LEONARD FOURNETTE

Tom Brady threw for 271 yards and two touchdowns, helping the Tampa Bay Buccaneers launch their bid for a return to the Super Bowl with a dominating 31-15 NFC wild-card playoff victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.

Tom Brady topped 5,000 yards passing for the second time in his career and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers set a franchise record for regular-season victories with a 41-17 win over the Carolina Panthers.

Here are some athletes who were money in the bank for sports bettors this year: Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans and Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani.

Ryquell Armstead spent all last season on the COVID-19 list.

Tampa Bay receiver Chris Godwin has a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and will be out for the remainder of the season.

New Orleans’ defense gave Tom Brady fits again, shutting down Tampa Bay’s high-powered offense as the Saints put the Buccaneers’ division title celebration plans on hold with a 9-0 victory over the reigning Super Bowl champions.

Jalen Ramsey isn’t looking back at the Jaguars.

Leonard Fournette capped a four-touchdown game with a 28-yard scoring run with 20 seconds left to give Tampa Bay a 38-31 come-from-behind victory at Indianapolis.

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

Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes, Leonard Fournette ran for two scores and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Philadelphia Eagles 28-22 on Thursday night.

Tom Brady threw for 411 yards and five touchdowns as Antonio Brown became the fastest NFL player to 900 receptions and the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers rolled to a 45-17 rout of the Miami Dolphins.

The Denver Broncos are seeking their first 2-0 start since 2018 when they play at Jacksonville on Sunday.

Coach Bruce Arians says the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, making the reigning Super Bowl champions the second NFL team to announce they’ve reached that status.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are all in to try to repeat as Super Bowl champions.

NFL teams are getting their first real look at their new players during rookie minicamps this weekend.

Jacksonville’s draft prospects helped lure Urban Meyer out of coaching retirement.

Linebacker Shaquil Barrett and tight end Rob Gronkowski, who came out of retirement 11 months ago to help Brady win No. 7 in his first season with the Bucs, are the latest players to agree to terms to stay with the team. Agent Drew Rosenhaus represents both players and confirmed the deals to The Associated Press on Monday. He signed a one-year, $4 million deal with Tampa Bay in free agency in 2019 and has 27½ sacks in 31 regular-season games since joining the Bucs. Gronkowski played nine seasons with Brady in New England before retiring after the 2018 season.

Regardless, on Monday, two days before the NFL's 2021 business year begins, the 32 teams and agents for the players will be making deals. “Legal tampering, and tampering is illegal? AdOf course, free agency always is a buyer-beware situation. AdVoila: Lavonte David, a key linebacker, was re-signed, and several other key guys in the title run could be back. “We do have some money from a cap standpoint that we can spend; but again, it’s an interesting year.

FILE - Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady leaves the field an NFL divisional round playoff football game against the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans, in this Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021, file photo. om Brady has agreed to a contract extension with the Buccaneers that provides the Super Bowl champions with much-needed salary cap relief and will help the seven-time NFL champion reach a goal of playing until hes at least 45. (AP Photo/Brett Duke, File)TAMPA, Fla. – Tom Brady has agreed to a contract extension with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that provides the Super Bowl champions with much-needed salary cap relief and will help the seven-time NFL champion reach a goal of playing until he’s at least 45. The five-time Super Bowl MVP capped his first season with the Bucs by leading Tampa Bay to its first championship in 18 years. David’s contract, of which $20 million is guaranteed, includes voidable years that make it salary cap friendly.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) holds the Vince Lombardi trophy following the NFL Super Bowl 55 football game against the Kansas City Chiefs in Tampa. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' run from the wild card to Super Bowl champions was a remarkable one. BRADY BUNCH: Brady’s seventh title and first in Tampa Bay helped a whole new set of his teammates win a Super Bowl ring. AdThere have now been 261 players who have appeared in a Super Bowl as Brady’s teammate. Of the 728 players to play in a Super Bowl win since the 2001 season, 207 of them (28.4%) did it as Brady’s teammate.

The Buccaneers defeated the Chiefs 31-9 to win the Super Bowl. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are already thinking about what it’ll take to repeat as Super Bowl champions. If Brady, Arians and general manager Jason Licht have their way, Gronkowski, Brown and Fournette won’t wind up being one-season rentals. “Hopefully we can keep the band together, have an offseason and actually know what we’re doing (entering next season),” Arians said. It changed our entire football team.”AdBrady said Arians, who also has two Super Bowl rings as an assistant coach, deserves credit, too.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady shouts after running on to the field before the NFL Super Bowl 55 football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. Credit Tom Brady. Still, this is not the vintage Brady who was so responsible for those nine Super Bowl trips and six victories in New England. So blame Brady for getting old. Guess you can blame Brady for that, as well.

