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Dawgs by Nature
Browns vs. Eagles: Scouting the Philadelphia Eagles with our Q&A with Bleeding Green Nation
[D]ating back to last season, the Eagles have gone six straight games now without scoring a point in the first quarter. They constantly have to battle back from slow starts. Nick Sirianni doesn’t appear to have answers and it’s hard to see how he gives his team an edge in other areas. He’s been bad with game management decisions this season.
It’s not all about the head coach, though. Jalen Hurts can’t stop turning the ball over; he has 27 giveaways in his last 22 games played. He leads the NFL in turnover-worthy play percentage as defined by Pro Football Focus. The Eagles’ defense has had one excellent game in four tries. There seems to be a talent issue on that side of the ball.
On the whole, the negative sticks out more than the positive coming off a bad loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that was then followed by the bye week.
DeJean missed the majority of training camp due to an offseason injury. He’s only been trusted to play eight defensive snaps thus far.
DeJean’s role is reportedly expected to increase coming out of the bye. Eagles veteran nickel cornerback Avonte Maddox has struggled, making way for the rookie to get on the field. There could be some growing pains, especially if DeJean looks like the player he did in the Eagles’ preseason finale where he excelled in run defense but had some issues in coverage.
The Eagles haven’t defeated an opponent by at least nine points in nearly one year (October 22, 2023). And they’re just 3-8 in their last 11 games.
It’s difficult to give this team the benefit of the doubt when it comes to winning a game, let alone making it look easy.
Blogging the Boys
NFC East update: Potential congestion after Week 6
Do you think this is the week that Washington finally looks less than amazing?
The Commanders face their biggest test yet in 2024 with a road game against the Baltimore Ravens. While Washington can come out of the Beltway Bowl with respect even in defeat, depending on how competitive they look, that won’t help them stay on top in the NFC East. A potential loss for the Commanders should have the Cowboys and Eagles salivating in their own matchups.
Philly comes out of its bye week with a gift; a home game against the Browns. It’s their turn to get a win off Cleveland just like the rest of the NFC East has this year. The Eagles went into their bye with some major questions about Jalen Hurts’ performance and team chemistry issues, but the Browns offer a perfect punching bag on which to work things out. Paired with next week’s matchup against the Giants, Philadelphia could quickly be 4-2 and challenging for the division lead again.
Dallas is hoping to be 4-2 going into its own bye week but will need another surprise win to do it, facing the Detroit Lions this Sunday. The Lions may only be the second-best team in the NFC North but they and 5-0 Minnesota just might be the two best teams in the whole NFC right now. The Cowboys have to be feeling better about themselves after the gutsy win in Pittsburgh and will need every bit of that confidence and momentum to withstand Detroit.
If things go Dallas’ way this Sunday, they’ll be all tied up with Washington in overall, division, and conference records.
Blogging the Boys
Cowboys injury news: DaRon Bland questionable, Eric Kendricks out
The Cowboys secondary is looking a little iffy. After two days of full practices, DaRon Bland did not practice today and has been labeled questionable. Dallas has expressed much optimism about his ability to play this week, and signs were trending in that direction. Yet, a DNP today makes it look murky for his chances to play. Caelen Carson however, did practice fully although questionable. Trevon Diggs sat out because of illness and an ankle injury yesterday but worked back into today’s team activities and has no injury designation for Sunday’s game. Zack Martin did not practice the last two days but managed to get a full days work on Friday. He also carries no injury designation.
Eric Kendricks has not practiced all week and was ultimately ruled out versus Detroit, as he has sat out this week with calf and shoulder injuries. As expected, Micah Parsons was ruled out. He will be out for at least another game.
For Detroit, Frank Ragnow was taken off the injury report and will play. Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch also practiced in full on Friday and are good to go on Sunday.
Big Blue View
Giants injury news: Malik Nabers OUT, Devin Singletary, Jamie Gillan questionable
The New York Giants will be without receiver Malik Nabers against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday Night Football, as the star rookie has yet to clear the concussion protocol.
The bad, yet not unexpected, news was delivered by head coach Brian Daboll during his remarks before Friday’s practice.
We also know that the Giants will be without edge defender Kayvon Thibodeaux as he recovers from wrist surgery. Daboll said while the injured reserve is a possibility for Thibodeaux, a decision hasn’t been made yet.
Punter Jamie Gillan is a surprise addition to the injury report on Friday with a hamstring injury. Gillan is reportedly a game-time decision and the Giants may sign a punter to their practice squad.
ESPN
NFL Week 6 picks, schedule, odds, injuries, fantasy tips
Browns (1-4) at Eagles (2-2)
1 p.m. ET | Fox | ESPN BET: PHI -10 (42.5 O/U)
Browns storyline to watch: The Browns are off to a historically bad start on offense. They have scored under 20 points in all five games this season, their longest streak to start a season since 1999, despite all of their opponents ranking in the bottom half of the NFL in EPA per play. With no sweeping changes expected — Cleveland is sticking with QB Deshaun Watson and coach Kevin Stefanski is keeping playcalling duties — can the Browns find an identity against an Eagles defense that ranks 26th in EPA per play? — Daniel Oyefusi
Eagles storyline to watch: WR A.J. Brown (hamstring) is expected to play for the first time since Week 1. The Eagles scored 34 points in the opener against the Packers. In the three games without Brown, they averaged 17 points. With RT Lane Johnson and WR DeVonta Smith also expected to be back this week from concussions, Philadelphia should be close to full health. — Tim McManus
Stat to know: Watson has a 21 total QBR this season, which is the fourth-worst total QBR in team’s first five games of the season among 480 QBs to start all five games since ESPN introduced the metric in 2006.
Bold prediction: Eagles QB Jalen Hurts will throw three or more touchdowns. With Brown and Smith returning and Philadelphia coming off a bye, I think the Eagles’ passing game is going to find its rhythm against the single-high heavy Browns. — Walder
Fantasy X factor: Browns WR Amari Cooper. Cooper has seen plenty of targets, but the fantasy points haven’t followed. He has had eight or more targets in every game, yet managed only 10 or more fantasy points in two. This has made Cooper a boom-or-bust option. The good news? He faces an Eagles defense that has allowed the fourth-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers. See Week 6 rankings. — Moody
Betting nugget: The Eagles are 1-6 ATS in their past seven games as favorites. Read more.
Lions (3-1) at Cowboys (3-2)
4:25 p.m. ET | Fox | ESPN BET: DET -3 (52.5 O/U)
Lions storyline to watch: A controversial ending to last year’s matchup became a trending topic when Dallas beat Detroit after a potential game-winning 2-point conversion by Lions OL Taylor Decker was negated by an illegal touching penalty for not reporting as eligible. However, Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson said, “It’s last year. We’re on a mission this year and we’re not going to let the past define us.” QB Jared Goff also emphasized that the Dallas loss isn’t in the back of their heads as they prepare to face the Cowboys again, but more so helping Detroit secure a victory over Dallas for the first time since 2013. — Eric Woodyard
Cowboys storyline to watch: Entering the season, the Cowboys had won 16 straight home games, which was the second-longest home winning streak in franchise history. Then, they lost their first two home games this season, and if they lose a third straight Sunday to the Lions, it will mark their first three-game home losing streak — with their starting quarterback — since 2006. The Cowboys lost three straight at home in 2020 without Dak Prescott and in 2010, 2014 (one start) and 2015 without Tony Romo. — Todd Archer
Stat to know: After completing 19 consecutive passes against the Seahawks in Week 4, Goff could match the longest streak in NFL history with six straight against the Cowboys. Philip Rivers set the record of 25 in 2018.
Bold prediction: Cowboys LB DeMarvion Overshown will lead all players in combined tackles in Week 6. He’s the No. 1 player in my sack projections for the week, and you can see why as he has the 26th-highest tackle per snap rate of any player in the league. He played 100% of snaps last week and now faces the run-heavy Lions. — Walder
Fantasy X factor: Lions RB David Montgomery. Through Week 4, the Lions led the league in running back touches. Montgomery has had a rushing touchdown and put up 15 or more fantasy points in every game. He should continue to thrive against a Cowboys defense that gives up the seventh-most fantasy points per game to running backs. See Week 6 rankings. — Moody
Betting nugget: Prescott has not closed as at least a three-point home underdog since 2018. Read more.
Bengals (1-4) at Giants (2-3)
8:20 p.m. ET | NBC/Peacock | ESPN BET: CIN -3.5 (47.5 O/U)
Bengals storyline to watch: The matchup between Cincinnati’s offense and the Giants defense will dictate the outcome. Cincinnati is second in the league in points per drive and QB Joe Burrow is second in total QBR (73.6). But in the past three weeks, the Giants have had a very disruptive pass rush (fourth in PRWR (50%), first in sacks per dropback (11.6%), and only three of their opponents past 34 drives have had snaps in the red zone. — Ben Baby
Giants storyline to watch: The Giants have won just one of their past 14 prime-time games with Daniel Jones at quarterback, giving him the worst record of any quarterback in prime time since the 1970 merger (minimum 10 starts). Jones didn’t seem all that happy hearing about that streak entering Sunday night’s matchup with the Bengals. “I think we’ve got to win more games,” he said. “You look at the past, over the years, we haven’t won enough, period.” This will be yet another chance to shift the narrative in a game where they are underdogs. — Jordan Raanan
Stat to know: The Bengals are 0-4 all time on road versus the Giants — one of two franchises they have never defeated on the road (Vikings 0-6).
Bold prediction: The Bengals will score at least 34 points. Despite their 1-4 record, Cincinnati’s offense ranks third in EPA per play and Burrow ranks second in QBR — which would be his best finish by far if he can keep up that pace. I’m not worried about the Bengals scoring points here. — Walder
Fantasy X factor: Giants WR Wan’Dale Robinson. With Malik Nabers still in concussion protocol, it’s uncertain whether he’ll be cleared to face the Bengals. Regardless of Nabers’ status, Robinson should remain a key part of the Giants’ passing game. The Bengals’ defense allows the 12th-most receptions per game to wide receivers. Robinson has seen eight or more targets in four of his five games this season, making him a reliable option. See Week 6 rankings. — Moody
Betting nugget: Unders are 5-0 in Sunday night games this season, 31-10 in the past three seasons and 60-31-2 since 2019. Read more.
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ESPN
Early NFL stat trends: Record starts for Vikings, Daniels
3. Jayden Daniels ranks eighth in value among rookie quarterbacks through five starts
Our list of the top 10 rookie quarterbacks is based on DYAR (defense-adjusted yards above average replacement), a stat based on DVOA that represents total value instead of value per play. DYAR includes both passing and rushing, and it’s based on each player’s first five starts instead of the first five games of their rookie seasons.
The surprise is really that Daniels isn’t higher on this list given how well he played in the first four weeks of the season. His Week 5 performance against Cleveland comes out near 0 DYAR because of his negative plays, including an interception in the red zone, three sacks and a completion that lost three yards. That means Daniels is now only fifth in DYAR on the season, trailing Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Baker Mayfield and Brock Purdy — quarterbacks who have thrown more passes. Only Jackson has been better in DVOA (value per play).
What to expect from Daniels going forward: That’s a great list of rookie passers, most of whom had very productive careers. The Commanders will be very happy if Daniels can turn into a combination of the other players on that list. He looks like he’s in line for a long, successful career.
4. The Ravens are the sixth-best team to be 3-2
“You are what your record says you are” is a quote from longtime NFL coach Bill Parcells, stating that a football team is only as good as its win-loss record. But that’s not necessarily true when looking to the future. Some teams are better than their record suggests and are likely to win more games in the future. Others are worse and are likely to lose more games. What’s more accurate is to say, “You were what your record was.” Teams can’t go back and change their win-loss record no matter how the underlying statistics suggest that they played in those games, or how well they may play in the future.
The Ravens are going to have to live with two losses in their first five games. First, they lost by the length of Isaiah Likely’s toe against the defending champion Chiefs. Then they lost a game to the Raiders, despite outgaining Las Vegas by 123 yards with the same number of turnovers (1). Follow that up with three wins over strong opponents, including a blowout of the Bills, and Baltimore comes out as the second-highest team in DVOA so far (behind Minnesota but ahead of Kansas City). That also makes it one of the highest-rated 3-2 teams in DVOA history.
What to expect from the Ravens going forward: The best-ever start for a 3-2 team came last season, from the aforementioned Bills, who finished 11-6. Notice that two of the five best 3-2 teams actually finished with losing records, though.
Pro Football Talk
Raiders rule out Davante Adams, who will miss a third consecutive game
The Raiders have ruled out receiver Davante Adams for Sunday’s game against the Steelers. He did not practice this week.
