The Third Act.

[Soapy]

Smith latest Patriot to be sidelined with injury as Andrews, Judon slated to return
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- — New England Patriots tight end Jonnu Smith will miss the next three to five weeks after suffering a rib injury in the team's loss to Buffalo on Monday night.

Smith, 27, joined New England last year as a high-priced free agent and after an initial feeling out period that included some bad performances, he's become one of the team's best players as part of the two tight end combo with Hunter Henry that give New England it's distinct look on offense.

The sixth-year tight end is having his best season as a pro, averaging fifteen yards per reception with other career highs in receptions (46) and yards (689) while matching last year's season total of touchdowns with three already. He leads skill players in snaps played with 857 and the next closest is wide receiver Jakobi Meyers with 685.

Smith's increased role has partly been due to the fact that Henry missed several games this season as well as the departure of Nelson Agholor and the increased focus on the passing attack in Mac Jones' second season.

While New England is losing Smith, they are using their bye week to get healthier and have several guys expected to be back on the field when they take on the Pittsburgh Steelers to begin the four-game stretch to end the season. Starting center David Andrews and top edge rusher Matthew Judon are all expected to be active for that game along with Davon Godchaux who has missed the bulk of the season with various injuries.

[Soapy]

Bye Week Report: The State of the Patriots
For the second straight year in a row, New England gets their bye week with nearly three-quarters of the season in the rear view mirror and coming off a visit to Buffalo.

They weren't as fortunate this time around, losing to the 5-7 Buffalo Bills and keeping their divisional rival wild card hopes alive but nevertheless, New England is once again atop the AFC East with the tie-breaker in hand over the second place New York Jets at 8-4.

After the 44-24 loss to Chicago to open the year at home, the Patriots have steadied the ship, winning the next six games which included wins over the Jets, Cleveland, Tennessee, Buffalo and Minnesota. They dropped two straight after that to the Chargers and the Dolphins before going on another winning streak, beating the other LA team, the Jets again, Cincinnati and then the Thanksgiving shellacking of the Detroit Lions.

New England seems to be more of the team that won the four straight games than the team earlier in the season that was incredibly reliant on their offense as the defense was coming together and more specifically, Mac Jones and the passing offense. New England's defense has allowed less than twenty points in three of their last four games and have a top ten defense is most defensive categories.

The sort of team that runs the football really well and has a good defense is what New England wants to be, what Bill Belichick wants of his team. The fact that Mac Jones is second in the NFL in passing yards while Jakobi Meyers -- yes, the former undrafted free agent that was a high school quarterback -- leads the league in receptions is just icing on the cake.

Best player through weeks 1-13:
Damien Harris and Jakobi Meyers make a strong case on offense and defensively, Dont'a Hightower's resurgence as an all-pro level player is fascinating to watch as he leads the team in sacks but it has to go to Mac.

He dealt with an interception problem early in the season but he only trails Tom Brady in passing yards with 302.8 yards per game and only Patrick Mahomes, Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Sam Darnold have more passing touchdowns (27) and no one with enough qualifying attempts has a higher completion percentage at seventy percent.

If he can hover around the 40 TD mark and the team keeps winning while the interceptions stay around 13-15 (currently 11 on the season), he has a shot at MVP.

Worst player through weeks 1-13:
He's had a resurgence of sorts in the past few weeks but his early season struggles led to the team having to play defense different than any other team in the league, deploying four safeties on obvious passing downs with no true off-ball linebackers.

Kyle Van Noy's PFF grades to open the season were 49.9, 51.1, 68.3 followed by four grades under 65 for the next five weeks. He's turned it around recently, posting grades above 73.5 in consecutive weeks following that stretch but overall, it's been a down year for a player that's on the wrong side of 30 and at a position where there's a ton of young players such as De'Angelo Malone, Ronnie Perkins, Josh Uche and Chase Winovich that could use the snaps to help their development.

Most Impressive game so far:
W 46-7 vs. NY Jets

New England had just lost to Chicago and at the time, it was seen as just a 'get right' game by New England where they beat up on the lowly Jets despite the slow start and that's all it was. It turns out, however, that the Jets are a good team which makes this victory look even better now.

Least Impressive game so far:
L 44-24 vs. Chicago

The Miami loss was a tough look, especially with how much the defense struggled with a defense that it's going to have to see again before the end of the year but Chicago takes the cake.

The team rallied back and ended up outgaining the Bears on the ground, in the air, first downs but ultimately, the turnovers were the downfall with three of them and they lost to a team that doesn't look much better than just your average team.

Early Offseason Forecast:
The big question is going to be what they do to with running back Damien Harris. They took care of Isaiah Wynn, giving him an extension befitting for one of the best offensive tackles this season, putting aside his consistency issues in the past as well as his injury history. Do they do the same with Harris whose been healthy as of late and one of the better running backs this year?

They like what they have in Rhamondre Stevenson but is it enough to let Harris walk at a position that the league continues to devalue? Or does Belichick and Co. zag when everybody else is zigging?

On defense, it'll be a mutual decision between safety Devin McCourty and New England with the former having to decide whether or not they want to retire and the latter having to decide if the answer to that question is no, how much do they want to pay an aging safety that's been average (75.1 PPF grade) this season?

Another defensive back whose deal is up is cornerback Jonathan Jones whose 28 and been good this season, posting a PFF grade of 82.4 on the season, amongst the highest on the team.

Other key players that are on the final year of their deal include punter Jake Bailey, interior defensive lineman Davon Godchaux and Henry Anderson, former first round pick WR N'Keal Harry and former second-round pick CB Joejuan Williams.

[Soapy]

Week 14 NFL Results
CIN 37 - HOU 23 | TEN 27 - IND 20 | MIA 24 - LV 21
NO 28 - NYG 14 | KC 49 - DEN 13 | BAL 17 - DAL 14
WAS 24 - PHI 17 | SEA 21 - ATL 12 | CLE 28 - PIT 14
CHI 31 - NYJ 24 | SF 24 - LAR 14 | GB 42 - BUF 21
ARI 24 - LAC 21 | JAX 35 - MIN 28
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NFL Playoff Standings
AFC
1. Kansas City, 12-1
2. New England, 9-4
3. Jacksonville, 9-4
4. Baltimore, 8-5
5. Las Vegas, 10-3
6. NY Jets, 8-5
7. Indianapolis, 8-5
-- Miami, 8-5
-- Cleveland, 7-6
-- Denver, 7-6

NFC
1. Green Bay, 10-3
2. New Orleans, 9-4
3. Seattle, 8-5
4. Washington, 8-5
5. Carolina, 7-6
6. San Francisco, 7-6
7. Dallas, 7-6
-- Chicago, 7-6
-- Arizona, 6-7
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Players of the Week
QB Patrick Mahomes (KC): 22 of 31, 302 yards, 3 touchdowns.
DE Olivier Vernon (BAL): 7 tackles, 3 sacks.
QB Aaron Rodgers (GB): 27 of 32, 335 yards, 5 touchdowns.
LB Isaiah Simmons (ARI): 6 tackles, interception, touchdown.
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Notable Injuries
CB Mike Hilton (CIN): Season (knee)
TE Dawson Knox (BUF): Season (ankle)
HB Javonte Williams (DEN): Season (ankle)
DE Jadeveon Clowney (CLE): Season (quad)
T Terron Armstead (LAC): Season (knee)
TE George Kittle (SF): Season (knee)
CB Derek Stingley Jr (NYG): Season (knee)
DE Brian Burns (CAR): Season (leg)
WR Bryan Edwards (LV): Season (knee)
DT David Onyemata (NO): Season (knee)
HB Dalvin Cook (MIN): Season (bicep)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notable Transactions
None

[Soapy]

Week 15 Preview: at Pittsburgh Steelers
Record: 4-9, 4th AFC North

Team Leaders
Passing: Matt Corral (59% completion, 1975 yards, 10 TD, 10 INT, 77.4 rating)
Rushing: Najee Harris (888 yards, 4.0 ypc, 8 TD)
Receiving: Diontae Johnson (59 receptions, 763 yards, 3 TD)
Defense: Devin Bush (90 tackles, 2 INT)

Team Rankings
Scoring Offense: 18.2 PPG | 31st
Total Offense: 395 | 30th
Passing Offense: 227 YPG | 26th
Rushing Offense: 92 YPG | 25th
Scoring Defense: 20.1 PAPG | 3rd
Total Defense: 354 YAPG | 16th
Passing Defense: 241 YAPG | 11th
Rushing Defense: 112 YAPG | 21st

Injuries
NE TE Jonnu Smith (rib)

Pittsburgh Steelers Projected Starters
QB #2 Matt Corral | 6'0", 200lbs | 74 ovr, 84 spd, 78 acc, 70 awr, 90 thp, 88 sac, 87 mac, 79 dac
HB #22 Najee Harris | 6'2", 230lbs | 88 ovr, 89 spd, 91 acc, 94 car, 94 btk, 92 sfa
WR #18 Diontae Johnson | 5'10", 181lbs | 86 ovr, 91 spd, 92 acc, 91 cth
WR #19 Juju Smith-Schuster | 6'1", 215lbs | 84 ovr, 88 spd, 91 acc, 94 cth
WR #11 Chase Claypool | 6'4", 238lbs | 80 ovr, 92 spd, 89 acc, 87 cth
TE #88 Pat Freiermuth | 6'5", 258lbs | 78 ovr, 80 spd, 85 acc, 89 cth, 62 rbk
LT #70 Elijah Wilkinson | 6'5", 329lbs | 72 ovr, 87 str, 71 pbk, 70 rbk
LG #69 Kevin Dotson | 6'4", 321lbs | 77 ovr, 92 str, 73 pbk, 70 rbk
C #53 Kendrick Green | 6'2", 315lbs | 77 ovr, 93 str, 71 pbk, 73 rbk
RG #51 Trai Turner | 6'3", 320lbs | 81 ovr, 89 str, 74 pbk, 80 rbk
RT #65 Dan Moore Jr. | 6'5", 315lbs | 69 ovr, 90 str, 62 pbk, 72 rbk
---------------------
DE #91 Stephon Tuitt | 6'6", 303lbs | 90 ovr, 82 acc, 92 str, 89 pmv, 68 fmv, 90 bsh
DE #97 Cameron Heyward | 6'5", 295lbs | 93 ovr, 79 acc, 95 str, 93 pmv, 75 fmv, 93 bsh
NT #58 Doug Costin | 6'2", 295lbs | 78 ovr, 80 acc, 86 str, 68 pmv, 66 fmv, 81 bsh
OLB #90 T.J. Watt | 6'4", 252lbs | 96 ovr, 84 spd, 91 acc, 82 str, 89 tkl, 87 bsh, 85 pmv, 97 fmv
ILB #93 Joe Schobert | 6'1", 245lbs | 80 ovr, 82 spd, 86 acc, 83 awr, 85 tkl, 77 bsh
ILB #55 Devin Bush | 5'11", 234lbs | 80 ovr, 90 spd, 91 acc, 82 awr, 82 tkl, 75 bsh
OLB #56 Alex Highsmith | 6'3", 242lbs | 79 ovr, 82 spd, 86 acc, 76 str, 85 tkl, 73 bsh, 71 pmv, 83 fmv
CB #7 Jason Verrett | 5'10", 188lbs | 83 ovr, 91 spd, 90 acc, 87 awr, 80 mcv, 84 zcv, 82 press
CB #36 Blessuan Austin | 6'1", 195lbs | 77 ovr, 90 spd, 90 acc, 78 awr, 78 mcv, 75 zcv, 81 press
NB #31 Justin Layne | 6'2", 192lbs | 74 ovr, 89 spd, 90 acc, 68 awr, 78 mcv, 69 zcv
S #39 Minkah Fitzpatrick | 6'1", 207lbs | 91 ovr, 91 spd, 93 acc, 89 awr, 78 mcv, 93 zcv, 73 tkl
S #34 Terrell Edmunds | 6'1", 217lbs | 78 ovr, 90 spd, 91 acc, 74 awr, 72 mcv, 79 zcv, 77 tkl
K #9 Chris Boswell | 6'2", 185lbs | 80 ovr, 95 kpw, 89 kac
P #3 Jack Fox | 6'2", 215lbs | 83 ovr, 94 kp, 86 kac

[Captain Canada]

The Bills loss wasn't fun, better not let Pittsburgh off the mat.

[Soapy]

The Bills loss wasn't fun, better not let Pittsburgh off the mat.

give them boys a case of the BEATS?

[Soapy]

-----------------------------------------------
NE (9-5) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 || 21
PIT (5-9) | 7 | 3 | 3 | 15 || 28
-----------------------------------------------

Patriots drop another one as offense stumbles against Pittsburgh
After nearly two decades of Brady vs. Big Ben, it was the dawn of a new era in the Pittsburgh Steelers - New England Patriots rivalry with second-year quarterback Mac Jones trying to lead his team into the playoffs and squaring off with rookie quarterback Matt Corral trying to steady both his rookie season and that of the Steelers.

Round 1 went to the rookie with Corral throwing for 319 yards and two touchdowns while Jones' pick six proved to be too much for the Patriots to overcome in their 28-21 loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday.

New England was shutout for nearly a quarter and a half, not scoring until the nine minute mark in the second quarter on a Damien Harris and wouldn't score again until just past the ten minute mark in the fourth quarter. It was Jones' touchdown pass to Jakobi Meyers that not only ended the scoreless streak but also kept the game in the balance, making it a seven point game. The touchdown came one play after Jones and New England converted on a 4th and 5 to keep the drive alive with a 29-yard completion to Kendrick Bourne.

A first down sack would ruin the ensuing Pittsburgh possession as they were forced to go three-and-out, giving New England all the momentum which was aided by a 28-yard completion to Hunter Henry on the very first play of the Pats possession. On the next play, New England picked up nine yards to make it 2nd and 1 on the ground but a block in the back penalty on right tackle Trent Brown negated the gain and made it 1st and 20.

After back to back incompletions, Jones tried to force it on 3rd and 20 and was intercepted by Terrell Edmunds who returned it for a touchdown. Brown and Jones appeared to get into an heated exchange on the sideline following the sequence of plays.

New England did punch back, going on a seven-play scoring drive that ended with Jones converting a 4th and 6 from the Pittsburgh 36-yard line with a touchdown catch and run by Bourne with 3:21 left in the game.

Pittsburgh was able to eat up a lot of clock, punting the ball with less than a minute left and using all of New England's timeouts who were unable to convert on fourth down on the next drive to end the game.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Scoring Summary
Quarter 1
[PIT] J. Smith-Schuster 44 Yd pass from M. Corral (5:09)

Quarter 2
[PIT] C. Boswell, 37 Yd FG (14:56)
[NE] D. Harris, 6 Yd run (9:37)

Quarter 3
[PIT] C. Boswell, 53 Yd FG (5:39)

Quarter 4
[PIT] P. Freiermuth 7 Yd pass from M. Corral -- 2pt (12:39)
[NE] J. Meyers 10 Yd pass from M. Jones (9:51)
[PIT] T. Edmunds, returned interception 58 Yds (5:09)
[NE] K. Bourne 36 Yd pass from M. Jones (3:21)
----------------------------------------------------------------
New England Patriots
QB Mac Jones: 22 of 41, 289 yards, 2 touchdowns, interception, sacked once.
HB Damien Harris: 11 carries, 42 yards, touchdown.
HB Rhamondre Stevenson: 10 carries, 47 yards.
WR Jakobi Meyers: 6 receptions, 81 yards, touchdown.
TE Hunter Henry: 5 receptions, 68 yards.
WR Kendrick Bourne: 3 receptions, 78 yards, touchdown.
LT Wynn: 71.5 PFF grade | LG Onwenu: 57.2 PFF grade | C Hainsey : 64.3 PFF grade | RG Mason: 64.3 PFF grade | RT Brown: 68.1 PFF grade
S Devin McCourty: 12 tackles, 2 tackles for loss (78.0 PFF grade)
CB Jonathan Jones: 8 tackles (66.3 PFF grade)
LB Dont'a Hightower: 6 tackles, tackle for loss (62.5 PFF grade)
EDGE DeAngelo Malone: 3 tackles, 2 tackles for loss (98.4 PFF grade)
IDL Davon Godchaux: 3 tackles, 2 tackles for loss (90.6 PFF grade)

