Five things I care about The Ravens demonstrate their complete transformation The Ravens took down the 49ers and Dolphins, two of the best operations in the league, by a combined 51 points in back-to-back weeks. They did it on the way to clinching the No. 1 seed in the AFC and vaulting their quarterback to the driver’s seat of the …

Notre Dame football is ushering in the new year riding a wave of momentum. They had a very successful early signing day, hired Mike Denbrock away from LSU, and blew out Oregon St. to close out the season. Notre Dame is trending up for 2024. With the turn of the calendar top of mind and progress for the football program …

Eric Williams NFC West Writer The stats are both representative of where the Seattle Seahawks stand with one regular-season game remaining and also embarrassing for a Pete Carroll-led defense.   Since Week 11, the Seahawks have allowed a league-worst 1,102 rushing yards and a league-high 13 rushing touchdowns.  The Pittsburgh Steelers were certainly aware of those numbers, which is why …

Getty The Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers made emphatic statements in Week 17 and locked up their conference’s respective No. 1 seeds in the process. The Ravens barely broke a sweat in a 56-19 rout of Miami, while the 49ers waxed Washington 27-10.    As recipients of the top seed, both teams will receive first-round playoff byes. Since the playoff expansion …

Michigan football is preparing to battle against the biggest name in college football — Nick Saban. For most of the roster, this is the first time they will face the Crimson Tide, but for others, there’s already a ship to right. Cornelius Johnson is one of the older players on the roster who remembers the 2020 Citrus Bowl that finished …

Who could have known exploring whether the Chicago Bears should take a quarterback at No. 1 overall or soldier forth with Justin Fields would become evergreen content?  A year after trading the No. 1 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft and the eventual rights to Bryce Young, the Bears are in a similar position with two games remaining in …

Geoff Schwartz FOX Sports Betting Analyst The Buffalo Bills will enter Week 18 with a chance to be the No. 2 seed in the AFC or miss the playoffs altogether. The final week of the NFL season is nearly upon us after wrapping up the penultimate week of the regular season, and a ton of playoff implications still hang in …

DENVER (AP) — Khalil Mack desperately wanted a win for the Los Angeles Chargers. He had to instead settle for a milestone sack in a 16-9 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday. Mack got the 100th sack of his 10-year career with a signature bull rush that pushed guard Ben Powers right into Jarrett Stidham, toppling the Broncos quarterback …

Dec. 31—When we checked in with Henry Nuce in August, he was talking about donating stem cells to a cancer patient and accepting that his junior season with the Montana Grizzlies would have to wait. A torn pectoral muscle early in training camp required surgery, so it didn’t figure that Nuce, a 6-foot-4, 245-pound Glacier High product, would see the …

USATSI The biggest showdown of Week 17 came in Baltimore where the Ravens hosted the Dolphins. Although the game was expected to be close, it turned into a blowout. There wasn’t much drama heading into the fourth quarter with the Ravens leading 35-13.  At that point, the only drama revolved around whether the game was going to be a scorigami, …

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – DECEMBER 31: Jaren Hall #16 of the Minnesota Vikings looks to pass during the first quarter against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium on December 31, 2023 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) Jaren Hall is out. After digging a 23-3 halftime hole to the Green Bay Packers, the Minnesota Vikings benched the …

Can Iowa put the pieces together for an offensive showing where it produces enough to secure an 11th win this season in its Cheez-It Citrus Bowl matchup versus the Tennessee Volunteers? That seems to be the biggest question in this bowl matchup, even in a game that features a first-time starting quarterback in Tennessee’s Nico Iamaleava. Iowa head football coach …

The Los Angeles Rams inched closer to clinching a postseason berth in a game they didn’t look like much of a playoff team — and were somewhat lucky to win. Kyren Williams ran for 87 yards and a career-best three touchdowns and the Rams won their third straight and sixth in seven games with a much harder-than-expected 26-25 victory over …

USATSI Joe Burrow may not be playing in Week 17, but the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs are still rivals. They’ve seen plenty of each other over the past few seasons, and even faced off in each of the last two AFC Championships. Sunday marked their fifth meeting since 2022, and things got heated in the first half. The …

Alabama found its way into the College Football Playoff as the No. 4 team in the nation and will take on top-ranked Michigan in the Rose Bowl semifinal game, the winner moves on to the national championship. Before the big game, players got to have some fun with ESPN’s Taylor Davis and play some “Nick Saban Trivia.” They were asked …