Football

A weapons possession charge against Quinnen Williams, a defensive lineman for the Jets, stemming from the discovery of an unloaded gun in his baggage at La Guardia Airport has been dropped, his lawyer said on Monday.“This case was nothing more than a technical issue with the storing of the firearm, which is why the government gave Mr. Williams nothing more than a ticket,” the lawyer, Alex Spiro, said.A representative from the Queens district attorney’s office said Williams pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in satisfaction of all charges, paid a fine of $250 and forfeited the firearm.Williams, 22, was charged in March with a felony count of possession of a weapon after trying to board a flight at the airport.He was taken into custody at a Delta Air Lines check-in counter after he was found to have a Glock 19 pistol, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police said at the time. The gun, which was found in his checked baggage, was unloaded, officials said.The authorities said that Williams had a permit for the weapon in Alabama, where he was a standout player for the University of Alabama, but he did not have one for New York. His lawyer said Monday that he had been in the process of getting his permit in March.In March, Spiro said there was “allegedly a technical issue with the manner in which the lawfully owned firearm was stored.”Representatives for the Jets could not be immediately reached on Monday.Williams recorded 15 tackles and two and a half sacks in his rookie season. He signed a four-year, $32.5 million contract with the Jets, according to the salary tracking website Spotrac.Williams has an older brother, Quincy Williams, who plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars. More

The idea of “tests” in the N.F.L. is usually a figurative one — how will Team X respond to the test of So-and-So’s defense? Until this week, pro football had been blissfully unencumbered by the scrambling and rescheduling to deal with positive coronavirus tests that other leagues have dealt with.But in the wake of an outbreak among the Tennessee Titans organization, where upward of 12 members of personnel — including at least 9 players — returned positive tests, and Saturday’s news that Patriots quarterback Cam Newton and Jordan Ta’amu, a quarterback on the Chiefs practice squad, were added to their teams’ reserve/Covid-19 lists, the league has been busy remaking the schedule, testing players known to have been in contact with infected parties, and rethinking how it polices its coronavirus health protocols.The Patriots-Chiefs game, originally scheduled for Sunday is tentatively planned for Monday or Tuesday. The Titans, who were supposed to face the Steelers this week, will instead face Pittsburgh on Oct. 25.Despite the highly anticipated Cam Newton vs. Patrick Mahomes matchup being delayed, much of the N.F.L.’s Week 4 slate will go on, as scheduled. After Saints fullback Michael Burton tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday, his re-test and a rapid test reportedly came back negative, keeping the New Orleans-Detroit game on pace to play. Elsewhere, the league’s unbeatens will try to stick with what’s working.Ranking the likelihood that teams can get to 4-0 on Sunday.With Tennessee and Pittsburgh inadvertently idle, Green Bay playing on Monday and Kansas City having to wait for their game until Monday or Tuesday, just three teams have a shot at improving to 4-0 on Sunday. Here is a ranking of the likelihood that each of them gets there.1. Seattle — The Seahawks are setting N.F.L. records on offense, and doing absolutely nothing to help on defense. It’s an issue as far as the team’s Super Bowl prospects, but it is unlikely to matter against Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Miami Dolphins (1-2), even on the road.2. Buffalo — The Bills have a lot to work out before they can truly be considered a contender, but quarterback Josh Allen is loving life with wide receiver Stefon Diggs. That dynamic duo gives the team a solid shot at victory in a road game against the Las Vegas Raiders (2-1), but Buffalo’s defense will need to play far better than it has this season if they want to continue their winning streak.3. Chicago — There is no reasonable explanation for the Bears being 3-0 other than luck. The team’s defense is not terrible, but it’s hardly good enough to make up for an offense in such turmoil that they had a quarterback controversy without ever losing a game. They are hosting the 2-1 Indianapolis Colts, and while anything is possible, Chicago won’t want to bank on the Colts simply handing them a victory like Detroit and Atlanta did. More

The N.F.L. has postponed Sunday’s highly anticipated game between the New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs to Monday or Tuesday after Cam Newton, the Patriots’ star quarterback, and the practice squad quarterback on the Chiefs tested positive for the coronavirus.“In consultation with infectious disease experts, both clubs are working closely with the N.F.L. and the N.F.L.P.A. to evaluate multiple close contacts, perform additional testing and monitor developments,” the league said in a statement. “All decisions will be made with the health and safety of players, team and game day personnel as our primary consideration.”The delay of one of the marquee matchups of the young season raises fresh questions about the league’s efforts to play a full slate of games ending with the Super Bowl in February, and to do so without a closed community for teams, like the N.B.A. used, to reduce the risk of infection substantially.The league has followed Major League Baseball and relied instead of frequent testing, reconstructed team facilities to encourage social distancing, and protocols for how players, coaches and teams can interact in locker rooms, team planes and sidelines on game day.The success of the strategy relies heavily on players, coaches and team personnel self-policing their behavior by returning home after work and not engaging in risky activities. Still, even the most cloistered players are allowed to interact with their families and others outside the N.F.L., increasing the odds of becoming infected. More

