JUSTIN HERBERT

Brandon Staley will be back for a third season as the Los Angeles Chargers head coach.

Los Angeles Chargers players are voicing their support for embattled coach Brandon Staley.

Justin Herbert sat in silence at his locker for roughly 15 minutes and stared into the distance.

Wild-card weekend is all about familiarity.

Austin Ekeler scored on two 1-yard runs and the Los Angeles Chargers clinched their first playoff berth since 2018, intercepting Indianapolis quarterback Nick Foles three times to beat the overmatched Colts 20-3.

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay says he isn’t ready to oust Daniel Snyder as owner of the Washington Commanders and wants to discuss the possibility with other NFL owners.

Justin Herbert threw for 367 yards and a touchdown and a short-handed Chargers defense got the best of the Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa as Los Angeles beat Miami 23-17.

A matchup featuring two of the league’s best young quarterbacks will now be played in front of a primetime audience.

Patrick Mahomes connected with Travis Kelce for their third touchdown of the game with 31 seconds remaining, and the Kansas City Chiefs rallied past the Los Angeles Chargers 30-27 to stay atop the AFC.

Christian McCaffrey ran for the go-ahead touchdown with 7:54 to play, and the San Francisco 49ers beat the Los Angeles Chargers 22-16 in their first game back from a bye week.

Dustin Hopkins kicked four field goals, including a 39-yarder with 2:38 remaining in overtime, and the Los Angeles Chargers rallied for a 19-16 victory over the Denver Broncos.

Even after the Los Angeles Chargers fell behind by 28 points late on a dismal Sunday afternoon, Justin Herbert insisted on staying in the game with his fractured rib cartilage.

Patrick Mahomes threw two touchdown passes, rookie Jaylen Watson returned an interception 99 yards for the go-ahead fourth-quarter score, and the Kansas City Chiefs held on to beat the Los Angeles Chargers 27-24.

Patrick Mahomes loses sleep preparing for Thursday night games.

Oregon Ducks tight end Spencer Webb has died after falling and striking his head on rock slides at a popular swimming lake near Eugene, Oregon.

New Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson says he aims to play 10 to 12 more seasons and win three or four more Super Bowls.

Daniel Carlson kicked a 47-yard field goal as time expired in overtime and the Las Vegas Raiders defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 35-32 on Sunday night to earn their first playoff berth since 2016.

Travis Kelce scored on a 34-yard pass from Patrick Mahomes in overtime and the Kansas City Chiefs rallied for a 34-28 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.

Justin Herbert passed for three touchdowns and Tevaughn Campbell returned a Joe Mixon fumble 61 yards for a score, helping the Los Angeles Chargers hold off the Cincinnati Bengals for a 41-22 victory.

Justin Herbert threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score and Dustin Hopkins kicked a 29-yard field goal with 2 seconds remaining, leading the Los Angeles Chargers to a 27-24 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

Adrian Phillips intercepted two Justin Herbert passes and returned one for the go-ahead touchdown, Nick Folk kicked four field goals and the New England Patriots rallied for a 27-24 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.

Lamar Jackson threw for 167 yards and a touchdown, and the Baltimore Ravens frustrated Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers in a 34-6 victory.

Austin Ekeler scored three touchdowns, including a 3-yard score with 1:31 remaining as the Los Angeles Chargers defeated the Cleveland Browns 47-42 in a wild shootout Sunday.

Justin Herbert threw for 337 yards and a touchdown to help the Los Angeles Chargers beat Washington 20-16 in an ugly Week 1 matchup full of turnovers and big penalties.

The NFL and its players' union have updated COVID-19 protocols to loosen restrictions for fully vaccinated players and to encourage others to get the vaccine.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers pumps his fist after an NFL divisional playoff football game against the Los Angeles Rams Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021, in Green Bay, Wis. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers earned his third Associated Press Most Valuable Player award, while Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald took his third top defensive player prize at NFL Honors. Titans 2,000-yard rusher Derrick Henry won Offensive Player of the Year, and the offensive rookie honor went to Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert. Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson won the Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his work in the community. Rodgers had perhaps the best season of his 16-year career, leading Green Bay to a 13-3 regular season, the NFC’s best mark.

(Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. FILE - Miami Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard (25) points and runs with the ball after intercepting a pass from Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (not shown) during an NFL football game in Miami Gardens, Fla., in this Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020, file photo. Howard was selected Friday, Jan. 8, 2021, to The Associated Press All-Pro Team. (AP Photo/Doug Murray, File)DAVIE, Fla. – Miami Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard came in 3rd in voting for the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year award. Howard led the NFL with 10 interceptions in 2020 and helped lead a Dolphins defense that transformed from one of the league’s worst in 2019 to one of the best in 2020.

Smith received 49 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league. ___9:52 p.m.For turning around a moribund Cleveland franchise, overcoming injuries and COVID-19 concerns, Kevin Stefanski is The Associated Press 2020 NFL Coach of the Year. ___9:43 p.m.One of the well-earned spoils for Derrick Henry’s 2,000-yard rushing season is The Associated Press 2020 NFL Offensive Player of the Year honor. ___9:30 p.m.Aaron Donald has become such a dominant defensive tackle that he’s joined elite company in winning his third Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award. The Los Angeles Rams’ unanimous All-Pro added the 2020 top defensive player honor to his wins in 2017 and 2018.

However, none was able to knock off the Chiefs in the final AP Pro32 poll of the 2020 regular season. The Buffalo Bills stayed at No. The teams split their two meetings in the regular season, but the Seahawks won the most recent matchup, in Week 16. The Baltimore Ravens, the third team from the AFC North to make the playoffs, stayed at No. 16 after topping Philadelphia in the last game of the regular season and was the lowest-ranked team to make the playoffs.

Henry came into Sunday’s regular season finale needing 223 yards rushing to become the second man in franchise history to reach 2,000. He came in as the NFL’s rushing leader for a second straight season with a career-best 1,777 yards rushing. The Green Bay Packers have set an NFL season record for second-quarter points. With the run Newton also passed Grogan for the single-season team record for rushing yards by a quarterback. Newton entered the game 26 yards behind Grogan, who had 539 rushing yards in 1978.

“We win this game, find a way to win, win the division. He's assured of repeating as NFL rushing champ, the first since Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006-07. Henry has a career-high 1,777 yards rushing and ran for 212 yards in his most recent game against the Texans. Ezekiel Elliott, despite a mediocre performance in 2020, needs 63 yards rushing for 1,000 this season, his fourth such output in five seasons. Baltimore (10-5) at Cincinnati (4-10-1)During their four-game winning streak, the Ravens have averaged 37 points and 233.3 yards rushing per game.

Herbert, the sixth overall pick in the April draft and third QB taken, completed 21 of 33 passes for 253 yards. Badgley also split the uprights from 43 yards late in the second quarter to extend LA’s lead to 13-0 at halftime. After the Chargers went three-and-out, Drew Lock scored on a 1-yard keeper for Denver's first rushing touchdown in seven games. And after Badgley's late field goal, the Broncos got to midfield. McManus then had a 37-yard field goal attempt bounce off the left upright, his first miss inside 40 yards since 2017.

They do have a sack in an NFL-record 71 straight games and have sacked Philip Rivers 15 times during seven games while he played for the Chargers. Rivers has had two or more TD passes in five straight games. He had career bests of 10 catches for 163 yards last week, and Ridley's seven 100-yard games lead the NFL. The 19 straight seasons without losing both games to a divisional opponent is an NFL record. The Jaguars have allowed at least 24 points in each of those 13 games, an NFL record.

Los Angeles Chargers tight end Hunter Henry, right, embraces quarterback Justin Herbert (10) after defeating the Las Vegas Raiders in overtime of an NFL football game, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020, in Las Vegas. Herbert scored on 1-yard plunge to give the Los Angeles Chargers a 30-27 overtime victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday night. The Chargers (5-9) snapped a nine-game losing streak against their AFC West counterparts, and snapped a three-game skid against the Raiders. Las Vegas (7-7) lost quarterback Derek Carr to a left groin injury in the first quarter. “It just shows the kind of player and football character he has,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said of Mariota.

