Sunday marked a rough day for NFL quarterbacks with Kirk Cousins, Matthew Stafford and Kenny Pickett all suffering injuries.
Cousins' injury appears to be the most severe with Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell saying the team fears he sustained an injury to his Achilles tendon.
The four-time Pro Bowl QB has never missed a game due to injury in his 12-year career but is in danger of being lost for the remainder of the season if the tendon is indeed torn, which has been reported by NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport.
He is scheduled for an MRI on Monday.
Cousins left in the fourth quarter of the Vikings' 24-10 win over the Green Bay Packers after being sacked by Kenny Clark - the second consecutive play he was sacked.
"We are fearing an Achilles injury," O'Connell said. "The severity of that, I do not know at this point, but I do know that's what our fear is at the moment."
Cousins threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns in leading the Vikings to a third straight win to even their record at 4-4. The 35-year-old is playing some of the best football of his career, throwing for 2,331 yards with 18 touchdowns to five interceptions while posting a 103.8 rating.
His backup, rookie Jaren Hall, made his NFL debut upon replacing Cousins and completed three of four passes for 23 yards.
O'Connell wouldn't commit to starting Hall next Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, so the Vikings could look to signing a veteran free agent to take over the offence.
Stafford injured his right thumb in the Los Angeles Rams' 43-20 blowout loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
The 35-year-old initially hurt the thumb on his throwing hand on a failed 2-point conversion pass in the final seconds of the first half and then exited for good after aggravating the injury after catching a 2-point try on the Rams' first possession of the third quarter.
Brett Rypien entered at quarterback the next time the Rams got the ball and completed five of 10 passes for 42 yards in his first action of the season. Stafford finished 13 of 22 for 162 yards with a touchdown and interception.
Coach Sean McVay said he didn't have an update on Stafford's injury after the loss, which dropped Los Angeles' record to 3-5.
Pickett left the Pittsburgh Steelers' 20-10 defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars with a rib injury.
Pickett was injured on a hit by defensive end Adam Gotsis after throwing a pass that fell incomplete in the final minute of the first half.
After the game, coach Mike Tomlin said he didn't know the severity of the injury to Pickett, who was 10 of 16 for 73 yards before exiting.
The Steelers have a quick turnaround, with their next game Thursday against the visiting Tennessee Titans.
If Pickett can't play, Mitch Trubisky would make his 56th career start - and first of the season.
Trubisky, who played in the second half of Pittsburgh's 30-6 loss to Houston in Week 4 after Pickett left with a bone bruise in his knee, went 15 of 27 for 138 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions against the Jaguars.
Giants releasing embattled quarterback Daniel Jones
The Daniel Jones era in New York has officially ended.
The Giants agreed to Jones’ request to be released Friday morning, ending a rocky partnership that lasted nearly six seasons.
Giants president John Mara said in a statement that Jones’ release “would be best for him and for the team.”
“Daniel has been a great representative of our organisation, first class in every way,” Mara said in the statement. “His handling of this situation yesterday exemplifies just that. We are all disappointed in how things have worked out.”
The Giants benched Jones in favour of Tommy DeVito during their bye week. On Thursday, Jones told reporters he takes “full responsibility” for not winning more as the captain of one of the NFL’s signature franchises.
After learning of his new role, however, Jones asked the team to be released.
Jones signed a four-year, $160million contract extension before the 2023 season. Jones will go through the waivers process, but teams are likely unwilling to pay the rest of that contract. If he clears waivers, he will become an unrestricted free agent.
The Giants will absorb a salary cap hit of around $20million by releasing Jones.
Jones was the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft and has started 69 games over the last six seasons.
The former Duke quarterback had his best season in a contract year in 2022, throwing 15 touchdowns to just five interceptions and adding 708 yards and seven scores on the ground.
Jones has thrown eight touchdown passes and seven interceptions this season for the 2-8 Giants and ranks 32nd among qualified quarterbacks with a 79.4 passer rating.
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.
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