Matthew Stafford loves Detroit but embraces being ‘bad guy’ as Rams face Lions
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Matthew Stafford arrived in Detroit as a hotshot 21-year-old quarterback. He left three years ago as a grown man with a wife and four daughters all born in Michigan. During the 12 years in between, he desperately tried to end the Lions’ decades-long playoff victory drought....
Rookie TE Dalton Kincaid provides Bills another option after nearly giving up on football
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Dalton Kincaid occasionally wonders how different his life would have been had the rookie tight end not given football a second chance entering his senior year in high school. “I’d probably be selling real estate or traveling,” Kincaid told the Associated Press on Wednesday, in preparing...
Sportsbooks pulling hard for big underdogs Steelers and Packers in playoffs
LAS VEGAS — Sportsbook directors follow the money when it comes to cheering for particular teams, and they are solidly behind the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers this weekend. Both are sizable underdogs in the NFL playoffs, with the majority of the money from casual bettors going to the...
Plenty rests on the shoulders of Tua Tagovailoa as Dolphins go for first playoff win since 2000Video
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — It has been more than 23 years since the Miami Dolphins won a playoff game. Tua Tagovailoa gets a chance to stop that drought Saturday night. The fourth-year quarterback makes his first postseason appearance when Miami visits the Kansas City Chiefs for a wild-card game this...
After watching his brother win a title, Ravens coach John Harbaugh wants another for himselfVideo
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Now the Harbaugh family goes for the sweep. After watching his brother, Jim, coach Michigan to a national title Monday night, Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh has his sights on another celebration in the Super Bowl next month. His team is the top seed in the...
Browns WR Amari Cooper faces Houston in playoffs just weeks after record performance against TexansVideo
BEREA, Ohio — Never flashy or full of himself, Amari Cooper downplayed his record-setting performance a few weeks ago in Houston. Cooper had a game unlike any in Browns history. “Just numbers,” he said. Eye-popping ones. Shredding Houston’s secondary from the opening play, Cooper finished with 265 yards in Cleveland’s...
Bears to keep Matt Eberflus as coach, fire offensive coordinator Luke Getsy
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Chicago Bears are sticking with coach Matt Eberflus in 2024 after the team showed improvement over the second half of the season. There will, however, be some big changes to his staff. The Bears fired most of their offensive assistants, including coordinator Luke Getsy after...
Pete Carroll out as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks after 14 seasonsVideo
RENTON, Wash. — Pete Carroll’s mantra was “always compete,” — it was the title of his book, after all. And he did right up to the point where the ownership of the Seattle Seahawks decided it was time for a new voice to be in charge following 14 seasons. After...
Pat McAfee announces Aaron Rodgers’ appearances are over for the rest of this NFL seasonVideo
Aaron Rodgers’ Tuesday appearances on “The Pat McAfee Show” are over for the rest of this NFL season. Or possibly longer. McAfee announced at the beginning of his Wednesday show on ESPN that his fourth season of doing a weekly segment with the New York Jets quarterback had concluded. As...
Bills fan killed outside of Dolphins’ stadium after last weekend’s game, police say
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Police in South Florida say a man fatally shot a 30-year-old Buffalo Bills fan during an altercation outside Hard Rock Stadium after the Bills defeated the Miami Dolphins in the final regular season game. As Dylan Brody Isaacs and his friends were returning to their vehicle...
NFL regular-season games see 7% increase in viewers
NFL regular-season games averaged 17.9 million viewers, tied for the second highest since averages were first tracked in 1995. Buoyed by increases of at least 24% in two of the five packages, the first year of the league’s new television contracts saw a total increase of 7% from last season....
Broncos brass indicates divorce with QB Russell Wilson not a sure thing
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Maybe Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos aren’t headed for a costly divorce, after all. The possibility of working things out with their benched $242.6 million quarterback was the main message that emerged from the Broncos’ season-ending news conference Tuesday. Coach Sean Payton said no decision has...
Mike McCarthy less chatty about Green Bay reunion with Cowboys in playoffs
Dallas coach Mike McCarthy thought he talked too much about his return to Green Bay last season when the Cowboys lost to the Packers. With the stakes much higher for another reunion in a wild-card game at the home of the Cowboys on Sunday, McCarthy can use the benefit of...
