NFL Sunday gameday guide: Love faces his Spags test

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love produced the best performance of his early NFL career on Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has passed, Christmas is (practically) here, and this is where the NFL really begins to get spicy down the home stretch to the playoffs. We guide you through the latest news, views and build-up ahead of Sunday in Week 13…

Editor’s note…

Remember me? Look at me now! Jordan Love enters the next acid test of his young NFL career on Sunday with hopes of crafting a much rosier ‘after’ photo than his fuzzy ‘before’ version.

The Green Bay Packers quarterback faces the Kansas City Chiefs in the regular season for the first time since he stepped in at late notice for a COVID-stricken Aaron Rodgers to make his first career start during their 2021 matchup, which ended in a 13-7 loss. Everything moved too quickly for him, Love’s play diagnosis was blurred by chaos and the first-round pick looked anything but ready to step in as Rodgers’ eventual successor. On that display, you wondered whether he would ever be ready.

Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo had premeditated the cagey scent, hurling blitz after blitz after blitz at the young play-caller while altering the post-snap picture in true Spags style as Love finished 19 of 34 for 190 yards, a touchdown and one interception for a 69.5 passer rating.

Granted, the numbers were hardly horrifying, but nor were there any snippets of sparkle to soften them. Matt LaFleur shouldered the blame for failing to tinker with the plan offense, any adjustments to which had but a matter of days to take place. This time he and Love come prepared.. they think… they hope.

Spagnuolo will encounter a different Love, a more slick, a more knowledgeable and an increasingly settled Love. One that just tossed three touchdowns and looked as poised and as dangerous as he ever has in the NFL to lead the Packers past the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving. He fizzed a glorious needle-threading strike to Jayden Reed between a defender and his crossing tight end, and later punished a failed fake punt by lofting a back-foot strike to Christian Watson on a slot fade. A week earlier he had thrown for a career-high 322 passing yards and two scores, including a precision-perfect end zone shot to Watson beyond three defenders on an over route, to guide the Packers past the Los Angeles Chargers.

The difference between November 2021 and December 2023 is, as you might expect, night and day for a quarterback who now looks more like an answer to three decades of Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers coming to an end. Such is the way of the NFC and its shortage of runaway threats, Sunday is far more than a ‘prove it’ outing for Love. He has an opportunity to take this youthful Packers team to the playoffs.

Around the league…

• Von Miller turned himself in to police on before posting bail on Thursday night after Dallas police issued an arrest warrant for the Buffalo Bills linebacker on domestic violence charges against the pregnant mother of his children, according to DeSoto Police.
• The New York Jets opened the 21-day practice window for Aaron Rodgers this week, less than three months since he suffered what was believed to be a season-ending Achilles injury four plays into his debut against the Bills.
• Frank Reich was fired mid-season for the second year running on Monday as he was relieved of his duties as Carolina Panthers head coach just 11 games into his campaign with the team following a 1-10 start.
• The Arizona Cardinals released Zach Ertz on the tight end’s request as he looks to sign with a contender in order to pursue a second Super Bowl ring, as reported by former Cardinals team-mate JJ Watt.

• Houston Texans starting right tackle Tytus Howard is set to miss the rest of the season after suffering a knee injury in Sunday’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
• Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor could miss multiple weeks as he prepares to undergo surgery on a thumb injury.
• Former Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson announced his retirement from the NFL after 15 seasons, and will serve as an honorary captain during Philadelphia’s Week 13 matchup with the San Francisco 49ers.
• The Miami Dolphins signed veteran edge rusher Jason Pierre-Paul off the New Orleans Saints practice squad after losing Jaelan Phillips for the rest of the season due to a torn Achilles.

What to watch…

Watch Week 13 live on Sky!

Denver Broncos (6-5) @ Houston Texans (6-5): Running backs may not get paid, but they sure matter! Certainly in the case of Sean Payton’s revitalised, albeit turnover-driven, Broncos – riding a five-game win streak – having refocused their efforts on the ground through Javonte Williams, Samaje Perine and Russell Wilson keepers – coupled with catch-and-run checkdowns – as a means of turning a broken offense into a manageable one. While CJ Stroud earns the plaudits for Denver’s Week 13 opponents Houston, Bobby Slowik has aided his rookie quarterback’s rise with the restoration of ground game respect through Devin Singletary and Dameon Pierce. Singletary in particular just had 72 yards from scrimmage against the Jacksonville Jaguars after combining for 262 rushing yards and two scores across two weeks. In creating problems at the line of scrimmage, the Texans are empowering their young star to push the ball downfield, the challenge of which this week includes staring down Patrick Surtain II and Justin Simmons.

San Francisco 49ers (8-3) @ Philadelphia Eagles (10-1): Get ready for some fine trench warfare. The Niners pass rush has come to life: Nick Bosa has started to close out pressures, Steve Wilks is delaying a quarterback’s time to throw with creative post-snap coverage looks and Chase Young has made an immediate impact in the rotation, all to the sight of 15 sacks and 34 pressures (ESPN) across their three-game win streak. Awaiting them is arguably the league’s most accomplished offensive line and a Jalen Hurts-dusted multi-layered RPO menu. Would the 49ers have reached the Super Bowl last year had Brock Purdy not gone down hurt in the NFC Championship Game? Sunday might offer some kind of answer. Or not.

