Raiders' Maxx Crosby questionable with knee injury but expected to play against Broncos By MARK ANDERSON AP Sports Writer The Associated Press HENDERSON, Nev.
HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby was listed as questionable with a knee injury for Sunday's home game against Denver, but Las Vegas coach Pete Carroll said Friday he expects him to play.
Crosby has been battling a balky knee this season but has not missed any games. He was limited in practice Wednesday and held out Thursday and Friday.
Crosby has four sacks and 13 tackles for loss over his past five games.
“Maxx is going to play,” Carroll said. “I can’t believe him not playing. We really wanted to maximize the rest opportunity here. He’s planning on playing, but it still has to go down this way.”
Several Raiders are dealing with injuries this week.
Tight end Michael Mayer (ankle) and wide receivers Alex Bachman (thumb) and Dont'e Thornton Jr. (concussion) were ruled out. Linebacker Jamal Adams (knee), center/guard Jordan Meredith (ankle), guard Dylan Parham (back) and safety Jeremy Chinn (back) were questionable.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
UCLA hires Bob Chesney as football coach, aiming to revive struggling program By BETH HARRIS AP Sports Writer The Associated Press LOS ANGELES
LOS ANGELES (AP) — UCLA hired Bob Chesney from James Madison as football coach on Saturday, hoping he can turn around a program that has struggled for years, including in its first two seasons in the Big Ten.
Chesney takes over from interim coach Tim Skipper, who guided the Bruins (3-9, 3-6) after athletic director Martin Jarmond fired DeShaun Foster on Sept. 14. Foster went 5-10 after taking over the program from Chip Kelly in February 2024. Skipper was hired as coach at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on Wednesday.
Chesney becomes the 20th head coach in UCLA football history and the first sitting coach to be hired since Pepper Rodgers in 1971.
Chesney led No. 19 James Madison to a 12-1 record this season, with the Dukes making their case for a berth in the College Football Playoff after winning the Sun Belt Conference title game in his farewell on Friday. The Dukes hired Billy Napier as their new coach on Saturday, but the school said Chesney would coach the team if it is selected to the CFP. Napier was fired by Florida in mid-October.
“Bob Chesney has built programs into consistent winners at every stop in his career, and he’s ready to do it at UCLA,” Jarmond said in a statement.
Chesney, 48, will be introduced at a campus news conference on Tuesday.
He has been a head coach for 16 years, all on the East Coast, with a career record of 132-51. He comes to Westwood off two seasons at James Madison, where he was 21-5. The Dukes went 8-0 in league play. Chesney was named league coach of the year.
Prior to James Madison, Chesney spent six years at Holy Cross with a record of 44-21, including five straight Patriot League championships.
“From his detail-oriented approach to running a program, to his ability to connect, Bob impressed our search committee every step of the way,” Jarmond said. “He’s a leader, a consensus builder and a developer of young men.”
UCLA's search committee was comprised of Jarmond, UCLA alumni Casey Wasserman, Bob Myers, Eric Kendricks and Adam Peters, who is general manager of the Washington Commanders, as well as Erin Adkins, the school's executive senior associate athletic director.
At UCLA, Chesney will try to revive a program that hasn't been a factor since joining the Big Ten last year.
“Through our many conversations, it became abundantly clear to me that UCLA is willing to do what it takes to build a championship-level program,” Chesney said in a statement. “This is a program that can and will win at the highest level.”
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
Packers activate wide receiver Jayden Reed from IR before showdown with NFC North-leading Bears The Associated Press GREEN BAY, Wis.
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay wide receiver Jayden Reed has been activated from injured reserve, clearing the way for him to play for the first time in nearly three months when the Packers host the NFC North-leading Chicago Bears on Sunday.
The Packers (8-3-1) announced the activation of Reed in one of a series of moves Saturday. The Packers also claimed defensive lineman Quinton Bohanna off waivers from the Seattle Seahawks and released wide receiver Malik Heath.
