Is trade deadline RB, CB help needed?

LANDOVER, Md. — Of course it wasn’t pretty, but the Philadelphia Eagles are 7-1 and possesses the best record in the NFL after defeating the Commanders 38-31 in Week 8. This is familiar territory for Philadelphia, overcoming miscues throughout the game yet making the plays necessary to come away with a victory.

The Eagles have had or shared the best record in football for 27 consecutive weeks, a testament to how talented and resilient this team is. This team is good, but there are always marked areas for improvement as the league heads into November.

There were plenty of opinions formed from the Eagles’ win over the Commanders, but which are overreactions and which are reality? Here’s a look:

Jalen Hurts knee injury is a bigger concern than we think
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction

Hurts doesn’t want to talk about the knee injury and the Eagles will downplay it. The brace on Hurts’ knee isn’t as big as one players with knee injuries typically wear, yet it’s clear Hurts is playing through pain — even though he went 29 of 38 for 319 yards with four touchdowns and a 135.7 rating.

Hurts took longer to arrive at his press conference than usual — speaking to reporters more than an hour after the game. The Eagles quarterback was getting treatment on his knee, an injury that’s bothering him even though Hurts is healthy enough to play.

Hurts is going to play through an injury that’s been bothering him for several weeks, and the bye week is going at an excellent time for him to rest it up. If Hurts can tolerate the pain and continue his success as one of the game’s best quarterbacks inside the pocket, the Eagles are going to put points on the board and win games.

As for the running game? That’s another issue that needs to be corrected, with Hurts getting healthy as priority No. 1.

The running game needs outside help
Overreaction or reality: Reality

With the trade deadline approaching and Hurts limited running the football with his knee injury, the Eagles have to had seen enough to know their current crop of No. 2 running backs aren’t cutting it. Kenneth Gainwell fumbled the football inside the 5 yard line during an afternoon which he had two carries for -4 yards.

Since Week 1, Gainwell has 37 carries for 99 yards — an average of 2.68 yards per carry. Boston Scott has just two carries since Week 4 and Rashaad Penny is a healthy scratch every week. This unit has to be improved behind D’Andre Swift, who is averaging just 3.65 yards per carry since Week 4 (72 carries, 263 yards, two touchdowns).

The Eagles are averaging just 79.3 rushing yards per game over the last three weeks. Part of it involves Hurts being limited on the ground, but Philadelphia is getting essentially nothing behind Swift.

Howie Roseman should be active in finding an improvement.

Slot CB needs outside help
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction

The Eagles front office will be looking at slot cornerback heading into the trade deadline, due to all the injuries that occurred at the position. With Kevin Byard at safety, the Eagles moved Sydney Brown and tried Eli Ricks in the slot for another week.

Ricks was fine in his 19 coverage snaps, as Sam Howell went 3 of 5 for 12 yards with a 64.6 passer rating and a pass interference called against him on third down early in the game. Brown had a rough day in his 30 coverage snaps, as Howell went 4 of 5 for 41 yards and a touchdown (118.8 rating).

Perhaps the Eagles go with Ricks more and still use Brown in box-nickel formations, but the middle of the field was open due to quick drops and throws by Howell The Eagles don’t exactly have great coverage linebackers either, even though Nicholas Morrow has been a pleasant surprise.

Bradley Roby may be coming back soon, so he may factor into the mix. The Eagles could get something more permanent in the slot, but Ricks may deserve more of an opportunity going forward. There still is a role for Brown too.

Tyler Steen should be backup RG
Overreaction or reality: Reality

When Steen entered the game for Sua Opeta, he played well at right guard. Steen only was a pass blocker on six snaps, but he didn’t allow a single quarterback hit or pressure. Opeta had 35 pass blocking snaps and allowed three pressures, while the run game as also been affected.

The Eagles haven’t rushed for over 100 yards in three consecutive games, all three of which Opeta has started. Opeta is a serviceable backup right guard, but Steen is a second-round pick that is projected to start on this offensive line once Jeff Stoutland develops him.

Cam Jurgens is eligible to come off injured reserve this week and should be back to help out the running game and pass protection on the right side. The time is now to elevate Steen on the depth chart when Jurgens returns.

