2024

And now, with a third of the season wrapped up, we now have a solid idea about each team, their identity and their fatal flaws.

And perhaps no team perceived to be a contender has been a greater disappointment than the Dallas Cowboys, who on Sunday suffered their worst home loss in nearly 36 years. Dallas is still very much alive in the NFC East, but the Cowboys simply don’t look like a group that can compete with some of the top teams in the NFL. Elsewhere in the NFC, the Green Bay Packers spread the ball around, getting significant contributions from several players, though one glaring issue remains for the offense: the team’s execution inside the 20 has been far too inconsistent.

Here are the winners and losers from Sunday of Week 6 in the NFL.

WINNERS

It wasn’t pretty, but Bengals get one more

Any time a one-win team can grit one out on the road to course-correct its season, it’s hard to find fault. Yet the Cincinnati Bengals still need to shore up their defense, even though they allowed the New York Giants to score just seven points.

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New York was without receiver Malik Nabers, running back Devin Singletary and edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux. The Giants also missed a pair of field goals. Yet the Bengals struggled at times to capitalize on excellent field position, needed more from their rushing game (save from a bailout scramble touchdown from Joe Burrow) and the defense had difficulty turning the Giants away on third and fourth downs. Still, Cincinnati’s offense is much more dangerous now that Tee Higgins (seven catches for 77 yards) is healthy. The Bengals (2-4) are already two games out of first in the AFC North, so the margin for error is razor thin.

Why did the rest of the NFL let the Ravens get Derrick Henry?

Arguably no player has been a more impactful offseason addition than running back Derrick Henry joining the rush-heavy Baltimore Ravens. Henry leads the NFL in rushing yards (704) and touchdowns (eight).

Coupled with Lamar Jackson, the Ravens have the best ground game in the league, and it’s not close. Of players with at least 50 attempts, Baltimore has the first- and second-ranked rushers in yards per carry in Jackson and Henry. This makes the Ravens especially dangerous in the red zone, where Baltimore (75%) is tied with the Texans as the most efficient team in the NFL. When the Ravens (4-2) can win the rushing battle 176-52, like they did in a 30-23 victory over the Washington Commanders (4-2), they’re going to be tough to stop.

Eagles (desperately) needed their star receivers back

Let’s set aside the weirdness of coach Nick Sirianni trolling the home crowd after the Philadelphia Eagles (3-2) scraped past the one-win Cleveland Browns 20-16 — Sirianni said he “was having fun.’ The Philadelphia offense got a huge boost with the return of receivers A.J. Brown (hamstring) and DeVonta Smith (concussion), both of whom had missed multiple weeks.

Each had a reception of at least 40 yards and scored a touchdown, and the two both combined for 180 receiving yards on nine catches. Brown is one of the strongest receivers in the league, one who often snatches jump balls away from defenders and has unparalleled instincts of when to slow down and use his leverage on underthrown balls. Smith is a silky-smooth route runner. Jalen Hurts (64% completion rate, 264 yards, two touchdowns) easily had his best game so far this season. Still, the offense sputtered at times on third downs and there’s much to improve, but this at least was progress.

Packers find their flow on offense, but one issue remains

Though there are few offenses better than rolling up yards, the Green Bay Packers have nonetheless been rather uneven this season, at times falling into early holes. But in a 34-13 win over the Arizona Cardinals, the Packers (4-2) raced out to score the game’s first 24 points, cruising to a victory.

Nine different Packers caught at least one pass and Jordan Love threw four touchdowns to three different players. Similarly, seven different players recorded a carry, as Green Bay put up 179 rushing yards. Yet, if there’s one glaring area of concern for this offense, it’s what it does inside the 20. The Packers simply aren’t finishing enough drives with touchdowns. Against the Cardinals, they went two-of-four in the red zone, keeping their conversion rate this season at 50%. That may not be an issue against Arizona. Against some of the NFL’s better teams, however, it could lead to losses.

