Jannik Sinner extended his winning run on indoor hard courts to 22 matches in the second round of the Rolex Paris Masters, as in-form Valentin Vacherot booked a last-16 tie on Thursday against Carlos Alcaraz’s conqueror Cameron Norrie.
Three days after beating Alexander Zverev in the Vienna Open final for his fourth ATP Tour title of the year, Sinner dispatched Belgium’s Zizou Bergs 6-4, 6-2 in 88 minutes to set up a last-16 tie against Argentina’s world No 21 Francisco Cerundolo.
World No 2 Sinner, who can reclaim the No 1 position from Alcaraz if he wins the title in Paris for the first time, broke Bergs in the first game of each set and never lost his own serve on the way to a routine victory.
Sinner had only previously won one match at the Paris Masters, which has moved this year to La Defense Arena from its previous home at Bercy.
“It’s a very unique court here,” said Sinner.
“Usually I always struggled a bit so I’m very happy to come through the first match. I’m very happy with how I served today, I was very precise and I started off with a break, which gives you a bit more confidence straight away.”
Image: Jannik Sinner celebrates after defeating Zizou Bergs in straight sets
Vacherot beats cousin Rinderknech again in marathon match to book Norrie tie
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Highlights of the Paris Masters round of 32 match between Arthur Rinderknech and Valentin Vacherot.
Vacherot won out 6-7(9), 6-3, 6-4 against his cousin Arthur Rinderknech in a rematch of their fairy-tale final appearance against each other at the Shanghai Masters earlier this month, which Vacherot also won in three sets after losing the first.
At 204th in the world at the start of that Shanghai tournament, the 26-year-old became the lowest-ranked Masters 1000 champion in history. Vacherot is now 40th in the world.
Defending champion Zverev, meanwhile, had to dig deep to avoid a shock early exit, fighting back from 3-1 down in the third set to see off Argentina’s Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-7 (5) 6-1 7-5.
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Highlights of the Paris Masters round of 32 match between Alexander Zverev and Camilo Ugo Carabelli.
Ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime just about kept alive his hopes of making the end-of-year ATP Finals with a 5-7 7-6 (5) 7-6 (4) win over Alexandre Muller.
But Casper Ruud‘s chances of making Turin are over after he lost 6-3, 7-5 to the unseeded Daniel Altmaier.
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Highlights of the Paris Masters third-round match between Daniel Altmaier and Casper Ruud.
Daniil Medvedev advanced with a walkover after Grigor Dimitrov pulled out of their match with a shoulder injury.
Watch the ATP and WTA Tour Finals, live on Sky Sports or stream with NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.
NEW YORK — The stakes for all these U.S. skiers, skaters, snowboarders and sliders over the next 100 days could not be more clear.
A chance for Olympic glory.
A chance to compete for a gold medal.
And this year, for the first time, a chance to make $100,000.
Thanks to a recent record $100 million donation to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Foundation, athletes who make the U.S. Olympic or Paralympic teams starting next year in Milan-Cortina will be eligible to receive a $100,000 award when they retire.
It’s a game-changing piece of news for Olympic athletes, most of whom toil in obscurity outside of the two weeks the lights go on at the Games, and many of whom live in or near poverty: According to the foundation, some 57% of U.S. athletes earn $50,000 or less a year.
“At the age of 25, 26, I definitely was like: ‘I can’t do this to (my family) anymore. I can’t continue living in my car. I have student loans. I have to get on with my life,’” said biathlete Deedra Irwin, who is now 33 and has made ends meet by everything from dog sitting to joining the Vermont National Guard.
Though Wednesday marked the 100-days-out point on the Olympic calendar, only a small slice of the approximately 225 Olympic and 65 Paralympic spots on Team USA in Italy have been locked up.
The majority of those spots will be earned based on athletes’ finishes in upcoming World Cup events being held across the globe over the next few months.
So, while many of these athletes have heard the stories about how the Olympics can change their lives — usually through sponsorships, speaking engagements and talk-show appearances that spring from inspiring performances — never before has the promise of cold hard cash been dangled quite like this.
“As an athlete, you don’t put into a 401K,” Paralympian Oksana Masters said. “We don’t have those traditional jobs of paying into that kind of stuff. It’s about time that we’ve done this.”
There are a few catches, mostly that the money will be divided into four payments and won’t go into bank accounts until 20 years after the athletes retire, or when they reach 45 — whichever comes later. (The math is interesting for snowboarder Nick Baumgartner, who will be 44 next year and hopes to extend his career through Salt Lake City in 2034.)
The grant also funds a $100,000 life insurance policy for a beneficiary.
Both the award and the insurance are accrued each time an athlete makes the Olympics, meaning, for instance, someone who makes it three times would receive $600,000 in total benefits.
“We’ve received other transformational gifts, but this has reflected a shift in how we’re able to holistically care for our athletes,” USOPF president Christine Walshe said.
The $100 million came from Ross Stevens, the founder and CEO of Stone Ridge Holdings Group, a finance firm that focuses on “nontraditional” investment options such as crypto and fine art.
It was the biggest single donation to the USOPF, which started operation in 2013 — the brainchild of former Olympic leader Peter Ueberroth, who helped turn the Olympics into a moneymaker, in part out of necessity because the U.S. government does not fund its Olympic athletes.
With most of the next decade’s TV and sponsorship dollars accounted for, the foundation will need to bankroll improvements in athlete benefits for the foreseeable future. Walshe said the charitable arm is projecting to account for 27% of the USOPC’s revenue this Olympic cycle, compared to 12% from 2021-24.
The foundation’s contributions are directed toward athlete-centered programs that focus on performance and innovation, health and wellness, and career placement and economic mobility. Never before has the economic mobility part looked as simple as this: Make the Olympics, get $100,000.
“The $100,000 definitely motivates all of us to make that team,” cross-country skier Gus Schumacher said. “Cross-country isn’t generally huge money, and $100,000, especially for the people that maybe are on the edge of the team, is going to be a lot.”
DETROIT — The Detroit Lions signed defensive end Aidan Hutchinson to a four-year contract extension worth $180 million that includes $141 million guaranteed on Wednesday.
Hutchinson, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 draft, has been a star for the team from Day 1 in Detroit. He finished second in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting with a team-leading 9.5 sacks and followed that up with a Pro Bowl nod after an 11.5 sack season.
He has become a foundational piece to what the Lions have built in Detroit, and locking him in for the long term ensures the franchise will have its best pass rusher for years to come.
Hutchinson joins quarterback Jared Goff, wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, offensive tackle Penei Sewell, defensive tackle Alim McNeill, safety Kerby Joseph and wideout Jameson Williams on the list of Lions who have received extensions the past two years. All but Goff are homegrown players drafted by Lions general manager Brad Holmes.
What does the signing mean for Hutchinson, the Lions and the edge-rusher market? We asked Lions reporter Eric Woodyard, ESPN national reporters Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano, and NFL analyst Ben Solak to weigh in.
How good has Aidan Hutchinson been, and how does he stack up to the league’s top pass rushers?
Hutchinson is good. I mean, really, really good. Through his first three seasons, he has earned the respect as one of the league’s top young pass rushers.
Hutchinson became the first player in NFL history to register at least 15.0 sacks and four interceptions through his first two career seasons and has yet to hit his prime. He was an early frontrunner to win the Defensive Player of the Year award last season before suffering a gruesome fractured tibia and fibula injury in Week 6 at Dallas that sidelined him for the remainder of the season.
He still finished with 7.5 sacks in 2024, the most through five games by a Lions player since 1983 (William Gay), per ESPN Research. Entering Week 6, the former Michigan All-American also led the NFL in sacks, pressures and pass rush win rate even with the Lions coming off their bye week in Dallas. He was chasing the NFL’s single-season sack record of 22.5 held by Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt, and had a legitimate shot.
Hutchinson returned from the injury right where he left off. Entering Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings, he ranks fifth in sacks (6) and second in sacks created (8) and interceptions created (2), per TruMedia, despite playing one fewer game than much of his competition so far.
Since entering the league in 2022, he has averaged 3.6 QB pressures per game — the third-most in the NFL over that span behind Micah Parsons (4.3) and Maxx Crosby (3.9).
His play at this point in his career has earned the respect of past NFL greats at the position.
“He’s just tenacious from a skill standpoint. He has a belief in himself,” three-time Pro Bowler Simeon Rice told ESPN. “He has a want to be great. You can look at that. He wants to make every play. He wants to make every sack. He wants to be special.” — Woodyard
What does the extension mean for the Lions on the field, and where does the defense stand now?
Hutchinson wasn’t the only key loss on the Lions’ defense in 2024. In fact, Detroit dealt with a litany of injuries, including McNeill, who suffered a torn ACL. The Lions had 21 players on the injured reserve list last December, which was the most in the NFL through that month. Despite the absences, the unit still managed to finish as the No. 7 defense in the league and helped the team to its first-ever 15-win season.
Hutchinson was performing on an elite level on the edge, but the team still managed to adapt without him. However, after releasing veteran Za’Darius Smith in the offseason, the Lions were in search of help on the defensive line to pair with Hutchinson.
Hutchinson’s return has reinstalled confidence within Detroit’s defense. With Hutchinson back in the mix, the pass rush has improved overall as Detroit’s defense is averaging 3.3 sacks per game, which is tied for third-most in the league. Helping that has been fellow defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad, whom the Lions signed to the practice squad last season. Muhammad has been a revelation thus far, ranking second on the team with four sacks (20th in the NFL) and ranking ninth in the NFL in pressure percentage.
Which Lions are next to get paid, and why does the franchise have some tough decisions to make?
Hutchinson was the last of the three big extensions the Lions planned to strike with their 2022 draft picks, joining Williams and Joseph. Next offseason, the attention will turn to the star-studded 2023 draft class that included running back Jahmyr Gibbs, linebacker Jack Campbell, tight end Sam LaPorta and safety Brian Branch. All will be eligible for extensions next offseason. Gibbs and Campbell were first-rounders, which means the Lions can pick up their fifth-year options for 2027 and buy some time. But LaPorta and Branch will be free-agent eligible after 2026 if nothing is done.
We’ll see when the full details come in, but Hutchinson’s extension likely lowers his 2026 cap number from the $19.872 million it would have been on his fifth-year option — particularly important because the Lions were up against the projected 2026 cap. It’s going to be tricky to sign the entire foursome of Gibbs, Campbell, LaPorta and Branch to strong extensions, and the Lions might find themselves having to decide which two or three of those four are part of their long-term future plans. Detroit has been drafting too well for its budget’s own good! — Graziano
Where do the Lions stand in the NFC right now, and how long can they keep their contending window open?
The Lions are still very much in their championship window — ESPN’s Football Power Index has Detroit with the fifth-best chances to win the Super Bowl this season (8.9%). As extensions for players like Sewell, St. Brown, Goff and now Hutchinson kick in, the roster will inevitably endure some talent departure, and the margins will get thinner. But all of those recent draftees still unsigned to major extensions — Branch, Campbell, Gibbs, LaPorta — are still contributing.
However, the window is closing. It could have closed this season, had the coordinator hires fallen through, but Kelvin Sheppard and John Morton seem to have kept Detroit’s dominance afloat after losing former OC Ben Johnson to the Bears and former DC Aaron Glenn to the Jets. Next year, Goff’s cap hit doubles, from $32.6 million to $69.6 million. St. Brown’s cap number triples ($13.9 million to 33.1 million). Sewell’s cap quadruples ($9.5 million to $28 million). It will be harder to backfill failing positions with free agents, and cap casualties will be inevitable. The Lions’ time is now. — Solak
What does the Hutchinson extension mean for other edge rushers looking to get paid?
Who doesn’t it help? The pass-rush market is obscene and became so in a span of about seven months — more pointedly, back in March when Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett broke the $40 million per year threshold. It’s a really good time to be good at sacking the quarterback.
Hutchinson was the last of the premier rushers who were up for deals in this immediate cycle, so there’s no player in the short term who will be topping his numbers. But there is always somebody waiting. Trey Hendrickson‘s free agency just saw another boost. And the next ascending player poised for big dollars is Houston’s Will Anderson Jr., who is eligible for a new deal after this season. He should be over $40 million annually. — Fowler
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Eric Woodyard and Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler and Ben Solak
ONE HUNDRED DAYS from now, the sports world turns its attention to Italy, where alpine peaks, ancient cities and modern arenas become the stage for the athletes of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. From returning icons to breakout stars, their stories over the 17 days of the 2026 Games will captivate and inspire.
And just following this Olympics will be a sport in itself: The 2026 edition features more events and more athletes than any Winter Games in history. It also will be the most geographically spread out, with venues spanning from the heart of Milan to the slopes of Cortina d’Ampezzo. The opening ceremony alone will feature 2,900 athletes staged in four regions and ignite twin Olympic flames that will burn beneath Milan’s grand Arco della Pace and in Cortina’s charming Piazza Dibona.
The time to prepare is now. So as the countdown begins, grab our guide and get to know the athletes to watch as Italy prepares to host its grandest Winter Games yet. — Alyssa Roenigk
The essentials
1. Who: More than 2,900 athletes from 93 countries
2. What: Athletes will compete in 16 sports
3. When: Feb. 6-22, 2026
4. Where: In Milan and other venues across northern Italy, including Cortina d’Ampezzo, a city that hosted the 1956 Winter Olympics
6. The most successful alpine skier in history, Mikaela Shiffrin, 30, is approaching her fourth Olympics with ambitious yet modest goals. Unlike in 2022, when she competed in six events and failed to finish in three, Shiffrin will likely compete in three races in Italy: slalom, giant slalom and the team combined, where she will ski one run of slalom and her partner will ski the downhill. An Olympic gold medalist in slalom (2014) and giant slalom (2018), Shiffrin is leaning into her strongest events and eschewing the speed races in hopes of making this the most successful Games of her career.
7. The defending Olympic slopestyle gold medalist, Alex Hall, 27, is known for his versatility and creativity on skis. Just two weeks before the 2022 Beijing Games, he became the first freeskier to land a 2160 — six full rotations — in competition during ski big air at X Games Aspen. He followed that performance with an Olympic win. Now, after capturing the slopestyle Crystal Globe for the 2024-25 season, Hall heads to Italy as the favorite to repeat in slopestyle and with more to accomplish in big air. He finished eighth in the event’s Olympic debut in 2022 but credits falling in his final attempt in big air with refocusing him for the slopestyle contest.
“I came into slopestyle with a different mentality, a little more hungry,” Hall said on Tuesday. “If I hadn’t fallen in big air, I maybe wouldn’t have a gold medal in slopestyle. That being said, there’s unfinished business in big air. I’m going to push the creative side of things and do tricks that are outside the box and bring me joy.”
8. Lindsey Vonn, 41, retired from ski racing in 2019 with 82 World Cup wins, the third most by any alpine skier in history. Six years later, after a partial knee replacement, Vonn returned to the sport at age 40 and became the oldest woman to step onto the podium of a World Cup race when she finished second in the super-G in Sun Valley, Idaho, in March. Vonn has said this will be her final Olympics and she plans to make the most of her time in Cortina, the site of so much success in her career.
“I never expected to be here, so there is an appreciation of the journey,” Vonn said on Tuesday. “But don’t get it twisted. I’m a results-driven person. I’m looking to do well. I’m not just a participant. “
9. With NHL players returning to the Olympics for the first time since 2014, the U.S. men will have their hands full with a Canadian team led by Sidney Crosby, a three-time Stanley Cup champion who will bring his leadership and Olympic experience to Milan. Crosby, 38, will captain a Canadian team that also includes 28-year-old Connor McDavid, the star center of the Edmonton Oilers who is widely regarded as the best current player in the National Hockey League.
