Jihaad Campbell didn’t play a single snap on defense in the Eagles’ 24-15 loss to the Bears on Black Friday.
Ever since the return of Nakobe Dean to the lineup in Week 7, Campbell’s defensive snaps began to evaporate and in Week 13 they were all gone. The Eagles played a season-high 87 snaps on defense and Campbell didn’t see the field.
Zack Baun played all 87 snaps and Dean played 82 of 87 (94%). Campbell’s role was playing six special teams snaps.
Things had been trending this way. Campbell has played the fewest snaps of the season in three consecutive weeks: 20 against the Lions, 11 against the Cowboys and now 0 against the Bears.
In fact, here’s a look at Campbell’s snaps since Dean’s return:
The Eagles moved up one spot in April to draft Campbell with the No. 31 overall pick out of Alabama and he showed real promise early this season. In fact, it wasn’t long ago that he was one of the favorites to win Defensive Rookie of the Year. Friday’s defensive performance was awful but Dean had been playing very well in recent weeks and it was getting harder and harder to take him off the field. This clearly has more to do with Dean than it does Campbell.
For a while, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was getting Campbell some snaps at inside linebacker in a rotation with Dean and also getting Campbell some snaps as an edge rusher. Friday was the first time in 12 games that Campbell didn’t see the field.
Other defensive notes
• The Eagles were crushed in time of possession on Friday: 39:18-20:42 and that showed up in snap counts. Fangio’s defense played an outrageous 87 snaps and the Bears ran 85 plays. That’s the most plays the Eagles’ defense has faced in a regulation game since the 2016 season and just the ninth time this century they’ve had that many defensive plays in a game.
• Baun, Quinyon Mitchell, Reed Blankenship and Cooper DeJean played all 87 snaps. Those 87 snaps are a career high for Baun, Mitchell and DeJean. Blankenship played 95(!) against the Bills in the 2023 overtime game.
• Without Drew Mukuba, who is on IR after having ankle surgery, Sydney Brown started and played 85 of 87 snaps at safety.
• The DT rotation: Moro Ojomo — 62 snaps (71%), Jalen Carter — 61 snaps (70%), Jordan Davis — 59 snaps (68%), Byron Young — 38 snaps (44%). This is the first game all season when Carter played and didn’t lead the DTs in snaps.
• The edge rotation: Jaelan Phillips — 67 snaps (77%), Jalyx Hunt — 61 snaps (70%), Nolan Smith — 34 snaps (39%), Brandon Graham — 6 snaps (7%).
• The Eagles played one snap in dime and Michael Carter II was on the field for it.
Offensive notes
• The Eagles offense played just 54 snaps and ran just 51 plays. This is the first time since 2018 the Eagles’ defense had 85+ plays and their offense had fewer than 55.
• Jalen Hurts and his entire offensive line played all 54 snaps. That includes Fred Johnson, who got the start at right tackle for the second consecutive week as Lane Johnson recovers from a Lisfranc sprain.
• Saquon Barkley played 50 snaps, while Will Shipley played just 4 and Tank Bigsby played just 1. Barkley had some early success but finished with just 13 carries for 56 yards. Shipley and Bigsby didn’t get any touches.
• At WR, A.J. Brown played 52 snaps (96%), followed by DeVonta Smith — 51 snaps (94%), Jahan Dotson — 32 snaps (59%) and Darius Cooper — 13 snaps (24%). Brown had a big game with 10 catches for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns.
• At TE, Dallas Goedert played 48 snaps (89%), followed by Grant Calcaterra — 12 snaps (22%), Cameron Latu — 5 snaps (9%) and Kylen Granson — 2 snaps. Goedert had a quiet day; he finished with 2 catches for 27 yards but had just 1 for 5 until the final minute of the game.
Week 7 will be a busy one, as most of the NBA's 30 teams will play four games. It's the final full week before the Emirates NBA Cup quarterfinals, so the crowded schedule makes some sense. Not only are there scheduling concerns, but there are key injuries as well, with Golden State's Stephen Curry being the most notable. He's dealing with a quad contusion, and while that may not sound serious in nature, it certainly can be. Let's look at the Week 7 schedule breakdown and some key storylines for fantasy managers to be mindful of.
Week 7 Games Played
4 Games: ATL, BKN, BOS, CHA, CHI, CLE, DAL, DEN, DET, GSW, HOU, LAC, LAL, MIA, MIL, NYK, ORL, PHI, POR, TOR, UTAH, WAS
3 Games: IND, MEM, MIN, NOR, OKC, SAS
2 Games: PHX, SAC
Week 7 Back-to-backs
Sunday (Week 6)-Monday: ATL, HOU, LAL, UTA
Monday-Tuesday: WAS
Tuesday-Wednesday: NYK, POR, SAS
Wednesday-Thursday: BKN
Thursday-Friday: BOS, LAL, PHI, TOR, UTA
Friday-Saturday: ATL, CLE, DET, HOU, LAC, MIA, MIL
Curry suffered a right quad contusion during the latter stages of the Warriors' November 26 loss to the Rockets. The following day, it was reported that he would be re-evaluated in one week. In theory, an evaluation that goes well could put him in a position to return to action during the latter stages of Week 7. However, using Phoenix's Grayson Allen as an example, fantasy managers can't assume that Curry will be able to return that quickly.
Allen suffered a quad contusion during the Suns' November 13 win over the Pacers. The severity of his injury, with swelling as the problem, kept him out of the lineup for over two weeks, and Allen returned for a November 29 loss to the Nuggets. How severe Curry's injury is has not been made public, so this could be a situation that runs into Week 8. The Warriors play four games in Week 7, concluding with a road back-to-back against the Cavaliers and Bulls on Saturday and Sunday. Brandin Podziemski started Saturday's win over the Pelicans, and that job may be his for the foreseeable future.
- Avoid the Suns and Kings during Week 7 due to their poor schedules.
Phoenix and Sacramento are the only two teams playing just two games in Week 7. And the closest that either gets to playing on a solid streaming day is the Kings' final game, Saturday in Miami. While a Collin Gillespie may be challenging to move on from, given how well he's played, this may be the time to seek other options, especially with Week 8 consisting of the NBA Cup knockout rounds and the two additional games that the other teams will have to play to hit 82 regular-season games.
Sacramento has been a tough team to mine for deep-league value in normal weeks, much less in one in which they'll play only two games. Both teams will be worth a look in Week 8, as their games on December 8 (Phoenix at Minnesota and Sacramento at Indiana) will give them six games instead of five in leagues that combine weeks 8 and 9.
- Thursday is the lone light game day of Week 7, while Friday is the busiest day.
There are only five games on the Thursday schedule, and six of the teams in action will have a back-to-back. While Brooklyn's home game against the Jazz will be the second game of a back-to-back for the Nets, the Celtics, Lakers, 76ers, Raptors and Jazz will play the first game of a back-to-back on Thursday. The least arduous back-to-back on these days belongs to the Raptors, which will host the Lakers and Hornets on Thursday and Friday. The Jazz are on the road for both games, but they'll play the Nets and Knicks, which isn't the worst deal, even with New York City traffic.
The Lakers are also on the road for both games of their back-to-back, visiting the Raptors and Celtics. How will the Lakers manage LeBron James' availability? That's the question there. Philadelphia bears watching because of the injuries that multiple players have been forced to navigate, most notably Joel Embiid and Paul George. Embiid hasn't played since November 8, while George has not reached the point where he can play both games of back-to-backs.
There are 12 games on the schedule for Friday, with 12 of the teams in action having a back-to-back. Five of those 12 will play the second game of a back-to-back on Friday, while the other seven will play the first game of a back-to-back. The Clippers are among those seven teams, but the good news is that Kawhi Leonard played 29 minutes in both games of the team's back-to-back to end Week 6. Hopefully, this is a sign that missing half of a back-to-back due to injury management is a thing of the past, especially with the Clippers struggling to rack up wins.
- The Hawks, Rockets, Lakers and Jazz will have two back-to-backs to navigate.
Speaking of back-to-backs, the Lakers and Jazz are among the few teams that will have to deal with multiple back-to-backs over the next week, beginning with the final game day of Week 6. Regarding the Hawks, Kristaps Porziņģis' status will likely be affected by the schedule, as he has yet to be active in both games of a back-to-back this season. Already ruled out for Sunday's game in Philadelphia, fantasy managers may get three games tops out of Porziņģis, which enhances Onyeka Okongwu's fantasy value.
Regarding the Rockets, Kevin Durant has rejoined the team after missing time for personal reasons, and back-to-backs should not be an issue for him. Utah's situation is interesting because the schedule may not affect the team's fantasy-relevant options. But it may impact the availability of Kevin Love and Kyle Anderson, whose availability has been inconsistent thus far. With the Jazz in a rebuild, there has seldom been room in the rotation for Love and Anderson. We'll see how this is handled during Week 7 and after the December 15 date, when most of the league's players will be eligible to be traded.
