7:00 AM ET ESPN staff The Week 18 NFL schedule for the 2021 season is stacked with great matchups, and we got you covered with what you need to know heading into the weekend. Our NFL Nation reporters bring us the biggest keys to every game, a bold prediction for each matchup and, of course,

6:34 PM ET Michigan safety Daxton Hill declared for the NFL draft on Thursday. Hill is ranked as the second-best safety prospect in the draft, according to ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., behind Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton. He is the younger brother of Baltimore Ravens running back Justice Hill and a former five-star recruit in

4:39 PM ET GREEN BAY, Wis. — Aaron Rodgers had strong words for the MVP voter who said this week that he would not cast his vote for the Green Bay Packers quarterback because he’s “the biggest jerk in the league” and “a bad guy.” Those comments came from Hub Arkush, a Chicago-based reporter who

5:56 PM ET The Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday placed star rookie Micah Parsons on the reserve/COVID-19 list. That means Dallas could be without Parsons on Saturday night when it takes on the Eagles in the teams’ regular-season finale in Philadelphia. Under a new agreement between the NFL and NFL Players Association released last month, isolation

9:32 PM ET TAMPA, Fla. — In his first statement since leaving the field in the third quarter of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ game at the New York Jets on Sunday, Antonio Brown said he was forced to play on an injured ankle that will require surgery, which is why he exited so abruptly. An

11:10 AM ET CINCINNATI — Bengals running back Joe Mixon tested positive for COVID-19 and will not play in Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns, league sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The Bengals also will be without starting quarterback Joe Burrow, who will sit out to rest his “sore” right knee and injured right pinkie

4:40 PM ET Congratulations to all! We have reached the time of year when we watch the game in front of us with one eye and the scoreboard with the other. Sunday began with six of the NFL’s 14 playoff spots filled. Nine others had a chance to clinch one of the eight remaining spots.

1:41 PM ET BEREA, Ohio — Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield won’t play Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, so that he can move forward with surgery to repair the torn labrum in his non-throwing left shoulder. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said Mayfield’s surgery could happen as soon as this week. A league source told ESPN

1:10 PM ET Tennessee Titans outside linebacker Bud Dupree has been issued a citation charging him with misdemeanor assault after an altercation with an employee at a Walgreens in Nashville. According to the Metro Nashville Police Department, the incident took place Sunday night at the Walgreens location at approximately 8 p.m. CT after a verbal

Jan 2, 2022 NFL NationESPN Week 17 of the 2021 NFL season featured blowouts by the Bears and Patriots, a three-touchdown game by Bengals rookie Ja’Marr Chase that fueled an AFC North-clinching win over the Chiefs and a comeback by the Bucs during which Antonio Brown took off his uniform and left the field in