USA TODAY International Edition
New starts follow trades, firings
A quick glance at items of interest as Week 9 rolls on …
Pressure’s on: Case Keenum and John Elway. Whatever Elway, the Broncos’ football architect, thought he would get in signing Keenum for $18 million a year hasn’t happened. Chances are it never will. Keenum’s history of turnover problems has followed him to Denver; he’s had more turnovers (11) than TD passes (10). As Houston visits on Sunday, reminders will be in the wind. Keenum started his journeyman career with the Texans, who just obtained one of Keenum’s primary weapons, Demaryius Thomas, in a trade Tuesday.
Key matchup: Cooper Kupp vs. P.J. Williams. Kupp had a huge game (eight catches, 116 yards) when the Rams beat the Saints in Los Angeles in December, and now he’s returning after missing two contests with a knee sprain. The Saints’ Williams, picked on and victimized early by the Vikings last week before rebounding with a couple of big plays, could draw a significant amount of work against Kupp in the slot.
But recently obtained Eli Apple is an option, too. It won’t be as simple as assigning Pro Bowler Marshon Lattimore to the task because of Jared Goff ’s other receivers, Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods. These matchups will be critical for the showdown on Sunday, when the Saints try to knock off the NFL’s only undefeated team. And the Saints realize the coverage on the back end begins with the rush up front.
Next man up: Gregg Williams. With Hue Jackson and O-coordinator Todd Haley shown the door Monday, Williams is essentially the last man standing from the trio of alpha dog personalities handling the Browns’ top coaching posts. Guess you can never say never. When Williams was banned from the NFL a few years ago for playing a leading role in the Bountygate scandal, it seemed safe to suggest that the intensebut-disgraced defensive ace would never land another head coaching gig. Now he’s the interim coach of the Browns. Odd how a 3-36-1 record, Jackson’s mark during his Browns tenure, will lead to an opportunity. For somebody.
If the playoffs were today: The Seahawks (4-3), hosting the Chargers on Sunday, would be in as the sixth seed in the NFC. With a two-game winning streak and the only loss during a fivegame span being a two-point setback to the Rams, Seattle has quietly emerged as a wild-card contender. It will be a crowded race, with two of the three NFC North teams (Chicago, Minnesota, Green Bay) and Philadelphia (if it can’t catch Washington) in the mix. For the Seahawks to hang on for a playoff berth, they will have to survive a gantlet of a schedule that includes a three-game stretch against the Rams, Packers and Panthers and a late-December matchup against the Chiefs.
Stomach for an upset: Atlanta at Washington. The NFC East title is Washington’s to lose … or win. No, this isn’t the same Jay Gruden team that in 2016 was positioned for a playoff push at 6-3-1 in mid-November, then faded down the stretch and finished 8-7-1. This team has a better defense, an Adrian Peterson-inspired running game and steady Alex Smith at quarterback.
Then again, Washington (5-2) still needs to prove it won’t squander its lead as Philadelphia regroups. The last time the R’s faced a potent passing attack, the Saints ran them out of the Superdome. This time, playing on grass at home, should help. And Peterson gets a crack at an injury-depleted Atlanta defense. Yet the Falcons (3-4) are desperate, which might be one reason the home team is favored by just two points.
Stat’s the fact: With a big game at Cleveland, the Chiefs’ Mahomes could become the second quarterback in NFL history to pass for 300 yards in eight consecutive games within a season. Andrew Luck was the first in 2014. Think about that: Dan Marino, Brett Favre, Elway, Joe Montana, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Warren Moon. None of them hit that mark, though Drew Brees had a seven-game streak in 2011. And Mahomes is in his first year as a starter.