How Did Tom Brady Learn To Say 'Meatball Sub,' And How Many Such Passes Did He Throw?

When Justin Herbert threw a costly interception in the Los Angeles Chargers' loss to the Buffalo Bills last week, Tom Brady was more than blunt when he assessed the quarterback's errant throw. "There's a safety in the middle of the field. Poor awareness, poor decision, throws him a meatball sub," Brady said of Herbert's throw, which landed right in the arms of Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Brady's quote quickly went viral. FOX Sports' video of the quote generated over 300,000 likes on Instagram, while a handful of posts on X about Brady's comment garnered several thousand likes and views. But how did Brady learn about the term that's become popular on social media for whenever a quarterback throws a bad pass? In the latest edition of #AskTom, Brady let everyone know that his kids have helped keep him hip to popular social media vernacular. "Chill, chill. Relax. Everyone's got to remember, I've got three kids, OK? So, that should just point you in the right direction," Brady said when asked who told him to say "meatball sub." Brady's "meatball sub" remark was the second straight week that he said something on a broadcast that quickly made the rounds on social media. A week earlier, he called one of Dak Prescott's passes a "piss missile" in the Dallas Cowboys' victory over the Washington Commanders. Brady apologized for the "piss missile" comment in last week's edition of #AskTom. But he isn't apologizing for his "meatball sub" quote, although he admitted that some of his passes were meatball subs. "I threw a lot. I probably threw over 200 interceptions in my career. I would say somewhere between 25 and 50 [were meatball subs]," Brady said. "And, believe me, Coach [Bill] Belichick, he never let me forget those." That led Brady to express his appreciation for the coaching he got from Belichick over his career as he touched on that topic and more in this week's #AskTom. Here's what Brady had to say about Case Keenum's surprising performance, Sean Payton's gutsy calls in the Broncos' win over the Rams and how cleats can make a difference in a quarterback's throw. Case Keenum is 38, third on the depth chart and hasn't started since 2023, but he helped the Bears beat the Eagles on Monday night. What does a week like this look like for a veteran thrust into the spotlight? Brady: Well, there's definitely some nerves and anxiety as you prepare for the week. It's been a long time since you've been the starter. It's been a long time since the team really needed you to step up and play well. But, look, when you're a veteran quarterback and you've got a lot of years of experience, as that ball's kicked off and you run your first play, you settle in very quickly. There's a lot of experience you can rely on and he's really well-coached. I love this Ben Johnson offense. There were a lot of great throws out there and he made a lot of great decisions. That's what it takes. That's why you're the backup. That's why you pay ya to deliver for your team. Sean Payton went for it twice in the third quarter to tie the game in the Broncos' win over the Rams. How much of that is a coach's decision vs. the QB potentially going and fighting for the chance to win there? Brady: In the end, it's all about the head coach's decision. What I think a lot of people need to understand is that the head coach needs to be accountable for every decision — offensively, defensively or special teams. It all comes down to one guy: the head coach making the decisions. He's the one responsible in those big moments to make the call and put his team in the best position to win. Who told you to say meatball sub? Also, can I get an exact number of meatball subs that you threw during your career? Brady: Chill, chill. Relax. Everyone's got to remember, I've got three kids, OK? So, that should just point you in the right direction. And I threw a lot. I probably threw over 200 interceptions in my career. I would say somewhere between 25 and 50 [were meatball subs]. And, believe me, Coach [Bill] Belichick, he never let me forget those. Was Bill calling them meatball subs? Was that where that lingo came from? Brady: No, [Belichick would say]: "Brady, you bum." And I just took it like a man. I learned from it, and hopefully I didn't go out there and repeat them too often. Actually, I'm glad you brought that up, because I think, and what I notice so much in the NFL is there's so many people telling everybody how great they are all the time. I don't think a lot of young people understand that the best way to learn is by getting outside their comfort zone and learning from coaches who are really pushing them. Coaches are the ones who should be telling you the truth every day. I was very fortunate. I had the greatest coach in the history of the NFL. He never let me forget when I threw an interception. He never glazed over it. He didn't move on. He let me know about it, created awareness about it and he let me sit in the pain of letting the team down for a day or two before moving on. I think it was great learning for me, even though it was painful. It let me grow up. It helped me toughen up. It let me gain the respect of my teammates and coaches when they saw that, and I was able to move on and put it behind me. Did you have that perspective in the moment, or was that something that came afterwards? Brady: All of it's learned. I think the great fortune for me is, being retired for four years, I look back on all the things that allowed me to be the player I wanted to be. I'm so grateful for everybody that was on my journey and all the coaches that pushed me and pushed me every single day, when they had higher expectations for me and they knew I could achieve them and they pushed me to do that. That's what every great athlete should want. You should want a coach that's demanding and calls you out when you're not playing up to your standard, because that's going to elevate your game. Yeah, it may sting in the moment a little bit, but when you reflect back at the end of a long career, you're going to be appreciative and respectful of the coaches that did just that. How much attention did you pay to a field and the cleat choice going into a game and what did that have to do with your throwing mechanics? Brady: It was always important that you had to know the surface that you were playing on. But, listen, I loved grass fields. I hated turf fields. What we're doing to kids at turf fields in high school, college and, ultimately, when they get to the pros, the wear and tear on those bodies over time really takes a toll. I really love the grass fields. So what, it's a little bit slick? So what, it's a little bit muddy? I'd much rather fall on a grass field than not. I think the most important point when you have a field that's a little bit slick is you wear a longer seven-stud, so it digs into the surface. A lot of guys actually didn't like playing with the long seven studs. But I always felt as a quarterback, if I was able to drive the ball, I would need a really firm base in the pocket. And when I plant on the back foot of either a three-step, five-step or seven-step drop, the back cleats really allowed me to dig into the surface to transfer my ground force going backwards into going back into my hitches. If I was hitching into the throw, I could create a lot of ground force going into my target, the right amount of torque with my body — my shoulder-hip dissociation — and then, when I released the ball, I still maintained the whip. The problem is, if you lose your ground force because you're slipping on the surface, your whole mechanics shift to only using your torque and this really relaxed whip in your arm. So, I would say you become much stronger with your throw. The whole point, I would say, is to get the ground force from your legs into your torque into the whippy arm. That's how you generate the maximum force throwing a football. Equipment managers everywhere are scrambling this week after that, Tom. Brady: Hey, go figure it out, young equipment managers. You have to figure it out, too.

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NFL Fact Or Fiction: Raiders For Real? MVP Brock Purdy? Ruling On Your Week 3 Hot Takes

So you think the 3-0 Raiders are capable of doing more than just reaching the playoffs. That the "Trio in Rio" game shows that Lamar Jackson and the Ravens are coming for the Lombardi Trophy. And that there are better days ahead in Green Bay for the reeling Packers. I hear ya, but that doesn't mean I agree. Coming out of Week 3, NFL fans shared their passionate perspectives on our @NFLonFOX Instagram. I'm here to break down your top takes, provide analysis and, in the end, render a verdict on whether what you're saying is fact or fiction. Let’s get into it: Fact or Fiction: Fiction Look, the Raiders’ rebuild is off to an exciting start. New head coach Klint Kubiak looks like a slam dunk hire. Veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins has been red-hot to start the season (nine touchdown passes through three games), allowing Las Vegas to stick to its plan of letting No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza sit and learn. The offensive line play has been competent. The team is strong at tight end (star Brock Bowers, Michael Mayer) and running back (rookie Mike Washington Jr.). Tre Tucker is emerging at wide receiver. On the other side of the ball, the revamped defense has been promising, led by new additions like free-agent linebacker Nakobe Dean and rookies Treydan Stukes (second round) and Hezekiah Masses (fifth round), the latter of whom was the AFC Defensive Player of the Week in Week 2. But this particular take is not just saying the Raiders will make the playoffs, but that they'll go on a deep postseason run. And that’s going too far right now. Let’s remember that Las Vegas has had a soft schedule to this point. Its 3-0 start came against the Dolphins, Chargers and the Saints. We’ll get a much better feel for exactly how good the Raiders are in the coming weeks, when they face the Chiefs (Week 4), Bills (Week 6) and Rams (Week 7). Also, what happens when opposing defenses key in on two-time Pro Bowler Bowers? Yes, the Raiders went 2-0 before he made his season debut last week, but that’s a small sample size against teams that are a combined 0-6 right now (Dolphins, Chargers). Bowers is Vegas’ only true receiving threat at tight end. And Las Vegas is still unproven at wide receiver outside of Tucker, who is averaging a career-high 63.0 receiving yards per game. No other wideout on the roster is averaging more than 17.3 yards. Even more concerning, Ashton Jeanty, the No. 6 overall pick of the 2025 draft, hasn’t been running the ball efficiently, averaging only 3.3 rushing yards per carry. Again, I love what Kubiak has done in Vegas so far, and the Raiders are far exceeding expectations to this point. They’ve given themselves a nice cushion to start the season. But it’s too early to say they’re an AFC contender. Fact or Fiction: Fact I’m on board with this! Purdy has been the NFL's best quarterback through three weeks, playing ridiculously efficient football. He leads the league in passer rating (133.1) and expected points added per dropback (+0.63), and is tied for first with nine touchdown passes. He’s second in yards per attempt (9.5), third in completion rate (72.2%) and eighth in passing yards (789). The 2023 Pro Bowler has been picked off only once so far and has yet to be sacked. He’s carrying a 49ers team that has already been ravaged by injuries. And that’s actually what could threaten Purdy’s MVP bid. MVPs are historically high-level quarterbacks on the league’s best teams record-wise, and injuries have a chance of derailing San Francisco’s season. Wide receiver Mike Evans (ribs), left tackle Trent Williams (shoulder stinger) and linebacker Dre Greenlaw (quad) all didn’t finish Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals. The Niners also have multiple defensive linemen dealing with multi-week injuries on their active roster, including Pro Bowl defensive end Nick Bosa (calf), plus six other D-linemen on injured reserve or the physically unable to perform list. The good news, though, is that the injuries to Evans, Williams and Greenlaw aren’t long term, according to head coach Kyle Shanahan. And if anything has come out of the Niners’ injury hell over the past several years, it’s that they’re now very experienced at dealing with them. Under Shanahan, San Francisco has always found a way to stay relevant in the NFC contention conversation despite who may or may not be available, which is great news for Purdy’s MVP candidacy. Fact or Fiction: Fiction Star quarterback Lamar Jackson is off to a great start in new OC Declan Doyle’s offense, and we know that the Ravens are always in the mix as long as the two-time MVP is healthy. But I’m already getting concerned about their long-term prospects. We don’t know if it’s anything serious, but Jackson wasn’t seen during the portion of Wednesday’s practice open to the media. Baltimore’s engine is the run game, and injuries upfront are already piling up. Left tackle Ronnie Stanley (toe) didn’t play in Brazil, and his status for this week is uncertain. Starting center Jovaughn Gwyn is expected to miss a few months with a fractured fibula. It’s looking like backup Ethan Pocic (knee) will be out at least a week as well. Rookie guard Olaivavega Ioane is trending toward making his first career start at center, a position he didn’t register a start at in college. That’s a good amount of uncertainty early in the year for the offensive line, which is a bummer. The ageless Derrick Henry has been eating to this point — and 55.9% of his yards have come before contact, the highest rate among 36 running backs with at least 25 carries, per NGS. Giving up 31 points to the Cowboys last week wasn’t great, but Baltimore’s defense overall has shown promise under first-year head coach Jesse Minter, a defensive guru. The walk-off, game-winning field goal in Brazil — the so-called "Trio in Rio" — was potentially a sign that the 2026 Ravens will be better in high-pressure situations. But the injury outlook offensively gives me pause about the Ravens' title chances. Fact or Fiction: Fiction I’m sorry, I’m not buying it right now. The Packers have been that bad — they’ve lost two of their first three games by three