The fine imposed on Giants running back Cam Skattebo for illegal use of the helmet was not a rarity. The flag thrown in real time for it was.
Of eight fines levied by the NFL for use-of-helmet violations in Week 7, only Skattebo’s came with a flag.
The league fined Skattebo $7,073. The seven players fined but not flagged were: Bears cornerback Clark Phillips ($11,550); Broncos safety Brandon Jones ($23,882); Broncos Alex Singleton ($47,662); Lions safety Brian Branch ($23,882); Colts cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt ($7,791); Steelers receiver Brandon Smith ($4,916); and 49ers running back Jordan James ($6,194).
The fines increase as the violations repeat. For Singleton, who was fined $23,882 for illegal use of the helmet, it was the second straight week he was fined.
The officials, for whatever reason, don’t often call penalties for illegal use of the helmet. That’s what made the penalty called on Skattebo so unusual.
The fact that the hit flattened Texans safety M.J. Stewart likely was a factor in the decision to penalize Skattebo. Still, the fact that only one of eight instances resulted in a foul being called underscores the fact that, when it comes to the rule against lowering the helmet and initiating forcible contact against an opponent, it’s something that costs players money far more routinely than it costs their teams field position.
Lions Clips
The Lions added cornerback Roger McCreary to their injury report Friday. They list him as questionable to play with a foot injury.
Running back Jahmyr Gibbs (shoulder) and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (ankle) both had another full practice Friday and do not have an injury designation. Gibbs and St. Brown missed Wednesday’s session.
The only other player besides McCreary with a status is safety Kerby Joseph, who won’t play again this week.
The All-Pro player has not played since Week 6 of last season because of a knee injury. He is in his 21-day return-to-practice window.
“Just being back out there felt nostalgic,” Joseph said Friday, via Tim Twentyman of the team website. “I haven’t practiced in a long time, so this week felt pretty good. I’m still him. I hope you all ain’t forget. I’m still him.”
Joseph has taken only individual reps thus far but could get “real practice” next week, coach Dan Campbell said.
“That’ll be the plan,” he said.
After Sunday’s loss to the Lions, Packers safety Xavier McKinney had some things to say about the officiating. And he knew he was inviting a fine.
After Thursday night’s win over the Panthers, McKinney confirmed that he was fined.
Via Rob Demovsky of ESPN, McKinney didn’t disclose the specific amount. He did say it wasn’t less than the minimum of $25,000.
“I make enough money so I’ll be OK,” McKinney said.
McKinney said it was worth it to support the team.
Meanwhile, it’s unknown whether Raiders minority owner Tom Brady was fined for his criticism of the officials during that same game.
Through it all, the NFL essentially has conceded that referee Alex Moore’s crew didn’t meet the standard, by flexing Moore’s crew out of Sunday night’s game between the Eagles and Commanders.
Panthers owner David Tepper had big expectations for his team in 2026. With a 3-4 record after seven games, the team is making some big changes.
The Panthers have announced the terminations of defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and defensive passing game coordinator Jonathan Cooley.
Moving forward, defensive line coach Todd Wash will serve as defensive coordinator and call the defensive plays.
Outside linebackers coach/run game specialist AC Carter will also coach the defensive line, and secondary coach Renaldo Hill will continue to oversee the defensive backs.
Evero, 45, had worked for the Panthers since 2023, arriving as a member of Frank Reich’s staff. Evero remained in place after the hiring of Dave Canales in 2024.
In 2022, Evero was the defensive coordinator of the Broncos. His first job as an NFL position coach came in 2017, when Rams coach Sean McVay hired Evero to serve as safeties coach on McVay’s initial staff. Evero was secondary coach and passing game coordinator for the Rams in 2021, which resulted in a Super Bowl win.
Through it all, the Panthers remain tied for first place with the Falcons in the NFC South.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell has earned a reputation as one of the NFL’s most aggressive coaches on fourth downs, a reputation that he bolstered on Sunday with a surprising fourth down attempt at his own 24-yard line late in the fourth quarter against the Packers. But it’s one of Campbell’s former assistants who is going for it on fourth down more than any other coach in the NFL.
Bears head coach Ben Johnson has had his team go for it on fourth down 17 times this season, the most in the NFL. Campbell’s Lions, on the other hand, have gone for it on fourth down 13 times, tied for the sixth-most in the NFL.
The Lions have punted twice more than the Bears have, while the Bears have attempted five more field goals than the Lions have. The two teams are similar in all three categories of decisions a coach can make on fourth down, but it’s noteworthy that it’s Johnson who has gone for it the most in the league so far this season.
Before Campbell’s surprising decision on Sunday against the Packers, the most controversial fourth down decision of this NFL season may have been the first fourth down decision Johnson made this season, when the Bears went for it on fourth-and-1 from their own 21-yard line against the Panthers in Week 1. Caleb Williams was stopped for no gain, but the Bears still won the game, and afterward Johnson said the call was part of his overall aggressive approach to trying to field the highest-scoring offense in the NFL.
Confidence in their offense is one thing Campbell and Johnson have in common. They’d rather have the game in the hands of their playmakers than on the feet of their kickers.
Vikings running back Aaron Jones took a step in the right direction at practice on Thursday.
Jones missed practice on Wednesday after aggravating a knee injury during last Sunday’s win over the Colts. He was able to get on the field on Thursday and was listed as a limited participant as the team continued preparing to face the Lions.
The Vikings will practice again on Friday and they’ll also issue injury reports for the NFC North matchup.
Right tackle Brian O’Neill (knee) moved from limited to full participation while guard Joe Huber (knee) went from not participating to a full practice. Tight end Gavin Bartholomew (ankle) was added to the report after he missed practice.
Analytics studies have consistently shown that NFL teams should go for it on fourth down more often. But the coach who may be the most aggressive in the league on fourth downs says he hasn’t studied the math behind the decision.
Lions coach Dan Campbell said he has confidence in his offense picking up a few yards any time it needs a few yards, and that’s more about his personality than anything else.
“I don’t do this big study on what’s the success rate,” Campbell said. “To me every week is different on how you’re doing it, who you have, who they have, and either you’re going or you’re not going, more than the actual numbers. I’m always going to say within a yard, two yards, three, you’re down in the red zone, your odds are pretty good that you’re going to have success. I think it’s just part of my flavor, what I believe in.”
Campbell said his approach with his team might not be the right approach for every coach with every team.
“Everybody’s different. It doesn’t mean right/wrong,” Campbell said. “It’s really what you believe in and there’s no right or wrong. It’s what you really believe is gonna help you win that game that week, that opponent, who do you have, where are you at, weather, all of that stuff.”
Campbell both played for and coached under Sean Payton, and Campbell said Payton influenced his thinking because Payton always expressed confidence in what the Saints’ offense could do with players like Drew Brees and Alvin Kamara, regardless of whether he was making the by-the-book decisions.
“Sean certainly did,” Campbell said. “Sean had plenty of both. He was very balanced in that way, but I’ve mentioned this before: If you really believe, there were times he’d come in and say, ‘I love our third-and-2, third-and-3, I’ve got eight plays I love. Inside the 5-yard line, I’ve got eight plays I love and I know who we’re going to with Drew Brees.’ And you knew those weeks, it was a go. Fourth-and-5, I know we’re going to get man-to-man, we’re gonna get AK one-on-one, there’s no doubt about it, I don’t care if it’s fourth-and-2 or fourth-and-6, we’re going to get one-on-one with AK on this and we’re going to make the play. It was really about how good you feel with what you have.”
Campbell also said his coach at Texas A&M, R.C. Slocum, had success using the opposite approach, thinking of punting as a perfectly good result for his offense.
“I understand the other side of it,” Campbell said. “I was trained in the other side of it. I played in the other side of it. I’ve mentioned this before, college, my first exposure, R.C. Slocum was an outstanding coach, man. Outstanding. Won a lot of games, defensive mentality, and there was times I really felt like he was nervous when the offense was on the field. You guys just hurry up, now punt, now let’s go defense. We’re gonna score on defense. Wrecking Crew. So I know all of that.”
Campbell even said he shares the philosophy of John Candy’s character in the movie Uncle Buck: The title character wore a hat that a lot of people hated, but he liked it so he wore it.
“You guys ever seen Uncle Buck?” Campbell asked a group of reporters. “I think I’m a little bit like . . . the hat that he wears, right? It’s a little bit of a flavor and it’s my favorite hat, but just the mere sight of it, I think, really bothers a lot of people. So I always think of Uncle Buck, where John Candy is wearing it: Is it the hat?”
Campbell went for it on fourth-and-1 with 4:53 remaining in the fourth quarter in Sunday’s win over the Packers, a decision that it’s unlikely any other NFL coach would have made. The Lions were stuffed for a two-yard loss on the play, but they won the game anyway, and Campbell said he stands by that decision.
“I know what it is,” Campbell said. “But I also know there’s times, if you don’t do what you believe in and you’re sitting there and you don’t get a chance — it’s really about, when I lay my head on the pillow at night, what can I sleep with and feel good about. I don’t like the fact that we didn’t make the play the other day, believe me. But I can lay my head on the pillow at night knowing that that was the right decision.”
The Lions got running back Jahmyr Gibbs and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown back on the practice field Thursday.
Gibbs sat out on Wednesday with a shoulder injury and St. Brown has an ankle injury, but both of them were able to fully participate in their return to practice. That bodes well for both of them being in the lineup against the Vikings this weekend.
Defensive lineman Tyliek Williams also returned as a full participant after missing Wednesday with an illness. Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, defensive tackle Alim McNeill, left tackle Penei Sewell, and defensive end DJ Wonnum all returned to work after resting Wednesday.
Safety Kerby Joseph (knee) and cornerback Ennis Rakestraw (ankle) were listed as limited for the second straight day. Running back Jacob Saylors (neck) moved from limited to full participation.
June Jones, a coach and quarterback best known for developing the run and shoot offense, has died at the age of 73.
Jones, who was born and raised in Portland, spent 1975 and 1976 as the quarterback at Portland State playing for head coach Mouse Davis. With Jones running Davis’s offense, Portland State put up passing numbers the likes of which had rarely been seen in football at any level.
After signing with the Falcons as an undrafted free agent, Jones stuck around for five seasons, mostly as a backup. Jones didn’t put up great passing numbers in the NFL, but during his pro career he became convinced that the run and shoot — an offense with one running back and four wide receivers, which NFL teams had never deployed — could work at the highest level of football.
Following his playing career, Jones became an assistant coach at Hawaii in 1983, spent two years in the USFL and CFL, and then was hired by head coach Jerry Glanville to be the quarterbacks coach of the Houston Oilers in 1987. With the Oilers, Jones coached future Hall of Famer Warren Moon and helped to show what the run and shoot offense could do with an elite quarterback running it.
After two years with the Oilers, Jones left to reunite with Davis, who was then the offensive coordinator on the Lions. Although the run and shoot offense was often criticized in Detroit for not doing enough with future Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders, Jones and Davis helped to show that a great running back could exist within the run and shoot, which was thought of as a pass-first offense.
In 1991, Glanville was head coach of the Falcons and hired Jones to be his offensive coordinator, and after three years Jones was promoted to replace Glanville as the Falcons’ head coach.
Jones took the Falcons to the playoffs in 1995, but in 1996 the Falcons slumped to 3-13, and Jones was fired. The next year Jones was hired as quarterbacks coach of the Chargers, then spent the last 10 games of that season as the Chargers’ interim head coach after Kevin Gilbride was fired.
In 1999, Jones was hired to be head coach at Hawaii and did the best work of his coaching career: The Warriors had gone 0-12 the year before, but in Jones’ first season they went 9-4 for what was, at the time, the biggest single-season improvement for any team in college football history. Jones won several national coach of the year awards. Jones spent nine seasons at Hawaii, becoming the program’s all-time winningest coach, and culminating in the 2007 season when Hawaii went 12-0 before losing in the Sugar Bowl.
In 2008, Jones left Hawaii for SMU, where he never found the same success. He later spent two years as a head coach in the CFL and one year as a head coach in the XFL.
Jones’ legacy in football was developing a pass-first approach that is now commonplace across the sport, from high schools to the NFL. Although few if any football programs at any level still use the term “run and shoot” to describe their offense, virtually every coach in the sport employs some concepts that trace directly to June Jones.
Reports were that Vikings running back Aaron Jones avoided a serious injury last Sunday, but his practice work is still being managed this week.
The Vikings’ first injury report of the week shows that Jones did not practice on Wednesday. Jones aggravated a knee injury in the second half of Minnesota’s win over the Colts and word is that he is considered day-to-day heading into Sunday’s game against the Lions.
Jordan Mason led the team in rushing against the Colts and would be in line for an even bigger role if Jones isn’t able to play this week.
Guard Joe Huber (knee) was also out of practice for the Vikings. Right tackle Brian O’Neill (knee) was a limited participant.