Kansas City Chiefs (8-3) @ Green Bay Packers (5-6): The rookies have not just joined the party, they are beginning to pour the shots and choose the songs. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense have been marred by miscues from their receiving core all season, but second-round pick Rashee Rice appears to have edged towards the top of his quarterback’s ‘most trusted’ list after eight catches from 10 targets for 107 yards and a touchdown in Week 12’s win over the Las Vegas Raiders. As for Green Bay, second-rounder Jayden Reed has assumed a similar role as the multi-purpose feature to LaFleur’s shifting and motioning offense with a scrimmage touchdown in each of his last three games.

Best quotes

Aaron Rodgers on the possibility of returning early from his Achilles injury: “My thing is, what’s the worst that can happen? Something unfortunate again and you just slow the rehab down. I think if you take the rehab slower and a little bit more deliberate, five months, six months max is probably the length to get back to 100 per cent if you really take it slow. In my opinion, there isn’t a downside of coming back and reinjuring it.”

Steelers receiver Diontae Johnson after apologising to team-mates for his lack of effort: “That’s not me as a player. One play doesn’t define me, never will. I didn’t come up playing football like that, so obviously it looks bad on film. From here on out, just going forward, just be smart, keep playing ‘til the whistle blows.”

Panthers owner David Tepper says he is “totally confident” in the pick of Bryce Young: “It’s been reported, and we’ve talked about it, originally, we were going to go with the No. 2 pick, and we thought we’d get CJ (Stroud) because we thought the Texans were going to pick Bryce. Listen, we preferred Bryce. He was our No. 1 pick.”

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni on his side being the ‘underdog’ against the 49ers: “I think going into the last year and the year before, no one really thought we would be any good. I think it’s OK to be the underdog. I said on the radio the other day, before I ever stepped foot in the city all I knew about this city was Rocky versus Apollo Creed and the city plays the underdog well.”

Giants general manager Joe Schoen on the team’s Draft approach amid Daniel Jones’ recovery from injury: “We’ll take the best player available. If the best player available for our team is at a certain position, we’ll take him. We won’t shy away from it.”

The stats

• Christian McCaffrey needs one more rushing touchdown while Alvin Kamara needs two touchdown catches to join Marshall Faulk and Lenny Moore as the only players in NFL history with at least 50 rushing touchdowns and 25 touchdown receptions
• CJ Stroud has the chance to become the youngest player in NFL history to post at least 300 passing yards in five successive games, with Patrick Mahomes currently holding that record
• Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert needs one touchdown pass to pass Mahomes (114) for the second-most by a player in his first four seasons, behind only Dan Marino (142)
• Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill needs 76 yards against the Washington Commanders to become the fifth player to amass at least 1,400 receiving yards in his team’s first 12 games of a campaign
• DeSean Jackson announced his retirement from the NFL this week having scored an NFL-record 26 touchdowns of 60-plus yards across his career
• A win on Sunday would see the Eagles become just the second team to win at least 11 of their first 12 regular season games in back-to-back years behind the 1972-73 Dolphins

Essential reading:

49ers ready to meet Eagles in NFC’s fierce new rivalry

Jalen Hurts and Christian McCaffrey

“It was a lot of boo hoos last year, a lot of crying, a lot of what if, a lot of this, a lot of that. They get a chance to come back in here, line that s*** up and prove it again.”

Those were the words of Eagles pass rusher Haason Reddick this week as he looked ahead to the visit of the 49ers to Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday – the next chapter in a fierce new NFC rivalry.

Sky Sports ‘James Simpon looks ahead to Sunday’s highly-anticipated NFC Championship Game rematch between the 49ers and Eagles…

Denver’s next great pass rusher? Browning shining in Broncos win streak

Denver Broncos linebacker Baron Browning has starred since his return from injury

The Broncos know one or two things about great pass rushers. Future Hall of Famers have come and conquered, sacks have amassed in their hundreds. So who is getting to the quarterback for the next decade in Mile High?

Denver are 5-0 since the return of Baron Browning. Has he been the chief reason for the NFL’s most ‘huh?!’ turnaround? No. that crown goes to a league-high 22 takeaways including 15 in their last four outings. But the 2021 third-round pick has lifted the speed-to-ball a notch or two as the balance-providing bookend and time-to-throw dwindler to Vance Joseph’s defense.

Sky Sports NFL editor Cam Hogwood looks at the impact of third-year Broncos edge rusher Baron Browning…

Is the Bill Belichick reign coming to an end in New England?

Is time almost up for New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick?

Bill Belichick’s Patriots are a distant memory, for the NFL knows nothing of the hobbling New England team devoid of guile and engulfed in wild-fire mediocrity.

The omniscience has fizzled, the power to raise the level of non-superstars has faded, his recruitment as general manager has coughed up flop investments, coaching hires have backfired, the situation at quarterback has become the face of turmoil and Belichick’s Patriots as the league knew them are gone.

Sky Sports NFL editor Cam Hogwood explores the fall of Belichick’s Patriots as uncertainty lingers over the future of the NFL’s greatest head coach…

‘Fight it out’ – How do NFL locker rooms react when a team-mate quits?

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson came under fire this week

“You can’t let behaviour like that go away, and I’ve been a part of teams that have had a toxic player where it kind of seeps in, and if you allow that you teach it and say that behaviour is okay and then others start to lose respect.”

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson apologised to team-mates this week after facing criticism for quitting on a play during his side’s win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

In her latest column, former Buffalo Bills coach Phoebe Schecter takes us inside an NFL locker room as she shares her thoughts on the incident…