- Boston, Philadelphia and Toronto are among the teams with the best schedules to end Week 7.
In total, six teams will play three games between Thursday and Sunday of Week 7. In addition to the Celtics, 76ers and Raptors, the Warriors, Lakers and Jazz have similar schedules. While there are some back-to-back concerns for these teams, that's good news for fantasy managers who are rostering stars whose availability shouldn't be in doubt. Tyrese Maxey and Scottie Barnes are two players who come to mind, although Barnes and the Raptors will play all three of their games at home. On the other side of the coin, Brooklyn and Washington will play three of their four games over the course of the first four days of Week 7, limiting the fantasy value of their players for the back end.
Rams coach Sean McVay watches quarterback Matthew Stafford warm up before last week's win over Tampa Bay. The duo will try to lead the Rams to their 10th victory Sunday against the Panthers. (Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
The Rams currently hold the top seed for the NFC playoffs. Now their greatest challenge might be shutting out the distraction of being deemed a favorite to win the Super Bowl.
“Humility is only a day away,” coach Sean McVay said. “Our guys understand that.”
On Sunday the Rams will play a potential trap game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. The Panthers are 6-6 and coming off a 20-9 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
The Panthers are the Rams’ third NFC South opponent. The Rams already dispatched the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They play the struggling Falcons on Dec. 29 in Atlanta.
The Rams are 10-point favorites over the Panthers — and with good reason.
They have won six games in a row and scored at least 34 points in four of their last five games, including their 34-7 victory over the Buccaneers last Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
The Panthers feature quarterback Bryce Young, the top pick in the 2023 draft. Young has passed for 15 touchdowns with nine interceptions for a team that counts victories over the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys among its wins.
Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and outside linebackers coach AC Carter are former Rams assistants. The roster includes seven former Rams: defensive linemen Bobby Brown III and A’Shawn Robinson, offensive lineman Austin Corbett, cornerbacks Robert Rochell and David Long, linebacker Christian Rozeboom and safety Nick Scott.
Key injuries
Rams: S Kamren Kinchens (shoulder, questionable but expected to play), DL Poona Ford (calf, questionable but expected to play), OL David Quessenberry (groin, questionable but expected to play)
Panthers: LB Claudin Cherelus (concussion, out), CB Jaycee Horn ( concussion, out), C Cade Mays (ankle, out), LB Christian Rozeboom (hip/hamstring, out), OL Chandler Zavala (calf, out)
How to watch Rams vs. Panthers
The Rams (9-2) travel to Charlotte, N.C., to play the Panthers (6-6) at 10 a.m. Sunday. The game will be shown on Fox throughout Southern California and will be available nationally via a subscription to NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV. In Southern California, fans can listen to the game on 710 AM, 93.1 FM and 1330 AM (Español).
Betting odds and lines for Rams vs. Panthers
Who will win Rams vs. Panthers?
Gary Klein's pick: The Rams are rolling and the Panthers will not be able to slow them down. Byron Young, Jared Verse and the Rams' pass rush will continue to force turnovers and Matthew Stafford will continue to avoid them.
Last weekend, Aaron Rodgers missed the game against the team he owns. This weekend, Rodgers is on track to play against the team that has come the closest to owning him.
Rodgers has a 3-4 career record against the Bills. Via NBC Sports research, the Bills have held Rodgers in those games to his lowest career TD-to-interception ratio ratio (seven to seven), his lowest completion percentage (57.4), and his lowest passer rating (75.7) of any opponent he has ever faced, including the postseason.
One of Rodgers's three wins came in Week 1 of the 2023 season. That's when Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles tendon on the fourth play from scrimmage. The win that day was engineered by Zach Wilson, making Rodgers's practical record against the Bills 2-4.
With Sean McDermott as coach of the Bills (and leaving out the four-snap game), Rodgers has a 1-3 against the Bills. In his most recent game against Buffalo, Rodgers and the Jets lost badly, 40-14.
This time around, the stakes are high for both teams. The Bills, at 7-4, are fading in the AFC East race. If they fall to 7-5, they risk slipping out of the wild-card scramble. The Steelers, at 6-5, have both the Ravens and Bengals on their heels in the AFC North.
Rodgers will play in the Week 13 game despite being only two weeks removed from suffering a fractured bone in his wrist.
After losing to the Cowboys in Dallas, the Eagles had a short week to respond against the Chicago Bears at home on Black Friday.
And they suffered an embarrassing loss.
The Eagles lost 24-15 to the Bears in a game that wasn’t really that close. Their offense looked completely lost and their defense was gashed on the ground.
It was another rough game for Hurts, who has had a few since the bye week. On Friday, he missed several important throws, a couple of which were targets for DeVonta Smith. Sure, it was windy, but those are throws you want to see the quarterback make. He also had two costly turnovers. One was an interception from former Eagles safety Kevin Byard and the other was a fumble on the Tush Push. For an offense that is stuck in the mud right now, they simply can’t afford to turn the ball over. Hurts did get A.J. Brown going in this game and had some success as a runner, but it very clearly wasn’t his best game. He’s probably not the biggest problem with the offense right now but you’d obviously like to see the franchise quarterback have a better performance in a big spot.
Grade: D
Running back
Saquon Barkley: 13 carries, 56 yards (4.3)
It looked like it was going to be a good day for Barkley early. In the first quarter, he had 3 carries for 19 yards but then things got more difficult. The Bears entered Friday with one of the NFL’s worst rushing defenses and they were down their top three linebackers. So it seemed like the perfect opportunity for Barkley and the run game to break out and they failed. Tank Bigsby barely played and didn’t get a single carry in this game despite giving the offense some juice in recent weeks.
The good news is that Brown has started to look like himself in recent weeks. The bad news is that it hasn’t been a magical fix for the offense. Brown’s first touchdown was a beautiful 33-yard grab in 1-on-1 coverage, where he came back to the ball and then muscled his way into the end zone. This was Brown’s biggest game of the 2025 season. DeVonta Smith battled through a couple injuries and an illness to play in this game and had 5 catches on 8 targets for 48 yards. He and Hurts failed to connect a few times. The only other receiver to get a target was Jahan Dotson, who had 1 catch on 3 targets for 12 yards.
Grade: B
Tight end
Dallas Goedert: 2 catches on 4 targets for 27 yards
Like we mentioned, the Bears were without their top three linebackers so it might have made sense to get Goedert more involved. That didn’t really happen. In fact, until he made a 22-yard grab with under a minute left, Goedert had just 1 catch for 5 yards on Friday.
Grade: C-
Offensive line
It looked like the Eagles were going to be able to get their run game going on Friday and then it evaporated. This offensive line is just simply not as dominant as they once were and it’s really hurting the overall offensive play. The line isn’t healthy and made a few mistakes on Friday. At least Hurts wasn’t sacked in this game.
Grade: D+
Defensive line
Jalen Carter: 4 tackles, 1 sack, 2 TFLs, 2 PD
The Eagles were gashed in the run game and that starts up front. The defensive line was constantly being moved by the Bears’ offensive line. The Bears had 281 yards on the ground as both D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai went over 100 yards. They managed to sack Caleb Williams just twice. The line hasn’t been able to get the type of consistent pressure the Eagles would probably like to see. The D-line does get a bump thanks to that interception from Jalyx Hunt. That should have been a huge play in this game but Hurts fumbled on a Tush Push on the ensuing drive.
Grade: D+
Linebacker
Nakobe Dean: 12 tackles, 1 PD
Run defense is a group effort so every level of the Eagles’ defense deserves plenty of blame. The Eagles were taking plenty of bad angles to the football in this game and missed a bunch of tackles. The Bears had 177 yards after contact on the ground, per NextGen Stats. Jihaad Campbell didn’t see much time as Zack Baun and Dean played the whole game. The entire Eagles defense was bullied and the linebackers were not excluded.
Grade: D
Secondary
Reed Blankenship: 12 tackles
Caleb Williams completed just 17 of 36 passes for 154 yards. But the Bears rushed for 281 yards so does it really matter? The Eagles’ secondary didn’t give up much through the air in windy conditions but they also played the role in the failure of the run defense. Sydney Brown got the start in place of the injured Drew Mukuba and had some rough moments. Reed Blankenship was in coverage on the game’s dagger — a 28-yard touchdown to Cole Kmet.
Grade: C-
Special teams
Jake Elliott: 1/2 on FGs, 0/1 on PATs
You can probably forgive Elliott for missing that 52-yarder late in the fourth quarter but his missed PAT in the third quarter ended up haunting the Eagles as they had to hunt for points the rest of the way. Braden Mann had 5 punts with an average of 49.0 with a touchback and one downed inside the 20. Britain Covey took over as the punt returner and had 1 for 9 yards and a fair catch.
