https://www.freep.com/story/sports/colum...?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z116654p119750c119750d00----v116654b0046xxd004665&gca-ft=64&gca-ds=sophi

Mitch Albom: "If you thought the Lions had an easy game upcoming with Minnesota, you don't know JJ McCarthy"

Its was a tough day for many Lions fans as they not that long ago rooted like mad for him at the University of Michigan. They love him....but now they have to hate him. And I think its bittersweet for them to see him as a Viking.

Who is the best running back in the NFL? I think Saquon Barkley and Jahmyr Gibbs would get a lot of votes. Against the Vikings, Barkley had 18 carries for 44 yards. Gibbs had 9 carries for 25 yards.

Highest graded #Vikings @ Lions (min. 10 snaps)

1. LB Blake Cashman: 90.8
2. DT Javon Hargrave: 81.4
3. RB Aaron Jones: 76.6
4. EDGE Andrew Van Ginkel: 75.1
5. CB Fabian Moreau: 73.4
6. WR Justin Jefferson: 72.8
7. C Blake Brandel: 68.0
8. LG Donovan Jackson & S Harrison Smith: 67.4
9. LT Christian Darrisaw: 65.7
10. EDGE Dallas Turner: 64.2

Purple FTW! Podcast
@PurpleForTheWin
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1h
"Center Ryan Kelly is eligible to return off IR Sunday. It could be the first snaps the Vikings Starting O-Line has together all season.
Get momentum at the right time."

I think they'd give him a week to acclimate....a week from this Sunday.

Lets talk this through,  Nailor had the ball pinned to his leg prior to the defender grabbing at it,  as they went to the ground it didnt hit the ground,  did the defender ever clearly take possession away from Nailor as they rolled through the play prior to the whistle?   I dont under stand how Nailor possessed the ball first,  never lost the ball, that I saw, but yet they called it an INT and they didnt see anything to over turn it?

Did I miss an angle that showed the defender ever having sole possession of the ball prior to the whistle?

I was pretty full yesterday so.... I might have seen that one wrong,  but it looked like a catch to me, ugly catch,  but a catch none the less.

I have a lot of affinity for Darnold...The ginger jesus would have kept me highly entertained. 

Too bad he's a Seahawk..

If we didnt have JJM? I could have been persuaded to sign him long-term and hope KOC can excorcise the remaining ghosts.

==================================

LANDOVER, Md. -- At halftime of the Seattle Seahawks' blowout win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday night at Northwest Stadium, Sam Darnold had four touchdown passes and zero incompletions, having connected on all 16 of his attempts.

He didn't know it until someone told him -- a no-no in football akin to talking about a no-hitter in baseball.

By the time Darnold missed for the first time, the Seahawks were well on their way to a win that improved their record to 6-2 -- and boosted their quarterback's MVP odds in the process.

"Not going to say who it was," Darnold said with a smile, refusing to give up the culprit.

Darnold finished 21-of-24 for 330 yards, four touchdowns and one interception before he was pulled in favor of Drew Lock with just over seven minutes left. That was good enough for a Total QBR of 97.8, the best in any game of his eight-year NFL career.

According to ESPN Research, there have been four instances of a player recording a QBR of 97 or higher in a game this season, and Darnold has three of them. The others are his performances against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5 (97.4) and the New Orleans Saints in Week 3 (97.3). Darnold's three such games are tied with Tom Brady (2007), Tony Romo (2014) and Lamar Jackson (2019) for the most by a starting quarterback in a season since ESPN began tracking Total QBR in 2006.

"Sam's execution right now, he's just ridiculous," coach Mike Macdonald said. "All the things we've talked about that he's been doing, but decisive, making smart decisions, our receivers are doing a great job, I thought the protection was really good."

The Seahawks were short-handed at receiver, with Cooper Kupp, Jake Bobo and Dareke Young inactive. It didn't look like it, though, with Darnold throwing touchdown passes on each of Seattle's first four possessions. He connected twice with rookie Tory Horton -- who assumed Kupp's role of No. 2 receiver -- before hitting rookie tight end Elijah Arroyo and veteran receiver Cody White.

Darnold's 87.5% completion rate was the second highest in a game in Seahawks history (minimum 10 attempts), behind only Russel Wilson's 88.6% in a 2020. By completing his first 17 passes, Darnold tied the franchise record that Warren Moon set in 1998, which was also to begin the game.

"Believe me when I say it, I'm not surprised," Macdonald said of Darnold's completion streak. "We watch Sam every day and how he operates, and he's the same guy every day, which is what you love about him. We're chasing it. 

The guys are determined, and it's fun to watch. When the team comes together, that's the type of stuff you can do when you play the right way, you prepare the right way. Our coaches deserve a lot of credit. I thought [offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak] called a great game."

According to ESPN Research, Darnold began the day with 60-to-1 odds to win MVP, per ESPN BET. Those odds improved to 18-to-1 by the end of the game.

With their win, the Seahawks are 4-0 on the road this season and 11-1 since the start of last season.

ESPN

Or was that my imagination? They sure like that kid.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6772999...en-nailor/

"The Vikings put the ball in J.J. McCarthy’s hands and trusted him to deliver the knockout blow to beat Detroit. That was the top takeaway from a game in which he completed only 14 passes.
What’s your play call on third-and-5 from your own 28-yard line while protecting a late 27-24 lead at Detroit with a quarterback making his third career start? The Lions had one timeout remaining with 1:41 on the game clock when Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell sent in the play to McCarthy. The result: a bold back-shoulder ball traveling 16 yards past the line of scrimmage to Jalen Nailor for a victory Minnesota badly needed after weeks of uncertainty surrounding the viability of the Vikings’ QB plan.

“This was not the boot pass where they pick someone off the line and he blocked someone for three seconds and released, was wide open, caught it and dove over the line to gain,” an exec from another team said. “This was a passing formation where they had to make a difficult throw, when the other team knows you are going to throw.”
The boldness of the play seemed remarkable under the circumstances, partly because McCarthy had completed only 13 passes all game and was playing for the first time in 49 days."

https://twitter.com/i/status/1985090720018108581

Yeeessssssssss.....

...his slight frame was his biggest red flag coming into the league. Was charmed last year, but not so much now. He's been injured this year, came back last night, now has what looks like a very serious elbow injury that will keep him out for the rest of the year. Washington's D is also horrible and old. What a change from last season for the Commanders. 

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/seaha...ball/live/