It will be Lynch’s first game in more than two months. He was injured in Seattle’s 39-32 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Nov. 15. The Seahawks have gone 7-1 without him, including a win last week over Minnesota in the wild card game.

Wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. and running back Jonathan Stewart are active for Carolina.

Carolina’s inactives include running backs Fozzy Whittaker and Brendan Wegher, wide receiver Brenton Bersin and Kevin Norwood, cornerback Lou Young, safety Dean Marlowe and defensive end Ryan Delaire.

Cornerback Tye Smith, running back Bryce Brown, fullback Will Tukuafu, linebacker Eric Pinkins, guards Mark Glowinski and Kristjan Sokoli and defensive tackle A.J. Francis are inactive for Seattle.

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AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL

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11:28 p.m.

Aaron Rodgers has done it again.

After winning a game against Detroit with a Hail Mary, he made another last second touchdown pass to set up a tie against Arizona Saturday night.

This time the catch was made by Jeff Janis, a little used backup forced into a key role because of injuries to Randall Cobb and Davantae Adams. Janis leaped high and somehow held on to the 41-yard pass as time ran out, making the score 20-19 Cardinals. The extra point sent the game to overtime.

Earlier in the drive, Janis kept the game alive with a 60-yard reception on fourth down and 20.

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11:00 p.m.

The Cardinals are back in the lead after a Carson Palmer pass was deflected by Packers defensive back Damarious Randall and ended up in the arms of Michael Floyd for his second touchdown of the game.

With less than four minutes remaining, the Arizona leads the Green Bay Packers 17-13.

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10:43 p.m.

Carson Palmer is having his worst game of the season at precisely the wrong time.

Arizona’s quarterback threw for 74 yards on 8-of-14 passing in the first half and has two interceptions in the second.

The second pick, by Damarious Randall, came in the end zone with the Cardinals trailing 13-10 in the fourth quarter.

– John Marshall reporting from Glendale, Arizona.

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10:21 p.m.

The Cardinals answered Green Bay’s first touchdown – with a field goal.

Arizona marched 74 yards after Jeff Janis’ TD catch, but bogged down once it hit the red zone. Larry Fitzgerald was hit with an illegal block penalty and Carson Palmer missed a potential touchdown when he couldn’t get the ball to David Johnson near the goal line.

Arizona settled for Matt Catanzaro’s 28-yard field goal to pull within 13-10 late in the third quarter.

– John Marshall reporting from Glendale, Arizona.

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10:09 p.m.

The Packers have their first lead against the Cardinals.

Jeff Janis scored on an 8-yard pass from Aaron Rodgers to put Green Bay up 13-7 after Ha Ha Clinton-Dix pulled down a jump ball for an interception on a pass by Carson Palmer. The interception was upheld upon review and Eddie Lacy broke free for a 61-yard run up the middle two plays later to set up Janis’ TD.

Clinton-Dix’s interception came after Rodgers had a pass tipped at the line of scrimmage an intercepted by Rashad Johnson.

– John Marshall reporting from Glendale, Arizona.

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10:01 p.m.

Green Bay will be without backup cornerback Micah Hyde for the rest of the game with a hip injury.

Hyde was listed as questionable after being injured in the second quarter, but the team said he was out at the start of the third.

– John Marshall reporting from Glendale, Arizona.

—

9:41 p.m.

The Arizona Cardinals lead the Green Bay Packers 7-6 at halftime in a defense-dominated NFC divisional playoff game.

Arizona scored early on a toe-tapping catch by Michael Floyd, but its offense labored the rest of the half, finishing with 75 total yards.

The Packers were able to move the ball against the Cardinals’ defense some, but had to settle for a pair of field goals by Mason Crosby.

The game is far different than the one played by these two teams here on Dec. 27. The Cardinals ran over the Packers in that game, winning 38-8.

– John Marshall reporting from Glendale, Arizona.

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9:23 p.m.

Green Bay will be without its top receiver the rest of the night.

Randall Cobb injured his chest on the final play of the first quarter against the Cardinals when he made a diving 51-yard catch to Arizona’s 3-yard line. The catch was negated on offsetting penalties and Cobb left the field on a cart shortly after.

The Packers said in the second quarter that he would not return.

Cobb led Green Bay with 79 catches this season, gaining 829 yards and scoring six TDs.

– John Marshall reporting from Glendale, Arizona.

—

9:04

Talk about a turn of events.

