National Football League

National Football League

Clelin Ferrell joined the Commanders during Adam Peters' first offseason as general manager. The defensive end did enough for the front-office leader to bring him along from the San Francisco 49ers, but it never looked like it would work out. Despite his struggles and waning reps, Washington gave him another one-year deal, although this time around came with no guarantees attached whatsoever.

Between his solid rapport with Drake Maye, his knack for torching defensive backs during training camp, or Josh McDaniels' track record of relying heavily on shifty slot receivers in his offense, DeMario Douglas seemed poised for a breakout season with New England this fall. But through two games, Douglas has looked more like an afterthought than a focal point of New England's revamped offense.

Through the first two weeks of the season, he leads all quarterbacks in QB contact, 29, both as a passer, QB hits and scrambling. You could say, well, he played two difficult defenses. He led all quarterbacks in QB contact last year. He led all quarterbacks in scramble rate contact last year. It's just not sustainable, and he is a quarterback who can win from the pocket. I think [there has to be] some tough conversations with Daniels about his style of play with an eye towards his continued longevity because he is too special to absorb this much contact.

The Commanders wanted to get the right deal. McLaurin stood his ground, missing months of practice and vital reps to hone his craft. Everything worked out for both parties in the end, but it came at a price. McLaurin has just seven receptions from 10 targets for 75 receiving yards through the opening two contests. He's struggled to create separation consistently, and the timing with quarterback Jayden Daniels isn't up to last year's standards.

If anyone deserves to be called a quarterback guru, it's coach Dean Herrington of St. Francis High. He was the quarterback coach during his days at Hart when the Newhall school was producing one All-CIF quarterback after another. At Bishop Alemany, he coached Vernon Adams. Herrington has never experienced what he's endured this season going through five different quarterbacks because of injuries as St. Francis fights through an 0-4 start.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- After missing Sunday's victory against the New Orleans Saints because of a toe injury, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy could return this week against the Arizona Cardinals. Last week at this time, Niners coach Kyle Shanahan called Purdy a "long shot" to play against the Saints, all but ruling him out five days before that game.

"More than anything, having him out there is a threat in general," quarterback Patrick Mahomes said prior to Wednesday's on-field work. "At any moment, he can take a pass -- short or long -- and take it to the house. Having him on the practice field was very encouraging last week. Seeing him out there, he wanted to stay out there. It was kind of like holding him back."

I was like, 'Woah, that's intense' when I was young," said McDaniel, who would've been 10 years old at the time and a young Denver Broncos fan growing up in Colorado. "'As a kid and off the rip, I was like, 'That's a different set of fanbases that are both very prideful, so stuff is going to pop off.' '

McVay was calling to tell Nacua he had been recruiting Davante Adams and that there was a good chance the Rams would be able to add him to the receivers room. On the night before the deal was done, he wanted to know what Nacua thought. From off to the side, during the father-daughter dance, Nacua told McVay quietly, "I think that would be sweet."

The defense squandered a 12-0 lead in the first half; the rookie kicker missed two extra points, and the special teams unit botched the coverage on a 74-yard punt return. Had it not been for a stellar day from quarterback Drake Maye and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, the Patriots would be staring down an 0-2 start to the Mike Vrabel era.

LB Patrick Jones II (hamstring) DT Tershawn Wharton (hamstring) The Falcons start the week with a much larger injury report than that of the Panthers. Some positive news, after being listed all of last week leading up to the game, receiver Drake London does not appear on the first report of this week. He is seemingly back to good health after playing in the Week 2 contest.

Minnesota's offense took a massive blow after its Week 2 loss to the Falcons. Starting QB J.J. McCarthy is out 2-4 weeks with an ankle sprain. On top of that, starting RB Aaron Jones suffered a hamstring injury and has been placed on the IR. Not ideal at this point in the season. The team has a capable backup RB in Jordan Mason. He proved that in 2024 when he was with the 49ers.

The jury was very much out on Rhamondre Stevenson last week after a poor rushing performance against the Raiders in Week 1. After an offensive performance that saw the New England Patriots score just 13 points and Stevenson gain 15 rushing yards from seven carries, the feeling was understandable. Against a Miami defensive line that featured a group of proven edge defenders and first-round pick Kenneth Grant on the interior, things didn't seem like they'd improve much.

In a given 100-play sample size, 99 of them could have featured clean pockets for Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. Then there's that other play. That's essentially how Bengals coach Zac Taylor framed the state of the team's pass protection in the wake of Burrow's latest big injury. In Week 2 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Burrow suffered a turf toe injury that placed him on injured reserve Tuesday.

"He's definitely the best player in football, without a doubt,"