CHARLOTTE - With about seven minutes left Sunday and down eight points to the Minnesota Vikings, Bryce Young took a first-down snap and handed the ball to Miles Sanders.Boos rang out at Bank of America Stadium before the Carolina Panthers running back was tackled for a short gain.Panthers fans, who were annoyed with the Carolina offense for much of the afternoon with collective muttering, were now openly hostile.A winless team facing another winless team in the fourth game of the year, and the Panthers still weren't letting their first overall pick sling the ball. Even a little. Young, the former Alabama star who Carolina mortgaged its future to acquire, wasn't just running an offense with training wheels still attached; he was piloting the equivalent of one of those tricycles where the parent is actually steering the thing with a big handle.Screen pass, handoff, check down. And repeat. By that point in the game, Young had completed only one pass for a gain of more than 20 yards, and it came on a short throw to Adam Thielen in the left flat.Within moments, Young demonstrated that head coach Frank Reich's lack of faith in him wasn't without reason. Having steered Carolina into the red zone on a drive that included - gasp - a couple of intermediate passes, Young threw two incompletions and took a pair of sacks that effectively ended the game. More boos rang out, and the surprisingly large purple-and-yellow contingent in the stands closed out proceedings with their Skol chant.Panthers fans could be forgiven for their anxiety. It's not just that Young is the would-be franchise cornerstone, a Heisman Trophy winner who could allow Carolina to forget about the rapid decline of Cam Newton; it's that the team paid a steep price to get him. Last October, the Panthers sent running back Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers for 2023 draft picks in the second, third, and fourth rounds, plus a 2024 fifth-round pick. They used the best asset in that haul, the second-rounder, as part of the package sent to the Chicago Bears for the first overall pick in 2023, with which they selected Young. The price paid for that top pick still elicits a low whistle: the ninth and 61st picks in 2023, a first-round pick in 2024, a second-round pick in 2025, and a very capable wide receiver in D.J. Moore.The Panthers took a huge chance with that series of moves, a high-risk play not unlike a deep ball that Young has so far not been allowed to throw. By the extremely unscientific metric of JIS (Jerseys In Stadium), McCaffrey was and is a star in Carolina. And while there are all sorts of caveats to be added here about not being too hasty to make judgments after a month, the early returns for the Panthers are alarming. Young's cautious play so far has been backed up by the numbers: He's 33rd in ESPN's QBR statistic, or last among qualified quarterbacks. He's last in expected points added per play and last in success rate. He's also last in air yards per completion, which measures how far the ball travels beyond the line of scrimmage, at 2.9.C.J. Stroud, the former Ohio State quarterback taken by the Houston Texas at No. 2 after Young, is ninth in the NFL in air yards per completion at 6.8, per Football Reference. He's been - and apologies for the complicated football terminology here - chucking it. Andy Dalton, the veteran who started in Young's place in a Week 3 loss at Seattle, is a notch above Stroud at 6.9. Anthony Richardson, taken fourth overall by the Indianapolis Colts and said to be a raw project compared to the polished Young, is 19th in air yards per completion and 17th in QBR.In short, Young's been dramatically outplayed by rookies taken after him and also by his 35-year-old backup on his fifth team. It's not what you want, as they say. It's desperately not what you want when so much was gambled on Young translating his collegiate success to the pros. On the same afternoon that the Carolina QB's biggest play was running backward for 20 yards and fumbling a ball that was returned for a Minnesota touchdown, McCaffrey scored four touchdowns for the 4-0 49ers. Stroud threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Pittsburgh. Richardson threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in an overtime loss to the Rams. Oh, and Baker Mayfield, dumped last year after half a season in Charlotte, threw for three touchdowns in Tampa Bay's third win of the season. Everywhere a Panthers fan looked, there were flowers blooming along roads not taken. At least Sam Darnold didn't lead any game-winning drives on the weekend.From a Panthers team-building perspective, all of this seems deeply odd. Carolina cashed out on McCaffrey and fired head coach Matt Rhule last year, almost made the playoffs anyway, and then made a major swoop for the No. 1 pick when there wasn't a clear favorite at the top like Joe Burrow or Trevor Lawrence. Or, ahem, Newton.And while those caveats mentioned above still apply to the early season, the Panthers now find themselves facing tough road games against Detroit and Miami. An 0-6 start is a real possibility in a season in which every loss gives the Bears better first-round draft position.The Panthers have a bye in Week 7 and then home games against Houston and Indianapolis. If nothing else, the crowd in Charlotte won't have to look far to wonder what could've been.Scott Stinson is a former national sports columnist for Postmedia News.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Marshawn Lynch won a Super Bowl with Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson as a member of the Seattle Seahawks, but he admits he didn't have much of a relationship with the pair off the field.Lynch offered a blunt response when asked to weigh in on the issues between his former head coach and quarterback on a recent episode of the "Club Shay Shay" podcast with Shannon Sharpe."I wouldn't be the right person to speak on their relationship because I didn't f--- with them. ... I didn't fuck with Pete, and then, I mean, Russ was just a quarterback for me," Lynch said.Lynch went on to explain that while some may view him as a "hater" due to the goal-line interception in Super Bowl XLIX that cost the Seahawks another championship, he respects Wilson as a player and teammate."Anything that I say because of the situation - throwing the pick on the goal line; not giving me the ball; this, that, and the third ... anything that I say is gonna come off as malice or as if I'm a hater," the former running back said. "Because you know what? I'll take Russell, and I'll put him right there at quarterback, and I'll rock with him, because I have done that. But as far as anything else ... no, there's no - you can't pick up the phone and call ol' boy or nothing."Lynch and Wilson were teammates in Seattle from 2012-2015 and again in 2019 during Lynch's final NFL season.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Rookies don't get a second chance to make a first impression in the NFL. Here, we evaluate how every 2023 first-round pick fared in their debut months in the league.1. Bryce Young, QB, PanthersBest game: vs. Vikings (Week 4)

New York Giants right tackle Evan Neal went on the offensive against booing fans and naysayers Wednesday.Neal's play has been heavily criticized this season, with more scrutiny coming after the Giants' offensive line surrendered 11 sacks in Monday night's 24-3 home loss to the Seattle Seahawks. However, the former No. 7 overall pick says he doesn't care what his critics say about him."Why would a lion concern himself with the opinion of a sheep?" Neal told NJ.com's Darryl Slater, according to ESPN's Jordan Raanan. "The person that's commenting on my performance, what does he do? Flip hot dogs and hamburgers somewhere?"Neal also called fans who booed the Giants during Monday's game "fair-weather" and "bandwagoners."The 2022 seventh overall pick issued an apology on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, not long after his initial comments.

Find positional rankings, additional analysis, and subscribe to push notifications in the NFL Fantasy News section.Welcome to theScore Fantasy Football Podcast, hosted by Justin Boone.Find the show on Spotify, Apple, Google, and Stitcher.In this episode, Jennifer Eakins of 4for4.com joins Boone to discuss the biggest fantasy questions for Week 5.

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus says he feels the front office still has his back despite the team's long losing streak.The Bears have dropped 14 games in a row dating back to last season, with their last win coming on Oct. 24, 2022. It's been a challenging start to the campaign for Chicago, which has included an 0-4 record and the resignation of former defensive coordinator Alan Williams. However, Eberflus says he's only concerned with the upcoming Week 5 matchup against the Washington Commanders."I feel the support," Eberflus said Wednesday, according to ESPN's Courtney Cronin. "I haven't talked to anybody about any of those things. I feel the support, and we're just focused on Washington."The Bears looked to be on the cusp of their first victory last Sunday after taking a 28-7 lead over the Denver Broncos, only to surrender 24 unanswered points and fall to 0-4.Eberflus says he's confident that the result was still a step in the right direction, as Chicago put up a season high in points and yards."I think I've stated it many times that we have a bunch of new guys here, and bringing them together is a big piece of it," the Bears coach added. "We're in the process of that. I certainly feel that we took a big step in the right direction last week. We got to take another big step this week."Hired in 2022, Eberflus has only won three of the 21 games he's coached in Chicago.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow characterizes Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals as important with the Bengals' record at 1-3."Gotta win," Burrow said, according to NFL.com's Grant Gordon. "Whatever it takes. Doesn't have to be pretty, but gotta come out with a W."The Bengals are used to rocky starts to their regular season campaigns: They started 0-2 in 2022 but ultimately turned their fortunes around to finish 12-4, making it to the AFC Championship Game. Cincinnati is aiming to make a similar turnaround against the Cardinals, who are also 1-3, in Week 5.Burrow indicated that Sunday's matchup is a big game for multiple reasons aside from wanting to get his team back on track."We gotta go in and get a win on the road," Burrow said Wednesday, per Pro Football Network's Jay Morrison. "We haven't had a road win yet. We pride ourselves on the road. We're playing a really good football team, good defense, good scheme. We need it for our morale. We need it for the rankings. We need it for everything."Burrow has been hampered by a calf issue that's plagued him through training camp into the regular season slate. The star signal-caller provided an optimistic update, saying that this is the best he's felt after a game this season.While Cincinnati's signal-caller may be feeling better, the health status of one of his favorite targets isn't looking bright. Tee Higgins did not participate in Wednesday's practice after suffering a rib injury in last week's game against the Tennessee Titans.The Bengals' offense has been unable to take off to begin its 2023 campaign, ranking last league in total yards per game (236) and sitting 31st in points per contest (12.3).With just 728 passing yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions, Burrow understands that his production needs to pick up if the Bengals want to be contenders in the AFC once again.Despite Cincinnati's early season struggles, Burrow remains confident that the team is resilient enough to withstand the hurdles in front of them."It's tough right now, but we're going to get through it," he said, per Gordon.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