10. Jamie Anderson is a two-time Olympic gold medalist in slopestyle who is vying to compete at her first Olympics since becoming a mom — twice. Anderson, 35, and her fiancé, Tyler Nicholson, who competed in slopestyle and big air at the 2018 Olympics for Team Canada, welcomed daughters Misty Rose in March 2023 and Nova Sky in April 2025.
Anderson returned to training in New Zealand in September, five months after giving birth to Nova Sky, and broke her right wrist during a training run. But she says the injury has only further ignited her fire to push herself to return to the Olympic podium with her family by her side. “I’ve reconnected with a part of myself I haven’t seen in years,” Anderson told ESPN.
11. Born in San Francisco to a Chinese mother and American father, and raised by her mother and grandmother, Eileen Gu has competed for China since 2019. At the 2022 Olympics, she became the first freeskier to win three medals at a single Winter Games, taking gold in big air and halfpipe and silver in slopestyle. As progressive as she is consistent in competition, the 22-year-old is the first woman to land a forward double cork 1440 and a left double cork 1620 in freeski competition.
Off snow, she balances life as a student at Stanford University and a successful career in modeling — two years ago, Forbes listed her as the second highest-earning female athlete in the world.
12. Hilary Knighthas said this will be her final Olympics with Team USA, and she wants to end on a high note. The first U.S. player to compete on five Olympic hockey teams, 36-year-old Knight has been part of three silver medal squads (losing each time to Team Canada). But it’s Team USA’s gold medal performance against their rivals to the north in 2018 that she hopes to repeat in her final Olympic performance. Any color medal will tie the California native for the most Olympic ice hockey medals in history.
13. Red Gerard won gold in his five-ring debut in 2018 and became an Olympic sensation for his fun-loving personality as much as for his on-snow performance. Who could forget him oversleeping and losing his team jacket the morning of the finals? Gerard, 25, was the first U.S. athlete to win gold at the Pyeongchang Games and the youngest American to medal in snowboarding at the Olympics. He finished fourth in slopestyle and fifth in big air in 2022, but is coming off a win at X Games Aspen 2025 and a strong season that earned him the only automatic bid onto the U.S. men’s snowboard slopestyle team.
14. Chloe Kim is the heavy favorite to become the first snowboarder to win three straight Olympic gold medals. The 2018 and 2022 Olympic champion in halfpipe took time off after Beijing to focus on her mental health and returned to competition in dominant fashion. She ended this past season with a record third world title and became the first woman to land a cab double cork 1080 in competition.
She says the perspective she has gained by letting go of expectations has allowed her to push past mental blocks and find joy in her riding again. A snowboarder who wants more than simply to stack wins, Kim, 25, plans to debut three new tricks this season, including at least one double cork no woman has landed in competition.
15. After taking a six-month maternity leave, Kaillie Humphries, 40, returned to competition in December as a mom for the first time since giving birth to her son, Aulden, in June 2024. At the 2025 IBSF World Championships in Lake Placid in March, she finished fourth in the two-woman event and eighth in the monobob and hopes to compete once again in both events for Team USA. The first woman in Olympic history to win gold for two different countries, Humphries represented Canada from 2010 to 2018 and switched to representing the U.S. in 2019 because of alleged abuse and harassment from the Canadian bobsled federation. She won gold in the monobob in 2022, in her first Olympics with Team USA.
16-17. Partners since 2011, Madison Chock, 33, and Evan Bates, 36, are one of the most successful U.S. ice dance teams in history. The reigning Olympic gold medalists in the team event and the three-time reigning world champions, Chock and Bates are known for their creative lifts and innovative choreography. Four months after taking gold at the Beijing Games, the pair — who began dating in 2017 — announced their engagement. They were married in Hawai’i in June 2024 and will compete in Italy for the first time at the Olympics as a married couple. — Alyssa Roenigk
Numbers to know
18. Approximate area in square miles the Games will take place across northern Italy: 8,500. This makes it the most geographically widespread Olympic Winter Games in history.
19. Number of times Italy has hosted an Olympic Games (Summer or Winter): 4. That’s the third-most of any country, behind only the United States (eight) and France (six). As mentioned earlier, the city of Cortina d’Ampezzo was home to the Winter Games in 1956, while Rome hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics and Turin the 2006 Winter Games.
20. There will be 116 medal events contested at the 2026 Olympics, which will set a new record for most in a single Winter Olympics. It tops the 109 medal events that were contested in Beijing in 2022.
21-22. The percentage of total estimated athletes that will be women: 47%. According to the IOC, the 2026 Games will be most gender-balanced Olympic Winter Games in history and will include a record 50 events that women compete in.
This comes on the heels of the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, which was the first Games ever to achieve an equal number of men and women participants.
23. The last and only time the United States led all countries in total gold medals won at the Winter Games: 1932, at home in Lake Placid, New York.
24. The number of times Team USA has led the total medal count at the Winter Games: 2. The Americans earned the most total medals in both 1932 and 2010. At the Summer Games, the United States has dominated the medal count 19 times.
25. The number of total medals earned by Norway at the 2022 Olympics: 37. The country led in both the overall medal count and in gold medals won (16). The United States was fifth in overall medals and fourth in gold medals won. — ESPN Research
39. Curling: Men’s gold medal game: Feb. 21; Women’s gold medal game: Feb. 22
40. Closing ceremony: Feb. 22
41. Opening ceremony to the 2026 Paralympic Games: March 6
Athletes you might not know yet — but will want to
42. The two-time reigning world champion, Ilia Malinin is certainly no stranger or up-and-comer to figure skating fans, but the 20-year-old is expected to make his Olympic debut in Milan — and seems all but guaranteed to become a household name across the world. Since bursting into the senior scene with a second-place finish at the U.S. championships in 2022, Malinin has become the most dominant figure in the sport and became the first skater in history to successfully land a quadruple axel.
Nicknamed the “Quad God,” Malinin also was the first to land six quad jumps in one program last season, and his high degree of difficulty and technical prowess gave him more than a 31-point edge over the rest of the field at worlds last season. Few feel like more of a lock for gold in Italy than Malinin.
43. Also just 20 years old, Alysa Liu is officially in her comeback era after retiring from figure skating shortly after recording a seventh-place finish at the 2022 Games and a bronze medal at worlds later that year. But Liu returned to the ice in 2024 — and has been nothing short of spectacular in her second act. At the world championships in March, she stunned fans, her peers and even herself by becoming the first American woman to win the title since 2006.
44. A native of Sestola, Flora Tabanelli could become one of the faces of the Games for host Italy as she is among the country’s best hopes for Olympic gold. During her debut World Cup season in 2024/2025, the freestyle skier won Crystal Globes for big air and the overall women’s Park & Pipe — and then earned the big air world championship title in March. And Tabanelli is just 17 years old. Her older brother, Miro, 20, also will likely be competing and has reached a number of big air podiums in recent years.
45. Great Britain’s Mia Brookes started snowboarding at just 18 months old, and was competing at the national level by 11. She more than lived up to the early hype by becoming the youngest world champion in the sport’s history in 2023, and also the first from her country to win a slopestyle world title. Since then, she has won multiple World Cup titles in slopestyle and big air, as well as three X Games slopestyle medals. Because she was unable to compete in Beijing due to age restrictions, the 18-year-old Brookes has been laser-focused on the 2026 Games.
46. Another teenage snowboarding phenom who could be earning some new hardware in Italy is American Ollie Martin. The 17-year-old capped off a stellar debut season by winning a pair of bronze medals at the world championships in big air and slopestyle in March. The previous month, he had become the youngest male snowboarder to win a World Cup slopestyle event — and was already the youngest to ever land a 2160.
47. Currently a senior on the Penn State women’s hockey team and the school’s all-time leading scorer, 21-year-old Tessa Janecke is a star on the rise for the United States’ national team. During the 2025 world championships, she scored the game-winning goal in overtime during the gold medal clash against archrival Canada — cementing her status as one of the squad’s most important members and making her a near-lock to make the Olympic roster.
48. A former track star at UNLV and a level 10 gymnast in high school, Kaysha Love has had one of the most unorthodox journeys to 2026 hopeful. Love, who started in bobsled in 2020, made her Olympic debut less than two years later as a push athlete and since then has made the elusive transition to pilot. After some early struggles in her new role, Love, 28, won her first monobob race on the World Cup circuit and then took home the monobob title at the 2025 world championships. Love will now look to continue her meteoric and improbable rise all the way to Italy.
49. Considered a gold medal contender in the 500-meter, 1000-meter and 1500-meter events, perhaps no speed skater will have more attention on them in Milan than American Jordan Stolz. The 21-year-old made his Olympic debut in Beijing, as one of the youngest members of Team USA, but has since kicked his career into overdrive. In 2023, he became the youngest single-distance world champion ever when he won the 500 meters — then went on to win gold medals in the 1000 meters and 1500 meters as well. He replicated that feat at worlds again in 2024.
And in 2025, he appeared even more dominant, with record-breaking times and an historic 18 consecutive World Cup victories. He was derailed by illness by the end of the season, but he has already proven he will be the one to beat in Italy.
50-51. The first American curling team to qualify for Italy, Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin will compete in the mixed doubles event and have a chance to bring the United States just its third-ever medal in the sport. The pair won the world championship title in 2023 — becoming the first Americans to do so in mixed doubles — and they secured their Olympic berth following their victory at Olympic trials and a fifth-place finish at worlds in the spring. No American woman has ever stood on an Olympic curling podium — nor has the country ever produced a medal-winning team in mixed doubles (which made its debut in 2018). Thiesse and Dropkin will have a chance to make history.
52. While many featured in this section are teenagers and rising phenoms, Deanna Stellato-Dudek is looking to put her name in the record books as the oldest female figure skating champion in Olympic history. At 42 years old, the former world junior silver medalist in singles returned to the sport after a 16-year absence and focused her attention on pairs skating. She teamed up with Maxime Deschamps in 2019, switched her citizenship from American to Canadian in order to compete with him, and the two set their sights on Milan.
In 2024, the pair won the world championship title and proved just how serious their medal campaign is. Incorporating a backflip this season, Stellato-Dudek could also be the first to compete the formerly banned move in pairs competition. If they were to win gold, Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps, 33, would be the oldest in combined age to do so in history. — D’Arcy Maine
53. Canada has perhaps the most decorated player pool to choose from in hockey, and the team will be headlined by veteran superstars such as Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. However, Team Canada management is also looking hard at including younger players, if only to gain valuable experience for 2030. Enter Macklin Celebrini. The No. 1 draft pick in 2024 by the San Jose Sharks, Celebrini has it all: smooth skating, defensive prowess, and the potential to pour on the points. The 19-year-old, who went pro after playing one year at Boston University, had a strong rookie campaign in San Jose. He then went to the 2025 world championships with Canada after the Sharks season and looked as if he belonged, scoring 3 goals and 3 assists in 8 games. — Emily Kaplan
The mascots
54-55. The official mascots are two stoats (small mammals related to the otter and weasel) named Tina and Milo. Their names are a tribute to the host cities Cortina d’Ampezzo and Milan.
The venues
56-60. The events are split up throughout northern Italy. Milan will host the opening ceremony, as well as ice hockey, speedskating, figure skating and short track. The Valtellina area will hold freestyle skiing and snowboard events in Livigno, and ski mountaineering and men’s alpine skiing on the Stelvio slope. The Cortina cluster will host women’s alpine skiing on the Tofane mountains, as well as curling and sliding sports in Cortina, with the biathlon in Anterselva. Val di Fiemme will have ski jumping in Predazzo and cross-country skiing in Tesero. Finally, the closing ceremony will be in Verona.
The new sport
61. Ski mountaineering (“skimo”) will be new to the 2026 Olympics. A combination of uphill climbing and downhill skiing on a mountain terrain, the Olympic competition will feature three events: men’s sprint, women’s sprint and a mixed relay. The sport was recently contested at the 2020 Youth Olympic Games and was voted into the Olympic slate in 2021.
The new events in old sports
62-67. Events have been added in skeleton (mixed team), luge (women’s doubles, and men’s doubles will replace open doubles), freestyle skiing (women’s and men’s dual moguls) and ski jumping (women’s large hill individual).
The difference the NHL might make
68-70. The U.S. men’s hockey team hasn’t won Olympic gold since its famous 1980 Miracle on Ice. But with NHL players back, the Americans have their deepest ever talent pool to choose from. The tournament will be a showcase for the growth of USA Hockey over the past several decades, with players now born and raised in all corners of the country. The Americans have not shied away from their expectations: gold or bust.
Leading the emotional charge is Brady and Matthew Tkachuk, sometimes known as the Bash Brothers. The brothers, sons of NHL legend Keith Tkachuk, were bold enough to orchestrate the three fights in nine seconds at the Four Nations tournament (though remember, there’s no fighting in Olympic hockey). Brady and Matthew are also menaces on the ice, thanks to their relentless work ethic, and are beloved by teammates, setting the tone in the locker room. They’ll be the faces of Team USA in Milan, but the Americans have plenty of other star power.
The team is likely captained yet again by one of the league’s most lethal goal scorers: Auston Matthews, the former No. 1 overall pick who is also captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Matthews was born in Arizona. Vegas Stanley Cup champion Jack Eichel has grown into one of the best and most offensively dangerous shutdown centers in the league. And there’s another set of brothers: Quinn and Jack Hughes, both super skilled game changers. — Emily Kaplan
One thing to know about their sport, from the athletes
71. “The bond that we have with each other. And also the music really brings us all together. If I’m watching someone and they’re skating to something really good, I feel so much closer to them. Even if they’re my competitor, if I can connect with their program, I’m like one with them, I’m a fan.” — Alysa Liu, figure skating
72. “One thing to know in both halfpipe and slopestyle is that it’s not about the very best trick you can do, but the run that you can put together with the best combination of tricks. And you have to be able to spin both ways pretty equally, but one way is your natural, comfortable way and the other way feels totally crazy. But you have to learn both.” –Gus Kenworthy, ski slopestyle, halfpipe and big air
73. “It’s the sickest sport on the planet, and more people need to know that. The beautiful thing about my sport is that there is no judging. There is no politics. You start at the top. Four people. The gate drops and first one to the bottom wins. It’s simple.” — Nick Baumgartner, snowboard cross
74. “How genuinely fun it is to find rhythm and flow on a slopestyle course.” — Jamie Anderson, snowboard slopestyle and big air
75. “Everyone thinks that as competitors we butt heads, but in snowboarding, we’re a judged sport and we’re actually rooting a lot of our competitors on and good friends with a lot of them.” — Red Gerard, snowboard slopestyle and big air
Milestones to watch for
76-77. With two gold medals, Mikaela Shiffrin will tie the Olympic alpine skiing record for most gold medals won. Currently, Croatian woman Janica Kostelic (2002-06) and Norwegian man Kjetil Andre Aamodt (1992-06) hold the record with four each. With one gold medal, Shiffrin can pass Ted Ligety and Andrea Mead-Lawrence for most Olympic alpine gold medals won by any American skier.
78-80. If Lindsey Vonn earns a medal at the Olympics, she would become the first American woman to win one in her 40s. She would also be the oldest American to win a Winter Olympic medal in 78 years — only six Americans have ever won a medal at age 41 or older, and all six were bobsledders, in 1948 or earlier.
