RUNNING BACKS (rankings) Studs: Ben Tate vs. OAK (Brad Pinkerton); Marshawn Lynch at CAR (Williams & Lutovsky) Sleepers: Jerick McKinnon at TB (Pinkerton); Denard Robinson vs. MIA (Williams); Darren McFadden at CLE (Lutovsky) Stumblers: Giovani Bernard vs. BAL (Pinkerton); Alfred Morris at DAL (Williams); Tre Mason at KC (Lutovsky) MORE FANTASY FOOTBALL: The ‘Most Hated’ list | Top pickups | Try DraftKings QUARTERBACKS (rankings) Studs: Tony Romo vs. WAS (Pinkerton); Russell Wilson at CAR (Williams); Nick Foles at ARI (Lutovsky)...

Backup quarterback Chad Henne was in the game. The Chiefs’ defense had stifled the Browns for most of the AFC divisional round. Kansas City led by five and just needed to keep Cleveland out of the end zone once more. But there was the snap. Henne rolled to his right and fired to Tyreek Hill, who crossed the first-down line, effectively ending the contest. The Chiefs hadn’t just gone for it — they’d thrown....

Here’s a position-by-position roundup of rumors regarding the most notable potential signings and trades: IYER: Ranking the top free agents by position Quarterbacks — Kirk Cousins, franchise-tagged by the Redskins, is expected to give up his trade request and sign to play on his one-year tender in Washington, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports. — Brock Osweiler is being traded from the Texans to the Browns, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The move is a salary dump for Houston, and essentially a cap-affordable purchase of a second-round pick in ‘18....

The Falcons announced Tuesday they have agreed to terms with the former Chiefs defensive end. He is expected to sign a two-year deal worth $10.5 million, ESPN reported, citing an unidentified source. The report noted Bailey’s contract will pay him $6 million this season, including $3.5 million guaranteed. The move comes after the team lost reserve defensive tackle Michael Bennett to a broken ankle. It was also reported that safety J....

Osweiler’s visit comes just days Andrew Luck’s shocking retirement. Jacoby Brissett, who has played in 23 games with 17 starts over three seasons, is now expected to be the team’s starting quarterback when the season opens, but the Colts are looking to add some depth. The Colts still have Phillip Walker and Chad Kelly, however, Walker hasn’t played in a regular-season game and Kelly will miss the first two games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy....

That’s according to one NFL general manager who this week told Sporting News his team chose not to sign Kaepernick due to the issue of the QB being a “distraction.” “It doesn’t have to do with the protests — if it did, then teams would be cutting the players who are standing or kneeling during the anthem,” the GM said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “The league is filled with guys who are protesting the same exact way who are on rosters....

Users of the popular video game will soon be able to wear NFL uniforms, thanks to a major partnership between Epic Games and the league. Starting Friday at 7PM ET, gamers will be able to buy NFL team uniforms from the Battle Royale Item Shop and add a squad number from 1-99. MORE: After Further Review: Saints prove Rams’ defense is far from perfect “We see the popularity of Fortnite every day at the NFL as many of our players are passionate about this game,” Brian Rolapp, chief media and business officer for the NFL, said in a statement....

Several sliding players won’t last long on the board, to the benefit of the teams picking early on Day 2. Based on what happened in the first round, teams have an improved idea of what directions to go to support that pick and stockpile across positions. Here’s projecting what might happen with many good fits for each team from No. 33 to No. 105 overall: MORE 2021 NFL DRAFT:Live grades | Winners & losers | Top 100 big board...

All that and more on this edition of NFL news and notes. Three things that matter Patrick Mahomes likely to return this season When Mahomes went down with a knee injury during the second quarter of the Chiefs’ 30-6 win over the Broncos, the NFL world held its collective breath. But a new report suggests Mahomes’ injury isn’t as serious as it was initially believed. NFL Network’s reporting the reigning NFL MVP had an MRI on Friday and it confirmed the diagnosis of a dislocated knee cap and that there’s “no significant additional damage....

Now that we have some good early season results, we’ll track them with our “Stats of the Week” below again. But what we did last week has little meaning or importance in trying to get things right this week. Week 3 definitely doesn’t lack for marquee games with quarterbacks serving as the headliners. Those levels of elite passing duels also create tougher matchups to call. Even though we’re doing well ATS, keep in mind these picks are “for entertainment purposes only....

The Ravens, Chiefs, Patriots and 49ers opened as double-digit favorites over the Jets, Broncos, Bengals and Falcons, respectively, giving us some relatively easy picks. We also feel pretty good about the Saints, who opened as touchdown-plus favorites over the Colts, and the Seahawks, who are solid road favorites over the Panthers. As usual, though, the rest of the Week 15 schedule is stuffed with toss-up games that are bound to spoil any chance of a perfect week....

Making picks and predictions for Broncos vs. Chiefs depends on what you believe in more: a stout defense or an improved offense. MORE: Week 2 NFL picks straight up | Week 2 NFL picks against the spread | Week 2 betting lines | Power rankings Peyton Manning did not throw a single touchdown in Denver’s Week 1 victory over the Ravens, but the Broncos’ defense was so overwhelming, Denver overcame the offense’s general inefectiveness....

“Going into the store and being around anyone with a mask or hood on, it really makes my heart thump to this day,” Smith said during a press conference after the team’s practice on Thursday. “It was terrifying situation.” Smith was exiting his car at a store to get juice not long after checking into a hotel near the Los Angeles International Airpot on the night of February 9 when he was surrounded by three masked men with guns....

“You as players may want to consider this when you have the chance to select your next club,” the NFLPA wrote in a statement. The grievance filed by the NFLPA against the Jaguars deals with the team’s instituting mandatory rehab and medical sessions for injured players during the offseason. According to the NFLPA statement, an arbitrator decided this team requirement violated the NFL collective bargaining agreement. “In a recent decision from a grievance filed by our union, an arbitrator affirmed that, under the CBA, clubs cannot require rehabilitation or medical appointments at team facilities during the offseason and pre-training camp period,” the statement said....

That week is finally here, and players can’t wait until Sunday (or Thursday, or Monday) to show fans what they have in store. Athletes took to social media throughout the week to give a sneak peak into their special causes. WEEK 13 PICKS: Straight up | Against the spread Some of their posts explain the simple meaning behind their causes, but if you want to know more, you can head over to NFL....

The Chiefs, Patriots, Saints and Rams punched their tickets to the divisional round before the playoffs started when they secured first-round byes during the regular season. The Colts, Chargers, Cowboys and Eagles joined them with wins in the wild-card round. Below is the updated NFL playoff seeding, including dates, times and TV info for all four divisional playoff matchups. MORE: NFL playoff schedule | Predictions NFL playoff bracket: AFC teams Kansas City Chiefs (vs....

As week 6 arrives, AccuScore has used data from the first five weeks of the 2018 season and simulated every remaining game. Updated playoff chances are below. WEEK 5 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. 

As week 7 arrives, AccuScore has used data from the first five weeks of the 2018 season and simulated every remaining game. Updated playoff chances are below. WEEK 7 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 Bills and Chiefs played one of the NFL’s all-time great games in the AFC divisional round last year, but there was a big problem: The people wanted more. The Chiefs took advantage of an exhausted Bills defense and scored a touchdown on their first overtime possession, leading many to question the fairness of the NFL’s overtime structure. Well, the league felt the same way, apparently. NFL owners voted to change the overtime rules for this year’s playoffs to make sure to satisfy everyone who had questions over the structure and format of the way overtime is played in the postseason....