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Saquon’s hurdle, Josh Allen’s heroics: The NFL season’s best moments, week by week

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Saquon’s hurdle, Josh Allen’s heroics: The NFL season’s best moments, week by week

After 272 games and 1,387 touchdowns — and Camryn Bynum’s many interpretive dances — the NFL’s regular season is officially in the books. It was an awesome, serpentine and sometimes surreal four months of football. Cheers to all of us that made it through and did not blink.

Of course, the playoffs are a zero-sum game, and only one person will be commemorated Most Valuable Player. But there was so much to celebrate across the past 18 weeks, and the Super Bowl outcome certainly does not negate all the coolness that preceded it.

Here, we’ll remember the top three on-field moments from each weekly slate. May this be a space for recollection and appreciation as we trek toward the postseason.

Week 1

An un-Likely finish — The games kicked off with an absolute banger in Ravens-Chiefs. Lamar Jackson led a furious final push down the field, capped with Isaiah Likely’s spectacular would-be game-tying touchdown snag. Better still, Baltimore’s offense looked ready to go for the two-point conversion and steal a win. Upon further review, Likely’s toe grazed the back of the end zone. Kansas City eked out the narrowest of wins — a season’s motif if there ever was one.

Saquon Barkley’s first Eagles score — What a bonkers introduction by Philly’s new running back. Barkley established himself from the jump in Brazil, and his three TDs were the deciding factor in a win over the Packers that went to the brink.

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A new-age rivalry in overtime — The latest episode of the Goff-Stafford Exchange was a thriller. Week 1’s Sunday night game went back and forth for 70 minutes, sealed by David Montgomery’s walk-off plunge.

Week 2

Jefferson Starship — The ascending Sam Darnold to the intergalactic Justin Jefferson, for 97 yards, six points and one of the loudest crowd reactions of the year.

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Sack City — Aidan Hutchinson notched 4 1/2 sacks in one afternoon, wholly terrorizing the Tampa Bay front line. We didn’t know it, but this would be the triumphant last highlight before a broken leg truncated his season.

Another Bengals-Chiefs stunner — With under a minute to go, Patrick Mahomes and company trailed 25-23 and faced fourth down from their own territory. They converted on a deep ball to Rashee Rice, only for a Wanya Morris penalty to set them back to fourth-and-16. The subsequent try fell incomplete … but a pass interference call on Daijahn Anthony gave the Chiefs new life, and ultimately set up their game-winning 51-yard field goal.

Week 3

Hook-and-Lions — If video-game makers choose to revive the Backyard Football or NFL Street franchises, well, here’s their mood board:

Daniels goes deep — Jayden Daniels forced a collective double-take with the start to his pro career: fourteen consecutive scoring drives (excluding two kneel downs), obliterating the previous rookie record. The few remaining skeptics noted that Washington’s No. 2 pick was relying on short throws and cautious offense. They were promptly quieted on Monday night.

A modern-day Mossing — Jauan Jennings put Quentin Lake on a poster. It was the jewel of his breakout three-touchdown game in Los Angeles.

Week 4

Ogunbowale calls game — The Texans passing offense was sporting Nico Collins, Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell … yet it was journeyman back Dare Ogunbowale who caught the game-winning touchdown from C.J. Stroud. He got to celebrate in the corner end zone with his sister, WNBA star Arike Ogunbowale.

Throwing a perfect game — Once again finding itself in a national TV spot, Detroit’s offense was systematically grooving against the Seahawks. Jared Goff connected on all 18 of his throws, setting an NFL record, and he also caught a touchdown pass from Amon-Ra St. Brown.

Koo, calm and collected — In a decidedly NFC South-y game, Younghoe Koo drilled a 58-yarder for the win in Atlanta.

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Week 5

Surtain chance — Pat Surtain II’s 100-yard pick-six may have re-routed Denver’s season. It certainly trumpeted the arrival of this Broncos defense, and kick-started the fourth-year corner’s campaign for Defensive Player of the Year.

