MVP

John Brodie, who won an MVP award and was one of the NFL’s most prolific passers during a 17-year career with the San Francisco 49ers, has died. He was 90.

Brodie’s family said he died Friday, according to the 49ers. Brodie had a stroke on Oct. 24, 2000.

“The 49ers family is saddened to learn of the passing of one of the franchise’s all-time great players, John Brodie,” 49ers co-chairman Dr. John York said. “As a kid, my 49ers fandom began by watching John play quarterback on television. He displayed an incredible commitment toward his teammates and his support of the organization never wavered after his playing days.

“John became a dear friend of mine, and he will always be remembered as an important part of 49ers history. We express our deepest condolences to his wife, Sue, and the entire Brodie family.”

Brodie played for the 49ers from 1957-73 after breaking every major passing record at Stanford. He later played on what is now the PGA Tour Champions and won the 1991 Security Pacific Senior Classic.

Brodie’s 17 seasons are a 49ers record, and his 31,548 yards passing rank second to Joe Montana on San Francisco’s career passing list. When Brodie retired after the 1973 season, he trailed only Johnny Unitas and Fran Tarkenton on the NFL’s career passing list.

John Brodie gets a ride on the shoulders of an admiring crowd following a win over the Vikings that gave the 49ers the Western Division championship in San Francisco on Dec. 16, 1972.

(Associated Press)

His 214 touchdown passes are third in team history behind Montana and Steve Young.

“He was a great guy, a super competitor, I don’t care what it was: football, cards, golf,” said Jerry Mertens, a cornerback for the 49ers from 1958-65. “He was a great player and he enjoyed all the things that were competitive.

“The guy just did it all, and he was a great leader, there’s no question about that.”

Brodie won the most valuable player award in 1970 when he passed for 2,941 yards and 24 touchdowns with only 10 interceptions. He led the 49ers to the NFC championship game in 1970 and 1971. That was as close as he got to the Super Bowl.

When Brodie left football, the 49ers retired his No. 12 jersey, making him the fourth San Francisco player to be so honored.

Brodie led the NFL in yards passing three times and touchdown passes twice, earning first-team All-Pro honors in 1970 and second-team in 1965.

John Brodie drives from the 14th tee while playing as a professional in the Bing Crosby Pro-Am tournament at Pebble Beach on Jan. 16, 1959.

(Associated Press)

A 6-foot-1, 200-pounder during his playing days, Brodie was born in San Francisco on Aug. 14, 1935, but went to high school at Oakland Technical. He was a unanimous All-American at Stanford in 1956 and won the Coffman Award as the MVP in the East-West Game.

In college he earned three varsity letters in football under coach Chuck Taylor and two varsity letters in golf. The 49ers picked him at No. 3 in the first round of the 1957 draft.

Brodie had his best year statistically in 1965, when he had career bests of 242 completions, 3,112 yards passing, 30 touchdown passes and won the Associated Press NFL Comeback Player of the Year award.

He surpassed the 30,000-yard milestone in the fourth game of the 1972 season.

After football Brodie remained a top golfer. At 56 and playing in the 1991 Security Pacific Senior Classic at Rancho Park in Los Angeles, he beat Chi Chi Rodriguez and George Archer with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff.

LOS ANGELES — The NFL is marking the 60th anniversary of the Super Bowl with a hometown opening act.

Green Day will kick off the big game with an opening ceremony Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, the league announced Sunday. The performance will celebrate six decades of the championship’s history, with the band helping usher generations of Super Bowl MVPs onto the field.

The trio, formed in the East Bay and made up of Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool, is expected to perform a selection of their best-known anthems as part of the tribute.

“We are super-hyped to open Super Bowl 60 right in our backyard!” lead singer Armstrong said. “We are honored to welcome the MVPs who’ve shaped the game and open the night for fans all over the world. Let’s have fun! Let’s get loud!”

The ceremony airs live at 3 p.m. Pacific on NBC, Telemundo, Peacock and Universo.

“Celebrating 60 years of Super Bowl history with Green Day as a hometown band, while honoring the NFL legends who’ve helped define this sport, is an incredibly powerful way to kick off Super Bowl LX,” said Tim Tubito, the league’s senior director of event and game presentation. “As we work alongside NBC Sports for this opening ceremony, we look forward to creating a collective celebration for fans in the stadium and around the world.”

The opening ceremony will take place ahead of the pregame entertainment, during which Charlie Puth is to perform the national anthem, Brandi Carlile will sing “America the Beautiful,” and Coco Jones will deliver “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

Jonathan Landrum Jr. writes for the Associated Press.

Jim Harbaugh listed descriptions of his players as he looked back on the injury-filled route to the postseason the Chargers took to facing the New England Patriots in the AFC wild-card round on Sunday.

Harbaugh, heading into his second postseason as Chargers head coach, coined his team as gladiators, warriors and competitors — grappling the attention off the reporter’s question about what he’d learned from the regular-season strife and onto his roster.

“They’re mighty men,” Harbaugh said Wednesday afternoon.

Harbaugh continued: “It just reconfirms everything that I’ve always thought and want for our team is: ‘Competitors welcome.’ Competitors and playmakers, and we’ve got them. … That bodes really well for our team.”

There’s no doubt who the mightiest of the bunch may be for the Chargers (11-6) in 2025.

Justin Herbert’s 16-game stretch — playing the final five of which with a fractured left hand before sitting out last week — has turned heads with his 3,727 passing yards and 26 passing touchdowns despite playing behind a fractured offensive line because of injuries to starting tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt.

“He’s had a tremendous season — very MVP caliber in every way,” Harbaugh said. “He’s either leading us to victory — willing us to victory. He’s doing anything and everything he can for this team, and does it at the level only reserved for the very best in the game to do.”

Herbert has lined up behind the most offensive line combinations in the NFL this season (25), while the Chargers are tied for the second-most sacks allowed per game (3.5) across the regular season.

Hit after hit — for which he’s taken the most in the NFL — Herbert rose to his feet. The 27-year-old will try to avoid another hit, in the form of defeat, on Sunday while still in search for his first-career playoff victory.

It’s been nearly a full year since last year’s wild-card defeat to the Houston Texans when Herbert turned in arguably the worst performance of his career, including a career-high four interceptions as the Chargers fell 32-12.

“A lot of teams aren’t playing this week,” said Herbert who took snaps behind center during the midweek for the first time since fracturing his hand during Week 13. “So for us to be able to have a chance, it’s all we can ask for.”

The Patriots (14-3) have their own signal-caller who has created traction across the league for his sophomore-season improvement. Drake Maye has tossed 4,394 passing yards, 31 touchdowns and just eight interceptions, a marked advancement from a season ago where the North Carolina alumnus struggled as the Patriots finished with a 4-13 record overall.

In came Mike Vrabel for former New England coach Jerod Mayo, and the odds shifted in the Patriots’ and Maye’s favor. Herbert said the Patriots are “hardly ever out of position,” adding that Maye’s week-by-week statistics are something that has led the Chargers quarterback to build respect for his foe.

“It’s a sign of players that play by the rules and listen to great coaches,” Herbert said. “[The Patriots] play together and they communicate really well and they’re a really good defense.”

On the availability front, running back Omarion Hampton (ankle) did not practice Wednesday and worked off to the side with a trainer during the media-watching period.

Harbaugh said that his rookie running back — who missed part of the season because of a left ankle fracture suffered in Week 5 — was “doing everything he can to get back in there” ahead of Sunday’s postseason clash.

The Rams are headed to Carolina for the playoffs.

Their 37-20 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at SoFi Stadium, combined with the Atlanta Falcons’ victory over the New Orleans Saints, helped the Rams move up to the No. 5 seed for the NFC playoffs.

The Rams earned a rematch against the No. 4 seed Panthers, who defeated the Rams at Bank of America Stadium in Week 13 but are the only playoff team with a losing record (8-9). They’re seeded higher than the Rams by virtue of winning the NFC South.

Matthew Stafford passed for four touchdowns, Puka Nacua caught a touchdown pass and increased his league-leading receptions total, and the defense was just good enough as the Rams bounced back from losses at Seattle and Atlanta to finish 12-5.

The Seahawks (14-3) are seeded No. 1 and will have a first-round bye. The No. 2 Chicago Bears (11-6) play host to the No. 7 Green Bay Packers (9-7-1), and the No. 3 Philadelphia Eagles (11-6), the defending Super Bowl champions, will play host to the No. 6 San Francisco 49ers (12-5).

Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett was sacked six times in a loss to the Rams at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Stafford started slowly, narrowly avoiding several interceptions, but came on in the second half and finished with a flourish in his last chance to make his case for his first NFL most valuable player award. He led three consecutive touchdown drives after the Rams fell behind 20-16 in the third quarter.

Stafford completed 25 of 40 passes for 259 yards and connected with tight end Colby Parkinson for two touchdowns and Nacua and tight end Tyler Higbee for one each.

Stafford finished with a league-leading 46 touchdown passes and 4,707 yards passing.

Stafford’s second-quarter touchdown pass to Nacua was his 43rd of the season and the 420th of his 17-year career, tying Dan Marino for seventh all time. Stafford took over sole possession of seventh place with a touchdown pass to Parkinson late in the third quarter.

Rams quarterback Matt Stafford passed for four touchdowns against the Arizona Cardinals at SoFi Stadium Sunday.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Nacua went into the game tied with Cardinals tight end Trey McBride and Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba for the NFL lead with 119 catches. Nacua caught 10 passes for 76 yards. McBride caught seven passes for 65 yards.

Ahkello Witherspoon intercepted a pass and Byron Young, Jared Verse, Braden Fiske, Josaiah Stewart and Desjuan Johnson had sacks for the Rams.

The last time the Rams traveled to Charlotte to play the Panthers, on Nov. 30, the Rams’ six-game winning streak ended with a 31-28 defeat that knocked them out of the No. 1 seed.

Stafford had two passes intercepted — ending an eight-game stretch without one — and also was responsible for a crucial delay-of-game penalty and a lost fumble.

Panthers quarterback Bryce Young passed for three touchdowns, and the Panthers amassed 164 yards rushing.

But the Panthers will not enter the playoffs with momentum: They lost 16-14 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their regular-season finale, committing three turnovers and rushing for just 19 yards.

After the Rams lost to the Falcons last Monday following a first-half malaise, coach Sean McVay declared his starters would play against the Cardinals.

The Rams did not come out much stronger Sunday, but by the end of the first half they built a 16-6 lead on three field goals by Harrison Mevis and Nacua’s spectacular, one-handed catch on a fourth-and-one play in the end zone.

Early in the third quarter the Cardinals executed a fake punt that resulted in a 28-yard completion, and then Jacoby Brissett connected with receiver Michael Wilson for a 43-yard touchdown pass that pulled the Cardinals to within three points.

The Cardinals took the lead late in the third quarter on Brissett’s touchdown pass to tight end Josiah Deguara. But Stafford’s 21-yard touchdown pass to Parkinson at the end of the quarter put the Rams ahead, 23-20.

Stafford’s 22-yard touchdown pass to Higbee early in the fourth quarter all but sealed the victory. It was his first game back after missing six weeks because of an ankle injury, and his five catches for 91 yards were season highs.

The Rams are getting healthier as they enter the playoffs. McVay said last week that safety Quentin Lake would return from an elbow injury and play against the Cardinals, but the Rams chose to give him one more week. Star receiver Davante Adams was inactive because of a hamstring injury but is expected to be ready for the playoffs. Offensive lineman Kevin Dotson also could return.

Three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic suffered a “gut-wrenching” knee injury as the Denver Nuggets lost 147-123 at the Miami Heat.

Jokic was hurt late in the first half in an accidental coming together with team-mate Spencer Jones.

Jones stepped on the foot of Jokic who immediately collapsed to the ground clutching his knee.

The 30-year-old will have an MRI scan on Tuesday to determine the seriousness of the problem.

“Immediately, he knew something was wrong,” said Nuggets head coach David Adelman.

“This is part of the NBA. Anyone who gets hurt, it’s gut-wrenching, especially somebody as special as he is. We’ll find out more tomorrow.

“We’ll move on as a team. Obviously, right now, I’m more concerned just about him as a person and the disappointment of going through something like that.”

Jokic, who leads the NBA season in rebounds and assists, had 21 points and eight assists in the game before suffering the injury.