The surprising Miami Dolphins earned their fifth consecutive victory, beating the Los Angeles Chargers 29-21 Sunday. The Chargers were also outplayed on special teams, where they were hurt by two mistakes that allowed Miami to take a 14-0 lead. Jakeem Grant, the NFL leader in punt return yards, helped the Dolphins’ field position with three runbacks for 57 yards. Nick Vigil made a 44-yard return before Tagovailoa tackled him, and Herbert scored on a fourth-down sneak to make it 14-7. Chargers: They play the second of three consecutive games against the AFC East when they host the New York Jets on Sunday.

The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Cincinnati Bengals 36-10 to become the NFL’s first team to get to 9-0 since the 2015 Carolina Panthers. The Cardinals beat Buffalo 32-30 on a 43-yard touchdown pass from Kyler Murray to DeAndre Hopkins with 2 seconds left, dropping the Bills record to 7-3. Brees was shaken up on a sack in the second quarter when Kentavius Street landed on him. 1 pick Joe Burrow, threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Jakeem Grant with 58 seconds left in the first quarter. Cole had scored on a franchise-record 91-yard punt return in the second quarter.

As he walked off the field after taking a knee on the final play, Tagovailoa presented the ball to Flores. Flores said Tagovailoa appears to have regained all of his mobility, and might be even shiftier than he was at Alabama. “As a rookie, you don’t know what you don’t know,” Flores said. And while his NFL career is off to a good start, his perspective is different from before the hip injury. “I don’t know if I'll ever be my old self,” he said.

The top mark in NFL history through nine weeks was 24 ppg in 2018. That has eliminated the need for silent counts for road teams, making life much easier for offenses. Road teams are 67-65-1 this season, marking the first time since 1983 (68-57-1) that they had a winning record through nine weeks. From 2010-19, home teams outscored road teams by 2.0 points per game. FLAG FOOTBALL: From the crackdown on hits against defenseless receivers to the protections in place for quarterbacks, NFL rules always seem to tilt toward the offense.

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) is sacked by Denver Broncos defensive end DeMarcus Walker (57) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

(AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)In a season full of blown leads, perhaps no team has perfected the art of the late-game collapse better than the Los Angeles Chargers. That makes the Chargers the first team in NFL history to blow a lead of at least 16 points in four straight games. While the Chargers have blown the biggest leads, there have been plenty of other teams to squander big advantages. MISSING TOM: The Patriots have gone three straight games without a touchdown pass for the first time since Tom Brady’s first year as the New England starter in 2001. The Jets have also gone three straight games without a TD pass, meaning these teams will take the two longest active streaks into their meeting on Monday night.

Denver Broncos wide receiver K.J. Hamler (13) celebrates his game-tying touchdown against the Los Angeles Chargers during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)DENVER – Drew Lock hit rookie KJ Hamler from a yard out and no time on the clock and Brandon McManus nailed the extra point to give the Denver Broncos a shocking 31-30 win over the hard-luck Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. The Broncos (3-4) overcame a 24-3 deficit and rallied after being held to just 60 first-half yards, including 2 on the ground. The Broncos got the ball at their 19 with 2:24 remaining and Lock drove them 81 yards in 14 plays, helped by two defensive flags.

Dalvin Cook scored four times for the Minnesota Vikings, who held on for a 28-22 victory over the Green Bay Packers. Cook has scored six touchdowns in two games against Green Bay this season. Green Bay now has made it seven in a row. The Vikings and Green Bay Packers are tied 7-all in the final minute of the first quarter. This is shaping up to be a windy day in Green Bay.

More importantly for Herbert, was that first win as an NFL starting quarterback despite Los Angeles blowing another large lead. The Chargers jumped to a 16-0 second-quarter lead but squandered a double-digit advantage for the fourth time in five games. James Robinson led Jacksonville with 119 rushing yards on 22 carries and a touchdown. After Michael Badgley's 35-yard field goal on the opening drive, rookie Joe Reed scored his first NFL touchdown on a 7-yard jet sweep around right end. It was the Chargers' first rushing touchdown since Herbert in Week 2 against Kansas City.

___7:10 p.m.Tom Brady moved one touchdown pass ahead of Drew Brees for the career lead. The Los Angeles Chargers and Jacksonville Jaguars combined for four touchdowns in the final 5:25 of the third quarter. The Los Angeles Chargers have blown another large, second-quarter lead, this time to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Chargers jumped out to a 16-0 lead, but the Jaguars have scored 21 unanswered points. New York leads 3-0.

He’s got to do better but we could have done some other things better,” Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said. “This is how you grow as a team," Brees said. The Chargers (1-4) fell to their fourth straight loss by a touchdown or less, and the second in overtime. Then Brees found Cook open behind the Chargers’ secondary on third-and-long to tie it early in the fourth quarter. Saints: Enter their bye week, followed by a Week 7 home date with Carolina on Oct. 25.

COSTA MESA, Calif. – Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Tyrod Taylor missed last Sunday's game because a team doctor accidentally punctured his lung, according to a person familiar with the case. Herbert was the Chargers' surprise starter in last Sunday's 23-20 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Herbert said he found out he was playing right as the Chargers were lining up to receive the opening kickoff. Taylor was taken to the hospital due to difficulties breathing after Lynn said he had a reaction to an injection. He was taken off it, though, after fully participating in practice and taking all of the snaps with the first team.

(AP Photo/Ashley Landis )INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Harrison Butker wasn't nervous about his third attempt to kick a game-winning field goal in overtime for the Kansas City Chiefs. Butker connected from 58 yards with 1:55 remaining in overtime to give the Chiefs a 23-20 victory on Sunday. Butker’s game-winner was his third field goal of the day and his second from 58 yards, which tied a Chiefs record for distance. In overtime, Butker sent the ball through the uprights from 53 yards, but Kansas City was called for a false start. He also had four runs for 29 yards, including a 22-yard scramble on third-and-21 late in regulation to put the Chiefs into field goal range.

(AP Photo/John Froschauer)The Latest on Week 2 in the NFL (all times EDT):___8:55 p.m.Seattle safety Quandre Diggs was ejected late in the first quarter Sunday night for a helmet-to-helmet hit on New England’s N’Keal Harry. Multiple flags were thrown and after a few minutes of deliberation, referee Craig Wrolstad announced Diggs had been ejected. Watkins made an 11-yard catch to convert a third down when Desmond King started to bring him down and Denzel Perryman landed a helmet-to-helmet hit. San Francisco lost both defensive end Nick Bosa and defensive tackle Solomon Thomas to left knee injuries earlier in the game. Brady struggled in an 11-point loss to New Orleans in his first NFL game not in a New England Patriots uniform.

Lawrence passed for 3,280 yards and threw 30 touchdowns to just four interceptions after replacing Kelly Bryant four games into the 2018 season. Even more impressive were his numbers against Notre Dame and Alabama in the College Football Playoff -- 674 yards, six touchdowns and zero picks. Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama, juniorMichael Reaves/Getty ImagesThe Heisman Trophy runner-up finished last season with 3,966 passing yards, 43 touchdowns and six interceptions, helping Alabama to a 14-0 record headed into the national championship game against Clemson. Jalen Hurts, QB, Oklahoma, seniorAP Photo/Sue OgrockiCan Jalen Hurts become the third consecutive Oklahoma quarterback to win the Heisman? Herbert enters the 2019 season having thrown for a touchdown in 28 consecutive games -- the longest active streak in the nation.

Even more impressive were his numbers against Notre Dame and Alabama in the College Football Playoff -- 674 yards, six touchdowns and zero picks. Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama, juniorThe Heisman Trophy runner-up finished last season with 3,966 passing yards, 43 touchdowns and six interceptions, helping Alabama to a 14-0 record headed into the national championship game against Clemson. Jalen Hurts, QB, Oklahoma, seniorCan Jalen Hurts become the third consecutive Oklahoma quarterback to win the Heisman? The dual-threat quarterback has amassed 5,481 yards and 48 touchdowns through the air, while adding 1,945 yards and 23 touchdowns on terra firma. Herbert enters the 2019 season having thrown for a touchdown in 28 consecutive games -- the longest active streak in the nation.