Arizona’s Patrick Peterson appeared to have returned an interception for a 100-yard touchdown early in the second quarter, but it was overturned due to a hands-to-the-face penalty on Cardinals defensive lineman Frostee Rucker.

Instead of being up 14-0, the Cardinals had a 7-3 lead after Green Bay’s Mason Crosby kicked a 28-yard field goal.

– John Marshall reporting from Glendale, Arizona.

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8:56 p.m.

Packers receiver Randall Cobb has left Green Bay’s playoff game against Arizona on a cart after suffering a chest injury during a spectacular catch in the first quarter.

Cobb stretched out for a diving 51-yard catch to Arizona’s 3-yard line, landing hard on the turf. He was taken to the locker room on a cart and the team said his return is questionable.

The catch didn’t count, either – it was called back by offsetting penalties.

– John Marshall reporting from Glendale, Arizona.

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8:30 p.m.

The Arizona Cardinals got on the scoreboard first against the Packers thanks to a toe-tapping catch by Michael Floyd.

Carson Palmer threw a high pass into the corner of the end zone, and Floyd snatched it over his head while getting one foot down and dragging his other foot to stay in bounds.

Arizona leads 7-0.

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8:00 p.m.

Thanks to their 27-20 victory over the Chiefs, the Patriots are moving on to their fifth straight AFC title game. The Patriots will find out if they have another home game tomorrow evening after the Steelers play the Broncos.

If the No. 1 seed Broncos win at home, they will host the Patriots next Sunday. If the Steelers win, Pittsburgh travels to Foxborough.

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6:55 p.m.

The New England Patriots are down a couple of linebackers against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Jamie Collins is questionable to return with a back injury, while Jerod Mayo is also questionable with a shoulder ailment.

The Patriots’ only remaining active linebackers are starter Dont’a Hightower and backups Jonathan Freeny, Darius Fleming and Dekoda Watson. Jonathan Bostic was inactive.

New England leads Kansas City 21-13 at the start of the fourth quarter.

– Dennis Waszak reporting from Foxborough, Massachusetts.

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6:04 p.m.

The scoreboard shows it’s still close, but Tom Brady and the Patriots are in control.

New England leads Kansas City 14-6 at halftime of the AFC divisional playoff game Saturday, with the offense moving the ball efficiently and Bill Belichick’s defense holding the Chiefs out of the end zone.

Brady is 17 of 25 for 157 yards and a touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski. Brady also has a 1-yard run for a score. New England has just seven rushed for 26 yards, but the Chiefs haven’t been able to manage much when they’ve had the ball.

Kansas City settled for two field goals by Cairo Santos and missed a prime opportunity for a touchdown shortly before halftime when the Chiefs got down to the Patriots 9. A delay-of-game penalty on third-and-9 pushed the ball back to the 14, and Alex Smith’s pass to Chris Conley fell incomplete, setting up Santos’ 32-yarder.

Smith opened the game 5 of 5 for 29 yards, but is at 10 of 21 for just 65 yards at halftime.

– Dennis Waszak reporting from Foxborough, Massachusetts.

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5:48 p.m.

Tom Brady rushed for his sixth postseason touchdown, second in Patriots history, to give New England a 14-3 lead over Kansas City with 3:23 remaining in the first half.

The score came moments after Brady scrambled for 10 yards to get to the 1; video review upheld the ruling that he went out of bounds just short of the goal line. With center Bryan Stork back in after leaving briefly with an ankle injury and backup center David Andrews lined up as a fullback, Brady pushed forward into a pile of Chiefs for the score.

Brady is one rushing TD behind LeGarrette Blount, who has seven for the Patriots. Steve Young holds the NFL postseason record for quarterbacks with eight.

– Dennis Waszak reporting from Foxborough, Massachusetts.

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5:45 p.m.

The referees are trying to keep this game under control, a week after the game between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh was tainted by illegal hits and penalties.

Patriots receiver and punt returner Danny Amendola was flagged for a hit on Kansas City’s Jamell Fleming midway through the second quarter. Amendola was back to receive a punt, but Fleming was covering and got under the ball at around the 4-yard line. Amendola lowered his head and leveled Fleming.

On the next drive, Dezman Moses tried to take it out on Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and was called for roughing the passer.

– Jimmy Golen reporting from Foxborough, Massachusetts.

—

5:20 p.m.

New England center Bryan Stork is questionable to return against the Kansas City Chiefs with an ankle injury.

