National Football League

National Football League

The Giants and Raiders currently have a 37.6% and 36.2% chance, respectively, to land the coveted top pick, according to ESPN Analytics. The Giants would be comfortably in the driver's seat heading into Week 18's matchup with Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys if they lose in Las Vegas. Ditto the Raiders with the Kansas City Chiefs on the horizon for their finale.

THE MOMENT WILL forever play in WR Alex Bachman's head, serving as a reminder of the uncertainty he has dealt with while trying to live out his NFL dreams. Playing for the New York Giants in 2021, he was certain that he would be elevated from the practice squad for the team's road matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Allegretti has been seldom seen in the starting lineup since getting benched after just two games. Most fans thought the free-agent signing in 2024 would be a prime salary-cap candidate during the offseason. That might still be the case, but he did his chances of seeing out the deal a tremendous amount of good versus the Cowboys on Christmas Day.

The question being rightly asked was: Should Mike Vrabel bring him back for this game, wait another week, or even wait until the playoffs to unleash Williams on the Patriots' opponents? Williams suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 11 against the Jets. And that's never an easy injury to recover from. It can often take a minimum of multiple weeks or even longer.

The Washington Commanders faced a daunting task against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 17. They were facing a dynamic offense despite missing half of their starting defenders. On offense, they were not only down their two best linemen but also starting their third-string quarterback, Josh Johnson. Fortunately, the 10-year veteran who has been with 14 different NFL teams - taking snaps for seven of them - was up to the task.

[I learned to use] those reps to get better, not just feeling sorry or using them to get by [and] get through the day, but using them to actually get better,

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.

It sucks,

"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.