Nate Tice & Matt Harmon reveal their 2025 All-Football 301 Team: the most underrated players at every position this NFL season (no Pro Bowlers allowed). Nate & Matt start off the show with thoughts on the various coaching changes that took place around the NFL on Black Monday, including reactions to Kliff Kingsbury departing the Washington Commanders, which opening is the most intriguing, where Kevin Stefanski will land and more.
Advertisement
Next, Nate & Matt reveal the offense for the All-Football 301 Team as they discuss under-appreciated stars this season like WR Parker Washington, QB Mac Jones, TE Brenton Strange and the most under-appreciated guys along the offensive line.
On the defensive side of the ball, the two hosts break down what makes players like Chase Young, Jordyn Brooks, Jalen Pitre and more so underrated for their respective defenses. While only about a dozen players make the final team, the two hosts cover a ton of players that don’t get enough respect around the NFL.
(3:10) – Black Monday reactions
(19:30) – All-Football 301 Team: skill players
Advertisement
(47:25) – All-Football 301 Team: offensive line
(1:00:05) – All-Football 301 Team: defensive line
(1:13:40) – All-Football 301 Team: defensive back seven
CLEVELAND, OHIO – NOVEMBER 30: Mac Jones #10 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates a 2-yard touchdown run by Brock Purdy during the third quarter against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field on November 30, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images)
(Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images)
Near the end of the third quarter, Murray suffered the latest injury in a string of setbacks that have disrupted his fourth season in the NBA, a season in which his team, collectively, has been ravaged by injuries while posting the third-worst record in the league.
Advertisement
The 8-28 Kings announced Tuesday that an MRI revealed the 25-year-old Iowa product is dealing with a moderate left ankle sprain, and that he will be reevaluated in three-to-four weeks.
Just before New Year’s, the 2022 No. 4 overall pick returned from a calf injury that cost him a pair of games in late December.
His ankle issue stemmed from a third-quarter drive Sunday. With the Kings trailing the Bucks by 15 points and around four minutes remaining in the frame, Murray attacked the paint.
He was met by Milwaukee center Myles Turner. After being tied up by Turner, Murray tried to dish a mid-air pass to Kings big man Drew Eubanks. It didn’t connect, and Murray took an awkward fall.
Once he landed, he reached for his left ankle. Murray ultimately needed assistance as he limped to the locker room.
Murray, who previously appeared in 233 of a possible 246 games over his first three seasons, is currently averaging 14.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, however, his 42.9% field-goal percentage and 27.2% 3-point percentage are career lows.
He’s far from the only Kings player bit by the injury bug this season.
Rookie center Maxime Raynaud had an injury scare in the fourth quarter of a 129-102 defeat to the Phoenix Suns on Friday.
Raynaud was back in the lineup Sunday against the Bucks, and so was Zach LaVine. The two-time All-Star guard was coming off a nine-game absence due to a left ankle injury of his own.
The Kings have lost five games in a row, all by double digits. They have the worst point differential average (minus-12) in the NBA, and they can’t seem to catch a break health-wise.
The Ravens announced Harbaugh’s dismissal in a statement from team owner Steve Bisciotti, who wrote:
“Following a comprehensive evaluation of the season and the overall direction of our organization, I decided to make a change at head coach. … This was an incredibly difficult decision, given the tremendous 18 years we have spent together and the profound respect I have for John as a coach and, more importantly, as a great man of integrity.”
Harbaugh released a statement of his own that the Ravens shared upon his dismissal.
“Well I was hoping for a different kind of message on my last day here, someday, but that day has come today,” Harbaugh wrote. “It comes with disappointment certainly, but more with gratitude and appreciation.”
Harbaugh’s job may have come down in part to fateful missed field goal
The Ravens got off to a 1-5 start that was exacerbated by multiple injuries to two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson. They rallied to improve to 6-5 to get back into playoff contention and had a chance to make the postseason Sunday night. But they needed to beat the Steelers to clinch that berth, and they didn’t.
The Ravens (8-9) were in a position to win Sunday’s game after driving into field-goal range in the final seconds. But Tyler Loop missed a 44-yard attempt as time expired, and the Steelers held on for a 26-24 win that secured the AFC North and ended the Ravens’ season.
The loss proved to be the final straw for Harbaugh’s tenure in a tumultuous last season with the team. At 18 seasons, Harbaugh was the second-longest tenured head coach in the NFL behind Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.
Per The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, Harbaugh refused to consider moving on from offensive coordinator Todd Monken in his discussions with team management, and that became a “key pressure point” in his dismissal.
John Harbuagh is out with the Baltimore Ravens after 18 years as head coach.
(Kevin Sabitus via Getty Images)
Losses, reported tension tank Super Bowl hopes
With Jackson and All-Pro running back Derrick Henry anchoring the offense of a team that finished 12-5 in 2024, the Ravens were picked by many as preseason favorites to win the Super Bowl. Those hopes in Baltimore were muted even before injuries began to derail Jackson’s season.
Advertisement
Baltimore got off to a 1-2 start before Jackson injured his hamstring in a Week 4 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Ravens lost their next two starts with Cooper Rush at quarterback, but surged back into playoff contention in a weak AFC North with a five-game midseason win streak.
But the Ravens couldn’t maintain that momentum as injuries hampered Jackson for the rest of the season and reports of discord between Harbaugh and Jackson surfaced. The Ravens closed with a 2-4 streak and missed the playoffs with an 8-9 record.
As the losses and rumblings of in-house tension mounted, so did the pressure on Harbaugh’s job.
Harbaugh is a franchise stalwart who has coached the Ravens for more than half of their 30-year existence. He led the Ravens to the playoffs in 12 of his 18 seasons and finished with a losing record just three times.
Advertisement
He coached the Ravens to a Super Bowl championship after the 2012 season, defeating his brother Jim and the San Francisco 49ers in New Orleans. Under Harbaugh, the Ravens were a consistent winner and one of the NFL’s standout franchises.
Disappointment in Jackson-Harbaugh era piled up
But disappointment and early exits in the postseason became the predominant theme of the Jackson era in Baltimore. With a two-time MVP at quarterback, the Ravens have failed to advance to the Super Bowl much less win one in Jackson’s eight seasons with the team.
They’ve won the AFC North four times and posted 10-plus wins in six of Jackson’s eight seasons. But they’ve been to the AFC championship game just once and are 3-6 in the postseason in that span.
Advertisement
Jackson is 28 and presumably has several years left in his prime. The Ravens ultimately decided they need new leadership to optimize the remainder of Jackson’s tenure after repeatedly failing to meet expectations when the stakes were at their highest.
The Harbaugh era will ultimately be remembered fondly in Baltimore as one predominantly defined by winning. But Monday’s decision was about building the future around Jackson.
Dan Campbell is once again looking for a new offensive coordinator.
The Lions fired offensive coordinator John Morton on Tuesday, the team announced, ending his tenure with the franchise after just one season. The longtime NFL assistant was hired to replace Ben Johnson a year ago after Johnson left for the head job with the Chicago Bears.
The Lions finished the season with just a 9-8 record with Morton leading their offense. They missed the playoffs for the first time since 2022, which was quite the falloff for the team that earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC last season and reached the NFC championship game two years ago.
Advertisement
The Lions entered Sunday’s game against the Bears having lost five of their past seven games, which dropped them well out of the NFC North race.
“It’s hard to believe that this is it,” Campbell said. “It’s going to be a hard pill to swallow watching these teams in the playoffs. But I think you’ve got to watch them. You’ve got to force yourself to do it because that’s a drive to want to be there, be a part of it.”
Morton has been an offensive assistant in the NFL for more than two decades, and has held stints with the Oakland and Las Vegas Raiders, New Orleans Saints, San Francisco 49ers, New York Jets and Denver Broncos. He was also USC’s offensive coordinator for two seasons from 2009-2010. His job with the Lions marked just his second season as an offensive coordinator in the NFL. He spent one season as the Jets’ offensive coordinator in 2017.