Thursday night chaos — This 36-30 overtime marathon won by the Falcons was sneakily one of the most fun watches of 2024. On a short comeback route, KhaDarel Hodge broke a tackle and then outran a half-dozen Buccaneers for the walk-off.

“He threw him away like a rag doll!” — Both Ravens-Bengals matchups this season were pure serotonin releases. The world would be a better place if we had more Ravens and Bengals. More on this later. For now, play us out, Kevin Harlan:

Week 6

Shenault’s vault — The new kickoff rules took some getting used to, with the landing zone being particularly harsh on the eyes. But Laviska Shenault’s 97-yard house call looked instantly familiar.

Turning back time — Thinking about these New York Jets is bad for our well-being, and there were few highlights from their dystopian season. But Aaron Rodgers connecting on yet another Hail Mary was undoubtedly one of them. Allen Lazard was the recipient of this buzzer-beating 52-yard heave vs. Buffalo.

Courtland’s catch — Superhuman stuff from Sutton here.

Week 7

Bates’ first magic moment — With the 4-1 Lions and 5-0 Vikings scrapping for supremacy atop the NFC North, everything came down to Detroit’s rookie kicker Jake Bates … a kickoff specialist and soccer player in college. But Bates was right on the money to give Detroit the win 31-29. We’ll revisit him shortly.

Conner in the clutch — For a moment, the Arizona revival (Cardinalissance?) looked like it had staying power. It was hard to not dig the desert vibes after James Conner plowed his way into game-winning field goal range on Thursday night.

Getting tricky with it — Geno Smith slung a swing pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who about-faced and heaved it field. The loping ball hung in the air forever, only for DK Metcalf to come down with a particularly acrobatic grab.

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Week 8

Winston for the win — Two more football axioms that rang true in 2024: The Ravens will find bizarre ways to lose games, and Jameis Winston will be a vehicle for metaphysical chaos. Kyle Hamilton dropped what would’ve been the clinching interception. With the extra chance, Winston hit Cedric Tillman for the decisive touchdown. As we did for the aforementioned Jets, we’ll do our best to limit your exposure to the Cleveland Browns … but this was a cool moment.

“It’s a miracle! It’s Noah Brown” — Are we positive this really happened? Was it some sort of fever dream conjured to torment the Chicago Bears?

(Almost) Paid in Full — Week 8 nearly had a second completed Hail Mary. Much like the Ravens and Bengals, the Falcons and Bucs combined for two deeply entertaining games this season. Rakim Jarrett caught Baker Mayfield’s prayer ball but couldn’t keep himself in the end zone.

Week 9

Come What Maye — The 2024 Patriots may well be remembered for botching the No. 1 draft pick and immediately canning their coach. But this was bonkers, delightful and borderline-inexplicable:

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Saquon breaks Madden — When EA Sports has to develop new animations based on something that happened in real-life football, well, you’re singularly awesome and deserve extended cheers. Saquon Barkley’s “reverse hurdle” was instantly canonized.

One-handed walk-off — Matthew Stafford’s dime and Demarcus Robinson’s showmanship not only made the year-end highlight reel but also helped decide the log-jammed NFC West. If the Rams make a run this postseason, this game-winner will be remembered as a primary propellant.

Week 10

Chiefs block upset bid — Kansas City routinely reduced football fans to a Jesse Pinkman impression … they couldn’t keep getting away with these last-second victories. Denver looked set to blemish the Chiefs’ undefeated campaign, until Wil Lutz’s 35-yarder was stuffed at the line. Kevin Harlan hit that upper vocal register accordingly.

Everything about Bengals-Ravens — In what may well be considered the game of the year, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson traded dizzying haymakers until the final whistle. The final numbers: Burrow threw for 428 yards and four scores, while Ja’Marr Chase had an absurd 11-catch, 264-yard, 3-TD stat line. But Jackson had four touchdowns of his own, and Baltimore’s defense hung tight on the deciding two-point conversion. To paraphrase Tracy Morgan, live every week like it’s Bengals-Ravens week.

