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Texans vs. Seahawks, recapped in a 2-minute read

What happened: The Seahawks beat the Texans 41-38 in one of the most entertaining games of the season.

How it happened: It was a tight game, and it was fun as hell from start to finish. The fourth quarter was particularly thrilling. The Texans managed to score on the Seahawks defense not once, but twice, with Watson touchdowns to Lamar Miller and DeAndre Hopkins.

Anything else? Most Texans players protested during the national anthem. It came as a response to Texans owner Bob McNair, who made controversial comments about player protests on Friday.

The Seahawks challenged a third down Russell Wilson pass that was ruled incomplete because they wanted it to be a fumble instead. It was recovered by Luke Willson and gave the Seahawks a first down.

Garcon had just two catches for 17 yards before leaving Sunday’s game in the third quarter with a neck injury. He has a team-best 40 receptions for 500 yards and led the NFL in receptions in 2013, when he caught 113 passes for 1,346 yards while with the Redskins. His neck injury is not expected to keep him out of next Sunday’s game against the Cardinals, who are 3-4 and without starting quarterback Carson Palmer. The 49ers then play host to the offensively inept Giants, who are just 1-6, before entering their bye week.

With a rookie quarterback in C.J. Beathard and injuries piling up on both sides of the ball, first-year 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan says his team has “to be strong-minded.”

“I think guys did take a step forward from last week with a few things, especially on defense. We really have to take care of our bodies and get the team healthy, not just on Sundays but throughout the week. We have to find a way to get some of these guys back. It’s going to be that way all year. We have to find a way to get better. There’s no secret message I can say about it. The guys who get better will help us, and if you don’t, we’re going to get worse.”blues-017

NFL players, other outraged athletes react to Texans owner Bob McNair’s ‘inmates’ comment

ESPN reported Friday morning that Houston Texans owner Robert McNair made recent comments in which he compared NFL players to prison inmates at an NFL owners meeting in mid-October.

Kerr was also asked his opinion on the Colin Kaepernick situation and ongoing protests during the national anthem in the NFL.

A last-minute pick-six in the Dallas-Washington game also went against the books. With the Cowboys leading 26-19 with 21 seconds to play, Dallas safety Byron Jones returned an interception for a touchdown, pushing the final score over the posted total of 46.5 and causing loud groans in the sportsbook office at the Westgate SuperBook.

“That hurt,” Westgate assistant manager Ed Salmons said. “We needed the under.”

“In tonight’s appearance he saved our butt on numerous occasions,” Carlyle said. “We told him not to accept being here as a backup. We want him to compete. That’s where the competition between the two goaltenders is unique. But it’s a benefit to us if we can have a 1-A and 1-B.”

Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf left the game in the second period with what Carlyle described as an upper-body injury and will be evaluated on Monday.

“I thought (Carolina) had great jump in the second period and that was a hard one to grind out,” said Miller, who had three point-blank saves in the overtime. “We were able to hold onto it and that was nice.”

Corey Perry scored the only goal in the shootout.

The question is whether Sean Payton will be comfortable handing the ball to his best running back with the game on the line down the road. The Saints’ coach benched Ingram for nearly a full game last year after fumbling issues.
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Former major leaguer Gabe Kapler named new Phillies manager

The majority of Texans players kneeled during the national anthem prior to Sunday’s game in Seattle.

“I never meant to offend anyone and I was not referring to our players,” McNair’s statement said. “I used a figure of speech that was never intended to be taken literally. I would never characterize our players or our league that way and I apologize to anyone who was offended by it.”

Texans receiver DeAndre Hopkins and rookie running back D’Onta Foreman sat out Friday’s practice in response to McNair’s comment.

McCarron, taken in the fifth round of the 2014 draft, is in the final season of his rookie contract. However, the Bengals could retain his rights next season because he did not spend enough time on the active roster as a rookie to accrue a year toward free agency. An arbitrator will have to decide whether he is a restricted or unrestricted free agent in 2018.

The “value” column reflects the likely upside that player would have in standard leagues if he becomes a starter: QB1 (top 10), QB2 (11-20), bench (worth a speculative add), waivers (not worth adding as a free agent).

The Hurricanes went ahead exactly five minutes later when Faulk beat Darling with a bullet from the high slot.

Kase gave the Ducks an early lead when he lifted the puck over Darling’s right shoulder from the right circle with 9:12 remaining in the first.

Grant made it 2-0 with 2:46 left as he beat Darling five-hole from the slot.

Carolina D Klas Dahlbeck and RW Josh Jooris were healthy scratches. … RW Jared Boll and D Sami Vataden sat out for Anaheim. … The teams conclude their season series Dec. 11 at Anaheim.chargers_046

“I mean this league has problems right now and they don’t know how to get out of the way of them.”

