Tag: baltimore

The Los Angeles Rams and their phase of reinvention has become one of the fun-filled stories of the young 2023 NFL season.

They find themselves navigating the strip-down-and-reload that always lurked in the distance after hamstringing their immediate future to devote everything to a Championship push. They are youthful, enigmatic, near-blank-canvased and unburdened by investment-fuelled expectation, the holes and hiccups that may befall them softened by the Lombardi Trophy they were left to show for their pocket-emptying approach.

Sean McVay’s side are two years removed from their Super Bowl-winning campaign, capped by a 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in what served as a defining moment for one of Mike Shanahan’s brightest disciples and so too the cash pot of Stan Kroenke.

A pool of superstars and wily veterans has since become a who’s who of ‘who’s that?’, within which has been weaved a rejuvenated McVay, an understaffed yet excelling defensive coordinator in Raheem Morris and a quarterback in Matthew Stafford who still possesses the arm talent to thrill and destroy, while being prone to the odd erratic mistake.

It wasn’t so long ago Rams General Manager Les Snead was wearing a t-shirt printed with the words ‘F*** them picks’ during the team’s Super Bowl parade, in reference to team construction strategy built heavily on trading draft picks in order to acquire ready-made contributors. It also wasn’t so long ago that he was apologising for said gesture. Spoiler: 2022 was a humbling hangover.

The Rams and their Jared Goff-Todd Gurley axis had fallen at the final hurdle. In relaunching their pursuit of a Super Bowl the Rams would trade two-first-round picks and a fourth-round pick for cornerback Jalen Ramsey to plug one of football’s toughest positons, they would acquire their perceived missing piece in quarterback Stafford for two first-round picks and a third-round pick, they would spruce up their Aaron Donald-encrusted defense by trading for future Hall of Fame ghost-move-guru edge rusher Von Miller and would sign free agent receiver Odell Beckham Jr down the stretch of their eventual Super Bowl-winning 2021 season.

Granted, Donald and Cooper Kupp formed a defining spine as existing Rams draft selections, while depth was padded out by mid-to-late round picks, but Rams glory had been built on the short-term super-team immediacy that zagged from the block-by-block zig of the Draft. Salary cap gymnastics became the winning formula, with the caveat that kicking finances down the road always threatened a transition.

In the wake of Super Bowl success the Rams saw offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth retire, Miller head to Buffalo on a lucrative contract in view of guiding a third team to a ring, and Beckham Jr departed to begin his lengthy recovery from injury. Kupp, who had led the league with 1,947 yards in 2021, and Stafford were meanwhile limited to just nine games each through injury, and Donald himself was struck down with an ankle issue in November to further hamper a team feeling the full force of a hangover. McVay’s passing attack spluttered, the offensive line was manhandled and the Rams slumped to a 5-12 finish.

Cue change. The Rams proceeded to trade Ramsey to the Miami Dolphins, released veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner and edge rusher Leonard Floyd, watched nose tackle Greg Gaines sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, parted with guard David Edwards, safeties Nick Scott and Taylor Rapp and traded Allen Robinson II to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

By May they had onboarded 38 rookies before naming 14 to the initial 53-man roster as they entered the 2023 season the second-youngest team in the league. It comes after the Rams’ stretch of not having a first-round pick reached seven years, while free agency bypassed them to the sound of little activity as the team entered the campaign supposedly carrying $75m of dead money against their salary cap for the year. Let the games begin.

It raised the curtain on a new chapter for McVay amid murmurs he had been considering his future in the NFL. A chance to tinker again with the Shanahan-cultivated scheme that had lost some spark and innovation, an opportunity to craft young talent into cornerstones of the re-modeled Rams.

The minefield of Week One overreactions aside, an opening-day 30-13 win over the Seattle Seahawks warranted some attention. One of the NFL’s most intense and intelligent young coaches was still just that, a healthy Stafford could still dunk on teams and Aaron Donald, for all the retirement talk, was still Aaron Donald.

Enter Puka Nacua, the fifth-round rookie wide receiver who has amassed 501 receiving yards from a league-high 39 catches heading into Week Five, putting him on pace to rival Calvin Johnson’s single-season record of 1,964 yards in 2012. The former BYU man’s receiving yards and receptions through his first four games mark NFL records, within which came a rookie single-game record 15 catches in the Week Two loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

He has become the centre-piece to a Kupp-less offense over the first month with a savviness for getting to his landmark and the subtle feints in cuts and sustenance to his routes that enables McVay to be diverse with his usage, whether it be deploying him in a pre-snap jet motion that extends into a deep over or sandwiching him in a three-level trips concept that relies on perfection to the timing of his break and the release of Stafford.

Alongside him Tutu Atwell is finally offering signs of being the consistent contributor they drafted in the second round in 2021, McVay’s barrage of fast motions offering the former Louisville receiver a runway on which to veil his route. The result has been 22 catches for 270 yards and a touchdown over the first four weeks, leaving him just 29 shy of surpassing the 298 receiving yards he posted in 13 games last season.

Elsewhere, 2022 fifth-round pick Kyren Williams has already run Cam Akers out of town in the backfield with a third-most five rushing touchdowns, a fourth-most 17 red zone carries and a third-most 22 targets among all running backs while playing more snaps than any player in his position through four games. His nose for the end zone is feasting behind an offensive line that has found a potential cornerstone in second-round left guard Steve Avila, a rising fleet-footed climb-and-clear run blocking asset and maul-and-brawl pass protector.

The Raheem Morris defense has its own rookie feature in third-round outside linebacker Byron Young, who has 16 tackles, two sacks and 14 pressures and seven hurries so far on the year, as well as eight quarterback hits that put him level with that of Micah Parsons and two off Nick Bosa. And they still have sixth-round rookie cornerback Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson to come as a twitchy, slightly undersized, front-foot route-jumper and deep-shot blanket who allowed a passer rating of just 34.6 with TCU last year. He is competing for a place within a secondary made up of 2022 fourth-round pick Cobie Durant, 2022 seventh-round pick Russ Yeast and 2022 sixth-round pick Derion Kendrick. Welcome to the 2023 Los Angeles Rams.

