# The Insiders Podcast: Seahawks QB Sam Darnold is back Sunday at Commanders + Vikings QB Kyler Murray clears concussion protocol

An episode of [NFL: The Insiders](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1543090622), 26 Sep 2026, 43 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/0414225e-5167-477f-9f83-ae390070e4d2/a3e30579-f353-49ac-9b5a-b4d100023720/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=3e412703-0644-468e-9001-ae390070e4db

Patrick Claybon is joined by NFL Insiders Ian Rapoport and Judy Battista to talk about the latest headlines. Seahawks QB Sam Darnold is good to go on Sunday at Commanders (glute). Commanders QB Jayden Daniels won't be placed on IR and will be week-to-week. QB Marcus Mariota will start. Rams WR Puka Nacua is doubtful to play Sunday against Broncos (hip). Vikings QB Kyler Murray cleared concussion protocol and expected to play Sunday against the Buccaneers. 49ers DE Nick Bosa is out Sunday against the Cardinals (calf) and is expected to miss a few weeks. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:09] Speaker 1: The defending Super Bowl champions 2-0 without the services of
[0:12] Speaker 1: their starting quarterback. For the most part, he is back
[0:15] Speaker 1: in a showdown at mile high.
[0:17] Speaker 2: Matthew Stafford and the Rams, Bo Nix and the Broncos.
[0:20] Speaker 1: High praise being exchanged by both head coaches, both named Sean.
[0:24] Speaker 3: You'll hear that in our show.
[0:26] Speaker 1: And what a Thursday night for Bajon Robinson once again
[0:29] Speaker 1: going off on primetime.
[0:30] Speaker 3: We look back.
[0:31] Speaker 1: All today on this edition of Inside, which starts right now.
[0:33] Speaker 1: Hey everybody, Patrick Claiborne here in the NFL LA Newsroom.
[0:35] Speaker 1: Judy Batista and Ian Rappaport with us as we have
[0:38] Speaker 1: one game down for week three. We'll start with the
[0:41] Speaker 1: rest on what is new today. Coming into the NFL
[0:45] Speaker 1: LA Newsroom, we heard from the head coach of the
[0:48] Speaker 1: Seattle Seahawks earlier today. Sam Darnold will play coming off
[0:52] Speaker 1: that glute injury that came in the season opener against
[0:55] Speaker 1: the New England Patriots.
[0:56] Speaker 3: He is back.
[0:57] Speaker 1: It was Drew Locke in his stead. He has no
[1:00] Speaker 1: injury designation. So looking forward to the Seattle Seahawks, Ian,
[1:04] Speaker 1: getting their quarterback back. They managed to do pretty good
[1:07] Speaker 1: without him.
[1:10] Speaker 4: Yeah, I think it's fair to say this came earlier
[1:12] Speaker 4: than really anyone anticipated. And think back to when this
[1:14] Speaker 4: injury initially happened. We thought it was a hip injury.
[1:17] Speaker 4: We thought it was serious.
[1:18] Speaker 2: He went right to the hospital to check everything out.
[1:21] Speaker 4: They were worried maybe he fractured his hip socket just
[1:24] Speaker 4: based on the way he landed and the way he fell.
[1:26] Speaker 4: Fast forward 24 hours after that and it became clear
[1:29] Speaker 4: it was a glute injury, not a hip injury. And
[1:32] Speaker 4: that Darnold may in fact be okay. And so last
[1:35] Speaker 4: week obviously did not play. Drew Locke came in, played
[1:37] Speaker 4: pretty well. But the word late, late last week was
[1:40] Speaker 4: that Darnold was healing from what is essentially a muscle
[1:43] Speaker 4: pull much faster than anyone had thought.
[1:46] Speaker 2: The word was he was going to practice this week.
[1:48] Speaker 4: Let his participation guide them on how much to do.
[1:51] Speaker 4: He was full on Wednesday. That was when you knew
[1:54] Speaker 4: Sam Darnold was going to be back. There's no games here.
[1:57] Speaker 4: They literally just said he is good, he is healthy,
[2:00] Speaker 4: he is off.
[2:01] Speaker 2: The injury report, and will start on Sunday.
[2:03] Speaker 1: So good news for the Seahawks and general fans of
[2:06] Speaker 1: the NFL. Unfortunately, the opponent's taking the baton on the
[2:09] Speaker 1: quarterback injury. Jayden Daniels dislocated his left elbow again last
[2:12] Speaker 1: week against Dallas. Dan Quinn at the mic today as
[2:15] Speaker 1: Marcus Mariota set to start against the champs.
[2:18] Speaker 5: Jaden won't be placed on IR and is week to week,
[2:22] Speaker 5: and that is great news. I'll have more info to
[2:26] Speaker 5: share on that, what it looks like as we get
[2:27] Speaker 5: into next week. Our team and we have a lot
[2:30] Speaker 5: of confidence in Marcus as we're heading into this game.
[2:33] Speaker 5: In fact, so much I thought was such a cool thing.
[2:35] Speaker 5: The captains huddled up with me earlier in the week
[2:38] Speaker 5: and said, hey, we'd like to.
[2:38] Speaker 6: Make Marcus our sixth captain.
[2:40] Speaker 5: I thought, what a great tribute of brotherhood of.
[2:43] Speaker 3: Those guys asking.
[2:44] Speaker 5: Of course, they were all like, is on board as
[2:46] Speaker 5: you can imagine. I thought it was awesome too.
[2:48] Speaker 1: How do you stop yourself from like feeling like you
[2:50] Speaker 1: have to be, you know, the superhero and kind of
[2:53] Speaker 1: save the day?
[2:54] Speaker 7: Yeah, I really, I think I learned a lot about
[2:58] Speaker 7: that last year. You know, stepping in and some of
[3:00] Speaker 7: those games, like you feel like you have to kind
[3:03] Speaker 7: of make a play and sometimes you overstress yourself and
[3:06] Speaker 7: now you're making a mistake. The more that I can
[3:08] Speaker 7: kind of focus on those types of things, not put
[3:11] Speaker 7: the cape on as people say, and just allow everybody
[3:14] Speaker 7: else in the office to work for us.
[3:17] Speaker 1: And it was back last year against the Seahawks when
[3:18] Speaker 1: the initial injury to Daniel's elbow happened. Then it happened again,
[3:22] Speaker 1: eventually ending his season.
[3:23] Speaker 3: How are the commanders approaching it this time?
[3:27] Speaker 4: Well, this time, here's the way it has come for
[3:30] Speaker 4: Jaden Daniels. First of all, some news came earlier today.
[3:33] Speaker 4: Not going to be placed on IR, as Dan Quinn said,
[3:36] Speaker 4: week to week.
[3:36] Speaker 2: So what does that mean? He's not going to play
[3:38] Speaker 2: this week. I would say unlikely that he plays next week,
[3:41] Speaker 2: although he has not been ruled out.
[3:42] Speaker 4: But certainly it's conceivable that he misses fewer than the
[3:45] Speaker 4: three games that he missed last time.
[3:47] Speaker 2: The fact that he is not having immediate surgery is good.
[3:50] Speaker 6: He may.
[3:50] Speaker 4: in May, he would likely play with a brace on
[3:53] Speaker 4: that dislocated left elbow that, again, he dislocated last year
[3:56] Speaker 4: as well. What they really want is to make sure
[4:00] Speaker 4: that Daniels is on the field as soon as possible
[4:04] Speaker 4: while as safe as possible. And the consensus after he
[4:06] Speaker 4: spent the week, Judy, meeting with doctors, meeting with experts,
[4:09] Speaker 4: he was out in Los Angeles, just talking to everyone
[4:12] Speaker 4: he possibly can. The consensus is he can be back
[4:14] Speaker 4: in the field sooner rather than later.
[4:17] Speaker 2: And until that.
[4:18] Speaker 4: Happens, it is Marcus Mariota Very capable Mariota in a quarterback.
[4:24] Speaker 8: Yeah, and a very experienced Marcus Mariota and a very
[4:27] Speaker 8: experienced team with exactly this scenario. Marcus Mariota having to
[4:31] Speaker 8: fill in for Jaden Daniels. You heard Mariota reference what
[4:35] Speaker 8: he learned from last year's experience that you don't have
[4:37] Speaker 8: to throw on the superhero. He did pretty well last year.
[4:41] Speaker 8: He had to start eight games for the Commanders last year. Now,
[4:44] Speaker 8: they went two and six in those games. Not entirely
[4:48] Speaker 8: his fault. He threw for almost 1700 yards, 10 touchdowns,
[4:51] Speaker 8: seven interceptions, and he added almost 300 rushing yards in
[4:55] Speaker 8: this game. So he performed pretty well. What would they
[4:58] Speaker 8: like to do? Well, they want him to get the
[5:00] Speaker 8: ball out of his hands fast. He said this week
[5:02] Speaker 8: he views himself.
[5:03] Speaker 2: As a point guard.
[5:04] Speaker 8: So the idea is get the ball out to the playmakers,
[5:07] Speaker 8: Terry McLaurin, Stefan Diggs.
[5:09] Speaker 9: Try to establish a running game.
[5:11] Speaker 8: Of course, all of this is easier said than done
[5:13] Speaker 8: when you are facing the Seattle Seahawks. But that is
[5:17] Speaker 8: the goal for Marcus Mariota. And again, he has been
[5:19] Speaker 8: here and done that for the commanders. So they are
[5:22] Speaker 8: about as comfortable with this backup quarterback as a team
[5:26] Speaker 8: could be in this situation.
[5:28] Speaker 1: Looking forward to that matchup and looking forward to this
[5:30] Speaker 1: one as well. Change a few plays around Rams. Broncos
[5:33] Speaker 1: would have been a Super Bowl rematch. Instead, we get
[5:35] Speaker 1: a chance to look at the head-to-head career between Sean
[5:37] Speaker 1: McVay and Sean Payton. Three wins in favor of Sean McVay.
[5:41] Speaker 3: And yes, Saints fans, we have it there at the bottom.
[5:43] Speaker 1: It does include the 2018 NFC Championship game. All the
[5:47] Speaker 1: asterisks available there, but these coaches are big fans of
[5:51] Speaker 1: each other, especially Sean Payton looking back at Sean McVay.
[5:55] Speaker 10: I've always felt like, um, He was someone you paid
[5:59] Speaker 10: attention to early on in LA. We had some games
[6:03] Speaker 10: against each other and then it's been a minute. He
[6:10] Speaker 10: had a birthday down in Cabo. We had a little
[6:13] Speaker 10: get together and we had our quarterbacks. There was just
[6:17] Speaker 10: six or seven people there. I don't know what he
[6:21] Speaker 10: was turning, but we gave him this Benjamin Button cake
[6:25] Speaker 10: and we said he was the only coach in NFL
[6:27] Speaker 10: history that came right out of high school. He's actually
[6:30] Speaker 10: getting younger each year. At some point, he's going to
[6:33] Speaker 10: have to get out of it because he's too young.
[6:35] Speaker 10: He's got a good sense of humor.
[6:36] Speaker 3: He's bright.
[6:37] Speaker 10: Love watching his tape. NFC now, we're in the AFC.
[6:44] Speaker 3: It's kind of like I said about Mike.
[6:45] Speaker 10: We're rooting for him in every game except one. They
[6:47] Speaker 10: play our division. Super creative and fun to be around.
[6:54] Speaker 3: The Broncos at home, Judy.
[6:55] Speaker 1: They avenged the only home loss they've had since the
[6:58] Speaker 1: start of last season. They did that last week against
[7:00] Speaker 1: the Jags. A couple big fourth quarter drives paving the way.
[7:03] Speaker 1: It's like 2025 all over again all of a sudden.
[7:07] Speaker 8: Yeah, that was Bo Nix's 10th fourth quarter comeback. He's
[7:11] Speaker 8: a pretty young guy. 10th fourth quarter comeback in his career.
[7:15] Speaker 8: He's got the most fourth quarter comeback since he entered
[7:19] Speaker 8: the league of any quarterback. He entered the league in 2024.
[7:23] Speaker 8: They were behind the Jacksonville Jaguars. What he showed there
[7:27] Speaker 8: was he was sensing the pressure better.
[7:29] Speaker 9: He was getting rid of the ball.
[7:31] Speaker 8: What you don't want to do, though, when you are
[7:33] Speaker 8: facing the Rams and that pass rush is fall behind,
[7:36] Speaker 8: especially not fall behind by 10 points, which was the
[7:39] Speaker 8: situation they were in against the Jaguars. We saw how
[7:43] Speaker 8: the Rams' pass rush could wreck an offense. We saw
[7:46] Speaker 8: what they did to the New York Giants when Jameis
[7:49] Speaker 8: Winston entered the game.
[7:51] Speaker 9: They had tons of pressures, hits, sacks.
[7:54] Speaker 8: So certainly in this case, you love that Bo.
[7:56] Speaker 9: Nix has ice in his veins and is.
[7:59] Speaker 8: Really comfortable with fourth-quarter comebacks. You just don't want to
[8:02] Speaker 8: get into a position where you're trailing by too much
[8:05] Speaker 8: against a pass rush.
[8:06] Speaker 9: Like the Rams.
[8:08] Speaker 4: Now, of course, on the other side, the Rams would
[8:10] Speaker 4: really love to make sure that the Denver Broncos are
[8:12] Speaker 4: trailing early.
[8:14] Speaker 2: If that is the case, it's going to be without
[8:16] Speaker 2: Puka Nakua.
[8:16] Speaker 4: He is listed as doubtful, not going to play this Sunday,
[8:20] Speaker 4: has not practiced this week, dealing with a hip slash
[8:23] Speaker 4: groin injury. Kind of all interconnected there, but remember, did
[8:26] Speaker 4: not practice at the end of last week. Didn't play
[8:28] Speaker 4: against the Giants. Didn't practice this week as well. Does
[8:30] Speaker 4: sound like he has a chance to play the following week,
[8:33] Speaker 4: so not considered to be a major injury. And what
[8:37] Speaker 4: that meant against the New York Giants was, by the way,
[8:40] Speaker 4: Devontae Adams is.
[8:41] Speaker 2: Still a really good player. Really good receiver. Still receiver one.
[8:46] Speaker 4: And yes, Puka Nakua, whenever this comes, will likely get
[8:49] Speaker 4: a massive contract.
[8:50] Speaker 2: The kind of contract that Devontae Adams was once getting
[8:53] Speaker 2: in his young career.
[8:54] Speaker 4: But make no mistake, what Monday's performance showed us about
[8:57] Speaker 4: Devontae is he has still got it. And if he's
[9:00] Speaker 4: got to carry it a little bit while Puka heals,
[9:02] Speaker 4: if he's got to take on a little bit more
[9:04] Speaker 4: of the burden, that is okay because he can still
[9:07] Speaker 4: do it. And the fact, Patrick, that he is on
[9:10] Speaker 4: my fantasy team has nothing to do with this segment.
[9:13] Speaker 4: This is all fact-based information. I actually have Stafford and.
[9:17] Speaker 2: Adams, which really helped me on my day. There we go.
[9:19] Speaker 1: Full disclosure from NFL Network Insider Ian Rappaport as we
[9:22] Speaker 1: look over to the team that beat the Rams. on
[9:25] Speaker 1: the road in Australia at the start of the season. Unfortunately,
[9:27] Speaker 1: this graphic, just the 49ers who are on IR as
[9:31] Speaker 1: of right now. Pearsall, Stripling, Kirk, Tonjes, Collins. Nick Bosa
[9:36] Speaker 1: expected to miss weeks as well, according to ESPN NFL
[9:40] Speaker 1: insider Adam Schefter. He's tied for the most pressures on
[9:44] Speaker 1: the team. He's got the best pressure percentage. It's going
[9:46] Speaker 1: to be a big loss if you don't have Bosa
[9:48] Speaker 1: for a while, Ian.
[9:50] Speaker 4: And this is something I reported with Adam Schefter. Thanks
[9:53] Speaker 4: to our show for leaving me out of that.
[9:54] Speaker 2: It's all good. No big deal.
[9:56] Speaker 6: Nobody reads tweets anyway.
[9:57] Speaker 2: Yeah, so Nick Bosa expected to make it. a few weeks.
[10:01] Speaker 4: This actually happened in really strange fashion. He was warming
[10:03] Speaker 4: up for Thursday's practice. Pulled a calf. wasn't able to practice,
[10:08] Speaker 4: and now is going to miss several weeks. You know,
[10:10] Speaker 4: this might be one where they might have to put
[10:12] Speaker 4: him on IR if he misses four weeks. They just
[10:15] Speaker 4: really don't have room because they have so many other players,
[10:18] Speaker 4: as you saw, on IR designated to return. The 49ers
[10:22] Speaker 4: have just had unbelievable injuries. Up front, they've had plenty.
