Bubble? What bubble? Bo Nix and Tim Patrick are a match made in Mile High Heaven.
Don’t overthink this one, Sean Payton. Nothing about a rookie quarterback is a sure thing, so you surround him with as many sure things as possible. Nix needs friends. Has a Broncos quarterback since 2020 had better friends than Patrick’s two hands?
“You get any butterflies running around Empower for the first time in forever?” I asked the Broncos’ veteran receiver Sunday night after Denver stomped what was essentially the Packers’ bench, 27-2.
It should be clear after the Broncos’ preseason-opening win Sunday afternoon in Indianapolis
Of course, Sean Payton was not going to name a starting quarterback after this game – because he doesn’t have to. And really he shouldn’t. Payton is doing it right.
They’ll go through this week at camp, then play the second preseason game next Sunday against the Packers at Empower Field. And then the starter will be obvious.
And, barring any serious setback or injury, it will be the man starting that game for Denver: Bo Nix.
The Broncos’ first-round pick showed it Sunday. He is ready to go, running Payton’s offense efficiently to the tune of 15-of-21 passing for 125 yards and a touchdown. He led four scoring drives for Denver.
QB1 decided? Bo Nix all but put Broncos’ QB competition to bed in preseason opener: Opinion
Nix was getting the ball out quickly to open receivers. He didn’t take any sacks in his debut. And he can also run when he has to, adding three carries for 17 yards.
“I felt very calm and relaxed back there,” Nix said of his first NFL game action. “It was just a game. They were still in [defensive formations like] Cover 3, quarters and man. It’s the same defense, and so you just have to figure out which one they’re in and then execute the play that’s called.”
Of course, he’s got some rough edges. Things to work on. Mistakes to fix.
But it appears he has what it takes to be Payton’s quarterback of the present and the future.
Things are on track just as we expected: A close quarterback battle in training camp that was trimmed down from a three-way race to just two – Nix and Jarrett Stidham.
And Stiddy has been steady, earning the start in preseason game one.
But Bo came in and did exactly what he had to do: Run the offense. Take care of the football. Show poise and good decision making.
If he shows the same thing next Sunday against the Packers, it’s a done deal. That’s when Payton will announce that Nix will be the starting quarterback on Sunday Sept. 8 in Seattle.
Payton didn’t tip his hand on Sunday, praising all three quarterbacks who took snaps against the Colts.
“I thought all three of them handled the settings well. I think that their decisions for the most part were good,” he said. “But certainly it gives us – I’m going to go past the quarterback, for all these players – you get a little bit better insight. […] Even in wins, the same way in losses, you can find things you’re doing well. We’ve got to be smart enough tomorrow when we watch the tape, to clean up and correct some of the things that we weren’t doing as well with.”
AJ Mast/AP
Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) carries the ball against the Indianapolis Colts during the second quarter of a preseason NFL football game, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024, in Westfield, Ind. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
Bo is older than most rookies. He’s only a year younger than Zach Wilson. He’s no fresh-faced kid coming out of college.
He played 61 big-time college games, the most ever by a college quarterback. And he is proving he’s mature enough, smart enough, and has the physical tools to lead this Broncos team into the regular season.
“He’s a rookie, but I think he’s also like 26 (24) so he’s kind of not a rookie,” Stidham said. “But he’s been great every single day. […] He knows how to go out there and make some plays. So, it was fun to watch him play today.”
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Jarrett Stidham will start the Denver Broncos’ preseason opener against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. But coach Sean Payton was quick to add that rookie Bo Nix will start next week when the Broncos host the Green Bay Packers.
Nix and Stidham have been splitting snaps with the starters over the last week after Zach Wilson was relegated mostly to working with the backups.
If Nix wins the starting job he’ll be the 14th different starting QB since Peyton Manning retired in 2016.
Quinn Meinerz is going to be able to buy all the telescopes he wants.
The ascending offensive lineman and the Broncos agreed to a massive four-year contract extension worth up to $80 million and including $45 million in guarantees, multiple sources confirmed to The Denver Post on Tuesday evening.
Meinerz, a third-round draft pick in 2021, was entering the final year of his rookie contract and now will be with Denver for the foreseeable future. The former University of Wisconsin-Whitewater standout capitalized on a booming market for interior offensive linemen and the Broncos secured a player whom they consider to be a cornerstone talent.
Quinn Meinerz is going to be able to buy all the telescopes he wants.
The ascending offensive lineman and the Broncos agreed to a massive four-year contract extension worth up to $80 million and including $45 million in guarantees, multiple sources confirmed to The Denver Post on Tuesday evening.
Meinerz, a third-round draft pick in 2021, was entering the final year of his rookie contract and now will be with Denver for the foreseeable future. The former University of Wisconsin-Whitewater standout capitalized on a booming market for interior offensive linemen and the Broncos secured a player whom they consider to be a cornerstone talent.
Meinerz was an internet sensation coming out of college because his COVID-era workouts included moving logs at his uncle’s fishing camp. As he’s settled into the NFL, he’s become an avid collector of “chill synth” vinyl, bowling balls and telescopes. He is also a dominating football player who took a big step in 2023 and looks set to be one of the NFL’s best interior linemen for years to come.
Meinerz told The Post last fall that he felt as though he was in the midst of something approaching a breakout. Not only that, but he had become comfortable stating a simple aspiration.
Justin Simmons the football player remains in a state of limbo.
Simmons the person looked right at home Saturday morning in Montbello.
The 31-year-old, released by the Broncos after eight seasons back in March, has seen his free agency now inch toward the three-month mark.
You wouldn’t have known it at the Denver Broncos Boys & Girls Club for the annual March for Peace on this sun-splashed morning.
“God is so good. I’m so thankful for this time and for his faithfulness in terms of slowing me down and not taking things for granted,” Simmons said in his first public comments since his Broncos tenure ended this spring. “This offseason has been such a blessing. I’ve had a tremendous opportunity in my eyes to regain some lost moments of hanging out with family, I’ve got to go to my daughter’s dance recitals and I’ve got to see them grow and I’ve got to be home a lot more. All while training and staying ready so I don’t have to get ready.
“One door closes and another opens and that’ll open at some point here in the future.”
The two-time Pro Bowl safety didn’t want to talk much about football or about his future prospects with a pair of reporters on hand, but he readily acknowledged a piece of symmetry that borders perhaps on poetic.
The organizers of this event, Nashara Ellerbee and Naja’Ray West, are graduating seniors and off to Colorado State University in the fall. It’s a time of change in their lives. A time of excitement but also anxiousness. When you’ve made the impact they’ve made on a community, you don’t know quite what’s coming behind you, but if you’ve made your mark well, you can have confidence that it’s something good.
That’s Simmons, too. He doesn’t know where he’ll be playing next year just yet, but he knows he’s enjoying this offseason. He knows he finds himself feeling every bit as rooted here among the familiar faces and folks who perhaps once saw him as a football player but now just see him as justin.
“Honestly, even now in this time of transition, I’ve talked to them because they’re both getting ready to go off to college and we’re talking about next steps and who’s roommates and classes and what are we going to do here and when do we get to visit family?” he said. “And I’m talking them through it from my experience in college. But similarly I’m taking the same step just with another team at some point. And so it’ll be the same thing, right? New locker room, new coaches, wanting to fit in, wanting to establish yourself with your play. So we’re both in this thing almost together in different aspects. I’m looking to them for encouragement and they’re encouraging me and I hope I’m doing a good job encouraging them.
“They’ve just been a huge blessing. I love their heart, I love their passion for people and their community and that’s what I’ve learned the most from them is just how impactful you can be just by loving on people.”
