THE SEVENTH RING? PATRIOTS PREPARE TO FACE RAMS OR SEAHAWKS IN SUPER BOWL LX
New England heads to Super Bowl LX after a gritty 10-7 win over Denver. Discover how Leonard Taylor’s blocked kick saved the game.
The Patriots are heading to Super Bowl LX after grinding out a 10-7 win over the Broncos in a wild Denver snowstorm.
The snow started coming down hard at halftime, turning the game into a battle for every inch of the field. Late in the fourth, with just under five minutes left and the Broncos lining up for a 45-yard field goal to tie it, Leonard Taylor—fresh off the practice squad—got his hand on the kick and blocked it. That was huge.
Both teams struggled to move the ball all night. They punted a combined 14 times and missed four field goals. Still, the Patriots found a way to get it done. They didn’t turn the ball over once, even as the Broncos leaned on Jarrett Stidham at quarterback.
Early on, it looked like Denver might take control. After both teams traded punts, Marvin Mims torched Christian Gonzalez for a 52-yard catch, then Stidham hit Cortland Sutton for a six-yard touchdown. The Broncos went up 7-0 with about four and a half minutes left in the first quarter. But Gonzalez got some payback later, picking off Stidham on Denver’s final drive.
In the second quarter, Sean Payton tried to get aggressive on fourth-and-1, turning down a short field goal. Stidham’s pass fell incomplete under heavy pressure from Milton Williams, and Denver never scored again.
New England’s offence couldn’t get much going before halftime, but the defence gave them a shot. Christian Elliss pressured Stidham, who tried to shovel the ball away—Elliss hit his hand, the ball popped loose, and Elijah Ponder scooped it up and ran it in. The refs blew the play dead, though, so the Patriots just took over at Denver’s 12. Two plays later, Drake Maye kept it himself and ran in for a six-yard touchdown, thanks to some great blocking. Maye didn’t have a big night passing—he finished 10-for-21 with 86 yards—but he made up for it on the ground, racking up 65 rushing yards.
After halftime, the Patriots finally put together a solid drive, eating up more than nine minutes on a 16-play, 64-yard march. They stalled in the red zone, though, and had to settle for a short Andy Borregales field goal to go up 10-7.
That field goal turned out to be the difference.
Now, the Patriots are off to the Super Bowl on February 8, where they’ll face either the Rams or the Seahawks, depending on who wins the NFC Championship on Sunday.
MIKE BROWN BLASTS KNICKS AFTER EMBARRASSING FIRST HALF AGAINST BATTERED WARRIORS
Mike Brown rips into the New York Knicks after a sluggish 110-107 win over an undermanned Golden State Warriors squad.
The New York Knicks barely pulled off a comeback win over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, edging them out 110-107. But honestly, looking at who the Warriors had available, it didn’t feel much like a win.
The Warriors were missing a tonne of key players: Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and Jimmy Butler were all out. The Knicks, playing at home and coming in as 14-point favourites, should’ve had an easy night. Instead, they found themselves down by 21 and had to scramble just to get the job done. Even their head coach, Mike Brown, made it clear he wasn’t impressed. He spent most of his postgame press conference tearing into his team for letting things get so out of hand.
“At this point of the year, it’s good to get a win. But I was not happy the way we started the game,” Brown told reporters after the game.
Brown said he isn’t planning any lineup changes, at least not yet. But he’s not ruling anything out as the regular season winds down.
It’s not like this slow-start problem is new. Over their last six games, the Knicks have the third-worst net rating in first quarters, sitting at minus-18. That's nowhere near good enough with the playoffs about a month away.
These were supposed to be easier games on the schedule, but New York keeps making them harder than they should be. The Knicks had to come back from down 18 against the Jazz, and before that, they actually blew a 17-point lead to an undermanned Pacers team, barely hanging on for that win, too.
Brown’s frustration shows. He’s been vocal about the team’s poor starts, and after this Warriors game, he even decided not to name a Defensive Player of the Game – the first time all season he left that honour blank after a win.
“This is a veteran team… I shouldn’t have to call two timeouts in the first six minutes of the ballgame,” Brown said afterward.
With the playoffs coming up fast, the Knicks have no choice; they need to start games with more energy and focus. Falling behind early won’t always be something they can come back from, especially against tougher teams.
WHY DILLON BROOKS IS THE SURPRISE CHOICE TO REPLACE LEBRON JAMES
LeBron James may leave the Lakers this summer, with rumours swirling about Dillon Brooks arriving as his defensive replacement.
The Lakers have some big decisions ahead this offseason, and if the whispers about LeBron James leaving become reality, wing depth jumps to the top of the to-do list.
Now, the idea of LeBron and Dillon Brooks, of all people, teaming up sounds wild, maybe even impossible. And yet, there’s buzz about LA making a move for Brooks, who’s been a LeBron nemesis for years. In this scenario, though, Brooks would actually slide in as LeBron’s replacement, not his teammate.
The timing almost feels right for Brooks. He’s putting together the best season of his career, finally living up to that 3-and-D role people have been waiting for. If the Lakers really are building around Luka Dončić (now, suddenly, the centrepiece) and Austin Reaves, then Brooks fits in perfectly.
So, what would it take? Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz floated an idea: the Lakers send Jake LaRavia, Dalton Knecht, Adou Thiero, and a projected 2026 first-round pick (No. 25 overall) to the Suns for Brooks. That’s giving up some youth and a pick, but you get a proven scorer and one of the league’s top defenders. Honestly, for a team chasing championships, that’s not a steep price.
“If LeBron James leaves the Lakers in free agency, the team will need a new starting power forward,” Swartz wrote. “It would be hilarious for Brooks and LeBron to team up, but even without James, Brooks works; he’s a strong defender and can score. He’s averaging almost 21 points, nearly four rebounds, and a steal a game for the Suns this year. So, the numbers are there.
This isn’t the first time Brooks’ name has popped up with the Lakers, but before, that rivalry with LeBron always killed the idea. If LeBron’s gone, though, all bets are off. Brooks makes sense with Doncic, and that’s who the front office seems locked in on now.
Money-wise, Brooks will cost just under $20 million next season. For what he’s provided this year, that could actually be a bargain. If the Lakers want to shore up the wing, they need to think seriously about this.
Now, the LeBron era in LA feels like it’s finally winding down. In the past, the Lakers would’ve looped him into every big decision, but with Doncic getting a new extension, he’s the main guy now. LeBron, despite all he’s done, might just be an afterthought as he weighs his next move.
People have speculated about a LeBron exit for years, but it feels different now. Jovan Buha, who covers the Lakers closely, said on his show that it’s more real this time than ever before. “There’s always been a buzz he could head somewhere else, maybe finish his career in Cleveland again. But honestly, this is the closest it’s ever felt to actually happening.”
The Lakers plan to keep Reaves this summer and, surprisingly, have actually played better with LeBron off the floor. That’s another hint that a major shift is coming.
Bottom line: they need fresh wing talent to fill the void if LeBron walks. Plenty of names will pop up, but Dillon Brooks is one guy Pelinka and company can’t ignore as they chart a new direction.
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