Quinnen Williams could, if he chooses, discuss the possibility of becoming the top overall pick of April’s NFL Draft with a perfectly straight face. But that isn’t what the University of Alabama defensive lineman chooses to do.

After 14 seasons as a linebacker with the Carolina Panthers, Thomas Davis finds himself in a circumstance unlike any he has experienced in the NFL.

As far as Ed McCaffrey is concerned, the Broncos’ trade with the Ravens for Joe Flacco is consistent with the way the man running the Broncos operates.

Brady Quinn doesn’t follow Antonio Brown’s logic with his decision Tuesday to make official his demand that the Pittsburgh Steelers trade him.

The safety, who was a cornerback for most of his time with the Texans, is looking forward to a second chance to enter the open market, something that isn’t all that common.

Jim Miller believes the buzz about Kyler Murray as an NFL prospect is based too much on the offensive system he ran as a quarterback at Oklahoma and not enough on his true skills to succeed at the next level.

On the one hand, Duron Harmon knows he and his New England teammates will miss linebackers coach/defensive signal-caller Brian Flores, who was so instrumental in the defensive surge that helped the Patriots reach and win Super Bowl LIII against the Los Angeles Rams. On the other hand, Harmon is thrilled Flores now has a chance to be a head coach, with the Miami Dolphins.

Trent Brown is due to become a free agent, but the left tackle learned plenty about Tom Brady and The Patriot Way while spending the 2018 season on the Super Bowl-champion New England Patriots.

As much as anything, it was Ty Law’s ability to rise to the occasion that allowed the former NFL cornerback to finally be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

ATLANTA — It’s something every defense seeks to do in every game: get the opposing quarterback out of his comfort zone. The task became even more of a priority during Super Bowl LIII, when the New England Patriots’ D was going up against Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff.

ATLANTA — With a little more than four minutes left in Super Bowl LIII, Stephon Gilmore was fully expecting the ball to come his way.

Brian Flores, who is the presumptive new head coach of the Miami Dolphins, has a major chore in front of him in his current role as defensive signal-caller for the New England Patriots.

McDaniels has accumulated plenty of wisdom that he has tried to apply in preparation for the big game.

ATLANTA — As a rookie in the Super Bowl, it’s easy to become overwhelmed — even for a player on a team that makes a habit of reaching the big game.

ATLANTA — Marcus Peters feels he has been on an amazing ride since the Kansas City Chiefs traded him to the Los Angeles Rams last March.

Von Miller has yet to receive a detailed look at what Vic Fangio’s vision is for the Denver Broncos’ defense, but he’s pretty sure it will heavily involve getting after the quarterback.

So far, Jamal Adams’ only interaction with Adam Gase has come in the form of a text the New York Jets’ standout safety received from his new head coach.

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is happy to be in the Pro Bowl, but he wishes that he and his teammates were preparing for the Super Bowl.

The New England Patriots take on the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Sunday, Feb. 3. As always, SiriusXM is providing several foreign language options, as well as national and team-specific broadcasts in … Continued

Tyreek Hill believes having Kansas City Chiefs teammate Patrick Mahomes as his quarterback on the AFC squad elevates his chances of being recognized as the best player in the Pro Bowl.

Coach Sean Payton knew emotions were raw in the Saints’ dressing room after Sunday’s controversial loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

It’s fair to say the Senior Bowl has been good to the Seattle Seahawks.

When it came to overtime of the NFC Championship Game, it was a defensive play that made the difference in the Rams’ 26-23 victory against the Saints.

Former NFL director of officiating Dean Blandino is part of an extremely large group of observers that believes the officials blew it with their non-call in the NFC Championship Game between the Saints and Rams.

The New England Patriots won another AFC Championship Game in typical New England Patriots fashion, with Tom Brady performing last-minute heroics.

Dante Fowler Jr., remembers the Los Angeles Rams’ 45-35 loss at New Orleans on Nov. 4 for two major reasons.

Ramon Foster recognizes that the uncertain status of two of his teammates – running back Le’Veon Bell and wide receiver Antonio Brown – is the dominant topic of the Steelers’ offseason.

Regardless of how much success the New England Patriots have had, their players are human.

The Arrowhead Stadium crowd was at its full-throated best Saturday in supporting the Kansas City Chiefs during their 31-13 victory against the Indianapolis Colts.

Sean Payton took the ultimate bottom-line approach in providing motivation to his New Orleans Saints players last Monday, as they began preparing for Sunday’s divisional-round playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

When a backup quarterback becomes MVP of the Super Bowl, that makes him anything but a typical understudy at the position. For Nick Foles, however, it goes even deeper.

Kansas City Chiefs tackle Mitchell Schwartz says Patrick Mahomes is a far more disciplined pocket passer than one might assume and believes that quality is the key to the team’s offensive success.

Indianapolis Colts coach Frank Reich has ruled out safety Mike Mitchell for Saturday’s divisional-round playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Brady Quinn believes new Green Packers coach Matt LaFleur will be a good fit with Aaron Rodgers.

As a rookie tight end for the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Goedert is seeing the qualities that allowed quarterback Nick Foles to become one of the greatest stories in sports.

As far as Cowboys cornerback Byron Jones was concerned, it wasn’t a case of Dallas’ defense outsmarting the Seahawks’ offense with Xs and Os in Saturday night’s 24-22 wild-card playoff victory.

In preparing for Saturday night’s wild-card playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys, the Seattle Seahawks have certainly done a good bit of studying of the regular-season encounter between the teams in Week 3.

As former teammate of Antonio Brown, Bruce Gradkowski understands what would likely be the best way for the Steelers to address Brown’s off-field behavior, which reached a boiling point when, after a week of skipping meetings and practices, he was kept out of Sunday’s season-ending loss against the Cincinnati Bengals.

This year, the Eagles’ playoff road figures to be much tougher, as a 9-7 wild-card team that has to travel to Chicago to face the 12-4 Bears Sunday.

It was about a month ago when things were looking bleak for the Baltimore Ravens. Their starting quarterback, Joe Flacco, was out with a hip injury. Although first-round draft pick Lamar Jackson represented what the team hoped would be a long-term solution at quarterback, pushing him onto the field then carried the risk of being too much too soon for the rookie.

When the Indianapolis Colts began the season 1-5, they weren’t filled with hopelessness and despair. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

Maybe losing to the Baltimore Ravens was exactly what the Los Angeles Chargers needed as they get ready for the postseason.

The Baltimore Ravens have some recent history to overcome entering Sunday’s regular-season finale at home against the Cleveland Browns that gives them the chance to win the AFC North.

Pete Carroll couldn’t be happier. Not only are his Seattle Seahawks headed to the playoffs for the the seventh time in nine seasons, but he also received a contract extension Monday that will keep them as their coach through the 2021 season.

The expectations were modest, to say the least. After all, how much impact could running back C.J. Anderson realistically have on the Los Angeles Rams with a mere five days to prepare for Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals?

With two games left in a disappointing season, Arizona Cardinals coach Steve Wilks knows there are plenty of questions being asked about the future. One of the biggest involves Larry Fitzgerald, the Cardinals’ 35-year-old wide receiver. ‘When that time is … Continued

As happy as Kansas City Chiefs outside linebacker Dee Ford is with team and individual accomplishments, he’s equally pleased to know that standout Chiefs safety Eric Berry is back in the lineup after missing the first 14 weeks of the season with an Achilles injury.

Josh Allen has experienced the ups and downs typical of an NFL rookie quarterback. He also feels fortunate to be receiving the guidance he has gotten from Buffalo Bills first-year offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.

So far, the switch from veteran Joe Flacco to rookie Lamar Jackson as the Baltimore Ravens’ starting quarterback has gone well from the standpoint of success, with four wins in the last five games. Still, it has been, as Ravens leading receiver Willie Snead pointed out, a “big transition.”

For Chicago Bears offensive tackle Charles Leno Jr., the 24-17 victory against the Green Bay Packers was only the first of what he hoped would be two reasons to celebrate Sunday.

