Bills
Bills HC Sean McDermott said the offensive line needs to do a better job of protecting QB Josh Allen if they want to have him healthy for the playoffs.
“They had 12 hits on Josh, eight sacks. That’s not a healthy formula right there,” McDermott said, via Pro Football Talk. “It’s not a healthy way to play or a healthy way to keep our quarterback healthy through the remainder of the season. That’s where the hits come, second down and long turns into third down and long, and that’s the unhealthy formula I’m talking about, and Josh takes too many hits. So we’ve got to figure that piece out.”
- Bills LB Joey Bosa was fined $17,389 for a hit on a quarterback (contact to the knee area or below of a passer), and RB Ty Johnson was fined $10,777 for unsportsmanlike conduct (obscene gestures).
Jets
New Jets WR John Metchie has a chance to get his career off the ground after a few years in Houston, where things never really got going. The Texans drafted Metchie in the second round of the 2022 draft, but he didn’t play at all his rookie year as he battled leukemia. He discussed what that experience was like emotionally and how it taught him to become even more resilient.
“Your loved ones is definitely the biggest thing. But then, kind of who you are as a person, you know?” he said via Steve Serby of the NY Post. “Kind of just like sports, you don’t step up to the moments, you fall back on your preparation and training. So for me, when that happened, it’s just falling back on who you are as a person, and that’s about getting better like 1 percent each day. Had a saying back then which was, just one break at a time. So it’s just like it’s a test to the strength people have within them.”
The Texans traded Metchie to the Eagles during the preseason this year, and then the Eagles dealt him to the Jets before the trade deadline. He seemed like he took it in stride both times.
“I don’t know, that is a question for whoever makes those decisions. But [Philadelphia] was a good experience. A lot of old teammates and stuff there. But it was a good experience,” he said. “I really just focus on the things that I can control. I think that question is best suited for the people that actually make those decisions.”
As for what he hopes to bring to the Jets this year in the final year of his rookie contract, Metchie said he just loves to play football and that’s what the team will get.
“The dawg, you know?” he said. “Somebody that loves to win. Not just the winning but the process of it. Not just Sundays and Thursdays or Mondays, but what you do every other day and in the offseason is what ultimately leads to that, and not get so caught up on the outcomes.”
Patriots
Questions about tackling and physicality were part of the reason Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez slid into the second half of the first round back in 2023. It proved to be a coup for the Patriots, as Gonzalez is establishing himself as one of the top cover corners in football, and there are no longer the same questions about his run defense, given the Patriots are one of the best defenses in the league in that department.
“When [DC Terrell Williams] was here, he talked about how our defense will be judged not by how our inside players tackle but by how our corners tackle. He challenged us to be physical,” said fellow Patriots CB Carlton Davis III via ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “[Christian] has had a huge improvement this year on his run force and physicality. This year, he kind of checked that box. He’s been showing up a lot against the run and showing he’s not just a finesse corner — that he can come up and hit and be physical at the line. I’m proud of him.”
- Patriots WR Mack Hollins was fined $20,278 for unnecessary roughness (use of the helmet).
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