Sports

The Chargers got edge rusher Khalil Mack back in the lineup against the Colts in Week 7, but he didn't play his customary role on defense in a 38-24 loss to the Colts.

Mack only played 12 of the team's 60 defensive snaps in his first game off of injured reserve. He was still able to show what the Chargers were missing while he missed four games with an elbow injury by sacking Daniel Jones and Tuesday brought questions about how soon he thinks he can be a more constant presence.

“Just trying to be as smart as possible, but I want to win," Mack said, via Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register. "I want to win football games. . . . I love football, I want to play first down, second down, third down, fourth down — all the downs. At this point, we’ve got to be smart about where I’m at."

The Chargers play the Vikings Thursday night and the quick turnaround from Sunday could prove tricky for a player just getting back on his feet, but the Chargers could use as much of an impact as Mack can provide after losing three of their last four games.

Brandon Graham is back with the Eagles and the outlook for the veteran edge rusher's role on the team's defense was a main topic of defensive coordinator Vic Fangio's press conference on Tuesday.

Graham retired after the Eagles won the Super Bowl and Fangio said he would "always tease [Graham] about it to try and light the fire" for a comeback whenever they would cross paths. Za'Darius Smith's retirement created a more pressing need for help off the edge, which led to this week's signing and Fangio said they'll see what condition Graham is in before making plans about an immediate role on the defense.

"We'll see. You see what kind of shape he's in, what kind of retention he has from last year," Fangio said, via a transcript from the team. "Shape comes in two forms. One, just your conditioning, but in football shape to contact shape. So hopefully, the sooner the better."

The retention shouldn't be a big issue since Graham was with the team in 2024, so the next few days of practice should be the major factor in determining if he's on the field against the Giants.

The Ravens have reached the "take ping pong tables out of the locker room" stage of their losing streak.

At 1-5 and on a four-game losing streak, Baltimore is perhaps the NFL's most disappointing team this season. And as disappointing teams often do, they've decided to buckle down and get to work.

According to the Baltimore Sun, the Ravens removed recreation from the locker room, which included getting rid of ping pong tables, a basketball hoop, cornhole boards and video game consoles. The report says the coaches made the decision to make the locker room more businesslike.

That's a common occurrence in the NFL, where teams often swing between viewing fun in the locker room as an important part of team-building, and deciding that players are having too much fun at the expense of winning football games.

But while it's common, it can also be viewed as a desperation tactic on a team that entered the season with Super Bowl aspirations. The Ravens are favored to beat the Bears on Sunday in a game that could turn Baltimore's fortunes around. But a loss could lead to even more desperation in Baltimore.