Eileen Gu qualified for the Olympic slopestyle final with a strong second showing following a fall in her first qualifying run on Saturday.
Gu earned a score of 75.30 in her second run to place her within the top 12 skiers to advance to Monday’s final.
Advertisement
The 22-year-old Gu, who was born in San Francisco but represents China, was a silver medalist in the event in 2022 in Beijing. She also won two golds in big air and halfpipe four years ago and will take part in all three events in Milan. She lost out on triple gold after finishing 0.33 points behind Switzerland’s Mathilde Gremaud in the slopestyle final.
Since Beijing, Gu has taken part in just four World Cup slopestyle events and made the podium in three of them. Gremaud is the reigning world champion and has finished in first or second place in eight of nine World Cup events she has competed in since November 2023.
Gremaud also qualified for the final after posting a Saturday best score of 79.15 in her second run.
Advertisement
American Avery Krumme, 17, finished with a score of 64.93 and will also move on, while Grace Henderson (49.78) and Marin Hamill (47.91) failed to advance.
Biathlon competition combines cross-country skiing with rifle target shooting, and at this year’s Winter Games, the Biathlon competition will be comprised of 11 events. Men and women will each compete in five events along with one mixed relay event. Events consist of athletes racing multiple laps around a track and stopping to shoot from different positions and distances during the competition. The number of loops and stops at the shooting range vary depending on each event, with individual races serving as longer endurance events, sprints, which emphasize fast skiing and shooting, pursuits, which feature the fastest competitors from the sprints, relay races, and a mass start race with only the top 30 competitors who have made it to the end of the competition. Biathlon events begin on Feb. 8 and run through Feb. 21 at the 2026 Winter Games.
Here’s a complete schedule of all Team USA Biathlon events at this year’s games, along with a rundown of who is competing. While every event will stream on Peacock, you can also find most on USA and NBC too. (To see specific air times, check out the official NBC Olympics broadcast schedule, and toggle your search to “TV Only.”).
Advertisement
If you want to learn even more about every event at this year’s Winter Games, here’s a guide to everything you need to know about the Milan-Cortina Games.
For $17 monthly you can upgrade to an ad-free subscription which includes live access to your local NBC affiliate (not just during designated sports and events) and the ability to download select titles to watch offline.
Where to watch Biathlon on TV:
Team USA men’s and women’s biathlon coverage will be split between NBC and USA. (To see specific air times, check out the official NBC Olympics broadcast schedule, and toggle your search to “TV Only.”). You can stream these channels on DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV and more.
For $17 monthly you can upgrade to an ad-free subscription which includes live access to your local NBC affiliate (not just during designated sports and events) and the ability to download select titles to watch offline.
Who is on the Team USA Biathlon team?
These are the athletes on Team USA’s biathlon team:
The Pro Football Hall of Fame will make changes to its voting process in light of controversy over Bill Belichick not being elected to the 2026 class in his first year of eligibility.
Hall of Fame president Jim Porter told the Associated Press that the vote will go back to an in-person meeting and discussion among the 50-member committee. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the conversation and voting process was held virtually.
Advertisement
Additionally, the vote will occur closer to the announcement of the inductees at the NFL Honors event, held the Thursday prior to the Super Bowl. That scheduling change, likely for Super Bowl week in the host city, is intended to decrease the possibility of discussion and results leaking to the public, as happened when reports of Belichick falling short of the 40 votes necessary for election circulated among media.
Porter also said the Hall would consider releasing vote totals and individual ballots to the public in future balloting, much like the Baseball Hall of Fame and Baseball Writers Association of America do. However, that won’t be done for the 2026 class.
One part of the voting process that will be reviewed is a rule that groups coaches and contributors with older players who have been on the ballot for multiple years. Voters felt they had to choose between longtime candidates who were running out of eligibility, such as running back Roger Craig (who was elected) and quarterback Ken Anderson (who was not), rather than vote for Belichick. That was viewed as a primary reason why the six-time Super Bowl winner was not elected.
Advertisement
Voters who might have violated rules by discussing the voting debate publicly and the process by which candidates were elected or left off the ballot could be replaced on the committee, according to Porter.
“I’m not here to tell them who the most deserving is,” Porter told the AP’s Josh Dubow. “If the Hall was to tell who the most deserving is, we wouldn’t need them to vote. We understand that. We just want the rules followed.”
Five players were elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2026 class, as announced at Thursday’s NFL Honors ceremony. Quarterback Drew Brees, receiver Larry Fitzgerald, linebacker Luke Kuechly, kicker Adam Vinatieri and Craig will be formally inducted into the Canton, Ohio, institution on Aug. 8.