Grade: C-
Coaching
Record: 8-4
Kevin Patullo isn’t the only problem with the Eagles’ offense but part of being in that position is being a lighting rod. And it’s probably time for Nick Sirianni to make a change because the offense is just completely out of sync right now. But Sirianni deserves plenty of blame too. This is a team that looked pretty flat after blowing a game in Dallas. Vic Fangio has been great during his time in Philly but his defense got pushed around and out-schemed by Ben Johnson’s Bears offense. The Eagles were clearly out-coached in this game.
The Eagles didn’t just have a bad performance against the run on Friday afternoon.
They had an all-time bad performance.
In their 24-15 loss to the Bears on Black Friday, the Eagles gave up 281 rushing yards and allowed both D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai to go over the century mark in an embarrassing loss.
“We just have to play better, simply put, plain,” Jordan Davis said. “There’s no excuse for that. I think that was a poor product we put on the field. We have to get better. We have to get better and it takes all of us. We can’t take that long to figure out a remedy for that. We have to do quick adjustments and we have to get that down.”
Those 281 yards are the most the Eagles have given up on the ground in a game since the 2015 season. The last time they gave up that many rushing yards before 2015 was back in 1973.
And those 281 rushing yards are tied for the ninth most the Eagles have ever given up in a single game.
“It came down to really just technique,” Nakobe Dean said. “It came down to technique and playing hard and playing off each other. And that’s from every position: D-line, linebacker, DB, everybody got to play better. We have to get off blocks, we have to strike better. Just got to execute better.”
The Bears were able to get their run game going laterally and it gave the Eagles fits. But the Eagles also missed a bunch of tackles and gave up a ton of yards after contact.
In fact, the Eagles gave up 177 yards after contact on designed runs Friday, according to NextGen Stats. That means they gave up more yards after contact than they had given up rushing yards in a single game this season.
The Bears used cut-backs and misdirections all game and the Eagles never caught up.
“You just got to be good with your eyes,” defensive end Jaelan Phillips said. “That’s kind of the point. The misdirection is to confuse you and if your eyes aren’t good, they’re going to catch you a step off and good backs like that are going to capitalize. I thought they did a good job and we didn’t do a good enough job.”
The shocking part about the Eagles’ rushing defense is that it had been shored up over the last month. Since reinserting Dean into the lineup, the Eagles had given up just 92.0 rushing yards per game over their previous five games.
The Bears surpassed the 100-yard mark on their first run of the second quarter on Friday.
By the end of the game, the Bears won the time-of-possession battle 39:18-20:42. It’s just the fourth time in the Sirianni Era that the Eagles have possessed the ball for under 21 minutes in a game.
“That’s on us at the end of the day,” Phillips said. “They’re running the ball like that, the clocks going to be winding, they’re going to have possession of the ball for a long time. Ultimately, we have to do better getting them off the field, getting turnovers, things of that nature.”
What did Nick Sirianni think the biggest issues with the run defense were?
“It’s a lot of different things,” the head coach said. “So you’re going to look and say, ‘First of all, did we do the things we needed to do as coaches to help put them in positions?’ and then it’s going to be about block destruction, tackling, how we get off the blocks, how we tackle, have to look at that.
“Swift had a couple opportunities or had a couple plays that got some extra yards with some yards after making some guys miss. He’s an electric back, but again, I’ll have to look at exactly what all went down, but I know that when you’re giving up that many yards, everybody has a hand in that with where we are as far as where we are putting guys on defense, but then also how we block destruct and how we take on blocks and how we tackle.”
Swift finished the game with 125 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, while Monangai had 130 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.
The Bears, as a team, averaged 6.0 yards per rushing attempt.
“They were able to run the ball on us,” Reed Blankenship said. “Obviously, you can’t stop the run, it’s going to be a tough day in the office, just like I’ve been saying. They could do what they wanted with it, honestly. I hate to say that. I still trust the guys in the room that we’re going to get it fixed and we’re going to get our jobs done.”
The Bears ran for 281 yards in Friday's win over the Eagles, and both of their running backs, with running back Kyle Monangai gaining 130 yards and D'Andre Swift gaining 125 yards. That doesn't happen without great offensive line play.
Bears coach Ben Johnson made a point after the game of mentioning left tackle Ozzy Trapilo, left guard Joe Thuney, center Drew Dallman, right guard Jonah Jackson and right tackle Darnell Wright.
"It doesn't happen without that offensive line," Johnson said. "You can't say enough about Ozzy and Joe and Drew Dallman, and Jonah and Darnell. Those guys, they were huge for us. Really proud of them."
On a windy day in Philadelphia, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams completed just 17 of 36 passes for 154 yards, and Johnson said afterward that he should have stuck with the running game even more than he did.
"I look down and I see 36 attempts and I go, 'Shoot, I probably called too many pass plays in this game,' especially with how we were running it, so that's an area that I can be better at," Johnson said.
But in a cold and blustery game, the big guys upfront can make all the difference, and that's what Johnson wanted to call attention to after the game: "I can't say enough good things about our offensive line today."
Early in the second quarter of Thursday's opening game, the Packers faced fourth and three from the Lions' 22. And Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur did his best "big onions" impersonation of Detroit coach Dan Campbell.
Not only did the Packers go for it, but they went for the end zone. The throw from quarterback Jordan Love to receiver Dontayvion Wicks was ruled a touchdown on the field.
During the automatic replay review (it was a scoring play), the first question was whether Wicks caught the ball while his right foot was still on the ground, because his next step (with his left) was in the end zone before the next one after that (with his right) was out of bounds.
Actually, since the ruling on the field was touchdown, the question was whether clear and obvious evidence existed that he didn't have his right foot still on the ground when he caught the ball. Applying the accurate replay standard, the easy answer to the first question was, "No."
The second question was whether clear and obvious evidence existed that Wicks failed to maintain control through the process of completing the catch. Answering that one isn't quite as easy.
Watch safety Thomas Harper. As he approaches Wicks, the ball shifts. It moves from Wicks's hands to his chest. He arguably bobbles it, if only for a split second. It appears Wicks may have lost control after his first foot was down. By the time he re-established control (and he did, quickly), it was too late for Wicks to get two feet in.
The ruling on the field was confirmed fairly quickly, with referee Ron Torbert announcing the decision in the background of the discussion between Fox rules analyst Dean Blandino and Fox game analyst Tom Brady. Blandino said it appeared Wicks had control.
Brady asked the right question, "Even if the ball switches hands, Dean? Like it did from the right hand to the left hand?"
"Is he switching it within his control," Blandino said, "or does it physically come loose?"
The ball clearly moved. Wicks clearly readjusted it within his possession. But the NFL decided it wasn't clear and obvious that Wicks had lost control.
Unfortunately, it wasn't explained that way in the pool report provided after the game.
Initially, NFL V.P. of instant replay Mark Butterworth provided the predictably basic explanation: "The ruling on the field was a touchdown. We saw control with his right foot down and his left down in the end zone and then a third step out of the end zone."
Pool reporter Colton Pouncy followed with the key question: "Was there any discussion about a bobble?"
"No," Butterworth said. "These receivers are that good, he controls the ball with his hand. But with his hands or arm above his body, while pulling it down, by rule, he can actually pull the ball into his body as he completes the process of a catch."
The official rule isn't quite that specific. The three-step catch process requires the player to "secure control" of the ball. The notes to the rule explain that "movement of the ball does not automatically result in loss of control." However, the official rulebook doesn't specify what does or doesn't amount to a loss of control.
In the second quarter of the Week 7 Thursday night game between the Steelers and Bengals, receiver Ja'Marr Chase had a very slight bobble on the sideline during the final two minutes of the first half. Replay review overturned it.
Again, the standard to overturn the ruling on the field is "clear and obvious." Was it clear and obvious that Wicks failed to keep control of the ball while getting two feet down?
If/when there's a pool report (and, frankly, there should be a press conference every week in which someone from the NFL answers any and all officiating questions), questions about replay review should spring from that core question: Is it clear and obvious the ruling on the field was wrong?
That's how Butterworth should have explained it. Don't dismiss the bobble, because there was one. The better answer is that the movement of the ball didn't amount to clear and obvious evidence that Wicks had lost control.
Ultimately, this seems to be one of those moments that falls into the bucket of plays for which there will never be clear and obvious evidence to overturn the ruling on the field, whatever the ruling may have been.
Catch? It's not clear and obvious it wasn't. No catch? It's not clear and obvious it was.
Regardless, the notion that a bobble wasn't even discussed because "these receivers are that good" appears nowhere in the rulebook. Which means it should appear nowhere in the pool report explaining the ruling.
Jordan Davis first realized Nakobe Dean’s skill as a blitzer when they were teammates at Georgia.
