CHICAGO — Thomas Brown has emerged as a bright spot on the Chicago Bears coaching staff in the last three weeks during the roughest points of a turbulent season.

Now the Bears will see if he can make an even larger impact with his direct nature as the interim head coach.

Brown was given his third title in less than four weeks Friday after ...Read more

CHICAGO — On the day after yet another jaw-dropping loss — this time with one of the more humiliating finishes in franchise history playing out in front of an extra-large and astonished holiday audience — the Chicago Bears leaned into their most straightforward path toward resolution.

Fire coach Matt Eberflus. Tidy up this latest mess. ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Here’s a good life lesson for us all: find someone who loves you as much as Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce loves to lateral.

Kelce is always a threat to toss the ball to a teammate after making the catch, and there have been some uneven results through the years.

But during the Chiefs’ game against the Raiders on Friday...Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — It’s not like he was throwing at game speed, but the sight of Brock Purdy throwing the ball during warmups Friday was encouraging before the 49ers left on a trip to Buffalo for a Sunday night game against the Bills.

It was even more encouraging following practice, when Purdy was listed as questionable with a shoulder ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A toe.

A kick.

A blocked kick.

A scramble.

And now? The fluke of a botched snap.

The Chiefs escaped again, this time with a 19-17 win against the Raiders when Las Vegas botched a shotgun snap while sitting on the edge of field-goal range with 11 seconds to play.

It’s a gift. It’s a win, too, but an uncomfortable ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Raiders fumbled the ball with 11 seconds remaining to seal a 19-17 loss to the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on Friday.

Rookie center Jackson Powers-Johnson, with the team at the Kansas City 32-yard line, appeared to snap the ball before quarterback Aidan O’Connell was ready. The Chiefs recovered the fumble for their ...Read more

MIAMI — Hold the “narrative” talk, please. If you think the cold weather in Green Bay beat the Miami Dolphins on Thanksgiving night, you are being too easy on the Fins by offering an excuse they don’t deserve.

Neither the wintry conditions at Lambeau Field nor the Packers themselves beat Miami as much as the Dolphins beat themselves in ...Read more

CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears brass has seen enough. A day after the team dropped its sixth consecutive game — a 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions at Ford Field — the Bears have fired head coach Matt Eberflus.

Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown will become the interim head coach, just four games after the Bears promoted him to replace fired ...Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — There’s a running back renaissance taking place in the NFL and Christian McCaffrey has yet to take part in it.

Philadelphia’s Saquon Barkley is picking up steam as a Most Valuable Player candidate with 1,392 yards and 12 touchdowns. Derrick Henry of Baltimore, who while at Alabama beat out Stanford’s McCaffrey for ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — One week ago, the Steelers played a 2-8 Browns team that had nothing to lose. They went for it on fourth down four times and converted all four opportunities in their 24-19 upset win.

On Sunday, the Steelers play a desperate Bengals team that is in must-win mode after losing three of their past four to fall to 4-7. The NFL ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers have seen an uptick in play from their second-year quarterback, Bryce Young, in recent weeks. Perhaps not-so-coincidentally, they’ve also seen an uptick in their speed out of the huddle on offense as well.

Panthers head coach Dave Canales has emphasized the importance of showing urgency ahead of the ...Read more

DENVER — When the Browns needed Jerry Jeudy in last week’s game against the Steelers, he delivered.

The fifth-year wide receiver collected 46 of his 85 receiving yards in the second half to help Cleveland pull off an upset win in snowy conditions — or what quarterback Jameis Winston called “true football weather.”

Since Winston has ...Read more

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The thing about narratives, sometimes they’re just true.

Narratives, the word often used around the Dolphins, specifically about how they struggle against contending teams and in cold weather, were only solidified as valid with their Thanksgiving effort against the Green Bay Packers.

Failing to look like a team that ...Read more

ARLINGTON, Texas — Dexter Lawrence, the Giants’ best player, dislocated his left elbow in Thursday’s loss.

He had his arm in a sling when the locker room opened. And he couldn’t say for sure that this injury won’t sideline him for the rest of the season.

His recovery timeline is unknown.

“I’d be hurt, because going out there and...Read more

RENTON, Wash. — Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf missed a second day of practice on Thursday with a shoulder injury.

Seahawks coaches did not hold media availabilities Thursday so there were no additional details on the nature and possible severity of the injury.

Head coach Mike Macdonald will speak to the media following Friday's practice when ...Read more

ARLINGTON, Texas — For the first time in seven games, the Giants took a lead.

Drew Lock, the third quarterback to start for the Giants in as many games, led a 13-play, 70-yard touchdown drive on his team’s opening possession Thursday against the Dallas Cowboys.

Rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers, who four days earlier bemoaned his lack of ...Read more

DETROIT — For several seconds after the football dropped in front of Rome Odunze on Thursday at Ford Field, Chicago Bears players stood rooted to the turf in stunned disbelief.

The Bears were down by three at the Detroit Lions’ 41-yard line and had 32 seconds left in the game to try to move closer to set up kicker Cairo Santos for a tying ...Read more

DETROIT — Forty-nine minutes had passed after Thursday’s game at Ford Field had ended and six minutes had elapsed since Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus began his postgame news conference. It was then, and only then, that Eberflus finally indicated that he was still somewhat attached to reality.

Asked directly if he was worried about his ...Read more

DETROIT— Alim McNeill will admit it. In the moment, he’s thinking the same thing you’re thinking as a fan: Oh, man, another one?

But it’s just a fleeting thought. Because there’s another down to play, and a game to finish, no matter how many injuries are piling up around him.

“It’s wild for everybody,” said McNeill, the Lions�...Read more