Vonn would also be the oldest, at age 41 and 111 weeks, to ever win a medal in alpine skiing. The record is currently held by Johan Clarey of France, who earned silver in the men’s downhill in Beijing in 2022, at age 41, 30 days.
Finally, if Shiffrin or Vonn wins two medals of any color, they will break the USA Olympic women’s alpine skiing record for most medals won. Currently, Julia Mancuso (2006-14) holds the record with four.
81-82. Sidney Crosby (who has been named to the 2026 team) and Drew Doughty (a contender for the squad) could each become the first non-Russian/Soviet hockey player to win three Olympic gold medals — if Canada is able to pull off Olympic victory in Milan.
83-84. With one gold and three silver medals already, a medal in Milan would make Hilary Knight the most decorated U.S. Olympian of all-time in terms of total ice hockey medals won. She would join Canadians Hayley Wickenheiser and Jayna Hefford as the only Olympians to win five medals of any color in the sport. Knight already owns the record for most Olympic games played in for Team USA at 22. With at least three goals and six points in these games, she would become the new Team USA record-holder for most goals and points in Olympic play.
85-86. Knight’s quest for gold will have to go through long-time rival Marie-Philip Poulin, who, like Knight, is also playing in her fifth Olympics — tying a Canadian Olympic record for most appearances by an athlete in ice hockey with Wickenheiser and Hefford. Poulin has notched three gold medals (2010, 2014, 2022) and one silver (2018).
Like Knight, a medal earned would tie Poulin with Wickenheiser and Hefford as the only Olympians to win five medals of any color in ice hockey. And if that medal is gold, she would join fellow Canadians Wickenheiser, Hefford and Caroline Ouellette as the only Olympians to win four gold medals in ice hockey.
87-88. As mentioned earlier, if Chloe Kim once again wins gold in snowboard halfpipe, she will become the first snowboarder to win three straight Olympic gold medals. She can also become the fourth American to win three or more gold medals at the Winter Olympics, behind speedskaters Bonnie Blair and Eric Heiden (both with five) and snowboarder Shaun White (with three). — ESPN Research
Must-watch events, from the athletes
89. “I’d love to watch and support any of the snowboarders, anything in the freestyle realm. But I also do love seeing some hockey. Hockey is a great event, with great energy. — Nick Baumgartner, snowboard cross
90. “It will be far away [from the snowboard venue] in Milan, but I love watching figure skating. They’re incredible and graceful and it’s cool to watch their routines come together.” — Jamie Anderson, snowboard slopestyle and big air
91. I’m really looking forward to watching the hockey, and especially the curling.” — Red Gerard, snowboard slopestyle and big air
92. “I’m excited to watch some speedskating in person. I’ve never seen it.” — Amber Glenn, figure skating
93. “I’m always really excited to see hockey and always really excited to see figure skating.” — Gus Kenworthy, ski slopestyle, halfpipe and big air
94. “Snowboarding and skiing. I picked those up the last two years and it’s been so much fun. My siblings love it. All my friends have been skiing for a bit and snowboarding too, so we try to go up [to the mountains] as much as we can. Even if I don’t make the Olympic team, I will still be going to Milan and I will be watching the snowboarding and the skiing.” — Alysa Liu, figure skating
Upcoming Olympic trials and other dates of note
95. Curling Olympic trials: Nov. 11-16
96. Ski mountaineering athletes named to the U.S. Olympic team (One woman; one man): Dec. 8
97. Long track speedskating Olympic trials: Jan. 2-5
98. U.S. figure skating championships: Jan. 4-11
99. U.S. Olympic bobsled team named: Jan. 19
100. Snowboard, ski and short track speedskating rosters finalized (qualification period ends Jan. 18): Jan 26
MILAN — With 100 days to go, northern Italy is gearing up to host the Milan-Cortina Olympics, the most spread-out Winter Games in history.
The two main clusters of the Games are Milan — the beating heart of Italy’s industrial north — and Cortina d’Ampezzo, an upscale winter resort in the Dolomites mountain range. Visitors should expect a full day of travel between the two locations, which are more than 400 kilometers (250) miles apart by road.
In addition, athletes will compete in three other mountain clusters, while the closing ceremony will be held in Verona, the largest city in the northeastern Veneto region.
The games will mostly make use of existing infrastructure, though some venues are being renovated or built from scratch. Here’s a closer look at the venues:
SAN SIRO STADIUM: The opening ceremony will be held in Milan’s iconic 80,000-seat San Siro stadium, home of the city’s two famous soccer teams — AC Milan and Inter Milan. It will be a last hurrah for the historic venue, which is set to be demolished and replaced by a new teams-owned stadium after the games.
SANTAGIULIA ICE HOCKEY ARENA: The timeline is tight for the new 16,000-seat arena that will serve as the main hockey venue for the games. A test event scheduled for December had to be moved, but organisers are confident that it will be completed by the end of the year. New test events have been set for Jan. 9-11 — less than a month before the first puck is dropped at the Olympics. The multipurpose facility, which is being built by private investors, is slated to become Italy’s largest indoor arena and is a majestic sight to those arriving into the southeastern periphery of Milan.
ICE PARK: While the ice hockey finals will be held in the Santagiulia Arena, some matches will take place in the Fiera Milano exhibition venue, which will also host the speed skating. The trade fair complex, which opened in 2005 in the northwest of Milan, will use temporary structures for the games. The so-called Ice Park will occupy four pavilions of the huge exhibition center and comprise the Speed Skating Stadium and the Rho Ice Hockey Arena, which still needs to be completed. The Speed Skating Stadium was delivered in August and the work to lay down the ice was set to start on Wednesday.
ICE SKATING ARENA: Short-track speed skating and figure skating events will take place in the Forum di Milano, a multipurpose facility that is mainly used for basketball, ice hockey and tennis as well as live concerts. The 12,500-capacity venue in the southwestern outskirts of Milan was opened in 1990 and renovated in 2017, the year before it hosted the figure skating world championships.
TOFANE ALPINE SKIING CENTER: Regularly referred to as the queen or the pearl of the Dolomites, Cortina hosted the Winter Olympics in 1956. The Olympia delle Tofane course will be the site of the women’s Alpine skiing next year. The iconic slope is a regular stop on the women’s World Cup circuit and also held the world championships in 2021.
CURLING OLYMPIC STADIUM: Curling will take place in the Olympic Ice Stadium, one of the legacies of the 1956 Games, when it also hosted the opening ceremony. The arena — and Cortina in general — also served as a filming location for the 1981 James Bond film “For Your Eyes Only,” starring Roger Moore.
CORTINA SLIDING CENTER: The century-old sliding center in Cortina has been completely rebuilt for the 2026 Games at a cost of 118 million euros ($123 million) amid staunch opposition from the International Olympic Committee. The timeframe was so tight that it necessitated a Plan B option that would have required moving bobsled, luge and skeleton events all the way to Lake Placid, New York. However, it appears the gamble has paid off with the IOC even saying recently that the venue has “surpassed expectations.” The track secured preliminary certification in March and test events are taking place through November. Completion of the roofing and all the facilities next to the track is scheduled for Nov. 5.
The men’s Alpine skiing will take place on the fearsome Stelvio course in Bormio, a renowned fixture on the World Cup circuit. Veteran Italian skier Christof Innerhofer told The Associated Press that he can’t remember a tougher course at the Olympics in the past 30 years. The Stelvio Ski Center will also be the venue for ski mountaineering, which will be making its Olympic debut. Bormio is about 200 kilometers (120 miles) northeast of Milan.
Livigno, about an hour’s drive north of Bormio, will host the sports that are perhaps most popular among young people. Snowboarding and freestyle skiing will be held at Livigno Snow Park and Livigno Aerials and Moguls Park, with 26 medals awarded. The small town in Valtellina, near the border with Switzerland, proudly unveiled the Aerials and Moguls Park last December, boasting that it had delivered the first 2026 Olympic venue.
Surrounded by the peaks of the Dolomites, Predazzo will be a stunning setting for the ski jumping events. Predazzo, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) southwest of Cortina, is the most populated municipality in Val di Fiemme, an area which has a rich history of hosting Nordic skiing world championships and World Cup races. The ski jumping facility spans an area of 3,000 square meters (32,000 square feet) and consists of two main ramps for international competitions as well as training ramps and other equipped spaces for athletes.
Tesero, less than 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Predazzo, will host the cross-country skiing events. The cross-country skiing stadium was opened in 1990, the year before the area hosted the Nordic World Ski Championships for the first time.
The biathlon competition will be held in Anterselva, nestled in the South Tyrol mountains and with 60 kilometers (40 miles) of tracks. The Anterselva Biathlon Arena has a rich history with the sport, having hosted the world championships multiple times since the 1970s. It also hosts World Cup races every year. The town itself, which is near the border with Austria, has a unique cultural heritage: more than 98% of the population speak German as their mother tongue.
The closing ceremony will take place at the historic Verona Arena, a large Roman amphitheater built almost 2,000 years ago that is mainly used to host large-scale opera performances. It is an imposing presence in the main piazza of Verona, which is a UNESCO world heritage city. Originally built to host 30,000 spectators in ancient Roman times, it currently has a capacity of around half that for its world-famous summer festival. About 15,000 spectators will be allowed for the closing ceremony on Feb. 22.
FILE – Jockey Junior Alvarado reacts aboard Sovereignty (2), as he crosses the finish line aboard Sovereignty (2) ahead of Journalism (7), with jockey Umberto Rispoli up, to win the 157th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, file)
Oliver Bearman should get the next available seat at Ferrari, according to Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle.
The 20-year-old Brit secured the best result to date of his impressive full rookie campaign in Formula 1 by finishing fourth for Haas at the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday.
Bearman was signed to the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2021 and made his grand prix debut when standing in for Carlos Sainz in Saudi Arabia last year, before being loaned out to Haas on a multi-year deal at the start of 2025.
Ferrari have Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc contracted until at least the end of 2026, but it’s possible the grid could be shaken up after the first season of the new regulations that are being introduced next year.
Reacting to Bearman’s performance in Mexico on the latest episode of Sky Sports’ The F1 Show, Brundle said: “Absolutely outstanding. If you give that young man an opportunity, he’ll grab it, like he did in Saudi with the Ferrari drive.
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Highlights of the Mexico City Grand Prix.
“He kept his head under a lot of pressure, especially in the closing stages with Oscar Piastri’s McLaren behind him.
“He put a move on Max (Verstappen), made it stick, didn’t go four wheels off the road, just.
“The moment that there’s a seat at Ferrari for whatever reason, then Bearman should be in it as far as I’m concerned. I think he’s outstanding and he’s learning fast, and he’s making the most of his opportunity.”
Listen to the full episode below as Brundle, Jacques Villeneuve and Simon Lazenby discuss all the major moments from Mexico after a race, won in dominant style by Lando Norris, which has also provided a new leader in the tense title race with four rounds of the season remaining.
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While Bearman’s headline-grabbing result in Mexico catapulted him up to 13th in the drivers’ standings, there has been clear evidence of his talent throughout the season.
Bearman holds 11-9 advantages over his Haas team-mate Esteban Ocon in both their qualifying and race head-to-heads for the season.
Given the Frenchman is driving his 10th season in F1 and has been closely matched with the likes of Fernando Alonso and Pierre Gasly in recent years at Alpine, Bearman’s form is highly impressive.
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Take a look at the best moments from Oliver Bearman’s debut race weekend for Ferrari in Saudi Arabia last year.
Sky Sports F1 pundit and 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve has been particularly impressed by Bearman’s progression.
“He had a great beginning then a little bit of a dip and he was rebuilding himself,” Villeneuve told The F1 Show. “It’s always nice to see when a driver goes back and comes back stronger – analyses it, studies, works with the team and figures it out. That’s what he has been doing.
“You see progression and then you always wonder ‘ok, when will the progression stop?’ It’s very promising.
“He was impressive this weekend because he was the complete deal. He was fast, pressure didn’t affect him.”
One of the highlights of Bearman’s display in Mexico was when he took advantage of a squabble between Hamilton and Verstappen to pass the Dutchman, keeping his cool in a wheel-to-wheel contest with the reigning world champion.
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Go behind the scenes with this week’s Paddock Pass as Ollie Bearman takes us on a tour of the Haas motorhome at the Emilia Romagna GP.
Villeneuve added: “He’s a very aggressive driver but always under control, he has a tremendous race craft, good 3D space awareness. And not many drivers in F1 now have that.
“You see it with even some of the top guys – sometimes you see some moves and think what was he thinking? Where did he think his car would end up? Or how didn’t he realise there would be other cars on the track next to him?
“And he seems to have that [awareness], which is great and it’s very promising for the future.
“He’s the kind of driver who seems to be better with the pressure, better in the big teams, better in the big league. He’s better now than when he was in the smaller categories and that’s super important.”
Mike Reiss is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the New England Patriots. Reiss has covered the Patriots since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2009. In 2019, he was named Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Patriots cornerback Marcus Jones, who was set to become an unrestricted free agent after the season, has agreed to a contract extension, the team announced Tuesday.
The Patriots did not disclose terms of the deal, but a source told ESPN that Jones agreed to a three-year, $36 million extension that runs through the 2028 season.
Jones, who turned 27 last Wednesday, was selected in the third round of the 2022 draft by the Patriots (No. 85) out of the University of Houston.
Jones’ role in the slot, when paired with 2023 first-round pick Christian Gonzalez and big-bucks free agent signing Carlton Davis III, has given the Patriots a formidable trio in the secondary.
The 5-foot-8, 188-pound Jones is in the midst of his best season. He has played 76% of the defensive snaps, totaling 36 tackles, 2 interceptions, 9 passes defended and 1 sack. He has also returned 10 punts for 216 yards and a touchdown — an 87-yarder in Week 4 which earned him AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
Jones was named a first-team All-Pro punt returner in 2022. Since entering the NFL, he has played in 39 regular-season games (19 starts), amassing 138 tackles and five interceptions.
On Monday, Jones was asked about the possibility of the Pro Bowl recognizing slot corners as a specific position.
“Yeah, I think it’s very important,” he said. “Our play style is just a little different from the outside. We fit on the run. We also cover fast guys in the slot. We just try to take advantage of every opportunity. … We just love playing the game of football.”
The Patriots (6-2) host the Atlanta Falcons (3-4) on Sunday.
NFL Nation is made up of 32 team-specific reporters who cover the NFL year-round across ESPN.com, ESPN television shows, ESPN Radio, ESPN+ and social media platforms. It was established ahead of the 2013 season.
Week 8 of the 2025 NFL season was filled with dominant wins, as it featured the first Sunday slate with one or zero games decided by single digits since Dec. 20, 1970, per ESPN Research. That one matchup happened to be the Jets’ first victory of the season, in which they overcame a 14-point deficit with less than eight minutes remaining against the Bengals. Week 8 concluded with the Chiefs handling the Commanders on “Monday Night Football.”
How do all of these teams fit in our updated Power Rankings? We restacked the NFL heading into Week 9, which includes byes for four teams (Browns, Buccaneers, Eagles and Jets). In addition to the 1-32 rankings, our NFL Nation reporters picked the best offseason addition from each roster. They chose from 2025 draft picks, free agent signings, trade acquisitions or coach hirings. Who has made the most impact so far?
Let’s get into it with our No. 1 team, which is different from last week. Our power panel of more than 80 writers, editors and TV personalities evaluated how NFL teams stack up against one another, ranking them from 1 to 32.
The one-year deal for Jones was characterized as competition for Anthony Richardson Sr. in the spring. In the end, it turned out to be so much more. Jones’ decision-making has helped the Colts become No. 1 in the NFL in yards per game (385.3), yards per play (6.5) and points per game (33.8). He is second behind the Cowboys’ Dak Prescott in QBR (79.3) and is completing a career-best 71.2% of his pass attempts. — Stephen Holder
After losing Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow (retirement) and veteran guard Kevin Zeitler (signed with the Titans), the Lions drafted Ratledge in the second round to help navigate those offseason departures. He has started in all seven games at right guard next to All-Pro tackle Penei Sewell, and Detroit hasn’t missed a beat with the third-most points per game in the NFL (30.7). Detroit was forced to replace 40% of an offensive line that was on the field for the second-most points and touchdowns of any five-man unit in the NFL last season, per ESPN Research. — Eric Woodyard
The first-round pick out of Alabama has been a contributor in Vic Fangio’s defense from the jump. Campbell has played 87% of the snaps with 45 tackles, eight QB pressures and an interception. His role shifted when Nakobe Dean recently returned from a knee injury, moving from starting inside linebacker to more of a hybrid edge player. That has come with a learning curve, but Campbell’s versatility is already proving valuable. — Tim McManus
The fourth-round pick has turned into a valuable player for the Bills, especially given the injuries that have hit their defensive tackle position. Playing time for Walker and other defensive rookies isn’t a surprise, but he has started six games and played 51.7% of defensive plays. He is tied for the team high in tackles for loss (seven) with Ed Oliver and is third leaguewide in run stop rate (8.2%). Since Oliver is out indefinitely with a torn left biceps, the Bills will need Walker to continue stepping up. — Alaina Getzenberg
The No. 19 pick has been slowed by a hamstring injury while playing when the team has been without its other top three receivers (Mike Evans, Chris Godwin Jr. and Jalen McMillan). But Egbuka’s 562 receiving yards are seventh most in the league, and all five of his touchdown grabs (tied for eighth most) came in the first five games. The rookie put together his best performance in Week 5 against the Seahawks, catching all seven of his targets for 163 yards and a touchdown. — Jenna Laine
Although Simmons has been away from the team since Oct. 12 because of a family situation, the first-round pick has shown he can be the Chiefs’ franchise left tackle for quarterback Patrick Mahomes. In five games, Simmons was exceptional in pass protection, allowing the Chiefs’ offense to be functional. When he returns, he could develop into a Pro Bowler. A qualified second candidate is left tackle Jaylon Moore, a four-year veteran who has played well in Simmons’ absence. — Nate Taylor
Parsons has been everything the Packers had hoped for — and perhaps even more — when they traded away two first-round picks plus Kenny Clark before giving Parsons a $188 million contract. Parsons not only leads the NFL in pressures (33), he has helped free up Rashan Gary (who leads the Packers with 7.5 sacks) and bring an overall energy to the Packers’ defense. Green Bay ranks sixth in the NFL in yards allowed per game (289.4). — Rob Demovsky
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1:19
Does the road to the Super Bowl go through the Packers?
Alex Smith, Adam Schefter and Rex Ryan discuss the Packers’ young roster and their chances of reaching the Super Bowl.
The Rams retooled their receivers room this offseason, adding the veteran on a two-year, $46 million deal to pair with Puka Nacua. While Adams and quarterback Matthew Stafford have said building chemistry with a new teammate takes time, that growth showed up in the Rams’ last game before their bye. Against the Jaguars in Week 7, Adams had his most productive performance of the season with three touchdown catches in London. — Sarah Barshop
After getting four touchdowns from rookies on Sunday, the long-term answer here could be different. But right now, fifth-year ball carrier Dobbins is third in the league at 79.3 rushing yards per game and second only to the Colts’ Jonathan Taylor in runs of at least 10 yards. Dobbins is the first Broncos running back with two 100-yard rushing games in a season since Melvin Gordon had three in 2021. And with his reliability as a pass protector and a receiver, Dobbins has checked every box. — Jeff Legwold
When Vrabel was hired in January as the 16th head coach in franchise history, he said: “I want to galvanize our football team. I want to galvanize this building. I want to galvanize our fans.” Consider it all galvanized. The Patriots are off to their best start since 2019; Vrabel’s clear focus on team identity and goals have resonated throughout the organization. The Pats play with “effort and finish,” as Vrabel said, and are ahead of schedule on their first goal of competing for the AFC East title, as they hold a half-game lead over the Bills. — Mike Reiss
You could come up with a long list of home run additions that general manager John Schneider and coach Mike Macdonald made this past offseason, including offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence and rookie left guard Grey Zabel. But when a team changes quarterbacks and gets the kind of play that Darnold has given Seattle, he’s the easy choice. Signed to a three-year, $100.5 million deal after the Seahawks tradedGeno Smith to the Raiders, Darnold ranks sixth in Total QBR, and he’s showing that his brilliant season with the Vikings was no one-year wonder. — Brady Henderson
Week 8 result: Lost to the Texans 26-15 Week 8 ranking: 10
Best offseason addition: DC Robert Saleh
Take it from San Francisco tight end George Kittle, who has said all year that Saleh has been the Niners’ biggest addition. Through eight games, Saleh has had to earn every penny with a revamped defense that has lost star linebacker Fred Warner (ankle) and end Nick Bosa (ACL) to season-ending injuries. It hasn’t been perfect, as there is still a lack of pass rush and interceptions, but Saleh’s defense is eighth best in points allowed (20.5). It would be no surprise if Saleh is again a strong candidate in the next head coaching cycle. — Nick Wagoner
Week 8 result: Lost to the Packers 35-25 Week 8 ranking: 13
Of all the uncharacteristic offseason acquisitions, Rodgers, perhaps the most controversial addition, has been the Steelers’ most reliable. At 41 years old and two years removed from an Achilles tear, it was unclear exactly what he had left in the tank. Rodgers, though, has been a steadying leader for the offense, and he has shown flashes of vintage moves by extending the play, breaking the pocket and firing deep balls downfield. But he isn’t a cure-all for the Steelers’ offense, which converted just 1-of-10 third-down opportunities against the Packers. — Brooke Pryor
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2:19
Rex Ryan: Steelers’ defense got old
Rex Ryan, Alex Smith and Adam Schefter discuss the Steelers’ struggling defense and how it could be detrimental to their season.
Allen is only technically an addition. He spent his first 11 seasons with the Chargers but was traded to Chicago for a fourth-round pick after a contract dispute prior to the 2024 season. He returned to the Bolts in early August, and he has been quarterback Justin Herbert‘s favorite target. Allen is first in the team in yards (479), receptions (48) and targets (70). He has earned the nickname “third-and-Keenan” from teammates, as he has the fifth-most first-down receptions in the NFL (31). — Kris Rhim
He’s arguably the Jaguars’ best receiver and cornerback already. Coach Liam Coen also is making it a priority to call more plays where Hunter is the No. 1 option on offense. He leads the team with 28 catches and is coming off his first 100-yard game (eight catches, 101 yards and a score against the Rams). Hunter has three pass breakups in limited work on defense, including one on third down against Davante Adams. — Mike DiRocco
Week 8 result: Lost to the Ravens 30-16 Week 8 ranking: 14
Best offseason addition: HC Ben Johnson
The Bears are a competent, well-coached football team under Johnson. The results aren’t always there, as red zone efficiency and penalties continue to be a problem. But Chicago put together a four-game win streak, and it has buy-in that feels different than other seasons. Johnson has preached accountability, which he has demonstrated in his honest reflection on decisions and calls that didn’t work. That’s a breath of fresh air as the culture shifts inside Halas Hall. — Courtney Cronin
The fourth-round pick has been a nice addition to the offense. Marks is boom or bust at times, but when he booms, he shows explosiveness and dynamic ability in the running and passing games. He has had three catches for over 20 yards this season. The rookie out of USC has been a nice complementary player to Nick Chubb, who is more of a bruiser on early downs. Marks leads the Texans in scrimmage yards with 379. — DJ Bien-Aime
Week 8 result: Lost to the Broncos 44-24 Week 8 ranking: 16
Nobody could have predicted Williams would be on pace for a 1,345-yard, 17-touchdown season when the Cowboys signed him to a one-year deal. Yet, here he is. Williams has shown the ability to break some long runs and pick up the dirty yards. How he holds up over the course of the season with the usage he has so far (on track for a career-high 264 carries) will be of interest. But if teams want to play their safeties deep to defend wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, then the Cowboys will continue to feed Williams. — Todd Archer
play
2:58
Stephen A. to Jerry Jones: ‘You’ve got to try something’ to fix the defense
Stephen A. Smith urges Jerry Jones to strengthen the Cowboys’ defense to go along with their strong offense.
Week 8 result: Lost to the Bills 40-9 Week 8 ranking: 18
Over a two-game stretch when Chuba Hubbard was injured, Dowdle set a franchise record with 473 scrimmage yards and Carolina went 2-0. For the season, the former Cowboys running back has a team-leading 551 rushing yards to go with 121 receiving yards. While the Panthers are now splitting series between Hubbard and Dowdle, the latter clearly has made more impactful plays. — David Newton
Week 8 result: Lost to the Chiefs 28-7 Week 8 ranking: 19
Washington traded away four picks, including a 2025 third-rounder and a second-rounder in 2026, to Houston for Tunsil and a fourth-round pick. He has provided the Commanders with their best tackle play since Trent Williams in 2018. Tunsil is credited with allowing three sacks, though one of those came on a play that took 3.7 seconds. Regardless, he came at a premium cost, and he is worthy of an extension with one year left on his deal, even at age 31. “I would definitely want Laremy to be my bodyguard,” Washington coach Dan Quinn said after Week 1. That remains true two months later, though a hamstring injury suffered Monday will need to be monitored. — John Keim
Week 8 result: Lost to the Chargers 37-10 Week 8 ranking: 22
Acquired via trade from the 49ers, Mason has proved to be a powerful and resourceful runner. He is averaging 2.02 yards after contact per carry, part of the reason his first-down rate is 28.4%, which is 11th best in the NFL and by far the highest for a Vikings running back since coach Kevin O’Connell arrived in 2022. Mason’s four rushing touchdowns might seem modest, but they are only one short of what Aaron Jones Sr. produced in all of 2024. — Kevin Seifert
The Ravens took a risk by going with a sixth-round pick to replace Justin Tucker, the NFL’s most accurate kicker at the time when Baltimore cut him amid accusations of sexual misconduct. But Loop has exceeded expectations so far, making 12 of 13 field goals (92.3%). His only miss was from 55 yards. In comparison, Tucker was 12-of-15 (80%) in his first seven games last season, which ended up as the worst of his career. Loop has struggled at times on kickoffs, and he has missed an extra point, but he has been an upgrade over Tucker on field goals to this point. — Jamison Hensley
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Schefter: NFL to investigate Lamar Jackson’s injury status
Adam Schefter tells Pat McAfee that the Ravens will likely face some punishment over the Lamar Jackon injury report issue.
Week 8 result: Lost to the Jets 39-38 Week 8 ranking: 23
Fant was a late addition to the Bengals’ roster because of the injuries they were dealing with at the position. But he has been a valuable asset for their offense, especially given the injury to starting quarterback Joe Burrow. Fant has 23 catches for 192 yards and two touchdowns. With Mike Gesicki on injured reserve (pectoral injury), Fant has become a very important player for Cincinnati. — Ben Baby
Backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett has a strong case. But since Arizona lost in both of his starts, Sweat becomes the best offseason acquisition. Sweat has made an instant impact on Arizona’s defense, which has kept the Cardinals in a number of games while the offense has struggled. He has five sacks, two forced fumbles and a batted pass. More importantly, Sweat is one of the focal points for opposing offensive coordinators to game-plan around, which opens the pass rush for everyone else. — Josh Weinfuss
Douglas signed with the Dolphins just before the regular season and was thrust into a starting role after an injury to Storm Duck in Week 1. Now that he has had two months to digest Miami’s playbook, Douglas has stabilized the position for a defense that desperately needed it. He has been the Fins’ most targeted defensive back but has allowed only one touchdown this season — on a play in which Jets wideout Garrett Wilson had less than a yard of separation when the pass arrived. — Marcel Louis-Jacques
Week 8 result: Lost to the Dolphins 34-10 Week 8 ranking: 20
Watts has been such a good complement to Pro Bowl safety Jessie Bates III that Bates has said the rookie out of Notre Dame reminds him of a younger version of himself. Watts has two interceptions and four pass breakups. He was named an NFC Defensive Player of the Week in September. Watts has been a key figure for a Falcons defense that has allowed the second-fewest yards per game (275.6) in the league. So far, he has looked like a steal as a third-round pick. — Marc Raimondi
Week 8 result: Lost to the Patriots 32-13 Week 8 ranking: 25
The Browns signed Collins to a two-year, $20 million deal this offseason. The 30-year-old lineman has been a perfect fit, taking advantage of the one-on-one opportunities afforded him while star pass rusher Myles Garrett faces double-teams. Collins ranks 10th in the league in pass rush win rate at defensive tackle (12.4%), and his 3.5 sacks are second most on the Browns. He also has been a valuable mentor for young players such as No. 5 pick Mason Graham. — Daniel Oyefusi
Week 8 result: Lost to the Eagles 38-20 Week 8 ranking: 27
The rookie quarterback has impressed despite being 2-3 as a starter. He has injected life into a listless Giants offense that had trouble scoring the previous two-plus seasons. It’s more than just Dart’s arm. Perhaps most impressive has been his ability to avoid sacks and use his legs. Dart joined Cam Newton this week as the only quarterbacks since 1950 to have a passing and rushing touchdown in four of their first five career starts, per ESPN Research. — Jordan Raanan
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Rich Eisen: Cam Skattebo’s ankle injury is a bummer
Rich Eisen reacts to Giants running back Cam Skattebo’s season-ending ankle injury.
Stokes, who signed a one-year deal with Las Vegas in the offseason, has been fairly solid as a starter. In 221 coverage snaps, Stokes has allowed 11 catches for 161 yards and a touchdown on 21 targets. He has given up a passer rating of 93.6 and a completion rate of 52.4%. “He’s just a steady player… Very athletic [and] smart,” Raiders defensive backs coach Joe Woods said. “He hasn’t made a lot of plays on the ball because there haven’t been a lot of opportunities coming his way. But at the same time, he hasn’t given up a lot of plays.” — Ryan McFadden
Week 8 result: Lost to the Buccaneers 23-3 Week 8 ranking: 28
The rookie third-round pick had to fill in almost immediately after Julian Blackmon suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the Saints’ Week 1 loss to the Cardinals. Sanker has been a solid addition to a team that has struggled; he has registered one interception, one fumble recovery and 38 total tackles in seven starts. Sanker’s 27 solo tackles are the most by any rookie defensive back this season. — Katherine Terrell
Drafted with the No. 7 pick, Membou assumed a starting role in OTAs, and he hasn’t looked back while playing every offensive snap. He is excelling as a run blocker, ranking seventh out of 63 qualified tackles in run block win rate. Membou has had some hiccups in pass protection (39th in pass block win rate), but he hasn’t looked out of place. He is a steady rookie with a high ceiling. — Rich Cimini
Week 8 result: Lost to the Colts 38-14 Week 8 ranking: 31
Dike has been a bright spot in an otherwise dismal season for the Titans. The 2025 fourth-round pick leads the league in all-purpose yards, thanks in large part to an NFL-high 991 return yards. Without top receiver Calvin Ridley (hamstring) for the past two weeks, Dike has led the team in receiving yards. His seven receptions for 93 yards against the Colts were both career highs. He and quarterback Cam Ward have spent increased time together in the film room to improve their chemistry. — Turron Davenport
Paul Merson says Chelsea’s lack of experience is a massive factor in their inconsistent Premier League form, but he believes they still have the talent to continue to do well in cup competitions.
Enzo Maresca’s side suffered a last-gasp 2-1 defeat to Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, leaving them ninth in the league table.
However, they have the chance to recover by claiming a victory in the Carabao Cup against Wolves on Wednesday evening – live on Sky Sports – in what Merson describes as a crucial game for the Blues as they look to continue building on their Conference League and Club World Cup wins from earlier this year.
Merson says Chelsea are currently not built to win the Premier League and Maresca needs to continue to achieve cup success along with qualifying for the Champions League next season.
‘Chelsea are going to be inconsistent’
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Paul Merson discusses Chelsea’s inconsistent performances in the Premier League with their ‘very young team’ after they lost to Sunderland
It was a bad day at the office for Chelsea against Sunderland.
When you get to that point in the game, so late on, you have to make sure you don’t lose the game. A point is a point. It keeps you going and it keeps the momentum with you.
Chelsea are a young team which brings inconsistency. They are a cup team.
Inconsistent teams do well in cups. They can get hot and produce on any given day in a one-off game, but they struggle over the course of a league season. They won’t be a threat in the league over a 38-game season.
That’s where Chelsea are. They have won cups and can win a cup competition this year, but you won’t be winning league titles with a young team like that.
At the moment, that is the project. Buying young players is the way they have gone, but that doesn’t win league titles.
‘Do Chelsea want to win the Premier League title?’
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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Chelsea’s match against Sunderland in the Premier League
To a certain extent, the project has worked but, longer term, do Chelsea want to win the Premier League?
Now, it’s like a rollercoaster.
One minute they can be great but then the next minute they aren’t great. It’s always going to be a bit up and down without experienced heads in the team.
Only time will tell with how the project develops.
Who will they buy in the next transfer window and in the summer? Will they continue to buy 21- and 22-year-olds? Or will they go for a couple of older players with Premier League experience to provide that experience?
It comes down to what the owners want, whether they want to win cups or bring the title to Stamford Bridge.
‘Chelsea squad still short’
Image: Chelsea’s Marc Guiu struggled up against Sunderland’s Dan Ballard
I like the options Chelsea have in the centre of their defence.
The likes of Trevoh Chalobah and Josh Acheampong have done well, but they are all young players.
I don’t think Levi Colwill would have come through as well as he has without having Thiago Silva to help him. It’s important for young defenders to have that sort of foil to learn from.
That’s why I think Chelsea need to bring in an experienced defender to try and help the young players they have progress further.
Then there’s the goalkeeper. Robert Sanchez is a good shot-stopper but I think he’s always got a mistake in him.
In midfield, they’ve got one of the best in Moises Caicedo but up front, I think the decision to let Nicolas Jackson leave is coming back to bite Chelsea a bit. Marc Guiu wasn’t up to the task against Sunderland.
To only touch the ball nine or 10 times when you are playing for a dominant team, that’s not good enough. Joao Pedro is also not training much as he manages an injury.
It leaves Chelsea short, and I think it shows that squad is not as great as everyone makes out.
‘Maresca will want to win the Premier League’
Image: Enzo Maresca faces a key game against Wolves on Wednesday
Enzo Maresca will be disappointed.
He will want to win the Premier League. That’s the real test.
You can lose more games in the Champions League than in the Premier League but still go on and lift the cup. That’s why the league is still the holy grail.
Because of how it has gone in the league so far, Chelsea are under severe pressure to win a trophy.
It makes the game against Wolves on Wednesday crucial. It’s a big football match.
Chelsea would have gone second in the league with a win on Saturday but now they are ninth. That result has really cranked up the pressure, especially with a trip to Spurs next Saturday too.
The project is based on winning trophies and they are not going to win the Premier League. The Champions League will be difficult with the calibre of teams in it and with ties being over two legs as the competition progresses, so it leaves the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup.
The FA Cup is very draw dependent and that’s why the Carabao Cup is a good opportunity for Chelsea, and why the Wolves game is massive.
‘Chelsea need to keep winning trophies’
Image: Reece James salutes the travelling fans after scoring Chelsea’s third goal at Nottingham Forest
I expect the ups and down from Chelsea but there is only patience when you win things.
Last year they did get some silverware so that’s why there is some understanding, for now.
But Maresca will know he will need to keep winning this season. If he doesn’t, there will be mayhem.
And that doesn’t mean Maresca has to go. He can only do what he can with the cards he’s dealt.
He was quite clear he wanted a centre-half. He didn’t get one as the club brought in another two wingers.
The squad, for me, is not quite there yet. It’s not balanced enough and, as I’ve said before, it needs a couple of experienced heads.
‘Spurs game crucial in race for top four’
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Ahead of Chelsea’s visit to Spurs on Saturday take a look at their best Premier League goals against their London rivals
It is also a big game against Tottenham at the weekend.
For the fans, this is Chelsea’s biggest game. For Chelsea, it’s a game you don’t want to get beat in.
In terms of the league, it’s crucial too. Chelsea have to get into the Champions League for next season.
The reality is that even if you win an FA Cup or a Carabao Cup, they still need to qualify for the Champions League.
A cup and top four is a good season for Chelsea. A cup and no Champions league is not a good season. It’s as simple as that.
I don’t like saying that because I like to see my team lifting trophies. As a player, give me a trophy any day.
However, as a club, to keep the project going and to keep attracting the right calibre of player, you have to be in the Champions League.
Watch Wolves vs Chelsea in the Carabao Cup live on Sky Sports on Wednesday; kick-off 7.45pm
Jamal Collier is an NBA reporter at ESPN. Collier covers the Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls and the Midwest region of the NBA, including stories such as Minnesota’s iconic jersey swap between Anthony Edwards and Justin Jefferson. He has been at ESPN since Sept. 2021 and previously covered the Bulls for the Chicago Tribune. You can reach out to Jamal on Twitter @JamalCollier or via email Jamal.Collier@espn.com.
Indeed, New York went 3-0 against Milwaukee last season, winning those games by an average margin of 22 points, which was on Antetokounmpo’s mind entering this game.
“They were way better than us last year and we didn’t make it tough for them,” Antetokounmpo said after scoring 37 points, grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out seven assists. “It was very easy in my opinion. And as the leader of this team, I remember. I don’t forget things and I try to, from early at shootaround, set the tone for the team and try to remind them, last year they swept us.”
Milwaukee’s struggles extended to each of the top teams in the conference a year ago, going 0-9 against the top three seeds in the East (Cleveland, Boston and New York). But the Bucks set a different tone on Tuesday, rallying from down 14 points in the first half for a comeback victory.
Antetokounmpo led the charge in the comeback win with a huge third quarter, where he scored 14 points and dished out four assists as the Bucks outscored the Knicks 35-20. After one sequence midway through the third, Antetokounmpo blocked a layup attempt from Mikal Bridges and then flushed a dunk on the other end of the floor. As he walked up the court, he pointed to himself and motioned to the crowd.
“This is my city. I love when it’s tough,” Antetokounmpo recalled saying. “I thrive when it’s tough. When you make it tough, I thrive.”
Antetokounmpo, who became the first player in league history with 30 points and 60% FG in each of his first four games of a season, would later add that he didn’t have any deeper meaning beyond the message and that it was just in the heat of the moment.
Antetokounmpo has been connected to the Knicks after a report over the summer from ESPN’s Shams Charania stating that Antetokounmpo considered New York the lone destination he would have wanted to play outside of Milwaukee. The two sides engaged in brief trade conversations that ultimately never gained traction.
Yet, Antetokounmpo did not want to get into offseason speculation much on Tuesday, saying his focus was on basketball and the Bucks next game against the Warriors on Thursday.
“What matters right now is we have a game in two days against Golden State,” he said. “Try to stay locked in and get two in a row.”
Police in Sugar Land found Peterson around 9 a.m. on Sunday asleep as his vehicle was running and parked near a gas pump, according to a probable cause affidavit. No one else was in the vehicle.
“I interviewed Mr. Peterson, and detected the odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his person. I also observed Mr. Peterson had blood shot glossy eyes and slurred speech,” according to the affidavit. “I asked Mr. Peterson where he was coming from, and he stated a poker game in Houston.”
Peterson told an officer he didn’t know where he was and had been trying to get to his home in nearby Missouri City. Peterson told the officer he had consumed two to three shots of a Vodka mix several hours earlier, according to the affidavit.
“I asked Mr. Peterson from a scale of 0 being completely sober to 10 being intoxicated to the point of blacking out where he would rate himself. Mr. Peterson stated he was a 2,” according to the affidavit.
The officer conducted a field sobriety test on Peterson, who had to use his arms to keep his balance and swayed, according to the affidavit.
During a search of Peterson’s SUV, the officer found a Glock handgun in the glove compartment.
It’s the second DWI arrest in seven months for the 2012 NFL MVP and three-time league rushing champion.
Peterson was released from the Fort Bend County Jail on Monday after posting bonds totaling $3,000.
Court records did not list an attorney who could speak on Peterson’s behalf.
Peterson, 40, was a high school football star in East Texas and has lived in the Houston area. He played at Oklahoma before spending the first 10 years of his NFL career with Minnesota, which drafted him No. 7 in 2007.
Peterson is one of nine running backs to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. He had 2,097 yards for the Vikings in his MVP season of 2012 and finished with 14,918 yards and 120 touchdowns over 15 seasons. He played for six teams during his final five seasons.
Ben Solak joined ESPN in 2024 as a national NFL analyst. He previously covered the NFL at The Ringer, Bleeding Green Nation and The Draft Network.
It’s good to be back.
The Tuesday column has been quiet since Week 1, as I took paternity leave following the arrival of my second kid. She’s real stinkin’ cute, and her big sister loves her (if perhaps a little too enthusiastically at times). Thank you to everyone who sent well wishes.
At first, it was easy to spend time pushing strollers and changing diapers while the 2025 NFL season whisked on. But after six weeks of keeping my mouth shut — a truly Herculean task for an NFL analyst during a season — I’m bursting at the seams with takes. I want to talk about that Cardinals implosion against the Titans, and Jaxson Dart‘s debut against the Chargers, and that ridiculous 40-40 overtime finish between Green Bay and Dallas. But there is only so much time.
I shaved it all down to my four biggest, most urgent takes from two months of NFL silence. Then I submitted my trade deadline wish list, answered some of your questions and ended the column with some Next Ben Stats. Let’s hit the ground running.
The Big Thing: Four first-half takes I can’t wait to talk through
Every week, this column will kick off with one wide look at a key game, player or trend from the previous slate of NFL action. What does it mean for the rest of the season? This week, we looked at four things that have been on my mind since my last column — way back before Week 2.
I understand why Bears fans are frustrated. When Williams was selected with the first pick in the 2024 NFL draft, he came with glorious fanfare. Yet to this point in his career, he has been dramatically outproduced by the second (Jayden Daniels) and third (Drake Maye) picks. On film, they’ve outplayed him, too. We get consistent Sunday reminders of what could have been.
In that frustration, the ability to calibrate to Williams’ play has been lost. Because he has been relatively disappointing, that must mean he is outright disappointing. I strongly disagree. He has been good this season. We haven’t seen the things that were promised — stupendous, life-changing, franchise-resurrecting play — but he hasn’t been bad. Not just decent — better than decent. He has been good!
By EPA per dropback, Williams is just about average for the season at 0.03. For perspective, Baker Mayfield — whom some were calling an MVP candidate through September — is at 0.05. Daniels is at 0.02, as is Jaxson Dart. Put another way: If Williams were performing last season as he is this season, Bears fans would likely feel encouraged and excited to see his development.
Williams suffers a little in success rate — 42.1%, below league average — which is a good proxy for the down-to-down consistency of the passing game. But he excels in explosive pass rate at 17.8%, seventh highest among all quarterbacks. This is intuitive. The Bears’ passing game has felt dangerous but highly volatile through eight weeks. Some of that belongs to Williams, who has had bad accuracy sprays on key downs targeting easy routes. The end-of-game miss to DJ Moore in the back of the end zone Sunday against the Ravens is a great example.
Of course, this is a disagreement in chemistry more than a physical deficiency. Williams wants Moore to keep working across the end line; Moore stops at a landmark and covers himself with the linebacker in front of him. Some of Williams’ perceived inconsistency belongs to his lack of chemistry with his receivers (namely Moore, going back to last season) — and that is a shared burden. It doesn’t fall on Williams alone.
Another reason Williams’ play is herky-jerky belongs to coach Ben Johnson and the nature of the Bears’ passing game. Chicago is sixth in run rate over expectation. As a team, it is seeking a consistent ground game to set up an explosive passing attack.
That philosophical choice isn’t just to protect Williams but also to protect the offensive line. Since the Bears flipped left tackle from Braxton Jones to Theo Benedet in Week 6, they’re third in run rate over expectation. In that same three-week span, their designed rollout percentage of 16.3% is also third. They’re running the football, trying to move the pocket and insulating their young left tackle, and they’re asking Williams to make bigger downfield throws than are required of other quarterbacks.
This isn’t a bad approach — in fact, it’s smart. It plays to Williams’ strengths (arm talent, throw on move) while concealing team weaknesses. But it means Williams’ numbers and lowlights look worse than those of other young quarterbacks (such as Bo Nix and Daniels) who are given more underneath opportunities.
Often, when a team has such a high-profile quarterback as Williams, all of its decisions — playcalling, game management, personnel moves — get filtered through the QB. It’s an easy trap to fall into, but it’s rarely accurate. When I watch the first half of the Bears’ season, I see Johnson working to protect his offensive line more than his quarterback.
I see a frustrating backfield, too. D’Andre Swift, who was so hot entering Week 8, missed an easy read for a touchdown run on the first drive (which ended in a field goal) and blew a couple of pass protections, one of which created an intentional grounding penalty. Even with the considerable improvement of the Bears’ running game the past few weeks, Williams is still facing an average third-down distance of 8.7 yards — second longest in the league.
Those third downs aren’t just long because of an inconsistent running game. The Bears are also one of the most penalized offenses in football. Again, some of that belongs to Williams, who runs the operation at the line of scrimmage. But not all of it.
Williams has plenty to improve. He must be more accurate on layup throws, which he is obviously rushing and overthinking. His hurried releases stem from a rookie season in which he held the ball far too long and took too many bad sacks. But notice the growth from Year 1 to Year 2. He has halved his sack rate, from 10% in 2024 to below 5% this season. The more he’s able to trust his pass protection, the smoother these throws will become.
In the meantime, here’s a reminder of what he is capable of doing. This is not merely a great throw, but a spectacular one — one that maybe six or seven quarterbacks are able to pull off. It’s dropped, though, and another potential touchdown drive ends in a field goal attempt.
It might seem like Williams is destined for the same path as Kyler Murray or Trevor Lawrence — a first-round pick talented enough to get a big second contract but not consistent enough to ever win with that cap weight hanging around his neck. We might eventually end up there. But even Murray and Lawrence were not and are not as physically talented as this. As such, I have an alternative career arc comp to make: Josh Allen.
Through Allen’s first two pro seasons, he had an off-target rate of 23.5%. Williams is at 21.3%. Like Williams, Allen was clearly physically capable of making all the requisite throws. But he was excitable in the pocket, his mechanics vacillated from throw to throw, and his shot selection was high difficulty. The light bulb went on for Allen in Year 3 under Brian Daboll — and after plenty of private offseason work on his mechanics. The light bulb can come on for Williams just the same, if he does the work, and the football-consuming public gives him the time.
