The start of a new American Football season rekindled some old — and troubling — issues for the NFL.

Thomas Davis knows all about pain and toughness.

The Carolina Panthers withstood a furious second half comeback from the Seattle Seahawks last night to win 31-24 and set up a National Football Conference championship showdown against the Arizona Cardinals.

Quarterback Cam Newton threw three touchdown passes and his Carolina Panthers pummelled the Atlanta Falcons 38-0 on Sunday to earn an NFL playoff first-round bye.

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.

The New England Patriots stretched their NFL season-opening win streak to nine games as Stephen Gostkowski’s field goal with one second left lifted them to a 27-26 win over the New York Giants.

The increasingly violent assaults by Israeli Arabs on Israeli Jews has been portrayed in the global media as a consequence of Muslim fears that Israel plans to sieze Al-Haram al-Sharif (more commonly known as Temple Mount or the Dome of the Rock) the third holiest site of Islamic pilgramidge.

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today, including everything you need to know from Budget 2016.

Miami Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin has been sacked in the aftermath of their Wembley loss to AFC East rivals the New York Jets on Sunday afternoon.

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The Pittsburgh Steelers came on strong in the fourth quarter on Sunday night for a 42-21 NFL triumph over Cincinnati that blew open the AFC North division race.

Chicago Bears’ defensive end Lamarr Houston will miss the rest of the season after a freak injury while celebrating a sack.

Peyton Manning broke Brett Favre’s all-time record for touchdown passes, leading Denver to a 42-17 rout of San Francisco to cap a scintillating Sunday in the NFL.

Gay and lesbian couples are getting legally married in the south-east of the US for the first time, with the practice crossing into a conservative region that has long stood against same-sex marriage.

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.

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

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The NFL couldn’t have scripted it much better heading into the last week of the regular season.

The Green Bay Packers needed their biggest comeback in history on Sunday to somehow keep their play-off hopes alive ahead of the long-awaited return of Aaron Rodgers from injury.

Ben Roethlisberger threw two touchdown passes on Sunday to help Pittsburgh beat the New York Giants 24-20 in an NFL game played with Hurricane Sandy’s devastation as a backdrop.

Late field goals kept the Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals undefeated while Houston won a rout to also stay perfect four weeks into the season.

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning threw a career-best 510 yards to lead the reigning Super Bowl champions to their first win of the NFL season on Sunday.

Peyton Manning made a sparkling return after a year’s injury absence from the NFL, leading Denver to a 31-19 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in his Broncos debut.

Even Socrates regretted not getting to close the deal with the most beautiful woman in the world. But as he said, it can happen, and he could always say he at least got to dance with her

THE Green Bay Packers survived a scare from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before sealing a hard-fought 35-26 win to match their best start to an NFL season in nearly half a century.

SUPER Bowl champions The New York Giants shrugged off the latest publicity surrounding absent receiver Plaxico Burress to defeat Washington 23-7 on Sunday.

DEFENDING champions New York struggled to score on Sunday but they managed a touchdown when it mattered most to defeat Pittsburgh 21-14 in a showdown of division leaders.

ARIZONA scored a touchdown off a blocked punt to finish off a wild 30-24 overtime victory over Dallas on Sunday as the NFL produced a flurry of frenetic endings.

THE Arizona Cardinals ended the Buffalo Bills’ unbeaten start to the season with a surprisingly easy 41-17 victory in Week 5 of the NFL.

BRETT FAVRE has returned to his record-setting ways with the New York Jets as Washington rocked old rivals Dallas in the NFL.

WHILE New England try to complete the first undefeated NFL regular season since the 1972 Miami Dolphins, Washington and Tennessee will attempt to simply reach the playoffs.

NEW ENGLAND preserved their perfect NFL season on Sunday, while Dallas, Green Bay and Seattle locked up divisional titles and Indianapolis booked their playoff berth.

PEYTON MANNING threw for four touchdowns and the Indianapolis Colts edged Jacksonville 28-25 to deny the Jaguars a share of the NFL AFC South division lead.

ATLANTA FALCONS kicker Morten Andersen became the first NFL player to pass 2,500 career points on Sunday night.

THE New England Patriots romped to victory again on Sunday, downing the Cleveland Browns 34-17 to easily remain among the NFL’s unbeaten teams.

BRETT FAVRE broke Dan Marino’s National Football League record for career touchdown passes, inspiring the unbeaten Packers to a 23-16 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

The man quarantined with a dangerous strain of tuberculosis is likely to spend up to two months in a US hospital while he receives a battery of antibiotics and is evaluated for possible surgery, his doctors said.

AMERICAN football’s National Football League regular season concludes with a mad dash for the playoffs this weekend, with 11 teams still chasing three postseason berths.

LADAINIAN TOMLINSON seized the NFL single-season record for touchdowns on Sunday as the San Diego Chargers captured the AFC West division crown.

TOM BRADY threw for 269 yards and a touchdown, while Asante Samuel picked off three passes as the New England Patriots beat Chicago 17-13 in a showdown of American football division leaders on Sunday.