Eagles deep run game fuels Super Bowl runVideo
PHOENIX — While the fight song for the Philadelphia Eagles might be “Fly, Eagles Fly,” the offensive formula that carried the team to the Super Bowl was more grounded. With a trio of capable running backs, one of the best running quarterbacks and a dominating offensive line, the Eagles eschewed...
Native Americans renew protests of Kansas City Chiefs mascot
PHOENIX — Two years ago as the Kansas City Chiefs were vying for a second consecutive Super Bowl victory in Tampa, Florida, there was one group outside Raymond James Stadium picketing their appearance. Native American protesters were calling for the Chiefs to drop their name, logo and their trademark “war...
Damar Hamlin put prayer in football back in the spotlight
PHOENIX — When medical personnel rushed onto the field to save Damar Hamlin’s life after the Buffalo Bills’ defensive back collapsed during a game last month in Cincinnati, many people witnessing the horrifying scene did the only thing they could to help. They prayed. Players and coaches from both teams...
Chiefs’ Chris Jones sets sack standard for Kansas City defense
PHOENIX — Chris Jones claims to have very little memory of a relatively benign game in 2017, when the Kansas City Chiefs welcomed the Philadelphia Eagles to Arrowhead Stadium for the second game of the regular season. Jason Kelce remembers it quite well. The veteran Philadelphia center spent the afternoon...
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell tackles diversity, concussions
PHOENIX — From diversity to concussions, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell reiterated the league is still looking for improvement. As for officiating, he says: “it’s never been better.” Goodell addressed those topics and more, including the Washington Commanders’ investigation, flex scheduling and international play in his annual Super Bowl news conference...
NFL Network, ESPN pull Michael Irvin from Super Bowl-week shows
Former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin will not make any of his scheduled NFL Network or ESPN appearances for the remainder of Super Bowl week after a woman complained about his conduct during an encounter Sunday evening in Arizona. Irvin described the interaction to The Dallas Morning News as...
Damar Hamlin appears during Super Bowl event to accept Alan Page Community AwardVideo
PHOENIX — Damar Hamlin made a brief appearance in Phoenix during Super Bowl week to receive the NFLPA’s Alan Page Community Award. The Buffalo Bills safety received the award at the Phoenix Convention Center on Wednesday, a little over a month after he went into cardiac arrest and needed to...
Eagles GM Howie Roseman again shows his resilience in building Super Bowl rosterVideo
PHOENIX — The “Howie! Howie! Howie!” chants at the team’s send-off party in Philadelphia followed Eagles general manager Howie Roseman to Super Bowl opening night. They were yelling obscenities at Roseman not too long ago. The once-exiled executive who was cast aside for Chip Kelly for a year and returned...
AP sources: Derek Carr to visit Saints on WednesdayVideo
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr will visit the New Orleans Saints on Wednesday, two people with knowledge of the situation said Tuesday. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to comment publicly. One person termed the visit as “exploratory in nature.” NFL Network was the...
JuJu Smith-Schuster, other new WRs helped Chiefs reach Super Bowl without Tyreek HillVideo
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Kansas City Chiefs lost one of the NFL’s most dynamic receivers when Tyreek Hill was traded to the Miami Dolphins. The loss did nothing to slow them down. Kansas City revamped its receiving group in the offseason, and the new players quickly meshed with quarterback Patrick...
Mahomes, Hurts buoy Super Bowl teams amid QB injury spate
It matters that Patrick Mahomes is spectacularly talented, of course. Might matter just as much that he is almost always available for the Kansas City Chiefs. Same goes for the Philadelphia Eagles and Jalen Hurts. Those are big reasons the Chiefs and Eagles will meet in the Super Bowl —...
Jessica Pegula details health crisis for Bills and Sabres co-owner Kim PegulaVideo
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Pro tennis player Jessica Pegula revealed that her mother, Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres co-owner and president Kim Pegula, went into cardiac arrest in June and is still recovering while dealing with significant language and memory issues. In an essay that The Players’ Tribune published Tuesday, Jessica...
Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts aware of significance of this Super Bowl duel
PHOENIX — Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni is thrilled young aspiring football players all over the world will get to watch two Black quarterbacks face each other for the first time in the Super Bowl. He’s also pleased they get to watch two really, really good quarterbacks. “I’m really excited...
Super Bowl opening night returns with circus atmosphereVideo
PHOENIX — Nick Sirianni answered questions about Rocky, Santa Claus and even which of his players on the Philadelphia Eagles he’d want to date his 5-year-old daughter when she grows up. Welcome to Super Bowl opening night where football talk gives way to the wild and wacky. The circus atmosphere...
Fox’s Mike Pereira knows pressure Super Bowl officials are facing
Mike Pereira knows the pressure Carl Cheffers and his officiating crew will be under during Super Bowl 57 between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. That’s because he either hired or promoted most of them. As the NFL’s vice president of officiating in 2008, Pereira promoted Cheffers from side...
Tom Brady will not move into Fox announcing booth until 2024Video
LOS ANGELES — Tom Brady will not go immediately from the playing field to the broadcast booth. Brady told Colin Cowherd during Monday’s episode of “The Herd” on FS1 and Fox Sports Radio that he will not start his broadcasting career with Fox until the 2024 season. The seven-time Super...
Kirk Cousins rallies NFC to 35-33 win over AFC in Pro BowlVideo
LAS VEGAS — Kirk Cousins threw three touchdowns passes Sunday to rally the NFC to a 35-33 victory over the AFC in the Pro Bowl Games and end that conference’s five-game losing streak. Cousins completed 15 of 19 passes for 150 yards in the third and final flag football game...
Chiefs’ Clark Hunt, Eagles’ Jeffrey Lurie play key roles in Super Bowl runsVideo
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Clark Hunt proudly held aloft the AFC championship trophy bearing his father’s name, the one signifying his Kansas City Chiefs were headed back to the Super Bowl for the third time in four years, and reflected that not so long ago, success seemed elusive. It had...
Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, Eagles’ Jalen Hurts latest Texas prep QBs on Super Bowl stageVideo
DALLAS — Texas high school quarterbacks guru Todd Dodge got what he wanted when Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts of Philadelphia won their conference championship games. “I really like Joe Burrow,” Dodge said with a chuckle in reference to Cincinnati’s star quarterback, “but I’m not going to root...
NFL infuses Pro Bowl with points system, flag football
LAS VEGAS — The NFL finally stopped pretending its all-star game was an actual game and is breathing life into the exhibition with Sunday’s Pro Bowl Games. There will be no tackle football played for the first time — not that there was much tackling in recent years, more like...
Super Bowl-bound Chiefs are built around Patrick Mahomes
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs are built around their half-billion dollar All-Pro quarterback, and for the past five years, Super Bowl-bound Patrick Mahomes has made everyone else around him all the more valuable. He’s taken marginal wide receivers and turned them into stars. Mediocre offensive linemen became...
Super Bowl-bound Eagles are built around QB Jalen Hurts
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Eagles’ decision to draft Jalen Hurts in 2020 came with as much hand-wringing as intrigue regarding how to use the talented Heisman Trophy finalist. The Eagles already had quarterback Carson Wentz locked into a $128 million contract. They certainly had more pressing needs at the time...
From Reid to Super Bowls, Eagles 4 stalwarts done it allVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Jason Kelce felt the pull of retirement after the Eagles slogged through a miserable 2020 season and a second Super Bowl any time soon seemed like a joke. He considered walking away at the end of last season. His future was one of the more pressing offseason questions,...
NFL will offer free CPR training during Super Bowl week
Inspired by the lifesaving medical attention Damar Hamlin received on the field during a game last month, the NFL and American Heart Association will provide free CPR education in Arizona throughout Super Bowl week as part of the NFL Experience at the Phoenix Convention Center. Hamlin, the 24-year-old Buffalo Bills...
Tom Brady’s plate remains full after retirement announcementVideo
TAMPA, Fla. — Tom Brady’s future figures to be busy. The seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback’s retirement announcement ended speculation about if and where Brady might want to play next season, opening the door for numerous off-the-field endeavors that could occupy his time. It was announced last May that whenever Brady...