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Source: https://www.sbnation.com/rss/index.xml

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xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
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<title type="text">SB Nation</title>
<subtitle type="text">Come fan with us. SB Nation is the largest independent sports media brand, consisting of SBNation.com, MMAFighting.com and over 300 fan-centric team communities.</subtitle>
<updated>2025-09-18T18:27:25+00:00</updated>
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<icon>https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/200x200.png?w=150&h=150&crop=1</icon>
<entry>
<author>
<name>James Dator</name>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Kevin Durant has a FORTUNE in Bitcoin … but he lost the password]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.sbnation.com/nba/1080956/kevin-durant-has-a-fortune-in-bitcoin-but-he-lost-the-password" />
<id>https://www.sbnation.com/?p=1080956</id>
<updated>2025-09-18T14:27:25-04:00</updated>
<published>2025-09-18T14:27:25-04:00</published>
<category scheme="https://www.sbnation.com" term="NBA" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[There’s no shame in losing a password. I’ve done it, you’ve done it — it’s just a factor of having dozens of different accounts on various services and being told you shouldn’t re-use the same password on different sites. That said, the worst this gets for most of us is missing out on a Jimmy […]]]></summary>
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<img alt="" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/gettyimages-2221510573.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100" />
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There’s no shame in losing a password. I’ve done it, you’ve done it — it’s just a factor of having dozens of different accounts on various services and being told you shouldn’t re-use the same password on different sites. That said, the worst this gets for most of us is missing out on a Jimmy John’s coupon locked behind the vault of a Yahoo Mail account you haven’s used in a decade. For Kevin Durant there’s an untold fortune locked behind a door he can’t open.
Durant was a guest at the Boardroom conference this week alongside his longtime business manager and agent Rick Kleiman, where we got one of the most hilarious anecdotes of the year.
<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-bluesky-social wp-block-embed-bluesky-social"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="bluesky-embed" data-bluesky-uri="at://did:plc:pgrqrtjyigyi3h4ygzkhxwkj/app.bsky.feed.post/3lz4thwx6qs2r" data-bluesky-cid="bafyreibh2u45voeoqnvmpwj7mqewz4ecjqgul6jywtexp3rdyuwpau7ddi">Kevin Durant seems to have made a lot of money on Bitcoin. Except he hasn't cashed out because he lost the password for his Coinbase account. And it's been years since he's known what it is.(This is from him on stage with Rick Kleiman at the Boardroom conference this week)— <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:pgrqrtjyigyi3h4ygzkhxwkj?ref_src=embed">Mike Vorkunov (@mikevorkunov.bsky.social)</a> <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:pgrqrtjyigyi3h4ygzkhxwkj/post/3lz4thwx6qs2r?ref_src=embed">2025-09-18T17:05:22.333Z</a></blockquote>
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The timeline goes a little something like this: Kleiman was at a birthday party for Kevin Durant circa 2016 and everyone was talking about Bitcoin. The next morning the pair invested money together to buy Bitcoin through Coinbase. Then they both forgot about it, lost the account info, and have been locked out for almost a decade now.
Easily the best part of this is Durant confidently saying “it’s in the cloud,” which I’m absolutely 100 percent sure he doesn’t know what that means and it’s also inaccurate. 
Most crypto sites have extreme security on accounts because of the prevalence for theft and fraud, so it’s not as simple as clicking the “forgot password” button. Now the real question becomes: How much money is in this account?
One would have to assume that if a ton of money was invested, upwards of $1M, then the duo would have had safeguards in place. We’ll operate under the assumption that Durant invested $100,000 in Bitcoin at the time, which is a ton for most of us — but a small risk for someone like Durant.
Durant’s birthday is September 29 — so let’s assume they bought the $100,000 of Bitcoin on September 30, 2016. It closed the day at $609.73. This means that Durant could have bought 164 coins with the money. Now, I think if you’re tossing that kind of money around you want a nice, clean, round number. I think Durant actually bought 200 Bitcoin even at a cost of $121,946.
Fast-forward to today: 200 Bitcoin is now worth $23,579,632. 
There is literally millions and millions of dollars in Bitcoin in an account that Durant can’t access. What a time to be alive.
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>James Dator</name>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[NFL Expert Picks for Week 3 of 2025]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/1080881/nfl-expert-picks-for-week-3-of-2025" />
<id>https://www.sbnation.com/?p=1080881</id>
<updated>2025-09-18T14:22:32-04:00</updated>
<published>2025-09-18T14:00:18-04:00</published>
<category scheme="https://www.sbnation.com" term="NFL" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The season keeps ticking and we keep picking. Last week was particularly brutal for the entire panel with some game being nothing like we expected. Two game in particular really stood out as ones that made perfect sense when we first made the picks, but the games themselves played out in weird ways. The first […]]]></summary>
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The season keeps ticking and we keep picking. Last week was particularly brutal for the entire panel with some game being nothing like we expected.
Two game in particular really stood out as ones that made perfect sense when we first made the picks, but the games themselves played out in weird ways. The first was the Seahawks beating the Steelers, in which 7-of-10 pickers went with Pittsburgh only to see Aaron Rodgers and co. get whooped. The far bigger surprise was on Sunday night though when J.J. McCarthy turned into a pumpkin on national TV, giving the Falcons the win. The panel were 9-of-10 for Minnesota in that game, thinking their comeback win over the Bears to open the season was indicative of more success to come.
How wrong we were.
Week 3 is a minefield of injuries and tricky picks. Bengals vs. Vikings is one that’s very difficult to parse due to injuries to both Joe Burrow and J.J. McCarthy, making this the QB duel between Jake Browning and Carson Wentz we all expected. Meanwhile in an NFC West divisional matchup we have the battle of the 2-0 teams with the Cardinals and 49ers locking horns. There’s no doubt San Francisco is the better team on paper, but injuries to George Kittle and Brock Purdy’s status being up in the air has this game on shaky ground.
Here are our picks for Week 3.
<figure class="wp-block-vox-media-table"><table><thead><tr><th>Week 1 </th><th>Mookie Alexander</th><th>James Dator</th><th>Chet Gresham</th><th>Brandon Lee Gowton</th><th>Jared Mueller</th><th>R.J. Ochoa</th><th>Ricky O’Donnell</th><th>Mark Schofield</th><th>Nick Simon</th><th>Matt Warren</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>TNF: Dolphins vs. Bills</td><td>Bills</td><td>Bills</td><td>Bills</td><td>Bills</td><td>Bills</td><td>Bills</td><td>Bills</td><td>Bills</td><td>Bills</td><td>Bills</td></tr><tr><td>Bengals vs. Vikings</td><td>Vikings</td><td>Vikings</td><td>Bengals</td><td>Bengals</td><td>Bengals</td><td>Bengals</td><td>Vikings</td><td>Vikings</td><td>Bengals</td><td>Vikings</td></tr><tr><td>Texans vs. Jaguars</td><td>Texans</td><td>Texans</td><td>Jaguars</td><td>Texans</td><td>Texans</td><td>Texans</td><td>Texans</td><td>Texans</td><td>Jaguars</td><td>Texans</td></tr><tr><td>Colts vs. Titans</td><td>Colts</td><td>Colts</td><td>Colts</td><td>Colts</td><td>Colts</td><td>Colts</td><td>Colts</td><td>Colts</td><td>Colts</td><td>Colts</td></tr><tr><td>Raiders vs. Commanders</td><td>Commanders</td><td>Commanders</td><td>Commanders</td><td>Commanders</td><td>Raiders</td><td>Commanders</td><td>Raiders</td><td>Commanders</td><td>Raiders</td><td>Commanders</td></tr><tr><td>Rams vs. Eagles</td><td>Eagles</td><td>Eagles</td><td>Eagles</td><td>Eagles</td><td>Eagles</td><td>Rams</td><td>Eagles</td><td>Eagles</td><td>Rams</td><td>Eagles</td></tr><tr><td>Falcons vs. Panthers</td><td>Falcons</td><td>Falcons</td><td>Falcons</td><td>Falcons</td><td>Falcons</td><td>Falcons</td><td>Falcons</td><td>Falcons</td><td>Falcons</td><td>Falcons</td></tr><tr><td>Steelers vs. Patriots</td><td>Patriots</td><td>Steelers</td><td>Patriots</td><td>Steelers</td><td>Patriots</td><td>Steelers</td><td>Patriots</td><td>Steelers</td><td>Steelers</td><td>Steelers</td></tr><tr><td>Packers