We acted like the Vikings’ Sam Darnold decision was easy … it wasn’t
The 2024 season was easily the best of Darnold’s career. But it ended on a sour note. In Week 18, Minnesota lost the NFC’s No. 1 seed to the Lions in a 31-9 defeat; the team was then booted from the playoffs by the Rams 27-9 in the wild-card round.
Of Darnold’s 18 starts last season, he had only three games with a success rate below 40%, two of which were the above losses. He had only two games with a EPA per dropback below minus-0.5 — again, those two losses.
When season turned to offseason and contract time came around, the limits on Darnold seemed accordingly obvious. He had been pressured heavily in those two losses to NFC contenders — rates of 48.9% and 52.0%, respectively. Would he always wilt under pressure? Would he never beat the toughest defenses under the brightest lights?
At the time, I thought the Vikings should re-sign Darnold to a modest deal. If he beat out J.J. McCarthy in camp, great. The Vikings would have a trade chip in McCarthy and a solid veteran quarterback, still only 28 years old. If McCarthy beat him out in camp, great. The Vikings would have a trade chip in Darnold and a solid rookie-contract quarterback.
Given the uncertainty around JJ McCarthy (health + rookie) and the fact that Darnold will likely be in a worse environment if he goes elsewhere, it really feels like the optimal outcome for Minnesota + Sam is extending Darnold on Baker-sized deal.
But after those two ugly nationally televised, high-stakes defeats, the public response was clear and unanimous: no shot. It made no sense to pay Darnold with McCarthy waiting in the wings to take over on a cheap contract. Turn the keys over now.
I don’t bring this up to victory-lap a good take. In fact, the second half of that tweet — that Darnold would almost certainly land in a worse offensive system, and his play would decline — is a total miss. When the Seahawks eventually signed Darnold after tradingGeno Smith away, I panned it as one of the offseason’s worst mistakes: a clear downgrade at quarterback for not much cap savings. Wrong! Very wrong!
But Darnold’s departure from Minnesota reminds us about risk and uncertainty in the NFL — how hard it is to get the bona fide “guy” at quarterback, and how easy it is to fool yourself that the next guy is bona fide just the same.
Minnesota had the bird in the hand. Not a Patrick Mahomes or a Lamar Jackson, of course — but as far as a team can be certain about these things, the Vikings were certain they could put a winning offense on the field with Darnold. Get left tackle Christian Darrisaw back, and they could have made a real run at this thing in 2025. But the plan had been to use McCarthy’s cheap quarterback contract to spend on the rest of the roster. Extend defensive backs Byron Murphy II and Joshua Metellus. Sign Will Fries and Ryan Kelly on the offensive line. Sign Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen on the defensive line.
Those free agents, along with McCarthy, were the two birds in the bush. We know that early drafted rookie quarterbacks can bust in spectacular fashion. We know that big free agent contracts can fail spectacularly. (Maybe the Darnold deal would have!) But Minnesota ran to the greater uncertainty anyway.
It was a defensible move, but it invited so much risk — not just that McCarthy was good, but that he would return from his knee injury healthy. And that the money saved at quarterback and spent elsewhere would actually improve the roster. Consider the Harrison Phillips trade, in which the Vikings jettisoned their best defensive tackle from last season this past August; the run defense would surely love to see Phillips back now, wouldn’t it? Consider the Adam Thielentrade — a future fourth-rounder spent to insulate the receiving room against three games of a Jordan Addison suspension. Thielen has five catches this season.
Minnesota didn’t make these mistakes because it let Darnold out the door. And the book is not shut on McCarthy, who has just two starts under his belt. But it’s closing quickly, all while Darnold is shredding in Seattle, a totally evolved passer from his failed Jets era because of the year he spent under Kevin O’Connell’s tutelage.
This is just about as bad of a runout as the Vikings could have gotten on their March decision — a much trickier one than many gave it credit for at the time. It could have gone the other way, but it didn’t. And now Minnesota is scrambling for an offensive identity and a return to contention.
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Bart Scott calls out Vikings for QB ‘malpractice’
Bart Scott calls out the Vikings for their struggles at the quarterback position and wasting away Justin Jefferson’s prime.
Through the first half of the season, Drake Maye is the MVP
In six of the nine seasons of NFL Next Gen Stats’ existence, the regular-season leader in total dropback EPA has won the MVP. The current leader in dropback EPA is … Colts QB Daniel Jones, by a point. But just behind him — and ahead of him before Jones got to play the Titans for the second time this season — is Maye, the Patriots’ second-year QB.
Of course, MVP should not be decided by one number. But one of the main reasons Maye has so much dropback EPA is because his running game constantly puts him in difficult spots. On non-QB runs this season, the Patriots are averaging 3.8 yards per carry (26th) and have a 35.3% success rate (30th).
Compare that running game, and the effect it has on Maye, to other MVP candidates like Jones or Cowboys QB Dak Prescott. On average, Maye faces 7.6 yards to go on third down (the league average is 7.5). Prescott has the third-shortest third downs at 6.8 yards; Jones is second at 6.5. Yet on third and fourth downs, Maye is second in the league in EPA per dropback and seventh in first down/touchdown rate.
It is critical to understand just how much Maye is carrying here. Detractors highlight a soft schedule of opposing defenses. But in obvious pass situations, there is no quarterback playing better. On plays with an NFL Next Gen Stats pre-snap pass probability of 75% or higher — plays in which the defense is expecting pass, and dialing up blitzes and coverage rotations and other shenanigans — Maye is first in EPA per dropback, second in success rate and second in passer rating. Absolute nails.
This comes with a receiver room that, even if it’s better than expected, clearly is not the loadbearing wall of the passing attack. As expected for a Josh McDaniels-led offense, the Patriots spread their targets around. Stefon Diggs leads the team with 50 targets, but Hunter Henry (36), Kayshon Boutte (30), Mack Hollins (23) and DeMario Douglas (23) are not far behind. Diggs was a WR3 in Houston last season, and the 31-year-old was available for almost two weeks in free agency before the Patriots signed him. Boutte and Douglas were both sixth-round picks.
All have played great and deserve credit, Diggs especially. But when Brock Purdy led the league in passing EPA in 2023, his All-Star supporting cast made it tough to credit him with MVP votes. No such concern exists with Maye.
The offensive line? Put the running game struggles aside, and Maye is 10th in the league in quick pressure rate, which speaks to a porous offensive line. Maye still needs to improve in his sack avoidance; his sack-to-pressure ratio is 24.8%, up there with quarterbacks such as Carson Wentz, Cam Ward, Jalen Hurts and Dart, but this passing game is certainly not buoyed by the offensive line, either.
Often, the MVP is handed to the quarterback of the team that won the most games. Fourteen of the past 15 MVP winners have been quarterbacks, and 11 of them from the top seed of their conference. This is an unfortunate consequence of the ever-putrefying state of quarterback discourse, in which any passer with 300 passing yards must have played well, and certainly the winning quarterback outplayed the losing one in any given game.
If we wrest the conversation away from wins and return it to value, we can take a more honest look at which players have truly been the most precious to their teams and can introduce deserving players into the conversation. Players like Prescott and Justin Herbert, who are playing the best football of their careers for imperfect teams stuck around .500. Players like Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Jonathan Taylor, who are destined to never win this award because they don’t play quarterback, but whose quarterbacks would never look so “valuable” without them.
For now, Maye might fit the traditional argument. He is among the league leaders in dropback EPA and is piloting the 6-2 Patriots in the race for the No. 1 seed. But Maye will be very high on my (fictional) MVP ballot when the season ends not for those reasons — but rather for how much he’s doing with how little he has at his disposal. What a valuable player.
We need to celebrate one Colts assistant I never see mentioned
This summer, when I spoke to Colts head coach Shane Steichen in training camp, we talked about the things you would have expected. The Jones vs. Anthony Richardson Sr. training camp battle. How to prepare the offenses differently for those two passers. How to split training camp reps. And when we pivoted from the quarterback, other conversation points were what you’d expect, too. The readiness of rookie tight end Tyler Warren. The wide receiver rotation.
I brought up the offensive line at the end. It wasn’t a big story outside of Indianapolis, but the departures of Kelly and Fries left two sets of big shoes to fill, and the Colts were turning to young, middle-round draftees Tanor Bortolini and Matt Goncalves to fill those spots. When I was speaking to Steichen, both were fresh off a preseason game against the Ravens that wasn’t exactly stellar for either.
So I asked about the challenges of a first-year center setting protections with two quarterbacks and a college tackle transitioning to guard. Steichen just shrugged and said “Well, we have Tony, so …”
“Tony” is Tony Sparano Jr., son of the late Tony Sparano. This comment stuck in my head because I didn’t rate him as an automatic offensive lineman generator. The great offensive line coaches — Dante Scarnecchia, Jeff Stoutland, Aaron Kromer — could conjure up quality starts from late-round backups or develop career busts into solid players. Sparano was a full-time offensive line coach for the first time.
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Rich Eisen: Jonathan Taylor is the NFL MVP right now
Rich Eisen weighs in on the strong start to the season by Daniel Jones, Jonathan Taylor and the Colts.
Well, here we are. Bortolini has been clearly better through eight weeks than Kelly was last season. He is the author of many of Taylor’s best runs, and while pass protection isn’t the strength of his game, he has improved from Week 1. Goncalves hasn’t had as many eye-popping wins as Bortolini, but he doesn’t have many eye-popping losses, and that’s what you want from a first-year starter. When Goncalves gets the jump on opposing defensive tackles, he ends reps early.
Let’s expand the scope. Left guard Quenton Nelson is playing the best ball of his career, which is saying something. Right tackle Braden Smith, whose play fell off after a fraught year last season, has bounced back to form. Left tackle Bernhard Raimann, who signed a massive extension this summer, looks every part the franchise cornerstone on the blind side.
Remember, all five players were drafted by the Colts, and only Nelson was a first-rounder. Hats off to general manager Chris Ballard, but drafting quality third- and fourth-rounders only gets you so far. There’s a reason those players are available in the middle rounds. They need development. They found it in Indianapolis under Sparano. The Colts are a historic offense — 3.46 points per drive would be the best number this century — and historic offenses are only ever authored communally. It takes a village. The credit never belongs to one man.
But for all of the deserved appreciation for Steichen and Jones, and for Warren and Taylor, I haven’t heard much for Sparano and the offensive line that could have ruined this whole operation. But Steichen was never worried. They have Tony, so …
Four trades that need to happen
Instead of my usual “Second Take” section, I’ve proposed four trades that should be made between now and the NFL trade deadline on Nov. 4. These make too much sense!
Brooks was not a member of ESPN’s 25 most likely players to be moved, so perhaps I’m wishcasting. But his talents are wasted on the Dolphins defense. The current NFL leader in tackles, Brooks catches plenty of runs that slip through Miami’s poor defensive front — but he’s not at his best defending the run. A smooth coverage linebacker with great instincts and field sense, Brooks is one of the few linebackers in the league who can truly be trusted to carry a tight end down the field, or drop into the intermediate middle and not get bamboozled by route combinations or quarterbacks’ eye fakes.
Coverage linebackers in their athletic prime are rare and impactful players, and such a player is sorely needed in Tampa Bay. Third-year pro SirVocea Dennis has been the nearest defender in coverage on 35 targets this season, tied for third among all linebackers. He has surrendered 11.7 yards per target, right beside Elandon Roberts, Bobby Wagner and Terrel Bernard for the worst among all linebackers this season. Brooks is at 7.5.
Dennis is more impactful as a downhill blitzer and in run defense than Brooks, but the Buccaneers can afford to give a little from their elite run defense to support their pass coverage. By success rate, the Buccaneers are the second-best defense in the league against designed runs and 21st against dropbacks.
Brooks signed a solid three-year, $26.26 million deal with the Dolphins in the 2024 offseason, but the signing bonus was relatively small. They restructured his deal last week, converting $4.06 million of salary into a signing bonus and avoiding a void year to prorate it as aggressively as possible. That’s a move that could indicate an incoming trade (converting salary into signing bonus makes Brooks’ 2025 cap hit smaller for the acquiring team), but it could also indicate the Dolphins are keeping him (as they just guaranteed him more cash and would still need to pay that should Brooks get traded). Who knows? It’s noteworthy either way.
Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht tends to stay quiet at the deadline, but the need at LB — both short- and long-term — might be too big to ignore.
I threw Izien into the deal — he has played only six defensive snaps this season but held up well when thrust into the starting lineup last season. The Dolphins need safety help opposite Minkah Fitzpatrick and would likely start Izien right away.
Eagles get creative in the secondary
Eagles get: CB Ja’Quan McMillian, 2026 seventh-round pick Broncos get: 2026 sixth-round pick, 2027 sixth-round pick (can become a fifth on playing time conditions)
With second-year stars in Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, the Eagles are two-thirds of the way to an elite cornerback room. Mitchell, who plays on the outside, has the third-most targets of any corner this season, per NFL Next Gen Stats — but he is surrendering only a 47.9% completion percentage, which is better than all but two corners. His 6.0 yards per target is well above average as well.
But opposite Mitchell, the other outside spot has been hammered. Out of 76 qualifying corners, veteran Adoree’ Jackson leads the league with a 25.7% target rate per coverage snap. His coverage success rate is 66th; his yards per coverage snap allowed is 75th. Teammate Kelee Ringo is only a little better, ranking 53rd in coverage success rate and 48th in yards per coverage snap.
Offseason trade acquisitionJakorian Bennett has been on injured reserve with a pectoral injury and just had his practice window open up. He might be the solution to their outside cornerback woes — or, perhaps, DeJean is the answer.
DeJean has arguably been the NFL’s best slot defender since he was inserted into the lineup in Week 6 last season. An instant sensation for his reliable tackling, ball-hawking and veteran-like instincts, there’s no doubt DeJean belongs in the slot long-term. But because of the Eagles’ CB2 issues, he has spent more time outside this season (25% of his snaps, up from 1.5% last season).
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Why Schefter does not think the Eagles will trade A.J. Brown
Adam Schefter says he wouldn’t be surprised if the Eagles make a move before the deadline, but he doesn’t expect A.J. Brown to be traded.
Ideally, the Eagles could find an outside corner on the market and keep DeJean inside. But the current candidates — Deonte Banks, Marshon Lattimore, Cam Taylor-Britt — aren’t that enticing. The best name is Riq Woolen (Seahawks), and I’m not sure he’s a culture or scheme fit.
The slot corner market, on the other hand, looks robust. The Titans already moved Roger McCreary for a Day 3 pick swap — a crazy value for the Rams — and both Michael Carter II (Jets) and McMillian (Broncos) could be on the market.
I like McMillian best for the Eagles. His replacement is waiting in the wings in Denver, as the Broncos drafted Jahdae Barron in the first round of the 2025 draft. The injury to Pat Surtain II should not affect the Broncos’ plans in the slot much, as they have Kris Abrams-Draine waiting in the wings at the outside corner spot. Signed as an exclusive rights free agent last year, McMillian is on an extremely cheap one-year contract, and the Eagles would retain his restricted free agent rights for next season. If he ends up exclusively backing up DeJean in the slot at his current price tag, that’s totally fine.
Richardson gets a second shot
Vikings get: QB Anthony Richardson Sr., 2026 fifth-round pick Colts get: 2026 third-round pick, 2027 sixth-round pick (can become a conditional fifth)
I believe two things to be simultaneously true. The first is that McCarthy is not being shadow-benched with a phantom ankle sprain. It doesn’t pass the sniff test to me. He started two games and got the hook? He was certainly bad, but no two-game sample is big enough to warrant a benching. I truly believe the Vikings wanted McCarthy to develop this season, and the ankle injury has hindered that plan.
