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Bleeding Green Nation
Is Nick Sirianni okay?
Bald fraud
Being a head coach in the NFL is not an easy job. You’ve got a hundred players, coaches, and staff to manage on a daily basis. Tens of thousands of fans giving you immediate job performance feedback. And even if you have all of that on your side, you still have an owner to deal with. There are worse jobs to have, but you have to be a sicko to want this one.
It seems to be taking its toll on Nick Sirianni. The vibes on the Eagles this year were already hanging by a thread, and then this happened:
Nick Sirianni shaved his head, ready to come out of the bye
“I know we’ve done the right things to put ourselves in position this week. We’ll keep tinkering with different things to try to put our guys in position. We did different drills. We had a couple different things with… pic.twitter.com/jRBmUKgA3M
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) October 13, 2024
Narrator: the Eagles were not ready to come out of the bye.
Criticizing the fans? Rookie mistake. Yeah, you got the win, but it was an empty calorie win against a woeful team. Do better or get out of the way.
Sirianni was always a guy who if he wasn’t the coach of the Eagles we would find to be annoying cornball. He’s looking more and more like just an annoying cornball.
Inquirer
‘Constipated offense’: Kellen Moore’s Eagles scheme — or is it Nick Sirianni’s — still looks listless
Coach Nick Sirianni wields a heavy hammer with his players and coaches. But something is getting lost in translation, otherwise the Eagles wouldn’t be making the same mistakes week after week.
Leave it to Lane Johnson to cut through the crap, so to speak.
“We’re a constipated offense,” the Eagles right tackle said. “That’s what it [bleeping] feels like.”
Johnson wasn’t alone in his sentiment as evidenced by the lukewarm response fans gave the Eagles throughout Sunday afternoon, even as they put the finishing touches on a 20-16 win over the Browns at Lincoln Financial Field.
Philadelphia’s faithful are a demanding lot. But they know bad football when they see it, and when the offense went three-and-out on yet another opening drive — despite an extra week to finally get the starting script right — boos rained down on the Eagles on an otherwise clear day.
Washington Post (paywall)
The Cowboys look like NFC pretenders after ‘humbling’ home loss
Owner Jerry Jones declared his team “all in” this season, but Dallas’s most lopsided home loss in decades raised questions about its ceiling.
The Cowboys failed to provide their owner, Jerry Jones, with a proper birthday gift Sunday. Jones turned 82 but was forced, along with his team’s disgruntled fans at AT&T Stadium, to sit and watch the Cowboys be thoroughly outmaneuvered, outplayed and embarrassed.
The Lions even put an eligible-receivers exclamation point on one of their touchdowns. They rolled to a 24-point first-half lead and coasted to a 47-9 triumph over the Cowboys.
Jerry Jones walks to the locker room after the #Cowboys suffer their worst home defeat since he purchased the team in 1989.
The 47 points is the most the Cowboys have ever allowed in a game in which they failed to score a touchdown. pic.twitter.com/ghqYDAy9O9— Ed Werder (@WerderEdNFL) October 13, 2024
The Cowboys are winless in their three home games this season and have been outscored 119-53 in those games by the New Orleans Saints, Ravens and Lions.
Prescott lacks playmakers to complement Lamb. The offensive line has been patched together and has not played at its customarily high level. The Cowboys lack a marquee running back, with Ezekiel Elliott back on the roster but beyond his most productive days.
The defense was playing Sunday without standout pass rushers Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence and cornerback DaRon Bland. Parsons was on the game-day inactive list but could return soon from his high ankle sprain. Lawrence is on the injured reserve list because of a midfoot injury. Bland has not played this season because of a stress fracture in his foot.
But top teams find a way to compete, even when they’re at less than full strength. The Cowboys didn’t do that Sunday. Not even close.
Pro Football Talk
Mike McCarthy “relishes” opportunity to turn things around
“I think this is an opportunity that we relish. I know I relish it. And I think they do too.
“So this is a place that a lot of good can come out of it. Been here before. And I think this is a really good opportunity for our leadership. I think it’s an excellent opportunity for our young guys to continue to play. It’s an excellent opportunity for those guys to build off some of the things they have done well. Because this will pay forward. In my experience it always has. When you play young players this much and play this many different players this much, I think the long game definitely has a chance to be very bright.”
Blogging the Boys
Dallas Cowboys vs. Detroit Lions day after thoughts: Hope feels far away right now
We have some thoughts on Sunday’s Dallas Cowboys game after a day to think about it all.
The Dallas Cowboys have a lot of problems right now. Pick one. Any of them. The list is long. But it can be true that players are not living up to expectation, that coaches are failing to raise the overall standard, and that all of it was built on a shaky foundation by the “work” that the front office did over the course of the offseason. Yes. It can all be true.
The front office very infamously and very notoriously did nothing substantial to help the team over the offseason by way of roster moves. What’s more is that they delayed paying their superstars, players who play very expensive positions, to quite literally the eleventh hour and as a result paid significantly more (in all likelihood based on NFL trends) than if they had been proactive on these fronts.
To make matters worse they seemingly gaslit fans at every turn about the potential of things and created an environment that is incredibly untenable. You can have your issues with Mike McCarthy, we all do, but sending him into a contract year was asking for drama to circle the organization around every loss. It wasn’t a stable decision.
The sins of the offseason cannot be undone in one fell swoop, especially in the fall months. At this point the bed has been made. It remains very frustrating.
ESPN
NFL Week 6: Biggest questions, takeaways for every game
Giants
Why can’t Daniel Jones and the Giants win in prime time? It’s wild to contemplate, but Jones is now 1-14 in prime-time games. That is the worst winning percentage for any quarterback in prime time since the 1970 merger. And coach Brian Daboll is 2-7 in prime-time games. Each game has its own story, but Jones (205 yards passing, 0 TDs, 1 INT) did not play his best Sunday night. He missed several key throws and tossed a bad interception near the end zone in the first half. The bottom line is that he consistently hasn’t been able to elevate his play in the biggest moments in front of a national audience.
Eye-popping stat: One TD in three home games. That is all the Giants have managed this season. They went almost 11 full quarters before scoring their first touchdown at MetLife Stadium this year when Tyrone Tracy Jr. rushed for a 1-yard score with 5:12 remaining in the third quarter. The Giants had three other chances in Bengals territory in the fourth quarter, but they missed two field goals and were stopped on fourth down. This same offense settled for five field goals in their previous home game against the Cowboys.
Early prediction for next week: Rookie WR Malik Nabers returns to face the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium. That, of course, is also the return of running back Saquon Barkley. Nabers has missed the past two games with a concussion but looked to do more as last week progressed. He caught some passes at Friday’s practice. His return would set the stage for New York’s new star playmaker to take on its former star playmaker. — Jordan Raanan
Next game: vs. Eagles (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)
Cowboys
When will the Cowboys win again at AT&T Stadium? After next week’s bye, the Cowboys play at San Francisco and Atlanta, so maybe getting away from home (where they are 0-3) will be helpful. The Cowboys have been so uncompetitive that their 16-game winning streak at AT&T Stadium from 2022 to 2023 seems to have been much longer ago. For the first time in team history, they have trailed by 20 or more points in each of their first three home games. Their next home games are versus the Eagles, Texans and Giants.
Describe the game in two words: Some birthday. Owner and general manager Jerry Jones turned 82 on Sunday. There might have been worse and more important losses, but there has not been a larger home defeat since he took over the Cowboys in 1989. The previous largest was a 36-3 loss to the Eagles in 2001.
Most surprising performance: The Cowboys’ best players failed. Dallas knew it would be challenged defensively without Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence and Eric Kendricks, and it needed its remaining best players to be at their best. They weren’t. Dak Prescott threw an early red zone interception, which was his third red zone turnover in two games. Zack Martin was beaten repeatedly by Alim McNeill. CeeDee Lamb was a nonfactor. And defensively, Trevon Diggs struggled tackling. — Todd Archer
Next game: at 49ers (Oct. 27, 8:20 p.m. ET)
Eagles
Did the Eagles do anything to change perceptions Sunday? No. The Eagles looked the same after their bye week. They’re still the only team to not score in the first quarter this season. The offense continued to fall short of its potential, even with receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith back from injury. And special teams had another blunder with a blocked field goal attempt that was returned for a touchdown. The defense was able to pressure Cleveland’s anemic offense, but the Eagles were lucky they were playing the Browns on Sunday.
Most surprising performance: Rookie defensive back Cooper DeJean made an immediate impact in the first start of his career. Playing slot corner, he posted six tackles, a half-sack, a quarterback hit and a pair of QB pressures. He allowed just one catch on him for 14 yards, per NFL Next Gen Stats. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio made the decision to replace Avonte Maddox with DeJean this week, and DeJean made his coach look good.
Early prediction for next week: The Eagles are going to make it the “Saquon Barkley Show” as he returns to MetLife Stadium to take on the Giants. Barkley may downplay the significance of playing against his former team, but there is little doubt the juices will be flowing for this one. Expect Sirianni and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore to tap into it. — Tim McManus
Next game: at Giants (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)
Blogging the Boys
Cowboys bye comes as Commanders have easy Week 7 game, and Giants face the Eagles
[B]oth the Commanders and Eagles are likely going to win in Week 7 while Dallas is resting. The Eagles are 3.5-point favorites over the New York Giants this coming week. The Eagles are struggling, they had to hold on for dear life in beating the Cleveland Browns, but they should have enough to put the Giants away.
Meanwhile, the Commanders are gifted a game against the Carolina Panthers. Washington is a 7.5-point favorite at home and should have no problem getting the win.
By the time the Cowboys get back in action against the San Francisco 49ers, a game where they will be underdogs, they could be staring up at a two-game deficit in the division. It’s a troublesome time in Dallas, and one that could snowball in the coming weeks.
NFL league links
Articles
Pro Football Focus
2025 NFL Draft Order: Where the league’s 32 teams stand after Week 6
As the NFL season reaches its midpoint, some teams are already cementing their status as playoff contenders, with their eyes firmly on a Super Bowl run. Others, unfortunately, are starting to look toward the future, with fans and decision-makers turning their attention to the offseason and the upcoming draft.
Kansas City leads the league with an impressive 13.5 projected wins, a 98.47% chance to make the playoffs and the highest Super Bowl odds at 19.05%. On the other end of the spectrum, teams like the Carolina Panthers are all but out of the running, with just 4.7 projected wins and a slim 1.66% playoff chance.
Included below is the projected draft order after Week 6, incorporating each team’s remaining strength of schedule (1st is hardest), along with their ranks in EPA per play and EPA allowed per play to give a full picture of the current landscape.
For a look at team needs for all 32 NFL teams, click here.
2025 NFL Draft Order: As it stands
Washington Post (paywall)
Dolphins coach says Tua Tagovailoa is expected to return in 2024
Miami quarterback is recovering from the third diagnosed concussion of his NFL career.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is expected to resume his NFL career and play again for the Miami Dolphins at some point this season, Coach Mike McDaniel said Monday.
Tagovailoa, 26, is recovering from the third diagnosed concussion of his NFL career and is being examined by experts while he’s subject to the NFL’s step-by-step return-to-play protocol. He must miss at least one more game after the Dolphins placed him on injured reserve, which requires him to miss at least four games. He becomes eligible to play Oct. 27 against the Arizona Cardinals in Miami Gardens, Fla.
McDaniel did not provide a firm timetable for Tagovailoa’s return to the field.
NFL.com
Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh to wear heart monitor for two weeks; no plan to miss games
Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh will wear a heart monitor for the next two weeks and has been prescribed blood thinners to control his heartbeat after a consultation with a cardiologist on Monday, he told reporters.
Harbaugh briefly left the sideline during his team’s win Sunday against the Denver Broncos after experiencing a heart rhythm abnormality. The first-year Chargers coach said Sunday he was dealing with an atrial flutter, which he had confirmed by the cardiologist on Monday.
According to Harbaugh, he will wear the heart monitor for two weeks before he is reevaluated.
Discussion topics
Pro Football Talk
Aaron Rodgers criticizes Monday night’s penalties, including a roughing the passer call against the Bills
Monday night’s game between the Bills and Jets included 22 penalties for 204 yards. After the 23-20 Buffalo win, Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers shared his views on what transpired.
His criticism included a roughing the passer foul called against Bills defensive end A.J. Epenesa, for a hit on Rodgers.
“It seemed a little ridiculous,” Rodgers said of the penalties generally. “Yeah, some of them seemed really bad. Including the roughing the passer on me. That’s not roughing the passer. Might as well play Sarcastaball if we’re gonna call those things. And I thought the one on [Jets defensive tackle Javon] Kinlaw was not roughing the passer, either.”
Later, Rodgers said that a Jets touchdown by rookie running back Braelon Allen was wiped out by a “phantom holding call.”
The league has bright lines about coaches and management criticizing officiating. For players, it’s a little more vague. At one point, a fine was imposed only if the player called the integrity of the officials into question. Last year, however, Browns defensive end Myles Garrett was fined $25,000 for calling officiating in a win over the Jaguars “a travesty.”