49ers-Chiefs showdown offers rare Super Bowl rematch
The San Francisco 49ers finally climbed back up the playoff mountain to return to the Super Bowl only to find a familiar foe waiting for them. When the Niners get a second shot at a Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs, it will be a rare title game rematch...
Chiefs back in Super Bowl because of simplified offensive approach
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There was a moment back on Christmas Day, long before the Kansas City Chiefs could even start thinking about playing in the Super Bowl again, when Patrick Mahomes broke the huddle in a game against the Las Vegas Raiders. His team was in total disarray. Players...
NFL playoffs, conference championship games draw highest viewership average on record
LOS ANGELES — The television audiences for the NFL playoffs and last Sunday’s conference championship games are the highest on record going back to 1988. According to the league and Nielsen, the first three weekends of the postseason averaged 38.5 million viewers on television and digital platforms, a 9% increase...
Lions OC Ben Johnson staying put after interviewing with Commanders, Seahawks
DETROIT — Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has decided to stay with the team and turn down potential opportunities to be an NFL head coach next season, leading the Washington Commanders and Seattle Seahawks to turn to other candidates. Two people familiar with the situation told the Associated Press...
Analysis: Despite all the heartbreaks and mistakes, the future looks bright for the Lions and Ravens
The Detroit Lions lost their huge halftime lead and the Baltimore Ravens lost both their composure and the football just inches from advancing to Super Bowl 58 next week on the Las Vegas Strip. Too bad, too, because both teams looked every bit the high-rolling risk-takers that the betting houses...
Las Vegas’ 1st Super Bowl is driving record prices on the secondary ticket market
LAS VEGAS — Tickets on at least one secondary-market site were the most expensive in Super Bowl history on Monday, underscoring the anticipation of the game’s Las Vegas debut between the defending champion and what likely is the most popular team in the West. Oh, and the great possibility Taylor...
Lions lament blowing big lead in chance to reach 1st Super Bowl
ALLEN PARK, Mich. — The Detroit Lions had their best season in generations. Players, coaches and at least some fans are not ready to celebrate at the moment. The Lions let an opportunity slip to play in the Super Bowl for the first time, becoming the first team to lose...
Analysis: Hard to blame Lions’ Dan Campbell for staying true to his aggressive self
Dan Campbell’s aggressiveness bit his team. The Detroit Lions blew a 17-point halftime lead and missed an opportunity to reach the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history because their head coach stuck to the same philosophy that helped him turn a perennial loser into a championship contender....
The 49ers showing off comeback ability on drive to Super Bowl
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers have turned into the comeback kids this postseason. The only team that didn’t pull off a second-half rally in the regular season has done it in back-to-back weeks in the playoffs, capped by one of the biggest comebacks in conference championship game...
Analysis: Ravens fail to reach Super Bowl after dominant regular season
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Less than 24 hours after Baltimore’s season ended with a loss in the AFC championship game, All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton was dealing with both physical and emotional pain. “Body is sore, heart sore,” he said. “But we move on.” The Ravens head into the offseason lamenting...
Chiefs finally show what they can do when they play error-free ball
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs kept making dumbfounding mistakes all season — dropped passes, penalties, miscommunication — and each time, Patrick Mahomes confidently insisted they were oh-so-close to putting it all together. Seems as if they finally did. In three playoff wins, two on the road in...
Taylor Swift-inspired flight numbers offered for Chiefs-49ers Super Bowl
MIAMI — Taylor Swift was born in 1989. Travis Kelce wears jersey No. 87. American Airlines and United Airlines took notice. Whether you’re a Swiftie or a member of Chiefs Kingdom, if you need flights from Kansas City to Las Vegas and the Super Bowl on Feb. 11, a few...
Lamar Jackson after falling to 2-4 in the playoffs: ‘I’m not frustrated, I’m angry’
BALTIMORE — With a trip to the Super Bowl just one victory away, the Baltimore Ravens looked nothing like the team that finished the regular season with the best record in the NFL before thrashing Houston in their playoff opener. Worse, Lamar Jackson bore little resemblance to the quarterback who...
