The Kansas City Chiefs missed out on a touchdown Sunday night against the Denver Broncos, and Andy Reid gave somewhat of an explanation for what happened.
The Chiefs and Broncos were tied at three early in the second quarter when Patrick Mahomes found Tyreek Hill deep. A.J. Bouye hit Hill to cause the receiver to bobble the ball. The ball ended up back in Hill’s hands in the end zone, but the Chiefs receiver didn’t realize he had made the touchdown catch.
Hill jogged off the field like he didn’t make the catch, so the Chiefs didn’t bother challenging the call and punted. They missed out on a touchdown as a result.
Reid said after the game that Hill told him he didn’t make the catch. Reid said that was the first time a receiver told him he didn’t make the catch.
Fans still can’t believe Hill didn’t realize he made the catch. It all worked out in the end as Kansas City won 22-16, though it didn’t work out so well for some of Hill’s fantasy owners.
Chiefs fans, you’ll love this Andy Reid cheeseburger shirt. Reid loves his cheeseburgers, and you can wear it. This makes a perfect gift for you or a friend. You can buy it here.
Photo: U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Michael Crane
The Houston Rockets have a James Harden problem that they hope will be resolved soon.
Harden did not report to the team’s individual workouts at the end of the week. The Rockets were expecting him to report for their first team workouts on Sunday, but Harden did not show. Of course, he did make time for a rapper’s birthday party.
So what’s going on?
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reported on Sunday night that Harden told the Rockets he will report soon.
That must be great. Houston’s franchise player is not setting a great tone for the team entering the season by reporting late. This comes after the Rockets got rid of their head coach, general manager, and Russell Westbrook.
Photo: All-Pro Reels/Flickr via CC BY-SA 2.0
Some NFL teams managed to lose games in truly brutal fashion during Week 13. Some of it was bad execution, some of it was bad coaching, and some of it was a heavy dose of both. Indeed, the end of a few of these games were truly painful to watch just because of how things went for the losers.
It wasn’t just that, though. There were some top players who really struggled, and some big names may have even lost jobs as a result. Here are five big disappointments from Week 13.
Gregg Williams, defensive coordinator, Jets
Williams has always been philosophically unique to say the least. But there’s having a unique gameplan and having a stupid one. With 13 seconds left and the opponent being 46 yards out needing a touchdown with no timeouts, electing not to just drop deep and cover is stupid. The Jets rushed seven, the Raiders were able to isolate Henry Ruggs one-on-one with no safety help, and the Jets got torched. The call was so bad that Williams’ own players publicly criticized it. Not just that, but some even wondered if he was trying to throw the game.
Los Angeles Chargers
Anthony Lynn repeated the word after the Chargers lost 45-0 to the New England Patriots on Sunday: unacceptable. There’s another word you could use too: embarrassing. The Chargers absolutely embarrassed themselves in their defeat. They allowed a punt return for a touchdown and had a field goal returned for a touchdown. They gained only 258 total yards. They threw two interceptions. And there were questions about why they kept their quarterback in late. The Chargers are now 3-9, and Anthony Lynn is facing serious questions about his job.
Carson Wentz, QB, Eagles
To be clear, Wentz has been a disappointment all season, but Sunday’s game took it to a new level. It’s not just that Wentz was bad again, even though he was — 6/15 for 79 yards in over three quarters is never going to get it done. The disappointment is how easily jumpstarted the Eagles looked after Jalen Hurts replaced him. Hurts threw for more yards after coming in during the fourth than Wentz had the entire game, and unleashed some very nice passes like this one. Hurts probably starts going forward, and Wentz only has himself to blame.
Chicago Bears
According to ESPN, the Bears’ win probability stood at 99.1 percent with 4:33 left in the fourth quarter. Then came the collapse. The Lions needed just 2:15 to go 96 yards to turn a 30-20 deficit into 30-27. Then, with 1:46 left, a Mitchell Trubisky sack-fumble gave the Lions the ball at the 7-yard line, which the Lions promptly punched in to go up 34-30. The Bears’ season is collapsing quickly, largely due to awful quarterback play. Neither Trubisky nor Nick Foles are the answer. Coach Matt Nagy might not be either.
Russell Wilson, QB, Seahawks
It turns out the Giants are quite good defensively. That said, Wilson’s performance was so messy that it may have tanked his MVP hopes once and for all. The Seahawks quarterback ended up rallying for 263 yards, but struggled to get the passing game going and threw just one touchdown to one interception. That touchdown didn’t even come until the fourth quarter, when the Seahawks were trying to rally from a 17-5 deficit. Wilson has now posted four consecutive underwhelming statistical performances, and looks to have faded from his midseason high.
Extra: Nick Martin, C, Texans
There are few worse ways to lose a game than a bad snap, and that’s what happened to Martin on Sunday. With less than a minute and a half to go in regulation, the Texans were set up for 2nd-and-goal at the 2. A go-ahead touchdown seemed inevitable until Martin botched the snap, and Deshaun Watson was unable to retain possession. The Texans have had some tough losses this year, but this was probably the worst, just because of the manner of it. Martin will be having nightmares about that snap.
Notre Dame remained unbeaten after a 45-21 win over Syracuse on Saturday, and one player who got some attention afterwards was Matt Salerno.
Salerno, a junior wide receiver who serves as a punt returner, got lit up while picking up a ball he bobbled on a punt return. Syracuse’s Markenzy Pierre was ejected after being called for targeting on the hit.
Salerno sent a hilarious tweet about the matter a day later. The junior said he had no concussion, no headache, no symptoms and therefore he’s considering a career as a crash test dummy.
Salerno has a good sense of humor, so he should probably save some of those brain cells and avoid the dummy career.
Doc and Austin Rivers the sequel might have become a reality this offseason if the former had not put the kibosh on it.
Doc, the Philadelphia 76ers head coach, said this weekend that he pushed his son Austin away from signing with the team as a free agent. Austin instead agreed to a three-year, $10 million deal with the New York Knicks.
“He was high on Philly’s list before I took the job,” said Doc about Austin, per Marc Berman of the New York Post. “It was one of the guards that they wanted. When I took the job, I said, ‘You don’t want that. You got too many other things we have to deal with.’
“For Austin, it’s better,” Doc added. “He’s his own player. Unfortunately for him, me being the dad, he’s just an easy guy to target. I have felt since the separation, it’s been really good for him … I kept telling him, ‘New York is a great place,’ I had a great experience there. That’s what I shared with him.”
Doc already had the experience of coaching Austin on the LA Clippers for four seasons from 2015 to 2018. The father-son partnership indeed made them a target of ire in the media and even in their own locker room too.
While the two will not be reuniting in Philadelphia, Austin will have a better opportunity to continue carving out his own path. Doc will also have the chance to coach another member of his family now.
Clemson’s football program is being credited with a classy gesture after their win over Virginia Tech on Saturday.
The Tigers beat the Hokies 45-10 in Blacksburg, Va. on Saturday to improve to 9-1. After their win, the football team kept things respectful. The Virginia Tech Grounds Crew thanked Clemson for leaving the visiting team locker room clean and in great shape. Clemson even stacked the chairs that were set up for their postgame meal.
These things matter and do not go unnoticed. Things like this may seem small but make a big difference and show why Dabo Swinney’s program is so successful.
Whether it was the players or team’s equipment managers who helped do this, some people with Clemson know how to respect others and be considerate.
How much do Kansas City Chiefs fans love Andy Reid? One of them created a 27-acre soy bean maze with his likeness.
Chiefs fan Rob Stouffer of Precision Mazes created the giant maze with Reid’s face and a thank you message to the Chiefs coach. The maze was featured during one of the bumper segments on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” telecast as well.
