Selasa, 31 Desember 2019

Report: Ron Rivera, Redskins Agree on 5-Year Contract to Be Team's Next HC - Bleacher Report

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 27: Head coach Ron Rivera of the Carolina Panthers  looks on from the sidelines against the San Francisco 49ers during an NFL football game at Levi's Stadium on October 27, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

Ron Rivera has landed on his feet in Washington, D.C.

According to Mike Silver of NFL Network, the Washington Redskins hired Rivera to be their next head coach Tuesday. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network added Rivera is signing a five-year contract and that an announcement will be made Wednesday to confirm the hire.

Washington fired head coach Jay Gruden on Oct. 7 following an 0-5 start to 2019, and Bill Callahan finished the season as the interim head coach.

Rivera was linked to Washington on the last day of the regular season:

Washington also fired team president Bruce Allen on Dec. 30, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, after 10 years with the organization as reports continued to swirl that the hiring of Rivera was imminent:

Rivera became available when the Carolina Panthers fired him Dec. 3. He had been in Carolina since 2011, leading the Panthers to the playoffs four times and going 76-63-1 overall. The highlight of his tenure came when the team made Super Bowl 50, where it lost 24-10 to the Denver Broncos.

Carolina was 5-7 and riding a four-game losing streak at the time of his firing.

Panthers owner David Tepper disclosed what went into the "emotional" decision to part ways with Rivera:

Washington can feel good about the fact that his former players showed him support:

Rivera had lost steam in Carolina, finishing 2018 at 7-9 before petering out this season, but he had proved his ability to successfully lead a contender prior to that. The Panthers' lost 2019 could in part be attributed to the fact that All-Pro quarterback Cam Newton missed all but the first two games with a Lisfranc injury.

With Washington, Rivera will look to improve upon a 3-13 2019 campaign and has 2019 15th overall pick Dwayne Haskins to work with at quarterback. Washington has not made the postseason since 2015 and has not won a playoff game since 2005.

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2019-12-31 13:55:38Z
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Michael Silver on Ron Rivera and the Redskins: “The Ron Rivera deal is done” - Hogs Haven

UPDATE: Michael Silver is reporting that the deal is done and Ron Rivera has been hired as the new coach.

This report has been confirmed by Rappaport, who says “Announcement Tommorrow”


On Good Morning Football this morning, Ian Rappaport talked about Ron Rivera potentially being hired as the new head coach of the Washington Redskins, and he was unambiguous, saying, “Make no mistake... this is happening.”

Rivera arrived in Washington late yesterday with his wife and reportedly went out for dinner with Dan Snyder. Expectations, according to Rappaport, are that the two sides will finalize a deal today.

There have been some concerns raised about Rivera’s potential hiring, mostly focused on Rivera’s three winning seasons out of nine total in Carolina. Geoff Schwartz addressed those concerns yesterday in an article published by SB Nation:

I know he only had three winning seasons in Carolina, but it’s not as bad as it looked. He took over a putrid 2-14 squad in early 2011. The Panthers drafted Cam Newton and as expected, they took their rookie bumps and bruises and went 6-10 The following season, the Panthers rose to 7-9 as they continued to churn the roster and work with Newton. In 2013, it came together and the Panthers went 12-4. In 2014, the Panthers again made the playoffs and then 2015 brought the Panthers a Super Bowl berth. As we’ve seen with plenty of NFC teams after a Super Bowl loss, 2016 was a down season. The Panthers returned to form the following season to earn a wild card berth at 11-5, before losing to the Saints for the third time that season.

Heading into 2018, expectations were high and they got off a roaring start. The Panthers went 6-2 before Newton injured his shoulder and the season fell apart. Cam only played two games this season before the Panthers put him on ice. So outside of the first two rebuilding seasons, and the last two with an injured Newton (and other parts of the roster), Rivera led the Panthers to the playoffs four out of five seasons, and reached a Super Bowl once.

With regard to concerns about Rivera being one only two head coaches fired in-season, and — so far — one of four coaches to lose his job, I noted the following information from the NFL coaching tracker on NFL.com:

Jay Gruden, Washington Redskins: Gruden...left the organization with a 35-49-1 regular-season record and one postseason appearance.

Freddie Kitchens, Cleveland Browns: Cleveland went 6-10 in his only year at the helm.

Ron Rivera, Carolina Panthers: Rivera [compiled] a 76-63-1 regular-season record and making four postseason appearances. Rivera’s Panthers won three straight division titles from 2013 through 2015 and made Super Bowl 50 in the 2015 season. Rivera was a two-time Coach of the Year in Carolina.

Pat Shurmur, New York Giants: Shurmur was fired on Dec. 30 after two seasons in New York. Shurmur’s Giants went just 9-23 over his two years at the helm.

One of these is not like the others.

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2019-12-31 13:19:55Z
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Andy Reid makes pitch for Giants to hire Eric Bieniemy - NJ.com

As far as coaching trees go, fewer have been more successful than Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid’s, and the Giants might just pluck the latest branch.

The Giants requested Monday to interview Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, to replace Pat Shurmur as the team’s third head coach in four seasons.

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Speaking to the media in Kansas City Monday, Reid offered a ringing endorsement of Bieniemy, who is widely viewed as a rising offensive mind in NFL circles.

“You guys know how I feel about Eric,” Reid told reporters. “I think he would be tremendous. I don’t know the team, but there is a team out there that could really use him. Being the leader of men that he is, you’re not going to find people better than that in that category. He’s a sharp offensive mind on top of that.”

