National Football League

[Nomad]

Joe Burrow out "at least three months" with a toe injury. Translation: If the Bengals aren't in the playoff hunt, he may not return this year. Team belongs to Jake Browning now, again.

This is after Burrow campaigned to make sure both his top receivers were well paid. And the team had little money left for an OL.

If he has surgery and misses 3 plus months it's over for the Bengals. Even though Browning pulled out the win today, he can't carry the team to the level they need to be at to make the postseason. Burrow is a top "tier-1" QB who is everything to that team.

Report: Joe Burrow could be out three months, if he has toe surgery

Treatment decision is being debated.

www.nbcsports.com

It's only week #2 & QB injuries are starting to mount.

 

[movingtarget]

Bengals another team looking at a rebuild soon. Looks like another year without playoffs.

 

[Oldman]

Yep. That's what I see. Plus you know Mahomes has to be as motivated for this game as any other. I'll take the Chiefs in an "upset".

This is indeed a week Darnold has to earn his money for Seattle.

He did. He had the help of defense that beat the wannabee GOAT and a petulant former Seahawk. Sorry to see #4 on the Steelers roster was still doing his best to be a slappy, chippy distraction. Second half he was so self possessed he was out of the game. Seattle's defense definitely is a strong point and that's good. Much credit goes to the coaching for them and the Special teams that rendered the Steelers impotent in 2nd half.

Darnold and the O coaches did well to work Walker into surprise plays catching the depleted Pittsburgh defense off guard. Darnold still doesn't move like a ballet dancer and just needs to commit to a run occasionally. His passing was good while his, er out of pocket movement looked vulnerable. Seahawks can improve but, IMO; Pitt QB will not and be a b*tchy, moody teenager in the process.
Pittsburgh history deserves a real commitment at that position.

 

[Nomad]

Rough home opener for McCarthy. No offense...no production. Only 158 yds passing, no TDs, 2 picks & a 52 Rtg (yikes!). This can't be the same JJ McCarthy we saw last week full of confidence leading his team to victory on MNF? But wait...it was against the Bad News Bears. Lol.

Potent Falcon run game. Penix Jr didn't have to throw the ball much but was effective when he did (he's got a very quick release). Good command of the offense.

How much of McCarthy's confidence is hurt with this loss & poor performance? (fans were booing him). Can O'Connell straighten him out & get him back on track? The passing game has got to improve or you'll have a pissed off Justin Jefferson. On a positive note, they play the Bengals next week, so we'll see.

 

[SHAD0W93]

It was a good, defensive game between the Eagles and Chiefs with both offenses making mistakes. Refs stayed out of it mostly till the end. It was a game both Eagles or Chiefs would have won last year. Chiefs deep ball struggles should hopefully be fixed for them when everyone comes back. Overall the better team won. If the Giants play like they did today that could be another loss for the Chiefs. .

 

[SHAD0W93]

This isn’t good when stats are the focus.

View: https://youtube.com/shorts/tvzaNxIEyIs?si=b7hNDfzj3alKZXBm





And I forgot to say, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the tush push banned next year.

 

[movingtarget]

The Tush Push was close to being banned in the off season. Think they were one or two votes short.

Chiefs game was an odd one. Mahomes was scrambling a lot. The Kelce deflected pass was costly. Still a better game than the SB.

Seattle run game got on top in the second half and the Steelers defense imploded. Another hit and miss Darnold performance but he made some big plays and one awful turnover.. Bizarre TD from the Seattle kick off when the Steelers player touched it and just ignored the fact leading to a other Hawks TD. Kupp got more involved. Steelers offense not so good.

Stafford was humming in the Titans game. One big throw after another and the Rams run game was also pretty good.

Young had a much better second half for the Panthers but the Cards were a bit too good for them. Connor had another solid game .

49ers got the job done. Jones was pretty solid at QB and once again a late sack helped the 49ers close it out. Rattler wasn't bad but a costly fumble by Kamara and poor defense on the Jennings TD helped the 49ers out.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I personally don't want to see the tush push banned. Only one team truly runs it with precision and success. Few if any players get injured on it. If it gets banned, it will be because other teams don't know how to stop it, so they will just use the power of the rules to do so. That doesn't seem fair to me.

 

[SHAD0W93]

I personally don't want to see the tush push banned. Only one team truly runs it with precision and success. Few if any players get injured on it. If it gets banned, it will be because other teams don't know how to stop it, so they will just use the power of the rules to do so. That doesn't seem fair to me.