“I’ve learned so much, even the intentionality that they’ve put into trying to help their own hometown, backyard,” Simmons said. “For me, you’re so plugged into trying to help as many people as you can. And I think Nashara and Ray Ray have done a good job of putting into perspective for me as, like, helping the people that you’ve done life with. That’s super important. Never lose sight of that. I think it’s great if you want to help as many people as you can and inspire as many people as you can, but you never want to forget the community and the people that helped you along the way and helped raised you and helped grow with you.”
Simmons, of course, is a Florida native. He went to college at Boston College. Now he’s been in Denver since 2016. The past several years, this has been his community.
“This is our brother at the end of the day,” West said of Simmons. “Regardless of where we end up and they end up, where he ends up on a new team, we’re family. We’re always going to have each other. When he comes to this event he comes not as a football player but as himself. Justin Simmons the guy that we know. Not the Denver Broncos safety.
Added Ellerbee, “I just know that he’s going to be there for us. He goes to our graduations, both of our senior nights. He’s just a guy we can count on if we need anything.”
As the pair addressed the crowd just before the run through Montbello started, they waved Simmons to the front to stand with them. He did for a minute and helped get the group’s attention, but then ceded all of the talking to West and Ellerbee.
He watched from the side and nodded along as they talked about their confidence in the future of the event despite their departures and about how much the community means to them.
“They’ve helped me so much,” Simmons said. “I’m looking forward to seeing this last hoo-rah, but also looking forward to seeing what the kids in the future here do to continue on Ray Ray and Nashara’s legacy.”
Benn launched. He left his feet. Toews’ head snapped like a crash test dummy. Officials declared it a shoulder-on-shoulder crime and suggested we all move on. To paraphrase my best pal Deion Sanders, that’s some bull junk, right there.
For one, even if the Stars winger was aiming for Toews’ shoulder, at least one angle showed him connecting directly with No. 7’s neck. Which, last I checked, is connected to and immediately south of the head.
“I mean, does he catch a piece of his shoulder? Yeah, I guess you could argue that,” Avs coach Jared Bednar, whose team returns to Denver after a road split at American Airlines Center, replied when I asked about the collision. “But the target is high and it’s at his head, and he makes contact with the head. And I’ve seen, many times, guys get called for the head shot and penalty with a lot less than that. But I guess they didn’t think so.”
Two, Benn knew exactly what he was doing. The Stars knew what he was doing. Dallas coach Pete DeBoer, whose Vegas teams delighted in pushing the Avs around in the postseason, knew darn well.
“Benner has been outstanding in this playoff. I thought against Vegas he did and he did (it) smart,” the Stars boss said late Thursday night. “He did it at the right times and he did it clean. But his presence physically is having an impact for us in these playoffs in a real positive way.’’
In the NFL, Benn’s shot is an ejection, a fine, a suspension and a chat with the safety cops.
In the NHL, it’s a “real positive” presence, a strategic wrinkle in a no-holds-barred, merciless bracket.
The refs decided the hit was at Toews’ shoulder blade and not a head shot. Some slo-mo angles showed otherwise, especially as the D-man pinged off another Dallas player like a rag dol. By the letter of the law, it looked (makes air quotes) “clean.”
But barely legal is still barely.
“It is what it is,” Bednar said. “You’ve got to play through it.”
Once a bully knows they can get away with murder in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, there’s only way to stop a killing spree.
Someone’s gotta pick up the Captain’s spine. Someone’s gotta let Benn know that this won’t stand. And neither will he.
Someone’s gotta pick up Landy’s steel. Landy’s soul.
It’s not in Nathan MacKinnon’s game, bless him. It’s not in Cale Makar’s DNA, although a reactive shove after Toews got clocked landed him in an awkward headlock for a few seconds.
“Hopefully there was no intent into the head,” Avs forward Andrew Cogliano said of the Benn ambush.
Then, instead of walking it back, Cogs walked it forward.
“Maybe there was, obviously, a little bit to the head,” Cogliano added. “But, yeah, I don’t know.”
He knew. Everybody did.
“It’s a physical game this time of year,” Bednar said, “but I just can’t understand how that was not a penalty. Even if it isn’t a five (minute major).”
Join the club. Fortunately, Toews returned to the ice, but Benn needs a break. And a lesson. If the league won’t do it, somebody in burgundy and blue needs to apply a little elbow grease.
Saylor Swanson says it so casually you can almost miss it.
“I’ve always pictured myself playing quarterback,” Swanson, an Arvada West High junior, said Wednesday morning at the Broncos’ training facility.
She has been, really, for the past two years playing flag football in CHSAA’s pilot program.
She will be this fall, too, but in a slightly different capacity. She’ll be the quarterback for her team’s varsity program after Colorado on Tuesday became the 11th state to make girls flag football a sanctioned high school sport.
On Wednesday, Broncos owner Carrie Walton Penner, team executives and CHSSA commissioner Mike Krueger talked about the journey to get to this point, but also about what comes next.
Broadly, it’s a similar set of feelings for Swanson and the players as it is for the people tasked with implementing the sport and growing it around the state. It’ll be similar to the past two years in some ways, bigger in some ways and exciting all the same. And there’s plenty of work and growth ahead.
“I’m so glad it’s actually taken off,” Saylor said. “I played football when I was a little kid with my brothers and I’ve always wanted to play. I never expected it to be an option. I played co-ed when I was younger and I kind of quit because the boys were getting rough and I was the only girl.
“I’ve always wanted to play for an all-girls team and high school, playing with my friends, it’s just so awesome.”
The Broncos made it clear that the organization will be part of the next phase, too. They’ll continue providing funding and the team’s vice president of community impact and Denver Broncos Foundation executive director Allie Engelken also said they’ll provide education on grant opportunities through Nike, USA Football and other resources available to schools.
“We’re excited to continue to support this sport this season and beyond,” Engelken said. “We do that through not only financial commitment for schools as well as high-impact for youth, but also through a lot of programmatic elements.”
As it pertains to girls flag football, Engelken said those include, “officials and referee recruitment and training. Coaches clinics and sanctioning. Ensuring coaches feel prepared to coach an emerging sport. That includes a regional NFL Flag tournament. … that will continue in partnership with the NFL.
“We see our opportunity for support to continue to grow.”
Krueger noted many school districts face tight budgets in the first place — ”I’ve yet to talk to an athletic director who calls me and says, ‘I’m trying to figure out what to do with all the money I have,’” he said – but expressed confidence that girls flag football is well worth the relatively modest investment.
“The neat thing about girls flag football and flag football in general is that the barriers to it are not hard to overcome,” Krueger said. “It doesn’t take a lot of equipment. The jamboree styles that were incorporated, I know in talking to my colleges across the state — the athletic and activities directors — when you can run three games on one full-sized, 120-yard field, that makes the facility availability and equipment cost (more manageable) and you don’t need 30 or 40 people out there to have a team.”
Not only that, but the data collected so far shows more than half of the pilot program participants weren’t playing another fall sport. To Engelken and the others here Wednesday, that suggests the sport is poised to provide not only an alternate avenue but a new path altogether for girls around the state.
“That’s why this moment matters,” Walton Penner said. “It matters for every girl who loves football but has never seen a place for herself. It matters for every student who has watched others find their passion. For every high school kid looking for her team, her community, her people, this matters.”
Rescuing Zach Wilson is smart. Stopping at Zach Wilson is hubris.
As a quarterback, Wilson’s merely appetizer material. If the NFL draft is still serving Bo Nix or Michael Penix Jr. as a main course, and at a reasonable cost, the Broncos would be crazy not to bite.
A QB room consisting of Wilson, Jarrett Stidham, Ben DiNucci and a seventh-round flier to be named late would be the worst in the division (pending Raiderfoonery ). And arguably the worst in an AFC that’s still loaded with franchise signal-callers.