How much can change in a year?Almost a year ago - Week 6 of 2022 - the Commanders visited the Bears on a Thursday night game to end all Thursday nighters, a rollicking 12-7 Washington win at Soldier Field. Carson Wentz threw for a whole 99 yards in the win, and Justin Fields gave the Bears a chance to win late with a long rush - a surprise at the time. That started a stretch where Fields averaged 94.9 yards rushing the rest of the season after beginning the year by running for just 38.8 yards per game.Will a rematch in Washington trigger the explosiveness that's been missing from Fields so far this season? Can the Commanders muster more than 12 points with their new thrill-a-minute quarterback, Sam Howell?Bears @ Commanders (-6, 44.5)Howell has been up and down this season. This is the roller coaster he gave North Carolina fans on a play-to-play basis during a college career that saw him go from potential first-round pick to fifth-round pick. The Commanders' team rating has fluctuated along with his play, with a high point versus the Broncos and a low point against the Bills that turned them into 9.5-point underdogs at the Eagles just four days ago.The Bears were made the league's lowest-rated team after getting blown out by the Chiefs, only to appear functional offensively against the same Broncos that Washington recently dueled with until the final second. There are plenty of contenders for the worst team in the NFL, so this line is probably a bit long, as the Cardinals were +5.5 against Washington in Week 1, and I doubt the Giants will be getting this many points when they visit the Commanders.With each quarterback capable of explosive plays and turnover binges in equal measure, both teams are highly volatile, so there's probably some value in the underdog moneyline. For our purposes here, we'll take the points in a game where we'd be more confident in the over if it weren't a short week - which often leads to scores like 12-7.Pick: Bears (+6)Justin Fields: Over 16.5 pass completions (-115)Neither the Bears nor the Commanders have been good against the pass this season, allowing the 31st- and 24th-most yards per pass attempt, respectively. We'll target Fields' low completion total as something easier to overcome on Thursday since the Washington defense profiles more like the Packers and Broncos - teams he's gone over against - than it does the Chiefs or Buccaneers. If we're expecting a close game or - as the spread suggests - one in which the Bears are trailing, Fields should be called upon to throw more frequently. If they found some particular plays he was comfortable with when he went 28-for-35 on Sunday, there should be some easier completions to help boost this statistical category.Sam Howell: Anytime touchdown (+390)Howell's rushing yardage is an intriguing pick since he's had runs of 10-plus yards in four of his five career starts and comes off a game where he scampered for 40 yards. However, let's go for the gusto in the anytime touchdown market. You could say he's due - he scored in his first two NFL games but not since - or you can look at the 11 rushing touchdowns he scored in his last season as a Tar Heel. Either way, Howell knows where the goal line is when things break down in the red zone.Matt Russell is the lead betting analyst for theScore. If there's a bad beat to be had, Matt will find it. Find him on social media @mrussauthentic.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris has a problem with people solely pointing the blame on the team's coaching staff amid a difficult start to the 2023 campaign.Harris stood up for his coaches Wednesday, telling media that the players are the culprits for Pittsburgh's poor performance."I see everybody talking about this coaching stuff, about play-calling, but you have to know how football works," Harris said, according to ESPN's Brooke Pryor. "Coaches only could coach, but we gotta execute the plays."He added: "We have to execute at the end of the day no matter who's back there calling the plays. I (can) honestly say we're not doing that right now, not coaches. ... It's just players. We have to play better. You know what I mean? We can't just keep looking at the coaches as an outlet."The Steelers' offense has been heavily criticized, especially offensive coordinator Matt Canada. Pittsburgh has only mustered four offensive touchdowns through four games. The unit was held out of the end zone entirely in its 30-6 loss to the Houston Texans."We can say what we want, but like I said, players play, coaches coach," Harris proclaimed. "We can't just keep looking at pointing fingers. We gotta point at ourselves. It's the man in the mirror, really. This is the NFL. Everyone runs the same damn plays."Head coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday he won't make any changes to the offensive staff or play-calling duties at this time. Tomlin stated the team will utilize padded practices more after noticing a lack of physicality in the Steelers' loss to the Texans.Harris agreed with his head coach's assessment."Truthfully, I just think that we're just not playing with that edge right now," Harris said. "That's what we need to do better."The Steelers (2-2) are averaging just 15.5 points per game while allowing 25 per contest. Their offense ranks 29th in yardage, while the defense is 30th in yards surrendered per game. Pittsburgh welcomes the Baltimore Ravens (3-1) on Sunday.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

J.C. Jackson is returning to the New England Patriots.The Los Angeles Chargers are sending the cornerback to the Patriots in exchange for a swap of late-round picks, sources told NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.The 27-year-old provides reinforcements at an opportune time. First-round pick Christian Gonzalez will likely miss the remainder of the 2023 season after suffering a torn labrum in the club's 38-3 loss on Sunday, sources told Rapoport.The 6-foot-1, 198-pound Jackson began his career with the Patriots as an undrafted free agent. He quickly became a ball-hawking playmaker, hauling in 25 interceptions from 2018-21, including nine in 2020 and eight in 2021.Jackson struggled to replicate the impact he made in New England with the Bolts. He only played in five games last season because of a serious knee injury, was a healthy scratch in Week 3 of this year, and did not play in Week 4 despite being active.Jackson had one interception in seven games with L.A. and has a 48.7 overall grade from PFF for the current campaign.As part of the trade, the teams are reworking the 2023 portion of the five-year, $82-million deal that Jackson signed with the Chargers ahead of the 2021 season. The Patriots will cover approximately $1.5 million of Jackson's remaining $9.33 million salary for this year, with L.A. paying the remainder as a signing bonus, sources told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.On top of his interceptions, Jackson has accumulated 176 total tackles and 58 pass deflections in 69 career games.The Chargers claimed former Denver Broncos cornerback Essang Bassey off waivers following the trade, a source told Rapoport.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson is happy about having running back Jonathan Taylor back with the team at practice."I'm excited, just for him being able to come back on the field. I know it's been a while for him to be on the field," Richardson said Wednesday, per Dominic Miranda of WTHR. "I know he's excited to be back, and I'm excited to see what he does."The Colts designated Taylor to return to practice on Wednesday, and the star running back joined the club on the field for a walk-through. Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen expects the 24-year-old to practice Thursday and Friday ahead of Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans."We'll see," Steichen said about Taylor's status this week, according to Albert Breer of The MMQB. The coach added that he wants to see the tailback practice before making a decision about his game status.Taylor missed the season's first four games after starting the campaign on the physically unable to perform list. He was sidelined for six games in 2022 - including the final three contests - and underwent ankle surgery during the offseason.Taylor, who's in the final year of his rookie deal, requested a trade from the Colts in July amid stalled contract negotiations. Indianapolis granted his request but failed to finalize a deal before the start of the regular season despite reportedly engaging in trade talks with the Miami Dolphins and Green Bay Packers, among other teams.Miami is reportedly expected to remain interested in Taylor, who could still be moved.If Taylor is able to take the field again with the Colts, Richardson is expecting great things for the offense."I know he's a great player, and I know I can do some things pretty well, so just trying to combine those two things, I can only imagine what it's like," said Richardson, per Miranda. "But we won't see it until it actually happens."Taylor has averaged 5.1 yards per carry across three NFL seasons. The Wisconsin product was voted a first-team All-Pro after leading the league with 2,171 scrimmage yards and 20 touchdowns in 2021.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett expects to play Week 5 against the Baltimore Ravens despite his knee injury."Going to be ready to go by Sunday," Pickett said Wednesday, according to ESPN's Brooke Pryor.Pickett couldn't finish Pittsburgh's 30-6 loss to the Houston Texans in Week 4 after exiting in the third quarter. Head coach Mike Tomlin recently announced that the second-year passer suffered a bone bruise to his knee. He added that Pickett's comfort and play would determine his availability this week."Got lucky, it was what it was," Pickett said of his injury, which was initially feared to be serious."By Sunday, I'll be good," he added when asked if he has any limitations.Pickett was seen wearing a knee brace at practice Wednesday.

