ARLINGTON, Texas — As you might expect, Jerry Jones was in a festive, reflective mood late Sunday night after his Dallas Cowboys embodied some sort of statement with their biggest win of the season. The team’s owner is also its chief hype man, and the 33-13 rout of the Philadelphia Eagles provided so much fresh material. He couldn’t get enough.

Jones openly campaigned for his red-hot quarterback, Dak Prescott, to snag MVP honors.

He invoked the image of the legendary Emmitt Smith as he searched deep into the mental archives to find a regular-season victory with similar significance. Kids, that was so classic when Emmitt rallied Dallas to a 1993 season division title-clinching win at the Meadowlands with a bad shoulder.

In laying on effusive praise for his coach, Mike McCarthy, ‘ol Jerry morphed into folksy storytelling mode to make his point. McCarthy again pushed the right buttons in calling plays for his revamped offense, only this time his body significantly ached — four days after he underwent an appendectomy.

“It was like El Cid,” Jones said, referring to the lionized Spanish warrior who was depicted in a 1961 Hollywood version and …

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Well, let Jerry tell us.

“Charlton Heston played the role,” Jones continued. “They strapped him to a horse. He had been mortally wounded. His soldiers quit and his enemy were over-run and they strapped him to a horse and ran him down the beach. His enemy ran and his guys got courage and won it with a dead El Cid.

“Now he wasn’t exactly dead,” Jones added of McCarthy. “But we did have him strapped to the horse, running down the beach.”

The Cowboys (10-3) gained a huge dose of confidence in addition to the colorful commentary from the hype man. Not only have they climbed into first place in the NFC East (with tiebreakers applied), they have claimed a share of the NFL’s best record, too, and match the league’s longest winning streak with a fifth straight triumph.

And, of course, they have fueled questions.

Could this be the year? Finally?

“That’s what I play for,” Prescott replied when asked if he can see taking this team to a Super Bowl. “That’s what this team plays for. That’s what this team has its sights on. But obviously we have to take it one game at a time.”

Obviously.

The Cowboys have won five Super Bowls in franchise history but the last one came nearly 28 years ago — before current Dallas stars Micah Parsons and CeeDee Lamb were even born. In fact, despite fielding a few teams over the years that appeared to be contenders, they haven’t even advanced to an NFC title game since the 1995 season. Rather than ‘America’s Team’ the wildly popular Cowboys have become “America’s Tease.”

So, here they go again. The hope and hype that is quintessentially Cowboys is fueled for another glorious round of potential. Jones thinks this balanced team — with a high-powered offense complemented by a big-play defense and a rookie kicker with a golden, record-setting leg — has the best shot at championship glory since the Tony Romo-led unit in 2007.

That 2007 team claimed the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs with a 13-3 regular season but was bounced in its playoff opener by the eventual wild-card Super Bowl-winning New York Giants.

“My biggest disappointment since being with the Cowboys,” said Jones, who bought the team in 1989.

Asked when he last felt this good about a Cowboys team, Jones talked about another matchup against the Giants. It was in September. Dallas opened the season by blasting the Giants, 40-0.

“Visions of sugar plums,” Jones said. “But that came crashing down, out there in San Francisco.”

The early season hype met a reality check in Week 5 when the Cowboys tried to measure up against the team that eliminated them from the playoffs in each of the past two seasons. They were pummeled 42-10 by the 49ers.

Since that setback, the Cowboys have undoubtedly regrouped. They are 7-1 since losing at San Francisco, and just avenged the only loss in that span — in Week 9, at Philadelphia.

The momentum is flowing. Since Week 9, Dallas has averaged 40.2 points per game, which is best in the NFL. With Prescott playing the best football of his career, the Cowboys have averaged 437.4 yards per game (second-best in the league) and converted an NFL-best 52.9% of their third downs since their last loss. And in the past seven games, Prescott has fired an NFL-high 22 touchdown passes with just two interceptions.

Then think about this team on its own turf, at the glitzy palace affectionally known as Jerry World. The Cowboys won their 15th consecutive home game on Sunday night. And lately it has been one romp after another. Dallas is the first team in NFL history to score at least 30 points in each of its first seven home games.

As Parsons put it, “I like the direction where we’re headed.”

To reach the NFL mountaintop, though, the Cowboys will likely have to prove they can win big games in a direction away from AT&T Stadium — and the road seems destined to go through San Francisco. They could lose their grip on the division lead and be forced to go the wild-card route if the Eagles, with the fifth-easiest remaining schedule, win their final four regular season games. If the Cowboys win the NFC East and wind up tied with the 49ers for the NFC’s best record, they would lose out on home-field advantage because of that trouncing by the Bay in October.

“It looks like we may have a little bigger challenge to come up the back side,” Jones said, pondering the possibility of making the playoffs as a wild-card entrant. “I’m not dismissing the possibilities here. I’ve seen it done before. I saw the Giants do it.”

In any event, the Cowboys have the third-hardest remaining schedule in the league. And they simply have to prove — and probably multiple times — that they can beat a quality opponent on the road. The next test coming at Buffalo on Sunday against a desperate Bills squad that was projected as a preseason Super Bowl contender. After that, it will be a trip to Miami in Week 16 to contend with the high-flying Dolphins offense.

So, as much as they gained a boost by defeating the sagging Eagles, more questions about their viability loom.

Said Jones, “Next week in Buffalo will be a new deal of cards.”

And maybe, just maybe an opportunity to secure a new round of hope and hype.

It felt like the ManningCast was careening out of control.

Peyton and Eli Manning were providing analysis for two games taking place once — a first for their alternate telecast on ‘Monday Night Football’ — and their producers seemed to be having diabolical fun.

In the first quarter, as the Green Bay Packers battled the New York Giants and the Tennessee Titans tangled with the Miami Dolphins, the ManningCast switch back and forth between the two games 15 times (by my count).

It was enough to induce nausea and test the retired quarterbacks.

They were up for the challenge.

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The brothers admirably juggled two competitive games, four solid guests and offered up some insight.

From Peyton: If the backup center is in the game, he’d prefer to be in the shotgun formation, ‘because if it’s a bad snap, at least you can recover it.’ This came after TuaTagovailoa was under center when he fumbled a snap from the team’s backup center, rushed into action when the starter suffered a knee injury.

Both games finished in dramatic fashion. Both Manning had caught their breath. The switching from one game to the other slowed down, allowing the viewer to enjoy the unfolding of the final moments and the Mannings’ take on it all.

“That was fun,’’ they told each other when it ended.

It’d be hard to disagree.

Peyton Manning made a promise

The most befuddling moment of the ManningCast came during the second quarter, near the end of a guest appearance by comedian Nate Bargatze.

With two exciting games underway, the ManningCast cameras focused Bargatze’s father, Stephen, a magician who has opened on the road for his son. The elder Bargatze attempted a card trick that lasted longer than the game-winning touchdown drives by the Titans and the Giants combined. (Those thrilling drives consumed one minute and 59 seconds. The card trick consumed more than two minutes and the patience of viewers.)

Finally and abruptly, the ManningCast returned to game action — a split second before viewers could see Stephen Bargatze apparently complete the successful card trick.

As the first half came to an end, Eli Manning said, “We’ll be back after halftime, Peyt.’’

Replied Peyton Manning, “No more magic tricks, we promise you.’’

That wasn’t the only unfortunate moment. Well, depending on how you feel about the Mannings’ habit of butt-cheek talk. In this case, talk focused on a quarterback’s familiarity with his starting center’s butt cheeks.

“Could you (be blindfolded) and just have your hands under and tell who it is?’’ Nate Bargatze asked.

“Yep,’’ Peyton Manning replied. “A hundred percent. … I knew Jeff Saturday’s butt cheeks as well anybody.’’

Kirk Cousins compares self to turtle

The accelerated recovery of New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers has surprised members of the medical community. No telling how those same people would feel about Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins crawling across beach sand while recovering from the same injury suffered Oct. 29.

Cousins made a guest appearance in the fourth quarter of the ManningCast, and the telecast showed video of Cousins crawling across beach sand. He explained he had told the Vikings’ trainers that he wanted to get in the ocean not long after.

‘And they just shook their head and said, ‘No way,” said Cousins, who had surgery for his torn Achilles tendon Nov. 1. ‘And I said, ‘Oh, yeah, we’re going to find a way.

‘So I said to my wife, ‘I’m going to crawl and just slowly work my way in.’ I was going to get in the ocean one way or another. Slow and steady wins the race. I’m like a sea turtle making his way out.’

Or as slow as a card trick being performed by Nate Bargatze’s dad.

The Neshoba County fair appealed to Mike Leach’s sense of wonder.

With its colorful cabins that awaken one week every summer, full of Mississippi food, culture and life, Leach found the fair to be “addicting.”

‘It’s like Key West in that you just walk around and you’ll meet good people and smell great food cooking,’ Leach once told a Mississippi State athletics staffer.

Leach was not native to Mississippi. He grew up in Cody, Wyoming. Most of his career, he coached outside of the SEC’s footprint. His possession of a law degree from Pepperdine in Malibu, California, seemed almost antithetical to him becoming Mississippi State’s football coach.

In actuality, Leach was about as State as one gets. He made himself a man of Mississippi people.

For a program that often gets cast as a little brother, Leach was no one’s subjugate.

Remember when Leach took his fingers and playfully tugged Lane Kiffin’s mask, so that it popped over the Ole Miss coach’s eyes, amid a visit to the state capitol during the height of COVID?

Leach made Mississippi State feel like it could be big brother.

He was a career winner. He was a polarizing contrarian who lacked a filter while brimming with opinions. Best of all, for the Bulldogs, he was theirs. And they were his people.

‘He pretty quickly became our guy,’ said Joel Coleman, a native Mississippian and Mississippi State alumnus who is a senior writer for the school’s athletics department.

‘He loved being here, and folks loved having a legend as their head coach.’

Tuesday marks the one-year anniversary since Leach died of heart complications at 61. State’s Egg Bowl victory just 2½ weeks before Leach’s death became his final game.

Leach’s legacy at Mississippi State looms large for a coach who won 19 games throughout three seasons. He had the program trending up. Fans were excited for what might be possible for the 2023 season, with a proven coach on the sideline, a veteran quarterback returning and a blue-collar defense.

But, the enduring affection for Leach extends beyond his performance.

‘He was able to fit in here like a chameleon,’ said Robbie Faulk, a Mississippi native and Mississippi State alumnus who covers the school for 247Sports and the Starkville Daily News.

Dan Mullen won with the Bulldogs at a level not seen before or since, but Mississippi State fans’ feelings about Mullen are a mixed bag.

Although Mullen stayed for nine seasons, he ultimately departed for Florida’s greener pastures, only to be fired during his fourth season in Gainesville. For some around Mississippi State, Mullen always will be the turncoat who left for what he perceived as a prettier bride.

In Leach, the school found a winning coach who loved them back.

‘He was probably going to finish his career here,’ Faulk said. ‘I think that means a lot to Mississippi State fans, that you’re not looking for the next big thing.’

The next big thing for Leach on Dec. 10, 2022, was a Christmas party. After bowl practice that day, he swung by the holiday gathering hosted by Brian Hadad, a radio and podcast host.

Several media members were there. Faulk remembers Leach being in good spirits at the party. He had a few treats. He posed for photos. He chatted up the partygoers.

The news the following day of Leach’s hospitalization rocked Starkville and the college football community.

‘It was jolting,’ Faulk said.

After Leach died, a pirate flag flew at half-mast in his honor at Davis Wade Stadium. Flowers accumulated outside the stadium gates, along with treats, a cowbell and a Copenhagen tin – Leach’s preferred chewing tobacco.

The coach who reinvigorated a proud program and helped it once again punch above its weight class was gone.

Michael Baumgartner, a former Washington state senator, befriended Leach while he coached Washington State. They remained close and traveled the globe on offseason trips.

Baumgartner enjoys a gift for colorful analogies. When we spoke a few days after Leach’s death, Baumgartner compared Alabama’s Nick Saban to Gen. David Petraeus, crushing enemies with an overwhelming assemblage of firepower. Leach and his Air Raid offense were more like Ho Chi Minh or Lawrence of Arabia, in Baumgartner’s analogy.

‘Mike … he was the ultimate insurgent,’ Baumgartner told me. ‘How do you fight when you’re outnumbered? How do you outthink (your opponent)? How do you use asymmetric attacks?’

I think Mississippi State relishes being an insurgent force in the SEC. Leach restored State to that identity, and fans appreciated him for that. More, they loved that Leach loved them back.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s SEC Columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.

The Tennessee Titans (5-8) upset the Miami Dolphins (9-4), 28-27, on Monday night at Hard Rock Stadium, dashing their hopes of taking the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoff race — for now.

Will Levis and company rallied late for two touchdowns in less than a minute to come back from a 14-point deficit to earn their first road win and hand Miami its first home loss of the season.

The Dolphins scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter with two touchdowns from Raheem Mostert to go up 27-13. But a touchdown from the rookie quarterback to veteran receiver DeAndre Hopkins and Derrick Henry’s second touchdown of the day boosted Tennessee to the win.

“We knew we had an opportunity to do something special tonight on national television, probably our last primetime game. I hope America liked what they saw,” Levis said on the ESPN broadcast after the game. “… I think we showed them the type of team we always thought we could be this season. Obviously, we had some lulls, but we got a special locker room, special guys across the board. Defense played a heck of a job against such a potent offense. So happy for them and so glad we were able to grind it out at the end there.”

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Hopkins finished with seven catches for 124 yards, his third 100-yard game of the season.

The Titans defense sacked Tua Tagovailoa five times, including one from Harold Landry III on fourth down on the Dolphins’ last drive to seal the victory. The quarterback finished 23-of-33 for 240 yards. It was the first time this season he didn’t score a touchdown.

Tennessee was up 13-10 at the half and three Dolphins players, including star receiver Tyreek Hill, were injured. Hill suffered an ankle injury and was questionable to return, but came back on the field in the third quarter. The MVP candidate finished with four catches for 61 yards, including two 20-yard grabs. — Victoria Hernandez

Winners and losers from Titans’ win over Dolphins

WINNERS

Analytics/Titans head coach Mike Vrabel: A win for analytics nerds everywhere, Vrabel kept his offense on the field for a two-point conversion that made a 27-13 deficit 27-21 and opened the door to complete the comeback without requiring overtime. That way when the Titans scored another (however improbable) touchdown to tie the game, all they required was an extra point to take the lead. Going for two down 14 points has become more universally adopted but still faces headwinds in more traditional spaces. Vrabel showed why it’s worth it every time.

Will Levis: What a ride from April, when the rookie quarterback fell out of the first round to go 33rd overall, to now. The Dolphins had a 99.7% chance of winning late in the fourth quarter, but Levis refused to go quietly into the night. His inspired play translated into the two scoring drives Tennessee needed to win; the first one took less than two minutes, while the second took 26 seconds to go 64 yards. Levis overcame an ugly interception early to defensive lineman Zach Sieler, which was returned for a touchdown, and a fourth-quarter fumble that led to a short field for Miami.

Tyjae Spears: The rookie running back has developed into an ideal complement to Derrick Henry and had three catches for 41 yards in the fourth quarter. Spears caught six passes for 89 yards total and was essential for Levis as an outlet option in crunch time.

DeAndre Hopkins: Perhaps rejuvenated by the emergence of Levis, Hopkins looked like the receiver from his Houston Texans days – rising up to make difficult catches, tapping his toes to stay in bounds. He had seven catches (12 targets) for 124 yards.

Baltimore Ravens: They still have the toughest schedule in the league the rest of the way, but the Dolphins’ loss gave them a game of breathing room at the top of the AFC standings. The two teams will play one another on the final day of 2023 in a matchup that could decide the AFC’s No. 1 seed.

Buffalo Bills: The Dolphins’ schedule isn’t a cakewalk the rest of the way – neither is the Dolphins’ – but the path to a third straight AFC East division crown is suddenly there. They play in Miami during Week 18. Could it be for the division?

Raheem Mostert: The Miami running back punched in two more rushing touchdowns to bring his total for the season to 16, tops in the NFL.

LOSERS

Mike McDaniel: The Dolphins played a sloppy game start to finish – they fumbled on their first possession to start a series of first-half miscues. Miami is the fifth team since 2000 to lose after leading by 14 points in the final three minutes. A fair share of the blame lies with the head coach and the offensive play-caller who couldn’t put the game away and lacked the explosivity the Dolphins have branded themselves with in 2023. To be fair to the NFL coach of the year candidate, he was missing his best player.

Tyreek Hill: Miami had a scare when Hill went down in the first quarter with an ankle injury, which he said after the game he’s been dealing with the whole season. Hill knew it was bad immediately and said he decided to reenter the game following a halftime text exchange with his wife.

Special teams play: The Dolphins had a first-half field-goal attempt blocked, but the real blunder of the game on special teams came when Titans returner, undrafted free agent Eric Garror, inexplicably decided to field a punt that was bouncing. He couldn’t come up with the ball, and the Dolphins recovered at the Tennessee 7-yard line. Mostert scored two plays later in what appeared to put the game away until the Titans’ comeback.

Dolphins’ home-field playoff aspirations: The possibility still exists, but as previously mentioned, it took a hit with the loss. They haven’t had home-field in the playoffs since 1984, when they made the Super Bowl. — Chris Bumbaca

Titans-Dolphins highlights

Rookie Will Levis threw for a career-high 327 yards and directed two touchdown drives in the final 4 1/2 minutes, and the Titans rallied to stun Miami, 28-27, on Monday night, knocking the Dolphins out of the top spot in the AFC.

Titans 28, Dolphins 27: Derrick Henry scores, can Tennessee hold lead?

Will Levis, DeAndre Hopkins and Derrick Henry led the Titans down the field to give Tennessee a 28-27 led.

Levis threw a deep pass 36-yard pass to Hopkins to put Tennessee in Miami territory. A few plays later, Henry rushed to the left side for a 3-yard touchdown.

Henry’s TD gave Tennessee a 28-27 advantage with 1:49 left in the game.

Hopkins has seven catches, 124 receiving yards and a touchdown in the game. — Tyler Dragon

Dolphins 27, Titans 21: DeAndre Hopkins touchdown

Well, this one isn’t over just yet. 

After the Dolphins took a commanding lead, the Titans answered with a touchdown drive of their own. 

The Dolphins have 2:40 minutes left to either score again, or run the clock down. They could be in danger of a late upset how they played this entire game before their 14-0 outburst in the middle of the fourth quarter. — Safid Deen

Dolphins 27, Titans 13: Raheem Mostert scores again

The Dolphins turned Bradley Chubb’s fumble into more points. 

Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert scored his second touchdown of the game to give Miami a 27-13 lead with 4:34 remaining. 

Mostert scored his second one in a minute span after Chubb recovered a pass by rookie Will Levis intended for Titans running back Derrick Henry. — Safid Deen

Derrick Henry fumbles turnover in Titans’ own territory

The Titans’ chances of coming back against the Dolphins are slipping through their fingers as Derrick Henry lost a fumble in the fourth quarter.

On first-and-10 from their own 25-yard line, Will Levis faked the handoff to Tyjae Spears and then tossed the ball behind him to the All-Pro rusher. Henry failed to catch the ball and it fell to the turf. Bradley Chubb fell on the ball for the Dolphins takeaway. 

This is the Titans’ second lost fumble of the game. — Victoria Hernandez

Dolphins 20, Titans 13: Raheem Mostert touchdown, Dolphins wheelbarrow celebration

A drive that ended with Tua Tagovailoa sacked brought new life to the Dolphins. 

Titans defensive back Eric Garror touched a live, punted football and it was recovered by Dolphins defensive back Elijah Campbell at the 7-yard line. 

Two plays later, Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert’s carry crossed the goal line and Miami took the lead 20-13 with 5:34 left. 

Dolphins defensive end Bradley Chubb recovered a fumble on the next play on the Titans’ next play. — Safid Deen

Dolphins 13, Titans 13: Tyreek Hill comes alive

Tyreek Hill appears just fine. 

Hill caught a 23-yard pass on the final play of the third quarter, and caught a 25-yard pass to the 6-yard line in the fourth quarter. 

Hill even signaled toward the Titans sideline for help after Titans cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting was hurt on the play. 

The MVP chants in Hard Rock Stadium were loud and heavy. 

But the Dolphins could not do anything with Hill’s dynamic play. 

Tua Tagovailoa slipped on third and 3 at the 3-yard line. And the Dolphins had to settle for three to tie the game at 13 with 12:37 left in the game. — Safid Deen

Titans up 13-10 at end of third quarter

The Titans are poised to splash on the Dolphins’ party as they are up 13-10 at the end of the third quarter after a 23-yard field goal from Nick Folk.

Tennessee almost had a touchdown as Will Levis tossed a dart to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine in the end zone, but after review, the play was reversed and the pass was ruled incomplete.

Jason Sanders kicked a 20-yard field goal for Miami earlier in the quarter.

The two teams are neck and neck with the Titans registering 258 yards of offense and the Dolphins racking up 264.

Derrick Henry has the lone offensive touchdown of the game, which he scored in the second quarter. — Victoria Hernandez

Marino memories

The Dolphins were expected to cruise tonight, two-touchdown favorites or thereabouts. But a loss will prevent them from reclaiming the AFC’s projected No. 1 playoff seed, ensuring it stays with the Baltimore Ravens — the AFC North leaders hosting Miami in Week 17. The Dolphins would also see their lead over Kansas City dwindle to one game, and the Chiefs have the head-to-head tiebreaker.

The Fins last secured home-field advantage in 1984, when league MVP Dan Marino and Co. used it to their advantage on the way to Super Bowl 19 … where they were crushed by Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers. — Nate Davis

Here’s the latest on Tyreek Hill

While Tyreek Hill is questionable to return, all signs appear the Dolphins might play this injury situation conservatively and keep their best player out.

Hill was not on the field when the Dolphins began the second half, but he returned with 6:43 left in the third quarter when Dolphins fans began cheering as Hill took the field with his helmet.

Hill ran three routes, but was not targeted, and it appeared he was hampered by the injury.

Hill came out of the tunnel to join his Dolphins teammates on the sideline.

Dolphins connect on short field goal to tie game

The Dolphins had an 11-play, 77-yard field goal drive to start the second half.  

A Sean Murphy-Bunting pass interference placed the football in Tennessee territory. The Dolphins then got inside the five-yard line, but they were unable to punch it in.

Miami settled for a 20-yard field goal by kicker Jason Sanders to even the score at 10-10. — Tyler Dragon

Halftime: Titans 10, Dolphins 7

The Dolphins have not looked like their juggernaut selves in the first half. And there’s even more cause for concern with receiver Tyreek Hill, a dark horse MVP candidate, out since injuring his knee on a tackle near the Titans sideline early in the game that has kept him out since.

A turnover near the goal line, a personal foul by Bradley Chubb for taking off his helmet, and a blocked field goal have been the primary Miami miscues.

Tennessee has taken advantage, using two big completions from Will Levis to DeAndre Hopkins near the end of the half to kick a go-ahead field goal and take a 10-7 lead into the locker room.

The vaunted Miami offense has yet to score on the Tennessee defense; their lone score came when Zach Sieler intercepted Levis’ screen pass at the 5-yard line and waltzed into the end zone for the game’s first touchdown. The Titans evened the game halfway through the second quarter with a Derrick Henry touchdown from wildcat formation.

The Dolphins are without center Connor Williams, who is out for the rest of the game after suffering a knee injury, and suffered the consequences when backup Liam Eichenberg couldn’t smoothly snap it to Tua Tagovailoa on their first drive. Miami lost the ball at the 2-yard line, but Sieler ended up salvaging some points.

Titans block Dolphins’ FG: Dolphins 7, Titans 7

The Titans stopped the Dolphins’ chance to take a 10-7 lead before halftime.

Titans defensive lineman Denico Autry blocked a kicked by Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders after the two-minute warning, and both sides remain tied at 7.

The Titans will have 1:49 left before the half to make something happen on offense.

Derrick Henry touchdown: Titans 7, Dolphins 7

The Titans are on the board, and they can thank Bradley Chubb for that.

Titans running back Derrick Henry took a 2-yard carry in Wildcat formation into the end zone to tie this game at 7.

The key play for the Titans: Chubb, the Dolphins defensive end, slammed his helmet after missing a sack on Will Levis.

The penalty got the Titans to the 12-yard line, where Levis had an 11-yard run to the goal line but came up short.

Henry finished the job on two carries, tying things up with 6:53 left before halftime.

Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill is questionable to return: Dolphins 7, Titans 0

Tyreek Hill is standing on the Dolphins sidelines. And now, he’s questionable to return.

The Dolphins are calling it an ankle injury for Hill, who came into the game leading the NFL with nearly 1,500 yards and 12 touchdowns this season.

It’ll be interesting to see if the Dolphins opt to rest Hill against the Titans, or see if he’ll be able to return.

Dolphins center Connor Williams (knee) is out for the rest of the game, the team also announced. –Safid Deen

Tyreek Hill scares with injury, runs off the field in first quarter

Dolphins star Tyreek Hill went down and seemed to favor his left leg after an injury toward the end of the first quarter.  

After writhing in pain, Hill limped from the Titans sideline to midfield.

And as fans began to chant, Hill ran off the field and appeased the fans for a moment.

Hill is standing on the Dolphins sidelines, while a trainer holds his helmet. He did not seek treatment in the Dolphins medical tent.

Zach Sieler, Miami defensive touchdown: Dolphins 7, Titans 0

Will Levis was trying to throw a screen pass from his own end zone.

Instead, it was the Dolphins who made their way across the goal line for the game’s first touchdown.

Miami defensive lineman Zach Sieler jumped in front of the pass intended for Tyjae Spears, which hit him in the belly at the 5-yard line. Sieler walked in from there, and the Dolphins led 7-0 with 8:25 left in the first quarter.

The Dolphins have scored defensive touchdowns in three straight games, starting with Jevon Holland’s 99-yard return for a touchdown against the New York Jets on Black Friday, dubbed the “Hell Mary.” Against the Commanders last week, outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel returned an interception for a touchdown. – Chris Bumbaca

Dolphins turnover, but Jaylen Waddle, Xavien Howard return

The Dolphins are dropping like flies in this first quarter. And it cost them on their first offensive drive of the game.

Dolphins center Connor Williams limped off the field after being rolled up on from behind. Backup Liam Eichenburg replaced him in the lineup.

And when the Dolphins got down to the 2-yard line, they fumbled the quarterback-center exchange and the defensive tackle Jaleel Johnson came up with a crucial fumble.

Tough turnover for the Dolphins.

But good news: Receiver Jaylen Waddle came back into the game. And Xavien Howard also returned on the next defensive series.

Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle takes rough hit over the middle

The Dolphins first offensive drive started how their first defensive drive ended – with a player coming off the field after a rough hit.

Dolphins receive Jaylen Waddle caught a completion over the middle from Tua Tagovailoa, and got hit in the chest by a Titans defender.

Waddle was able to walk off the field on his own.

Dolphins’ Xavien Howard injured on first series

The Dolphins defense held rookie Will Levis and the Titans to a three-and-out on the first drive of the game.

But Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard appeared to get hit in the side on 3rd and 10.

Howard was down after he collided with safety Brandon Jones. Howard walked off on his own after reaching for his hip after the play, and is being evaluated in the Dolphins’ blue medical tent.

Dolphins’ coach Mike McDaniel wears sneakers with his daughter painted on them

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel is participating in the NFL’s My Cause, My Cleats program with some custom sneakers of his own.

McDaniel was spotted on the Dolphins sidelines wearing a pair of Nike Air Force Ones, customized with a photo of him and his daughter Ayla.

Tyreek Hill is fast, and he likes fast food?

Dolphins leading receiver Tyreek Hill showed up to the Titans game with a brown paper bag, and an apparent receipt hanging from it.

Could it be Hill having some fast food as a pregame meal?

Chad Johnson, who loves to boast about his love from McDonalds, says Hill could be in for a big night: “McDonald’s in hand, 300 yards & 2 TDs. 

Dolphins-Titans inactives

The Dolphins will play without three starters, while the Titans have two unable to play in tonight’s game.

Also among inactive players for both teams:

-Dolphins quarterback Skyler Thompson, receiver Robbie Chosen, cornerback Eli Apple and tight end Tyler Croft.

-Titans quarterback Malik Willis, outside linebackers Trevis Gipson and Caleb Murphy, tight end Josh Whyle and defensive back Mike Brown.

Why are there two MNF games being played at the same time?

A new scheduling wrinkle for the 2023 NFL season included two ‘Monday Night Football’ games being played simultaneously.

This first-ever simultaneous kickoffs MNF presentation is being done so that ‘ESPN and the NFL transform a Sunday afternoon environment into a primetime window,’ per ESPN.

This is the third time this season that there are multiple ‘Monday Night Football’ games on the same night. It had previously occurred during Week 2 and Week 3, with kickoff times staggered. — Jim Reineking

ManningCast will follow two games

The ManningCast for Week 14 figures to the most manic yet.

For ‘Monday Night Football,’ Peyton Manning and Eli Manning will juggle two games on their alternate ESPN2 telecast.

‘When situations dictate, Peyton and Eli will divert attention to a single game,’ per ESPN. — Josh Peter

Titans at Dolphins: Predictions, picks and odds 

The Dolphins are favorites to defeat the Titans, according to BetMGM NFL odds. 

Spread: Dolphins (-13.5) Moneyline: Dolphins (-800); Titans (+550)Over/under: 47.5Lorenzo Reyes: Dolphins 31, Titans 13 — The Dolphins are very balanced and it’s their defense that has been the strength in the second half of the season. Still, Miami’s speed on offense presents a ton of problems. And if Derrick Henry is indeed unavailable, I think the Dolphins are a safe play here, despite the two-touchdown spread.Tyler Dragon: Dolphins 31, Titans 16 — Should Tyreek Hill be the MVP frontrunner? Hill has 1,481 receiving yards this season, the most receiving yards by a player in his team’s first 12 games of a season in the Super Bowl era. The Dolphins haven’t beaten a team with a winning record, and they face another opponent below .500 in the Titans.Safid Deen: Dolphins 26, Titans 17 — Derrick Henry’s availability will dictate this one. The Dolphins will have a tough time slowing Henry down without their injured defensive end Jaelan Phillips and linebacker Jerome Baker. But the Titans won’t have enough offense to keep pace with the Dolphins at home.Victoria Hernandez: Dolphins 32, Titans 15 — If the Titans couldn’t pull off an overtime win at home against the Colts with 100 yards and two touchdowns from Derrick Henry, they do not stand a chance against the Dolphins, especially if the star running back is out. De’Von Achane is back and added more power to the already-electric Miami offense. The Dolphins are having fun this season and will notch another win here.Jordan Mendoza: Dolphins 36, Titans 16 — Miami continues to rip apart bad teams, and it has another chance to do so against a struggling Tennessee team. This one won’t be close for a majority of the game, and even with the wide spread, it wouldn’t be crazy to bet on the Dolphins to get another 20-point win.

‘Monday Night Football’ betting tips

Highlighting Monday Night Football odds, the Green Bay Packers are among the best bets for NFL Week 14 as road underdogs. The Packers are favored by 5.5 points over the New York Giants, according to the BetMGM NFL odds. Looking to wager? Check out the best mobile sports betting apps offering NFL betting promos in 2023.

There is also significant betting attention around the Miami Dolphins’ primetime game against the Tennessee Titans. According to the top NFL betting apps, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (+800) has some of the best NFL MVP betting odds in 2023. The Dolphins (+650) are among teams with the best Super Bowl betting odds.

Not interested in this game? Our guide to NFL betting odds, picks and spreads has you covered with Thursday Night Football odds, Sunday Night Football odds and more.

 If you’re new to sports betting, don’t worry. We have tips for beginners on how to place a bet online. And USA TODAY readers can claim exclusive promos and bonus codes with these online sportsbooks and sports betting sites. — Richard Morin

Playoff implications for ‘Monday Night Football’

A win by the Dolphins tonight moves them back into first place overall in the AFC, though Week 17’s visit to Baltimore could be decisive. Miami will remain the second seed with a loss.

Though a win is obviously preferable, the Packers will remain the NFC’s seventh seed regardless of tonight’s outcome. However if Green Bay loses, the San Francisco 49ers will become the first team in 2023 to clinch a playoff berth. — Nate Davis

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Week 14 breakdown: NFC thrown into delightful upheaval

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With the 2024 Paris Olympics set to begin in July, a professor of computer science at MIT is convinced something else is already underway.

