Monday's NFL: Ravens' 24-game preseason win streak ends vs. Commanders
Landover, Md. – Sam Howell threw for 188 yards and two touchdowns as the Washington Commanders defeated the Baltimore Ravens 29-28 on a last-minute field goal, snapping one of the NFL’s most peculiar runs of success.
The loss marked the end of a 24-game preseason win streak for the Ravens, who passed the previous NFL record of 19, set by the Green Bay Packers in the 1950s.
Howell was still in middle school the last time the Baltimore Ravens lost a preseason game in 2015.
He was named the Commanders’ starting quarterback last Friday, and on Monday showed why Washington is putting its faith in the second-year passer in a crucial year for coach Ron Rivera and new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.
Journeyman Ravens quarterback Josh Johnson matched him throw for throw in an exhilarating first half, at least by preseason standards.
Johnson finished 10 of 12 for 145 yards and two touchdowns, as well as one end zone interception where the ball fell through the arms of receiver James Proche II and into the waiting hands of Commanders defensive back Quan Martin.
Those missed points proved costly as Washington’s third-string QB, former Georgia standout Jake Fromm, led the team down the field for the game-winning field goal.
Joey Slye kicked the ball through from 49 yards to win the game and end Baltimore’s streak.
Monday’s preseason game was the first under new Washington owner Josh Harris, and it was a star-studded sideline in the minutes before the game.
Legendary Washington coach Joe Gibbs was in attendance with his grandson, NASCAR racer Ty Gibbs. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore was the Commanders’ honorary captain, and Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg shook hands with the ownership group, as did rapper Wale.
Harris joined ESPN’s broadcast of the game in the second quarter.
“I have a lot of faith in Sam (Howell) and the team,” he said during the appearance.
Backup job to Mahomes remains tight
Kansas City, Mo. – The Kansas City Chiefs know as well as any team in the NFL the importance of backup quarterbacks, and that makes the fact that coach Andy Reid called the competition for the spot too close to call after Monday's practice noteworthy.
The Chiefs signed veteran Blaine Gabbert to fill the role of Chad Henne, who retired last season after five years as the primary backup to Patrick Mahomes.
But Gabbert has been pushed throughout camp by Shane Buechele, a former undrafted free agent and practice squad staple, and the duo continues to go back and forth heading into the Chiefs' preseason finale. Kansas City opens against the Lions on Thursday, Sept. 7 at 8:20 p.m.
Buechele got most of the work with the No. 2 offense on Monday. Gabbert has worked in that role as well.
“Those two are real close. Real close,” Reid said. “We'll just let it play out here. See how it goes. But that's good competition.”
The Chiefs have other spots still to be decided heading into Saturday's game against the Browns, including the last couple of wide receiver jobs and spots along the defensive line.
But those aren't nearly as important as the quarterback, where the backup can go from holding a clipboard to having an entire season resting in his hands in an instant.
That was the case twice for Henne during his time in Kansas City.
The first time against the Browns during the divisional round of the 2020 playoffs, when Mahomes was knocked from the game with a concussion early in the second half. Henne led the Chiefs the rest of the way, completing an audacious fourth-and-1 throw to Tyreek Hill near midfield in the final minutes to put away a 22-17 victory.
The Chiefs beat the Bills for the AFC title before losing to the Buccaneers in the Super Bowl.
The second time came last season, when Mahomes sprained his ankle late in the first half against Jacksonville. The Chiefs led 10-7 when Henne trotted onto the field, with Kansas City backed up to its 2-yard line, and led the Chiefs 98 yards with a short touchdown throw to Travis Kelce finishing off another superb emergency appearance.
Mahomes finished out the 27-20 victory, then led Kansas City past the Bengals in the AFC title game before beating the Eagles in the Super Bowl – when Henne was still at the ready as Mahomes played through his injury.
So yes, the backup quarterback job certainly matters in Kansas City.
“That's what makes a great team," Buechele said, "is when guys are competing for a spot.”
Not just any competition, though. Quality competition.
Gabbert has the benefit of experience, entering the league as a first-round pick in 2011 and playing for five different teams over the past 11 seasons. He's appeared in 67 games, making 48 starts, and thrown for more than 9,300 yards. And all of that is a big reason why the Chiefs signed him to a $1,317,500 contract for this season.
“We were watching film," the 33-year-old Gabbert said, recalling a moment from a meeting earlier in camp, “and there’s a play we put in at the end of the game and it was from 2011 in Jacksonville, and they were like, ‘That was you at quarterback? We couldn’t even see you the film was so grainy.’ So that really made me feel old.”
Meanwhile, the 25-year-old Buechele has never thrown a regular-season NFL pass. But he does have the benefit of experience in what can be a complicated system, spending the past two seasons on the Kansas City practice squad.