Backup David Andrews took Stork’s place early in the second quarter.

The Patriots offensive line has been beset by injuries all season, with 12 combinations of starters during the regular season.

New England just got back left tackle Sebastian Vollmer, who missed the regular-season finale after an ankle injury against the New York Jets on Dec. 27.

– Dennis Waszak reporting from Foxborough, Massachusetts.

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4:55 p.m.

Chandler Jones started at defensive end for the New England Patriots despite his issues off the field last weekend.

Jones’ status was uncertain for the game Saturday against Kansas City after he wandered over to a police station last Sunday, shirtless and disoriented, leaving his house reeking of burnt marijuana.

The Pro Bowl selection, who was fifth in NFL with a career-high 12 1/2 sacks, apologized to his teammates and fans on Thursday, saying he made a ”pretty stupid mistake.” He declined to elaborate on what happened, and coach Bill Belichick refused to say whether Jones would be benched for any part of the game.

The Chiefs scored a field goal on the first drive, cutting the lead to 7-3.

– Dennis Waszak reporting from Foxborough, Massachusetts.

—

4:45 p.m.

New England’s Rob Gronkowski tied Dave Casper and Vernon Davis for the most touchdown catches by a tight end in postseason history with his seventh.

Gronkowski, who was questionable to play with back and knee ailments, caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady on New England’s opening drive to give the Patriots an early 7-0 lead over the Kansas City Chiefs in their AFC divisional round playoff game Saturday.

Gronkowski led the Patriots with 11 TD catches during the regular season and became the only tight end in NFL history with five career 10-TD seasons.

– Dennis Waszak reporting from Foxborough, Massachusetts.

—

4:40 p.m.

NFL referees might need to work on their coin tosses in the offseason.

At the AFC division playoff game Saturday between Kansas City and New England, referee Craig Wrolstad flipped the coin, and it was tails – which the Chiefs had called.

But, Wrolstad turned to the Patriots players and said, ”You win the toss.”

One of the Kansas City players then shouted that the Chiefs had called tails – and Wrolstad quickly corrected himself. Kansas City had, indeed, won the toss and deferred the opening kickoff.

The Patriots were involved in a coin flip-related controversy in Week 16, when they lost to the Jets 26-20 in overtime. Bill Belichick told his team to kick if it won the coin toss, which it did. But there was confusion when Patriots wide receiver Matthew Slater thought New England could choose the direction in which the team could kick.

– Dennis Waszak reporting from Foxborough, Massachusetts.

—

AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL

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Cincinnati cornerback Adam ”Pacman” Jones apologized Friday for claiming Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown was faking a concussion at the end of the wild-card game last Saturday night.

The Steelers, who beat the Bengals on a late field goal, ruled Brown out for their divisional matchup Sunday with Denver after the two-time All-Pro was not cleared by doctors.

Jones said in the aftermath of Cincinnati’s 18-16 loss that Brown winked at him before being helped off the field after taking a shot to the head from Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict.

Jones posted a video on Instagram late Friday afternoon in which Jones said ”I apologize sincerely. Get well.”

Also Friday, Jones was fined $28,940 for contact with an official, a foul that moved the Steelers closer for their game-winning field goal in the final seconds.

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Take the Super Bowl, for example. It wasn’t that he couldn’t win the big one, but that he didn’t win enough of them.

Yet in the span of a few short weeks, dating to his relief appearance for the Broncos on Jan. 3, the narrative about the 39-year-old’s trials and travails has shifted. The quarterback, sometimes derided as an over-prepared perfectionist and too-clever-by-half pitchman, is now portrayed as the grizzled veteran trying to coax his team to a title more on grit than talent.

Sports fans love that sort of story.

”A lot of people have looked at him the last few weeks and said, `Wow, this guy is not who I thought he was,”’ said retired receiver Brandon Stokley, a longtime favorite of Manning’s. ”It’s great for people to see who he really is. He’ll do anything to help the team.”

Manning’s entry into the regular-season finale against the Chargers conjured images we’ve seen before in sports: Willis Reed limping onto the court for Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Jack Nicklaus winning the Masters at age 46. Serena Williams making a run at the Grand Slam at 33.

The narrative changed for each star once he or she had been humbled – and grown a bit older. Reed got hurt when his team needed him most; Nicklaus was considered washed up; Williams got upset on the doorstep of a Grand Slam. Just as those stories softened, Manning’s is softening now.