vs. Browns</td><td>Packers</td><td>Packers</td><td>Packers</td><td>Packers</td><td>Packers</td><td>Packers</td><td>Packers</td><td>Packers</td><td>Packers</td><td>Packers</td></tr><tr><td>Jets vs. Buccaneers</td><td>Buccaneers</td><td>Buccaneers</td><td>Buccaneers</td><td>Buccaneers</td><td>Buccaneers</td><td>Buccaneers</td><td>Buccaneers</td><td>Buccaneers</td><td>Buccaneers</td><td>Buccaneers</td></tr><tr><td>Broncos vs. Chargers</td><td>Chargers</td><td>Chargers</td><td>Chargers</td><td>Chargers</td><td>Chargers</td><td>Chargers</td><td>Chargers</td><td>Chargers</td><td>Broncos</td><td>Chargers</td></tr><tr><td>Saints vs. Seahawks</td><td>Seahawks</td><td>Seahawks</td><td>Seahawks</td><td>Seahawks</td><td>Seahawks</td><td>Seahawks</td><td>Seahawks</td><td>Seahawks</td><td>Seahawks</td><td>Seahawks</td></tr><tr><td>Cowboys vs. Bears</td><td>Cowboys</td><td>Cowboys</td><td>Cowboys</td><td>Cowboys</td><td>Cowboys</td><td>Cowboys</td><td>Cowboys</td><td>Cowboys</td><td>Bears</td><td>Cowboys</td></tr><tr><td>Cardinals vs. 49ers</td><td>Cardinals</td><td>Cardinals</td><td>49ers</td><td>49ers</td><td>Cardinals</td><td>Cardinals</td><td>49ers</td><td>49ers</td><td>49ers</td><td>49ers</td></tr><tr><td>SNF: Chiefs vs. Giants</td><td>Chiefs</td><td>Chiefs</td><td>Chiefs</td><td>Chiefs</td><td>Chiefs</td><td>Chiefs</td><td>Chiefs</td><td>Chiefs</td><td>Chiefs</td><td>Chiefs</td></tr><tr><td>MNF: Lions vs. Ravens</td><td>Ravens</td><td>Ravens</td><td>Ravens</td><td>Ravens</td><td>Ravens</td><td>Ravens</td><td>Ravens</td><td>Ravens</td><td>Lions</td><td>Ravens</td></tr><tr><td>2025 Pick record</td><td>20-12</td><td>23-9</td><td>22-10</td><td>22-10</td><td>19-13</td><td>21-11</td><td>25-7</td><td>19-13</td><td>20-12</td><td>23-9</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>Rohan Chakravarthi</name>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[College football’s 10 true freshman already making an immediate impact this season]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/24481041/college-footballs-10-true-freshman-already-making-an-immediate-impact-this-season" />
<id>https://www.sbnation.com/?p=1080904</id>
<updated>2025-09-18T13:49:45-04:00</updated>
<published>2025-09-18T13:48:40-04:00</published>
<category scheme="https://www.sbnation.com" term="College Football" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The landscape of college football has changed in recent years, with NIL becoming more and more of a factor. That has led to some major transfers, but also an increase in playing time for the top true freshmen in the country. Through the first three weeks of the season, there have been several true freshmen […]]]></summary>
<content type="html">
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<img alt="" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/gettyimages-2235582239.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100" />
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The landscape of college football has changed in recent years, with NIL becoming more and more of a factor. That has led to some major transfers, but also an increase in playing time for the top true freshmen in the country.
Through the first three weeks of the season, there have been several true freshmen who have already made their marks as some of the best players in college football.
Let’s break down the top 10 true freshmen so far, which includes some standouts on both sides of the ball.
Michigan QB Bryce Underwood
The No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2025, Michigan Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood was thrust into the spotlight as the starter from Week 1 on, and he has looked the part for a freshman.
Through the first three games of the season, Underwood has 628 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception, while completing 57.5 percent of his passes.
Now, the numbers may jump off the page, but Underwood has been a good decision-maker thus far, while not getting as much support from the pieces around him. 
<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true">"This is a defensive coordinator's nightmare." 😱<a href="https://twitter.com/CoachUrbanMeyer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CoachUrbanMeyer</a> breaks down how Bryce Underwood's Week 3 work on the ground puts <a href="https://twitter.com/bigten?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@bigten</a> DCs on notice 👇 <a href="https://t.co/JXrpHx6Twp">pic.twitter.com/JXrpHx6Twp</a>— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) <a href="https://twitter.com/B1Gfootball/status/1968401172693213256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The Wolverines have already dropped eight passes this year, which is an ugly 14.8 percent rate. And Underwood has been pressured 23 times through three games.
Still, he has done well to get the ball out quickly (2.68 seconds average time to throw), and he has a very solid 13.8 percent pressure-to-sack rate, which is impressive when considering that he’s limited turnover-worthy plays so far.
There’s obviously room to grow, but for a true freshman, Underwood is looking the part through three games.
Cal QB Jaron Keawe-Sagapolutele
Perhaps the most underrated top recruit so far in the 2025 class, Jaron Keawe-Sagapolutele had a late change in his recruitment when he flipped from Oregon to Cal, giving the Bears their successor to Fernando Mendoza.
Keawe-Sagapolutele became the Week 1 starter for Cal and had an amazing performance with some big-time throws against Oregon State, throwing for 234 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-15 win on the road.
Through three games, he has 780 passing yards, six touchdowns, and an interception, while helping his team beat Oregon State and Minnesota en route to a 3-0 start.
Keawe-Sagapolutele has also dealt with a 10.1 percent drop rate, but he’s done an amazing job with only two turnover-worthy plays to date, while pushing the ball down the field with his strong arm. He’s also done a good job navigating pressure and gets the ball out quickly, which are musts for a true freshman quarterback.
Don’t be surprised to see his name rise amongst all college football quarterbacks as the season goes on.
Oregon WR Dakorien Moore
A five-star recruit in the Class of 2025, Dakorien Moore has taken full advantage of his early opportunity with the Oregon Ducks.
With lead receiver Evan Stewart likely out for the season, Moore has emerged as quarterback Dante Moore’s go-to guy, becoming one of the top quarterback-receiver combos in the country.
Through three games, Moore has nine catches for 144 yards and a touchdown. The five-star is dealing with a hip injury that could cause him to miss Week 4, but he is starting to emerge at the right time for the Ducks.
Oklahoma LT Michael Fasusi
Yes, he’s only played one game. But, 2025 five-star offensive lineman Michael Fasusi has been thrown into the fire as Oklahoma’s starting left tackle. He got a tough challenge, playing the Michigan Wolverines in his collegiate debut, and was able to hold up well.
Fasusi had 34 pass-blocking snaps, allowing just two pressures from quarterback John Mateer’s blindside, while not allowing a single penalty. He played 66 overall snaps, and held his own for the most part in a tough situation for a college freshman.
Fasusi missed Week 3 after leaving the Michigan game late with an injury, and will hope to return for the SEC opener in Week 4 against the No. 22 Auburn Tigers this weekend.
Penn State EDGE Chaz Coleman
Penn State edge rusher Chaz Coleman has been phenomenal to start the season. A four-star recruit from Ohio, Coleman has blasted onto the scene as a situational pass-rusher for the Nittany Lions, leading the team with 10 pressures and a whopping 28.6 percent win rate through three games.
<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true">Chaz Coleman is in his second game as a true freshman and is already trending to be Micah Parsons/Abdul Carter level good THE CHAZMANIAN DEVIL HAS ARRIVED <a href="https://t.co/dugrymdDWr">pic.twitter.com/dugrymdDWr</a>— Connor Griffin (@RealCGriff) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealCGriff/status/1964405996849152126?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2025</a></blockquote>
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In true pass sets, that figure jumps up to 42.9 percent. That’s ridiculous for a true freshman, even with the small sample size. Coleman does have some things to clean up as a run defender (three missed tackles so far), but that production as a pass-rusher cannot be ignored.
He seems to be next in a long line of Penn State pass rushers.
Maryland DLs Sidney Stewart & Zahir Mathis
Maryland hit paydirt with its 2025 recruiting class, namely with three-star defensive lineman Sidney Stewart and four-star Zahir Mathis.
Both players have immediately become front-line starters for the Terrapins, and they’re already wreaking havoc at the collegiate level.
Stewart leads the Terrapins with 13 pressures, recording two sacks over the first three games. He’s also third on the team in defensive snaps, and has seven run stops already.
