OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- If Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has learned anything from his playoff struggles, it's to remember to keep his emotions in check when the stakes of the games increase.

"I'd just be too excited," Jackson said after Tuesday's practice. "That's all. Too antsy. I'm seeing things before it happened, like, 'Oh, I got to calm myself down.' But just being more experienced, I've found a way to balance it out."

As the Ravens play host to the Pittsburgh Steelers in a wild-card game Saturday, Jackson will look to overcome his postseason disappointment. The two-time NFL Most Valuable Player is 2-4 in the playoffs and has never reached the Super Bowl in his previous six seasons.

The issue with Jackson has been turnovers. In six playoff starts, he has thrown six interceptions and has lost three fumbles.

"You got to try to be mistake-free," Jackson said. "The game's won with the turnover battle and keeping the ball in your control, moving the ball down the field, getting first downs, putting points on the ball. Obviously, that's how you win those games."

Jackson doesn't think about the playoff losses from earlier in his career because he feels he was too young. There's only one postseason defeat that repeatedly comes to mind -- last season's 17-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.

"That's probably the only playoff game I do think about," Jackson said. "It was right there. But my mind, I'm focused now, though. It is what it is at this point."

What does he think about from that AFC Championship Game?

"We lost it," he said.

HENDERSON, Nev. -- The Las Vegas Raiders fired Antonio Pierce after his first full season as head coach, the team announced Tuesday.

The Raiders are retaining general manager Tom Telesco, who was hired for the role last season, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Raiders limited owner Tom Brady is expected to be part of a collaborative committee to interview head coaching candidates and support team owner Mark Davis, league sources told Schefter.

"We appreciate Antonio's leadership, first as an interim head coach and this past season as the head coach. Antonio grew up a Raiders fan and his Silver and Black roots run deep. We are grateful for his ability to reignite what it means to be a Raider throughout the entire organization. We wish nothing but the best for Antonio and his family in the future," the team said in a statement.

Pierce, who was hired last season as the team's coach after serving as the interim coach in 2023, led the Raiders to a 4-13 record this season.

He said at his media availability Monday that he was operating as if he would remain as the team's coach but acknowledged he had not yet met with Davis.

The Raiders lost 34-20 to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday to finish a season that included a 10-game losing streak, the team's longest since 2014 when they opened 0-10. The Raiders will now look to hire their fifth head coach since relocating to Las Vegas from Oakland in 2020 and their ninth since Davis took over as owner upon the death of his father, Al Davis, in 2011.

Las Vegas finished last in its division and clinched the No. 6 draft pick on Sunday. The remaining AFC West teams -- the Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos and Chargers -- each advanced to the playoffs.

Pierce, 46, was initially promoted from linebackers coach to interim head coach when Davis fired Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler after less than two full seasons on Halloween night in 2023.

The Raiders went 5-4 under Pierce to finish out 2023, including 4-2 in the AFC West, with a 63-21 blowout of the Chargers to finish 8-9 overall.

After an offseason during which the Raiders were either unable or unwilling to trade up for a quarterback in the draft -- Pierce had his eyes on Jayden Daniels, but he was selected at No. 2 and six QBs were drafted before the Raiders' selection at No. 13 -- Las Vegas settled on free agent veteran Gardner Minshew, giving him a two-year, $25 million contract with $15 million guaranteed.

The Raiders also had an agreement with former Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury to come aboard as offensive coordinator, before he pulled out and went to the Washington Commanders, who drafted Daniels.

Pierce settled on former Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, and Minshew won a tight training camp battle with second-year quarterback Aidan O'Connell.

But the Raiders' offense, under Getsy and Minshew, did not get off to the fast start Pierce envisioned, and Minshew was benched in favor of O'Connell after five games. Getsy was fired after nine games and replaced by passing game coordinator Scott Turner, and O'Connell and Minshew both continued dealing with injuries the rest of the season.

Before being promoted, Pierce, a nine-year veteran who was named to a Pro Bowl and won a Super Bowl as a linebacker with the New York Giants, had never been a head coach above the high school level and was never a coordinator in the NFL.

The Dallas Cowboys have denied permission to the Chicago Bears to interview coach Mike McCarthy, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Tuesday.

Multiple sources said Monday that the Bears had sought permission to speak with McCarthy regarding their head coaching vacancy.

