Throwback Thursdays: The NFL's unusual history with Christmas The NFL has dominated Thanksgiving for nearly as long as the league has been operating. It doesn’t take the same approach to Christmas.  There are very few things the NFL will change its plans for, but Christmas Day is one of them. In its 95th season, the NFL has held just 17 games on Dec. 25. Since the NFL extended the regular … [Read more...]

Manning's four picks means Patriots, not Broncos, earn top seed A trip to the Super Bowl goes through Foxborough on the AFC side. The New England Patriots earned the top seed in the AFC playoffs and home-field advantage throughout by virtue of the Denver Broncos losing to the Cincinnati Bengals, 37-28. The Bengals clinched a playoff spot with the win. A win over the Pittsburgh Steelers … [Read more...]

Philadelphia Eagles' playoff chances on life support after bad loss This was Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Mark Sanchez’s career in a nutshell. For all the good he might do, we’ll always remember the bad. Sanchez didn’t play poorly against the Washington Redskins on Saturday, and in fact he was in line to be the hero after bringing the Eagles back from a 10-point deficit to tie the game … [Read more...]

Robert Griffin III, tired of the pitfalls, gives up social media Social media was supposed to be great for athletes, a way for them to get their message directly to fans. Here’s the rub: People then have unlimited access to complain to those athletes. And with the anonymity of the Internet, they could blast away. If you want to criticize the media for being overly cynical and critical, … [Read more...]

Chargers will remain in San Diego at least through 2015 The San Diego Chargers will stay put. For another season, at least. The franchise could have opted out of its lease at Qualcomm Stadium but has decided to extend the agreement at least through the 2015 NFL season, with the hope of getting a long-term agreement on a new, publicly funded stadium. "On February 1st of every year since … [Read more...]

Andrew Hawkins wears protest T-shirt, Cleveland police aren't pleased NFL players continue to use their platform to bring awareness to social issues despite backlash from police organizations and some fans. This week, it was Cleveland wide receiver Andrew Hawkins, who wore a T-shirt reading "Justice for Tamir Rice and John Crawford III" during pregame warmups and introductions: Cleveland … [Read more...]

NFL Winners and Losers: The drop that might change the season Jordy Nelson is one of the best receivers in the NFL. You could make a decent argument he is the best. Green Bay wouldn't be 10-4 and in first place without Nelson. He's a tremendous player. But what might remain in the back of our minds for the rest of this NFL season was the catch Nelson didn’t make. It might have changed the … [Read more...]

NFL against the spread picks: The Johnny effect A strange thing happened when the Cleveland Browns turned to a rookie quarterback who has played just 18 snaps in 13 games. The betting line kept moving the Browns' way. The Cincinnati Bengals started as 1.5-point favorites at Vegas casinos like the Wynn and the MGM/Mirage properties and 1-point favorites at other spots like William Hill, … [Read more...]