CHICAGO — The stunning part of the Chicago Bears’ thumping of the Philadelphia Eagles last season on Black Friday wasn’t some kind of X’s and O’s clinic with up-and-coming play caller Ben Johnson outmaneuvering crafty defensive czar Vic Fangio.

Had that been the case, it probably would have been easier for Fangio and the Eagles to ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Drake Maye was almost the NFL's MVP last year.

The New England Patriots quarterback finished second in the Associated Press poll of national media members, with 23 first-place votes and 361 total points. Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford edged him out with 24 first-place votes and 366 overall points.

Chances are, ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Former Minnesota Twins owner Jim Pohlad once witnessed his team’s futility to start a season and gave a sobering assessment. He called it a “total system failure.”

Sorry, Jim. I’m going to borrow that line and apply it to the J.J. McCarthy “era” as a Vikings quarterback.

It was a total system failure.

Everyone ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Two years after he became the highest-drafted quarterback in franchise history, J.J. McCarthy no longer plays for the Minnesota Vikings.

The team traded McCarthy, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 draft, to the New York Giants on Monday for a fifth-round pick, ending the 23-year-old’s time in Minnesota after just 10 starts ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Vikings got “good news” on star wide receiver Justin Jefferson’s ankle injury, coach Kevin O’Connell said Monday.

Jefferson, who suffered an ankle sprain in Sunday’s win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, avoided a long-term injury, O’Connell said. The team will see how Jefferson progresses the rest of the ...Read more

MIAMI — Miami Dolphins star running back De’Von Achane suffered a torn ACL on Sunday vs. the Kansas City Chiefs.

Achane will be out for the season, a source confirmed to the Miami Herald.

“My heart breaks for the guy,” coach Jeff Hafley said. “You talk about him as a great player but as I’ve gotten to know him, watching him grow ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got the best possible news Monday about Baker Mayfield’s right thumb injury, but the quarterback still will miss a minimum of three weeks.

There was no fracture and no tendon or ligament damage to Mayfield’s thumb, coach Todd Bowles confirmed. The team will prepare to play undrafted rookie Jalon ...Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — It never stops.

Football is a game with a 100% injury rate, a true contest of attrition.

But no one does attrition quite like the San Francisco 49ers. The injuries continue to pile up — in all the wrong places, mind you — at a near-comical rate.

And yet so do the wins.

That’s what happens when you have a great ...Read more

DENVER — Mile sigh.

The Rams came here aiming to put together a second consecutive impressive prime-time performance.

And for the first half against the Denver Broncos on Sunday night, it looked like the Rams would do just that.

But the Rams’ 16-0 halftime lead literally vanished into thin air.

After rallying briefly, the Rams could not...Read more

Even an inch can provide high drama.

Bo Nix reached high over the top of a scrum on third-and-goal from well inside the 1-yard line and the Denver defense survived a final push by Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford on Sunday night, delivering the Broncos a dramatic, 30-26 primetime victory over the Rams.

It took Nix and the Denver ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — Until a drive late in the fourth quarter, the Minnesota Vikings had more punts than first downs Sunday afternoon. They committed nine penalties for 95 yards, and for the second time this year, they ended a game with Justin Jefferson and Kyler Murray not finishing a full quarter together.

But the Vikings are heading home 3-0 ...Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – All the San Francisco 49ers’ worries paused Sunday once Brock Purdy completed a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to George Kittle.

But because the Arizona Cardinals answered with a touchdown, it took another Purdy-to-Kittle touchdown to secure the undefeated 49ers’ 36-30 victory at Levi’s Stadium.

Purdy’s 10- and ...Read more

RIO DE JANEIRO — Not this time.

With the game tied at 31 and only seven seconds remaining on Sunday afternoon at Maracanã Stadium, quarterback Lamar Jackson connected with Zay Flowers for a 27-yard gain, then called a timeout with one second left.

Tyler Loop then drilled a 56-yard field goal as time expired, lifting the Baltimore Ravens to ...Read more

NEW ORLEANS — Who Dat say they going to beat those Las Vegas Raiders? Surely, not the New Orleans Saints.

The Raiders remained unbeaten Sunday by overcoming an 11-point second-half deficit en route to a 35-27 victory at Caesers Superdome. Las Vegas quarterback Kirk Cousins threw three touchdown passes for the third consecutive game, ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ season is a lot like Baker Mayfield’s throwing hand: bloodied, painful and twisted in the wrong direction.

Mayfield dislocated his right thumb while trying to make a desperation pass on fourth down that was intercepted with 1:39 remaining in the Bucs’ 23-16 loss to the Minnesota Vikings Sunday to ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Yeah, John Bunting saw Ben Johnson rip his shirt off. He saw Johnson go full-Hulk Hogan after the Chicago Bears beat the Philadelphia Eagles last season, and he laughed about it, even though Bunting remains proud that the Eagles were the only team he played for during his terrific 11-year career as an NFL linebacker. Even though...Read more

RIO DE JANEIRO — The Baltimore Ravens got a surprising boost Sunday for their game against the Dallas Cowboys at Maracanã Stadium.

Wide receiver Zay Flowers, who exited Baltimore’s season opener two weeks ago after reinjuring his hamstring, is active and will play. Flowers missed last week’s home opener, and the offense sputtered in his ...Read more

CHICAGO — Tyson Bagent is out of concussion protocol, but the Chicago Bears will turn to Case Keenum to start Monday night’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Soldier Field.

Fox’s Jay Glazer reported Sunday morning that the Bears will go with Keenum, who last started an NFL game at the end of the 2023 season as a member of the ...Read more

DETROIT — Just like they did in Week 1, the Detroit Lions watched a double-digit lead melt away in the fourth quarter at Ford Field on Sunday.

But as in the opener, the Lions battened down the hatches and weathered a late New York Jets storm to escape with a 31-24 victory in the return of Jets coach and former Lions defensive coordinator ...Read more

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The 2026 New England Patriots officially hit a new low in Sunday’s 35-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Quarterback Drake Maye played another one of the worst games of his NFL career, and his streak of disappointing performances has now hit seven straight games, dating back to last postseason.

The Patriots’ defense...Read more