NFL category, Page 250

Did the New England Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady bring politics onto the football field during Super Bowl XLIII? During the third quarter with the ball deep in their own territory, the broadcast caught Brady calling: “Reagan. Reagan.” The audible was apparently a run to the right: Brady handed off...

ATLANTA — Rob Gronkowski rumbled down the field, got past two defenders and hauled in the football to set up New England’s go-ahead touchdown. If this was the farewell performance for the Patriots tight end, he went out in playmaking style. Was it his biggest catch ever? “You tell me,”...

BALTIMORE — Longtime Ravens safety Ed Reed has always been something of a contradiction, but that’s what made him the player who Saturday was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. He was the guy who pulled off a pick-6 from 7 yards...

ATLANTA — They still talk about that play at the Marist School. Wham Naked. If there was ever any doubt that Sean McVay was a coach-in-the-making, it should’ve ended that night in 2003. “He was special,” said Alan Chadwick, who was McVay’s high school coach at Marist. “He had a...

ATLANTA — Patrick Mahomes’ breathtaking breakthrough season earned him the NFL’s MVP award. The Chiefs quarterback landed a pair of honors at NFL Honors on Saturday night, taking the Associated Press 2018 MVP and Offensive Player of the Year awards. In his second pro season, Mahomes led Kansas City to...

ATLANTA — Hey, have you guys been here before? If you’re a New England Patriot, the answer pretty much is “all the time.” If you play for the Rams, the reply basically is “never in my life.” So if experience is a factor in Sunday’s Super Bowl, the overwhelming edge...

ATLANTA — Don Crisman knows precisely when the streak began: Jan. 15, 1967. The ticket price for the Super Bowl at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was $12. “Good seats,” Crisman, 82, said. “You could buy $6 tickets, and $10. There were three prices.” On Sunday, Crisman, Pittsburgh Steelers fan...

ATLANTA — It might seem as though Aqib Talib says “goodbye” as often as the flight attendant standing at the front of the plane. And yet, he keeps resurfacing on good teams — and at the Super Bowl. The colorful cornerback brought his necklaces, his personality and, yes, even defensive...

ATLANTA — The Super Bowls have become a yearly ritual for the New England Patriots under Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. They’re back for the third straight year and the ninth time overall despite a taxing season that seemed doomed after Julian Edelman’s four-game suspension for performance-enhancers, a 1-2 start...

ATLANTA — The Los Angeles Rams aren’t ready to beat the Patriots, according to much of the conventional wisdom around the Super Bowl. Only four members of the upstart NFC champions have played in a Super Bowl. Even though the Rams are coming off a 13-3 regular season and two...

WASHINGTON — During his annual pre-Super Bowl news conference this week, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sidestepped a question about President Donald Trump’s complaints that the game had gone soft, insisting, “We have a lot of fans, the president among them.” Trump may sometimes sound like Joey from Tarzana or some...

When Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald takes the field Sunday for the Super Bowl, millions will be watching — including those from Western Pennsylvania who knew him long before his time in the NFL. Those who watched the Penn Hills graduate before his professional football days expect Donald...

One thing we know for sure going into Super Bowl LIII: Many Steelers fans will passionately root against New England Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady. After all, Brady has dashed the Steelers’ championship dreams time and time again. How much heartbreak can one fan base take? Plus, he’s taking our...

The Los Angeles Rams’ Super Bowl berth has been good news for its merchandise business, with the team ringing up about $3.5 million in online sales in the 10 days after they clinched a spot in the big game. To put that number in perspective, it’s about the same amount...

At the SugarHouse Casino, they’re seeing a lot of action on C.J. Anderson scoring the first touchdown. The biggest liability for the William Hill-US bookmakers is whether James Develin will score. Most of their bettors are saying no, he will not. Some guy walked into Resorts Casino in Atlantic City...

METAIRIE, La. — Saints coach Sean Payton turned to ice cream, binge-watching and seclusion after his team’s football season came to an excruciating end. Payton was finally ready on Wednesday to stand in front of reporters for his NFL-mandated, end-of-season media availability, some 10 days after New Orleans’ 26-23 overtime...

Sunday’s Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams marks the biggest day of sports broadcasting for networks. Here are some things to know about CBS’ coverage as well as other Super Bowl-related programming on other networks: ••• SUPER 20 FOR CBS This marks the 20th Super...

ATLANTA — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday that the league’s competition committee will consider the prospect of making pass interference calls subject to review by instant replay, but he stopped short of declaring that he favors such a change to the sport’s replay system. Goodell, speaking at his annual...

ATLANTA — Todd Gurley says he often communicated with two other former Georgia running backs, Sony Michel and Nick Chubb, during the 2018 season. Now that Gurley and Michel are having a Super Bowl reunion as the leading rushers for the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots, respectively, that...

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers are bringing back Luke Getsy, this time as their quarterbacks coach to work with Aaron Rodgers. Getsy, a former Pitt quarterback and a Steel Valley product, spent four seasons on former coach Mike McCarthy’s staff before leaving to become Mississippi State’s offensive...