BORMIO, Italy — The Stelvio slope here is renowned, or perhaps condemned, as the most demanding downhill course on Alpine skiing’s World Cup circuit.
It is not just visually spectacular, it carries a reputation for being dark and dangerous with steep drops and sometimes icy corners. It is known by some as the “Ribbon of Death.”
Advertisement
But because of the technical skill it requires, the Stelvio is also a place where the best of the best have been crowned. In the two World Championships that have been held here, Switzerland’s Pirmin Zurbriggen and American Bode Miller — two of the most successful ski racers ever — emerged as winners.
Now there’s another name to add to the list: Switzerland’s Franjo von Allmen took Olympic gold on Saturday — the first at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games — completing the course in 1:51.61. Italy’s Giovanni Franzoni (1:51.81) took the silver medal, while countryman Dominik Paris (1:52.11) won bronze.
Kyle Negomir was the top American, finishing 10th.
Advertisement
Bryce Bennett placed 13th in his third and final Olympic Games.
American Ryan Cochran-Siegel, who came to the Winter Games in some of the best form of his career, finished 18th after posting the fastest training time in Wednesday’s run.
The other American entrant, Sam Morse, finished 19th.
Miller remains the last American man to medal in this event, winning Bronze in 2010.
The 41-year-old skiing great is at the 2026 Winter Olympics seeking her first gold medal since Vancouver 2010. Her appearance at the Milan Cortina Games was in question just a week ago following a fall during a World Cup downhill race in Switzerland.
Advertisement
Despite tearing her ACL, Vonn is going ahead and will participate in Sunday’s women’s downhill, an event she won in 2010.
No matter the result, Vonn’s perseverance to finish her comeback with one last Olympic appearance is remarkable. She was already a legend of the sport. This elevates her even higher than that.
Vonn’s stick-to-it-iveness puts her among athletes in history who have shown their toughness while battling through injury and/or adversity. Here are a few sports greats who displayed their guts through difficult times.
Willis Reed, Game 7 of 1970 NBA Finals
After tearing a muscle in his right thigh as the New York Knicks took a 3-2 series lead in Game 5, Willis Reed sat out the Los Angeles Lakers win in Game 6. Heading into the decisive game of the series, there were questions about his availability for Game 7. The 1970 MVP, All-Star Game MVP, All-NBA First Teamer and NBA All-Defensive First Teamer would hobble out of the locker room during warmups to a rousing ovation at Madison Square Garden.
Advertisement
Despite scoring just four points and grabbing three rebounds, Reed’s presence helped inspire the Knicks to win the franchise’s first championship. “I didn’t want to have to look at myself in the mirror 20 years later and say I wished I had tried to play,” Reed said.
Jack Youngblood, Super Bowl XIV
The 1979 Los Angeles Rams met the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC divisional round one year after the Cowboys shut them out in the NFC championship game. During a first half that saw LA take a 14-5 lead, defensive end Jack Youngblood suffered an injury that he did not realize the seriousness of until the team doctor informed him. It was a broken leg.
Advertisement
After a quick tape job, he was back out there for the remainder of the game, which saw Youngblood sack a retiring Roger Staubach late and the Rams advance with a 21-19 win. Youngblood would play with the bad leg for the rest of the postseason, which saw LA reach Super Bowl XIV — a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The end of the season didn’t mean rest for Youngblood.
He would also travel to Hawaii to play in the Pro Bowl. “Everybody asked me when we got to Hawaii, ‘What the heck are you doing here? You’ve got a broken tibia,” Youngblood later told CBS Sports. “I said, ‘Shut up, I’m not going to miss this party.’”
Kirk Gibson, 1988 World Series
No one believed what they had just witnessed, including Hall of Fame broadcaster Jack Buck. Kirk Gibson had only one at-bat for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1988 World Series against the Oakland Athletics, and he made it count.
Advertisement
With LA down 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs in Game 1 at Dodger Stadium, manager Tommy Lasorda called up Gibson as a pinch hitter for Dave Anderson. Gibson, suffering from a right knee ligament sprain and a strained left hamstring suffered in the NLCS, worked a full count. The eighth pitch of the at-bat saw a backdoor slider from Dennis Eckersley get deposited over the right-field wall to give the Dodgers a Game 1 victory.
The Dodgers would win three out of the next four games to win the World Series. Gibson would not play again that postseason.
Kerri Strug, one of the American “Magnificent Seven” at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. (AP Foto/Susan Ragan, archivo)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Kerri Strug, 1996 Olympics
One of the “Magnificent Seven,” Kerri Strug was the final U.S. gymnast to take part in the vault as the Russian team was eyeing a comeback and gold medal. He first attempt ended with an injured ankle and she limped to the runway for her second attempt, knowing that a score of 9.762 would earn gold. Her landing wasn’t perfect, but good enough for a score that gave the U.S. the victory. As the team gathered for the medal ceremony, Coach Béla Károlyi carried Strug to the podium so she could be with her teammates.
Advertisement
Strug ultimately suffered a lateral sprain and damage to her tendon and was unable to take part in the individual all-around competition.
Emmitt Smith, 1994 Week 18
A first-round bye and home-field advantage was on the line in Week 17 of the 1993 NFL season. Nothing was going to take Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith out of their game against the New York Giants, not even a separated shoulder. The future Hall of Famer suffered the injury late in the first half, but returned in the third quarter during the 16-13 overtime win.
Smith had 17 touches after hurting his shoulder and had a hand in nine of Dallas’ 11 plays on the game-winning drive, picking up 41 yards. The running back finished with 168 yards on 32 carries, as well as 10 catches for 61 yards and a touchdown.
Advertisement
Weeks later, the Cowboys would win their second straight Super Bowl over the Buffalo Bills.
Michael Jordan, 1997 NBA Finals
Call it “The Flu Game” or the “Bad Pizza Game,” but whatever was sapping the energy of Michael Jordan during Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals wasn’t enough to slow down “His Airness.” Jordan scored 38 points, grabbed seven rebounds, dished out five assists, and recorded three steals as the Bulls would win their fifth title in seven seasons.
“That was probably the most difficult thing I’ve ever done,” Jordan said afterward.
Byron Leftwich, Nov. 2002
The Marshall Thundering Herd fell to the Akron Zips 34-20 in late season MAC action, but the lasting memory of that game is Byron Leftwich playing through a broken leg and getting an assist downfield from his teammates.
Advertisement
After an Akron linebacker fell on his left leg, Leftwich injured the same shin he had surgery on months earlier. After being evaluated on the sideline, he limped back to action minutes later against the protests of the coaching staff and his mother. Leftwich would eventually leave the field and the stadium to get X-rays at a local hospital via a rental van. He returned in the third quarter and went 14-for-24 for 208 yards and one interception following his comeback. Several times in the fourth quarter, the quarterback was carried downfield by linemen Steve Sciullo and Steve Perretta.
Terrell Owens, Super Bowl XXXIX
Seven weeks before Terrell Owens and the Philadelphia Eagles met the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, the wide receiver suffered a broken leg and torn ligament in his right ankle. His surgeon wouldn’t clear him to return to play. The recovery didn’t matter as TO played all but 10 of Philadelphia’s 72 snaps in the Super Bowl and made nine receptions for 122 yards in a losing effort.
Advertisement
“Nobody in this room knew I was going to play this game,” Owens said. “Nobody knew but me. Dr. [Mark] Myerson, I give him all the respect in the world. You guys believed what he said that I couldn’t play. A lot of people in the world didn’t believe I could play. It goes to show you. The power of prayer and the power of faith will take you all the way. Nothing is impossible if you got God on your side.”
Philip Rivers, 2007 AFC championship game
Philip Rivers wasn’t supposed to play, but a torn ACL and meniscus in his right knee wasn’t going to keep him from leading the San Diego Chargers against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in the 2008 AFC championship game.
Advertisement
Rivers wasn’t his best, going 19-for-37 for 211, no touchdowns and two interceptions in the Chargers loss, but it showed he was one of the league’s toughest players. It’s no surprise that he is fourth on the NFL’s Ironman streak after playing 255 consecutive games and returned this past season at age 44 to help the Indianapolis Colts down the stretch after retiring in 2020.
Tiger Woods during the 108th US Open Championship playoff round at Torrey Pines South Golf Course in San Diego, CA. (Photo by Chris WIlliams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Tiger Woods, 2008 U.S. Open
Tiger Woods played with stress fractures in his tibia and a torn ACL during the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. Even with the pain showing on his face with each shot, he took the 54-hole lead ahead of Lee Westwood and Rocco Mediate heading into Sunday.
Advertisement
In each of Woods’ 13 major titles at the time, he had entered the final round with the lead. The 2008 U.S. Open would be no different, but it would be a battle. He shot a 73, opening the door for Mediate to force a Monday, 18-hole playoff. It was a back-and-forth Monday, with Woods going up three strokes after 10 holes and Mediate taking a one-stroke lead through 17 holes. Woods would birdie 18 to force sudden-death, which he would win on the par-4 7th hole.
“It was just constant,” Woods said later about the pain. “The treatment was constant throughout the night. I slept on the massage table, I had my knee drained, iced, elevated, worked on, just trying to get as much inflammation out as I could. Then, I would somehow start activating it in the morning, and that was the hardest part because it was so wobbly. Once I finally got going, it was OK.”
Patrice Bergeron, 2011 Stanley Cup Final
The quest to win a Stanley Cup is a four-round grind that follows a difficult 82-game regular season. It took a lot for the Boston Bruins to win the title in 2011. They needed three seven-game series victories, including one over the Vancouver Canucks in the final round. And what follows after teams see their seasons end in the playoffs is the laundry list of injuries players played through.
Advertisement
Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron played all seven games of that year’s Stanley Cup Finals, even as he picked up injuries in three of the final four games. Torn rib cartilage in Game 4; a broken rib in Game 5; and finally, a separated shoulder and punctured left lung in Game 6, which caused a collapse and a three-day hospital stay.
“In my mind, for sure, I wanted to play,” Bergeron said. “I was hoping for the pain to go down, but that wasn’t the case. After Game 5, I was in a lot of pain. The next day I was just trying to find a way [to] manage the pain, I guess, but it was definitely there. On the day of Game 6, we met with the doctors, and they were telling me the only way I could play was to have a nerve block, the pain would be too high, so I did that in order to play.”
In the months leading up to the 2025-26 NFL season, there were a variety of teams that bettors were wagering on to win Super Bowl LX — the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks weren’t very high among them.
The Seahawks entered Week 1 of this season with 60-1 odds to win Super Bowl LX at BetMGM — longer odds than every NFC West team, including the Arizona Cardinals at 50-1 — and the Patriots had 80-1 odds.
Advertisement
And there weren’t a lot of believers, either, as Seattle had the ninth-fewest wagers to win Super Bowl LX (0.9%) at BetMGM and the Patriots (1.3%) had the 11th-fewest.
The two teams making in the Super Bowl makes it the most unlikely Super Bowl matchup by preseason odds in at least 50 years, per Sports Odds History. Never before have two teams with preseason Super Bowl odds of more than 50-1 met in the Super Bowl in that time span.
The closest approximation was all the way back in 1982 when the San Francisco 49ers (50-1 preseason odds) and the Cincinnati Bengals (60-1) met in Super Bowl XVI. The 49ers closed as 1-point favorites and won the game 26-21.
Advertisement
The St. Louis Rams (150-1) are the NFL team to win the Super Bowl with the longest preseason odds, accomplishing the feat back in 1999 en route in a 23-16 win over the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV.
$50,000 on the Seahawks to win Super Bowl 60 at 60-1 odds to win $3 million
$50,000 on the Seahawks to win NFC at 28-1 odds to win $1.4 million
$50,000 on the Seahawks to make playoffs at +185 odds to win $92,500
He has already won $1.492 million and now will will roughly that amount again no matter the winner of Super Bowl LX after wagering another $725,000 on the Patriots money line at +195 odds at BetMGM.
Yahoo Sports also reported that Circa Sports in Nevada took two large wagers on the Seahawks to win Super Bowl LX, each with “seven-figure liability” in late August from a new customer as well — likely the same bettor, though it can’t be officially confirmed. Seattle is the sportsbook’s worst futures outcome as a result.
Advertisement
The Seahawks are currently 4.5-point favorites in Super Bowl LX against the Patriots.
BORMIO, Italy — For better or worse, we come from a culture where the revelation of one’s status as an Olympian comes with an inevitable question:
Did you win a medal?
Bryce Bennett never did. Three Olympics came and went for the Alpine ski racer from Lake Tahoe. No medals. Never even got a top-10.
Advertisement
On Saturday, in his final Olympic event, he didn’t care.
“To be honest, it was all I wanted,” he said after finishing 13th. “I couldn’t have asked for more. Just a couple things didn’t line up, but that’s what ski racing is. I felt like I brought my best mental space and skied the way I wanted to. There’s nothing to be bummed about.”
Unless you follow the skiing World Cup circuit closely, you’ve probably never heard of Bennett. He competes in a sport most of his countrymen have forgotten about since Bode Miller retired, one largely dominated these days by skiers from the mountains near here in Italy, Switzerland and Austria.
And yet, as he finished his Olympic career here in front of friends and family, including his nearly 1-year old daughter Kate, it was a poignant reminder as these Milan Cortina Games begin of why we come to document this event every four years.