That skill has followed Dean to the NFL and has been on display this month.
“It’s just always been there,” Davis said. “I think with Nakobe he just flies there and he’s literally like a heat-seeking missile and he just blows up the running back.
“Nakobe is the type of player that looks for contact. He doesn’t try to avoid it. If he gets the sack or gets the pressure, that’s just the icing on the cake for him. He just loves contact, he loves getting in there.”
The Eagles’ defense has gotten a big boost in the last month as Dean returned from the PUP list. Dean has gotten a sack in three straight games and has bowled over a few running backs in the process.
In the last three weeks, Dean has run through Josh Jacobs, David Montgomery and Javonte Williams on his way to sacks. He and his teammates have started to celebrate with a “choo-choo” motion after Dean runs over a back.
“It just comes down to dominance,” linebacker Jihaad Campbell said. ‘It comes down to who wants it more. You’re telling yourself that you’re going to run through another grown man. That’s bully ball. That’s the type of style [Dean] plays with, that’s the game he plays.”
Dean, 24, is the first Eagles linebacker to have a sack in three straight games since Mychal Kendricks during the 2015 season. And since sacks became an official stat, he’s just the fourth linebacker to do it, joining Kendricks (2015), William Thomas (1994) and Seth Joyner (1991). Thomas had a sack in four straight in ’94.
After having three sacks in 15 games last season, Dean already has three this year playing in just five games on defense. You can probably expect defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to keep sending him.
“He’s got a good feel for it,” Fangio said. “He can be physical when he needs to be, and he can slip a guy when he needs to slip a guy. So, he’s got a good feel for it.”
Still a playmaker
When answering a question about the possibility of using Tank Bigsby a little bit more, Nick Sirianni on Monday said this about Saquon Barkley:
“Obviously, we always want to get Saquon the ball as much as we possibly can because we know what type of playmaker he is.”
Barkley in 2024 had an all-time season but his production is obviously down in 2025. He is averaging just 3.7 yards per attempt and just 62.2 yards per game. So if Barkley still is that same playmaker, he hasn’t been able to show it this season.
So why is Sirianni confident he still is?
“We look at how everything looks when they got the ball in their hands,” Sirianni said. “I see explosiveness, I see power, I see all the things that have made him a great football player in the NFL for the last however many years he’s been in the NFL. And, again, sometimes it’s not happening in the run game but you see that explosiveness also in the pass game. We got a lot of guys who have the ability to do those things. Just have to find ways to get him the ball, different ways and get him in space and that will be our focus.”
Zack Baun honored
The NFL on Wednesday announced the 32 nominees for the 12th annual Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award, which “recognizes individuals around the league who exemplify outstanding sportsmanship.”
The Eagles’ nominee this year is linebacker Zack Baun.
“That’s cool,” Baun said after finding out about his nomination. “I try to play the game with integrity and sportsmanship is at the top of list. Sportsmanship with my teammates and other players. All of us in the NFL dreamed our whole lives to be in this situation and just respecting that everyone’s here and everyone is achieving their dreams.”
The award began in 2014 and the winner is determined by a vote of current NFL players after the field is narrowed to eight finalists by a panel of former NFL players. The winner of the award will be announced at NFL Honors and will receive a $25,000 donation from the NFL Foundation to a charity of his choice.
An explanation for a huge penalty
The Eagles were penalized 14 times in their loss to the Cowboys on Sunday afternoon. That ties their most in the Nick Sirianni Era. They also had 14 penalties in the first game Sirianni coached back in 2021.
Most of those penalties against the Cowboys were warranted and most of it comes out in the wash, but Vic Fangio did explain what happened on the 12 men on the field penalty in the third quarter.
“Yeah, they subbed, which allows us to sub and give us time to sub,” Fangio said. “The umpire was actually going up to the line of scrimmage to hold up the play and for some reason didn’t. That one, I’m not sure really what happened there, but they subbed so we should be able to sub, and we didn’t get off in time.”
He's right. The Cowboys changed from 12 personnel to 11 personnel and you can see the umpire run up and then stop. He is standing beside Dak Prescott like a RB when the ball is snapped. https://t.co/mmgqMlPVpepic.twitter.com/O1pyLOxeJg
The Eagles tried to replace Brandon Graham with Nolan Smith but Graham couldn’t get off the field in time. There ended up being two offsetting penalties on that snap. On the field, Nakobe Dean picked off a Dak Prescott pass and that interception was negated by the penalty. Of course, there’s a chance Prescott knew he had a free play and just got rid of it.
No explosive runs
The Eagles’ run game completely dried up on Sunday in Dallas as Saquon Barkley had just 10 carries for 22 yards. Under Nick Sirianni, the Eagles consider an explosive play as any run of 10+ yards and any pass of 16+ yards.
Sunday was just the fourth time in 88 games under Sirianni (regular and postseason) where the Eagles didn’t have a single explosive run. They had two such games in 2023 and then another in the meaningless Week 18 game against the Giants in 2024.
The Eagles’ longest runs on Sunday were 8 yards — Jalen Hurts had one and Tank Bigsby had the other.
Sirianni cares about the explosive play battle but the Eagles haven’t been very good in that area this season. The Eagles have played 11 games this season and have won the explosive play battle just twice — in Week 4 in Tampa (+1) and Week 8 against the Giants (+5). On the season, they are now -13 based on their own criteria.
The Bears were initially unsure about recording The Super Bowl Shuffle.Photograph: Paul Natkin/NFL
The Chicago Bears are 8-3 and soaring in this season’s NFL standings. For a fanbase that’s grown accustomed to looking up at the division rival Green Bay Packers and looking ahead to the next season’s prospects, it’s reason to smell the roses and indulge in some light strutting. But even as fans find themselves looking forward to the Bears’ first playoff berth in five years, something that once seemed unthinkable with a second-year quarterback and a rookie head coaching helming a squad that managed only five wins last year, no fan is thinking the 2025 Bears have a Super Bowl run in them – not without a rap song to lay the marker down.
Before the 1985 edition of the Bears romped to victory in Super Bowl XX, they tempted fate by recording The Super Bowl Shuffle. Although the song only peaked at 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, the accompanying video came to rival Michael Jackson’s Thriller for popularity as it popped up endlessly on TV during the Bears’ title run. “The Super Bowl Shuffle went viral in an age where there was no viral existence like we know it today,” the song’s recording engineer, Fred Breitberg, says. “It was a phenomenal entity as well as being a good record.”
The Shuffle is HBO’s Behind the Music deep dive into the 1980s banger. (At 40 minutes, the film is about as long as one of those VH1 classic episodes, too.) For younger crowds who may struggle to appreciate how a seven-minute rap line-dance song performed by stiff football players could dominate the airwaves, understand: this was back when hip-hop was just catching on, music videos were making radio stars and the ’85 Bears were chock-a-block with colorful characters like Sweetness (hall of fame tailback Walter Payton), the Punky QB (Pro Bowler Jim McMahon) and the Fridge (335lbs defensive tackle William Perry). It was a dizzying level of enthusiasm that recalled the frenzied days of Beatlemania, in Chicago anyway.
Of course, those Bears never would have been so endearing if they hadn’t backed up those big personalities with monstrously bigger play. Anchored by a historic defense that produced four hall of famers, the Bears dominated in practically every statistical category on that side of the ball on the way to registering a plus-258 point differential – 110 points higher than the next best team. They steamrolled through every opponent except the Miami Dolphins on the way to a 46-10 clobbering of the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX.
The Shuffle draws on interviews with key figures on the Bears – defensive linchpin Mike Singletary, big-play receiver Willie Gault – as well as the producers, techs and bit players involved in making the song and video. All of it was the brainchild of Dick Meyer, a Chicago perfumer who started a record label on a lark and met Gault on a music video shoot in which the Bears receiver was making a cameo. This wasn’t unusual for Gault, an ahead-of-his-time renaissance man who tried everything from modeling to ballet to harness racing.
Bewitched by Gault’s adventurousness, Meyers pitched him the idea for a We Are the World-style song performed by the Bears – but Gault didn’t initially see it happening with the season already under way. But when Meyers said the proceeds would go toward a Chicago charity for struggling families, Gault agreed to rally the team behind the idea – and got about 30 of his teammates to join the project after McMahon, Payton and Singletary committed.
The players knew they were tempting fate though. This was Chicago in the 1980s, after all. The baseball teams were still very much cursed, Michael Jordan had just joined the Bulls and the Bears hadn’t won an NFL title in 22 years. In addition to the team jinxing itself, players worried about the prospect of serving up bulletin board material to their rivals. “If we don’t go to the Super Bowl,” Singletary says in the doc, “we’re gonna be the biggest idiots ever.”
Meyers teed up the players for success as best he could. He repurposed a song that was already in his catalog called Kingfish Shuffle, named for a character in Amos ’n’ Andy minstrel shows – a jarring choice for a team largely composed of Black players, in retrospect. Meyers had the song rewritten to draw on themes from the Bears’ season and gave us lines like They call me Sweetness / And I like to dance / Runnin’ the ball is like makin’ romance, and from The Fridge: I may be large / But I’m no dumb cookie. The players laid down their tracks at Meyers’ basement recording studio a week before Thanksgiving. It was then that Pro Bowl safety Gary Fencik and others began reconsidering the logic of singing about the Super Bowl with six games still to play in the regularseason.
Then came time for the video shoot at Chicago’s fabled Park West theater, which was scheduled for 3 December – the day afterthe team’s loss to Miami. The crew wasn’t sure the team would show after the bitter defeat. And when eventually they did hours later, it was without Payton and McMahon. (They were added in post-production after shooting their parts against a blue screen.)
The video’s director, Dave Thompson, and his crew chief, Mike Fayette, worried that the players might be too depressed after their loss to Miami to deliver a workable performance. But Singletary, nicknamed ‘the Samurai’ for his fearsome intensity, rallied his charges and even directed some choreography, a big challenge for this group. The final cut makes a point of not holding focus on any of their dance moves for longer than two seconds. “That’s as long as they could keep their hands moving to the left, and keep their hands moving to the right,” Fayette said.
What began as a desultory obligation for many of the players wound up becoming a moral-booster. “That was the fun part, working together in a totally different realm,” Singletary says in the doc, reflecting on his noble choreography effort. “There were guys that were backups teaching guys that were starters. We mixed in a way that we had never had a chance to before, and it became a rallying point that brought us together, got us refocused.”
In the end, there was no holding The Super Bowl Shuffle back. It was everywhere on Chicago radio a week after the shoot wrapped, and then all over TV after that. You really had to be there, and I was (albeit just five years old at the time). I can remember going to playdates and birthday parties in later years, and friends playing their 45 rpm records and VHS copies of the tune on a loop. In 1985 though, the players were kicking themselves for going against their instincts not to tempt fate. But after a while, they began to see the song less as a football folly than as a standard to which they could hold themselves accountable, like Babe Ruth calling his shot. When other teams began dropping copycat songs – not least the Super Bowl runner-up Patriots – the Bears knew they had taken the right approach.
The rest is football and music history. After the Bears delivered what at the time was the most lopsided Super Bowl victory in history, The Super Bowl Shuffle earned a Grammy nomination for best R&B performance by a duo or a group with vocals at the 1987 awards ceremony – and (correctly) lost out to Prince’s Kiss. It also raised more than $300,000 for charity (worth around $900,000 now). But most importantly, it inspired a raft of imitation songs from NFL teams down the years – although none of them would drive the same cultural heft. If this season’s Bears can somehow manage to pull off the unthinkable and engineer a Super Bowl upset in Santa Clara this coming February, well, their fans will be shuffling in the streets all over again.
The Shuffle is streaming now on HBO in the US. It will air on HBO Max in the UK when the service launches there next year.
Justin Fields is no longer the Jets' starting quarterback, but he still thinks he has what it takes to start in the NFL.
Asked by a reporter whether he still sees himself as a starter, Fields said there's no question.
"Of course. Yes, sir," Fields said, via ESPN. "I mean, I just know who I am as a person, as a football player, as a hard worker. I think I know I have the mindset and the skill to attain that. I just feel like I need to do it on a more consistent basis, but that's just what it is. It's the ups and downs of life and I'm in a -- quote-unquote -- valley right now. But it's not going to do anything but make me stronger on the back end of it."
Fields didn't answer directly when asked whether he would be willing to remain with the Jets as a backup. He's under contract for next season, the second year of his two-year, $40 million contract, and the Jets still owe him $10 million guaranteed even if they cut him. Fields did indicate that he still thinks his relationship with the Jets. can be salvaged.
"I'm not going to have that mindset in terms of, 'Oh, they benched me. I'm not [going] to play here.' I think that's a bad mindset to have," Fields said.
Fields' mindset is that he's a starter. At this point, it's unlikely that any NFL team agrees with him.
In his first two games with the Eagles, Michael Carter II played a very minimal role on defense.
That changed on Sunday.
Down in Dallas, the Eagles suffered several injuries in their secondary and Carter was thrust into action.
“I felt good, man. I felt really prepared,” Carter said. “I feel like they prepared me. Being in the late-night meetings and the early-morning meetings with CP (defensive backs coach Christian Parker) and (safeties coach Joe) Kasper, trying to figure things out and asking questions and us working together and figuring out a plan as far as, ‘OK, this is what I’m comfortable with, this is what I’m still kind of thinking about and going through.’ I felt going in I was ready to play.”
After playing just two total defensive snaps in his first two games with the Eagles, Carter played 25 in the loss to the Cowboys. After Adoree’ Jackson left the game to be checked for a concussion, the Eagles slid Cooper DeJean to outside cornerback and Carter took over as the nickel corner.
The Eagles went with that option instead of just plugging in Kelee Ringo or Jakorian Bennett, which showed the trust Carter has been able to earn in just a few weeks.
“I think he’s a good player, good natural football player,” defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. “(He) understands the game. He’s got good instincts, got good technique to his game, he’s quick. We’re pleased to have him.”
Back on Oct. 29, the Eagles acquired Carter and a 2027 seventh-round pick from the Jets for WR John Metchie III and a 2027 sixth-round pick ahead of the trade deadline.
Carter, 26, joined the Eagles on the bye week but began to immediately work overtime to learn Fangio’s defense and his multiple roles in it. That meant a bunch of extra meeting time with Parker and Kasper over the last several weeks.
“They were just conversations,” Carter said. “I think really looking at it on paper and understanding this is the assignment, this is the job. And then looking at it on film and watching guys like Coop do it and then going out there in practice and perfecting it and keep getting reps and reps and reps.
“And then coming back, rinse and repeat. And doing that process over and over again until you feel comfortable. It’s not as much of a thinking game trying to remember this is what I’m supposed to be doing in this certain spot.”
The Eagles ended up losing three defensive backs against the Cowboys on Sunday. Rookie safety Drew Mukuba suffered a fractured ankle and needs surgery, so the rest of his season is in question. But Reed Blankenship (thigh) and Jackson (who left the game to be checked for a concussion and did not return) are both expected to be available for Friday’s game.
That means that Carter might not be in the starting lineup against the Bears. But he better be ready.
Because Carter is now one injury away at any position in the secondary from seeing the field.
In addition to his work as a nickel corner, Carter is also a capable safety. Not only has he been learning Fangio’s defense, but he’s been learning both positions in it. While that has put more on Carter’s plate, learning multiple positions has already given him a fuller understanding of the defense.
“I think for sure,” Carter said. “When you’re doing that and you get a sense of how the DB backfield operates as a whole, now you kind of understand who’s where and what help (you’re getting) and everything like that. Obviously, the repetitions and stuff like that takes time. But it’s been going.”
The Jets initially drafted Carter in the fifth-round of the 2021 draft out of Duke and he played in 65 games with 25 starts in his 4 1/2 seasons with the Jets before falling out of favor with a new coaching staff in 2025.
Last September, Carter signed an extension with the Jets that made him the highest-paid nickel corner in the NFL. So he’s not that far removed from playing at a really high level.
“He’s a vet. He’s a vet,” safety Sydney Brown said. “And just his versatility. They throw him into some situations and he just says ‘yes sir.’ He goes out, does what he needs to do. I think he’s a man-coverage demon and I think he’s a real asset to this defense.”
Carter spent four full seasons with the Jets, and in all four of those seasons the Jets had a losing record. Their two best finishes in that span were 7-10 in both 2022 and 2023.
This season, the Eagles have eight wins with six games to go. Sunday was the first time Carter experienced a losing locker room as a member of the Eagles but he liked the way the team responded.
“I think there’s no flinch,” he said. “Everything is still in front of us, everything we want to accomplish. It was good to see. Everybody is focused and is ready to respond in a positive way.”
For years, Americans welcomed John Madden into their homes on Thanksgiving. The NFL is ensuring that Madden's legacy remains a part of the holiday.
This year the NFL will once again celebrate Madden on Thanksgiving, with tributes to Madden broadcast on Fox, CBS and NBC during the Packers-Lions, Chiefs-Cowboys and Bengals-Ravens game.
Players on all six teams will wear patches honoring Madden's legacy on their jerseys, and the coin toss for all three games will feature a silhouette of Madden as heads and a six-legged turducken as tails.
The MVP of each of the three games will receive a Madden trophy and will choose a high school or youth football program that will receive a $10,000 donation from the NFL Foundation. Items from the three games will also be auctioned with proceeds going to the John Madden Foundation for the youth of Oakland.
As part of the Bengals-Ravens game, Peacock will offer an EA Sports Madden NFL Cast that blends elements of the video game with the live broadcast. The Madden NFL Cast will use the sky cam angle behind the quarterback as the primary camera angle, the same primary angle that Madden players are accustomed to.
Madden was known to one generation of football fans as a Hall of Fame coach, to a second generation as the NFL's most popular broadcaster, and to a third generation for the video game that bears his name. He died in December of 2021 at the age of 85. Since 2022, the NFL has honored him each year on Thanksgiving.
Throughout his career, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has been able to make plays with his legs like no other quarterback in NFL history. But not this year.
Although Jackson's passing stats are as good as ever this season, he has declined significantly in his ability to gain ground running the ball, and to use his mobility to avoid sacks.
Jackson has run the ball just 46 times for 237 yards and one touchdown through eight games this season. He's averaging career lows in rushing attempts, yards and touchdowns per game. In fact, totaling seven carries for 11 yards on Sunday against the Jets, Jackson is all the way down to an average of 29.6 rushing yards per game this season. Less than 30 yards rushing per game is unheard of for Jackson; prior to this year, Jackson had never averaged less than 50 rushing yards per start in any season of his career.
Jackson is also struggling to run away from the pass rush. He has been sacked on 11 percent of his dropbacks this season, by far the highest sack percentage in any season of his career. Jackson has already been sacked more times this year, while throwing just 195 passes, than he was all of last year, when he threw a career-high 474 passes.
In the first game of this season, Jackson was moving as he always has: He ran the ball six times for 70 yards and a touchdown against the Bills. Since then, he hasn't gained even 50 yards in any game, and hasn't run for a touchdown.
Jackson missed three games with a hamstring injury and is currently dealing with a toe injury, but the Ravens shook off a 1-5 start to win five games in a row and are now in first place in the AFC North. A healthy and mobile Jackson in the playoffs could make the Ravens a dangerous opponent, but so far this season we haven't seen the Jackson of old.
In only his third NFL season, running back Christian McCaffrey became the third player in NFL history to run for 1,000 yards and gain 1,000 yards receiving. He may now become the second to do it twice.
Through 12 games, McCaffrey has 796 rushing yards and 785 receiving yards. With five games to play, that projects to 1,127 rushing yards and 1,112 receiving yards.
Former Rams running back Marshall Faulk did it in 1999, and former 49ers running back Roger Craig did it in 1985. McCaffrey's 1,000/1,000 season games with the Panthers, in 2019.
And, yes, this would be the first time it happens in a 17-game regular season. That's true of every single-season record. If the league expands the season (and it will again), it becomes easier to break existing mark based on what happens during a given season.
Regardless, McCaffrey is currently on pace to get there in 16 games. So relax, guy. Appreciate the greatness of McCaffrey, who's still getting it done at a high level at 29.
I’m going to try my best not to make this week’s Roob’s Eagles Stats entirely depressing.
We’ll shoot for partially depressing.
But we have to respect the stats and give you the negative along with the positive. So here we go with our 10 best stats off the Eagles’ 24-21 loss to the Cowboys Sunday.
We’ll start with a handful of positive stats that we somehow were able to dredge up!
1A. Why don’t we start out with Nakobe! With a sack for a third straight game, Nakobe Dean became only the fourth Eagles linebacker with a sack in three consecutive games since sacks became an official stat in 1982. He’s the first since Mychal Kendricks in 2015. The only other linebackers with a sack in three straight games are Seth Joyner in 1991 and William Thomas in 1993.
1B. With Zack Baun and Dean each with 3.0 sacks so far, this is the first time since sacks became an official stat that two Eagles linebackers have each had 3.0 sacks in consecutive seasons. In fact, the only other seasons two Eagles LBs had 3.0 or more sacks were 1990 (Joyner, Jessie Small), 2001 (Mike Caldwell, Jeremiah Trotter) and 2013 (Kendricks, DeMeco Ryans). With 6 ½ sacks each as Eagles, Baun and Dean are tied for sixth for most sacks ever by an Eagles linebacker, behind Joyner (37.0), Thomas (33.0), Kendricks (14.0), Garry Cobb (12.0) and Trotter (11.0).
2. A.J. Brown’s 20th 100-yard game moved him to within three of the franchise record of 23, set by Pete Retzlaff from 1958 through 1966. One more moves Brown even with DeSean Jackson, Harold Carmichael and Mike Quick, who each had 21.
3. I’m not sure if this is a positive stat or a negative one. Guess it depends on your perspective. But Tank Bigsby had just one carry Sunday for eight yards and has gotten just 18 carries since joining the Eagles. But he’s gained at least eight yards on nine of those 18 carries – exactly half. For the sake of comparison, Saquon Barkley has 185 carries and 26 have gone for at least eight yards – 14 percent. Last year, that figure was 24 percent.
4. After finishing the Packers game with two 4th-down stops, then holding the Lions to 0-for-5 on fourth down, the Eagles’ defense stuffed the Cowboys on a 4th-and-3 from their own 49-yard-line on their first drive and then on 4th-and-goal in the fourth quarter. This is the first time since 1991 the Eagles have stopped nine consecutive 4th-down attempts. In 1991 – the first year the NFL began tracking 4th-down attempts and conversions – they held the Giants to 0-for-3, the Bengals and Cards to 0-for-2, then the Giants and Cowboys to 0-for-1 each. That streak ended in the second quarter of the Eagles’ 24-22 win over Washington at the Vet on the final day of the season when Ricky Ervins gained a yard on a 4th-and-1 from the Eagles’ 4-yard-line.
5A. With his two rushing TDs Sunday, Jalen Hurts moved out of a tie with Hall of Famer Steve Van Buren and took over sole possession of the franchise record for career rushing touchdowns. Van Buren had 71 rushing touchdowns in his eight-year career, and Hurts now has 73. Hurts’ 73 rushing TDs are 3rd-most ever by a quarterback, behind Josh Allen, who has 82 and counting, and Cam Newton, who had 77 in his 11-year career.
5B. With three more total touchdowns – two rushing, one passing – Hurts now has 164 total TDs in his first 77 career starts. Only five quarterbacks have generated more TDs in their first 77 starts: Patrick Mahomes (186-11, 197), Aaron Rodgers (166-18, 184), Dan Marino (177-3, 180), Josh Allen (139-38, 177) and Andrew Luck (152-14, 166).
5C. Hurts also went through another game without throwing an interception. He’s now thrown 146 consecutive passes without an INT since his franchise-record streak of 304 passes without an interception ended in the first Giants game. His current streak is 12th-longest in franchise history. So he’s thrown one INT in his last 450 passes since Week 10 of last year. Going back to Week 4 of the 2024 season, he’s thrown two INTs in his last 600 pass attempts.
5D. In his career, Hurts has thrown one INT every 56.2 attempts, 6th-best in NFL history and just behind Patrick Mahomes (one every 56.5) and Tom Brady (one every 56.8), who are in 4th and 5th.
5E. Hurts has been interception free in 48 of his 77 career starts. That’s the most games without an interception in NFL history by a quarterback in his first 77 starts. Dak Prescott and Lamar Jackson had 45.
5F. Hurts has gone 29 consecutive games without throwing more than one interception. That’s the 8th-longest streak in NFL history and 2nd-longest currently behind Matt Stafford’s 30-games.
5G. Hurts is only the third starting QB in history with 17 or more touchdown passes and one or fewer interceptions through 11 games. Woodbury’s Milt Plum did it in 1960 for the Browns and Tom Brady in 2016 had 18 TDs and one INT after 11 games.
6. Reed Blankenship’s interception off Dak Prescott was the ninth of his career, the most by an undrafted player who began his career with the Eagles since Quintin Mikell had 10 from 2003 through 2010. Since 1960, the Eagles’ only other homegrown undrafted players with more INTs than Blankenship are Jim Nettles (10 from 1965 through 1968), Herm Edwards (33 from 1977 through 1985), Elbert Foules (10 from 1983 through 1987), Bre Wilson (17 from 1979 through 1987) and Andre Waters (15 from 1984 through 1993).
OK, that was pretty good going six-deep on positive stats after the Eagles blew a 21-0 lead. That’s not easy to do! If you’re a Cowboys fan or have a strong stomach, read on!
7A. After blowing a 14-point lead against the Broncos and a 21-point lead against the Cowboys, this is only the fourth time in franchise history the Eagles have lost two games in the same season after leading by 14 or more points. In 1941, they lost to the Bears and Washington after being up 14, in 1995 they blew 14-point leads against the Chargers and Raiders in consecutive weeks – the Raiders game was Randall Cunningham’s final start as an Eagle. And in 2018 they blew a 14-point lead to the Titans and a 17-point lead against the Panthers.
