8+ hour, 12+ min ago (341+ words) Before losing to Cincinnati in Week 7, the Steelers" odds to make the playoffs reached 84.7%. After Sunday's loss at Chicago, their odds are hovering at 50%, per ESPN's Football Power Index," wrote ESPN's Brooke Pryor." In her report, Pryor highlighted defensive lineman Cam Heyward's urgency, quoting the Steelers captain saying, The hourglass is going and the sand's falling through. There's not a lot of time for mistakes." Notably, the Steelers and Ravens have yet to play each other this season, setting the stage for two head-to-head matchups between the division rivals in the final leg of the season, with both games potentially being major deciders in who prevails in the AFC North. GettyThe Ravens have tied the Steelers at 6-5. After Sunday's loss, Mark Kaboly, Steelers Correspondent for The Pat McAfee Show, wrote that linebacker Nick Herbig said, We have all the talent,…...

19+ hour, 56+ min ago (260+ words) The Patriots may have already done enough to make the playoffs. That's right, it's possible that they could lose their remaining five games and would likely still make the postseason. After three straight losing seasons, the worst New England can finish is 10-7, and that's been good enough for a playoff berth in all but one instance since the NFL went to 17 games in 2021. The 2024 Seattle Seahawks have the dubious distinction of being the only team with double-digit wins that missed the playoffs since the schedule was lengthened. The 2020 campaign was the first one with seven playoff teams from each league (four division winners plus three wild cards). In that season, the Miami Dolphins were 10-6 and didn't make it. Most 10-win teams in the current era get in. But The Athletic's computer simulation projects that 10 won't be enough in 2025. It has…...

20+ hour, 25+ min ago (326+ words) November 24, 2025 / 10:00 AM EST / CBS Boston Though it wasn't always pretty on Sunday, the Patriots held on for a road win over the Cincinnati Bengals. It was New England's ninth straight victory, and has the team in great position in the AFC playoff picture following Week 12 of the NFL season. The Patriots fell behind early on Sunday, but erased a 10-point deficit and withstood a late Bengals comeback attempt to hold on for a 26-20 win. With the victory, the Patriots became the first team in the league to reach 10 wins. As of Monday, the Patriots are currently the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a record of 10-2. They moved up in the standings thanks to the Colts, who lost in overtime to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Denver Broncos, who were on their bye this week, are now sitting at No....

1+ day, 8+ hour ago (171+ words) A Patriots win, a Colts loss and a Broncos bye left New England with the best record in the AFC after 11 weeks. At 10-2, the Patriots are one of the few remaining teams not to have had a bye week yet. So there are other teams with two losses but fewer wins. Coming off a game where the Patriots saw several players leave with injuries, the extra bye that comes with the top seed could be very valuable. The Broncos (9-2), who were on their bye week, are still even with the Patriots in the loss column. The Colts fell to the Chiefs in overtime to drop to 8-3. All six of the Indianapolis" remaining games are against teams that are still in either the AFC or NFC playoff picture. The Broncos have four games left against teams competing for a playoff spot....

1+ day, 10+ hour ago (1723+ words) Don't discount another road victory and other leftover Patriots thoughts originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston One thing about the Patriots" 26-20 win in Cincinnati on Sunday is that it was kind of gross. Goal-line failures, defensive lapses, wasted timeouts, ill-timed penalties, an unfortunate run of injuries " very little of the victory was enjoyable for anyone involved with the New England side of the affair. Yet when it was over, you could look at one statistic to see just how far this team has come: 6-0. That would be the Patriots" record on the road this season. Six wins, zero losses. It doesn"t matter the quality (or lack thereof) of opponent. In the NFL, a 6-0 road record is no joke. Zero other teams this year have an unblemished record on the road. The Broncos" only two losses this year have come…...

1+ day, 12+ hour ago (976+ words) ROCHESTER " A track and field guy, through and through. That was Dick Norman, the longtime track and field head coach at Rochester Mayo High School who died on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025, at the age of 90. "What I think of most of all was his desire to make the track and field world easier for people," said his daughter, Signe Walker. "He was always thinking of new ideas. He'd always be saying, "Why didn't someone think of this before? There had to be an easier way to do this.' That started in the 1970s." Dick Norman, married to Gloria Norman, who died in 2018, and the father of three boys and a girl, was born on a farm in Granite Falls, Minn., two hours to the west of the Twin Cities. He later attended and graduated from St. Olaf College, where he played football…...

1+ day, 13+ hour ago (842+ words) Patrick Mahomes helped the Chiefs erase a 20-9 fourth-quarter deficit on Sunday. David Eulitt / Getty Images Harrison Butker made a 27-yard field goal in overtime as the Kansas City Chiefs rallied for a 23-20 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs had to rally from a 20-9 deficit in the fourth quarter to force overtime. Kansas City snapped a two-game losing streak, improving to 6-5 and giving its playoff hopes a boost in the process. According to The Athletic's playoff simulator, the Chiefs' chances of making the playoffs would have dropped to 37 percent with a loss. Instead, they now stand at 65 percent. Kansas City has not missed the postseason since 2014, appearing in five Super Bowls (winning three) during that span. Indianapolis entered Sunday having won five of its last six games but dropped to 8-3 with the…...

1+ day, 17+ hour ago (566+ words) All eyes are on the New England Patriots this weekend, as they could become the first 10-win team of the 2025 NFL season when they take on the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday (1 p.m. ET). Two of the franchise's biggest stars, former players Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman, broke down how they feel about their former team's performance so far this season and what to expect next on "FOX NFL Sunday." Gronkowski, who was just recently in attendance for the Patriots' Week 11 win over the New York Jets at home in Massachusetts last week, believes that there's something special happening with the Patriots this season. "There's a lot of energy right now in Foxborough," Gronkowski said. "It was so great to be back, and you felt that type of energy even on a Thursday night game with a short week. Are the Patriots…...

2+ day, 16+ hour ago (1283+ words) The Patriots are in the AFC playoff race for the first time since 2022, so we can dust off an old saying that was popular during the glory days: The NFL season starts after Thanksgiving. With the holiday approaching Thursday, and the Patriots stunningly having a shot at the No. 1 seed, let's break down the AFC playoff race, with 10 teams realistically competing for seven spots (sorry, Dolphins): 1. Broncos (9-2). On their bye this week, the Broncos have an 82 percent chance to win the AFC West and 26 percent to get the No. 1 seed, per Next Gen Stats. The Broncos currently control the No. 1 seed over the Patriots because of the first tiebreaker, conference record " 6-2 to 5-2, though that will even out. But the Broncos should remain formidable " they have the No. 3 defense, and the 10th-easiest remaining schedule, with upcoming games against the Commanders and…...

2+ day, 18+ hour ago (503+ words) It was crucial for the new regime led by Mike Vrabel in New England to hit the offseason out of the park after back-to-back seasons that ended with a 4-13 record. The previous draft classes provided more busts than stars, and short of begging players to sign with the Patriots, it was nearly impossible to get the help they needed through the door. Based on what we've seen so far, this season's rookies have been everything they needed and more, but it's not just the top picks that have been productive. Others who haven't received as much recognition, like safety Craig Woodson, are well on their way to becoming pillars of the roster for years to come. Woodson, in particular, has made quite a mark on the team since he was picked in the fourth round earlier this year. Not only…...