MELBOURNE, Australia — The Rams arrived here as the star-studded favorite to win Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium.

They left star-crossed, stunned and searching for answers on their long flight back to Los Angeles.

The Rams sleep-walked through much of the season opener against the rival San Francisco 49ers, who sent the Rams to a 27-7 defeat ...Read more

MELBOURNE, Australia – No worries, the 49ers enjoyed a season-opening win like no other in their 81-year history.

This 27-7 win over the Los Angeles Rams came with all the pomp and circumstance befitting the NFL’s regular-season arrival in Australia, before a sold-out crowd of 100,021 at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Once all the ...Read more

NEW YORK — Breece Hall had never dealt with a groin injury.

So when he strained his right groin during an Aug. 17 practice, the Jets’ star running back admits he “freaked out.”

Three weeks later, Hall is healthy, practicing fully and expecting to play in Sunday’s season opener against the Titans.

“It was actually a very good two-...Read more

NEW YORK — Malik Nabers hasn’t decided yet whether he plans to play in Sunday night’s Giants season opener against the Dallas Cowboys.

The Giants’ top receiver was adamant Thursday that playing in the game is his call alone, regardless of the Giants clearing him medically already. And he is genuinely not sure if he is ready to play in ...Read more

SEATTLE — Drake Maye confessed.

In fact, he sang like a canary.

“We were really good up to the point where I tried to force one down the sideline to Romeo (Doubs). We were patient and dumping it off, and trying to move the chains,” Maye said.

And then?

“(I) just stopped being patient and made decisions that ended up, like I said, ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The estranged wife of former Chargers defensive end Marcellus Wiley has been granted a three-year restraining order against the former Los Angeles sports radio personality two months after she accused him of raping her and physically abusing her and their children.

The former Pro Bowl player has denied the allegations that ...Read more

Draft grades expire the moment the football is kicked off, and Week 1 is when coaches begin ruining all of our carefully constructed theories.

A supposed bell cow turns into one piece of a committee. A “starting” receiver runs 43% of the routes. All the cards are finally on the table.

That’s where I come in.

My weekly “start and sit�...Read more

We launched our NFL picks (the “Friday Page”) in the Miami Herald in 1991. Dan Marino was still in his Pro Bowl prime. The Grateful Dead had the highest-grossing music tour. LeBron James was a 7-year-old kid in Akron. The Bills were in the midst of losing four straight Super Bowls. Thirty-five years later, welcome back to our longtime ...Read more

SEATTLE — Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald reiterated Thursday morning that the team got “really good news” on Sam Darnold’s hip amid reports he may miss next Sunday’s game at Arizona but could be back as soon as Week 3 at Washington.

Macdonald, appearing on his weekly day-after-game radio show on Seattle Sports 710, repeated much of ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Declan Doyle didn’t wait long to suggest one of the more significant changes Lamar Jackson has made going into what is his ninth NFL season.

The first time Doyle spoke with the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player, Jackson wasn’t even sure yet that Doyle would be the Ravens’ offensive coordinator. It was late January, and the ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — There has been a great deal of focus about the development of rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza and how his success or failure will ultimately decide the fate of the Las Vegas Raiders over the next few years.

That is with good reason.

NFL teams can’t miss on first-round quarterbacks, especially those drafted No. 1 overall. A ...Read more

MIAMI — Whether it’s a byproduct of money paid or owed, the draft pick used to select them or an elevated status created by injuries, windows of opportunity for NFL stardom open and close with the consistency and speed of a blinking eye.

Those who thrive in professional sports’ most physical game are the ones who seize on it.

For many ...Read more

CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers come full circle — again.

It has been more than three years since the teams executed a trade that proved monumental for both franchises.

On March 10, 2023, the Bears traded the No. 1 pick in that year’s draft to the Panthers, acquiring the Nos. 9 and 61 picks in 2023, a first-round pick ...Read more

SEATTLE — Losing Wednesday night’s season opener to the Seahawks was the likely outcome heading into Week 1 for the Patriots.

Losing to Drew Lock, however? Inconceivable.

But Lock wound up outplaying Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, who finished the game with one touchdown and three interceptions in the 13-10 loss to the Seahawks.

The ...Read more

SEATTLE — A night that began in celebration of last season ended in celebration of the beginning of a new one.

In between came a lot of angst as the Seahawks lost Sam Darnold to a hip injury five plays into the game and were held scoreless for most of the first three quarters.

Backup Drew Lock led a rally from a 10-0 deficit, aided by ...Read more

Los Angeles Times NFL writer Sam Farmer examines the matchups and makes his predictions for Week 1 of the NFL season.

Last season, including playoffs, Sam Farmer posted a 181-104 record (.635).

Using point spreads with the scores Farmer predicted, his record against the spread last season was 130-155 (.466). All team records shown below are ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman spoke for the first time Wednesday since news broke last month of his arrest earlier this summer on a family violence battery charge involving the mother of his child.

“There’s only so much I can say right now,” Bateman said. “It’s a legal situation. I’m looking forward to just ...Read more

Football loves an adage, an axiom, a sacred cow it can chew on talk radio until everyone’s teeth hurt.

And two of the sport’s favorites make zero sense when you shove them into the same room.

We’re told that football is the ultimate team game. Twenty-two starters, plus specialists, all must be locked in precise sync — where a single ...Read more

GREG COTE’S NFL WEEK 1 THURSDAY PICK

49ERS (0-0) vs. RAMS (0-0) in Melbourne, Australia

Line: LAR by 3 1/2.

Cote’s pick: LAR, 27-24.

TV: 8:35 p.m., Thursday, Netflix.

G’day, mate. Welcome to the land Down Und-ah. The first of Week 1’s five division games also is the first ever NFL regular-season faceoff in Australia — and first of...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Veteran quarterback Carson Wentz will back up Vikings starter Kyler Murray in Week 1, head coach Kevin O’Connell said in a news conference Wednesday.

Wentz, who re-signed this March after first joining the Vikings on a one-year contract in August 2025, supplants J.J. McCarthy in the No. 2 role.

“This gives us the best ...Read more