Category: Sports Fox

Chris Petersen didn’t mince words when asked what it was like the first time he took his new team back to play his old one. “It was the worst,” Petersen told me. In 2015, Petersen’s second season at Washington, the Huskies traveled to Boise State to square off against the program he had spent more than a decade building into a national powerhouse. The trip to the blue turf came in the opening week of the season, and the Broncos denied their ex-coach a victory, beating the Huskies, 16-13. “We had recruited probably 90% of those players over there,” said Petersen. “This was pre-transfer [portal] and so we didn’t bring one kid with us. I’m looking at that sideline and knowing these are all the guys that we left there and that was one of the hardest things that you ever had to do. “The other thing was, I had such an affinity for that place. It was really, really hard. Like, one of my least favorite games to have to ever compete in.” On Saturday, LSU head coach Lane Kiffin will experience some semblance of that when he leads the No. 7-ranked Tigers into Oxford to battle No. 8 Ole Miss, where he spent six seasons guiding the Rebels to unprecedented heights. Kiffin famously spurned his former team late last season, leaving for LSU just before Ole Miss made its College Football Playoff debut — a decision that infuriated Rebels fans and players alike. College football rivalries are part of what make this sport so great, one of the things that sets it apart from others. This matchup, though not a traditional rivalry, figures to be every bit as heated and contentious given the circumstances. It will stir up plenty of emotions. Pundits have likened it to bringing your new love back to meet your old flame. “The good thing for Lane is he’s getting this thing over fast — it’s not next year, it’s not later this season, he’s getting it done now,” Petersen told me, noting he had to wait a year and a half to face Boise State, while Kiffin will go to Oxford less than 10 months after his messy exit. “He’s going to have to go out on the field late and get off the field right away,” Petersen added with a chuckle. “Though, you know, kind of knowing Lane, he’ll probably be out there talking to fans and stirring it up.” While the conditions surrounding Kiffin’s return are certainly unusual, he is hardly the first coach to find himself in this position. Nick Saban clashed with LSU multiple times as Alabama’s head coach, while Steve Spurrier took South Carolina back to Gainesville to play Florida. Sonny Dykes went to SMU with TCU, and Dan Mullen met his old program when Florida traveled to Mississippi State. Those are just a handful of examples. It’s an awkward situation, but one that is bound to happen from time to time in sports. Saban, who coached at LSU from 2000-04 and won a national championship there, talked about his highly-anticipated return to Baton Rouge in 2008 during SEC media days this past summer. He said it was “one of the most difficult homecomings in the history of ball” and tried to prepare his players accordingly. “I always walk on the field two hours before the game and there’s usually nobody in the stadium,” Saban told the SEC Network. “The student section is already full and they are chanting some bad things at Nick Saban. “But the one thing that I think people underestimate is, when your players are with you and they understand the challenge, they look at it as a challenge. And sometimes the home team thinks this is going to be an advantage for us, and it really isn’t. We won that game in overtime [27-21] because of the great competitive disposition our team took into that game.” Kiffin, though, is something of a veteran when it comes to this particular predicament. He’s already been in this position a couple of times in his career. In 2014, Kiffin returned to Tennessee — where he coached for one season in 2009 before leaving for USC — as Alabama’s offensive coordinator. It was a hostile environment, with Volunteers fans still harboring resentment toward Kiffin years after his abrupt departure. On the first play of the game, former Crimson Tide wide receiver Amari Cooper caught an 80-yard touchdown pass, and Kiffin ran down the sideline celebrating as Alabama went on to win, 34-20. Years later, when Kiffin brought the Rebels to Neyland Stadium in 2021, the bad blood was still there. After Ole Miss beat Tennessee 31-26, fans chucked golf balls and other objects at him. During his news conference on Monday, Kiffin was asked what he and his Tigers might face Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. He knows the pregame chatter will center around him, and he doesn’t mind carrying that burden. “I told the players today, ‘Man, you don’t have anything to worry about as far as attention on you all week and everything,’” Kiffin said. ‘”There’s going to be so much attention, hatred, everything on me. You just get to go play.’ “The pressure is on them. We won seven games last year, they won 13. They return two Heisman candidates. How often does that happen in the same backfield? We had that [at USC] with Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush … The pressure is not on you.” Even so, emotions will be running high. Petersen remembers the bizarre experience of landing at the airport, staying at the opposing team’s hotel and then pulling up to the stadium where he was greeted by a sea of Boise State fans dressed in blue and orange. Kiffin could very well encounter a similar sense of déjà vu, especially if he stops at any of his favorite haunts or takes a yoga class at his old studio. “It was a really different feeling because they’re all against you now, and it was never like that before,” Petersen said. “It was like, man, this is surreal.” Not to mention, Kiffin will be facing some former players, including star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy, both of whom he hoped would follow him to Baton Rouge. Kiffin brought only four players with him from Ole Miss to LSU, including starting defensive end Princewill Umanmielen and linebacker TJ Dottery, along with 12 members of his coaching staff. “I think that’s going to be really hard on him because there are a lot of kids there that I’m sure he still cares about,” Petersen said of Kiffin. “There’s probably still coaches on the staff. The administration was great to him when he was there, and so he made a choice, and now he’s gotta walk right back into the hornet’s nest. “He’s just going to have to focus on this game, his team playing well, get in and out, and try to minimize the emotion and the drama as much as you can. But in some ways, Lane seems like he thrives on a lot of drama and chaos. So this may help him and his team compete better.” What can also help? Something Petersen’s team didn’t do. “The thing that will make this the most tolerable,” Petersen said, “is if your team goes out and plays well and wins the game.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

There’s a youth movement afoot within the United States men’s soccer team. On Thursday, coach Mauricio Pochettino named a 28-player roster for the Stars and Stripes’ first matches since reaching the round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup – home exhibitions later this month and early next against Peru, Chile, Mexico and Canada. It’s stocked with almost as many new faces as World Cup veterans, although star attacking midfielder Christian Pulisic will sit out this window. But the list includes 13 members of the squad that won its group and a knockout match against Bosnia and Herzegovina before being eliminated by Belgium. There are familiar names like Tyler Adams and Chris Richards plus five World Cup goalscorers: Sebastian Berhalter, Alex Freeman, Gio Reyna, Malik Tillman and Auston Trusty. However, the list also features 12 youngsters who will be participating in their first senior international camp when it begins next week at U.S. Soccer’s training center outside Atlanta. “I think it’s a good mix of experience and fresh and new energy,” said Pochettino, who spoke to reporters following Thursday’s announcement. Among those are seven teenagers: 16-year-old Cavan Sullivan; 17-year-olds Mathis Albert and Adri Mehmeti; Julian Hall, Peyton Miller and Neil Pierre (all 18) and Justin Ellis (19). “He’s only 16, he’s a kid,” Pochettino said of Sullivan, who nonetheless has five goals and six assists in his last seven MLS games for the Philadelphia Union. “But I think the most important [thing] is that we have the opportunity now, because he deserves to join us in the national team.” Here are my takeaways from the roster, plus additional insight from Pochettino. The absence of several World Cup starters who are either just returning from a long layoff (Christian Pulisic, Folarin Balogun) or currently injured (Weston McKennie), plus the fact that the U.S. under-20 and -23 teams won’t reconvene until November, opened the door for Pochettino to look at some of the brightest talents in the entire player pool. The other youngsters are here on merit, too. Pierre, a towering 6-foot-7 center back who is Sullivan’s teammate in Philly, has also been playing and scoring regularly during the second half of the MLS season. Hall, Mehmeti and Miller have all been starters for their MLS clubs all season, and in Miller’s case even longer. And while Albert has been an unused sub in all four of Dortmund’s Bundesliga and UEFA Champions League matches to start the 2026-27 campaign, he did go 90 minutes in a German Cup match in early September and is considered a blue-chip prospect. There were also several 20-year-olds invited: winger Cole Campbell, keeper Diego Kochen and fullback Frankie Westfield. This camp also marks the return of AC Milan midfielder Yunus Musah, who started all four games for the U.S. at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar (where, at 19, he marked England star Jude Bellingham out of the Americans’ scoreless group stage tie against the Three Lions) but didn’t even make the 2026 squad. Still just 23, Musah — whose last cap came almost two years ago — could once again occupy a major role in central midfield this cycle. “Yunus is like everyone – the doors are open for everyone,” Pochettino said of Musah, who fell out of favor with the Argentine after skipping the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup along with Rossoneri teammate Pulisic.  “Now it’s a new start. It’s a new cycle. It’s not [about] what happened one year or one year-and-a-half ago.” In this first camp of the 2030 World Cup cycle, Pochettino has the luxury of experimenting perhaps more than he will at any other point over the next four years. With FIFA combining the historically separate September and October international windows for the first time, the former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain manager will get a long look at the next generation in both training sessions and games. That’s an exceedingly rare opportunity for an international coach. “It’s a great opportunity to bring in new players with potential, with the possibility to spend more time training, more time together,” he said. Still, Poch also wants to win these games — especially next month’s cross-border derbies against Les Rouges and El Tri, two teams he’s never beaten in three tries as U.S. coach. And he has to win starting in November, when the U.S. will meet an opponent to be determined in the quarterfinals of the 2026-27 Concacaf Nations League. Assuming the Americans advance from home-and-home series, they’ll play the Nations League finals in March, then the Gold Cup in June, with qualifying matches for the 2030 World Cup set to kick off next fall. That means most of the kids will return to youth national teams, especially the Steve Cherundolo-coached U-23s that will produce at least 15 members of the Olympic team for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Pochettino said that Cherundolo would be at this camp, to which he summoned a dozen Olympic age-eligible players. “A gold medal,” Pochettino added. “Is the objective of the federation.” Pulisic wasn’t the only longtime U.S. player left out. Matt Turner and Tim Weah, both starters at the 2022 World Cup who served as depth options this summer, were also omitted despite seeing regular playing time for the Revs and Marseille, respectively. So was 38-year-old Tim Ream, the U.S. captain last summer, and Premier League starter Brenden Aaronson. Pulisic is 27. Weah is 26. Both will be back. But their longtime role as team leaders this cycle is up for debate, with Adams, Ricahards, Freeman and others potentially taking on more responsibility during Pochettino’s second go-round with the American squad. “It’s a very important period for us also to observe if senior players are good role models,” Pochettino said. “They need to know that the young playear are going to see everything: the way that you move, walk, talk, behave, and on the field and off.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Can Ole Miss spoil Lane Kiffin’s return to Oxford? Will Houston prove it is a legitimate Big 12 contender against defending conference champion Texas Tech? And which teams will make an early statement in SEC play? The college football season rolls into Week 3 with a loaded slate headlined by LSU-Ole Miss. Kiffin returns to a hostile environment for one of the most anticipated games on the college football calendar. Elsewhere, Houston and Texas Tech meet Friday night on FOX, Kansas and Arizona State battle in London for “Big Noon Kickoff,” and SMU faces Louisville in a huge ACC showdown with major conference implications. So before Week 3 kicks off, we’re breaking down our straight-up picks and the matchups to watch closely throughout the weekend. Let’s dive into the action. When: Friday, 8 p.m. ET (FOX)Where: Galaxy Stadium, Lubbock, TexasLine: Texas Tech -7.5 RJ Young: HoustonThe Cougars are an experienced roster with a formidable rushing attack, putting up at least 225 rushing yards in each of their first two games. If running back Makhi Hughes can gash the Tech defense, Houston has a chance to pull off a remarkable upset, even as a top-25 team. Laken Litman: Texas TechIn what will be one of the better regular season matchups, the Red Raiders get their biggest conference win as they won’t have to play BYU or Utah until potentially meeting in the Big 12 championship game. Michael Cohen: Texas TechThere’s definitely some sneaky upset potential in this one, given how solid Houston has looked to start the season. But the fans in Lubbock have created an elite home environment during this NIL-fueled resurgence, and that should be the difference. Ben Portnoy: HoustonTexas Tech lost as many top-end defensive players as any team in the country between last year and this year. It’s shown up in spots so far this year, and I think it’s the difference on Saturday and Houston scores a big-time win. When: Saturday, noon ET (FOX)Where: Wembley Stadium, London, EnglandLine: Arizona State -5.5 Young: Arizona StateThe Sun Devils the clear advantage at quarterback with a consistent and precise Cutter Boley. Litman: Arizona State Quarterback Cutter Boley — who leads the Big 12 with 641 passing yards and eight touchdowns through two games — helps the Sun Devils bounce back from their loss to Texas A&M with a conference win over Kansas in London. Cohen: Arizona StateIt’s fair to wonder about a potential letdown for the Jayhawks following last week’s incredibly emotional rivalry game against Missouri. Arizona State bounces back from the loss to Texas A&M to take this one at home. Portnoy: Arizona StateArizona State gave Texas A&M a serious scare, and quarterback Cutter Boley has looked like a natural fit in Kenny Dillingham’s scheme. I like the Sun Devils in this one. When: Saturday, noon ET (ABC)Where: Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville, ArkansasLine: Georgia -24.5 Young: Georgia Even if the Arkansas defense plays lights out, the offense still has to score. The Dawgs have allowed just three offensive touchdowns in their first two games. Litman: GeorgiaThe Bulldogs get another dominant win before facing Oklahoma next week, and quarterback Gunner Stockton continues to make noise in the Heisman Trophy race (he has 436 passing yards and eight touchdowns through two games). Cohen: GeorgiaThe Bulldogs have come flying out of the gates this season by scoring 133 points in their first two games combined. But they’re also fifth in the country in total defense. That’s far too much balance for Arkansas to handle. Portnoy: Georgia Nothing hard here. Arkansas looked terrible a week ago at Utah. Georgia is still an SEC frontrunner. Dawgs by a lot. When: Saturday, noon ET (ESPN)Where: Memorial Stadium, Clemson, South CarolinaLine: Clemson -3.5 Young: North CarolinaClemson hasn’t demonstrated it can score with any consistency against teams in its weight class, and Carolina has allowed just one offensive touchdown all year. Litman: North CarolinaBill Belichick gets off to a 3-0 start in his second year in Chapel Hill while Clemson continues its slide after naming true freshman Tait Reynolds its new starting quarterback. Cohen: North CarolinaThis might be one of the few times all season when North Carolina will face an opponent that is under just as much scrutiny as the Tar Heels. Things feel really, really messy at Clemson right now. The Tar Heels score an upset. Portnoy: North CarolinaLoser leaves town game for Dabo Swinney and Bill Belichick? Somehow, UNC