Overnight News Digest: Football Edition

Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, current leader Neon Vincent, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, wader, Man Oh Man, rfall, and JML9999. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse, ek hornbeck, ScottyUrb, Interceptor7, BentLiberal, Oke and jlms qkw. The guest editor is annetteboardman.

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• Packers, Chargers and Eagles advance but Bears and Cowboys go home

The Guardian
 

• Aaron Rodgers leads Packers to victory in return
• Cowboys follows usual script even without Tony Romo
• Chargers get lucky

The stage was set for a Hollywood ending. Eight weeks after going down with a fractured collarbone, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was back to wreak vengeance on Chicago, the team who had caused his injury in the first place. Despite winning just two games in his absence, Green Bay still controlled their playoff destiny. Win on Sunday, and they would leapfrog the Bears to finish top of the NFC North.

Rodgers's availability had only been confirmed three days earlier, when he was cleared at last for a full-contact return. The timing could not have been better. This was the grand finale fans had been craving, a comeback so climactic that it demanded its own Dark Knight-themed movie trailer.

• NFL Firings Begin: Browns, Redskins, Others Ax Coaches

NPR
 

Coaches' heads are beginning to roll in the National Football League, now that the 2013 regular season is over.

NFL.com reports that:

— Cleveland Browns coach Rod Chudzinski has lost his job after just one season with the club. The Browns finished with a 4-12 record.

— The Minnesota Vikings have dismissed coach Leslie Frazier. In just more than three seasons, he had a 21-32-1 record. This year, the Vikings went 5-10-1.

And in perhaps the least surprising report, The Washington Post says that the Redskins have fired coach Mike Shanahan after his team finished the season with three wins and 13 losses.

• Manning sets NFL record after throwing 51st touchdown pass

Al Jazeera America
 

The Denver Broncos quarterback broke the previous record of 50 touchdown passes held by New England Patriot Tom Brady

Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning on Sunday broke the NFL record of New England Patriot Tom Brady for most touchdown (TD) passes thrown in a single season with 51.

Manning did it on a 25-yard pass to tight end Julius Thomas with 00:04:28 remaining in a game against the Houston Texans. Just 2 1/2 minutes earlier, he tied the mark with a 20-yard pass to wide receiver Eric Decker.

"I really feel like it's a team accomplishment, certainly an offensive accomplishment," Manning said. "There's a lot of people that played roles in this."

Manning made the throw to Thomas and walked toward the end zone, where his teammates patted him on the head. He then took off his helmet, walked to the sideline and pumped his fist once. His teammates came out to greet him, and he gave dozens of high-fives as he grinned and walked to the bench.

• Tim Tebow to be SEC analyst

ESPN
 

Former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow has agreed to a multiyear deal to join ESPN as an analyst for the SEC Network, it was announced Monday.

"I am so excited that ESPN has given me this incredible opportunity," Tebow said in a statement. "When I was 6 years old, I fell in love with the game of football, and while I continue to pursue my dream of playing quarterback in the NFL, this is an amazing opportunity to be part of the unparalleled passion of college football and the SEC."

Tebow's primary role with the new network will be as an analyst for "SEC Nation," a traveling football pregame show that will originate from a different SEC campus each week. The show will debut before the Texas A&M-South Carolina game in Columbia, S.C., on Aug. 28.