fl Page 21 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
The Cowboys' Defense Will Be Holding On For Dear Life
The Cowboys’ charge to the NFC’s No. 1 seed has been powered mostly by their offense, which ranked third in DVOA during the regular season. You know all about the new triplets, Dak Prescott’s rookie surge, Ezekiel Elliott’s budding superstardom, and Dez Bryant’s constant big-play potential. But with...
Which Ben Roethlisberger Will The Steelers Get This Week?
The Steelers have arguably the most dynamic offense in the NFL. They also have one of the league’s uniquely talented quarterbacks in Ben Roethlisberger. Yet Pittsburgh has won eight in a row, including Sunday’s thumping of the Dolphins, despite some remarkably inconsistent play from Roethlisberger. ...
Rex Ryan Was Too Human To Be A Great NFL Coach
Rex and Rob Ryan surprised absolutely no one when they swung by the Hooters in downtown Indianapolis. It was at the NFL combine three years ago, and the Brothers Ryan—Rex beginning his final year with the Jets, Rob having finished his first season in New Orleans—posed for a photograph with the wait ...
Tom Brady Is A Marvel
Let’s leave the MVP discussion for Skippy and Goatface and All Takes Matter and that Sunday morning show featuring Mike Lupica that nobody watches anymore. The conversation worth having right now is the one about Tom Brady. Because Tom Brady is incredible....
Ty Montgomery Should Have Been A Running Back From The Start
The Packers aren’t bad anymore—they’re on the cusp of a wild card—and it’s in large part because they’ve finally figured out how best to use Ty Montgomery, a notional wide receiver who’s really been a running back all along....
The Cardinals Are Garbage, But David Johnson May Be The Best Player In The NFL<em></em>
The Arizona Cardinals are jammed deep in a trashcan this season, but it’s still worth sifting through all that muck to take a closer look at running back David Johnson. Amidst all the other crap, Johnson is somehow having an MVP-caliber season....
The Bucs' Defense Finally Figured Things Out, And Now It's Scary
Wait. How are the Buccaneers 8-5 and currently in line for the NFC’s second wild-card spot? Weren’t they once 1-3 and giving up more points than any team in the NFL? Was that really this season? And wasn’t it just six weeks ago that Matt Ryan and the Falcons did this to the Bucs in prime time, which...
Johnny Hekker Is The Punter Every Punter Wants To Be
The best thing about the Los Angeles Rams isn’t Aaron Donald and the defensive line, or laughing at Jeff Fisher and his endless quest to perfect mediocrity. Nope. The best thing about the Rams is their punter....
This Isn't Even Rock Bottom Yet For The Jets
It was right about when Lachlan Edwards shanked a punt that traveled 36 yards before bouncing out of bounds that Jon Gruden, perpetually optimistic Monday Night Football analyst, had finally seen enough....
Khalil Mack Is A One-Man Wrecking Crew
The Raiders have one of the NFL’s worst defenses, but they might have the league’s best defensive player. No one carries a unit singlehandedly, but defensive end/outside linebacker Khalil Mack comes the closest in the league....
What Does The Future Hold For Kirk Cousins In Washington?
Kirk Cousins is a flawed quarterback having a good season. He’s also due for a new contract next year, and he has Washington by the balls....
The Story Behind The Perfect Photo Of Sports' First Streaker
When freelance photojournalist Ian Bradshaw went to Twickenham Stadium in the spring of 1974 to cover a rugby union friendly between England and France, he expected to shoot nothing more than another bloodbath between two fierce rivals. He returned instead with an instantly iconic photograph that si...
The Giants' Defense Has Made A Historic Turnaround
OK, so they just beat the Browns, and everyone has beaten the Browns. OK, their offense and their special teams remain frustratingly inconsistent. And, OK, this is probably not a defense that’s going to make anyone forget what they did in Super Bowls 42 and 46. But the Giants have won six in a row a...
Terrelle Pryor Is The Only Good Thing About The Browns
The Cleveland Browns are improbably awful, and they’re careening face-first toward a winless season. Tonight, the Browns face the Ravens in Baltimore, their one national television appearance of the year. Ordinarily, this would be an invitation to do literally anything else with your time. But the B...
Cam Newton Is Still Getting Destroyed, Still Not Getting Flags
Just days after announcing he was worried about his safety, Cam Newton took a pair of vicious hits that went unflagged. Sunday at the Rams, Newton was drilled twice with helmet-to-helmet hits. And according to ESPN’s Ed Werder, the league reviewed the plays and determined no rules were violated....
Cam Newton Is Right To Be Pissed
After he took a hit to his knee that wasn’t flagged on Sunday, Cam Newton went off on the NFL. “At times I don’t even feel safe,” Newton, the reigning league MVP, said at the start of an extended rant about calls he frequently doesn’t get. “And enough is enough.”...
<i>Person Of Interest</i> Was Anti-Prestige TV And Too Smart For Primetime
First, let me tell you what Person of Interest is. Person of Interest is the inverse of Game of Thrones. For every shock death from the HBO’s version of George R.R. Martin’s book series, it had Kevin Chapman getting maced by a model and beaten up with a handbag. For every Game of Thrones setpiece th...
The Eagles' Relentless Defense Is Winning With A Scheme From The Bad Old Days
Carson Wentz’s quick acclimation to the NFL is widely credited for the Eagles’ 4-2 start. Wentz has indeed been excellent. But Philly’s defense—and especially its defensive line—has been fantastic through six games, and it deserves its due. Through seven weeks, the Eagles lead the league in DVOA and...
Faster Is Better For The Suddenly Excellent Matt Stafford
Matthew Stafford is in his eighth season in the NFL. He’s lost Calvin Johnson to retirement, and thanks to injuries he’s currently without his top three running backs and his top two tight ends. Yet Stafford is having the best season of his career, a potentially MVP-caliber year, and it’s being trea...
I Found A Postcard From 1979 And This Is Its Story
It was tucked into the pages like a bookmark, postmarked Fort Lauderdale, dated December 3, 1979, and addressed to an apartment in Evanston, Ill. There was nothing else in the book—a collection of John Cheever stories I’d just bought at the used bookstore a couple blocks from my Chicago apartment....