Steen is a future starter on this offensive line.

12 veteran QB options for Vikings ahead of 2023 NFL trade deadline

The Vikings won their third straight game Sunday in routing the Packers. But they also lost their quarterback, with Kirk Cousins suffering a season-ending Achilles tear. It’s an ill-timed blow for a team that had begun building momentum in the NFC North, but it’s a hurdle Minnesota will have to clear quickly if it intends to remain in the postseason mix.

That’s easier said than done, of course. The only other healthy QB on the Vikings roster is rookie Jaren Hall, a fifth-round BYU product who threw his first NFL passes against Green Bay in Week 8. Veteran backup Nick Mullens is on injured reserve with a back issue, while former No. 2 Sean Mannion just rejoined the team’s practice squad earlier this month.

Odds are, one of those three QBs will replace Cousins in the short term. But what if coach Kevin O’Connell and Co. are desperate not to squander the Vikings’ rise to 4-4? This may be a franchise right in the middle of a “competitive rebuild,” as general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah put it this offseason, but with a wild card bid still well within reach, an emergency upgrade could be possible.

Steelers’ Minkah Fitzpatrick won’t play Thursday night vs. Titans due to hamstring injury, Mike Tomlin says

The Pittsburgh Steelers won’t have one of their best defenders when they take the field on Thursday night. The Steelers ruled out safety Minkah Fitzpatrick for the game against the Tennessee Titans due to a hamstring injury. Head coach Mike Tomlin couldn’t provide a time frame on Fitzpatrick returning, but said “it’s safe to say” he won’t be available on a short week.

Fitzpatrick left Pittsburgh’s Week 8 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars after having played just eight snaps. He was replaced in the lineup by Damontae Kazee, who took the majority of the safety snaps alongside Keanu Neal. The three-time Pro Bowler and First Team All-Pro had played 99% of the Steelers’ defensive snaps when healthy in each of his four-plus seasons with the team.

The Steelers have been unusually vulnerable to deep passes so far this season, and they could be even more so with Fitzpatrick out of the lineup. Through seven games, they have allowed the NFL’s fourth-most completions or 20 yards or more (28), according to Tru Media.

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Against rookie Titans quarterback Will Levis, that could present an issue. Levis threw three touchdown passes of at least 33 yards during his NFL debut on Sunday. Fitzpatrick has long been considered one of the NFL’s best center-field safeties, though he had also spent more time in the slot this season. According to Pro Football Focus, the 118 snaps he’s taken in the slot so far this year are the most time he’s spent there since his rookie season with the Miami Dolphins.

Tennessee’s passing attack hadn’t been overly explosive prior to Sunday, though, and Levis will be making his second career start on a short week against a defense that has typically been quite good. Even without Fitzpatrick, they should be able to provide a tough test for the rookie.

‘I refuse to accept that as reality’

Halloween is always a holiday that brings out the creative spirit of people around the world. It’s a chance to come up with a costume that will get people talking.

In 2023, Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel has been one of the more popular costumes when it comes to the sports world. During media availability on Monday, McDaniel was left speechless when he was asked for his reaction to people dressing up as him for Halloween.

“I have no idea,” McDaniel said. “I refuse to accept that as reality.”

When asked about what would be essential to a costume of himself, McDaniel joked that the “broad chest” would be a necessity. Jokes aside, McDaniel doesn’t have a similar look to many head coaches. In fact, he has a style that is all his own.

When it comes to a McDaniel costume, people have dressed up with a headset, hoodie, rolled up gray sweatpants, a gold watch and a pair of Nike Air Force 1s.

The best Halloween costume of 2023 goes to this kid right here😂 pic.twitter.com/S6oARLi1KN

— King of Phinland🐬👑 (@KingOfPhinland) October 29, 2023
McDaniel has been extremely successful during his first two seasons with the Dolphins. During that time, the 40-year-old has tallied a 15-11 record and led the Dolphins to a playoff berth in 2022. Through the first eight weeks of the 2023 season, Miami has raced to a 6-2 record with McDaniel at the helm.

Sean Payton says Broncos ‘aren’t openly or remotely shopping anyone’ after Week 8 win

The Sean Payton era is beginning to take some steps in the right direction. The Broncos just snapped a 16-game losing streak against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday with a 24-9 victory, and Denver is on its first winning streak (two games) under Payton. Given these circumstances, the 3-5 Broncos are not open for business ahead of the trade deadline on Oct. 31. “We’re not openly or even remotely shopping anyone,” Payton said Monday, via DenverSports.com. “Have people called? Sure they have. Typically, the buyer wants the media to know they have called. Not the seller. So we’re preparing, we have a Buffalo cutup I’m going to look at [the Broncos play the Bills after their bye in Week 10]… I’m sure at some point I’ll meet with [general manager] George [Paton], but we’re looking at the next opponent. Obviously, it’s a bye week and then a Monday night game, so the schedule changes a little. I don’t know that it’s [our trade deadline outlook] is any different because we have a bye. It’s a matter of what those other teams deem important, and it’s hard to predict that.” Actions speak louder than words, and the Broncos did ship out defensive lineman Randy Gregory, whom the team signed to a five-year, $70 million contract in 2022, to the San Francisco 49ers along with a 2024 seventh-round draft pick in exchange for a 2024 sixth-round selection. They also released outside linebacker Frank Clark (signed to a one-year, $5.5 million contract this past offseason). That calls into question the status of some other players the Broncos have invested in over the past few years like wide receivers Jerry Jeudy (the 15th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft) and Courtland Sutton (signed to a four-year, $60.8 million contract extension in 2021). The Broncos enter their bye week in Week 9, providing the team some time to assess where things stand with their roster ahead of Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m. ET.

Is Peyton and Eli Manning’s ‘Monday Night Football’ broadcast on in Week 8?

“Monday Night Football” is back to close out Week 8, but the Manning brothers, Peyton and Eli Manning are not. The dynamic duo will return to the booth (or couch, or however you care to describe it) in Week 9 for their alternate broadcast.

The former NFL stars will appear live on ESPN2 for 10 different games in 2023, welcoming different celebrity guests along the way.
Here’s a complete look at their schedule, plus how to watch:
How to watch the ‘ManningCast’
Dates: Select Mondays (see below)
Time: 8 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2 | Stream: fubo

Note: All 10 of the Manning brothers’ broadcasts will be televised on ESPN2, but they will also be available to stream for tablet and mobile on NFL+. Select games will also be available to stream on ESPN+.

Giants ship Leonard Williams to Seahawks; Eagles deal for Kevin Byard

The 2023 NFL trade deadline is on Oct. 31, and it is the final opportunity for NFL teams to add talent for a Super Bowl run, or sell assets for draft capital. You can expect to see both of these things occur as the month goes on.

We have actually seen a few trades take place in the first five weeks of the NFL season, but these haven’t been blockbuster transactions as much as they’ve been teams taking fliers on players who didn’t work out with their respective teams for whatever reason. Still, these are talented players who could be difference-makers later in the year.

Below we will break down every trade that has taken place over the past couple weeks.

The Seattle Seahawks are 5-2 and near the top of the NFC standings, so they don’t have a ton of holes. However, with their team quarterback pressure rate rankings just outside the top 10 (36.6%) 12th best in the NFL, Seattle sought to reinforce that area by acquiring Giants defensive lineman Leonard Williams, whose 22 quarterback pressures this season now rank as the second most on the Seahawks trailing only linebacker Boye Mafe’s 23 by one pressure. Williams is likely a rental since his three-year, $63 million contract expires at the end of this season. The Giants are paying out the majority of the $10 million remaining on his deal, according to NFL Media, and they get a decent draft pick return for a player they were likely to lose in the offseason anyways.

The Philadelphia Eagles arguably had one major weakness on their roster, and they just filled it with one of the league’s best players at the position. After seeing both of their starting safeties from last season’s team walk in free agency, Philly was trying to patch things over with multiple players on the back end. Now, the Eagles have Byard, one of the best center-field safeties in the league who has also been quite good flying down from the top against the run. He immediately improves what was already one of the best rosters in football.

Mecole Hardman is heading back to the Kansas City Chiefs. The New York Jets have moved on from Hardman after just six games. He received just three targets in his short tenure with the Jets, a significantly different experience from what he had in Kansas City.

Hardman, a former second-round pick of the Chiefs, had 151 catches for 2,088 yards and 16 touchdowns in four seasons with Kansas City. His best season was his rookie campaign (2019), when he finished with 26 catches for 538 yards and six touchdowns — averaging 20.7 yards per catch.

On the same day as the initial report came out that the Rams were shopping Van Jefferson, the Rams struck a deal with the Falcons, sending the wideout to Atlanta. Along with Jeffers, the Falcons got a 2025 seventh round draft pick while the Rams acquired a 2025 sixth-rounder.

Jefferson, a 2020 second round pick out of Florida, is in the final year of his rookie contract, so the Falcons will be able to get a solid look at the 27-year-old within their offense before having to possibly commit long-term. Meanwhile, the Rams gain greater draft capital in exchange for a player that played just two offensive snaps a week ago. Jefferson’s best season in the NFL came back in 2021 when he caught 50 passes for 802 yards and six touchdowns.

The Denver Broncos let it be known that they were set to release veteran pass rusher Randy Gregory unless a trade partner emerged. It was the 49ers who stepped up, and agreed to send a 2024 sixth-round pick to Denver for Gregory and a 2024 seventh-rounder.

Gregory signed a five-year deal worth up to $70 million with the Broncos during the 2022 offseason, an obvious swing and miss for general manager George Paton. Now, Denver will be paying Gregory $10 million to rush the passer for arguably the best team in the NFL.

After being made a healthy inactive in multiple games, the Chicago Bears parted ways with Chase Claypool. Chicago shipped him to the Dolphins in a late-round pick swap, as Miami received Claypool and a 2025 seventh-round pick for a 2025 sixth-round pick.

Claypool caught 18 passes for 191 yards and one touchdown in 10 total games played for the Bears, and there were questions about his work ethic. A league source told CBS Sports Lead NFL Insider Jonathan Jones that Claypool needs some hard coaching. That he needs to be someone where there’s “a thumb on him.” Still, Claypool is a big, athletic target who could help the blazing Dolphins.

Trade grades: C for Dolphins, F for Bears

J.C. Jackson returns to New England
Patriots get: CB J.C. Jackson, swap sixth- and seventh-round picks in 2025 with Chargers
Chargers get: Swap sixth- and seventh-round picks in 2025 with Patriots

The Los Angeles Chargers and New England Patriots swapped sixth- and seventh-round picks in 2025 for Jackson to be shipped back to his former team. Jackson was another player who had been benched and even made inactive by the Chargers. This coming after they team gave “Mr. INT” a five-year, $82.5 million deal just a year and a half ago. Jackson suffered a season-ending patellar tendon injury in 2022, and struggled through the early portions of 2023.

The Patriots lost two of their most important defenders in the blowout loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Christian Gonzalez and Matt Judon, so Jackson was a familiar face Bill Belichick turned to.

Top DraftKings, FanDuel daily Fantasy football picks for Monday Night Football

The Detroit Lions and Las Vegas Raiders are coming off losses, but they’ll try to rebound on Monday Night Football in Week 8. Detroit will host Las Vegas at Ford Field for an 8:15 p.m. ET kickoff, when the Lions’ No. 4 passing offense will face the Raiders’ No. 5 pass defense. How should that matchup impact your NFL DFS strategy and which players in the NFL DFS player pool should you have the most exposure to? Davante Adams is the unquestionable No. 1 receiver for Las Vegas but the amount of attention he attracts from opposing defenses has allowed Jakobi Meyers to post 37 catches for 385 yards and five touchdowns in six games this season. Should you load him into your NFL DFS lineups? Before locking in any NFL DFS picks for Raiders vs. Lions on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel, be sure to check out the NFL DFS advice, strategy, and stacks from SportsLine daily Fantasy expert Mike McClure.

McClure is a legendary professional DFS player with more than $2 million in career winnings. He uses a powerful prediction model that simulates every snap of NFL action, taking factors such as matchups, statistical trends, and injuries into account. This allows him to find the best DFS values that he shares only with members at SportsLine. His methodology has led to enormous cashes on FanDuel and DraftKings.

He took down two high-stakes tournaments on FanDuel in 2020 and recorded a pair of top-10 finishes in tournaments with over 130,000 entrants on DraftKings. His lineups also finished inside the top 1% in more than a dozen other tournaments. Last year, he won the DraftKings Millionaire Maker twice and the FanDuel Million once.

Now, McClure has turned his attention to Lions vs. Raiders on Monday Night Football and locked in his top daily Fantasy football picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.

Top NFL DFS picks for Raiders vs. Lions
One of McClure’s top NFL DFS picks for Monday Night Football is Lions quarterback Jared Goff. The former No. 1 overall pick had early success in Los Angeles, but his production eventually tapered off, prompting the Rams to send him to the Lions as part of the Matthew Stafford trade. The change of scenery has benefited Goff so far.

He threw for 4,438 yards and 29 touchdowns while matching a career-low with only seven interceptions in 2022. So far in 2023, Goff is completing 68.0% of his passes and has thrown for 1,902 yards and 11 touchdowns with only four interceptions over the first seven games of the season. He’s had a pair of 300-yard games and three multi-touchdown games as a passer, making him a high-upside play worth consideration on Monday Night Football.

Part of McClure’s optimal NFL DFS strategy also includes rostering Raiders running back Josh Jacobs. The former first-round pick put together back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in his first two years in the NFL, finishing as runner-up in AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year voting in 2019 and making the Pro Bowl in 2020.

After a down year in 2021, Jacobs broke through with his best season to date in 2022, winning the rushing title with 1,653 yards and also leading the league in scrimmage yards (2,053). As the focal point of almost every defensive gameplan, Jacobs is off to a slow start in 2023, but he’s still a workhorse (144 touches in seven games) who has produced 562 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns. That volume makes him a player you’ll want heavy exposure to in your Raiders vs. Lions NFL DFS lineups. See the rest of McClure’s NFL DFS player pool right here.

How to set NFL DFS lineups for Raiders vs. Lions
McClure is also targeting an undervalued player who is set to explode for huge numbers on Monday Night Football. This pick could be the difference between winning your tournaments and cash games or going home with nothing. You can only see who it is here.

Why is Dolphins-Chiefs game in Germany? How one of NFL’s best 2023 matchups wound up overseas, not prime time

NFL international games typically don’t end up with pregame hype like the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Miami Dolphins, as both teams are far above .500 and among the best in the AFC. Each enters the matchup at 6-2 as they head into the league’s second regular season venture in Germany.

The Dolphins-Chiefs showdown is one of the best games of the weekend, yet won’t be played on American soil. This will be just the third game in the NFL International Series that will feature two teams entering the game with winning records, and it’s easily the most hyped contest.

Why did Chiefs and Dolphins end up in Germany instead of the United States? The reason were explained in NBC’s Football Morning in America column this week:

Kansas City wanted the game to be in Germany. Every team has to play a game at an international site once every eight years, and the Chiefs wanted their game to be in Germany since they have global marketing rights there.
Divisional games typically aren’t international games, so the Chiefs — the home team — were limited to six home opponents.
The Chiefs have a massive prime-time slate, with the Eagles, Bills, and Bengals on the schedule. All three were deemed late-season games by the league, with CBS getting the 4:25 p.m. doubleheader window in December for Chiefs-Bills and Chiefs-Bengals. Chiefs-Eagles was the “Monday Night Football” pick.
With the Chiefs having nine home games, six opponents were eliminated for an international game based on divisional matchups and three were eliminated for other television windows. The Dolphins, Bears, and Lions were left. The Chiefs asked the NFL not to put the Bears matchup overseas since that would be the only time the Bears would play in Kansas City for eight years. The NFL was intrigued by the Lions for the NFL Kickoff Game ,so the Dolphins were the last opponent left.
The league lucked out with Kansas City and Miami as the first Germany game this year, though the Chiefs lost a home game as a result. With the AFC having just eight home games in 2024 (they have nine in odd-numbered years), the Chiefs weren’t giving up a home game next year to play overseas.