NFL Power Rankings: Where 49ers stand after loss to Ravens originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area The NFL playoff picture is starting to crystalize as we head toward 2024. Week 16 started with the Los Angeles Rams’ statement win over the New Orleans Saints. The Rams now are in pole position to earn the second wild-card spot and a …

Dec. 25—Sign up for our daily Illini football newsletter here Greetings from “Can’t Wait For Saturday,” your morning morsel of college football, courtesy of longtime Illini beat writer, AP Top 25 voter and Heisman state rep Bob Asmussen. He’ll give you his views each day on the game he loves. *** Merry Christmas, P.J. Fleck. Fleck and his Minnesota Gophers …

49ers grades in blowout Christmas night loss to Ravens originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area SANTA CLARA — After six consecutive victories of at least 12-point margins, the 49ers learned what it’s like to be on the other side Monday night. The Baltimore Ravens came to town and pummeled the 49ers in a supposed matchup of NFL powerhouses. The …

Dec. 24—Ollie Gordon will return to Oklahoma State for his junior season, the running back announced on social media. The announcement should have been unnecessary, but in this modern era of college athletics, universities and fans question whether or not their star players will enter the transfer portal. Earlier this month, Gordon said he wanted to make his decision on …

New Mexico State interior defensive lineman Dion Wilson Jr. was offered by Rutgers football on Christmas Day. Wilson was offered by the Big Ten program out of the transfer portal. And Wilson would be the ideal defensive tackle for Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano to complete his holiday shopping. Stocking stuffer? Wilson is a premium run stuffer. Last season, …

The Chiefs entered Monday’s game against the Raiders needing just a win to secure the club’s eighth consecutive AFC West title. The Raiders made sure that didn’t happen. With a terrific defensive performance, Las Vegas spoiled Kansas City’s Christmas Day with a 20-14 victory. The Chiefs offense struggled all game long, but the contest turned on back-to-back offensive plays in …

Travis Kelce threw his helmet in a tantrum. Andy Reid scolded his star tight end on the sideline. Instead of countless shots of Taylor Swift from CBS, we got continuous reactions from Patrick Mahomes looking frustrated and angry. The Chiefs were expected to roll the Las Vegas Raiders on Christmas. We saw something entirely different. The Chiefs looked painfully average …

The Iowa Hawkeyes have a history of morphing walk-ons into bonafide playmakers and, in many instances, NFL talent. Just this season, former walk-on Quinn Schulte has authored another fantastic season for the Hawkeyes at free safety. The fifth-year defensive back has accumulated 60 tackles, five passes defensed, 2.5 tackles for loss and one interception thus far in 2023. Sophomore kicker …

Robert Saleh stated the obvious when summing up his third season as Jets’ head coach, a year that began with Super Bowl aspirations and will end with the franchise’s eighth straight losing campaign. “It’s been a grind,” the head coach said Monday, a day after he improved his record in New York to 17-32 with a win over the Washington …

Lamar Jackson threw two touchdown passes in a span of 18 seconds in the third quarter and the Baltimore Ravens intercepted Brock Purdy four times in a 33-19 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night. Jackson and the Ravens (12-3) turned a highly anticipated matchup between the top two teams in the NFL into a lopsided win with …

We are now just seven days out from Wisconsin getting a New Year’s Day bowl matchup against LSU. The Badgers and Tigers may be without some key contributors, most notably LSU missing their Heisman quarterback Jayden Daniels. He announced he would be opting out of the game earlier this month after winning the Heisman and continuing to prepare for the …

How 49ers’ Christmas loss to Ravens impacts NFC playoff picture originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area The 49ers’ highly anticipated matchup with the Baltimore Ravens on Christmas Day at Levi’s Stadium turned out to be a holiday nightmare for the home team. The 33-19 loss to the Ravens dropped the 49ers to 11-4 in the 2023 NFL season, meaning …

Wisconsin and head coach Luke Fickell just completed his first full cycle of recruiting in Madison, and the Badgers finished with a consensus top 25 group in the nation. In fact, On3’s recruiting rankings had the Badgers at No. 23 after 20 players signed with Wisconsin on early signing day last week. The Badgers have overall landed 8 four-star talents …

With Christmas weekend behind us, the NFL playoff races are as wild and confusing as ever, making the homestretch of the season one we’ll likely remember. The AFC and NFC each enter Week 17 with 12 teams still mathematically alive.  The playoff standings are so crazy, we’ll be switching to a conference format rather than divisions from this point forward. …

At some point this season, it was decided that the San Francisco 49ers were the best team in the NFL. It wasn’t questioned that often either, and for good reason. The 49ers were blowing out good opponents. The Baltimore Ravens just kept winning games without anyone paying much mind to them. Everything needs to be reexamined after Monday night. In …