Free-agent running back Mark Walton is facing a second accusation of domestic violence, with the woman’s attorney saying police have yet to interview her regarding the alleged March attack.
In March, Walton allegedly punched the woman multiple times while they were driving through Miami Gardens, and he allegedly dragged her by the foot and hit her multiple more times after she had gotten out of the car. She suffered a swollen and bleeding lip.
The woman’s attorney told the Miami Herald that Miami Gardens police didn’t seek an interview until November, when Walton was arrested in Davie, Florida, after he allegedly pushed the woman, who was pregnant, into a wall and punched her several times in the face and head.
Walton has denied the November allegations and is awaiting trial in that case. His defense attorney, Michael Gottlieb, declined to comment on the March allegations.
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Patriots cornerback Jason McCourty has been slowed by a nagging groin injury, and he is one of seven players who has been limited in practice. If he is cleared, he could prove to be an ideal option against some of the Titans’ multiple-tight-end options.
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Otherwise, the Patriots seem to be in relatively good shape on the injury front, which was a point Bill Belichick echoed earlier in the week. Slot corner Jonathan Jones (groin) played last week and appeared to come out of the game OK. — Mike Reiss
Adoree’ Jackson (foot) was a full participant in back-to-back practices to start the week. On Wednesday, Mike Vrabel said the team will continue to evaluate Jackson, but the coach seemed optimistic about Jackson’s status. Jackson’s return would give the Titans’ secondary a huge boost. Unfortunately for the Titans, wideout Adam Humphries (ankle) missed yet another practice and is likely to be ruled out on Saturday. — Turron Davenport
Will Texans wide receiver Will Fuller V play against the Bills? Head coach Bill O’Brien said it’s too early in the week to tell, but the receiver is making progress toward being on the field against Buffalo. Defensive end J.J. Watt expects to return from a torn pectoral muscle on Saturday but said he isn’t sure how much he will play after missing eight games. — Sarah Barshop
To celebrate 100 years of pro football, Peyton Manning travels the country to see the people and places that made the NFL the NFL.
Watch on ESPN+ » More »Will Levi Wallace play? The Bills’ starting cornerback opposite Tre’Davious White was carted into the locker room last week after injuring his ankle in the first quarter. Although he missed practice Tuesday, he returned to the field Wednesday — a positive sign for his availability Saturday. Kevin Johnson can competently fill in if need be, but Fuller or no Fuller, Buffalo will need all hands on deck against the Texans’ group of receivers. — Marcel Louis-Jacques
The Saints are getting healthier at the right time. Last week, they got their full offensive line back. And now their secondary is healing. Safeties Vonn Bell (knee) and Marcus Williams (groin) practiced on a limited basis last week, though cornerback Eli Apple (ankle) remained sidelined. — Mike Triplett
Tight end Zach Ertz (ribs) hasn’t been cleared for contact. Although he was able to participate in a light practice to start the week, he needs the medical green light before suiting up against the Seahawks, which puts his availability for Sunday in question. Running back Miles Sanders is day-to-day with an ankle injury. The key will be getting the inflammation down. There’s optimism that he’ll play, so long as he continues to show progress in the coming days. — Tim McManus
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All week, Pete Carroll has sounded confident but not quite certain about free safety Quandre Diggs’ returning for the Seahawks’ game at Philadelphia. He missed the past two games with a high-ankle sprain and returned to practice Wednesday as a limited participant. Diggs said earlier in the day that he’s “feeling good,” but he gave a “we’ll see” about playing Sunday, noting that he has to avoid setbacks in practice this week. Diggs’ return would be significant. He was a difference-maker once he entered the starting lineup, allowing Seattle to play more Cover 3 with Diggs as the lone deep safety. He had a hand in four takeaways in his five starts. The Seahawks haven’t gotten anything close to that out of his replacement, Lano Hill. — Brady Henderson
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More NFL coverage »Had Jacob Hollister crossed the goal line on his fourth-down catch instead of getting stopped just shy of it, the Seahawks would have beaten the San Francisco 49ers and claimed the NFC West title. That would have meant the conference’s No. 3 seed and a home game against the Minnesota Vikings this weekend. But the Seahawks’ 26-21 loss to San Francisco means they enter the playoffs as the No. 5 seed and will make a return trip to Philadelphia to play the Eagles (4:40 p.m. ET Sunday) as a wild-card team.
The Seahawks won at Lincoln Financial Field in Week 12 for one of their seven road victories this season, the most in franchise history. Those accomplishments seemed to counterbalance the disappointment of their last-second loss.
“We’ve been road warriors all year,” coach Pete Carroll said. “Our guys have handled it well. Why? I know why we’ve done well on the road. Why we didn’t win more at home, we’ll talk about that in the offseason. But we’re not worried about going on the road, that’s for sure.”
To be sure, the Seahawks would have preferred to spend wild-card weekend at home. They’ve won 10 straight playoff games at CenturyLink Field — including six under Carroll — since a wild-card loss to the St. Louis Rams in January 2005. But they haven’t had the same home-field advantage in the regular season that they once enjoyed and, for whatever reason, were a better team on the road this season (see chart). Their four home wins tied their fewest in 10 seasons under Carroll.