A week ago, the Indianapolis Colts snapped the Houston Texans’ winning streak at nine. On Sunday, they ended the Dallas Cowboys’ winning streak at five.

The Pittsburgh Steelers realized they were in no position to take anything for granted when they faced the New England Patriots Sunday at Heinz Field.

Nick Chubb realizes that it doesn’t simply happen, that there’s much more to Cleveland Browns being in the unlikely position of finding themselves in the postseason hunt after an in-season coaching change and with a rookie at quarterback than simply stepping onto the field each week.

Before the Los Angeles Chargers’ offense took the field with 2:37 left on the clock and the Kansas City Chiefs holding a 28-21 lead at Arrowhead Stadium Thursday night, Mike Williams turned to fellow receiver Travis Benjamin and made a prediction. It came true.

Myles Garrett knows that the key to the Cleveland Browns’ surprising surge into the playoff hunt is the way their defense and offense have worked so well together.

The Seattle Seahawks are on yet another second-half-of-the-season run.

Don’t tell Niners tight end George Kittle, who caught seven passes for 210 yards and a touchdown against Denver Sunday, that his team’s season has been rendered meaningless.

When thinking about scoring weapons on the Chicago Bears, Bradley Sowell isn’t the first name that likely comes to mind. That’s because he plays offensive tackle.

After being pushed to the brink in their 27-24 overtime victory Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs couldn’t help put feel a great deal of respect for the Baltimore Ravens.

Before the play, Derrick Henry had plenty of encouragement from his Tennessee Titans. The running back wasn’t thinking about a modest gain. Neither were those surrounding him.

The Arizona Cardinals are 3-9 and looking to make the best of what has been a disappointing season. No one is more determined to get the most out of their final four games than quarterback Josh Rosen.

In the aftermath of the shakeup of the Carolina Panthers’ defensive coaching staff, coach Ron Rivera has had to make some adjustments.

With 62 yards reception yards in helping the Rams beat the Lions Sunday, wide receiver Brandin Cooks became the first player in NFL history to surpass 1,000 receiving yards with three different teams.

Ex-NFL quarterback and SiriusXM NFL Radio co-host Brady Quinn thinks the Packers’ decision to fire coach Mike McCarthy was something he never would have anticipated.

The New Orleans Saints’ offense isn’t simply loaded with high-powered, explosive talent. It also beats opponents with creative scheming.

In his first season as quarterback with the Minnesota Vikings, Kirk Cousins has managed to find instant chemistry with wide receivers Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs.

Ravens linebacker C.J. Mosley has a good understanding of the challenges opposing defenses face when they go against rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Add time and practice and the result, at least in the case of the Houston Texans’ Demaryius Thomas, is the development of better chemistry between a receiver and his quarterback.

Eric Ebron doesn’t see a whole lot of magic behind the fact he has 11 touchdown receptions in his first 11 games as a member of the Indianapolis Colts this season, which is as many as he had in four seasons with the Detroit Lions.

The original plan was to ease Joey Bosa back into the Los Angeles Chargers’ lineup, limiting his appearances to third downs. That went out the window last week, when the defensive end returned from injury and wound up playing 31 snaps against the Denver Broncos.

Perhaps all that you needed to know about how the Cleveland Browns treated facing their former head coach, Hue Jackson, was this reaction from tight end David Njoku while appearing on The Sunday Drive.

Cam Jordan can’t help but marvel at what he has the pleasure of watching in each practice with the New Orleans Saints. And as a defensive end, he takes even greater pleasure in the fact the quarterback on the other side of the ball, Drew Brees, is his teammate.

According to linebacker Bobby Wagner, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll’s high-energy approach is as robust as ever, and younger players are connecting with it.

Driving and shopping during a holiday weekend can be stressful. Thankfully, SiriusXM is serving up great music, hilarious comedy, and live NFL games to help you relax while waiting in traffic jams or huge Black Friday lines.

Now that Thanksgiving is here, the weather may be getting colder, but football at all levels is starting to heat up.