New York Jets running back Breece Hall is expected to return to a full workload."From an opportunity standpoint, there is no pitch count with him anymore," head coach Robert Saleh said Wednesday, according to NFL.com's Kevin Patra.Hall started the first four contests of the 2023 season but has yet to play more than 31 snaps in a game. The 22-year-old was put on a pitch count due to an ACL tear suffered during the 2022 campaign.Despite his limitations, Hall leads the Jets in all rushing categories. He's averaged 6.6 yards per carry with 210 yards on 32 attempts.Veteran Dalvin Cook has received most of the workload when Hall is off the field. Cook, signed this offseason, has struggled to get going, though, rushing for just 2.5 yards per attempt. Saleh cautioned against giving up on the veteran."Remember, he didn't have OTAs, he didn't have training camp. ... He's getting faster, his GPS numbers are showing to get a lot faster," Saleh said. "It looks like he's getting his legs underneath himself."The Jets have lost three in a row since winning their Week 1 opener against the Buffalo Bills. They travel to Denver to take on the Broncos this Sunday.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

One-fifth of the season is officially in the books. While there's a whole lot to be decided, let's check in on the MVP race through four games.Patrick Mahomes entered the season as the favorite, fresh off an MVP campaign and Super Bowl victory. Although he's still undisputedly the best quarterback in the league, he's looked more human than usual this season.Joe Burrow - the second favorite - hasn't had the start to the year everyone expected after his last two seasons catapulted him into the upper tier of quarterbacks. His team is 1-3, in large part due to his questionable play, and he's still managing a calf injury that sidelined him for most of training camp.His odds have skyrocketed from +700 a month ago to +7500.The two new leaders - Josh Allen and Tua Tagovailoa - reside in the AFC East and just battled it out in Buffalo on Sunday.MVP OddsPlayerOddsJosh Allen+350Tua Tagovailoa+500Patrick Mahomes+550Jalen Hurts+800Lamar Jackson+1500Brock Purdy+2000Justin Herbert+2000Christian McCaffrey+2000Trevor Lawrence+2500Dak Prescott+3000Jared Goff+4000Tagovailoa was +2000 to win MVP before the season, but after a 466-yard and three-touchdown performance in Week 1, he immediately shot up the board.He became the favorite at +600 following Week 1 and remained the favorite until this Sunday.Allen, meanwhile, saw his odds go in the other direction following a Week 1 loss to the Jets in which he tossed three interceptions.He went from the third-best odds at +800 to the sixth-best at +1200. Since the opener, however, Allen has been the MVP candidate he's projected to be just about every year. He's led his team to three straight wins and has only thrown one interception in those games.Entering Sunday's much-anticipated Week 4 matchup between the undefeated Dolphins and Bills, Tagovailoa remained the favorite. His team scored a 57-year high of 70 points in its win the week prior. Allen shot up the board, but he still trailed his counterpart.Those two flipped after the Bills beat the Dolphins, 48-20, and Allen outplayed Tagovailoa. Allen tallied 320 passing yards and five total touchdowns, while Tagovailoa racked up 282 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.Allen's now +350 to win the award (bet $10 to win $35). Tagovailoa is +500.Those weren't the only odds that slid in the Bills' favor following the divisional matchup. The Dolphins were favorites to win the AFC East at -125, while the Bills were +130. Now, the Bills are the favorites at -125 and the Dolphins are +120.The hype has cooled on Tagovailoa and the Dolphins' offense, but Allen and Tagovailoa will likely remain neck-and-neck the entire season, as will their teams in the race to win the AFC East, and the AFC.The next time they play is the final game of the regular season on Jan. 7, which could be to decide the division title.While Allen and Tagovailoa are atop the leaderboard, one surprising candidate has emerged in 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, who entered the season at +15000. Since the boom of the passing era this century, the award is almost always won by a quarterback, but all positions are technically eligible.McCaffrey is now tied for the sixth-best odds at +2000, along with his 49ers teammate and quarterback Brock Purdy. McCaffrey would be the first running back to win the award since Adrian Peterson in 2012 and the fifth rusher to win since the turn of the century.The two-time NFL All-Pro is undisputedly the best offensive player on a team with the second-most total yards in the league. He's accumulated 459 rushing yards - the most in the league - and averaging 5.7 yards per rush on one of the two remaining undefeated teams.It seems nearly impossible for a running back to dethrone a quarterback as the MVP in this modern era, but if there's anyone who can do it, it's McCaffrey, who is leading one of the best squads in the league and is on pace for the best season of his career.Sam Oshtry is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @soshtry for more betting coverage.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Let's keep this train rolling! We've hit our last three two-team, six-leg teasers. Let's stay hot and build on the streak for Week 5.We have to remember to stay true to our principles of crossing key numbers to find value. Also, if a two-leg teaser isn't paying at least -120 or better, don't bet it. The value simply isn't there at any longer odds.Weekly reminder: Teasers can provide value for bettors by capturing key winning margin numbers - three, six, and seven. It never makes sense to tease a game through zero because you lose valuable win probability. Games are hardly won by less than a field goal or end in a super-rare tie.Let's look at the Jets' (+2.5) road matchup against the Broncos to show how we earn value from teasing a game.Alt. spreadOdds+3.5-162+4.5-188+5.5-210+6.5-260+7.5-330+8.5-370One leg of a two-team, six-point teaser is priced at -280, which is significantly better value than parlaying Jets +8.5 as an alternate spread at -370.We've had success in recent weeks finding value on teaser legs and pairing them together to cash our two-team teasers. Let's take a look at our teaser basket to see what options we can pair with Jets +8.5.Teaser basketTeamOddsTeaser legCommanders-6.5-0.5Texans+2+8Titans+1+7Saints+1.5+7.5Jets+2.5+8.5Raiders+2.5+8.5Backing the Jets with Zach Wilson under center is always a risky proposition. But Wilson actually portrayed confidence and was solid throughout last Sunday's game against the Chiefs. The Jets only lost by three, and their frisky defense held Patrick Mahomes to one of his worst showings in years.The Jets are now underdogs on the road against the Broncos, whose defense is giving up 37.5 points per game, the most in the league. Denver's only win is against a Bears franchise in complete disarray.The Jets can win outright if Wilson replicates the performance he displayed last week, so I'll take them to cover more than a touchdown margin against one of the worst teams in the NFL.The Commanders have looked good and are worth a glance for Thursday Night Football against the winless Bears. However, after a demoralizing overtime loss and on a short week, I'll stay away.The Texans have been a competitive 2-2 group, which is surprising given their youth movement. C.J. Stroud doesn't look like a first-year quarterback. He's racked up over 1,200 passing yards and has thrown six touchdowns and zero interceptions, a rare feat for a rookie. He's the favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year.The Texans' defense is holding opponents to under 20 points per game and going up against a Falcons group led by a struggling Desmond Ridder under center.The game total is set at 41, which is relatively low and creates a tighter variance. I'm backing Stroud and Co. to keep it within a touchdown.Let's lock in Jets +8.5 and Texans +8 to win our fourth straight teaser.Sam Oshtry is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @soshtry for more betting coverage.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Except for roughly 10 minutes late Sunday, that was as easy as we expected, with the 49ers beating the Cardinals comfortably. However, there were no catastrophic upsets elsewhere, as the Chargers won comfortably by their standards, and the Chiefs escaped MetLife Stadium with a victory.Unfortunately, we crossed arguably the league's best team off our list of those available to use. But at least we survive another week, where there's a pair of standout options to use and not much else.While most everyone picked San Francisco last week, this week sees another fork in the road that should see close to a 50-50 split between those selecting the Lions and those taking the Dolphins.Every week until we get knocked out, we've mapped two paths to make it to the end of the season undefeated. As long as one of our entries still stands, we'll use the moneylines for our picks to show the odds of making it the distance traveled along the path. Once we're out, though, we're out.We could provide a series of theoretical rules to follow - like never take a road team - but the moneyline reflects a club's likelihood of winning each game. We can easily translate that into an implied win probability, listed in descending order in the chart below.Week 5 moneylinesTEAMMONEYLINEIMPLIED PROB.Dolphins-60085.7%Lions-42581.0%Commanders-28073.7%Bills-24070.6%Chiefs-22569.2%Eagles-21067.7%Ravens-19065.5%49ers-18565.5%Bengals-16562.3%Falcons-13056.5%Packers-13056.5%Broncos-12555.6%Patriots-12054.5%Colts-11553.5%Titans-10551.2%Saints+10050.0%Jets+10548.8%Raiders+11047.6%Texans+11047.6%Cardinals+14041.7%Cowboys+15539.2%Steelers+16038.5%Rams+17536.4%Vikings+19034.5%Jaguars+20033.3%Bears+23030.3%Panthers+34022.7%Giants+45018.2%Survivor Path AKnocked out in Week 3. Thanks, Ravens. Matt Gay missed a 47-yard field goal indoors this week. Lamar Jackson was awesome. Of course.Survivor Path BWEEKTEAM USEDIMPLIEDPROB.1Falcons64.9%2Cowboys80.0%3Chiefs88.9%449ers90.9%SURVIVAL PROBABILITY42.0%In our more conservative route - where we had a 42% chance to get this far by betting math - we've used three of the NFL's best teams, so now it's all about picking our spots for survival from here on out.We'll go back to how we won in Week 1 - fading the Panthers. There were high hopes for Carolina to get its first win of the season last Sunday, and it had every opportunity to when it took an early lead. Instead, Bryce Young fumbled that away, and the Panthers couldn't muster any offense to try to pull off a comeback.Now they're supposed to go back on the road, two weeks after almost false starting their line of scrimmage into the Pacific Ocean because of Seattle's crowd noise, and win in Detroit? I don't think so.You may be tempted to take the Dolphins - given they have the biggest moneyline of the week - but what if I told you we could fade Carolina again next week when Miami hosts the Panthers?Pick: LionsMatt Russell is the lead betting analyst for theScore. If there's a bad beat to be had, Matt will find it. Find him on social media @mrussauthentic.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Denver Broncos are releasing pass-rusher Randy Gregory, sources told Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio.Denver signed Gregory to a five-year, $70-million deal ahead of the 2022 season, but the team now wants to focus on its younger players, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports.The Broncos had been trying to trade Gregory this week but couldn't find a partner, reports NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.Gregory will be eligible to sign with any team upon his release.The 30-year-old joined Denver after five seasons with the Dallas Cowboys but failed to contribute much to the Broncos. He missed 11 games in 2022 with a knee injury and played just 56% of the team's defensive snaps through four contests this year.The 6-foot-5, 255-pound edge defender has struggled with availability for much of his career. He's never played in every game of a season in his six NFL campaigns. He made a career-high 14 appearances in 2018.Nik Bonitto, who started over Gregory in Week 4, Jonathon Cooper, and Thomas Incoom are all 25 or younger at the outside linebacker position. Bonitto had 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble in Denver's comeback victory over the Chicago Bears.Veteran Frank Clark, 30, provides depth and is being paid just $5.45 million this year.Gregory finishes his tenure in the Mile High City with 21 total tackles, three sacks, four tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The NFL and NBC Sports didn't hold back in showing all the celebrities - most notably Taylor Swift - at MetLife Stadium to watch the New York Jets' Week 4 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs during its Sunday Night Football broadcast.It was the second time Swift stole the show around the NFL in as many weeks. She was also at Arrowhead Stadium to watch the Chiefs in Week 3 after being invited by star tight end Travis Kelce, her rumored new love interest.Kelce recently addressed how NBC covered his situation with Swift, saying the TV network is doing a little too much."It's fun when they show who's all at the game," Travis said on the latest episode of his "New Heights" podcast, according to Jimmy Traina of Sports Illustrated. "It brings a little more to the atmosphere, it brings a little bit more to what you're watching, but at the same time ... they're overdoing it a little bit, especially my situation. They're just trying to have fun with it."The promo for the Sunday Night Football tilt between the Chiefs and Jets featured Swift's song "Welcome to New York" over highlights of the two teams. Moments before kickoff, NBC used Carson Daly and the reality competition series "The Voice" to explain the game's significance to Swifties.