[10:26] Speaker 4: At receiver, they've had plenty. They continue to win. You
[10:29] Speaker 4: really just wonder how much can they withstand.
[10:32] Speaker 2: Looking about a month.
[10:33] Speaker 4: Or so without Nick Bosa, that is just brutal for
[10:36] Speaker 4: the 49ers. It does seem like Mike Evans, though, does
[10:39] Speaker 4: have a pretty good chance to play. He has a
[10:41] Speaker 4: hip injury listed as questionable, was limited. Kyle Shanahan saying
[10:45] Speaker 4: earlier in the week, Judy, that he has a good
[10:46] Speaker 4: chance to go.
[10:47] Speaker 2: But we will check back with this one on Sunday.
[10:52] Speaker 8: Well, not having Nick Bosa across the field is a
[10:55] Speaker 8: small break for the Arizona Cardinals.
[10:57] Speaker 9: Listen to this stat.
[10:58] Speaker 8: They have lost 15 straight games against opponents that enter
[11:02] Speaker 8: the game with.
[11:02] Speaker 9: A winning record.
[11:04] Speaker 8: That is the longest such record in the NFL current streak.
[11:09] Speaker 9: In the NFL.
[11:10] Speaker 8: This is what sum things up for how the Arizona
[11:12] Speaker 8: Cardinals are right now. In week one, when they were
[11:15] Speaker 8: facing the Chargers, who we now know are struggling greatly,
[11:18] Speaker 8: Jacoby Persett was awesome.
[11:19] Speaker 9: He was sixth in the league in completion percentage and
[11:22] Speaker 9: in passing yards. And they won the game.
[11:25] Speaker 8: And then they played the Seattle Seahawks last week, and
[11:28] Speaker 8: they could barely sustain drives. They ran something like 47 plays,
[11:32] Speaker 8: and he was all the way down near the bottom
[11:34] Speaker 8: of the league in completion percentage and passing yards. So
[11:37] Speaker 8: that pretty much sums up the state of the Arizona Cardinals. Now,
[11:41] Speaker 8: they've got enough to beat other lower-level teams in the NFL,
[11:45] Speaker 8: but they probably don't have enough unless a lot of
[11:48] Speaker 8: breaks go their way to beat the super elite teams.
[11:52] Speaker 8: The San Francisco 49ers certainly have an elite defense. We
[11:56] Speaker 8: will see how elite it can stay without Nick Bosa
[11:59] Speaker 8: on the field, but certainly this is an uphill battle
[12:01] Speaker 8: for the Arizona Cardinals.
[12:03] Speaker 1: Let's check out some of the other guys who are
[12:05] Speaker 1: expected to be out over the course of this week. Three,
[12:08] Speaker 1: Nico Collins and Alec Pierce, both out in that matchup
[12:11] Speaker 1: between the Texans and the Colts. Zay Flowers, DJ Moore,
[12:14] Speaker 1: Jalen Coker, and Brock Bowers, all questionable for Sunday. Also,
[12:19] Speaker 1: Ronnie Stanley, Devin Lloyd, Reuben Bain, Mika Fitzpatrick are out.
[12:22] Speaker 1: Brian Burns and Joey Porter Jr., questionable in week three.
[12:28] Speaker 1: Maracana Stadium in Rio once had an official crowd of
[12:31] Speaker 1: 190,000 people.
[12:34] Speaker 3: Sunday, it welcomes the Cowboys and the Ravens.
[12:37] Speaker 1: We look ahead as they get set for the third
[12:39] Speaker 1: ever NFL game in Brazil. And we look back at
[12:43] Speaker 1: the Falcons' first win of the 2026 season. We're noting
[12:46] Speaker 1: the first one where they had their starting quarterback available
[12:49] Speaker 1: to play.
[12:49] Speaker 2: Fallout from Thursday night in Green Bay.
[12:51] Speaker 3: Coming up next on the Insiders.
[12:57] Speaker 1: We are back on the Insiders. Let's look back Thursday
[12:59] Speaker 1: night football. The Falcons and Michael Pennix Jr. making his
[13:01] Speaker 1: first appearance since November 2025.
[13:04] Speaker 2: And Bajon Robinson and.
[13:06] Speaker 1: The Falcons haven't run a play in the red zone
[13:08] Speaker 1: all season.
[13:08] Speaker 3: It worked out in Green Bay.
[13:10] Speaker 1: If he goes in for that touchdown, they would tie
[13:12] Speaker 1: the game at seven apiece. Packers, first possession of the
[13:15] Speaker 1: third quarter.
[13:15] Speaker 2: Down 17-7.
[13:16] Speaker 1: Matt LaFleur says, let's.
[13:17] Speaker 3: Go for it.
[13:19] Speaker 2: Let's go somewhere else. As Jordan Love throws that out
[13:22] Speaker 2: of the back of the end zone.
[13:24] Speaker 1: Packers fans, your thoughts? What are we doing, says that guy.
[13:28] Speaker 1: Later on, what they're doing, Packers fan, is not tackling
[13:31] Speaker 1: Drake London. It was a bit of a theme on
[13:33] Speaker 1: the day. He had 40 on this play in terms
[13:37] Speaker 1: of receiving yards, 194 on the day.
[13:39] Speaker 3: Michael Penix Jr.
[13:40] Speaker 1: Finished with 256 yards, a touchdown and interception. There's another
[13:43] Speaker 1: touchdown for Bajon Robinson. He finished with 194 as well.
[13:47] Speaker 1: The Falcons would go on to win it. 35-14 as
[13:51] Speaker 1: we welcome in Cam Wolfe here on the Insiders. Another
[13:55] Speaker 1: Bajon Robinson show in primetime. Cam, he averaged almost seven
[13:58] Speaker 1: yards a carry.
[14:01] Speaker 11: Patrick, Bajon looked like a guy that we will tell
[14:03] Speaker 11: our grandkids about. And I had a recent conversation with
[14:06] Speaker 11: his running back coach, Michael Petrie, who told me this.
[14:09] Speaker 11: He said, everybody knows Bajon as this nice guy, but
[14:12] Speaker 11: he turns into a different person an hour before the game.
[14:15] Speaker 11: He said, it's like Bruce Banner turning into the Hulk.
[14:18] Speaker 11: And I asked him, I'm like, what does that look like?
[14:20] Speaker 6: He's like, he gets angry.
[14:21] Speaker 2: You see his face and he just goes crazy.
[14:23] Speaker 9: Hmm.
[14:25] Speaker 2: And I say, but Sean, what's wrong? What's wrong? He's like,
[14:27] Speaker 2: I'm locked in coach. I'm ready to dominate.
[14:29] Speaker 11: And there were times last night where he looked like
[14:31] Speaker 11: the Hulk, not Bruce Banner.
[14:33] Speaker 6: With his physicality, with his IQ. He's just a special player.
[14:36] Speaker 11: And with a new quarterback in the lineup with Michael Penix,
[14:39] Speaker 11: we saw that unlocked. And for this team, they need
[14:42] Speaker 11: their superstars that they paid to be this version.
[14:45] Speaker 2: They gave us a glimpse of what the Falcons could be.
[14:48] Speaker 11: Of course, Penix has to continue to show this to
[14:50] Speaker 11: prove he is the long-term Antwerp quarterback. But it was
[14:53] Speaker 11: really a sign of what the Hulk, Bajon Robinson, can
[14:57] Speaker 11: do when he is really, really engaged and ready to attack.
[15:00] Speaker 11: And that's why the Falcons can't be ruled out of
[15:03] Speaker 11: this NFC South battle yet.
[15:06] Speaker 9: Well, the Falcons looked awesome on offense.
[15:09] Speaker 8: And on the other side of the ball, the Packers
[15:11] Speaker 8: were completely unsightly on offense. LaFleur said after the game,
[15:15] Speaker 8: like he was looking for what they're doing well on offense.
[15:18] Speaker 8: The answer is practically nothing. The offensive line is struggling terribly.
[15:23] Speaker 8: They've had a lot of injuries, a lot of shuffling.
[15:25] Speaker 8: They've already had to play seven unique offensive line combinations.
[15:29] Speaker 8: That is not where you want to be in week three.
[15:31] Speaker 8: And you see the result that they are not pass protecting.
[15:34] Speaker 8: They're not run blocking. Their run block win rate.
[15:37] Speaker 9: Is only 16%.
[15:38] Speaker 8: They only ran nine times for 17 yards. That meant
[15:44] Speaker 8: Jordan Love was also going to be under a lot
[15:46] Speaker 8: of duress, and when he's under duress, he gets inaccurate.
