A damaged wrist may not value Aaron Rodgers a lot time.
The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback is coping with a “tiny fracture” in his left, non-throwing wrist however is “pushing to play” Sunday towards the Chicago Bears, in line with NFL Community’s Ian Rapoport.
“If he’s able to grip, if he’s able to receive the ball on the snap, it is actually possible that Rodgers could play this week,” Rapoport stated Monday. “I had someone tell me that he was essentially 50/50 to play.”
The Steelers haven’t specified Rodgers’ analysis, and head coach Mike Tomlin shouldn’t be scheduled to talk to the media once more till Tuesday.
“He was excited about the win,” Tomlin stated of Rodgers throughout his postgame press convention. “I just talked to him, but that’s all we talked about. We didn’t talk about his injury. We talked about the significance of the win.”
Rodgers’ left hand planted awkwardly as he took a success late within the second quarter. Mason Rudolph changed Rodgers within the second half and accomplished 12-of-16 go makes an attempt for 127 yards and a landing.
With the win, the Steelers improved to 6-4 and maintain a one-game lead within the AFC North.
Rodgers, 41, joined the Steelers within the offseason after he was launched by the Jets, with whom he spent the earlier two seasons. Rodgers missed all however 4 snaps in 2023 as a consequence of an Achilles tear, then went 5-12 because the Jets’ starter final 12 months.
In 10 video games this season, Rodgers has thrown for 1,969 yards and 19 touchdowns towards seven interceptions.
Rodgers, who spent his first 18 seasons with the Inexperienced Bay Packers, is 24-5 towards the Bears in his profession.
SANDERS STRUGGLES
Shedeur Sanders didn’t sugarcoat his struggles in his NFL debut.
“I don’t think I played good at all,” the Cleveland Browns rookie stated after Sunday’s 23-16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. “I think there’s a lot of things we need to look at during the week and go and just get comfortable.”
After beginning quarterback Dillion Gabriel left Sunday’s sport with a concussion, Sanders performed the complete second half and accomplished 4-of-16 passes for 47 yards with an interception.
The Browns led by six factors when Sanders took over however didn’t rating on any of his drives.
On Monday, head coach Kevin Stefanski was non-committal in regards to the Browns’ quarterback plans with Gabriel in concussion protocol. The Browns additionally make use of veteran quarterback Bailey Zappe, who’s signed to the follow squad.
“We’ll work through that in the next couple days,” Stefanski stated.
If Gabriel shouldn’t be capable of clear the protocol, Sanders might make his first NFL begin Sunday towards the Las Vegas Raiders.
Sanders, the son of Corridor of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders, was initially projected to be a first-round choose in final April’s draft, however he fell to the fifth spherical in a stunning slide.
He started the season because the Browns’ third-string quarterback however was elevated to the backup function after Cleveland traded Joe Flacco to Cincinnati.
Sunday’s sport marked Sanders’ first time working with the first-team offense.
“You learn from every single play that you’re out there,” Stefanski stated Monday. “There’s always lessons to be learned. There’s always going to be good, and there’s always going to be bad, and that’s just part of playing and getting reps. And then part of learning is taking all the coaching points that come with those reps.”
MCCARTHY MISSES
It was one other tough Sunday for Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
He threw two interceptions and missed badly on a number of different passes in a 19-17 loss to the Chicago Bears.
And whereas McCarthy did lead a late landing drive that briefly gave the Vikings the lead, he completed 16-of-32 for 150 yards as Minnesota fell to 4-6.
“There are some plays where he’s making it hard on himself,” head coach Kevin O’Connell stated Monday. “That’s probably the most frustrating part for him. It’s talked about and repped and practiced at length, and then in those moments, in his fifth start, just the variance to it is causing his job to be more difficult than it needs to be.”
The Vikings used the No. 10 general choose on McCarthy in 2024, however he missed everything of his rookie season as a consequence of a knee damage.
Sam Darnold delivered a breakout season on a one-year contract with the Vikings final 12 months, however Minnesota opted to maneuver ahead with McCarthy on a rookie deal relatively than prolong Darnold.
That call continues to obtain scrutiny, as Darnold — even with a four-interception dud on Sunday — has the Seattle Seahawks off to a 7-3 begin.
McCarthy, who missed 5 video games with an ankle damage, has thrown for six touchdowns towards eight interceptions.
“He’s made of the right stuff,” O’Connell stated. “He’s gonna keep working at it. We’re gonna go back to work and continue to find every avenue, every way, to try to help build the consistency to his mechanics, and then I firmly believe the accuracy will come from that.”
CHIEFS CONUNDRUM
Swiftly, the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs’ possibilities of making the playoffs are successfully a coin flip.
Sunday’s 22-19 loss to the Denver Broncos dropped the Chiefs to 5-5. They path Denver by 3.5 video games within the AFC West and are in ninth place within the AFC.
NFL.com’s likelihood mannequin pegs the Chiefs’ playoff odds at 51%. ESPN is a little more bullish at 55%.
It’s an sudden spot for Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Chiefs, who represented the AFC in 5 of the final six Tremendous Bowls and gained three championships in that run.
“We’re not quite as negative as the outside world is,” head coach Andy Reid stated Monday. “We know what we need to clean up, and we need to do it. But the guys, they get it. Some of these guys have been through some pretty good seasons. It isn’t like this one’s lost.”
SPITTING SUSPENSION
Ja’Marr Chase acquired a one-game suspension Monday after the NFL decided he spit on Steelers cornerback Jalen Ramsey through the fourth quarter of Sunday’s sport.
The Cincinnati Bengals huge receiver had denied spitting on Ramsey, who publicly accused him of doing so.
Monday’s announcement got here a bit over two months after Philadelphia Eagles defensive deal with Jalen Carter was ejected for spitting on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. The ejection occurred earlier than the primary play from scrimmage and thus functioned as a one-game suspension.
Chase — the NFL’s chief in receptions, yards and touchdowns final season — can enchantment the choice. In any other case, he’ll miss Sunday’s sport towards the New England Patriots.
