Top performers from Week 13
A threesome stood out above all others yesterday.
Another chaotic Sunday has come and gone in the NFL. Like every other before it, there was upsets, blowouts and of course, nail-biting finishes. With just four weeks remaining, the consequences from 60 minutes of football grow immeasurably.
Without further ado here are just some of the men who dragged their team toward victory. In most cases they walked away with a W, but there were a select few stars who fought valiantly in the face of defeat.
TOM BRADY
Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady led the Bucs to a thrilling 33-27 overtime win vs. Buffalo, passing for 363 yards and two touchdowns. Crucially, the seven-time Super Bowl winner threw no interceptions, amassing a 105.6 rating. In a rare feat, Brady added a rushing touchdown in as the Bucs soared to 10-3.
Brady — already the league's all-time leader in passing yards (83,338) and passing touchdowns (617) — surpassed Drew Brees (7,142) for the most completions in NFL history, adding another record to a list longer than St. Nicholas’
TB12 has 4,134 passing yards through 13 weeks, his 13th career season with at least 4,000 passing yards, surpassing Brees (12 seasons) and Philip Rivers (12) for the second-most 4,000-yardage seasons all-time.
PATRICK MAHOMES
Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes shone brightly in Kansas City’s 48-9 demolition of AFC West rival Las Vegas. The Raiders never stood a chance as Mahomes completed 20 of 24 pass attempts — 83.3% completion rate — for 258 yards and two touchdowns. Mahomes’ zero turnovers will please Andy Reid to no end, as the Chiefs claimed their sixth win in a row.
Kansas City is the first defense since Seattle’s 2014 legion of boom to allow fewer than 10 points four times across a five-game stretch. Including yesterday’s victory, the Chiefs have held their opponents to nine points in three straight games (Cowboys, Broncos & Raiders) from Weeks 11-13. Their defensive hot streak began with a blanketing of an Aaron Rodgers-less Green Bay Packers back in Week 9.
Mahomes has 10 career games with a passer rating of 130-or-higher (minimum 20 attempts), taking the mantle from former Ram & Hall of Famer Kurt Warner and current quarterbacks Deshaun Watson and Russell Wilson for the most during their first five seasons.
JUSTIN HERBERT
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert put on a show during his team’s 37-21 blitzing of the lowly New York Giants. The sophomore passed for 275 yards and three touchdowns for a 133.1 quarterback rating.
The 23-year-old is the fourth-youngest player to reach 8,000 passing yards in NFL history. Only the Saints’ Jameis Winston (22 years, 361 days), Panthers’ Sam Darnold (23 years, 212 days) and former Patriot Drew Bledsoe (23 years, 236 days) reached the mark at a younger age.
The Oregon product is the second-youngest player to reach 60 career touchdown passes in NFL history. Only Hall of Famer Dan Marino (23 years, 78 days) reached the mark at a younger age.
Herbert is the first player ever in the National Football League to throw for 30 touchdowns in each of his first two seasons.
Week 1 NFC Players of the Week announced
Los Angeles Rams debutant Matthew Stafford claimed offensive honours, Chandler Jones’ dominant performance earned him DPOW while Bradley Pinion’s punting scooped up the special teams gong.
After a wild start to the 2021 NFL season, three players were selected as a class above the rest in the National Football Conference.
Los Angeles Rams debutant Matthew Stafford claimed honours on the offensive side of the ball, Chandler Jones’ dominant performance earned him Defensive Player of the Week while Bradley Pinion’s perfect punting scooped up the special teams gong.
Under the bright lights of Sunday Night Football, Matthew Stafford shone brighter than any of his peers, completing 20 of 26 pass attempts for 321 yards and three touchdowns. Stafford was near-flawless with no interceptions and a passer rating of 156.1 in the Rams’ comprehensive 34-14 drubbing of the Chicago Bears. The former Georgia quarterback is the first bulldog signal-caller to win the award multiple times.
Two-time Arizona All-Pro stood tall above all of his NFL brethren in Week 1, putting in the most prepotent performance across all sixteen games. The 31-year-old linebacker registered an incredible five sacks, six tackles — four of those for loss, and two forced fumbles. In one of the most historic displays in recent memory, Jones became just the third player since 1982 to record at least five sacks in Week 1.
The former Patriot takes his Player of the Week tally to five — four of which are with Arizona, tying Adrian Wilson for the all-time Defensive Player of the Week record for a Cardinal. Jones also joints fellow pass rusher Dwight Freeney (six-time winner) as the only former Syracuse players to earn Defensive Player of the Week five times.
Last but most certainly not least, Tampa Bay punter Bradley Pinion picked up the NFC’s Special Teams Player of the Week after four phenomenal punts.
