As the 2010s come to an end, there is one unmistakable N.F.L. trend: Quarterbacks are a lot more proficient than in decades past. But the funny thing is that 10 years ago an article recapping the decade could have begun with the same statement. A steady improvement of quarterback statistics has been a theme going […] More
In late June, the sleepiest part of the N.F.L. calendar, several of the sport’s most prominent minority coaches and executives gathered at Morehouse College in Atlanta to try to dispel a persistent football myth: that there are not enough qualified candidates of color for the league’s coveted offensive coaching jobs. At the event, known as […] More
The New York Times Sports department is revisiting the subjects of some compelling articles from the last year or so. Here is our June report on a deadly incident that followed the N.F.L. draft. When the difficult moments come, and there have been a number of them over the past eight months, Corey Ballentine often […] More
The Giants, a storied N.F.L. franchise that for decades prized patient, stable management, began its third overhaul in five seasons after firing Coach Pat Shurmur on Monday. While the dismissal of Shurmur, who compiled a 9-23 record in two seasons, was expected, the move nonetheless left the team in unfamiliar territory yet again as it […] More
Pat Shurmur of the Giants and Freddie Kitchens of the Cleveland Browns were the first coaches fired as the N.F.L. entered Black Monday, the date when the leaders of disappointing teams are traditionally sent packing. Shurmur’s firing was announced on Monday by the team. He took over the Giants for the 2018 season and led […] More
SEATTLE — In the stadium where they hadn’t won in eight seasons, where their Super Bowl dream once perished, where they have been derided and dominated and disregarded for so long, the San Francisco 49ers gazed at the video screen and waited to learn whether they would be feeling like that again. Already they had […] More
There is always a random nature to Week 17 in the N.F.L., and this year was no different. New England lost in shocking fashion to Miami, Tennessee and Philadelphia completed their circuitous journeys to the postseason and Baltimore’s backups beat Pittsburgh. But when put to the test, San Francisco, Green Bay and Kansas City all […] More
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — On the first day of December, the Philadelphia Eagles lost their third game in a row, a 6-point defeat at Miami. The Eagles were 5-7, and even in the woeful N.F.C. East, a playoff berth seemed unlikely. But the Eagles won each of their next three games, the third one a […] More
