Some of the ways the Chiefs have won this year would suggest this start is fluky. Isaiah Likely’s toe being out of bounds in Week 1. The fourth-and-16 pass interference call in Week 2. Overtime in Week 9 and a walk-off blocked field goal last Sunday.
The Chiefs have the worst scoring margin (+58) of any 9-0 start in NFL history. They are playing a lot of close games and are not exactly lighting up the scoreboard. They rank 11th in points per game (24.3), while Patrick Mahomes has 12 touchdown passes and nine interceptions.
But they aren’t simply winning because of great defense and some timely plays in other facets down the stretch of games. They are much more on offense than what you see on paper and have evolved to the point where they are methodically marching up-and-down the field on teams unlike anything we’ve ever seen in modern NFL history. Call it a product of what defenses are doing to them over the years and some injuries on offense.
On a per-drive basis, this is the most grind-it-out unit we’ve ever seen.
They are averaging the most time of possession per drive (3:22) by any team on record (data available back to 1991). Second on the list is the 2019 Ravens (3:18), who had one of the best rushing offenses of all-time. They are averaging the most plays per drive (6.8) on record (data available back to 2000). They are converting the most third and fourth downs per game (8.1) since the 2009 Dolphins They have the best conversion rate on third and fourth downs (55%) since the 2011 Saints They also lead the NFL in plays per game (67.0), third-down conversion rate (52%) and time of possession (33:01) — the last of which is the best ever by an Andy Reid team.
This is one reason the Chiefs “somehow” find ways to win time and time again. For their opponents, it’s death by a thousand cuts over 60 minutes (or more). They don’t beat themselves (second-fewest penalties and fourth-lowest rate of plays going for zero or negative yards) as they bleed the clock and jab their opponents to death down the field.
This is why the Chiefs were harder and harder to stop in last season’s Super Bowl as they wore out San Francisco’s defense late in the game. Mahomes had 59 rush yards after halftime and converted a third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 run in overtime as the 49ers looked gassed. He was the first player since the merger with 200-plus pass yards and 50-plus rush yards after halftime in a playoff game.
He’s also been the key ingredient in keeping the Chiefs’ drives alive this year. He’s averaging 8.0 yards per attempt on third down (6.8 on first or second) and has an NFL-best nine scrambles for first downs on third down in 2024. Nothing like a backbreaking Mahomes scramble on third-and-long.
Mahomes was at his best on “Monday Night Football” against the Buccaneers in Week 9, going 11-for-13 for three touchdowns on third down. Like the Super Bowl, Kansas City scored a touchdown on its first overtime possession to win that game. It finished that game with four touchdown drives of 10-plus plays, the most by any team in a game this year. And guess what, it showcased another weapon in that game who can move the chains: DeAndre Hopkins.
Kansas City’s offense is inevitable. If it was an athlete, it’d be Tim Duncan, “the Big Fundamental.” This isn’t the sexiest offense ever, but the consistency is masterful.
Add it all up, and the Chiefs rank first in the NFL in success rate this season (52%). That’s plays where they gain at least five yards on first or second down or convert on third or fourth down.
They have just 41 explosive plays this year (only the Browns and Raiders have fewer), but they’ve managed to adapt to what defenses are giving them and give it right back. You’re going to take away the home-run ball that made the Mahomes an MVP in 2018? You’re not going to blitz him, either? OK, they are going to hammer the ball between the tackles for three to four yards, mash screen plays and yards after the catch and then hit Travis Kelce on third down to keep moving the chains. Mahomes has the shortest average pass length in the NFL over the last two seasons (6.2 yards downfield).
The Chiefs have the fewest drives in the NFL this season. The results of this style of play have meant close games, but with the best closer in the sport and one the league’s best defenses, they are going to continue to win these types of games.
Kansas City has now rattled off nine straight wins when trailing by seven-plus points, the longest streak in NFL history. That’s all occurred during its franchise-record 15-game win streak overall.
Mahomes has converted on 12 of 16 drives with a chance to tie or take the lead in the fourth quarter or overtime during this stretch. That’s a ridiculous 75% success rate, adding to the best conversion rate in NFL history for a career (55%).
