FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — If Denver Broncos star Von Miller had owned the top pick in the most recent NFL draft, he would’ve selected Sam Darnold.
“I don’t know nothing about drafting a quarterback or anything like that, but I thought he was the No. 1 pick, for sure,” Miller told New York area reporters Wednesday on a conference call.
Von Miller said he has been impressed by Sam Darnold’s ability to escape pressure. Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire
“I thought he was the best offensive player in the draft,” Miller said. “He’s a great quarterback. He’s been playing well. They haven’t been coming up with the wins, but he’s playing really well.”
Actually, Darnold has been the NFL’s lowest-rated passer (63.8) over the past three weeks — all losses for the Jets (1-3). Perhaps Miller, a savvy veteran, was engaging in some gamesmanship.
Darnold was the No. 3 overall pick, following quarterback Baker Mayfield and running back Saquon Barkley, respectively. (The Broncos took pass-rusher Bradley Chubb at No. 5.)
Miller sent mixed signals, saying Mayfield was “rightfully” the top pick. But the linebacker quickly added, “In my opinion, just watching everything from a pass-rusher’s point of view, I just feel like [Darnold] was the No. 1 pick in the draft. He wasn’t the No. 1 pick, but he’s definitely playing like it.”
Darnold has the worst passer rating in the NFL over the past three weeks, but the Jets are seeing improvement. Now it’s a matter of executing.
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Darnold smiled when Miller’s comments were relayed to him.
“I mean, it’s a good feeling; I’m not going to lie. But at the same time, I can’t worry about that,” Darnold said. “But when people like that have high praise for me or they’re saying cool things, it’s obviously very flattering.”
One of Darnold’s most impressive traits, Miller said, is his ability to escape pressure. In that respect, he said Darnold is nothing like Miller’s former teammate Peyton Manning.
“As a pass-rusher, you want a guy who will fall when you get to him, kind of like how Peyton was,” Miller said with a laugh. “That’s exactly what you want. When you get close to him and you get ready to touch him, just falls. Sam, he’s not like that. He’s going to create space and get the ball downfield. Rightfully so. He’s a playmaker.”
Darnold has been sacked 10 times in four starts, but he also has displayed the ability to make plays outside the pocket. He also has struggled in recent weeks, with only two touchdowns and four interceptions in the past three games.
Darnold believes he’s “on the edge” of a breakout game.
Cleveland Browns receiver Antonio Callaway pleaded not guilty Sept. 27 to misdemeanor charges of marijuana possession and driving with a suspended license related to an August traffic stop, according to NFL Network and Ohio.com.
Callaway was stopped at 2:59 a.m. on Aug. 5 in suburban Cleveland. Police found a small amount of marijuana in the car and learned that Callaway was driving with a suspended license.
Callaway’s attorney, Kevin Spellacy, said the marijuana was not Callaway’s.
“He’s emphatic that he did not possess marijuana,” Spellacy told Ohio.com.
Browns receiver Antonio Callaway is “emphatic that he did not possess marijuana,” his lawyer told Ohio.com. Ken Blaze/USA TODAY Sports
Callaway told police that his car had been shipped to him in Cleveland a few days before he was pulled over and that he was not aware that there was marijuana in the car.
Spellacy attributed the suspended license to a paperwork issue caused by Callaway’s move from Florida to Ohio.
The Browns stood behind Callaway after the incident. His next court appearance is not yet set.
This is not Callaway’s first off-field incident. He also had a positive drug test at the NFL scouting combine caused by a diluted sample. That put him in the NFL and NFL Players Association’s substance abuse program.
A rookie fourth-round pick, Callaway has 10 receptions for 155 yards and one touchdown.
Teams can designate two players to return from injured reserve during the season. The designation does not need to be made until the player returns to practice. Mitchell can return to practice in six weeks but has to miss a minimum of eight games.
To take his place on the roster, the team promoted Jeremiah McKinnon from the practice squad.
DENVER — The events of Nov. 15, 2015, at Denver’s Mile High Stadium felt at the time like temporary relief for the Kansas City Chiefs. They ended years of frustration by finally breaking through against their longtime tormentors and AFC West bullies, the Denver Broncos.
The Chiefs ended a seven-game game losing streak against the Broncos that day with a 29-13 victory. For added measure, they intercepted Peyton Manning four times before he was pulled from the game in what would be the future Hall of Fame quarterback’s last game against the Chiefs.
