NFL

11:34 PM ET Brady HendersonESPN INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Matthew Stafford entered Monday night’s wild-card game against the Arizona Cardinals having never won in the playoffs, losing in all three of his appearances over 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions. If only he had a team around him as talented as the one he now quarterbacks.

6:45 AM ET NFL NationESPN Six NFL playoff games down, and seven to go. The offseason is nearly here — and for 24 teams, it already is — bringing the opportunity for every team to get better and make changes as they prepare for the 2022 season. There are question marks surrounding current quarterbacks —

6:00 AM ET Eric WoodyardESPN DETROIT — The “Bad Boy” Detroit Pistons had recently won back-to-back NBA championships in 1989 and 1990. Civil Rights advocate Nelson Mandela was not far removed from a historic visit to Detroit after spending nearly three decades in prison. A teenaged Jalen Rose — on the heels of leading Detroit

12:45 AM ET Tory BarronESPN Editor Close Tory Barron is a Bristol-based writer and editor for ESPN.com. After retiring from playing lacrosse at UConn, the DC native decided to try her hand at writing about people playing sports. And just like that, with the Los Angeles Rams‘ 34-11 wild-card-round victory over the Arizona Cardinals, the

11:25 PM ET ESPN staff The order for the top 24 picks in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft is set — after a bit of Week 18 chaos — with the Jacksonville Jaguars picking No. 1 and the Detroit Lions picking No. 2. Could both teams be thinking pass-rusher with their selections?

11:03 PM ET INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker was taken off the field on a stretcher after a violent collision late in the third quarter of Monday night’s NFC Wild Card game against the Los Angeles Rams. He was ruled out of the game with a concussion but did have movement and

6:13 PM ET HENDERSON, Nev. — Mike Mayock has been fired as general manager of the Las Vegas Raiders after three tumultuous seasons that produced a combined record of 25-24 and numerous on- and off-the-field controversies. “We have relieved Mike Mayock of his duties as General Manager of the Las Vegas Raiders. We thank Mike

6:12 PM ET FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones all but ended any speculation about coach Mike McCarthy’s job status on Monday. Asked by 105.3 The Fan in Dallas a day after the Cowboys’ season ended with a wild-card loss to the San Francisco 49ers whether he was confident McCarthy would

5:32 PM ET SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Already playing through a torn ligament in his right thumb, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo suffered another injury in Sunday’s victory over the Dallas Cowboys. This time, Garoppolo is dealing with what coach Kyle Shanahan called Monday a “slightly” sprained right (throwing) shoulder. According to Shanahan, the

5:46 PM ET HENDERSON, Nev. — Las Vegas Raiders interim coach Rich Bisaccia, who led the team to its first playoff appearance since 2016 and only its second since 2002, said Monday he has had preliminary conversations with team owner Mark Davis about potentially getting the job full-time. But that hasn’t stopped the Raiders from

4:08 PM ET INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The Arizona Cardinals activated defensive lineman J.J. Watt off injured reserve on Monday afternoon, just hours before playing the Los Angeles Rams in the last NFC wild-card game of the weekend. It was the next formal step for Watt to play Monday night, completing another fast recovery from a

1:34 PM ET TAMPA, Fla. — Buccaneers All-Pro right tackle Tristan Wirfs, who suffered a right ankle sprain in Sunday’s wild-card game against the Philadelphia Eagles, is in a walking boot this week, coach Bruce Arians said Monday. Arians added that “there’s a chance” he can play this week in the divisional round, but it

6:00 AM ET TEMPE, Ariz. — To the left of the door inside Kyler Murray‘s bedroom at his parents’ home in Texas, below an Oklahoma Sooners banner, is a black-and-white picture of Bruce Lee. Whenever Murray has a break from his duties as Arizona Cardinals quarterback and heads back to his home state, he stays

12:08 PM ET CINCINNATI — The Bengals will be without one of their best defensive linemen for the rest of their playoff run. Starting defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi was placed on injured reserve Monday, the team announced. Ogunjobi was carted off the field with a right foot injury in Cincinnati’s 26-19 wild-card playoff victory over

7:00 AM ET Lindsey ThiryESPN Close Covered Rams for two years for Los Angeles Times Previously covered the Falcons Has covered the NBA and college football and basketball INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Inside the bowels of SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay strutted down the tunnel as a camera paced to capture every move,

12:00 PM ET ARLINGTON, Texas — Twice in the final 2:42 and with the Dallas Cowboys down six points, Dak Prescott had the game in his hands. That’s all he wanted. “I don’t necessarily know why people have labeled the word ‘pressure’ as such a bad thing, honestly,” Prescott said four days before the wild-card

1:49 AM ET KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger didn’t use the word “retirement” following Pittsburgh’s season-ending 42-21 playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs but called his 18-year career with the franchise “an honor” and said he’s “looking forward” to the next chapter. Roethlisberger and the Steelers didn’t get the happy ending

8:15 PM ET Your instincts were correct if you felt like NFL officials were throwing more flags in 2021. Penalties ticked up to 13.88 per game during the regular season, a bit higher than in the 2020 season (13.14) but still way below where they were in 2019 (16.17) and 2018 (15.87). That’s the longer-term