On a night when seemingly every Ram was scoring touchdowns, there was one member of their offense who actually managed to separate himself from his teammates — Gerald Everett.

On Sunday night, coach Matt Nagy dialed it up: a throw from quarterback Mitchell Trubisky to wide receiver Anthony Miller.

The Atlanta Falcons can score, and, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence knew, if the Cowboys’ defense did its job, it would be up to their offensive teammates to do the rest.

The loss still stings. But it wasn’t just that the Pittsburgh Steelers came up just short in their 45-42 divisional-round playoff defeat against the Jacksonville Jaguars last January. It was the way their season abruptly ended.

So far, the Seahawks haven’t been consistent in finishing the job when they’ve had a chance for victory. But they did just that in their 27-24 victory vs. the Packers that put them in solid position for a playoff run.

The Tennessee Titans’ 41 penalties through nine games are the fewest in the NFL this season. That isn’t by accident.

Andrew Whitworth enjoyed the 11 seasons he spent with the Bengals. However, his past two seasons with the Rams have been special — and not only because of the success the team has enjoyed during that time.

It has only been two weeks, but safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix already is feeling right at home as a member of the Washington Redskins.

Bruce Gradkowski fully expects Le’Veon Bell’s holdout to continue through Tuesday’s 4pm deadline to sign a tender or forfeit playing for the rest of the season.

According to cornerback Logan Ryan, the Tennessee Titans managed to turn the tables on the Patriots en route to their 34-10 upset victory Sunday.

Rookie linebacker Leighton Vander Esch knows there’s no way to minimize how important Sunday night’s 27-20 victory over the NFC East rival Philadelphia Eagles was for the Dallas Cowboys.

As the Cardinals will see, beating the Chiefs requires an offense that holds the ball as long as possible to minimize the number of chances Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the team’s offense have to score.

It can happen easily. Five wins in a row. Six victories in the last seven games. Of course, the 6-2 Los Angeles Chargers run the risk of becoming a bit full of themselves, especially entering a game against the 1-7 Oakland Raiders.

Zach Strief doesn’t know Dez Bryant, but he does know his former team, the New Orleans Saints. Based on that, Strief, who spent 12 seasons as an offensive tackle for the Saints, believes the team’s signing of Bryant to bolster their receiving corps makes sense.

Mike Zimmer’s coaching roots are in defense, but he doesn’t believe the NFL will sustain its high-scoring ways this season.

The Dallas Cowboys didn’t appreciate it, of course. For the Tennessee Titans, however, Kevin Byard’s celebration on the star in the middle of the field at AT&T Stadium after his end-zone interception Monday night did plenty to motivate his teammates on the way to their 28-14 victory against the Cowboys.

When a defense generates 10 sacks in a game, it’s fair to assume that it saw something it could exploit in the opponent’s pass protection. But, for the Vikings’ defense vs. the Lions, that wasn’t completely true.

Nick Mullens might not have been a name most fans recognized before his eye-opening performance vs. the Raiders, but his teammates believed the former third-string QB would handle himself well in his first NFL start.

Stephen Jones provided an encouraging update on Dallas Cowboys center Travis Frederick, who was diagnosed in August with Gullain-Barre syndrome and who has been on the team’s reserve/non-football illness list since October.

‘I know he’s going to be a guy who’s going to come in and contribute Day One,” Allen said.

Former NFL quarterback Brady Quinn said he expects Texans coach Bill O’Brien to find simple, but effective ways, to allow newly acquired wide receiver Demaryius Thomas to make an impact when he goes against his former team Sunday at Denver.

Safety Mike Adams was surprised to learn that he and the rest of the Carolina Panthers won’t be facing quarterback James Winston when they take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday.

The circumstances might have been drastically different, with last January’s clash between the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings a divisional-round playoff game at U.S. Bank Stadium and Sunday night’s rematch on the same field for the eighth game of the regular season. Still, Saints players who were part of the postseason matchup had vivid memories — more like nightmares — about how it ended: with the Vikings connecting on a 61-yard, last-ditch touchdown pass on the game’s final play to win, 29-24.

