NEWSLETTER
Must-watch games, early OTA impressions, and the Dolphin’s plans for training camp. That and more in today’s NFL Notes.
Must Watch NFL Games in 2024
The Athletic’s staff put together a list of every team’s most watchable matchup this season. Here are a few of my favorites.
Kansas City Chiefs at San Francisco 49ers — Week 7
This season, we get our Super Bowl rematch between the Chiefs and 49ers in Week 7. Patrick Mahomes has beaten the Chiefs every time he’s faced them, and Kansas City has averaged 34.5 points per contest in those four games.
Minnesota Vikings vs. Atlanta Falcons — Week 14
Kirk Cousins will make his return to Minnesota in Week 14. Cousins will likely be facing his replacement under center J.J. McCarthy in that one. It should be a good one!
Houston Texans vs. Chicago Bears — Week 2
We look at last year’s breakout star quarterback, C.J. Stroud, going up against this year’s No. 1 pick, Caleb Williams, in his first nationally televised game as the Chicago Bears quarterback on Sunday Night Football.
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Cincinnati Bengals — Week 2
Joe Burrow’s season-ending injury and the Bengals’ not being in the postseason mix quieted some of the noise that was going back and forth between Kansas City and Cincinnati the previous two seasons, but make no mistake—with Joe Burrow back, the rivalry is still as good as any these days.
Dolphins Plan to Hold Live Practices with All Three Preseason Opponents
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters on Tuesday that the team plans to host live practices with all three preseason opponents this summer. That means that before preseason games at home against Atlanta (Aug. 9) and Washington (Aug. 17) and at Tampa Bay (Aug. 23), the teams will have drills and scrimmage sessions.
Why is this important? It’s just another step toward the NFL reducing the preseason schedule. With McDaniel having the opportunity to work with his starters all week against live opponents in a controlled environment, there’s not much reason to play any of them in the actual exhibition game. While there’s no official word yet, there’s a good chance all of these sessions will be ticketed events with fans able to attend and watch.
Preseason games have long been a money grab with little reason for fans to care about them. However, when I asked NFLPA President J.C. Tretter why teams don’t push to do what the Dolphins are doing and eliminate preseason games, he insisted there is value in those games for the lesser-known players fighting to stay on a roster.
I get that, but I can see the NFL pushing to trim the preseason exhibition slate to two games soon.
Early OTA Happenings
NFL insider Dianni Russini and The Athletic reporter Jacob Robinson emptied their OTA notebooks on Tuesday, and some interesting notes were found in there.
Here’s the full story:
