The 2024 NFL Wild Card Round is upon us. The 2023 NFL Season saw a close playoff race conclude last week, and now only 14 teams remain eligible for Super Bowl 58. While the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers enjoy their bye week, the other 12 teams will battle to reach next week's Divisional Round. Saturday: AFC #5 Cleveland Browns (-2.5) @ #4 Houston Texans: Saturday 4:30 P.M. ET My Pick: Rookie sensation C.J. Stroud has looked incredibly poised, but Cleveland’s Joe Flacco has twin benefits in playoff experience and a superior defense. The Browns win and cover the spread as Stroud feels mental and physical pressure. AFC #6 Miami Dolphins @ #3 Kansas City Chiefs (-3.5): Saturday 8:30 P.M. ET My Pick: Potential sub-zero temperatures will impact Kansas City’s already questionable hands. Mike McDaniel’s multidimensional offense overwhelms an improved Kansas City defense in Tyreek Hill’s return to Arrowhead. Miami wins a cold, close game. Sunday: AFC #7 Pittsburgh Steelers @ #2 Buffalo Bills (-10): Sunday 1 P.M. ET My Pick: Mason Rudolph’s resurgence stops in Buffalo against the #2 Bills. TJ Watt’s absence will be felt on the defensive side for the Steelers, but Bills turnover issues could keep the game close. Josh Allen and the Bills move into the Divisional Round but Rudolph’s momentum covers the spread for the Steelers. NFC #7 Green Bay Packers @ #2 Dallas Cowboys (-7.5): Sunday 4:30 P.M. ET My Pick: Dallas’ high-flying offense will be a major problem for the Packers. Green Bay’s offense isn’t reliably potent enough to hang, especially with Jordan Love’s playoff debut being on the road. Dallas has had a date with the Divisional Round circled for a while now and covers the spread in order to get there. NFC #6 Los Angeles Rams @ #3 Detroit Lions (-3.5): Sunday 8:30 P.M. ET My Pick: This game is the most important storyline of the week. Detroit’s former leader Matthew Stafford returns for the Lions’ first home playoff game since. Los Angeles’ diverse and powerful offense is part of a quietly confident team that will beat a Lions team that doesn’t have quite the same feel it did in the midseason. I’m predicting heartbreak in Detroit on Sunday. Monday: NFC #5 Philadelphia Eagles (-3) @ #4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers My Pick: The sputtering Eagles haven’t looked like themselves in over a month. The Bucs, meanwhile, emerge from the NFC South race after winning 5 of their last 6. Despite Tampa’s momentum, the Eagles should muster up a win against an inferior roster. A possible upset.

Just days after Magomed Ankalaev's seemingly successful callout of UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira, the champion has instead called out Jamahal Hill. Hill, the former champion, has been out since July 2023 with a torn achilles that forced him to relinquish the belt. Pereira announced via Instagram that he wanted to focus on Hill. He also said that his next goal would be to break another record, this record being the shortest time between title defenses. In order to break Ronda Rousey's record of shortest time between title defenses, Pereira would have to defend twice in less than 56 days. Rousey set the record with defenses at UFC 168 and 170. Pereira would likely have to fight on back-to-back UFC pay-per-views if he can't find the one-event rest that Rousey found between 168 and 170. Pereira refers to that record as "another" record because he already owns multiple UFC records. He is the fastest fighter to become champion at two divisions after doing it in seven fights. He is also the only fighter to have held both the middleweight and light heavyweight championships, although no fighter has ever held both at the same time. Pereira seems to want to fight Hill before anyone else. If he's to make a successful turnaround in less than 56 days, he'll need to avoid suffering damage at all costs. That could be tricky against someone with Hill's precise and powerful striking. Hill's last fight saw him dismantle Pereira's coach, the great Glover Teixeira, on the feet. I think Hill's striking is a real threat to Pereira's chin, which was suspect at middleweight but has stood up so far at light heavyweight. Pereira is certainly capable of finding a fast finish on the feet, but so is Hill. If Pereira makes it past Hill, his next challenger will almost certainly be Ankalaev. Ankalaev knocked out Johnny Walker on Saturday and immediately called out Pereira. Teixeira responded on X/Twitter and seemingly confirmed that a fight between the two was in the near future. If Ankalaev is forced to wait until Hill is healthy, he may be waiting until the summer. Hill will likely be out until the late spring or early summer, which means Ankalaev will have at least a 4 month layoff before a potential fight. That's not excessively long by any means, and Ankalaev may not want to fight anyone else while a future title shot seems to be coming. If rising contender Aleksandar Rakic can get past Pereira's last foe in Jiri Prochazka at April's UFC 300, Rakic may have an equal argument for a title shot. This could potentially lead to a Rakic-Ankalaev fight to determine who fights the winner of Pereira-Hill. Such a fight would likely have to happen before Pereira-Hill if Pereira's planned rapid turnaround is to happen, and the timing may not work out. Rakic could be a name to watch later in the year. We'll likely not know more about the Pereira-Hill title fight until Hill's recovery status becomes available, but with the rate of developments in the UFC's light heavyweight division, we may find out sooner rather than later. I'll be covering all major developments.

The University of Arizona's Jedd Fisch will be the next head coach at Washington, according to a number of reports. Ryan Grubb, who was UW's offensive coordinator and a potential replacement at head coach, will follow longtime coaching partner Kalen DeBoer to Alabama, where Grubb will assume the offensive coordinator position that was offered to him last year by the retiring Nick Saban. Fisch is a longtime NFL assistant whose first head coaching tenure was with Arizona. He holds a 17-22 career record but rapidly elevated the Wildcats from possibly the worst Power 5 team to one of the best over the course of 3 years. 2021, Fisch's first year with Arizona, was a tough 1-11 season, but the team steadily improved, going 5-7 in 2022 and 10-3 this last season. His tenure at Arizona was capped off with an Alamo Bowl win when his #14 Wildcats beat the #12 Oklahoma Sooners 38-24. It was Arizona's first bowl win since 2015. This year, Fisch partnered with redshirt freshman quarterback Noah Fifita, who led Arizona to its best season in recent memory. Fifita and former high school teammate Teteiroa McMillan were a lethal receiving connection last year and led an improved team that's been supplemented by increasingly good recruiting classes. Fisch will hope to use that recruiting ability to elevate a lackluster UW recruiting class that was further hurt by DeBoer's departure. It's possible that Fifita follows Fisch to Washington. Fifita has three more years of eligibility remaining and Washington is in desperate need of a quarterback. It'll remain to be seen whether he moves or not, but if he does, McMillan and other Arizona stars could follow. Regardless of whether Fifita stays, Fisch's loss will be felt in Arizona. This team was rapidly elevating in talent and joining a talent-depleted Big 12 next season. They were my pick to win that division next season, which would result in a playoff appearance under the new 12-team format. That's all likely to change following Fisch's departure. Although Fisch lacks DeBoer's coaching resume, UW fans should feel confident in Fisch's ability to help their now-depleted team recover. Fisch's newfound ability to recruit in the Big Ten should certainly interest Washington supporters, especially considering their current recruiting shortcomings. Husky fans should now focus their attention on Fifita and other potential quarterback transfers. Washington's offense will be impacted by the loss of Ryan Grubb, their former offensive coordinator that unleashed Michael Penix Jr's deep ball ability to devastating effect. Grubb will now have access to Jalen Milore and Alabama's talented roster and is now free to draw up devastating route combos in the SEC. Alabama fans should be watching UW offensive highlights and salivating. We'll soon find out who Fisch brings to Seattle to replace Grubb and UW's other missing talent. His limited head coaching experience means a massive staff transfer is less likely, but anything is possible given Fisch's rapid turnaround of the Arizona program. Arizona fans will be hoping that a new coach can preserve the program's prior momentum as they look towards joining the Big 12 next season.