Advertisement
Though they missed the playoffs, the Lions offense wasn’t horrible under Morton’s watch — at least on paper. They averaged 373.2 yards per game, which was the fifth-highest output in the league, and trailed only the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams in passing yards per game. They averaged more than 28 points per game, too, which was tied for the fourth-highest output in the league. Campbell did take over play-calling duties from Morton in early November, however, and the team rolled to a 22-point win the following week.
With the Lions not turning those yards into nearly enough wins, Campbell and the Lions decided it was time to move on offensively.
It isn’t just current Michigan State players who have to live in fear of a Tom Izzo tongue lashing or withering glare.
On Monday night, Izzo unloaded on a former player who last suited up for the Spartans nearly two decades ago. Less than 24 hours later, that player was issuing a public apology.
Advertisement
With just over six minutes left in Michigan State’s 80-51 rout of USC, Spartans forward Jaxon Kohler chased down Jerry Easter II from behind to prevent a transition layup, only to be assessed a foul on the play. Among the many Michigan State supporters who voiced their disagreement with the call was former center Paul Davis, who played for the Spartans from 2002-06 and averaged 17.5 points and 9.1 rebounds as a senior.
Video footage from the Fox Sports telecast captured Davis standing up and shouting something at referee Jeffrey Anderson from his courtside seat across the floor from the Michigan State bench. Anderson responded by immediately blowing his whistle, stopping play and pointing directly at Davis.
After Anderson approached Izzo and appeared to explain what happened, the Michigan State legend did not look pleased. Arms outstretched, Izzo shouted across the court in the direction of Davis, “What the f*** are you doing?” Moments later, when Davis was slow to leave his seat after someone came to escort him out, Izzo gestured at him once more and screamed, “Get outta here!”
“What he said, he should never say anywhere in the world,” Izzo told reporters. “That ticked me off. So just because it’s 25 — 20 years later, I’m going to have to call him tomorrow and tell him what I thought of it. And you know what he’ll say? I screwed up, coach. I’m sorry.”
Without prompting, Izzo later clarified, “It wasn’t something racial. It wasn’t something sexual.”
“It was just the wrong thing to say and I’ll leave it at that,” Izzo added.
Davis met with reporters on Tuesday and issued an apology to the officials, Izzo, the Michigan State program, the USC program, the fans and any parents with fans in attendance. He also said he had a “short,” but “amazing” conversation with Anderson in the morning.
Advertisement
“I’m not up here to make any excuses. I’m up here to take accountability, to own it,” Davis said. It was a mistake that will never happen again. It was a mistake that’s not me, but unfortunately last night it was.
A McDonald’s All-American and Michigan Mr. Basketball in 2002, Davis arrived at Michigan State with considerable hype. He spent four years playing for the Spartans, helping guide them to a Final Four as a junior and to 22 wins as a senior.
During his postgame news conference, Izzo described Davis as one of his “favorite guys” and praised how often the former center comes back to support the Spartans.
“I need Paul Davis here,” Izzo concluded. “Paul Davis is a very important part of this program.”
In late October, it was abundantly apparent that the wheels were coming off the Las Vegas Raiders.
The team had entered its bye week 2-5 following a gutting 31-0 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, and word had begun to travel through NFL coaching and front-office circles that head coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly were at odds. Kelly’s scheme and play-calling were not fitting with veteran quarterback Geno Smith and many of the roster’s surrounding pieces. Philosophical differences were festering inside the coaching staff. The offensive line — coached by Carroll’s son Brennan — was a disarray of injuries and failing positional experiments. And eight weeks into the season, league sources with ties to both Pete Carroll and Kelly were predicting a speedy breakup after the season. If not sooner.
