Herbert glad to have focus back on football after reaching extension with Chargers
Less than 24 hours after becoming the NFL’s highest-paid quarterback by annual salary, Justin Herbert’s first training camp practice on Wednesday didn’t appear different from past seasons, The Los Angeles Chargers signal-caller had his share of dynamic throws and then for nearly 25 minutes went up and down the sidelines signing autographs for fans and posing for pictures.
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Rodgers wins 3rd MVP, Donald gets 3rd top defensive player
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers earned his third Associated Press Most Valuable Player award, while Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald took his third top defensive player prize at NFL Honors. Titans 2,000-yard rusher Derrick Henry won Offensive Player of the Year, and the offensive rookie honor went to Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert. Cleveland's Kevin Stefanski was the Coach of the Year, and Buffalo offensive coordinator Brian Daboll earned assistant coach honors. Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson won the Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his work in the community. Rodgers had perhaps the best season of his 16-year career, leading Green Bay to a 13-3 regular season, the NFC’s best mark.
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The Latest: Packers' Aaron Rodgers wins 3rd MVP Award
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers passes during the first half of the NFC championship NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Green Bay, Wis., Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021. Rodgers received 44 votes, followed by Buffalo’s Josh Allen with four, and Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, the 2018 MVP, with two. ___9:52 p.m.For turning around a moribund Cleveland franchise, overcoming injuries and COVID-19 concerns, Kevin Stefanski is The Associated Press 2020 NFL Coach of the Year. Ad___9:20 p.m.Justin Herbert is the latest quarterback to win The Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year award. ___8:08 p.m.Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll has won The Associated Press NFL Assistant Coach of the Year award.
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Chiefs, Packers, Bills are top 3 in final AP Pro32 poll
However, none was able to knock off the Chiefs in the final AP Pro32 poll of the 2020 regular season. The Buffalo Bills stayed at No. The teams split their two meetings in the regular season, but the Seahawks won the most recent matchup, in Week 16. The Baltimore Ravens, the third team from the AFC North to make the playoffs, stayed at No. 16 after topping Philadelphia in the last game of the regular season and was the lowest-ranked team to make the playoffs.
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The Latest: Henry runs for 2k, Titans' doink wins AFC South
Henry came into Sunday’s regular season finale needing 223 yards rushing to become the second man in franchise history to reach 2,000. He came in as the NFL’s rushing leader for a second straight season with a career-best 1,777 yards rushing. The Green Bay Packers have set an NFL season record for second-quarter points. With the run Newton also passed Grogan for the single-season team record for rushing yards by a quarterback. Newton entered the game 26 yards behind Grogan, who had 539 rushing yards in 1978.
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NFL races go down to the wire in AFC South and NFC East
“We win this game, find a way to win, win the division. He's assured of repeating as NFL rushing champ, the first since Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006-07. Henry has a career-high 1,777 yards rushing and ran for 212 yards in his most recent game against the Texans. Ezekiel Elliott, despite a mediocre performance in 2020, needs 63 yards rushing for 1,000 this season, his fourth such output in five seasons. Baltimore (10-5) at Cincinnati (4-10-1)During their four-game winning streak, the Ravens have averaged 37 points and 233.3 yards rushing per game.
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Chargers win third straight as Herbert sets rookie TD mark
Herbert, the sixth overall pick in the April draft and third QB taken, completed 21 of 33 passes for 253 yards. Badgley also split the uprights from 43 yards late in the second quarter to extend LA’s lead to 13-0 at halftime. After the Chargers went three-and-out, Drew Lock scored on a 1-yard keeper for Denver's first rushing touchdown in seven games. And after Badgley's late field goal, the Broncos got to midfield. McManus then had a 37-yard field goal attempt bounce off the left upright, his first miss inside 40 yards since 2017.
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A bonus for NFL fans in Week 16: 4 straight days of games
They do have a sack in an NFL-record 71 straight games and have sacked Philip Rivers 15 times during seven games while he played for the Chargers. Rivers has had two or more TD passes in five straight games. He had career bests of 10 catches for 163 yards last week, and Ridley's seven 100-yard games lead the NFL. The 19 straight seasons without losing both games to a divisional opponent is an NFL record. The Jaguars have allowed at least 24 points in each of those 13 games, an NFL record.
