Analyzing the matchups that could define the NFL in Week 8 – PFF
Jalen Hurts vs. the Bengals’ pass rush. This matchup pits two playoff hopefuls in very similar circumstances against one another: receiving corps that are nearly unstoppable with shaky defenses. The defining factor could very well be quarterback play — and that means the Eagles will need to get a better version of Jalen Hurts. Hurts has struggled in 2024, ranking 32nd in PFF passing grade among qualified quarterbacks. In particular, he’s been very subpar when under pressure. Hurts’ 30.8 PFF passing grade under pressure sits 36th out of 39 qualifying quarterbacks.
The disparity between Hurts’ play under pressure and when kept clean is enormous, as evidenced by his 82.8 PFF passing grade when not dealing with rushers. Meanwhile, one of the Bengals’ fundamental problems this year is the pass rush. Star Trey Hendrickson has heated up over the past two weeks, recording 13 pressures and four sacks, but the unit is still performing below expectations. Cincinnati ranks 17th in total pressures generated and 22nd in pressure percentage. If Lou Anarumo’s defense can generate sufficient pressure from secondary options like B.J. Hill and Sam Hubbard, then Hurts could be prone to making a mistake. Even then, the Bengals need to key on Hurts’ scrambling — his 83.9 rushing grade under pressure ranks sixth among quarterbacks.
NFL QB Index, Week 8: Jared Goff enters top five; Brock Purdy slips – NFL.com
21) Jalen Hurts. For a second straight week, we were provided with an example of how much A.J. Brown’s presence helps Hurts. In a game in which Hurts didn’t have to do too much to help the Eagles beat the Giants — he threw just 14 passes on the day — Hurts leaned on Brown again, finding him five times for 89 yards. Forty-one of those yards came on a beautiful go ball to Brown for a touchdown. Saquon Barkley carried the day for the Eagles, leaving little for Hurts to clean up. To his credit, the QB avoided mistakes in a winning effort.
Eagles-Bengals Game Preview: 5 questions and answers with the enemy – BGN
1 – The feeling here is that the Bengals are better than their record indicates. To what extent do you agree with that assessment? I somewhat agree with that. Some Bengals fans have made some viral posts that the team is two fluke plays away from being 5-2: A.) A pretty bad pass interference call on a fourth and long in the waning moments of Week 2 against the Chiefs where they had the lead. It led to a Chiefs game-winning field goal. B.) A botched snap by a rookie punter (who is having an amazing season kicking the ball) that led to a missed long field goal in overtime, ultimately leading to a loss to Baltimore. But, the defense was bad for a few weeks because of the acclimation of new players and missing other key ones to injury. And, the offense sputtered in Weeks 1, 6 and 7 for stretches. So, it’s more than just two plays.
They were missing “the clutch gene” early this season, but have seemed to have found it more of late. What we do know is that the Bengals we’ve become accustomed to since 2021 find their stride right around this time of year. The slow starts are maddening, but they’ve climbed out of holes to be relevant at the end of the last three seasons—even without Joe Burrow last year. Although 1-4 is a different animal than, say, 0-2, the consensus is that they will make things interesting by January.
Have the Eagles found their run game? – ESPN
The passing game, meanwhile, is still searching for its footing. Jalen Hurts’ completion rate of 67.8% is four points higher than his career average and he is top-5 in QBR (72), completion percentage (75%) and off-target rate (9%) while operating inside the pocket. But he’s throwing outside the pocket on 18% of his attempts — the second-highest rate behind the Steelers’ Justin Fields — and his numbers dip dramatically (16 QBR, 41% completion rate, off-target rate of 24%) in those instances. Through his first four games, he ranked second in turnovers (7) behind only Will Levis of the Titans. Hurts has zero turnovers since the bye, however. He dropped back 39 times on average through the first four weeks, compared to 24 times on average the past two weeks. Game circumstance and sample size are going to skew the numbers some, but there’s a formula that’s emerging. Run more.
Pass less. Protect the football. All of which should help out a defense that is showing signs of improvement (12 total points allowed the past two weeks) but has been largely inconsistent over the first half of the season. Relying on Barkley & Co. won’t always be an option. There will be games against high-powered offenses, including Sunday’s matchup at the Cincinnati Bengals (1 p.m. ET, CBS), where airing it out may be required, and that is not always a bad thing with playmakers such as A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith at the ready. But the Eagles have come across a winning recipe and should largely stick to it to maximize their chances for success the rest of the way.
Eagles-Bengals preview: Five things to watch – PhillyVoice
2) A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith vs. the Bengals’ banged-up secondary. The Bengals’ starting corners, when healthy, are Cam Taylor-Britt, Dax Hill, and Mike Hilton. Hill was the Bengals’ first-round selection in 2022. In 2023, he finished third on the team with 110 tackles and tied for first with 11 pass breakups.
He also had 2 INTs and 1.5 sacks. Hill played safety initially for the Bengals, but moved to corner in 2024 and was the Bengals’ CB2 before his season was cut short with a torn ACL. Hill was replaced in the lineup by D.J. Turner, a second-year corner out of Michigan with blazing speed. The Bengals list Turner at 5’11, 185, meaning that he is outweighed by Brown by more than 40 pounds. If the Eagles can get that matchup, it is one I think they would love to exploit. Turner has filled in nicely so far for Hill, but if I’m the Bengals I’m worried about him getting knocked around by bigger receivers like Brown. For example, Turner just looked kinda small and overmatched against the Steelers’ George Pickens last season. Turner is No. 20.
Are the Eagles finally seeing the real Nolan Smith? – NBCSP
From the outside, it sure looks like something’s clicked for Nolan Smith. The effort has always been there. The production hasn’t. The last few weeks he’s shown up in a big way. But Smith insists nothing’s really changed. He has the game of football whittled down to two things: Work hard during the week, play hard on Sundays. Right now – finally – the formula is paying off. “Man, I just try to work,” the 23-year-old Smith said at his locker Thursday. “I just try to work on my job and do my part and just take every day one day at a time and try to get better.
“Coach Wash (pass rush coach Jim Washburn) has been working with me a lot. We work before practice and after practice every day. Still just trying to learn the game and how everything flows. And I just feel like it’s slowing down a little bit for me.” It’s way too soon to say Smith has arrived, but the Eagles desperately need this sort of production on a consistent basis from their second of two 1st-round picks last year.
Saquon Barkley Mic’d Up in DOMINANT return to New York – PE.com
You won’t want to miss this edition of Mic’d Up! Saquon Barkley is back in Metlife Stadium to face off against his former team, the New York Giants, and we’ve got him on the mic! Watch him absolutely DOMINATE in this game and trash talk all of his former teammates. Every insane moment from his revenge game is shown right here so make sure to stay until the end!
Report: ESPN explores a late-night show featuring Jason Kelce – PFT
John Ourand of Puck reports that ESPN is talking to Jason Kelce about a late-night show. They’re working on the specifics. It wouldn’t be a highlight or recap show. It would be a more traditional late-night program, featuring athletes and other celebrities.
Data shows Bengals offense far too dependent on passing game – Cincy Jungle
The Cincinnati Bengals’ offense has struggled for two straight games now. And the ground game needs to get going to fix it.
After struggling against the New York Giants’ pass rush two weeks ago, Cincinnati’s o-line did a lot better of a job against Myles Garrett and the Cleveland Browns pass rushers, but the running game was essentially nonexistent, totaling just 59 yards on 25 carries. Chase Brown knows it’s time for the others to do their part to support the superstar trio of Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins. “With an efficient run game, we can only assist what we’re doing on offense,” the running back said. To get an idea just how great the disparity has been between the run game and pass game, check out this chart from rbsdm.com for the last two weeks of play.
Commanders fans confident of a win on Sunday no matter which QB plays against the Chicago Bears – Hogs Haven
ore than 6 out of 10 Hogs Haven readers who responded picked the Commanders to win no matter who starts at QB, with another 22% picking Washington if Jayden Daniels plays the game. Only 4% of respondents picked the Bears to win against Daniels, with another 10% seeing a Chicago victory in the cards if Marcus Mariota starts on Sunday. This is pretty strong belief in a game where the oddsmakers have installed the Bears as road favorites. But it is reflective of the confidence Commanders fans have been expressing in the direction of the team all season. This week’s confidence level was back up to 99%.
Cowboys injuries: Micah Parsons did not practice, John Stephens tore his ACL – Blogging The Boys
After working with the training staff yesterday, Micah Parsons has not yet worked into practice. Head coach Mike McCarthy said his status for Sunday was “up in the air.” Among those also not practicing were DaRon Bland (foot), who still awaits his season debut after starting the year on injured reserve and kicker Brandon Aubrey did not practice and was excused for jury duty. Listed today as limited participants were Eric Kendricks, still managing a calf injury, and wide receiver Ryan Flournoy (ankle). For a second consecutive day, defensive tackle Jordan Phillips (wrist) was a full participant, as was cornerback Caelen Carson.
Giants will give Josh Ezeudu, Chris Hubbard reps at left tackle – Big Blue View
Will Josh Ezeudu remain the starting left tackle for the New York Giants this Monday against the Pittsburgh Steelers? Head coach Brian Daboll wasn’t willing to commit one way or the other on Wednesday. “We’ll go ahead and go through our normal procedure, and then see where we’re at the end of the week,” Daboll said. The coach did admit that Ezeudu, who surrendered drive-stalling sacks on two of the Giants’ first three possessions Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles, will get first crack at first-team reps this week. Veteran offensive tackle Chris Hubbard, signed off the San Francisco 49ers practice squad last week, will also get a look with the first team.
Sam Darnold controversial non-facemask penalty in Vikings-Rams, explained by the officials – SB Nation
The Los Angeles Rams defeated the Minnesota Vikings by a final score of 30-20 on Thursday Night Football. While a major headline might be the resurgence of the Rams, who improved to 3-4 in the win and looked like a very competitive football team with both Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua back in the lineup — quieting rumors that the team might trade Kupp ahead of the November 5 NFL Trade Deadline — perhaps the biggest story was a non-call on an apparent facemask penalty late in the game.
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