Daily Briefing

AROUND THE NFL NFC NORTH   CHICAGO Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com on QB MITCHELL TRUBISKY’s future:   The Chicago Bears are officially on the clock with quarterback Mitchell Trubisky.   Almost three full seasons after Trubisky went second overall in the 2017 NFL draft, the Bears face the uncomfortable reality that, barring growth in Year…

AROUND THE NFL Playoff Scenarios – we took out the ones that involved a tie.   AFC   CLINCHED:   Baltimore Ravens – AFC North division and homefield advantage throughout AFC playoffs Houston Texans – AFC South division Kansas City Chiefs – AFC West division New England Patriots – AFC East division Buffalo Bills –…

AROUND THE NFL NFC NORTH   CHICAGO Was Chiefs QB PATRICK MAHOMES reminding the Bears what could have been?  Kalyn Kahler of SI.com is among those doing the math:   half hour before the start of Sunday’s game between the Bears and the visiting Chiefs, a woman wearing a Chiefs winter pom-pom hat brandished a…

AROUND THE NFL NFC NORTH   DETROIT Dan Wetzel of YahooSports.com on no change coming in 2020 at the top of the Lions hierarchy:   On Sunday, during another Detroit Lions loss, amid another lost Detroit Lions season, the Detroit Lions fans who still bother to attend Detroit Lions games tried to send a message…

AROUND THE NFL NFC NORTH   CHICAGO QB MITCHELL TRUBISKY was critical of something after Sunday’s loss at Lambeau, but he says it wasn’t Coach Matt Nagy.   First, this from Eric Edholm of YahooSports.com in the aftermath:   After the game, Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky was asked about the Packers’ pass rush affecting him.…

AROUND THE NFL NFC NORTH   DETROIT The Lions “almost” had a chance to hire a respected Hall of Fame coach.  But then 30 seconds passed, and Tony Dungy was back to being retired.  Peter King:   On missing his old life, embracing his new one, and whether anything would make him go back to…

AROUND THE NFL Vic Fangio with a radical proposal.  Kevin Patra of NFL.com:   Every few years when a division is won by a team with a less-than-sterling record, eating up a playoff spot while a better team sits at home during the postseason, reconstruction comes to the forefront of the NFL.   The year…

AROUND THE NFL NFC NORTH   GREEN BAY An offer from the Packers for Sunday’s game with the Bears:   You know it’s going to be cold when the locals in Green Bay are preparing for the chilly weather.   Ahead of Sunday’s Packers game against rival Chicago Bears, the forecast is currently calling for…

AROUND THE NFL Rules are made to be broken – and the NFL will delay their Week 16 Sunday night “flex” option, presumably at the behest of NBC.  John Sigler of USA Today:   The NFL’s schedule is largely written in stone, but the ability to flex certain games into more prominent time slots is…

AROUND THE NFL Even though they have clinched nothing, the 49ers leap from 5th to 1st this week in If The Season Ended Today in the NFC:                                                              Overall      Div Rk      Conf 1          San Francisco   West      11-2             1             8-1 2          Green Bay         North     10-3             1             7-2 3      pd -New Orleans   South     10-3             1             8-3…

AROUND THE NFL Suddenly in the AFC, it is almost assured that all roads to the Super Bowl will go through Baltimore.   And the Raiders and Colts are now two games below the playoff line with three to play.  Those two teams and Cleveland hope that Buffalo clinches a playoff berth this week by…

AROUND THE NFL NFC NORTH   CHICAGO QB MITCHELL TRUBISKY is actually playing pretty good, the Bears are now 7-6 after disposing of the Cowboys, but LB ROQUAN SMITH hurt his pectoral.  Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com:   The rest of Bears linebacker Roquan Smith’s season is in jeopardy.   Smith, Chicago’s leading tackler, suffered what…