PAYTON TO PASS ON PLAYCALLING

Craig Llewellyn NFL

Sean Payton has never been afraid of a decisive call. In January, that instinct arguably cost the Denver Broncos a shot at Super Bowl LX. Early in the AFC Championship Game against New England, Payton bypassed a makeable field goal, opting instead to press for a touchdown. Denver came away empty-handed. In a tight contest ultimately played without starting quarterback …

CO-ORDINATED HIRES

Craig Llewellyn NFL

The 2026 NFL offseason coaching cycle (and in some cases, recycle) is in full swing, with teams across the league announcing a flurry of coordinator hires in the past few days. From seasoned NFL play-callers returning to coordinator roles to rising assistants getting their first big opportunity, a full breakdown of the latest moves as teams build around new and …

THIS GIVEN SUNDAY: PATS, ‘HAWKS REACH SUPER BOWL

Thomas Ritchie NFL

Championship Sunday gave us a brutal snowstorm in Denver, the return of the NFL’s ‘evil empire’ to the big game, the latest installment of a pulsating three-game series between the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams, as well as a crowning moment in Sam Darnold’s redemption story. Here are the winners and losers from the 2025 Conference Championships…   CONFERENCE …

THIS GIVEN SUNDAY: BEARS, BILLS FALL IN DIVISIONAL OT

Thomas Ritchie NFL

Analysing football is a tricky thing. To differentiate yourself from the ‘hot take artists’, you feel you have to crunch the tape and study the numbers. But sometimes, it just feels that overarching narratives are inescapable. The Buffalo Bills and Chicago Bears’ recent histories have been littered with back-breaking loss after back-breaking loss. As the youngest franchise in the NFL, …

BRONCOS PROGRESS, BUT AT WHAT COST?

Craig Llewellyn NFL

The Denver Broncos emphasised their right to the top seed in the AFC playoffs by beating the Buffalo Bills on Saturday night, but saw their chances of making the Super Bowl take a massive hit after quarterback Bo Nix suffered a season-ending injury. The second-year QB suffered a fracture in his right ankle late on the penultimate play of overtime, …

DAZN WEEKEND PREVIEW: DIVISIONAL ROUND

Neil Dutton NFL

Seen by many as the best weekend of the NFL season, the Divisional Round of the Playoffs is upon us. We are down to the final eight teams, with just seven games remaining of the 2025 campaign. Wild Card weekend was, for the most part, ‘wild’, and saw the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles crash out, the Buffalo Bills …

PLAYOFF LINEUP CONFIRMED AFTER WEEK 18 DRAMA

Craig Llewellyn NFL

The 2025 NFL regular season concluded Sunday, setting the stage for the playoffs with a full 14-team field ready for Wild Card Weekend. Top seeded Denver Broncos (AFC) and Seattle Seahawks (NFC) earned the first-round byes and will advance directly to the Divisional Round, and will retain home-field advantage for as long as they remain in the competition prior to …

THIS GIVEN SUNDAY: STATEMENT WINS FOR BRONCOS, BILLS

Thomas Ritchie NFL

Week 15 of the 2025 National Football League season promised much in the way of high-profile matchups, and did not disappoint when toe met ball on Sunday. The Buffalo Bills, facing a threat to their recent AFC East dominance, came from behind to remind the upstart New England Patriots of their place in the hierarchy; the Denver Broncos bested the …

DAZN WEEKEND PREVIEW: WEEK 15

Neil Dutton NFL

The season is getting shorter, the stakes are getting higher, and the on-field deeds are getting even more heroic for some. Last week, Josh Allen passed for 251 yards and three touchdowns with another 78 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the Bills’ 39-34 victory against the Bengals. He’s the first player in NFL history with at least 250 …

THIS GIVEN SUNDAY: JUST WHEN YOU THINK YOU KNOW…

Thomas Ritchie NFL

The NFL never ceases to surprise, but there are always times when the dust appears to settle and a degree of clarity emerges, causing onlookers to believe they know what happens next. Then the chaos resumes. Week 13 of the 2025 NFL season was no exception. Amidst all the Thanksgiving celebrations, the Carolina Panthers shocked the Los Angeles Rams; Ben …

THIS GIVEN SUNDAY: TITANIC CLASHES ON STACKED SUNDAY

Thomas Ritchie NFL

The meeting between the Seattle Seahawks and hometown Rams in Los Angeles promised a shootout for the NFC West crown, as well as the MVP crown, but it was the defenses that showed out. It was a similar story elsewhere, where the Denver Broncos tightened their grip on the AFC West, and the Philadelphia Eagles D continued its dominance by …

