CHARLOTTE, N.C. — You likely know that former Panthers star tight end Greg Olsen will be in the broadcast booth Saturday, calling the Carolina-L.A. Rams playoff game in Charlotte for Fox Sports.

You might know that Olsen’s partner, Joe Davis, will be up there calling the play-by-play as well.

What you might not know that, in some of the ...Read more

NEW YORK — This year’s NFL playoffs feature a quarterback whose rocket throwing arm and elite improvisation abilities make him a human highlight reel.

There’s another whose precision passing and command of the pocket helped him lead the AFC in passing yards by a wide margin.

And then there’s the QB who was considered more of a question...Read more

CHICAGO — Chicago Bears special teams player Jonathan Owens probably won’t have his favorite photographer on the sideline for Saturday’s wild-card game against the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field — at least as a shutterbug.

His wife, 11-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles, was credentialed as a sideline photographer when the Bears ...Read more

The Miami Dolphins’ next general manager is Jon-Eric Sullivan of the Green Bay Packers.

The Dolphins went through a quick search to find the franchise’s next GM. On Friday the team was working to finalize a deal with Sullivan, according to a league source, five days after he and a slew of others were originally revealed as the candidates ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Al Michaels has been making play-by-play calls for prime-time NFL games for 40 years.

His next game will be Saturday, when the Chicago Bears host the Green Bay Packers in an NFC wild-card game on Amazon Prime Video.

It won't be his last.

Michaels will return to call games for Prime Video's NFL coverage next season, the ...Read more

DENVER — The moment the Broncos made the pick, Mike Martz sent a text.

“I told Sean Payton I thought it was the best selection in the draft at quarterback,” the former St. Louis Rams coach and offensive coordinator told The Denver Post. “With Sean’s great understanding of the passing game, Bo Nix went to the perfect spot.”

Two ...Read more

MIAMI — Steve Ross usually has a cheesy grin on his face.

It’s the kind of smile most of us would have adorned on our mug if Forbes estimated our net worth to be $17 billion.

Problem is, money can’t buy happiness (wish I knew this as a fact), and it certainly doesn’t lead to NFL success.

I saw that grin from the Miami Dolphins’ ...Read more

FOXBORO, Mass. — Somewhere near the top of the list of reasons Mike Vrabel chose Robert Spillane to be the heart of his defense is trust.

Vrabel can trust his inside linebacker and captain to relay the right play-calls and make the right checks. He can trust Spillane to lead with his voice inside the huddle and as much violence as possible on...Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The 49ers’ plan at wide receiver this season was draped in maroon and gold.

The Niners were supposed to ride into this postseason on the backs of two Arizona State products, a Tempe two-step atop the wide receiver depth chart designed to torment defensive coordinators from Seattle to Philadelphia.

Brandon Aiyuk (...Read more

Steve Ross now can give his Miami Dolphins something they haven’t had in his 17 years as team owner:

Trust.

The inbred oddities and chronic dysfunction that has kept his organization spinning in a mediocre place has a chance to change with Thursday’s firing of coach Mike McDaniel. It means Ross cleaned out his organization in recent weeks ...Read more

MIAMI — Stephen Ross, the Miami Dolphins’ majority owner since 2009, is now looking for his eighth different head coach in a parade of floundering, flailing and failing.

South Florida’s flagship sports franchise — the one once-proud and associated with the Perfect Season, with Don Shula and Dan Marino — continues in a quarter-century ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The spectacular one-handed catch looked like the kind of play that could only be made with sudden adjustment. A reaction with no thought or practice required.

But that's not how it went down for Rams star receiver Puka Nacua.

Nacua's fourth-down touchdown catch against the Arizona Cardinals in the regular-season finale had its ...Read more

CHICAGO — Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson’s schedule has been so packed with preparation for Saturday’s playoff game against the Green Bay Packers, he hasn’t had a lot of time to mark the occasion with his family.

“Yeah, hard to say this week,” Johnson said Thursday when asked how his wife, Jessica, and children Emory, Kennedy and ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — When the Steelers got the ball back with 2:20 remaining in Sunday night’s game against the Baltimore Ravens, there was little doubt from Aaron Rodgers they were going to win the game.

Rodgers loves being in those situations because he grew up in Northern California watching the superstars of his youth deliver in the clutch.

�...Read more

LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas Raiders star Maxx Crosby had surgery on his left knee Wednesday and expects to make a full recovery.

The 28-year-old defensive end, who was shut down and placed on injured reserve with two games remaining in a season when he battled a lingering knee issue, had said this week he was visiting famed orthopedic surgeon Dr. ...Read more

NEW YORK — Fans of the Raiders and Jets could be watching their future quarterbacks in Friday’s Peach Bowl.

Indiana and Oregon will meet in the College Football Playoff semifinals in one of the most significant QB matchups in years.

Indiana Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza and Oregon star Dante Moore, the likely two top quarterbacks ...Read more

The Miami Dolphins will now be looking for a new head coach, along with searching for a permanent general manager.

The Dolphins fired coach Mike McDaniel on Thursday, pivoting from the first few days after the end of the season, after it appeared he was remaining at the helm when he addressed the media during a news conference Monday afternoon....Read more

Los Angeles Times NFL writer Sam Farmer examines the matchups and makes his predictions for the NFL wild-card playoffs.

All lines and over/under numbers are according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Last week, Farmer posted a 9-7 (.563) record. He posted a 173-99 (.636) record over the regular season.

Using point spreads with the scores Farmer ...Read more

Our 34th year of NFL picks in the Miami Herald did not set any personal records, put it that way. Or even top our previous year’s totals for that matter. An unusually unpredictable season on the field showed in our picks as we managed a just-OK .646 overall but narrowly failed to top .500 against the spread — a huge downer. Week 18 reflected...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — For most of professional football’s history, few people among the millions who tuned in every Sunday and every Monday night actually understood what was happening on the field. There was a quarterback, of course, dashing and rugged, the clear leader. There were collisions of giant bodies. There were smaller, faster men with a ...Read more