As Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold led his game-winning drive on Sunday in Seattle, he couldn’t hear the voice of coach Kevin O’Connell in his helmet.
That’s because O’Connell’s communications device stopped working at the worst possible time.
“Yeah, my headset went out,” O’Connell said. “We had a great MVP performance from our sideline to get that. I got a new battery pack but yeah my headset went out completely which I thought was curious in that moment but Sam scrambled on the play before. So I was able to talk to him coming off the sideline, get that play called, and by the time the next snap was up, I had a new pack on. So dealing with adversity.”
O’Connell didn’t explain what he meant by “curious” that his headset went out at such a key moment, but there have long been whispers in the NFL that road teams conveniently seem to have issues with their headsets just when it would benefit the home team.
O’Connell credited Darnold with improvising when the communication cut out mid-call.
“I was trying to get him a call and my headset, the last thing he heard was the formation,” O’Connell said. “So his ability to get a played called, and I’ve got to be honest with you, I don’t know what he particularly called. I just know that when I saw him have space and go run like he did, I was relieved. I know what that play call is, QB run left. What it seemed like.”
Darnold said when he can’t hear a call he just has to call a play of his own.
“Just didn’t get the call for whatever reason. Just called a play and did my best to make it work,” Darnold said.
It did work, and the Vikings’ comeback was extra special given the extra adversity they faced.
If there was any doubt, well, there shouldn’t have been.
The moment the NFL did an abrupt about-face on its vow to not play games when December 25 lands on a Tuesday or a Wednesday, it was obvious that the NFL will find a way to play multiple games on any day of the week that happens to be Christmas Day.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones confirmed the obvious during his weekly Tuesday appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. Whenever Christmas happens, pro football will happen, too.
“Christmas Day is Christmas Day, and it doesn’t wait around for what day it’s on,” Jones said, via Christian Arnold of the New York Post. “We want to be there on Christmas Day. . . . I would think the future is whatever day it’s on, we’re going to be there on Christmas.”
Wednesday is the toughest day to pull it off. And it really wasn’t that hard to do it. Have the teams that will play that day play on Saturday of the prior week, and it’s no different from a Sunday-Thursday turnaround.
Tuesday is even easier. Four (or six) teams that would have played on Sunday have their games shifted by two days. Then, they all play the following Sunday.
It’s longer than the usual short week, which has only three days off between games. With four days off between Tuesday and Sunday, it’s a no-brainer.
From the moment the NFL said there won’t be games when Christmas games on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, we knew that would change. First, there’s far too much money to be made. Second, why surrender the day back to the NBA?
It’s a captive audience, same as Thanksgiving. Even on Netflix, the cash and the ratings will justify peeling games away from the cluster of Sunday afternoon contests.
So, yeah, it’s permanent. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday, Saturday. If Christmas lands on a day ending in “Y,” the NFL will be playing games on each and every December 25.
Christmas is here.
Not really, but close enough.
Close enough to give you a gift. A free Father of Mine ebook. Click the link and not buy it. The price is set at zero dollars and zero cents through Christmas Day.
It’s a mob book set in the 1970s. The language is salty. (As Simms would say, “Kid’s gotta learn sometime.”) It’s fast paced, with short chapters conducive to killing a few minutes here or there.
You’ve got nothing to lose, except for the storage space on your device. Give it a try. Read a chapter. If you don’t like it, send it back for a full refund.
If you like it, check out the second book in the series. The third installment is in the works. Plus a bunch of other stuff I’ve been hunt-and-pecking when I get away from hunt-and-pecking about the NFL.
Either way, thank you for carving out some of your time to sample our non-stop firehose of pro football offerings. Have a safe and happy holiday season.
Cornerback Riley Moss may be back in the Broncos lineup this week.
Moss was listed as a full participant in practice on Tuesday’s injury report. Moss has missed the last three games with a knee injury, but his move to full participation would seem to be a good sign of his availability for Saturday’s game against the Bengals.
Running back Tyler Badie (back) was a full participant in practice as well. Badie was designated for return from injured reserve on Tuesday.
Wide receiver Troy Franklin (ankle) also got a full listing while running back Jaleel McLaughlin (quad) was the team’s only limited participant.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow told reporters on Tuesday that he feels like he’s totally past his right wrist injury, but it still landed him on the team’s injury report.
Burrow was listed as limited due to the wrist and his knee, although that probably shouldn’t create much cause for concern about his availability against the Broncos on Saturday since he was listed as limited all of last week before playing without issue in the team’s win over the Browns.
“I don’t think about it a ton right now,” Burrow said of his wrist, via Jay Morrison of SI.com. “I think we’re pretty much past it. There are still arm care and things that I do to help with that, but we’re in a good spot.”
Wide receiver Tee Higgins (ankle, knee) was listed as limited as well, but he also played without incident last Sunday after being on the report all week. Left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. (fibula), wide receiver Charlie Jones (groin), and right tackle Amarius Mims (ankle, hand) rounded out the limited group.
Defensive end Sam Hubbard (knee), tight end Tanner Hudson (knee), and defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins (illness) were all listed as out of practice.
The Chargers handed in their first injury report of the week on Tuesday and it featured both of their top running backs.
Gus Edwards is listed as a limited participant due to an ankle injury. Edwards ran 14 times for 68 yards and two touchdowns in last Sunday’s win over the Broncos.
J.K. Dobbins (knee) was also limited in his first appearance on the injury report since being designated for return from injured reserve. If he is going to play against the Patriots, the Chargers will have to activate him by Friday.
Tight end Will Dissly (shoulder), cornerback Cam Hart (concussion), safety Tony Jefferson (hamstring), and defensive back Elijah Molden (knee) were the other players listed as limited. Tight end Hayden Hurst (illness), defensive lineman Otito Ogbonnia (pelvis), linebacker Denzel Perryman (groin), guard Trey Pipkins (hip), and punter JK Scott (illness) were listed as non-participants.
The Lions waived linebacker David Long on Tuesday, the team announced.
The Lions signed Long to the practice squad ahead of Week 12 after Alex Anzalone landed on injured reserve with an arm injury. A week later, they signed Long to the active roster.
He has appeared in five games with one start, seeing action on 70 defensive snaps and 58 on special teams. Long has seven tackles and a fumble recovery.
He began this season with the Dolphins, playing eight games with six starts.
The Lions also announced they re-signed wide receiver Maurice Alexander to the practice squad.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton announced a handful of roster moves during a Tuesday press conference.
Running back Tyler Badie has been designated to return from injured reserve. Badie has been out since he collapsed on the sideline after suffering a back injury against the Jets in Week Four.
Badie had 11 carries for 86 yards in three appearances before his injury.
Payton also said that the team has waived veteran cornerback Levi Wallace and that they are signing running back Blake Watson to the 53-man roster. Watson has four carries for 10 yards and one catch for 13 yards in two appearances this season.
The Cardinals officially won’t have their starting offensive tackles for their last two games.
Arizona has placed left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. and right tackle Jonah Williams on injured reserve.
Both players are dealing with a knee injury, with head coach Jonathan Gannon noting earlier on Tuesday that they would not play against the Rams on Saturday.
Arizona is expected to play Jackson Barton at right tackle and Kelvin Beachum at left tackle. Barton was signed to the 53-man roster from the practice squad.
“It’s unfortunate to have two starting tackles out,” quarterback Kyler Murray said, via Zach Gershman of the team’s website. “But I’ve got confidence in Beach, Jackson, or whoever else is in there. They’ve had plenty of reps, veteran guys, I have confidence in them.”
The Cardinals also signed outside linebacker Benton Whitley to the 53-man roster off of the Giants’ practice squad.
The Texans elevated wide receiver Jared Wayne and cornerback D’Angelo Ross from practice squad for the Christmas Day game against the Ravens, the team announced.
Wayne has played two games this season, seeing action on 24 offensive snaps and 17 on special teams. It is his first career action, and he now is out of elevations for the season.
He has no stats.
Wayne signed with the Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2023 and spent his rookie season on the practice squad.
Ross has played eight games with two starts this season, bouncing between the active roster and the practice squad. He has seen action on 124 snaps on defense and 115 on special teams.
He has 13 tackles this season.