It will be the third missed game in a row for Adams, who has a hamstring injury.
With Adams on the trade block, he likely has played his last game for the Raiders. The trade deadline is Nov. 5, but the Raiders would like to trade him sooner than later.
In three games this season, Adams has 18 catches for 209 yards and one touchdown.
Pro Football Talk
Kyle Shanahan: “You don’t get any apologies” when NFL makes officiating error
Last night, the NFL blew a call on the muff of a punt by the Seahawks. The league admitted the mistake.
On Friday, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan was asked whether he received an apology from the league office.
“No,” Shanahan told reporters. “You don’t get any apologies, but apologies aren’t that big of a deal. Once it happens, you’ve got to move on with your life. Apologies don’t make it better. I’m just glad that it all worked out and just move on.”
The league’s transparency is refreshing. It helps that the 49ers still won, and covered the spread.
As explained by the NFL, the key angle from the Amazon Prime game production did not arrive until after the replay process resulted in a ruling that the ball had not touched Seahawks punt returner Dee Williams. It should have been San Francisco’s ball, because the angle that showed up too late showed the ball touching Williams’s finger.
Front Office Sports
Haason Reddick Fired by Own CAA Agents $9 Million Into Jets Holdout
CAA Sports, which has represented Reddick, has parted ways with the disgruntled pass rusher, according to multiple reports.
The split was over “philosophical differences,” NFL Network reported Thursday, with CAA “trying to broker a deal” and Reddick fully “dug in.”
Reddick has concocted one of the stranger holdouts in recent NFL memory. The Jets traded for the Pro Bowler in March from the Eagles for a conditional 2026 third-round pick and shortly after, reported to the team facility in Florham Park, N.J., for a physical and press conference, but hasn’t been back since.
Front Office Sports
ESPN Expands ‘Monday Night Football’ on ABC With Six Additional Games
The networks said Friday they are scheduling six additional MNF games for the ABC simulcasts of ESPN coverage. The new games set for the dual-network presence are:
- Week 6 (Oct. 14): Bills at Jets
- Week 7 (Oct. 21): Ravens at Buccaneers
- Week 9 (Nov. 4): Buccaneers at Chiefs
- Week 11 (Nov. 18): Texans at Cowboys
- Week 12 (Nov. 25): Ravens at Chargers
- Week 16 (Dec. 23): Saints at Packers
Before this move, ESPN planned to show 11 NFL regular-season and playoff games this year on ABC, a marked reduction from last year’s schedule that featured 19 games either simulcast or shown exclusively on the broadcast network. With the revised schedule, that number reaches 17 and the overall 2024 MNF broadcast slate will now look much more like last year’s.
Discussion topics
The Athletic (paywall)
As NFL finger gun celebrations increase, so do the penalties and fines
The NFL is sending the message that it is done with finger guns following eight penalties and fines on players for such celebrations in the first four weeks of the season. Two more players were flagged for finger gun motions, which the NFL considers a violent gesture, on Sunday. Week 5 fines will be announced Saturday afternoon.
The players were fined an average of $12,697.50 for those eight infractions. Cincinnati Bengals wideout Andrei Iosivas also was flagged and fined for unsportsmanlike conduct in Week 2, when he pantomimed shooting a bow and arrow following a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs, but he appealed the $5,305 fine and won.
It may feel like a sudden crackdown, but NFL and team officials as well as players in NFLPA leadership roles say the league’s distaste for such acts is nothing new. The NFL has a long-running rule that discourages players from making any kind of violent gestures on the field. In addition to finger guns, this includes throat slashing and gang signs.
Two NFL directors of player development said the penalties and fines weren’t a new initiative or point of emphasis by the league, which has cracked down on taunting in recent seasons. Instead, they said, players have just begun using the finger guns celebration with greater frequency.
One league official said as such celebrations became popular in high school and college games, the NFL observed a trickle-up effect into its own games.
Among the violent gestures flagged in college football this season: Last week, South Carolina defensive end Dylan Stewart mimicked shooting a machine gun into Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart while the quarterback was still on the ground recovering from Stewart’s sack. In Week 1, on LSU’s first touchdown of the season, wide receiver Kyren Lacy pretended to shoot a gun at USC’s defense.
As a second high-ranking NFL employee said when asked about the matter: “Non-negotiable. Find a different expression to celebrate.”