Advertisement
It was a fascinating development to some in the NFL who were watching from afar and wondering how the Raiders were going to function with the added influence of new minority owner Tom Brady. After all, it was Kelly who pointed directly to Brady as being influential in his decision to join the Raiders, even when the union was seen as an oddity for those who knew Carroll. Not only did Kelly and Carroll lack a prior working relationship, they also historically leaned into different offensive styles and had very different personalities. They were suddenly melded together after the Raiders and Brady failed to land Ben Johnson as their next head coach.
Only two months in, it wasn’t working. And in the middle of it, the Raiders made a relatively innocuous move that ended up being a harbinger of a more fundamental problem: They signed Tyler Lockett, a 33-year old wideout who had been released by the Tennessee Titans, signaling a disjointed vision of what Las Vegas was trying to be.
It was all smiles and optimism in April when general manager John Spytek, quarterback Geno Smith and head coach Pete Carroll each charted a promising course for the 2025 season. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
(Ethan Miller via Getty Images)
On one hand, it was an addition that fit Carroll’s win-now mindset. On the other, it ran contrary to a wider vantage of general manager John Spytek, who had espoused beliefs of building, developing and actually playing the young talent that would grow into a long-term core.
Advertisement
To the outside world, the Raiders were 2-5 and sinking with problems inside their coaching staff. And now a 74-year-old Carroll was being placated with the addition of another familiar aging face from his Seattle Seahawks era.
It begged the questions: What exactly was the Raiders’ mission? Who precisely was spearheading it?
As one longtime league executive familiar with Davis, Carroll and Brady framed it: The three fundamental people in the organization appeared to be on their own separate pages.
“Very different visions,” the source said. “I would imagine it’s going to be the same [Raiders] s***.”
Advertisement
By Jan. 5, it was.
Carroll was fired. And those mixed visions delivered the Raiders to a familiar — and potentially deeper — phase of rebooting the franchise. One that may include the trade of defensive end Maxx Crosby and some other veterans before the offseason construction dust settles. And one that will almost certainly include drafting a quarterback with the No. 1 pick in April’s draft.
Tom Brady’s involvement with the Raiders vs. GM John Spytek’s day-to-day approach
What it won’t resolve is what some across the league believe is a flawed design: Brady’s operational involvement from afar, rather than as a daily presence inside the building alongside Spytek and Davis. Instead, the franchise is selling change as a “close collaboration” between Spytek and Brady when it comes to the Las Vegas football operations and finding the team’s next head coach. That still won’t draw Brady into the traditional boots-on-the-ground presence of most other high-ranking NFL decision makers.
Advertisement
That statement from the Raiders does publicly draw Brady more into the team’s fold when it comes to bearing responsibility for decisions that come next. The Carroll failure? That won’t be pinned to Brady. Nor will the Kelly failure, despite Kelly himself pointing to Brady as the ownership element that drew him toward the Raiders. But the fate of this next hire will go on Brady’s résumé as an owner-executive. It will also amplify the accountability on Spytek and Brady. More than ever, they’re a tandem.
Yet only Spytek will be around every day, observing the rhythms of the building, overseeing the minute-to-minute grind, absorbing the granular details of what can be the difference between success and failure. That reality should force a recalibration of who is really being tapped to lead the Raiders to a revival. For a while, we’ve speculated that Brady would be that difference maker. The belief existed because Davis alluded to his addition as having that kind of gravity.
But there’s an argument to be made that Spytek will be the most important piece in all of this, especially once he begins working side-by-side with the head coach whom he and Brady have been charged with finding. Once that coach is in place, Spytek is the one who will have the most consistent contact with him. Not to mention working with Davis on a day-to-day basis. All while Brady’s bandwidth continues to be divided between his analyst job with Fox Sports and his family on the other side of the country in Miami.
Tom Brady’s involvement with the Raiders as a minority owner is a subject of fascination and scrutiny in the league. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
(Las Vegas Review-Journal via Getty Images)
Aside from the head coach, that will continue to make Spytek the public-facing executive in this rebuilding endeavor. As it did Monday when he held his season-ending news conference and addressed the firing of Carroll. His meeting with reporters produced some interesting moments, starting with Spytek putting the 3-14 season on his shoulders: “The accountability should start and stop with me. That needs to be said.”
Advertisement
Asked if Brady would be more of an on-site fixture in the building, Spytek sidestepped the question in a way that suggested that Brady won’t. But what was most interesting was hearing how Spytek described their relationship.
“I think people sometimes misunderstand mine and Tom’s relationship,” Spytek said. “We played together one year at Michigan and then we didn’t talk for 20 years. Then he came to [play in] Tampa [where Spytek was a personnel executive]. … We see football similar. We don’t see it the same. We have plenty of discussions and disagreements and I’m not afraid to tell him that. I think that’s kind of why he likes me. But I do believe that we see things similar and we’ve both had a lot of success seeing it that way.”
“I talk to him a lot,” Spytek added. “He’s aware of what we’re doing. I don’t bore him with the mundane transactions or all that. But any big decision I’ve talked to him about [it]. Any vision, I’ve talked to him about [it]. He’s a great resource for me. He’s a great partner in this for me. I would be not doing a good job and be a fool if I didn’t talk to him. He’s been supportive of me. He can’t be here every day right now, but I promise you I talk to him a lot and he and I are on the same page.”
Intended or not, that sounds more like Brady is still being used as a resource rather than sitting at the controls every day. It’s hard to know until we see where this goes now that the team has moved on from Carroll. Prior to that decision, Spytek and his role was overshadowed by a Hall of Fame coach and a future Hall of Fame quarterback being portrayed as the franchise’s bellwethers. Now Spytek has his opportunity to take control of that narrative. And he’s going to have to do it by showing what he learned from the first-year failure that cascaded over much of the roster.
Advertisement
Interestingly, he reiterated his previous notions of building and sustaining a team — which, again, seemed to be the goal when Brady and the Raiders targeted Ben Johnson before taking a left turn into Carroll’s “win now” mindset. And the next coach?
“We’re looking for someone to build this the right way and not think that we’ve got to produce 10 wins or whatever next [season],” Spytek said.
That would be something he learned in his first year as general manager — although it should be noted that Spytek wasn’t part of the Carroll decision. Spytek was hired only days before Carroll, who was ultimately the choice of Davis and Brady. Another thing Spytek appears to have learned from watching the Kelly situation go sideways? He wants the next head coach to name his staff.
“I want to turn that over to the coach,” Spytek said. “We’re going to have a lot of great conversations about who, why, where — there’s going to be a lot of great football conversations. But my belief has always been you give a lot of the responsibility to the head coach to hire the staff that he wants to hire.”
Advertisement
By design, this all sounds different than what happened one year ago. It also sounds more conventional and realistic when it comes to where the Raiders are sitting. They’re holding the No. 1 pick in the draft for a reason. This isn’t going to be a snap-your-fingers worst-to-first scenario like the New England Patriots or Chicago Bears this season. Instead, it looks more like an offseason of roster-churning that will move a lot of veterans out and seek to add more young pieces to lay the foundation.
The first real test of that is how Spytek handles the Crosby situation after putting the star defensive end on injured reserve (to Crosby’s highly-publicized dismay) to end the season. That played a part in the Raiders securing the No. 1 overall pick and opened the door to aligning the next head coach with the quarterback of their choice. It also preserved Crosby’s trade value by not exposing him to late-season injury risk. If the Raiders move on from Crosby, it will be a showcase of what Spytek can engineer when it comes to a sizable trade — which further elevates his importance when it comes to parsing out his role versus Brady’s.
At one point Monday, Spytek described the Raiders’ rookies needing to show their biggest jump forward after Year 1, calling the next several months the most important offseason of their careers. And framed success through a very distinct belief.
Advertisement
“Winning is fun,” Spytek said. “But it comes at a price. And it is required every day.”
The same is true for Spytek and Brady. One of them will be in the building paying that price every day. And that’s who people should start focusing on.
