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Players are looking to build momentum as the regular season approaches, and quite a few did just that. Here are three takeaways from the first big night of the 2019 preseason: Jones looked ready to go from the start The New York Giants received a lot of heat from their fans after they selected Daniel Jones out of Duke with the sixth pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. But, he showed promise en route to his team’s 31-22 win over the New York Jets in his preseason debut....

Just a pair of unbeaten teams remain in the Patriots and the 49ers, though a number of contenders have emerged in recent weeks. The Ravens, Colts, Saints, Packers, Vikings and Saints have won at least three games in a row. Week 9 features a number of tests for some of these contending teams as the Patriots, 49ers, Colts, Packers and Vikings will all be on the road, hoping to avoid a misstep....

Keenum stayed in the game after showing the effects of his head being slammed to the turf on the Rams’ final drive. His lost fumble two plays later ultimately cost the Rams the game. MORE: Bad beats: Keenum’s fumble costs bettors | Week 11 in photos According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, a Rams official told the media 25 minutes after the game that Keenum couldn’t speak with the media because he had suffered a concussion....

NFL Chief Medical Officer Allen Stills, in a Friday conference call, expressed disappointment in the data, which also includes totals for ACL and MCL tears. But he did note a silver lining, referring to the fact 28 percent of concussions were self-reported, compared to just 19 percent in 2016. MORE: NFL makes in-season change to concussion protocol The league’s concussion protocol has been a topic of discussion over the last few seasons; several teams have been punished for not following the NFL’s guidelines by allowing players to re-enter the game prematurely....

In a pre-argument statement filed Thursday by league attorneys with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, the NFL detailed the legal strategy it plans to use to appeal U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman’s ruling that commissioner Roger Goodell acted outside the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement in suspending Brady. MORE: Inside the new Spygate allegations | STEELE: Can them all The statement, penned by NFL attorney Daniel Nash, highlights three key arguments:...

Early TV ratings reports show viewership is down in prime-time games and in featured national telecasts. The NFL Kickoff game on NBC was down from a year ago, and the Week 3 “Sunday Night Football” telecast between major markets Dallas and Chicago was down 7 percent from 2015 (Denver-Detroit). That’s pretty significant when you consider the market sizes. We also have seen the two lowest-rated “Monday Night Football” telecasts since at least 2009, which includes a Week 2 snoozer between Philadelphia and Chicago....

The franchise tag allows a team to keep a player on a top-dollar contract for one year. The player can play out that contract or the two sides can agree to a multiyear contract by July 15. MORE: What, exactly, is the franchise tag? 13 players received the non-exclusive franchise tag, meaning players can negotiate elsewhere but the team that applied the tag can match any other team’s offer. If the original team doesn’t match the offer, it receives two first-round picks....

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings will play in the preseason opener, the Hall of Fame Game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. MORE: 2015 NFL schedules | Toughest and easiest paths to the 2015 NFL playoffs The game kicks off Aug. 9 at 8 p.m. ET, and will be aired on Sunday Night Football on NBC. It will be the first look at Adrian Peterson on the field since his tumultuous exit last year — if he’s on the field....

The Packers (13-4) and Titans (12-5) led their respective conferences and will have first-round byes and home field advantage throughout the postseason. Green Bay is the favorite to win the championship while the Chiefs are favored to win the AFC. MORE: NFL playoff predictions for 2022 AFC, NFC brackets and Super Bowl 56 Are you looking to watch the 2021-22 NFL postseason without cable? There are plenty of options for how to watch games, but are there ways to do so free?...

As the quarterbacks move, the value of Texas A&M receiver Mike Evans goes up, as does that of defensive linemen who continue to rise. Houston Texans — Blake Bortles, QB, UCF
Free agency has come and mostly gone, and the Texans didn’t address the quarterback position outside of signing Ryan Fitzpatrick. They’ve all but made it clear, especially after letting Matt Schaub walk, that they’re taking a quarterback first overall....

There are some notable changes in the projected picks for the Steelers and Cowboys, who join the Eagles, Patriots and Raiders as marquee teams being eliminated. Knowing which teams are still in the playoffs, the shakeup is felt through the end of the first round. With the College Football season finished and Georgia crowned as the champion, that means the Senior Bowl and other key all-star events will soon be here to kick off the draft scouting before the Combine....

We take a look at those transactions and more in this edition of NFL news and notes. Three things that matter Broncos trade Emmanuel Sanders to 49ers It was reported that Denver dealt the two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver and a fifth-round pick to San Francisco, with NFL Media noting the 49ers were in on Mohamed Sanu before he went to the Patriots. In return, the Broncos received third- and fourth-round picks in 2020 from the Niners....

Although there are five undefeated teams and five winless teams, there also are 22 teams in between with little separation. That should make for some more interesting action. Here’s how Sporting News is navigating through all the numbers for another full slate of 16 matchups: (Game odds courtesy of FanDuel ) NFL POWER RANKINGS:Rams overtake Buccaneers at No. 1; 49ers, Chiefs, Steelers fall big for Week 4 NFL picks against the spread for Week 4 Game of the Week: Cardinals at Rams (-4, 54....

Such a lack of clear favorites and underdogs (no matter what Tom Brady might be claiming) makes life tougher on prognosticators like us. Whatever. We can handle it. Because, while nobody can promise 100 percent accuracy on game predictions, we’re confident in our belief that both of Sunday’s championship games will be dandies. MORE: Info, odds for Super Bowl 53 in Atlanta Below are SN’s picks and predictions for the NFC and AFC conference championship games....

MORE: Get the latest NFL playoff odds, lines & spreads here Although the slate drops from six games during wild-card weekend to a combined four this Saturday and Sunday, there’s still plenty of good two-day action between the AFC and NFC matchups. There are two strong favorites and two mild favorites among the home teams this week. Here’s to trying to build on our solid success navigating through the numbers from last week:...

New Orleans was up first with a chance to clinch a playoff berth with a win in Dallas on Thursday night. Not only did the Saints fail to do that with their loss to the Cowboys, but they also lost their chance to win the NFC South this week. That leaves the Rams as the only team with a chance to clinch their division this week, while the Chiefs, still being stalked by the Chargers in the AFC West, can only clinch a playoff berth....

Elsewhere, fellow veteran quarterback Matt Ryan will shoulder the Atlanta Falcons’ hopes of upsetting its rivals, while the Carolina Panthers begin a rebuilding process. Here’s what to expect from the NFC South ahead of the upcoming NFL season. All odds are courtesy of DraftKings. New Orleans Saints It’s difficult to pick holes in the Saints’ roster, which has been bolstered by the additions of key veterans like Malcolm Jenkins and Emmanuel Sanders....

The Boston Herald reported Friday that after the search, a league employee “interrogated” three Patriots employees, taking photos of their security badges and requesting to look at their radios and smart phones. MORE: Will Pats go undefeated? | 10 terrible decisions by the NFL A source told the Herald that the NFL employee’s actions toward the Patriots workers was “unprecedented.” The NFL conducted the search after the Jets asked the NFL to sweep their locker room for listening devices....

Speaking with co-host Vic Carucci and me Tuesday on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said the team should have a new deal done with cornerback Desmond Trufant “very soon.” Dimitroff also said the team was “confident that something can get wrapped up” with running back Devonta Freeman later this year. Conversely, right guard Chris Chester isn’t in Atlanta’s plans for 2017. The Falcons are expecting Chester, 34, to soon announce he is retiring....