McVay’s side currently sit 2-2 with an offense ranked eighth in EPA/play and fourth in total yards on offense as well as ninth in total yards and ninth in success rate on defense. Stafford is delivering a handsome dose of wow throws, Morris is thrusting himself into head coach contention, McVay is reminding the league he is still rather special and Kupp to accompany Nacua.

The Rams are fun. The winning may be sporadic and volatile, but they are a fascinating watch as they begin life on a new arch.

Watch the Los Angeles Rams host the Philadelphia Eagles from 9.05pm on Sunday live on Sky Sports NFL; Stream the 2023 NFL season with NOW for £21 a month for six months

Sky Sports NFL announces its live fixtures for Weeks 1-3 of the 2023 season, with Aaron Rodgers’ New York Jets, Joe Burrow’s Cincinnati Bengals and Patrick Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs in action; watch the Chiefs host the Lions in the season opener in the early hours of Friday September 8

The 2023 NFL season has arrived, with Sky Sports’ dedicated channel set to showcase some of the biggest names and games as part of a bumper schedule across the first three weeks of the campaign.

Tua Tagovailoa’s Miami Dolphins take on Justin Herbert’s Los Angeles Chargers in Week One and Aaron Rodgers’ New York Jets meet Dak Prescott’s Dallas Cowboys in Week Two, while both Patrick Mahomes and Trevor Lawrence are both in action live on Sky as they begin their pursuit of a spot at Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.

Here are the fixtures live on Sky Sports across the opening three weeks of the season…

Week 1:

Thursday Night kickoff:

• (08/09 @ 1:20am) – Detroit Lions @ Kansas City Chiefs – Sky Sports NFL & Showcase

Sky Sports Sunday exclusive:

• (10/09 @ 6pm) – San Francisco 49ers @ Pittsburgh Steelers – Sky Sports NFL & Part Sky Sports Main Event
• (10/09 @ 9:25pm) – Miami Dolphins @ Los Angeles Chargers – Sky Sports NFL

Sunday Night Football:

• (11/09 @ 1:20am) – Dallas Cowboys @ New York Giants – Sky Sports NFL & Sky Sports Main Event

Monday Night Football:

• (12/09 @ 1:15am) – Buffalo Bills @ New York Jets – Sky Sports NFL & Sky Sports Main Event

Week 2:

Thursday Night Football:

• (15/09 @ 1:20am) – Minnesota Vikings @ Philadelphia Eagles – Sky Sports NFL & Sky Sports Main Event

Sky Sports Sunday exclusive:

• (17/09 @ 6pm) – Kansas City Chiefs @ Jacksonville Jaguars – Sky Sports NFL & 7pm join Sky Sports Main Event
• (17/09 @ 9:25pm) – Dallas Cowboys @ New York Jets – Sky Sports NFL & Sky Sports Main Event

Sunday Night Football:

• (18/09 @ 1:20am) – Miami Dolphins @ New England Patriots – Sky Sports NFL & Sky Sports Main Event

Monday Night Football:

• (19/09 @ 12:15am) – New Orleans Saints @ Carolina Panthers – Sky Sports Arena & Sky Sports Mix
• (19/09 @ 1:15am) – Cleveland Browns @ Pittsburgh Steelers – Sky Sports NFL & Sky Sports Main Event

Week 3:

Thursday Night Football:

• (22/09 @1:20am) – New York Giants @ San Francisco 49ers – Sky Sports NFL & Sky Sports Main Event

Sky Sports Sunday Exclusive:

• (24/09 @ 6pm) – New York Jets @ New England Patriots – Sky Sports NFL & 7pm join Sky Sports Main Event
• (24/09 @ 9:25pm) Chicago Bears @ Kansas City Chiefs – Sky Sports NFL & Sky Sports Main Event

Sunday Night Football:

• (25/09 @ 1:20am) – Pittsburgh Steelers @ Las Vegas Raiders – Sky Sports NFL & Sky Sports Main Event

Monday Night Football:

• (26/09 @ 12:15am) – Philadelphia Eagles @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Sky Sports NFL & Sky Sports Main Event
• (26/09 @ 1:15am) – Los Angeles Rams @ Cincinnati Bengals – Sky Sports Arena & Sky Sports Mix

How to follow the 2023 NFL season

Live on Sky Sports

The 2023 NFL season kicks off live on Sky Sports in the early hours of Friday September 9 (1.20am) as the defending champion Chiefs take on this year’s potential surprise package in the Detroit Lions at Arrowhead.

Neil Reynolds will then be joined by Phoebe Schecter in Pittsburgh for the opening NFL Sunday of the season as the Steelers take on the San Francisco 49ers in the 6pm kickoff live on Sky, while Hannah Wilkes and Jason Bell guide you through the late slate of games from Sky Studios.

Make sure you tune in to Sky Sports NFL every Sunday at 6pm for the first game of our triple-header of live action. The evening’s entertainment also includes NFL Redzone action as hosted by Scott Hanson, as well as Sunday Night Football to round off the night.

Sky Sports will broadcast two exclusive live games every Sunday throughout the regular season in the 6pm and 9.25pm slots, while also showing every Thursday Night, Sunday Night and Monday Night match-up as well as the Thanksgiving and Christmas Day fixtures.

Fans can also watch every minute of the playoffs across January, followed by Super Bowl LVIII at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on February 11.

On the road again!

The Sky Sports NFL team are leaving the comfort of Sky Studios to take the show on the road again this season.

Neil Reynolds will lead a two-hour build-up show live from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 15 as Lamar Jackson’s Baltimore Ravens take on the Tennessee Titans in the third of three London games this year.

