Larry Csonka has long been unique. He’s in the Hall of Fame. He was part of the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins team. He was one of the toughest players in the history of the league. But he has become something else besides a legendary player. Csonka has become a reminder of the league’s great past.

The legacy of Csonka’s undefeated team remained secure after Kansas City lost to Buffalo on Nov. 17. Those Dolphins remain the only team in the Super Bowl era to complete a full regular season and postseason undefeated.

After Kansas City fell, Csonka posted a photo of himself celebrating how their legacy remains intact. Csonka doesn’t do this to be obnoxious. He does it so people remember the greatness of that team and that generation of football.

And you know what? I’m glad he does it. We all need history lessons. We all need to remember the people who built the league we watch and love today. Sometimes they’re forgotten. Sometimes people think the NFL started with Tom Brady. It didn’t.

To Csonka, the Dolphins’ mark recognizes what he calls the Dolphins’ attention to detail, which he believes most teams that play today can’t match.

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But there’s something bigger in play about that Dolphins team. The league has become a high-tech, ratings machine. It’s slick and ever-present and inevitable. There are good people in the league, on the field and in the league office. At times, though, it feels like a conveyor belt. Some of the games look the same. The NFL is a factory. A wildly successful one. But a factory nonetheless.

This team from the land of bellbottoms and disco stays relevant in the era of iPhones and electric cars because they remind us of a league that while it had massive cultural faults, while it didn’t always care about the safety of its players, the game was about details and deep care. Again, there are elements of this now, but then, paying attention to the small things was everything.

‘I’d like to tell you our success came down to some great strategic thing,’ Csonka told USA TODAY Sports, ‘but that would be bull—-. For us, it was attention to detail. We worked hard to take care of the smallest things. We really strived for that. That was because of a guy named (Don) Shula.

‘For us, that attention to detail didn’t just enhance your play, it enhanced the play of your teammates. You became obsessed with that attention to detail. Also, we became each other’s biggest supporters and critics.’

Does Csonka ever think any team will duplicate what the Dolphins did? ‘I think it’s less likely as time goes on,’ Csonka said. ‘The number of games keeps increasing, too.’

Actually, to me, the odds are almost zero. The parity is a big reason why. Teams are close in abilities but a bigger reason is what Csonka explained: the increasing number of games. Would anyone be shocked to see the NFL in the coming decades go to a 19 or 20 game season? Not me. There’s too much money involved. At least for now. The more games are added, the threat to Miami’s achievement is reduced almost exponentially.

Csonka has written a book about his career in the league and it perfectly captures his impact on it. You cannot write the history of the league without the ’72 Dolphins and you cannot write the history of the Dolphins without Csonka.

Remember him. Remember this team. We may never see anything like it again.

Ever.

(This story was updated with new information.)

When on the Hawaiian islands, one must remember to spread aloha. If you don’t have the aloha spirit, bad things tend to happen − even when in paradise.

Dan Hurley clearly didn’t get the memo as Connecticut team finished last with an 0-3 record at the Maui Invitational.

It was a trip to forget for the Huskies as they went from a team appearing good enough to be the second one to win three consecutive national championships to one that would be lucky to get out of the first round of the tournament. They saw their 17-game win streak end to Memphis in the first game and lost another close to Colorado before getting blown out by Dayton to finish the tournament.

As bad as it was to leave the islands without a win, Hurley also did damage to his reputation. Sure, he’s a proven winner and one of the more fiery coaches in the country, but his poor sideline behavior was on full display. Referees have been lenient with him for long, but the tantrums needed a punishment at some point. Even when he got a deserved technical in late in the loss to Memphis, he still found a way to blast the officiating. Clearly, no self-reflecting coming any time soon, and that’s why Connecticut leads the early editions of men’s college basketball winners and losers.

Winners

Auburn

Kansas started the season at No. 1 and hasn’t done anything to lose it, but Auburn has been playing like the best team in the country. After a poor first half in the first game of the Maui Invitational against Iowa State, the Tigers stormed back to beat the Cyclones at the last second. They then got past North Carolina before overwhelming Memphis in the tournament final.

