Injury-plagued Ravens couldn’t hold on after strong start
BALTIMORE — Lamar Jackson described his ankle problem as day to day, even though there are no more games for the Baltimore Ravens to prepare for. At least the weekly injury reports can stop now. From start to finish this season, the Ravens practiced and played under a cloud of...
After regulars rest, playoff-bound Bengals prep for Raiders
CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bengals wanted to be rested and ready for the first round of the playoffs so they didn’t play many of their key starters in the regular-season finale against the Cleveland Browns. Star quarterback Joe Burrow watched Sunday’s game from home, and many starters either got a...
Hall of Fame receiver Don Maynard dead at age 86
Don Maynard, a Hall of Fame receiver who made his biggest impact catching passes from Joe Namath in the wide-open AFL, has died. He was 86. The Pro Football Hall of Fame confirmed Maynard’s death on Monday through his family. Maynard was the main target for Namath with the New...
Jaguars earn top overall selection for April’s NFL draft
The Jacksonville Jaguars’ 3-14 record this season earned them the top spot in April’s NFL draft, the second consecutive year they will pick first. The tentative order of the first round, not including teams in the playoffs, was announced Monday by the NFL. Playoff results will determine where the 14...
Dave Gettleman out as New York Giants GM, says he is retiring
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Dave Gettleman has retired as general manager of the New York Giants after a fourth straight double-digit losing season. The Giants announced the 70-year-old Gettleman retired Monday, a day after New York (4-13) dropped its season finale 22-7 to Washington. It was the sixth straight loss...
Raiders vs. Chargers: Raiders were this close to settling for a tie and bumping Steelers from playoffs
Just how close were the Las Vegas Raiders to settling for a tie against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday night, which would have kept the Steelers out of the postseason? Really close, according to their coach, Rich Bisaccia. But a timeout by Chargers coach Brandon Staley with 38 seconds...
Vikings fire GM Rick Spielman, coach Mike Zimmer
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Vikings fired general manager Rick Spielman and coach Mike Zimmer on Monday, after a second straight absence from the playoffs for a 61-year-old franchise still seeking a title. The move came a day after the 45th anniversary of Minnesota’s last Super Bowl appearance, after owners Zygi...
Bears opt to make sweeping changes, fire GM Ryan Pace, coach Matt Nagy
CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears fired general manager Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy on Monday, hoping new leadership in the front office and on the sideline will lift a struggling franchise. Nagy’s fate seemed sealed as the Bears struggled through a 6-11 season that ended with a loss at...
Dolphins fire coach Brian Flores after 3 seasons
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Back-to-back winning seasons were not enough for Brian Flores to keep his job as coach of the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins fired Flores on Monday, a somewhat surprising move that came less than 24 hours after the team finished a 9-8 season. Flores went 24-25 in...
Daniel Carlson’s FG as OT expires sends Raiders into postseason
LAS VEGAS — It seemed only fitting the Las Vegas Raiders needed every second of an overtime game to earn their first playoff berth since 2016, a microcosm of their roller coaster season. And as they’ve done five other times this season, the Raiders won on the final play of...
Denver Broncos fire coach Vic Fangio after 3 losing seasonsVideo
DENVER — The Denver Broncos are looking for a new head coach to lead them out of a six-year playoff drought and a half decade of losing seasons that marks the most protracted plunge by a Super Bowl champion in NFL history. The Broncos fired Vic Fangio after he went...
Baker Mayfield’s season ends on sideline, surgery awaits Browns QBVideo
CLEVELAND — At least Baker Mayfield’s exit meeting went well. Just about everything else this season for the Browns quarterback was off the mark. And while the season is over, his time in Cleveland isn’t as defined. Mayfield watched Sunday’s home finale wearing a stocking cap on the sideline as...
NFL Week 18 roundup: Titans clinch AFC’s top seed with win over TexansVideo
HOUSTON — The Tennessee Titans clinched the top seed in the AFC for the first time in 14 years, beating the Houston Texans 28-25 on Sunday behind Ryan Tannehill’s career-high-tying four touchdown passes. The 12-5 Titans, who secured their second straight AFC South title last week, have the No. 1...
Jags down Colts 26-11, keep Indy from playoffsVideo
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Indianapolis Colts got clowned in Jacksonville. This one was more embarrassing than any other loss to the Jaguars, too. Indy badly botched a chance to secure an AFC wild-card spot with a 26-11 loss to Jacksonville on Sunday in the “clown game,” the team’s seventh consecutive...
Browns close season with 21-16 win over Burrow-less BengalsVideo
CLEVELAND — Joe Burrow skipped Cincinnati’s last trip of the regular season. He and the Bengals have reservations to go somewhere more special — the playoffs. Case Keenum got his second win while filling in for Baker Mayfield on Sunday as the Cleveland Browns ended their dismal season with a...
Dak Prescott throws 5 TD passes in Cowboys’ romp over Eagles
PHILADELPHIA — Dak Prescott ran into Dallas’ locker room with a message for any NFC team he’ll play next week in the playoffs. “The real (stuff) starts,” he said. It starts with finding out the Cowboys’ wild-card opponent, and Prescott will be like millions of football fans every Sunday and...
Nick Bolton’s fumble return sparks Chiefs’ win over Broncos
DENVER — Linebacker Nick Bolton’s 86-yard fumble return after Melvin Ingram III darted into Denver’s backfield untouched and stripped Melvin Gordon powered the Kansas City Chiefs to a 28-24 victory over the Denver Broncos on Saturday. With their 13th consecutive win over the Broncos, the Chiefs (12-5) kept alive their...
Myles Garrett pushing DE Jadeveon Clowney to re-sign with BrownsVideo
CLEVELAND — Myles Garrett has enjoyed chasing quarterbacks and trying to wreck games alongside Jadeveon Clowney this season. He’d love to do it again. “I want him here,” Garrett said. And what Garrett wants, he usually gets. For all that went wrong with the Browns during a disappointing season, one...
Antonio Brown: Tom Brady was his friend because ‘he needs me to play football’Video
TAMPA, Fla. — Antonio Brown said Friday that his friendship with Tom Brady was based only on the fact that he could help the future Hall of Fame quarterback win football games. Appearing on the Full Send podcast, the former Bucs receiver called Brady the team’s “GM” and a “politician”...
Louis Riddick happy at ESPN, yet still has goal of running a team
Louis Riddick realizes he is in a favorable position. He is an analyst on the NFL’s most iconic television package — ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” — and still has hopes of running a franchise as a general manager. But with the offseason starting for many teams on Monday, will this...
Havin’ a record year: NFL marks set to fall in Week 18
When Eric Church sang about “havin’ a record year,” he wasn’t referring to the NFL. The country music star could have been. For the 2021 season that ends this weekend with the first set of 17th games in league history, a slew of marks are about to be set. Major...
BetMGM: Football Spreads — Top Three favorites that can cover the spread in NFL Week 18
By BetMGM staff writer / When looking at the NFL odds and football spreads for Week 18, several favorites stick out as likely to cover. Want to know which favorites I think are in the best position this week? Read on for my top three picks. Saints (-4.5) at Falcons...
2022 NFL mock draft: Steelers take QB in 1st round … but not Kenny Pickett
Both Jacksonville and Detroit have home games to close out the 2022 season. The Jaguars face an Indianapolis Colts squad who will clinch a playoff spot with a victory. The Lions are matched up with the Green Bay Packers, who have already locked up home-field advantage by virtue of tiebreakers...
Rams’ Cooper Kupp closing in on triple crown of receiving
LOS ANGELES — Cooper Kupp only knows he’s finishing up one of the greatest seasons by a receiver in NFL history because people won’t stop telling him about it. The Los Angeles Rams’ star wideout insists he doesn’t watch any sports television heralding his achievements, and he refuses to read...
Longtime NFL, college coach Greg Robinson dies at 70
Greg Robinson, who won two Super Bowl rings with the Denver Broncos while spending nearly four decades coaching in the NFL and college, has died. He was 70. Robinson’s wife, Laura, said he died Wednesday from a form of Alzheimer’s Disease. “A lot of special memories,” she said Thursday. “That’s...
