Sports
Kyren Williams' running makes Rams a threat in the postseason, if they make it
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The florescent green cleats of Kyren Williams could be seen from space.
But it was the feet inside those shoes that set the tone Sunday in the Rams’ 19-9 victory over the New York Jets.
In this final stretch before the NFL playoffs, when the weather turns as bitter cold as it was at MetLife Stadium, it’s essential for teams to be able to run the football. Williams did that for the Rams, gaining 122 yards in 23 carries at a robust average of 5.3 yards a pop.
“It’s a security blanket,” Rams right tackle Rob Havenstein said. “There’s a ton of good rush fronts out there in the league, but to be able to run the ball and kind of dictate how we want to play offense because we can run the ball, that’s something that doesn’t just show up on game day. It’s something we work really hard on during the week.”
The numbers weren’t splashy. The highlights were sparse. But for the Rams to travel across the country for a 10 a.m. body-clock kickoff, with temperatures in the teens, this workmanlike win was a resounding statement: This team is capable of doing some damage in the playoffs.
Twenty-three carries is a full plate — the Rams only had a 50 offensive plays — but it was fewer than Williams had in his previous two games, when he had 29 and 29.
“Not quite 29,” coach Sean McVay quipped, “so he’s fresh.”
Fresh as the opportunities unfurling before the team. With the Rams winning, and Arizona losing at Carolina, the once-surging Cardinals have been eliminated from the playoff picture. They play the Rams at SoFi Stadium on Saturday night, and figure to be less formidable with running back James Conner dealing with an apparent knee injury that sidelined him in the second half Sunday.
So the NFC West race comes down to the Rams and Seattle, who play in a season finale in Los Angeles. The Rams have the upper hand at this point, with a better record after the Seahawks lost to the Vikings on Sunday and already having won at Seattle.
Meanwhile, the Jets are a mess, not news to the thousands of disgruntled fans streaming to the MetLife exits throughout the second half.
They have fired their coach and general manager, and seem to have handed the decision-making to quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who went for it on fourth down five times and converted two against the Rams.
According to ESPN, the Jets are the first team in 25 years to not punt in a game and still be held to fewer than 10 points.
Rams running back Kyren Williams carried the ball 23 times against the Jets after carrying it 29 times in each of his last two games.
(Seth Wenig / Associated Press)
What’s more, every one of their offensive linemen was flagged for a penalty, and there were six of those players since the Jets had to sub in a replacement for their injured left tackle. Dutifully, fill-in Max Mitchell checked the box with a false start just before the two-minute warning.
And to think the game began with such promise for the home team, the Jets assembling their first 99-yard scoring drive in eight years on their opening possession.
The Rams tightened the screws after that and surrendered only a field goal. Not to say it was a pristine defensive performance, though, as the tackling still needs to be better to increase the chance of survival in the postseason.
In many respects, it was a weird game that — thanks to all the running — glided by with the speed of time-lapse photography. The Rams were already in the fourth quarter while some teams were still waiting to start the second half.
The game went so quickly, in fact, that the NFL had to pump the brakes with commercials. The league doesn’t like to go commercial-kickoff-commercial, yet it had to do that three times in Rams-Jets in order to fill the three-hour window.
Rams Braden Fiske (55) and Jared Verse (8) converge to sack Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8).
(Adam Hunger / Associated Press)
The Jets had the ball for the final 6 minutes, 22 seconds of the first half, then — because they received the kickoff to start the second half — held it for the first 10 minutes of the third quarter.
“I was like, ‘I haven’t played football in 30 minutes,’” Havenstein said. “This wasn’t the game to get tight out there. You ain’t gonna get warmed up any time.”
That was definitely the feeling on the visitors’ sideline.
“We were huddled up against that heater on the sideline, that’s all you could do,” Rams guard Kevin Dotson said. “We’re not used to it. It was like 12 degrees, 13, and it seemed to get even colder at the end. I’m from Louisiana, so I’m thin-skinned. That cold is different.
“As offensive linemen they tell you, ‘Don’t wear sleeves.’ I gotta wear sleeves. I won’t be the same person if I don’t wear sleeves. I put my sleeves on and just go hard enough where they can’t say, ‘Oh, he’s soft.’”
The strong performance on the ground was a testament not only to Williams but also to a stalwart Rams offensive line that only recently has come together as intended with the starters all getting healthy (enough) to operate in lockstep.
As for those bright green shoes Williams was wearing? They were the Nike Vapor Edge Kobe “Grinch” cleats, an homage to one of his all-time favorite athletes.
Grinch makes sense. For the Jets, he unquestionably stole Christmas.
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After a slow first round at Aronimink Golf Club in Philadelphia on Thursday, pace of play was a point of emphasis at the PGA Championship on Friday.
However, when an official approached Justin Thomas and Keegan Bradley, they became animated.
Thomas, a longtime Team USA Ryder Cup member, and Bradley, last year’s United States captain, were on the fourth hole when they were approached by an official in a cart, and the conversation quickly turned into finger-pointing.
Justin Thomas and Keegan Bradley watch from the tenth green during the second round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown, Pennsylvania, on May 15, 2026. (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Thomas said after the round that he, Bradley and fellow USA Ryder Cupper Cameron Young, who won the Cadillac Championship earlier this month, were put on the clock, with the official telling them to pick up the pace. However, both Bradley and Thomas appeared to point at the group in front of them.
“We just didn’t really agree with it,” Thomas said, citing course conditions, high winds and tough pins. “We were behind. That wasn’t our issue… It’s just the fact that we weren’t holding up the group behind us.”
Thomas said they were caught up with the pace on the very next hole.