The NFL playoffs are here. As always, I will aim to give some betting advice and picks for this coming week that gain closing line value between now and kickoff.
But I also like to start with a bit of advice: Just because the game matters more to the teams and players, it does not matter more to your bankroll. In fact, I almost prefer to go the opposite direction and bet smaller in the playoffs. Now that we have reached the postseason, a lot of the uncertainty the regular-season market tries to price – and smart bettors are capable of exploiting – no longer exists. We have 17-game sample-size data to accurately forecast a sharp spread and total. Injury news has less of an unknown factor throughout the week. There are less lines to price for sportsbooks. This of course applies to main markets like spreads and totals, but also extends to all the derivative player props that can be bet. With more certainty within each game and fewer lines to price, the lines are much sharper.
As betting edges decrease, ideally so should bet size. Our betting “Super Bowl” can be a random Week 7 game. It does not literally need to be the actual Super Bowl. Here are two best bets for the NFL wild-card round:
Is it finally Josh Allen’s time in the playoffs?
(Timothy T Ludwig via Getty Images)
Buffalo Bills (-1.5, 52.5) at Jacksonville Jaguars
Josh Allen gets an AFC playoff run without Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson or Joe Burrow standing in his way. The difficulty is facing a Jaguars team playing lights out on both sides of the ball. The Jaguars have won eight straight games and secured the AFC South with a 13-4 record.
Advertisement
The starting place for my handicap is always using NFL market ratings. For the playoffs, I am more reliant on post-Week 17 data than I am post-Week 18 information. Market ratings are created via an unbiased formula to compare closing lines across the league, while weighting more recent games heavier. While there are flaws in this approach worth being aware of, market ratings provide a great starting point to understand spread pricing for NFL games. The reason to avoid using Week 18 data is because so many key players around the league sat (including on the Bills) and therefore the data is muddied. It is important to save an updated copy of market ratings each week to go back and reference. Using this approach, Buffalo is 1.2 points better than Jacksonville. But we need to account for the Jags’ home-field advantage, which is typically worth 1.5 points, bringing us to basically a pick ’em spread.
The next handicapping factor is matchup specific. Market ratings allow us to price any two teams, but negate on-field intricacies that create diversions from blanket numbers. In this case, I think the matchup clearly favors Buffalo. The Bills strength is a strong dual-threat run game. The Bills play a lot of multi-TE sets, but have tight ends who are capable blockers and downfield pass catchers, creating another dual-threat look. They can generate explosive plays on long runs and play-action passes, and have a very smart QB in Josh Allen to identify weaknesses.
On the other end, Jacksonville has been very impressive in the pass game. Since acquiring WR Jakobi Meyers via midseason trade and getting TE Brenton Strange back from injured reserve, the Jags’ offense has taken off. The Jaguars have averaged 32.9 points per game since Meyers’ arrival, up from 20.4 earlier in the season. In the final six games, Trevor Lawrence threw for nearly 1,600 yards with a 15:1 TD-to-INT ratio. He was playing at an MVP level. Passing against Buffalo is where things get difficult for Jacksonville. The Bills allow the fewest passing yards per game in the NFL at 156.9 yards per game. In 10 of the Bills’ 17 games, opposing net passing yards were fewer than 100. In nine of the games, the opposing QB rating was below 72.
Advertisement
Consistent disruptions, tight coverage and pressure from a strong Bills secondary is where Jacksonville really loses its recent edge.
Therefore, I am looking to back the Buffalo Bills here — and the early market signals agree. Right now the consensus line is -1.5 (-110), but the ML at -120 represents the best value bet at MGM, since the move onto and off the 1 is about 6-7 cents in NFL betting, and therefore the ML should be around -123. This opened at -115-ish and has seen slight action on the Bills side. I am also reminded of a recent matchup against New England where the Bills took clear gameday late sharp action, so I think it may come here as well.