However, the Bears will interview Pete Carroll, 73, for the job Thursday, sources told ESPN's Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler. Carroll has expressed interest in the job and would like to return to the sideline in 2025, sources told Schefter last month.

The Bears also requested to interview Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady, Schefter reported. They also are expected to interview former Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel, Bears interim coach Thomas Brown, Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, among others.

Bears general manager Ryan Poles, who will lead the team's coaching search, said during his season-ending news conference Tuesday that all options are on the table, including considering trading for a coach.

"We're looking for clear vision, a developmental mindset, really good game management, and obviously a plan to develop a quarterback is going to be a key part of that as well," Poles said. "There's going to be some names that you don't expect that are going to surprise you because we're digging deeper than we ever have before."

McCarthy's contract expires Wednesday, but the Cowboys hold exclusive negotiating rights through Jan. 14. After that, McCarthy would become a coaching free agent.

Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones continued to praise McCarthy after Sunday's season-ending loss to the Washington Commanders but was noncommittal regarding the coach's future in Dallas.

McCarthy said he "absolutely" wants to return to Dallas, where he has posted a 49-35 regular-season record but is just 1-3 in the playoffs. The Cowboys finished 7-10 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2020, McCarthy's first season.

Jones was asked then whether he would allow a team to speak to McCarthy if it sought permission, and he said he just did something similar with running back Ezekiel Elliott, releasing him in the final week of the season for the chance to join a playoff team.

"I wouldn't want anybody coaching who didn't want to be here," Jones said.

Jones and McCarthy are set to meet this week on the direction of the franchise.

"I have a lot invested here. And the Cowboys have a lot invested in me," McCarthy said Sunday. "And then there's a personal side to all these decisions. They all point the right direction. I think anytime you invest your time, energy, your belief, the connection you have, the relationships that are in place here, the understanding of what the organization can do and is willing to do, those are all positive attributes that you take into account. But, you know, absolutely, I'm a builder. I believe in building programs. I believe in developing young players. So, at the end of day, it is about winning, and you have to have those components in place to get this thing where it needs to be. I think we have a very good foundation here."

McCarthy's 174 wins are 13th in NFL history. He coached the Green Bay Packers from 2006 to 2018, winning six NFC North titles and Super Bowl XLV.

ESPN's Todd Archer and Courtney Cronin contributed to this report.

CULVER CITY, Calif. -- Taylor Rooks, Blake Griffin and Dirk Nowitzki will be part of the Prime Video studio show when the streamer begins its coverage of the NBA next season.

Griffin, who retired in April after a 15-year playing career, was at the top of the list for everyone. NBC, which will return to doing NBA games when the 11-year media rights deal begins in October, and ESPN were also interested in him.

Griffin was the first overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2009 NBA draft and was the league's Rookie of the Year in 2011. Along with winning the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest, when he dunked over a parked car, he was a six-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA selection.

Nowitzki, a member of the NBA's 75th Anniversary team, will also be a first-time analyst. The 14-time All-Star selection and 2007 NBA Most Valuable Player played 21 seasons, all with the Dallas Mavericks, before retiring in 2019. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023.

Rooks is a feature reporter on Prime Video's "Thursday Night Football" coverage as well as being a host and reporter on Bleacher Report and TNT.

The studio show will be based in Culver City, California, on the Amazon MGM Studios lot.

Prime Video will have 66 games during the regular season, including all games from the quarterfinals of the in-season NBA Cup. It also has every game of the play-in tournament, first- and second-round playoff games and one of the conference finals in six of the 11 years.

Denver Nuggets superstar center Nikola Jokic was ruled out for Tuesday night's home game against the Boston Celtics.

Jokic popped up on the injury report because of an illness earlier Tuesday and was downgraded from probable to questionable before eventually being ruled out.

For the Celtics, Derrick White was also ruled out because of an illness.

Jokic sat out three games this season in November while on paternity leave for the birth of his second child. The Nuggets went 1-2 in those games.

A three-time MVP, Jokic is averaging 31.5 points, 13 rebounds and 9.7 assists this season.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Right-hander Drew Rasmussen and the Tampa Bay Rays avoided salary arbitration, agreeing to an $8.5 million, two-year contract.

