Raphael Stevens

When a team is winning, it is all smiles and agreement in the clubhouse. But when a team loses a lot, the camaraderie gets fractured.The Dallas Cowboys have lost five games, and fingers are pointing in all directions.On Sunday, the Cowboys lost to the Washington Football Team, hardly a worldbeater, by the dispiriting score of 25-3. Dallas (2-5) also lost its quarterback, Andy Dalton, to a concussion after a hit in the third quarter. Dalton had been a replacement for Dak Prescott, who was knocked out for the season earlier this month with a fractured and dislocated ankle.Coach Mike McCarthy took issue with his team’s nonreaction after Dalton received what many saw as a dirty shoulder-to-helmet hit from Washington linebacker Jon Bostic. While several players went to see if Dalton was OK, none confronted Bostic, who was subsequently ejected for the illegal hit. “We speak all the time about playing for one another, protecting one another,” McCarthy said, according to The Athletic. “It definitely was not the response you would expect.”Cowboys players were also looking for answers after the game.“We need more belief and more high spirits around this team,” DeMarcus Lawrence, a defensive end, told USA Today. “And really, more fight. That’s really, I feel like, one of our weaknesses. We need to build a stronger backbone, fight and also make sure that we brought everything possible to come out with a victory.”Lawrence’s remarks followed reports of dissension among the team in the week leading up to Sunday’s game. Players quoted anonymously by the NFL Network were sharply critical of the coaching staff, calling into question their preparation and capability to adjust.Those reported remarks gained enough traction that the players and staff took pains to disavow them in the days leading up to the game against Washington. “I don’t deal with all of that anonymous stuff,” linebacker Jaylon Smith told reporters. “If you got something to say, just put your name on it. All of that anonymous stuff is really trash to me.”Standing up for teammates and having “backbone” is all well and good, but a bigger reason the Cowboys are struggling is no doubt having lost the star quarterback Prescott, who threw for 450 or more yards in each of the three games before the one in which he was injured. The team’s offense took another steep downturn with the loss of Dalton this week, turning to Ben DiNucci, a rookie out of James Madison, to complete the game.Also contributing to the subpar season so far: a team defense that rates dead last in the league and a star running back, Ezekiel Elliott, who is averaging career lows at 4.1 yards per rush and 6.4 yards per catch.The low points of Sunday’s game were numerous. The Cowboys gave up a safety, an always embarrassing play somehow made even more embarrassing because it was the first score of the game for either team. In the end, Dallas managed just 3 points for the day, only the second time since 2004 it has been held to such a low total.The Cowboys trailed in yards, 397-142, and first downs, 21-12. They were 3 for 12 on third-down conversions and 0 for 1 on fourth down, when they mysteriously called a passing play on fourth-and-1. Dalton was pressured and threw it incomplete by a considerable distance.Dalton suffered much of the game from mediocre pass protection, a problem for Prescott before he was injured, too.As for DiNucci, it’s hard to read much into his 2 of 3 for 39 passing yards cameo. Dalton is for now listed as questionable for Week 8 with a concussion. The next quarterback on the depth chart beyond DiNucci is Garrett Gilbert, who has played for the Patriots, Rams, Panthers and Browns, throwing a total of six passes.A potential flash point in the misbegotten season is McCarthy, the former Green Bay head coach who many Packers fans still blame for Aaron Rodgers having won just one Super Bowl. Dallas hired him to coach over candidates that included Eric Bieniemy, the offensive coordinator of the Chiefs, who is often cited as a top candidate for a head coaching job. The decision to go with McCarthy was criticized at the time it was made, and the second-guessing is likely to increase.But Dallas fans find themselves in a strange situation when it comes to the head coach as scapegoat. For years, anything that went wrong was blamed on Jason Garrett, now the Giants offensive coordinator, and fans celebrated his dismissal. Now they might need to acknowledge that the team’s problems are deeper.Even at 2-5 the Cowboys still can win the woeful N.F.C. East. Indeed, they are only half a game behind the Eagles in a division which after seven weeks has produced just two wins against teams not in the N.F.C. East.But to do so, the Cowboys will have to find a reasonable answer at quarterback, improve in a number of other areas, and at least mute the internal dissension. It remains to be seen if they can pull off that combination. More