Bet: Buffalo Bills ML (-120), up to 1 unit
San Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles (-4.5, 45)
Wondering where the sharp action has been thus far in early playoff betting? Look no further than this matchup. There have been two very clear moves here: toward the Eagles and toward the under. The Eagles opened at 2.5- or 3-point favorites as a consensus price that is now out to Eagles -4.5. Considering the move off the 3, this is a humongous value shift.
Advertisement
The total is down from 46.5 to 45, with 44.5s emerging in the market, too. I am not going to steam chase and bet the Eagles here, after missing the value. It’s a basic principle for me to just stay away at that point. However, the total dropping from 46.5 to 45 is a move I will process as a data point, showing the sharp side is the under.
For NFL totals, understanding key numbers is critical. The opening line through the 46 is not too significant, as 46 is the 17th-most common NFL scoring outcome over the last four seasons. Forty-five is also the 15th-most common scoring outcome, however 44 and 43 are both top five. Seeing signals that this could get down to 44.5 means I definitely want to get in before any 44’s shows up.
The reason to bet the under here is because these are two run-heavy offenses. Christian McCaffrey and Saquon Barkley are two household names, and both are offensive focal points. Since the 49ers lost key players on defense like Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, teams have been exploiting their front seven and focusing on the rushing attack, while the 49ers have been putting together slow and methodical drives on offense. The Eagles also have the sixth-best defense based on DVOA and allow the fifth-fewest points.
We’re bouncing around on today’s episode of The Dunker Spot!
Nekias Duncan and Steve Jones discuss the surging Boston Celtics, who recently climbed to the East’s second seed. They discuss their current standing and the non-Jaylen Brown standouts, as well as appreciate the level of buy-in Joe Mazzulla has gotten from this group.
Advertisement
From there, they bounce around. From the Pistons’ consistent winning, to the Nuggets finding offense without Nikola Jokic, playoff-level questions for the Rockets and Thunder (what’s going on there?), a Rudy Gobert check-in and more.
Finally, the guys close the show with reactions to the first day of the Unrivaled season.
(2:08) — Boston Celtics (9:45)— A quick Pistons salute (15:19) — Back to the Celtics (24:13) — Portland Trail Blazers (31:46) — Denver Nuggets (41:20) — Atlanta Hawks (45:36) — Houston Rockets (51:21) — Oklahoma City Thunder (56:36) — Rudy Gobert (01:03:27) — Unrivaled takeaways
Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks looks on in a break in play against the Toronto Raptors during the first half of their basketball game at the Scotiabank Arena on January 5, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images)
Colandrea spent his junior season with the Rebels and had a breakout year. He was 275-of-417 for 3,459 yards and 23 TDs with 9 interceptions across 14 games in coach Dan Mullen’s first season in Vegas. Colandrea also rushed 127 times for 649 yards and 10 scores.
Before arriving at UNLV, Colandrea spent two seasons at Virginia, appearing in 19 games with the Cavaliers. Over those 19 games, he was 352-of-566 passing for 4,083 yards and 26 TDs with 20 interceptions.
As Colandrea led a UNLV offense that averaged 6.8 yards per play, the Rebels went 10-4 and made their second straight Mountain West title game appearance.
Colandrea will become the presumptive starter in Lincoln after Dylan Raiola entered the transfer portal at the end of the season. The former five-star recruit suffered a season-ending leg injury nine games into the season. Raiola was completing over 72% of his passes before he was injured and had thrown for 18 touchdowns.
Advertisement
He did not provide the rushing threat that Colandrea does, however. Nebraska is looking for a more dynamic offense, as the Huskers are still working toward the team’s first eight-win season since 2016. Nebraska went 7-6 for the second consecutive season under coach Matt Rhule but lost the Las Vegas Bowl to Utah.
Minchey spent the 2025 season as CJ Carr’s backup for the Fighting Irish. He took an early visit to Lincoln and briefly committed to the Huskers before he was lured away by Kentucky and new coach Will Stein.
The NFL playoff field is set. The Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks are the No. 1 seeds who earned first-round byes, while the New England Patriots and Chicago Bears look dangerous as No. 2 seeds. Plus there are plenty of contenders in the other wild-card weekend slots.
