CHICAGO — Ryan Poles didn’t need to watch from his seat in the State Farm Stadium press box last week to know he has some heavy lifting to do in the trenches.

The Chicago Bears — missing starting tackles Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright — completely collapsed offensively in a 20-point road loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 9.

It ...Read more

Nothing crazy happened on the plane ride to Tampa.

That much was evident Saturday when the 49ers, as expected, took running back Christian McCaffrey off injured reserve and placed him on the 53-man roster.

McCaffrey will play Sunday for the first time this season when the 49ers (4-4) visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-4).

The 49ers also made ...Read more

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The wrist injury that surfaced this week for Miami Dolphins star wide receiver Tyreek Hill has his status against the Los Angeles Rams up in the air.

Hill was not spotted during a brief media viewing portion of Saturday’s practice, Miami’s final session before the Monday night game against the Rams (4-4) at SoFi ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With what seemed to be some alarming symbolism, the Chiefs on their first offensive play of their first preseason game lost their most vital offseason addition, when Hollywood Brown suffered a devastating clavicle injury.

Weeks later, injuries wiped out burgeoning second-year receiver Rashee Rice and starting running back ...Read more

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Dolphins players tell me they’ve had a few players-only meetings this season, the most recent Monday.

Players also tell me the meetings have gone well, that they’ve been productive.

I believe them.

My big takeaway from those players-only meetings is these Dolphins players, even amid a three-game losing streak and ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Unlike Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League, which has a history of trading players the way most people change socks, the NFL has never been heavily involved in making in-season deals. That includes the Steelers, who have rarely made a practice of acquiring players once the regular season begins.

That's why their ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Brendan Burke returned home on a Sunday last fall from coaching soccer, put an NFL game on his TV, and could not believe what he saw.

“I was like ‘That can’t be the same guy,’ ” Burke said. “ ‘Oh my God, that’s the same guy.’ ”

The guy was Brandon Aubrey, whom Burke coached years earlier with the ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — For the time being at least, Justin Fields is out of the backdrop business.

In the Steelers locker room, the players who command the most media attention on a week-to-week basis do their interviews in front of a logo-patterned screen with cameras and microphones making a semicircle around them. Friday afternoon, Fields was in the...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Aaron Jones was conducting his weekly news conference when he saw an opening, took it and, per usual, made the most of it.

He was being fed rushing stats to illustrate how his pass-happy league hasn’t been this productive running the ball in 34 years. A running back in a world obsessed with quarterbacks and receivers, he ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Matthew Stafford already moved past Eli Manning on two NFL career passing lists. The Rams quarterback is on the verge of doing it again.

If Stafford throws a touchdown pass against the Miami Dolphins on Monday night at SoFi Stadium, he will be in sole possession of 10th place.

Stafford, a 16-year pro, has passed for 366 ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Nick Sirianni on Friday indicated that Jalen Hurts is dealing with an ankle issue, despite the quarterback being listed on the injury report with a “rest” designation.

The Eagles coach may have slipped up when asked Friday about what went into his quarterback’s load management day two days prior.

Here’s the awkward ...Read more

Listening to Brian Burns, it sounds like he may have a lot more to say about the Carolina Panthers after Sunday’s game than before it.

Burns has had this game circled on his calendar since the spring, when the Panthers traded him to the Giants for two draft picks rather than paying Burns to play for them.

“Personally, I have my own ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Like everybody else — including, quite obviously, the Steelers — my opinion on Najee Harris fluctuates.

If the Steelers did not offer Harris a fifth-year option because they wanted to see how his style meshed with new coordinator Arthur Smith's scheme, that's easily defensible.

Harris also plays an understandably undervalued...Read more

BALTIMORE — The NFL’s best offense and its two-time and reigning NFL Most Valuable Player could only be contained for so long.

It took more than a half of football, but the Ravens and Lamar Jackson finally woke up Thursday night at M&T Bank Stadium. Faced with a 14-point third-quarter deficit — their largest of the season — Jackson put ...Read more

DENVER — The Chiefs have become the Patriots. And that is not a compliment. At least not in these parts.

I am getting irritable in my 50s. Losing patience for reruns. What started innocently five years ago has become a full-blown annoyance.

It all began when the Chiefs won the Super Bowl in 2019. They stepped onto the biggest stage, stopped ...Read more

NEW YORK — Last offseason, before he was traded to the Jets, Davante Adams sat down and had dinner with Garrett Wilson through a mutual friend in New York when the three-time All-Pro was in the area.

The two spoke about being fans of each other’s games and began to build a relationship. The receivers also talked about the potential to play ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Justin Herbert has been twisted down by his ankle. He was spun down late after his pass was well downfield. He was driven into the ground by 272-pound Myles Garrett.

Herbert has gotten up each time with no protest.

While his coach is calling for more stringent officiating on plays made on the Chargers' quarterback, Herbert is ...Read more

DENVER — Javonte Williams heard his head coach.

Sean Payton was asked Monday if he thought rookie running back Audric Estime would see an increased workload in the second half of the season.

“That’s a good and fair question, and one that I think I would answer, ‘Yes,’ ” Payton said then.

Of course, Payton said similar to Estime ...Read more