The Chargers and quarterback Justin Herbert have expressed optimism about his availability for Monday night’s game against the Eagles, but the team didn’t make anything official on their final injury report before the game.
Herbert is listed as questionable to play after having surgery on his fractured left hand. Herbert suffered the injury against the Raiders last Sunday, but said after the game that he intended to play against the Eagles and he has been a limited participant in practice this week.
The Chargers have Trey Lance on the 53-man roster as their backup quarterback and DJ Uiagalelei is on the practice squad if the team needs to elevate a third option.
Tight end Tucker Fisk (ankle) has been ruled out for Monday night. Running backs Omarion Hampton (ankle) and Hassan Haskins (hamstring) join Herbert and defensive lineman Otito Ogbonnia (elbow) in the questionable category. Hampton, Haskins and Ogbonnia will need to be activated from injured reserve to play on Monday.
When it comes to football, I don’t really want to think about math.
(When it comes to math, I don’t really want to think about math, either.)
Analytics has its place. The problem is it’s now everyplace. Last night, for example, I didn’t need to know, and didn’t want to hear, that Amazon AI said the Cowboys needed to score by 3:17 (give or take a second or two) to get the ball back again, with the number being pushed on the audience as if the words were being spoken from a burning bush.
How about we just watch the game and see what happens instead?
When it comes to the overall playoff chase, it’s the most mathematical time of the year. Percentage this, percentage that, percentage va fungool.
Case in point: The NFL’s NextGenStats said that, with a loss on Thursday night, the Cowboys’ chances of making the playoffs would plummet to six percent.
I prefer to look at the bigger picture.
First, the Cowboys need to run the table, beating the Vikings, Chargers, at Commanders, and at Giants. Easy? No. Possible? Yes.
Second, the Eagles have to go 2-3 down the stretch. Their schedule goes like this: at Chargers, Raiders, at Commanders, at Bills, Commanders.
Impossible? Not at all, not with a team that has lost two in a row and could be in the opening stretch of a 2023-style free-fall to end the regular season. (After starting 10-1 two years ago, Philly lost five of six.)
Is the chance of that happening six percent? Who knows? What is the number even in relation to? How is it calculated?
It’s far from a Gospel truth, but fans are expected (it seems) to regard it that way.
From time to time, a team with a supposedly snowball’s in-game percentage chance of securing victory pulls it off. And it seems to happen more times than the dire one- or two-percent calculations would seem to suggest.
As to the Cowboys’ playoff chances, screw the numbers. Win the next four, and hope the Eagles go 2-3. That would make the Cowboys 10-6-1, and the Eagles 10-7.
And it would give the Cowboys the NFC East crown.
The official chances as of Week 1 of the Cowboys having a plausible chance to secure a division title with four weeks left were probably a lot less than six percent.
Justin Herbert had a second consecutive limited practice after undergoing surgery on Monday to repair a broken bone in his left hand.
The Chargers quarterback is considered day-to-day, and both he and coach Jim Harbaugh have expressed optimism about his availability for this week’s game against the Eagles.
Herbert injured his non-throwing hand on a 1-yard scramble after Jeremy Chinn slammed the quarterback to the ground. He threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Quentin Johnston on the next play, giving the Chargers a 7-0 lead after their first possession.
Herbert missed a handful of plays before returning to finish the game with a cast on his left hand, covered by a glove.
The Chargers practiced without tight end Tucker Fisk (ankle) for a second consecutive day, but defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand (illness) returned to full participation after missing Thursday’s work.
Running back Omarion Hampton (ankle), wide receiver Quentin Johnston (shoulder), offensive lineman Trey Pipkins III (back) and offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer (shoulder) had full participation Friday after limited work on Thursday.
After the Steelers released cornerback Darius Slay, both the Bills and the Eagles made waiver claims for the balance of his contract. The Bills had priority, but Slay has decided not to report.
If the Eagles had secured the Slay contract on waivers, would Slay have shown up?
Via Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.com, Slay would not commit as to whether he would have reported to the Eagles.
Slay’s comments were made on the Speakeasy podcast.
“Mostly, it’s a family decision kind of to it,” Slay said, per Getzenberg. “So, we just see how it goes though. But I’m going to take it day by day.”
Many in league circles think Slay wants to make his way back to the Eagles. If the Bills release Slay, he’ll go through waivers again. If he clears waivers, he can sign with any team, at any time.
The other wrinkle relates to the ability of the Bills to play hardball with Slay. If Slay fails to report, a portion of his $8.745 million signing bonus could be recovered by the Bills, even though the Bills paid none of it.
It’s a simple proposition. The signing bonus represents advance compensation for future services. Failing to provide those services exposes the player to losing some of that compensation.
Earlier this week, the Bills thought they had acquired a veteran defender in cornerback Darius Slay.
But instead of heading to Buffalo after his release from Pittsburgh, Slay has not reported with his agent noting that the cornerback is contemplating his future in football — though Slay may just want to return to Philadelphia.
But the Bills also lost cornerback Ja’Marcus Ingram, as he was claimed by the Texans when the club waived him to add Slay. McDermott confirmed the club wanted him back on the practice squad.
“Yeah, I mean it’s unfortunate that that unfolded and went down the way it did,” Bills head coach Sean McDermott said in his Friday press conference, via Joe Buscaglia of TheAthletic.com. “You know, I’m a huge Ja’Marcus Ingram fan and will always be. So I’m always gonna be in his corner and want the best for him. So that’s that’s really where my mind is right now, and you know, I’m getting myself ready to coach this game.”
Asked if he’s still open to having Slay play for the Bills, McDermott deflected.
“I’m really gonna focus on our team right now,” McDermott said. “So, focus on our team and coaching this game in a couple of days here. And I wish him the best, him and his family.”
In 10 games for the Steelers this season, Slay recorded 36 total tackles with three passes defensed and a fumble recovery.
