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🏈 Good morning to all, but especially to ...
THE LOS ANGELES RAMS
Don't look now, but these Rams, whose offense can run as hot as anyone's, have their defense going strong now, too. Los Angeles made life miserable on Sam Darnold and the Vikings offense en route to a 27-9 win.
- Matthew Stafford threw a touchdown to Kyren Williams on the opening drive, and the defense took over from there. The Rams sacked Darnold nine times, tying an NFL playoff record.
- That included an Ahkello Witherspoon strip sack in which Jared Verse scooped up the ball and went 57 yards for a touchdown shortly before halftime.
- Give tremendous credit to Rams coordinator Chris Shula and his entire defense, an extremely young unit that is nearly $38 million cheaper than the next-cheapest defense in the NFL.
What a remarkable rally from this team, not just this week, when the game got moved to Arizona as a result of the wildfires, but this season and the past few seasons. The Rams went all-in on 2021 and won it all. Then came a trying 2022 that had Sean McVay considering retirement as the team paid the piper following its win-now investments.
But then the team started hitting on picks. Stafford got a superstar in Puka Nacua, a 2023 fifth-rounder, and Williams, a 2022 fifth-rounder, emerged, too. The very defensive line that just destroyed Minnesota is almost exclusively homegrown. Les Snead went from "F--- them picks" to cherishing them and capitalizing on them.
That's how you extend a Super Bowl window. The Rams have gone from 1-4 to the divisional round, where they'll face the Eagles, and though Philadelphia is favored, the Rams might just be the team nobody wants to see this postseason.
Here's the divisional round schedule:
Saturday, Jan. 18
- (4) Texans at (1) Chiefs, 4:30 p.m.
- (6) Commanders at (1) Lions, 8 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 19
- (4) Rams at (2) Eagles, 3 p.m.
- (3) Ravens at (2) Bills, 6:30 p.m.
😃 Honorable mentions
- Los Angeles-area sports teams donated $8 billion to fire relief efforts. Here's how the Lakers and Clippers marked their returns to action.
- Here's what you need to know from Mike Vrabel's introductory press conference. He also added a familiar face to the Patriots front office.
- The book A.J. Brown was reading on the sideline surged to No. 1 on Amazon.
- Bo Nix says he played through a fracture in his back.
- Auburn took over No. 1 in both the men's basketball AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll. LSU climbed into the top five of the women's AP Top 25.
- Roki Sasaki narrowed down his list to the Dodgers, Padres and Blue Jays. Here's why they covet him so much.
- The Mariners signed Donovan Solano, the No. 50 free agent in R.J. Anderson's rankings.
- The 76ers and Flyers announced plans for a new arena in South Philadelphia.
🏈 And not such a good morning for ...
SAM DARNOLD AND THE MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Nine days ago, the Vikings had a chance to earn the NFC's No. 1 seed, first-round bye and home-field advantage. Today, their season is over. In between, Darnold produced stinkers on the two biggest stages of his professional career.
That's devastating. Minnesota won 14 games, the second-most in franchise history. They beat everyone not named the Lions or Rams. If you want to take the optimistic view, you can say the Vikings did all of this in what was supposedly a "rebuilding" year -- or at least a bridge year -- from the Kirk Cousins era to the J.J. McCarthy one.
But that's not how the NFL works, especially not when you have Justin Jefferson and a stalwart defense and lots of talent. Seeing great seasons evaporate like this -- and make no mistake, this was a great season -- hurts. A lot.
It's fair to wonder what's next for Darnold -- he was one of Wild Card Weekend's biggest losers, a product of him holding the ball too long behind a disjointed offensive line, but what's next for Minnesota? It'd be a bit easier if we had seen McCarthy play, or if he at least got a year's worth of practice. But McCarthy tore his meniscus in August and had a second surgery in November. If Darnold doesn't return, Minnesota's talented, win-now roster will depend on what is essentially a second-year rookie.
It doesn't end there. How many good years do Harrison Smith (35) or Stephon Gilmore (34) or Aaron Jones (30) have. Will they even be back? What about Brian Flores, a popular coaching candidate who overhauled the defense?
In the NFL, opening a championship window takes a lot of time, effort and, frankly, luck. But those windows can close in the blink of an eye, a brutal reality of a brutal sport. Minnesota's championship window might be wide open. McCarthy might open it even wider. But the uncertainty is never easy to swallow.
😖 Not so honorable mentions
- A Texas man was arrested and charged with stalking Caitlin Clark after allegedly sending threatening messages and sexually explicit pictures to the Fever star.
- Russell Wilson wants to return to the Steelers, but Chris Trapasso presented plenty of alternatives. Cody Benjamin assessed every wild card team's quarterback situation, and he says Pittsburgh is "back to square one" at the game's most important position.
- Nakobe Dean (knee) is out for the rest of the playoffs.
- Anthony Edwards was fined $50,000 for an "obscene gesture," the fifth time he's been fined this season.
- Jontay Porter allegedly texted his gambling co-conspirator during a game.
- Here's what's working against Alex Bregman's market.
- Nick Castellanos has a hot take on who should have won NL MVP.
🏈 Cowboys, Mike McCarthy split: Exploring Dallas' options, including ... Deion Sanders?!
More than a week after many teams began their coaching search, the Cowboys decided they'd have one, too. Dallas and Mike McCarthy failed to come to an agreement on a new contract, meaning they will go their separate ways.
McCarthy's contract officially ends today, and apparently team and coach hadn't even opened contract negotiations as of Monday. That, of course, begs the question: "What on Earth were the Cowboys doing for the past week?" As our coaching interview tracker indicates, the six other teams with a coaching vacancy had a huge head start on Dallas, and the Patriots already made a hire.
Troy Aikman ripped how things went down in Dallas, saying "There's not a real plan," and I 100% agree. This is a bad look for Jerry Jones, even if, as Jeff Kerr says, moving on from McCarthy was the right decision. Some owners struggle because they mettle in personnel, others get it wrong because they don't spend big money, and still others falter because they want all the attention. But here's the thing about Jones: He checks all three boxes.
So now, after delaying and delaying, the Cowboys want to move quickly, and their search is already appropriately headline-grabbing: Bill Belichick could be atop the wishlist, though he already spurned the Raiders ... and accepted a job to coach at Chapel Hill. And then there's this -- Jones and Deion Sanders have reportedly been in contact.
Jared Dubin has a full list of potential candidates, from ones that make actual sense to Jones connections to outside-the-box options. As for that first category ...
- Dubin: "Among the names on this portion of the list, [Lions DC] Aaron Glenn might be the most likely. He is both a serious candidate and has ties to the Cowboys organization, having played there under Bill Parcells in 2005 and 2006. Glenn has done a great job with Detroit's defense (and New Orleans' before that), and the Jones family loves itself a familiar face."
McCarthy, despite his tough final season in Dallas, went 49-35 there and had three 12-win seasons. He won a Super Bowl with the Packers. He'll have options, too -- perhaps even in a reunion with Aaron Rodgers.
🥊 Tyson Fury retires ... yet again
Two-time world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has announced his second third fourth retirement from boxing. Whether this one will be a permanent one, only time will time.
- Fury, 36, is one of the greatest boxers of his generation. He defeated Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 to claim IBF, WBA and WBO titles, though he quickly lost the IBF belt for going ahead with a rematch with Klitschko instead of facing Vyacheslav Glazkov. (The rematch never happened, either.)
- Fury later failed a drug test and was suspended; he also had mental health struggles.
- Fury returned in 2018 and fought three times, including an all-time great fight -- a split draw -- against Deontay Wilder. Fury beat Wilder in their rematch in 2020 to become WBC champion and again defeated Wilder in 2021.
- In May 2024, Fury fought Oleksandr Usyk but lost, the first loss of his career. Fury also lost to Usyk in December's rematch.
Again, though, we'll see if this lasts. Fury has retired in 2013, 2017 and 2022, and with a big-money bout against Anthony Joshua potentially in the making. So it won't exactly be a shock if Fury reneges on his 2025 retirement, too.
📺 What we're watching Tuesday
🏀 Cavaliers at Pacers, 7 p.m. on TNT/truTV
🏀 No. 15 Mississippi State at No. 1 Auburn (M), 7 p.m. on SEC Network
🏀 No. 21 Ole Miss at No. 4 Alabama (M), 7 p.m. on ESPNU
🏀 No. 11 Texas A&M at No. 8 Kentucky (M), 7 p.m. on ESPN2
🏀 No. 24 Minnesota at No. 8 Maryland (W), 7 p.m. on BTN
🏀 Miami at No. 3 Duke (M), 9 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Nuggets at Mavericks, 9:30 p.m. on TNT/truTV