The world of NFL and celebrity relationships is buzzing with excitement and heartfelt moments. Taylor Swift has seamlessly integrated into the Kelce family, sharing endearing experiences with Travis Kelce‘s parents and brother, while his sister-in-law Kylie Kelce starts infant daughter Finn’s football journey early by bringing her to the Eagles’ season opener. Plus, Matthew Stafford faced some judgmental stares when he flew first class while his family sat coach, though wife Kelly Stafford brushed off the naysayers.
New York Jets wives, meanwhile, have nothing but support and admiration for Swift, appreciating her influence on broadening football’s fan base. Meanwhile, Cupid struck, thanks to Ciara and Russell Wilson, who successfully set up Pittsburgh Steelers star DK Metcalf with Normani, leading to their engagement. Rookie Travis Hunter‘s relationship with Leanna Lenee hit some turbulence amidst Heisman Trophy drama, but their recent wedding and first baby’s arrival marked a joyful new chapter. Lastly, 49ers’ Brock Purdy and wife Jenna Brandt welcomed their first baby, adding more warmth to their already charming love story.
NO. 1: TAYLOR SWIFT’S BEST MOMENTS WITH TRAVIS KELCE’S FAMILY
NO. 2: KYLIE KELCE ATTENDS EAGLES OPENER WITH 5-MONTH-OLD DAUGHTER FINN
NO. 3: MATTHEW STAFFORD WAS JUDGED FOR SITTING IN 1ST CLASS WITH FAMILY IN COACH
NO. 4: THE CUTEST NFL COUPLES AT THE EAGLES’ SUPER BOWL RING CEREMONY: PHOTOS
NO. 5: NY JETS WAGS HAVE ‘ZERO ADVICE’ FOR TAYLOR SWIFT BECOMING A FOOTBALL WIFE
NO. 6: CIARA RECALLS PLAYING MATCHMAKER FOR NORMANI AND DK METCALF
NO. 7: EAGLES QUARTERBACK JALEN HURTS AND WIFE BRY BURROWS’ RELATIONSHIP TIMELINE
NO. 8: 49ERS’ BROCK PURDY AND WIFE JENNA BRANDT WELCOME BABY NO. 1
NO. 9: TRAVIS HUNTER SHARES PHOTOS FROM LEANNA LENEE WEDDING AFTER MONTHS OF DRAMA
This report was produced with the help of AI tools, which summarized previous stories reported and written by McClatchy journalists. It was edited by journalists from Us Weekly.

The Seattle Seahawks have won three games in a row, are one of the hottest teams in football, and others are starting to take notice.
Frank Schwab of Yahoo Sports, in their latest power ranking of all 32 teams, ranked the Seahawks in the top 10 of their list, with them coming in at number eight.
The Seahawks have shown in the last few weeks that they are a balanced team on both offense and defense. Schwab was impressed by the Seahawks’ performance against the Arizona Cardinals despite a tight fourth quarter. The Seahawks jumped the most spots on the list from Week 4 to Week 5, jumping six spots from 14 to eight.
“The Seahawks are going to be good. They let down a bit in the fourth quarter and made a win against Arizona interesting, but through three quarters, it was an impressive performance,” Schwab said. “It’s a tough NFC West, but don’t sleep on the Seahawks as a potential division winner.”
Following a hard-fought victory against a division rival, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald was happy with his team’s effort.
Mike Macdonald is Proud of the Team
Playing a game on a short week is tough enough as it is, but playing on the road against a division rival, on the road, on a short week, is an even more challenging task.
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald took all of these factors into account when praising his team’s effort following their 23-20 win over the Cardinals. Macdonald discussed how proud he was of the team’s effort in his post-game press conference. Seahawks.com had the transcript of Macdonald’s praise of his team.
“Oh man, It’s a great win. I’m just really proud of our team, how hard we’re playing, how we’re sticking together, the positivity, (and) the fight,” Macdonald said. “Just a really great win. It’s a short week, you’re on the road, (and) Arizona played a good game… that’s a good football team we played, we know that.”
Macdonald then gave credit to the team for staying in the game after the Cardinals‘ comeback and doing what it took to come out with a win. However, he acknowledged that there were still some areas to improve.
“They did a good job of staying in the game and giving themselves a chance to win,” Macdonald said. “Having said that, we didn’t play our best game, and we had opportunities to put the game away throughout the second half. There are a lot of learning experiences that we’re going to be able to take from this game so we can improve.”
The constant quest for improvement is part of why the Seahawks have been so successful in the early going and why the team has been on the same page.
The Team Has a Strong Connection
The Seahawks had to dig deep at the end of the game to hold off the Cardinals, but tough, hard-fought victories bring teams together.
Linebacker Uchenna Nwosu further emphasized the strong culture and connection the team has been building this season in his post-game press availability. Seahawks.com has Nwosu’s answer about the Seahawks connection.
“Definitely, I feel like it’s connected. Last year we were connected but this year it’s even more connected,” Nwosu said. “Guys are spending a lot more time with each other off the field. It’s very important it’s how you build the bond that we have.”
Nwosu then gave credit to head coach Mike Macdonald for building a culture and environment that encourages the players to grow close and trust one another.
“We play a lot of games in the locker room. Every time we see each other everybody’s laughing, hugging it up and chatting it up,” Nwosu said. “Offense, defense, different positions groups. This team is very connected. That’s something (Seahawks Head Coach) Mike (Macdonald) has built, that’s something we’ve built and we’re going to continue to grow.”

The NFL’s default position on short-week football is that the injury rates are no different when playing seven days apart than when playing four days apart. This overlooks an important reality.
Some players who were injured on a Sunday could be ready to go the next Sunday. By Thursday, however, they’re not where they need to be physically.
49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is the latest example of that dynamic. He injured his toe in Week 1 against the Saints. He missed two games. He played on Sunday, against the Jaguars. And now he’s trying to get himself ready to face the Rams on Thursday night.
“Playing might lead to some soreness and stuff, so sort of expected it, but with a quick turnaround with a Thursday night game and everything, it’s just tougher,” Purdy told reporters on Tuesday. “You don’t have as many days to get right and heal up and feel better.”
Would he be ready to play if the game were on Tuesday night? “No,” Purdy said, “but I have two days.”
Coach Kyle Shanahan made clear the standard for determining whether Purdy will play: “[I]t’ll come down to do we feel he could play to 100-percent of his ability and do we feel that he can protect himself with it.”
“If I can play this game, I’m going to play,” Purdy said. “Obviously, I want to get right and get healthy and everything, but we need to win this game against the Rams.”
If the game were on Sunday, Purdy would be more likely to play. This week, however, he doesn’t have the luxury of the usual break between games. Which means it could be Mac Jones (whose knee injury has healed) when the 3-1 49ers face the 3-1 Rams.

Team Penske dazzled in the NASCAR Cup Series playoff race in New Hampshire. Optimizing on Joey Logano’s tire test, the organization showed true teamwork as Ryan Blaney blazed to the victory, and Logano finished in 4th place. They toppled the stranglehold of Toyota, which swept all three races in the Round of 16. Yet how many people were actually interested in this storyline? Not a lot, according to the stats – and Dale Jr. is concerned.
It has been an eclectic Cup Series season for NASCAR in 2025. From welcoming several TV partners like Amazon Prime and TNT Sports to hosting an international points-paying race in Mexico City, the sport has done a lot. Yet all its efforts have shrunk in the face of the NFL’s monster dominance. And Dale Jr. is issuing a war call.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Dale Jr. believes there is a way
USA Network covered the New Hampshire race, and flopped. It got a 0.70 rating and 1.29 million viewers, down from last year’s 1.0 rating and 1.88 million viewers – a 13% steep drop. This declining trend continued into Kansas, which saw a drop from 1.8 million viewers last season to 1.49 million. This is in wild contrast to the NFL’s dominance. Platforms like Disney, Fox Corp., and Amazon Prime have all witnessed jumps in viewership largely due to football. According to Nielsen, NFL TV/streaming viewership is at its highest since 2015, averaging 17.5 million viewers per game. This led Dale Jr. to believe that NASCAR is on the cusp of radical change. He asked, “Is it possible that the decline in ratings has been something that’s convinced NASCAR that maybe that Hail Mary is worth it?”
Indeed, the gigantic difference has induced panic among NASCAR experts. TNT reporter Danielle Trotta suggested ending the Cup Series season before 1st September to avoid clashing with the NFL. But Dale Jr. insists that it is not necessary. “Yes, football’s kicking ass right now. Great. I’m a massive fan of NFL…But I’m not running, I’m not leaving the room,” he said in a recent Dale Jr. Download episode. Dale Jr. suggested an aggressive strategy instead of chickening out in front of the NFL. “We aren’t doing great right now, but we don’t need to leave the room. We need to get our s— together, and we need to make our way back towards some respectable numbers.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Dale Jr.‘s aggressive strategy involved holding a Cup event right alongside the NFL. He said, “If the Daytona 500 started at noon, that’s why I was on Sunday, and then the Super Bowl was at night, would you skip the 500, or would you not go, “Holy, what an awesome sports day this is. What a day this is. Holy, you might actually get more viewers for the 500 because the Super Bowl is that night.”
One important note to make is that only the Cup Series is faltering. The Xfinity Series, in contrast, has flourished under The CW, even when it clashed with college football on Saturdays. The first 13 Xfinity races of the season drew over a million viewers for the first time since 2014. So Dale Jr. continued, “Xfinity numbers…are going pretty freaking amazing. When we lose a couple hundred thousand or, you know, on our on our viewership, our sponsors come calling. They want to dial it back because man, the viewership ain’t there, the numbers ain’t there, the engagement ain’t there. But it’s been awesome with CW this year, and the product’s on the track’s pretty good.”
Evidently, Dale Jr. believes that there is a way, provided there is a will. There was a mash-up of options in 2025, something that may have caused this mess.
Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports
Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports
Blaming the hotch-potch of TV options
At the end of 2023, NASCAR entered a $7 billion media rights deal. It partnered with Amazon Prime, Warner Bros, and TNT Sports in a lucrative opportunity. Even though it sounded like a snazzy deal, the results have been low. Even Amazon, after receiving immense praise for features like double-box commercials and post-race coverage, hit season-low stats in Michigan with 1.77 million viewers.
What is more, the Cup Series has had six different channels and/or streaming networks broadcasting its races. That’s as many networks as Cup races were on in 2000 before NASCAR started handling TV rights directly. On the other hand, the Xfinity Series only has The CW on its radar. According to Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin, that is the reason for the falling viewership.
Hamlin said recently, “You’re asking so much of your fans to just keep chasing you around all these different networks…I’m very steadfast that there’s only so many sports eyeballs. People that love sports love sports. And sometimes, you’re just watching what’s on sports. When the NFL has taken such a lion’s share of those eyes right now, record-setting every single week, people just, that’s their priority.” He continued, “If football’s not on, I think you’ve got a legitimate shot of being the next in line. But going head-to-head, it’s just going to be a tough road.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Well, Dale Jr. believes that the road can be easier with a bold approach. Let’s wait and see if NASCAR gets on a war footing to fix its numbers soon.

It’s safe to say the Arch Manning era hasn’t gotten off to a smooth start in Austin.
The touted quarterback has faced some challenges early in the 2025 season, raising concern levels for at least one NFL scout. The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman recently spoke to college coaches and NFL scouts to gather their thoughts on Manning and other collegiate signal callers.
According to Feldman’s article, an NFL scouting director believes Manning’s sample size is still too small to determine what he could become at the next level.
“He’s talented, but he needs to get rid of what’s going on with him,” the scouting director said. “I don’t know if it’s all mental, but I do know he’s dealing with a level of pressure that nobody else we’re talking about is dealing with.
“We just need to see a lot more of him before anybody can make a determination about him. He just really hasn’t played a lot. It’s OK to be a little bit developmental and still have high upside. You just gotta let him develop.”
While Manning has made some positive plays for the ninth-ranked Longhorns, the quarterback is still searching for consistency. Manning has completed 61.3% of his passes for 888 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions.
His best game of the season took place on Sept. 20 when Texas defeated Sam Houston 55-0. He threw for 309 yards and accounted for five total touchdowns. The Longhorns are hoping Manning can take another step forward as their stretch of SEC play begins.
Manning wasn’t the only quarterback with local ties mentioned in Feldman’s report. Feldman also spoke to NFL scouts about LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, who suited up at Flower Mound Marcus as a high schooler.
“I like him, and so do a lot of scouts,” an NFL scouting director said of Nussmeier’s 2025 tape. “I feel like there is a sense of overconfidence with him. I don’t know if he’s struggling because of their O-line (with four new starters) or if he’s just making bad decisions.”
Another NFL scout added that something “doesn’t look right” with Nussmeier. The LSU quarterback has thrown for 1,159 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions in five games.
Oklahoma’s John Mateer also received a mention, earning a familiar comparison from an NFL scout.
“He does remind me a lot of Baker. I don’t know if he throws it quite as well as Baker does, but I think he’s a better runner. And he plays with that same big chip on his shoulder,” the scout said. “I think OU needed that.”
Mateer is currently sidelined with a right hand injury. He underwent surgery for the injury last week.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Darren Waller had a pair of touchdown catches in his first NFL game in nearly two years, and Tua Tagovailoa threw for 177 yards to lead the Miami Dolphins to their first win of the season, 27-21 over the New York Jets on Monday night.
The Dolphins lost star receiver Tyreek Hill to what appeared to be a serious knee injury in the third quarter. The five-time All-pro made a catch and land awkwardly on his left leg after being tackled near the New York Jets’ sideline. Players from both teams took a knee while Hill was tended to, and he was immediately carted off and taken to a hospital.
Tagovailoa completed 17 of 25 passes and didn’t have a turnover for the first time this season as he moved to 7-0 against the Jets as Miami’s starter. The Dolphins (1-3) won their 10th straight at home against the Jets (0-4), who are still searching for their first win under coach Aaron Glenn.
The Jets pulled within six with 1:49 left when Garrett Wilson hauled in a 23-yard jump ball from Justin Fields, who ran it in for a 2-point conversion.
After recovering the onside kick, the Dolphins went three-and-out while working the clock to 13 seconds. Miami then pinned the Jets on their own 1, and the game ended on a play where New York tried a series of laterals, one of which was flagged as an illegal forward pass.
Waller, playing his first game since the end of the 2023 season, caught a 4-yard pass in the back of the end zone from Tagovailoa on fourth-and-goal in the second quarter of his Dolphins debut. The 33-year-old scored again on a 9-yard catch in the third that put Miami ahead 17-3. He finished with three receptions for 27 yards.
The Dolphins amassed 123 yards rushing behind De’von Achane’s 20 carries for 99 yards. Achane had a 9-yard scoring run.
Fields completed 20 of 27 passes for 226 yards in his return from a concussion that sidelined him in Week 3. He added 81 yards rushing, including a 43-yard scramble for a score on fourth-and-1 that pulled the Jets within a touchdown midway through the third.
The Jets gained 197 of their 404 yards with a highly effective ground game — they averaged 7 yards per carry — but turned the ball over three times and were penalized 13 times, including an offensive pass interference against Wilson that wiped out a touchdown in the third.
On their first drive, which started on their own 14, the Jets ran the ball 10 times for 74 yards before Braelon Allen had the ball punched out by Dolphins cornerback Jack Jones near the goal line. Minkah Fitzpatrick recovered for Miami’s first takeaway of the season.
Fields had the ball stripped on a sack the next drive, and Dante Trader recovered receiver Isaiah Williams’ fumble on the first play of the third quarter.
Jets veteran Nick Folk made two field goals: a career-long 58-yarder and another of 50 yards.
Rivalry uniforms
The Dolphins, whose regular uniforms are among the most recognizable in the NFL, debuted an alternate, dark blue ensemble. The jerseys feature Miami’s signature aqua blue lined with orange stripes on the helmet, pants and sleeves.
Injuries
Jets: RB Braelon Allen suffered a knee injury after kick return in second quarter and did not return. … DB Michael Carter II left before halftime with a concussion.
Dolphins: The team said Hill was hospitalized “for imaging, evaluation and observation.”
Up next
Jets: Host Dallas on Sunday.
Dolphins: At Carolina on Sunday.
___

