Sports
Take III: Rival Eagles, Commanders collide in NFC title game
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs the ball during the first quarter against the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images Jayden Daniels and the underdog Washington Commanders are one win away from the Super Bowl with a familiar roadblock standing in the way.
East division rivals meet in Philadelphia on Sunday to decide the NFC in the third meeting between the teams since the Eagles posted a 26-18 win on Nov. 14 with a 20-point fourth quarter. The Commanders have two road playoff wins in the same postseason for the first time in history, including a 45-31 dismantling of the Lions at Detroit last week.
But don’t tell Commanders coach Dan Quinn his team is an underdog.
“Internally, we have a lot of expectations about how we can play and what we do. We never went too far outside. Did we feel dismissed or put off? Yeah. That happened in the opening game. I felt dismissed, ‘Hey man, hang in there it’s going to be a long time.’ I was like, ‘FU. That’s not how it’s going to go down.’ It wasn’t disrespect. It was dismissive.
“It’s not a prove it to everybody else or an underdog stories. It’s about how we get down.”
Washington pulled the “upset” of the Eagles five weeks after their first meeting. The Commanders claimed the 36-33 nailbiter after Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts exited with a concussion five minutes into the game.
Kenny Pickett replaced Hurts on the fifth play of the second offensive possession and gave the Eagles a 14-0 lead on a 4-yard toss to A.J. Brown as part of Philadelphia’s 21-point opening quarter at Washington. The Commanders shifted into rally mode to hand Philadelphia its only loss since September.
Quinn said it’s Daniels’ in-the-moment skills that separate him from others. He led the NFL in completions (101) and touchdowns (12) against the blitz this season.
Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin said Daniels knows only one way.
“He doesn’t want to lose at anything. I told him (after losing to the Ravens), ‘Don’t ever lose that. You’re going to lose some games in the NFL.’ He doesn’t accept a bad rep out in practice,” McLaurin said. “Even at this point in the season, if he has a bad rep, we’re doing it again. In practice, or cards down in the weight room, he’s going to continue to compete.”
Hurts began the week with his status unclear because of a knee injury. Head coach Nick Sirianni said his quarterback and rookie cornerback Quinyon Mitchell (shoulder) were attendees for a light walkthrough practice. Sirianni said beating Daniels won’t motivate Hurts, who commonly uses the phrase “keep the main thing the main thing.” On Sunday, the main thing is punching a ticket back to the Super Bowl.
“He’s the same guy all the time. No matter who we’re playing, when we’re playing, practice, game. He’s the same guy,” Sirianni said. “He loves football. Jalen’s pretty stoic and I love that about him. The same thing I say about Jayden Daniels, that he’s calm, cool, I say the same thing about Jalen Hurts.”
Daniels and the top-down regime change in Washington has changed the fortunes of the franchise, now sitting on a 10-win improvement over their 4-13 record in 2023. The No. 2 pick in the 2024 draft was 6 years old when the franchise last won a playoff game (at Tampa Bay in January 2006) before the current postseason. They’re appearing in a conference championship game for the first time since 1991 and sixth overall (5-1).
Quinn again puts trust in a player he calls “a rare dude” as the No. 6 seed in the NFC attempts to storm all the way to New Orleans with a third upset in these playoffs. Daniels can become the first rookie quarterback to win three postseason games and surpass Ben Roethlisberger (14 wins, 2004 Steelers) to claim the record for wins in a season, including playoffs.
“He’s a young quarterback by birth certificate, not by the tape,” said Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. “The guy is playing extremely well. You can tell how much they think he’s playing so good by the volume of their offense and the things they trust him to do. He’s come through for them in a big way, and he’s tough to handle.”
The Eagles intercepted Daniels three times in two games in the regular season.
Washington had to make a change at right guard. Sam Cosmi left the win at Detroit with a torn ACL and Trent Scott, a 30-year-old on his fifth NFL team, enters the fire against All-Pro defensive tackle Jalen Carter on Sunday. Carter had two sacks, five QB pressures, forced a fumble and batted a pass in a game-altering performance against the Rams last week.
He’s a player Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury has been worried about since the teams first met in Week 11.
“They’re not giving anything easy,” Kingsbury said. “And then creating havoc up front, 98 (Carter) is as good a player as there is in the NFL right now. He wrecked us the first game, and they have some really good rushers.”
Outside linebacker Nolan Smith leads the Eagles with three sacks in the playoffs alongside linebacker Zack Baun, a finalist for NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Washington has two of the NFL’s top three tacklers in the playoffs in Jeremy Chinn (19 total tackles) and Bobby Wagner, a tandem abundantly aware of their mission Sunday. Wagner, who has 16 postseason tackles, didn’t practice Wednesday. He plans to play through an ankle injury suffered late in the wild-card win at Tampa Bay.
Commanders defensive tackle Daron Payne (knee, finger) missed practice Wednesday but said he wouldn’t miss the “dogfight” with the Eagles.
Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore didn’t attempt to mask his intent against Washington, saying the game plan would follow the same formula even if Hurts is limited or out.
Because of seven sacks, the Eagles had 65 net passing yards against the Rams. Hurts was not as explosive in the second half but had a 44-yard touchdown run in the first half.
“Your prep all week tries to account for everything you can encounter, from whether Jalen can go run or not, whether it’s snowing, whether it’s raining, whether it’s windy,” Sirianni said.
Barkley remains the essential ingredient for the Eagles’ offense otherwise playing more of a supporting role to Philadelphia’s No. 1-ranked defense in the playoffs. The Eagles rushed for more than 200 yards in both regular-season games, averaging 219.5 yards on the ground, and Barkley provided the big plays. He gained 146 yards on the ground in the first meeting, 150 in the second and scored four touchdowns highlighted by TD runs of 39 and 68 yards. He also caught a 43-yard pass in the November game.
Including the playoffs, Barkley’s historic season puts him third in single-season rushing yards (2,329) and fourth in total yards (2,638) by any player in NFL history. Broncos running back Terrell Davis had 2,476 yards in 1998 as part of a Super Bowl-winning run in Denver.
The recipe for winning two road games to open the playoffs has been simple for Washington. They have zero turnovers, six takeaways and outscored Tampa Bay and No. 1 seed Detroit by a combined 17 points with eight touchdowns in two games. The Commanders lead all teams in the playoffs averaging 34 points and are hogging the ball with a playoff-leading 142 offensive plays.
Philadelphia is hosting three playoff rounds for the first time in team history. The Eagles own a 4-4 record in conference championships since 1970 and won the NFC title game in 2017 and 2022.
“When you get into the third matchup with somebody, you want fresh eyes in the approach. It’s not the third game, it’s the first playoff game,” Quinn said.
Tight end Dallas Goedert (ankle) and center Cam Jurgens (back) did not participate in the Eagles’ walkthrough practice on Wednesday.
–Field Level Media
Sports
A'ja Wilson has no shortage of motivation after Aces' early exit in '24
Oct 1, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson (22) and New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) during game two of the 2024 WNBA Semi-finals at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images LAS VEGAS — Entering her eighth season in the WNBA, Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson is poised to build on what was arguably the most dominant individual campaign in league history.
Wilson joined Cynthia Cooper (1997) as the second player in league history to win a unanimous MVP award and joined an exclusive club as the fourth player to win the award three times. She averaged 26.9 points and 11.9 rebounds per game last season and set the all-time single-season mark for points (1,021) and rebounds (451).
Unfortunately for Las Vegas, injuries and fatigue from their two previous championship runs mounted and resulted in the team’s worst regular-season record (27-13) since 2019. The Aces’ three-peat hopes ended with a 76-62 home loss to the New York Liberty to drop their semifinal series 3-1.
It’s that loss on her home floor that served as Wilson’s motivation this offseason.
“Losing sucks, especially on your home court,” Wilson said “It still kind of burns a little bit, but I’ve used that as fuel to help my teammates understand how hard it is to win in this league. Yes, we can celebrate the two championships. They were great. But for us to move forward, we have to understand how hard this league is and value the basketball and the little things. I think that’s what we lacked last season, so we’re going to make sure that we can show up better than we did.”
While the Aces appeared to be on top of the world heading into their potential three-peat campaign in 2024, the reality inside the locker room was that both the internal and external pressure to win another championship had become suffocating. A common theme across media day was the fact that the team feels less pressure entering the 2025 season, a sentiment Wilson shared as the unquestioned leader of the team.
“(Three-peat talks) obviously impacted us, because it’s like, y’all think we don’t want to win? We’re trying as well,” Wilson said.
“I would definitely say it’s refreshing this year. I feel like this is one of my only years where it feels like there’s no weight. There’s a lot of weight to be defending champs. It’s a lot of weight to be trying to win one. We don’t have that. We actually have a clean slate to really dial into getting back to who we are culturally, like, in our system and everything.”
Leading the Aces back to the top of the mountain for a third time in four years is one of a few historically significant achievements Wilson can collect this upcoming season. Wilson could also become the first four-time MVP in league history, though the meaning of that is something she hasn’t quite allowed herself to ponder yet.
“I haven’t given it much thought, but it would be a blessing to have my name in that conversation,” Wilson said. “Every year, I try to be better than I was the year before just to give myself a chance in this league. Because the league is getting better. We’re growing. At this point, you just want to maintain your stamina. You want to maintain your mental, all of that, because the season gets hard. I can’t think too much about that just yet, but I’m definitely going to try to be better than I was last year.”
As Aces coach Becky Hammon put it, fans can expect to see an even better version of Wilson this season.
“What I see is, she went and got better,” Hammon said. “Which is hard to do when you’re already the best, but it speaks to her work ethic, her desire and her mindset this whole offseason. We talked a lot this offseason. She’s a busy lady, but I can tell you what she always does is her workouts. She’s always getting her workouts in. That comes first and foremost, she never gets her priorities jumbled up.”
When Hammon was asked what a player like Wilson would possibly need to improve after last season’s campaign, the coach did not feel like revealing too much.
“There was (something for Wilson to improve), and she did,” Hammon said. “I’m not going to tell you what it was. Actually, there were two things.”
–Will Despart, Field Level Media
Sports
Jacob Wilson joins Aaron Judge in spotlight for Yankees-A's series
May 5, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson (5) throws to first for an out against the Seattle Mariners during the seventh inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images The top two hitters in the majors square off Friday night when the New York Yankees face the Athletics in the opener of a three-game series in Sacramento, Calif.
It’s no surprise to see Yankees star Aaron Judge off to a superb start after winning American League MVP honors last season. He has a major league-best .400 batting average and entered Thursday’s play tied for the big-league lead with 12 homers and 34 RBIs.
But who had Athletics rookie Jacob Wilson ranking second in the majors at .357 as the season nears the quarter pole? Wilson has played in just 64 career games and quickly has solidified himself as a future All-Star, perhaps even this season.
Sharing the marquee board with Judge seems quite surreal for the 23-year-old shortstop who was the No. 6 overall pick of the 2023 draft.
“It’s a great feeling, for sure,” Wilson said of his name being mentioned with Judge. “Obviously, everybody has seen what he is doing. It’s pretty incredible watching him do his thing on a daily basis. To be up there with him is pretty cool for me.
“I’m excited to play against him this week and see what it looks like in person.”
Wilson had his first career four-hit game during Wednesday’s 6-5 home loss against the Seattle Mariners and has six multi-hit outings in the past eight games. He went 8-for-14 with one game-winning hit in the three-game series against the Mariners and is 16-for-34 (.471) with four walks during the eight-game stretch.
The hot hitting led to Athletics manager Mark Kotsay moving Wilson to the leadoff spot on Wednesday. Kotsay indicated Wilson may be sticking at the top of the lineup.
“I think you’ll see Jacob up there now,” Kotsay said. “Jacob’s earned it. … Jacob has shown enough over the last week. He’s walking and taking pitches, and, obviously, swinging the bat really well.”
Judge arrives in Sacramento in the midst of a four-game funk in which he is 2-for-15.
The two-time MVP just went 1-for-10 in a three-game home series against the San Diego Padres, but the one hit was a homer.
Judge grew up 50 miles south of Sacramento in Linden and starred for Linden High but wasn’t highly sought by major league teams. The then-Oakland Athletics selected him in the 31st round in 2010.
Judge instead went the college route and starred for Fresno State. He was chosen in the first round (32nd overall) by the Yankees in the 2013 draft.
Trent Grisham was one of the heroes of Wednesday’s 4-3, 10-inning win over the Padres. He hit a tying two-run pinch-hit homer in the eighth inning.
Grisham had two homers and five RBIs in the series against the Padres — one of his former teams — and already has 10 long balls in just 89 at-bats. He hit just nine last season in 179 at-bats.
“I’m having fun with the guys, I would say that more than anything,” Grisham said. “The clubhouse is really good in here, led by Cap (Judge). So, I would say the guys have been the most enjoyable part.”
New York is starting right-hander Will Warren (1-2, 5.65 ERA) in Friday’s series opener. Right-hander Osvaldo Bido (2-2, 4.71) will be on the mound for the Athletics.
Warren, 25, struck out a career-high eight in 4 2/3 innings while losing to the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. He gave up five runs (three earned) and seven hits. Warren hasn’t previously faced the Athletics.
Bido, 29, received a no-decision against the Miami Marlins last Saturday when he gave up four runs on three hits over five innings. He is winless (0-1) over his last three starts. Bido hasn’t faced the Yankees.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao coming out of retirement
Aug 21, 2021; Las Vegas, Nevada; Manny Pacquiao (right) fights Yordenis Ugas in a world welterweight championship bout at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao plans to end his retirement and return to the ring on July 19 against Mario Barrios in Las Vegas, ESPN reported Thursday.
Pacquiao, 46, will be fighting for the first time since losing a unanimous decision to Yordenis Ugas in 2021.
The fight will be for Barrios’ WBC welterweight championship belt. Barrios turns 30 on May 18.
Pacquiao is an eight-division champion who is slated to be inducted into the boxing Hall of Fame in June. He reportedly will formally announce his return to boxing next week. The report stated that Pacquiao has been cleared to compete by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
In recent years, Pacquiao has been focusing on his political career in the Philippines.
The boxer nicknamed “PacMan” has a 62-8-2 record with 39 knockouts during his career. He won his first major title — the WBC flyweight crown — at age 19 in 1998.
Pacquiao was 54-3-2 prior to turning 33 and 8-5 afterward. One of those losses was to Floyd Mayweather Jr. via unanimous decision in 2015, a bout that reportedly drew nearly $400 million in pay-per-view sales.
Barrios (29-2-1, 18 knockouts) fought to a 12-round, split-decision draw against Abel Ramos last November. This will be his third defense since winning the title by beating Ugas in 2023.
–Field Level Media
A'ja Wilson has no shortage of motivation after Aces' early exit in '24
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