Colts coach Frank Reich believes that a member of his offensive line deserving of far more attention than he has received is center Ryan Kelly.

Jason Pierre-Paul is a highly versatile defensive lineman, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take full advantage of him. From that standpoint, nothing has changed since Mark Duffner recently replaced Mike Smith as the Buccaneers’ defensive coordinator.

Opposing defenses have been giving it their best shot. So far, though, nothing has worked in their efforts to even slow down, let alone stop, the Los Angeles Rams’ high-flying offense.

If you ask Lavonte David, it was hardly a coincidence the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defense responded well to having Mark Duffner as its coordinator for the first time in last Sunday’s 26-23 overtime victory against the Cleveland Browns.

Ben Watson’s catch of a 1-yard touchdown pass from Drew Brees Sunday was vital to the New Orleans Saints’ 24-23 victory against the Baltimore Ravens. It also was part of an NFL milestone, because it was Brees’ 500th career TD throw. Watson was grateful that he was target for such an unforgettable moment.

Phillip Lindsay wound up being the main ball carrier for the Denver Broncos in their 45-10 blowout of the Arizona Cardinals Thursday night, but it doesn’t change how the running back views his role on the team.

The Atlanta Falcons have a far better red-zone offense than a year ago. That isn’t happening by accident, according to tight end Austin Hooper, who has been one of the Falcons’ most impactful pass catchers with nine receptions in each of the past two weeks.

Rookie receiver D.J. Moore lost two fumbles in the Carolina Panthers’ 23-17 defeat against the Washington Redskins Sunday. What the Panthers’ first-round draft pick gained, however, is a valuable lesson about knowing when to surrender at certain times.

Paul Allen’s life, personally and professionally, will be defined by so much that goes well beyond his owning an NFL team. Yet, during his time at the top of the Seattle Seahawks organization, Allen made an indelible mark on everyone involved with the team.

The Rams’ offense vs. the Denver Broncos was highly productive, with Todd Gurley running for 208 yards and two touchdowns, and quarterback Jared Goff throwing for 201 yards — 109 of them on seven catches by Robert Woods.

In Sunday’s 40-7 rout of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Cole Beasley demonstrated just how effective Cowboy pass-catchers could be with his nine receptions for 101 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

“I hope the fans show out because I feel like the fans are doing a really good job and we feed off their energy,” Bates told Alex Marvez and Gil Brandt on Late Hits.

The Tennessee Titans’ defensive game plan for Sunday’s clash with the Baltimore Ravens isn’t complicated. At least, not as far as Titans tackle Jurrell Casey is concerned.

The Arizona Cardinals wish their record was much better than 1-4, but they must be pleased with the results of their offseason search for a No. 2 wide receiver behind Larry Fitzgerald. The Cardinals made Christian Kirk, a former Texas A&M standout, their second-round draft pick to fill that role and his performance so far has been impressive.

Former Chargers center Nick Hardwick saw Alex Spanos, the team’s late owner, as someone who approached the business of football the way he expected his players to approach the game on the field.

Ndamukong Suh is known for being a nasty presence in the middle of a defense. But the defensive tackle can’t help but often wear a smile these days as his current club, the Los Angeles Rams, is off to a 5-0 start.

Troy Brown became an early entry on the long list of current and former New England Patriots receivers to catch a touchdown pass from Tom Brady. That number reached 71 Thursday night.

Running back Todd Gurley believes his team simply has too many offensive weapons for opponents to stop.

In their comeback from serious injuries, Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt and quarterback Deshaun Watson are doing much more than simply rounding into form. Both are progressing in ways that are highly encouraging to their coach, Bill O’Brien.

The Seattle Seahawks received a major blow with the season-ending broken leg suffered by veteran safety Earl Thomas. Now, it’s time for the Seahawks to turn to younger members of their secondary to pick up the slack.

As incredible as Patrick Mahomes’ start to the 2018 season has been, there’s reason to believe it can be even better. At least, that’s what Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Justin Houston believes after watching Mahomes lead the Chiefs to a 27-23 comeback victory against the Denver Broncos Monday night.

A.J. Green and the rest of the Cincinnati Bengals’ offense kept their cool when they trailed the Atlanta Falcons by five points in the final seconds Sunday.

What has done as much as anything to help keep the Los Angeles Rams’ offensive dominance rolling is the scheme of coach Sean McVay, who has the offense doing plenty of moving before the snap and operating at a fast pace.

Three of the four teams in the NFC South are 2-1, making it the division with the most clubs with winning records. That doesn’t surprise New Orleans Saints defensive end Cam Jordan, whose team is among the clubs in the division with winning marks. He saw the NFC South as presenting every bit as much strength in 2017, with a pair of 11-5 teams (the Saints and Carolina Panthers) and a 10-6 club (the Atlanta Falcons).

The Seattle Seahawks know that they’ll be seeing rookie quarterback Josh Rosen make his first NFL start when they face the Arizona Cardinals Sunday. Beyond that, it will be a whole lot of guesswork.

Dean Blandino thinks the NFL has made it too complicated for officials to determine what is or isn’t a roughing-the-passer penalty. The league’s former head of officiating, now a rules analyst for Fox Sports, said language that was previously in place should be restored because it is what most of the 17 referees the NFL employees understand best.

Tyler Lockette had to run the route properly and make the catch and run to the end zone. And Russell Wilson had to do his part in delivering the throw on time and on target. But it also was the decision to dial up the pass that resulted in Lockette’s 52-yard touchdown to help the Seattle Seahawks beat the Dallas Cowboys, 24-13, Sunday that impressed the veteran receiver so much.

For Jason Kelce, having those familiar hands under his butt Sunday meant all was right with the world. Not that the Philadelphia Eagles center had any problem with Nick Foles as the team’s quarterback. But Carson Wentz’s return to his starting spot after suffering a torn ACL late last season was something to celebrate, along with the Eagles’ 20-16 victory against the Indianapolis Colts.

Arizona Cardinals coach Steve Wilks isn’t saying when rookie quarterback Josh Rosen will be a starter. But what Wilks will say is that Rosen is showing some good things in the work he does in practice, including getting some repetitions with the starters.

Not only does Bruce Gradkowski recognize Antonio Brown’s considerable talent, he also sees his ability to mean so much more to the team than just putting up big numbers. And that’s why Gradkowski thinks Brown should recognize that he should be the last player to not show up at the facility the Monday after a game, as Brown did this week following the Pittsburgh Steelers’ loss against the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Carolina Panthers expect an enormous challenge Sunday when they face the Cincinnati Bengals. Not only do the Bengals bring a 2-0 record into the game against the 1-1 Panthers, but they also bring an offense that has the talent and scheme to give any opposing defense fits.

What’s the reaction when a play like the one for which Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews was penalized shows up on the screen? “There’s definitely some eye-rolling that goes on, other than (from) the quarterbacks, obviously,” Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Quinn told Jim Miller and Pat Kirwan on Movin’ The Chains.

Beating the Seattle Seahawks, 24-17, at Soldier Field Monday night for their first victory of the season carried a larger impact beyond the won-loss column for the Chicago Bears. As far as wide receiver Taylor Gabriel was concerned, it was an ideal time and place to showcase the new and improved Bears under first-year coach Matt Nagy.

Dante Fowler is realistic about the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 31-20 victory against the New England Patriots Sunday. Although it was a rematch of the teams in the 2017 AFC Championship Game, the winner did not advance to the Super Bowl.

Dion Lewis knows that after the Tennessee Titans’ season-opening loss at Miami, the path to improvement only gets more difficult. That’s because the highly versatile running back and his Titans’ teammates know that they’ll be facing a solid defense when the Houston Texans visit Nashville.

Chris Thompson can’t deny being awestruck when he suddenly found himself a teammate of a childhood hero after Adrian Peterson joined the Washington Redskins. Now that they’re part of the same offensive backfield, they are using their respective skills to complement each other in an effort to help the Redskins succeed.