Mathis, on the other hand, has averaged over 40 snaps per game, and is second on the team with 10 pressures. His 18.6 percent win rate leads the team, and that jumps up to 33.3 percent in true pass sets.
Both players are already key fixtures for the Maryland defense, and will look to make their names known in Big Ten play.
Miami WR Malachi Toney
A three-star recruit in the Class of 2025, Miami Hurricanes slot receiver Malachi Toney has been one of the biggest revelations of the college football season so far.
Making his collegiate debut on primetime against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Toney caught six passes for 82 yards and a touchdown, helping the Canes get a crucial victory.
<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true">Miami True Freshman WR Malachi Toney catches his 1st Career TD as a Cane Big contributor already, and crazy enough, he’s still supposed to be in high school (reclassed last fall) Learn the name 🙌<a href="https://t.co/BmxfkTwxlS">pic.twitter.com/BmxfkTwxlS</a>— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) <a href="https://twitter.com/Hayesfawcett3/status/1962312545642901934?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Since then, he’s emerged as Carson Beck’s lead receiver, catching 18 passes for 228 yards through the first three games. Those numbers lead all true freshmen receivers at the Power 4 level, so Toney is clearly making a mark early.
At 5’11, his separation and quickness out of the slot has been big for Beck, who has emerged as a top Heisman contender early in the season.
Ohio State RB Bo Jackson
The Ohio State Buckeyes were looking for an answer at running back to replace NFL second-round picks Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson. And they may have their answer with true freshman Bo Jackson.
A four-star recruit in the Class of 2025, Jackson has exploded to start his collegiate career, rushing for 217 yards and a touchdown on a whopping 12.1 yards per carry through his first two games.
Yes, they were against Grambling and Ohio, but Jackson eclipsed 100 yards on under 10 carries in both games, and is looking to be the answer for the Buckeyes at running back.
Maryland QB Malik Washington
A four-star recruit in the Class of 2025, Malik Washington was handed the keys to the Maryland Terrapins program, and he’s looked the part through three games.
In wins over FAU, Northern Illinois and Towson, Washington has tossed for 773 yards, six touchdowns, and an interception, while completing 62 percent of his passes.
The quarterback has especially capitalized on the deep ball to the sidelines, connecting on seven passes of over 20 yards, with four of them going for touchdowns. He has also dealt with seven drops, which would have improved his completion rate, but the four-star has looked good early on.
He now has his first true test against the Wisconsin Badgers this weekend on the road to kick off Big Ten play.
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>Mark Schofield</name>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Williams’ F1 comeback is on, and it’s only getting better]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.sbnation.com/formula-one/1079658/williams-f1-comeback-is-on-and-its-only-getting-better" />
<id>https://www.sbnation.com/?p=1079658</id>
<updated>2025-09-18T13:44:15-04:00</updated>
<published>2025-09-18T13:44:15-04:00</published>
<category scheme="https://www.sbnation.com" term="F1" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[For a generation, Williams Racing was the standard in Formula 1. After his previous team, Frank Williams Racing Cars, failed to meet the level of success he had hoped for, Williams rebuilt his team as Williams Grand Prix Engineering, debuting on the F1 grid in the 1977 season. That year, the team did not score […]]]></summary>
<content type="html">
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<img alt="" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/gettyimages-2200481885.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100" />
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For a generation, Williams Racing was the standard in Formula 1.
After his previous team, Frank Williams Racing Cars, failed to meet the level of success he had hoped for, Williams rebuilt his team as Williams Grand Prix Engineering, debuting on the F1 grid in the 1977 season.
That year, the team did not score a point, and their best finish was seventh, coming at the Italian Grand Prix.
Their first win as a team came in 1979, when Clay Regazzoni finished 25 seconds ahead of Renault’s René Arnoux.
The next season, they were the Constructors’ Champions.
That championship in 1980 kicked off a run of four titles in the decade, as Williams topped the F1 world in 1980, 1981, 1986, and 1987. Williams drivers took titles in three of those campaigns, as Alan Jones won the Drivers’ Championship in 1980, Keke Rosberg in 1982, and Nelson Piquet claimed a title in 1987.
But those titles were nothing compared to what Williams accomplished the next decade, when they changed the trajectory of the sport and forced F1’s governing body to intervene. When the 1992 season began, Williams arrived on the grid with the FW14B, described in The Formula as “the most complex race car F1 had ever seen.”
The FW14B contained the sport’s first “functional onboard computer,” designed by Paddy Lowe, a graduate of Cambridge. “Built from scratch in side the Williams factory, from hardware to software, the computer could reprogram the suspension remotely from the garage, raising and lowering the car in such subtle and rapid fashion that it remained perfectly level at all times.
“It was worth over a second a lap.”
The team’s 1992 challenger “seamlessly blended advanced aerodynamics with groundbreaking technology and mechanical reliability. The onboard computer managed not just the active suspension, but also a semiautomatic gearbox, traction control, onboard telemetry, and electronic data logging. Every part of the FW14B was at the bleeding edge.”
Nigel Mansell won his first and only Drivers’ Championship that season in dominant fashion, powering the FW14B to nine wins and 14 pole positions. His 108 points were nearly double that of teammate Riccardo Patrese, who finished second with 56 points.
Williams secured titles in 1992 and 1993, leading the sport’s governing body to step in and ban electronic aids for the 1994 season, legislating Williams’ onboard computer out of the sport.
Even with the rule change, Williams managed to win titles in both 1996 and 1997, raising their total number of Constructors’ Championships to nine. Add in the total of seven Drivers’ titles won by the team, and you have 16 championships over two decades in the sport.
The two titles won in 1997 — the Constructors’ Championship and a Drivers’ title from Jacques Villeneuve — are the last two championships won by the team.
They came close in both 2002 and 2003, when they finished second in the Constructors’ Championship during both of those seasons, but since then their best finish was a fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship during the 2017 campaign.
Matching that is on the table this year, with bigger things on the horizon.
The comeback at Williams is on.
Here is how they’ve got there.
<h4 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-none">Alexander Albon: The first piece</h4>
<img src="https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25448817/2151156955.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,99.969530773918" alt="" title="" data-has-syndication-rights="1" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="" />
The first step along the comeback trail for Williams?
Signing Alexander Albon ahead of the 2022 season.
A member of the Red Bull racing family, Albon got the chance to drive alongside Max Verstappen midway through the 2019 season, when he was promoted from Toro Rosso (now Visa Cash App Racing Bulls) to replace Pierre Gasly at the senior team next to Verstappen. Albon finished in the points in all but one of his races with Red Bull that year, his best result a P4 at the Japanese Grand Prix.
He began the 2020 campaign in the seat next to Verstappen, but a P13 in the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix was a harbinger of things to come. He managed just two podium finishes that year — one at the Tuscan Grand Prix and then a second at the Bahrain Grand Prix — and was demoted at the end of the season to a reserve role, with Sergio Pérez taking his spot for 2021.
Albon stayed in that role until the 2022 campaign, when a spot opened up at Williams. With George Russell on his way to Mercedes to replace Valtteri Bottas, Team Principal Jost Capito tapped the Red Bull reserve for a seat.
It was a tricky negotiation process, given Albon’s continued ties to the team. But ultimately, the deal was done, and Capito had the driver he wanted to push the team forward.
“We want to move forward, we don’t want to move backwards,” <a target="_blank" href="https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/analysis-why-williams-chose-albon-as-russells-replacement-and-retained.5mBd30IWzau4VeFiwt9C4g" rel="noreferrer noopener">said Capito at the time</a>. “With that in mind, a driver who is still at the beginning of his career and has quite a lot of experience already was appealing. Alex has been in one of the top teams, has driven a race-winning car, has experience of being successful and being on the podium – and is eager to do that again.
“He will also fit well in the team and already has with the relationship with Nicky, as they were team mates in F2. All this together was important for us. If take these attributes and put them through a checklist, Alex is the guy who is the one that fits the most.”
<h4 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-none">James Vowles: The second piece</h4>
<img src="https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/26032037/2219963058.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,99.99269486449" alt="" title="" data-has-syndication-rights="1" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="" />
Capito stepped down in December of 2022 as Team Principal at Williams, opening the door for the next piece to the puzzle.
The hiring of James Vowles as the next Team Principal.
Vowles began his F1 career with British American Racing back in 2001, and was part of the Brawn team that shocked the F1 world in 2009 by winning both the Constructors’ Championship as well as the Drivers’ Championship with Jenson Button. He stayed with the organization when it was purchased by Mercedes at the end of the 2009 season, and was an integral part of the team as it won eight consecutive Constructors’ titles and seven Drivers’ championships from 2014 through 2021.
He was named the next Team Principal at Williams ahead of the 2023 season, calling it the “opportunity of a lifetime.”
Vowles delivered almost immediate results.
While Williams limped to a last-place finish in the 2022 Constructors’ Championship — scoring just eight points, trailing ninth-place AlphaTauri by 27 points — they shocked the F1 world in Vowles’ first season, as they finished seventh in 2023. Albon scored 27 of the team’s 28 points, with rookie driver Logan Sargeant adding a P10 at the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Ahead of the 2024 campaign, his second at Williams, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sbnation.com/formula-one/2024/2/6/24061284/williams-f1-alex-albon-logan-sargeant-james-vowles" rel="noreferrer noopener">Vowles shared with </a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.sbnation.com/formula-one/2024/2/6/24061284/williams-f1-alex-albon-logan-sargeant-james-vowles" rel="noreferrer noopener">SB Nation</a> his vision for the team’s future.
“So everything is about long-term resolution, not short-term [and] as the result of that is that we took and we will continue to take enormous risks with this company. I’m not going to be withheld by the restriction that my job is on the line,” added Vowles. “If we’re not doing a good enough job, the only way to get this team back to the front is break everything.
“I’ve used the terms internally and ‘break the cycle’ and it’s exactly what we are doing, whatever we have done before that, even what we’ve done the last two months. I’m really proud of what we’ve achieved.
“It’s not good enough.
“This is what it looks like and how do we get there, and it’s just giving everyone the idea of ‘this is the gap.’ I’ll be with you on this journey and I’ll be shouldering it if things go wrong. But take that as an opportunity to not be withheld by fear of change and a fear of failure that goes with it.”
Vowles was confronted with that concept of change later that season.
He made the surprising decision to retain Sargeant for the 2024 campaign, despite the young driver’s struggles throughout the 2023 season. It was a patient decision in a sport not known for such a trait, and reflected the Team Principal’s vision for sustained growth.
But as Sargeant’s struggles continued into 2024, he decided to replace the American driver, calling upon Franco Colapinto midway through the campaign.
“It’s a good question. Why change it now? The cleanest point to have done it would have been at the beginning of the year. Logan, as I said from the outset, at the end of last year he was starting to get within a tenth of Alex, starting to be close, and it was good to see his progression,” <a target="_blank" href="https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/vowles-feels-it-would-have-been-unfair-on-sargeant-to-keep-him-in-a-williams.3UtTmMywYmrsznwVOKgz9R" rel="noreferrer noopener">said Vowles in September of 2024</a>.
“If that progression continued, we would have a driver, I think, in a very strong place this year. It didn’t feel like the right point to cut ties, sever ties, as a result of it. The reason now is straightforward. We’ve had enough experience under our belt to know that he’s reached the limit of what he’s able to achieve.
“It’s almost unfair on him, furthermore, continuing. Look at his face when he gets out of the car, he’s given you everything he possibly can, and it’s not enough.
“He absolutely never, from a human perspective, did anything but give me 100% of what he was able to do, but the realisation of where he is on his limits now is very clear – it’s clear to everyone.”
But Colapinto was not the long-term answer alongside Albon.
Vowles had already made that decision.
<h4 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-none">Carlos Sainz Jr.: The third piece</h4>
<img src="https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25945513/2208425175.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100" alt="" title="" data-has-syndication-rights="1" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="" />
The 2025 driver transfer market was shocked into motion in February of 2024.
That is when Lewis Hamilton stunned the F1 world by announcing he would be leaving Mercedes following the 2024 season to drive for Ferrari.
That decision not only sent shockwaves through the entire sporting world, but it also made Carlos Sainz Jr. the most attractive free agent on the driver transfer market.
There was no shortage of options for Sainz’s services, given his experience with one of F1’s top teams and his presence as a grand prix winner. A link was made between him and Sauber, given his father’s status as a rally driver for Audi, and Alpine was interested in his services as well.
Ultimately, however, he put pen to paper on a deal with Williams.
<a target="_blank" href="https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/vowles-describes-emotional-reaction-from-williams-team-to-sainz-signing-as.3THrWsaiypWlASRFJhkztP" rel="noreferrer noopener">Vowles called</a> it a “clear statement of intent” by the team.
“I have had the pleasure of winning races and being part of the race bay element, winning a championship and being in the race bay. I promise you, the emotional reaction to this was the largest I’ve ever seen in my Formula 1 career,” said Vowles of the reaction to the Sainz signing.
“And then what I’ve done after that is just follow it up by just walking around really and asking people what it means. The answer is what I hoped it would be, which is [that] it’s a statement of intent.
“It’s a very clear statement of intent; there’s no doubt now that we are investing at the right level, that we have in my opinion one of – if not the best – driver line-ups on the grid, as a combination between the two [Sainz and Alex Albon]. There’s no politics, they’re both just performance machines.”
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The Williams comeback</h4>
The 2025 F1 season is entering its closing stretch, with the European portion of the schedule in the rear-view mirror.
And the work done over the previous seasons has Williams on the cusp of their best season in recent memory, with perhaps even more success on the horizon.
In the wake of Albon’s seventh-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix, Williams sits fifth in the Constructors’ Championship standings with 86 points, putting them 24 points ahead of sixth-place Aston Martin and at the sharp end of the midfield fight.
While the 86 points might not seem impressive at first blush, consider this:
Those 86 points are more than the team scored in the seven previous seasons … combined:
<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true">More points in 2025 than in the last seven years… COMBINED!<a href="https://twitter.com/WilliamsRacing?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WilliamsRacing</a> are absolutely flying this season ✨<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F1</a> <a href="https://t.co/plaRSwX3jV">pic.twitter.com/plaRSwX3jV</a>— Formula 1 (@F1) <a href="https://twitter.com/F1/status/1966106951550480611?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Yes, the comeback is indeed on.
And even better days may be on the horizon. 2026 will usher in a host of new technical regulations, and Vowles and the entire team have made it clear that their eyes are focused on the opportunity that presents. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sbnation.com/formula-one/2025/5/3/24423268/carlos-sainz-jr-f1-qualifying-results-miami-grand-prix" rel="noreferrer noopener">Speaking with </a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.sbnation.com/formula-one/2025/5/3/24423268/carlos-sainz-jr-f1-qualifying-results-miami-grand-prix" rel="noreferrer noopener">SB Nation </a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.sbnation.com/formula-one/2025/5/3/24423268/carlos-sainz-jr-f1-qualifying-results-miami-grand-prix" rel="noreferrer noopener">at the Miami Grand Prix</a>, Sainz made that vision clear, as well as his trust in Vowles to execute that vision.
“I think it might be a bit of an outlier where this track seems to suit our car quite nicely because since FP1 the balance and everything just fell in the window and in the sweet spot,” said Sainz in Miami in May. “But at the same when I see those three-tenths to the top, my will to develop this car is there because I perfectly know where this car, the moment you put it in the wind tunnel and try and target the two or three areas that I’ve been telling the team where there’s clearly a lot more potential, and if the team manages to give me that, I think we could do a very big step quality wise.
“But the plan is the plan.
“We’re not going to do that.
“We’re gonna focus on next year and put all the eggs in that basket, but yeah, obviously that potential that I see especially only in my sixth race to be three-tenths off pole is encouraging.”
Even though Sainz sees the potential in this year’s challenger, he is trusting the plan, the process, and Vowles’ patient vision for the future. Even if he wants to push for more improvements to this year’s challenger.
“I like [James Vowles] because he’s a man of a very clear [vision].
“He has a plan and he will commit 100% to it.
“He trusts his feelings, his plan, his project.
“And I back him.
“That’s why I committed to James as an individual but also as a team to Williams because I see a project and a very clear ambition, very clear targets, and we need to commit to them and stick to them.
“He also promised me this year’s car would be an improvement to last year and so far he’s been a man of his word and I’m glad that that’s going in the right direction.”
The comeback at Williams is on.
And next year could be even bigger.
]]>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>Ricky O'Donnell</name>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Mark Cuban accidentally led Pablo Torre to more smoking gun evidence against Clippers]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.sbnation.com/nba/1080892/mark-cuban-accidentally-led-pablo-torre-to-more-smoking-gun-evidence-against-clippers" />
<id>https://www.sbnation.com/?p=1080892</id>
<updated>2025-09-18T13:36:29-04:00</updated>
<published>2025-09-18T13:35:13-04:00</published>
<category scheme="https://www.sbnation.com" term="NBA" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The case against the Los Angeles Clippers becomes more convincing by the week. Journalist Pablo Torre continues to dig deeper into allegations of salary cap circumvention against the Clippers to pay star forward Kawhi Leonard off the books, and his biggest critic just led him to even more damning evidence. The latest episode of “Pablo […]]]></summary>
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The case against the Los Angeles Clippers becomes more convincing by the week. Journalist Pablo Torre continues to dig deeper into <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/nba/1078101/kawhi-leonard-clippers-salary-cap-nba">allegations of salary cap circumvention against the Clippers</a> to pay star forward Kawhi Leonard off the books, and his biggest critic just led him to even more damning evidence.
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_ow9i3obDE">The latest episode of “Pablo Torre Finds Out”</a> continues to poke holes in the Clippers’ claim that they had no improper relationship with Aspiration, the carbon offset company that also agreed to a reported $48 million marketing contract with Leonard that required no work and was never announced. Former Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has vigorously defended Steve Ballmer and the Clippers every day on the social media app formerly known as Twitter, and it turns out that Cuban’s criticism of Torre’s reporting actually led him to uncover more documents that looks very bad for Ballmer and his associates.
In the first follow up to the report, Torre showed evidence that Clippers co-owner Dennis Wong (Ballmer’s former college roommate) gave a one-time investment of $1.9 million just before Leonard was owed a payment. Cuban has made the media rounds in the wake of that report, and on the “Road Trippin’” podcast with Kendrick Perkins, Richard Jefferson, and Channing Frye, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Quf1VxVcRX4">he challenged Torre to uncover other investments that would cover the rest of Leonard’s agreement beyond the first payment</a>.
Torre did just that. Here’s a short clip from the episode, but <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_ow9i3obDE">the entire thing is a must watch</a>:
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true">EXCLUSIVE: Two weeks before Kawhi's first "no-show" payday, the Clippers bailed out Aspiration with a $21M deal signed by the team CFO. (Yes, <a href="https://twitter.com/mcuban?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mcuban</a> sent <a href="https://twitter.com/PabloTorre?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PabloTorre</a> down this rabbit hole: "He literally described exactly what they did," a source says, "to circumvent the cap.") <a href="https://t.co/5lQNMLm8Or">pic.twitter.com/5lQNMLm8Or</a>— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) <a href="https://twitter.com/pablofindsout/status/1968646207087030567?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Cuban tweeted that the Clippers could have just bought more carbon credits to generate the money to pay Leonard off the books. Aspiration was charging $1 to plant a tree to offset carbon emissions, and the actual cost of that is reportedly 5 to 10 cents, so the margins were hugely in favor of the company. Well, Torre reported that the Clippers pre-purchased $21 million in carbon credits, allegedly in an attempt to keep the company afloat, perhaps so it could keep making payments to Leonard at a time when it had no money.
Ballmer even invested an additional $10 million in March 2023 when it was already apparent the company was failing. Ballmer paid $23 per share for this investment according to Torre’s reporting when he had previously paid $11 per share in his earlier rounds. Former Aspiration employees thought it was an “insane” investment by Ballmer at the time. By paying a higher share fee, Ballmer didn’t own more than five percent of the company, which would have set off major red flags.
The Clippers’ arena, the Intuit Dome, didn’t open until Aug. 2024. These carbon credits were purchased in June 2022. In sum, the Clippers allegedly sent Aspiration $118 million in 18 months. 
Here’s a full timeline of the Clippers’ investments in Aspiration, via Torre’s podcast:
<img src="https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/G1ImutIWEAAvI0o.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100" alt="" title="" data-has-syndication-rights="1" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="" />
The <a href="https://x.com/GrantAfseth/status/1968666076901745112">Clippers immediately issued another statement on Thursday saying that Ballmer was duped</a>. Aspiration co-founder Joe Sandberg <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/orange-county-man-and-aspiration-partners-co-founder-agrees-plead-guilty-248-million">plead guilty to a $248 million scheme to defraud investors</a> earlier this year. 
Torre’s latest episode shows that Leonard’s infamous representative, his uncle Dennis Robertson, sent a text to Sandberg asking where Leonard’s stock options were. 
<img src="https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-18-at-11.35.17%E2%80%AFAM.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0.078988941548189,100,99.842022116904" alt="" title="" data-has-syndication-rights="1" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="" />
Sandberg resolved this issue by sending Leonard his own stock options. 
When Sandberg was under deposition in another lawsuit related to fraud, he was asked about Steve Ballmer’s relationship with the company. Sandberg was asked if he was involved in securing Ballmer’s investment in Aspiration. He “plead the fifth,” refusing to give an answer. Sandberg had previously acknowledged the deals with other celebrities like Drake and Leonardo DiCaprio. It sure seems like Ballmer kept floating the company financially until the DOJ started looking into their fraud.
The NBA has hired the country’s top law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to investigate the Clippers. NBA commissioner Adam Silver said on the record that he had never heard of Aspiration before this investigation, even though the company had publicly agreed to a $300 million non-naming rights sponsorship deal with the franchise. <a href="https://frontofficesports.com/adam-silver-walks-back-claim-hed-never-heard-of-aspiration/">Silver has since walked back his comments</a>.
The 2026 NBA All-Star Game is slated to be hosted at the Clippers’ Intuit Dome this year. The league has said the investigation likely won’t be finished until that investigation is over.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true">The NBA does not expect to have a resolution on the Kawhi Leonard salary cap circumvention investigation until after the All-Star Game. The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Clippers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Clippers</a> host the All-Star Game.— Spotrac (@spotrac) <a href="https://twitter.com/spotrac/status/1968687373216035190?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
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It<a href="https://www.sbnation.com/nba/1078781/clippers-punishment-adam-silver-nba-kawhi-leonard-allegations#comments"> sure seems like Adam Silver doesn’t want to drop the hammer on the Clippers</a> unless he finds a piece of paper that says “give money to Aspiration so they can route it to Leonard so we can circumvent the salary cap” signed by Ballmer. That very likely doesn’t exist, but when you factor in <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/nhl/1079481/kawhi-leonard-salary-scandal-now-oddly-involves-toronto-maple-leafs">Uncle Dennis’ history of asking teams in free agency for guaranteed marketing money among other outrageous asks</a>, there’s simply too many coincidences to ignore at this point.
<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The Clippers are already guilty in the court of public opinion</h4>
Here are some tweets in the wake of Torre’s latest reporting:
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true">I don’t see how the Clippers get out of this.— Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NekiasNBA/status/1968690941717266812?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true">If I’m Steve Ballmer I’m begging Cuban to shut up— Sean Davis (@Sean_Davi) <a href="https://twitter.com/Sean_Davi/status/1968668173927841804?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true">Most damning thing in here, to me, is Ballmer's $10 million at $22/share. To me, it seems he's giving them an infusion of money at a price high enough to avoid the NBA's 5% rule. It's not a normal investment. He's finding a way to give them money w/o raising an issue w/the NBA. <a href="https://t.co/NCe81ocEOy">https://t.co/NCe81ocEOy</a>— John Karalis 🇬🇷 (@John_Karalis) <a href="https://twitter.com/John_Karalis/status/1968680239296311545?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" data-conversation="none">An NBA owner can't own more than 5% of a company that employs a player as an endorser. What Ballmer did was give Aspiration money without taking too many shares back. It's not a normal investment. It's not a smoking gun, but it's so abnormal that it's damning— John Karalis 🇬🇷 (@John_Karalis) <a href="https://twitter.com/John_Karalis/status/1968680758802862130?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true">Mark Cuban steering Pablo Torre toward the EXACT paper trail that describes how the Clippers circumvented the cap is such a hilarious plot twist in this saga. <a href="https://t.co/4ogUkGEyLj">https://t.co/4ogUkGEyLj</a>— The Magician (@the_magician321) <a href="https://twitter.com/the_magician321/status/1968666930945937712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true">Pablo presented a REAL paper trail that involves over $100M in cash. The investigation will still take a month or two, but I’m not sure what else the NBA needs at this point to see the Clippers were clearly doing some shady stuff. Hats off to Pablo on this. Tremendous work. <a href="https://t.co/MdstWhrz2f">https://t.co/MdstWhrz2f</a>— Harrison Grimm (@Harrison_Grimm) <a href="https://twitter.com/Harrison_Grimm/status/1968643923464667263?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
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There’s major public pressure on the NBA to get this right. We may have to wait a while until a potential punishment drops, but Torre is already doing the work for the league.