History was made, just as it always is, on a picture-perfect Sunday evening at the Super Bowl. Brady adding to his record with a seventh Super Bowl title, but with the long-suffering Bucs, not the front-running New England Patriots? That the Chiefs waded through all that to make it back to the Super Bowl was not all that big a surprise. Brady earned his fifth Super Bowl MVP award. It was, as much as anything, a nod to the new normal — life with coronavirus — meshing with the old normal — Tom Brady holding a Super Bowl trophy.

Brady wound up with his seventh NFL championship and was the Super Bowl MVP for the fifth time. “All week he made us believe we were going to win,” Fournette said. “He was amazing and just did it all: blocked, ran, just had an incredible season,” Brady said. Brady's seventh Super Bowl triumph broke a tie he held with three members of Vince Lombardi's great Green Bay Packers teams of the 1960s for most NFL championships. "There's nothing that he can't do: new team, new scheme, first year with a new team and going to the Super Bowl and winning it all.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady during NFL football practice, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021 in Tampa, Fla. The Buccaneers will face the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 55. (Kyle Zedaker/Tampa Bay Buccaneers via AP)TAMPA, Fla. – Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won’t be denied. The 43-year-old six-time Super Bowl champion may no longer be the best quarterback in the NFL, however, he’s shown in his first season with the Bucs that he’s still good enough to lead a team to the NFL title game. You want to make some moves that hopefully get your team into the Super Bowl.

(AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann, File)There will be about 25,000 fans inside Raymond James Stadium for the Super Bowl on Sunday. Even when COVID-19 numbers were spiking around the country, the Chiefs never experienced an outbreak traced back to their fans. AdThursday marked the final time talking to the media for the Bucs and Chiefs until after the Super Bowl. BRADY’S PORTUGUESETom Brady's six Super Bowl rings don't protect him from being trash talked in his own home. The fact that it will happen in the Super Bowl?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back doesn't remember writing the prophetic Twitter post seven years ago, but someone unearthed it last week and sent social media buzzing. “Can’t wait til I play in that Super Bowl,” Fournette wrote on Feb. 2, 2014 — punctuating it with a grin emoji. And consider where he could've been: with the 1-15 Jaguars and as far from the Super Bowl as you can get. Ad“Once he accepted that, he's been just a trooper, man," Buccaneers running backs coach Todd McNair said. I’ve watched every Super Bowl since I was little kid, as long as I remember, always envisioning that I would be in the game.

Kansas City and Tampa Bay have several starters, including some notable pass catchers, scheduled to become free agents next month. So the Super Bowl between the Chiefs and Buccaneers will serve as a farewell for several players with their current team. Brown signed a one-year, $1.6 million contract with Tampa in late October and has been a model citizen since. He has 45 receptions for 623 yards and seven touchdowns after signing a one-year, $9 million deal. He turned 34 last month and might be willing to sign another one-year deal to stay in Tampa.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) runs with a elastic band around his legs during an NFL football workout Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021, in Tampa, Fla. The Buccaneers play the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV on Feb. 7. 1 overall pick Jameis Winston but dared to dream of signing Brady if the six-time Super Bowl champion decided to leave New England as a free agent. Of course it was Tom Brady, not thinking he would become a free agent,” Arians added. Ad“Naturally, I think you envision every year in the offseason you want to make some moves that hopefully get your team into the Super Bowl.

Theres no retirement age in the NFL, and thats a good thing for Super Bowl-bound Kansas City and Tampa Bay. (AP Photo/File)There’s no retirement age in the NFL, and that’s a good thing for Super Bowl-bound Kansas City and Tampa Bay. The Bucs signed Brady, now 43, to a two-year contract that created a small Super Bowl window. Now, the Bucs get to face Kansas City at home — the first team in NFL history to play a Super Bowl in its normal venue. New England’s Bill Belichick is the oldest coach to win a Super Bowl.

But Gronk in particular has always been a big-play guy in big games for Brady, and Green Bay doesn't have linebackers who excel in coverage. Green Bay will do some blitzing, though not as much as Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles figures to do. Unlike Brady, Rodgers can create outside the pocket, and he's especially dangerous when doing so. Veteran placekicker Mason Crosby is solid, making all 16 field goal attempts, but missed four PATs for Green Bay. Tampa Bay's Ryan Succop, now in his 12th pro season, made 28 of 31 field goal tries but missed five extra points.

