Latest news with #NFCChampionshipGame
USA Today
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
49ers DB could reignite feud after blatant troll of Eagles WR duo
49ers DB could reignite feud after blatant troll of Eagles WR duo 49ers DB Ji'Ayir Brown insinuates he could cover Eagles star WR duo It's funny how things change. Had you polled most Philadelphia Eagles fans about ten years ago, they would have probably told you they have the utmost respect for the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers. Both teams wear gold. Sure, they're different hues of gold, but gold nonetheless. Once upon a time, it seemed that those weren't just team colors. They were standards, but that is no longer the case. It's hard to respect the Niners and the Pack now. Both teams lost recent playoff games in Philadelphia, including the NFC Championship Game ahead of Super Bowl 57 (San Francisco) and last January's NFC Wild Card Game (Green Bay). That wasn't the upsetting part. What was most disturbing was that they couldn't take the losses and move on. Neither team is technically a rival, but both are definitely on Philadelphia's most wanted list, and recently, a Niners defensive back fanned the flames of an already consuming fire. Ji'Ayir Brown trolls A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith on social media. Youngsters these days... They can't stay off social media. They, at times, lack self-awareness. Welcome to Ji'Ayir Brown's portion of the conversation. Most Birds fans have never had a problem with him. He played for the Penn State Nittany Lions. He hails from Trenton, New Jersey. He could have said anything and gotten a thumbs-up from the Philadelphia faithful. Instead, he decided to wear the black hat in an attempt to antagonize them. Clips that were shared initially by Brown are circulating. They contain two plays showing Ji'Ayir playing tight coverage on A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith in coverage. Okay, perspective is needed here. A few things need to be stated, and they must happen immediately. First, while Brown plays well on two carefully selected plays here, no one believes that he can consistently stick with A.J. and DeVonta in coverage. Ji'Ayir Brown doesn't even believe he can stick with A.J. and DeVonta in coverage. Per Pro Football Focus, he boasted a 69.5 coverage grade and a 53.6 run defense grade. Those numbers rank 33rd and 105th among 171 qualified safeties, respectively. He also missed seven tackles. It's safe to assume that, if A.J. and DeVonta line up across from him, Philadelphia's duo would win on the play more often than not. Here's something else to mull over. Brown entered the 2024 NFL season as San Fran's presumptive starting safety, but after struggling, he was benched in favor of rookie Malik Mustapha. This year, he may be needed by his team again. Mustapha is recovering from a knee injury, and Talanoa Hufanga left during free agency. Perhaps that's where he should center his focus. Philly doesn't play the 49ers during the regular season. Boy... Could you imagine if they did? Maybe they'll cross paths during the postseason. It feels like it's about time for another grudge match.
NBC Sports
a day ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Kyle Shanahan: I understood why we struggled last year, I won't understand it this year
San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan attributes some of his team's struggles last season to coming off a loss in the Super Bowl. Which means that explanation won't fly this year. Shanahan said that a year ago, his players were worn down from a full postseason that ended with a heartbreaking overtime loss in Super Bowl LVIII. But this year, his players had a full offseason after going 6-11 and missing the playoffs, and he's not going to accept anyone not being completely read to go. 'The way I addressed it the most, was at our last meeting in January,' Shanahan said, via 'I just told the guys, I talked about how the season ended the year before, and how when I felt them all come back. I felt guys weren't ready to come back and I understood that. But I told them how I really won't understand it this year, not that that was right or wrong, but I couldn't comprehend it. We're off five weeks earlier, we all know how disappointed we are. And a lot of us have played a lot of football here.' Shanahan's 49ers have lost the Super Bowl twice, and both years they followed that with a six-win season. After their 6-10 season in 2020, they bounced back and made the NFC Championship Game following the 2021 season. Returning to winning form is the kind of response he expects from his players this year as well.
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
ESPN's Football Power Index has the New Orleans Saints ranked dead last
ESPN's Football Power Index has the New Orleans Saints ranked dead last Hey, there's nowhere to go but up. ESPN's Seth Walder shared a look at the first NFL Football Power Index (FPI) rankings ahead of the 2025 preseason, which has the New Orleans Saints at the very bottom -- ranking at No. 32 among the league's 32 teams. FPI, which is updated regularly in the offseason and daily during the regular season, is defined as "a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team's performance going forward for the rest of the season. FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 10,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule." It's just the latest sign that the Saints have a lot of work to do in cleaning up their image. They need to prove their doubters (of which there are many) wrong and win a lot of games this year. But that's easier said than done, especially with a new head coach and no sure thing at quarterback. If you're curious about the rest of the NFC South, the Saints were joined in the bottom tier by the Atlanta Falcons (at No. 26) and Carolina Panthers (No. 28), but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 14) are expected to hold onto the division title. But did the FPI rankings get it right last year? They were too bullish on a San Francisco 49ers team that ranked first but suffered too many injuries and only won six games. Like everyone else, they ruled out the Washington Commanders (at No. 28) who stunned the football world by reaching the NFC Championship Game. And in the NFC South specifically, they called down years for the Saints (No. 26) and Carolina Panthers (No. 32) while overrating the Atlanta Falcons (No. 15), who went into the year with a comfortable lead over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 22). Maybe this year's story plays out differently.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
USC football countdown to kickoff continues—Everson Griffen in focus
USC football countdown to kickoff continues—Everson Griffen in focus Everson Griffen made the jump from USC to the NFL and became a great pro The countdown to USC's 2025 football season is officially on! The Trojans kick off their new campaign 93 days from today. You need something to help you while away the days and hours in the spring and summer. This is one way to do so. In this new series, countdown to kickoff, we will be counting down the days by highlighting a notable Trojan who wore each number. Today, we take a look back at another great USC defensive lineman, Everson Griffen. Position: Defensive line Years played at USC: 2007-2009 Career highlights: A highly-touted recruit out of Arizona, Griffen arrived at USC in 2007. He became an immediate contributor as a true freshman in a loaded front seven that featured the likes of Sedrick Ellis, Lawrence Jackson, Keith Rivers, Rey Maualuga, Brian Cushing, and Clay Matthews III. In three seasons with the Trojans, Griffen recorded 82 tackles and 16 sacks. After USC: Griffen declared for the 2010 NFL draft, where the Minnesota Vikings selected him in the fourth round. He would go on to play 12 seasons in the league—all but one of which came with Minnesota—earning four Pro Bowl honors. His best statistical season came in 2017, when he recorded 45 tackles, 13 sacks, three forced fumbles, and one pass defended as the Vikings advanced to the NFC Championship Game. Griffen has openly discussed his struggles with bipolar disorder. Last November, he was arrested for a DWI. He was sentenced to 60 days of house arrest and four years of probation.
NBC Sports
2 days ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Dan Quinn: Jayden Daniels is focused, relentless about getting better
Jayden Daniels took the league by storm last season after Washington selected him as the No. 2 overall pick in the draft. But even with Daniels' success in 2024 — becoming AP offensive rookie of the year, leading the club to the NFC Championship Game — head coach Dan Quinn has noticed that the quarterback has been particularly motivated this offseason. 'He's an amazing teammate,' Quinn said in his Thursday press conference, adding that so much of what the QB does is unseen by the public. 'There is no flinch in Jayden Daniels. He's an absolute like, as focused and relentless as you could about getting better. And so that's why I said for us around here, man, we appreciate that and there's a lot of things that he and the rest of us are really digging in hard on to say, all right, can we get this better? And if he does that, I do that, others do that … there's a lot of space we can get better at.' Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury mentioned on Wednesday that he's expecting Daniels to take a 'big jump' in Year 2, and part of that is the continuity Washington has maintained by keeping much of the coaching staff. That means Kingsbury can expand upon what he did with Daniels in 2024. 'I would say there's a lot of playbook that people haven't seen, you know, No. 1,' Quinn said. 'You know, featuring some new players and some into some different spots and how important that is to us, to say what can unique players do and find the spots to do. I think Kliff is excellent at that. And so, as we're going through, that's what's kind of fun about now exploring some new thoughts, some new ideas and some scheme while like sharpening on the things like can I go from, you know, really good at something to elite and to the best at this concept, this type of play, this footwork. And so, that's what we spend a good bit of time doing.' Still, Daniels' work ethic and desire to improve have been two critical factors in his development since ending his rookie year. 'I know he's worked hard through the offseason, but he's just in command of the things that he wanted to work,' Quinn said. 'He and his teammates, they've really put in a lot of work together. I'd say that probably is just, it's felt excellent, in terms of like the attitude of the guys and their work, to really put it in. 'You can sense when people are going for it, and you know, he's certainly one that is.'
