The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league composed of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and the highest professional level of American football in the world. Each NFL season begins annually with a three-week preseason in August, followed by the 18-week regular season, which runs from early September to early January, with each team playing 17 games and having one bye week. Following the conclusion of the regular season, seven teams from each conference, including four division winners and three wild card teams, advance to the playoffs, a single-elimination tournament, which culminates in the Super Bowl, played in early February between the winners of the AFC and NFC championship games.
Thomas Paine was an English-born American Founding Father, French Revolutionary, inventor, and political philosopher. He authored Common Sense (1776) and The American Crisis (1776–1783), two of the most influential pamphlets at the start of the American Revolution, and he helped to inspire the colonial era patriots in 1776 to declare independence from Great Britain. His ideas reflected Enlightenment-era ideals of human rights.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) South division. They joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team, along with the Seattle Seahawks, and played its first season in the American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
Painesville is a city in and the county seat of Lake County, Ohio, United States, located along the Grand River. It is a northeast suburb of Cleveland. Its population was 20,312 at the 2020 census. Painesville is included in the Greater Cleveland metropolitan area.
Douglas Richard Flutie is an American former professional football quarterback who played professionally for 21 seasons. He played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), eight seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL), and one season in the United States Football League (USFL). Flutie played college football for the Boston College Eagles, winning the Heisman Trophy in 1984 amid a season that saw him throw the game-winning touchdown pass in the final seconds against the Miami Hurricanes.
Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots and was a central contributor to the franchise's dynasty from 2001 to 2019. In his final three seasons, he was a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady is widely regarded as the greatest quarterback of all time.
Passer rating is a measure of the performance of passers, primarily quarterbacks, in gridiron football. There are two formulas currently in use: one used by both the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL), and the other used in NCAA football. Passer rating is calculated using a player's passing attempts, completions, yards, touchdowns, and interceptions. Passer rating in the NFL is on a scale from 0 to 158.3. Passing efficiency in college football is on a scale from −731.6 to 1261.6.
William Stephen Belichick is an American football coach who is the head football coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Widely regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time, he holds numerous coaching records, including the record of most Super Bowl wins (six) as a head coach, all with the New England Patriots, along with two more during his time as the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants, for a record eight combined total Super Bowl victories as coach and coordinator. A renowned American football historian, Belichick is often referred to as a "student of the game" with a deep knowledge of the intricacies of each player position. During his tenure with the Patriots, Belichick was a central figure as the head coach and de facto general manager during the franchise's dynasty from 2001 to 2019.
Edward Bennett Williams was an American lawyer, businessman, and sports team owner. He received his undergraduate degree from the College of the Holy Cross before studying law at Georgetown University. He worked for Hogan & Hartson in Washington, D.C., beginning in the 1940s and later co-founded the law firm of Williams & Connolly in 1967. Williams worked as the treasurer of the Democratic National Committee in the mid-1970s.
Terence Lionel Paine is an English former professional footballer. Originally from Winchester, Paine is best known for his career with Southampton, for whom he made over 800 appearances in 18 seasons with the club. He played primarily as a winger, but was also comfortable in other midfield positions and as a forward.
Paine College is a private, historically black Methodist college in Augusta, Georgia. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. Paine College offers undergraduate degrees in the liberal arts, business administration, and education through residential, commuter, and off-site programs. The college is accredited by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS).
Norman Carr Paine was an American college football and college basketball player and coach, athletics administrator, and physician. He served as the head football coach at Baylor University (1913), the University of Arkansas (1917–1918), and Iowa State University (1920), compiling a career college football head coaching record of 16–11–3. Paine was also the head basketball coach at Baylor during the 1913–14 season, tallying a mark of 1–8. He was the athletic director at Baylor from 1913 to 1914. Paine later practiced medicine in Los Angeles County, California.
Thursday Night Football is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time.
American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with possession of the oval-shaped football, attempts to advance down the field by running with the ball or throwing it, while the defense, the team without possession of the ball, aims to stop the offense's advance and to take control of the ball for themselves. The offense must advance the ball at least ten yards in four downs or plays; if they fail, they turn over the football to the defense, but if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs to continue the drive. Points are scored primarily by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponent's goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.
The 1948 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 1948 college football season. In their second year under head coach Bud Wilkinson, the Sooners compiled a 10–1 record, won the Big Seven Conference championship, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 350 to 121.
Homer Paine was an American football tackle. He played college football at the University of Tulsa for one season and at the University of Oklahoma for three seasons. Paine was named to the All-Missouri Valley Conference first team while at Tulsa, and he was twice named to all-conference first teams while at Oklahoma. After college, Paine played professional football for one season with the Chicago Hornets of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). He was selected in the 14th round of the 1946 NFL draft.
The 1971 Utah Redskins football team was an American football team that represented the University of Utah as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. In their fourth season under head coach Bill Meek, the Redskins compiled an overall record of 3–8 with a mark of 3–4 against conference opponents, placing in a three-way tie for fourth in the WAC. Home games were played on campus at Ute Stadium in Salt Lake City.
Jackson Paine is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club and Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited by the Collingwood Football Club with pick 50 in the 2011 national draft. Paine made his debut in round 1, 2012 against Hawthorn. He was traded in a straight swap for Patrick Karnezis in the 2013 trade period. He was delisted by Brisbane in October 2015, however, he was re-drafted in the 2016 rookie draft. He was delisted again by Brisbane at the end of the 2016 season following a battle with gout.
Patrick Karnezis is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Brisbane Lions and Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was taken at pick number 25 in the 2010 national draft by the Brisbane Lions. Karnezis made his debut in round 13 of the 2011 season, against Richmond. On 25 October 2013 he was traded to the Collingwood Football Club in exchange for Jackson Paine. He retired from AFL at the conclusion of the 2015 season. After his retirement from AFL, Karnezis joined West Preston Lakeside of the Northern Football League (NFL).
The 1972 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8) during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. In their fifth season under head coach Jim Sweeney, the Cougars compiled a 7–4 record(4–3 in the Pac-8, tied for 3rd), and outscored their opponents 274 to 241.
