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Joe Sargent/Getty Images North America/TNS

Gerry Dulac: Steelers might not have to run far to find next year's QB

Sports / Football /

PITTSBURGH — After watching the divisional round playoff games over the weekend, and knowing what is expected to be available in free agency, the Steelers might have already decided who will be their quarterback in 2025.

Mike Tomlin, who has been enamored with mobile quarterbacks and the problems they present for opposing defenses, was likely...Read more

Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/TNS

Omar Kelly: The praise, the problem, and possibilities with Dolphins receivers

Sports / Football /

MIAMI — A position-by-position series breaking down each of the Miami Dolphins’ units, assessing where the team stands heading into the 2025 offseason, and examining what could possibly be done through free agency and the NFL draft.

Receiver

— The Praise: The Miami Dolphins have one of the NFL’s most expensive duos in Tyreek Hill and ...Read more

Yong Kim/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

David Murphy: Two reasons the Eagles are a win away from the Super Bowl: otherworldly talent, and Nick Sirianni's guiding hand

Sports / Football /

PHILADELPHIA — For a moment, it sounded as if Nick Sirianni was talking out of both sides of his mouth. Not that you could blame him. Barely an hour had passed since the 43-year-old head coach had clinched his second NFC championship berth in three seasons and, well, there was a lot to process.

The Eagles’ 28-22 win over the Los Angeles ...Read more

David Maialetti/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Eagles-Rams takeaways: The Birds are Super Bowl favorites going into championship Sunday. Should they be?

Sports / Football /

PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles punched their ticket to the NFC championship game for a second time in three seasons, holding off a late charge from the Los Angeles Rams for a 28-22 victory in the snow.

A third and final meeting with the Washington Commanders with a Super Bowl berth on the line looms this weekend, but there’s plenty to unpack ...Read more

Daniel Mears/The Detroit News/TNS

Bob Wojnowski: Dan Campbell's Lions beaten, but far from broken

Sports / Football /

ALLEN PARK, Mich. — The devastation lingers. But now, the defiance grows.

The Detroit Lions are gone from the playoffs sooner than expected, sooner than their fans dreamed (or nightmared). If you’re still numb, you’re not alone.

Dan Campbell is over being numb, and almost over the anger, and fully ready for the rebound. Sometimes, when a...Read more

Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Cooper Kupp not sure if he'll be back with Rams: 'I don't have any clarity'

Sports / Football /

LOS ANGELES — Cooper Kupp established himself as an important part of the Rams' offense from the day general manager Les Snead selected him in the third round of the 2017 NFL draft.

But the receiver who won NFL offensive player of the year and Super Bowl most valuable player awards began the offseason on Monday with his future with the Rams ...Read more

John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Dan Wiederer: Let your imagination run wild, Chicago. Prospective new Bears coach Ben Johnson has big ideas.

Sports / Football /

CHICAGO — Just spitballing here, but perhaps there’s a joint therapy session opportunity suddenly sitting right here on the table. For Chicago Bears fans. And for their prospective new head coach Ben Johnson. Find the largest theater available — IMAX maybe? — cue up some Detroit Lions game film and roll through every one of the 72 ...Read more

Kim Hairston/The Baltimore Sun/TNS

Ravens head home, trying to make sense of another disappointing ending

Sports / Football /

BALTIMORE — The Ravens have gotten too good at this routine, looking shell-shocked as they clean out their lockers less than 24 hours after their own errors doomed them to final defeat.

With majestic quarterback Lamar Jackson leading the most efficient offense in team history, they were good enough to win the Super Bowl this year. But they’...Read more

Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Bears to hire Ben Johnson: Deal for the new head coach reportedly being finalized

Sports / Football /

CHICAGO — Chicago Bears President/CEO Kevin Warren boldly proclaimed seven weeks ago the organization would have the most attractive situation of any team searching for a new head coach — and it appears that proved true.

The club is finalizing a deal to hire Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who was hotly pursued by the Las ...Read more

Joe Sargent/Getty Images North America/TNS

Joe Starkey: Steelers, Mike Tomlin missed a golden opportunity when the Bears called about a trade

Sports / Football /

PITTSBURGH — ESPN's Adam Schefter has reported that the Chicago Bears were among the teams who recently called the Steelers about trading for Mike Tomlin. Schefter also reported that Tomlin has a no-trade clause and that the Steelers immediately "rebuffed" the Bears.

What a shame, I'd say, because that phone call presented the Steelers, ...Read more

Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times/TNS

Byron Leftwich was on track to become an NFL head coach. Why did he fall off the radar?

Sports / Football /

TAMPA, Fla. — They paid attention to the Bucs offense, which averaged nearly 30 points per game this season. They were impressed by the 40-plus touchdown passes and how a former No. 1 pick at quarterback led his team to another NFC South title.

It was no surprise the Jaguars wanted to interview the Bucs offensive coordinator, who is ...Read more

Tammy Ljungblad/Kansas City Star/TNS

Three things to look for in Chiefs-Bills AFC Championship Game matchup

Sports / Football /

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs fans got their wish.

The Buffalo Bills defeated the Baltimore Ravens 27-25 Sunday in an entertaining playoff game in Orchard Park, N.Y., and advanced to face the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.

Chiefs fans who voted in a Kansas City Star poll had said they preferred having the Chiefs face the Bills in the title...Read more

Al Bello/Getty Images North America/TNS

Ravens' season ends with mistake-filled 27-25 loss to Bills in AFC divisional round

Sports / Football /

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — It was dubbed the latest Game of the Century.

The Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson vs. the Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen.

And on a cold, snowy night at Highmark Stadium and with a trip to the AFC championship game on the line, Jackson, the reigning NFL Most Valuable Player and the favorite to win the award for a third ...Read more

Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Rams' Jared Verse wasn't just talk in Philadelphia, but his impactful day wasn't enough

Sports / Football /

PHILADELPHIA — Jared Verse was the talk of the town before Sunday’s NFC divisional-round game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles.

After the Rams rookie edge rusher told The Los Angeles Times last week that he hated Eagles fans and found them annoying, he became the target of heated fan discussion on local sports radio...Read more

David Maialetti/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Eagles' Saquon Barkley screaming and sprinting in a winter wonderland and into the history book is a sight to see

Sports / Football /

PHILADELPHIA — When Saquon Barkley saw what will likely become the lasting image of the Eagles’ snowy playoff win, his first instinct was to see if he could get it taken down.

Try as he might, the photos of Barkley screaming and sprinting toward the end zone in the team’s 28-22 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday will be about as ...Read more

Daniel Mears/The Detroit News/TNS

John Niyo: 'It's disappointing' for Goff, Lions in trying to process early playoff exit

Sports / Football /

DETROIT — The chants were derisive this time.

From the corner of one end zone inside Ford Field on Saturday night, a throng of visiting fans in burgundy and gold hijacked the Lions’ rallying cry, turning “Jar-ed Goff! Jar-ed Goff!” into a jeer instead of a cheer. Then the Washington Commanders fans who’d taken over swaths of the lower...Read more

David Maialetti/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Saquon Barkley continues to make history with one of the greatest seasons ever

Sports / Football /

PHILADELPHIA — Saquon Barkley’s final play Sunday was, appropriately, a handoff.

The Eagles running back left the Siberian swirl happening on the field and ran up the locker room tunnel, a cluster of handlers and TV cameras in his wake.

Just before he made a hard left to head to the locker room, he handed a commemorative NBC football to ...Read more

Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Dylan Hernández: Is this the end for Cooper Kupp with Rams? And what about Matthew Stafford?

Sports / Football /

LOS ANGELES — Cooper Kupp walked to the middle of an empty Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday morning.

He looked around, as if he was taking in the scene.

Hours later, Kupp trudged through the snow-covered field with his teammates, retreating to the stadium's visiting locker room in the wake of the Rams' 28-22 defeat to the Philadelphia ...Read more

Curtis Compton/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS

Five challenges facing new Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich

Sports / Football /

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons’ search to replace one-year defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake started immediately after he was terminated.

From the outset, all NFL fingers were pointing to Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich, a former Falcons assistant and close friend of Falcons coach Raheem Morris.

The only holdup was if Ulbrich ...Read more

Yong Kim/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Eagles survive, storming past the Rams to reach the NFC championship game with a 28-22 win in the snow

Sports / Football /

PHILADELPHIA — The snow never bothered Saquon Barkley anyway.

Barkley, the 2024 rushing title holder, plowed through a snow-covered Lincoln Financial Field, cruising for 205 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries in the Eagles’ nail-biter of a 28-22 divisional-round victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. The star running back ...Read more