Sports
Facing Cowboys, Commanders aim for momentum ahead of playoffs
Dec 29, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) celebrates with fans in the stands while leaving the field after defeating the Atlanta Falcons at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images The Washington Commanders are putting their long-standing label of laughingstocks behind them with their winningest season since the 1991 campaign.
That season also marks the franchise’s most recent Super Bowl title. The current squad clinched a playoff berth last weekend and looks to finish the regular season in style when it faces the Dallas Cowboys at Arlington, Texas.
The Commanders (11-5) are seeking their fifth straight win. A victory would mark just the fourth time in franchise history that Washington has won 12 or more games in a season.
The Commanders also can clinch the No. 6 seed in the NFC with a victory, giving them something for which to play as the NFC seeding sorts itself out.
The last team to beat Washington is the Cowboys, who delivered a 34-26 win over the host Commanders in Week 12.
That began a stretch in which Dallas (7-9) won four of five games before it was walloped 41-7 by the host Philadelphia Eagles last weekend.
What remains to be seen is whether or not this is Mike McCarthy’s final game as the head coach of the Cowboys. McCarthy’s contract is about to conclude.
Dallas owner Jerry Jones spoke favorably of McCarthy this week but the coach sidestepped a question pertaining to his future.
“I need to make sure I’m doing exactly what I’m asking everyone else to do. We need to finish the race,” McCarthy said in reference to the season finale. “It’s been a challenging year, based on our contract situation for coaches. It’s stating the obvious, but we’ll have time to talk about that next week.”
McCarthy is 49-34 in five seasons with the Cowboys. His teams were 12-5 and made the playoffs in each of the three previous season.
But quarterback Dak Prescott sustained a season-ending hamstring injury during the team’s eighth game of this season. When McCarthy went 6-10 in 2020, Prescott was lost after five games of that season due to his horrific ankle injury.
Cooper Rush is 4-4 as the Dallas starter this season but there is no guarantee he will start Sunday. McCarthy said he’s also considering Trey Lance (seven passing attempts this season) and Will Grier (zero attempts). The latter was signed to the practice squad in mid-November.
“The reality of it is, we’re going to work all the guys,” McCarthy said of the quarterbacks.
Washington has no issues at quarterback with rookie Jayden Daniels exceeding all expectations. He was named to his first Pro Bowl team on Thursday.
Daniels, the No. 2 overall selection, has passed for 3,530 yards, 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions and has also rushed for 864 yards and six touchdowns.
More importantly, he has energized a franchise that hadn’t experienced a winning season since 2016. Even when Washington made the playoffs in the 2020 campaign, it went 7-9 in the regular season.
But now the Commanders have elevated the quarterback position after having guys like Sam Howell, Taylor Heinicke and Carson Wentz start games over the previous two seasons.
“He’s the most mature rookie I’ve ever been around. He exudes a quiet confidence,” Washington tight end Zach Ertz said. “He’s not a rah-rah guy. We all know how good he is and how much confidence we have in him. He doesn’t need to say anything.”
While Ertz (second with 61 receptions) brought veteran leadership to the offensive side of the ball, linebacker Bobby Wagner (team-high 124 tackles) did the same for the defense.
“You saw that grow throughout the season,” Wagner said of the bond on the unit. “When you get a lot of guys confident and believing in one another, it makes the team scary.”
Center Tyler Biadasz (ankle), right tackle Andrew Wylie (groin) and backup tackle Cornelius Lucas (groin) were among the six Commanders who missed Wednesday’s practice due to injuries.
Linebacker Nick Vigil (foot) and cornerback Kemon Hall (hamstring) sat out for Dallas. The Cowboys also parted ways with veteran running back Ezekiel Elliott at his request earlier this week.
Dallas has won three straight meetings between the teams and six of the past seven.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Mexico makes Liga MX call-ups ahead of pre-World Cup camp
Nov 17, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Mexico Coach Javier Aguirre Onaindia speaks to the media ahead of his Mexican National Team match against Paraguay at the Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Jefferson-Imagn Images Mexico’s FIFA World Cup roster began to take shape Tuesday with a dozen Liga MX players invited to the camp that begins on May 6.
Manager Javier Aguirre’s crew will be joined in training later in the month by players who are based in Europe and elsewhere. His final roster for this summer’s tournament is due at the end of May.
The 12-member Liga MX contingent includes 17-year-old midfielder Gilberto Mora of Club Tijuana, Toluca forward Alexis Vega, Club America defender Israel Reyes and five players from Chivas: goalkeeper Raul “Tala” Rangel, forward Armando Gonzalez and midfielders Brian Gutierrez, Roberto Alvardo and Luis Romo.
Also on the list are goalkeeper Carlos Acevedo of Santos Laguna, defender Jesus Gallardo of Toluca, midfielder Erik Lira of Cruz Azul and forward Memo Martinez of Pumas.
Mora is rounding into shape after missing two months with a groin injury and has a chance to become Mexico’s youngest World Cup participant, supplanting 18-year-old Manuel “Chaquetas” Rosas in 1930. Seven 17-year-olds have participated in the tournament, including Brazil’s Pele in 1958.
Mexico is co-hosting the FIFA World Cup along with the U.S. and Canada. Mexico is currently ranked No. 15 in the world, one spot ahead of the Americans.
Placed in Group A with South Africa, South Korea and the Czech Republic, Mexico opens the World Cup against South Africa on June 11 in Mexico City.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Pistons aiming to avoid historic early exit vs. Magic
Apr 27, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) looks to pass in front of Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) during the second half during game four of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images The Detroit Pistons need a three-game winning streak to avoid joining an infamous list. Only six top seeds in NBA history have flamed out in the first round of the playoffs to a No. 8 seed.
The Pistons trail Orlando 3-1 in their best-of-seven series after a 94-88 road loss on Monday. The series resumes in Detroit on Wednesday night.
Detroit has to regain its swagger or join the 2023 Milwaukee Bucks as the only top seed since 2012 to get knocked out this early in the postseason.
The troubling reality for the Pistons, who won 60 regular-season games, is that the Magic — with the exception of Detroit’s third-quarter outburst in Game 2 — consistently have looked like the better team.
The Magic have throttled the All-Star pick-and-roll combination of Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren, leaving Detroit’s offense in tatters.
“The way that we’ve been playing, that stuff’s not good enough to win games in this league,” Cunningham said. “This league’s too good, they’re a good team. They’re outrebounding us, turning me over and we haven’t hit enough shots. Our defense hasn’t caught its footing. It’s not shocking that we’re losing games playing like that.”
With Duren neutralized by counterpart Wendell Carter Jr. and Orlando’s defensive coverage, Cunningham has been left to carry the offense. He’s averaging 29.5 points in the series but shooting just 42.4% overall and 28.6% from 3-point range. Turnovers have been a bigger issue. He’s averaging 6.8 giveaways in the series and committed eight in Game 4.
“Yeah, it’s frustrating,” Cunningham said. “A lot of it was on myself; I was frustrated with my own play. Having numbers, not making plays in transition. Things like that, the things I do best, just not being able to make plays for my team. They killed us on the offensive glass, our defense didn’t hold up. All that stuff. We’re all frustrated with all that stuff. We’ve gotta fix it and come back better.”
The Pistons’ lack of 3-point shooting has come back to bite them — they’re making just 27.5 percent of their attempts in the series.
Orlando realizes that in order to complete the upset, it will have to grind out another victory against a now desperate club.
“This is a team that won 60 games,” guard Desmond Bane said. “I’m sure they will not blink an eye about being able to win three games in a row. They did it multiple times during the regular season. We are going to have to come ready to play. I’m excited about the challenge.”
Paolo Banchero (21.0 points per game) and Bane (19.0) have been the Magic’s offensive leaders in the series. Franz Wagner scored 19 points in Game 4 but left with calf tightness. His availability for Wednesday and the remainder of the series is a big question mark.
In his absence, Jamal Cain made a major impact, including a monster dunk over Duren in the second half. Cain finished with eight points and nine rebounds.
“We’ve put ourselves in position to try to get four (wins),” coach Jamahl Mosley said. “Right now, it means nothing. We have the advantage and now we’ve just got to make sure we’ve try to keep that advantage.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: WR Jauan Jennings visiting Vikings
Jan 11, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings (15) walks off the field after win against the Philadelphia Eagles in an NFC Wild Card Round game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Free-agent wide receiver Jauan Jennings is visiting the Minnesota Vikings on Tuesday and Wednesday, ESPN reported.
The Vikings are looking for depth at the position behind two-time All-Pro Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison after losing Jalen Nailor in free agency to the Las Vegas Raiders. Minnesota did not select a wide receiver in the NFL draft last week.
Jennings had 55 catches for 643 yards and a career-best nine touchdowns in 15 games (all starts) in 2025. Those totals came one season after he put together career-high totals in receptions (77) and receiving yards (975).
Jennings, 28, has 210 catches for 2,581 yards and 22 touchdowns in 75 career games (32 starts) since being selected by San Francisco in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Tennessee.
–Field Level Media
Mexico makes Liga MX call-ups ahead of pre-World Cup camp
Pistons aiming to avoid historic early exit vs. Magic