Travis Kelce is lighting up the headlines both on and off the field. He and fiancée Taylor Swift are inseparable, weaving their love story into the NFL scene with Swift seamlessly fitting in with the Kelce clan, even sharing laughs with Travis’ mom, Donna. Meanwhile, Travis and his tight bond with Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes isn’t just about touchdowns, but they recently opened a swanky steakhouse together, aiming to bring a unique dining experience to Kansas City.
The buzz around Kelce doesn’t stop there. He’s stealing the fashion spotlight with bold photo shoots for GQ and stirring up excitement with stylish surprises. To top it all off, his Chiefs coach Andy Reid is thrilled about Kelce’s engagement to Swift. As Kelce gears up for the rest of the NFL season, Shaquille O’Neal has his back, urging the Chiefs to fully utilize Kelce’s incredible skills on the field.
NO. 1: TAYLOR SWIFT’S BEST MOMENTS WITH TRAVIS KELCE’S FAMILY
NO. 2: TRAVIS KELCE AND PATRICK MAHOMES SAMPLE FOOD AT THEIR NEW RESTAURANT
NO. 3: SWIFTIES FIND TAYLOR SWIFT CONNECTION IN TRAVIS KELCE’S PRESS CONFERENCE
NO. 4: TRAVIS KELCE EMBRACES HIS WILD SIDE IN BOLD LOOKS WHILE POSING FOR ‘GQ’
NO. 5: COACH ANDY REID ADDRESSES TRAVIS KELCE AND TAYLOR SWIFT’S ENGAGEMENT FOR THE 1ST TIME
NO. 6: SHAQ SAYS CHIEFS DIDN’T USE TRAVIS KELCE ENOUGH IN 2025 SUPER BOWL
This report was produced with the help of AI tools, which summarized previous stories reported and written by McClatchy journalists. It was edited by journalists from Us Weekly.

TAMPA, Fla. — Nick Sirianni and the Philadelphia Eagles sent a message to the NFL and the 31 other teams in Week 4.
The reigning Super Bowl champions don’t need a tush push to win. And for those who consider it a boring play, now there’s a new twist. The fake makes it even more difficult for opponents to stop and more interesting to watch.
Facing a team that had their number and one that actually had some success against Philadelphia’s signature play, Sirianni and offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo mixed things up.
Saquon Barkley scored a touchdown on a fake tush push and Jalen Hurts tossed an underhanded TD pass on a variation of it in a 31-25 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
With the NFL instructing officials to make sure offensive linemen don’t start early on the play and widespread talk that it needs to be banned after team owners fell two votes short of eliminating it in the offseason, the Eagles got creative. In the process, they gave defenses another wrinkle to worry about.
Barkley ran untouched into the end zone from the 6 when Hurts turned and handed him the ball on a third-and-1 instead of keeping it and getting pushed from behind. Defensive coordinators now have to prepare for that possibility. Or, Hurts tossing the ball to a receiver out of a tight formation.
“Everything we do is a team effort, but it’s an exciting play — it makes it pretty exciting, right?” Sirianni said, smiling. “When we were coming over here, I’m watching the ( Vikings-Steelers ) Ireland game and I (saw) this commercial on Pepsi of them going, ‘Hey, when in Philly,’ and they’re sneaking it. People like this play. Then there are some things off of the play that make it really exciting. It seems like people and fans really like the play, and it was pretty exciting today to get two touchdowns that come off of it that make that play what it is.”
It’s wishful thinking for Sirianni to say people and fans like the play because most people outside of anyone who roots for the Eagles don’t feel that way.
But the creativity behind it will strengthen Philadelphia’s argument that it indeed is a football play and shouldn’t be banned when the topic comes up again after the season.
There was other drama for the Eagles (4-0) after their latest ugly win. Hurts was 0 for 8 in the second half and the offense finished with only 200 yards after a minus-1 effort in the final two quarters.
Star wide receiver A.J. Brown had just two catches for 7 yards on nine targets. Overall, he has only 14 receptions for 151 yards and one TD in four games.
Brown, who has been critical of the offensive scheme and the passing attack, then posted a message on X quoting the Bible that’s being viewed as a cryptic expression of his frustration.
“If you’re not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way,” Brown wrote.
That’ll dominate the conversation in Philly despite the Eagles winning for the 20th time in 21 games.
Statement game
Another NFC East team made a major statement.
The Dallas Cowboys proved they’re not going to be a pushover without Micah Parsons.
A week after a lopsided 31-14 loss to Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears, the Cowboys ruined Parsons’ return to Dallas with the Green Bay Packers.
The teams played to a 40-40 tie.
It’s a tie that should feel like a loss for the Packers, who entered as 7-point favorites. A fortunate bounce at the end prevented a loss after terrible clock management by Green Bay. Jordan Love’s incomplete pass hit a defender’s back and fell incomplete with a second remaining in overtime, giving Brandon McManus an opportunity to kick a tying field goal.
The Packers wasted 12 seconds before snapping the ball on third down, and it appeared they got away with some early movement before the snap.
Despite the tie, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones should feel a sense of satisfaction. Parsons had one sack on Dak Prescott, who was spectacular without top receiver CeeDee Lamb.

Heroes, zeros and the full blitz for the Jets’ 27-21 “Monday Night Football” loss to the Dolphins.
Hero
Darren Waller, playing in Dolphins debut and first game since he was a Giant in 2023, caught two touchdown passes from Tua Tagovailoa.
Waller had three catches of 27 yards, including the scores from 4 and 9 yards out.
Unsung hero
Dolphins cornerback Jack Jones forced a fumble by Braelon Allen at the 1-yard line on the Jets’ first drive that was recovered by Minkah Fitzpatrick.
The turnover enabled Miami to play from ahead throughout the game.
Zero
Isaiah Williams’ fumbled on a return of the opening kickoff led to a Miami touchdown and realistically sealed the Jets’ fate, causing two second-half touchdowns to be too-little, too-late.
Key stat
The Jets defense failed to create a takeaway for the fourth consecutive game.

The common consensus in the NFL is to find a winning quarterback, pay him and keep on paying, unless you’re the Seattle Seahawks, who are earning praise for ignoring trends and beating the market at football’s most important position.
Plaudits aren’t in short supply for how general manager John Schneider has made two successful transitions from a successful signal-caller. First, he ditched Russell Wilson at the right time and bet on Geno Smith’s Pro-Bowl potential, before moving on from Smith and betting Sam Darnold’s breakout 2024 campaign was no fluke.
There’s no luck about how the Seahawks keep getting things right at quarterback. Not according to one unnamed league executive who instead credits the Seahawks for ignoring how “Most of the league makes fear-based decisions. They think, ‘I have to draft a high-round quarterback or I have to have a placeholder, and the placeholder I know is better than the one I don’t,” per Mike Sando of The Athletic.
Although it’s early, Darnold already looks like a worthy reward for Schneider’s fearless approach.
Sam Darnold Rewarding Seahawks’ Unorthodox QB Plan
Sando noted how “the first four weeks of this season suggest the Seahawks might have picked the right time to trade Smith and sign Sam Darnold.” It’s a bold statement after Smith played the best football of his career in Seattle once Schneider traded Wilson to the Denver Broncos in 2022.
That was a bold deal, given Wilson was a nine-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl winner as a member of the Seahawks. Smith, meanwhile, had become a career backup after flattering to deceive for the New York Jets.
Yet, while Wilson’s career collapsed in Denver, Smith threw for 4,282 yards and 30 touchdowns in his first year as the starter. Another 4,000-yard season followed two years later, but Schneider still traded 35-year-old Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders before acquiring Darnold.
The latter move looks good thanks to Darnold pacing QBs “on 10+ yard throws this season,” according to Pro Football Focus.
Darnold’s playing decisive football in the clutch, in contrast to Smith, who’s tossed seven interceptions through four games with the Silver and Black. As for Wilson, he couldn’t revive his fortunes with the Pittsburgh Steelers last season, and a move to the New York Giants has already unravelled after the veteran was benched for rookie Jaxson Dart.
Wilson now looks like a viable trade candidate, but the Seahawks still somehow benefitted. The bonus came from Schneider bringing Drew Lock back to Lumen Field after he was released by the Giants.
As Sando put it, “These were high-stakes moves driven by general manager John Schneider in an era when many teams paid upper-tier money for mid-tier quarterbacks, for fear of the unknown.”
The alternative would have been to stick with Wilson through his late-career decline. Or continue paying an ageing Smith. Another executive summed up those alternatives best to Sando: “The contrast is, you are seeing other teams double down on guys like Tua (Tagovailoa) and Trevor Lawrence.”
The Seahawks are winning because of their different way of thinking about the quarterback position. While Schneider is getting more props for clever use of the market, the fact is the Seahawks have a lengthy history of going against the grain at QB.
Seahawks Have Thrived With Different QB Decisions
It wasn’t so long ago Mike Holmgren traded for Matt Hasselbeck and trusted Brett Favre’s backup to become a Pro Bowler and lead the Seahawks to their first Super Bowl, per NFL Legacy.
Before that, undrafted free agent Dave Krieg, from Milton College, made the Seahawks a contender in the 1980s. Krieg’s career earned him a place among the Seahawks’ top 50 players.
Even the decision to use a third-round pick in the 2012 NFL draft to select Wilson defied league-wide convention. Wilson was considered undersized, but he proved a preternatural deep thrower with a knack for making big plays off platform during his peak years.
Schneider was a key figure behind that decision, and he’s continuing to ignore the prevailing strategies and still find success. As another anonymous exec told Sando, “The thing about Seattle is, they have survived the rebuild multiple times. There is something to that. Because they won games in the midst of all that, they don’t fear the same things that other guys fear.”
At 3-1 and with Darnold playing at a high level, the Seahawks look well-placed to maintain their run with unheralded QBs.

Darren Waller had a pair of touchdown catches in his first NFL game in nearly two years, and Tua Tagovailoa threw for 177 yards to lead the Miami Dolphins to their first win of the season, 27-21 over the New York Jets on Monday night.
The Dolphins lost star receiver Tyreek Hill to what appeared to be a serious knee injury in the third quarter. The five-time All-pro made a catch and land awkwardly on his left leg after being tackled near the New York Jets’ sideline. Players from both teams took a knee while Hill was tended to, and he was immediately carted off and taken to a hospital.
Tagovailoa completed 17 of 25 passes and didn’t have a turnover for the first time this season as he moved to 7-0 against the Jets as Miami’s starter. The Dolphins (1-3) won their 10th straight at home against the Jets (0-4), who are still searching for their first win under coach Aaron Glenn.
The Jets pulled within six with 1:49 left when Garrett Wilson hauled in a 23-yard jump ball from Justin Fields, who ran it in for a 2-point conversion.
After recovering the onside kick, the Dolphins went three-and-out while working the clock to 13 seconds. Miami then pinned the Jets on their own 1, and the game ended on a play where New York tried a series of laterals, one of which was flagged as an illegal forward pass.
Waller, playing his first game since the end of the 2023 season, caught a 4-yard pass in the back of the end zone from Tagovailoa on fourth-and-goal in the second quarter of his Dolphins debut. The 33-year-old scored again on a 9-yard catch in the third that put Miami ahead 17-3. He finished with three receptions for 27 yards.
The Dolphins amassed 123 yards rushing behind De’von Achane’s 20 carries for 99 yards. Achane had a 9-yard scoring run.
Fields completed 20 of 27 passes for 226 yards in his return from a concussion that sidelined him in Week 3. He added 81 yards rushing, including a 43-yard scramble for a score on fourth-and-1 that pulled the Jets within a touchdown midway through the third.
The Jets gained 197 of their 404 yards with a highly effective ground game — they averaged 7 yards per carry — but turned the ball over three times and were penalized 13 times, including an offensive pass interference against Wilson that wiped out a touchdown in the third.
On their first drive, which started on their own 14, the Jets ran the ball 10 times for 74 yards before Braelon Allen had the ball punched out by Dolphins cornerback Jack Jones near the goal line. Minkah Fitzpatrick recovered for Miami’s first takeaway of the season.
Fields had the ball stripped on a sack the next drive, and Dante Trader recovered receiver Isaiah Williams’ fumble on the first play of the third quarter.
Jets veteran Nick Folk made two field goals: a career-long 58-yarder and another of 50 yards.

By ALANIS THAMES AP Sports Writer
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Darren Waller had a pair of touchdown catches in his first NFL game in nearly two years, and Tua Tagovailoa threw for 177 yards to lead the Miami Dolphins to their first win of the season, 27-21, over the New York Jets on Monday night.
The Dolphins lost star receiver Tyreek Hill to what appeared to be a serious knee injury in the third quarter. The five-time All-pro made a catch and land awkwardly on his left leg after being tackled near the New York Jets’ sideline. Players from both teams took a knee while Hill was tended to, and he was immediately carted off and taken to a hospital.
Tagovailoa completed 17 of 25 passes and didn’t have a turnover for the first time this season as he moved to 7-0 against the Jets as Miami’s starter. The Dolphins (1-3) won their 10th straight at home against the Jets (0-4), who are still searching for their first win under Coach Aaron Glenn.
The Jets pulled within six with 1:49 left when Garrett Wilson hauled in a 23-yard jump ball from Justin Fields, who ran it in for a 2-point conversion.
After recovering the onside kick, the Dolphins went three-and-out while working the clock to 13 seconds. Miami then pinned the Jets on their own 1, and the game ended on a play where New York tried a series of laterals, one of which was flagged as an illegal forward pass.
Waller, playing his first game since the end of the 2023 season, caught a 4-yard pass in the back of the end zone from Tagovailoa on fourth-and-goal in the second quarter of his Dolphins debut. The 33-year-old scored again on a 9-yard catch in the third that put Miami ahead 17-3. He finished with three receptions for 27 yards.
The Dolphins amassed 123 yards rushing behind De’von Achane’s 20 carries for 99 yards. Achane had a 9-yard scoring run.
Fields completed 20 of 27 passes for 226 yards in his return from a concussion that sidelined him in Week 3. He added 81 yards rushing, including a 43-yard scramble for a score on fourth-and-1 that pulled the Jets within a touchdown midway through the third.
The Jets gained 197 of their 404 yards with a highly effective ground game – they averaged 7 yards per carry – but turned the ball over three times and were penalized 13 times, including an offensive pass interference against Wilson that wiped out a touchdown in the third.
On their first drive, which started on their own 14, the Jets ran the ball 10 times for 74 yards before Braelon Allen had the ball punched out by Dolphins cornerback Jack Jones near the goal line. Minkah Fitzpatrick recovered for Miami’s first takeaway of the season.
Fields had the ball stripped on a sack the next drive, and Dante Trader recovered receiver Isaiah Williams’ fumble on the first play of the third quarter.
Jets veteran Nick Folk made two field goals: a career-long 58-yarder and another of 50 yards.
RIVALRY UNIFORMS
The Dolphins, whose regular uniforms are among the most recognizable in the NFL, debuted an alternate, dark blue ensemble. The jerseys feature Miami’s signature aqua blue lined with orange stripes on the helmet, pants and sleeves.
INJURIES
Jets: Running back Braelon Allen suffered a knee injury after a kick return in the second quarter and did not return. … Defensive back Michael Carter II left before halftime with a concussion.
Dolphins: The team said Hill was hospitalized “for imaging, evaluation and observation.”
UP NEXT
The Jets host Dallas on Sunday.
The Dolphins play at Carolina on Sunday.

