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Philip Rivers’ high school players had the best reaction to his TD

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Though he came out of retirement to play for the Indianapolis Colts, Philip Rivers technically remains the head coach at an Alabama high school. His players subsequently had a rare opportunity Sunday to watch their current coach throw an NFL touchdown pass.

Rivers has been the coach at St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope, Ala. since his initial retirement from the NFL. Naturally, when his current players became aware that he would start for the Colts on Sunday, they decided to throw a watch party.

Noah Moss, a running back on the team, shared video of the reaction when Rivers threw his first NFL touchdown pass since the 2020 season.

There aren’t many high school football players that can say they watched their coach throw an NFL touchdown. They were almost as fired up as Rivers himself was.

Ultimately, Rivers’ efforts were not enough to win the game, as the Seattle Seahawks beat them 18-16. Rivers threw for 120 yards, a touchdown, and an interception on 18-of-27 completions. The 44-year-old certainly looked his age at times, though he did keep the Colts in the game.

Mike Vrabel called out refs after Patriots’ loss

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New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel had some complaints about the officiating during his team’s loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

Vrabel felt that inconsistent officiating was an issue in the Patriots’ 35-31 loss to Buffalo at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. In his weekly appearance on WEEI, the Patriots coach came armed with stats that he argued meant the Bills got a favorable whistle during the game.

“I’ll say this: the Bills lead the NFL in offensive holds, and I’ll leave it at that. That would be hard for me to understand, how a team that is coming into the game leading, and that’s how they play, didn’t have one yesterday. So that’s hard for me to understand,” Vrabel said.

Thad Brown of WROC, who also co-hosts the team’s pregame show, pointed out that Vrabel’s stat is not nearly as bad as it sounds. The Bills as a team actually average less than one offensive holding call per game.

Vrabel obviously wants to make sure his team gets calls in the future, so there is a bit of gamesmanship involved here. Still, this risks coming off like sour grapes, especially since his team blew a 21-point lead twice.

The Patriots remain in excellent position and are only one game behind the Denver Broncos for the top seed in the AFC. On the other hand, they will now have to hold off the Bills for the AFC East crown, which got more difficult after Sunday’s defeat.

There is a new favorite for the Michigan job

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A new favorite has emerged for the Michigan head coach job in online betting odds.

Washington coach Jedd Fisch is the new favorite to land the job, according to odds from BetOnline.ag. Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham is also among the favorites.

Jedd Fisch 4/7
Kenny Dillingham 2/1
Kalen DeBoer 7/1
Biff Poggi 7/1
Jesse Minter 14/1
Jon Gruden 20/1
Tommy Rees 25/1
Jeff Brohm 33/1
Marcus Freeman 33/1
PJ Fleck 33/1

Fisch has some history with Michigan, having spent two years as Jim Harbaugh’s passing game coordinator in 2015 and 2016. The 49-year-old has engineered turnarounds at both Arizona and Washington.

Dillingham has put together two impressive seasons at Arizona State, but he grew up in Phoenix and might be tough to tempt away. He did not sound all that interested in the job when asked about it last week.

DeBoer was the opening favorite, but his odds fell after he sought to quiet the speculation over the weekend. Gruden is also not thought to be a candidate despite appearing on the list.

The Wolverines are seeking a replacement for Sherrone Moore, who was fired last week over an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. Moore has since been charged with a felony for his actions since his firing.

Kristaps Porzingis sidelined by another mystery illness

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For the second time in a year, Kristaps Porzingis is dealing with some sort of unexplained illness that will cause him to miss time.

Porzingis is set to miss the next two weeks with an illness and will undergo further evaluation, according to Shams Charania of ESPN. The Atlanta Hawks forward has already missed seven of the team’s last eight games due to the issue.

While it is not known if this illness is related to the one that sidelined him for much of the second half of last season, Porzingis indicated a week and a half ago that he did not believe it was.

This marks a strange turn of events for Porzingis. He was limited for much of the second half of last season due to what was later diagnosed as POTS. However, the issues appeared to be behind him, and he fully took part in EuroBasket with Latvia during the summer.

Porzingis has only played in 13 games for the Hawks this season. The 30-year-old is averaging 19.2 points per game during those appearances, and the team is only 6-7 with him in the lineup.

Dylan Raiola makes major decision about his future

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Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola has made his long-awaited decision regarding his future.

Raiola will enter the transfer portal, according to Pete Thamel of ESPN. The Nebraska quarterback will have two years of eligibility remaining.

This was a scenario the Cornhuskers had been afraid of. Though Raiola is well-compensated at Nebraska, moving to a bigger school with a larger platform could help his draft stock in a way staying put likely could not. While he has two years of eligibility remaining, a good season could ensure that Raiola enters the NFL Draft next year.

The writing seemed to be on the wall for this move in recent weeks. Raiola’s brother chose to decommit from Nebraska, while his uncle lost his job on the team’s coaching staff.

Raiola, the son of former Nebraska offensive lineman Dominic Raiola, was the top recruit in his class and was seen as a coup for Nebraska when he decided to go there. He threw for exactly 2,000 yards in 2025 with 18 touchdowns while completing 72.4 percent of his passes. His season was cut short when he suffered a broken fibula in a Week 10 game against USC.

Virtually any top team with a need at quarterback figures to pursue Raiola in the transfer portal. Based on how much he was making at Nebraska, he will not be cheap.

Notable starting QB enters the transfer portal

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Teams looking for a starting quarterback in the transfer portal took note of one player who is putting his name in.

Florida quarterback DJ Lagway announced Monday that he is entering the transfer portal after two seasons with the Gators. Lagway confirmed the news on Instagram as part of a post thanking Florida for his time there.

A former 5-star recruit, Lagway figures to have a lot of suitors. The Gators turned to him as a starter while he was still a true freshman, and while he showed flashes of potential, he never looked quite as solid as the team hoped he would. While he threw for 2,264 yards and 16 touchdowns as a sophomore, he also had moments like a five-interception performance against LSU early in the season.

Still, there are not many who can emulate Lagway’s physical abilities. He could be one step away from a big breakout wherever he lands.

Lagway’s transfer also allows new Florida coach Jon Sumrall to start from scratch at the quarterback position, whether he wants to or not. The Gators are coming off a 4-8 season that saw them beat the likes of Texas while simultaneously losing to teams like South Florida and Kentucky.

Phillies sign former World Series champion

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The Philadelphia Phillies are adding a former World Series champion and ALCS MVP to their ranks.

The Phillies are signing former Texas Rangers outfielder Adolis Garcia, according to reports. Baseball reporter Francys Romero said Garcia’s deal is worth $10 million for one year.

Garcia put himself on the map in 2023, when he won ALCS MVP on the way to the Rangers’ World Series title. He hit 39 home runs that year, then added eight more in the playoffs. He has struggled to reproduce anything close to that since, and the Rangers opted to move on from him after he hit just .227 with 19 home runs last season. His performance was poor enough that the Rangers simply opted to cut him.

With the Phillies expected to part ways with a former All-Star of their own this season, Garcia may function as a natural replacement. They are betting there is some upside left in the 32-year-old’s bat, and that he might be rejuvenated playing for what they hope will be a contending team.

For his career, Garcia has hit .237 with 141 home runs in 766 games.

Kawhi Leonard denies role in Chris Paul’s Clippers exit

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When Chris Paul inked a 1-year, $3.63 million contract with the Los Angeles Clippers before the 2025-26 NBA season, it felt like a nostalgic homecoming for one of the greatest point guards to ever play in the league. Several months later, Paul and the Clippers had an ugly breakup that continues to leave fans wondering why the reunion ended so abruptly.

Paul reportedly was not on the same page with assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy and head coach Tyronn Lue, particularly about the team’s usage of superstar forward Kawhi Leonard during a game against the Dallas Mavericks on Nov. 29, and that disagreement sparked the beginning of the end of the “Point God’s” second tenure with the franchise.

In 16 games during his return to Los Angeles, the 40-year-old Paul averaged just 2.9 points, 3.3 assists and 1.8 rebounds while shooting only 32.1% from the field.

On Sunday, Leonard tried to set the record straight that he did not have any role in the Clippers’ split with Paul.

“Surprised at it,” the two-time NBA Finals Most Valuable Player said, via Joey Linn of Sports Illustrated.

“He’s always been a willing teammate when I’ve spoke to him. Only thing I could talk about is our conversations. And they’ve always been positive and team-forward. I didn’t have nothing to do with it. I didn’t even know what was going on.”

Paul has already announced that he will retire at the end of the 2025-26 campaign, but it remains to be seen whether he will suit up for another team. Otherwise, basketball fans may have already witnessed the last of Paul in an NBA game.

Saints kicker Charlie Smyth taunted the Panthers so hard after making winning kick

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The New Orleans Saints will not be playing in the NFL playoffs, and they may have just dragged the Carolina Panthers with them to an early vacation after notching a 20-17 win over their NFC South rival on Sunday at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La.

The Saints had to overcome a 10-point deficit to take down Carolina, with New Orleans capping its comeback bid with a clutch tie-breaking 47-yard field goal by kicker Charlie Smyth with two seconds left in the fourth quarter.

After making the field goal, Smyth appeared to turn toward the Panthers’ sideline with his arms raised and a confident look on his face. He initially pretended that he was not sure about what he did after making the kick before admitting that he was fully aware of his action, according to Jeff Nowak of WWL Radio.

The team posted a photo of that moment on X.

The Saints started their comeback late in the third quarter, when Smyth made a field goal from 42 yards away to trim Carolina’s lead down to seven points. New Orleans tied the score at 17-17 after Smyth’s extra-point kick following a Chris Olave touchdown with 2:29 remaining in the fourth period. The Saints then forced the Panthers to punt, leading to New Orleans’ game-winning drive.

Perhaps the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should also send a nice gift to Smyth, as the Panthers’ loss put Baker Mayfield and company back on top of the NFC South standings.

Philip Rivers showed his age on embarrassing dropback against Seahawks

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At 44 years old, Philip Rivers accepted the challenge of playing football again at the highest level. In his first game back from retirement, however, the Indianapolis Colts quarterback showed his age during an embarrassing moment in Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash.

With the Colts looking to move the chains on a first-and-10 in the second quarter, Rivers dropped back and lost his footing right on top of the Seahawks’ logo. He somehow managed to get back up and avoid a sack, but he did not get the Colts a new set of downs either.

Given his age and the fact that it was just the first time he played in an NFL game since a playoff game with Indianapolis in 2021, Philip was not really expected to put on a show under center. But unlike Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Shedeur Sanders, Philip had a passing touchdown on Sunday.

The 422nd passing touchdown of Rivers’ career came late in the second quarter when he found wide receiver Josh Downs for an 8-yard score that extended Indianapolis’ lead.

Ultimately, the Colts suffered an 18-16 loss to the Seahawks, with Rivers throwing for 120 passing yards and a touchdown with an interception on 18-of-27 completions.

Ex-Cowboys coach jabs Jerry Jones after getting stuck with nosebleed seats

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Former Dallas Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips was among the many in attendance in Sunday night’s game between his former team and the Minnesota Vikings at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. But before the game started, Phillips took a hilarious jab at Cowboys owner Jerry Jones about the location of his seat.

“Jerry said he had 50-yard line seats for me— I’m not so sure,” the 78-year-old Phillips wrote in a post on X, showing a photo from way up in the nosebleeds.

Phillips, however, later clarified that he was merely joking.

“Kidding of course— Jerry has ALWAYS been great to me and my family,” Phillips wrote in a follow-up post.

Phillips coached the Cowboys from 2007 to 2010, during which Dallas went 34-22 in 56 games in the regular season. The Cowboys also won one of three playoff games with Phillips at the helm before the team fired him following a 1-7 start in the 2010 campaign.

Despite his abrupt exit as the Cowboys’ head coach, Phillips seemingly still continues to enjoy some of the perks of being part of the Dallas family.

As for the game itself, the Cowboys suffered a 34-26 loss to Minnesota, thus further dimming Dallas’ flickering chances to make the NFL playoffs.

The 6-7-1 Cowboys will next host the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 16 on Dec. 21.

Diego Pavia ripped for his classless message to Indiana

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Vanderbilt Commodores star quarterback Diego Pavia just added to his villainous aura.

A video of Pavia celebrating in a club after finishing second in the 2025 Heisman Trophy voting has gone viral for the wrong reasons.

In the video, Pavia can be seen partying with several people while an electronic sign that read “F**k Indiana” was being shown near him. Moreover, Pavia flashed a vulgar gesture toward the sign and in front of the camera as if he did not care about what people would say about his behavior. You can check out the video here.

Unfortunately for Pavia, his wild behavior has earned him more criticism and ridicule from people on social media.

Whether people like him or not, Pavia still has a job to do for the Commodores, who are scheduled to face the Iowa Hawkeyes in the ReliaQuest Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., on Dec. 31.

Pavia was among the four finalists for the most prestigious individual award in college football, including eventual winner Fernando Mendoza of the Indiana Hoosiers, Julian Sayin of the Ohio State Buckeyes and Jeremiyah Love of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Maxx Crosby went off on teammate Devin White during Raiders’ loss

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The Las Vegas Raiders hit a new low on Sunday, as they got crushed by the Philadelphia Eagles in shutout fashion.

The Raiders suffered a 31-0 loss to the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa., which extended Las Vegas’ losing skid.

Already out of NFL playoff contention, the Raiders showed little life on either side of the ball. On defense, things got so frustrating for star defensive end Maxx Crosby to the point that he was seen on video seemingly berating teammate and Las Vegas linebacker Devin White near the sidelines.

Here is the video of the heated exchange between the two Las Vegas defenders:

Clashes between teammates are common in football, and what Crosby did to White wasn’t something that can be considered completely out of the ordinary in the league. Both just wanted to win, which Las Vegas ultimately failed to do — for the eighth consecutive game.

At the end of the day, Philadelphia’s attack proved to be too much to handle for Crosby and the Raiders’ stop unit. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts passed for 175 yards and 3 touchdowns with 0 interceptions. Hurts was sacked just once, and the lack of pressure from the Raiders’ defense allowed him to have a great performance under center.

Las Vegas, which dropped to 2-12, has three more games left to play in the 2025 NFL season, including Week 16’s game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.

Shedeur Sanders appears to throw teammate under the bus over tough INT

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Shedeur Sanders had a rough time on the field during Sunday’s Cleveland Browns road game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field in Chicago, Ill. He might have also turned off even more fans with what he said in front of reporters following the Browns’ 31-3 loss.

While talking about one of his three interceptions in the game, the former Colorado Buffaloes star quarterback said that he was not blaming wide receiver Jerry Jeudy for the turnover, but he also stopped short of admitting that he could have made a better decision than throwing such a difficult pass to a teammate, who had two defenders converging on him.

“It is what it is,” Sanders told reporters, via Ashly Holder of Cleveland 19 News. “I’m not one to kick someone while they’re down. He understands it was a big play, and I’m sure he’s hard on himself. So there’s no need for me to be extra and do that.”

In any case, quarterbacks are generally expected to publicly accept responsibility, especially when it comes to interceptions, regardless of who was truly at fault.

The interception took place when the Browns were on a 3rd-and-9 at Chicago’s 24 and trailing the home team by 18 points.

At that point, it appeared that Sanders was willing to try anything, even a dangerous pass, just to give Cleveland’s anemic offense a spark. Instead, he added to his team’s woes, as Chicago defensive back Jaylon Johnson came away with the interception.

Sanders finished with just 177 passing yards and zero touchdowns on 18-of-35 completions, while also getting sacked five times for a loss of 35 yards.

Notre Dame commit shatters opponent’s state title dreams with unreal Hail Mary TD pass

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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish didn’t make the cut for the College Football Playoff, but the program got something to feel good about over the weekend.

On Saturday, Notre Dame commit and Lake Mary quarterback Noah Grubbs completed a wild Hail Mary pass to lead his school to a come-from-behind 28-27 win over Vero Beach in the Florida Class 7A state championship game.

Down by six points with only seconds left in regulation, Grubbs dropped back and tried to find someone downfield to catch his prayer.

Grubbs’ pass was deflected but landed in the hands of wide receiver Barrett Schulz, who was forced to hand the ball to his teammate, Tavarius Brundidge Jr., as a Vero Beach defender tried to take him down. Brundidge then waltzed into the end zone to score the game-winning touchdown in walk-off fashion.

Here is the play that surely deserves more than just a couple of replays:

With that play, Grubbs showed Notre Dame a little about his composure and poise under duress, qualities that the Fighting Irish — or any other football program — would love a quarterback to have.

Fans piled on Chris Jones for not knowing Chiefs were eliminated from playoff contention

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Several fans were surprised by how oblivious Kansas City Chiefs star Chris Jones was about the team’s precarious place in the standings entering Week 15.

The Chiefs were eliminated from postseason contention Sunday after their 16-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in front of a capacity crowd at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. Jones, however, did not get the memo that the team’s playoff hopes were on the line during the contest.

During his postgame press conference, Jones tried to stay positive about the team’s outlook for the remainder of the season. With his answer, he inadvertently admitted he had no clue that the Chiefs were officially out of the hunt.

“We still have a fighting chance,” Jones said before reading the room.

“Are we out of the playoffs? We are? Okay.”

Several fans expressed frustration with Jones for not being aware of such an important piece of information. Knowing the situation could have reasonably pushed Jones, and perhaps other oblivious Chiefs players, to play even harder with the season on the line.

Some pinned the blame on the Chiefs’ coaching staff for not emphasizing the game’s stakes enough for Jones to be made aware.

Jones finished the game with a pair of quarterback hits.

Even if Kansas City somehow did still have a chance, the Chiefs would have had to fight for their playoff lives without Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs superstar suffered a torn ACL in Sunday’s contest, marking the spiritual end of a miserable Kansas City campaign.

JJ McCarthy shows up Cowboys with ‘Griddy’ dance into the end zone on ‘SNF’

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JJ McCarthy found time to flex on the Dallas Cowboys right in front of the end zone during “Sunday Night Football.”

The Minnesota Vikings quarterback fooled the entire Cowboys defense on a goal-line play early in the second quarter at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas. McCarthy faked a handoff to running back Jordan Mason then rolled left for an uncontested rushing touchdown.

With several yards between him and the closest defender, McCarthy decided to showboat by doing the “Griddy” dance as he made his way into the end zone.

The Vikings QB’s end-zone score tied the game at 14. Minnesota rode that momentum all the way to a 34-26 victory over a Cowboys team that entered the game desperate to keep its playoff hopes alive.

McCarthy had a second consecutive productive outing in Sunday’s win. On top of his rushing touchdown, the Michigan alum went 15/24 for 250 yards with a pair of touchdowns and an interception. McCarthy’s solid performance came a week after he threw three TDs in a 31-0 drubbing of the Washington Commanders.

Few starters across the league needed a couple of bounce-back games more than McCarthy, who had some questioning if he truly should be the Vikings’ QB of the future. One Vikings player even appeared to throw shade at McCarthy earlier this month.

McCarthy silenced a few more critics with his Griddy-worthy performance against the Cowboys.

Philip Rivers fought back tears after his first NFL game in 5 years

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Philip Rivers fought back tears as he addressed the media during his first postgame press conference in half a decade.

The 44-year-old took the field Sunday in his hotly anticipated return for the Indianapolis Colts in their game against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash. Rivers performed admirably in the contest, going 18/27 for 120 yards with a touchdown and an interception against a vaunted Seahawks defense.

Rivers also accounted for the first touchdown of the game on an 8-yard pass to Josh Downs. Rivers could not contain his excitement after recording his first TD pass since January 2021.

An emotional Rivers sent a powerful message after the game.

“I think maybe it’ll inspire or teach [people] not to run or be scared of what may or may not happen,” said the Colts veteran.

“Certainly, I think of my sons and those ball players that I’m in charge of at the school, that they’ll say like, ‘C–p, coach wasn’t scared.’ You know what I mean? There is doubt, and it’s real. The guaranteed safe bet is to go home, or to not go for it. The other one is, ‘Shoot, let’s see what happens.’”

Before getting the call from the Colts to replace the injured Daniel Jones, Rivers was serving as the head coach of St. Michael Catholic High School in Alabama.

There was little doubt that Rivers’ players were behind him. The team held a watch party during the game and went ballistic after their head coach threw a touchdown pass to give the Colts an early 13-3 lead.

Fans were clowning Rivers before the game for looking out of shape. But surely none of those jokesters could get off the couch and throw a touchdown in the NFL a week later.

Cowboys ran an awesome fake FG with Brandon Aubrey

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The Dallas Cowboys’ special teams unit showed on Sunday that they did their homework.

The Cowboys ran a beautiful fake field goal to perfection during their Week 15 game against the Minnesota Vikings at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday night. Dallas intercepted a pass from J.J. McCarthy on Minnesota’s second offensive play of the game. They drove down to the Minnesota 29 and set up for a 47-yard field goal attempt on 4th-and-4. Rather than have Brandon Aubrey attempt the kick, holder Bryan Anger put the ball down but picked it up and flipped the ball to Aubrey, who ran for a 6-yard gain to get the first down.

As if being a top kicker in the NFL weren’t enough, now we know that Aubrey can scamper pretty well too. Aubrey did miss a 51-yard field goal attempt later in the half, which was a surprise. It was only his third missed field goal attempt of the season.

Aubrey entered the game second in career field goal percentage in NFL history, behind only Cameron Dicker.

Brock Purdy apologizes moments after taunting Titans defender

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San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy did little to shed his nice guy persona after Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans.

Purdy scrambled for a first down on what was meant to be a play-action pass early in the third quarter at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. Purdy ran down the sideline for 26 yards before finally getting cornered by Titans linebacker Cody Barton.

The 49ers star showboated a little bit before going out of bounds. Purdy taunted Barton by extending the football to the defender’s face as he stepped toward the sideline.

It didn’t take long before Purdy felt remorse over the gesture. He went back up to Barton and apologized for showing him up.

Purdy may have been feeling himself during the play, as he completely fooled linebacker Cedric Gray with a pump fake before running into Barton. He had also thrown two touchdowns at that point to give the 49ers a 24-10 lead. Purdy closed the drive out with his third TD of the game.

Purdy had his best game of the season Sunday in the 37-24 win over the Titans. The Niners star went 23/30 for 295 yards and three touchdowns. Let the man showboat a little bit.

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