While playing like the best team in the country, they may have one of the best players in Johni Broome. He not only leads the country in rebounds per game (12.9), but he finished the tournament averaging 21.7 points and 15.0 rebounds per game, dominating near the basket with fellow big man Dylan Cardwell helping them become a powerful frontcourt.

Oregon

The team to beat in the Big Ten? It may actually be the Ducks. They finished the weekend the winners of the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas and are unbeaten through eight games.

Dana Altman lost much of the production from last year’s tournament team but he has reloaded and has the Ducks on a hot start. After posting a second half comeback against No. 19 Texas A&M and handling San Diego State, Oregon went up against the high-paced No. 9 Alabama offense and kept it in check en route to a last second win over the Crimson Tide.

Memphis

After last season’s collapse, Penny Hardaway entered this campaign with a near entirely new roster and his seat getting hotter as the team headed to Maui. The Tigers started with a bang when they took down Connecticut and then held off Michigan State in the semifinal. Memphis did lose to Auburn in the final, but it was a third game in three days. It was a week Memphis should be extremely proud of and found playmakers in Tyrese Hunter and PJ Haggerty, who lead the best 3-point shooting team in at 46.9%.

Oklahoma

The Battle 4 Atlantis was wide open, and Oklahoma took advantage by winning the tournament in the Bahamas, collecting wins against Providence, No. 23 Arizona and Louisville along the way. The Sooners won’t wow you offensively, but they’ve been playing great defense, especially generating steals and disrupting teams from the 3-point line. Porter Moser has yet to make the tournament in his four years in Norman, but the Sooners off to a 7-0 start they are at looking like a team that could break that streak.

Louisville

Is Louisville actually back? The Cardinals certainly don’t appear to be a laughing stock anymore and Pat Kelsey may be the right guy after a second place finish in the Battle 4 Atlantis. They shed off old skin in the first game in the tournament when they blitz Indiana and the Hoosiers may still be wondering what happened. They then got a gritty win over West Virginia before falling to Oklahoma in the finals. Wisconsin transfer guard Chucky Hepburn has emerged as a leader and can help Louisville make a push toward playing meaningful March basketball.

West Virginia

After the mess that was last season, coach Darian DeVries and his son Tucker arrived in Morgantown and thing are looking up. The Mountaineers started the Battle 4 Atlantis with an overtime victory against No. 4 Gonzaga. West Virginia did lose to Louisville in the semifinals, but West Virginia recovered to beat Arizona in the third-place game. Tucker DeVries, the team’s second-leading scorer, made eight 3-pointers and totaled 26 points in the defeat of the Wildcats .

Losers

North Carolina

If it weren’t for a late Herculean effort against Dayton, North Carolina could’ve been the team that left Maui without a win; The Tar Heels were thumped by Auburn and then lost to Michigan State in the third-place game. North Carolina hasn’t looked anywhere near a contender so far and that’s in part to their poor starts against good teams − it had double-digit deficits in the first half of all three games in Maui. They’ve been able to make second-half adjustments, but it can’t simply be relying on that to salvage its season.

Houston

A team expected to compete for a national championship is leaving the Players Era Festival with two losses, one to Alabama and the other in an overtime stunner to San Diego State. What’s been odd is that the Cougars have done a good job taking care of the ball and forcing turnovers, but they’re letting opponents shoot too many free throws while not getting enough production outside of L.J. Cryer and Emanuel Sharp. The Cougars have been one of the winningest teams in the country, but they’ve already got three losses before even reaching the rough-and-tumble Big 12.

Creighton

Creighton again entered the season expected to provide the biggest challenge to Connecticut in the Big East, but now neither team looks like a conference champion after the first month. The Blue Jays lost the first two games of the Players Era Festival against San Diego State and Texas A&M before they held off Notre Dame in the seventh-place game. Creighton is now 5-3 but hasn’t beaten any high-caliber teams, a concerning sign for Greg McDermott’s squad.

