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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.

Sean McVay had ominous update on Davante Adams’ hamstring injury

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Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay did not sound confident when discussing Davante Adams’ latest injury scare.

Adams went down with a hamstring injury in the second half of the Rams’ Week 15 contest against the Detroit Lions. The All-Pro wide receiver came up lame on a downfield route early in the fourth quarter — a scene that sucked the air right out of SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.

The Rams veteran was able to walk off the field under his own power, but did so with a noticeable limp.

Adams did not return to the contest, finishing with four catches for 71 yards in the 41-34 Rams victory.

McVay was asked about Adams’ injury status after the game. While the Rams head coach did not give a definitive update, he admitted that the injury “didn’t look good” at first glance. Adams will undergo further testing.

The positive news for Rams fans is that McVay refused to rule Adams out for the team’s upcoming Thursday night matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. With the prime time contest having major seeding implications, Adams’ availability for the Week 16 clash would likely illuminate the severity of his hamstring injury.

Losing Adams for any amount of time would be a huge blow to a Rams offense that features arguably the best wide receiver room in the league this season. Adams entered Sunday’s game second on the Rams in catches (56) and receiving yards (718) behind Puka Nacua and leads the NFL with 14 receiving touchdowns.

Fans all said the same thing about Patrick Mahomes, Micah Parsons torn ACLs

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Sunday’s catastrophic injuries to both Patrick Mahomes and Micah Parsons have reignited a debate over the NFL’s expanding schedule.

The Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Mahomes suffered a brutal non-contact knee injury during Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. In the fourth quarter at Geha Field in Kansas City, Mo., Mahomes’ left knee seemed to pop after a pass attempt (video here). The Chiefs later confirmed Mahomes had indeed torn the ACL in his knee.

Then just a few hours later, the Green Bay Packers star defensive end Parsons suffered a non-contact knee injury of his own. It was in the third quarter at Empower Field in Denver, Colo. that Parsons went down clutching his own his left knee while trying to rush the quarterback (see the clip here). Word has since emerged that the Packers reportedly believe that Parsons tore his ACL as well.

In response to the brutal day of injuries, headlined by arguably the top offensive player in the league going down and then arguably the top defensive player in the league going down, fans all said the same thing over social media. They blamed the NFL schedule for supposedly having too many games.

Mahomes and Parsons were not the only notable players who suffered injuries on Sunday either. Davante Adams (hamstring), Christian Watson (chest), Devin Neal (hamstring), and Woody Marks (ankle) were among the others who went down over the course of the day’s action as well.

Regardless of whether or not the packed NFL schedule is to blame for the recent scourge of injuries around the league, we do know that the league moved from 16 games to 17 games beginning in the 2021 season. With an 18-game schedule also potentially on the table for future years, that will only mean more wear-and-tear on players and increased opportunities for devastating soft-tissue injuries like the ones that we unfortunately saw on Sunday.

Stefon Diggs had surprising response to Patriots’ loss

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Stefon Diggs had a surprising response to his New England Patriots’ loss to the Buffalo Bills 35-31 in Week 15 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., on Sunday.

The Patriots had won 10 games in a row prior to their Week 15 game against the Bills, but they lost at home to see that streak end. Their lead in the AFC East also dropped to one over the Bills, with whom they split their regular-season series.

Typically a team and its players would be upset after a loss, but Diggs had more of a positive outlook, saying it was probably good for the team to lose.

“I wouldn’t say we forgot (how to lose). You never know. We probably needed it… it’s good for us. I kinda said it at the beginning of the year. Lessons,” Diggs said.

If the loss ignites a fire under the Patriots, then that would make the defeat a good thing, as Diggs says. But if opponents use this as a way to figure out how to beat the Patriots and they end up going on a losing streak, then the loss may signify that the team peaked too early.

The 11-3 Patriots have games at the Ravens and Jets before hosting the Dolphins in their final regular-season game. Diggs had 3 catches for 26 yards in the game as the Patriots focused on their rushing game, which delivered 246 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Micah Parsons has a troubling 2-word message after suffering non-contact knee injury

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Micah Parsons may have just become the latest NFL star to suffer a devastating injury this weekend.

The Green Bay Packers star defensive end Parsons sustained a troubling non-contact injury during Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos. In the third quarter at Empower Field in Denver, Colo., Parsons was attempting to rush Broncos quarterback Bo Nix when he seemingly took a bad step and came up hobbled.

Parsons immediately fell to the turf grabbing at his left knee. As Parsons was being attended to by Green Bay’s medical staff, he appeared to send a troubling two-word message — “I’m out.”

Here is the video.

The four-time Pro Bowler Parsons, 26, was able to walk off the field with some assistance. But he was quickly ruled out for the remainder of the contest by the Packers.

Parsons was acquired by Green Bay in a blockbuster trade with the Dallas Cowboys in August. While he had logged 12.5 sacks this year to help lead the Packers to a 9-3-1 record entering play on Sunday, Parsons may have just taken after Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes as a top NFL star to have suffered a bad injury in Week 15.

Patrick Mahomes posts a message hours after his brutal knee injury

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Patrick Mahomes is speaking out after the most challenging day of his NFL career.

The Kansas City Chiefs were officially eliminated from playoff spot contention for the first time in the Mahomes era with a 16-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. An even bigger gut punch though was what happened to the Chiefs star quarterback Mahomes in the fourth quarter at GEHA Field in Kansas City, Mo.

After making a throw on the run, Mahomes’ left knee buckled on him as he planted it into the turf. Slow motion replays appeared to show Mahomes’ knee popping at the moment of impact (see the video here).

Just under three hours after suffering the injury, Mahomes penned a notable message to social media. He admitted that he was hurting emotionally but promised that he would be “back stronger than ever.”

“Don’t know why this had to happen,” Mahomes wrote. “And not going to lie it’s [sic] hurts. But all we can do now is Trust in God and attack every single day over and over again. Thank you Chiefs kingdom for always supporting me and for everyone who has reached out and sent prayers. I Will be back stronger than ever.”

The Chiefs have yet to reveal the severity of Mahomes’ knee injury. But based on the tone of that message, it is safe to say that the three-time Super Bowl MVP is dealing with a serious issue.

On the bright side for Mahomes, he can now focus fully on his rehab with Kansas City formally eliminated from postseason contention. Mahomes has roughly nine months to go before the start of the 2026 NFL season, and it sounds like the 30-year-old star is already ready to attack the recovery process hard.

Philip Rivers was so hyped after throwing his first TD pass in 5 years

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Uncle Phil has still got it.

44-year-old Philip Rivers drew the start at quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks just days after stunningly coming out of retirement to make an NFL comeback. During the second quarter at Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash., Rivers pulled off a remarkable feat — throwing his first touchdown in five years.

Rivers connected with wide receiver Josh Downs for an eight-yard strike that gave Indianapolis a 12-3 lead. Here is the video.

After throwing the touchdown, Rivers got so hyped. He let out a very cathartic fist pump and threw in a couple of celebratory leg kicks for good measure too.

That was Rivers’ first touchdown in a span of roughly 1,800 days. His last passing TD came as a member of the Colts back in the 2020 season (on Jan. 3, 2021 in the season finale against the Jacksonville Jaguars to be exact).

Fans were admittedly skeptical about how the eight-time Pro Bowler Rivers would look after such a (very) lengthy layoff, especially amid the unflattering photo of Rivers that went viral before Sunday’s game. But Rivers officially managed to get on the scoresheet during the contest, throwing career touchdown No. 422 some 258 weeks after he threw career touchdown No. 421.

Chargers take a cold shot at Chiefs after eliminating them from playoffs

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The Los Angeles Chargers are relishing finally having the upper hand on their longtime division foes.

The Chargers defeated the AFC West rival Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at GEHA Field in Kansas City, Mo. They won by a 16-13 final score and officially eliminated the Chiefs from 2025 NFL postseason contention by doing so.

After the game went final, the Chargers took a cold shot at the Chiefs via their official X page. They posted an edited clip from “SpongeBob SquarePants” playing on the fact that they had just knocked Kansas City out of playoff contention.

Take a look at the video, which featured a ruthless “Cancun” reference at the end as well.

The Chiefs had made five trips to the Super Bowl in the past six seasons and were victorious in three of them. They had also earned two entirely separate AFC Championship Game berths over the last decade. In fact, you would have to go all the way back to 2014 (Andy Reid’s second season in charge and a time when Patrick Mahomes was still a teenager) for the last time that Kansas City missed the playoffs outright.

Meanwhile, the Chargers improved to 10-4 with Sunday’s win, putting them on the verge of clinching their own playoff spot with three games left to play. True, the Chargers still have not won a division title since 2009 and are again unlikely to do so this year with the Denver Broncos ahead of them in the standings. But they are at least having fun right now at the expense of the adversary that has given them a whole lot of grief over the years.

Kalen DeBoer responds to Michigan head coach speculation

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Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer has been linked to the Michigan head coaching job since it became open on Wednesday, and he addressed that on Sunday.

DeBoer issued a statement denying that he has any interest in the Michigan job. While he did not explicitly mention Michigan, he said his “sole focus” is on the team’s College Football Playoff game against Oklahoma, and that he had no interest in any other jobs.

“I have not spoken and have no interest in speaking with anyone else about any other job,” DeBoer said in the statement. “I am fully committed to this program and look forward to continuing as the head football coach at the University of Alabama.”

DeBoer has been seen as the betting favorite in some circles to take the Michigan job. Bruce Feldman of The Athletic speculated that pressure could grow on DeBoer if his team loses in its first CFP game, which would cap off a disappointing end to the season. The Alabama coach is not waiting that long, however, to try and make it a non-story.

This is not the first time DeBoer has been linked to another job. His name came up in connection with the Penn State opening, but he shot that down quickly as well.

In his first two seasons at Alabama, DeBoer has gone 19-7. He previously spent two years at Washington, where he went 25-3.

Michigan is looking for a replacement for Sherrone Moore, who was fired on Wednesday after the school discovered he had an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.

Patrick Mahomes’ knee appeared to pop on tackle

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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered an ugly-looking left knee injury in the final moments of his team’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

Mahomes tried to make a throw while on the run during the second half of Sunday’s game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. Replays were very concerning, as they showed that Mahomes’ left knee almost popped while he planted his leg on the ground.

Mahomes’ entire knee buckled in ugly fashion after he made the throw.

After briefly spending time in the injury tent, Mahomes was helped to the locker room. He was putting virtually no weight on his left leg as he went down the tunnel.

The Chiefs wound up losing 16-13, a defeat that eliminated them from the playoffs combined with other results around the league.

Mahomes was already dealing with some sort of left knee issue coming into the game, and it kept him out of practices during the week. It remains to be seen how severe his injury is, but with Kansas City now eliminated from playoff contention, it makes sense for the Chiefs to treat him with extreme caution if he even can come back in 2025.

Chargers’ Tony Jefferson gets into it with Chiefs fans after getting ejected

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Los Angeles Chargers safety Tony Jefferson had a bit of a meltdown after he was ejected for a helmet-to-helmet hit during Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Jefferson was ejected for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Kansas City wide receiver Tyquan Thornton during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. Jefferson was deemed to have lowered his head and delivered a dangerous hit.

Jefferson got into it with several Chiefs players after the play while the league reviewed the hit. Eventually, the safety was ejected. As he went to the locker room, he removed his helmet and, according to the CBS broadcast, made some sort of gesture at Chiefs fans.

In all likelihood, Jefferson is facing a fine for the hit. He may also get one for the gesture once the league reviews that video as well.

Fortunately for Jefferson, the hit did not wind up costing his team on the drive. Patrick Mahomes was intercepted on the very next play, ensuring the Chiefs could not score any points on the drive.

Everyone said the same thing about Philip Rivers’ appearance

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Philip Rivers’ appearance on the field prior to Sunday’s Indianapolis Colts game did not exactly inspire a great deal of confidence.

Video showing Rivers strolling around the field went viral Sunday prior to the Colts’ game against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash. Rivers was doing some light stretching, but certainly looked his age.

The immediate response was that Rivers looked more like a coach than a player, both in terms of his attire and his general physical figure.

If Rivers looks more like a coach than a player, that’s because he has been one. He has been coaching St. Michael Catholic in Fairhope, Ala. since 2021, the same year he last played an NFL game.

The Colts’ quarterback issues are so bad, however, that they have no real choice but to turn to Rivers. Not a lot of people have faith in the 44-year-old, and this video will not exactly convert any doubters, but the expectation is that he will start on Sunday.

Texans score touchdown on bizarre botched snap

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The Houston Texans seemingly turned disaster into a great play on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.

The Texans seemingly botched a goal line snap during the first quarter of their game at NRG Stadium in Houston, Tex., but made sure it did not matter. With the ball at the 1-yard line, the snap went right through CJ Stroud’s hands, which could have spelled disaster.

Instead, running back Woody Marks was aware enough to catch the low snap and charge into the end zone for an unlikely touchdown.

We have seen teams stage these sorts of plays before to confuse defenses, but this did not look planned. The snap to Marks was way too low to be intentional, so this probably goes down as an incredibly heads-up play by the running back.

This was emblematic of how the first quarter went for both teams. Arizona could not do anything right, and the Texans had a 17-0 lead at the end of the quarter.

Marks, a rookie, had two rushing touchdowns and three receiving touchdowns coming into Sunday’s game. This certainly has to go down as his most unique, though.

Louisiana high school blows state championship football game in unbelievable fashion

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A Louisiana high school football team managed to blow the state championship on Friday due to a premature celebration.

Archbishop Shaw High School in Marrero, La. appeared to have the LHSAA Division II select state championship wrapped up Friday at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La. They led St. Charles Catholic High School of Laplace, La. 21-20 with 35 seconds left, and with only two timeouts left, St. Charles had no way to get the ball back before time expired.

On a first down kneel, a Shaw offensive lineman removed his helmet in celebration, seemingly thinking time would run out on that play. He was called for unsportsmanlike conduct, which stopped the clock without forcing St. Charles to use one of their final two timeouts. That forced Shaw to punt, and the punt was shanked to set up a game-winning field goal.

Shaw players were celebrating with fans even before the punt, thinking they had won the game. Without the penalty, they would have been able to run out the clock, as St. Charles would not have been able to stop the clock after the third down play even if they exhausted their timeouts.

St. Charles kicker Tyler Milioto had just missed a potential game-tying extra point, and felt incredibly fortunate to get a second chance.

“I felt like I had lost us the game, and then next thing I know I’m out there kicking the game-winning field goal,” Milioto said, via Christopher Dabe of NOLA.com.

The win finished off a 13-1 season for St. Charles, and was the fourth state championship in school history.

Diego Pavia had profane message for Heisman Trophy voters

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Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia had a rather profane message for Heisman Trophy voters after failing to win the award.

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza won the award comfortably over Pavia, who finished a distant second. After the ceremony, Pavia reposted a photo of himself posing with several of his teammates on Instagram, but added a critical message for the voters.

“F- all the voters, but family for life,” Pavia wrote, accompanied by a thumbs down emoji.

Perhaps Pavia’s stance should not come as a surprise. He had previously said he saw himself as “undoubtedly” the best player in college football, and that the tape would bear that out. It is entirely possible that his brashness did him no favors in the voting, and those who did not cast a first-place vote for him are unlikely to regret it based on this post.

Still, this is all part of who Pavia is. He is confident bordering on arrogant, and it seems to work for him. He threw for 3,192 yards with 27 touchdowns and eight interceptions on the season and led the Commodores to a 10-2 season.

Google had the best tribute ever for John Cena

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Google paid tribute to John Cena in an awesome way to acknowledge his final WWE appearance on Saturday.

Cena took part in his last WWE match Saturday, prompting many tributes about his career. One of them came from Google, which displayed a hand for anyone who searched for Cena’s name.

Clicking on the hand would cause it to mimic Cena’s famous “you can’t see me” hand gesture, an allusion to his longtime catchphrase.

Cena initially announced his retirement in July of 2024. The 48-year-old lost his final match to Gunther by tapping out in what many fans found to be an unsatisfying ending. He did ultimately receive a standing ovation from the Washington, D.C. crowd, but it was not the first time fans found some aspect of Cena’s farewell tour to be a letdown.

During his two-decade run in WWE, Cena won the championship a record 17 times, making him the most decorated champion in WWE history. He parlayed his success there into a successful acting career. Google’s tribute was a very fitting one in light of all his accomplishments.

Fernando Mendoza’s Indiana teammates had unusual gesture for him

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The Indiana Hoosiers showed how much of a tight-knit group they are during Saturday’s Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York.

Indiana players made the trip to New York for the Heisman ceremony and watched teammate Fernando Mendoza win the trophy. As the quarterback arrived for his news conference, his teammates swarmed the room to congratulate him.

Ralph D. Russo, who has covered the Heisman ceremony for two decades, said on X that he had never seen this happen before.

Mendoza was not even on the Heisman radar at the beginning of the season, but quickly played his way into the conversation. He threw for 2,980 yards with 33 touchdowns and 6 interceptions, leading the Hoosiers to a 13-0 record and a Big Ten Championship.

Even beyond his teammates, Mendoza has won many fans through his infectious personality. It’s easy to see why his fellow Indiana players rallied around him so uniquely.

Ann Arbor restaurant had pizza named after Sherrone Moore’s mistress Paige Shiver

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An Ann Arbor restaurant is doing its best to have some fun with the scandal that has enveloped the Michigan football program over the past week.

The Brown Jug is now offering dishes named after former Michigan coach Sherrone Moore and his alleged mistress Paige Shiver. Diners can enjoy Sherrone Moore’s Sampler Basket, or Paige Shiver’s Cauliflower Gluten Free pizza.

The Brown Jug is known for this sort of thing. Earlier this year, they actually got in trouble with Ohio State over the name of one of their drink options.

The restaurant is doing its best to make light of what has been a rough week for the Wolverines. Moore was fired on Wednesday after the school obtained evidence of an inappropriate relationship between him and Shiver, his executive assistant. Later that day, Moore was arrested after allegedly threatening Shiver, who prosecutors say ended the relationship before Moore’s dismissal.

Michigan is hunting for a new head coach, but so far, we have heard more about who they won’t get than who they might land.

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