scores, the first time they’ve lost multiple games by 17-plus points since 2017, according to Next Gen Stats. No offensive line in the NFL has been worse, and Green Bay lost its best O-lineman — right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele — for the rest of the year with a knee injury. The Packers are averaging an atrocious 48.7 rushing yards per game, by far the league worst (second-lowest is 81.0, by the Broncos). Quarterback Jordan Love has already been pressured 56 times, second-most in the league. The Packers in recent days have signed a trio of former first-round guards to stabilize the interior offensive line — Kevin Zeitler, Laken Tomlinson and Mekhi Becton — but O-line chemistry isn’t created in a microwave. Continuity is built over months, even for the most talented of offensive lines. And we don’t even know what kind of individual production to expect from Zeitler, Tomlinson or Becton, none of whom has played in a regular-season game this year. Elsewhere on the offense, I actually really like what the Packers have going on at wide receiver. Losing Jayden Reed to season-ending neck surgery is a big loss, but Christian Watson and Matthew Golden are both in the top eight in receiving yards entering Week 4. Tight end Tucker Kraft, who’s coming off a torn ACL last season, should get his feet back under him as the season wears on. On the other side of the ball, superstar edge rusher Micah Parsons can be activated off the physically unable to perform list after this week, so the defense could get substantially better. But I don’t see it being so much better than it makes up for a largely ineffective offense. Coach Matt LaFleur himself said, "I don’t know what we’re doing well offensively." Unless the O-line additions turn out to be a magical solution, I’m not buying a rosy outlook for this team over the next few months.

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2026 NFL Week 4 Picks: Best Bets For Every Game — Will's Wagers

There are several barnburners on tap for NFL Week 4. Here's where I'm putting my money. 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. Pittsburgh coach Mike McCarthy said he wanted to push the ball down the field more this year than the team did last year with Aaron Rodgers, and he has been true to his word so far. Rodgers’ average depth of target has been over 10 yards in two of the three games so far, including in a 30-27 win last week. I’ll go over the 38.5, as the Steelers take on a Browns team with some interesting young weapons and an underrated offense. Don’t forget to set your alarms for this one, as we get our first 9:30 am ET kickoff of the season in London come Sunday. Both teams started 0-2 before winning in Week 3. With the winner getting to .500, I’ll take the 3.5 with the Commanders in what should be a close game. It has not been pretty for the defending AFC champions, but it’s often a good idea to ignore the last thing you saw in the NFL to avoid overreacting. The Patriots will already be 3.5 games out of first place in the AFC East with a loss. They are desperate and getting 6.5 points. I’l bet on them to bounce back. If the Titans aren’t the worst team in the NFL, they’re pretty close to it. At 0-3, their offense has been anemic, and I don’t expect it to improve this week in Baltimore. The quarterbacks for this game are familiar with each other. Trevor Lawrence and Joe Burrow were picked first overall, respectively, in back-to-back years (2020 and 2021), and also played against each other in the 2019 college football national title game. The Jaguars look like a contender and could easily be 3-0. In a toss-up game, I’ll take the points. Panic time could officially hit the Rams if they lose again this week and fall to 1-3. The Eagles have had their number recently, winning all four meetings since the start of the 2023 season, and winning in Philadelphia isn’t easy, especially considering the onerous travel the Rams have endured already this season. The Giants are 2-1, but their offense has looked suspect since quarterback Jaxson Dart went down with a season-ending knee injury. With the total set at 44.5, I think we get a 23-20 type of game. I will go Under here considering the Giants' lackluster offense. The Cowboys’ defense was expected to be improved in 2026 after being dreadful in 2025, but we have yet to see that play out. The Cowboys' elite offense and shaky defense make them a good Over team until proven otherwise. The Jets lost and failed to cover last week vs. the Lions, but were tied with just a few minutes to go. Quarterback Geno Smith has played very well for the Jets, and I think they will keep it close this week against the Bears. Two desperate teams facing off here with each in dire need of a win. Undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels will make his first career start for the Buccaneers, and I expect points to be hard to come by. The Vikings look to improve to 4-0 and are heavy favorites to do so against the hapless Dolphins. While it’s been an impressive start for the Vikings, they have struggled mightily on offense, and aren’t well-equipped to exploit the Dolphins’ weak secondary. Star wide receiver Justin Jefferson might be sidelined for this one, and 10.5 points is a lot to lay for a struggling Vikings offense. Raiders’ tight end Brock Bowers is one of the best, and perhaps, still one of the most underrated players in the league. Coming off of 13 targets, 10 catches and 116 yards in his season debut, expect another big game from Bowers. The Chargers look broken offensively and could not defeat the Bills last week despite their defense forcing five turnovers. I don’t look for them to do much offensively on the road, in a hostile environment against an angry Seahawks defense coming off an upset loss to the Commanders. The 49ers are undefeated and have been ultra impressive so far, but as usual, the injuries are starting to pile up. In what should be a close game, I’ll take the Broncos to keep it close. The Lions have played three games and they’ve all gone Over. With an elite offense and very suspect defense, I like another Lions Over. The Saints gave up over 100 yards rushing last week and now face perhaps the most dynamic running back in the NFL. Look for Bijan Robinson to have another big game on the ground.

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Tom Brady's NFL Power Rankings: 49ers, Bills Or Chiefs At No. 1? Raiders Top 5?

A few teams we've grown accustomed to playing well in recent years have opened the 2026 NFL season 3-0. And then there are a pair of surprises that have also gotten off to an undefeated start, including the Las Vegas Raiders. What should we make of the Raiders' 3-0 start? Well, in the most recent edition of Tom Brady's power rankings, the seven-time Super Bowl champ wasn't afraid to put the team he's a minority owner of in his top 10. In fact, he went as far as placing them in the top five, claiming that there was "no hometown bias." We'll see if the Raiders can continue their hot streak in Week 4, when they host one of the four other undefeated teams: the Kansas City Chiefs. As the Chiefs are out to a 3-0 start, were they able to move into the No. 1 spot in Brady's power rankings following the Seattle Seahawks' Week 3 loss? Here's Brady's full top 10. Brady's thoughts: Tyler Loop, a walk-off 56-yarder in Rio? The trio in Rio? That's what Jim Nantz said — I loved that. Another incredible performance by Lamar Jackson. Week in and week out, he's unstoppable. I think they've got to sustain some of those drives in the second half to put these teams away. I think you've got to play to win and do what you need to do to continue to put points on the board until midway through the fourth quarter, when the clock becomes an issue. I think momentum swings are so huge in the NFL. If you take your foot off the gas for just a little bit and the other team gains a little momentum and the snowball starts going downhill, you may not be able to stop the other team. Brady's thoughts: Huge win against the Broncos, and having already played one of the NFL's toughest schedules, give this team a lot of credit. Bo Nix gets it done once again in the fourth quarter — insane the way he plays down the stretch — and defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and this defense, I give them a lot of credit for keeping them in the game, too. They did it last year and they're doing it in the early part of this year, too. One thing Nix can do to elevate his game as a passer is this: having your feet planted in the right place to get to your first and second read, and then knowing when the play is over and not trying to make every play a hero-type play. Find the open guy, cut it loose. If it's not there, move onto the next play. No negative plays, keep your team on track. Brady's thoughts: Jared Goff has eight touchdowns and no picks. They're squeaking by in some tough wins. They show a lot of toughness in Detroit, that's what that city is made of. I love Jahmyr Gibbs, and I love Saquon Barkley and I love Bijan Robinson. I saw James Cook the other day in person, and he's pretty ridiculous, too. The NFL's stacked right now at the halfback position. Brady's thoughts: Incredible, back-to-back games holding teams in single digits? How about Dennis Allen and that defense? And a veteran quarterback who hasn't started in like, a million days? Case Keenum said it in the locker room after the game: It's not his first f---ing rodeo. It's still early in the season, and Keenum got a lot of training camp reps. So, it's not quite like it would be in December, where he's basically been sitting on the sideline the whole time. But I give him a lot of credit; it's still hard to do. He hasn't started in a long time, and he came in and delivered for his team. Brady's thoughts: Someone finally beat the best. The Seahawks drop from No. 1, but outgained the Commanders by almost 200 yards. The run game vanished, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba can only do so much. The Seahawks have got to find a way to get back on track. I always liken JSN's shoulder plane to Greg Maddux's pitching exhibition: When the ball comes out of his hand, everything looks the same and it's all late movement. It's a lot like what JSN does. Shoulders are low, arms are driving and he's such a smooth route runner. His start and stop is so difficult to know He's always got them on their heels. Brady's thoughts: No hometown bias here. Listen, undefeated gets you in the top five. That's just the way my power rankings work. You can only be who you play, and when you're undefeated, you're better than the teams that have lost games. That's just the way it works for me. The Raiders had four takeaways against the Saints. How about their fourth-quarter performance on defense? Taking the ball away, knocking it off, interceptions, fumble returns — they did it all. That's how you secure a win on the road in the NFL. I think the culture is always about your teammates. I always think it's about "We" over "Me." And I think if you go out there and you play for your teammates every single game, you try not to let your teammates down. I love the culture that's being built in Las Vegas right now. Brady's thoughts: No one would've guessed this, certainly not with the injuries at quarterback. But the Vikings had six sacks, 12 QB hits, a punt return touchdown and winning in all phases of the game against the Buccaneers. I'm excited to see how Kyler Murray grows in this Kevin O'Connell offense. I would say that probably for most quarterbacks, it takes half a season to get acclimated to a new offense. Possibly a season or two, depending on how complicated the offense is and how familiar the quarterback is with some of those things that are being done. Football is football. Concepts are concepts. But it's really about the verbiage, the vernacular, and how things really just come out of your mouth over the course of the game. These are all different languages from these teams and everybody coaches their offenses a little differently, but I'm really impressed with what the Vikings are doing right now. Brady's thoughts: That was a lot of ugly football. I mean, look, there were a lot of crazy plays happening. It was really fun to call, and I love seeing the Bills play and I love seeing the Chargers play. But the Bills, they had five turnovers. Five turnovers, and a win! That shows the talent the Bills team has. They're not going to be able to get away with that later in the season, though. Brady's thoughts: Winning by 14 while losing the time of possession by nine minutes against the Dolphins. What? That rarely ever happens. But Miami, that's a tough place to play; believe me, I know. In September, regardless of record, when it's hot, it feels so good to go in there and get a win. I think what serves every team well is when you have continuity. When you have continuity at head coach, quarterback, GM and defensive coordinator, so many of the culture drivers that the Chiefs have, they're on their stuff. They can solve problems quickly. There's so much variation on offense. And because K9 (Kenneth Walker) is doing so much for them, the passing game doesn't need to be what it was five or six years ago. They can win a balanced game. They can win defensively. That's a tough team to beat. Brady's thoughts: They were pretty much unheralded all offseason because everyone was talking about Seattle and the Rams. But it's the 49ers at No. 1. Why? They're undefeated. We know that. But they have the best point differential in the league. Brock Purdy's playing as well as anybody; anybody. He should be considered in the Tier 1 QB discussions. At least he is in my eyes. It sure looks like Purdy is an elite quarterback now. He's playing within the system, throwing the ball accurately, no negative plays, getting his team in and out of the right plays — I love the way he's managing every single game.

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Herd Hierarchy: Are The Raiders Legit? Seahawks Fall, While Bills & 49ers Rise

The Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers are both 3-0, but are they actually two of the NFL's elite teams or just the last ones standing after a chaotic Week 3? Colin Cowherd revealed his latest Herd Hierarchy, featuring a new team at No. 1 and three fresh additions to the top 10 after another big week in the NFL. Beyond the new arrivals, several former mainstays completely played their way out of the rankings. Here are Cowherd's Week 3 Herd Hierarchy rankings: Cowherd’s thoughts: I think the Raiders look like a really, really well-coached team with one great edge rusher. Kirk Cousins, the only quarterback in the league with three touchdown passes each game. Brock Bowers, they're putting him all over the field. He's a nightmare. The defense leads the NFL in takeaways. We've said it before. You put a Ben Johnson, a Klint Kubiak, a smart offensive guy, you can turn things around quicker. I think the Raiders look like a very, very well-coached team. They're about one more draft away from being like a high-end team, but I like what I see. I think they're legit. Cowherd’s thoughts: The Lions are weird. Worst scoring defense in the league, yet they're second in sacks to the Vikings. But this is about Jahmyr Gibbs. This is about Jared Goff. Only team to score 30 plus points in every game, but they're going to have to win by track meets. So I think their floor is incredibly high. I don't know if their ceiling is as high as I thought going into the season. Cowherd’s thoughts: The Rams should have beaten the Broncos. 16-0 at the half and outgained them by 225 yards. Some really bad penalties. Listen, here's the reality about the Rams though. If you count the playoffs, they're 4-5 in their last nine [games], and they're not a very good road team. Again, physicality. Puka [Nacua’s] not there, a physical player. Myles Garrett not there, physical player. Aaron Donald's good, but he's not what he used to be. There is a component about physicality and toughness that wins on the road. Cowherd’s thoughts: The Bears, number one, number five scoring offense, number three total offense, but the number one rushing team. That's what I love about Ben Johnson. Everybody thinks, ‘oh, it's Caleb [Williams] running around.’ They run the football against physical defensive fronts, and Caleb's going to be back in three to four weeks. But they've held opponents, and this is coaching, under 10 points back-to-back weeks. I thought last night was one of the greatest coaching mismatches I have ever seen. Cowherd’s thoughts: They may just be a great regular season team, but the Jags 10-1 in their last 11 regular season games. If they get on you, they'll put a foot on you. They'll blow you out if you're not prepared and ready to go. So I think Liam Coen is the best coach nobody talks about in this league. They have the number one scoring defense. You can't run at them for several yards. Trevor Lawrence, seven touchdown passes. I think he's playing the best. Again, if this team was in a New York market or a Chicago market or Philadelphia, we talk about them every week. The Jags are well coached. Trevor Lawrence has time. You can't run on them. They're good at home. I have them at six. Cowherd’s thoughts: The Broncos are a one-half offense. The good news: it's the second half. But Bo Nix's 11th game-winning drive. Unfortunately, they shouldn't be trailing this often late in games, they spent the third least amount of time leading in the league this year—nine minutes. Only the Titans and Dolphins have led less, so they're doing what I predicted they couldn't do. I said you can't do what they did last year: trail 15 times and win 14. Now they're doing it, but here come the 49ers, here come the Seahawks, here come the Chiefs, and I don't think you can do it against those three teams. Cowherd’s thoughts: Oh, Mahomes has a run game. Do you know what he is on play action this year? Because you have to be honest against the run game. He is 22-of-24 in play action, 158.3 passer rating. It's amazing when you give a quarterback a run game. Travis Kelsey looks 26, and Mahomes now has to bite on the play action. You didn't for four years. I think it's totally changed their offense, their defense, and they've always drafted defense well. They move off corners. They always find a corner. I have them at four. Cowherd's Thoughts: The little disturbing problem for the Seahawks. It's not the loss, but they're not running the football. Why are they such a great road team? What travels? Toughness, coaching, and run games. They're not running the ball. They were number one graded run team last year, number one rated. This year they're 28th. Kenneth Walker's not there. [Zach] Charbonnet hasn't been healthy. It's a real thing. The reason they are so good on the road is they kill the crowd. They run the ball. Not this year, and that is something to keep your eye on. Cowherd's Thoughts: Well, they start every year and it feels like three and zero, but I'm going to give them credit. Brock Purdy plays like an MVP. Trent Williams is back. He'll play. Mike Evans will play against Denver. So they’re injured. [Nick] Bosa will be back soon. Mike Evans. Listen, this is a franchise. You cross your fingers on health, but it's one of the smartest, most functional offenses: [Christian] McCaffrey, Trent, [George] Kittle, Brock, Shanahan. It is a handful. Will it be a handful at Thanksgiving when half the guys are banged up? Cowherd's Thoughts: When you can win with 10 penalties and five turnovers, that has a ‘Seahawk vibe’ from last year. I'll make it Buffalo [at No. 1], averaging 34 points a game. The offense is humming. They're punting on 15% of their drives. I just think they feel like it's the most complimentary Bills roster yet. [Dalton] Kincaid, slot receiver D.J. Moore, James Cook. They drafted a defensive tackle out of Kentucky in the fourth round. The guy's a beast, so they take some heat. Their GM does. That guy was a steal, so this is finally a complimentary roster in Buffalo. At least the most complimentary they've been.

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QB Notebook: What's Driving Brock Purdy's Hot Start; Waiving White Flag On Cam Ward

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 look at the driving factor in Brock Purdy’s hot streak, officially give up on Cam Ward and pedal some Kyler Murray optimism. Let’s talk quarterbacks. It feels like 2023 again. The 49ers are tearing through NFL defenses with no signs of slowing down, and Brock Purdy is lapping the field in passing efficiency metrics. After filleting the Cardinals' defense in a 36-30 win this past weekend, he’s back in the MVP conversation thanks to stats like this. All of Purdy's numbers are outstanding, but this one might be the most impressive: We’re nearly a month into the season, and Purdy hasn’t been sacked. He’s the only starting quarterback who can make that claim. And as the analytics nerds will tell you, sacks are a quarterback stat, so Purdy deserves a lot of the credit for keeping himself clean … just not all of it. Purdy's offensive line deserves some credit. He's been pressured on a league-low 22% of his dropbacks, per Next Gen Stats. He’s faced only nine quick pressures, tying Kirk Cousins for the fewest in the NFL. For context, Jordan Love faced nine against Atlanta in the second half alone. Purdy is known for getting the ball out quickly, but his average time-to-throw is 2.91 seconds, a top-five figure. His hurry probability chart shows how staggering Purdy’s pass protection has been the last two weeks. The red line represents Purdy’s pressure rate the deeper he gets into a dropback; the grey line is the league average. Over the last two weeks, Purdy’s hurry probability three seconds into a dropback is just 15.8%. The league average is 33.2%, which means other quarterbacks are twice as likely to be pressured three seconds into a dropback. Purdy is essentially playing 7-on-7 out there. He’s playing in an environment that quarterbacks rarely get to enjoy. He’s still playing well, but that’s important context for his unreal statistical production. While the pass protection has been nothing short of amazing, Purdy has done his part to mitigate pressure. He’s handled the few quick pressures he’s faced with aplomb. If you take out the two screen passes, Purdy has completed four passes when facing quick pressure, and the plays are genuinely impressive. He made a jump throw from a fully collapsed pocket against the Rams. Against the Dolphins, he spun out of an unblocked pressure, flipped his hips, and found Mike Evans along the sideline for another completion. On this one, he steps up into space and hits DeMarcus Robinson on a crosser. The fourth completion was a bit lucky — Purdy overthrows the intended target, but Evans saves the day — but he did well to avoid a sack. The "zero sack" stat is the result of a perfect football storm. You have an offensive line playing at a high level, a play-caller who can de-fang a pass rush with pre-snap motion and play-action fakes, and a slippery quarterback with a knack for getting off a pass right before the pressure gets home. This offense hasn’t been tested by a top pass rush yet. The Rams were playing a hobbled Myles Garrett, the Dolphins defense is a zombie unit, and the Cardinals just aren’t very good. But with the Broncos coming up on Sunday, it’s a good bet that Purdy and the offensive line will be under fire this weekend. How will they handle it? The answer could set Purdy up for a legitimate MVP campaign – or it could derail his campaign before it really gets off the ground. I tried to hold out as long as possible, but Cam Ward’s stinker in a 12-7 loss to the Giants showed me enough. As much as I admire Ward’s ambitious approach to the position, the evidence that he’s a bad quarterback is too overwhelming. I’m even willing to look past the ugly numbers, like his 3-17 record after 20 games. Tennessee hasn’t put him in a position to succeed, and I don’t believe the Robert Saleh/Brian Daboll brain trust has done much to change that. But quarterback evaluation is mostly pattern recognition, and the patterns are easy to read with Ward: he does a lot of things we see bad quarterbacks do — throwing inaccurately, running into sacks, turning the ball over, etc. — and very few of the things we often see good quarterbacks do. Here’s the play against the Giants that finally forced me to throw in the towel. And it’s not the one you’re thinking. Sure, the game-ending interception was atrocious, but it wasn’t a bad decision. Just a bad throw. On this play, he makes two terrible decisions and follows them up with an exceptionally bad throw. The Titans are running a run-pass option (RPO). With two cornerbacks in tight man-to-man coverage and a safety creeping over the top, this should be a handoff, as there is no numbers advantage outside. Ward takes the pass option, and here’s what he sees out on the perimeter. The Titans are trying to pick the slot corner to free up Wendale Robinson, but the defender navigates the traffic while sticking tight to the receiver. Any discerning quarterback would throw the ball into the dirt or toss it into the stands. Ward throws it up field and directly into the hands of the defensive back. We often hear about quarterbacks throwing their receiver open. Ward throws the defender open here. From the pre-snap decision, to the post-snap decision, to the throw itself, everything is bad here. And while it would be unfair to hold one play against a quarterback, this reflects a much larger sample of bad process. At this point, the sample is too big to overlook. Kyler Murray’s first full game as the Vikings quarterback was a bit of a dud. He completed 15 of his 29 attempts for 168 yards and was sacked three times. That added up to a QBR of just 25.4, and Pro Football Focus graded him as the 18th-best quarterback of the week, so the more advanced metrics didn’t rate his performance highly, either. Those numbers lack some key context, though. It was Murray’s first full game in nearly a year, and he’s attempted just eight passes in a live game over that span, including preseason games. Murray struggled in all the ways you’d expect a quarterback needing to knock off some rust would struggle. He hesitated to make quick throws underneath, had some miscommunications with receivers, and holstered some deep throws we’ve seen him make throughout his career. Murray’s stat line wasn’t pretty, but it wasn’t marred by ugly decisions. His lone interception came off a pass that was tipped and ricocheted off another player. PFF didn’t charge him with a single "turnover-worthy play." The bright spots aren’t limited to bad play avoidance. Murray put a couple of throws on tape that will remind you he was once a first-overall pick. He connected with Jordan Addison on a big corner route after a play-action fake from under center. Before Justin Jefferson left the game early in the third quarter, Murray found him on a deep in-breaker off play-action. Murray linked up with Addison again on his lone touchdown pass, after changing the play at the line of scrimmage and manipulating the safety who could have helped out on the deep throw. Those two plays have to make Kevin O’Connell excited about what this passing game could evolve into as Murray continues to knock off the rust and acclimate himself to the Vikings offense. Murray doesn’t throw to the middle of the field with the confidence and ability Sam Darnold did in this offense two years ago, but he can match Darnold throw-for-throw outside the numbers and is a more efficient processor when running quick-game concepts. The 2024 Darnold-led unit finished just outside the top-10 in efficiency. With Murray in the lineup, this year’s offense has a similar ceiling. A quick aside before we move on: O’Connell couldn't have foreseen Murray suffering a concussion in the first half of the opener, but it’s partly his fault his quarterback is so behind schedule. From putting on the shambolic camp competition with J.J. McCarthy to the lack of preseason reps for Murray, the Vikings coach could have done a lot more to get his quarterback ready for the season. Jalen Hurts could have played Monday night’s game with his left eye closed, and not much would have changed. But I’m less concerned with the lack of targets to the left side of the field and more worried about the complete dearth of targets to the middle of the field. That’s been the knock on Hurts throughout his career. He rarely throws to the middle of the field. The new offense was supposed to change that, but Hurts ranks near the bottom of the league in middle-of-the-field target rate. The Eagles aren’t calling play-action from under center, either. This Philadelphia passing game is starting to resemble the ones we’ve seen in past years. Here’s a sentence I didn’t think I’d be writing this season: Geno Smith is playing like a top-10 quarterback. That has little to do with Smith himself. He’s a talented thrower with good pocket movement. I just didn’t believe the Jets could provide an offensive environment that would bring the best out of him. Through three weeks, they have, and Smith is playing his best ball since the Seattle days. Since I did some light hating on Purdy, it’s only right that I credit him for this ridiculous effort that should have earned a completion. I blame Shanahan, who should have challenged the play on principle alone. This honor really belongs to Cam Ward and the throw I broke down above. But Andy Dalton gets an honorable mention for getting picked off on his only attempt of the night in Philadelphia’s loss to Chicago. How does a 38-year-old veteran get fooled by a rookie safety? Dillon Thieneman didn’t have to do too much on the play. He just slowly shuffled over in front of the receiver, and Dalton tossed him a freebie.

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Upon Further Review: Welcome To The Tight End Renaissance, Which Has Been In The Making

Look in the end zone of an NFL game this weekend, and there was a decent chance a tight end was celebrating. There were 20 touchdowns caught by tight ends Sunday, the most on any single day in NFL history. The Las Vegas Raiders' win over the New Orleans Saints was a gluttony of TE TDs, with four tight ends combining for six total touchdown catches. "I think it's amazing," Saints tight end Juwan Johnson, who caught two touchdowns on Sunday, told me. "I think it's a true dedication to what guys have done in the offseason. It is a mental drain that you're blocking some of the best edge rushers in the game, corners, safeties, linebackers, but then you're asked to go out there and run around and catch a ball. Sometimes, you can get into the end zone." The Saints ultimately lost when Raiders tight end Brock Bowers caught a touchdown with 6:22 left, as teammate Michael Mayer had earlier in the day. And Johnson wasn't the only Saints tight end with multiple scores on Sunday, either. Noah Fant also had two touchdown grabs in New Orleans' loss. The NFL is enjoying a Tight End Renaissance, and the numbers may surprise you. In 2024, tight ends totaled 178 touchdowns across the league, accounting for 22% of all passing touchdowns. Last year, that number grew to 231 touchdowns — a 30% increase — and accounted for 28% of all passing touchdowns. It's a small sample, but three weeks into the 2026 season, NFL tight ends are on pace for 289 touchdowns — that's 62% more than two years ago, and a 32% share of all TD passes. The rise of 12 personnel — with two tight ends and two receivers — got headlines last year, with offenses liking a look that didn't easily point to an obvious run or pass, setting up mismatches downfield. Offenses used 12 personnel in nearly a quarter of their snaps in 2024 (22.1%) and again in 2025 (22.1%), per FOX Sports Research. "You have teams who made a big jump, like the Rams paved the way for a lot of ways to know the opportunities of what it can be," Johnson told me. "You have teams with a West Coast offense like [Raiders head coach Klint] Kubiak, [San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle] Shanahan, guys in Seattle who are running a majority of 12 personnel. The way they operate with tight ends — it's encouraged a lot of coordinators to do the same. We've piggybacked off that, and it's been really good to show that." The ascending value of tight ends was evident in this year's draft, when nine were taken in the first three rounds — up from just three in 2024. You're seeing it in lucrative contracts as well — the Raiders gave Mayer, their No. 2 tight end, a three-year, $45 million extension this summer, making him the league's sixth-highest-paid tight end. The NFL already has four tight ends with three touchdowns in three weeks, showing promise of bigger season-long production. George Kittle is among that group, logging two touchdown grabs on Sunday as he continues his miraculous rehab from an Achilles tear. Johnson, Fant and Dallas Cowboys standout Jake Ferguson are the others with three touchdown grabs already this year. However, only twice in the last decade has a tight end gotten 12 touchdowns or more in a season (Eric Ebron in 2018; Travis Kelce in 2022), but this could get back to the Rob Gronkowski/Jimmy Graham/Vernon Davis heyday of 2009-15, when there were 10 such seasons. Tight ends led the league in touchdown catches three times in a span of five years during that stretch, which may never happen again. The Saints had as many tight end touchdowns Sunday as they did in all of 2025, but Johnson said he doesn't keep track of how tight ends across the league are doing, though he has someone else on the lookout for him. "To be very honest, I had no idea," Johnson said. "The person who tells me about any of this stuff is my wife [Chanen]. She'll update me: 'He did this. He did that.' The more that I've played football, she's fallen in love with watching football, and it's something we can bond over. At the end of the day, these guys are my friends, too, so I'm confident that a lot of these guys will do well. We have a lot of great, explosive, elusive tight ends in this game, so whenever they do something positive, it's not a shock to me." As much as we make a point of the importance of keeping your starting quarterback healthy, the first three weeks of the NFL season haven't exactly illustrated that yet. Six teams have had to start quarterbacks other than their Week 1 starter, and those teams are 6-0 in those games, including Case Keenum's big win Monday night for the Bears. Those six (Keenum, Atlanta's Michael Penix, Minnesota's Carson Wentz, the Giants' Jameis Winston, Seattle's Drew Lock and Washington's Marcus Mariota) have thrown for 14 touchdowns and only two interceptions. The same teams that are 6-0 with a second quarterback are a combined 5-7 with their Week 1 starters, with 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions from those quarterbacks. The Vikings' aggressive defense is a huge part of why they're 3-0 to start the season, with defensive coordinator Brian Flores blitzing much more than any other defense in the league. They've blitzed on 68.4% of their opponents' dropbacks, which is over 20% higher than the team in second (New England Patriots, 45.2%), per Sharp Football Analytics. With all of that blitzing, the Vikings have a league-best 14 sacks, rank second in scoring defense and first in third-down and red-zone defense. What's underappreciated is how much opponents are resorting to penalties to avoid even more sacks. Through three games, the Vikings have the best penalty differential in the league — opponents have 13 more penalties for 102 more penalty yards than Minnesota does. They've forced opponents into four false starts and eight holding penalties. Tampa Bay struggled to contain Minnesota's defense on Sunday, going 0-for-9 on third downs. The Buccaneers' average third-down distance was 14 yards for first downs. Penalties pushed them into a first-and-27 and, separately, a third-and-29 and third-and-36, so that league-leading sack total could actually be much higher. How strange is it that the first two rookie quarterbacks to take snaps this season were both ... undrafted? First, Atlanta's Jack Strand played as a function of the Falcons' injury issues, and now the Buccaneers will turn to Jalon Daniels with Baker Mayfield injured. Fernando Mendoza, the Raiders' No. 1 overall pick, has yet to take a snap with Kirk Cousins guiding Las Vegas to a surprising 3-0 start. Undrafted rookie quarterbacks generally have a rough time — over the last two years, they've combined for a 1-5 record as starters, two touchdowns and 12 interceptions. The best recent examples were the Giants' Tommy DeVito and the Bears' Tyson Bagent in 2023, who went a combined 5-5 with 11 touchdowns against nine interceptions. When was the last time that the first two rookie quarterbacks to play were undrafted? That looks like 2000, when Doug Johnson played for the Falcons and Clint Stoerner for the Cowboys in the first four weeks. Throw in the draft picks from that year, and those rookies went on to win seven Super Bowls.

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