suddenly has the better vibes at the moment. The Tar Heels win this one as the chatter in the Upstate gets louder. When: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)Where: Kyle Field, College Station, TexasLine: Texas A&M -16.5 Young: Texas A&M The Aggies not only have more ways they can beat UK, but also a better roster. It can survive some miscues and still get a win against a Kentucky team that looks like upsetting someone — just not A&M. Litman: Texas A&M The Aggies’ defense controls the game and makes a statement as their former defensive coordinator, Jay Bateman, returns to College Station with Kentucky. Cohen: Texas A&MEven though Texas A&M has been somewhat pedestrian this season, the Aggies still have the seventh-most talented roster in the country based on the 247Sports Team Talent Composite. Eventually, talent wins out. They’ll take care of Kentucky. Portnoy: KentuckyI’m still a bit shocked to see how many people have A&M ranked as highly as they do now and during the preseason. Kentucky couldn’t keep pace with Alabama, but I like the Wildcats to score an upset here. When: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (ABC)Where: Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, AlabamaLine: Alabama -19.5 Young: AlabamaMike Norvell’s seat was hot before the season started. Now, he faces a Tide team without the athletic director who hired him to have his back should things go terribly wrong in Tuscaloosa. Litman: AlabamaKeelon Russell improves after throwing two picks in Week 2’s win over Kentucky and Florida State misses its chance to get a statement non-conference win. Cohen: AlabamaIt wouldn’t be too surprising if Florida State went belly up early in this one. Not only is the seat beneath head coach Mike Norvell scorching hot, but the school also just fired its athletics director. Alabama could make this one ugly. Portnoy: AlabamaAlabama scored a nice win last week, rolling Kentucky in the second half. Florida State, meanwhile, fired its AD as heads are starting to roll in Tallahassee. Tide win huge. When: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)Where: L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium, Louisville, KentuckyLine: Louisville -1.5 Young: LouisvilleIt’s not just that I liked how the Cardinals performed in their loss to Ole Miss; I also didn’t like how the Mustangs looked in their win over Florida State. Litman: SMUIn a game with CFP implications, the Mustangs stake their claim as the second-best team in the ACC behind Miami as quarterback Kevin Jennings continues to roll. Cohen: LouisvilleJeff Brohm is a darn-good football coach. He’s already transformed raw, athletic quarterback prospect Lincoln Kienholz into a legitimate player — something that never happened when Kienholz was at Ohio State — and the ceiling for this team feels quite high. Portnoy: LouisvilleI really liked what I saw from Louisville Week 1 against Ole Miss. Quarterback Lincoln Kienholz continues to look more comfortable in Jeff Brohm’s offense, and I think he’s the difference here. When: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (FOX)Where: Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, UtahLine: Utah -27.5 Young: UtahMorgan Scalley’s first two games have gone so well that I am already looking forward to this game to see more of backup quarterback Byrd Ficklin. Add to this Utah State’s loss to FCS Idaho State earlier this year. Litman: UtahThe No. 6 scoring offense piles up points against an in-state rival and first-year head coach Morgan Scalley improves to 3-0 ahead of Big 12 competition beginning next week. Cohen: UtahKyle Whittingham might be gone, but Utah remains an incredibly solid program. It demolished Arkansas last week and should do the same to Utah State on Saturday. Portnoy: UtahUtah annihilated a bad Arkansas team last week, while Utah State arguably should’ve beaten Washington a week ago. I’ll take Utah, but this game could get spicy if the Aggies hang around late. When: Saturday, 7:00 p.m. ET (ESPN)Where: Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, AlabamaLine: Florida -2.5 Young: FloridaQuarterback Aaron Philo might actually be elite. It helps to have Dallas Wilson and Vernell Brown on your team, but I have been wildly impressed by his decision-making and accuracy this season. Litman: AuburnByrum Brown continues to shine as Alex Golesh’s offensive revamp gets underway in SEC play. Cohen: AuburnThe Tigers have struggled on defense this season and enter the weekend ranked 77th nationally on that side of the ball, but stopping the run hasn’t been the problem. Auburn’s rush defense, which ranks 23rd, bows up and handles Jadan Baugh to score the small upset. Portnoy: FloridaPlain and simple, Florida has the better quarterback in this one. Jadan Baugh draws the headlines, but Aaron Philo has been uber-efficient against a soft opening slate. Jon Sumerall gets his first SEC win. When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC)Where: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Oxford, MississippiLine: LSU -3 Young: LSUForget about Lane. Blake Baker’s defense is the best in the country and has everything it needs to upset and frustrate Heisman candidate Trinidad Chambliss. Litman: LSULane Kiffin gets the W in his highly anticipated return to Oxford. While most of the headlines surrounding LSU have been about off-field drama, the Tigers have a talented team that will contend for a CFP spot. Cohen: LSUThe Rebels are at home. The Rebels have the better quarterback. But they don’t have Lane Kiffin. And in a moment like this — when all eyes are on him in a critical moment — the sport’s greatest villain finds a way to get it done. Portnoy: LSUThe only thing I’m certain of in this one is that the kegs in the Grove are going to have their work cut out for them pregame. I’m still skeptical of Ole Miss’ defense long term, even after LSU and quarterback Sam Leavitt looked a bit shaky last week. Lane Kiffin wins the Revenge Bowl in Oxford.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Out on the Rams already? What about the Packers? How far can the Giants go with John Harbaugh? Does Jalen Hurts look like an MVP? No doubt your NFL group chats are buzzing with strong opinions after Week 1. I’m here to separate the facts from the fiction. Every week, we’ll ask fans on our NFL on FOX social media accounts for their best takes after the past weekend of action. I’ll pick a handful of them, provide analysis and render a verdict. Alright, let’s dive into the Week 1 takes: Coming out hot with the takes in Week 1! I like it. Look, the Rams were flat in their season-opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Australia. Reigning MVP Matthew Stafford wasn’t sharp. Neither was head coach Sean McVay (what was that goal-line quarterback sneak with Stafford?). Seven points marked the lowest total for the Rams in a game with Stafford as the starting quarterback (2021-present). The hyped defense was a massive let-down too, allowing 174 rushing yards on 5.8 yards per carry and a 58% conversion rate on third down (7-of-12). The Niners scored 17 points in the final 27 minutes. And if it couldn’t get any worse, reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett — who was held without a tackle for the first time since Week 11 of the 2024 season — underwent arthroscopic knee surgery this week and will miss at least four games on injured reserve. But with all that said, I don’t think the Rams have reason to panic. They have the same starting offense as last year, when they led the league in points and total yardage. Garrett will return eventually. Aaron Donald hasn’t suited up yet. The Rams’ loss in Australia was more of an indictment on their preparation for a single game — arriving in Melbourne the day before the game never made much sense — than their title chances. This is still arguably the NFL’s best team, even if they were overhyped entering the season and Garrett’s absence in the short term hurts. Fact or Fiction: Fiction The Giants got a tremendous boost from the Cowboys’ putrid defensive showing in Week 1, but there’s a lot to like in New York. The first thing that jumps out to me is that the Giants can own the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, a trademark of winning teams. They had 165 rushing yards and four drives of 10-plus plays against the Cowboys, including three straight to end the game. That’s what imposing your will looks like. Then defensively, edge rushers Brian Burns, Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux generated consistent pressure on Dallas QB Dak Prescott, even if it didn’t result in any sacks. Guard Francis Mauigoa and linebacker Arvell Reese, the Giants’ 2026 first-round picks, had strong debuts. John Harbaugh & Co. prioritized building a physical football team this offseason, and it’s looking like that will pay off. Then there’s quarterback Jaxson Dart, who looks poised for a breakout Year 2. So much of the conversation around him as a rookie was his inability to properly protect himself, and on Sunday night, we saw a player who made smart decisions as a runner, getting down or out of bounds to avoid big hits. As a passer, he was decisive and precise, completing 79.3% of his passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. So the Giants appear to be in great shape, and stack up well with the NFC East. The Cowboys have some serious work to do defensively before they can be the team they were hyped to be in the offseason. The Eagles won their opener over the Commanders but have concerns on the offensive line and are breaking in a first-time offensive playercaller (more on that below).  