Sammy’s Sportsbook Whispers: Why UCLA Is The Best Betting Story Of The Season

Around the time the UCLA Bruins were set to host their Spring Game in early May, most Las Vegas sportsbooks thought they were a fringe bowl team. The Bruins’ regular-season win total opened at O/U 5.5, early money drove the market to O/U 6 and some shops were out to O/U 6.5 by August. Wise guys believed in Bob Chesney. Here we are 10 days before Halloween and the Bruins (6-0 SU, 6-0 ATS) are arguably the best betting story of the entire season. Not only have they cashed almost every Over ticket, they’ve covered every single game to date. This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports. "It’s remarkable for a first-year head coach," former Vegas bookmaker Ed Salmons told me. "They run the ball well and don’t make mistakes. "You look at UCLA’s schedule, though, the only good win is at Oregon. And I don’t even know what Oregon is at this point. I watched them the other day against Nebraska and they were horrendous." At the same, you only play who’s in front of you. "I’ve moved UCLA up a touchdown from the summer," professional bettor Slice said. "I didn’t do anything with the Nico [Iamaleava] injury yet. I’m still not sure what it means. There’s probably not that big of a drop-off there. "They are an extremely well-coached football team." One of the weekend’s biggest losers in terms of power rankings is Ohio State. Despite covering a very hostile game at Indiana over the weekend, Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin is out indefinitely with an arm injury. What’s the drop-off from a Heisman finalist to freshman Luke Fahey? "I dropped Ohio State eight points, but I’ll revisit it when they play their next game," Salmons admitted. "Usually with these top-tier quarterbacks, you take seven right off the top. The backup is a true freshman, and he wasn’t ready for Indiana. It was evident they weren’t going to let him lose the game. "Ohio State goes from my No. 1 team to No. 8 or so without Sayin." The Buckeyes also went from +600 to +450 to miss the College Football Playoff at a couple sportsbooks around the country. Still, their schedule isn’t exactly tough, and their roster is loaded. Even without Sayin, OSU can beat Oregon, Northwestern and Michigan at home. Then, if you split with USC and Nebraska on the road, you’re a Playoff team. "Here’s the difference between the Big Ten and the SEC," Salmons said. "You can make a case that the Big Ten is better up top, but once you go down the ladder, the Big Ten is trash from the middle to the bottom. Outside of Arkansas and Vanderbilt, anybody can beat anybody any week in the SEC. It’s so deep." It might be deep, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t flawed teams. Two weeks ago, Texas lost against unranked Oklahoma, then lost to unranked Florida. It’s the first time since 1961 that an AP No. 1 team lost two games in a row against unranked opponents. That’s the definition of underachieving. So what’s wrong with the Longhorns? "I think they just stink," Slice cracked. "They can’t move the ball. Their average third-down distance is like third-and-9. They can’t put drives together. And now Colin Simmons is out on the defensive side. He’s their best pass rusher. "Don’t get me started on Arch Manning, either." Salmons has spoon-fed us a winning wager in college football five of the last six weeks. The BYU-ND Under is the only blemish over that span. What’s the move, Ed? "I like South Carolina this week," Salmons opined. "The public will think there’s no way South Carolina should be favored. A team that’s unranked is favored over a top-12 team. The line and the money tell you the story." And don’t look now, but if the regular season ended today, every single NFC North team would make the postseason. That has never happened since the league expanded to a 14-team playoff back in 2020. "The Packers look like the most complete team in that division," Feazel said. "Especially with Josh Jacobs returning to the lineup and Micah Parsons potentially not far behind. Both the Bears and Lions continue to show defensive vulnerabilities and the Vikings’ biggest concern is the offense. "As the season progresses, the NFC North is making a strong case as the deepest and most dominant division in the NFL."

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Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker Downplays Seattle Return As Chiefs Visit Seahawks

Kenneth Walker is quiet by nature, so you would never know by talking to the Kansas City Chiefs running back that he is about to return to Seattle, where he helped the Seahawks win the Super Bowl just last season. Better leave it to his current coach, Andy Reid, and Walker's teammates to talk about Sunday night's highly anticipated showdown. "I know it's going to be a special moment for him to get back to the place where you kind of built your career, and won a Super Bowl," Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said Wednesday. "Those fans were the people around him for all that. A lot of those people were teammates he grew up with as well in the NFL. It will be a special moment for him. "But at the end of the day," Mahomes added, "we have to win a football game." Walker knows that as well as anyone. That might be another reason why he sidestepped a question, just like he's been avoiding those big defensive tackles, when he was asked about his return to Seattle after the Chiefs' 22-6 win over the Chargers last weekend. "I'm just focused on critiquing the mistakes we made," Walker said. "Once we get to that point, we'll see." That point is nearly here. Few free agents have made the kind of splash Walker has with Kansas City this season. He leads the NFL with 665 yards rushing, even though he's appeared in one game fewer than a lot of guys by virtue of the Chiefs' early bye. He's averaging 6.3 yards per attempt, half a yard better than the Falcons' Bijan Robinson, who is No. 2 among running backs. And his six touchdown runs are two back of the NFL's leader, Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen, and one behind the league's leading running backs. The most important number: Walker has helped the Chiefs start 5-0, making them one of the NFL's final three unbeatens. Walker was picked by Seattle in the second round of the 2022 draft, but for most his career, Walker shared duties in the backfield with Zach Charbonnet, whom the Seahawks picked in the second round the following year. It wasn't until Charbonnet hurt his knee late last season, and Walker became their singular feature back, that folks really got a glimpse of what he could do. Walker ran for 116 yards and three touchdowns in a rout of the 49ers to start the playoffs. He ran for another score in the next round against the Rams. And in the Super Bowl, Walker rumbled for 135 yards against New England on his way to MVP honors. "He's wired to do it," Reid said of Walker's return to Seattle. "When you're on a team, everybody knows your strengths and weaknesses and quirks and everything. I think the boys there will try to get after him a little bit. But he's a pretty level-headed guy. The way he plays, you're going to get a good rep when he gets the ball in his hands. He kind of has one speed: He's coming at you. It doesn't matter who he's playing or where he's playing." That might be true. But there is still something special about facing your former team, said Kansas City linebacker Drue Tranquill, who gets to do it twice a season; he spent his first four seasons with the Chargers, the Chiefs' rival in the AFC West. "You're emotions are higher," Tranquill said. There's something a little more edgy to facing your former team. At least, it was that way for me, and I'm sure he has a little chip on his shoulder, too. It will be a little hostile. I'm sure he'll love it." The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Can Seahawks Be Kenneth Walker's Kryptonite? Why Sunday Could Flip Narrative On Chiefs RB

