Bend over, everyone. It’s Monday afternoon. Time for your weekly sedative. Time to forget your lying eyes. Simply type the promo code, “WTF,” right here on the keypad and we’ll insert the tranquilizer into your right buttock. Hey, the Packers and Panthers play on Thursday night. Isn’t that great? Our friends at DraftKings have quite a special to offer: a Josh Jacobs any-time-TD, Jordan Love 300+ yards and Tucker Kraft six-reception parlay will make you rich. Simply enter your credit-card information here inside the app.

Oh, the officiating yesterday? It’s perfectly fine.

That’s it. Perfect. Doze off.

Let the xylazine work its magic.

Pat McAfee’s voice plays on a TV overhead.

Four more gambling ads loop as you lose consciousness.

Three days later, you refuse to watch anything else on a perfectly fine Thursday night — forever the ace up the NFL’s sleeve. Shaboozey takes the mic on Amazon Prime’s TNF to sing “Let ‘Em Know,” the Packers beat Carolina, Ryan Fitzpatrick rips his shirt off in a postgame interview and you completely forget how pissed you were five days prior.

This is the basic NFL life cycle. The league’s a machine that relies on its patrons redirecting to the next next shiny object. Nothing compels true change to the infrastructure of officiating. Tom Brady — an NFL owner, a 7-time champ, arguably the greatest player ever — openly trashed the officiating on “America’s Game of the Week” and nothing will happen. His words are akin to a used flossing stick on the sidewalk in front of 345 Park Avenue.

Accountability? Admission of guilt? Ha!

There are no press conferences for officials. Only sorry pool reports like this one.

Devonte Wyatt tackled Amon-Ra St. Brown because he did not hear a whistle.

The head official admits he also didn’t hear a whistle, but declares “the play was over” and that Wyatt was penalized for additional contact. If officials — at any point — raised their hands and admitted they screwed up, perhaps the general public would offer some grace. But it never happens. Pool reports read like third-graders pleading their case to the elementary school principal.

By no means is this a blame-the-refs column. The Packers did a bang-up job losing to the Detroit Lions, 20-17, on their own volition. It’s incumbent upon teams to rise above human error and make plays. That’s pro sports. Trey Smack missed kicks from 26 and 35 yards. Twenty-six! Bo Melton (potential 45-yard reception), Matthew Golden (25 yards) and Josh Jacobs (17-yard TD with 3:34 left) all had critical drops. Matt LaFleur refused to go for it from the Lions’ 3-yard line on his first drive. The Packers’ NFL-worst rushing attack averaged 3.2 yards per carry. St. Brown (153 yards) did whatever he pleased. Love is still pressured too much.

Dan Campbell went for it on fourth and 1 from his own 24, failed and Green Bay came away with zero points.

Packers players must transition to TNF quickly.

But for once, it’d sure be swell if the NFL did a little soul searching of its own. I cannot recall officiating being this heinous in my lifetime. Of course, this is where commissioner Roger Goodell would blame technology and the advancements of instant replay for showing the public angles and zoom-ins their forefathers never experienced. But, no. It’s never been worse. Packers-Lions was simply one of many games bastardized by bureaucracy. Week 7 started with a Bears-Patriots game that had zero flow. The NFL is conditioning viewers to expect flags every other play.

Owners, league execs, players, fans, everyone but refs wearing shmedium attire should agree this product is at its best when officials stay out of the way. More than ever, referees are itching to insert themselves into the action.

Let’s use a simple analogy. As a society, our species agreed long ago that it’s OK to drive 70 MPH in a 65 MPH zone. Best place to start fixing this officiating problem? Full-timers who use common sense instead conducting themselves as overzealous mall cops. The sport is unlike any in the world. Twenty-two athletes smash into each other at funky angles for three hours. What makes this so maddening is that officials do typically swallow their whistles in the playoffs — so why wait until January? Do officials have a quota of tickets to reach?

The best crews are the ones who barely make themselves known, the ones who only reach for the flag when a driver’s going 85 on the highway and/or swerving out of control. An obvious line is been crossed.

Sunday’s events at Ford Field, in Fox’s prime 4:25 p.m. slot, alerted everyone to this league-wide epidemic. Safety Xavier McKinney was correct to calmly describe it all as “bullshit.”

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Love was penalized for intentional grounding when Kraft was obviously within range.

Karl Brooks and Brenton Cox Jr. both received roughing the passer penalties that defy gravity. If these hits sincerely warrant 15-yard infractions, it’s time for Goodell to make referees visit all 32 teams in training camp to prop up Mathias Kiwanuka’s infamous play vs. Tennessee in 2006 on the projector as the official teaching tape. You remember the Giants defensive end wrapping up Vince Young on fourth and 10, only to completely let him go. Apparently, this was Brooks’ only option: Give up.

Wyatt’s unnecessary roughness in the third quarter was a Key and Peele sketch brought to life. St. Brown didn’t hear a whistle, head official Alex Moore didn’t hear a whistle, Wyatt didn’t hear a whistle. If you’re Wyatt and you don’t tackle St. Brown — you let him race for a touchdown — congratulations. You are synonymous with this play forever.

Again, the message to a Packers defender is simple: Give up.

Instead of forcing a third and 7, the Lions were gifted a first down and scored a go-ahead TD.

Good on Wyatt saying afterward he’d do the same thing “100 times over.”

The defiance of umpire Terry Killens Jr. throwing a flag from his back also hinted at the dramatic ridiculousness of modern officiating.

For those counting at home, the Packers have been flagged for eight roughing the passer penalties this season. Their opponents? None. For reasons unknown, Love doesn’t get the calls of other quarterbacks — all while getting hit more than any QB in the NFL. Amid the confetti of laundry, you’d think one call would go his way.

McKinney knows his words come with a hefty fine. He doesn’t care.

“These are critical drives,” the Packers safety told reporters inside the visiting locker room. “It’s annoying even talking about it because these are critical drives throughout the game and we might have a drive where we’re getting stops but you’re calling penalties. And it’s like, this is not a penalty. To me, it doesn’t really make any sense and it’s killing our momentum. It’s killing our drives and it’s kind of fucking up the games, if I’m being honest.”

The chef’s kiss to this 10-course manure feast was a hysterical double-standard. When the Lions got Green Bay to jump offsides on their final game-winning drive, they danced and pranced and pointed and mocked the Packers. The NFL’s own Twitter/X account celebrated the occasion. Which wouldn’t be noteworthy at all if officials hadn’t flagged Golden one week prior for having the audacity to flex his biceps after a reception.

LaFleur refused to call out the officiating afterward. It would’ve been nice if the Packers head coach ate the fine and went scorched earth, but I don’t blame him. He’s got to get this team ready to play a game on a short week and, as noted, the Packers made plenty of mistakes themselves.

His loyalty to Smack could prove costly. The rookie from Florida has already missed seven kicks in seven games.

This team is far from alone, too.

Cruise through games any given Sunday and you’re inundated with lunacy. In Bengals-Ravens, linebacker Boye Mafe was cut by Ravens running back Derrick Henry and tumbled into a Ravens lineman on his way down. Officials penalized him 15 yards for an illegal block. Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor justifiably blew a gasket. CBS color man J.J. Watt, like Brady, refused to bend the knee. The three-time defensive player of the year ripped the call in real time and refused to relent as rules analyst Gene Steratore (once again) offered a lame justification for the flag.

It’s refreshing to hear announcers get so disgusted but, uh, yeah, let’s not hold our breath for the NFL to prioritize its officiating as a problem.

They’re too busy spamming you with gambling advertisements, sowing doubt into their own product. They’ve got new international territory to explore.

So, welcome all conspiracy theories. Hell, bring on the Saudi money.

Let people lose their minds. Come Monday, Roger will have the tranquilizer in his hand, Shaboozey on the dial and more football to pour down the beer funnel.

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ICYMI:

All NFL head coaches are pissed after losses. But few change character quite like Sean McVay. After his Los Angeles Rams lost to the lowly Arizona Cardinals, the 40-year-old adjusted the microphone, threw up one hand and wasted no time getting to his thesis.

“We won’t win a game unless we figure out how not to beat ourselves,” McVay said. “So many unforced errors. So many things that are not in alignment with what we want to do, specifically on the offensive side of the ball.”

If this was the sole reason his team lost, honestly, McVay could sleep easier. That’d be easier to digest. That’d make more sense given their offseason coronation. Talent would prove inevitable and overwhelm.

Sadly for McVay, this 18-16 defeat was more than a self-inflicted wound.

These 13.5-point favorites were thoroughly outplayed and outcoached by one of the worst teams in the NFL. No storyline in Week 6 of the NFL is more stunning than what occurred at SoFi Stadium.

A team universally crowned following a slew of splash moves is now fighting for its life at 2-4.

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The Marvin Harrison Jr. era is over in Arizona.

Starting this weekend, he’ll try to revive his career in Houston.

After some funky real-time reporting, he was shipped off to the Texans for a second-round pick — a steep price for a player who’s struggled to catch on in the pros.

In our two-parter over the summer, “The Kyler Murray Project,” we reported on the real concern scouts had in the Ohio State prospect. Subscribers can read Part I in full here.

Figured it was worth extracting the Harrison stuff here in a separate post for those wondering what went wrong. It is pasted below.

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From our August series…

Ascending homegrown players that Arizona Cardinals GM Monte Ossenfort inherited slipped away — Zach Allen to Denver, Byron Murphy to Minnesota — and his drafts have been hideous. In 2023, Ossenfort traded out of the No. 3 overall slot that netted the Houston Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr., a move praised to the high heavens by talking heads at the time. This offseason, Anderson, the “Terminator,” signed the richest non-QB contract in NFL history. Suggest to one Cardinals coach on staff that his front office passed on one of the best defensive players in the sport and he chuckles. (“We heard otherwise before the draft. This could go on and on and on.”)

As Anderson makes opposing offensive tackles piss themselves, the collection of players Arizona acquired in the deal haven’t done anything of note.

Somehow, it got worse in 2024 when Ossenfort chose Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. at No. 4 overall over LSU’s Malik Nabers.

The move was supposed to unlock greatness in Kyler Murray. Instead, it drove one final nail in his Cardinals coffin.

Even worse? It was all predictable, all avoidable. In NFL circles — one wide receivers coach explains — Nabers was widely deemed the superior prospect. “You talk to 99 percent of the league,” says this coach, “everyone knew that Nabers was a Hall of Fame player.” The variable was his supposed baggage. Nabers was obviously the more volatile personality. Harrison was the safer choice and Arizona opted for safe. (Our Wide Receiver Matrix debate most certainly applies here.)

“We knew coming out that Harrison doesn’t have that dog,” this coach explains. “He doesn’t have that fire.”

One Midwest scout whose livelihood is making sense of all prospects in Columbus, Ohio, told the team that Harrison struggled with the stress of being the son of Hall of Fame wideout Marvin Harrison Sr. — a major presence in his life.

Even after big games, Dad ripped him. Told him it wasn’t enough.

“His father is a very big influence on him,” the coach continued. “His father would text him and call him like, ‘Hey man, you need to do this, you need to do that,’ while he was at Ohio State. So he feels the pressure. Any time he comes off the field — practice, games — his Dad is always there. So, he’s not a very confident guy.”

Coaches and scouts alike in the other three NFC West draft rooms were thrilled to see Arizona pass on Nabers. San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan watched 10 or so clips of Harrison and said aloud that he thought the Buckeye would be better. Hard to blame him. At that point, the prospect was being compared to Julio Jones and AJ Green as the world’s next can’t-miss wideout. The closer NFL people looked, the more they didn’t understand the hype.

Especially when it was time to turn on the Nabers film.

Goodness.

This wideout was a dog in every sense of the term.

He caught slants in stride and toasted defenders. He dunked on cornerbacks in the end zone.

“It was clearly night and day,” one NFC coach recalls.

Perhaps Arizona didn’t believe it had the veteran infrastructure to take on a big personality. Gambles can backfire. But even this excuse is an indictment of Bidwill because, remember, vets should be dying to play in this market. However you slice it, the Cardinals missed on elite talents in back-to-back drafts.

Any GM petrified of selecting receivers with attitude should probably post their home on Zillow. There’s no guarantee the “safe” pick won’t give you a headache, either. One source labels Harrison one of the hardest players to coach on the entire roster and one of the hardest he’s experienced in his career. “And usually when somebody says that,” an ex-Cardinals coach adds, “it’s like, ‘Oh, that guy’s an asshole. You’ve got to get him going.’ That type of shit.” In Arizona, Harrison was difficult “for all the opposite reasons.” He lacked fire.

Production equals tolerance.

Nabers has already flashed that Canton potential.

One NFC wide receivers coach says he always prefers the WR1s with “some shit to them” like Nabers. He’ll handle baggage. He’ll tell guys to simply make sure they roast Patrick Surtain and Jalen Ramsey when the game’s on the line. “That’s why those guys get 30, 40 million dollars,” he adds. The goal is to land on the Ja’Marr Chase end of this spectrum and avoid Brandon Aiyuk-level disasters. To him, it’s obvious Harrison Jr. lacks the confidence required at this position. The 6-foot-3 wide receiver who refused to run a 40-yard dash at his pro day runs slow and plays small. In 42 percent of his games, he caught two or fewer passes.

This coach points out that the soft-spoken Harrison Jr. doesn’t seem very confident when he speaks. But it’s bigger than that. Some receivers bring a palpable presence to the field. They plant a feeling of play-to-play dread inside a cornerback across the line of scrimmage. Like Nabers. Like Chase.

Others, like Harrison, do not.

“His game’s not very powerful,” this coach says. “He’s a big guy, but he’s not. If you’re ever on the sideline while he’s playing, you don’t feel him out there. You can feel Malik Nabers. You can feel Justin Jefferson. The best players, you can feel the presence. You don’t feel him out there. He’s just kind of out there. You can easily take him out of the gameplan.”

Murray tried to fuel his young receiver with confidence. Pull up Arizona’s gut-wrenching 23-20 loss to the eventual Super Bowl champs in Week 3. Harrison quits on one route that leads to an interception. Later in the game, on a slant, he bobbles the ball right to linebacker Ernest Jones IV for another interception. Murray refuses to ice him out, as if knowing that would be the worst thing for a young player’s mental state. The QB gives Harrison a chance to high-point a touchdown and the two later connect on a crucial third and 5 that helped knot this game up at 20-20.

It took Seattle all of 28 seconds to move into field goal range. Seattle won.

Murray played all of one more game for Arizona.

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Read the two-parter in full here:

Excellent submissions by all.

Let’s get to it.

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Hi Tyler,

The NFL talks about player safety being so important to the NFL. This year seems that there has been a ton of injuries, or maybe bigger names injured. The NFL schedule doesn’t seem to support their claim of player safety. Look at the Packers schedule (sorry it’s the one I know by heart) They play a Thursday night game in September, a Thursday night game in October, a Wednesday night game in November, and a Friday day game in December. Possible Saturday game in January. The only weekday they don’t play is on a Tuesday. The Rams and Packers play on a Wednesday night before Thanksgiving. So the NFL gave both teams their bye week beforehand, but they only get a mini bye. Both teams will practice mid-week during their bye so it’s not a full week. They will get a mini bye after their game but neither team gets a full week off. I understand it’s all about the money but it comes with a big price to their players.

Thank you for your hard work. Appreciate all you do for us.

Steve Livermore
De Pere, Wisc.

You’ve beautifully laid out the league’s hypocrisy. It’s maddening. Why should we take anything the NFL says about “player safety” seriously when the league’s trying to Pac-Man every day of the week and add an 18th regular-season game? Neuroscientist Chris Nowinski, recently pointed out to the ridiculous virtue-signaling of the guardian caps, too. Extra padding around a helmet does not change the reality that a brain is jiggling inside the skull. Chapter 1 of “The League of Denial” sticks with me forever. As the authors write, a woodpecker evolved to allow its head to bang against a tree. Humans were not.

You all know how I feel about football. The good this sport gives you, in my opinion, far outweighs the bad. If our two boys want to lace ‘em up one day, I’ll be ecstatic.

It’d simply be nice if the league — for once! — was transparent. Honest. Sign up to play pro football and, yes, brain damage is a potential consequence. If the 32 owners could agree to live in this reality, it’d serve as a compass toward morally sound decisions… such as a schedule that makes a lick of sense.

Injuries are a guarantee. New rules won’t make much of a difference, no matter how many “football is safe”-themed infomercials spam our screens.

Until blocking and tackling is outlawed, we’ll see players go down every week.

Blocking and tackling will not be outlawed any time soon because — despite the league’s dalliance with flag football — owners know America is drawn toward these car crashes, these modern-day gladiators doing something most only dream of. So, everyone continues to engage in this silly song and dance. We’d all take the NFL a lot more seriously if they eliminated the preseason, quit adding regular-season games and quit trying to own every holiday and every day of the week.

Money rules.

This will move one direction.

Good evening, Tyler. I am really enjoying your analysis and, especially, your conversations each week with Jim Monos and Bob McGinn. Having grown up in Viking country I am fascinated by your discussions about the NFC North, player by player.

Other than the Vikings’ special and apparently unique defense, most of the attention goes to the offensive capabilities of the teams, and of special QBs — Stafford, Mahomes, Allen, etc. With the possible exception of the Chiefs, the defenses of those teams leave a great deal to be desired.

Coaches and others often quote Paul Bear Bryant’s statement that “Offenses sell tickets, but defenses win championships.” Is there reason to believe that the Bills, and Rams, in particular, can be sufficiently competitive defensively to have any chance at the end of the year?

Thanks,

George from Maine

Pleasure to have you, George! Your question is a good one, and a concerning one for the 2026 Buffalo Bills. I don’t think we’ve written about a player more than Josh Allen at Go Long, from our initial skepticism/questions in 2020 to our 1 on 1 this summer.

For my money, he’s the single-most dominant player in the sport.

Yet, even Josh Allen unequivocally needs a defense to reach the Super Bowl.

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Good evening, readers.

Hitting the road bright ‘n early in the AM for our next reporting trip and it just hit me: we are overdue for a good ‘ol fashioned mailbag.

Email any and all questions to golongtd@substack.com or drop ‘em in the comments below. This will be a quicker turnaround. Expect answers live Friday AM.

One month into this NFL season, there is certainly much to digest.

Fire away with anything on your mind. I’ll get to ‘em all.

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ICYMI:

A note for new readers: Jim Monos scouted for the Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints and served as the director of personnel for the Buffalo Bills. Today, he runs personnel for the UFL. He also co-hosts the “Real Football” podcast with me and riffs on all games each week with the Monos Report.

ICYMI, two new pods posted…

Peter King, ‘The Game’ and a life at the eye of the pro football storm

Sicko mode, engaged: On Josh Allen’s fight, Tyler Bass, James Cook & a stammering Bills D in 37-34 OT thriller

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By Jim Monos

Jacksonville 19, Philadelphia 17

Criminal! Field goals and punts are last-resort or game-winning options only. Games are never won or lost by one play but this truly is a game-changing wrong decision by a head coach who is paid to choose directly. I believe in the quote: “Players win games, coaches lose them.” This London fiasco is a perfect example. Parker Washington is a complete player in terms of route running, hands, body control, strength and athleticism.

Houston 26, Tennessee 3

I thought Cam Ward showed signs of life the last half of 2025 season but clearly that was the height of his film. Dominant win for Houston and the Texans season is far from over. CJ Stroud continues to show he is a good starting quarterback. When he gets consistent with decision-making and timing, he will take the Texans to the next level. A running game and that Top 5 defense showing up would help out, too. Titans are depressing. Robert Saleh is a very successful defensive coordinator. Leave it there.

Minnesota 23, New Orleans 13

Best showing for Kyler Murray and a Vikings offense basically building the plane while in the air. Brian Flores and the defense are the talk of the league. Absolutely shut down a Saints offense that has shown the ability to light it up. Not even close. The talent on this Vikings team is evident and if Murray becomes more comfortable and turnover-free this team can contend for a Super Bowl. Saints are not good on defense, look developmental on offense and can still win the NFC South. That’s week-to-week life in the NFL.

New England 45, Las Vegas 17

Patriots defense has been consistently very good each week. They currently rank sixth in points per play giving this team time to get healthy and consistent on offense. Vegas was due for a game like this. No running game against the Patriots is a recipe for disaster. No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza made his debut and, as good as Cousins has played for Vegas, they can go ahead do the right thing and turn this team over to Mendoza. Neither Cousins or Mendoza are good enough to beat the big boys in the AFC so why delay the inevitable. Mendoza time in Sin City.

Pittsburgh 34, Indianapolis 22

Nice to see new names as the stars of the show in Pittsburgh with running back Jaylon Warren and wide receiver Germie Bernard making plays for Aaron Rodgers. Mammoth Darnell Washington is must-watch as a blocker and receiver. Pure bully. Is it time for Anthony Richardson in Indy? Neither Jones or Richardson are the answer so have some fun with Richardson and Taylor in the backfield. Steelers are intriguing to me with their style of offense and are showing up on defense as well.

Green Bay 31, Chicago 7

Quick reminder of what an NFL MVP-level quarterback looks like against a fringe NFL backup. The Packers showed up around a standout performance from Love. Long season in Wisconsin waiting for Josh Jacobs and Micah Parsons but wins like this are like getting a birdie on 18. Your walk to the golf-course bar is just a little more brisk with your head held high. It does not mean you do not have plenty of issues to fix in your game but that birdie makes you excited to play the next time. Time for the Caleb/Ben Johnson show to resume.

New York Giants 27, Washington 27

Players win games, coaches lose them. Or tie them in this case. Unacceptable stuff from Dan Quinn and Jayden Daniels. It is always the head coach’s fault but the quarterback should be aware. Nobody had a clue what to do — just watch the replay. Strange. Daniels is so fun to watch but how accountable and professional he becomes will ultimately decide his future. Giants are tough, but not good enough. I’m ready for McCarthy/Skattebo backfield. The Jameis Show is always fun but seen it so many times.

New York Jets 17, Cleveland 12

This score matches the weather. Ugly northeast, rainy game made for Geno Smith and running back Braelon Allen to use their toughness to get the win. Allen brings 235 pounds of power in the mud, which is a quarterback’s best friend. Deshaun Watson looks fine and competitive enough. A better running game (currently 21^st yards per game) and the Browns offense would be a threat.

Cincinnati 31, Miami 24

Score looks better than this game was actually played. Joe Burrow and this offense are so tough and not even fully clicking yet. Miami hung around and fought for some late scores… that some people gambling found interesting. But in terms of football talent, Miami is along for the ride at this point and evaluating their roster. Cincy gearing up for big things on offense as we progress.

Denver 23, Los Angeles Chargers 17

Shocker: Justin Herbert was a turnover-meltdown machine in the biggest moments of a very winnable game. It is a clunky offense and I’m hard on Herbert but in reality they are not overly talented on offense to overcome average QB play. Herbert needs to actually produce like a Top-10 talent instead of live off his reputation. Denver steals a win. The Broncos offense is not looking like I had envisioned. Not really sure how Bo Nix and company won when you only throw for 123 yards? Answer is Justin Herbert.

San Francisco 32, Seattle 29

Championship-quality game in terms of talent and coaching. Can give you more filler or I can sum this up by saying one name: Mike Evans. Truly an all-time talent. He makes my all-time Top-10 talented receivers to ever play. Jerry Rice is not on that list but that is for the pod. Darnold is so good and so scary. His turnovers show up every game. If Darnold plays turnover-free, they are so tough but the running game has suffered.

Detroit 45, Arizona 21

The Lions needed a get-right game. Enter: good ‘ol Jacoby Brissett and the Cardinals. The Cardinals have some young talent but games like this show you the gap in a new team with a first-year head coach against a veteran group in Detroit. All the Lions toys were on display and shining. Jahmyr Gibbs a rare talent.

Baltimore 30, Atlana 23

Nice for a quality backup quarterback like Snoop Huntley to have a monster running back and an overall rushing attack to help you in your first start this season. Falcons and Michael Penix Jr. are like a high-scoring NBA team. The fastballs are distributed to multiple players and Atlanta is fun to watch, and then Penix gets injured. Same old story. Tua Tagovailoa does his thing delivering an interception to seal the Baltimore victory. Any win with a backup is huge and Baltimore is primed for their championship run.

Buffalo 37, Los Angeles Rams 34

Best for last. Allen vs. Stafford felt like watching LeBron James vs Kevin Durant. Unstoppable. No defense for Matthew Stafford and two all-time route-runners in Davante Adams and Puka Nacua. Absolute mismatch with Buffalo secondary. And the Rams had no answer for Allen running over (and away) from everyone. Both quarterbacks are special. Sign me up for this Super Bowl. Love how Joe Brady kept giving James Cook the ball through the fumbles. Those punchouts are real. Cook has had this issue for two seasons now but his talent and production allow for some tolerance. Players win games, coaches lose them.

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What a scene it’ll be Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field. This edition of Packers-Bears promises to be an emotional one with the death of NFL legend Mike Ditka.

Ditka created a position and defined the sport itself. This was an unforgettable conversation with “Iron Mike.” A legend in every sense.

As kickoff nears, I figured I’d share a few radio appearances from the week below.

In light of our two-parter on Matt LaFleur at Go Long, my pals Bill Michaels, Marques Eversoll and Steve “Sparky” Fifer asked me to pop on to discuss. Audio and video is below.

To our OG subscribers, thank you for spreading the word on our independent home for longform.

To the new readers, welcome! A pleasure to have you. Introduce yourself inside our Gameday Chat this Sunday.

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Wisconsin Sports Daily, Friday

WDUZ The Fan Green Bay, Thursday

The Bill Michaels Show, Monday

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Links from the week at Go Long…

• RIP, Mike Ditka

• Inside look at the Green Bay Packers’ 2025 wild-card collapse... how did this happen?

• The Aftermath: How Drake Maye got his groove back

• Real Football: Jalen Hurts flops, Josh Allen YOLOs, Packers’ reckoning & requiem for Terry Fontenot’s Falcons build

• Ty & Bob Pod S5 E4: It’s Packers-Bears Week

• Monos Report, Week 4: NFL Jalen Hurts = College Tim Tebow

• Andrew Brandt on power of ‘serendipity,’ his rise, Barcelona, Packers life, Favre-to-Rodgers

• How Andrew Brandt makes all of us “Smarter About Sports”

  

A note for new readers: Jim Monos scouted for the Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints and served as the director of personnel for the Buffalo Bills. Today, he runs personnel for the UFL. He also co-hosts the “Real Football” podcast with me and will be writing weekly recaps each week, riffing on all games.

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By Jim Monos

Indianapolis 30, Washington 13

Can we save Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon from notetaking with this summary: Daniel Jones is not good enough to win a Super Bowl and your defense is ranked 23^rd in points per play. The No. 1 rule for the Core 4 franchise outline — Owner, GM, Head Coach, Quarterback— is the owner spends money and stays away. Huge fail going on in Indianapolis right now in terms of structure but they are competitive and tough. Washington was down to QB3, the “Baklava Bomber,” Athan Kaliakmanis, which means you have no chance. Good win for the Colts.

Green Bay 17, Tampa Bay 14

Remember when the Packers used to be good? Remember when Tucker Kraft could catch. Regardless, the Packers are in survival mode while they have superstars watching instead of playing. Tampa Bay rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels is fearless… but still an undrafted rookie who threw two picks. Green Bay is ranked 26^th offensively in PPP (points per play) and 21^st on defense in PPP. Those are not even close to being Super Bowl-worthy. Injuries and suspensions are real but not to be used as excuses. Jordan Love needs to be better with decision-making and accuracy. His teammates need to be mistake-free to assist. None of that is happening but the division is still wide open.

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ORCHARD PARK, NY — Cleats untied, grass stains on his leggings, in his aw-shucks southern drawl, Drake Maye clutched the podium with both hands and allowed himself to exhale and call this victory “relieving.”

This was not the disoriented quarterback that required midgame moments of soul searching with his head coach. Nor was this the quarterback choking back tears in Santa Clara, Calif., after a Super Bowl LX loss to Seattle.

The 24-year-old leader of these New England Patriots — the guy who lost the MVP award by the slimmest margin ever — was filled with a different emotion on Sunday evening: joy. At one point during Maye’s postgame presser following a 29-26 win over the Buffalo Bills, gregarious ex-Patriots quarterback and current color commentator Scott Zolak interrupted him from the back of the room. “Does it feel good to smile?!” he asked.

It most certainly does.

One month into this NFL season, no individual player was feeling the heat more than the third-year pro out of North Carolina.

Lordy, what a bizarre week this was in Boston. Noise reached Code-Red highs and it was all justified. Nobody could understand how one of the best players in the league suddenly resembled one of the worst. The shoulder may be affecting him. No, wait. It’s not. OK, then why is he on the injury report with a shoulder injury? You know, that same shoulder that required a painkilling injection before the Patriots were blasted by the Seahawks? Maye’s own messaging was cryptic, seemingly leaving the door open to a correlation.

Vrabel criticized his QB on WEEI, likening Maye to a golfer trying to “choke the life out of the golf club.” He called Maye’s interception into the end zone at Jacksonville “a terrible decision.” He said his quarterback needed to relax.

WEEI then reported that Maye “isn’t really Vrabel’s guy.”

Vrabel fired back that he took the job because of Maye.

All a discombobulated mess by any calculation.

All, of course, on the heels of an offseason from hell for this head coach.

This team and this quarterback were on a one-way track toward Dysfunction Junction.

So there was Maye inside the Patriots huddle with four minutes left against the Bills at Highmark Stadium. Josh Allen had just upped the ante, fire-hosing a ball 45 yards through the air to Keon Coleman in the end zone. The Patriots trailed by five points and 73 yards stood between them and the end zone. Left tackle Will Campbell, profiled here, had a simple message for the quarterback he’d famously fight and die to protect: “You’re the best in the fucking world,” Campbell told him. The Patriots quarterback then marched his unit right down the field and laced a 23-yard beauty to Efton Chism III that’d prove to be the game-winner.

This game was proof that the No. 1 problem was never Maye’s shoulder.

Rather, everything between the ears. His confidence. These players are not robots.

And against a Super Bowl contender, he found his mojo.

“It’s already in him,” Campbell added. “Everybody in here believes in him and knows what he can do and bring to this team. It showed today.”

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He was trending toward Chuck Knoblauch-level yips.

The surest sign of anxiety overwhelming a quarterback is one who tries to carefully guide the ball off his fingertips ever… so… slowly instead of reading the coverage, hitting the back step, ripping it. A mic’d up Julian Love during the Super Bowl announced this bug to the world. On the sideline, the Seahawks safety called Maye “a classic young quarterback,” before physically imitating Maye’s dropback — right down to his mini pause to confirm his wide receiver’s open before releasing the ball. “He’s not blindly doing it like Stafford,” Love added. Six months later, the issue lingered.

On Sunday, Maye completed 22 of 37 passes for 269 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed for 54 yards. Most importantly, the quarterback appeared to rediscover himself. The first three games of this season served as a throbbing Super Bowl hangover and these Bills were more than happy to supply a care package of all the Pedialyte, ibuprofen and greasy food Maye needed to properly bounce back.

Every time something went haywire, he didn’t spiral. He had an answer.

When Maye dropped a snap, he simply picked it back up and whipped a 20-yard completion to tight end Hunter Henry.

When Romeo Doubs bobbled a ball that was intercepted by Buffalo’s Dee Alford at the end of the first half — gifting the home team three points — he told the Patriots wideout he’d keep going right back to him. And he did. He lobbed a picturesque fade ball to Doubs in the corner for a touchdown over Maxwell Hairston. Honestly, the Bills’ 2024 first-round pick could’ve replaced the No. 1 on his chest with the Target bull’s eye. He was dreadful.

When Maye threw a bad ball to Kyle Williams out of bounds with 2 minutes left, he responded the next play with the third-and-5 scoring strike to Chism.

And when it was time to put this one on ice, the Patriots didn’t run three times into a brick wall. Coaches put the ball in the QB’s hands. After throwing incomplete, setting up a third and 10 with 55 seconds left, Maye rolled right and lofted a 12-yarder to Henry over the outstretched arms of 6-foot-6 Greg Rousseau to win. (Nor was Hairston interested in tackling Henry on the play.)

Win secured, Maye clenched both fists.

“I thought he just competed today,” Vrabel said. “I’m happy for him. I’m proud of him. He deserves all the credit. However things have been, the only thing that matters is what we’re going to do the next opportunity we get. Sometimes that’s hard for everybody to understand, but I think he really took that to heart.”

This was a gigantic missed opportunity for the Bills. Both Miami and the New York Jets will struggle to win four games apiece. And here were those Patriots, hyperventilating a mere three weeks into the season. Joe Brady’s crew could’ve all but stuffed their only legitimate division threat into a body bag and tossed ‘em over the Niagara. Instead, the Bills defense surrendered 405 yards, 26 first downs and 29 points. Afterward, safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson dismissed Chism as a “practice squad player” (he’s never been on the practice squad, though CJGJ has) and Hairston stormed out of the locker room without speaking to reporters.

Allen chose the worst time for his worst throw of the day. Two first downs from field goal range, he evaded a free runner and foolishly heaved a prayer into double-coverage. He deserves plenty of blame for this loss.

Next up for the Bills is a cross-country trip to face the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football. Puka Nacua and Davante Adams await the stammering Bills secondary this week with Zay Flowers and Justin Jefferson also closing in.

This is Brady’s first bout of adversity as a head coach. We’re about to see what he’s made of.

Elsewhere in the bowels of this new stadium, you could virtually see a massive defibrillator inside the visitor’s locker room as Vrabel hands Maye a game ball and declares: “We ain’t taking no more fucking shit.” The head coach then addressed the whole team: “We’re just getting started boys. Because we ain’t fucking dead yet.”

Maye assured he has “full trust” in his own abilities and credited teammates for having his back all week — the boost was needed. His relief was palpable. Clearly, he needed to see himself produce to know the talent’s still in there somewhere.

After lobbing the game-winner to Chism, he wasn’t quite sure the Patriots receiver caught it until he started celebrating. Maye joked that he felt like a nervous mother sending her kid off to school for the first time. Not that he was surprised by the one-handed snag. The 2025 UDFA out of Eastern Washington made plays like this throughout training camp and constantly asks to stay after practice with Maye. “He loves his game and you get what you put into it,” Maye added, “and I think you saw that with Chiz.”

Vrabel showed why he’s the reigning coach of the year, managing this game like a man trying to inject confidence back into his QB. He went for it on fourth and 3 and fourth and 2. Both times, Maye found Doubs for completions. Against Josh Allen, the head coach wanted touchdowns, not field goals. Vrabel also likes to tell his offensive players that if they start wandering back toward the sideline after failed third downs, he’ll kick it. If they stay in the huddle, he’ll go for it.

Added Maye: “We’ve got to make him right.”

The running back lining up behind Maye, second-year pro TreVeyon Henderson, has dealt with his own demons: sleep paralysis, demonic presences atop his bedroom ceiling, suicidal thoughts.

It was loud this week. Not only in Boston, either. The entire country has been trying to figure out what is wrong with Maye.

Henderson insists he’s never been concerned because the quarterback, like himself, is extremely centered.

“We’re in a position where we’re constantly being critiqued,” Henderson said. “People are constantly trying to bash their opinions on us. It’s so important for you to know who you are outside of this game. It doesn’t define us. Drake knows who he is in the Lord. And it really encourages me to see that. He comes back to work each and every day to keep pushing the guys around him, keep getting better no matter what he’s going through. He always has a smile on his face and brings smiles to the guys around him. I appreciate him a lot man. He’s a great leader for this team.”

In 2025, the Patriots played the easiest regular-season schedule since the Greatest Show on Turf St. Louis Rams of 1999. When we last caught up with Kurt Warner, the Hall of Famer pointed out how opposing defenses picked up on his game in 2000 and 2001. He needed to adjust. If Maye can, he’ll be fine. Let’s not forget how crisp and explosive he was through New England’s 14-3 season. He resembled a Brady Lite, making plays that belied his age. His first QBs coach in New England detailed how Maye was already mastering two types of processing — pre-snap mental bandwidth and post-snap spatial awareness. All in addition to his deep accuracy, mobility, toughness.

These skills do not simply vanish in thin air. Young quarterbacks who win with their brain historically last longer than those who win with improvisation.

As discussed on Real Football with Jim Monos last week, the fastest way to regain confidence is by using your legs. Similar to a basketball player getting to the foul line. Maye did exactly that vs. Buffalo, settled in and started dissecting Buffalo through the air.

“He’s a big competitor,” Henderson said. “We can always count on him — always. No matter what he’s been through in the past. We know the type of player, the type of person he is. Most importantly. We know the type of player he is. We always stick together man. And that’s one thing I really love about this team.”

“Guys are picking him up. He’s always picking us up. We’re always just there for each other.”

Every NFL season is a marathon. The Las Vegas Raiders are no slouch next week.

Maye will make mistakes and Maye will have more opportunities to author a game-winning drive.

As the play clock ticks, count on Campbell offering a few more words of encouragement.

“Everyone in here believes in him,” Campbell said. “When he’s out there making plays and being who he is, there’s not a lot of people that are better than him at this game.”

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ICYMI:

Patriots stories from last season:

J.J. McCarthy, a 10th overall pick in 2024, has been traded to the New York Giants for a fifth-round pick.

