Meanwhile, a couple of other players appear to be extending their absence after succumbing to setbacks in their injury recovery. Three things that matter Jerry Jones takes clear stance on Ezekiel Elliott holdout And it’s probably not what Dallas fans want to hear, as the Cowboys owner hinted the team is prepared to play without their star rusher to start the season. “We want Zeke when we get to the playoffs....

Over the past decade, we’ve seen four quarterbacks win the league’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award (Robert Griffin III, Dak Prescott, Kyler Murray, and Justin Herbert). However, four RBs (Saquon Barkley, Alvin Kamara, Todd Gurley, and Eddie Lacy) and two WRs (Odell Beckham Jr. and Ja’Marr Chase) have also won the award in that span. It was a similar distribution in the 10 years prior to that, with five QBs (Ben Roethlisberger, Vince Young, Matt Ryan, Sam Bradford, and Cam Newton), three RBs (Clinton Portis, Cadillac Williams, and Adrian Peterson), and two WRs (Anquan Boldin and Percy Harvin) taking home the hardware....

There also are eight head-to-head matchups where both teams still have some level of playoff hope. None of those matchups are more-anticipated than the Monday Night Football thriller between Cincinnati and Buffalo. That is the first head-to-head meeting between MVP candidates Josh Allen and Joe Burrow. That is a fitting MNF finale, but there are some great matchups on the schedule. The winner of the Patriots-Dolphins matchup on Sunday controls their playoff destiny heading into Week 18 in the AFC....

Like the league itself, NFLPA executive George Atallah said that his union believes the decline in television ratings this season stems more from election-related curiosity siphoning viewers from games rather than a growing rejection of the product itself. WEEK 9 PICKS: Straight up | Against the spread “Most of the people we’ve spoken to say it’s not a major structural issue,” Atallah told co-host Brad Hopkins and me Saturday morning on SiriusXM NFL Radio....

Plus, outside of the rookie battle, he had to win playing time in his backfield, and that competition included a future Hall of Famer in Adrian Peterson, the Saints’ most-hyped offseason acquisition, certainly more than an intriguing but untested third-round pick like Kamara. But Kamara endured and surpassed it all, and the Saints thrived. He is now rewarded with Sporting News’ NFL Rookie of the Year award, the overwhelming choice in voting by his fellow players....

That hasn’t been the case in 2023. The only blowout happened in the first game of the postseason, when the 49ers pulled away from the Seahawks. Since then, each game has been decided by one score. The Jaguars made history against the Chargers with a 27-point comeback, the Bills and Bengals each survived against divisional foes, and the Giants stunned the Vikings in the only win by a wild-card team so far....

AccuScore has used data from the first three weeks of the 2018 season and simulated every remaining game. Updated playoff chances are below. WEEK 4 NFL PICKS:Against the spread | Straight up NFL playoff chances 2018 NFL playoff odds Biggest improvements in playoff chances: Biggest drops in playoff chances: AccuScore’s NFL playoff probabilities will be updated on a weekly basis. 

The Patriots and the Saints opened as solid home favorites over the Vikings and Titans, respectively, for the wild-card round. It’s the other two games this weekend that are troublesome when it comes to predictions. The Texans opened as three-point home favorites over the Bills, essentially making that game a toss-up in the eyes of Vegas. Likewise, the Seahawks opening as 1 1/2-point road favorites over the Eagles presents a challenging scenario, as Seattle has to go on a long road trip to face a Philadelphia team feeling good about itself....

With teams seeded No. 1-7 in both conferences, now only one team gets a bye along with home-field advantage in each conference. Another twist is the fact hosting the game doesn’t come with the same advantage with teams varying from limited to no in-person attendance. While weather will be a factor, in the end, there should be a lot more even matchups than usual, setting up one of the most exciting NFL playoffs ever....

