Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes to practice as usual on sprained ankleVideo
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes walked through Arrowhead Stadium as if nothing was amiss Wednesday, his sprained right ankle hardly hampering the All-Pro quarterback as he began preparing for the AFC title game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Mahomes went through a normal morning walkthrough and then headed...
Jalen Hurts, Justin Jefferson, Patrick Mahomes among AP NFL MVP finalists
Jalen Hurts, Justin Jefferson and Patrick Mahomes are finalists for The Associated Press 2022 NFL Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year awards. The winners will be announced at NFL Honors on Feb. 9. A nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league completed voting...
Mahomes the old man among 4 championship game QBs
Patrick Mahomes will be the old man among the starting quarterbacks in the conference title games. The 27-year-old All-Pro for Kansas City is the oldest member of one of the youngest groups of starting quarterbacks to make it to this round. The other three scheduled starting QBs on Sunday are...
Bengals O-line subs excel ahead of AFC title gameVideo
CINCINNATI — Coach Zac Taylor says he never doubted the toughness of the Bengals offensive line, no matter how many backups had to be pushed into service to replace the injured starters. “We’ve had confidence throughout,” Taylor insisted Monday, a day after Cincinnati dominated Buffalo to advance to the AFC...
Chiefs’ decision to trade Tyreek Hill opened future for success
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The decision Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach faced at the conclusion of last season was shockingly simple yet brutally difficult: Do they sign wide receiver Tyreek Hill to a long-term deal or trade him away? Two options. Yet two very different ways to chart...
AP source: Bill O’Brien agrees to return as Patriots offensive coordinator
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Bill O’Brien has agreed to return to the Patriots as their offensive coordinator, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal hasn’t been finalized. O’Brien spent the past two seasons...
Disrespected no more, Bengals prepare to face Chiefs again
CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bengals went into Buffalo feeling disrespected and played their most complete game of the season. With tickets on sale last week for a potential neutral-site Buffalo Bills-Kansas City Chiefs AFC championship game, the Bengals came into a snowstorm and dominated the second seed. Cincinnati’s 27-10 win...
Dak Prescott, Cowboys stuck in divisional-round rut another year
FRISCO, Texas — For all the progress of the first road playoff victory in 30 years, Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys still can’t get out of their divisional-round rut. Now they have another year to think about it. “They’re all independent,” the Dallas quarterback said after dropping to 0-3...
Analysis: Defense still wins in the NFL playoffs
Defense stills wins in the playoffs. The San Francisco 49ers and Cincinnati Bengals advanced to the conference championship games with excellent defensive performances Sunday. The Philadelphia Eagles also had a standout defensive effort Saturday night. While high-flying offenses led by star quarterbacks get most of the attention, defense matters. It...
49ers beat Cowboys to advance to NFC title game
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Christian McCaffrey scored on a go-ahead 2-yard run in the fourth quarter and San Francisco’s defense did the rest, sending the 49ers to their second straight NFC title game with a 19-12 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. The 49ers (15-4) used back-to-back long scoring...
Bengals return to AFC championship after 27-10 rout of BillsVideo
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals threw a big wrench into the highly anticipated travel plans of the Buffalo Bills, their fans and perhaps even the NFL offices. Burrow threw two touchdown passes, and Cincinnati’s defense swarmed Josh Allen on a snow-slicked field in a 27-10...
Chiefs’ Chad Henne delivers with Patrick Mahomes hobbled in playoff win
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The experience is evident in the salt that peppers the beard of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Chad Henne. The 37-year-old journeyman has hung around the league for nearly 15 years, his days as a starter in Miami and Jacksonville long distant memories. For the past five...
AP source: Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes suffered high ankle sprain
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes suffered a right high ankle sprain in the Kansas City Chiefs’ divisional playoff win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, a person familiar with the nature of the injury told the Associated Press on Sunday, but the All-Pro quarterback expects to play in next weekend’s AFC...