Who will advance in each round? Who will raise the Lombardi Trophy after Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California? And what will the score and MVP be?
Advertisement
Yahoo Sports’ NFL experts make their picks right here.
Nate Tice
(Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports)
AFC Wild Card Jaguars over Bills Patriots over Chargers Texans over Steelers
NFC Wild Card Rams over Panthers Bears over Packers Eagles over 49ers
AFC Divisional Texans over Broncos Jaguars over Patriots
NFC Divisional Rams over Seahawks Eagles over Bears
AFC Championship Jaguars over Texans
NFC Championship Rams over Eagles
Super Bowl Rams 24, Jaguars 20
MVP Matthew Stafford
Charles Robinson
(Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports)
AFC Wild Card Bills over Jaguars Patriots over Chargers Texans over Steelers
NFC Wild Card Rams over Panthers Packers over Bears Eagles over 49ers
AFC Divisional Broncos over Bills Texans over Patriots
Advertisement
NFC Divisional Seahawks over Packers Rams over Eagles
AFC Championship Broncos over Texans
NFC Championship Rams over Seahawks
Super Bowl Rams 28, Broncos 21
MVP Matthew Stafford
Jori Epstein
(Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports)
AFC Wild Card Bills over Jaguars Patriots over Chargers Texans over Steelers
NFC Wild Card Rams over Panthers Bears over Packers Eagles over 49ers
AFC Divisional Bills over Broncos Texans over Patriots
NFC Divisional Seahawks over Rams Bears over Eagles
AFC Championship Bills over Texans
NFC Championship Seahawks over Bears
Super Bowl Seahawks 24, Bills 21
MVP Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Charles McDonald
(Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports)
AFC Wild Card Bills over Jaguars Patriots over Chargers Texans over Steelers
Advertisement
NFC Wild Card Rams over Panthers Bears over Packers 49ers over Eagles
AFC Divisional Bills over Broncos Texans over Patriots
NFC Divisional Seahawks over 49ers Rams over Bears
AFC Championship Bills over Texans
NFC Championship Rams over Seahawks
Super Bowl Rams 34, Bills 23
MVP Matthew Stafford
Frank Schwab
(Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports)
AFC Wild Card Jaguars over Bills Patriots over Chargers Texans over Steelers
NFC Wild Card Rams over Panthers Bears over Packers Eagles over 49ers
AFC Divisional Texans over Broncos Jaguars over Patriots
NFC Divisional Seahawks over Rams Bears over Eagles
AFC Championship Texans over Jaguars
NFC Championship Seahawks over Bears
Advertisement
Super Bowl Seahawks 17, Texans 10
MVP Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Andrew Siciliano
(Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports)
AFC Wild Card Bills over Jaguars Patriots over Chargers Texans over Steelers
NFC Wild Card Rams over Panthers Bears over Packers 49ers over Eagles
AFC Divisional Broncos over Bills Texans over Patriots
NFC Divisional Seahawks over 49ers Rams over Bears
AFC Championship Broncos over Texans
NFC Championship Rams over Seahawks
Super Bowl Rams 24, Broncos 20
MVP Matthew Stafford
Matt Harmon
(Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports)
AFC Wild Card Jaguars over Bills Patriots over Chargers Texans over Steelers
NFC Wild Card Rams over Panthers Bears over Packers 49ers over Eagles
AFC Divisional Broncos over Texans Patriots over Jaguars
Advertisement
NFC Divisional Seahawks over 49ers Bears over Rams
AFC Championship Patriots over Broncos
NFC Championship Seahawks over Bears
Super Bowl Seahawks 24, Patriots 20
MVP Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Jay Busbee
(Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports)
AFC Wild Card Bills over Jaguars Patriots over Chargers Texans over Steelers
NFC Wild Card Rams over Panthers Bears over Packers 49ers over Eagles
AFC Divisional Broncos over Bills Patriots over Texans
NFC Divisional Seahawks over 49ers Bears over Rams
