-six and a missed field goal. Through five games, the Patriots have scored 24 fewer points than in any other season of the Belichick era, and the unit’s EPA is a ghastly -86.3. (The Patriots’ second-worst offensive EPA since 2000 is -26.7.)


    Don’t excuse the defense, either, though the team’s offensive struggles remain the primary culprit: So far, the Patriots are allowing 33 points per game, also the worst of the Belichick era by a wide margin.

    Asked after the loss if he’s sticking with Jones as his starter, Belichick confirmed that he is.


    “Yeah, there were a lot of problems,” he said. “Certainly wasn’t all on him.”

    No, but Jones has done little to solidify his starting job beyond this season — if he even holds it for the rest of 2023.



    Gardner Minshew is the best backup in football. But how worried should the Colts be about Anthony Richardson?


    The Colts are 3-2, tied with the Jags atop the AFC South, and the biggest reasons are the backup quarterback and the second-string running back. A day after the team inked Jonathan Taylor to a $42 million contract extension — ending a bitter feud that dragged on for months — Indy outlasted the Titans 23-16 at home. Taylor’s usage, which will increase in the coming weeks, was minimal: six carries for 18 years.

    Zack Moss’ was not: He was again invaluable for the Colts’ offense, piling up 165 yards and two touchdowns. Since returning from a broken arm he suffered in training camp, Moss has been excellent in Taylor’s stead, averaging 111 yards a game to go with four touchdowns.

    And Gardner Minshew? He’s been nothing short of the best backup QB in football.

    “To me, he is,” Colts coach Shane Steichen said after the win, calling Minshew “an elite processor of the game.”

    In the three games Minshew’s either started or stepped in for Anthony Richardson, the Colts are 3-0.

    But Indy exits Sunday with concern at quarterback: Richardson, their rookie starter, left the game after taking a shot on a designed run in the second quarter. It’s the third time — in just four career starts — that Richardson has failed to finish a game, and he missed another due to a concussion. The good news: X-rays on Richardson’s throwing shoulder were negative, according to The Athletic’s James Boyd. The bad news: It’s an AC joint sprain, the severity of which will determine how much time Richardson misses, if any.

    It’s too soon to label the rookie “injury-prone” at this point in his career, especially considering how freakish some of his injuries have been. But as the hits pile up, particularly on plays designed to have Richardson escape from the pocket, it’s fair to wonder if the Colts aggressive usage of him as a runner is worth the risk.


    A gutsy win by the Jaguars leaves the Bills hurting

    Despite some leaky (and concerning) offensive line play, especially on the edges, the Jaguars earned an impressive win against the Bills on Sunday in London, Jacksonville’s second consecutive victory overseas. Trevor Lawrence was sacked five times but was still terrific, throwing for 315 yards and a touchdown in a 25-20 win that pushes the Jags to 3-2 on the season, tied with the Colts atop the AFC South.

    The throw of the game came with 3:15 left and Jacksonville owning a five-point lead. On the decisive third-and-4, Lawrence lofted a beautiful, high-arching throw down the sideline for Calvin Ridley, who hauled it in for a 32-yard gain, setting up Travis Etienne’s second touchdown of the day. (Ridley finished with 122 yards on seven catches.)

    Josh Allen and the Bills scored a late touchdown, but the rally proved futile.

    “Never felt like we really got into a rhythm until late,” Allen said. “They were ready to go today and we weren’t.”

    It sure looked like it. Did the Bills make a mistake in traveling to London so late in the week? (They didn’t arrive in London until Friday morning.) The Jaguars, of course, stayed all week after beating the Falcons last Sunday. Buffalo looked sluggish and out-of-sync for most of the game: The Bills were forced to punt on their first four possessions and didn’t pick up a first down until 12 seconds remained in the first quarter.

    And this was an offense that scored 48 last week against Miami, looking utterly unstoppable for most of the game.

    Most concerning for the Bills, though, are the mounting injuries on defense: A week after losing top cornerback Tre’Davious White for the season (ruptured Achilles), star linebacker Matt Milano went down with a knee injury in the first half Sunday, and coach Sean McDermott said after the loss it’s “not looking good.” Also of note, defensive end DaQuan Jones left the game with an injured pectoral muscle.


    ​Zak Keefer is a national features writer for The Athletic, focusing on the NFL. He previously covered the Indianapolis Colts for nine seasons, winning the Pro Football Writers of America's 2020 Bob Oates Award for beat writing. He wrote and narrated the six-part podcast series "Luck," and is an adjunct professor of journalism at Indiana University. Follow Zak on Twitter @zkeefer
    "I hope to see the Lions in the Super Bowl before I die"
    My friend Ken L

    Comment


    • Originally posted by jaadam4 View Post
      Hell yes although the price tag there will be steep. Seattle should be in cuffs for the damage they did to Denver. Complete fleecing
      Getting a read that the price for Surtain ii would probably be at least a 1st RD pick. But hey, when the Lions might be picking at #32 overall …

      Perhaps the smarter route will be bargain shopping. I’ve seen a lot of day 3 pick swap trades in recent years. Such as the Randy Gregory and JC Jackson trades last week. Spitballing ideas… after the Giants are 1-5, call up them for Adoree Jackson with a 6th/7th RD swap. Jackson is a little down this season, but was good the prior two season. CB2 depth as a replacement for Moseley.

      Still hoping for a positive surprise with Moseley’s MRI today. Though when Campbell says it doesn’t look good, that’s a tough one…​
      AAL 2023 - Alim McNeill

      Comment


      • JC Jackson has a massive contract. I’m ok with missing out on him.

        Surtain is definitely worth at least a first round pick. He still has 2
        more years on his rookie deal and he made the pro bowl last year. Id do that in a heartbeat.
        F#*K OHIO!!!

        You're not only an amazingly beautiful man, but you're the greatest football mind to ever exist. <-- Jeffy Shittypants actually posted this. I knew he was in love with me.

        Comment


        • To clarify, I was just using JC Jackson as an example of a low cost and recent trade in the NFL. Suggesting what the value of bargain shopping could be if making a trade.

          Jerry Jacobs has been mixed at CB2. His season PFF grade at 52.4 isn’t encouraging, but he’s been a little better than that based on eye test and with the big INTs. Alphonso Smith had a run like this for the Lions at CB back in 2010 or 2011. or Oruwariye in 2021. Hopefully the career arc goes better for Jacobs though! ​ I’m not sold that the Lions should be content at CB based on Jacobs’ overall performance through 5 games… and if we hear bad news about Moseley’s injury. The Lions had interest in Jalen Ramsey and Devon Witherspoon during the offseason. Wouldn’t be surprising to see the Lions make a notable move at CB.
          AAL 2023 - Alim McNeill

          Comment


          • Mosley was supposed to be that #2. Shit happens.

            Surtain would be the absolute amazing trade for us. I’d surrender a first rounder as he’s already a pro bowler of what you’d want from a top pick.

            especially when our pick will be well into the 20’s and it’s a crap shoot.
            F#*K OHIO!!!

            You're not only an amazingly beautiful man, but you're the greatest football mind to ever exist. <-- Jeffy Shittypants actually posted this. I knew he was in love with me.

            Comment


            • If they make Surtain available, I expect a robust market for him.

              Comment


              • If the Broncos are willing to part with Surtain, that could certainly be an option.

                But I suspect Holmes is going to look for some cheap depth pieces and roll with Jacobs. I'm not convinced he'd be wrong either. Familiarity with what the team wants to do on defense probably trumps raw talent for a partial season.

                Comment


                • Agree. I’ve skimmed through other options on bad teams, but keep coming back to Adoree Jackson on the Giants. Again, likely just a cheap day 3 picks swap. Giants moved Jackson to NCB this season too because they drafted Deonte Banks. That could help explain the decline this season. He has outside CB experience and could be a veteran depth player behind Jacobs. Give Jacobs the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise.

                  Yeah, I’ve seen fans on all of the good teams asking about Surtain ii lol. Most notably the Cowboys and Bills after they lost a starting CB last week.
                  AAL 2023 - Alim McNeill

                  Comment


                  • Surtain is not coming available unless he pulls a Ramsey and throws a shitfit. And if he did, you're talking multiple picks. Ramsey went for 2 firsts and a 4th when he was traded to the Rams.

                    Comment


                    • Originally posted by Mainevent View Post
                      Surtain is not coming available unless he pulls a Ramsey and throws a shitfit. And if he did, you're talking multiple picks. Ramsey went for 2 firsts and a 4th when he was traded to the Rams.
                      Surtain is awesome but he’s not Ramsey level. He’s definitely a first plus something else but i doubt they’d get 2 firsts for him.
                      F#*K OHIO!!!

                      You're not only an amazingly beautiful man, but you're the greatest football mind to ever exist. <-- Jeffy Shittypants actually posted this. I knew he was in love with me.

                      Comment


                      • Surtain is 23 years old. He was all rookie in 2021, all pro in 2022. Sean Payton was trying to trade for him during the draft. He is the type the Broncos should build around, if they were going to trade him, they are getting a king's ransom. Getting him for a late first round pick is the ultimate homer trade.

                        Comment


                        • The unfathomable has become the reality. The Patriots stink.



                          (I'm loving this article. The New England Patriots are totally irrelevant in the NFL nowadays, Bill Belichick or not. - whatever_gong82)


                          By Chad Finn Globe Staff,Updated October 9, 2023, 3:00 a.m.


                          Welcome to the Unconventional Review, an instant reaction to standouts, stats, and story lines from the Patriots’ most recent game . . .


                          Never thought it would come to this. Never thought it could. Never thought the Patriots would become an unfunny punchline as long as Bill Belichick was their coach.

                          It’s stunning that it has come to this. But the unfathomable has become the reality. The Patriots stink. They’re 1-4 after Sunday’s humiliating 34-0 loss to the New Orleans Saints, which follows last Sunday’s humiliating 38-3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, which follows their only win and perhaps their only win for a while, a 15-10 defeat of the New York Jets in which they had to survive a Zach Wilson Hail Mary attempt to eke out the victory.

                          They are off to their worst start since 2000, Belichick’s first season, when he had to clean up a mess of a roster. Now the mess of a roster is his creation, and there’s no fix in sight. Mac Jones, their third-year quarterback who once had some promise, has turned into Tony Eason lowlight reel. The line is a sieve, the receivers can’t get open, and the rare inspired play call is executed po)orly.


                          The Patriots were shut out at home for the first time since September 1969, eight years before Tom Brady was born. It never happened during Rod Rust’s 1-15 season in 1990, when the Patriots were outscored by 265 points. It never happened during Dick McPherson’s 2-14 season in 1992, when some kid named Scott Zolak led them to back-to-back wins after an 0-9 start.

                          The Patriots have 11 turnovers in their last nine quarters. They have not scored a touchdown in the third quarter all season. Their last offensive touchdown came when Pharaoh Brown caught the Jets napping and went 58 yards on a catch-and-run in the first minute of the second quarter of their Week 3 matchup. They have given up 69 unanswered points.


                          There are no fixes in sight. Jones (12 for 22, 110 yards, 2 interceptions, 1 fumble) is shattered, bruised, and mopey. Bailey Zappe, who went unclaimed on waivers at the end of training camp, looks like the best option right now, if only because he’s better at running for his life. Rhamondre Stevenson (8 carries, 24 yards) has turned into 2008 Laurence Maroney for no explicable reason, considering that he was a tackle-breaking machine behind a mediocre line last year.

                          What else? The Patriots are usually behind before the television broadcasts finish showing the starting lineups. They constantly look unprepared. They begin their games with no spark and end them alone with their thoughts on the hopeless sideline. Belichick probably will survive the season. Should he? How can he, if Sundays keep going like this? How did it come to this?

                          The Patriots do not have a soft spot on their schedule. They are the soft spot for everyone else. The Saints hadn’t scored 20 points in any of their previous 10 games until dropping 34 on the Patriots. On the plus side, the Patriots don’t have to tank to get a couple of tickets for the Caleb Williams sweepstakes. They can just keep doing what they’re doing.


                          Three players who were worth watching

                          Players suggested in the Unconventional Preview: Chris Olave, Keion White, Cameron Jordan.

                          Tyrann Mathieu: The interception artist known as the Honey Badger entered Sunday’s game with three previous pick-6s in his career. (Actually thought it would be more.) He got No. 4 in the first quarter, and I doubt he’s had one that was easier. On third and 6, the pocket collapsed around Jones. He stepped up, got hit by Carl Granderson (who was a force), and a delicate mallard wobbled out of his grip and right to Mathieu, who ran it in from 27 yards for the game’s first touchdown. That was the sixth career pick-6 for Jones. That’s two more than Aaron Rodgers has thrown in his career, and he was drafted in 2005.



                          Alvin Kamara: The back looked sharp for a veteran playing just his second game after serving a three-game suspension. He ran 22 times for 80 yards and a touchdown, and caught all three of his targets for 17 yards. The TD was the 73d of his career, breaking a tie with Marques Colston for most in Saints history.

                          Kendrick Bourne: Well, if we’re obligated to include a Patriot, Bourne was decent. He had back-to-back catches for 15 and 11 yards on an ultimately ill-fated drive at the end of the first half, and pulled off a 28-yard catch-and-run in the second half. Both Jones and Zappe overshot him on plays that had a chance to be big gainers. Bourne would be a helpful trade pickup for a contender.


                          Grievance of the game

                          Colleague Ben Volin wrote at greater length about this, so I’ll quickly second the notion. Belichick’s decision to punt on fourth and 3 from the Saints’ 40 down, 24-0, early in the third quarter was a permission slip to check out. No, the Patriots weren’t coming back. Since when does that mean you stop trying?


                          Three notes scribbled in the margins

                          Predicted score: Saints 17, Patriots 13

                          Final score: Saints 34, Patriots 0


                          I’m probably in a tiny minority with this, but I still get why Belichick moved on from Jakobi Meyers and brought in JuJu Smith-Schuster. Their production was relatively comparable, and Smith-Schuster was supposed to be better after the catch, which is something the Patriots needed. But whether it’s because of fit, injury, or just the usual terrible player evaluation, Smith-Schuster has been a disaster. Smith-Schuster had three catches for 6 yards before departing after taking a shot to the head in the third quarter. He now has 14 catches for 86 yards on the season. He had more receiving yards than that in five different games last year for the Chiefs. Mohamed Sanu had a better run here than this guy . . . You know what constitutes a heads-up play for the Patriots these days? Jabrill Peppers having the presence of mind to bat the ball out of bounds after fumbling a punt return . . . For a brief stretch in the second quarter, the cable and streaming feed for the game went black. Was I the only one who was fine with that as long as it was back for the Celtics preseason game at 6 p.m.?


                          Chad Finn can be reached at chad.finn@globe.com. Follow him @GlobeChadFinn.

                          "I hope to see the Lions in the Super Bowl before I die"
                          My friend Ken L

                          Comment


                          • The Patriots didn’t just lose to the Saints. Bill Belichick gave up.


                            By Ben Volin Globe Staff,Updated October 8, 2023, 4:20 p.m.


                            Instant analysis from the Patriots’ 34-0 loss to the Saints:

                            ▪ The Patriots still have 12 games to play. But let the record show that Bill Belichick gave up on his team with 9:55 remaining in the third quarter of Sunday’s game.

                            It’s one thing to build a boring, deficient football team that gets blown off the field each Sunday. But Belichick made an unconscionable decision against the Saints to wave the white flag early in the third quarter — sending in the punt team on fourth and 3 from the Saints’ 40-yard line while trailing, 24-0.


                            This was beyond being conservative, as Belichick usually is on fourth down. This was Belichick throwing in the towel. This was Belichick telling the world he doesn’t believe in his players, and doesn’t feel like trying anymore, even with 24 minutes remaining.

                            It’s the type of decision that should make Robert Kraft think long and hard about the direction of his franchise.

                            Belichick said he never thought about going for it on that fourth down, which is absurd.

                            “Until we’re better on third and fourth down, I don’t think so,” he said.

                            The talk about Belichick being on the hot seat should continue. The Patriots are 1-4 and just suffered the worst home loss in Belichick’s 24 years. They are tracking to miss the playoffs for the third time in four years.



                            The idea of getting rid of Belichick midseason seemed almost inconceivable before Sunday. But Belichick’s punt decision was so absurd it almost seems as if he’s daring Kraft to make a move.

                            It’s one thing to build a faulty football team, as Belichick has this year. It’s another for the franchise to go backward, as it has since Tom Brady left — their three worst home losses have all come since 2020.


                            But it’s a football sin to give up on a game as Belichick did.

                            ▪ It’s safe to say the Patriots have never been less competitive in Belichick’s 24 years, being outscored, 72-3, the past two games. They also started 1-4 in 2000, Belichick’s first year, but at least they were mostly one-score losses. The sarcastic cheers in the second quarter when the Patriots converted a first down were warranted.

                            Belichick’s Patriots are in complete disarray. The quarterback can’t stop throwing the ball to the other team, and his confidence is shot. The offensive line can’t block. The receivers can’t make plays. The defense, missing its two best players, had no juice. The Saints set their season high in points (21) with 10 minutes to go in the second quarter. The Patriots are setting records for futility that they haven’t done since the days of the Boston Patriots in the AFL. Ex-Patriots are ripping the team on social media.

                            “If they were playing madden they’d be forced off the sticks… 21-0 rule!” Jason McCourty wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).


                            This is what the end looked like for legendary coaches Tom Landry, Chuck Noll and Don Shula. Now it seems it’s Belichick’s turn.

                            ▪ Belichick’s fourth-down decisions are baffling. He was aggressive in Week 1, going for it four times against the Eagles and passing up a couple of field goal attempts. But he has gone back to his ultra-conservative ways in recent weeks.


                            Last week in Dallas, Belichick opted for a chip-shot field goal on fourth and 1 from the 6-yard line in the first quarter. Sunday against the Saints, Belichick sent out the field goal unit on fourth and 3 from the 30 instead of going for it, and rookie kicker Chad Ryland hooked the 48-yard kick to the left.

                            The Patriots needed to show some urgency to get back in the win column and get the offense back on track. Instead, Belichick is showing his players he has no faith in them.

                            ▪ This may have been the last start for Mac Jones for a while. He threw for just 110 yards with two interceptions, plays with no fire, and seems to have lost all confidence. His pick-6 wasn’t all his fault — Jones was hit by Carl Granderson as he threw — but Jones probably should have taken the sack instead of trying to make a play. Jones is now responsible for four defensive touchdowns in five games, an unthinkable stat.


                            Jones’s coaches and teammates don’t seem to trust him. He’s not seeing the field, he’s not making plays, and now he’s throwing simple pitches away. There really is no reason not to give Bailey Zappe a chance Sunday at Las Vegas.

                            ▪ The Patriots have the worst offensive line in the NFL right now because of injuries and a game of musical chairs. Trent Brown couldn’t handle Granderson’s twist and gave up the hit on Jones’s pick-6. David Andrews and Riley Reiff, playing guard for the first time in his career, allowed a blitzer to scream free right up the middle and hit Jones. Right tackle Vederian Lowe allowed Cam Jordan to blow right past him for a sack late in the second quarter. And the run game averaged just 2.5 yards per carry, with Rhamondre Stevenson getting stuffed on fourth and 1 in the fourth quarter.


                            It’s another area of the team Belichick has allowed to fall into dilapidation.

                            ▪ The Patriots’ defense didn’t get much help from three turnovers by the offense, and did hold the Saints to 304 yards. But the defense is understandably softer without their best pass rusher (Matthew Judon) and cornerback (Christian Gonzalez).

                            Most disconcerting for the defense — the Saints moved the ball at the 8-yard line in the second quarter, and ran the ball three straight times to get into the end zone. The Patriots couldn’t or wouldn’t put up a fight.

                            ▪ And just to put a bow on everything, the Patriots’ special teams were an abomination again. Bryce Baringer hit a 26-yard punt. Joe Cardona’s snaps were low. Ty Montgomery’s kickoff returns came out to the 21- and 17-yard lines.

                            And Chad Ryland missed a makeable field goal, making him 4 for 8 this year. Meanwhile, Nick Folk is 13 for 13 in Tennessee. The Patriots traded up in the fourth round to select Ryland, and only got a 2025 seventh-round pick for Folk. Another one in the “L” column for Belichick.

                            "I hope to see the Lions in the Super Bowl before I die"
                            My friend Ken L

                            Comment


                            • Vikings WR Justin Jefferson (hamstring) to miss next 4 games

                              https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...-ir-per-source

                              Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson will miss at least the next four games because of a strained right hamstring he suffered Sunday in the team's 27-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the biggest blow in what has been a catastrophic start to the team's season.

                              The Vikings plan to place Jefferson on injured reserve Tuesday, ESPN's Adam Schefter confirmed, to ensure that he does not return to the field too early and suffer a setback. The earliest he could be activated is for a Week 10 game against the New Orleans Saints, but the Vikings will determine at that point whether he's ready to resume playing or if he needs more time.

                              The decision tracks with what coach Kevin O'Connell said Monday during a news conference with reporters.

                              "We're going to have to medically make a good decision and help almost protect him from himself a little bit in a way where we've got to take care of him and get him back to 100 percent," O'Connell said.

                              Losing Jefferson, the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year in 2022, will further impair a Vikings team that has started the season 1-4 and has three of its next four games on the road. Their only home game in that stretch is against the undefeated San Francisco 49ers.

                              The team runs its entire offense through Jefferson, O'Connell acknowledged Monday, and might need to reinvent its schemes to move forward. Entering Week 5, Jefferson ranked first in the NFL in receiving yards (543), was tied for second in catches (33) and third in targets (47).

                              Rookie Jordan Addison figures to see more targets, along with veterans K.J. Osborn and Brandon Powell, but the Vikings will also have to adjust to defenses that likely won't feel compelled to use the double-teams and other exotic coverages that Jefferson routinely sees.

                              NFL Network first reported the planned IR move.

                              Speaking Monday, O'Connell said that if Jefferson missed any time, the Vikings would find out "whether people decide to play us a little more straight up or true, how we run it maybe against some looks that, quite frankly, we don't get a whole lot."

                              Jefferson has never missed an NFL game and had started 53 consecutive games since Week 3 of his rookie season in 2020. He rarely has come off the field, having played 92% of the team's offensive snaps over that period.

                              "Justin has done a phenomenal job for the last 3½ years of staying healthy and being healthy every week, which is hard to do," quarterback Kirk Cousins said Sunday. "Even with this injury, it makes you pause and be grateful for how healthy he has been."

                              The Vikings negotiated for months during the offseason to sign Jefferson to a contract extension, but the sides were unable to find common ground and broke off negotiations last month. Jefferson will receive a $2.4 million base salary this season and would earn $19.7 million in 2024 under the terms of his fifth-year option if there is no extension at this point.

                              But Jefferson's injury could have an impact on the team's decision-making for the rest of the season. Three prominent veterans -- Cousins, Osborn and linebacker Danielle Hunter -- are all playing with contracts that will expire after the season. The NFL trade deadline is Oct. 31. Cousins has a full no-trade clause that he would have to waive if the Vikings wanted to move him.

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                              • You just hate to see it for the Vikings….

                                It might be similar to when Cooper Kupp went on IR last season. Rams elected the shutdown Kupp because their season went poorly after that point.
                                AAL 2023 - Alim McNeill

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