The San Francisco 49ers’ biggest question coming into the 2024 season was whether they could avoid many of the same issues that befell them in the post-Super Bowl 2020 campaign.

Luckily, the world hasn’t been stricken with a worldwide pandemic again.

But the Niners sure seem to have caught the injury bug again.

Two of the team’s most ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — The vast majority of bettors lost Sunday when six NFL underdogs won outright.

But it was a glorious day for a Caesars Sportsbook bettor who turned $3 into $10,976 after hitting a nine-team NFL money-line parlay.

The bettor correctly called all six outright upsets and threw in three favorites for good measure.

“This person’s ...Read more

Let’s see. There’s the Cleveland Browns three-time Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward. He suffered the fifth concussion of his seven-year NFL career in August.

No NFL coach ever said of him, as the Las Vegas Raiders’ Antonio Pierce did after Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s third concussion last Thursday, “I’ll be honest, I�...Read more

BALTIMORE — The Ravens blew a 23-13 fourth-quarter lead in a disastrous home loss to the Las Vegas Raiders that dropped them to 0-2.

Here are five things we learned from the game:

The Ravens concocted the perfect recipe for a shocking defeat, and their season is already in peril

Here are the ingredients to a demoralizing loss that no one on...Read more

DETROIT — This one will take a while to decipher, even longer to digest. And when the Lions finish sifting through it, they’ll probably feel worse.

They’ll kick themselves for all sorts of reasons, including the fact they literally didn’t kick themselves when they had a chance. Time and space kept running out on the Lions, and in the ...Read more

When Christian McCaffrey went down, the 49ers could take solace in the fact that they had another versatile and dynamic weapon in Deebo Samuel.

For the next two games, the 49ers will be without both as Samuel reported to work with a calf strain that coach Kyle Shanahan said would likely keep him out two weeks.

That means the 49ers will face ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Like so many mistakes made in the sports world, they seemed like reasonable ideas at the time.

In 2023, the Vikings would replace Dalvin Cook with longtime, reliable backup running back Alexander Mattison. The team would save money and, theoretically, get enough production out of the position to keep defenses honest.

The ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The number of significant Rams players who will be out for extended periods continues to grow.

Receiver Cooper Kupp suffered an ankle sprain and safety John Johnson III and offensive lineman Jonah Jackson suffered shoulder injuries during the Rams' defeat by the Arizona Cardinals and all are possible candidates to be placed on ...Read more

NEW YORK — Two weeks into the season, the Jets have already lost a key defensive member.

In a video on his X account, Jets pass rusher Jermaine Johnson confirmed his MRI revealed he tore his Achilles during Sunday’s 24-17 victory against the Titans and will likely miss the rest of the season.

“It’s official, man, MRI just came back ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Dave Canales has seen enough.

The first-year head coach of the Carolina Panthers, after an 0-2 start that saw his team be outscored a league-worst 73-13, has elected to bench starting quarterback Bryce Young ahead of his team’s Week 3 contest at Las Vegas.

Veteran quarterback Andy Dalton will start Sunday against the ...Read more

MIAMI — Tyler “Snoop” Huntley is the newest member of the Miami Dolphins.

The Dolphins will sign Huntley following Tua Tagovailoa’s latest concussion, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero first reported Monday. A Broward County native, Huntley was most recently on the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad.

Huntley earned his single Pro Bowl ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Rain and high winds pounded North Carolina early Monday with forecasters warning the weather system could grow into a tropical storm. Those weren't the only dark clouds hovering over the Chargers' downtown hotel.

Justin Herbert limped out of the stadium after a 26-3 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday and, although X-...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs will give rookie Carson Steele the first opportunity to take over Isiah Pacheco’s early-down role after the running back was injured Sunday night against the Cincinnati Bengals.

That is, if the Chiefs don’t decide to make a roster addition this week. And that might be a possibility, with NFL ...Read more

Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey is on pace to kick 763 field goals, one for every point his defense allows in the first month of the season.

These and other nauseating trends were on display Sunday as the Cowboys didn’t bother wasting our time to further raise our hopes and expectations. The Cowboys needed just two weeks of this 2024 ...Read more

HOUSTON — The Chicago Bears offense and quarterback Caleb Williams came up short on a national stage Sunday night at NRG Stadium in a 19-13 Houston Texans victory.

Unlike Week 1, when the Bears defense and special teams scored touchdowns, the offense needed to carry the load — and didn’t come through.

In a sloppy game that included 21 ...Read more

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The stat line was as spectacular as it was unjust.

Five times Sunday, Geno Smith watched teammates drop the football he slung their way and still delivered a statistical gem.

The Seahawks quarterback completed a career-high 33 passes on 44 attempts for 327 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions — but given his ...Read more

Great coaches don’t just win games; they expose the opposition in the process.

That has been Kyle Shanahan’s modus operandi for nearly two decades as an offensive play-caller in the NFL.

But on Sunday in Minneapolis, Shanahan wasn’t the one winning the X’s and O’s battle.

No, it was the Vikings’ play-callers, head coach Kevin O’...Read more