There is a feeling athletes chase. It’s the one they had as kids, when the game was pure and joyful, before contracts and pressure changed everything. Darren Waller said he lost that feeling. Over time, the love for the game got buried under stress and expectations.
“I feel like when I started playing football as a kid, I feel like I lost that sh*t sometimes,” he said, his voice trailing off for just a beat after the Dolphins’ chaotic 27-21 win over the Jets. “But yeah, tonight was pretty cool.” It was more than cool; it was a resurrection staged in the middle of a beautiful disaster.
Coming back to the league is one thing. Coming back with the weight of expectation is another. Waller felt it all day Monday. “Yeah, a little bit of fear, a little bit of everything,” he admitted, “cause I haven’t really been practicing a ton.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
He hadn’t done much with the team, and the internal monologue was screaming at him to “be somebody that this team can rely on and give the team a return on their investment.” He delivered that return early, a stunning TD grab over Sauce Gardner where he threaded the needle and tapped both feet inbounds. It was a perfect throw from Tua Tagovailoa, a statement from a guy just trying to find his rhythm again.
Stay here. More updates are coming soon…

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Darren Waller had a pair of touchdown catches in his first NFL game in nearly two years, and Tua Tagovailoa threw for 177 yards to lead the Miami Dolphins to their first win of the season, 27-21 over the New York Jets on Monday night.
The Dolphins lost star receiver Tyreek Hill to what appeared to be a serious knee injury in the third quarter. The five-time All-pro made a catch and land awkwardly on his left leg after being tackled near the New York Jets’ sideline. Players from both teams took a knee while Hill was tended to, and he was immediately carted off and taken to a hospital.
Tagovailoa completed 17 of 25 passes and didn’t have a turnover for the first time this season as he moved to 7-0 against the Jets as Miami’s starter. The Dolphins (1-3) won their 10th straight at home against the Jets (0-4), who are still searching for their first win under coach Aaron Glenn.
The Jets pulled within six with 1:49 left when Garrett Wilson hauled in a 23-yard jump ball from Justin Fields, who ran it in for a 2-point conversion.
After recovering the onside kick, the Dolphins went three-and-out while working the clock to 13 seconds. Miami then pinned the Jets on their own 1, and the game ended on a play where New York tried a series of laterals, one of which was flagged as an illegal forward pass.
Waller, playing his first game since the end of the 2023 season, caught a 4-yard pass in the back of the end zone from Tagovailoa on fourth-and-goal in the second quarter of his Dolphins debut. The 33-year-old scored again on a 9-yard catch in the third that put Miami ahead 17-3. He finished with three receptions for 27 yards.
The Dolphins amassed 123 yards rushing behind De’von Achane’s 20 carries for 99 yards. Achane had a 9-yard scoring run.
Broncos 28, Bengals 3
At Denver, Bo Nix threw for two touchdowns and ran for another to atone for his end zone interception and Denver snapped a two-game skid by sending Cincinnati to its second straight blowout loss.
With 101 yards on 16 carries, J.K. Dobbins recorded Denver’s first 100-yard rushing game since Latavius Murray ran for 103 yards against the Chargers on Jan. 8, 2023, a span of 38 games, counting the playoffs.
Nix threw for 326 yards and the Broncos outgained the Bengals 512 yards to 159 while piling up 29 first downs to Cincinnati’s nine.
The Broncos (2-2) still haven’t trailed in the fourth quarter and for the first time since the opener, the outcome wasn’t decided on a walk-off field goal as time expired. Denver grabbed a 21-3 halftime lead and never were threatened after that, even though the Broncos offense sputtered in the second half.
The Bengals (2-2) lost their second straight game behind backup quarterback Jake Browning, who is filling in with star Joe Burrow recovering from toe surgery. They were coming off their biggest blowout in their history, a 48-10 drubbing at Minnesota, and this one wasn’t much better.
Cincinnati went up 3-0 on Evan McPherson’s short field goal, but then gained just two first downs the rest of the first half and committed eight penalties, the franchise’s most before halftime in at least 15 years.
The Bengals punted on all eight possessions after their opening field goal, save for a kneel-down at halftime.

At 1-2, the Chiefs were already in full-blown crisis mode, with blame being tossed around like confetti. But the biggest culprit? A run game that looked anything but championship-caliber. Then came the Ravens game, and suddenly the ground attack actually had some potential. Thanks in large part to rookie RB Brashard Smith. And you can bet Andy Reid took notice.
Andy Reid understands the RB room’s potential, and he’s taking the first step by increasing Smith’s usage. “Nags is just trying to increase Smith’s reps every week and put him in positions where he can do some things. And he seems to be handling it well,” he said.
And this isn’t much of a surprise. The Chiefs fans were basically calling for this ever since the season started. Heading into the Ravens game, he accounted for three carries for 15 yards and not a single catch across three games. It took him just one half to blow past those numbers. By the end, he had four carries, three receptions, and 36 scrimmage yards to his name. Oh, and he tacked on 55 more yards from two kick returns, including a slick 34-yarder. Not bad for a guy who barely had a line in the box score before Sunday.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
And those who kept up with his collegiate career knew what he could become. Back in 2024 at SMU, he was a one-man offense, totaling over 1,300 rushing yards, 14 touchdowns on the ground, and nearly 2,000 all-purpose yards once you tack on his 39 catches for 327 yards. Those numbers made him a first-team All-ACC type. And if that wasn’t enough, he went to the combine and dropped a 4.39 in the 40. No wonder Andy Reid and OC Matt Nagy love him.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
And this is the ideal timing. Because the vets in Kansas City haven’t exactly been blowing anyone away. Isiah Pacheco might be listed as the starter, but through four weeks, he’s sitting at 32 carries for 127 yards: a steady 4.0 per clip, nothing more. Kareem Hunt? He’s chipped in since returning on that one-year deal, but he’s not exactly forcing the coaching staff to build the surrounding offense. He didn’t help himself with that penalty, either.
Kareem Hunt gets penalized for questionable celebration
Kareem Hunt finally had himself a moment against the Giants: 34 yards on the ground and his first touchdown of the year. Solid day’s work, right? Except Hunt couldn’t leave it at that. After punching in what looked like the game-winner in the fourth quarter, he decided to break out a throat-slash celebration.
Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports
Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports
Yeah, probably not the best idea in a league that’s been cracking down on anything remotely “violent.” The flag came out immediately for unsportsmanlike conduct, and the fine followed soon after: $8,172 for one ill-advised gesture in Week 3.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
The NFL hasn’t exactly been subtle about its zero-tolerance policy this season, so this one was about as obvious a punishment as it gets. And it’s not like this is Hunt’s first run-in with the fine police. Back in 2018, he got slapped with a $26,700 bill for an illegal hit on Denver’s Justin Simmons.
To be fair, Hunt wasn’t alone on the naughty list. While he stood out as the only player fined for a violent gesture, 19 other players around the league were docked in Week 3. 2,550 total snaps across the week, and nearly 20 guys still managed to hit the fine sheet. Hunt just made his the most memorable… and the most expensive for a celebration that lasted all of two seconds. Andy Reid surely didn’t like that.

Here are four takeaways from Sunday’s nightcap:
Micah Parsons held in check in back-and-forth affair
Parsons’ only sack of the game prevented Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott from scoring what would have been the game-sealer in overtime, but was otherwise kept from leaving a huge impact on the field.
While the Cowboys had to settle for a Brandon Aubrey field goal moments later, Green Bay took the clock all the way down in overtime. Despite nearly running out of time, Packers kicker Brandon McManus nailed a 34-yard field goal to tie the game at 40.
In a game that saw both QBs combine for seven TDs and a hat trick from Packers WR Romeo Doubs (Six catches, 58 yards, three TDs), there was no shortage of action in one of the more thrilling games you will see offensively.
George Pickens steps up for Cowboys
With their star wideout CeeDee Lamb (left ankle) out of action, the offseason trade acquisition Pickens was elevated to the WR1 role and delivered in a major way.
Along with a key TD to put the Cowboys in the lead prior to the half, Pickens made the go-ahead 28-yard catch with 43 seconds remaining in regulation.
Overall, Pickens had eight catches for 134 yards and two TDs, delivering in clutch moments for a Cowboys team that was down their top target. If Dallas can continue to get that kind of production from Pickens while Lamb is out, it will certainly take it.
Packers must get healthy on offensive line
Injuries have plagued Green Bay’s offensive line so far, which has led to multiple combinations and sloppy play at times. Although the Packers eventually scored on each drive, a pair of false starts from guard Sean Rhyan and center Elgton Jenkins on the one-yard line were inexcusable that close to the end zone.
This has been a lingering issue through the first four weeks of the season for the Packers. Starters Aaron Banks (groin) and Zach Tom (oblique) were out for Sunday’s game, as was rookie Anthony Belton (ankle), who was expected to fill in for Tom.
In addition to Tom and Belton, the Packers have also played Jordan Morgan and Darian Kinnard at right tackle, which speaks to the inconsistency they have had putting a healthy offensive line together.
For this team to take that next step, its offensive line must get healthy, especially in tightly-contested games when penalties can prove even more costly.
Cowboys defense is still not right
Following a blocked PAT attempt in the second quarter and a scoring drive from the offense, the Dallas defense got a strip sack from defensive end James Houston late in the first half that led to a second TD within one minute of game action.

The Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers played the wildest game of Week 4 on Sunday night. The two teams combined for 925 yards of offense, 10 touchdowns and one scorigami. That’s right, we got a scorigami.
Packers kicker Brandon McManus drilled a 34-yard field goal on the final play of overtime to earn a 40-40 tie with the Cowboys. The tie game marked the 1,093rd unique final score in NFL history. Not only was the game a scorigami, but it was also the highest-scoring tie in the Super Bowl era, which dates back to 1966. The Cowboys and Packers also combined for the NFL’s first tie since December 2022 when the Washington Commanders and New York Giants ended in a 20-20 tie.
To get a scorigami, you usually need a few crazy things to happen and this game definitely had that. The most bizarre play came in the second quarter and it gave the Cowboys two points. After the Packers got a touchdown from Romeo Doubs to go up 13-0, McManus went out to attempt a routine extra point, but there was nothing routine about it. The Cowboys ended up blocking the kick and then Markquese Bell picked it up and returned it for two points to make the score 13-2.
That one play set the stage for the scorigami. Oh, and a wild fourth quarter also helped.
There were a total of 17 points scored in the final two minutes of action. With 1:45 left in the game, Doubs caught a touchdown pass that put the Packers up 34-30. However, the Cowboys immediately responded by scoring a touchdown barely one minute later when George Pickens caught a 28-yard pass from Dak Prescott with just 43 seconds left to give Dallas a 37-34 lead. That lead didn’t last long, though, as the Packers drove down and got a 53-yard field goal from McManus on the final play of regulation to send the game to overtime.
This game marks the fifth time since the start of the 2022 season that the Cowboys have been involved in a scorigami. Before Sunday, their most recent one came in a 47-9 loss to the Detroit Lions back in October 2024. As for the Packers, this is the first scorigami they’ve been involved in since the 2020 season when they beat the Vikings, 43-34.
Overall, this is the second scorgami of the 2025 season. The only other that happened came on

ARLINGTON, Texas — Brandon Aubrey and Brandon McManus traded short field goals in overtime, and Micah Parsons’ highly anticipated return to Dallas ended with the Cowboys and Green Bay Packers in a 40-40 tie Sunday night.
Dak Prescott and Jordan Love had three touchdown passes apiece in regulation, which included seven consecutive lead-changing TDs before McManus’ tying 53-yard field goal as time expired.
McManus kicked a 34-yarder as the clock hit 0:00 in overtime, just after Love’s pass into the back of the end zone fell incomplete with just a second remaining.
What started as the hyped return of one of the game’s elite pass rushers exactly a month after the Cowboys (1-2-1) traded Parsons to the Packers (2-1-1) ended up as the second dramatic duel of quarterbacks in as many home games for Dallas.
The Cowboys beat the Giants 40-37 in overtime two weeks earlier when Russell Wilson was starting for New York.
The second-highest scoring tie in NFL history, behind the Raiders’ 43-43 draw with the Boston Patriots in the AFL in 1964, was the first for Dallas since 1969. The Packers last tied in 2018.
EAGLES 31, BUCCANEERS 25
TAMPA, Fla. — The Philadelphia Eagles used a fake punt, another special teams touchdown and a late defensive stop to stay undefeated.
Jalen Hurts tossed two touchdown passes, Sydney Brown returned a blocked punt for a score and the Eagles beat Tampa Bay for their 20th victory in 21 games.
The only loss in that span for the reigning Super Bowl champions was against Washington last December in a game Hurts left with a concussion in the first half.
Chase McLaughlin’s 65-yard field goal for Tampa Bay on the final play of the first half was the longest in NFL history in an outdoor stadium.
BILLS 31, SAINTS 19
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score, and Buffalo shook off a sloppy first three quarters to stay undefeated while beating winless New Orleans.
James Cook had 117 yards rushing and a touchdown in a game that wasn’t decided until midway through the fourth quarter. The Bills never trailed, but were clinging to a 21-19 lead when Allen hit a wide-open Dalton Kincaid for a 28-yard touchdown with 7:07 left.
Allen asserted himself on the previous play by putting his head down, breaking two tackles and dragging three defenders before finally going down for a 27-yard gain to convert a third-and-5.
Allen finished 16 of 22 for 209 yards while throwing his first interception of the season. Khalil Shakir scored on a 43-yard catch to cap Buffalo’s opening drive.
The five-time defending AFC East champion Bills are 4-0 for the 10th time in team history and first since 2020. Buffalo also won its 14th straight regular-season outing at home, one short of matching the franchise record spanning the 1990-91 seasons.
The Saints opened a season 0-4 for the ninth time in team history and first since 2012. They’ve lost eight straight dating to last year, their worst streak since losing 14 straight in 1980.
The Saints showed some resolve, but still couldn’t finish, a week after a mistake-filled 44-13 loss at Seattle.
STEELERS 24, VIKINGS 21
DUBLIN — Kenneth Gainwell ran for 99 yards and two touchdowns and Pittsburgh held on to beat Minnesota in Ireland’s first regular-season NFL game.
DK Metcalf had five catches for 126 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown for the Steelers, who improved to 3-1 going into their bye week.
The Steelers victory gave quarterback Aaron Rodgers his first international win and capped a Rooney family homecoming in front of a decidedly pro-Steelers crowd of 74,512 at Croke Park. Rodgers was 18 for 22 for 200 yards and the touchdown to Metcalf.
Carson Wentz, making his second consecutive start for the injured J.J. McCarthy, was 30 for 46 for 350 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Vikings (2-2).
T.J. Watt’s interception of Wentz’s pass — tipped by Cam Heyward at the line of scrimmage — set up the Steelers on the Minnesota 35 in the third quarter, and Gainwell scored from 4 yards for a 21-6 lead. It was nearly identical to Gainwell’s 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.
DeShon Elliott had the other interception and the Steelers sacked Wentz six times.
TEXANS 26, TITANS 0
HOUSTON — Rookie Woody Marks had a touchdown reception and ran for another score and Houston beat Tennessee for its first win this season.
It’s the third time the Texans have shut out a team and the first time since blanking the Titans 29-0 on Nov. 28, 2010. The Titans were shut out for the first time since a 16-0 loss at Denver on Oct. 13, 2019.
C.J. Stroud threw for 233 yards and two touchdowns as the Texans scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter Sunday to put the game away and match their TD total in the previous three games combined.
The Texans (1-3) led 6-0 after two first-half field goals, but neither team got into the red zone until a 17-yard grab by Nico Collins put Houston on the 12 on the last play of the third quarter. Stroud connected with Marks for a TD on the next play, but the 2-point try failed to leave the Texans up 12-0.
Derek Stingley picked off rookie first overall pick Cam Ward on the next drive and returned it 20 yards. The Texans cashed in on that mistake when Stroud threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to rookie Jayden Higgins to push the lead to 19-0 with about 9 ½ minutes to go.
An 18-yard touchdown run by Marks, a fourth-round pick from USC, made it 26-0 with less than five minutes remaining.
Marks had 69 yards rushing and 50 yards receiving.
FALCONS 34, COMMANDERS 27
ATLANTA — Michael Penix Jr. bounced back from his worst NFL start, Bijan Robinson had a career-high 181 yards from scrimmage as Atlanta beat short-handed Washington.
The Falcons (2-2) were coming off a 30-0 loss to the Panthers in which Penix and the offense were totally ineffective. Against the Commanders (2-2), Penix completed 20 of 26 passes for a career-high 313 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
Robinson had 75 rushing yards on 17 carries, including a nifty 14-yard touchdown run where he broke multiple tackles. He also had four catches for 106 yards, the highlight being a 69-yard catch-and-run in the third quarter that set up Penix’s TD toss to Kyle Pitts.
Falcons wide receiver Drake London had his best game of the season with eight catches for 110 yards and a touchdown less than a week after the Falcons fired wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard.
Marcus Mariota, filling in for injured Commanders starter Jayden Daniels, was 16 for 27 for 156 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. With top receiver Terry McLaurin also sidelined, Deebo Samuel had six receptions for 72 yards and a TD for Washington. Luke McCaffrey also had a scoring catch and Chris Rodriguez Jr. led the Commanders in rushing with 59 yards on seven carries.
Tyler Allegeier gave the Falcons a 31-16 lead with a 15-yard run late in the third quarter. Mariota answered with a pretty 24-yard touchdown pass to Samuel on fourth down, plus a 2-point pass to Zach Ertz to cut the lead to 31-24.
The Falcons responded with a 14-play, 69-yard drive that featured two key third-down conversions by Penix and ended with Parker Romo’s 26-yard field goal with 1:57 left. Matt Gay kicked a 42-yard field goal with 1:33 remaining for the Commanders, but the Falcons recovered the ensuing onside kick.
PATRIOTS 42, PANTHERS 13
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Marcus Jones had an 87-yard punt return for a touchdown, Drake Maye added two touchdown passes and ran for another, and New England rolled to a win over Carolina.
TreVeyon Henderson and Antonio Gibson added touchdown runs and Jones had a 61-yard punt return that set up another TD to help the Patriots (2-2) avoid their fifth straight 1-3 start.
A week after turning the ball over five times in a loss to Pittsburgh, the Patriots were turnover-free while going 4 for 4 in the red zone.
Maye was steady throughout, completing 14 of 17 passes for 203 yards. Receiver Stefon Diggs had six catches for 101 yards.
Carolina struggled from the outset, missing an extra point after scoring on the game’s opening possession and then punting on four of its final five drives. The other possession ended with a missed field goal.
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young finished 18 of 30 for 150 yards and a touchdown before being replaced by Andy Dalton with just over eight minutes remaining.
Maye put New England in front 14-6 in the opening seconds of the second quarter when he scored on a designed quarterback run.
Later, following a missed 55-yard field-goal attempt by Carolina’s Ryan Fitzgerald, Maye led the Patriots on an eight-play drive that was punctuated by a 5-yard TD run by Henderson.
A 61-yard punt return by Jones to the Carolina 14 got the Patriots back in business. Four plays later, a 1-yard touchdown run by Gibson pushed the lead to 28-6 just before halftime.
LIONS 34, BROWNS 10
DETROIT — Jared Goff threw two touchdown passes to Amon-Ra St. Brown, Kalif Raymond returned a punt 65 yards for another score and Detroit beat Cleveland.
The Lions (3-1) intercepted Joe Flacco twice in the first half and scored 20 straight points for a 13-point lead at halftime. Detroit forced Flacco to fumble in the fourth, setting up another touchdown.
The Browns (1-3) opened with an 88-yard, 13-play touchdown drive, then had 44 yards with three punts and two turnovers the rest of the half. They finished with 249 yards of offense, gaining an average of 3.8 yards per play.
Goff was 16 of 27 for 168 yards with a 2-yard touchdown pass to St. Brown late in the first half and an 8-yard toss to him in the fourth quarter, giving the All-Pro receiver six TD receptions in the last three games.
Flacco started strong before struggling and finishing 16 of 34 for 184 yards with three turnovers. Rookie Dillon Gabriel, a third-round pick, replaced Flacco late in the lopsided game.
Quinshon Judkins had 21 carries for 82 yards and a 1-yard scoring run that gave the Browns a short-lived lead in the first quarter.
The Lions pulled into a tie on the ensuing possession after Jahmyr Gibbs scored on an 8-yard run. Jake Bates kicked 48- and 58-yard field goals in the first half to give Detroit a 20-7 lead.
Cleveland pulled within 10 points on Andre Szmyt’s 33-yard field goal midway through the third quarter, and its stingy defense kept the score close until Raymond’s punt return early in the fourth and St. Brown’s second scoring catch helped the Lions pull away.
JAGUARS 26, 49ERS 21
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Parker Washington had Jacksonville’s first punt return touchdown in eight seasons and the Jaguars opportunistic defense delivered four more takeaways in a victory over San Francisco.
Former Niners star Arik Armstead’s strip-sack of Brock Purdy with less than three minutes to play sealed the win for the Jaguars (3-1).
The Jaguars have generated at least three takeaways in all four games this season, and have four more takeaways than they had in the entire 2024 season. They turned those into 17 points against the 49ers (3-1) highlighted by Travis Etienne’s 48-yard run one play after Dennis Gardeck forced a fumble by Luke Farrell in the second quarter.
Trevor Lawrence then threw a 4-yard TD pass to Hunter Long following the first of Purdy’s two interceptions for the 49ers to give the Jaguars their second 3-1 start in the past 18 seasons.
Jacksonville built the lead to 26-14 when Washington returned a punt 87 yards for the Jaguars first punt return TD since Jaydon Mickens had one in 2017
Purdy threw a 21-yard TD pass to Jake Tonges with 7:41 to play to cut the deficit to 26-21 and San Francisco had a chance for a comeback after Cam Little missed a 47-yard field goal.
But Armstead broke through on the second play of the ensuing drive and knocked the ball loose from Purdy. Foyesade Oluokun recovered to give the Jaguars their fifth road win ever in 20 trips to the West Coast.
CHIEFS 37, RAVENS 20
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes threw for 270 yards and four touchdowns while outdueling Lamar Jackson, who left in the second half with a right hamstring injury, and Kansas City routed beat-up Baltimore.
Xavier Worthy returned from a shoulder injury to catch five passes for 83 yards, igniting a Chiefs offense that had been struggling to find its footing without the speedster and his suspended teammate, Rashee Rice, early in the season.
The Chiefs (2-2) built a 20-10 halftime lead against Baltimore before cruising to their seventh win in the past eight meetings. The most recent time the Ravens (1-3) beat them was September 2021, and their previous win in Kansas City was on Oct. 7, 2021.
Jackson threw for 147 yards with a touchdown and his first interception of the season before hurting his hamstring midway through the third quarter, though by that point the game was mostly decided. Cooper Rush played the rest of the way for the Ravens, who suddenly find themselves in a dire situation just four weeks into the season.
BEARS 25, RAIDERS 24
LAS VEGAS — Josh Blackwell blocked a 54-yard field-goal attempt by Daniel Carlson in the final minute to preserve a fourth-quarter rally led by Caleb Williams, and Chicago stunned Las Vegas.
After D’Andre Swift’s 2-yard touchdown run with 1:34 left put the Bears (2-2) in front, Geno Smith led the Raiders (1-3) into position for Carlson’s kick with 38 seconds left. Blackwell came in nearly untouched from the left side, dived and deflected the ball. He raced down the field in celebration as teammates chased him.
The Bears became the second team to win 800 regular-season games, joining the Green Bay Packers, who had 812 going into Sunday night’s game at Dallas. The Raiders have lost three straight.
Chicago had four takeaways for the second game in a row, allowing the Bears to survive a middling performance by Williams and coach Ben Johnson’s offense. They gained 271 yards, just 69 on the ground.
The Bears rushed for 2 yards in the first half. That’s their lowest output in a half since totaling minus-1 against Minnesota in Week 17 in 2017. It was also the fewest allowed by the Raiders in a first half since Kansas City had minus-2 in Week 15 in 2012.
Rome Odunze, playing in his hometown, became the first Bears receiver to catch at least one touchdown pass in the first four games of a season since Alshon Jeffery’s six-game streak in 2014.

Despite being away from the world of gymnastics, Simone Biles has found a way to keep herself extremely busy. Even Joscelyn Roberson deemed her “the busiest human ever” earlier in July 2025. She became a creative partner and a board member at ‘Religion of Sports’. She’s working on opening a restaurant called ‘Taste of Gold.’ Biles is also working on her philanthropy projects, like ‘Friends of the Children Foundation’. Yet, in this busy schedule, she found the time to fly to Las Vegas to give Jonathan Owens the perfect match day gift.
Biles took to Instagram and announced through her stories of landing in Las Vegas. That was followed by some time beside the pool of her hotel, and a dance to Marshmello’s mix. But what caught most of our attention was her next story. It showcased the words ‘LAS VEGAS’ spelled across the width of the field, prior to the battle between the Chicago Bears and the Las Vegas Raiders. Moreover, the ‘Queen of Flips’ was in the stands wearing a white custom-made top with ‘Chicago’ written in white with black borders, and she showed off her apparel.
But in the last one, Simone Biles decided to share a reel by the NFL. The caption to the reel read, “SIMONE BILES HERE TO SUPPORT HUSBAND JONATHAN OWENS 🫶.” And that’s what it was. The 11-time Olympic medalist took precious time out of her hectic schedule just to support Owens as he battles the Raiders. And before the match commenced, the camera captured Owens walking towards Biles and addressing her with a kiss. She has definitely set a new relationship standard, don’t you agree?
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
After taking a break from gymnastics, she cherishes the little things in life after a successful career. Sometimes, when someone gives their all to the sport, it’s great to have a break to put things into perspective. Biles is rowing the same boat as most of us. By doing the small heartwarming stuff she wanted to do in college, Biles looks content in life.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
But of course, this wasn’t the first time Biles showed up to support Jonathan Owens in style. Just a week earlier, during the Chicago Bears’ clash with the Dallas Cowboys, she stole the spotlight in a chic denim button-down top, matching skirt, and striking white knee-high boots featuring Owens’ name etched in gold. But with Simone Biles taking a step back from the gymnastics world, the big question remains – what do her retirement plans look like?
Simone Biles drops a hint about her post-retirement life
During her appearance on The Olympics Podcast back in August 2025, Biles claimed her ADHD pushed her to work even while she was on vacation. Be it ‘Friends of the Children Foundation’, ‘Make a Wish Foundation’, or even working with ‘Athleta’, Biles loved to stay busy and take her game up a notch. But one world seemed to call Biles for her post-retirement life – fashion and beauty.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports
Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports
Reflecting on her future, Simone Biles said, “We’re trying to enter the fashion industry and beauty industry. Some of the things I can’t talk about, but they are in the works, and it’s gonna be really exciting. But yeah. There’s always a project to be made, even if that’s just like the post-Olympic tour, or trying to have involvement in the 2028 Olympics. So yeah, that’s kind of like what’s on the horizon.”

At least for the early wave of games, drama took a week off. The usual craziness at the end of the 1 p.m. window never arrived. In the first eight games of Week 4, no leads changed hands in the fourth quarter. Half were decided by double-digits. Since when are yawns allowed on an NFL Sunday?
Here is what to know.
– – –
The Jaxson Dart Era began with a win and a wince
The New York Giants’ unveiling of Jaxson Dart was a broad success. Dart led them to their first win while knocking the Los Angeles Chargers from the ranks of the unbeaten, showing athleticism and poise in a 21-18 victory. He threw his first career touchdown pass on a goal line shovel to tight end Theo Johnson. He rushed for 54 yards and a touchdown. He didn’t commit a turnover.
But the day couldn’t be considered an unqualified success for the snakebit Giants. Wide receiver Malik Nabers, their best offensive player, exited the game in the second quarter on a cart with an injury that seems likely to sideline him for the remainder of the season.
Nabers’s right knee buckled awkwardly as he attempted to make a leaping catch. Once he landed, he immediately grabbed for his knee. Trainers tended to him, and he entered the locker room on a cart. NFL Network reported that Nabers is believed to have torn his ACL.
Nabers’s injury will leave Dart without his best weapon. But he made clear the Giants are his team. Dart needs to speed his processing on dropbacks, evidenced by the five sacks he took. But he has enough speed and athleticism to function while he refines his passing on the fly. On the Giants’ opening drive, Dart completed two of two pass attempts, both to Nabers, and ran three times for 28 yards, including a 15-yard draw for a touchdown.
Nabers’s misfortune wasn’t the only significant injury. Chargers star tackle Joe Alt was carted into the locker room in the first quarter with an ankle injury. Los Angeles already lost left tackle Rashawn Slater to a season-ending injury in training camp. Despite their 3-0 start, the Chargers are suddenly facing adversity.
– – –
The Eagles are head and shoulders above the NFL
In Week 4 last season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throttled the Eagles, 33-16, dropping them to 2-2 and inviting doubt Philadelphia had recovered from its 2023 collapse. The Eagles returned to Tampa on Sunday, and their 31-25 victory over previously undefeated Tampa Bay provided a full-circle emblem of how thoroughly the Eagles have dominated the rest of the NFL.
Since that 2024 loss to the Buccaneers, playoffs included, the Eagles have gone 20-1. On average, the Eagles have won those games 31-22. Their only loss came in Washington late last year, after Jalen Hurts sat out the second half with a concussion and their defense yielded a game-winning touchdown in the final 10 seconds. The Eagles improved to 4-0 this season, their last three victories coming against 2024 playoff teams.
The Eagles continue unearthing defensive stars. Rookie Jihaad Campbell, the 31st pick of the first round, looks like a Zach Baun clone – a former edge rusher unleashed as a versatile off-ball linebacker. His interception of Baker Mayfield in the end zone may have been the most pivotal play of Sunday’s victory.
Philadelphia’s offense can still go up a level. Saquon Barkley, coming off his 2,000-yard season, has rushed for only 237 yards all year while gaining a startlingly low 3.1 yards per carry. He hasn’t uncorked any of his signature game-breaking long runs. But his slow start has not kept the Eagles from hovering above the rest of the NFL.
– – –
The Bills’ run defense is a problem
Along with the Eagles, the Buffalo Bills ended Sunday’s early wave as one of two 4-0 teams. But the Bills have a glaring issue that was exposed again in a closer-than-expected 31-19 victory over the New Orleans Saints: They have one of the NFL’s worst run defenses.
The statistics are skewed by Baltimore’s bonkers rushing performance on the first Sunday night of the season. And Coach Sean McDermott prefers a bend-don’t-break style that makes them susceptible to opposing production on the ground. But the Bills have been allowing opponent after opponent to run on them.
The Saints ran 34 times for 189 yards, which actually lowered the Bills’ average allowed per rush – they entered allowing a league-worst 6.2 yards per carry. Their running allowed the Saints to hang in a game they entered as a 16.5-point underdog. The Saints pulled to within 21-19 midway through the fourth quarter before Josh Allen came to the rescue, barreling for 27 yards on a tackle-breaking scramble and then hitting tight end Dalton Kincaid – a breakout tight end in his third season – down the sideline for a 28-yard touchdown.
The path to the Bills’ improvement starts with the return of defensive tackle Ed Oliver, who missed his third consecutive game with an ankle injury. The Bills have a chance to win the Super Bowl. Their top mission right now may be to prevent their run defense from becoming a fatal flaw.
– – –
Joe Flacco is on the clock
The vibes from the Cleveland Browns’ shocking victory over the Green Bay Packers evaporated in Detroit, where the Lions pulverized the Browns, 34-10. The Browns’ upset last week momentarily masked the obvious issue hovering over their season: Joe Flacco’s ineptitude at quarterback is making a switch inevitable.
The Browns drafted two quarterbacks – Dillon Gabriel and, you may have heard, Shedeur Sanders – in the middle rounds. At 40, Flacco is clearly a placeholder. He may not be holding the place much longer. Despite the benefit of field position earned by one of the NFL’s best defenses, the Browns have produced 16, 17, 13 and 10 points in their games this season.
On Sunday, Flacco completed fewer than half his passes for 184 yards and threw two interceptions, giving him a league-high six. He entered Week 4 with the lowest yards per attempt in the NFL. The Browns held the high-flying Lions to 4.9 yards per play, but Flacco’s turnovers and three sacks taken led to short field and no chance to win.
For the second time in four weeks, Gabriel mopped up in the fourth quarter. The undersized, 25-year-old rookie may soon be playing all game. Gabriel has stood above Sanders on the depth chart all season; Sanders has been rostered on game day as the emergency quarterback. Whichever rookie gets the chance, playing Flacco is becoming both untenable and pointless for a team whose future matters more than the present.
– – –
Mike Tomlin got away with one
All in all, the Pittsburgh Steelers had a tremendous trip to Dublin in their 24-21 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Aaron Rodgers played one of his best games in years, efficiently spreading the ball around. Their defense rebounded aside from a late, blown-coverage glitch. Kenneth Gainwell ran for 99 yards and two touchdowns. Their offense revolved around DK Metcalf, who in a twist played more than half his snaps from the slot, resulting in five catches for 126 yards and an 80-yard touchdown.
They escaped, though, only after an unforgivable game management misstep from Coach Mike Tomlin. Leading by three after the two-minute warning, the Vikings having exhausted their timeouts, the Steelers faced fourth and half a yard from the Vikings’ 40-yard line. Going should have been an obvious decision. The game would be over with a high-probability conversion. Only an exceptional punt would gain more than 20 or 30 yards in field position. Essentially, going for it gave Pittsburgh two paths to clinch victory and punting provided only one.
The Steelers took a delay of game and punted. Woof. Corliss Waitman’s punt sailed into the end zone. Pittsburgh’s defense narrowly bailed Tomlin out when Nick Herbig’s pressure on Carson Wentz forced an intentional grounding as the Vikings approached midfield. Tomlin got away with it, but in an easy moment to help the Steelers win, he made victory less likely.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Brandon Aubrey and Brandon McManus traded short field goals in overtime, and Micah Parsons’ highly anticipated return to Dallas ended with the Cowboys and Green Bay Packers in a 40-40 tie Sunday night.
Dak Prescott and Jordan Love had three touchdown passes apiece in regulation, which included seven consecutive lead-changing TDs before McManus’ tying 53-yard field goal as time expired.
McManus kicked a 34-yarder as the clock hit 0:00 in overtime, just after Love’s pass into the back of the end zone fell incomplete with just a second remaining.
What started as the hyped return of one of the game’s elite pass rushers exactly a month after the Cowboys (1-2-1) traded Parsons to the Packers (2-1-1) ended up as the second dramatic duel of quarterbacks in as many home games for Dallas.
The Cowboys beat the Giants 40-37 in overtime two weeks earlier when Russell Wilson was starting for New York.
The second-highest scoring tie in NFL history, behind the Raiders’ 43-43 draw with the Boston Patriots in the AFL in 1964, was the first for Dallas since 1969. The Packers last tied in 2018.
EAGLES 31, BUCCANEERS 25
TAMPA, Fla. — The Philadelphia Eagles used a fake punt, another special teams touchdown and a late defensive stop to stay undefeated.
Jalen Hurts tossed two touchdown passes, Sydney Brown returned a blocked punt for a score and the Eagles beat Tampa Bay for their 20th victory in 21 games.
The only loss in that span for the reigning Super Bowl champions was against Washington last December in a game Hurts left with a concussion in the first half.
Chase McLaughlin’s 65-yard field goal for Tampa Bay on the final play of the first half was the longest in NFL history in an outdoor stadium.
BILLS 31, SAINTS 19
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score, and Buffalo shook off a sloppy first three quarters to stay undefeated while beating winless New Orleans.
James Cook had 117 yards rushing and a touchdown in a game that wasn’t decided until midway through the fourth quarter. The Bills never trailed, but were clinging to a 21-19 lead when Allen hit a wide-open Dalton Kincaid for a 28-yard touchdown with 7:07 left.
Allen asserted himself on the previous play by putting his head down, breaking two tackles and dragging three defenders before finally going down for a 27-yard gain to convert a third-and-5.
Allen finished 16 of 22 for 209 yards while throwing his first interception of the season. Khalil Shakir scored on a 43-yard catch to cap Buffalo’s opening drive.
The five-time defending AFC East champion Bills are 4-0 for the 10th time in team history and first since 2020. Buffalo also won its 14th straight regular-season outing at home, one short of matching the franchise record spanning the 1990-91 seasons.
The Saints opened a season 0-4 for the ninth time in team history and first since 2012. They’ve lost eight straight dating to last year, their worst streak since losing 14 straight in 1980.
The Saints showed some resolve, but still couldn’t finish, a week after a mistake-filled 44-13 loss at Seattle.
STEELERS 24, VIKINGS 21
DUBLIN — Kenneth Gainwell ran for 99 yards and two touchdowns and Pittsburgh held on to beat Minnesota in Ireland’s first regular-season NFL game.
DK Metcalf had five catches for 126 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown for the Steelers, who improved to 3-1 going into their bye week.
The Steelers victory gave quarterback Aaron Rodgers his first international win and capped a Rooney family homecoming in front of a decidedly pro-Steelers crowd of 74,512 at Croke Park. Rodgers was 18 for 22 for 200 yards and the touchdown to Metcalf.
Carson Wentz, making his second consecutive start for the injured J.J. McCarthy, was 30 for 46 for 350 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Vikings (2-2).
T.J. Watt’s interception of Wentz’s pass — tipped by Cam Heyward at the line of scrimmage — set up the Steelers on the Minnesota 35 in the third quarter, and Gainwell scored from 4 yards for a 21-6 lead. It was nearly identical to Gainwell’s 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.
DeShon Elliott had the other interception and the Steelers sacked Wentz six times.
TEXANS 26, TITANS 0
HOUSTON — Rookie Woody Marks had a touchdown reception and ran for another score and Houston beat Tennessee for its first win this season.
It’s the third time the Texans have shut out a team and the first time since blanking the Titans 29-0 on Nov. 28, 2010. The Titans were shut out for the first time since a 16-0 loss at Denver on Oct. 13, 2019.
C.J. Stroud threw for 233 yards and two touchdowns as the Texans scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter Sunday to put the game away and match their TD total in the previous three games combined.
The Texans (1-3) led 6-0 after two first-half field goals, but neither team got into the red zone until a 17-yard grab by Nico Collins put Houston on the 12 on the last play of the third quarter. Stroud connected with Marks for a TD on the next play, but the 2-point try failed to leave the Texans up 12-0.
Derek Stingley picked off rookie first overall pick Cam Ward on the next drive and returned it 20 yards. The Texans cashed in on that mistake when Stroud threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to rookie Jayden Higgins to push the lead to 19-0 with about 9 ½ minutes to go.
An 18-yard touchdown run by Marks, a fourth-round pick from USC, made it 26-0 with less than five minutes remaining.
Marks had 69 yards rushing and 50 yards receiving.
FALCONS 34, COMMANDERS 27
ATLANTA — Michael Penix Jr. bounced back from his worst NFL start, Bijan Robinson had a career-high 181 yards from scrimmage as Atlanta beat short-handed Washington.
The Falcons (2-2) were coming off a 30-0 loss to the Panthers in which Penix and the offense were totally ineffective. Against the Commanders (2-2), Penix completed 20 of 26 passes for a career-high 313 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
Robinson had 75 rushing yards on 17 carries, including a nifty 14-yard touchdown run where he broke multiple tackles. He also had four catches for 106 yards, the highlight being a 69-yard catch-and-run in the third quarter that set up Penix’s TD toss to Kyle Pitts.
Falcons wide receiver Drake London had his best game of the season with eight catches for 110 yards and a touchdown less than a week after the Falcons fired wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard.
Marcus Mariota, filling in for injured Commanders starter Jayden Daniels, was 16 for 27 for 156 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. With top receiver Terry McLaurin also sidelined, Deebo Samuel had six receptions for 72 yards and a TD for Washington. Luke McCaffrey also had a scoring catch and Chris Rodriguez Jr. led the Commanders in rushing with 59 yards on seven carries.
Tyler Allegeier gave the Falcons a 31-16 lead with a 15-yard run late in the third quarter. Mariota answered with a pretty 24-yard touchdown pass to Samuel on fourth down, plus a 2-point pass to Zach Ertz to cut the lead to 31-24.
The Falcons responded with a 14-play, 69-yard drive that featured two key third-down conversions by Penix and ended with Parker Romo’s 26-yard field goal with 1:57 left. Matt Gay kicked a 42-yard field goal with 1:33 remaining for the Commanders, but the Falcons recovered the ensuing onside kick.
PATRIOTS 42, PANTHERS 13
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Marcus Jones had an 87-yard punt return for a touchdown, Drake Maye added two touchdown passes and ran for another, and New England rolled to a win over Carolina.
TreVeyon Henderson and Antonio Gibson added touchdown runs and Jones had a 61-yard punt return that set up another TD to help the Patriots (2-2) avoid their fifth straight 1-3 start.
A week after turning the ball over five times in a loss to Pittsburgh, the Patriots were turnover-free while going 4 for 4 in the red zone.
Maye was steady throughout, completing 14 of 17 passes for 203 yards. Receiver Stefon Diggs had six catches for 101 yards.
Carolina struggled from the outset, missing an extra point after scoring on the game’s opening possession and then punting on four of its final five drives. The other possession ended with a missed field goal.
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young finished 18 of 30 for 150 yards and a touchdown before being replaced by Andy Dalton with just over eight minutes remaining.
Maye put New England in front 14-6 in the opening seconds of the second quarter when he scored on a designed quarterback run.
Later, following a missed 55-yard field-goal attempt by Carolina’s Ryan Fitzgerald, Maye led the Patriots on an eight-play drive that was punctuated by a 5-yard TD run by Henderson.
A 61-yard punt return by Jones to the Carolina 14 got the Patriots back in business. Four plays later, a 1-yard touchdown run by Gibson pushed the lead to 28-6 just before halftime.
LIONS 34, BROWNS 10
DETROIT — Jared Goff threw two touchdown passes to Amon-Ra St. Brown, Kalif Raymond returned a punt 65 yards for another score and Detroit beat Cleveland.
The Lions (3-1) intercepted Joe Flacco twice in the first half and scored 20 straight points for a 13-point lead at halftime. Detroit forced Flacco to fumble in the fourth, setting up another touchdown.
The Browns (1-3) opened with an 88-yard, 13-play touchdown drive, then had 44 yards with three punts and two turnovers the rest of the half. They finished with 249 yards of offense, gaining an average of 3.8 yards per play.
Goff was 16 of 27 for 168 yards with a 2-yard touchdown pass to St. Brown late in the first half and an 8-yard toss to him in the fourth quarter, giving the All-Pro receiver six TD receptions in the last three games.
Flacco started strong before struggling and finishing 16 of 34 for 184 yards with three turnovers. Rookie Dillon Gabriel, a third-round pick, replaced Flacco late in the lopsided game.
Quinshon Judkins had 21 carries for 82 yards and a 1-yard scoring run that gave the Browns a short-lived lead in the first quarter.
The Lions pulled into a tie on the ensuing possession after Jahmyr Gibbs scored on an 8-yard run. Jake Bates kicked 48- and 58-yard field goals in the first half to give Detroit a 20-7 lead.
Cleveland pulled within 10 points on Andre Szmyt’s 33-yard field goal midway through the third quarter, and its stingy defense kept the score close until Raymond’s punt return early in the fourth and St. Brown’s second scoring catch helped the Lions pull away.
GIANTS 21, CHARGERS 18
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Jaxson Dart threw a touchdown pass and ran for another score in an impressive NFL starting debut, leading New York to its first victory over previously undefeated Los Angeles.
The excitement by the Giants (1-3) over the win was a bit tempered by the uncertain status of wide receiver Malik Nabers, who was carted off the field in the second quarter with a knee injury.
Dart launched a deep pass down the right sideline — a free play after the Chargers jumped offside — toward a streaking Nabers. The wide receiver’s right leg appeared to buckle as he went up to try to catch the pass, which fell incomplete.
Nabers, down at the Chargers 7 with 6:12 left before halftime, immediately grabbed at his right leg. He was checked for several minutes before being helped onto the cart.
Dart, starting in place of Russell Wilson, ran for a 15-yard score to cap his first drive as a starting quarterback. He also threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Theo Johnson. Dart finished 13 of 20 for 111 yards and ran 10 times for 54 yards.
He also brushed off a hamstring injury after halftime and a big hit from the Chargers that sent him to the medical tent for two plays to be evaluated for a head injury.
[What to know from NFL Week 4: Jaxson Dart era opens with a win and a wince]
The Giants’ defense also made big plays when it counted most, including Brian Burns’ sack of Justin Herbert that forced the Chargers (3-1) to punt late in the game. Then, Dart and the offense took over and milked the clock before giving Herbert and Los Angeles one final try — but with just 18 seconds left.
Herbert threw incomplete to Quentin Johnston and then completed a 22-yard pass to Johnston, who was tackled by Cor’Dale Flott and couldn’t get out of bounds — ending the game
RAMS 27, COLTS 20
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Tutu Atwell caught an 88-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford with 1:33 to play, and Los Angeles rallied to end Indianapolis’ unbeaten start to the season with a victory.
Daniel Jones passed for 262 yards for the Colts (3-1), but Indy couldn’t overcome receiver Adonai Mitchell’s mind-boggling fumble right before he crossed the goal line with what was about to be a 76-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter.
The Colts also had a 53-yard rushing TD by Jonathan Taylor taken off the board by a holding call on Mitchell with 2:15 to play.
Stafford passed for 375 yards and three touchdowns for the Rams (3-1), and he hit Puka Nacua for a 9-yard score with 3:20 left. Nacua finished with 13 catches for 170 yards.
After the Rams’ defense quickly got the ball back, Stafford made a brilliant throw on the next snap for the decisive score by Atwell, the speedy receiver who frequently goes underutilized in Sean McVay’s offense. Atwell’s TD catch was only his second reception of the season.
Kam Curl then made his second interception of the day with 53 seconds left, and the Rams ran out the clock on a thrilling win.
JAGUARS 26, 49ERS 21
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Parker Washington had Jacksonville’s first punt return touchdown in eight seasons and the Jaguars opportunistic defense delivered four more takeaways in a victory over San Francisco.
Former Niners star Arik Armstead’s strip-sack of Brock Purdy with less than three minutes to play sealed the win for the Jaguars (3-1).
The Jaguars have generated at least three takeaways in all four games this season, and have four more takeaways than they had in the entire 2024 season. They turned those into 17 points against the 49ers (3-1) highlighted by Travis Etienne’s 48-yard run one play after Dennis Gardeck forced a fumble by Luke Farrell in the second quarter.
Trevor Lawrence then threw a 4-yard TD pass to Hunter Long following the first of Purdy’s two interceptions for the 49ers to give the Jaguars their second 3-1 start in the past 18 seasons.
Jacksonville built the lead to 26-14 when Washington returned a punt 87 yards for the Jaguars first punt return TD since Jaydon Mickens had one in 2017
Purdy threw a 21-yard TD pass to Jake Tonges with 7:41 to play to cut the deficit to 26-21 and San Francisco had a chance for a comeback after Cam Little missed a 47-yard field goal.
But Armstead broke through on the second play of the ensuing drive and knocked the ball loose from Purdy. Foyesade Oluokun recovered to give the Jaguars their fifth road win ever in 20 trips to the West Coast.
CHIEFS 37, RAVENS 20
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes threw for 270 yards and four touchdowns while outdueling Lamar Jackson, who left in the second half with a right hamstring injury, and Kansas City routed beat-up Baltimore.
Xavier Worthy returned from a shoulder injury to catch five passes for 83 yards, igniting a Chiefs offense that had been struggling to find its footing without the speedster and his suspended teammate, Rashee Rice, early in the season.
The Chiefs (2-2) built a 20-10 halftime lead against Baltimore before cruising to their seventh win in the past eight meetings. The most recent time the Ravens (1-3) beat them was September 2021, and their previous win in Kansas City was on Oct. 7, 2021.
Jackson threw for 147 yards with a touchdown and his first interception of the season before hurting his hamstring midway through the third quarter, though by that point the game was mostly decided. Cooper Rush played the rest of the way for the Ravens, who suddenly find themselves in a dire situation just four weeks into the season.
BEARS 25, RAIDERS 24
LAS VEGAS — Josh Blackwell blocked a 54-yard field-goal attempt by Daniel Carlson in the final minute to preserve a fourth-quarter rally led by Caleb Williams, and Chicago stunned Las Vegas.
After D’Andre Swift’s 2-yard touchdown run with 1:34 left put the Bears (2-2) in front, Geno Smith led the Raiders (1-3) into position for Carlson’s kick with 38 seconds left. Blackwell came in nearly untouched from the left side, dived and deflected the ball. He raced down the field in celebration as teammates chased him.
The Bears became the second team to win 800 regular-season games, joining the Green Bay Packers, who had 812 going into Sunday night’s game at Dallas. The Raiders have lost three straight.
Chicago had four takeaways for the second game in a row, allowing the Bears to survive a middling performance by Williams and coach Ben Johnson’s offense. They gained 271 yards, just 69 on the ground.
The Bears rushed for 2 yards in the first half. That’s their lowest output in a half since totaling minus-1 against Minnesota in Week 17 in 2017. It also was the fewest allowed by the Raiders in a first half since Kansas City had minus-2 in Week 15 in 2012.
Rome Odunze, playing in his hometown, became the first Bears receiver to catch at least one touchdown pass in the first four games of a season since Alshon Jeffery’s six-game streak in 2014.

A team that suffered a shocking 30-0 loss just bounced back and beat the Washington Commanders. The team stands at 2-2, which may not be bad, until you look at the bigger picture. Magic Johnson is in his third season as an NFL team owner, some radical changes were made to the team, yet the problems persist. Just like Magic’s Lakers, the Commanders have their own defense problem. Fans and analysts peeked between their fingers as the Atlanta Falcons dismantled the Commanders’ defense tonight. We know Magic was (maybe) not happy with his team. But he refocused his energies on something positive – friendships.
We know the Lakers legend adores his friends. They were there to keep this team owner company as well as maybe offer consolation and/or encouragement. Johnson was glad to thank the people who joined him to watch the Commanders. But that included a tiny little warning to the team.
“My Washington @Commanders lost to the Atlanta Falcons 34-27 but I had the privilege of hosting my friends in a suite at the game – Mike Triplett and his daughter Alysa, John and Vicki Palmer, and Atlanta Falcons minority owner Rosalind Brewer came by to say hello!” Magic wrote on all his official social media pages with a picture from his box with his friends.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
It’s of course never a good sign when the team’s co-owner starts with the team’s loss. He abruptly ends it there like he either had too many notes to give the staff or he had nothing to say at all. It’s especially stark after the profound messages he typed out on X.com for the last three games.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
We’ve seen John and Vicki Palmer in Magic and Cookie Johnson’s yacht vacation pictures more often than their events in Atlanta. Although they’re movers and shakers within the Atlanta society, they hung out with their friend in the Commanders side of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Mike Triplett is a prominent football journalist who’s probably getting the best view for the next day’s analysis of the Commanders’ loss. Or maybe even to give Magic some pointers.
Rosalind Brewer, whose resume included managing Sam’s Club and Starbucks, and is one of the few women in the NFL team owernship scape, graciously stopped by not to gloat (or who knows, there could’ve been some joke trash talk) but for a how do you do.
Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports
Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports
Johnson was more grateful for the company than dwell on the Commanders’ loss. Doesn’t mean that some glaring mistakes were made. Especially after the expensive changes that were made.
Magic Johnson was speechless about the Commanders
Usually when the Lakers, Dodgers, Sparks, Spirit, and Commanders do well, Magic Johnson gives the key players their shoutouts. when they lose, the team as a whole gets called out. Today, they barely got a line.
The Commanders had solid games during Week 1 and Week 3. The 5x NBA champion also tweeted, “Marcus Mariota had a solid game and we looked good on both sides of the ball in my @Commanders 41-24 victory over the Raiders today!”and lauded the defense.
But once again it’s proven that the Commanders have a tough time on the road, as they did last season. Their defensive line’s miscues gave the win to the Packers in Week 2 and it was near deja vu this time. According to The Athletic writer, Nicki Jhabvala, the Falcons converted 50% of their third down attempts, made it to Washington’s red zone six times, and converted four of them to touchdowns. They also reduced Washington’s offense to 20%. How did this team not make a single touchdown last week?
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
It could be that the Falcons came with retribution on their minds yet the Commanders facilitated it. Magic’s team also missed 12 tackles, had a very slow start (which has been a consisten problem even when they won), and made more mistakes than Magic can put into one tweet.
The team is lucky that Johnson doesn’t usually give out public notes this early in the season. The problems would be if the mistakes continue further into season. Then the mega-watt smiling team boss won’t be this gracious.

We got our first overtime frame of the 2025 NFL season in Week 2, when the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys ended regulation tied at 37 after three scoring plays in the final minute. The Giants won the coin toss in overtime and chose to have the second possession. Neither team scored on their first drive — Dallas ultimately won on a 46-yard field goal with just 4 seconds left in overtime — but it brought up a question: Should NFL coaches take the ball first or second in OT? We say they should take it first — but it’s a close call and there are arguments for both sides.
From 1974 to 2011, overtime was sudden death, good and proper. First team to score wins. Winning the coin toss and taking the first possession was accordingly always optimal. Even after 2012, when the NFL adjusted the regular-season rules to give the second-possession team a drive after a first-possession field goal, it was still optimal to take the ball first, because a touchdown ended the game. Since 2012, there have been 201 overtime coin tosses — only two winners elected to kick off, and only three winners deferred the choice to pick a side of the field to defend. There was rarely any thought to the decision.
Until now. In 2025, the NFL is adopting the postseason overtime rules they’ve used for the past few seasons during the regular season. A first-possession touchdown no longer ends the overtime period. Short of a defensive score (or a possession that lasts the entire 10-minute extra period), both offenses will now possess the ball. If, at the end of each first possession, the score remains tied, then the next score wins. Should the 10-minute overtime period expire with the score still deadlocked, the game ends in a tie.
We saw something close to this overtime format play out in Super Bowl LVIII between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers. It wasn’t exactly analogous, as playoff games can’t end in a tie — but the difficulty of the decision remains. There are advantages to taking the ball first and advantages to taking the ball second, and they aren’t concrete. They change relative to both opponent team strength and opponent behavior. In the case of the Chiefs and 49ers, San Francisco’s decision was heavily scrutinized after the team’s overtime loss. But more significant than the specifics of the choice was the fact that few on the outside — and even few among the 49ers — totally understood all of the dynamics at play.
As such, ESPN surveyed analytics staffers from nine NFL teams with a series of questions about the new regular-season overtime rules for the 2025 season. This year marks the first regular season in which the overtime coin flip decision is a meaningful moment — one in which sharp teams might find an edge. But as our survey shows, those edges still aren’t totally clear.
Jump to:
Right coin-toss choice | Actual coin-toss choice
SBLVIII effect | First or second possession?
Other factors | Go for two? | Direction over ball?
When teams win the coin toss, what should they choose?
Responses:
Lean first possession, but matchup factors could make second possession feasible (3 votes)
Lean second possession, but matchup factors could make first possession feasible (3 votes)
Almost always first possession (1 vote)
Almost always second possession (1 vote)
True 50-50 (1 vote)
Teams are split on this decision. The survey response above indicates that NFL analytics teams are coming to different conclusions about the best strategy. It’s understandable, because there are countervailing forces at play, and each option offers a potential advantage.
The second possession team has the advantage of knowing what the first possession team did on its drive. If the first possession team scored a touchdown, the second possession team knows it must go for any and all fourth downs — which can provide a playcalling advantage on third down, too, when the offense knows it doesn’t have to reach the line to gain because it will have another shot. If the first possession team failed to score, the second possession team knows it can kick a short field goal, even on a fourth-and-1.
But the first possession team also has an edge: It receives the ball in any potential third possession and it can shorten the second possession with a long opening drive. If neither team scores in the first two drives, or the teams trade field goals, then the first-possession team gets the ball back in a true sudden-death scenario.
This is the kind of question where quantitative analysis helps. But as the results above show, different analysts can come up with different responses to the same question. So what does ESPN Analytics’ model show?
The short answer is it favors taking the first possession, but there’s more to it. In fact, a lot of the decision hinges on touchbacks. In another critical rule update, touchbacks are now coming out to the 35-yard line (up from the 30-yard line last season), and the expected rate of the touchback changes this analysis.
If touchbacks continue near the 64% rate they occurred last season, then our simulation model would estimate the first-possession team’s net chances to win at 53.6%. But touchbacks will likely be less frequent given the yard-line change. If touchbacks drop to, say, a 40% rate, then we would estimate a 52.6% net win probability for the first-possession team. If it falls to 10%, then the first-possession team would have a 50.9% net win probability.
This is because having the ball at the 35 helps the first-possession team. If they are forced to punt or commit a turnover, it will be farther downfield — thus lessening the probability of a second-possession score and improving field position for a third possession.
But what is truly relevant isn’t the leaguewide average touchback rate; it’s the touchback rates for a team and its opponent. And the team kicking off has significant control over whether there is a touchback. In other words, if a team chooses to kick, it can do so knowing it is trying to avoid a touchback (though this could cost it a couple of yards if the kick is short). Sharp teams that win the coin toss against touchback-heavy opponent kickers might elect to take the first possession, hoping to start way up at the 35.
Ultimately, if we were filling out the survey, we would respond with:

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bad Bunny will bring his Latin trap and reggaeton swagger to the NFL’s biggest stage next year: The Grammy winner will headline the Apple Music Super Bowl halftime show in Northern California.
The NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announced Sunday that Bad Bunny will lead the halftime festivities from Levi’s Stadium on Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California.
The Puerto Rican superstar’s selection comes amid another career-defining run: He’s fresh off a historic Puerto Rico residency this month that drew more than half a million fans and is leading all nominees at the Latin Grammys in November. He has become one of the world’s most streamed artists with albums such as “Un Verano Sin Ti,” an all-Spanish-language LP.
Bad Bunny will host “Saturday Night Live” on Oct. 4.
“What I’m feeling goes beyond myself,” Bad Bunny said in a statement. “It’s for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown… this is for my people, my culture, and our history. Ve y dile a tu abuela, que seremos el HALFTIME SHOW DEL SUPER BOWL.”
Roc Nation founder Jay-Z said in a statement that what Bad Bunny has “done and continues to do for Puerto Rico is truly inspiring. We are honored to have him on the world’s biggest stage.”
The 31-year-old artist born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio has won three Grammys and 12 Latin Grammys. He has become a global ambassador for Latin music, starred in films such as “Bullet Train,” “Caught Stealing” and “Happy Gilmore 2,” and collaborated with top fashion houses. He’ll enter the Latin Grammys as the leading nominee with 12, dethroning producer and songwriter Édgar Barrera.
Roc Nation and Emmy-winning producer Jesse Collins will serve as co-executive producers of the halftime show. Hamish Hamilton will serve as director.
“We know his dynamic performances, creative vision, and deep connection with fans will deliver the kind of unforgettable experience we’ve come to expect from this iconic cultural moment,” said Jon Barker, SVP of Global Event Production for the NFL.
Last year, Kendrick Lamar shined with guest SZA in New Orleans, setting the record for the most-watched Super Bowl halftime show with 133.5 million viewers. His performance surpassed the audience for Michael Jackson’s 1993 show.
“His music has not only broken records but has elevated Latin music to the center of pop-culture and we are thrilled to once again partner with the NFL and Roc Nation to deliver this historic performance to millions of fans worldwide,” said Oliver Schusser, the vice president of Apple Music and Beats. “We know this show will be unforgettable.”

TAMPA, Fla. — The Philadelphia Eagles used a fake tush push, another special teams touchdown and a late defensive stop to stay undefeated.
Jalen Hurts tossed two touchdown passes, Sydney Brown returned a blocked punt for a score and the Eagles beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-25 on Sunday for their 20th victory in 21 games.
The only loss in that span for the reigning Super Bowl champions was against Washington last December in a game Hurts left with a concussion in the first half.
Chase McLaughlin’s 65-yard field goal for Tampa Bay on the final play of the first half was the longest in NFL history in an outdoor stadium.
Playing with an injured biceps that limited in him in practice this week, Baker Mayfield had TD passes of 77 yards and 72 yards but threw an interception on first down from the Eagles 11 with his team down 31-23 midway through the fourth quarter.
The Bucs had another chance with the ball at Philadelphia’s 40 and just under two minutes left. But Mayfield was sacked by Moro Ojomo and a fourth-and-9 pass went for only 2 yards.
Eagles punter Braden Mann ran out of the bounds for a safety to end the game.
BILLS 31, SAINTS 19
At Orchard Park, N.Y., Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score, and Buffalo shook off a sloppy first three quarters to stay undefeated while beating winless New Orleans.
James Cook had 117 yards rushing and a touchdown in a game that wasn’t decided until midway through the fourth quarter. The Bills never trailed, but were clinging to a 21-19 lead when Allen hit a wide-open Dalton Kincaid for a 28-yard touchdown with 7:07 left.
Allen asserted himself on the previous play by putting his head down, breaking two tackles and dragging three defenders before finally going down for a 27-yard gain to convert a third-and-5.
Allen finished 16 of 22 for 209 yards while throwing his first interception of the season. Khalil Shakir scored on a 43-yard catch to cap Buffalo’s opening drive.
The five-time defending AFC East champion Bills are 4-0 for the 10th time in team history and first since 2020. Buffalo also won its 14th straight regular-season outing at home, one short of matching the franchise record spanning the 1990-91 seasons.
The Saints opened a season 0-4 for the ninth time in team history and first since 2012. They’ve lost eight straight dating to last year, their worst streak since losing 14 straight in 1980.
The Saints showed some resolve, but still couldn’t finish, a week after a mistake-filled 44-13 loss at Seattle.
Steelers, 24, Vikings 21
At Dublin, Kenneth Gainwell ran for 99 yards and two touchdowns and Pittsburgh held on to beat Minnesota in Ireland’s first regular-season NFL game.
DK Metcalf had five catches for 126 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown for the Steelers, who improved to 3-1 going into their bye week.
The Steelers victory gave quarterback Aaron Rodgers his first international win and capped a Rooney family homecoming in front of a decidedly pro-Steelers crowd of 74,512 at Croke Park. Rodgers was 18 for 22 for 200 yards and the touchdown to Metcalf.
Carson Wentz, making his second consecutive start for the injured J.J. McCarthy, was 30 for 46 for 350 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Vikings (2-2).
T.J. Watt’s interception of Wentz’s pass — tipped by Cam Heyward at the line of scrimmage — set up the Steelers on the Minnesota 35 in the third quarter, and Gainwell scored from 4 yards for a 21-6 lead. It was nearly identical to Gainwell’s 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.
DeShon Elliott had the other interception and the Steelers sacked Wentz six times.
Texans 26, Titans 0
At Houston, rookie Woody Marks had a touchdown reception and ran for another score and Houston beat Tennessee for its first win this season.
It’s the third time the Texans have shut out a team and the first time since blanking the Titans 29-0 on Nov. 28, 2010. The Titans were shut out for the first time since a 16-0 loss at Denver on Oct. 13, 2019.
C.J. Stroud threw for 233 yards and two touchdowns as the Texans scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter Sunday to put the game away and match their TD total in the previous three games combined.
The Texans (1-3) led 6-0 after two first-half field goals, but neither team got into the red zone until a 17-yard grab by Nico Collins put Houston on the 12 on the last play of the third quarter. Stroud connected with Marks for a TD on the next play, but the 2-point try failed to leave the Texans up 12-0.
Derek Stingley picked off rookie first overall pick Cam Ward on the next drive and returned it 20 yards. The Texans cashed in on that mistake when Stroud threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to rookie Jayden Higgins to push the lead to 19-0 with about 9 ½ minutes to go.
An 18-yard touchdown run by Marks, a fourth-round pick from USC, made it 26-0 with less than five minutes remaining.
Marks had 69 yards rushing and 50 yards receiving.
Falcons 34, Commanders 27
At Atlanta, Michael Penix Jr. bounced back from his worst NFL start, Bijan Robinson had a career-high 181 yards from scrimmage as Atlanta beat short-handed Washington.
The Falcons (2-2) were coming off a 30-0 loss to the Panthers in which Penix and the offense were totally ineffective. Against the Commanders (2-2), Penix completed 20 of 26 passes for a career-high 313 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
Robinson had 75 rushing yards on 17 carries, including a nifty 14-yard touchdown run where he broke multiple tackles. He also had four catches for 106 yards, the highlight being a 69-yard catch-and-run in the third quarter that set up Penix’s TD toss to Kyle Pitts.
Falcons wide receiver Drake London had his best game of the season with eight catches for 110 yards and a touchdown less than a week after the Falcons fired wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard.
Marcus Mariota, filling in for injured Commanders starter Jayden Daniels, was 16 for 27 for 156 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. With top receiver Terry McLaurin also sidelined, Deebo Samuel had six receptions for 72 yards and a TD for Washington. Luke McCaffrey also had a scoring catch and Chris Rodriguez Jr. led the Commanders in rushing with 59 yards on seven carries.
Tyler Allegeier gave the Falcons a 31-16 lead with a 15-yard run late in the third quarter. Mariota answered with a pretty 24-yard touchdown pass to Samuel on fourth down, plus a 2-point pass to Zach Ertz to cut the lead to 31-24.
The Falcons responded with a 14-play, 69-yard drive that featured two key third-down conversions by Penix and ended with Parker Romo’s 26-yard field goal with 1:57 left. Matt Gay kicked a 42-yard field goal with 1:33 remaining for the Commanders, but the Falcons recovered the ensuing onside kick.
Patriots 42, Panthers 13
At Foxborough, Mass., Marcus Jones had an 87-yard punt return for a touchdown, Drake Maye added two touchdown passes and ran for another, and New England rolled to a win over Carolina.
TreVeyon Henderson and Antonio Gibson added touchdown runs and Jones had a 61-yard punt return that set up another TD to help the Patriots (2-2) avoid their fifth straight 1-3 start.
A week after turning the ball over five times in a loss to Pittsburgh, the Patriots were turnover-free while going 4 for 4 in the red zone.
Maye was steady throughout, completing 14 of 17 passes for 203 yards. Receiver Stefon Diggs had six catches for 101 yards.
Carolina struggled from the outset, missing an extra point after scoring on the game’s opening possession and then punting on four of its final five drives. The other possession ended with a missed field goal.
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young finished 18 of 30 for 150 yards and a touchdown before being replaced by Andy Dalton with just over eight minutes remaining.
Maye put New England in front 14-6 in the opening seconds of the second quarter when he scored on a designed quarterback run.
Later, following a missed 55-yard field-goal attempt by Carolina’s Ryan Fitzgerald, Maye led the Patriots on an eight-play drive that was punctuated by a 5-yard TD run by Henderson.
A 61-yard punt return by Jones to the Carolina 14 got the Patriots back in business. Four plays later, a 1-yard touchdown run by Gibson pushed the lead to 28-6 just before halftime.
Lions 34, Browns 10
At Detroit, Jared Goff threw two touchdown passes to Amon-Ra St. Brown, Kalif Raymond returned a punt 65 yards for another score and Detroit beat Cleveland.
The Lions (3-1) intercepted Joe Flacco twice in the first half and scored 20 straight points for a 13-point lead at halftime. Detroit forced Flacco to fumble in the fourth, setting up another touchdown.
The Browns (1-3) opened with an 88-yard, 13-play touchdown drive, then had 44 yards with three punts and two turnovers the rest of the half. They finished with 249 yards of offense, gaining an average of 3.8 yards per play.
Goff was 16 of 27 for 168 yards with a 2-yard touchdown pass to St. Brown late in the first half and an 8-yard toss to him in the fourth quarter, giving the All-Pro receiver six TD receptions in the last three games.
Flacco started strong before struggling and finishing 16 of 34 for 184 yards with three turnovers. Rookie Dillon Gabriel, a third-round pick, replaced Flacco late in the lopsided game.
Quinshon Judkins had 21 carries for 82 yards and a 1-yard scoring run that gave the Browns a short-lived lead in the first quarter.
The Lions pulled into a tie on the ensuing possession after Jahmyr Gibbs scored on an 8-yard run. Jake Bates kicked 48- and 58-yard field goals in the first half to give Detroit a 20-7 lead.
Cleveland pulled within 10 points on Andre Szmyt’s 33-yard field goal midway through the third quarter, and its stingy defense kept the score close until Raymond’s punt return early in the fourth and St. Brown’s second scoring catch helped the Lions pull away.
Giants 21, Chargers 18
At East Rutherford, N.J., Jaxson Dart threw a touchdown pass and ran for another score in an impressive NFL starting debut, leading New York to its first victory over previously undefeated Los Angeles.
The excitement by the Giants (1-3) over the win was a bit tempered by the uncertain status of wide receiver Malik Nabers, who was carted off the field in the second quarter with a knee injury.
Dart launched a deep pass down the right sideline — a free play after the Chargers jumped offside — toward a streaking Nabers. The wide receiver’s right leg appeared to buckle as he went up to try to catch the pass, which fell incomplete.
Nabers, down at the Chargers 7 with 6:12 left before halftime, immediately grabbed at his right leg. He was checked for several minutes before being helped onto the cart.
Dart, starting in place of Russell Wilson, ran for a 15-yard score to cap his first drive as a starting quarterback. He also threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Theo Johnson. Dart finished 13 of 20 for 111 yards and ran 10 times for 54 yards.
He also brushed off a hamstring injury after halftime and a big hit from the Chargers that sent him to the medical tent for two plays to be evaluated for a head injury.
The Giants’ defense also made big plays when it counted most, including Brian Burns’ sack of Justin Herbert that forced the Chargers (3-1) to punt late in the game. Then, Dart and the offense took over and milked the clock before giving Herbert and Los Angeles one final try — but with just 18 seconds left.
Herbert threw incomplete to Quentin Johnston and then completed a 22-yard pass to Johnston, who was tackled by Cor’Dale Flott and couldn’t get out of bounds — ending the game
Rams 27, Colts 20
At Inglewood, Calif., Tutu Atwell caught an 88-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford with 1:33 to play, and Los Angeles rallied to end Indianapolis’ unbeaten start to the season with a victory.
Daniel Jones passed for 262 yards for the Colts (3-1), but Indy couldn’t overcome receiver Adonai Mitchell’s mind-boggling fumble right before he crossed the goal line with what was about to be a 76-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter.
The Colts also had a 53-yard rushing TD by Jonathan Taylor taken off the board by a holding call on Mitchell with 2:15 to play.
Stafford passed for 375 yards and three touchdowns for the Rams (3-1), and he hit Puka Nacua for a 9-yard score with 3:20 left. Nacua finished with 13 catches for 170 yards.
After the Rams’ defense quickly got the ball back, Stafford made a brilliant throw on the next snap for the decisive score by Atwell, the speedy receiver who frequently goes underutilized in Sean McVay’s offense. Atwell’s TD catch was only his second reception of the season.
Kam Curl then made his second interception of the day with 53 seconds left, and the Rams ran out the clock on a thrilling win.
CHIEFS 37, RAVENS 20
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 270 yards and four touchdowns while outdueling Lamar Jackson, who left in the second half with a right hamstring injury, and Kansas City routed beat-up Baltimore.
Xavier Worthy returned from a shoulder injury to catch five passes for 83 yards, igniting a Chiefs offense that had been struggling to find its footing without the speedster and his suspended teammate, Rashee Rice, early in the season.
The Chiefs (2-2) built a 20-10 halftime lead against Baltimore before cruising to their seventh win in the past eight meetings. The most recent time the Ravens (1-3) beat them was September 2021, and their previous win in Kansas City was on Oct. 7, 2021.
Jackson threw for 147 yards with a touchdown and his first interception of the season before hurting his hamstring midway through the third quarter, though by that point the game was mostly decided. Cooper Rush played the rest of the way for the Ravens, who suddenly find themselves in a dire situation just four weeks into the season.

Odell Beckham Jr. last played in the NFL as part of the Miami Dolphins back in 2024. However, despite potentially being semi-retired, the Super Bowl champion had some strong words for the powers that be across the National Football League.
The New York Giants – Beckham’s first team, which he was drafted to with the 12th overall pick back in 2014 – suffered a major loss when second year Pro Bowl wideout, Malik Nabers, tore his ACL on Sunday in week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
And in the wake of that latest injury – Beckham made a plea to the league to ban the artificial playing turf for the sake of the players.
Odell Beckham JR. Speaks Out After Another Turf-Based Injury
Posting on X, the former three-time Pro Bowler was adamant that it was in the league and the individual players’ best interests to move away from artificial “turf”, and back to the more standard grass pitches of old.
“Dear NFL, I mean this with the upmost love and respect.” Beckham Jr. wrote on Sunday night after the Giants game. “We (The NFL) take all The precautions in the world with EVERYthing else when it comes to players “health” and “safety”. PLZ. PLZ. PLZ. GET RID OF THE 🤬 TURF. Thank You in advance. LUV”
This will also have a personal feel to the LSU alum, given that he tore his ACL in Super Bowl LVI, where his Los Angeles Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals – also on artificial turf used at SoFi Stadium in LA.
Why Is OBJ Urging The League To Move Off Turf?
Injuries – plain and simple.
Anecdotally, there is a general consensus amongst players that playing on grass is superior to playing on artificial turf.
Turf is harder than grass, and does not absorb force nearly as well. Equally – and perhaps most importantly in this case, it does not release cleats as well.
This causes them to – at times – get stuck on the pitch, which even if only for a second or less, can result in a lower-body contortion, leading to numerous season-ending injuries.
More to follow…

The Los Angeles Rams handed the Indianapolis Colts their first loss of the 2025 season, and they got a vintage performance from quarterback Matthew Stafford to seal it.
Stafford completed 29 of 41 pass attempts for 375 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions in the 27-20 contest. Most notably, he was at his best when the game demanded it most, down the stretch.
So much so that Stafford garnered attention from the league’s social media team.
Rams QB Matthew Stafford Draws Attention From NFL
Stafford completed nine of his 10 passes for 172 yards, 2 TDs, and 0 INTs in the fourth quarter for the Rams against the Colts on Sunday. That included the go-ahead TD pass, an 88-yarder to TuTu Atwell that made up the entirety of the possession.
“Matthew Stafford. Clutch,” the NFL posted on X on September 28.
“WR Tutu Atwell’s 88-yard touchdown is the longest in his career and the longest passing touchdown of QB Matthew Stafford’s career,” Rams PR posted on X on September 28. “It was the eighth receiving touchdown of at least 88 yards in Rams history.”
Among the other accolades Stafford accomplished in the game that the PR team acknowledged, he logged his most passing yards before halftime (168) since Week 13 in 2023.
He also surpassed at least 203 passing yards for the 49th time in the last five seasons.
“This was QB Matthew Stafford’s 71st career game with 300 passing yards,” the Rams PR team posted. “Stafford became the fifth QB in Rams history to have a game with 375+ passing yards, 3+ passing touchdowns with zero interceptions, joining Marc Bulger (twice), Jared Goff (twice), Austin Davis and Kurt Warner.”
Matthew Stafford Closed Door on Colts
Stafford also drew posts from the league’s social media team for his deep pass to Puka Nacua that set up the Rams’ second field goal.
He also had a TD pass to Davante Adams that capped a 96-yard drive, both before halftime.
“The Colts cracked the door for this with some offensive miscues,” The Athletic’s Nate Atkins posted on X on September 28 in response to a fan casting doubt on Stafford’s impact on the win. “It doesn’t take away from a great performance on the other side.”
“This is the reverse of what I was saying last week in the Eagles’ favor: Just because players aren’t on your favorite team doesn’t mean they aren’t helping decide the outcome,” Atkins said in a follow-up post, replying to himself. “Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter are beasts who wrecked the Rams [in Week 3].
“Stafford just did it to the Colts.”
An interception by safety Kam Curl locked the door on the Colts in Week 4, but only after Stafford, Atwell, and the offense closed it.
Puka Nacua Benefits From Matthew Stafford’s Big Day
Like Stafford, Nacua drew plenty of recognition from the Rams’ public relations team during the game. He finished with a career-high 170 yards and 1 TD on 13 receptions and finished Sunday’s slate of games as the NFL’s leading receiver.
He has at least 100 yards in three of four games this season and 91 yards in the other.
They noted his 31-yard grab from Stafford “was his first of the season of 30 yards or more. It was the Rams’ fifth big passing play (30+) of the year, which ranks second in the league.
“Nacua has at least 60 receiving yards in each of the Rams’ first four games this season. The last Ram to do that – outside of Nacua himself (first five of 2023) – was Cooper Kupp, who had at least 60 receiving yards in each of the Rams’ 17 games of 2021.”
He also notched his third career game with 100-plus receiving yards and passed Todd Gurley for 15th in receptions in franchise history.
Nacua is one of three players with eight-plus catches in each of the first four games in a season.
Davante Adams Makes Mark in Quiet Game
Nacua’s running mate, Davante Adams, had a quieter day in the Rams’ win. Adams finished with 56 yards and one scoring grab on four receptions. Adams’ score was his 106th TD reception, and he moved into 30th all-time in receiving yards.
“This was Davante Adams’ 64th career game with 50+ receiving yards and a receiving touchdown,” the team’s public relations department posted on X. “That is fifth most in the last 25 years, behind Larry Fitzgerald (73), Antonio Gates (69), Terrell Owens (68) and Mike Evans (66).”

The Pittsburgh Steelers traded a second-round pick for DK Metcalf and signed the wideout to a four-year, $132 million contract this past offseason. Clearly, the Steelers expected Metcalf to be a superstar for their offense.
Through the first three weeks, Metcalf showed flashes but didn’t really have any superstar moments. That changed, though, in Week 4.
Metcalf led the Steelers with 126 receiving yards Sunday, 80 of which came on a touchdown reception in the second quarter. Metcalf caught all five of his targets and nearly matched his yardage output from the first three games in the first half against the Minnesota Vikings.
After the game, the veteran receiver shared with reporters how it felt to finally contribute in a major way for his new organization.
“Today felt like I’m home now,” Metcalf said, via WPXI’s Jenna Harner. “I’m here.”
Metcalf’s 80-yard touchdown set a new NFL record for the longest score in an international game.
Behind Metcalf’s best performance with the black and gold, the Steelers defeated the Vikings 24-21. With the win, the Steelers improved to 1-1 in regular season international games.
DK Metcalf Breaks Out With Memorable Performance in Ireland
Metcalf wasn’t alone. A lot of Steelers offensive players were a bit lackluster in the first three games of the season.
But other than Aaron Rodgers, Metcalf was the biggest acquisition the team made over the offseason. Metcalf was arguably an even more notable addition because of the long-term investment in him. The team also traded receiver George Pickens less than two months after landing Metcalf.
Pickens had a huge performance Sunday night for the Dallas Cowboys.
Metcalf needed to change the narrative around his early Steelers tenure. He delivered, helping the Steelers win in Ireland.
Before Sunday, Metcalf had just 10 catches and 135 receiving yards in the first three games. He was averaging just 13.5 yards per reception and career-lows of 3.3 catches and 58.8 receiving yards per contest.
Metcalf bolstered all of those averages with the 80-yard touchdown versus the Vikings. Of those yards, 67 of them came after the catch.
The Steelers want to be a run-first, tough defensive club this season. That could mean Metcalf doesn’t get as many opportunities as he typically did when he played for the Seattle Seahawks.
Metcalf also might not get a lot of chances down the field. Rodgers is close to the bottom of the league in average depth per target.
However, Metcalf can make a huge difference for the Steelers offense if he can create big plays with his opportunities. Clearly, he can do that even if his targets aren’t deep down the field.
Metcalf Credits Calvin Austin III, Steelers Defense
Metcalf had the biggest highlight of the day and stood at the top of the box score in Week 4. But after Sunday’s win, he gave a lot of the credit to his teammates for his success.
Metcalf gave a shoutout to fellow receiver Calvin Austin III. Austin delivered a key downfield block that helped give Metcalf a path to the end zone on his 80-yard score.
Metcalf also credited the Steelers defense for the win.
“Nothing happens without the O-line blocking, and our defense playing the way that they did,” Metcalf added. “CA [Austin] really popped a couple of those for me running on the backside, taking two, three defenders out. Giving me space to really work.”

In a spectacular offensive explosion that overshadowed the highly anticipated return of former star Micah Parsons, the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers could not be separated, fighting through a frantic finish and overtime to end Sunday Night Football in a rare 40-40 tie at AT&T Stadium.
Momentum swinging first half
In Micah Parsons’ highly anticipated return to AT&T Stadium, the former Cowboys linebacker lined up against the Dallas offensive line for the first time in an opposing jersey, but the early story for the game was the momentum swings and big plays from both sides.
Green Bay struck first, with Love connecting twice with wide receiver Romeo Doubs for touchdowns. However, the Cowboys answered back with key special teams’ plays and a resurgent offense in the second quarter.
The back-and-forth first half featured a rushing score by Dak Prescott, and a game-altering special teams play from Markquese Bell. As Bell flipped the script midway through the half when he scooped up a blocked extra point and returned it for two points, keeping Green Bay’s early edge to 6 instead of 7.
Missing on defense
The Cowboys’ defense held its own in Parsons’ return to Jerry’s World but took a hit when veteran safety Malik Hooker exited with a toe injury. His status for the remainder of the game is questionable.
Dig deeper:
Finding a rhythm
Dallas came out of halftime aiming to build on its momentum, and for stretches they did. The Cowboys’ defense held tight before giving up a goal-line score as the Packers punched in a touchdown to go ahead 20–16.
Dak Prescott and the offense answered back, driving downfield and hitting Jake Ferguson for the go‑ahead score just before the end of the quarter.
Dallas entered the fourth quarter up 23–20.
In the fourth quarter, the Cowboys’ defense could not stop the Packers’ ground game, led by running back Josh Jacobs. Green Bay drove down the field on an 8-play, 70-yard drive to score a touchdown, despite only completing one pass.
Dallas’ offense remained poised to take control of the game, adding to yet another lead change as Javonte Williams punched in a score to take a 30-27 lead with 5 minutes left in the game.
High-Powered Offenses
The pressure was back on for the Parsons-less Cowboys’ defense.
Jordan Love orchestrated a 10-play, 80-yard drive in the closing minutes, capping it with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Romeo Doubs to give the Green Bay Packers a 27–23 lead over the Dallas Cowboys with 1:45 remaining.
The drive was aided by a key 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty against Cowboys linebacker Marist Liufau and highlighted by a pair of Love completions.
The Cowboys burned both remaining timeouts during the possession, but Dak Prescott responded to the pressure with a clutch, 4-play, 54-yard drive, hitting George Pickens for a 28-yard touchdown with 43 seconds left to lift the Dallas Cowboys to a 30–27 lead over the Green Bay Packers.
Packers take it to OT
After Dallas had regained the lead with 43 seconds remaining, Jordan Love guided the Packers from their own 26-yard line into Dallas territory in just five plays.
A critical 25-yard catch-and-run by running back Josh Jacobs and a 9-yard sideline grab by the Packers pushed Green Bay into long-range field goal position before McManus calmly converted the kick as the clock hit zero.
Keeping the Packers alive after Dallas appeared to seal the game moments earlier with George Pickens’ touchdown.
Overtime
Dallas opened overtime with a methodical 14-play, 73-yard drive. Dak Prescott connected with George Pickens for 22 yards and later hit Jalen Tolbert on a 34-yard sideline throw to set up 1st-and-goal at the 5.
But a Micah Parsons sack on Prescott and a missed throw on 4th-and-goal from the 4 stalled the drive, forcing the Cowboys to settle for a short field goal.
Aubrey’s kick, his second of the night, capped a steady possession that chewed nearly six minutes off the clock, but the Cowboys’ defense would need just one stop to seal the win and spoil Parsons’ return to Dallas in Green Bay colors.
Thriller results in tie
Trailing by three after the Cowboys’ field goal to open overtime, Jordan Love and the Packers’ offense mounted a 14-play, 61-yard march that chewed up over four minutes and nearly ended in disaster, but kept the game alive.
Love converted a critical 4th-and-6 with a 14-yard pass to his rookie tight end and leaned on his running back Emmanuel Wilson, who ripped off back-to-back chunk gains to move Green Bay inside the Dallas 30.
The Cowboys’ defense stiffened inside the red zone, forcing a pair of completions for negative yards and one final incompletion on 3rd-and-14 with just seconds remaining.
The Packers kicker calmly nailed the game-tying kick as the final whistle blew, sending both teams into an unsatisfying, hard-fought 40-40 tie.

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers battled each other in an absolute slugfest on Sunday night, and it ended in a 40-40 tie.
The stakes were already heightened coming into AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, as Micah Parsons was making his return to play his former team. While his impact was felt, it was the offenses that really came to play.
The last two minutes of regulation underscored that.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
The Cowboys needed to respond to a Packers touchdown. KaVontae Turpin returned a kickoff to near midfield. It only took four plays for Dak Prescott and the Cowboys to find the end zone. Following a 19-yard pass to Jalen Tolbert, he found George Pickens for a 28-yard touchdown.
Dallas drove 54 yards in 62 seconds to get the go-ahead score.
Green Bay was quick to get back up the field. Packers quarterback Jordan Love led the team down the field in seven plays to set up a game-tying 53-yard field goal for Brandon McManus.
In overtime, the Cowboys got the ball first. Prescott found Tolbert coming back to the ball to make an incredible catch on the sideline. Somehow, Tolbert got both of his feet in bounds to set Dallas up in the red zone. The Cowboys couldn’t get into the end zone. Parsons possibly saved a touchdown with a sack of a scrambling Prescott. It was Brandon Aubrey who hit the chip shot to go up 40-37.
It was Love’s turn to lead the charge. On third down, the Cowboys may have gotten away with a defensive pass interference call. But it didn’t deter Love. The quarterback found Matthew Golden to keep the drive alive.
The Packers nearly ran out of time to make a final throw to the end zone. But he was left with one second on the clock. McManus came onto the field to kick the game-tying field goal.
Love was 31-of-43 with 337 passing yards and three touchdown passes. Each of his touchdown passes went to Romeo Doubs. The wide receiver had six catches for 58 yards.
BAD BUNNY TO PERFORM AT SUPER BOWL LX HALFTIME SHOW
Josh Jacobs was a menace on the ground. He had two rushing touchdowns to go along with 86 yards on the ground. He had four catches for 71 yards as well.
The Cowboys showed that they weren’t going to roll over and let the Packers walk all over them in their house.
First, Dallas picked up a crucial two points when they blocked a Packers extra-point attempt in the second quarter. Markquese Bell returned the ball for the two points.
Then, the Cowboys took advantage as the Green Bay offense appeared to get complacent toward the end of the first half. Cowboys linebacker James Houston caused Love to fumble. He recovered it and gave Dallas a chance to score before halftime. Prescott then found Pickens in the end zone. Dallas had a 16-13 lead at halftime.
Pickens had an incredible game for the Cowboys. He had eight catches on 11 targets for 134 yards and two touchdowns.
Prescott was 31-of-40 for 319 yards and three touchdowns. He was only sacked once.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Green Bay moved to 2-1-1 with the tie and Dallas became 1-2-1.

The Buffalo Bills have started the season strong with a 4-0 record, and right now, fans are focusing on their current success rather than the future.
However, since the Bills are one of the top teams in the NFL, they cannot offer long-term contracts to everyone on their roster. This makes the NFL Draft critically crucial for the team’s future.
In an early 2026 Mock Draft from The Draft Network, Jaime Eisner has the Bills taking Ohio State’s linebacker Sonny Styles in the first round.
“With Matt Milano’s contract set to expire, the Buffalo Bills should look to add to the second level of their defense,” Eisner wrote Sunday. “Sonny Styles has been a fast riser this college football campaign. Styles can play at every level of the defense, bringing energy and some pass-rush upside. He’d be a valuable addition to this Buffalo defense.”
Sonny Styles Would Be a Good Fit For The Bills
Styles has played for Ohio State over the past four seasons and was a critical part of its 2024 National Championship team.
Styles has recorded 182 combined tackles and eight sacks in 43 collegiate games. The four-year linebacker is talented on the football field, but also shows a significant amount of leadership.
Ohio State awards a No. 0 jersey, known as the Block O jersey, to the player who demonstrates the best leadership on the team. This season, the team honored Styles with it.
Styles is great against the run and even awesome in coverage. Andrew Harbaugh from Vikings Wire wrote a scouting report on Styles this summer, discussing the elite traits he possesses.
“Sonny Styles is a linebacker for the National Championship Buckeyes who does a tremendous job of covering ground and is underrated in coverage,” Harbaugh wrote in June. “I really appreciated his ability to close on runners outside the numbers and the run defense he gave the Buckeyes in the playoffs. He also does a tremendous job of tracking the ball by watching the quarterback’s eyes, so it allows him to stay with them and potentially even be in play to get his hands on it in the air, or be in play to lay hands on the receiver. Lots of room for improvement, but I like his heat-seaking ability and the playmaking it serves.”
It’s a long way to go, and a lot can happen before the NFL Draft in April, but Styles would fit excellently with the Bills’ defense.
Matt Milano Could be Playing His Last Season in Buffalo
Veteran linebacker Matt Milano is in the final year of his contract with Buffalo, and there’s a good chance the team won’t bring him back.
The Bills’ signing of running back James Cook to a four-year, $48 million contract extension this offseason means Buffalo has less money to spend on other players.
With linebacker being a position that many teams don’t give big contracts to, Milano could be looking for a new home next season, which means the Bills could be in the market for a linebacker early in the NFL Draft.