NFL Network expert names Seattle Seahawks among top-two teams in NFC
Technically speaking, the Seattle Seahawks are tied with four other NFC teams at 4-2 heading into their Monday Night Football matchup with the Houston Texans.
While the win-loss record is ultimately what matters, it's also an imperfect way of measuring just how good a team is. In this case, Seattle is better than that record suggests.
According to the advanced stats, the Seahawks are the second-best 4-2 team in the NFL going back to the 1978 season. Going by DVOA, Seattle is the best team in the league right now.
Anecdotally, some of the smartest analysts in the game see this team as a serious contender. That includes NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah, who was a guest on Seattle Sports radio last week. He sees the Seahawks as one of the two best teams in the conference, the other being Tampa.
“I think those two teams (Seattle and Tampa Bay) are playing the best right now... (They’re) the teams that impress me the most – that when you’re watching them, (they) kind of jump off the screen a little bit... There’s some good options out there. But just in terms of the week-to-week stuff with what I’ve seen, I don’t think I’ve seen better teams (in the NFC) than those two.”
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These two teams just enjoyed a shootout two weeks ago today. The Buccaneers came out on top, 38-35. However, the Seahawks were missing several key pieces on defense - and if not for an unlucky late turnover from Sam Darnold they might have won.
A full list of NFC contenders has to include the Philadelphia Eagles, who started out 4-0 but have since dropped two games in a row and appear far more vulnerable than last season.
The Green Bay Packers are another dangerous team and like the Seahawks are a complete threat on offense, defense and special teams.
The Los Angeles Rams are another contender that Seattle will have to contend with at least twice - and the Seahawks still haven't beaten them when Matt Stafford is in the lineup.
Finally, the Detroit Lions also have to be taken seriously. Even though they lost their whizkid offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to the Chicago Bears, Detroit is one of those 4-2 teams and won't be easy to get past for anybody in the NFC field.
We should learn a lot about the Lions on Monday night when they face the Buccaneers before the Seahawks host the Texans.
Key Bengals Talent Returns to Training Camp Practice Following Injury
The Bengals got a few players back from injury and onto the practice field following a day off Thursday. The team is going through a morning session with Geno Stone returning to practice after missing the opening sessions of the week.
Stone is dealing with a soft-tissue injury he suffered against the Eagles last week. Orlando Brown Jr. also returned to practice after a day off the field Wednesday. Meanwhile, Myles Murphy has now missed consecutive practices after limping off the field two days ago.
The Bengals are very thin at safety as long as Stone is still compromised for game action. Zac Taylor said he likely wouldn't play against the Commanders this Monday, but that was before he put in a fully-padded practice today.
"I think that's a group that we're looking to make sure we're deep enough there," Taylor said of the safety position. "So they're gonna continue to get a lot of opportunities, certainly with Geno being out. I think it's a good chance to really see where they're at in their development. They've got to contribute on special teams. They've got to prove that they can walk in there and help us on defense as well. Those are guys that these next six practices will be really good for."
As for the other notable injuries, Jermaine Burton and Mike Gesicki are still working back from their ailments and were on the rehab field Friday.