Working alongside Reid, Bieniemy has helped oversee defending NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes’ development, which only strengthens his candidacy to replace Shurmur as nothing is more vital to the Giants’ future than quarterback Daniel Jones’ rapid improvement on a strong rookie season.

Even though Reid calls the plays, Bieniemy carries much influence over the Chief’s offense and has worked closely with Mahomes during a stretch where the Chiefs have produced a 22-8 record.

Last offseason Bienemy was also one of the most sought after assistants. Bieniemy interviewed with the Jets, Miami Dolphins, Cincinnati Bengals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

While Shurmur is also a member of Reid’s coaching tree, the former Philadelphia Eagles head coach and current head coach of the Chiefs has an extensive history of his assistants going on to have success as head coaches.

John Harbaugh won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens and has a team capable of making it to Miami next month. Matt Nagy led the Chicago Bears to an NFC North championship last season. Ron Rivera guided the Carolina Panthers to a Super Bowl and multiple NFC Championship Games. Brad Childress took the Vikings to the championship round, as well.

Most recently, Doug Pederson -- who was a backup quarterback for Brett Favre in Green Bay and Donovan McNabb in Philadelphia, where Reid coached -- became the first head coach to lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl championship after Reid lobbied owner Jeffrey Lurie to hire Pederson in 2016.

Could Bieniemy be the next branch of the Reid tree launch a successful head coaching career?

“I’m a big fan,” Reid said, of Bieniemy. "Don’t want to lose him, but reality is that there is a good chance that happens.”

Get Giants text messages from reporters: Cut through the clutter of social media and text directly with the Giants beat writers. Plus, exclusive news and analysis every day. Sign up now for a free trial.

Matt Lombardo may be reached at MLombardo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattLombardoNFL

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2019-12-31 11:06:00Z
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The Giants questions Dave Gettleman better be ready to answer - New York Post

Dave Gettleman, retained as general manager, will speak with the media on Tuesday for the first time since early July in training camp. There is a whole lot that has transpired between then and now, most of it bad for the Giants. Here are questions he needs to be asked and should be prepared to answer:

Q: Why do you deserve to stay after Pat Shurmur was fired?

Gettleman arrived late in the 2017 season, and his first major move was hiring Shurmur as the head coach. Gettleman has to address why it went wrong and if he believes he got it wrong.

Q: Do you feel you gave Shurmur a complete enough roster to win more than four games?

There were glaring deficiencies at nearly every position, especially on defense, proven by the Giants not getting any players selected for the Pro Bowl.

Q: How do you evaluate Daniel Jones’ rookie year as a starting quarterback?

Gettleman stuck his neck out and attracted massive criticism for taking Jones with the No. 6 pick in the draft, a move that now looks prescient.

Q: Are you alarmed by Jones’ turnovers and can he fix these issues?

Jones lost 11 fumbles and threw 12 interceptions in his rookie year.

Dave Gettleman
Dave GettlemanStefan Jeremiah

Q: What the heck happened with Eli Manning and was he worth $23 million in cap space to start two games?

Gettleman insisted Manning had plenty left in the tank and yet he was benched after only two games.

How do you explain the state of the offensive line, a position you promised to fix?

The line was marginally better than it was in 2018 but still not nearly good enough, making Gettleman’s “hog mollie’’ priority lose some of its bite.

Q: You sent two draft picks to the Jets for defensive tackle Leonard Williams. Why?

Williams can become a free agent and could have been signed without giving away any assets, making this a curious move.

Q: Looking back on the Odell Beckham Jr. trade, was it a success or a failure?

Beckham caught only three touchdown passes all season and the Browns were one of the league’s most disappointing teams.

Q: What are your priorities in free agency?

The Giants are projected to have more than $70 million in salary-cap space and there is immense pressure on Gettleman to get this right.

Q: What must be done in the 2020 draft and specifically with the No. 4 overall pick?

There is a desperate need for a pass-rusher but also plenty of other glaring needs to consider.

Q: Did you take what co-owner John Mara said as a warning or ultimatum?

Mara said Gettleman must improve his batting average in player acquisition and put together a team that wins more games.

For more on the Giants, listen to the latest episode of the “Blue Rush” podcast:

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2019-12-31 11:00:00Z
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John Mara's wish list for Giants' next head coach - New York Post

The Giants’ coaching search isn’t shut off to college coaches, defensive gurus or analytical minds.

After neither Ben McAdoo nor Pat Shurmur made it to a third season, co-owner John Mara isn’t putting any restraints on his search for a fourth coach in six seasons dating to the end of the Tom Coughlin era.

“I’m really looking for leadership,” Mara said. “That’s the big thing going forward. Somebody who can come in and take control of this roster, help build a culture that is going to lead to winning. Somebody who is going to help us with our football re-organization during the process we’re undergoing right now.”

The Giants interviewed Steve Spagnuolo, Doug Marrone, Adam Gase, Mike Smith, Teryl Austin and Ben McAdoo in 2016, and Spagnuolo, Eric Studesville, Matt Patricia, Josh McDaniels, Steve Wilks and Shurmur in 2018. Only four were hired elsewhere: Wilks already was fired and Marrone, Gase and Patricia all were on the hot seat this season.

None of those coaches came out of the college ranks, but there is two-way interest with Baylor’s Matt Rhule. Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh and Stanford’s David Shaw also could emerge as candidates.

“We’ve failed twice in a row now, and you have to keep working at it, try to find the right guy,” Mara said. “I’m not convinced that either of the past two coaches couldn’t have been successful over a longer period of time, but there comes a point in time when your patience runs out, your gut tells you that you need to make a change.”

