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NFL

Colts QB Richardson (back) out for season finale

  • Stephen Holder, ESPNJan 3, 2025, 02:33 PM ET

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      Stephen joined ESPN in 2022, covering the Indianapolis Colts and NFL at large. Stephen finished first place in column writing in the 2015 Indiana Associated Press Media Editors competition, and he is a previous top-10 winner in explanatory journalism in the Associated Press Sports Editors national contest. He has chronicled the NFL since 2005, covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2005-2013 and the Colts since 2013. He has previously worked for the Miami Herald, Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and The Athletic.

INDIANAPOLIS — Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson has been ruled out of Sunday’s season finale against the Jacksonville Jaguars, ending his season with two straight missed games due to ongoing issues with back spasms.

Richardson said this week he experienced severe pain from spasms that began on Christmas Eve night and caused him to have difficulty even standing up. Rehab and muscle relaxers did not have the desired effect, and Richardson remained sidelined.

This week, Richardson made significant progress, he said, but he was still experiencing issues that prevented him from practicing.

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“Just didn’t make enough progress this week,” coach Shane Steichen said.

Asked whether the injury will require surgery, Steichen said, “I don’t think it’s that severe.”

Richardson missed 13 games last season after a season-ending shoulder surgery. Sunday’s game will be his fourth missed game due to injury this season (he also missed two games during a brief benching).

It’s a suboptimal way to end Richardson’s second season.

“I think you’re going to go through some tough times in this league and it’s a tough league, but you got to battle through those things,” Steichen said of Richardson. “You’ve got to handle adversity in this league, and I think when you go through those types of situations that we went through this year, it’s going to make [him] stronger.”

NFL

Rams to rest Stafford, start Garoppolo in finale

  • Sarah Barshop, ESPN Staff WriterJan 1, 2025, 04:29 PM ET

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      Sarah Barshop covers the Los Angeles Rams for ESPN. She joined ESPN in 2016 to cover the Green Bay Packers for ESPN Milwaukee. She then moved to Houston to cover the Texans. She came to ESPN after working as a writer and editor for Sports Illustrated. You can follow her on Twitter @sarahbarshop.

LOS ANGELES — Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford will not play in the team’s regular-season finale against the Seattle Seahawks, with coach Sean McVay saying Wednesday that Jimmy Garoppolo will start instead.

The 10-6 Rams clinched the NFC West in Week 17 but are still playing for playoff seeding. They will finish with the No. 3 seed with a win or a tie against Seattle on Sunday or a loss by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A Rams loss and a Buccaneers victory would give Los Angeles the No. 4 seed.

Garoppolo signed a one-year deal with the Rams in March to back up Stafford. Stetson Bennett, the Rams’ 2023 fourth-round pick, will serve as Garoppolo’s backup.

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McVay said the decision comes from “weighing the pros and cons” in what is “an important game for us.”

“I’m always trying to make decisions that I think are best for our football team,” he said. “It might not be best for everybody else, but if you said risk-reward, I think it’s some great opportunity for Jimmy to be able to play. I think it’s also an awesome opportunity for Matthew to be able to get rested, rejuvenated and ready to go for the playoffs. He’s accumulated so much experience, and I think that’s the important thing.”

Right tackle Rob Havenstein, who injured his shoulder during a Week 17 practice, will not play Sunday. McVay said “everything is tilting towards” Havenstein being ready for a playoff game.

Garoppolo signed with the Rams this offseason after he was released by the Las Vegas Raiders at the start of the new league year.

When asked whether he sees this game as an audition for a chance to start next season, Garoppolo said, “I think anytime you get on the grass in live action, that’s your résumé.”

“What you do out there, everyone sees around the league,” Garoppolo said. “They’re going to break that tape down, good, bad or indifferent. They don’t really care who’s playing, what week it is, whatever it is. That’s your résumé. So that’s how I’ve always approached it. It’ll be no different this week.”

NFL

Barkley, on cusp of record, to sit out vs. Giants

  • Tim McManus, ESPN Staff WriterJan 1, 2025, 12:51 PM ET

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      Tim McManus covers the Philadelphia Eagles for ESPN. He joined ESPN in 2016 after covering the Eagles for Philadelphia Magazine’s Birds 24/7, a site he helped create, since 2010. You can follow him on Twitter @Tim_McManus.

PHILADELPHIA — Eagles running back Saquon Barkley likely will sit out Sunday’s regular-season finale against the New York Giants, coach Nick Sirianni said, putting an end to his chase of the single-season rushing record.

With Philadelphia’s postseason seeding secured, Sirianni suggested Barkley will be one of the starters who will rest as the Eagles gear up for the playoffs.

“He will probably be somebody that rests,” Sirianni said.

If so, Barkley will end the regular season 101 yards shy of breaking Eric Dickerson’s NFL record of 2,105 yards, set in 1984.

“Obviously it’s a very special record that’s been standing for a very long time by a great player. It’s a team record that everybody’s involved in. You weigh all those things. But at the end of the day, you just try to do what’s best for the team.”

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Sirianni said he spoke with Barkley. He did not reveal the content of those discussions but noted this team has “selfless guys that want to do what’s best for the football team.”

Sirianni also revealed that quarterback Jalen Hurts remains in concussion protocol. He sustained the injury Week 16 against the Washington Commanders and did not play Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.

Opinions were split in the Philadelphia locker room following the Week 17 win over the Dallas Cowboys. Right tackle Lane Johnson was leaning toward resting the starters, under the premise of it’s “better to be safe than sorry.”

Left tackle Jordan Mailata, meanwhile, said he planned to “push for” the starters to play against New York.

“It’s an opportunity to make history,” Mailata said. “We never really spoke about the Giants next week, but we just had the feeling that if we don’t go for it today, we might sit out. We don’t know. Coach hasn’t really said anything yet. We’ll see.”

Barkley said he would be fine with whatever Sirianni decides.

“Whatever his decision is, I’m all for it,” Barkley said. “If his mindset is, we’ll go out there and try it, I’ll go out there and try it. If his mindset is, let’s rest and get ready for this run, I’m all for that, too. … I came here to do something special. Breaking a record is special, but I want a banner up there. I think we all do.”

With his 167-yard performance against Dallas, Barkley became just the ninth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000-plus yards.

NFL

NFL faves on verge of history amid bettors' boon

  • David Purdum, ESPN Staff WriterDec 31, 2024, 08:43 AM ET

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    • Joined ESPN in 2014
    • Journalist covering gambling industry since 2008

NFL chalk is on the verge of history this week.

NFL betting favorites — known as the chalk — have won 183 games outright this season, five shy of the all-time mark set in 2005, with Week 18 pending. The favored team has won 71.8% of games entering the final week, the highest winning percentage for chalk since 2005 and second-best since the NFL adopted a 16-game schedule in 1978, according to ESPN Research.

Sportsbooks got off to a hot start to the season, with underdogs springing 26 upsets in September, the second-most ever for the opening month. Nevada sportsbooks won a net $80.9 million in September, the most lucrative month in the state’s 75-year betting history.

But the upsets dwindled during the final three months of the season, and favorites have been cooking in December. Favorites won as many as 15 of 16 games in Week 17 (the point spread varied on the Green Bay Packers-Minnesota Vikings and Tennessee Titans Jacksonville Jaguars games). Overall in December, favorites are 56-17 straight-up, a 76.7% win rate, the second-highest for the month in the last 50 seasons.

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The run of favorites has been a boon for the betting public, which typically backs the perceived superior team, especially in parlays. Chris Andrews, a veteran Las Vegas sportsbook director with the South Point, estimated his shop needs the underdog in 75% of NFL games.

“Maybe more this year,” Andrews told ESPN in a text message.

Favorites have covered the spread in 53.9% of games this season, the best rate since 2017 and seventh-best in the Super Bowl era.

“Some of our seasoned traders have said this is the worst NFL season since 2017,” Joe Brennen, head of Prime Sportsbook, told ESPN.

Caesars Sportsbook vice president of trading Craig Mucklow said, with so many favorites winning, bettors were in position for a big weekend.

“The biggest decisions all went the way of the customers in the

Week 18 features an unusual underdog in the two-time defending-champion Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs began the week as 10-point road underdog to the Denver Broncos, who are playing for their playoff lives. Kansas City has clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

“Maybe an underdog can win a football game?” John Murray, vice president for the Westgate SuperBook, said. “That would be cool.”

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