The Green Bay Packers had the ball in field goal range, on the cusp of breaking a fourth-quarter tie, when Patriots lineman Lawrence Guy knocked the ball out of Aaron Jones’ grasp.

Young quarterbacks have always had a tough time winning in Gillette Stadium during the Bill Belichick and Tom Brady era.

Buffalo Bills corner back Vontae Davis retired at half-time in Sunday’s defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers before admitting: “Reality hit me hard.”

Tom Brady tossed four touchdown passes — including two to Rob Gronkowski — as the New England Patriots pushed through injuries and a mistake-filled game for a 35-17 victory over the sliding Miami Dolphins.

Kirk Cousins drove the Washington Redskins 70 yards and Rob Kelley's one-yard touchdown run with less than a minute remaining on the clock earned them a 17-14 win over the Seattle Seahawks.

SPORT is political, sometimes deeply so. It is a conduit to our higher ambitions. It gives voice to our better angels and, unless corrupted, can distil principle more powerfully than any policy document drowning in caveats or derogations.

Rookie kicker Younghoe Koo missed a last-gasp field goal for the second successive game as the Los Angeles Chargers lost their home opener 19-17 to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

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.

Mason Crosby's last-gasp 51-yard field goal steered the in-form Green Bay Packers into the NFC Championship game courtesy of a dramatic 34-31 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.

The Pittsburgh Steelers trounced the Miami Dolphins 30-12 in the NFL wildcard play-offs.

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.

Tom Brady earned his landmark 200th NFL win in the New England Patriots' 22-17 win over the New York Jets.

The Carolina Panthers bounced back to winning ways with a 30-20 NFL victory over the Arizona Cardinals at the Bank of America Stadium.

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.

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

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.

Tom Brady threw for two fourth-quarter touchdowns and notched a career rushing first, leading New England to a 30-23 win over the New York Jets that kept the Patriots unbeaten this NFL season.

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.

Joique Bell’s arms stretch behind his head as if pulled by an individual rope.

The NFL loves it when a good plan comes together. Or so it must seem for the poor Detroit Lions, whose play-off demise on Sunday was sparked by a highly-questionable refereeing decision.

The Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys booked their places in the play-offs after victories on Sunday while the New England Patriots earned a first round bye for the post-season.

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.

US federal agents conducted surprise inspections of National Football League team doctors and trainers on Sunday as part of an ongoing probe into painkiller drug abuse, the US media reported on Sunday.

A stunning comeback sent the Indianapolis Colts through to the next round of the NFL play-offs at the expense of the Kansas City Chiefs as the post-season got off to a thrilling start.

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.

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.

A win over divisional rivals Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday evening saw the Denver Broncos emerge from the toughest part of their NFL campaign relatively unscathed and in poll position in the AFC and will now retain home advantage throughout January’s play-offs.

In the small hours of Monday morning, just south of a bitterly cold Boston, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots finally overcame the Denver Broncos in an instant NFL classic that provided almost everything.

After a rip-roaring start to the season, the Kansas City Chiefs finally fell to their first defeat in the NFL this year, losing an absorbing clash by ten points at the home of Peyton Manning’s Denver Broncos on Sunday.

The Denver Broncos will be sweating this week on the fitness of quarterback Peyton Manning, who led them to their eighth win of the season on Sunday but saw his injury-prone ankle targeted in the process.

Even weary fans of the Dallas Cowboys could not have imagined how they would succumb to their nightmare defeat by the Detroit Lions when apparently in control of their NFC clash in Motown on Sunday.

The highly-anticipated showdown between Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning and his former team, the Indianapolis Colts was as tense as it was emotional on Sunday night.

Just short of 100 points were scored in an incredible Texas shoot-out between the Denver Broncos and the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday which left Peyton Manning’s Broncos in control of one of the three unbeaten records in the NFL thanks to a 51-48 win.