Find positional rankings, additional analysis, and subscribe to push notifications in the NFL Fantasy News section.In an effort to help you find trades that could improve your fantasy team, we present the Trade Value Chart.You can use this chart to compare players and build realistic trade offers. Values are based on 12-team leagues.Follow the links below to see the trade values and rest of season rankings for each position.Trade Values

Welcome to the first edition of theScore's NFL monthly awards.With September 2023 in the books, it's time to recap and praise the best events and moments from around the league in Weeks 1-4.Player of the monthChristian McCaffrey, RB, 49ersA few quarterbacks were under consideration here, including Tua Tagovailoa, but the Dolphins' defeat by the Bills left McCaffrey as the only contender without a bad game so far this season. With his four-touchdown Week 4, the 49ers star leads the NFL in touches (98), scrimmage yards (600), total touchdowns (7), and rushing yards per game (114.8). No other player with 60-plus carries averages as many yards per attempt as McCaffrey's 5.7. The two-time Pro Bowler also paces all rushers in yards after contact, missed tackles forced, explosive runs, and first downs. Finally, by scoring at least one touchdown in every game this campaign, the 27-year-old passed Jerry Rice to set a franchise record with a TD in 13 consecutive appearances dating back to last year.Team of the monthDolphinsMiami didn't play at its best and suffered its first loss in Buffalo, but that result tells you more about how good the Bills can be than it does about Miami. Through four weeks, the Dolphins have built an offensive juggernaut en route to becoming Super Bowl contenders. Led by MVP candidate Tagovailoa at quarterback and receiver Tyreek Hill, Miami leads the NFL in EPA per play, passing yards, and rushing yards. The team is averaging 511 total yards per game with no other club above 400. Mike McDaniel's outfit - which has used motion unlike any other NFL offense ever - also had the year's most emphatic win, beating the Broncos 70-20 in Week 3 while amassing 726 offensive yards. Largely due to subpar defensive play, the Dolphins aren't as balanced as the 49ers, Eagles, or Cowboys. However, no team has been more fun to watch than Miami. Carmen Mandato / Getty Images Sport / GettyRookie of the monthPuka Nacua, WR, RamsC.J. Stroud (Texans), Christian Gonzalez (Patriots), Jalen Carter (Eagles), and Bijan Robinson (Falcons) have stood out, but we already expected them to perform at a high level as first-round picks. Meanwhile, few people knew who Nacua was until Week 1. He entered the NFL as a fifth-round choice out of BYU and was the 20th wideout off the board. But the 22-year-old didn't have any problems making history and putting up Cooper Kupp numbers with the 2021 Offensive Player of the Year sidelined in the season's first month. Nacua amassed a record 39 catches and 501 receiving yards, the most in a player's first four career games in NFL history. He also found the end zone for the first time in Week 4, scoring the Rams' game-winning touchdown in overtime.Coach of the monthJim Schwartz, DC, BrownsSeveral head coaches were in contention, but Schwartz earned the nod as one of the offseason's best hires. Granted, the Browns - playing with a fifth-round rookie quarterback - suffered a 28-3 loss in Week 4. But Schwartz, whom Cleveland hired as defensive coordinator in January, deserves a ton of credit for what he's done. Just a year after ranking 25th in EPA per play allowed, the Browns lead the league in that category. The team's defense also ranks first in total yards and is the only one in the NFL allowing fewer than 200 yards per game on average. Cleveland did add edge Za'Darius Smith and defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson, among others. But Schwartz should be praised for helping build a defensive juggernaut.Under-the-radar player of the monthDennis Gardeck, EDGE, CardinalsDon't feel guilty if you aren't familiar with Gardeck; not many people have watched Cardinals games this season. The 29-year-old is quietly putting together a solid campaign, racking up four sacks and six QB hits while being a top-20 edge rusher in football, according to PFF. Arizona doesn't look as bad as many around the NFL expected, and Gardeck has been one of its main contributors defensively. Michael Owens / Getty Images Sport / GettyWho is Gardeck? An undrafted player out of Sioux Falls in 2018, Gardeck has spent his entire career with the Cardinals, logging mostly special-teams snaps until this season. In 76 career appearances, he has 12 sacks, largely thanks to a 2020 campaign in which he recorded seven despite playing just 10% of Arizona's defensive snaps. In 2023, after the Cardinals lost their top pass-rushers in the offseason, Gardeck has played 42% of the club's snaps on defense, easily his highest career rate. He's signed through the 2024 season after inking a three-year, $10-million extension in 2022.All-NFL team of the monthFacts you should knowThe Josh Allen roller coaster. It's hard to believe that the Allen who put on a show and had a perfect passer rating in Week 4 is the same Allen who had a terrible performance with four turnovers just three weeks ago. But we shouldn't be surprised by his ups and downs at this point. Following this season's first four games, the Bills' 2018 first-round pick has tossed 64 career interceptions and suffered 54 fumbles (21 lost). Allen's 118 INT/fumble total is easily the most in the league in the last six seasons. However, after racking up five touchdowns versus Miami, Allen has now also accounted for 188 TDs, behind only Patrick Mahomes (212) in that span.Things can change fast. The Vikings posted a 13-4 record last season. Yet many observers were unconvinced, as 11 of their wins came in one-possession games. This season, all three of Minnesota's defeats have come in one-possession games. Add in the Vikings' 31-24 wild-card loss to the Giants in January, and they're 1-4 in one-score games in the year 2023.Can't contain CMC. We already mentioned how special McCaffrey's 2023 has been. But his numbers in the span of a full regular season are something else. Since not starting his first San Francisco game days after joining the team via an October 2022 trade, McCaffrey has started 17 games with the 49ers (including the playoffs), racking up 2,047 scrimmage yards and 20 total touchdowns on 351 touches. Oh, and he also threw a 34-yard TD. San Francisco is 16-1 in that span, with the only loss coming in the NFC title game versus Philly.Stat of the monthRunning back Derrick Henry tossed a touchdown in Week 4 to help the Titans claim a 27-3 victory over Joe Burrow and the Bengals. Henry now has as many games with at least one touchdown pass this season (one) as Burrow, who recorded his only two TD throws of the season in Week 2.Best playRussell Wilson completed an unbelievable Hail Mary touchdown pass to Brandon Johnson as time expired in Week 2 against the Commanders. Though the Broncos couldn't force overtime due to a failed two-point conversion attempt, the miraculous play deserves a spot here.

Find positional rankings, additional analysis, and subscribe to push notifications in the NFL Fantasy News section.Welcome to theScore Fantasy Football Podcast, hosted by Justin Boone.Find the show on Spotify, Apple, Google, and Stitcher.In this episode, Boone discusses 10 moves fantasy managers should make to maximize their chances of winning over the next month.

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers maintains his desire to return this season just three weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a torn Achilles."There's nothing normal about how I'm attacking this rehab," Rodgers said on "The Pat McAfee Show" during his weekly appearance. "There is common practices about (there being) six weeks in a boot, and I was in a shoe in like 13 days."Rodgers added that he plans to "attack this rehab as hard as we can and then see where we're at in a couple months. And, obviously, I'd like us to be alive and winning for that even being in the conversation."The Jets (1-3) are currently near the bottom of the AFC East standings, with their only victory coming in their season opener against the Buffalo Bills. Rodgers sustained the injury on just the fourth play of that game, his regular-season debut with New York.Recovering from an Achilles injury like Rodgers' would typically take six-to-nine months, with some experts saying that it's possible to return in four-to-five months, according to ESPN's Rich Cimini. However, Rodgers said that he's "been making" his own timetables for recovery.The 39-year-old Rodgers, who's among the oldest players in the league, says that he's trying to be "as smart as possible" while he continues to push hard to return to the field, per Cimini.The four-time MVP will resume his rehab program in California this week before rejoining the team for the remainder of the season following New York's Week 7 bye.Quarterback Zach Wilson turned in his best performance in Week 4 against the Kansas City Chiefs since assuming the starting role following the injury to Rodgers. He completed 28 of 39 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday's loss. Rodgers shared that he liked what he saw from Wilson as the game developed.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien says quarterback Mac Jones will rebound after an ugly Week 4 performance against the Dallas Cowboys."Some of the decisions that he made were very uncharacteristic of Mac," O'Brien said Tuesday, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN. "He's just trying to make a play, he's wanting to win, he's very competitive. I think you'll see a lot of improvement in Mac as we keep moving forward here."Jones had his worst performance of the season Sunday, throwing for 150 yards with zero touchdowns and two interceptions. The 25-year-old threw a pick-6 late in the second quarter, putting the game out of reach for New England.

Find positional rankings, additional analysis, and subscribe to push notifications in the NFL Fantasy News section.theScore's Justin Boone was first overall in FantasyPros' Most Accurate Expert Competition in 2019 and finished among the top seven each of his last seven years in the contest. Follow the links below to see his rankings for Week 5.Updated rankings (including Standard and PPR) will be released Thursday, with the final version coming down Sunday morning.Half PPR

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is excited to see how Dallas squares off in its highly anticipated Week 5 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers, who he believes is the team to beat in the NFL."A win against them would be inspiring," Jones said Tuesday on "Shan & RJ" on 105.3 The Fan.The 80-year-old added: "They are, right now, probably the most likely team to go win the Super Bowl. But in order for them to get there, they have to go by us, hopefully, two times, if that's the way it falls in the playoffs, and we're in the playoffs, of course."The 3-1 Cowboys visit the 4-0 49ers in Week 5 on Sunday Night Football in one of the season's most anticipated games. Dallas and San Francisco both rank in the top five in scoring offensively and defensively.The Niners eliminated the Cowboys in the playoffs in each of the last two seasons. With Christian McCaffrey, Brock Purdy, and Co., San Francisco lost just one of its last 17 games, including the playoffs. The club's only defeat in that span came in the NFC title game versus the Philadelphia Eagles, who eventually fell short against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII."The bottom line is that you're playing the best - you don't need the game to tell you that you're playing the best," Jones said. "But you need the game to show you how you stack up against the best."The Cowboys, who are coming off a 38-3 victory over the New England Patriots, currently have the NFC's best point differential (plus-83)."I like our defense. I think we're playing better than we played, and we've been playing some pretty good defense last few years. ... And frankly, this is the best I've felt about our offense this year," Jones added about his team.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that there are no changes coming to the offensive coaching staff or play-calling responsibilities "at this juncture" despite the unit's struggles, according to Bob Pompeani of KDKA.Tomlin proclaimed Sunday that he was ready "to make some changes" following what he described as an "ugly" 30-6 loss to the Houston Texans.However, he clarified Tuesday that he was talking about "physicality" and "practice attire" when asked about the changes he planned on making, per Andrew Fillipponi of 93.7 The Fan. Tomlin hinted that the Steelers may practice in pads more this week."Houston was more physical and played harder than us," he told reporters, including Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "That has to change immediately. We have to look at what we're doing in an effort to make sure that doesn't reoccur."Pittsburgh's offense, run by offensive coordinator Matt Canada, has come under intense scrutiny this season. The Steelers have been held to seven points or fewer twice this season and have scored just four offensive touchdowns through four games.The 2-2 Steelers are preparing for a divisional matchup against the 3-1 Baltimore Ravens in Week 5. Quarterback Kenny Pickett's status is unknown for the contest after suffering a bone bruise in his knee during the loss to the Texans.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

New York Giants tight end Daniel Bellinger and rookie center John Michael Schmitz suffered injuries on the team's "tush push" play on a fourth-and-1 in Monday's 24-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, head coach Brian Daboll said Tuesday, according to ESPN's Jordan Raanan.Bellinger sustained a knee injury, while Schmitz injured his shoulder. The severity of their injuries is still unclear. The Giants didn't convert the first down on the play, which took place on N.Y.'s opening drive at Seattle's 27-yard line.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett suffered a bone bruise to his knee Sunday against the Houston Texans, head coach Mike Tomlin announced Tuesday.Tomlin added that Pickett will participate in practice Wednesday and will let the quarterback's comfort and play determine his availability for Sunday's Week 5 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens.The 25-year-old went down in the third quarter Sunday and was replaced by Mitchell Trubisky. Trubisky completed three of five passes for 18 yards.Pickett and the Steelers' offense struggled before the second-year signal-caller exited the contest. He left the game with 114 yards and an interception on 15 of 23 passing. Pickett was also sacked three times.The offense's inefficiency prompted coach Mike Tomlin to say postgame there'd be some changes after the "ugly" performance, but he declined to give specifics.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

We all could've used some better information before Week 4. It'd help if those whose job it is to find out who's healthy and able to play each week would do so, especially regarding the quarterback position.Derek Carr wasn't supposed to play. He did. Jimmy Garoppolo was a maybe, supposedly replaced by Brian Hoyer, only for rookie Aidan O'Connell to get the call. Then Deshaun Watson developed a shoulder issue that jeopardized his status late in the week, forcing a seemingly unprepared rookie, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, into action.Carr's availability didn't help the Saints, the Raiders managed to push the closing line and probably deserved better, while the Browns didn't have a chance offensively - and there's only so much they could do on defense.Of course, it doesn't help that objectively awful quarterbacks like Zach Wilson randomly play well enough to hang with the defending champion Chiefs. Could somebody have given us a heads-up on that?How ratings workEvery week, we'll look at what the betting market thinks of each team based on the closing lines from that week's games. The "rating" column is an educated guess at the oddsmakers' rating to create a point spread, with the specific number being the percentage chance that the team beats an average opponent on a neutral field. Ratings aren't rankings. The closing line is considered a better reflection of a team's value than one 60-minute game.The range column is my evaluation of what each team is capable of. It's our job as handicappers to determine where within its range a team will play based on factors like on-field matchups and roster/injury issues. The earlier it is in the season, the wider the range a team may have.Market ratings and our rangeTEAMRATINGRANGE49ers7560-80Chiefs7560-80Eagles6960-80Bills6855-75Cowboys6560-80Dolphins6455-75Bengals6145-75Ravens6050-70Chargers5750-70Lions5550-70Jaguars5445-65Vikings5235-55Seahawks5140-60Saints5140-60Steelers5040-60Patriots5035-55Browns4640-60Rams4635-55Falcons4535-55Titans4535-55Packers4440-60Broncos4335-55Buccaneers4130-50Commanders4035-55Jets3930-50Raiders3830-50Colts3825-45Giants3530-50Texans3325-45Panthers3125-45Cardinals2620-40Bears2520-40One of the most vexing point spread moves of Week 4 was the Jets taking respected money to move a line that made sense at Chiefs -9.5 down to as low as -7.5. Someone with market influence saw something in that matchup, but was it based on moving the Chiefs down or the Jets up? We'll assume that it was more about the latter since the Jets were competitive in New England a week earlier.For the second straight week, the Bengals' rating is the most curious. With a hobbled Joe Burrow in Week 3, Cincinnati being 3-point favorites at home against the Rams indicated a huge rating downgrade. The team pushed the spread, and Burrow didn't look healthy.Closing 2.5-point favorites on the road against the Titans indicated that the Bengals are right back to where we estimated them to be before the season. If that move didn't make sense to you, you likely won as easily with Tennessee. Looking ahead to Week 5, the higher-end rating would make the Bengals -7.5 against the Cardinals, and the lower rating (like the one versus the Rams) would suggest a line of -4.Of course, Arizona's rating might be too low. Even though it didn't cover for the first time this season against the 49ers in San Francisco, it was down just five points heading into the fourth quarter. The Cardinals were a Zach Ertz drop away from getting the backdoor cover late. Bumping them up for that would get you to the current -3 line in Bengals-Cardinals this week.Losing to the Cardinals in Week 3 sent the Cowboys back down to the mid-60s, which is why they went from -7.5 in the look-ahead lines to a closing line of -5.5 against the Patriots. The issue is that there's a good chance New England is terrible, making its league-average rating laughable. The Pats are one of many NFL teams with a quarterback who's not a viable long-term option.Cleveland went from 55/100 to 46/100, as the favorite flipped when Watson was ruled out. Evidently, that wasn't enough of a drop.O'Connell wasn't great against the Chargers, but I'm not sure he was that much worse than Garoppolo would've been, so the dip in the Raiders' rating was probably too far. They probably remain merely below average instead of horrendous.Hand up - I was wrong. As 2.5-point home underdogs to the Seahawks, the Giants' rating fell so far that they were comparable to the Panthers. That was hard to swallow for a playoff team last year. It might be fair. The Giants are terrible in all three phases.We have a new worst team in the NFL. The Broncos and Bears both plummeted after getting crushed in Week 3, but it's Chicago that fell past the Cardinals for the bottom of our estimated market ratings. Now, the Bears are featured on Thursday Night Football.Matt Russell is the lead betting analyst for theScore. If there's a bad beat to be had, Matt will find it. Find him on social media @mrussauthentic.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find positional rankings, additional analysis, and subscribe to push notifications in the NFL Fantasy News section.Every Monday during the season, theScore's Justin Boone runs down the recommended waiver-wire pickups.Roster percentages are based on Yahoo leagues. Free Agent Budget (FAB) amounts are based on a $100 salary cap. Only players rostered in less than 50% of leagues are considered.Week 5 byes

Geno Smith avoided a serious knee injury during Monday night's win over the New York Giants, but after the game, the Seattle Seahawks quarterback was still upset about the tackle that forced him to miss two series."A dirty play. Dirty play," Smith said, according to ESPN's Jordan Raanan. "You guys can see it. It was a dirty play. It's no place in this sport for that, and hopefully, something happens. But other than that, the grace of God allowed me to come back into this game, and I'm happy to be back out there."Giants linebacker Isaiah Simmons tackled Smith while the quarterback was going out of bounds, pulling him down from behind and landing on his legs. Smith was visibly angry after the play, immediately getting into it with the Giants' defense before exiting to the locker room.

New England Patriots pass-rusher Matthew Judon and cornerback Christian Gonzalez are both out indefinitely, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.Judon, who suffered a lower bicep tendon tear in Sunday's loss to the Dallas Cowboys, is expected to miss at least two months, reports NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. He'll undergo surgery Wednesday.Judon has 13 tackles, four sacks, and five tackles for loss this season. He also has nine quarterback hits and a safety. The 31-year-old has played in every game since Week 13 of 2020 and owns 66.5 sacks, 87 tackles for loss, and nine forced fumbles in 114 career games. He has made four consecutive Pro Bowls.Gonzalez - the team's top pick in April's draft - injured his shoulder against Dallas.Gonzalez has performed well as a starting corner. He's tallied an interception, three deflections, a sack, and 17 total tackles in his four starts. The 6-foot-2 cover man also owns an 80.8 overall grade from PFF with a 79.3 grade in coverage.The Patriots host the New Orleans Saints in Week 5. New England's bye week isn't until Week 11.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The jersey Tom Brady wore for his 700th career touchdown pass sold for over $1.2 million at a charity auction Saturday.The Tampa Bay Buccaneers jersey was auctioned off at the REFORM Alliance Casino Night Gala in Atlantic City, New Jersey, with 100% of the proceeds expected to go to charity, according to ESPN's Dan Hajducky. A dinner with Brady was included in the lot.The winning bid came just shy of eclipsing the all-time record for an NFL jersey, which was set earlier this year when someone paid $1.212 million for Joe Montana's "The Drive" jersey.Brady threw both his 699th and 700th career touchdown passes in a 33-27 overtime victory over the Buffalo Bills on Dec. 12, 2021."It's pretty rare, you know? But it was very cool," Brady said at the time. "I'd much rather not have it come down to (overtime), but, in the end, they all count the same."Saturday's auction was hosted by the REFORM Alliance, a criminal justice reform organization founded by Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin, Meek Mill, and Jay-Z. The event raised a total of $24 million.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll was visibly frustrated at Daniel Jones and was seen tossing a tablet on the sideline after the quarterback threw a brutal 97-yard pick-6 in the third quarter.Daboll, the reigning Coach of the Year, addressed the incident and his exchange with Jones with the media following a 24-3 home loss to the Seattle Seahawks that dropped New York to 1-3 this season."I was just trying to see what he thought and tell him what I saw," Daboll said of the situation, according to Giants Videos.

Seattle Seahawks safety Jamal Adams sustained a concussion in the first quarter of Monday night's 24-3 win over the New York Giants.The 27-year-old suffered the ailment when Daniel Jones' knee hit him in the head during a low tackle. He left for the locker room to be evaluated and didn't return.Adams was frustrated on the sideline after being taken into the medical tent.

The NFL Power Rankings are selected by a panel of theScore's football editors.This week, we nominate the most valuable players on each team four games into the season.1. San Francisco 49ers (4-0) Michael Owens / Getty Images Sport / GettyPrevious Rank: 2We're running out of superlatives for Christian McCaffrey, who's a match made in heaven with Kyle Shanahan. The running back has seven touchdowns in four games - including four in Week 4 - and has scored in 13 straight contests to break a 49ers record previously held by Jerry Rice.2. Buffalo Bills (3-1)Previous Rank: 5With the exception of his four-turnover Week 1 outing, Josh Allen has been spectacular. The star signal-caller, who accounted for five touchdowns and posted a 158.3 passer rating in Buffalo's biggest game of the season versus Miami, has completed a league-high 74.8% of his passes with nine touchdowns to four interceptions. He's also scored two TDs on the ground.3. Miami Dolphins (3-1) Previous Rank:1Led by Tua Tagovailoa, the Dolphins have the NFL's highest-scoring offense. Granted, the unit wasn't great in Week 4, but Tagovailoa still ranks second in EPA per play behind Brock Purdy. Tagovailoa has completed 71% of his passes for a league-high 1,306 yards and nine touchdowns against just three interceptions this season.4. Philadelphia Eagles (4-0)Previous Rank: 3The Eagles' offense has looked disjointed over the first four weeks of the season, but A.J. Brown is still a nightmare for defenses. After a relatively slow two weeks, the wideout exploded for 306 yards and two touchdowns over Philadelphia's last two games.5. Kansas City Chiefs (3-1) Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyPrevious Rank: 4Patrick Mahomes will likely be the Chiefs' MVP until the day he hangs up his cleats. His wide receivers continue to underwhelm, but the quarterback always finds a way, even if he's pushed his luck a few too many times this season.6. Dallas Cowboys (3-1)Previous Rank: 6Micah Parsons has somehow taken another big leap in 2023 after two outstanding seasons in the NFL. The Cowboys star has PFF's third-best pass-rush grade among edge defenders and is routinely wrecking games for opposing offenses.7. Baltimore Ravens (3-1)Previous Rank: 7Electric is just one of the many ways to describe Lamar Jackson's play this season. The former MVP has posted 794 passing yards and four touchdown passes against just a single pick while also leading the team on the ground with 220 yards and another four scores.8. Seattle Seahawks (3-1)Previous Rank: 9Rookie Devon Witherspoon had one of the season's best individual performances in Week 4, meaning there were a few names in contention here. However, no other Seahawks player has been more consistent than running back Kenneth Walker, who's scored at least a touchdown in each of the last three games and tops the team with five total scores and 356 scrimmage yards.9. Detroit Lions (3-1)Previous Rank: 10Even when Aidan Hutchinson isn't adding to his 3.5 sacks, two tackles for loss, three pass breakups, forced fumble, and fumble recovery, he's impacting the game. The second-year pass-rusher leads the league in both hurries (11) and pressures (19).10. Los Angeles Chargers (2-2) Harry How / Getty Images Sport / GettyPrevious Rank: 12With a defense that's fallen far short of expectations, the Chargers are relying almost exclusively on the arm of Justin Herbert. And he continues to answer the call. Herbert's 405-yard, three-touchdown game against the Vikings to avoid an 0-3 start might be the best QB performance of the season so far.11. Cleveland Browns (2-2)Previous Rank: 11Myles Garrett has been a wrecking ball no matter who's tried to block him. He ranks near the top of the league with 5.5 sacks and five tackles for loss, which has netted him a 93.8 PFF grade - the No. 2 grade among edge defenders.12. Houston Texans (2-2)Previous Rank: 27There's no doubt that C.J. Stroud has been the best rookie passer so far. He owns the second-most passing yards through four starts with 1,212, trailing Cam Newton (1,386) and surpassing Andrew Luck (1,208). He's also thrown six touchdown passes against zero interceptions.13. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2)Previous Rank: 14It took a few years, but Josh Allen might have finally arrived. The No. 7 pick in the 2019 draft's six sacks are tied for the league lead, and he has five tackles for loss, nine quarterback hits, and a forced fumble, too.14. Los Angeles Rams (2-2)Previous Rank: 23Puka Nacua has been a revelation. He wasn't on anyone's radar before the year, but he's performed so well with Cooper Kupp sidelined. Kupp's absence hasn't even been noticeable with the rookie receiver notching an NFL-record 39 catches for 501 yards, as well as a game-winning touchdown in overtime against the Colts.15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1) Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyPrevious Rank: 21Tampa Bay might wish it had signed Mike Evans to an offseason extension. The 10th-year man leads the team with 337 yards and three touchdowns on 20 receptions as the team sits at a surprising 3-1.16. Tennessee Titans (2-2)Previous Rank: 25Derrick Henry was playing more like Prince Henry than King Henry before turning in a vintage performance Sunday. The 122 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries were complemented by an 11-yard catch and a two-yard touchdown pass.17. Washington Commanders (2-2)Previous Rank: 19Running back Brian Robinson has been one of the biggest beneficiaries under offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. He's already exceeded his touchdown total from 2022 after scoring four times in four games and also racked up 261 yards on the ground in the Commanders' much-improved offense.18. Indianapolis Colts (2-2) Previous Rank: 18Anthony Richardson returned to action and the end zone in Week 4. The rookie quarterback has been responsible for seven touchdowns, including four on the ground, and 610 yards of total offense despite missing about a game and a half.19. Cincinnati Bengals (1-3)Previous Rank: 8Safety Dax Hill has been a bright spot in a down season across the board. The 2022 first-rounder has 34 tackles, one sack, four tackles for loss, three pass breakups, and a pair of interceptions already.20. Atlanta Falcons (2-2) Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images Sport / GettyPrevious Rank: 15Bijan Robinson bounced back from a less-than-stellar week against the Lions by putting up 137 scrimmage yards against the Jaguars in London, bringing his season total to 452. If the Falcons' passing game can find a rhythm and prevent defenses from loading the box, watch out.21. Green Bay Packers (2-2)Previous Rank: 16Jordan Love has been inconsistent, but he's the Packers' best player when he's dialed in. The first-year starter has 901 yards, eight touchdown passes, and three interceptions thus far but will need to improve his 56.1% completion rate if Green Bay wants to stack up wins.22. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2)Previous Rank: 13Things haven't gone quite to plan in Pittsburgh so far, but T.J. Watt already owns six sacks, five tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries this season.23. New York Jets (1-3)Previous Rank: 22Quinnen Williams continues to be one of football's most disruptive defensive linemen. The All-Pro defensive tackle, who's PFF's ninth-best lineman in 2023, has racked up seven pressures and four quarterback knockdowns.24. New Orleans Saints (2-2)Previous Rank: 17When in doubt, find Chris Olave. The wide receiver has 23 receptions and 306 yards so far, including several highlight-reel grabs. New Orleans' offense just needs to figure out how to find the end zone.25. Minnesota Vikings (1-3) Michael Owens / Getty Images Sport / GettyPrevious Rank: 26We're just four games into the season and Justin Jefferson is already over halfway to another 1,000-yard campaign. The All-Pro receiver has an NFL-best 543 yards and three touchdowns on 33 receptions.26. New York Giants (1-3)Previous Rank: 24Dexter Lawrence is the engine that makes the Giants' defense tick, eating space and allowing others to make plays. He'll never have the traditional stats as a nose tackle, but Lawrence is one of PFF's highest-graded defensive tackles.27. New England Patriots (1-3)Previous Rank: 20Christian Gonzalez is already a cornerstone of the Patriots' defense. The first-round rookie played just 18 defensive snaps in Week 4 due to a shoulder injury, but he allowed only a 68 passer rating and received PFF's seventh-best grade among corners despite facing some of the NFL's best receivers.28. Arizona Cardinals (1-3)Previous Rank: 28Dropped in as the starter for what many viewed as the NFL's worst roster just two weeks before Week 1, quarterback Joshua Dobbs has kept the Cardinals surprisingly competitive. Dobbs is seventh in passing DVOA and didn't flinch while facing two of the NFL's best defenses in the 49ers and Cowboys.29. Las Vegas Raiders (1-3)Previous Rank: 29The Raiders haven't had a good defense in years, but Maxx Crosby continues to excel despite a lack of talent around him. He has four sacks, six quarterback hits, five tackles for loss, and nine pressures.30. Carolina Panthers (0-4) Grant Halverson / Getty Images Sport / GettyPrevious Rank: 30Brian Burns is doing what he can to pull the Panthers out of their 0-4 start. The pass-rusher has three sacks, four tackles for loss, and a forced fumble despite the winless record.31. Denver Broncos (1-3)Previous Rank: 32Sean Payton was hired to resurrect Russell Wilson's career, and he's done just that. Wilson is third in the NFL in passer rating, tied for second in touchdown passes, and tied for sixth in yards per attempt. Now if only Denver could field a legitimate NFL defense.32. Chicago Bears (0-4)Previous Rank: 31Chicago's offense showed life against the Broncos, but D.J. Moore has been good all year. The wideout has hauled in 19 passes for 301 yards and a pair of touchdowns despite the Bears' early offensive woes.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith briefly left Monday's 24-3 win against the New York Giants with a knee injury.Smith appeared to be limping after an incompletion on third down in the second quarter. He was spotted running on the sideline before entering the team's medical tent. Smith went into the locker room with two minutes remaining in the half.The Seahawks listed his return as questionable. Smith returned to the field for the start of the second half.Drew Lock entered for the subsequent series to close out the opening half. It marked the 26-year-old's first regular-season game since being acquired from the Denver Broncos in 2022.Smith completed 9 of 11 passes for 67 yards and a touchdown prior to his exit. The 2022 Pro Bowler entered Monday's prime-time matchup with 736 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception.Smith was among several starters to exit the Week 4 contest. Offensive guard Phil Haynes was ruled out with a calf injury and Jamal Adams was pulled following an evaluation for a concussion.Head coach Pete Carroll revealed that Smith twisted his knee but is optimistic the ailment isn't serious, according to team reporter John Boyle.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones was under pressure all evening as the Seattle Seahawks ran away with a 24-3 win on Monday Night Football.Seattle tied a franchise record with 11 sacks on the evening. Rookie cornerback Devon Witherspoon shined on the prime-time stage by racking up seven tackles, two sacks, along with a pick-6 in dominant display.More to come.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Minnesota Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy intends to bring up Taylor Swift to Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce on the field in an attempt to get under his skin in Week 5."I'm going to say something to him to get him going," Murphy said, according to Kevin Seifert of ESPN.He added, "We're going to try to get our hands on him in front of her."Swift has attended the last two Chiefs games, including Sunday Night Football in Week 4 against the New York Jets. She was with actress Blake Lively and actor Ryan Reynolds.It's unknown if Swift will attend the Chiefs-Vikings game Sunday."Oh man, the social media is going crazy," Murphy said. "And I'm not hating against it. That's the world we're living in. Is she going to come to this game? We're locked in, but that would be something. I've been watching her since I was a kid. That would be cool, for sure."The Vikings signed Murphy to a two-year, $17.5-million contract this offseason. He has 19 tackles and three passes defended in four contests.Minnesota improved its record to 1-3 with a victory over the Carolina Panthers in Week 4.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen doesn't plan to tinker with his coaching staff amid criticisms aimed at the club and offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael."We won't make any coaching changes," Allen said Monday, according to NOLA.com's Patrick Magee. "I've never seen that to be the right answer, particularly when we're four games in. And yet we have to be better. I understand everyone's frustration because everyone in the building feels it."Allen added Carmichael is aware of the backlash and is "working hard to get it fixed."New Orleans' offense has struggled to get into the end zone in losses to the Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The offense was only able to muster 197 total yards and 16 first downs in a 26-9 loss to the Bucs on Sunday. They were also hindered by three turnovers.The Saints haven't scored more than 20 points in any of their first four contests and find themselves close to the bottom of the league in points per game (15.5) and total yards per game (285.3).With the addition of Derek Carr this past offseason, expectations for the Saints' offense were set fairly high. The unit boasts plenty of talent, especially among pass-catchers, such as Chris Olave, Michael Thomas, and Rashid Shaheed. Carr started the divisional matchup despite dealing with a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder.Starting running back Alvin Kamara, who tallied 84 scrimmage yards in his first game back from a three-game suspension, believes it's time to have "some tough conversations," according to Saints Wire's John Sigler."It's been two years since we had that offense that was rolling. Now we're kind of in this rut," Kamara added Sunday.The Saints will take on the New England Patriots (1-3) in Week 5.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Buffalo Bills cornerback Tre'Davious White suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the club's win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, the team announced Monday.White will miss the remainder of the season.The former Pro Bowler sustained the non-contact injury while running in coverage down the right sideline.

Find positional rankings, additional analysis, and subscribe to push notifications in the NFL Fantasy News section.Welcome to theScore Fantasy Football Podcast, hosted by Justin Boone.Find the show on Spotify, Apple, Google, and Stitcher.In this episode, Boone discusses the latest injuries and the top players available on the waiver wire.

The Atlanta Falcons aren't planning on making a change at quarterback despite Desmond Ridder's recent struggles, head coach Arthur Smith announced Monday.Atlanta didn't score any first-half points after Ridder tossed two interceptions - including a 61-yard pick-6 - in the first two quarters versus the Jacksonville Jaguars in London on Sunday. The second-year passer slightly improved in the second half, but it wasn't enough to avoid the Falcons' second loss of the season. Ridder finished the 23-7 defeat with 19 completions on 31 attempts for 191 yards and one touchdown against two picks."I thought he came back," Smith said Monday of Ridder's Week 4 performance, according to Nick Shook of NFL.com. "It obviously wasn't what you wanted result-wise, but he gave us a chance."In four games this year, Ridder has completed 62.2% of his passes for 744 yards and three TDs to three interceptions. He's also scored one touchdown on the ground and lost two fumbles.Smith said Ridder still has his teammates' support."We have the right guys in the locker room, where we can have those conversations," the coach added, according to team reporter Terrin Waack.The Falcons drafted Ridder in the third round in 2022. The Cincinnati product backed up Marcus Mariota for most of last season but started the campaign's final four games before being named the starter in 2023. The club is 4-4 with him under center.Atlanta also signed veteran quarterback Taylor Heinicke to a two-year contract this past offseason.The 2-2 Falcons, averaging just 15.5 points per game, host the Houston Texans in Week 5.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Sunday Rundown recaps the most important developments from the day's action and examines their significance moving forward.The statement of all statements Timothy T Ludwig / Getty Images Sport / GettyThe Dolphins were, deservedly, the talk of the NFL through three weeks. Miami looked downright unstoppable to open the season, and a 70-point outburst against the Broncos last week seemed to suggest we were watching an all-time great offense.That may be the case in the long run, as one game isn't nearly enough to kill the Dolphins hype. But the Bills were more than happy to serve up a reminder that they've got the makings of a wagon, too - perhaps even more so than their division rivals.Josh Allen led the way with a masterful day behind center. He completed 21 of 25 attempts for 320 yards and four touchdowns through the air to finish with a perfect passer rating of 158.3. The star quarterback has suppressed all of the frustrating qualities that showed up in the Bills' chaotic Monday night opener, and the result has been arguably the most impressive stretch of his career.Allen and the offense marched down the field early and often, forcing the Dolphins into a rare situation in which they played from behind, essentially removing the run game and putting everything on Tua Tagovailoa.That's when the Bills' defense went to work. The unit consistently put pressure on Tagovailoa (4 sacks, 9 QB hits) while effectively disrupting the timing of the passing game and taking the middle of the field away from the Dolphins' offense.That's the difference between Miami and Buffalo right now. The Dolphins, as we saw last week, can light up the scoreboard like few others. But the defense, despite the addition of respected coordinator Vic Fangio, isn't doing a whole lot to complement the high-powered offense. The Bills, meanwhile, have one of the most well-balanced rosters in football.Jalen Ramsey's eventual return will help the Dolphins close the gap in that regard, but will it be enough?Either way, we can only hope for a playoff meeting between Buffalo and Miami - we all deserve three matchups between these offensive juggernauts.Stroud is here Carmen Mandato / Getty Images Sport / GettyThe weird pre-draft debates about C.J. Stroud's upside - including lazy skepticism of Ohio State quarterbacks and insufferable discourse about a supposedly low cognition test score - sure seem silly four games into his pro career. He's been everything the Texans could have hoped for with the No. 2 pick: a superstar.The rookie quarterback hit the ground running as QB1 in Houston, throwing for 1,208 yards, six touchdowns, and no interceptions through the first month. The impressive yardage total puts him second only to Cam Newton for the most across a quarterback's first four games. He's also the second rookie passer to avoid throwing an interception over that stretch.Stroud just keeps getting better. A stunning blowout win over the Steelers on Sunday afternoon was his best work yet: He demonstrated accuracy, anticipation, and poise to pick apart a stout Pittsburgh defense. Stroud finished the day with 306 yards and a pair of scores while avoiding taking a sack for the second straight game.The outstanding start to his career, particularly in terms of pocket management, becomes all the more impressive when you consider the significant injury issues on the offensive line. His game should go to another level if that group can get healthy in the coming weeks.DeMeco Ryans seems like a home run hire, and the Texans made some quiet but shrewd moves to begin rebuilding a barren roster. Those factors alone would have been enough to get this team going in the right direction. The quarterback pick was always going to be the true determining factor for their future, though - and it looks like they nailed that, too.Get excited, Texans fans. It's football time in Houston.A moral ... loss? Michael Reaves / Getty Images Sport / GettyHere's the good: An impressive 21-point comeback against the Bears finally gave the Broncos their first win of the Sean Payton era.Here's the bad: The Broncos needed a 21-point comeback to beat the Bears.Denver will take the result. This team needed whatever positive vibes it could get after giving up 70 points in last week's howler against the Dolphins. But a toilet bowl victory shouldn't distract us from the alarming on-field product.Justin Fields entered this week ranked 33rd in EPA/play, 30th in success rate, and 30th in completion percentage over expected, according to Ben Baldwin's database. No matter which metric you want to use to evaluate quarterback play, the Bears starter had been one of the league's worst passers through three games.But a matchup with the Broncos is evidently a surefire way for even the worst of quarterbacks to fill up the stat sheet. Fields went off to help the Bears build a 28-7 lead, finishing the day completing 28 of 35 passes for 335 yards and four touchdowns.If Fields puts together some similarly impressive performances in the coming weeks and gives us reason to look back on this game as a true breakout performance, we can circle back and cut the Broncos some slack. For now, though, the focus should be on a Denver defense that has somehow fallen off a cliff after finishing ninth in EPA/play last year.