Reed hasn’t played since suffering a shoulder injury in the Packers’ second game of the season, a 27-18 victory over the Washington Commanders on Sept. 11. The injury occurred as he was making a diving touchdown catch that got nullified by a penalty.
The 25-year-old Reed underwent surgeries on his shoulder and foot later that month. He had caught three passes for 45 yards and a touchdown before getting injured.
The 2023 second-round pick from Michigan State had 55 catches for 857 yards last season to lead the Packers in both categories. Reed also caught six touchdown passes and rushed for one touchdown last season.
That followed a rookie year in which Reed caught 64 passes for 793 yards and eight touchdowns while rushing 11 times for 119 yards and two more scores.
Bohanna, 26, has played 34 games and made 13 starts during an NFL career that has included stints with the Dallas Cowboys (2021-22), Detroit Lions (2023), Tennessee Titans (2023) and Seahawks (2024-25). Dallas selected him out of Kentucky in the sixth round of the 2021 draft.
His addition helps shore up Green Bay’s defensive line depth after Devonte Wyatt suffered a season-ending ankle injury in a 31-24 Thanksgiving Day victory over the Detroit Lions.
Heath, 25, had caught six passes for 86 yards this season. He had 31 receptions for 308 yards and three touchdowns in three seasons with the Packers.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Browns' Myles Garrett needs 4 sacks for the NFL single-season record. Could it happen vs. Titans? By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer The Associated Press
Myles Garrett needs four sacks in the Cleveland Browns’ final five games to set the NFL's single-season record.
Given the All-Pro pass rusher’s recent performance and this week’s opponent, there is a possibility it could happen on Sunday when the Browns host the Tennessee Titans.
“Hopefully, he gets it. But I just pray he don’t get it this week,” Titans three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons said.
Garrett has 19 sacks, and has his sights set on surpassing the mark of 22 1/2 shared by Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan and Pittsburgh’s TJ Watt.
Titans rookie quarterback Cam Ward has been sacked a league-high 48 times. He has gone down at least twice in each of his 12 games, including eight games in which he has been sacked at least four times.
Garrett has had a sack in six straight games, amassing 15 in that span and reaching 19 on the season — the most ever by a player through 12 games since sacks became an official stat in 1982, and more than three teams this season: Cincinnati (18), Carolina (18), and San Francisco (16).
“Probably the best player that there is at that position. And he’s proved that game in and game out,” Ward said about Garrett. “So we got to do our job of not letting him affect the game each and every play. Try to keep a lid on it and just got to continue to execute our plays and just try to execute up and down the field.”
The two QBs behind Ward in sacks didn’t fare well against Garrett. Las Vegas’ Geno Smith was sacked four times, as the Browns totaled 10 sacks, their second most in a game since 1982. Garrett’s team-record five-sack game was against New England’s Drake Maye.
If Garrett gets four sacks on Sunday, he would be the first player in NFL history with three games with at least four in a season. He has had at least one sack in each of the four games he faced the Titans, including 3 1/2 in 2023.
Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said a team allowing the most sacks doesn’t drastically change the game plan.
“When the focus is on, not necessarily the number of sacks that they’ve given up, and when we look at film, a lot of times you’re looking at games that you think are similar or closer to where you’re playing, so maybe you don’t even see all those things,” he said. “I’d say this, like, when our D-line creates pressure, tackles for losses, just wreaks havoc — we’re at our best, and we need those guys to do that for us, not just in the pass game, but in the run game here also.”
Ward has been pressured on 37.5% of drop-backs. The Browns are fourth in the league with a 38.9% pressure rate.
Even though the Browns (3-9) are assured of their 23rd losing season since 1999, Garrett is still trying to maintain the same focus.
“We’ve got to continue to fight to win. Whoever’s our next opponent, they’re going to get our very best and let the chips fall as they may,” he said. “I can’t worry about how the end result’s going to be. Just worry about giving it your very best every play.”
Just win
The Titans (1-11) are the NFL’s only one-win team, putting them on pace to land the No. 1 overall pick for a second straight season. They’ve lost seven straight and need a win to avoid matching the fewest wins in a full season since 1973. The idea of landing the No. 1 pick to trade back for more talent to help Ward in 2026 is not something the Titans want to entertain with five games left.
“I can tell you no one in this building is talking about the No. 1 pick, and that’s outside noise, and we try to block outside noise out,” Simmons said. “ Right now we are trying to find out how to win another game, get win number two of the season.”
Sanders set for third start
Shedeur Sanders looks for his first home win after the Browns struggled in last week’s 26-8 loss to San Francisco.
While Sanders has thrown behind the line on 24.6% of attempts, the highest for a Browns QB this season, he has four 30-plus-yard completions in two starts compared to two in the first 11 games.
Even though Sanders and Ward trained together during the draft, he doesn’t view this matchup as personal. “I’m just playing against another opponent. It’s another week. We face great quarterbacks every week. This doesn’t add anything,” Sanders said.
Helping Cam
Simmons said he knows Sanders keeps plays alive by running around. Simmons isn’t really concerned with Sanders right now because he has a bigger challenge.
“My job is to have my quarterback’s back. I think we can help Cam out,” Simmons said. “When you look at all stats on defense, we haven’t had nothing but one strip-sack all year. It’s like, how can we get Cam in better position?”
The Titans held the Jaguars to five three-and-outs last week but couldn’t force a turnover.
Tennessee has been sacking quarterbacks with three last week for its fifth such game in the past six. The Titans have 21 sacks since Week 7, tying them for the fourth most in the NFL in that span. Yet Tennessee has only 10 combined takeaways, with five interceptions and five fumbles recovered.
Keep an eye on ...
Cleveland tight ends Harold Fannin and David Njoku, who have combined for 797 receiving yards. The duo also has five touchdowns when targeted 14 times in the red zone.
Tennessee has allowed the 10th-fewest tight end yards (560) and only four touchdowns (seventh fewest).
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Commanders and Vikings have both fallen hard after last season's success By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Pro Football Writer The Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings won 14 games last season, the second most in franchise history. The Washington Commanders rode the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award winner, Jayden Daniels, all the way to the NFC championship game.
Both teams aggressively added to their roster during the offseason, too, seemingly setting themselves up for sustained success. But life comes at you fast in this league. The Vikings are on a four-game losing streak at 4-8, with a once-potent offense that has completely broken down . The Commanders have lost seven straight games to take a 3-9 record into this matchup of vast underachievers in Minnesota on Sunday.
“We want to get back on track and try to get a win this week. It’s been a while since we’ve felt that feeling,” Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin said. "I know they’re itching for a win as well, so you’ve got two hungry teams.”
During this week’s season debut of the new “Hard Knocks” docuseries, which is following all four NFC East teams, Commanders coach Dan Quinn delivered a poignant postgame locker room speech after Washington’s 27-26 overtime loss to a Denver team that has the NFL's second-best record. With a couple of expletives for emphasis, Quinn urged the Commanders to realize they'd recaptured their competitive edge in a second consecutive narrow defeat after dropping the previous four games by 21-plus points.
“We lost,” Quinn said, "but we’re not lost anymore.”
The message seemed to resonate with the players.
“We don’t question what he believes in, and we believe in him,” right guard Sam Cosmi said. “Even though we haven’t been getting the results we wanted, that’s why we keep fighting.”
Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell has had his hands full trying to guide new quarterback J.J. McCarthy, the 10th overall pick in the 2024 draft — eight spots after Daniels — who has missed 24 of a possible 30 games because of injuries.
After dropping close, winnable games at home to Baltimore and Chicago, the Vikings were blown off the field the past two weeks at Green Bay and Seattle.
“We've got to stop doing things to lose games before we get ourselves a chance to win them,” said O'Connell, whose team has by far the league's worst turnover margin at minus-15. The Commanders are third worst at minus-eight.
