Aaron Rodgers made headlines Tuesday for criticising the Green Bay Packers young wide receivers. A day later, the legendary quarterback met with the wideouts to work with them and get everyone on the same page.
Rodgers and fellow Packer quarterbacks Jordan Love and Danny Etling, along with members of the offensive coaching staff met in the quarterback meeting room Wednesday morning with the wide receivers.
"Aaron spoke to us about what he likes or what not just based on concepts or what he sees," rookie receiver Romeo Doubs said.
"He just wants us to see what he sees. So then that way we can be able to react faster, play faster and just be able to dominate and continue to be who we are."
Doubs had a bad drop Tuesday in the Packers’ joint practice with the New Orleans Saints, prompting Rodgers to call out the young receivers.
"The young guys, especially young receivers, we've got to be way more consistent," Rodgers said on Tuesday.
"A lot of drops, a lot of bad route decisions, running the wrong route. We've got to get better in that area."
Rodgers did not call Wednesday’s meeting but reportedly did plenty of talking during it to try to build chemistry.
"It was just really giving us advice," rookie receiver Samori Toure said. "Basically, letting us know that the Green Bay receiving corps has always been held to a super-high standard.
"All the legends who have been through here. It's just about us carrying on that standard and stepping up."
For the first time since 2013, Rodgers and the Packers open a season without Davante Adams after the five-time Pro Bowl receiver was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders in March.
In 2021, Adams was second in the NFL in receptions (123), third in receiving yards (1,553) and fifth in receiving touchdowns (11).
Allen Lazard (40 receptions, 513 receiving yards, 8 receiving touchdowns in 2021) and Randall Cobb (38 receptions, 375 yards, 5 TDs) now take over as Rodgers’ primary targets, and both also spoke during the meeting.
"Both Randall and Allen have been playing with 12 for quite a long time so certain things that we do, that we may have a mistake on, just from experience they've went through that same stage as well," Doubs said.
"Just them picking up the young guys throughout these dog days of camp has been a tremendous blessing and great piece of advice."
The message seemed to resonate with the young receivers as both Toure and Doubs caught touchdown passes in Wednesday's scrimmage with the Saints.
Browns score late touchdown to end Steelers' streak in snowy contest
Nick Chubb ran for a 2-yard touchdown in heavy snow with 57 seconds left, and the Cleveland Browns stunned division rival Pittsburgh 24-19 on Thursday night, ending the Steelers' five-game winning streak.
Chubb's score came in his first game against the AFC North-leading Steelers (8-3) since the running back sustained a season-ending left knee injury on a carry last year at Pittsburgh.
The Browns (3-8) had blown a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter and were down 19-18 before getting the ball back with 3:22 remaining after Pittsburgh punter Corliss Waitman shanked a 16-yarder.
With snow piling up and covering the yard lines on the field, Cleveland's Jameis Winston completed a third-down pass to Jerry Jeudy to the Pittsburgh 9. Two plays later, Chubb barrelled into the end zone.
The Steelers had one last chance, but quarterback Russell Wilson's Hail Mary on the final play was knocked down by Browns safety Grant Delpit in the end zone, touching off a wild celebration at Huntington Bank Field.
NFL: Texans bounce back, extend Cowboys' woes
Joe Mixon's 109 rushing yards and three touchdowns helped get the Houston Texans back on track with Monday's 34-10 win over the floundering Dallas Cowboys.
Houston (7-4) snapped a two-game losing streak behind Mixon's powerful running and a defence that sacked Cowboys' fill-in quarterback Cooper Rush five times and forced two turnovers, including a fumble Derek Barnett returned 28 yards for a touchdown that gave the Texans a 27-10 lead in the fourth quarter.
Dallas (3-7) has now lost five straight, its longest skid since dropping seven in a row in 2015, and fell to 0-5 at home. The Cowboys have been outscored by 118 points (187-69) at AT&T Stadium, the third-largest negative differential through five home games in a season in NFL history.
Rush did throw a 64-yard touchdown pass to KaVontae Turpin in his second straight start subbing for an injured Dak Prescott, and finished with a career-high 354 passing yards with one interception while completing 32 of 55 attempts.
C.J. Stroud threw for 257 yards with an interception for Houston, which extended its lead over the second-place Indianapolis Colts to two games in the AFC South.
The Texans never trailed after Mixon ripped off a 45-yard touchdown run on the game's opening drive, and the veteran running back added a 1-yard scoring plunge late in the first quarter to give Houston a 14-0 lead.
Turpin got Dallas on the board by taking a short pass from Rush and breaking free from the Houston defence nine seconds into the second quarter, but the Cowboys were shut out in the second half after pulling to within 17-10 on Brandon Aubrey's 53-yard field goal with just under six minutes left before half-time.
Burnett's strip sack of Rush and return of the resulting fumble helped put the game away with 12:31 left, and Mixon tacked on his final touchdown of the night with 3:16 remaining to cap a 35-yard drive that began after the Texans stopped the Cowboys on downs.
Mahomes to use Chiefs' first loss of 2024 as 'spark'
Patrick Mahomes said the Kansas City Chiefs will use their first loss since Christmas Day 2023 as fuel after the Buffalo Bills halted their unbeaten start to the season.
Josh Allen scrambled for a stunning 26-yard touchdown with just over two minutes to play as the Bills improved to 9-2 with a 30-21 win over the reigning Super Bowl champions.
The result ended the Chiefs' 15-game winning streak, a run that began after they lost to the Los Vegas Raiders on Christmas Day last year and included their dramatic triumph over the San Francisco 49ers at Super Bowl LVIII.
The Chiefs had started this season 9-0 to take control of the race for the AFC's top seed, but they could have few complaints about Sunday's result.
The Bills outgained the Chiefs by 366 yards to 259, also recording 24 first downs to Kansas City's 19 and enjoying almost nine more minutes in possession.
Mahomes, however, was relaxed about the end of his team's winning streak, saying: "The undefeated thing was cool, but that's not our ultimate goal.
"It's a good football team, so there's nothing to hang your head about. We feel like we can play better, so we will get back to work and try to use this as a spark so that we can be a better football team in the end."
The Chiefs rank just 16th in the NFL for yards per game (337.9) and 11th for points per game (24) in 2024, with many of their victories – including against the Denver Broncos in Week 10 and the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1 – coming via last-gasp defensive or special teams plays.
Mahomes actually feels the team could benefit from a reality check, adding: "I'm hoping that [losing] is a benefit.
"I'm not going to say I or we are relaxed, but at the same time I feel like we were just coming away with these wins at the end of the games.
"I think it's going to spark us to have more urgency, especially at the start of football games, especially with the offense, and that comes from me and turning the ball over on the first drive. It's something you can't do in big games like this."
No quarterback has thrown more interceptions than Mahomes' 11 (level with Geno Smith and Jordan Love) this season, while a passer rating of 90.3 ranks him a lowly 20th among all players at the position.
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