ESPN identified DJ Moore as the Buffalo Bills' most significant offseason addition after Week 7, highlighting the wide receiver's expected impact on the team's passing game. Although Buffalo was on its bye, Moore's role remained central to the discussion of the club's offensive outlook.
Moore joined Buffalo after being acquired from the Chicago Bears in exchange for a 2026 second-round draft pick. The veteran receiver has been sidelined while recovering from a shoulder injury, but his anticipated return could add another dimension to an offense that has continued to produce without him. The team's bye week also provided additional time for his recovery. The Bills entered its bye at 5-1 and ranked second, one spot higher than the previous week in ESPN's poll.
Jan 10, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver DJ Moore (2) reacts after making a first down against the Green Bay Packers during the first half of an NFC Wild Card Round game at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images
His value is tied to his ability to stretch the field and create opportunities beyond the catch. Moore's routes can force opposing defenses to cover more ground, opening ******* e underneath and making it more difficult to crowd the line of scrimmage. That added room could benefit the running game as well as the passing attack.
Through the first portion of the season, Moore averaged 2.47 yards per route run while recording an average depth of target of 15.9 yards. Those figures led the league, underscoring his ability to generate downfield production. His presence gives the offense a receiver capable of drawing coverage away from other targets and creating explosive-play opportunities.

#week #receiver #bills

The Green Bay Packers took down the visiting Carolina Panthers on "Thursday Night Football" to open Week 8 in the NFL. The big stats to know: Jordan Love threw three touchdown passes and Josh Jacobs scored twice, while the Packers defense produced six sacks and held the Panthers to just 3.7 yards per play.
Five other stats to explain the Packers' 27-19 win over the Panthers:
The Packers pressured Bryce Young on 48.9 percent of his dropbacks on Thursday night, and he completed only seven passes for 41 yards and took six sacks while pressured, per Next Gen Stats. Brenton ******* Jr. (6), Dani Dennis-Sutton and Lukas Van Ness (5) led the way in the pressure department for the Packers, who consistently won at the line of scrimmage and forced Young into rushed decisions or improvised throws. Because of the pass protection issues, Young completed only two passes thrown more than 10 yards downfield and attempted only one pass more than 20 yards downfield.
While Bryce Young languished under pressure, Jordan Love consistently got the ball out of his hands quick and on time. Per Next Gen Stats, Love completed 23 of 25 passes thrown in under 2.5 seconds after the snap, completing negating any pass-rush. His 23 "quick" completions were the most in a game by a quarterback this season and by far the most in his career, beating the 19 he had during Week 7 in 2024. Two of his three touchdowns came on quick throws under 2.5 seconds. The Panthers tried to blitz Love, but he consistently found quick answers to beat potential pressure.
The Packers turned the ball over three times: Coleman Owen's fumble on the opening kickoff return, Christian Watson's fumble in the second quarter and Jordan Love's interception to start the fourth quarter. But the Panthers turned those three takeaways into all of three points. And the field goal came after Owen's fumble set up the Panthers inside the 30-yard line. Turnovers can be huge momentum-turning plays in games, but not if a defense stands tall. Jonathan Gannon's group made sure mistakes made didn't turn into a run of points for the Panthers.

#panthers #packers #young #jordan

Carolina Panthers WR Tetairoa McMillan had six receptions for 58 yards against the Green Bay Packers in Week 8. He was targeted a team-high 11 times in the loss.
SOURCE: USA TODAY
Why It Matters: With Bryce Young under duress on Thursday night, the passing game was primarily quick hitters with the hope that the wideouts could break a tackle or two and make a big play. It rarely worked out that way, however, and as a result McMillan averaged just 9.7 yards per catch. It was his third largely disappointing performance in his last five games and second in a row. We all saw what this passing attack could look like early this season, so McMillan's upside remains substantial, but the Panthers need to figure out a way to keep Young upright so he can take more downfield shots. While it's too soon to downgrade McMillan below WR2 status, his recent production has not been on that level.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tetairoa McMillan leads Carolina in receiving on Thursday night

#mcmillan

Green Bay Packers WR Christian Watson had three receptions (on eight targets) for 64 yards against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6.
SOURCE: USA TODAY
Why It Matters: Watson entered Week 6 second in the NFL in touchdown receptions with six. He had a seventh one in his hands on Sunday night but failed to haul it in, ultimately finishing with his second-worst showing of 2026. While it was a disappointing effort from Watson, the potency of Green Bay's passing attack is legit, as is Jordan Love's willingness to push the ball downfield. The duo of Watson and Matthew Golden is starting to gain traction as a dangerous one-two combination, and the speedy Watson has established himself as one of the NFL's premier deep threats. He's a low-end WR1 that belongs in your weekly lineup.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Christian Watson lets touchdown slip through his fingers

