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Bleeding Green Nation
Marshon Lattimore trade: Commanders acquire Pro Bowl cornerback thanks to help from the Eagles
Philadelphia’s top competition in the NFC East just got better.
This development is bad news for the Eagles, who are currently chasing the Commanders for the NFC East lead. Lattimore, 28, is a pretty good player; he’s allowed just a 69.1 passer rating when targeted this season. That’s after allowing a 74.7 passer rating in 2023 and a 67.3 passer rating in 2022.
Another annoying angle for the Eagles is that they unintentionally helped the Commanders make this deal. Philly sent the more favorable of two third-round picks (either theirs or the Miami Dolphins’ selection, so, probably the latter) to Washington in exchange for Jahan Dotson. Although he had a big catch in Week 9, Dotson has mostly been a non-factor for the Eagles with 14 targets for seven receptions, 71 yards, and zero touchdowns. And that’s with both A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith missing significant playing time due to injury.
To be clear, the Commanders didn’t actually use the pick that the Eagles gave them (honestly, bad job by the Saints for not pushing harder for that selection) … but Washington having an additional third-round pick likely emboldened them to do this deal.
Bleeding Green Nation
Eagles must kick the Cowboys while they’re down
The Cowboys are worse than jury duty
The Dallas Cowboys are down bad. Jerry Jones said they were “all in” this year, instead they’re having possibly their worst season in 20 years.
Or, in the words of Dak Prescott, they “fucking suck.” At least Prescott, who was having probably the worst season of his career, won’t have to participate in it for a while, as he’s likely headed to injured reserve.
Mike Zimmer was coaxed out of semi-retirement and probably wishes he wasn’t. Jerry Jones threatened the job security of radio hosts a few weeks ago. Trevon Diggs read a tweet from during the game and confronted the reporter who wrote it—while still in uniform. Ezekiel Elliott was suspended for being late to meetings, no way the suspension happens if he was actually performing. On Sunday the Cowboys had 10 defenders on the field for a play in the red zone, later the offense evened that out with 12 men in the huddle on 4th and 1.
The Cowboys can’t stop anyone, 31st in points per game against. They can’t keep up with anyone, 20th in points per game for. They can’t control the clock to try to win small possession low scoring games, 31st in rushing yards per game and 30th in rushing yards per attempt. Forget about the potential missed opportunity of not signing Derrick Henry, Tony Pollard has more rushing yards and TDs than every Cowboys RB combined. The longest run by a Cowboy so far this season is 22 yards, by Dak Prescott.
Beat the Cowboys in Dallas on Sunday and by the time the second leg in Week 17 comes around, the Cowboys season should be all over but the singing.
Blogging the Boys
BREAKING: Cowboys trade fourth-round pick to Panthers for WR Jonathan Mingo
The Dallas Cowboys have made a trade with the Carolina Panthers for wide receiver Jonathan Mingo.
They are down at wide receiver, not to mention that CeeDee Lamb is currently dealing with an AC joint sprain, but that was something they could have chosen to address over the offseason. They didn’t and now have clearly panicked.
What’s more is that quarterback Dak Prescott has an injured hamstring and Jerry Jones said himself Tuesday morning on 105.3 The Fan that he is likely headed to injured reserve. This means that the starting quarterback of the team will miss at least four of the nine games remaining for the team. You are talking about at the most five games for Prescott and Mingo to work together.
On top of all of that, the compensation involved here is a pretty terrible give from Dallas’ side. They just went through an NFL Draft without their fourth-round pick, learning how valuable it was, because they squandered it in the Trey Lance trade. This is the same Trey Lance who they now can’t depend on with Prescott injured – even though they should try anyway – because it has aged so poorly.
The Panthers have made it clear that they are sellers – the Panthers with one fewer win than the Cowboys – and even traded away their top wide receiver recently in Diontae Johnson. They got right around the same sort of compensation which also serves as a reflection of how bad this trade is for the Cowboys.
This move absolutely screams panic from the Dallas Cowboys.
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NFL Power Rankings, Week 10: Eagles, Chargers and Cardinals surging; Bears and Cowboys sliding
Rank 7 – Philadelphia Eagles 6-2
Don’t look now, but Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and the Eagles’ offense have been cooking since their Week 5 bye. In the past four games, Hurts has completed 72.3 percent of his passes for 844 yards, six TDs and no interceptions, also rushing for 159 yards and six more TDs. Over that same stretch, Barkley has run 84 times for 490 yards (a 5.8-yard average) with two TDs, plus another TD catch. He’s on pace for nearly 2,000 rushing yards and 17 total TDs. DeVonta Smith has been a steady producer most of the season, and A.J. Brown’s return has added some juice — luckily for Philly, it doesn’t look like the knee injury that caused Brown to leave Sunday’s win over the Jags is serious. The addition of Barkley and Hurts’ improvement over his 2023 play (I suspect the latter development goes hand in hand with the former, in some respects) have opened things back up. Barkley has been well worth the money the Eagles handed him so far, with or without his reverse hurdle play, which was easily one of the coolest runs of the 2024 season.
ESPN
2024 NFL trade deadline winners, losers: Chiefs, Cowboys, more
Cowboys
Comparing the Mingo deal to the Hopkins deal or the Johnson deal is comparing apples to oranges, as those players were on veteran extensions. Those transactions had far more significant cap fallout for both the acquiring team and the unloading team, and the draft capital reflects that accordingly. In Mingo, the Cowboys are buying a much cheaper contract and have to pay a premium as such.
