Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow called it “ridiculous” to think he might miss Sunday’s game in Houston because of back tightness and he is active for the Week 2 matchup with the Texans.
Burrow’s health became a talking point this week when he was limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday, but he returned to full practice on Friday. The Bengals still listed him as questionable for the team’s first road game of the season.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Burrow felt normal while going through Friday’s practice, but was very sore earlier in the week. The Texans pass rush could exacerbate that soreness if they’re able to get to Burrow early in Sunday’s game.
Bengals at Texans
Bengals: WR Ke’Shawn Williams, CB Josh Newton, OL Connor Lew, DL BJ Hill, DL Landon Robinson, QB Josh Johnson, OL Myles Hinton
Texans: TE Brevin Jordan, WR Nico Collins, LB Jake Hummel, CB Collin Wright, G Ed Ingram, OT Nate Thomas, DE Jadeveon Clowney
Panthers at Falcons
Panthers: LB Pat Jones, TE Ja’Tavion Sanders, QB Haynes King, CB Chau Smith-Wade, LB Tyrel Dodson, OT Albert Reese, DT Bobby Brown
Falcons: QB Tua Tagovailoa, QB Michael Penix, DB Billy Bowman, DB Malcolm DeWalt, OL Ethan Onianwa
Saints at Ravens
Saints: RB Kendre Miler, QB Zach Wilson, DB Decamerion Richardson, LB Isaiah Stalbird, DL Christen Miller, OL Mason Murphy, DL John Ridgeway
Ravens: QB Joe Fagnano, WR Zay Flowers, G Andrew Vorhees, OT Gerad Lichtenhan, LB Teddye Buchanan, DL Nnamdi Madubuike
Vikings at Bears
Vikings: QB Kyler Murray, WR Jauan Jennings, DB Zemaiah Vaughn, DB Jakobe Thomas, OL Nick Samac, OL Caleb Tiernan, DL Elijah Williams
Bears: QB Case Keenum, DE Jamree Kromah, DT Jayden Loving, OT Ozzy Trapilo, OL Jordan McFadden
Steelers at Patriots
Steelers: CB Joey Porter Jr., WR Michael Pittman Jr., QB Drew Allar, QB Will Howard, G Gennings Dunker, DT Kevin Jobity, DT Gabriel Rubio
Patriots: CB Carlton Davis, OT Dametrious Crownover, OT Walter Rouse, TE Tanner Arkin, DL Leonard Taylor, QB Behren Morton
Packers at Jets
Packers: CB Benjamin St-Juste, OL John Williams, OL Travis Glover, DT Warren Brinson, DT Javon Hargrave
Jets: CB D’Angelo Ponds, S Minkah Fitzpatrick, K Blake Grupe, RB Kene Nwangwu, LB Joseph Ossai, LB Trevin Wallace
Browns at Buccaneers
Browns: QB Taylen Green, LB Justin Jefferson, S Daniel Thomas, CB Toriano Pride, C Parker Brailsford, G Teven Jenkins
Buccaneers: CB Ayden Garnes, CB Jacob Parrish, G Luke Haggard, G Billy Schrauth, DL DeMonte Capehart, DL Elijah Simmons
Eagles at Titans
Eagles: QB Tanner McKee, QB Cole Payton, WR Elijah Moore, LB Jonathan Greenard, G Micah Morris
Titans: CB Cor’Dale Flott, LB James Williams, OL Atonio Mafi, OL Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, TE Kylen Granson, DT Jackie Marshall
Saints Clips
The Ravens will be without wide receiver Zay Flowers for Sunday’s game against the Saints, but they are set to have linebacker Trey Hendrickson in the lineup.
Hendrickson was listed as questionable on the team’s final injury report of the week after returning to practice on Friday. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Hendrickson is expected to play while wearing a cast to protect his injured finger.
Flowers is out with a hamstring injury and the Saints’ top wideout Chris Olave has also been dealing with a hamstring issue this week. Olave traveled with the team to Baltimore and Rapoport reports that Olave is set to play on Sunday.
