DENVER — Sunday is not a game. It is a meme.

The Denver Broncos are done. Sean Payton went to Jarrett. And now everyone is returning the cubic zirconia ring to the store and demanding a refund.

The painful truth was obvious Saturday night when Bo Nix fractured a bone in his right ankle, an in-stadium X-ray turning elation into devastation.

...Read more

CHICAGO — Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay let his beard grow beyond his typical five-o’clock shadow, ostensibly to keep his face warm.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford donned his neoprene undergarment. Some Rams players, reportedly, put cayenne pepper in their socks to keep the heat in their feet.

It worked.

On a snowy, windy Sunday night,...Read more

CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears had the football just past midfield in overtime. It was sudden death, season on the line, next score wins.

The Bears were painfully close to field-goal range, painfully close to their first NFC championship game appearance in 15 years.

And then Caleb Williams lofted a pass deep down the field that Los Angeles Rams...Read more

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Snow falling, the crowd belting out songs from the 1980s, the New England Patriots advancing to the AFC Championship Game.

The glory days are back in Foxborough.

Everything that was said all week about the Texans’ ferocious defense was true in Sunday’s divisional-round playoff game. But with the Patriots facing ...Read more

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — It took three quarters, but a MVP candidate who led the New England Patriots back to the playoffs arrived in time Sunday to send them to the AFC Championship Game.

Quarterback Drake Maye hit a 32-yard touchdown pass to Kayshon Boutte in the fourth quarter for the final score in a 28-16 divisional-round win over the Houston...Read more

SEATTLE — If not for the sold-out stadium and national broadcast, you would have thought that was a scout-team offense lining up against the starters.

If not for their results being logged for the whole world to see, you'd have thought the only way San Francisco made the playoffs was because of its defensive prowess.

But the 49ers (13-6) ...Read more

BALTIMORE — This offseason is shaping up to be a new test for Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta.

For the first time in his tenure, DeCosta will be tasked with retooling a roster alongside a head coach not named John Harbaugh.

Is the team’s top football chief ready for the challenge?

On Tuesday, owner Steve Bisciotti offered DeCosta a ...Read more

DENVER — Nix man up.

If there’s a template for Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham next week in the AFC championship, he can follow Marvin Mims Jr.’s footsteps from Saturday. Better than the Bills’ secondary did, at any rate.

“Just (given) the moment, and with Troy (Franklin) and Pat (Bryant) being out, somebody’s just got to step ...Read more

DENVER — Super Bo or bust. Just went boom.

Dream, deferred. Rings on layaway.

An awkward silence fell over the media room Saturday night as Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton returned for a second press conference just minutes after his first. Somehow, the Broncos’ biggest win in a decade became hollow as Payton announced that Bo Nix broke a...Read more

SEATTLE — A second consecutive game against the 49ers repeated itself in result only.

Little else about how the Seahawks won this game — a stunningly easy 41-6 win over the 49ers in a divisional playoff game at Lumen Field — compared to their last meeting two weeks, a slog of a 13-3 win. That wasn’t decided until the final minutes and ...Read more

DENVER — The Broncos punched a ticket to the AFC championship game and then took a major gut punch.

Quarterback Bo Nix fractured a bone in his right ankle on the second-to-last play of overtime and his season is over, head coach Sean Payton said.

Nix threw for 279 yards and three touchdowns in a dramatic, 33-30 win over Buffalo in the ...Read more

DENVER — The Broncos punched a ticket to the AFC championship game and then took a major gut punch.

Quarterback Bo Nix fractured his right ankle on the second-to-last play of overtime and his season is over, head coach Sean Payton said.

Payton did his normal post-game news conference but then came back to address reporters and deliver the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Sean McVay, taking a cue from quarterback Matthew Stafford, will don an upper-body neoprene undergarment. Perhaps a heated vest. And his gelled hair spike will be covered with a beanie.

The Rams' coach does not need any weather-related distractions on the field or on the sideline when his team plays the Chicago Bears on Sunday ...Read more

CHICAGO — When the Chicago Bears were formulating how to rebuild the offensive line early in the offseason, a process that began with trades for guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson and the addition of center Drew Dalman in free agency, questions loomed at left tackle.

Who was going to protect Caleb Williams’ blind side?

The plan, as it was...Read more

DENVER — Initial thoughts from the Denver Broncos’ 33-30 win over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Divisional Round at Empower Field:

— Mile High Miracle: Mims the word. And the winner. With Denver’s hearts in its collective throats, or what’s left of those throats, the Broncos advanced to the AFC Championship next week on a game-winning ...Read more

SEATTLE — Sam Darnold has yet to be seen on the field during warmups for the Seattle Seahawks, but he is among the team’s active players for Saturday’s NFC Divisional Round playoff game against the 49ers.

The six inactive players are quarterback Jalen Milroe, offensive linemen Josh Jones, Mason Richman and Bryce Cabeldue, rush end Jared ...Read more

CHICAGO — When Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson faces off against Sean McVay’s Los Angeles Rams in Sunday’s NFC divisional-round playoff game at Soldier Field, at least one legendary offensive mind will be digesting the chess match of X’s and O’s from home.

“Oh, yeah, sure, I’ll watch it,” Tom Moore told the Chicago Tribune.

The...Read more

NEW YORK — This was supposed to be a triumphant moment for the Giants.

And it still will be, to an extent, now that John Harbaugh has signed on the dotted line. The two sides finally made it official mid-afternoon Saturday after a tense 48 hours of back-and-forth negotiation.

But the confirmed “power struggle,” as a source called it, ...Read more

Oregon’s lopsided loss to Indiana in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl may have produced a silver lining for the Ducks.

Several veteran players who were likely first or second round picks are returning for the 2026 season, including quarterback Dante Moore, defensive tackle A’Mauri Washington, edge rushers Matayo Uiagalelei and Teitum Tuioti, and ...Read more