As the N.F.L. grapples with its first coronavirus outbreak of the season, it has agreed with its players’ union to continue daily testing indefinitely — including on bye weeks.The N.F.L. informed organizations of the updated protocols on Friday in a memo, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times. The update came as the Tennessee Titans were trying to contain an outbreak that is known to have infected at least 13 members of the organization — seven players and six team staff members — forcing a postponement of the team’s Week 4 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Two more Titans players were found Friday to have tested positive, according to multiple news reports.In the memo, the league notified organizations that players and coaches are prohibited from leaving their team’s city on bye weeks. Those who are exempt from testing are still required to report to the team’s facility for daily screening and temperature checks.As before, any player who misses a test without permission will be fined $50,000. He will be suspended one game without pay for a second missed test and subject to further discipline, including additional suspensions, for further missed tests. Any player or coach who misses a test will be mandated to have five negative tests, 24 hours apart, before being allowed to enter their team’s facility.The Titans have yet to be cleared to return to team headquarters, and since transmission rates have yet to abate it is unclear when the team will do so. Tennessee’s scheduled game against Pittsburgh on Sunday, which the league originally expected to be delayed by only one or two days, has now been rescheduled for Week 7 — Oct. 25 — the league announced Friday. To accommodate the change, the Steelers’ game at Baltimore, scheduled for Oct. 25, has been moved to Nov. 1. More

Thursday’s game between the Denver Broncos and the Jets was close right up until the end. It had some huge plays. It had an exciting finish.But to say the game — a 37-28 victory that gave the Broncos (1-3) their first win and has the Jets a quarter of the way to 0-16 — was good would be to ignore the quality of the competition, and all of the sloppy play that happened between the various highlights.With that in mind, here is the game condensed into the parts of it that were truly worth watching. You can watch them all, including replays, in about 2 minutes 51 seconds, with some commentary mixed in from LeBron James and Patrick Mahomes.Can’t get over this Sam Darnold run. #TakeFlight📺: #DENvsNYJ on @NFLNetwork📱: NFL App // Yahoo Sports App: https://t.co/jQ6nvOCVqi pic.twitter.com/K0ke2AcMZj— NFL (@NFL) October 2, 2020
As for the rest of the game, it wasn’t pretty. But, as Coach Vic Fangio of the Broncos said after his team held on, “Winning has cured more ills than penicillin.” More

After an auspicious beginning to the N.F.L. regular season played during a pandemic, the league got news of its first coronavirus outbreak after Week 3’s games.The Tennessee Titans suspended all in-person activities Tuesday after three players and five members of the team’s personnel tested positive for the virus, the first such outbreak to hit a team since training camps began in late July. The Minnesota Vikings, who hosted the Titans on Sunday, had not received any positive results as of Tuesday morning, they said in a statement, but also shut down in-person activities.“Both clubs are working closely with the N.F.L. and the N.F.L.P.A., including our infectious disease experts, to evaluate close contacts, perform additional testing and monitor developments,” the league said in a joint statement with the players’ union. “All decisions will be made with health and safety as our primary consideration. We will continue to share updates as more information becomes available.”The Titans did not release the names of the players and personnel who tested positive, though Tuesday afternoon they placed three players — long snapper Beau Brinkley, defensive tackle DaQuan Jones and the practice-squad tight end Tommy Hudson — on the reserve/Covid-19-list. Separately, Coach Mike Vrabel said after Sunday’s game that the outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen did not travel with the team to Minnesota because of Covid-19 protocol, which calls for sidelining staff who either receive a positive test or are exposed to someone who has.The Titans’ outbreak reflects how a bundle of positive tests can jeopardize the viability of a season, as has happened in other professional leagues, though the N.F.L. did not say whether the affected teams’ Week 4 games — Tennessee hosts Pittsburgh, while Minnesota plays at Houston — will proceed as scheduled. That determination will be reached by Commissioner Roger Goodell in consultation with an eight-member group comprising coaches, executives and former players from various team affiliations that was established to prevent members of the league’s competition committee from making self-interested decisions on which teams might have to cancel or postpone games. More

