"THAT LOOK": WHAT AN NFL EXECUTIVE SAW IN AARON RODGERS THAT TERRIFIED THE LEAGUE

NFL executives warn against counting out Aaron Rodgers. See the stats behind Pittsburgh’s AFC North win and the Texans preview.

"That Look": What an NFL executive saw in Aaron Rodgers that terrified the league
Can Rodgers end the curse?

An NFL executive had a clear warning for anyone counting out Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers this postseason.

Honestly, not many people think the Steelers are going anywhere in these playoffs. Most aren’t even picking them to get past the Houston Texans at home in the wild-card round. Still, if you’re looking for a reason to believe, it’s Aaron Rodgers. He’s the wild card. And at least one NFL executive agrees, telling The Athletic’s Jeff Howe, “Rodgers in the playoffs is always scary, and it started (against Baltimore)—just the look in his eyes.”

That look? It mattered. In Week 18, after the Steelers went six straight quarters without a touchdown, Rodgers came alive. He led two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter against the Ravens—and just like that, the drought was over. For Rodgers, that was actually the longest he’s ever gone as a starter without a touchdown, but he snapped out of it in style.

In that final quarter, Rodgers went 11-for-14 for 134 yards. His 26-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Austin III sealed the win and clinched the AFC North for Pittsburgh.

So now, with that momentum, the Steelers get to host the Texans on Monday, January 12. It’s Rodgers’s first playoff game since 2021—and his first as a Steeler.

Can Rodgers pull off the upset? The Steelers have some great leaders, sure, but Rodgers is the main reason anyone thinks this team could surprise people. His leadership and playoff experience are why Pittsburgh waited until June to bring him in.

Coach Mike Tomlin summed it up after the Ravens game: “As I’ve said multiple times here in recent weeks, this was the vision in the spring when we pursued him. That’s why you do business with a 41- or 42-year-old guy. Been there, done that with a guy with a resume like his. He is not only capable, man, but he also thrives in it. I think he put that on display tonight.”

Rodgers is also playing his best football all season. Since December 7, he’s thrown five touchdowns and averaged 6.6 yards per pass. The Steelers are 5-2 in his last seven starts. He hasn’t thrown a pick since November 9.

So, if you’re looking for an X-factor, Rodgers is it. And in the playoffs, that makes the Steelers dangerous, no matter what anyone says.

TIMBERWOLVES CONFIRM DONTE DIVINCENZO IS OUT FOR THE SEASON WITH TORN ACHILLES

Anthony Edwards injury update, Donte DiVincenzo torn Achilles, Minnesota Timberwolves injuries, NBA playoff injury news.

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Edwards and DiVincenzo injured in Wolves win - Photo Credit: Getty Images

The Minnesota Timberwolves just got hit with some tough news right in the middle of their first-round playoff series. They won Game 4 against the Denver Nuggets, 110-96, taking a 3-1 lead, but that win comes with a high cost. Two starters, Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo, both left the game early with serious injuries, and suddenly, the rest of the playoffs feel a lot more uncertain.

The biggest worry is Anthony Edwards. He messed up his left knee late in the first half, landing awkwardly after contesting a shot. He went down right away and needed help getting to the locker room. Tests confirmed what Timberwolves fans feared: Edwards suffered a bone bruise and a hyperextension. There’s some good news here: no ligament damage, but he’s still expected to miss “multiple weeks", according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. That rules him out for the rest of the first round, and maybe even longer.

Edwards wasn’t just the Wolves’ leading scorer; he basically carried them through much of their playoff push. Now, with him out, everybody else has to pick up the slack. The pressure is real, but in Game 4, the team didn’t blink. Ayo Dosunmu came off the bench and dropped a career-high 43 points; it was just the fourth time in NBA history someone had scored 40-plus off the bench in a playoff game. Players like Mike Conley are expected to do even more now, and rotations are going to look pretty different as they scramble to adjust without their star guard.

As if that wasn’t enough, Donte DiVincenzo’s injury makes things even rougher. He went down only 79 seconds into the game. Nobody was near him; he was just chasing his own rebound and ended up tearing his right Achilles tendon. He walked off the court, but soon after, he needed a wheelchair and a splint. The Timberwolves quickly confirmed he’s out for the season.

