Author: rb809rb

The NFL gives us two division title showdowns on Saturday. Kind of.

The Carolina Panthers-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game to start the day got complicated when the Atlanta Falcons won in Week 17. If the Panthers win, they’re NFC South champs. But if the Buccaneers win, they also need a New Orleans Saints win over the Falcons on Sunday to win the division, due to the Panthers winning a three-team tiebreaker if Carolina, Tampa Bay and Atlanta all finish at 8-9.

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The NFC West showdown is cleaner. If the Seattle Seahawks beat the San Francisco 49ers, they are the NFC West champs and No. 1 seed in the NFC. With a loss the 49ers would be the No. 5 or 6 seed, based on the Rams’ outcome on Sunday. If the 49ers win, they’re division champs and the No. 1 seed, and Seattle would be the No. 5 seed.

We know the stakes. Here are the key figures from each team playing on Saturday who will help shape the playoff picture:

Panthers at Buccaneers

Panthers QB Bryce Young

Young has had a few great games this season. Mostly, he hasn’t built much momentum off last season’s hot start. He has thrown for more than 206 yards in a game just twice all season. Last week he had 54 passing yards in a loss to the Seahawks. A quarterback with just 2,745 yards in 15 games isn’t usually in line for a massive extension. But winning covers up a lot, and if the Panthers win a division title with a win (or a Falcons win on Sunday), ownership should feel happy. Young could help his reputation by having a great game on a big stage and leading Carolina to a division title.

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Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield

Unless Mayfield’s injuries are worse than being disclosed — he hasn’t been on the injury report before the past two games — it’s hard to figure out what has happened to him in the second half of the season. Before Tampa Bay’s bye Mayfield had a 98.1 passer rating and his team was 6-2. Since the bye he has an 82 passer rating and the Bucs are 1-7. Eight of his 10 interceptions has come in the second half of the season. If the Buccaneers are going to win to stay alive, Mayfield has to play better.

Buccaneers RB Bucky Irving

Irving had a fantastic rookie season. This season has been a lot tougher. Irving missed seven games due to foot and shoulder injuries. He has not regained his rookie year form since his return. He had just 19 yards on nine carries last week. He hasn’t passed 71 yards rushing in a game all season and is averaging just 3.5 yards per carry since his injury return. Does he have a big game in him this season?

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Panthers CB Mike Jackson

Jackson has had a very good season. In a meeting against the Buccaneers two weeks ago, Jackson allowed just one catch for a yard on four targets to Mike Evans, according to PFF’s coverage stats. He was targeted eight times and allowed just 12 yards. If he can limit Evans and Tampa Bay’s other talented receivers, it would go a long way toward picking up a win.

Seahawks at 49ers

Seahawks QB Sam Darnold

Every time Darnold has a bad game, there will be many told-you-so reactions. It’ll be hard for Darnold to shake the reputation he picked up last season when he had two bad games to finish the season with the Vikings. The 49ers don’t have a good defense. They can’t rush the passer. This is a great opportunity for Darnold to shine in a huge game, and start to change a narrative.

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49ers tight end George Kittle

Kittle missed last week with an ankle injury. San Francisco didn’t miss him as it put up 42 points, but Kittle is one of the best tight ends in the NFL and if he’s close to healthy he can be a massive asset against a tough Seahawks defense. Kittle is expected to play on Saturday. If he is active, watching how he’s able to move around early in the game will be a big focal point.

Seahawks DL Leonard Williams

Williams has had an outstanding season from the interior of the Seahawks with seven sacks and 62 tackles. He has been good against the run and pass, which is valuable against the 49ers’ balanced offense. The 49ers are better at tackle than on the interior of their line — Trent Williams’ hamstring injury is a key factor in the game though — and Williams needs to make some plays up front to slow down San Francisco’s red-hot offense.

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49ers RB Christian McCaffrey

McCaffrey got so many touches early in the season, it seemed like there was no chance he’d survive the entire season. He hasn’t missed a game and last week he had 181 total yards. Here’s Saturday’s gameplan for the 49ers: feed McCaffrey. Everyone knows it. He has 399 touches this season. Nobody has been able to stop him yet, but the Seahawks will try.

For teams still looking to add this winter, there’s no shortage of valuable players on the market, as many of the top free agents in this year’s class are still available. But one player not on that list who provides a similar impact to those free agents is Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte. How Arizona finds resolution to the possibility of trading Marte remains one of the biggest questions yet to be answered as we round the halfway point of the offseason.

It’s no secret that Arizona has been taking calls on its All-Star second baseman. D-backs GM Mike Hazen has stated that while it’s still unlikely the team moves Marte, they have been willing to listen to offers. And any team looking for a bona fide, superstar-level offensive player should be blowing up Hazen’s phone.

The past few years, it has been easy to forget just how good Marte is. But we’re not talking about some fringy star on a bad team. We’re talking about a perennial MVP candidate. Marte, who debuted with Seattle in 2015, has been one of the most consistent players in baseball over the better part of the past decade. He has recorded at least 25 home runs, 135 hits, 85 runs, 70 RBI and 60 walks each of the past three seasons.

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In 2025, Marte hit .283 with 28 homers and 72 RBI over 128 games for the D-backs, making his third NL All-Star appearance. In 2024, he finished third in NL MVP voting behind Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto. In 2023, he recorded 157 hits and 71 walks and helped lead the Diamondbacks to a World Series appearance.

In short, Marte is one of the top 10 players in MLB, and his production backs that up. But what makes Arizona’s longest tenured player so valuable in a possible trade is the production combined with one of the most team-friendly contracts in baseball. In 2026, Marte is entering the second year of a six-year, $116.5 million extension signed in April.

It’s not often that a player of Marte’s caliber is available, and it’s even more rare when such a player will earn less than $23 million per year throughout the length of his contract, and that creates tremendous value for Arizona in a possible trade.

Now, many fans around baseball might be asking: Why would the Diamondbacks want to trade away an MVP-caliber player such as Marte? That’s a fair question. And the reality is Arizona would need to be blown away by an offer in order to move the 32-year-old; the combination of his talent and his contract value give Arizona all the leverage.

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But like many playoff hopefuls around baseball, the D-backs are in serious need of young, controllable starting pitching. With Arizona boasting a surplus of offense, Marte gives them a trade piece who could bring back frontline starting pitching and then some in a deal.

The other reason that moving Marte now could make sense for Arizona is that he’ll receive full “10-and-5” rights (10 years of MLB service time, five years with the same team) in April. After that point, he can veto any trade proposed, which will significantly decrease the D-backs’ leverage in trade talks.

While it’s not guaranteed that Marte will change teams this winter, you could make the case that he would be the second-best player available in this year’s free-agent class if he were on the market. In a flawed class with many position players who fit a limited number of teams, in terms of roster construction, Marte is the type of hitter who would slot nicely in the middle of any lineup.

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The Boston Red Sox have been linked to Marte the most thus far. But the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays are also good fits on paper, and the reality is that Marte would improve any contending team’s lineup. It remains to be seen if the Diamondbacks actually move him, but Marte is the type of player who can alter a team’s standing within its division, push a rebuilding team into its contention window or take a playoff team over the top.

When we look back on this offseason, it might turn out that Marte is the most impactful player to land on a new team before Opening Day in 2026.

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How will the NFL playoffs shakeout after three key Week 18 battles? Yahoo Sports’ Andrew Siciliano, Jori Epstein and Ben Fawkes break down the most consequential matchups in the NFC South, NFC West and AFC North. The trio closes things out with their favorite under-the-radar games to watch out for in Week 18 before discussing their “One More Thing.”

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(5:10) – Packers sign Trevon Diggs

(9:10) – Panthers @ Buccaneers

(20:15) – Seahawks @ 49ers

(28:30) – Ravens @ Steelers

(45:00) – 3 more interesting Week 18 games

(56:40) – One More Thing

🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube

Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts

The No. 10 Miami Hurricanes defeated the Texas A&M Aggies in the first round of the College Football Playoff, earning them a spot in the Cotton Bowl on Dec 31 where they’ll face the Ohio State Buckeyes. Ohio State earned a first-round bye as a result of their No. 2 seed in the playoff, and they’re gunning for their second consecutive national title this season. The CFP quarterfinal game will take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX as it has since 2010.

The Ohio State vs. Miami game airs on ESPN and will stream on ESPN Unlimited. Here’s how to watch the Cotton Bowl when it airs this Wednesday, and take a look at the complete schedule of upcoming playoff and bowl games here.

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How to watch the Ohio State vs. Miami game:

Date: Wednesday, Dec. 31

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

TV Channel: ESPN

Streaming: ESPN Unlimited, DirecTV, Fubo and more

When is the Ohio State vs. Miami game?

You can watch coverage of this week’s Ohio State vs. Miami game starting at 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Dec. 31.

Where to watch the Ohio State vs. Miami game without cable

You can tune in to the Ohio State vs. Miami game on ESPN. ESPN is available on streaming platforms, including DirecTV and Sling, but for the most comprehensive college football coverage, you can also watch this game and hundreds more on the ESPN app with an ESPN Unlimited subscription.