The Packers defeated the Rams 32-18 to advance to the NFC championship game. When Rodgers’ Green Bay Packers (14-3) host Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers (13-5) in the NFC championship game Sunday, it will be just the fourth time they’ve squared off as starting quarterbacks, and first in the playoffs. “I’m excited about the opportunity to play against him one more time.”The Bucs trounced the Packers 38-10 in Tampa on Oct. 18. A win at Lambeau Field clinches their first Super Bowl berth since their 2002 championship season. “We play the Packers in the NFC championship game.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13) celebrates his touchdown against the New Orleans Saints during the first half of an NFL divisional round playoff football game, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021, in New Orleans. Don't forget Antonio Brown, who joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at midseason and has contributed to the team’s run to Sunday’s NFC championship game at Green Bay. Then there’s Scotty Miller and Tyler Johnson, a couple of late-round draft picks roughly half the age of the 43-year-old quarterback. The more that I’ve been around Mike, Chris, Antonio, Scooter (Miller), Tyler, Mick (Jaydon Mickens) — the better it gets,” Brady said. Tyler makes a great catch,” Arians added.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) works against the New Orleans Saints during the first half of an NFL divisional round playoff football game, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021, in New Orleans. Brady and the Bucs' offense turned three of four Saints turnovers into touchdowns and Tampa Bay beat New Orleans 30-20 in the divisional round of the playoffs Sunday night. Brees’ 16-yard pass to Tre-Quan Smith put the Saints ahead 20-13, and New Orleans appeared primed to build on that lead when Brees found Jared Cook across the 50. WINSTON'S MOMENTJameis Winston, forced out of Tampa Bay when Brady became available, threw a 56-yard touchdown pass against his old team on a trick play. Saints: Deonte Harris, who returned the first Tampa Bay punt 54 yards to set up a field goal, left with a neck injury in the first half.

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.

(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)The NFC playoff field features the usual cast of quarterbacks in Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Russell Wilson. Last Lombardi: Super Bowl 45, 31-25 over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Feb. 6, 2011, at Arlington, Texas. Last Lombardi: Super Bowl 48, 43-8 over the Denver Broncos on Feb. 2, 2014, at East Rutherford, N.J. Last year: No. The Bears’ leading tackler left in the first quarter of the Green Bay game with an elbow injury. DBs Buster Skrine, rookie Jaylon Johnson and Deon Bush missed the loss to Green Bay.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) throws a pass during an NFL football practice Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)TAMPA, Fla. – New team, same ole Tom Brady. Brady led New England to the Super Bowl nine times in 20 seasons, appearing in 41 playoff games and winning 30 — both records. “When he first signed I said, ‘OK, we’ll be a 40 (touchdown) and 10 (interception) team,’” Arians said. “It’s a never-ending thing with him, the perfectionist, to get everything right in practice,” Arians added.

Now, after nine NFL seasons and little success on the field, the Jacksonville Jaguars owner is taking a more hands-on approach to fixing the franchise's most glaring problems. Khan is handling the search for his next coach and general manager mostly alone, with some help from Jaguars President Mark Lamping. “This time around, I think I have a much better sense myself,” Khan said Monday after firing coach Doug Marrone. “What's evaded the history of the Jags really has been a franchise quarterback,” Khan said. Khan kept Marrone in place after firing general manager Dave Caldwell in late November, but ultimately decided on a clean sweep.

Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) warms up before an NCAA College football game against Syracuse in Clemson, S.C., on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020. (Ken Ruinard/Pool Photo via AP)JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Jaguars have botched the quarterback position repeatedly over the past two decades. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL draft Sunday, gaining a stronghold on Clemson star quarterback Trevor Lawrence the same day they set a team record for futility. The only thing standing in the way of the small-market team drafting Lawrence is the junior’s decision to turn pro. —Signing Nick Foles: The Jaguars gave Foles a four-year, $88 million deal in 2019 free agency that included $50.125 million guaranteed.

Head coach Doug Marrone of the Jacksonville Jaguars looks on prior to their game against the Cleveland Browns at TIAA Bank Field on Nov. 29, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida. “THE New York freaking Jets delivered an early Christmas present to Jacksonville today,” Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry posted on Twitter before vowing to light a victory cigar. “Seriously, this Jets win could be a defining moment for our ball club. STOCK UPRookie K’Lavon Chaisson, the 20th overall draft pick in 2020, is showing signs of promise. KEY NUMBER2 — number of games Jacksonville needs to lose to lock up the No.

