Author: alaskaadmin

Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb showed us his best. Jaguars cornerback Travis Hunter showed us what he’s capable of, even if what he did didn’t actually count. Sean McVay showed us why he’s a phenomenal coach — in a different way than we’re used to. The Eagles’ offense showed us … well, not much of anything. Those are some of the things that jumped out to me in Week 4. For my Best and Worst superlatives this week, I touch on those teams and topics as I focus on individual plays, coaching performances and offenses across the league. Let’s break it down: In full transparency, this play by Travis Hunter was negated by a roughing-the-passer penalty, but it was too jaw-dropping to pass up. After picking off a Joe Burrow throw intended for Tee Higgins late in the first quarter, Hunter hit Higgins with a nasty juke move that left the Bengals receiver tackling the air and falling to the ground near the sideline. Hunter then looked back at Higgins before taking off for 30 yards. For the 3-1 Jaguars, Hunter’s production to this point hasn’t justified how much it cost to grab him in 2025. Jacksonville sent a package to the Cleveland Browns that included two first-round picks and a second-rounder for the right to select Hunter No. 2 overall. The former Colorado two-way star missed 10 games as a rookie, and this year he’s been a non-factor offensively — in four games, he has one catch on one target for eight yards. But he is starting to flash defensively. He has an interception and four pass breakups entering Week 5, and he recorded a career-high 58 coverage snaps against the Bengals. He was targeted seven times, registered two passes defensed and allowed four catches for 30 yards, according to Next Gen Stats. Just 11 games into Hunter’s career, we can’t render a verdict on the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner. But he’s started to show why many league observers wanted him to focus on defense/cornerback coming out of college. And maybe that’s the position where he converts flash into star production. “I don’t give two F’s about value, and neither does he,” Jaguars coach Liam Coen said last week of the Hunter discourse. “We care about winning, and that’s it.” With the Chargers trailing 27-6 at the 5:05 mark of the third quarter, with a fresh set of downs at the Seahawks’ 9-yard line, offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel called a pass play targeting … Justin Herbert. The Chargers quarterback flipped a pass in the backfield to wide receiver Tre’ Harris, who launched a throw from the opposite hash to Herbert, who ran a fade route. The pass was broken up by Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori near the pylon. It was a baffling play call on a number of levels. It had been the deepest the Chargers had been in Seahawks’ territory at that point in the game. You’re trailing by three scores in the second half, trying to get back into the game. Your season has been a disaster to this point. Why are you getting cute? And why are you making your franchise quarterback vulnerable like that against an elite defense? I get the desire to give your offense a spark. You want to catch the other team off guard, too. But doing that kind of play at that point in the game, in that situation, and exposing your quarterback in that way considering how the season has gone, was incredibly foolish and irresponsible. Herbert was fine after taking a tumble on the play, there were no yards lost (or a turnover) and the Chargers actually scored a touchdown on the next play. They made it a game down the stretch before eventually falling 30-23. But in many ways, that trick play encapsulated what the Chargers have been so far this season: a disappointing team that has no idea what its doing under McDaniel, who was expected to take L.A.’s offense to new heights. One of the greatest offensive minds in NFL history, Sean McVay reminded the league that he’s also a phenomenal leader in the Rams’ 24-20 comeback victory over the Eagles. With Los Angeles down 20-10 late in the third quarter after a fourth straight scoreless drive, McVay did something unusual: He huddled up the entire offense on the sideline and delivered a passionate message. McVay had the full attention of the surrounding circle, including stars Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua and Davante Adams. Whatever McVay said worked. In the fourth quarter, the Rams forced a turnover on downs at their own 2-yard line and finished the game on a 14-0 run to get the massive win. It was L.A.’s most improbable comeback victory in the McVay era, according to Next Gen Stats. The team’s win probably was as low as 3.2% with 8:17 left in the fourth quarter. I’d argue that this win saved the Rams’ season. They’re in the NFL’s best division and a loss to the Eagles would’ve dropped them to 1-3, with matchups against the Bills (Super Bowl contender), Cardinals (division rival) and the 3-1 Raiders looming in the coming weeks. With a win, the Rams have momentum entering the stretch at .500. With their