You have to wonder how much credit is due to the Chiefs for wearing down their opponents throughout the game versus Mahomes just playing the GOAT card.
Either way, it’s working for Kansas City. And it’s one reason why I wouldn’t be surprised to see them become the first team to ever win three straight Super Bowls.
Don’t be mistaken. This isn’t the Chiefs’ most effective offense in the Mahomes era. They led the NFL in points per drive in three of his first five seasons as a starter. But it’s the formula that gives them the best chance to win right now taking everything into account — from the makeup of their team to the defensive blueprint out there.
The difference between their offense at the start of Mahomes’ career and now is like the tortoise and the hare. Right now, slow and steady gets the job done.
All around the NFL, defenses are daring offenses to beat them like this. They know most teams can’t methodically move down the field. They are bound to shoot themselves in the foot with a penalty, turnover, missed field goal or some kind of mistake. But clearly, the Chiefs are not most teams.
So, instead of being borderline disappointed that we aren’t seeing nearly as many fireworks from the Chiefs, appreciate that Kansas City’s offense is now a movie with a slow burn setting up for a climatic finish. That finish could be chasing perfection and a third straight Lombardi Trophy.
THE NFL TODAY will be live from Buffalo on Sunday. Fans can join the crew in Lot 6 at Highmark Stadium starting at noon ET on Nov. 17.
When two teams play each other twice a year, there are a lot of opportunities for each team to come away with wins. Alas, in the Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers “rivalry,” that has simply not happened of late. Chicago hasn’t beaten Green Bay since December of 2018. The games haven’t been close, either. In the 10 matchups between the NFC North rivals, the Packers have won by an average of 12.7 points per game.
That’s why Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson really wants to get his first-ever victory against Green Bay, this Sunday.
“It would mean a lot. We’ve been getting our ass whooped for a long time now,” Johnson said in his press conference, via Marquee Sports Network. “I don’t have a win (against Green Bay), so it would mean a lot to me personally. I’m just looking forward to the matchup, again, the rivalry in itself, but they’ve got some good guys. I have a lot of respect for the head coach and what he does on that side of the ball. I’m looking forward to it.”
Johnson has been in the league since 2020, which means he’s been there for eight of the 10 losses, though he missed two of them due to injury. In his six career games against Green Bay, he has two passes defensed but has yet to come away with an interception. The Second Team All-Pro from last season has remained one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks this season, allowing a passer rating of just 46.8 on throws in his direction, per Pro Football Focus. That’s second-best among the 115 cornerbacks who have played 100-plus snaps this season.
Green Bay’s pass offense has been up and down this year as Jordan Love has struggled with injuries, but coming off the bye it should be able to kick into higher gear. Of course, Johnson is hoping that’s not the case.
Week 10 of the NFL regular season was particularly challenging for Chicago. The outcome of last week’s game resulted in the firing of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. The Bears also added safety Jaquan Brisker and cornerback Jaylon Jones to injured reserve. It was not just the NFC North franchise that was met with obstacles.
Here is the most pressing need for each team entering Week 11:
AFC North Bengals: Cornerback Cincinnati may have tipped its hand as to what it views as the biggest position of need this week. The Bengals brought in former Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard for a visit and even offered him a contract, according to reports. However, the two parties were not able to come to terms. Daxton Hill is on the injured reserve and the play of others has been volatile.
Tee Higgins and Charlie Jones have been limited by injuries this week. The reality is that Joe Burrow and the Bengals offense will likely be fine as long as Ja’Marr Chase is present, but they should not have to rely upon Chase being Superman every week.
Browns: Linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah was placed on injured reserve. Jordan Hicks and Mohamoud Diabate will get an extended look. Cleveland is coming off a bye, so this will be the first opportunity to see the new look roster after changes were made at the trade deadline.
The Browns had the most drops in the league last year with 39 and already have the third-most drops (22) through nine games in 2024.
Ravens: Secondary Cornerbacks Trayvon Mullen and T.J. Tampa are on injured reserve. Jalyn Armour-Davis and newly acquired Tre’Davious White are back in the fold this week, and safety Kyle Hamilton practiced as well. It is an important week for the Ravens as they take on the division rival Steelers.
Baltimore is applying pressure on 30.9% of opponent’s dropback attempts — a bottom-10 rate in the league, according to TruMedia. It does not help that the team’s leading sack producer, Kyle Van Noy, missed practice with an illness Wednesday.
Steelers: Offensive line Russell Wilson has given the offense a bit of life, but the offensive line has taken a few hits as Troy Fautanu, James Daniels and Nate Herbig are dealing with injuries. The Steelers’ pressure rate has improved but remains the fifth-worst in the league, according to TruMedia.
AFC South Colts: Offensive line The Colts offensive line is working through some injuries. Guard Will Fries and center Ryan Kelly are on injured reserve while left tackle Bernhard Raimann has not practiced this week. A lack of stability along that unit has not aided the quarterback problems.
Jaguars: Cornerback Quarterback Trevor Lawrence will miss his second straight game with a shoulder injury.
Darious Williams was a casualty of the franchise’s search for salary cap health. He was replaced by 30-year-old Ronald Darby. The team has the highest passer rating allowed (106.2), according to TruMedia. Tyson Campbell did return to the lineup recently so the hope is that the unit can gain some upward mobility during the second half of the season.
Texans: Wide receiver There is definitely a disconnect on offense this year that was not present a year ago. Wide receivers Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs were companions on injured reserve. It does seem as though Collins is tracking to pla Monday night against the Cowboys. The interior offensive line has been leaky and that is why they were linked to the position at the trade deadline.
Titans: Edge rusher The fate of Tennessee’s pass rush is in the hands of Harold Landry III and Arden Key. The unit needs to find a more consistent way to generate pressure after finishing in the bottom five in team pressure rate a year ago, per TruMedia. Key did not practice Wednesday. Depth is even more concerning. The operation is currently fourth-worst in the NFL in terms of pressure applied (29.5%).
AFC East Bills: Pass catchers Rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman did not practice Wednesday. Amari Cooper could make his awaited return, but tight end Dalton Kincaid was also held out of practice Wednesday. Curtis Samuel and Mack Hollins should be available.
Dolphins: Secondary Neither safety Jordan Poyer nor cornerback Kendall Fuller practiced Wednesday. Edge rusher Jaelan Phillips is on injured reserve and Bradley Chubb has not yet made his 2024 debut.
Miami signed multiple veteran defensive linemen to pair with Zach Sieler in an effort to rebuild a defensive line that lost Christian Wilkins this offseason. Benito Jones and Calais Campbell are the two who made it through the offseason. Campbell turned 38 years old not long ago. Miami has the lowest yards before contact rate in the league, but the worst yards after contact rate, according to TruMedia.
Jets: Wide receiver New York’s issues have less to do with who is available and more to do with what is being said and choices being made in that building. Davante Adams did not practice Wednesday. Mike Williams was traded at the deadline and Allen Lazard is on injured reserve. If Adams can not go, then it is the Garrett Wilson and Xavier Gipson show. The Jets rank second in the NFL with 23 drops, according to TruMedia.
Patriots: Offensive tackle Drake Maye has arrived in New England, but the supporting cast does him zero favors. It all starts up front with the offensive line. If that is not solidified, then the rest hardly matters. The team is allowing pressure on 41.0% of dropbacks, which is the second-highest rate in the NFL, according to TruMedia. The longest-tenured lineman, center David Andrews, was added to injured reserve. Recent draft picks Jake Andrews and Caedan Wallace are also on the list.
AFC West Broncos: Linebacker Denver’s offensive line is starting to get healthy. Linebacker Alex Singleton is on injured reserve and Drew Sanders has been slowed down by an Achilles injury. Justin Strnad and Cody Barton are in a position to start against the Falcons.
Chargers: Edge rusher One can not look at Los Angeles’ roster and make judgements on their needs solely on the names listed, because they are getting the most out of players new and old. The Chargers have a below average pass rush statistically, according to TruMedia. Khalil Mack has not practiced this week and Bud Dupree could once again be forced to take on a larger role. Dupree produced two sacks last week though.
Chiefs: Wide receiver Outside of the wide receiver position, Kansas City is in pretty good health. Hollywood Brown, Skyy Moore and Rashee Rice are all on injured reserve. Juju Smith-Schuster is working his way back. Newly acquired DeAndre Hopkins has been a revelation and that takes pressure off Xavier Worthy to do what he does best.
They also acquired pass rusher Josh Uche from the Patriots before the deadline. Cornerback is another area that they could explore upgrading.
Raiders: Wide receiver Once Davante Adams was traded to the Jets, the Raiders were thin at receiver. Jakobi Meyers should be available this week. Tre Tucker, DJ Turner, Alex Bachman, Tyreik McAllister and Ramel Keyton are the only other receivers on the roster.
Defensive tackle Christian Wilkins was added to injured reserve.
NFC North Bears: Secondary Chicago added safety Jaquan Brisker and cornerback Jaylon Jones to injured reserve this week.
Left tackle Braxton Jones and right tackle Darnell Wright were limited participants Wednesday after missing some time. Reserve offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie and offensive guard Teven Jenkins also missed practice. Jenkins’ injury did not look good when he left the game last week. There had already been protection issues before the injuries. Interior offensive lineman Ryan Bates is on the injured reserve.
Lions: Edge rusher Edge rusher is the choice for another week until Za’Darius Smith plays. The reality is that Detroit is healthy across the board right now — although Sam LaPorta did miss practice Wednesday — and there are not any obvious weak links on the roster. Marcus Davenport, Derrick Barnes, Aidan Hutchinson and John Cominsky are on injured reserve. The Lions have invested a second-round pick in Josh Paschal and need him to rise to the occasion. James Houston and Al-Quadin Muhammad are the other notable names at that spot.
Packers: Running back Relatively speaking, Green Bay is one of the healthiest teams in the NFL right now. They only have four players on the injured reserve, which is tied with the Broncos and Eagles for the least in the NFL, and only one player missed practice Wednesday. Two running backs, AJ Dillon and MarShawn Lloyd, are on injured reserve, so there is a lot of pressure on Josh Jacobs to stay healthy and produce.
Vikings: Offensive line Minnesota is allowing pressure on 37.9% of dropbacks, which is the ninth-worst rate in the NFL, according to TruMedia. Starting offensive guard Dalton Risner has been activated off injured reserve and trade acquisition Cam Robinson has replaced the injured Christian Darrisaw. As the unit plays together more, it has shown steady improvement.
NFC South Buccaneers: Wide receiver Tampa Bay is amid a much-needed bye week. Chris Godwin’s season came to an end in Week 7 against the Ravens. Mike Evans, Jalen McMillan and Sterling Shepard have all battled through varying injuries.
Falcons: Edge rusher Atlanta has the second-lowest pressure rate this season (27.5%), according to TruMedia. Matt Judon was brought in to be the solution, but it is actually Arnold Ebiketie leading the team in pass-rush win rate (10.7%) at No. 63 in the league among players with at least 150 pass-rush snaps.
Panthers: Edge rusher To the surprise of everyone, Carolina is carrying a two game win streak into the bye and Bryce Young has looked improved. Pass rusher Brian Burns was traded away at a discount this offseason, so the burden falls on Jadeveon Clowney. They have applied pressure on 24.3% of opponent’s dropbacks through 10 games, according to TruMedia. For perspective, the top of the league (Cleveland) sits at 43.3%.
Cornerback, other than Jaycee Horn, is a weakness.
Saints: Wide receiver Chris Olave recently joined Rashid Shaheed on injured reserve, which leaves an unusual cast of characters, led by Mason Tipton, at wide receiver.
All-Pro cornerback Marshon Lattimore was traded away and Paulson Adebo remains on injured reserve. Second-round pick Kool-Aid McKinstry returned to practice this week in a limited capacity as he nurses a hamstring injury. In addition to McKinstry, Alontae Taylor and Ugo Amadi are in position to start.
NFC East Commanders: Cornerback Opposing passers have had a 102.5 rating against Washington this season, which is the sixth-highest in the league, according to TruMedia. They did acquire cornerback Marshon Lattimore at the trade deadline, but he has yet to suit up due to a hamstring injury. Former first-round pick Emmanuel Forbes has made little impact, and the team also recently parted with former first-round linebacker Jamin Davis.
Cowboys: Edge rusher Edge rushers Demarcus Lawrence, Sam Williams and Marshawn Kneeland remain on injured reserve but Micah Parsons returned in Week 10. Eight Cowboys, including three cornerbacks, were held out of Thursday’s practice. The statuses of Caelen Carson, DaRon Bland and Jourdan Lewis are worth monitoring in the next few days.
Dallas’ defense has been neither effective nor disciplined as many had expected in Mike Zimmer’s first season as defensive coordinator. They are getting bullied up front in the run game.
Eagles: Interior offensive line The loss of center Jason Kelce to retirement has taken a toll on the Philadelphia offensive line. It has the highest pressure rate allowed (44.1%), according to TruMedia. Landon Dickerson and Mekhi Becton are starting at guard with Cam Jurgens sandwiched between them.
Giants: Offensive tackle The Giants are walking into a bye week with one of the worst records in football. New York has allowed pressure on 37.7% of dropbacks this season, which is a bottom-10 rate in the league, according to TruMedia. Left tackle Andrew Thomas is on injured reserve.
Brian Daboll’s team also leads the league in drops (26).
NFC West 49ers: Tight end George Kittle has been a consistent part of the San Francisco passing attack, but he missed practice Wednesday. The wide receiver group is finally coming together in the absence of Brandon Aiyuk, who is out for the rest of the season, but running back Christian McCaffrey should positively impact the pass game.
Cardinals: Edge rusher The Cardinals have the third-lowest team pressure rate applied (29.4%), according to TruMedia. Rookie defensive lineman Darius Robinson has yet to make his season debut. Defensive tackles Bilal Nichols and Justin Jones are on the injured reserve. Baron Browning was acquired from Denver, but time will tell what kind of an impact he makes on the roster.
Rams: Offensive line Interior offensive linemen Jonah Jackson and Steve Avila made their return to the lineup but offensive guard Joe Noteboom and offensive tackle Rob Havenstein have not practiced this week. The Rams continue to trend upward as they hold their ground in the NFC West while getting healthier with each passing week.
Seahawks: Tight end Tight ends Noah Fant and Brady Russell were held out of practice Wednesday. Rookie AJ Barner has seen more time and Seattle also has veteran Pharaoh Brown on the roster.
Before an Oct. 20 game against the Giants inside MetLife Stadium, many Eagles fans were ready to call for the firing of coach Nick Sirianni if Philadelphia lost on the road.
Now, at the midway point of November, Gang Green has won six straight en route to taking the lead in the NFC East at 8-2. Funny how quickly and vastly things can change.
And these Eagles are surging in traditional fashion — with run-game dominance and suffocating defense.
It just hasn’t felt like Jalen Hurts is the centerpiece of this team, or even the offense.
The classic numbers would suggest he’s having a career year. But in watching him in isolation and/or diving into the advanced metrics, it’s obvious Hurts isn’t playing outstanding football. His 5.7% Big-Time Throw rate is the highest of his professional career in a single season, but his 4.6% Turnover-Worthy Play rate is also his worst and the fifth-highest in football, nestled between Joe Flacco’s and Dak Prescott’s.
His yards-after-contact and missed-tackles-forced rates are down from his standards.
However, the point here isn’t to bash Hurts, although he absolutely can play better.
It’s to highlight the offensive heartbeat for the Eagles, Saquon Barkley, one of two backs to have eclipsed 1,000 yards on the ground this season through Week 11 (Chuba Hubbard enters the week third at 818 yards). Barkley’s averaging 5.8 yards per tote, which ranks third among 27 running backs with at least 100 carries to date.
On 197 carries this season, Barkley has already forced 34 missed tackles, surpassing the 31 he managed on 247 carries in 2023 with the Giants. His yards-after-contact-per-rush average is north of 3.0 for the first time since 2019. D’Andre Swift’s was 2.44 last year, 52nd among 59 qualifiers. And Barkley’s maintained his explosiveness, as 40.9% of his runs have gone for 15-plus yards. It marks the first time that average has been higher than 40% since 2020. Swift’s was 26.9% in 2023.
For league perspective, that nearly 41% Breakaway Percentage is fourth among all running backs with at least 100 carries. Barkley’s been as advertised and then some.
Swift had a fine season as Philadelphia’s lead back in 2023, rushing for over 1,000 yards at 4.5 per pop. Barkley has represented a clear upgrade over Swift. The 2024 Eagles defense has been light years better than the 2023 iteration.
And it’s mostly been thanks to additions in the back seven. First-round cornerback Quinyon Mitchell has thrived as an on-an-island boundary defender, straight out of the University of Toledo. The rookie has surrendered a catch on 48.9% of targets in his vicinity with no touchdowns and seven pass breakups. Terry McLaurin’s stat line in Philly’s Week 11 win over the Commanders was one catch for 10 yards on two targets. And he didn’t see a target on the 20 routes run with Mitchell in coverage.
Second-round pick Cooper DeJean has been a godsend at slot corner. The former Iowa star has seen 25 receptions in his coverage area but allowed a mere 161 yards on those receptions, no touchdowns, and has knocked away two passes. His given the Eagles dynamic athleticism and stability in that key secondary role for the first time since prime Avonte Maddox of 2021.
But it’s Zack Baun who’s been the most pleasant surprise of all Howie Roseman’s back-seven acquisitions this offseason. The hybrid linebacker-edge rusher the Saints drafted in the third round in 2020 is now playing a more static weakside off-ball linebacker role and flourishing.
With a loaded defensive line in front of him, he’s flowing with incredible speed to the football, which is having a ripple effect on the rest of his game. Baun’s missed-tackle rate is 8.3%, the first time he’s ever been below 13% in his NFL career. He’s already played four times as many snaps in coverage than in any of his seasons with the Saints. On those plays, Baun’s allowed 7.2 yards per grab without a touchdown, one interception, and a pair of pass breakups.
We know the Eagles are going to be strong in the trenches. They’ve been that team from Chip Kelly to Doug Pederson to Sirianni. And Hurts is plenty good even if he’s not elite.
The difference from 2023 to date has been an Offensive Player of the Year candidate running back in Barkley, serious playmakers — both rookies — at two of the cornerback spots and a revitalized veteran linebacker.
We’re 10 weeks into the NFL season, and no wide receiver has been better than Ja’Marr Chase, who is putting together the best campaign of his career to date. Chase leads the NFL with 66 receptions. He leads the NFL with 981 receiving yards. And he leads the NFL with 10 touchdown grabs. He is fresh off one of the best games any wide receiver has ever had, having racked up a preposterous 11 catches for 264 yards and three scores in a one-point loss to the division rival Baltimore Ravens, and he’s showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.
Of course, if you’re checking the NFL section on CBSSports.com, you probably don’t need me to rattle off those numbers. You know how good Chase is. What you may not know for certain, though, is what truly makes him such a special and unique player.
And it’s this: Chase is, essentially, the answer to the following question: What if you took an elite vertical receiver like DeAndre Hopkins in his prime and gave him Deebo Samuel’s run-after-catch ability? That’s the kind of player we’re talking about here.
The Relative Athletic Score database has 3,401 wide receivers participating in either the NFL Scouting Combine or their school’s pro day going back to 1987, and Chase grades out as a top 2% athlete among that group of players. Chase is actually only 6-feet tall and 201 pounds, but you would never know it by watching his film. He is so physically imposing, so good in contested-catch situations, so adept at using his body to shield defenders away from the ball. Throw in the fact that he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.34 seconds (at his pro day), jumped 41 inches high, broad-jumped 132 inches and ran the shuttle in 3.99 seconds (all of which rank in the 94th percentile or better for receivers, per Mockdraftable), and you begin to understand why it can be so hard to get him to the ground once he gets the ball in his hands.
The Bengals have put these skills to particularly good use this year on in-breaking routes: slants, digs, posts, crossers.
