NFL Previews

Conversations regarding the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers are drastically different, even for a pair of teams with losing records. The Falcons have hopes for reaching the postseason, so they don’t want to miss an opportunity when they visit the Carolina Panthers for Sunday afternoon’s game in Charlotte, N.C. “It’s December football,” Falcons defensive lineman Calais Campbell said. “If you want to play in late January, you got to win these.” The Falcons (6-7) are

The Houston Texans likely will join the long list of NFL teams forging ahead with their backup quarterback when they visit the Tennessee Titans on Sunday afternoon in Nashville, Tenn. C.J. Stroud remained in concussion protocol as of Wednesday. The rookie quarterback did not return after hitting his head on the turf in the late stages of a 30-6 loss to the New York Jets last Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J. Stroud would be difficult

Zach Wilson’s short NFL career has been filled with miscues, depth chart shuffling and other lowlights amid heavy scrutiny that comes with underperforming relative to being selected No. 2 overall in the 2021 draft. But Wilson is brimming with confidence this week as he leads the New York Jets into Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins at Miami Gardens, Fla. Wilson returned to the starting role last week and had his best outing of the

Emotions boiled over for the Kansas City Chiefs after enduring one of their most frustrating losses of the season. A few days of reflection ushered the Chiefs back to the practice field, and head coach Andy Reid is determined to avoid a similar fate this Sunday when they faces the New England Patriots in Foxborough, Mass. A loser in three of the past four games and four times in six games, the Chiefs failed to

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will aim for their third victory in a row when they travel north to face the Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoon. Tampa Bay (6-7) is coming off wins over the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons. The Buccaneers have moved into a three-way tie for first place with Atlanta and the New Orleans Saints in the AFC South with four games to go. Optimism is peaking along with recent play, and

The Cleveland Browns may be banged up and placing their faith in Joe Flacco for the rest of the season, but their record speaks for itself. Flacco will guide the Browns against the visiting Chicago Bears on Sunday with a playoff berth in their sights. Cleveland (8-5) stopped a two-game losing streak last week when Flacco powered the Browns to a 31-27 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Flacco completed 26 of 45 passes for 311

A surprising playoff-implication Saturday hits Cincinnati when the Bengals host the Minnesota Vikings in a matchup of seven-win teams banking on big things from their backups. The Vikings (7-6) are coming off a win in the lowest-scoring NFL game of the season, a 3-0 victory at Las Vegas. Backup quarterback Nick Mullens replaced Josh Dobbs and led Minnesota on a 13-play, 56-yard drive that ended with a 36-yard Greg Joseph field goal with two minutes

Remember when the Green Bay Packers lost five of their first seven games to start the Jordan Love era and appeared destined for a dismal season at quarterback and overall? Green Bay does and, despite a revival that includes three consecutive wins and full footing in the NFC playoff picture, prefers not to fully forget. “As soon as you start feeling yourself and feeling like you’ve arrived, this league has a way of knocking you

Earlier this season, a December date for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns was viewed as a matchup of two of the NFL’s top young quarterbacks. Instead, a battle of backup quarterbacks is likely in Cleveland on Sunday. Last month, Cleveland starting quarterback Deshaun Watson was placed on injured reserve and was declared out for the season with a broken bone in his throwing shoulder. Joe Flacco, the fourth starter at the position for Cleveland