Category: NFL News

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It’s almost here! On Sunday — Feb. 11, 2024 — the defending NFL champion Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers will square off at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas for Super Bowl LVIII — and these two teams have been in this position before. As a matter of fact, these same teams played each other in the Super Bowl just four years ago, and they’ll do it again on the biggest stage in just a few days.

For the first time ever, CBS Sports will have the Super Bowl available in 1080p High Dynamic Range (HDR) and 4K HDR. The 4K HDR feed will be supplied to various MVPDs (Multichannel Video Programming Distributor) and vMVPDs (Virtual Multichannel Video Programming Distributor).

Super Bowl LVIII will not be the only program offered on these feeds. Over 10 hours of coverage will air on the CBS Television Network and Paramount+, and will be available on all feeds offered by the network.

CBS Sports’ pregame, halftime and postgame coverage will also be available on 1080p HDR and 4K HDR.

HDR has a better display detail in shadow and bright scenes and Wide Color Gamut (WCG) displays a more vivid range of colors. The two provide a brighter and more colorful screening. 

This year, Usher will be the halftime show performer, and his performance will be even more vibrant in 1080p HDR and 4K HDR.

Super Bowl LVIII will take place at Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders, in Nevada’s first time hosting the game.

How to watch 2024 Super Bowl

Date: Sunday, Feb. 11Time: 6:30 p.m. ETLocation: Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas)TV: CBS, Nickelodeon Stream: Available via Paramount+ on all platforms, or sign in with your TV provider on CBS.com or CBS Sports apps 

Note: This marks the first time in NFL history that the Super Bowl will be broadcast in…

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Don’t look now, but the Kansas City Chiefs are set to play in their second straight Super Bowl, and their fourth in five years. The Chiefs won their sixth straight AFC title game after ousting the Baltimore Ravens on the road. The upset marked Patrick Mahomes’ second road playoff game aside from past Super Bowl appearances. Kansas City previously beat the Bills in Buffalo in the divisional round.

Mahomes and Co. ended the regular season 11-6, with some ups and downs giving them their most losses since 2014. Now they look to win back-to-back NFL titles, but standing in their way are the San Francisco 49ers. As Kansas City prepares to face the NFC’s top-seeded team, here are three reasons to root the Chiefs on Feb. 11 in Las Vegas.

1. A dynasty in the making

The Chiefs have been an AFC powerhouse for years, making the playoffs every year since 2015 and reaching three Super Bowls since 2019, winning two of them. They defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl last year and are looking for their second straight championship. 

Kansas City can do something no team has done since the New England Patriots in 2004 and 2005 (Super Bowls XXXVIII and XXXIX) by winning back-to-back championships. The Chiefs have proven time and time again they are the team to beat since Mahomes became the starter.

The Chiefs are on the verge of securing that dynasty status, so why not be along for the ride while they attempt to do so. 

2. Rooting for trio of Mahomes, Kelce, Reid

In the divisional round, Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce dethroned Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowksi for most touchdowns in the playoffs by a quarterback-receiver duo with 19. The two are arguably the greatest QB-TE duo and continuing to make their case with each game.

Mahomes finished the regular season going 10-6 in 16 games, with a career high in completion percentage (67.2), along with 4,183 passing yards and 14 interceptions.

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In 2002, the creative team at Las Vegas’ largest advertising agency began working feverishly on a campaign to reinvent the city’s image.

They wanted to veer away from prior failed attempts to market Las Vegas’ family-friendly roller coasters and attractions. They wanted to portray the city as a destination for adults who wanted to let loose in ways they normally wouldn’t. They wanted something brash, something edgy, something that ushered in a new era.

They wanted something that captured what made Vegas Vegas.

Out of all the seasoned pros who took on that challenge, the ones who struck advertising gold were a pair of 20-something copywriters with plenty of blank space on their resumes. Jason Hoff told Yahoo Sports that he and Jeff Candido bounced ideas off one another for days until they agreed on a now-iconic five-word tagline and a cheeky story to go with it.

