Panthers Sign Chris Hogan

The Carolina Panthers have signed veteran free-agent receiver Chris Hogan to a one-year deal, according to multiple reports. Hogan spent the previous three years with the New England Patriots, reaching the Super Bowl in each season and winning the Lombardi Trophy twice.

Hogan struggled as the Patriots' featured wideout in 2018 when Julian Edelman was suspended for the first four games of the season for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances. Having trouble breaking through the Patriots' undermanned receiver corps all year, Hogan caught just 35 passes and three TDs. He did turn those catches into 532 yards (15.2 yards per reception) and remained a deep-threat option because of his physical frame. The 6'1"/215 lb wideout could provide a red zone option for Panthers QB Cam Newton.

Turning 32 in October, Hogan will be the oldest wide receiver on Carolina's roster. D.J. Moore and Curtis Samuel are the featured wideouts for the Panthers, while Hogan and 30-year-old Torrey Smith will play complementary roles.

Hogan accumulated 107 receptions for 1,651 yards and 12 touchdowns in 40 regular-season games for the Patriots from 2016-18 . 

Hogan will be best remembered for his incredible performance in the 2016 AFC Championship against the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the Patriots' victory over the Steelers, Hogan registered nine receptions for 180 yards—a single-game playoff franchise record for receiving yards—with two touchdowns.

NFL Power Rankings Week 8

Ranking all 32 teams with seven weeks of the season now in the books.

The Carolina Panthers' improbable road comeback highlighted Sunday's NFL action. Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Rams continued their perfect season, the New Orleans Saints won their fifth straight and the Houston Texans pushed their winning streak to four.

1. Los Angeles Rams (7-0)

Todd Gurley rushed for 63 yards and two touchdowns and caught 4 passes for 23 yards and another score in the Rams’ shellacking of the 49ers. It was his third 3-touchdown game of the season. He leads the league with 14 TDs for the season, tying the mark for most touchdowns by a running back through his first seven games in NFL history, originally set by Priest Holmes in 2003.

2. New England Patriots (5-2)

The Patriots' special teams unit scored two touchdowns in Chicago. The first one came on a 95-yard kickoff return by Cordarrelle Patterson. The second came on a 29-yard return off a blocked punt by Kyle Van Noy. Josh Gordon led the team in receiving with 100 yards.

3. Kansas City Chiefs (6-1)

Kareem Hunt rushed for 86 yards and a touchdown and caught five passes for 55 yards and two receiving touchdowns in the Chiefs’ blowout victory over the Bengals on Sunday Night Football.

4. New Orleans Saints (5-1)

Drew Brees became the fourth member of the 500-TD club—completing 22 of 30 for 212 yards and two touchdowns—and superstar wideout Michael Thomas caught his first touchdown pass since Week 2 as the visiting Saints defeated the Ravens and won their fifth straight game. In beating the Ravens, Brees joined Peyton Manning as the only quarterbacks in league history to beat all 32 NFL teams.

Michael Thomas celebrates a touchdown in the Saints' win over the Ravens. (AP)

5. Los Angeles Chargers (5-2)

The Chargers defense stepped up in the biggest moment of the game, forcing an incomplete pass from opposing quarterback Marcus Mariota on the Titans’ two-point conversion attempt to hold on for a one-point win in London.

6. Minnesota Vikings (4-2-1)

Adam Thielen put another dazzling performance, catching nine passes for 110 yards and a touchdown in the Vikings’ beatdown over the Jets. He has totaled over 100 yards receiving in each of his team's first seven games, the second player in NFL history to reach this feat (the late Charley Hennigan of the Houston Oilers achieved this in 1961) and the only player in the Super Bowl era to accomplish it.

7. Carolina Panthers (4-2)

The Panthers rallied from a 17-0 fourth-quarter deficit to take down the defending-champion Eagles, backed by QB Cam Newton, who recorded 201 of his 269 passing yards in the final period. Overcoming a 17-point deficit, the Panthers matched their franchise record for biggest comeback in team history.

8. Baltimore Ravens (4-3)

The Ravens played well against the first-place Saints, but the most accurate kicker in NFL history, Justin Tucker, missed a game-tying extra-point for the first time in his career with 24 seconds remaining in the 24-23 loss.

9. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2-1)

The Steelers had a great bye week, moving into first-place in the AFC North due to losses by the Ravens and Bengals.

10. Philadelphia Eagles (3-4)

The Eagles blew a 17-0 lead to the Panthers, surrendering 233 yards and 21 points in the game's final quarter. The collapse spoiled a tremendous outing by Carson Wentz, who completed 26 of 36 passes for 278 yards with three touchdowns.

11. Cincinnati Bengals (4-3)

The Bengals gave up 551 yards and 45 points to the Chiefs. On offense, Joe Mixon had only 50 yards rushing. Andy Dalton was held to just 148 yards passing with a touchdown and an interception by the NFL's worst statistical defense. The Bengals are 0-6 on Sunday Night Football since drafting Dalton in 2011. The 35-point loss was the team's most lopsided defeat since 2009.

12. Washington Redskins (4-2)

The Redskins defense sacked Dak Prescott four times, held Ezekiel Elliott to 34 yards and scored a TD in the fourth quarter as Ryan Kerrigan stripped Prescott and Preston Smith scooped up the ball in the end zone.

13. Chicago Bears (3-3)

The Bears doomed themselves by allowing the Patriots to score two special teams touchdowns.

14. Detroit Lions (3-3)

The Lions rushed for 248 yards—158 coming from rookie tailback Kerryon Johnson—in their road victory at Miami.

15. Houston Texans (4-3)

The visiting Texans humiliated the division-rival Jaguars, who benched struggling quarterback Blake Bortles. Houston has won four straight since its 0-3 start to take sole control of first-place in the AFC South.

Rest of the Pack

16. Miami Dolphins (4-3)

17. Green Bay Packers (3-2-1)

18. Tennessee Titans (3-4)

19. Seattle Seahawks (3-3)

20. Dallas Cowboys (3-4)

21. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-4)

22. Atlanta Falcons (3-4)

23. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-3)

24. Cleveland Browns (2-4-1)

25. New York Jets (3-4)

26. Denver Broncos (3-4)

27. Indianapolis Colts (2-5)

28. Buffalo Bills (2-5)

29. New York Giants (1-6)

30. Oakland Raiders (1-5)

31. Arizona Cardinals (1-6)

32. San Francisco 49ers (1-6)

NFL 2013 Coach of the Year Honors: Carolina's Ron Rivera Stands Above Stacked Crowd of Worthy Candidates

The NFL will celebrate its third annual “NFL Honors” event on the stage of Radio City Music Hall in New York tonight at 8 P.M. on FOX. The Associated Press will present many of the accolades for the 2013 NFL season on the eve of Super Bowl XLVII. Of all the awards that will be handed out tonight, the Coach of the Year Honors offers the most intrigue.

            There are a bevy of coaches that merit praise for their work in the 2013 season. Chip Kelly adapted to the professional game commendably in his inaugural season, leading the Eagles to a 10-6 record and the NFC East title. Kelly inherited a 4-12 club that finished in last-place in the division a season ago. He successfully changed the culture of the team, overseeing a potent offense (2^nd in total yards per game) and a defensive revival as the Eagles won seven of their final eight contests to secure a playoff berth for the first time in three seasons.

            Speaking of head coaches that thrived in their first year at the helm, the work of San Diego’s Mike McCoy cannot go unnoticed. McCoy steered the Chargers to their first playoff appearance since 2009. San Diego finished with a 9-7 mark, earning the second wild-card spot in the AFC playoffs. The Chargers were the hottest team in the NFL down the tail-end of the season, winning four straight to reach the postseason, including a crucial victory over the Broncos at Mile High Stadium on a “Thursday Night Football” contest. The Chargers won their first playoff game in five years, stomping the Bengals in Cincinnati in the AFC Wild Card round. Of the eight new head coaches hired in 2013, McCoy was the only one to lead his team to the Divisional round of the playoffs.

            Two NFC West head coaches must be applauded for their 2013 season. Let’s start with Pete Carroll, who led the Seahawks to a 13-3 record and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. Not only has Carroll has established the NFL’s top defensive unit, he also has crafted the “Seahawk Way”, which his players endorsed on Super Bowl Media Day. With a victory tomorrow night, Carroll will become just the third coach to win a NCAAF National Championship and a Super Bowl.

Pete Carroll has the Seahawks on the verge of their first Super Bowl victory in franchise history.

            Bruce Arians, another rookie head coach that flourished in his first opportunity at the helm, guided the Arizona Cardinals to a 10-6 record in 2013. The Cardinals featured a five-game improvement from 2012 to 2013 and stayed in the hunt for a playoff spot, despite playing in the ultra-competitive NFC West. The Cardinals recorded impressive blowout victories over the Panthers and Colts and defeated the Seahawks in Seattle, handing Russell Wilson his only career loss at CenturyLink Field. Arians was unable to get his team to the postseason, but he was able to form an elite defense that will likely be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.

            Kelly, McCoy, Carroll and Arians have all earned consideration for the nod as the NFL’s best coach of 2013. However, in my opinion it is a three-man race for this year’s NFL Coach of the Year Award.

3. Andy Reid, Kansas City Chiefs

            Andy Reid transformed the Chiefs into a winner in his first season in Kansas City, leading the team to 11 wins and a postseason appearance, a year after the team finished with the worst record in the NFL. Reid took over a Chiefs club that desperately needed a fresh start after winning just two games in 2012. Under the wing of Reid, the Chiefs stormed out of the gates to a 9-0 start. Kansas City came down to earth in the following weeks, losing three in a row en route to a 2-5 finish to the season. Even so, Reid directed a 9-win improvement from last year, helping the Chiefs make their first postseason since 2010.

 Reid revitalized a Chiefs’ offense that had not taken advantage of its immense talent. Jamaal Charles, who is up for the Offensive Player of the Year Award, had a career year in Reid’s offensive system. Charles rushed for a NFL-best 12 touchdowns in 2013, racking up 1,286 rushing yards in the process. Alex Smith also had his finest season as a QB, tossing 27 touchdowns passes versus just 13 interceptions.

The knock on Reid will be that the Chiefs posted a 10-0 record against non-playoff teams this season, but a 1-5 mark against teams that qualified for the postseason. Nonetheless, Reid engineered a major turnaround for the Chiefs in 2013 and now the future looks suddenly very bright for the franchise.

2. Bill Belichick, New England Patriots

Bill Belichick had the burden of dealing with the Aaron Hernandez debacle this offseason. Distractions were at all-time high in New England after Hernandez was charged with murder. Belichick, however, refused to let the team get buried by off-the-field diversions. Belichick mandated that his players not discuss the Hernandez investigation with reporters, instead demanding they focus on just football and the task at hand.

No team in the NFL lost more impact players to season-ending injuries than New England. Vince Wilfork, Jerod Mayo and Tommy Kelly were all placed on injured reserve, testing the depth of the maligned Patriots’ defense. The Patriots also lost Sebastian Vollmer and Rob Gronkowski to season-ending injuries on the offensive side of the ball. Yet, the Patriots were able win 12 games and capture another AFC East title in 2013, seizing a first-round bye for the fourth straight season.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft believes this might be Belichick’s best coaching job in New England. Think about the magnitude of that statement. Belichick led the Patriots to a Super Bowl victory in 2001 with then-backup quarterback Tom Brady. He guided the Patriots to a perfect 16-0 season in 2007. A season later, he led the Patriots to 11 wins, even with Brady sidelined for the entire season after tearing his ACL in Week 1. Kraft gave Belichick the ultimate praise by stating that this may be his best season yet, given the track record of his Hall-of-Fame head coach.

1. Ron Rivera, Carolina Panthers

No coach is more meritorious of the Coach of the Year Honors than Ron Rivera

Ron Rivera deserves the nod for Coach of the Year for turning around a Panthers’ squad that had experienced immense losing in the past half-decade. After the Panthers started the season off with two ugly losses, many were calling for the dismissal of Rivera. A report surfaced that the Panthers had begun looking for potential replacements to supersede Rivera. The league-wide perception was that Rivera would be fired if his club were to lose to the lowly Giants in Week 3. The Panthers, though, played an inspired game against the Giants that day, pummeling the visitors 38-0 as they handed Tom Coughlin his most lopsided loss since taking over the head coaching duties in New York.

The Panthers were unable to sustain their success after their bye-week and got crushed on the road in Arizona. Rivera’s job again appeared on the line as the club fell to 1-3 on the year. That is when Rivera acknowledged he needed to take more risks, including keeping the offense on the field in fourth-and-short scenarios. He stayed true to his word in the first game following these remarks, going for it twice on the same drive on fourth-and-1 situations, rather than kick a field goal. The Panthers converted both plays, with the second resulting in a touchdown in the team’s 35-10 victory over the Vikings. This was the first victory for the Panthers in a stretch of 11 wins in their final 12 contests. Rivera consequently received the nickname "Riverboat Ron" after showing a recurrent willingness for gambles. Rivera’s risks paid off for the Panthers, who reached the postseason for the first time since 2008 as they won the NFC South and seized a first-round bye in the playoffs.