Sources indicated to The Post the Giants’ candidate pool might be narrowed by 68-year-old general manager Dave Gettleman’s retention. His anti-analytics rant before the 2018 NFL Draft raised eyebrows around the league.

At one point, it seemed Mara was looking into the camera and speaking directly to coaches.

“We’ve made a lot of turnover in our scouting area; we’ve completely changed our grading system in how we grade college players; we’re deeper into analytics and technology than we’ve ever been before,” Mara said.

“It’s not business as usual here at the Giants. We’ve made a lot of changes — changes that you don’t necessarily know about — and we felt like we needed to give it a chance to see if it’s going to succeed or not.”

For more on the Giants, listen to the latest episode of the “Blue Rush” podcast:

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2019-12-31 06:10:00Z
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Senin, 30 Desember 2019

Pat Shurmur fired by Giants - NBCSports.com

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The Giants have added another vacancy to this year’s Black Monday pool.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, they’ve fired coach Pat Shurmur.

The decision seems easy enough on its face, as Shurmur was 9-23 there in two seasons.

That’s the same record he posted during two years as the Browns’ head coach as well, which seems to justify the decision.

It’s unclear at the moment if they’ll go clean house and send General Manager Dave Gettleman with him.

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2019-12-30 14:04:00Z
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2019 NFL Playoff Odds, Schedule: Patriots a shockingly small favorite for Wild-Card Weekend against Titans - CBS Sports

The NFL playoffs are here. It's an amazing time, but it's also a little depressing because it means the NFL season is quickly coming to a close. There's a month-long sprint to the Super Bowl -- this year feels like it could be even more intense than usual because of the quality of teams in the postseason bracket. 

Each week we'll take a look at the odds for the upcoming matchups. You can see the full 2019 NFL playoff schedule here and you can get a deep dive breakdown of every single piece of Week 17 action, in addition to the playoff matchups, by subscribing to the Pick Six Podcast here. If you want to sample our daily NFL pod, just hit play in the player below.  

Bills at Texans (-3), O/U 39.5

Sat., Jan. 4, 4:35 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC

This is a pretty standard and expected line for this game. Basically this is Josh Allen's first playoff game and just the second for Deshaun Watson. We've seen Watson play on a big stage, but there are definitely some questions about how he'll do in this particular matchup. The Bills are pretty good at stopping the run but they are excellent at stopping the pass. Houston typically succeeds when it's winging the ball around to DeAndre Hopkins, Will Fuller and Kenny Stills. Fuller is still very much TBD, although if I was guessing now I would think he's not playing. The total should tell you this won't be a high-scoring game, which is not surprising given Houston oftentimes leans on the ground game and Buffalo is extremely conservative and not at all high-powered. 

Titans at Patriots (-5.5), O/U 41.5

Sat., Jan. 4, 8:15 p.m. ET, CBS

This is a SHOCKING number. It's shocking because the Patriots are actually hosting a game during Wild-Card Weekend, the first time they'll do so since 2010 when the Ravens blitzed them in Foxborough. It's also shocking because the Patriots are a small favorite at home in a playoff game. The Patriots have only played in three previous wild-card games, going 2-1 in those situations. Only once have the Pats been less than a touchdown favorite in a home wild-card game, and that was the last time they were hosting during the first weekend of the playoffs. That week, the Ravens throttled the Pats, with Ray Rice ripping off a huge touchdown run to start the game. This Patriots team isn't built to come from behind -- if they give up early runs to Derrick Henry, New England could be in danger. 

Vikings at Saints (-8), O/U 47.5

Sun., Jan. 5, 1:05 p.m. ET, FOX

Biggest spread on the board by far. It may be a bit of recency bias, with the Saints throttling multiple teams over the last few weeks, including a destruction of the Panthers on Sunday. The Vikings, meanwhile, lost to the Bears (albeit while playing backups) on the heels of being embarrassed at home by the Packers at home on Monday night. The line appeared to open at Saints -7 and it's already moving up, which could be telling. The Saints are peaking right now on offense, while the Vikings will be plagued by question marks about their performance. The Saints have to be miffed about Russell Wilson not finding his way into the end zone -- they would have been the No. 2 seed instead of hosting a Wild-Card Weekend game. It's going to be tough to take the Vikings catching points with how they've looked, but this is a substantial number. 

Seahawks (-1) at Eagles, O/U 45.5 

Sun., Jan. 5, 4:40 p.m. ET, NBC

This line is also moving rapidly. The Eagles opened as favorites and the Seahawks are already a slight road favorite. Seattle has beaten the Eagles in this position already in 2019, having taken down Carson Wentz and Co. in Philly during an ugly, rainy game during the regular season. Both of these teams are really banged up. We don't know if Zach Ertz or Lane Johnson will be ready to go for Philly. Wentz was throwing to dudes who felt like they've been created in "Madden" in the Eagles Week 17 win. Russell Wilson was handing off to Marshawn Lynch, who was brought out of retirement to bolster the run game. I would say this total feels high, but there's so many questions about both defenses, from a health and performance perspective.

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2019-12-30 12:36:00Z
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The NFL Playoffs May Begin with the End of the Patriots Dynasty - Wall Street Journal

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady reacts during Sunday’s loss to the Miami Dolphins. Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

The New England Patriots have spent much of this season looking distinctly un-Patriot-like. They’ve lost to good teams, struggled to move the ball and, in the strangest twist, Tom Brady has actually looked his age. (He’s 42, which is a very normal age for adult humans and a very abnormal age for adult humans playing quarterback in the NFL.)

