Tag: Record

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes passed Joe Montana for second-most playoff wins in NFL history

After defeating the Buffalo #Bills on Sunday, Kansas City #Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes now has more playoff wins than Joe Montana.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is one of the most decorated quarterbacks in the NFL and marked his latest accomplishment in the reigning Super Bowl champions’ playoff victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

After defeating Buffalo in the AFC Championship Game, Mahomes passed legendary quarterback Joe Montana for the second-most playoff wins in NFL history with 17.

Now, former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady is the only signal-caller in NFL history with more playoff wins than the former Texas Tech Red Raider. Brady won a staggering 35 postseason games in his illustrious 22-year career.

NFL insider Adam Schefter posted on Twitter celebrating Mahomes’ most recent accomplishment.

At the age of 29, Mahomes has proven himself to be one of the best players in the NFL today, and arguably one of the best quarterbacks in the league’s history.

Mahomes will have a chance to increase his playoff win total to 18 when the Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday, February 9th in New Orleans, Louisiana.

New Orleans tied with rival city for fewest combined NFL and NBA wins

The New Orleans Saints and Pelicans have both had horrid seasons, leaving the city tied for the fewest combined NBA and NFL wins. Are they worried?

It has not been a banner year for New Orleans sports, to put it lightly. Both the Saints and Pelicans have had seasons to forget, which has left the city in some unfortunate company.

The Times-Picayune | Advocate’s Rod Walker shared an unfavorable statistic on Sunday, which stated that New Orleans is tied with Charlotte for the fewest combined wins between NFL and NBA teams for a single city with just 17 so far; 5 wins each from the Saints and Carolina Panthers, with a dozen wins from both the Pelicans and Hornets.

The Saints were able to muster just five wins this year and are sitting at home while the NFL playoffs unfold. It has led to massive changes within the organization, including new coaches and a likely rebuild thanks to the salary cap troubles.

As for the Pelicans, their year has been marred with injuries yet again. In theory, they have the framework for a successful team. They just can’t get them on the court together. So far, the team has a 12-34 record and sit with the second to last in the Western Conference standings.

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Wisconsin transfer guard sets Louisville program record in big road win

Wisconsin transfer guard sets program record in big road win

Wisconsin transfer guard Chucky Hepburn etched his name in the Louisville record book on Tuesday.

The former Badger star totaled 16 assists in the Cardinals’ 98-73 road win over SMU. That broke a program record; the previous mark of 15 was set by Francisco Garcia in 2004.

Related: Upon Further Review: Big-picture takeaways from Wisconsin’s loss to UCLA

Hepburn’s full stat line included 13 points, five rebounds, a block and two turnovers on three-of-eight shooting.

His outing wasn’t the only record-setting performance of the night. Louisville shooting guard Reyne Smith tallied 30 points on 10-of-17 from 3.

It marks the first time since 2000 that an NCAA team had a player with 15 or more assists and another with 10 or more 3-pointers in a single game. Opta/Stats Perform notes the last NBA team to do it was the Golden State Warriors with Klay Thompson (10 3s) and Stephen Curry (15 assists) on Nov. 20, 2022.

Those performances did not occur in a vacuum. Four of Smith’s 10 made 3s were assisted by Hepburn.

The win was the ninth in a row for the 25th-ranked Cardinals (15-5, 8-1 ACC). The last seven wins came against conference opponents. They remain in second place in the ACC, 1/2 game behind first-place Duke.

Hepburn is a driving force behind that terrific run of play. His season averages are up to 33.8 minutes, 15.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 2.5 steals on 42% shooting and 32.7% from 3. Those numbers represent career bests.

Wisconsin, meanwhile, had its seven-game winning streak come to an end in a road loss to UCLA on Tuesday. The Badgers and Cardinals are similarly-ranked in KenPom: Wisconsin is No. 21 and Louisville is No. 23. While the Badgers have excelled since Hepburn’s departure, it’s hard to ignore the game-changing dimension he has brought to his new program.

Louisville is back on the court on Tuesday against Wake Forest. Its next high-profile game is a home matchup against Pittsburgh on March 1.

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Chiefs TE Travis Kelce broke postseason record in win vs. Texans

#Chiefs TE Travis Kelce broke a record set by legendary #49ers WR Jerry Rice in Kansas City’s divisional-round playoff win over the #Texans

Tight end Travis Kelce set a number of records this season and has now broken yet another after the Kansas City Chiefs’ win over the Houston Texans on Saturday.

Kelce finished the game with seven catches for 117 yards in Kansas City’s divisional-round playoff victory, marking his ninth career 100-yard game in the postseason.

With his outstanding showing against Houston, Kelce broke a record set by legendary San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice, who had eight such  playoff performances over the course of his illustrious career.

The Chiefs’ public relations account paid tribute to the All-Pro tight end’s historic accomplishment in a post to Twitter:

 

Fans can expect Kelce to continue adding to his impressive list of postseason accomplishments when Kansas City faces off against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, January 26.

Stay tuned to see how the former Cincinnati Bearcat fares against Buffalo’s stingy secondary during the AFC Championship Game.

Just 4 teams have drafted fewer players than Saints since they hired Mickey Loomis

Just four teams have drafted fewer players than the Saints since they promoted Mickey Loomis to GM. Years of trade gambles haven’t paid off:

There are only four teams that have spent fewer selections in the NFL draft than the New Orleans Saints since they promoted Mickey Loomis to general manager back in 2003.

Those teams are the Minnesota Vikings (285), Los Angeles Chargers (282), Pittsburgh Steelers (268) and the league-low Green Bay Packers (267 players drafted), according to the data from Stathead and Pro Football Reference.

You could argue that the Saints have been successful despite owning so few draft picks through Loomis’ habit of trading them away. Over that same time period under Loomis, the Saints rank 10th-best in win percentage (going 199-157, or .558). And that’s the case for all five of these teams, which rank inside top-11.

That’s not to say the few draft picks are the exact reason for that, though. It is also important to consider stable quarterback play, what the coaching staff is doing and how that may hide any potential mistakes or misfortunate. Whether it’s Sean Payton and Drew Brees, Mike Tomlin and Ben Roethlisberger, Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy or just going from Philip Rivers to Justin Herbert under center, getting the right people in the right positions (and keeping them there) has lifted each of these squads and made up for what they lacked on the depth chart.

But now Loomis doesn’t have Payton or Brees propping him up. Years of gambling on draft-day trades hasn’t paid off. His record without Payton leading the team is 49-66, a win percentage of just .426. That would be the seventh-worst win percentage in the league since 2003. If Loomis can’t get this head coach hire right, that’s going to be his legacy.

All things considered, it will be interesting to watch how the Saints make use of their opportunities in the 2025 NFL draft with a very important offseason ahead.

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Saints announce they’ve completed head coach interview with Darren Rizzi

The New Orleans Saints announce they’ve completed an interview with interim head coach Darren Rizzi. He has a real shot at the full-time job:

The New Orleans Saints announced Friday evening that they have completed a head coach interview with Darren Rizzi. Rizzi has now finished each of his two reported interviews, with the other being the New York Jets. After creating a bit of a culture change midway through the Saints season, Rizzi has now earned some serious consideration around the league.

Rizzi’s role with the Saints stemmed from a respect that he gained as the team’s special teams coordinator. Rizzi has led countless seasons in which the team has ranked atop the league in special teams efficiency, as well as developing multiple Pro Bowl and All-Pro players on that side of the football.

His reputation though, went even further than that taking on a position that seemed like a void when Sean Payton exited. Rizzi quickly became the team’s fiery voice in the locker room, that the players immediately gravitated towards. This combination helped his candidacy in a major way leading him to become the team’s interim head coach after Dennis Allen’s departure.

After immediately bringing much needed change to the team even in their shortcomings, Rizzi has made his presence known as a leader of men in this league. The respect and admiration that his players have for him, is something that will be seriously considered when making a decision at head coach. When it’s all said and done, it’s safe to say that Rizzi will most certainly be in the final discussions as Saints head coach.

Regardless of the competition, Rizzi will have influence and buy-in from the players that will justify his case and could ultimately take him a long way in this process.

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Saints won’t get the first try at recruiting ex-Cowboys head coach

Saints won’t get the first try at recruiting ex-Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy. NFL Network reports the Bears will sit down with him a week before the black and gold:

The Chicago Bears beat the New Orleans Saints to the punch in scheduling a sit-down with former Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports the Bears will interview McCarthy for their vacant head coach position on Wednesday, with his peer Ian Rapoport adding that the Saints plan on speaking with McCarthy themselves next week.

“No firm date established, but that is the plan,” Rapoport says. Multiple teams are said to be in the mix for the 61-year old coach once his Cowboys contract formally expires at midnight Tuesday.

His career record nearly matches Sean Payton’s. Both of them were hired as head coaches way back in 2006, with Payton posting a career winning percentage of .618 (170-105-0) to McCarthy’s .608 (174-112-2), each of them winning a Super Bowl along the way.

McCarthy has a lot of ties to the Saints, and he’s widely seen as a frontrunner for the job — if the Bears don’t hire him first. He called plays as New Orleans’ offensive coordinator from 2000 to 2004. One of the people who hired him for that job, former Saints general manager Randy Mueller, is consulting the team on their current head coach search. Some Saints fans have turned up their noses at a retread like McCarthy, but beggars can’t be choosers, and his resume speaks for itself.

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Mike McCarthy won’t return to the Cowboys, putting him in Saints’ crosshairs

Mike McCarthy won’t return to the Cowboys, putting him in the Saints’ crosshairs. And he just hired the same agent as Sean Payton:

This is a stunner — the Dallas Cowboys have decided they won’t reach a new deal with head coach Mike McCarthy before Tuesday’s deadline, putting a big name on the market in the middle of this year’s hiring cycle. His contract will expire and the Cowboys will let him walk away.

And he may not have to walk too far. The New Orleans Saints have been not-so-quietly keeping tabs on McCarthy’s status from across the Louisiana-Texas state line, and he could be near the top of their list when looking for Dennis Allen’s replacement.

McCarthy didn’t bring Jerry Jones the Super Bowl win he coveted, but he’s been a wildly successful head coach. Few of them can say they’ve reached the playoffs 12 times in 18 years leading the Cowboys and Green Bay Packers. Saints fans can’t act like they’re good for that after a four-year playoff drought.

He has several Saints connections worth noting. For one thing, McCarthy first rose to prominence as the team’s offensive coordinator from 2000 to 2004, and one of the people who hired him (former Saints general manager Randy Mueller) is consulting with this year’s head coach search.

For another, McCarthy hired Sean Payton’s longtime agent Don Yee to represent him. Yee is a high-profile sports agent whose clients have also included Las Vegas Raiders minority owner Tom Brady, so we’re guessing his phone will be busy. And the Saints have had his number on file for a very long time given his relationship with Payton.

There’s been a lot of smoke linking the Saints to McCarthy, assuming he’ll become available. That’s now the case. Let’s see if there’s a fire burning there after all.

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Sean Payton suffered the worst playoff loss of his career on Sunday

Ex-Saints head coach Sean Payton suffered the worst playoff loss of his career in his Broncos postseason debut:

The New Orleans Saints are forced to sit by the wayside as the NFL started the playoffs this weekend, but were quickly joined by an old friend that got bounced in uncharacteristic fashion.

Former Saints head coach Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos were eliminated by the Buffalo Bills in the AFC wild-card round by a score of 31-7. With all of the postseason heartbreak he endured in New Orleans, some consider this blowout to be the worst loss he has suffered.

Saints beat writer Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com believes so, and only had one that came close — the 2006 NFC Championship game when New Orleans fell 39-14 to the Chicago Bears

Some losses may have stung more, but Payton rarely looks as outclassed as he did in this one.

Few people expected them to even be in the spot that they were, so it is still a bit of a win for him and the Broncos. Perhaps he would have been able to unlock another level from one of these recent Saints teams had he stayed.

He drew first blood by getting into the postseason without them, but the race for the first playoff win since splitting up continues for now.

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Dennis Allen doesn’t view his 18-25 Saints record as a failure

Dennis Allen doesn’t view his time as head coach of the New Orleans Saints as a failure: ‘I look at it as, they just decided they wanted to go in a different direction’

Former New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen spoke with FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer on the “Unbreakable” podcast to share his reaction to his midseason firing. While most of the conversation surrounded the toll on mental health that comes with such a high-profile departure, Allen also reflected on his time with the Saints, which he doesn’t view as a failure despite an 18-25 record and three seasons out of the playoffs.

“When I think about getting fired, I really think about, this is your company, this is your organization, you have the right to do whatever you want with that,” Allen said, via ESPN’s Katherine Terrell. “I don’t look at it as, I failed. I look at it as, they just decided they wanted to go in a different direction.”

Allen is free to feel that way, and it’s probably a healthier decision than to wallow in grief. But Gayle Benson wouldn’t have made the decision to fire him if he hadn’t lost seven games in a row. Better teams like the Detroit Lions haven’t used injuries as an excuse when they’ve hit tough times; their coaches have found solutions to get out of those jams and now they’re in the playoffs.

That’s been an excuse general manager Mickey Loomis has been all too eager to embrace since Allen was let go while making it clear this wasn’t a decision he agreed with.

“I think in this case the circumstances created the record. That’s just the truth and a lot of people don’t want to hear it,” Loomis said, via the team website back in November. He added: “But it just gets back to what stares at you right in the face, is that we’ve had an abnormal amount of injuries including to our quarterback, and we haven’t been able to overcome that. And so, that puts pressure and stress on the organization and ultimately, it was cause for a change.”

Allen and Loomis can rationalize this however they want — but at the end of the day, Benson made the right call to move on. It was clear in November 2022 that Allen wasn’t the right fit for the job. It just took a couple of more years before Benson made that realization, too.

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