According to TruMedia, Joe Burrow is 18 of 25 for 447 yards and four touchdowns when targeting Chase on those routes. Among the 212 players leaguewide that have run 100 or more total routes, only Justin Jefferson (457) has more yards on in-breakers. Only Nico Collins and Rashid Shaheed have averaged more yards per route run than Chase’s 6.12 on those routes. And among the 60 players with 15-plus in-breaking targets, Chase ranks first in yards after catch per reception (11.7) by a mile — more than a full yard ahead of the next-closest player (Tyler Johnson, strangely, at 10.4). Among players with double-digit targets on those kinds of routes, only Jameson Williams (an otherworldly 16.3) is ahead of Chase.
He is so sudden and so violent with his movements that it is basically not possible to cover him on short-area routes like slants. Just ask poor Cooper DeJean, who found that out the hard way earlier this season.
He’s smart enough to know what he’s seeing, coverage-wise, and settle into the right area of the field to give Burrow a target and then tough enough to hang on to the ball no matter how many defenders are surrounding him. The Bengals routinely send him to the middle of the field and both he and Burrow have no uneasiness about making that work.
The elite speed (again, he ran a 4.34 in the 40) helps him just absolutely smoke defenders down the field on posts and deep crosses. If you give him a free release off the line, you’re already in trouble. If you stop backpedaling for even a split-second, you’re in trouble. If you jam him and he still manages to stack the route and get his shoulders ahead of yours, you’re done.
Roger Goodell has made it very clear over the past 12 months that he wants to expand the regular-season schedule and he’s also made it very clear that he wants to add more games to the international schedule. However, until this week, the NFL commissioner had never put an exact timeline on his plans.
During an appearance at Liberty Media’s investor day, Goodell had some interesting things to say about possibly expanding both the international schedule and the regular-season schedule (via Sports Business Journal).
Back in September, Goodell said that he would like to see the NFL expand the international schedule to eventually include 16 games, but he didn’t put a date on when he hoped to see that happen. As it turns out, it’s something that could happen in the very near future.
“We hope to be 16 [international games] within five years,” Goodell said at the investor day.
The NFL played five international games this year with three in London, one in Germany and one in Brazil. In 2025, the number is expected to be bumped up to eight with games definitely being played in London, Spain (Madrid), and Germany, and possibly being played in Brazil, Mexico and Ireland. The NFL has also conducted site surveys in Abu Dhabi, Paris, Barcelona, Rome and Dublin, so those cities could be hosting a game in the near future.
The league is also expected to target Australia for possible games as soon as the 2026 season, so if the NFL does expand to 16 international games, there will be plenty of cities willing to host a game.
As for expanding the regular-season schedule, that also could happen in the near future. It seems that Goodell would like to see the schedule get expanded to 18 games at the same time that the international schedule gets expanded, which makes sense.
“We could be doing more regular season than preseason, so we’re looking at a change from the 17-and-three format to maybe 18 regular-season games and two preseason games,” Goodell said. “And that will open up more inventory to allow us to play more globally.”
That last comment is the key part: Goodell specifically noted that adding an 18th game will make it easier to expand the international schedule so he’d almost certainly like to see those two things happen around the same time. If we stick with the five-year timeline that he put on international games, that means we could see the NFL expand the regular-season schedule by 2029.
Although Goodell wants to see the schedule expanded, that can’t happen unless the NFLPA is on board. The current collective bargaining agreement runs through the 2030 season, which means nothing can be done about expanding the regular-season schedule before then unless the NFLPA approves it. Back in May, CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones broke down what the players might ask for in exchange for agreeing to add an 18th game before the current CBA expires and you can check his reporting here. One thing Jones noted is that that players might ask for an extra bye, which would turn the current 18-week regular season into a 20-week season. It will certainly be interesting to see how that plays out.
Goodell publicly mentioned expanding the schedule to 18 games back in April, so it’s pretty clear that it’s something he wants to get done sooner rather than later. He’s also been privately talking about it since at least 2021.
The bottom line is that more international games are definitely coming and an expanded regular-season is likely coming, and it’s all probably going to happen before the end of the decade