Home Away Point differential minus-14 (205-229) Plus-31 (200-169) Turnover differential Plus-1 (10-9) Plus-11 (22-11) Russell Wilson’s passer rating 105.6 107.2 Opponents’ passer rating 96.7 75.9 While talking about the Seahawks’ success on the road this season, Carroll has made more than one mention of how they’ve settled into their travel routine. For games on the West Coast or in Arizona or Denver, they’ll usually leave the day before. For any games in Central or Eastern time zones, it’s two days before so players will have longer to adjust to the time change. They went 5-0 this year in 10 a.m. PT kickoffs, which have historically been difficult for West Coast teams traveling east.
If there were such thing as a good year to have to reach the Super Bowl the hard way — with three straight road wins — is this it?
METAIRIE, La. — It happened three years ago, and it was very purposeful.
Drew Brees had just turned 38 years old. He had just missed the playoffs for the third straight season. And he decided he was going to start embracing his football mortality.
“Prior to that, it was like, ‘This is gonna last forever,’ right?” said the New Orleans Saints quarterback, who paused when asked what changed.
“I don’t know. Because I recognized that I was closer to the end than I was the beginning. … Just reality,” Brees told ESPN in a recent conversation as he heads into the playoffs for the ninth time in his 19-year career.
“When you realize it’s not gonna last forever, I think your career kind of flashes before your eyes. And I think you just become very grateful for the opportunity, he said. “And I think that gratitude also gives you a great sense of responsibility. And the motivation to — while you’re in this moment, while you’re in this chapter of your life — to just give it all you’ve got and enjoy it as much as you can. Because once it’s gone, it’s gone. …
“So going into the 2017 season, I said, ‘I’m just playing it one year at a time.’ Like, ‘I’m not saying this is my last year, I’m not saying it’s not my last year. I’m truly gonna play it like it is my last and just stay in the moment and enjoy each and every one of these like it could be gone.'”
Brees acknowledged his approach has “absolutely” made the Saints’ last two gut-wrenching playoff defeats even more painful — first the “Minneapolis Miracle” following the 2017 season and then the infamous missed pass-interference call in last year’s NFC Championship Game.
“But I also believe God has a plan,” Brees said, “and that that was gonna bring us all together and strengthen us and poise us to do whatever we’re gonna do in the future.”
Aside from the extra heartache, everything else about Brees’ approach seems to be working brilliantly as he closes in on his 41st birthday on Jan. 15.
The Saints have won more regular-season games than any team in the NFL in the past three years, winning three straight NFC South championships with records of 11-5, 13-3 and 13-3 (though somehow they got stuck with the No. 3 seed this year as they prepare to host the
If you know anything about Brees, you know that he took the doctors’ projected timetable as a personal challenge. They projected six weeks, so he was determined to come back in five. And sure enough, he threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns in a Week 8 win over Arizona.
Seven weeks later, Brees broke the NFL record for career touchdown passes while completing a league-record 29 of 30 passes in a Monday Night Football win over Indianapolis.
“It’s just an amazing career that is still building. I marvel at what he’s been able to do,” Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre said on his SiriusXM NFL Radio show.
Favre, who famously came out of retirement before having a career resurgence at age 40, had Brees on as a guest recently. Favre talked about Brees’ competitive spirit being as important to his success as his physical and mental tools.
“I don’t see any signs of you slowing down,” Favre said. “As long as you love it and love to compete, and I know you do, and stay relatively healthy, who knows what you can accomplish?
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“And that’s really what’s scary for the other teams. Because having the talent, but not really caring as much about it, is one thing. But having the talent and being determined to win regardless of whatever obstacle’s in your way is another.”
Brees agreed, saying he isn’t trying to just “maintain” at age 40. He’s trying to “improve” every year.
Although Brees’ production tailed off at the end of last season, his performance this year has quieted any speculation about an imminent decline.
He has been meticulous about his workout and nutrition regimens, working with longtime confidants like throwing coach Tom House and trainer Todd Durkin to figure out ways to make up for anything that might be physically deteriorating.
And he said recently that it’s no coincidence his completion percentage keeps going up and his interceptions keep going down while he has focused on being as efficient as possible.
“Combine that with all the experience and wisdom, and I think that just allows you to maintain your prime for longer and longer,” Brees said. “I really do feel like I should be better every week and every year.”
Kurt Warner, a Hall of Famer who retired at the age of 38, said it’s “very, very tough” to walk away, “especially when you can still play at a high level.”
“It’s kind of crazy. Like, my second-to-last game that I ever played could arguably be my best game,” said Warner, who threw five touchdown passes in a 2009 playoff win over Green Bay before his career ended with a loss to Brees and the Saints the following week. “I always kind of thought, I’m probably not ever gonna lose the fire and the competitive part of it. But there’s gonna be a time where the preparation and the expectation kind of outweighs those three hours on Sunday or whatever it is. And that’s kind of what happened for me … But that’s different for everybody.”
Warner, who called Brees’ remarkable Week 15 performance as a color analyst for Westwood One Radio, agreed he doesn’t see Brees “slowing down anytime soon.”
“I’ve only been out of the league for a decade, and I just think back to how different it is now and the way guys take care of themselves,” Warner said. “Obviously the rules play to the fact that you’re not getting as beat up. But, you know, they hire massage therapists and they hire chefs and they’re doing all this stuff in the offseason, which wasn’t even really a part of the league 10 years ago. …
“So I think it’s gonna be a fascinating time to see some of these really good quarterbacks. What is that determining factor for a