NFL News Blog

With a playoff berth clinched, several Patriots players say they still want to play in the regular-season finale Sunday at Houston. Coach Bill Belichick hasn't disclosed what he'll do, but guard Logan Mankins said if Belichick rests his starters and New England loses, ending the playoff chances of other teams, those teams put themselves in [...]

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu practiced in a limited role for the first time in seven weeks, although it seems unlikely he will play Sunday in Miami. Polamalu has missed 10 full games and most of two others with a pair of left knee injuries. He hasn't played since Nov. 15 against Cincinnati because of [...]

Jim Irsay was a football fan long before he was owner of the Indianapolis Colts. So when he hears outsiders criticize Indy's move to pull its starters in Sunday's game, at the expense of a perfect season, he understands the passion. He just disagrees with the sentiment. On Wednesday, after three days of hearing national [...]

Colts owner Jim Irsay believes his team did the right thing by pulling their starters in Sunday's game against the New York Jets. In a conference call with three local reporters, Irsay called the decision "courageous." Though he acknowledged it was hard, even for him, to watch the undefeated season slip away in the final [...]

The AFC North champions don't understand how they can be shut out of the Pro Bowl. None of the Cincinnati Bengals was voted into the honorary game, leaving them a little taken aback after the list was announced Tuesday night. They were the only AFC division champion that failed to have a player picked — [...]

Eagles coach Andy Reid and quarterback Donovan McNabb both see big changes in Tony Romo's leadership ability this season. Hmm. What might've changed from previous seasons? "It was that hole in the dome," Reid said. In separate conference calls with Cowboys writers Wednesday, Reid and McNabb both brought up Romo's growth as a quarterback and [...]

Buffalo Bills running back Fred Jackson says he's been fined $5,000 by the NFL for painting "DIII" under his eyes rather than using a standard strip of eye black during last weekend's game at Atlanta. Jackson complained about the fine after practice Wednesday, and said he intends to file an appeal.
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Linebacker LaMarr Woodley predicts the New England Patriots and Cincinnati Bengals will "lay down" for their virtually meaningless games Sunday because they don't want the Super Bowl champion Steelers to make the playoffs. The Steelers (8-7) would reach the postseason for the fifth time in six seasons if they beat Miami, the Patriots defeat Houston, [...]

The House Judiciary Committee says retired boxing champion Thomas Hearns, former NFL players Ted Johnson, Kyle Turley and Bernie Parrish, and the Rev. Al Sharpton are among witnesses who will appear at next week's hearing on head injuries in football. The committee will hold a session called "Legal Issues Relating to Football Head Injuries, Part [...]

Carolina Panthers coach John Fox is saying little about his future. After a report this week that said Panthers owner Jerry Richardson will allow Fox to return next season but won't extend his contract, Fox on Wednesday would only say that he's got a year on his contract and that "I have an agent that [...]