But the long-term implications of those issues were easy to ignore because they were still 12-3 going into the final Sunday of the season. All they had to do was beat the lowly Miami Dolphins to clinch a first-round bye in the playoffs.

The problem was that there was one quarterback on the field at Gillette Stadium who played like he was capable of leading a team on a long playoff run. The other quarterback was Tom Brady.

In a twist that was as stunning as it was telling, the Patriots lost to Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Dolphins 27-24 on the final day of the regular season. That means when the playoffs begin next weekend there will be an unusual sight: the Patriots having to play on wild-card weekend. The loss dropped them to the No. 3 seed in the AFC, setting up a matchup with the sixth-seeded Tennessee Titans.

The San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers earned byes in the NFC. The Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs did in the AFC. The Patriots didn’t because they couldn’t beat the Dolphins.

“I certainly didn’t do a good enough job,” Brady said afterward. “We’ve got to do better next week.”

Brady isn’t used to thinking about the week after Week 17. The Patriots have so consistently made sustained runs in the playoffs in large part because they’ve played well enough in the regular season to avoid this exact result. They’ve played in three times as many Super Bowls (nine) than they have wild-card games (three) in the Brady era. The last time was 2009.

Tom Brady is sacked by Trent Harris of the Miami Dolphins. Photo: Billie Weiss/Getty Images

Missing out on the bye has a dual effect. They have to play one more game in order to reach the Super Bowl, and even if they win, they’ll have to play on the road in the divisional round in Kansas City.

They’ve already lost to Kansas City this season, and all of New England’s first three defeats felt like referendums. They lost to the Ravens, Houston Texans and the Chiefs. When Brady was outplayed by Lamar Jackson, Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes, respectively, each seemed to signal an irreversible generational shift that the Patriots were, at best, trying to postpone for another year.

Sunday’s loss held a different sort of message. Baltimore, Houston and Kansas City won their respective divisions. Mahomes is the reigning MVP, Jackson is a shoo-in to win this year and Watson isn’t especially far behind either of them. Meanwhile, the Dolphins spent the last year trading away their best players in a transparent concession that they weren’t especially concerned with winning football games in 2019.

The loss was jarring because New England had never experienced anything like this during its two decades of dominance. It was favored to beat Miami by two touchdowns, and during Bill Belichick’s time as head coach, the Patriots had never lost a game when they were favored by at least 14 points. Until Sunday.

But the concerning part for the reigning Super Bowl champions was that the loss didn’t seem like an aberration. When the Dolphins beat the Patriots a year ago, it ended on such a fluky play that it was immediately dubbed “The Miami Miracle.” This time the tables were turned, and New England was the team desperately trying to lateral the ball at the last second. But instead of ending up in the end zone, the play sputtered in a microcosm of what the Patriots offense has looked like for much of the season.

Brady finished the game 16-for-29 for 221 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception—a costly pick-six. On the other side of the field, Fitzpatrick threw for 320 yards with one touchdown and zero interceptions. Brady was outplayed by a guy who’s more famous for his beard and attending Harvard than winning football games.

By any objective metric, Brady has played poorly this season. His 6.6 yards per attempt rank 27th in the league out of 32 qualifying quarterbacks. And those numbers have gotten worse over the course of the season: he’s averaging just 5.9 yards per attempt since the start of November.

The Patriots and coach Bill Belichick will have to play on wild-card weekend after Sunday’s loss. Photo: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images

There are plenty of explanations for this. The offensive line hasn’t been as steady as it once was, and Brady is dealing with a bare cupboard of weapons that they’ve tried, with little success, to replenish since Rob Gronkowski’s retirement. The last time they played Miami, in the season’s second week, it was the one game Antonio Brown played for New England before he was released. Since then, first-round pick N’Keal Harry hasn’t broken through after beginning the season injured, while midseason trade acquisition Mohamed Sanu hasn’t changed the paradigm either.

Then there’s Brady, who has started the most NFL ever games at quarterback as a 42-year-old. But the same instincts that allowed him to play at an elite level for so long—playing carefully and avoiding hits—may now be playing a role in his demise: Brady leads the league in throwing the ball away.

Brady’s woes didn’t come out of nowhere. His yards per attempt have dipped every year since 2015, and his numbers were middling a year ago. But it was easy to forget about that. He outdueled Patrick Mahomes in the AFC Championship last year, and a couple of weeks later it didn’t matter so much when the New England offense scored only one touchdown.

That’s because the Patriots beat the Rams 13-3 in Super Bowl LIII, and Brady needed a second hand to fit his sixth Super Bowl ring.

Share Your Thoughts

Is this the beginning of the end for the Patriots’ dynasty? Join the discussion.

Write to Andrew Beaton at andrew.beaton@wsj.com

Copyright ©2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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2019-12-30 13:10:00Z
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Eagles News: Philadelphia’s resilience under Doug Pederson continues to be remarkable - Bleeding Green Nation

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links ...

Beast of the East - Iggles Blitz
Give Doug Pederson, his staff and all the players a lot of credit for getting the job done. It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t easy. But this remarkable group of people kept finding ways to succeed. This is why we talk about the importance of culture, chemistry and teamwork. I expected the Eagles to win this game, but the Sanders injury made me have some doubts. He was the workhorse and the X-factor for the offense. Without him and Zach Ertz, I just wasn’t sure if the Eagles could score enough to win the game. Luckily Jim Schwartz and the Eagles defense came ready to play. The stat sheet shows them giving up 397 yards, but 106 of them came with the Eagles protecting a big lead and more worried about the clock than anything else. For most of the game, the Eagles shut the Giants down.

