Albert Breer: Brock Purdy Explains How This Season’s 49ers Team Is Different

The QB discusses San Francisco’s sixth consecutive win. Plus, how the Eagles win, do-or-die games next week and much more in the Week 17 NFL takeaways.

San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy celebrates after scoring a touchdown in the 49ers' win over the Bears on Sunday night. / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Jump to a topic

1. San Francisco 49ers
2. Philadelphia Eagles
3. Seattle Seahawks
4. AFC North
5. NFC South
6. Maxx Crosby
7. Houston Texans
8. Dallas Cowboys
9. New Orleans Saints
10. Quick-hitters

We’re nearly through 17 weeks of the 2025 season, with 17 games to go. And to recap the 15 games already played this extended holiday weekend, we have the takeaways …

San Francisco 49ers

The game-winning touchdown in Sunday night’s thriller was a microcosm of the 49ers’ season—and how San Francisco has handled its trials. As Brock Purdy took the shotgun snap, it was journeyman Austen Pleasants, rather than future Hall of Famer Trent Williams, protecting his blindside from the left tackle spot. As Purdy looked downfield, there was no Deebo Samuel or Brandon Aiyuk or even George Kittle to look for.

Given all that, and with the 49ers down 38–35 with 2:24 to go, it seemed to be time for the team’s $55 million man to put the cape on. Instead, he sat there cool, calm, collected and content to run the play like Clark Kent.

“Yeah, you know, if we had that look, just two-high safety, we had a little answer on the backside with [Jauan Jennings] to be able to get to that part of the field,” Purdy told me over the phone, in a quiet moment postgame. “And, honestly, I just thought we had a good completion there, a good chunk play, and I was going to get ready for the next play call. But, obviously, he cross-courted it and made a great play to score.

“So I didn’t really expect that. It was really cool, but it was just J.J. being a football player.”

It was also enough to put the 49ers over the top on this night, with the 38-yard touchdown giving San Francisco a 42–38 win over a tough Bears team, and a place in a winner-take-all clash Saturday against the Seahawks for the NFC West crown and the conference’s No. 1 seed.

Purdy’s ability to execute that play in that spot really said it all about this particular Niners team, and where the franchise is in Year 9 of the Kyle Shanahan–John Lynch era.

Sign Up. SI NFL Newsletter. Get MMQB's Free Newsletter. dark

Nick Bosa has been out since September. Fred Warner has been out since October. Kittle missed five weeks early in the year. Ricky Pearsall was sidelined for seven games, too. Purdy, himself, missed two games in September, rushed back, then missed another six. Then, on top of all that, there was the offseason cap purge that led to the departure of mainstays such as Samuel, Charvarius Ward, Javon Hargrave, Dre Greenlaw, Maliek Collins and Talanoa Hufanga.

Somehow, despite all of that, San Francisco is 12–4 and riding a six-game winning streak.

“I just think it’s a big testament to Kyle and John and our owners, just the culture that they’ve built here,” Purdy said. “They bring in the right guys every year, whether it’s new draft picks, free agents or whatever. I feel like we’re all just made of the right stuff. And when you go through adversity like that, to be able to have a team still just be scrappy and find ways to win and not just throw in the towel early in the season or midway through, you’ve got big-name guys go down, I don’t know, it’s just a testament to them, building this.”

It’s also those guys having trust that what’s been built will work the same with a replacement as it did with an All-Pro.

Purdy does, and that’s why he never bought into the idea that when he got paid in May, he suddenly would have to become a different player. He knew what Shanahan and his staff wanted of him—and trusted that the result would follow.

“You can’t overthink it and just randomly decide, Hey, I’m going to be Superman right here, and put the team on my back and do something crazy,” he said. “It’s like, No, it doesn’t matter who’s in the game, I still have to go out and execute as a quarterback that is trusting in Kyle’s play calls and his offense, and trusting that he’s going to put me in a good position to be able to drop back and rip it. And if number one’s not there, I’m going to get to my number two in the progression. That’s how I play the position.”

By the looks of it, it’s how a lot of other Niners play theirs, too.

That showed on the final touchdown, with Jennings being where he was supposed to be as Purdy read it out, and Pearsall playing to the whistle, helping clear a path to the end zone for his teammate, cutting off the angle the two Bears had. Truth be told, there were a lot of plays like that one for the Niners on Sunday, and there have been for a few weeks. Purdy would say to you, it’s really what this particular team has become.