Magomed Ankalaev is likely now first in line for the UFC light heavyweight title after knocking out Johnny Walker at last night's UFC Vegas 84 event. The second-round finish was followed by a callout of UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira. The first round was closely contested and featured an accidental low blow from Ankalaev to Walker. Both men pursued leg kicks throughout the fight, and their legs were starting to show damage midway through the second round. Then. out of nowhere, Ankalaev caught Walker with a right hand that sat him down hard against the fence. Ankalaev closed the distance with a right uppercut that landed clean on Walker's nose, causing referee Marc Goddard to stop the fight. After the fight, Ankalaev communicated through a translator that he was ready for a title fight with Alex Pereira and wanted it immediately. His callout was acknowledged on X/Twitter by former champion Glover Teixeira, who seemed to confirm a future fight between Ankalaev and Pereira. https://twitter.com/gloverteixeira/status/1746359967165153573 Ankalaev responded to the tweet and reaffirmed his readiness for a title fight. If the UFC moves fast, they could pencil Pereira-Ankalaev in for the co-main or main event of UFC 300. The upcoming UFC 300 event has been the talk of 2024, with fans expecting a stacked line up to celebrate the 300th UFC pay-per-view. Zhang Weili and Yan Xiaonan are already competing for the UFC Women's Strawweight Championship, but fans can expect at least one more title fight to be added to the card. UFC 300's date of April 13th would be a somewhat quick turnaround for Ankalaev. It's exactly 90 days from today, which is around the shortest turnaround the UFC will generally allow. With former champion Jamahal Hill not returning until at least the summer, it may be wise for Ankalaev to wait for UFC 301 or 302, which would give him time to recover and prepare before the hardest striking test of his career. Interestingly, Ankalaev promised post-fight to keep things on the feet against Pereira, one of the most lethal strikers in UFC and combat sports history. Ankalaev has historically had some trouble defending leg kicks, and Pereira has some of the best leg kicks in the entire sport. Pereira's calf kicks are impossible to detect and absolutely debilitating upon contact, and he also has unbelievable power in his hands. Ankalaev claimed post-fight that he could have wrestled against Walker but wanted to send a message to Pereira that his striking was capable of winning him a championship. It will remain to be seen if Ankalaev can do so in what is now a presumed title fight. Ankalaev, who hasn't lost since 2018, fought Walker in October of last year, with the fight ending by controversial no-contest following an illegal Ankalaev knee. Ankalaev previously fought Jan Blachowicz for the vacant title in December 2022, with the fight ending in a draw and neither man becoming champion. Those two fights are Ankalaev's only blemishes since his only career loss in 2018, and he's now avenged one of them. He'll come into a potential Pereira fight with plenty of experience and an extensive resume. UFC fans will now turn their full attention towards Saturday's UFC 297 in Toronto. The event will see the UFC Middleweight and Women's Bantamweight championships up for grabs. Sean Strickland will attempt his first defense against Dricus du Plessis, while Mayra Bueno Silva and Raquel Pennington clash for the title vacated by the retiring Amanda Nunes.

Two days after losing the greatest college football coach of all time, the University of Alabama has its replacement. Washington's Kalen DeBoer has agreed to become the next head coach of Alabama's prestigious football program. For DeBoer, this comes after two very successful years at Washington, during which he went 25-3 and took a 21-game winning streak all the way to a National Championship Game appearance. He's replacing the retiring Nick Saban, a seven-time national champion who won six at the helm of the Crimson Tide. Over the course of 17 seasons, Saban built Alabama into the nation's flagship franchise. His teams and players defined the 21st century of college football. Alabama produced 123 NFL draft picks coached by Saban, including NFL greats like Julio Jones, Derrick Henry, Minkah Fitzpatrick, CJ Mosley, Mark Ingram and Amari Cooper. DeBoer will have record-sized shoes to fill in Tuscaloosa but will arrive with a stellar head coaching record of 104-12. DeBoer turned Washington from a middling Pac-12 team into a national championship contender in two years alongside stars like Michael Penix Jr. and Rome Odunze. He'll have plenty of similar talent to work with at Alabama and will look to optimize Alabama's sizable recruiting pull. Saban's departure may deplete Alabama's current roster. Just this morning, wide receiver Isaiah Bond, who recorded almost 900 yards and 5 touchdowns in two years with the Tide, became the first player