Advertisement
Yes, the medals matter. They change lives, open doors, turn obscure athletes into stars. Powerhouse countries like the United States pour millions into the chase for Olympic glory and expect a return on that investment. Team USA isn’t just a logo; it’s an industrial medal-winning complex and a corporate brand where success is mostly measured in gold.
It is also, at least in this sport, a monument to unrealistic expectations.
“Everyone gets so fixated on winning medals,” Bennett said. “But in the sport of ski racing, like, it’s insanity. The variables are always changing every day, every minute. You never know. So, yeah, it’s been a good, good Olympic career.”
Bryce Bennett reacts after his run in the men’s downhill at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. (Agence Zoom/Getty Images)
(Agence Zoom via Getty Images)
Bennett is ready for the next thing. He’s ready to leave his professional base in Innsbruck, Austria, in about a month and bring his wife and daughter back home to California. He’s ready to stop spending 250 days a year away from North America, traveling the World Cup circuit. He’s ready to stop asking his family to sacrifice so that he can pursue this crazy sport where there’s not much glory or financial reward for a career like his.
Advertisement
But in the search for satisfaction, a run like Bennett had Saturday in his final Olympic race is worth all three places on the podium. That’s partly why, when NBC interviewed him Saturday, he was moved to tears even though he never really had a shot at a medal.
“The Olympics is just so much different than the World Cup,” he said. “You get so many more emotions, and it just brings a lot more character to your race that you don’t necessarily get all the time every weekend on the regular tour. And to just use that energy is something special.
“That’s what I’ve really enjoyed about the Olympics. It’s hard to get that all the time, and it’s just heavy emotionally, mentally and physically.”
As Americans, we’d never know any of that because it’s not usually what we value. Even as media members, before every Olympic Games begins, we start by promoting a list of established stars and potential stars. They suck up all the oxygen until someone comes out of nowhere to win a medal or ends up in a viral social media meme or becomes part of a controversy.
Advertisement
Every day at the Olympics, a thousand things could demand our attention. There usually aren’t enough hours or reporters to chronicle those journeymen who spend their lives grinding out a solid career in a sport most Americans don’t follow.
They usually leave the Games as anonymous as they always were. Finishing 13th place isn’t going to get Bennett on a Wheaties box.
“Finding interest in the U.S. is difficult,” Bennett said. “Not everyone’s surrounded by mountains. The sports we prioritize are different. Here in Europe it’s mountain culture and people love it and they’re born and raised skiers.”
Advertisement
Bennett understands. He’s lived it. He chose it. And if you take a step back from the chase for medals, any life in sports that includes making three Olympic teams is worthy of being admired.
In America, unfortunately, we don’t give much credence to 13th place. But competitive character counts, too. Bennett will never be able to answer yes when someone asks if he’s won an Olympic medal. But after Saturday, he’ll never have to worry about counting that as a regret.
Seattle Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori is set to play in Sunday’s Super Bowl LX matchup with the New England Patriots after suffering an ankle injury earlier in the week.
That will surely make his mother happy. She traveled with their family to watch the rookie safety play for a championship. However, though Justina Emmanwori is traveling to Santa Clara, California, to support her son, she’s not too impressed by all the hype surrounding America’s biggest sporting event.
“It’s big,” she added with a shrug. “I don’t know what I’m expecting. All I’m going there for is to shout, ‘Yay, Super Bowl! Touchdown! We win!’”
A native of Nigeria, Justina Emmanwori didn’t grow up thinking the Super Bowl was a big deal that dominated the culture for a week leading up to a Sunday in late January or early February.
Advertisement
Nick Emmanwori, 21, became an impact player for Seattle’s secondary this season. The Seahawks’ second-round pick (No. 35 overall) out of South Carolina, Emmanwori registered 81 tackles, 11 passes defended, 9 tackles for loss, 4 quarterback hits, 2.5 sacks and 1 interception in 11 games during the regular season.
During the postseason, he’s made 8 tackles with 4 passes defended and 1 fumble recovery in two games.
Yet if Justina is not impressed by the pageantry surrounding the Super Bowl, she demonstrated her knowledge of football and the impact her son would have on the Seahawks in an earlier interview with Chast. And she predicted his team would play for a championship.
“I told God, as long as my son is in Washington, the Seahawks will never lose a game,” she said to Chast before the season. “And they keep going. They will never lose because Nicholas is there. They are going to the Super Bowl.”
After going 14-3 during the regular season and winning two playoff games to advance to the Super Bowl, the Seahawks are one game away from following through on Justina Emmanwori’s confident prediction.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — At the Dallas Cowboys’ headquarters in 2014, a rookie second-rounder and a coaching intern learned from defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli.
The rookie would become a five-time Pro Bowl edge rusher in the decade that followed. The coaching intern, who grew up in the United Kingdom, where American football is far from king, would become a defensive line coach on his way to coordinating the Seattle Seahawks’ Super Bowl LX defense.
Advertisement
But as player and coach continued their careers focused on the defensive front, they always thought back to those early lessons from Marinelli and his lessons on something other than the sacks that earn edge rushers money and coaches promotions.
DeMarcus Lawrence and Aden Durde learned from Marinelli the importance of defending the run.
“He taught me early that in order to rush the quarterback, [I’ve got to] stop the run on the way to the quarterback,” Lawrence said Wednesday. “So that’s really about your approach angles and how you set the edge. And through that, you can play play action, you can stop the run. I mean, if you get up the field and set the edge, you can use the offensive tackle and make him run into the running back and make a tackle like that. So it’s really just getting upfield, setting the edge, getting that pressure.
“And if it’s play action or pass, take your move.”
Advertisement
In theory, of course, the principle is not novel. Defending the run helps counter an opponent’s ability to control the clock. Stopping the run can pressure offenses into one-dimensional passing situations that increase the chance of sacks or takeaways. No one’s advocating against stopping the run. But it’s an open secret across the NFL that many elite edge rushers become so intent on chasing the quarterback — also valuable! — that they sometimes lay off the pursuit of run stops and a broader vision. Sacks translate to record-setting contracts and All-Pro honors more directly than 2-yard tackles do.
Lawrence, at 33 years old and in his 12th pro season, never changed.
So when his Cowboys contract expired last season, the Seahawks targeted him. Their bet has paid dividends.
Advertisement
Lawrence ranked No. 1 among 115 edge rushers in defending the run, per Pro Football Focus. He’s helped the Seahawks to 14 regular-season wins and an NFC championship victory by doing the dirty work, and he’s collected takeaways while doing it.
After forcing three fumbles and collecting six sacks in 17 regular-season games, Lawrence has forced another three fumbles in two playoff games and added two more sacks to his tally.
He’s playing like the complete player the Seahawks bet on. And he could make the difference Sunday between Seattle and the 4.5-point underdog New England Patriots.
“When you see really good talents and really special players, that are paid a lot, give as much, if not more, effort to the run, it sticks out,” Patriots center Garrett Bradbury told Yahoo Sports. “And so I’ve got a lot of respect for him. I think our whole team does. And so it’s a good challenge for us.
Advertisement
“You can’t take any plays off.”
Lawrence left Cowboys for Seahawks because ‘my window of opportunity is closing’
Plenty will wonder why the Cowboys would let a player of Lawrence’s caliber walk.
It’s imprecise to suggest Dallas stopped believing in Lawrence’s ability. Rather, after Lawrence broke his foot last season at age 32, a Cowboys team retooling in some ways, and paying quarterback Dak Prescott $60 million in others, wasn’t interested in paying Lawrence top dollar. A Seahawks team that had ranked 11th defending the pass in 2024 and 16th defending the run saw Lawrence as a piece that could elevate the collective.
Advertisement
Seattle signed Lawrence to a three-year, $32.5 million deal with $18 million in guarantees. Like another Cowboys draftee named DeMarcus before him, Lawrence’s second team quickly arrived in the Super Bowl. DeMarcus Ware won Super Bowl 50 with the Broncos following the 2015 season, two years after playing his first nine years for the Cowboys. Coincidence?
After spending 11 years with the Cowboys, DeMarcus Lawrence reached his first Super Bowl in his first season with the Seahawks. (Hassan Ahmad/Yahoo Sports)
Lawrence generated headlines last March — and they resurfaced recently — for saying Dallas is his home but “I know for sure I’m not going to win a Super Bowl there.” Backlash on social media followed, including from then-Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons (who was later traded to the Green Bay Packers in August). A dose of pettiness and the emotions of departing his 11-year home fueled Lawrence in part. Throughout his NFL career, Lawrence has not been afraid to throw shade or talk trash when he felt confident.
But now, on the doorstep of playing in Super Bowl LX, Lawrence explained his comments with more nuance.
Advertisement
“I [saw] Dallas was going through a transition letting go of some of their older players starting to try to rebuild, and I understood that but I also understood for me that my window of opportunity of playing football was closing,” Lawrence said Monday. “So that’s truly what I meant by that statement is, I won’t win in Dallas because my window of opportunity is closing. I only have a couple of years, three, four, how many ever the Lord blessed me with.
