NFL Player News
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Dorian Thompson-Robinson QB | PHI
Browns' Dorian Thompson-Robinson: Helps Cleveland to victory
Thompson-Robinson completed 24 of 43 passes for 165 yards, no touchdowns and one interception in Sunday's 13-10 win over the Steelers. He added three rushes for 20 yards.
Thompson-Robinson drew his second career start and worked nearly exclusively in short areas of the field. He mostly avoided turnovers and significant mistakes and instead executed Cleveland's game plan of engaging in a struggle based on defense and field position. His stat line was ugly, but Thompson-Robinson picked the right time to connect for significant gains as he completed passes of 15 and 11 yards to set up the game-winning field goal with only five seconds remaining in the contest. The Browns will rely upon their dominant defense moving forward, though Thompson-Robinson should remain the starter so long as he proves capable of avoiding mistakes.
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Matthew Stafford QB | LAR
Rams' Matthew Stafford: Earns win despite mediocre stats
Stafford (thumb) completed 17 of 31 pass attempts for 190 yards, a touchdown and an interception in Sunday's 17-16 win over the Seahawks.
Stafford returned from a one-game absence after using the Rams' recent bye week to recover from a thumb strain on his throwing hand. The veteran signal-caller was slow to get up after taking a hit in the third quarter, but he did not miss any time and was able to finish out the narrow victory. Stafford's top target, Cooper Kupp, wasn't as fortunate when he left Sunday's win in the first half without returning. Kupp's status is currently unknown for next Sunday's tilt against Arizona, but it sounds like Stafford should be a go despite paying a physical price to beat Seattle on Sunday.
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Joe Flacco QB | CIN
Joe Flacco: Joining Cleveland's practice squad
Flacco plans to sign with the Browns' practice squad Monday, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports.
Flacco worked out with Cleveland on Friday and will join the team's practice squad a day later. While he won't immediately join the active roster, he'll provide a veteran presence at the quarterback position after Deshaun Watson (shoulder) sustained a season-ending injury. Dorian Thompson-Robinson picked up the win during Sunday's game against the Steelers, and PJ Walker showed some promise as an interim starter earlier this season, so the Browns don't have an urgent need to elevate Flacco to the active roster.
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Geno Smith QB | NYJ
Seahawks' Geno Smith: Dealing with elbow bruise
Head coach Pete Carroll announced that Smith is dealing with a bruised elbow sustained in Sunday's narrow loss to the Rams, putting his status for Thursday's contest against the 49ers in jeopardy, according to Seahawks senior reporter John Boyle.
Smith injured his elbow late in Sunday's contest, but he re-entered the game after backup Drew Lock threw an interception in his stead. The veteran starter made a valiant effort to get his team into field-goal range before kicker Jason Myers missed the attempt from 55 yards out. Smith finished the game completing 22 of 34 pass attempts for 233 yards and a touchdown. It sounds like Smith avoided a major injury to his throwing elbow, but his status is still uncertain for Week 11 with the Seahawks scheduled to face the 49ers on Thursday Night Football. If Smith isn't deemed ready following Seattle's upcoming short week of practice, then Lock would get the starting nod against San Francisco's revamped pass rush Thursday.
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Jared Goff QB | DET
Lions' Jared Goff: Overcomes three INTs in Week 11 win
Goff completed 23 of 35 passes for 236 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions in Sunday's 31-26 win over the Bears. He added three yards on two rushing attempts.
Goff was picked off on Detroit's first two drives, but the Lions got into the end zone on their next two possessions, the latter of which was capped with a seven-yard Goff touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown to put Detroit ahead 14-10. After throwing a third interception in the third quarter, Goff helped the Lions score the final 17 points of the fourth to pull out the win and improve to 8-2. Goff will look to clean up the turnovers at home against the Packers on Thanksgiving.
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Zach Wilson QB | NO
Jets' Zach Wilson: Benched Sunday, Week 12 starter TBD
Head coach Robert Saleh said after Sunday's 32-6 loss to the Bills that he's undecided on whether Wilson will start Friday in the Jets' Week 12 game against the Dolphins, according to Fox Sports. Wilson was benched in the second half of Sunday's game after completing seven of 15 passes for 81 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He also rushed four times for 15 yards.
Wilson was replaced by Tim Boyle, who completed seven of 14 passes for 33 yards and one interception in relief. The Jets have lost three consecutive games following a three-game winning streak to fall to 4-6. Boyle's poor play after replacing Wilson may have opened the door for Wilson to remain under center at home against Miami in Week 12, though an announcement on an official starter is likely to come within the next few days.
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Geno Smith QB | NYJ
Seahawks' Geno Smith: Returns to game versus Rams
Smith (elbow) returned in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game against the Rams, Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times reports.
Smith exited in the third quarter after taking a hit from Aaron Donald. Drew Lock finished that drive and played two more possessions, the last of which ended in an interception, before Smith returned to the game with 1:31 remaining in the fourth quarter and Seattle trailing 17-16.
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Aidan O'Connell QB | LV
Raiders' Aidan O'Connell: Impressive yardage total in loss
O'Connell completed 24 of 41 passes for 271 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions and rushed once for three yards in the Raiders' 20-13 loss to the Dolphins on Sunday. He also rushed once for three yards.
The trio of turnovers are obviously a big blemish, but O'Connell did help keep the Raiders within striking distance despite his mistakes and posted a career-high passing yardage total in the process. The rookie's final pick of the day came at the Dolphins six-yard line on a deep ball intended for Tre Tucker, snuffing out Las Vegas' last chance to tie. Despite the stumbles, O'Connell is gaining valuable experience and making progress, but he faces a particularly difficult matchup against the Chiefs' stingy secondary in Week 12.
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Nick Mullens QB | JAC
Vikings' Nick Mullens: Back in action Sunday
Mullens (back) is listed as active Sunday in Denver.
Mullens spent the past five games on injured reserve, a span in which the Vikings' quarterback room experienced significant turnover. Kirk Cousins suffered a season-ending torn Achilles in Week 8, Jaren Hall started for him Week 9 and suffered a concussion almost immediately, and recent addition Joshua Dobbs stepped in and led an improbable win against the Falcons. Dobbs is starting a second straight contest Sunday, but Mullens will return as his backup with Hall still in the protocol for head injuries.
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Geno Smith QB | NYJ
Seahawks' Geno Smith: Leaves Sunday's game early
Smith departed Sunday's game at the Rams due to an elbow injury.
On the second-to-last play of the third quarter, Smith left the field after taking a big hit from Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald. Smith went directly to the sideline tent, yielding the Seahawks offense to backup quarterback Drew Lock. At the time of his departure, Smith had completed 19 of 29 passes for 197 yards and one touchdown and also rushed one time for minus-1 yard.