the-nfl Page 48 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

For once, the NFL being America’s most popular sport worked to the NBA’s advantage
The officiating crew from that Saturday night Los Angeles Lakers-Boston Celtics matchup was let off the hook by the NFL playoffs. Chris Jones disrupted the Cincinnati Bengals far more than any mistakes from the officials on Sunday night, but any added difficulty is always burdensome when dealing wit...

NFC Championship: Once again it comes down to the QB position for Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers
What was built up to be a mega clash between the two toughest teams in the NFC turned into a dud before halftime. The 49ers couldn’t make it out of the first quarter against the Eagles before Brock Purdy left the game with an elbow injury. Josh Johnson filled in to finish the first half before going...

The Chiefs could lose by 40 — that still won’t make Joe Burrow better than Patrick Mahomes
We can enjoy Bengals’ QB Joe Burrow and the cool factor that he has brought to the Cincinnati without getting carried away. Burrow is an outstanding NFL quarterback, but in no way is he better than the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes....

Is Eric Bieniemy being held to an unrealistic standard?
Eric Bieniemy’s circuitous route to an NFL head coaching throne has taken him through at least 16 interviews, and the beat goes on. The coaching game of musical chairs is nearing its conclusion once again, and Bieniemy’s only coaching interview during this cycle has been with the Indianapolis Colts....

Tua Tagovailoa is too close to stop now, right?
The people closest to Tua Tagovailoa might say they support him publicly, but there has to be some part of them that wants to scream, “Intervention! Intervention! Intervention!” The parents of the Miami Dolphins quarterback, Galu and Diane, both said their son “comes back,” and I can’t imagine them ...

Bettors believe Brock Purdy's feel-good story ends in Philly
No rookie quarterback has ever reached the Super Bowl. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is one win away from making history, and he’d do so as a seventh-round rookie most people paid no mind to on the final day of the draft. Still, despite the remarkable story, bettors seem to think histo...

NFL QB candidates for the Daniel Jones ‘Don’t give up on me just yet’ award
One of the biggest stories to come out of a very eventful New York Giants season was the emergence of Daniel Jones. Jones went from not having his option picked up to being nicknamed “Vanilla Vick” and the team most likely franchise tagging him. There are two narratives to come of this development. ...
![Everything we know, right now, about Patrick Mahomes' ankle [Updated]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/8af7f38c76e30ae915550ef16e20e6b4.jpg)
Everything we know, right now, about Patrick Mahomes' ankle [Updated]
It’s conference championship week. With only four teams on the NFL schedule this week — the Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, and Cincinnati Bengals — one interesting storyline can dominate the entire conversation leading up to the games. This time, it’s QB Patrick Mahome...

Another AFC championship loss and the Chiefs’ run will begin to resemble the Pistons of the 2000s
Over the last five years, the Kansas City Chiefs have been the closest thing we’ve seen to a dynasty in the NFL. Having won only one Super Bowl, the clock is ticking on their opportunity to claim the dynasty title. Playing in five consecutive AFC title games is an accomplishment but bringing home ju...

The Indianapolis Colts community rallies to be rid of Jeff Saturday
I like to say that we over here at Deadspin started the unofficial petition to prevent Jeff Saturday from becoming the next full-time head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. The backlash to Saturday getting the nod over many qualified candidates who have —get this — coached football before, was so lar...

The NFC Championship Game’s weakest links
The Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers have been the NFC’s two-headed monsters all season. For the majority of this season, they’ve been the kaijus of the conference. However, the bigger they are, the harder the fall — and one of these behemoths has to end the weekend with a gaping hole in ...

NFL Coach of the Year: The Good, the Snubbed, and the Bumbling
NFL Coach of the Year finalists are out, and we’re ranking them, plus an added bonus of a couple of snubs and coaches who need to stay as far away as possible from any awards. Some names are expected, and others might surprise you by where they land on the list. ...

Is it the coach or the team?
Determining an NFL head coach’s value is difficult as hell. Sometimes it’s easy, like with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Urban Meyer, or the New York Giants and Brian Daboll. But most of the time, figuring out how much of a team’s success is based more on the coach or the talent on their roster is an...

Tom tantrum: Brady gives expletive-filled response to retirement question
Tom Brady has officially entered the curmudgeon stage (of life, it would seem) after an exchange on his “Let’s Go!” podcast with Jim Gray and Larry Fitzgerald. Gray asked Brady a general question, the same one every sports outlet is asking after Tom’s 23rd season in the NFL. A simple question about ...

Sports networks will invest in just about anything before women’s sports — including pickleball
In a sign that ESPN and other networks can choose to devote broadcast hours to new and emerging sports, the American sports cable channel announced that it was adding pickleball to the lineup....

No, we don't need a rule change due to Tony Pollard and Patrick Mahomes' injuries
When it comes to injuries, one of the ways in which the NBA and the NFL have similar dangers are ankle injuries. Harm to that area of the body is why the San Francisco 49ers are currently starting the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft at quarterback in the playoffs, and why Patrick Mahomes completed t...

Top 5 non-QB playmakers remaining in the NFL playoffs
We’re down to the final four teams remaining in the NFL playoffs. One of these teams will make history by winning LVII. All these teams have numerous playmakers, but like anything else, there are always a few who stand out above the rest. So, we’ll rank the top five non-QB playmakers remaining in th...

Fred Warner is the defensive quarterback of our generation
Fred Warner’s role as the San Francisco 49ers’ defensive quarterback is to exist as destructive offensive antimatter. Every type of matter in the universe has an antimatter equivalent. Once they make contact, annihilation ensues. Similar physics applies to the gridiron. Warner is a defensive particl...

The remaining four NFL playoff teams — ranked
We’re down to four and they were arguably the NFL’s four best teams all season long — the Bengals, 49ers, Eagles, and Chiefs. For all the offseason shuffling of quarterbacks and coaches, three of the four teams from last year’s conference championship weekend, with the lone exception being the team ...

Can't get over the hump: Dak and Dallas fail again
Another NFL season ends in disappointment for the Dallas Cowboys after falling to the San Francisco 49ers, 19-12, in the divisional round. Following big losses, we always want to know who gets the most blame. You surely can’t blame Dallas’ defense, as they held a hot Niners offense under 20 points. ...