The Commanders also have a first-time offensive coordinator. Even with a new coach, the Giants seem to have the fewest questions of any team in their division. Fact or Fiction: Fact The Packers have very real reasons to be concerned. In its season-opening loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay blew yet another large lead under coach Matt LaFleur. Including their wild-card playoff defeat to the Bears last season, the Packers have lost five games since the start of 2025 that they led in the second half by at least two possessions. And the 2026 outlook is bleak on both sides of the line of scrimmage. The offensive line was dysfunctional in Week 1, allowing quarterback Jordan Love to be pressured on a career-high 50.0% of his dropbacks. The Vikings presented a unique challenge because of how much they blitz under defensive coordinator Brian Flores, but other defenses will undoubtedly draw from what worked with Minnesota. There was nothing to like in the Packers’ run game, either. The team had just 66 rushing yards on 3.1 yards per carry. Defensively, we knew Green Bay would be short-handed with Micah Parsons (ACL) out to start the year, but Vikings backup quarterback Carson Wentz was way too comfortable in place of Kyler Murray, who suffered an early concussion. Wentz had three touchdown passes and a two-point conversion to lead Minnesota, which scored 29 unanswered points to win 39-22. I think the Packers will be fine on defense when Parsons returns, expected to be around mid-October. But Green Bay’s offensive issues may not be fixable, even after just one week. LaFleur’s game management late in games continues to be problematic, and Green Bay appears to have a below-average offensive line in both pass protection and run blocking. Fact or Fiction: Fact There was a lot to like from Hurts in the Eagles’ Week 1 victory over the Commanders. In many ways, Philadelphia didn’t seem to miss star receiver A.J. Brown, who was traded to the Patriots in the offseason. Hurts had three completions of at least 30 yards, including a 64-yarder to Dontayvion Wicks. The Super Bowl LIX MVP went 6-of-9 on downfield throws (10-plus air yards) for 176 yards and three touchdowns, according to Next Gen Stats. His completion rate left much to be desired (56.0%), but he was effective as both a passer and as a runner. It was a great season debut for Hurts with a new, first-time playcaller in Sean Mannion. The offensive line is worth keeping an eye on moving forward, though. Legendary OL coach Jeff Stoutland parted ways with the team after last season, and three-time Pro Bowl guard Landon Dickerson was placed on injured reserve. Offensive line issues were one of Philly’s biggest problems last season, and the stage is set for hiccups early in 2026. That could put a lot of pressure on Hurts. Also, there are so many other quarterbacks around the league who I think are better positioned to flourish this season. The Bears’ Caleb Williams is in his second year with offensive-minded head coach Ben Johnson. Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence is in his second year with offensive-minded head coach Liam Coen. And 2024 NFL MVP Josh Allen is in lock step with new Bills head coach Joe Brady, who has been Buffalo’s offensive playcaller since midway through 2023. Those QBs and others will make it difficult for Hurts to have staying power in the MVP conversation, even if Mannion’s offense turns out to be a great fit for him. Fact or Fiction: Fiction​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Week 3 features yet another chapter in the Lane Kiffin saga, as LSU’s new head coach returns to the field he left behind at Ole Miss. Florida State is in a panic, and right as Alabama plays host. The underrated Mississippi State takes on South Carolina in a potential shootout. The 2026 college football season rolls on with these big matchups and more, and Joel Klatt picked winners on the Thursday edition of “The Joel Klatt Show”. Here are all of Klatt’s picks for these key Week 3 games. Klatt’s thoughts: “Kiffin is going back, and this is going to be bonkers and wild, the atmosphere is going to be crazy. Here’s the thing: nobody knows Ole Miss better than Lane Kiffin. I actually believe in my heart of hearts right now that LSU has a massive advantage in this. He knows Pete Golding. He knows the structures that Pete’s going to struggle with on the defensive side. He knows Chambliss better than the Ole Miss coaching staff knows Chambliss. He knows where all the skeletons are buried in the game plans. And when he has that, nobody builds better game plans to take advantage of those types of scenarios. No one does it better than Lane Kiffin. “I think that they (LSU) can (win). Schematically, on the field (and) game plan wise, LSU has a giant advantage in this game, and no one is going to talk about it that way… You don’t think that he’s going to have something that is specifically designed for a Pete Golding defense in the first five plays?… I think the defense is exceptional for LSU.” Klatt’s pick: “I got 28-20, Lane goes back to Ole Miss and gets a win with LSU.” Klatt’s thoughts: “Jeff Brohm is outstanding at home in big games. We’ve seen [Louisville] knock off big opponents. He’s even done it against big opponents… this is a monster, monster game. I think the winner of this game ultimately plays Miami for the ACC championship. Two great quarterbacks… these two guys are one and two in the country right now in total offense per game… I love this one. “I think Louisville learned a lot about themselves in that Ole Miss game… I also think SMU is incredibly talented. The game against Florida State was way closer than it should have been. It was all turnovers. That’s the only thing that scares me about SMU… I think they’re better and more talented than Louisville… If [QB Kevin] Jennings stays clean, SMU wins the game outright.” Klatt’s pick: “I think SMU wins the game outright, 31-27.” Klatt’s thoughts: “Ranked matchup in the Big 12, Houston goes to Texas Tech. Houston is No. 22 in the country, Texas Tech is No. 13 in the country… Joey McGuire is an excellent coach. One thing I know about Joey McGuire is he’s going to look at the first two games with this Tech team and realize they were unconvincing and they can coach them hard this week. “Meanwhile, for Houston, Willie Fritz has done an excellent job. I like their quarterback, Conner Weigman. Makhi Hughes is a huge add to their run game… Amare Thomas is one of the best receivers in the Big 12. Texas Tech is a team that, on paper, is one of the most talented teams in the country.” Klatt’s pick: “I like Tech to cover… I think they win it, 34-23.” Klatt’s thoughts: “Florida State is in a panic right now. Does not look good… Their athletic department is massively in debt, they just fired their athletic director… you look at the rest of their schedule… and it’s like, I don’t see how Mike Norvell gets past the Miami game. I really don’t. “Meanwhile, for Alabama, I feel like something clicked for Alabama last weekend against Kentucky… if you step back and actually look back at the game, what did you notice about this Bama team? Their defense is dominant, and then something else happened in that second half: Ryan Grubb stuck to the run game. Kalen DeBoer ran the football. They buried Kentucky in the second half. “FSU struggles to throw it. They’re not going to be able to run the football against that defense.” Klatt’s pick: “Bama wins this one 38-10, I think that one’s an easy one for me.” Klatt’s thoughts: “Couple of new coaches. Guys who are trying to rebuild their programs… Jon Sumrall did a really nice job of keeping and retaining some of the talent that Florida had, namely running back Jadan Baugh, so clearly they’ve got some buy-in there… Meanwhile Alex Golesh on the other side is trying to have a similar rebuild with Auburn. He brought in his quarterback, Byron Brown, from South Florida. Auburn played Baylor in Week 1, that was a really good game. “But here’s what scares me about Auburn: their offensive line in that game against Baylor did not protect very well, and Brown was sacked five times. So do we think that Florida is going to have a better front seven than Baylor? And my answer would be yes.” Klatt’s pick: Florida wins this one 20-17, I’m going to go with Jon Sumrall and Florida. Klatt’s thoughts: “This is a great quarterback matchup, first of all. You’ve got LaNorris Sellers for South Carolina – he could be a star, I think, he’s got that talent. But then you’ve got the real breakout star, he’s a guy I’m so excited about, Kamario Taylor. He’s huge, he’s 230 lbs., he’s over 6’3”, he’s got a cannon for an arm. They just hammered Minnesota on the road. “Mississippi State might be better than we all realized – in fact, they are better than we all realized – and they’re certainly better than the AP voters realize. They should be a ranked team at this point… Now South Carolina played Kent State and an FCS team, so we don’t really know what they are yet. I expect and kind of want a shootout in this game.” Klatt’s pick: It’s tough to win on the road, back-to-back, but I’ve got Mississippi State winning outright on the road, 34-30.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Caleb Downs started creeping toward the line of scrimmage, watching Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart survey the coverage. From the slot, the Cowboys rookie took off like a rocket at the snap, unaccounted for by New York’s protection. Downs blasted Dart at full speed from his blind side, causing a fumble which, fortunately for the Giants, was caught in the air by left guard Jon Runyan Jr. Dallas’ defense struggled mightily in the team’s 28-20 season-opening loss Sunday to the Giants, and Downs wasn’t blameless in the lapses. But that sack, the first of his NFL career, was a taste of the playmaking the Cowboys expect from the No. 11 overall pick as a foundational piece in their revamped defense. Coming out of Ohio State, Downs was touted as a generational safety prospect. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones called him a “quarterback-of-the-defense nickel.” Dallas vice president of player personnel Will McClay said, “He’s a multiplier. He’s going to make other people better.” As Downs prepares for the Cowboys’ home opener against the Washington Commanders on Sunday (4:25 p.m. ET on FOX), his track record shows that he’ll attack those expectations with intentionality. Chris Rudnick remembers when Downs was late to a workout session this offseason. There were factors he “couldn’t control,” but he still showed up 20 to 30 minutes after the set start time. So, in Downs’ mind, that needed to be addressed. “For him, [in his] early 20s, to come in and own up to a mistake even though it wasn’t his fault, to be apologetic and to look us in the eyes and say, ‘Hey, I’m sorry for wasting your time?'” Rudnick, a strength trainer for Atlanta-based Adapt, told me. “I could probably count on one hand how many times I’ve actually gotten apologies for people being late, whether it was their fault or not their fault. “When Caleb says he’s going to be here, he is going to be here,” Rudnick continued. “Caleb is not someone who likes to be late.” That kind of accountability is a given for Downs, according to those who’ve worked with him at Adapt. He doesn’t need to be motivated. He attacks every rep and drill. He always asks questions. In group sessions, he finishes his sets and intently watches everyone else’s reps until it’s his turn again. “It’s like every workout is the most important workout. He’s not phoning anything in, and I think that’s palpable,” Rudnick told me. “I think what differentiates him maybe from some other athletes, especially athletes at that level, is … Caleb will keep asking questions. “He is someone who is willing to have a back and forth and is looking for a back and forth because he doesn’t want to just settle for doing it OK. He wants to do it very, very well. And if he doesn’t feel like he is demonstrating something at the level that he should be, there’s going to be dialogue.” It’s the same story on the field. In Cowboys training camp, Downs was regularly tasked with covering CeeDee Lamb, one of football’s best wide receivers. Downs had constant conversations with the perennial Pro Bowler about what he was seeing from him and techniques he was using, information he could use against opposing pass-catchers in games. “He’s very willing. He’s very curious,” Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker said during training camp. “He has that natural spirit about him.” Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer saw the leadership all over Downs’ Ohio State film. When he spoke to his defensive teammates, he didn’t ask for anyone else’s opinion. “He’s making that call,” Schottenheimer explained in the spring, “and it’s what you’re doing.” Downs has to earn that kind of respect in the Dallas defense. But he’s on his way. His habits tell you so. In group workouts this offseason, before he’d even taken an NFL snap, he always jumped to the front for drills. Didn’t matter if established pros were there. College players who lifted with Downs got quieter when he was up at the bar. Bigger skill players watched the weight he moved with his 206-pound frame, then were more inclined to add weight to their own sets. Downs paid close attention to their reps, offering tips as needed. “He’s not necessarily trying to be the loudest guy out there,” Adapt trainer JT Alphabet told me. “But guys naturally follow his lead because of how he works.” Added Rudnick: “He just comes in with this air of almost like a veteran mindset.” It shows up in how Downs sees the game, too. It’s how, as a true freshman in 2023, he led Alabama in tackles. As a teenager, he mastered Nick Saban’s defense — then did the same with Matt Patricia’s scheme at Ohio State, where he was a two-time unanimous All-American. “I feel like my mind really puts me above a lot of people in terms of how I process the game and play with instincts,” Downs said at the NFL Combine. “I feel like that’s what makes me special.” He has a high football IQ and processes information “very quickly,” according to Rudnick. Downs’ aptitude is why the Cowboys trust him to learn two positions as a rookie, nickel and safety. He played 61 of Dallas’ 69 defensive snaps in his regular-season debut (88%) — 34 in the slot, 18 in the box and nine at free safety, according to Pro Football Focus. After the game, Downs told CBS Sports: “I think I can play the run game really well. Play the pass game, whatever it is, whether it’s man or dropping zones. I’m an extra corner or extra linebacker. Whatever you need.” Including the nickel-blitz sack fumble, Downs had seven tackles against the Giants. “I think Caleb played really, really well,” Schottenheimer said. “Jaxson Dart never saw him on the blitz. He gets a free run and the ball goes spiraling through the air, and the 320-pound guard [Runyan] catches it and rumbles for five yards. That’s kind of how the night went for us. But I think that’s one of the positives of what we did on defense: We attacked the ball. We had four forced fumbles. “Caleb is a guy that can move around, but we like him down near the line of scrimmage.” Downs underwent a baptism by fire in his first NFL training camp. In addition to facing teammates Lamb and George Pickens, he matched up with star receivers Puka Nacua and Chris Olave in joint practices against the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints, respectively. He embraced all of it. That’s where his confidence comes from. The reps against some of the league’s best receivers show him where he needs to be. “Mike Tyson says success breeds confidence and confidence breeds success,” Downs said in August. “I feel like those two work together, and when you win at things and do good at things, it allows you to feel more confident. When you succeed, it continues to grow from there.” The Cowboys don’t see Downs as a rookie. They see him as a culture-changer. “He’s a guy that we’re expecting to play a lot,” veteran Cowboys safety Malik Hooker said in August. “And not only play a lot, but to be a difference-maker in our defense.” Downs’ intent is not to make individual highlights in bad team performances. It’s to be a cornerstone who plays an integral role in sustained success.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

