Jonah Laulu's rise: From seventh-round pick to Raiders defensive standout By MARK ANDERSON AP Sports Writer The Associated Press HENDERSON, Nev.
HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Christian Wilkins' release early in training camp raised all sorts of questions about how the Raiders' interior defense would make up the difference.
Las Vegas' tackles have for the most part made those concerns moot.
That includes Jonah Laulu, who already has three sacks in two games. He had one in 17 games as a rookie last season.
“He has just blossomed," coach Pete Carroll said. "He had enough plays on film coming off of last year that he caught my eye like a potential guy that might really be a factor. So I was really excited about him in the offseason, and he did everything right.”
Carroll might not be all that shocked that Laulu is making a strong impact early this season, but outside of the Raiders facility, he wasn't on many radars.
Indianapolis drafted him in the seventh round in 2024 out of Oklahoma, and he made to the final cut before the Colts waived him on Aug. 27 of last year. Laulu's hometown Raiders picked him up the following day.
He showed enough promise to start seven games last season on a defense ravaged by injuries, and then he built on that experience in this summer's camp.
“He works hard,” star pass rusher Maxx Crosby said. “He's doing great. He's young. He's got a lot of good tools and he's just getting better. No one's surprised he's playing well. He's just got to keep building off what he started.”
For Laulu, the battle to become an impact player is as much mental as physical, and he has been open about his struggles with impostor syndrome. Though not considered a mental health disorder, many medical experts take the condition seriously that affects many people who doubt they are qualified for their work positions.
That includes Laulu and the NFL.
“I feel like it's really about coming every day to work to be that same person every day,” Laulu said. “You want to be consistent. You don't want to be an emotional person. Obviously, football is not an easy sport mentally or physically. I'm trying to be my best every day.”
His best has been pretty good this season.
Laulu sacked New England quarterback Drake Maye once in the 20-13 season-opening victory and then took down Los Angeles Chargers QB Justin Herbert twice in Monday night's 20-9 loss .
The Raiders as a team have six sacks this season, tied for eighth in the NFL.
They will face a mobile quarterback Sunday at Washington in either Jayden Daniels or former Las Vegas QB Marcus Mariota. Daniels will not practice until at least Friday because of a knee injury.
“We have a lot of background about Marcus on the staff, so we know what his capabilities are, we think," Carroll said. “So we’re planning for both guys, but primarily for Jayden.”
Laulu will be an integral part of that plan, which he began to earn in offseason and preseason practices, showing he could perform alongside fellow tackles Adam Butler and Thomas Butler IV. It's one thing to play well in practice, but transferring that to the season is the real test.
So far, so good.
But Laulu isn't one to think he's arrived. Each week is a proving ground, a chance to show himself that he belongs.
“I still feel like I haven't really done much,” Laulu said. “I made some plays here and there, but I'm still shooting for the sky and trying to make plays in the game and get better every day. I'm the type of person, I made plays, but I could've made more after watching the (Chargers) game a couple of times, seeing all the missed opportunities and what I can do.”
Geno Smith tries to bounce back
Raiders quarterback Geno Smith tied a career high with three interceptions in the loss to the Chargers. That came a week after he passed for 362 yards and a touchdown against the Patriots.
Smith said the video from the LA loss "was tough to watch.”
“You can never just flush that,” Smith said. “You got to learn from it, and that’s what I did. I watched it over 10 times and just tried to figure out what did I need to do to be better, which was a lot of things that were obvious — being more accurate, taking what they give me, not being so aggressive.”
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Bo Nix and Sean Payton downplay viral sideline exchange during Broncos' loss to Colts By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer The Associated Press ENGLEWOOD, Colo.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Bo Nix and Sean Payton downplayed their most recent sideline exchange as each presented his version of events.
The Denver Broncos quarterback maintained that what appeared to be a heated conversation Sunday at Indianapolis wasn't so much volatile as volume-related. His coach said it was simply a matter trying to get an explanation following a play.
“For whatever reason, we’re allowing conversations to become bigger than what they are,” Nix said Wednesday, three days after the moment between him and Payton went viral as the Broncos lost 29-28 to the Colts on a field goal as time expired.
Nix added the moment had more to do with not being able to hear over the noise.
“We oftentimes forget that it’s a big stadium and a lot of people are talking at same time," said Nix, the 12th overall pick out of Oregon in the 2024 NFL draft. “So you've got to be a little bit louder and more vocal.”
The kerfuffle happened late in the third quarter as Nix came off the field following an incomplete pass to Evan Engram to force a punt. Payton appeared to ask Nix something as his QB walked past him toward the bench. Payton then took a few steps in the direction of Nix, who turned around and uttered something to his coach while gesturing with his hands. Nix then walked away.
