7:00 AM ET ESPN staff The Week 18 NFL schedule for the 2021 season is stacked with great matchups, and we got you covered with what you need to know heading into the weekend. Our NFL Nation reporters bring us the biggest keys to every game, a bold prediction for each matchup and, of course,
NFL
7:31 AM ET The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have an incentive to finish the regular season strong, both as a team and for at least a couple of individuals. The Bucs, who host Carolina on Sunday (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS), can win the No. 2 seed in the NFC, and quarterback Tom Brady is one of
8:12 PM ET Associated Press GREEN BAY, Wis. — Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said he plans to interview with the Jacksonville Jaguars about their head-coaching vacancy next week. The Packers (13-3) have clinched the NFC’s No. 1 seed and lone first-round playoff bye, so they won’t be playing when the postseason begins
5:33 PM ET OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens placed Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard on injured reserve Thursday, which means Baltimore will be without one of its top blockers for the must-win game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Ricard, who was named to his third straight Pro Bowl, has been dealing with a
5:11 PM ET ESPN News Services The USFL on Thursday announced the hiring of its first four head coaches — Todd Haley, Kevin Sumlin, Mike Riley and Bart Andrus — with play scheduled to start this spring. The league will have eight teams, with 10-game regular-season schedules running from April 16 through mid-June, it said.
3:53 PM ET EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Giants coach Joe Judge appears to have the support of his locker room despite a rough season and a rambling 11-plus-minute answer that made eyes roll across the NFL. Judge went all over the map in the much-discussed rant after Sunday’s 29-3 loss to the Chicago
3:15 PM ET ASHBURN, Va. — Former Washington and Denver Broncos running back Clinton Portis has been sentenced to six months in federal prison and six months of home confinement for his part in defrauding a health care benefit program for retired NFL veterans. Portis pleaded guilty to fraud in September following charges that he
1:05 PM ET The Chicago Bears placed quarterback Justin Fields on the reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday, putting his ability to play in the team’s season finale against the Minnesota Vikings in jeopardy. Fields, 22, had just returned to full practice Wednesday after missing the last two games due to an ankle injury. Bears coach Matt Nagy
2:05 PM ET FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur issued an emphatic mea culpa Thursday, saying he blew the call that might have cost New York an upset victory Sunday against the Buccaneers. “It’s 100 percent on me,” said LaFleur, commenting for the first time on Zach Wilson‘s ill-fated quarterback sneak late
12:33 PM ET Adam Schefter Close ESPN Senior Writer ESPN NFL Insider Joined ESPN in 2009 Former president of the Pro Football Writers of America and the author of four books Jenna Laine Close ESPN Staff Writer Covered the Buccaneers since 2009 Joined ESPN in 2016 Four days after wide receiver Antonio Brown threw off