#receptions

Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love completed 23 of his 41 pass attempts for 276 yards, one touchdown, and one interception versus the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6. Love also had 12 yards and a touchdown on four carries.
SOURCE: USA TODAY
Why It Matters: It's almost impossible to overstate how much Green Bay's receivers undercut Love's output on Sunday night. Matthew Golden dropped three passes, including two touchdowns, and Christian Watson dropped another sure touchdown as well in a win over the Cowboys. Despite that, Love still threw for almost 300 yards and accounted for two touchdowns while navigating porous blocking from his offensive line. The Packers' inability to run the ball has put the onus on Love to move the offense, and that has helped the Utah State product develop into arguably the NFL's most aggressive downfield passer. It seems to work out more often than not, and Love has a high-end end matchup in Week 7 against Detroit. Love is a strong QB2 that's playable as a QB1 in plus matchups.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jordan Love accounts for two total touchdowns in win

#love #touchdowns #packers #jordan

The Cleveland Browns were unable to overcome the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week One of the 2026-27 NFL season, 34-10.
Cleveland's disastrous performance on Sunday afternoon fell on the hands of the offense, as the unit failed to consistently move the ball downfield. This unfortunately forced the defense into brutal field position for most of the contest, which led to Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence's incredible four-touchdown performance.
During his opening remarks to the media following the loss, head coach Todd Monken told reporters that the Browns "didn't execute on the road" the way they expected to this past weekend.
"We didn't execute on the road the way we expected," Monken claimed. "Without really seeing the tape, the obvious issues came in operation, and a couple delay of games and false starts that we thought we cleaned up, but obviously we didn't."
One of the most pressing issues for the Browns' offense on Sunday was the simple line-of-scrimmage operations that Monken stressed for most of the offseason.

#jaguars #road

What did Pro Football Focus make of the New Orleans Saints' season-opening loss to the Detroit Lions? PFF's unique grading system leaves a lot to be desired as far as valuable ****** ysis, but it's a good starting point for highlighting which players pulled their weight and which performances deserve more scrutiny. With the Saints having fought their into overtime after stumbling out of the gates, let's check in on the best and worst player grades on offense and defense after Week 1.
WR Chris Olave: 82.6. Olave wasn't as effective blocking on run plays as he'd like to be, but that's nearly the only negative about his game (he did also drop a pass deep downfield early on). He caught 10 of 13 targets for a career-high 182 receiving yards, went 2-of-4 on contested catches, and converted seven first downs. His 30 yards gained after the catch were also impressive.
TE Noah Fant: 79.6. Fant had some miscues -- Shough overthrew and underthrew him a few times as the pair worked to get in sync -- but you can see why the ball continued to go his way. Fant picked up almost half of his yardage after the catch and looked comfortable while drawing targets in traffic.
QB Tyler Shough: 75.0. How impressive is it that Shough clawed his way back up the list after starting so poorly? PFF had him with six "big time throws" this week, as many as the next two quarterbacks combined, which they define as "a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window." He just needs to cut down on the turnover-worthy plays, sacks, and penalties. That's easier said than done but should come with experience.
TE Juwan Johnson: 73.4. Johnson was the team's highest-rated run blocker (75.1), and while he didn't see many targets until late in the game, he made them count by going 3-of-6 for 54 yards and a critical touchdown. He also forced the Lions defense into committing a costly coverage penalty early on.

#shough

The John Harbaugh era got off to a rousing start last night with the New York Giants defeating the division rival Dallas Cowboys 28-20 at a raucous MetLife Stadium. (When was the last time "raucous" and "MetLife" appeared in the same sentence about a Giants game?) Let's see what the **** ysts at Pro Football Focus thought of the individual player performances.
Focusing first on the passing, Jaxson Dart's 23 of 29, 230-yard, 3 TD, 0 INT performance was given a grade of…65.8, smack in the middle of their "average" range. I'm sure fans will take Dart's highly efficient game, as evidenced by his excellent 134.2 NFL passer rating last night, every week. PFF, though, grades on degree of difficulty and taking care of the ball. Dart didn't have any interceptions, but in PFF's eyes he had two turnover-worthy plays, which they see as being just as bad. He also did not have any "big-time," throws, i.e., **** placed accurately into tight windows and especially those that go deep downfield for explosive plays. Dart only threw three **** beyond 20 yards and only completed one. To quote Seinfeld, "Not that there's anything wrong with that," but that's what PFF values. Dart did what he had to do to win the game. In the long run, he'll have to show that he can hurt opposing defenses deep on a consistent basis, but for one game the short-range passing game was just fine.
Let's look at the effect of pressure:
Dart was an amazing 19 of 22 when kept clean, including all three of his TD passes. When pressured he was 4 of 7 for 57 yards, but both of his TWPs came under pressure.
Moving on to the pass blocking:

#night

The Colorado Buffaloes entered Saturday needing a more confident passing game after a tight opening win at Georgia Tech, and Julian Lewis supplied it before Weber State even had time to settle into the afternoon at Folsom Field.
On Colorado's first offensive snap, Lewis hit DeAndre Moore Jr. for a 66-yard touchdown. A few minutes later, Lewis found Joseph Williams for a 63-yard score, and Colorado had already put Weber State in a position where it needed to chase the game.
From my seat, the biggest development was how quickly Lewis played. The Buffs came out attacking downfield, trusting Lewis to make the reads and allowing the receivers to use their speed against Weber State's coverage.
Colorado's 52-21 win moved the Buffs to 2-0 for the first time since 2023. Lewis completed 17 of 23 passes for a career-high 366 yards, four touchdown passes and no interceptions. He added a 3-yard rushing touchdown before halftime, accounting for five scores before leaving the game with 5:50 remaining in the third quarter.
The 52-point afternoon came with a few defensive concerns, particularly in the secondary, but Colorado showed far more life offensively than it did a week ago. Lewis played like a quarterback who could give this team an explosive passing game, while Micah Welch ended one of the program's longest rushing droughts.

#lewis #weber #state #buffs

UCLA football looks to build on a strong showing from their Week 1 rout of Cal in their home opener when they host San Diego State at the Rose Bowl on Saturday, Sept. 12.
The Bob Chesney era in Westwood couldn't have started on a better note as the Bruins rode dominant performances from their run game and defense -- their two biggest weaknesses last season -- to pull away late from what had been a shootout with the Golden Bears through the first three quarters.
Senior running back Anthony Woods led the way on the ground with 118 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while JMU transfer Wayne Knight added three more scores on 71 yards. That opened up some opportunities for Nico Iamaleava to take shots downfield, which the quarterback converted for some big plays late in the first half.
The Aztecs -- now a member of the new-look Pac-12 -- are coming off a strong season debut of their own, a 53-20 blowout over Portland State.
Follow along for live coverage from USA TODAY Sports on UCLA vs. San Diego State:

#state #diego

The Dallas Cowboys are back! And, of course, it's another start to the season where the Cowboys roll into MetLife Stadium to take on the New York Giants. The Giants have many questions heading into the 2026 season with a whole new coaching staff after a season where they managed to win only four games. Let's break it down then get to some predictions.
Expect the Giants to make the running game the starting point of their new offense. John Harbaugh has brought in coaches with a history of building physical rushing attacks, while fullback Patrick Ricard and first-round offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa were added to help them play that way. Cam Skattebo gives them a powerful runner, but quarterback Jaxson Dart is just as important. Dart rushed for 487 yards and nine touchdowns as a rookie, so Dallas cannot simply chase the running back and forget about the quarterback.
The biggest opportunity for New York comes when Dallas starts worrying too much about the run. The Cowboys allowed 4,735 passing yards and 31 passing touchdowns last season, and Dart finished the year by completing 22 of 32 passes for 230 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in a 34-17 win over Dallas.
If Malik Nabers is cleared to play following his ACL recovery, his matchup against the Dallas secondary becomes even more important, although his Week 1 availability remains uncertain. The Giants' route to victory is to keep Dallas guessing with the running game and Skattebo, use Dart as a runner, then attack downfield when the Cowboys bring extra defenders toward the line.
Dallas should make New York prove immediately that its run defense has improved. The Giants surrendered 2,470 rushing yards last season, while Javonte Williams ran for 1,201 yards and scored 11 rushing touchdowns for Dallas. Running the football also has another benefit this week because the Cowboys will be without All-Pro guard Tyler Smith following thumb surgery. T.J. Bass will replace him, so giving the offensive line manageable situations rather than asking it to pass protect on every play makes sense.