Pittsburgh Steelers
QB Matt Corral: 27 of 35, 319 yards, 2 touchdowns, sacked 2 times.
HB Najee Harris: 22 carries, 50 yards, 11 receptions, 86 yards.
WR Juju Smith-Schuster: 6 receptions, 100 yards, touchdown.
TE Pat Freiermuth: 5 receptions, 72 yards, touchdown.
WR Chase Claypool: 3 receptions, 45 yards.
S Minkah Fitzpatrick: 8 tackles.
S Terrell Edmunds: 8 tackles, interception.
DE Cameron Heyward: 4 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, sack.

[six7]

Corral putting in the work. Good rally though.

[Soapy]

Week 15 NFL Results
NO 24 - ATL 16 | CLE 38 - BUF 0 | CHI 34 - MIN 24 | BAL 26 - CIN 14
MIA 21 - GB 18 | NYG 21 - IND 17 | TEN 42 - HOU 6 | ARI 21 - WAS 6
PIT 28 - NE 21 | NYJ 35 - DET 19 | SEA 21 - LAR 17 | TB 31 - SF 0
CAR 35 - DEN 27 | LAC 22 - KC 16 | LV 38 - JAX 35 | DAL 42 - PHI 28
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NFL Playoff Standings
AFC
1. Kansas City, 12-2 x
2. New England, 9-5
3. Baltimore, 9-5
4. Jacksonville, 9-5
5. Las Vegas, 11-3
6. NY Jets, 9-5
7. Miami, 9-5
-- Cleveland, 8-6
-- Indianapolis, 8-6
-- Tennessee, 7-7
-- Denver, 7-7
-- Cincinnati, 6-8

NFC
1. Green Bay, 10-4
2. New Orleans, 10-4
3. Seattle, 9-5
4. Dallas, 8-6
5. Carolina, 8-6
6. Washington, 8-6
7. Chicago, 8-6
-- San Francisco, 7-7
-- Arizona, 7-7
-- NY Giants, 6-8
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Players of the Week
QB Derek Carr (LV): 29 of 40, 360 yards, 3 touchdowns, 4 carries, 7 yards, touchdown.
CB Darius Slay Jr. (NYJ): 7 tackles, 2 interceptions.
QB Tom Brady (TB): 28 of 41, 359 yards, 4 touchdowns.
DT Jonathan Allen (WAS): 9 tackles, 2 sacks.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notable Injuries
CB Mike Hilton (CIN): Season (knee)
TE Dawson Knox (BUF): Season (ankle)
HB Javonte Williams (DEN): Season (ankle)
DE Jadeveon Clowney (CLE): Season (quad)
T Terron Armstead (LAC): Season (knee)
TE George Kittle (SF): Season (knee)
LB Fred Warner (SF): Season (elbow)
DE Brian Burns (CAR): Season (leg)
WR Bryan Edwards (LV): Season (knee)
DT David Onyemata (NO): Season (knee)
HB Dalvin Cook (MIN): Season (bicep)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notable Transactions
None

[Soapy]

Week 16 Preview: at Baltimore Ravens
Record: 9-5, 1st AFC North

Team Leaders
Passing: Lamar Jackson (70% completion, 3113 yards, 24 TD, 7 INT, 107.8 rating)
Rushing: J.K. Dobbins (689 yards, 3.4 ypc, 7 TD)
Receiving: Marquise Brown (52 receptions, 686 yards, 4 TD)
Defense: Patrick Queen (113 tackles, 8 TFL, 2 INT, 6 PBU)

Team Rankings
Scoring Offense: 24.4 PPG | 15th
Total Offense: 412 | 26th
Passing Offense: 224 YPG | 28th
Rushing Offense: 122 YPG | 12th
Scoring Defense: 20.1 PAPG | 5th
Total Defense: 340 YAPG | 9th
Passing Defense: 232 YAPG | 4th
Rushing Defense: 107 YAPG | 14th

Injuries
BAL G Tyre Phillips (knee)
------------
NE TE Jonnu Smith (rib)
NE C David Andrews (elbow)

Baltimore Ravens Projected Starters
QB #8 Lamar Jackson | 6'2", 212lbs | 99 ovr, 96 spd, 97 acc, 97 awr, 94 thp, 92 sac, 87 mac, 93 dac
HB #27 J.K. Dobbins | 5'10", 209lbs | 82 ovr, 91 spd, 91 acc, 89 car, 83 btk, 83 sfa
WR #5 Marquise Brown | 5'9", 180lbs | 86 ovr, 98 spd, 94 acc, 91 cth
WR #15 Deonte Harris | 5'6", 170lbs | 81 ovr, 92 spd, 93 acc, 92 cth
WR #12 Rashod Bateman | 6'0", 195lbs | 80 ovr, 92 spd, 91 acc, 93 cth
TE #89 Mark Andrews | 6'5", 253lbs | 95 ovr, 86 spd, 91 acc, 98 cth, 66 rbk
LT #79 Ronnie Stanley | 6'6", 315lbs | 94 ovr, 91 str, 92 pbk, 93 rbk
LG #67 Quinton Spain | 6'4", 330lbs | 75 ovr, 85 str, 78 pbk, 78 rbk
C #77 Bradley Bozeman | 6'5", 325lbs | 76 ovr, 85 str, 74 pbk, 77 rbk
RG #70 Kevin Zeitler | 6'4", 330lbs | 81 ovr, 91 str, 87 pbk, 75 rbk
RT #60 Ja'Wuan James | 6'6", 312lbs | 77 ovr, 84 str, 82 pbk, 75 rbk
---------------------
DE #91 Olivier Vernon | 6'2", 262lbs | 77 ovr, 78 spd, 85 acc, 85 str, 80 pmv, 67 fmv, 80 bsh
DE #92 Justin Madubuike | 6'3", 300lbs | 79 ovr, 78 spd, 82 acc, 89 str, 66 pmv, 73 fmv, 82 bsh
NT #69 Sebastian Joseph-Day | 6'4", 310lbs | 85 ovr, 85 acc, 87 str, 72 pmv, 53 fmv, 84 bsh
OLB #99 Odafe Oweh | 6'5", 257lbs | 79 ovr, 89 spd, 90 acc, 80 str, 87 tkl, 73 bsh, 83 pmv, 65 fmv
ILB #6 Patrick Queen | 6'0", 229lbs | 81 ovr, 87 spd, 88 acc, 84 awr, 89 tkl, 75 bsh
ILB #40 Malik Harrison | 6'3", 247lbs | 75 ovr, 84 spd, 87 acc, 74 awr, 87 tkl, 75 bsh
OLB #54 Tyus Bowser | 6'3", 240lbs | 76 ovr, 83 spd, 89 acc, 75 str, 79 tkl, 66 bsh, 67 pmv, 79 fmv
CB #44 Marlon Humphrey | 6'0", 197lbs | 93 ovr, 92 spd, 95 acc, 93 awr, 95 mcv, 89 zcv, 92 press
CB #24 Marcus Peters | 6'0", 197lbs | 88 ovr, 91 spd, 90 acc, 94 awr, 90 mcv, 85 zcv, 83 press
NB #25 Tavon Young | 5'9", 185lbs | 77 ovr, 89 spd, 91 acc, 78 awr, 79 mcv, 74 zcv, 76 press
S #32 DeShon Elliott | 6'1", 210lbs | 84 ovr, 88 spd, 90 acc, 87 awr, 73 mcv, 82 zcv, 78 tkl
S #36 Chuck Clark | 6'0", 205lbs | 78 ovr, 88 spd, 91 acc, 80 awr, 73 mcv, 74 zcv, 74 tkl
K #9 Justin Tucker | 6'1", 180lbs | 90 ovr, 98 kpw, 99 kac
P #4 Sam Koch | 6'1", 222lbs | 78 ovr, 91 kpw, 86 kac