GRIDIRON POWER RANKINGS 2025: WEEK 10

Nicholas McGee NFL

Welcome to Gridiron’s Week 10 power ranking, where ongoing unpredictability in the NFL means ongoing unpredictability in Nicholas McGee’s mind.   GRIDIRON POWER RANKINGS: WEEK 10 1. Los Angeles Rams (7-2) +4  The most complete team in football? There’s some questions about the secondary, but it’s tough to pick many other holes ahead of a blockbuster clash with the Seahawks. …

TURKEY, TOUCHDOWNS & TINSEL

Gridiron

A Season Served With All the Trimmings For American fans, the holidays aren’t measured in days off, they’re measured in downs. Sure, Thanksgiving carves the turkey, but it also carves out a day-long buffet of football, family and fierce rivalries. Then, before the leftovers are gone, December rolls in with its own frosty spectacle; snow swirling over end zones, playoff …

GRIDIRON POWER RANKINGS 2025: WEEK 8

Nicholas McGee NFL

Welcome to Gridiron’s Week 8 power ranking, where bye-mageddon appears to have provided some rare stability at the top of the tree.   GRIDIRON POWER RANKINGS: WEEK 8 1. Indianapolis Colts (7-1) =  The Colts predictably had no problem sweeping aside Tennessee, and it’s tough to see them having too many issues in Pittsburgh this week.     2. Detroit …

DAZN WEEKEND PREVIEW: WEEK 8

Neil Dutton NFL

We are approaching the halfway mark of the 2025 NFL season, and are still unable to say for definite who the elite teams truly are, outside of a couple of obvious contenders. Most teams look capable of beating, and equally losing to, any other team in the league. But there were signs last week that some offenses were finally picking …

GRIDIRON POWER RANKINGS 2025: WEEK 7

Nicholas McGee NFL

Welcome to Gridiron’s Week 7 power ranking, where top teams playing each other has reshuffled the order of things once again.   GRIDIRON POWER RANKINGS: WEEK 7 1. Indianapolis Colts (6-1) +2  The Colts have the best record in football and, right now, they undeniably pass the eye test as the best team in football.     2. Detroit Lions …

WILSON, PAYTON PICK AT OLD WOUNDS

Craig Llewellyn NFL

Children, please…. Russell Wilson and Sean Payton have history, extending back to their ill-fated association in Denver during the 2023 NFL season, but both saw fit to throw shade on the other following the clash between their current teams on Sunday. With Wilson no longer under center for the New York Giants, who lost to Payton’s Broncos in dramatic fashion …

GREENLAW SUSPENDED FOR ABUSING OFFICIAL

Craig Llewellyn NFL

Denver Broncos linebacker Dre Greenlaw has been suspended without pay for one game for unsportsmanlike conduct following Sunday’s game against the New York Giants. The former 49er was seen chasing down referee Brad Allen and berating him at the end of the Week 7 game that saw the Broncos overturn a 19-0 deficit by coring all 33 of their points …

THIS GIVEN SUNDAY: BRONCOS MOUNT STUNNING COMEBACK

Thomas Ritchie NFL

What’s the greatest comeback in the history of the National Football League? Well, the Eagles fan in me would point towards both iterations of the ‘Miracle of the Meadowlands’, but it’s hard to argue against a Super Bowl victory so famous that any fan of the gridiron knows what I’m talking about when I say ‘28-3’. In terms of sheer …

GRIDIRON POWER RANKINGS 2025: WEEK 6

Nicholas McGee NFL

Welcome to Gridiron’s Week 6 power ranking, where inconsistency at all levels continues to rearrange Nicholas McGee’s pecking order.   GRIDIRON POWER RANKINGS: WEEK 6 1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-1) +4  Another box checked for Baker Mayfield as he continues to build an excellent MVP case. It’s hard to envision anyone stopping this offense when it gets healthy.     …

THIS GIVEN SUNDAY: MAYFIELD ANNOUNCES MVP CANDIDACY

Thomas Ritchie NFL

Week 6 of the NFL season was a bit of a bummer. A third of the way through the season, it’s inevitable that injuries will rear their ugly head, but it feels like the football gods really do not want us to have nice things in 2025. Here’s an incomplete list of the stars we’ve lost along the way, including …

BRONCOS EDGE WOEFUL JETS IN LONDON

Neil Dutton NFL

The 61,155 in attendance at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday were treated to a firework show before kickoff that sadly neither offense was able to replicate as the Denver Broncos squeezed past the New York Jets 13-11 in the second of London’s 2025 International Series games. The stars of the show were undoubtedly the Broncos defense, who held the Jets …

DAZN WEEKEND PREVIEW: WEEK 6

Neil Dutton NFL

Week 5 was the week of the comeback, with five teams clawing back from double-digit points deficits to win their games. Cam Ward got his first win as a starter as the Tennessee Titans rallied from 18 points down to beat the Arizona Cardinals, making Ward the first rookie quarterback to overcome an 18-point deficit and win since Daniel Jones …