Latest news with #SuperBowlXV
USA Today
4 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
We hit 30 in our Raiders countdown to kickoff. Who wore it best and who's wearing it now
We've reached 30 days until the Raiders season opener at Foxboro against the Patriots, With our countdown at 30 days we take a look at who currently dons the number in Silver & Black and who has brought it the most distinction. No. 30 Who's wearing it now: CB Darnay Holmes Holmes joined the Raiders last offseason after four years in New York with the Giants. He was the Raiders' backup nickel corner behind Nate Hobbs, so when Hobbs was lost to injury midseason, Holmes stepped up in his place. Over the final nine games, Holmes had 30 combined tackles and three pass breakups working from the slot. He returns this season in the same role, this time behind new addition Jeremy Chinn. And with the injury to Lonnie Johnson Jr, Chinn could be needed more at safety, making Holmes's work at nickel quite valuable. Who wore it best: RB Mark van Eeghen The Colgate product spent eight seasons with the Raiders. His breakout season coincided with the Raiders first Super Bowl winning season. Over a five-year period from 1976-80 van Eeghen was the Raiders top back, averaging over 1000 yards per season. The Raiders first two Super Bowl wins were at the beginning and the end of that run. Super Bowl XV in 1980 saw van Eeghen go on a tear in the playoffs, running for 251 yards with three touchdowns, including running for 75 yards in the Super Bowl win over the Eagles.
USA Today
16-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
We hit 53 in our Raiders countdown to kickoff. Who wore it best and who's wearing it now
We've reached 53 days until the Raiders season opener at Foxboro against the Patriots, With our countdown at 53 days we take a look at who currently dons the number in Silver & Black and who has brought it the most distinction. No. 53 Who's wearing it now: LB Amari Gainer Gainer enters his second season with the Raiders. He was originally signed as an undrafted free agent out of North Carolina in 2024. He made the team out of camp and appeared in all 17 games as a rookie, including 80% of all special teams snaps. Who wore it best: LB Rod Martin Martin started every one of the Raiders playoff games for their last two Super Bowl runs. He most famously picked off QB Ron Jaworski three times to help the Raiders blowout the Eagles 27-10 in Super Bowl XV. In Super Bowl XVIII, Martin would sack Joe Theisman and recover a fumble, again helping the Raiders with another blowout Super Bowl win. This one even more dominating than their previous two. All told, Martin spent his entire 12-year NFL career with the Raiders and as a starter for 11 of those years. He made two Pro Bowls and was named an All Pro in 1984.
USA Today
04-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
From College Station to Canton: Texas A&M pipeline produces NFL DPOY winners
When it comes to defensive talent wreaking havoc against offenses in the National Football League, Texas A&M is well-represented. Players such as Myles Garrett, Lester Hayes and Von Miller are just a few of the elite former Aggies who made their mark in the pros after representing the Maroon and White in College Station. Not only have they succeeded in the league, but several have racked up a string of accomplishments that have placed them among the NFL's all-time greats. Texas A&M is one of just 12 FBS schools to produce an NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award, which is presented to the league's best and most productive defensive player each year. The Aggies are tied with the Tennessee Volunteers as the only Southeastern Conference schools to bring home two awards. Lester Hayes - DB - Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders (1977-1986) Hayes was the first Aggie to secure the award, leading the league with 13 interceptions during the 1980 regular season. That total tied him for the second-most INTs in a single season in NFL history, as he anchored the Raiders' defensive unit and helped lead them to a dominant 27-10 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XV. He also finished the season with one pick-six, two forced fumbles, five interceptions in the postseason and one INT in the Super Bowl to complete a legendary year with the Raiders. Though he wore silver and black, Hayes' Maroon and White roots ran deep. After a short stint as a defensive end during his freshman season in College Station, Hayes transitioned to linebacker and then safety. In 1975, he emerged as one of the nation's premier defensive backs. Known for his tenacious play and elite vision on the gridiron, he recorded 14 career interceptions, which was a school record that stood untouched for 14 years. Myles Garrett - DE - Cleveland Browns (2017-Current) Hayes paved the way for future defensive superstars like Garrett, who currently plays defensive end for the Cleveland Browns. Through eight seasons in the NFL, he has already established himself as a talent who wreaks havoc and causes opposing teams nightmares. In 34 games played for the Aggies, Garrett recorded 141 tackles, including 47 tackles-for-loss, 31 sacks (Texas A&M record), seven forced fumbles and five pass deflections. He was voted a First-Team All-SEC member and a unanimous All-American in 2016, which led to Garrett being picked No. 1 overall by the Browns in the 2017 NFL Draft. Since entering the league, he has been a force to be reckoned with. With 116 career tackles-for-loss, 88.5 career sacks and 15 forced fumbles, Garrett's freakish athleticism has well-earned his stripes as a future NFL Hall of Famer. He won his DPOY award in 2023 as he led the Browns with 42 total tackles and recorded 17 TFL. Garrett also posted 14 sacks during the campaign, which was tied for seventh-most in the league. He became the only player in NFL history to record more than 14 sacks or more in four consecutive seasons. The five-time Pro Bowler returns for his ninth season with the Browns in 2025 as the highest-paid defensive player in the league. Garrett signed a contract extension with the Browns in June, which averages $40 million per year and guarantees him $123.5 million. Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Dylan on X: @dylanmflippo.
NBC Sports
16-04-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Emmitt Smith is sick of hearing "Go Birds"
When the Cowboys last won a Super Bowl, moving their all-time total to five, the Eagles had been to only one — a loss in Super Bowl XV. Since then, the Eagles have three Super Bowl appearances and two wins. The Cowboys haven't even been back to an NFC Championship. Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith, who hasn't been bashful about bashing the 'Boys in recent years, doesn't like what has happened in the Dallas-Philly rivalry. 'I'm sick of it,' Smith said during an appearance on WIP Radio. 'We have allowed others to nitpick at The Star and make fun of The Star and make fun of The Star and that's what happens — now all of a sudden over the last 20 years, they win two Super Bowls and they think they're the best thing on the planet, and everywhere I go I hear, 'Go Birds.' I'm sick of hearing, 'Go Birds.' I'm always asking where are you going? You still got a long way to go to get to us.' But they're getting there. The Eagles are far better positioned to get to the Super Bowl this year than the Cowboys, along with most of the other NFC teams. 'That part bugs me, it bugs me because in my heart I truly believe our organization should be contending for an NFC Championship and even a Super Bowl at least once or twice every decade because every team recycles every decade,' Smith said. 'For us not to be there over the last 30 years is a crying shame.' Indeed it is. And it's not as if the Cowboys don't have talent. But they don't manage the talent well, in that they wait too long to reward it. When it comes to paying key players, owner Jerry Jones and company drag their feet. Last year, they waited too long to extend the contracts of receiver CeeDee Lamb and quarterback Dak Prescott. If they'd moved more quickly, who knows? Maybe the Cowboys — not the Eagles — would have pilfered running back Saquon Barkley from the Giants. Yes, New York routinely gets dragged for letting Barkley go. But anyone could have had him. And the Cowboys, who have spent plenty of time explaining away the decision to not sign running back Derrick Henry a year ago, could have had the guy who ended up being the very large straw in an extremely potent drink that propelled Philadelphia to another Super Bowl. Meanwhile, the Cowboys missed the playoffs. Which makes it very hard to end the streak of non-appearances in the NFC Championship.
NBC Sports
14-02-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Cut on forehead by beer can, Eagles G.M. Howie Roseman declares, "I bleed for this city!"
At Friday's parade celebrating the Eagles' latest Super Bowl championship, G.M. Howie Roseman took a beer can to the head. The crescent-shaped wound fits with the fact that the Eagles won Super Bowl LIX in the Crescent City, evening thing out after a Super Bowl XV loss to the Raiders in the Superdome. Taking to the podium that capped the slow roll of buses through Philadelphia, Roseman declared, 'I bleed for this city!' The city should bleed for Roseman. He built the 2017 roster that won Super Bowl LII and rebuilt all of it around one common starter (right tackle Lane Johnson) to win another championship seven years later. And the Eagles could be on the front end of a dynasty of their own, since Roseman has compiled the most talented overall team in football. At next year's parade, however, he might want to wear someone's helmet.