”I still hear whispers of the usual, but far more of the, `Maybe we shouldn’t take this guy for granted,”’ said Sean Salisbury, the former NFL quarterback who now hosts a pair of sports talk shows. ”We’ve got to enjoy this.”

With the Broncos preparing for the Steelers on Sunday, there’s been far less discussion about Manning’s record in the playoffs (11-13), his record when it’s cold in the playoffs (0-5 under 40 degrees), his record against Tom Brady (5-11), and his arm strength (never elite, but good enough to laser a couple of 15-yard out patterns against the Chargers).

There’s been much more talk about his gift for diagnosing defenses, for getting his team into the right play and for his willingness to do anything, including be a backup, to help the Broncos win.

For sure, the Chargers game was not Manning in his prime. He threw only nine passes. Completed only five for 69 yards. But if his arm (and foot, and shoulder, and neck) isn’t what it used to be, it was clear against San Diego that his mind is still in good shape.

”You see (backup quarterback Brock Osweiler), and you can see he’s a good player,” Salisbury said. ”But after watching him, you also gain a great appreciation of Manning’s ability to keep all 11 guys on offense in sync the entire time.”

Nothing new about that. But now that he’s been humbled – now that fans have seen Mr. Perfect brought down to earth during a 17-interception season that included a four-pick debacle in a game he got pulled from in November – all that nitpicky attention to detail, those ”one-game-at-a-time” bromides he regularly delivers, the preparation he lives for, is being lauded, not scoffed at.

Some might say this is a culmination of a 12-month stretch that, at times, has felt a bit like piling on to an athlete who signed with Denver simply looking for the same things Broncos fans wanted – a few more Super Bowl titles.

After yet another playoff disappointment last January, Manning was asked to take a pay cut.

Gary Kubiak got the head-coaching job and his task – whether overtly communicated or not – was to build a new offense for the post-Manning era.

The season started and the Broncos won in spite of Manning, who finished 2015 second in the league in interceptions despite missing six games.

While sitting out, Manning bristled at reports suggesting he’d rather play elsewhere, or not play at all, than be a second-stringer. He then quietly went out and did the work of an injured backup. He threw on the side to equipment managers. He took the scout-team reps. He suited up to back up Osweiler on Jan. 3.

Around that time, a report linked him to a clinic that deals in banned human growth hormone. He angrily denied doing anything wrong and said he put in the hard work and never took shortcuts to make it back.

That brought out some raw emotion that, at many times over a career that will land him in the Hall of Fame, has felt either lacking or contrived.

All that played into this new story line.

It’s Manning playing the role of Nicklaus, or Reed, or, yes, Broncos fans, John Elway, whose very best moments came as he gimped (and helicoptered) his way to the finish line. Oh, sure, Manning’s stats are still gaudy (NFL-record 71,940 passing yards) and, in other respects, awful (“Only” one Super Bowl ring despite all the success).

But in a way, Manning’s career record has been reset to 0-0.

The days of ”Omaha! Omaha!” are nearly over, and ol’ No. 18’s ride into the sunset is underway.

”He didn’t take the easy way out and he fought his way through” the injury, Stokley said. ”He said, `I’m ready to go, and whatever you need me to do, I’m willing to do.’ It ended up being pretty cool.”

Enjoy it while it lasts.

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AP NFL websites: http://pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL

—

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They didn’t have much choice this week but to arrive at some conclusion after openly coveting a return to L.A., virtually creating three lame-duck teams if they didn’t make a decision. In many ways, this answer revealed the sense of urgency.

No, there wasn’t an official deadline for a decision on whether any of the relocation submissions by the Rams, Chargers and Raiders needed to be approved.

But with the Super Bowl looming, and having dragged out the entire relocation process for so long, it came down to this week. Otherwise, the last thing the league wanted, a distraction from its 50th Super Bowl, was on the horizon.

So how did it come down to the Rams getting the OK to abandon St. Louis for a state-of-the-art facility their owner, Stan Kroenke, will build in Inglewood, California? Why were the Chargers left in a sort of limbo – don’t pack up the moving vans yet, guys? And why were the Raiders, who wanted to partner with their long-time rival Chargers on a Carson, California project, basically ignored?

”Stan lived by the old adage `no guts, no glory. He demonstrated a serious conviction with his Inglewood project,” said Marc Ganis, president of SportsCorp, a Chicago-based consulting firm, and a confidant of many owners.

