Category: NFL News

The Chargers completed an interview with Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn for their head coaching position, the team announced Friday.

Quinn is a popular candidate this hiring cycle, having completed interviews with the Panthers and Titans. The Commanders and Seahawks also requested permission to interview him.

Quinn just completed his third season as the Cowboys’ defensive play caller.

His unit finished in the top five in yards allowed per game (299.7), passing yards allowed per game (187.4) and points allowed per game (18.5) this season. The Cowboys had 26 takeaways and 46 sacks.

They did not, however, play well in the wild-card round loss to the Packers. The Cowboys allowed a playoff-franchise-worst 48 points, including a pick-six and a 19-yard drive after Dak Prescott’s other interception, and had no takeaways and no sacks.

The Cowboys reportedly want Quinn back as their defensive coordinator if he doesn’t get a head coaching job.

Quinn also was the Seahawks’ coordinator for their Super Bowl win before he went to Atlanta as the head coach. Quinn took the Falcons to Super Bowl LI, where they blew a 28-3 lead against the Patriots.

The Chargers have interviewed 11 other candidates for the job.

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Pittsburgh Steelers star defensive tackle Cameron Heyward is not ready to call it a career. The 34-year-old veteran announced he won’t be retiring on his “Not Just Football” podcast Thursday night. This comes after a rough 2023 season where Heyward missed time with a groin injury, which required surgery. He finished the campaign playing 11 regular-season games as well as the Steelers’ lone playoff game — a 31-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

“I just played an entire season on one freakin’ leg where I could barely run for half the season,” Heyward said.

A former first-round pick, Heyward has been one of the Steelers’ defensive cornerstones for 13 years. He became a full-time starter in 2013 and has been a Pro Bowler in each of the past six seasons. A three-time All-Pro as well, Heyward’s 80.5 career sacks is tied for second in franchise history with former teammate James Harrison (80.5 sacks) and behind current teammate T.J. Watt (96.5 sacks).   

Heyward is not just a huge asset on the field for Pittsburgh, but off it as well. For all of his work in the community, Heyward has been named the Steelers’ nominee for the Walter Peyton Man of the Year six times. 

Along with being involved in a slew of foundations, Heyward created his own foundation, The Heyward House, in 2015. 

“I was going into my fifth year, and I had gotten to see what a lot of other players had done with their foundations and in their communities,” Heyward said in an interview with CBS Sports. “Working with my mom and my family, I always had a soft spot for giving back to my community, helping children who are at risk and trying to give children opportunities and chances that they might not get if we don’t help, as well as working with people…

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Maybe the Cowboys like the drama. Or maybe they just screwed this one up.

Regardless, the end result for Dallas and coach Mike McCarthy is that he apparently was staying as head coach, no matter what happened against the Packers. Even if the home team was caught flat-footed and unprepared for the coming storm of cheese. Even if they were embarrassed in their own building, giving up 48 points to the No. 7 seed in the conference. Even if the game was never actually close.

If that was the case, why didn’t owner Jerry Jones say so before the wild-card loss to Green Bay? Why didn’t he loudly shout down the impression he created when saying McCarthy would be assessed based on how the playoffs go? All Jerry had to do was to declare on 105.3 The Fan last week that McCarthy is the coach and will continue to be the coach, win or lose or blowout against the Packers.

The mixed signals created the impression that McCarthy wouldn’t be back. By waiting three days to say otherwise, Jones has left plenty of Cowboys fans confused and upset that change isn’t happening.

At times, I wonder whether Jones is truly tormented by the annual failures of his football team, or whether he just acts that way to keep the fans fully engaged and prepared to plunk down cash for tickets and overpriced food and beer and other stuff. Is it all just one big grift, aimed at making fans think he really wants to win another Super Bowl while he deposits many more millions in the bank, regardless of what the team accomplishes?

If that’s the case, he still blew it. He allowed an assumption to take root that there would be a new coach. That McCarthy wouldn’t be back.

Maybe Jones considered it. As mentioned during PFT Live, I’d love to know how the deliberations went. What factors were considered? Did Jerry explore other available candidates? Did he require McCarthy to make the case for his retention?

Or does Jerry simply not want to pay McCarthy to not coach the team in 2024? Could it be that Jones still plans (if…

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Only eight teams are left in the 2024 NFL playoffs with just over three weeks remaining until Super Bowl LVIII. Like every week in the NFL, we’ve got a bevy of injury updates to address with conference championship appearances at stake. 

While each remaining team is dealing with injuries, no one has been hit harder than the Buffalo Bills. Head coach Sean McDermott started the week by classifying nine of his players as day-to-day as Buffalo prepares to take on the Kansas City Chiefs. Buffalo managed to get past the Pittsburgh Steelers on Super Wild Card Weekend despite not having safety Taylor Rapp, wideout Gabe Davis, cornerback Rasul Douglas and linebacker Tyrel Dodson at their disposal. The Bills suffered more injuries during their 31-17 win over Pittsburgh. 

We’ve also got an interesting update on Mark Andrews, the Baltimore Ravens’ talented tight end who is not ruling out playing in Saturday’s game against the Houston Texans. Andrews hasn’t played since he suffered an ankle injury against the Cincinnati Bengals back on Nov. 16. 

Below is an update on the Bills as well as the NFL’s other seven teams who are still in contention.

Odds courtesy of SportsLine consensus.

