CLEVELAND — To grasp how the Cleveland Browns spiraled into one of the worst teams in the NFL, it’s important to first return to the end of last season. The Browns dismantled their offense this year and rebuilt an inferior version in an attempt to appease Deshaun Watson. All of the changes failed miserably. The…
About a decade ago, Mike Smith tried to capture the sour mood of the patrons in his neighborhood bar, Joe Kool’s. For years, their favorite sports teams endured winless seasons, playoff droughts and epic collapses, so he designed a T-shirt that included a map of southern Ontario with London in the middle and lines connecting…
As I put finishing grades on prospects for the 2025 NFL Draft, I find myself wishing it were as strong of a class as the 2024 version. Based on the rookie film, last year’s draft class certainly hasn’t disappointed in the NFL. Here is a look at The Athletic’s All-Rookie team: Quarterback Jayden Daniels, Washington…
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen closed out the best season of his career with six consecutive weeks at No. 1 in The Athletic’s QB stock report, maintaining his lead over Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson after his own six-week run up top. As we entered the season with a maiden voyage in this quarterback project,…
NASHVILLE — The lighting inside The Corner Pub is dim enough that it feels like nighttime even when it’s light outside. There is cheap beer, a wide selection of whiskey and a frozen-drink machine churning “Bushwackers,” described as an adult version of a Wendy’s frosty, full of booze. Sports memorabilia covers the walls — jerseys…
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold and Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers headline the list of first timers for the 2025 Pro Bowl Games, which the league announced Thursday. The Baltimore Ravens lead all teams with nine Pro Bowl selections, while the Detroit Lions (seven players), Minnesota Vikings (six),…
They arrived within six months of each other, two stars summoned to Cleveland as franchise saviors and the final pieces necessary for a championship run. The Cavaliers packed their arena with employees and team personnel in September 2022 to welcome Donovan Mitchell at his introductory news conference. It was a signal both internally and across…
There aren’t many ideal times to be desperate for a franchise quarterback, but the upcoming offseason is shaping up to be trickier than most in that regard. The 2025 NFL Draft class is spotty, with a couple of team executives recently telling The Athletic there isn’t a quarterback coming out who’d be ranked ahead of…
It looks like Josh Allen is going to run away with the NFL MVP award (which might be unfair to two-time MVP Lamar Jackson, who is playing so well that he also deserves consideration), but that doesn’t mean there aren’t more players who deserve a little attention as the season comes to a close. The…
The Jameis Winston experience reached heights never seen before with the Cleveland Browns’ loss to the Denver Broncos on Monday night. The Browns aren’t your typical 3-9 team, which the Pittsburgh Steelers already know well. Should the first-place Steelers be on upset alert again in Week 14? Our writers Mike Sando, Zak Keefer and Jeff…