There are two NFC East teams playing in the Divisional Round.
No Distraction: Eagles Kellen Moore “Has Team Ready” For Rams – Ed Kracz, Sports Illustrated
The Eagles current OC is focusing on the task at hand.
Moore, though, is a different story. He has three interviews lined up before Sunday’s kickoff. He is scheduled to talk with the Jaguars, Saints, and Cowboys.
Meanwhile, Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury has decided not to invite distraction and has declined all interview requests.
Sirianni himself did the same thing when he was in Indianapolis. The Browns wanted to talk to him about their vacancy after the 2020 season, but the Colts were in the playoffs at the time. They ultimately lost, but Cleveland hired Kevin Stefanski.
There’s no right or wrong answer as to what assistant should or shouldn’t do when it comes time to determining their future. This is how the NFL has it set up, so there’s no getting around it.
Sirianni said there is time for coaches to talk with other teams who request interviews, usually on Friday and Saturday afternoons.
“Those are the times, in these scenarios, guys have earned the right to interview for jobs,” he said. “We’re not the only ones in this position. There are a lot of teams still going this weekend that are having guys do this as well. Kellen’s ready. He has our team ready. He’s handled it big time all week, which I really never thought he wouldn’t. He’s handled it like a pro.”
Game status | Bobby Wagner active vs. Lions in Divisional round – Zach Selby, Commanders.com
Washington will have their defensive leader on the field against Detroit.
The Washington Commanders are getting their Hall of Fame linebacker for their biggest game of the last 20 years. Bobby Wagner will be available for the Commanders’ playoff game against the Detroit Lions in the Divisional round.
Wagner was out on Tuesday and Wednesday with an ankle injury, but head coach Dan Quinn dismissed any speculation that he would be unable to play on Saturday.
“No,” Quinn said when about any concerns for Wagner. “He did a good job on the rehab part of it. … He looks strong.”
Wagner has been the Commanders’ emotional and statistical leader all season. He led the team with 132 tackles during the regular season — he’s had at least 100 in each of his seasons as a pro — and had eight tackles with a quarterback hit against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Wagner supplied one of the game-changing plays in the 23-20 Wild Card. He fell on a fumble by Baker Mayfield in the fourth quarter, setting the offense up at Tampa Bay’s 13-yard line. The Commanders scored and took the lead on a five-yard touchdown to Terry McLaurin four plays later.
“He is a rare competitor,” Quinn said of Wagner in his postgame press conference. “So much of his success is unseen work. I’m in early. He’s already there. He’ll be the first one in tomorrow. I’m certain of it. He’s just that type of competitor that he doesn’t back off of it.”
The Commanders will need more of that against the Lions, who boast one of the best offenses in the league. They ended the regular season ranked second in yards per game, first in points and fourth in third-down conversion rate.
Quinn also said there was no concern about Zane Gonzalez, who appeared on the injury report with a hip issue. Gonzalez hit the game-winning field goal against the Buccaneers that sent Washington to the Divisional round for the first time since 2005.
Malik Nabers, Brock Bowers bonded before rookie record chase – Dan Salomone, Giants.com
New York’s WR1 bonded with a draft classmate before they broke their respective records.
No school. No sports. No combine prep. For the first time since he was 11, Malik Nabers has a break.
And the wide receiver has plenty to reflect on in the downtime between now and the start of spring football.
“It never really hit me,” Nabers said during a sit-down conversation with Giants.com. “I’m sure it will later on when I’m thinking about it. I’m still taking it all in.”
Nabers, whose rookie year coincided with the Giants’ 100th season, broke the franchise record with 109 catches, two more than the previous mark held by Steve Smith since 2009. At the same time, he was in a race with Raiders tight end Brock Bowers to rewrite the NFL rookie record of 105, which was held by the Rams’ Puka Nacua and stood for just one season.
Bowers ultimately finished on top with three more than his old lifting buddy.
Nabers, the eventual sixth overall pick who capped his college career as the all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards in his backyard at LSU, struck up a friendship during prep for the the NFL Scouting Combine with Bowers, the 13th overall pick and Georgia product who grew up in California wine country. As football players tend to do, they got to talking – and competing – in the weight room, where the 6-foot, 200-pound wide receiver wanted to keep up with the tight ends.
“I’m lifting with Cade Stover (fourth-round pick by Houston) and I’m lifting with Brock, and I don’t want to keep taking the weight off,” Nabers recalled. “They’re like, ‘You can lift this?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah.’ They’re like, ‘No way.’ And I was lifting with them. They’re like, ‘All right, cool.’ That friendship became a little bond through the weight room. We’d always see each other and have laughs. Brock is a funny dude. Him and Cade together are funny dudes. It’s great making friends around the league. Those tight ends, though, they like to lift a lot. I was keeping up though.”
