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🏈 Good morning everyone, especially…
Washington Commanders…and the rest of the wild card winners
Commander is not for the faint of heart. But it was their heart, their belief, that fueled a miraculous turnaround that resulted in their first playoff win since the 2005 season. As time expired, Zane Gonzalez made a 37-yard field goal, giving visiting Washington a 23-20 victory over the Buccaneers.
It’s the seventh time in Washington — the seventh time. — Victory on the final play of a game this season. As always, Jaden Daniels was at the center of it all. He scored the go-ahead touchdown to Terry McLaurin midway through the fourth quarter and got the key first down to set up the game-tying score one possession later over Kariya Kanshi. Gonzalez won the match. There were two key mistakes that stood out to Tampa Bay. Baker’s Mayfield missed a handoff deep in his own half. Bobby Wagner recovered and set up McLaurin’s touchdown. On the next possession, an ill-timed snap forced Tampa Bay to settle for a field goal. Daniels scored from there. Daniels threw and ran for 304 of Washington’s 350 yards, giving his team a boost. He is the fourth rookie quarterback to win a road playoff game. Cody Benjamin writes: “He has it.”
The Commanders will next face the Lions. Detroit is obviously a healthy home favorite, but this Washington team has never cared about long odds.
As for the other winners…
The Eagles defeated the Packers 22-10 thanks to Green Bay’s four turnovers. Kayshawn Nixon fumbled his first kickoff return, three plays later Jalen Hurts hit Jahan Dotson for a touchdown and Jordan Love threw three interceptions. Even AJ Brown finished reading During the match Philadelphia’s defense wreaked havoc.After Denver scored first, the Bills defeated the Broncos 31-7, scoring the final 31 points of the game. Josh Allen threw some nice touchdown passes to Ty Johnson and Curtis Samuel, but I especially liked how Buffalo kept James Cook (23 carries, 120 yards, 1 touchdown) busy all afternoon. . The Ravens defeated the Steelers 28-14, led by Lamar Jackson (175 passing yards, 2 TDs, 81 rushing yards) and Derrick Henry (186 rushing yards, 2 TDs), who dominated the Pittsburgh defense. did. jackson had Movie hero comparison for his backfield mate, and this exactly why Baltimore got Henry. baltimore very Looked like a candidate for the titleThe Texans had four picks on Justin Herbert, including six picks by Eric Murray and two spectacular picks by Derek Stingley Jr., en route to a 32-12 victory. it is Scorigamipartially thanks to Wild Additional points blocked and 2 points returned. CJ Stroud made history After a tough start.
Here are the latest playoff brackets and schedules:
👍 Honorable Mention
🏈 And no such good morning…
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Pittsburgh Steelers…and the rest of the wild card losers
They say insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. And we shouldn’t mince words. That’s exactly what the Steelers are doing.
Pittsburgh has lost six straight in the playoffs. Their last postseason win was in the 2016 season, when Ben Roethlisberger defeated the Alex Smith-led Chiefs (Patrick Mahomes was still at Texas Tech). It’s been a really long time.
No, Mike Tomlin I’m not going anywhere. But he big changes need to be made Because his seasons are starting to look awfully similar.
Everyone knows the Steelers win a lot of games. Tomlin has never had a losing season.But what do you do with hanging banners? — Includes some splash plays/thanks to luck/magic. They have two touchdownless wins this season and look like title contenders when looking at their win total, but looks can be deceiving. The offensive ceiling is so low that no defense/special teams magic can save it and they will be eliminated in the playoffs again. It’s all the same whether it’s Russell Wilson, Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph or even Roethlisberger in his old prime.
So when George Pickens, a talented but temperamental wide receiver, says, he is not optimistic about the futurewhich is nice but not surprising. Aside from replacement selections, the Steelers haven’t had a Pro Bowl offensive skill position player since Brown in 2018. It’s nice to have high floors, but at some point the ceiling has to go up too. Even in a season where they won 10 games in the playoffs, there’s no need to be this disappointed.
As for the weekend’s other losers…
The Buccaneers’ mistakes will definitely come back to haunt them. It’s a cruel way to lose such a good offense, but thanks to Mayfield, Mike Evans, Bucky Irving and Tristan Wirfs, the bones of a very good offense remain solid. The Packers finished 0-6 (including playoffs) against the following teams: They won at least 11 games in every other game and went 11-1. That’s the perfect summation of this team. Not really good or great. Love’s turnover problems returned at the wrong time. I’d like to see improvement from the pass rusher and interior offensive line.This year was a great year for the Broncos. Bo Nix has shown encouraging signs and this defense is legitimate and here to stay. Similarly, this year was a great year, but it ended tough for the Chargers. Los Angeles needs upgrades across the offensive skill positions. Herbert continues his quest for his first playoff win.
