The NFL has adopted a new procedure when it comes to five key safety rules. And the first wave of fines under those rules are working their way through the internal process.
For Week 1, three players were fined for violating the five rules that will result, after three fines, in a one-game suspension. Per the NFL Players Association, each of them has appealed their fine.
The fines were imposed on Bills defensive back Sam Franklin ($9,425 for a blindside block), Packers defensive back Evan Williams ($7,087 for a hit on a defenseless player), and Dolphins cornerback Chris Johnson ($17,911 for a hip-drop tackle).
The appeals have two practical impacts. First, if unsuccessful, it counts as the first strike toward a suspension, if two more violations of the same rule occur. Second, each player is eligible for a 50-percent rebate if they go through the season without another violation of that same rule.
The five rules that utilize the three-strike process are blindside block, hit on a defenseless player, hip-drop tackle, horse-collar tackle, and launching.
The appeal process should be expedited, frankly. The players should know before each game where they stand in relation to a potential suspension. From the league’s perspective, the uncertainty is helpful; it will prompt players to be more careful given the unresolved appeal.
The NFL publishes information on the various fines every Saturday afternoon. The league does not release the results of the appeals. Ideally, the NFL or the NFLPA (or both) will provide that information, so that the media (and, in turn, the fans) will know which players are facing a potential suspension.
Packers Clips
As the NFL has changed its overtime rules, one of the league’s priorities was de-emphasizing the coin toss. Sudden death overtime fell out of favor largely because of the big advantage it gave to the team winning the toss, and the NFL wanted an overtime format that wouldn’t make winning the coin toss important.
This year, it seems to be working.
There have been three overtime games this season, and all three times, the team that won the overtime coin toss lost the game.
In Week 1, the Saints won the toss and chose to kick. The Lions scored a touchdown and extra point on the first possession, and the Saints then scored a touchdown on the second possession. The Saints went for two, didn’t convert, and lost 31-30.
In Week 2, the Jets won the toss and chose to receive. Jets coach Aaron Glenn said he wanted to control the clock, but that didn’t happen: The Jets went three-and-out on the first possession, and the Packers quickly moved into field goal range and won 20-17.
And on Sunday night in Week 2, the Colts won the toss and, despite having a captain who didn’t know the overtime rule, eventually got their choice to kick. Colts coach Shane Steichen said he wanted to kick because he didn’t want to give Patrick Mahomes four downs on the second possession. As it turned out, the Chiefs got a field goal on the first possession, the Colts tied with their own field goal on the second possession, and the Chiefs won 33-30 with another field goal on their third possession.
The current overtime format was adopted last season, and there’s still no consensus among coaches about whether it’s better to kick or receive — as demonstrated by Glenn making a different decision than Steichen and Moore. As long as that’s the case, winning the coin toss doesn’t matter very much. And that’s as it should be.
The Falcons’ quarterback carousel has finally landed on their first-round draft pick from 2024.
The team has announced that Michael Penix Jr. will start in Thursday night’s game against the Packers at Lambeau Field.
Penix suffered a torn ACL in November 2025. He fully participated in practice before both regular-season games, but he was not ready to play.
Some would say that, if he’s going to be ready to play on Thursday, he could have played on Sunday against the Panthers.
Instead, it was Cooper Rush. Rush was removed in the third quarter for undrafted rookie Jack Strand. In combination, they threw three interceptions and generated a passer rating of 28.8.
And so it will be Penix time for the 0-2 Falcons, whose next three games are scheduled to be played in prime time.
Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed remains in New Jersey after being taken to a hospital following an injury in Sunday’s overtime win over the Jets.
Reed was placed on a backboard and carted off the field on the second play of the game after catching a four-yard pass from Jordan Love and taking a big hit from Jets linebacker Demario Davis. Reed was ruled out with what the team called a neck injury and head coach Matt LaFleur said after the game that Reed had movement in all of his extremities.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that doctors determined Reed suffered a back injury and he is expected to return to Green Bay soon. The wideout and medical personnel are still evaluating the best course of treatment moving forward.
Reed signed a three-year extension with the Packers this offseason. He had three catches for 20 yards in the first week of the season and missed 10 games last year after injuring his clavicle and foot last September.
Michael Penix Jr.? Tua Tagovailoa? Cooper Rush? Jack Strand?
Who will be the Falcons’ starting quarterback on Thursday night when Atlanta plays Green Bay?
“I don’t have an update right this minute,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said in his Monday video conference. “I have a decent idea of where we’re going, but I’ve not yet talked to the players yet. We have meetings later today. I’ll update you guys when appropriate on that. But, bottom line is, we’ve got to continue to put our plan together on offense, defense, and special teams, and find a way Thursday night in Green Bay.”
It’s been an ugly start to the season for Atlanta’s offense. With Tagovailoa suffering an oblique injury during practice leading up to the season opener, Rush has started the first two games. But he played so poorly and Sunday’s loss to the Panthers was so out of hand that Strand — an undrafted rookie — made his first appearance in the second half yesterday.
Penix has been getting closer, with some reports indicating he could be available for Thursday night. But even without making the QB1 announcement, Stefanski declined to get into specifics when it comes to Penix.
“I talk to Mike every day and, like I’ve told you guys, I’m very confident in our discussions with Mike, with medical throughout this entire process,” Stefanski said. “So it’s not news to say I talked to Mike yesterday, I’ll talk to Mike today. But anything past that, I don’t have an update, per se.”
As for Tagovailoa, Stefanski said he’s getting better.
“We’ll work through what that means for this week, but definitely getting better,” Stefanski said.
And what about Strand? He was 8-of-15 for 59 yards with an interception in his first NFL action.
“Like I’ve mentioned before, I’m very excited about Jack’s development and the work that he’s putting in in this building, constantly, is impressive,” Stefanski said. “To see where he’s come from, from Day 1 until now, I’m really proud of him. And he’ll continue to work. He’ll be better for the reps he got yesterday, but he also recognizes there’s a ton of work to do.”
Stefanski indicated that the Falcons could make an announcement about their starting quarterback as soon as later on Monday, after he’s addressed the team.
Either way, kickoff is slated for Thursday night at 8:15 p.m. ET at Lambeau Field.
Heading into the season, the Vikings were a distant fourth in the betting odds to win the NFC North. A lot can change in two weeks.
The Vikings are now 2-0, with both wins coming against division opponents, a game ahead of the Lions, Packers and Bears, and the new betting favorites to win the division.
The Vikings’ odds are +194 to win what looks to be the NFL’s most competitive division. The Lions are next at +205, followed by the Packers at +285. Last year’s NFC North winners, the Bears, not have the longest odds, at +500, amid concerns that Caleb Williams could miss extended time with a hamstring injury.
Uncertainty at quarterback in Minnesota is an issue, but the Vikings have found a way to win two weeks in a row with Carson Wentz replacing the injured Kyler Murray. The Vikings’ defense looks ferocious, and the Vikings look like a playoff team. Something few thought they’d be just a couple weeks ago.
The second Sunday of the 2026 regular season gave new meaning to the second-game experience.
As noted by Megan Armstrong of Awful Announcing, multiple viewers of the Packers-Jets and Falcons-Panthers games on Fox complained that the sound was replaced with audio from Bears-Vikings.
Armstrong’s story includes multiple tweets, including visual/audio evidence.
A PFT reader emailed the same concern.
“My husband and I were watching the Packers/Jets game on FOX today,” the reader said. “Twice, we lost the audio for our game and were listening to the Vikings/Bears game. The first time only lasted about a minute but the second time was at least 5-6 minutes. So we’re watching the Pack and listening to the Vikes.”
In nearly 25 years of doing this, audio from one game making its way into another game is a first. And hopefully it’s the last time something like that will happen.
Jets head coach Aaron Glenn’s late-game decision-making came under fire in Sunday’s overtime loss to the Packers, but he doesn’t feel any differently about his choices after a night to sleep on it.
After the 20-17 loss, Glenn said he never considered calling a timeout when the Packers faced a fourth down near midfield with about a minute left in regulation. The Packers wound up running the clock down and taking a delay of game penalty before trying a Hail Mary on the final snap of the game.
On Sunday, Glenn said he didn’t want the team’s offense to be backed up after a punt and reiterated that on a Monday video conference while expressing no doubt about the course of action he chose for the team.
“Between me and our game management guys, our analytical guys, we talk through those situations quite a bit,” Glenn said. “That situation actually came up in a number of our conversations. When we have the punter at the logo, we don’t want to put ourselves in a situation where we get our guys in a backed up situation. I know we talk about getting our offense going in that situation, but the thing is they had two timeouts also. If you put yourself in a backed up situation and things don’t go as planned, I think you’re giving the other team an opportunity to go out there and make a play. I just felt like that was the right decision to do at that point and we actually wanted to play for overtime when it came to that.”
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said on Sunday that he was “really confused” by how Glenn handled the situation, which could be translated to being really thankful that Glenn allowed the Packers to control how the final minute of regulation played out.
The Falcons aren’t ready for prime time. But prime time is ready for the Falcons.
Atlanta, which lost 34-3 to the Panthers on Sunday, has three straight night games over the next three weeks. On Thursday night, the Falcons visit the Packers. The following Monday night, the Falcons visit the Saints. Then, six nights later, the Falcons host the Ravens.
The Week 5 game could, in theory, be flexed out of prime time. It’s rare for it to happen so early in the schedule. But with the Falcons at 0-2 and with the next two games to be played in a standalone window, the NFL may decide not to subject a national audience to a third straight Falcons game.
Other possibilities for the Sunday night window in Week 5 include 49ers-Seahawks, Bears-Packers, and Vikings-Saints. That same week, the Cowboys host the Buccaneers on Thursday night. Week 5 ends with a Monday night game between the Bills and Rams in L.A.
Ultimately, it’s the NFL’s decision. If a change is going to happen, the decision would need to be made by Tuesday, September 29.
The Jets blew a 17-7 lead in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against the Packers, but they could have gotten the ball back at the end of regulation with time for a chance to win the game.
The Packers ran a third down play near midfield with 1:05 left in regulation and the Jets stopped wide receiver Christian Watson short of a first down, but head coach Aaron Glenn did not call a timeout before the Packers took a delay of game penalty. The Packers wound up using a 10-second runoff to help get the clock down to two seconds before trying an unsuccessful Hail Mary.
Green Bay finished off the comeback in overtime and Glenn said at a press conference after the 20-17 loss that he “didn’t think of using a timeout at all” in that situation. He was asked why that thought never crossed his mind.
“I want to go back and really look at it, to be honest with you,” Glenn said, via a transcript from the team. “But I think they were in a situation where they were trying a no brainer, and they took the no brainer, or they took the penalty on that. It was down to 11 seconds. At that point, I didn’t want to put ourselves in a position where we want to take a timeout. Let’s let it end. . . . If they would have punted it, they would have put us in a backed-up situation. I think they could’ve punted the ball and put us in a backed-up situation right there, so that was the reason why.”
Glenn also chose to receive the kickoff in overtime, which led to a three-and-out and a quick Packers drive for the game-winning field goal. Those decisions will likely be up for further debate among Jets fans who were hoping to end Sunday with a 2-0 record.
