Latest news with #NFCChampionship
NBC Sports
2 days ago
- Business
- NBC Sports
Micah Parsons skipped second week of Cowboys OTAs (as he should)
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer praised linebacker Micah Parsons for participating in the first week of the team's annual OTA sessions. For the second week, Parsons wasn't present. Yes, the workouts are voluntary. And, no, Parsons shouldn't volunteer to risk injury until he gets the long-term contract he should have gotten a year ago. The Cowboys continue to misplay the situation. They drag their feet. And the price goes up. And the player is less prepared when it's time to go play games that count. It's a ridiculous way of doing business. But the Cowboys keep repeating the pattern. It became obvious last year, when the Cowboys were on the front end of (again) waiting too long and then paying too much for receiver CeeDee Lamb and quarterback Dak Prescott. Cowboys management is clueless when it comes to managing young talent. If they would have paid Parsons last year, it would have cost a lot less than $40 million per year. If they would have paid Parsons immediately after the end of the season, the deal likely would have been closer to $35 million than $45 million. Now, Browns defensive end Myles Garrett has set a new bar. Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt could push it higher before Parsons puts pen to paper. Regardless, the price will keep going up. And Parsons won't be as ready for the regular season as he could have been. Especially if the foot dragging lasts into camp and Parsons holds out and the Cowboys eventually and inevitably cave as Week 1 approaches. There are many reasons why the Cowboys have gone 30 years without an appearance in the NFC Championship. One very real reason is the chronic stubbornness of owner Jerry Jones to pay his core players sooner than later. Our guess? He knows it. And he'd rather have the latest unsettled contract become the top story for sports media than to see his team benefit from the relative irrelevance of peace.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
NFL analyst makes wild claim about Commanders-Eagles' NFC Championship game
"The Commanders know they are going to get their asses kicked today." Mike Florio, host of Pro Football Talk on NBC Sports, told a story Friday morning. Florio began, "The day of the NFC Championship (January 26, 2025), someone I know who is very well plugged in, said, 'The Commanders know they are going to get their asses kicked today, and they are just kinda bracing for it.'" Advertisement Florio continued on air with the story, saying that his inside source told him that day prior to the beginning of the NFC title game in Philly, "I know people in the building. They know what is coming." The longtime show host asserted that he responded to his good friend, saying perhaps the Commanders' brass is simply preparing for the worst, if it were to occur. He said his source insisted, "No, they know the Eagles are dramatically better than they are, and it's not happening for them today. And they know it." Florio told the story in the context of his contention Friday (some four months later) that, "I think the gap is just too big. It's too big for one offseason. This is something that is a multi-year effort to try to catch and surpass the Eagles." Using the analogy of the NBA playoffs some 35 years ago, Florio said this gap between the Eagles and Commanders reminded him of how the Chicago Bulls had to work multiple years to catch and surpass the Detroit Pistons. Those old enough to recall remember how Michael Jordan and the Bulls lost three consecutive years in the playoffs to the Detroit Pistons. In 1988, it was the Eastern Conference semifinals, followed by consecutive years (1989 & 1990) when the Bulls fell to the Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals, before winning six of the next eight NBA championships. Can the Commanders overtake the Eagles? Florio was doubtful, saying, "It's going to take multiple years, and even then, it may not happen." Advertisement Concluding the segment, Florio suggested, "Josh Sweat (DE) is gone, Milton Williams (DT) is gone, but the Eagles are still the Eagles." Well, Florio is rather confident the Eagles will remain atop the NFC East for the next few years. After all, quarterback Jalen Hurts is still quite young, and the roster is full of talented players across the depth chart. As per the conversation in particular? Well, we don't have the "source" on record that day claiming the Commanders knew and were bracing for a beatdown. We do know the Eagles did win that matchup against the Commanders 55-23. Florio does insist this is how it went down that day between him and his source, who reportedly claimed he had access to inside the Commanders. Yet, isn't it also true that in the NFC East, no team has repeated as division champions since the Eagles won the NFC East four consecutive seasons from 2001 through 2004? Advertisement It's important to note that the Commanders did beat the Eagles in Week 16. This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: PFT host says gap between Eagles and Commanders too large to overcome
NBC Sports
3 days ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Vikings extend contract of G.M. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah
First, it was coach Kevin O'Connell. Now, Vikings G.M. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has received his reward for three solid seasons on the job. NFL Media reports that the Vikings have signed Adofo-Mensah to a 'multiyear contract extension.' That tells us the bare minimum. It's at least two years on top of the one year he had remaining on his contract. Is his contract aligned with O'Connell's? We don't know now, and may never know. The delay between O'Connell and Adofo-Mensah getting their respective deals is likely meaningless. For O'Connell, who reportedly was drawing interest from teams looking for coaches, there was an urgency to get his deal done before he entered a contract year. Adofo-Mensah had not been linked to any other franchise, giving the team the luxury of time. The Vikings have made it to the playoffs in two of Adofo-Mensah's three seasons. The next step is to win a playoff game — something they haven't done since the 2019 season. The ultimate goal is to get back to a Super Bowl, obviously. Since last making it in 1976, Minnesota is 0-6 in the NFC Championship. Whether that happens hinges heavily on whether 2024 firs-rounder J.J. McCarthy becomes the first true franchise quarterback the Vikings have had since Daunte Culpepper and, before that, Fran Tarkenton.
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
49ers QB Brock Purdy believes massive $265 million contract won't change him
49ers QB Brock Purdy believes massive $265 million contract won't change him San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy received a massive five-year, $265 million contract earlier this month that will make him the seventh-highest-paid quarterback in the league at $53 million annually (tied with Detroit's Jared Goff). Purdy has had an incredible start to his NFL career, going from last pick in the 2022 NFL draft to Super Bowl starter in just two years. And while some aspects of his life will certainly change away from the football field, the 25-year-old doesn't believe that the new deal will impact how he plays on it. 'I don't think my mindset will change, with how I get ready for a game or the moments or anything like that, just because I get paid more for what I do,' Purdy said (via NBC Sports Bay Area). 'I think I'm going to continue to have the same mindset of getting ready and putting my team in the best position to win games and executing. I think I've done that at a high level for the past three years and will continue to do that.' While Purdy received a ton of praise for helping the team to the NFC Championship game as a rookie and the Super Bowl in his second season, the quarterback wanted financial respect while still giving the team an opportunity to surround him with talent. 'I could hang my hat on the fact that I've had success in this league and I'm capable of leading an organization all the way to the end, the Super Bowl,' Purdy said. 'I proved that. And so, for me, I know who I am and I'm going to obviously want to get what I deserve, but also surround myself, like I said, with guys around me and not just try to take every penny for myself. 'But that's the whole point of negotiating, you go throughout that you try to meet in the middle ground and where we ended, I'm extremely grateful and happy with.' Last year, the 49ers struggled, finishing with a 6-9 record while Purdy completed a career-low 65.9% of his passes for 3,864 yards, 20 touchdowns and a career-high 12 interceptions. He and his teammates still have a lot of work to do before they step foot on the gridiron for their season opener in 2025, and despite the early success, Purdy has his fair share of doubters, who have come out in full force after the extension. Now, without Deebo Samuel (traded to the Washington Commanders) and with Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk returning from season-ending injuries, Purdy will have to elevate the offense at least to start the year. If he can't, he'll be called overpaid. If he can, they'll say the money is deserved. Either way, No. 13 isn't changing. More 49ers: Seahawks QB is trying to pick up tips from Brock Purdy's film
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Commanders' Receive Bad News In Latest Tush Push Vote
It's been a really tough start to 2025 for the Washington Commanders. While their run to the NFC Championship game was fun, the 55-23 shellacking they took to the rival Philadelphia Eagles left a sour taste in the mouth of the organization. Since then, Washington has done everything in their power to try and close the gap between themselves and the Eagles. Even if it means voting for a potential ban on Philadelphia's Tush Push quarterback sneak. Advertisement The problem for Washington? The vote didn't work. The league's rule change to ban the Tush Push only received 22 affirmative votes. 24 were needed to pass a resolution like that. It means that the Eagles, and the Tush Push are here to stay. And it's a reminder of what Commanders head coach Dan Quinn told the Rich Eisen show just a few weeks ago. 'My two cents, I'm gonna keep digging as hard as I can to make sure we find ways to defend it better and…In terms of adding the play, stopping it, you know, we got a lot of smart people in charge of that,' Quinn said. 'Until that time, if we do or don't, I'll spend the time like most coaches would to say, 'OK, if we angle somebody differently, put people in different spots,' we'll go after it that way for sure. But yeah, you're right, I knew the result of another penalty would be awarded a touchdown, so I knew what was at stake and we were going to go see if we could stop it.' Advertisement No one has found a consistent way to stop the Tush Push yet. And with the ban not passing, the Commanders will need to deal with the consequences of Philadelphia's top play returning for another season. ... With the opposing fanbase all but furious the vote got to this point in the first place. Related: Commanders Named As 1 Team To 'Dethrone' Eagles In 2025 Related: Commanders Projected To Sign Running Back
