Sports
Pats' Jerod Mayo not focused on No. 1 pick: 'We need to play football'
Dec 28, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo watches from the sideline as they take on the Los Angeles Chargers at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images The New England Patriots face an interesting dilemma as they prepare for Sunday’s season finale.
Lose at home to the Buffalo Bills, and the Patriots (3-13) secure the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft.
On paper, that would seem almost a certainty. New England is riding a six-game losing streak, with last Saturday’s 40-7 rout at the hands of the Los Angeles Chargers the new low-water mark in coach Jerod Mayo’s first season.
The issue is that Buffalo (13-3) is locked into the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs and may rest many of its stars with nothing to gain from winning on Sunday.
Mayo said the Patriots are “100 percent focused on beating the Buffalo Bills,” and that securing the No. 1 draft pick isn’t his priority. So, if rookie quarterback Drake Maye and other key personnel are healthy, he expects his team to take the field with the intent of closing out the season with a victory.
“That’s what we have to do,” Mayo said on Monday. “My expectation is if the guys are healthy, then they’re expected to be ready to go out there and play. Again, we’ll have to see how the week goes. I understand the question. The guys are working hard and we need to play football.”
Mayo said he knew his first season at the helm in New England would be a challenge, but also pointed to the eight one-score games the Patriots have lost.
Pass rusher Keion White is among multiple players who have questioned the team’s direction under the current coaching staff, but Mayo said he believes his team has continued to play hard — it’s just a lack of execution that continues to hold the Patriots back.
“It seems like we’ve been in the storm for a long time. I think the players as a whole, I would say they’ve come into work every day during a difficult season. I think that’s been a huge piece of the puzzle,” Mayo said. “Hopefully we can keep that going forward. We had eight one-score games this year. We just got to, honestly, we have to win those games. That’s what the NFL is. That’s going to be the goal going forward.”
Asked whether he has been assured by owner Robert Kraft that he will return for a second season, Mayo did not address the question directly.
“I’m always in constant communication with ownership, and I feel like we’re still on the same page,” he said.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Reports: Giants sending DT Dexter Lawrence to Bengals for No. 10 overall pick
New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence (97) gestures during a Thursday Night Football game between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on Oct. 9, 2025. The New York Giants have traded three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals for the No. 10 pick overall in Thursday’s draft, according to multiple reports on Saturday night.
Lawrence, 28, requested a trade last week and did not report to the Giants’ offseason program, with reports that discussions over a contract extension had reached an impasse.
The Giants have their original first-round pick at No. 5 and now No. 10.
NFL Network reported on Saturday that the Bengals will be giving Lawrence a contract extension. He is set to earn a base salary of $18.5 million in 2026 and is under contract through 2027 but with no guaranteed money remaining.
A 2019 first-round pick (17th overall) out of Clemson, Lawrence has recorded 341 tackles, 30.5 sacks and 103 quarterback hits in 109 games (102 starts) over seven seasons in New York.
He was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2022 through 2024, but not last season when he started 17 games and had 31 tackles, 0.5 sacks, four tackles for loss, eight quarterback hits and one interception.
Cincinnati already added to its defensive line with offseason signings of former Seahawks edge rusher Boye Mafe to a three-year, $60 million contract and former Vikings tackle Jonathan Allen to a two-year, $25 million deal.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Galaxy rally from 2-0 deficit, earn draw with FC Dallas
Apr 18, 2026; Frisco, Texas, USA; LA Galaxy forward Joseph Paintsil (28) dribbles the ball as FC Dallas forward Petar Musa (9) defends during the first half at Toyota Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images The visiting LA Galaxy erased an early 2-0 deficit with a pair of late first-half goals and then choked off the FC Dallas offense in the second half to earn a 2-2 draw on Saturday night in Frisco, Texas.
Lucas Sanabria got LA (2-3-3, 9 points) on the board and Joseph Paintsil equalized three minutes into first-half stoppage time. It appeared that Dallas (3-1-4, 13 points) snapped the tie when Kaick tallied in the 75th minute, but the goal was nullified for offsides.
Petar Musa collected a brace for Dallas, giving him nine goals on the year and enabling him to take the MLS goal-scoring lead over Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi and Nashville’s Sam Surridge. But the Galaxy kept him in check after halftime.
Musa needed just seven minutes to start the scoring, with the help of a horrific turnover by LA captain Maya Yoshida. Attempting to boot the ball laterally to a teammate in his end, Yoshida instead squibbed the ball right to Musa.
Given plenty of time and space to make his move, Musa measured goalie JT Marcinowski and calmly booted the ball into the lower left corner from just outside the box.
Dallas controlled the ball for most of the half, bolstering its advantage in the 38th minute via a nice buildup inside the Galaxy zone. Logan Farrington crossed from the left side and a sliding Musa poked it past Marcinowski.
Sanabria pulled one back in the 43rd minute as his shot from the top of the box deflected off the shoe of a Dallas defender and eluded goalie Michael Collodi at the right post.
Paintsil, playing his first match of the year after sitting out the first eight with injury, made it level via a fine feed from Gabriel Pec. Left open in the box, Paintsil wired a shot over Collodi and under the crossbar.
Dallas tried 11 shots to LA’s nine as it stretched its unbeaten string to five matches. Both teams got five shots on frame.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Minnesota United blank Timbers for 3rd straight win
Apr 18, 2026; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota United FC forward Kelvin Yeboah (9) shoots the ball as Portland Timbers defender Finn Surman (20) and defender Brandon Bye (5) defend during the first half at Allianz Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images Tomas Chancalay had a goal and an assist as the Minnesota United won their third match in a row with Saturday night’s 2-0 victory against the Portland Timbers at Saint Paul, Minn.
Kelvin Yeboah scored the other goal, making it three matches in a row that he has a goal for the Loons (4-2-2, 14 points). Minnesota goalkeeper Drake Callender made two saves for the clean sheet.
Yeboah has half of his team’s 10 goals in MLS play. He’s the team’s only player with more than one goal.
James Pantemis made five saves for Portland (2-5-1, 7 points), which fell to 0-4-0 in road matches.
Chancalay scored his first goal of the season in the 16th minute off Jefferson Diaz’s assist.
Yeboah’s goal in the 60th minute capped a fastbreak with a short-range shot after Chancalay provided the final pass. Chancalay has four assists this year.
Portland has surrendered two or more goals in each of its last three road matches.
The Timbers began a busy stretch that includes several road assignments with a largely solid game despite failing to score. They held a 4-3 edge in corner kicks and a 55%-45% possession advantage, but Minnesota outshot the visitors 17-12, including 7-2 on shots on target.
The teams played to a 1-1 draw last August in the same stadium.
Portland stays on the road next Saturday, visiting San Diego FC. Minnesota plays twice next week, visiting FC Dallas on Wednesday before hosting LAFC on Saturday.
–Field Level Media
Reports: Giants sending DT Dexter Lawrence to Bengals for No. 10 overall pick
Galaxy rally from 2-0 deficit, earn draw with FC Dallas
