ick Page 195 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

NFL Week 18 Takeaways: The Chiefs, Bills, Eagles, and 49ers looked good, but they're all still flawed
The NFL regular season is over. No need for RedZone, or multiple televisions set up in the den to properly enjoy football. There is a single matchup remaining on the college football calendar, and the NFL will play out one game at a time over the next five weeks — along with a flag football and a sk...

Every team in the NFL playoffs, ranked
Aaron Rodgers couldn’t beat the Detroit Lions. Who’d have thought I’d be uttering that statement at the beginning of the season? And with that loss, the NFL playoffs are set. Throughout the regular season, we laughed, cried, held our heads in shock, and Tom Brady endured his first losing season as a...

Patrick Mahomes’ MVP season defied logic, now he has to elude history
Patrick Mahomes capped off what was likely his second MVP campaign with a humiliation of the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday. And yet, few expected him to be in this position four months ago. The AFC West was getting too crowded to be a monopoly, Justin Herbert was the NFL’s most gifted pocket passer,...

Less than a week after Damar Hamlin's injury, Buffalo TD puts everyone in their feels
We’re all familiar with the cliche that is always brought out during special sports moments. It’s some form of, “you couldn’t write this script.” That thought surely went through the heads of the many millions of people who watched the opening kickoff of the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots’ W...

I’m picking Max Duggan and TCU in the college football championship — picking TCU like a fox
When college football opponents have had the Georgia Bulldogs’ full attention this year, it hasn’t gone great. From the opener against Oregon to the SEC title game against LSU and the Tennessee game in between, every time we think there’s a hint of vulnerability, the Dawgs come out and trample squad...

The 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame class will be outstanding, but far from perfect
Deion Sanders had a point last year about the Pro Football Hall of Fame. ...

Someone save Davante Adams from himself
Davante Adams has always been the anti-diva receiver. His contract dispute with the Green Bay Packers was relatively low-key, and he’s rarely spoken negatively of his ex-franchise. Adams’ reunion with his college quarterback Derek Carr ended in a powder keg. While speculation about Carr’s future and...
![Keep an eye on these 23 breakout stars in 2023: Part 1 [Updated]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/6cf68cc114d6fc425405878c9d90ecc7.jpg)
Keep an eye on these 23 breakout stars in 2023: Part 1 [Updated]
One year ago, who would have thought that Julián Álvarez would be the breakout star of the World Cup instead of Gio Reyna, or that TCU backup Max Duggan would lead the Horned Frogs to a national championship game on the 1-yard line of 2022’s closing? Trying to predict which figures will rise to the ...

Jimbo Fisher now has a creep, a racist, and a bonafide maniac on his coaching staff
After a preseason that featured an explosive back-and-forth with Nick Saban after the Alabama head coach made accusations about cheating and buying players through NIL, Texas A&M football coach Jimbo Fisher responded by producing a disappointing 5-7 season. To turn things around he’s hiring Bobby Pe...

Was the Cavs’ ‘random’ PED test just fateful coincidence after Mitchell scored 71?
In one of the NBA’s more conspicuously timed sequences, the Cleveland Cavs were “randomly” drug tested just hours after Donovan Mitchell’s 71-point performance Monday night. It feels all too convenient for the association to “randomly” test the Cavs for performance-enhancing drugs one day after Mitc...

Could Derek Carr be the next Matthew Stafford?
What determines a Super Bowl-caliber quarterback? Stats? The eye test? System compatibility? It’s hard to determine, and it’s arguably impossible to determine, especially for quarterbacks stuck in terrible situations for the majority of their careers. Matthew Stafford was lucky enough to find a way ...

Tua Tagovailoa and Damar Hamlin are victims of the NFL’s most regressive season in ages
Prior to Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin fighting for his life on Monday Night Football after collapsing in front of a horrified national audience, the ongoing NFL season was already a more regressive step back in the player safety department than any in recent memory. Hamlin being loaded into an ...

Congrats, Boomer Esiason, you’ve made me defend Mac Jones
Boomer Esiason saying “there’s a douchiness” to Mac Jones’ facial expressions is like Cristiano Ronaldo calling someone a narcissist, Kobe Bryant telling a teammate they’re a ball hog, or Mike Ditka criticizing a coach for being too abrasive. The only correct response is, “MF’er, what did you just s...

Week 17 NFL Powerless Ranking: Houston Texans remain at the bottom
It’s time to check in on the teams that can’t get out of their own way. The final two weeks of the 2022 NFL season are upon us, and it’s been a wild season filled with ups, downs, triumphs, and disappointment for all 32 squads. Now let’s get into the Week 17 powerless ranking....

Washington Commanders couldn’t even roll out their dumb new mascot without botching it
For 90 years, the Washington Commanders have been one of four NFL franchises to exist without a mascot. The Jets, Giants, and Packers are the other three. As part of the organization’s complete brand revamp, the Commanders commenced a fan vote for a new mascot and in September the candidates were wh...

IDIOT OF THE YEAR 2022: The complete rankings
Happy new year and welcome to the grand finale of Deadspin’s IDIOT OF THE YEAR festivities — here’s hoping 2023 will be better. It probably won’t....

For Sale: Lightly-used NFL quarterback
The Las Vegas Raiders’ 2022 offseason had fans filled with optimism for the team’s future. After acquiring All-Pro receiver Davante Adams from the Green Bay Packers in March, the Raiders signed their franchise quarterback Derek Carr to a three-year extension. The two of them played together in colle...

Sean Payton doesn't need Tom Brady or the Saints to make a comeback
Nearly a full year after Brian Flores’ lawsuit ignited a flame inside the NFL that would go on to engulf a potential partnership between Tom Brady and Sean Payton, those two may finally get to join forces in 2023. Payton needs to be sure to walk away from that potential blaze and never look back....

Derek Carr wasn’t that ‘mothaf*cker’ and now he’s not the Raiders’ starting quarterback
Getting suplexed by the lowly Steelers and Kenny Pickett on Sunday Night Football finally broke the spell Derek Carr has on the Raiders. On Wednesday, Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels decided to bench the Raiders’ starting quarterback of the last nine years for the final two weeks of the regular se...