QB Joe Flacco’s road success in playoffs gives Browns boost as they visit Texans in AFC wild cardVideo
BEREA, Ohio — Joe Flacco knows the ins and outs, the perils and pitfalls of the road in the NFL playoffs as well as anyone. He’s sharing his top travel tips with the Browns. As Cleveland’s quarterback and his new-ish teammates prepare for Saturday’s AFC wild-card game in Houston, Flacco’s...
Andy Reid, Chiefs ready for frigid playoff game against Dolphins
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Coach Andy Reid was asked what impact a frigid forecast might have for Saturday night’s wild-card playoff game between the Chiefs and Dolphins, and whether Kansas City would try to acclimate by practicing outside this week. Reid looked out a nearby window Tuesday and saw the...
TV Talk: What you need to know with the Chiefs-Dolphins game only available via Peacock
Saturday’s 8 p.m. AFC Wild Card game between the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs will only be available via streaming on Peacock in Western Pennsylvania. Here’s what viewers need to know about how to watch that game: What is Peacock? Peacock is NBCUniversal’s attempt to create a Netflix streaming...
Tennessee Titans fire coach Mike Vrabel after back-to-back losing seasons
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans have fired coach Mike Vrabel after six seasons with the franchise having won only six of the past 24 games, including blowing a third straight AFC South title in the 2022 season finale. Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk said in a statement that...
Analysis: Victory formation was never meant for the kind of trickery the Saints used against Falcons
Victory formation hits different now — just like the Atlanta Falcons defenders undoubtedly will next time they face the New Orleans Saints. That’s the fallout of backup quarterback Jameis Winston going rogue during mop-up duty and leading New Orleans to a rub-it-in touchdown Sunday against an unsuspecting opponent that was...
Jaguars fire defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell, 7 assistants
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell and seven of his assistants ended up taking the fall for the biggest late-season collapse in Jacksonville Jaguars history. Coach Doug Pederson fired Caldwell and the others Monday, a day after a 28-20 loss at Tennessee that knocked the Jaguars out of the...
Analysis: Browns’ improbable season continues in Houston with AFC wild-card round matchup
CLEVELAND — This season jammed with unexpected twists, hard turns, highs, lows and Joe Flacco’s improbable arrival is circling back down a familiar path for the Cleveland Browns. For the second time in three weeks, Cleveland is headed to Houston. With so much more at stake. The Browns (11-6) will...
Analysis: After nearly making playoffs, Bengals face decisions on many free agents
CINCINNATI — After Joe Burrow was lost for the season with a wrist injury in November, coach Zac Taylor insisted the Bengals had been built to win even without their franchise quarterback. Well, yes and no. Backup Jake Browning exceeded expectations by winning three of his first four starts, helping...
Analysis: Bills show ability to overcome flaws; playoff meeting vs. Steelers next
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Let’s dispense with predictions, because enough people — Buffalo Bills fans included — already have been proven wrong by a team that has defied the odds and the eye test by earning a playoff berth, never mind the AFC’s No. 2 seed. All it takes for...
NFL Playoff Guide: How to watch the games, bracket format and betting favorites
Six teams — the Steelers, Browns, Lions, Packers, Texans and Rams — are in the playoffs after missing out last season. At least four teams who failed to qualify one season have reached the playoffs the next every year since 1990. Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys are riding high after...
Panthers fire GM Scott Fitterer after finishing with NFL-worst 2-15 record
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers now need a head coach and a general manager. The Panthers announced Monday they have fired GM Scott Fitterer one day after the team finished with an NFL-worst 2-15 record. “As we move forward with the new direction for our franchise, I have made...
Bill Belichick under contract, would take lesser role in personnel matters as Kraft meeting looms
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Bill Belichick is open to letting someone else handle personnel duties if he remains with the New England Patriots. The Patriots coach also confirmed Monday during his season-ending news conference that he remains under contract, though he didn’t specify the length of its current terms. New England’s...