to enter the transfer portal following Saban's retirement. At least a few more transfers are likely to follow. Only time will tell if the number of transfers ends up being greater than the average college offseason. However, DeBoer's rapid elevation of the Washington program will certainly attract some new faces to Tuscaloosa. The coming weeks will be very interesting for Alabama and its fans as they attempt to establish their future as a program. Adversely, the Washington program is now at a crossroads. Their talented 2023 team was comprised largely of upperclassmen that will be leaving for the draft. With DeBoer leaving, the future of Washington's coaching staff will also be in question. One name all UW fans are sure to be thinking of is Ryan Grubb, who currently serves as UW's offensive coordinator, assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach. Grubb has been a longtime coaching partner to DeBoer. Grubb was hired to DeBoer's 2007 Sioux Falls staff and followed DeBoer to Eastern Michigan in 2014. The two have coached together ever since. Interestingly, Saban offered Grubb Alabama's offensive coordinator position last year. Grubb turned the offer down to stick with the 2023 UW team. If given the chance between UW's head coaching gig and a continued DeBoer partnership at Alabama, Grubb will be spoiled for choice. Other coaching options for UW could possibly emerge from the NFL. Titans head coach Mike Vrabel's firing came as a surprise to the NFL community. He'd certainly be an attractive option for the Huskies. Hometown legend Pete Carroll was just removed as head coach of the Seahawks and claims to still have the energy and drive needed to coach. UW fans would likely welcome the former national champion with open arms. It's not just coaching UW needs to worry about. Their recruiting and transfer portal classes, which were already well below the level of fellow Big Ten competitors Oregon, Ohio State and Michigan, will likely be weakened by DeBoer's departure. Four-star LB commit Zaydrius Rainey-Sale has already decommitted from UW's incoming freshman class, citing coaching uncertainty. Michigan's championship and Oregon's recent addition of #2 overall transfer target Evan Stewart will present the Huskies with additional pressure. Almost immediately after DeBoer's news broke, star UW cornerback Jabbar Muhammad announced that he was entering the transfer portal. Muhammad was a bright spot on an often-struggling UW defense. It will remain to be seen what other players leave Washington in the wake of DeBoer's departure. Time will tell what effect Washington's next coach is able to have on the recruiting and transfer markets. Expect DeBoer to get to work on both fronts at Alabama. Both programs will undergo significant change in the coming weeks, and I'll be reacting to important coaching and transfer portal updates as they come out.

Things seem to be on the verge of collapse in Seattle. Less than a day after losing esteemed head coach Kalen DeBoer to Alabama, Washington has now also lost standout DB Jabbar Muhammad and next year's starting quarterback Will Rogers to the transfer portal. Rogers, who's approaching his final year of eligibility, is second in all-time SEC passing yards with 12,315 yards. He played his first four years of college football as a Mississippi State Bulldog. He was set to become the de facto 2024 starter at Washington, a team looking to fill the hole left by the departing Michael Penix Jr. Rogers' future is unknown, but a signing will likely happen soon. Although the peak of transfer portal action has passed, there are still teams looking for a quarterback. Teams like LSU and Michigan still have QB questions heading into 2024, and Rogers will certainly be looking to join a contender. The Huskies are now left with another major question regarding their future. They're already missing a head coach and will see only a fraction of their starters return next year. But without a clear path forward at quarterback, UW's future suddenly looks nothing at all like it did a week ago. Entering the Big Ten looks considerably more daunting without a leader taking the snaps. They'll certainly look to the transfer portal to find their next signal-caller.

The PAC-12-leading Oregon Ducks men will look to protect their perfect home record on Saturday when the California Golden Bears come to Matthew Knight Arena. The 12-3 Oregon Ducks are riding a five-game winning streak that has seen the Ducks rise to 4-0 in conference play. The opposing Golden Bears started conference play with three losses but have rallied with two straight wins. They sit at 6-10 on the season and will hope to upset a cruising Ducks squad that has yet to play this week. Oregon’s game plan will likely hinge on N’Faly Dante’s injury status. Dante has been out of action for two months while rehabbing from left knee surgery that he received in November. Thankfully, this week marked a return to practice for the star seven-footer from Mali. Dante was named a preseason All-Conference player and was considered by many to be Oregon’s best player before his injury. His return will be well-received by a team that has been lacking some size since Dante and fellow big man Nate Bittle were sidelined with injuries. Rebounding is the only major category at which Cal currently outperforms the Ducks, so Dante’s return figures to resolve Oregon’s biggest weakness. Dante had 21 rebounds in his only game this year, only 10 below a Ducks’ game average of 31.8 that is sure to increase. While Dante’s presence will be crucial to Oregon’s success as this season progresses, Oregon has a number of other players to thank for their strong start. Freshman Jackson Shelstad has been turning heads on a national level, and for good reason. The freshman has averaged a stellar 18.0 points per game since starting conference play and has scored 10+ points in 10 straight games. He's now tied with Dillon Brooks at 10, only a game behind Tyler Dorsey’s record of 11. Shelstad has a chance to match that record on Saturday as he continues to look like one of the nation’s best young stars. Fifth-year senior Jermaine Couisnard and sophomore Brennan Rigsby have also been scoring threats. Rigbsy scored 18 points, including four three-pointers, in Oregon’s most recent win against Washington State. Couisnard has scored double-digit points in his last five games, including a 27-point double-double performance against Kent State. Much-hyped freshman Mookie Cook has finally recovered from a lengthy ankle injury and saw limited action against Washington and Washington State. Oregon fans will be excitedly watching his progression from a high school star to a college playmaker. Elsewhere on the court, 6’9 Kwame Evans Jr and 6’10 Mahamadou Diawara will help provide some additional size, and Keeshawn Barthelemy will likely see significant playing time at the guard positions. Assuming Dante is finally healthy, Oregon’s starting lineup will likely consist of Shelstad, Rigsby, Couisnard, Evans and Dante. If Dante can’t go, it’ll likely be Diawara at center. Barthelemy can switch in at both guard positions and we’ll see guards Jesse Zarzuela and Jadrian Tracey get some time as well. Kario Oquendo is another option at the 2, 3 and 4 positions. These second-string guards could see more playing time if a sitting Dante causes the Ducks to keep playing small-ball. The Ducks will be competing against a Golden Bears team led by physical junior guard Jaylon Tyson. Tyson is 6’7 and has averaged 20.7 points per game. He excels at driving to the basket and will likely draw some significant defensive attention. 5’11 Guard Jalen Cone and 6’11 forward Fardaws Aimaq are averaging 14.4 and 14.9 points per game respectively, meaning Cal has diverse trio of main scorers with which to attack the basket. Aimaq’s size and rebounding ability will likely cause the Ducks some headaches. If Dante isn’t healthy, Evans and Diawara will likely be tasked with neutralizing Aimaq. Dante is certainly Oregon’s best option at out-rebounding Aimaq. It’s worth remembering that Oregon has played effective small-ball to this point, so it’ll likely take more than just size to outdo Dana Altman’s Ducks. However, Tyson’s been a force on offense and has a notable combination of size and speed. Keeping Tyson out of his rhythm will be important if Oregon wants to pull away on the scoreboard. Cal’s starting lineup will likely consist of Cone, fifth-year Keonte Kennedy, Tyson, junior Jalen Celestine, and Aimaq. Kennedy and Tyson may shift around, as will guard Rodney Brown Jr. Forward Grant Newell will likely see some time as well. California is coming off consecutive PAC-12 wins, beating UCLA on Saturday and Colorado on Wednesday. This marks the first back-to-back wins for the Golden Bears this year, who will look to extend their streak to three this upcoming Saturday. Prior to those two wins, the Bears had lost 19 straight PAC-12 games, last winning against Stanford in January 2023. Meanwhile, the surging Oregon Ducks will look to extend a five-game win streak and protect their perfect home and conference records. Tune in this Saturday at 5:00 PM for this PAC-12 conference matchup between the Oregon Ducks and the California Golden Bears. Read this article at KWVA Sports: https://kwva.uoregon.edu/2024/01/12/preview-oregon-mbb-looks-to-stay-perfect-in-conference-play-against-the-golden-bears/