Carson Wentz-led Eagles overcome rash of injuries to capture NFC East - ESPN
A Philadelphia team that entered Sunday’s game without star tight end Zach Ertz, all three of its original starting receivers, right tackle Lane Johnson and both starting cornerbacks was further depleted when running back Miles Sanders(ankle) and guard Brandon Brooks (shoulder) were knocked out of the game in the first half. Wentz made it work with a piecemeal offense that included five skill position players who spent time on the practice squad this season, including running back Boston Scott (138 yards, 3 TDs) and Josh Perkins (4 catches, 50 yards, TD). Wentz finished 23-of-40 for 289 yards and a touchdown. In the process, he became the first player in NFL history to throw for 4,000 yards in a season without a 500-yard wide receiver, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

Carson Wentz has just accomplished something so special, no one else has ever done it - BGN
He also didn’t have a pass catcher break 950 yards. This has never happened. Ever. Patrick Mahomes has never done this. Dak Prescott has never done this. Tom Brady has never done this. Sean McVay has never coached someone to do this. Carson Wentz did this.

Philadelphia Eagles, NFC East Champions - BGN Radio
Michael Kist and Brandon Lee Gowton react to the Eagles Week 17 win over the Giants that clinches the NFC East and a playoff berth! Powered by SB Nation and Bleeding Green Nation.

Handing out 10 awards from the Eagles-Giants game - PhillyVoice
The Eagles’ 2019 regular season was never pretty, and their divisional championship was aided in large part to playing in an absolutely dreadful NFC East, in which Washington and the Giants were bottom five NFL teams, and the Cowboys woefully underachieved. Still, the Eagles had to win their final four games to get in, and that they did, despite dealing with an absurd number of injuries, and surviving a point a loss to the Dolphins in Miami that felt a lot like rock bottom. The Eagles entered this season as Super Bowl contenders in the minds of many, and their 9-7 record has to be viewed as a disappointment, and yet, no matter what happens in the playoffs, there’s plenty of things that happened this season, most notably the play of Carson Wentz down the stretch, that the fan base can hang their hopes on going forward.

What Carson Wentz has been doing is nothing short of remarkable - NBCSP
No Lane Johnson, no Alshon Jeffery, no DeSean Jackson, no Zach Ertz, no Brandon Brooks, no Miles Sanders, no Corey Clement, no Darren Sproles. No problem. Carson Wentz still found a way to get it done with a bunch of players who were on the practice squad and the bench earlier this season. It’s nothing short of remarkable. “I think that’s what makes it that much more special,” Wentz said. “The camaraderie and the guys buying in and believing. “Whether that’s guys on the defensive side, offensive side. We’ve had new playmakers almost every week. Different guys stepping up because different guys are getting hurt and getting banged up. It’s just fun to see guys show up in big moments like that.” The Eagles had 400 yards of offense on Sunday afternoon — 279 of them came from players who were on the practice squad earlier this season.

Malcolm Jenkins punches Eagles’ NFL playoffs ticket and cements his legacy in Philadelphia - Inquirer
“It’s definitely took a lot, not only for me, but for the rest of the leaders on the team,” Jenkins said. “There were a lot of distractions and adversity. But I think we built a culture here over the last few years.” Jenkins even had his leadership publicly questioned by Orlando Scandrick after he was released in October. But the former Cowboys cornerback was an interloper. Jenkins can grind on his teammates, but there is always a message behind the tough love. “He’s going to call you out, no matter what, especially if he knows you can do it,” Eagles cornerback Rasul Douglas said. “With Jenkins, you can’t show him you can do something because he’s going to expect that every time.” He’s been particularly rough on cornerback Sidney Jones. But could the third-year cornerback’s late-season surge have anything to do with Jenkins’ approach?

Week 17: Game 256’s Thrilling Finish Sets Table for NFL Playoffs - FMIA
Five weeks ago, when it appeared the Eagles were sliding out of any realistic playoff shot, Seattle came to the Linc and won a 17-9 slugfest; the Seahawks survived a dropped TD that day and clearly were the better team. Since then, the Eagles have been wasted by injuries; I’ve never seen a playoff team with skill players more beat up than Philly’s are right now. Yet, since trailing the Giants 17-3 at the half in week 14, perilously close at 5-7 to being out of the playoff chase, the Eagles have outscored four foes 108-53 and gone 4-0. At the same time, Seattle stumbled to a 1-3 finish, been outscored in those games by 29 points, and over-relied on Russell Wilson to save them almost every week. The Seahawks lost 1,600 yards of rushing prowess when Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny—healthy in the first Eagle meeting—were lost for the year with injuries. This game likely will come down to which supporting cast can help a hot quarterback more. The Eagles are likely to put more pressure on Wilson than the Seahawks on Carson Wentz, who has come alive with the weight of a franchise on his shoulders. I think this is the game of the weekend, and the NFL wisely put it in the window that usually garners the highest ratings.

For playoff-bound Eagles, the shirt says it all: ‘The East is Not Enough’ - The Athletic
It’s been noticeable when Wentz missed the past two postseasons with injuries. But Wentz, who had only worn celebratory T-shirts as an observer, wore this one under his suit jacket after leading the Eagles and passing for 289 yards and a highlight-worthy touchdown to Perkins, another former practice squad player. “First of all, I didn’t design the shirt,” Wentz said when asked about the meaning. “I think my wife is mad I’m not wearing the full suit she picked out. But we’re still hungry. That’s the concept. We’re not done.”