loss to the Packers, the Bucs are 0-4 for the first time since 2013. Tampa will be without Baker Mayfield for multiple weeks due to a dislocated right throwing thumb — undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels is the team’s quarterback for the foreseeable future. But head coach Bowles’ shortcomings have played a significant role in the Bucs’ predicament as well. All four of Tampa’s losses have been by one score, which shows a failure on the margins. Dating back to last season, the Bucs have just one win over their past nine games. Against Green Bay, they gave up runs of 27 and 31 yards to a team that had been averaging just 48.7 rushing yards per game entering Week 4. Tampa also didn’t sack quarterback Jordan Love, who’s been the second-most pressured quarterback in the league through Sunday’s games, according to next Gen Stats. The inability to exploit a Packers offensive line that had been a disaster through three weeks is a big indictment of Bowles, a defensive-minded coach. The last time the Bucs started 0-4, they fired their head coach at the end of the season (Greg Schiano, 2013). But it’s not that simple with Bowles, who signed a multi-year extension in June 2025. Tampa may have missed the playoffs last season, but it finished in second place in the NFC South and won the division each of the three years prior (albeit never winning more than 10 games). Bowles hasn’t been great, but he also hasn’t been bad enough to fire. And in a division that seems to be very winnable every year, he may be protected. The Cowboys were dominant offensively, pouring 34 points on the reeling Texans. They did it through the air and on the ground, highlighted by CeeDee Lamb, who had the best performance by a wide receiver so far this season and arguably the best game of his career. The Pro Bowler caught a career-high 17 passes on 21 targets (also a career-high) for 189 yards and the go-ahead touchdown with 40 seconds left. He became the fourth player in league history to have at least 17 receptions, 180 receiving yards and a touchdown in a game, according to Next Gen Stats. That highlighted a game in which Dallas had a season-high 324 passing yards. Running back Javonte Williams also had a career-high three rushing touchdowns, all of which came in the second half. This is a performance from the Cowboys that shouldn’t surprise anyone. They’re capable of this offensively every week, considering the talent across the board. The question is if they can get strong, consistent play from their defense to be a truly complete team. And the hope is that the acquisition of cornerback Joey Porter Jr. from Pittsburgh last week brings them closer to that goal. He logged 24 defensive snaps in his Dallas debut. The Eagles in 2025 had a nightmare season on offense, and it’s somehow becoming even worse this year. Philadelphia went scoreless in the second half of its loss to the Rams, who finished the game on a 14-0 run. And it could’ve been a lot worse for the Eagles if they hadn’t taken advantage of short fields on two separate occasions to create touchdowns. Philly went 0-for-12 on third down, the most third-down attempts in a game without a conversion by any team since the 2020 season, according to NFL on FOX research. The Eagles also had just 172 net yards, their fewest in a game in 12 years (Week 14 of 2014; 139 yards). Quarterback Jalen Hurts struggled mightily, completing just 12 of 27 throws for an abysmal 93 yards and two touchdowns with a 78.2 passer rating. His 44.4% completion rate marked a career-low for games in which he played 100% of the offensive snaps. The Eagles’ offensive prospects are bleak moving forward because it’s not just one problem. It’s scheme, personnel and health. The offensive line, which has been an anchor for the team for years, is a liability right now. Philly played last week played without their top receiver (DeVonta Smith), right tackle (Lane Johnson) and tight end (Dallas Goedert), then lost star running back Saquon Barkley early in the game with a hamstring injury. None of that helps Hurts, who’s pacing for career-lows in completion rate, passing success rate and yards per attempt as a full-time starter.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Two years ago, the White Sox set a modern-day record with 121 losses. Last year, they suffered through a third straight 100-loss season. Now, they’re one win away from advancing to the American League Championship Series for the first time since winning the World Series in 2005. Here are my takeaways from Chicago’s 4-3 Game 2 ALDS win over the Guardians: After dropping the first game of the series with their Rookie of the Year and Cy Young contender on the mound, the Guardians took solace in knowing that Gavin Williams would follow Parker Messick in Game 2. Williams, who led the American League in strikeouts this year, did his job. The burly right-hander struck out 11, tied for the second-most ever for a Guardians pitcher in a playoff game behind only Charles Nagy’s 12 strikeouts in the 1996 ALDS, and then watched his lead immediately disappear from the dugout on Monday night. After a leadoff single by White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas to start the sixth inning, Williams — who threw 99 pitches or more 10 times this season — was pulled at 98 pitches. “We couldn’t have asked anything more from Gavin tonight,” said Guardians manager Stephen Vogt. “He did his job and then some.” After his departure, Chicago’s hitters seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. A Cleveland bullpen that ranked third in the American League in ERA and first in MLB in strikeout rate this season was unable to build a bridge to star closer Cade Smith. Erik Sabrowski, who allowed an RBI double to Colson Montgomery in Cleveland’s Game 1 loss, entered the game and got a groundout before walking a batter, throwing a wild pitch, getting a flyout and then surrendering a go-ahead, two-run, two-out double to rookie Braden Montgomery. Vogt then turned to reliever Hunter Gaddis, who promptly surrendered an RBI single to Chase Meidroth for an extra — and, ultimately, vital — White Sox insurance run. Cleveland seemed to hold the obvious bullpen advantage entering the series, but it hasn’t played out that way. The ball chopped in front of home plate and hovered in the air for what had to feel like hours to White Sox pitcher Sean Newcomb, who corralled the first-inning grounder from Nathaniel Lowe behind the pitcher’s mound, turned, then pulled his throw so far down the line that first baseman Munetaka Murakami couldn’t even muster an effort to stretch for it. This was “Guards Ball” in action, an encapsulation of a Cleveland team that has won three straight division titles despite an offense that routinely ranks among the league’s least powerful. But it’s a dangerous way to live in October, and a Cleveland offense that has mustered just three runs and seven hits through two games could again be its undoing. Game 2 began with White Sox starter Anthony Kay allowing two of the first three Guardians batters to reach, first on a seeing-eye single from Steven Kwan and then on a free pass. Newcomb entered and failed to extinguish the threat. He got behind on Jo Adell, eventually intentionally walking the Guardians outfielder to load the bases, before inducing the grounder he was seeking from Lowe. But his errant throw sailed into right field and allowed two runs to score and gave life to a meager Cleveland offense that was held scoreless in Game 1 and a Guardians home crowd that, to that point in the series, had little reason to get involved. Sean Burke, the bulk pitcher in yet another White Sox bullpen game, would restore order. Burke allowed just one run over 5.1 innings, at one point retiring 13 straight, buying time for the White Sox offense to dig its way out of an early hole. Then Grant Taylor, two days after throwing 42 pitches in a career-high four shutout innings to finish off the Guardians in Game 1, returned for more. Taylor allowed an RBI triple to Jo Adell in the eighth inning then shut the door on the Guardians, recording the final four outs to send the series back to Chicago with his team up 2-0. In Game 1 of the ALDS, Murakami had the two hardest-hit balls of the day. The first was a single. The second was a two-run, 440-foot tank to start the scoring off Messick, who had allowed just three home runs over the final eight starts of his sensational season. In Game 2, Murakami picked up where he left off, starting the scoring again for the White Sox. This time, he turned on a 99.5-mph fastball from Williams, lacing it 106.4 mph off the bat to right field for an RBI single that cut the deficit in half. Murakami has now knocked in at least one run in three of his first four playoff games, an auspicious sign for a White Sox team that needs him to be a difference maker. But the 26-year-old former NPB standout is far from the only young White Sox hitter contributing to Chicago’s stellar start to the postseason. Meidroth, 25, is hitting .400 with five RBI through four playoff games. Colson Montgomery, 24, has homered and doubled. Rookie Braden Montgomery, 23, delivered the big knock on Monday, and 26-year-old All-Star Miguel Vargas has already reached base six times in the ALDS. This is obviously a nightmare scenario for the Guardians, not only because they dropped both games at home but also because they couldn’t secure a win with either of their two best starters. Now, they’ll have to turn to Tanner Bibee, deadline addition Foster Griffin — who had a 3.06 ERA with the Nationals and a 5.19 ERA in nine starts with the Guardians — or a combination of bullpen arms to save their season. If they can’t find a way to generate some offense, though, it won’t matter who’s throwing. “Backs against the wall, this is where this team thrives,” Vogt said. “You don’t want to be in this position. I’m not going to sugarcoat it. We’ve backed ourselves into a corner. We know that. If there’s anything I know about this group of guys, it’s that we love challenges like this. We are going to embrace it.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports