The Daily Briefing

A look at the MVP race from CBSSports.com organized by Cody Benjamin: Our panel of voters (16): Cody Benjamin, John Breech, Will Brinson, Joel Corry, Jordan Dajani, Jared Dubin, Bryan DeArdo, Josh Edwards, Eric Kernish, Jeff Kerr, Shanna McCarriston, Garrett Podell, Pete Prisco, Kevin Steimle, Tyler Sullivan, Chris Trapasso Voting rules:Each first-place vote counts for 5 pointsEach second-place vote…

NFC NORTH CHICAGO Charlie Campbell hears that Lions OC Ben Johnson is not enamored with the thought of Ryan Poles picking his players and that Poles isn’t enamored of picking Johnson to lose his job: Rumors I’m hearing on Bears head coach opening via team sources: – Lions OC Ben Johnson wants the job, but…

If The Season Ended Today in the NFC: NFC                                          W-L      Conf         Last Week      %Detroit                     North        14-2      10-1               1                (1st or 5th seed)Philadelphia            East          13-3      8-3                 2               (2nd seed)LA Rams                 West         10-6      6-5                 3               (3rd or 4th seed)Tampa Bay             South         9-7       7-4                 4                89 (+31%)Minnesota               WC1         14-2       9-2              WC1             (1st or 5th seed)Washington             WC2         10-5      7-3               WC3             (6th or 7th seed)Green Bay              WC3          11-5      5-4               WC2             (6th or…

If The Season Ended Today in the AFC: AFC                                          W-L      Conf        Last Week          p’off statusKansas City              West        15-1       9-1                1                1st seedBuffalo                      East         13-3       92                 2                 2nd seedBaltimore                  North        11-5      7-4                 5                3rd or 5th seedHouston                    South        9-7       7-4                 4                4th seedPittsburgh                 WC1        10-6      7-4                 3                3rd, 5th or 6th seedLA Chargers             WC2         10-6     6-5                 WC2          5th or 6th seedDenver                      WC3         9-7       5-6                 WC3         …

A helpful look from Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com at where things stand after three of Week 17’s 16 games. The Chiefs clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC on Christmas Day. Here’s how the rest of the playoff picture looks after Thursday night of Week 17: NFC Playoff PictureDIVISION LEADERS 1. Detroit Lions (13-2): Clinched a playoff berth.2.…

NFL vs. CFP. The ratings are in and Sean Leahy of YahooSports.com has the numbers. The NFL continued to prove that it is king with a strong showing in the ratings department for its two Saturday afternoon games that went up against competition from the College Football Playoff. There were 15.4 million viewers for the Baltimore Ravens win over the…

If The Season Ended Today in the NFC: NFC                                          W-L      Conf         Last Week      %Detroit                     North        13-2      9-1                 1                100  (playoffs)Philadelphia            East          12-3      7-3                 2                100  (playoffs) LA Rams                 West         9-6       5-5                  8                 81   (+27%) Atlanta                     South        8-7       7-3                 9                 48   (+12%)Minnesota               WC1        13-2       8-2              WC1             100  (playoffs)Green Bay               WC2        11-4      5-4               WC2             100 (playoffs)Washington             WC3         10-5      7-3               WC3             94  …

If The Season Ended Today in the AFC: AFC                                          W-L      Conf        Last Week          p’off %Kansas City              West        14-1       8-1                1                100 (division)Buffalo                      East         12-3       8-2                 2               100 (division)Pittsburgh                 North        10-5      7-3                 3                100 (playoffs)Houston                    South        9-6       7-3                 4                100 (division)Baltimore                  WC1         10-5      6-4                 WC1          100 (playoffs)LA Chargers             WC2          9-6       6-4                 WC2          94 (+7%)Denver                      WC3         9-6       5-5                …

This from Clay Travis: @ClayTravisThe other big thing most aren’t talking about: many college football and basketball players are now making more in college than they would in the pros. Every starting SEC quarterback makes more this year than Brock Purdy does in year three in the NFL as a starter. It’s wild. And Purdy was still…

NFC SOUTH  ATLANTAMike Sando of The Athletic on what might be next for QB KIRK COUSINS: Kirk Cousins appeared to be back in peak form as the NFL calendar turned to October. The 36-year-old quarterback, not quite one year removed from surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon, passed for 509 yards and four touchdowns in the Atlanta Falcons’…