As the Seattle Seahawks were celebrating their wild win over the Los Angeles Rams last week, defensive tackle Leonard Williams made sure that Rashid Shaheed knew how important of a role the return man had played. It might have been easy to overlook amid the chaos of their 16-point rally in the fourth quarter and eventual 38-37 win in overtime, but it was Shaheed's touchdown on a 58-yard punt return that kicked off their improbable comeback.
The Packers join the NFC East champion Eagles (10-5), the Bears (11-5), Seahawks (12-3), 49ers (11-4) and Rams (11-4). The Panthers (8-7) and Buccaneers (7-8) are battling for the final playoff spot in the NFC. Denver's 20-13 victory over Kansas City on Thursday night moved the Broncos (13-3) closer toward securing the AFC West and the No. 1 seed. The Patriots (12-3), Bills (11-4), Jaguars (11-4) and Chargers (11-4) also have clinched playoff spots.
PITTSBURGH -- T.J. Watt's return will be delayed at least one more week. Though the Pittsburgh Steelers' star pass rusher returned to practice this week, Watt was ruled out for the Steelers' game Sunday in Cleveland. Watt had surgery two weeks ago to repair and stabilize a partially collapsed lung suffered during a dry needling treatment at the team facility. Watt first practiced Wednesday and continued to participate in a limited capacity on Thursday and Friday.
Washington managed to keep its Week 17 contest much more competitive than anybody would have expected after it was announced that Josh Johnson would be getting the start at quarterback. The offensive supporting cast stepped up, but so did the Commanders' pass rush, sacking Dallas Cowboys signal-caller Dak Prescott six times. Three of those sacks belonged to second-year defensive tackle Johnny Newton, who had a wildly up-and-down day.
That meant they could be down a long list of starters in their next matchup with the Jets this week, or even longer, especially since three players were in concussion protocol. One of them was running back TreVeyon Henderson, who has become an integral part of their offensive success over the past month, and was seen at practice in a red non-contact jersey.
BEREA, Ohio -- On the doorstep of breaking the NFL's single-season sack record, Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett said it would be "special" to get the record-breaking takedown in Sunday's home finale against Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Garrett, who has 22 sacks this season, is a half-sack away from tying the single-season record shared by Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan and Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt, and a full sack away from breaking the single-season mark.
"If you're going to get down to the 1, you might as well get in," said tight end Dallas Goedert, his smile widening. "Because otherwise, you know how we're going to get in." That would be by way of Jalen Hurts, churning in on a wave of momentum generated by his road-grading offensive line, a healthy dose of lower-body strength and, of course, a push of the tush.
Fred has been working incredibly hard. He's been attacking it every which way and he's making really good progress. I've said this consistently: It would be well ahead of the original timeline that we were given but Fred has the ability to move the doctors, because they're going to put objective measurements out there that, If you can reach these, you can get there.' And Fred has continually done that.
Samuel joined the Commanders via trade from the San Francisco 49ers this offseason. Peters thought it was a risk worth taking, handing a fifth-round pick to his old employers for the versatile offensive weapon. That's proven to be a bargain, with the wideout displaying the consistency and durability that saw him reach All-Pro levels once upon a time. Even though those days might be long gone for Samuel now, he remains highly productive.
Shortly after Iowa State's win in the 2024 Pop-Tarts Bowl, Cyclones receiver Jaylin Noel, in a celebratory mood, went to grab the game's trophy to lug it home. But this trophy is different from any other and, as such, required Josh Price, an engineer who helped build the thing, to deliver some safety instructions. Noel wasn't interested. "He was like, 'It's a freakin' toaster, man,' and ran out of the room," Price said.
Wisner missed three games early on this season with a leg injury and finished with 597 rushing yards and four total TDs in a Texas run game that ranks No. 101 nationally. But he finished strong with another memorable performance against rival Texas A&M, rushing for 155 yards on 19 carries in a 27-17 upset of the then-undefeated No. 3 Aggies.
The Commanders didn't expect Quan Martin to fall flat. All the offseason hype was centered on the 2023 second-round pick making a monumental leap this season, potentially even entering breakout status and surging into the conversation among the best young safeties around the league. That has not gone according to plan. Martin has been way short of the required standards this season.
Dan Quinn has been navigating some severe turbulence this season. The Washington Commanders are still fighting for their head coach, but it didn't prevent another Christmas Day defeat to their most hated rival in what should hopefully be the team's last stand-alone game for some time. The Commanders had nothing but personal pride at stake in their home regular-season finale against the Dallas Cowboys at Northwest Stadium.
Nobody was expecting too much from the Washington Commanders during their Christmas Day clash against the Dallas Cowboys. But it was yet another inept defensive display that left far more questions than answers. And it was another glaring indication that general manager Adam Peters' massive $45 million gamble this offseason is not going to yield the desired results. With Pro Bowl defensive lineman Daron Payne missing the game due to injury, the Commanders needed Javon Kinlaw to step up more than ever.
As his name boomed over the in-stadium public address system and a personalized graphic flashed on the video board, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Spencer Anderson stepped out of the fog-filled tunnel, swiped one hand across his chest and then sprinted past the twin pyrotechnic towers to join his teammates. Anderson, though, isn't technically a starter -- at least not as one of the typical five starting offensive linemen.
