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Doug Pederson hopes return to Philly propels Jags

NFL: Green Bay Packers at Jacksonville JaguarsOct 27, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson watches a replay against the Green Bay Packers during the first quarter at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Pederson returns to Philadelphia on Sunday without at least one top wide receiver and faces a surging Eagles team that is a Hail Mary away from first place.

The Eagles (5-2) have won three straight games and were on the verge of overtaking Washington for the NFC East lead before a miraculous, last-second touchdown pass by the Commanders last Sunday moved Washington to 6-2.

Philadelphia cruised to a second consecutive road victory last weekend, winning 37-17 at Cincinnati following a 28-3 defeat of the New York Giants in Week 7.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts accounted for four TDs (three rushing) against the Bengals and did not turn the ball over for a third straight game. Saquon Barkley ran for 108 yards, surpassing 100 scrimmage yards for the sixth time in seven games, and is No. 2 in the NFL with 766 rushing yards.

The Eagles rank second in the league in rushing with 165.9 yards per game and fourth with 12 rushing touchdowns.

“I think the identity of this football team is physical and that’s what we’re going to try and play by each week, is physical,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “Now, when you say physical, that doesn’t mean you have to run it every time — you run it, you pass it, you can be physical in both aspects.”

Philadelphia meets a Jacksonville defense that ranks 29th in scoring (28.0 points per game) and total defense (382.1 yards per game).

The Jaguars (2-6) were unsuccessful in Pederson’s first return to Philly, where he coached from 2016-20 and led the Eagles to their only Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl LII. Philadelphia welcomed him back with a 29-21 win against Jacksonville on Oct. 2, 2022.

In that meeting two years ago, the Eagles limited the Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence to a career-low 11 pass completions and forced five turnovers by the quarterback — including four fumbles.

Lawrence may have bad memories, but Pederson said he looked forward to being back at Lincoln Financial Field, where he is honored with a statue depicting his “Philly Special” play call in the Super Bowl that helped to defeat the New England Patriots.

“Fans are great. Obviously, we won a championship there and I’ve still got a lot of close friends, family friends,” he said Wednesday. “That place is always going to be one of the spots for me that I enjoy going back to.”

As for the statue, Pederson said he didn’t plan to visit it. “Want me to tailgate, too?” he quipped.

Jacksonville last weekend lost by five or fewer points for the fourth time this season, falling 30-27 at home on Green Bay’s walk-off 24-yard field goal by Brandon McManus.

The Jaguars also lost receiver Christian Kirk for the season with a broken collarbone in the fourth quarter. He ranks second on the team in receptions (27) and receiving yards (379) behind rookie Brian Thomas Jr., who left that game with a chest contusion and was limited in Wednesday’s practice along with fellow wideout Gabe Davis (shoulder).

Jacksonville running back Tank Bigsby (ankle) was also limited Wednesday, but Pederson said he was hopeful for the return of starter Travis Etienne Jr. (hamstring) after missing two games. Etienne was also limited at practice.

For the Eagles, defensive tackle Jalen Carter (shoulder), guard Landon Dickerson (knee), tight end Dallas Goedert (hamstring) and cornerback Darius Slay (groin) did not practice Wednesday. Offensive lineman Mekhi Becton (concussion) was limited.

After losing the first three meetings against the Jaguars from 1997-2006, the Eagles have swept the last four to grab the lead in the all-time series.

–Field Level Media

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Baylor edges UCF on last-second free throw

NCAA Basketball: Baylor at Central FloridaFeb 28, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; UCF Knights guard Riley Kugel (2) shoots against Baylor Bears guard Cameron Carr (43) during the first half at Addition Financial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images

Obi Agbim made a free throw with one second left Saturday night, lifting visiting Baylor to an 87-86 Big 12 Conference win over UCF in Orlando.

The Bears (15-14, 5-11 Big 12) led the entire second half until the Knights’ Jamichael Stillwell’s layup tied it at 84 with 1:08 left. After Agbim’s layup put Baylor up, UCF’s Devan Cambridge sank two foul shots with 25 seconds remaining to tie it again. UCF gave a foul with three seconds left, followed by each team using their final timeout to plot strategy.

Out of timeouts, Baylor fed Agbim for a 3-pointer and he was fouled by Riley Kugel. Agbim missed the first, made the second and missed the third but it was rebounded by teammate Cameron Carr, allowing the Bears to run out the clock.

Carr scored 26 points for Baylor, going 10 of 10 at the foul line. Dan Skillings Jr. came off the bench to add 15 points, while Isaac Williams chipped in 14 and Agbim finished with 12 to go along with seven assists.

Kugel scored 26 points to pace the Knights (20-8, 9-7), while Jordan Burks added 12 and Stillwell hit for 11. Themus Fulks managed only eight points, six under his average, but dished out a game-high 10 assists.

While UCF entered the game off a convincing win at No. 19 BYU on Tuesday night that likely sealed its at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, Baylor came in knowing it would need to win its last three regular-season games and then do damage in the Big 12 tourney to have a chance.

The Bears lit up the Knights for 56 first-half points, making 19 of 35 field goal attempts and going 8 of 15 from the 3-point line. Carr was instrumental in that effort, ringing up 20 points on just nine shot attempts. He was 4 of 6 on 3-pointers and made all six of his free throws.

UCF shot well for most of the half but went cold down the stretch. It was also outscored 10-2 in fastbreak points and went to the break trailing by 14.

–Field Level Media

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Luka Doncic has happy birthday as Lakers crush Warriors

NBA: Los Angeles Lakers at Golden State WarriorsFeb 28, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward/guard Luka Doncic (77) dribbles against Golden State Warriors guard Moses Moody (4) in the second period at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images

Luka Doncic celebrated his 27th birthday with 26 points, eight assists and six rebounds to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 129-101 rout of the Golden State Warriors on Saturday in San Francisco.

Los Angeles came into the Bay Area on a three-game losing skid but rebounded emphatically. The Lakers surrendered the game’s first two points, then went on to score the next 10 en route to a lead they never relinquished.

Doncic set the pace for the Los Angeles offense, shooting 9 of 17 from the field, including 4 of 9 from 3-point range. He knocked down consecutive triples to open the second half, then connected on another pair minutes later as part of a 16-9 surge.

Doncic scored 16 points in a third quarter that effectively snuffed any hope of a Golden State rally.

The Warriors showed signs of life in the second quarter when they trimmed what had been a 23-point deficit to 12 points on the strength of a 15-2 spurt. Gary Payton II scored six of his 12 points off the bench during the run.

Twelve was as close as Golden State came the rest of the night. The Los Angeles lead steadily ballooned throughout the second half behind five Lakers scoring at least 15 points.

LeBron James shot 4 of 6 from 3-point distance and 7 of 13 from the floor overall en route to 22 points. James also flirted with a triple-double, adding a game-high nine assists and seven rebounds.

Austin Reaves scored 18 points for Los Angeles and Luke Kennard came off the bench to connect on 4-of-7 3-point attempts on his way to 16 points. Jake LaRavia dropped in 15 points in reserve duty.

Golden State, meanwhile, had just one scorer with more than 12 points: Gui Santos, who finished with 14.

Moses Moody scored all 12 of his points on 4-of-10 3-point shooting. De’Anthony Melton added 10 points and Al Horford scored eight points off the bench.

–Field Level Media

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Ole Miss snaps losing skid at Auburn's expense

Syndication: The Montgomery AdvertiserOle Miss Rebels guard Ilias Kamardine (6) shoots a floater as Auburn Tigers take on Ole Miss Rebels at Neville Arena in Auburn, Ala. on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026.

Ole Miss snapped its longest losing streak since 2002-03 to crush Auburn’s seemingly slim March Madness dreams with a gutsy 85-79 Southeastern Conference road win Saturday night.

The Rebels (12-17, 4-12 SEC) had dropped their last 10 games but came alive with their second-best shooting day of the season, making 31 of 58 shots from the field (53.4%).

AJ Storr and Patton Pinkins led all scorers with 26 points apiece. Storr came off the bench for the Rebels shooting 9 for 15 from the field to go along with four assists. Pinkins made 8 of his 10 shots, including 4 for 5 from 3-point range, and Malik Dia finished with 10.

Keyshawn Hall helped lead the charge for Auburn (15-14, 6-10) with 21 points, including making 9 of his 10 free throw attempts. Tahaad Pettiford chipped in 24 points, Elyjah Freeman had 15 and Kevin Overton dropped 10.

Auburn built an early second half lead, but Ole Miss responded with a 22-4 run to blow open the game and take a 67-55 lead with 7:32 left.

The Tigers brought it close, but the Rebels never let go of the lead after that.

Ole Miss iced the game with a huge alley-oop, second-chance dunk by James Scott, who had a season-high four blocks, to stretch the lead to 78-71 with 1:11 left.

With the Help of Storr, Ole Miss’ bench dominated Auburn’s, outscoring the Tigers 28-4.

Both teams came out the gates hot with the Rebels making 7 of their first 8 shots and the Tigers making 6 of their first 8. Auburn fell behind by six early but used a 14-2 run that was capped by an acrobatic layup from Filip Jovic to pull ahead 31-25 with 4:46 left in the half.

The Rebels scored the last eight points of the half, including a layup and jumper from Storr, to take a 38-37 lead into the half.

Ole Miss was lights out in the first half making 16 of 27 shots (59.3%) and 5 of 11 from 3-point range. Dia, Storr and Pinkins each got into double digits in the first half with the latter two logging 10 points and the former with 11.

Auburn made 14 of 26 shots (53.8%) in the first half with Hall leading the way with 10 points.

This was Ole Miss’ first win over Auburn, breaking a 10-game head-to-head skid, since the Rebels pulled out an 86-84 overtime win Feb. 6, 2021.

–Field Level Media

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