On the opening possession of the second half Sunday night, Caleb Williams had the ball in his hands with a chance to lead a go-ahead touchdown drive. It was third-and-3 from the 37-yard line, and Williams had a window of opportunity to hit the kind of big play the Chicago Bears offense so desperately needs.

The sequence wasn’t blocked ...Read more

Reporters covering the Vikings in Cleveland last month experienced a sharp edge to Kevin O’Connell that would surprise the public. But it drew smiles and nods from several members of the organization who say the friendly head coach has been known to show some bite to them on rare occasions as well.

“K.O.’s viewed as this great human being...Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, and Christian McCaffrey have all scored multiple touchdowns in the 49ers’ recent visits to SoFi Stadium.

None are expected in uniform for Sunday’s return.

Kittle is doubtful, Samuel is out, and McCaffrey will miss a third straight game with potentially more to come, thus robbing the ...Read more

The Dolphins listed running back Raheem Mostert and receiver Malik Washington as doubtful for Sunday’s game at Seattle (4:05 p.m., CBS). Both were limited participants in practice all week.

As expected, wide receiver Grant DuBose (shoulder) was ruled out. Everyone else on the 53-man roster is available to play.

Mostert said he sustained a ...Read more

The Patriots are not ready to make a change at quarterback yet.

Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo reiterated that Jacoby Brissett will remain the starting quarterback ahead of a matchup with the 49ers next Sunday.

“Jacoby is still our starting quarterback until I say he’s not,” Mayo told the media on a video conference call Friday morning. ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is dealing with a high ankle sprain and is officially listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The 26-year-old did not practice Friday on the campus of University of North Carolina-Charlotte after he was a limited participant Thursday. He had a thick ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It was the Chargers’ first major opportunity to reintroduce themselves. On fourth and one in the season opener, however, it wasn’t Joey Bosa or Khalil Mack who made the play that sent the defense’s first warning shot of the Jim Harbaugh era.

It was Poona Ford and Otito Ogbonnia who came crashing into the backfield.

...Read more

A little more than a decade ago, Drew Brees set the NFL record for most consecutive 300-yard passing games with nine. It was smack dab in the middle of the league’s most prolific passing era, and the Steelers were among the league’s elite offenses putting up monster numbers.

Ben Roethlisberger had 10 300-yard passing games in 2014, ...Read more

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Football fans across the country watching the Patriots in a national primetime spot Thursday night shut off their TVs – probably early – wondering how in the world this team actually had a winning record at one point this season.

The Patriots looked like the team many predicted before the 2024 season to finish with...Read more

Justin Jefferson declared himself good to go on Sunday against a 2-0 Texans team that’s probably going to shadow him with an old college teammate from LSU’s 2019 national championship team.

Saying he has no doubts he’ll play, Jefferson added that his injured quad “feels great. Every day, it feels a lot better. … Just staying in the ...Read more

Bryce Young stood in front of a large photo of Panthers legend Greg Olsen in the Carolina locker room Thursday and took accountability for his shortcomings during his still very young NFL career.

Young, who was benched on Monday in favor of veteran QB Andy Dalton, went 2-16 in his first 18 NFL starts. His career completion percentage is 59.3%,...Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Tight end George Kittle and cornerback Charvarius Ward were surprise no-shows at Thursday’s practice, sidelined by leg injuries that suddenly put their availability in question for the 49ers’ game Sunday at the Los Angeles Rams.

Another not-so-subtle name joined the 49ers’ ever-growing injury list: defensive end ...Read more

"Here’s a look back at Week 2’s action and fantasy advice for the week ahead:"

WEEK 2 RECAP

— Bills 31, Dolphins 10: Miami QB Tua Tagovailoa suffered another concussion late in the third quarter and was quickly ruled out. The Dolphins placed Tagovailoa on injured reserve this week with no set timetable for his return. Skylar Thompson is...Read more

Los Angeles Times NFL writer Sam Farmer examines the matchups this week. Lines according to FanDuel Sportsbook (O/U = over/under). Record last week 8-8 (.500); season 19-13 (.594). Using point spreads with the scores Farmer predicted, the record against the spread last week would have been 7-8-1 (.467); season 18-13-1 (.581). Times Pacific.

...Read more

A spate of not reasonably foreseeable upsets made it a bloodbath of a Week 2, and it tangled me in a rare losing week outright at 7-9. The much better news? I navigated for a solid 9-7 against the spread, where the $$$ is counted. I nailed my Upset of the Week with Packers beating Colts, and bull’s-eyed five (!) big dogs-with-points in covers ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Two weeks into the season, former Kentucky quarterback Will Levis is among the early NFL storylines. Just not for the reasons he might have hoped.

Perhaps you’ve seen the Tennessee Titans’ second-year quarterback on the highlight reel. More like the lowlight reel. The Titans are off to an 0-2 start thanks in part to plays...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kareem Hunt is moving from unemployment to an NFL spotlight, and the irony in the stark, abrupt contrast is that the team supplying that contrast sent him in the inverse direction six years ago.

Well, irony is one word for it. There are others.

Discomfort.

Confusion.

Hunt is back with the Chiefs on what will initially be...Read more

LAS VEGAS — After a record number of contestants were eliminated from a popular Circa football contest, the company is apparently feeling sorry for the losers and offering an “empathy package.”

The $1,000-per-entry Circa Survivor contest started with 14,266 entries. After two weeks of games, there are only 3,877 players left.

With just ...Read more

RENTON, Wash. — Seahawks center Connor Williams spent the last two seasons playing the same position in Miami, snapping the ball to Tua Tagovailoa.

So Thursday, when Williams saw Tagovailoa take a hard hit against Buffalo and leave the game with a concussion — the third for the Dolphins quarterback since 2022 — it hit him as deeply as ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — It is not a season-ending injury, and it will not require surgery or any other procedure.

That is the upside for the Rams and injured receiver Cooper Kupp based on coach Sean McVay's comments Wednesday.

On a day the Rams placed safety John Johnson III and offensive lineman Jonah Jackson on the team's seemingly never-ending list...Read more