Bates’ second magic moment — We promised we’d circle back here, too. Detroit survived a five-interception Goff game thanks to Bates, who squeezed clutch kicks of 58 and 52 yards between the uprights.

Week 11

Un-Bear-able — Caleb Williams had pieced together a spirited if imperfect first game since the waning of the Shane Waldron era. Cairo Santos was set up to lift Chicago over its archrival. Then special teamer Karl Brooks won the gap, elevated and got a hand on the football for a wild Packers win.

McPherson’s misses — The Sunday night squabble-up between the Bengals and Chargers was also Game of the Year material. Cincinnati completed a massive comeback, down 24-6 at halftime, on the heels of two fourth-down touchdown passes. We can only imagine how sorely the Bengals want those biffed Evan McPherson tries back.

“The play of the year in the NFL” — Chiefs-Bills never disappoints. Without further ado, Jim Nantz:

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Week 12

Barkley’s blasts — The Eagles’ star running back rushed for a franchise-best 255 yards, with 182 coming in the second half. Momentum-seizing house calls of 70 and 72 yards deflated the Rams and cemented Philly as a team to fear. As Mike Tirico said: “What a night, and what a player.”

Mamba mentality — Much-needed fourth-down stop? Yup. Galvanizing defensive moment for Mike McDonald’s group? For sure. Coby Bryant for six? Put it on the board.

How does this keep happening?! — Jayden Daniels seemingly fit a lifetime of heroics into his rookie season. Here, he lofted a desperation ball to Terry McLaurin between a Cowboys prevent zone, only for McLaurin to hit the accelerator and stun the football universe.

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Don’t worry, Austin Seibert’s subsequent extra point sailed wide, recalling an all-time NFL blooper from the Saints and Jaguars in 2003.

Week 13

Time keeps on slippin’ — Caleb Williams had a shot at upsetting the Lions in Detroit on Thanksgiving. It could’ve been a signature career moment. But some disarmingly strange sideline decisions left the Bears with no time left. Coach Matt Eberflus was fired the next day.

Vengeance in the Meadowlands — Geno Smith and Leonard Williams each stuck it to their former team in the Seahawks’ 26-21 win over the Jets. The latter stole the day with a soul-crushing 92-yard pick-six of Aaron Rodgers.

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Blizzard in Buffalo — If/when a Josh Allen statue gets put up in Orchard Park, it just might look like this:

Week 14

Lord Byron — Safe to say that Kirk Cousins did not enjoy his return trip to Minnesota. Byron Murphy, in his sixth year, had his best season to date as a chaos element in Brian Flores’ defense.

Fantasy football history — Every snap of Josh Allen’s herculean Week 14 performance deserves consideration here. Even if the Bills didn’t win this relay race in Los Angeles against the Rams, those employing Allen on their fantasy teams certainly got the dub. Buffalo’s captain tallied six total touchdowns: three through the air to go with his 342 passing yards, and three on the ground as part of his 82 rushing yards.

Sweet Charbonnet — Zach Charbonnet, Seattle’s second-year second-stringer, enjoyed a massive day against the Cardinals. He evaded tacklers and scrapped for extra space all afternoon long, capped by an electrifying 51-yard scoring burst.

Week 15

Yes, another Josh Allen highlight — Take your pick from the presumptive MVP’s cinematic effort against the Lions. Perhaps it was when he escaped two pass rushers and threw across his body to connect with James Cook. Maybe it’s his fake-out keeper to walk into the end zone and give his Bills a 14-0 lead. It could certainly be the evasion of a stunting Josh Paschal that created a Keon Coleman chunk play. Allen finished game with 430 yards, four touchdowns and a whole bunch of jaw-dropping plays.

Pose for the Kamara — For the second time this season, a receiver’s surprise drop back was redeemed by a sublime catch. Cedrick Wilson Jr. is not a professional quarterback, but Alvin Kamara is not a professional wideout. It balanced out here:

Bonitto cashes in — After scanning the list, here’s a necessary reminder that not every trick play works out. Nik Bonitto accentuated his spectacular season with a fourth-quarter defensive touchdown off Indianapolis’ attempted deception.

Week 16

Jourdan Lewis, by sheer will — Tampa Bay looked on its way to a Sunday night comeback in Dallas, with a streaking Jalen McMillan having a step on the Cowboys secondary. Lewis had other ideas, and his first interception of the season was ice-cold.

Crowder for the win — Once again, Jayden Daniels with some late-game alchemy. Washington beat Philadelphia in the final minute, after Daniels connected with Jamison Crowder, who started the game with four catches all season and finished it with a game-winning touchdown.

Jared to Jameson Williams — This was a riveting play in itself, with the Lions’ primary vertical threat getting loose for a clean 82-yard strike. But the coolest moment was when the camera panned to receivers coach Antwaan Randle El, who celebrated his wideout’s catharsis with the joy of a proud father.

Week 17

Myles Garrett’s greatness — With a sack of Miami quarterback Tyler Huntley, Cleveland’s prodigious edge rusher became the first player in league history to post at least 14 sacks in four straight seasons.

Lamar Jackson breaks Vick’s record on Christmas — Beyoncé is a transcendent talent. But she did not break Michael Vick’s career QB rushing mark. That was, of course, the two-time MVP under center in Baltimore.

Mims is Him(s) — The enduring image may be “Joe Shiesty” dancing in the end zone after the overtime victory, but we should never let this miraculous fourth-down connection go unrecognized. If aliens beamed down to our planet and asked why we like football so much, we’d probably show them this:

Week 18

Special revenge — The stakes were not quite the same, but good on Chicago for avenging its Week 11 special teams disaster against Green Bay. Between Cairo Santos’ redemption on the game-winning field goal and a crafty misdirected punt return for 94 yards by Josh Blackwell, the Bears won Sunday thanks to their kicking unit.

Wiggins caps it off — They already had one bewildering Browns loss this season. Could the Ravens find themselves in some wonky wild-card territory by dropping Saturday’s finale? Nope. Rookie corner Nate Wiggins certainly wasn’t going to let it get that far.

Barnett’s big man TD — What’s a season-long highlight reel without a defensive lineman’s stumbling scoop-and-score? Derek Barnett seemed predestined to cross the plane this past Sunday.

(Top illustration: Will Tullos / The Athletic; photos: Mitchell Leff, Jonathan Bachman, Cooper Neill, Bryan M. Bennett, Andy Lyons / Getty Images)

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Sports

City Section boys’ basketball has nowhere to go but up after hitting rock bottom

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January 4, 2026

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It might be time to write a folk song about the demise of City Section basketball using the music of Peter, Paul and Mary and the new title, “Where Have All the Players Gone?”

The talent level clearly has hit rock bottom only a year after Alijah Arenas was a McDonald’s All-American at Chatsworth High and Tajh Ariza led Westchester to the City Section Open Division title. Because their parents went to City Section schools, Arenas and Ariza stuck it out. Then Arenas graduated early to join USC and Ariza left for St. John Bosco, then prep school.

Westchester is where Ed Azzam won 15 City titles in 42 seasons until his retirement in 2021. Crenshaw is where Willie West won 16 City titles and eight state titles. Taft is where Derrick Taylor won four City titles and coached future NBA players Jordan Farmar, Larry Drew II and AJ Johnson. Fairfax is where Harvey Kitani coached for 35 years, won four City titles and two state titles and earned most of his nearly 1,000 victories. He was followed by Steve Baik and Reggie Morris Jr., each of whom won City championships before leaving.

None of the City schools once considered among the best in Southern California are even close to resembling their glory days, and they aren’t alone. The City Section has lost most of its talent, and it was truly Hall of Fame talent: Marques Johnson and John Williams at Crenshaw; Gail Goodrich at Sun Valley Poly; Willie Naulls at San Pedro; Dwayne Polee at Manual Arts; Gilbert Arenas at Grant; Trevor Ariza at Westchester; Chris Mills at Fairfax. There were decades of success.

There’s no one person to blame. You can’t even place the downfall solely on the Los Angeles Unified School District, whose high schools compete in the City Section.

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But LAUSD has done nothing to reverse the trend and didn’t help matters by opening so many new schools in such rapid fashion that longtime legacy schools lost their luster amid declining student enrollment. Things became even more disruptive by the rise of charter schools and private schools taking away top athletes. Adding to that, the loss of veteran coaches frustrated by bureaucracy issues and rules that force programs to secure permits and pay to use their own gyms in the offseason helped further the exodus.

Westchester is 2-8 this season and an example of where City Section basketball stands. Two top players from last season — Gary Ferguson and Jordan Ballard — are now at St. Bernard. Westchester doesn’t even have a roster posted on MaxPreps. King/Drew won its first City Open Division title in 2024 under coach Lloyd Webster. This season Webster sent his senior son, Josahn, to Rolling Hills Prep to play for Kitani. King/Drew is 4-10.

Charter schools Birmingham, Palisades and Granada Hills have separated themselves in virtually all City Section sports including basketball. They have no enrollment boundaries as long as there’s a seat for a student. Palisades lost so many students after the wildfire last year that transfers have been big additions for its teams this school year. Online courses are being offered to help students enroll and compete in sports at charter schools.

The old powers from the inner city — Crenshaw, Dorsey, Jefferson, Locke and Fremont — experienced big changes in demographics. Many coaches are walk-ons and not teachers. The legacy schools have to compete with charter schools View Park Prep, Triumph, Animo Watts, Animo Robinson, WISH Academy and USC-MAE. When young players are discovered and developed, rarely will they stay when one of the private schools or AAU coaches searching for talent spots them in the offseason.

So what’s left? Not much.

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Palisades, Washington Prep and Cleveland look like the three top teams this season. All three added transfers to help buck the downward trend. And yet their records are 3-10, 8-8 and 7-6, respectively, against mostly Southern Section teams.

Maybe this can be a fluke one-year plunge to the bottom and the climb back up can begin, aided by coaches who recognize their job is to teach lessons in basketball, life and college preparation. Parents need a reason to send their kids to a City Section school. It’s up to LAUSD and principals to help change the trajectory by finding coaches with integrity, passion and willingness to embrace the underdog role.

There are plenty in the system doing their best. It’s time to start hearing and answering their pleas for help.

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Seahawks secure top seed in NFC with dominant road win over 49ers

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January 4, 2026

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Seahawks secure top seed in NFC with dominant road win over 49ers

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The Seattle Seahawks locked down the top seed in the NFC playoffs and a strong path to the Super Bowl on Saturday night with a season finale win over the San Francisco 49ers.

Seattle also finished with their best regular season record in franchise history, clinching 14 wins for the first time ever.

The Seahawks held on to a 10-point victory despite outgaining the 49ers 363 yards to 173, and running 64 plays to San Francisco’s 42.

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Jaxon Smith-Njigba #11 of the Seattle Seahawks fails to catch the ball against Ji’Ayir Brown #27 of the San Francisco 49ers during an NFL game on Jan. 3, 2026 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. (Matthew Huang/Icon Sportswire)

Seattle missed a field goal in the fourth quarter and turned the ball over on downs in the first quarter to waste two red zone drives, but dominated on defense to prevent those missed opportunities from coming back to haunt them. 

The 49ers wasted their best drive of the night as well when quarterback Brock Purdy was intercepted at Seattle’s three-yard line in the fourth quarter facing a 10-point deficit, which seemingly secured the game for the Seahawks. 

NFL WEEK 17 SCORES: AFC NORTH, NFC SOUTH UP FOR GRABS AS PLAYOFF PICTURE ALMOST COMPLETE

Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, in his first season on the team, completed 20 passes on 26 attempts for 198 yards and helped set up the only touchdown of the entire game in the first quarter. 

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Darnold redeemed a disappointing Week-18 game for the Minnesota Vikings last season when he completed just 18 of 41 passes for 166 yards in a battle for the top seed against the Detroit Lions.

Darnold said “Learning from mistakes, and staying calm from the pocket,” made the difference in his performance Saturday compared to a year ago, in a postgame interview with ESPN. 

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Jaxon Smith-Njigba #11 of the Seattle Seahawks carries the ball against the San Francisco 49ers during the second quarter of a game at Levi’s Stadium on January 03, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy had just 127 yards with the late interception, and took a big hit on his final pass of the night, then took a while to get back up. He was eventually able to walk off the field, and Seattle ran the clock out. 

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Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for Fox News Digital covering critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson’s reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to the enforcement of Title IX, and in legacy media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press and ESPN.com.

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Prep basketball roundup: Joe Sterling’s clutch free throws seal Harvard-Westlake victory

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January 3, 2026

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Prep basketball roundup: Joe Sterling’s clutch free throws seal Harvard-Westlake victory

When it’s Harvey Kitani versus David Rebibo in a high school basketball coaching matchup, you know it’s going to be a defensive grind. They demand defensive production, so Rolling Hills Prep and Harvard-Westlake went at it for 32 minutes on Saturday night at St. Francis.

It took four consecutive free throws by Joe Sterling in the final 21 seconds for Harvard-Westlake (17-2) to hold on for a 50-46 victory. About the only mistake Rolling Hills Prep (13-5) made was choosing to foul Sterling, well known as a clutch free-throw shooter. But the Huskies had no choice after a three by Aaron Heinze got them to within 48-46 with 2.6 seconds left.

Sterling finished with 16 points. Pierce Thompson had 14 points and Dominique Bentho added 11 points and 12 rebounds. Nick Welch Jr. had a big game for Rolling Hills Prep with 21 points on eight-for-14 shooting. Carter Fulton added 10 points.

Santa Margarita 72, Fairfax 41: The Eagles (19-2) opened a 21-2 lead after the first quarter and cruised to victory at St. Francis. Brayden Kyman scored 21 points, Kaiden Bailey had 17 and Drew Anderson had 15.

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St. Pius X-St. Matthias 67, JSerra 62: Kayleb Kearse finished with 27 points in the victory. Jaden Bailes had 30 points for JSerra.

Sierra Canyon 77, Phoenix St. Mary’s 45: The Trailblazers (13-1) tuned up for the start of Mission League play with a rout in Arizona. Brandon McCoy scored 18 points and Brannon Martinsen had 17.

Chaminade 70, Palos Verdes 44: Temi Olafisoye had 17 points for the 18-1 Eagles.

Thousand Oaks 53, Oak Park 46: The Lancers won their 16th consecutive game to stay unbeaten. Gabriel Chin had 14 points.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 67, Layton Christian (Utah) 64: NaVorro Bowman led the Knights (13-4) with 24 points. Josiah Nance added 16 points.

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Bishop Montgomery 71, Palisades 68: Austin Kirksey had 24 points and Tarron Williams scored 22 points to help Bishop Montgomery improve to 15-2. Freshman Phillip Reed scored 24 points for Palisades.

Crespi 60, Modesto Christian 49: The Celts improved to 13-6.

St. John Bosco 62, Chandler (Ariz.) Basha 54: Christian Collins scored 31 points and Max Ellis had 22 for the Braves in a win in Arizona.

Mayfair 69, Cypress 56: Josiah Johnson’s 27 points helped Mayfair improve to 8-5.

Inglewood 98, Pasadena 97: Jason Crowe Jr. made the game-winning shot in overtime and finished with 51 points for Inglewood.

Girls basketball

Harvard-Westlake 51, Phoenix Desert Vista 39: Freshman Lucia Khamenia finished with 24 points for Harvard-Westlake.

Brentwood 59, Cardinal Newman 53: The Eagles improved to 9-4. Kelsey Sugar scored 24 points.

Saugus 57, Birmingham 52: Kayla Tanijiri had 16 points for Birmingham (13-3).

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