#cowboys

Metcalf sits 34th among wide receivers in PFN's Week 1 rankings, which is what happens after the worst season of your career. The Falcons allowed seven receivers to clear 20 PPR points last season, so the setup is there, and so is the Michael Pittman theory. I'm going to be a week or two late to this party rather than early.
Let's call a spade a spade: Metcalf is coming off of the worst season of his career. His 850 yards were a new low-water mark and even that was inflated by two games where he had superhero singular plays that lifted his stat line (274 yards in games against the Ravens and Vikings, 576 in his other 13, good for just 44.3 yards per contest).
Aaron Rodgers is back at the helm and the team added Michael Pittman this offseason, a receiver who has effectively made a career off of what the Steelers asked of Metcalf in his first season with the franchise: short targets and hope.
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Metcalf's 11.3 aDOT was, you guessed it, the lowest of his career, and featured just 24.2% of his looks coming deep downfield (15 or more yards), a rate that stood at 43.5% in 2024 with Seattle.

#season #week #receivers

Seventy-First hit the road for the first official time this season against Hoke County, in a reunion with its former coach Duran McLaurin, and faced déjà vu from a year ago, falling to a last second field goal, 25-24.
Seventy-First began the night defensively, and immediately started to wreak havoc on Hoke County's unmatched offense.
The Falcons forced a turnover on downs on the Bucks in their first possession, but failed to capitalize on the early start, resulting in a punt.
In its second stint with the ball, Seventy-First pushed the ball downfield after a series of chunk plays from senior quarterback R'maunni Watson and senior athlete Shon Pone, until Pone punched in a 3-yard rush up the middle with just 1:37 left in the opening quarter. He then scored on the 2-point conversion.
The Falcons gave up major yardage on the next kickoff, giving Hoke positive field position to begin its next drive, and the Bucks pushed the ball all the way into the Falcons redzone until a defensive stalwart from Seventy-First held the Bucks down for another turnover on downs, to take the ball over in Hoke territory.

#field

It's been a long wait for this day to get here, but now we can finally turn the page to (I hope) more constructive play and move on from the UVA debacle. So what are we keeping our eyes on in the bigger picture tonight?
1.) Find at least the beginnings of an identity offensively. NC State's performance at Virginia was so bad as to look incoherent, and the offense wasn't on the field enough to develop a rhythm, much less discover its most important foundational aspects. Pretty much nothing worked, and what did—or could have—worked, often wasn't well-executed. The Pack has to take the opportunity presented by Richmond to start sorting itself out and establish concepts that work. Where's the bread and ***** er?
2.) To that end, who are the playmakers in this offense? We know that NC State would like to lean on Duke Scott and certainly he has better days ahead of him, but I'd like to see a more concerted effort to get Victor Snow the ball tonight. We learned next to nothing about the passing game in Week 0—well, nothing good, anyway—and still don't really know what we've got at receiver. It might end up essential for Snow to get 8-10 touches each week, and now's a good time to figure that out. I won't be surprised if Keenan Jackson is a focal point, either.
3.) What does this defense look like when it isn't in a bad position for 60 minutes? They were set up to fail by the offense in the first game, and Virginia never had to get out of its conservative comfort zone. Still the defense did some good things against actual handoffs, and needs to build on that. Richmond shouldn't have much of a downfield passing game to speak of, and I want to see how the defense performs against more regular passing downs.

#much #passing

MILFORD – With the dynamic duo of wideout Eli Rosenberg and quarterback Vincent Loscerbo, the Milford High football team certainly delivered their opening statements convincingly Thursday night.
The senior co-captain hauled in five receptions for 147 yards and three touchdowns and the junior signal caller completed eight of 12 passes for 211 yards and three scores as the Scarlet Hawks amassed a total of 476 yards in offense en route to a 49-7 grounding of Framingham in a non-league, season-opening matchup at Milford High's turf field.
"Honestly I didn't know what to expect heading into the season,'' said veteran Milford ******* istant coach Dana Olson. "We have a very young team, and we're relying on sophomores and juniors to help carry this team. With the new MIAA rules, we didn't have a lot of time to prepare, and we only had one scrimmage, so we weren't really sure of how things were going to turn out, but I'm happy with the way the guys performed. Sure we made some silly mistakes and committed some penalties, but we'll work on correcting them as the season moves forward."
As the estimated crowd of approximately 2,000 spectators looked on, the Scarlet Hawks struck on the first play of the contest
On the game's first play from scrimmage at their own 39-yard line, the Scarlet Hawks drew first blood and grabbed a 7-0 lead just :12 into the contest. On a backwards pass from Loscerbo to sophomore reserve quarterback Logan Snaddon, who fired a perfect strike downfield to Rosenberg, who raced into the end zone untouched for the 7-0 lead.