What’s crazy is how little uproar the qb sneak got with Tom Brady and his like 91% success rate. What’s hard to stop on it is also Hurt’s strength as well, the guy squats a crazy high amount of weight especially for a quarterback.

 

[movingtarget]

What’s crazy is how little uproar the qb sneak got with Tom Brady and his like 91% success rate. What’s hard to stop on it is also Hurt’s strength as well, the guy squats a crazy high amount of weight especially for a quarterback.

Jimmy G must have learned well from Brady. The one play that Jimmy was always successful at with the 49ers. Only remember one or two times he failed.

 

[Oldman]

I personally don't want to see the tush push banned. Only one team truly runs it with precision and success. Few if any players get injured on it. If it gets banned, it will be because other teams don't know how to stop it, so they will just use the power of the rules to do so. That doesn't seem fair to me.

Seattle did it effectively against the Steelers. I was surprised but it kept the game alive.

 

[Nomad]

It was a good, defensive game between the Eagles and Chiefs with both offenses making mistakes. Refs stayed out of it mostly till the end. It was a game both Eagles or Chiefs would have won last year. Chiefs deep ball struggles should hopefully be fixed for them when everyone comes back. Overall the better team won. If the Giants play like they did today that could be another loss for the Chiefs. .

I think there's too much hype over their 0-2 start. All the talking heads & pundits are saying that it's over for the Chiefs just because of their 0-2 start. Lol. These are two good teams they lost to. The Eagles could repeat & the Chargers are much improved.

Back in the 2023 season where they finished 11-6, they lost two games in a row: weeks #12 & #13 losing to the Packers & Bills. Aside from their WR issues, they need to fix their RB problem - for the 2nd straight week now, Mahomes has been the team's leading rusher.

 

[Nomad]

What’s crazy is how little uproar the qb sneak got with Tom Brady and his like 91% success rate. What’s hard to stop on it is also Hurt’s strength as well, the guy squats a crazy high amount of weight especially for a quarterback.

Hurts & Barkley are almost identical in size with both being monsters in the weight room. If Hurts didn't have a NFL-caliber arm & good passing skills, he'd be a RB.

 

[Nomad]

Allen misses just a few plays after a badly bleeding nose injury from getting hit in the face. It's hard to keep this man down. Talent plus Toughness.

 

View: https://youtube.com/shorts/_Nb-EW-Htrs?si=orqedhlYSZvX0qZk

 

[SHAD0W93]

I think there's too much hype over their 0-2 start. All the talking heads & pundits are saying that it's over for the Chiefs just because of their 0-2 start. Lol. These are two good teams they lost to. The Eagles could repeat & the Chargers are much improved.

Back in the 2023 season where they finished 11-6, they lost two games in a row: weeks #12 & #13 losing to the Packers & Bills. Aside from their WR issues, they need to fix their RB problem - for the 2nd straight week now, Mahomes has been the team's leading rusher.

The talk of them potentially missing the playoffs is wild unless there’s a serious fall off. They should still win the division barring a minor fall off. They’ve lost the games I thought they’d lose so far. Ravens, Bills, Commanders, Lions, and another divisional rival are the losses I see them having. Maybe some random a$$ team if they win two of these games. If they come out and lose to the Giants next week, that’s when it’s panic time.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Didn't the Rams start 0-2 last year? And they made it to the NFC divisional round, losing to the Eagles. I also remember in 1993 when the Cowboys started 0-2 and won the Super Bowl. IIRC Emmitt Smith held out those two games though.

Stats tell me since 1990 only 3 out of 279 teams starting 0-2 have won the Super Bowl. But that's because a heck of a lot of teams start 0-2, and only one wins the SB every year. The more cautionary stat is not a single team in NFL history has started a season 0-3 and won the Super Bowl. So if the Chiefs lose to the Giants...

 

[Nomad]

Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy expected to miss Week 3 with ankle injury, could be out multiple weeks

The Minnesota Vikings are likely to be without starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy in Week 3 against the Cincinnati Bengals.

sports.yahoo.com

High ankle sprain - could miss multiple weeks. Carson Wentz to the rescue. This is the last thing McCarthy needs considering he missed all of last year with the knee injury.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Even worse, Wentz won't rescue them, or any team. They are destined to be 1-4 or so when JJ returns.

Gritty win for Tampa and Baker. The Texans had so many chances, but their OL couldn't block, and CJ struggled when pressured.

