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Instant analysis: Steelers grind their way to season-opening win in Atlanta

Sports / Football /

ATLANTA — Changes aplenty marked this Pittsburgh Steelers offseason, particularly for their offense, but the script Sunday looked awfully familiar to the past few seasons.

The Steelers grinded their way to a 18-10 win against the Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the 2024 opener, unable to generate a touchdown while kicker Chris Boswell did...Read more

Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Defense, special teams carry Bears to a 24-17 win despite a bumpy debut for Caleb Williams

Sports / Football /

CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears’ showing against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday was more about big defense and special teams plays than it was the magic of rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, but the Bears still emerged from their season opener victorious.

Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson had a pick-six against Titans quarterback Will Levis and ...Read more

Chris Graythen/Getty Images North America/TNS

Week 1 report card: Panthers welcome new season with embarrassing blowout loss to Saints

Sports / Football /

It was an all-too-familiar nightmare.

Inexcusable turnovers, big plays for the opposing offense, and a wildly overmatched squad that looked like it had never lined up together before, despite an encouraging training camp slate.

No, it’s not 2023, but the Carolina Panthers — in what looked like a fairly winnable matchup on paper — showed ...Read more

Miguel Martinez/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS

Kirk Cousins' untimely picks lead to 18-10 loss to Steelers

Sports / Football /

ATLANTA — Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins tossed two interceptions and led the team on just one touchdown drive as the Pittsburgh Steelers beat them 18-10 in the season opener on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Cousins, who was signed to a four-year $180 million contract in free agency, was thought to be the missing piece to the team’s ...Read more

Dylan Buell/Getty Images North America/TNS

Patriots shock Bengals with 16-10 win in Jerod Mayo's first game as head coach

Sports / Football /

The New England Patriots shut up a sea of orange, and an endless list of pundits predicting them for a league-worst finish, in Jerod Mayo’s first career win as head coach.

Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt’s unit proved the old adage that you have to learn to walk before you can run in the Patriots’ 16-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals...Read more

Al Diaz/Miami Herald/TNS

Sanders' game-winning field goal caps Dolphins' victory over the Jaguars in season opener

Sports / Football /

MIAMI — The Miami Dolphins’ surreal opening day of the 2024 NFL season began with an incident involving star wide receiver Tyreek Hill and local police hours before kickoff.

It ended with Jason Sanders booting a 53-yard game-winning field goal as time expired to lift Miami to a 20-17 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars at Hard Rock ...Read more

Al Diaz/Miami Herald/TNS

Officers investigated after Miami Dolphins' Tyreek Hill detained before season opener

Sports / Football /

MIAMI — Hours after Miami Dolphins All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill was handcuffed Sunday morning on his way to the team’s season-opening game against Jacksonville, the Miami-Dade Police Department is investigating the officers involved in the stop, during which Hill was pinned to the ground.

Video and photos posted to social media showed ...Read more

Vikings roll over Giants in 28-6 season-opening victory

Sports / Football /

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The Minnesota Vikings began the year espousing the theory they could return to the playoffs in 2024 by coaxing the best out of quarterback Sam Darnold, building a run game they could trust and making progress on defense behind a deeper group of pass rushers than they had in 2023.

Though they’ll face tougher tests ...Read more

Tammy Ljungblad/Kansas City Star/TNS

This Chiefs running back has a pet alligator. Can Crocky-J stay with him in Kansas City?

Sports / Football /

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — During the Kansas City Chiefs’ 27-20 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday, Sept. 5, the NBC broadcast took some time to talk about Carson Steele, the Chiefs’ undrafted rookie running back.

The broadcast discussed Steele’s pet alligator, Crocky-J, who was a Christmas present Steele received in elementary ...Read more

Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group/TNS

Jerry McDonald: Three 49ers offensive stars missed major camp time. It's Brock Purdy's job to eliminate their rust.

Sports / Football /

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — It’s not like Brock Purdy has grown in stature, although his thighs have taken on a Bosa-like quality through work in the weight room.

Yet it’s pretty clear Purdy has seized control of the 49ers’ offense, if not the team. The false narrative of Purdy being a mechanical ball distributor on behalf of coach Kyle ...Read more

Wagner Meier/Getty Images North America/TNS

The new Jalen Hurts is the same as the 2023 version in the Eagles' opener, but shows glimpses of positive change

Sports / Football /

SÃO PAULO, Brazil — For all the months of chatter about returning Jalen Hurts to how he performed in 2022 — the changes at offensive coordinator and in scheme that were made to get him back there, and how he seemed on his way following a strong training camp — the quarterback looked a lot like he did last season in the Eagles' season ...Read more

RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post/TNS

Troy Renck: Time for Broncos' Sean Payton to prove he's worth $18 million by outcoaching Seattle's Mike Macdonald

Sports / Football /

DENVER — You could count on one hand the number of times Sean Payton seemed relaxed in his Friday news conferences last season. Maybe one finger. Like the middle one.

That is what made Friday interesting and further proof of his comfort level with his second Broncos team entering its first game of the season. He entertained questions, both ...Read more

John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Paul Sullivan: No pressure, Caleb Williams. The Bears QB only has to lift an entire city on his shoulders.

Sports / Football /

CHICAGO — Black-and-white photographs and grainy videos are all you ever see of Sid Luckman.

The greatest quarterback in Chicago Bears history, who retired in 1950 after leading the team to four NFL championships, played in an era so far removed from today’s game, it’s impossible to compare him to any modern QB, much less one of our own. ...Read more

Mitchell Leff/Getty Images North America/TNS

Mac Engel: How Cleveland's Amari Cooper remains the Dallas Cowboys big win, and big loss

Sports / Football /

Sometimes a team will make a trade knowing they are giving up a good player with the idea being, “Let him be good someplace else.”

Ultimately, that’s how they felt about No. 1 wide receiver Amari Cooper. They let him be good someplace else, and on Sunday in Cleveland it’s apt to bite them in their smug faces. If Cooper goes off and ...Read more

Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images North America/TNS

Jets coach Robert Saleh says it is 'fair' to rule Haason Reddick out of season opener vs. 49ers

Sports / Football /

NEW YORK — The Jets acquired Haason Reddick in late March to help bolster their pass rush.

But they will be without the two-time Pro Bowler in the season-opening game against the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football.

Reddick, who has been holding out looking for a new contract, has still not reported to the team facility. When asked ...Read more

Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/TNS

LZ Granderson: To win like the Rams, take risks and learn from losses

Sports / Football /

LOS ANGELES — Every leader in every business hits a crossroads. In that regard the Los Angeles Rams' Les Snead is no different. It's how he decides which way to go that sets him apart — and perhaps there's a lesson in that for all of us.

At the season opener against the Lions on Sunday night, for the first time in a decade, Los Angeles will...Read more

Quinn Harris/Getty Images North America/TNS

John Clay: Prediction: With Joe Burrow healthy, the Bengals will be back in the Super Bowl

Sports / Football /

Joe Burrow has a new haircut. You might have seen it. The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback has gone bleached blond. Why? Burrow said he was bored. Said he was in the mood for something different.

You know what would be something different? A healthy Joe Burrow for a full 17 games and the postseason. That didn’t happen in 2023. The Bengals ...Read more

Kevin Clark/The Seattle Times/TNS

Mike Macdonald's journey to coaching Seahawks rarely strayed from football path

Sports / Football /

RENTON, Wash. — In Mike Macdonald's 37 years — an age that makes him the youngest head coach in the NFL in 2024 and the youngest in Seahawks history — the one constant has been football.

"Actually my first memory is throwing a football," he said in August following a training-camp practice.

He paused, trying to recall more vividly that ...Read more

Tammy Ljungblad/Kansas City Star/TNS

Sam McDowell: How does Chiefs' Travis Kelce defy age? These behind-the-scenes stories explain.

Sports / Football /

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Some 55 hours before his 12th NFL season, Travis Kelce walked into a crowded media room at the Chiefs’ practice facility that had been waiting for his arrival.

He’d been here, in a similar room, for the first time more than a dozen years earlier, a teleconference introduction of a third-round draft pick that came ...Read more

David Bergman/Miami Herald/TNS

Greg Cote: Dolphins own Miami's heart, but Dolfans deserve new heroes -- and new glory days

Sports / Football /

MIAMI — You never forget your first love, so it is often said. For many or us, that first love was sports.

That one magical year that made us smitten. A certain player, maybe. A championship season. A memory that never left. That one team that was, is, interwoven in your life’s timeline. The team that helped raise you and never left you. ...Read more