“Every team’s so different,” he said. “I just think this year, given the circumstances, I just feel like our heart, the scrappiness, the willingness to finish games and find ways to win has been different compared to what I’ve played on in the years past. In the first couple of years, we were blowing out teams. In the fourth quarter, the starters are out of the game. It was that vibe. And that was fun to be a part of. And I was grateful to be a part of that.

“But I feel like this year, it’s definitely just, man, How can we give everything every minute, every quarter, every game, every week? And I’m just proud to be a part of this kind of team.”

He then added, “I’m not knocking any of the previous teams; it’s just different.”

The results, as it turns out, haven’t been, either.

---

Bills quarterback Josh Allen reacts after missing a wide-open throw on a two-point conversion attempt that would have given Buffalo the win over Philadelphia on Sunday. / Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Philadelphia Eagles

You’re going to have to adjust your eyes to the way this Eagles team wins. No, Jalen Hurts doesn’t look the same as he did last year. Saquon Barkley’s production has been affected by offensive line attrition. A.J. Brown’s beat up. But here’s the thing: The defense, quietly, might be better than it was last year, and maybe significantly so.

And that brings me back to conversations I had with Eagles folks over the summer.

I mentioned to a couple of them how it would be cool to see Philly’s guys playing in Vic Fangio’s scheme, with a year under their belts. I was immediately reminded that Fangio would be replacing nearly half of the starters from his championship defense, with Milton Williams, Josh Sweat, Brandon Graham, Darius Slay, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson and Isaiah Rodgers all gone. Younger players were in their spots. It might take some time, I was told.

Now, it sure looks like this group’s time has come, and Sunday’s heavyweight bout in Orchard Park—it was Eagles 13, Bills 12 when the final bell rang—is proof positive.

Through three quarters, Philly shut out Josh Allen & Co., while holding the Bills to 201 yards on 35 snaps, and 11 first downs. Buffalo was 2-of-8 on third down over that time, and Philly stoned the Bills’ two trips inside their 40 with a forced fumble and a goal-line stand.

And they did it mostly by carrying out Fangio’s plan to make anyone but Allen the hero.

“Exactly that,” fourth-year defensive tackle Jordan Davis told me after the game. “We wanted to stop their run up front. We knew they led the league in rushing yards as a team, as a unit, and we wanted to make sure that we handled that. And then let Josh Allen play QB from the pocket. And he got out of the pocket a couple times and made great passes. I mean, he’s a QB. He’s MVP. That’s what he does. But we just wanted to make sure that we went in with a plan and not let him take over the game and put the team on his back.”

The plan worked through three quarters. At that point, Allen was 12-of-22 for 160 yards, and the Bills had rushed for 73 yards on 17 carries. Then, Allen found his cape, and became Superman because, as Davis said, “That’s what he does.” And the collateral of the first three quarters wound up being just enough.

First, a 19-yard sack from one of those first-year starters, Jalyx Hunt, knocked the Bills out of field goal range. Then, the Bills had to grind out 54 yards and convert three third downs over 11 plays to score their first touchdown. After that, the Bills needed 13 plays and two fourth-down conversions to cover 83 yards to make it 13–12.

And then it all came down to one play, after the Bills dominated the fourth quarter, having the ball for more than 11 minutes, and the Eagles’ offense had been held to 17 yards in the second half. I asked Davis if it was a relief, given the toll the fourth quarter had to have taken, that Buffalo decided to go for two rather than play for overtime. He laughed.

“I can’t really say that,” he responded.

On the two-point play, they got some help, sure, with Allen missing Khalil Shakir wide left. But they also did what was intended, forcing Allen to beat them from the pocket.

“You really have to stay disciplined with this team and with that quarterback,” Davis said. “You don’t want to be undisciplined and take a high rush or work your way outside where he can take it up the middle. And, yeah, as you can see, the results showed.”

So the defense that held a third consecutive opponent, and fifth opponent in eight games, under 300 yards, played the situation the way they wanted. It wasn’t perfect—if it had been, Shakir wouldn’t have been wide open. But it was enough, again, to carry the offense through its struggles, and the Eagles to an 11th win.

---

Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold did just enough to help Seattle beat the Panthers on Sunday to set up a winner-take-all game with the 49ers for the NFC West title and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks keep answering questions. This week, it was fair to think that Seattle may be susceptible to a letdown. The NFC West leaders were coming off an emotional, physical, draining overtime win against the Rams on Dec. 18. They were traveling across the country for a 10 a.m. PT kickoff. The conditions in Charlotte were dreary.

And then … it kinda played out that way.

“I think it’s really important after a game like the last one to watch the film and turn the page as quickly as you can, because these games stack, and you gotta be ready to play the next one,” second-year tight end AJ Barner told me postgame. “And, yeah, we gotta start faster. The start wasn’t it. And you do that, you allow their team to beat you. Our energy was lacking.”

What was important on Sunday was the response.

A halftime locker room scene to remember—with Barner and 10-year vet Jarran Reed laying down the gauntlet to their teammates. The Seahawks and Panthers were tied at 3–3. The Seahawks came out with a jolt. They returned around 4 p.m. local time with a 27–10 win, and another experience was logged with the playoffs looming.

“We had to get a little vocal, and get a little juice going—East Coast game,” Barner said. “So I think we came out with better energy in the second half, and played complementary football.”

It all added up to more experience for a team building its wall of big-game pelts.

“As an individual player, and as a team as well, that’s huge in the NFL, and especially late in the year,” Barner said. “Everyone’s dealing with different things, but the good teams find a way. And that’s what we did today, and we gotta keep building off of it.”

Up next for Mike Macdonald’s crew is a shot at the NFC’s No. 1 seed. They’ll play the 49ers, who beat them in a Week 1 nailbiter in Seattle.

Win on the road in Santa Clara, and they won’t have to play away from Lumen Field again.

“Our home field is such an advantage for us, the 12s, I mean, everyone knows. You come to play us at home, and it’s gonna be real loud,” Barner said. “The big thing, too, is the division. We take pride in our division, we wanna win our division, and if doing that gives us the one seed, great. So it’s a huge game, and obviously a damn good opponent, too, in the Niners. It’s gonna be a great battle. But we’re ready for it.”

---

AFC North

Next week’s Ravens-Steelers game is going to be treated like Referendum Sunday. Last week, it was John Harbaugh under the microscope after sitting Derrick Henry through the fourth quarter, as an 11-point lead over the Patriots evaporated. This week, it’s (again) Mike Tomlin after the Steelers failed to reach the end zone in a 13–6 loss in Cleveland on Sunday.

The Ravens’ loss to New England eliminated any margin for error Baltimore had left coming out of Week 16. But the Steelers’ loss gave the Ravens new life.

Now, given the stature of the guys on hand, it’s worth reviewing a few things:

• Tomlin is in his 19th season in Pittsburgh, which is four more than his predecessor, Hall of Famer Bill Cowher. He’s never had a losing season and is 192-114-2. He’s won eight playoff games (bringing his win total to 200), been to three AFC title games and two Super Bowls, and won it all in 2008.

• Harbaugh is in his 18th year, and is 180–112, with 13 playoff wins, four AFC title game appearances, and a Super Bowl title after the 2012 season. He’s now been in charge for twice as long as his own Super Bowl–winning predecessor, Brian Billick.

Both of these coaches will have their names featured on the inside of the stadiums they coach in. However, when there are bumps in the road, questions will arise on whether the organization needs a new voice—and those questions have come up.

I do get the frustration of the fan bases. The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2016, are 3–10 in the postseason since getting to Super XLV in February 2011, and have struggled to replace quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The Ravens have had more success, but they haven’t made a Super Bowl in Lamar Jackson’s eight years, have made only one AFC title game in that time, and both of the quarterback’s MVP seasons, 2019 and ’23, ended with the Ravens losing in the playoffs as home favorites.

One of these two guys will win the division next weekend and go into what looks like a wide-open AFC playoff bracket with a battle-tested quarterback. The other will have failed to do so, attached to all of the above.

And so in a certain way, it will surely feel like there’s more on the line than just a playoff berth.

NFC South

As for the NFC South title game, it’s hard to believe the NFC West runner-up will have to travel to the Southeast in two weeks to play its winner. That’s not a slight against the Buccaneers or Panthers. That’s just reality. The 49ers, Seahawks and Rams are a collective 21–4 since Halloween, with three of the four losses coming against each other. Meanwhile, the Panthers have gone 4–5 over their past nine, which was somehow enough to catch a free-falling Buccaneers team, once seen as a Super Bowl contender, that’s lost seven of eight.

