Category: NFL News

As the home team in Super Bowl LVIII, the Kansas City Chiefs get to make the first choice on which uniform to wear for the big game this year and it appears they’ve made their decision. 

The Chiefs unveiled their uniform choice on Tuesday and they’ve decided to wear their red jersey, which is what they’ve worn in three of their prior four Super Bowls. The Chiefs equipment team was busy on Tuesday sewing the Super Bowl LVIII patch onto each uniform and if you’re wondering what that patch looks like, the team was kind enough to share what it looks like on Patrick Mahomes’ uniform. 

The Chiefs will almost certainly be wearing their white pants, and if that happens, you might have deja vu. If they go with that uniform combination, there’s a good chance that both teams will be wearing the same exact combo that they wore back in Super Bowl LIV, a game where Kansas City beat San Francisco 31-20. 

This will mark Kansas City’s sixth trip to the NFL’s biggest game and the fourth time they’ll be wearing their red jersey. Here’s how they’ve fared in each jersey color in the big game: 

Chiefs in red: 2-1 (Wins over Vikings in Super Bowl IV and 49ers in Super Bowl LIV; loss to Bucs in Super Bowl LV)
Chiefs in white: 1-1 (Win over Eagles last year, loss to Packers in the first Super Bowl)

In last year’s Super Bowl, the Chiefs beat the Eagles 38-35 while wearing white, which is notable, because the team wearing white has been on a HOT STREAK in the Super Bowl. Over the past 19 years, the team wearing white has gone 16-3, which is why the 49ers might be thrilled that they get to wear their road jersey. That being said, one of those three losses came in Super Bowl LIV when the 49ers were defeated by the Chiefs. 

This will be the 49ers eighth time in the NFL’s biggest game and they have a winning record whether they wear their red jersey or white jersey. 

49ers in red: 3-1
49ers in white:…

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The stage is set for Super Bowl LVIII, which means that one game stands between the end of the NFL season and sole focus shifting to the talent acquisition portion of the offseason. Preparation for the 2024 NFL Draft has already begun, especially for those participating in the Reese’s Senior Bowl this week. 

Here is an early look at some of the storylines from Mobile:

How to watch and what to know

Date: Saturday, Feb. 3 | Time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: Hancock Whitney Stadium (Mobile, Alabama)
TV: NFL Network | Stream: fuboTV (try for free)

A year ago, the annual college football showcase pitting NFL hopefuls featured over 100 prospects who were drafted from the game. A week of practices and interviews leading up to the game draw over 900 NFL personnel from all 32 teams. 

Underclassmen welcome

The Reese’s Senior Bowl has always accepted juniors who met graduation requirements but the game is now an option for all underclassmen prospects who have declared for the NFL Draft regardless of whether or not they have completed degree requirements. 

There are roughly a dozen junior prospects that have been invited and accepted an invitation to the 2024 NFL Draft, including Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson, Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy II, Kansas edge rusher Austin Booker, Miami safety Kamren Kinchens and BYU offensive tackle Kingsley Suamataia. Murphy is CBSSports.com’s highest rated junior participant.

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Dan Campbell danced with the one who brung him. That his dancing partner tripped and fell on their face and shattered their orbital bone is another story entirely.

The muscle-bound, overly-caffeinated, swashbuckling Detroit Lions head coach, hyper aggressive on fourth downs throughout his head coaching tenure, continued his unorthodox points-maximizing ways into the most important game in Lions’ history: A road affair in the NFC Championship Game against a heavily-favored 49ers team sporting the league’s second highest point differential in 2023.

Campbell during the regular season outpaced all coaches in fourth down aggressiveness, going for it on 34 percent of Detroit’s fourth down conversion opportunities. That, in fact, made the 2023 Lions the most aggressive fourth down team of the 21st Century, according to ESPN Stats & Information Research.

It tracks that Campbell went for it on two second-half fourth downs in Detroit’s title game loss to San Francisco. The Lions failed on both conversion attempts, one of them a fourth and two from the Niners’ 28-yard line early in the third quarter, the other a fourth and three from the 49ers’ 30-yard line with roughly 10 minutes to go in the game.

From the cold, bloodless perspective of the numbers, Campbell’s fourth down decision making was sound, per Ben Baldwin’s Fourth Down Decision Calculator, which accounts for all manner of factors and offers a calculation on what a team would gain (or lose) by converting on fourth down.

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ESPN Analytics was in agreement: Going for it on the third quarter fourth down attempt would have bumped Detroit’s odds of winning the game from 90.3 percent to 90.5 percent. The fourth quarter attempt would have nudged their win probability from 38.8 percent to 39.1 percent (the tiny discrepancy makes one wonder why the anti-analytics crowd is warring online with the analytics nerds).

These fourth down attempts, as you surely know by now, did not…

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Detroit Lions fans deserved a better ending than the one they received on Sunday night. With the Super Bowl beckoning, Lions fans were instead treated to one of the biggest collapses in NFL playoff history, as Detroit was unable to parlay a 17-point halftime lead into an NFC title. 

The Lions’ 34-31 loss is going to hurt for some time. After dominating the first half, the Lions looked like they were playing on quicksand in the second half. They didn’t come through in pivotal moments, gave up too many big plays and failed to counter whenever the 49ers hit them with an uppercut. In short, the Lions didn’t do the things that had gotten them to that point. 

Given what was at stake, it’s fair to say that the Lions’ loss is one of the most heartbreaking defeats in playoff history. Below is a look at the unfortunate company the Lions now keep. 

5. Oilers: 1992 AFC wild card 

Houston owns the distinction of blowing the biggest lead in playoff history. Led by Warren Moon, the Oilers raced out to a 35-3 lead but were unable to stop the runaway train that was the Bills in the second half. The 41-38 loss had to hurt more for Houston fans given the fact that Buffalo’s historic comeback was led by backup quarterback Frank Reich, who threw four touchdown passes. 

4. Vikings, 1998 NFC Championship 

The Vikings looked like a shoo-in to reach the Super Bowl that season. After a 15-1 regular season, Minnesota led the upstart Falcons by a touchdown and had Gary Anderson — who hadn’t missed a field goal all year to that point — lining up to attempt a 38-yard field goal that would have put the game away. 

Anderson, shockingly, missed the kick, giving the Falcons life with just over two minutes left. Atlanta took advantage by tying the score, forcing overtime, and ultimately winning the game on a Morten Andersen field goal. The Vikings have only been back to two NFC title games since, losing…

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The San Francisco 49ers find themselves on the doorstep of the Super Bowl for the fourth time in the past five seasons and will try to punch their ticket to the promised land when they host the Detroit Lions in the 2024 NFC Championship Game on Sunday. The 49ers (13-5) have lost back-to-back NFC title games, including last year’s 31-7 road defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles. Four seasons ago, they beat the Green Bay Packers, 37-20, in the NFC Championship Game, but fell 31-20 to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV. Meanwhile, the Lions (14-5) are looking to break years of futility by reaching their first Super Bowl should they pull the upset.

Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. ET from Levi’s Stadium. San Francisco is a 7.5-point favorite and the over/under for total points scored is 51.5 in the latest Lions vs. 49ers odds from the SportsLine consensus. Before you make any 49ers vs. Lions picks, you need to see what proven SportsLine NFL expert R.J. White has to say, considering his mastery of picks involving the Lions.

White, a Fantasy and gambling editor for CBS Sports, consistently crushes against-the-spread picks. He went 535-450-30 on his ATS picks from 2017-22, which returned more than $3,500 to $100 players. 

What’s more, he has emerged as SportsLine’s top NFL expert again this season, posting a documented record of 97-76-4 on all his NFL picks to net his followers a profit of more than $2,000. White also has a read on the pulse of the Lions. He is 61-43-2 (+1285) on his last 106 picks in games involving Detroit. Anyone who has followed him is way up.

Now, White has broken down Lions vs. 49ers and just revealed his picks and predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see his picks. Here are several NFL odds and betting trends for 49ers vs. Lions:

49ers vs. Lions point spread: 49ers -7.549ers vs. Lions over/under: 51.5 points49ers vs. Lions money line: 49ers -348, Lions…..

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The AFC Championship between the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs has the potential to be the game of the year in the NFL, and the winner of the showdown will likely be the favorite to win Super Bowl LVIII. Not only does this matchup have two MVP quarterbacks in Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson, but the Chiefs and Ravens each possess the top-two scoring defenses in the league (the first time in a conference championship game since 2004). 