The feeling of beating the Broncos looked to be fleeting. The Chiefs, despite the victory, watched as the Broncos eventually claimed a fifth straight AFC West championship and the franchise’s third Super Bowl victory.
But that day’s developments remain significant. They served as a turning point for the Chiefs and the AFC West as a whole.
The Chiefs haven’t lost to the Broncos since, their winning streak against Denver at five games heading into Monday night’s matchup between the teams. The two division titles since 2015 belong to the Chiefs, and as the only 3-0 team in the AFC West, a third straight championship already appears theirs to lose.
A few factors play into this, including Manning’s retirement after that 2015 season. The biggest reason is the plan Kansas City set in motion in 2013 when Andy Reid was hired as the Chiefs’ head coach.
Not long ago, Denver dominated the division, but now Andy Reid and the Chiefs have won 17 of 18 games against AFC West teams, including five in a row vs. the Broncos.
Isaiah J. Downing/USA TODAY Sports
It took a couple of seasons for the team to see significant results, but eventually Kansas City has come to not only rule over the Broncos but also the other division rivals, the Chargers and Raiders. The Chiefs have won 17 of 18 games against AFC West teams by building an offense the others haven’t been able to keep pace with.
“He’s built a multidimensional team, particularly on offense, to where he has so many options that maybe he didn’t have when he first got there. His area of expertise being the offense, he’s built it into a juggernaut in terms of how they can play, and I think that’s what’s making the difference in Kansas City. It’s worked perfectly. They can play so many different styles. They have quick-strike ability. They have grind-it-out running ability. They have control-the-field ability. So he can just kind of do what he needs to do in order to win a game. They’re in a very good spot right now, at least on that side of the ball.”
The Chiefs haven’t yet translated all of this to great success outside the AFC West. They went 17-13 over the past three years in regular-season games against opponents from outside the division and 1-3 in the playoffs.
But they’ve done many good things in the AFC West and particularly against the Broncos. The Chiefs have at least 27 points in each of their five straight wins against Denver. They had 27 or more only once in the previous 10 games against the Broncos.
Reid shrugged off the Chiefs’ recent success against the Broncos and said he paid little attention to the reasons control of the division has flipped from Denver to Kansas City.
“When you’re in the mix, you don’t have time to evaluate all of that,” he said.
The Chiefs went out and got Mitchell Schwartz in 2016 to neutralize Von Miller, who had three sacks in his first game against the Chiefs and Schwartz, but none in the three games since. Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire
“You could feel it,” said Schwartz, who played for the Browns his first four NFL seasons. “A lot of it was because they were such a good team and they had been so successful. We knew we had to bring it against a tough defense.”
The Chiefs made the playoffs in two of the first three seasons after Reid’s arrival, in 2013 and 2015. But they were wild-card entrants each time.
They needed to be better in division games if they were going to win the AFC West. They were 10-8 against AFC West opponents in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
“The first order of business is to try to win your division, and to do that you will try to build your team with an eye towards [division rivals],” Riddick said. “[Reid] had an eye on what Denver had, especially on the defensive side of the ball.”
The Broncos in 2015 had a great defense that included the so-called “No Fly Zone” with Pro Bowl cornerbacks Chris Harris and Aqib Talib. The Broncos also had a premier pass-rusher in Von Miller, who, like other top AFC West pass-rushers Khalil Mack of Oakland and Melvin Ingram of the Chargers, frequently lined up on the left side.
To win against Denver’s secondary, the Chiefs overhauled their wide receiving group. Their top four wide receivers, including starters Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins, have arrived since 2016. This year they replaced longtime quarterback Alex Smith with Patrick Mahomes, who has 13 touchdowns and zero interceptions in the first three games.
The Chiefs sought out receivers Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins to counter defenses like Denver’s “No Fly Zone.” Justin K. Aller/Getty Images
To counter Miller, the Chiefs in 2016 made the wise and underrated move to sign a top right tackle, Schwartz. He has been everything the Chiefs hoped for in bolstering their protection.
“There’s no doubt that knowing what the AFC West was giving [Reid] in terms of matchup problems, he needed to make sure the right tackle situation was solidified,” Riddick said.
Miller had three sacks in his first game against the Chiefs and Schwartz but none in the three games since.
Said Reid of Schwartz vs. Miller: “It’s a fun matchup to watch. They get after each other.”
Monday night’s game feels like a last chance to keep the Chiefs from running away with another division title. A victory against the Broncos would give the Chiefs a lead of at least two games over each of the other AFC West teams. They would be 2-0 in division games, with two road wins.
That lead wouldn’t be insurmountable, but the Chiefs might be difficult to catch, something their rivals are getting used to.
“They’re still young,” Riddick said. “Look down their lineup. These are guys you can see playing for them for the next three, four, five years. Patrick’s not going anywhere. Kareem’s not going anywhere. Ty’s not going anywhere. Sammy was just signed to a big-time contract. Travis is not going anywhere. The offensive line, Demarcus Robinson, they’re not going anywhere. They’re built for the now and for the future, which is kind of scary from a competitor’s standpoint.
“They have the right plan in place. They have the right coach in place. They have the right coach-GM relationship in place. And they have the franchise quarterback with ridiculous weapons. Now they have to take care of the defensive side of the ball. But as long as there’s nothing unforeseeable that comes in and destroys the kind of chemistry and the kind of plan they have going, there’s no reason they shouldn’t be considered AFC West favorites every year for the next three or four years.”
The Chiefs can look back at their 2015 breakthrough against the Broncos as the moment when it all started. The Chiefs went to Denver with a 2-5 record, making a victory over the eventual Super Bowl champions look unlikely.
But their time had finally come, and beating the Broncos can’t be overlooked in explaining everything that has followed.
“For sure that game was big,” Riddick said. “Division games always mean more, emotionally and psychologically. So when you beat a team like that that’s had your number, yeah, it means a ton.”
PITTSBURGH — Not even prime time can save these Pittsburgh Steelers, though Sunday’s loss cuts deeper than some meaningless stat.
The Steelers, previously winners of 10 straight night games before the Baltimore Ravens’ 26-14 pounding, are a team without much of an identity beyond a few good drives here or there.
They can’t get enough stops, they can’t run the ball consistently enough and the flair of the past few years is hidden somewhere in the Heinz Field turf.
What exactly is this team about? That’s hard to know when the answers are sporadic from week to week.
Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers offense couldn’t get anything going against the Ravens in the second half. AP Photo/Fred Vuich
The Steelers’ disastrous starts at home are becoming more standard than aberration.
These numbers are numbing: In the past three home games, the Steelers have spotted opponents a combined 56-0 lead.
The Steelers largely played the Ravens to a draw for much of the game, but that doesn’t matter when it’s 14-0 seven minutes in.
To no surprise, the Steelers have lost three consecutive home games for the first time since 2012.
But so many plays were emblematic of a unit that can’t rediscover its glorified past. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Steelers had the Ravens first-and-18 at midfield and gave up a first down on two simple dump-offs and a sea of missed tackles.
These are crippling plays that will plague them all year unless something changes.
The reality is the Steelers’ offense is starting to miss Le’Veon Bell. James Conner has done some nice things but was averaging 3.9 yards per carry before his 19 yards on nine carries Sunday night lowered that figure further.
That forces Ben Roethlisberger (27-of-46, 274 yards, one touchdown, one interception) to keep defenses honest almost entirely with his arm, which works sometimes but probably isn’t sustainable.
Roethlisberger’s throw off his back foot with 2:22 left into the area of two Ravens defenders fell gently into the hands of Ravens corner Anthony Levine because it had no juice behind it.
The Steelers’ early offensive strategy was a sound one: Use Antonio Brown on deeper routes to draw the safety and loosen up the middle. That explains why fourth receiver Ryan Switzer caught seven passes and tight end Vance McDonald added 62 yards.
But when the Steelers needed big third-down plays in the second half, Roethlisberger and Brown were clearly off on their timing despite having a few opportunities to thread the ball. Usually, that deep out route to the sideline is money for them. Not right now.
The Steelers failed to convert 10 of 12 third downs compared to the Ravens hovering around 50 percent in that area for much of the game. In the fourth quarter, the Steelers held the ball for two minutes, 40 seconds. Oof.
Couple all that with coach Mike Tomlin’s botched challenge over a Ravens third-down conversion and McDonald’s costly first-quarter fumble, and that’s how games are lost.
A third straight AFC North title is starting to slip away. The Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns are all better.
The season might be salvageable, but not the way the Steelers are currently playing — especially with Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons coming to Pittsburgh in Week 5.
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