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PSA for NFL teams picking a QB: Get a good coach first
For all of the teams vying for one of the top three quarterbacks in the 2023 NFL Draft — or pretty much any organization in search of a new option under center — the most important factor is the coach. That’s an obvious statement, and one I felt dumb writing, but count me among the many who thought ...

Brock Purdy’s debut made him into the new apex predator of rookie playoff QBs
Brock Purdy’s NFL playoff debut was a tour-de-force performance that shattered the paradigm for rookie NFL quarterbacks. In one game, the San Francisco 49ers’ virtuoso logged more playoff touchdowns than Jimmy Garoppolo has in his entire Niners career....

9 backup QBs have won a Super Bowl — could Brock Purdy be next?
Sixty-eight quarterbacks started at least one game in 2022. That’s a list that includes signal-callers like Mike “F’n” White, David Blough, Trace McSorley, Skylar Thompson, Desmond Ridder, Jarett Stidham... and “Mr. Irrelevant” Brock Purdy....
![Keep an eye on these 23 breakout stars in 2023: Part 2 [Updated]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/e08bdbb97c11892cea1c15abaa73e766.jpg)
Keep an eye on these 23 breakout stars in 2023: Part 2 [Updated]
We’ve already brought you the first 13 figures on this list. Check out the rest below....

Could Brock Purdy catapult past Trey Lance as the future in San Francisco?
The San Francisco 49ers have been cooking in ways Russell Wilson hasn’t experienced in years. Since starting the season 3-4, the Niners have reeled off nine wins in a row and have already clinched another NFC West title. Much of that winning streak has come with Brock Purdy leading the way under cen...

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...

One of these things is not like the others
The downfall of Zach Wilson in 2022 coincided with the rise of Justin Fields. For every errant throw from Wilson, there is an impressive Fields pass or explosive run, and that disparity has many people looking back to the 2021 draft and wondering “How in the world did Fields go from the consensus No...

TNF: The Seahawks are in the playoff hunt, who woulda thunk it?
Week 15 kicks off with an NFC West rivalry between the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks. It’s been a while since a Niners-Seahawks game this late in the season had playoff ramifications for both teams....

There is a lot more than a championship on the line with Jimmy G’s injury situation
It’s Wednesday, Dec. 7, and there is still no clear picture of the timeline for Jimmy Garoppolo’s return to the field. ...

Can the 49ers reset the NFL quarterback market?
If any team can settle the quarterback market a bit it’s the 2022 San Francisco 49ers....

The Atlanta Falcons must be kicking themselves watching Justin Fields
Justin Fields may be evolving into the franchise quarterback Chicago Bears fans have been waiting for since Al Capone was alive. Jim McMahon was a capable Super Bowl-winning game manager, but Fields is demonstrating his potential to introduce Chicagoans to a higher caliber of individual quarterback ...

The 49ers don't need Jimmy G to throw TDs to win
The Jimmy Garoppolo experience, a ride with far fewer thrills than the Michael Vick one from the Nike commercial. Riding with Jimmy Garoppolo has gotten the San Francisco 49ers to the doorstep of the franchise’s sixth Super Bowl Championship, but he hasn’t been able to get them inside the building....

The warm glow of MLB Hot Stove’s warming glow: AL Central
We continue our whip around the baseball offseason by looking at the American League’s worst division, which was won by a team that wasn’t even trying to win, the AL Central....

Hear me out: Cristian Javier should’ve remained in Game 4
Last night, the Houston Astros’ pitching staff combined for the second no-hitter in World Series history. Cristian Javier, Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero, and Ryan Pressly allowed only three baserunners (all walks) while striking out 14 Phillies en route to evening up the World Series. There were only ...

They say a good fastball is still the best pitch
It still amazes me how quickly a baseball playoff series, especially one of the seven-game variety, can pivot. ...

Dusty Baker is doing that thing again
The funny thing, no matter what Dusty Baker’s rep is, and will be, is that he’s gotten more looks at the postseason than many. While he’ll always wear the epic choke jobs of the Giants in 2002 and the Cubs in 2003 — fair or not — his time in D.C. and in Houston has shown a guy who has learned how pl...

Are these second-year NFL QBs suffering a sophomore slump?
During the 2021 season, we tracked rookie QBs who were either drafted in the first round or started most of their team’s games. Mac Jones was the lone standout as his team qualified for the postseason. We’re about halfway through year two for these players, and it’s time to check in and see how life...

Houston, we have a champagne problem
Champagne isn’t the only thing the Houston Astros are keeping on ice. ...

Coaching HBCU football is a stepping stone for Deion Sanders, but a brick wall for his peers
The spotlight Deion Sanders has brought to historically black college football programs has been unparalleled. Interest is at an all-time high and Sanders has championed multiplying exposure for the talent at HBCU programs. Sanders was specifically referring to the players, but the same sentiments c...

For the Houston Astros, it can be as simple as one pitch
I am guilty, as well as many others, of thinking of the Astros as the same Godzilla offense as they were in 2017, whatever means they used to get there. I hear Astros and think whatever batter they’re sending to the plate sends thousands of Tokyo residents scurrying for cover. And the Astros offense...