Justin Thomas plays his shot on the 15th tee during the second round of the PGA Championship in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, on May 15, 2026. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
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Thomas had a lengthy conversation with the official, while Bradley appeared to make his point short and sweet — though he was definitely not happy with the call.
It is a large PGA Championship field, with 156 golfers at the course and groups even starting their rounds on the back nine. The scores have also been rather high, with just 25 players below par at the time of publishing.
Aronimink also features a shared tee box on 1 and 10, holes 9 and 17 crossing paths, and a lengthy par-3 eighth hole that’s causing problems. Three par-3s are over 200 yards on the course, and there is also a 457-yard par 4 on the fourth.
Keegan Bradley prepares to putt on the 14th green during the first round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, on May 14, 2026. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
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As Chris Gotterup put it on Friday, “You’re not going to get any four-and-a-half hour rounds out here.”
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The Sparks are finally in the win column, but the outcome was in doubt late Friday night.
Behind double-digit scoring from all five starters, the Sparks had by far their best offensive showing of the season, shooting 63.8% during a 99-95 win over the expansion Toronto Tempo.
The Tempo didn’t make things easy, cutting the deficit to two points late and later trailing by just three with 31 seconds remaining and possession of the ball. Marina Mabrey missed a three-point attempt before late Tempo fouls gave the Sparks enough of a cushion to win.
Kelsey Plum nearly claimed a double-double with 27 points and nine assists, while Dearica Hamby had 19 points with seven rebounds and Nneka Ogwumike scored 20 points.
Erica Wheeler, who started in place of Ariel Atkins (concussion), scored 10 points with seven assists and was a plus-16 as the primary ball handler after starting the season two for 16 from the field. That freed up Plum to be in position to score, setting up a much more efficient Sparks offense.
Toronto was shorthanded in the frontcourt without starting center Temi Fagbenle (right shoulder), and the Sparks trio of bigs had a field day with 54 points in the paint.
The Sparks came out firing on Friday, opening with a 17-2 run.
The Tempo went on a 10-0 burst heading into the second quarter but the Sparks countered to maintain momentum and led 46-38 at halftime.
A Wheeler three-pointer early in the third quarter gave the Sparks a 20-point lead. The Tempo cut it to three midway through the fourth while Brittany Sykes (27 points, seven assists) sparked Toronto’s rally. The Tempo put up more shots than the Sparks, 70-58, largely because of a 10-2 offensive-rebounding gap.
Cameron Brink’s 10 points were the only ones provided by the Sparks’ bench, while the Tempo got 42 points from reserves.
Toronto was coming off its first win in franchise history on Wednesday when it defeated Seattle but struggled against a more complete offensive team in the Sparks.
In her return to Los Angeles after winning a national championship with UCLA this spring, Tempo rookie Kiki Rice netted 11 points.
Kate Martin made her Sparks debut as a developmental player with Atkins and Sania Feagin (lower left leg) unavailable and picked up one rebound in six minutes.
The Sparks will face Toronto again on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.
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The WNBA season has been in session for about a week, so it is far too early to make assumptions about teams. That doesn’t mean we won’t make them; it’s just too early to really believe it. I lost my first WNBA bet this season, so I’m hoping to avenge that loss here as the Sky take on the Mercury.
The Chicago Sky are one of the most poorly run franchises in basketball. They have had some great names on their team and only one championship to show for it.
Phoenix Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner shoots over Indiana Fever guard Aerial Powers in the first half at PHX Arena. (Rick Scuteri/Imagn Images)
There really isn’t a clear indication of what is wrong with the franchise, but they’ve never been able to retain their talent. Aside from Kamilla Cardoso, I can’t name a player on this team that they’ve actually drafted. They just seem to get good players and then show them the door.
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Even though they’ve had questionable front office decisions, they seem to have put together a solid team for this season – something I didn’t expect before the season started.
They are 2-0, which is too early to really say they are a good team. I also want to reserve judgment until they face a team with a longer history than last year. The Portland Tempo played their first-ever game against the Sky, and Golden State was good last year, but still is in just their second season of existence.
The Phoenix Mercury are actually considered one of the best franchises in the league. I’m sure there are issues that people have reported, but for the most part, they have good facilities, and people want to play for their team. They made it all the way to the WNBA Finals last season before falling to the Las Vegas Aces. This year, they are looking to restart that journey and see if they can win the last game of the year.
Phoenix Mercury guard Kahleah Copper dribbles the ball in the second half at CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C., on July 27, 2025. (Emily Faith Morgan-Imagn Images)
It will need to come with some better play than they’ve shown through three games this year. They are just 1-2 for the year with a 0-1 home record. The lone win was a blowout victory over the Aces (a clear revenge game if we’ve ever seen one). Then they lost the next two games against Golden State and Minnesota. Losing to the Lynx wouldn’t be a problem, but they didn’t have Napheesa Collier, who still has an ankle injury.
I expect the Mercury to make some adjustments for this game. They haven’t looked very crisp to begin the year, but they’ve been strong on offense, averaging 87 points per game.
The Sky are going to keep relying on their offense to do just enough and their defense to lock in. The Sky do have an edge on the interior, so they can get buckets fairly easily down low. I like the over 166.5 in this game.
Chicago Sky guard Skylar Diggins chases the ball during the fourth quarter against the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on May 13, 2026. (Bob Kupbens/Imagn Images)
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I also think it is worth betting on Kahleah Copper to go over her point total. Copper had two rough games before she broke out in the last game. Now she has the same sight lines and can attack the bigs from the Sky with her athleticism. Since going to Phoenix, she has scored 29, 7, 16, 25 and 28 points in five games against them.
For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024
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