It is then off to Germany, where we will broadcast live from Frankfurt as the Dolphins take on the Chiefs and the Indianapolis Colts face the New England Patriots on November 5 and 12, respectively.

What else?

The dedicated Sky Sports NFL channel will meanwhile continue to show the usual NFL Network favourites, including Good Morning Football, Pro Football Talk, Total Access, NFL Fantasy Live and America’s Game.

Neil Reynolds will be back to present his regular Inside the Huddle podcast, while Hannah Wilkes brings you exclusive interviews with the leading ladies of the NFL through Her Huddle.

Every episode of this year’s Hard Knocks as well as One Jets Drive will also be available to watch as we are taken behind-the-scenes with the Jets as they begin life with Aaron Rodgers.

Digital and Social

Throughout the season at skysports.com/nfl, we will have previews and reports for every live game, a rolling blog to accompany Sunday’s busy 6pm slate, where you can catch the best of the action if you are out and about.

Stick with us for the best feature and preview content as well as the verdict from our host of experts as our line-up of pundits and guests ensure all the talking points are covered.

And follow us on Twitter @SkySportsNFL where we want you to join in the conversation with your thoughts, comments and feedback through the season.

Don’t miss a second of the 2023 NFL season with Sky Sports NFL – watch the Kansas City Chiefs being their Super Bowl title defence against the Detroit Lions in the early hours of Friday September 8 live on Sky. Stream with NOW.

Can the Dallas Cowboys end their Super Bowl drought? An emphatic statement win in Week One has ignited a familiar flame, but will it be a familiar conclusion?; watch the Cowboys host the New York Jets live on Sky Sports NFL from 9.25pm Sunday

No team does early-season optimism better than the Dallas Cowboys.

No fan base is ready to crown their team Super Bowl champions sooner than Dallas fans, and that’s despite a title drought stretching into its 28th year. Heck, the Cowboys haven’t even so much as reached an NFC Championship game over that period – having previously made their home in them, appearing in 16 over the prior 30 seasons, en route to five Super Bowl wins.

There have been plenty of false dawns since, including posting back-to-back 12-5 seasons over the last two years that both resulted in handy defeats to the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs.

But is there reason to believe that 2023 could be different? I mean, there are season-opening wins and then there is the type of 40-0 drubbing they dished out to their divisional rivals, the New York Giants – in their building – last Sunday night. Talk about making a statement.

This was a Giants side fresh from their own playoff run to the divisional round last year, and one with genuine optimism of even better prospects this season. Within 15 minutes of football, those flickering flames of ambition were forcibly extinguished – and not by the driving rain at MetLife Stadium.

Riding a dominant defense, Dallas embarrassed the Giants, blocking a field goal and returning an interception to the house for a 16-0 lead after one quarter alone.

The Cowboys D held quarterback Daniel Jones to just 15 of 28 passing, for 104 yards, sacking him seven times and intercepting him twice.

Osa Odighizuwa and Dorance Armstrong each had two of those sacks and Trevon Diggs had a key pass breakup and a forced fumble – one of five lost by the Giants.

The swarming Dallas defense was so dominant that Dak Prescott only had to provide 143 yards on 13-of-24 passing in the demolition, though Tony Pollard tacked on two TDs as the Cowboys recorded their largest shutout win in franchise history.

And the blowout has sparked that most familiar of things in Dallas, unwavering belief.

Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons said after the win: “I saw this before anybody.

“I said I can’t wait to get to New York. I knew it was coming.

“With execution meets preparation, there is no one that can beat it. We’ve already felt this. We’ve been to war before. We knew the standard.”

Parsons later added: “I think we made the statement which I’ve been trying to make. We’re the best defense in the National Football League.”

It’s hard to argue.

The Dallas defense is the first since the 1970s to lead the NFL in takeaways in consecutive seasons, with their 33 from last season bettered by one in 2021. They were also top five in terms of points allowed per game a year ago, coughing up just 20.1 on average.

Where the Cowboys faltered, last season in particular, was on offense, ranking only in the middle of the pack in terms of yards per game (354.9), and with Prescott finishing tied for first with Davis Mills of the three-win Houston Texans for the most interceptions in the league, tossing up a career-high 15 to accompany a career-low mark of 7.3 yards per attempt.

While he wasn’t required to do much against the Giants, there is renewed optimism that Prescott and the Cowboys can rediscover their 2021 form on offense which saw them top the league both in terms of yardage (407 YPG) and scoring (31.2 PPG).

Undisputed No 1 receiver CeeDee Lamb is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, including a career-high 1,359 a year ago, while he’s complimented by speedster Brandin Cooks – acquired via trade from the Texans – and the underrated Michael Gallup, hopefully free from his injury woes of the last two years.

There’s also Pollard, who is very much the top dog at running back after Ezekiel Elliot’s overdue exit, and he looked eager to assume such a mantle with his pair of scores in New York.

That offensive weaponry will get a stern test of their credentials this Sunday, however, against an Aaron Rodgers-less New York Jets who themselves boast a stellar defense – one fit to challenge Parsons’ claim of being the best in the NFL and fresh from intercepting Josh Allen three times in their stunning season-opening win over the Buffalo Bills.

“It’s a great start,” Parsons added after the Giants win.

“I haven’t seen anything like that since we have been here, but it’s the consistency. We just have to keep it going.”

Head coach Mike McCarthy, conscious of keeping expectations in check in Dallas, stressed: “It’s one game.

“We know where we want to go. I feel like we are fully capable and have an understanding of how to get there. But it’s a long journey.”

Well, without wishing to contradict the coach’s sentiments, the Cowboys’ two prior season-opening shutouts have something in common: when Dallas beat the Baltimore Colts 38-0 in 1978 and the Giants 35-0 in 1995, they reached the Super Bowl on both occasions.

Try telling Cowboys fans not to get carried away right now.

Watch the Kansas City Chiefs at the Jacksonville Jaguars live on Sky Sports NFL from 6pm Sunday, followed by New York Jets on the road against the Dallas Cowboys from 9.25pm; the Miami Dolphins then take on the New England Patriots in Sunday Night Football.