#team #season #rosenberg #loscerbo

It's only Week 1, but a lot is on the line as the Vikings and Packers meet for the 132nd time on Sunday. Both teams will be looking to make a statement to start the 2026-27 regular season. Let's dive into the matchup, scouring every nook and cranny for details that will help decide the latest border battle between the NFC North rivals.
The sense I have is that the Vikings should (and do) feel confident going into this game, even if it's a small Vegas spread and there are a lot of Week 1 unknowns. They're at home, where they've won four of the last five meetings with the Packers. Green Bay is without leading rusher Josh Jacobs and has major questions on the offensive line. The Packers have some talented defenders but may struggle to generate a consistent pass rush without their superstar on that side of the ball, Micah Parsons.
The one area of concern that the Vikings must limit to win the game is Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love. Minnesota is well aware of how talented Love is. He's not going to be as rattled by Brian Flores' complex blitzes as other QBs might be. Love is plenty capable of delivering accurate throws downfield while staring down pressure.
"His growth and development has been outstanding," Flores said on Thursday. "He's just grown and grown. Whether it's cadence, whether it's on the ball, no-huddle, he's got total, total command and understanding of what they're trying to do. Obviously he's got a great coach and they work extremely well together. Great rapport with his receivers. He's always been super talented. Just a naturally gifted, accurate thrower of the ball. It's actually been fun to watch him grow.
"Big, big challenge for us, no doubt about that."

#talented

Wide receiver Demarcus Robinson hauled in a 38-yard touchdown pass from Brock Purdy with 4:28 left in the second quarter, giving the San Francisco 49ers their first touchdown of the 2026 NFL season.
The score gave the 49ers a 10-7 lead over the Los Angeles Rams in Week 1 from Australia.
Watch:
The score capped a nine-play drive that began at the 49ers' 13-yard line, set up by Renardo Green's interception with 8:52 remaining in the quarter. San Francisco methodically moved the ball downfield before Purdy found Robinson streaking open for the chunk-yardage strike, marking the 49ers' first offensive touchdown of the game.
Robinson is no stranger to facing the Rams — he spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons in Los Angeles before signing a two-year, $9.5 million deal with San Francisco in March 2025. In 2024, his lone full season as a featured piece of the Rams' offense, he set career highs with 31 catches, 505 yards and seven touchdowns.

#robinson #Rams #touchdown #yard

Cooper Rush is about as good of a third quarterback as you'll find in today's NFL, and is certainly one of the most experienced. That said, when you're staring down the barrel of starting your QB3 in Week 1 of the NFL season, something has gone terribly awry.
We'll get more updates tomorrow, but that seems like a real possibility after Tua Tagovailoa left practice today with what the injury report classified as an oblique injury. He was listed as a limited participant—because he did participate before he got injured!—but we have no idea how significant that injury is at this point.
11Alive's Reggie Chatman Jr. got footage of the injury and aftermath.
If Tua's fine, he's starting against the Steelers in Week 1. If not, Cooper Rush will take the start with Jack Strand as his backup, and it would not be stunning to see the increasingly snakebitten Falcons adding another veteran quarterback to the practice squad. Things are getting real grim, real fast.
If Rush is up, he'll be making his 17th career start. He's completed 364 of 596 passes for 3,766 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions with 62 rushing attempts for 20 yards. The Falcons will be a little more likely to attack downfield with Rush under center in theory, but in practice I imagine he'll get an ultra-conservative gameplan that features a lot of Bijan Robinson.

#real #cooper #falcons #starting

It was hot on Saturday afternoon at Sanford Stadium. It was 100 degrees at the time of the opening game, the hottest season-opening game in Georgia Bulldogs history. The Georgia offense and defense were cooking as well. Georgia defeated Tennessee State 63-3. The Tigers were outmatched from the start, but Georgia took care of business and played exactly how Dawg Nation has come to expect from their back-to-back SEC champions. But, covering a spread? Georgia was a 49.5-point favorite coming into the game. Georgia took care of business covering the number and breaking a long streak. Smart and Georgia were 0-15-1 against the spread when the line was 38+ points.
Georgia scored on five of its seven first-half possessions. Gunner Stockton had a short but efficient day to start his second year as QB1 of the Dawgs. Georgia scored on all five possessions with Stockton at quarterback. The Tiger, Georgia native was nearly flawless, completing 15 of 16 passes for 202 yards and three touchdowns. Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo put Stockton in a good position with a number of easy pitch-and-catch screen plays, but also allowed him to take a few shots.
Running back Nate Frazier got the party started with a big 48-yard touchdown to kick off the scoring for the Dawgs. Like Stockton, Frazier had a very efficient and productive day. Frazier had three touchdowns on four carries and finished with 72 yards on the day. Frazier looks to lead Georgia in rushing for the third straight season this year.
One of the top plays on the day came from one of the biggest players on Georgia's roster. Elyiss Williams is a 6'7″ tight end who can run and move with grace. He caught a Stockton pass late in the first quarter and leaped over a Tiger defender to put the Dawgs up 21-0.
One of the biggest questions heading into 2026 was who was going to emerge as a top receiving threat for the Dawgs. Georgia had two receivers who also showed they are ready to step up and contribute in 2026. Tayln Taylor and Sacovie White-Helton each had three catches on Saturday. Taylor looks like he could be a big-play receiver downfield, and White-Helton looks to fill the void left by Zachariah Branch in the screen and return game.

#georgia #stockton #back #tiger

College football's Week 1 has kicked off, and college football Saturdays are back in full swing. The Alabama Crimson Tide hosted the East Carolina Pirates to kick off their season at home.
Alabama, led by quarterback Keelon Russell, got off to a commanding 17-0 lead to start the second quarter. However, there was a concerning development observed early that has continued from last season: its star wide receiver has a case of the drops once again.
MORE: College GameDay crew makes early College Football Playoff National Championship picks
Alabama star wide receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams undoubtedly has the big-play ability to keep defensive coordinators up at night. However, through less than 16 minutes of game action, Coleman-Williams had two bad drops.
One came on a wide-open play downfield in the first quarter. The other came in the red zone on fourth-and-3 and would have resulted in a touchdown. East Carolina jumped offsides, though, so the drop ultimately did not matter.

#however #coleman #williams

The Colorado Buffaloes got the ending they needed Thursday night, even if the route to it was about as uncomfortable as any season opener can get.
Julian Lewis found Charlie Williams on a 20-yard touchdown pass with 37 seconds left, then Colorado's field-goal block by defensive back Boo Carter closed the door at the horn for a 14-13 win over Georgia Tech at Bobby Dodd Stadium. The Buffaloes were out of timeouts and down six points when they started the final possession at their own 25-yard line, which made the finish feel larger than a typical Week 1 play.
Lewis had not found much consistency through the air before that drive. Colorado had dropped passes, missed downfield opportunities and left yards on the field during a first half in which both teams struggled with the humid conditions. The freshman quarterback had a rough sequence late in the second quarter, losing his grip on the football before recovering it and taking a 15-yard sack. Colorado followed with three incompletions before punting to close the half.
Georgia Tech held a 10-7 lead at that point, and the game never settled into a normal rhythm after halftime. Colorado's rushing attack gave the Buffs control of the ball, but Georgia Tech stayed close because Colorado could not finish possessions.
When Georgia Tech's Aidan Birr hit a 29-yard field goal with 1:40 remaining, Colorado had one last chance and Lewis took it.

#found #left

Many fantasy football managers will employ a late-round TE strategy going into their drafts. Once you get past the handful of elite options at TE, things get pretty flat pretty quick. With that in mind, Yahoo **** ysts Hayden Winks, Justin Boone and Scott Pianowski give you their favorite sleeper tight end for the 2026 season.
Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2026 NFL season
If you want the most terminally online deep sleeper, Ferguson is your guy. The 2025 second-round pick played in the most absurd role in tight end history last year under coach Sean McVay. Ferguson largely played a vertical receiving role in 2- and 3-TE sets as a downfield receiver in disguise. His average depth of target was 17.9 yards downfield. Only Tyquan Thornton, Alec Pierce and Kyle Williams were targeted more downfield!!! That will boggle the mind. Fast-forward to this year, the Rams need better talent at "WR," and Ferguson could be the answer based on what he provided last season. Davante Adams was dangled in trade discussions open to the public after a down season beyond the goal line, and trading for Tutu Atwell on Aug. 27 is never a great sign for the rest of the room. There's a chance (25%) that Ferguson is viewed as the team's WR3 this season. McVay's done crazy things like this before with Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp, Kyren Williams, Blake Corum and 3-TE sets. — Hayden Winks
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The loss of a true breakout receiver in Jayden Higgins will have significant ramifications on the Texans' passing attack. Nico Collins is an elite top target, with Jaylin Noel and Kayshon Boutte as quality contributors. However, fantasy managers shouldn't sleep on Dalton Schultz. The veteran tight end seems like a boring pick, but he's quietly coming off a strong fantasy campaign where he averaged the 11th-most points at his position over the final 13 weeks. That included finishing tied for third in receptions among tight ends (82) and sixth in receiving yards (777). With Higgins sidelined for the season, Schultz now has a chance to be C.J. Stroud's No. 2 target once again. You're not going to impress your leaguemates by taking the 30-year-old Texans tight end. But if you somehow miss out on the top-13 options at the position, Schultz is in the next group of high-end TE2s who could easily end the year as a fantasy TE1. — Justin Boone

#tight #schultz #downfield

With a quarterback many view as one of the best in the NFL entering the 2026 season, the Green Bay Packers are getting some extra attention on their wide receiver room. Jordan Love's group of weapons downfield will clearly be integral to the team's success, and that also highlights the importance of chemistry within the unit.
Green Bay has kept six wide receivers after the final roster cuts last Sunday: Christian Watson, Jaylen Reed, Matthew Golden, Skyy Moore, Bo Melton, and rookie J. Michael Sturdivant.
Reed recently opened up about the wide receiver room situation, noting that the group has gotten tighter in the offseason.
Dec 31, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings cornerback Akayleb Evans (21) and Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed (11) in action during the game at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
On Wednesday, Reed opened up about how things stand in the wide receiver room in terms of camaraderie.

#wide #opened

Week 1 of the NFL season is on the horizon and we're about to enter the REAL start of the college football season this weekend. But it's not too early to peek at the talent expected to hear their names called in the 2027 NFL Draft.
Here is my first big board, ranking players Nos. 1-31 and a list of 10 to watch who could break into the mix later this season. Why 31 instead of 30? You'll see why I gave both of those ranked players, each quarterbacks, some shine.
Manning is an excellent athlete with size. He plays with a proper timing on plays when working from the pocket, but he can also throw consistently on the move and has the toughness and core strength to get any throw off no matter his platform or how muddy the pocket is or how he is getting hit. He has a good arm that he unlocks because of his creativity, ability to anticipate and willingness to push the football down the field. Manning's quick throwing motion unlocks underneath throws and he already has advanced feel in the pocket. He constantly keeps his eyes downfield, which allows him to get the ball off and avoid sacks, turning negative plays to positive, or even explosive ones.
His progression as a player was overlooked last year after an early-season loss to Ohio State and Texas having to gut out several wins, but his play, along with his tools, indicated a future No. 1 draft pick despite what looked like lackluster performances. There's a lot of hype, but he looks like he's worth it.
A force of nature at receiver, Smith has been a standout player and absurdly productive at every level of his career. He is strong, explosive, and has an excellent build that allows him to bounce off tackles and constantly eat up yards after the catch. His power as a player makes him dangerous on in-breakers that allow him to build up speed and get downhill in a hurry, and his speed and burst out of breaks make him dangerous. Even without pristine route refinement, Smith is still dominant. It's hard to compare any athlete to Julio Jones, and welp, here we are with Smith. At worst you're looking at a Josh Gordon-like player.

#player #like

Chicago Bears rookie wide receiver Zavion Thomas introduced himself to the rest of the NFL in the team's preseason finale against the Tennessee ******* ans, where he made plays on offense and special teams that should have Bears fans excited.
But it was the very first play on offense for the Bears where Thomas showcased what he can develop into in this Ben Johnson offense. Thomas pulled a double move on a ******* ans defender to break free, where quarterback Tyson Bagent found him downfield and Thomas used his speed to separate from a second defender down the right sideline for a 97-yard touchdown.
Thomas ended the game with five catches on five targets for 140 yards and one touchdown. He also found success in the return game, including a 39-yard kickoff return and 22-yard punt return.
Thomas' teammates, Luther Burden III and Jahdae Walker, took to social media to share their reactions to the impressive touchdown.
The Bears have a slew of weapons on offense, including wide receivers Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III, Kalif Raymond, Jahdae Walker and Thomas, as well as tight ends Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet. It's a crowded room, for sure, but head coach Ben Johnson will surely find a way to get Thomas involved in the passing game and use him to make things difficult on opposing defenses.

#bears #offense #luther

There's no better feeling in fantasy football than digging a diamond from the mines of the waning rounds of your preseason draft. Watching an underrated rookie thrive or a veteran emerge as a star after years of middling performances can be a league-winning boost -- or it can be the balm needed to heal the burn of, say, drafting Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. in the first and second rounds.
This year's draft will be loaded with late-round talent capable of changing the trajectory of your team. A dearth of tight end and wide receiver help means guys who'll average 15 points per week can be found around the time the first guy in your league gets too drunk to finish things and winds up autodrafting three kickers. Today, I've teamed up with FTW's resident fantasy football expert Mike "Yaj" Boyajian to break down our top 10 sleepers this fall.
Let's break down this year's Round 11 and later sleepers, starting with... whew, buddy, a Cleveland Brown. Surely this won't make us look stupid come December!
No, I don't love leading off with a Brown either. But Cleveland's quarterback situation is a mess. It was in 2025 as well, when a rookie with run after catch ability emerged as the team's top target. Harold Fannin Jr. had an average target distance under six yards downfield, but turned that into 71 catches and 731 yards thanks to 95 yards after catch over expected (YACOE). More than half his output came with the ball already in his hands.
Enter Concepcion, who could supplant Jerry Jeudy at the top of the depth chart should he continue to forget how to play football. The Texas A&M star is a goblin after the catch, boosting his quarterbacks by creating ****** e and picking up first downs. He averaged 7.2 yards after catch per reception last season at Texas A&M. That's exactly what Cleveland needs – and potential balm for your fantasy team if he's around come round 12.

#brown

Following the Chargers' 20-18 preseason finale loss to the Rams, head coach Jim Harbaugh offered a positive evaluation of quarterback DJ Uiagalelei's performance.
"I thought he did some good things," Harbaugh said. "Excited to look at the tape."
Uiagalelei delivered a performance that may have given him the upper hand for the backup spot to starter Justin Herbert. He entered the game for a late first-half drill and commanded the offense for the remainder of the second half. Uiagalelei showed solid composure, quick decision-making, and an ability to push the ball downfield
Stepping in with less than 30 seconds left in the second quarter, Uiagalelei instantly injected life into a stagnant offense. He completed back-to-back passes of 21 and 20 yards to set up a 49-yard field goal attempt, which kicker Cameron ******* er missed.
Later in the game, Uiagalelei threw a precise pass to tight end Evan Svoboda to successfully secure the two-point conversion and map the score to 20-18. With 3:24 remaining on the clock and the Chargers backed up at their own 1-yard line, Uiagalelei led a highly efficient drive into Rams territory. He found Liam Clifford for 13 yards and Gary Jennings for 24 yards to move past midfield.

#game

For the first time this season the New England Patriots hit the road as they get set to conclude their preseason against the Cleveland Browns.
Drake Maye and the Patriots frontline players will not play again Thursday night, as the emphasis remains on health with Week 1 just under two weeks away. In total, 38 players are not in uniform which includes a handful of those already dealing with injuries.
Follow along live down below throughout preseason game No. 3.
Thursday, Aug. 27, 8 p.m. ET | Huntington Bank Field, Cleveland, OH | Broadcast information | Game day roster
The Patriots lost the coin toss putting the defense on the field first against Dillon Gabriel and the Browns reserves. A third-down defensive pass interference penalty downfield on Kindle Vildor quickly put Cleveland outside the red zone. From there, the Browns needed just four plays to find the end zone. [Patriots 0 : 7 Browns]

#Browns #thursday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Chicago Bears and Tennessee wrapped up training camp Thursday with a joint practice highlighted late by a hit laying out wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson in a two-minute drill that **** ans coach Robert Saleh needed only one word to describe.
"Cheap," Saleh said.
The coach also said Robinson was being evaluated for a concussion after the hit. **** ans quarterback Cam Ward said his pass over the middle has to be better. Chicago defensive back Xavier Woods made the hit that brought players together yelling.
Titans left guard Peter Skoronski said he just watched the play again before talking to reporters after practice. He said it was unacceptable and the kind of thing that's on Tape 101 of what not to do in a period of practice where players are not tackling. Both he and veteran center Austin Schlottmann ran downfield after the hit.
"I get we're being competitive, I get DBs are physical, stuff like that," Skoronski said. "But that's totally uncalled for in the practice time like this. I think we're trying to take those out or else we could do things like cut guys or clean out the pocket or do stuff like that if you allow that and OK, we can do that."

#Titans #like #saleh #we 're

When reading this "Busts" column, it is important to point out that I perceive these players to be overvalued at their current draft position, not that they are outright "off-my-board" unless otherwise specified.
Play Yahoo's new College Fantasy Football game: Create or join a league now!
As I've mentioned in previous columns, pro-style quarterbacks have major difficulty reaching the all-important 20-fantasy-point-per-game mark in Yahoo Standard scoring without a defined rushing component. Running backs in committees are always dicey propositions, and it's vital to target receivers and tight ends who are targeted downfield in pass-friendly offenses.
With that, here are the most overvalued players currently being selected in Yahoo Standard Leagues.
Please understand this "Bust" label pertains to Yahoo Standard scoring where pro-style signal-callers are depreciated by way of 4-point passing touchdowns. Philosophically, we've seen Ohio State morph from the up-tempo attack of Ryan Day's formative head coaching years, to the glacial offense we witnessed last year that slowed OSU down to the 135th slowest pace in the country.

#fantasy