Stouffer creates maze designs like this for a living, but told Mick Shaffer of KSHB that this is the first project he’s ever done for free. He said he did it as his “tip of the hat to Coach Reid,” and added that you could fit 22,058 cheeseburgers inside the “mouth” of the maze.
Reid’s reaction? Understandably flattered.
“That’s quite a deal. I wish he had a little more to work with but that’s all right,” Reid joked to KSHB. “He did a great job with it. And made me look good.”
Reid also added that the image is “a lot better than what the aliens do.”
The 62-year-old coach is understandably legendary in Kansas City after leading the Chiefs to a Super Bowl. Beyond that, the guy basically generates constant memes and jokes like these. He’s the perfect subject for a giant soy bean maze, really.
Chiefs fans, you’ll love this Andy Reid cheeseburger shirt. Reid loves his cheeseburgers, and you can wear it. This makes a perfect gift for you or a friend. You can buy it here.
Damian Lillard is rekindling his beef with Paul George for another round.
The Portland Trail Blazers star took a shot at George on Instagram over the weekend. Responding to a post about how George had said that he wanted to retire as a member of the LA Clippers, Lillard commented “Al Capone.”
“Al Capone” is a way of saying “all cap.” “Cap” is slang for a lie.
George’s comments were indeed met with skepticism after he made similar remarks back when he was with the Indiana Pacers then the Oklahoma City Thunder, only to force his way out of both teams. Lillard and George also beefed on Instagram during the Orlando bubble. George’s history of switching teams was the subject of the shade Lillard threw at him.
Lillard eventually had to apologize after family members got into the beef. Shots at George directly still appear to be very much fair game though.
Photo: Frenchieinportland/Wikimedia via CC-BY-SA 4.0
The Texas Longhorns’ pursuit of Urban Meyer may have come to an end.
According to Horns 247’s Chip Brown, Meyer turned down interest from Texas. Meyer reportedly told the Longhorns he is leaning towards not coaching again due to health issues.
Texas reportedly reached out to Meyer to show interest following consecutive losses to TCU and Oklahoma earlier this season. No formal offer was made, but the school was prepared to pay the coach over $10 million a year to coach them.
Meyer has not coached since 2018 and has served as an analyst for FOX since then, often making headlines for what he says. He’s the best coach available, which is why a dissatisfied program like Texas pursued him.
Other coaches Texas reportedly has considered include: Steve Sarkisian, Mario Cristobal, James Franklin and Matt Campbell.
If I’m Texas, I’m forgetting Sarkisian, as he won’t do more than Tom Herman, and Cristobal doesn’t get me too excited. Franklin would be fine, but Campbell would be the most desirable coach of the group.
But would Texas pay a massive buyout to Herman if they’re not replacing him with Meyer? That’s the big question for their donors.
Los Angeles Chargers coach Anthony Lynn defended his decision to leave quarterback Justin Herbert in for all four quarters of Sunday’s blowout loss.
The Chargers fell to the New England Patriots 45-0 on Sunday, and there was little doubt about the outcome of the game in the second half. Lynn removed most of the Chargers’ starters before the end of the fourth quarter. The exception was Herbert, even though the rookie quarterback was under constant pressure and took three sacks and 11 total hits.
Lynn explained, according to Daniel Popper of The Athletic, that Herbert wanted to stay in and try to avoid the shutout. Lynn also added that it was important for young quarterbacks to learn how to play through adversity.
Curiously, Herbert later said he did not recall any conversations with Lynn about coming out of the game.
Lynn isn’t going to get a lot of support here. Herbert was getting beaten up, and risking injury to teach the franchise quarterback a thing or two about adversity isn’t a worthwhile tradeoff. It makes even less sense when considering that Lynn didn’t think any of the other starters should stay in. It’s no wonder we’re starting to see reports like this emerge as the Chargers’ season goes down the drain.