Even if the playoffs are an extreme long shot, important auditions will be held at several positions down the stretch for 2026 roster spots and starting jobs. The foundation O'Connell has helped build over four years will continue to undergo vital stress-testing, too, as the Vikings try to get back on track.
“It’s about trying to go 1-0 this week, and if you’ve ever understood or questioned why a cliche like that is used, we’re in a moment where it matters more so now than ever,” he said.
Bracing for boos
The Vikings are just 1-4 this season at U.S. Bank Stadium, where their exasperated fans last saw the offense produce three turnovers and six punts in a 19-17 loss to Chicago on Nov. 16 despite a late rally to briefly take the lead. Over losses at Green Bay and Seattle since then, the Vikings have been outscored 49-6 with eight more turnovers and a woeful average of 3.3 yards per play. If they didn't notice the boos against the Bears, they'll surely hear a louder expression of disdain if the offense continues to be stuck.
“Since I’ve been here, there's a certain way that, no matter what, you kind of know you should be seeing some things when you show up to watch the Vikings play, so I understand when the frustration sets in,” said O'Connell, alluding to the team's top-six rank in the NFL in passing yards in each of his first three seasons. “I understand how passionate our fans are and how much they love the Minnesota Vikings, and that is not lost on me in one moment.”
Refreshing the defense
Washington’s defense has looked much more competent and capable over the past two games since Quinn took over the play-calling on that side of the ball from defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. Part of the improvement has been strategic, with a greater reliance on zone coverage in the back end, instead of man to man. Another part of it has been a simplifying of the scheme — or “more vanilla,” as Quinn put it. The former defensive coordinator — on back-to-back Super Bowl teams with Seattle — said he missed the excitement of play-calling and the closer connection it provides him to players.
“During the game, I’m on the trip with them and riding it with them,” Quinn said, “and I want to make sure I’m giving them every chance they can to play at their best.”
Turner emerges on the edge
The Vikings have wasted several stellar defensive performances during this losing streak. One of the bright spots on that side of the ball has been edge rusher Dallas Turner, who now leads the team with 5½ sacks after forcing two fumbles at Seattle last week.
“I just feel like it’s playing fast and physical at a high level. It’s not really like a ‘he’s here’ type of thing,” said Turner, the 17th overall pick in the 2024 draft. “I’m just playing football.”
What a catch by Burks!
Treylon Burks had just one reception last week, but what a catch it was: a leaping, falling, one-handed grab for a touchdown — the hand on which he recently had finger surgery, no less – that made every list of best plays of the season. It was just the second touchdown catch in the NFL for Burks, a first-round pick by Tennessee in 2022 whose career was derailed by injuries. He signed with Washington's practice squad in October.
“It starts in practice. Just doing that type of stuff in practice, it builds confidence. It gave me the confidence to do it in the game,” Burks said. “So I just keep being the player I am for this team and trying to help us win.”
___
AP National Writer Howard Fendrich contributed from Ashburn, Va.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown active for Thursday night game and Cowboys' Jadeveon Clowney held out The Associated Press DETROIT
DETROIT (AP) — Amon-Ra St. Brown was active for the Detroit Lions against the Dallas Cowboys Thursday night.
The two-time All-Pro receiver left last week's loss to Green Bay with an ankle injury and had been listed as questionable on the injury report.
Lions offensive linemen Penei Sewell, Taylor Decker and Graham Glasgow were in the lineup after each was listed as questionable with injuries.
Cowboys edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney was inactive, a week after he had two sacks in a win over Kansas City. Dallas safety Malik Hooker was active after being listed as questionable with a back injury.
The Cowboys previously ruled out cornerback Trevon Diggs for a seventh consecutive game and left tackle Tyler Guyton for a second game in a row.
The Lions put tight end Brock Wright on injured reserve earlier in the day. On Wednesday, they determined wide receiver and punt returner Kalif Raymond would miss a second straight game and safety Kerby Joseph would extend his absence that dates to Oct. 12.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
McCarthy welcomes his latest return at QB for the Vikings, this time with a clearer mind By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Pro Football Writer The Associated Press EAGAN, Minn.