“This is the first time that I’ve ever been in the same offense for three years in a row,” Buechele said. “I feel confident in my ability and my preparation and knowing this offense in and out. Obviously we can keep getting smarter, but just the confidence I have and the preparation in knowing this offense has really helped me be successful on the field.”
Bosa's holdout enters 5th week
Santa Clara, Calif. – The San Francisco 49ers are still waiting for their best defensive player to arrive in camp with less than three weeks before the start of the season.
Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa's holdout entered its fifth week as the star defensive end is still waiting for a lucrative contract extension to replace the final year of his rookie contract.
Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks said Monday that he has no updates on the status of Bosa and remains focused on getting the rest of the defense ready for the opener on Sept. 10 at Pittsburgh.
"Not in my pay grade, so I don’t bring it up,” Wilks said.
The 49ers have had a strong history of rewarding their own stars, giving big extensions the past three summers to tight end George Kittle, linebacker Fred Warner and receiver Deebo Samuel.
But getting a deal done with Bosa has proved more complicated as he is expected to get more money than those three players after proving that he can consistently be one of the top defensive ends in the league when healthy since being drafted second overall in 2019.
Bosa led the NFL with 18 1/2 sacks last season when he was selected as the league’s top defensive player and has 43 sacks in 51 games. He is currently under contract on the fifth-year option for $17.9 million this season.
Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald is the only defensive player with a contract worth at least $30 million a year after signing a three-year, $95 million extension last offseason. Bosa could top that with his new deal.
By holding out of camp, Bosa is subject to fines of $40,000 a day and could be fined a game check for each exhibition game he misses. But because he’s still on a rookie deal, the 49ers have the option of waiving those fines, which general manager John Lynch has said the team plans to do.
The Niners and Bosa's camp have kept negotiations quiet and there has been no public acrimony from either side. Bosa typically works out away from the team during the offseason and has always come into camp in top shape.
He has usually been limited in practice in training camp and not played in exhibition games, giving the Niners confidence he won't need much time to get back up to speed if a deal gets done soon.
“I’ve seen it from afar, but I think he’ll be fine when he gets here,” said Wilks, who is in his first year as coordinator in San Francisco.
Oher greets fans at book signing
Baltimore – Michael Oher emerged to cheers from the dozens of people lined up to get his newest book and addressed the crowd briefly before taking his seat.
Beyond that, he didn't have much to say.
The former NFL player whose life story became the inspiration for the Oscar-nominated movie “The Blind Side,” greeted fans, signed his recently released memoir and took pictures at a book event Monday evening but maintained his media silence a week since suing to end his conservatorship.
He declined to speak to reporters, only making a 90-second introduction to the assembled crowd in line at 6 p.m. A bookstore employee advised reporters in attendance of that before Oher emerged on the patio from inside.
Oher, who played his first five pro seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, spoke carefully to fans, telling some he couldn't say much given the lawsuit and with reporters present.
“This book, it means a lot to me,” Oher said during brief remarks at the start of the event at The Ivy Bookshop. “Basically, it’s a playbook on life and how I continue to fight back and when your back’s against the wall. That’s how I’ve felt all my life.”
Oher filed a petition Aug. 14 in a Tennessee probate court accusing Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy of lying to him by having him sign papers making them his conservators rather than his adoptive parents nearly two decades ago. Oher is asking for the conservatorship to be terminated, a full accounting of the money earned off his name and story to be done and to be paid what he is due, with interest.
He accused the Tuohys of falsely representing themselves as his adoptive parents, saying he discovered in February the conservatorship agreed to in 2008 was not the arrangement he thought it was – and that it provided him no familial relationship to them.
Oher, who has never been a fan of the movie about his life, asked in the petition that the Tuohys be sanctioned and required to pay both compensatory and punitive damages determined by the court.
The Tuohys last week called the claims they enriched themselves at his expense outlandish, hurtful and absurd and part of a “shakedown” by Oher. Lawyers representing the couple also said the Tuohys would enter into a consent order to end the conservatorship they say Oher was aware of long before this year.
Oher played eight NFL seasons after being the 23rd pick in the 2009 draft out of Mississippi. The offensive lineman started 110 games and won the Super Bowl with the Ravens, also playing for Tennessee and Carolina. He last played in 2016 and was released by the Panthers in 2017.
The book he was promoting Monday is called, “When Your Back’s Against the Wall: Fame, Football and Lessons Learned Through a Lifetime of Adversity.” It came out earlier this month.
“My most important lesson in the playbook right here is looking yourself in the mirror and if you’re going through anything, I don’t care what it is, you have every answer that you need to get over what’s going on,” Oher told the crowd. “I just want to thank you all for coming. I really appreciate it.”
He ended those comments with, “And, go Ravens!”
Oher is the latest prominent figure to question a conservatorship, nearly two years since supporters cheered Britney Spears being freed from her arrangement. The ruling came after Spears publicly demanded the end of the conservatorship, which had prevented her from making her own medical, financial and personal decisions since 2008.