”Stan did it first by getting control of the land and doing a deal. That he is a major developer and land owner, and the land was owned by Wal-Mart I suspect didn’t hurt.”

Kroenke is married to the daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton.

”Then by partnering with Stockbridge, which owned the Hollywood Park site, and then putting together a project the owners felt had tremendous substance all along. The Carson project started well behind the Inglewood project.

”The combination of the financial resources, development experience and the extraordinary design and scope resulted in a project that was determined to be the best for the reintroduction of the NFL and the Rams to Los Angeles. The project itself and the financial commitment behind it was the difference.”

So much so that not even the recommendation of the Carson proposal by the NFL’s Los Angeles committee by a 5-1 vote wound up mattering.

A key for Kroenke’s plan was getting the more powerful owners on his side. He already had the Cowboys’ Jerry Jones in his corner, and, most significantly, Seattle’s Paul Allen encouraged the owners to choose the best project, then deal with all the other issues later.

The owners saw a few flaws in the Carson project – faults that could be fixed, but over a period of time – and almost none in the Inglewood complex.

”This was not a matter of Stan putting together a coalition,” Ganis said. ”Or of Stan having great longevity in the league. It was not a matter of him being a Machiavellian genius.

”This was a matter of Stan putting together the kind of landmark project that many in the NFL feel is necessary for L.A. and for the future of the NFL in L.A., and it being supported with tremendous wealth.”

The backing of Allen for the selection process and Jones’ support of the Inglewood project were critical, but Kroenke needed the necessary 24 votes. That came rather quickly on Tuesday as many owners recognized how iconic his plan was.

For Chargers owner Dean Spanos, the approval of Inglewood was a blow to the gut. He had high hopes after the committee’s recommendation, and looked shell-shocked after the first vote, which was 20-12 for Inglewood – about the opposite of what Spanos expected.

That the NFL provided a one-year out for the Chargers – they can partner with the Rams or be a lessee in the Inglewood stadium – places the team in a sort of limbo.

Does it pursue once more a stadium in San Diego, especially with the extra $100 million the league is offering to help in that mission? Or does it shrug its shoulders and head north, not exactly as a step-child, but certainly not as the favored son in Los Angeles?

It’s a tricky situation because of the emotions involved.

As for the Raiders, they had been viewed by some as an albatross the Chargers needed to carry to have any chance of being the first choice for L.A.

For now, unless the Chargers decline the option to join the Rams in Inglewood and they take up the same option, the Raiders seem destined to remain where they are – which is where they have said they want to be.

”My guess is they try to do a deal in Oakland with the extra $100 million available from the league,” Ganis said.

”The Raiders have repeatedly said their preference was to stay in Oakland, but they need a viable stadium plan to do so. Perhaps the extra $100 million can help make that happen with a smaller, more modest stadium without some of the more expensive features that would be needed in an L.A. stadium.”

What is most certain about the L.A. scenarios is that Kroenke is the big winner, and St. Louis the big loser.

—

AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL

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Teacher Judie Offerdahl at Northpoint Elementary in Blaine used Walsh’s miss as a teachable moment in empathy. The first-graders grabbed their magic markers and offered sympathy.

”Dear Blair Walsh,” one wrote. ”I know it can be hard to get through things that are sad, but you have to try and try again. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes.”

Walsh was harangued on social media following the 10-9 loss to Seattle. Some fans invited him to leave the state – and worse.

The Vikings say Walsh will visit the first-graders Thursday morning.

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What he saw on the screen became even more impressive when Rubin decided to sign with Seattle last offseason and play alongside Mebane on the Seahawks defensive line.

”He runs down the field like I never seen no big dude run down the field,” Mebane said. ”He can run like deer. Like a big deer. He’s a great player.”

On a defense with stars like Richard Sherman, Bobby Wagner, Michael Bennett and Earl Thomas – just to name a few – players like Mebane and Rubin can get easily overlooked. It’s understandable because their positions on the interior of Seattle’s defensive line make it difficult to stand out.

But ask around about why the Seahawks had the best run defense in the NFL this season giving up just 81.5 yards per game and were successful twice in shutting down Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson and the reasons point back directly to Mebane and Rubin as the instigators of that success.

”They make plays and they make sure that me and K.J. (Wright) never really get touched,” middle linebacker Bobby Wagner said. ”They’ve done a great job with that. I don’t know if you guys have noticed it on film, but sometimes (Mebane) calls out the plays before it happens and (Rubin) does a great job of two-gapping and keeping the double teams. They’re very crucial to what we do as a team.”

