SEATTLE — The final score — a 26-0 win that was the Seattle Seahawks’ first shutout in more than a decade — doesn’t accurately indicate how long it seemed to take them to gain control of Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings.

The Vikings used a variety of blitzes to make life uncomfortable for Sam Darnold and the Seahawks ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Ladies and gentlemen, the victorious Justin Herbert.

Give him a hand.

(The Chargers wish you could.)

Herbert, who has been knocked around all season but so far had avoided injury, saw that streak come to a disappointing end Sunday, even though the Chargers walked away with a 31-14 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. It was the ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Wait, was this a playoff game? It’s only late November, but it felt like early January at Acrisure Stadium.

That’s how much the Pittsburgh Steelers’s 26-7 romp at the hands of the Buffalo Bills resembled one of their typical postseason failures. This beat-down Sunday was just ahead of schedule.

The Steelers actually had a ...Read more

MIAMI — Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back.

The Miami Dolphins benefited from the return of three starters — right tackle Austin Jackson, tight end Darren Waller and cornerback Rasul Douglas — en route to their 21-17 victory of the New Orleans Saints.

While the game itself was far from the most entertaining game in NFL history, in...Read more

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Kicker Nick Folk sent the Atlanta Falcons home with a 56-yard field goal at the buzzer to lift the New York Jets to a 27-24 victory Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

The Falcons couldn’t hold another fourth-quarter lead as they collapsed over the final 8:53 of the game.

The Jets improved to 3-9. The Falcons are now 4-8, ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — They did not intimidate, and they did not dominate.

In the big book of memorable defensive performances in Tampa Bay history, Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals will be several pages from the top.

And yet it was still a step forward.

A sign of life for a unit under siege.

The Bucs beat the Cardinals 20-17 on Sunday...Read more

CLEVELAND — Win No. 9 in the San Francisco 49ers’ seemingly playoff-bound season came in 26-8 fashion Sunday. But it wasn’t looking too secure until a third-quarter swing.

The 49ers clung to a 10-8 lead when, well, let’s hear from referee Brad Allen.

“Boom, this way!” Allen shouted on a live mic as 49ers linebacker Luke Gifford ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Humility, as Sean McVay likes to say, is only a day away.

The Los Angeles Rams lived it on Sunday.

The Carolina Panthers defeated the Rams, 31-28, before 71,292 at Bank of America Stadium, ending the Rams’ six-game winning streak, dropping their record to 9-3 and knocking them out of the top seed in the NFC.

The Rams ...Read more

NEW YORK — Few teams in all of sports are as intertwined as the Giants and New England Patriots.

Over the past four decades, the Giants and Pats have battled in instant-classic Super Bowls, employed the same big-name coaches and, most recently, sought the same young franchise quarterback.

Including the playoffs, the teams have split their ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — It was easy to catch the chants rising out of the Lincoln Financial Field stands Friday, a call for change that feels closer and closer to happening, no matter what Nick Sirianni might say, no matter how much the Eagles head coach might stand behind his friend and offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo. Those “FIRE-KEVIN” ...Read more

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Jumbotron in this building is enormous, 160 feet long and 72 feet tall, but tucked just beyond the centerpiece big screen are the banners. The Cowboys once enjoyed a dynasty, and the 1992, 1993 and 1995 world championship flags hang from the rafters to prove it.

A reminder of what once was.

The Chiefs have hung a few ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have wandered back to a crossroads they swore they were done visiting, the intersection of Overhyped Avenue and Uh-oh Boulevard.

A 5-1 start morphed into a 6-5 collapse, the kind of slump that makes you wonder if the early surge was real. They’ve dropped three straight, misplaced a good chunk of ...Read more

Here's a look back at Week 12's action and fantasy advice for Sunday and Monday:

WEEK 12 RECAP

Texans 23, Bills 19: Jayden Higgins had four receptions on nine targets for 38 yards and a touchdown in the victory over Buffalo. Higgins is the overall WR27 in standard formats (WR29 in PPR) since Week 8 with at least four receptions for 55 yards or...Read more

DETROIT — Frank Ragnow's return to the Detroit Lions has taken a brutal and stunning turn for the worse.

Just days after Ragnow and the Lions announced his intentions to unretire and return to the team, the Lions released a statement on Saturday morning saying that Ragnow failed his physical and will not be rejoining the team this season.

...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Left tackle Broderick Jones’ season might be over after the Pittsburgh Steelers placed him on injured reserve Saturday.

Jones injured his neck in the 31-28 loss to Chicago last week. Jones must spend a minimum of four games on IR, so the earliest he could return is for the Dec. 28 game at Cleveland in Week 17. The regular ...Read more

MIAMI — Mike McDaniel stopped treating leadership like something he talked about occasionally and started treating it like a skill that needs to be trained.

In an era of player empowerment, which is being fueled by the new NIL culture of college athletics, the Miami Dolphins head coach is a firm believer that he’s merely a steward of South ...Read more

ARLINGTON, Texas — As the Chiefs wobbled on the verge of a loss that would further scramble their once-assumed playoff berth, Patrick Mahomes on Thursday conjured the sort of sorcery that belongs in the pantheon of his most majestic moments.

Call it recency bias, but the play was about as absurd as anything we’ve ever seen the superstar ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It’s not quite a regret. More like a “wish,” or an urge, or — it’s hard to explain.

The feeling Jalen Coker is trying to recall started on a balmy August night in 2020. A few childhood friends were over at the Coker household, and yes, high school was done, and yes, everything in their young lives felt destined to ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Nick Sirianni’s decision to go for two points following the Eagles’ late touchdown came under the microscope in the aftermath of their 24-15 loss to the Chicago Bears.

Trailing 24-9, A.J. Brown caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Hurts on a slant, cutting the Eagles’ deficit to nine points with three minutes, 14 ...Read more