Week 3 Roundup: Panthers Obliterate Reeling Giants; Maligned Browns Temporarily Silence Critics Behind Brian Hoyer

Carolina Panthers 38, New York Giants  0

The Carolina Panthers have suffered some excruciating losses in the Ron Rivera era. Since Rivera took over the coaching duties in 2011, the club has posted a dismal 2-14 mark in games decided by 7 points or less. The Panthers (1-2) shredded some of their frustration from their recent gut-wrenching losses by compiling arguably their most satisfying win in Rivera's tenure on Sunday, demolishing the hapless New York Giants (0-3) 38-0 in front of their home crowd in Charlotte.

The front-seven of the Panthers continues to look like one of the best in football after another notable effort on Sunday. The Panthers made Eli Manning’s life a living hell, sacking the two-time Super Bowl champion seven times (6 of which came in the first half) as the Giants offense looked pitiful all afternoon.

Cam Newton flashed his dynamic skills at quarterback, tossing three touchdowns passes and rushing a TD score in the Panthers most lopsided victory in franchise history. Newton amassed 223 passing yards and threw two touchdown passes to Brandon LaFell and one to Ted Ginn Jr. Playing out of the read option on some designated run plays, Newton rushed for 45 yards on seven carries, including a TD run that witnessed him drag defenders into the end zone with him before he let out a ferocious yell.

Cam Newton fired up the Panthers home crowd in their 38-0 thrashing of the sinking Giants. ( Mike McCarn- AP)

The Panthers' blowout victory should temporarily halt questions related to Ron Rivera’s job security. Rivera and the Panthers head into their bye week 1-2, but their defense is playing at a championship level. If the Panthers can consistently play this caliber of defense, then they have a realistic shot at making their first playoff appearance since 2008.

The Giants, meanwhile, have been an utter disaster through the first three games of the 2013 season.  The G-Men have been outscored 115-54 (an average of 38.3 to 18 per game). They have a recorded a mere 133 rushing yards through their first 3 games, the fifth fewest yards to start a season in the Super-Bowl Era, according to Elias Sports Bureau. The club is in complete disarray after totaling just 18 first-half yards and three turnovers in the contest, bringing their season total of giveaways to a whopping 13.

The 38-0 loss was the worst defeat for the Giants in the Tom Coughlin era. 

Cleveland Browns 31, Minnesota Vikings 27

The Cleveland Browns were ridiculed the entire week after trading running back Trent Richardson to the Indianapolis Colts for a 2014 first-round pick. The deal was perceived as the waving of the white flag by the Browns. Richardson, the third overall pick in the 2012 draft, was viewed as a cornerstone piece of the Browns’ future by former team president Mike Holmgren. Holmgren blasted the shocking trade made by the new regime spearheaded by GM Mike Lombardi.  Other critics asserted the club had quit on the 2013 season and had entered full-NBA-tank-mode before the calendar had even flipped to October.

Determined to silence their detractors, the Browns coaching staff and players mustered an impressive 31-27 road win over the Minnesota Vikings behind third-string QB Brian Hoyer, who threw for 321 yards in the victory. The Browns (1-2) gave the nod to Hoyer over backup Jason Campbell with purported starter Brandon Weeden sidelined with a thumb injury. Hoyer may have snatched Weeden’s job after engineering a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter to propel the Browns to their first victory of the season. Hoyer did throw three interceptions, but he also fired three touchdown passes, a feat Weeden has yet to accomplish in 17 career starts.

Jordan Cameron is suddenly emerging as one of the league’s most intriguing young tight ends after his three score game against the Vikings (0-3) on Sunday. Cameron totaled 66 yards on his 6 receptions (3 for TD’s), including the go-ahead grab in the back of end zone with 51 seconds left.

Josh Gordon, fresh off a two-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, hauled in 10 receptions for 146 yards and one touchdown.

The Browns were able to send a clear message to their fans, the critics and to to the rest of the NFL today that they have no intentions of quitting on the season and will not roll over against any opponent.