By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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Get out the bent-arm emojis — it’s flexing season.

As we move into the latter portion of the 2017 slate, game times are suddenly subject to change. Records and stakes matter!

The Week 12 schedule gets a little juicier in the late afternoon slot, with New Orleans’ matchup against the Los Angeles Rams moving to 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS. The move, however, means the Rams-Saints won’t be flexed to Sunday Night Football, as some had speculated it could have. In the same week, Tennessee at Indianapolis stays in the 1 p.m. slot but moves to FOX. Continue reading →

By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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Drew Brees doesn’t want to play anywhere but New Orleans.

That’s fine and dandy, but there are a few details that make that less than guaranteed. Brees is in the final year of his contract. The quarterback is 38 years old. And while this might sound preposterous, the Saints are the least reliant upon him that they’ve ever been in his time in New Orleans. Continue reading →

By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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Dannell Ellerbe is getting another shot at a postseason run.

The veteran linebacker has signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, the team announced on Monday. The Eagles also waived cornerback Dexter McDougle in anticipation of the return of cornerback Ronald Darby, who lined up with the first team in practice and expects to play Sunday, per NJ.com.

Ellerbe last played with the New Orleans Saints in 2016, appearing in nine games in which he recorded 44 tackles and four sacks. The Saints placed Ellerbe on injured reserve with a foot injury in July and waived him after he was cleared to play in August, electing to move forward with younger backs Alex Anzalone and Craig Robertson. Ellerbe, who turned 32 on Nov. 29, has been without a team since August.

Ellerbe’s agency hailed the signing as “the final piece to the Eagles’ Super Bowl puzzle” on Twitter on Sunday.

Ellerbe brings depth to an Eagles linebacking corps that lost Jordan Hicks to a ruptured achilles tendon on Oct. 23. With Hicks sidelined, backup middle linebacker Joe Walker played in his place against San Francisco, logging 28 defensive snaps. But a week later against Denver, Walker played just 12 snaps as the Eagles opted to swap out a linebacker for a defensive back, going with the Nickel sub package on 41 of 60 defensive plays, per Next Gen Stats. In these scenarios, Philadelphia slid outside linebacker Mychal Kendricks toward the middle of the defense, replacing him with an in-box safety, or aligned fellow outside backer Nigel Bradham and Kendricks over the defensive tackles in a 4-2-5 look.

This should give a glimpse of how the Eagles would work in Ellerbe, either by sliding Bradham or Kendricks over (Bradham seems like the more logical choice of the two), and replacing the vacant outside position with Ellerbe, or possibly using the playmaking Ellerbe in the middle. With his injury history, though, it’s more likely Philadelphia would go with the younger backers than Ellerbe, who has appeared in just 16 games combined over his last three seasons.

By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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The New England Patriots took advantage of multiple special teams mistakes and coasted to victory over the foundering Denver Broncos, 41-16. Here’s what we learned:

1. For the second week in a row, the Broncos (3-6) allowed 40-plus points in a loss. This time, though, much of the blame doesn’t fall on the shoulders of their defense, but their special teams, which was downright abysmal and single-handedly determined the outcome of the game.

First, Denver’s Isaiah McKenzie muffed a punt after the game’s opening possession. Then, New England’s Dion Lewis returned a kick for a touchdown. And then, the Patriots blocked a Broncos punt. And as if things couldn’t possibly get worse, the Broncos were caught making a late substitution, turning a fourth-and-5 into a fresh set of downs for the Patriots (7-2). The two early mistakes were enough to sink a team — they accounted for two touchdowns, putting the Broncos in an early hole — but the additional miscues just piled onto what has quickly become an ugly season for a fading Broncos team. Worst of all, the issues (which accounted for 24 of New England’s points) reflect rather poorly upon a coaching staff, which isn’t the best for a first-year coach in Vance Joseph. If one asked a question of who’s taking the fall for this, all signs point to special teams coach Brock Olivo. Continue reading →

By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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If Ben McAdoo is in the market for a new vehicle, he won’t need the heated seats option. His is already warm enough.

The Giants coach isn’t acknowledging any pressure or heat he might be feeling, though, even after his team’s worst loss of the season. Continue reading →

By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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Adrian Clayborn took advantage of a Tyron Smith-less Cowboys offensive line and the Atlanta Falcons(5-4) rolled the Cowboys (5-4) in Dallas’ first game without suspended Ezekiel Elliott.

1. This Cowboys team is a shell of itself when it’s missing Ezekiel Elliott and Tyron Smith. That much was evident from the beginning in how often Dak Prescott was pressured, and it became even more obvious when the Cowboys found themselves trailing and forced to throw. Adrian Clayborn absolutely dominated Chaz Green in pass-rushing scenarios, utilizing speed rushes, bull rushes, spins and rips to rack up six sacks and a forced fumble. Instead of being an offense that can move the chains when it needs to and will grind out long touchdown drives on the back of Elliott, it became one featuring Prescott throwing for his life. On Sunday, that wasn’t enough to beat a Falcons team that played inspired football for 60 minutes. Continue reading →

By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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Sunday’s fracas in Jacksonville resulted in the ejection of two players.

One still has something to say about the other.

After his pestering caused Bengals receiver A.J. Green to lose his cool and take him down to the ground by the neck, Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey broke down his approach to trash talking on Wednesday. He wasn’t shy. Continue reading →

By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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We haven’t seen Sam Bradford since early October — and we won’t see him again this regular season.

The Vikings quarterback was placed on injured reserve Wednesday a day after he underwent a knee scope by Dr. James Andrews to clean it out, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, per sources informed of the situation.

In better news for the Vikings, the team activated Teddy Bridgewater off the physically unable to perform list — his first time back on the active roster since suffering a horrific knee injury in August 2016. Continue reading →