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell says he “expected” his side’s upset win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Thursday night’s season opener; Chiefs head coach Andy Reid insists he would make “no excuses” as his offense missed star tight end Travis Kelce.

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell insisted he learned nothing he did not already know about his side as they ignited their season as surprise package candidates by taking down the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in Thursday’s opening game.

Perhaps ‘surprise package’ is the wrong term for a team that warned of its ascent with eight wins from its final 10 games last season, but optimism is as lofty as it has been in some time for Detroit, with victory over the league’s very best setting the perfect marker.

David Montgomery burrowed through for an eight-yard touchdown with five minutes on the clock to put the Lions on top for good having trailed 14-7 at half-time.

He would then power through for the first down to seal a 21-20 win after the Chiefs failed to convert on fourth-and-25 with two minutes remaining.

“I love the fact our guys never wavered, it was something we talked about,” Campbell told reporters. “We knew we’d hit some tough spots in this game and that happened and nobody got down and we hung in there. I told the team they’re built for this.”

For all the Lions were doing to frustrate the Chiefs early on, they were dealt an ominous reminder of the task at hand as Patrick Mahomes connected with Marquez Valdez-Scantling for 34 yards on third-and-17 to maintain a drive that would end in Blake Bell’s four-yard touchdown catch late in the first half.

The Chiefs had the opportunity to try and extend their cushion after the break, only for rookie safety Brian Branch to pounce on an inexcusable dropped-catch from Kadarius Toney to run in a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown, bringing Detroit level.

By the end of the third quarter they found themselves trailing again at 14-17, before fending off Mahomes in the fourth to earn themselves winning territory.

“I didn’t learn anything, I got verification on what I already knew, and this is a resilient team,” said Campbell. “It already was a resilient team and we added pieces to that resilient team, so we’re built to handle some stuff and we did that against a very good opponent.

“We expected to win this game. We came in here and we knew what we needed to do, and we knew it wasn’t going to be easy and we did that. Really what it means is that’s one [win]. That’s one. So, we’ve got to clean up our issues. It hurt us on some stuff and be ready for Seattle in 10 days. That’s what it is.”

While Ben Johnson’s Lions offense took the plaudits, Campbell was also full of praise for Aaron Glenn’s defense as it shut the Chiefs out of the end zone in the second half.

“It’s something we talk about, closing games out,” he continued. “Everybody knows the strength of our offense, but defensively I thought they showed up in a big way. We needed a takeaway and needed to be much better on third downs and we did that.”

Reid: No excuses

Mahomes had been without his right hand man Travis Kelce as the tight end watched on from the sideline having been ruled out due to a knee injury sustained during practice earlier in the week.

His absence became amplified by a series of dropped catches from Mahomes’ receiver group, the most notable being that of Toney before Jerick McKinnon also fumbled a simple grab to undo his quarterback’s fine work to keep his feet in a collapsing pocket.

“They know I’m going to keep firing, we’ll get it fixed in this next week and correct it going into the next game,” said Mahomes, who underlined his faith in Kelce’s supporting cast.

“You’re losing the best tight end of all time, but other guys have to step up in moments because there’s times when he gets doubled.

“We’re going to have to rely on these other guys who are young and talented to step up and make plays, I believe they will.”

He noted the defeat arrives as an early wake-up call for some team-mates of the depth in competition, coupled with the glowing target on their back as Super Bowl winners.

“It will be good for the young guys to know we aren’t just going to walk in and win the game, we’re going to have to play good football,” he added. “I’ve preached it to them all preseason and now they know. Hopefully guys learn from it and get better.”

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid played down the absence of Kelce and insisted he was confident of ironing out the mistakes that cost his side on Thursday.

“No excuses, at all,” Reid explained. “We’ve got guys that can play that are right there to take care of business, and [the Lions] got us on special teams to continue the drive, they got us on the tipped ball.

“Listen, it’s unusual for the guys that dropped the ball to drop the ball, that’s not what I’ve seen from them, and I wouldn’t expect them to do that. So, you do that, you take care of business there, and we’ll be alright.”

Week One of the 2023 NFL season continues Sunday as the San Francisco 49ers visit the Steelers, with coverage from 4.30pm ahead of kickoff at 6pm, followed by the Dolphins at Chargers at 9.25pm. Stream with NOW.

The Philadelphia Eagles dominated the NFC last season but lost in the Super Bowl; Quarterback Jalen Hurts had an incredible campaign but finished second to Patrick Mahomes in MVP voting; How far will Philly go in 2023/24?

After a promising end to their 2021/22 season, the Philadelphia Eagles attacked the offseason to retool and upgrade, and it led to a tremendous 14-3 campaign in 2022/23.

They obliterated the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs, but ultimately fell just short at the final hurdle. Superhero Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs topped them 38-35 in Super Bowl LVII.

What now for the birds? Will they remain the NFC’s best? Or was last season too good to be repeated?

Big losses

As is the case after any productive and successful season, NFL teams see their top coaches and players picked off by other teams in the coaching carousel and free agency.

However, in a rare case, head coach Nick Sirianni said farewell to both of his coordinators. Offensive coordinator Shane Steichen moved to Indianapolis and will aim to aid the development of new Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson. Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon heads to Arizona for a big rebuilding project.

The offensive transition should be seamless, with former quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson looking to continue his work with quarterback Jalen Hurts and maintain a top-five attack.

However, struggles on the defensive side of the ball should be expected. Last season, Philadelphia allowed the second-fewest yards per game in the league and produced an incredible 70 sacks. But after Gannon’s late departure to Arizona, the Eagles reportedly missed out on their top coaching targets and settled for Seahawks’ defensive assistant Sean Desai.

Defense is also the side of the ball on which the Eagles suffered their biggest player losses this offseason. Outstanding defensive tackle Javon Hargrave departed to NFC rivals San Francisco. Both starting linebackers (TJ Edwards and Kyzir White) left in free agency, and so did both starting safeties (CJ Gardner-Johnson and Marcus Epps) so Desai will be working with a new-look group. How will they compare to last year’s outstanding unit?

Philadelphia did lose some key contributors on offense (Isaac Seumalo offered high-level, consistent guard play and running back Miles Sanders had his most productive season in 2022) but the attack looks more locked and loaded than the D.

Key returners

With Jason Kelce, Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox signing one-year deals to return to Philadelphia, the Eagles have managed to retain their core leaders. Of course, there was no question of him leaving, but Hurts receiving a five-year, $255m deal (which made him the highest paid player in the league at the time) means there is plenty of stability in important areas of the roster.

Four of the five starting offensive linemen from last season will start again this year, and Seumalo’s replacement at right guard is last year’s second-round pick Cam Jurgens, who has a year of learning from legendary O-line coach Jeff Stoutland under his belt.

Hurts and his top three receivers – AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith, and tight end Dallas Goedert – return to an attack that should again be one of the league’s best.

The defense is relying on a youth movement and some development. The Eagles crucially locked up cornerback James Bradberry to a new three-year deal and still boast Pro Bowl talents Haason Reddick and Darius Slay, but are relying a lot on second-year Georgia Bulldogs Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean, who step into starting defensive tackle and linebacker roles, respectively.

An eclectic mix of additions

As has been the model in recent seasons, the Eagles aim to ‘buy low’ on talented veterans and see who hits, then work their magic in trades to make the most of their draft picks.

In free agency, they filled holes in some lacking areas – Rashaad Penny (RB) and Terrell Edmunds (S) will see playing time – but made no ‘splash’ signings.

However in April’s NFL Draft, general manager Howie Roseman made his mark. They went into the weekend with a pair of first-round picks and turned them into two more Georgia college stars in DT Jalen Carter and edge rusher Nolan Smith. In the third round, they selected safety Sydney Brown, who made a splash in preseason and is expected to ascend the depth chart quickly.

But perhaps the most exciting addition – especially for fantasy football fans – is running back D’Andre Swift, who the Eagles acquired for a 2025 fourth-round pick and a 2023 seventh-round pick swap.

Despite three injury-riddled seasons in Detroit, Swift has proven to be an explosive runner and a fantastic receiver out of the backfield. Expect him to boom in Philly.

How do the Eagles stack up in the NFC?

Regardless of how well the Eagles do play, they will have to contend with some tough teams to top the conference again. Their closest rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, will be back and strong again after a 12-5 record last year.

The San Francisco 49ers, who the Eagles toppled 31-7 in Philadelphia in the NFC Championship game, stole one of Philly’s best players in Hargrave and will no doubt be in the mix again in 2023.

However, unlike the AFC where quarterbacks rule, the rest of the NFC is more wide-open. Minnesota and Seattle should hypothetically return to the postseason behind Kirk Cousins and Geno Smith, but are they sure things? Will the Giants continue to improve in their second season under Brian Daboll?

Past the obvious, it appears to be a mystery. Can Detroit build on their late-season surge? Will the Saints or the Rams return to their previous heights? How far will Justin Fields take Chicago in his second year at the helm?

Expectations in Philadelphia will be high once again.

Aden Durde’s primary agenda consists of his Micah Parsons-led Dallas Cowboys front conquering as the most potent, the most productive of its kind in the NFL – the rest will all fall into place.

‘The rest’ being prospective ladder-climbing, the number of rungs between him and a defensive coordinator post seemingly decreasing with every passing season.

As the annual NFL coaching cycle resumed this offseason and Dan Quinn’s name naturally catapulted back towards the top of the market, fans and media alike pondered his potential successor as defensive governor in Dallas. Durde was a popular opinion.

The Cowboys were mid-playoff run at the time and their British defensive line coach, who worked under Quinn with the Atlanta Falcons, admittedly blind-eyeing speculation.

“To be honest I don’t think about it at all, I’m not going to lie,” Durde told Sky Sports. “The reason why I say that is because it’s nobody I know talking about it, it’s other people talking about it. Normally when you’re talking about these things [hirings] we’re playing [in the playoffs] so I just want to focus on what we have to do. I admit sometimes it gets hard but when you do that you’re doing what you say you’re doing, you’re trying to achieve the goal you’re aiming for at that time.

“Truthfully I just focus on the games because losing in the playoffs is not fun. I’m constantly trying to think about that.”

It was confirmed on January 26 that Quinn would be staying put in Dallas for the upcoming season, pressing pause on talk surrounding both his future and that of Durde.

For now, maximizing what may be perceived as a championship window for the Cowboys takes precedence. That is not to say the next rung has not crossed Durde’s mind.

“You always think about it, you always think about moving forward,” Durde continued. “But I really think to myself more about the work you do, there’s so much to learn, you just keep pushing and keep learning because when the opportunity does come, if it does come around one day, you’ve got to be prepared to do it.

“For me every opportunity is my opportunity so that’s the way I look at it. I’ve got to be prepared for everything, right now my opportunity is coaching the d-line for the Dallas Cowboys.

“It’s one of the most fun times I’ve had in coaching so I want to carry on doing it.”

The Cowboys saw their campaign end in defeat to the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round of the playoffs after they had blown away Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during Wild Card weekend. The feeling is they are close, which made falling short all the more tough to take.

“It’s hard, when you finish in the playoffs and don’t necessarily get to where you want to go to it’s very final so I think emotions are raw at that time,” he said “But when you go back and reflect we did some really good things, it’s just playoff football. I was really proud of my group of guys, I was proud of the defense and the way the defense played, they represented the kind of standard, just got to keep pushing forward.”

Durde’s front gashed opponents with as much success and consistency as any team in the league last season, leading the way for a defense that ranked first in pressure rate and second in EPA/play.

Asked whether he takes more pride in such areas than in sack numbers, he points to the ‘danger’ of getting bogged down in stats. Durde takes pride in “earning the right to rush the passer” by way of stopping the run first, with the knowledge he has the edge-rippers primed to roar when given the green light.

“Once we do that we can go to work and I think if you look at those stats they show we can rush the passer, we’ve got to get to those opportunities to rush the passer,” he said. “We know we have good players which helps.”

Micah Parsons is a good player. Maybe the best in the league at what he does, in fact.

He led the team with 13.5 sacks and 41 pressures last season as he was deployed off the edge on a more full-time basis having spent his rookie year shape-shifting between the off-ball linebacker as which he had entered the league and fully-loaded quarterback hunter.

His efficiency in the trenches may have seen him drop into Durde’s jurisdiction, but it has not drawn the line on work at the second level.

“I think that’s more a question for DQ (Dan Quinn), but Micah’s versatility is one of his gifts, one of his superpowers so he’ll always be in different positions,” Durde said of finding the balance in his usage.

“Even when he’s on the ball there are times when he’s off the ball, in the playoffs he was more on and off the ball so it’s how DQ moves him around.”

Durde hailed his continued willingness to learn and develop despite the immediacy of his ascent since arriving in 2021.

“He’s very receptive,” said Durde. “Like most players he wants to get better, so if you evaluate the game and look at the areas of the game they need to work on and can show proof of why they need to improve on those and then look at the game and let them talk about what they want to improve on and then create a plan then you’re obviously getting it. He’s a great kid, very receptive.”

Behind a freedom to move Parsons around has been depth in production from those beside him, DeMarcus Lawrence contributing six sacks, 21 pressures and 65 tackles last season while 2018 fourth-round pick Dorance Armstrong logged a career year with 8.5 sacks, 18 pressures and 33 tackles.

“Definitely, DA (Armstrong) has come along so much in the last two years and I think he’s shown what he can be consistently in the league, he’s laid down two real good years,” said Durde.

“D Law (Lawrence) is an every down player and does a great job at that, he plays with a physicality and way that is rare at times, it’s fun to watch. Dante (Fowler Jr) has had a great year, Osa (Odighizuwa) has had a great year. If we’re dressing nine players they’ve all got to have the ability to play.”

Such has been the trend in recent years that the league again gravitated towards dropping six or seven men into coverage while operating with four and five-man rushes as a means to blunting the league’s splash-play quarterbacks and the influx of off-script artists capable of creating outside the pocket.

Durde and Quinn are among those blessed with the personnel to follow suit. Flood the second and third levels, muddy the quarterback’s field diagnosis, let the big men feast up front.

“I think you have to start with the premise that you have to be able to rush four guys, because if you can’t then you have to be able to create pressure,” said Durde.

“The ultimate thing in this league is how to create pressure up front, if you can’t do that how are you doing it? Are you doing it through simulated pressures? Are you doing it through bringing five guys, six guys? But you want to have enough coverage, you want to slow down a guy’s thought process by putting shell coverage and rotating and disguising it, how do you do that?

“If you can just rush it makes everything a lot easier because you can basically cover with more people. The premise is to start with that and work out if you can or can’t. We’ve been lucky enough that we can, and we’ve got to keep doing it.”

A component to that has been drawing on stunt efficiency as an occasional replacement for blitzing, Durde’s cross-rushing having become a familiar theme to his unit’s appearance.

“We stunt a lot, I think so especially on first and second down, especially because of how fast the football comes out,” he added.

Behind Durde’s line in the trenches Coach Quinn has tinkered and evolved the Cover 1 and Cover 3 presentations that inspired so much success during his time in Seattle. While the Cowboys have dialled up Cover 1 at the second-highest rate in the league over the last two seasons, there has also been a notable variation of late in his use of the Cover 2 looks that have swept the NFL.

Asked if it has been a conscious effort on Quinn’s part to tap into the league’s two-high movement, Durde insists “that’s a question for him!”.

“Playing Cover 1, Cover 2, it doesn’t necessarily change how we play versus the pass, it may change how we play versus the run but not the pass,” he says.

“You need to give your DBs a rest at times because if you’re playing a lot of match defense then there will be times when you need a rest, 2 is a good way to do that sometimes because they’re playing zone in that situation.”

Durde’s focus remains the frontline, on which he hopes to nurture and unleash another of the league’s most impactful pass rushers in second-year defensive end Sam Williams.

Williams was drafted out of Ole Miss in the second round in 2022 before managing 22 tackles, four sacks, one forced fumble, three fumble recoveries and one pass defense in 11 games as a rookie.

Durde has forecast a “huge leap” for the 23-year-old across the next season.

“Sam is a super talented kid, he’s smart, he’s ultra strong, I haven’t been around as many players as strong as Sam,” Durde said. “He’s going to do well, he’s just got to stick to the process, continue growing.

“He’s why you coach, he’s super fun to coach, I love him.”

Williams closed out his final season at college with 57 tackles, 12.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one pass defense, off-field problems seeing him drafted later than might have once been the case.

“I think if you look at his athletic stats, he’s super athletic and he had the production to match,” added Durde.

“He played lots of different roles, he played in that Ole Miss style at the time which was that 3-5 stack so he was playing some 4i, we wouldn’t play him in those positions so it was exciting to say ‘okay if we put this guy outside, how are we rushing him?’.

“He’s a development guy, he’s raw, he went to JUCO (Junior College) so started playing football a bit late.

“To me, his ceiling is super high and we thought it was an opportunity to take a young guy and see him develop.”

The NFL Academy is a major initiative by the NFL, which aims to use American football to create life-changing opportunities for young people in the UK. To find out more information on the NFL Academy please visit https://www.nflacademy.com/

Tom Brady on Super Bowl LVII: “I felt Jalen [Hurts] played incredible… Patrick [Mahomes] played really clutch when he had to. And it was a very fitting end to a great season. They played really one of the great games all season. It was really fun to watch”

Tom Brady, the recently-retired seven-time Super Bowl winning quarterback, hopes Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers doesn’t join him in retirement any time soon, hailing the 39-year-old as “one of the greats”.

Rodgers is planning to embark on a four-day ‘darkness retreat’, this offseason, with the veteran quarterback telling The Pat McAfee Show that he hoped the excursion would help to provide clarity on his future, including retirement.

“It’s an opportunity to do a little self-reflection in some isolation and after that, I feel like I’ll be a lot closer to that final, final decision,” Rodgers said.

On the latest episode of his ‘Let’s Go!’ podcast, Brady said he hopes Rodgers decides to continue playing – be that in Green Bay or elsewhere.

“You know what, I hope he doesn’t retire,” Brady said. “I think the league needs good quarterbacks, and he’s one of the greats.

“If he retires, it’ll be a sad day for the league.”

As for Rodgers’ planned ‘darkness retreat’, Brady said: “Everyone has their different processes they go through. And you know what, I think we all need to get off our phone a little bit more. I think we all need to get away from the TV a little bit more.

“I think we all need a little more nature and a little more silence and a little more peace.

“And however he’s going about it, good for him. Everyone’s got their unique way to process the season. It’s very intense for all of us, and everyone gets to choose what they want to do.”

Rodgers is also currently subject to numerous trade rumours, with ESPN reporting on Sunday that the New York Jets have expressed an interest, and that the Packers are open to moving on from their 15-year starter.

Financial reasons are said to be the major reason behind a potential trade of Rodgers, with Green Bay projected to be $16m over next season’s salary cap. He is due $59.5m in guaranteed money in 2023 and $49.25m in 2024.

Rodgers told McAfee last month that he was “open to all honest and direct conversations” with the Packers. He added that a trade “wouldn’t offend me, and it wouldn’t make me feel like a victim”.

Rodgers was named the NFL’s MVP in both 2020 and 2021, but he endured one of the worst seasons of his career in 2022, completing 64.6 per cent of his passes for 3,695 yards and 26 touchdowns, while tossing 12 interceptions (his highest mark since 2010).

Brady disputes that narrative, however. “Certainly from the standpoint of him leaving the game the way that he’s playing, he broke his thumb this year and still played tremendous,” he said. “And you could see as he got healthy throughout the year how incredibly talented he is.

“I hope the good players keep playing. That’s what my hope is. That’s what I tried to do.

“And now you hope that the next generation does that and I hope they have the tools necessary to do that.”

Speaking of that next generation, Brady also offered his thoughts on Sunday’s epic Super Bowl LVII matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles which featured two of the best young quarterbacks in the game.

The 27-year-old Patrick Mahomes was named Super Bowl MVP for a second time as he defied an ankle injury to lead the Chiefs from behind to a 38-25 win. Eagles QB Jalen Hurts, appearing in his first Super Bowl aged 24, also put in a stellar performance, throwing for over 300 yards and a touchdown, while adding 70 yards and three scores on the ground.

“I felt Jalen played incredible,” Brady said. “Patrick played really clutch when he had to. And it was a very fitting end to a great season.

“The two best teams throughout the course of the year were in the Super Bowl, and they played really one of the great games all season. So it was really fun to watch.”

He added: “I hope these other guys like Patrick can play a long time, and Jalen can play a long time. And Josh [Allen] and Joe Burrow, these tremendous players that bring so much.

“That’s why we watch – not because of the colour of the jerseys, because of the players in the jerseys.”

Lou Anarumo and his hokey cokey Cincinnati Bengals defense have become the talk of the town. A town with Joe Burrow in it.

To solve a problem like Josh Allen, to solve a problem like Patrick Mahomes, to solve a problem like the modern off-script angle-defiant elite quarterback is to do things the Lou Anarumo way.

His art of disguise has excelled to the extent head coach-needy NFL teams have neglected to acknowledge his cauldron of tricks enough to consider him during this year’s hiring cycle. An indictment, no doubt, on them and a flawed hiring process rather than his own credentials.

He has emerged as a remedy to a Mahomesified league in which the Kansas City Chiefs gamer has burdened young quarterbacks with soaring, unassailable expectations through his anything-goes arm talent. Anarumo vs Mahomes likely takes precedence over any Joe Burrow vs Mahomes or Joe Burrow vs Steve Spagnuolo showdown heading into Sunday’s AFC Championship Game.

Eli Apple dubbed him a mad scientist. He is both scientist and architect, receptive and reactive to the league’s college-driven spread movement and the trendy proclivity of pre-snap motion, RPO innovation and the position-less asterisk to on-paper personnel groupings. With today’s offensive sleight of hand comes Anarumo’s own espionage missions. And sometimes, just sometimes, he will merely knock on the front door to tell you what he’s doing, armed with the answer for any ensuing reply.

He gave Allen and the Bills offense headaches by nullifying their downfield knockout power in Cincinnati’s Divisional Round win. Mahomes is next in his sights as they resume their defining duel, in which Anarumo boasts the upper hand.

Where Josh Boyer’s blitz-heavy approach with the Miami Dolphins had dared Allen’s downfield aggression to beat them, Anarumo’s success was built on delaying the Bills quarterback and forcing him to temper his bombs away tendencies. Simulated pressure became seven and eight-man coverage looks, putting added stress on Allen’s progressions while, in a slightly different way to Boyer inviting shots over the top, daring him to take on dangerous traffic.

The Bengals defensive coordinator has joined in with the league’s shift towards the two-high safety shells inspired by Vic Fangio as a means of eradicating the explosive plays of 20+ yards. But it has been the way in which his unit rolls and rotates to two-high looks and handsomely-staffed zone shells that has been so effective in befuddling the league’s best and brightest under center. And, in contrast, the way he hides blitz packages in zone presentations.

