NINE has gotten fined.
The last game of Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy’s first season included a first-quarter run that ended with a taunting foul.
On Saturday, the NFL announced that McCarthy will pay $11,593 for jawing at Packers defenders after a run during which he threw a stiff arm and then a shoulder.
It’s part of McCarthy’s feisty persona, one that has drawn scrutiny from coach Kevin O’Connell for celebrating during a naked bootleg touchdown run against the Cowboys last month.
One on hand, he’s young. On the other hand, he needs to control his emotions a little better — at least until he stays healthy and performs at a high level on a consistent basis.
Vikings Clips
Browns defensive end Myles Garrett set the single-season sack record during the 2025 season and he also became one of three unanimous choices for the Associated Press All-Pro team.
All 50 voters selected Garrett as one of their choices at edge rusher in this year’s voting. Those voters also unanimously selected Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua and Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba for this year’s first team.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford got the nod over Drake Maye at quarterback, which opens up the possibility of a split with MVP for the second straight season. Stafford got 31 votes while the Patriots quarterback got 18 with Bills quarterback Josh Allen getting the other one.
Stafford joins kicker Gary Anderson as the only players to be named a first-team All-Pro for the first time in their 17th season or later.
The full All-Pro teams appear below:
First team
Offense
Quarterback — Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
Running Back — Bijan Robinson, Atlanta
Fullback — Kyle Juszczyk, San Francisco
Wide Receivers — Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams; Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle; Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati
All Purpose — Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco
Tight End — Trey McBride, Arizona
Left Tackle — Garrett Bolles, Denver
Left Guard — Joe Thuney, Chicago
Center — Creed Humphrey, Kansas City
Right Guard — Quinn Meinerz, Denver
Right Tackle — Penei Sewell, Detroit
Defense
Edge Rushers — Myles Garrett, Cleveland; Will Anderson Jr., Houston; Micah Parsons, Green Bay
Interior Linemen — Jeffery Simmons, Tennessee; Zach Allen, Denver
Linebackers — Jack Campbell, Detroit; Jordyn Brooks, Miami
Cornerbacks — Derek Stingley Jr., Houston; Quinyon Mitchell, Philadelphia
Slot cornerback — Cooper DeJean, Philadelphia
Safeties — Kyle Hamilton, Baltimore; Kevin Byard, Chicago
Special Teams
Placekicker — Will Reichard, Minnesota
Punter — Jordan Stout, Baltimore
Kick Returner — Ray Davis, Buffalo
Punt Returner — Chimera Dike, Tennessee
Special Teamer — Devon Key, Denver
Long Snapper — Ross Matiscik, Jacksonville
Second team
Offense
Quarterback — Drake Maye, New England
Running Back — James Cook, Buffalo
Fullback — Patrick Ricard, Baltimore
Wide Receivers — George Pickens, Dallas; Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit; Chris Olave, New Orleans
All Purpose — Bijan Robinson, Atlanta
Tight End — Kyle Pitts, Atlanta
Left Tackle — Trent Williams, San Francisco
Left Guard — Quenton Nelson, Indianapolis
Center — Aaron Brewer, Miami
Right Guard — Chris Lindstrom, Atlanta
Right Tackle — Darnell Wright, Chicago
Defense
Edge Rushers — Brian Burns, New York Giants; Danielle Hunter, Houston; Aidan Hutchinson, Detroit
Interior Linemen — Leonard Williams, Seattle; Cameron Heyward, Pittsburgh
Linebackers — Devin Lloyd, Jacksonville; Ernest Jones IV, Seattle
Cornerbacks — Patrick Surtain II, Denver; Devon Witherspoon, Seattle
Slot cornerback — Derwin James, Los Angeles Chargers
Safeties — Jessie Bates III, Atlanta; Talanoa Hufanga, Denver; Xavier McKinney, Green Bay (Hufanga and McKinney were tied for the second-team spot)
Special teams
Placekicker — Brandon Aubrey, Dallas
Punter — Michael Dickson, Seattle
Kick Returner — Kavontae Turpin, Dallas
Punt Returner — Marcus Jones, New England
Special Teamer — Del’Shawn Phillips, Los Angeles Chargers
Long Snapper — Andrew DePaola, Minnesota
It’s been 21 years.
Twenty-one years today. January 9, 2005. Vikings at Packers. Wild-card round.
The sixth-seeded Vikings, who qualified for the playoffs with an 8-8 record, visited the third-seeded Packers at Lambeau Field. The Packers had swept the regular-season series, winning both games by the score of 34-31.
The Vikings built a 17-3 lead in the first half. By the fourth quarter, Minnesota still led by fourteen, 24-10.
After the Packers scored with 13:37 to play, cutting the margin to seven points, the Vikings were in danger of blowing it. They moved the ensuing kickoff to the Packers’ 34. On first and 10, receiver Randy Moss did a stutter step within five yards of the line of scrimmage. Cornerback Al Harris bit. Moss took off, throwing his hand in the air.
Quarterback Daunte Culpepper rolled a few more steps to the right before firing the ball toward Moss. Harris closed the gap as the underthrown pass approached. Moss caught it at the five and carried Harris into the end zone.
And then Moss went to the goal post. He pretended to moon the crowd. He capped the gesture by rubbing his rump on the padding.
Enter Fox’s Joe Buck: “That is a disgusting act by Randy Moss. And it’s unfortunate that we had it on our air live. That is disgusting by Randy Moss.”
Moss later explained that the fake moon was inspired by the collection of real moons that the Vikings saw on their way to the stadium that day.
“There’s probably like 10 white asses sitting over there over the hill, they’ve got all their pants down,” Moss said in 2021. “Nothing but white moons all lined up.”
Moss was fined $10,000 for the celebration. Which prompted one of the best NFL sound bites of all time.
Heading to his truck at the team’s facility, someone with a camera asked Moss whether he wrote a check for the fine.
“When you’re rich, you don’t write checks,” Moss said.
“If you don’t write checks,” he was asked, “how do you pay these guys?”
Replied Moss: “Straight cash, homey.”
There was more, which rarely gets mentioned. Moss then was asked if he was upset by the fine.
“No,” Moss said. “It ain’t shit. It ain’t nothing by ten grand. What’s ten grand to me? It ain’t shit. Next time, I might shake my dick.”
Now that would have been a disgusting act.
The Cowboys have lined up their first three interviews with defensive coordinator candidates.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that they will speak with Vikings defensive pass game coordinator Daronte Jones and Browns safeties coach Ephraim Banda on Friday. Broncos defensive pass game coordinator Jim Leonhard will meet with the Cowboys on Saturday.
The last three Cowboys defensive coordinators — Dan Quinn, Mike Zimmer and Matt Eberflus — all had NFL head coaching experience in the past, but that’s not the case for any of these three candidates. Leonhard was the interim head coach at the University of Wisconsin in 2022 and went 4-3.
None of the three have been defensive coordinators in the NFL either, but Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said this week that is not a prerequisite for the job.
The Cowboys fired Matt Eberflus earlier this week, putting them in the market for a new defensive coordinator for the third consecutive offseason. The new hire will be the team’s fourth defensive coordinator in four seasons.
The Cowboys have requested permission to speak with Vikings defensive pass game coordinator Daronte Jones, Broncos assistant head coach/pass game coordinator Jim Leonhard and Browns safeties coach Ephraim Banda, Todd Archer of ESPN reports.
The Cowboys were denied permission by Atlanta to talk with Jeff Ulbrich, who remains under contract despite the Falcons’ search for a head coach, Archer adds. The Cowboys could eventually speak with Ulbrich after the Falcons settle on a head coach.
Dallas ranked last in the NFL in points allowed, giving up a team-record 511. The team was 30th in yards allowed.
The new coordinator will follow Dan Quinn (2021-23), Mike Zimmer (2024) and Eberflus (2025).
Nearly four years after the lawsuit was first filed, a key threshold question is moving toward a final answer.
The NFL has filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court as to the question of whether the civil action filed in February 2022 by former Dolphins coach (and current Vikings defensive coordinator) Brian Flores against the NFL, the Dolphins, the Giants, the Broncos, and the Texans will be resolved in court, or in arbitration.
The specific legal question presented to the Supreme Court is this: “Whether an arbitration agreement governing disputes in a professional sports league is categorically unenforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act because it designates the league commissioner as the default arbitrator and permits the commissioner to develop arbitral procedures.”
The NFL has wisely narrowed the question, given that the reasoning (if applied throughout corporate America) would empower other companies to attempt to rig the in-house arbitration process by putting employment disputes in the hands of the CEO. Still, the league’s position is clear — it wants the Commissioner to retain power over disputes involving the NFL and the various teams that have hired and that handsomely compensate the Commissioner.
The 25-page document is the first step in an effort to persuade the Supreme Court to take up the case. Of the many petitions it receives each year, few are accepted.
More time will pass as the Supreme Court considers whether to take the case. Even more time will pass if the Supreme Court grants the petition.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit invalidated the NFL’s arbitration provision, concluding that the procedure lacks independence. (And it does.) The Supreme Court, if it takes the case, will decide once and for all whether it’s legitimate for the NFL (and any sports league) to put its Commissioner in charge of claims made against the NFL.
It’s fundamentally unfair to delegate those powers to someone whose connection to one side of a legal fight is so obvious. Frankly, no Commissioner should want to be expected to set aside their clear self-interests in an effort to dispense justice in an objective way.
But this has been the league’s practice, for years. It desperately wants to run its own business. It desperately hopes to hold the gavel when it comes to deciding whether the legal claims against it are valid.
It’s a bad way to do business. It’s now for the Supreme Court to decide whether it’s a good way, or a bad way, to apply the laws of the United States.
The NFL has named Vikings kicker Will Reichard NFC special teams player of the month for December and January.
Reichard connected on all 12 of his field goal attempts and all 12 of his extra points in Minnesota’s five games during the period.
In his second season, Reichard finished the year having hit 33-of-35 field goals and all 31 of his extra points.
He has not missed an extra point in either of his first two seasons while posting an 87.7 percent field goal rate.
At least one team is interested in speaking with Brian Flores in this coaching cycle.
Via Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, the Ravens plan to interview the Vikings’ defensive coordinator and former Dolphins head coach.
Albert Breer of SI.com notes the interview will take place next week.
Flores, 44, has been with the Vikings since 2023. Minnesota’s defense finished No. 3 in yards allowed and No. 7 in points allowed in the 2025 season.
Flores was Miami’s head coach from 2019-2021, registering a 24-25 record. The Dolphins were 5-11 in 2019, 10-6 in 2020, and 9-8 in 2021.
Even without a head coaching job, Flores may end up departing the Vikings as his contract is up as defensive coordinator. He is also involved in an arbitration and litigation case against the NFL and multiple teams (Giants, Dolphins, Broncos, and Texans).
Nowadays, you can bet on pretty much anything. And now that six coaching jobs (and possibly more) are open, wagers can be placed on who’ll get each job.
At DraftKings, the favorite to become the next head coach of the Raiders is Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, at +175.
Technically, Flores remains the Vikings’ defensive coordinator until the specific date when his contract expires. But, frankly, there’s no more work to do. The last game of the final year of Flores’s three-year deal has ended. If he doesn’t re-sign, he can go wherever he wants.
Even if he signs a new deal in Minnesota, he can always leave to become a head coach elsewhere. Over the weekend, we wrote about a rumor making the rounds that the Raiders, under the guidance of minority owner Tom Brady, could engineer a Patriot Way reunion in Las Vegas, with Flores as head coach and Brian Daboll as offensive coordinator.
Enough people are putting enough money on Flores to make him the favorite, regardless of whether the Raiders hire him.
Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak is next on the list, at +800. 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh has 10-1 odds, or +1000. Ditto for former Packers and Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy, who took 2025 off.
Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula and Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken land at +1200, followed by Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, and Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, at +1400.
Then there’s Bill Belichick, at +1600. We’re extremely confident that one will not happen. Which probably means it will. (It won’t.)
Former Raiders coach Jon Gruden lurks near the bottom of the list, at 40-1. And it wouldn’t be a complete shock if owner Mark Davis pulls rank and insists that his deposed BFF be brought back, especially if Davis isn’t happy by the limited time his replacement BFF seemingly spends on Raiders matters.
Regardless, Flores is the favorite for now. Time will tell whether that possibility comes to fruition. With Brady’s decision (if it was his) to go with a non-Patriot for 2025 turning into a disaster, it would make plenty of sense if he rolls the dice on starting the coaching staff with folks who have been influenced by Belichick — especially in light of the success that Mike Vrabel and Josh McDaniels have had this year in New England.
In San Francisco, the next man up is a man who once had a hand in fueling a 49ers run to the Super Bowl.
Linebacker Eric Kendricks steps in, as the replacement for Tatum Bethune. Who was the replacement for Fred Warner. And it was Kendricks who helped dramatically reshape coach Kyle Shanahan’s offensive approach during the 2019 postseason.
Bethune is out for the balance of the season with a groin injury. With Warner not expected to be back from a serious ankle injury until the NFC Championship, Kendricks steps in at middle linebacker.
Kendricks, 33, had seemingly retired. He had a chance to sign with the Ravens’ practice squad. He passed. Instead, Kendricks joined the 49ers’ practice squad in late November.
Since showing up, Kendricks has appeared in three games with one start.
“I’m real confident in Eric,” coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters on Monday. “He’s been here long enough. These games he has gotten in the last couple weeks he’s done a good job, and I’m glad that we’ve got him for this situation.”
Kendricks had been a fixture in Minnesota for 10 years. He spent 2023 with the Chargers and 2024 with the Cowboys.
In January 2020, Kendricks intercepted then-49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo during the first half of a divisional playoff game between the Vikings and 49ers. Garoppolo threw two other passes that Kendricks had a chance to intercept.
The last one came on a tipped pass on the second play from scrimmage in the third quarter. The drive ended with a field goal, which extended the score to 17-10.
After that, Shanahan shifted Garoppolo into Bob Griese. For the balance of the game, the 49ers called 23 runs, three passes.
The following week, in the NFC Championship, the 49ers had 42 runs and only eight passes.
By the Super Bowl (which, obviously, the 49ers lost), Garoppolo was back to throwing the ball, with 31 passes and 22 runs. And, of course, Garoppolo missed Emmanuel Sanders for what could have been a late win.
Regardless, the 49ers may not have gotten to the point where they had a chance to blow a 10-point fourth-quarter lead but for taking the ball out of Garoppolo’s hands. That happened in part because he nearly put the ball in Eric Kendricks’s hands, three times in one game.
Now, Shanahan is figuratively putting the ball in Kendricks’s hands as the man to handle the middle linebacker position until Warner is ready to return. If the 49ers can get that far.
For Kendricks, it’s only his second playoff game since that day at Levi’s Stadium. And he’ll get the start in Philadelphia, on the same field where he played his only career NFC Championship game.