College football playoff game/bowl schedule this week:

All time Eastern

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Wednesday, Dec. 31

12 p.m. | No. 14 Vanderbilt vs. No. 23 Iowa | ReliaQuest Bowl (Tampa, Fla.) | ESPN
2 p.m. | Duke vs. Arizona State | Sun Bowl (El Paso, Texas) | CBS
3 p.m. | No. 13 Texas vs. No. 18 Michigan | Citrus Bowl (Orlando, Fla.) | ABC
3:30 p.m. | No. 15 Utah vs. Nebraska | Las Vegas Bowl (Las Vegas, Nev.) | ESPN
7:30 p.m. | No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 10 Miami (Fla.) | Cotton Bowl (CFP Quarterfinal) (Arlington, Texas) | ESPN

Thursday, Jan. 1

12 p.m. | No. 4 Texas Tech vs. No. 5 Oregon | Orange Bowl (CFP Quarterfinal) (Miami, Fla.) | ESPN
4 p.m. | No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 9 Alabama | Rose Bowl (CFP Quarterfinal) (Pasadena, Ca.) | ESPN
8 p.m. | No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 6 Ole Miss | Sugar Bowl (CFP Quarterfinal) (New Orleans, La.) | ESPN

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Friday, Jan. 2

1 p.m. | Rice vs. Texas State | Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, Texas) | ESPN
4:30 p.m. | Navy vs. Cincinnati | Liberty Bowl (Memphis, Tenn.) | ESPN
8 p.m. | Wake Forest vs. Mississippi State | Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Charlotte, N.C.) | ESPN
8 p.m. | SMU vs. Arizona | Holiday Bowl (San Diego) | FOX

How to watch college football games in 2025

NCAA football games will air across ESPN, ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and the college conference networks. If you don’t have cable, it can be challenging to stay up-to-date with your favorite team. Here’s what we recommend to stream NCAA football in 2025.

More ways to watch NCAAF games this season

February 22, 2026

Get ready for another offseason of Arch Manning Heisman discussion.

Manning was responsible for two fourth-quarter touchdowns as Michigan QB Bryce Underwood threw two fourth-quarter interceptions in No. 13 Texas’ 41-27 Citrus Bowl win over the No. 18 Wolverines.

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Texas put the game away with just over five minutes to go. Ty’Anthony Smith intercepted Underwood and returned the ball to the Michigan 45-yard line. After a penalty put Texas back to its own 40, Manning rushed 60 yards for a TD on the Longhorns’ first offensive play and pushed the lead to 11.

It was not the first time Manning’s legs were vital for Texas’ offense in the fourth quarter. Underwood’s 5-yard TD put the Wolverines up 27-24 with 10:56 to go, but Texas responded with a nine-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 30-yard TD pass from Manning to Kaliq Lockett.

Four plays before the TD pass, Manning ran for 15 yards on fourth down. That play was preceded by an 8-yard run on third down.

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Manning finished the game with 155 rushing yards and two rushing scores on just nine carries. He was also 21-of-34 passing for 221 yards and two touchdowns.

After Manning’s second rushing TD, Michigan had the chance to stay within striking distance. But Underwood was picked off by Smith on the second play of Michigan’s following drive. Any hope of a comeback was over.

Underwood showed a lot of promise during the first half as new Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham watched from a suite. But he threw three interceptions within four drives in the second half as his, and Michigan’s, day unraveled.

Will Manning be the Heisman favorite again?

Texas played Wednesday’s game without leading rusher Quintrevion Wisner, second-leading receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. and star defenders Anthony Hill and Michael Taaffe, among others. Their absences didn’t matter, as Manning had one of his best games of the season.

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The nephew of Peyton and Eli entered the 2025 season as the Heisman favorite despite playing a limited role in Texas’ 2024 season. During that season he only started because of Quinn Ewers’ oblique injury and even said before this season that he hadn’t done enough on the field to be considered the Heisman favorite.

It’s fair to say that 2025 was uneven. Manning threw for 170 yards and a TD and an interception in Texas’ Week 1 loss to Ohio State. Manning had five picks over Texas’ first five games as the Longhorns were 3-2 following a loss to Florida.

He was much, much better over the second half of the season. Manning had 12 TD passes and two interceptions over Texas’ final six regular-season games while also rushing for three scores in that span.

Texas won six of its last seven games, though a 35-10 loss to Georgia on Nov. 15 ultimately ended any chance of making the College Football Playoff.