In isolation, though, you get it. Landing Wilson from the Jets with a seventh-round pick for a sixth-rounder is a solid, low-cap, low-risk move. It just better not be the only one, at least where the quarterback is concerned.
After Russell Wilson took the money and ran, the best thing the Broncos could do at QB1 right now is open this competition to the masses. Bring in as many bodies as you can afford until one of them actually sticks.
On one hand, the kid did beat Russell Wilson, head-to-head, at Empower Field as a visiting QB with the Jets twice in two trips since September 2022.
On the other, what the heck does that say?
If you look at Zach Wilson’s 30 career starts against anyone not named the Broncos, he’s sported a 10-20 record, thrown 23 touchdowns and 22 picks, and completed 17 passes per game at a clip of 56.5%.
Wiser football heads, old coaches and scouts texted me Monday to say they still see a spark in Zach Wilson, that nobody could’ve walked away from the dumpster fire that is the J-E-T-S without some second-degree burns. That maybe Broncos QB Whisperer Sean Payton — Russell Wilson notwithstanding — is the sensei who winds up bringing it out of the guy, the way he brought it out of Drew Brees, Teddy Bridgewater and Kerry Collins, another top-5 bust in his early days with Carolina.
Although with the latter, it’s worth noting that Collins went 16-9 as a starter over his first two seasons with the Panthers, pre-Payton. He even made a Pro Bowl during his second season in the league before things went south. Wilson, at a similar stage in his career, hasn’t come anywhere close to that.
As depth, though, he works. As insurance, he fits. If anything, it means Payton and GM George Paton don’t have to feel forced to sell whatever farm is left in order to try to swoop into one of the top 5 picks in the draft. It probably also means that they’re not sure if they’ve got the capital to even pull that off.
Unless the tank for 2025 — a reality show of Shedeur Sanders, Deion Sanders and Peyton would be more theater than these mountains could handle — is truly on, Wilson helps a QB room. He doesn’t complete it. Add Penix or Nix to that mix, though? Now you’re cookin’ with gas.
Wilson is the banana bread French toast at Panzano, the mac & cheese at Nola Jane. A great first bite. But if he’s the last, this off-season is going to leave Broncos Country with a familiar, empty feeling in their guts.
DAYTON, Ohio — The iron was unkind to CU almost all night long. But in March, an ugly win with a ticket to the next round of the Big Dance beats a pretty flight home to Boulder any day of the week.
Thanks to a double-double from guard KJ Simpson and clutch buckets by forward Tristan da Silva, the Buffs advanced out of the NCAA Tournament’s First Four with a 60-53 win over Boise State at UD Arena.
CU (25-10) will meet Florida (24-11) on Friday in a first-round matchup in Indianapolis.
It was the third NCAA tourney win for the Buffs under Tad Boyle since 2012 and the program’s second since 2021.
With CU trailing 49-45, the Buffs’ Big Two of Simpson and da Silva brought their squad up off the mat, and extended a wild, roller-coaster season in the process.
The latter’s trey from the corner made it a 49-48 game, and Simpson scored the next four points — via two free throws and a runner in the lane — to put CU up three. Center Eddie Lampkin Jr.’s soft follow with 32.8 seconds left, released just before the shot clock expired, gave the Buffs a 54-49 cushion.
Wednesday was CU’s fourth game in seven days, and late in the tilt, the Buffs’ legs appeared to show some wear. Jumpers off the fingers of Simpson that he normally swishes trended short, and 50-50 rebounds near the rim on Boise misses were more often snagged by the scrappier Broncos in the second half.
The Buffs opened the second stanza on a 9-4 run that also served as one of their best stretches of play to that point. Simpson accounted for four of those points, and the point guard’s layup with 15:58 left in the game elevated the CU lead to 35-28.
But for much of the evening, anytime the Buffs started to build up breathing room, Boise found a way to claw right back into the fight. Broncos forward Cam Martin’s layup with 12:58 left capped a 9-3 Boise run.
Martin’s putback with 9:11 to go, the culmination of a da Silva turnover and a mad scramble the other way, knotted the score at 43-all.
While the Buffs’ offense stalled, O’Mar Stanley’s layup with 7:11 left put the Broncos up 45-43. Roddie Anderson III missed an open bunny on a backdoor cut, but Tyson Degenhart’s high-arcing follow was true, extending that Boise cushion to 47-43 and forcing Boyle to call a timeout.
If you liked your basketball games to resemble a rock fight, the first half of Buffs-Broncos was for you.
In a contest begging for someone who could create their own shot off the dribble, only CU’s da Silva obliged early. The senior forward led all scorers at the break with 11 points, and the Buffs upperclassman’s 3-point play gave CU an early 9-6 lead about six minutes into the tilt.
But Boise countered with a 7-0 run of its own, and a Chibuzo Agbo layup put the Broncos ahead 13-9 with 11:54 to go until halftime.
Both sides retrenched after a television timeout. On the first possession coming out of it, however, CU incurred a shot-clock violation. It wasn’t Virginia cold, but Boyle’s Buffs weathered a scoring drought of 2:16 midway through the opening stanza.
Luke O’Brien’s 3-point play with 2:42 until the break pushed CU’s cushion to 24-18. But the Buffs managed only one more field goal for the rest of the first half, and clung to a 26-24 edge at the break. The Pac-12 reps misfired on seven of their first eight 3-point attempts, while the Broncos of the Mountain West opened 1 for 10 from beyond the arc.
BOULDER — The NCAA still can’t read a room. But man, can they ever kill one.
Kindyll Wetta and her teammates on the CU women’s basketball team were belles of the ball inside the Dal Ward Center. You shoulda seen it. Balloons. Cheerleaders. Catering. One of the sweetest pep rallies to grace the Touchdown Club since Coach Prime got injected into the Buffs’ bloodstream here some 16 months ago.
As the NCAA Tournament brackets came on the screen, the party hushed. Then when Kansas State came up as a 4 seed and as a host for the first weekend of the women’s Big Dance, it sank.
“It’s definitely a bummer for me because I wanted to play at home and I wanted to be in front of my family,” Wetta, the firebrand of a Buffs guard and former Valor Christian star, told me after CU found out its first stop in Bracketville would be as a 5 seed opposite K-State in the Little Apple of Manhattan, Kan. “I thought this year we really had a great shot of doing that. It’s disappointing in that sense.”
There was a lot of that going around here Sunday night. The mood was even less jovial a few hours earlier up in Fort Collins, where the men’s selection committee decided to take its annual dose of stupid out on the Mountain West as a whole — and on the Rams in particular.
Want a laugh? Committee member Bubba Cunningham contended on CBS that teams selected from the Mountain West, save for San Diego State, got strapped to double-digit seedings because their best wins were over one another.
“(That) made it more challenging for us,” Cunningham explained.
Not half as challenging, apparently, as trying to stay up past 10 p.m. Eastern to do homework on teams west of Lincoln. Poor guy.
At least five teams — lookin’ at you, Oregon, NC State and New Mexico — “stole” bids from more worthy at-larges by winning their respective conference tourneys. But any ‘S’ curve that’s got CSU as the “last team in” gets an automatic F.
Do you watch the games, Bubba? Or do you watch “X” and Instagram and hope for the best? CSU beat Creighton by 21 on a neutral court. The Jays were slotted as a No. 3 seed Sunday. The Rammies (24-10) were unveiled as a 10.
Boise State, who’ll take on Tad Boyle’s CU men on Wednesday night, beat Saint Mary’s on a semi-neutral floor by three. The Gaels are dancing as a 5 seed. The Broncos, like CSUand CU, are a 10 seed having to scrap their way over to the Big Kids’ Bracket by winning in Dayton first.
“To be honest, I was really surprised how most of the Mountain West was seeded,” stunned CSU coach Niko Medved, who’ll face Virginia on Tuesday in Ohio, told reporters.
