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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs were missing backup cornerback Rashad Fenton and running back Darrel Williams against the Bills on Sunday night in a matchup of relatively healthy teams in the divisional round of the playoffs.
BUFFALO (11-6) at KANSAS CITY (12-5)
Sunday, 6:30 p.m. EST, CBS
BETTING LINE: Chiefs by 1 1/2, according to FanDuel SportsBook.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Keith Butler retired on Saturday, less than a week after his 19th season with the team ended in a blowout playoff loss to Kansas City.
The 65-year-old Butler, who spent 10 seasons as a linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks in the 1970s and 80s before getting into coaching, helped the Steelers win two Super Bowls and reach another during his nearly two decades with the team.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jerick McKinnon probably shouldn't have been surprised to spend all season buried on the Chiefs depth chart.
The journeyman running back had been passed over plenty of times before.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mason Rudolph understands the baggage he carries. Dwayne Haskins too.
The next seven months give the two Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks a chance to shed the weight. For the first time in nearly a generation, the starting gig in the city they play for is up for grabs after Ben Roethlisberger all but confirmed he is retiring after 18 seasons.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — For the first time in Mike Tomlin's long tenure as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, he enters the offseason unsure of who his starting quarterback will be in the fall.
The only certainty is that it won't be Ben Roethlisberger, who has given every indication he will retire after an 18-year career.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ben Roethlisberger came back for one more run, wanting a chance for his final performance to not be a lopsided first-round playoff loss.
Even with his closest friends gone. Even with a first-year offensive coordinator.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger raised some eyebrows ahead of their wild-card game against the defending AFC champion Chiefs on Sunday night when he admitted that “we probably aren't supposed to be here.”
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs were going nowhere on offense against Pittsburgh early Sunday night, so coach Andy Reid had wide receiver Mecole Hardman take a shotgun snap and hand off to running back Darrel Williams on a trick play.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Versatile receiver Deebo Samuel ran 26 yards for a touchdown the play after an interception by Dak Prescott, and the San Francisco 49ers held on for a 23-17 wild-card victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers had running back Najee Harris and wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster available for their wild-card playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Mike Tomlin and Ben Roethlisberger are brutally honest about the Steelers' chances of advancing past the wild-card round of the playoffs, especially given the Chiefs humiliated them just a few weeks ago in Arrowhead Stadium.
PITTSBURGH (9-7-1) at KANSAS CITY (12-5)
Sunday, 8:15 p.m. EST, NBC
BETTING LINE: Chiefs by 12 1/2, according to FanDuel SportsBook.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs will be without Clyde Edwards-Helaire for their wild-card playoff game against the Steelers on Sunday night after their starting running back was unable to put together a full week of practice because of a hurt collarbone.
Daniel Carlson’s latest clutch field goal for the Las Vegas Raiders earned him some fans from across the country.
Carlson’s overtime winner from 47 yards on Sunday gave the Raiders a 35-32 win over the Chargers and clinched a playoff berth for the Pittsburgh Steelers by avoiding a tie.
NEW YORK (AP) — Five players, including dynamic pass catchers Cooper Kupp and Davante Adams, are unanimous choices for The Associated Press 2021 NFL All-Pro Team.
Joining the Rams' Kupp and the Packers' Adams in receiving votes Friday from all 50 members of a nationwide panel of media members who regularly cover the league are Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, Steelers edge rusher T.J.
No team ever needed a first-round bye in the playoffs more than the Tennessee Titans, who used a record 91 players this season, most ever in a non-strike season.
The Titans (12-5) edged perennial power Kansas City (12-5) for the top seed and the lone bye in the AFC playoffs.
The Green Bay Packers are the only NFL team that didn't lose a game at home in the 2021 season. They're counting on their frenzied fanbase and frigid climes to help them get to the Super Bowl for the first time in 11 years.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Joe Haden felt terrible in the middle of last week as symptoms of COVID-19 took their toll.
A day later, the veteran Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back left better. Physically, anyway.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The last time the Kansas City Chiefs played the Pittsburgh Steelers, their record-setting wide receiver had just recovered from COVID-19 and their star tight end was sitting at home and still dealing with the virus.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — There was no speech. No galvanizing moment.
There didn't really need to be one.
The Pittsburgh Steelers knew the 2005 playoffs would be the last go-round for Jerome Bettis.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The last time the Chiefs played the Steelers in the playoffs, Tyreek Hill was a wide-eyed rookie wide receiver, Chris Jones was learning the ropes at defensive tackle and Travis Kelce was only just becoming one of the league's best tight ends.