It isn’t only 13-plus years of experience that Ryan Fitzpatrick has going for him in his role as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ starting quarterback. It’s also the ability to deliver difference-making plays, as he did in throwing for 417 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Bucs to their stunning 48-40 victory in last Sunday’s season-opener against the New Orleans Saints.

Aaron Rodgers is touted as the hero for the Green Bay Packers’ remarkable comeback victory against the Chicago Bears Sunday night, and no one would dispute that. After leaving the field in the second quarter with a knee injury, Rodgers not only returned in the third quarter but even while clearly hobbling he still managed to lead the Packers from a 20-0 deficit to a 24-23 victory. He threw for 286 yards and three touchdowns. But it was his final scoring throw, a 75-yard connection with Randall Cobb, that decided the outcome. And Cobb’s role in the play can’t be overlooked.

Don’t get Vance Joseph wrong. He’s thrilled that his Denver Broncos opened the season with a victory. It’s just that the Broncos’ coach knew, based on what the stat sheet reflected, his team could have done better than just get by the Seattle Seahawks, 27-24.

On some level, the Cleveland Browns had to view Sunday’s 21-21 season-opening tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a plus. After all, the Browns were 0-16 last year and 1-15 in 2016. Avoiding a loss out of the gate had to be viewed as progress, right?

The biggest disappointment for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season was their 5-11 finish. On top of that, however, there was the frustration players such as wide receiver DeSean Jackson felt over the inability to consistently make the game-changing big plays he and the rest of the Bucs’ passing game were capable of producing.

The Philadelphia Eagles successfully began the defense of their Super Bowl championship in large measure because their defense came up big in Thursday night’s 18-12 victory against the Atlanta Falcons.

Christian Kirksey has started 32 consecutive games at linebacker for the Cleveland Browns. The team only won one of them. So why is Kirksey so enthusiastic about the 2018 season, which the Browns open Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers?

After signing a contract extension with the Detroit Lions that makes him one of the highest-paid safeties in the NFL, Quandre Diggs wanted to make one thing clear. He will not be seeing himself any differently than he did before signing the three-year deal reportedly worth up to $20.4 million.

Now that he’s 41 years old, Tom Brady is seen as entering overtime of a career in which he has established himself as one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. Some people thought he should, and even expected he would, have walked away after another MVP and Super Bowl season last year.

Wesley Woodyard is entering his 11th season as an NFL linebacker, his fifth with the Tennessee Titans. For Woodyard, however, the preparation has felt noticeably different.

Former NFL General Manager Mark Dominik wasn’t the least bit surprised by the monster, six-year, $135-million contract the Los Angeles Rams gave defensive tackle Aaron Donald Friday. While co-hosting on the SiriusXM Blitz, Dominik said he saw the annual average of $22.5 million as being right what he thought it would be.

Tyler Lockett and Paul Richardson are still friends even if they’re no longer teammates. But when they were teammates for the Seattle Seahawks, the receivers had an understanding that one of them would likely remain while the other went elsewhere. In March, Richardson signed a free-agent deal with the Washington Redskins. On Wednesday, Lockett, who has doubled as a highly effective returner, signed a three-year, $31.8 million contract extension with the Seahawks.

Former offensive tackle Mark Tauscher, who was Aaron Rodgers’ teammate for the last six of his 11 seasons with the Packers (2000-2010), has seen this movie before. He was a rookie with the Packers when Rodgers’ predecessor, Brett Favre, signed a long-term deal that presumably would keep him in Green Bay forever. Then he watched him play for two other teams before retiring.

Free-agent defensive tackle Jonathan Hankins isn’t sweating the fact he remains unemployed with the start of the NFL regular season just around the corner. Hankins is confident he will wind up with a team for which he expects to be a good fit in the near future.

It won’t happen overnight. The NFL knew that from the very beginning when it put in its new rule banning the lowering of helmet before contact. Everyone involved in the game is going to face challenges dealing with it, something that has already been seen during the preseason. But Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay, chairman of the league’s Competition Committee, believes the coaching, the playing and officiating will all find their way to a level of efficiency that should make controversy surrounding the rule dissipate in time.