The task before Mebane and Rubin this week is among the most difficult they have faced all season, trying to shut down Carolina in the NFC divisional playoff game on Sunday. There may not be a more challenging or diverse run game in the NFL to try and slow down. Whether it’s Jonathan Stewart carrying the ball, Mike Tolbert bulling his way through the line or the times quarterback Cam Newton keeps the ball in his own hands, there is not a more unique running attack in the league according to the Seahawks.

”It is a really diverse run game. It is the most that we will see in the NFL,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. ”There is nobody that does more stuff and it’s basically because the quarterback is such a dynamic part of it. … This is the most difficult offense that we face and it really is because Cam is such an adept player and they rely on him.”

Both Rubin and Mebane entered this season with questions about how they could be effective for Seattle.

Mebane was coming back from a serious hamstring injury that cost him the latter half of last season and the playoffs. He was also trying to come back from a significant injury at age 30 and playing a position where strength and explosiveness with his legs is a priority.

”Can you imagine how big his hammy is? That’s a major surgery, a major injury to come back from,” Carroll said. ”As we watched him in the offseason, through the summer time, he worked so hard to get back. I’ve said that he had one of his best offseasons ever. He had to, to get back. That usually pays you back, and he’s had a really good year for us.”

Rubin was a bit of an unknown because of the lack of attention defensive tackles receive, but Seattle was confident in his ability to play the ”three-technique” defensive tackle position and be able to cover two gaps of the offensive line. What caught them a bit by surprise was Rubin’s speed chasing the play downfield. He recovered Adrian Peterson’s key fourth-quarter fumble last week 13 yards beyond the line of scrimmage.

”It was really clear the first time we’d sat down and really talked about it. I asked him to try to be really stout as a three-technique at the line of scrimmage, and then we’ve seen you running the football, be great at doing that for us and show us that you’re a big guy that can chase,” Carroll said. ”I wasn’t asking him something that he wasn’t ready to do, but we just kind of solidified what our expectations were. He’s done that all year long.”

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AP NFL websites: http://pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL

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The Chargers might be headed there, as well.

What about the Raiders? Who knows at this point.

What is certain is that all three franchises face serious challenges over the next few years now that the NFL has approved the relocation of the Rams from St. Louis, and given the Chargers a one-year option to join them in the nation’s second-largest media market.

Should the Chargers stay in San Diego, seemingly a long shot, the Raiders could then step in and move from Oakland to L.A.

A long Tuesday of votes and re-votes ended with 30 of 32 NFL owners approving Rams owner Stan Kroenke’s ambitious plan to move his team to the site of the old Hollywood Park racetrack in Inglewood, California, about 10 miles from downtown L.A.

The Raiders and Chargers had a competing proposal to share a new stadium in nearby Carson, but neither option got the 24 votes needed for approval. After another negotiating session in the afternoon, Kroenke’s $1.8 billion project prevailed.

The decision ends the NFL’s 21-year absence in Los Angeles.

”It is bittersweet,” Kroenke said. ”We understand the emotions involved of our fans. It is not easy to do these things, they are purposely made hard.

”We made a decision and worked long and hard at the various alternatives. When they didn’t succeed, we worked this one to this point. We’re excited …”

They also need to get busy because the preseason is seven months away, the season about eight months.

In that time, the Rams must establish their base in Southern California, find a temporary home – the Los Angeles Coliseum is likely until the Inglewood project is finished in 2019 – and keep tabs on the Chargers’ decision.

And for their first three years back, the Rams will merely be swapping one aging facility for a much older one, with even fewer of the revenue-creating features that fill modern NFL stadiums.

Still, all parties were more concerned with the potential long-range benefits.

”These projects are very large, they’re very expensive and involve a lot of people and require a lot of cooperation and a lot of patience,” said Houston owner Bob McNair, who beat out Los Angeles in a bid for an expansion franchise that debuted in 2002. ”We’re quite pleased with the outcome and look forward to the development of a real NFL campus out in Los Angeles.”

The NFL also must deal with the prospect of angry fan bases in three markets – and words of warning from top elected officials.

Chargers chairman Dean Spanos declined to say whether his franchise would exercise the Los Angeles option, and San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer says the city and county ”are not interested in a charade by the Chargers if they continue to pursue Los Angeles.”

