Nfl, Football | featured news

The Houston Texans turned to their kids, then to their stars to win the first playoff appearance in franchise history, a 31-10 rout of the bungling Cincinnati Bengals....

The Chicago Bears won four division titles and reached the Super Bowl while Jerry Angelo was general manager. They also crumbled in a big way this season.

Super Bowl spots are still the hottest ticket in advertising. NBC has sold all the commercial airtime for the Feb. 5 game in Indianapolis and even has a waiting list of advertisers. The average cost for a 30-second spot this year was $3.5 million, with some time slots costing as much as $4 million.

Despite a steep increase in advertising prices and a lackluster economy, commercial spots for Super Bowl XLVI are all sold out, showing yet another sign of the increasing influence of sports TV on Madison Avenue.

Tim Tebow fell short in his latest comeback bid, yet his Denver Broncos are still going to the playoffs. Former Bronco Kyle Orton got his revenge in leading the Kansas City Chiefs to a 7-3 win over Denver on Sunday, but it's the Broncos who clinched the AFC West and is headed to the postseason.

When Aaron Rodgers needs to rekindle the feelings that drove his rise from a junior college quarterback to Super Bowl MVP, he doesn't have to look too far. Rodgers held on to the many rejection letters he received from marquee college programs as he was coming out of high school. Even today, he leaves a few of them sitting out at his house.

The biggest draw in television is going mobile. The Super Bowl will be streamed online and to phones for the first time, the NFL said Tuesday. NBC's broadcasts of wild card Saturday, the Pro Bowl and the Super Bowl will be available on the league's and network's websites and through Verizon's NFL Mobile app.

Ben Roethlisberger threw a few extra passes in near darkness after the lights went out at Candlestick Park. The additional throws were all for naught. Big Ben never found his groove playing on a bum ankle - and the San Francisco 49ers' top-ranked defense wasn't about to let the most unique of home-field advantages get away in a 20-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night.

Green Bay's bid for perfect season is ended by Chiefs, Indianapolis gets first win after 13 losses, and Denver is hammered by Patriots, dropping Tim Tebow to 7-2 as starting QB. The best Green Bay can do is 15 wins.

Tony Romo threw for three touchdowns and ran for a fourth score Saturday night, helping the Dallas Cowboys stop a two-game losing streak with a 31-15 victory over the struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers.