EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — After the Minnesota Vikings knocked down passes on Detroit's first two plays, Danielle Hunter crouched down in his three-point stance on third-and-10 with a tight end lined up...
DETROIT LIONS (6-10)
New faces: DE Trey Flowers, DT Mike Daniels, WR Danny Amendola, TEs T.J. Hockenson and Jesse James, RB C.J. Anderson, Justin Coleman and Rashaan Melvin, S Andrew Adams,...
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Reality TV star Jesse James is offering a $5,000 reward for the return of one of his beloved dogs.
James in an Instagram post says the 6-year-old French bulldog named...
ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — The Detroit Lions waived tight end Michael Roberts after trying to trade him to the New England Patriots.
The Lions say trade conditions put Roberts back on the...
ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — The Detroit Lions traded tight end Michael Roberts to the New England Patriots for a conditional draft pick.
Detroit made the move Thursday, creating an open roster...
ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — The Detroit Lions have invested a lot in tight ends, desperately hoping to turn a weakness into a strength.
Detroit drafted Iowa star T.J. Hockenson early in the...
ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — Trey Flowers' 6-year old daughter has already experienced plenty of success during her father's NFL career.
"She's been fortunate to be at three Super Bowls. She has...
DENVER (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers can unnerve plenty of defenses with the NFL's best pair of pass catchers and the league's top tight end tandem.
Not Denver's.
"We've had a tough game every week," Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr. said. "We haven't had any easy games. So, this is just another top offense that we get to see, another great challenge and we're up for it."
Week 2 was another high scoring slate in the NFL and another week when daily fantasy sports contests were won by rostering the passing attack from just a handful of games.
NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL's revision of the catch rule figured to grab the spotlight this season.
Then the league altered the regulations on using the helmet when making contact on both sides of the ball, basically making it a 15-yard penalty no matter where on the helmet strikes an opponent. Even players on offense and linemen in the trenches are subject to being flagged, with potential fines and ejections for particularly flagrant hits by lowering the helmet.
PLANO, Texas (AP) — Walt Coleman doesn't see the revamped catch rule as a big change for NFL game officials because the veteran referee believes they've already been calling catches the new way.
If anything, Coleman figures there will be fewer reviews of their rulings.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Maybe it's too late for Jesse James and the Steelers or Zach Miller and the Bears.
No matter, the NFL has a simplified catch rule designed to eliminate confusion — and, the league hopes, controversy — about receptions.
Team owners unanimously approved the new language Tuesday, with basically three elements defining a catch:
—having control of the ball;
—getting two feet down or another body part;
—making a football move, such as taking a third step or extending the ball.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — That's a catch.
Mention the names Calvin Johnson, Dez Bryant, Zach Miller and Jesse James , and what looked, sounded and felt like a catch wasn't one. If NFL owners pass a proposal from the powerful competition committee, those will be receptions in the future.
It's a catch. Wait, there's a catch to the catch.
While coaches, players, fans and broadcasters become puzzled or annoyed by the NFL's "catch rule," the people in charge of developing and refining it through the years also have struggled. They simply couldn't find language to simplify it, leading to the inconsistency and controversy seen for seasons.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Maybe Mike Tomlin called it.
Maybe it was Todd Haley.
Maybe Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Rogers went rogue.
The chaos surrounding Pittsburgh's decision to go for the win instead of force overtime late in a 27-24 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday doesn't lead to easy answers.
Roethlisberger initially said he was told to run a play rather than spike the ball to set up an easy field goal.
A run is a run, a basket is a basket and a goal is a goal.
In the NFL, a catch isn't necessarily a catch, and a touchdown isn't always a touchdown.
A runner can inch the nose of the football over the goal line and even if it's subsequently batted away, it's a touchdown.
Cue the celebration.
A receiver can cross the goal line, get up and spike the ball. But if the football shifted just a hair as he hits the ground, it's just as if the pass went right through his hands.
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) — Alexis DeJoria, the first woman to break the 4-second barrier in a Funny Car, will retire from NHRA competition at the end of the season to spend more time with her family.
DeJoria announced her retirement Monday, calling it "one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make."
She added that her "reasoning behind this decision is simple: It's time for me to switch my focus towards my family."
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Vance McDonald heard the dreaded "double thud" and then just started running.
The first "thud" came from Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Chris Boswell's right foot smacking the ball while attempting a 35-yard field goal late in the first half last Sunday in Chicago. The second thud came when Bears defensive back Sherrick McManis blocked it.
Week 2 was tough on tight ends in fantasy football as five big names suffered injuries — none bigger than Greg Olsen of the Panthers breaking his right foot.
Olsen is expected to miss about six to eight weeks after having surgery on Monday. Rob Gronkowski (groin), Jordan Reed (chest), Jimmy Graham (ankle) and Tyler Eifert (back/knee) are all questionable to play this week.
CLEVELAND (AP) — For Pittsburgh's first road game, Antonio Brown wore a bow tie and purple and black suit embroidered with fire-breathing gold dragons. He completed his outlandish outfit with ruby red-sequined sneakers.
The flashy look was both dazzling and jaw-dropping — just like Brown's game.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The image of Antonio Brown's seemingly elastic left arm fighting off a pair of tacklers to stretch the ball across the goal line and send the Pittsburgh Steelers into the playoffs will live on. One more highly GIF-able moment in the star wide receiver's weekly dance with the improbable.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — No chaos this time. No meltdowns either.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals stuck to football this time.
And Ben Roethlisberger's sharp second half gave the Steelers an early leg up in the race for the AFC North title by shaking off a pair of first-half interceptions to finish with 259 yards and three scores and Pittsburgh held on for a 24-16 win on Sunday.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Ben Roethlisberger has played only two series this preseason, which might be all he needs.
Roethlisberger torched New Orleans for 148 yards and two touchdown passes in his first action this preseason, then got the rest of the game off while the Steelers rolled to a 27-14 victory on Friday night.