GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Minnesota Vikings’ two-game win streak at Lambeau Field ended Sunday, in the kind of defeat where no phase of the team could be spared from critique.

In their 23-6 loss to the Green Bay Packers, they gained 145 yards (their second-fewest ever at Lambeau Field), including just four in the second half. They turned the ...Read more

The NFL schedule makers, in their infinite, algorithmic wisdom, have given us a Monday night curiosity.

The 49ers, I get — big brand, big names, big ratings for ESPN.

But the Carolina Panthers? I’m not even sure if noted superfan Steph Curry has watched a full Panthers game this season.

And was this supposed to be a breakthrough campaign ...Read more

DENVER — These are no longer the days of whine and turned-up noses.

The Broncos perch atop the AFC West with a 9-2 record. The No. 1 postseason seed, while complicated by a schedule tougher than New England’s, remains in reach. Everything Broncos Country wanted has returned.

Well, not everything. There is the issue of the red dot on the ...Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Coach Kyle Shanahan got peppered Saturday with 23 questions about injured wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk’s darkening future with the 49ers, two days before they host a prime-time game with playoff implications against Carolina.

Shanahan confirmed the 49ers voided Aiyuk’s 2026 guaranteed money of $25 million-plus, and ...Read more

CHICAGO — Like most of his teammates, long snapper Scott Daly wasn’t around when Aaron Rodgers bossed around the Chicago Bears.

But he gets it.

Daly grew up in Downers Grove, attended Downers Grove South and played college ball for Chicago’s adopted team, Notre Dame.

He knows that when Rodgers, now a Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For all the Chiefs relinquished Sunday in Denver — a fourth-quarter lead, a chance to regain some control in the AFC West and perhaps even a decade-long run atop the division — they still put the ball in the hands of quarterback Patrick Mahomes in a tie game with four minutes to play.

If that opening paragraph reads ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Mr. Preparation was unprepared for this.

Not until NBC informed him did Cris Collinsworth have any clue that Sunday night at SoFi Stadium would be his 500th NFL game as a color analyst. He wouldn't have guessed that Tampa Bay at the Rams would put him anywhere close to that.

"That was just stunning to me," said the folksy ...Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Late November football is here, and so is Brock Purdy. So is Ricky Pearsall. So is almost all the 49ers’ offense, with one major exception.

Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is still not in a 49ers uniform, and he might never be again

The 49ers, as first reported Friday by The Athletic, have voided the $25 million bonus ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Travis Kelce is on pace for his first 1,000-yard receiving season since 2022. His catch percentage and yards per target are well above his career averages.

At 36 and in the final year of a two-year contract with the only team for which he’s played, the Kansas City Chiefs, Kelce is likely in the twilight of his career. But...Read more

The 2026 quarterback class will likely only end up with two being worthy of a first-round investment by the time we reach Pittsburgh in late April.

Poor play and likely returns to school have shrunk a group most NFL draft analysts, including myself, considered in May would be four or five deep by the time we got to the draft process.

I ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — By Week 7 of his rookie season, left tackle Ikem Ekwonu had already had plenty of “welcome to the NFL” moments — the kind of moments that humble you, or surprise you, or remind you that this league rarely takes prisoners.

Still, that night in 2022 had hit Ekwonu differently.

In what felt like the dead of night on Oct....Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The most essential reason the Chiefs are fizzling at 5-5 is because what once seemed a near-mystical advantage has gone dormant: Instead of creating ways to win in the late-game crucible as they did 12 times last year (and an NFL-record 17 times in a row overall), they now have bungled all five such chances this season.

...Read more

Deion Sanders is built for adversity. His team is not.

Deion Sanders triumphs over criticism. His players do not.

The clock is ticking on Prime Time. Not on his employment. But on the need to make significant changes in how he does business.

As his underwhelming third season draws to a close, the evaluation of Sanders must focus on the ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — There is a thought process out there in the ether that A.J. Brown at 28 is not the same player he was just last year or the season prior, when he had 106 catches and 1,456 yards.

What would he say to those who believe that?

“I guess Saquon ain’t the same player either then,” Brown responded Thursday with a laugh. “All ...Read more

RENTON, Wash. — At this point of the year, after all the offseason workouts, OTAs, training camp and more than two months of the regular season, Sam Darnold knows he has the support of the Seahawks locker room.

That being said, it’s still nice to hear the support every once in a while. And when it’s an emphatic statement like the one ...Read more

Here's a look back at Week 11's action and fantasy advice for the week ahead:

WEEK 11 RECAP

Patriots 27, Jets 14: TreVeyon Henderson is the overall RB2 in standard formats (RB3 in PPR) in the last three games without Rhamondre Stevenson in the lineup. Henderson has produced at least 87 total yards in each game while scoring five total ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — According to Jalen Hurts, scrutiny comes with the territory of being the franchise quarterback.

Hurts isn’t lacking in scrutiny, especially as the Eagles offense is still trying to establish an identity despite being more than halfway through the season. Longtime Eagles reporter Derrick Gunn said on former Eagles linebacker ...Read more

Los Angeles Times NFL writer Sam Farmer examines the matchups and makes his predictions for Week 12 of the NFL season.

All lines and over/under numbers are according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Last week, Farmer posted a 12-3 (.800) record. Through the first 11 weeks of the season, he is 109-55 (.665).

Using point spreads with the scores Farmer ...Read more