As teams around the NFL begin to shift into gear for Week 2, Wednesday brought a fresh round of injury updates. The Seattle Seahawks got some relieving news under center, while the San Francisco 49ers’ receiver room deals with another injury, and two more starting quarterbacks landed on the injury report heading into Week 2. Sam Darnold avoided a long-term absence despite being ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals, while 49ers rookie wideout De’Zhaun Stribling is now facing roughly 10 weeks on the shelf after ankle surgery. Meanwhile, Joe Burrow is dealing with back tightness but sounds intent on playing through it, and Kyler Murray took a step forward in his return from concussion protocol with a limited practice. Here’s the latest from around the NFL on Wednesday. Sam Darnold appears to have avoided a major, long-term setback after exiting Wednesday night’s season opener with a glute injury. Head coach Mike Macdonald told reporters the quarterback has been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Cardinals, but importantly, he will not be placed on injured reserve. With IR off the table, the expectation is that Darnold could be back under center within a game or two once he’s medically cleared. In the meantime, backup Drew Lock will take the reins, and he’s already shown he can hold things together — Lock led a second-half comeback against the Patriots on Wednesday, completing 16 of 22 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown. Given Lock’s steady showing in relief, Seattle’s offense shouldn’t miss much of a beat under Macdonald in the short term. Still, all eyes now turn to Darnold’s recovery timeline and how quickly the Seahawks can get their starter back on the field. The San Francisco 49ers officially placed rookie wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling on injured reserve Wednesday. Stribling underwent ankle surgery and is expected to miss at least two months as he recovers. Head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters Wednesday that Stribling opted for surgery, adding that the team expects him to miss roughly 10 weeks. Losing Stribling adds to the mounting injury list in the 49ers receiver room, which lost Ricky Pearsall to a season-ending knee injury in training camp. The offense will need to rely on the veteran trio of Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle moving forward. Stribling initially injured his ankle late in the first quarter of the 49ers’ Week 1 win over the Los Angeles Rams. Though he briefly returned to action, his night ended on the very next drive when he went down in the second quarter and had to be carted off the field. He may have gone statless in Week 1, but Stribling’s impressive training camp proved he belongs in this offense. If the 49ers can navigate a brutal NFC West race without him, his return late in the year could give them a major dynamic boost in time for a playoff run. Joe Burrow will show up on this week’s injury report, but he isn’t sounding any alarms about his availability for Sunday’s game against the Texans. The Bengals quarterback was limited during the open portion of Wednesday’s practice and told reporters afterward that he’s dealing with back tightness, adding that he isn’t sure which play from last Sunday’s win over Tampa Bay caused it. Burrow noted he didn’t feel any pain until after the game had ended, and while he wasn’t certain whether he’d be able to practice for the rest of the week, he cleared the air on his playing status, calling it “ridiculous” to suggest he’d sit out. The Bengals travel to face the Houston Texans on Sunday, Sept. 20. After an emotional Week 1 comeback win, the Minnesota Vikings head to Chicago to take on the Bears. However, who will line up under center remains a major question mark as quarterback Kyler Murray remains in concussion protocol. On Wednesday afternoon, head coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters that Murray would practice in a limited capacity. The Vikings plan to rely on the league and medical staff before clearing Murray. Murray did not return to the game after taking a scary hit from a Green Bay Packers defender while sliding. As he remains in concussion protocol, the expectation is that Carson Wentz will step in to start in Chicago if Murray isn’t cleared. Wentz delivered a strong performance off the bench, leading a fourth-quarter comeback to seal a 39-22 victory. He completed 12 of 19 passes for 133 yards and three touchdowns, connecting with Justin Jefferson for two of those scores.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Tom Brady’s power rankings are back for a third season, and before he reveals his first top-10 of the new season, there are a few rules the GOAT has. One, in order to make this week’s top 10, you’ve had to have won in Week 1. Two, the power rankings are all about what you’ve done lately, not what you can be. And three, if you have any complaints, direct them to the new FOX Sports digital show “Gronk & Jules.” So, now that’s out of the way, let’s dive into Brady’s first top 10 of the 2026 NFL season. Brady’s thoughts: They had a great win against a very good Bucs team. I thought that Bucs team was going to go into Cincy and upset some people. Sorry to Ja’Marr Chase and all those fantasy owners. Trust me, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Brady’s thoughts: If you turned this one off early, you’re probably wondering why the Lions aren’t higher. But you really don’t want to see how this one went down. I think it’s very brave of these teams to go for 2 [to win the game like the Saints did]. It’s basically a 45/50% chance of making it. That’s what the stats say. Sometimes, I think you should make the other team beat you. But when you’re the road team against a good team, sometimes I don’t mind going for broke. Brady’s thoughts: How about the Jags? At No. 8, they ran it up against Cleveland. That’s what a lot of people forgot about Jacksonville last season. They won 13 games last year. Keep an eye out for this team. Liam Coen, really impressed, man. Keep it up. Brady’s thoughts: Kenneth Walker, he’s your [Super Bowl LX] MVP and the Chiefs are sitting at No. 7. Patrick Mahomes, are you kidding me? He might be able to contribute something to this offense as well. He wasn’t avoiding any contact [on Monday night]; I’m sure of that. I think, in a lot of ways, he’s back to [being] Patrick Mahomes. What do I mean by that? His leadership, discipline, tenacity — all of those things were on display. He’s going to pick up some steam. He’s missed some football, missed a lot of the offseason. But never sleep on No. 15 for the Chiefs. Why are we counting them out? Never count them out. I always felt like when you’ve got a great coach and you’ve got a great QB, and that organization has championship standards … watch out, man. Brady’s thoughts: KB and I, we were on the call in Philly, and the Eagles are knocking on the door of the top five. They knocked a little rust off, but they took care of business, starting 1-0 in the division. They know how to start fast. I like this team. They’re always going to play great defense. Once they figure out how to run the ball a little bit better, and they’ve still got Saquon [Barkley] back there and Tank Bigsby — they’re making those explosive plays. That’s the formula that set them up a few years ago, too. Brady’s thoughts: In our top five, you can shuffle a lot of teams here, but remember, when in doubt, my rankings are always the correct ones. The Bills are starting at five. That was a huge win in Houston. Houston had one of the best defenses in the league last year, and there’s going to be arguments to put Buffalo at the top of the list. But they were a dropped pick away from being off the [list] entirely. We know Josh [Allen], we know James Cook — they’re going to move the ball all year long. But those Bills fans are waiting for January at this point. Who can blame them? Brady’s thoughts: Another team with a new head coach, Jesse Minter. Lamar [Jackson] dominated in Indy. They brought in Minter for this defense, but I’ll be watching [offensive coordinator] Declan Doyle and what he does with the weapons on this offense. It looked pretty good the other night. They’ll need the depth chart to step up at receiver for a few weeks. But Baltimore fans, guess what? You should be excited. Brady’s thoughts: We now have the definitive guide on how to travel to Australia now, right? I think people talked more about that than the game this past week. Hats off to the Niners and Kyle Shanahan for tuning out a lot of the B.S., a lot of the noise and doing what they do: dominate a great Rams team Down Under. Brock [Purdy], quick word of advice: Keep throwing it to Mike Evans. He’s really good at catching the football, especially when you get close to the end zone. Brady’s thoughts: The Caleb Williams MVP watch is under way. They put 59 on Carolina in Week 1. Ben Johnson wants the highest-scoring offense ever. But how about a little defense from this team when they get back to Chicago? Or, you know what, screw it — keep scoring 59 points. I’m an offensive guy, either way works. They make it look easy — 300 yards rushing, Caleb does his thing and when guys aren’t open, he scrambles. When they get that offense rolling, it’s hard to stop. I saw it a lot last year. I know we’re going to see it a lot this year. Brady’s thoughts: I don’t care, to be the champ, you’ve gotta beat the champ. When you win the Super Bowl and the Super Bowl rematch in the first game back, I don’t care who is playing QB, you’ve got to get the top spot. The defense, they haven’t skipped a beat. And I’ve got another secret QB hack for Drew Lock: As long as Sam [Darnold’s] out, throw it anywhere on JSN’s (Jaxon Smith-Njigba) side of the field; he’s going to come down with it.