Broncos right guard Quinn Meinerz earned first-team All-Pro honors. He was the first alternate for the Pro Bowl Games.
When the NFL reached out Monday about Meinerz replacing Chiefs offensive lineman Joe Thuney, Meinerz “respectfully declined,” Mike Klis of 9News reports.
Browns offensive guard Joel Bitonio instead will replace the Super Bowl-bound Thuney on the AFC roster later this week in Orlando.
Meinerz had incentives in his contract for first-team All-Pro, so he will receive $1.5 million in escalators — an added $500,000 on his payouts for 2026, 2027 and 2029 seasons. So he will now make $15.866 million in 2026 and $18.5 million in both 2027 and 2028.
The Broncos have three Pro Bowlers in cornerback Pat Surtain II, returner Marvin Mims Jr. and outside linebacker Nik Bonitto.
The Lions appear to have settled on their choice to replace Ben Johnson as their offensive coordinator.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the team is working to hire Broncos passing game coordinator John Morton. Morton is traveling to Detroit to meet with the team.
While Morton has spent the last two seasons in Denver, he is a familiar face in Detroit. He was on Dan Campbell’s staff in 2022 as a senior offensive assistant and the two men were both on the same Saints staff earlier in their careers.
Morton has also worked for the Raiders, 49ers, Jets, and at USC over the last two decades.
The Eagles and Chiefs will meet in Super Bowl LIX, and this is how the path to the 2025 Super Bowl unfolded:
AFC Playoff Bracket
1. Kansas City Chiefs beat Texans 23-14 in divisional round, beat Bills 32-29 in AFC Championship Game.
2. Buffalo Bills beat Broncos 31-7 in wild card round, beat Ravens 27-25 in divisional round, lost to Chiefs 32-29 in AFC Championship Game.
3. Baltimore Ravens beat Steelers 28-14 in wild card round, lost to Bills 27-25 in divisional round.
4. Houston Texans beat Chargers 32-12 in wild card round, lost to Chiefs 23-14 in divisional round.
5. Los Angeles Chargers lost to Texans 32-12 in wild card round.
6. Pittsburgh Steelers lost to Ravens 28-14 in wild card round.
7. Denver Broncos lost to Bills 31-7 in wild card round.
NFC Playoff Bracket
1. Detroit Lions lost to Commanders 45-31 in divisional round.
2. Philadelphia Eagles beat Packers 22-10 in wild card round, beat Rams 28-22 in divisional round, beat Commanders 55-23 in NFC Championship Game.
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to Commanders 23-20 in wild card round.
4. Los Angeles Rams beat Vikings 27-9 in wild card round, lost to Eagles 28-22 in divisional round.
5. Minnesota Vikings lost to Rams 27-9 in wild card round.
6. Washington Commanders beat Buccaneers 23-20 in wild card round, beat Lions 45-31 in divisional round, lost to Eagles 55-23 in NFC Championship Game.
7. Green Bay Packers lost to Eagles 22-10 in wild card round.
Playoff Schedule
Wild card round
Saturday, January 11, 2025
Texans 32, Chargers 12.
Ravens 28, Steelers 14.
Sunday, January 12, 2025
Bills 31, Broncos 7.
Eagles 22, Packers 10.
Commanders 23, Buccaneers 20.
Monday, January 13, 2025
Rams 27, Vikings 9.
Divisional Round
Saturday, January 18, 2025
Chiefs 23, Texans 12.
Commanders 45, Lions 31.
Sunday, January 19, 2025
Eagles 28, Rams 22.
Bills 27, Ravens 25.
Conference Championships
Sunday, January 26, 2025
NFC Championship: Eagles 55, Commanders 23.
AFC Championship: Chiefs 32, Bills 29.
Super Bowl LIX
Sunday, February 9, 2025
6:30 p.m. ET: Chiefs vs. Eagles (Fox)
The Cowboys have a new head coach in place and they have started working on filling out Brian Schottenheimer’s coaching staff.
According to multiple reports, the Cowboys interviewed Chris Banjo for their special teams coordinator job on Saturday. John Fassell had the job for the last five years, but he left for the same position on the Titans’ staff this week.
Banjo has been an assistant special teams coach in Denver for the last two years. He spent the previous decade playing defensive back and special teams for the Packers, Saints, and Cardinals.
The 49ers also interviewed Banjo for their special teams job and he’s been mentioned as a potential candidate for that job on Aaron Glenn’s staff with the Jets.
The Bears interviewed David Shaw before they hired Ben Johnson as their new head coach and they might interview him again for a spot on Johnson’s staff.
Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports that they have requested permission to interview Shaw for their offensive coordinator job. Shaw is currently a senior personnel executive with the Browns, but was the head coach at Stanford for 12 years and he served as the school’s offensive coordinator before moving into that job.
Shaw is not the only name in the mix. Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reports that they want to interview Cardinals quarterbacks coach Israel Woolfork and Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that they interviewed tight ends coach Declan Doyle for the same job on Saturday.
Doyle’s been with the Broncos for the last two years and previously worked for Sean Payton with the Saints. Woolfolk has spent the last two seasons in Arizona.
The Associated Press has announced the finalists for the eight awards that will be given out as part of the NFL Honors show on February 6.
The marquee award is the Most Valuable Player prize and the consensus has been for some time that the award will go to either Bills quarterback Josh Allen or Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. Jackson’s bid got a boost when he was voted a first-team All-Pro, but we’ll have to wait a little longer before finding out if voters also put him ahead of Allen on their MVP ballots.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, and Lions quarterback Jared Goff are the other finalists.
Barkley, Burrow, and Jackson are also finalists for the offensive player of the year award. Ravens running back Derrick Henry and Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase round out the contenders for that prize.
Burrow is a three-time finalist as he’s also up for comeback player of the year. Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez, Bills safety Damar Hamlin, and Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins join him in that category.
The other award finalists are:
Coach of the Year
Dan Campbell, Lions; Kevin O’Connell, Vikings; Sean Payton, Broncos; Dan Quinn, Commanders; and Andy Reid, Chiefs.
Assistant Coach of the Year
Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady; Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio; Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores; Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn; and Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
Defensive Player of the Year
Eagles linebacker Zack Baun; Browns defensive end Myles Garrett; Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson; Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II; and Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
Raiders tight end Brock Bowers, Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers, Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, and Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr.
Defensive Rookie of the Year
Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, Rams defensive lineman Braden Fiske, Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, Dolphins linebacker Chop Robinson, and Rams linebacker Jared Verse.
The Jets have found their head coach, now they need to find their General Manager.
Aaron Glenn has agreed to a deal to coach the team and their search for a G.M. to work with him will expand to include at least two more interviews. According to multiple reports, the team will have second interviews with Broncos assistant G.M. Darren Mougey and Bengals senior personnel executive Trey Brown.
The Jets had Commanders assistant G.M. Lance Newmark in for a second interview this week and his prior work with the Lions while Glenn was in Detroit suggested that they might come in as a package.
That’s not the case at this point and the Jets may be headed in a different direction when all is said and done.
With Ben Johnson off the board, the Raiders will have to look elsewhere for their next head coach.
So where will they go?
Beyond Johnson, they’ve shown interest in and/or interviewed Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken, Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, former Jets coach Robert Saleh, former Jets, Patriots, and Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, and Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph.
Many believed Johnson was the guy whom minority owner and majority juice-holder Tom Brady wanted the most.
Brady could pivot to Commanders offensive coordinator (and former Patriots teammate) Kliff Kingsbury, whose offense outscored Johnson’s — and who remains very much alive for a Super Bowl berth. Because the Raiders didn’t interview Kingsbury when he was available for a virtual session (he took no such interviews), they can’t talk to him until after the Washington season ends.
Which might not happen for two weeks and six days.
The challenge for the Raiders becomes selling someone on a team with no quarterback, a very difficult division draw, and a roster that needs plenty of work.
Also, whoever takes the job will have to be fine with the reality of answering to two owners — majority owner Mark Davis and absentee minority landlord Tom Brady, who can’t attend most games because of his primary job with Fox.
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley sat out Week 18 instead of going for the NFL’s regular-season rushing record. But Barkley now has a chance to break the NFL’s regular-season+postseason rushing record.
After gaining 205 yards against the Rams on Sunday, Barkley has totaled 2,329 rushing yards in the regular season and postseason. Only one player in NFL history has totaled more than that — and that player did it twice.
Broncos running back Terrell Davis set the NFL record for total rushing yards in the regular season and playoffs in 1997, when he totaled 2,331 rushing yards. A year later, Davis broke his own record, totaling 2,476 rushing yards in the regular season and postseason. Davis and the Broncos won the Super Bowl both years.
Barkley needs to rush for 148 yards to move past Davis and have the most combined rushing yards in a regular and postseason in NFL history. He has a chance of doing it in the NFC Championship Game against the Commanders, and if the Eagles win that game he can add to his rushing total in the Super Bowl. With two more big games, Barkley can make a case for the greatest season of any running back in NFL history.
The NFL has cracked down hard on two players who led with their helmet on hits in the wild card round of the playoffs.
Broncos running back Javonte Williams and Vikings safety Harrison Smith were both fined $45,020 for use of the helmet violations.
Tellingly, neither Williams nor Smith was flagged by the officials on the field. The officials often miss the calls that the league’s disciplinary process determines are worth the most serious fines, and that was the case again here.
Because the NFL is prioritizing reducing helmet-first hits, the league has made $45,020 a standard fine even for a first offense.
