If McCarthy has a bad year, say like Richardson, what options are available for 26?

Big Ben says it could be a long day for ARod.

"'Olé!' Roethlisberger torches Steelers’ left tackle, flips pick to Vikings"

"Want to see me not touch anybody?" Roethlisberger quipped about Steelers left tackler Broderick Jones.

Steelers great Ben Roethlisberger is picking the Vikings to beat the Steelers on Sunday, mainly because he's extremely concerned about Pittsburgh's starting left tackle Broderick Jones.

"Olé! Olé! Want to see me not touch anybody?" Roethlisberg quipped about Jones on his podcast, Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger.

"I don't think the line is giving him enough time, and I think it starts with that left tackle," Roethlisberger said, referring to Jones, who has allowed an NFL-high four sacks through three games.

On Thursday, we covered five key stats about Aaron Rodgers under pressure. He's Pro Football Focus' lowest-graded quarterback when under pressure, having completed just 6-of-22 passes while being sacked seven times and throwing a pair of interceptions. According to PFF, 33% of the pressure is coming from rushers blowing by Jones at left tackle.

"I think that the Steelers are afraid to take shots down the field because that forces your quarterback to stay in the pocket and hold it a little bit longer. I don't think the line's playing well enough to do that. I think Aaron's getting the ball out of his hands because he doesn't trust what's going on," Roethlisberger said.

Source:  https://www.si.com/nfl/vikings/news/ole-...to-vikings

...except of course JJ and Donovan Jackson. So not horrible from an injury standpoint, just need Brandel to not be a complete shit show.

Man, he struggled again big time before making some catches in the 4th quarter. I think he's at a crossroads and he's dealing with a crisis of confidence. From everything I've read, he's a good kid....but he's got a ways to go to live up to being the 4th overall pick in the Draft. 

Gannon told Harrison he wanted him to play faster Thursday, and he said after that he felt Harrison did just that. There were moments Thursday when Harrison looked dejected, but Gannon said to come back from those emotions, Harrison needed to "control the controllables," and the team's psychological training helped him in those situations.

"He wants to help the team win," Gannon said. "He gets down on himself. He's got to let that go and control the controllables, which for me for him is just play fast. Control your effort, your mode of play and play fast, and I thought that's what he did."

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/4638...th-quarter

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/4638...-cardinals

"Sam's playing out of his mind right now," coach Mike Macdonald said. "You see him, he's just such a cool customer. But he's a guy on a mission. He's so determined for us to be a great team and a great offense, and he's doing a great job leading us."

He does look confident out there. Its obvious he's got all the tools, he really does. So far, so good for Sam in Seattle.

PENIX:

Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. isn’t untouchable. He might have a bright future, but people need to stop gushing about him like he’s already great and above being benched. He showed some promise in going 1-2 after supplanting Kirk Cousins as a rookie last year. People fawned. Too much. Too soon. This year, he’s again 1-2 and not very good. Among opening-day starters, his passer rating of 71.3 is worse than everyone’s but Trevor Lawrence (70.3) and Joe Flacco (65.9). The Falcons are coming off a 30-0 shutout loss at woeful Carolina. 

They’re 31st in scoring (14.0). Penix had a career-low 40.5 passer rating and missed several open receivers in getting shockingly blanked as the betting favorite.

Next up is 2-1 Washington at home. The Commanders have the league’s best third-down defense (28.57%). If I’m paying Kirk Cousins a guaranteed $100 million and he’s only started 14 games ($7.1 million a start so far), I’m taking the untouchable crown off Penix – eighth overall pick or not -- and handing it to Cousins if things stay ugly on Sunday.

Stats of the week:
3.9 yards per play. That’s all the Browns offense mustered in a 13-10 win over the Packers last Sunday. Of course, Jordan Love and the Packers offense averaged 3.8. The Browns defense ranks second in yards per play allowed (3.76) — behind the Packers (3.73) — and now travel to Detroit, which is 2-1 with an offense averaging 6.26 yards per play, No. 3 behind Indianapolis (6.61) and Baltimore (6.32).

Jones heads into this week’s game against the Rams with a 111.7 passer rating. His highest passer rating in six previous NFL seasons was 92.5 in 2022, the year he went 9-6-1 and used (and abused) former Vikings defensive coordinator Ed Donatell’s ridiculously soft defensive schemes — in the Purple’s one-and-done playoff appearance — to coax the Giants into giving him the mega-deal contract that he couldn’t live up to.

Did you know?
The Cowboys gave up five pass plays longer than 28 yards against the Bears last week. Next up: Home against a Packers’ offense that is itching to stretch its legs after being stifled in Cleveland. Green Bay is fourth in average yards per pass (7.74).

STRIB

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Ravens and Chiefs square off Wk4 to avoid 1/3

Dan Orlovsky@danorlovsky7
You know what QBs are on 3rd & long against Minnesota this year? 1-for-18