SEATTLE — As Sunday night’s dreary 30-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers mercifully concluded, the concern wasn’t just that the Seahawks had lost control of their playoff positioning, but that they might also have lost quarterback Geno Smith for some or all of what’s left of the season.

Smith departed with a knee injury midway through the...Read more

NEW YORK — This season was supposed to be different for the Jets.

Gang Green came into Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars with a 3-10 record and losers of four straight.

But Sunday’s game was a glimpse of what many people expected the Jets to be when they were picked to win the AFC East crown and contend for a Super Bowl, ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The road back to respect for Jalen Hurts began with some of his first words after his worst game of this season. Inside the Eagles’ locker room a week ago, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Jordan Mailata, among others, had lamented a putrid performance from the team’s passing attack in a tight victory over the hapless Carolina...Read more

It was a sight nobody on the Kansas City Chiefs wanted to see.

Patrick Mahomes hobbled off the field in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 21-7 win over the Cleveland Browns with a right ankle injury and did not return.

“It’s not broken but it’s sore,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said afterward. “He’ll get started on the rehab part of it ...Read more

DETROIT — The other shoe has officially dropped.

After weeks of the Detroit Lions holding the line with a banged-up front seven, Buffalo Bills quarterback and MVP frontrunner Josh Allen put Detroit's depleted defense in a blender all Sunday afternoon at Ford Field.

If this was, indeed, a Super Bowl preview, as many suggested in the buildup, ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — A plane flew over the sports complex in the hours leading up to Sunday’s Eagles-Steelers kickoff carrying a banner. “Enough fake news! Philly stands with 1 and 11,” it read.

It was a nod to the week that was at the NovaCare Complex — never mind that it missed the mark on where and how the drama started. It did, however,...Read more

Well, hello playoffs.

OK, so it’s premature to put the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the postseason. Tampa Bay’s magic number to clinch the NFC South is three, so don’t start ordering the party trays just yet.

On the other hand, holy crap!

For the second season in a row, the Bucs have rebounded from a four-game losing streak in the middle of ...Read more

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Sunday’s 30-17 loss served as a worst-case scenario for the New England Patriots coming off of their bye week.

A team desperately looking to build for the future, the Patriots laid an egg on the road to the Arizona Cardinals.

Those expecting the Patriots to look any different coming out of their Week 14 bye against the ...Read more

This one goes out to the Miami Dolphins defense.

Despite the Dolphins’ 20-12 loss to the Houston Texans, the Miami defense came to play.

Case in point: the Texans only mustered 181 yards of offense on the day. The Joe Mixon-led rushing attack managed 77 yards — 35 of them on a fake punt. Quarterback CJ Stroud completed roughly 69% of his ...Read more

Sunday was put up or shut up time for the Miami Dolphins.

At 6-7 and on the road versus the playoff-bound Houston Texans, the Dolphins had all the opportunity in the world to make a statement.

Instead, Tua Tagovailoa turned the ball over four times and the Texans beat the Dolphins 20-12. With the loss, the hopes of the Dolphins’ postseason ...Read more

After not experiencing a victory in over a month, Gang Green finally got back in the winner’s circle.

Sauce Gardner‘s late interception at the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 13-yard-line helped the Jets defeat the Jaguars 32-25.

It was the Jets (4-10) first victory since Halloween when they defeated the Houston Texans.

Following his first 300-...Read more

NEW YORK — Daniel Jones. Tommy DeVito. Drew Lock. And now, Tim Boyle.

DeVito suffered a concussion in Sunday’s second quarter against the Ravens, giving way to the veteran Boyle for the second half.

Boyle, 30, became the fourth Giants quarterback to play for the team this season. And he took a snap for his sixth team in his seven-year ...Read more

CLEVELAND — The Kansas City Chiefs finally found a way to win a game by more than one possession.

Forcing six turnovers, on this day, was the formula.

Kansas City’s defense dominated on a windy afternoon at Huntington Bank Field, putting together its best effort of the season in a 21-7 road victory over the Cleveland Browns.

After the ...Read more

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — On to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

That’s who the Ravens will play Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium, where any hopes of an AFC North title will hang in the balance in a game that will likely define Baltimore’s season. Sunday’s contest against a woefully bad and injury-ravaged New York Giants team sure wasn’t going to. ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Sam Darnold sits back in the pocket, surveying the field and buying time as Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison maneuver through their routes. If they are deep down the field, even better. Ready, aim, fire.

“Just don’t miss,” Darnold said. “That’s the biggest thing.”

He doesn’t miss often, which has given the ...Read more

CHICAGO — When the Chicago Bears walk into U.S. Bank Stadium for Monday night’s game against the Minnesota Vikings, they will be 64 days removed from their last victory. The team’s seven-game losing streak has taken a toll. Yet for rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, there’s still a sizable challenge ahead to finish the season strong.

...Read more