Tom Brady piloted Super Bowl champions New England to the winning touchdown with 56 seconds left on Sunday as the Patriots clinched the AFC East with a gut-wrenching 27-24 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Georgia Dome, the stadium in Atlanta that hosted 1996 Olympic events and which was the venue for two Super Bowls, has been reduced to rubble in an implosion.

American players will stand when the national anthem is played ahead of this week’s Presidents Cup, captain Steve Stricker has said.

The Arizona Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys sent their own defiant message to United States president Donald Trump before their game on Monday night with a new form of protest.

US president Donald Trump's criticism of American football players who kneel during the national anthem has sparked a mass increase in such protests around the NFL, as about 200 players sat, knelt or raised their fists in defiance.

Myles Garrett was the first overall pick by the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Draft, while three quarterbacks were chosen in the opening 12 selections of a first round.

Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick have a special understanding, writes Kieran Shannon.

The Pittsburgh Steelers clinched their NFL play-off place with a last-gasp win over the Baltimore Ravens - but reigning champions the Denver Broncos were dumped out and embarrassed by the Kansas City Chiefs.

Yes, we are needy about wanting every American president to think of us but Hillary Clinton really did reference Ireland in her very first remarks at her campaign rally in Pittsburgh.

Aaron Rodgers has two NFL MVP awards and one Super Bowl ring, and he’s in his ninth season as the starter for Green Bay. Sam Bradford was never on a winning team over his first six years in the league. He had 15 days to learn Minnesota’s offence, then lost his Hall of Fame calibre running back to injury in the third quarter.

Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo did not miss a beat as he stepped in for the suspended Tom Brady in his first NFL start and led the New England Patriots to a 23-21 win over the Arizona Cardinals.

Professional golfer Phil Mickelson is being sued by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over claims he profited from an insider trading scheme.

Arguably, nothing has tarnished the reputation of the NFL more than the litany of domestic violence cases it has handled in recent years. And mishandled.

Quarterback Cam Newton threw five touchdown passes to lead the Carolina Panthers to a 10th straight NFL victory on Sunday, a 44-16 pounding of the Washington Redskins.

Domestic violence charges against Ray Rice were dismissed after the former National Football League running back completed a pretrial intervention programme, New Jersey prosecutors said.

ENGLAND: For most people, the 1940s conjures up images of rations, wartime struggle and sombre outfits.

Take it again. Tim Smyczek’s simple act of sportsmanship in his Australian Open match with Rafa Nadal won’t endure in sporting folklore, says Larry Ryan.

The Green Bay Packers will face the Super Bowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC title game after a thrilling weekend in the NFL play-offs.

American Football

There’s no knowing what 2015 will serve up but it will start with a bang tomorrow in the US.

High profile coaching casualties followed quick on the heels of the final day of the NFL’s regular season as the San Francisco 49ers and the New York Jets parted ways with their coaches yesterday.

The Dallas Cowboys blew a 21-0 lead before rallying to beat the Philadelphia Eagles 38-27 and move to 10-4, one game ahead of Philadelphia at the top of the NFC East standings.

Andrew Luck enjoyed a landmark day as the Indianapolis Colts beat the Washington Redskins 49-27 on Sunday.

Tom Brady won the battle of the marquee quarterbacks over Peyton Manning, while the Arizona Cardinals knocked off the Dallas Cowboys to claim the NFC’s best record.

It may seem emotional rather than rational, but the idea of Oscar Pistorius returning to the track competitively feels wrong, suggests Derval O'Rourke.

Arizona Cardinals running back Jonathan Dwyer became the latest NFL player this week to be sidelined by his team due to off-field legal issues.

Rihanna has accused CBS of "penalising" her for being a victim of domestic violence.

IT’S hard to avoid this repeated hand wringing about the NFL and its inability to stay opaque in our overwhelmingly transparent era of journalism.

An embattled NFL, reeling from off-field brutality issues, received more bad news with numerous injuries to key players in the second week of an already tumultuous campaign.

This has been the NFL’s worst week.

American football player Adrian Peterson has been indicted in Texas on a charge of child abuse after using a branch to discipline his son.

Charlie Sheen has offered to give a waiter $1,000 after he was left a 20 cent tip by an NFL star.

Before it gets grim around here, allow me to get a little sentimental.

The day after Ray Rice was cut loose from his $35m contract with the Baltimore Ravens following the release of a video showing him striking and knocking out his then-fiancee, his wife defended her husband and blasting the media for the pain caused to her family.

Baltimore Ravens have released running back Ray Rice hours after a shocking video surfaced showing the NFL star punching his then-fiancee.

The new NFL season in the US is bringing with it more moral confusion than ever and it’s only the beginning of August.

Oh dear.

Bombing victim Erika Brannock is going back to where she was standing for last year’s Boston Marathon, so that she can move on, writes Abigail Jones.

They came with roses to say farewell to a young woman who had bloomed and touched many hearts during her all too short but happy lifetime.

The NFL play-off picture was completed on Sunday with a dramatic final series of regular season games delivering big results for the Green Bay Packers, the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Diego Chargers.