The 2023 NFL regular season's conclusion means two things: It's playoff time, and it's award season. I recently made my picks for Wild Card Weekend. As these awards aren't influenced by the postseason, it's now it's time to make my picks for MVP, Coach of the Year, Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year and Comeback Player of the Year. MVP: Lamar Jackson (QB - Ravens) It was a tumultuous NFL season that never felt like it had a true runaway MVP favorite. That feeling may have changed over the last few weeks. After Lamar and the Ravens dominated then-MVP-favorite Brock Purdy and the 49ers in San Francisco (on Christmas), the race clearly became Lamar's to win. He ended his regular season on a six-game winning streak before sitting out the season finale against the Steelers. After seeing how the Ravens performed without him (and some other starters), Lamar can focus on the Divisional Round knowing a second MVP is essentially his. Honorable Mention: Dak Prescott (QB - Cowboys) Coach of the Year: Kevin Stefanski (Browns) Former Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski entered 2023 with Deshaun Watson as his new quarterback and the reliably dominant Nick Chubb at running back. It was thought that the run-heavy Browns would prioritize Chubb's ground game and allow Watson to shake off his rust. Plans changed in Week 2 when Chubb suffered a season-ending knee injury. Plans would continue to change as Watson would suffer a midseason shoulder injury, forcing Stefanski to start PJ Walker and Dorian Thompson-Robinson at quarterback for much of the later midseason. Stefanski rallied his league-best defense and found 38-year-old veteran Joe Flacco as a new quarterback. Flacco and Stefanski took the 7-4 Browns to 11-5 before Flacco sat for a Week 18 loss to the Bengals. Stefanski's ability to adapt to a season of immense change is what earns him this award. Honorable Mention: Demeco Ryans (Texans) Offensive Player of the Year: Christian McCaffrey (RB - 49ers) Christian McCaffrey is a perfect fit for Kyle Shanahan's offense, and he made that apparent during his first full season with in San Francisco. He ran for 1,459 yards and 14 touchdowns on an impressive 5.4 yards per carry, and also tallied 564 receiving yards and 7 receiving touchdowns. His 21 total touchdowns tied for a league best. He also came into the season with a touchdown streak that would stop in November at 17 games, tying Hall of Famer Lenny Moore's all-time record. Oh, and he had 142 total yards in the 34-3 win that snapped his streak. People questioned whether his quarterback was the MVP or was just buoyed by McCaffrey's insane spread of abilities, which is a statement to McCaffrey's impact this year. Honorable Mention: Tyreek Hill (WR - Dolphins) Defensive Player of the Year: TJ Watt (OLB - Steelers) While many have Myles Garrett circled for the award this year, I think that TJ Watt was more impactful. He had an incredible 19 sacks to Garrett's 14, 68 total tackles to Garrett's 42 and 19 tackles for loss to Garrett's 17. Garrett was also a part of a superior defense, though there's an argument that being surrounded by better players leads to worse individual stats. However, Garrett's mere 9 assisted tackles indicate otherwise. I think TJ Watt was more important to the Steelers' defense than Garrett was to the Browns'. Honorable Mention: Myles Garrett (DE - Browns) Offensive Rookie of the Year: Puka Nacua (WR - Rams) Stroud's status as QB and #2 overall draft pick will likely lift him above Nacua when the real awards are handed out. And while Stroud had an incredible rookie season and looks like a franchise QB, Nacua's record-breaking season is too spectacular for me to ignore. Selected with pick 177, Puka Nacua was immediately impactful for the Rams offense. He notched 105 receptions for 1,486 yards, both of which are NFL rookie records, and also scored six touchdowns. He's looked poised, experienced and fluid all season long and has been established as a surprise star. Honorable Mention: CJ Stroud (QB - Texans) Defensive Rookie of the Year: Devin Witherspoon (DB - Seahawks) Devon Witherspoon, the only defensive rookie to be selected to this year's Pro Bowl, entered Seattle with a mountain of pressure on his shoulders. He responded by making the exact explosive plays that he was drafted for. He was PFF's top rated rookie defender (min. 600 snaps) as well as PFF's top rated Seahawk. He finished the year with 16 pass deflections, 8 tackles for loss, 3 sacks and a 97-yard pick six. Witherspoon fought through injury and delivered some huge hits. We'll see if his physical style carries over to his first Pro Bowl flag football game. Honorable Mention: Jalen Carter (DT - Eagles) Comeback Player of the Year: Joe Flacco (QB - Browns) This award has been tied to Damar Hamlin's name ever since it was announced that he was returning from the near-fatal cardiac arrest that he suffered on January 2 against the Bengals. While Hamlin's ability to return to the team is incredible, the scope of Flacco's impacts push the Browns' quarterback into the top spot. Flacco was 38 and hadn't started in more than a year when Kevin Stefanski and the Browns came calling. He promptly won 4 of his next 5 games and got the Browns into the playoffs while looking like the same man that won a Super Bowl a decade ago. His playoff journey could be one of the most incredible storylines sports has seen in a long time. Honorable Mention: Damar Hamlin (DB - Bills)