RIVERS McCOWN has written for ESPN.com, Bleacher Re- port, USA Today, and Deadspin, among other places. He’s edited for Football Outsiders, Rookie Scouting Portfolio, and Pre-Snap Reads Quarterback Catalogue. He lives in Houston, Texas, with his wife, under the control of two cats and two birds. He wants more jobs, and if you don’t give them to him, he’ll be forced to keep speedrunning video games and helping design randomizer hacks for them.
Though he's theoretically an off-ball linebacker, the Cowboys star may once again be forced into a pass-rushing role.
Four Downs returns to review the NFC East. Washington's never-ending search for a quarterback continues, the Cowboys need corners, the Giants need offensive linemen, and the Eagles need wide receivers.
If the Tennessee Titans are going to beat the Cincinnati Bengals and advance to the AFC Championship Game, they'll need Harold Landry and their pass rush to put Joe Burrow on the ground.
Matthew Stafford has thrown eight interceptions in his last four games. The Arizona Cardinals have lost four of their last five contests. One of those trends should come to an end in the playoffs on Monday night.
Our own Rivers McCown has some thoughts on the forever-extended Deshaun Watson trade talks. Watson has apparently waived his no-trade clause for just one team, the Miami Dolphins. But is the trade just waiting for Watson to settle the lawsuits against him?
Here's our annual under-the-radar Top 25 Prospects list from Football Outsiders Almanac 2021, also running on ESPN+ this weekend. These are the top young prospects who were not chosen in the first or second rounds and haven't gotten a ton of playing time yet.
Offense is the order of the day in this division. The Texans need running backs, the Jaguars need tight ends, and the Titans need receivers. As for the Colts, they'd better have a backup plan in case Carson Wentz really is toast.
The Jaguars and Titans need to add names on defense. The Colts have already added a name at quarterback, but they should keep adding names until they find the answer. As for the Texans, they need to get rid of the name at the very top of their organization.
Patrick Mahomes is shooting for his second straight Super Bowl title. The biggest remaining Cinderella, Cleveland, will be standing in his way. On the other side of the bracket, Baltimore and Buffalo present a excellent matchup of two well-rounded teams that have peaked in recent weeks.
We've got two teams where the fan bases are hungry for some kind of postseason victory after many years in the wilderness. We've got two aging quarterbacks from the Class of 2004, trying to make one last run at Super Bowl glory. And we've got the closest matchup of the wild-card round, a rematch of both a regular-season game and a big upset from last year's playoffs.
