National Football League

National Football League

Right before the deeply embarrassing season finale in 2023, where the Falcons were blown out by the New Orleans Saints to seal up a third consecutive 7-10 season, I wrote that Arthur Blank should have already known Arthur Smith's fate. To me, that meant that if Blank was going to keep Smith based on a body of work that spanned 50 games at that point,

Monken believes a season filled with a handful of injuries has been difficult for Jackson, a two-time MVP who is known as one of the best dual threat quarterbacks in league history. "I'm just telling you, for a guy that loves to play football and loves to be out there with his teammates, it's been hard," Monken said. "It's been a struggle, because like any player, to be able to shine, you want to feel your best, especially with lower body injuries."

Upon his retreat from Moscow, Napoleon reportedly quipped of his army's harrowing defeat that the margin between "the ridiculous and the sublime was but a step." He could just as easily have been talking about college football. Fall Saturdays offer a wealth of the sublime -- dramatic games, brilliant plays, awe-inspiring athleticism. But what truly sets college football apart, is that after all the on-field heroics, the sport slips so easily into pure chaos.

Bowl season is like betting a game of musical chairs where the music stops at kickoff. Lines are flying, rosters are leaking, coaches are packing boxes and seven-point swings show up before you've finished your coffee. Chasing steam is how a good process turns into bad bets. If you don't get the best of the number, let it go. There are more bowls, a playoff, the NFL and entire new seasons waiting. Discipline beats FOMO every time.

If the Patriots' Week 16 game had gone far differently than what it inevitably became, which was a win, the conversation on Monday would be all about a head-scratching decision that immediately doomed their chances of leaving Baltimore the victors. Fortunately, that didn't come back to haunt them, and a fourth-quarter comeback led by Drake Maye allowed them to tie the Broncos for the best record in the league and maintain their one-game edge over the Bills for the AFC East.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Six San Francisco 49ers players were selected for the Pro Bowl Games. The same number of players were selected from the Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, and Seattle Seahawks. MORE: Brock Purdy has 5 touchdowns passes as 49ers improve to 11-4 Six 49ers Selected San Francisco's Kyle Juszczyk is heading to his 10th Pro Bowl, the most ever by a fullback. Niners left tackle Trent Williams is the fourth offensive lineman selected to 12 Pro Bowls since 1970, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers Bruce Matthews (14), Randall McDaniel (12) and Will Shields (12).

The decision means that Watson, who tore his right Achilles tendon in October 2024 and then underwent a second surgery in January after retearing it, will not play in the 2025 season. The deadline to activate Watson from PUP was Tuesday, when the practice window closed. During the last three weeks, Watson has conducted individual drills and run the scout team offense. He spent the first three months of the season on the PUP list, and the Browns opened his practice window on Dec. 3.

Nico Iamaleava will remain with UCLA in 2026, he announced Monday, with the school also announcing that the quarterback is "forgoing the 2026 NFL draft." The redshirt sophomore transferred to UCLA from Tennessee prior to the 2025 season, in which the Bruins finished just 3-9 and coach DeShaun Foster was fired after an 0-3 start. UCLA has since hired James Madison coach Bob Chesney, who guided the Dukes to the College Football Playoff, losing 51-34 at Oregon on Saturday.

Nico Iamaleava has agreed to return to UCLA for next season, giving the Bruins a top-level quarterback as part of their new coach's bid for a quick turnaround from a 3-9 season under his predecessor and an interim coach. Iamaleava announced his intentions on Instagram, posting a highlight video alongside a caption reading, "NO PLACE LIKE HOME. Back with my brothers. Same vision. Same goals. Same grind. Locked in. Time to work!"

"Each year has its own troubles. Each year has its own highs, lows, ebbs and flows and everything within it. The importance is controlling what you can ... I'm going to do my damnedest, controlling what I can and as you get older, I think having more input, having more say so and being asked more questions from the front office."

Notre Dame is running away from its historic football rivalry against USC all because it wouldn't accept a schedule change. USC coach Lincoln Riley isn't the reason why the Trojans won't be playing Notre Dame for the foreseeable future. USC shouldn't have to play a tough nonconference game against Notre Dame in the middle of their season when all other Big Ten teams are spared a similar contest.

I first saw the older Kelce at the team's victory parade in 2018, after I split a $93 cab at 4 a.m. from New Jersey to Philadelphia with three of my friends to watch the Eagles celebrate their first-ever Super Bowl win. We waited for hours in front of the city's Art Museum before he appeared dressed as a mummer and shouted into the microphone,

Dec 22, 2025, 06:51 AM ET Week 16 brought some clarity to the NFL playoff picture, but there's still work to be done for teams to get in and for others to improve seeding. Things get underway in Week 17 with a Christmas Day tripleheader, as the Dallas Cowboys (6-8-1) visit the Washington Commanders (4-11), followed by the Detroit Lions (8-7) taking on the Minnesota Vikings (7-8) and wrapping up with the Kansas City Chiefs (6-9) hosting the Denver Broncos (12-3).

That's pass interference. That's obvious pass interference, Cris. Not a hard question at all.

"I don't like the drive at all," Harbaugh said. "Looking back, would I rather have had Derrick starting the drive? Yes. But Derrick was kind of ready for Keaton to start that drive. And then he was planning on coming in next. So, they were working that rotation."