Mexico will be back on schedule in 2019

The NFL will return to Mexico City with a regularseason game next year.

Less than a week after the league moved the highprofile Chiefs-Rams matchup from Azteca Stadium to Los Angeles because of the poor playing conditions at the Mexico venue, the NFL and Mexico’s president-elect confirmed the 2019 game. It will be the third match of a contract signed in 2016.

Commissioner Roger Goodell and Mexico’s President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador met before making the announcement.

The date of the game and participating teams won’t be known until the NFL’s 2019 schedule is released in the spring.

The game between the Chiefs and Rams, had been one of the most anticipated this season, and would have been a showcase for Mexico with a likely huge television audience.

But in a news release last Tuesday, the league said it determined that the recently re-sodded field at Mexico City’s historic stadium “does not meet NFL standards for playability and consistency, and will not meet those standards by next Monday.”

Late Monday: Jared Goff threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Gerald Everett for the go-ahead score with 1:49 to play, and the Rams outlasted the Chiefs for a 54-51 victory in Los Angeles in a high-octane NFL offensive showdown that somehow surpassed the hype.

Patrick Mahomes threw six touchdown passes in his latest jaw-dropping performance for the Chiefs (9-2), but he also threw two interceptions in the final 1:18 as the Rams (10-1) held on to win the highestscoring Monday night game ever played and the first NFL game with two 50-point performances.

Goff passed for 413 yards and four touchdowns, while Marcus Peters and Lamarcus Joyner came up with the late interceptions.

The highest-scoring game in the league this season featured 1,001 combined yards.

Bears’ backup plan:

Chase Daniel promises to be ready to step in for Mitchell Trubisky on Thursday when the Bears play the Lions.

The Bears’ backup quarterback might need to clear away some rust.

Daniel hasn’t started or played extensively in an NFL game since 2014, but he might start for Trubisky because of a right shoulder injury sustained in the fourth quarter of Sunday night’s 25-20 victory over the Vikings.

“This week is a little bit different just because it’s a short week, but I really haven’t changed the way I prepare,” Daniel said. “I prepare like a starter every week.”

Coach Matt Nagy is holding out hope Trubisky can play even without practice.

“I’m saying cautiously optimistic, but I can’t make any promises,” Nagy said. “I hope he does. But it’s a day-to-day thing for us.”

Nagy wouldn’t describe the injury beyond saying Trubisky is “in pain, which is normal.”

Pacman waived: Adam “Pacman” Jones’ short stint in Denver is over.

The Broncos waived the 14-year veteran Tuesday after he appeared in seven games, posting nine tackles and one interception and three pass breakups.

At 35, Jones might have a hard time finding another team in need of a cornerback/kick returner. He signed with the Broncos in August.

Coach Vance Joseph, who once served as an assistant in Cincinnati, vouched for Jones, who spent eight seasons with the Bengals.

McCoy takes over: Colt McCoy knew exactly what his teammates needed to hear.

In the aftermath of a gut-wrenching two-point loss and the sickening season-ending injury to Alex Smith, McCoy stood up in the Redskins locker room and addressed the group.

McCoy “told us we were in good hands,” running back Chris Thompson said. “We had no doubt about that from the jump. We lost the game, but I will say Colt talking to us afterwards really had the dudes hyped up and we’re ready to get to Dallas.”