After the game, Coach Chris Finch sounded gutted. “Completely devastating for Donte. He’s had such a great season. He’s the heart and soul of so many things that we do. You could see the look in his eye when it happened, and you knew. We’ll love him and be there for him.” DiVincenzo has been huge for Minnesota, both shooting from the perimeter and creating havoc on defence.

So now, with two major pieces missing from their backcourt, the Timberwolves are staring down the rest of this series and maybe the playoffs shorthanded. Sure, they showed resilience by winning Game 4 without their main guys, and that 3-1 cushion gives them some breathing room. But this isn’t a minor setback. It’s a test, a big one. Can the rest of these guys keep the ship steady? Game 5 will have a different look, and the pressure’s on for everyone left to step up and keep the season alive.

MARC MARQUEZ WINS CHAOTIC SPANISH GP SPRINT AFTER CRASHING IN HEAVY RAIN

MotoGP history made at Jerez! Marc Marquez takes his 17th sprint win in the first flag-to-flag Saturday race in 2026.

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Marquez’s Jerez masterclass proves he remains the undisputed king of unpredictable racing conditions - Photo Credit: Getty Images

Marc Marquez pulled off a wild comeback to win a rollercoaster Spanish Grand Prix sprint. It was the first flag-to-flag sprint since the format started in 2023, and Marquez turned his first pole of the season into another Saturday win, though it certainly wasn’t straightforward.

He started strong, but things got hairy with five laps to go when heavy rain hit. Marquez crashed out of second, scrambled across the grass, and dashed into the pit lane for his wet-weather bike. He joined Pecco Bagnaia and Brad Binder in the swap, and when Binder made a mistake, the door cracked open for Marquez.

A gutsy pass on Bagnaia with three laps left put Marquez back out front. From there, he didn’t look back, stretching his lead to just over three seconds by the chequered flag.

Bagnaia, who started 15th in the dry, battled his way to his first sprint podium of the year, while Franco Morbidelli came from 18th to snag third for VR46.

Meanwhile, title leader Marco Bezzecchi had a nightmare from the start. A tear-off strip tangled things up, so he bogged off the line and dropped from fourth to 17th. He later swapped to wets but crashed out before the end. His Aprilia teammate Jorge Martin pulled in early with a technical problem.

Alex Marquez briefly grabbed the lead from his big brother, but the rain got him too; he crashed two laps later while leading.

At the start, Marc Marquez got off to a sharp launch, immediately taking the holeshot with the track still mostly dry. Alex wasted no time chasing him, passing Johann Zarco and cutting Marc’s early advantage. Marc played it safe as the weather turned nasty, but with six laps to go, Alex pounced for the lead at Turn 9, and almost instantly, Marc hit the deck at the last corner.

After a quick grass detour, Marc dived into the pits for wets. Bagnaia, Binder, Morbidelli, and Alex Rins followed. For a moment, Binder emerged as the leader with the rest still out on slicks, but those odds didn’t last.

Alex Marquez and VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio stayed out on slicks a bit longer, but Alex crashed at Turn 8, and Di Giannantonio finally swapped bikes a lap later.

Fermin Aldeguer hung on with slicks while everyone else had already switched. Up front, Binder held the net lead, but a mistake at Turn 2 opened the door wide.

That put the Ducati factory pair Bagnaia and Marquez on top. Marc dived inside at Turn 9 to grab the lead, never looking back. That makes 17 career sprint wins for him and jumps him to fourth in the championship, now just 24 points from the top.

Binder hung on for fourth, Di Giannantonio salvaged fifth after his late stop, and Raul Fernandez took sixth for Trackhouse Aprilia. Fabio Quartararo was seventh for Yamaha, with Zarco in eighth and Luca Marini grabbing the last point for Honda.

Crashes piled up: Joan Mir (Honda), Bezzecchi, Lorenzo Savadori, Toprak Razgatlıoğlu, and Pedro Acosta, although Acosta did remount to finish 12th.

Despite wiping out, Bezzecchi keeps the championship lead, just four points ahead of his Aprilia teammate Jorge Martin.

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