Both Tampa Bay and Carolina lost again Sunday—to the Dolphins and Seahawks, respectively—to set up Saturday’s late-afternoon game for the division title and the NFC’s No. 4 seed.

Of course, these situations weren’t created equally.

The Buccaneers saw themselves as a Super Bowl contender early on, as they fought through injuries and relied on a raft of young guys, and quarterback Baker Mayfield, to get to 5–1. They’re 2–8 since. Meanwhile, no one expected much of the Panthers, and even less so after a 1–3 start. But Dave Canales’s young, frisky bunch won three straight after that rugged beginning, and the Panthers have played over their head a bit in treading water since.

So, essentially, Saturday can bring validation for Carolina or relief for Tampa.

And then, a really tough first-round opponent, be it the Seahawks, Niners or Rams, who’ll probably not be too pleased about having to make the trip east.

---

Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby left the team facility on Friday after the team shut him down for the season. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Maxx Crosby

The Raiders and Maxx Crosby had a weird week. Crosby’s knee injury goes back to Las Vegas’s first game against the Chiefs on Oct. 19. He’s been managed through every week of practice since, and has appeared on the injury report with the knee issue since Week 12.

Seeing Crosby fight through the pain led to the Raiders getting another scan on the knee on Dec. 23. The result was doctors advising Crosby to stop playing and have surgery.

Whether Crosby needed surgery was never in question; that much was known in October. The gray area was how long he could play before shutting it down. Several doctors the team consulted with said the damage was much greater than it had been earlier in the season, and that it would be unreasonable for him to continue playing.

Crosby sought two second opinions, had respected doctors tell him he’d be fine to finish out the season and then have surgery.

However, the Raiders decided to shut him down, leading to an incensed Crosby leaving the facility on Friday. Crosby already knew that team brass might be more interested in pursuing the No. 1 pick than beating the Giants this week or a depleted Chiefs team in Week 18, and would sit him as part of that pursuit. Vegas, meanwhile, viewed it as protecting Crosby’s future and giving him the best shot at getting back to full health and participating in the 2026 offseason (rather than rehabbing through it).

So, what does this mean moving forward?

Crosby’s loyalty to the Raiders and the Davis family has endured a lot since he was drafted in 2019. He’s played for Jon Gruden, Rich Bisaccia, Josh McDaniels, Antonio Pierce, and, now, Pete Carroll, with another coaching change potentially coming. The one time he made the postseason was under an interim coach, Bisaccia, following the Gruden scandal. He’s been steadfast in wanting to make it work in the Silver & Black.

That said, the five-time Pro Bowler didn’t like the decision to shut him down being taken out of his hands, and didn’t like how it was communicated to him. Tom Brady’s longtime body coach, Alex Guerrero, who’s now in an elevated role in the organization, is part of the equation here, too.

My sense is this will likely lead Crosby to consider all of his options. He’ll be 29 by the start of next season and has a lot of mileage on his body after finishing each of the past three seasons hurt. His contract is tradeable, and the Raiders still look like they’re a couple of good offseasons away from contending.

Now, he can take his time cooling off. However, I’d imagine as the combine and free agency draw closer, Crosby’s situation will be a point of conversation.

---

Houston Texans

In a jumbled AFC playoff picture, the Texans’ defense is the very best unit. That’s accounting for 48 of them—offense, defense and special teams, across 16 teams—and it keeps getting proved week after week after week.

It happened again on Saturday, this time in a very specific way that made all the difference in a playoff-clinching 20–16 road win over the Chargers. The Texans came into the week leading the NFL in total defense and scoring defense. Even after playing, and before 26 other teams had played their Week 18 games, Houston had allowed fewer points than any team in the NFL. Yet, there was this little leak they arrived in L.A. wanting to plug.

They were 23rd in red zone defense. Yes, part of the reason is that they don’t allow teams inside the 20 much anyway (only 37 times vs. 57 for the Raiders and Jets, tied for 21st in that category, and 59 for Arizona, which ranks 24th). The point was, for a group that ranked in the top four in run and pass defense, yards per play, yards per carry and pass yards per play allowed, it was  something.

“It’s just playing together, all 11 guys communicating to be on the same page and doing our job,” linebacker Henry To’oto’o told me postgame. “That was the biggest thing; that’s what we harped on. When people score on us in the red zone, we’re either having bad eyes, we’re miscommunicating, or somebody’s not doing their job.”

Problem identified. Problem (mostly) solved.

The Chargers’ first trip into the red zone came on the heels of a C.J. Stroud pick that gave L.A. possession on the Houston 37. Four plays later, Omarion Hampton was buried for a one-yard loss on second-and-3 from the 8, then Justin Herbert had no one open on third down and Cameron Dicker came on for a field goal. On the Chargers’ next possession, a 60-yard Herbert bomb to Quentin Johnston was rendered moot when, on the next play, Azeez Al-Shaair picked off Herbert at the goal line. And after another Stroud pick gave the Chargers possession at the Houston 32, a Denico Autry sack in the red zone led to a missed Dicker kick.

In each case, a fire was put out. “That’s our mentality, man,” said To’oto’o, “What’s next?”

So I did ask To’oto’o if there is anything else to fix for this defense playing at such a high level? The third-year linebacker said he’d like to see more takeaways. That, by the way, is yet another category where the defense ranks in the top five. Which shows you that they’re running out of things to improve on and have gotten to a pretty ridiculous level.

---

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys are eliminated from playoff contention, but they’ve come out of a pretty sideways season in good shape under Brian Schottenheimer. Through the past six months, they’ve dealt with football adversity (the Micah Parson summer drama) and much more serious, real-life adversity (the tragic death of Marshawn Kneeland). And where the team is after all that, and some of the less difficult on-field tumult, showed on Christmas Day.

Playing Washington was very much a spot to roll over. Dallas had been knocked out of the playoff picture the weekend before, and was traveling across the country on a short week to play on a holiday in a meaningless game, after getting beaten up pretty good by the Chargers.

The Cowboys responded with a 30–23 win that was sealed with its offense grinding out a first down to put the Commanders to bed without giving them a shot to tie it at the wire.

“I think we got the right culture,” Schottenheimer told me postgame. “And when you have guys like Jadeveon Clowney, you know, f---ing 12 years in the league, Dak Prescott, 10 years in the league. I mean, these guys out there putting it all on the line just shows you that the love for the game and one another is real.”

Also real: Dallas is in good shape going into 2026. Dak Prescott is coming off a fantastic year (“If we’re winning more games,” Schottenheimer said, “he’s probably in the MVP conversation). The team does have a decision to make on George Pickens, but also the prospect of bringing him back opposite CeeDee Lamb. Youthful offensive and defensive lines are impressive. Demarvion Overshown is back, and they have two first-round picks (their own and the Packers’, thanks to the Parsons trade).

There’s a lot to work with.

---

Saints quarterback Tyler Shough was outstanding against the Titans, completing 22-of-27 passes for 333 yards and two touchdowns. / Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

New Orleans Saints

Tyler Shough might be the NFL’s best rookie quarterback. And it’s not just that the Saints have won four straight, or that they’re 5–3 since he took over as the starter at Halloween.

After Sunday’s mano a mano showdown with No. 1 pick Cam Ward, Shough was statistically superior, too.

With the Saints’ 34–26 win in Nashville factored in, Shough has a better passer rating (92.1) and completion percentage (67.5%) than fellow rookie starters Ward, Jaxson Dart and Shedeur Sanders. He also has more yards than all but Ward, who has started since Week 1, and a far better winning percentage than any of them. And the Saints will tell you that’s not happenstance, but a result of everything that’s happened since they drafted him.

It started in spring and summer, with the 26-year-old and seven-year vet of college absorbing Kellen Moore’s offense and competing with Spencer Rattler to play. It continued with his scout-team work after Rattler won the job, which was indicative of how the ex-Oregon Duck/Texas Tech Raider/Louisville Cardinal has taken advantage of every opportunity.

“We talked about that as far as Tyler's plan and knowing that there’s a lot of quarterbacks who don’t start right away—there’s a lot of really good ones historically,” Moore told me Sunday. “And you can find a lot of quotes and references about what Aaron [Rodgers] was able to do as a scout team QB in Green Bay and Philip [Rivers] didn’t start right away, and Drew [Brees] didn’t start right away in San Diego, and on and on.

“And, so, he’s done a really good job of getting better, finding ways to improve, and then once he’s gotten on the field, I think he’s been really resilient, and I think that’s the thing that was obviously attractive—his resiliency through his college journey. And you see it every week during the game.”

The interesting thing to me is how Shough has the size, athleticism and arm strength. But the biggest knock on him predraft was his age and how long it took him to emerge as a collegian. Now? Well, if he were 22, more people might be excited about him.

As it is, he’s making a real run at Offensive Rookie of the Year, which is wild considering a lot of fans probably didn’t know who he was on Nov. 1.

---

Quick-hitters

The quick-hitters for Week 17 are coming at you right here, right now …

•  I checked in with Jaguars coach Liam Coen as he was flying home from Sunday’s come-from-behind win over the Colts—Jacksonville’s 12th of the season, which is the most the franchise has had in a single season in 20 years. I wanted to know if there was something about his team that, in Year 1, made him particularly proud. His answer: “It’s tough to win in this league, especially on the road. Week after week, we’ve continued to teach and coach these guys really hard, and they have the ability to take it but to process and apply it. They’ve grown so much, and I could not be more proud to be their coach.”

• It was against the Jets, but the Patriots looked ridiculous Sunday, and Drake Maye’s firmly in the MVP conversation alongside Matthew Stafford with a week left. I don’t care if he was throwing with scarecrows in coverage; going 19-of-21 for 256 yards and five touchdowns is wild. Their schedule does leave some room for doubt, and maybe if John Harbaugh had run Derrick Henry last week, the Pats would've been snapping a two-game losing streak with the win in the Meadowlands. Regardless, I know what I’m watching, and that’s a quarterback with an uncommon combination of command, calm and natural ability.

• My understanding is the Jets haven’t even had discussions on letting Aaron Glenn go—on Sunday morning, we reported on the NBC Sports pregame show I’m part of in Boston that he’ll be back in 2026. GM Darren Mougey will return as well. That said, there certainly could be staff changes beyond what’s already happened (DC Steve Wilks was fired two weeks ago). Maybe some pointed at quarterback decision-making over the next couple of offseasons.

• I can’t think of a coordinator decision more impactful than the one Dan Campbell is going to have to make on offense in Detroit over the next couple of  weeks. It’s hard to envision the Lions going back to John Morton after he was stripped of play-calling. I don’t think Campbell will keep doing it himself. Ben Johnson set such a high bar, and that roster’s still really good. Campbell has to get this one right.

• Quinn Ewers threw for a tidy 172 yards and two touchdowns on 14-of-22 passes for his first NFL win, and sure looked like a guy ready for the spotlight. And that makes sense, given his background, having been the No. 1 recruit in America, and a star at Texas. I don’t know what it’ll mean for him next year in Miami. But he does look like he belongs.

• Derrick Henry really is unbelievable. This is his 10th year in the league. He will turn 32 next week, and he’s rushed for 1,469 yards and 16 touchdowns this year. If he gains another 31 yards on Sunday against the Steelers, this will be the fifth 1,500-yard season, which would tie him with Barry Sanders for the most in NFL history.

• Bo Nix keeps making the biggest throws in the biggest spots. And it reminds me a little of what Eli Manning and Joe Flacco were as young players, where it might not always look great over four quarters, but you’d always get their best when it mattered most.

• The Raiders, with their loss Sunday, are now positioned to get the top pick in the 2026 draft. But I’m not 100% convinced it’ll be Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza. I will say it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he is, and he seems like a great kid, and one you can bet on. I’m just not sure, at this early juncture, whether he’ll go ahead of Oregon’s Dante Moore (should Moore turn down whatever Phil Knight’s offering him to stay in Eugene).

• The Bengals have to be kicking themselves for blowing those games against the Jets and Bears. They look like they’d be dangerous in the playoffs.

• I looked up on Christmas Day and the Vikings, somehow, were 8–8, after beating Detroit with three net passing yards. To get to .500, given how their quarterback situation has played out with injuries and everything else, is remarkable. And I still think the franchise is in a really good place, if it can sort out the quarterback position (and get DC Brian Flores to sign a new deal).

---

More NFL on Sports Illustrated

feed