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.

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 Philadelphia Eagles’ play-off ambitions suffered a near-fatal blow with a surprise 27-24 loss to the Washington Redskins on Saturday.

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.

POLICE CHASE NAKED SUSPECT, CAPTURE HIM IN PANTS

Menelik Watson admits he can scarcely believe that his journey has taken him from Longsight in Manchester to one of the NFL’s most storied franchises.

I know how galling this all must be, hearing about the big North American freeze and the tremors of polar madness it’s firing across the ocean to stir things up around your way.

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.

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.

The $765m (€578m) settlement the National Football League in the US has reached with 4,500 former American football players over concussion-related lawsuits to would fund medical examinations, concussion-related compensation, and medical research could have serious implications here.

With the All Star footballers flying into New York today for the first time since 1990, it’s worth going back to the first trip in 1975 which involved a unique exhibition remembered with affection around here.

Atlanta remained undefeated, Tom Brady won the battle of the marquee quarterbacks and Drew Brees had a record-setting day in week five of the National Football League season.

Former NFL linebacker Junior Seau has been found dead at his California home at the age of 43.

ON Monday morning Twitter spiked with 9,420 tweets per second about him.

THE Green Bay Packers suffered a shock 19-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, shattering their hopes of a perfect season as three more teams joined them in the National Football League (NFL) playoffs.

IN A win that evoked their Superbowl triumph from the 2007 season, the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots in dramatic fashion on Sunday with a touchdown pass from Eli Manning in the final seconds.

AFTER the NFL Players Association approved a 10-year deal to help end a four-and-a-half month lockout on Monday, there was a moment of silence.

IT BEGAN as one of the worst NFL games anybody in the 80,000-strong crowd is likely to have seen, but ended with a thrilling finish and the possible emergence of a new star.

Miss California Carrie Prejean, who became the bombshell of the Miss USA pageant by saying gay couples should not be allowed to marry, said her state sponsors urged her to apologise afterward but she rejected the advice.

LONDON could be set to hold the SuperBowl after “substantive talks” with officials about holding the event in the city, a senior National Football League official said yesterday.

Sunday’s NFL game at Wembley is part of a long-term commitment to London on the part of the league, according to NFL UK managing director Alistair Kirkwood.

Chief executive Peter Kenyon today confirmed Chelsea have no plans to enter the transfer market in January – because he believes manage Luiz Felipe Scolari can deliver success with the tools he has available.

Heather Mills will soon be back in front of the cameras, it was reported in the US today.

THE New England Patriots arrived in Arizona on Sunday for Super Bowl 42, seeking one final victory over the New York Giants to complete a historic undefeated championship season.

PEYTON MANNING has a championship game to be at next weekend after all. He can go watch baby brother Eli guide the New York Giants.

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 PATRIOTS secured a record 15th successive victory in the NFL with a 28-7 success against Miami Dolphins.

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

Tom Dempsey carved out an NFL career despite physical disability, before landing the sport’s longest field goal, writes Simon Lewis.

With some of the worst wildfires dying down, many southern Californians lucky enough to find their homes still standing are likely to face hardships for weeks to come.

Celebrities like Mel Gibson, Kelsey Grammer and Victoria Principal have been forced to flee their homes in Southern California driven out by unstoppable brush fires that are devastating the region.

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.

GREEN Bay quarterback Brett Favre marked another NFL milestone as he guided the Packers to a 31-24 victory over the San Diego Chargers.

Tiger Woods may be big but the world’s top-ranked golfer can come up with at least one athlete who he feels trumps him on a world-wide stage.