Category: NFL News

With just 31 games left in the regular-season, the NFL playoff picture is starting to take shape. 

With their 37-20 win over the Jets on Thursday night, the Cleveland Browns became the seventh team to punch their playoff ticket this year. Although the Browns were the first team to clinch a spot in Week 17, there’s a good chance they won’t be the last. As a matter of fact, by the time Week 17 is in the books, we could see six more spots clinched. 

Here are the the playoff-clinching scenarios for Week 17, starting with the AFC:

Can clinch AFC South and playoff berth with: 
1. Jaguars win over Panthers combined with Colts loss to Raiders AND Texans loss to Titans. 

Can clinch AFC West and playoff berth with: 
1. Chiefs win or tie vs. Bengals OR
2. Raiders loss or tie to Colts combined with Broncos loss or tie to Chargers

The Bills have 14 SCENARIOS where they could clinch a playoff berth this weekend, so let’s take a look at them. 

Can clinch a playoff berth with: 

Bills win over Patriots + Steelers loss or tie to Seahawks + Bengals loss or tie to Chiefs ORBills win + Steelers loss or tie + Jaguars loss or tie to Panthers ORBills win + Steelers loss or tie + Texans loss or tie to Titans + Colts loss or tie to Raiders ORBills win + Bengals loss or tie + Jaguars loss or tie ORBills win + Bengals loss or tie + Texans loss or tie + Colts loss or tie ORBills tie + Steelers loss + Bengals loss + Jaguars loss ORBills tie + Steelers loss + Bengals loss + Texans loss or tie ORBills tie + Steelers loss + Bengals loss + Colts loss or tie ORBills tie + Steelers loss + Jaguars loss + Texans loss or tie ORBills tie + Steeles loss + Jaguars loss + Colts loss or tie ORBills tie + Steelers loss + Texans loss + Colts loss ORBills tie + Bengals loss + Jaguars loss + Texans loss or tie ORBills tie + Bengals loss + Jaguars loss + Colts loss or tie ORBills tie + Bengals loss + Texans loss + Colts loss

The…

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Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa remained limited on Thursday’s practice report.

Tagovailoa has injuries to his left thumb and a quadriceps, with Wednesday marking the first time this season he has not had a full practice.

The only injury he had listed on the practice report over the first 16 weeks was a right arm laceration, though he had full practices during that entire week and no injury designation.

Offensive coordinator Frank Smith didn’t express concern about Tagovailoa before practice Thursday.

“Yeah, I think it was something on one of the throws or something like that in the game [where Tagovailoa hurt his thumb]. I’m not 100 percent sure. I can’t remember exactly what it was,” Smith said, via a transcript from the team. “But like everything, I think the big thing is as you go through it, it’s the last week of December. I mean, I’ve got a paper cut in my hand, too, that I’m working through. I’m trying to push through. But ultimately, it’s just for us, it’s worrying about today, making sure that we’re getting ourselves ready for Baltimore this Sunday.”

The Dolphins got running back De’Von Achane (toe), left tackle Terron Armstead (knee/ankle/back), receiver Robbie Chosen (concussion) and receiver Tyreek Hill (rest) back to practice on a limited basis after they missed Wednesday’s session.

Offensive lineman Lester Cotton was added to the report that a hip injury that limited him.

Receiver Jaylen Waddle, who is not expected to play with his ankle injury, and running back Raheem Mostert, who is expected to play despite knee and ankle issues, were the only players who didn’t practice.

Offensive lineman Liam Eichenberg (calf/ankle), safety Jevon Holland (knees), cornerback Xavien Howard (hip/thumb), offensive lineman Austin Jackson (oblique) and linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel (wrist) again were limited.

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The NFL Draft is three days of entertainment. It produces blockbuster trades of players and picks such as Philadelphia acquiring A.J. Brown or Carolina trading up to No. 1 overall. Some scenarios would add even more intrigue.

Here are some of those scenarios: 

Bears picking top 2 overall

If Chicago gets a top-2 overall selection, then something entertaining is going to happen. The Bears will either trade out of the pick or select a quarterback, which would set the trade of former first-round pick Justin Fields in motion. In a separate article, I dove deeper into the franchise’s potential decision. It is highly unlikely that they would stick at No. 1 overall and then take a non-quarterback. 

Fields has played better over the second half of the season but has just two years remaining on his rookie contract. The coaching staff could restart the financial clock at quarterback by making the change. 

Cardinals picking top 2 overall

Arizona is currently in position to pick No. 2 overall. The Cardinals’ situation is similar to Chicago’s, but they have already made the financial investment in starting quarterback Kyler Murray. Murray’s dead cap hit in 2024 is north of $81 million so taking a quarterback would be a surprise. It does put them in a position to potentially trade out of the pick for a team looking to move up for USC’s Caleb Williams, North Carolina’s Drake Maye, LSU’s Jayden Daniels or Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy. 

Matthew Stafford abruptly retires

No one expects Stafford to retire at 35 years old, but weirder events have occurred. If he were to pick up and move on, it would put Los Angeles in a precarious position at quarterback. An Aaron Rodgers retirement would be unexpected because of how much time and energy he put toward rehabbing this season. 

This section initially included Russell Wilson as well, but it has since been learned that he has been benched by Denver. The Broncos…

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There was optimism over the weekend that the Texans could get quarterback C.J. Stroud back in the lineup for their Week 17 game against the Titans and Wednesday brings more positive news on that front.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Stroud is expected to take part in practice on Wednesday.

Stroud has been in the concussion protocol since Houston’s Week 14 loss to the Jets and the Texans have split two games without him. Case Keenum started both of those contests, but Davis Mills replaced him in last Sunday’s loss to the Browns.