[15:49] Speaker 8: His completion percentage right now is only 52% in a
[15:52] Speaker 8: league where quarterbacks routinely hit 70% completion percentage. It's an
[15:56] Speaker 8: understatement to say they miss Josh Jacobs, their star running back.
[16:00] Speaker 8: He remains on the commissioner's exempt list. Yesterday, a judge
[16:04] Speaker 8: denied a request to seal the evidence in the case.
[16:07] Speaker 8: That means the evidence now reverts back to the police
[16:10] Speaker 8: department that did the investigation.
[16:12] Speaker 9: And that department.
[16:13] Speaker 8: Gets to decide if it wants to release it to
[16:16] Speaker 8: entities that request it. The NFL wants to see as
[16:19] Speaker 8: much evidence as it can. The prosecutor has said there
[16:22] Speaker 8: is a videotape involved in this case. The NFL wants
[16:25] Speaker 8: to get its hands on as much of the evidence
[16:28] Speaker 8: as it can before it decides on the discipline for Jacobs.
[16:31] Speaker 8: If he is suspended, the number of games that he
[16:34] Speaker 8: has already missed while he's on the commissioner's exemplars would
[16:37] Speaker 8: count toward that suspension. But the bottom line is we
[16:40] Speaker 8: have no idea right now how long he will still
[16:43] Speaker 8: be out for the Packers.
[16:44] Speaker 9: And they obviously desperately need him on the field.
[16:48] Speaker 1: Averaging 48 rush yards per game on track to be
[16:50] Speaker 1: the lowest ever in the Super Bowl era. As we
[16:54] Speaker 1: look forward to Rio on Sunday, week three Ravens and
[16:57] Speaker 1: the Cowboys Maracanã Stadium. There are second international game of 2026,
[17:02] Speaker 1: the third NFL game in history to be played on
[17:06] Speaker 1: Brazilian soil. As we look back to those other two games,
[17:09] Speaker 1: the Chargers got the win late. Score by Justin Herbert
[17:12] Speaker 1: and the Chargers, pulling them past the Chiefs last year
[17:16] Speaker 1: and then in the opener in 2024, the Eagles got
[17:19] Speaker 1: the win over the Green Bay Packers. Now, a couple quarterbacks,
[17:22] Speaker 1: Lamar Jackson and Dak Prescott, ahead of the game in Rio.
[17:26] Speaker 12: It's like Jesus opened his hands, like the statue. You know,
[17:30] Speaker 12: the statue is like glory. Oh, no, it's like glory.
[17:34] Speaker 2: I loved it.
[17:34] Speaker 12: I loved sightseeing for a little bit. You know, we
[17:36] Speaker 12: was on a bus ride, so I couldn't see a
[17:38] Speaker 12: lot of things, but it was dope to see.
[17:40] Speaker 3: I love it. Beautiful. Yeah, just, I mean, one, we're
[17:44] Speaker 3: excited to be here.
[17:45] Speaker 13: I can just tell you from the temperature of the team,
[17:47] Speaker 13: from the plane ride to us getting to the hotel
[17:50] Speaker 13: today to traveling out here and working out here, obviously,
[17:53] Speaker 13: at the Flamingos facility. Everybody's excited. The views, it's new
[17:57] Speaker 13: for all of us. So we're embracing it. We're embracing
[18:00] Speaker 13: the culture, trying to learn what we can. Obviously, you know,
[18:02] Speaker 13: not with a lot of time off, limited to do that,
[18:05] Speaker 13: but Trying to, you know, be nice to everyone that
[18:08] Speaker 13: we see, we come in contact with them. You know,
[18:10] Speaker 13: any autographs or anything that people have offered, I've watched
[18:12] Speaker 13: myself and teammates engage in that.
[18:14] Speaker 3: And, yeah, we're thankful to be here.
[18:16] Speaker 13: This game has taken each and every one of us
[18:19] Speaker 13: to where we are now, to different places. And this
[18:22] Speaker 13: is a first for, I know, a majority of the team.
[18:24] Speaker 13: And so I'm just super blessed that this game has
[18:26] Speaker 13: provided us the opportunity to come out here. And then
[18:28] Speaker 13: now we're here in Brazil, getting to play the game
[18:31] Speaker 13: we love, share it with you guys. And we're excited
[18:33] Speaker 13: for this opportunity.
[18:34] Speaker 1: We're going to have to figure out if some of
[18:36] Speaker 1: the Baltimore Ravens are going to have their first chance
[18:38] Speaker 1: to play in Brazil. All of the ones on the
[18:40] Speaker 1: left side of the screen, Zay Flowers, Ronnie Stanley, Trey Hendrickson,
[18:43] Speaker 1: Nami Matabike, Malakai Starks, all questionable with their injuries. The Cowboys,
[18:48] Speaker 1: we have a little more certainty on. Overshawn, Durant, Hooker,
[18:51] Speaker 1: and P.J. Locke out for the game in Rio. We'll
[18:56] Speaker 1: talk about regular season win streaks. The Seattle Seahawks right
[18:58] Speaker 1: there with nine. But how about those Minnesota Vikings on
[19:02] Speaker 1: their tail with nine consecutive wins in the regular season?
[19:07] Speaker 1: And the Vikings get some good news this week as
[19:11] Speaker 1: Kyler Murray has cleared the league concussion protocol. He left
[19:15] Speaker 1: the game in the opener against the Green Bay Packers.
[19:17] Speaker 1: On a late hit that resulted in a concussion, he
[19:19] Speaker 1: will start.
[19:20] Speaker 3: Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
[19:22] Speaker 1: We're also keeping track of Aaron Jones' injury designations over
[19:26] Speaker 1: the course of the week. He had a knee issue
[19:28] Speaker 1: earlier in the week. Currently not listed with an injury designation.
[19:31] Speaker 1: He is expected to play on Sunday. Two rookie Bucs
[19:35] Speaker 1: defenders will not be playing. Edge defender Reuben Bain out
[19:38] Speaker 1: with a groin injury. Linebacker Josiah Trotter, who started the
[19:41] Speaker 1: season with a pick six as well as a sack,
[19:43] Speaker 1: out with a shoulder injury. Monday Night Football is more
[19:48] Speaker 1: than just who won't be playing, but we have injuries.
[19:50] Speaker 1: updates for the Bears and the Eagles stars coming up next.
[19:54] Speaker 1: How long will the Bears be without their starting quarterback?
[19:57] Speaker 2: Try to get to those answers as.
[19:58] Speaker 1: Well as the status of Saquon Barkley next on the Insiders.
[20:04] Speaker 14: When I was young, we had a pet black bear.
[20:08] Speaker 14: And my mom would never let it in the house,
[20:11] Speaker 14: only to watch bear games with me. Ready to go?
[20:15] Speaker 1: Bear down!
[20:18] Speaker 14: I've been going to the games since, you know, 1985.
[20:21] Speaker 14: And I've been watching them since 75. I'm so much
[20:28] Speaker 14: die-hard than I ever was. I'm single, I don't have
[20:32] Speaker 14: any kids. I put everything into being Bear Man.
[20:36] Speaker 15: First game?
[20:38] Speaker 3: All right, give me five.
[20:39] Speaker 14: It means everything to me.
[20:41] Speaker 3: Gonna enjoy it.
[20:43] Speaker 14: This is the Bears' year, man. All the way to
[20:46] Speaker 14: the Super Bowl and winning it.
[20:52] Speaker 2: Hey, shout out to Bear Man.
[20:53] Speaker 1: Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles traveled to Soldier Field
[20:56] Speaker 1: to face DeAndre Swift and the Chicago Bears for an
[20:58] Speaker 1: NFC showdown.
[20:59] Speaker 2: Catch it all Monday at 8 p.m.
[21:01] Speaker 1: Eastern on ABC, ESPN, and streaming on the ESPN app.
[21:06] Speaker 1: And Good Morning Football will be taking the show on
[21:08] Speaker 1: the road to the Windy City. Plus, Seth Rollins joins
[21:12] Speaker 1: the show 8 a.m. Eastern on NFL Network as well
[21:15] Speaker 1: as the ESPN app.
[21:18] Speaker 3: Of course, as we're rejoined by NFL Network Insider Ian Rapport.
[21:21] Speaker 1: The reason that that promo copy features DeAndre Swift is
[21:24] Speaker 1: because the Bears are going to be without Caleb Williams.
[21:26] Speaker 3: The question is, how long are they going to be
[21:28] Speaker 3: without Caleb Williams, Ian?
