Tag: buffalo bills

NFL Power Rankings Week 11: Browns, Texans on the rise, plus head coach status check
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NFL Power Rankings Week 11: Browns, Texans on the rise, plus head coach status check

It’s Week 11 in the NFL, and it’s time to start thinking about who among the current head coaches has a future that will extend into the 2024 season.The Las Vegas Raiders have already made a coaching change, replacing Josh McDaniels with Antonio Pierce, at least on an interim basis. The Power Rankings are weighing in this week with a status check on Pierce and the other 31 head coaches to determine who’s “solid,” who’s “safe” and who’s “shaky.”Remember, that it takes a lot for a coach to reach “solid” status in the NFL, and don’t be surprised by the very famous name low on the list who is on shaky ground.(Last week: 2)Sunday: ByeCoach status: SafeSince going 9-8 in 2021, Nick Sirianni is 22-4 as the Eagles’ coach. He took Philadelphia to the Super Bowl last season and is beloved in the ci...
NFL Power Rankings Week 10: Ravens the new No. 1, midseason report cards for all 32 teams
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NFL Power Rankings Week 10: Ravens the new No. 1, midseason report cards for all 32 teams

We’re through nine weeks of the NFL season, and that means the Power Rankings can start handing out report cards. Be warned, we are grading on a curve, which is why you’ll see the Kansas City Chiefs at No. 3 with a B-plus while the Arizona Cardinals at No. 31 got an A.The Chiefs are Super Bowl contenders as long as Patrick Mahomes is healthy and in his prime, and they have some flaws you can see under a harsh light. The Cardinals, meanwhile, are executing a nearly flawless pivot. After amassing tons of draft capital in the offseason, they are in the process of making those picks very valuable by not winning many games while also not looking like a total joke.(Last week: 2)Sunday: Beat Seattle Seahawks 37-3Report card: A-plusThe Ravens outgained a good Seattle team 515-151. Baltimore has...
Bills legend Jim Kelly used to be mad about all he’d lost. Now he focuses on what he’s found
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Bills legend Jim Kelly used to be mad about all he’d lost. Now he focuses on what he’s found

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Jim Kelly, loser of four Super Bowls, one son and an upper jaw, stands in the pool in his backyard, water up to his midsection.About 25 family members and friends from his fellowship group circle the pool. Next to him is Matt Gold, the pastor of Alden Community Church.“To see today happen is such a sweet, sweet day, brother,” Gold tells him. “I love you and I think we can all say we’re proud of you and how far you’ve come. And where you’re going is even better.”As Gold alludes, Kelly is not who he was.The charisma and presence that once made him a leader of leaders is still there. His left fibula is not.It was removed in 2018, broken into four pieces, and used to reconstruct his upper jaw which had been infested by squamous cell carcinoma. In a 12-hour surgery, arteries an...
Damar Hamlin’s emergency team looks back: ‘The crowd didn’t exist … it was me, God and that kid’
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Damar Hamlin’s emergency team looks back: ‘The crowd didn’t exist … it was me, God and that kid’

The Athletic has live coverage of Bills vs Bengals in Sunday Night Football action.Growing up, John Bush Jr. boxed and played basketball and football. But on Jan. 2, Bush was part of a relay team whose baton was the life of Damar Hamlin.Bush, a Cincinnati native, has been a respiratory therapist on the Paycor Stadium emergency action team since its inception in 2018. The team is a result of the emergency action plan (EAP) that every NFL stadium is required to have in case of severe trauma. Although Bush has been on the sidelines for every game since the NFL contracted with the Level 1 trauma center at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, he’d never crossed the line onto the playing field during a game.That all changed when Hamlin, a second-year safety with the Bills, suffered card...
NFL Power Rankings Week 9: Eagles, Ravens at the top, plus something scary for every team
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NFL Power Rankings Week 9: Eagles, Ravens at the top, plus something scary for every team

Happy Halloween, NFL fans.The Power Rankings are getting into the spirit of the season by picking out something scary associated with each team. Some of these are scary for fans of a given team, while others should be scary for the team’s upcoming opponents.We hope all of them give you insight into where we stand with the NFL season nearly halfway complete.(Last week: 2)Sunday: Beat Washington Commanders 38-31Something scary (for others): A.J. BrownThe 6-foot-1, 226-pound wide receiver/cyborg is playing at a historic level. He had eight catches for 130 yards Sunday against Washington and now has topped 125 receiving yards in six consecutive games, becoming the first NFL player in history to do that. He is second in the league in receiving yards (939) behind only Tyreek Hill.Up next: vs....
NFL Power Rankings Week 8: Chiefs, Eagles are 1-2, plus one question for each team
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NFL Power Rankings Week 8: Chiefs, Eagles are 1-2, plus one question for each team

The Power Rankings have a new No. 1.And also some questions — 32 questions to be precise, one for each team. Some of these are big questions that affect the long-term future of the teams, and some are more specific. Either way, we’re hoping the final 11 weeks of the season will give us some answers.As for our new No. 1, they’ll feel pretty familiar.(Last week: 5)Sunday: Beat Los Angeles Chargers 31-17One question: Is the defense for real?Kansas City won the Super Bowl last season with a defense that ranked 14th in success rate (58.3 percent). This year’s group ranks fifth (61.6). The offense seems fully engaged now. Travis Kelce caught 12 passes for 179 yards Sunday, and Patrick Mahomes had his fifth career game with 400-plus yards and four or more touchdowns. Plus, Mahomes and Kelce con...
The Eagles’ ‘tush push’ play is taking over the NFL. But is it working?
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The Eagles’ ‘tush push’ play is taking over the NFL. But is it working?

On Thursday night in Kansas City, the Chiefs field goal unit lined up for an attempt. Kicker Harrison Butker assumed his regular position. Everything seemed normal, but just before the snap, the holder, Tommy Townsend, ran up to the line of scrimmage, and as he ran forward, tight end Noah Gray and offensive lineman Wanya Morris ran in from the wings.Gray took the snap and Morris and Townsend smushed together and pushed him forward with the ferocity of a jaguar heaving a gazelle up a tree trunk. It was a fake field goal tush push, the latest iteration of a play that has swept the NFL since Philadelphia’s offense introduced it and ran it at a record-setting pace last season. When I wrote about the play last January, it didn’t yet have a name. And not many teams aside from Philadelphia had t...
Buffalo Bills RB Damien Harris released from hospital
Health

Buffalo Bills RB Damien Harris released from hospital

Damien Harris thankfully seems to have escaped severe injury. The Buffalo Bills running back was released from the hospital on Monday with neck pain “but otherwise is going to be fine,” per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. That was in doubt Sunday night when Harris, 26, lay still on the turf at Highmark Stadium after a normal-looking collision with Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke. The Giants’ players said after the game that it was a scary situation. “You want everyone to come out healthy in a game. I wish him and his family nothing but the best,” center Ben Bredeson said. “That’s one of the frightening parts of football, and you don’t wish that on anybody.” Okereke said continuing to play in that type of moment is strange, because you care for the human but also need to resume the game. “It’s k...
Brian Burns, Jerry Jeudy and potential trade candidates for every NFL team as deadline looms
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Brian Burns, Jerry Jeudy and potential trade candidates for every NFL team as deadline looms

The NFL trade deadline is quickly approaching, and teams are browsing the league in hopes of finding the one missing piece that could help elevate their rosters.Last year, we saw a plethora of moves before the deadline that involved big-name players. The San Francisco 49ers pulled off a blockbuster deal for superstar running back Christian McCaffrey. We also saw Bradley Chubb get traded to the Miami Dolphins, Roquan Smith to the Baltimore Ravens and T.J. Hockenson to the Minnesota Vikings. Could this year offer similar activity?With the NFL trade deadline set for Oct. 31 at 4 p.m. ET, our writers at The Athletic list one candidate from each of their respective teams who has the potential to be shipped elsewhere.It’s not a production issue. Through five games, Brown leads the Cardinals in ...
NFL Power Rankings Week 6: Lions, Jaguars on the rise, plus rookie check-in
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NFL Power Rankings Week 6: Lions, Jaguars on the rise, plus rookie check-in

It’s already Week 6 in the NFL. Some things are clear. The San Francisco 49ers are very good. The Miami Dolphins are very fast (and probably very good). And some things are not clear. Two of the most highly respected coaches in the league in the last two decades find themselves near the bottom of this week’s Power Rankings. And the Kansas City Chiefs look out of sorts on offense despite winning.In the “Becoming Clear” category is how each team’s additions are affecting outcomes this year. For that reason, we’re doing a rookie check-in this week, although we’ve taken the liberty of expanding the category to “notable new guy” when warranted.(Last week: 1)Sunday: Beat Dallas Cowboys 42-10Should we do Sam Darnold here? San Francisco beat Dallas so badly Sunday night that Darnold got into th...