Kyle Shanahan praised an efficient and at times explosive performance from Trey Lance but did not rule out Jimmy Garoppolo returning and starting for the San Francisco 49ers in Week 18.
With Garoppolo sidelined due to torn ligaments in his thumb, rookie third overall pick Lance got the start and recovered from a shaky first half to help the 49ers to a 23-7 win over the Houston Texans.
Lance tossed a bad interception in the first half but appeared more settled after a field-goal drive to end the second quarter and subsequently threw a pair of touchdowns, including a 45-yard strike to Deebo Samuel, to put the Niners a win away from a playoff berth.
He finished the game 16 of 23 passing for 249 yards and also ran for a further 31 yards.
The Niners will reach the postseason for the second time in three seasons if they beat the 12-4 Los Angeles Rams in Week 18 or if the New Orleans Saints lose to the Atlanta Falcons. Should San Francisco lose and the Saints beat the Falcons, the Niners will miss out on the postseason.
That places the situation at quarterback into sharp focus, with head coach Shanahan leaving the door open to Garoppolo making a quick return despite reports he will need surgery after the season.
Asked if Garoppolo tried throwing on Saturday or Sunday, Shanahan replied: "I don't know if he threw today [Sunday]. I didn't even ask, just talking to him yesterday I had a pretty good idea that we weren't going to even push it today.
"I think he'll be able to do it this week. Still, that's just me giving you guys an honest guess. Hopefully, I'll have a better idea by Wednesday.
"If Jimmy's a hundred per cent healthy and could do everything, like perfect, then I would definitely go with Jimmy. I'm not just going to throw a guy in after one game like this, when Jimmy's been doing it for us all year.
"I think it's going to be hard for Jimmy to be a hundred percent, which is how most people are right now at this time of year. But Trey did a good job, if Jimmy can't go, we won't hesitate at all. But if we feel Jimmy can go and play confident, then Jimmy will be out there."
Assessing Lance's performance, Shanahan said: "I think he did some real good things, besides the bad interception, I thought he protected the ball real well.
"That was a big thing going into this game and he did a good job on all those except for one play. I think he was very efficient, just looking at his numbers. That big play at the end was huge. For the most part, he made some pretty good decisions running the ball.
"I thought the defense and special teams played really well. Holding them to three yards per play on defense, special teams, we've been down here over this last month and this at least felt like that was one of our better games in a while.
"I think that allowed us to be more comfortable on offense, start to get into a rhythm and not really press and just let it happen naturally."
'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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