Rookie cornerback Quinyon Mitchell became a key player for the Eagles over the course of the 2024 season, so his departure with a shoulder injury in the first half of last Sunday’s game against the Rams was a cause for concern.
That concern grew when the Rams picked on Mitchell’s replacement Isaiah Rodgers in the passing game after the change was made. Rodgers wound up getting the last laugh, though.
Rodgers recovered a fumble on the first play of the fourth quarter and returned it for 40 yards to set up a field goal that extended Philadelphia’s lead to four points. It’s unclear at this point in the week if the Eagles will have to turn to Rodgers against the Commanders, but defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said he’s comfortable if that’s the case.
“Well, he was a guy that all during OTAs and training camp was doing very well,” Fangio said, via a transcript from the team. “Then he broke his hand and was out for a few weeks. Was slow to recover from that, meaning when he came back he wasn’t playing at the same level he was prior. But now he’s definitely back to where he was, and I have total confidence in him if he plays.’
The Eagles will issue an injury report on Wednesday, but are only holding a walkthrough practice so Thursday could provide a clearer view of how Mitchell is faring ahead of the conference title game.
Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey and his team were eliminated from the playoffs on Sunday, but he still has a rooting interest: Whoever plays the Chiefs.
Humphrey went on social media to say that he’s hoping that either the Bills beat the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game, or the NFC team beats the Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
“I have no reason of saying this other than being a hater. The Bills or whatever NFC team gotta beat the Chiefs. We can’t let them keep getting away with this,” Humphrey wrote.
Humphrey is expressing what seems to be a popular sentiment among NFL fans: The Chiefs have won two Super Bowls in a row, and a lot of fans don’t want to see them win three. Humphrey calls himself a Chiefs hater, and he has a lot of company on that front.
The Eagles aren’t heading into the practice week with plans to alter their offensive approach because of quarterback Jalen Hurts’s left knee.
Hurts had the knee checked out during their divisional round win over the Rams, but didn’t miss an offensive snap before returning to the game. There hasn’t been much of an update on his condition and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said the team won’t make many changes to their plans unless Hurts’s condition forces their hand.
“Same game plan formula,” Moore said, via a transcript from the team. “Like any player on our team, if you have to make adjustments as weeks progress or games progress, you do. But a very similar plan.”
Moore expanded on what might cause the team to adjust their course of action.
“That stuff is always going to lean on the medical and the player,” Moore said. “Those guys go through their process, and it’s just communicated from them to the coaching staff. So plenty of conversations as the week progresses. Hey, it’s mid-to late January. There are a lot of guys that are banged up. It’s doesn’t have to do just with Jalen. There are plenty of guys that are going through stuff. That’s how these weeks are.”
Wednesday will bring the first Eagles practice of the week and their injury report will show whether the knee is impacting Hurts’s participation.
Referee Ron Torbert will head up the officiating crew for Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.
The NFL announced that Torbert has been assigned to the game after working the Commanders’ win over the Lions in the divisional round. Torbert also worked Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles.
Two other members of the crew have Super Bowl experience, although only one of them appeared in the game as an official. Umpire Mike Morton had a tackle as a linebacker for the Rams in their Super Bowl XXXIV win over the Titans and he became an NFL official in 2022.
Side judge Boris Cheek has worked three other Super Bowls and, per Football Zebras, has officiated more NFL games than anyone else in history.
Down judge Max Causey, line judge Mark Stewart, field judge Mearl Robinson, back judge Jonah Monroe, and replay official Kevin Brown make up the rest of the crew.
Ravens running back Derrick Henry ran for 84 yards in Sunday’s playoff loss to the Bills, and that put him in an elite club in NFL history.
Henry became the seventh player ever to total 1,000 career rushing yards in the postseason.
Henry’s career total of 1,002 rushing yards in nine playoff games moved him ahead of John Riggins and into seventh place all-time.
The running backs who have more rushing yards in the playoffs than Henry are all Pro Football Hall of Famers: Emmitt Smith (1,586), Franco Harris (1,556), Thurman Thomas (1,442), Tony Dorsett (1,383), Marcus Allen (1,347) and Terrell Davis (1,140).
