East: North Carolina 86, Washington 83: With Finishing Flourish, Tar Heels Return To Round Of 16

Sean Payton’s been telling his team all season that they’d eventually be playing in bigger games. Those games are here and so far the results are mixed. The Broncos started slow but dominated late to beat Indianapolis and get to the doorstep of the playoffs. Then they did the opposite and squandered a dominant start against the Los Angeles Chargers in their first chance to clinch a spot. Each game showed how small the margin is this time of year. If Colts running back Jonathan Taylor doesn’t drop the ball at the goal line in the second half of Week 15, Indianapolis goes up 20-7 and perhaps wins that game. The key sequence from a momentum standpoint in the Broncos’ 34-27 loss to the Chargers?

Broncos coach Sean Payton hopes starting cornerback Riley Moss, who has missed the last three games with a knee injury, can play on Saturday against the Cincinnati Bengals. “The sooner the better that we can get him back in the lineup. Hopefully it’s this weekend,” Payton said in a conference call with reporters on Sunday. Moss has been sidelined since he sustained an MCL injury in a road win against the Raiders on Nov.

Everybody knows Sean Payton wanted to remind himself Thursday night to run the football. Why? Because he wrote “Run It!!!” at the top of his play sheet and the Thursday Night Football broadcast showed it clearly early in the game. Payton on Sunday said he wasn’t too thrilled about the whole sequence during Denver’s eventual 34-27 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. “I don’t like the fact that the network TV cameras feel like they can zoom into our call sheet,” Payton said.

FORT COLLINS — Last December, Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi’s mind was on his money. A year later, just as he’s about to hang with Snoop Dogg, the money isn’t on his mind. “I’m a Ram for life,” Fowler-Nicolosi, CSU’s affable and strong-armed sophomore quarterback, told me earlier this month during preparations for a showdown with Miami of Ohio in Saturday’s Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl.

Two years ago, Jamie Steele was ready to hang up his whistle. A longtime assistant around Larimer County, including a 17-year run as Loveland’s freshman head coach and stints with Resurrection Christian and Mountain View, Steele was Thompson Valley’s running backs coach in 2022. But when then-Eagles head coach Chris Tedford left for Fossil Ridge ahead of the 2023 season, Steele wasn’t sure of his football future.

Fossil Ridge wide receiver Marcus Mozer is the winner of the 2024 Denver Post Gold Helmet Award, edging out six other worthy senior finalists. Here’s a look at each of them: Rhett Armstrong Palmer Ridge kicker Rhett Armstrong attempts a kick in a game during the 2024 prep football season. (Provided by Hayden Everhart, Palmer Ridge athletic department) School: Palmer Ridge On the field: Rated one of the top 15 kickers in the nation by 247Sports, Armstrong is Baylor-bound after breaking the CHSAA record for total career points by a kicker (279).