Category: NFL News

The Minnesota Vikings went out with a whimper on a Monday night, and in the process, Sam Darnold may have cost himself any shot to return as the club’s unquestioned starting quarterback. A pleasant surprise for much of an explosive 2024 campaign, the journeyman utterly crashed at the finish line, leaving the Vikings with consecutive high-stakes duds before an inevitable trip to free agency in the spring.

Could Darnold return on another team-friendly prove-it deal, with first-round rookie J.J. McCarthy still recovering from multiple knee surgeries? It’s possible. It’s just as, if not more, likely that Vikings brass will say, “Thanks, but no thanks,” weighing Darnold’s finish more than his 14-3 regular-season record. They let a more established Kirk Cousins walk the year prior, after all, and made a premium investment in McCarthy.

In the event Darnold signs elsewhere, however, the Vikings will almost assuredly pursue some form of cheaper insurance for McCarthy. Darnold served that role in 2024, and just so happened to seize the moment, exceeding expectations until the very end. So which names could be on their radar? Here are a few candidates to join the ship as 2025 flyers, either in competition with McCarthy or as fallback options:

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One of the under-discussed benefits to making deep runs in the fantasy playoffs — aside from the glory, the trophies and the financial incentives — is becoming attentive to individual breakout performances in the closing weeks.

We can pretty much guarantee your league’s last-place, three-win manager wasn’t hyper-focused on Marvin Mims Jr.’s December usage.

For the benefit of anyone who didn’t completely lock in during Weeks 16-18 (most of whom aren’t consuming the content now, either), let’s review the players who most significantly boosted their 2025 fantasy appeal with end-of-year binges …

Bryce Young, QB, Carolina Panthers

Way back in September, there was simply zero chance — none, zip, zilch — that Young was prepared to give us a moment like this:

Young’s transformation from the season-opener to the season-ender was outrageous. His year began with a two-interception performance against the Saints, a game in which he completed just 13 of 30 passes; it ended with an overtime win against Atlanta in which he delivered five combined touchdowns without a turnover. Young was the overall QB5 in fantasy over his final five games, passing for nine scores and rushing for four.

Again: Outrageous.

Carolina closed the season with two wins in the last three weeks, so it’s not as if Young was piling up stats in non-competitive situations. Maybe he hasn’t yet reached the same tier as C.J. Stroud, but he’s certainly not far behind. Young is gonna deserve fantasy consideration in nearly all formats in 2025. The Panthers’ receiving room is a lock to improve, too.

Michael Penix Jr., QB, Atlanta Falcons

It wasn’t always a clinic with Penix in the closing weeks — he completed less than 60% of his throws and tossed as many picks as TD passes — but there’s no questioning the quality of his arm. His best throws were absolutely filthy:

Penix was sacked just three times in his three starts while passing for three scores and rushing for another. He also fed…

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In the final game of Wild Card Weekend, the Los Angeles Rams will “host” the Minnesota Vikings in the league’s first-ever neutral-site playoff game outside of the Super Bowl. In the wake of the devastating California wildfires, this game was moved to Arizona, and will be played at State Farm Stadium, home of the NFC West-rival Arizona Cardinals.

The Rams are the division champions, and would have had the home-field edge in this game despite the fact that Minnesota finished the season with the NFC’s — and NFL’s — second-best record at 14-3. The Rams started the season just 1-4, but after returning from their bye, they ripped off a 9-3 season-finishing stretch that included a win over these Vikings.

Minnesota claimed the No. 5 seed despite finishing just behind the Lions for the league’s best record, and has to go on the road here in attempt to advance to the next round. The Vikings looked like world-beaters for most of 2024, but are coming off one of their worst games of the season in the de facto NFC North title game.

Which of these teams will advance to take on the Eagles next week? We’ll find out soon enough. Before we break down the matchup, here’s a look at how you can watch the game. 

