Pagano has no regrets after questionable play call: The Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots battled in a rematch of last year's AFC Championship game. Only this time, the Colts kept up with the Patriots for most of the game.
Late in the third quarter, down 27-21, Chuck Pagano called for a trick play on 4th down on the Colts' 37 yard-line instead of electing to punt.
It was an odd formation with most of the punting unit lining up on the right side of the field leaving Colt Anderson acting as a center and Griff Whalen acting as a quarterback in the middle of the field.
However, Bill Belichick and the Patriots were not fooled in the slightest as they immediately tackled Whalen for a loss on the play.
Despite the questionable play call, Pagano doesn't regret his decision.
"Not pleased with the way I prepared the guys, coached the guys to go out and execute the play. That's on me. I have to do better," Pagano said Monday, via ESPN. "But I don't regret the play call."
The Patriots were left with good field position, and capitalized by scoring a touchdown six plays later. The Colts would go on to lose 27-34.
"It turned out to be one of the most failed fakes probably of all time," Colts punter Pat McAfee said Sunday.
But what was the strategy behind the play in the first place?
"The design was to actually to get [the Patriots] to maybe burn a timeout that they might need later on or catch them with too many men on the field," Pagano explained to reporters. "It didn't work out that way."
Mariota suffers MCL sprain: Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota was diagnosed with an sprained left MCL after Sunday's game against the Miami Dolphins.
According to ESPN, an MRI revealed that the sprain is a Grade 2, which usually warrants three to four weeks of recovery time.
Mariota suffered the sprain on a low hit by Dolphins defensive end, Olivier Vernon. The NFL is reviewing the play to decide if it was a legal hit. Titans head coach Ken Wisenhunt referred to Vernon's hit as "bull—- football," but Mariota doesn't believe the hit was malicious.
"In the second half of the game, [Mariota] was moving around pretty good," Whisenhunt said, via ESPN. "In fact, a couple times he was out of the pocket. I think the big test was what he was like today, so it was positive that he was able to move around today. Once again, we're not going to do anything to put him in any kind of jeopardy, so that's going to be determined by how he progresses this week."
Wisenhunt also added that Mariota was "walking around the facility just fine," so the team is hopeful that the quarterback will suit up for next week's game against the five-win Atlanta Falcons.
Dez Bryant unlikely to return Sunday: Cowboys owner Jerry Jones gave fans hope when he said that star receiver Dez Bryant might be able to play against the Giants next Sunday.
"We'll take a real good look at him tomorrow and Thursday," Jones said, via Dallas Morning News. "It totally depends on how he's doing. He had a good end of the week last week. He got in some really good work. He didn't have much negative response from that work. It was strenuous work, the kind that if he can step out here and have a couple of really good days of practice then you could see him go."
However, NFL insider Ian Rapoport doesn't believe Bryant will be able to suit up for the division match up. According to Rapoport, Bryant is still unable to cut on his routes down field and has yet to return to practice.
The 26-year-old is still nursing a broken foot he suffered during the Cowboys' season opener against the Giants. He is just five weeks removed from foot surgery.
