The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are poised to sign running back Le'Veon Bell after an injury to regular starter Leonard Fournette.

Fournette sustained a hamstring injury in the Super Bowl champions' surprise 9-0 loss to divisional rivals the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

He is expected to be placed on injured reserve and miss the rest of the regular season but should return in time for the playoffs.

Per reports from NFL.com and ESPN, the Bucs – who have a 10-4 record – will now turn to Bell, who will support Ronald Jones in filling the void left by Fournette.

Bell has been without a team since being released by the Baltimore Ravens last month and will sign pending a physical examination, which will take place on Wednesday.

The two-time first-team All-Pro played in just five games for the Ravens this season, rushing for 83 yards and two touchdowns.

He is best known for a successful five-year spell with the Pittsburgh Steelers to start his career.

After taking a year out of the NFL amid a contract dispute with the Steelers, he went on to join the New York Jets and also spent time with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020.

The man he is replacing, Fournette, sits in a tie for ninth in the NFL with eight rushing touchdowns in 2021, while his 812 yards on the ground put him 11th.

Fournette is also yet to fumble in 171 attempts this season.

The Bucs will look to bounce back from their loss to the Saints with another divisional game as they play on the road against the Carolina Panthers on Boxing Day.

Tom Brady's team remain three games clear of the Saints atop the NFC South in their ongoing bid to repeat as Super Bowl winners.

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp had "no idea" he had set a team record in the win over the Seattle Seahawks.

In a game pushed back from Sunday to Tuesday due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the Rams' camp, Kupp caught nine passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns in a 20-10 win for Los Angeles.

In the process, the 28-year-old set a Rams single-season record of 122 receptions, while his 14 touchdown receptions rank as the second-most in a campaign in the franchise's history, with only Elroy Hirsch recording more (17 in 1951).

Kupp, however, was not aware of the feat.

"I had no idea," Kupp told reporters.

"Obviously that's a great honour considering the receivers that have come through this organisation."

Kupp leads the NFL in touchdowns, receptions and receiving yards (1,625), and Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is thrilled to have such an in-form team-mate to pick out.

"He's a great player, he's having a fantastic season," Stafford said.

"I'm happy that I get a chance to play with a guy like that."

The Rams' win takes them to 10-4 for the season, tied for first place in the NFC West with the Arizona Cardinals heading into the final three regular-season games.

Los Angeles had placed a total of 29 players on their reserve/COVID-19 list over the previous 10 days, and coach Sean McVay admitted it had been a challenging week.

"I am tired right now. This has been emotionally and physically exhausting," McVay said.

"We'll get some rest, and then we'll get back at this thing tomorrow."

The Rams face the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

Matthew Stafford found Cooper Kupp with two second-half touchdown passes to lift the Los Angeles Rams past the Seattle Seahawks 20-10 in Tuesday's re-scheduled NFC West clash.

Kupp recorded his fifth two-touchdown game of the season, finishing with nine receptions for 136 yards to help the Rams improve their record to 10-4.

Stafford completed 21 of 29 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns with one interception, while Sony Michel rushed for 92 yards from 18 carries for the Rams.

With both sides fielding COVID-19-depleted teams, it was the Seahawks who went ahead in the third quarter after neither could score a touchdown in the first half, with Deejay Dallas bulldozing his way into the end zone.

But the Rams levelled it up at 10-10 with 6:31 left in the third when Stafford found Kupp, who broke the record for most receptions in a single season in Rams history, moving past Isaac Bruce (119) to 120.

The pair linked up again for the decisive play in the final quarter, with Stafford nailing a 29-yard play down the middle to Kupp who had found a small pocket of space, capping an 88-yard drive.

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, who made 17 of 31 passes for 156 yards, could not find a way back late, sacked by Aaron Donald before a fine block by corner back Jalen Ramsey on an attempt for DK Metcalf.

Hurts stars on Eagles return

The Philadelphia Eagles withstood a late challenge from the depleted Washington Football Team to win 27-17 and improve to a 7-7 record, keeping alive their playoffs' hopes.

