Sports

There were calls for the Giants to part ways with defensive coordinator Shane Bowen after the team blew a 19-point lead in a loss to the Broncos last month, but Brian Daboll opted not to make any changes to his coaching staff.

The Giants did decide to make a coaching change after they blew another big fourth quarter lead against the Bears last Sunday. It was Daboll who was fired as the team's head coach, however, and Bowen remains on interim head coach Mike Kafka's staff as the team moves toward their Week 11 game against the Packers.

On Thursday, Bowen said that he "can’t say enough good things" about Daboll as a leader and acknowledged the role that the defense played in the Giants' decision.

"There’s responsibility that falls on me," Bowen said, via SNY. "We haven’t been good enough defensively, particularly closing out games. Something we’re working at, evaluating everything. everything. Scheme, personnel, different situations — what we can do to continue to improve and find ways to be at our best when it matters most. Find ways to put these players in positions to make plays at critical parts of the game when it matters most."

Firing Daboll sets the stage for more sweeping changes to the staff in the offseason, so Bowen's remaining time with the team will likely be short whether his unit shows marked improvement or not.

Four years after being named the AP coach of the year with the Titans, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel could be in line to win the award again.

He has a chance to bolster his case on Thursday night, when New England hosts the Jets.

Via NBC Sports research, Vrabel can become only the sixth coach since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to win eight or more games in a row in his first season with a team.

The others who accomplished that feat were Colts coach Jim Caldwell (14 in a row in 2009), 49ers coach Steve Mariucci (11 in a row in 1997), Chiefs coach Andy Reid (nine in a row in 2013), Colts coach Ted Marchibroda (nine in a row in 1975), and 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh (eight in a row in 2011).

Marchibroda and Harbaugh each won coach of the year to cap the respective seasons.

Vrabel currently is a +120 favorite to win the official coach of the year prize, followed by Colts coach Shane Steichen (+175) and Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald (+350).

The Ravens can collectively exhale.

According to multiple reporters on the scene, quarterback Lamar Jackson is practicing on Thursday after he missed Wednesday's session.

Head coach John Harbaugh told reporters on Wednesday that Jackson did not practice due to knee soreness, but he was expected to return to the field on Thursday.

That has now happened.

Jackson missed a few weeks earlier in the season due to a hamstring injury. Harbaugh noted that Jackson's practice absence on Wednesday did not have anything to do with his hamstring.

In six games this season, Jackson has completed 70.1 percent of his passes for 1,249 yards with 15 touchdowns and one interception. He’s also rushed for 216 yards with one TD.

Jackson and the Ravens will play the Browns in Cleveland on Sunday.