Bill Belichick has enormous respect for Lawrence Taylor as one of the best players NFL in history, and you could tell the New England Patriots head coach was very much enjoying his time with the legendary linebacker during a recent episode of NFL Network's "All-Time Team" show. Belichick was the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants from 1985 through 1990, and he won two Super Bowl titles during that span. Taylor was a big reason for that success as the best linebacker in the league.

Over the past two head-coaching cycles, NFL team owners have been falling all over themselves to find the next Sean McVay. Oh, he had respect across the league, but after the 49ers' disappointing in 2018 — in which star quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo got hurt early and the team limped to a 4-12 finish — you weren't necessarily hearing the “we've got to find the next Kyle Shanahan” talk. Shanahan's 49ers are rolling at 10-1, thanks to a nasty defense and a well-schemed, creative offense that draws upon old-school run concepts and punishes teams in the passing game whenever they compensate to handle the run game.

New England Patriots left tackle Isaiah Wynn had a strong game against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday afternoon. The young offensive lineman, who had been on injured reserve with a toe injury since after Week 2, has loads to learn, but New England's pass protection and blocking improved with his return in the Patriots' 13-9 win over the Cowboys. Do Patriots or Ravens have tougher path to No. 1 seed in AFC?

NFL fans are in for a treat Sunday because many of the Week 12 games will have a huge impact in both the AFC and NFC playoff races. The two best matchups of the day are the AFC-leading New England Patriots hosting the Dallas Cowboys, and the NFC-leading San Francisco 49ers hosting the Green Bay Packers on "Sunday Night Football." The Patriots and 49ers both have slim one-game leads for the No. 1 seed in their respective conferences.

The New England Patriots are one of 11 teams committed to attending quarterback Colin Kaepernick's scheduled workout on Saturday. All 32 franchises have been invited to watch as Kaepernick - the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who has not played since 2016 – eyes a return to the NFL. On Thursday, the NFL announced the Patriots, Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants, New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Redskins have confirmed they will be present.

As far as Patriots coach Bill Belichick is concerned, Josh Gordon's tenure with the Patriots is all in the past. Asked Friday why the team chose to release the oft-suspended receiver just a week after placing him on injured reserve with knee and ankle injuries, Belichick offered little insight. ''We released him because he was healthy,'' Belichick said.

As far as Patriots coach Bill Belichick is concerned, Josh Gordon's tenure with the Patriots is all in the past. Asked Friday why the team chose to release the oft-suspended receiver just a week after placing him on injured reserve with knee and ankle injuries, Belichick offered little insight. "We released him because he was healthy," Belichick said.

The New England Patriots will release receiver Josh Gordon off injured reserve on Thursday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The move will mean that Gordon will be available to other teams on the waiver wire. Gordon, 28, has been dealing with two bone bruises in his left knee and last played for New England on Oct. 10 against the New York Giants.

After the Patriots dominated the New York Giants in a 35-14 victory two weeks ago, Tom Brady was asked whether he thought the offense had been good enough to that point. Two wins later the Patriots are still unbeaten, off their first 8-0 start since 2015. Brady completed passes to seven different receivers in Sunday's 27-13 win over the Browns.

With the outside world speculating on Tom Brady's motivations in 2020 and beyond, at least one thing in the immediate future appears to be clear for the New England Patriots: making this season's Super Bowl run a priority heading into the trade deadline. As franchises have spent this past week positioning themselves for a flurry of transactional activity heading into the 4 p.m. ET trade deadline on Tuesday, the Patriots have been actively refining their roster — flipping defensive end Michael Bennett to the Dallas Cowboys, positioning for a release of wideout Josh Gordon and sending a second-round pick to the Atlanta Falcons for receiver Mohamed Sanu.