What in the hell happened?

Over the summer, Go Long chatted with several people in the know to find out.

ICYMI, here’s one paragraph from that story:

Be sure to read in full for more.

There are many layers to McCarthy’s demise in Minnesota.

Maybe there’s some hope for “Nine.” I also chatted with Matt Hasselbeck, a quarterback who remembers being in McCarthy’s cleats as a quarterback himself. The 18-year vet completely turned his career around at a similar juncture and offers sage advice.

All intel is inside Part I of our two-parter on Kyler Murray and the Minnesota Vikings.

(You’ll also get a strong sense for why Marvin Harrison Jr. has been such a bust.)

Subscribers can read in full.

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A note for new readers: Jim Monos scouted for the Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints and served as the director of personnel for the Buffalo Bills. Today, he runs personnel for the UFL. He also co-hosts the “Real Football” podcast with me and will be writing weekly recaps each Monday, riffing on all games.

By Jim Monos

Detroit 31, New York Jets 24

Geno Smith and Jared Goff showed us what veteran quarterback pocket play looks like. It reminds me that it is a step below what some other teams have at the position, but this was still was playoff-quality QB play. Both teams have weapons. Jets rookie tight end Kenyon Sadiq needs attention as a receiving threat. Stop me if you have heard this before — the Lions would be contenders with a defense. Until Detroit finds a way to stop somebody, Jared Goff needs to be perfect and it’s hard to see how they can make a run at the championship.

Indianapolis 19, Houston 17

The Texans throw for only 167 yards against a defense ranked 28^th in opponent passer rating? Not good enough, CJ Stroud. Houston’s defense limited the Colts’ rushing attack in holding Taylor to 2.9 yards per carry (Jeanty-like), which is your opening for Stroud and Houston offense to take advantage and get the win. Yet, this Texans team is not synced up. Blaming the Houston O-Line is a weak excuse. The right QB (and O-Line coach) will make everything correct up front. If Daniel Jones is able to create again with his legs, this Colts offense is tricky to deal with.

Jacksonville 35, New England 6

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A note for new readers: Jim Monos scouted for the Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints and served as the director of personnel for the Buffalo Bills. Today, he runs personnel for the UFL. He also co-hosts the “Real Football” podcast with me and will be writing weekly recaps each Monday, riffing on all games.

Miss the Monday column? Here’s my piece on Brian Flores and a Vikings defense on fire.

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By Jim Monos

New England 20, Pittsburgh 3

Only answer for the mighty Steelers is to bring back former offensive coordinator Matt Canada as head coach and promote Mason Rudolph to QB1. Both had better results than this stale, slow version. DK Metcalf with more drops. Drake Maye was not good, but a win is a win.

Cleveland 23, Tampa Bay 19

Finally a heartbeat from the Browns. Deshaun Watson had no interceptions and shows off some rookie receivers (KC Concepcion & Denzel Boston) to get the Browns over the top through a lightning delay. Bucs all-world Rueben Bain with no production again. Baker Mayfield is making everything look difficult but his seat is comfortable, while head coach Todd Bowles’ seat warms up.

Minnesota 9, Chicago 3

The good news is Caleb Williams will be OK. The bad news is we have to all remember how he reacted to a pulled hammy. Vikings’ DC Brian Flores makes life miserable and it helps to have a grown man like Dallas Turner rushing off the edge. More to come with this series. Incredible start for the Vikings in the division.

Philadelphia 24, Tennessee 20

Jalen Hurts is clutch. Ugly games happen but he never blinks and delivers. Get a win however you are able to and analyze/learn from it after review. Titans showed some life. Cam Ward shows you signs of arm talent. Accuracy has to continue to become more consistent. The Eagles have not found a running game rhythm with Saquon Barkley and then he suffers an injury. A running game is needed, but Hurts came to the rescue again.

Carolina 34, Atlanta 3

Inept QB play for Atlanta is being nice. Cooper Rush is proven to be not good. Rookie Jack Strand not ready. All of that is a reflection on the front office leaving a roster that has enough ability to be competitive hanging out to dry. Panthers do what you should against backups. Carolina receivers Tet McMillan and Jalen Coker both use their size and have strong hands to make it easy for Bryce Young. He’s developing chemistry with both. I still do not think Young is the answer against the big boys.

New Orleans 24, Baltimore 17

Mentioned last week Zay Flowers is more important than Derrick Henry to this offense. Point made. Tyler Shough and Chris Olave have now been doing this two seasons. It’s not new. Kellen Moore has a plan and Saints have bought in. Would like to think Lamar would find a way, but this Saints defense made him work for everything. New Orleans on the map! Baltimore will be fine.

Cincinnati 20, Houston 6

Texans drop two at home to start the season — not ideal. C.J. Stroud is showing he is more of a he “needs everything loaded up” type of quarterback and not a player who can elevate regardless of the situation. The points do not match the stats for Houston from this game. Burrow did enough especially against a top-ranked defense. Ja’Marr Chase is a level-above-level type receiver. If the ball is near him he finds a way. Bengals secondary got lit up.

Green Bay 20, New York Jets 17

Score could have been 3-0 and we’d reach the same conclusion. Neither Green Bay or New York look like a playoff team. That’s a shot at Green Bay. It’s all on Jordan Love and he’s ready but yesterday wasn’t his best. The Jets showed toughness and have skilled players who can challenge you but need to score more than 17. Pack did what was necessary on the road, but they are not a machine like years past.

Denver 20, Jacksonville 13

The Broncos’ top-ranked defense showed up after a Week 1 no show. Welcome to Denver, Jaylen Waddle. Sean Payton has things under control for the Broncos in terms of a solid effort in all three phases. Sign of a real head coach. For Jacksonville to truly get to the next level, Trevor Lawrence must raise his game. This was a winnable game and Lawrence was not good enough.

Las Vegas 26, Los Angeles Chargers 14

No homefield advantage for the Chargers. Herbert and new OC Mike McDaniel have the chemistry of an awkward, forced, arranged marriage. Cousins throws for three touchdowns and he got no help from Ashton Jeanty (2.2 yards per carry on 21 carries!) Definition of a grind. Road win for Vegas is impressive. The Harbaugh cliche act needs wins to be effective in the locker room.

San Francisco 35, Miami 13

Brock Purdy takes care of business at home. He is efficient, athletic and in command. This is more about the Dolphins being blah than anything. Tough watch right now. Malik Willis is certainly intriguing but can he deliver the ball accurately with timing consistently to get this offense in gear? Not many playmakers on the roster for Miami. The 49ers are well-rounded.

Seattle 31, Arizona 7

Championship team! On the road with a back-up and no problem. Drew Lock is an upper-tier No. 2. He has enough arm talent and toughness to get you through while Sam Darnold recovers. Seattle took an all-hands-on-deck approach and whipped Arizona. No signs of life for the Cards at home. Jacoby Brissett can only do so much.

Dallas 37, Washington 20

Dak to Lamb is a familiar combo and they delivered in their home opener. Jayden Daniels elbow? We’ve said when he entered the draft, that lean body combined with his style of running and taking hits is not proving to have success. Neither team can run the ball. Washington had plenty of chances but didn’t execute. Dallas defense is shaky.

Kansas City 33, Indianapolis 30

KC is all the way back. Fully loaded. Everyone contributing while Mahomes continues to get closer to 100 percent. GM Brett Veach and Andy Reid retooled this offense and made adjustments like all the great ones do. Indy had zero defense. Daniel Jones did his best against Lamar and Mahomes to start the season but the reality is the Colts are 0-2. Tough playing for Colts with no resistance on defense.

Los Angeles Rams 28, New York Giants 6

Different game if Jaxson Dart stays healthy. At least wanted to see it. Not able to gauge much from this game. Rams did what you should to a backup QB. Jameis Winston wasn’t close to ready. It’s getting old with Dart and his injuries. The story of the NFL right now is quarterback health and it’s only Week 3. Before we anoint Dart we need to see him stay on the field.

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Society frowns upon the hard ass. We’ve become an emotionally sensitive species that scolds authority figures who infringe upon “your truth.” In life, this person is shamed and sentenced to the cornfield. In football — the greatest reality show of all — this is the character demonized and cast the villain.

There’s a fine line for those in charge of the entire operation. Tyrannical head coaches will not last with this generation of athlete. If players dread going to work, culture suffers. Losses mount. Misery is contagious.

And yet, there’s a fine line in this profession because pro football is not everyday American life. This is a cold, cruel world full of life-altering collisions. If a coach is juuuust the right amount of prick — the hyper-technical scouting term — look out. If a coach on the defensive side of the ball can harness volatility into his coaching style, his X’s and O’s and the players eat it all up? Those 11 players on the field aren’t robotically following a play design on a sheet of paper.

They shape-shift into a pack of jackals.

They essentially laugh in the face of a team that scored 59 points.

That’s the best way to explain the Week 1-to-Week 2 whiplash this NFL season.

One week, the Chicago Bears score 59 points and amass 552 yards. All on the heels of head coach Ben Johnson declaring that he wants to build the highest-scoring offense in NFL history. The next, he musters all of three points. One week, Caleb Williams has the third-best MVP odds. All on the heels of an offseason full of hype: the Iceman trademark drama, the Madden cover, dreaming big. During one podcast spot, he was asked for his thoughts on a handful of QBs: Randall Cunningham (“cannon”), Tom Brady (“moment killer”), Aaron Rodgers (“magician with the football”), then Caleb Williams. After a dramatic pause, he said “all the above” with a laugh.

Then, the Bears held their home opener.

At a rain-slopped Soldier Field, the juggernaut that humiliated the Carolina Panthers… vanished.

Isaiah Rodgers recovered a Jalen Redmond peanut-punch at the 1-yard line and perfectly executed Donald Duck’s hot-diggity-dog jig for his son. Dallas Turner became Myles Garrett. An array of defenders stunted and blitzed and harassed Williams all afternoon. Minnesota blitzed 82 percent of the time this week after teeing off 78 percent last week vs. Green Bay. Quarterback Caleb Williams pulled up lame and was carted off the field with a mild hamstring strain. And when this 9-3 win was secured, two succinct scenes summarized the afternoon.

Johnson clenched his jaw.

Elsewhere, Brian Flores — the Vikings’ mad scientist on D — gazed upward on his way into the tunnel and appeared to spot some purple. “Skol! Skol!” he shouted. “We do this shit!”

Life comes at you fast in the NFL.

More specifically, opponents enter Flores’ buzzsaw of a defense. Because right now? The two best things going in the NFL are a reborn Josh Allen in the AFC and Flores’ hostile defense in the NFC. This sport remains a violent enterprise for the chosen few — it pays to have a playcaller who calls a game as such. In Year 1 of Kevin O’Connell’s run as head coach, 2022, the Vikings won 13 games but problems on defense were often glossed over. Players told us that meetings were far too lax. Coordinator Ed Donatell was fired. Flores was hired. And his vision for the defense has only sharpened from ’23 to ’24 to ’25 to this 2026 season.

Some players on this defense truly believe the team could’ve done damage in the playoffs last season if they snuck in.

All the Vikings have done is win seven in a row with J.J. McCarthy, Max Brosmer and Carson Wentz. The loss of a starting quarterback does not spell doom here. Now, they’ll get Kyler Murray back from his concussion.

Yes, the ex-Cardinal can resurrect his career in Minnesota.

What’s most frightening about this team is a defense that’s become a rebellious reflection of their coordinator.

I’ve never had the chance to chat with Flores. Perhaps one day. Players, however, have volunteered this coach’s name several times in the past — not always in the brightest light! Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, for this piece at B/R, shredded Flores for trying to turn him into a player he is not. On our visit to Miami Dolphins — peak Tua, post-Flores — sources said he was (extremely) hard on guys. Especially Tua Tagovailoa. The two had a blowup at halftime of a 34-3 loss to Tennessee that made it clear only one of them would last into the next season. And in-between, a wide receiver named Lynn Bowden actually had very nice things to say about his new coach. Nonetheless, one source told me Flores read Bowden the riot act in front of the entire team for talking to us that offseason. Odd.

Seasons change. Quarterbacks come and go. Time passes. I only gain more and more respect for a coach who clearly operates at one speed and cares very little about what people think of him.

He knows exactly what he’s looking for out of his defense — out of every player’s energy level — and delivers facts in a blunt fashion.

Players talk. Fresh off of Mike Zimmer’s ugly departure, Viking defenders weren’t quite sure what to make of Flores’ reputation. It didn’t take long for his tough love to be appreciated. In Minnesota, as a DC, he quickly became an ideal counterbalance to the uber-positive O’Connell. “He’s different than K.O., but he’s very reasonable,” safety Harrison Smith explained in ‘24. “He’s very smart and very black and white.”

His spastic scheme is high-risk, high-reward and applies maximum pressure.

Brian Cashman and Eric Wilson — the two mad men in the middle — are now both fluent in “Flo.” I love how Cashman put it. The first time he sat down to learn this defense, it was spellbinding. He could not compute all this recklessness. So many rules that players grow up on are broken before their eyes. Over time, however, all of this started to make sense. Cashman called them “Oh shit!” moments. Over this dinner, one specific instance came to mind. One play, Cashman couldn’t understand why Flores would leave a receiver wide, wide, WIDE open on the far side of the field.

Flores brushed it off. Told him not to worry about that player because it’d be impossible for the quarterback to get the ball to him. He was bringing the heat.

One week after turning US Bank Stadium field into quicksand for the Green Bay Packers, his plan for Chicago was quite simple. Slow down their powerhouse rushing game and pen Williams into the pocket. This was the Packers’ mistake in their wild-card collapse. If outside linebacker Rashan Gary holds the edge, the Bears QB doesn’t glide freely outside on fourth and 8. Isaiah McDuffie has an extra second to catch him for a game-winning sack. And when Williams does manage to escape? Flores stresses nonstop relentlessness. When multiple bodies are hunting him down — see: this third and 12 — you can fluster him into a mistake.

Giving him a flurry of different looks on third down helps. Anything that sows a little hesitation in his game.

Williams finished 15 of 26 for 138 yards (5.3 yards per attempt) with one interception and a 56.2 rating.

D’Andre Swift averaged 2.8 yards per carry.

In addition to his fumble recovery at the 1, Rodgers also blocked a chip-shot field goal. O’Connell has no clue how he exploded out of his stance with the conditions so wet. When the coach walked onto the field at one point, he said his entire sneaker was four inches into the grass.

“Caleb is such a unique talent,” O’Connell said. “Even when you think you’ve got him. I give our guys a ton of credit for chasing him around all game. But we did keep him in there enough. And then I thought the back end did an excellent job plastering their guys through the end of the down.”

By now, Cashman and Wilson are experts in the scheme. Andrew Van Ginkel is the jack of all trades. Redmond is ascending on the D-Line. Smith returns as the needed glue in a secondary teeming with playmakers. But the most encouraging development of all is a 6-foot-3, 247-pound budding star off the edge. Dallas Turner has been the best pass rusher in the NFL through two games — and it’s not close. Per Next Gen Stats, Turner ranks first in pressures (20), first in QB hits (11), second in sacks (three) and first in quick pressures with 10 under 2.5 seconds.

He’s got more pressures than the entire Bears, Jags, Steelers, Cardinals and Dolphins teams. (Rams and Giants, the MNF matchup, also have fewer.)

Those 11 hits on the quarterback are tied for the most of any player in a two-game span the last 10 years, per ESPN. Garrett (2025) and Chris Jones (2018) are the two others.

As they transitioned from one GM to the next, the Vikings made the calculated decision to compete in the present while maintaining flexibility in the future if the wheels came off. In this vein, they pawned off their best edge rusher — Jonathan Greenard — to the Philadelphia Eagles to save themselves the $98 million contract while also gaining a pair of third-round draft picks.

Their bet was that their 2024 first-round pick (Turner) would blossom.

It appears the Vikings hit the jackpot.

Flores foments so much utter pre-snap confusion that Turner has gone unblocked. Many times, he simply bullies offensive tackles. And there’s no chance teams leave a tight end 1 on 1 with Turner after he bench-pressed Colston Loveland into Tyson Bagent on a walk-off sack to win it.

“Obviously coming into this year,” O’Connell said, “you guys could tell I was really excited about the type of player that we would have in Dallas and how that would fit into how we’re going to play defense. His ascension — as expected as it is with the work he put in and the growth he’s had — you still love to see it happening right before your very eyes. Just an awesome moment.”

Not bad for a team that lost its quarterback to a concussion 11 plays into the season.

When the 2026 schedule was released, O’Connell knew how critical a fast start would be. Besting a pair of NFC North foes has long-term benefits both in the standings and their minds.

O’Connell was encouraged his offense found success on the ground when everyone in the stadium knew they were trying to run. The 31-year-old Aaron Jones — whose helmet jarred loose one hit — supplied a quintessential performance: 23 carries, 105 yards. There was no questioning the physicality of this Vikings offense on Sunday.

“This team’s learning and applying previously learned lessons on how to win games a whole bunch of different ways,” O’Connell said. “The best part about them is it always feels like they’re leaning in 100 percent for the guy next to them. Games like this, there can be massive growth inside your locker room of our way of doing things. So proud of them for, not only today, but how they’ve approached everything so far.

“There’s nothing but adversity waiting around the corner for the group. But I know these guys will attack it the right way.”

That’s the key: Adversity is a guarantee over the marathon of a 17-game NFL schedule.

This is an unkind profession. Being too nice to everyone can backfire, as his replacement in Miami discovered. No doubt, Flores needed to take a close look at his own coaching style. His tone needed to adjust. But it pays to have a coordinator on staff who’ll mentally prepare guys for those hard times. Zag where most of society zigs.

A little harsh rhetoric in the classroom, coupled with exotic blitzes on gameday, and these Vikings just may maraud through any offense they please.

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Good morning! Week 2 in the NFL is here. Get ready for the action by catching up on any stories and pods you may have missed this past week at Go Long. All links are below.

Thank you for reading and sharing, all.

Terry Pegula sat down with us for an hour-plus to discuss why the Buffalo Bills always needed to stay right here in Western New York.

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ORCHARD PARK, NY — A single smelling salt dangled from his lips like a cig. Cameras captured the sideline scene. It was only a one-score game at this point. Merely eight minutes in. But honestly? The Detroit Lions could’ve packed up their bags at this point. Josh Allen was in full desperado mode and this Buffalo Bills offense would do whatever it damn well pleased this monumental evening.

Since he first bloomed as the face of this franchise — hurdling, stiff-arming, trash-talking — Allen has clearly been at his best in full sicko mode.

Relay this viral image to tight end Jackson Hawes and his eyes get big. He’s still getting to know his quarterback.

“In his mouth?!” he says, concerned. “He’s crazy for that. That stuff can’t be good for you.”

Elsewhere, center Connor McGovern is equally stupefied.

Well, for about 0.5 seconds anyways. Such stunts are quite common.

“He’s a lunatic,” McGovern says. “But a great lunatic. … Who knows what the fuck he does. He’s one of a kind.”

Owner Terry Pegula himself could not have scripted a better housewarming party.

Game No. 1 inside of new Highmark Stadium across Abbott Road resembled a preordained spectacle. Somehow, reality surpassed the weeks/months/years of ridiculous hype. The Joe Brady effect is already obvious. Players repeatedly sing the virtues of an offensive-minded coach, a 36-year-old who sets the tone for everything. Left tackle Dion Dawkins said this offense feels “like Madden.” The Bills were correct to give Allen a seat in all nine head-coach interviews. Synergy at the top was missing. Synergy at the top has now been found. One week after dismantling the No. 1 defense in the sport, the Bills’ offense humiliated a proud team with a proud coach that also fancies itself a Super Bowl contender.

Game No. 1 at new Highmark Stadium was a 41-31 vertiginous blend of hooks… jabs… crosses… uppercuts… haymakers. All punches synchronized into a sweet science we haven’t seen in this Bills offense.

They’ve got issues to sort out on defense. Expected in a new scheme.

The level of precision on offense, however, is staggering.

When the Bills had a chance for a quick strike, Allen went for the jugular with a deep strike to wide receiver Joshua Palmer. Stick around for more, friends. This play was quarterback sorcery.

When the Bills wanted to melt clock, they bled the Lions out with a crushing 15-play, 75-yard drive that ate up 8:22 of clock. Defensive linemen, hands on hips, huffed and puffed and Allen’s two-yard plunge upped the lead to 34-17.

The gulf between Allen and the rest of the quarterbacks in the NFL gets wider.

The offensive line’s chemistry gets stronger.

The team’s WR1 (DJ Moore) went down and this train kept on moving at the same speed.

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This was always the upside in moving from a defensive-minded Sean McDermott to a coach who places the quarterback, instead of himself, as the center of this team’s universe. The Bills can now slam the accelerator in ways they never did before.

Veterans have not been shy in hinting that Brady’s predecessor had his thumb on the offense. All contours of the field are now open for business.

On Thursday night — with all of America watching the unveiling of a new home — the Bills put the rest of the NFL on notice.

Afterward, I asked Palmer what makes this offense most dangerous to him.

“Most dangerous?” he asked aloud. “Every position is dangerous. We have a dangerous running back room. We have a dangerous tight end room. We have a dangerous wide receiver room. We have an absolutely dangerous quarterback with a dangerous O-line. So don’t ask about dangerous.”

Fair enough.

But moments later — asked about something entirely different — Palmer returned to the subject.

“We have great position rooms on this offense and I don’t think there’s any… actually, I know there’s no weak spot in the offense, on the depth chart.”

The Lions wouldn’t argue with Palmer’s assessment, no. Brady’s unit gained first downs on 52 percent of its non-kneeldown plays (34-of-66). Allen (248 yards passing, 69 rushing, five touchdowns) and running back James Cook (135 yards on 21 attempts, one TD) took turns battering Detroit’s defense. It’s hard to imagine the injured Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph making a substantial difference in this one. Brady’s dizzying sequencing kept the Lions on their collective heels from the jump. Calling plays, he stayed two moves ahead. One play constantly set up the next.

There’s no governor on Allen.

When he spotted open acreage, he hit the gas.

When he wants to throw across his body, he doesn’t think twice.

Two of GM Brandon Beane’s maligned back-to-back top picks — tight end Dalton Kincaid (25^th overall in 2023) and wide receiver Keon Coleman (33^rd overall in 2024) — knifed through the Detroit secondary with ease. One’s finally healthy, one’s finally locked in. Kincaid’s 225 receiving yards are the most by the tight end through the first two games of a season since George Kittle in 2020.

Everything appeared to be such a breezy skip through the park. But there’s a reason those rushing lanes are so wide and those receivers are so wide open.

One is the synergy on the offensive line up front.

Last week, the Bills handled Will Anderson Jr., Danielle Hunter and the ravenous Texans front on the road.

Five days later, in their new home, the group dominated. There were pancakes, like this one from Alec Anderson. The team’s new starter up front who declared this group the best O-Line in football spotted linebacker Jack Campbell in his periphery and lit him up. Most impressive is how easily the Bills muted Detroit’s pressure package. Second-year defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard, an ex-Bill linebacker, blitzed more than he ever has — 55.3 percent — and it all only served as a kiss of death. Per Next Gen Stats, Allen went 12 of 17 for 137 yards with two TDs, scrambled five times for 49 yards and a TD and went 4 for 4 with a TD on QB sneaks vs. the pressure.

There were a slew of exotic looks. Sheppard tried to funk everything up.

But this is why the Bills made a point to re-sign center Connor McGovern in the spring.

Center and quarterback decoded everything in real time.

“So many guys know this offense in and out,” McGovern says. “It allows us to be so well communicated. They were giving us so many exotic blitzes and so many different looks and we’re talking on the sideline — or even in the middle of the game — and I’m able to turn around and talk to him and get into random stuff. This is the best communication we’ve had in years because so many guys know this offense and how everything clicks.”

McGovern makes a ton of protection calls on the line, which allows Allen to focus on what’s cookin’ outside. Right up to the snap, they communicate.

In other words? The exact opposite of how the Green Bay Packers’ makeshift offensive line operated inside US Bank last week. Coordinator Brian Flores put this unit in a blender inside ear-splitting US Bank Stadium.

It helps to have the noise on your side, too. Quarterback Jared Goff admitted the raucous atmosphere inside Highmark Stadium led to multiple pre-snap mistakes. On the bench, between series, it was so loud that O-Line coach Pat Meyer needed to crouch low and all but press his face into McGovern’s face to have a conversation.

Even then, McGovern couldn’t hear him.

This stadium is much louder than the last one, he adds. Brought him back to all of his “whiteout” games at Penn State in front of 100K fans.

At one point, Hawes said the Bills spammed the same exact running play to Cook three times in a row. “Finding the defense’s weaknesses,” he says, “and just going from there. It’s really simple. If we’re kicking ass? I think we ran the same run play three times and got like 60 yards out of it.”

Another reason everything’s so crisp? Multiple players went out of their way to single out unsung heroes on Brady’s staff.