Bill Belichick blamed “offense, defense, special teams, running, passing, defending the run, defending the pass, ball security, tackling, blocking.” More

Arizona shocked Seattle in overtime, Baker Mayfield caught fire after a rough start and the Steelers held on to beat the Titans. More

After the ball hooked right of the upright, the Pittsburgh Steelers jumped and danced and cavorted along their sideline. As it fluttered wide, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s jaw fell. He appeared to mutter, “He missed it,” to no one in particular, before turning, smiling, to his teammates.The Steelers retreated to their locker room at Nissan Stadium in Nashville on Sunday as the only unbeaten team in a rugged A.F.C., but at some point over the next 15 minutes or so, after the initial delight of a 27-24 victory, their moods changed. It was as if they had muddled through a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day instead of their opponents, the Tennessee Titans (5-1); as if they were the ones who had lost when a field-goal attempt in the waning seconds soared untrue.“I don’t take it for granted, but there’s a way that we like to play,” Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward said. “There’s a lot of meat on that bone.”“No one’s really satisfied after today,” outside linebacker T.J. Watt said.“There’s a lot for us to be urgent about,” Coach Mike Tomlin said. “We won’t spend a lot of time celebrating this or appreciating this, because of our work that lies ahead.”The Steelers, who led by 24-7 at halftime, dominated the first half Sunday. They scored on their first four drives. They converted their first seven third-down attempts. They silenced running back Derrick Henry and muffled quarterback Ryan Tannehill, and held the Titans, the A.F.C. team with the highest scoring average, to a single touchdown.The Steelers (6-0) flailed in the second half Sunday. Their offense consisted of a measly field goal. They allowed a 73-yard touchdown. Roethlisberger threw two interceptions. The second, by Amani Hooker in the end zone, gave Tennessee, trailing by 3 points, the ball with 2 minutes 35 seconds remaining.In four of the Titans’ five wins, Tannehill had led them on game-winning drives or in a fourth-quarter comeback, and as he dissected Pittsburgh — 7 yards to Corey Davis on third-and-2, 21 to A.J. Brown on third-and-12 — it seemed altogether possible, if not likely, that he would do so again. The Titans, after having a first-and-10 at the Pittsburgh 25, moved backward on their next three plays — but, apparently, not far enough.Tennessee kicker Stephen Gostkowski is more accurate from far distances. He had made all five field-goal attempts of at least 50 yards this season. But he had missed five of 10 from 49 yards or closer, including two last week against Houston and three in the Titans’ season opener at Denver. The attempt on Sunday, with 19 seconds remaining, was from 45 yards, and the result was predictable.The loss does not remove the sheen from the Titans’ strong start, nor does it dismiss their standing within a demanding A.F.C., where Baltimore, Kansas City and Buffalo also lurk.Over the coming weeks and months, that knot of competitive teams will no doubt untangle, but whether Tennessee contends for the conference’s top seed — and the only first-round bye in the playoffs — and not just an A.F.C. South title depends in part on whether its defense can solve its third-down troubles. The Titans entered the game as the worst third-down defense in the league, allowing conversions on 57.8 percent of chances, yet somehow fared worse Sunday: Pittsburgh was 13 of 18.“We’re not starting fast enough on defense,” Titans safety Kevin Byard said. “It’s kind of like we’re expecting the offense to always dig us out of a hole.”In that sense, the Steelers are the more complete team, with pass-rushing book ends, a stout secondary and an offense that saw 10 players — including Diontae Johnson, who caught nine passes for 80 yards and two touchdowns — touch the ball. That they won despite a minus-3 turnover margin seemed to vex Tomlin, but seven weeks into the season, no other team in the conference had weathered challenges — injuries and attrition and adhering to coronavirus protocols and, on Sunday, a formidable comeback from a formidable team — better than it had.After it was over Sunday, after improving to 6-0 for the first time since 1978, the Steelers, who play at Baltimore next week, received not a shimmering trophy or commemorative apparel or a Gatorade bath, but rather a reward that’s less tangible. They briefly savored the satisfaction that accompanied an accomplishment that would mean far, far more in January or February. More

The N.F.L. has fined the Tennessee Titans $350,000 for their handling of the largest outbreak of coronavirus infections this season that forced the league to reschedule a dizzying array of games.The league, though, did not suspend anyone associated with the Titans, including their coach and general manager, or players who were seen on video participating in an ad hoc practice away from the team’s facility. The fine was imposed for failing to communicate workout protocols and not wearing masks in facilities.Commissioner Roger Goodell said two weeks ago that the team, who at 5-0 are among the league’s most exciting on the field, was cooperating with the league’s investigation. He had signaled that no Titans would be held accountable for the outbreak. “This is not about discipline — this is about keeping our personnel safe,” Goodell said on Oct. 13.The league also stopped far short of issuing much stiffer penalties, including the loss of draft picks and the forfeiting of games.The penalties, which were first reported by NFL.com on Sunday, stem from reports that Titans players continued informal practices away from the team’s facility even after the outbreak — 23 players and team personnel are known to have tested positive for the virus since Sept. 24 — led the league to prohibit the team from holding in-person activities.An investigation by the N.F.L. and the N.F.L. Players Association investigated players who held an off-site workout on Sept. 30, a day after the Titans and the Vikings — their opponent the weekend before — were told to have no in-person activities.The league and union also looked at how the virus entered the Titans’ facility and how it spread. The league’s chief medical officer declined to disclose what they had learned.The league may now be forced to turn its attention to the Las Vegas Raiders, who have had several players test positive for the virus. This week, several members of the offensive line were sent home because they had been in close contact with a teammate, Trent Brown, who has tested positive and, NFL.com reported, has not worn a tracking device consistently to allow the league to do contact tracing. He and his teammates were also reportedly not wearing masks while in close contact with one another.Four players came off the league’s Covid-19 reserve list and were cleared to play after they tested negative for the virus. The Raiders play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Las Vegas on Sunday afternoon.Still, the fine, the largest for a violation of the protocols, came as the league tries to keep its season on track amid a spike in infections that has spread to at least four teams. The decision to penalize the Titans came three weeks after the league announced stronger measures designed to lower the risk of infections, including using video surveillance cameras in team facilities to monitor compliance with protocols that include the wearing of masks.The league also said that teams not in compliance with its rules could be fined, lose draft picks and even forfeit games if their actions affected other teams.The outbreak on the Titans had already led to the postponement by three weeks of their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, which was originally planned for Oct. 4.With the number of cases on the team continuing to grow, and the team unable to meet in person to practice for nearly two weeks, the league postponed the Titans matchup against the Buffalo Bills, moving it from a Sunday to a Tuesday.The penalties and postponement are not the only scheduling problems the league has been forced to tackle. The league postponed by a day, to Monday, the Week 4 New England-Kansas City game after it was revealed that Cam Newton, the Patriots’ star quarterback, and a Chiefs practice squad quarterback had tested positive for the virus on Oct. 3. On Wednesday, Stephon Gilmore, another Patriots star, tested positive as well, calling into question the league’s decision to allow the teams to play.The league has not yet taken the step of adding an 18th week to the season to accommodate postponed games. Nor is there any serious consideration yet of shortening the season. Instead, the league will continue to rely on juggling the existing schedule, including rescheduling games by a day or two, to a Monday or a Tuesday, for example.The league has also fined coaches hundreds of thousands of dollars for failing to wear their face masks properly during games. The Las Vegas Raiders were also fined $50,000 last week for allowing an unauthorized person in their locker room, potentially exposing members of the team. Ten Raiders were fined as much as $30,000 this week for attending a crowded, indoor charity event and not wearing masks while there, violating local health guidelines.Normally, the competition committee, which includes current coaches, would debate whether teams ought to be penalized for their actions. But because those coaches might have an incentive to come down hard on a rival team, the league created a committee of ex-coaches, general managers and retired players, including former