The Winners and Losers of NFL Week 17 - The Ringer
The Eagles also played lots of randos Sunday. Their leading wide receiver, Deontay Burnett, hadn’t played in an NFL game since last season when he was on the Jets. Their only receiving touchdown of the day was caught by Joshua Perkins, who hadn’t caught a touchdown since 2016, when he played for the Falcons. (To find out info on him, you have to Google “Josh Perkins football” because there’s a G League player named Josh Perkins, and G League players are more notable than replacement-level tight ends.) By the end of the day, their top running back was Boston Scott, who is not a guy that called into WEEI so frequently that he got a job as a sidekick during the drivetime sports-talk hour, but a 5-foot-6 running back picked in the sixth round by the Saints last year. But there’s a difference between the Eagles’ rando squad and players like Mannion, Boone, Williams, and Sweeney making appearances. The Eagles had everything to play for Sunday, as they could clinch the NFC East with a win over the Giants, but their skill positions have been devastated by injuries. The team’s top three wide receivers (DeSean Jackson, Alshon Jeffery, and Nelson Agholor), three of their top four running backs (Jordan Howard, Corey Clement, and Darren Sproles) and their top tight end (Zach Ertz) were out with injuries going into Sunday’s game. And midway through the game, their second running back, Miles Sanders, suffered an injury as well.

NFL Week 17 PFF ReFocused: Philadelphia Eagles 34, New York Giants 17 - PFF
With a lot of injuries along the offensive line, the steady veteran Jason Peters picked a great game to be at his best. Peters was solid all evening and made the blindside worry-free for Carson Wentz, who had to wait a bit longer for his inexperienced receivers to uncover. Veteran and defensive captain Malcolm Jenkins made his presence felt in a must-win game for the Eagles. Jenkins played well in pass coverage and run defense all day, but his biggest play was forcing a fumble on Daniel Jones that bounced back toward the Giants goal line, which the Eagles recovered and scored on the next play.

In a total team way, Eagles clinch East, look forward to postseason - PE.com
“It has taken every one of us in this locker room, and more, to get to this point,” safety Malcolm Jenkins said. “We’ve overcome a lot. We’ve had a lot of players go down with injury. That can cripple some teams. Not us. We just kept it rolling, kept working hard, and we believed that we would turn it around. Here we are. We aren’t finished yet.” In the locker room after the win, there was quarterback Carson Wentz, the toast of the team after another brilliant, mistake-free performance as he completed 23 of 40 passes for 289 yards and a touchdown, making his way to the podium for assembled media hanging on his every word. Wentz, by the way, set franchise records for completions (388) and passing yards (4,039) in a single season and became the first quarterback in Eagles history to throw a touchdown pass in every regular-season game (NFL-best 19 consecutive games).

How Eagles’ Boston Scott stepped up in Miles Sanders’ absence during crucial win vs. Giants | ‘This league is all about being able to produce’ - NJ.com
Boston Scott has been ready,” Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz said during his postgame press conference at MetLife Stadium. “He’s been making plays for a while now. We’re just leaning more on him.” [...] “This league is all about being able to produce,” Scott said. “After the last Giants game, they talked about continuing to learn, continuing to grow, continuing to adjust to the game and just making the best of my opportunities.”

Eagles Finally Rise Up to Win Floundering NFC East—But Do They Have a Chance in the Playoffs? - MMQB
Boston Scott—Philadelphia’s leading receiver (84 yards) and rusher (54 yards, three touchdowns) against the Giants—represents the identity of this Eagles team, which is making the most of players who haven’t had much opportunity in the NFL. Scott, who was drafted by the Saints in the sixth round of the 2018 draft, was signed by the Eagles off the New Orleans practice squad last December, and he was activated in October when Eagles running back Corey Clement was placed on injured reserve. Scott took on a larger role in this game when rookie running back Miles Sanders was injured in the first quarter.

2020 NFL Playoffs wild card schedule, start times: Seahawks-Eagles gets Sunday late slot - Field Gulls
In the late-Sunday slot, at 1:40 PM PST, the Seahawks will again be on NBC called by Cris Collinsworth and Al Michaels. It’ll be Seattle’s second trip to the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia this season, after triumphing there in Week 12, 17-9.

Eagles 34, Giants 17: Five things we learned on the last Sunday of 2019 - Big Blue View
Credit where it is due, what the Eagles have done to end the 2019 season is nothing short of incredible. 178 games worth of players on the trainers’ table, and this game they had a waiting line outside of the medical tent. But even so, they were the better team on Sunday and they earned this win. So while we could, and should, offer our kudos to the Eagles, it is also an indictment of the Giants. While it is certainly true that the Giants have dealt with injuries this year, they haven’t had starters and depth charts wiped out like the Eagles. But yet their back-ups, practice squad players, and guys signed off the street were better prepared and executed better than the Giants in both games. For the third time in two years Doug Pederson obviously out-coached the Giants. As this is a reflective moment, it is one last gut-punch that Pederson was only hired in 2016 after the Giants promoted Ben McAdoo to keep him from interviewing in Philly.

Cowboys officially eliminated as Eagles beat Giants, win NFC East - Blogging The Boys
The Cowboys are taking care of their business as they are blowing out Washington. Unfortunately, that was only half the battle. The Philadelphia Eagles have beaten the New York Giants and have won the NFC East. That puts the team from Philadelphia into the playoffs and leaves the Cowboys out in the cold. The Cowboys had their opportunity last week to win the division but they went up to the City of Brotherly Love and played a horrible game. That’s not the only chance the Cowboys had this year. There were plenty of opportunities for the Cowboys to win the division but when you dump a game against the New York Jets, and then play awful for stretches of the season, you really don’t deserve to win the division or make the playoffs.