Green Bay’s thrilling 31-30 win over Baltimore in the Sunday late-afternoon window of Week 15 had major NFL playoff picture implications across both conferences. While the Packers (11-3) improved to the NFL’s best record, the Ravens (8-6) slipped in the battle for their division and one of the three wild-card berths. Here’s looking at exactly what the Packers’ big road win and the Ravens’ latest loss mean: NFL playoff picture: How Packers’ win affects NFC seeding The Packers (11-3) are the No....

From the division leaders to the wild cards to the also-rans, here’s how all 32 teams stand after Monday night: MORE: Week 13, stats, info, highlights AFC No. 1 seed — Raiders (10-2): First place, West. Oakland stayed ahead of Kansas City in the division and also jumped New England by virtue of the strength of victory tiebreaker. There’s no letting up with a trip to Kansas City on Thursday....

As was the case in 1998, a spot in the NFC Championship Game is on the line in San Francisco on Saturday afternoon, as the 49ers take on the Vikings. Last Sunday, Minnesota defied the odds to secure a 26-20 in New Orleans over the Saints, condemning Sean Payton’s team to a premature exit for the second time in three seasons. The success over the Saints was only the Vikings’ third road win 14 playoff games dating all the way back to 1988....

The Cowboys opened their preseason with a 17-9 defeat on the road against the San Francisco 49ers, meaning they have now failed to score a touchdown in their last three preseason games—dating back to last summer. Dallas had four red zone drives but left empty-handed, which would have hardly pleased new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. Admittedly, the Cowboys were without Jason Witten, Amari Cooper, Alfred Morris, Zack Martin and Ezekiel Elliott, while Dak Prescott played just one series....

Jimmy Garoppolo went 14-of-20 for 188 yards and a touchdown as the 49ers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 27-17 on Saturday night. In the stadium where he tore his ACL in Week 3 of the 2018 regular season, the 49ers quarterback finished with a passer rating of 116.2, just a week after posting a 0.0 passer rating in the defeat against the Denver Broncos. It was a welcome improvement for Garoppolo, who is looking to return to full fitness after such a devastating injury....

Although several MVP-caliber passers have played well, there has been a fair share of big QB disappointments and surprises across the board. That’s created some shifts involving both the rising young guns and fading old reliables. Here’s the updated look at Sporting News’ current starting quarterback rankings from 1-32, with the best and worst see real change from the preseason edition: POWER RANKINGS: Packers, Jaguars jump up as 49ers, Chargers tumble for Week 4...

The Jets will face the Bills for the second time this season hoping to complete their first sweep of their AFC East foe since 2016 after winning their Week 9 match in East Rutherford. In the NFC East, the Eagles will face the Giants as New York looks to pick up its first win since Week 10 against the Texans. MORE: Updated NFL playoff picture for Week 14 The AFC North features a pair of intriguing matchups as well....

As Week 5 arrives, league-wide scoring continues to trend at a historic rate, as the totals for points scored (3,030), touchdowns (344) and touchdown passes (228) are all the highest in NFL history through the first four weeks of a season. MORE: Watch the NFL live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial) While scoring has been up, the games have remained as competitive as ever. The average margin of victory has been 9....

Only four Buckeyes made the trip to Indianapolis last year. MORE: 2016 mock draft | 10 all-time best undrafted free agents The school that came closest to that number was Notre Dame, with 10 players. UCLA and national champion Alabama followed with nine players each. An impressive 59 players invited are defensive linemen, the highest of any position. Eighteen quarterbacks were selected, along with 29 running backs and 43 receivers....

The league kept its expanded playoff field, with 14 of its 32 teams (43.8 percent) set to qualify for the latest postseason. That includes 7 each from the AFC and NFC, with only the No. 1 seeds getting byes on top of home-field advantage. Who would be in, who’s still in contention, and who should be thinking about next season? Here’s a comprehensive look: NFL POWER RANKINGS: 49ers, Chiefs, Cowboys climb; Bills, Ravens, Steelers slide for Week 15...