Kansas City Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker III is balling out for his new team, and that’s no surprise to Seattle Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV. Jones observed Walker’s unique skill set up close, as the Memphis native put the Seattle offense on his back to lead the Seahawks to a Super Bowl victory just eight months ago, earning MVP honors. However, Seattle decided not to use the franchise tag and lost Walker to the Chiefs in free agency. Walker now leads the league in rushing and has rejuvenated Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City offense, pushing them to a 5-0 record, while the Seahawks are scuffling at 3-3. The two teams face off in a nationally televised game at Lumen Field on Sunday, and Jones is tasked with trying to shut down his former teammate. "We’ve got our hands full," Jones told me. "He’s playing at a really high level — an Offensive Player of the Year type level. We just want to go out there and stop him. Keeping him to a minimum of yards would be a best-case scenario with a guy like him." Walker leads the league in rushing with 665 yards in just five games, and that's with the Chiefs already having their bye week. The Seahawks, meanwhile, have 643 rushing yards as a team in six games, causing many to second-guess their decision to let Walker leave as he signed a three-year, $43.05 million contract to join the Chiefs in March. Walker has rushed for over 100 yards in four of his five games this season, but Seattle has not allowed a 100-yard rusher since Week 8 of the 2024 season, when James Cook of the Buffalo Bills ran for 111 yards. That’s a streak of 35 straight games. Jones has been Seattle’s green-dot, defensive play caller for all that stretch and says he takes pride in that mark. "It only probably means something to me," Jones told me. "Just being in the middle of that defense, I’m pretty sure I think about it more than any of the other guys." In his third year in head coach Mike Macdonald’s system, Jones told me he’s the most comfortable playing inside linebacker as a pro. And it shows. Jones is second in the league in combined tackles with 59, including three tackles for loss. He also has three sacks, an interception and three pass deflections. The Seahawks lead the NFL in total yards allowed per game (237) and they’re tied for the top spot in takeaways (11). Jones said his defense will have to use those playmaking attributes to contain one of the most elusive runners in the league in Walker. "It’s rallying to the football, staying disciplined and just tackling," Jones told me. "You’ve got to tackle well. You can’t give him an opportunity to continue to make people miss, because he’s dynamic at doing that. He’s a really, really good back." Seahawks general manager John Schneider decided to let Walker hit free agency in part because of his injury history. Walker, who the Seahawks took in the second round of the 2022 draft, struggled at times to stay on the field, playing all 17 games in just one season in four years with the team. Schneider views the running back position as fungible and replaceable. The Seahawks have only signed three running backs to second contracts during Schneider’s era: Marshawn Lynch, Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny. Lynch was the only one of the three who proved a good return on the investment. Schneider used the salary cap space he saved by not signing Walker to re-sign receiver/returner Rashid Shaheed to a three-year, $51.7 million extension. And while Shaheed has not produced at a similar level to Walker, the Seahawks also gave up fourth- and fifth-round picks to secure his services in a trade, so it made sense to try and keep the San Diego native considering the draft compensation used and Shaheed’s versatility. However, Schneider’s plan to replace Walker’s production with a running-back-by-committee approach has not worked. The Seahawks drafted Jadarian Price in the first round to serve as the team’s workhorse back while Zach Charbonnet worked his way back from an ACL tear he suffered last postseason. Price is on the injured reserve with a chest injury and struggled to hold onto the football when healthy, fumbling the ball twice over three games. Seattle could be getting some reinforcements back with Charbonnet a full participant at practice this week for the first time since he was injured during the playoffs. Jones said whether it’s Charbonnet or the current running back group (which features Emanuel Wilson, George Holani and Velus Jones Jr.), it’s about execution. "The running game as a whole is more than having a guy back there," Jones told me. "Guys have to work together in making that thing go forward. And I think that’s what we’re striving to continue to do. We’ve seen our offense do it at a high level before, so I think that’s what they’re searching for, just hitting the right targets. And I believe they are going to do that." Sam Darnold struggled this season without Walker and a dynamic running game to lean on, throwing seven interceptions in four games since returning from a glute injury. However, the USC product went through a similar stretch last season, including a four-interception performance in a close loss to the Los Angeles Rams, where Jones vehemently defended his quarterback in comments to reporters afterwards. This season, Jones believes Darnold will rebound again, needing more time on task with new offensive coordinator Brian Fleury to get more connected within the offense. "It’s the reps," Jones told me. "He did miss a game or two. That’s a hard position back there. I cannot sit up here and say I would do anything different. I know the type of guy Sam is and the work he puts in. I know he cares, so if anybody can turn this thing around and fix the problems that they’re having, it’s him." The margins of the Seahawks' losses have been thin. They've only been outscored by a total of eight points in their three losses. But Jones thinks two specific areas have led to Seattle's so-so start this year: its struggles defensively in the red zone (30th in the NFL) and taking care of the football (12 giveaways, tied for the third-most). "We’ve just got to work on the things that are hurting us right now, which is red zone defense and ball security," Jones said. "We’re not taking care of it and we’re not stopping people from scoring. I think if you do those things at least one more time in each of those losses, then you’re sitting here with a completely different story. So, I just think capitalizing on those moments and not hurting ourselves is the biggest thing right now." The NFL’s Dream Team has shown some cracks in the foundation under head coach Sean McVay after starting the season 2-4. Running back Kyren Williams complained about not being on the field enough after his team’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Williams is sharing carries with Blake Corum, but the Pro Bowler is outpacing the Michigan product in rushing yards (393-223) and carries (80-47) through six games. However, the tone-setting running back said he just wants to help make a significant impact for an underperforming offense. "No matter what, we’ve got to continue to have that energy," Williams said after the game. "When plays are made, be excited and be happy so that we can uplift not only the offense, but the defense and special teams. Being able to have that camaraderie and being able to play off one another – that’s going to allow us to be where we want to be." The team’s best player on offense, Puka Nacua, also didn’t mince words when asked how the team can get out of its current funk — they need to play more physical. "I think the physicality is something we’re not going to shy away from and is a big part of who we are," Nacua said. "I think that physicality, with an awareness of what’s going on and what the defense is presenting us so we can use our physicality as a strength." Bottom line: The Rams need to get back to running the football. Reigning MVP Matthew Stafford leads the league in passing yards (1,794) and completions (164), but he also has the most passing attempts (249) in the NFL. That’s not a recipe for success for a 38-year-old quarterback playing on a team dealing with a rash of significant injuries. Rams head coach Sean McVay announced this week that defensive tackle Poona Ford (torn triceps) is out for the year, Davante Adams (hamstring tear) will be out six to 10 weeks, defensive tackle Kobie Turner (groin) will go on the injured reserve and recent addition kicker Blake Grupe is out for the year with a torn ACL in his right knee. Cornerback Trent McDuffie likely remains out this week with a groin issue, and edge rusher Myles Garrett will miss his sixth game as he recovers from a knee issue. And tight end Terance Ferguson has missed three games with an ankle injury. McVay’s offense operates best when he effectively runs the football because it activates the play-action game. But McVay also sometimes loses sight of running the football during the game, especially when his team is chasing points. The Rams have run the ball just 36% of the time this season, compared to 43% in 2025. Los Angeles is averaging 113 rushing yards a game this season, compared to 127 rushing yards a contest last year. In 2025, Stafford led the league with 1,779 passing yards on play-action passes, with 19 touchdowns and just one interception. This year, Stafford is 11th in play-action passing yards (421), with two touchdowns and two interceptions. "I would like to be more balanced, no question about it," McVay said this week. "Ultimately, what I care about and what we care about is what’s the best way to move the ball and score points. Because of some of the situations that we’ve been in, those two-minute situations have gotten us a little bit out of balance. "No matter how I cut it, it’s an excuse. I’d like to be able to have a little bit more balance and that’s reflected by being efficient on early downs and sustaining drives." Los Angeles Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak wants to run the football. Just look at the Seattle Seahawks when he was there last season, who leaned on the electric play of Walker in the postseason to win the Super Bowl. Kubiak has a first-round running back in Ashton Jeanty, selected No. 6 overall in last year’s draft. But the Raiders have been unable to get consistent production from Jeanty in Kubiak’s zone running scheme. Jeanty’s got 313 yards on 98 carries, averaging a pedestrian 3.2 yards per carry. He’s showing toughness by playing through ankle and foot injuries, though. Meanwhile, Mike Washington Jr., a fourth-round rookie out of Arkansas, has 168 yards on 34 carries for a robust 4.9 yards per carry. Washington is a big back at 6-foot-2 and 228 pounds, compared to the 5-8, 208-pound Jeanty. And Jeanty’s carries have steadily declined from a season-high 23 carries to start the year to back-to-back season lows of 10 carries each of the last two games. Jeanty had just 22 yards against the Bills. Jeanty is the only running back with at least 50 carries to be stuffed for a loss or no gain on more than a quarter of his carries this season (26.5%), according to Next Gen Stats. Washington rushed for a game-high 43 yards on nine carries in the Raiders’ loss to the Buffalo Bills last week. Washington appears to be a better fit for Kubiak’s one-cut, zone running scheme because of his downhill running style and could be in store for a heavier workload moving forward. 5. Arizona Cardinals The Battle of L.A. has been won by …. the Cardinals? Arizona is 2-0 against both LA teams at SoFi Stadium, and the LaFleur brothers (Packers head coach Matt LaFleur and Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur) are now 6-0 over McVay. 4. Seattle Seahawks Seattle hosts Kansas City for the first of three straight home games at Lumen Field. The Seahawks need to do a better job of keeping Darnold clean. He’s been hit a league-high 22% of the time when pressured. Darnold has been pressured on 42.3% of his dropbacks this season, per Next Gen Stats. 3. Denver Broncos Broncos head coach Sean Payton says he’s sticking with Bo Nix as the team’s starter moving forward. And the Oregon product faces the Cardinals on the road. Nix is 11-2 vs. NFC teams with 3,007 passing yards and 28 total touchdowns (22 passing, 6 rushing). 2. Kansas City Chiefs With 760 scrimmage yards and eight scrimmage touchdowns, Walker is the sixth player in league history with at least 750 scrimmage yards and eight scrimmage touchdowns in his first five games of a season, joining Jim Brown (1958 and 1963), Eric Dickerson (1983), Marshall Faulk (2000), Emmitt Smith (1995) and Priest Holmes (2002). 1. San Francisco 49ers San Francisco is rolling, but the latest injury at receiver to Mike Evans could limit Brock Purdy’s ability to push the ball down the field. Six receivers projected to help the 49ers at the start of the year are now potentially unavailable this week due to injuries in Ricky Pearsall (knee), Christian Kirk (calf), De’Zhaun Stribling (ankle), Demarcus Robinson (ankle), Deebo Samuel (hamstring) and Evans (Achilles). "0-6 does not give the privilege to rule out anything at this point. And we’re looking into everything." — Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh when asked if he would make a change during the bye week at offensive coordinator with Mike McDaniel. Harbaugh said the Bolts will work this week to simplify the offense for Justin Herbert.

