CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers have an actual shot at making the NFL playoffs.

It’s been a long time since you could write that sentence in mid-November and not be laughed out of the press box. But after a 30-27 overtime win over Atlanta on Sunday, the Panthers are 6-5 and just a half-game out of first place in the NFC South, ...Read more

DENVER — If you’re going to play with your food, Sean Payton, why not make it filet mignon?

The Denver Broncos are 6-0 this season when Marvin Mims has carried the ball at least once. They’re 11-3 in the regular season when that’s happened over the last two years. They’re 3-1 since September 2024 when Mims has received multiple ...Read more

ATLANTA — What might have been a moment of validation has instead cut the brake lines on a station wagon wildly careening down a dirt road into the valley of despair.

Monday’s distressing news was that Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was placed on injured reserve for at least four games. It would be no surprise if it turned ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — The numbers do not lie. Not exactly.

It’s more like they exaggerate. They tease and bluff.

When it comes to rushing the quarterback, the numbers say the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are one of the better teams in the league. Right there in the top 10 in sack totals, which should tell you everything you need to know.

Except, in this ...Read more

FORT WORTH, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys received the needed return on the arrival of new players to their defense, and are now just one game below .500, a good 500 miles away from the playoffs.

By trading for defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and linebacker Logan Wilson, the Cowboys have made the decision to go for the playoffs, despite the ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The aura of the dynasty has dimmed, if not vanished, and what really remains suddenly seems an open question.

The pivotal X-factor that defined them has gone dormant, perhaps even evaporated, and Andy Reid’s gaudy 22-4 record after bye weeks didn’t hold up. Heck, even Mahomes’ magic has dwindled for the time being.

...Read more

LAS VEGAS — The Raiders’ latest loss was nearly over, and the Cowboys lined up to mercifully take a knee with 2 1/2 minutes remaining. And a yellow flag came out.

The Raiders were called for having too many men on the field.

I wondered: Had minority owner Tom Brady stayed to watch or had he slinked out of Allegiant Stadium in shame?

It ...Read more

It was a spat — or a spit — between two All-Pro NFL players: Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase and Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Jalen Ramsey.

And it's going to cost Chase a half a million dollars unless the appeal he filed goes his way.

Chase was caught on video spitting in Ramsey's direction during Cincinnati's lopsided...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Aaron Rodgers has beaten the Chicago Bears more times than any NFL team in his decorated career, so much so that he once incited their fan base by famously saying, “I own you.”

Rodgers would love to post career victory No. 25 when the Steelers (6-4) play the new-look and surging Bears (7-3) on Sunday at Soldier Field. But his...Read more

PITTSBURGH — One of my favorite moments of Sunday's Pittsburgh Steelers game against the Cincinnati Bengals was when it was clear Mason Rudolph would have to enter the game for the injured Aaron Rodgers.

It wasn't that long ago Rudolph would have been booed out of the stadium. It wasn't that long ago Rudolph was basically run out of town.

...Read more

SEATTLE — On June 2, during an offseason of uncertainty for the Seattle Seahawks, veteran nose tackle Jarran Reed was asked what he liked most about his team.

“Everybody on my side of the ball wants the defense to be the reason why,” said Reed, after the Seahawks dealt quarterback Geno Smith and wide receiver DK Metcalf but brought back ...Read more

There is a stubborn narrative in football that insists on placing the most important and dynamic players on the field — quarterbacks — into neatly defined boxes.

There’s the devil-may-care “Gun Slinger,” the veteran (it’s always someone over 30) “Field General,” and, most damningly, the robotic, unremarkable but reliable “Game...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — A.J. Brown was wrong about one thing.

The Eagles offense isn’t a bleep show.

It isn’t any kind of show at all.

At this point, it’s just plain ol’ bleep.

If that sounds harsh, well, harsh is a pretty good word to describe the experience of watching the Eagles offense right now. The play-calling lacks imagination. The ...Read more

DENVER — The football rested at the 26-yard-line, and from the east sideline emerged Patrick Mahomes, jogging onto the field before stopping to snap his right chinstrap and then his left. His gait steadied as he approached the huddle and barked out a call, four minutes to play, game tied.

What more could the Kansas City Chiefs want, right?

...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Lane Johnson is dealing with a Lisfranc sprain in his foot that is likely to sideline the Philadelphia Eagles’ star right tackle for multiple weeks, league sources confirmed to The Philadelphia Inquirer on Monday.

NFL Network was first to report the update on Johnson, who left Sunday’s 16-9 Eagles win over the Detroit Lions...Read more

Nahshon Wright had just made a huge play for the Chicago Bears, and in spectacular fashion.

The fifth-year cornerback leaped high in full sprint with his hand stretched over his head to intercept a pass by Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy in the end zone to preserve a 10-3 Bears lead late in the second quarter.

No wild celebration followed. ...Read more

INGLEWOOD, Calif — This is a family paper, so the quote is edited, but you can probably figure it out.

When Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV was asked about quarterback Sam Darnold after Seattle's 21-19 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, he went full CeeLo Green.

Darnold had four interceptions in the defeat, all of which were his ...Read more

DENVER — As Denver’s Will Lutz lined up for a would-be game-winning 35-yard field goal last season in Kansas City, the Chiefs were amid a preposterous run of conjuring late-game magic.

You didn’t know how, or why, or where it would come from. But it was almost a living, breathing part of who they were: a team that virtually always came ...Read more