The Texans enter Week 17 outside the playoff picture in the AFC, but winning both of their remaining games would give them a good shot of advancing to the postseason and having their standout rookie quarterback running the offense would boost that bid.

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USATSI

Kareem Jackson has a new home in Houston, the city where he began his NFL journey. On Tuesday, The Texans claimed the safety off waivers, per the league’s transaction wire. After he was handed his second suspension of the season, Jackson was waived by the Denver Broncos.

Jackson was eligible to return for the Broncos on Christmas Eve’s “Sunday Night Football” game against the New England Patriots, but was a healthy scratch. He was waived one day later.

The Broncos had to either activate Jackson to the active roster on Monday, following the four-game suspension, or release him. They chose the release him. 

His first suspension was for two games after an illegal hit on Green Bay Packers tight end Luke Musgrave in October. He was ejected from the game.

His second suspension came from a hit that took place just three snaps into his first game returning from suspension. The second suspension was for an illegal hit on Minnesota Vikings quarterback Joshua Dobbs. 

He had been with the Broncos since 2019 before his release. 

Jackson started his NFL career with the Texans when they drafted him No. 20 overall in 2010. He stayed there through 2018 before joining the Broncos.

He was teammates with current Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans for two seasons when they were both with Houston. 

The Texans are currently 8-7 and fighting for a playoff spot, currently one position out of the postseason at No. 8. Houston finishes its season facing the Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts in two big divisional games. 

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An eventful first half in Santa Clara has ended with the Ravens up 16-12 on the 49ers.

The final three points of the half came off the foot of Ravens kicker Justin Tucker, who hit a 28-yard field goal on the final play of the second quarter. The kick was set up by a 30-yard run by Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson on a third-and-16 play and it was Tucker’s third field goal of the half.

Jackson’s scrambling paid off on that play, but it bit the Ravens in the rear end in the first quarter when he tripped over umpire Alex Moore in the end zone and was flagged for intentional grounding for a throwaway that failed to reach the line of scrimmage. Jackson is 16-of-27 for 129 yards through the air and he’s run for 39 yards.

The 49ers had a chance to score a touchdown before that safety, but quarterback Brock Purdy was intercepted by Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton in the end zone. Hamilton got another pick off a Marlon Humphrey deflection in the second quarter and Humphrey had an interception of his own to make it the first three-interception game of Purdy’s NFL career.

That’s not great for his MVP bid, but another 49er candidate bolstered his case. Running back Christian McCaffrey scored his 21st touchdown of the season to tie Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert for the league lead and he has 101 yards from scrimmage so far on Monday.

It’s been an entertaining first 30 minutes at Levi’s Stadium and the final 30 minutes will likely give us a Super Bowl favorite moving into the final two weeks of the regular season.

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Just three weeks remain in the 2023 regular season and the Week 16 was packed with high-profile matchups that’ll certainly shake up the playoff picture — with three more remaining on Christmas Day. Division titles and playoff spots were up for grabs over the course of the holiday weekend — the Lions and Dolphins punched their tickets on Sunday — and we’ll cap it off with a potential Super Bowl LVIII preview between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium Monday night.

As we do every week, we’ve collected all of the best picks and gambling content from CBSSports.com and SportsLine and put them in one place, so you can get picks against the spread from our CBS Sports experts as well as additional feature content for each game, including plays from top SportsLine experts and the SportsLine Projection Model, best bets from our staff, survivor picks and more. Ready? Let’s jump in.

All NFL odds via SportsLine consensus odds.

Which picks can you make with confidence in Week 16? And which Super Bowl contender goes down hard? Visit SportsLine, as its incredible model simulates every NFL game 10,000 times and is up well over $7,000 for $100 players on top-rated NFL picks since its inception.

Monday’s Christmas Day games

Raiders at Chiefs

Time: Monday, 1 p.m. ET (CBS), stream on Paramount+ (click here) 
Open: Chiefs -10, O/U 42.5

Featured Game | Kansas City Chiefs vs. Las Vegas Raiders

“The Chiefs got back on track last week against the Patriots and now can push to get the top seed. They beat the Raiders earlier this year on the road, but the Raiders are a better…

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The Dolphins defense didn’t make Dak Prescott’s life easy in Week 16. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

Five things I care about

Cowboys’ pass protection

This was always going to be a tough matchup for the Dallas offense. The Dolphins defense ranked first in success rate allowed since Jalen Ramsey returned to the lineup. The Cowboys have struggled against good teams on the road all season. There were plenty of reasons for Week 16’s end result but the most significant factor in the loss had to leave Dallas feeling troubled going forward.

Despite missing its best pass rusher, Miami was able to get pressure on Dak Prescott early and often Sunday afternoon. To his credit, Prescott handled the heat well. He was able to escape rushers often and got rid of the ball in the face of what would have been devastating sacks. High-quality quarterbacks can make it work in these types of adverse conditions and to his credit, outside of a few low moments, Prescott generally put the team in a good position.

The Cowboys came into this game without starting left tackle Tyron Smith and Zack Martin nursing a thigh injury that cost him most of Week 15’s loss in Buffalo. The left tackle spot was particularly troublesome. Chuma Edoga let up a ton of blindside pressure and routinely forced Prescott off his spot.

Pressure is bad for any offense but for this unit in particular, it is a huge stumbling block. The West Coast offense is predicated on timing and rhythm. Prescott has played his best football when he can hit the top of his drop and push the ball to open receivers on time. When he has pressure in his face, it ruins the whole plan. Even when Prescott made plays in this game, it came on tight-window throws, showing that the route timing was disrupted.

The Cowboys have the potential to be a great offense but the way they’re set up it takes just a small grain of sand to grind the gears to a stop. Look no further if you’re searching for a reason why this team can’t deal with…

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