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QB Notebook: Jordan Love Enters The MVP Race; C.J. Stroud Earning Big Extension

Welcome to the Quarterback Notebook, where I’ll cover the past week in NFL quarterbacking — from the most interesting passers, plays and storylines to some other stuff that caught my eye while watching film this week. This week, we'll make an MVP case for Jordan Love, give C.J. Stroud his flowers, and take a look at the Eagles' new starting quarterback. Let’s talk quarterbacks. The MVP odds, with Love sitting around ninth or 10th depending on the sportsbook, might make you think otherwise, but I’m calling my shot early here. Love doesn’t have the numbers you’d expect from a viable MVP candidate, but he has plenty of time to fix that after a slow start, mostly due to shoddy pass protection. The Packers' offensive line is still an issue, but Love appears to have learned to mitigate it over the last few weeks. In Sunday night's win over the Cowboys, he got a chance to show a national audience how a great quarterback can thrive under overwhelming pressure. Love did it in a number of ways. Like just standing there and running his reads as the pocket collapsed around him: Or by sidestepping the rush and creating a throwing window, as he does by looking off the linebacker on this audacious pass: Throwing a fadeaway that hits the receiver in stride to maximize YAC will also get the job done: Hitting an anticipatory throw before an unblocked rusher is another way to beat the pressure: Shifting the protection to pick up the blitz also works, but you still may have to throw it early in case your tight end whiffs on his block: It’s rare to see a quarterback play his best ball when the conditions around him are at their worst. But that’s what we’re seeing from Love, whose quick pressure rate (24.5%) and average time to pressure (2.35 seconds) are the worst in the NFL. Even more impressive, all that pressure hasn’t pushed Love into a conservative shell. He’s still as ambitious as ever and was bombing ludicrous passes downfield against Dallas—as he did against Chicago the previous week. I felt like I needed a cigarette after watching it. Love’s stat line on Sunday night would have looked even better if his receiver hadn’t forgotten how to catch. You could put together a sweet highlight reel just by compiling the deep passes they dropped. Love (with some help from the overachieving defense) is keeping the Packers in the NFC North race, and he’s receiving little help. Beyond the drops, the team has the league's worst pass protection and a run game that ranks dead last in the NFL by a wide margin, averaging 59.8 yards per game. The next-worst rushing team, Dallas, averages 76 yards a contest. That this team is sitting at 4-2 and holding onto the fifth seed in the conference is a minor miracle. Replace Love with another quarterback not named Patrick, Josh, or Lamar, and they’d be headed for a top-10 pick. Whether Houston will give Stroud the big-money extension he’s seeking is no longer in question. Now it’s just a matter of how much the Texans will have to fork over to get him to sign. Before the two sides put off contract talks until after the season, Houston was reportedly willing to pay Stroud in the $50 million range, putting him somewhere in the top-12 of the highest-paid quarterbacks, but the 25-year-old decided he’d rather play through 2026 and see where the market was at next offseason. With quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson, Drake Maye, and Caleb Williams due for extensions, and the cap projected to jump again, $60 million per year will be the starting point for quarterbacks seeking a new deal. I don’t want to exaggerate Stroud’s improvement. I thought he was significantly better than the public perception. He did a lot of heavy lifting for a Houston offense with no semblance of a running game, a receiving corps ravaged by injuries, and a first-year offensive coordinator who was still searching for his own play-calling identity. After his return from a concussion in Week 13, Stroud put up solid numbers and even better tape. A horrific performance in the playoff loss to New England obscured how well Stroud had been playing. Since Week 13 of last season, Stroud has Pro Football Focus’ sixth-highest passing grade (right ahead of Maye), he ranks 11th in expected points added per play (right ahead of Joe Burrow), eighth in yards per attempt (right ahead of Patrick Mahomes), and fifth in PFF’s "big time throw" metric (ahead of Josh Allen, Dak Prescott, Brock Purdy and Justin Herbert). Only four quarterbacks have fewer "turnover-worthy plays," according to PFF. Stroud has been playing good football for a while, but this season he’s leveled up in a few key areas. Playing out of structure is the big one. Stroud will never be a creative force, like a Mahomes or Allen, but he looks more comfortable throwing on the move now. His 13.8% completion percentage over expected on scramble-drill throws is a career high, per Next Gen Stats. He’s already generated 7.8 EPA on scramble runs, putting him on pace to shatter his career high (11.8), and Stroud hasn't thrown an interception under pressure this season. Stroud has always been a solid performer in structure; now he’s becoming a reliable one when things break down. Sunday’s win over Jacksonville offered a glimpse at the progress Stroud has made in that area. The