That also opened the door for the most impressive NFC power to take the top spot and one AFC threat to also get closer to flexing on the rest of the league. On the surprise side, the Browns and Raiders asserted themselves as legitimate AFC playoff contenders with big wins, too. Unfortunately, on the downside, the injury-riddled Super Bowl 54 runner-up 49ers took a hit, right below Tom Brady’s Buccaneers....

Pittsburgh went 9-6 last season but missed the playoffs for the first time since 2013 as the off-field drama surrounding Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown threatened to unravel the franchise from the inside. The duo left Pittsburgh in the offseason, with Bell moving to the New York Jets and Brown taking his off-field shenanigans to the Oakland Raiders. Without them, the Steelers might have lost two Pro Bowl talents—but appear to have gained a lot in team spirit....

Below you will find betting information and analysis on each game. The lines are the Las Vegas consensus as of Saturday afternoon. Visit our odds page for current point spreads and totals. Packers at Steelers, 1 p.m. ET (NFL Network) Line: Steelers -2, Total: 41 The Steelers have started their preseason with losses to the Vikings and Jaguars, but are favored over the Packers in their first game at Heinz Field this year....

Including that Bears-Ravens game, only eight games on the preseason schedule would be shown on national TV, with NBC, ESPN, FOX and CBS each getting two games. The Jets, Ravens, Browns, Bills and Cardinals — the five teams that selected quarterbacks in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft — are featured in some of those national TV games. MORE: Full NFL schedule, including preseason In addition to the national TV preseason schedule, NFL Network was set to carry 15 games live throughout the four weeks....

NFL preseason: Week 2 schedule for Saturday, Aug. 16 (All times ET) Green Bay Packers at St. Louis Rams (4 p.m.) The Rams put their embarrassment of D-line riches on display as a top MVP candidate makes his first appearance. Baltimore Ravens at Dallas Cowboys (7 p.m.) The Cowboys will go without their two major investments at DB in hopes of rebounding from a discouraging start, while Gary Kubiak continues to implement his scheme for Baltimore....

First introduced in 2017, the Skills Showdown is the NFL’s answer to the NBA’s All-Star Weekend. While it may not have the pizzaz and tradition of the Slam Dunk contest and Three-Point Contest, it pits together 20 of the best players in the league facing a series of challenges designed at highlighting their different skills. Four of the top quarterbacks in the league—Lamar Jackson, Deshaun Watson, Russell Wilson and Kirk Cousins—will be in action, along with Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb and his Minnesota Vikings counterpart Dalvin Cook....

The NFL Pro Bowl Skills Showdown is set for its fifth airing on Thursday with some of the biggest stars in the game set to show off their passing accuracy, speed, catching ability and dodgeball skills. This showdown will give NFL fans the chance to watch Tyreek Hill race in a 40-yard sprint, see quarterbacks like Russell Wilson and Mac Jones try to fit in accurate passes and see several Pro Bowl NFL players take on one another in a game of dodgeball....

It’s hard for NFL franchises to find franchise passers. Regardless of how offense-ified the NFL is now, the window for teams to find out if they have Their Guy are smaller than ever. Just look at Sam Darnold: Taken No. 3 overall in 2018, Darnold lasted three years with the Jets before he was traded, then stunk up the joint in Carolina in Year 4. Now, Baker Mayfield, No. 1 overall pick that same year by the Browns, is QB1 on Carolina’s depth chart....

Anonymous sources close to the relocation process tell Pro Football Talk there’s a 25 to 30 percent chance the owners will opt for a brief delay to allow additional details to be presented before finalizing a relocation plan to Los Angeles. PHOTOS: Stunning LA stadium renderings | MORE: Relocation files submitted The delay would be short, a matter of just a few weeks at most to make sure the proposal details are correct before the owners reconvene to formally adopt a plan, should it receive at least 24 of 32 votes, according to the report....