“But I know it wasn’t going to be in Dallas.”
If not for Lawrence, the Super Bowl opportunity may not have reached Seattle either.
Lawrence flashed even before the season with his red-zone intensity at joint practices with the Carolina Panthers, his coaches say, and in the season opener he recovered a blocked field goal as well as multiple tackles for loss on Christian McCaffrey.
Advertisement
He would return, not one, but two fumble recoveries for a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals on Nov. 9 and then put up a “vintage” Lawrence moment against the Minnesota Vikings on Nov. 30. Again, Lawrence wasn’t focused on the passer alone. So Lawrence chased running back Aaron Jones from behind on third-and-14, punching the ball loose. Teammate Ty Okada recovered.
“Just plays like that where it’s just his understanding of where the ball goes, how he gets to the ball, and then how he tries to force a fumble every time he touches the player,” Durde said.
And when Seahawks QB Sam Darnold threw an interception in Carolina in December, Lawrence helped neutralize the loss by punching loose a ball from Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard the very next play. Six plays later, Seattle scored to take a 10-3 lead. Everyone could exhale from the interception.
“He’s a game changer, man,” defensive backs coach and defensive pass game coordinator Karl Scott told Yahoo Sports. “We joke around all the time. Like ‘That’s law, that’s the law,’ from his intuitive plays to he’s a ballhawk.
Advertisement
“He makes us better.”
On cusp of biggest stage, Lawrence eager to hold Lombardi — and his sixth child
With a chance to go to his first Super Bowl in 12 pro seasons, Lawrence elevated his play in the NFC championship against the Los Angeles Rams.
With 4:59 to play, facing fourth-and-4 from Seattle’s 6-yard line, the Rams were down four and thus went for it. Safety Julian Love had told Lawrence he had running back Kyren Williams. But Lawrence saw Williams flare out unusually quickly, and his instincts screamed at him not to leave Williams’ ability to catch a touchdown to chance.
“It was a funky look,” Lawrence said. “I had to use my ‘Law Logic’ to help.”
Advertisement
Lawrence thought back to what Marinelli taught him about how to read formations. He wasn’t worried about 37-year-old Matthew Stafford taking off. So he dropped in coverage, double-teaming Williams and denying Stafford his outlet.
The Seahawks held off to win.
Lawrence knows the work isn’t done but nonetheless can imagine himself hoisting a Lombardi Trophy. He thinks about what that moment would mean for himself, his wife and their five children.
“Just having it in my arms, I feel like it’ll be a huge relief for me,” Lawrence said. “I know it’ll definitely be a huge relief for my family, understanding how long I done been chasing this dream and now it’s here in front of my face.
Advertisement
“Can’t let it slip.”
He’ll control what he can control on the field. And he’ll hope for time with his wife Sasha’s pregnancy.
Sasha hit 37 weeks carrying their sixth child this week, and Lawrence is anxious not to miss the birth after his oldest son was born during Lawrence’s 2014 rookie minicamp with the Cowboys — and Lawrence was unable to fly back to Boise in time, so he FaceTimed in for the birth.
This time, the Lawrences weren’t leaving that to chance. Sasha is in the Bay Area for the game — as is her obstetrician, flown here by the Lawrences.
“We can be due any day now,” Lawrence says of her third trimester, but “hopefully not by Monday. Hopefully she can hold on to Thursday after the parade.”
Advertisement
Teammates joked with him that he could have another kid, but how likely was he to make another Super Bowl? Lawrence responded: “Man, bro. I miss my first son’s birth and I can’t miss my last.”
He hopes no such coordination is necessary, but the Lawrences have identified hospitals and emergency plans in case.
Until Sasha goes into labor, DeMarcus Lawrence will continue preparing for the big game. He’ll continue remembering the lessons Marinelli told him. And he’ll continue justifying a free-agent signing that head coach Mike Macdonald described this week as a “no-brainer.”
“And man, it’s paid incredible dividends,” Macdonald said. “I feel like DeMarcus would tell you this, but I feel like we’re getting his best version of himself and the best version of his game as well. So it’s been a win-win.”
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Most teams wouldn’t have traded Russell Wilson when the Seattle Seahawks did.
Wilson had just turned 34 after the 2021 season, which isn’t young in the NFL but it’s usually not the end for a quarterback. Wilson threw 25 touchdowns and six interceptions during the 2021 season, which would be his last in Seattle, with a 103.1 passer rating. He was still a high-end starting quarterback. Even if the Seahawks knew Wilson was slowing down, teams don’t trade quarterbacks who made nine Pro Bowls in their 10 seasons with the franchise and helped it win a Super Bowl. Decision makers are too worried about getting that wrong, and getting fired.
Advertisement
Seattle wasn’t scared. The Seahawks are one of the few teams with the conviction to make a trade like that, because they’re patient from the top down. John Schneider has been the team’s general manager since 2010. He doesn’t trade Wilson without feeling confident about his job security.
And the Seahawks wouldn’t be in Super Bowl LX without that Wilson trade.
It probably won’t lead to other teams making bold decisions with accomplished quarterbacks one year early instead of one year too late. The NFL generally doesn’t operate that way. But Seattle did.
The Seattle Seahawks wouldn’t be in Super Bowl LX without the Russell Wilson trade. (Henry Russell/Yahoo Sports)
What did the Seahawks get in the Russell Wilson trade?
The Wilson trade was massive. Seattle sent Wilson and a 2022 fourth-round draft pick to Denver for first-round picks in 2022 and 2023, second-round picks in 2022 and 2023, a 2022 fifth-round pick, tight end Noah Fant, defensive end Shelby Harris and quarterback Drew Lock. The Seahawks got some core players for a future NFC championship roster from it:
Advertisement
2022 first-round pick, ninth overall: OT Charles Cross
Cross has started 62 of a possible 68 regular-season games at offensive tackle. He was the 23rd-ranked offensive tackle in the NFL this season, and has developed into a reliable protector for quarterback Sam Darnold.
Witherspoon was instantly one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. He has made the Pro Bowl in all three of his NFL seasons. He had 13 tackles in Seattle’s two playoff games. He was the top-graded cornerback in the NFL this season, according to Pro Football Focus.
2022 second-round pick, 40th overall: DE Boye Mafe
Mafe has 20 career sacks and is a part of the Seahawks’ edge rotation this season. He had two sacks during the regular season and played in both of Seattle’s playoff wins.
2023 second-round pick, 37th overall: OLB Derick Hall
Hall has 10 career sacks, just two this season after posting eight during the 2023 season. He appeared in both of Seattle’s postseason games.
Advertisement
2022 fifth-round pick, which became DE Tyreke Smith and WR Dareke Young
The Seahawks traded the fifth-round pick from Denver for fifth- and seventh-round selections (158th and 233rd overall). Those picks became defensive end Tyreke Smith and receiver Dareke Young. Smith didn’t work out. He played just one game with Seattle and hasn’t appeared in an NFL game since 2023. Young is still on the active roster and appeared in both playoff games this postseason, mostly as a member of a strong special teams unit. He made a crucial fumble recovery in the NFC championship game against the Rams.
Fant, Harris and Lock
Fant and Harris have moved onto the Bengals and Browns, respectively. Lock is still on the team as the primary backup quarterback, but attempted only three passes behind Darnold this season.
Advertisement
Out of that trade the Seahawks got an elite cornerback, very good left tackle, two effective members of a pass rush rotation, a core special-teams player and a backup quarterback. That’s an unbelievable haul for Wilson, who has mostly struggled since leaving Seattle.
The Seahawks wouldn’t be in the Super Bowl without the players from that trade. Not to mention that they might not have Darnold either.
Seahawks make franchise-changing move
Wilson made it easier on the Seahawks by letting it be known he’d be OK playing elsewhere as the team hesitated on another long-term deal. Still, Seattle could have tried to work it out, as most teams do.
Advertisement
Instead they decided the time was right to cash in their chips, even if it meant going into the unknown at quarterback.
“When it became evident that Russell was interested in playing elsewhere, we used that opportunity to explore the market, allowing us to acquire three quality players, tremendous draft capital, and create salary cap flexibility,” Schneider said in a statement when the Wilson trade was made. “We have a clear vision about the direction of this team, and this is an exciting time for our organization.”
Geno Smith was the quarterback for two seasons, but when contract issues started to come up with him, they traded Smith as well to the Las Vegas Raiders. The Seahawks replaced him with Darnold on a three-year, $100.5 million deal. Darnold had 4,048 yards and 25 touchdowns in the regular season, and his 346-yard, three-touchdown game in the NFC championship game boosted Seattle to Super Bowl LX.
Advertisement
The Seahawks might not have been in a position to get Darnold if they hadn’t traded Wilson. The cap space created by trading Wilson also helped shape the roster over the past few years, including being able to pay Darnold.
Not every big trade works out as well for a team as the Wilson trade worked out for Seattle. Wilson was a big part of Seattle winning the first Super Bowl championship in franchise history. He might be a big part of the second title as well.