Jalen Hurts returned from an ankle injury to run for two touchdowns and pass another for Greg Ward Jr to secure victory.

Hurts, who completed 20 of 26 passes for 296 yards and rushed for 38 yards from eight carries, set the single-season franchise record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with 10.

There were celebrations in the Atlanta Falcons' draft war room back in April when the team picking before them, the San Francisco 49ers, made Trey Lance their quarterback of the future.

Atlanta's delight was not related to any unfavourable opinions on Lance. The Falcons' jubilation was because the Niners' decision allowed them to enact their plan to select tight end Kyle Pitts the fourth overall selection, turning him into the highest-drafted player at his position in NFL history.

Yet the Falcons' Week 15 performance only served to raise further questions concerning whether those celebrations were misguided as they were crushed 31-13 on the road by the surging and right now seemingly playoff-bound 49ers.

There has been plenty of discourse about the merits of San Francisco selecting Lance and then having him sit for a year behind an often-volatile veteran in Jimmy Garoppolo. 

Whether that approach pays dividends in the long term remains to be seen, yet San Francisco's dominant success in a crucial matchup in the playoff race should intensify the scrutiny on a Falcons team whose vision for the future appears conspicuous by its absence.

The Pitts problem

It was easy to see why the Falcons were so enamoured with Pitts. A monstrous athlete blessed with wide receiver speed and a near 6ft 6in and 245-pound frame, Pitts was viewed as perhaps the finest tight end prospect to enter any draft because of his ability to separate from coverage, dominate at the catch point and make things happen with the ball in his hands.

With 847 receiving yards to his name, Pitts is on course for a 1,000-yard season but has just one touchdown, the superiority he was expected to show in the red zone as yet failing to materialise.

The separation has also not been as consistent as perhaps anticipated. Pitts has registered a burn, which is when a receiver wins his matchup with a defender on a play where he is targeted, 62.8 per cent of the time. That is above the average of 60.2 per cent but only 31st among tight ends with at least 10 targets in 2021.

Pitts is above average in terms of burn yards per target (11.3) and burn yards per route (2.8), while he is producing a big play on 34.4 per cent of his targets, putting him seventh among tight ends with at least 25 targets.

Tight end is a position where rookies typically tend to struggle, so in that context, Pitts' numbers are impressive. Still, his impact to this point can hardly be considered worthy of his draft slot.

Pitts is not to blame for failing to live up to expectations that were always likely to be too high, the former Florida Gator put in a difficult position by a franchise unsure of its direction.

Playoff contention a pipe dream

The acquisition of Pitts suggested the Falcons believed they were in a position to contend in the NFC with 2016 MVP Matt Ryan at quarterback and a talented offensive mind in Arthur Smith hired as their head coach.

But his selection was followed by a move that flew in the face of any such belief as the Falcons traded future Hall of Fame receiver Julio Jones to the Tennessee Titans.

That deal was in part motivated by the Falcons being pressed up against the salary cap limit, as well a desire from Jones for a change of scenery and his increasingly troubling injury history.

Though the trade was justifiable, it extinguished any notion of Atlanta wanting to build around Ryan and contend, and the Falcons' inconsistent and underwhelming 2021 campaign has delivered a reminder that the idea of them competing at the sharp end of the NFC was always ambitious.

Atlanta entered Week 15 still firmly in the mix for the playoffs at 6-7 but with a point differential of minus 108. After their blowout loss to the Niners, that has dropped to minus 126, the fourth-worst in the NFL.

The Falcons rank 21st in yards per play on offense and 25th in yards per play allowed on defense, with their struggles on both sides of the ball linked to sub-par play in the trenches.

Prior to the 49ers game, the Falcons ranked 28th in Stats Perform's pass protection win rate and last in pass rush win rate. Against San Francisco, they allowed 19 quarterback pressures and registered just four.

This is a bottom-half team that has been masquerading as a playoff challenger. Such a season would have been more acceptable had they used their premium pick on a quarterback in a class seen as an excellent one at the position. Having opted not to do so, the Falcons are mired in NFL no man's land.

No moving on from Matt... for now

The Falcons could theoretically get out of Ryan's contract this offseason but a dead cap charge of over $40million means they would only save a little over $8m against the salary cap.

A parting of the ways is more plausible in 2023 when the Falcons would save $28million by moving on from a quarterback who would then be entering his age-38 season.

Ryan is not the problem for the Falcons, but he is also not the answer.

He is delivering an accurate, well-thrown ball on 81.2 per cent of his attempts, the eighth-best rate among quarterbacks with at least 100 passes, and is doing so despite losing Jones and Calvin Ridley, who has taken a break from the game to focus on his mental health, from his supporting cast.

At the same time, Ryan is averaging 7.16 air yards per attempt, the sixth-fewest in the NFL (min. 100 attempts). Ryan may be limited by those around him, but he is also not performing at a level to elevate that group.

That mix has the Falcons in quarterback purgatory, and their path to exiting that unenviable position is not clear. The 2022 quarterback class is, at least on the surface, well short of the standard of the 2021 vintage, and Ryan – while no longer a member of the league's elite – still has the requisite talent to win enough games to ensure the Falcons will not be in a position to draft a top signal-caller in 2023.

In Pitts, the Falcons have a weapon widely viewed as a possible generational talent, but the decision to select him means they are now stuck with a quarterback not good enough to help them contend but too good for Atlanta to be able to tank to land his successor. Hindsight is always 20-20, but the Falcons' short-sighted choice not to draft Ryan's heir apparent makes a route to the top hard to foresee.

Chicago Bears pass-rusher Robert Quinn hit out at the "crazy" officiating in the NFL after a close defeat to the Minnesota Vikings.

The Bears went down 17-9 on Monday as the Vikings kept themselves in the NFC playoff picture.

It was an eighth defeat in nine games for Chicago, while the Vikings have now had 11 consecutive games decided by eight points or fewer, one shy of the NFL record.

Chicago coach Matt Nagy was flagged by the referee in between the first and second quarters after Bears safety Deon Bush was penalised for hitting Tyler Conklin's head on an incomplete pass.

This had been deemed as "forcible contact" against Conklin, much to Nagy's chagrin, with the coach venting his frustration towards referee Scott Novak.

"I saw what happened," Nagy told reporters. "Our guys are fighting their asses off to get off the field, and I saw what happened. So, I explained my opinion on it. And I don't regret it."

Novak claimed Nagy's complaints "crossed the line", but Quinn, earlier named a Pro Bowler for a third time, defended his coach.

"Some of these calls are starting to get a little crazy," he told reporters.

"These refs seem like they're controlling the game a little too much. So, when a play is clean and they're throwing a flag for something that they thought they could change a game [with] just by one flag.

"Let guys play ball. If this was a couple of years ago, half of this stuff wouldn't even be called. But now they got so many of these stupid rules, they dang near in a ref's hands [and] could change the game in any given moment.

"I think they need to go check the refs they hire and not our coach."

The Vikings, too, had complaints, after linebacker Eric Kendricks was ejected in the final quarter for hitting the head of Chicago quarterback Justin Fields.

"I didn't get a good explanation, really. They came over late and said they thought he had an elbow to a head," Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. 

"I thought I saw it pretty cleanly, and I thought the quarterback slid and kept his head up, and Eric was going down and kind of raised his head to try to avoid it, and I thought they bumped heads."

Minnesota are second in the NFC North, behind the Green Bay Packers (11-3), while Chicago (4-10) sit third.

Derek Carr was afraid he might have squandered the Las Vegas Raiders' last chance to win Monday when he threw an interception deep in Cleveland territory with the Browns leading by a point. 

The quarterback pleaded with his defense afterward to get him the ball back, vowing to win the game if they did, and that's exactly what happened. 

After Las Vegas forced a three-and-out, Carr drove the Raiders downfield and set up Daniel Carlson for a 48-yard field goal that gave the visitors a 16-14 victory as time expired. 

"After that interception, I told the guys 'Please, I promise we’ll win it, just get the ball back,'" Carr told reporters. "And the defense did, and we were able to go back down the field and win the game." 

Carr was trying to hit Zay Jones deep down the field when Greedy Williams picked it off, and Jones was frustrated on the sidelines after the play, but Carr made sure the receiver knew there was still football to be played. 

"I went to him right after that pick and I said, 'I'm coming right back to you and we're gonna win this game,'" Carr said. "I knew I needed him, and I wanted him to know, not only do I need you, but I believe in you." 

Sure enough, Jones was Carr's main target on the game-winning drive, catching a 12-yard pass for a key third-down conversion, then seeing a 17-yard reception called back by a holding penalty before a 15-yard connection in the closing seconds set up Carlson for the winning kick. 

"I trust him," Carr said of Jones. "I'm just happy that we got the ball back not for my own sake, but so that he could get the ball back in his hands. He won the game for us. It was awesome." 

Victory was especially sweet for the Raiders after several players had publicly aired their displeasure with the NFL moving the game back two days due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the Browns facility. 

Cleveland were missing eight starters, including quarterback Baker Mayfield, not to mention head coach Kevin Stefanski, but the Raiders desperately needed a win having lost five of their previous six games. 

The victory left them at 7-7 and level with the Browns, Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos in the AFC playoff picture, but they own the tiebreaker over those teams for the 10th spot and are within a game of the six teams ahead of them. 

"It's been a long time coming to win a game like that in the end," said Raiders interim head coach Rich Bisaccia. "We understand the situation we're in and what the playoff race looks like."

The Minnesota Vikings did not look like a playoff team Monday, but they managed to remain in the NFC postseason picture with a 17-9 defeat of the slumping Chicago Bears. 

Kirk Cousins threw a pair of touchdown passes for Minnesota but finished with just 87 yards passing, the lowest total in his 118 career NFL starts. 

Ugly as it was at times, that proved to be enough for the Vikings (7-7) as the Bears, who lost for the eighth time in nine games, could not find a way into the end zone until the closing seconds. 

Though Chicago out-gained Minnesota 370 to 193, the Bears (4-10) fumbled the ball away three times and came up empty on four of their five red-zone opportunities. 

Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields was more efficient than Cousins, completing 26 of 39 passes for 285 yards, but he repeatedly proved unable to complete the big pass when Chicago needed it. 

The Bears made it past the Vikings' 25-yard line on three consecutive second-half drives but saw each of them end with a failed fourth-down conversion. They finally tacked on a Fields-to-Jesper Horsted touchdown on the final play of the game, but by then it was too late. 

That otherwise-meaningless touchdown also emphasised the tightrope the Vikings have walked all year, as it was their 11th consecutive game decided by eight points or fewer, one shy of the NFL record.

The victory kept the Vikings in the NFC wild-card picture but they face an uphill climb, with games against the Los Angeles Rams and Green Bay Packers the next two weeks before a home rematch with the Bears to close the regular season. 

The Raiders kept their playoff hopes alive Monday as Daniel Carlson's 48-yard field goal on the game's final play gave Las Vegas a 16-14 victory over the Cleveland Browns. 

Carlson's third field goal of the game was a devastating blow to the Browns, who were on the brink of what would have been a remarkable victory despite playing without eight starters and head coach Kevin Stefanski in a game pushed back two days due to COVID-19 concerns. 

But the home side were left to lament what might have been after Derek Carr engineered the 28th game-winning final drive of his career to put Carlson in range for the winning kick. 

The quarterback got the Raiders off to a hot start, completing his first nine passes of the game as Las Vegas rolled to a touchdown on their opening possession, but the visitors could not find the end zone again as Cleveland's defense stiffened. 

In the meantime, the Browns got their offense on track after star running back Nick Chubb was limited to just 14 yards on six carries in the first half. 

Chubb got the Browns on the scoreboard with a four-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter and played a key part in the drive that set up third-string quarterback Nick Mullens' six-yard TD pass to Harrison Bryant that put the Browns up 14-13 with 3:45 to play. 

The Browns (7-7) intercepted a long heave from Carr on the ensuing Raiders possession but could not run out the clock, giving Las Vegas one last chance at a desperately needed win. 