“But you know what? That’s fine. They always disrespect our league. And now it’s time to go out and do something about it.”
Amen. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that the Cavaliers (23-10), on paper, are certainly in the Rammies’ weight class. For one thing, unlike Michigan in 2022, UVa doesn’t have a Hunter Dickinson down low, taking up a duplex’s worth of space in the paint. On the surface, it’s the irresistible force (CSU’s shooters) against the immovable object (Tony Bennett’s trademark tire-iron defense), a classic Clark Kellogg “contrast-in-styles” scrum between a Rams offense ranked 42nd nationally by KenPom.com in adjusted offensive efficiency and a Cavs D that’s seventh in adjusted defense. If you’re hopping over to Dayton, take the under and take your pizza square-cut.
If the Oppenheimers on the men’s committee dinged CSU for its 4-7 mark away from Moby Madness, their counterparts on the women’s side docked the Buffs (22-9) for losing six of their last eight, including a maddening, come-from-ahead loss to Oregon State in the Pac-12 tourney.
In March, you make your own luck. The Buffs women — despite being one of the best draws in all of college basketball, male or female — didn’t.
“I mean, (it’s) definitely frustrating,” Wetta said. “But like (Coach JR Payne) said, you can’t dwell on that, because (now) it’s completely different conferences, completely different teams, styles of play.”
CU women’s basketball players react to being selected as the fifth seed for the NCAA tournament during a watch party in the Touchdown Club at Dal Ward at the University of Colorado at Boulder in Boulder, Colorado on March 17, 2024. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)
At least Wetta and her teammates know the drill. Payne’s Buffs got shipped to third seed and host Duke at this time last year and earned their Sweet 16 berth the hard way, stomping 11th-seeded Middle Tennessee and then shocking the Blue Devils in overtime to advance out of Durham.
“I feel like the same situation’s happened to us the past two years, where we thought we should’ve been a higher seed and we weren’t,” Wetta reflected. “So, again, it’s nothing new. Disappointing, but we’re used to it.
“I think we definitely do better with underdog mentality. So I think that’s a good thing going into the NCAA Tournament. It just adds a little bit of fuel to the fire.”
Why bust brackets when you can burn ’em? Pack your bags, kids. And your grudges. This dance just got personal.
The Denver Broncos will absorb an NFL-record $53 million in dead cap money with quarterback Russell Wilson’s release, according to multiple reports.
The Broncos made Wilson’s release on Wednesday, the first day of the NFL’s new league year. He was given a post-June 1 designation, meaning the cap hit can be spread over two seasons.
Still, the $53 million penalty is the largest single-season hit in NFL history, according to sports contract database Spotrac. It accounts for more than 20% of the team’s salary cap in 2024, which last month was increased to just north of $255 million per team.
Wilson will also cost the Broncos $32 million against the cap in 2025, according to multiple reports.
The Denver #Broncos $53M dead cap charge for Russell Wilson this season will represent the highest single season cap hit in any capacity in #NFL history.
It accounts for 20.5% of Denver’s adjusted salary cap in 2024.
Denver spent the days leading up to NFL free agency preparing for this. It cleared nearly $50 million in cap space by cutting safety Justin Simmons and tight end Chris Manhertz, trading wideout Jerry Jeudy and restructuring a handful of other contracts.
Those moves allowed them to push a more significant salary cap penalty into a rebuilding year in 2024 to ease the longterm pain of Wilson’s albatross contract.
Wilson, meanwhile, will play for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024-25 on a team-friendly deal. Pittsburgh will pay him around $1.2 million, according to several reports.
From the sidelines – in sacking Russell Wilson — the Broncos and Denver lost not only a great QB, but very decent and genuine human beings, both he and his family. The fault lies not with Wilson but with Sean Payton and his inability to coach the talent he had at his disposal. And quality talent it was. They should have dumped Payton. The very best to Wilson and his family. Would it not be the height of irony if he lands with a team that knocks Denver out of Super Bowl competition?
Steven Turner, Aurora
Transition to renewables is more than fast enough
Re: “Colorado’s renewable energy transition too slow,” March 2 letter to the editor
I disagree with the letter writer’s opinion that Colorado’s clean energy transition is too slow. I don’t believe the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s data support his argument.
Yes, Iowa produces more wind power than Colorado. It also operates a fleet of coal plants. In November 2023, Iowa’s coal power consumption per capita equaled Colorado’s. In 2022, Iowa’s and Colorado’s power sectors produced roughly the same amount of CO2 emissions, but Colorado has twice the population.
Colorado’s coal plants are slated for shutdown within the next 7 years. Iowa’s are not. The accelerated closures are a direct result of climate policy led by Gov. Polis in 2019. If the letter writer feels that Colorado’s coal transition is “dangerously slow”, he should talk with folks in Moffat County where Craig Station will close within four years, eliminating half the county’s tax base and most of the good-paying jobs.
How about grid reliability? Colorado’s coal-powered generation ends within 7 years. Within that timeframe, our utilities must build and deploy new assets to replace the energy coal supplied, balance out intermittent renewables, reform the grid to handle new sources and connect all that new renewable generation. The letter writer should pitch his faster-faster theory to the utilities that keep our lights on and our EVs charged.
We need clean, reliable energy and healthy economies in rural Colorado. “Move fast and break things” may be a viable strategy for tech start-ups. It’s a dangerous strategy for state-wide energy transition and the economic disruption that can bring.
Russell Wilson may play at Empower Field in 2024 after all.
It would just be in the black and gold.
Wilson, who has not even been formally released by the Broncos but is set to be later this week, announced Sunday night that he plans to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Multiple outlets have reported that the sides have an agreement on a one-year contract.
Wilson will likely play at the veteran minimum of $1.21 million because he has $39 million in guaranteed salary from Denver for the 2024 season. The Broncos will pay all of that amount except for Wilson’s salary with a new team, so there’s little incentive for the Steelers to pay him more than the minimum.
The Broncos still must actually release Wilson, which they will do sometime between the start of the 2024 NFL league year at 2 p.m. Wednesday and March 17. After they informed Wilson of their intent to release him a week ago, Denver allowed Wilson to begin speaking with other teams as if he were already a free agent.
When they do process his release, Denver will have to account for $85 million in dead salary cap charges over the next two seasons. The Broncos will decide whether to take $35.4 million in 2024 and $49.6 million in 2025 or $53 million in 2024 and $32 million in 2025.
In Pittsburgh, Wilson will play his 13 season for his third team and do so under longtime head coach Mike Tomlin and first-year offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, the former Atlanta head coach. Wilson will compete with former first-round draft pick Kenny Pickett for the starting job.
It’s a long way from the mega trade that brought Wilson to Denver just two years ago and the subsequent five-year, $245 million extension, but Wilson has maintained that he’s motivated and excited for the next chapter of his career regardless of where it materializes. Now, it’s in the Steel City.
Oh, and Pittsburgh visits Denver during the 2024 season, so Wilson will be back on the Front Range, perhaps even as the Steelers’ starting quarterback. The NFL usually announces its schedule in early May.
No doubt that game will be a centerpiece of Denver’s schedule and the NFL’s slate.
Russell Wilson reiterated that he hopes to return to the Broncos in 2024 but doesn’t know whether that will happen during a podcast with former Denver wide receiver Brandon Marshall.
Over more than 80 minutes on Marshall’s “I Am Athlete” podcast, the pair talked extensively about Wilson’s career, marriage, family and much more but they also briefly got down to brass tacks about Wilson’s current limbo with Denver.
“For me it’s about winning. In the next five years I want to win two (Super Bowls),” Wilson said. “I want to feel the chill of that trophy again. So yeah, I want to go back to Denver. I hope I get to go back. I’d love to go back, to be honest with you. I’ve got amazing teammates.”