LOSERS

The Cowboys need a shakeup

The Cowboys have three victories, sure, but Sunday’s 47-9 loss against the Detroit Lions showed just how far this team is from legitimately competing. Detroit absolutely trampled Dallas, almost a month after the New Orleans Saints similarly did so in a 25-point rout.

The Cowboys lack physicality, particularly along both the offensive and defensive lines. They play almost as if they know they cannot beat good opponents. They cannot run the ball. By the end of the third quarter, the leading Cowboy rusher was Rico Dowdle, who had 7 yards on three carries; Dallas (3-3) by that point had 16 total rushing yards on 10 attempts. The 38-point defeat is the worst home loss since Week 11 of 1988, one season prior to Jerry Jones’ purchase of the franchise. Dallas is winless at home. The problems are cultural, and they start with the coaching staff. This looks like the tired build of a team whose best days are over.

Playing Will Levis (at least right now) is becoming indefensible

Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis is still a young player who, frankly, was probably forced to play far too soon. But Tennessee at this point cannot reasonably start Levis, 25, and expect to be a competitive team.

Backup Mason Rudolph almost certainly isn’t a viable long-term option, either. But Tennessee (1-4) runs the risk of shaking Levis’ confidence and of inadvertently instilling poor habits, as seen with his fourth-quarter heave into double coverage that killed Tennessee’s chances of beating the Indianapolis Colts in an eventual 20-17 loss. Levis leads the NFL with seven interceptions and ranks dead last among qualifying players in QB rating (70.7). Tennessee actually does have some weapons at receiver, but Levis has not built a connection with Calvin Ridley, who had eight targets Sunday and not a single catch. DeAndre Hopkins — a three-time All-Pro — is essentially a non-factor. This makes the team’s decision to trade Malik Willis, a player who never got a real shot, all the more confounding.

Raiders self-destruct, putting season on the brink

The Las Vegas Raiders (2-4) committed only four penalties on Sunday, which normally would be a really solid day. Yet, against the Pittsburgh Steelers, each of those penalties nullified huge plays and were symbolic of a team that self-destructed in a 32-13 loss.

The first came in the second quarter on a roughing-the-passer penalty that negated an interception; four plays later, Pittsburgh scored a touchdown. The second was in the third quarter and erased a big completion, pushing Vegas out of field goal range; its eventual punt was blocked. The third came minutes later, an inexplicable roughing the passer on third-and-18 that extended the drive; two plays later, Najee Harris ran for a 36-yard touchdown. The fourth came on the final play of the third quarter, an illegible man downfield that nullified a touchdown pass; two plays later, running back Ameer Abdullah fumbled at the goal line.

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Sports

Eagles coach apologizes for yelling at own fans at end of game

Philadelphia sports fans are notorious for getting under an opposing team’s skin. But it’s not often they do it to the home team.

That may have been the case though in the Eagles’ 20-16 victory Sunday over the Cleveland Browns.

Entering the game after their bye week, the Eagles were 8-point favorites over a Browns team that has struggled all season on offense. However, a questionable play call at the end of the first half preceded a blocked field goal the Browns returned for a touchdown to tie the score at halftime.

The Philly fans, predictably, were unhappy as the teams headed to the locker room. And among the cascade of boos were chants of ‘Fire Nick!’ – referring to head coach Nick Sirianni.

The Eagles eventually righted the ship, with a 45-yard DeVonta Smith touchdown reception midway through the fourth quarter providing the winning margin. But as the team was closing out the victory, Sirianni turned around to jaw with some fans behind the team’s bench.

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On Monday, Sirianni apologized for how he handled the moment.

‘I’m sorry and disappointed at how my energy was directed at the end of the game,’ Sirianni said in a news conference. ‘My energy should be all in on coaching, motivating, right, and celebrating with our guys. And I’ve got to have better wisdom and discernment of when to use that energy, and that wasn’t the time.’

When initially asked after the game about his outburst, Sirianni downplayed the significance.