👎 Not really an honorable mention
🏈 Patriots hire Mike Vrabel as coach
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The Patriots have the guy, and they didn’t go far: Mike Vrabel will be like this. New England’s next manager As a linebacker, he led the team to three Super Bowl championships. it’s the first head coach vacancy We filled this offseason.
Vrabel, 49, was considered a top prospect for the Patriots shortly after his arrival. was fired Jerrod Mayo — the franchise’s other former Super Bowl winning linebacker — last Sunday. Unlike Mayo, Vrabel has head coaching experience, and great head coaching experience at that. He compiled a 54-45 record in six years as the Titans’ coach from 2018 to 2023, including three playoff trips. He was named the 2021 AP Coach of the Year. Jonathan Jones writes: Vrabel brings a winning pedigree.Vrabel interviewed with the Jets, but only for the sake of it. Put pressure on New England to make this movereported by Aditi Kinkabwala. He also interviewed with the Bears. My old friend Josh McDaniels Candidate for offensive coordinator.
Meanwhile, Bears, Jets, Raiders, Saints, Jaguars Continue searching for coaching.
🏈 Ohio State plays Notre Dame in the national championship. Arch Manning set to take over at Texas
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of College Football Playoff National Championship (8) Set after Ohio State’s 28-14 win over (5) Texas. The Buckeyes will play Notre Dame (7) in the title game. Two of the four winningest programs of all time.
Jack Sawyer added his name to Buckeye legend at a crucial moment. Trailing 21-14 late in the game, Texas scored a fourth-and-goal at Ohio State’s own 8-yard line. That’s when Sawyer ran up the edge, stripped Quinn Ewers and picked up a fumble. Rumbled 83 yards and scored the game-clinching touchdown.. Of course, Texas cannot reach the 4th place and goal with 8 points. Failed on two goal line runs.
Here are the details of Ohio State’s Cotton Bowl win:
Now, it’s the Buckeyes and the Fighting Irish. they have lots of history — including Ohio State’s win in the final moments of last season — and we’ve already chosen by experts.
We’ll have plenty of preview content next week, but for now, we’ll say goodbye to a strong season for the Longhorns and a period of recovery for the program under Coach Ewers. david cobb saw what’s nextAnd the biggest thing is Arch Manning. Time at Forty Acreswrites Shehan Jeyarajah.
Jeyarajah: “In limited action, Manning showed immense upside and some skills that already rank among college football’s elite. His deep ball accuracy showed some incredible Manning was also a great runner. Kill could have been even better’ helped next to a very erratic running game…he played a freshman role at times…if Manning is a promising quarterback If so, he could lead Texas to the Promised Land in just one shot. 2nd best bar in the last 50 years. That’s the new expectation. ”
🏀 Cooper Flagg breaks the record. South Carolina women defeat Texas State
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Cooper Flagg was already producing superstar-level work. Now he has also made his mark in the record books. flag scored ACC freshman record 42 points No. 4 Duke defeated Notre Dame 86-78. The Blue Devils forward displayed his entire offensive repertoire, including four 3-pointers, a huge dunk and a 16-of-17 performance from the free throw line. he was one of the winners of our competition Men’s College Basketball Weekend Winners and Losers.
This wasn’t all that good news for Flagg’s Player of the Year race. Joni Bloom had the next goal in second-place Auburn’s 66-63 win over South Carolina. ankle sprain. He doesn’t need surgery, but out indefinitelyReported by Matt Norlander.
On the women’s side, No. 2 South Carolina posted the following results. 67-50 big win Ranked better than 5th place in Texas. As usual, it is The total effort of the Gamecock teamwrites Isabel Gonzalez.
Gonzalez: “The Gamecocks’ starting lineup saw Tehina Paopao serve as an effective scorer, Chloe Kitts tied a team-high 11 points, and Raven Johnson had a double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds. And… Bree Hall did a great job protecting Madison Booker…but this is South Carolina, and the Gamecocks entered this game averaging 43.4 points. Coming off the bench, the top of Division I. Eight Gamecocks scored against Texas on Sunday, and seven of them had at least seven points. ”
Other headlines from the weekend include:
📺 What I’m Watching on Monday
🏀 Vanderbilt, No. 6 LSU (W), 7 p.m., on SEC Network
🏈 Vikings vs. Rams, ABC/ESPN 8 p.m.
🏀 Grizzlies vs. Rockets, 8 p.m. NBA TV
🏀 Spurs vs. Lakers, 10:30pm on NBA TV