The Raiders (7-7) had lost five of six games entering Monday, including an ugly 48-9 defeat against the Kansas City Chiefs in their previous game, and another defeat would have put them on the brink of elimination from playoff contention. 

A two-day postponement of the Philadelphia Eagles' game against the Washington Football Team bought Jalen Hurts some valuable recovery time. 

Philadelphia's quarterback is expected to start Tuesday after an ankle injury suffered November 28 against the New York Giants kept him out of the Eagles' most recent game on December 5. 

Hurts did work through all of Friday's practice as usual but would still have been listed as questionable if the game had been played Sunday as originally scheduled, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni told reporters. 

With a bye last week and an extra two days of treatment thanks to a COVID-19 outbreak affecting Washington that prompted the delay, Hurts should be at full speed Tuesday. 

"I feel pretty confident and feel really good about where he is at right now," Sirianni said.

Backup Gardner Minshew had a brilliant outing in place of Hurts before the bye, completing 20 of 25 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns in a 33-18 road defeat of the New York Jets. 

Hurts had insisted all week heading into that game that he hoped to play, but the Eagles (6-7) opted to err on the side of caution. 

Now there appears no doubt about Hurts' readiness, as he did not appear on the team's injury report Monday. 

"I’ve been coming in every day doing everything I can in my power to be available," Hurts told reporters last week. "At this point of the season, everybody is playing for a lot. Regardless of who’s out there ... we are going to try to go out and play good football all around.

"They have something to fight for and so do we. We want this win in December."

The 23-year-old Hurts has completed 60.1 per cent of his passes for 2,435 yards with 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions, in addition to rushing for 695 yards and eight more scores. 

He could end up facing Washington's third-choice QB, as starter Taylor Heinicke and his backup Kyle Allen both are on the COVID list, though they could test out shortly before the game. 

 

Quarterback Daniel Jones will miss the rest of the NFL season for the New York Giants due to a neck injury, it was announced on Monday.

The Giants are currently bottom of the NFC East with a record of 4-10 and have lost their past three games. Wide receiver Sterling Shepard (Achilles) has also been placed on injured reserve along with Jones after picking up an injury in Sunday's 21-6 loss at home to the Dallas Cowboys.

Jones has not played since the 13-10 victory against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 12, the Giants' last win, and just three games of the season now remain.

Giants head trainer Ronnie Barnes said in a statement released by the team on Monday: "Over the course of the past few weeks, Daniel has been examined by Dr. Frank Cammisa of Hospital for Special Surgery and Dr. Robert Watkins of the Marina Spine Center at Marina Del Rey Hospital.

"Our medical team has continued to consult with Dr. Cammisa and Dr. Watkins regarding Daniel's condition and symptoms, and at this point, Daniel has not been cleared for contact.

"We felt the prudent decision was to place Daniel on injured reserve for the remainder of the season. With continued rest and treatment, we expect a full recovery."

In Jones' absence, backup Mike Glennon has played at QB the past three games for the Giants, failing to reach more than 200 yards passing in each of them and throwing three interceptions in Sunday's defeat to the Cowboys.

Travis Kelce was among the first five players named to the 2022 Pro Bowl on Monday but also appeared on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

The Kansas City Chiefs tight end caught the game-winning touchdown pass in Thursday's overtime win against the Los Angeles Chargers.

That was one of two scores as Kelce had a career-high 191 receiving yards on 10 catches.

Only three other players this year have had more receiving yards in a game, while that display ranked joint-seventh among tight ends since 1960.

This level of performance showed why Kelce joined four others, including record-breaking 15-time Pro Bowler Tom Brady, in being recognised as an all-star yet again.

But Kelce's immediate focus is on the Chiefs' push for the number one seed in the AFC.

The 32-year-old's appearance on the COVID list prompted concern, although the player is vaccinated and so will have the opportunity to test out of NFL protocols before Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Kelce was one of a host of NFL players to test positive for coronavirus on Monday – reported to be around 50, a single-day record.

Kansas City's AFC West rivals the Chargers confirmed Joey Bosa was among them and would not return in time to play the Houston Texans in Week 16.