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — J.J. McCarthy has returned to the lineup for the Minnesota Vikings, refreshed after an injury absence to resume his much-delayed development with a better perspective on how to handle this most difficult job.
That sure sounds familiar.
After yet another reset, Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell has at least temporarily revised his expectation and strategy. The weekly game plan needs to include fewer plays, he decided, for the sake of the entire offense, not just the 22-year-old quarterback. The lower-body passing mechanics O'Connell and his staff have been working so exhaustively on with the struggling McCarthy can be shelved until spring.
“I want him to have a clear head and a clear mind to just go play,” O'Connell said, “but play with an understanding."
There's always a “but,” and in this case the Vikings and their NFL-worst minus-15 turnover margin need McCarthy to bring his decision-making more in line with how closely it can correlate to devastating interceptions.
“A lot of the mentality has changed for sure. I was just so focused on doing every rep perfect and making sure every little detail was crossed and checked off,” McCarthy said, later adding: “I’m definitely a natural overthinker, and it’s not against them. I need to do a better job of compartmentalizing those coaching points and realizing when it’s game time, it’s time to let it loose."
O'Connell has clearly had to make his own improvements this season, too. After winning the AP NFL Coach of the Year award in 2024 on the strength of his work toward the transformation of quarterback Sam Darnold's career, O'Connell has not enjoyed much carryover from that process when it comes to a prospect such as McCarthy at a very different stage.
“It’s not like I’m totally disregarding all the coaching points and all that, definitely not, but it’s just picking and choosing which ones you carry into gameday with and what’s going to be the most effective way of completing that play,” McCarthy said.
Given that McCarthy has missed 24 of a possible 30 games in his career because of the knee injury that cost him his rookie season, a sprained ankle earlier this season and a concussion last week, the current messaging from the coaching staff also includes an emphasis on remembering to slide after scrambling so he can better protect his body.
“Every single game kind of feels like you got kicked in the face by a donkey,” McCarthy said on Thursday after he was cleared from the concussion protocol. “That’s inevitable, the feeling of the whiplash and all that, so how can I avoid those situations where something catastrophic could happen — or just something ticky-tack like an ankle sprain that puts you out for six weeks?”
Though rookie Max Brosmer and 10-year veteran Carson Wentz have also contributed to this problem, the Vikings at 5.2% have the worst interception rate per pass attempt by any team in the NFL since 2009, per Sportradar data. Coincidentally, their 2010 team (5.1%) during Brett Favre’s final season with Tarvaris Jackson and Joe Webb as injury fill-ins has the second worst.
While a once-potent passing attack has gone dormant, star wide receiver Justin Jefferson has had to be patient with the quarterback development — in the prime of his career without a single playoff game win. But Jefferson said on Thursday his confidence in McCarthy remains high.
“It’s just all about him just going out there and doing stuff that he’s been doing all week. All week at practice the throws are there and accurate and the decision-making is there,” Jefferson said. “It’s just all about taking that into the game and playing freely, calm, and poised.”
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Lamar Jackson finally faces Aaron Rodgers, assuming their shaky health allows it By NOAH TRISTER AP Sports Writer The Associated Press BALTIMORE
BALTIMORE (AP) — Lamar Jackson and Aaron Rodgers — six MVPs between them — have remarkably never faced each other. It's finally happening this weekend.
Probably.
With these two, you can't be certain of anything at the moment.
Jackson's Baltimore Ravens host Rodgers' Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday with first place in the AFC North on the line, but although they share the division lead, these two rivals are looking pretty shaky. That's in part because of the health and performance of their star quarterbacks.
Rodgers is the NFL's career leader with a 102.4 passer rating. Jackson is second at 102.2. Neither has played like it of late. Jackson was erratic in Baltimore's loss to Cincinnati on Thanksgiving, and although the Ravens (6-6) won five in a row before that, he didn't look nearly as explosive as usual as a scrambler. Jackson missed three games with hamstring problems earlier this season, and since then, he's dealt with ankle, knee and toe issues.
It appeared all might finally be well when he took the field for practice Wednesday. The Ravens had extra rest after facing the Bengals the previous Thursday. But afterward, Jackson's normal media session was put off — a team spokesman said he was getting treatment — and he showed up as limited on the injury report because of his ankle. Then he didn't practice at all Thursday.
On Friday, Jackson was a full participant at practice and told reporters he was ready to go.
Rodgers, meanwhile, played last weekend against Buffalo with a brace on his broken left wrist. He went 10 of 21 for 117 yards — the fewest completions of Rodgers' career in a game he started and finished. The Steelers (6-6) lost, missing a chance to move a game up on Baltimore.
Rodgers didn't practice Wednesday but was a full participant Thursday.
“It’s definitely healing. I appreciate the extra day off,” he said. “You know, I love the practice, so I hate missing practice, but dealing with what I’m dealing with, it helps to get another day without any pounding on the bones in there. So, we’ll see what happens.”
Rodgers faced the Ravens in 2021 while with Green Bay, but Jackson missed that game with an injury.
Familiar foes
This is the 38th meeting between Ravens coach John Harbaugh and Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. Only George Halas and Curly Lambeau (49) have faced off more times.
This is also the latest in the season the two have met with neither team boasting a winning record. They were both 5-6 when they played in Week 13 in 2013.
Of course, as frustrating as this year has been, the winner of this game will probably feel pretty good about its playoff chances by Sunday night.
“I think you never would have envisioned 6-6 at this point with the expectations," Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith said. “But at the end of the day, if you told me, Week 14, at the beginning of the season, you’ll be tied for first place, you control your own destiny, I’m signing myself up for that every day of the week and twice on Sunday.”
Steelers' struggles against the run resurface
The last time Pittsburgh was in Baltimore, the Ravens gashed the Steelers for 299 yards rushing while breezing to victory in the first round of the 2024 playoffs.
The Steelers used a significant amount of resources in the offseason in an attempt to become better equipped to stop the run, drafting defensive linemen Derrick Harmon and Yahya Black and outside linebacker Jack Sawyer and signing Daniel Ekuale in free agency, among other moves.
The results have been mixed at best and may have hit a low point last week against Buffalo, when the Bills piled up 249 yards rushing, the most the Steelers have given up to an opponent at home in more than 50 years.
Now Jackson and Derrick Henry are looming. Pittsburgh reviewed video from the playoff loss this week. Nearly 11 months later, the sting hasn't gone away.
“I mean it still sucks,” outside linebacker Alex Highsmith said. “To finish the way we did last year ... to allow 300 rushing yards is truly unacceptable. So that’s something I think that’s fueling us for this week.”
Nagging negativity
Pittsburgh's midseason swoon may have hit its nadir in the fourth quarter against Buffalo last week, when the fans booed the playing of “Renegade," long a late-game staple designed to pump up the defense.
There were also chants for Tomlin's firing and multiple former Steelers — quarterback Ben Roethlisberger chief among them — saying it might be time for the team to move on from Tomlin after 19 seasons.
Tomlin shares the frustration of the fan base, though his players have done their best to put on ear muffs.
“I don't worry about anybody who's not in the locker room,” said longtime defensive captain Cam Heyward, the second-longest tenured player in franchise history. “It's not a diss at them. I think we've just got to worry about the guys in here and focus on the job at hand.”