The Super Bowl is set: Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs will face Brock Purdy and the 49ers
Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs are heading to Las Vegas with a chance for a rare repeat while facing the San Francisco 49ers in a Super Bowl rematch from four years ago. The Chiefs beat Lamar Jackson and the No. 1-seeded Baltimore Ravens, 17-10, in the...
Penn State will be represented by Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII
Super Bowl XLVIII is set, and at least one former Penn State player is going to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. Penn State will have three former players vying for a Super Bowl ring when the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers square off on the sport’s biggest stage in...
Brock Purdy, 49ers rally from 17 points down, beat Lions to advance to Super Bowl
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Brock Purdy threw for 267 yards and a touchdown, and the San Francisco 49ers rallied from 17 points down at halftime to beat the Detroit Lions, 34-31, on Sunday and reach the Super Bowl. The 49ers (14-5) scored 17 points in an eight-minute span of the...
Browns hire former quarterback Ken Dorsey as their offensive coordinator
CLEVELAND — Ken Dorsey has control of Cleveland’s offense again. The former Browns quarterback — and former Buffalo coordinator — has been hired by coach Kevin Stefanski as the team’s offensive coordinator, a person familiar with the hiring told The Associated Press on Sunday. Dorsey was fired as Buffalo’s offensive...
Mahomes, Kelce are headed to the Super Bowl after Chiefs shut down Ravens 17-10Video
BALTIMORE — The first quarter was vintage Patrick Mahomes, picking apart the Baltimore defense with quick passes, with Travis Kelce on the other end of several of them. Then the Kansas City defense — now elite after some shaky seasons in the past — took over. Finally, when Mahomes needed...
Chiefs’ Travis Kelce sets NFL record for postseason receptions with big 1st half against RavensVideo
BALTIMORE — Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has set an NFL record for most career catches in postseason play. With his seventh reception in the first half of Sunday’s AFC championship game against the Baltimore Ravens, Kelce brought his total in the playoffs to 152. That broke the...
NFL reaches ‘major milestone’ with record 9 minority head coaches in place for the 2024 season
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The National Football League has urged teams for years to hire more minority head coaches. That mission finally seems to be paying off. Four minority head coaches have been hired this year — Atlanta’s Raheem Morris, New England’s Jerod Mayo, Las Vegas’ Antonio Pierce and Carolina’s Dave...
Patrick Mahomes faces Lamar Jackson for 1st time in playoffs with Super Bowl berth on line
BALTIMORE — Patrick Mahomes has already defeated an impressive list of quarterbacks in the playoffs: Andrew Luck, Deshaun Watson, Ben Roethlisberger, Trevor Lawrence, Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa. And of course, Josh Allen, who was eliminated for the third time by Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs last week....
Man convicted of manslaughter in the killing of former New Orleans Saints star Will Smith
NEW ORLEANS — A man who shot former New Orleans Saints star Will Smith following a traffic crash nearly eight years ago has been convicted of manslaughter. The jury deliberated for more than four hours and reached its verdict in the retrial of Cardell Hayes just after midnight Saturday, news...
Final 4 teams in NFL playoffs rely heavily on tight ends
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Few people proselytize about the importance of tight ends more than San Francisco’s George Kittle. He helped the NFL create a “holiday” to honor the position each October and launched the annual Tight End University where scores of players gather to share tips of the trade....
Deebo Samuel cleared to play for 49ers in NFC title game vs. Lions
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel was cleared to play in the the NFC championship game against the Detroit Lions on Sunday after leaving last week’s game with a shoulder injury. Samuel was a full participant in practice Friday and has no injury designation as...
Panthers part ways with coaches Chris Tabor and James Campen, AP source says
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers are parting ways with former interim head coach and special teams coordinator Chris Tabor, as well as offensive line coach James Campen, a person familiar with moves told the Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Friday night because...
