NEWSLETTER
The Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers get us started right tonight, when they’ll kick off Week 15 in SoCal on Thursday Night Football. Plus, we’ve got Saturday games for the rest of the season! Week 15 is here, Urban Meyer is not, and much more to discuss as we take a spin around the NFL!
• The Jacksonville Jaguars fired head coach Urban Meyer late Wednesday night, marking an abrupt end to a trainwreck tenure for Meyer in Jacksonville.
If you missed the overnight news, Urban Meyer is out (already? … finally?) https://t.co/V5wE0ASBiS
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) December 16, 2021
• Jaguars’ owner Shad Khan released a statement on the Meyer firing last night, and it was not a best of luck type of statement:
A statement from #Jaguars owner Shad Khan: pic.twitter.com/uvGZMJZEtN
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 16, 2021
• “I am bitterly disappointed,” … YIKES!
• Meyer’s dismissal comes just hours after a report that Meyer kicked, verbally berated, and threatened Josh Lambo’s job earlier this season before the Jaguars ultimately cut the veteran kicker in October.
Urban Meyer Allegedly Kicked His Kickerhttps://t.co/UE12Ua01On pic.twitter.com/gmXtbfGgsi
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) December 15, 2021
• Meyer’s trainwreck tenure in Jacksonville expands far beyond him kicking his kicker and being an all-around crappy person to just about everyone around him. Bally’s Bet does an excellent job of summing it up for us:
We've got Urban Meyer bingo! pic.twitter.com/nCe7XRKzae
— Bally Bet (@BallyBet) December 15, 2021
• BINGO!
• A bonus; Urban Meyer’s firing comes just in time for the fantasy football playoffs. JAMES ROBINSON FANTASY OWNERS REJOICE!!! (Me. This is about me, who needs a monster week from James Robinson this week.)
https://twitter.com/PFF/status/1471476211075399682?s=20
• As Adam Schefter pointed out last night, Urban Meyer is just the latest in a long line of college coaches to make the jump to the NFL with pretty poor results.
College HCs jumping to the NFL haven’t fared overly well… pic.twitter.com/UiOrl8NfER
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 16, 2021
• Let’s change gears here with a laugh:
Baker REFUSES to die in a war for the AFC North
Can he keep up with Lamar and Burrow in a new #GridironHeights?
(@StateFarm)pic.twitter.com/UfMUuBch5b
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) December 15, 2021
• Speaking of Baker and the Browns, they’re one of the teams dealing with a COVID outbreak heading into their Week 15 matchup with the Raiders. Baker Mayfield, Austin Hooper, and Jarvis Landry highlight nine players on the COVID-19 list for the Browns.
Browns on the COVID-19/reserve list:
— QB Baker Mayfield
— TE Austin Hooper
— WR Jarvis Landry
— DE Takkarist McKinley
— G Wyatt Teller
— T Jedrick Wills
— CB Troy Hill
— S John Johnson III
— G Drew ForbesBrowns are scheduled to host the Raiders on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/hVCAGudedo
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) December 15, 2021
• The Browns are 7-6 and tied with the Bengals for second place in the AFC North entering this week, but their COVID-decimated roster is threatening to put a damper on their playoff hopes.
• The Washington Football Team is in a similar boat with a whopping 18 players on the COVID-19 list after adding eight more players on Wednesday.
Washington Football Team has 18 total players on the COVID-19 list after adding eight more today.https://t.co/5xP2R9wUjl pic.twitter.com/7ay1OEDEw8
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) December 16, 2021
• Washington’s outside shot at an NFC East title blew up last week with their loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Still, Washington is currently in possession of the seventh and final playoff seed in the NFC heading into their Week 15 matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles. Both teams enter this week with identical 6-7 records, and a loss to Philadelphia would put Washington on the outside looking in with just three weeks left.
• The Chicago Bears have six players on the COVID-19 list with a Monday Night Football meeting with the Minnesota Vikings awaiting them this week, including offensive tackle Larry Borom.
The Bears are up to six players on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. https://t.co/QMMJnMSOK7
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) December 16, 2021
• Call me crazy, but a matchup with the Minnesota Vikings (who lead the NFL in sacks) doesn’t sound great when your rookie quarterback is playing without his starting left and right tackles and still dealing with cracked ribs.
• The Dolphins will be without wide receiver Jaylen Waddle this week:
Dolphins placing WR Jaylen Waddle on Reserve/COVID.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 16, 2021
• The Arizona Cardinals will be without star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins for the rest of the regular season as he deals with a sprained knee. Still, the Cardinals are hopeful that Hopkins will be ready to go during the postseason, per Adam Schefter.
Cardinals' DeAndre Hopkins is expected to miss rest of the regular season due to a sprained knee but team hopes he'll return during the postseason, per @AdamSchefter and @JFowlerESPN pic.twitter.com/zs3HNuihgh
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 15, 2021
• Coach Prime lands the nation’s top recruit at Jackson State, and we’re already seeing the impact the NIL deals for collegiate athletes can make when it comes to smaller schools landing top recruits.
College Football’s Top Recruit is Ditching Florida State for HBCU Jackson Statehttps://t.co/HtKOgmZaZP
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) December 15, 2021
• Let the BN group outing planning commence:
Las Vegas is Getting Super Bowl LVIII … Just In Time for Justin Fields’ Breakout Third Yearhttps://t.co/y6EsBkfc6K
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) December 15, 2021
• If I were ever to renounce my Chicago Bears fandom, which, after all that they’ve put me through over the last three decades, seems unlikely, I would have to consider the Bills as my new favorite team because their fan base never fails to make me laugh.
$18K in 24 hours.
Bills Mafia is undefeated.
(via @abbyfridmannTV, @viawny) pic.twitter.com/uef6kiz2dS
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) December 15, 2021
• Bills fans raised $40,000 this week to donate to Visually Impaired Advancement of Buffalo in increments of $17 in response to the officiating in the Bills loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week.
We have seen an incredibly charitable day! Our new total is $40,000. We appreciate your support #BillsMafia! We will keep you updated. #VisuallyImpairedAdvancement #GoBills pic.twitter.com/DM2GYjymD8
— VIA: Visually Impaired Advancement (@viawny) December 15, 2021
• If you missed it, this is where the outrage stems from in the Buffalo-Tampa Bay game:
Think we all knew Brady would get the pass interference call that wasn’t called before…#BUFvsTB #Bills pic.twitter.com/EfcfR4xjNp
— Tony Clements (@TonyCMKE) December 13, 2021
• Same play, different calls. I can’t say I blame the Bills fan base for being mad; these were crucial calls in a game that they needed to win badly. The NFL got it wrong, again. Shocking, I know.
• This looks like it will be absolutely terrible and factually inaccurate. But I’m still going to watch it.
The trailer for “Home Team,” starring Kevin James as Sean Payton, is here
(via @NetflixFilm)pic.twitter.com/8nsRdtWFzQ
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) December 14, 2021
• Mahomes. Herbert. Week 15 starts tonight; let’s do it.
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1471494071482945540?s=20