I also believe that the Vikings were serious this past offseason about finding a legitimate QB2 option behind McCarthy. I think they wanted to keep Daniel Jones and kicked the tires on acquiring Aaron Rodgers. And if that was true then, it remains true now. McCarthy has played two awful games and missed more time with injury.
Who will they target? Kirk Cousins makes sense only for a 2025 playoff push — there’s no real future beyond this season. Russell Wilson has the same timeline but would be miscast in the system.
What about Richardson, the fourth overall pick from 2023 who never panned out for the Colts? Richardson is currently on IR with a fractured orbital bone courtesy of a fluke pregame warmup injury featuring a wayward resistance band, and he has missed plenty of time in his career with injuries. He brings a similar availability concern to that of McCarthy, and the O’Connell offense — which has almost exclusively featured pocket passers — would need to be catered to his skill set.
But O’Connell is, presumably, a Richardson believer. Remember his words to Richardson following a Week 9 game in Minnesota:
Kevin O’Connell’s words of encouragement for Anthony Richardson:
The price (a third-round pick) might look big. But Trey Lance was moved for a fourth-round pick two years into his career, and Richardson has been better and played more at a similar career stage. Plus, there’s a fifth-rounder going back.
I don’t think Richardson would walk in and immediately start (the Flacco, as we call it). But if McCarthy continues to struggle getting his ankle back to health, then Richardson would get a crack at the starting gig after a week or two of learning the offense. If McCarthy gets back in time, Richardson gives Minnesota another young dart throw at a position where it must hit on a cost-controlled player to keep the rest of the roster paid.
I don’t know how bright of a future Richardson has in the league. If he is to find one, it’s hard to imagine a better place to rebound than in Minnesota under O’Connell. As evidenced by quarterbacks across the league, almost anything is possible in the right new home.
Patriots recoup value on the old regime’s draft pick
Editor’s note: White was traded to the 49ers on Tuesday along with a 2026 seventh-round pick, with San Francisco sending the Patriots a 2026 sixth-round pick in return.
White has completely fallen out of favor in New England. He started last season real hot. In the first half of the year, he was 11th among all defensive linemen in pressure rate and 16th in pass rush win rate. He was especially nasty on the interior, ranking 11th in pass rush win rate when lined up as a defensive tackle. He cooled as the season went on, though — 34th in pressure rate and 25th in pass rush win rate in the back half of the season.
White was far from a perfect player. He freelanced a lot, which made him a liability in run defense. And for all of his pressures, he struggled to come to balance at the quarterback. His sack rate of 1.3% was bang on league average for defensive linemen in 2024. There was a reason for his incomplete play, though. White started his college career at Old Dominion as a tight end and played only two full seasons along the defensive line. Even with his warts, the 2023 second-round pick looked like an ascending player.
Then a new coaching staff came to town, and White got buried on the depth chart behind K’Lavon Chaisson and Harold Landry III at edge, and below Milton Williams and Khyiris Tonga at defensive tackle. Out of 176 qualifying defensive linemen this season, White is 169th in pressure rate. He is dead last in pass rush win rate, as well: 0 wins on 69 rushes.
The talent didn’t evaporate overnight. White is clearly at odds with the new regime and needs a new home. What landing spot would work best for a 285-pound tweener who wreaks havoc, occasionally at the cost of soundness?
The 49ers feel like an obvious choice. They ask their defensive linemen to play simple, fast football in one gap — coordinator Robert Saleh and defensive line coach Kris Kocurek have made so much hay in their respective careers resurrecting off-cast defensive linemen in their system. White would get some time at edge but could also spend plenty of rush downs at defensive tackle, where the 49ers are extremely thin.
White has two years left on his deal and would have the snap counts necessary in San Francisco to recover his lost form and earn a sizable second contract. I have the Patriots receiving draft capital back, but I would not be surprised if they instead pursue Jason Pinnock, a depth safety who might find more starting reps in New England.
From y’all
The best part of writing this column is hearing from all of you. Hit me on X (@BenjaminSolak) or by email (benjamin.solak@espn.com) anytime — but especially on Monday each week — to ask a question and potentially get it answered here.
From Chinstrap:“Rank the Caleb Williams QB draft class as it stands today.”
Drake Maye
Jayden Daniels
Caleb Williams
Tier break.
Tier break.
From Anthony:“What was your hottest take while you were out on leave that a) still has legs, and/or b) has been eviscerated since you would have made it?”
I firmly believed in late August that starting Jones over Richardson was a mistake. The moment I was proved extremely wrong, I went on a six-week long stroller walk. Chess, not checkers.
From John:“Any sleep tips for a 26-year-old who is tossing and turning every night because the Bills don’t have competent safeties and seemingly have no interest in employing wide receivers who can consistently get open downfield?”
I truly believe the Bills are the NFL’s best running team this season, and only when they choose not to commit to that identity does their offense suffer. The “Monday Night Football” loss to the Falcons was one of the most confusing game plans I’ve ever seen. James Cook could have a Saquon Barkley or Jonathan Taylor-like season if the Bills let him.
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Takeaways from James Cook’s nice fantasy game
Liz Loza breaks reacts to James Cook’s big fantasy game vs. the Panthers.
Buffalo does not need a pass catcher acquisition at the deadline. If it gets one, fine — but it should be like last year’s Packers and have one of the highest run rates over expectation in the league. The Bills’ real need is run defense, where their current personnel is untenable in the back seven — especially at safety and linebacker. The injury to defensive tackle Ed Oliver, who will be out indefinitely with a torn bicep, makes the issue even more glaring. I would be calling Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort every single day asking for the price tag on safety Budda Baker.
From Dylan:“After Week 8, do you think the Broncos should be taken as serious contenders in the AFC?”
No.
Next Ben Stats
NFL Next Gen Stats are unique and insightful nuggets of data that are gleaned from tracking chips and massive databases. Next Ben Stats are usually numbers I made up. Both are below.
1,091: That’s how many receiving yards Chargers tight end Oronde Gadsden II is on pace for in a 17-game season.
Of course, Gadsden won’t get a full 17-game season at this pace, since he was inactive for the first two games and has played only six contests. But if he maintains this pace for the Chargers’ nine remaining games, he’ll end the season with 67 catches for 962 yards — behind only Brock Bowers, Mike Ditka and Kyle Pitts Sr. on the all-time rookie tight ends list.
Put another way, Gadsden is averaging 4.5 catches for 64 yards through the first six games of his career. Bowers, who set all sorts of rookie records last season, was at 6.2 catches for 64 yards through his first six games.
5.5%: That’s the rate of plays this week in which the offense was in jumbo personnel. It’s the fifth-highest rate of any week in the NFL Next Gen Stats database and the highest since the 2021 season.
Jumbo personnel, in case you missed one of the many broadcasts that was extolling its virtues on Sunday, is personnel with at least six offensive linemen on the field. It was all over the place in Week 8. The Texans ran 25 plays with jumbo personnel — 33% of their snaps! — and averaged a cool 6.3 yards per play in such sets. The Eagles averaged 7.5 yards per play on their 10 snaps of jumbo, in large part due to the 65-yard Barkley touchdown run it sprang. The Dolphins had 13 jumbo plays against the Falcons, the most in a single game in the Mike McDaniel era. The previous high? Zero.
It’s an oversimplification, but we can generally say that the increased reliance on jumbo personnel is a reflection on the state of the tight end position. Take the Dolphins, who were missing tight ends Darren Waller and Julian Hill for this game. Miami never used jumbo before because it wanted to threaten five in the route concept. When that fifth player is TE4, the juice isn’t worth the squeeze.
Similarly in Philadelphia, the TE room has been built for pass catching, with undersized players such as Kylen Granson and Grant Calcaterra proving liabilities in the running game in multi-TE sets. Getting offensive tackle Fred Johnson on the field adds value in the run game without really affecting the passing game, as Granson and Calcaterra weren’t collecting targets, anyway.
As always, innovation will swing back around. The Bills were the league leader in jumbo sets last season, then they drafted a great blocking tight end in Jackson Hawes and have now largely scrapped the jumbo package. But still, cool to see!
1%: That’s how much win probability was added by Aaron Glenn when he decided to go for a 2-point conversion down eight points, from a 6% chance to a 7% chance.
We dedicate so much column space to interrogating analytics-based decisions when they go awry. Time to give them some flowers when they succeed in spectacular fashion.
After scoring a touchdown to cut the Bengals’ lead to 38-30 with 7:52 left in regulation, Glenn left his offense on the field to go for two. The reasoning is much more intuitive than you might think. With less than eight minutes left, Glenn can reasonably expect to have one more possession. Maybe there’s room for a second, but that’s a stretch. So he’s left with a choice. Kick the extra point, and he’ll have only one chance to win this game. That’d come either in overtime (by scoring the next touchdown and kicking the extra point to force the tie) or in regulation (by scoring the next touchdown, then electing to go for two with minimal time left on the clock).
But if he goes for two, he’ll have two opportunities to win the game. He can win it in regulation (by converting on the 2-point try, then scoring the go-ahead touchdown as time expires). And he can win it in overtime (by scoring the next touchdown, converting on that 2-point try and taking the game to OT).
It feels like a small difference, but for an 0-7 team, taking the risk is especially gutsy and equally admirable. Glenn, who has come under much duress through seven winless weeks, created this win for his team. Kudos to him and quarterback Justin Fields for an emphatic performance.
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Alex Smith blasts Woody Johnson over Jets’ dysfunction
Alex Smith calls Woody Johnson “cowardly” for his comments targeting Justin Fields.
1990. That’s the last time a player had five sacks in a game his team lost, which Myles Garrett did Sunday.
It was Derrick Thomas’ seven-sack game against the Seahawks, which still stands as the highest sack game in NFL history (since the stat was officially started in 1982). That game ended 17-16, with Seattle scoring a touchdown in the fourth quarter to take the lead over the Chiefs.
The only other instances of a five-plus sack game in a losing effort are a 1986 game from Leslie O’Neal in which his Chargers lost 24-21, and a 1983 Howie Long performance in which the Raiders fell 37-35.
The four different point margins for losing five-sack games in NFL history are minus-1, minus-2, minus-3 and minus-19.
After an epic Game 3 that went a record-tying 18 innings, Game 4 of the 2025 World Series will be a true test for both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays. Can the Dodgers ride the high of Freddie Freeman‘s walk-off home run to a third straight victory, or will the Blue Jays’ bats bounce back to tie the Fall Classic at two games apiece? What will Shohei Ohtani — who will be on the mound for L.A. — do for an encore after a history-making night at the plate?
The NCAA is delaying a rule change that will allow athletes and athletic department staff members to bet on professional sports.
The Division I Board voted Tuesday to delay the effective date of the sports betting legislative change, moving it from Nov. 1 to Nov. 22, one day after the close of a membership rescission period.
A rarely used rule allows 30 days for each Division I school to vote to rescind a proposal if it is adopted by less than 75% of the Division I cabinet. The original vote to approve betting was under that threshold earlier this month.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey sent a note to NCAA President Charlie Baker on Saturday expressing concerns about the rule change.
Even if the rule on betting on professional sports changes, that doesn’t change the NCAA rule forbidding athletes from betting on college sports. The NCAA also prohibits sharing information about college competitions with bettors.
This comes less than a week after an NBA coach and player were arrested in a takedown of two sprawling gambling operations that authorities said leaked inside information about NBA athletes. Heat guard Terry Rozier was accused of exploiting private information about players to win bets on NBA games.
Despite the change, the NCAA emphasized that it doesn’t endorse betting on sports, particularly for student-athletes.
Baker anticipated the rule change would be passed when he talked with the media recently at a Big East Conference roundtable on the future of college basketball.
“This change recognizes the realities of today’s sports environment without compromising our commitment to protecting the integrity of college competition or the well-being of student-athletes,” said Roberta Page, athletic director at Slippery Rock and chair of the Division II Management Council.
The change comes as NCAA enforcement caseloads involving sports betting violations have increased in recent years. Last month, the NCAA banned three men’s college basketball players for sports betting, saying they had bet on their own games at Fresno State and San Jose State and were able to share thousands of dollars in payouts.
“We run the largest integrity program in the world on sports betting across all the various games,” Baker said. “Sadly, we discovered some student-athletes involved with some problematic activity.”
Reiss Nelson starred on his first Brentford start as the Bees strolled into the Carabao Cup quarter-finals with a dominant 5-0 win to end League Two Grimsby Town’s memorable run in the competition.
The Bees were 3-0 up at half-time but the first 20 minutes told a very different story. Grimsby were all over the Premier League side, with over 60 per cent of the ball, plus Charles Vernam and Evan Khouri seeing efforts saved at the near post. A repeat of the win against Manchester United looked a possibility.
But Mathias Jensen’s excellent finish from distance, after Grimsby gave the ball away cheaply on the edge of their own box, changed the tide of the match – then it became all about Arsenal loanee Nelson.
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Mathias Jensen fires Brentford ahead with a glorious curled effort against Grimsby.
The 25-year-old delivered a classy run and cross to set up Keane Lewis-Potter at the back post for Brentford’s second – before then curling in the third in a sweeping Bees move. It was his first goal in 403 days, after his loan spell at west London neighbours Fulham lats season was cut short due to injury.
And within nine minutes of the second half, Brentford added to their lead as Fabio Carvalho was felled in the box by Khouri. The Brentford midfielder, who was linked with a January exit by some outlets on Tuesday, dusted himself down to convert the spot kick.
It would go onto be five as Jensen’ corner was headed home by captain and substitute Nathan Collins – underlining Brentford’s set-piece threat on an easy night for the Bees.
More to follow.
WATCH: Nelson’s impressive goal and assist
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… then Nelson curled in Brenford’s third
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Keane Lewis-Potter finishes off a magical Reiss Nelson assist to double Brentford’s lead…
Analysis: Are Brentford now Carabao contenders?
Sky Sports’ Sam Blitz:
What a few weeks for Keith Andrews. Manchester United, West Ham and Liverpool dispatched in the Premier League – now they’re into the last eight of the Carabao Cup in emphatic fashion.
And he managed that last feat with a group of fringe players too – with nine changes from the side who beat Liverpool at the weekend.
Brentford initially struggled with the transition from being underdogs against Liverpool to favourites in this game – but their ability to hit teams on the break makes them such an excellent cup team. That’s how their first two goals came.
Stun the big teams, punish the lesser ones – the Bees can do it all. They’re so difficult to play against.
So does anyone actually want to face this Brentford team in the quarter-finals, and does that make them Carabao Cup contenders?
Katherine Terrell came back to ESPN to cover the New Orleans Saints in the summer of 2022. She left the company in 2019 after joining in 2016 to cover the Cincinnati Bengals. Katherine is a graduate of LSU and a Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native, and she has covered the NFL since 2013.
METAIRIE, La. — Tyler Shough has received multiple text messages of encouragement since the New Orleans Saints selected him with the 40th pick in April’s NFL draft.
Former Saints quarterback Drew Brees offered support after Shough was drafted. Another message was from 76-year-old Archie Manning, who regularly reaches out to quarterbacks who attended the Manning Passing Academy.
Manning is one of the few people who truly understands the high expectations placed on the rookie’s shoulders in New Orleans. Shough is the Saints’ earliest quarterback selection since Manning was picked No. 2 out of Ole Miss in 1971.