Indiana

Knowing he needs to cool down the hot seat, Mike Woodson brought in a talent transfer portal class to contend in an open Big Ten. Instead his team’s performance at the Battle 4 Atlantis may have only intensified the pressure. Louisville may be a much improved team, but it still doesn’t excuse getting embarrassed by 28 points by the Cardinals. The Hoosiers then got quickly put away by Gonzaga before salvaging the trip against Providence for seventh place. The defense didn’t look good at all, and that’ll need to get fixed quickly.

Arizona

Tommy Lloyd has been a great regular season coach for Arizona so far, but it doesn’t look like the Wildcats are going to enjoy life in the strong Big 12. Already coming off poor showings against Wisconsin and Duke, Arizona needed to play well in the Bahamas but instead had a 1-2 trip that included losses to Oklahoma and West Virginia. The defense hasn’t been good and Caleb Love has really struggled in the games Arizona has dropped. A veteran like Love will have quickly build consistency before the Wildcats get into a conference that won’t have any easy weeks.

The 32 things we learned from Week 13 of the 2024 NFL season:

0. The jersey number of Houston Texans LB Azeez Al-Shaair, whose shamelessly reckless, dangerous, egregious and – insert any other appropriate adjective – dirty hit on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence concussed the fourth-year quarterback, ending his day early in a scary turn of events, one that also set off an on-field brawl while giving the Texans a competitive advantage in a game they needed to win. Thankfully, the officials immediately threw out Al-Shaair, who (for some reason) is a Texans team captain despite a growing résumé of questionable on-field conduct. Zero is an appropriate identifier for the sixth-year player.

1. The spot where Lawrence was selected atop a now star-crossed – at least as it pertains to quarterbacks – 2021 NFL draft. While the Jags’ QB1 has yet to live up to the Peyton Manning- or John Elway-level impact that was forecast for him coming out of Clemson, Lawrence sure has shown a high quotient of toughness. He started Sunday after missing a month with a serious injury to his non-throwing shoulder – despite how easy it would have been to shut down a season when Jacksonville is going nowhere fast. Give him deserved credit – and take note at his teammates’ instant reaction and retaliation as soon as he was knocked out by Al-Shaair. It says a lot for Lawrence.

2. Otherwise, just another day in the AFC South – pretty clearly the league’s worst division, its futility why teams like the Jaguars (2-10) and Tennessee Titans (3-9), who were embarrassed 42-19 by the Washington Commanders on Sunday, still have mathematical paths to the division crown.

2a. Though the Indianapolis Colts deserve a tip of the cap after a hard-fought 25-24 win over the Patriots in New England – the victory secured when HC Shane Steichen (successfully) went for the two-point conversion with 12 seconds to go, revitalized QB Anthony Richardson running it in after throwing the pivotal TD pass to WR Alec Pierce. The Colts (6-7) have already been swept by the Texans (8-5) but do have a very favorable closing stretch that includes meetings with the Titans, New York Giants and Jaguars.

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3. The number of teams eliminated from playoff contention: The Giants, Las Vegas Raiders and New England Patriots.

4. Miserable as the AFC South is, the 2024 NFC North might emerge as one of the better divisions in league history. The Detroit Lions are 11-1 for the first time in their 95-season history, yet have almost no room to spare with the Minnesota Vikings (10-2) and Green Bay Packers (9-3) breathing down their manes – and don’t forget what a fight the, yes, talented (but still hibernating) Chicago Bears put up in Motown on Thanksgiving … until they didn’t.

5. Huge game upcoming, when the Packers and Lions will again play on Thursday, meeting this week in Detroit. The Pack could become the division’s third 10-win team, while the NFC-leading Lions will hope to lock up the conference’s first playoff slot in Week 14.

6. The Vikes’ five-game winning streak is the league’s third longest right now, unsightly as it has been at times. Minnesota was largely outplayed Sunday by the Arizona Cardinals but won 23-22 thanks to the Cards’ pair of turnovers, pile of penalties (10) and failure to score a touchdown in five of their six red-zone penetrations.

