By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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Ezekiel Elliott hasn’t broken 100 yards rushing since Week 1. Dallas is 2-2 and hasn’t looked anything near the run-first offensive machine it was in 2016. So what’s going wrong in Big D?
Let’s take a look at Elliott’s carries in his first four games of 2017. Continue reading
By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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The Patriots have some problems with their defense, but they don’t have issues with air travel.
Back in August, the Patriots confirmed they had purchased two 767 Boeing wide-body jets for team travel, complete with gaudy graphic wraps that included all five of their Lombardis on the tail wing. They’ve yet to deploy either of the airKrafts (their team owner name pun, not mine) — until now. Continue reading
By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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John Fox needed just one month to move on from his bridge quarterback to his team’s future.
His explanation was simple:
Trubisky trots into the starting lineup in a bear of a situation (pun unintended), a home game against a menacing Minnesota Vikings defense (T-9th in the NFL in sacks with 11) on Monday Night Football. The moment won’t be too big for him, he said. Continue reading
By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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Alex Smith and the Kansas City Chiefs survived a Monday night clash in a 29-20 win over the Washington Redskins. Here’s what we learned:
1. It’s time we give Alex Smith his due credit and not saddle it with a “well, he can’t go deep” knock on the way out the door. Smith engineered an excellent drive with less than a minute left, completing passes of 4, 37 and 10 yards to set up rookie kicker Harrison Butker for the winning field goal. Smith was sharp for a majority of the night, completing 27 of 37 passes for 293 yards and one touchdown, and rushing seven times for 56 yards and another score. The quarterback overcame early pressure that clearly frazzled Kansas City’s usually well-paced offense, and the Chiefs went back to what worked for them last season, shortening attempts to establish a rhythm that got the offense back on track. The result was a close victory that kept the Chiefs reigning atop the league as its only undefeated team at 4-0.
2. Washington spent the majority of the second half doing everything it could to lose the time of possession battle by a wide margin, but thanks to its defense, had a chance to either tie or win the game in the final minutes. Dustin Hopkins drilled the game-tying field goal, but a drive that could have been the game’s last possession left too much time on the clock for Smith and Co., which took advantage of a Washington secondary that was missing Josh Norman because of a fractured rib. The Redskins have shown through four games that they have enough to compete, but need to limit the quick possessions. Continue reading
By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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What a bounce-back week for the road squads!
A week after the teams in unfriendly confines struggled to a 5-11 mark, visiting clubs have gone 8-7 through the first 15 games of Week 4. One team — the New Orleans Saints — even pitched a shutout.
Our winners include a rare appearance from a guy who isn’t lining up on offense or defense. Yes, you guessed it: We’re going with a kicker this week.
Onward and through the uprights! Continue reading
By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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The Seahawks are going to be without one of their best rushers for a good amount of time.
Defensive end Cliff Avril will be out “a while,” due to a neck injury, Seattle coach Pete Carroll said Monday. Avril is experiencing some numbness down his arm, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported. Continue reading
By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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The Raiders rarely give up sacks.
It’s part of why Derek Carr was so excellent in 2016. But because they gave up four sacks and were largely shut down by Washington in a 27-10 loss in Week 3, we’re going get right into it and break down what happened on the sacks.
On the first sack, Washington’s Junior Galette wins via deception. Continue reading
Nick Shook 