Giants Coach Tom Coughlin and former Colts General Manager Bill Polian, to make recommendations to the commissioner.The commissioner, though, has ultimate authority over penalties.In the league’s century-long history, games have been canceled, postponed or moved because of severe weather or other instances, including when the roof of the Metrodome collapsed. Only one game appears to have been forfeited, though the records are incomplete.In 1921 — the league’s second year — the visiting Rochester Jeffersons refused to take the field against the Washington Senators because of the poor condition of the field. In those days, if there was a dispute over whether the field was unplayable, the manager of the home team would decide whether to cancel the game. The Jeffersons’ manager did not want to risk injuring his players and wanted the game canceled. But with fans already in their seats, the Senators’ manager wanted to play, so the referee ruled that the Jeffersons had forfeited the game, according to a newspaper article at the time.The forfeited game does not appear in any record books, however. Final standings were not published at the time and only reconstructed years later, and often imperfectly. Only teams that played a minimum of six games against other league members were included in those reconstructed standings, and the Washington club failed to meet that threshold that year, according to Bob Carroll, who wrote about the game for the journal, The Coffin Corner. More

Antonio Brown, the former All-Pro wide receiver who is finishing an eight-game suspension after pleading no contest to burglary and battery charges and receiving two years’ probation, will visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, his first step toward a return to the N.F.L.Brown, who has not played since Week 2 of last season, still faces a league investigation into accusations in a lawsuit that he sexually assaulted his former trainer in 2017 and 2018. Brown has denied the allegations.If Brown, 32, passes a physical and signs with the Buccaneers, he will then need to take a coronavirus test and go through an entry program that involves other precautions against the virus. He would be eligible to play on Nov. 8, when Tampa Bay faces the New Orleans Saints in Week 9.Brown’s re-emergence before the end of his suspension speaks to how teams in need of players tend to look past their off-field behavior, including accusations of domestic abuse, sexual assault and harassment. The league remains under scrutiny for how it has handled such cases in recent years.Brown’s troubles extend further. After sparring with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team that drafted him and saw him emerge as a star, he was traded to the Raiders for two draft picks in March 2019. Oakland released him that September, after a tumultuous training camp that included fights with his employers and a protracted dispute over the type of helmet he could wear.The New England Patriots picked him up, but after Brown lashed out against another woman who, in a Sports Illustrated article, accused him of a separate incident of sexual misconduct, the Patriots let him go. Brown competed in one game with the Patriots, scoring a touchdown.The quarterback who threw that pass — Tom Brady — is now with the Buccaneers and has reportedly urged the team to sign Brown.Over the past two years, Brown has tried to defend himself on social media, and since being released in 2019, he has said at least twice that he plans to retire from football. Brown also lashed out at the Patriots, after they reportedly reduced his signing bonus.The N.F.L. said that any further violations by Brown of the league’s personal conduct policy “will likely result in more significant discipline.” Brown did not appeal his suspension, which was issued in July, and he hinted that he wanted to get back to football.“I look forward to new beginnings,” he wrote in an Instagram post. “I appreciate the N.F.L. giving me the opportunity to work on myself and improve.”Brown was once considered one of the league’s most prolific and popular players — known for his penalty-inducing touchdown celebrations and a season on the reality TV show “Dancing With the Stars” — but his career has been in a tailspin since his disputes with the Steelers in 2018.Still, his talents as a receiver are well known. Brown worked out with Brady this summer and also with Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson in separate practices. He also worked out with Lamar Jackson, the star quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens, who publicly lobbied for the team to sign the receiver.Buccaneers Coach Bruce Arians, who was the offensive coordinator for the Steelers while Brown was there, said in March that Brown was “not a fit” for his team.But two of the Buccaneers’ wide receivers — Mike Evans and Chris Godwin — have been battling injuries. More