And here's one for you, Nomad - Trevor Lawrence simply isn't who we thought he was. Title says it all, Lawrence is generationally average.

 

[SHAD0W93]

It’s also easier now to make the playoffs with 17 games compared to 16. I think it’s 5-13 teams that started 0-2 made the playoffs.


If the Chiefs are 0-3 and Chargers 3-0, that’s worse case scenario I think. With Burrow out that opens up the wild card more but who knows how the other teams will play like.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Exactly. And both the Chargers and Broncos so far look better than KC.

The Mr. Hyde side of Geno Smith showed up for the Raiders tonight. But the Chargers look solid. Great at time consuming drives, defense that bends and doesn't break. Herbert not as good as last week, but not bad either.

 

[movingtarget]

Two scrappy games.

Stroud wishes he had a better O line no doubt. Buccs did the simple things better.

Raiders were a bit of a mess on offense. Geno was having an off day, Herbert was tidy but the Chargers defense dominated the game.

 

[Unchained]

Two scrappy games.

Stroud wishes he had a better O line no doubt. Buccs did the simple things better.

Raiders were a bit of a mess on offense. Geno was having an off day, Herbert was tidy but the Chargers defense dominated the game.

Chargers won but didn't dominate for sure. Geno was a little flat..

 

[Unchained]

I personally don't want to see the tush push banned. Only one team truly runs it with precision and success. Few if any players get injured on it. If it gets banned, it will be because other teams don't know how to stop it, so they will just use the power of the rules to do so. That doesn't seem fair to me.

I watched multiple games, none completely but I did see something I had never seen before ever. In 3 games I saw partially.. the tush push was used as what I saw as safety prevention. Ball on the one or two, QB lines up under center and 3 guys in the backfield and they just push forward giving a little breathing room. And in the example I am thinking of they got to 4 or 5 and then on 3rd down QB still standing in end zone for shotgun.. And I don't know even with quick kick how much room that the punter needs to get a good strike on the ball. From what I saw on Sunday, many teams didn't go after the punter regardless of field position, looking like too big a risk of roughing call and kick return looked like better bet.
Tush push that I have watched so far is for TD or short gain for 1st down but not as a buffer yardage to prevent safety..
Don't know for sure but I think typical punter drop back is @11 yards.. For field goals I think it's @7 yards

 

[Nomad]

And here's one for you, Nomad - Trevor Lawrence simply isn't who we thought he was. Title says it all, Lawrence is generationally average.

Good article. Lawrence is a "Tier 3" QB being paid "Tier 2" money. Lol. And time is running out for him to make it as a Tier 2 as well as a more established starter that's in playoff contention every year.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6514160/2025/08/11/nfl-qb-rankings-tiers-2025-jackson-daniels/

But you have to admit some potential was shown with that great season he had in his 2nd yr leading the team to the postseason where he beat the Chargers with that incredible 2nd half comeback. His stats that season were impressive throwing for over 4100, 67 Pct & a 95 Rtg. However, the following two seasons were derailed with injuries & unsatisfactory performance.

So, we'll see how this year goes if he stays healthy & can play a full 17 game schedule (note though that short of a SB MVP or a league MVP, he always will be considered an underachiever because of the #1 OA tag).

 

[Nomad]

The Mr. Hyde side of Geno Smith showed up for the Raiders tonight. But the Chargers look solid. Great at time consuming drives, defense that bends and doesn't break. Herbert not as good as last week, but not bad either.

What happened with Smith? 3 picks & no TDs after that fine performance last week on the road against NE? (I bet Carroll isn't at all pleased with Geno right now. Lol).

I thought Herbert was excellent; 242 passing with a 122 Rtg. And believe it or not he was the team's leading rusher (this has to be the first time in his career that he's been the team's leading rusher). Could this be the year they break through their postseason barrier & have a deep playoff run? Big test next week vs the Broncos.

Question: When are they going to get Jeanty going? Only 43 lousy yds rushing with a grand total of 81 yds rushing (2.7 avg) in the first 2 games this season. Yikes...and this is the #6 OA pick? I bet Carroll is really frustrated with this when Croskey-Merritt was on fire in his debut rushing for 82 yds & a TD winning Rookie of the week honors in the Commanders' opener.

Though last week Croskey-Merritt struggled only rushing for 17 but that gives him 99 yds (7.1 avg) in these first 2 games & he's only a 7th rounder (if he outperforms Jeanty this year, Croskey-Merritt will probably go down as one of the steals of the century).