Week 14 of the NFL season presented teams with an opportunity to prove their worth among top contenders heading into the stretch run. While some of these teams failed miserably, others stepped up when it counted the most. More
If a little of London is good, more must be better.
The NFL announced Friday the league expanded the 2017 London series to four games.
“We continue to be incredibly excited by the passion and love for the NFL shown by our millions of UK fans,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “London is an amazing city. We have had tremendous support from our fans, from Mayor Khan and other government leaders and business partners, and we are looking forward to taking the next step in the UK by playing four games in London next season.”
The NFL has played three games in London in each season since 2014. All games have sold out. The escalation to four — half of one a team’s home slate — continues to test the saturation level of NFL fandom across the pond.
“London staging a fourth NFL game is fantastic news — not…
As it is, this was going to be an emotional afternoon for Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry, who grew up in suburban Atlanta and was playing at the Falcons for the first time as a pro – and, more meaningfully, the first time since he was treated for cancer in the city. More
Somewhat lost in the Golden State Warriors’ run to a league-record 73 wins last season was the fact that Coach Steve Kerr missed the first 39 of them. Kerr sat out roughly five months recovering from multiple back surgeries after the Warriors won the NBA championship in 2015. On Friday, while discussing his recovery, Kerr became the latest high-profile sports figure to advocate for the use of marijuana as a way to deal with chronic pain.
“I guess maybe I can even get in some trouble for this, but I’ve actually tried it twice during the last year and a half, when I’ve been going through this chronic pain that I’ve been dealing with,” Kerr told The Warriors Insider Podcast on Friday. “[After] a lot of research, a lot of advice from people and I have no idea if maybe I would have failed a drug test. I don’t even know if I’m subject to a drug test or any laws from the NBA.”
Kerr’s stance comes after trying several different types of painkillers to manage not lingering pain in his back and frequent headaches. He believes that Vicodin, a common painkiller that “athletes everywhere are prescribed . . . like it’s vitamin C, like it’s no big deal,” is not an answer.
“I know enough, especially over the last…
The Dallas Cowboys are the NFL’s best team so far this season in large part because they were both wise and fortunate in this year’s NFL draft, using the fourth overall selection on tailback Ezekiel Elliott and landing star quarterback-to-be Dak Prescott in the fourth round.
But in looking at how the Cowboys have become what they are now, it is perhaps even more illustrative to recall what they did in the opening round of the 2014 NFL draft, when owner Jerry Jones had to fight his impulse to make the big-splash move of taking Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel with the 16th overall pick and the team instead went with an offensive lineman from Notre Dame, Zack Martin.
That is among the series of maneuvers made by the Cowboys to bolster their offensive line that is paying huge dividends now, with them on an 11-game winning streak that has improved their NFL-best record to 11-1 after Thursday night’s triumph at Minnesota.
It is a lesson that is clear when studying some of the league’s best and most surprising teams this season: Devoting resources to the offensive line can pay off handsomely. It has worked to make the Cowboys and Oakland Raiders two of the NFL’s elite teams in 2016, and to make the Tennessee Titans and Miami Dolphins relevant once more as playoff contenders.
“I think every team knows that philosophically you build from the inside out, from front to back,” said former NFL player, scout and front office executive Louis Riddick. “Every scout, GM, coach, team president knows that. But some people really commit resources to it and really believe in it, which Dallas has done, which Miami has done, which Tennessee has done.”
No one has done it better than the Cowboys. They used a first-round pick on left tackle Tyron Smith in 2011. They used a first-rounder on center Travis Frederick in 2013. They went with Martin over Manziel in 2014, with Jones’s son and Cowboys executive Stephen Jones intervening to help keep his father from taking Manziel, and made Martin a starter at guard.
Smith, Martin and Frederick have been selected to a combined seven Pro Bowls, a number that is certain to grow this season, and the Cowboys have an offensive line that could be remembered as one of the sport’s all-time greats. It paved the way for DeMarco Murray…
The last time that Cam Newton rallied a team from as many as 17 points down to victory was the 2010 Iron Bowl, when Auburn trailed 24-0 in the second quarter and 24-7 at halftime before capturing a 28-27 victory over Alabama.
Six years and one day later, he almost did it again.
Now the quarterback of the Carolina Panthers, Auburn’s 2010 Heisman Trophy winner led a comeback that wiped out a 24-7 deficit to the Oakland Raiders and turned it into a 32-24 lead. But that’s where the rally ran out, and Oakland battled back for a 35-32 victory on Sunday.
Newton completed 3-of-12 passes for 18 yards with one interception – which Oakland’s Khalil Mack returned for a touchdown – in the first half. Newton did run 3 yards for Carolina’s only first-half touchdown with 3:10 left in the first quarter.
In the second half, Newton completed 11-of-17 passes for 228 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Carolina scored touchdowns on its first four possessions of the second half to storm into the lead, with Newton contributing touchdown passes of 88 yards with 7:43 left in the third quarter and 44 yards with 13:26 left in the game.
Right. On. The. MONEY. Newton [?] Ginn Jr. for the 88 yd TD! #CARvsOAK #KeepPounding pic.twitter.com/sGLSMGtC5A
— FanDuel (@FanDuel) November 27, 2016
JUMP BALL… POSSESSION ARROW? #Panthers. Epic grab by Kelvin Benjamin! 32-24 Carolina. #CARvsOAK #KeepPounding pic.twitter.com/7hLK3d1BIN
— FanDuel (@FanDuel) November 28, 2016
After Oakland responded with a touchdown drive to tie the game, Newton completed his next six passes for 66 yards. But the Raiders still got a go-ahead field goal while keeping Carolina from scoring. The Panthers’ final possession ended with three straight incompletions and a fumble by Newton when he was sacked on fourth down at the Oakland 44-yard line with 53 seconds to play.