Saints defensive end Chase Young, who has a calf injury, is also expected to play.
While Zay Flowers was able to get back on the practice field on Friday, he won’t be playing on Sunday against the Saints.
Baltimore has officially downgraded Flowers from doubtful to out.
Flowers caught five passes for 150 yards with a touchdown in Baltimore’s 41-23 victory over Indianapolis last weekend before exiting the contest.
Additionally, the Ravens have placed cornerback T.J. Tampa on injured reserve with a knee injury. Linebacker Carl Jones has been signed to the 53-man roster from the club’s practice squad as a corresponding move.
Offensive tackle Gerad Lichtenhan has been elected from the practice squad to the gameday roster.
The Saints listed wide receiver Chris Olave as questionable to play in Sunday’s game against the Ravens, so their move to elevate another wideout from the practice squad on Saturday could signal Olave will not play in Baltimore.
The clearest signal about his outlook would have been if Olave stayed in New Orleans, but that did not happen. Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reports that Olave made the trip with the team on Saturday.
Underhill reports that defensive end Chase Young also traveled with the team. Olave hurt his hamstring during the week and Young, who is also questionable, is dealing with a calf injury.
The Saints elevated wide receiver Kevin Austin, who was also brought up to play in their Week 1 loss to the Lions. Long snapper Scott Daly was called up for Sunday’s game as well.
That strange rule no one seemed to know about had a major impact on the Week 1 game between the Saints and Lions. And there’s a reason no one knew about it, beyond the fact that it apparently had not been applied in years, if ever.
A very similar play happened during the AFC Championship. But the rulebook’s get-out-of-backward-pass-free card was never mentioned.
It started with 2:59 to go in the first half. The Broncos, leading the Patriots 7-0, had the ball at their own 33, facing third down and four. Denver quarterback Jarrett Stidham (not Drew Brees) got the snap in shotgun formation. Stidham dropped back, apparently looking to set up a screen pass. Patriots linebacker Christian Ellis gave chase.
Stidham started his throwing motion. Before he got rid of the ball, Ellis made contact with Stidham. The pass, which was initially deemed to have gone forward, ultimately was determined to have been a backward pass, recovered by the Patriots.
The main source of the controversy — and the post-game pool report — was the decision to rule the play dead upon recovery, taking New England’s touchdown off the board.
Said referee Alex Kemp after the game: “I initially ruled it as a forward pass, which was incorrect. I proceeded to go through the administration of an intentional grounding foul. The down judge and the umpire came and talked to me and provided more information. The down judge explained that he extended his right arm to signal that he had a backward pass and at that point we determined that New England had picked up the then backward pass. We awarded possession to New England with no advance, because at that point we are not allowed to permit an advance.”
There was no mention during or after the game about the possibility that Ellis’s contact with Stidham after he started his throwing motion meant that any pass thrown was necessarily a forward pass, even if it went backward. That’s the provision that saved the Lions from a defensive scoop and score by the Saints in Week 1.
Now, it’s possible that a frame-by-frame review of the play would have resulted in a ruling that Stidham started his throwing motion, ended it, and got hit by Ellis before starting it again. But it was close enough that the rule no one knew about should have been mentioned, and arguably fully explained, at some point in the process. Because it would have been a forward pass, even if it went backward, if the final ruling was that Ellis had hit Stidham after he began his throwing motion.
And so, instead of the Patriots getting screwed by the ruling on the field of a forward pass, it’s possible the Broncos got screwed by the failure to apply the rule that worked against the Saints on Sunday. But no one knew about it, because no one knew about the bizarre rule that turns a backward pass into a forward pass.
Bottom line? If that rule had been mentioned, discussed, and/or applied in the AFC Championship, 48.6 million football fans would have become aware of it. And it wouldn’t have been nearly as stunning to first learn about this rulebook quirk in Week 1 of the 2026 season.
Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers was back on the practice field Friday, but he’s unlikely to be back in their lineup for Sunday’s game against the Saints.
Flowers, who is dealing with a hamstring injury, was listed as a limited participant in practice and reports from the open portion of the workout said he was on the very limited end of the spectrum. He’s listed as doubtful to play this weekend, but the outlook is better for three other players who returned to action to close out the week.
Defensive end Trey Hendrickson (finger), left tackle Ronnie Stanley (toe), and left guard John Simpson (groin) were all listed as questionable after getting in limited practice work.
Linebacker Teddye Buchanan (knee), defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike (neck), and cornerback T.J. Tampa (knee) have all been ruled out.
Wide receiver Chris Olave and defensive end Chase Young practiced for the Saints on Friday, but the team isn’t ready to guarantee they’ll be in the lineup against the Ravens on Sunday.
Olave, who has a hamstring injury, and Young, who is dealing with a calf injury, were both added to the report as limited participants on Thursday. They were limited in Friday’s practice as well and head coach Kellen Moore said they will carry questionable designations into the weekend.
Defensive lineman Christen Miller (toe) was injured on Friday and Moore said he’ll also be listed as questionable. Linebacker Isaiah Stalbird (shoulder) is listed as doubtful and long snapper Zach Wood (calf) will be placed on injured reserve.
Moore said everyone else is good to go, which puts running back Alvin Kamara and defensive end Cam Jordan on track to play for the first time this season.
The Ravens welcomed several players back to practice on Friday.
Reporters at the open session of practice shared that wide receiver Zay Flowers (hamstring), defensive end Trey Hendrickson (finger), left guard John Simpson (groin), and left tackle Ronnie Stanley (toe) were all suited up for the team’s final workout ahead of Sunday’s game against the Saints.
Flowers left Week 1’s win over the Colts with his injury and head coach Jesse Minter called him day-to-day earlier this week. The Ravens also lost rookie Ja’Kobi Lane to a fractured wrist in the win, so having Flowers back would keep them from being overly thin at wideout this weekend.
The Ravens will release injury designations later on Friday.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has a record of 77-31 as a starter. That’s an impressive winning percentage of 71.3 percent.
That’s very good. Here’s what’s even better — Jackson is 25-3 against NFC teams.
It translates to a winning percentage of 89.3 percent.
He puts that record on the line against the Saints on Sunday, the first of four NFC South sacrificial lambs who’ll face Jackson this season.
In those games, Jackson has thrown 52 touchdown passes against nine interceptions, for a ratio of 5.8. (By way of comparison, the historic Aaron Rodgers career TD-to-INT ratio is 4.29.)
It’s happened too often to be a fluke. And the simplest explanation is that the teams in the NFC don’t see Lamar Jackson often enough to know how to stop him.
Not that they don’t have a plan. But it’s one thing to have a plan. It’s another to implement it. Teams with players who have little or no experience in trying to slow him down have a hard time doing it, when they’re only doing it once every four years or so.
The dynamic will work in Baltimore’s favor, if the Ravens ever get to a Super Bowl. Where they’d face an NFC team that may never be able to fully prepare for what is about to happen.
Josh Allen’s skills were on display in Buffalo’s win over the Lions on Thursday night and his performance was the latest reason why any quarterback should be excited about being compared to the Bills star.
That was where Ravens defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver went when he was asked about Saints quarterback Tyler Shough at a Thursday press conference. Weaver said that he believes the “sky’s the limit” for the second-year quarterback during an answer that included a comparison to Allen.
“Yes, I like that kid,” Weaver said, via a transcript from the team. “We played them towards the latter half of the year when I was in Miami last year, and I was impressed with him then as a rookie. He reminds me a little bit of like a poor-mans Josh Allen. Has all the arm talent in the world [and] can run. I don’t think he gets enough credit for how good [of] an athlete he is. So, particularly as you get down to the low red [zone], we are constantly going to be conscious of just his ability to scramble and create those extended plays.”
Calling someone a “poor-mans” version of something could be seen as damning with faint praise, but Shough is preparing to make his 11th NFL start so anything that brings Allen to mind is a good sign for where his career can go. A win over the Ravens would be a step toward getting there, but Weaver isn’t going to get caught off guard this Sunday.