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The way the San Francisco 49ers played on Sunday afternoon, missing quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and several other starters was not an issue against the woeful and winless Giants.Nick Mullens, the backup quarterback, threw for 343 yards and a touchdown, and the Niners controlled the ball on offense, took it away on defense and had another easy day on the East Coast in a 36-9 win at MetLife Stadium.“I’m real happy with this week,” said Coach Kyle Shanahan, who wore a mask on Sunday after being fined $100,000 for failing to do so last week in a game against the Jets at MetLife Stadium in which his team lost six starters to injuries on a new field his players criticized.“We pulled together throughout the week,” Shanahan said of the concern about the field. “I just got real good energy and vibes from the guys from Wednesday, when we started practicing, all the way to last night at the hotel meeting. And then today. I thought they played very hard all four quarters. I was very proud of our team.”San Francisco played a near flawless game as Mullens completed 25 of 36 passes, including a 19-yard touchdown pass to running back Jeff Wilson. The Niners outgained the Giants, 420-231, held the ball for 39 minutes 44 seconds and forced three turnovers without giving the ball up. The Giants did not run a play in the red zone.“Nick was great, very poised,” Shanahan said. “We went on a lot of long drives today. They’re better than not scoring, but long drives can get a little bit exhausting. Especially for me. I don’t want to have to call that many plays.”Wilson, Jerick McKinnon and Brandon Aiyuk also scored on runs for the Niners (2-1), who stayed in West Virginia to prep for the game. Robbie Gould added three field goals for San Francisco, which beat the Jets, 31-13, here last week and denied Giants Coach Joe Judge a chance for his first win this week.The Niners had Garoppolo (ankle), defensive linemen Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas (knees) and running backs Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman hurt against the Jets. They complained about the new turf after the game, saying it was “sticky” and led to injuries.The NFL had the field re-examined, and it met all standards.San Francisco scored on seven of its first eight possessions. It would have been all eight but a snap-hold problem led to Gould’s missing a 55-yarder. He connected from 52, 32 and 26 yards. The Niners’ ninth possession ended the gameNew York, which came into the game as the N.F.L.’s lowest-scoring offense, got three field goals from Graham Gano, the second of which tied the score, 6-6, midway through the second quarter. Quarterback Daniel Jones turned the ball over twice.“We are not looking for excuses or pointing fingers,” Judge said after his team’s worst effort of the season. “We are not looking for shortcuts. We are looking to build this thing and build it the right way. We’re going to come back Wednesday and work our butts off to get this thing right.”New York was tied, 6-6, midway through the second quarter when the Niners drove 75 yards in 12 plays to take the lead, aided by an illegal contact penalty against the rookie Darnay Holmes on third-and-22.McKinnon scored on a 10-yard run with 1:13 left in the half, and a 26-yard field goal by Gould pushed the lead to 16-6 at the half. The field goal was set up when linebacker Fred Warner stepped in front of Jones’s pass at the New York 32.Jones finished 17 of 32 for 179 yards, but the second half was all San Francisco.San Francisco will return home from the East Coast and then face the Philadelphia Eagles in a Sunday night game. The Giants will travel to face the Rams in Los Angeles for the first time since 1994. From 1995 to 2015, the Rams were based in St. Louis. More

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The “Duval” cheers, the lights and the Jacksonville Jaguars were all in action again, but it was clear that Week 3 at TIAA Bank Field was different from my last visit, in 2019. When I attended that hot, early fall home opener, I talked to strangers seated next to me, stood in line close to people, and enjoyed the battery-operated fans that blew air in our faces to last with over 100-degree temperatures inside the stadium.I’ve always found you can make a quick emotional bond with nearby strangers around just because you happen to be fans of the same team, but it was nearly impossible to do that on Thursday night. You would have had to scream to even get the attention of your neighbor because each was seated so far away. Social distancing markers gave guidance on spacing for fans in line to buy concessions and memorabilia (or use the restroom) and face coverings were mandatory. These are the new realities for N.F.L. fans attempting to experience football in the flesh during the coronavirus pandemic.Jaguars fans were excited to be home again, with their team having gotten off to a surprising 1-1 start, but there was a cautious tone that hung in the air against the Dolphins. Miami got out to an early lead and never let up, winning 31-13, but fans still stuck it out until nearly the end of the fourth quarter, perhaps enjoying a tiny bit of the normalcy we all have yearned for during the pandemic.ImageFans headed into TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Fla., on Thursday to see the Jaguars face the Miami Dolphins.ImageJacksonville Jaguars fans stood during the playing of the national anthem. ImageSeats were tied off to prevent fans from sitting too close to one another.ImageA near-sellout crowd of 16,563 fans — 25 percent of capacity — filled TIAA Bank Field on Thursday night.ImageJacksonville Jaguars masks for sale at a team store at TIAA Bank Field.ImageMarkers on the floor of a concession area reminded fans to keep their distance.ImageFrom left to right, Dolphins fans Jarrod Plotnick, Myles Singer and Brandon Plotnick drove up from Miami to watch their team win.ImageA stadium worker, termed a “disinfection specialist,” cleans a concession area.ImageA store selling team merchandise was roped off to limit the number of fans in the store at one time.ImageStaff and law enforcement workers watch the end of the game.ImageFans sat in socially distant “pods” throughout the stadium.ImageLeftover beer cans and cups remained in a concession area. More