As AFC’s top seed, Ravens hope to avoid repeat of 4 years ago
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Baltimore Ravens clinched the top seed in the AFC two weekends ago when they thrashed the Miami Dolphins. Coach John Harbaugh barely had time to enjoy the victory before facing an inevitable question about 2019. That season was the last time the Ravens were the...
Chiefs’ Andy Reid, Travis Kelce not contemplating retirement any time soon
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs coach Andy Reid doesn’t sound as if he’s ready to follow Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll into the next phase of his career. Nor does Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce, for that matter. After the announcement Thursday that Belichick was out as the coach...
Patriots need quarterback and talent to put around new coach
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft will cringe when he turns on the TV — or perhaps even looks at the other Gillette Stadium sideline — and sees Bill Belichick wearing a ratty sweatshirt with another team’s colors. But he has bigger things to worry about now. The Patriots need...
Packers CB Jaire Alexander hurts ankle in practice, status uncertain for playoff game at Dallas
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander suffered an ankle injury in practice this week that leaves his status uncertain for Sunday’s wild-card playoff game with the NFC East champion Dallas Cowboys. Packers coach Matt LaFleur said Alexander “stepped on somebody’s foot and rolled his ankle” during...
Ohio State All-American WR Marvin Harrison Jr. heading to NFL Draft
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State All-American receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. is entering the NFL Draft. The Buckeyes star junior, the first in program history with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, made his announcement on social media Thursday. Harrison, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison Sr., is considered the...
Browns CB Denzel Ward injures knee in practice. Pro Bowler questionable for playoff against TexansVideo
BEREA, Ohio — Browns Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward injured his knee in practice Thursday and is questionable for Cleveland’s wild-card game Saturday against the Houston Texans and rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud. The extent of Ward’s injury is not immediately known, but if he is less than 100%, it will...
Tyreek Hill returns to KC as Dolphins visit Chiefs for frigid AFC wild-card game Saturday nightVideo
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tyreek Hill and the Miami Dolphins missed out on the opportunity to play the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in November, when the NFL had moved their high-profile matchup to Frankfurt, Germany. Hill and Co. finally will get their chance Saturday night. With a whole...
NFL Hall of Famer Michael Strahan’s 19-year-old daughter is fighting cancerVideo
The 19-year-old daughter of NFL Hall of Famer and “Good Morning America” co-anchor Michael Strahan is undergoing treatment for brain cancer. Isabella Strahan appeared on a prerecorded videotape segment sitting next to her father while discussing her diagnosis of medulloblastoma, a cancerous brain tumor, with fellow GMA co-anchor Robin Roberts....
Bears and Vikings will host regular-season NFL games in London in 2024; Panthers to play in Germany
LONDON — The Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings will both host a game in London next season, and the Carolina Panthers will play in Germany as part of the NFL’s international swing, the league said Thursday. The two NFC North rivals will host a game each at Premier League team...
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...