NEW YORK (AP) — The race to Super Bowl 56 in sunny southern California is about to begin.
And if the Green Bay Packers have anything to say about it, opposing teams will have to go through frigid Lambeau Field for an opportunity to get there.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers could be close to fully healthy when they travel to Kansas City to take on the AFC West champion Chiefs in the opening round of the playoffs on Sunday.
Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday running back Najee Harris, cornerback Arthur Maulet, left tackle Dan Moore Jr.
Al Davis' mantra wasn't “Just tie, baby!”
The Las Vegas Raiders could’ve punched their ticket to the postseason — and given the Chargers a spot — by taking a knee on the final play Sunday night.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — It sounded like wishful thinking at best. A throwaway line at worst for a coach bracing himself for imminent disappointment.
“I'm capable of talking myself in(to) anything,” Mike Tomlin said last week when asked about the seemingly unlikely series of events the Pittsburgh Steelers needed to unfold if they wanted to navigate their way to the playoffs.
The Kansas City Chiefs did what they had to Saturday, beating the Broncos on the road to finish up the regular season.
Too bad the Titans did what they had to Sunday, too.
Derek Carr and the Las Vegas Raiders played to win, knocking the Los Angeles Chargers out of the playoffs and sending the Pittsburgh Steelers to the tournament.
The NFL’s playoff field was set when the Raiders locked up the final wild-card spot by beating the Chargers in overtime in a wild, winner-take-all game Sunday night.
BALTIMORE (AP) — Calm as can be on what could have been his final pass, Ben Roethlisberger was right on target, finding Ray-Ray McCloud over the middle on fourth down to set up Pittsburgh for the winning field goal in overtime.
SCOREBOARD
The wild-card round of the NFL playoffs begins next weekend with six games over three days.
The AFC playoffs will be running through Music City, and the Tennessee Titans should have Derrick Henry back for their first game this postseason.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Daniel Carlson’s 47-yard field goal as time expired in overtime lifted the Las Vegas Raiders past the Los Angeles Chargers 35-32 on Sunday night for their first playoff berth since 2016.
BALTIMORE (AP) — A frustrating season marred by an assortment of injuries and close defeats ended in familiar, agonizing fashion for the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
The Ravens played shorthanded — and valiantly — before falling 16-13 in overtime to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — All those games ago, it was a young Ben Roethlisberger who helped a popular Pittsburgh Steelers star go out on top.
Come Sunday, a Steelers newcomer hopes to give Roethlisberger another chance in the playoffs.
PITTSBURGH (8-7-1) at BALTIMORE (8-8)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, CBS.
BETTING LINE: Ravens by 6, according to FanDuel SportsBook.
The past week has been a whirlwind for Ben Roethlisberger. The fans in Pittsburgh gave their quarterback quite a retirement send-off, and the emotions from that night will surely linger for a while.
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Lamar Jackson will miss a fourth consecutive game for the Baltimore Ravens to end the regular season.
Baltimore ruled Jackson out for Sunday's game against Pittsburgh because of his ankle injury.
The Associated Press will hand out its individual NFL awards on Feb. 10 at NFL Honors in Los Angeles. Until then, here are some off-the-beaten track honors to consider.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — T.J. Watt has seen it all when he's trying to get to the quarterback.
The Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker has faced slides to his side, tight end chips, running back chips, double teams and more.
The Kansas City Chiefs will likely be without running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire for the second straight week when they visit the Broncos on Saturday in their crucial regular-season finale.
Edwards-Helaire hurt his shoulder early in the second half of a romp over the Steelers on Dec.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ben Roethlisberger acknowledged his emotions were still high in the hours following a 12-point win against Cleveland on Monday night.
The Steelers quarterback insisted Wednesday morning he’s solely focused on Sunday’s regular-season finale at Baltimore, a game that will play a role in determining Pittsburgh’s playoff fate.
For Baltimore defensive back Jimmy Smith, the possibility of retirement is now more than just talk.
“Anybody who knows me knows that I’ve been retiring since my rookie year. I always say it. It’s just how I talk,” he said Wednesday.
It sure seemed like a goodbye as Ben Roethlisberger took a victory lap around Heinz Field, much to the delight of the fans who have cheered his remarkable career.
It seemed like the end of the regular season, too, but that’s another story.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Baker Mayfield’s broken fourth season with the Browns has mercifully ended with one game left.
His time in Cleveland could be running short as well.
Mayfield is sitting out the season finale against Cincinnati so he can undergo surgery on his left shoulder, an injury that affected his performance, contributed to the Browns' falling way short of expectations and may have altered the path of his NFL career.