MINNEAPOLIS — Let’s begin with a simple, declarative statement regarding the NFC North:

We were wrong.

Not we, as in you and me. We, as in scribes for this paper, the paper of record for the Upper Midwest. We didn’t realize just how strong this division was going to be and how the Vikings would contribute to that.

A skeptical eye was ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — In mid-September, John Harbaugh's team was 0-2, thanks to a home loss to Gardner Minshew and the Las Vegas Raiders. They'd just made it to the AFC championship game last season and had a trip to Dallas looming. Things looked bleak.

"The NFL is a race to improve," said Harbaugh, who, in his 17th season, is the second-longest ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Like any kid growing up in Dallas, DeShon Elliott wanted to be like Cowboys Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith, at least until he switched to defense full-time once he arrived at the University of Texas.

At home, Elliott's hero was similarly predictable: his father, Arme.

Arme Elliott was a truck driver, owned a corner store...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As his team’s frantic last play from scrimmage was unfolding against the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday, Raiders coach Antonio Pierce was under the impression officials had called the play dead.

“We heard a whistle on our sideline,” Pierce said Saturday, less than 24 hours after the Raiders’ gut-wrenching 19-17 loss. ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes paced up and down the Chiefs’ sideline, yelling toward everyone yet no one in particular.

His first-half pep talk, a waste.

His body, bruised.

His frustration, public for all to see.

If you didn’t know any better — if you didn’t check the date on this column — you might have guessed I ripped the...Read more

Gone, and now forgotten, is the Miami Dolphins’ three-game winning streak against losing teams. Throw it and the accompanying swagger away with the Thanksgiving cranberries.

Here’s the way it still works against good teams for the Dolphins:

It doesn’t.

A muffed punt. An offense that can’t close. A defense that forgets how to tackle. A...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Two days and 36 years after he was born in Cincinnati, Russell Wilson returns to the city as a future Hall of Fame quarterback for only the second time in his 13-year career.

Wilson spent only two years in Cincinnati after his birth, but he remains linked to the Queen City and, to a degree, the team that he will face at 1 p.m. ...Read more

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