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Bob Wojnowski: Lions complete alarming collapse, a broken and beaten team
MINNEAPOLIS — The Lions were hoping to show who they really are, to recapture their identity and rekindle their playoff hopes. Instead, they showed up and confirmed what they’ve become, a battered, broken team, beaten soundly in all the areas they used to control.
The Lions couldn’t block anyone, couldn’t hold onto the ball, could ...Read more
Inside Travis Kelce's Christmas night: From emotional anthem to possible final catch
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — All eyes (and television cameras) were on Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce on Christmas night.
Kelce’s future was on everyone’s mind Thursday because his contract with the Chiefs expires at the end of the regular season. Kelce has remained mum about his future plans, but it’s no stretch to think he’ll hang up the ...Read more
Ticket price increases? Tailgating space? Chiefs fans weigh in on Kansas move.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs fans had mixed emotions during the Christmas Day tailgate before taking on the Denver Broncos.
The Thursday night game was the first following the news that the team would be leaving GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, their home for more than 50 years, for a new domed facility in Kansas.
The Kansas City ...Read more
Broncos outlast Chiefs on Christmas night, 20-13, move to doorstep of AFC title
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Broncos unwrapped the finest of presents at 9:45 p.m. Central time on Christmas night.
It came complements of Kansas City star defensive tackle Chris Jones.
Facing fourth-and-2 coming out of the 2-minute warning on Thursday night in a game that mattered a whole lot for the Broncos and not at all for the rival Chiefs, ...Read more
Sam McDowell: Five things that stood out about the Chiefs' loss to the Broncos on Christmas
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It’s been a strange season.
The Chiefs giving the Broncos, technically the No. 1 seed in the AFC, a last-minute fight fits the billing.
The Broncos beat the Chiefs, 20-13, on Christmas night, slamming the door with a late touchdown rather than a field goal after Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones jumped offside.
...Read more
Sean Keeler: Bo Nix, Sean Payton overcome refs, Al Michaels, Chiefs backups to keep Broncos' dream of No. 1 seed alive
Initial thoughts from the Broncos’ 20-13 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 16 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.:
1. An ugly Christmas present
Playing for a penalty against the Chiefs in Kansas City during a tie game, with two minutes left in the fourth quarter, on national TV? That takes some guts, man. Chris Jones...Read more
Snoop Dogg scores with unlikely collaborators during Vikings halftime show
MINNEAPOLIS — Snoop Dogg threw a lavish Christmas party during halftime at the Vikings game — and he was determined to invite everybody.
The iconic rapper must have known he couldn’t match the star power on display during last year’s Emmy-nominated spectacle from Houston with Beyoncé as the headliner. It would also be impossible to ...Read more
Feeble and finished: Lions' playoff hopes sacked with loss to Vikings
MINNEAPOLIS — Nearly two years to the day after the Detroit Lions snapped a 30-year drought for the division title with a win at Minnesota on Christmas Eve, Detroit's 2025 playoff hopes were officially laid to rest at U.S. Bank Stadium on Christmas.
The Lions, who had eight giveaways all season entering Thursday, turned it over six times. ...Read more
Defensive masterpiece lifts Vikings to fourth win in a row
MINNEAPOLIS — Until Max Brosmer hit Justin Jefferson for 10 yards on his final completion of Christmas Day, the Vikings had negative net passing yards in their home game with the Lions.
But their defense turned in such a masterpiece, they were able to subsist with almost no production from their offense.
The Vikings forced six turnovers in a...Read more
Broncos place starting center Luke Wattenberg on injured reserve with shoulder injury
DENVER — Looking for good health in their holiday stocking, these Broncos have instead received a resounding heap of coal.
On Thursday, the organization placed starting center Luke Wattenberg on injured reserve, a major blow to the offensive front as Denver marches into the playoffs. Wattenberg has started all 15 games for the Broncos as the ...Read more
The streaking Steelers are developing a late-season identity -- one that's built in the trenches
PITTSBURGH — When Omar Khan took over as general manager of the Steelers in the summer of 2023, he had a grand vision for how he wanted to build the roster back into a playoff contender. He wanted to build through the trenches and has followed through on his goal by drafting offensive and defensive linemen in the top rounds of the draft in ...Read more
Sam McDowell: There is one party most responsible for the Chiefs' move to Kansas
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — On an early February morning in 2020, hundreds of thousands of people flocked to downtown Kansas City, single-digit wind chills be damned, to converge on a celebration they’d been waiting a lifetime to enjoy.
They arrived from all walks of life, those young and those old, those rich and those poor, those Black and those ...Read more
Inside the Harbaugh way: What it's like to play for Jim and John
BALTIMORE — When Alohi Gilman learned that he was being traded to the Ravens in early October, his phone buzzed with a message that made him pause amid the expected chaos from an in-season, cross-country move from Los Angeles to Baltimore.
Jim Harbaugh, a coach who trusted him and pushed the Chargers toward a tougher identity over the past ...Read more
Lions look to stave off elimination against Vikings: 'We still got a chance'
ALLEN PARK, Mich. — It's been three years since the Detroit Lions have found themselves in the position that they're in entering Week 17, on the outside looking in of the NFC playoffs and searching for answers.
Technically, the Lions still have much to play for in Thursday's divisional game against the Minnesota Vikings. To make the playoffs,...Read more
Mike Sielski: Hey Eagles fans, show some sympathy to Buffalo Bills lifers. You were just like them once.
PHILADELPHIA — For a long time when it came to sports, Buffalo was Diet Philadelphia. Similar, but with a little less. A smaller city, yes. Half as many major pro franchises, yes. But those teams — the Bills in the NFL, the Sabres in the NHL — have always occupied an outsized importance within the culture of the region. They mattered to ...Read more
Steelers get T.J. Watt back at Christmas Eve practice for first time since lung incident
PITTSBURGH — T.J. Watt returned to practice for the Steelers on Christmas Eve, two weeks from the day he sustained a collapsed lung while receiving treatment at the team facility.
Watt was listed as a limited participant Wednesday, and he was with the other outside linebackers and defensive linemen for their individual position drills at the ...Read more
Jalen Carter's shoulder fix may be temporary, but he's ready to help the Eagles down the stretch
PHILADELPHIA — The Chicago Bears game was a breaking point for Jalen Carter.
His shoulders had bothered him since training camp, and on the day the Eagles’ defense was gashed for 281 rushing yards in a Black Friday blackout, Carter’s deficiencies showed on the film, he said. The Eagles even took him off the field on early downs.
There’...Read more
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford not concerned about Pro Bowl selections
LOS ANGELES — Matthew Stafford was voted to the Pro Bowl this season, but the Rams veteran quarterback stopped concerning himself about the recognition more than a decade ago.
In 2011, the then third-year pro passed for more than 5,000 yards and 41 touchdowns for the Detroit Lions.
Stafford thought he had a chance to make the NFC roster, but...Read more
Bears DE Austin Booker says NFL fined him $5K apiece for 2 roughing-the-passer penalties on Jordan Love
CHICAGO — Chicago Bears defensive end Austin Booker said he has been fined $5,000 apiece for two roughing-the-passer penalties he was issued during Saturday’s 22-16 overtime win over the Green Bay Packers.
“I did get a fine, but we’ll see what they say on the appeal,” Booker told the Chicago Tribune on Wednesday.
He said he believes ...Read more
Don't expect 49ers DC Robert Saleh to jump at first head coaching job that comes his way
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — It’s not worth fretting over the possible loss of 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh during the next NFL head coaching cycle.
Saleh certainly isn’t. He has been through the process twice: once when he got the Jets job, and last offseason when he spoke with Jacksonville, Las Vegas and Dallas. With the 49ers at ...Read more
Popular Stories
- Sam McDowell: There is one party most responsible for the Chiefs' move to Kansas
- Inside the Harbaugh way: What it's like to play for Jim and John
- The streaking Steelers are developing a late-season identity -- one that's built in the trenches
- Broncos place starting center Luke Wattenberg on injured reserve with shoulder injury
- Defensive masterpiece lifts Vikings to fourth win in a row
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