Oakland blocked the extra-point attempt after Carolina’s second touchdown, and the Panthers couldn’t connect on 2-point conversion passes on their next two TDs.
“We have to come together and win these close games,” Newton said at his postgame press conference, “and that’s what it comes down to. The first half wasn’t great. We battled back, took the lead, but we just have to do better as a whole, starting with myself. That’s just unacceptable for the first half. I don’t know what it was. I just couldn’t get into a rhythm and making a lackluster turnover at the end of the first…
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were not expected to beat the Seattle Seahawks Sunday. Not only did the Bucs win, they turned in a dominant defensive effort.
Tampa defenders sacked Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson six times and intercepted him twice in a 14-5 victory to keep playoff hopes alive. Offensively, the Buccaneers were led by receiver Mike Evans, who had his way with the Legion of Boom. He finished with eight catches for 104 yards and both of the game’s touchdowns.
Tampa Bay (6-5) remained just a game back of the Atlanta Falcons (7-4) in the NFC South. The Buccaneers are also just half a game back of Washington (6-4-1) for the final wild-card spot in the NFC. The Falcons dealt a blow to Arizona’s playoff chances with a 38-19 win over the Cardinals at the Georgia Dome.
The Seahawks (7-3-1) still have a comfortable lead in the NFC West with every other team in the division also losing. The Cardinals (4-6-1) lost in Atlanta while the Los Angeles Rams (4-7) were clobbered by the New Orleans Saints and the San Francisco 49ers lost their 10th straight with a 31-24 defeat in Miami.
The defending NFC champions appear done after Carolina fell to 4-7 with Sunday’s 35-32 loss in Oakland.
The Saints (5-6) also stayed alive in the NFC playoff hunt with their dominant 49-21 victory at the Superdome. They sit 10th in the NFC, but can gain ground with two games remaining against the Buccaneers and the season finale at Atlanta. Four of New Orleans’ final five games are indoors, where Saints quarterback Drew Brees has thrived.
The Dolphins and Bills helped themselves in the AFC. Miami held off a final charge by the 49ers to move to 7-4 and into a tie with the Denver Broncos for the sixth spot in the AFC. Sunday’s 30-27 win over the Broncos pushed the Kansas City Chiefs to within a game of the Raiders (9-2) in the AFC West and securely into the top wild-card slot.
Buffalo kept its postseason dreams alive thanks to a fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Tyrod Taylor to Justin Hunter to lift the Bills to a 28-21 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9). The San Diego Chargers (5-6) also stayed in the hunt thanks to their 21-13 win over the struggling Houston Texans (6-5), who still lead the AFC South.
Behind the Dolphins, the AFC is a jumbled mess as the Bills, Texans, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans all have six wins. The Steelers (6-5) beat the Indianapolis Colts (5-6) on Thursday while the Titans (6-6) evened their record with a 27-21 win over the Chicago Bears (2-9) on Sunday. The Ravens stayed tied with the Steelers atop the AFC North with a 19-14 win over the Cincinnati Bengals (3-7-1).
There is still a lot to be decided over the next five weeks as only the Dallas Cowboys (10-1), New England Patriots (9-2), Raiders and Seahawks appear to be postseason locks.
The winless Cleveland Browns, who fell to 0-12 with Sunday’s 27-13 loss to the New York Giants, and the 49ers (1-10) are the only teams already eliminated from playoff contention.
Injury report
Jaguars receiver Allen Hurns fought for a 12-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter of Jacksonville’s 28-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills, but it was a costly score. Hurns grabbed his left hamstring after diving into the end zone and did not return to the game. The touchdown was his only catch…
By Tom Downey, Chat Sports
After several weeks with limited injuries, Sunday was filled with them. Multiple notable players went down, including several that could be season-ending. In non-injury news, NFL kickers set a record. 12 extra points were missed, breaking the previous record of 10.
Check out the latest NFL news and rumors below.
• A rough season for the Cincinnati Bengals took another bad turn Sunday. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports wide receiver A.J. Green has a tear in his hamstring and the Bengals fear it will end his season.
• The Bengals also lost running back Gio Bernard for the season. USA Today’s Tom Pelissero reports he suffered a torn ACL.
• Former New Orleans Saints linebacker James Laurinaitis is working out for the Detroit Lions Monday, reports…
MEXICO CITY (AP) Mexican fans welcomed the NFL in raucous fashion, and it probably won’t be the last time Azteca Stadium hosts American futbol.
Next time, however, they’ll try to ban laser pointers.
Nearly 80,000 fans came to see the Raiders defeat the Houston Texans in a 27-20 win Monday night in what felt like a Raiders home game.
The crowd harassed the Texans and supported the Raiders , one of the most popular NFL teams in Mexico.
The success of the game and the full weekend of events could entice the league to bring more games to the Mexican capital.
WILD FANS
The NFL says 76,473 fans were at the game, and the atmosphere was very different from the more neutral crowd for games in London. Thousands of other football fans attended a weekend-long fan fest.
Although many wore silver and black, it was clear that the Cowboys, Texans, Steelers and Broncos also have fans south of the border.
”Besides the game, we had an excellent trip here, great experience for our players. Unbelievable crowd. Just a really cool atmosphere for both teams,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said. ”It was a great trip as far as that’s concerned.”
Before the game, there was concern that Mexican fans could boo the U.S. national anthem because of the political tension since Donald Trump was elected president, but the crowd did not .
A SOCCER CROWD
The fans’ behavior was similar to the atmosphere when the Mexican national team or local club America play their soccer matches in Azteca Stadium.
”I was able to play at Wembley Stadium…