Henry’s postseason is now over, but he has one more year on his contract with a Ravens team that is likely to be back in the playoffs a year from now. Henry has a good chance to continue moving up the career playoff rushing rankings as he adds more to his Hall of Fame resume.
The Eagles are the betting favorites to win Super Bowl LIX.
After Sunday’s divisional round games left us with the final four teams alive to win the 2025 Super Bowl, the Eagles emerged as favorites at +175 odds.
The Chiefs are behind them at +240, followed by the Bills at +260. The Commanders are the long shots at +650.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the Eagles will be favored to win the Super Bowl if they win the NFC Championship Game. The Eagles are viewed as favorites over the Bills and Chiefs in part because the Commanders are viewed as the worst of the four remaining teams, so the Eagles have the easiest path to the Super Bowl. And the championship games themselves will influence the Super Bowl line, either because one winner looks better than the other, or because a winning team suffers a key injury.
But for now, the Eagles are the favorites.
Patrick Mahomes has been the Chiefs’ starting quarterback for seven seasons. And Mahomes has led the Chiefs to seven AFC Championship Games.
Kansas City will host the AFC title game once again next Sunday after today’s 23-14 win over Houston in the divisional round of the playoffs. The Chiefs took an intentional safety in the closing seconds to cut their 11-point lead to a nine-point victory, which didn’t mean anything to the result of the game but meant plenty to bettors, as the Chiefs were 9.5-point favorites at some sports books.
It was a hard-fought game and the Texans were a game opponent, but in the end the Chiefs just had too much: They had a big special teams advantage. They had a defense that relentlessly pressured Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud. And they had Mahomes and Travis Kelce.
Kelce didn’t have a good regular season, but he was excellent today, cementing his reputation as one of the best big-game players in NFL history. Kelce had seven catches for 117 yards and a touchdown today, and he is first in NFL history in postseason catches and second only to Jerry Rice in postseason receiving yards and postseason receiving touchdowns.
And Mahomes’ playoff resume is spectacular: This was Mahomes’ 16th postseason win as a starting quarterback, and he has now tied Joe Montana for the second-most postseason wins in NFL history. Only Tom Brady has more.
Now the Chiefs will watch tomorrow’s Ravens-Bills game to find out who they’re playing in the AFC Championship Game. Either the Ravens or the Bills is capable of going to Kansas City and winning, but it would be tough to bet against this Chiefs team, which plays its best football in the playoffs, year after year.
Cornerback Jaylen Watson is officially back on the Chiefs’ active roster.
Word this week was that Watson would be activated from injured reserve in time to play against the Texans and the Chiefs announced the move on Friday afternoon. Watson had 32 tackles and six passes defensed in six games before injuring his ankle.
The Chiefs did not activate wide receiver Mecole Hardman, so he will remain on injured reserve and will hope the Chiefs win so he has a chance to get back on the field.
The Chiefs also elevated linebacker Swayze Bozeman and defensive back Deon Bush on a temporary basis. Both players will revert back to the practice squad after Saturday’s game.
Tight end Dallas Goedert made one of the biggest plays in the Eagles’ Wild Card round win over the Packers and he’ll be available to try to do the same against the Rams on Sunday.
Goedert missed practice on Thursday because of an illness, but returned for a limited practice on Friday and did not receive an injury designation for the divisional round. Goedert caught a short pass from quarterback Jalen Hurts in the third quarter last Sunday and turned it into a 24-yard touchdown thanks to several well-delivered stiff-arms to would-be tacklers.
Wide receiver A.J. Brown is also on track to play. He didn’t practice on Wednesday and was limited on Thursday before getting in a full practice Friday. Brown’s appearance on the report was explained as a knee injury and rest.
Defensive tackle Byron Young (hamstring) is the only player ruled out for the Eagles.
The Bills only have one player with an injury designation for Sunday’s divisional round clash with the Ravens.
Running back Ray Davis is listed as questionable to play. Davis suffered a concussion in last weekend’s win over the Broncos and he was limited in practice all week.
The questionable listing leaves the door open for Davis to clear concussion protocol, but the Bills are likelier to be rolling with James Cook and Ty Johnson in the backfield.
Alec Anderson, who sees frequent use as a sixth offensive lineman, was bumped up to full participation on Friday. Everyone else on the roster was a full participant all week and all but Davis are on track to play on Sunday.
