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The move was originally met with skepticism. After all, the NFL has, arguably, the best playoff format of any of the four major sports, so why change something that’s working? But soon after, NFL fans realized that the expanded postseason meant there would be two extra NFL games. So, they stopped complaining and the first 14-team postseason came and went without a major hitch. The 14-team postseason does have some key differences from the 12-team playoff of old....

That list of first-time quarterbacks ranges from a No. 1 pick in Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence to Mr. Irrelevant in San Francisco’s Brock Purdy. Both of those quarterbacks are 23 years old. Seattle’s Geno Smith will be making his first playoff start at 32 years old. Only six quarterbacks return from last year’s postseason. That includes the AFC trio of Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes II, Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow and Buffalo’s Josh Allen....

Surely, NFL fans will hope for better action in the divisional round of the 2022 NFL playoffs. Luckily, the matchups are a pretty good-looking bunch, and the highest-rated teams in each conference will join the fray as well. Both the Titans and Packers will be in action this week after getting a bye week last week. The Packers get to face the upstart 49ers, who upset the Cowboys to earn the right to play the Packers, in a series that has been entertaining over recent seasons....

The AFC championship will have a familiar look to it as the Chiefs are once again hosting the Bengals. An injured Patrick Mahomes survived a run by the Jaguars while Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati defense dominated the Bills in Buffalo to set up a rematch. On the other side, the NFC will feature at least one familiar face. The 49ers are in the championship game for the third time in four years after the defense stifled the Cowboys....

More of the same should be expected this season, with the two teams looking to go deep in the playoffs, while the Washington Redskins and New York Giants are in rebuild mode. Philadelphia Eagles The bookmakers’ favorites to win the divisional title at 19/20, the Eagles need Carson Wentz to stay fit. Philadelphia has gone all-in on the quarterback, signing him up to a four-year, $128 million contract extension with $107 million guaranteed....

The No. 2 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft, Mariota had been lauded for throwing 188 passes without an interception during training camp, but Falcons linebacker Justin Durant picked off the 2014 Heisman Trophy winner on Tennessee’s sixth play from scrimmage. The interception was Mariota’s lone misfire on a night that saw him complete 7 of 8 passes for 94 yards. MORE: Preseason action in photos | Mariota has short memory...

Madden NFL 21 was initially met with lackluster reviews after its August 2020 launch. Various bugs, player model glitches, physics issues, and an overall lack of polish led fans to give the sports title the lowest user score ever on Metacritic, despite it becoming the best-selling title of its launch month. However, it appears developer EA Sports is making an effort to remedy player’s complaints, providing a free update that makes changes to Franchise Mode based on player feedback....

For this exercise, I’m trying to evaluate these quarterbacks regardless of the team they are on. While I will bring up the offense they are in and how they function in it, I judge quarterbacks based on talent and their level of play. So I’m not going to hand out extra credit for hitting lay-ups and screens – and at the same time, quarterbacks will get credit for making things work despite bad O-line play or a lack of dynamic playmakers around them....

Players like Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill and even Christian Kirk helped to reset the receiver market in the early stages of the offseason with massive, long-term contracts. That opened the door for players like Cooper Kupp, A.J. Brown and Hunter Renfrow to get high-value extensions too. The latest receiver to get a lucrative contract is Terry McLaurin. The Commanders star signed a three-year, $71 million contract with a $28 million signing bonus, the largest ever for a wide receiver....

But it seems the team is focusing on retaining the services of wide receiver Michael Gallup above all else prior to free agency. Michael Gallup, when paired with CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper, gives the Cowboys one of the best trios in the NFL. However, Gallup played only nine games in 2021 and suffered a season-ending ACL tear late in the season. When healthy, Gallup is a borderline 1,000-yard receiver, which gives the Cowboys three such receivers in their lineup....

The 23-year-old allegedly smashed the window of a Miami-based Pizza Hut restaurant. Walton’s cousin tried to restrain him but ended up escalating the fight. An employee was reportedly “disrespectful” over the phone, triggering the eccentric Pizza Hut meltdown. Walton arrived at the fast-food chain to pick up his food, only to find out that his order was canceled. The hangry football player began banging on the windows to force the doors open to gain entry to confront the employee responsible....

That’s at home. Oakland will go six weeks without a home game at Oakland Coliseum — a stretch that begins after the Week 2 home game against Kansas City on Sept. 15 and ends when it returns home on Nov. 3 against Detroit. The NFL schedule-makers did not do much to make Jon Gruden’s second season with the Raiders easier. MORE: Raiders’ schedule toughest based on 2018 records In fact, it’s a remarkable work of art when it comes to unfortunate scheduling for a West Coast team....

A former 1st-round pick by New Orleans, Patrick Robinson is about to turn 34 and likely chose a healthy life in retirement over pushing his body past its limits. Following his rookie contract, he played a single season for the San Diego Chargers, Indianapolis Colts and Philadelphia Eagles before returning to New Orleans in 2018. He was a pivotal player in the Eagles’ Super Bowl win with a 50-yard INT TD in the NFC Championship game, and batted down Tom Brady’s Hail Mary pass at the end of the Super Bowl....

So what about players out this week or returning to action? Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White (hamstring) has been upgraded to probable for Sunday’s game at the Minnesota Vikings after missing last week’s 56-14 rout of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. As you can tell by the score, the Falcons did not even need him. The Linemakers on Sporting News’ Kenny White, one of the most respected oddsmakers in Las Vegas, rates Chicago Bears WR Brandon Marshall as a slightly better player than Roddy White, just for comparison’s sake....

Now that teams have their answers, the attention will turn to the rest of the offense — or in some cases the defense. Here we look back at the biggest headlines from Week 3 and the impact they’ll have heading into Week 4. Daniel Jones awakens sleeping Giants After being so harshly criticized for drafting the Duke star sixth overall in April, the team’s brass had to be smiling Sunday....

While Kaepernick is looking for a job in the NFL, Broncos defensive end Bradley Chubb is looking to build on a successful rookie season. And then there’s the developing quarterback battle in Tennessee. Those stories and more in Thursday’s edition of NFL News and Notes. Three things that matter Eric Reid’s response to Jay-Z’s partnership with the NFL Panthers defensive back Eric Reid is continuing to speak his mind....

While Tom Brady enters his age-42 season, the Bills and Jets are still entering a new era with second-year quarterbacks Josh Allen and Sam Darnold, respectively. And from the sound of it, they’re only getting better. Here are a few headlines from around the NFL: Bills QB Josh Allen raves about new wide receiver Cole Beasley Bills quarterback Josh Allen has a gigantic arm, but his best friend this season may be a receiver who makes his living close to the line of scrimmage — Cole Beasley....

Picks that are being underrated by the public can yield weekly gains that make the difference between winning and losing a season-long NFL pool, while smart upset picks can drive success in weekly pools. TeamRankings is the only site that provides customized picks that maximize your edge in NFL pick ’em pools. Check out TeamRankings’ Football Pick ’em Picks, NFL Survivor Picks, and NFL Betting Picks. TeamRankings also have Bowl Pick ’em picks if you are in a college football bowl pool....

There’s only one way to rebound from one bad week: Get up on that horse and pick our favorite ponies again. Week 3 offers more 16 chances to get games right, so it’s time to focus on the positives and not think about the alternatives. Without further ado and overthinking, here are this week’s Sporting News predictions for how every upcoming matchup will play out, from this Thursday night to next Monday night:...