No. 4 Houston Texans at No. 1 Baltimore Ravens (-9.5)

Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET (ABC)

As noted above, Andrews said Wednesday that he will play Saturday if he fees like he can help the Ravens’ offense. He won’t play, however, if he feels that he won’t be able to play at a level that will help Baltimore win its first playoff game since 2000. Andrews gave the Ravens more hope that he could play on Saturday after making a leaping grab during Tuesday’s practice, via ESPN. 

Andrews said how his body feels Saturday will ultimately determine whether or not he will play. He referenced Terrell Owens, who famously played in Super Bowl XXXIX several weeks after suffering a serious ankle injury. 

In other Ravens injury news,…

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The Falcons are talking to some big-name coaching candidates.

On Monday, it was former Patriots coach Bill Belichick. On Tuesday, it was Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh.

The Falcons announced on Tuesday night that the interview with Harbaugh has been completed.

Harbaugh interviewed with the Chargers on Monday. He’s also reportedly negotiating an extension with Michigan.

Other teams could pursue Harbaugh. For now, there are two — the Chargers and the Falcons. There are five other vacancies, and there could be more.

Harbaugh last coached in the NFL in 2014, after his fourth season with the 49ers. He has spent nine at Michigan.

The Falcons have interviewed seven candidates in all to replace Arthur Smith, who was fired eight days ago after three straight 7-10 seasons.

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The NFL playoffs are in full swing. Super Wild Card Weekend just got into our rearview mirror and we’re now rocketing toward the divisional round that features some tremendous matchups. 

Patrick Mahomes will go on the road for the first time in his playoff career as the Chiefs will travel to Buffalo to face the Bills. Meanwhile, the other matchup in the AFC has a stellar QB head-to-head with MVP favorite Lamar Jackson squaring off against Offensive Rookie of the Year favorite C.J. Stroud. In the NFC, the Niners emerge from the bye week and will host the Jordan Love-led Packers, who just upset the Cowboys in Dallas. Fresh off their first playoff victory since 1991, the Lions will host the Buccaneers, who upset the Eagles at home on Monday night. As I said, we have another awesome weekend of football on deck, and we’re here to give you a first peak into the action. 

Here’s an early look at the divisional round and some storylines to keep an eye on.

AFC divisional round lookahead

Texans (4) at Baltimore Ravens (1)

Saturday, Jan. 20 at 4:30 p.m. ET (ESPN, ABC, fubo)
Odds (via Caesars Sportsbook): Ravens -9.5, O/U 45.5

This is a game that features two quarterbacks who will likely be bringing home some hardware at the NFL Honors. Lamar Jackson is the presumptive MVP after leading the Ravens to the No. 1 seed in the conference, while C.J. Stroud dazzled in his first year in the league and is the overwhelming favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. From a quarterback matchup standpoint, it’s a phenomenal head-to-head and one that we could see for years to come with Jackson being just 27 and Stroud a mere 22 years old. 

As for their teams, the Ravens were dominant this season, particularly on defense. They were the second-best unit in the league in the red zone, allowing opponents to score on just 40.8% of their trips. They were also tied for a league-best 4.6 yards per play allowed and…

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It was a wild wild-card weekend, with two stunners in Texas and history made in Michigan.

We broke down most of it (the Rams-Lions game hadn’t ended yet) from the big desk in the big studio.

Check out the video. We discuss Packers-Cowboys, Dolphins-Chiefs, Browns-Texans, preview the Monday games, and then play a little match game with big-name coaches and vacancies.

We’ll continue to cover everything going on during a crazy and historic time in the NFL, especially with all eyes now on Dallas for a possible upgrade from a guy who won one Super Bowl to a guy who has won six of them.

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It’s been 28 years since the Dallas Cowboys beat Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers, 38-27, in the 1995 NFC Championship Game, before beating Bill Cowher’s Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-17, in Super Bowl XXX.

That’s the last time Dallas has made it as far as a conference championship game. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more disappointing playoff stretch for any franchise than the Cowboys’ over this time.

They’ve endured 12 playoff exits since then, the most recent a 19-12 defeat to the San Francisco 49ers last postseason. Here’s a number and fact for each one, to sum up the postseason agony for America’s Team.

1. Teams worth $9 billion in sports (2023 Cowboys)

There’s ONE team worth $9 billion in sports. It’s just the 2023 Cowboys, according to Forbes. They’ve been the most valuable NFL franchise for 15 straight years. They say money can’t buy you happiness. Well, it can’t buy you a championship either.

2. Cowboys’ times with No. 1 seed since 1996

Dallas has had the No. 1 seed TWO times since 1996. In 2007, it went one-and-done against the Giants and Terrell Owens got emotional defending Tony Romo during an infamous postgame interview, saying “That’s my quarterback.” In 2016, the Cowboys lost after Aaron Rodgers’ iconic sideline throw to Jared Cook set up the game-winning field goal.

3. Dez Bryant’s controversial no-catch vs. Packers

Dez Bryant had THREE catches in the Cowboys’ 26-21 divisional round loss at Lambeau Field in 2014. It would have been four if replay review didn’t overturn his controversial no-catch. Had the catch stood up, Dallas could have taken the lead in the final minutes of the game. Safe to say Dallas wants to put its last two playoff games vs. the Packers (2014 and 2016) in the rearview mirror. 

4. Mike McCarthy losses vs. 49ers in postseason

Mike McCarthy is 0-4 in his playoff career vs. the 49ers (two losses with the Packers and two with the Cowboys),…

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