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The calendar has turned 2023 making it feel like the playoffs are already here. Five playoff berths are filled in the AFC, with one division and one wild card still up for grabs. There’s only one more opening left in the NFC, the last wild card. Based on the NFL’s updated playoff picture, here’s the final regular-season edition of Sporting News NFL power rankings, from No. 1 down to No....

These are the players who can be called on to join the main squad during the season should someone be forced off the roster. This year, due to the ongoing COVID pandemic, 16 players are allowed on the practice squads. Note that these practice squads are subject to change as new players are signed or released. NFL practice squads by conference NFC East practice squads Cowboys practice squad FB Nick Ralston...

So predictions regarding how all teams including the defending NFC champion 49ers will finish in the 2020 NFL standings and beyond are more of a crap shoot than usual. We have no choice but to operate with the roster and schedule knowledge we have of all 32 teams heading into what will be a strange season. Based on NFL senior writer Vinnie Iyer’s game picks for the entire 2020 season, SN is projecting a bit of a drop-off for San Francisco after it tore through the NFC playoff field last season on the heels of a 13-3 regular season....

Now we’re ready for more. MORE: Must-watch games in 2015 | Each Week’s Top 3 | “Hard Knocks” schedule The Week 1 preseason slate should feature plenty more rookie debuts, as well as some early answers to training camp position battle questions. Here are the story lines we’ll have an eye on this weekend. Thursday, Aug. 13 — Jimmy Garopollo enters fill-in mode for Patriots (7:30 p.m. vs. Packers)...

So let’s get to it. These numbers are up to date as of Friday evening. Chiefs (+5, 42.5) at Patriots: Betting is fairly split, with 58 percent of tickets and 60 percent of cash on the Chiefs. However, 71 percent of over/under tickets have hit the OVER, while 84 percent of the money is on the UNDER, which is why that line has dropped a point from its open....

The Patriots were caught filming the Bengals’ sideline? Did that video come with a laugh track? It was no joke, though. The Patriots were dysfunctional enough at that point that when the game in Cincinnati arrived, they led only by three points at halftime against a 1-12 squad that habitually was Joe-Burrowing itself into the turf. The Pats only turned around that game when Andy Dalton generously tossed three third-quarter interceptions their way, one of them a pick-6....

Over the past 15 seasons, only one player, Ray Lewis, took home two awards—in 2000 and 2003. Between him, it was Michael Strahan and Derrick Brooks, who were just inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Elevate to that level, and there’s a good chance Canton will come calling. Following the trend, someone new will likely win this season. The runners-up from 2013 is a great place to start finding him:...

Several games this week featured point spreads of a touchdown or less, meaning Week 6 was expected to continue the trend we’ve seen in the NFL this year. Through last week, the 2019 season was tied for the most games decided by seven points or fewer in league annals. Forty-two of 78 overall games (52.6 percent) had been decided by seven or fewer points, including nine of 15 games last week....

The football star delivered the check himself to the school’s principal, Stan Garber. In a statement on the Santa Clara school’s website, Garber shared the good news." On Saturday, November 23rd, 49ers Cornerback Richard Sherman pulled me from my shift as a docent in the 49ers Museum to give me a personal check for $7,491.27 to cover Cabrillo Middle School’s cafeteria debt," the statement read. The school also celebrated Sherman and the 49ers victory against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday....

With the 2021 regular season nearing its end, some teams looking to make a run at January football might have a tougher challenge than they think. The Browns, who were levied with playoff-or-bust expectations in 2021, sit at .500 and currently own the league’s most difficult remaining schedule entering Week 14. MORE: NFL playoff picture — Who’s teetering on the edge of playoff contention? On the other hand, the repeat-hopeful Tom Brady and the Buccaneers have one of the NFL’s easiest remaining schedules, a fact that certainly bodes well in Tampa Bay....

The league isn’t letting the postponement hamper its plans for the lavish host city. The stage will be on the water in front of the famous Bellagio fountains, creating one of the most extra stages the NFL has ever had. MORE: All-time NFL quarterback draft: Ranking the best QBs taken with picks 1-32, from Peyton Manning to Lamar Jackson Here’s a look at how it’s turning out. The NFL did make one “concession....

The first rule is something that has been covered extensively and was expected to pass — automatic ejection of a player who receives two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in a game. Coaches were opposed to the automatic ejection penalty, but owners seem to like the idea. The second rule that passed will essentially eliminate the need for teams to return kickoffs. The league has moved the touchback from the 20-yard line to the 25-yard line....

With that in mind, it’s no surprise NFL fans have taken notice of the new mansion Mark Davis has built in Las Vegas. The house cost $14 million and is shaped like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Fans of the Raiders and the NFL have had fun at Mark Davis’ expense since his purchase came to light. NFL fans poke fun at Raiders owner Mark Davis The first thing that stands out is the color scheme of the house, which matches that of Mark Davis’ team, the Raiders....

The linebacker has already accepted that his playing future likely won’t be with the Giants. The combination of a new coaching staff and mitigating factors stemming from age and the physical wear and tear that comes with a nine-year NFL career has Casillas believing he will probably be headed elsewhere via free agency. NFL FREE AGENTS: SN’s top 25 players, best players by position “I’ve spoken to (the Giants) briefly....

Crabtree, who turns 32 next month, remains unsigned after the Ravens released him in February, even though Baltimore had signed the wideout to a three-year, $21 million deal last offseason. He caught 54 passes for 607 yards and three touchdowns in 16 games during his lone season with the Ravens, marking his fewest receptions since he played only five games for the 49ers in 2013. Before his single season with the Ravens, the veteran spent three seasons with the Raiders and six with the 49ers after San Francisco selected him with the 10th overall pick in the 2009 draft....

Expect the NFL to announce a return to America’s entertainment capital and the second-biggest market in the next 12 months, with one or two teams debuting in Los Angeles no later than the start of the 2017 season. Several key statements from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft make it a certainty the NFL is knocking on L.A.’s door. The Rams and Raiders left at the end of the 1994 NFL season....

However, when the organization traded up in the draft to select Trey Lance with Pick 3, eyebrows were raised. Ever since then, Garoppolo’s future with the 49ers has been bleak. Many think that San Francisco will move on from the 30-year-old quarterback; however, trades are not simple. But a trade would help the 49ers retain the majority of its roster as they look to, again, compete for a Super Bowl....

On a recent edition of the Patriots Talk podcast, NFL reporter Rick Stroud joined host Tom E. Curran for a conversation about the quarterback. Stroud, who covers the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times, said there’s something impacting Brady personally, considering his weight loss: Stroud also noted the quarterback’s recent behavior of tossing a tablet and his short temper on the field against the Saints: During the NFC South matchup, the three-time NFL MVP took his apparent frustration out on a Microsoft tablet....