Thanks in part to the addition of Golden Tate, the Lions are one of the league’s best offenses on paper, but they’ve been anything but, writes Kyle Meinke of MLive.com. The Lions and their flat offense got blown out 34-9 by the Patriots on Sunday. More from the North divisions..
- It might be time for the Bears to open up contract extension talks with Stephen Paea, tweets Dan Pompei of Sports On Earth. The defensive tackle has been responding well to Paul Pasqualoni’s coaching so far this season and has been a bright spot for Chicago’s defense.
- There’s some optimism that Browns free safety Tashaun Gipson could be back within a shorter range than initially thought, but he’s still doubtful for the rest of the regular season, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com. Gipson suffered a Grade 3 MCL injury, a diagnosis which isn’t as dire as the ACL tear that some had feared.
- The Steelers were targeting Odell Beckham Jr. in the first round but the Giants beat them to it with the No. 12 overall pick, tweets Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Steelers, at No. 15, wound up with linebacker Ryan Shazier. Later on in the fourth round, the Steelers grabbed a wide receiver in Clemson product Martavis Bryant.