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With Manning back in the fold for 2026, Texas is going to be a national title favorite too. But there will be significant changes in Austin. Coach Steve Sarkisian has already made a change at defensive coordinator, with former Florida and South Carolina coach Will Muschamp lined up for 2026. And the Longhorns will also likely be active in the transfer portal. Texas struggled running the ball for a second straight season and the offensive line had stretches of rough play, especially early.

Michigan heads into 2026 with a new coach

Whittingham was introduced as the Wolverines’ new coach on Saturday after he was hired to replace Sherrone Moore. The longtime Utah coach is the team’s third coach in four seasons after Jim Harbaugh’s departure to the Los Angeles Chargers following the 2023 national title campaign and Moore’s short tenure.

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The former UM offensive coordinator was fired with cause in early December after Michigan found evidence of an inappropriate relationship with a staffer. Shortly after his firing, Moore allegedly went to the staffer’s residence and was charged days later with felony home invasion and two misdemeanors.

Whittingham spent 21 years at Utah and was the second longest-tenured coach in college football before he announced he was stepping down at the end of the regular season. His first challenge at Michigan is to immediately retain as many players as he can ahead of the transfer portal opening on Jan. 2 while also building a coaching staff and keeping the Wolverines’ top-15 recruiting class intact.

A reflective, grateful and emotional Gary Danielson asked a rhetorical question after sharing his Sun Bowl sign-off message with his expansive CBS team, “How are we going to get off the air?”

The answer to the question came less than 10 seconds later.

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As the analyst was searching for the final words of his final college football broadcast to punctuate a 36-year run calling ball, CBS cut him off.

In the corner of the frame, a hand can be seen counting down the final seconds of the farewell to the former Purdue, Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns quarterback.

That’s when Danielson appeared to call an audible.

“Sometimes you can say, how do you get off?” Danielson said before pointing to his producer and adding, “This guy right here.”

Abruptly, CBS went to commercial break, wrapping the broadcast. Hard outs are part of live TV, and Danielson of course knows that, but that ad interruption brought an untimely end to an otherwise beautiful tribute to one of the greatest voices in college football history.

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Minutes earlier, Danielson — flanked by play-by-play announcer Brad Nessler and sideline reporter Jenny Dell — heard about and watched back some of the great moments during his illustrious career in the booth.

“To have done it with somebody that is unmatched in what you do has been a privilege,” Nessler said. “It’s been an honor. I’m going to miss you. Our team’s going to miss you. Our crew’s going to miss you. CBS is going to miss you.

“And damn it, college football’s going to miss you, buddy.”

Danielson has been part of CBS’ top college football broadcasting pair since 2006 and is a six-time Emmy nominee.

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A mainstay in the afternoon slot, he became a staple in SEC coverage and lately had expanded his footprint to the Big Ten with CBS.

“Everybody says, ‘What do you want to be remembered as?’ That’s cool, but it’s what I want to remember. And this is the stuff I remember,” Danielson said as a slideshow of pictures rolled, documenting his time with his coworkers at CBS.

Those weren’t his final words on air. But maybe they should be the ones we remember.

Arch Manning would prefer not to tie his uncle with two Citrus Bowl appearances.

The Texas QB was named the Citrus Bowl MVP on Wednesday with a four-touchdown performance in the No. 13 Longhorns’ 41-27 win over No. 18 Michigan. It’s an award he does not want to win again, however. Manning has his sights set higher for the 2026 season.

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“I think [Peyton] played it twice, I don’t want to have to play it twice,” Manning said with a grin after the game.

Peyton Manning played in the Citrus Bowl after the 1995 and 1996 seasons. Tennessee won both of those games and finished in the top 10 of the AP Top 25 at the end of both seasons.

However, that was in the era without a defined national championship game or College Football Playoff. And the Citrus Bowl is not among the six bowl games that make up the current 12-team playoff. You can understand why Arch doesn’t want to be back.

The preseason Heisman favorite had an uneven start to his first full season as a starter but emerged over the second half of the season. Arch threw for 14 touchdowns and rushed for five more over Texas’ final seven games of the season. However, the Longhorns (10-3) started the season 3-2 and a November loss to Georgia ended their playoff hopes.

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Manning will likely be the preseason Heisman favorite again ahead of his redshirt junior season in 2026. And Texas will be a favorite to make the College Football Playoff again. But if they miss out for back-to-back seasons, the Citrus Bowl will probably be happy to have the Longhorns for a second straight appearance.

Philip Rivers is done this time. He swears.

After a three-game comeback that exceeded all reasonable expectations, the 44-year-old quarterback said Wednesday that there won’t be another. He’s done playing NFL football.

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Rivers made an appearance on “Up & Adams” and was asked by host Kay Adams if he’s done playing in the NFL.

“I am,” Rivers said.

As Adams urged him to reconsider, Rivers went on to talk about his family and his job coaching a high school football team in Alabama. Adams astutely pointed out that he’s already declared his retirement once when he quit football for the first time in 2021, only to come back nearly five years later.

Rivers responded that “everything just lined up just right” to allow him to return to an Indianapolis Colts franchise that he’d previously played for and that he wouldn’t be interested in playing for a new team. Not even a hypothetical opportunity with a contending Rams team in the event of Matthew Stafford’s retirement could sway him.

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“I’m back to the sideline,” Rivers said. “This was a fun, three-week blur that nobody saw coming, including myself. And that’ll be it.”

Rivers returning to the NFL in 2026 was never really in the cards. Again, he’s 44 years old. But his performance in three games made the prospect a little less absurd.

On days’ notice, Rivers joined the Colts from his job as a dad and a high school football coach, took over the offense and started in an NFL game, the first of three.

The Colts lost all three of his starts, but he kept them competitive in games against the playoff-bound Seahawks, 49ers and Jaguars, each of which will enter Week 18 with a chance to clinch a No. 1 seed in the playoffs. His arm wasn’t what it used to be, but he performed as a competent NFL starting quarterback.

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In the process, Rivers developed into one of the stories of the NFL season while drawing almost universal admiration for his play and his approach to the game.

It adds up to a remarkable coda to a career that everyone, Rivers included, thought was long done. And it’s a fine way for Rivers to go out on his own terms.

With his Timberwolves trailing by 29 points in the fourth quarter on Wednesday, head coach Chris Finch waved the white flag and pulled his starters.

Anthony Edwards had seen enough. During an ensuing timeout, he tossed his towel in frustration, left the bench and headed into the tunnel with 7:52 remaining. He did not return to watch the rest of Minnesota’s 126-102 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

After the game, Edwards didn’t speak with reporters.

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Finch did. And he admonished Edwards’ exit and said that he should have remained on the sideline for the rest of the game.

“Obviously frustrated with the performance and rightfully so, but he needs to stay out on the floor and root for his team,” Finch said, per the Minnesota Star Tribune.

Edwards led the Timberwolves with 30 points in the loss. He apparently wanted to keep playing and decided to leave the court altogether when he found out that his night was done. But his reasoning isn’t clear since he didn’t speak with media.

The loss for the Timberwolves was their third in four games, one of the worst stretches of their season amid a 21-13 start. They have two games to let the dust settle before taking on the Miami Heat Saturday in the third game of a four-game road trip.

Victor Wembanyama left Wednesday’s game between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs with what he said after the game was a hyperextended knee.

The injury requires further testing, but Wembanyama was confident he won’t be sidelined long, if at all.

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The injury took place early in the fourth quarter, with the Knicks holding a 102-96 lead. Wembanyama appeared to hyperextend his left knee when landing after securing a rebound. He fell to the floor in pain and needed to be helped up.

He then limped to the locker room.

Wembanyama didn’t return to the game, but he walked to the bench in his warmups with 1:20 remaining and stood while cheering on his teammates.

The Spurs didn’t provide any injury reports, but Wembanyama offered one of his own in a surprise appearance at the postgame podium. Per ESPN’s Michael C. Wright, Wembanyama told reporters that he sustained a hyperextended knee.

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He added, “I’ll be all right” and that “I expect to be back the next game.”

“I was this close to going back into the game, but they had to hold me back,” Wembanyama said.

Wembanyama said he’ll undergo further testing of the injury on Thursday.

Wembanyama’s injury status is unclear

Spurs coach Mitch Johnson didn’t offer any more information on the injury in his postgame news conference and told reporters before Wembanyama’s update that he hadn’t yet spoken with the Spurs’ medical staff.

“He finished the game on the bench with this teammates,” Johnson said. “That made me feel good. I have no idea know what to say. But it was good to see him walk back out and be able to finish the game on the bench with his teammates.”

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Spurs win despite Wemby’s injury

With Wembanyama sidelined, the Spurs rallied from a six-point deficit when he left the game — and a 14-point deficit in the second half — for a 134-132 victory. The win took place two weeks after New York beat San Antonio in the NBA Cup final.

Julian Champagnie led the rally with 36 points while hitting a franchise-record 11 3-pointers on 17 attempts. All of his shots from the field came from beyond the arc.

Wembanyama tallied 31 points, 13 rebounds and 1 block in his most productive all-around game since he returned Dec. 13 from a calf strain that sidelined him for 12 games. The Spurs are certainly hoping he comes back sooner than that from his latest injury.