‘When I’m operating and having fun, I think that breeds to the rest of the football team,’ he said. ‘If I want the guys to celebrate after big plays, then I should probably do that myself, right?’

The win improved the Eagles’ record to 3-2, a half game behind the Washington Commanders in the NFC East standings.

While his antics generated postgame criticism from both local and national media, Sirianni claimed it was just good-natured give-and-take with the city’s historically demanding fans.

‘It was just all out of fun,’ he said. ‘We thrive off the crowd when they cheer for us. We hear them when they boo. We don’t necessarily like it. I don’t think that’s productive for anybody. When they cheer for us, and when we got them rolling – we love it.’

(This story has been updated with new information and headlines.)

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Politics

Israeli forces seize documents that reveal Hamas plan for more elaborate attacks: report

Years before Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 and started the latest war in the region, the terror group plotted other assaults, including a scheme to blow up a skyscraper in Tel Aviv while pressuring Iran to assist in its battle against the Jewish state, according to documents found by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, the Washington Post reported.

The documents seized from Hamas command centers uncovered planning for the attacks using trains, boats and even horse-drawn chariots, according to the newspaper. The 59 pages of documents include an illustrated presentation detailing possible options for an attack as well as letters from Hamas to Iran’s top leaders in 2021 requesting hundreds of millions of dollars in funding and training for 12,000 additional Hamas fighters.

‘Hamas is so determined to wipe Israel and the Jewish people off the map that it managed to drag Iran into direct conflict — under conditions that Iran wasn’t prepared for,’ an Israeli security official who has reviewed the letters and planning documents told the Post. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive documents seized by Israeli forces in Gaza.

The move to release the documents comes as Israel could possibly retaliate against Iran after the Islamic Republic launched nearly 200 missiles on Oct. 1 in response to the killing of Hasan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah terrorist group.

In the letters written in 2021, Hamas’s Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar appeals to several senior Iranian officials, including the country’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, for additional financial and military support, pledging that, with Iran’s backing, he could destroy Israel completely in two years.

‘We promise you that we will not waste a minute or a penny unless it takes us toward achieving this sacred goal,’ states a June 2021 letter with apparent signatures by Sinwar as well as five other Hamas officials.

Iran initially declined to directly involve itself in the war between Hamas and Israel after Oct. 7. However, the conflict has expanded as its proxies continue to attack Israel on multiple fronts.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran accused Israel of spreading false information.

‘We regard the Israeli regime as a mendacious criminal, anti-human entity and place no credence in their illusions,’ a spokesman for the mission said. ‘They have a long history of spreading falsehoods, fabricating already-counterfeit documents, and conducting deceptive psychological operations.’

Some plans seized by the Israel Defense Forces include a computer slide presentation showing a Hamas outpost in northern Gaza with options and scenarios for attacking Israel, with targets ranging from military command centers to shopping malls.

Another described plans to destroy the Moshe Aviv Tower, a 70-story building in Tel Aviv that is Israel’s second tallest, as well as the Azrieli Center complex, which comprises three skyscrapers,a large shopping mall, train station and a cinema, according to the Post report.

‘Working to find a mechanism to destroy the tower,’ the plan states.

Other plans of attack included targeting Israel’s rail system and resurrecting horse-drawn carriages of antiquity as conveyances for fighters and weapons, the report said.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

Politics

‘Dumb thing for her to do’: Rift between Harris and Biden camps causing internal disruptions, sources say

Sources close to the White House report an ongoing rift between President Biden and his staff and Kamala Harris and her staff – with issues tracing back to the initial weeks following Harris’ nomination by the Democratic Party.

The squabbles have ranged from whether Biden’s main surrogates should continue going on TV or be replaced with new Harris surrogates, to debates over whether Biden is undermining Harris’ messaging. Other issues have included complaints from the Harris camp that the White House has not moved quickly enough to add staff to the vice president’s office to help deal with the bigger workload. The revelations surfaced in a new report Axios published Sunday.