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Trevor Lawrence used a sizzling second half to insert himself into the MVP conversation in 2025, emerging as a finalist for the first time in his NFL career last season. Well, Lawrence kept the high-level play going at the start of this season, completing 18 of 23 passes for 245 yards, with four touchdowns and no interceptions for a league-leading 150.6 passer rating in the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 34-10 rout of the Cleveland Browns. Lawrence was sacked just once, completing passes to nine different pass catchers. He was particularly effective pushing the ball down the field. Lawrence completed 10 of 11 passes for 179 yards and three touchdowns on passes of 10-plus air yards against Cleveland, per Next Gen Stats. Lawrence’s three touchdowns of at least 10 air yards were the most in a game during his NFL career. Week 2 should provide a tougher test for Lawrence. He and the Jaguars travel to Denver to face one of the best defenses in the Broncos in Week 2. However, Lawrence and the Jaguars carved up the Broncos last season, getting a 34-20 easy win. This is just a continuation of a hot stretch for Jacksonville’s quarterback and his team. Lawrence has led the Jaguars to victories in nine of their last 10 games. Over that span, Lawrence has completed 63.6% of his passes for 2,461 yards, with 26 touchdowns and seven interceptions for a 109.0 passer rating. Lawrence’s efficient play is validation for head coach and offensive playcaller Liam Coen that the Clemson product has the talent and consistency to lead the overlooked Jaguars on a deep playoff run.’ The oddsmakers are starting to believe as well, as Lawrence is tied with Brock Purdy with the fifth-best odds for the award at 14-to-1. Josh Allen is tops on the board. Let’s take a closer look at my picks for the top three of all the major awards heading into Week 2. Offensive Player Of The Year The skinny: Kenneth Walker III certainly has an argument for being on this list, but I went with the reigning Offensive Player of the Year in JSN at No. 3 because of what he did in the second half with Sam Darnold out to help lead Seattle to victory. The 32-year-old Henry might have had the most impressive performance, with three touchdown runs as the Ravens looked dangerous on offense again. Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing is apparently ready to feed Gibbs, who carried it a career-high 29 times in the win over the New Orleans Saints. Defensive Player Of The Year The skinny: Hutchinson is tied for the league lead in sacks (2) and quarterback pressures (10) after Week 1. Watt also had two sacks and completed one of the biggest defensive plays last week, intercepting Atlanta Falcons quarterback Cooper Rush on a screen pass and picking himself up to rumble 35 yards for a score. Los Angeles safety Quentin Lake finished with an interception and a league-leading three pass breakups in a loss for the Rams. Coach Of The Year The skinny: Johnson means what he says about breaking the NFL scoring record, as Chicago tallied a league-high 59 points in its Week 1 win over the Carolina Panthers. And in New York, it only took a week for Harbaugh to change the identity of the Giants, as they earned a grind-it-out win over the visiting Dallas Cowboys. Everyone thought the Cardinals were playing for 2027 draft status and Arch Manning, but no one told LaFleur, who looks like he’ll have Arizona ready to fight each week. Offensive Rookie Of The Year The skinny: Price vs. Love should be an interesting battle to watch this year. In Week 1, Price was the starter for the Seahawks, posting 52 rushing yards on 10 rushes. I was surprised the Seahawks didn’t give Price the ball more, as he averaged 5.2 yards per carry. Love served as the backup to Tyler Allgeier, finishing with 50 scrimmage yards on 13 touches, including a 5-yard run for a score. The two Notre Dame products will face off when Seattle travels to Arizona for Week 2. Williams had a nice debut for the Commanders, totaling four catches for 64 yards and a touchdown. Defensive Rookie Of The Year The skinny: A second-round selection by the Titans, Hill leads the league in tackles after Week 1 with 16. Downs showed versatility and playmaking ability in his first career start, finishing with a sack, a forced fumble and seven combined tackles. But Trotter showed off the most playmaking ability. The son of former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, the younger Trotter became the first player in NFL history to record both a sack and an interception returned for a touchdown in his first career game. He finished with 10 combined tackles, a sack, two tackles for loss and an interception returned for a 38-yard score. MVP The skinny: Lawrence’s impressive play to start the year at least makes things interesting, as it’s not just a two-man race between Jackson and Allen. Speaking of Jackson, he looked just fine taking snaps under center in new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle’s offense. Jackson finished 6 of 8 for 114 yards and a 116.7 passer rating from under center, per Next Gen Stats. Allen averaged 12.6 air yards per attempt in a Week 1 win over Houston, the most for him in a game since Week 18 of the 2022 season. Patrick Mahomes looked healthy in Kansas City’s runaway win over Denver, which is bad news for the rest of the league.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season is in the books, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Especially if you’re a fan of good offense. Each week, I dive into the All-22 coaches’ film before offering five insights to watch. Don’t be surprised if the points are here to stay. That’s the million-dollar question floating around league circles this week with the Vikings set to take on the league’s most explosive offense Sunday in Chicago. Ultra-aggressive defensive coordinator Brian Flores has befuddled quarterbacks throughout the league with his complex six-man pressure schemes and hot coverage concepts. He has also featured various zones with exotic alignments to test the patience and discipline of QBs distracted by the constant harassment from Minnesota’s chaotic pressure paths. Interestingly, Bears coach Ben Johnson holds a 5-1 record over Flores in their head-to-head matchups as playcallers. Johnson will challenge the Vikings with a multiple offense featuring bunch formations, pre-snap shifts and misdirection to slow down an aggressive defense that wants to attack on every down. He will also utilize the running game to control the tempo and force Minnesota to play on Chicago’s terms. With a pair of explosive runners (D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai) in the backfield with big-play potential, the Vikings can’t completely focus on QB Caleb Williams and the passing game or else run the risk of seeing the Bears run for 200-plus yards on an assortment of inside and perimeter runs that attack the weakness of the defensive scheme. Flores will welcome the challenge as an astute chess master and use static zones that let his defenders play fast as “see ball, get ball” defenders who will pursue the ball at a breakneck pace. The veteran defensive assistant will put the game on Williams’ shoulders to play efficiently without a critical mistake. Despite his success as an improvisational playmaker with a big-play mentality, Williams does force throws into coverage under duress. Moreover, he loses his discipline against soft coverage when he is forced to settle for checkdown after checkdown when he wants to push the ball down the field. In a marquee game that is destined to be decided in the final five minutes, Johnson versus Flores will come down to the tricks and treats that neither playcaller pulled out of his bag in Week 1. And based on