"Oh that's nice."
Avonte Maddox's reaction was one of polite surprise when he was told he was the premier corner in the NFL by Stats Perform's matchup data.
No corner in the NFL can claim to be superior to Maddox in terms of open percentage allowed across both man and zone coverage in 2022.
Maddox allowed opposing receivers to get open on just 18.1 per cent of his matchups this season for the Philadelphia Eagles, excelling for a defense that boasts the premier defensive front in the NFL. With Philadelphia's starting nickel corner playing alongside the likes of Darius Slay and James Bradberry, they also have a strong claim for possessing one of the top secondaries in the league.
His reward for establishing himself as a top-tier slot corner at the highest level in 2022 could come on Sunday, when he will have an integral role to play as the Eagles battle the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII.
So why has it all clicked this season for the fifth-year defender?
Maddox is quick to credit defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon.
"A good coach, he coaches us hard to be the best we can be," Maddox told Stats Perform.
"I've learned a lot of things about offenses and just put myself in the best position to win, just making sure I do everything right from a technique point, detail point, watching film to the point of making sure I be where I have to be at the right time on the field to be the best."
Maddox will be going against the best at State Farm Stadium, where he is sure to spend much of the game lined up across from All-Pro and future Hall of Fame tight end Travis Kelce.
In the 2022 season, Kelce ran 300 routes from the slot, compared to 173 as an outside receiver and 139 from the traditional tight end. Those numbers foreshadow a duel between Kelce and Maddox that will likely be a defining one in what promises to be a captivating contest of two number one seeds.
Kelce has developed a reputation for being "always open". While the numbers – his open percentage across man and zone is 46.73 per cent, well above the 28.16 per cent average for tight ends – suggest there are, in fact, plenty of times when he isn't, but his mind meld with Patrick Mahomes that is often most prevalent on broken plays and scramble drills makes Kelce a formidable challenge for any defender.
Explaining Kelce's remarkable prowess for finding free space, Chiefs coach Andy Reid told Thursday's press conference: "Travis has a good feel for the game, in particular for space, teams have doubled him and banged him around in man coverage, put defensive backs on him, corners and safeties, linebackers – they’ve tried a lot of different things throughout his career.
"Now he’s seen about everything you can put on him, sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.
"He has a great relationship with our QB, those two are on the same page, they see the defenses the same way, they're best friends off the field and on the field, that helps too. If you're a receiver you want to be friendly with the quarterback for sure.
"Travis studies, he comes off like a nice funny guy and happy-go-lucky, but he studies like crazy and he knows defenses and he can see and react to them quickly during the game."
Maddox sees the apparent telepathic understanding between Mahomes and Kelce as the biggest challenge to stopping the latter.
"Him and Mahomes work really well together. Whatever Mahomes is thinking in his mind, Travis hears it, whenever he starts scrambling he starts scrambling, and it's like they're right on the same page," Maddox said.
"It's definitely a good challenge, but you've just got to make sure you plaster, trusting our D-Line to get him [Mahomes] down, if he doesn't then make sure I don't have bad eyes to the point where I'm going to take my eyes off him [Kelce] when he's running to get open, so just have good eyes and be violent and attack.
"Your eyes won't lie to you, if you see him [Kelce] go left and right you're gonna go left and right. You just gotta keep your eyes on him."
Misdirected vision has hardly been a problem for Maddox as he has set the standard for inside and outside cornerbacks in 2022 and, for the Eagles to have a hope of disrupting one of the most prolific quarterback-pass-catcher connections in NFL history, that clarity must be maintained.
Christian McCaffrey equals record to keep San Francisco perfect
Christian McCaffrey grabbed a touchdown for the 12th consecutive game as the San Francisco 49ers saw off the New York Giants 30-12 for a 3-0 start to the season.
Brock Purdy threw for two touchdown passes – to Ronnie Bell and Deebo Samuel – as he extended his winning run as a starter in the regular season to eight from as many starts.
But he struggled at times, narrowly avoiding turnovers and relying on his receivers to make the bulk of the yardage.
Although the 49ers offense was not particularly smooth, they were too good for the Giants – without the injured Saquon Barkley – as the defence finished the job.
Giants quarterback Daniel Jones struggled to make any headway downfield as he threw for just 137 yards and an interception.
The Giants’ only scores came from an eight-yard Matt Brieda touchdown run and a pair of first-half field goals.
McCaffrey’s four-yard touchdown run, which opened a 17-3 lead in the second quarter, equalled Jerry Rice’s franchise record of touchdowns in successive games and is just three short of the NFL record.
The 49ers have now won 13 consecutive regular season games as they moved to 3-0 for only the second time in 25 seasons.
Panthers quarterback Young unlikely to play against Seahawks due to injured ankle
Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young is dealing with an ankle injury and is unlikely to play in Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks.
Young missed his second straight day of practice Thursday, and the winless Panthers released a statement on social media saying he isn't expected to play.
The top pick of this year's draft evidently injured his ankle during Carolina's 20-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Monday night, but coach Frank Reich wasn't sure when. Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown said the injury occurred in the first half, but Young never came out and didn't tell anyone until after the game.
With Young expected to sit, Andy Dalton will make his first start with the Panthers after starting 14 games for the Saints last season.
Young has started each of Carolina's first two losses and is experiencing the growing pains that come with being a rookie quarterback.
He ranks 31st in QB rating (66.6) while throwing for 299 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He's completing 59.2 per cent of his passes and his average of 4.21 yards per attempt is the worst in the NFL among starting quarterbacks.
Without a viable passing game, the Panthers are 28th in total offence and are tied for last in scoring.
Dalton, a 13-year-veteran, is 83-77-2 as a starter with 244 TD passes and 144 interceptions. Carolina will be the fifth franchise he starts a game for following one-year stints with Dallas, Chicago and New Orleans from 2020-22 after spending his first nine pro seasons with Cincinnati.
Dallas Cowboys CB Diggs reportedly tears ACL
Dallas Cowboys Pro Bowl cornerback Trevon Diggs will reportedly miss the rest of the 2023 season after tearing the ACL in his left knee during Thursday's practice.
NFL.com reports that an MRI confirmed the extent of the injury, which Diggs sustained during a one-on-one drill. The fourth-year standout was later spotted on crutches at the Cowboys' training facility, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Diggs' absence is a major blow to a Dallas team that's outscored the opposition by a 70-10 margin in winning its first two games. The 25-year-old's 18 interceptions since entering the NFL in 2020 are tied for the most by any player over that span.
A second-round pick by Dallas in 2020, Diggs earned first team All-Pro honours in 2021 by recording a league-leading 11 interceptions, the most by any player in a single season since the Cowboys' Everson Walls also had 11 in 1981.
Diggs was off to another strong start in 2023, as he allowed just two completions on nine pass attempts thrown his way for a total of 26 yards to go along with one interception.
"Saw that I guess a couple of you saw (Diggs injured) out there on the field," Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott told reporters following Thursday's practice. "Prayers, hoping for the best, simple as that.”
Diggs had just signed a five-year, $97 million extension in training camp that will keep him under contract through the 2028 season.
The Cowboys do have depth at cornerback after acquiring 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore from the Indianapolis Colts in March to form a trio with Diggs and DaRon Bland, the team's leader with five interceptions in 2022.
Dallas could move Bland from the slot into Diggs' outside position with Jourdan Lewis taking over the nickel role. Lewis started 30 games over the previous three seasons, but has been eased into action in 2023 due to a foot injury that limited him to just six games last season.
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