Redskins Coaching Rumors: Ron Rivera meeting scheduled for tomorrow - Hogs Haven
The Ron Rivera to the Redskins rumors have been red hot over the last few days. Washington’s season is over, and now we get a report from Rivera’s agents that he will be meeting with the Redskins tomorrow. Rivera has plenty of interest from other teams, so nothing is locked in yet. There were reports that Rivera could become Washington’s new head coach as early as tonight.

Ranking the 7 dumbest mistakes from a throwback Sunday in NFL Week 17 - SB Nation
1. The Seahawks’ delay of game penalty probably cost them the NFC West. Sunday night’s 49ers-Seahawks game will go down as one of the best Week 17 finales in league history, with San Francisco winning 26-21 to earn the NFC’s No. 1 seed. The game came down to the wire, and a late penalty might’ve cost Seattle the win and the division title. With 23 seconds left on the 49ers’ 1-yard line, the Seahawks spiked the ball with no timeouts. Head coach Pete Carroll wanted to put running back Marshawn Lynch in for what could’ve been an easy goal-line score. Lynch, in his much-celebrated return to Seattle, had already scored on a 1-yard run earlier in the quarter. Another chance to do that, in this situation, wouldn’t just help the Seahawks take the NFC West crown, but it’d also give Carroll a chance to rectify the most infamous moment in the franchise’s history. Then, miscommunication doomed them as the Seahawks tried to substitute Lynch on the field when he either wasn’t ready to go or no one let him know. When Lynch got on the field, there were only 10 seconds left on the play clock. That didn’t give the Seahawks much time in the huddle and they got hit with a delay of game penalty. Take a look at how much time runs off the game and play clock.

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2019-12-30 12:43:22Z
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Patriots lose, Packers win as NFL playoffs take shape - CNN International

But the six-time Super Bowl champions will be playing in the NFL's wild-card playoff round for the first time in 10 years after a stunning loss to the Miami Dolphins.
A touchdown pass from the Dolphins' Ryan Fitzpatrick to tight-end Mike Gesicki with 24 seconds left in the game was the nail in the coffin as Miami won 27-24 on Sunday.
The defeat means the defending champions will be playing in the opening round of the playoffs for the first time since 2009.
The Patriots -- finishing with a 12-4 record -- have never made it to the Super Bowl starting in the wild-card round.
It caps off a less-than-stellar finish to their regular season, having lost four of their last eight games.
"We didn't play the way we're capable of playing and it ended up costing us," 42-year-old quarterback Tom Brady said.
"Just too many bad mistakes. It was a great chance for us to not play next week, and we didn't take advantage it."
The Patriots will host the Tennessee Titans on January 4. The Titans beat the Houston Texans 35-14 in their final game.
Mike Gesicki, left, and Ryan Fitzpatrick celebrate after defeating the Patriots.

Taking the opportunity

Thanks to the Patriots' defeat, the Kansas City Chiefs got the opportunity to move up in the standings.
And they had their loyal fans -- who'd packed out their Arrowhead Stadium -- on their feet after news of the Patriots' defeat, combined with a 31-21 win against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Wide-receiver Mecole Hardman returned a kickoff 104 yards for a touchdown and Damien Williams ran 84 yards for another score as the Chiefs jumped over New England for the No. 2 seed in the AFC.
The No.1 seed in the AFC -- the Baltimore Ravens -- capped off their excellent regular season with their 14th win.
Despite resting most of their starters -- including MVP-frontrunner Lamar Jackson -- they had no issues handling division rivals, Pittsburgh Steelers, 28-10.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes celebrates with fans after the Chiefs defeated the Los Angeles Chargers.

Stumbling over the line

Unlike NFC rivals New Orleans Saints -- who stormed into the post-season with a convincing 42-10 win over the Carolina Panthers -- the Green Bay Packers stumbled into their first-round bye.
The Wisconsin team trailed by two touchdowns at one point to division rivals Detroit Lions, but a Mason Crosby 33-yard field goal as time expired helped them to a 23-20 win and the No.2 seed in the NFC.
The San Francisco 49ers held onto their No.1 seed and home-field play-off advantage thanks to a last-ditch tackle from rookie linebacker Dre Greenlaw on one of the last plays of the game, holding onto a 26-21 win over the Seattle Seahawks.
On fourth-and-goal with seconds remaining, Jacob Hollister caught a pass but was knocked down by Greenlaw just inches short of the goal line.
The defeat means Seattle visits the Philadelphia Eagles next Sunday.
Mason Crosby celebrates his game-winning field goal against the Detroit Lions.

Wild-card playoff schedule

Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans -- Saturday January 4, 4:35 p.m. ET
Tennessee Titans at New England Patriots -- Saturday January 4, 8:15 p.m. ET
Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints -- Sunday January 5, 1:05 p.m. ET
Seattle Seahawks at Philadelphia Eagles -- Sunday January 5, 4:40 p.m. ET

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2019-12-30 11:14:05Z
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John Mara needs to clean house, but Giants fans should brace for another hopeless half measure | Politi - NJ.com

John Mara poked his head out of an entrance to the Giants locker room, saw a small media stakeout and headed back inside. An hour later, with that stubborn tape-recorder-toting group still waiting in the MetLife Stadium corridor, word filtered out that he had found another exit. The co-owner had avoided the questions about his mess of a football team.

