Author: nfltalk

Bill Belichick has survived a full season in Chapel Hill. Two of his key assistants have not.

Via Pete Thamel of ESPN.com, Belichick has fired offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens and special-teams coordinator Mike Priefer.

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Kitchens, the head coach of the Browns in 2019 and the interim Tar Heels coach in 2024, stayed on after Belichick was hired last year. Belichick brought Priefer to UNC after two decades in the NFL, and two years out of football.

Priefer was a member of Kitchens’s staff in Cleveland.

Belichick will now be hiring two new coordinators as he prepares for his second second at UNC. If it doesn’t go much better than his first season, there may not be a third.

And coaching only goes so far. At the college level, it’s about the quality of the players. For 2025, the Tar Heels didn’t have enough good players. They’ll need better players if they want to have a better outcome in 2026.

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The NFL playoff race is heating up! The Pittsburgh Steelers stole first place in the AFC North from the Baltimore Ravens, the Chicago Bears fell from the No. 1 seed in the NFC to the No. 7 seed following their loss to the Green Bay Packers, and the Buffalo Bills registered an impressive fourth-quarter comeback against Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals. That loss secured Burrow’s first losing season since his rookie year back in 2020. 

This week in the NFL, we get a rematch of Bills vs. New England Patriots, Jordan Love travels to take on one of the best defenses in the NFL in the Denver Broncos, while the “Matthew Stafford Bowl” takes place in Los Angeles. The Kansas City Chiefs also have a tough matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers. Following their loss to the Houston Texans, SportsLine says Kansas City has just a 6% chance to make the playoffs. 

Which teams should you pick in Week 15, and which should you fade? CBS Sports writers Jordan Dajani and Jared Dubin are here to break down the biggest games of the weekend. For clarity, lines for these selections were taken on Dec. 10 over at DraftKings Sportsbook. 

Dajani (Buccaneers -4.5): The Falcons looked like a disaster last Sunday. They are 1-7 in their last eight games, and are allowing almost 27 points per contest over that span. I do find it worrisome that the Buccaneers have dropped four out of their past five since starting 6-2, but with this game being at home, I have to lean towards the team still in playoff contention. Plus, Mike Evans, Bucky Irving, Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan could be on the field together for the first time all year. The Bucs haven’t covered the spread in five straight games, but this is a matchup where they can snap the streak …  Prediction: Buccaneers 27, Falcons 20

Dubin (Buccaneers -4.5): Tampa isn’t exactly lighting the world on fire of late, but the Falcons seem to be dead in…

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Week 14 was a quiet one in the sleeper streets, though Colby Parkinson gave us a touchdown and Chris Rodriguez Jr. did average 5.2 yards per carry. Let’s move forward.

The bye weeks are finally complete, so I want to be clear about how it’s time to play the hits now, roll out your best guys. But rules and player depth matter from league to league, so perhaps some of these overlooked players can help you in Week 15.

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QB Marcus Mariota at Giants (9%)

Mariota has been credible in his last three starts (QB3, QB9, QB13) and he gets to work with a healed-up Terry McLaurin. The Giants are the third-friendliest opponent for opposing quarterbacks, and Mariota is still useful with his legs.

RB Chris Rodriguez Jr. at Giants (36%)

It’s unfortunate that Rodriguez and Mariota probably can’t score collaboratively — Rodriguez has just one catch on the season. But the New York rushing defense is just as bad as the passing defense, and Rodriguez has double-digit carries in four of his last five starts. Washington’s team total is set for 22.5 points, so a fair amount of scoring is expected.

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WR Ryan Flournoy vs. Vikings (7%)

Flournoy is a mandatory insurance add for CeeDee Lamb managers — Lamb is in the concussion protocol and uncertain for the Sunday night game. Flournoy was terrific in the loss at Detroit (9-115-1), stepping forward after Lamb got hurt, and he had a 114-yard game earlier in the year. The Vikings’ pass defense is a difficult matchup, but Dallas has been able to throw against pretty much everyone.

TE Isaiah Likely at Bengals (13%)

The Ravens extended veteran tight end Mark Andrews last week, a surprise given what the emerging Likely has shown through his career. Maybe that’s a discussion for the offseason. Either way, Likely was outstanding in the loss to Cincinnati two weeks ago (5-95-0), and he had one touchdown and one almost-touchdown (those pesky catch rules) against Pittsburgh last week. Cincinnati’s leaky seam coverage has…

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Wether it’s the Broncos, Patriots, Rams, Seahawks or any other NFL contender, one thing is for sure — the roster of singers on Super Bowl Sunday are all stars in their own right. In addition to the announcement of Bad Bunny being named the featured halftime performer earlier this season, we know that Charlie Puth, Brandi Carlile and Coco Jones have been added to the list of singers for the big game next February.

The Bad Bunny announcement followed months of rumors and predictions, and was made in a subtle way back at the end of September. Headlining the Super Bowl halftime show is one of the top singing gigs of the year, and this was how the 31-year-old singer made the announcement on social media. 

The Puerto Rican singer is the most-streamed artist in the world. Bad Bunny has 10 Grammy nominations, with three wins. His three Grammy wins are for Best Latin Pop or Urban Album for YHLQMDLG, Best Musica Urbana Album for El Último Tour Del Mundo and Un Verano Sin Ti.

Some of his other awards include the American Music Award for Favorite Latin Artist, the BET Award for Single of the Year for his hit song “I Like It” with Cardi B and J Balvin and Billboard Top Latin.

Bad Bunny’s top songs are “Vete,” “Titi Me Pregunto,” “Que Pasaria” and “BAILE INoLIDABLE.” 

Usually the special guests are announced closer to the championship game. One early guess for a special guest is Cardi B, who is also connected to the NFL because she recently gave birth to boy, the son of Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs. 

Rapper Kendrick Lamar, who brought out multiple special guests including SZA and Serena Williams, was last year’s headliner. Some other iconic halftime performers include Prince, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Paul McCartney, U2 and Bruce Springsteen, just to name a few. The halftime show become a cultural moment for the masses as it is typically the most-watched performance of the year. 

But…

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Philip Rivers is back. And he could be playing for the Colts as soon as this weekend.

If/when he does, each yard he generates in the passing game will move him closer to moving from No. 7 to No. 6 on the all-time passing yardage list.

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Currently, Rivers has 63,440 yards. Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has 64,088 yards. With 649 yards, Rivers will leapfrog Roethlisberger.

Of course, it likely will come down to a question of No. 7 vs. No. 8. Ram quarterback Matthew Stafford is about to skip past both of them.

Stafford, No. 8 on the list, has 63,163 yards. He’s only 277 behind Rivers, and 925 behind Roethlisberger. As a result, Big Ben quite possibly is less than a month away from falling to No. 8.

Which leads to the next question. If Rivers, at 44, can return after not playing since 2020, could Roethlisberger come back after not playing since 2021? He has said that the 49ers gauged his interest in 2022.

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“I’d be lying if I didn’t say there was a small part of me that was intrigued,” Roethlisberger said in 2023. “I could still do it and prove to people that I could still play. At the end of the day, I just can’t see myself in anything other than black and gold.”

So there it is. The door is closed for Roethlisberger. Just like everyone thought it was for Rivers. Until yesterday.

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