D.J. CHARK

Several NFL players have momentarily traded their cleats for a recording studio microphone.

Jared Goff threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns, leading the surging Detroit Lions to a 34-23 win over the NFC North-leading Minnesota Vikings.

Tyler Bass made a tiebreaking 45-yard field goal with 2 seconds left, lifting the Buffalo Bills to a 28-25 win over the Detroit Lions on Thursday for their second victory in five days at Ford Field.

Cole Beasley and Julio Jones are looking for new teams.

Let the dealing begin — if mostly unofficial.

Every year, players in every NFL city fail to meet expectations.

Evan McPherson kicked a 35-yard field goal as time ran out to give the Cincinnati Bengals a 24-21 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night, spoiling Urban Meyer’s Ohio return.

Byron Murphy intercepted two passes, including one he returned for a touchdown following a botched trick play, and the Arizona Cardinals rallied to beat the skidding Jacksonville Jaguars 31-19 on Sunday.

Tyrod Taylor threw for 291 yards and two touchdowns filling in for Deshaun Watson to lead the Houston Texans to a 37-21 win over Trevor Lawrence and the mistake-prone Jacksonville Jaguars.

Jameis Winston passed for touchdowns of 43 and 29 yards to Marquez Callaway, and the New Orleans Saints defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 23-21 in a preseason game.

Trevor Lawrence’s professional debut opened with a sack and a fumble, hardly ideal but not too concerning for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence had an impressive opening week of training camp.

Free agency feels a lot like recruiting to new Jaguars coach Urban Meyer. It certainly should help that the Jaguars have more salary cap space (nearly $73 million) than any other team. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, File)JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Free agency feels a lot like recruiting to new Jaguars coach Urban Meyer. Clemson star Trevor Lawrence is the presumptive choice, and the Jaguars will use free agency to build around him. “That’s a room that’s going to have to be rebuilt in some ways,” said Meyer, who could sign Hunter Henry, Jonnu Smith or Gerald Everett when free agency officially begins Wednesday.

Coach Doug Marrone ruled out Chark (shin) on Friday, two days after saying running back James Robinson would miss the game because of a badly sprained left ankle. Chark leads the team with 53 receptions for 706 yards and five touchdowns. Without Chark and rookie Collin Johnson (hamstring), the Jaguars (1-14) will rely on rookie Laviska Shenault, Keelan Cole and Chris Conley against the Colts (10-5). Journeyman Mike Glennon will make his fifth start of the season and second straight. He has two touchdown passes and six turnovers in his last 10 quarters.

(Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The worst (and potentially best) season in Jacksonville’s relatively brief history is coming to a close. The Jaguars (1-14) already set a team record for consecutive losses (14) and an NFL record for consecutive games allowing at least 24 points (also 14). Coach Doug Marrone and his staff could be next, possibly within hours of the season finale. Marrone said Wednesday that quarterback Mike Glennon will start the finale instead of Gardner Minshew. I don’t try to look too far (ahead) and I don’t try to look too back in the past.

(Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)The Jacksonville Jaguars are holding all sorts of auditions during Christmas week. Khan fired Dave Caldwell late last month and made former San Francisco executive Trent Baalke the interim GM. Smith, who spent a dozen seasons as Texans GM, already met with Atlanta and is expected to also interview with Detroit. Jacksonville (1-13), which has lost a franchise-record-tying 13 consecutive games, has arguably the most attractive GM opening in the league. Caldwell and Marrone took a chance on Minshew this season, but the 2019 sixth-round draft pick showed more flaws than flashes.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The last time the Jacksonville Jaguars lost nine consecutive games, owner Shad Khan fired coach Gus Bradley before they left the stadium. Jacksonville (1-8) dropped its eighth straight at Green Bay on Sunday and can match the longest, single-season skid in franchise history against unbeaten Pittsburgh. “All I know is we’re putting everything in this thing and we’re fighting our butts off,” Marrone said. But the end results might not be enough to save Marrone and Caldwell, who have dropped 19 of their past 28 games. KEY NUMBER8 — number of consecutive games Jacksonville has with at least one turnover, coinciding with its losing streak.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In what could be his final two months on the job, Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Marrone is making changes. They’re halfway home to another top-five draft pick and probably another significant reboot. Then again, since the Jaguars face the toughest schedule of anyone in the second half of the season, it might not matter. They play three divisions leaders (Green Bay, Pittsburgh, Tennessee), three second-place teams (Baltimore, Chicago, Indianapolis), plus Cleveland (5-3) and Minnesota (3-5). WHAT’S WORKINGRunning back James Robinson has four touchdowns in three games, further establishing himself as the team’s most consistent player.

___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.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick laughs with coaches as he comes off the field after defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars in an NFL football game, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Ryan Fitzpatrick handles the Jacksonville Jaguars as well as anyone in the NFL. Fitzpatrick completed his first 12 passes — a career high — as Miami scored touchdowns on its first three drives for the first time since 2011. Fitzpatrick also ran for 39 yards and a score, his 37-year-old legs looking as fresh as any in Miami’s backfield. “As a group we just didn't get it done,” said Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew, who completed 30 of 42 passes for 275 yards and two turnovers. The Jaguars have won two in a row against the Bengals, notching victories in 2017 and 2019.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Jaguars have a chance to surprise, possibly even shock, much of the NFL. 1 draft pick in April — and assembling one of the youngest rosters in the league, the Jaguars are mostly a league-wide afterthought. The Jaguars don’t care. “I really think that this team can be special,” coach Doug Marrone said Wednesday. “We don’t feel like we’re underdogs at all,” receiver DJ Chark said.

And to some, the odds seem greater, this time, that what the athletes are calling for might actually come to pass. We get paid to go out there and play and do our job. All this stands in stark contrast from the predominant attitude of athletes during Jordan's prime an attitude Jordan himself embodied. Among the more than four dozen Black athletes who are part of the cause are Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes and Olympic champion sprinter Allyson Felix. Black athletes and celebrities have not been fully welding their power.