By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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It’s been a five-month saga, but with the weekend finally came the good news: Ladarius Green has been activated by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The team announced Green’s activation on Saturday. NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported that the tight end will play Sunday against the Cowboys. Continue reading
By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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The Falcons‘ offense has often embodied its mascot, becoming a high-flying air show that has even produced a 300-yard receiving game for one Atlanta target.
Atlanta ranks just behind NFC South foe and league-leading New Orleans in both total offense and passing yards per game. It’s drawn praise and respect from nearly every opponent the Falcons have faced — except the Eagles. Continue reading
By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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Michael Thomas has been the talk of New Orleans since training camp, and on Sunday, he arrived.
Thomas recorded his first multi-touchdown of his young professional career in a win over the 49ers in Week 9, including a stunning catch in the back corner of the end zone that dropped the jaws of many. Just not that of his uncle, former NFL star Keyshawn Johnson. Continue reading
By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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Melvin Gordon‘s rookie campaign in 2015 was disappointing, almost as much as the lack of civility in the current presidential campaigns, which ended Tuesday. But unlike the nasty battle between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, Gordon has proven those early ugly moments weren’t signs of things to come.
A year after failing to reach the end zone and receiving alarming reps as a kick returner in training camp, Gordon is, as Gregg Rosenthal wrote, a far superior back. Gordon has moved well past his 2015 season yardage total (641) and taken his career touchdown total from zero to nine, thanks to his most recent game, which happened to be his best performance as a professional. Continue reading
By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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In baseball, if you succeed three out of 10 times, you’re pretty close to Hall of Fame status. By that way of thinking, this week’s road squads are deserving of induction into immortality.
Six visiting squads won, while the other six lost. For you math wizards at home, that’s a .500 winning percentage. The leaders away from home included blowout wins on the part of New Orleans, Dallas and Atlanta. We had a couple thrillers, too, but we’ll save the excitement for below. These are your road heroes from Week 9. Continue reading
By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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Less than 24 hours after eking out a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Kansas City Chiefs have even more reason for encouragement.
Coach Andy Reid said Monday that quarterback Alex Smith (head, ear) should be back and available to play in Week 10 against the Carolina Panthers, “as long as there are no setbacks.” Continue reading
By Around the NFL staff
NFL.com
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Another Motor City Miracle! Matthew Stafford led yet another fourth-quarter comeback, Matt Prater kicked a 58-yard field goal to tie and Golden Tate topped Detroit’s win off with a game-winning touchdown catch-and-run in overtime. Also on this episode of football: Doug Pederson refuses to kick field goals; the Jets and Dolphins play flag-happy football; and the Browns lose. Here’s what we’ve learned from Week 9:
1. If we were looking for an example of high-flying, aesthetically pleasing football, we failed miserably in Kansas City. The CBS broadcast team’s first postgame question for Chiefs quarterback Nick Folesbegan with “Nick, we know it wasn’t pretty at times …” and that ugliness didn’t spare Foles, who was making his first start as a Chief in place of the injured Alex Smith. Instead of appearing as the calm, cool and collected Foles from last week in Indianapolis, the quarterback was frequently inaccurate, coming up short on some and narrowly avoiding what should have been an interception, if it wasn’t for Jacksonville’s Tashaun Gipson and Prince Amukamara colliding in pursuit of the same pass. TheChiefs are better with Smith, and with Spencer Ware, whom they also missed dearly in the running game. Continue reading
By Around the NFL staff
NFL.com
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It’s time for another round of bold predictions, but this week’s edition of fearless prognostications includes a macho helping of audaciousness and abandon. Instead of simply making seemingly reckless predictions about this week’s games, the ATNFL crew is forecasting what will happen by the end of the regular season. Warning: these predictions are not for the faint of heart.
I’ve written about the Browns a handful of times in the bold predictions this season, and for good reason: I learned football through the Browns. Starting with their first preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings in 1999 at the then Cleveland Browns Stadium, I spent every Sunday with Tim Couch, Kevin Johnson, Darrin Chiaverini and the lovable losers. It has been in my family for decades and continues — my niece attended her first Browns game (a 21-7 loss to the Chicago Bears) at six weeks old. Continue reading
By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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Carolina hasn’t had a great start to battling the Super Bowl loser hangover. The Panthers opened the season with a loss to Denver, and notched just one win over its next five games. A date with the Arizona Cardinals didn’t look any easier for Carolina. But a shift in approach on offense changed the outcome for the first time since Week 2.
Instead of trying to hit the home run deep, the Panthers focused on carving up the Cardinals‘ pressure-focused defense by connecting on short passes. Carolina varied offensive formations, running out of the shotgun and pistol with decent success, and turning to the play action out of offset I formations to complete quick throws on a few occasions. Many of those quick passes went to Ted Ginn Jr., who utilized his toe-dragging ability along the sideline on multiple occasions. Continue reading
By Nick Shook
NFL.com
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Let’s just cut to the chase this week: Oakland’s win over Tampa Bay was a sloppy mess that probably had the likes of Tom Landry, Paul Brown and Vince Lombardi turning in their graves. No matter, though, because this is 2016, it’s Jack Del Rio’s year and we’re all just watching the madness, flying yellow flags included.
Oakland leads the way, legitimately standing as the greatest squad on the road with a 5-0 record away from home. Their leader is our winner on the eve of November. The autumn wind is a pirate; the autumn wind is a Raider.
The Raiders were one of four road teams to win in Week 8. These are your greatest on the road. Continue reading
Nick Shook 