Faulconer did say that negotiations were likely to continue for replacing aging Qualcomm Stadium. The city’s plan would build on the same site.

”This has really been excruciating for everyone,” Spanos said. ”It’s very difficult to say right now I’m going to do this or do that.”

St. Louis had a plan for an open-air, $1.1 billion stadium along the Mississippi River north of the Gateway Arch to replace the Edward Jones Dome. But Kroenke mostly ignored the city’s overtures.

”It is troubling that the league would allow for the relocation of a team when a home market has worked in good faith and presented a strong and viable proposal,” Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon said. ”We will review the NFL’s decision thoroughly before determining what next steps to take.”

Raiders owner Mark Davis was equally noncommittal about Oakland, which has a more troubling situation because the city isn’t even close to a proposal for a new stadium.

Officials had to ask the league for more time in a relocation response required by the NFL, and there is still about $100 million in debt from a renovation when the Raiders returned from L.A. two decades ago.

”I don’t know where we’ll be,” said Davis, who has made visits to San Antonio as well. ”We don’t have a lease right now at the Oakland Coliseum. America, the world is a possibility for the Raider Nation.”

Ray Perez, a 28-year-old Raiders fan from Sacramento who goes by the moniker Dr. Death, traveled to the Houston meeting in his usual Black Hole garb and was cautiously optimistic after hearing the news.

”I will not be completely, fully thrilled until the ink dries on paper and we know we’re staying in Oakland in a new stadium,” Perez said. ”I’m very happy, very happy. But I’m not going to be overjoyed until we sign a stadium deal to keep the Raiders in Oakland with our own stadium.”

While the Raiders called L.A. home from 1982-94, the Rams have the longest history in Southern California. The franchise moved there in 1946 after eight seasons in Cleveland, and thousands of fans showed up when St. Louis practiced with Dallas in nearby Oxnard during training camp last August. Many were already anticipating the move.

”It’s something that I never thought I’d see again,” said Rodney Lusain, 44, of Inglewood. ”You know, 21 years is a long time. You lose hope from time to time, but the dream stayed alive. My `Ram-ily’ out here wouldn’t let the dream die, and now we’re waking up to a new reality. The Rams are coming home!”

The mood was more tempered in Houston, the last city to lose a franchise 18 years ago when the Oilers left for Tennessee.

”The excitement that we feel about being able to return the Rams to Los Angeles is balanced with the disappointment that we weren’t able to get it done with our fans in St. Louis, San Diego and Oakland,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said at a news conference about 11 hours after the meetings started. ”But we’ll continue to try in those markets and we’ll continue to try to address those issues.”

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AP Sports Writer Josh Dubow in Oakland, California, contributed to this report.

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AP NFL websites: http://pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL

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Redding’s loss was not a surprise, Okafor’s was.

On Tuesday, the team placed Okafor on the non-football injury list with an injured toe.

Coach Bruce Arians, clearly unhappy about the development, said Okafor was hurt over the weekend.

Asked what had happened, Arians said, ”You’ve got to talk to Alex.”

Was it an accident or was Okafor doing something he shouldn’t have been doing?

”Talk to him,” Arians said.

That was not possible. Okafor was not in the locker room when reporters were allowed in after Tuesday’s practice.

Redding was placed on season-ending injured reserve with an ankle injury. He had missed four games with the ankle injury and aggravated it in the regular-season finale against Seattle.

”He’s going to be at least a month and we decided we needed fresh bodies,” Arians said.

The Cardinals signed outside linebacker Jason Babin and promoted outside linebacker Gabe Martin from the practice squad.

Okafor, in his third NFL season after being drafted by Arizona in the fourth round out of Texas in 2013, led the team last season in sacks (eight), quarterback pressures (20) and quarterback hits (19). But he had only two sacks this season, both in the season-opening victory over New Orleans.

Okafor had 13 starts this season, missing three games with a calf injury.

”It’s real tough,” inside linebacker Sean Witherspoon said of losing a player when the team had the weekend off. ”You didn’t plan for that at all. It puts our GM and our coach in a bind.”

Weatherspoon said he didn’t know what happened to Okafor, either.

”I haven’t seen him. I haven’t talked to him,” Weatherspoon said. ”The head coach said, `Don’t be that guy.’ Somebody was that guy. I’m just praying for Oke. I know he’s a good kid. Don’t get it twisted. Things happen. He’s one of the guys that I’ve known for about a year now. He had some bad luck, but ultimately you’ve got to take care of your business and make sure you’re there for your teammates. Being accountable, that’s what it all comes down to.”