Rams vs. Vikings where to watch

Date: Monday, Jan. 13 | Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: State Farm Stadium (Glendale, Arizona)
TV: ABC/ESPN | Stream: fuboTV (try for free)  
Follow: CBS Sports App   
Betting odds: Vikings -2.5, O/U 48 (via Caesars Sportsbook)

When the Vikings have the ball

Minnesota is coming off arguably its worst offensive performance of the season. One of the other worst performances came back in Week 8 vs. L.A. The Vikes ran for only 64 yards in that game, with Aaron Jones averaging just north of 3 yards per carry. Sam Darnold actually fared pretty well, averaging almost 10 yards per attempt with two touchdowns and no interceptions. But he took three sacks and didn’t create…

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Eagles grades by position after wild-card win over Packers originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

It wasn’t the prettiest win of all time but the Eagles were able to beat the Packers 22-10 on Sunday at the Linc to advance to the divisional round of the NFC playoffs.

While the Eagles’ offense had some trouble getting going, Vic Fangio’s defense stifled the Packers and the Eagles were able to hold on to win.

The Eagles will host either the Vikings or Rams next week in the divisional round.

Let’s get to the grades from Sunday:

Quarterback

Jalen Hurts: 13/21, 131 yards, 2 TDs; 6 carries, 36 yards

It wasn’t the best game for Jalen Hurts as he returned from his concussion. He completed just 61.9% of his passes in this game and took a couple sacks. But he was good when he had a really clean pocket; the pressure seemed to get to him in this one when the Packers did send blitzers with varying levels of success. While it wasn’t his best game, Hurts didn’t throw an interception and that was really important in this game. On the other side, Jordan Love threw three picks.

Grade: C+

Running back

Saquon Barkley: 25 carries, 119 yards

Saquon Barkley had to grind out his 119 yards on the ground and had just 2 catches for 4 yards. The Packers did a good job of limiting Barkley’s effectiveness but he did have a few big runs. His long was a 17-yarder. Barkley also had a nice play in pass pro on a completion to Dallas Goedert. Kenny Gainwell contributed 3 carries for 14 yards. Fullback Khari Blasingame was elevated and played just a couple of snaps.

Grade: B+

Receiver

DeVonta Smith: 4 catches on 4 targets, 55 yards

A.J. Brown was targeted 3 times and finished with just 1 catch for 10 yards, but at least he was able to catch up on some reading on the sideline and blocked his butt off. Hurts just missed Brown on a deep shot off the Tush Push look. DeVonta Smith led the way with 4 for 55, including a 28-yarder on a drag across the field that helped set up the Goedert…

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The last time the Denver Broncos made the NFL playoff bracket, they went on to win the Super Bowl. The Broncos will open the 2025 NFL playoffs with a road tilt against the Buffalo Bills, who have won five of the last seven meetings against Denver. A rookie quarterback has won a playoff game in each of the past two seasons, but should you back Bo Nix and the Broncos with your NFL Wild Card Weekend picks? According to the latest NFL Wild Card Weekend odds, Denver is an 8.5-point underdog on the road, while the over-under for total points scored is 47.5. The Texans and Ravens both advanced in the NFL playoff bracket with wins on Saturday.

The other remaining Wild Card Weekend NFL spreads include Packers vs. Eagles (-4.5, 45.5), Commanders vs. Buccaneers (-3, 50.5) and Vikings vs. Rams (+2.5, 48) from State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Making NFL Wild Card Weekend score predictions can help form not only NFL spread picks, but also NFL over-under picks and NFL parlays. Which NFL Wild Card Weekend games will be lopsided, and which ones will play out closer to their NFL betting odds? Before you make any NFL Wild Card Weekend picks, make sure you see what SportsLine’s advanced computer model has to say. 

The model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, is up well over $7,000 for $100 players on top-rated NFL picks since its inception. The model enters the 2025 NFL playoffs on an incredible 31-14 betting hot streak on top-rated NFL picks this year — a stunning 69% success rate. Longer term, it is on a 211-142 roll on top-rated NFL picks that dates back to the 2017 season and a 65-35 roll on top-rated NFL picks since Week 7 of 2022.

The model also ranked in the top 10 on NFLPickWatch four of the past six years on straight-up NFL picks and beat more than 94% of CBS Sports Football Pick’em players four times during that span. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps has…

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Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt avoided a penalty for a hit to the head of Steelers running back Najee Harris in Week 18, but he received some discipline from the league this week.

The NFL announced that Pratt has been fined $22,511 for using his helmet to make contact with Harris’s head. ESPN rules analyst Russell Yurk said during the game that Pratt could have been flagged and the NFL’s fine suggests they thought he should have been penalized.

Harris was evaluated for a concussion and he was able to return to the game.

The NFL also announced that Bengals linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither was fined $14,956 for a hip-drop tackle and that Steelers wide receiver George Pickens was fined $22,511 for a facemask violation.

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T.J. Watt didn’t bat an eye when asked about the Steelers clinching their 21st consecutive non-losing season following Pittsburgh’s Week 13 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. 

At that point, the Steelers were 9-3 and were enjoying a sizable lead over the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North division standings. The Steelers were in a great spot, but you wouldn’t have known that after listening to Watt during his postgame press conference. 

“Feels good, but there’s a lot more work to be done,” Watt said before walking off the podium. 

Watt was certainly right. The Steelers are just 1-4 since that game and have lost four straight games entering Saturday night’s wild-card round showdown with the Ravens, who snatched the AFC North division title away from Pittsburgh after ending the regular season on a four-game winning streak. The Ravens now stand between Watt and a playoff win, something that has eluded him to this point during his future Hall of Fame career. 

“It’s my story since I’ve been here; I haven’t won a playoff game,” Watt told reporters this week. “I’ve been saying it this whole season. You guys know how important this is to me. It starts with having a great day, day in and day out. This whole week. Today was a good day. This whole week was a good week. But if we’ve learned anything about these last four weeks, it doesn’t matter how well you prepare, how good you feel about your preparation if you don’t execute on game day.” 

A 2017-first round pick, Watt has carved out a career that stands shoulder to shoulder with some of the best in franchise history, which is saying something for a franchise that has six Super Bowls wins and 32 Hall of Famers. Watt is the franchise career leader in sacks and in 2021 became the seventh player in franchise history to win Defensive Player of the Year. 

Watt is surely proud of his career, one that will be enshrined in Canton, Ohio, one day. But…

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Aaron Rodgers has been named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player four times and Myles Garrett has been the Defensive Player of the Year [Getty Images]

The New York Jets, Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars will play in London as part of the NFL International Games in 2025.

The Jets and the Browns will be the designated ‘home’ teams for two regular-season games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

And the Jags will host next season’s game at Wembley Stadium as part of their multi-year commitment to playing annually in the English capital.

The Florida-based franchise have played in every London series since 2013 and this will be their 14th game in the UK.

It will be a second straight visit by the Jets after being the ‘away team’ for this season’s game against the Minnesota Vikings at Tottenham, while Cleveland’s sole trip to London was at Twickenham in 2017.

The first regular-season game to be held in London was in 2007 and next season there could be as many as eight international games.

Berlin and Madrid are confirmed hosts, while other games could be held in Dublin, Mexico City and Brazil.

“This season will see us surpass 40 regular season games in the capital, a testament to the role the UK has played in growing the game globally,” said Henry Hodgson, general manager of NFL UK & Ireland.

“The London games are a continued catalyst for year-round fan engagement and we are focused on serving our 15 million fans, reaching new communities and driving growth in flag football participation, which now sees over 100,000 young people play the game.”

Each team’s opponent, along with the dates and kick-off times, will be announced when the full schedule for the NFL’s 2025 season is revealed this spring.

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