“That was just something as simple as he asked me what happened on a play,” Nix said. “I told him, I turned, he couldn’t quite hear, turned back and told him again. There were no issues. It’s just a quick conversation with the head coach. Nothing pressing.”
Payton minimized the situation, too.
“I saw what you guys saw. That wasn’t what it appeared, though,” Payton said. “It was an affirmation of, ‘This is what we’re wanting to do.’ ... I think it was more about excitement, but I saw it.
“I guess what I’m saying is I don’t think it was what it appeared. In fact, I know it wasn’t.”
Nix and Payton had a confrontation last October after the QB went off-script against the Los Vegas Raiders.
Payton was hot and Nix hollered back. After that particular dust-up, Payton said of his then rookie QB: “There is still a little bit of Ferris Bueller in him we are trying to get rid of. I love him to death. And sometimes (what you saw) is my love language.”
One thing Nix won't be toning down is his aggressive nature on the football field. He had two interceptions and a fumble in a season-opening win over Tennessee. He threw three TD passes against the Colts but also a costly interception in the fourth quarter with the team in field-goal range.
“For me, I’m always going to be aggressive, especially with our defense, knowing that they can go out there and get a stop,” Nix said. “You can’t play the game, you can’t play the position, soft. You have to go out there and be aggressive.
"If you’re scared to make a bad play, it’s usually when the bad plays happen.”
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McVay won't need surgery on injured foot while he prepares Rams to face Eagles By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer The Associated Press LOS ANGELES
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sean McVay had to smile when he was asked how he managed to tear the plantar fascia in his left foot while running to call a timeout.
“I’m telling you it was because of the pure twitch that I still have,” McVay said with a laugh Wednesday.. “It just snapped. ... I did have to hop down there. I got the damn timeout, even on one leg.”
The Los Angeles Rams' longtime boss got injured last Sunday during his team's 33-19 win at Tennessee , but he won't need surgery or a walking boot before he leads the Rams across the country to face defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia this weekend.
The 39-year-old McVay works out regularly, but his career as a receiver at Miami (Ohio) ended in 2007. He says he had felt previous pain in the band of tissue that runs along the sole of the foot from heel to toes.
“It had been bothering me for a little bit where I was a little bit restricted, and then I went to just explode down the sidelines for a timeout, and that thing popped in my heel,” McVay said. “It was temporarily painful, but it actually feels a lot better now. It’s a positive that I tore my plantar fascia. That’s a good thing, because it accelerates the healing. There’s no issues for me.”
The Rams (2-0) know they have more than enough issues to address as they prepare to face the Eagles (2-0), who beat Los Angeles twice last season on the way to the title. McVay hesitates to label the matchup as a measuring-stick game because it's only Week 3, but he knows the importance of the moment.
“I think it’s a fun narrative,” McVay said. “Every week when you get out there and you go play in this competitive league, every opportunity you have is a measuring stick. Is this a great challenge? You’re damn right it is. I have tremendous respect for their coaches and their players. They’ve gotten after us. They’ve gotten the results that they wanted. You can see it’s a combination of a lot of great things that they have going there.”
NOTES: DT Braden Fiske (oblique) and OG Steve Avila (ankle) didn't practice, while TE Colby Parkinson (shoulder) was limited. None of the three has been ruled out for Sunday, McVay said.
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Jackson Arnold returning to Oklahoma as Auburn's QB following a rocky stint with the Sooners By CLIFF BRUNT AP Sports Writer The Associated Press NORMAN, Okla.
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Jackson Arnold was expected to be the next big thing at Oklahoma, another great quarterback at a school that produced Heisman winners Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray and featured stars Jalen Hurts, Spencer Rattler, Caleb Williams and Dillon Gabriel at the position during the past decade.
Arnold, a five-star recruit, had as much hype as any of them. And when Gabriel decided to transfer to Oregon ahead of the 2024 season, Arnold seemingly had the chance to turn his immense talent into results.
It simply didn't work. Arnold struggled as injuries besieged the Sooners. He lost his starting job early in the season, then won it back. He ran for more than 100 yards in a shocking win over Alabama , but that wasn't enough to keep him from transferring to Auburn.
The new scenery has treated Arnold well. Now refreshed, he has led the Tigers to a 3-0 start. He'll return to Oklahoma as the opposing quarterback when No. 22 Auburn visits the 11th-ranked Sooners (3-0) on Saturday.
Arnold said he'll be focused. He said blocking outside noise won’t be a problem because he’s not on social media.
“(I'll be) Watching tape, watching OU, locking in and doing my job throughout the week," he said. "It’s nothing more than that. It’s the job for us, and I attack it and make every day my best day.”
Auburn coach Hugh Freeze knows about tough homecomings. He returned to Ole Miss with Liberty in 2021 and lost 27-14 . He said Arnold needs to find a way to block out the distractions and focus on the task at hand.
“We all understand that people might cheer for him, boo him, whatever it is, but I think he’s mentally strong and is more about preparing," Freeze said. “My advice to him is just keep the focus on our team. That was my advice to myself.”
Oklahoma coach Brent Venables holds no ill will toward Arnold.
“Obviously, things worked out well for him and us both,” Venables said. "Those are things that are never easy, but it’s just the environment that we’re in, and I’m really happy for him that he’s having great success.”
This season, Arnold has completed 69% of his passes with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He's also rushed for 192 yards and four scores. He most recently accounted for three touchdowns in the Tigers' 31-15 win over South Alabama .
“I think he’s the same guy," Venables said. “I think he’s got a healthy football team around him, and he’s having great success running, throwing, being really efficient. He’s taking care of the ball and the people around him are really good."
Oklahoma counters with one of the nation's best defenses. The Sooners rank second nationally in fewest yards passing allowed per game (84.7), fourth in total defense (181.0) and fourth in points allowed per game (6.3).
Still, Venables said his Sooners have a challenge ahead.
Jeremiah Cobb has rushed for 314 yards and four touchdowns and averages 6.8 yards per carry. Eric Singleton, a quick receiver in space, leads the team with 13 catches and two touchdowns and has 174 yards from scrimmage. Cam Coleman, a 6-foot-3 target, has 149 yards and a score on 10 receptions.
They pace an Auburn offense that averages 37 points and 415.7 yards per game.
“You’ve got to play well in every area," Venables said. "They’re great at running the football and they’re good at throwing the ball down the field and the RPO (run-pass option) world and staying on schedule, being very efficient. So we’ve got to be a little more efficient. Got to protect the perimeter and do a great job up front of plugging gaps and getting off of blocks, having great leverage and playing great team defense.”
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AP Sports Writer Mark Long contributed to this report.
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No longer a dull formality, NFL kickoffs require a new set of skills for kickers and returners By NOAH TRISTER AP Sports Writer The Associated Press
The biggest gaffe of the NFL season so far may have occurred in Pittsburgh last weekend, when a Steelers rookie let a kickoff bounce into the end zone and left the ball sitting there, apparently unaware that Seattle could — and did — score a touchdown by falling on it.
That type of mistake is a coach's nightmare, but for the league it was probably a sign of progress. Kickoffs are no longer a dull formality. After more rule tweaking this season, it really does feel like anything can happen.
“Is this better than 12 touchbacks a game? Yes,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said.
The NFL introduced the so-called dynamic kickoff last year, limiting how far the coverage team has to run and establishing a landing zone inside the 20-yard line. This year, touchbacks on kicks that reach the end zone on the fly put the ball on the 35 instead of the 30. Now there's a big incentive for kickers to land the ball between the 20 and the goal line, and that's altered the nature of the job.
“Essentially, what we used to do on kickoffs is almost obsolete for most kickers," Tennessee Titans kicker Joey Slye said. “I’m having honestly more of a trouble keeping it in play out of the end zone than really past the 20. So I think a lot of kickers are having that issue as well.”
Booming the ball into — or through — the end zone for a touchback used to be a perfectly good option. Even last season, that approach was common. With touchbacks putting the ball on the 35, however, it makes more sense to try to force a return with a shorter kick. If the ball doesn't make it to the 20, then the opposing team takes over on its own 40 — not that much worse for the kicking team than the 35 after a touchback.
And if the ball hits the ground before it reaches the return man, that brings even more uncertainty into play.
“It’s not a basketball, and you don’t know how it’s going to end up ricocheting off the ground doing a bunch of different things,” Miami Dolphins special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman said. “So the biggest thing that we tell our players is, hey, once it’s on the ground, it can roll anywhere. And that’s the best part about the kick.”
For kickers, there's been an adjustment.
“I think it takes away when you have a good kicker because good kickers, you separate yourself by being able to kick it higher and farther and placing it, and the hang time and all that,” Bills kicker Matt Prater said. “But now, hang time’s irrelevant and distance is irrelevant. So for young strong guys, I think it takes away their strengths.”
The touchback rate on kickoffs has plummeted from 65.5% last season to 16.7% in 2025. That's resulted in almost no change in post-kickoff field position, which has averaged right around the 30-yard line this season and last, but there's been an uptick this year in action, unpredictability and variety.
Kaleb Johnson was the poor Pittsburgh return man who let the ball go through his hands and into the end zone, allowing George Holani of the Seahawks to recover the live ball for a TD. Although distance isn't a priority anymore for kickers, they do have a chance to show off their creativity trying to create tricky bounces for returners.
“They’re trying to get it where it comes out like a knuckleball,” Titans special teams coordinator John Fassel said. “It’s a combination of a soccer corner kick and Phil Niekro throwing a knuckleball, and it’s coming at you with all kinds of curves and swerves.”
That puts more pressure on return men to catch the ball on the fly or limit the bounces — while knowing if the ball bounces into the end zone for a touchback, it goes to the 20, but if it rolls out of bounds before the goal line, it's put on the 40. That's a lot to think about in a short period of time.
“You can’t really simulate those in practice because I can’t have Joey kick those all day long. It’ll wear him out,” Fassel said. “We did it on the JUGS, but that was way too easy. So, honestly to handle those ‘dirty balls’ is just going to take experience. If I can’t get to it on the fly, about how far behind it do I have to be to one-hop it? A two-hop is a little bit dangerous.”
With all that to consider, it's no wonder Johnson and the Steelers were victimized by a fluke touchdown.
“We actually ended up showing one on Friday very similar to our returners,” Aukerman said. “Now, that exact experience that happened there at Pittsburgh wasn’t the one I showed, but it was like, ‘Hey guys, when the ball is in the end zone and we haven’t touched it, we have to go back there and kneel on the ball.’ ... That’s another teachable moment.”
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AP Pro Football Writer Teresa M. Walker and AP Sports Writers Alanis Thames and John Wawrow contributed to this report.
No. 6 Oregon hosts Oregon State By The Associated Press The Associated Press
Oregon State (0-3) at No. 6 Oregon (3-0), Sept. 20 at 3 p.m. EDT.
BetMGM College Football Odds Opening Line: Oregon by 35.5. Against the spread: Oregon 2-1, Oregon State 0-3.
How to watch: BTN
Key stats
Oregon Offense
Overall: 503.3 yards per game (18th in FBS)
Passing: 256.3 yards per game (46th)
Rushing: 247 yards per game (11th)
Scoring: 54 points per game (3rd)
Oregon Defense
Overall: 256 yards per game (24th in FBS)
Passing: 133.3 yards per game (19th)
Rushing: 122.7 yards per game (62nd)
Scoring: 10 points per game (14th)
Oregon State Offense
Overall: 376.7 yards per game (80th in FBS)
Passing: 305.7 yards per game (22nd)
Rushing: 71 yards per game (132nd)
Scoring: 18.7 points per game (115th)
Oregon State Defense
Overall: 424.3 yards per game (112th in FBS)
Passing: 277.7 yards per game (121st)
Rushing: 146.7 yards per game (88th)
Scoring: 38.3 points per game (129th)
Oregon ranks 17th in defensive third down percentage, allowing opponents to convert on 25.6% of third downs.
Oregon State ranks 113th in the FBS with a -3 turnover margin, compared to Oregon's 26th-ranked +3 margin.
Oregon is 3rd in the FBS averaging 21.3 penalty yards per game.
Oregon State is 98th in FBS in red zone defense, allowing opponents to score on 91.7% of trips. Oregon's red zone offense ranks 1st, scoring on 100% of red zone opportunities.
Oregon is 92nd in the FBS with an average time of possession of 28:49, compared to Oregon State's 39th-ranked average of 32:07.
Team leaders
Oregon
Passing: Dante Moore, 657 yards, 7 TDs, 1 INT, 78.1 completion percentage
Rushing: Dierre Hill Jr., 161 yards on 11 carries, 2 TDs
Receiving: Malik Benson, 161 yards on 11 catches, 2 TDs
Oregon State
Passing: Maalik Murphy, 896 yards, 6 TDs, 5 INTs, 61.6 completion percentage
Rushing: Anthony Hankerson, 190 yards on 51 carries, 1 TD
Receiving: Trent Walker, 302 yards on 23 catches, 0 TDs
Last game
Oregon defeated Northwestern 34-14 on Saturday, Sept. 13. Moore led Oregon with 178 yards on 16-of-20 passing (80.0%) for one touchdown and one interception. Hill had 94 rushing yards on five carries and one touchdown. Benson had four receptions for 62 yards.
Oregon State fell 45-14 to Texas Tech on Saturday, Sept. 13. Murphy led Oregon State with 281 yards on 25-of-44 passing (56.8%) for two touchdowns and two interceptions. Hankerson carried the ball 11 times for 12 yards. David Wells Jr. had six receptions for 103 yards.
Next game
Oregon plays at No. 2 Penn State on Sept. 27. Oregon State hosts Houston on Sept. 26.
Raiders and Commanders both have 1 win against a bad team and 1 loss to a good team By The Associated Press The Associated Press
Las Vegas (1-1) at Washington (1-1)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, Fox.
BetMGM NFL Odds: Commanders by 3 1/2.
Against the spread: Raiders 1-1; Commanders 1-1.
Series record: Commanders lead, 8-7.
Last week: Raiders lost to Chargers 20-9; Commanders lost to Packers 27-18.
Last meeting: Commanders beat Raiders 17-15 at Last Vegas on Dec. 5, 2021.
Raiders offense: overall (22), rush (31), pass (11), scoring (31).
Raiders defense: overall (19), rush (4), pass (27), scoring (5).
Commanders offense: overall (14t), rush (8), pass (23t), scoring (23).
Commanders defense: overall (16), rush (14), pass (18), scoring (6t).
Turnover differential: Raiders -2; Commanders even.
Raiders player to watch
QB Geno Smith looked like an All-Pro in the victory at New England, but then threw three interceptions against the Chargers. Expect Smith to not force as many passes against the Commanders while still looking for opportunities to test the secondary deep. How he balances that will go a long way toward determining if the Raiders can pull off the road win.
Commanders player to watch
QB Jayden Daniels/Marcus Mariota. The most important position in football is up in the air for Washington this week, because Daniels hurt his knee against Green Bay and missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday. The AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year is, by far, the best player on the Commanders, though Mariota has proven to be a capable backup if Daniels sits out Sunday.
Key matchup
Raiders TEs Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer vs. the Commanders LBs and DBs. Bowers, assuming he's healthy, is a bona fide star, even though he only is in his second year, and Washington had a rough time trying to cover tight ends in the loss to the Packers: Tucker Kraft 124 receiving yards were the most by a Green Bay tight end since 2015, and he also scored a TD.
Key injuries
Raiders: Bowers (knee) should be healthier than he was against the Chargers. S Jeremy Chinn (pectoral) and G Jackson Powers-Johnson (concussion) have been limited in practice.
Commanders: Aside from Daniels, Washington's starting lineup was depleted by injuries against Green Bay. RB Austin Ekeler and DE Deatrich Wise Jr. are out for the season, CB Jonathan Jones went on injured reserve, and WR Noah Brown (groin) and TE John Bates (groin) are both considered long shots to face Las Vegas.
Series notes
The Commanders have won four of the five most recent meetings. ... The AFC's Raiders and NFC's Commanders have just one postseason meeting: The Raiders won 38-9 in the Super Bowl in January 1984.
Stats and stuff
The two head coaches know each other well: Washington’s Dan Quinn was the defensive coordinator on the staff that current Raiders coach Pete Carroll ran when he took the Seattle Seahawks to two Super Bowls. ... The Raiders' Bowers can extend his streak to 20 games with at least two catches, which would be the second longest for a tight end to open a career. Detroit’s Sam LaPorta set the record with 21 games. … S Jeremy Chinn, who played for the Commanders last year, is looking for his sixth consecutive season with at least one sack. Only six other defensive backs, going back to 1982 when the statistic became official, have had at least one sack each of their first six seasons. … A victory would move Raiders coach Pete Carroll into a tie with Bill Parcells for 16th in NFL history with 172 wins. … The Raiders allow 70.5 yards rushing per game, fourth best in the league. It’s the fewest yards they have allowed on the ground through two games since 2019, when that team gave up a 63-yard average. … LB Devin White and New Orleans’ Demario Davis are the only players since 2019 with at least 600 tackles and 20 sacks. … RB Ashton Jeanty has run for only 81 yards through two games. He ran for at least 100 in every game last season at Boise State. ... The good: Washington has not turned the ball over through two games. The bad: The team also hasn't forced a turnover yet. ... Commanders WR Deebo Samuel is one of five players with at least seven catches each of the first two weeks this season. He has one TD catch and one TD run so far in his first season in Washington. ... TE Zach Ertz has a touchdown catch in four consecutive games, going back to last season. ... LB Von Miller leads active players with 130 sacks; he has nine sacks in 17 games against the Raiders. ... PK Matt Gay is just 1 for 3 on field-goal attempts this season, his first with the Commanders. ... Rookie RB Jacory “Bill” Croskey-Merritt went from 82 yards and a touchdown in Week 1 to only 17 yards in Week 2. He is expected to get the start Sunday with Ekeler out.
Fantasy tip
Bowers is a good choice no matter who the opponent is, as last season's numbers attest: 112 catches, 1,194 yards, five touchdowns.
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Bengals visit banged-up Vikings with Browning at QB for injured Burrow, seeking 1st win in Minnesota By The Associated Press The Associated Press
Cincinnati (2-0) at Minnesota (1-1)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, CBS.
BetMGM NFL Odds: Vikings by 3.
Against the spread: Bengals 1-1, Vikings 1-1.
Series record: Bengals lead 8-7.
Last meeting: Bengals beat Vikings 27-24 on Dec. 16, 2023, in Cincinnati.
Last week: Bengals beat Jaguars 31-27, Vikings lost to Falcons 22-6.
Bengals offense: overall (30), rush (32), pass (tied 20), scoring (9).
Bengals defense: overall (24), rush (10), pass (28), scoring (16).
Vikings offense: overall (31), rush (20T), pass (30), scoring (28T).
Vikings defense: overall (17), rush (30), pass (5), scoring (17).
Turnover differential: Bengals plus-1, Vikings minus-3.
Bengals player to watch
QB Jake Browning. After making seven starts in 2023 for the Bengals when Joe Burrow was injured, Browning has stepped in again for the two-time AP Comeback Player of the Year award winner after a toe injury has sidelined him for at least three months. Browning spent the 2019 and 2020 seasons on Minnesota's practice squad.
Vikings player to watch
QB Carson Wentz. Just three weeks into his tenure with the team he grew up in North Dakota rooting for, Wentz will make his first start after a sprained ankle put J.J. McCarthy out for this week and perhaps more. Wentz, the second overall pick in the 2016 draft, will extend his NFL record to making at least one start for six different teams in a six-year span.
Key matchup
Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson vs. the left side of the Vikings OL. The 2024 All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowl pick Hendrickson, who led the league with 17½ sacks last season, will probably force multiple blockers to account for him. Stunts and twists by the Falcons last week gave the Vikings plenty of problems. If LT Christian Darrisaw is cleared to return from knee surgery, there won't be any easing into action against Hendrickson.
Key injuries
Bengals: Beside Burrow and two potential starting guards being on IR, Cordell Volson and Lucas Patrick, the injury report is thin this week. Rookie DE Shemar Stewart (ankle) is doubtful this week. LB Logan Wilson (ankle) and CB Cam Taylor-Britt (hamstring) were limited in practice on Wednesday.
Vikings: RB Aaron Jones (hamstring) was the latest regular to land on IR this week. ... Darrisaw, who was inactive for the first two games, was a full participant in practice on Wednesday. His replacement, Justin Skule, was removed from the previous game and placed into the concussion protocol along with C Ryan Kelly. Kelly, McCarthy and Skule have not practiced this week. ... S Harrison Smith (illness) was a limited participant in practice on Wednesday along with OLB Andrew Van Ginkel (concussion). Smith has not played yet this season. Van Ginkel missed the previous game along with backup CB Jeff Okudah (concussion), who has returned to full practice.
Series notes
The Bengals have never won in six all-time games in Minnesota, last visiting in 2017. Cincinnati is 8-1 at home in the series. ... Baltimore (2-0) and Houston (3-0) are the only other teams the Vikings have never lost to at home. ... Each of the past two matchups have gone to overtime, won by the Bengals in 2021 and 2023. The most recent time the Vikings played consecutive overtime games against an opponent was Tampa Bay in 1994 and 1995.
Stats and stuff
The Bengals are 2-0 for the first time since 2018 and haven't started 3-0 since 2015. ... Bengals RB Chase Brown has 10 straight games with at least 50 scrimmage yards. He has 18 rushing attempts to the right side this season, second most in the league. ... Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase had 14 catches for 165 yards and a touchdown last week, his third career game with at least 14 receptions. He is averaging a league-high 99.9 receiving yards per game since the start of last season. ... The Bengals defense has four interceptions, tied for second in the league. ... Hendrickson has an NFL-best 19½ sacks since the start of last season. ... The Vikings have run only 95 plays in two games, the fewest in the league. ... McCarthy had four turnovers in two games and took nine sacks. ... Vikings WR Justin Jefferson is the only player on the team so far with more than four receptions. ... The Vikings defense is tied for seventh in the NFL in both red zone touchdown rate (42.9%) and third down conversion rate (33.3%). Opponents are 0 for 12 against them on all plays third-and-6 and longer.
Fantasy tip
Bengals WR Tee Higgins had a TD catch both times he has faced Minnesota. He has seven red zone TD receptions since the start of last season. The Vikings are giving up an average of 175.2 receiving yards per game to WRs over the past two seasons, second worst in the NFL.
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Chiefs visit the Giants on Sunday night with each team off to an 0-2 start By The Associated Press The Associated Press
Kansas City (0-2) at N.Y. Giants (0-2)
Sunday, 8:20 p.m. EDT, NBC
BetMGM line: Chiefs by 6 1/2
Against the spread: Chiefs 0-2; Giants 0-2
Series record: Giants lead 11-4.
Last meeting: Chiefs beat the Giants 20-17 on Nov. 1, 2021, at Kansas City.
Last week: Chiefs lost to Eagles 20-17; Giants lost to Cowboys 40-37 in overtime.
Chiefs offense: overall (T17), rush (17), pass (17), scoring (24)
Chiefs defense: overall (13), rush (T15), pass (15), scoring (T19)
Giants offense: overall (6), rush (28), pass (1), scoring (32)
Giants defense: overall (32), rush (32), pass (29), scoring (T29)
Chiefs player to watch
DT Chris Jones has underperformed so far this season. Even worse, a mistake in the waning minutes in Brazil allowed Justin Herbert to scramble for a first down and the Chargers to run out the clock. The Chiefs only have four sacks through their first two games, and two came from linebacker Drue Tranquill.
Giants player to watch
QB Russell Wilson because which version of him will show up? Wilson completed 17 of 37 passes for 168 yards in the season-opening loss at Washington, then was 30 of 41 for 450 and three touchdowns against the Cowboys. Wilson also had a costly interception in OT at Dallas, which set up the game-winning field goal.
Key matchup
Giants WRs Malik Nabers and Wan'Dale Robinson vs. the Chiefs' secondary. Nabers and Robinson combined to make 17 catches for 309 and three TDs last week. Kansas City kept Philadelphia's A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith to nine receptions for 80 yards. Getting to Wilson early and often could determine how this goes.
Key injuries
Chiefs: DE Mike Danna (quad) and CB Kristian Fulton (ankle) missed practice this week. ... There's a chance WRs Xavier Worthy (shoulder) and Jalen Royals (knee) will play.
Giants: LT Andrew Thomas could play his first game since foot surgery last October. ... LB Darius Muasau is in concussion protocol. ... LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles may be out with a calf injury.
Series notes
The Giants are the only franchise the Chiefs have not beaten on the road, going 0-7 at New York. ... These teams haven't played at the Giants' home stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, since 2017. ... That same season, now-Chiefs defensive coordinator was promoted from that position with the Giants to interim coach for the final four games. ... This is set to be Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes' second NFL game at MetLife Stadium after defeating the Jets there in 2023.
Stats and stuff
The Chiefs are off to their first 0-2 start since 2014, which was Andy Reid’s second season in Kansas City and the previous time they failed to make the playoffs. ... Mahomes, who turned 30 on Wednesday, is 0-2 for the first time since his high school sophomore season in 2011. He has lost three consecutive starts going back to the Super Bowl for the first time since November 2016 at Texas Tech. ... Chiefs TE Travis Kelce needs two TDs to tie the franchise record held by Priest Holmes (83). Kelce needs 33 yards to tie Dante Hall (12,356) for the most combined yards in franchise history. ... Jones needs six sacks to pass Neil Smith (85 1/2) for third most in Chiefs history. ... Wilson became the sixth player with 400-plus yards and three-plus TDs in a game with three different teams. ... Rookie RB Cam Skattebo had his first career TD among 45 yards rushing against Dallas. ... Robinson's 142 yards receiving were a career high. ... LBs Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux each sacked Dak Prescott last week. ... LB Bobby Okereke led the league in tackles through two weeks with 26.
Fantasy tip
Steer clear of anybody lining up in the Kansas City backfield. RBs Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt are not even providing third-string-level production at this point. In fact, Mahomes led the Chiefs in rushing in each of their first two games — and that only helps to offset his own limited production through the air.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Can Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs defy history to make the playoffs? By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer The Associated Press
Each year after the second week of the NFL season, the long odds that teams face to make the playoffs after losing their first two games get bandied about.
The odds have hovered at just under 12% ever since the NFL expanded the season to 16 games and added a second wild-card team in 1978, with little fluctuation when additional playoff teams were added in 1990 and 2020.
None of those other teams have come off three straight Super Bowl appearances like Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs .
The oddsmakers at BetMGM Sportsbook have Kansas City as a favorite to make the postseason with an implied probability of about 65%, while some other projection models have it closer to a 50-50 proposition.
Since the playoffs expanded in 2020, only five of the 43 teams (11.6%) that started 0-2 made the postseason, but 31 of those teams missed the postseason the previous year. Out of the 12 returning playoff teams that started 0-2, three made the playoffs, with the Los Angeles Rams and Baltimore doing it last season and Cincinnati in 2022.
But the goals for the Chiefs are much loftier than getting into the postseason with the team seeking a fourth Super Bowl title in the Mahomes-Andy Reid era. Only three teams — Dallas in 1993, New England in 2001 and the New York Giants in 2007 — have won a Super Bowl following a 0-2 start and only 5% of the teams that have done it since the 1970 merger won their division.
Kansas City has won nine straight division titles — two shy of New England's record set from 2009-19 — but now is two games behind the Los Angeles Chargers in the AFC West.
That has flipped the odds in the division at BetMGM, with the Chargers favored and the Chiefs at plus-250 odds to win the division. This is the first time since a three-week stretch midway through 2021 that Kansas City hasn't been favored to win the AFC West by BetMGM, and the current odds are the longest for the Chiefs since they were plus-275 before the opener in 2018 when Mahomes began his first season as starter.
The only other team that is 0-2 after making the playoffs in 2024 is the two-time defending AFC South champion Texans, with both Houston and Kansas City losing a pair of one-score games.
There are 10 teams that have started the season 2-0, including four that missed the playoffs last season: Arizona, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and San Francisco. This is the second straight season four teams began the season 2-0 after missing the playoffs, with Minnesota and the Chargers making it to the postseason, while New Orleans and Seattle missed out.
Jackson and Mahomes show off dual-threat abilities
Lamar Jackson already had established himself as the NFL’s best running quarterback ever when he passed Michael Vick as the career leading rusher at the position.
Now he’s the most efficient passer as well.
After throwing four TD passes and no interceptions in a win over Cleveland on Sunday, Jackson improved his career passer rating to 102.65, narrowly moving ahead of Aaron Rodgers at 102.6 for the best rating ever among quarterbacks with at least 1,500 attempts.
Mahomes ranks third on that list at 101.8 but has had to rely more than usual on his legs this season. He ran for 66 yards on Sunday — his most ever in the regular season — and has 123 yards on the ground through two games this season.
Mahomes has accounted for 56.2% of the Chiefs' yards on the ground this season, the third-highest share for any quarterback through two games in the Super Bowl era. Jackson has the highest mark at 62.4% in 2022 for Baltimore, with Colin Kaepernick the only other QB higher than Mahomes at 57.4% for San Francisco in 2013.
Aubrey's long range kicks
Long field goals are becoming almost routine, with kickers making 75% of their tries from at least 55 yards so far this season. The 12 makes in 16 tries from at least 55 yards in two weeks equals the entire total from the 2013 season.
Kickers made less than half (49.1%) of their tries from at least 55 yards as recently as 2020.
No one is better at the long-range kicks than Dallas' Brandon Aubrey, who kicked his second career 64-yarder on the final play of regulation against the Giants on Sunday before winning it with a 46-yarder with no time left in overtime. Aubrey became the first player to convert a tying field goal with no time remaining in the fourth quarter and a winning field goal with no time remaining in overtime in the same game.
Aubrey has half of the made field goals from at least 64 yards ever in the NFL, having also made a 65-yarder last season against Baltimore. Matt Prater was the first player to make a 64-yarder, doing so in 2013 at altitude in Denver, and Justin Tucker set the NFL record with a 66-yarder at Detroit in 2021.
His four field goals from at least 60 yards are tied for the most ever with Brett Maher.
Bumbling Bears
The optimism in Chicago brought on by the hiring of Ben Johnson as coach has dissipated quickly after a rough start to his first season.
The Bears blew an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter of the opener against Minnesota before falling 52-31 to the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
Only two other teams in NFL history started a season by allowing at least 50 points in one of the first two games and blowing a double-digit lead in the other.
The Jets did it in 1995 to start the Rich Kotite coaching era, losing their opener 52-14 to Miami and then squandering a 24-3 lead in Week 2 against Indianapolis before falling 27-24 in overtime. Kotite went 4-28 as Jets coach before getting fired.
Kotite and Johnson are the only coaches ever to begin a tenure with a team by doing it, according to Sportradar.
It happened one other time to start a season, with the Bears doing it in 1965 under Hall of Fame coach George Halas. Chicago lost the opener 52-24 to San Francisco and then blew a 19-point lead in Week 2 before losing 30-28 to the Rams.
Chicago recovered to go 9-5 that season but missed the playoffs.
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Inside the Numbers dives into NFL statistics, streaks and trends each week. For more Inside the Numbers, head here .
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