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Positives have been at a premium for both teams, who arrive into Monday Night Football joint bottom in their division with a 0-3 record. Both teams came close from ending their losing streaks in Week 3, with the Steelers losing 24-20 in San Francisco against the 49ers, while the Bengals were defeated 21-17 on the road by the Buffalo Bills. With the Baltimore Ravens leading the division with a 2-1 record, playoffs hopes for both Cincinnati and Pittsburgh are already wafer-thin and they will be almost certainly extinguished for whoever loses on Monday....

MORE: Get the latest NFL Week 17 odds, lines & more here Last week was pretty good in getting back on track above .500 ATS with some solid results straight up, too. That should make us feel more confident about our latest fearless forecast. Without further ado and keeping in mind the final week is weird with teams resting and playing for different things, here’s the final salvo of 16 selections:...

All three teams are double-digit favorites heading into Week 9. Philadelphia opens the action on Thursday night against the Texans. That’s not a glamorous game, but it’s a chance to watch Jalen Hurts continue his MVP-caliber season for the undefeated Eagles. Hurts, a Houston native, should be in top form against the Texans with favorite target A.J. Brown. Buffalo also is a heavy road favorite against the Jets. Josh Allen also is in the MVP mix, and favorite target Stefon Diggs is tied for the NFL lead with seven TD receptions....

Player representatives to the union also voted for changes to marijuana testing, classification for amphetamines, punishment for driving under the influence, and neutral arbitration on appeals. But NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in an email to The Associated Press: “There are unresolved issues. More negotiation ahead.” Aiello did not specify which issues are not resolved, but called them “significant.” Testing for human growth hormone was originally agreed upon in 2011, but the players have balked at the science in the testing and the appeals process for positive tests....

The Rams, who already clinched the NFC West, had a chance to be the first team to clinch a first-round bye in the playoffs. But they failed to beat Bears on Sunday night. In the AFC, the Chiefs clinched a playoff spot this week with their win over the Ravens, but their battle against the Chargers for the AFC West title will continue into next week. The Patriots, meanwhile, had a chance to clinch their own division but lost to the Dolphins....

With the exception of the Kansas City Chiefs and the Green Bay Packers, who secured the No. 1 seed in the AFC and NFC respectively, all other 12 playoffs teams are in action over Saturday and Sunday. The Buffalo Bills host a playoff game for the first time in 25 years, while the Cleveland Browns and Tampa Bay Buccaneers return to the playoffs for the first time since 2002 and 2007 respectively....

This strategy is far from a sure thing. Our RBs, despite being the most talented and expensive available, both face brutal matchups. You can make a case for paying down at RB (like we did with Damien Williams and Duke Johnson in our FanDuel weekend lineup) and paying up for high-target WRs, but we’re going to follow the guaranteed touches and instead hope our WRs can hit on one or two big plays and give us solid floors....

The arrival of Week 14 means there are only five weeks left in the expanded schedule to teams to either finish the season strong in playoff position or create something on which to build for next year. While there are many with hopes to earn the No. 1 through 7 seeds in both conferences, there are more teams headed to think more about the 2022 draft. Here’s how SN looks at that intersection and how all the teams stack up against each other from 1-32 now:...

Few could argue that the NFL branding is one of the most popular licensed properties in video games. Electronic Arts’ Madden franchise has been officially licensed by the NFL in 1993, has sold well over 100 million games, and is a massive success with each annual release. Attaching the NFL branding to a virtual reality game brings with it the potential of a very large audience, one that may not have delved into virtual reality prior....

The league also drew a C+ for gender hiring practices in the annual report by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport released Tuesday. Overall, the total number of women and people of color at or above the vice president level in the NFL increased by 11 percent. The league received an overall grade of B. The institute says it issues the grades in relation to the overall patterns in society....

Those in stripes on the field receive little to no praise for making correct calls, and any incorrect call is put under the spotlight. But while praise might be hard to come by, money is not. The officials out there are coming away with a nice paycheck for their efforts each week, and the Super Bowl is the biggest single dollar figure they’ll see after a game. How much do officials make in the Super Bowl?...

Throughout the season rosters have been updated weekly with ratings adjusted on a per-game basis as well as recently being moved more signficiantly to reflect the bigger picture that is half the season. MARVEZ: NFL brought back fun in Week 9 | What we learned Teams most affected It’s only natural that the teams to exceed expecatations and disappoint would have the largest swing in terms of players rising and falling....

MORE: NFL’s 10 greatest rivalries | Cam on camera: Panthers’ shining star Of the 256 regular-season games on the NFL schedule, three will be played in London and one will be played in Mexico City. The league also will be playing games in Los Angeles for the first time since 1994. The Rams are back in the LA Memorial Coliseum after moving from St. Louis. The team will play there until its new stadium in Inglewood is completed in 2019....

The NFL had no mercy on the Denver Broncos in their 2017 schedule. The strength of schedule was challenging enough — the hardest in the league. They have to climb through two teams that showed themselves as title contenders last season when healthy. And they have, well, issues at quarterback, that may or may not be resolved this year. Now new coach Vance Joseph gets a schedule that’s a beast, in the beginning, middle and end, not an easy feat....

NFL teams are embodying the One Nation, One Team mantra of the USWNT by tweeting support and well wishes to the players ahead of their first match: MORE: What channel is USWNT on today? Time, TV schedule for USA vs. Thailand The Philadelphia Eagles recorded a video to the USWNT with Zach Ertz sending a special shoutout to his wife, Julie. The match kicks off at 3 p.m. ET on FOX....

Casey was a 300-pound run stuffer as well. He could seemingly do it all on the line of scrimmage. Now, the Titans will look to find a replacement and continue their ascension to the top of the AFC. Here are the three candidates the Titans could look at on the open market to replace Casey. 3 candidates for the Tennessee Titans to fill the Jurrell Casey-shaped hole #1 - Geno Atkins Geno Atkins has been on the open market a long time for a man with 75....

The Texans and Bears head into Week 18 as the No. 1 and No. 2 picks, respectively, in the 2023 NFL Draft order. The two teams are in two very different situations, though, and landing the top pick could make for two very interesting scenarios. Houston will be searching for a franchise passer with their top selection. While Davis Mills has somewhat outperformed his draft slot, the quarterback hasn’t elevated his game to the point of discouraging the Texans from taking a quarterback with the No....

Prime memberships currently cost $15 per month or $139 a year. Those numbers could certainly go up. However, fans did not really enjoy the Prime experience. Many of them were disgruntled by the quality of the stream and made their feelings known on Twitter. NFL Thursday Night Football continues next week with the Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals Week 4 of the NFL season will kick off with the Cincinnati Bengals hosting the Miami Dolphins....

The NFL on Thursday announced the league’s competition committee unanimously recommended the rule for instant replay of pass interference for this season only, after which NFL owners can decide to extend, alter or eliminate it entirely. The news comes one week after the league announced that teams had seven days to provide any additional feedback on the final rule. The committee also will allow Hail Mary plays to be reviewed as long as it is “consistent with the guidelines for officiating the play on the field....

Exum was penalized for hitting the Packers’ Jarrett Bush during a punt return in the second quarter of the Thursday night game of Oct. 2. Tampa Bay wide receiver Louis Murphy was docked $11,025 on Friday for using abusive language toward an opponent after the Buccaneers scored a touchdown in a 37-31 loss to the New Orleans Saints last weekend. Seattle right tackle Justin Britt was fined $8,268 for a late hit against Washington’s Bashaud Breeland, while Seahawks linebacker Bruce Irvin was fined $5,512 for wearing white cleats while the rest of the team wore black — a violation of league uniform rules....