D’Andre Swift scores three times as Bears run past Panthers 59–37
Chicago piles up 291 rushing yards, Caleb Williams accounts for four touchdowns, and Kyle Monangai’s 61-yard burst breaks open a wild opener.
Football stories
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T.J. Watt’s 35-yard pick-six lifts Steelers past Falcons 20–13
Watt added two sacks and Pittsburgh’s defense supplied the decisive score in Mike McCarthy’s first regular-season win with the Steelers.
Geno Smith and Breece Hall lead Jets past Titans 23–10
Hall ran for 102 yards, Kenyon Sadiq scored on the opening drive and New York’s defense kept Tennessee chasing in the season opener.
St. Brown scores in overtime, Lions stop Saints conversion to escape 31–30
Jahmyr Gibbs piled up 186 yards from scrimmage, but Detroit needed a final defensive stop after surrendering a 21-point lead.
A last-play stop, a 96-yard winner and 59 Bears points: Sunday’s early games
Eight games, eight recaps: watch the turning points and follow every early-window final.
Cowboys place Malik Davis on season-ending injured reserve after hip surgery
Dallas confirms Davis is on injured reserve following surgery; promoted back Israel Abanikanda is inactive for the opener.
Bears and D’Andre Swift agree to $33.75 million extension, ESPN reports
The reported three-year agreement includes $27.5 million guaranteed after Swift’s most productive rushing season.
A.J. Brown headed to injured reserve, ESPN reports
ESPN reports a planned IR move that would keep Brown out at least four games, leaving New England to redistribute his receiving work.
Flournoy signs extension keeping him in Dallas through 2027
Ryan Flournoy has agreed to a contract extension with the Cowboys after making the jump from a preseason release to a regular role in the offense.
Full football TV schedule: September 9–14, kickoff times and channels
Every NFL game and the full FBS/FCS college slate: 147 games, with Eastern kickoff times and listed channels or streams.
A football week worth clearing the calendar for: your September 9–14 TV guide
Ohio State-Texas gets our Saturday night screen. Here is the rest of the route from Wednesday NFL kickoff through Monday night.
49ers lose starting DT Alfred Collins for the year before the Netflix Australia opener
Shanahan confirmed a torn patellar tendon from Tuesday's Melbourne practice. San Francisco now walks into Thursday without two defensive linemen, opposite a Rams side already parking Aaron Donald.
Aaron Donald sits the Netflix Australia opener after a late unretire ramp
McVay is holding him out of Melbourne. The Rams-49ers show still goes on without the comeback star on the plane.
SEC asks a court for power to expel LSU and tees up a Thursday presidents vote
Tuesday's amended federal filing seeks legal authority to kick LSU out of the conference. Presidents meet Thursday. ESPN says expulsion is not expected, but the ask plus a TRO against Louisiana's attorney general raises the stakes in the Kiffin pro-return fight.
No. 4 Notre Dame beats Wisconsin 41-13 at Lambeau Field
Irish pull away in the Shamrock Series at Lambeau, 41-13.
A Cardinals ump stopped the game over a rookie's hat
An umpire stopped a Cardinals game and made rookie Hancel Rincon straighten his hat, saying nobody would wear it that way on his field. The circulating clip from Josh Reynolds then shows what the poster calls a revenge call.
The Vikings re-signed Harrison Smith to a one-year deal
Minnesota and safety Harrison Smith agreed to a one-year deal for 2026, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport reported Saturday, and the club confirmed it. Reports put the pact at about $12.25 million with incentives that can push the maximum near $16.25 million (base value about $8 million per Tom Pelissero). Smith, 37, returns for a 15th season with the only NFL team of his career after a March post-June 1 release. This is a 53-man re-signing, not a practice-squad dump.
LSU left Wright and Harris off the roster for Clemson
LSU submitted a 103-player roster for its September 5 opener against Clemson without Dae'Quan Wright or Zxavian Harris, leaving two spots open and their possible return unresolved.
LSU left Wright and Harris off the SEC 105 for Clemson
LSU left tight end Dae'Quan Wright and defensive tackle Zxavian Harris off Friday's SEC 105 for Saturday's home opener against Clemson, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported (story id 49831993). The Tigers submitted 103 players and left two spots open for a later add. Neither was expected to play Saturday even if rostered. A Louisiana judge cleared them with a preliminary injunction on Thursday; the Friday roster print is the institutional brake. Notre Dame transfer Junior Tuihalamaka is reportedly on the
UNC's Michael Lombardi resigned as GM while the investigation widens
WRAL and ESPN report Michael Lombardi resigned as UNC football GM on Thursday while the university investigation continues. WRAL says people familiar with the probe describe questions about Steve Belichick and alleged drug use, and separately about alleged sexual relationships involving staff and at least one player. This is the reported news, not a graded prediction.
Michael Lombardi resigned as UNC football GM amid a widening investigation
WRAL and ESPN report Michael Lombardi resigned as UNC football GM on Thursday. WRAL says people familiar with the probe describe questions about Steve Belichick and alleged drug use, and separately about alleged sexual relationships involving recruiting staff, assistants, and at least one player. The university says the investigation continues. This desk is summarizing those reports, not adjudicating the allegations.
The Cowboys restructured Clark, Bland, and Ferguson for about $19 million in 2026 cap space
Dallas converted base salaries into signing bonuses for DT Kenny Clark, CB DaRon Bland, and TE Jake Ferguson, creating about $19 million in 2026 cap space, ESPN's Todd Archer reported. The club had about $14.2 million of NFLPA-listed space before the moves. Future add-backs are sourced (Clark about $1.5M in 2027; Bland about $2.15M across remaining years; Ferguson about $1.2M). Weekly cash pay is unchanged. This is cap construction, not a practice-squad dump.
The SEC sued LSU and Lane Kiffin in federal court over former NFL players
On Thursday the SEC sued LSU, coach Lane Kiffin, President Wade Rousse, AD Verge Ausberry, and the LSU Board in the Northern District of Alabama, accusing them of recruiting players who had signed with the Browns, Saints, and Buccaneers. Greg Sankey testified the same day in Baton Rouge after a state judge left about 7 of 44 plaintiffs with SEC claims. Wright is practicing but likely sits Saturday vs Clemson under the seven-day rule; Friday is the SEC 105 roster deadline.
The Athletic found Dianna Russini violated its standards, with no clear Vrabel bias
The Athletic's nearly five-month review found Dianna Russini's relationship with Patriots coach Mike Vrabel was in clear violation of its standards and should have been disclosed. Standards editor Mike Semel reviewed 903 stories, 77 videos, and 204 podcast episodes and did not find a clear link that she used the platform to promote Vrabel or his teams. He did not speak to Russini. The Athletic added editor's notes to four pieces. Russini resigned in April after New York Post resort photos. The A