‘Everyone from the president on down knows how important the election is, and we always anticipated a number of staff would want to transition from the administration to the campaign for the final stretch,’ a White House official told Axios. However, simultaneously, the White House has been frustrated over the Harris camp’s rules around who can be moved to her office and when, other sources inside the White House told Fox News.

Meanwhile, Biden staffers have also reportedly felt dejected over Biden’s exit from the race, sources said, forcing them to play second fiddle to the vice president.

‘They’re too much in their feelings,’ a Harris ally close to the campaign, told Axios.

One example of Biden not adequately coordinating his message and schedule, cited by Harris campaign aides, came on Friday. Biden held an impromptu press conference from the White House to update the American public on the government’s hurricane relief efforts. Meanwhile, Harris was campaigning in Michigan at the same time, and the dueling events served to effectively lessen the number of eyes on Harris.

Biden was supposed to be out of the country that day, but he reportedly felt it imperative to stay back and oversee response efforts to Hurricanes Milton and Helene.

The infighting did not stop there, either. Last week, Harris criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for playing political games and not doing what was best for the American people, after she claimed that the Sunshine State governor ignored her calls to discuss hurricane relief efforts. On Friday, when Biden was supposed to be overseas, he undercut Harris’ narrative about DeSantis when he praised the Florida governor’s work in the wake of the storm, calling him ‘cooperative’ and acknowledging he was doing a ‘great job.’

Sources inside the White House told Fox News that Harris creating a rift with DeSantis was a ‘dumb thing for her to do,’ adding that Biden’s team feels like it has done everything it can to provide Harris with opportunities to demonstrate leadership, but she has fumbled them. At least one source who spoke to Fox News said the Harris campaign’s poor messaging on this was due to its own poor planning, not the White House’s.

The Harris campaign declined to comment when reached by Fox News Digital. But, Andrew Bates, White House deputy press secretary, extolled Biden’s continued support for Harris in a statement to Fox News Digital.

‘President Biden endorsed Vice President Harris immediately after leaving the race, rejecting other approaches that would divide the party, and has attested to her leadership abilities and continually made clear his support for her,’ Bates said.

‘While ensuring that all critical White House functions are fully staffed, we have made significant changes to guarantee the Vice President’s team has all of the support and resources that they need,’ Bates said. ‘This builds on a strong, trusting relationship between both teams, which has been critical to successfully executing an unprecedented transition to a new candidate.’

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

Stocks

MarketCarpets: The Fastest Way to Scan for Hidden Market Opportunities

When Wall Street rings its opening bell, there are two things you need to do to start your day:

Get the big picture on what’s happening in the markets. Spot the market opportunities, especially the ones that aren’t apparent.

There are plenty of ways to get your market updates. The slowest way would be to tune into financial news, scroll through headlines, and read all the articles. Now, you may end up doing that anyway; it’s always a temptation. But why not start your day with a fast scan? This is what StockCharts’ MarketCarpets was designed to do.

Get the Big Story

It’s Monday morning, and the S&P 500 ($SPX) continues to drive into record-high territory.

Log onto your StockCharts account and, from Your Dashboard:

Click Charts & Tools > MarketCarpetsSelect S&P 500 from the Select Group dropdown, Performance from the Measurement dropdown, and 1D Change from the Color By dropdown.

Below is a more comprehensive snapshot of what’s happening from a price-performance viewpoint.

FIGURE 1. MARKETCARPETS SNAPSHOT OF THE S&P 500. This view is measured by market performance.Image source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

What’s this telling you? Technology stocks are driving up the S&P 500, with Nvidia (NVDA), Qualcomm (QCOM), Applied Materials (AMAT), and Adobe (ADBE) among the bigger players leading the way. You can also view this on the summary on the right side of the carpet view.

The sectors from the middle to the right also show a lot of red, with stocks declining. Health Care, Consumer Discretionary, Industrials, Consumer Staples, Materials, and especially Energy are having a rough start early in the day. This gives you the real-time performance of the stocks in the index.