Texans put up 34 points against a strong Jaguars defense, largely thanks to Stroud’s play under duress. The Jags defense generated five unblocked pressures. Stroud didn’t take a single sack and went 5-of-5 for 69 yards. He also made one of the season's throws with a defender right in his grill. Stroud has also performed better against the blitz, which isn’t surprising. The Texans brought in offensive coordinator Nick Caley last season to put more on Stroud’s plate before the snap. It was the first time he controlled the protections and could change plays at the line of scrimmage. There were some growing pains early last season, but the plan is starting to bear fruit. Now Stroud can put out fires before they erupt after the snap, which was the goal when the coaching staff handed him the keys to the offense last offseason. "I’ve never played quarterback," Caley told me last August. "I’ve coached offense for well over a decade, but you learn things and see things from a quarterback’s perspective. We [as coaches] can prepare all we want, but the pictures could change … When you have a quarterback who understands the intent of what you’re doing, he can solve problems for you. He can get you out of bad situations and get you into favorable ones." Stroud is now fully capable of solving problems for Houston’s offense—at least the ones he can control. This idea that Stroud hasn’t improved since his rookie season is mostly nonsense. While he did take a step back in his second season, his numbers have improved since then. Based on advanced metrics (which are generally more informative than traditional stats), Stroud’s third season was even better than his rookie campaign. In 2026, he’s on pace for his best season yet, and it’ll make him a lot of money. It doesn’t matter who’s starting at quarterback; the Eagles offense stinks. With Jalen Hurts out on Sunday against the Panthers, Philadelphia turned to their prized backup, Tanner McKee, and the results were the same: a lethargic performance in a low-scoring loss. It wasn’t fair to blame Hurts for all the offensive woes, and the same goes for McKee, who made his first meaningful start on Sunday. The 2023 sixth-round pick didn’t stand much of a chance. A faulty run game and a frustrating number of penalties kept him behind the chains all game. The pass protection remains subpar, and offensive coordinator Sean Mannion doesn’t know how to work around it. Even with that in mind, McKee’s weaknesses were apparent. He doesn’t have a strong arm—it looked like he was throwing a weighted ball—and he’s a bit of a statue in the pocket. That combination of factors makes performing under pressure a tall task for McKee. Carolina picked up on that and cranked up their blitz rate. But there were positives as well. While McKee lacks Hurts’ mobility and arm talent, he doesn’t shy away from targeting the middle of the field, and he gets rid of the ball quickly. McKee’s 2.42-second average time to throw was the second lowest of the season for Philadelphia, which contributed to the Eagles posting their second-lowest pressure rate allowed. If this were a high-functioning offense, those aspects of McKee’s game might have helped. But this unit isn't in shape to prop up a quarterback like McKee, who needs a strong run game and an effective play-action attack to do his best work. He’s a good fit for what Philadelphia wants its offense to be, but he can’t provide what it needs right now. It needs a quarterback comfortable with playing out of structure and creating when plays break down. Those are hard to find on the trade market, and you certainly won’t find one in the pool of available free agents. If I’m Eagles general manager Howie Roseman, I’m calling Indianapolis to see what it would cost to get Anthony Richardson, the former first-round pick who lost his job to Daniel Jones last offseason. Richardson may lack familiarity with Mannion’s system, but he should be well-versed in Nick Sirianni’s, having played for Shane Steichen, who worked under the Eagles head coach before taking the Colts job. Either way, I still don't count Philadelphia out of the NFC East race. The division-leading Giants are down to their third quarterback, the second-place Cowboys might have the league's worst defense, and the Commanders are headed in the wrong direction. Justice for the former journeyman backup! Fitzpatrick wasn't wrong when he unloaded on Bo Nix on Thursday night, though some Broncos fans, including Aqib Talib, took exception. "Bo Nix is not playing competitively," he said. "It's almost disrespectful to the quarterback position how he's playing football right now." To be fair to Nix, the Seahawks defense didn’t give him many downfield opportunities, but his aversion to throwing downfield fits the season's broader pattern. And with Nix refusing to scramble, he’s bringing nothing to the Broncos offense. As Fitzpatrick says, the third-year quarterback needs to be more competitive and take more chances. Could Fitzpatrick have been nicer about it? Sure, but his analysis was spot on. Justin Herbert had another rough go on Sunday, but this bomb to Quentin Johnston reminded everyone how talented he is. And if you’re wondering: no, the Chargers did not score a touchdown on that drive. Just take the sack, Justin.

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Upon Further Review: Just How Off We Were On Rams, Chargers; Ashton Jeanty A Bust?

I might as well own this one: I was badly wrong. Predicting is not my favorite part of the job, but we were asked for a bold prediction in January, so I called for the Los Angeles Chargers to win the Super Bowl on their home field this season. Days before the season started, they asked for a Super Bowl prediction, and I doubled down, picking the Chargers to beat the Los Angeles Rams in an all-Los-Angeles Super Bowl. So the Chargers are 0-6. The Rams are 2-4. At this point, I'm just hoping the game isn't moved from SoFi Stadium. Everybody loved the Rams, as oddsmakers' favorites to win it all, even before they brought Aaron Donald out of retirement. With the Chargers, the addition of Mike McDaniel and a healthy offensive line seemed like a recipe for Justin Herbert getting over the hump. Instead, they're a combined 2-10, and one city has two of the NFL's biggest disappointments. The Rams' first three losses were to the San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills — three of the 10 best teams in the league — that's understandable, but Sunday's loss was at home to the Arizona Cardinals, who were 1-4 and 30th in our weekly power rankings. Arizona is 2-0 at SoFi this season, somehow with more wins there than the Rams (1-2) and Chargers (0-3) combined. The Rams are third in the NFL in total offense, third in total defense, and somehow 2-4, with special teams and four missed field goals playing a role in that. The Chargers are even more astounding. To be winless and losing close games is one thing, but their point differential is minus-61, only one point better than the lowly Dolphins. The defense has missed former defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, off to the Ravens, and the offense has regressed under McDaniel. Six games in, no Chargers player has caught more than one touchdown pass. By comparison, the Raiders have four such players. Two years ago, Herbert threw three interceptions in the entire season. This year, he has at least one in all six losses. Back to the Rams, they were the oddsmakers' favorite to win the Super Bowl entering the season — in the last 20 years, they're just the second preseason Super Bowl favorite to have a losing record after six games, following the 2015 Seahawks, who rallied from a 2-4 start to finish 10-6, but lost to the 15-1 Panthers in the divisional round. Only four Super Bowl favorites in the last 50 years had losing records at this stage, and none of them made a conference championship game. Now the Rams and Chargers will be meeting up at SoFi, but not in February. They play a week from Sunday, and in theory, one of those teams should escape with a victory. The Chargers, now that the Texans have won two straight, are easily the league's most glaring underachievers. The Rams lost two key players to injuries on Sunday: receiver Davante Adams and defensive lineman Kobie Turner. They still have enough talent to salvage a wild-card spot even from 2-4, but that turnaround needs to start now. The NFC East and NFC South could both have division winners close to .500, so you could see two wild cards as favorites on the road to open the playoffs. Regardless, the only playoff game that will be held at SoFi will be on Valentine's Day. It's not even a season and a half, but with the Las Vegas Raiders losing three straight, we can revisit how underwhelming running back Ashton Jeanty has been since Las Vegas took him with the No. 6 overall pick last year. Jeanty has played 23 games now, and in just four of those games he has averaged even 4.0 yards per carry, a very pedestrian measure of rushing success. In the Week 5 loss to the New England Patriots, he had 10 carries for 27 yards, and in Sunday's loss to the Bills, he had 10 carries for 22. Consider it this way: There have been 91 players who got 350 or more carries in their first 23 games — that's more than 15 carries a game — and of those 91, Jeanty ranks 85th with just 3.54 yards per carry. The six worse than him? Karim Abdul-Jabbar, Rashaan Salaam, Leonard Russell, Trent Richardson, Errict Rhett and Curtis Enis. That's rough company, and the common thread is high draft picks who earned a heavy workload and the benefit of the doubt early, then were quickly discarded. Richardson went third overall and was out of the league after three years. Same for Enis, who went fifth. Two spots above Jeanty is Leonard Fournette, a No. 4 overall pick who was cut by the Jaguars after three years. Few backs have come into the league with more promise and excitement than Jeanty, who rushed for 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns in his last year at Boise State. You can blame some of his rookie-year struggles on an offensive line decimated by injuries, but the Raiders spent big to bring in center Tyler Linderbaum, and Jeanty's numbers got worse, going from 3.7 yards per carry last year to 3.2 in 2026. Of 28 backs with 60-plus carries, Jeanty has the second-worst average, ahead of only Cleveland Browns standout Quinshon Judkins. This past Sunday, Jeanty was outperformed by Mike Washington, a fourth-round rookie from Arkansas who's averaging 4.9 yards per carry and making a case to chip into Jeanty's workload each week. The Raiders had the makings of a strong young core in rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza, Jeanty and third-year tight end Brock Bowers, but you wonder if Jeanty will still be the offensive focus by the time Mendoza takes over. The Steelers have pulled out back-to-back wins for a share of the AFC North lead, and a surprising part has been rookie receiver Germie Bernard, who has stepped up amid injuries to Michael Pittman Jr., Roman Wilson and Ben Skowronek. Bernard, a second-round pick from Alabama, totaled seven catches for 60 yards in his first four NFL games, but has exploded in the last two weeks, first with six for 80 in the win against the Colts, then a true breakout game Sunday in Tampa. Bernard finished with 11 catches for 87 yards, including the winning touchdown in overtime for his first NFL score. "I just love everything he’s doing," Steelers coach Mike McCarthy said. "I mean, he’s accepted the challenge. We have a lot on his plate and he’s handling it ... he’s playing really good football for us." Pittsburgh trailed 13-0 with 1:28 left in the first half, but Aaron Rodgers found Bernard twice for gains of 12 and 14 yards to set up a field goal at the end of the half. He's made an impact in volume as well. In the last 50 years, only three Steelers rookies have gotten 80 receiving yards in back-to-back games: George Pickens in 2022, Santonio Holmes in 2006 and Louis Lipps in 1984. "I always say you have to make the most of your opportunities," Bernard said of his overtime touchdown, reaching the ball out over the goal line. "I got the ball in my hands and I saw DK [Metcalf] had the block, so I knew I had to make it count. ... I did what I could for the team to have success." Bernard is still learning. Pittsburgh missed a fourth-down conversion when he caught a pass at the line to gain and backed up briefly, allowing himself to be tackled short of the stick. On the whole, the Steelers are thrilled with his progress. If Bernard can continue at his recent pace, the Steelers' rookie receiving records are within reach — JuJu Smith-Schuster has the yards record at 917 in 2017, and running back Najee Harris has the receptions record at 74 in 2021. "You need to ease expectations, but there comes a time when the confidence starts to match the potential, and I think we're reaching that time with Germie," Rodgers said after the game. "Very proud of him. Obviously, the fourth down, probably should just catch it and (not) back up. But he made a lot of nice plays today, a lot of smart plays, a lot of good catches. Obviously, super smart there. Catch, kind of broke a tackle, reach out for the game-winning touchdown. We had to have it."

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Report Details Expected Eagles Punishment For Handling Of Jalen Hurts Blood Clot

The Philadelphia Eagles are not being disciplined for how they handled quarterback Jalen Hurts’ blood clots, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because conversations between the league and team were to remain private. In a statement released Tuesday, the NFL said officials had been in contact with Eagles medical personnel and the Cleveland Clinic in London throughout the process of Hurts being treated. "The league’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Allen Sills, arranges for medical resources with leading providers in every international market with approval from the NFL Players Association," the league said. "Medical care for players is provided by club medical staff in coordination with independent doctors." Sills and other officials are expected to address reporters at the league's annual fall meeting later Tuesday in New York. Hurts is on injured reserve and expected to miss the rest of the season after a blood clot in his left calf traveled to his lungs. The Eagles and agent Nicole Lynn said Monday that Hurts has deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary emboli. His treatment involves blood thinners, and Hurts will not be allowed to participate in any football activities until he is off them. Hurts played in London against Jacksonville on Oct. 11, three days after informing medical staff of the injury after practice. He was initially diagnosed by specialists in London with a left calf superficial vein thrombosis. Reporting by The Associated Press.

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QB Stock Market Week 7: Is C.J. Stroud Back? Is Patrick Mahomes Evolving?

There’s a lot we didn’t see coming this year. OK, there’s a lot I didn’t see coming this year. Bo Nix’s regression has been fierce. C.J. Stroud’s rebound has been remarkable. And Patrick Mahomes’ return to being … well, Patrick Mahomes, has been a joy to watch. Let’s get into all of that and more in this week’s QB Stock Market. These aren’t your typical QB rankings. I’m focused on contextualizing the fluctuations of starters' performances throughout the season. I don’t write about every quarterback every week, but I dive deeply into the most compelling performers. No one — not even Josh Allen — is safe at the top. No one — not even Tanner McKee — is stuck at the bottom. There is room for quick ascent — and rapid decline. One question holds the most importance: What have you done for your team lately? Previous: Offseason | Preseason | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 The Giants have a relatively easy decision to make this week. They’re almost definitely going to promote J.J. McCarthy to QB1. Winston is a good bridge QB or a backup. He can help you win a few games. But he’s not a QB that you can build an offense around. Now, I’m not totally sure that McCarthy is either. But in Week 6, he did enough to make us curious. In the fourth quarter against the Saints, he racked up 243 passing yards. Just in the fourth quarter! Justin Herbert’s season high is 226 yards. There were a few things that we saw from McCarthy in his 2026 debut. He layered a pass into a soft spot in the Saints defense (above), which was exactly the throw that the Vikings didn’t trust him to make. He also generated explosive plays, with four in this game — despite only posting 17 during his Vikings tenure. Let’s not sugarcoat it, though. McCarthy has been in New York for just a few weeks. He doesn’t know the depths of the offense. And in this appearance, he was playing against one of the league’s worst defenses in what initially looked like garbage time. And he completed only 11 of his 21 passes (5.24%) for 243 yards, a touchdown and an interception. This wasn’t a sterling or impeccable performance. It’s possible — likely even — that the Giants later turn back to Winston, who has been serviceable, especially given all the adversity that’s stacked against a backup. But McCarthy is a compelling option to, at least, explore while the NFC East is still an open race. He is also the type of asset who could appreciate and net a Day 2 pick this offseason. There are layers of upside. If he knows the offense well enough to play, let McCarthy play. Nix has been objectively bad this year, and he seems to get worse every week. Week 6 against the Seahawks might have been up there with his three worst performances of his career — going all the way back to his rookie year, when everyone proclaimed him a bust in those first few weeks. Nix’s performance was so conservative that he looked like he was playing scared, finishing the game with an average air yards attempt of 2.98. He checked it down, he threw underneath and he could not — for the life of him — complete a pass of more than 10 yards downfield. Normally, we’d chalk that up to Seattle's defense. But 1) the Seahawks' defense has been gettable this year for QBs, and 2) this has been more of the same from Nix for the past three weeks. That’s why Amazon Prime analyst Ryan Fitzpatrick boiled over after the game. "Bo Nix is not playing competitively," Fitzpatrick said on air. "It’s almost disrespectful to the quarterback position how he’s playing quarterback right now. … He has no trust from his coach, he calls a screen play on third-and-8. … I can only imagine how Sean Payton feels. I mean, Sean Payton, [offensive coordinator] Davis Webb, everybody that blocks for him. He’s not competing right now." Well, let’s talk about Payton and Webb. Because they haven’t made life easier for Nix. Payton named Webb the playcaller before the season. At that point, Webb changed the terminology for the playbook. Essentially, Nix learned a new language this offseason. So, when Payton took back playcalling duties two weeks ago, the head coach changed the terminology back to the original playbook. That means Nix has had to forget what he learned this offseason. That also means a newcomer such as receiver Jaylen Waddle has had to learn another language — after joining the team this offseason and learning the system with Webb’s terminology. I understand that Payton felt like he had to do this. But all this change must be difficult for the third-year QB to manage in a situation where he’s, frankly, already playing poorly. Even before the changes, Nix looked confused. Look no further than his previous game against the Rams when he was constantly putting the ball in harm’s way. I don’t know how the Broncos fix this — nor do I know how long it’ll take. This is on Nix. But it’s not only on Nix. I think Payton — with all this mismanagement — deserves blame for the QB’s regression. You would have no way of knowing that Tyler Shough is playing through two broken bones in his left hand. The dude was a heat-seeking missile for contact this past week against the Giants, particularly late in the game — when he put his body on the line to lock up a narrow win for the Saints. I don’t think that’s necessarily smart in the long term. But on a day when he completed 53.3% of his passes, it did call for him to make up for the lack of efficiency in the passing game with some efficiency in the rushing game. And to that point, the inefficiencies were not all on him. The Saints had five drops, per PFF, with a drop percentage of 23.8 — the highest of the season by far. No doubt, Shough also missed some chances. He had overthrows to receiver Bryce Lance in the second quarter for what would’ve been a big play — and also on a scramble play to tight end Juwan Johnson. But this was anything but a crisp performance from the entire Saints unit. I still like the ways Shough seems to be improving. I can’t help but mention that Nix’s regression is something that’s distinctly possible for Shough, who does many of the things well that Nix did last year. But on the whole, Shough is a more polished and consistent player than Nix. And so I don’t see a massive regression coming, particularly not with Jordyn Tyson back at practice this week. His highly anticipated return — coupled with running back Travis Etienne’s return down the line — could make the Saints' offense into something special. This might be the finest performance of C.J. Stroud’s career. At this time last week, we were wondering if this Jaguars had the best defense in the NFL. They forced two interceptions out of Drake Maye. They forced two interceptions out of Joe Burrow. They sacked Deshaun Watson five times. And even after this shootout loss to the Texans, Jacksonville is third in points allowed per game (17.3). Its defense is excellent. Stroud was just better. He lit the Jags up for 312 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. His completion percentage over expected was 12.8%, per NextGen Stats. And it was not just about dinks or dunks. No, this performance was also about the big-time throws. Stroud delivered two deep passes that were so difficult and so impressive. The first was a shot along the sideline to Nico Collins in the first quarter, in which the Pro Bowl wideout laid out to haul in the perfectly placed pass. And that was only the second-best play. Even better, Stroud fired the ball downfield — with linebacker Dennis Gardeck blocking Stroud’s line of vision and arm follow-through — to receiver Jaylin Noel. With 45 seconds left in the second quarter, this throw helped the Texans get a score before the half in a tight game. The Texans won this game because of Stroud. Not because of DeMeco Ryans and the defense — or Collins. Not because of the Marvin Harrison Jr. trade. Think about how far he’s come in just the past nine months. The Jaguars are a playoff team — and perhaps the second-best team in the AFC behind the Chiefs. Think about what Stroud looked like against the Patriots and their elite defense in the postseason. It’s a sizable (and long-awaited) improvement for the fourth-year QB — and at a crucial moment ahead of his contract negotiations. Stroud was the No. 1 reason for the Texans’ win. He is the reason why they can still make the playoffs. He might even enter the MVP conversation if he can keep this up. It has been an impressive season for Jordan Love — but an especially impressive two weeks. While his stat line this past Sunday against the Cowboys (23-41, 277 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) won't blow anyone away, know this: Love had three potential long touchdowns hit his receivers in the hands. There were two to Matthew Golden and one to Christian Watson. He also had a rushing TD. In other words — with a little luck (and help from his receivers) — this might’ve been a repeat performance from the previous week when he dropped bombs on the Chicago Bears’ defense. It's not crazy to think Love would’ve had 400 passing yards. In one sense, I think Green Bay's offense is becoming one-dimensional. And it’s the deep game. But for now, that has been enough to right the ship for the Packers, who started the season 1-2. Their running game is still abysmal. Their offensive line isn’t a group of world beaters. Running back Josh Jacobs should help them as he returns from the Commissioner’s Exempt List. Still, Love is going to have to carry this unit for the majority of the season, which isn’t something we’re accustomed to seeing him do. But after what we've seen him do recently — and throughout last year — it’s easy to believe he can handle the pressure. Joe Burrow’s completion rate is up to 71.4% this year, which would be a career high. His success rate (52.5%) is the second-best clip of his career. After years of slow starts, the Bengals are off to a strong one at 3-2. The only problem is that the rest of the AFC North is off to a stronger start — all sitting at 4-2. Trevor Lawrence saw the Texans’ most aggressive game plan of the season, with Houston blitzing at 39.5%, the highest blitz rate all year for their defense. He picked them apart, completing 8 of 17 throws for 126 yards and two touchdowns against the blitz. And still, with Stroud playing out of his mind, Lawrence’s production (four passing touchdowns) wasn’t enough. There is only one quarterback in the NFL who has a positive EPA per dropback against pressure. And it’s Patrick Mahomes. What does that mean? Only one quarterback in the entire league can add value — improving the Chiefs’ scoring abilities — when he’s pressured, per NextGen Stats. That’s the thing about pressure. That’s why teams pay enormous sums to edge players and even the rare defensive tackle who can rush the passer. It’s because every other quarterback in the league detracts from the offense when he’s pressured. Over the past five seasons, no QB has ever done this. Not even Mahomes. Josh Allen came the closest in 2022 (minus-0.02). So the real translation is that Mahomes is having an otherworldly season. Maybe quietly. Because I’m not sure folks have truly appreciated how good he’s been. The irony is that it’s not totally about Mahomes. It’s also about Kenneth Walker III, who has been so incredible that opposing teams have had no choice but to stack the box. Walker has rushed against the third-most stacked boxes among RBs — behind only the Ravens' Derrick Henry and, interestingly, the Raiders' Ashton Jeanty. And between those three against stacked boxes, Walker has recorded 3.7 rush yards over expected per carry, while Henry is at minus-0.3 and Jeanty is at minus-0.2. It’s no coincidence that Mahomes is having an unreal season against pressure while Walker has been unreal against stacked boxes. It’s just two players defying everything we know about football. It’s two players who are on another level. That’s why it hasn’t mattered so much who is playing left tackle or wide receiver for the Chiefs. Mahomes and Walker are currently the entities that matter most for their offense. They feed off each other and there’s nothing opposing defenses can do about it right now. For the first time this season, Purdy failed to complete a touchdown pass against the blitz. Which … some might see as a sign of an incoming regression from his MVP-caliber season. I’ll chalk it up to a game that wasn’t particularly competitive until late, thanks to the Commanders' incompetence. He had the most absurd play of the week — a 12-yard push pass on third-and-8 that had no business being attempted. But it’s Josh Allen. So everything was fine. It was better than fine. It was a six-point play.

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