Mahomes and Jackson will get all the attention (and deservingly so), as both quarterbacks will have plenty to prove in the showdown. Jackson is looking to prove he can lead the Ravens to a Super Bowl and establish his legacy while Mahomes is further trying to cement his status as one of the greatest quarterbacks ever by leading the Chiefs to their fourth Super Bowl appearance in five years. 

For Mahomes and Jackson to advance to the Super Bowl, these five players will have to play a major role in the Chiefs or Ravens advancing to Las Vegas. These are the five biggest X factors in the AFC Championship (the high-profile names like Mahomes, Jackson, Travis Kelce and Roquan Smith were omitted based on their superstar status). 

With not as many offensive weapons as in years past, Pacheco is the one player who can get the offense moving the chains when the pass game isn’t working. Pacheco has 383 career rushing yards in the playoffs, the eighth-most through a player’s first two seasons in NFL history, which included 97 yards and touchdown in the divisional-round win over the Bills. 

In 14 regular-season games, Pacheco had 935 rushing yards and seven touchdowns as the Chiefs’ featured back — a role he’s embraced in the postseason. He has 39 carries for 186 yards and two touchdowns (4.8 yards per carry) in two playoff games, as the Chiefs offense has averaged 26.5 points per game against two top-10 defenses (in yards allowed). 

For the Chiefs…

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Whether you’ve played Daily Fantasy on Yahoo before or are giving it a try for the first time, this weekly column will take a look at the DFS landscape, revealing whom I like building lineups around, stars to fade, undervalued plays and bargain bin options to help you construct a better team.

Lineup building blocks

Christian McCaffrey ($42) vs. Detroit Lions

McCaffrey turned 29 opportunities into 128 yards from scrimmage and two scores last week despite San Francisco playing through an uncharacteristic negative game script. He now gets a tough Detroit run defense that’s allowed the fewest schedule-adjusted fantasy points to running backs over the last five weeks. Still, it’s difficult to fade CMC in DFS in a week with so few alternatives.

McCaffrey has scored 23 touchdowns over 17 games this season, and the 49ers are touchdown favorites with easily the highest implied team total (29 points) this week. CMC’s high salary is worth paying up for during the Championship Round.

Lamar Jackson ($39) vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City’s defense has been incredibly stingy when healthy this season, but Jackson can overcome any matchup right now (and the Chiefs lost two defensive starters during last week’s game). He got 9.3 YPA at home during the regular season and ran for 100+ yards and two touchdowns the last time these teams met. Jackson is also the lone remaining dual-threat quarterback in the playoffs.

Amon-Ra St. Brown ($34) @ San Francisco 49ers

The Lions will likely attempt to establish the run, but San Francisco’s opponents managed the fewest carries in the league this season (and had the third-most pass attempts). Jared Goff is better indoors, but St. Brown averaged a healthy 86.1 receiving yards and scored seven of his 10 touchdowns on the road this season. The 49ers can struggle against the slot, where Sun God runs more than 50% of his routes. St. Brown is a strong DFS option in a matchup with the Lions touchdown underdogs and in favorable weather.

Star to…

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The NFL playoffs are fast approaching their anticipated finale, with Super Bowl LVIII just around the corner. In the meantime, the 2024 coaching cycle is in full swing, with close to a half-dozen teams already naming new head coaches and several still in search of a top candidate. In the end, more than 20% of the league will enter the new season with fresh leaders on the sideline.

It’s impossible to know which of this year’s hires will actually pan out. Some years, the least-celebrated promotion ultimately has the last laugh. Just as in free agency, big names don’t always translate to big results. This is a team game, remember, and that means coaches, like quarterbacks, are often affected by the staff and supporting cast around them.

But how do the hires register right now? Here’s our best attempt to grade each of the head coaching additions:

Jim Harbaugh
Getty Images

We’ve seen big-name hires from the college ranks flounder before (see: Urban Meyer, Matt Rhule, Chip Kelly), but the difference is, Harbaugh’s been an undisputed winner everywhere he’s coached, and that includes the NFL. One win away from a Super Bowl title with the 49ers back in 2012, now he’s back on the West Coast with a franchise quarterback and playoff-caliber roster already in place, guiding the team he once played for in the ’90s. It’s a perfect match, pairing a talented but sometimes-sheepish contender with a rugged program-builder who knows how to dial up splashy offense. The AFC West is interesting again.

Grade: A

Dave Canales
Getty Images

Impatience has been the name of the game in Carolina, with owner David Tepper burning through coaches and QBs in recent…

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