NFL Player News

Brissett completed 18 of 34 passes for 165 yards in Monday night's 34-7 loss to the Saints.

Brissett endured a lackluster showing, not leading the Colts to any points until their final offensive drive of the game. The signal-caller's 4.9 yards per attempt marked a season low, and Brissett has now thrown for under 175 yards in three of his last five outings. He's also managed just four passing touchdowns versus three interceptions over that span, and although top wideout T.Y. Hilton was missing most of that time, Brissett's stock has taken a hit ahead of Week 16's matchup against the Panthers.

Coach Jason Garrett said Monday that Prescott is playing through "a little injury to his (right) index finger," Todd Archer of ESPN.com reports.

During the Fox broadcast of Sunday's 44-21 smackdown of the Rams, analyst Troy Aikman said Prescott had a "hairline fracture on the top of" the finger in question. Aikman was referencing one of the injuries (also a sprained left hand) he sustained in a Week 14 loss at Chicago. According to Archer and Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News, Prescott does not have a fracture. Instead, Prescott's right index finger was smashed against the Bears, and there's a lot of residual bleeding under the skin on the top of that finger. He had the tip of it taped this past Sunday, completing 15 of 23 passes for 212 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions while incurring no sacks. The 23 attempts marked a season low as the backfield duo of Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard compiled 36 combined carries, with Prescott adding seven himself.

Allen will likely be replaced by rookie Will Grier at quarterback for Sunday's game at Indianapolis, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Allen kicked off his starting tenure this season with a 5-1 record but has since lost six consecutive contests. During that latter stretch, he's averaged 289.3 yards per game and completed 63 percent of his passes but racked up an 8:11 TD:INT. With the Panthers out of the playoff picture, interim coach Perry Fewell will look to see what Grier, a 2019 third-round pick, can offer, relegating Allen to a reserve role.

Grier is expected to get his first NFL start Sunday at Indianapolis, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

He'll take over for a struggling Kyle Allen, who has quarterbacked the Panthers during their current six-game losing streak. According to Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic, Grier has yet to receive first-team reps in practice, so the 2019 third-round pick will be leading the offense for the first time when Carolina takes the practice field Wednesday.

Coach Pat Shurmur stated Monday that the Giants will proceed with the expectation that Jones (ankle) will be ready to start Week 16 in Washington, but a decision on the rookie's status will be made based on how he progresses as the week rolls along, Ralph Vacchiano of SportsNet New York reports. "We'll just have to see. We'll just push him along like we did last week. We started [last] week with the idea he might be ready to play. We'll do the same this week," Shurmur said.

In other words, the Giants aren't viewing Jones as a shutdown candidate, even with the team sitting at 3-11 and having little to gain by rushing the rookie first-round pick back into action. Jones never advanced beyond limited participation in practice last week before being ruled out two days ahead of Sunday's win over the Dolphins, so he'll probably need to put in a full workout or two during the current week for the Giants to sign off on his availability. Per Art Stapleton of The Bergen Record, Shurmur said Monday that it would be "overthinking it a little bit" for the Giants to give the third option on the depth chart, Alex Tanney, work under center for either of the final two games, so Eli Manning would be in position for a third straight start if Jones fails to gain clearance this week.

Interim coach Perry Fewell said that he's evaluating the Panthers' quarterback position and will announce Wednesday whether Grier or incumbent Kyle Allen draws the Week 16 start in Indianapolis, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports.

Grier, a 2019 third-round pick, has yet to make his NFL debut after opening his rookie campaign third on the depth chart before moving up to the No. 2 spot Week 3, when Cam Newton went down with what ultimately was a season-ending foot injury. Allen guided the offense effectively in the Panthers' first handful of games sans Newton, but the second-year signal-caller has been a turnover machine of late, tossing 15 interceptions -- including three in the Week 15 loss to the Seahawks -- and fumbling seven times (losing three) over the past eight contests. The 5-9 Panthers don't have much at stake over the final two contests, so it makes sense for the organization to give Grier a look and see if he can be a potential long-term answer behind center.

Interim coach Perry Newell said he's evaluating the quarterback position and will announce Wednesday whether Allen or Will Grier draws the start under center Week 16 versus the Colts, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reports.

In the aftermath of Allen's other rocky outings this season, Fewell or former coach Ron Rivera have always reaffirmed their faith in the second-year signal-caller by labeling him as the Panthers' starter early in the week. The decision to evaluate the position represents a departure from the norm and may signal the end of Allen's 12-game run atop the depth chart. After posting a 7:0 TD:INT through his first four outings, Allen has been in a tailspin ever since, completing only 60.7 percent of his attempts while tossing 10 touchdowns against 15 picks and losing three fumbles. With the playoffs now out of reach, the 5-9 Panthers may be incentivized to see what Grier -- a rookie third-round pick -- can do over the final two games of the season.

Allen completed 13 of 25 pass attempts for 139 yards, a touchdown and an interception while adding 28 yards and a rushing touchdown on seven carries in Sunday's 17-10 win over Pittsburgh.

It was a classic Allen game from start to finish as he flashed inaccuracies while also making plays when it mattered with both his arm and legs to lead the team to another win. From a fantasy perspective, the strong-armed quarterback doesn't put up gaudy enough passing numbers to warrant "must-start" status, and he usually needs to make some noise with his legs -- as he did with a rushing touchdown Sunday -- to post a big line. Allen may struggle to post a big fantasy game against the tough Patriots defense next week in a Saturday matchup.

Cousins completed 19 of 25 pass attempts for 207 yards, one touchdown, and one interception Sunday against the Chargers, adding 14 rushing yards in the 39-10 victory.

Cousins completed 76 percent of his passes while his team's defense and rushing attack allowed him to take a risk-averse approach. He averaged 8.3 yards per attempt and threw a one-yard touchdown pass to Irv Smith on the opening possession, but the lopsided nature of the game limited the necessity to pass. Next Monday's game against the Packers should be much more competitive, and with Dalvin Cook (shoulder) potentially sidelined, Cousins could be asked to throw early and often.

Prescott completed 15 of 23 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday's 44-21 win over the Rams. He also gained 12 rushing yards on seven carries.

The Cowboys relied on their running game to pound the Rams into submission, but Prescott was deadly when called upon, hitting Jason Witten for a 19-yard TD to open the scoring late in the first quarter and then finding a wide-open Tavon Austin in the second quarter for a 59-yard score. Prescott has fallen behind Jameis Winston in the race for the league's passing-yards crown, but he has bigger fish to fry next Sunday in Philadelphia, as a win would lock up the NFC East title for Dallas.