Bills’ Hamlin attends 1st game since collapse, waves to fansVideo
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin made his first public appearance since going into cardiac arrest after making a tackle against the Cincinnati Bengals three weeks ago, waving to fans from a stadium suite on Sunday as the teams met again for an AFC divisional playoff game...
Jalen Hurts, Eagles pound Giants early, coast to NFC title game
PHILADELPHIA — All it took was one throw. Jalen Hurts let it fly on his first pass attempt of the game and suddenly the unease that crept into that often worrisome Philly sports psyche — yeah, but how is his banged-up right shoulder, really? — seemed to dissipate. Hurts’ shoulder...
Chiefs, led by hobbled Patrick Mahomes, beat Jaguars in playoffs
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Hobbling along on an injured ankle, Patrick Mahomes threw for 195 yards and two touchdowns Saturday night, leading the Kansas City Chiefs to a 27-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars and a spot in their fifth straight AFC title game. Mahomes missed most of the second...
Nick Bosa, Micah Parsons bring pass-rushing spotlight to 49ers-CowboysVideo
FRISCO, Texas — Dallas star Micah Parsons sees himself and fellow All-Pro edge rusher Nick Bosa of San Francisco as entertainers in their divisional playoff. It’s just more of a sideshow, in Parsons’ view, compared to the bigger plot of who moves on to the NFC championship game. “We’re going...
Pederson, Reid face off again as Jags visit KC for playoffsVideo
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Doug Pederson got to know Andy Reid as a backup quarterback in Green Bay, then as his starter in Philadelphia, before coaching under him with the Eagles and helping him build the Kansas City Chiefs into the juggernaut they are today. “How many years is that?”...
Eagles’ Super Bowl aspirations start vs. Giants in PhillyVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Take a look at all the good fortune the Philadelphia Eagles have enjoyed ahead of their postseason opener, and it’s no wonder they’re feeling great about a Super Bowl run. Jalen Hurts is healthy (enough) after the Pro Bowl quarterback missed two games late in the year with...
Bengals want ball in Burrow’s hands with ground game stalled
CINCINNATI — Joe knows best. That’s a mantra the Bengals have fully embraced. Cincinnati’s success has turned on Joe Burrow’s ability to process and act, complete passes in tight windows, work around the team’s deficiencies and turn broken plays into first downs. Meanwhile, the Bengals’ run game has become something...
Bills’ Damar Hamlin faces long recovery, family spokesman says
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Remarkable as Damar Hamlin’s recovery has been, the Buffalo Bills safety still faces a lengthy rehabilitation some three weeks after going into cardiac arrest and needing to be resuscitated on the field during a game in Cincinnati, his marketing representative told The Associated Press on Thursday...
Saquon Barkley knows postseason runs will help cement Giants legacy
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Saquon Barkley recently did some research, studying the NFL record book as if he were preparing for a game. The New York Giants running back was curious as to what some of the greatest players at his position accomplished in the playoffs. He sat wide-eyed as...
Damar Hamlin gets call of support from New York Gov. Kathy HochulVideo
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin received support from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday. The two spoke by phone, with Hochul posting a note on her Twitter account referring to Hamlin as “an inspiration.” Hochul added that she let him know “the hopes and prayers...
‘Lamar Jackson is our quarterback’: Ravens leadership doubles down on star’s future in Baltimore
Lamar Jackson is not under contract with the Ravens for next year and many pundits have projected that he’s played his last game with the club that drafted him in 2018. But in an end-of-season news conference Thursday, Ravens leadership committed to pursuing a long-term deal with Jackson that would...
Byron Leftwich out as Buccaneers offensive coordinator
TAMPA, Fla. — Byron Leftwich is out as offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are shaking up their coaching staff after finishing with the only losing record Tom Brady has had in more than two decades as a NFL starter. Leftwich, 43, was fired Thursday, three days after...
