The New York Jets do not need Zach Wilson to be their "Superman", head coach Robert Saleh said, after they bounced back from their quarterback's Week 8 horror show to stun the Buffalo Bills in Week 9.
Saleh's Jets welcomed the Bills to MetLife Stadium on Sunday having suffered a 22-17 loss to the New England Patriots a week prior, one in which 2021 second overall pick Wilson threw three terrible interceptions.
Yet against sterner opposition he made no such mistakes, the Jets leaning on their run game and a tremendous effort from their defense to claim a shock 20-17 win.
The win means the Jets are 6-3, just half a game back of the Bills in an ultra-competitive AFC East. New York sit second behind Buffalo, with the Jets owning a tiebreaking win over the 6-3 Miami Dolphins. The Patriots are very much still in the mix at 5-4.
Asked about Wilson's low-key performance, which saw him complete 72 per cent of his passes for 154 yards, a touchdown and zero interceptions, Saleh told Peter King for Football Morning in America: "He had a great throwaway. One of the great things about Zach is how he takes coaching.
"We told him: 'Trust that throwing the ball away is a positive play.' We're not asking Zach to be our Superman yet.
"One day we will. And there will be times we need him to be, but now's not that time."
In the immediate future for the Jets is an extremely imposing run of games. They have a bye in Week 10 but then visit New England before hosting an improving Chicago Bears team and then heading back on the road to face the 7-1 Minnesota Vikings and the Bills.
Saleh added of that stretch: "Every game's a championship game. Like today, Buffalo's incredibly well-coached. Incredibly talented. The quarterback's ridiculous.
"We can’t let the narrative of this Goliath coming into our building be the story, and we won't in the coming weeks either."
Cowboys quarterback Prescott reportedly expected to miss multiple weeks with hamstring injury
The path to the play-offs is now even tougher for the Dallas Cowboys.
Quarterback Dak Prescott will reportedly miss several weeks with a hamstring injury sustained in Sunday's 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
The severity of the injury was determined following an MRI, and reported Monday from multiple media outlets.
Prescott is planning to get a second opinion, and the Cowboys have not decided if they will place him on injured reserve, which would keep him on the sideline a minimum of four games.
Prescott, who signed a record-breaking, $240million contract hours before this season's opener, suffered the injury late in the third quarter.
He was replaced by Cooper Rush, and the seven-year backup will get the start this Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Rush completed 13-of-25 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons, but couldn't rally Dallas all the way back.
The Cowboys ended up losing their third straight game to drop to 3-5, which matches the total number of losses the team had each of the last three seasons.
They now sit in third place in the NFC East, 3 1/2 games behind the division-leading Washington Commanders.
Rush has found some success as a fill-in starter for the Cowboys, though, the 30-year-old hasn't been forced into the starting role since 2022.
In six career starts for Dallas, he's gone 5-1 with 1,281 passing yards with seven touchdowns, four interceptions and an 83.6 rating.
There is some good news for the Cowboys, though, as star defensive end Micah Parsons is likely to return this Sunday after missing the last four games with a high-ankle sprain.
Cowboys quarterback Prescott expected to miss multiple weeks with hamstring injury
The path to the play-offs is now even tougher for the Dallas Cowboys.
Quarterback Dak Prescott will reportedly miss several weeks with a hamstring injury sustained in Sunday's 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
The severity of the injury was determined Monday following an MRI.
Prescott is planning to get a second opinion, and the Cowboys have not decided if they will place him on injured reserve, which would keep him on the sideline a minimum of four games.
Prescott, who signed a record-breaking, $240million contract hours before this season's opener, suffered the injury late in the third quarter.
He was replaced by Cooper Rush, and the seven-year backup will get the start this Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Rush completed 13-of-25 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons, but couldn't rally Dallas all the way back.
The Cowboys ended up losing their third straight game to drop to 3-5, which matches the total number of losses the team had each of the last three seasons.
They now sit in third place in the NFC East, 3 1/2 games behind the division-leading Washington Commanders.
Rush has found some success as a fill-in starter for the Cowboys, though, the 30-year-old hasn't been forced into the starting role since 2022.
In six career starts for Dallas, he's gone 5-1 with 1,281 passing yards with seven touchdowns, four interceptions and an 83.6 rating.
There is some good news for the Cowboys, though, as star defensive end Micah Parsons is likely to return this Sunday after missing the last four games with a high-ankle sprain.
Stumbling Saints fire head coach Allen
The New Orleans Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen on Monday, one day after the team’s losing streak reached seven games with a 23-22 defeat to the lowly Carolina Panthers.
New Orleans got off to an unexpected strong start to the 2024 season by outscoring its first two opponents 91-29 in a pair of victories.
The Saints lost their next two games by just a combined five points, but then it really started to unravel for the team.
New Orleans’ next four defeats all came by 13 points or more, and on Sunday, the Panthers pulled out a 23-22 win over the Saints after Carolina entered the meeting with a 1-7 record.
Allen was promoted from New Orleans' defensive coordinator to head coach after the 2021 season, and the Saints posted an 18-25 record under him with no play-off appearances.
The Saints (2-7) are expected to name special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi as interim head coach ahead of their Week 10 visit from the NFC South-leading Atlanta Falcons (6-3).
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