Eight teams remain.

It’s really happening. Just when everyone thought legendary quarterback Tom Brady could play forever and outlast father time, that has proven not to be the case.

The NFL’s crackdown on unsportsmanlike penalties is working the way the league intended.

Tom Brady says his heavily wrapped throwing hand is sore but he expects to play when the Buccaneers visit the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night.

Tom Brady calmly ran out from a smoke-filled tunnel, leading the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers onto the field Thursday night against the Dallas Cowboys in front of a full stadium for the first time since COVID-19 upended the world and changed the way sports were viewed.

The Dallas Cowboys are expected to open the season at Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay without right guard Zack Martin after the four-time All-Pro tested positive for COVID-19.

Tom Brady threw for 154 yards and a touchdown in just more than a quarter and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers got a 23-16 win over the Houston Texans on Saturday night.

(AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File)Bill Belichick never was one to spent wildly in free agency. Whether by trade, free agency or re-signings, the group brings a good mix of offense, defense and special teams. In addition to keeping Von Miller, Justin Simmons and Shelby Harris, Paton filled his biggest defensive pothole by signing free agent cornerbacks Ronald Darby and Kyle Fuller. FUTURE CONSIDERATIONSThe Lions didn’t do much in free agency but nobody in Detroit should be bothered. The Lions are focused on rebuilding through the draft after sending QB Matthew Stafford to the Rams and then letting star wide receiver Kenny Golladay walk in free agency.

TAMPA, Fla. – Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have touched down at the Super Bowl. The AFC champions arrived in Tampa on Saturday, flying into town a day before they defend their title against the hometown Buccaneers. After spending the week at home, they’ll stay Saturday night at the team hotel — as they usually do for home games. The team had no further comment Saturday after releasing a statement Friday night saying it was in the information-gathering process. Ad“We’re going to be ready to roll come Super Bowl day,” safety Tyrann Mathieu said.

Jason Pierre-Paul #90 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrates after sacking Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers in the first quarter during the NFC Championship game. Late in Kansas City’s AFC Championship game victory vs. Buffalo, Chiefs starting offensive left tackle Eric Fisher left the game with an injury. Veteran Mike Remmers will likely step into Fisher’s role as the starting left tackle, but no doubt Tampa Bay will view it as a major opportunity. AdSo yes, Tampa Bay has the big-game greatness of Brady and home-field advantage, but that won’t be its biggest chance to win. If the Buccaneers take advantage of it like they did against Green Bay, then the defending champs could end up walking the plank at the end.

(Photo by Mike Ehrmann)The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be the first team in NFL history to play in a Super Bowl at its home stadium when the squad competes in Super Bowl LV in Tampa against the Kansas City Chiefs. In terms of a vocal crowd that’s primarily pro-Buccaneers, probably not much of an advantage at all. Due to restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the game will be the lowest-attended Super Bowl ever, and by a wide margin. The game will no doubt shatter the record for the lowest-attended Super Bowl, a distinction that’s been held by Super Bowl I in Los Angeles, which had a crowd of 61,946. In contrast, the average cost of a ticket to last year’s Super Bowl in Miami that had a stadium at full capacity was $3,488, according to the Sporting News.

So if you’re not a football fanatic, but you want to get by without anyone knowing that, here are a few things to do before Super Bowl LV. He spent 20 years with the New England Patriots and is now wrapping up his first year with the Bucs at the Super Bowl. Jason won the 2018 season Super Bowl, just one year before Kelce went on to win in the 2019 season. Each team has a story, but the two teams competing in this year’s Super Bowl have a lot to talk about. Before last season, in which they won the big game, the team hadn’t been to the Super Bowl in 50 years.

😉Tom Brady, quarterback of the Michigan Wolverines, runs the ball downfield in the Citrus Bowl against the Arkansas Razorbacks on Jan. 1, 1999 in Orlando. Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen attend a gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 7, 2018 in New York City. AdThe Tom Brady Diet, also called the TB12 Method, is pretty restrictive and looks hard to maintain over time, but it seems to work for him. He noted that the Super Bowl is unusual because everything is extended, so pregame is longer than usual. Here are some photos:Actress Bridget Moynahan and quarterback Tom Brady arrive at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party on Feb. 27, 2005 in West Hollywood, California.

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Demarcus Robinson (11) catches a pass ahead of Cleveland Browns cornerback Terrance Mitchell, left, during the second half of an NFL divisional round football game, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021, in Kansas City. – The Kansas City Chiefs placed a pair of backups, wide receiver Demarcus Robinson and center Daniel Kilgore, on the COVID-19 list as close contacts Monday as they begin final preparations for the Super Bowl against Tampa Bay. Neither of the players actually tested positive for COVID-19, which means Robinson — a regular contributor — and Kilgore could still play in the Super Bowl. "I could only imagine, and I don’t even want to imagine, what it would be to have to miss the Super Bowl because of COVID. He would provide depth behind Kelce and Nick Keizer while allowing Kansas City to use three-tight end sets.

An aerial view from the Monster.com blimp shows Raymond James Stadium, the site of Super Bowl XXXV, in Tampa, Florida. DIGITAL IMAGE.Mandatory Credit: Andy Lyons/AllsportThis year’s Super Bowl in Tampa will mark the fifth time the city has played host to the big event. Super Bowl XVIII (Jan. 22, 1984)Coach Tom Flores of the Los Angeles Raiders is carried off the field after the team defeated Washington in Super Bowl XVIII on Jan. 22, 1984 at Tampa Stadium. It remains the only Super Bowl game decided by one point and was the first of four straight Super Bowl losses by the Bills. AdSuper Bowl XXXV (Jan. 28, 2001)Coach Brian Billick, Jim Nance and Ray Lewis during Super Bowl XXXV, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

Aside from winning the final Super Bowl before the merger in 1970, the Kansas City Chiefs’ biggest claim to fame for over half a century was team founder Lamar Hunt coining the phrase Super Bowl. Three long-downtrodden teams — the Browns, Bills and Buccaneers — have made it to the divisional round this weekend and are certain they have as good a chance as the Chiefs, Packers, Saints, Ravens or Rams of winning Super Bowl 55. That’s heady stuff for a franchise that has never made it to the Super Bowl. I think Bills fans, including myself, didn’t think he was going to be this good this good this early. And he has proved a lot of people wrong.”No, there’s no comparing this Bills team to those of his playing days, Thomas said.

The Browns have raced to a 28-0 lead over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Browns’ 28 points are the most by any team in the first quarter of a playoff game since the 1970 merger. So, this will be the first NFL playoff game ever pitting two quadragenarian quarterbacks. Drew Brees is trying to join Brett Favre and Tom Brady as quarterbacks to win a playoff game after turning 40. That was his third career playoff game with 150 or more rushing yards, one game shy of Hall of Famer Terrell Davis’ record.

(AP Photo/Mark Tenally)The Latest on Week 16 in the NFL (all times EST):___8 p.m.For the first time since 2014 there will be an NFL playoff team with a losing record. The winner will remain alive in the NFC East playoff race if Washington loses to Carolina. ___6:05 p.m.Washington is well on the way to blowing its first chance to clinch the NFC East. ___6 p.m.Eleven teams in the NFC are still harboring hopes of making a playoff run with Week 16 winding down. 1 seed in the NFC with a win Sunday night against the Titans and a Seattle loss or tie.

LAS VEGAS – The Las Vegas Raiders will be able to play four of their starting offensive linemen Sunday against Tampa Bay after they got one more day of negative tests for COVID-19. Kolton Miller, Denzelle Good, Rodney Hudson and Gabe Jackson all tested negative in results gotten back Sunday and were active for the game against the Buccaneers. The four players have tested negative every day since they had a “high risk” close contact Monday with teammate Trent Brown before he tested positive for the coronavirus. The four missed practice Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and a walkthrough on Saturday, but will be able to play against the Buccaneers. Safety Johnathan Abram, who last had contact with Brown on Tuesday, must wait one more day before he can be cleared to return and will miss the game.

NFL Network first reported the players going on the COVID-19 list. Those five players had close contact with Brown, who was placed on the COVID-19 list Wednesday following a positive test for the virus. The person said video shows the starting offensive linemen were not following the protocols. If not, we have to have somebody step up in his place and play at a high level.”The Raiders have now had eight players placed on the COVID-19 list since the start of the season, including the seven currently on the list. Defensive tackle Maurice Hurst was put on the COVID-19 list two weeks ago before being activated on Monday.

___GREEN BAY AT TAMPA BAYPackers: RB Tyler Ervin, CB Kevin King, QB Jordan Love. ___NEW YORK JETS AT MIAMIJets: QB James Morgan, QB Sam Darnold, CB Quincy Wilson, LB Jordan Willis, T Mekhi Becton, DL Nathan Shepherd. Dolphins: B/WR Malcolm Perry, RB Salvon Ahmed, RB Jordan Howard, LB Kyle Van Noy, DE Jason Strowbridge. ___HOUSTON AT TENNESSEETexans: WR Keke Coutee, CB Cornell Armstrong, RB Buddy Howell, ILB Peter Kalambayi, OT Charlie Heck, TE Jordan Akins. ___ATLANTA AT MINNESOTAFalcons: CB Jordan Miller, RB Qadree Ollison, S Jaylinn Hawkins, RT John Wetzel, DE Takk McKinley.