Latest news with #LombardiTrophy
Axios
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Axios
Hot take: Pennsylvania sports fans' bucket list is offensive
Fenway Park is the Cathedral of Boston, but seeing it atop Pennsylvania sports fans' bucket list is sacrilegious. The big picture: Deadspin asked 2,000 sports fans across the country to share their ultimate bucket list experience, and Pennsylvanians chose … Fenway. Why it matters: Ya'll are a bunch of Benedict Arnolds, selling yourselves out to those hardos. Thought bubble: Player fraternization has watered down sports' best rivalries, and it's diluting what was once an insidious battle between Boston and Philadelphia for historical, cultural and sporting dominance. Worse, Citizens Bank Park — a glistening beauty in South Philly and one of the most fearsome places to play in the postseason — isn't on anyone's bucket list. What they're saying: Hear me out, you say, Pennsylvania? So I did, turning to Axios Boston's Steph Solis for guidance. What's so great about Fenway Park that we must debase ourselves in their glory? "Even as a baseball-agnostic transplant, I've got to appreciate the charm of having a brick-style ballpark in the middle of the city," Solis tells me. Threat level: Whatever happened to standing on business? You think Nick Foles would've handed Ken Doll-looking Tom Brady the Lombardi Trophy in 2018? No, he still rubs in that epic takedown of the Patriots every effing chance he gets. No, for the love of beer, he'd splash a Sam Adams lager in his face.
USA Today
6 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Healthy Keaton Mitchell says he feels better than he did as a rookie
Healthy Keaton Mitchell says he feels better than he did as a rookie A year and a half removed from a major knee injury that cut his rookie season short, Ravens RB Keaton Mitchell says he feels better than he did three years ago The Ravens were quiet in free agency, but after signing DeAndre Hopkins and retaining Ronnie Stanley, Baltimore's offense has all the ingredients to make a deep playoff run while maintaining their reputation as the most explosive offense in the NFL. Everything starts with Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry. Still, third-year running back Keaton Mitchell could bring an element of explosiveness and big-play abilities that could catapult this team to a Lombardi Trophy. A torn ACL cut short a dynamic rookie debut for Mitchell, but after regaining his footing in 2024, Mitchell enters year three feeling more explosive than he's been since entering the NFL out of ECU. "I feel like I'm back better than when I first got here," he said to Ryan Mink of the Ravens' official website. "It's going to be a movie for sure." As a rookie, Mitchell led all running backs with at least a dozen attempts in yards per carry (8.4 avg) and told Mink that he has set personal records in all of his speed tracking analytics this offseason. Last season, Mitchell played just 61 snaps, including only 36 on offense, logging 15 carries for 30 yards in five games played. He'll enter 2025 as one of the most versatile home run threats in the NFL.
USA Today
11 hours ago
- Business
- USA Today
Lamar Jackson's deal is a Ravens masterpiece hiding in plain sight
Lamar Jackson's deal is a Ravens masterpiece hiding in plain sight The Baltimore Ravens' best player may also be their biggest bargain. When the NFL reaches its 200th season, new periodicals will be written. A second centennial team will be announced, we will certainly mention Baltimore Ravens legends. A team representing another century of football could very well include one Lamar Jackson. He still has work to do to make that inclusion a guarantee, but the two-time MVP knows that. The 2025-26 campaign doubles as his eighth at the professional level, and the resume is already very impressive. Action Jackson is a two-time Bert Bell Award winner. He's a three-time First-Team All-Pro and a four-time Pro Bowler. He led the NFL in touchdown passes tossed during the 2019 season. He led all of pro football in passer rating. One would think an asset with that resume would be so expensive that his team could barely afford to pay his salary, but the Ravens found a way to reward brilliance without bankruptcy. On April 27, 2023, he inked a five-year contract worth $260 million with $185 million guaranteed. Two years later, that one is still being viewed as a masterclass in contract writing. Lamar Jackson's deal with the Ravens continues to earn rave reviews. At the time of his deal's announcement, Jackson passed Jalen Hurts as the highest-paid player in NFL history just ten days after the Philadelphia Eagles star agreed to terms in his extension. Jackson's record-setting number would be surpassed by Justin Herbet three months later, but as we enter another season of pro football, the consensus is familiar. It's hard to fathom the Ravens getting this level of production without setting the franchise back a la Deshaun Watson's deal with the Cleveland Browns. FOX Sports' Henry McKenna recently evaluated the NFL's mega QB contracts and agreed that Baltimore is getting a steal in what they are handing to Lamar Jackson. "Here's a guy who could easily be sitting up there with (Dak) Prescott — or, at the very least, with (Joe) Burrow and (Josh) Allen. Certainly, Jackson was sitting atop those other signal-callers when he received the AP MVP for the 2023 season, his second such award. Hate on him if you want. Compare him to (Patrick) Mahomes if you want. Jackson is one of the most dominant football players in the league. The Ravens are enjoying all that impressive play without having to pay top dollar." While mentioning Lamar's brilliance, we are often steered in the direction of noting what is perhaps the most overstated discussion in his evaluation: his lack of success during the postseason. It's fair to ask questions. It's fair to talk about pressure or demand more of one of the league's best players. It is also fair to remind the detractors of a little NFL history. Peyton Manning wasn't seen as a great postseason performer until he was. John Elway wasn't regarded as a great postseason performer until he proved to be one. Lamar needs that Lombardi Trophy. He knows that, and it is fair to wager that it won't elude him forever. He has shone bright under the bright lights. He is too good and too talented to miss the mark forever, and thanks to Baltimore's ingenuity in how they have structured his deal, they have ensured themselves that they can put the proper talent around him. That's perhaps the best part of this entire story.
USA Today
12 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Jalen Hurts' contract is still earning the Eagles high praise
Jalen Hurts' contract is still earning the Eagles high praise Henry McKenna of Fox Sports praised the Eagles for Jalen Hurts' contract calling it one of the biggest discounts in the NFL In just 77 games, 66 as the Philadelphia Eagles' starting quarterback, Jalen Hurts has undoubtedly put a dent in the franchise's history and record book. Selected during the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, he has surely made more than his fair share of pundits eat their words en route to two Super Bowl appearances to conclude the last three seasons of professional football. His most recent, if you haven't heard, ended favorably. He was named MVP of the big game. Twice, he has outplayed the greatest quarterback of our time on the grandest stage, but Super Bowl 59 gave him some hardware to drive the point home. Many complained of his high selection over five years ago and the birth of a 'quarterback factory' as Philadelphia already had Carson Wentz signed to a long-term extension. Credit pro football's most well-run organization for being forward-thinking. Who knew? We just weren't ready for the Eagles to be right and for the rest of us to be wrong. Jalen Hurts enters the second year of his extension, and the rave reviews continue. When Eagles vice president/general manager Howie Roseman selected Jalen Hurts with the 53rd selection of the 2020 draft, the feedback was, shall we say, unflattering. When he inked Jalen to a massive five-year, $255 million extension with $180 million guaranteed, the feedback wasn't as harsh, but it was relatively consistent. 'It makes sense. After all, he led Philadelphia to the doorstep of Super Bowl glory.' There is, however, a question worth asking... 'Can he live up to it?' Jalen's new groove made him the highest-paid player in NFL history at the time until Lamar Jackson took that title for himself ten days later. The answer to the above question... Yes, things appear to be working out quite nicely. Henry McKenna of FOX Sports recently evaluated some of the NFL's mega QB contracts, and the Hurts deal is still earning rave reviews: "Things change fast. If you had asked me about four weeks into last season, I would have said this deal was an overpay. But here we are. Hurts has a Lombardi Trophy and a Super Bowl MVP. The QB has been to two Super Bowls in three years. There's a chance this is the beginning of an Eagles dynasty." He grades Jalen's deal as a 'discount': "Hurts' best game of the season was arguably his Super Bowl performance. He was 17-of-22 for 221 passing yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He had 11 carries for 72 yards and a touchdown. Ask any team around the league if they'd pay their QB what the Eagles paid Hurts to finish the year with a Super Bowl MVP. Every single one would sign on." Most would agree. Jalen's cap hit last season was $13,558,800. He re-established himself as one of the game's great quarterbacks. He's led his organization back to the mountaintop, and he did so in year one of the five-year extension. The best part about all of this is that he has the potential to improve. Ask around, and though the theories once conflicted, most now align. Things are going well for the Birds, and one of the first projects in their quarterback factory.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Where do Bengals rank among teams likely to win first Super Bowl?
Where do Bengals rank among teams likely to win first Super Bowl? The Cincinnati Bengals enter the 2025 NFL season as one of 12 teams yet to win a Super Bowl. When it comes to actually ranking those teams by their chances to win a Lombardi Trophy, things get tricky after rattling off the first few names. Franchises like the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers, at least as of this writing, round out the very bottom of the list. But how far up the list do the Bengals deserve to sit? For CBS Sports' Cody Benjamin, the answer is third overall: "Not even Joe Burrow's MVP-level passing production could get the Bengals into the playoffs last time around, which is real cause for concern. But the defense can't be much worse with Al Golden now atop that staff, and we won't have contract drama surrounding Ja'Marr Chase or Tee Higgins going into September. If somehow Zac Taylor can get his team ready to roll out of the gate rather than halfway through the year, the Bengals should return to form as a challenger to the AFC powerhouses." RELATED: Bengals UDFA is already turning heads at OTAs That ranking going into the 2025 season puts the Bengals only behind the Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills. Both of those teams have more well-rounded rosters and the latter happens to roster MVP Josh Allen. Behind the Bengals, other AFC hopefuls like the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Chargers are right on their heels. Given this fair outlook, it's all the more understandable why fans and the team were so upset about last year's close call -- and why head coach Zac Taylor changed up his coaching staff going into this season. RELATED: Cincinnati Bengals players missing OTAs list ahead of training camp