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Raiders lose QB Carr, fall in overtime to Chargers, Herbert
Los Angeles Chargers tight end Hunter Henry, right, embraces quarterback Justin Herbert (10) after defeating the Las Vegas Raiders in overtime of an NFL football game, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020, in Las Vegas. Herbert scored on 1-yard plunge to give the Los Angeles Chargers a 30-27 overtime victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday night. The Chargers (5-9) snapped a nine-game losing streak against their AFC West counterparts, and snapped a three-game skid against the Raiders. Las Vegas (7-7) lost quarterback Derek Carr to a left groin injury in the first quarter. “It just shows the kind of player and football character he has,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said of Mariota.
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Dolphins earn 5th straight win by beating Chargers 29-21
Tua Tagovailoa had help from a less-heralded rookie while Justin Herbert struggled against a relentless pass rush, and the surprising Dolphins earned their fifth consecutive victory by beating the Los Angeles Chargers 29-21 Sunday. The Chargers could never catch up after they were hurt by two mistakes in the kicking game that allowed Miami to take a 14-0 lead. “I was disappointed in the special teams and some of the things that went on there. “It changed the momentum.”SPECIALMost lopsided of all was the special teams matchup. Jakeem Grant, the NFL leader in punt return yards, helped the Dolphins’ field position with three runbacks for 57 yards.
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The Latest: Quarterbacks drafted No. 1 shine around NFL
The Latest on Week 10 in the NFL (all times EST):___8 p.m.From Kyler Murray magic to Alex Smith’s latest milestone, it was quite the day for quarterbacks selected first in the NFL draft. The Cardinals beat Buffalo 32-30 on a 43-yard touchdown pass from Kyler Murray to DeAndre Hopkins with 2 seconds left, dropping the Bills record to 7-3. Brees was shaken up on a sack in the second quarter when Kentavius Street landed on him. 1 pick Joe Burrow, threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Jakeem Grant with 58 seconds left in the first quarter. Cole had scored on a franchise-record 91-yard punt return in the second quarter.
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Tua approaches injury anniversary grateful to be with Miami
As he walked off the field after taking a knee on the final play, Tagovailoa presented the ball to Flores. Flores said Tagovailoa appears to have regained all of his mobility, and might be even shiftier than he was at Alabama. “As a rookie, you don’t know what you don’t know,” Flores said. And while his NFL career is off to a good start, his perspective is different from before the hip injury. “I don’t know if I'll ever be my old self,” he said.
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Plenty of reasons for record-setting scoring pace in NFL
Whether it was the virtual offseason that hampered defensive development, a lack of screaming fans to hinder road teams, rules changes that always seem to favor the offense or coaches willing to be more aggressive, NFL clubs are scoring at a record-setting pace in 2020. That has eliminated the need for silent counts for road teams, making life much easier for offenses. Road teams are 67-65-1 this season, marking the first time since 1983 (68-57-1) that they had a winning record through nine weeks. From 2010-19, home teams outscored road teams by 2.0 points per game. FLAG FOOTBALL: From the crackdown on hits against defenseless receivers to the protections in place for quarterbacks, NFL rules always seem to tilt toward the offense.
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Chargers make blown leads an art form in season full of them
(AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)In a season full of blown leads, perhaps no team has perfected the art of the late-game collapse better than the Los Angeles Chargers. That makes the Chargers the first team in NFL history to blow a lead of at least 16 points in four straight games. While the Chargers have blown the biggest leads, there have been plenty of other teams to squander big advantages. MISSING TOM: The Patriots have gone three straight games without a touchdown pass for the first time since Tom Brady’s first year as the New England starter in 2001. The Jets have also gone three straight games without a TD pass, meaning these teams will take the two longest active streaks into their meeting on Monday night.
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Lock rallies Broncos to last-second 31-30 win over Chargers
Denver Broncos wide receiver K.J. Hamler (13) celebrates his game-tying touchdown against the Los Angeles Chargers during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)DENVER – Drew Lock hit rookie KJ Hamler from a yard out and no time on the clock and Brandon McManus nailed the extra point to give the Denver Broncos a shocking 31-30 win over the hard-luck Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. The Broncos (3-4) overcame a 24-3 deficit and rallied after being held to just 60 first-half yards, including 2 on the ground. The Broncos got the ball at their 19 with 2:24 remaining and Lock drove them 81 yards in 14 plays, helped by two defensive flags.
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The Latest: Saints get OT win; Broncos top LA on last play
Dalvin Cook scored four times for the Minnesota Vikings, who held on for a 28-22 victory over the Green Bay Packers. Cook has scored six touchdowns in two games against Green Bay this season. Green Bay now has made it seven in a row. The Vikings and Green Bay Packers are tied 7-all in the final minute of the first quarter. This is shaping up to be a windy day in Green Bay.
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Herbert leads Chargers to 39-29 victory over Jaguars
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) celebrates his rushing touchdown with Joshua Kelley (27) during the second half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)INGLEWOOD, Calif. – At last, a victory. The rookie threw for a season-high 347 yards and three touchdowns as well as running for a score as the Chargers defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 39-29 to snap a four-game losing streak. James Robinson led the Jaguars with 119 rushing yards on 22 carries and scored two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving). After Badgley's 35-yard field goal on the opening drive, rookie Joe Reed scored his first NFL touchdown on a 7-yard jet sweep around right end. It was the Chargers' first rushing touchdown since Herbert in Week 2 against Kansas City.
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The Latest: Seahawks lead Cardinals 27-17 at halftime
___10:09 p.mArizona Cardinals linebacker Isaiah Irving has been carted off the field after a collision on a kickoff just before halftime against the Seattle Seahawks. Jacksonville rallied from a 16-0 deficit and took the lead, but the Jaguars have been blanked in the fourth quarter. ___7:10 p.m.Tom Brady moved one touchdown pass ahead of Drew Brees for the career lead. Mayfield threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Harrison Bryant to even the score in the second quarter. New York leads 3-0.
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Lutz lifts Saints past hard-luck Chargers, 30-27 in OT
He’s got to do better but we could have done some other things better,” Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said. “This is how you grow as a team," Brees said. The Chargers (1-4) fell to their fourth straight loss by a touchdown or less, and the second in overtime. Then Brees found Cook open behind the Chargers’ secondary on third-and-long to tie it early in the fourth quarter. Saints: Enter their bye week, followed by a Week 7 home date with Carolina on Oct. 25.
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AP Source: Chargers' team doctor punctured Taylor’s lung
COSTA MESA, Calif. – Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Tyrod Taylor missed last Sunday's game because a team doctor accidentally punctured his lung, according to a person familiar with the case. Herbert was the Chargers' surprise starter in last Sunday's 23-20 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Herbert said he found out he was playing right as the Chargers were lining up to receive the opening kickoff. Taylor was taken to the hospital due to difficulties breathing after Lynn said he had a reaction to an injection. He was taken off it, though, after fully participating in practice and taking all of the snaps with the first team.
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Butker good from 58 in OT, Chiefs survive Herbert’s LA debut
(AP Photo/Ashley Landis )INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Harrison Butker wasn't nervous about his third attempt to kick a game-winning field goal in overtime for the Kansas City Chiefs. Butker connected from 58 yards with 1:55 remaining in overtime to give the Chiefs a 23-20 victory on Sunday. Butker’s game-winner was his third field goal of the day and his second from 58 yards, which tied a Chiefs record for distance. In overtime, Butker sent the ball through the uprights from 53 yards, but Kansas City was called for a false start. He also had four runs for 29 yards, including a 22-yard scramble on third-and-21 late in regulation to put the Chiefs into field goal range.
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The Latest: Seahawks' Diggs ejected for helmet-to-helmet hit
(AP Photo/John Froschauer)The Latest on Week 2 in the NFL (all times EDT):___8:55 p.m.Seattle safety Quandre Diggs was ejected late in the first quarter Sunday night for a helmet-to-helmet hit on New England’s N’Keal Harry. Multiple flags were thrown and after a few minutes of deliberation, referee Craig Wrolstad announced Diggs had been ejected. Watkins made an 11-yard catch to convert a third down when Desmond King started to bring him down and Denzel Perryman landed a helmet-to-helmet hit. San Francisco lost both defensive end Nick Bosa and defensive tackle Solomon Thomas to left knee injuries earlier in the game. Brady struggled in an 11-point loss to New Orleans in his first NFL game not in a New England Patriots uniform.