The intensity of the NFL playoffs always seems to heighten for the divisional round. The top seeds are coming off their bye weeks, and the bracket comes into focus after the re-seeding following the wild-card round. Each of these teams now fully believes it belongs in its conference championship game, and they’re all just one…
BALTIMORE — The quarterback, who acknowledged earlier in the week that he’s been too amped up in previous playoff games, jogged onto the field for the first time in the shadow of his end zone. If Lamar Jackson needed a test of his nerves, this was it. This was also an early opportunity to show…
The race to topple the Kansas City Chiefs is about to get underway. Though as the AFC’s top seed, the reigning two-time Super Bowl champs get to rest during Wild-Card weekend. The 12 teams playing have more immediate priorities than the Chiefs, but the end goal remains: lift the Lombardi Trophy in New Orleans. It…
As I put finishing grades on prospects for the 2025 NFL Draft, I find myself wishing it were as strong of a class as the 2024 version. Based on the rookie film, last year’s draft class certainly hasn’t disappointed in the NFL. Here is a look at The Athletic’s All-Rookie team: Quarterback Jayden Daniels, Washington…
When assessing NFL MVP candidates one year ago, I lamented the dearth of candidates producing at levels high enough for consideration. There’s no such problem as the 2024 MVP race enters its final stages. Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow and Saquon Barkley are superstar talents whose conventional and/or advanced stats match historic standards for…
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold and Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers headline the list of first timers for the 2025 Pro Bowl Games, which the league announced Thursday. The Baltimore Ravens lead all teams with nine Pro Bowl selections, while the Detroit Lions (seven players), Minnesota Vikings (six),…
Which front office is the best in sports? In 2024, the answer to that question is the Oklahoma City Thunder, followed by the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Baltimore Ravens. At least according to their front-office peers. At the start of each season this year, The Athletic polled 40 executives and coaches in each of…
Thirty-five years ago, new Atlanta Falcon Deion Sanders arrived in Suwanee, Ga., with a carefully crafted reputation. During his college career at Florida State, he had driven to a game in a white stretch limo and stepped out wearing a tuxedo. Sanders was known for strutting into end zones in a way hardly anyone else…
There aren’t many ideal times to be desperate for a franchise quarterback, but the upcoming offseason is shaping up to be trickier than most in that regard. The 2025 NFL Draft class is spotty, with a couple of team executives recently telling The Athletic there isn’t a quarterback coming out who’d be ranked ahead of…
It looks like Josh Allen is going to run away with the NFL MVP award (which might be unfair to two-time MVP Lamar Jackson, who is playing so well that he also deserves consideration), but that doesn’t mean there aren’t more players who deserve a little attention as the season comes to a close. The…