Wilson, though, acknowledged he doesn’t know if that will happen. Marshall tried to get him to talk about other potential destinations, but the veteran quarterback didn’t bite.
“I honestly haven’t really thought about it. I’m still in Denver,” he said, later adding, “If it’s not there, though, I’d go to a place where we can win again.”
Asked if Wilson could play again for Broncos head coach Sean Payton after their first season together, he said flatly, “Yeah.”
Most in the NFL expect, though, that Denver will release or, far less likely, find a trade partner to jettison Wilson before March 17, when $37 million in 2025 base salary would become guaranteed.
The podcast went live Sunday night, perhaps not coincidentally, just before the NFL descends on Indianapolis for this week’s Scouting Combine. It’s a time on the calendar when a lot of business gets done and a lot of groundwork for future moves is put into place. Payton and general manager George Paton are slated to speak Tuesday morning and now Wilson’s put his stance on the record ahead of time.
“My house ain’t for sale. It’s not for sale,” Wilson said before tempering that a bit.
“It’s not on the market right now.”
Either way, he said he feels like he bounced back from a poor 2022 season and is planning on playing at a high level well into the future.
“People think I’m out of there. Maybe I am, but no matter what I’d love to go back,” he said. “I committed. There. I committed to be there. I want to win more Super Bowls there. I love the city and everything else, but you also want to be at a place that wants you, too.”
Wilson and Marshall also revisited the bye week conversations between his agent, Mark Rodgers, Paton and Broncos vice president of football administration Rich Hurtado that led to acrimony over the potential that Wilson would be benched for up to the team’s final nine games.
He talked for the first time about telling Courtland Sutton – but nobody else in the locker room – about the situation shortly after the Broncos won at Buffalo in Week 10 and a meeting he had with Payton after the bye week.
“I get back on Monday, I still don’t know necessarily what’s going to happen, and on that Monday that’s when I meet with Sean,” he said. “And Sean said, ‘Hey, treat it like nothing happened. You’re going to play this week, we’ve got a big game this week against Buffalo. We’ve got to go win on Monday Night Football.”
Wilson ultimately started seven games after Denver’s bye before Payton benched him for Jarrett Stidham for the final two games of the season.
Wilson wasn’t part of the conversations directly during the bye week, but said Sunday night that the NFL told the Broncos their negotiating stance, “is illegal. You can’t do this.” However, league sources have maintained – and reiterated Sunday night – that the NFL never told the Broncos they were out of line. The only assertion of that came from an outside counsel retained by the NFL Players Association, which was outlined in a letter reported on in January by the Washington Post.
Cherry Creek did Valor Christian dirty. A game that should’ve been in Christian McCaffrey’s hands in the third quarter wound up in Patrick Mahomes’ mitts during overtime.
And let’s be frank: It’s because McCaffrey, the 49ers star and former Valor bell cow, touched the ball 14 times in the first half and just three times in the third quarter, a stretch that helped Mahomes and Patriots West get up off the mat.
It wasn’t the same script as the one that burned young Shanahan as badly as when he was offensive coordinator with the Falcons — a 28-3 Super Bowl lead turned, inexplicably, into another Tom Brady triumph.
But the beats felt eerily close. Little Shanny responded to a touchdown cushion and a Mahomes interception coming out of halftime with six straight pass plays … which amassed negative-2 net yards. For a painful, fleeting moment, Kyle forgot he had the best tailback in the free world. He let Mahomes hang around too long.
We already know how much the football gods love No. 15. Why tease or tempt them? Look at Kansas City’s postseason path. Miami at home? Minus-27 wind chill. Buffalo on the road? Wide right. Baltimore on the road? Lamar Jackson forgot he was Lamar and tied himself up in knots trying to be Mahomes.
With 2:32 left in the third stanza, those gods finally struck. A Chiefs punt scraped the heel of Niners special-teamer Darrell Luter Jr. and eventually was recovered by KC’s Jaylen Watson at the San Fran 16.
Never one to refuse a gift, Mahomes pounced on the very next play, finding a wide-open Marquez Valdes-Scantling in the front of the end zone for an easy score and the Chiefs’ first lead of the evening, 12-10.
San Fran, meanwhile, had opened with stanza with the rock at the KC 44, thanks to a clutch pick. Nothing. Shanahan got it back at the Niners 36. Still nada.
This after Little Shanny and the Niners had ceded the halftime stage to Usher nursing a 10-3 lead — a scoreline that flattered the defending champs.
Midway through the second quarter, the Chiefs’ ball of championship steel wool appeared to be unraveling, one strand at a time. CBS cameras showed Travis Kelce running over to coach Andy Reid, like a man possessed, and shoving his longtime coach in his side, raging and barking as if Captain Cheeseburger had just name-dropped one of Taylor Swift’s ex-paramours.
Despite both teams’ sloppy starts, Shanahan was at least wise enough not to forget what he had in the backfield — McCaffrey touched the ball 14 times those first two quarters, nine of them carries.
But the sweetest came on what looked, at first, like a broken play salvaged by speed and insanity. Slowed down, though, it became apparent that The Son of The Mastermind is indeed a chip off the old zone block.
With 4:23 left until halftime, Niners wideout Jauan Jennings caught a lateral in the left flat, eyes upfield. Only he shifted quickly to his right, flicking a pass, this one a wounded duck, in the direction of McCaffrey. The Denver native had to spring to snare the ball in mid-flight, building up a head of steam the way Popeye does after wolfing down a can of spinach.
Valor Christian’s finest, sure enough, proved strong to the finish. With at least two Niners blockers obstructing traffic in the right flat, McCaffrey turned what looked like sheer insanity into a 21-yard touchdown sprint and a 9-0 cushion.
Kyle learned his lessons well. But the son of Mike, who coached the Broncos to back-to-back championships, also knew when to fold ’em on this stage. When to hold ’em. When to walk away. And, most importantly, when to run.
DENVER — When Randy Gradishar was a teenager, he received a phone call that changed his life. It was from the office at Champion High School. Gradishar had a visitor, some guy named Woody Hayes.
“I had no clue who that was,” Gradishar recalled last summer.
It was not long before Hayes, the iconic Ohio State football coach, was chatting up Gradishar’s father at the local grocery store. The two talked about World War II. They hit it off, and soon afterward, Gradishar became a Buckeye and college football star.
Thursday night, he received another memorable call. Gradishar learned that the selection committee rubberstamped his candidacy, leading to his election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“Randy is one of the most impactful figures in the history of the Broncos and one of the greatest linebackers of all-time. The famed ‘Orange Crush’ will now finally have its first Hall of Famer,” said Broncos owner and CEO Greg Penner.
For Gradishar and the Broncos, it ends one of the most confusing snubs of excellence. Gradishar last played in 1983. His stats have not changed — he remains a seven-time Pro Bowler, multiple-time All-Pro and the 1978 Defensive Player of the Year. Yet, it took three decades to reach Canton.
Gradishar leaned on his faith over the past decade, refusing to become soured by his omission. It made his election Thursday, which was announced at the NFL Honors in Las Vegas, resonate even deeper for his friends, family, and advocates.
“Oh man, this means a lot. Many people have heard me say this 1,000 times, ‘Randy Gradishar should have been in before a ton of Hall of Famers,’ including myself,” Broncos Hall of Famer Steve Atwater said. “He’s always been deserving. He was the epitome of the Orange Crush. He’s such a wonderful guy. I love that he’s not even upset that it took as long as it did. He’s happy he’s in now, and it couldn’t happen to a more deserving guy.”
Gradishar carved out a legacy as an iron man, playing in all 151 games of his career with versatility and ferocity. The former Ohio State star intercepted 20 passes and scored three touchdowns. But the highlights of Gradishar begin and end with a man who had more big hits than Taylor Swift.
