Category: Houston Texans

With the Cleveland Cavaliers’ rocky opening to the 2017-18 season looking like growing pains at best and an all-out free fall at worst, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue called his team’s latest loss — a 114-95 rout at the hands of the New York Knicks — “unacceptable.”

The Patriots are averaging only 21.8 points per game over their past four. All were wins, but if there’s any cause for concern in New England right now, it’s the red zone offense. The Patriots have turned just 50 percent of red zone drives into touchdowns (63 percent last season).

The Chiefs are winning, but their defense hasn’t been helping the cause. They’ve allowed 392.3 yards per game, the third-most in the NFL. Eventually, Alex Smith will throw some interceptions, and when he does, the defense might not be able to hold.

But expansion is very different from relocation. One day there are 30 NHL teams and then the next—poof—there are 31. Hockey has expanded south and west, fully conquering the Sun Belt, putting sheets of ice in any climate it chooses. And so the longstanding dream of a professional team in Vegas is finally realized.

“I think fans need a day off, we need a day off and the media needs a day off,” Astros pitcher Collin McHugh said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun in L.A.”

It’s instructive to exhale for a moment and reflect on what has transpired since the series shifted from Los Angeles to Houston late last week. After Clayton Kershaw conducted a pitching clinic in the opener and the Astros went homer-happy in extra innings to steal Game 2 in L.A., the Astros returned home and took two of three while dealing with their fair share of weirdness.

The College Football Playoff selection committee will release its first top 25 ranking of the season on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN App) after deliberations at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine, Texas. The committee’s 13 members will continue to meet in Grapevine every week until Dec. 3, when they will select the top four teams for the playoff and assign them to semifinal sites.

Doug Baldwin had nine catches for 92 yards and a touchdown in the Seahawks’ 24-7 win over the Giants on Sunday.

“Outside, there was a lot of noise, but there wasn’t inside,” coach Dan Quinn said. “So, that kind of resiliency, that kind of toughness is what this group stands for.”

FAST START: The Jets opened the game with an impressive drive, going 75 yards in eight plays and capped by McCown’s 20-yard touchdown toss to a wide-open Eric Tomlinson , who had his first NFL score.

“It’s already a sensitive issue. A lot of different opinions. What I am proud of is the fact that the voice of the player has been pretty concise and consistent, even when you’ve had responses from the president [and] responses from different owners that have not been in the good spirit of solidarity. Players have remained pretty level-headed, and we will continue to do so. We’re more concerned about getting actual work done and change and going about the right steps to do that. And so hopefully, the league will show some signs of taking us serious. … Behind closed doors, they’ve talked about supporting us and wanting to get something done, but as far as action, we really haven’t seen much yet.

The Golden State Warriors were down six nearing a minute to go in the game. Stephen Curry tried to hit Klay Thompson at the top of the key, but defensive specialist Avery Bradley picked off the pass and went in to finish a contested layup.

That was the game, and turnovers was the story of it for the Warriors.

Klay Thompson had a game-high 29 points and four turnovers. Kevin Durant supplied 28 points and three turnovers. Stephen Curry added 27 points and five turnovers. Big man Zaza Pachulia even joined the act, accumulating four turnovers in 19 minutes of play.

Good injury news wasn’t limited to Davis. Titans coach Mike Mularkey said quarterback Marcus Mariota is back to 100 percent and should be able to do everything Sunday against Baltimore. Mariota is finally past the hamstring injury that caused him to miss one game and left him primarily restricted to the pocket over his past two games.

“Marcus is back to where we need him to be to play at the same level he did before the injury,” Mularkey said.

Davis initially suffered the hamstring injury a few days into training camp and missed the entire preseason. He returned in Week 1 and made a splash, catching six passes for 69 yards in his NFL debut. He reinjured the hamstring in Week 2.

Davis admitted he rushed himself back from the first hamstring injury, but said the team let it heal fully this time so it won’t happen again.

Left guard Quinton Spain, who has the most serious of the Titans’ injuries, is doubtful to play Sunday with a turf toe injury he aggravated against Cleveland. Brian Schwenke would start in his place.

Because of the injury, the Vikings traded a first-round pick to the Eagles for quarterback Sam Bradford, who led the team to an 8-8 record in 2016.

If a player starts the regular season on the PUP list, he has to sit for the first six weeks. And once that player is medically cleared, he is eligible to return to the field as early as Week 7.

According to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero, Bridgewater visited Dr. Dan Cooper in Dallas for a checkup and physical on Monday. Cooper repaired Bridgewater’s torn ACL and dislocated knee in August 2016. Now that 24-year-old has been medically cleared to play, Minnesota has three weeks to decide whether he can play this season or not.

Running back Leonard Fournette didn’t practice Wednesday because of an ankle injury, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Fournette didn’t practice at all this week to ensure that he is as healthy as possible for Sunday’s game at Indianapolis. The Jaguars’ offense is built around Fournette, and he accounts for 36.4 percent of the team’s total yards. That’s the second-highest percentage in the NFL behind Antonio Brown and Kareem Hunt (38.1 percent). Expect the Jaguars to be ultra-cautious with Fournette whenever he gets banged up. — Mike DiRocco

DeMarco Murray missed Wednesday’s practice with a hamstring strain suffered Monday night against the Colts. It’s a minor injury but one that will require watching throughout the week. This is Murray’s third hamstring injury in as many months, so it’s a bit of a troublesome trend, even though it hasn’t cost him any regular-season games. Marcus Mariota is also “real close” to being himself after a strong practice Wednesday, so expect a more mobile quarterback Sunday in Cleveland. — Cameron Wolfe

According to the filing to the National Labor Relations Board, “the employer, evidenced by repeated public statements, is attempting to threaten, coerce and intimidate all Dallas Cowboys players on the roster in order to prevent them from exercising concerted activity protected under the act by saying that he will fire any players involved in such concerted activity.”

Jason Garrett said Monday he hasn’t talked with Jerry Jones about the Cowboys owner’s comments that a player showing disrespect to the flag regarding the national anthem would not play.

Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said Sunday that the team will stand during the playing of the national anthem and not disrespect the flag, and that any player who does not comply will ride the bench.

“Obviously the winning is a big part of it, but I think Steph is probably the key,” Kerr said. “Even though everybody loves KD and Klay [Thompson], Draymond too, Steph is special. He’s magnetic. He’s everybody’s favorite no matter where we go whether it’s in the United States or China. People connect to Steph. I think it’s because of his personality; because he kind of looks like a normal person and not a superhero. He’s not that big, not that strong, and so a lot of people just relate to him. He’s got a great personality and he has fun out there all the time. People enjoy watching him.”

Chants of “MVP, MVP” rang out inside of both arenas as Curry rained down 3-pointers, including a 40-point performance on Sunday night in Shanghai.

“It’s a totally different animal out here,” Warriors center JaVale McGee said. “People love Steph in the States, but in China, they obsess over him, it’s crazy.”

“First of all, does anyone know the last time he’s been to a football game?” Reid said after the game. “OK, with that being said, he tweeted out a 3-year-old photo of him at a Colts game. So with the information that I have, the last time he’s been to a football game is three years ago. So this looks like a PR stunt to me.

“He knew our team has had the most players protest. He knew that we were probably going to do it again. This is what systemic oppression looks like. A man with power comes to the game, tweets a couple things out and leaves the game in an attempt to thwart our efforts. Based on the information I have, that’s the assumption I made.”

It wasn’t all bad news, though. Leonard Fournette extended what has been an outstanding year for rookie running backs, and Carson Wentz continued to show he’s one of the game’s best up-and-coming stars at quarterback.

As we do each week, we recap the week’s winners and losers from a fantasy perspective, complete with applicable game and historical data. Check back after the conclusion of the Sunday night game for more picks of the week’s best and worst.

The Stafford you see now is still hearing about that losing record against playoff teams, but he can throw eight fourth-quarter comebacks and game-winning drives back in the faces of his remaining critics. He has matured and developed well beyond that cannon to be a complete QB deserving of the highest-paid status. Consistent excellence is the gateway to “elite” passing, and Staff is knocking on that door. At 29, he has plenty of good years left to keep the Lions dueling with Aaron Rodgers,

The Colts put quarterback Peyton Manning into their Ring of Honor and officially retired his No. 18 jersey during halftime of Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers.

“I’m here today because of a bunch of coaches and teammates I came across here almost 20 years ago to try to win a lot of football games,” Manning said. “We accomplished those goals.”

Irsay surprised the Lucas Oil Stadium crowd when he had Saturday snap the ball to Manning, who threw a touchdown pass to Wayne at the conclusion of the ceremony.

It even played out on HBO’s “Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.” In one of the funnier scenes, Smith was in the training room getting ridiculed by teammates because he didn’t know what “Hakuna Matata” meant.

Center Joe Hawley asked, “Have you seen any movies? Give us a childhood movie you saw.”

Offensive guard Kevin Pamphile chimed in: “He’s never seen ‘Aladdin.'”

Winston asked: “‘Matilda’?”

Smith responded, “I’ve seen ‘Matilda.’ I haven’t seen ‘Aladdin.’ I’ve seen ‘Toy Story’ … I haven’t seen ‘Winnie the Pooh.'”

Hawley said, “‘Toy Story’ is great. You’ve saved your face a little bit.”

The Bucs are coming off a Thursday night game, which means Smith now has three full days to restore his childhood, get over Mufasa’s passing and discover the meaning behind “what a wonderful phrase.”

Denver Broncos rookie left tackle Garett Bolles will start against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, one week after he was carted off the field with a lower-left-leg injury.

Bolles suffered the injury on a 5-yard run by Jamaal Charles when Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Brian Price fell on Bolles’ left leg in the third quarter. Bolles stayed down on the ground after the play as the Broncos’ medical staff examined his leg. He then was taken to the locker room on a cart, raising his arms to acknowledge the Denver crowd.

Trump called for NFL owners to fire players who kneel during the playing of the national anthem. He has also urged fans to boycott games to force the teams to respect the flag and anthem.

The president made his first comments on the issue during a rally Friday night in Huntsville, Alabama, then followed up with tweets on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

The NFL is perplexed by the president’s comments.

“The overall issue had quieted down. This elevated it in a big way,” the official said. “Only seven of the 32 teams had shown any kind of protest last week, including 14 of 1,696 players on NFL rosters.”

That’s less than one percent of the players in the league.

Considering the dominance of the Jaguars’ defense and the fact that it scored a touchdown of its own, Jacksonville probably should’ve scored more than 29 points against the Texans.

There were missed opportunities — including a missed field goal and extra point — and plenty of drives that stalled prematurely. But that wasn’t the fault of Leonard Fournette, who kept the Jaguars’ offense in rhythm and away from the quick possessions that took a toll on the defense in 2016.

The rookie carried 26 times against Houston and finished with 100 yards, the kind of statline that fans should probably come to expect from the powerful rookie. Fournette is the first Jaguars rookie in team history to rush for over 100 yards in his debut, according to ESPN’s Michael DiRoccio. That is even more impressive when you consider that Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor both began their careers in Jacksonville. Fournette also added three receptions for 24 yards.

For comparison, Bortles threw just 21 passes, and Chris Ivory also added nine carries for the team.

Rivers finished with a higher passer rating than Siemian (99.6 to 94.2), going 22 of 33 for 192 yards, three touchdowns and one pick. The Chargers, now under Anthony Lynn, tried to control the time of possession by feeding Melvin Gordon but the running back managed just three yards per carry against a makeshift Denver defensive front.

After losing the division title to the Chiefs for the first time in six years last season, the Broncos will need consistent play from Siemian and their defensive front if they are to return to the playoffs.