For now.

The Giants had just lost to the injury-depleted Eagles, 34-17, with a few thousand giddy Philadelphia fans singing the team’s fight song in the final minutes. “Fly Eagles Fly!” they cheered in the rain, knowing they’ll enjoy something next week that the Giants haven’t had in eight years (and counting): A home playoff game.

Playoffs? The loss was just another reminder of how far this Giants team is from competing in a league built on parity, and more than that, how far Mara’s franchise has fallen since its last improbable Super Bowl title. Once upon a time, the Giants head coaching vacancy was the most prized in the NFL, but now it looks like a career killer.

The news around the league on Sunday night was proof of that. Ron Rivera, the best coaching candidate on the market, was already headed to Washington for an interview on Monday that almost certainly will lead to a job offer. Rivera could have a deal with Washington, the only team that made the Giants look good this season, before Black Monday is over.

Imagine: The former Carolina Panthers coach would rather sign on with owner Dan Snyder and his dysfunctional Redskins than reunite with his former boss, Dave Gettleman, and the Giants in East Rutherford.

That’s how toxic the Giants are. Even the Cleveland Browns got ahead of the Giants on the coaching carousel on Sunday, firing the overmatched Freddie Kitchens. The Giants are expected to do the same with Pat Shurmur, but the players and assistant coaches exited the stadium without knowing what the hell was going on with team leadership.

“We’ll talk Tuesday,” Gettleman said as he left the locker room. That’s a clear sign that the general manager expects to be giving a media address about the state of the team and not cleaning out his office. Which begs the question, of course.

Why?

I can make a case -- albeit a weak one -- to keep the head coach. He was handed a roster devoid of defensive playmakers, then handcuffed with a fading veteran quarterback in Eli Manning during his first season and a mistake-prone rookie in Daniel Jones in his second. Ask yourself this: How many more games do the Giants win with a better coach? One? Two?

To be clear: He should still go. But, if he does, how does Gettleman get to stay? What has the GM done aside from drafting the Duke quarterback last spring that gives anyone confidence that he’ll turn things around in the coming years?

Sometimes, stability is a crutch. Sometimes, staying the course isn’t proof of confidence and conviction, but to the contrary, it is a sign of stubbornness. Mara won’t be declaring that they believe in Gettleman if they keep him. He’ll be sending a message to the rest of the NFL that they have assessed his performance and, well, he doesn’t have a better idea.

Remember: The last time the Giants “blew things up” was anything but a dramatic change. Mara turned to his old GM, Ernie Accorsi, to lead a search that landed on a man in Gettleman who had spent 13 years in his team’s front office. Gettleman slid into the corner office, and for the most part, this was business as usual for the franchise. And not in a good way.

Every Giants can chronicle Gettleman’s mistakes. He doled out big contracts to unworthy free agents -- Nate Solder ($62 million), Kareem Martin ($15 million), Patrick Omameh ($15 million), on and on -- and made win-now moves like trading for Alec Ogletree when the team’s roster demanded a complete tear down.

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The Giants should be hoarding draft assets. Instead, with the team at 2-6, Gettleman traded two picks to the Jets for a woefully underachieving defensive tackle in Leonard Williams. He’ll have the inside track to re-sign Williams, but given that he record just a half sack for this defense in eight games, why would any GM give him the fat contract he insists he wants?

The problem with Gettleman runs deeper than evaluation mistakes. He is 68-year-old go-with-my-gut dinosaur in a league trending toward analytics. It wasn’t just that he took a running back -- and yes, I know, an elite one -- with the No. 2 overall pick in his first draft. It was that he openly mocked the idea that he would pass on his “gold jacket guy” even when all evidence points to the diminished value of his position.

Gettleman never considered trading back for more assets in 2018. He never fielded other offers for Odell Beckham Jr. when the Browns came calling this offseason. That trade might be a rare notch in the win column for the GM -- Beckham hasn’t produced much other than headaches in Cleveland -- until you remember who made the combustible wide receiver the highest paid player at his position. That, of course, was also Gettleman.

He has badly mismanaged the team’s salary cap, failed to draft offensive linemen despite ample proof that blocking was the team’s most overwhelming need and declared that Manning had plenty in the tank when any objective observer saw the quarterback’s needle pointing to E. Is this really the man Mara and co-owner Steve Tisch are going to trust with another high draft pick and an armored truck filled with cash for free agents this offseason?

In a perfect world, the man who would take the fall for the Giants failures is the one at the top. This mess falls on Mara, who once was consider the NFL’s gold standard when it came to owners. The most encouraging news to emerge from the holiday week was the New York Post report that Tisch, long the silent partner in the Giants marriage, “wants a fresh start.”

Maybe Tisch will demand a shakeup when the two men meet early this week. Chances are, though, he’ll fall in line. That’s always how it works with the Giants, a franchise that reverses course as nimbly as an aircraft carrier.

The Giants should thank Gettleman for having the conviction to draft Jones, who (if he can solve his turnover issues) looks like the longterm answer at quarterback, and hand him the title of “special adviser.” Then they should pair an up-and-coming head coach like Baylor’s Matt Rhule with a forward-thinking GM who can bring a modern approach to one of the NFL’s oldest franchises.

Odds are, they won’t. They’ll take another half measure, casting aside Shurmur and letting Gettleman hire his replacement. There is a reason the best candidate on the market is looking elsewhere. And to think, Giants fans thought the misery ended on Sunday.

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Steve Politi may be reached at spoliti@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevePoliti. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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2019-12-30 11:02:00Z
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