Just in case
If Jackson is sidelined at any point, backup Tyler Huntley already led the Ravens to a big win over Chicago earlier this season when Baltimore was 1-5. Huntley has faced Rodgers before. He played in that 2021 game for Baltimore — a 31-30 loss to the Packers. And when he was with Miami last season, Huntley started the finale for the Dolphins. They lost 32-20 to Rodgers and the New York Jets.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Bills seek to end cycle of inconsistencies, while Bengals have renewed hope with Burrow's return By JOHN WAWROW AP Sports Writer The Associated Press ORCHARD PARK, N.Y.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Impressed as Sean McDermott was regarding Buffalo’s dominance against Pittsburgh , the Bills coach knows last weekend’s win means little if Buffalo follows it up with a dud in hosting the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
With the closing stretch of the season here and the Bills playoff aspirations hardly secure in a tightly packed AFC featuring 10 teams at .500 or better, McDermott placed an emphasis on Buffalo (8-4) breaking its two-month cycle of win-one, lose-one outcomes.
“I don’t think we can afford to be inconsistent. Not now,” McDermott said. “Not that you can ever be, don’t get me wrong, but our backs are against the wall. That’s the way it is. And that’s our mindset.”
Amid the highs and lows the Bills experienced in splitting their past eight outings, the team showed resolve in a 26-7 win at Pittsburgh. Buffalo overcame a depleted lineup by leaning into the strengths by generating a season-best 249 yards rushing. And the defense asserted itself with its most complete outing of the season in allowing a season low in points, and cornerback Christian Benford scoring the go-ahead points on a fumble return.
Now here come the Bengals, who have Joe Burrow back behind center, and plenty to play for despite their 4-8 record .
Though a wild-card berth is essentially out of the equation, the AFC North race is still up for grabs with Baltimore and Pittsburgh tied atop the division at 6-6.
There’s renewed hope in Cincinnati when factoring in Burrow’s return from a toe injury in a 32-14 win over Baltimore, and after the Bengals went 1-8 minus their starter.
The Bengals’ margin of error might be razor thin, though they’re on much better footing to mount a late-season push with the quarterback outfitted with a carbon fiber plate and custom orthotic in his left shoe .
Uncomfortable as Burrow said the fit might be, it took him one half to rediscover his rhythm in securing the win with two second-half touchdown passes.
More encouraging was the Bengals defense — ranked 30th or worst in numerous statistical categories — overcoming its season-long deficiencies by allowing a season-low 16 first downs while forcing a season-best five turnovers.
“We know what it looks like, and we know what it feels like. We know what the urgency level is,” coach Zac Taylor said. “It doesn’t really change how we operate in any way, shape, or form because we just keep going on a week-to-week basis and doing our best to find a win.”
For Burrow, the sixth-year player is looking forward rather than back, even when reminded of his first and only previous visit to Buffalo, where he oversaw a 27-10 win in the 2022 AFC divisional round of the playoffs.
“It’s one of my favorite games since I’ve been here. But it’s in the past,” he said. “We haven’t done anything in a long time against these guys. We have to go and prove it every single week.”
Dominant in December
Buffalo has a league-best 23-4 record in regular-season games played in December and beyond since 2020. And that includes last season’s finale, a 23-16 loss at New England in which the Bills rested their starters.
“It’s the best time of year to play football. It’s when the stakes are high and you got to go out there and perform,” quarterback Josh Allen said. “That’s a big part of this team of we want that pressure.”
Joe Cool, indeed
Besides the Bengals winning their past eight starts with Burrow under center, the sixth-year quarterback is 18-5, including playoffs, in games played in December and beyond. The 78.3% win rate is the fourth highest since 1970 of any QB with at least 15 starts.
Over that stretch, Burrow has the best career completion rate (71.1%), pass yards per game (296.0), and passer rating (105.4).
Burrow is trying to become the second quarterback to be 3-0 or better against Allen. The only other is Tom Brady, who was 4-0, split between New England and Tampa Bay.
Tightening up
Cincinnati's two biggest defensive weaknesses this season have been tackling and not being able to stop the run. There has been improvements in both areas over the past couple of games.
In their past three outings, the Bengals have allowed 113.7 yards rushing as compared to 166.4 in their first nine. Cincinnati has combined for 12 missed tackles in its past two games, a marked improvement compared to the combined 42 in losses to Chicago and Pittsburgh in Weeks 9 and 11.
