Month: December 2023

WATCH: Nick Herbig makes another massive play for the Steelers

Nick Herbig makes another massive play for the Steelers

Nick Herbig has made the most of his opportunity as a rookie with the Pittsburgh Steelers playing on one of the better defenses in the NFL.

In Pittsburgh’s 30-23 win over Seattle that pushed the Steelers that much closer to the NFL Playoffs, Herbig came up with a crucial forced fumble that helped set the Steelers up with great field position.

It was Herbig’s second forced fumble of the season and one that helped give the Steelers a chance in Week 18 to make the playoffs.

Here is a look at the monster play by the Wisconsin rookie who was selected in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL draft:

Player grades: Mikal Bridges scores 22 as Nets lose to Thunder 124-108

Here are your Brooklyn Nets player grades following Sunday’s 124-108 loss at the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Brooklyn Nets visited Paycom Center on New Year’s Eve to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder and lost 124-108.

For the Nets, Mikal Bridges had 22 points and seven assists while Cam Thomas had 20 points and one steal off the bench. Nic Claxton had 15 points and Cam Johnson had 13 points.

For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 24 points and six assists while Josh Giddey had 20 points and six rebounds. Chet Holmgren had 18 points and Lu Dort had 18 points.

In the first half, this game was a back-and-forth affair as the Thunder made every effort possible to play this contest in transition to allow their athleticism to be a factor. Brooklyn stuck with Oklahoma City throughout this game as Mikal Bridges and Cam Thomas combined for 33 points to keep the Nets in it.

In the second half, the bottom fell out for the Nets as they couldn’t keep up with the Thunder’s scoring and pace as the game wore on since Brooklyn kept missing shots. The issue came to a head in the fourth quarter as Oklahoma City led by as many as 21 points in a show of how much they ran away with this game.

Here are your Nets player grades following Sunday’s loss:

Nick Mullens replaces Jaren Hall at quarterback for Vikings

Jaren Hall’s night is done at quarterback, as the Vikings replaced him with Nick Mullens

The Minnesota Vikings have made another change at quarterback. To start the second half, the Vikings have replaced Jaren Hall with Nick Mullens.

It was a rough second start for Hall, who was pulverized in the pocket consistently. He threw just 10 passes and completed five of them for 67 yards and an interception. Hall was also strip-sacked toward the end of the second quarter when Christian Darrisaw was blown up by Preston Smith.

Things didn’t go well for Hall who seemed a little tentative under center against an undermanned Green Bay Packers secondary. He wasn’t seeing things well and it all manifested in an awful performance.

The Vikings started the second half down 23-3 with their playoff hopes on the line.

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Top 3 statistical performers from Warriors’ loss to the Mavericks

Here are the Golden State Warriors top three statistical performers from their loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

The Golden State Warriors suffered their third straight defeat when they lost to the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday. Their most recent slide began when they lost to the Denver Nuggets on Christmas Day, and they’ve been unable to recover the energy and hustle they showed during the five-game win streak that led up to that loss.

Nevertheless, Golden State can still turn things around. Yes, they are 11th in the Western Conference, and their season hasn’t gone remotely to plan. Nevertheless, they have the veteran leadership and high-level talent to turn the season around once they find and lean into their identity as a group.

The Warriors next game is Tuesday, when they will face the Orlando Magic. Before we look ahead to that game, it’s worth taking a closer look at who had a good performance in Golden State’s latest loss. Here are the top three statistical performers from Saturday’s game.

Jayden Reed’s 10th TD of rookie season gives Packers 23-3 lead over Vikings

Jayden Reed’s incredible touchdown — his 10th of the 2023 season — gave the Packers a 23-3 lead over the Vikings to close out the first half.

Green Bay Packers rookie receiver Jayden Reed is enjoying an incredible first half of football against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday night.

After catching a 33-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, Reed had a catch-and-run touchdown of 25 yards late in the second quarter that gave the Packers a 23-3 lead over the Vikings.

Reed made the catch at the 22-yard line, made a pair of tacklers miss, accelerated up field and carried defenders into the end zone for the score.

The touchdown was Reed’s eighth receiving touchdown and 10th total touchdown of the season.

The latest score was an incredible play in a first half full of them for the rookie.

Reed has six catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns in the first 30 minutes. He also set the team’s record for catches by a rookie in a single season on a catch in the first quarter.

Here’s Reed’s touchdown:

The Packers got the ball back after Preston Smith stripped rookie Jaren Hall and Karl Brooks recovered the fumble at the 37-yard line. Three plays later, Reed was in the end zone.

Reed became just the third Packers rookie in team history to score 10 or more touchdowns in a season. He joined Billy Howton (1952) and Eddie Lacy (2013). The team’s rookie record is 13 total touchdowns (Howton).

Reed is also just the third Packers rookie to catch eight or more receiving touchdowns, joining Howton and Max McGee (9, 1954).

Juwan Johnson had a career game vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Juwan Johnson set new career-highs in both receiving yards and catches during the Saints’ win over the Buccaneers:

New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson set a couple of career-high marks against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His 8 receptions set a single-game  high after having 5 catches in multiple games, including twice this earlier year. Johnson’s 90 receiving yards were by far the most in his career and the most by any Saints receiver on the afternoon.

Johnson started the game hot, but it seemed like his day might be cut short after heading to the locker room with a shoulder injury. He suffered the injury after catching a touchdown pass on the opening drive. That was New Orleans’ first opening drive touchdown of the season and Johnson’s third consecutive game with a touchdown.

He remained Derek Carr’s favorite target on the day after returning and didn’t skip a beat, making an acrobatic, tumbling reception on a big shot downfield. After the game, Johnson credited the move to his former Penn State teammate — and Buccaneers opponent — Chris Godwin when discussing it with WWL Radio’s Jeff Nowak. For Johnson to battle through injury and make so many plays speaks volumes about his grit and the trust the team has in his abilities.

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Celtics ride Wembanyama’s Spurs ragged, win 134-101

With the win, the Celtics strengthen their hold on the Eastern Conference’s top spot.

The Boston Celtics won their final tilt of the season handily, blowing out Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs 134-101 on the road on New Year’s Eve. In the wire-to-wire affair, the Celtics imposed their will on the Spurs, having the game in hand from the middle of the first quarter on.

Big games from Jayson Tatum (25 points, 6 rebounds), Jaylen Brown (24 points), Derrick White (17 points, 5 assists) and Kristaps Porzingis (14 points, 9 boards) were the engine behind Boston’s win, and Luke Kornet (12 points) and Sam Hauser (11 points) both scored in double figures off the bench.

With the win, the Celtics strengthen their hold on the Eastern Conference’s top spot, taking a two-game lead over the second-place Milwaukee Bucks while improving to 26-6 on the season.

Boston now has a night off as they head north to face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Jan. 2 before a short break and a return to TD Garden to play the Utah Jazz on Jan. 5.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Updating Saints’ playoff odds after beating the Buccaneers

How did beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers change the New Orleans Saints’ playoff odds? Here’s the outlook after Week 17:

The odds aren’t in their favor, but that isn’t going to cause the New Orleans Saints to keel over and give up. The New York Times Playoff Picture simulator tripled their odds of reaching the postseason after Sunday’s win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Now the Saints have a 37% shot at making the playoffs, largely due to their 27% chance of winning the NFC South. It’s technically possible the Saints could earn the seventh playoff seed as a wild card team in the NFC, but it’s very, very unlikely — this simulator gives them less than a 1% shot at it. They’ll need help from two or three other games to clinch it.

Still, the Saints don’t control their own destiny. The reason their chances of winning the division and reaching the playoffs are so low is because they’ll need the Buccaneers to lose again in Week 18 even if New Orleans defeats the Atlanta Falcons. They dug quite a hole for themselves and now they’ll need help getting out of it. They have a chance, and at this point it’s all fans can ask for.

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WATCH: Alabama players are quizzed on ‘Nick Saban Trivia’

Ahead of the College Football Playoff Rose Bowl semifinal, Alabama players were quizzed on just how well they know their head coach.

Alabama found its way into the College Football Playoff as the No. 4 team in the nation and will take on top-ranked Michigan in the Rose Bowl semifinal game, the winner moves on to the national championship. Before the big game, players got to have some fun with ESPN’s Taylor Davis and play some “Nick Saban Trivia.”

They were asked questions that many Tide fans would likely know the answer to: How many first-round picks has he produced at Alabama, what brand of car does he own a dealership for and other fun, lighthearted questions.

Some players clearly know their head coach very well, while others may need to brush up on their Saban facts.

Watch the video below to see how they did and follow along to see if you know the answers!

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama football as the College Football Playoffs get underway.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on X @SpurrFM. 

Twitter reacts to Chiefs winning eighth-straight AFC West title

Twitter reacted to the #Chiefs’ accomplishment of clinching their eighth-straight AFC West title after Sunday’s victory over the #Bengals.

The Kansas City Chiefs’ run of dominance in the AFC West is the stuff of legend, and with their win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17, the team has officially won its eighth-straight division title.

In a season where the reigning Super Bowl champions have looked more like pretenders than contenders, the remarkable streak’s continuation is a good sign for Kansas City’s future.

The Chiefs’ ticket to the playoffs is officially punched heading into the final week of the regular season, and with the momentum built from their win over Cincinnati, the team may be able to parlay their victory into a hot streak just in time for the postseason.

Kansas City’s outstanding accomplishment on New Year’s Eve seemed to take the edge off for fans on social media who have been frustrated by the Chiefs’ losses in recent weeks.

Check out some of Twitter’s top reactions to Kansas City’s historic win over the Bengals: