Kyle Shanahan was confident the San Francisco 49ers could compete with the Philadelphia Eagles in the AFC Championship game despite the loss of quarterback Brock Purdy.
The rookie QB was forced off at the end of the 49ers first drive with an elbow injury after his throwing arm was hit by Eagles edge-rusher Haason Reddick, leading to the introduction of fourth-stringer Josh Johnson.
More bad luck followed for the 49ers though, with Johnson ruled out due to the concussion protocol and Purdy reintroduced, albeit unable to throw deep passes, in an eventual 31-7 loss.
However, Shanahan felt the team had hope of a comeback until the final Eagles touchdown that led to a three-score lead.
"I don't think we're numb, the guys were up for the challenge. The defence was playing really well, we thought Josh was going to go in there, execute our plan and give us a chance," he told reporters.
"We felt confident coming out in the third quarter, but in that opening drive we lost our last quarterback.
"After that, we were inspired watching our defence, down two scores, we thought we could run the ball well enough and generate some stuff, hopefully get a turnover the other side, but we didn't move the chains enough and once they got that third score, it was really tough to catch up.
"The guys are pretty down in there, we were really excited for today and for the opportunity to play that team. They played great, they did good things, but we wish we had a better opportunity than what we did today."
A controversial incident in the first quarter was a fourth-down conversion for the Eagles in a 29-yard pass to Devonta Smith, which he appeared to drop on closer inspection of the replays.
Questions have been asked as to why Shanahan did not challenge the on-field decision, though there was a simple explanation.
"The replays we saw didn't definitively show that [the catch was dropped]," he explained.
"I was going to throw one anyway, to take the chance, but they showed one on the scoreboard that didn't have all the angles that you guys saw and it looked like a catch. We didn't want to waste a timeout.
"We definitely would have [challenged] if we hadn't had seen that. Then I heard they got a couple of angles and you ended up seeing later than it's not a catch."
'I think so' - Rodgers expecting to play in 2025 despite poor Jets start
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers thinks he will still be playing in 2025, despite suffering one of the worst starts to a season in his career.
The Jets are currently 3-7 and sit just above the New England Patriots in the AFC East, having lost 31-6 to the Arizona Cardinals in their last game.
Rodgers, who is still coming back from Achilles surgery after missing last season through injury, has thrown just 15 touchdown passes, seven interceptions, and a career-low 6.4 yards per attempt so far.
Rodgers is under contract with New York for 2025, but there are parts of his deal yet to be finalised if he does stay on.
Despite the less-than-stellar start to the season, the 40-year-old says it has not changed his feelings "negatively" as he has not reached his standard yet.
"I think so, yeah," he said when asked if he could see himself playing next year.
"I'm not playing as well as I would've liked to play, for sure. The beauty in this game is it's a team game.
"The frustrating part is that if you're a great competitor, you hold yourself to a standard that's not unrealistic, and I haven't reached that standard this year."
Since firing Robert Saleh last month, the Jets are 1-4 under interim coach Jeff Ulbrich, who also doubles as their defensive coordinator.
They face another team with a losing record in the Indianapolis Colts (4-6) on Sunday, and Rodgers only had positive things to say about Ulbrich.
"The verdict is still not out on this season yet," Rodgers added. "I feel like he's [Ulbrich] done some really good things.
"I think Brick is an NFL head coach, whether it's here moving forward or down the line. I mean, he's a leader of men, and I'll stand by him. I'd love to play for him until the end. So have a lot of love and respect for him."
Indianapolis Colts turning back to QB Richardson
The Indianapolis Colts are reversing course once again in their search for stability at the quarterback position, as head coach Shane Steichen announced Wednesday that Anthony Richardson has regained the starting job for the remainder of the season.
Steichen said Richardson will be under center for Sunday's key game against the New York Jets. The 2023 No. 4 overall pick was benched in favour of veteran Joe Flacco for the team's two previous contests, losses to the Minnesota Vikings and Buffalo Bills.
"He will start this week," Steichen said of Richardson. "He will start the rest of the season, and we're going to go from there."
Richardson was removed from the starting role after noticeably struggling in Indianapolis' 23-20 loss to the AFC South-rival Houston Texans in Week 8, a game in which he completed just 31.3 per cent of his pass attempts and had two turnovers.
The offence has failed to receive a spark from Flacco, however, as the 39-year-old managed just 179 passing yards in the loss to Minnesota and was intercepted three times in last week's 30-20 defeat to the Bills.
Steichen told reporters on Monday that Flacco would remain the starter, but said he changed his mind after witnessing improvement in Richardson's work habits and focus.
"I've said the process, the process for a long time, and what I mean by that is the attention to detail in everything [Richardson] does," Steichen said Wednesday. "From the classrooms, to the walk-throughs to practice, the weight room, all those little things just got to be at a higher standard. That was discussed with him two weeks ago. Those were the conversations that took place. And over the last two weeks he's made strides in those areas, big-time strides, becoming a pro's pro.
"Is he a finished product? No, he's not, and it's my job to help him get there along with the rest of the coaching staff. But he's a hell of a talent. We never lost faith and belief in him and his abilities, and he's shown strides, he really has."
Richardson's second NFL season has been plagued by inconsistent play. Among all quarterbacks with at least 125 pass attempts in 2024, the 22-year-old ranks last in completion percentage (44.4), interception percentage (5.3) and passer rating (57.2).
Staying healthy has also been an issue for the former University of Florida standout. He missed two games in October with an oblique injury and had his rookie campaign cut short after four starts due to a sprained right shoulder that required surgery.
The Colts enter Sunday's matchup having lost three straight games and are a game back of the Denver Broncos in the race for the AFC's final play-off spot.
Cowboys quarterback Prescott to have season-ending surgery
Dak Prescott won't play again for the Dallas Cowboys this season.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said that Prescott will undergo surgery on Wednesday to repair his torn hamstring and is out for the remainder of the season.
"His prognosis is wonderful," Jones said Tuesday on his weekly radio appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. "It just means we're not going to have him for the rest of the year."
Prescott sustained the injury in the Cowboys' 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on November 3, and he sat out this past Sunday's 34-6 home drubbing by the Philadelphia Eagles - Dallas' fourth consecutive defeat.
There was some hope that he wouldn't need surgery and return this season, but he has decided to have the procedure to repair a partial avulsion of the hamstring tendon.
The recovery time for his surgery is at least three months, and the Super Bowl is just under three months away.
With a 3-6 record, Dallas' chances of making the Super Bowl are slim, and it looks like the franchise will miss the play-offs for the first time since 2020 after going 12-5 each of the past three seasons.
The Cowboys' offence also looked completely inept in its first game without Prescott.
Cooper Rush started against the Eagles, but threw for just 45 yards - the fewest by a Cowboys starting quarterback in a game since Matt Cassel had 37 in a 19-16 loss to the New York Jets in 2015.
Trey Lance ended up replacing Rush, and passed for 21 yards, giving Dallas 66 total passing yards - the fewest by the team in a game since having 34 in a 10-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2001.
Prescott, who signed a record-breaking, $240million contract hours before this season's opener after finishing as runner-up in NFL MVP voting in 2023, was off to a slow start to the 2024 season with 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions through eight games.
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