Le Journal

Happy least productive week of the year, everyone! Thanks for spending some of the time you’re killing at the office today and tomorrow with me as I break down the 10th Patriots win of the year. I’ve always found that braving the holiday traffic and Black Friday deals is a lot easier when it comes on the heels of a Patriots win, so I’m glad to be kicking off the holiday season the right way. If nothing else, this game hammered home just how much of a massive win the 2025 season is for the New England Patriots. This was a team we were all hoping would show some promise this year, maybe string together a few wins, go 9-8 – or if a ton goes right, 10-7 – and sneak into the playoffs as a Wild Card team. And maybe they’d get hot and upset the Texans or Ravens in the postseason before getting beaten down in the Divisional Round. August Alec would have been over the moon with the above scenario. So that November Alec, coming into a game that he had pegged as a definite L the moment the schedule came out, is upset over this one because they didn’t look all that great and there are clearly some glaring holes that could come back to bite them in the postseason, is simply incredible. We’re basically playing with house money at this point, and we’d all do well to remember that. That said, I didn’t have one minute of fun from the opening whistle of that sloppy, slow, paceless, injury-infested game to the very last play. And in a weird way, I missed that feeling too. The only thing that really matters today, and in the days to come, is the injury status of some key pieces along the offensive line. I don’t know how often very large men leave a football field on the back of a cart with a towel over their heads and return to action the same season, but I know it isn’t nearly as often as any of us would like it to be. The Patriots lost two-fifths of the offensive line yesterday, a line that was finally starting to come together and gel. And it would have been three-fifths, but luckily Morgan Moses’s illness was a temporary thing. To that end, when a lineman takes a knee, walks briskly back to the locker room, spends some time in there, then comes back with everything back to normal, I think it’s safe to assume what went down. Dante was of the opinion that there are nine circles of hell. But he’s wrong. There’s a lesser-known tenth circle, spoken about only in terrified whispers, and reserved solely for those whose lives were so wicked that they have been sent back to earth, reincarnated as toilets, to be used by any number of 300 lb plus linemen who need to deal with that particular “illness.” And it’s really the injuries that will be taking center stage from here on out. Early signs and reports are that both Will Campbell and Jared Wilson are dealing with sprains, not tears, which means both would be back in a few weeks. Absolutely massive if true. Hopefully we’ll get some good news to be thankful for this week. I don’t know if the injuries would be putting as much of a damper on this win if the Patriots played better, but this was a pretty lousy game overall. Drake Maye made bad reads, bad throws, and bad decisions. The Patriots ran nine straight plays from inside Cincy’s five and came away with zero points. They gave up 100 yards to Chase Brown, even though he was their only real offensive weapon. They weren’t able to get anything going on the ground and looked completely lost on offense at times. I don’t know if they bought into their own hype, took the Bengals too lightly, got thrown off by the mini-bye, or what, but that game was almost an abject disaster. On the plus side, I think that this team has enough discipline to put it behind them. They’re a very good team. This week’s slate of games further hammered home the point that every team in the AFC is deeply flawed in some capacity, so it’s not like the Pats got exposed as frauds or anything. They came out flat, had to win an ugly one on the road where they weren’t at their…

Sunday night, the Las Vegas Raiders fired offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. Here are some thoughts on the move: He deserved it: Let’s get this out of the way right away: Kelly was awful this season. His offense was out of sync and had no personality all season. He seemed stubborn and he and coach Pete Carroll didn’t always look to be on the right page. Quarterback Geno Smith regressed and Kelly couldn’t get prized rookie running back Ashton Jeanty on track on a consistent basis. Kelly did a terrible job in Las Vegas. There’s no other way to put it. #Raiders offense this season ranks: T-32nd in points (15) 31st in Yds/rush (3.5)30th in Yds/play (4.6)30th in 1st downs/game (16.6)28th in red zone TD pct (48%)The decision to move on from OC Chip Kelly seemed inevitable.https://t.co/YRX1peqwKt— Ryan McFadden (@ryanmcfadden_) November 24, 2025 But Pete is scapegoating: With that said, Carroll is flailing. In a way, firing Kelly after just 11 games was a cowardly move. He’s just trying to deflect. The Kelly firing comes two games after Carroll jettisoned special teams coach Tom McMahon. The Raiders are 2-9. The season is cooked. Firing these coordinators during the season isn’t going to change the big picture. Carroll’s team is failing and it’s on him. He’s pointing fingers. Meanwhile, the weakest part of this weak team is the offensive line that allowed 10 sacks Sunday and 21 sacks in the past three games. Why not fire the O-line coach? Oh, it’s Brennan Carroll, Pete’s son. This is a mess and while Kelly and McMahon took hits, it falls on Carroll in the end. It was a fire-like type of day: The timing of this firing makes sense. Sunday’s 24-10 defeat at home to the Cleveland Browns, who like the Raiders, were 2-8 doing into the game, was a rock-bottom type of moment for the franchise. There was a major stench coming from Allegiant Stadium on Sunday where fans booed the team and Smith fired off an obscene gesture in which the team apologized for. It was an ugly day capped by a major move. Bad fit to start: Kelly was an uninspired hire to start. No one was impressed by it. Kelly is a college guy. He failed in his two previous NFL stops (as the head coach in Philadelphia and San Francisco) and he was away from the NFL for nearly a decade. The hire never made sense. He showed from the start that he runs a college offense. It doesn’t work on Sundays. Join the conversation! Sign up for a user account and get: Fewer ads Create community posts Comment on articles, community posts Rec comments, community posts Coming soon: New, improved notifications system! More wasted money: Yes, Mark Davis makes a lot of money in Las Vegas. But, man, does he blow a lot of it on bad hires. Add Kelly to the list. Comically, he was the highest paid offensive coordinator in the league at $6 million for a reported three years. The Raiders flashed big money at Kelly in a sign that things are changing in Las Vegas. But, the reality was, they gave Kelly a huge contract when no one else was offering him an NFL job. Now, they owe another coach money after moving away from him. Nothing has has changed. Job may not be attractive: If Carroll returns in 2026, I’m not sure how attractive this job will be for prospective candidates. Carroll, who will be 75 next year, will not be a long-term coach in Las Vegas in any scenario. Plus, while there is Brock Bowers and Jeanty, this offense has big issues on the offensive line and at quarterback. There will be better jobs whether the Raiders decide to continue to throw big money at the OC position or not. Don’t expect miracles rest of the way: The Raiders’ special teams hasn’t improved since McMahon was shown the door, so don’t expect a lot of improvement with Kelly gone. The plan should be basic the rest of the way with Bowers and Jeanty and other young players being the focus of the offense until this dreadful season ends. Kelly’s future: It’s highly doubtful he will coach in the NFL again. Kelly is a fine college…