nfl Page 53 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The new Barry Sanders documentary has brought out the love. And some hate
Barry Sanders is one of the greatest players to ever step onto a football field, so when he abruptly retired following the 1998, season it left everyone stunned. One individual who calls Sanders the GOAT RB is Grammy award-winning rapper Eminem. Growing up around Detroit during the Sanders era of do...

Deion Sanders’ first year at Colorado proved how gullible people can be
Before the 2023 season started, ESPN’s Tom Luginbill said that Colorado might have the worst roster in college football. By the end of the 2023 regular season, Deion Sanders was strictly focused on the future, given that he had failed at the present....

Sick, Sad World of Sports: The grim side of athletics
Hello, and welcome back to the Sick, Sad World of Sports, a reminder that sports figures are human, and as such, are no more or less prone to fallibility than the rest of us. Everyone makes mistakes, but often fans overlook a misdemeanor or even a felony, because sports are supposed to be an escape....

Justin Fields and Josh Dobbs capped a week littered with awful QB play
There are far more important things to be thankful for in this world than being a fan of an NFL team with consistent quarterback play. Beginning with that caveat, many Americans do spend a lot of hours watching football. The product is exponentially better when the quarterbacks are above average....

Sean McDermott will be packing up his things in Buffalo sooner rather than later
The Buffalo Bills might be the biggest disappointment of this NFL season. A supposed Super Bowl contender, as predicted by many, can barely stay alive in the wild-card race. Buffalo lost another game on Sunday in Philadelphia, which they could’ve won had their coach not folded in crunch time. Too ma...

Firing Frank Reich isn't going to fix the Carolina Panthers
In 1995, the Carolina Panthers had the best season of any expansion franchise in the history of the NFL. They went 7-9 during a year in which they did not have a home stadium, and played those eight games at Clemson. The next season they went 12-4 and played in the NFC Championship Game, and the 200...

The Broncos are the NFL’s biggest walking plot twist
An 18-week NFL schedule creates a plethora of nexus points where the season diverts from its expected path. Aaron Rodgers tearing his Achilles four plays into the season, the New England Patriots crashing, CJ Stroud flying out the rookie gates, Frank Reich being fired after 11 games and two rookies ...

Mike Tomlin has never won Coach of the Year and that needs to change
Seeing a team like this version of the Pittsburgh Steelers in today’s NFL is amazing. They’ve struggled to score points all season, averaging less than 17 per game, yet the Steelers are three games over .500 and currently fifth in the AFC playoff seeding. With a 7-4 record and a point differential o...

The NFL Must Ban Native Headdress And Culturally Insensitive Face Paint in the Stands (UPDATED)
Editor’s Note: On Nov. 27, Deadspin published an opinion piece criticizing the NFL for allowing a young fan to attend the Kansas City Chiefs game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Nov. 26 wearing a traditional Native American headdress and, based upon the available photo, what appeared to be black ...

Week 12 NFL Takeaways: Live by the field goal, die by the field goal
On Sunday, the NFL made up for its Thanksgiving product that was more sleep-inducing than wolfing down a half-pound turkey in one afternoon. Jordan Love’s late-season turnaround was worthy of a hat tip, but the rest of the day would have been better spent arguing about the 2024 election. ...

The NHL seems to want it both ways when it comes to supporting minorities
I feel I write these too often, so in the spirit of fairness it should go mentioned that there was a lot of great action on the ice this holiday weekend, such as the New York Rangers solidifying their spot in the NHL’s aristocracy with a 7-4 win over the Boston Bruins, or the Buffalo Sabres managing...

The Patriots have hit rock bottom
Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe. Maybe the New England Patriots should have called Drew Bledsoe to see if any juice is left in that big arm. It’s not like he was able to move when he was young, anyway....

Houston’s Baby Boy CJ Stroud can take a lick and keep on tickin’
The Houston Texans suffered a setback in a 24-21 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday that throttled them back into a mosh pit of five-loss teams in the AFC. However, not all losses are created equal. Wins are utilized as a quarterback stat too frivolously, but throughout his rookie season, CJ St...

Today’s NFL is mediocre, Tom Brady? How about the AFC East throughout your career?
Finally, someone out there has the guts to stand up to Tom Brady. Yes he has six championship rings and is the only player in NFL history to reach 600 career touchdown passes. However, that doesn’t make him infallible. After all, his 2007 New England Patriots did pull a 2015-16 Golden State Warriors...

Mac Jones’ confidence lives in the gutters of New England
Mac Jones might be the lowest quarterback currently getting live reps in the NFL. Not from a statistical standpoint, although he isn’t exactly wowing anyone. But watching Jones on the field, it’s painfully evident his confidence is shot. He threw two interceptions in the first half of Sunday’s game ...

All the talent in the world can’t save Brandon Staley from his fate
The Los Angeles Chargers are in a tough position entering Week 12. Struggling to keep their playoff hopes alive at 4-6, they take on the 8-3, AFC-leading Baltimore Ravens at home in a game they cannot afford to lose. With all the talent on this Chargers team, there’s no good reason for them to be tw...

The Washington Commanders are still cooking up the Dan Synder-era mess
Josh Harris’ first season of Washington Commanders ownership must feel like Calvin working the WacArnold’s night shift. It seems like a distinguished opportunity at first to own a legacy franchise. Until you start contrasting them against the league’s most respected franchises. Being congratulated o...

It's sad that Sherrone Moore is the 1st Black head coach in the history of the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry
On Saturday at high noon, Michigan and Ohio State will take the field in what may be the most anticipated matchup in the history of the greatest rivalry in all of sports. And for the first time since the Maize and Blue and Scarlet and Gray have been battling, a Black man will be serving as a head co...

Deadspin Dead Ringers: Professional athletes and their celebrity doppelgängers
We’ve all heard of doppelgängers — people who aren’t related but look like one another. There’s a whole subreddit dedicated to finding lookalikes. There was a Saturday Night Live short on the subject. But have you ever looked at one of your favorite athletes, or a player on your favorite team and no...

These were the best NBA games ever played on Thanksgiving or Christmas
It’s been more than two decades since we’ve seen an NBA game on Thanksgiving. And for the sake of communion and fellowship, we’re better for it. It’s not like the TV won’t be on anyway. With Fox News and CNN rotting our brains and the NFL providing an annual doubleheader, there’s plenty to go numb f...