The Bills lost Aaron Kromer to retirement, but McGovern sites assistant offensive line coach Austin Gund as the mastermind behind Buffalo’s pass-protection plans. In fact, he’s fairly certain that Gund sleeps at the Bills facility five nights a week. He watches a borderline unhealthy amount of film to hunt for tendencies in defenses and prepare all linemen for all possible scenarios. “I don’t know how much he goes home,” McGovern says. “These coaches put in so many fucking hours here it’s insane.”

Coupled with Meyer, a Kromer disciple, nobody has felt a dropoff.

“Our philosophy is the same,” McGovern adds. “Those two are elevating us further.”

Hawes calls tight ends coach Rob Boras “a psycho.” To get the Bills ready on this short week, the 55-year-old assistant got to the office at 5 a.m. one day and stuck around until 1 a.m.

Players notice. Players want to attack their work day with the same fervor.

Coffee helps.

Fast Twitch energy drinks, too. This is Brady’s go-to beverage.

But Allen’s presence is the ultimate source of caffeination for everyone at One Bills Drive. He’s forever the reason to believe this season can end in championship immortality. Nobody makes the hard stuff look easy quite like the former MVP. Take his touchdown pass to Palmer. Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner supplied an exceptional breakdown worth your time.

On this particular play, the Lions actually do get to the QB. He has defenders in his face — immediately — and appears ready to dump the ball off to Cook on a sneak route in the flat. Yet in this same split-second? Allen somehow spots Palmer streaking free. Palmer simultaneously noticed the safety playing low and changed the angle of his route.

Allen computed everything in a fraction of a second.

Pump-faked. Released. Touchdown.

So, yeah. Kincaid puts the state of the Bills offense best.

“It all starts with Josh back there and when he’s on, it’s awesome,” Kincaid says. “It’s kind of throughout the league, you see teams that don’t have as much success and it’s normally due to quarterback play. Having Josh makes all the difference.”

This new home is technically called “Highmark Stadium.” They’re the sponsor paying for the naming rights.

At this rate, however, those hoarse fans filling the bowl will start calling this the House that Allen Built.

Flu or no flu.

Smelling salts, included.

The Bills hope this is only the beginning.

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Miss our exclusive with owner Terry Pegula? Here is how the Bills stayed in Buffalo:

A note for new readers: Jim Monos scouted for the Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints and served as the director of personnel for the Buffalo Bills. Today, he runs personnel for the UFL. He also co-hosts the “Real Football” podcast with me and will be writing weekly recaps each Monday, riffing on all games.

Also, subscribers can read my column from U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The Vikings’ stunning 39-22 comeback win over the Packers said so much about the DNA of both teams. An “unfortunate situation,” indeed, for Matt LaFleur.

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By Jim Monos

Always remember, Week 1 does not matter.

That being said, let’s make some evaluations.

Who made an impact? Who surprised us — good or bad?

Seattle 13, New England 10

Looked like Drake Maye had another game lined up to win against a back-up QB after Sam Darnold went down, but Drew Lock showed toughness and delivered in big moments. Maye helped by delivering the wrong team the ball in critical moments. Maye was poor last playoffs and poor again Week 1. What makes franchise quarterbacks special is their ability to stack good days, weeks, games and seasons together year-in and year-out. It’s an absolute grind being the face of the franchise if you are doing it correctly. Seattle is well run and has the core four (owner, GM, HC & QB) in place if Darnold is healthy.

San Francisco 27, Los Angeles Rams 7

Whippings happen time to time. The 49ers looked professional and prepared. The Rams looked out of sync and confused. RB Kaelon Black runs hard and is a nice compliment to McCaffery (Stanford). Hope to see both of these teams in the playoffs but throw this one out to make any judgements.

Cincinnati 33, Tampa Bay 27

Did not think anyone could gain a yard or score a point against Tampa Bay with the addition of edge rusher Rueben Bain this spring but the Bengals were able to keep Bain in check and force Baker Mayfield to fumble three times. Hard to win losing the turnover battle. Both teams scored defensive touchdowns and if Mayfield holds on to just one of those fumbles, this game is a toss-up. Tee Higgins had a couple big-boy catches showing what makes him a tough cover. His length combined with speed and body control in tight spaces is why he wins most jump ball situations. Both of these offenses are high-powered and must-watches each week.

Detroit 31, New Orleans 30

Nothing was looking easy for Detroit despite a 21-0 lead. Then, it happened. Tyler Shough and Chris Olave are officially a problem. They have natural chemistry combined with coaching. Natural chemistry comes from trust and talent. They have it. Saints could not finish the comeback but will not be sneaking up on anyone moving forward. Jahmyr Gibbs is everything to this offense. Goff is Goff. He needs help. Lions are used to winning shootouts but that’s a hard way to make a living.

New York Jets 23, Tennessee 10

Titans HC Robert Saleh could not get his revenge on his tornado of a tenure with his former Jets team. We now have evidence that Cam Ward has not taken to new OC Brian Daboll’s style just yet. A very hard to watch offense. Titans may want to revisit running back Tony Pollard in terms of usage. Get him touches! Jets QB Geno Smith is always capable when he has a running game. Nice start for New York, but the season officially starts next week against Green Bay.

Baltimore 41, Indianapolis 23

Lamar Jackson looked relaxed and mechanically sound in the pocket. We know when fully healthy what his legs can do and when he is comfortable scanning the field he is obviously unstoppable. Wide receiver Zay Flowers is more important than Derrick Henry for this offense and he needs to stay healthy. He can score on his own from anywhere on the field. If Daniel Jones cannot create with his legs, I’m not sure what his value is? The Ravens look primed to contend.

Chicago 59, Carolina 37

Anyone who listens to Real Football when I join Tyler Dunne knows I say that Caleb Williams will complete throws every week that nobody else can make. He’s been doing this since college. He is an incredible athlete with his legs and possesses a cannon — a weapon who can throw with touch as well. Does not make sense. And they may need Williams and the offense to do this each week because the defense did not slow down Bryce Young (Alabama) or the Panthers. Young is just not special enough to win games like these. Panthers hung around but if the Bears are going to shove DeAndre Swift and Kyle Monangai down people’s throats the Bears will break points and yardage records.

Buffalo 36, Houston 31

First game as a head coach is on the road against the NFL’s top-ranked defense and Joe Brady never flinched. He has been locked in since training camp and knows how special Josh Allen is. He knows that Allen needs to start fast and score often. That is what the great offenses do and that is what the Bills did against the Texans. Houston’s defense could not match up with the spacing of the Bills routes in the pass game or James Cook’s (Georgia) explosiveness. Cook may lead the league in fumbles again. Stroud was too sloppy when it counted with his accuracy and obviously lacks awareness in the pocket by holding the ball too long. Bills are scary good on offense. The defense showed no improvements from last season yet.

Jacksonville 34, Cleveland 10

Treating Cleveland like an FCS team moving forward. Deshaun Watson is not good enough obviously. The defense lost Myles Garrett and, possibly more importantly, Jim Schwartz. Garrett is certainly more important but that’s how impactful Schwartz is as a DC. Wide receiver Parker Washington is on the big-boy stage now. Jacksonville did what you should do against a lower-level organization. The Browns won the Travis Hunter trade from 2025 with Jacksonville if that matters?

Pittsburgh 20, Atlanta 13

It does not matter if it’s Mike Tomlin or Mike McCarthy coaching and Mason Rudolph or Aaron Rodgers playing quarterback. Steelers games always stink. DK Metcalf always had rock hands and it’s now consistently showing up. Atlanta had chances but when you have Cooper Rush playing quarterback you really do not have a chance. I’m a believer (Ben Affleck to JLo) that Rodgers can spark this offense, but it did not have a flow. The Falcons have some really good players.

Philadelphia 24, Washington 22

Both Jalen Hurts and Jayden Daniels showed their playmaking ability. Washington needs to get Terry McLaurin involved early and often or they are wasting their best player. Philly tight end Dallas Goedert is consistently a matchup nightmare and clutch player for the Eagles. The Eagles’ use of Barkley and Hurts’ legs are tough and almost unstoppable in short yardage. Neither offense looked in-sync throwing the football.

Minnesota 39, Green Bay 22

Another Matt LaFleur beauty. Hard to lose to backup quarterbacks and it’s unacceptable if you are a real team. The Packers are figuring out life without Parsons and Jacobs but that’ s the luxury of having a talent like Jordan Love at quarterback. Yes, he can be wild but he is making plays at a high level as a top-tier quarterback. The Packers need leadership more than ever with the makeup of this team and that is why they paid LaFluer. Vikings defense is tough and productive. They make you work. Back-up Carson Wentz was his typical spastically good self. He is tough and he is professional. It can look better in the stats than when you watch him play.

Las Vegas 27, Miami 13

The battle of low-end starting quarterbacks. Raiders’ Kirk Cousins did his thing with two interceptions and negative-six yards rushing while Dolphins Malik Willis completed 56 percent of his passes while throwing a pick. Ashton Jeanty was equally effective rushing and receiving. Give credit to Cousins for getting a win and finding Jeanty in space. This was not high-level NFL football.

Arizona 26, Los Angeles Chargers 14

The greatest quarterback to never do anything Justin Herbert has another all-timer on his resume. We know if there was a Hall of Fame for backup quarterbacks that Jacoby Brissett would make first ballot. Throws for 277 yards and more importantly no interceptions. Tight end Tre McBride is unguardable. Chargers need an identity on offense. Upset of the day. Cards have some players.

New York Giants 28, Dallas 20

Forgot Devin Singletary was in the NFL. Did not forget how tough he is and that is the theme on the Giants roster. Dart is a weapon. His legs are critical to max out his talent. I get hurt at home watching Cam Skattebo run but he is effective. Biggest shock for me this weekend is the lack of offense from the Cowboys receivers. Credit the Giants defense as well but the Cowboys are built to score early and often. Nice statement from the Giants.

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ICYMI:

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MINNEAPOLIS — Give it up to him. Forty-eight hours after one of the most gutless answers you’ll hear from a head coach, Matt LaFleur managed to coach an equally pathetic game. His starting running back — accused of abhorrent domestic abuse — is merely involved in “an unfortunate situation,” you see. Per the police report, Josh Jacobs’ alleged victim said he gave her a lump on her head. But hey, as LaFleur noted, “situations occur in life.”

Like, say, this situation.

A 1-in-2.5 million situation.

This isn’t a new phenomena. LaFleur’s career as the Green Bay Packers’ head coach is defined by cinematic meltdowns. When it comes to authoring a choke, he’s Shakespeare. Sunday’s 39-22 spiral into the abyss was simply the latest disaster under his watch.

Read more

Sports media, it appears, is doomed. Count the reasons.

First, there’s an existential threat. Artificial superintelligence will apparently wipe out our species sooner than we think. That’s unfortunate. At warp speed, timelines get spammed with slop and bots and BS, blurring what’s real and what’s fake. A swath of fans naturally dismiss any revelation they do not like as fiction.

Outlets all swim in gambling blood money. Never mind the fact that it’s ruining lives. If Uncle Roger and the NFL owners say it’s OK, then what’s the harm?

Algorithms on Twitter/X feed rage. We’ve reached a point where masses see a podcast clip or an article screenshot — never click to watch/read in full — and then enter the ring like Mike Tyson to DMX’s “Intro.” Out for blood.

Consequently, much NFL coverage is doused in Purell. For every beat writer who does a damn good job, there’s a dozen more terrified of losing their credential. I mean, if that paycheck’s direct-depositing every two weeks, why piss off thousands of constituents? It’s not worth the stress and aggravation. (Related: Yes, Bears fans. I know I’m bald. This hairline started retreating in high school.) For every enterprising mind pursuing the truth there’s another dozen who never wanted to do any journalism in the first place. Instead, this crew takes pictures of themselves in the press box for Instagram.

Mock drafts… and power rankings… and arbitrary daytime TV takes are fire-hosed into our face 24/7. And when these grifters take a break, the space teems with self-anointed X ‘n O junkies. Some do a good job. All tend to forget those aren’t 22 robots on the screen. It’s a human game.

Both ESPN and The Athletic, once bastions of independent thought, have slid into bed with the NFL itself. For the league, it’s strategic. Wink-wink partnerships can soften coverage. Who knows what the latter morphs into over time.

Finally, there’s the Dianna Russini debacle. This exposed a dirty little secret in NFL media. Reporters aren’t always interlocking their fingers and sharing a hot tub in Sedona with the sources they cover. But the league’s full of slimy, I-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine transactional reporting.

Year to year to year, all the above becomes normalized.

But enough bemoaning this dystopia. The more I think about it? The more I love that this creates a golden opportunity for us at Go Long to be something different.

It’s simple here. The only people we write for is you. We’re not beholden to access journalism. We’re not slaves to DraftKings or FanDuel. We’ll never obsess over algorithms and clicks. And I do not give a damn if mobs assemble on social media. There’s a dire need for independent journalism in pro football. Real, raw storytelling. That’s why I launched Go Long in 2020 and — thanks to you — our mission has crystallized more than ever into Season No. 7.

I’m more hopeful than ever in our corner of the universe.

There’s something pure to this subscription model. I only earn a living if you deem our stories worth $8/month or $50/year. This sparks a fire. We’ll go places others will not to fight this current in sports media. We’ll take weeks/months to piece together projects. Your investment — always — is pumped right back into the company as Go Long canvasses the country in search of an original story or series worth your valuable time. You pay these ridiculous prices for parking, beer and a ticket. You deserve football in its most unvarnished form.

This year, we’re quadrupling down on our why.

Expect more player profiles, more deep dives that explore the inner-workings of teams, more Q&As. Anything that brings you as close as possible to the real sport.

I’ll again be joined by two familiar faces who help me bring this vision to life. Bob McGinn, a godfather in the business, is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He’ll again bring his draft series and columns to our pages, in addition to our weekly NFC North Podcast: the “Ty & Bob Pod.” He has forever covered this sport with unparalleled bite. Jim Monos, a former NFL scout/exec with the Eagles, Saints and Bills, now runs personnel for the UFL. We’ll charge on with “Real Football” and keep an eye out for written columns from Monos, too: game recaps and rookie evaluations. He’s forever a scout.

Of course, my good pal Jon Daly of Brave Buffalo will continue to supply artwork for feature stories.

I’ll have a column each Monday wrapping up the games. Many weekends, I’ll be at a game — today it’s Packers-Vikings here in Minneapolis. My weekly feature will continue to go live each Friday AM. And throughout the week, I’ll also have a stream of columns, convos/Q&As with ex-players on the Go Long Pod and we’re bringing back Zoom Happy Hours this season to give subscribers a chance to hang out with players. Love connecting any way we can. Our Gameday Chats inside the Substack app will also start back up.

Thank you all for the gust of wind into our pirate sails.

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A final thought. Online, when a story’s written, two silos of fans often emerge. One declares the messenger a “stan” and one declares you a “hater” with no time for nuance. No doubt, both groups are the LOUDEST filling the airwaves. Perhaps I’m a hopeless romantic, but Go Long is wholly committed to those in-between who don’t zombie-scroll their life away IG or TikTok, for those dying to take back their brains from the AI machinery.

I love talking to players, coaches, scouts all the time and simply seeing where it leads.

Sure, we’re pro-player around here because those players are the modern-day gladiators putting their brains and bodies on the line. I’ll continue to sit down with guys inside their homes, over dinner, wherever possible beyond the locker room to capture the spirit of this sport. As legacy outlets embrace a fast-food approach — eliminating longform from its business model — we’ll lean harder into it all. Again, football is a human game.

One comment from a coach still sticks with me. This NFC assistant said there’s the NFL everyone sees on Twitter… then there’s the real NFL behind the scenes. And the real one, he assured, is 100 times more cutthroat than all Disney interpretations regurgitated in press conferences. We’ll pursue the good, bad ‘n ugly behind that curtain without fear. Most teams credential us and are excellent facilitators. Some don’t. One team we write and pod on plenty here told me they won’t issue a credential in part due to a story I wrote 7 1/2 years ago at B/R. That’s fine, that’s their prerogative. There are a million ways to pursue stories that matter to you. We won’t stop.

Your phenomenal support since 2020 is proof that sports media is not doomed.

There are folks who want to read with an open mind, and for that I’m incredibly grateful.

Because we write for you, let’s hear from you. What are you hoping to get out of a Go Long subscription? Email me at golongtd@substack.com.

As a reminder, there are multiple ways to read our content:

1. Your email inbox

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Looking to get a sense for what we do? Here are a handful of our most-read stories from the past year:

• Jordan Poyer’s Last Stand: Why is this 34-year-old still playing football? Simple. He wants to change the world.

• PATRIOT REIGN? How Mike Vrabel and Drake Maye can restart a dynasty of their own: The End of Belichick wasn’t pretty, but hope is renewed again in Foxborough with a coach turning games into street fights and a quarterback who’s ascending.

• House of Dysfunction: Our three-part series on Caleb Williams, Ryan Poles, Kevin Warren and the Chicago Bears.

• Why was Sean McDermott Fired? The goal is Super Bowls. With Josh Allen, the urgency has never been higher. Go Long talks to people with direct knowledge of the decision.

• ‘He wants to win the whole damn thing:’ Inside the Buffalo Bills’ decision to hire Joe Brady as HC. The closer you look, the more it’s clear why Terry Pegula, Brandon Beane and the Bills replaced Sean McDermott with Joe Brady. We take you inside the interview process.

• The Kyler Murray Project: He’s the high-voltage QB capable of electrifying these Vikings… right? A two-part series on where Murray and the Vikes have been and where they’re going next.

• Josh Allen, reborn: The heart and soul of the Buffalo Bills sits down with Go Long for an exclusive 1 on 1. As he enters the next stage of his football life, he has more clarity than ever.

• Joe Brady takes charge: Sprinting onto the field in high school. Sleeping on a hotel floor. Authoring his own scouting reports. Who is the Buffalo Bills’ new head coach? A man with an “edge” who’s always in attack mode. A two-part series.

• Jordyn Brooks is the captain now: “We become a team? The sky’s the limit.” The Miami Dolphins have been anything but that. It was bad. Now? Jordyn Brooks is the man in change and he views this moment as his football destiny.

• Baker Mayfield is America’s Quarterback: Nobody in the NFL is like him. “Bake” represents the sport at its purest, from talking shit to holding grudges to going full Favre in the fourth quarter. And, oh, what happened in Cleveland anyway?

• TreVeyon Henderson sees the light: Sleep paralysis. Demons. Suicidal thoughts. The New England Patriots running back opens up to Go Long on the turning point of his life.

• Tate Ratledge feels no pain: “Dev’s gone.” Those words changed his life. Meet the Detroit Lions ass-kicker who knows he’s a cold, “numb” product of his Athens, Tenn., upbringing and the night in Athens, Ga., he’ll never forget.

• Javon Bullard is the dagger: “I’ll be the bad guy. Make me the villain.” The Green Bay Packers need a killer instinct. We travel south to meet the man who can change everything. (He can’t wait for his next shot at the Bears.)

• ‘Tough son of a bitch:’ The Lessons of Sam Darnold. Tom Brady didn’t believe. Neither did the Jets... the Panthers... the Vikings. So, here’s Sam Darnold one win away from a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks. Is the rest of the NFL paying attention?

• The Promise of Aaron Jones: It took until this year to truly come to grips with his father’s death. The Minnesota Vikings running back is fueled by their final hours together. His sights are set on Canton.

• OUTLAWS: ‘We want you to remember when you played the Texans.’ Their sights are set on history. This Houston Texans defense wants to be known as an all-time unit. Best way to do that? Make offenses hurt this postseason. Here’s how they created a whole new world. A two-part series.

• Matt LaFleur, the Green Bay Packers and the art of a choke: If Green Bay doesn’t move on now, then when?

• On the Dallas Cowboys and organizational rot: Who in their right mind would even want to coach this team? Those who pass through Jerry’s World see the vicious cycle repeating itself.

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Our two-part profile on the new man in charge of the Buffalo Bills here, icymi:

Subscribers can read Go Long’s latest conversation with Brady this week below.

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ORCHARD PARK, NY — Joe Brady is engineering a psychological shift off Abbott Road. It’s overdue. It’s authentic to who he is as a person. The new man in charge of the Buffalo Bills does not want his players to lose the plot.

This was more than an internal promotion because the way Brady attacks day-to-day life as an NFL head coach is a sharp contrast to his former boss. I remember sitting in Sean McDermott’s office in January 2025 — the man was prepared. At one point, he grabbed a Postseason Plan off his desk. The thick packet of papers stapled in the left corner consisted of a long list of neatly curated sections: “mindset,” “the game,” “distractions,” “first-round bye,” “Super Bowl.”

He hyper-analyzed every conceivable situation players could face on gameday.

Planning for the likes of Patrick Mahomes followed similar protocol. Those around the coach who turned this moribund franchise around could sense a tightness build as kickoff neared.

And here’s Brady.

He wants his staff immersed in the details of every opponent — no doubt — but he isn’t going to drown his players in an information overload. Specifically, Brady does not want his players obsessing over individual players on the other sideline. It’s why he didn’t name one New York Jets defender in his first meeting with the offense as OC in ’23 and continued the trend. Hell, the only player he’s ever spoke about in front of the unit was Myles Garrett. (More on that later.)

Why put Mahomes, why put anyone up on a pedestal? Doing so may allow a droplet of fear to work its way into the subconscious. And it’s not the Bills who should be afraid.

When I sat down with Brady at length for our two-parter in the spring, this was the No. 1 takeaway.

“In front of the mass,” Brady said, “when you focus on the other team too much, you lose sight. I want the guys to know going into that game, ‘It is about us.’ They’ve got to play us and not the other way around.”

They need to deal with Josh Allen.

They need to deal with the miserable Western New York cold in December.

They need to deal with a new defense that’ll ramp up unpredictability… and attack. Jim Leonhard’s scheme will take chances.

All of which makes the team’s Week 1 opponent so poetic. The Bills fly south to what’s been their personal house of horrors. The ultimate litmus test for the Joe Brady Era arrives at the starter’s gun. Schematically, thinking this way backfired in last season’s 23-19 defeat. Allen was sacked eight times, hit 12 times, battered silly.

Mainly because this rabid Texans defense attacks Sundays the same way. They declare: “We want you to remember when you played the Texans.”

Go Long threw itself back into this Texans World for our final season-preview feature.

Sources explained how this defense just might’ve cracked the code on the greatest player of our generation: Patrick Mahomes. Truth is, they’ve had the same success vs. Allen, too.

The Texans crater the pocket without blitzing and then it’s a matter of not letting Allen (like Mahomes) knife up the pocket. The Texans want to flush Allen wide —which is where he likes to go anyway — where their team speed/violence reigns supreme. Allen possesses a cannon. He can make any throw on the run. But the Texans are also confident in their DBs sticking with Buffalo’s receivers.

How Buffalo approaches this offensive gameplan will be fascinating.

In last year’s matchup, Brady did not keep extra blockers in to protect.

The Bills did a bunch of funky pre-snap motions to identify what the Texans were in and Allen was clearly confident he had this defense exactly where he wanted ‘em. The QB wanted all five weapons out on routes. Thing is, the Texans will gladly take their five rushers up front vs. any team’s five linemen 1 on 1. Oh, you’d like to isolate offensive tackles on Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter? Fine by them.

Compounding the issue, Buffalo didn’t have receivers, tight ends or backs who could shake free 1 on 1 on those routes.

The last two years, the Bills have had a horde of pass catchers who are at their best inside, which allowed the Texans to pack the middle. To win on Sunday — and in January — they’ll need a separator capable of winning outside. Can DJ Moore be that weapon? A healthy Joshua Palmer? Keon Coleman 3.0? The Texans will take their chances sticking Derek Stingley or Kamari Lassiter over an X and mucking up the action inside. It takes a burner who can pull away from a cornerback to have success against this defense.

The Texans have questions of their own. C.J. Stroud has only regressed since his sensational rookie season. Nobody in football faces more pressure than him.

On Sunday, we’ll start to get answers.

A prediction? Brady, Allen, Leonhard and these 2026 Bills slam the damn accelerator for better or worse this week and beyond.

More passing, more downfield concepts on offense.

More pressure, more risk-taking on defense. As Leonhard said this week: “We have to throw our punches.”

This will lead to mistakes. But in the long run — in the interest of championships — it’s the correct way to play. I loved Josh Allen’s answer in our 1 on 1 on his fumble at Denver in the playoffs. Hell no, that gaffe won’t dull his play style. “I’m going to play football how I know how to play it until I can’t,” he told us. The Bills’ defensive approach must mirror this mentality. Trying to keep all the action in front of you works wonders against the New York Jets or Miami Dolphins in Week 12.

Brady’s mission is to mold a Bills team capable of winning games vs. the best quarterbacks in the playoffs.

From the day he was hired, the 36-year-old has not shied from Super Bowl expectations. Neither has GM Brandon Beane. Amid frantic public outcry over the hire, the team’s new president of football operations told us: “If I’m wrong, the moving company will be at my house. I’m not going to have regret of choosing someone to appease the outside if I thought it should have been something different. If I’m wrong, I’ll fucking take my job and fucking go home.”

Well, the 2026 NFL Season is finally here.

Go Long caught up 1 on 1 with Brady again after one practice this week to revisit his “they’ve got to play us” crede and how this mindset will apply to Sunday’s heavyweight fight.

Brady knows his voice sets the tone.

Players take on the reflection of their coach. We also talk big picture.

Brady has come a long way from sprinting onto a high school football field for his one shot as a player before then suffering a staph infection and hearing a doctor say he might lose his leg.

Paid subscribers can read our latest conversation below.

When we sat down back in April, I love the way you put it: “They’ve got to play us.” That mentality, that mindset. Now that it’s been five months, how have you incorporated those words into your football team as the coach? In little ways and big ways?

Brady: I’ve just tried to be myself through it all. And I hope that’s the mentality that I approach everything with. Look, at the end of the day, I believe in the guys we have and I want them to know there’s going to be bad out there, we’re going to make mistakes, but we don’t need to concern ourselves with all the outside noise, with who we’re playing or who’s on that team or what’s happening. Let’s just focus on ourselves — and then we walk off the bus — we should feel confident in our preparation and who we have that we should be good to go. And I can say that because I do have that faith in the guys. It’s not a false confidence. We have what I believe we need. So there’s no reason we should walk into each stadium not feeling that.

Subconsciously, that’s got to bake its way into players’ competitive brains, right? Yes, you have to worry about Will Anderson Jr. and Derek Stingley Jr. — and you do. You’re doing that behind the scenes. But if you’re bringing their names up 100 times this week, I’m guessing that could be detrimental.

Brady: Yeah. It’s not for everybody. And look, maybe I’ll figure it out as we go, but I took a lot of pride in — once I became OC — that I never… the only person I ever talked about, I talked about Myles Garrett once in my entire time in front of the unit. The only thing I said was, “Look, he’s going to break the sack record at some point this year, but it’s not going to be against us.” That was the only time. And I even walked out and I was like, “That’s the first time I’ve ever even brought up an opponent, a person.” Hey, let’s just focus on ourselves. This is what we’re going to have to do. This is what we have to do. I think it’s good for the guys. Hey, this is what we’ve got to control and it shouldn’t be, “Hey, this week we have to do something differently. This week — because they have Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter — we’ve got to change this.” And so the guys know it. We go into meetings and we prepare. The coaches talk in-depth and all that, but they don’t need to then go hear it from me and then go hear it again. So, we’ll see.

There’s got to be a happy medium. You’re not going to lay out your gameplan for this Sunday here obviously. But with Myles Garrett (last season), it did seem like there was a lot of attention sent his way and you wanted to take him out of that game. In Houston, it was: “Shit, we’re going to run our stuff.” I don’t know what that balance is. Do you go back and forth on the best approach?

Brady: Obviously, look, any time Josh is on his back, that’s not a good thing. I never liked that. I didn’t like how I called the game. I didn’t like how we played. There’s so many things that we grew from, after that game, the rest of the year. I’ve refused — and I’ve told the guys this — the fact that it was a Thursday night game has nothing to do with anything. That has nothing to do with it. That’s our job as coaches to put a better product out there. That’s our job as players to be put in better positions, all that. This defense is outstanding. And they have a great combination and it’s a product of their coach. You can tell their team plays to the personality of DeMeco. So, I have a lot of respect for it and that’s not just talk. It’s fun to see as a fan of football. They fly around the football. They hunt the ball. And they’ve got guys who fit their scheme and believe in what they’re doing. It’s hard to have a plan for the D-Linemen and then have a plan for the corners and then have a plan… that’s why they’re so successful and so it’s going to be a great opportunity.

What do you want the personality of your team to be? When “they” have to play “us,” what do you want the Buffalo Bills to really be this first season?

Brady: I want us to be able to find ways to win different ways. If we only have one fastball and this is all we’ve got — and a team eventually finds ways to navigate that and we don’t have other ways to win football games — we’re going to struggle. It’s not, “Hey, the only way we win is if we run the ball” or “the only way we win is if we stop the run.” Those are so easy that every team in the league is saying you’ve got to run the ball and stop the run. But all right, if we’re not running the ball, do we have a system in place and answers to be able to still find a way to win the football game? OK, hey, we’re not stopping the run. Do we have ways of being a little more versatile in defensive packages and change things up? I want our guys to have the mindset of: “Hey, we’re going to figure it out and we’ve got 60 minutes to figure it out and just play the next play. Put the ball down and we’ll be good to go.”

You and Brandon both have not been backing down from these expectations. We’ve been talking about it since January. You’re stepping into an unprecedented…

Brady: But I don’t know that. You know what I mean? I don’t know that. I’m not running from anything. I never have. But I don’t spend time thinking about, “Oh my God, this is my first…” I got asked the question the other day: “What’s it like going to be like coaching your first game?” Right, wrong or indifferent. We can go out there and fucking lose by 80. So I’m going to figure it out. I’m going to make mistakes. I’m going to grow. I’m going to roll with it, but I’m going to walk in with the same level of confidence that I have my entire life because we’re preparing for it and I’ve got guys in that locker room that I’ve got a lot of confidence in.

You were that sixth-string receiver running onto the field in high school.

Brady: Yeah, that’s it. That’s why I don’t blink when we’ve had to play a lot of wideouts the last couple of years because it’s like, “Look, those guys are going to be ready to go. Let’s go.” I can’t sit there and be like, “Oh, you know what? We’re having to play this guy this week or this guy.” Nope, that was me. So, I don’t blink. We’ll have 11 in the huddle and we’ll be alright.

Just no staph infection again.

Brady: No staph infections. I don’t have to play anymore, so as long as I can be on the sideline, I’ll be on the sideline.

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This marks the continuation of a 2023 series looking at active players and their current situation vis a vis what it was entering the NFL draft. The comments from personnel men were made in the months leading up to the draft for my NFL Draft Series, which dates to 1985. Scouting football players is an inexact science, especially when it comes to off-the-field considerations. It has been said no two evaluators view a player exactly the same way.

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By Bob McGinn

Leonard Williams is more than just a survivor. He has become the ultimate achiever, a defensive tackle in the National Football League with the rare distinction of playing his best a decade into his career.

On Wednesday night, the Seattle Seahawks will begin defense of their NFL championship against the New England Patriots, the team they defeated in the 60^th Super Bowl. Williams, a 12-year veteran, is the centerpiece of what was the NFL’s top scoring defense a season ago.

“He’s the cornerstone of all the things they do on defense,” an executive in personnel said. “Their secondary calls are based upon Williams and his ability to disrupt everything inside. He’s not as wide as a lot of guys but his effectiveness you can’t really measure because he’s such a force.”

The two New York teams, the Jets and the Giants, obviously didn’t see Williams in that light. The Jets, who drafted him high in the first round in 2015, traded him to the Giants in mid-2019, and four years later almost to the day the Giants dealt him to Seattle. The two trades were for draft-choice compensation only, but it was informative that neither deal included a pick in the first round.

The New York clubs liked Williams, but only to a point. The Jets and Giants had their reasons for moving on. The highly-paid Williams had been a solid but not exceptional performer in his 8 ½ seasons on the East Coast.

Talk about benefiting from a change of scenery. Once Williams got to the Pacific Northwest his game took off to the point where now he has reached what NFL teams always knew was an extremely high ceiling. No one doubted his effort in New York, but Williams discovered he had another gear and outlook immediately upon arrival in Seattle.

“I think it just lit a fire within me,” Williams said in August. “It just restored all my energy and love for the game.”

As his age-32 season arrives Williams finds himself awash with professional status and accolades that have never come his way before. Suddenly, he is rated at or near the top of defensive tackles after 10 long years of watching those honors always bestowed on his contemporaries.

In the offseason, ESPN polled more than 70 NFL executives, coaches and scouts to rank the top 10 players at each position entering the 2026 season. The ESPN undertaking, directed by Jeremy Fowler, began in 2020.

Before this year, Williams’ best finish was No. 6 in 2025. This year, Williams jumped all the way to No. 1; it was his first top-5 finish.

“That was amazing,” Williams said. “I think it’s awesome to get that recognition, especially later in my career. I feel like I’ve always trusted and had confidence in the type of player I am. I think having (attention on the) season and our team from going to the Super Bowl has kind of shed more light on individuals as well. It’s an honor to be able to get that recognition from my peers, especially. It’s not a fan voting. It’s something that’s from league executives and coaches and things like that, which means a lot more.”

ESPN’s top-10 after Williams, in order, were Jeffery Simmons, Jalen Carter, Chris Jones, Derrick Brown, Quinnen Williams, Dexter Lawrence, Zach Allen, Milton Williams and Jordan Davis.

One of the stunning elements of the ESPN poll was the fact that last year was the first time Williams had been voted to the Pro Bowl. He had been a replacement pick in 2016 and 2024. Pro Bowl voting incorporates a formula involving the vote of coaches, players and fans.

In all, 19 defensive tackles received votes in the survey by ESPN.

Last week, I ran the names of those 19 defensive tackles by two personnel men asking them if they’d rather have that player or Williams entering 2026. Each selected five players over Williams, so in theory he was No. 6 overall. Vita Vea, Simmons and Carter were taken over Williams by both scouts; the four receiving one nod over him were Jones, Quinnen Williams, Lawrence and Davis.

“I would say he’s top-5 for sure,” said one executive. “He’s had a couple peaks and valleys in his career. Maybe three or four years ago I felt his play was a little more inconsistent. Now at Seattle he’s been a truly dominant player.

“In the run game he can dominate singles and hold up against doubles. He also has the ability to split blocks and get in the backfield. I’ve always admired him for being such a good athlete to get off blockers and make plays.

“As a rusher, he’s a little bit undervalued. He could win with power. He could win with speed on edges. Good with his hands. He’s a violent player. Really a rare athlete for his size. He has the ability to really move down the line of scrimmage and get to the ball.”

Marc Ross, an executive in personnel for more than 20 years with the Eagles, Bills and Giants, was one of four scouts who said Williams’ resume isn’t Hall of Fame quality.

“He’s just a damn good player,” said Ross. “He could be 1, he could be 5 (now). Hard to say who’s the best. He got better with age. He always showed that he was good and had talent, but you see what happened when a really talented guy gets in a situation that is advantageous for him.”

Fifteen defensive tackles have been voted to two or more Pro Bowls since Williams entered the league 12 years ago. That list includes Donald (nine), Jones (seven), Fletcher Cox (six), Geno Atkins and Cameron Heyward (five), Calais Campbell (four), Gerald McCoy, Jurrell Casey, Quinnen Williams and Lawrence (three), and Grady Jarrett, Zach Allen, Jeffrey Simmons, Nnamdi Madubuike and Carter (two). Williams and 10 other D-tackles have been voted to one.

“It’s a great question: is he great, or just a very good one?” said another scout. “I think he’s very good. On the cusp of being great. The first thing you notice about Leonard Williams is his length. Then his get-off, his quickness and his agility.

“When I evaluated him in New York I saw no problems with the guy. It’s, like, then he goes there (Seattle) and continues to do it and now they win a Super Bowl and everybody wants to talk about the guy. It’s sad because he’s had a legit career. He’s got great numbers in terms of pressures. It’s not always about sacks.

“To me, do you have a presence in that middle? Yes, he has a presence in the middle.”

Go Long paid subscribers can access this piece — and all of McGinn’s content — in full. He’ll dissect the NFC North weekly on the Ty & Bob Pod and pen longform columns like this one below all season long.

BASICS

Height: 6-4 ½. Weight: 310 (302 at the combine, 304 at pro day). Age: 32. From: Daytona Beach, Fla.

40-yard dash: 4.95. Vertical jump: 29 ½ inches. Broad jump: 8-10. Bench press: No lift (right shoulder injury). Wonderlic test: 22. Short shuttle: 4.53. 3-cone: 7.59. Arms: 34 5/8 (tied for longest among the top 15 DTs). Hands: 10 5/8 (second largest among the top 20 DTs).

Leonard Williams was born in Bakersfield, Calif., in 1994. He was the third of Aviva Russek’s five children. His mother was a nurse and his father, Clenin Lee Williams III, was a college graduate who worked as a computer numerical control machinist in Detroit after the family moved in Michigan when Williams was about 5.

His parents separated in 2009. During childhood Williams moved from Detroit to Arizona to Daytona Beach, where the family often lived in homeless shelters or a motel.

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