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Welcome back for another Yahoo High Score fantasy basketball perfect lineup of the week. We’re through Week 14 of the 2025-26 NBA season, and if we’ve learned one thing over the past month or so, it’s that Lakers superstar Luka Dončić really likes the number 77. It’s the third straight week Luka has posted that exact total to lead all scorers in the format.

Definitely not a sign or something; just a coincidence — we’re sure. Anyway, let’s take a look at the rest of the high scorers from last week in the perfect lineup.

More on the top performers

Luka Dončić, guard: Dončić may have posted his high score of 77 against the Nuggets but the more appealing performance — at least from a revenge narrative — was against his former team, the Mavericks. He had 69 points to help push the Lakers past Dallas for their 27th win of the season. Luka posted a 38-13-10 triple-double in the win over Denver and scored at least 32 points in each game he played in Week 14. Until Nikola Jokić returns, Dončić is the gold standard in fantasy basketball at the moment.

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Tyrese Maxey, guard: Maxey reenters the fold in the perfect lineup thanks to an astonishing stat. He swiped the ball from the lowly Pacers EIGHT times in the Sixers’ win over Indiana last week. He also scored 29 points with 8 assists, 4 rebounds and 1 block. But that shows you what type of ceiling players like Maxey possess when they have the ability to get nine defensive stats in one game.

Joel Embiid, frontcourt: When’s the last time Embiid played 46 minutes in an organized basketball game? Has he ever? Of course he has, but that hasn’t happened in a while, a few seasons to be exact. You’d have to go back to the 2024 playoffs against the Knicks. Embiid had easily his best performance since then with a 32-15-10 triple-double in a win over the Rockets.

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Evan Mobley, frontcourt: After finishing with the best record in the Eastern Conference last season, the Cavaliers are starting to get it together a bit. Cleveland has won 10 of its past 14 games and while Mobley has been up and down this season, he turned in his best performance for fantasy managers last week. Mobley finished with 29 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists, plus 4 blocks to get into the perfect lineup.

Peyton Watson, frontcourt: Jamal Murray had been showing up in this story here and there with Joker sidelined. This time, it’s Watson who makes his first appearance in the perfect lineup. One of the bigger surprises of the season, Watson scored a career-high 35 points in a win over Washington last week. Denver continues to deal with injuries to regulars on a, well, regular basis, so Watson should keep up this ceiling until everyone is healthy.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, utility: Back in early December, we were talking about the Thunder potentially breaking the NBA record for wins in a season while SGA coasts to another MVP. Now, things don’t appear as set in stone. In fact, OKC is only 5.5 games up for the No. 1 seed in the West as of now. And Gilgeous-Alexander has plenty of competition for MVP this season. He came three rebounds shy of a 40-point triple-double in a win over the Bucks last week to make the list.

Mike McDaniel officially has a new job.

Weeks after he was fired as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, McDaniel was hired as the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers, the team announced Monday.

McDaniel was a hot candidate on the coaching market despite his recent dismissal from the Dolphins. He reportedly garnered interview requests from the Ravens, Raiders, Browns, Buccaneers and Bills for head coach and coordinator vacancies. But he removed himself from consideration for those opportunities as a move to the Chargers looked likely.

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[More Chargers news: Los Angeles team feed]

Now, McDaniel will be tasked with improving an offense that struggled the past two postseasons and further developing quarterback Justin Herbert.

Can McDaniel solve the Chargers’ offensive playoff woes?

The Chargers made the playoffs in each of head coach Jim Harbaugh’s first two seasons on the job. But they fizzled out in the first round of the playoffs in each postseason behind tepid offensive performances. The Chargers lost 32-12 to the Texans in the wild-card round after the 2024 season. And they failed to score a touchdown in a 16-3 loss to the Patriots in the wild-card round two weeks ago.

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The Chargers fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman and offensive line coach Mike Devlin in the aftermath of the loss to New England. The expectation for McDaniel would be to produce an offense that gets the Chargers to the postseason and remain competitive once they get there.

Can Herbert take the next step under McDaniel?

Herbert experienced his most efficient season as a pro in 2024 in his first year under Harbaugh while running Roman’s run-heavy scheme. He threw for 227.6 yards per game while tallying 23 touchdowns and a career-low three interceptions in 17 starts.

Herbert followed that with the second Pro Bowl campaign of his six-season career in 2025, averaging 232.9 yards per game with 26 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He did so while playing behind a ravaged offensive line that played most of the season without Pro Bowl starting tackles Joe Alt (ankle) and Rashawn Slater (patellar tendon).

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Slater missed the entire season, and both he and Alt were sidelined for the Chargers’ playoff loss to the Patriots. Any improvement on the offensive side of the ball will require both to return to health next season.

Does McDaniel still have it as an offensive guru?

McDaniel was fired after the Dolphins missed the playoffs amid a second consecutive season with a losing record. His job was believed to be at stake midseason following a 1-6 start, but the Dolphins rallied to win five of their last eight games and finish 7-10.

As the season progressed, Miami’s offensive struggles were pinned on quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, whom McDaniel benched for the last three weeks of the season. Now, if hired, McDaniel will work with Tagovailoa’s 2020 draft classmate Herbert, whom the Chargers selected with the No. 6 pick, one pick after the Dolphins drafted Tagovailoa.

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McDaniel developed a reputation as an offensive mastermind as the offensive coordinator under Kyle Shanahan with the San Francisco 49ers, which led to the Dolphins’ decision to hire him in 2022. The Chargers are hoping he can rekindle that spark in the same role as they seek to develop into a Super Bowl contender in Herbert’s prime.

The “MLB The Show” cover reveal is always a highly anticipated offseason announcement. Fans of the video game are always eager to see which up-and-coming, exciting star or legendary player will grace its cover.

With the 2026 MLB season closer than you might think, “MLB The Show 26” announced Monday that the game will not feature a “new cover athlete” this year.

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That announcement was made in a short statement, which read:

“To our MLB The Show community:

“First off, we at San Diego Studios want to thank you, the MLB The Show Community, for your continued support and feedback.

“We know that you are all just as excited as we are for the release of MLB The Show 26, so we wanted to let everyone know that this year we have decided that we will not have a new cover athlete.

“Please stay tuned to all of our social channels for more information to come.”

That statement drew plenty of questions. With no “new cover athlete” this year, what or who will grace the cover this time around? The MLB logo? A generic baseball? Rob Manfred? As San Diego Studios teased, fans will have to keep an eye on “MLB The Show” social media channels for more information.

That last statement, combined with the word “new” appearing in the release, should inject a healthy amount of skepticism in Monday’s announcement. With the Super Bowl coming up, brands can’t be trusted. Celebrity chef Guy Fieri went viral recently for showing off a “new look” just prior to the Super Bowl. Are you really going to buy that?

Even if this isn’t a huge misdirect by “MLB The Show,” the presence of the word “new” is carrying a lot of weight. It’s possible a returning cover athlete will appear on the cover for a second time. Or it’s possible the game will go with some sort of montage featuring multiple former cover athletes. There’s enough ambiguity here to suspect the people over at “MLB The Show 26” have something up their sleeves.

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‘MLB The Show’ cover athletes

If the game decides to bring a former cover athlete back in 2026, here are the options it has to choose from.

• MLB 06: The Show: David Ortiz

• MLB 07: The Show: David Wright

• MLB 08: The Show: Ryan Howard

• MLB 09: The Show: Dustin Pedroia

• MLB 10: The Show: Joe Mauer

• MLB 11: The Show: Joe Mauer

• MLB 12: The Show: Adrián Gonzalez

• MLB 13: The Show: Andrew McCutchen

• MLB 14: The Show: Miguel Cabrera

• MLB 15: The Show: Yasiel Puig

• MLB The Show 16: Josh Donaldson

• MLB The Show 17: Ken Griffey Jr.

• MLB The Show 18: Aaron Judge

• MLB The Show 19: Bryce Harper

• MLB The Show 20: Javier Báez

• MLB The Show 21: Fernando Tatis Jr.

• MLB The Show 22: Shohei Ohtani

• MLB The Show 23: Jazz Chisholm Jr.

• MLB The Show 24: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

• MLB The Show 25: Paul Skenes, Elly De La Cruz and Gunnar Henderson

There are a lot of options there. If a returning cover athlete (or athletes) comes back, Ohtani or Guerrero could make sense after reaching the World Series. Judge could get the call after winning another MVP. Skenes could get a standalone cover after winning his first Cy Young award.

Alternatively, a combination of a few of those players could grace the cover. Maybe “MLB The Show” plays into the World Series matchup and features both Ohtani and Guerrero. Madden did that with “Madden 10,” which featured Troy Polamalu and Larry Fitzgerald after the two players met in the Super Bowl. Madden also did it in “Madden 22,” when Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady graced the cover together.

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‘MLB The Show 26’ release date

“MLB The Show 26” has plenty of time to make an announcement regarding its cover. While “MLB The Show 26” doesn’t have an official release date yet, the new edition of the franchise usually comes out in mid-March.

“MLB The Show 25” had a March 18 release date. “MLB The Show 24” came out March 19. “MLB The Show 26” will likely have a similar release date this year.

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Matt Harmon and Scott Pianowski recap a wild Championship Sunday in the NFL and provide their biggest fantasy takeaways and implications for each game. The two break down each of the two games and look ahead to the teams that face questions in the offseason. The two also provide their first look at Super Bowl LX.

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(2:00) Seahawks 31, Rams 27

(30:15) Patriots 10, Broncos 7

(51:45) Super Bowl LX Early Preview

🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube

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

This might finally be the week that we see the No. 1 team in the country, and the last unbeatens, go down.

Here’s everything you missed in the 12th week of the regular season, and the latest Associated Press poll.

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Is this the week?

This is a critical week for the top of college basketball.

Arizona remained the top team in the country once again on Monday, one week after the Wildcats earned the spot unanimously for the first time all season. But finally, for the first time in well over a month, the Wildcats are looking at a ranked matchup and have a chance to remind everyone they’ve earned the No. 1 ranking.

The Wildcats will travel to No. 13 BYU on Monday night, and they’re getting the Cougars at perhaps the worst possible time. BYU, after slipping at Texas Tech last week, rallied to beat Utah by double digits Saturday behind a 43-point night from projected lottery pick AJ Dybantsa. It marked the first 40 point game of his career, and set a new BYU freshman record. While it would likely take another similar effort to pull off the upset, Dybantsa has already more than proven he’s capable.

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UConn is just hanging on, but the Huskies beat Villanova in overtime Saturday to grab their 15th straight win, which kept them in second in the national poll. Michigan handled both Indiana and Ohio State last week and sits at No. 3, and Duke pushed its win streak to seven to get to No. 4.

Nebraska, thanks to Houston’s slip at Texas Tech and Purdue’s stumble, jumped into the top five for the first time ever. The Boilermakers fell twice this past week, first at UCLA and then again Saturday at Illinois. That dropped them eight spots to No. 12, which completely opened up the Big Ten race for Nebraska — which will have all eyes on it in that league over the next week.

The Cornhuskers are off to a perfect 20-0 start, the best in school history, and are one of just three undefeated teams left in the country. But on Tuesday, the Huskers have to travel to Michigan — which has won four straight — and then they’ll host No. 9 Illinois on Sunday. It marks by far the toughest stretch of their schedule this season.

A pair of wins would not only be unprecedented for Fred Hoiberg’s program in Lincoln, but it would give them complete control of the conference with just one ranked opponent left on their schedule before the Big Ten tournament. But if they can’t at least split those games, or at a minimum keep them both close, the questions about Nebraska basketball’s legitimacy will undoubtedly creep back in, fair or not.

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Who knows? By this time next week, Miami (Ohio) may be the last undefeated team standing.

Games to watch this week

All times ET | * denotes neutral site

Monday, Jan. 26

No. 20 Louisville at No. 4 Duke | 7 p.m. | ESPN
No. 1 Arizona at No. 13 BYU | 9 p.m. | ESPN

Tuesday, Jan. 27

No. 5 Nebraska at No. 3 Michigan | 7 p.m. | Peacock

Friday, Jan. 30

No. 3 Michigan at No. 8 Michigan State | 8 p.m. | Fox

Saturday, Jan. 31

No. 13 BYU at No. 14 Kansas | 4:30 p.m. | ESPN
Kentucky at No. 15 Arkansas | 6:30 p.m. | ESPN

Sunday, Feb. 1

No. 23 Alabama at No. 19 Florida | 1 p.m. | ABC
No. 9 Illinois at No. 5 Nebraska | 4 p.m. | FS1

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AP Top 25

The full Associated Press men’s basketball poll from Jan. 26, 2026.

1. Arizona (20-0)
2. UConn (19-1)
3. Michigan (18-1)
4. Duke (18-1)
5. Nebraska (20-0)
6. Gonzaga (21-1)
7. Michigan State (18-2)
8. Iowa State (18-2)
9. Illinois (17-3)
10. Houston (17-2)
11. Texas Tech (16-4)
12. Purdue (17-3)
13. BYU (17-2)
14. Kansas (15-5)
15. Arkansas (15-5)
16. North Carolina (16-4)
17. Virginia (16-3)
18. Vanderbilt (17-3)
19. Florida (14-6)
20. Louisville (14-5)
21. Saint Louis (19-1)
22. Clemson (17-4)
23. Alabama (13-6)
24. Miami (OH) (20-0)
25. St. John’s (15-5)

Others receiving votes: Tennessee 88, Kentucky 51, Georgia 49, Iowa 30, Texas A&M 27, Auburn 15, NC State 8, SMU 4, Saint Mary’s 3, Utah State 2, Villanova 2, Wisconsin 1

The fantasy football season effectively ended a month ago, but it’s important to scout the NFL playoff games as potential clues for 2026 value. Today, let’s discuss some players who have improved their stock since it got cold, be it with late-December rallies or impressive showings in the postseason.

RB Rhamondre Stevenson, New England Patriots

Give Mike Vrabel credit for not mothballing Stevenson after some early-season fumbling issues. The Patriots hitched up to Stevenson in the playoffs, giving him 45 touches the last two weeks, including 25 in the AFC Championship win over the Broncos. He currently has 194 rushing yards for the playoffs, tops in the NFL.

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Meanwhile, TreVeyon Henderson saw just three opportunities (three forgettable runs) in the victory at Denver. Henderson was the home-run hitter in this backfield most of the year, with Stevenson the steady grinder; come playoff time, the Pats have leaned into the grinder. And Stevenson was trusted much more in the passing game during the money weeks — Stevenson bagged 16-190-2 through the air over his last six games, compared to Henderson’s 3-16-0 log.

Figure on Stevenson getting a bell-cow workload in the Super Bowl, and earning the higher ADP in next summer’s draft season.

TE Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears

Everyone remembers his “hello world” moment, the 6-118-2 detonation at Cincinnati, including the game-winning touchdown. But the Bears didn’t completely hand Loveland the keys to the kingdom until after Christmas. He absorbed 48 targets over his final four games (including the playoffs), good for a 28-378-2 log.

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This is going to push Loveland into pricy areas for next year’s fantasy drafts, but I’m here for it. Caleb Williams is also on the escalator and Ben Johnson is the right man with the play sheet.

RB Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams

Sean McVay usually employs a very narrow offense for fantasy purposes, relying on just a handful of skill players. But that tree expanded during the 2025 season, with Corum starting to become a proactive complement to starting RB Kyren Williams. Corum was the team’s most effective back in Sunday’s loss at Seattle (12 touches, 79 scrimmage yards), and he received double-digit touches in six of his final eight games. Corum also had six touchdowns on the year, with five of them coming after Thanksgiving.

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The Rams haven’t soured on Williams and he’ll be the clear starter entering 2026. But Corum probably has 8-12 touch equity in any game where he’s healthy, and he’ll shoot past that projection every now and then, if the Rams want to steer into a hot hand. Corum is on the flex radar for 2026 fantasy planning, and he’s just one injury away from being a needle mover, too.

WR Marvin Mims Jr., Denver Broncos

I don’t know how to quit this guy. Mims was an afterthought for most of the year but he was forced into action during the playoffs, coming through with a nifty 12-155-1 line on 14 targets over two games. I get it, the Broncos have a crowded receiver room, and Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant are still ascending talents. But let’s not forget that Mims will only be 24 next year, too. Mims has already scored 11 regular-season touchdowns despite limited opportunities, and he’s dynamic as a kick returner. He’s screaming for a bigger role.

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WR Jalen Coker, Panthers

Just making the NFL as an undrafted receiver out of Holy Cross is a big win for Coker, but he’s not content to stop there. He stepped forward in his final six starts, posting a 28-378-4 log, including that 134-yard explosion against the Rams. Coker has good size and the ability to high point the ball, which gives him the potential to score 8-10 touchdowns in a full season, even with Tetairoa McMillan already on the team. Coker will be a trendy fantasy sleeper next summer, but I’ll still try to get a seat near the front of that bandwagon.

The NFL has fined San Francisco 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir $20,944 for head-butting Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba in their divisional-round playoff game.

Tempers flared in this emotional rivalry game, and Lenoir let his get the best of him as the Seahawks dismantled the 49ers 41-6 to advance to the NFC championship game. The incident happened following a play where the two exchanged words before Lenoir used his helmet illegally and smashed his head into Smith-Njigba’s facemask.

Lenoir, who’s one of the more physical cornerbacks in the NFL, has a history of being fined since entering the league in 2021 as a fifth-round draft pick for San Francisco. In December, Lenoir was fined for a late hit on Indianapolis running back Jonathan Taylor in the Niners’ win over the Colts. For that infraction, Lenoir was fined $11,593 by the league.

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[Get more 49ers news: San Francisco team feed]

Niners linebacker Dee Winters was also fined $5,097 for a hip-drop tackle during the Seahawks playoff game.

Smith-Njigba and Lenoir’s confrontation can be traced back to the Week 18 meeting between these teams, where there was some trash talk leading up to the game. Lenoir was called a “fan” by Smith-Njigba.

“I definitely heard it. It’s hard to respond back to all my fans,” Smith-Njigba told reporters following Seattle’s 13-3 win.

In November of 2024, Lenoir signed a five-year, $92 million extension with the 49ers. He just completed his fifth season with the team, starting all 17 games and recording 61 tackles, 4 tackles for loss and 2 interceptions.

It’s not often that the Cleveland Browns hit the news cycle for positive news at the quarterback position. But today is apparently that day. Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders has been named to the 2026 Pro Bowl Games as an alternate, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reported Monday.

After starting the season on the bench, Sanders slowly moved up the depth chart during the regular season. He was elevated into the No. 2 spot following the team’s trade of Joe Flacco, and then eventually became its starter after fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel sustained a concussion.

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Sanders, 23, started seven games with the Browns, completing 56.6% of his passes for seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The Browns went 3-4 in his starts. By the more advanced metrics, Sanders rated as one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL, ranking 42nd out of 43 quarterbacks, per PFF.

[Get more Browns news: Cleveland team feed]

Sanders was not voted into the game initially, but will reportedly make the Pro Bowl as a replacement. NFL players often pull out of the Pro Bowl for various reasons, including injury and prioritizing rest.

In this instance, though, Sanders may be replacing Drake Maye in the AFC. With Maye leading the New England Patriots to the Super Bowl, he will not be eligible to take part in the Pro Bowl. That forced the NFL to look for a replacement.

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Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is expected to start for the AFC in the contest. Los Angeles Chargers starter Justin Herbert is the other quarterback on the AFC roster.

The Pro Bowl has a reputation for … not being the most important or competitive game. Questionable players have been named Pro Bowl replacements in recent years, including Baltimore Ravens backup Tyler Huntley, who made the game in 2022 after throwing two touchdowns against three interceptions in just four starts.

While Sanders’ selection to the contest should draw criticism, there is precedent for the NFL making similar decisions in the past.

It’s not uncommon for a quarterback to shell out big money to show other players on his team how much he appreciates them. When a quarterback makes the Pro Bowl or wins the Super Bowl, they often buy expensive gifts for each member of the offensive line. It’s a gesture that shows appreciate for the unit, one that often gets overlooked by the national media.

That isn’t exactly what happened with Seattle Seahawks defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, but quarterback Sam Darnold did play a major role in Lawrence winning himself a new Rolex … only Darnold may not have known about that.

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Turns out, Lawrence won a bet against former Dallas Cowboys teammate Dez Bryant, who now owes Lawrence a new Rolex. Bryant shared a NSFW text exchange he had with Lawrence at the beginning of the season. In it, Bryant doubts whether Darnold will be good enough to lead the team to the Super Bowl. Lawrence sends multiple texts supporting Darnold, saying the quarterback “ain’t going to turn the ball over,” and that the team’s defense is going to “take the league by storm.”

[Get more Seahawks news: Seattle team feed]

Bryant said he didn’t doubt the defense, but that Darnold would need to “make me a believer,” calling out that Darnold didn’t have Justin Jefferson to throw to anymore.

After Lawrence thanked Bryant for having the conversation, Bryant said, “I pray you stay healthy … ball the f*** out … you guys make it to the Super Bowl … I’ll buy you a Rolex for doubting you lol.”

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The two engaged in that conversation in March, shortly after Lawrence found himself in the crosshairs of his former Dallas teammates. After signing a three-year, $42 million deal with the Seahawks, Lawrence called out the Cowboys, saying he wasn’t going to win a Super Bowl in Dallas. That drew the ire of a number of Lawrence’s former teammates, including then-Cowboy Micah Parsons, who said it was “clown s***.”

Bryant seemingly sent words of encouragement to Lawrence at the time, which may have been the reason the two started texting in the first place.

In both instances, Lawrence came out on top. The Cowboys couldn’t reach an extension with Parsons, trading him to the Green Bay Packers. The team then turned in a miserable defensive performance this season, finishing with a 7-9-1 record and not making the playoffs.

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Lawrence, meanwhile, is a key player on the most dominant defense in the NFL. Darnold not only carried over the success he had with the Minnesota Vikings, but turned in arguably his best game of the season against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC championship.

The 28-year-old Darnold threw for 346 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions against the Rams in the 31-27 victory.

Because of that performance, the Seahawks are heading to the Super Bowl. And while a ring would be enough of a prize for Lawrence if the team wins, knowing a Rolex is on the way right now probably feels pretty good too.

The go-for-it revolution in the NFL can probably be traced back to Doug Pederson, when he was head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.

For years fourth downs were for punting, unless it was late in the game and a team had little choice. Fourth-down rates remained about the same for many years. About once per game, on average, a team would go for it on fourth down.

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Pederson got the Eagles job in 2016 and that started to change. The Eagles won a Super Bowl at the end of the 2017 season going for it far more often than teams had in the past, and that led to a major shift in strategy around the NFL.

In 2015, teams went for it on fourth down 476 times, or 0.93 times per team, per game. This past season teams went for it 886 times on fourth down, or 1.63 times per team, per game. That’s an increase of 75.3% from just a decade ago. Through the 1980s, it was way more conservative; teams went for it on fourth down 0.57 times per game on average. It has nearly tripled in the 35 years since.

That’s a massive spike, and it has changed the way the NFL is played. The idea is simple: Possession of the ball is paramount, and going for it on fourth-and-short instead of punting or trying a field goal typically increases a team’s win expectancy. It’s not a revolutionary concept, it’s just one that hadn’t been followed too often until the past decade.

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On Sunday, with two spots in Super Bowl LX on the line, each losing coach got aggressive on fourth down. Each one got criticized for it, too.

Did Sean Payton make a mistake?

The Denver Broncos’ Sean Payton and Los Angeles Rams’ Sean McVay are two of the NFL’s best head coaches, but they each caught some heat for being too aggressive and not taking the points in their conference championship games.

Payton got far more criticism. In the second quarter, the Broncos passed on a short field-goal attempt when they led 7-0, and their fourth-and-1 play resulted in an incompletion. Bad weather invaded Denver for the second half, and the Broncos didn’t score again in a 10-7 loss. Payton said he wanted to be aggressive, but when speaking later he laid out what would have been a reasonable argument for taking the points.

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[Get more Broncos news: Denver team feed]

“You don’t know that it’s going to be like this three-point game, but it became apparent with each possession that a field goal, that type of thing, was going to be really important,” Payton said after the game.

The Rams’ situation was much different. It was fourth-and-4 at Seattle’s 6-yard line with just under five minutes to go in the game. The Rams trailed 31-27. A field goal would have brought the Rams within one point, needing a stop and a field goal in the final minutes to win. McVay went for it, Matthew Stafford threw incomplete and the Rams didn’t get the ball back until 25 seconds left. They ended up losing by four points.

“I’ll have to go back and look at it,” McVay said of his decisions during the game. “But there was other opportunities we could have converted on.”

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[Get more Rams news: Los Angeles team feed]

The chorus, with the help of hindsight, was that at least Payton should have taken the points. It was reminiscent of the NFC championship game two years ago, when the Detroit Lions’ Dan Campbell — annually one of the NFL’s most aggressive head coaches when it comes to fourth-down decisions — went for it on fourth down against the San Francisco 49ers when a field goal would have put the Lions ahead 17 points in the third quarter. The 49ers came back to win. Those fourth-down decisions will always look bad and be second-guessed when they don’t work out. The ones that do work out are more quickly forgotten.

Fans who grew up hearing that going for it on fourth downs was a massive gamble cringe when coaches don’t take points on short field goals. They’ll complain that analytics have ruined the game. But will the trend ever change back to kicking more often?

Fourth-down attempts have spiked

Throughout the 1980s, the team that went for it on fourth down the most was the 1984 Atlanta Falcons, who went for it 30 times, according to Stathead. This past season, 11 of 32 teams went for it on fourth down at least 30 times.

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The increase started in the 1990s, but it really started to shift in 2018, the season after Pederson’s Eagles won the Super Bowl. The instances of going for it on fourth down went from 485 in 2017 to 539 the season after. That was up to 886 times this regular season, and even accounting for the added 17th game since then, that’s a remarkable increase. Here is the average of teams going for it on fourth down per game, per team through the years:

1980s: 0.57

1995: 1.03

2005: 0.91

2015: 0.93

2018-2025: 1.36

2025: 1.63

Perhaps it’s due to practice, but teams are better on fourth downs. Here’s the fourth down conversion rate through the years:

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1980s: 49.2%

1995: 53.8%

2005: 48%

2015: 48.9%

2025: 55.2%

That contributes to the math that you’ll hear so often about, even on television broadcasts. Win expectancy percentages, with teams leaning into analytics, help dictate fourth-down decisions. Coaches can also add in their feel for the game. Payton said his feel for the momentum of the game, how his defense played and the ability of the Patriots’ offense, all played into him going for it Sunday.

“It’s also a call you make based on the team you’re playing and what you’re watching on the other side of the ball,” Payton said.

Teams are going for it more than ever, they are improving at their success rate on fourth down, and it seems unlikely the trend completely reverts with more young coaches who have grown up on analytics rising to head coaching jobs. However, games like the Broncos’ loss to the Patriots could lead to a change in philosophy, however slight.

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And no matter how many times teams who go for it cash in with touchdowns, whenever a team like Payton’s Broncos fail in that situation, you’re bound to hear that they should have instead taken the points.