Raiders fire general manager Reggie McKenzie,
ALAMEDA, Calif. — The Oakland Raiders fired general manager Reggie McKenzie on Monday, less than two years after he was named the NFL’s executive of the year.
McKenzie was let go from the position he had held for almost seven seasons a day after Oakland beat Pittsburgh 24-21 for its third win of the season. The Raiders announced the move in a brief statement thanking McKenzie for his time in Oakland and wishing him well.
McKenzie’s status was in doubt ever since coach Jon Gruden was given a 10-year contract last January to take charge of the football operation for the Raiders. McKenzie’s influence had waned since then, with the Raiders cutting ties with several of the players he had acquired, most notably edge rusher Khalil Mack and receiver Amari Cooper.
“I’m not going to sit up here today and talk about any disconnect,” Gruden said. “We were connected. We were very good friends and very connected. I’ll leave it at that.”
McKenzie, who played college football at the University of Tennessee in the 1980s, was the first major hire made by owner Mark Davis after he took over the team following the death of his father, Al, in 2011. McKenzie modernized the franchise, got the team out of salary-cap purgatory, and built a roster that won 12 games under coach Jack Del Rio in 2016, earning him honors as the league’s top executive.
But the Raiders slumped to a 6-10 record last season, leading Davis to fire Del Rio and get Gruden to take the hefty contract after years of courting.
Gruden set out to overhaul the roster, trading away and cutting many of McKenzie’s former draft picks. That accelerated a week before the start of the season when Mack was dealt to Chicago for a package including two first-round picks and then Cooper was dealt in October to Dallas for another first-round pick.
With those deals, only nine players drafted by McKenzie from 2012 to ’17 remain on the active roster.
Dolphins need another miracle to make playoffs
DAVIE, Fla. — Now the Miami Dolphins will try to pull off another miracle.
After beating New England with a pass and double lateral on the final play, the Dolphins are 7-6 and could use some more magic in the next three weeks to make the playoffs.
Coach Adam Gase figures his Dolphins probably need to sweep their remaining games — at Minnesota, home against Jacksonville and at Buffalo — to earn an AFC wildcard berth.
But when asked Monday if he’s optimistic, Gase grinned.
“I’d better be,” he said. “We just won a game that … I like where we’re at. We’re alive.”
The Dolphins saved their season with the play borrowed from Boise State and thus called “Boise.” Kenyan Drake took the last lateral and ran 52 yards to complete a 69-yard score for a 34-33 victory .
The last player Drake eluded was 6-foot-6 tight end Rob Gronkowski, whose lumbering presence at the back of the Patriots’ prevent defense prompted plenty of second-guessing in Boston and elsewhere.
“I saw it was Gronk in front of me, and I was just like, ‘Look, I’ve got somewhere to be,’” Drake said. “I had to get in the end zone.”
Chiefs owner: Mahomes ‘always gives you a chance’
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In an otherwise empty Kansas City Chiefs locker room, long after they had rallied to beat the Ravens in overtime and clinch a playoff berth, chairman Clark Hunt was asked what makes this year’s team different than all those that suffered postseason letdowns.
His answer was refreshingly simple and candid: Patrick Mahomes.
“I think he’s shown even more than what we thought he’d be during the draft process,” Hunt said with a hint of a smile. “In so many ways he’s exceeded our expectations, and when you have a guy like Patrick under center, you always have a chance to win games.”
Even when things aren’t going perfectly.
The Chiefs had watched offensive lineman Cam Erving leave with a knee injury, running back Spencer Ware hurt both his shoulder and hamstring and wide receiver Tyreek Hill hurt his wrist and heel but remain in the game. Mahomes had thrown an interception into heavy coverage, special teams had made a rare mistake that allowed Baltimore to take a late lead, and the game was hanging in the balance.
Mahomes responded with the kind of magic Chiefs fans already have come to expect.
First there was the audacious, cross-body throw about 40 yards downfield to convert on fourthand-9 and keep the Chiefs alive. Then there was the savvy dump-off pass on another fourth-down play to backup running back Damien Williams that forged a 24-24 tie with 53 seconds left in regulation.
After winning the coin toss in overtime, Mahomes deftly led the Chiefs downfield for a go-ahead field goal, which wound up being the winner when the Kansas City defense stopped the Ravens on downs.
“This game here, this was a big test for him,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “The rest of the season will be a big test for him, too. But this was a big test to this point, and I like the way he handled it.”
Bears on verge of playoffs after ‘D’ dominates Rams
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Chicago Bears were in trouble, leading by nine with the Rams in prime position following a big interception return by Joe Johnson III on an overthrown ball by Mitchell Trubisky.
On the next play, with Los Angeles at the 27, Kyle Fuller picked off a wobbly pass by Jared Goff. In a flash, the threat was over and the Bears could breathe a little easier.
That sequence late in the third quarter pretty much summed up the game.
A spectacular defense delivered a prime-time performance, bailing out a struggling offense while carrying the NFC North leaders to a 15-6 victory over the NFC West champion Rams on Sunday.
“We had the interception, right, and then the very next play our defense got an interception, and that’s what you’re talking about, and so it circled right back to the next-play mentality,” coach Matt Nagy said Monday.
“That’s what I thought, we talked about that all week — next play, next play, next play — and that was a pure example last night from both sides. On defense when you’re playing well, OK, next play. On offense, you’re not playing as well, next play.”
The next step could be securing a playoff spot. With three games to go, the Bears (9-4) are closing in on their first postseason appearance since the 2010 team won the NFC North.
They bounced back from a wild overtime loss at the New York Giants to win for the sixth time in seven games, and they figure to be tested this week when the Packers visit. Though Green Bay has a losing record and fired coach Mike McCarthy on Dec. 2, the NFL’s oldest rivalry has been one-sided in recent years.
The Bears have dropped five straight and nine of 10 against the Packers.
Trade for Amari Cooper really did boost Cowboys
ARLINGTON, Texas — Jerry Jones is getting praised for a football move.
There might not be a better way to explain the impact of the oft-criticized owner and general manager’s bold trade for Dallas, sending a 2019 first-round pick to Oakland for receiver Amari Cooper with the Cowboys fading fast in the NFC East race.
Cooper leads the NFL in yards receiving since joining the Cowboys, who have won five straight games to get to the brink of the division title and a home wild-card game.
With Cooper, Dak Prescott looks more like the 2016 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year rather than a struggling quarterback. And Jones’ name is coming up in broadcast booths, and as an off-the-wall choice for performer of the week in the NFL.
In other words, the primary object of ire for fans fed up with nearly a quarter-century without a trip to the Super Bowl, or even an NFC championship game, is being viewed as someone who saved Dallas’ season.
The Cowboys (8-5) can wrap up the NFC East with a win at Indianapolis (7-6) on Sunday.