Jared Goff was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday, less than 24 hours after leading the lowly Detroit Lions to a sensational victory over the Arizona Cardinals.

After an awful season, the Lions have shown fight in recent weeks, getting their first win of the year against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13.

But Sunday's stunning 30-12 defeat of the NFC West-leading Cardinals came as a complete shock.

One-time MVP candidate Kyler Murray continued his uneven form at quarterback for Arizona following his return from injury, but Goff excelled for Detroit.

The former Los Angeles Ram completed 21 of 26 passes for 216 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions – albeit he tossed two pickable passes despite identifying an open target with 25 of his attempts. A passer rating of 139.7 was the fifth-best of Goff's NFL career.

But the Lions' hopes of ending the year with momentum were hit on Monday by news of Goff's move to the COVID list.

Goff has missed only one game since moving to Detroit this season, with deputy Tim Boyle in from the start for the Week 11 defeat to the Cleveland Browns, throwing zero TDs and two picks.

The Lions (2-11-1) go to the Atlanta Falcons (6-8) on Sunday.

Tom Brady is to become the first player in NFL history to feature in 15 Pro Bowls after being among the first five participants named for this season's game.

The first Pro Bowlers of the 2021 season were revealed on billboards in Las Vegas, which will host the annual NFL all-star game on 6 February at Allegiant Stadium.

The other confirmed players to feature are Aaron Donald (Los Angeles Rams), Cooper Kupp (Los Angeles Rams), Jonathan Taylor (Indianapolis Colts) and Travis Kelce (Kansas City Chiefs).

Brady will overtake Peyton Manning, Tony Gonzalez, Bruce Matthews and Merlin Olsen, who all featured in 14 Pro Bowls.

The legendary quarterback has guided the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 10-4 record and first place in the NFC South, with just one more victory needed to secure the division title. Brady currently boasts the best 2021 numbers in most major passing categories, including yards (4,348), attempts (602), completions (404) and touchdown passes (36).

The 44-year-old has won more Super Bowls than any other player in history (seven) and also holds the record for most Super Bowl MVP awards (five).

The full reveal of the AFC and NFC teams for this year's Pro Bowl will take place on Wednesday.

Chris Godwin's 2021 season is over, Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians revealed on Monday.

Earlier in the day, reports had suggested Godwin would miss the remainder of the regular season with an MCL sprain but could return for the playoffs.

However, in his media duties, Arians revealed the severity, and the exact nature, of the setback.

"Chris has an ACL," Arians said, "and he's done. He'll be done for the season."

Arians said the Bucs would "wait and see" on their other injured stars, including Mike Evans and Leonard Fournette, both of whom have hamstring issues.

Godwin had been on track for a career year after a strong end to 2020 in which he helped Tom Brady's Tampa to Super Bowl glory.

This year, Godwin ranks third in the NFL for catches (98) and fifth for receiving yards (1,103). He has scored five receiving TDs, along with a single rushing score.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin is expected to miss the rest of the regular season after sustaining an MCL sprain in the defeat to the New Orleans Saints.

Godwin suffered the injury in the second quarter of Sunday's shutout loss and is unlikely to feature again before the playoffs, according to NFL Network.

The Bucs could put the receiver on injured reserve, although setbacks for Leonard Fournette and Mike Evans on Sunday are not said to end their respective seasons.

Both players had hamstring issues, while Lavonte David was forced off with a foot problem.

Speaking after the game on Sunday, coach Bruce Arians said: "[The injuries were] big. It hurts more losing all the players we lost.

"We lost about seven starters in this game, so I'm more concerned about that right now. We'll wait and see [how bad the injuries are]."

Godwin is expected to be fit again for the postseason but would certainly be a big loss until then, with the Bucs having failed to clinch the NFC South in defeat to division rivals the Saints

Godwin ranks third in the NFL for catches this season (98) and fifth for receiving yards (1,103).

The Bucs at least have Antonio Brown back in contention for next week after serving his three-game ban for breaching COVID-19 protocols.

In the absence of Godwin until then, the club will be boosted by the renewed availability of Antonio Brown, who was served with a three-match suspension after violating COVID-19 protocols.

 

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