But which stocks might be strengthening or weakening from a technical perspective? This is something that a snapshot of price will not immediately tell you. So, let’s switch over to the StockChartsTechnicalRank (SCTR) measurement to find out.

Select SCTR from the Measurements dropdown. Below is a snapshot of the MarketCarpet measured by SCTR colored by 1D change.

FIGURE 2. SNAPSHOT OF THE S&P 500 MEASURED BY SCTR. This view shows a different performance perspective of stocks in the S&P 500.Image source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

StockCharts Tip: To see which stocks have high and low SCTR values at a specific time, select Latest Value from the Color By dropdown menu.

So, what is this telling you, in contrast to the previous view? First, it tells you that many stocks within each S&P sector are technically weakening. Second, it calls your attention to certain stocks that might be technically strengthening or weakening regardless of their intraday performance.

QCOM showed dark green on both carpets, indicating strong performance and increasing SCTR score. Let’s zoom in on a daily chart of QCOM.

FIGURE 3. DAILY CHART OF QCOM. Is the stock on the verge of a breakout?Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

QCOM looks like it’s on the verge of breaking out from an ascending triangle pattern, which, as you know, is bullish.But it also shows a slight bearish divergence in momentum as buying pressure, according to the Chaikin Money Flow, is dwindling.While the SCTR line (above the chart) is improving, it’s also fluctuated within a range over the last two months.Overall, you’ll want to see what happens after the breakout if or when it comes.

Now, let’s look at a daily chart of AMAT, which also showed a positive intraday performance on MarketCarpets, but a more lukewarm performance on the SCTR view.

FIGURE 4. DAILY CHART OF AMAT. Note the difference between AMAT’s and QCOM’s charts despite similar performances and SCTR readings.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

AMAT’s SCTR score on MarketCarpets may not be anywhere near its one-day performance by price, but it may be enough to call your attention to do a deeper dive. In contrast to QCOM, AMAT’s SCTR line is rising (as shown in the panel above the chart). AMAT is also on the verge of a breakout.

Unlike the QCOM example, however, AMAT double-bottomed (see blue circles). At the same time, its momentum on the CMF shows an overwhelming bullish divergence (see black arrows) while buying pressure (see blue rectangle) is in the green.

What You Can Do Now (Action Points)

What you saw was just a quick and dirty overview of what you can do as part of your morning scanning routine using MarketCarpets. Try these:

Add stocks that pique your interest to a ChartList using this method.Scan other indexes, such as the Dow Industrials and Nasdaq 100, for a broader market overview; other opportunities might be hidden in other market areas.Scan sectors and look at their seasonality profiles to understand which stocks may be ramping up this time of year.Toggle between lookback periods to distinguish sudden changes from those that are slowly developing.Change measurements to the various available indicators, such as the Relative Strength Index (RSI), Bollinger Bands, Full Stochastics, and more, especially if you use any of these indicators for your charting.

Here’s the main point: It’s about getting a fast, comprehensive. and multi-angled overview. The more you can see—quickly and efficiently—the more opportunities you can find with greater ease and without wasting time.

At the Close

MarketCarpets is your go-to for a fast, no-nonsense market scan. It helps you quickly analyze market trends and spot hidden opportunities by toggling between performance and other technical indicators like SCTR. This allows you to identify which stocks are heating up (or cooling down) without wasting time on endless headlines. Add this to your morning routine and seize opportunities quicker than ever.

Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation or without consulting a financial professional.

Stocks

Stay Ahead: Key Sentiment Indicators to Track in October 2024!

Which market sentiment indicators should we follow to validate the current bull market phase and anticipate a potential market top? David Keller, CMT breaks down three sentiment indicators he’s watching in October 2024, explains their calculations and methodology, reviews their signals during previous bull market cycles, and describes a “market top playbook” for market sentiment.

This video originally premiered on October 14, 2024. Watch on our dedicated David Keller page on StockCharts TV!

Previously recorded videos from Dave are available at this link.

Business

Why Honeywell CEO Vimal Kapur doesn’t think the AI payoff will come from productivity

As CEO of one of the world’s largest industrial conglomerates, Honeywell’s Vimal Kapur doesn’t think about AI like most individuals.

It’s not about the threatened office worker. “There is always a trend which makes your skills obsolete, every five years,” Kapur said at the recent CNBC Evolve: AI Opportunity Summit in New York City. “The churn in white collar is a continuous evolution.”

And he said it’s not about the cool features that can be offered to the consumer, who “gets excited by the writing of a resume or restaurant recommendation.”

The biggest problems AI can solve at Honeywell start with a generational labor shortage that it and client companies are facing. From pilots to technicians, declining birth rates in the industrialized world have led to less people available to do jobs that were popular 25 years ago. “Everyone has that problem in industrials,” he said.

The AI opportunity for Honeywell is creating a new labor pool that can learn and work alongside AI and accumulate and deploy institutional knowledge much faster. He said the 15 years of experience traditionally required for a human to handle a complex role can be accomplished at the same level by someone with five years of experience working with two AI co-pilots.

Labor isn’t the only issue where AI is being deployed. Kapur pointed to Honeywell’s planned rollout of connectivity within jet engines in the next few months that will allow the company to proactively monitor engine performance for maintenance issues before the engines return to the shop. The same goes for smoke detectors, another Honeywell lineup staple, which will be identified for servicing or replacement much earlier than before.

But it’s the labor issue which remains top of mind for the Honeywell CEO, and he added that it leads him to think of AI as a revenue-generating opportunity rather than a productivity fix. “The shortage of skills is the heart of the issue for us,” Kapur said. “It’s a constraint to grow revenue. The biggest revenue constraint is lack of skilled labor.“

Most companies are just beginning the search for the payoff from AI investments at levels far removed from the underlying large language models of OpenAI and chipmaking of Nvidia.

Gecko Robotics CEO Jake Loosararian, whose company works across energy, manufacturing, and defense to optimize maintenance efforts — its AI-powered inspection robots are analyzing equipment as large as aircraft carriers to identify structural flaws — says the raw data that is directly collected from the source without being filtered by intermediaries will be the key to many companies’ AI success.

“The future belongs to companies with ‘first-order’ data sets,” he told CNBC “Closing Bell Overtime” anchor Jon Fortt at the Evolve: AI Opportunity event.

The importance of moving beyond the current focus on the large language models was emphasized by several executives, including one working at the forefront of LLMs, Clément Delangue, co-founder and CEO of Hugging Face, one of the most highly valued AI startups in the world, with backing from Amazon, Nvidia, and Google. He voiced a similar sentiment to Loosararian at the CNBC event.

“Data and data sets are the next frontier for AI,” Delangue said. He noted that on Hugging Face’s platform, which uses an open-source approach to develop AI models, there are over 200,000 public data sets that have been shared, and the growth rate of data sets being added to the platform is faster than the growth rate of new large language models.

“The world is going to evolve to where it’s every single company, every single industry, even every single use case having their own specific customized models,” Delangue said. “Ultimately, every company, the same way they have their own code repository and build their own software products, they will build their own models … and ultimately that’s what will help them differentiate themselves.”

If companies gain the most benefit from AI customized to their use cases, that comes alongside a view gaining momentum in discussions of AI regulation that is shifting the focus away from the large language models and towards industry-specific monitoring. And as those use cases proliferate, the C-suite needs to make sure they are being communicated to the board.

“Board members really do need to understand what the use cases might be for their company so they can get the report from the people most knowledgeable on the risks their companies may be facing,” said Katherine Forrest, a former federal judge and partner at the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison who is an AI legal expert said at the CNBC AI summit.

She said the time is now to ask, “What are risks? Do we have the right people managing those risks? Have we had any incidents? They should know about any real actualization of those risks.“

For all the debate about how quickly AI opportunities will materialize, Honeywell’s Kapur is bullish on the adoption curve steepening quickly. “Awareness is high, adoption is low, but there will be an inflection point,” he said. “I do believe 2025-2026 will be a big year for adoption of AI in the context of industrials.”

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

Sports

Jerry Jones blasts reporters asking about Mike McCarthy’s job security

Jerry Jones turned 82 on Sunday. The Dallas Cowboys gifted him their worst home defeat since 1988 to celebrate the occasion.

The Detroit Lions manhandled the Cowboys in a 47-9 romp at AT&T Stadium. The victory was a measure of revenge for Detroit, which suffered a one-point loss to Dallas at the end of the 2023 NFL season, which cost the Lions a chance at the NFC’s No. 1 seed.

The Lions seemed to toy with the Cowboys throughout the contest. Detroit coach Dan Campbell and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson dialed up several trick plays, including one that resulted in a 52-yard touchdown to tight end Sam LaPorta. The Lions frequently had offensive lineman Dan Skipper running routes near the end of the 38-point win — a nod to offensive tackle Taylor Decker’s disallowed two-point conversion from their battle last season.

The nature of the defeat, which dropped the Cowboys to 3-3 on the season, brought up all-too-familiar questions about head coach Mike McCarthy’s job security.

Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones addressed those queries but did not take kindly to the line of questioning.

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Will Cowboys fire Mike McCarthy?

Jones was asked directly if the Cowboys would consider making an in-season coaching change after their 38-point loss to the Lions.

‘Oh, I haven’t even considered that,’ an irritated Jones told reporters. ‘I’m not considering that. Just so you’re clear, I’m not considering that.’

During the exchange, Jones was reminded that he once made an in-season coaching change. In 2010, he fired Wade Phillips after a 1-7 start to the 2010 season before installing Jason Garrett as the interim coach.

The 82-year-old decried the question and implied that Sunday afternoon was not the time to discuss such matters.

‘That would be a hypothetical. In that matter, do you think I’m an idiot? Do you?’ Jones fumed. ‘Ok. Well, I’m not going to hypothetical with you about would I consider a coaching change in light of the timing we’re sitting here with. I’m not. At all.’

Jones will have plenty of time to reconsider his decision. The Cowboys will be on a bye in Week 7 before returning in Week 8 for an anticipated clash with the San Francisco 49ers.

Dallas could find itself in third place in the NFC East ahead of that game, depending on what happens with the Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles in their Week 7 matchups with the Carolina Panthers and New York Giants.

Either way, Jones isn’t happy with the Cowboys’ 3-3 record and current tie for second place in the NFC East standings. Still, he isn’t fully blaming McCarthy for those issues.

‘We’re disappointed that we’re 3-3,’ Jones said, per ESPN. ‘The three-loss side of it, I don’t necessarily totally blame on McCarthy. The players will tell you they had something to do with it, too. His other parts of the staff will tell you. And the owner sure will tell you he had something to do with it, so it’s not all on him.’

Thus, barring a change of heart from Jones, McCarthy appears to remain Dallas’ head coach.

Mike McCarthy coaching record

McCarthy entered the 2024 NFL season with a record of 167-102-2 as an NFL head coach. That included a mark of 125-77-2 with the Packers and a 42-25 record with the Cowboys.

McCarthy has had just four losing seasons compared to 11 with double-digit wins during his 17 full NFL seasons. The 2024 season marks his 18th as a head coach at the NFL level, dating back to 2006.

Below is a look at McCarthy’s year-by-year records in charge of the Cowboys, as well as the team’s finish in the NFC East race:

2020: 6-10 (third place)
2021: 12-5 (first place)
2022: 12-5 (second place)
2023: 12-5 (third place)
2024: 3-3 (TBD)

While McCarthy has often fared well in the regular season, he has a record of 11-11 in the postseason. That includes a mark of 1-3 with the Cowboys and 6-9 since he won his lone Super Bowl with the Packers during the 2011 playoffs.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

Sports

Latest on RB Jonathon Brooks: Panthers plan to open practice window

The Carolina Panthers are 1-5 and quickly falling out of contention again in 2024. They suffered another embarrassing loss in Week 6, this time at the hands of the division rival Atlanta Falcons 38-20. However, the team received some good news on Monday.

Head coach Dave Canales announced to reporters that their second-round pick from the 2024 NFL draft, Jonathon Brooks, will likely have his practice window opened this week. Brooks was the first running back selected in the 2024 draft and he could provide explosiveness to Carolina’s underwhelming offense that ranks 28th in the league in scoring.

Here’s the latest on Jonathan Brooks’ status.

When will Jonathon Brooks play?

Panthers head coach Dave Canales told reporters that Brooks has ‘checked all of the boxes’ regarding being able to practice. The 21-day practice window for Brooks will be opened this week before the Panthers’ Week 7 matchup with the Washington Commanders. He could make his NFL debut as soon as Week 7 or as late as Week 10.

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The Panthers have a bye in Week 11, making it plausible that he will be eased back into action before then.

Carolina bolstered the offensive line in the offseason by making two significant signings: former Dolphins RG Robert Hunt and Seahawks LG Damien Lewis. Chuba Hubbard has been terrific in Brooks’ absence, allowing the Panthers to ease Brooks into his NFL debut.

The team also added to the wide receiver room, trading for Diontae Johnson and drafting Xavier Leggette with the final pick in the first round. Despite the additions, Bryce Young struggled early on, which led to his benching. Andy Dalton has been the team’s starting quarterback since Week 3. The Panthers defense has allowed a league-high 203 points through the first six weeks. The offense could use all the help it could get.

What is the NFL’s 21-day practice window?

The 21-day practice window is the three-week period during which teams see how far along a player has come since being put on injured reserve (IR) or, in Brooks’ case, the non-football injury/illness (NFI) list. When a player is cleared to return to football activity, the 21-day window can be opened. The team has 21 days to either activate the player to the active roster or rule them out for the rest of the season.

When was Jonathon Brooks’ injury?

Brooks tore his ACL in Texas’ 29-26 win over TCU on Nov. 11, 2023. Despite the injury, the Panthers still loved what they saw from Brooks while at Texas. They liked him enough to make him the first running back selected in the 2024 draft.

The Panthers placed him on the NFI list to start the season.

Panthers RB depth chart

While Brooks is out, Chuba Hubbard has been the starter, with Miles Sanders in the backup role. Hubbard has a team-high 578 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns through Week 6.

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Sports

Former fan favorite gets into postgame dustup with Knicks assistant

The return of fan favorite Donte DiVincenzo to New York began as a lovefest, but ended with some apparent animosity as the Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks met in an otherwise meaningless NBA preseason game Sunday.

As the starters were being introduced, DiVincenzo received a loud ovation from Knicks fans in his first game back in New York after an offseason trade to the Timberwolves. And he hit a 3-pointer for the first basket of the game.

There was also some back-and-forth between DiVincenzo and the Knicks bench during the game while he was at the free throw line.

But afterwards, DiVincenzo and Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson had to be separated as both teams were leaving the floor.

When questioned by reporters, DiVincenzo suggested he was making an inside joke with Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau while at the free throw line near the New York bench. However, Brunson – father of Knicks star Jalen Brunson – apparently didn’t see it that way.

DiVincenzo declined to comment on what the dustup with the elder Brunson was about. He added that his relationship with his former Villanova and Knicks teammate was unaffected.

‘My relationship with Jalen, that’s my brother and my best friend,’ DiVincenzo said. ‘That’s a separate relationship. I’ll talk about that privately, and figure everything out. But it is what it is.’

DiVincenzo averaged a career-high 15.5 points per game and set a Knicks record for 3-pointers last season.

However, he and All-Star forward Julius Randle were traded to Minnesota in a blockbuster three-way deal earlier this month that brought center Karl-Anthony Towns to New York.

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