Rasmussen's agency, the Beverly Hills Sports Council, announced the agreement Tuesday and said it included an option that had the potential to make the deal worth $28 million over three seasons.

A 29-year-old right-hander, Rasmussen had been set to exchange proposed arbitration salaries with the Rays on Thursday.

He had elbow surgery for the third time on July 24, 2023, when Texas Rangers team physician Dr. Keith Meister performed an internal brace procedure. Rasmussen returned to the Rays on Aug. 7 and had a 2.82 ERA and 0-2 record in four starts and 12 relief appearances. He struck out 35 and walked six in 28 innings, averaging 97.4 mph with his four-seam fastball.

Rasmussen had Tommy John surgery in March 2016 and August 2017. He is 20-12 with a 2.95 ERA in 50 starts and 44 relief appearances over five big league seasons with Milwaukee (2020-21) and the Rays (2021-24).

If the option is not exercised, Rasmussen would be eligible for free agency after the 2026 season.

Five Rays remain eligible for arbitration: right-handers Shane Baz and Zack Littell, left-hander Garrett Cleavinger, catcher Ben Rortvedt and shortstop Taylor Walls.

Right-hander Justin Verlander and the San Francisco Giants are in agreement on a one-year, $15 million contract, sources told ESPN on Tuesday, continuing the future Hall of Famer's career at age 42 in one of the pitcher-friendliest stadiums in baseball.

Verlander, entering his 20th major league season, is considered perhaps the best pitcher of his generation, with the most innings pitched, strikeouts and wins among active players. A three-time Cy Young Award winner, Verlander is coming off the worst season of his career and joins a Giants team likewise looking for better results than 2024. The deal is pending a physical.

Shoulder and neck injuries limited Verlander to 17 starts, and over his last seven he posted an 8.10 ERA. With a falling strikeout rate and climbing home run rate, Verlander began to show signs of aging after a career in which he seemed impervious to it.

After a dominant 13-year stretch with the Detroit Tigers, Verlander found a second life after joining the Houston Astros in 2017. He won Cy Youngs in 2019 and 2022 -- and after the latter signed a two-year, $86.6 million contract with the New York Mets. Verlander spent 16 starts with the Mets before being traded back to the Astros in August 2023.

Over his career, Verlander is 262-147 with a 3.30 ERA over 3,415 innings. He has struck out 3,416 batters, walked 952 and won a pair of World Series with the Astros.

Returning to Houston wasn't an option for 2025. With Oracle Park a dream for pitchers, Verlander gravitated toward the Giants, whose rotation includes right-hander Logan Webb, left-handers Robbie Ray and Kyle Harrison, and a number of other options for the fifth spot, with right-hander Hayden Birdsong seen as the likeliest candidate.

The Giants had spent a month with limited action before signing Verlander. A month ago to the day, they agreed with shortstop Willy Adames on a seven-year, $182 million contract.

San Francisco, which hired former star catcher Buster Posey as its president of baseball operations in September, went 80-82 last season and finished in fourth place in the National League West, which is arguably the best division in baseball.

Manchester City are exploring a deal to sign striker Omar Marmoush, a source has told ESPN, but accept that it will be difficult to prise him away from Eintracht Frankfurt this month.

Marmoush has caught the attention of a number of top clubs after scoring 13 goals in 15 Bundesliga games this season.

City are interested in a deal for the Egypt international who is rated at around 50 million ($62.4m) in the January window.

However, with Frankfurt third in the table behind Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen and fifth in the Europa League standings, City executives are not convinced the German club will consider losing one of their best players midway through the season.

A source has told ESPN that City are also interested in Atalanta midfielder Éderson, but face a similar situation with the Serie A side reluctant to negotiate for the Brazil international in January.

City boss Pep Guardiola is keen to strengthen his squad this month after injuries to key players including Rodri, Rúben Dias and John Stones.

The club are also still looking for a replacement for Julián Álvarez, who joined Atlético Madrid in the summer. City have missed Alvarez's goals -- he scored 19 last season -- and Marmoush would take some of the responsibility off the shoulders of Erling Haaland.

The Norwegian has scored 16 Premier League goals this season with City's next highest league goalscorer Josko Gvardiol on four.

City, meanwhile, are still in talks with RC Lens for 20-year-old defender Abdukodir Khusanov.