He became a stop sign at the goal line. Go through the black-and-white photos or the YouTube highlights, then pick up your jaw. Gradishar slammed into ball carriers in a way that caused cringes of concern for the running back’s family.
And about those stats. Gradishar finished with more than 2,000 tackles. He could crank out 20 in a game and 200 in a season with alarming regularity. There were so many that his numbers were viewed suspiciously. That led to a discussion that he was good, not great. It was a mistake of ignorance. There’s no other way to view it.
In August 2023, Gradishar called his advancement by the senior committee a blessing. He remained optimistic and unselfish over the last decade as his name threatened to become a fading memory.
Thursday became a validation of his career, even if he wasn’t seeking it. The Broncos’ Orange Crush defense represents the pinned location that put Denver on the map as a legitimate sports city. When Denver beat the Raiders in the AFC Championship Game, it changed everything. That defense inspired T-shirts and Orange Crush sodas.
Remember Rocktober in 2007? This was similar. And in some ways, Gradishar was the Broncos’ Todd Helton. Like Helton, he played his entire career with one team and showed off a sleeves-rolled-up work ethic.
Gradishar joins a list of recent Broncos to reach Canton, including the first defenders in Champ Bailey and Atwater. Gradishar turns 72 next month, but he will always be remembered as No. 53, a man who will now forever walk with the game’s immortals.
Quarterback Brock Purdy became first San Francisco 49ers quarterback to throw four interceptions in a game since Colin Kaepernick in 2015; Baltimore Ravens and 49ers both remain top of their respective conferences and can still clinch No 1 seeds
Last Updated: 26/12/23 9:44am
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Highlights of the Baltimore Ravens against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 16 of the NFL season.
Highlights of the Baltimore Ravens against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 16 of the NFL season.
Lamar Jackson led the Baltimore Ravens past the San Francisco 49ers in a stunning 33-19 victory after throwing two touchdown passes in 18 seconds in the third quarter at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
Kyle Hamilton and the Ravens defense intercepted quarterback Brock Purdy on three of the first four drives of the game for the 49ers to turn a 16-12 halftime lead into a commanding 30-12 advantage.
Purdy became the first 49ers quarterback to throw four interceptions in a game since Colin Kaepernick in 2015 and finished 18 for 32 for 255 yards before leaving the field after sustaining a left shoulder stinger in the fourth quarter with Sam Darnold replacing him.
Jackson took an intentional grounding safety after he tripped over a fallen official in the end zone and attempted a pass to give the 49ers the first points of the game.
On first-and-10 at Baltimore’s 15, Purdy attempted to force a pass to wideout Deebo Samuel that Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton stepped in front of for an interception.
After Baltimore forced a punt on the opening drive of the second half, Jackson capped a drive by throwing a 6-yard touchdown pass to Nelson Agholor.
Williams injured his groin attempting to tackle Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen after Purdy’s fourth interception. Jackson immediately turned that into another score with a 9-yard TD pass to Zay Flowers that made it 30-12. Jackson threw for 252 yards, ran for 45 more and vaulted past Purdy to take the limelight.
Umpire Alex Moore falls as Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) runs from San Francisco 49ers defensive end Chase Young (92) during the first half
San Francisco’s Christian McCaffrey set a franchise record with his eighth straight game with at least 100 yards from scrimmage.
Darnold replied for the 49ers with a fourth-quarter touchdown after replacing an injured Purdy but by then it was already too late.
Both teams remain on top of their conferences. The Niners are in a three-way tie with Philadelphia and Detroit for the best record in the NFC and can still clinch the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye with wins in their final two games.
The Ravens remained a game ahead of Miami for the best record in the AFC and can clinch the No. 1 seed with a win next week against the Dolphins.
What did they say?
Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh: “Our guys work hard. They compete hard. Everybody wants to be respected. There’s one way to be respected, and that’s to go out there and earn that. I thought Lamar had an MVP performance tonight. It takes a team to create a performance like that, but it takes a player to play at that level, to play at an MVP level, it takes a player to play that way. Lamar was all over the field.”
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson: “We got the W. I don’t really care about performance. I just want to win. That’s what happened tonight. On Christmas, I got my gift.”
San Francisco 49ers Kyle Shanahan coach: “I didn’t mind his [Purdy] demeanour. He stayed in there and kept battling. Our whole team struggled there in the second half, so it wasn’t just him.”
What’s next?
The Ravens host Miami Dolphins while the 49ers visit Washington on Sunday December 31.
Make sure you tune in to Sky Sports NFL every Sunday at 6pm for the first game of our triple-header of live action. The evening’s entertainment also includes NFL Redzone action as hosted by Scott Hanson, as well as Sunday Night Football to round off the night.
Sky Sports will broadcast two exclusive live games every Sunday throughout the regular season in the 6pm and 9pm slots, while also showing every Thursday Night, Sunday Night and Monday Night match-up.
Fans can also watch every minute of the playoffs across January, followed by Super Bowl LVIII at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on February 11.
Dak Prescott is playing the best football of his career – can he lead Dallas to the Super Bowl?
The Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills are primed for a 13 seconds rematch, the Dallas Cowboys have their sites on snatching the NFC East title from the Philadelphia Eagles. Week 14 is shaping up nicely; we guide you through the latest news, views and build-up ahead of Sunday in the NFL…
Editor’s note…
There might not be a quarterback playing better football in the NFL than Dak Prescott at this moment. He has entered the MVP conversation, and so too the Dallas Cowboys to-be-taken-seriously Super Bowl contention. Yes, you might have heard that before.
It can often be what goes unnoticed that can be so impressive and so defining to the way Dak plays. From the mastery of his rhythmic and hoodwinking pre-snap cadence, to the speed at which he can diagnose a field and slide protections, adjust assignments or alter play concepts accordingly at the line of scrimmage. “He plays the position” as Aaron Rodgers said recently on the Pat McAfee Show, igniting a ‘Texas Coast’ offense that has buried its early-season teething issues.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Highlights of the Seattle Seahawks against the Dallas Cowboys in week 13 of the NFL season.
Highlights of the Seattle Seahawks against the Dallas Cowboys in week 13 of the NFL season.
Live NFL
December 11, 2023, 1:15am
Live on
Only Brock Purdy owns a better EPA+CPOE composite (an advanced metric on quarterback play-by-play value and efficiency) than Prescott this season, the Dallas quarterback having put up a passer rating of at least 115.0 in five of six games since the Week Seven bye week. In that time he has completed 156 of 221 passes (70.59 per cent) for 1,901 yards and 20 touchdowns to two interceptions. He also happens to be the league’s best quarterback on third down this year, which tends to serve as a nice indication of how well a passer is faring in decisive moments of a game, which always comes with an added caveat of pressure as an expectation-burdened Cowboys play-caller.
McCarthy’s offense is purring as it empowers its quarterback to take command of games with more aggressive pass designs and opportunities to use his legs alongside an increased use of play-action, while dressing up the line of scrimmage with pre-snap motion and crowning CeeDee Lamb as their focal point by shifting him across multiple spots in the formation.
Lamb has taken a seat at the table alongside the league’s most dynamic receivers with 90 catches for 1,182 yards and seven touchdowns, Brandin Cooks has answered the Cowboys’ call for a legitimate No 2 receiver, Jake Ferguson is peppering the seam as his threat continues to increase as the team’s lead tight end. Tony Pollard’s multi-purpose production out of the backfield has meanwhile picked back up after a minor lull as a crucial sell for the Cowboys play-action game.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
The Her Huddle team discuss whether this could be the season which sees a player who doesn’t play at quarterback win the NFL’s MVP award, with Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill the frontrunner.
The Her Huddle team discuss whether this could be the season which sees a player who doesn’t play at quarterback win the NFL’s MVP award, with Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill the frontrunner.
Dallas rank third in EPA/play and sit at the top of scoring rankings on offense, while Dan Quinn’s stunting, route-jumping defense continues to be among the NFL’s elite at third in EPA/play and third in total yards. ‘Our year’ sentiment has been long-exhausted and long-unfulfilled in Cowboys territory amid their pursuit of a first Super Bowl appearance since their victory at the end of the 1995 season.
The 49ers are nagging frontrunners to prolong that pain, and beckon as a potential ultimate test somewhere down the line in the playoffs. Before then, Dak and the Cowboys have the opportunity to force home their respective MVP and Championship credentials across a home stretch that sees them face the Philadelphia Eagles – who they could yet leapfrog in the NFC East – and Mike McDaniel’s Miami Dolphins.
How ’bout them Cowboys? We are about to find out.
Around the league…
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence was limited on his return to practice Thursday having appeared to swerve serious injury after suffering a high ankle sprain in Monday’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals; Lawrence said he was hopeful of facing the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, with head coach Doug Pederson insisting he won’t sacrifice a player’s health for one game.
New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh confirmed Zach Wilson will start at quarterback against the Houston Texans having been demoted for Tim Boyle and Trevor Siemian in the last two games.
Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane said Von Miller remains available to play against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday following allegations of domestic violence against the edge rusher.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence shows his frustration after suffering an injury against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence shows his frustration after suffering an injury against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Former Indianapolis Colts three-time Pro Bowl linebacker Shaq Leonard signed a one-year deal with the Eagles this week.
Miami Dolphins right tackle Austin Jackson agreed a three-year, $36m extension on Thursday amid his impressive 2023 campaign.
Justin Jefferson is set to make his return for the Minnesota Vikings against the Las Vegas Raiders after missing seven games due to a hamstring injury.
Carolina Panthers tight end Hayden Hurst has been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Amnesia by an independent neurologist after suffering a concussion in the Week 10 game against the Chicago Bears, his father announced.
Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy is expected to coach at the weekend despite undergoing surgery on Wednesday after being diagnosed with an acute case of appendicitis.
What to watch…
Week 14 live on Sky!
Los Angeles Rams (6-6) @ Baltimore Ravens (9-3): The Ravens struck gold with Kyle Hamilton, who has arrived as advertised since entering the league as the No 14 pick at the 2022 Draft. He stands to be the quintessential modern NFL safety as Mike Macdonald’s disguised blitzer, hybrid box tackler, slot demon and sideline-to-sideline blockade. With Marcus Williams on hand to play deep, Hamilton has free rein to wreak havoc as Baltimore’s most dangerous disruptor at the line of scrimmage. And while attention has been on the Rams’ young offensive playmakers, the audition process for Aaron Donald’s supporting cast has been intriguing. Third-round rookie nose tackle Kobie Turner has quietly amassed a rookie-leading 5.5 sacks, while fellow third-rounder Byron Young is close behind on five sacks.
Live NFL
December 10, 2023, 9:15pm
Live on
Buffalo Bills (6-6) @ Kansas City Chiefs (8-4): Tight ends, assemble. For years the Bills have watched Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce torch the NFL as the league’s most dynamic quarterback-tight end tandem, shattering Buffalo’s Super Bowl hopes on a couple of occasions in the process. In a bid to add their own Kelce-esque dimension, the Bills went and drafted Dalton Kincaid in the first round earlier this year. The vision was tight splits in multiple tight end sets from which he and Dawson Knox could sell the run game, lure defenses downhill and open up shots for Josh Allen downfield, as well as leaking out into routes of their own. The production (56 catches, 474 yards) has been sporadic, not helped by the absence of Knox, with flashes of an integral supporting role behind Stefon Diggs, while Kelce, without lighting up the world, leads the Chiefs with 813 receiving yards and five scores.
Philadelphia Eagles (10-2) @ Dallas Cowboys (9-3): Do we call this the Shaq Leonard bowl? There was little surprise when the Eagles edged out the Cowboys to wrap up a deal for the former Indianapolis Colts man, not because Howie Roseman is one of the savviest operators in the market but because of the extent to which the 49ers exposed Philly’s linebackers in Week 13. Time and time again Kyle Shanahan disorientated the likes of Nicholas Morrow and Christian Ellis, standing in for the injured Zach Cunningham, with Deebo Samuel’s pre-snap reload motion to muddy the play direction, eventually disguising it to unleash the Niners receiver for his first-half catch-and-run touchdown out of the backfield. Morrow bit hard on a Christian McCaffrey out-route at the sideline before later being shrugged off by Samuel again on his 48-yard touchdown; it was a torrid day, Nick Sirianni’s safeties included as Shanahan toyed with the middle of the field. Can Leonard step in immediately? And will the Cowboys similarly plot to exploit the Eagles’ weakness at the second level?
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Jeff Reinebold says Baltimore Ravens’ defense create mental as well as physical problems for their opponents, and backs them to beat the Los Angeles Rams in Week 14.
Jeff Reinebold says Baltimore Ravens’ defense create mental as well as physical problems for their opponents, and backs them to beat the Los Angeles Rams in Week 14.
Best quotes
Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence on his injury against the Bengals: “I’m thankful it’s not a worse injury than what I thought on the field.”
Taylor Swift, in her interview for 2023 Time magazine’s person of the year: “Football is awesome, it turns out. I’ve been missing out my whole life.”
Nick Bosa suggests the 49ers showed the NFL how to stop Jalen Hurts: “You see it on tape. Obviously, we put the blueprint out there. Hopefully, the Dallas Cowboys watch the tape. We made Jalen stay in the pocket and escape outside instead of those B-gaps. And it paid off.”
Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers on The Pat McAfee Show: “The most disappointing thing about the whole rehab process was December 24 was literally on my mind. It would have been like 14-and-a-half weeks, I thought that would be reasonable based on my progress.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Speaking on Inside The Huddle, Neil Reynolds and Jeff Reinebold discuss the Miami Dolphins’ season so far and why sealing home matches in the playoffs could be crucial to their success.
Speaking on Inside The Huddle, Neil Reynolds and Jeff Reinebold discuss the Miami Dolphins’ season so far and why sealing home matches in the playoffs could be crucial to their success.
Live NFL
December 10, 2023, 5:00pm
Live on
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel on his team’s 9-3 record at the top of the AFC: “Call me when it’s a 13-game season. That’s all nice, but we have a job to do today. If we short-change and are worried about anything other than the Tennessee Titans when we’re game planning, then all those conversations and stories literally don’t matter at all.”
Ravens coach John Harbaugh on Rams receiver Puka Nacua: “I liked him (in the Draft). He was one of my highest-rated guys. You can ask anybody here, he was way up on my board. He’s playing exactly how I thought he would, for the record.”
Jets defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich on facing Houston’s CJ Stroud: “He’s a very unique young quarterback. He’s a guy I really wish we would’ve played Weeks One to Four when he was still trying to figure out this game.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Speaking on Inside The Huddle, Neil Reynolds and Jeff Reinebold discuss the San Francisco 49ers’ impressive win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 13.
Speaking on Inside The Huddle, Neil Reynolds and Jeff Reinebold discuss the San Francisco 49ers’ impressive win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 13.
The stats
Tyreek Hill’s 938 yards on vertical routes so far this season are the most of any receiver in a single campaign since 2018
Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen currently has 898 catches in 138 games and has the chance to surpass Antonio Brown (143 games) as the fastest player in history to reach 900 career receptions
Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson sits on 5,396 career receiving yards, leaving him needing just 117 more to overtake Michael Thomas for most by a player in his first four seasons in history
Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons, who has 11.5 sacks on the year, is looking to become the second player since sack statistics began in 1982 to record at least 13 sacks in each of his first three seasons – Hall of Famer Reggie White having been the first
CJ Stroud needs 253 passing yards to overtake Andrew Luck for the second-most by a player in his first 13 games
Brock Purdy can become the fourth quarterback in NFL history to post a completion percentage of 70-or-higher in seven straight games this weekend
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Jeff Reinebold describes the Packers’ win over the Chiefs as a ‘magical night’ and hails the performances of quarterback Jordan Love.
Jeff Reinebold describes the Packers’ win over the Chiefs as a ‘magical night’ and hails the performances of quarterback Jordan Love.
The NFL playoff race has reached the home stretch in one of the most wide-open seasons in recent memory, with surprise teams occupying postseason spots and expected contenders battling for their place.
All is not rosy in the land of the mighty. The defending champion Kansas City Chiefs have been marred by drops and deficiencies on a limping offense, behind which Patrick Mahomes and Steve Spagnuolo’s defensive subterfuge have between them retained some level of serious contention, with question marks over an 8-4 team speaking volumes as to the self-imposed expectations in Arrowhead.
And in western New York the Buffalo Bills are fighting for their playoff lives as they play catch-up having endured marquee injuries, suffered late heartbreak, fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and slipped behind the pack in what is still deemed a Championship window for under-pressure head coach Sean McDermott and his high-powered team.
Hannah Wilkes and Phoebe Schecter talk to Italy Women’s flag football captain Nausicaa Dell’Orto about the challenges she faced in forming a female team in Milan.
Neil Reynolds and Jeff Reinebold discuss the San Francisco 49ers’ emphatic win over the Philadelphia Eagles and the red-hot form of the Miami Dolphins…
Thursday night rewind…
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Highlights of the New England Patriots up against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 14 of the NFL season.
Highlights of the New England Patriots up against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 14 of the NFL season.
Bailey Zappe threw three first-half touchdown passes as the New England Patriots snapped a five-game skid while damaging the Pittsburgh Steelers’ playoff hopes with a 21-18 victory on Thursday night.
Watch the Baltimore Ravens host the Los Angeles Rams from 5pm (kickoff at 6pm) live on Sky Sports NFL this Sunday, followed by the Buffalo Bills at the Kansas City Chiefs and the Dallas Cowboys against the Philadelphia Eagles
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson says “everything is stable” with Trevor Lawrence after the quarterback suffered an ankle injury in Monday’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals; Pederson has not ruled Lawrence out of Sunday’s clash with Cleveland Browns
Last Updated: 05/12/23 7:48pm
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Highlights of the Cincinnati Bengals’ clash with the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 13 of the NFL
Highlights of the Cincinnati Bengals’ clash with the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 13 of the NFL
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson says quarterback Trevor Lawrence was “very fortunate” to avoid a more serious injury after damaging his ankle in Monday’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Lawrence was injured in the fourth quarter as Jake Browning threw for 354 yards and a touchdown in his second career start to lead the Bengals to a stunning 34-31 overtime win.
Browning also ran for a score as the Bengals (6-6) won on Monday Night Football for the first time since 1990 on Evan McPherson’s 48-yard field goal in the extra frame, with Lawrence’s injury for the Jaguars (8-4) appearing to be potentially the biggest blow of the evening for the home team.
Left tackle Walker Little stepped on Lawrence’s ankle, causing him to twist it as he was sacked. Lawrence tried to get up, but dropped to the ground, ripped off his helmet and threw it in disgust. He was helped off the field and into the tunnel for X-rays.
Pederson said on Tuesday tests on Lawrence’s right ankle showed “everything’s stable, everything’s good”. He added surgery “is not necessarily something that would be warranted at this time”.
“We’ll see where he’s at in a couple days,” Pederson said roughly 12 hours after the game had finished.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
The Bengals took the lead with Ja’Marr Chase’s 76-yard touchdown reception, his team’s longest play of 2023
The Bengals took the lead with Ja’Marr Chase’s 76-yard touchdown reception, his team’s longest play of 2023
“[It] looked worse than it really was. Very fortunate there.”
It ended an otherwise stellar night for Lawrence, who completed 22 of 29 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a score.
Pederson has not ruled Lawrence out of Sunday’s upcoming clash with the Cleveland Browns.
“I’m not going to put that timetable on Trevor,” he added. “Not going to put him in a box like that. We’ll see how he is in a couple of days.”
Browning was equally stout in place of star Joe Burrow, who watched and coached from the sideline while wearing a cast and a sling. Browning completed 32 of 37 passes and directed the overtime drive that set up McPherson’s winner.
McPherson, who played collegiately at nearby Florida, banged a 57-yarder off the crossbar in the same direction early in the game.
Jacksonville backup CJ Beathard completed nine of 10 passes for 63 yards in relief of Lawrence. Beathard put the Jaguars in position for Brandon McManus’ 40-yard field goal with 26 seconds remaining in regulation.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
A Bengals trick play went all wrong when Tyler Boyd’s pass was picked off by Jaguars’ Josh Allen
A Bengals trick play went all wrong when Tyler Boyd’s pass was picked off by Jaguars’ Josh Allen
Ja’Marr Chase caught 11 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown, a 76-yarder in the third quarter that got the Bengals going. Joe Mixon ran for 68 yards and two scores, and rookie Chase Brown added 61 yards on the ground for the league’s worst rushing attack. Mixon also had six receptions for 49 yards.
The Bengals made it harder than it should have been when coach Zac Taylor called a trick play that turned into a debacle in third.
Browning lateraled to receiver Tyler Boyd, who inexplicably threw directly to pass rusher Josh Allen. Allen caught the ball for his second career interception. The Jaguars scored four plays later when Lawrence jumped and stretched the ball across the goal line.
It was the second bungled trick play for the Bengals, who also lost seven yards when Chase completed a double pass to Browning. Still, the Bengals finished with 491 yards and were eight of 14 on third down.
Scoring summary
Scoring summary
FIRST QUARTER
Bengals 0-7 Jaguars
Travis Etienne four-yard rushing TD (extra point)
SECOND QUARTER
Bengals 7-7 Jaguars
Joe Mixon six-yard rushing TD (extra point)
Bengals 7-14 Jaguars
Trevor Lawrence 22-yard TD pass to Evan Engram (extra point)
Bengals 14-14 Jaguars
Joe Mixon two-yard rushing TD (extra point)
THIRD QUARTER
Bengals 21-14 Jaguars
Jake Browning 76-yard TD pass to Ja’Marr Chase (extra point)
Bengals 21-21 Jaguars
Trevor Lawrence 14-yard TD pass to Parker Washington (extra point)
Bengals 21-28 Jaguars
Trevor Lawrence one-yard rushing TD (extra point)
FOURTH QUARTER
Bengals 28-28 Jaguars
Jake Browning one-yard rushing TD (extra point)
Bengals 31-28 Jaguars
Evan McPherson 54-yard field goal
Bengals 31-31 Jaguars
Brandon McManus 40-yard field goal
OVERTIME
Bengals 34-31 Jaguars
Evan McPherson 48-yard field goal
What did they say?
Jags quarterback C.J. Beathard on injury to Lawrence: “First instinct was ah, it sucks for Trevor when you see him on the ground hurting. That sucks. It kind of takes the breath away from the guys on the sidelines and stuff when you see your starting quarterback hurting like that. But then you quickly flip into going into that two-minute drive to try and tie the game or win the game. Obviously, don’t have much time for the news to kick in, just kind of got to go.”
What next?
The Bengals are back in action at home to the Indianapolis Colts (7-5), while the Jaguars prepare for a spell without Lawrence on the road against the Cleveland Browns (7-5).