Pinion was critical to the overall result, pinning the Cowboys inside the 10-yard line on three of four punts. The former Clemson product averaged 49.3 yards per punt and is the second time he was won a Player of the Week award.
Tom Brady ready for another Super Bowl tilt
Tom Brady is treating campaign No. 22 no differently to the Super Bowl-laden previous. The chip is still there and so too is his passion and drive.
Tom Brady, is treating campaign No. 22 no differently to the Super Bowl-laden previous. The chip is still there and so too is his passion and drive.
“I love playing football,” Brady told Peter King in his latest Football Morning in America column. [Offensive coordinator] Byron Leftwich said something really good the other day: It’s a very simple game that’s so hard to execute. It’s a totally imperfect game that you’re trying to do as perfectly as possible. Every day I come out trying to do it. I’m hoping this is my best year.”
Could it be? Well, Brady’s weaponry and offensive have hardly been better across his two-decade career and let’s not forget, despite a slow start last season was one of his best.
Let’s reflect for a moment. New team, new coaches, new system, new lifestyle, a torn MCL, all amidst a global pandemic.
Brady’s healthier now and certainly feels more at home with the offense if Bucs head coach Bruce Arians is to be believed.
“When he calls a play this year, he knows the picture in his brain. Last year, it was just words,” Arians said.
Brady has two years remaining on his three-year deal with Tampa and assured NFL defenses in the offseason that he’ll see them out. Could he play beyond then, taking him to the ripe old age of 46.
“I’ll know when the time’s right,” Brady told King regarding the inevitability of retirement.
“If I can’t . . . if I’m not a championship-level quarterback, then I’m not gonna play. If I’m a liability to the team, I mean, no way. But if I think I can win a championship, then I’ll play.”
For every year which Brady sticks around, he believes his squad will be a bonafide Super Bowl threat. With Tampa’s roster, it could be years.
When prodded on whether 2021 will be better than any before, Brady illuminated the formulaic approach he is renowned for.
“That’s a prediction and I’m not for that,” Brady said. “I’m into doing the work. Is the process gonna be right? I’m gonna work my ass off to get it right.”
The Bucs are every chance to put themselves in a position to go back-to-back, a feat rarely achieved in the National Football League. I mean, can you even remember the last QB to do it? You might’ve heard of him.
Thomas Patrick Edward Brady.
Former first-round QB cut from 49ers roster
Former No. 10 overall pick Josh Rosen has been waived by the San Francisco 49ers in what is a new low for the former UCLA product.
Former No. 10 overall pick Josh Rosen has been waived by the San Francisco 49ers in what is a new low for the former UCLA product.
Rosen had high expectations placed upon him when the Arizona Cardinals used their first pick on him in the 2018 NFL Draft.
After going 3-13 during the 2018 season, Arizona decided to change things up at the quarterback position, drafting Kyler Murray, prompting Rosen’s exit from the desert.
Subsequently Rosen was traded to the Miami Dolphins, where he started just three games during his sole season in South Beach, failing to unseat Ryan Fitzpatrick and then Tua Tangavailoa — who the Dolphins drafted fifth overall in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Naturally, he was waived by Miami — three days before Bruce Arians added him to the Buccaneers practice squad. In December of 2019, Rosen was then signed off Tampa Bay’s practice squad by San Francisco after injuries to quarterbacks Jimmy Garoppolo and Nick Mullens.
Rosen was active for the final two games of last season but never saw the field. It was only February when Rosen signed a one-year deal with the Niners, but as of today he has been waived, with his future in the league now up in the air.
After a 13-start rookie season with 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, statistics don’t help Rosen’s cause but one must remember the Cardinals were a shambles during the 24-year-old’s time under centre.
Hopefully Rosen can find another opportunity to progress further in the NFL.
‘They Know Who They Are’ - Tom Brady doubles down on teams who passed on him
You may not like it, but Tom Brady’s still carrying that chip…the dogged, competitively spiteful mentality…
You may not like it, but Tom Brady’s still carrying that chip — no, I don’t mean the Lombardi Trophy, though he is very much in possession of it heading into the NFL season.
Rather, the dogged, competitively spiteful mentality. Make no mistake Brady is the type who would want GMs and owners wincing each time they see him in a Bucs uniform. TB12 hasn’t forgotten who passed on his signature in free agency last year and is hellbent on inflicting further pain upon them.
“They know who they are. They know who they are . . . it’s fine. Everyone has a choice to choose. I think what you realize is, there’s not as many smart people as you think,” Brady said in an interview with Jim Gray on Sirius XM.
“That’s just the reality. I think it’d be a no-brainer if you said, hey, you’ve got a chance to get Wayne Gretzky on your team, or you got a chance to have Michael Jordan on your team . . . Oh, we don’t need him, no thanks. We’re good.”
This comes shortly on the heels of Brady mentioning his reaction to teams passing on him while starring on LeBron James'‘ television show, The Shop.
“I was thinking, you’re going with that motherfucker?” Brady’s quote understandably went viral and despite being pressed, refused to reveal to Gray which team he was specifically referring to.
“There’s private things for me that are going to remain motivational for me,” Brady said.
Lord help them if we ever find out which team Brady was talking about. What is certain however is Brady hasn’t lost an ounce of hunger and that grudge mentality remains.
Bring on week 4 in Foxboro.
NFL announces Preseason TV schedule
An enormous 23 games will be shown on the league’s broadcast channel…this includes to quadruple-headers in Weeks 1 and 2 before two doses of triple-headers in Week 3.
The NFL announced this week there will be a record number of preseason games will be shown on NFL Network.
Let’s hope we’ll see more of this!
Importantly, all preseason games will be shown on NFL GamePass, which is fantastic news for international and American fans alike.
An enormous 23 games will be shown on the league’s broadcast channel will show eight games through Weeks 1-2 before a final seven during the third and final week of preseason.
This includes to quadruple-headers in Weeks 1 and 2 before two doses of triple-headers in Week 3.
The Football Team kick off NFL Network’s coverage on August 12 at New England, where we should get our first official look at Mac Jones in a Patriots uniform.
Trevor Lawrence is likely to hit your screens on August 14 as Urban Meyer and the Jags host AFC rivals, Cleveland.
Media and fans alike will be hoping to get a glimpse of Jordan Love too, which may come as early as Week 2 (August 21) at home to Zac Wilson and Gang Green.
Below is a full list of the games to air on NFL Network across the preseason:
Week 1
Thursday, August 12
7:30 PM ET – Washington Football Team vs. New England Patriots
Friday, August 13
7:00 PM ET – Buffalo Bills vs. Detroit Lions
10:00 PM ET – Dallas Cowboys vs. Arizona Cardinals
Saturday, August 14
1:00 PM ET – Miami Dolphins vs. Chicago Bears
4:00 PM ET – Denver Broncos vs. Minnesota Vikings
7:00 PM ET – Cleveland Browns vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
10:00 PM ET – Los Angeles Chargers vs. Los Angeles Rams
Sunday, August 15
1:00 PM ET – Carolina Panthers vs. Indianapolis Colts
Week 2
Thursday, August 19
7:30 PM ET – New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Friday, August 20
8:00 PM ET – Cincinnati Bengals vs. Washington Football Team
Saturday, August 21
1:00 PM ET – Buffalo Bills vs. Chicago Bears
4:25 PM ET – New York Jets vs. Green Bay Packers
7:30 PM ET – Detroit Lions vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
10:00 PM ET – Las Vegas Raiders vs. Los Angeles Rams
Sunday, August 22
1:00 PM ET – New York Giants vs. Cleveland Browns
7:30 PM ET – San Francisco 49ers vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Week 3
Friday, August 27
8:00 PM ET – Minnesota Vikings vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Saturday, August 28
1:00 PM ET – Green Bay Packers vs. Buffalo Bills
7:00 PM ET – Chicago Bears vs. Tennessee Titans
10:00 PM ET – Los Angeles Chargers vs. Seattle Seahawks
Sunday, August 29
1:00 PM ET – Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Dallas Cowboys
4:00 PM ET – Las Vegas Raiders vs. San Francisco 49ers
6:00 PM ET – New England Patriots vs. New York Giants
For American fans — NFL Network will blackout live games shown concurrently in local markets.
NFL announces joint practices - Who your team is playing and why
After practicing against your own same players throughout OTAs and training camp, it is a great opportunity to move through different plays, schemes against foreign opponents.
Not all 32 teams are participating in joint practices though. Only 21 teams are will involve themselves with another organization.
Joint practices aren’t a new phenomenon in the NFL. They essentially act as an opportunity for teams and players to go through scrimmages against different personnel.
After practicing against your own same players throughout OTAs and training camp, it is a great opportunity to move through different plays, schemes against foreign opponents.
Not all 32 teams are participating in joint practices though. Only 21 teams are will involve themselves with another organization.
New Orleans and Jacksonville were set to meet in Louisiana on August 20, but since the release of the schedule both teams have confirmed otherwise.
Teams NOT involved in joint practices this offseason:
Arizona Cardinals
Buffalo Bills
Cincinnati Bengals
Detroit Lions
Houston Texans
Jacksonville Jaguars
Kansas City Chiefs
New Orleans Saints
Pittsburgh Steelers
Seattle Seahawks
Washington Football Team
Some teams will engage in two bouts of joint practices; the Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins, Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles, and both the New York clubs (Jets and Giants).
Arguably, the most famous joint practice moment of recent memory involved then-Houston’s DeAndre Hopkins and Washington’s DeAngelo Hall getting into it. Things got interesting, real quick…
Thankfully for DB’s everywhere their ankles won’t be tested by D-Hop until preseason at the earliest.
Full list of this year’s joint practices:
Courtesy of NFL Communications
Who will play under the franchise tag in 2021?
The NFL list of franchise tagged players is relatively short this season. Only six players will go through the 2021-22 NFL season under the conditions of the tag.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, Giants defensive lineman Leonard Williams and Broncos safety Justin Simmons were all tagged and looked likely to remain that way until they agreed new deals with their respective teams.
Carolina right tackle Taylor Moton was similarly fortunate after agreeing a four-year, $72 million deal with the Panthers just before today’s deadline.
The unlucky six on this season’s franchise tag are:
Chris Godwin (Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR)
Allen Robinson (Chicago Bears WR)
Marcus Maye (New York Jets S)
Marcus Williams (New Orleans Saints S)
Cam Robinson (Jacksonville Jaguars T)
Brandon Scherff (Washington Football Team G)
LeSean McCoy open to another super bowl tilt before retirement
Fresh off a second Super Bowl ring in two years, LeSean McCoy is hungry to make it a three-peat.
The former Eagle won’t be with Tom Brady and Tampa Bay this season and have one last run at the Lombardi Trophy.
What will a team get in the 33-year-old running back? “A veteran that wants to win, knows how to win and how to be a great teammate and leader,” McCoy said when speaking to NFL Network on Tuesday.
There were thoughts, about hanging up the cleats, McCoy admits, though teams’ interest in his services has relit the fire.
I was contemplating retirement. I’ve had some teams reach out. I think right now it’s just all about being in shape, being ready for the call and also the right road, the right fit,” he said.
“I want to go to a team where I can compete. I want to go to a team where I can contribute and make a playoff, hopefully championship run.That’s the biggest thing, I think from winning two championships it’s hard to go to a team where you don’t see anything happening.
“That’s something that I think about winding my career down and I’m about to finish out. I want to go somewhere so I can have some fun and win.”
We also can’t mention LeSean McCoy without throwing to this incredible story from his days with the Buffalo Bills…
Why Von Miller believes Peyton Manning - and not Tom Brady - is the GOAT
Hold up now, just wait a second.
Before the outcry, we must be fair to Von and point out his thoughts are from late October 2020 -- long before Brady and the Bucs got it together and dominated the Chiefs. Perhaps his opinion has since changed, but judging by his love for Peyton that’s as likely as a flying pig.
What’s perhaps most interesting about Von Miller’s GOAT take is the question was never raised about Manning or Brady was never raised. Von decided to take it upon himself to assert Peyton Manning as the greatest of all time.
Irrespective of who you side with, Von’s love and admiration for Peyton -- both as a player and as a human being -- is palpable.
“He is the real deal and he’s the GOAT,” Miller said of his former Super Bowl winning teammate.
“They have these discussions about Peyton and Tom Brady, and Tom Brady, he’s won a lot of Super Bowl’s and I’m a Tom Brady fan but Peyton Manning, he changed the position of quarterback from an audible position on the line to being a technician, going about his game, knowing the defense and that’s why Peyton Manning is the GOAT in my eyes.”
“Of course we’ve got Tom Brady and I’m a big Tom Brady fan and everything he does man, but I played with Peyton Manning man, and I got to experience what type of guy he was, what type of player he was and what type of leader he was. He’ll always get my vote on being the GOAT, ‘cause he truly was.”
As for what Peyton Manning was truly like, away from the public eye, Von took us into the Broncos locker room, detailing the tendencies and nuances of Denver’s favorite son.
“I’m just taken to the image that I have of Peyton Manning. Him being in the locker room, just being around Peyton Manning, he was just a true leader man, a true leader of men,” he said when asked about Peyton’s most memorable qualities.
“If he did mess up on anything, he went about his business, so professional man and he never made the same mistake twice. He handled adversity off the football field, on the football field, he was the same guy every single day.
“He knew the coaches, he knew the players, he knew the players’ kids, he knew the janitors by first name and had conversations with all these guys. He was a real superhero man, it’s not a facade, it’s not anything fake, it was just him.”
Does Peyton Manning really run around in Von Miller’s backyard?! To find out, along with more of Von Miller’s conversation with Patrick Djordjevic, click here.