6a. With a 99-yard game, Minnesota WR Justin Jefferson became the fourth player ever to post 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first five seasons. He joins Mike Evans, A.J. Green and Vikings legend and Hall of Famer Randy Moss.

7. Congrats to Seattle Seahawks QB Geno Smith, who helped hand the Jets another loss Sunday in his first start in the New York area against the team that drafted him 11 years ago before eventually giving up on him.

8. Number of snaps the Seahawks had inside the Jets’ 5-yard line on their first drive of the second half … but failed to score after Smith was sacked for a 15-yard loss on fourth-and-goal from the 1. Yet another remarkable aspect of Seattle’s comeback in a consequential 26-21 victory.

9. And congrats to Seahawks DE Leonard Williams, another ex-Jet who was their No. 6 overall pick in the 2015 draft. The “Big Cat,” who had a pair of sacks, earned his first win against Gang Green by personally wrecking a game the Jets led 21-7 before halftime and nearly put out of reach – until Williams’ 92-yard pick-six of Aaron Rodgers completely reversed the momentum.

9a. Williams’ pick-six was the longest in league history by a player weighing at least 300 pounds.

10. Number of sacks, the fewest in the league, the Atlanta Falcons began Sunday with … before bagging Los Angeles QB Justin Herbert five times.

11. That was just one component of a game the (nominal) NFC South leaders largely won on the stat sheet – the Falcons had 14 more first downs than the Bolts and outgained them by 163 yards – but were ultimately undone by QB Kirk Cousins tying his career high with four interceptions.

12. But, hey, it seemed like Michigan had no business beating Ohio State on Saturday – why shouldn’t coach Jim Harbaugh’s current team also be hailed as victors despite unfavorable circumstances?

13. Elsewhere, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have won the NFC South every year since 2021, beat the Carolina Panthers in overtime – and matched the Falcons with a 6-6 record atop the division. But, having suffered a season sweep to the Falcons, the Bucs will need to win one more game than Atlanta to keep their reign intact.

14. Penix time in ATL? Falcons HC Raheem Morris says no, but expect the hue and cry to get louder around a team that’s dropped three in a row.

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15. In a highly entertaining 44-38 defeat of the Cincinnati Bengals, the Pittsburgh Steelers were fueled by QB Russell Wilson, who passed for a season-best 414 yards and three touchdowns. It was Wilson’s first 400-yard game in five years and third of his career.

16. The last Pittsburgh passer to crack 400 yards was Ben Roethlisberger … six years ago.

17. Talk about ball distribution – 10 different Steelers caught a pass, and nine of them had at least 20 receiving yards – though none surpassed 75.

18. But maybe we need to start crediting Pittsburgh QB2 Justin Fields with saves to Wilson’s wins. Fields’ 7-yard run in the final two minutes provided the first down that allowed the Steelers to kill the clock.

19. A game with constant fireworks also included both the Steelers and Bengals getting penalized for more than 100 yards apiece.

20. The victory also ensured coach Pittsburgh Mike Tomlin, who was hired in 2007, has yet to taste a losing campaign.

21. The number of consecutive seasons the Steelers have not had a losing record, matching Tom Landry’s Dallas Cowboys (1965-85) for the longest run in league history at .500 or better.

22. The Titans rushed the ball 11 times for 35 yards Sunday … and were penalized 12 times for 93 yards. Not a team anyone will want to remember.

23. The number of times Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson has beaten NFC teams. But after going down to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, he’s now lost to the other conference twice.

24. Both of Jackson’s interconference losses have occurred against opponents featuring RB Saquon Barkley.

25. If Sunday was a referendum on the league’s best running back – All-Pro honors and perhaps Offensive Player of the Year recognition potentially at stake – Barkley might’ve gotten the best of Baltimore’s Derrick Henry, outgaining him by 6 yards and (more importantly) scoring a backbreaking touchdown in the fourth quarter of Philly’s 24-19 win.

26. A number the Lions couldn’t reach, their streak of consecutive games (playoffs included) with a rushing touchdown ending at 25 after the Bears kept them out of the end zone – on the ground anyway – on Thanksgiving.

27. Bad as it’s been for Chicago, let’s not write off rookie QB Caleb Williams prematurely. He’s throwing 232 passes (and counting) without an interception −a new rookie record.

28. Quite fortuitous that San Francisco 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey signed that (deserved) two-year, $38 million extension in June. Unfortunate he was injured again Sunday night and is so far removed from the bouquets being tossed at Barkley and Henry.

29. Never change, Mack Hollins.

29a. The barefooted Hollins was the perfect prelude to a night when the Bills were ice cold … but also on fire, smoking the Niners 35-10 in the snow to win the AFC East for the fifth consecutive season while securing the first home playoff game of the 2024 campaign.

29b. And perceived MVP frontrunner Josh Allen even did something no quarterback ever had in NFL history, producing TDs via air, land and hands in the same game.

30. Congrats to one of the players we respect the most, Commanders LB Bobby Wagner. Never like to make assumptions, but let’s just call him a future Hall of Famer – in part because he’s now registered at least 100 tackles in all 13 of his spectacular NFL seasons.

31. Even for the most jaded of NFL observers, the league’s annual “My Cause My Cleats” initiative is one of its best promotions.

32. Dearest mother – it warms our hearts this Holiday season to finally once again reference a post from the far too dormant @CaptAndrewLuck X account, which surfaced to celebrate the former Colts star’s hiring as the general manager of Stanford’s football program. Yes, you read that correctly. Best of luck, good sir. (And we’d bet Captain Andrew will thrive in the role and in the environment where he seemed to derive, by far, his most football joy.)

***

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

It would appear Christian McCaffrey’s 2024 campaign is ending less than a month after it began.

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters after Sunday night’s game that McCaffrey suffered a PCL injury during the Niners’ 35-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Shanahan indicated that the star running back’s season might be over.

If his season is truly over, it’s a disappointing end to a year that had already been shortened by a calf/Achilles injury that McCaffrey sustained in training camp. The eight-year veteran had missed the first eight games of the 49ers’ season and only returned in Week 10 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following the team’s Week 9 bye.

With five games left to play, backup running back Jordan Mason likely will step back into the starting role he had filled for most of the first eight weeks of the season.

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Christian McCaffrey injury update

McCaffrey suffered a knee injury early in the second quarter of the 49ers’ ‘Sunday Night Football’ meeting with the Bills.

Bills safety Taylor Rapp took down the star running back with a ‘shoestring’ tackle on a second-and-7 play after McCaffrey had picked up 18 yards.

There wasn’t any injury apparent immediately after the play, but McCaffrey slid down early and behind the line of scrimmage on his next carry. It was after that carry for negative yardage that the running back limped off of the field to the blue medical tent.

He was initially listed as questionable to return with a knee injury but ultimately never made his way back onto the field.

According to Shanahan after the game, McCaffrey suffered a potential season-ending PCL injury on the play.

Christian McCaffrey stats

McCaffrey missed the first eight weeks of the season while dealing with a different injury – a calf/Achilles injury he had been working through since training camp.

As a result, he played just four games this season before his knee injury on Sunday night. Here’s how his stats looked through those four games:

Rush attempts: 50
Rushing yards: 202
Yards per carry: 4.04
Rushing touchdowns: 0
Receptions: 15
Receiving yards: 146
Yards per reception: 9.73
Receiving touchdowns: 0

49ers RB depth chart

Here’s how the 49ers’ running backs depth chart looks after McCaffrey’s potential season-ending injury:

Christian McCaffrey (doubtful, knee)
Jordan Mason
Isaac Guerendo

Mason joined the 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2022 and has played in all 11 games this year with six starts, all of which came before McCaffrey’s Week 10 return.

Guerendo was the 49ers’ fourth-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft. He’s also played in all 11 games for the Niners, but hasn’t started any of them.

Veteran Elijah Mitchell has been on season-ending injured reserve since before the regular season with a hamstring injury. Kyle Juszczyk is listed as a fullback – not running back – on the 49ers’ depth chart.

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