[21:31] Speaker 4: Well, what we know is that Caleb Williams is not
[21:33] Speaker 4: expected to play this week. By the way, Tyson Bajer,
[21:36] Speaker 4: the backup quarterback, has not practiced yet in the NFL's
[21:38] Speaker 4: concussion protocol.
[21:39] Speaker 2: Also not expected to play.
[21:41] Speaker 4: So, Case Keenum, QB3, who hasn't started since, I believe,
[21:45] Speaker 4: 2023 for the Houston Texans.
[21:48] Speaker 2: He gets to start. They have described Caleb Williams as
[21:50] Speaker 2: week to week.
[21:51] Speaker 4: They've not even ruled him out of this week, although
[21:53] Speaker 4: they presumably will tomorrow. So we will see what the
[21:57] Speaker 4: future holds for Caleb Williams.
[21:59] Speaker 2: But the fact that he's not going to.
[22:00] Speaker 4: Play this week, not a great sign for the Chicago Bears.
[22:03] Speaker 4: Much better news for their opponent, Saquon Barkley, who left
[22:07] Speaker 4: last week's game with a stinger that actually came back.
[22:10] Speaker 2: He had an MRI this week. It came back really clean.
[22:13] Speaker 2: He is good to go.
[22:15] Speaker 4: Now he's a full participant today in practice. That is
[22:18] Speaker 4: an excellent sign. Stingers aren't great, but he came back
[22:20] Speaker 4: last week wearing a neck roll. Wouldn't be surprised if
[22:23] Speaker 4: he wore it again on Sunday.
[22:27] Speaker 11: And Ian, one thing the Eagles feel great about is
[22:29] Speaker 11: their two wide receivers they have in Devontae Smith and
[22:32] Speaker 11: Dontavion Wicks. They've really done a great job of essentially
[22:35] Speaker 11: replacing A.J. Brown, not necessarily with talent, but with reliability.
[22:39] Speaker 11: And I talked with Nick Sirianni right after their win,
[22:43] Speaker 11: and he was enthused. He talked about the receiver starring
[22:46] Speaker 11: in their role, and it's really allowed Jalen Hurst to
[22:48] Speaker 11: play his best football.
[22:50] Speaker 6: Not having to force the ball to one playmaker.
[22:52] Speaker 11: And so I was in the locker room talking to
[22:54] Speaker 11: some of these receivers, and Devontae Smith, one thing you'll
[22:57] Speaker 11: learn about him, his very large hand showed up in
[23:00] Speaker 11: the fourth quarter and continued throughout this season. He was
[23:03] Speaker 11: talking to me about his ability to strengthen those hands
[23:06] Speaker 11: and go get a pass at the last second. And
[23:08] Speaker 11: then as far as Wicks, his teammates rave about his reliability,
[23:12] Speaker 11: his consistency. I had one coach rave to me about.
[23:15] Speaker 11: We got this guy for day three picks. He is
[23:17] Speaker 11: tremendous for us. And they have a juicy matchup on
[23:21] Speaker 11: Monday against a Bears defense that's one of the worst
[23:23] Speaker 11: in football, against a deep route, against passing attacks. And
[23:26] Speaker 11: that's where Jalen Brown and his new duo of receivers
[23:29] Speaker 11: have been able to thrive.
[23:31] Speaker 3: Looking forward to that one on Monday.
[23:32] Speaker 1: Elsewhere, we got an AFC North battle between the Bengals
[23:34] Speaker 1: and the Steelers on Sunday, but it's been Joe Burrow
[23:37] Speaker 1: and the Bengals versus the month of September.
[23:40] Speaker 3: Look at the win-loss.
[23:41] Speaker 1: They got one tie, 9-10 through his career, but 2-0
[23:45] Speaker 1: in September. They haven't started 3-0 since 2015, and Judy Batista,
[23:50] Speaker 1: traditionally the Steelers' defense has caused some problems for Joe Burrow,
[23:53] Speaker 1: but there's been a lot of changes around in Pittsburgh.
[23:58] Speaker 8: Yeah, Joe Burrow averages, this is hard to believe actually,
[24:02] Speaker 8: averages almost two turnovers per game against the Steelers. That's
[24:06] Speaker 8: the most he has against any opponent he faces. I
[24:09] Speaker 8: guess that shouldn't be that much of a surprise because
[24:11] Speaker 8: the Steelers' defense has been so good for so many years.
[24:14] Speaker 9: That Burrow has faced him. This is important to know
[24:17] Speaker 9: going forward, though.
[24:18] Speaker 8: Burrow has already thrown three touchdowns against a zone defense.
[24:23] Speaker 8: That is tied for the league lead with Matthew Stafford.
[24:27] Speaker 8: In the previous six years of his career, he had
[24:29] Speaker 8: four touchdowns against zone defense. So his productivity when facing
[24:34] Speaker 8: zone defenses obviously is going up.
[24:36] Speaker 9: That's really important to know.
[24:37] Speaker 8: This weekend because the Steelers have spent 85% of their
[24:41] Speaker 8: defensive snaps so far this season in zone defense. Now
[24:44] Speaker 8: we will see if defensive coordinator Patrick Graham mixes things up.
[24:48] Speaker 8: We will see if he can get pressure on Burrow,
[24:50] Speaker 8: if he can pierce that offensive line, especially it seems
[24:53] Speaker 8: to be struggling on the left side.
[24:54] Speaker 9: Side of the offensive line.
[24:56] Speaker 8: So far this season. But that is an important trend
[24:59] Speaker 8: to know for Burrow. And as you mentioned, there have
[25:01] Speaker 8: been changes in Cincinnati. The emergence of the Bengals defense
[25:05] Speaker 8: takes so much pressure off that offense in years past.
[25:08] Speaker 8: We have seen Burrow and others on that offense really
[25:11] Speaker 8: pressing because they felt they had to score on every drive.
[25:14] Speaker 8: That pressure has been removed because that defense has been stellar.
[25:18] Speaker 3: We'll leave the AFC North and go to the South.
[25:20] Speaker 1: The Texans and Colts both 0-2, but for the Houston Texans, history,
[25:24] Speaker 1: at least recent history, as in 2025, shows the ability
[25:28] Speaker 1: to overcome that. When they started out 0-3, they eventually
[25:30] Speaker 1: made the playoffs and gave the Patriots a run for
[25:33] Speaker 1: their money in Foxborough.
[25:34] Speaker 3: So, Ian, they're coming back this season.
[25:36] Speaker 1: They're throwing the ball a ton, and they're doing so
[25:38] Speaker 1: without their top target, Nico Collins.
[25:41] Speaker 2: And they're going to do so without their top target,
[25:43] Speaker 2: Nico Collins.
[25:44] Speaker 4: Again this week, he is not going to play. Dealing
[25:47] Speaker 4: with a hamstring injury, it sounds like next week is
[25:50] Speaker 4: probably the target for him to return. Not considered to
[25:52] Speaker 4: be a major injury, but just was not able to
[25:55] Speaker 4: get there and practice and play this week.
[25:58] Speaker 2: Want to make sure he's cautious.
[25:59] Speaker 4: As you can tell, he is a valuable member of
[26:01] Speaker 4: this offense that would like him to be on the field.
[26:04] Speaker 2: So what this means... is the Houston Texans got to
[26:06] Speaker 2: run the ball better.
[26:07] Speaker 4: I mean, they certainly have struggled with that.
[26:08] Speaker 2: It's not just the running backs. It's also the offensive line.
[26:11] Speaker 4: This rebuilt offensive line, which should be much, much better,
[26:14] Speaker 4: has not really been able to consistently run the ball.
[26:17] Speaker 4: That would be one way for CJ Stroud, who's in
[26:19] Speaker 4: a big-time year related to his contract and obviously wants
[26:22] Speaker 4: to get off the thing and avoid this 0-3 start
[26:28] Speaker 4: again like they did last year. They need to run
[26:30] Speaker 4: the ball better and function much more efficiently as an offense.
[26:33] Speaker 2: We'll see what that leads to there in the AFC South.
[26:36] Speaker 1: That's where the Giants play host to the Titans Sunday.
[26:39] Speaker 1: And doing so with Jameis Winston as the starting quarterback.
[26:42] Speaker 1: No Jackson Dart for the rest of the season with
[26:45] Speaker 1: the knee injury. The quick change experience in L.A. for
[26:50] Speaker 1: the Giants didn't really work out so well for Jameis Winston.
[26:54] Speaker 3: But Ian, this time around.
[26:55] Speaker 1: He's got a full week of prep to be ready
[26:57] Speaker 1: to be the starting quarterback.
[26:59] Speaker 4: And the hope is that the game plan is more
[27:01] Speaker 4: tailored to Jameis Winston as opposed to a game plan
[27:03] Speaker 4: that wasn't tailored at all to him, was tailored to
[27:05] Speaker 4: Jackson Dart. Now Jameis Winston signed a contract extension before
[27:09] Speaker 4: the season, making him one of the higher paid backups
[27:11] Speaker 4: in the NFL. When you are highly paid like that,
[27:15] Speaker 4: And you come in in a situation where you really
[27:17] Speaker 4: need to not save the day, but just maintain what
[27:20] Speaker 4: this offense has put.
[27:21] Speaker 2: You've got to play better than that.
[27:22] Speaker 4: And so the Giants are hoping for that this week
[27:25] Speaker 4: for Jameis Winston. I think it's fair to say that
[27:28] Speaker 4: a lot of eyeballs are going to be on his performance.
[27:30] Speaker 2: The Giants have weighed other options.
[27:31] Speaker 4: Mike Garofalo, our esteemed colleague, who's off tonight having a
[27:35] Speaker 4: margarita or whatever, he has mentioned Jimmy Garoppolo potentially coming
[27:40] Speaker 4: into the Giants.
[27:40] Speaker 2: We've had some conversation with him. They could also a
[27:42] Speaker 2: trade for a quarterback, maybe someone like Gardner Minshew. There
[27:45] Speaker 2: are a lot of options, but.
[27:46] Speaker 4: The Giants' hope is that none of those options are
[27:49] Speaker 4: necessary because Jameis Winston.
[27:52] Speaker 2: Plays as he is capable of.
[27:53] Speaker 3: All right, more to come here on the Insiders.
[27:56] Speaker 1: It was an off-season of promise and immaculate vibes in
[27:58] Speaker 1: Los Angeles. That all washed away by an 0-2 start,
[28:01] Speaker 1: so how do they start.
[28:02] Speaker 2: To turn it around? We'll hear from Justin Herbert coming up.
[28:06] Speaker 1: Next as Taylor Bishotti reports on the Chargers on the Insiders.
[28:12] Speaker 2: Join us on Sunday for all of the.
[28:15] Speaker 1: Game day programming, game day morning, game day.
[28:17] Speaker 3: Live, highlights, and then final.
[28:20] Speaker 1: All on NFL Network. Also available on the ESPN app.
[28:25] Speaker 1: And also on Sunday, looking forward to the Chargers and
[28:28] Speaker 1: the Bills as well. The Bills have three questionable players,
[28:33] Speaker 1: DJ Moore, Keon Coleman, and Ed Oliver.
[28:35] Speaker 2: But good news for the L.A.
[28:37] Speaker 1: Chargers, Ladd McConkie, Derwin James, and Rashawn Slater, all active
[28:41] Speaker 1: and expected to play. As good injury news is what
[28:44] Speaker 1: the Chargers need, good news in general is we're joined
[28:47] Speaker 1: by Taylor Bishotti, who spent time over there at the facility,
[28:49] Speaker 1: the Bolt, in El Segundo, where 0-2 is probably landing
[28:52] Speaker 1: pretty hard.
[28:53] Speaker 16: Yeah, I mean, they're not panicking, but there certainly is
[28:56] Speaker 16: anxiety A lot of urgency going on there. They're sitting
[28:59] Speaker 16: at 0-2. They have not played well. They have not
[29:02] Speaker 16: played up to expectations. And the frustration is starting to show.
[29:06] Speaker 16: Perhaps where the frustration is showing the most is in
[29:09] Speaker 16: Justin Herbert, who is normally as measured as they come.
[29:12] Speaker 16: You saw a rare reaction from him in last week's
[29:14] Speaker 16: game against the Raiders. There was a botched snap. It
[29:17] Speaker 16: led to him pounding his fist on the ground. Well,
[29:20] Speaker 16: I was at the facility this week, and a reporter
[29:22] Speaker 16: asked him, do you think there needs to be more
[29:24] Speaker 16: vocal leadership here?
[29:25] Speaker 9: In the locker room, take a listen to his response.
[29:28] Speaker 3: I think that happens regardless.
[29:29] Speaker 17: I think our team is so close, and so I
[29:32] Speaker 17: don't think there's a lack of vocal leadership at all.
[29:36] Speaker 17: So I think I'm going to stop you right there
[29:37] Speaker 17: and say that it's very present. We've got great leadership
[29:39] Speaker 17: on this team.
[29:40] Speaker 3: Team.
[29:40] Speaker 17: And I trust those guys in that locker room. And
[29:42] Speaker 17: so I don't think anyone is panicked or worried because
[29:46] Speaker 17: that's not going to do us any good. It's moving
[29:49] Speaker 17: on to the next play and understand that we're close.
[29:50] Speaker 3: We've made mistakes. How do we fix them? And how
[29:52] Speaker 3: do we move on?
[29:54] Speaker 16: While that alone doesn't seem like much, you just don't
[29:56] Speaker 16: normally get that type of response from Herbert. Offensive coordinator
[30:00] Speaker 16: Mike McDaniel was equally direct, saying they're playing down their
[30:03] Speaker 16: own expectations and everyone else's, adding, we are not standing
[30:07] Speaker 16: on business. And the numbers reflect this. The offense ranks
[30:10] Speaker 16: 29th in scoring. Now they head to Buffalo without their
[30:13] Speaker 16: two top two tight ends in David Njoku and Charlie Kohler.
[30:16] Speaker 16: So their tight end one is Aranda Gaston, the second
[30:19] Speaker 16: I actually talked with him yesterday. after practice yesterday, and
[30:22] Speaker 16: he said they feel like they've got a really good
[30:23] Speaker 16: game plan moving forward. And he also pointed to Mike
[30:27] Speaker 16: McDaniel's familiarity with Buffalo as something that is positive for them. Obviously,
[30:31] Speaker 16: when he was head coach of the Dolphins, he faced
[30:33] Speaker 16: them two times a year, so that's going to be
[30:35] Speaker 16: an added benefit for this Chargers team. But being in
[30:38] Speaker 16: the locker room and being around the players... They're not panicking,
[30:43] Speaker 16: but there is urgency. They feel like they're very close.
[30:47] Speaker 16: So as long as they can find a way to
[30:49] Speaker 16: turn close into wins, then they feel like they're gonna
[30:52] Speaker 16: be solid.
[30:55] Speaker 11: Taylor, this is a tough week for a bounce back
[30:57] Speaker 11: game for the Chargers because they play a Buffalo Bills
[31:00] Speaker 11: team who is well on its way to solidifying itself
[31:03] Speaker 11: as a top team in the AFC. And they could
[31:05] Speaker 11: do so with a win on Sunday. Look, Josh Allen
[31:08] Speaker 11: is playing as confident and as aggressive.
[31:10] Speaker 6: As he ever has. And it's really a part of
[31:12] Speaker 6: the Joe Brady effect.
[31:13] Speaker 11: Talking to people down in Buffalo, they can feel the
[31:16] Speaker 11: shift in a offensive first mindset and head of coach.
[31:20] Speaker 11: Deion Dawkins, their left tackle, told me, we're playing off
[31:22] Speaker 11: our front foot instead of our back foot.
[31:25] Speaker 6: And you can feel it. The offense has changed.
[31:27] Speaker 11: They flipped from a team that was really run heavy
[31:30] Speaker 11: on early downs to now playing a lot more pass heavy.
[31:33] Speaker 2: And Josh Allen's confidence is in fruition.
[31:35] Speaker 11: You can see it with the way they play, especially
[31:38] Speaker 11: through their tight end, Dalton Kincaid, who has really unlocked it.
[31:41] Speaker 11: One thing to watch this weekend, DJ Moore and Keon Coleman,
[31:44] Speaker 11: both questionable. I'm told 50-50 decisions for both of those guys.
[31:48] Speaker 11: Moore has an AC sprain in his left shoulder. He
[31:51] Speaker 11: said that he feels good, but a couple more steps
[31:53] Speaker 11: to watch, including his soreness. If he does play, he'll
[31:56] Speaker 11: have to have a pregame shot. Keon Coleman also 50-50.
[31:59] Speaker 11: The Bills feel good about their rookie fourth-round pick, Skyler Bell,
[32:03] Speaker 11: stepping up if one or both can't play.
[32:06] Speaker 3: Last time the Chargers started 0-2. Good news for them.
[32:08] Speaker 1: They'd win the next two, but unfortunately they would only
[32:10] Speaker 1: win a couple more games the rest of the season,
[32:12] Speaker 1: finish 5-12. So that's what they would like to avoid,
[32:15] Speaker 1: thanks to Taylor Bishotti. Joining us here ahead of the
[32:18] Speaker 1: Chargers and the Buffalo Bills. The Patriots making a trip
[32:21] Speaker 1: to Jacksonville Sunday, where the Jags have won five straight
[32:24] Speaker 1: at home.
[32:24] Speaker 3: Trevor Lawrence with.
[32:25] Speaker 1: 17 total touchdowns, just one turnover at home in those
[32:29] Speaker 1: five games. Trouble is, it's... going to be a while
[32:33] Speaker 1: until they are back after this one how about we
[32:35] Speaker 1: look at the Jags schedule for the next five games
[32:38] Speaker 1: there's this game against the Patriots they're at Cincinnati and
[32:41] Speaker 1: then they've got back-to-back games in London and then a
[32:44] Speaker 1: bye week that's November 1st week.
[32:47] Speaker 3: 8 against the Colts the next.
[32:49] Speaker 1: Time that they will be back home and our next
[32:52] Speaker 1: opportunity to see two-way star Travis Hunter who has been
[32:57] Speaker 1: Almost exclusively been a one-way star, almost all defense thus
[33:01] Speaker 1: far this season, Cam.
[33:04] Speaker 11: Yeah, Patrick, this was a part of the Jags plan,
[33:06] Speaker 11: and I checked in this week on this. They essentially
[33:08] Speaker 11: gave me a relax message on Travis Hunter. Their plan
[33:13] Speaker 11: was to ease him in coming off that serious knee injury.
[33:16] Speaker 11: They planned for him to be a part-time player early
[33:19] Speaker 11: and ease him up through that long run you just mentioned.
[33:21] Speaker 2: With the schedule.
[33:22] Speaker 11: What I understand, this week has been his most busiest
[33:26] Speaker 11: week playing offense and practice, and I expect him to
[33:29] Speaker 11: play much more than he did the first two weeks
[33:31] Speaker 11: on that side of the ball.
[33:32] Speaker 2: It's a balance for them.
[33:33] Speaker 11: They know that he wants to be out there on
[33:35] Speaker 11: the field all the time, but they know they need
[33:37] Speaker 11: to protect him for him to last the whole season.
[33:40] Speaker 2: What I was told is week one.
[33:42] Speaker 11: Won't be the same as week 18, and the hope
[33:44] Speaker 11: is that he can play significantly more on offense and
[33:47] Speaker 11: defense later on in the year. They've been rotating their
[33:50] Speaker 11: three corners outside in two different spots to try to
[33:53] Speaker 11: get him some extra breather, but expect that to lean
[33:56] Speaker 11: off a little bit less as the year goes on.
[33:58] Speaker 6: They know his playmaking ability is needed.
[34:03] Speaker 8: Well, we know we're going to see Travis Hunter on defense,
[34:05] Speaker 8: and we know he is going to see Drake May passing.
[34:08] Speaker 8: This is something to keep an eye on with Drake May.
[34:11] Speaker 8: His downfield game, which was such a big part of
[34:15] Speaker 8: his success early last season, is way off. He has
[34:18] Speaker 8: already thrown four interceptions on passes that have traveled at
[34:21] Speaker 8: least 15 yards. This actually started during the playoffs last
[34:27] Speaker 8: season and it has continued now into this regular season.
[34:30] Speaker 8: His completion percentage on downfield passes is also way off.
[34:35] Speaker 8: Worth watching to see if he can correct this. We
[34:38] Speaker 8: know defenses have adjusted to him. Can he adjust to
[34:41] Speaker 8: the defense's Or does the offense get increasingly conservative? Do
[34:46] Speaker 8: they go for shorter, safer passes and avoid those deep
[34:49] Speaker 8: passes that were really the hallmark of his run to
[34:53] Speaker 8: be the runner-up for the MVP last year? Really important
[34:57] Speaker 8: game going forward for Drake May.
[34:59] Speaker 1: Looking forward to the Patriots and the Jags as we
[35:02] Speaker 1: will take a break. But remember back when Patrick Mahomes
[35:05] Speaker 1: was the Chiefs' biggest running threat? Has that ever changed?
[35:09] Speaker 1: Jeff Chedia on the new look Chiefs offense coming up
[35:12] Speaker 1: next here on NFL Network on the inside.
[35:20] Speaker 2: Back here on the Insiders, we're going to Super Bowl 61,
[35:22] Speaker 2: and you can too.
[35:23] Speaker 1: Enter for a chance to win four tickets to Super
[35:25] Speaker 1: Bowl 61 and a three-night vacation to Disneyland Resort to
[35:29] Speaker 1: watch the Super Bowl champion cavalcade. Scan that QR code
[35:32] Speaker 1: on your screen now or visit ESPN.com slash S-P-L-X-I to
[35:37] Speaker 1: learn more.
[35:39] Speaker 2: As we get a chance to see.
[35:40] Speaker 1: Patrick Mahomes trying to get back to the Super Bowl.
[35:43] Speaker 1: What an offensive explosion it has been. He's thrown for
[35:47] Speaker 1: 566 pass yards, five touchdowns.
[35:49] Speaker 3: He's got a rushing touchdown this season.
[35:51] Speaker 1: All while the Chiefs have the number one rushing efficiency
[35:54] Speaker 1: offense in all of football.
[35:56] Speaker 2: As we say a good evening to our friend Jeff Chedia.
[35:59] Speaker 1: As Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III is also putting
[36:02] Speaker 1: up some really good numbers thus far.
[36:04] Speaker 15: He is, and the Chiefs are super excited about his
[36:06] Speaker 15: three-down ability, Patrick. You know, there were some questions when
[36:09] Speaker 15: he came in about he was splitting time with Zach
[36:11] Speaker 15: Charbonnet in Seattle, and could he catch the ball? Could
[36:14] Speaker 15: he be a guy who could work on third down?
[36:16] Speaker 15: And he's proven that he could be a really good receiver.
[36:18] Speaker 15: Head coach Andy Reid talked about watching him and the
[36:21] Speaker 15: Super Bowl in the playoffs last year and seeing the
[36:23] Speaker 15: catchability he had, getting him in the OTAs and seeing
[36:26] Speaker 15: the same thing. And they knew that he could run
[36:28] Speaker 15: the football and be explosive. But adding that receiving element
[36:31] Speaker 15: to this offense– This is a guy who had six
[36:34] Speaker 15: catches last week against the Colts. He's on pace for
[36:37] Speaker 15: 76 catches already, so he just has to come down,
[36:39] Speaker 15: but he's doing a great job in the pass game
[36:41] Speaker 15: so far.
[36:44] Speaker 3: And also, you know, you talk about Rasheed Rice.
[36:45] Speaker 16: Yeah.
[36:47] Speaker 15: Yeah, as far as the run game going here, you know,
[36:50] Speaker 15: we talk about Ken Walker in the run game, but
[36:52] Speaker 15: Rasheed Rice talked this week about just what he's been
[36:54] Speaker 15: able to do as a blocker and how much he's
[36:57] Speaker 15: embraced that role in this offense because we know he's
[37:00] Speaker 15: trying to be a number one receiver, get a big-time
[37:03] Speaker 15: contract in his final year.
[37:05] Speaker 2: But he talked about in this offense now, if you
[37:07] Speaker 2: don't block, you don't get the rock.
[37:09] Speaker 15: And wide receiver coach Chad O'Shea has praised him for
[37:11] Speaker 15: the ability to get down the field, get guys on
[37:13] Speaker 15: the ground, take care of DBs.
[37:15] Speaker 3: And he's getting it done as well.
[37:19] Speaker 11: Yeah, Jeff, he's not the only guy that is helping
[37:22] Speaker 11: take in this Chiefs offense to the next level. A
[37:24] Speaker 11: rejuvenated Travis Kelsey who is turning back the clock at 36.
[37:29] Speaker 11: You look at his miles per hour, he's running the
[37:30] Speaker 11: fastest he has in four years, nearly a half a
[37:34] Speaker 11: second faster on his average routes than he was two
[37:36] Speaker 11: years ago.
[37:37] Speaker 2: And I dived into it. What has been the cause
[37:39] Speaker 2: of this?
[37:40] Speaker 11: And he's worked in Florida the last two off seasons
[37:43] Speaker 11: with Tony Villani, with Andrew Sprua, XPE, and they've really
[37:47] Speaker 11: worked on explosive speeds. ability to start and stop. And
[37:50] Speaker 11: I talked to Sproul about this, and he said they
[37:52] Speaker 11: tested him at 19 to 20 miles per hour on
[37:55] Speaker 11: his unresisted sprints the week before he left for camp.
[37:58] Speaker 11: They really focused on two big areas, his explosiveness and
[38:02] Speaker 11: his speed, but his ability to stop and start, because
[38:04] Speaker 11: those are the areas that leave you when you age,
[38:07] Speaker 11: and we've certainly seen the impact. Travis Kelsey leads the
[38:10] Speaker 11: NFL in yards after catch, yards from the slot, and
[38:13] Speaker 11: he's become that rejuvenated playmaker that Patrick Mahomes needs.
[38:17] Speaker 2: Andy Reidish joked about it this week.
[38:19] Speaker 11: He said, Taylor Swift, his wife, has four-hour concerts, so
[38:22] Speaker 11: maybe she's kicking his butt. And we saw that meme
[38:24] Speaker 11: last week of her telling him, that's my husband, pointing
[38:28] Speaker 11: to the ring.
[38:28] Speaker 2: She's saying that plenty these.
[38:30] Speaker 11: First two weeks, and he could have a coming-out party
[38:32] Speaker 11: in Miami against a defense that has really struggled. Maybe
[38:35] Speaker 11: we'll see more Taylor Swift memes. with her husband, Travis Kelsey,
[38:39] Speaker 11: falling out.
[38:39] Speaker 3: Yeah, I got a shot.
[38:40] Speaker 1: I got a whole song in the addendum to her
[38:42] Speaker 1: last album that came out this week. They're going to
[38:45] Speaker 1: have to keep pace with the Las Vegas Raiders, though,
[38:48] Speaker 1: who start the season at 2-0, and they have done
[38:51] Speaker 1: it without the services of one Brock Bowers. He's questionable
[38:56] Speaker 1: for the game coming up on Sunday. They've kind of
[38:59] Speaker 1: distributed the receiving targets. Trey Tucker had seven last week,
[39:03] Speaker 1: had a lot of targets for Ashton. Genting over the
[39:06] Speaker 1: course of the first two weeks. It will be nice, Ian.
[39:09] Speaker 1: They're 2-0 without him. It'd be nice to have Brock Bowers.
[39:13] Speaker 4: It'd be nice to still give targets to Ashton Genting.
[39:15] Speaker 4: He's also on my fantasy team, by the way. But yes,
[39:17] Speaker 4: let's talk about Brock Bowers. The star tight end, one
[39:20] Speaker 4: of the best players on offense, regardless of position, in football.
[39:24] Speaker 4: The plan was for him to come back and play
[39:27] Speaker 4: this week. Missed a couple games with a meniscus trim.
[39:29] Speaker 4: He had been the target. He was not at practice today.
[39:32] Speaker 4: That was part of the plan as they work his
[39:34] Speaker 4: way back. His vision list is questionable. He'll wait until
[39:37] Speaker 4: later in the weekend to see his firm status, but
[39:39] Speaker 4: this had been the plan that he would be able
[39:42] Speaker 4: to play. And this Las Vegas Raiders defense, has done
[39:46] Speaker 4: enough to keep this team afloat. You mentioned some of
[39:49] Speaker 4: the targets on offense. This defense, especially the.
[39:51] Speaker 2: Play of Max Crosby, you know, obviously there's been a
[39:53] Speaker 2: lot of discussion about Crosby's knee. This offseason, early returns
[39:57] Speaker 2: are unbelievably positive. He looks as healthy as he has been.
[40:01] Speaker 4: And this defense, Rob Leonard is now coordinating. Man, they
[40:05] Speaker 4: have been balling this year for this young team.
[40:08] Speaker 1: Number one in pass rush. When were it? The Las
[40:11] Speaker 1: Vegas Raiders. Bryce Young and the Panthers, number two scoring
[40:14] Speaker 1: offense in the NFL through two weeks.
[40:17] Speaker 2: How are they doing it, though? Cam Wolfe breaks that
[40:19] Speaker 2: down next on The Insider. Back on the insiders, what.
[40:25] Speaker 1: A start to the 2026 season for Panthers quarterback Bryce Young.
[40:29] Speaker 2: He has more completions of 25 or.
[40:31] Speaker 1: More yards than anybody in the NFL right now, especially
[40:35] Speaker 1: after not having a lot of those in that category
[40:37] Speaker 1: last year.
[40:38] Speaker 3: It'd be tough for him to keep.
[40:39] Speaker 1: Pace for this pace camp, but he's been executing at
[40:43] Speaker 1: a pretty high level.
[40:45] Speaker 11: Yeah, Patrick, Bryce Young has been attacking deep with conviction.
[40:49] Speaker 2: Nobody in the NFL has.
[40:50] Speaker 11: Had more attempts and completions 20 plus yards down the field.
[40:54] Speaker 11: And it's really Bryce Young taking command of a offensive tweak.
[40:58] Speaker 11: Their new play caller, Brad Izzik, has added more tempo
[41:02] Speaker 11: pre-snap and post-snap. He has told him to be more
[41:04] Speaker 11: aggressive defensively. They've been more variety in their formations. And
[41:07] Speaker 11: Bryce has really thrived. He understands his offense in a
[41:11] Speaker 11: new way. And his quarterback coach, Will Herringer, really preaches
[41:14] Speaker 11: to him decisiveness. Hit the decision with conviction. And that's
[41:18] Speaker 11: what we're seeing every week from Bryce Young. And we've
[41:21] Speaker 11: got to change the narrative about Bryce Young. If he
[41:23] Speaker 11: does this throughout the year, we're going to be talking
[41:25] Speaker 11: about him for a big money 2027 contract extension.
[41:29] Speaker 1: Before that, it's a return for Detroit and Jets head
[41:33] Speaker 1: coach Aaron Glenn, whose defense has been playing pretty well
[41:36] Speaker 1: in contrast to his former unit, the Detroit Lions, who's
[41:41] Speaker 1: 31st in terms of points per game allowed. But the
[41:44] Speaker 1: question is, Judy, it's been 19 straight games without an interception.
[41:50] Speaker 1: Does Aaron Glenn take all of his institutional knowledge of
[41:53] Speaker 1: the Lions and Jared Goff? Do the Jets get an
[41:56] Speaker 1: interception this week?
[41:59] Speaker 8: Well, if they intercepted Jared Goff, it would be the
[42:01] Speaker 8: first interception for Jared Goff this season. He's thrown six
[42:04] Speaker 8: touchdown passes, no interceptions. That is the best ratio by
[42:08] Speaker 8: any quarterback in the NFL right now. So even though
[42:12] Speaker 8: the interceptions have not yet come for the Jets, the
[42:15] Speaker 8: defense is noticeably improved. They are the number one overall defense.
[42:19] Speaker 8: They're number six scoring defense. Aaron Glenn took back defensive
[42:23] Speaker 8: play calling defensively.
[42:24] Speaker 9: This season.
[42:25] Speaker 8: And as you noted, Aaron Glenn was the defensive coordinator
[42:28] Speaker 8: for four seasons in Detroit, all four seasons. Jared Goff
[42:31] Speaker 8: was there. So Aaron Glenn presumably knows his tendencies, what
[42:34] Speaker 8: he likes, what bothers him better than any defensive coordinator.
[42:39] Speaker 8: Maybe it comes this week, even if it doesn't come
[42:41] Speaker 8: this week, it does feel like.
[42:42] Speaker 9: They are getting much closer on defense.
[42:44] Speaker 6: For the Jets.
[42:45] Speaker 3: If not, it's the curse of Ashton Davis.
[42:47] Speaker 1: He had those two interceptions in Week 18, 2024. He's
[42:51] Speaker 1: a 49er safety now. He played with the Dolphins last year.
[42:53] Speaker 1: He had an interception. He had more interceptions than the
[42:56] Speaker 1: Jets did last season. That is what it will take.
[42:58] Speaker 1: Thanks to Cam Wolfe.
[42:59] Speaker 2: Thanks to Judy Batista, Ian Rappaport, Taylor Bishotti.
[43:02] Speaker 3: I'm Patrick Clevon.
[43:03] Speaker 6: Have a good weekend.
[43:03] Speaker 2: Insiders back on Tuesday.

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