NFL Teams

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) Falcons All-Pro wide receiver Julio Jones was held out of practice on Wednesday after aggravating his sprained toe in Saturday's playoff win over Seattle. Jones is expected to play in Sunday's NFC championship game against Green Bay. He did not appear to favor the injury as...

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) The New York Jets have hired former Rams assistant Dennard Wilson as their defensive backs coach. Wilson replaces Joe Danna on Todd Bowles staff, which has five other vacancies, including offensive coordinator after Chan Gailey retired after the season. Wilson was the Rams' defensive backs coach the...

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) Being a member of the New England Patriots during the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era has generally meant a guaranteed place in the playoffs. Still, for 20 players on the Patriots' active roster Saturday will mark the first taste of the postseason of their NFL careers. That group includes...

Before this weekend, just five NFL playoff games since 1966 have featured a team favored by at least 15 points. Just one of those underdogs won the game (Google ''Joe Namath'' if you need more information on that). Oddsmakers don't think Brock Osweiler should guarantee the 16-point underdog Houston Texans...

PITTSBURGH (AP) Offensive lineman nirvana arrived for the Pittsburgh Steelers late in the first quarter on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. Ten snaps. All handoffs from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to Le'Veon Bell. Each one of them chewing up clock, yardage and whatever mettle Miami's defensive front seven might have brought north...

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) For all the postseason appearances that the Green Bay Packers have made in coach Mike McCarthy's tenure, this year's run to the playoffs might be the most unique yet. The Packers were considered a likely Super Bowl contender in the preseason. They look like a Super...

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) Matt Ryan's poise under pressure has produced 25 fourth-quarter comebacks, a ''Matty Ice'' nickname and his first All-Pro selection. The Atlanta Falcons' quarterback also is a leading MVP candidate . The glaring void on Ryan's resume is his 1-4 postseason record. At 31, Ryan may not have...

FRISCO, Texas (AP) Sean Lee's first All-Pro season will end with the first trip to the playoffs for the oft-injured Dallas linebacker. If that sounds like a breakout year, Cowboys tight end Jason Witten would argue otherwise. ''To me, it's not like, oh, we're seeing a different player than we've seen...

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) The San Francisco 49ers interviewed Carolina defensive coordinator Sean McDermott for their head coaching vacancy and ESPN analyst Louis Riddick for their general manager job on Tuesday. McDermott became the first defensive coach to interview with CEO Jed York for the coach opening in San Francisco...

BOSTON (AP) A judge has ruled that jurors in the double murder trial of former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez can consider tattoos that prosecutors contend amount to an admission of guilt. Judge Jeffrey Locke on Tuesday denied a defense request to exclude his tattoos as evidence. Prosecutors say Hernandez...

According to a person familiar with the search, the Jacksonville Jaguars are planning to offer Doug Marrone their head coaching job. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not confirmed the hiring. ESPN first reported Marrone had been chosen to replace Gus Bradley, who was fired...

A person familiar with the search says the Jacksonville Jaguars have hired Doug Marrone as head coach and brought back Tom Coughlin in an executive role. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not announced the hiring. ESPN first reported Marrone had been chosen to replace...