their head-to-head track record, I give Johnson the upper hand in Sunday’s showdown. It did not take long for the Ravens’ new offensive coordinator to figure out how to unlock the explosive potential of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry. The two-time MVP and two-time NFL rushing champ looked like an unstoppable force torching an overmatched Indianapolis Colts’ defense in Week 1. Jackson threw for 324 yards and a touchdown, while running for 40 yards and another score as part of the Ravens’ 500-plus-yard effort in a 41-23 road win. Henry added 144 yards and three scores while pummeling the Colts on downhill runs that tested the defense’s toughness, physicality and discipline. With Zay Flowers totaling 150 receiving yards in two quarters of work, the Ravens’ offense has the football world buzzing about its potential under first-time playcaller Declan Doyle. Studying the All-22 game tape, there is so much to love about Doyle’s approach, with an electric quarterback and running back taking turns punishing the Colts’ defense. Jackson, in particular, was on fire from the pocket, completing 17 of 25 passes with a 12.96 yards-per-attempt average. The three-time All-Pro settled in quickly, directing an exotic offense that blended traditional drop-back passes, bootlegs and option routes, along with the read-pass options (RPOs) that have made him the league’s most dangerous playmaker for almost a decade. Henry benefited from Doyle’s creative scheming on the ground, with various motions from the tight end/H-back creating creases at the point of attack. The deceptive use of the tight end/H-back as a lead blocker on the move will keep defensive coordinators up at night, trying to solve for the extra hat in the running game. Considering Henry still flashes the strength and power to run through defenders in tight quarters, the Ravens’ diverse running game will be a problem for defensive coordinators going forward. Next in their path is the Saints, who allowed the Lions’ Jahmyr Gibbs (156 yards) to run wild in Week 1. After watching a banged-up 49ers defense attack clubs with a straightforward approach under Robert Saleh last year, 2026 opponents should prepare to face a more dynamic defensive scheme with Raheem Morris now in charge. It’s apparent after just one game that the former head coach has enhanced the Niners’ vaunted scheme by adding more pre-snap disguise, five-man fronts and simulated pressures to the playbook. He has also simplified the 49ers’ coverage structure to let the defensive backs play faster in the back end. Such changes were evident against the Rams, as the 49ers suffocated one of the league’s best offenses for four quarters. From stuffing the run with five-man structures that knocked the Rams’ blockers off their path to creative pre-snap movement and shifts that morphed five-man fronts into four-down structures, with defensive linemen dropping into coverage, the chaos at the line of scrimmage forced Matthew Stafford and Co. to pause. The Niners linebackers and defensive backs benefited from a streamlined approach that prioritized simplicity over complexity. Although the 49ers have utilized more pre-snap disguise to play games with Stafford, it has been by buzzing into a coverage that is easy to understand and execute. With the 49ers emphasizing speed and relying on instincts as a “see ball, get ball” defense, the Rams struggled to handle the speed and physicality of a defense built to hunt from every angle. Looking at the stat sheet, the tweaks worked out well, with Stafford held to fewer than 200 pass yards and Puka Nacua and Davante Adams combining for eight catches and 100 receiving yards. The Rams had just one play go for more than 16 yards all day. Moreover, San Francisco produced a pair of takeaways and a pivotal goal-line stand that flipped the game in its favor. With Fred Warner and crew embracing these changes with enthusiasm, the NFC should worry about a new and improved defense possibly sparking a title run in the Bay Area. The NFL is a copycat league, with coaches often stealing concepts from other coaches when they think it will help their teams win. While some of the thievery involves new, innovative concepts swiped from the league’s creative wizards, veteran coach Andy Reid has a knack for taking and implementing plays from old-school playbooks to help the Chiefs put points on the board. Against the Denver Broncos this past Monday night, the three-time Super Bowl winner was up to his old tricks again, using a play popularized by Glen “Pop” Warner in the early 1900s to get Kenneth Walker III a walk-in touchdown in the fourth quarter. Aligning in an unbalanced Single Wing formation with Walker at wingback on the left, the Chiefs perfectly executed a counter-shovel pass, with Mahomes sprinting left before underhand tossing the ball to his star RB headed back to the right behind a convoy of blockers. The overload alignment and misdirection caught the Broncos’ defense by surprise, as Walker scooted through a crease into the end zone. The bold throwback play in a marquee game set social media on fire, with historians and old-school football fans immediately recognizing it. The fanfare also prompted me to dig deeper and discover that the Single Wing has been part of the Chiefs’ short-yardage package for years. Back in 2023, Rashee Rice scored against the New England Patriots on the exact same play, with Jerick McKinnon flipping the touchdown to the wingback Rice on an inside reverse/counter. Digging deeper, I discovered the Chiefs broke out a toy from an old Notre Dame box in Super Bowl LIV against the 49ers to nearly score a touchdown with Damien Williams. Aligned in a full-house backfield, the Chiefs shifted to an unbalanced Single Wing formation to the right. The deceptive pre-snap shift diverted the defense’s attention from Williams, who fielded the direct snap and plunged between the tackles on a fullback dive from the overload formation. Although the Chiefs did not score on the play, the creative use of a throwback-era play is another example of Reid’s willingness to steal from the throwback era to put points on the board. With Single Wing enthusiasts anxiously awaiting Reid’s latest spin on the legendary formation, the Chiefs’ short-yardage/goal line package has suddenly become must-see television. The NFL operates in cycles, with teams reverting to old-school tactics every few seasons. This year, we are seeing a return to old-school football, with teams embracing more under-center work and heavy personnel groupings to jumpstart their offenses. Part of the rationale is to set up the quarterback for success by using the running game and play-action to slow down aggressive fronts attacking gaps with various pressures, stunts and games. Additionally, the return to under center work is part of a bigger plan to force opponents out of the two-high shells defensive coordinators are featuring, limiting explosive plays from quarterbacks trying to connect with speedy receivers on vertical routes. As teams park their safeties in the stadium parking lot with split-field structures and more defensive backs in exotic sub-packages, offensive coordinators are countering the soft coverage with a run-based game plan out of tight end-heavy formations. Last season, the Rams terrorized opponents out of “13” personnel because three tight ends on the field created a physical advantage. Two or three tight ends aligned together create extra running gaps and expose smallish sub-package defenders who get overwhelmed as run-gap defenders. With offensive playcallers mixing in traditional drop-back or play-action passes from under center on five- and seven-step drops, the second-level defenders are easily lured to the line of scrimmage, leaving voids at intermediate range for digs and crossers on play-action concepts. Given the “chunk” plays derived from run-action plays, it’s no surprise more teams are looking to juice up their offenses with old-school formations and run-pass concepts. The numbers show the league-wide percentage of under-center plays from Week 1 (23.3%), suggesting teams will be more committed to a throwback approach than last season (17.6% for all of 2025). Given the offensive fireworks from season openers across the league — the 791 points scored tied the all-time record for Week 1 — we should expect more teams to use various under-center concepts to get their offenses going. As running backs find more traction plunging between the tackles on downhill concepts (there were six 100-yard rushers in Week 1), the threat of the run and the successful execution of those concepts will make the game easier for quarterbacks and playcallers this season.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports