If this week is the end for Aaron Rodgers, it will be hard to ignore that this was the exact chess gambit the Pittsburgh Steelers chose to execute last March.
In an effort to purposefully move on from wideout George Pickens — a talented-but-mercurial wideout whom Pittsburgh leadership had stopped counting upon — the Steelers traded for DK Metcalf and promptly secured him in place with a four-year, $132 million extension. The commitment and aim at the time was unmistakable: With sweeping change coming at quarterback, the Steelers would finally have an elite No. 1 receiver whose astounding talent would be matched by accountability and availability.
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More than eight months later, the maneuver has collapsed on itself. And Sunday, it may bury the final snaps of Aaron Rodgers’ career along with it.
For all intents and purposes, that is what is on the line when the Steelers host the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night. Barring a change of heart since June, when Rodgers told “The Pat McAfee Show” he was “pretty sure” 2025 would be his final season, this week in Steelers history carries the weight of an AFC North crown and a playoff berth — alongside the potential bookend to a first-ballot Hall of Fame career.
And because of that, it’s hard to get away from the reality that a loss to Baltimore would frame Pittsburgh’s fall as being the last domino in a chain reaction that began when Metcalf struck a fan during the Steelers’ Week 16 win over the Detroit Lions. The altercation resulted in Metcalf’s suspension for the final two games of the season, effectively removing the star wideout who was acquired to be the reliable cornerstone that Pickens wasn’t.
DK Metcalf’s altercation with a Lions fan this month cost him two games and over half a million dollars. It might also cost the Steelers their season. (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
(Nic Antaya via Getty Images)
There will be pains taken by the team to avoid making this all about Metcalf, of course. Even in the wake of an embarrassing loss to the Cleveland Browns that has pushed the Steelers to the brink of elimination, fingers have been pointed in all manner of directions. Pittsburgh’s secondary is hobbled. The defense has continued to feel the absence of edge rusher T.J. Watt. Tight end Darnell Washington was lost against Cleveland to a broken arm and Calvin Austin III sat out with a hamstring injury. Head coach Mike Tomlin made some conservative fourth-down decisions in the fourth quarter and the offense was accused of being overly preoccupied with keeping Browns defensive end Myles Garrett from setting the single-season sack record.
There’s merit to some of those arguments, maybe even all of them. But what is absolutely inarguable is that Pittsburgh’s offense missed Metcalf’s presence more than any other player, particularly in the final moments of the 13-6 loss, when Rodgers ended a potential game-winning drive by throwing at Marquez Valdes-Scantling three straight times from Cleveland’s 7-yard line. All three were incompletions. If Metcalf had not been suspended, it’s likely all three of those throws go in his direction. And on the final throw, when it appeared Valdes-Scantling had possibly drawn a pass interference penalty that wasn’t called, it’s likely a player of Metcalf’s stature would have drawn the flag.
This is what Metcalf’s absence represents. His altercation in Detroit has opened a hole that Pittsburgh can’t fill.
And now? Well, now the Steelers face the Ravens in the type of everything game that exists to seize upon the aggressive moves made in March. This is the moment that drove the Steelers to abandon Pickens and reach for Metcalf. This is what you trade draft picks and money for — to bring the star to the table and watch him eat. That’s exactly what Metcalf did in Week 14 against the Ravens, when his 7 catches for 148 yards provided the Steelers’ offense an engine that powered Rodgers’ most effective downfield passing game of this entire season. That included two explosives, via 52 and 41 yard receptions, that haven’t been seen often this season.
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Lest anyone forget, that 27-22 win over the Ravens awakened a 6-6 Steelers team that had fans chanting for Tomlin’s job only one week earlier. It was the propellant for a three-game winning streak that put Pittsburgh back into the driver’s seat of the AFC North and had the team swaggering off the field following a 29-24 win over the Detroit Lions. Only to be undone by a terrible decision by Metcalf that may end up being more damaging to the franchise than any mistake Pickens ever committed during his 50 games as a Steeler.
Now offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is grappling with that reality this week, as he absorbs a Cleveland loss that is suggestive that Pittsburgh’s other offensive pieces are simply not good enough to collectively make up for Metcalf’s absence. That leaves him to find another way to creatively turn the key on the offense that doesn’t suddenly render it into a run-heavy attack with a parade of check-downs in the passing game, all in the hopes that the defense can create enough short fields or turnover opportunities to score more than the 6 measly points put up against the Browns.
Turning back the clock to the offseason when so much of what the Steelers did was predicated on putting all their chips on one season of Rodgers, it’s an almost unfathomable position to be in. But this is where Pittsburgh finds itself, while also having to contemplate that what happens Sunday night might be the final curtain for Tomlin, the coaching staff and possibly some elements of the front office. Not to mention the quarterback, who was pursued to bring it all together before a suspension pulled it all apart.
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This week, Tomlin was asked if he’d thought about Sunday potentially being the last game in Rodgers’ career.
“I don’t know that I’ve taken time to ponder that,” Tomlin replied. “I’m just committed to making sure that it’s not.”
That commitment started in March, when the Steelers traded for Metcalf. Eight months later, it may end up being remembered as the defining decision that was the beginning of the end of Rodgers’ final NFL season, and this era of Steelers that might go out the door with him.
Hoops 360 hosts Caroline Fenton and Cassandra Negley tip off the new year by unveiling their bold 2026 resolutions for women’s basketball. They break down the latest in WNBA CBA negotiations and highlight the growing momentum behind Unrivaled.
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They also spotlight Duke’s improved consistency, which must continue as the team enters conference play. Plus, the duo shares what they hope to see next from the Connecticut Sun as questions around ownership continue.
Got questions or topics for Hoops 360? Email us at hoops360@yahoosports.com and you could hear them on the show!
00:35 – 2026 New Year’s resolutions: WNBA CBA, Unrivaled, Duke & Connecticut Sun
02:18 – What is the WNBA’s new year’s resolution?
05:41 – What will happen if there are more delays in CBA negotiations?
10:12 – What is Unrivaled’s new year’s resolution?
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12:24 – Is there a conflict of interest between WNBPA and Unrivaled?
17:55 – Will Unrivaled season be a catalyst or hinderance to WNBA CBA
21:01 – What is Duke’s new year’s resolution
28:48 – What is the Connecticut Sun’s new year’s resolution
Baylor’s addition of James Nnaji continues to make waves within college basketball. Despite being drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the 2023 NBA Draft, Nnaji was ruled eligible by the NCAA and the 21-year-old Nnaji could suit up as early as Saturday for the Bears.
Following his team’s 103-74 win over James Madison on Monday, Arkansas coach John Calipari became the latest big-name coach to tear into the NCAA for its decision. When asked about the Nnaji situation, Calipari gave an impassioned speech about how it opens up the NCAA to plenty of challenges down the road.
Calipari’s answer included him switching between his own words and the arguments he expected the NCAA to make to justify its decision.
“I don’t blame coaches. I’ve got friends that are playing with 27-year-olds and they feel bad. I said, ‘Don’t feel bad. We don’t have any rules. Why should you feel bad?’
“The rules be (sic) the rules. So if you put your name in the draft, I don’t care if you’re from Russia and you stay in the draft, you can’t play college basketball. ‘Well, that’s only for American kids.’ What? If your name is in that draft and you got drafted, you can’t play college … because that’s our rule. ‘Yeah, but that’s only for American kids.’ OK.
“Now, here’s the next lawsuit. ‘Well, we don’t have a say over European players.’ You do if they are playing in college basketball. So that means you don’t have a say over high school kids. So whatever a high school kid does before he comes here, don’t you do one thing because there’s a suit. Because what you’re saying is, ‘If he’s in Europe, we don’t have the same rules.’ What?
“If he puts his name in the draft, he can’t go to college! He left his name in. ‘Well, that’s different because he’s European.’ OK, you’re not doing anything with a high school player then. We don’t have any jurisdiction over a high school player, do we? We don’t.”
Calipari then spoke about the NCAA’s decision to allow Nnaji to play immediately. He explained that was a slippery slope, and that most coaches would start going out and bringing in NBA players or G League players or European players at the expense of American high schoolers.
He then made a plea to the NCAA to explain its decision.
“Why did they let that kid play? Tell us all, here’s the reason. Then we’ll all go get pros. We’ll go find them.”
Calipari also proposed a rule in which the NCAA would not allow players to become immediately eligible in the middle of the season. He said that rule wouldn’t apply to players already on the team who had to become academically eligible, but to those just coming in. He later added, “We can do it without having Congress or the Senate getting 60 votes. We can do that.”
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After speaking for nearly seven minutes straight, Calipari concluded his rant by saying, “I wish you wouldn’t have asked me that question.”
Dan Hurley calls for NCAA to hire a commissioner
Calipari wasn’t the only notable college coach to spend a few minutes opining on the situation Monday. UConn’s Dan Hurley sent a three-minute voice memo to CBSSports.com’s Matt Norlander expressing his thoughts on the NCAA ruling.
“But I would say my biggest thing is: who’s looking out for the shield, the college basketball (shield)? Who’s protecting college basketball, one of the most special things we have in sports. College basketball, March Madness, the second-biggest annual sporting event every year. We need a commissioner. We need rules, we need guidelines.”
Hurley added that he thought the Nnaji news was a joke when he originally stumbled upon it.
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While both Calipari and Hurley called on the NCAA to take action, the organization doesn’t seem willing to do that. The NCAA released a statement Monday calling on Congress to intervene and fix things.
That statement read:
“Schools are recruiting and seeking eligibility for more individuals with more international, semi-pro and professional experience than ever before and while the NCAA members have updated many rules following the House injunction, more rules must likely be updated to reflect the choices member schools are making. At the same time, NCAA eligibility rules have been invalidated by judges across the country, wreaking havoc on the system and leading to fewer opportunities for high school students, which is why the Association is asking Congress to intervene in these challenges.”
But it appears Calipari’s and Hurley’s comments did make an impact. On Tuesday, NCAA president Charlie Baker released a statement asserting that the NCAA will not grant eligibility to players who have signed NBA contracts.
Baker’s full statement read:
“The NCAA has not and will not grant eligibility to any prospective or returning student-athletes who have signed an NBA contract (including a two-way contract). As schools are increasingly recruiting individuals with international league experience, the NCAA is exercising discretion in applying the actual and necessary expenses bylaw to ensure that prospective student-athletes with experience in American basketball leagues are not at a disadvantage compared to their international counterparts. Rules have long permitted schools to enroll and play individuals with no prior collegiate experience midyear.
“While the NCAA has prevailed on the vast majority of eligibility-related lawsuits, recent outlier decisions enjoining the NCAA on a nationwide basis from enforcing rules that have been on the books for decades — without even having a trial — are wildly destabilizing. I will be working with DI leaders in the weeks ahead to protect college basketball from these misguided attempts to destroy this American institution.”
While Baker’s statement was necessary after the backlash the Nnaji decision drew, it won’t impact Nnaji’s eligibility. Despite being drafted to the NBA, Nnaji never signed an NBA contract.
As the years go by, the sporting world continues to grow, and never was that more apparent than in 2025. Whether it was ever-increasing viewership — on myriad platforms — for the NFL, expansion in the WNBA and women’s sports in general or controversy related to rapid change, growth ruled the year.
Here’s what we learned in the world of sports in 2025:
Super Bowl LIX drew a record average audience of 127.7 million viewers across across Fox, Fox Deportes, Telemundo, Tubi and the NFL’s digital platforms.
(Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
NFL
What we learned in 2025: Nothing can stop the league’s runaway viewership train
Somehow, the NFL has become immune to the scattering media landscape.
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The league keeps offering more content, and NFL fans keep stuffing themselves with it.
The ratings tell a story. Super Bowl LIX between the Chiefs and Eagles drew an average of 127.7 million viewers — a record — across Fox, Fox Deportes, Telemundo, the streaming site Tubi and the NFL’s digital platforms. The NFL provided many ways for fans to watch the game, and viewers found them all.
Monster ratings weren’t limited to the Super Bowl. A Chiefs-Cowboys game on Thanksgiving became the most-watched game in regular-season history with 57.23 million viewers.
With the popularity growing, the NFL continues to expand its reach. There were three games on Christmas this year, as well as games on multiple Fridays and Saturdays, as well as Thursdays, Sundays and Mondays. The league scheduled games to compete against the College Football Playoff’s first round, and its free-agency cycle has impeded on the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Offseason events like the NFL Draft and even the schedule release take over the calendar.
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Other leagues wish they could continue to grow with no end in sight.
The NFL has dealt with various controversies, from complaints about officiating to betting scandals and off-field issues, and through the complaints people continue to tune in. It’s hard to know what would slow the NFL’s popularity, but we haven’t seen it yet. —Frank Schwab
The Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays delivered an epic seven-game World Series and appear poised to run baseball for years to come.
(Daniel Shirey via Getty Images)
MLB
What we learned in 2025: The Dodgers are a force — and so are the Blue Jays
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a juggernaut of epic proportions. We probably already knew this, but the club’s triumphant World Series title made them MLB’s first back-to-back champs since 2000 and solidified the organization as perhaps the best-run franchise in American sports.
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Yes, the money helps, and the Dodgers’ spending power will play a factor in the labor dispute set to dominate the sport next winter. But that doesn’t take anything away from the historically superb performances delivered by the likes of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto throughout the postseason. Whether the Dodgers can three-peat next fall will be one of the major storylines of the 2026 MLB season.
But the dramatic nature of L.A.’s Fall Classic victory was made possible only because the Toronto Blue Jays pushed them to the absolute brink — two outs away, to be exact. Toronto’s swashbuckling October run galvanized an entire country and elevated the Jays into the league’s top tier. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — to whom the team gave a 10-year extension in April — is now a household name south of the border and a legend north of it.
So far this winter, the Jays already doubled down on their success, spending big in free agency to land starter Dylan Cease. In a few years time, we might very well look back at 2025 as the year Toronto started to mean business. —Jake Mintz
The Oklahoma City Thunder won their first NBA championship behind youth and depth. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
(Matthew Stockman via Getty Images)
NBA
What we learned in 2025: The Thunder are the blueprint
We learned in the NBA that depth and youth prevail, and the Oklahoma City Thunder have the best of both. They were the youngest team ever to win the league’s championship, and they did it on the back of its deepest rotation, led by 20-somethings Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren.
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Is Gilgeous-Alexander the new face of the NBA? It is a question often asked in 2025, and he is certainly among a cast of them. There cannot be a face-of-the-league conversation without a discussion of Victor Wembanyama, who has taken the sport by storm. Nikola Jokic also exists as the game’s best player, and even still Gilgeous-Alexander shone brightest, capturing both regular-season and Finals MVP honors, enjoying the best season by a guard since Michael Jordan, better than Kobe Bryant.
What became clear in 2025: The league is passing LeBron James, even as he made a record 21st consecutive All-NBA team. To give you an indication of where he stands: James entered this season at the age of 40 with sciatica. He has, somewhat reluctantly, ceded control of the Los Angeles Lakers to Luka Dončić, whose trade in February was arguably the most shocking (or dumbest) in NBA history. Inside of 10 months it cost Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison, a household name this year, his job.
A lot happened in 2025. Giannis Antekounmpo’s relationship with the Milwaukee Bucks went on the fritz. Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton, all Nos. 0, each tore an Achilles tendon, as “calf strain” became the two scariest words in the sport. And as one member of the old guard, Kevin Durant, joined a contender with the Houston Rockets, another, Chris Paul, was sent home by the L.A. Clippers.
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But we do not want to end the year on low notes. It belonged to the Thunder, an all-time great team — one of five ever to win 68 games and the championship — that looks poised to be even better in 2026. —Ben Rohrbach
The WNBA announced three expansion franchises in 2025 — in Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia — to begin play by 2030.
(Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
WNBA
What we learned in 2025: The NBA is interested again
From viewership to attendance and everything in between, the WNBA’s stock continued to rise in 2025. And the NBA, which founded the league in 1996, made clear it wants to reap the returns.
The biggest news out of the WNBA this year was a bombshell in June that the league would expand to three additional cities, growing its footprint to 18 teams by 2030. The incoming Detroit, Cleveland and Philadelphia franchises are all affiliated with NBA teams, same as the Golden State Valkyries and Toronto Tempo before it. And a slew of already existing franchises.
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The Valkyries reached the postseason and averaged a league-high 18,064 fans in their inaugural season as a counterpart to the Warriors. The Indiana Fever came in second, building a city-wide synergy with the Pacers while they attended each other’s games. Teams with NBA partnerships are investing in practice facilities and increased exposure. As collective bargaining negotiations continue, no one is crying foul on the WNBA as an asset.
When the initial interest in professional women’s basketball faded, the NBA took a backseat at times, appearing to hold the WNBA back with a lack of marketing, media rights and overall investment. It’s clear it is locked back into a growth opportunity three decades later. —Cassandra Negley
Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon will play in Milan when NHL players return to the Winter Games for the first time in 12 years.
(Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
NHL
What we learned in 2025: The appetite for Olympic hockey has never been higher
NHL players will return to the Winter Olympics hockey tournament for the first time since Sochi 2014. The 12-year absence cost fans the experience of seeing the likes of Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin vie for a gold medal during their prime years. While those two greats are in the twilight of their respective careers, there is a whole other crop of talent ready to now be showcased on the international stage.
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Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, and Matthew and Brady Tkachuk are a few of the names who will feature in Milan. We were given a taste last February during the 4 Nations Face-off, which saw Canada top the United States in overtime in the championship game. That came after their first meeting in the tournament, which saw three fights break out in the opening nine seconds.
Hockey fans have wanted this for over a decade, and with the NHL and NHLPA agreeing to send players to at least the next two Olympics, the league can show off its stars to a worldwide audience and hope that new moments and new fans are created. —Sean Leahy
Miami’s season-opening victory over Notre Dame proved to be quite consequential in the College Football Playoff.
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What we learned in 2025: Growing pains dominate the news cycle
The 2025 college football season ended with a lot of coaching movement and, of course, some College Football Playoff controversy.
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But the year began with its latest title game ever, as Ohio State was crowned the national champion on Jan. 20 with a win over Notre Dame. Ohio State, which won the first four-team playoff in January 2015, became the first team to win the 12-team playoff, stringing together four wins after a loss to Michigan in the final week of the 2024 regular season.
Now onto the controversy. Miami beat Notre Dame in Week 1 during an opening weekend that also included Ohio State’s victory over Texas and a 48-14 blowout loss for North Carolina that showed just what trouble lay ahead for Bill Belichick’s team in his first year as a college head coach.
That Week 1 win for the Hurricanes didn’t come into play for playoff purposes until after the season was over. Despite spending the entirety of November ahead of Miami in the CFP selection committee’s top 25, Notre Dame was dropped out of the 12-team field in favor of Miami over a week after each team’s season had ended.
Why? Because Miami and Notre Dame hadn’t been close enough to each other in the rankings for that head-to-head to matter. Whether you want to believe that or not, that’s up to you. But it infuriated Notre Dame and led the Fighting Irish to decline a bowl bid entirely.
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Before the committee decided the 12-team field, numerous head coaches changed jobs in one of the most hectic coaching carousels in years. Lane Kiffin ditched a playoff-bound Ole Miss in favor of LSU after the Tigers fired Brian Kelly, Penn State took over 50 days to hire Iowa State’s Matt Campbell after firing James Franklin, and two longtime fixtures won’t be around in 2026. One, Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy, was fired during the season. Another, Utah’s Kyle Whittingham, stepped down on his own at the end of the season. —Nick Bromberg
In his first stint heading a national team, Mauricio Pochettino looks to have revitalized the USMNT heading into a World Cup on home soil.
(Mark Smith/ISI Photos/USSF via Getty Images)
Soccer
What we learned in 2025: Mauricio Pochettino is on to something
Last spring, following a dismal performance by his full-strength U.S. national team at the CONCACAF Nations League finals in the Los Angeles area, Mauricio Pochettino recognized he had an enormous amount of work to do before returning to SoFi Stadium for the 2026 World Cup opener.
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In stages, through the summer and fall, things began to fall into place. Pochettino reinforced the importance of team culture, getting players to take greater pride in representing the U.S. crest. He provided opportunity to young players — a shot across the bow of complacent veterans. He introduced fresh tactics.
By the end of the year, with a mix of young and old, the Americans had built a five-game unbeaten streak against teams headed to the World Cup. It wasn’t just the results; it was the harmony and confidence with which they played.
Indeed, Pochettino had positioned his team well for the run-up to soccer’s premier competition next summer. —Steven Goff
In the NIL era, Cinderella NCAA tournament runs like the one Saint Peter’s embarked upon in 2022 are far less common.
(Tim Nwachukwu via Getty Images)
Men’s college basketball
What we learned in 2025: Cinderella is fading away
This is not the era to pick too many audacious early-round NCAA tournament upsets. Between the skyrocketing NIL market and the elimination of transfer restrictions, talent has concentrated at the top of men’s college basketball. As a result, the gap between deep-pocketed power-conference programs and everyone else is rapidly widening.
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Last March, for the first time since the NCAA tournament expanded to 32 teams in 1975, every school that advanced to the Sweet 16 hailed from a power conference. The lone surviving double-digit seed was an Arkansas team coached by John Calipari and assembled thanks to one of the sport’s largest NIL war chests.
For days, debate raged over whether the absence of the usual March magic was a one-year aberration or, as former Duke star and current ESPN analyst Jay Williams argued, “the death of mid-major Cinderella runs.” It’s too soon to conclusively answer that question, but the start of the new season has provided some discouraging data.
Besides Gonzaga, not a single team from outside college basketball’s power conferences has cracked the AP Top 25 so far this season. There are no nationally relevant mid-majors, no Butlers, Loyola Chicagos or Wichita States. There were 378 matchups this November between high-majors and non-Gonzaga teams from other conferences. The so-called little guy won only 22 of them, the lowest rate in at least a decade. —Jeff Eisenberg
Paige Bueckers closed a decorated collegiate career by leading UConn to yet another national championship.
(Thien-An Truong/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
Women’s college basketball
What we learned in 2025: UConn is inevitable
Death, taxes and UConn basketball. The Huskies ensured that any talk of the powerhouse’s collapse was premature, snapping their nine-year title drought with a dominating run through the NCAA tournament. It was the first and only title for Paige Bueckers, a line in the bio that will require context as the Huskies continue to stack championships and icons. Because the irony is Bueckers and UConn’s victory became something of a heartwarming story rather than another entry in the wicked dynasty that could never lose.
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That was all the way back in April. As the calendar turns, the Huskies remain the No. 1 team in the country with a second consecutive projected WNBA lottery pick (Azzi Fudd) and, as always, a National Player of the Year contender (Sarah Strong). A repeat championship could be on the horizon. Their last repeat came in 2016, completing four in four years.
UConn’s return to the final confetti celebration showed the basketball world the Huskies are still one of the game’s great programs three decades after winning their first national title in 1995. While Southern Cal faded, Tennessee fell off for a while and Notre Dame actively evaporates, UConn and head coach Geno Auriemma remain inevitable. —Cassandra Negley
With his triumphs at both the PGA Championship and 153rd Open, Scottie Scheffler is in position to complete the career Grand Slam.
(Ramsey Cardy via Getty Images)
Golf
What we learned in 2025: Scottie Scheffler still reigns supreme
This was the year the Golf Gods decided to reward humility and punish arrogance. As Rory McIlroy demonstrated on a memorable Sunday in Augusta, you can indeed achieve your life’s dream and your heart’s desire … but you’re going to go through hell to get there.
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Fourteen years after his collapse in the Augusta pines, and 11 years since he’d won his last major, McIlroy at last closed the deal at the Masters, claiming both a green jacket and the career grand slam in one of the most agonizing, exultant final rounds in major history. (McIlroy’s arcing shot around a tree, over water and straight at the pin on No. 15 might be the shot of the century.)
We also learned it’s best to bet on Scottie Scheffler, always. He won two more majors, putting himself in position for a career grand slam of his own. We saw glory come from unexpected corners — Tommy Fleetwood winning his first PGA Tour event, journeyman J.J. Spaun rolling a 64-foot birdie putt to claim the U.S. Open, and a record 29 different winners capturing LPGA events.
We learned conclusively that not everybody understands how to act at a golf course. The only part of the Ryder Cup uglier than the U.S.’s performance in the first two days was the behavior of the Bethpage gallery.
And we learned that whatever golf looks like in 2026 — more indoor simulator golf! more documentaries! more YouTube creator golf! — it almost certainly won’t include a reunification. The PGA Tour and LIV Golf seem as far apart as ever, and both sides seem OK with that.
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Scores settled, slates cleaned. The 2025 season will resonate longer than most in golf history. —Jay Busbee
Italy’s Jannik Sinner and Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz continued to own the Grand Slam scene in 2025.
(Tim Clayton via Getty Images)
Tennis
What we learned in 2025: Top stars are as strong as they’ve ever been
With Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz splitting the men’s Grand Slam titles in 2025 — just as they did in 2024 — the duopoly ruling men’s tennis is stronger than ever. In fact, only Novak Djokovic’s upset of Alcaraz at the Australian Open prevented them meeting in the finals of all four majors, which has never happened in a calendar year.
How dominant have those two been? At the end of the season, the gap between No. 2 Sinner and No. 3 Alexander Zverev in the ATP rankings was 6,340 points. The gap between No. 3 and No. 50 Reilly Opelka was just 4,134 points.
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We also learned that the next man to break up their stranglehold is probably not a current member of the top 10, particularly with 38-year-old Djokovic hitting the wall physically late in the majors. (It’s still remarkable he made the semifinals of all four this year). Brazil’s Joao Fonseca, who moved up from No. 113 to No. 24 at age 19, showed he might have the goods to challenge the top two over the next couple years.
The biggest revelation on the women’s side was that four-time French Open champion Iga Świątek can play on grass. Her surprise Wimbledon title — after not winning the French this year — solidifies her among the all-time greats with six majors and counting at age 24.
The best story of 2025, though, was Amanda Anisimova. After taking nearly a year off the tour to deal with burnout and mental health issues, the hard-hitting American broke through to the Wimbledon final, where Świątek beat her 6-0, 6-0. Several weeks later, Anisimova turned the tables at the US Open and beat Świątek en route to another Slam final, where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka. Now ranked No. 4, she is firmly planted among the game’s elite. —Dan Wolken
Denny Hamlin lost the NASCAR Cup Series championship in a heartbreaker at Phoenix, but weeks later scored a key settlement in a court case against the governing body.
(James Gilbert via Getty Images)
NASCAR
What we learned in 2025: Denny Hamlin beat NASCAR despite losing the title
The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season ended with a disappointed Denny Hamlin. The year ended with a very happy Hamlin.
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Hamlin was set to capture his first Cup Series title in the waning laps of the winner-take-all season finale at Phoenix. But a late tire problem for fellow title contender William Byron caused a caution with two laps to go and a four-tire pit stop left Hamlin with too much ground to make up on the ensuing two-lap sprint to the finish.
Kyle Larson, meanwhile, took just two tires on his final pit stop. Larson, who hadn’t sniffed the lead all day, went on to finish third and win his second Cup Series title. Hamlin, who led 208 of the race’s 319 laps, finished sixth.
It was yet another heartbreaking moment for Hamlin, who is a surefire NASCAR Hall of Famer despite not (yet) winning a NASCAR Cup Series title. Hamlin won six races in his age-44 season and is now tied for 10th on NASCAR’s all-time wins list with Kevin Harvick.
Roughly six weeks after that title race, Hamlin’s 23XI Racing team was victorious in its legal battle with NASCAR. 23XI, the team Hamlin co-owns with Michael Jordan, banded together with Front Row Motorsports to sue NASCAR over the terms of the sanctioning body’s charter agreement.
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As the December trial for the lawsuit went into its second week, settlement talks got serious. Was it because NASCAR knew that it was going to lose? The settlement was a clear win for 23XI and Front Row. NASCAR relented on its refusal to grant teams permanent charters — NASCAR’s version of franchising — and the teams also received monetary damages.
After the trial, all parties involved put on a happy face and said they were excited for the future of NASCAR. Will that future include those currently at the top of NASCAR’s executive ladder? —Nick Bromberg
MMA fans were clamoring for Jon Jones to face Tom Aspinall in 2025, but it wasn’t to be.
(Sarah Stier via Getty Images)
MMA
What we learned in 2025: The biggest fights are just pipe dreams
This past year we came to understand that MMA has a long way to go in terms of determining — and assessing — fouls. We saw a good many fight-changing eye-pokes (Tom Aspinall’s title defense against Ciryl Gane), groin shot controversies (Kevin Holland against Mike Malott) and blatant fence grabs in which no points were taken away, thus making the issue of consequential actions louder than ever.
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If a foul is a foul, then it needs to be treated as a foul, regardless of intent. And if automatically deducting a point is too great a penalty to assess in the 10-point must system — the scoring system MMA uses in judging fights, adopted from boxing — then the system itself needs to be examined to accommodate the enforcement of those penalties.
In other words, the issue feels destined to grow far bigger before anything happens.
We also learned the American champion is an endangered species in MMA. Of the 11 total weight classes between the men’s and women’s ranks in the UFC, only two current titleholders are American — Kayla Harrison (women’s bantamweight) and Joshua Van (flyweight from Houston, and even he was born in Myanmar). In the PFL, it’s the same thing. Only light heavyweight Corey Anderson holds a title coming out of 2025. If MMA’s not the fastest growing sport in the world, it’s the worldliest.
And next year, when the UFC holds a special event at the White House, it’s a near certainty that if there’s an American in a title fight, he/she will be the challenger.
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Which ties into the biggest thing we learned in 2025, given that so many people were hoping to see Alex Pereira vs. Jon Jones in a seemingly ill-fated bout at the White House event. Much as we love to try and will them into existence, the biggest fights are pipe dreams. Coming into the year the greatest fights the UFC could make would’ve been Jones and Tom Aspinall for the heavyweight title, and Ilia Topuria vs. Islam Makhachev in a superfight.
Neither happened. Rather than face Aspinall to unify the heavyweight title, Jones “retired,” thus giving us the consolation prize of Aspinall vs. Gane. Just as Topuria jumped to lightweight to challenge Makhachev, Makhachev jumped ship to welterweight to win a title in a second weight class. Dress the Christmas trees with big shiny blue balls because the fights we most wanted most never came to be. —Chuck Mindenhall
Despite a deep bench of strong fighters, Terence Crawford’s shocking retirement after defeating Canelo Álvarez left no clear American heir in boxing.
(Steve Marcus via Getty Images)
Boxing
What we learned in 2025: America is no longer boxing’s engine
One of the big takeaways in boxing this year isn’t that the sport is broken, because it’s not. It’s that traditionally its most influential nation, the United States, has surrendered power to Saudi Arabia and Japan.
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Broadcast valuations in this country are at an all-time low. Top Rank’s last event on ESPN was in July and it’s been homeless ever since. One Uncrowned source said Starz offered Top Rank an annual deal of $12 million for 12 events, which pales in comparison to the $7.7 billion the UFC just received from Paramount.
The big deals aren’t there anymore and, per sources, it’s because the product does not add up to prices American networks were previously paying.
One man who hasn’t struggled to sign deals, though, is Jake Paul, who ended 2025 boxing Anthony Joshua on Netflix — the same platform many of his Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) fighters have boxed on at least once this year. Between MVP, and the looming presence of Zuffa Boxing, the power structure in the United States is being reshaped into an entirely different image, as traditional promoters seem to get phased out.
To make matters worse, Terence Crawford’s sudden retirement removed the No. 1 fighter from the sport and left no clear American heir. The U.S. still produces extraordinary fighters, as Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, Shakur Stevenson, David Benavidez and Devin Haney are rising on pound-for-pound lists. But it’s not just a question of talent pool. Momentum and investment is something the sport kept getting wrong in 2025.
It’s not all bad, though. Saudi Arabia remains a magnet for the majority of the world’s big bouts, and then there are Japan’s generational talents Junto Nakatani, Naoya Inoue and Kenshiro Teraji, who have all dominated globally, and increasingly maneuvered themselves into the sport’s most meaningful moments.
The lesson of 2025 isn’t that boxing is broken, but that America is no longer the sport’s biggest engine. It’s just one market among many now and has to earn its influence back. If it ever can. —Alan Dawson
Before the Los Angeles Lakers’ 22-point loss to the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday, head coach JJ Redick knew exactly how things would play out. Prior to the contest, Redick warned that, “[The Pistons are] going to foul on every possession, probably three or four times.”
“I think there’s probably a level of frustration when you’re turning the ball over and you’re feeling like you’re getting fouled,” Redick said. “There’s frustration there, for sure. But I mean, again, I said it even here, we said it this morning: They’re going to foul every possession. It’s just, you got to play through it.”
Lakers star Luka Dončić agreed with that sentiment, saying the refs allowed physical play during the contest. Dončić didn’t necessarily express frustration over being fouled, but he said the Lakers needed to match Detroit’s physicality once it became clear the refs weren’t going to penalize it.
“We’ve got to definitely match their physicality,” Doncic said. “That’s the whole point. We got to match how they play. You saw the refs let it go, so we should play [with] physicality, for sure.”
Dončić led the Lakers with 30 points, but he was also responsible for eight turnovers in the loss.
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A total of 50 fouls were called during the contest, though they were split evenly among both teams. The Pistons were called for 26 fouls on the night. The Lakers received 24 fouls.
But it was a chippy game overall, as the Pistons were called for one flagrant foul and one technical foul and the Lakers were called for two technicals.
Unlike Dončić and Redick, LeBron James — who turned 41 on Tuesday — declined to take the bait on whether he believed the refs called the game properly, saying, “It’s not my lane to talk about how it was officiated or not.” He finished with 17 points.
With the loss, the Lakers dropped to 20-11 on the season. While the team still sits in the thick of the playoff race in the West, things haven’t gone well for the Lakers lately. Los Angeles is just 1-4 over its last five games, with Redick calling out the team’s defensive effort during that stretch.
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Following Tuesday’s loss, the Lakers’ next three games will come against the Memphis Grizzlies (twice) and New Orleans Pelicans. Both teams are below .500, with the Pelicans having one of the worst records in the NBA.
That should give Los Angeles a few opportunities to get back on track before a Jan. 7 matchup with the upstart San Antonio Spurs.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — For much of the country, Thursday’s College Football Playoff quarterfinal will be an introduction to Texas Tech, its reported $28 million roster and billionaire booster Cody Campbell, whose willingness to exploit the Wild West era of college sports while being among its chief critics has made him one of the most compelling figures in the game.
When you’re not a blue blood in this sport, and especially when you’re Texas Tech fighting for decades to sit at the same table as the glamour programs in your own state, the question is always how you got from nowhere to a 12-1 season, a Big 12 title and the No. 4 seed in the CFP.
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For many people, the answer will seem straightforward: Money, and lots of it. Texas Tech spent a fortune, reconfigured its roster and produced the greatest season in school history, much to the chagrin of its competitors.
“People didn’t want us to have success,” running backs coach Garret McGuire told Yahoo Sports. “We’re against the norm. We’re different. We’re not the traditional type of program.”
And because of that jealousy, the other important storyline of Texas Tech’s season is almost certainly going to be overlooked. It’s the one that involves Garret McGuire’s father.
Did you even realize Texas Tech has a head coach? His name is Joey McGuire. He was a Texas high school coach for more than 20 years until Matt Rhule hired him at Baylor to be a tight ends coach and something of a liaison to high school coaches in the state. He was a total surprise when Texas Tech hired him in 2022 having never been a coordinator at the college level.
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And now, as he gets ready for his first CFP game, he’s arguably done the best coaching job in the country this year — even if nobody really gives him credit for it.
“I’m probably biased,” Garret McGuire said, “but I think he’s the best coach in college football. Everyone can say, ‘Yes, the players. Yes, the [financial] backing.’ Well, a lot of other people brought in a lot of other players and might not have had the success that we had. It’s not easy to bring in this much talent and jell the way we have.”
What, you think it’s easy to get a roster out of the transfer portal, often paying above-market rates for players who wouldn’t otherwise cast a second glance toward Lubbock, Texas, and get everyone on the same page in a matter of months?
Just ask some of Jimbo Fisher’s Texas A&M teams whether those high-priced, blue-chip recruits were worth the trouble. Ask the folks at LSU who were thinking national title after they loaded up in the transfer portal last year. Ask Penn State if having one of the nation’s most expensive rosters automatically translates to wins. Ask Bill Belichick if North Carolina got what it paid for this season.
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“There’s not a lot of places that brought in as many guys as we did and had as high of a hit rate as we had,” said Mack Leftwich, Texas Tech’s 31-year-old offensive coordinator. “There’s a lot of people that are spending a lot of money that didn’t have the return on investment we had.”
Joey McGuire and Texas Tech have only lost one game this season. Will they make a run in the CFP? (John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
(John E. Moore III via Getty Images)
It’s true that none of this would have been possible without Campbell, a 44-year-old former Texas Tech player who hit it big in the oil and gas industry and helped build an infrastructure to ensure the Red Raiders could compete financially at the very top of the sport.
For as long as college sports have been around, the shadowy booster bankrolling a program — whether it was legal or not — has been the source of endless fascination and lore. Campbell’s willingness to talk so openly about the financial aspect, and his dalliances on the political side of college sports, have made him a target for attention to the point where he’s practically the face of the program.
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That’s not surprising. But it’s also a little unfair because it’s come at the expense of Joey McGuire getting much credit for just how dominant the Red Raiders were this year.
In fact, he didn’t even get voted Coach of the Year in his own conference, an honor that went to BYU’s Kalani Sitake — who lost to Texas Tech twice.
“I totally understood,” McGuire said. “Kalani did a great job. He’s a freaking rockstar. I wasn’t disappointed.”
But assuming Texas Tech was always destined to have a season like this regardless of the coach betrays the reality McGuire was dealing with back in August. After going 23-16 in his first three years — not bad compared to the history of Texas Tech, but certainly nothing special — McGuire was under a remarkable amount of pressure to deliver a Big 12 title and a CFP berth.
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Given what Texas Tech had invested in this roster, there were no guarantees about his long-term coaching future if things went sideways.
“I’m my own worst critic,” he said. “I think if you’re self-driven, the outside expectations aren’t going to bother you. Anytime, at any level you’re at, whenever you start winning the expectation goes up.”
Talent wasn’t going to be an issue. But after bringing in 21 transfers and spending millions on some of the top players in the portal like edge rusher David Bailey (Stanford) and linebacker Romello Height (Georgia Tech), the question was whether Texas Tech would be able to navigate some of the trickier issues like chemistry, role definition or locker-room drama that can impact a roster glued together largely by money.
“It’s a tremendous undertaking, getting a first-year defensive staff on the same page and tying it in with our players,” defensive coordinator Shiel Wood said. “I think it starts with the leadership of Joey McGuire. It’s an extremely positive environment to walk into every day. He does a tremendous job of being the same individual, a consistent leader that guys know what to expect. They know what they’re getting from him, and he really creates an environment that’s fun to work in every day.”
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Texas Tech didn’t just take all of its talented new players and win games, it mostly dominated them. Outside of one hiccup — a 26-22 loss at Arizona State when quarterback Behren Morton was injured — Texas Tech did not play a single close game in the Big 12.
You can’t do that on talent alone in a power conference.
“The buy-in process has been insane,” Garret McGuire said. “This might be one of the first times in the long history of Red Raider football going into a season you’ve had this much pressure. This is probably what some of those blue-blood programs feel every year. I think we earned that, and our play has backed it up so far.”
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Stripped down to its simplest form, the Red Raiders represent the idea of new money in a sport that often doesn’t know how to act when the establishment gets disrupted. Oregon, the team Texas Tech will play Thursday, faced that same kind of backlash when its program began growing into national power status, thanks to the investment of Nike founder Phil Knight.
Now, the Ducks have been around for so long, they’re just accepted as part of the elite.
Maybe Texas Tech will make the CFP enough times to eventually get the same treatment. But McGuire shouldn’t have to wait that long to get the credit he deserves.
It seems unfair that a team could go from a chance at the No. 1 seed in Week 18 to falling all the way to No. 5 or 6 with a loss, but the NFL insists on giving division champs the top four seeds regardless of record.
That gives even more weight to the Seattle Seahawks-San Francisco 49ers matchup.
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The winner of that game will be the NFC’s No. 1 seed. The Seahawks will be the No. 5 seed if they lose. If the 49ers lose, they will be either the No. 5 or No. 6 seed. The Rams get the fifth seed — which is important because that team will face a weak NFC South champion — with a 49ers loss and a win over the Cardinals in the finale.
Sam Darnold knows the drill. Last season, when he was with the Minnesota Vikings, his team was 14-2 before the finale, lost to the Lions and fell to the No. 5 seed. Minnesota then lost to the Rams in its playoff opener. The difference between getting a bye and having to play a road game on wild-card weekend is massive and it’s rare we see a single game have those type of stakes. That makes Saturday night’s game one of the bigger regular-season games you’ll find, in terms of what’s at stake.
(Yahoo Sports/Taylor Wilhelm)
That game is the most important in Week 18. But a few other games matter too. Here are the games with the biggest impact on the playoff picture:
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Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Weirdly, this Saturday game might not matter at all depending on what happens. The Falcons’ win on Monday night was bad for the Buccaneers and it changed this game from being a winner-take-all matchup. If the Panthers win, they’re NFC South champions. If the Buccaneers win, they wait. If the Falcons beat the Saints on Sunday, the Panthers are the NFC South champs no matter who wins Saturday. Why? Because the Buccaneers would win a two-team tiebreaker against the Panthers, but the Panthers win a three-team tiebreaker if the Falcons are included. The Buccaneers, Panthers and Falcons can all finish 8-9.
There will be some drama on Saturday in Tampa Bay. But we might wait another day to see who wins the NFC South.
Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers
The Ravens-Steelers matchup has clear implications: The winner is the AFC North champion and the No. 4 seed, and the loser is eliminated. That’s perfect for a regular-season finale on Sunday night.
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The Ravens are still alive because they upset the Packers in Week 17 and the Steelers were upset by the Browns. The Ravens are waiting to see if Lamar Jackson can play in the finale. Aaron Rodgers, who hinted during the summer that he would retire after this season, could be playing his final NFL game.
Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars
The Titans have been playing better in the second half of the season, but they’re still big underdogs at Jacksonville. If the Jaguars win, they’re AFC South champions. If they lose, the Texans take the division by beating the Colts. The Texans should be motivated regardless; a win gets them the No. 5 seed at worst, and that would be a matchup against an AFC North champion who will be the weakest of the four division winners.
Los Angeles Chargers at Denver Broncos
The Broncos caught a break when the Chargers lost in Week 17. Instead of playing the Chargers for the AFC West title on Sunday, Denver has already clinched the division and the Chargers are very likely to get the No. 7 seed. With little to play for, the Chargers announced that Justin Herbert will rest this week, and presumably other starters will join him. That means all Denver has to do to get the AFC’s No. 1 seed is beat an unmotivated Chargers team playing backups.
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Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears
There’s not a ton of seeding intrigue in the NFC other than the NFC West teams. The Rams will know by Sunday if they have a shot at the No. 5 seed. The Packers are already locked into the No. 7 seed, and the NFC South winner will be the No. 4 seed.
The Bears could make it easy for the No. 2 and 3 seeds. If they beat an eliminated Lions team, they’re the No. 2 seed and will get a third matchup against the Packers on wild-card weekend. If the Bears lose, the Eagles can move up to No. 2 with a win over the Commanders.
The Philadelphia Eagles have a shot at securing the No. 2 seed in the NFC in Week 18, but the team is reportedly going to prioritize rest over putting its best players on the field. The Eagles are expected to rest Jalen Hurts and other key starters when the team takes on the Washington Commanders on Sunday, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
If Hurts is held out of the contest, it’s presumed backup Tanner McKee will get the start against the Commanders in Week 18. McKee has appeared in three games this season, throwing just three passes.
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While Hurts was the only player specifically mentioned in the report, other key offensive starters like A.J. Brown, Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith, among others, could also miss the contest.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni previously hinted at the possibility the team could rest its starters in Week 18. When asked about it Monday, Sirianni mentioned the benefits of having a “bye” week heading into the playoffs. He noted that the two most recent times the team rested its starters in Week 18 — 2022 and 2024 — it reached the Super Bowl.
While that’s a solid reason for once again employing the strategy, it could raise some eyebrows among Eagles fans. Philadelphia enters Week 18 with a shot at the No. 2 seed in the NFC. If the Eagles beat the Commanders and the Chicago Bears lose to the Detroit Lions, the Eagles would jump up to the No. 2 seed in the NFC. That would ensure the Eagles host home games throughout the playoffs unless they have to play the No. 1 seed — which hasn’t been determined, but will be one of the Seattle Seahawks or San Francisco 49ers. As it stands, the Eagles will enter Week 18 as the No. 3 seed in the NFC.
With the Eagles resting their starters, the Commanders presumably have a better chance of winning the contest. But after a strong 2024, Washington has fallen back to earth following multiple injuries to quarterback Jayden Daniels, who the team shut down with a few weeks left in the regular season. Daniels’ backup, Marcus Mariota, is also injured, which could lead to the Commanders once again turning to third-string quarterback Josh Johnson. That could lead to the game being much closer than expected despite the Eagles reportedly writing it off as a “bye” week.
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Despite another strong season, the Eagles face plenty of questions entering the playoffs. The team’s offense, which ranked seventh in points per game last season, hasn’t found its rhythm this year. The Eagles rank 19th in points per game this season, the team’s first under new offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo.
While the Eagles could use Week 18 as an opportunity to right the ship — something the Los Angeles Rams will look to do after head coach Sean McVay said the team needed to improve — Philadelphia will instead hope a week of rest has everyone feeling good ahead of the playoffs.
There’s no definitive evidence that supports either approach. The Eagles have shown in recent seasons that rest can work. McVay’s Rams have shown, at times, that rest in Week 18 can lead to a team coming out flat in the playoffs.
Despite the fact there’s no right answer, that won’t stop Eagles fans from ripping Sirianni and the team if it suffers a disappointing loss in the first week of the playoffs after taking it easy in Week 18.
NEW ORLEANS — Gunner Stockton is one of those no-excuses guys.
The Georgia quarterback is often perfectly fine with absorbing the blame even when he’s far from the person at fault. In fact, he takes so much heat that his coaches actually offer excuses for him.
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Coaches publicly espousing excuses for their players? What an anomaly.
That happened here Tuesday at a Sugar Bowl media event, when Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo assured a reporter that someone else should shoulder the blame for Stockton’s game-changing lost fumble in the Bulldogs’ loss against Notre Dame in this very game last year.
“Should have been better protection. That wasn’t his fault,” Bobo said. “But the thing that you love about Gunner is he takes that on himself.”
“Before the half. The strip sack. Probably could have thrown that a little sooner,” he said. “It’s stuck with me a lot. The whole offseason until now.”
If you need a refresher on Notre Dame’s 23-10 win over Georgia last Jan. 2, here’s the gist: In a game moved back a day because of a deadly terrorist attack in the New Orleans French Quarter, the Irish broke a 3-all tie by scoring 17 points in a span of 54 seconds of gametime. They kicked a field goal, turned Stockton’s fumble into a touchdown in the waning seconds of the first half and then opened the second half with a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The Bulldogs never really recovered, and their final hopes were dashed when Stockton’s fourth-quarter fourth-down attempt toward the end zone flew over intended receiver Lawson Luckie.
Stockton didn’t have a bad game — 20-of-32 passing for 234 yards — especially considering it was his first career start. But was it good enough? For him, it’s never quite good enough.
Gunner Stockton and Georgia have won nine straight, including a midseason game over Ole Miss. (Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
(Jonathan Bachman via Getty Images)
He’s examined that game, analyzed the entire week of preparation last year, which, he thought, had been good enough.
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In the end, he arrived at his usual reasoning. It’s on him.
“Wish I could have played a little bit better,” he mumbled.
He’s a man of few words. That’s not the case for his coach, who, like so many, witnessed that sack-fumble and knew it wasn’t the fault of the quarterback.
Notre Dame edge rusher RJ Oben beat left tackle Monroe Freeling at the snap, erupting from the left side of the line — Stockton’s blindside — and using his right mitt to swat the ball free as the quarterback cocked his arm to unload a pass.
“He couldn’t see the guy and he’s going to make the throw and the guy hits the ball,” Bobo said. “He takes it personally. ‘That fumble right there cost us the football game!’ Did it? No, it didn’t. Was it a big play in the game? Yes. Thing about him I love is he’s [saying], ‘What could I have done better in that situation to give us a better chance to win?’”
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This time around, Stockton is a different guy, Bobo said. He’s got 14 more starts than he did this time last year. And a lot more confidence. And a lot more aggression, too.
He’s playing more free than he did against the Irish, uncorking the long ball more when needed (16 passes of 30 or more yards) and using his feet to move the chains (442 yards rushing).
He’s “letting the true Gunner Stockton come out and letting it rip,” Bobo said. “Sometimes when you are a young quarterback and have the personality like Gunner, you don’t want to make a mistake and let your teammates down. He’s done that over the course of this year — played a lot freer.”
That was apparent earlier this year in the first meeting against Ole Miss in Athens when Stockton eviscerated the Rebels secondary for 289 yards on 26-of-31 passing for four touchdowns. He ran for another 59 yards and a score.
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Will Round No. 2 be more of the same?
“The biggest part is not being complacent or relaxed, ‘Oh we got this,’” Stockton said. “We’ve got to show up and play our best ball and execute at the end of the day.”
There will be no sack-fumble this time around, if Stockton has any control over it. Perhaps he’ll grow eyes in the back of his head? Maybe he’ll have some premonition and release the ball sooner?
Either way, Georgia and its quarterback are out for revenge.
“I believe this team has a different edge about them because of the way last season ended,” Bobo said. “We didn’t play well and we feel like we were out-physicaled in that game. That leaves a chip on your shoulder as a team that prides itself on being physical.”
The 2025 fantasy football season has officially come to a close. Fantasy analyst Joel Smyth will go over eight important statistics that defined the season. There was no shortage of notable stats this year. What numbers from this season do you need to know — that your leaguemates may miss?
70%
Of Trevor Lawrence’s rushing fantasy points that came in the red zone this season. The average for NFL QBs is 46%, but a handful of quarterback values this season dominated in red-zone rushing, which brought out their true ceiling. With Liam Coen building Jacksonville’s new offense, Lawrence not only broke out as a passer, but saw his rushing fantasy PPG increase from 3.0 to 5.4, the third-best in the NFL. Second-best was Jaxson Dart, who led the league in red-zone rushing attempts per game, the only player with more than Josh Allen. Brock Purdy had 72% of his rushing points in the red zone and 61% for Bo Nix. This stat masks flaws and provides a season-changing ceiling.
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Quarterbacks who don’t run as much in the red zone still have good floors, but may not have as good a ceiling as perceived. Justin Herbert had the third-most rushing fantasy points outside of the red zone, but inside, he ranked 15th. Once they get to the goal-line, the Chargers (and Harbaugh historically) shift to their RBs. Others that have similar numbers include Baker Mayfield and C.J. Stroud.
28+
Defensive PPG allowed by Dallas, Cincinnati and Arizona. Horrible defenses equaled fantasy gold on the opposite end. The main talk on defense this offseason was how grim it looked in Dallas, which delivered the QB6, WR5, WR9 and RB13 in PPG. The Bengals offense wasn’t perfect, but even with Joe Burrow injured, Ja’Marr Chase was the WR3 and Tee Higgins a top-12 wideout. If you can predict which defenses will be at the bottom in the NFL, fantasy points on the other side can be in abundance.
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It works mid-season as well. The Cardinals were 29th in PPG allowed, mainly because they allowed 33.0 PPG in the second half of the season. Along with it came league-winner Michael Wilson and the TE1 overall, Trey McBride. When looking for value in fantasy, knowing the other side of the ball is valuable as well.
28
End-zone targets for Davante Adams in 2025, 10 more than any other player, despite the Rams WR missing the end of the season. Of the top five players in end zone targets this season, there were a wide range of results and side effects. Adams heavily limited Kyren Williams’ and Puka Nacua’s TD upside after signing in free agency. However, 49% of Adams’ fantasy points this season came on his end-zone targets alone, meaning if that number were to dip from his extreme amount, he wouldn’t be the WR9 for long.
There is a similar concern for McBride, who was second with 18, especially if Kyler Murray is back. Surprisingly, Justin Jefferson had the fourth-highest with 15 end-zone targets. That resulted in only 1.0 fantasy PPG compared to the other top-five WRs combining for six fantasy PPG. Those receivers are George Pickens and Courtland Sutton, two wideouts who have been near the top throughout their career.
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289
Air yards per game for Patrick Mahomes this season. All offseason, the Chiefs were adamant about bringing back their downfield, aggressive passing attack. From 2023 to 2024, Patrick Mahomes ranked last in average depth of throw at only 6.4 yards. That jumped back up to 8.1 yards in 2025, the ninth-highest in the league. The reports were true, and Mahomes’ fantasy stock finally bounced back with it. Kansas City ranked first in pass rate over expected this season, tossing Mahomes to fourth in air yards, and coincidentally, fourth in fantasy PPG.
It was a major change needed for the former MVP who had failed to hit his ADP for six straight seasons. Monitoring offseason reports paid off once again.
0.55
Ashton Jeanty’s average yards before contact, the second-lowest in the NFL. The talent is there, but that was about it. Rookie running backs are risky, especially in Round 1 of fantasy drafts. When it comes to this year’s backs, most of the fault should be placed elsewhere. The only offensive line ranked lower in yards before contact than Las Vegas was Cleveland. The talent can shine through at moments, but the consistency is nowhere close.
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When it comes to Jeanty, Quinshon Judkins and even Omarion Hampton in fantasy next season, it may be a situation mentioned earlier, where emotions cloud judgment. If the situations fail to improve, I’ll pass. However, if any of their teams make offseason moves, as Jacksonville and Chicago did last summer, they can become the next fantasy stars. A great stat for Hampton and Jeanty specifically: all 10 RBs drafted inside the top 25 since 2015 have finished top-eight in PPG by Year 2. Even rookie busts like Bijan Robinson, Melvin Gordon and (to a lesser extent) Josh Jacobs bounced back in a big way their sophomore season.
6.47
Who is the most valuable player in fantasy this season? Well, statistically, it was Christian McCaffrey. This one’s for my baseball fans. CMC was the No. 1 overall player in fantasy WAR, a.k.a Wins Above Replacement. He came in at 6.47 wins over the average RB. McCaffrey has now finished as a top-two fantasy RB in five of the last eight seasons.
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Can he do it again in 2026?
The point I see most often, by far, is that he took on too much volume to repeat again. I’m less of a believer in that. People point to Saquon Barkley’s NFL-leading 378 touches in 2024 and his massive dip this year. I’d say it was much more due to coaching changes and a decrease in offensive line play, not Barkley’s 13 extra touches over Bijan Robinson’s 365. McCaffrey is one touch away from 400 on the season. It’s a slight concern, but if he stays healthy, his receiving usage should keep him as great as ever. The 49ers’ star running back is averaging under 4.0 yards per carry this season, making the efficiency dipping much less of a concern for a player like McCaffrey.
57
Scrambles for Drake Maye, the most in the NFL. His 9.9% scramble rate was also first as he only ranked 12th in dropbacks this season, despite playing every game. Unproven dual-threat quarterbacks are the perfect late-round flyer at QB, and Maye showed it once again. His 4.1 rushing fantasy PPG this season ranked sixth-best, helping propel him to the overall QB2 this season.
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A key factor to watch next season is the Patriots’ schedule. It is widely known that the Patriots didn’t have the most difficult matchups this season, causing Maye to play only 14 snaps per game in the fourth quarter, the fourth-fewest among quarterbacks. If New England is in closer games next season, Maye’s value could grow even greater as his rushing could continue to increase.
44%
Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s percentage of Seattle’s receiving yards, the most by a team’s WR since 2012 Brandon Marshall in Chicago. Some do it on volume, some do it on touchdowns; JSN did it on some of the best efficiency you will ever see. He was targeted downfield consistently and often, but had a catch rate of 73%, ranking eighth of 74 WRs. His ADOT of 11.2 yards makes it more impressive than the seven WRs above him, as none had an average depth of target over 10 yards downfield.
Smith-Njigba’s transition to the outside under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak unlocked the ceiling that people sought after on draft day. He had the fourth-highest target share in the NFL on throws of 20+ air yards, the focus of Kubiak’s downfield play-action offense. If Kubiak stays in Seattle for 2026 with Sam Darnold, I’d be comfortable taking JSN in Round 1.
