NFL category, Page 66

Jimmy Johnson showed more passion for winning on television than any of the Dallas Cowboys did on the field. Now, Jerry Jones should turn to another coaching icon to save his franchise. Speculation about Bill Belichick has ramped up. He’s already the odds-on favorite to be the next coach in...

ARLINGTON, Texas — Ashen-faced Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wasn’t ready to discuss the future of coach Mike McCarthy, quarterback Dak Prescott or anything else after a stunning playoff loss to Green Bay. “This is one of my (biggest) surprises since I’ve been involved in sport, period,” Jones said after...

DETROIT — Jared Goff threw for a touchdown and completed a game-sealing first down against the team that cast him away, and the Detroit Lions won a playoff game for the first time in 32 years, beating Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams 24-23 on Sunday night. The Lions...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — J.J. McCarthy, Michigan’s national-championship winning quarterback, is skipping his senior season to enter the NFL draft. McCarthy made the announcement Sunday, a day after being begged to stay. “The decision was not easy and how could it be — I love my teammates, I love my...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes threw for 262 yards and a touchdown, had his helmet shattered when he took a hit in the second half and proceeded to lead the Kansas City Chiefs to a 26-7 rout of the Miami Dolphins in the fourth-coldest game in NFL history Saturday...

HOUSTON — From the couch to the playoffs, Joe Flacco had an incredible run with the Cleveland Browns. But his stretch of success came to a sudden end Saturday, when the Browns lost 45-14 to the Houston Texans in a wild-card playoff matchup. Flacco had interceptions returned for touchdowns on...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes had his helmet shattered on a hit from Miami Dolphins safety DeShon Elliott during Saturday night’s frigid AFC wild-card playoff game. With a game-time temperature of minus-4 degrees Fahrenheit, the game was the fourth-coldest in NFL history, and it was...

GREEN BAY, Wis. — This hasn’t been a typical season for Green Bay’s Aaron Jones, but the veteran running back has regained his peak form just in time to help the Packers reach the playoffs. Jones, 29, bounced back from hamstring and knee injuries to rush for at least 112...

CLEVELAND — Joe Flacco still struggles to process this re-found fame, an unexpected rebirth in a city where he was once despised and now adored. It’s all happened so fast for the quarterback who fell from his couch, landed in Cleveland and then the playoffs. “Crazy,” the soon-to-be 39-year-old Flacco...

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Mark Andrews was back at practice for the Baltimore Ravens on Friday after missing the final six games of the regular season because of an ankle injury. The three-time Pro Bowl tight end went on injured reserve after he was hurt early in a Nov. 16...

This year’s NFL playoffs will feature a record number of Black men who have thrived in leadership positions they rarely had the opportunity to hold in previous generations. Three Black head coaches have reached the playoffs — Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin, Tampa Bay’s Todd Bowles and Houston’s DeMeco Ryans. Miami coach...

Christian McCaffrey, Tyreek Hill and Fred Warner are unanimous choices for The Associated Press 2023 NFL All-Pro Team. The 49ers’ McCaffrey and Warner and the Dolphins’ Hill received first-team votes from all 50 members of a nationwide panel of media members who regularly cover the league. “No freakin’ way,” Warner...

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Jerod Mayo spent his entire professional football career learning from Bill Belichick, first as a player and then as an assistant. He’ll now have the weighty task of succeeding the future Hall of Famer and leading a New England Patriots team as its first new voice in...

In Friday’s “First Call,” the Pittsburgh Steelers are off the hook for an international game. At least for now. The Jake Guentzel trade conversation is about to get thick. The Penguins have an important game on the horizon. And both Duquesne basketball and Robert Morris hockey are about to battle...

The quarterback matchup between Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa and Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes isn’t the only major storyline going into their AFC wild-card game. Another question is how many fans will pay to watch one of the NFL’s important games of the season being carried exclusively on a streaming platform for...

Four years ago, the San Francisco 49ers were closing in on their first Super Bowl triumph in a quarter century when Patrick Mahomes led the Kansas City Chiefs to three touchdowns in the final six-plus minutes, rocketing them to a 31-20 victory. Each of the past two years the Niners...

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Tyreek Hill has spent the past week trying to stay positive. The Miami Dolphins receiver rushed home from practice last Wednesday as firefighters doused the roof of his burning South Florida home with water. Officials later found the fire was started by a child playing with...

Lamar Jackson will miss out on wild-card weekend for a second straight year, and this time it’s for a much better reason. The Baltimore Ravens and their star quarterback earned the AFC’s top playoff seed and the conference’s sole bye with a dominant regular-season run just one year after uncertainty...

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...

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...

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...