TAMPA, Fla. — This is what a respectable journalist would tell Bucs fans this week:

Folks, it doesn’t look good. The Packers are the No. 1 seed in the NFC, and have won their last seven games by an average margin of nearly 15 points. The weather is going to be in the 20s with a good possibility of snow.

And Green Bay quarterback Aaron ...Read more

College football finished its season and crowned a champion. The NFL remains on schedule to do the same. However, it will continue to be business unusual with the pandemic continuing to rage out of control for the foreseeable future.

A memo informed all 32 pro teams this week the Combine "will be conducted in a different format." In actuality, ...Read more

MIAMI — Every once in awhile sports gives us — gifts us is more like it — a little story like this, unscripted, born of random circumstance.

So Chad Henne gets to be the overnight sensation, 13 years later.

"Who is Chad Henne?" read the CBSSports.com headline Tuesday. "Five things to know about the AFC divisional round hero."

Miami and ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — After playing 15 seasons in the NFL, Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth knows a potential leader when he sees one.

Running back Cam Akers fits the profile.

“He’s one to get excited about moving forward,” Whitworth said. “He’s going to be a guy who’s not only going to be a good football player, but I would imagine Cam...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Chargers owner Dean Spanos called Philip Rivers "the consummate professional" ... "the ultimate gamer" and one of "the dadgum best quarterbacks" ever.

Rivers, who spent the first 16 years of his career with the Chargers, announced his retirement Wednesday after completing a 17th NFL season with Indianapolis.

Spanos also labeled...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When they met earlier this season, the Buffalo Bills looked to limit Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ passing attack. And that happened. Mahomes threw for 225 yards, well below his league-leading 316-yard average.

But that left Buffalo vulnerable to the run. Rookie Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire rushed for 161 ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — The temptation is to look ahead, but the task is to stay focused on the Packers. Keep your eyes locked on the NFC Championship Game in Green Bay. No need to peek too soon.

But as the Bucs learned Wednesday, it’s very hard to avert your gaze from Super Bowl 55 when large banners featuring the Lombardi Trophy hang from Raymond ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — Among the athletes I have dealt with in my time around this newspaper game — and, when I began, the newsroom was smoky and nasty and lousy with whiskey and there were presses to stop — Philip Rivers is the most misunderstood.

In the eyes of some, Rivers will retire after his 17 years of NFL quarterbacking as a brash, loudmouth...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes returned to the practice field Wednesday, three days after an injury prompted his early departure from a playoff game and he entered the NFL concussion protocol.

It’s a potential step toward a return for Sunday’s AFC Championship Game, though it’s not the final one.

“He looked ...Read more

BALTIMORE — With the Ravens’ shifting into offseason mode after their 17-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round, the clock is now ticking for the team to reach an agreement on a contract extension with quarterback Lamar Jackson.

NFL teams have a May 3 deadline to exercise the fifth-year option for 2018 first-round picks, ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — The time has come, dadgummit.

The man whose good-natured hollering was as renowned as his highly unorthodox and highly effective throws is hanging up his helmet to put on a different hat.

Philip Rivers, who came to San Diego in a draft-day trade in 2004 and played quarterback for the Chargers all but his final season in the NFL, ...Read more

CHICAGO — When Chicago Bears Chairman George McCaskey and President Ted Phillips held a teleconference with the media last week, most of the questions focused on their decision to bring back general manager Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy.

That made sense, as it was the reason McCaskey and Phillips made a rare Zoom appearance in the first place...Read more

BALTIMORE — During exit interviews Sunday, a lot of the Ravens said the right things about their 17-3 divisional-round loss to the Buffalo Bills.

They talked about the need to finish and a lack of execution. Some explained that the wind was a factor, even though center Patrick Mekari’s theory on how that affected his errant snaps made very ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The search for a new defensive coordinator appears to be moving relatively quick for Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay.

Two days after Brandon Staley left to become head coach of the L.A. Chargers, Raheem Morris emerged as a candidate to replace him, people with knowledge of the situation said.

Morris, 44, was the Atlanta ...Read more

As the rumors and rumblings mounted several months ago that the greatest quarterback in NFL history was about to sign a contract with the lowly Tampa Bay Buccaneers, I wrote that, “Putting Tom Brady on the Bucs would be like hanging the Mona Lisa in Room 217 of the Red Roof Inn.”

Who knew then that Brady would instead turn the Red Roof Inn ...Read more