Anarumo blitzed Allen just seven times on 47 drop backs (14.8 per cent) and yet managed to generate pressure on 26 of them by way of his shape-shifting. He turned heavily towards one of the staples of the Anarumo defense in the nickel fire zone pressures whereby at the snap the extra defensive back will rocket to the line of scrimmage from the second level while the weak side defensive end retreats into coverage to muddy the quarterback’s field read. There we have the ‘left foot in, right foot out’ hokey cokey of it all. It preserves the four-man rush while congesting the middle of the field as Allen looks for his hot routes.

A defensive back can hint at zone coverage by aligning with his backside pointing to the sideline, or point to man-on-man by shadowing the motioning receiver across the line of scrimmage or nod to the blitz by lining up in a sprint-start stance, but Anarumo does his utmost to veil intentions by having his creeper pressure man, often a Mike Hilton or Vonn Bell, unassumingly amble across the second level before exploding into life from a non-static start at the snap. Emphasis on the ‘creep’ in his creeper pressure.

A key trait to Anarumo’s fire zone pressures can also be the width it creates up front, the angle from which the defensive back darts helping limit the modern mobile quarterback’s ability to roll out of the pocket and freelance in pursuit of an off-platform throw. He will also pull one of Sam Hubbard or Trey Hendrickson off the edge and turn them into a spy, be it to purposely flush a quarterback out of the pocket and into their laps or to again contribute to blocking quite routes underneath. Hence the importance against an Allen or a Mahomes that are as dangerous as any passer in the league outside the pocket.

The pre-to-post snap transformations come with layers upon layers upon layers: Anarumo will simulate a corner blitz from one side while offering a single-high coverage presentation, before dropping said corner and the adjacent defensive end into the second level at the snap while sending the opposite side corner in pressure off the edge, filling the vacated half of the field by rolling his high safety across in an inverted Cover 2 and pulling linebacker Logan Wilson high while Germaine Pratt serves as the hook/curl floater. His own illusion of complexity.

At times he will complement zone coverage across the board by lining up one of his more physical defensive backs in press man coverage against the offense’s top weapon, a Travis Kelce for example, and ask his DB to win his physicality battle mid-route.

Anarumo will also occasionally put a defining onus on the athleticism and instincts of Wilson and Pratt as his two lone linebackers in extra DB packages by lining both up as A-gap muggers at the line of scrimmage before dragging them back at the snap to marshal any crossing routes designed for quick-release concepts.

He was the star of the show as the Bengals beat the Chiefs in last season’s AFC title game to reach the Super Bowl, Anarumo’s second half answer to Mahomes, Tyreek Hill and Kelce being to pull seven or eight men into coverage and suffocate some of the most accomplished offensive spacing and route concepts in the league.

Trailing 21-10 at half-time, Anarumo came out and dropped eight or more defenders into coverage on 45.5 per cent of dropbacks across the second half and overtime period in a rise from just 23.8 per cent in the first half. In those instances Mahomes went three of eight passing for 13 yards and an interception while being sacked twice as the Chiefs offense stalled.

The Bengals had been beaten by two notable chunk plays in the first half, a 44-yard completion to Mecole Hardman and a 33-yard completion to Hill. On the first to Hardman Cincinnati had presented quarters coverage before rolling into a one-high safety in Jessie Bates III, who would be frozen centrally by Kelce’s seam route while Hardman beat Chidobe Awuzie one-on-one with his out-and-up. On the second to Hill the Bengals presented a one-high safety look in nickel with all other DBs lined up in press coverage other than Apple in soft coverage on the Chiefs pass-catcher, who would exploit the extra runway and beat his man with a double move on the deep over route.

Anarumo sought to switch things up with 13 seconds left in the half when he dialled up match quarters coverage with wide 5-tech and 9-tech rushers anchoring a four-man pressure in order to contain Mahomes in the pocket, with Wilson retreating into coverage to bracket Byron Pringle’s over route and Pratt spying the Chiefs quarterback to deny the escape on the weak side. Unfortunately for the Bengals Apple would bite on the in-and-out from Hill and ultimately draw a pass interference penalty after seeing Mahomes overcook his pass to the corner of the end zone.

On the opening drive of the second half Anarumo tackled a Chiefs second-and-six by dropping eight into coverage with Pratt as the hook/curl buffer in the middle of the field, where his presence proved key in delaying Mahomes as he targeted Hill, being shadowed by Hilton, on the deep over.

Then followed a familiar theme of Bell being deployed as the ‘robber’ out of Cover 2 (two-high) by dropping down into the hole last minute to disrupt dig and crossing routes underneath as another variation on Anarumo’s blend of zone and man.

Mahomes and the Chiefs were not dumb to the seven and eight man coverages – they just could not find a resolution to beating them, even with their alien quarterback’s preposterous skewed-angle freelancing expertise. Late in the third they turned to a condensed formation in a bid to toss the guessing game back to Anarumo, who responded by stacking the box in the face of a wide zone movement before rotating into Cover 2 and watching BJ Hill throw up his big arms to snag a bonus interception at the line of scrimmage.

There is a blockbuster feel to Anarumo’s defense as he favours blanketing every route and every receiver over supreme pressure up front, challenging a Mahomes to produce the best of Mahomes by dissecting the tightest of throwing lanes or spotting and punishing the rare blown assignment, and challenging a Kelce to produce the best of Kelce by way of the best head feint, hip swivel and hand usage on an out route in the league. Beat him, and he will holds his hands up and say ‘fair play’.

How he replicates or adapts previous game plans for Mahomes this weekend comes with added intrigue in the wake of the Chiefs man’s high-ankle sprain. Do you purposely flush him out of the pocket and put his uncertain mobility to the test?

The mad scientist is brewing his next cocktail of chaos, every bit of which is needed against the NFL’s best quarterback.

Over to you, Lou.

The NFL playoffs continue this weekend with Championship Sunday. Watch both games live on Sky Sports NFL on Sunday night, with Cincinnati Bengals @ Kansas City Chiefs kicking off at 11.30pm.