FOOTBALL NFL ARTICLES

The Jimmy Garoppolo era gets under way for real on Sunday when the San Francisco 49ers visit the Minnesota Vikings in the Week 1 opener. Garoppolo led the Niners to five straight wins to close out last season and he’s undefeated in his career as a starter, giving the faithful hope that the Niners may actually compete for something other than last place. However, this will be the first time he enters a season No. 1 on the depth chart after serving as Tom Brady’s backup, and the stakes are a littl... 

Now comes the hard part for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Finally climbing the mountain after years of struggles, the team won the AFC South and reached the conference championship game behind the NFL’s best ground game and a ferocious defense. Winning 10 games last season was easy compared to sustaining the success and doing it again. The defense remains virtually intact, which is a good thing, and Blake Bortles was given an extension during the offseason, which many feel isn’t a good thing. Bortle... 

Tom Brady is still the man, but his tenure is coming to a close. Who’s next in line? How about Deshaun Watson. The Houston Texans No. 1 pick from a year ago was having a standout rookie season until a knee injury prematurely ended it. With him went any chance the Texans had of reaching the postseason. Instead, Houston limped to a 4-12 record playing primarily with backups after injuries depleted the roster. Houston has a healthy lineup entering the season and will look to put that miserable 2017... 

The fate of the Indianapolis Colts rests on the surgically-repaired shoulder of Andrew Luck, who returns to the field in Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals after missing all of last season. And the Colts felt the brunt of his absence by sinking to 4-12, costing Chuck Pagano his job. Luck hasn’t played a regular season game since leading Indy to a victory in the 2016 finale and the roster has been overhauled since then with just a handful of players still on the team from that contest.... 

A return trip to the Super Bowl is going to be much more difficult for the Philadelphia Eagles. They won’t be sneaking up on any teams and instead will have the proverbial target on their back. They also open the season without Carson Wentz behind center. The good news for the defending champs is that they have the best quarterback situation in the NFL and will go with Nick Foles against the Atlanta Falcons in Thursday’s season opener. Foles dealt with injury issues during the preseason and stru... 

If any team needs a do-over it’s the Houston Texans after what they went through last season. No team suffered more with injuries to their biggest stars and the team fell to the basement of the AFC South with a 4-12 record after recording back-to-back division titles. Through no fault of his own, Bill O’Brien had to deal with the loss of quarterback Deshaun Watson, along with defenders J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus among others. Better health to key personnel should make Houston a threat to exc... 

Now comes the hard part for the Jacksonville Jaguars. After years of struggles, instability and losing, the Jags put it together in 2017 winning 10 games, the AFC South title and reaching the conference championship game. The recipe was simple: use the top-ranked ground game to churn out yards and let a disruptive defense wreak havoc on opposing quarterbacks. The Jags had the NFL’s best pass defense and topped the AFC and ranked second overall in run defense, total defense and points allowed.... 

Following three seasons of diminishing returns, the Indianapolis Colts parted ways with Chuck Pagano and named Josh McDaniels ... uh, wait, I mean Frank Reich as their new coach. Reich wasn’t shy about being the team’s second choice after McDaniels reneged on his agreement to take over the team. Maybe McDaniels read the writing on the wall. The Colts went 4-12 last season, their worst since 2011 when a 2-win campaign landed them the top pick that was used on Andrew Luck. Reich is a better coach ... 

The Tennessee Titans aren’t good enough to dismiss a head coach who won nine games in 2017 and led the club to its first playoff appearance in nearly a decade. But that’s exactly what they did by giving Mike Mularkey his walking papers and bringing in former New England linebacker Mike Vrabel. A three-time Super Bowl champion during his playing days, Vrabel has more championship rings than head coaching victories, but the Titans are hopeful that success on the field translates to the sidelines i... 

The Kansas City Chiefs may be one of the most well-rounded teams in the NFL heading into 2018. The question is, do they have enough talent at the position that matters most? Patrick Mahomes will take over at quarterback, and all will eyes will be on him as he attempts to lead the Chiefs back to the playoffs.... 

The Oakland Raiders have just one winning season since 2003, but in order to surpass their projected win total in 2018, they will have to add another. The oddsmakers have pegged them to be a .500 team this season and it could be hard for Oakland to get above that unless things go very well.... 

The Denver Broncos won a Super Bowl just a couple of years ago but have not been able to find a quarterback ever since, torpedoing their chances at making another strong run. They added Case Keenum in free agency and hope he is the answer to their passing game woes. ... 

The general public may look at the AFC West and see several different teams capable of claiming the division, but the oddsmakers have pinpointed a clear favorite. The Los Angeles Chargers played well down the stretch last season and are entering the 2018 campaign as the team to beat in the division.... 

Of the seven head coaches new to the NFL in 2018 only one has yet to record a victory. Mike Vrabel has the most Super Bowl rings among the bunch, winning three as a standout linebacker with the Patriots, but his Tennessee Titans have yet to secure his first victory. Vrabel and the Titans will attempt to rectify that in the Week 4 preseason finale against the Minnesota Vikings, but it won’t be easy since the Vikes are 16-4 in exhibition games under Mike Zimmer.... 

Sean McVay is rewriting the preseason coaching manual, but we’ll have to wait and see how the Los Angeles Rams perform during the regular season before the pages are accepted. The 2017 Coach of the Year elected to sit most of his offensive starters for the entire preseason, while members of the defense saw very few reps. It’s a bold move by the second-year head coach, and one that will likely catch on if the Rams contend for a Super Bowl, like many expect. The Rams close the exhibition slate in ... 

Prior to realignment in 2002, the Oakland Raiders and Seattle Seahawks were division rivals for a quarter century in the old AFC West. They had some heated battles with the Raiders coming out on top in most of them, including a meeting in the AFC Championship Game following the 1983 season. In an effort to rekindle the rivalry, the teams have met every year since 2006 in the final preseason game. It doesn’t make up for all those losses from the early years, but the Seahawks are 10-2 over that sp... 

For those old enough to remember, it was these two franchises that played in the very first Super Bowl over a half century ago. The big game was far from the spectacle it is today and it wasn’t even named the Super Bowl back then, rather it was called the AFL-NFL Championship. The Green Bay Packers were in the middle of a dynastic run under Vince Lombardi, who would later have the Super Bowl trophy named after him. The Kansas City Chiefs haven’t appeared in a Super Bowl since the league’s merged... 

Everything’s bigger in Texas, and that includes the preseason matchup between the Lone Star State’s two NFL teams. Last year’s preseason Governor’s Cup matchup was cancelled due to Hurricane Harvey, but the clubs are making up for it this season. Not only will the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans play in Week 4 of the preseason, they will also get together during the regular year with both games taking place in Houston. This will be the first meeting at NRG Stadium since 2010.... 

We’ve seen several scheduling oddities this preseason and the Los Angeles Chargers are presented with another. Not only do the Bolts get the NFC West during the regular season, the preseason slate has three games against the division. After playing the Cardinals and Seahawks in the first two exhibition games, the Chargers end the preseason with a Week 4 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. The two teams are also scheduled to play in Southern California in Week 4 of the regular season.... 

Arizona Cardinals rookie head coach Steve Wilks will find out sooner or later that winning in the NFL isn’t this easy. The Cards improved to 3-0 with their 27-3 victory over the Cowboys on Sunday night, and they’re forcing turnovers at an alarming rate. Arizona has produced 16 takeaways in three games. Four teams had less than that all of last season. It also helped that Cardale Jones, Taysom Hill and Cooper Rush were the opposing starting quarterbacks in those games. Next up is Chad Kelly and t... 

After last week’s debacle, the Buffalo Bills have more questions than answers at the most important position on the football field. The team was hoping No. 7 overall pick Josh Allen would show enough promise to possibly take the lead in the race for the starting gig, but his effort was far from what the Bills were expecting. In his first start at the professional level, Allen lost more yards on the five times he was sacked than he had throwing the football. The Bills will look for some clarity a... 

We haven’t yet seen what the New York Giants offense is capable of, and we’ll have to wait for the first regular season game to see if the G-Men have turned a corner under new coach Pat Shurmur. Saquon Barkley gave fans a glimpse by ripping off a long gain on his first carry, but he’s been sidelined with a sore hamstring. Odell Beckham will have to wait to see his first action of the year and Eli Manning had a solid outing in his final tuneup, getting a win for the Giants, who conclude the prese... 

This has been an annual preseason matchup since 2003, but with the Carolina Panthers scheduled for a return trip during the regular season don’t expect the playbook to open up when they take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Week 4 preseason finale. Not that it would have anyway with the game featuring a majority of players who won’t be on the roster once the regular season begins. The Steelers are hopeful Le’Veon Bell is around for the regular season meeting since he has yet to participate in t... 

Robert Griffin III has done all he can in an effort to make his NFL comeback complete. The former Heisman Trophy winner and No. 2 overall pick will have one last chance to convince John Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens, and that comes against the team that drafted him and where RG3’s career started and faded. Griffin is expected to get plenty of work in the Week 4 preseason finale when the Ravens host the Washington Redskins in the beltway battle.... 

Heading into the Week 4 preseason game, the quarterback situation remains unclear for both the New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles, but for different reasons. The Jets are looking for a starter between three capable candidates; the Eagles are hoping their starter is cleared to play once the regular season gets underway. Sam Darnold, the No. 3 overall pick in the draft, has done enough to earn the starting gig, but Jets coach Todd Bowles isn’t about to reveal his plans. The Eagles, meanwhile, a...