The commercial begins with a woman in a low-cut blue top and stiletto boots sliding into the back of a limousine. She brazenly flirts with her limousine driver before vanishing behind the privacy divider. When they arrive at the airport, the driver opens the limo door and is surprised to see the woman step out dressed conservatively, phone to her ear and her hair in a tidy bun. The spot then ends with the words, “What happens here, stays here.”

“When we came up with the tagline, we both were like, ‘Wow, that’s it!!’” Hoff recalled. “The agency and the client were on board, but it wasn’t until years later that any of us understood this was going to be a forever line.”

The commercial that Hoff and Candido dreamed up isn’t just the opener for a wildly successful ad campaign. It also stands as a 30-second monument to Las Vegas’ transformation from sports pariah to sports haven.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority was ready to shell out more than $2 million to launch its new ad campaign during Super Bowl XXXVII. Instead the NFL refused to air it, citing concerns about any…

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ASHBURN, Va. — The Commanders formally introduced Dan Quinn as their newest head coach Monday after a long hiring process that included plenty of twists and turns.

Quinn, 53, and the Commanders reached a verbal agreement Thursday, and the team formally announced the hiring Saturday. The Commanders were the last of the eight teams to fill their head-coaching vacancy this offseason but proceeded quickly thereafter, with Kliff Kingsbury hired as offensive coordinator and Joe Whitt Jr. hired as defensive coordinator on Sunday.

Owner Josh Harris and general manager Adam Peters — also hired this offseason — were on hand Monday alongside Quinn. Here were the key takeaways as Washington enters a new era:

1. ‘If I get another shot’ … and why this one is ‘different’

Quinn said he tries to live his life by five words: “Be where your feet are.” But he also admitted there had been another five-word phrase in his mind: “If I get another shot.”

That sort of uncertainty gave way to unbridled excitement when he got the call from Peters, and the enthusiasm was on display throughout the hour-long press conference.

“As a coach, you prepare for it, you study for it, and there’s some lessons that you can’t study for, there’s lessons that you just have to live — sometimes through success and sometimes also through adversity — but once you learn those lessons, all you want to do is grab them and run and prove it. So let me tell you, I am ready to run and prove it, run like hell.

“There is nothing I enjoy more than doing hard shit with good people. And these guys here, there’s some really good people and I cannot wait to get it rocking here.”

Quinn made it clear this had to be a fit for him, not just vice versa. He interviewed with five teams — the Chargers, Panthers, Seahawks, Titans and Commanders — this year. He interviewed with three — the Broncos, Cardinals and Colts — last year. But…

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Patrick Mahomes Sr., father of Patrick Mahomes II, the star quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs, was arrested in Smith County, Texas on Saturday and charged with “driving while intoxicated third time or more,” per jail records. 

Mahomes was arrested by the Tyler (Texas) Police Department on Feb. 3. He was released on Sunday afternoon, per ESPN, on a third-degree felony charge that carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison if he is convicted, according to state law. Jail records indicate Mahomes’ last arrest for DWI came in 2019. 

Mahomes was a star athlete himself, an MLB pitcher who played for six teams, last appearing for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2003. 

This comes as his son is preparing to start in his fourth Super Bowl this upcoming Sunday in Las Vegas. With a win over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII, Mahomes II can become the fifth quarterback to win three Super Bowls, joining Tom Brady, Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw and Troy Aikman. 

If Mahomes II wins Super Bowl MVP, he will join Magic Johnson as the only players in NFL/NBA/NHL/MLB history to win three championship round MVPs before age 29. 

The Chiefs are scheduled to arrive in Vegas Sunday afternoon, per CBS Sports HQ senior NFL insider Josina Anderson.

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The NFL will have a Super Bowl rematch between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Feb. 11, marking the second time these teams will meet in the league’s championship game in five seasons. The 49ers and Chiefs are the two teams that have made deep playoff runs consistently over the past five years, with San Francisco going to four conference championship games during that stretch and the Chiefs going to five. 

Of course, the difference between the 49ers and Chiefs are the Super Bowl titles. The Chiefs are the league’s current dynasty, winning two Super Bowl titles in the last four seasons (looking to become the first team since the 2003-2004 New England Patriots to repeat). The 49ers have been to the Super Bowl in that stretch, blowing a 10-point fourth-quarter lead to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV that cost them their first championship since the 1994 season. 

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is searching for his third Super Bowl victory while 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is still seeking his first. The major difference in this game is Brock Purdy, who will be under center for the 49ers instead of Jimmy Garoppolo, even though both rosters have underwent significant changes over the years. 

Regardless, the 49ers and Chiefs are back in the Super Bowl, four years after “Wasp” became one of the most memorable plays in NFL history. The 49ers are still seeking to avenge that loss while Patrick Mahomes looks to add to his Hall of Fame legacy.

Who wins Super Bowl LVIII? Here’s a quick rundown of what to know ahead of the game, plus a prediction. 

How to watch Super Bowl LVIII

Date: Sunday, Feb. 11 | Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
TV: CBS, Nickelodeon | Stream: CBS broadcast on Paramount+
Opening odds: 49ers -1.5, O/U 47.5

Chiefs defense steps up against elite offenses

The Chiefs defense has been elite all season, a complete turnaround from the other Super Bowl teams in Kansas…

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Zay Flowers’ infamous taunt in the Baltimore Ravens’ AFC Championship loss to the Kansas City Chiefs is now hitting him squarely in the wallet. The rookie wide receiver was hit with a $10,927 unsportsmanlike fine by the league, according to NFL Media. 

The infraction contributed to Baltimore’s late meltdown largely spearheaded by Flowers. The Ravens trailed Kansas City, 17-7, with less than a minute to go in the third quarter when Flowers caught what momentarily felt like a game-changing 54-yard reception from Lamar Jackson. That brought the offense to the 10-yard line, but as Flowers got up after being tackled by L’Jarius Sneed, he stood over the Chiefs cornerback flexing and spun the football in what was a textbook taunting penalty. The officials quickly threw a flag and backed Baltimore up 15 yards, booting it from the red zone altogether. 

That sparked what proved to be the dagger in Baltimore’s hopes of advancing to the Super Bowl. Just four plays after that penalty, Jackson completed a pass to Flowers, but the receiver fumbled while reaching for the goal line. The ball was recovered by the Chiefs in the end zone for a touchback. In frustration with that course of events, Flowers then cut his finger on the sideline after slamming his helmet on the bench.   

While this ending for Flowers proved costly for him (in more ways than one), he put together a strong rookie season. In 16 regular season games, he caught 77 passes for 858 yards and five touchdowns.

Flowers’ teammate, Travis Jones, was  fined $6.700 for a hit on Patrick Mahomes that drew a roughing the passer penalty. 

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The Miami Dolphins appear to have found their new leading man on defense. The front-runner and person expected to ultimately land as the franchise’s next defensive coordinator is Anthony Weaver, according to KPRC Houston. Weaver will head to South Florida by way of Baltimore where he was the assistant head coach and defensive line coach for the Ravens. 

The Dolphins found themselves in the market for a DC after the team and Vic Fangio mutually agreed to part ways in late January. Fangio has since signed on as the defensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles. Now, Weaver comes in to fill that void and lead a unit that has the potential to be a sturdy defense when healthy. 

The 43-year-old played seven seasons in the NFL as a defensive end for the Ravens (2002-2005) and Houston Texans (2006-2008). He was a second-round pick out of Notre Dame. Weaver broke into the NFL coaching ranks as an assistant linebacker coach for the New York Jets in 2012. Since then, he made stops with the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns and Texans before landing with the Ravens in 2021. Weaver does have prior DC experience with Houston during the 2020 season. 

In 2023, the Dolphins defense showed flashes of being an elite unit but was ultimately ravished by injuries, losing the likes of Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips down the stretch among others. That led to a mixed bag of production throughout the year. The club ranked for the sixth-fewest yards per play allowed (5.1) but was 20th in the league on third down and 26th in red zone efficiency. 

Weaver comes in after helping lead the Ravens to a stellar season defensively. The club ranked among the top of the league in nearly every meaningful statistical category, including yards…

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