First, the Titans play the Redskins at home Saturday. The Texans, still hoping to clinch the AFC South, will be watching carefully. As will the AFC wild-card hopeful Ravens, Colts, Dolphins and Browns. And speaking of the Ravens, they also play Saturday, at night in Los Angeles against the red-hot Chargers. While those games will set the stage for what should be a wild week in the AFC playoff picture, two interconference games Sunday — Steelers at Saints and Chiefs at Seahawks — will impact the standings in a big way to close the week....

No more preseason matchups where the starters are all resting. Nope, Aaron Rodgers will take the turf at Soldier Field on Thursday, leading the Packers and the rest of the NFL into the start of the 2019 season schedule. And there will be so much more to watch on the Week 1 schedule. Ezekiel Elliott has moved past his holdout for a new contract and will square off against another star running back in Saquon Barkley when the Cowboys welcome the Giants to Jerry World on Sunday....

The NFL always waits until the latest possible moment to announce the schedule for the last week of the year as it looks for the most interesting matchups on the slate. Every year, there are games with massive playoff implications that decide not just seeding, but who the final teams in the dance will be. That often has meant that games get added to the schedule not just for Sunday, but also for Saturday as the NFL looks to put high-profile games under the bright lights of prime time to capitalize on the remaining intrigue....

Two other teams can punch their tickets to the playoffs this week. The Rams can clinch the NFC West with a win or a loss by the Seahawks, and the Chiefs will need a few things to go their way, starting with a victory of their own. They will also need — keep up here — a Dolphins loss or tie, Colts loss, Texans loss and Titans loss or tie, OR a loss by the Dolphins, Colts and Texans and either a Ravens and Bengals loss or a Ravens and Chargers loss....

Rodgers passed for 429 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions, adding a rushing touchdown as the Green Bay Packers thrashed the Oakland Raiders 42-24 at home and improved to 6-1, their best start since 2015. The Packers quarterback is the fastest signal caller in NFL history to reach 350 touchdown passes—in 172 games compared to Drew Brees’ 180—and is fifth in the all-time list of quarterbacks who have thrown at least four touchdown passes in the same game....

Bridgewater was one of the few Broncos players that had a shot to stop Slay after Melvin Gordon fumbled on a fourth-and-short pile-up at the line of scrimmage. Bridgewater had an angle to potentially tackle Slay or at least slow him down en route to the end-zone. MORE: Cam Newton celebrates TD on first play back with Panthers Instead, Bridgewater made a business decision. He stopped about one stride away from Slay and refused to put his arms in the path of the defensive back....

New Orleans and Indianapolis were double-digit faves who were wiped out and lost outright. While San Francisco and Kansas City were major disappointments for their fan bases and backers. What should we be looking at this week for NFL picks? Let’s examine two hot underdog money-makers and Super Bowl team from a year that has lost its luster. MORE: Get the latest NFL odds & betting advice at Sportsbook Review...

Before we get into the Week 7 forecast, remember that if you have any questions about sports weather or how weather could impact play (and, potentially, your fantasy, DFS, and gambling decisions), don’t hesitate to reach out on Twitter @KevinRothWx or check our hourly NFL weather forecasts on RotoGrinders. To take your game to the next level, subscribe to RotoGrinders’ exclusive WeatherEdge tool and see how different weather conditions have impacted historical scoring....

In fact, a near-record number have been decided by seven points or fewer. The 56 one-score games through seven weeks is second only to 57 to start the 2012 season. MORE: Week 8 NFL Power Rankings Thursday’s game (8:25 p.m. ET, NFL Network) between the Jaguars (2-4) and Titans (3-4) to kick off Week 8 may not be a marquee matchup, but history shows it should be competitive. Their past six meetings have been decided by one score....

The NFL Players Association appears to think it’s a possibility, distributing to players an ominous “work stoppage ready” plan that urgies them to be prepared for “loss of income, loss of health insurance, increased training costs and loss of camaraderie and structure.” The worksheet suggested players set aside half of each paycheck and get on their parents’ insurance if possible, adding that embarking on new business ventures wasn’t advised as players should instead focus on eliminating all non-mortgage debt by the end of 2020....