NFL

6:00 AM ET INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle DeForest Buckner gave a sarcastic chuckle. It was the kind in which you couldn’t tell if he was offended by the question or if it was a sympathetic laugh. “Yeah, I was pretty good at basketball,” he said matter-of-factly after the chuckle. When you see Buckner

6:57 AM ET ASHBURN, Va. — During a videoconference with military veterans at Walter Reed Medical Center on Tuesday, Washington Football Team quarterback Alex Smith revealed the mindset during his recovery that also has shaped his pro career. “Try to be as positive as possible,” he told the assembled viewers. “We all have our dark

9:28 PM ET SANTA CLARA, Calif. — A week after the NFL and players’ union opened an investigation into the San Francisco 49ers‘ compliance with the league’s COVID-19 protocols, the team has been cleared of any potential violations. A league source confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday that after a review of the team’s adherence to

3:14 PM ET OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Why is the once high-scoring Baltimore Ravens offense struggling this season? Lamar Jackson says the Ravens are too predictable on offense. On Wednesday’s “Rich Eisen Show,” Jackson said teams know what the Ravens are going to run on offense when they line up. “They’re calling out our plays,

7:00 AM ET NFL NationESPN We’re roughly halfway through an NFL season unlike any we’ve seen before amid the coronavirus pandemic. Every team has now played at least eight games, so it is time to take stock of the first half and look at what lies ahead as the playoffs near. How do we describe

10:07 AM ET The Pittsburgh Steelers have placed quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and three others on the Reserve/COVID-19 list after being deemed “high-risk” close contacts with TE Vance McDonald, who returned a positive test for the virus on Monday. As “high risk” contacts, Roethlisberger, OL Jerald Hawkins, RB Jaylen Samuels, and LB Vince Williams must isolate

4:06 PM ET Commissioner Roger Goodell said Tuesday that owners have voted to approve two measures: Expanding to a 16-team playoff (from 14) this season if future games are lost because of the coronavirus pandemic. If that happens, there will not be a re-seeding for the playoffs. The vote was unanimous. Incentives to reward teams

6:55 AM ET NFL NationESPN We’re officially at the midpoint of the 2020 season, so the NFL Power Rankings are reevaluating things. Along with our weekly rankings, we’ve asked every NFL Nation reporter to recalibrate expectations for the team they cover. Some are lofty (we see you, K.C.), some are modest (sorry, Jets) and others

11:30 PM ET The New England Patriots‘ 2020 season, on life support while facing a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter against the winless New York Jets, has been revived. For another week, at least. The Patriots stopped a four-game losing streak by coming back to beat the Jets 30-27 on Monday, improving to 3-5

7:00 AM ET Mike Reiss Close ESPN Staff Writer Covered Patriots since 1997 Joined ESPN in 2009 Rich Cimini Close ESPN Staff Writer Longtime Jets beat writer for New York Daily News Syracuse University graduate FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Inside a flag-waving stadium that celebrated the nation’s resilience while mourning the loss of thousands, coach Bill

6:21 PM ET The Houston Texans took offers for wide receiver Will Fuller before the Nov. 3 trade deadline but ultimately did not find a deal that suited them, with interim head coach Romeo Crennel saying the speedy playmaker wouldn’t be traded “for peanuts.” If Fuller had been traded, it wouldn’t have sat well with

8:08 PM ET Who else but Minkah Fitzpatrick? For the second week in a row, Fitzpatrick knocked away a pass in the end zone to preserve the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ undefeated season. This time, he kept Garrett Gilbert‘s pass from finding CeeDee Lamb to help the Steelers hold on to a 24-19 win against a pesky

4:17 PM ET Lamar Jackson overcame one of the worst starts of his career to secure a place in NFL history. Going a perfect 10-for-10 passing in the second half, Jackson led the Baltimore Ravens to a 24-10 win over the Indianapolis Colts and matched the best 30-start mark of the Super Bowl era. The

4:58 PM ET OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Wide receiver Dez Bryant was elevated off the Baltimore Ravens‘ practice squad on Saturday, a source told ESPN’s Field Yates, making him eligible to play Sunday. Bryant, 31, completed his second week on the Ravens’ practice squad. He hasn’t played in an NFL game since December 2017. “I

3:01 PM ET The NFL Players Association is looking into a complaint filed by New York Jets players about the presence of security cameras in the locker room at their training facility in Florham Park, New Jersey, a source close to the union confirmed to ESPN. The NFLPA will consider action if the cameras are

8:00 AM ET THE MAN APPEARING in the doorway of Adam Gase’s office late on an October Wednesday night looks like a character out of a nursery rhyme, squat and nearly square. He is an employer of few words, and his presence in this doorway at this moment attests to the overall seriousness of his

6:00 AM ET FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Every Monday morning, Brian Baldinger makes a 15-minute drive from his home in Marlton, New Jersey, to the NFL Films facility in Mount Laurel. He heads up to the third-floor studio, where he dissects video from the previous day’s games. One of his favorite parts of the job

7:15 AM ET ESPN staff The Week 9 NFL schedule is stacked with great matchups. Our NFL Nation reporters bring us the keys to every game, a bold prediction for each matchup and final score picks. Additionally, ESPN Stats & Information provides a stat to know for each contest, and the Football Power Index (FPI)