7B. We covered this in our post-game Obs, but for those of you who missed it, here ya go: Sunday’s game was only the fourth in Eagles history that they led by as many as 21 points and lost. Late in the 1945 season at the Polo Grounds, they led the Giants 21-0 in the third quarter on three Steve Van Buren touchdown runs, only to lose 28-21 on four late TD passes by Hall of Famer Arnie Herber. Good ol’ Arnie. In 1985 they led the Vikings 23-0 early in the fourth quarter at the Vet and lost 28-23, leading to Marion Campbell’s firing two weeks later. And on opening day 2000 –Andy Reid’s first game as a head coach – they led the Cards 21-0 early in the second quarter before losing 25-24 at the Vet on four Vikings TDs in the final 8 ½ minutes of the fourth quarter. Four times in 1,371 games.
8. The Eagles have only swept the Cowboys twice in the last 19 seasons. They won both games in 2011 and again last year. Last time they swept Dallas in back-to-back seasons was 2000 through 2002, when they did it three years in a row.
9A. The Cowboys’ comeback from 21 points down matched the biggest in franchise history. They trailed the Saints 27-6 in the third quarter in 1984 at Texas Stadium and won 30-27, they trailed Washington 35-14 in the third quarter at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium in 1999 and won 41-35 and they trailed the Rams 21-0 in the second quarter at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis and won 34-31.
9B. Dak Prescott’s 10 career wins over the Eagles equals the most by any quarterback in over 40 years. The last QB to beat the Eagles more than 10 times was Jim Hart, who had a record 17 wins over the Eagles from 1967 through 1983. The others who won more than 10 against the Eagles are three Washington QBs – Sonny Jurgensen (11 from 1964 through 1974), Charlie Conerly (11 from 1951 through 1961) and Sammy Baugh (12 from 1937 through 1951) – and Roger Staubach (13 from 1970 through 1979).
9C. Prescott’s two TD passes Sunday gave him 26 all-time against the Eagles. The only QBs with more are Eli Manning (54), Jurgensen (33), Kirk Cousins (28) and Baugh (27).
10. With nine catches on nine targets, George Pickens became the first opposing wide receiver in 13 years to be targeted at least nine times and catch each one. In 2012, Larry Fitzgerald had nine catches on nine targets for 114 yards and a TD in the Cards’ 27-6 win over the Eagles in Glendale. His QB? Kevin Kolb.
Bonus Stat. With a 2.2 average on 10 carries, Saquon Barkley has now averaged 3.3 yards per carry or worse an NFL-high seven times this year. The only players in Eagles history with more games at 3.3 or less in an entire season are Lee Bouggess in 1970 and Tom Sullivan in 1974, both with eight. Duce Staley also had seven in 1999.
San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama arrives well dressed for a game earlier this season.Photograph: Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images
Lonzo Ball’s froze in confusion. The question – “What do you think about the NBA dress code?” – hung in the air for a second before he cracked a sheepish grin.
“There’s a dress code?” he said, smiling.
Twenty years after the introduction of a rule that once roiled the league and ignited a culture war over image and identity, one of the NBA’s current players didn’t even know it existed.
“Now do-rags are flying, along with jerseys and baggy stuff,” said Ball, a point guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers. “I didn’t know we had a dress code. I just knew we had to put something on.”
Former NBA commissioner David Stern instituted the dress code, which went into effect at the start of the 2005–06 season. The policy has been relaxed since Adam Silver succeeded Stern in 2014, but the initial rollout – as with most change – came with controversy and pushback.
The code required all players to dress in business or conservative attire when arriving and departing games, on the bench when injured, and when conducting official NBA business.
Players bristled at the announcement because the policy effectively banned oversized T-shirts, do-rags, jerseys, and other “hip-hop-inspired” attire.
The league’s move was widely seen as a critique of Black culture – a policing of expression and a response to the NBA’s discomfort with hip-hop aesthetics that had become inseparable from basketball itself. The backlash was immediate, loud, and deeply personal.
For many, it was also a direct attack on Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson, who became the poster child for what not to wear. Iverson, then one of the biggest stars in the league, was known for his tattoos, braids, and baggy gear.
In a recent interview on The Breakfast Club radio show and podcast, Iverson said his influence on other players helped trigger the NBA’s response. “David Stern and the rest of the NBA were like, ‘No,’ because it was all right when I was doing it,” Iverson recalled. “But then everybody else said, ‘OK, if he can do that, we can do this.’ You see Kobe coming in with diamond chains and baggy clothes, and everyone started doing it. Then the league was like, ‘Hold on, we’ve got to do something about that.’”
Twenty years later, that moment – once seen as a culture war between the league office and players – has come to represent something far more complicated. Instead of erasing individuality, the rule inadvertently helped create a fashion renaissance that reshaped both the NBA and global style.
What began as a mandate for “professionalism” evolved into tunnels lined with photographers, endorsement deals with high-fashion brands, and players driving global trends in ways the league never imagined. Former NBA forward Ira Newble, who remains racially conscious, vividly remembers the tension.
“Everyone seemed upset and up in arms about the dress code,” Newble, who was playing for the Cavaliers when the ban came in, says. “No one wanted to have a dress code. It was a big deal.”
Players were used to traveling in sweats, hoodies, or whatever felt comfortable during long road swings. The style of the time – oversized clothing, long white tees, and baggy jeans – was heavily linked to hip-hop culture.
“My style at that time reflected hip-hop culture,” Newble says. “I had the braids and wore baggy clothes. The sentiment among players was that the NBA was trying to take away from the cultural end. Iverson was an influence of that culture. That’s what the controversy was about. It felt as though they were trying to change and get rid of hip-hop culture.”
But Newble also recognizes how the moment evolved. “Everything kind of grew in a different direction where hip-hop culture can still be embraced within the dress code,” he says. “So it’s cool to see how it evolved.”
Inside the league offices, the intent was different, according to Kathy Behrens, the NBA’s president of social responsibility and player programs.
“We felt at the time that it was important for our players to present themselves in a more professional fashion when on league business,” Behrens says. “We were not demanding a suit culture, but we did want to raise the level of how players showed up.”
She says the league anticipated pushback, but emphasized it was never meant to sanitize hip-hop expression.
“We knew what the goal was, and it had nothing to do with changing our players’ fashion or culture,” she says. “We talked with many players about this change before implementing it.”
What the NBA didn’t expect, Behrens admits, was what happened next.
“The reality is our players embraced the change very quickly and truly raised the level much higher than we anticipated,” she says. “Pre-game ‘fits’ became a thing. It soon became a competition over who could dress the best. How you dress became a cultural touchpoint.”
Two decades later, the league still maintains a dress policy, though it has evolved with changing definitions of “professional attire” and is not as strict as it once was, allowing the players to be more creative with their fashion choices. But the legacy remains.
“When the people most impacted by it embrace it the way our players have, you have to feel that it worked as intended,” Behrens says.
When the rule came in, Jameer Nelson was in his second NBA season with the Orlando Magic. Nelson, now the 76ers’ assistant general manager, can appreciate how the policy unified the league.
“So it didn’t affect me either way,” Nelson says. “But it was cool to see the brotherhood, the fraternity of basketball players, move in the same direction, whether we liked it or not.”
Nelson laughs at how players have flipped the narrative completely.
“You can see now how the personalities are being shown through fashion,” he says. “I have my own style, more old school, more casual. Somebody told me yesterday I dress hip-hop slash front office.”
He says players today simply have more tools to showcase their creativity.
“These brands, because of social media, take advantage of it,” Nelson says. “If social media was as big back in 2005, we probably would’ve done the same thing. Getting dressed is art. It’s how you express yourself without even speaking.”
Few players symbolize that shift more than those in the current era, where tunnel entrances resemble fashion runways and some players are followed by photographers and videographers from the parking garage to the locker room.
Take Cavaliers star Darius Garland, considered one of the team’s most fashionable players. He marvels at how far things have come.
“The league implemented a dress code 20 years ago – that’s crazy,” Garland says. “Now we can put on our own stuff. We can express ourselves.”
To Garland, fashion and business are intertwined.
“A lot of guys have different avenues of revenue with clothing pieces,” he says. “Guys have Lululemon deals, Armani deals. It’s crazy now. With the dress code not being a dress code anymore, it’s giving us money we can put in our pockets, and it lets us express ourselves.”
If only the league had embraced a more relaxed dress policy earlier, says Garland.
“Hip-hop culture influences basketball, and basketball influences hip-hop culture,” he says. “Everyone wants to see what athletes are wearing so they can wear it. We are the influencers.”
What began as a controversial, racially charged flashpoint has become a cultural engine, embraced by the league, celebrated by players, and followed by millions worldwide.
The NBA tried to define professionalism. The players redefined it instead. The dress code did not suppress the culture. It amplified it.
Years later, the runway to the locker room, once a battleground, is now one of the most influential stages in global fashion.
“You can trace the swag back to [Iverson],” Ball says. “The tattoos, the braids, the baggy stuff. We came a long way from [the NBA] punishing him for expressing himself. Now [hip-hop fashion] is at an all-time high again. We need to give Allen Iverson a lot of respect.”
ARLINGTON, Texas — The Eagles still can’t run the ball.
A year ago, Saquon Barkley rushed for 2,000 yards and the Eagles were able to impose their will on opposing defenses week in and week out.
This year? Their run game has been almost non-existent. It didn’t show up again on Sunday in their crushing 24-21 loss to the Cowboys.
“I wouldn’t say frustrated. More disappointed in myself,” Barkley said after the loss. “Not frustrated with anybody else. I’m a big believer that the run game starts with me and ends with me. I’m in a little funk right now. I’ve had funks like this before. Just gotta break it. The only way I know how is by flushing this, working my butt off and getting ready for my next opportunity.”
Barkley on Sunday had just 10 carries for 22 yards. He also caught 7 passes for 52 yards but had a costly fumble in the second half.
But is Saquon in a funk?
“He’s not in a funk, man,” left tackle Jordan Mailata said. “He’s hard on himself. That’s the guy Saquon is. Good dude. One of the greatest dudes I’ve ever known. He’s just being hard on himself. It’s on all of us up front.”
The Eagles on Sunday built a 21-point lead early in the second quarter and then took a 21-7 lead into halftime. The 2024 version of the Eagles would have run the ball down the Cowboys’ throat to kill clock and leave AT&T Stadium with a bully-ball win on the back of the Offensive Player of the Year.
This team just isn’t capable of that right now.
In total, the Eagles had just 63 rushing yards on Sunday afternoon. Barkley had 10 for 22, Jalen Hurts had 7 for 33 and Tank Bigsby had 1 for 8.
“I’m not getting the run game going,” Barkley said. “I’m not getting yards. I’m tired of the excuse of people trying to stop our run game. I don’t really subscribe to that. It’s gotta be better. Gotta make plays.”
A year after having an incredible run game, this year’s Eagles have struggled on the ground and have found that they can’t lean on that facet of their game the way they’d like.
The Eagles have played in 11 games this season and have gone over 200 rushing yards just once. They did that in 8 of 17 games in the regular season last year. And Barkley has gone over 100 yards just once in these 11 games.
Barkley, 28, now has 185 carries for 684 yards, an average of just 3.7 yards per pop this season. Those giant holes he had to run through in 2024 just aren’t there this season.
“It’s not on Saquon,” Mailata said. “It’s on all of us. It’s on all of us. You can just watch the film. We always say we’re one block away and as tiring and as repetitive as that is, that is the truth. I’m tired of saying it. But it starts with us. We gotta do a better job of execution. Until we do that, the run game’s not going anywhere.”
The Eagles had a two-touchdown lead going into the second half on Sunday and Barkley had just four rushing attempts in the second half. You could blame the coaching staff for not giving him the football.
Or you could look at the situation and realize they felt like they had to pivot away from that attack because the Cowboys were shutting it down.
“Anytime you’re one dimensional, that makes it tough,” head coach Nick Sirianni said. “I think we didn’t have the run game going again. When I say that, it’s on everybody. It’s on the coaching and it’s on the playing. In this game of football, it’s never just one thing. We’ve got to identify what it is and try to get better from it.”
The Cowboys utilized more five-man fronts to thwart the run game. The Eagles attempted to throw them out of those looks but it never really worked. While the Eagles’ passing attack helped them build a lead, they didn’t score again after that third touchdown.
It’s obvious that offensive line has not been healthy this season. The Eagles were without Lane Johnson (foot) on Sunday, while Cam Jurgens and Landon Dickerson have battled through their own injuries all season.
Barkley on Sunday night said he is healthy. That’s notable because he led the NFL in carries and touches last season.
And he also doesn’t think he’s pressing.
“I’m not playing well,” Barkley said. “Just got to play better. That’s really it.”
Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers suggested after watching his team lose to the Lions that the coaches could be tanking with bad play calls.
Nabers, who is out for the season with a torn ACL, posted on social media that the Giants' late play calling with a 27-24 lead made it look like they were purposely losing. The Giants led most of the game but lost to the Lions, 34-27 in overtime.
"Sometimes I think they b makin us lose on purpose," Nabers wrote, via ESPN. "Cause it's no way, bro you throw the ball instead of running it to make em burn 2 timeouts?? then you dnt kick the field goal?? Then they have to go down and score!!! Football common sense!!!! Am I missing something?"
Nabers later deleted the post without explanation.
Giants interim head coach Mike Kafka certainly deserves scrutiny for his play calling on the sequence Nabers is referencing. The Giants had second-and-goal at the Lions' 2-yard line with 3:11 left, and Kafka called a pass that fell incomplete, stopping the clock and saving the Lions a timeout. On third-and-goal, the Giants called a run to the outside that the Lions stopped for a four-yard loss. And then on fourth-and-goal from the 6-yard line, Kafka defied the analytics and common sense and went for it instead of kicking the field goal. The Giants threw another incompletion and the Lions took over on downs.
From there the Lions were just barely able to drive into field goal range, send the game into overtime with a 59-yard field goal, and win the game in overtime. Better play calling from Kafka in the goal-to-go situation could have clinched a win for the Giants in regulation.
The idea that Kafka is losing on purpose, however, doesn't make a lot of sense. As an interim head coach, Kafka knows he's auditioning for a head-coaching job, and pulling off an upset of the Lions would have bolstered his reputation. Kafka made some bad decisions down the stretch, but Nabers shouldn't attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
No other NFL wide receiver this year has played more and been targeted less.
And when you only get about 1 ½ passes thrown your way per game, you do everything that’s humanly possible to make a play. Because it might be another week or two until you get another chance.
So when Dotson got clobbered as hard as he’s ever been clobbered in the third quarter of the Lions game after catching a 17-yard pass from Jalen Hurts, there’s no way he was going to drop the ball.
“For me, in my situation, I don’t get a lot of opportunities,” Dotson said at his locker Thursday. “So when those opportunities arise, you’ve got to make the most of them.
“A coach once told me it’s way better to take the hit and make the catch than to take the hit and not make the catch and don’t have anything to show for it at all. So it’s just my mentality. Make the play no matter what.”
The Eagles were up 13-6 when Dotson had that 34-yard catch on the right sideline. Lions slot Brian Branch hit Dotson so hard he was called for unnecessary roughness and he got himself hurt.
“I honestly had no idea that guy that hit me was even there,” Dotson said. “Usually, I try to take a pre-snap picture before I’m catching the ball to see where I can turn up field.
“Honestly, I didn’t even see him. But he caught me pretty good. But it was nothing that was going to make me let go of that ball. I was just trying to make a play for the team.”
While Branch was being helped to the visiting sideline at the Linc, Dotson just bounced up and ran back to the huddle.
“I was good, honestly,” he said. “Getting up, all I could think about was, ‘Just don’t stumble, whatever you do.’”
It’s been an odd season for Dotson, who has receptions of 17, 24, 34, 40 and 51 yards but has just five other catches.
He ranks 111th in the NFL in targets but eighth in yards per target and fifth in yards per reception.
Howie Roseman gave up a 2nd-round pick for the former 1st-round pick, and he’s been playing a lot – 33 snaps per game – but the football just doesn’t go his way.
He doesn’t deal with it by tweeting enigmatic Biblical scriptures or complaining on Janky Rondo’s podcast.
He just keeps working.
“It’s really tough,” he said. “It never gets easier. It truly is extremely tough. But at the end of the day, it’s bigger than me.
“I don’t get many opportunities, so if I do happen to get one, I’m trying to make the most of it. And that’s every chance I get, whether it’s practice field, game field. Whenever my opportunities come, I’m going to be a guy who takes it upon myself to really come through for the team to make a play.
“That’s what I hold myself on, that’s what I pride myself on, that’s what I do.”
It can’t be easy to be ready when the ball rarely comes your way, but think back to the Eagles’ second drive in the Super Bowl nine months ago.
On a 2nd-and-11 from the Chiefs’ 28-yard-line, Dotson got literally his first target since wild-card weekend and he caught a deep ball down the right sideline that was initially ruled a touchdown before being changed to a 27-yarder that set up the Eagles’ first touchdown.
The rout was on.
“Yeah, and going through games, zero targets,” he said. “I think the Giants (second game) is a perfect example going through the entire game, even with A.J. down. I didn’t have a single target until my big catch (40-yard touchdown) at the end of the game.
“It’s just like this mentality. Whenever the ball’s in the air and it’s coming to me, I’m going to go get it, and I’m going to come down with it.
“I try to relay that with Jalen, to have that trust in me. I do this. It’s truly what I do. You can have full faith in me.”
Raphielle Johnson
Eric Samulski
