Articles by Clark Dalton,Yardbarker

NFL may have second spitting incident this season with Jalen Ramsey-Ja'Marr Chase scuffle

Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Jalen Ramsey has revealed why he blew a fuse in Sunday's home game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Early in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game, Ramsey punched Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase during a scuffle and was ejected. Following Pittsburgh's 34-12 win over Cincinnati, the DB said he did so because the WR spat on him. The Bengals star denied that. "I never opened my mouth to that guy," Chase said, via Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. "I didn't spit on nobody." Video, however, shows otherwise. In an X clip posted by Austin Briski of WXIX-TV in Cincinnati, the WR appeared to spit on the DB before he threw the punch. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the league will review the incident before determining a punishment. Surprisingly, this isn't the first spitting incident this season.

1 days ago

Sports

Will Lions HC Dan Campbell continue to call plays after 44-point eruption vs. Commanders?

Head coach Dan Campbell assumed play-calling duties in the Detroit Lions' Week 10 road game against the Washington Commanders, which did the trick. In Detroit's 44-22 victory over Washington on Sunday, Campbell's aggressive play calling helped its offense generate a season-high 546 yards. In their three previous games with offensive coordinator John Morton calling plays, the Lions failed to eclipse 379 yards or more and score more than 24 points. With that in mind, it would be understandable if Campbell wanted to call plays for the rest of the season. However, he hinted that the change may not be permanent. Dan Campbell opens up about play-calling change "Look, don't forget [former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson] — I called whatever that was eight or nine games. I don't remember what it was in 2021, while he helped me, but he watched, he learned, you know, saw how I wanted to run it, what I was looking for, and then it evolved from there," Campbell told the media Monday. "And you know by the middle of 2022, I didn't have to say a word. That's kind of where John is. And you know sometimes that's the best way to really know what is just going through that." This offseason, Morton replaced Johnson after he became HC of the Chicago Bears. Thus far, the offense has produced mixed results under the former Denver Broncos passing game coordinator. Detroit (6-3) still ranks second in the league in points scored (31.4) after 10 weeks, but that figure includes Sunday's offensive explosion against the Commanders. If you subtract that game, the Lions have averaged 29.9 PPG with Morton calling plays (via StatMuse). With Johnson calling plays last season, Detroit averaged 33.1 PPG, which ranked first in the league. Now the offense hasn't been awful under Morton. But with stars like wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, running back Jahmyr Gibbs and quarterback Jared Goff, he should be producing better results. Morton may need more time to learn the system, but the Lions may not have that. After winning 12 regular-season games or more the past two seasons, Detroit is aiming to win its first Super Bowl this season. Campbell retaining play-calling duties may help the team achieve that goal.

Nov 11, 2025

Sports

Broadway flop: Letting Saquon Barkley walk and other decisions that doomed the Brian Daboll-Joe Schoen regime

After years of unfulfilled promise, the New York Giants are moving on from head coach Brian Daboll. On Monday, the team confirmed it fired the coach after a 2-8 start this season. In his first season in 2022, Daboll guided the Giants to the playoffs, winning Coach of the Year. But he failed to build off that strong start, finishing 20-40-1 in four seasons with the team. Figure on the Giants eventually firing fourth-year general manager Joe Schoen. The pair's poor decision-making is one reason New York has gone 11-33 over its past 44 games. With that in mind, here are the five worst things to happen during the Schoen-Daboll regime. 1. Letting star RB Saquon Barkley sign with the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency in 2024 In March 2024, Schoen and company let Barkley sign a three-year, $37.75M deal with New York's NFC East rival, despite owner John Mara wanting to keep the star RB. "I'll have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia, I'll tell you that," Mara told Schoen on HBO's "Hard Knocks" in 2024 (h/t Pro Football Rumors' Sam Robinson). "As I've told you, just being around enough players, he's the most popular player we have by far." Mara may have lost even more sleep after watching 2018 No. 2 pick Barkley carry Philadelphia to its second Super Bowl title during the 2024 season. Last season, he became the ninth RB to rush for 2,000 yards or more in a season, with 2,005 in 16 regular-season games. This season, he has 519 rushing yards in eight games. New York, meanwhile, is still searching for a replacement for Barkley. Second-year RB Tyrone Tracy Jr. led the team in rushing yards (839 in 17 games) in 2024. Rookie RB Cam Skattebo — who rushed for 410 yards in eight games — looked like he may be the guy before suffering a season-ending right ankle injury in a Week 8 loss to the Eagles. 2. Failing to develop QB Daniel Jones Daboll, who served as Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator from 2018-21, helped turn QB Josh Allen into a star. The Giants hoped he could do the same with Jones, pick No. 6 of the 2019 NFL Draft. The coach failed to do that. Under Daboll, the former Duke star never threw more than 15 touchdown passes in a season. After he went 2-8 as a starter in 2024, the Giants released Jones, who subsequently signed with the Minnesota Vikings. This season, Jones has thrived under Indianapolis Colts HC Shane Steichen, an offensive wizard. He's 8-2 as a starter and leads the league in passing yards (2,659). That suggests Daboll didn't maximize the QB's skills. 3. Not playing rookie QB Jaxson Dart earlier this season QB Russell Wilson, who signed a one-year, $10.5M deal with New York in free agency, entered the season as the starter. He went 0-3 before Dart (pick No. 25) replaced him in Week 4. The offense became more productive with the Ole Miss product at the helm. Since Dart assumed the starting role, New York has averaged 23.6 points per game, up from 17.3 PPG with Wilson starting (via StatMuse). Daboll may not have wanted to rush Dart, 22, but playing him at the beginning of the season may have prevented the team from falling into an early hole. 4. Not doing more to protect Jaxson Dart When running, Dart often lowers his head instead of sliding. Consequently, he takes more hits, which can lead to more injuries. Dart suffered a concussion in a 24-20 Week 10 loss to the Chicago Bears after taking a massive hit in the third quarter. On Sunday, ESPN's Jordan Raanan reported the QB has been evaluated for a concussion four times this season (including the preseason). Despite that, Daboll didn't indicate the first-rounder must change his play style. "I'd just say it's unfortunate that he got hurt," the coach said postgame when discussing whether the QB has been taking too many hits. 5. Blowing multiple fourth-quarter leads in 2025 A well-coached team doesn't blow leads late in games. The Giants, however, have done that multiple times this season. In a Week 7 loss against the Denver Broncos, the Giants entered the fourth quarter with a 19-0 lead but were then outscored 33-13 in a historic meltdown. Even worse for New York is that it still led 26-8 with six minutes left in the game. The Giants collapsed again in Week 10 against Chicago. New York led 20-10 early in the fourth quarter but squandered it after Bears QB Caleb Williams threw a TD and rushed for another during a 14-point rally.

Nov 10, 2025

Technology

Why scoring 900 goals may not be Alex Ovechkin's most impressive feat

Most fans will still say scoring 900 goals in 1,504 games is his greatest accomplishment, and for good reason. But Gretzky's total doesn't include the 46 goals he scored with the Edmonton Oilers and Indianapolis Racers during the 1978-79 WHA season. (The defunct league merged with the NHL in 1979.) Gretzky also may have reached 900 goals had he played one more season. In 20 NHL seasons, "The Great One" averaged the same number of goals (49) per season as Ovechkin. He was a shell of his former self later in his career but scored 23-plus goals in two of his last three seasons. So, what would be his biggest accomplishment? Perhaps it would be having the most seasons with 40-plus goals (14) in league history, ahead of Gretzky (12). Over his past five seasons, Ovechkin, 40, has reached the 40-goal mark three times. In 65 regular-season games last season, he scored 44 goals, which tied Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson, 28, for the third most in the league. Not even Gretzky, widely considered the greatest hockey player ever, can claim this level of longevity. He scored 41 goals in his age-30 season during 1990-91 with the Los Angeles Kings. He would never score 40-plus goals again before retiring at 38 after the 1998-99 season. Considering Ovechkin has sustained this level of productivity in a sport like hockey — where players regularly fight — makes that feat even more impressive. Yes, Ovechkin has scored the most goals in NHL history, but that may not be his most impressive achievement. It's him being able to remain effective for so long, which is something even Gretzky struggled to do. In many ways, the Capitals star is an ageless wonder.

Nov 6, 2025