Comparing the Mingo deal to the 2022 Amari Cooper trade, when the Cowboys moved his expensive contract for a pittance in draft capital return, is like comparing apples to electrical sockets. That was a bookkeeping move; this is a personnel move. They’re executed with completely different objectives in mind.
The larger and more appropriate comparison is between front offices. The Cowboys consistently paint themselves into cap corners, never learning from past mistakes to avoid future pitfalls. Sharp front offices feast on owner Jerry Jones, who put his team in a position to trade Cooper for cheap with a series of bad decisions. Acquiring Mingo for a fourth is another one of those bad decisions that might have fallout down the road.
It’s unlikely Mingo will help the 3-5 Cowboys in the short term, as their season is all but over with the impending injured reserve stint for Prescott. And it’s unlikely Mingo will help them in the long term, as he’s a developmental dice roll. This feels like a prayer of a move.
Saints
But I don’t love the financials here. Lattimore’s deal was restructured in the offseason to minimize his 2024 cap hit; he cost the Saints only $14 million this season and will cost the Commanders just $605,000 for the rest of the season (pending any postseason games). But because Lattimore was traded in the 2024 season, all of the bonus money that was squirreled away in future void years accelerates onto the 2025 salary cap.
Lattimore will hit the 2025 cap for a whopping $31.6 million dead-cap figure, which is more than the Saints would have paid him if he stayed on the roster ($31.4 million). That’s significant because the Saints are currently projected to be over the 2025 salary cap by a towering $68.4 million.
ESPN
What Za’Darius Smith trade means for Lions
After losing Pro Bowl edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson in Week 6 to a fractured tibia and fibula during a 47-9 win over the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium, the Lions will rely on Smith to pick up the slack with a committee approach after losing Hutchinson.
It means the Lions are serious about pursuing a Super Bowl title and wanted to address one of their major areas of concern, which is the pass rush, despite getting off to their best start since 1956 at 7-1.
In five games played, Hutchinson had recorded 7.5 sacks. The rest of the Lions’ defensive linemen this season combined have recorded 6.5 sacks. Smith had 5.0 sacks this season for Cleveland, which would be the second most on the Lions; Alim McNeill has 2.5.
The Lions are less inclined to care about his age (32), because he has no guaranteed money in 2025. Younger options existed on the market — the Giants’ Azeez Ojulari is 24 — but Smith wanted to be in Detroit and he fits the toughness profile.
Pro Football Focus
Grading all 32 first-round picks ahead of Week 10 of the 2024 NFL season
Pick No. 1: Chicago Bears: QB Caleb Williams
- Overall Rookie Grade: 61.1 (Rank: 4/5)
- Week 9 Snaps: 74
- Week 9 Grade: 57.9
Williams and the Bears struggled to get on track offensively. He completed just five of his 16 passes thrown beyond 10 yards. Accuracy has also been an issue as Williams has recorded the sixth-lowest percentage of accurate passes this season. per PFF’s quarterback charting, among quarterbacks with at least 100 charted throws.
Pick No. 2: Washington Commanders: QB Jayden Daniels
- Overall Rookie Grade: 88.6 (Rank: 1/5)
- Week 9 Snaps: 62
- Week 9 Grade: 88.2
Daniels continued to spearhead Washington’s winning ways in Week 9. His 88.2 PFF overall grade was his second-best mark of the year. His explosive play-making ability is impressive, but his ability to avoid mistakes is just as impeccable. He earned a negative grade on just three plays against the Giants, and his 1.6% turnover-worthy play rate is tied for third best in the NFL.
Pick No. 3: New England Patriots: QB Drake Maye
- Overall Rookie Grade: 66.6 (Rank: 2/5)
- Week 9 Snaps: 69
- Week 9 Grade: 66.0
Maye mixed some spectacular moments, including his miraculous game-tying touchdown, with some head-scratching decisions in New England’s overtime loss to Tennessee. He made two big-time throws but also committed four turnover-worthy plays. As a result, he finished the day with a 51.6 PFF passing grade. Maye’s legs have become an asset, though, as he rushed for 96 yards. He currently owns a 91.0 PFF rushing grade for the season.
Pick No. 12: Denver Broncos: QB Bo Nix
- Overall Rookie Grade: 66.5 (Rank: 3/6)
- Week 9 Snaps: 72
- Week 9 Grade: 63.2
Nix’s first throw of the game against Baltimore was an omen for how the day would go for the Broncos. His crossing route pass was tipped by Lil’Jordan Humphrey directly into the arms of a Ravens defender for an interception. From there, the Broncos couldn’t muster enough to keep up with Baltimore’s outstanding offense. Nix’s highlight of the day was actually a terrific contested touchdown catch that he made on a trick play where Courtland Sutton threw him the ball.
Pro Football Focus
NFL Week 9: PFF Team of the Week & Player Awards
PFF’s NFL Week 9 Team of the Week is live!
Selections are primarily based on PFF grades, with extra consideration given to players who performed exceptionally well over a larger number of snaps.
LT: Brandon Coleman, Washington Commanders
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: QB Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders
Daniels had another stellar outing as the Commanders defeated the New York Giants to move to 7-2 on the year. Daniels finished 15-for-22 for 209 yards and had a pair of big-time throws with no turnover-worthy plays, earning an 88.2 PFF grade on the day.