The creation of undetectable performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

“I’m 100 percent sure that if they’re in that business (of doping), they’re using it,’’ said Manolis Kellis, the MIT professor who is a member of the computer science and artificial intelligence lab at the university. “If I were in the doping business, I would be crazy not to use generative AI right now.’’

Unlike traditional AI, which follows ‘predefined rules and patterns,’ generative AI creates ‘new and original content.” Content that could possibly include PEDs, according to Anne Carpenter, senior director of the imaging platform at Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.

“I would say it’s practical now to attempt it,” Carpenter said. But she also said there are significant hurdles, suggesting AI is still developing as a potential tool for cheating in sports.

The use of AI for drug discovery is no longer a pipedream. The unanswered question: How soon might AI be embraced by athletes looking for new ways to cheat?

How would AI work to help athletes cheat?

The most feasible approach would be using generative AI to alter existing PEDs that trigger drug tests in a way that makes those drugs undetectable by current testing technology, according to Kellis, the MIT professor. He said it would be used to study molecular structure of the existing PEDs and determine what other molecules could be used to alter them.

He compared the process to what often happens after a pharmaceutical company comes out with a highly effective drug. Competitors attempt to create their own version of the drug by altering an atom or two to evade patents — just like AI would help alter the molecular structure of an existing PED just enough to evade detection by drug tests, Kellis said.

There is skepticism in the scientific community about whether AI is being used for pharmacological purposes in sports. Some of the reasons: No existing peer review of studies or research, the extensive testing required to prove safety and the focus on finding drugs for current incurable diseases.

But Lei Xie, a professor at Hunter College in New York who has used AI for the potential discovery of drugs for incurable diseases, said the process that would be used to alter existing PEDs is one reason he would not be surprised if it is happening now.

‘It is similar to drug repurposing (repositioning), which we have worked on for years,” Xie wrote to USA TODAY Sports by email.

Can AI be used to create PEDs?

Carpenter, the senior director of the imaging platform at Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, said she sees the potential for AI to help create undetectable PEDs rather than relying on existing PEDs.

‘It’s not like this is futuristic technology,” she said.

But Carpenter estimated it would cost $1 billion and take 10 years to develop a PED with the required testing for FDA approval. Referring to the process of drug development, she said, “It’s not like you put data in one end and get drugs out the other side.’

But there is evidence indicating the process of drug discovery can be accelerated.

Alán Aspuru-Guzik, a professor of chemistry and computer science at the University of Toronto, helped lead a team in 2022 that in 30 days discovered a “lead candidate’’ for a potential liver cancer drug. The feat was hailed for enhanced speed in the development of drugs with the use of AI.

‘The issue about performance-enhancement is that unlike traditional drugs, the clinical trials would not be so easy to make happen,” Aspuru-Guzik wrote by email. ‘I would not recommend generating (and testing) new drugs without a fully developed clinical trial.

‘Having said so, yes, it may be possible for rogue agents to develop such drugs. Could they be not detectable by traditional tests? Sure.’

Can AI work against dopers?

WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) has explored the use of AI as a tool to catch cheaters. Its use is inevitable, according to Dajiang Liu, director of artificial intelligence and biomedical informatics at the Penn State College of Medicine.

“More powerful AI algorithms will lead to drugs that are more difficult to be detected,’’ Liu wrote by email. ‘… As you may be aware, there is often a gap between the development of a new drug and testing procedures that can detect that. It is not surprising to me that such gap would happen to new AI-enabled drugs. At the same time, AI-driven technologies will also accelerate the development of testing procedures to identify drug use.’’

But that hasn’t stopped people in sports from moving forward with use of the technology, according to Aron D’Souza, an attorney and entrepreneur who’s trying to organize an international sports event where athletes will not be subject to drug testing. He said scientists and doctors involved in AI and PEDs have approached him about funding their projects.

Said D’Souza: ‘There will be many new performance-enhancing compounds discovered in the coming years.”

The Green Bay Packers saw their three-game winning streak slip away Monday night and, in the process, witnessed their margin for error in the NFC playoff race virtually evaporate.

Randy Bullock’s 37-yard field goal as time expired gave the New York Giants a 24-22 victory, their third in a row with rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito.

The Pack’s loss also clinched a playoff spot for the San Francisco 49ers, the NFC leaders the first club to officially sew up a berth. Green Bay retained the conference’s third and final wild-card spot but are now tied with the Rams, Seahawks, Falcons and Saints — all five teams with 6-7 records.

Rookie Malik Heath’s 6-yard TD catch — the first of his career — with 1:33 to play seemed to signal an escape for the Packers, but they left DeVito too much time. The undrafted third-stringer drove New York 57 yards in eight plays to set up Bullock’s game-winner. A 32-yard pass to Wan’Dale Robinson was the key play in the Giants’ game-ending sprint. DeVito, who finished with 158 yards and a TD through the air, posted a passer rating of at least 100.0 for the third consecutive week.

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

The Packers, who entered Week 14 with the league’s easiest remaining schedule (based on opponents’ winning percentages), turned the ball over three times in defeat — head coach Matt LaFleur’s first ever in December after 16 consecutive wins. They next draw the surging and NFC South-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday at Lambeau Field. — Nate Davis

Winners and losers from Giants’ win over Packers

WINNERS

Tommy DeVito impresses in win: DeVito performed liked the best quarterback on the field. He managed the game, and most importantly, didn’t turn the football over. DeVito made some clutch throws that he’ll be able to build upon in his development as a quarterback. His 8-yard touchdown pass on the run might’ve been the best throw of his young career.

The rookie completed 17-of-21 passes, for 158 yards and had a touchdown. He also contributed with 71 rushing yards.

Saquon Barkley scores twice: Barkley lost a costly fumble, but that was his only bad play. Barkley ignited New York’s offense and was arguably the best player on the field. He tallied 23 touches, 101 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns in the win.

The Giants might want to give Barkley a long-term extension this offseason.

Giants finally win on Monday night: The Giants (5-8) haven’t had a lot to cheer about this season, but they can go home happy after Week 14. The Giants snapped an eight-game losing streak on ‘Monday Night Football.’

Kayvon Thibodeaux, Deonte Banks: Thibodeaux flashed multiple times in the New York win. The Giants edge rusher had eight tackles, 0.5 sacks, one pass deflection and a forced fumble.

Thibodeaux has 11.5 sacks this season.

Banks was solid in coverage. The rookie cornerback out of Maryland had a game-high 12 tackles, one tackle for loss and a pass deflection.

San Francisco 49ers: The 49ers (10-3) are the first team to clinch a postseason berth as a result of Monday night. San Francisco currently holds the No.1 seed in the NFC.

LOSERS

Packers defense: The Giants came into Week 14 with the worst offense in the NFL, averaging 258 yards per game. Tommy DeVito and company gashed Green Bay for 367 total yards. The Giants rushed for 209 yards and two touchdowns. Plus, the Packers defense gave up the game-winning drive that ended in a 37-yard field goal as time expired.

DeVito looked like a serviceable starting quarterback against Green Bay’s defense.

Jordan Love up-and-down in loss: The Packers quarterback had eight touchdowns and no turnovers during Green Bay’s three-game winning streak. Love’s hot streak came to a screeching halt on Monday night. Love had an up-and-down performance. He lost a fumble and threw an ill-advised pass that resulted in an interception in the second quarter.

Love did conduct a potential game-winning touchdown drive with multiple nice throws late in the fourth quarter, but the Giants offense went down the field on their next possession.

Love finished 25-of-39 passing for 218 yards, to go with one touchdown and one interception.

Shockingly, Love was outplayed by the Giants’ Tommy DeVito. — Tyler Dragon

Giants-Packers highlights

Tommy DeVito threw a 32-yard pass to Wan’Dale Robinson to set up Randy Bullock’s 37-yard field goal as time expired, and the Giants defeated Green Bay, 24-22, on Monday night to hand the Packers their first December loss since Matt LaFleur took over as coach in 2019.

Giants 24, Packers 22: What can’t Tommy DeVito do?

The undrafted rookie and the Giants got the ball back trailing 22-21 and with 93 seconds on the clock. DeVito completed five passes on the drive and the Giants drove 57 yards – 32 coming on a completion to Wandale Robinson down the right sideline. The Packers burned their timeouts, and the Giants called one with two seconds left on the clock.

Kicker Randy Bullock — who missed from 48 yards out wide right earlier in the game — drilled a game-winning 37-yard field goal as time expired to give the Giants a victory that kept their season on life support and severely impacted the Packers’ playoff hopes at the same time. — Chris Bumbaca

Packers 22, Giants 21: Malik Heath puts Green Bay ahead late

Jordan Love led the Packers on nine-play, 36-yard touchdown drive in just over two minutes to give Green Bay a 22-21 advantage with 1:33 left in the game.

Packers wide receiver Malik Heath made an incredible catch along the sideline and extended the football across to goal line for a 6-yard touchdown. — Tyler Dragon

Giants 21, Packers 16: Anders Carlson connects this time

The Packers offense has no problem moving the ball into New York territory. The problem is when they get there.

At least this time, Anders Carlson made a 48-yard field goal to put some points on the board and make it 21-16 with 5:30 to go in the game. Green Bay is 1-for-4 in the red zone.

The Packers got a stroke of fortune when Saquon Barkley fumbled following his second long run in a row — the Giants running back tried to stay in bounds but the ball came loose when he dove forward and was not touched down. Green Bay returned the ball 50 yards to the New York 36, and the Packers were in business with a chance to win the game by the time the two-minute warning rolled around. — Chris Bumbaca

Packers miss 45-yard field goal attempt

Green Bay’s promising drive ended with no points.

The Packers got inside New York’s 20-yard line, but their 12-play drive ended with two terrible plays.

On third-and-11, Jordan Love was sacked by Dexter Lawrence and Azeez Ojulari for a loss of 11 yards. Then on fourth-and-18, kicker Anders Carlson missed a 45-yard field goal wide left.

The Packers still trail 21-13 with 10:42 left in the fourth quarter. — Tyler Dragon

Leaders of the Pack

Green Bay has drafted two quarterbacks in Round 1 of the draft this century. With a win tonight, Jordan Love will make the duo 2-0 at MetLife Stadium this year. The other, of course, is Aaron Rodgers — who was credited with the win in Week 1 for the New York Jets despite suffering an Achilles tear on his fourth snap in his first game with Gang Green. — Nate Davis

Giants up, thanks to ‘Tommy Cutlets’

The third quarter turned into the “Tommy Cutlets” show in north Jersey. New York scored two touchdowns to go up 21-13 by the end of the frame and outgained 119-39. DeVito was a perfect 5-for-5, including a touchdown pass to Isaiah Hodgins. He’s also up to 71 rushing yards on 10 attempts. The Packers had only two first downs in the frame, and Keisean Nixon muffed a punt that set up the Giants’ first touchdown of the quarter – a 1-yard rush by Saquon Barkley, his second score of the game.

New York avoided a disaster when one of their own players accidentally touched the ball on the Packers’ punt on their next possession, which set them up in the red zone. But the Giants’ defense stood tall once again and Green Bay settled for a field goal. — Chris Bumbaca

Giants 21, Packers 13: Tommy DeVito hits Isaiah Hodgins for TD

Tommy DeVito might’ve just had the best throw of his young career.

DeVito scrambled out right and delivered an 8-yard strike to the back of the end zone to wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins. Hodgins made a nice grab and got both feet down for the completion.

The touchdown capped off a 10-play, 75-yard drive for New York.

DeVito completed four passes during the drive. He’s currently 12-of-15 passing and has 99 yards, plus a TD. — Tyler Dragon

Giants 14, Packers 13: Another muffed punt leads to field goal

The Packers are within a point of the Giants after scoring a field goal in the third quarter.

On third-and-10 from New York’s 14-yard line, quarterback Jordan Love tossed the ball to Jayden Reed in the right corner of the end zone. Reed was double covered by Jason Pinnock and Deonte Banks and looked around left and right to find the ball as it sailed over his head and landed behind him.

Anders Carlson kicked the 32-yard field goal to make the score 14-13 Giants.

Green Bay got possession after New York committed a turnover on a Packers punt. The ball sailed and hit Giants safety Bobby McCain on the shoulder and the Packers recovered it. — Victoria Hernandez

Giants 14, Packers 10: New York capitalizes on muffed punt

Ball don’t lie?

The Giants were livid the refs didn’t throw a flag when Tommy DeVito gave himself up and slid on the first play of the second half. Except Packers defensive back Keisean Nixon popped DeVito, and the stripes kept the laundry in their pockets.

When New York had to punt, and Nixon was back deep ready to return, they got their revenge. Nixon couldn’t handle Jamie Gillan’s punt and the Giants recovered in Packers territory. Two plays later, DeVito took off for a 26-yard gain all the way down to the Green Bay 1-yard line, and Saquon Barkley punched in his second touchdown of the game to give the Giants a 14-10 lead. — Chris Bumbaca

Packers clinging to three-point lead at half

After not having a single turnover during the Packers’ three-game winning streak, Jordan Love coughed the football up twice in what was a rough first half for the quarterback.

Love lost a fumble and threw an interception on back-to-back drives in the second quarter.

Despite losing the turnover battle 2-0 in the first half, the Packers have a 10-7 halftime lead. 

Love completed 13-of-20 passes for 116 yards.

Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed has 34 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown. He leads seven Packers players with at least one reception.

The Giants defense had a solid half.

Giants edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux tallied three tackles, one forced fumble and a pass deflection. Safety Jason Pinnock has the game’s only interception.

The lone New York touchdown came on a 5-yard run by Saquon Barkley. The Giants aren’t getting much production through the air. Tommy DeVito has just 48 passing yards at halftime. — Tyler Dragon

Packers 10, Giants 7: Anders Carlson puts Green Bay ahead before halftime

The Packers scored late in the second quarter to retake the lead against the Giants.

Anders Carlson hit a 36-yard field goal to cap off an 11-play, 38 yard drive. 

Giants cornerback Cor’Dale Flott was called for pass interference on a passing play that gave Green Bay a 27-yard boost. Patrick Taylor had a 14-yard run, but the Packers offense couldn’t get much else going after a pass from Jordan Love to Romeo Doubs was ruled complete but then reversed. — Victoria Hernandez

Jordan Love throws interception, commits second turnover

Jordan Love committed his second turnover of the game on Monday night when he threw an interception.

On second-and-seven, Love aired the ball out downfield toward Dontayvion Wicks, who was covered by Cor’Dale Flott. Jason Pinnock stepped in front of the throw and nabbed the interception, his second of the year.

Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur thought Flott pushed Wicks during the play and was barking at the referees for not calling defensive pass interference.

On the previous drive, Love lost a fumble. — Victoria Hernandez

Packers stuff Saquon Barkley on fourth down

The Giants handed the football to their best player on fourth-and-1 and couldn’t convert.

The Packers defensive line got a good push upfront and Giants running back Saquon Barkley couldn’t find a running lane as he was tackled by linebackers Isaiah McDuffie and Eric Wilson for no gain at New York’s 49-yard line.

The Giants are currently 0-1 on fourth down and 1-4 on third downs. — Tyler Dragon

Jordan Love loses fumble for Packers

The Packers committed the first turnover of the game midway through the second quarter.

On third-and-2, quarterback Jordan Love attempted to run for the first down. He was wrapped up by Giants safety Jason Pinnock and as he was falling, Kayvon Thibodeaux pushed the quarterback over and the ball fell out of his possession. Giants safety Xavier McKinney picked up the ball and was immediately brought down by Packers tight end Tucker Kraft

The referees initially ruled that Love was down by contact, but the Giants challenged the play and got the turnover.

Per the ESPN broadcast, this is the Packers’ first turnover in their last 32 drives. — Victoria Hernandez

Giants 7, Packers 7: Saquon Barkley evens the score

Put your fingers on your thumb and throw the hand in the air like you just don’t care.

The Giants marched 75 yards down the field in eight plays to even the proceedings early in the second quarter. Saquon Barkley scored on a handoff from 5 yards out, but he was the one taking the snap one play earlier that was the big play of the drive. Barkley gave it to speedy wideout Wan’Dale Robinson who darted 32 yards to the Green Bay 5-yard line to set up the score.

Tommy Devito, the origin of the Italian-centric celebration seen across MetLife Stadium, connected with Isiah Hodgins for 14 yards and had a scramble for 10 yards and a first down earlier in the possession. — Chris Bumbaca

Packers have touchdown lead after first quarter

The Green Bay Packers lead the New York Giants 7-0 at the end of the first quarter.

The Packers are outpacing the Giants 86 yards of offense to 28. Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love is 6-of-9 for 57 yards. For New York, both Saquon Barkley and quarterback Tommy DeVito have 11 yards rushing.

The lone score of the game came toward the end of the period when Jordan Love handed the ball to wide receiver Jayden Reed, who scampered to his right along the sideline and trotted into the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown.

The previous possession, Giants kicker Randy Bullock missed a 48-yard field goal. — Victoria Hernandez

Packers 7, Giants 0: Jayden Reed gets Green Bay on the board

The Packers finally reached the end zone after punts on their first two drives.

Green Bay’s seven-play, 62-yard drive was highlighted by running back AJ Dillon had a 35-yard reception, and two plays later rookie wide receiver Jayden Reed took a jet sweep 16 yards to the house for the Packers touchdown.

Reed now has two rushing touchdowns this season. — Tyler Dragon

Giants fail to take advantage of great field position

The Giants and Packers are still scoreless.

The Giants started with the football on Green Bay’s 32-yard line and were unable to come away with any points. New York was only able to manage two yards in four plays. To make matters worse, Giants kicker Randy Bullock sailed a 48-yard field goal wide right at the end of New York’s second series. — Tyler Dragon

Crime time?

Specifically, it’s a crime this is the Giants’ fifth (and final) appearance in prime time this season. The G-Men, who will fall into a last-place tie with Washington in the NFC East with a defeat tonight, lost their first four appearances under the lights this season by an average of 21 points. But if you just can’t get enough of Big Blue, you can catch New York again on Christmas afternoon (Monday, Dec. 25), when they head to Philadelphia to play the Eagles. — Nate Davis

Is Tommy DeVito related to Danny DeVito?

New York Giants rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito is in a unique set of circumstances for an NFL quarterback. And it’s not just because he’s was an undrafted free agent. Despite being elevated to the Giants’ active roster after starting the season on the practice squad, DeVito still lives at home with his parents.

DeVito shares a last name with ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ actor Danny DeVito, and Tommy’s hometown of Livingston, N.J. is a one hour drive from where Danny grew up in Neptune Township, N.J. Despite those facts, there is no evidence that the two are related. — Jack McKessy

December to remember?

The Packers haven’t lost a game in December since the 2018 season, when Joe Philbin was their interim head coach after replacing fired — you guessed it — Mike McCarthy. Current boss Matt LaFleur’s 16-0 record in the month is the best mark in NFL history for a HC. — Nate Davis

Love is in the air

Packers QB Jordan Love has four games with at least three touchdown passes, the second most in the NFL. Love has eight touchdowns and no picks during Green Bay’s three-game winning streak. — Tyler Dragon

Giants wearing throwback uniforms against Packers

Monday night is one of the New York Giants’ “Legacy Games” where the team is wearing their throwback uniforms at MetLife Stadium. The uniforms feature the blue color the team wore in the 1980s and 1990s and a bold red stripe on the helmet, down the side of the pants and on jersey details.

The throwback uniforms have a bit of good juju. The Giants also wore them in a Week 7 win over the Washington Commanders. They donned the jerseys twice last year — in a win over the Chicago Bears and in a tie against the Commanders. — Victoria Hernandez

PHOTOS: Throwback and alternate uniforms worn during 2023 season

Diehard Packers fan Lil Wayne is hyped for MNF game vs. Giants

Rapper Lil Wayne is loving the Green Bay Packers in 2023.

And if you didn’t know by how much he’s been featured during Packers games this season, the legendary rapper is one of the team’s biggest celebrity fans. The longtime Packers supporter tweeted out a ‘Go Pack Go!!!!’ chant, the team’s rallying cry ahead of Green Bay’s ‘Monday Night Football’ game against the Giants. — Christopher Kuhagen, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Packers elevate RB Kenyan Drake ahead of MNF

The Packers are hoping to give their run game a boost. They elevated running back Kenyan Drake from the practice squad on Monday ahead of their primetime matchup.

The eight-year veteran signed with the team on Tuesday after being released by the Baltimore Ravens in October. The Packers are without Aaron Jones, who is recovering from a knee injury and AJ Dillon has been limited with a groin injury

Drake was a third-round draft pick by the Miami Dolphins in 2016 after playing college ball at Alabama. His best season in the NFL was in 2020 with the Arizona Cardinals when he had 239 carries for 955 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. — Victoria Hernandez

What time does Packers vs. Giants start?

Kickoff for the Packers-Giants game is 8:15 p.m. ET from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

How can I watch Packers vs. Giants?

Packers-Giants will air on ABC, with streaming available on ESPN+. Joe Buck (play-by-play) and Troy Aikman (analyst) will call the game, with Lisa Salters reporting from the sidelines.

Packers vs. Giants inactives: Aaron Jones, Christian Watson out for Green Bay

The Packers will be without a number of key players against the Giants, as running back Aaron Jones (knee) remains out and wide receiver Christian Watson (hamstring) will not play Monday night. Newly acquired running back Kenyan Drake has been elevated to the active roster.

Packers Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander (shoulder) will miss his fifth straight game. Linebacker Quay Walker (shoulder) had been listed as doubtful for Monday night’s game, but is out.

Packers’ inactive players:

LB Quay WalkerWR Christian WatsonCB Jaire AlexanderCB Kyu Blu KellyRB Aaron JonesOT Caleb Jones

Giants’ inactive players:

WR Parris CampbellRB Jashuan CorbinS Gervarrius OwensLB Boogie BashamOT Evan Neal

Why are there two MNF games being played at the same time?

A new scheduling wrinkle for the 2023 NFL season included two ‘Monday Night Football’ games being played simultaneously.

This first-ever simultaneous kickoffs MNF presentation is being done so that ‘ESPN and the NFL transform a Sunday afternoon environment into a primetime window,’ per ESPN.

This is the third time this season that there are multiple ‘Monday Night Football’ games on the same night. It had previously occurred during Week 2 and Week 3, with kickoff times staggered. — Jim Reineking

ManningCast will follow two games

The ManningCast for Week 14 figures to the most manic yet.

For ‘Monday Night Football,’ Peyton Manning and Eli Manning will juggle two games on their alternate ESPN2 telecast.

‘When situations dictate, Peyton and Eli will divert attention to a single game,’ per ESPN.

Comedian Nate Bargatze, former NFL offensive linemen Will Compton and Taylor Lewan, and Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins are the ManningCast guests for the Packers vs. Giants-Titans vs. Dolphins simulcast. — Josh Peter

Packers at Giants: Predictions, picks and odds 

The Packers are favorites to defeat the Giants, according to BetMGM NFL odds. 

Spread: Packers (-5.5) Moneyline: Packers (-250); Giants (+200)Over/under: 37Lorenzo Reyes: Packers 26, Giants 12 — Green Bay has turned its season around and coach Matt LaFleur is 16-0 all-time in December games. And while the Giants have won two in a row, they were against the Commanders and Patriots.Tyler Dragon: Packers 27, Giants 16 — Jordan Love has played the best football of his career in the past three games. Green Bay’s three-game winning streak came against the Chargers, Lions and Chiefs. Now the Packers play a struggling Giants squad with Tommy DeVito under center. It’s a safe bet the Packers will win their fourth in a row.Safid Deen: Packers 24, Giants 17 — Jordan Love is playing the best football of his young career, and the Packers are turning a corner in their rebuild around him. Green Bay should have enough to beat Tommy DeVito and the Giants.Victoria Hernandez: Packers 24, Giants 10 — The Packers made a huge statement by beating the Chiefs last week as Jordan Love seems to be improving in confidence and Jonathan Owens is breaking out as more than Simone Biles’ husband. The Giants are putting their trust in rookie Tommy DeVito and just don’t have enough tools to overtake Green Bay’s momentum.Jordan Mendoza: Packers 21, Giants 13 — Things are looking good in Green Bay with three straight wins, and with a favorable schedule it looks like a playoff spot could be in the future. The defense was able to contain Patrick Mahomes last week, which spells trouble for Tommy DeVito as the Giants suffer another primetime loss.

Playoff implications for ‘Monday Night Football’

A win by the Dolphins tonight moves them back into first place overall in the AFC, though Week 17’s visit to Baltimore could be decisive. Miami will remain the second seed with a loss.

Though a win is obviously preferable, the Packers will remain the NFC’s seventh seed regardless of tonight’s outcome. However if Green Bay loses, the San Francisco 49ers will become the first team in 2023 to clinch a playoff berth. — Nate Davis

Packers vs. Giants ‘Monday Night Football’ betting tips

Highlighting Monday Night Football odds, the Green Bay Packers are among the best bets for NFL Week 14 as road underdogs. The Packers are favored by 5.5 points over the New York Giants, according to the BetMGM NFL odds. Looking to wager? Check out the best mobile sports betting apps offering NFL betting promos in 2023.

There is also significant betting attention around the Miami Dolphins’ primetime game against the Tennessee Titans. According to the top NFL betting apps, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (+800) has some of the best NFL MVP betting odds in 2023. The Dolphins (+650) are among teams with the best Super Bowl betting odds.

Not interested in this game? Our guide to NFL betting odds, picks and spreads has you covered with Thursday Night Football odds, Sunday Night Football odds and more.

 If you’re new to sports betting, don’t worry. We have tips for beginners on how to place a bet online. And USA TODAY readers can claim exclusive promos and bonus codes with these online sportsbooks and sports betting sites. — Richard Morin

NFL Week 14 winners and losers

While the Chiefs embarrassed themselves with a meltdown after an offsides penalty, there’s a new balance of power in the NFC.

Here is USA TODAY Sports’ Lorenzo Reyes’ full rundown of the biggest winners and losers from Week 14.

32 things we learned from NFL Week 14

The NFC was thrown into delightful upheaval Sunday night, the Cowboys spanking the reigning conference champion Eagles. The victory moved ‘America’s Team’ into first place in the NFC East and dropped Philly to the fifth seed. — Nate Davis

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Week 14 breakdown: NFC thrown into delightful upheaval

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In the summer of 1889, pitcher James ‘Pud’ Galvin participated in a medical test at a college in Pittsburgh.

According to The Washington Post, the mustachioed right-hander received an injection of ‘the Brown-Séquard elixir’ − a concoction of testicular fluid from dogs and guinea pigs that was being touted at the time as the ‘elixir of life.’ Galvin proceeded to pitch a two-hit shutout in a win over the Boston Beaneaters the next day.

‘If there still be doubting Thomases who concede no virtue to the elixir, they are respectfully referred to Galvin’s record in (the) Boston-Pittsburgh game,’ the newspaper reported on Aug. 14, 1889. ‘It is the best proof yet furnished of the value of the discovery.’

More than a century later, Northeastern law professor Roger Abrams referenced this report in his 2007 book ‘The Dark Side of the Diamond: Gambling, Violence, Drugs and Alcoholism in the National Pastime.’ He referred to Galvin’s dose of the Brown-Séquard elixir as the first known instance of doping in baseball − making Galvin, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1965, the sport’s first known doper.

Though there are lingering questions about whether the 5-foot-8, 190-pound pitcher deserves that informal title, and the fact that there was no rule prohibiting the injection at the time, it indicates that baseball players were looking for performance-enhancing substances roughly 106 years before the dawn of Major League Baseball’s steroid era.

HOT STOVE UPDATES: MLB free agency: Ranking and tracking the top players available.

It’s also a fascinating footnote to Galvin’s career, which was among the most dominant of the 19th century.

Supposedly nicknamed ‘Pud’ because of his ability to turn opposing hitters into metaphorical pudding, Galvin pitched for 16 years in four leagues, drawing acclaim for his durability and an incredible pick-off move. According to The Society for American Baseball Research, he was the first pitcher to reach 300 career wins and the first to throw a perfect game. (Unfortunately, SABR added, these accomplishments came ‘before the existence of the term ‘perfect game,’ and in an age that had no sense of the meaning of 300 career victories.’)

By 1889, Galvin was 32 and starting to fade with the middling Pittsburgh Alleghenys. In the preceding three years, he had pitched more than 1,300 innings, including an unconscionable 145 complete games.

It was around this time that physiologist Charles-Édouard Brown-Séquard was trumpeting the effects of his new elixir, which he said could improve mental focus, physical strength and sexual prowess. His proof? For three weeks, Brown-Séquard, then 72, had injected the substance himself. He wrote that he felt more energized than he had in years and was able to lift heavier items.

Some newspapers bought the hype, touting the Brown-Séquard elixir to their readers as the ‘medicine of the future.’ They published comical stories of men who felt its effects almost immediately − walking into a test on crutches, for example, and then being able to leave an hour later without them. But over time, it was proven to be a fake.

This, of course, begs questions about Galvin, who died of stomach illness in 1902, at 45. If the Brown-Séquard elixir didn’t work, should it really be considered doping? And if ingesting this substance wasn’t against baseball’s rules at the time, should Galvin even warrant mention as a doper?

Those questions are ultimately for history to decide. What’s clear, however, is that performance-enhancing drug use in baseball predates the steroid era by more than a century − to the time of mustachioed pitchers and elixirs made of guinea pigs’ testicular fluid, one of many strange chapters in the sport’s long history.

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @Tom_Schad.

Every week for the duration of the 2023 NFL regular season, USA TODAY Sports will provide real-time updates to the league’s ever-evolving playoff picture − starting after Sunday afternoon’s late games and then moving forward for the remainder of the week (through Thursday’s game or Saturday’s, if applicable).

What just happened? What does it mean? What are the pertinent factors (and, perhaps, tiebreakers) prominently in play as each conference’s seven-team bracket begins to crystallize? All will be explained and analyzed up to the point when the postseason field is finalized on Sunday night, Jan. 7.

Here’s where things stand with Week 14 of the 2023 season complete:

NFC playoff picture

x – 1. San Francisco 49ers (10-3), NFC West leaders: They became the first team to clinch a berth courtesy of the Packers’ loss Monday night. With wins in hand against the Eagles and Cowboys, the Niners had previously moved into the top seed following Dallas’ defeat of Philadelphia on Sunday evening. Next up, Arizona – a team the Niners have beaten three times in a row. Remaining schedule: at Cardinals, vs. Ravens, at Commanders, vs. Rams

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

2. Dallas Cowboys (10-3), NFC East leaders: With a 15th consecutive home win, they wrested first place from Philadelphia on Sunday night. However, ‘America’s Team’ will give it back if the Eagles win out given the tiebreakers will revert to Philly’s favor given how the schedule unfolds − and Dallas’ remaining games are no cakewalk. Remaining schedule: at Bills, at Dolphins, vs. Lions, at Commanders

3. Detroit Lions (9-4), NFC North leaders: Sunday’s loss in Chicago probably won’t haunt them in terms of winning the division. But any hopes of quietly snagging the conference’s No. 1 seed are quickly slipping away after a second loss in the past three games. Remaining schedule: vs. Broncos, at Vikings, at Cowboys, vs. Vikings

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-7), NFC South leaders: Sunday’s win at Atlanta vaults the Bucs to the top of the division thanks to a very slim lead over the Falcons in the common-games tiebreaker given their season split and identical 3-1 mark in NFC South games. Still, hardly time to relax given both Atlanta and New Orleans are also 6-7. Remaining schedule: at Packers, vs. Jaguars, vs. Saints, at Panthers

5. Philadelphia Eagles (10-3), wild card No. 1: Their loss at Dallas knocked them from first place in the conference to fifth. However win out, against a very manageable schedule, and the reigning NFC champs will again be kings of the NFC East. A seemingly tired bunch could benefit from an extra day off ahead of Week 15’s Monday nighter at Seattle. Remaining schedule: at Seahawks, vs. Giants, vs. Cardinals, at Giants

6. Minnesota Vikings (7-6), wild card No. 2: Winning 3-0 is still a win and strengthened the Vikes’ prospects on a weekend when the Packers, Falcons, Rams and Seahawks lost. Minnesota could still make a run at the NFC North given both dates with Detroit are ahead. Remaining schedule: at Bengals, vs. Lions, vs. Packers, at Lions

7. Green Bay Packers (6-7), wild card No. 3: They retain the conference’s final wild-card spot despite seeing their three-game winning streak come to an end Monday night against the Giants. No margin for error amid a five-team cluster of 6-7 teams, the Pack’s defeat of the Rams and 4-4 record in conference games presently serving them well in the tiebreaker department. Remaining schedule: vs. Buccaneers, at Panthers, at Vikings, vs. Bears

8. Los Angeles Rams (6-7), out of playoff field:Heartbreaking loss in Baltimore on Sunday, but they’re still knocking on the door …. though the Week 9 loss at Green Bay without QB Matthew Stafford could ultimately hurt quite a bit. Remaining schedule: vs. Commanders, vs. Saints, at Giants, at 49ers

9. Seattle Seahawks (6-7), out of playoff field: That’s five defeats in their past six outings, Sunday’s loss at San Francisco coming with QB1 Geno Smith unable to play. Dropping both games to the Rams could be a lingering issue. And they’re only ahead of Atlanta by virtue of a very slim lead in NFC games, Seattle’s 5-5 mark a half-game better. Remaining schedule: vs. Eagles, at Titans, vs. Steelers, at Cardinals

10. Atlanta Falcons (6-7), out of playoff field: They plummeted from fourth in the conference after losing at home to the Bucs. But the NFC South remains eminently winnable. Remaining schedule: at Panthers, vs. Colts, at Bears, at Saints

11. New Orleans Saints (6-7), out of playoff field: They didn’t make up any ground despite blowing out the Panthers. But the NFC South remains eminently winnable. Remaining schedule: vs. Giants, at Rams, at Buccaneers, vs. Falcons

AFC playoff picture

1. Baltimore Ravens (10-3), AFC North leaders: The first AFC club to 10 wins, they retain the conference’s top spot after Miami was upset by Tennessee on Monday night. Baltimore’s next three contests will come against division leaders. Remaining schedule: at Jaguars, at 49ers, vs. Dolphins, vs. Steelers

2. Miami Dolphins (9-4), AFC East leaders: Penal loss cost them the opportunity to move back atop the conference and dropped them to 6-3 in AFC games (same as Baltimore). Their Week 9 loss to Kansas City also means they can’t afford to let the Chiefs catch up to them. Still, win out and clinch home field and the bye. Remaining schedule: vs. Jets, vs. Cowboys, at Ravens, vs. Bills

3. Kansas City Chiefs (8-5), AFC West leaders: A 6-2 record in AFC games and wins over Miami and Jacksonville keep K.C. viable to play a sixth consecutive AFC title game at Arrowhead Stadium. Sunday’s loss to Buffalo was damaging to that aim, but the final four games shouldn’t be. Remaining schedule: at Patriots, vs. Raiders, vs. Bengals, at Chargers

4. Jacksonville Jaguars (8-5), AFC South leaders: On the plus side, QB Trevor Lawrence was able to play through his ankle injury Sunday and survived the game. Even better, on a day when the Jags lost, so did their closest division pursuers, Houston and Indianapolis. But two setbacks in six days pretty much eliminates any hopes of home-field advantage. Remaining schedule: vs. Ravens, at Buccaneers, vs. Panthers, at Titans

5. Cleveland Browns (8-5), wild card No. 1: Things are looking up by Lake Erie. The Browns not only vanquished the Jaguars, they gladly settled on their new QB1, deserving Joe Flacco, for the rest of the season. Throw in the fact Cleveland picked up a game on Houston, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh in the wild-card race, and the Factory of Sadness could be grinding to a halt. Remaining schedule: vs. Bears, at Texans, vs. Jets, at Bengals

6. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6), wild card No. 2: Despite consecutive losses to previously two-win teams and falling out of the field following Thursday night’s loss to New England, they’re back in after watching so much of their competition trip Sunday … though staying there won’t be easy considering Pittsburgh’s remaining opponents. A win over Cincinnati, a common-games tiebreaker against Indianapolis – Week 15’s opponent – and a 5-4 record in AFC games give the Steelers the desired tiebreaker combo … for now. Remaining schedule: at Colts, vs. Bengals, at Seahawks, at Ravens

7. Indianapolis Colts (7-6), wild card No. 3: Beat Pittsburgh on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium, and the Colts pick up a crucial tiebreaker here … or else suffer a potentially crippling setback amid this jumbled field after Indianapolis coughed up its four-game winning streak Sunday in Cincinnati. Remaining schedule: vs. Steelers, at Falcons, vs. Raiders, vs. Texans

8. Houston Texans (7-6), out of playoff field: Rough loss to the New York Jets on Sunday, primarily so due to rookie QB C.J. Stroud landing in concussion protocol. A 4-4 record in AFC competition keeps them this high … for whatever it’s worth at this juncture, when that wider tiebreaker takes precedence with so many compressed teams. Remaining schedule: at Titans, vs. Browns, vs. Titans, at Colts

9. Denver Broncos (7-6), out of playoff field: Sunday’s defeat of the Chargers helps. Last week’s loss at Houston and a 4-5 mark in the AFC don’t. Remaining schedule: at Lions, vs. Patriots, vs. Chargers, at Raiders

10. Cincinnati Bengals (7-6), out of playoff field: QB Jake Browning’s impressive performances the past two weeks have restored them to the fringes of relevance … though a 3-6 record in conference matchups will likely be tough to overcome, even after knocking off Indianapolis. Remaining schedule: vs. Vikings, at Steelers, at Chiefs, vs. Browns

11. Buffalo Bills (7-6), out of playoff field: Despite all the adversity, on and off the field, there’s a strong heartbeat here – especially after knocking off the Chiefs at Arrowhead again. But Buffalo isn’t turning recent wins into playoff progress yet, losses to Cincinnati and Denver keeping them suppressed for the time being. And yet the division crown is again a possibility if the Bills can sweep Miami and get a little help. Remaining schedule: vs. Cowboys, at Chargers, vs. Patriots, at Dolphins

x – clinched playoff berth

***

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter @ByNateDavis.

Playing Major League Baseball these days means receiving consistent reminders of what you cannot do.

A pregame clubhouse routine might be disrupted by a handful of strangers clad in khakis and black polos bearing the logo of Comprehensive Drug Testing, seeking a urine sample that will be tested for performance-enhancing drugs.

Jogging in from the bullpen isn’t just a time to focus on your task or vibe to your entrance music; that moment will be disrupted by an umpire stopping you in your tracks, performing a hand and glove inspection for banned foreign substances.

And if you happen to wander the nether reaches of the field level during a game, you’re likely to encounter a security official or a compliance monitor, making sure you’re not palling around in the replay room to steal signs.

Ballplayers did not invent cheating in sports — certainly, ancient Greece had to have a Rosie Ruiz or two — but they might have perfected it.

HOT STOVE UPDATES: MLB free agency: Ranking and tracking the top players available.

Yet after more than a century of sign-stealing, spitballing and chemical enhancement, they are finding — sometimes welcoming — greater light shone into their game of shadows, making subterfuge harder than it’s ever been.

“I would argue the game is clean as ever,” says relief pitcher Brent Suter, an eight-year veteran and a member of the MLB Players’ Association’s executive subcommittee.

“Which is a good thing.”

In another era, Suter’s declaration might sound like so much player pablum, meant to divert prying eyes from nefarious acts.

After all, it took half a century for details of the 1951 New York Giants’ relatively elaborate sign-stealing system at the Polo Grounds that culminated in Bobby Thomson’s Shot Heard ‘Round The World to fully emerge.

Gaylord Perry was practically celebrated for his blatant cheating, leveraging his ball-doctoring into a personal brand long after his 22-year Hall of Fame career concluded.

For more than a decade, a collective nothing-to-see-here attitude helped fuel the height of the so-called steroid era, with players citing better diets or hard work to explain their wildly improved production.

And the biggest cheating scandal of this century – the Houston Astros’ electronic sign-stealing scheme – went two years before coming to light, capping a period where roughly a half-dozen perennial playoff clubs contended the other guys were cheating.

Now, those aforementioned and alleged acts have been met with significant deterrents.

“They do a lot to uphold the integrity of the game and make sure guys aren’t cheating,” Baltimore Orioles All-Star outfielder Austin Hays says of MLB’s myriad enforcement arms. “They put a lot of time and effort and employees into doing that. There’s really not anybody trying anymore.

“It’s why you don’t see guys getting suspended or popped for stuff. There’s such an emphasis on it and already so many people around, enforcing it. …

“You know it’s there. And there’s no way you can ever get away with it. So, people don’t even try.”

OK, so maybe we won’t go that far.

Yet it’s hard to deny that the modern player is enjoying the ostensibly less paranoid state of play their predecessors occupied.

X-raying bats, hiding cameras, banging on trash can lids

In Whitey Herzog’s 18-year managerial career, there were no league officials combing the catacombs of stadiums. So, he took it upon himself to form a one-person enforcement arm.

“I used to get the bats X-rayed from visiting teams when they came in to see who was corking their bats,” says Herzog, who won three pennants and one World Series title from 1973 to 1990.

“You’d be surprised what I found.’’

He had his reasons for cynicism.

Herzog, now 91, still views the 1987 World Series with some bitterness. His 95-win St. Louis Cardinals were heavily favored over the 85-win Minnesota Twins, who had a unique homefield advantage at the raucous Metrodome, with its jet-plane crowd noise and funky dimensions.

The old manager insists the advantage extended beyond that.

The ’87 Twins were 56-25 at the Metrodome, 29-52 on the road. And the World Series mirrored that disparity.

In that era, home-field advantage for the Series alternated by league and it was the AL’s turn to host. And the Twins took advantage, winning all four games at the Metrodome.

Run differential: Twins 33, Cardinals 12.

Back in St. Louis, the Cardinals won all three games. Run differential: Cardinals 14, Twins 5.

“I’ll always be convinced that something was going on,” says Herzog. “They were just a different team at home than on the road.’’

Multiple retired players mentioned Minnesota as a sign-stealing nest. To which retired reliever LaTroy Hawkins, who pitched at the Metrodome from 1995-2003 replies, “I’ve heard all of those stories, with guys signaling from the outfield and bullpens, but I don’t believe all of that.

“I know people thought we were cheating in Minnesota. If we were, we were doing a horsebleep job at it.’’

While the 2017 Houston Astros’ scheme was startling in its ability to leverage technology to capture signs – a camera stationed in center field, its feed beamed to a video monitor in the home dugout tunnel – passing the signs to the batter was a decidedly low-tech mechanism:

Banging on a trash can.

In a sense, that binds the Astros’ scandal to those of long-ago eras, with the whatever-works ethos of sign-stealing still applying. Those ’51 New York Giants utilized a crude buzzer system to deliver signs, perhaps inspiring the paranoia that assumed Houston Astro Jose Altuve was doing the same all the way into 2019.

Yet it was definitely more challenging in the low-def era.

“I don’t feel ashamed in saying this,” says Tony Clark, executive director of the MLB Players’ Association and a first baseman from 1995-2009. “The VHS tapes I watched weren’t clear enough to pick up half the stuff we’re looking at now.

“But as a result of that, the human eye picked up a lot of those things.”

Indeed, even the sign theft aided and abetted by technology still takes a human touch, be it the “relatively low level employees” of the Astros, as commissioner Rob Manfred called them, decoding signs on a computer or a crafty veteran player who can quickly pick up sign sequences or a pitcher tipping their pitches.

Every era has its class of player skilled in the game’s “dark arts,” a skill so valued it might enable a fringe veteran to hang on a year or two at the end of a career. Hawkins says Barry Bonds was as studious as any player in decoding signs, along with Torii Hunter and, at the end of his career, Jose Bautista and Dioner Navarro in Toronto.

While a player from virtually any era – and even the league’s enforcement arm today – will say picking up signs without using real-time technology is always fair game, one thing that has changed is the vigilante justice.

And if it’s suspected something greater is going on, teams will play offense.

That’s what the Astros claimed they were doing when an employee was caught snooping around Cleveland’s dugout during the 2018 American League Division Series, and again during an AL Championship Series game against the Red Sox.

They did the same at Dodger Stadium during the 2017 World Series and a regular season series in 2018, concerned outfield cameras might be trained on their catchers’ signs (loosely mirroring what the Astros were doing at home in that timeframe).

That paranoia predates the HD era. One former manager, speaking on condition of anonymity, says several skippers were concerned about a series of cameras spotted at Shea Stadium during Bobby Valentine’s first year as Mets manager.

At one point, Braves manager Bobby Cox heard enough to convince him to simply drape towels over those cameras.

Nearly three decades later, teams are far less overt in signaling their intentions, but no less vigilant.

“There just aren’t that many signs anymore,” says Dan Wilson, a member of the Seattle Mariners’ hall of fame and now a minor league catching instructor for the club. “Base coaches don’t give that many signs.

“But it is interesting to me, at a time when there’s the least number of signs going on, we got the most paranoia.”

That goes to the heart of what’s always been a value proposition for cheating in baseball: Is the risk worth the punishment?

Steroid era, microdosing and the summer of ’98

MLB’s public-facing drug program still catches its cheats. According to the joint year-end reports provided by the league and MLBPA, 43 players tested positive for banned substances in the six years between 2018 and 2023. In years unaffected by COVID-19 or the lockout, roughly 11,500 urine and blood tests are annually administered for the 1,200 players on 40-man rosters.

Most notably, San Diego Padres superstar Fernando Tatis received an 80-game suspension in August 2022 after testing positive for clostebol, a testosterone derivative. The suspension cost Tatis nearly $3 million in salary and barred him from the club’s 2022 playoff run, the 2023 World Baseball Classic and the first three weeks of this season.

While the game’s Joint Drug Agreement has been strengthened multiple times since 2005 – a first-time offender in 2005 drew a 10-game suspension; now it’s 80 games – it is surely not foolproof.

The most jarring reminder came in 2013, when published reports from the Miami New Times connected more than a dozen players to the Biogenesis clinic in South Florida, prompting an aggressive MLB investigation.

Fourteen players – including former MVPs Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun – were suspended by MLB, based on a preponderance of evidence. Yet none of those players ever failed an MLB-administered drug test.

Three players who received banned substances from Biogenesis – Bartolo Colon, Melky Cabrera and Yasmani Grandal – did test positive in 2012. Yet those suspensions might be more attributable to user error.

While the game is long removed from the absurd physiques and tape-measure feats of the early 2000s, those familiar with PED use say there are ways around the drug policy. Most notably, micro-dosing – or, taking PEDs in such small quantities that it clears the system before testing – is one way to stay beneath the 4-to-1 ratios of illegal substances that triggers an additional specimen analysis.

“They figure out how fast your body assimilates your dosage, you got 18 to 24 hours, so you calculate that,” says one former player who used PEDs in the pre-testing era. “They don’t bother to check what’s in your system until you trigger the 4-to-1 ratio.

“If they really want to catch the guy, do the secondary test first. That tests the illegal compound in your blood. The ratio would be insignificant. You would see what’s in your bloodstream. But they don’t want to catch the guys.”

If anything, the game’s drug policy remains fluid. Certainly, almost every player testing positive has trotted some form of the “dog ate my homework” defense since 2005. But a group of players testing positive for Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone – or DHCMT, a Turinabol derivative – have adamantly professed their innocence.

From 2015-2021, 23 major- and minor-league players were suspended for DHCMT, a career-ending sentence for those on the fringes of rosters. In 2020, three players were suspended for DHCMT even though just 4,155 drug screens were administered due to the pandemic – compared to two suspensions in 2018 among 11,526 tests.

According to The Athletic, the MLBPA sought and received revisions regarding DHCMT ahead of the 2022 collective bargaining agreement; the specifics were not known but the union sought to raise the minimum threshold to 100 picograms before triggering a positive test, a similar level as the UFC.

In 2022 and 2023, no players tested positive for DHCMT. In a statement, MLB did not specify changes made to DHCMT, only confirming that it remains on the banned substances list. 

While the policy will remain imperfect – and players very likely will find ways to skirt it – the anecdotal and physical evidence points to a game far different than the chemically-enhanced one today’s generation grew up watching.

Multiple players remember the steroid era and the Mark McGwire-Sammy Sosa home run duel of 1998 fondly, yet appreciate the safeguards in place.

“Looking back, that was one of the funnest summers of baseball,” says Rockies pitcher Chase Anderson, who was 10 in that summer of ’98. “That really helped baseball. It grew the game, it became more of a global game.

“Obviously steroids and HGH and all those performance-enhancing (substances) are dangerous. It’s a slippery slope. But baseball has come a long way in that regard – testing is random now, it’s more often, it’s better testing, for everything – blood and urine. I think it’s cleaned the game up a lot.

“But the game has definitely evolved in a way that it’s a more even playing ground for everybody. And I think that’s what everybody wants.”

It’s a sentiment that’s greatly evolved.

‘Sticky stuff’ and the plight of Hector Santiago

Consider the words of this Hall of Fame pitcher, whose career began shortly after Gaylord Perry’s and stretched through the teeth of the steroid era.

“Look, everybody was doing something,” says the pitcher, who spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity in order to speak freely. “As you get older, you do different things. You learn to scuff the ball. We all saw it growing up, and you learn from the best. It doesn’t mean you did it all of the time.

“Hey, if you’re not cheating, you’re not trying, right? That’s what we were always taught.”

And now consider the plight of Hector Santiago.

A decent left-handed pitcher and a 2015 All-Star, Santiago wrote a letter to all 30 teams aiming for a shot in 2021 after he was unemployed during the COVID-truncated 2020 season. The Seattle Mariners bit, and after three starts at Class AAA Tacoma, Santiago was back in the bigs.

Alas, in May 2021, with the leaguewide batting average at an all-time low of .236, MLB announced that in-game checks for banned substances – or “sticky stuff” would commence June 1.

Almost immediately, the June batting average was .246. And on June 29, Santiago became the first player suspended after umpires found foreign substances on his glove during a game.

Santiago served his suspension, returned for four games – and received an 80-game suspension after testing positive for exogenous testosterone.

Santiago pitched this season for Monclova in the Mexican League, likely never to return to the majors after running afoul of two policies.

While MLB’s sticky stuff policy remains an evolution, and the search for a universally approved substance elusive, ballplayers have seemingly taken the lessons learned from the steroid era and applied it to this one.

Sure, some tack to control the ball is great – but not to the point of affecting competition. And certainly not to the point of improving a player who might take the job of someone competing fairly.

“When the stick changes who you are,” says veteran catcher James McCann of the Baltimore Orioles. “It’s the taking a guy who already has good stuff and turns him into a guy with Hall of Fame type stuff. Or a below average guy becoming above average.”

As McCann puts it, technology such as StatCast – measuring exit velocity and spin since 2015 – means there’s so much “you can put a number behind.” The average spin rate on a four-seam fastball dropped 3% – from 2,308 rpm to 2,248 rpm – from the first three months of the 2021 season to the period after hand and glove inspections commenced.

When it crept back up at various points since, MLB announced each of the past two off-seasons more frequent and thorough checks. And perhaps that’s most indicative of flouting the rules in baseball: It will never end.

In August, Padres pitcher Seth Lugo gave up eight runs in one inning and attributed part of it to the Dodgers stealing signs from second base. While he did not insinuate a greater role technology might have played a part, it served to arouse feelings around the Dodgers that have festered since the 2018 postseason, when virtually every club was pointing fingers at another.

In 2023, the Dodgers batted .269 with a runner on second base, .255 without.

“It sounds like an excuse,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said in reaction to Lugo’s comments. “A lot of times it’s unfounded. But I think the reputation itself clearly does enough to impact the pitcher.”

That reputation resurfaced in February, when ‘Winning Fixes Everything’, the book detailing the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal and organizational evolution, was released. It cited a Red Sox official who claimed MLB knew the Dodgers were cheating and did nothing and detailed an anecdote of Joc Pederson visiting the Fenway Park video room during the 2018 World Series and asking Chase Utley if he’d picked up the pitcher’s signs yet.

Roberts said MLB investigated the Dodgers and cleared them of wrongdoing.

“In general, if people aren’t asking about investigations, we don’t announce that we’re doing that,” Manfred said in February. “I think it has been without fail, if we find something in an investigation, we discipline and we make that discipline public and usually have written some explanation for why we’re doing what we’re doing.”

Cat-and-mouse games continue, but MLB’s deterrents very real

Pitchers and catchers also have a new ally in the fight – PitchCom, billed as “the best covert sports communication system.” It was approved before the 2022 season and now is in use by a vast majority of pitchers who receive the sign in an earpiece from a catcher who pushes a button.

In some cases, it is the pitcher who calls his pitch. Either way, it allows both to sleep better at night.

“I don’t have to worry about doing mental pretzels with a guy on second, trying to mix up the sign sequences,” says Padres catcher Kyle Higashioka. “Now I can focus on calling the pitch and everything else rather than, how am I going to fool the guy on second?”

Naturally, the cat-and-mouse between pitcher and hitter and league and player will never end. Yet the deterrents are very real, a surprise drug test or additional substance check making a player think twice, at least, about getting around the rules.

Some fans even do the league’s work for them, still booing Astros like Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve or former Houston players Carlos Correa and George Springer wherever they might be, four years after their indiscretions came to light and six years after they occurred.

“I think everyone is afraid after what happened in Houston,” says veteran infielder Kolten Wong. “Nobody wants to be a part of something like that and have that reputation.

“You live with that forever.”

Follow Gabe Lacques on social media @GabeLacques and Bob Nightengale @BNightengale