Indianapolis left tackle Anthony Castonzo and starting linebacker Bobby Okereke are both active for the Colts’ visit to the Las Vegas Raiders. ___GREEN BAY AT DETROITPackers: QB Jordan Love, CB Ka’dar Hollman, LB Jonathan Garvin, G Simon Stepaniak, WR Malik Taylor, TE Jace Sternberger. Raiders: QB Nathan Peterman, CB Damon Arnette, RB Theo Riddick, OT Brandon Parker, OG John Simpson, DE Carl Nassib. Eagles: CB Michael Jacquet, QB Nate Sudfeld, WR John Hightower, RB Jason Huntley, DB Grayland Arnold, S Rudy Ford, LB T.J. Edwards. Jaguars: QB Jake Luton, CB Luq Barcoo, LB Kamalei Correa, LB Quincy Williams, C Brandon Linder, TE Tyler Davis, DE Reggie Gilbert.

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.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Jaguars have been here before. The Jaguars (1-6) are last in the AFC South, the same spot they occupied in each of the last two seasons and three times in the last four years. The Texans haven’t brought up the rear in the South since 2013. One of them will double their win total and escape the AFC South cellar when they meet Sunday. “Man, they just need to forfeit the game,” Jaguars defensive end Josh Allen quipped.

TAMPA, Fla. – Suspended receiver Antonio Brown has agreed to return to the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a one-year deal, according to a person with knowledge of the move. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Saturday because the contract had not been completed. The addition of the volatile seven-time Pro Bowl selection bolsters an already formidable arsenal of playmakers for Tom Brady. Tight end Rob Gronkowski and running backs Leonard Fournette and LeSean McCoy have also joined Brady in Tampa Bay, which hasn’t made the playoffs since 2007. Brown signed with New England after a tumultuous short stay with the Raiders ended with the receiver demanding and being granted his release during training camp.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) throws a pass against the Green Bay Packers during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)TAMPA, Fla. – So much for Tom Brady vs. Aaron Rodgers. A stingy Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense turned a rare meeting between the Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks into a mismatch on Sunday. Safety Mike Edwards ran the other back 38 yards to the Packers 2 to set up another TD. Gronkowski led the Bucs with five receptions for 78 yards — his best game since ending a one-year retirement to join Brady in Tampa Bay. BRADY VS. RODGERSBrady and Rodgers split their two previous head-to-head meetings, with the Packers winning 26-21 in 2014 at Green Bay and New England winning 31-17 at home in 2018, while Brady was playing for the Patriots.

Howard, Cameron Brate and rookie Ke’Shawn Vaughn — caught scoring passes from Brady, who threw four of them after the Bucs fell behind 24-7 in the second quarter. I can honestly say that if this had been last year, we would have gotten beat by 20,” Arians said. “We’ve got to keep building on the confidence in one another because there’s nothing we’re doing out there that’s perfect," Brady said. Ndamukong Suh forced a fumble inside the Los Angeles 10 with the Chargers attempting to run out at the clock. ... Howard was carted off late in the fourth quarter with what the Bucs described as an Achilles tendon injury.

Not that he wanted to gloss over his mistakes — namely, a pair of interceptions — after a Tampa Bay debut that began with a triumphant spike but petered out into a double-digit loss on Sunday. “I’ve lost plenty of games in my career,” Brady said following the 34-23 setback, which included an anticlimactic Tampa Bay TD in the final minutes. “He should have been across his face, but Tom overthrew it.”Saints safety Marcus Williams came down with the ball near midfield and returned it inside the Tampa Bay 40. Every team’s going to wish they did things better," Brady said. Less than a minute after his second interception had put the Saints up 24-7, Brady threw his first TD pass for Tampa Bay — and the 542nd of his career — to tight end O.J.

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.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Jaguars placed running back Devine Ozigbo on injured reserve with a left hamstring injury Thursday and signed former Tampa Bay running back Dare Ogunbowale to fill his roster spot. Ogunbowale could be in uniform for the team's opener Sunday against Indianapolis since Jacksonville has little depth at the position. The Jaguars waived Leonard Fournette last week, put Ryquell Armstead on the COVID-19 list for the second time in five weeks and then lost Ozigbo in practice Wednesday. That left them with undrafted rookie James Robinson, third-down back Chris Thompson and fullback Bruce Miller available. Another undrafted rookie running back, Nathan Cottrell, could be called up from the practice squad.

TAMPA, Fla. Leonard Fournette feels he and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are an ideal match. Howard and Cameron Brate, and running backs Ronald Jones and LeSean McCoy, Fournette envisions himself thriving against opposing defenses no longer able to game plan to stop him alone. The defense has to game plan against eight guys and not just one, Fournette added. Not a lot of pressures going to be on me, said Fournette, who as a rookie helped the Jaguars reach the AFC championship game against Bradys Patriots. We just have to learn the game plan, the coach added.