Cowboys Shock The Saints On Thursday Night Football
Ever since losing their first game of the season to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the New Orleans Saints have been the hottest team in football. They had won 10 games in a row, and their offense was absolutely dominating. The problem for the Saints Thursday night is that they ran into the other hottest team in football…the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys were able to defeat the Saints 13-10 and completely held Drew Brees in check. For the game, Brees went 18 for 28 and threw for just 127 yards. He had one touchdown and one interception.
Additionally, the Saints were not able to get the run game going as Alvin Kamara led the Saints rushers with just 36 yards. All the credit has to go to the Cowboys defense who were able to sack Brees twice and picked him off the one time, both things that have been very difficult for opposing defenses to do. On the offensive side, Dak Prescott threw for 248 yards and a touchdown while Ezekiel Elliott ran for 76 yards on 23 carries. This now moves 7-5 and sit firmly atop the NFC East standings.
Eric Berry To Return To Practice
At 9-2, the Kansas City Chiefs lead the AFC West and have been impressing people left and right with their dynamic offense led by Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, and Kareem Hunt. While the offense has been good, the defense has left something to be desired. In their two losses, the Chiefs gave up a combined 97 points to the Los Angeles Rams and the New England Patriots. It appears that some help may be on the way, though. Three-time All-Pro safety Eric Berry practiced for the first time in several months this week as he is trying to return from a heel condition. While there will be a lot of concern with possible setbacks, the fact that he is practicing is great news for the Chiefs. Since they did not put him on injured reserve this year, he technically can return for this weekend’s game. While that is highly unlikely, if he is able to avoid major setbacks, you could see him on the field sooner than later.
Mitchell Trubisky To Sit Again
One of the biggest surprises of the season has been the emergence of the Chicago Bears as a team to be reckoned with in the NFC North. Largely, this has been due to a dynamic defense that has potential Pro-Bowlers all over the field, most notably Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks. Still, the play of second-year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky has not gone unnoticed. On the season, he has thrown for 3,469 yards, 20 touchdowns versus 9 interceptions. He has also rushed for 363 yards and 3 touchdowns on 51 carries. Despite these solid numbers, it appears he will be sitting out for a second straight week this Sunday. Having injured his shoulder a couple of weeks ago against the Minnesota Vikings, the Bears have been playing the Trubisky injury extra cautiously, instead opting to start backup Chase Daniels. Last week, against a struggling Detroit Lions team, Daniels led the Bears to their 8th victory. This week, against a similarly struggling New York Giants team, the Bears are hoping for that magic to repeat itself. Knowing that they have a several-game lead in the division and have a less than intimidating opponent this week, the Bears felt more comfortable giving Trubisky extra rest ahead of a matchup with the Los Angeles Rams. According to Mike Garafolo, though, “Trubisky could play right now, but the team wants to play it safe.”
Star Running Back Leonard Fournette Suspended One Game
To say that the season has not gone the way the Jacksonville Jaguars intended would be an understatement. The Jaguars sit at 3-8, which is good for last in the AFC South. With frustrations all around, the Jaguars just fired their offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett (and replaced him with quarterbacks coach Scott Milanovich). On top of all that, their star running back, Leonard Fournette, who has been out for several weeks of the season with injuries, will now have to miss another week. In the game last Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, Fournette was ejected after taking a punch at Shaq Lawson of the Bills. On Wednesday it was reported that he lost his appeal and will now have to sit out this week against the Indianapolis Colts. Needless to say, this is a season to forget in Jacksonville.
Andy Dalton To IR
Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton will be heading to injured reserve for the first time in his career. In a week 12 loss to the Cleveland Browns, Dalton suffered a thumb injury that appears to have torn some ligaments. With the Bengals out seemingly out of the AFC North race at 5-6, the Bengals will turn to backup Jeff Driskel to take the rest of the way. The team also claimed quarterback Tom Savage off waivers from the San Francisco 49ers to give them more depth. This season, Dalton had thrown for 2,566 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.
Reuben Foster Cut And Immediately Claimed
Linebacker Reuben Foster was cut by the San Francisco 49ers this past weekend after he was arrested for first-degree misdemeanor domestic violence battery. Sadly, the 2017 first-round pick has had a bit of a murky past as this is not the first time that he has had trouble with domestic violence allegations and this was the third time he has been arrested in the last year (the previous two were for domestic violence and marijuana possession).
Controversially, another team has already claimed the troubled linebacker. The Washington Redskins announced on Tuesday that they had claimed him off of the waiver wire. While the Redskins sit at 6-5 and are in second place in the NFC East, this is a move that is sure to raise more than a few eyebrows.
