NFL midseason grades; NFL, faculty QB Energy Rankings; extra UEFA Champions League surprises

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🏈 Good morning to all, however particularly to …

OUR NFL MIDSEASON WINNERS

With the NFL’s 17-game, 18-week schedule, Week 9 really marks the halfway level of the season — 138 of the season’s 272 video games have been performed thus far — and as Week 10 will get underway tonight with an attractive Bengals-Ravens matchup, let’s check out what’s occurred thus far.

We’ll begin with Jeff Kerr’s midterm grades for each group. Eight squads earned a grade within the “A” vary, and three ascended to “A+” territory.

• Lions — “They’re one of the best group within the NFC and the Chiefs‘ greatest menace to a three-peat. They’re first within the NFL in factors per recreation, discovering methods to attain in all three phases of the sport.”
• Chiefs — “The Chiefs simply seem inevitable at this level.”
• Commanders — “The Commanders have the No. 1 offense in factors and yards per possession, because of the constant passing of Jayden Daniels and his capability to open issues up within the run recreation.”

5 groups earned an “F.” Yikes.

Shifting from groups to people, Pete Prisco launched his midseason All-Professional group, with Baltimore’s glorious Lamar Jackson-Derrick Henry duo main the way in which.

• Prisco: “Jackson is such a unique thrower of the soccer than he has been up to now. He seems a lot calmer doing it, which speaks to his command of the offense. He has 20 landing passes and two interceptions … When [the Ravens] signed Henry this offseason, I actually wasn’t certain if he could be the identical again he was in his prime. He’s that and much more.”

We even have in-depth group grades for the Cowboys, Patriots and Steelers.

Here is extra:

👍 Honorable mentions

😕 And never such a great morning for …

THE NFL TRADES THAT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED

The NFL commerce deadline is within the rearview, and we had all day Wednesday to focus on the aftermath.

Now, we are able to deal with the offers that did not occur … however ought to have. Josh Edwards noticed seven strikes that may have spiced issues up and made sense, together with …

• Edwards: “Dolphins DT Calais Campbell to the 49ers — San Francisco has at all times valued size alongside the defensive position and few evaluate to Campbell. There may be familiarity between the 2 groups contemplating Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel came to visit from the Bay Space. The 38-year-old is enjoying on the ultimate 12 months of his contract, however has 2.0 sacks and one pressured fumble to his identify this season. Javon Hargrave is probably going achieved for the season and Javon Kinlaw is now within the Huge Apple. The 49ers are counting on two inside defenders who weren’t on the roster final season.”

There was hypothesis some very, very massive names would change groups, however Joel Corry defined why that did not come to fruition.

👎 Not so honorable mentions

🏈 NFL, Faculty Soccer QB Energy Rankings: Aaron Rodgers on the rise … lastly

Let’s not overreact to at least one recreation, however every week in the past, Aaron Rodgers lastly, lastly, appeared just like the man who arrived to a lot fanfare final offseason. After a scoreless first half that appeared like issues may very well be fully falling aside for New York, the Jets scored three second-half touchdowns in opposition to a robust Texans protection, with Rodgers connecting with Garrett Wilson for 2 touchdowns and outdated pal Davante Adams for the winner.

I am not 100% bought Rodgers is “again” — he is 40 and will not ever return to the height of his powers — or has even put his early-season struggles behind him, but it surely was pretty much as good as he is appeared with Gang Inexperienced. As such, Rodgers jumped eight spots from twenty eighth to twentieth in Cody Benjamin’s NFL QB Energy Rankings, the most important leap of the week. Heading within the different route, Caleb Williams fell seven spots from seventeenth to twenty fourth.

Over within the faculty ranks, the highest three — Dillon Gabriel, Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders — had been all among the many high names final week, however there are many newcomers behind them, together with a debutant at No. 6.

• Fornelli: “6. Kevin Jennings, SMU — Jennings’ finest efficiency of the season might have come Saturday night time in opposition to then-undefeated Pitt. Jennings threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns to assist the Mustangs crush the Panthers, 48-25. … Whereas not beginning the primary three video games hurts a few of his statistics, he nonetheless ranks fifteenth nationally in passing effectivity. That is not unhealthy for a man who was seen as a ‘working QB’ coming into the season.”

⚽ UEFA Champions League Matchday 4 takeaways, Workforce of the Week

UEFA Champions League Matchday 4 got here to a detailed Wednesday, and identical to Tuesday, there was loads of surprising drama.

Maybe the headline is Arsenal falling 1-0 to Inter because the cross-happy Gunners had been held scoreless once more. However essentially the most drama — and essentially the most fear — belongs to PSG, which misplaced on the demise 2-1 to Atletico Madrid.

Angel Correa‘s last-second purpose means Les Parisiens have one win, one draw and two losses by 4 Champions League video games, and that places them exterior the highest 24 groups that advance to the following stage. Luis Enrique has his work minimize out for him, Jonathan Johnson writes.

• Johnson: “The place PSG go subsequent from right here is anybody’s guess with Bayern Munich and Purple Bull Salzburg on the street subsequent up in Europe earlier than anybody subsequent visits the French capital and having misplaced to Arsenal and Atleti whereas being held by PSV Eindhoven places the Ligue I Kings in a weak place. … Paris at the moment are teetering on the point of an embarrassing elimination within the League Section which was beforehand unthinkable no matter a tricky-looking fixture record when the draw was first made which nonetheless consists of Manchester Metropolis at house.”

We talked yesterday about Liverpool‘s spectacular efficiency, and the Reds put three gamers — Luis Diaz, Mohamed Salah and Curtis Jones — on Pardeep Cattry’s Champions League Workforce of the Week. (Additionally making the group was a USMNT striker!)

So after a wild, entertaining two days, the highest 5 of Chuck Sales space’s Energy Rankings seems like this:

1. Liverpool (earlier: 2)
2. Barcelona (3)
3. Inter (7)
4. Manchester Metropolis (1)
5. Arsenal (5)

📺 What we’re watching Thursday

🏀 Timberwolves at Bulls, 8 p.m. on NBA TV
🏈 App State at Coastal Carolina, 8 p.m. on ESPN
🏈 Bengals at Ravens, 8:15 p.m. on Prime Video