When New Orleans opens the season Sept. 7 against the Arizona Cardinals, Shough could become the seventh rookie quarterback to start a game for the Saints, following teammate Spencer Rattler, who made his debut last season when Derek Carr was injured.
And if Shough wins the competition with Rattler and Jake Haener, he will buck convention in other ways. Shough, who turns 26 on Sept. 28, is the oldest rookie in the draft class, and he arrives in New Orleans after seven college seasons spent at three universities (Oregon, Texas Tech and Louisville). He played through three major injuries (two of which ended his seasons in 2021 and 2023) and the COVID-19 pandemic.
If Shough feels the weight of NFL expectations, he doesn’t show it.
He said it would be easy to compare himself to peers such as Brock Purdy, a former high school competitor in Chandler, Arizona, who is going into his fourth season with the San Francisco 49ers. The Jacksonville Jaguars‘ Trevor Lawrence and the New York Jets‘ Justin Fields, 2021 first-round picks, were also college freshmen at the same time as Shough, and are examples he cited as comparable quarterbacks who had early success.
“Who knows who I would be or where I would be if everything had worked out [differently],” Shough said. “It worked out the way it was supposed to because now I’m in [this] opportunity with a great team and kind of a fresh start with a new staff.”
Shough, who celebrated his one-year anniversary with wife Jordan in April, said he is settled at this point in his life.
Now he just wants a chance.
“That’s why I feel so, so much more ready to come into this situation and because of those previous experiences, just understanding what it looks like from a failure perspective, from having success, trying to earn the respect of your teammates and just being in a new city,” he told ESPN during an exclusive interview this summer.
“It makes sense why some guys don’t last that long. … Some things are out of your control, but you’ve got to be prepared for change.”
AFTER TWO SEASONS of backing up Justin Herbert at Oregon and one pandemic-shortened year in 2020, he entered the transfer portal in February 2021, enrolling at Texas Tech, where he dealt with significant injuries for the first time in his career.
He broke his collarbone four games into the 2021 season (missing the rest of the year), and then rebroke it in the 2022 opener. He came back for the final five games of the 2022 regular season and was named MVP of the Texas Bowl after a 42-25 win against Ole Miss.
Shough said seeing then-fiancée Jordan, who played soccer at Oregon where they met, and his family after that win was one of his best college memories.
“It was a lot of emotions because everything that [happened] … like, ‘Man, you stuck it out and you saw some good come out of it,’” Shough said.
The highs of that moment made the following year more difficult to bear. Four games into the 2023 season, Shough was carted off the field with an air cast on after a hip-drop tackle by a West Virginia defender resulted in a broken fibula.
“It was just a lot of true ups and downs to where at that point you kind of understand, ‘Man, my time here is probably done at Texas Tech,’” Shough said.
Jordan said the injuries were “emotionally draining” on Shough, but he kept perspective during the healing process. Jordan said he’d show up to the middle school where she taught and coached multiple sports, often bringing her lunch and encouraging her students.
“He would show up to their games and come to their practices … with me and just do anything and everything that he could be at, which was super special for them because he was kind of this person in this community at that point,” Jordan said. “… It was cool for the 12-year-old boys to see this man that they looked up to treat women really respectfully … come and help out and talk about how he can be goofy, and he can make fun of himself, and it’s OK.”
Despite the uncertainty around his football future, Shough would tell Jordan things were going to be all right. “Jordan, this is going to work out,” he would say.
“It was just not even a question of, ‘If I’m ever going to play football again.’ He was just like, ‘This is what I love, this is what I’m going to do. I know it’s going to work out.’ … He just has this kind of unwavering sense of self about him that is pretty remarkable,” Jordan said.
Keeping his dream alive meant considering another school and another move, and Shough wondered if he needed a backup plan. Texas Tech’s then-offensive coordinator, Zach Kittley, offered to have him join the coaching staff if he was ready to give up playing.
But others told him he should enter the NFL draft immediately.
“You’ll get signed or picked up. You’re smart, you got a good arm, but you’re too old. You’re not going to increase your draft stock,” Shough recalled being told by some critics.
Landry Klann, Shough’s coach at QB Country, a quarterback training and development company, was among those who saw the benefits of another collegiate season.
“He was one of the guys that just believed in me,” Shough said. “He was like, ‘Screw that: If you don’t play well or you get hurt, then you’re going to be in the same situation you are now, which is fine. You’ll get an opportunity, but if you play good then you’re going to increase your chances.’”
Shough entered the transfer portal for the second time and signed with Louisville for his final college season. He started all 12 games for the Cardinals and set career highs for passing touchdowns (23) and passing yards (3,195) before going on to play in the Senior Bowl, participate in the NFL scouting combine and hear his name called on Day 2 of the draft.
That seventh season of college became a year of appreciation for Shough.
“I had that perspective of just gratitude to be in this position, and it kind of lit a fire underneath me,” Shough said. “I want to give everything I can to the city of New Orleans and my teammates because I know what I have to offer, and I want to go out there and work my butt off.”
TYLER WAS BORN into a family of sports fanatics. His parents, Dana and Glenn, both played three sports growing up; his older sisters were high school athletes; and his younger brother, Brady, played football as well.
Dana told ESPN that Tyler was “born with a ball in his hands.” Tyler and Brady spent their summers playing multiple sports.
“You’re working for six hours of baseball, then an hour with football, and then you want to come home and you want to do more sports,” Brady told ESPN. “And so, it’s just to show that he’s willing to do anything and everything. … Looking back on it now, it kind of just shows that he’s really the same way now.”
Tyler credits his parents for his approach on life. Dana was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer in 2006 and was given a terminal diagnosis of nine months, but as of January, it’ll be 20 years since her cancer diagnosis.
Tyler said the way his parents handled that challenging time taught him how to manage his own struggles later on.
“Just a lot of stuff where you feel like it’s out of your control, but trusting in God and his plan for you, and I think that was really, it showed me a lot at the young age where life’s going to happen, and you got to respond to it because it’s going to, how you respond is going to dictate more than about your own behavior and the people around you. … It kind of paralleled what I would go through later in my life,” Tyler said.
Dana emphasized that 2006 was “probably the hardest year of our lives,” but recalled a talk that she had with Tyler’s father at the time — they used their village to show their children how to handle adversity.
“I had friends and family that stepped up and helped out, and I was so appreciative. So Tyler got to see that too, that it’s not just you going through it,” Dana said.
“What he went through [with the injuries], his dog helped him; his wife, Jordan, helped him; his extended family; and his teammates; and the trainers. It takes a village sometimes to get through stuff, but … I feel like I’m a better person. I feel like Tyler is a better person. As a mom, would I want him to go through all that? No. But I think it was meant to be.”
By the time Tyler entered high school in 2014, those around him considered him an “old soul” beyond his years.
In his senior year at Hamilton High School, head football coach Steve Belles was removed from his position in the spring due to a hazing scandal.
Dick Baniszewski stepped in as interim coach for a season, leaning on Tyler and team leaders to get them through the fall. With the media spotlight on the team in the wake of the scandal, Baniszewski emphasized that they could not afford to make any off-the-field mistakes.
When he conveyed that sentiment, Tyler responded: “I’m with you coach, I’ll make everyone understand.”
“Everybody expected Hamilton to not do good that year, and we had a great season, and it was really a lot because we had a kid like Tyler who I could confide in, and he was beyond his years to be able to convey [my message] to the kids,” Baniszewski said.
The team finished 8-4 and lost in the 6A quarterfinals. Tyler signed with Oregon in December following the 2017 season, enrolling that January after graduating high school in 3½ years.
Through all the adversity for Tyler and his family, Dana recalls a life lesson that still applies for her children today.
“When stuff gets tough, that’s when you got to dig deep and get some grit. A fighter’s mentality as we call it,” Dana said.
JORDAN URGES ANYONE who will listen not to mistake Tyler’s gratitude or sense of self for complacency — he wants the Saints’ No. 1 quarterback job.
“Sometimes people hear it too and they’re just like, ‘Oh, do you just not want it bad enough?’ And it’s like, ‘No.’ It’s like we’re still going to fight to the death to make this work,” Jordan said. “We want this more than anything.”
So far, Tyler has done all the right things.
With Jordan’s encouragement, he flew to New Orleans almost as soon as the draft ended in April, intending to get to know his teammates right away. He took advice on local restaurants to eat his first meal (at Drago’s Seafood Restaurant) in the city and joked to reporters that he had already popped a tire in a New Orleans pothole.
“I feel like I’ve got fully ingrained already,” he quipped in May.
Tyler said he sees Brees as someone he’d like to emulate, a quarterback who had success but has also imprinted an indelible mark on the New Orleans community.
Tyler started working out at Tulane with several teammates prior to rookie minicamp, with injured tight end Foster Moreau working as a long-snapper. He quickly connected with tight end Juwan Johnson, a former teammate at Oregon, who he said has been like a big brother to him.
“I’ve lived it now with him for a few years, and I understand how important the relationships outside of the football facility are,” Jordan said.
Tyler said Johnson, an undrafted rookie in 2020 who switched positions in the NFL, was also the kind of person he wanted to mold himself after.
“Once I first got here … he set up a lot of events and invited me to come to dinner with the tight ends or going to a movie or hanging with [him and] his wife,” Tyler said. “A lot of that stuff seems small, but it’s really big when it comes to being around people.”
Tyler also reached out to veteran wide receiver Brandin Cooks, who approached him and a group of teammates, which included Rashid Shaheed and Chris Olave, to work out in Oregon for three days during the offseason. Tyler designed the throwing scripts for the sessions, and in their downtime, everyone went to the lake.
“Obviously, it’s mandatory to be together inside the building, but when you can show that brotherhood, that camaraderie outside the building, I think that shows that you care about one another,” Cooks said.
TYLER KNOWS THERE are no guarantees of success in the NFL. Even with his second-round draft status, he’ll have to put together consistently good days of practices to win the starting role. As the third week of camp begins, none of the quarterbacks has separated from the pack, although Shough appeared to have his best day in an intrasquad scrimmage Sunday.
“Everyone wants to be out there on Sundays as a starting quarterback in the NFL,” Saints coach Kellen Moore said. “That’s every quarterback’s goal and dream, and that should be it. Ultimately, one’s going to play.”
They all have something to prove: Rattler wants his first NFL win after going 0-6 as a starter filling in for an injured Carr in a season in which coach Dennis Allen got fired. Haener wants to wipe away a disastrous start where he got pulled for Rattler in a 20-19 loss to the Washington Commanders. Wanting it won’t simply be enough.
The Saints’ three preseason games will go a long way to determining who is ready to be an NFL starter. And Shough said he loves the work process and the nitty-gritty of putting a game plan together.
Jordan joked that the couple has watched every YouTube video “in existence” of defensive coverages or throwing mechanics from quarterbacks such as Tom Brady, Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers.
“If you fall in love with each day of going into work and having fun with that, then usually the results are good,” Tyler said. “The majority of my career. I was rehabbing and working out and game planning off the field, and I kind of fell in love with that.”
And when they want to get away from football, they’ve immersed themselves in the community, taking their golden retriever, Murphy, who became a celebrity after making the draft-night coverage, on long walks. Jordan said their neighbors have been “amazing,” bringing them food and hurricane preparation packets.
If things work out in New Orleans long term, Tyler said he’d love to find ways to give back, noting that veteran defensive end Cameron Jordan set a “very easy blueprint to follow.”
Ideally, he’d love to help animals, too, Tyler said.
“Especially because seeing how much Murphy has benefited us,” Tyler said. “We’ve talked about it. It’s like if we get to a second contract or something like that, we want to open up a pet hotel or dog shelter. I don’t care if it doesn’t make any money or a single cent. That’s really cool.” He added with a smile: “Shough’s Shelter or something like that.”
At some point the Saints will choose from Shough, Rattler and Haener. If Shough isn’t the winner this season, he won’t give up anytime soon. It’ll be just one more hurdle to overcome in what has already been a long journey.
“I just want to be known as a guy that worked hard and was a good dude in the locker room,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of different hats on my head as far as a starter, a backup, an injured guy, underdog or whatever. … I think the greatest thing that I’ve kind of hung my own hat on is just being a great teammate and a great person and knowing that I’m not perfect, but any way I can, just have fun and be of service to people.
“I want to have success on the field, but if you ask my teammates what they think of me, their response is what I care about, and that just comes with time and being who you are every day.”
Katherine Terrell came back to ESPN to cover the New Orleans Saints in the summer of 2022. She left the company in 2019 after joining in 2016 to cover the Cincinnati Bengals. Katherine is a graduate of LSU and a Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native, and she has covered the NFL since 2013.
Coach Kellen Moore benched Rattler in favor of Shough midway through Sunday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and said after the game that he’d take 48 hours to decide on a starting quarterback.
Sunday’s game against the Rams will be Shough’s first NFL start and his first start overall since he played for Louisville on Nov. 30, 2024.
He completed 17 of 30 passes for 128 yards, one interception and no touchdowns against the Bucs after entering with the team trailing 17-3. Prior to Sunday’s loss, he had seen limited action only at the end of a blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 3.
Rattler, who won the job over Shough during an extended training camp battle, has struggled in his past two games, turning the ball over six times — with four interceptions and two fumbles — in six quarters against the Chicago Bears and the Bucs. He was also sacked seven times in his past six quarters.
He was pulled after the Saints’ first offensive drive of the third quarter vs. Tampa Bay. The Saints went backward on that drive because of three penalties, and Moore said he turned to Shough to try to give the offense a spark.
Rattler is now 1-13 as a starter dating to last season when he filled in for an injured Derek Carr during two separate stints. Rattler’s lone win as a starting quarterback came against the New York Giants this season in Week 5.
SUGAR LAND, Texas — Former NFL running back Adrian Peterson was arrested on charges of driving while intoxicated and unlawfully carrying a weapon after police found him asleep behind the wheel of his SUV at a suburban Houston gas station, according to court records.
Police in Sugar Land found Peterson around 9 a.m. on Sunday asleep as his vehicle was running and parked near a gas pump, according to a probable cause affidavit. No one else was in the vehicle.
“I interviewed Mr. Peterson, and detected the odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his person. I also observed Mr. Peterson had blood shot glossy eyes and slurred speech,” according to the affidavit. “I asked Mr. Peterson where he was coming from, and he stated a poker game in Houston.”
Peterson told an officer he didn’t know where he was and had been trying to get to his home in nearby Missouri City. Peterson told the officer he had consumed two to three shots of a Vodka mix several hours earlier, according to the affidavit.
“I asked Mr. Peterson from a scale of 0 being completely sober to 10 being intoxicated to the point of blacking out where he would rate himself. Mr. Peterson stated he was a 2,” according to the affidavit.
The officer conducted a field sobriety test on Peterson, who had to use his arms to keep his balance and swayed, according to the affidavit.
During a search of Peterson’s SUV, the officer found a Glock handgun in the glove compartment.
It’s the second DWI arrest in seven months for the 2012 NFL MVP and three-time league rushing champion.
Peterson was released from the Fort Bend County Jail on Monday after posting bonds totaling $3,000.
Court records did not list an attorney who could speak on Peterson’s behalf.
The 40-year-old Peterson was a high school football star in East Texas and has lived in the Houston area. He played at Oklahoma before spending the first 10 years of his NFL career with Minnesota, which drafted him No. 7 overall in 2007.
Peterson is one of nine running backs to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. He had 2,097 yards for the Vikings in his MVP season of 2012 and finished with 14,918 yards and 120 touchdowns over 15 seasons. He played for six teams during his final five seasons.