On to Cincinnati
Steelers veteran defensive tackle Cam Heyward accused Allen of kneeing him in the stomach after a tackle on Sunday. It led to the two trading words in a helmet-to-helmet exchange, and Heyward being flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Allen sidestepped a question about the accusation on Wednesday by saying: “Listen, I got a lot of respect for Cam Heyward, but we’re on to the Bengals.”
___
AP Sports Writer Joe Reedy contributed to this report.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
The Patriots' closeness off the field has helped them build the best record in the NFL By KYLE HIGHTOWER AP Sports Writer The Associated Press FOXBOROUGH, Mass.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — If there’s an unsung reason the New England Patriots have entered their bye week with the NFL's best record following back-to-back 4-13 seasons, it may be as simple as them enjoying being around one another.
While teams around the league dole out platitudes about brotherhood, these Patriots (11-2) are remarkably close, on and off the field.
Whether it’s been quarterback Drake Maye and rookie left tackle Will Campbell sitting courtside at a Celtics game or having dinner together in Boston’s North End, the weekly dinners shared by the offensive line, or the ways coach Mike Vrabel has given attention to individual players, the bonds of this roster are noticeable.
“This is probably the tightest group of guys I’ve been around in my four years,” offensive lineman Vederian Lowe said.
Creating those connections was not a given after an offseason that saw only 27 holdovers from last season make this season’s initial 53-man roster.
At his introductory news conference in January, Vrabel said he wanted to put the players and their needs at the forefront as he began building the team’s culture.
He has backed it up at the end of every game, when he shakes hands with the opposing coach, then sprints to the tunnel to ensure he’s at the locker room door to greet each player.
Some get a handshake or a “Nice job.” Others receive a longer embrace and maybe a few words in their ear. It’s varied by design.
“I understand I’m going to have a different relationship with some players than I do others,” Vrabel said. “But I’m going to have a relationship with every single one of them.”
He’s also done smaller things that have resonated, like bringing back individual player introductions before games — something that had been absent for at least a decade in New England. He also selects weekly game captains, which come as a surprise to players. Those picked for the role often have a link with that week’s opponent.
In New England’s win over the New York Giants last week, one captain was linebacker Jahlani Tavai, who missed the team’s game at Cincinnati in Week 12 for personal reasons.
The Patriots dedicated that victory to him and made a video call to him in the locker room afterward. After the win over the Giants, Vrabel asked Tavai to break down the locker room huddle.
“Glad to have you back,” Vrabel told Tavai as teammates stood around him cheering.
Walking to the middle of the group, Tavai said, “I love the brotherhood in here and I’ll ride with any of y'all any day. I love you guys and appreciate you guys.”
Then there are players like 32-year-old wide receiver Stefon Diggs. Along with leading the Patriots in receptions (64) and receiving yards (705), he’s also embraced his role as a mentor to young receivers Kayshon Boutte (23), DeMario Douglas (25) and Kyle Williams (23).
Diggs didn’t score a touchdown over the first seven games, the longest such stretch of his career to begin a season. But he supported his fellow receivers throughout, often being the first in line to give them high-fives.
Williams said the Patriots have a culture of joy.
“It is hard not to feel it,” he said. “As soon as you walk through the building, you see we share a whole locker, so we are always just cracking jokes and uplifting everybody. It is hard to be in a bad mood when you’ve got so many joyful people around you.”
Diggs said a lot of the credit goes to Vrabel, who helped him feel welcome as a free-agent addition coming off knee surgery.
“He is one of my favorite coaches up to this point. I look forward to building off of that,” Diggs said. “It’s been a very, very fun year. ... He’s made the transition real seamless as far as helping the team band together, spending time together, getting to know each other, and appreciating him as a man.”
Diggs said the way the Patriots interact with one another is genuine.
“Guys really pulling for each other. It’s not fake out there,” he said. “You want the guys to play well, you want the guys around you to play well. Throwing those extra blocks and doing all that. I think it goes a long way. ... We all hold each other accountable.”
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL