By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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Calais Campbell has served as Jacksonville’s defensive catalyst this season, his first with the franchise.
But who knew he could see the future?
Campbell chatted with NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero about the tilt between the Jaguars and Steelers last week after Jacksonville’s 10-3 win over the Buffalo Bills. What you’re about to read might blow your mind. Continue reading
By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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Pittsburgh is going home earlier than most expected, and plenty of Steelers fans will likely spend much of the offseason second guessing the team’s coach.
Trailing 42-35 with 2:18 to play and two timeouts remaining, Mike Tomlin elected to onside kick instead of kicking deep. Pittsburgh never had a chance on the onside attempt, which failed to go the necessary 10 yards before it was recovered by Jacksonville. The Jaguars eventually moved a whole nine yards before kicking a field goal to extend their lead to 10 and essentially ice the Divisional Round victory.
Tomlin explained his decision after the 45-42 loss. Continue reading
By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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Doug Pederson knows he doesn’t have a game-changing quarterback. Fortunately for the Eagles, he realized this before it was too late.
Pederson adjusted his play-calling late in the first quarter after two drives proved what we already knew — Philadelphia couldn’t win the game primarily on the arm of Nick Foles — and it made a world of difference in what ended up being a 15-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons.
“Part of our success this season has been the balance, balance of run and pass. We got back to that,” Pederson said after Philadelphia’s Divisional Round victory. “We stuck with it and guys executed the game plan extremely well.” Continue reading
By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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The Divisional Round is considered by some (including yours truly) as the best weekend in football. The league’s best teams are all battling for a shot to make the conference championship game and move one step closer to football’s greatest stage.
We find ourselves with a surprising lack of favor for the NFC’s No. 1 seed — but a chance to prove the newfound doubters wrong — and a team replacing an important piece on the interior of its offensive line as it prepares to meet one of the league’s most complete defenses.
Plenty of intrigue awaits. Let’s dive into the best trench-related storylines from this weekend’s playoff games. Continue reading
By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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Steve Sarkisian joined the Atlanta Falcons with the daunting task of replicating one of the most explosive offenses in league history.
He did a decent job in 2017, enough for the Falcons to qualify for the postseason and score an upset win over the Los Angeles Rams in their wild-card meeting. He was doing just enough to keep the Falcons in their Divisional Round game Saturday against the Eagles, too, until fourth-and-goal in the final 65 seconds of the game.
With Atlanta trailing by five and the season on the line, Sarkisian elected to call a sprint out for Matt Ryan, who’s one of the league’s best pocket passers but is most definitely not the best at throwing on the run. The play call forced Ryan to sprint out right, surveying and floating in space under the pressure of a pass rush, left only to toss it up in vain to Julio Jones. The play ended in an incompletion, a turnover on downs and the end of Atlanta’s quest to defend its NFC title. Continue reading
By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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The sweeping changes are almost complete in Green Bay.
Green Bay hired Joe Philbin as offensive coordinator and Mike Pettine as defensive coordinator, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Wednesday.
Philbin returns to Green Bay after spending 10 seasons with the Packers in a variety of assistant roles from 2002-2011. He served as offensive coordinator from 2007-2011 before accepting a head coaching position with the Miami Dolphins in 2012. Philbin went 24-28 with the Dolphins before he was fired after a 1-3 start to the 2015 season. Continue reading
By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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Joe Haden‘s exit from the Cleveland Browns was unceremonious, unsurprising and for a team that ended up going 0-16, unnecessary.
Haden was a cap casualty on a team that had a surplus of cap space. Asked to take a pay cut by former Browns GM Sashi Brown, Haden refused, instead requesting a release and freedom from a team he’d given years of service.
The cornerback recently revealed his feelings surrounding his departure and almost immediate signing with division-rival Pittsburgh, for whom Haden will suit up and play in his first career playoff game on Sunday. Continue reading
By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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Listeners of the Around The NFL Podcast will almost instinctively recite the one truth they know about Kai Forbath: “Kai’s Kai.”
But Vikings fans can’t be as certain about the kicker as their team returns to the playoffs this weekend for the first time since another boot’s blunder sent them home shocked.
It’s been not one, but two kickers who have taken promising seasons and jettisoned them into oblivion with wide-left kicks in the final moments of Vikings playoff games. The first — Gary Anderson’s only miss after a perfect regular season — gave Atlanta new life and eventually robbed Minnesota of what seemed to be a surefire Super Bowl berth. The second — Blair Walsh‘s hook shot in the final 30 seconds of a 10-9 wild-card loss in a frigid outdoor game in Minneapolis — sunk the Vikings in what was headed toward becoming a memorable postseason win. Continue reading
By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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Marcell Dareus‘ revenge tale became complete with last weekend’s victory over his former team.
But for the defensive tackle, it’s just the beginning of what he views as the brightest portion of his professional career — and he couldn’t be more grateful.
“This organization has changed my life,” Dareus said of the Jacksonville Jaguars, via the Florida Times-Union. “They’ve done such great things so far, I just don’t want mess anything up. I’m just overjoyed for the opportunity to play.” Continue reading
By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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Ah, Wild Card Weekend, home of wild things, but not Where the Wild Things Are. No, instead of giant-faced fantastical animals, we have big-game action from big-time players.
Pitted against history and raucous crowds, road teams defied expectations to snag two of the weekend’s four possible wins, including a Saturday sweep. We’re here to bring you the best from those winners, who have earned themselves another week of football.
These are your greatest on the road from Wild Card Weekend presented by Courtyard by Marriott. Continue reading
Nick Shook 