After doubleheaders in both Week 2 and Week 3, Monday Night Football is back to giving one game the spotlight. However, like Sunday's prime-time showdown, we're back at MetLife Stadium for the third forced standalone viewing of the Giants already. This time, the Seahawks get the chance to turn the whole crowd against the home team but are only the slightest of favorites to do so.Seahawks @ Giants (+1.5, 47.5)Last week, Seattle closed as 4.5-point favorites at home against the Panthers, who might be the worst team in the NFL. The Seahawks had their hands full for three quarters in that contest. Now, they've moved out to 1.5-point favorites on the road. A home-field advantage flip of two points for Seattle and at least one point for New York (with extra rest) should account for that. This means the market thinks just as poorly of the Giants as it does Carolina. Even without Saquon Barkley, there's no way I can support that rating for New York.In their first three games, the Giants got housed by the Cowboys and 49ers. Both excusable. Their offense looked capable in the second half against the Cardinals, and if we've learned anything from the first month of the season, it's to avoid overreacting when a team faces the upper echelon of the league or when it finds success against bad units. This is likely the worst defense the Giants have faced. You could make the case that New York might have been a slight favorite in this matchup if it didn't already have these tougher data points on tape.Pick: Giants (+1.5)Matt Breida: Under 48.5 rushing yardsThe Giants barely tried to run the ball in their first game without Barkley, with just four carries to nominal starting tailback Matt Breida. It'd be a mistake to change the game plan just because Daniel Jones had such little time to throw in San Francisco. The Seahawks made a point of fixing their run defense by overhauling their front seven in the offseason, and through three weeks, it's worked. Seattle's given up just 2.9 yards per carry so far this season.Unfortunately, only four teams have allowed more yards per pass attempt than Seattle. The Giants should stick with their plan to let Jones sling it. The betting market thinks that's the plan, as Jones' passing yardage total of 231.5 is well above his usual over/under line.Jake Bobo: Anytime touchdown (+600)

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert sustained a fractured finger on his non-throwing hand during Sunday's 24-17 win against the Las Vegas Raiders, sources told NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.Herbert briefly exited the contest before returning with a splint and bandages on his left hand. He also a suffered a "gruesome" nail injury to the same finger, according to Rapoport, who adds that the star signal-caller is not expected to miss time. The Chargers are on a bye this week.The 25-year-old was seemingly injured while being blocked by two Raiders defenders in an interception return during the third quarter. Herbert didn't miss any snaps in Week 4 and was able to finish the game with 167 passing yards and one touchdown against one interception. He also helped L.A. seal its second win in 2023 with a perfect 51-yard pass to Joshua Palmer on a third-and-10 with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Chargers up 24-17.Herbert added 27 yards and two scores on the ground.The one-time Pro Bowler has completed 71% of his passes for 1,106 yards and seven touchdowns to one interception through four games this season.The Chargers gave him a five-year, $262.5-million contract extension in July.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Aaron Rodgers can no longer help the New York Jets on the field, but apparently he can still inspire his teammates with his superhero-like presence.Jets wide receiver Allen Lazard said the quarterback - who was attending his first game since his season-ending Achilles injury - hyped up the team ahead of Sunday night's closely fought loss to the Kansas City Chiefs."He just came into the team room like Batman, honestly," Lazard said. "And it was just kind of a Hollywood-esque moment of just, like, Aaron Rodgers, you know, appearing. Walking. I thought he was about to fly, honestly."But, yeah, like Zach (Wilson) and Randall (Cobb) said, it was just all about sticking together, believing in each other. There's gonna be rough times throughout the game, throughout the season. But just always have each other's back, and to believe."Lazard also heaped praise on Wilson for almost outdueling Patrick Mahomes, saying the former No. 2 pick "played amazing" and "made big-time throws."The Jets' comeback attempt fell short after a late fumble from Wilson, but Lazard said the loss falls on everyone's shoulders.Wilson had struggled since taking over for Rodgers after the four-time MVP went down in the first game of the season, leading to significant criticism ahead of Week 4, including strong words from Jets legend Joe Namath.But the 24-year-old produced the best performance of his career on Sunday night, completing 71.8% of his passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns to register a career-high 105.2 passer rating.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Chicago Bears wide receiver Chase Claypool will remain away from the team and won't play against the Washington Commanders in Week 5, head coach Matt Eberflus said Monday on ESPN 1000, according to Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times.Chicago is reportedly shopping the disgruntled receiver and made him a healthy scratch for Sunday's loss to the Denver Broncos.There was mixed messaging from the Bears about Claypool's absence in Week 4.Eberflus initially said he gave Claypool the choice of whether or not to attend the game as an inactive player, and he chose not to, according to Courtney Cronin of ESPN. Shortly after, a team spokesperson clarified that Chicago had told the pass-catcher to stay at home.Asked about Claypool's status ahead of Thursday's matchup, Eberflus said, "He will not be in the building this particular week," per Lieser. The coach had previously said Sunday that he expected Claypool to return to the team Monday.General manager Ryan Poles is reportedly seeking a fifth- or sixth-round pick for Claypool and has been contacting receiver-needy teams.Claypool expressed frustration with his role in Chicago's offense on Friday, but Eberflus said his comments didn't factor into the decision to make him a healthy scratch.The NFC North club acquired Claypool - who has four catches for 51 yards and a touchdown this season - from the Pittsburgh Steelers in November 2022 for a second-round pick that ultimately turned into the No. 32 overall selection.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh offered words of encouragement for Zach Wilson after his team's de facto starting quarterback performed well during Sunday's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs."I thought he was really good," Saleh said following the 23-20 defeat. "He gave us a chance to win the game, brought us back. If he plays like that, we're going to win a lot of football games."The Jets trailed 17-0 after the first quarter but outscored their opponents 20-6 over the remainder of the contest.Wilson finished 28-for-39 with 245 yards and two touchdowns in the losing effort. Remarkably, he's the only opposing QB to have more completions, passing yards, and TD passes while also having fewer interceptions than Patrick Mahomes in Mahomes' college or pro career, according to OptaSTATS.However, a late, potentially game-costing fumble seemed to haunt the young passer."Yeah, that's on me," the 24-year-old said postgame, according to CBS. "Critical situation, I can't have a play like that. I cannot drop the ball ... I lost us that game."Wilson became the Jets' primary signal-caller when Aaron Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles in the team's first game of the season.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

New England Patriots pass-rusher Matthew Judon suffered a lower bicep tendon tear in Sunday's loss to the Dallas Cowboys, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.Judon, 31, will miss an indeterminate amount of time, according to Schefter.The four-time Pro Bowl defender appeared to sustain the injury while attempting to tackle Cowboys running back Deuce Vaughn in the fourth quarter.Judon piled up 12 tackles, five tackles for loss, and four sacks entering Sunday's matchup.The Grand Valley State product led the Patriots in sacks in both 2021 (12.5) and 2022 (15.5).New England's defense also lost rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez, who left the game in the first quarter and didn't return due to a shoulder injury.Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.