The injury means a bigger role for Karim Martin, who was behind Okafor on the depth chart. Rookie Markus Golden starts at the other outside linebacker position, with Dwight Freeney coming on in passing situations.

Babin, a 12-year NFL veteran, played in two games for Baltimore this season.

”We’ve looked at him for a while now,” Arians said. ”He was the next guy on our list in case we needed one and glad to have him with us.”

Babin said he got a call from the Cardinals on Sunday.

”I had a little workout, then got here early (Tuesday) and started studying,” he said.

Babin said he loves the style of Arizona’s defense, ”how they get after the quarterback and how fast they play. That’s the way I like to play, so I think it will be an easy transition.”

Asked how confident he was that he could help right away, Babin said, ”at the end of the day it’s about whipping the man across from you. If they didn’t think I could whip the man across from me I don’t think they would have signed me to a contract.”

Martin signed with Arizona in May as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Bowling Green. The Cardinals released him at the end of the preseason and re-signed him to the practice squad, where he’s been all season.

In another move, the Cardinals signed linebacker Quayshawn Nealy to the practice squad.

The team practiced last Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in Arizona’s bye week, then the players had four days off before resuming workouts on Tuesday.

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Online:

AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL

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After interviewing seven candidates last week, the team did not conduct any meetings on Monday, a break that could indicate owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam have someone in mind to become their eighth coach since 1999.

Or they could just be catching their breath.

Cleveland’s search committee was back at the team’s headquarters to regroup after a busy few days talking to prospective coaches.

On Sunday, the Browns concluded the first week of their search with a four-hour interview with Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson shortly after the 50-year-old visited with the San Francisco 49ers about their vacancy.

Jackson, who has spent 15 years as an NFL coach, appears to have emerged as the front-runner to replace Mike Pettine, fired following a 3-13 season. However, as of Monday night, the Browns had not offered their job to Jackson, also drawing interest from the New York Giants.

Both complicating and adding intrigue to the pursuit of Jackson is that NFL owners will be in Houston the next two days to vote on which team or teams will relocate to Los Angeles.

Jackson’s familiarity with the AFC North – and the work he has done with Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton – may give him an edge over the other candidates. Jackson, too, has head coaching experience, another bonus for the Browns. He led the Oakland Raiders to an 8-8 record in 2011.

Jackson and Jacksonville offensive assistant Doug Marrone are the only coaches the Browns have met with thus far who have been NFL head coaches.

Fired by Oakland in 2012, Jackson joined Marvin Lewis’ staff in Cincinnati as the secondary coach. He coached the Bengals running backs in 2013 before taking over Cincinnati’s offense the past two seasons.

Dalton blossomed under Jackson, passing for 3,250 yards with 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions this season.

Jackson has a history of working with quarterbacks. He was a quarterback at Pacific, although he spent a lot of time handing off. After 14 seasons of college coaching, including the offensive coordinator at Southern California when it was recruiting Carson Palmer, Jackson got his first pro job with the Redskins in 2001. He was promoted to coordinator there two years later.

Jackson was the receivers coach in Cincinnati from 2004-06 – when Chad Ochocinco was their top target – before going to the Falcons as offensive coordinator. He was the Raiders’ coordinator before getting his one-year promotion to head coach.

Jackson is known for the creative flair he brought to Cincinnati’s offense with unbalanced lines, wildcat formations and linemen lining up as slot receivers.

He pushed Dalton to become one of the league’s top QBs – he led it in passer rating when he broke his thumb on Dec. 13 – and then got the inexperienced AJ McCarron ready to lead the Bengals into the playoffs. McCarron won two of the Bengals’ last three games in the regular season, and put them ahead with 1:50 left in their playoff game loss Saturday night against Pittsburgh by throwing a TD pass to A.J. Green.

Before speaking with Jackson, the Browns met on Sunday with Carolina defensive coordinator Sean McDermott, who interrupted his preparation for this week’s playoff game against Seattle to speak with Cleveland executives.

The Browns have also interviewed Detroit defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, Dallas defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson and New England defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. Adam Gase, the first candidate to meet with Cleveland, was hired by Miami on Saturday.

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Online: AP NFL websites: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL

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AP Sports Writer Joe Kay in Cincinnati contributed to this report.

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