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</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>RJ Ochoa</name>
</author>
<author>
<name>Michael Peterson</name>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[The NFL’s beautiful chaos is on full display so far]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/1080704/the-nfls-beautiful-chaos-is-on-full-display-so-far" />
<id>https://www.sbnation.com/?p=1080704</id>
<updated>2025-09-18T10:45:50-04:00</updated>
<published>2025-09-18T10:45:50-04:00</published>
<category scheme="https://www.sbnation.com" term="NFL" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The second week of the NFL season delivered all sorts of beautiful chaos. Can you believe that we have several more months left of this? Sample sizes are growing and while we are still a little too early to draw hard conclusions about anything, we are getting closer to that point. Some teams look unstoppable […]]]></summary>
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The second week of the NFL season delivered all sorts of beautiful chaos. Can you believe that we have several more months left of this?
Sample sizes are growing and while we are still a little too early to draw hard conclusions about anything, we are getting closer to that point. Some teams look unstoppable where others are still winless. Many teams have flirted with both greatness and disaster. As noted, it is beautiful chaos.
Our mission here at The Skinny Post is to evaluate it all as best as we can.
Let’s dive into Week 2, and make sure to take our surveys and let us know what you think.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Are we buying the Indianapolis Colts and Daniel Jones?</h2>
RJ: 
Entering Week 2 I picked the Colts to beat the Broncos so I will stand and wait for your applause.
A lot of people are comparing this Colts team and their early success, particularly on offense, to what the New Orleans Saints did last year. I get it. Paper tigers and all of that jazz.
I’m not going to go as far as saying “something feels different” about Indianapolis, but this is the most functional that they have looked in a long time. Daniel Jones is clearly pulling the right strings, but Jonathan Taylor and Michael Pittman Jr. are both really shining. Everything just seems to be happening in the best way and Jones is executing it all in a manner for it to sing.
I’ll buy a bit.
Michael: 
The first game against the Dolphins did not leave me believing in the Colts because Miami was pretty bad last year and it doesn’t look like they have reinforced the right areas to be much better in 2025. However, the Colts not only playing a competitive game against the Broncos, but also finding a way to win the game and coming up clutch in the end has me believing in this team wholeheartedly.
Daniel Jones’ time with the Vikings and Kevin O’Connell last year looks like it’s paying off in spades.
<iframe src="https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/FIDHHN/" frameborder="0"><a href="https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/FIDHHN/">Please take our survey</a></iframe>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How do the Bengals even process things right now?</h2>
Michael: 
Personally? I have no idea. It helps that the offense still employs guys like Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, but the level of play from that unit is going to take one heck of a drop without Burrow running the show. Chase and Higgins will help keep them afloat as long as the offensive line can keep Jake Browning clean enough, but I don’t see that being the case week-in and week-out. Browning will sometimes look like Cinderella and at other times he’ll resemble the pumpkin.
The question remains: Will the Bengals’ 2-0 start to begin the season be enough of a floatation device for the team en route to fighting for a playoff spot? As it stands, this team will live and die in regards to the postseason by the arm of its backup quarterback.
RJ: 
Losing Joe Burrow for almost all of the season is brutal. I don’t know how Bengals fans can currently hold excitement for anything, all due respect to the rest of the Bengals roster.
As a Cowboys fan I am reminded of back in 2015 when the team started 2-0 and lost Tony Romo in that second win. It was 10 years ago and that season on its own felt like a decade. Life without a franchise quarterback is miserable and I fear that the Bengals are in for quite the spell.
I hope I am wrong. The Bengals have proven to be fighters. But this is tough.
<iframe src="https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/RJP4XF/" frameborder="0"><a href="https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/RJP4XF/">Please take our survey</a></iframe>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Was Sunday an indication that the Giants have a chance?</h2>
RJ: 
Speaking of the Cowboys… wow they sure revived Russell Wilson.
In absolutely no way do I think that the Giants have a chance of doing anything serious this year, but I was certainly taken aback at their offensive resurgence.
Here’s the thing, though. Right now I feel like that was more representative of who the Cowboys are defensively than the Giants offensively. The worst possible thing the Giants could do now is believe this mirage and lie to themselves.
We are going to watch them do that on Sunday night against Kansas City, though. Imagine if the Giants manage to pull off the upset to get their first win of the season and the team to fall to 0-3 is actually the Chiefs!
Michael: 
I think the answer is yes?
I think the Cowboys have looked better than expected in their first two weeks and their incredibly dramatic matchup with the Giants on Sunday is honestly more towards the credit of New York than to the detriment of Dallas.
Wilson looked like his vintage self, throwing moonshot after moonshot to his speedsters on the outside (wow Malik Nabers is good!) and they happened to work out more than not. That’s not likely to be the case each week, but I believe it showed this Giants team is not going to go quietly in any game this season, but especially against the NFC East.
Something tells me this will NOT be the last suspenseful and incredibly stressful outing for the Giants this season.
<iframe src="https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/CB2TZA/" frameborder="0"><a href="https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/CB2TZA/">Please take our survey</a></iframe>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Which team should feel better about themselves than their performance so far would suggest? Which team should feel worse? </h2>
Michael: 
I don’t think this fits the first part, but I gotta hand it to the Seahawks who once again look solid under Mike Macdonald. They lost a close one to the 49ers on an unfortunate fumble near the end zone on the final drive of the game and then they competed with the Steelers well until they smartly capitalized on a special teams blunder to swing momentum in their favor.
This squad was the only 10-win team to not make the postseason in 2024 and I firmly believe they will reverse those fortunes this year. I expect them to play well through the rest of their division games and have a chance to claim the NFC West crown by the end of the regular season.
After seeing how the Vikings finished the second half against the Falcons on Sunday night, I think I have to go ahead and suggest Minnesota will be taking quite the step back from their 2024 win-loss record. Their big-money signings this offseason are not paying off from the jump (especially their new center and right guard) and now they are without starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy for multiple weeks due to a high ankle sprain.
The perception in the preseason was that this was going to be one of the best supporting casts for a first-time starter in recent memory. Those may as well be famous last words because the football world said the same thing about Caleb Williams and the Bears last year and they ended up last in the NFC North with six wins.
RJ:
It has felt to me like the San Francisco 49ers are not getting enough respect. I know that they only beat the Saints on Sunday, but they did so with a quarterback who the entire league had basically thrown away in Mac Jones. To me this revives the idea that Kyle Shanahan can get it done with just about anybody. It sounds silly to say that San Francisco should feel better about themselves when they are 2-0, but my point is I think the sleeping monster has maybe woken up.
On the other side of the coin I think that the Detroit Lions might be feeling themselves a little bit too much after Sunday’s blowout of the Chicago Bears. It had to feel good to beat Ben Johnson and to rebound from the shellacking they took in Week 1 at Lambeau Field, but we are learning that the Bears are pretty moribund. I’d pump the brakes on any “the Lions are back” takes until we see more.
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</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>Mark Schofield</name>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[NFL Week 3 spread picks, including a pair of underdogs]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/1080847/nfl-week-3-spread-picks-underdogs-texans-lions-chiefs" />
<id>https://www.sbnation.com/?p=1080847</id>
<updated>2025-09-18T10:33:51-04:00</updated>
<published>2025-09-18T10:33:51-04:00</published>
<category scheme="https://www.sbnation.com" term="NFL" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Two weeks of picks against the spread are in the books. And we have two wins to show for it. After going 1-2 on picks in Week 1, that was the result again in Week 2. But I had to wait until Monday night to get that win, and sweat out a Baker Mayfield-led comeback […]]]></summary>
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Two weeks of picks against the spread are in the books.
And we have two wins to show for it.
After going 1-2 on picks in Week 1, that was the result again in Week 2. But I had to wait until Monday night to get that win, and sweat out a Baker Mayfield-led comeback from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Maybe that was the spark we needed.
But hey, if you’ve faded my picks these past two weeks, you are 4-2, so perhaps there is still value in this exercise.
Let’s get to this week’s picks. As always, the lines are taken from <a target="_blank" href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/nfl" rel="noreferrer noopener">FanDuel</a>.
Houston Texans at Jacksonville Jaguars FanDuel line: Jacksonville -2.5 Spread pick: Houston +2.5
Yes, the Houston Texans are 0-2 after a last-minute loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football. And yes, the Texans have some things to sort out on the offensive side of the football.
However, the Texans defense is a problem, as that unit pressured Baker Mayfield throughout the game on Monday night. Now they’ll get to see Trevor Lawrence, who has already thrown three interceptions and has an Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt of 5.19. That ranks him 24th in the league, behind C.J. Stroud.
The Texans get their first win on Sunday.
Kansas City Chiefs at New York Giants FanDuel line: Kansas City -5.5 Spread pick: Kansas City -5.5
Yes, the Kansas City Chiefs are 0-2 in the young season, and people are wondering if it is time to panic.
However, I am a firm believer in the idea of context, and those two losses require a healthy dose of it. In Week 1, the Chiefs went to Brazil and lost to a division rival and playoff team from a season ago. Then, in Week 2, they welcomed the Philadelphia Eagles to town in a Super Bowl rematch.
Now they get to take on an 0-2 New York Giants team that showed some signs of life against the Dallas Cowboys, in an overtime loss.
The Chiefs have not impressed this season, but this is the proverbial “get right” game. They’ll do just that and start to ease some of the panic setting in around Kansas City.
Detroit Lions at Baltimore Ravens FanDuel line: Baltimore -5.5 Spread pick: Detroit +5.5
This has “Game of the Week” potential, and I’m not just saying that because this matchup was my pre-season Super Bowl pick …
The last time these two teams met, however, was anything but a classic. The Baltimore Ravens won in blowout fashion, 38-6, back in October of 2023.
I expect this game to be much closer. The Detroit Lions snapped back to life last week in a blowout of the Chicago Bears, and the offense — and Jared Goff — took a big step forward from Detroit’s Week 1 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
As for the Ravens, while their pass defense has been solid this year, their run defense has not been. Baltimore has given up an <a target="_blank" href="https://rbsdm.com/stats/stats/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Expected Points Added per Rush</a> of 0.043 this season, which is among the bottom ten teams in the league. That could create opportunities for Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery in the run game on Monday night.
Baltimore may very well win this game, but at a minimum, I believe the Lions keep this close.
Last week: 1-2-0 Season record: 2-4-0
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</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>Mark Schofield</name>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Tua Tagovailoa is becoming the Dolphins’ biggest problem]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/1080851/tua-tagovailoa-bad-stats-film-struggles-pressure-hot-seat" />
<id>https://www.sbnation.com/?p=1080851</id>
<updated>2025-09-18T10:00:45-04:00</updated>
<published>2025-09-18T10:00:45-04:00</published>
<category scheme="https://www.sbnation.com" term="NFL" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[When the Miami Dolphins take the field in Week 3 against the Buffalo Bills, they will do so with a head coach under increasing pressure to keep his job. With Miami clocking in with an 0-2 record, the franchise now 8-11 over the past season-plus, and a “players-only” meeting already in the books, Mike McDaniel […]]]></summary>
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When the Miami Dolphins take the field in Week 3 against the Buffalo Bills, they will do so with a head coach under increasing pressure to keep his job. With Miami clocking in with an 0-2 record, the franchise now 8-11 over the past season-plus, and a “players-only” meeting already in the books, Mike McDaniel is feeling the heat.
But he is not alone.
Through two games, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has also been underwhelming, and as the Dolphins take the field against the Bills, Tagovailoa does so as, according to several metrics, one of the worst quarterbacks through two games this season.
Tagovailoa’s Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt of 5.13 has him ranked 25th in the NFL in that metric, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2025/passing.htm" rel="noreferrer noopener">below the league average of 6.07</a> and behind quarterbacks such as Caleb Williams, Spencer Rattler, and even Mac Jones. His QBR of 22.3 is 32nd in the league, ahead of only J.J. McCarthy and Cam Ward, a first-year starter and a rookie.
Looking at some more advanced metrics, Tagovailoa’s <a href="https://www.nfeloapp.com/qb-rankings/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Expected Points Added per Dropback</a> clocks in at -0.12 through two games, fourth-worst in the NFL. Only Joe Flacco, Ward, and McCarthy are worse this season. Continuing with that statistic, this graphic from <a href="http://rbsdm.com" data-type="link" data-id="rbsdm.com">Ben Baldwin</a> illustrates both EPA and grades from Pro Football Focus:
<img src="https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-18-at-8.20.07%E2%80%AFAM.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100" alt="" title="" data-has-syndication-rights="1" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="" />
As you can see, Tagovailoa is well below league average in both categories.
Finally, a look at Baldwin’s Quarterback Efficiency, which examines EPA and Completion Percentage Over Expectation. To his credit, Tagovailoa is above league average in CPOE — although this may be a testament to his willingness to throw into coverage and push the ball downfield — but again, the EPA number stands out:
<img src="https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Screenshot-2025-09-18-at-8.24.01%E2%80%AFAM.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100" alt="" title="" data-has-syndication-rights="1" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="" />
Turning to the film, another pattern forms.
A quarterback that still locks onto targets early in a down, leads defenders to the football with his eyes, and misses underneath defenders and/or defenders breaking downhill.
Let’s start with a play from last season. In this Week 15 game against the Houston Texans, the Dolphins trail 10-6 just before halftime. Already on the cusp of field goal range, facing a 2nd-and-6 at the Houston 39-yard line, Tagovailoa tests the middle of the Houston defense.
And is intercepted:
<div class="streamable-embed"><a href="https://streamable.com/m2lj8r" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">View Link</a></div>
While the Texans show him single-high coverage before the snap, they spin into Cover 2, dropping safety Calen Bullock down into the hole between the two deep defenders. Tagovailoa wants to hit Tyreek Hill on a quick in-breaking route, but the rotation in the secondary puts Bullock right in the throwing lane.
Tagovailoa never sees it, and frankly, never even looks for it.
Instead of at least a field goal before halftime to make this a one-point game, the Dolphins end up going to the locker room down 13-9, as the Texans add a field goal on the final play of the half.
Now, two of Tagovailoa’s three interceptions from this season. We’ll start with this play from Week 1 against the Indianapolis Colts. Tagovailoa initially checks a concept to his right, but when he does not like the look, he gets his eyes to a crossing route from Malik Washington.
And as he stares that down, he leads Laiatu Latu right to the football:
<div class="streamable-embed"><a href="https://streamable.com/1tebv1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">View Link</a></div>
Rewatch this play and keep an eye on Latu, who starts out showing blitz over the right tackle before dropping underneath. He is just reading Tagovailoa the whole way, and gets into position for the interception while the QB just misses him.
Finally, take this interception from last week’s loss to the New England Patriots. With Miami trailing by four just before the two-minute warning, the Dolphins faced a 4th-and-9.
Tagovailoa is pressured, but climbs the pocket to buy some time. As he does, he gets his eyes on another crossing route from Washington. But again, he misses a defender underneath, who is right in the throwing lane:
<div class="streamable-embed"><a href="https://streamable.com/yk6p82" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">View Link</a></div>
McDaniel is certainly under pressure heading into the Week 3 game.
But so is Tagovailoa.
If he is to turn his own season around, Tagovailoa needs to start in Week 3.
By spotting some of these underneath defenders.

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</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>Noa Dalzell</name>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[The underrated reason Lynx beat Valkyries in decisive Game 2]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.sbnation.com/womens-sports/1080861/dijonai-carrington-minnesota-lynx-golden-state-valkyries" />
<id>https://www.sbnation.com/?p=1080861</id>
<updated>2025-09-18T10:42:34-04:00</updated>
<published>2025-09-18T09:56:49-04:00</published>
<category scheme="https://www.sbnation.com" term="WNBA" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[DiJonai Carrington has had a whirlwind couple of seasons. The Minnesota Lynx guard was named the WNBA’s Most Improved Player last season after establishing herself as an elite two-way guard on the Connecticut Sun. Then, in February, she was traded to the Dallas Wings, where she spent the first half of the 2025 season. But, […]]]></summary>
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<a href="http://google.com/search?q=DiJonai+Carrington+sb+nation&oq=DiJonai+Carrington+sb+nation+&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBggAEEUYOzIGCAAQRRg7MgYIARBFGDzSAQgxMDg2ajBqNKgCALACAQ&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8">DiJonai Carrington</a> has had a whirlwind couple of seasons. 
The <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/womens-sports/1076014/minnesota-lynx-wnba-championship-playoffs-2026-wnba-draft-chicago-sky">Minnesota Lynx</a> guard was named the WNBA’s <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/wnba/2024/9/17/24242917/wnba-most-improved-player-candidate-dijonai-carrington-connecticut-sun-stephanie-white">Most Improved Player</a> last season after establishing herself as an elite two-way guard on the <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/wnba/2025/8/2/24479622/connecticut-sun-wnba-steve-pagliuca-boston-celtics-sale">Connecticut Sun</a>.
Then, in February, she was traded to the Dallas Wings, where she spent the first half of the 2025 season. But, the Dallas fit didn’t work out, and in August, Carrington was traded for the second time in less than six months, this time to the Minnesota Lynx.
In Minnesota, Carrington immediately found a rhythm she hadn’t had in Dallas. Playing for a loaded contender, she saw fewer minutes (she’s averaged 16.6 minutes per game with the Lynx, down from 24.9 minutes in Dallas) but became much more efficient; her field goal percentage increased from 35.4% in Dallas to 48.5% in Minnesota. 
A marked improvement in outside shooting was also noticeable; Carrington shot 45.5% from three in 11 games with the Lynx, up from 26% with the Wings.
<h4 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-none">DiJonai Carrington was the X-Factor on Wednesday</h4>
And, on Wednesday night, that three-point shooting bump made all the difference in a tight contest against the <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/wnba/1080794/wnba-coach-of-the-year-natalie-nakase-golden-state-valkyries">Golden State Valkyries</a>. With a trip to the WNBA semi-finals on the line, the Lynx trailed by as many as 17 in Game 2. 
Carrington attempted two threes in the fourth quarter of Game 2 and sank both, helping Minnesota erase a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit. Her second three, a corner attempt with just over three minutes to play, cut Minnesota’s deficit to just one point.
<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true">DiJonai Carrington isn't scared of the moment 🙌 Her three cuts the deficit to one point! MIN-GSV | ESPN | WNBA Playoffs presented by <a href="https://twitter.com/Google?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Google</a> <a href="https://t.co/54hT7KGMM2">pic.twitter.com/54hT7KGMM2</a>— WNBA (@WNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/WNBA/status/1968527788714922403?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
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On the defensive end, she helped force a shot clock violation and kept Valkyries’ star guard <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/womens-sports/1080316/wnba-most-improved-veronica-burton-golden-state-valkyries">Veronica Burton</a> — her former Sun teammate — scoreless in the fourth. 
<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true">DiJonai Carrington defense against Valkyries💺🔐 <a href="https://t.co/FGb1BhBUcn">pic.twitter.com/FGb1BhBUcn</a>— ⟡ 3jonai ⟡ (@DiJonai_clips) <a href="https://twitter.com/DiJonai_clips/status/1968654955016855584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Carrington wasn’t the star for the Lynx on Wednesday night. MVP candidate <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/womens-sports/1079748/wnba-most-valuable-player-sb-nation-picks-between-aja-wilson-napheesa-collier-alyssa-thomas">Napheesa Collier</a> led the way with 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists, while fellow All-Star <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/wnba/2025/7/15/24468532/kayla-mcbride-minnesota-lynx-all-star-replacement-rhyne-howard-atlanta-dream">Kayla McBride</a> poured in 18 points on 8-13 shooting. <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/wnba/2024/10/19/24274093/lynx-liberty-wnba-finals-scores-bridget-carleton">Bridget Carleton</a> hit 4 of 6 threes, and <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/wnba/2024/10/9/24265895/courtney-williams-dad-minnesota-lynx-wnba-finals-playoffs-don-williams">Courtney Williams</a> hit the biggest shot of the night, a midrange jumper to give Minnesota a three-point lead with just under 30 seconds to spare.
But, two Carrington three-pointers — and her trademark lockdown defense — made a massive difference in a game with a razor-thin margin of error. As Carrington’s shots fell, Minnesota inched closer to the next round of the playoffs. 

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</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<author>
<name>Nick Simon</name>
</author>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Best DFS picks for Dolphins at Bills in Week 3]]></title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/1080776/dolphins-bills-dfs-showdown-picks-tnf-best-plays" />
<id>https://www.sbnation.com/1080776/dalton-kincaid-start-or-sit-week-3-fantasy-football-advice</id>
<updated>2025-09-18T09:16:42-04:00</updated>
<published>2025-09-18T09:16:20-04:00</published>
<category scheme="https://www.sbnation.com" term="Fantasy Football" /><category scheme="https://www.sbnation.com" term="Fantasy football start/sit advice" /><category scheme="https://www.sbnation.com" term="NFL" />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Week 3 of the 2025 NFL season is here and we’ll be treated to an AFC East showdown featuring the Miami Dolphins visiting the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo enters as a heavy 11.5-point home favorite, with an over/under of 49.5. The Bills are trying to jump out to a fast 3-0 start to the campaign while […]]]></summary>
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<img alt="" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/imagn-27082110.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100" />
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Week 3 of the 2025 NFL season is here and we’ll be treated to an AFC East showdown featuring the Miami Dolphins visiting the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo enters as a heavy 11.5-point home favorite, with an over/under of 49.5. The Bills are trying to jump out to a fast 3-0 start to the campaign while the Dolphins are trying to avoid falling into an 0-3 hole.
Below we will take a look at the best DFS plays for this Thursday night showdown.
<h4 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-none">Captain’s Picks</h4>
<h5 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-none">James Cook, RB, Bills (FLEX $11,600, CPT $17,400)</h5>
Cook has picked up from where he left off last season and is currently fourth in the NFL in rushing heading into Week 3. He was a true workhorse back for the Bills in their 30-10 victory over the Jets this past Sunday, taking 21 carries for 132 yards and two touchdowns, earning 20 fantasy points for DFS managers. On a short week, I expect the Bills to keep things simple by feeding the Pro Bowler once again and that makes him worthy of being placed at the very top of your lineups.
<h5 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-none">Tyreek Hill, WR, Dolphins (FLEX $11,000, $CPT 16,500)</h5>
After a ho-hum Week 1 where he was visibly frustrated on the sidelines, Hill did his part with six receptions for 109 yards in the Dolphins’ 33-27 loss to the Patriots last Sunday. The veteran proved that he can still turn in a strong performance as Tua Tagovailoa’s go-to option even as Miami’s 2025 campaign already appears to be unraveling. I expect them to try to get the ball into Cheetah’s hands as much as possible in order to give themselves a shot at pulling off a massive Thursday-night upset on the road.
<h5 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-none">Bills Defense (FLEX $7,400, CPT $11,100)</h5>
Buffalo’s defense has been disruptive through two weeks and this Thursday-night home tilt is setting up to be a favorable matchup for the unit. Per <a href="https://www.pff.com/nfl/players/tua-tagovailoa/60326">Pro Football Focus</a>, Tua Tagovailoa’s average time to throw ranks 32nd in the NFL through two weeks and he has the misfortunate of going up against a Bills defense that has the second-highest <a href="https://sumersports.com/teams/defensive/">sack rate</a> in the league at 11.32%. Considering that Miami is also dealing with injuries on the right side of its offensive line, there’s an opportunity here for Buffalo to really tee off on the Dolphins QB with multiple sacks and possibly a few turnovers.
<h4 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-none">Value flex plays</h4>
<h5 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-none">Matt Prater, K, Bills (FLEX $7,000, CPT $10,500)</h5>
Prater has been money since joining the Bills 48 hours before the start of the season, going a perfect 6-6 on field goal attempts and 5-5 on extra points. Considering the potency of the offense and the opportunity for the defense to create turnovers, there could be plenty of scoring opportunities here for the veteran leg.
<h5 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-none">Joshua Palmer, WR, Bills (FLEX $5,400, CPT $8,100)</h5>
Palmer has been a reliable pass-catcher for Buffalo through the first two weeks of the regular season, hauling in seven of 12 targets for 108 yards. While he hasn’t had an explosive day in fantasy just yet, he’s a relatively cheap option that could pay dividends if he takes one of those receptions to the end zone for a score.
<h5 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-none">Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, WR, Dolphins (FLEX $4,600, CPT $6,900)</h5>
Westbrook-Ikhine has only gotten a smattering of looks for the Dolphins through two games, catching three passes for 25 yards. However, Jaylen Waddle is dealing with a shoulder injury ahead of the matchup and there’s a chance that he could step up for the offense if he’s not 100%. It wouldn’t be a bad option to take a flyer on NWI and buy low on him for this matchup.
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