Goff’s lineage was less American royalty than All-American, as the son of Major League Baseball catcher Jerry Goff. There was never any quotes about “thinking he’s arrived” after Goff’s freshman season, particularly after going winless against FBS opponents.

Looking at the statistics from each junior season, both Goff and Rosen have a green light to air it out, averaging more than 40 throws per game. With completion percentages above 60 and an average of more than eight yards per attempt, the stat lines are solid and the yards per game totals are high enough to rank among the best in the country when graded out against their peers. Even for a quarterback, both Goff and Rosen have what basketball statistics would determine is a high usage rate.

“We need to see a guy jump in the stands and sit in a seat? I mean, come on. What are we doing here?” Francesa said. “This is what the league needs, right? The league is in a state of panic is what it is right now. They’re playing in front of stadiums they can’t believe have empty seats in them, their ratings aren’t any good; the quality of play is lousy. Even (Sunday) night, I’m watching Atlanta and New England and the game’s a bore.”

Francesa was not done there. “No one has been a closer follower of the league in the last 40 years than I have been,” he added. “I’ve done it my whole life as an adult. The league is in trouble right now. A lot of trouble.

Francesa said the NFL likes to tell everyone they are fine but cited CBS and Disney stocks being down and ratings dropping 15% over the last two years before lauding Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
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It’s hard not to point the finger at Cincinnati’s offensive line. After losing Whitworth and Kevin Zeitler in free agency

For this team — which has receivers like Jarvis Landry, DeVante Parker and Kenny Stills, plus Jay Ajayi at running back — to rank 32nd overall on offense (with 261 yards per game) is a travesty. To me, the blame can be placed on the quarterback play the team has received thus far. Jay Cutler posted a passer rating of 78.8 through six games, with seven touchdowns, five picks and 5.53 yards per attempt. This kind of ineffectiveness would be understandable if the team had no weapons, but that’s not the case in Miami.

It’s to the credit of Adam Gase — one of the best young coaches in the NFL — that the Dolphins are 4-2 despite carrying a point differential of -20. I would expect things to turn around with backup Matt Moore under center this week, after Cutler cracked his ribs in Week 6. If nothing else, this season should further clarify how much injured quarterback Ryan Tannehill brings to the table.

After ranking 13th on offense in 2016, Cincinnati has plummeted to 29th. Andy Dalton, who is posting a career-high interception rate (4.2 percent) and a passer rating of 83.7, is on pace to be sacked 50 times, while the ground attack has been limited to 81.8 yards per game and 3.3 per carry, despite the presence of Joe Mixon, Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill. Dalton is not the kind of quarterback who can successfully overcome protection issues and an ineffective run game.

It’s hard not to point the finger at Cincinnati’s offensive line. After losing Whitworth and Kevin Zeitler in free agency, there was an opportunity for former first-round pick Cedric Ogbuehi and former second-rounder Jake Fisher to step up, but the third-year pros have failed to make their mark. When they drafted Ogbuehi and Fisher, the Bengals surely did not envisitigers_070-115x115on having to rotate a well-worn veteran like Andre Smith in with them. Given the collection of skills players in Cincinnati, this offense should be much better — and I think the O-line is holding the Bengals back.

Thomas was selected with the third overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft.

The biggest note of that draft, of course, was that Thomas had eschewed the pomp and circumstance of Radio City Music Hall in favor of fishing with his old man. So you knew right away, this dude was special.

He immediately took over the left tackle spot, helped lead the Browns that year to a 10-6 record and probably thought, We’ve got this team on the right track! Except Cleveland hasn’t enjoyed another winning season since. In fact, they’ve only eclipsed five wins during this span once — going 7-9 in 2014 — and haven’t even sniffed the postseason. Yet still, prior to Sunday’s season-ending triceps tear, Thomas didn’t miss a snap. NOT. ONE. SNAP!

Chris Thompson found the end zone for the fifth time in six games last Monday night against the Eagles. But he totaled just 12 touches in a game where Kirk Cousins attempted 40 passes in a negative game script. The Redskins coaching staff seems to be holding true to comments from earlier in the season about limiting Thompson’s workload because of his size, which is concerning for his value going forward, especially with Rob Kelley back healthy. Right now, Thompson is averaging 11 touches per game, which includes Week 6 when he logged a season-high 20 touches (16 carries) as the team’s “primary” back with Kelley inactive.

Thompson has been awesome for owners to this point as his 85.9 fantasy points rank him seventh among running backs in standard scoring. That’s exactly why you should sell him now, before his production regresses. It’s really his incredible 7.5 touchdown rate that’s totally unsustainable. Thompson’s fantasy points per touch of 1.3 are on another level and likely won’t hold up. Even Tevin Coleman, who led running backs in fantasy points per touch last season, had a rate of 1.13. And with games coming up against the Seahawks and Vikings, Thompson’s market value is set to plummet in the next few weeks.
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