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While you were sleeping: Minnesota squanders a dream

There is a finality to playoff games that is simply captivating. The NFL season started in September and the Rams and Vikings have compiled completely different records, but none of that mattered in last night’s game. Because Minnesota, the team with the better performance, was completely over the moon.

Two quick takeaways:

• First, kudos to the Rams, a team that started 1-4 and is now a playoff winner after throttling the 14-win Vikings 27-9 in a game relocated to Arizona. This team persevered even as fires ravaged homes in Los Angeles. None of it was easy, no matter what it looked like on the field.
• The bigger sports story, however, is the demise of the Vikings. That was a magical year. The signing of quarterback QB Sam Darnold ended with the second-best regular season in franchise history. It ended in a wildcard blowout. That means crush.

Minnesota will ponder tough questions this week. Why can’t Kevin O’Connell win a playoff game? What will the market look like for Darnold? How in the world did the Rams do? nine Sacks?

Shot. LA heads to Philadelphia this weekend with a chance to continue its surprise run. And kudos to the Cardinals Host a playoff game with five days notice.

Further:

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Action/Intrigue: Deion to the Cowboys?

Welcome back to our now recurring Action/Intrigue segment, breaking down the NFL coaching carousel. We’re doing this a second time because the news demands it. Let’s start with maximum intrigue and then work our way to the quieter situations:

Dallas Cowboys

• Action: Coach Mike McCarthy’s contract expires today. Unless he completely changes his mind, he’s in Dallas. He averaged nearly ten wins per year in five seasons, but only made the playoffs 1-3. It is likely to attract interest particularly in Chicago and New Orleans.
• Intrigue: An absolute blast, that is The athleteJeff Howe reported last night that Jerry Jones spoke with Colorado coach and Cowboys legend Deion Sanders about the role. Sanders said last week that he wouldn’t take an NFL job unless he could coach both of his sons. Hmm. Remember, NFL coaches picked this as the top job posting.

Pittsburgh Steelers

• Action: Nothing yet.
• Intrigue: There’s a lot of talk about head coach Mike Tomlin, who remains the gold standard for regular season wins. However, as Mike Sando pointed out yesterday, the star hasn’t won a single playoff game in the last eight seasons. His only Super Bowl victory came 16 years ago. It could be time for a (shocking) change that is difficult to process as a neutral observer.

Las Vegas Raiders

• Action: Last week, coach Antonio Pierce and general manager Tom Telesco were fired.
• Intrigue: Ben Johnson, Pete Carroll, Aaron Glenn, Steve Spagnuolo, Todd Monken and Robert Saleh are candidates. According to our reporting, Sanders and Mike Vrabel never were. More on this and Tom Brady’s influence on the search.

Chicago Bears

• Action: Nothing since coach Matt Eberflus was fired midway through the season.
• Intrigue: Iowa State’s Matt Campbell was interviewed, and general manager Ryan Poles has repeatedly hinted at the final pick, which surprised us. Adding to Chicago’s long list of names, NFL Network reported interest in Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman.

Jacksonville Jaguars

• Action: Fired coach Doug Pederson on Black Monday.
• Intrigue: Johnson also interviewed here. In a story yesterday, Zack Rosenblatt predicted that Saleh would end up here. Fascinating.

New Orleans Saints

• Action: Nothing since Dennis Allen was fired mid-season.
• Intrigue: Glenn is considered the favorite. McCarthy will also be a candidate.

New York Jets

• Action: Nothing since Saleh was fired mid-season.
• Intrigue: Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores could be the leading candidate here, and as Michael Silver wrote last week, Flores appears to have learned from his mistakes in Miami. If not Flores, Glenn could be a leader.

New England Patriots

• Action: Our first bike rental. Vrabel is a slam-dunk victory for the struggling team.
• Intrigue: Vrabel seems careful to avoid any talk of the good old days, as Steve Buckley writes. Good call, to be honest.

Thanks for tuning in to Action/Intrigue. We’ll be back soon. Currently, Read these predictions where these teams end up.

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Interesting facts

Sasaki narrows down the list
Young Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki is by far the most interesting free agent still available on the MLB market. Yesterday, his representative told teams he was left with three possible options: the Dodgers, Padres and Blue Jays. Los Angeles appears to be the frontrunner, but the 23-year-old’s camp has been discreet about his impending choice. More details about his decision can be found here. Tomorrow you’ll hear more about Sasaki.

Porter texts are created
Remember the betting scandal involving former Raptors center Jontay Porter that ended with Porter being banned from the NBA? Authorities arrested an alleged accomplice of Porter’s this week, which somehow makes the whole mess seem even worse, as text messages from Porter to associates have surfaced that do little to conceal the former player’s intentions in all of this. Here’s my favorite: “Hit unders for the big numbers.” I told (co-conspirator 2): No blockades, no thefts.” Open and closed stuff. Read the rest here.

📺 EPL: Liverpool at Nottingham Forest
3:00 p.m. ET on USA Network
These are two of the top three teams in the Premier League table, which is no surprise for one of them: Liverpool. For Nottingham Forest – solid on a Champions League pitch at the moment – it is a time of reawakeningas Daniel Taylor wrote this week. Really, dreaming again. “Forest” is a wonderful story, and hopefully it fits together as well as the stories suggest.

📺 NCAAM: No. 15 Mississippi State at No. 1 Auburn
7:00 p.m. ET on SEC Network
The SEC is a doozy this season as the Bulldogs face a top 10 team for the second straight year. Maybe the conference is too good.

Get tickets for games like these Here.

🎧 “The Athletic Football Show” about the suddenly dominant Rams and the foundering Vikings. Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.