One reason for Jake Elliott’s kicking woes this postseason? 

Saquon Barkley. 

The Philadelphia Eagles running back is simply doing his job by reeling off long runs that end in the end zone. No player in NFL history has more touchdown runs of more than 60 yards in a season (six, including the playoffs). But his explosive scoring plays have an unintended consequence on the team’s extra-point operation. 

‘You see No. 26 back there. He could take it 80 yards in the blink of an eye,’ Eagles special teams coordinator Michael Clay said Tuesday. ‘We just got to make sure we stay true to our process and not speed up with the adrenaline of the game.’

Both of Elliott’s extra-point misses in the divisional round against the Los Angeles Rams last Sunday came after big runs from Barkley (in the fourth quarter) and Jalen Hurts (a 44-yard dash on the game’s first possession).

All things Eagles: Latest Philadelphia Eagles news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

On the first miss, Clay said Elliott pulled the kick left because he “just got too quick on it.” He added the “sudden change” and not having methodical drives by the offense to go through his usual process on the sideline impacted his accuracy. 

“Nothing overbearing that I saw from him,” he said. 

Elliott’s point-after miss against the Green Bay Packers the previous Sunday followed a 24-yard catch-and-run by Dallas Goedert that finished a drive in two minutes, 26 seconds. 

Elliott’s only extra-point miss of the regular season came on Nov. 14 against the Washington Commanders, the Eagles’ opponent Sunday in the NFC championship game. 

He’s made all six of his field goals during the postseason but is 2-for-5 on extra points after he finished the season 28-for-36 – the 77.8% conversion rate the second-worst of his career (73.7% in 2020). 

“I don’t think Jake really dwells on it. … He’s the kind of guy that has almost like a golfer’s mindset,” Clay said. “You will hit a bad shot here as a golfer, but how do you bounce back from it?

“It really showed when he missed that first extra point. He bounced back with some good kickoffs and those three field goals to help us put some points on the board.”

Six of Elliott’s eight field-goal misses were from beyond 50 yards, where he finished 1-of-7.  

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said during a local Philadelphia radio station interview that he has no hesitation sticking with Elliott. 

“I got a lot of faith in Jake and I know he’s clutch when we need him to be clutch,” Sirianni told 94.1 WIP. 

The snowy and windy conditions Sunday against the Rams weren’t an excuse, Sirianni added, and he commended Elliott for bouncing back after his early miss. Elliott broke a 13-13 tie with a 44-yarder that tailed right but was true from the left hashmark, and he chipped in his final two attempts from 23 and 37 yards out, respectively (but missed the extra point after Barkley’s 78-yard jaunt).

“He misses an extra point early in the game and then nails three field goals, so I think it shows just the opposite that he is able to embrace the adversity,” Sirianni said. “Put it in the past and play the current play and that’s what I love about Jake.”

A fifth-round draft pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2017, Elliott resumed kickoff duties from punter Braden Mann – the holder for his kicks – for the final two weeks of the regular season. His main job, however, is to put points on the board, particularly in key moments. 

Elliott’s second missed extra point against the Rams opened the door for a comeback. Had Matthew Stafford and Los Angeles found the end zone on their final drive and won 29-28, talk radio in Philadelphia likely would have had a field day bashing Elliott. 

“I think everybody understands the nature of this business. It’s always production-based,” Clay said. “It’s not where I have to really harp on it. It’s pretty much black and white when you miss or make a kick.

“I’m never too hard on the guys. What’s the point of me beating a dead horse if they already know?”

NBA MVP anyone?

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reached a milestone that has eluded him in his seven years in the league. He finally hit the big 5-0. The big 5-4 in fact, scoring 54 points in just over 37 minutes on the floor Wednesday night.

As the Oklahoma City Thunder, who held off the Utah Jazz 123-114, continue their stronghold on the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed, Gilgeous-Alexander has been turning heads with his All-Star play.

Even more eye-popping, Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t fare well from the 3-point line, hitting just three of 10 attempts.

And he didn’t stop at 54 points. He also pulled down eight rebounds, dished five assists, had three steals and added two blocks.

All things Thunder: Latest Oklahoma City Thunder news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

As the NBA prepares to announce the All-Star Game starters Thursday night, Gilgeous-Alexander’s name is sure to be called. But for the 6-6 shooting guard, the biggest accolade may finally be within his grasp – MVP.

He finished fifth in voting in 2023 and second last season. If he wins, it would mark the seventh year in a row the award has gone to an international player.

Gilgeous-Alexander has had chances to reach 50 points before, but would opt to pass or concentrate on his defense instead of pursuing the mark. In some games, he has sat out the fourth quarter in an effort to keep him fresh for the long grind of an 82-game season.

“It’s more of a mentality thing,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I think this season I’ve taken a leap in my mental. In the past, I’ve been hyper focused on efficiency, and in moments I would — not defer, but I would be conscious of it, and I think it would like affect my decision making. And this year, I think I’ve got over the hump of not worrying about efficiency.

“Like, I’m just playing.”

American Madison Keys will be seeking her first Grand Slam title after upsetting No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek, 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (8) in the Australian Open semifinals.

Keys, the No. 19 seed, rallied after facing a match point against Swiatek, a five-time Grand Slam champion, in a match that took two hours and 38 minutes.

The 29-year-old Keys advanced to her second career Grand Slam final. She lost the 2017 U.S. Open final to Sloane Stephens.

“Yeah, I’m in the finals,” Keys said after the match. “That match was just such high level and she played so well and I felt like I was just fighting to stay in it. I kind of really ran with the second and then the third was just a battle. To be able to be standing here and be in the finals is absolutely amazing and I’m so excited that I get to be here on Saturday.’

Swiatek was serving at 6-5 and 40-30 but hit a shot into the net, and her serve was broken after a double-fault, leading to the tiebreaker.

Swiatek also had a chance for the victory in the tiebreaker and was leading 8-7 but Keys won three straight points to reach the final.

Keys to face Aryna Sabalenka 

Keys’ opponent in the final will be Aryna Sabalenka, the world’s No. 1 player. Sabalenka, the two-time defending champion, beat Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinal for her 20th straight victory in the Australian Open. She will also hold on to the No. 1 ranking for the 15th straight week no matter what happens in her match against Keys.

“I have goosebumps. I’m so proud of myself. I’m proud of my team that we were able to put ourselves in such a situation,” Sabalenka said. “If I’ll be able to put myself in the history (books), it’s going to mean a lot. It’s going to mean the world to me.”

She is seeking the first three-peat down under by a woman since 1999, when Martina Hingis finished off the last of her three straight victories at the tournament.

American Madison Keys is in a Grand Slam final for the first time in eight years after holding off No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek, 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (10-8) in the Australian Open semifinals.

She will face two-time defending Australian Open champion and world No. 1 ranked player Aryna Sabalenka, who beat Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-2 in her semifinal match.

Keys rallied back after saving a match point and being down in the third set tiebreaker against Swiatek, a five-time Grand Slam champion, to advance to her first Grand Slam final since losing to Sloane Stephens in the 2017 U.S. Open. The 29-year-old Keys, seeded No. 19, played in her third straight three-set match and will vault back into the Top 10 of the WTA rankings next week.

Sabalenka has won 20 straight matches in Melbourne and is seeking to become the first woman to win three Australian Open titles in a row since 1999, when Martina Hingis pulled off the feat.

Sabalenka holds a 4-1 edge over Keys in their previous meetings. Their last meeting was at the China Open in October, with Sabalenka scoring a 6-4, 6-3 win in their Round of 16 match.

How Madison Keys reached the finals

Here is No. 19 seed Madison Keys’ path to her meeting with Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open:

First round: Def. Ann Li (USA) 6-4, 7-5
Second round: Def. qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse (ROU) 7-6 (1), 2-6, 7-5
Third round: Def. No. 10 Danielle Collins (USA) 6-4, 6-4
Fourth round: Def. No. 6 Elena Rybakina (KAZ) 6-3, 1-6, 6-3
Quarterfinals: Def. No. 28 Elina Svitolina (UKR) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
Semifinals: Def. No. 2 Iga Swiatek (POL) 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (10-8)

How Aryna Sabalenka reached the semifinals

Here is No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka’s path to her meeting with Madison Keys at the Australian Open:

First round: Def. Sloane Stephens (USA) 6-3, 6-2
Second round: Def. Jessica Bouzas Maneiro (ESP) 6-3, 7-5
Third round: Def. Clara Tauson (DEN) 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
Fourth round: Def. (14) Mirra Andreeva 6-1, 6-2
Quarterfinals: Def. (27) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
Semifinals: Def. (11) Paula Badosa (ESP) 6-4, 6-2

How to watch Madison Keys vs. Aryna Sabalenka

Time: The match is scheduled to begin at 3:30 a.m. ET on Saturday (7:30 p.m. in Melbourne).

TV: It will be broadcast live on ESPN and will be available to stream online on ESPN+. You can also stream the match on Fubo, which is offering a free trial.

It’s unshakeable and unmistakable, this rare and real lifelong bond of college football championship teams. There is no greater truism.

Yeah, well, money changes everything.

Money is the very reason Ohio State star freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith – the best player on the field in Monday’s national championship victory over Notre Dame – should enter the transfer portal and test the open market. 

The engraving isn’t set on the national championship trophy, but the writing couldn’t be more on the wall in the now age of get yours. Millions are available in NIL deals, why ignore it?

More to the point: with the NFL still two years away for Smith, why risk a potential career-defining injury without earning as much as you possibly can?

This isn’t about staying true to your school. It’s about financial security in a physically-demanding business, where the end is always one play away.

“I’ve got two, three years left of college,” Smith said. “I’m just focused on college right now.”

And that’s the point. That’s where this uncomfortable but necessary conversation must begin.

Because football, at the college or NFL level, has always been a game of what can you do for me now? And when you can’t do it anymore, for whatever reason, it’s next man up.

If you think college football has moved closer to the NFL in every aspect over the last four years of the NIL boom, it’s obvious what ugly reality comes next. The NFL uses players until they’re not physically able to play at an elite level, and once that happens, they cut players loose. 

Thanks for your help, we’re moving on. That’s not college football, you say. It’s not a cold, cutthroat business. 

College football is not only a business, it’s more player-friendly than anything the NFL Players Association could dream of demanding. It’s free player movement every single season.

It’s outperforming your contract in one season, and jumping into the portal and finding another team to pay you more. The NFL, for first-round picks in the annual draft, may as well be a career sentence. 

The team has players guaranteed for the first five years of their career (if it picks up the option year of the first contract), and has exclusive negotiating rights thereafter. In other words, if players can’t come to an agreement on a deal, the team can use a franchise tag to force a one-year deal ― a tag that can be used as many as three times.

And if players sustain a career-defining injury during that one-year franchise deal, they’re out of luck. Guess who’s moving on? 

This is how Smith must see his next two seasons of college football. It would be fiscally reckless to see it any other way.

Former Ohio State star wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. was the first wide receiver selected in last year’s draft, going No.4 overall to the Cardinals. He signed a fully-guaranteed $35.3 million contact.

Smith would not only be the first wide receiver selected in this year’s draft, he would likely be picked in the Top 5. In other words, a near identical deal.

That’s what a transfer portal move means for Smith. No matter what he’s earning from Ohio State now, he has outperformed it.

He can enter the portal and return to Ohio State with a better deal, and we can all still talk about loyalty and lifelong bonds of championship teams. The grand statement can be made that at least one player still values school and money.

But by entering the portal, he can also see what the market will bring — then go back to Ohio State and see if the Buckeyes will match it. And if they don’t or can’t, he moves on with a championship and memories that will still last a lifetime.

Maybe he returns to Miami, where he grew up and won three state titles at Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna. That’s four titles in four seasons, and the best player on the field in each season.

“It just shows that I picked two great schools,” Smith said.

Now it’s time to choose again, to hit the open market and see what it brings. Be it at Ohio State, or somewhere else.

This has nothing to do with chasing money, or a lack of loyalty or leaving teammates behind. It has everything to do with financial future.

Again, it’s fiscally reckless for Smith, or any elite college player on a one-year deal, to not see what else is out there. If college football truly is a mini-NFL, there’s one truism that really is undeniable.

They’ll use you until they can’t, and then move on. The only difference is college players control movement and money. 

And money changes everything.

Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.

The Colorado athletic department decided to stop livestreaming its weekly coaches show with Deion Sanders and also removed two episodes of the show from YouTube last fall after the name of a prominent football recruit was mentioned on it in violation of NCAA rules, according to documents obtained by USA TODAY Sports.

This minor violation happened in November, when the name of quarterback recruit Julian “JuJu” Lewis came up before he signed with Colorado Dec. 4. According to NCAA rules, schools generally may not publicize or comment on a recruit before officially signing that recruit. Colorado self-reported this violation and decided to impose corrective measures as a result, including additional rules education for Sanders, the head coach, and a reduction of four recruiting-person days in the spring 2025 contact period.

The school also agreed to “implement new institutional controls on the football weekly coaches show,” according to school’s report on the matter. “The content will no longer be livestreamed. External relations will therefore be able to review and edit content that could be construed as impermissible publicity of (recruits).”

This was among at least six self-reported infractions in the Colorado football program that were processed in 2024, according to records obtained by USA TODAY Sports. Before that, Colorado processed at least 11 other self-reported minor violations in the first year under Sanders since his hiring in December 2022.

To be clear, these types of minor violations are fairly common in college sports and are not considered major issues unless they become part of a bigger pattern or are not reported by the school after discovering them. For example, Georgia and Ohio State also each self-reported four minor violations in their football programs during various periods in 2023-24.

What exactly happened in the Julian Lewis case?

Lewis did nothing wrong. His eligibility at Colorado was not affected. But after he publicly committed to Colorado on Nov. 21, his name came up twice on Sanders’ weekly show, which is produced by the school on a public YouTube channel.

This would have been OK if Lewis had officially signed with CU before that. The problem was he hadn’t signed yet and wasn’t allowed to sign until Dec. 4, the first day of the early signing period.

The first mention came on the day that Lewis announced his commitment to Colorado on Nov. 21. The show’s host, Mark Johnson, referenced this big news on the show but didn’t mention Lewis’ name. He asked Sanders how he gets involved with communicating with recruits and their families.

Sanders then gave an example of how he recruited Lewis.

“Hey, get JuJu on the phone and get his pop on the phone,” Sanders said as an example. “See if his dad want to come down and just sit down and chop it up with me.’

‘He sat in my office I think a few weeks ago for a couple hours,’ Deion Sanders said on the show about the father. ‘I said, `C,mon, give it all to me because I know you’ve got a bunch of questions on your mind. Let’s go.’ And we did that. And he walked away feeling really comfortable about where we’re headed.’

`Pulled off YouTube’

The show was taken off YouTube a few hours later after the school noticed “the impermissible publicity” of the unsigned recruit.

Six days later, the same coaches show went live again with Sanders and a different host filling in for Johnson. That host is not a school employee and simply mentioned Lewis when asking Sanders about preparation for a bowl game – a relevant question for any journalist to ask. Sanders didn’t even say Lewis’ name this time in response after a university official immediately interrupted the show to change the subject.

Yet it was still deemed to be impermissible since Lewis was mentioned on the school’s coaches show.

“This time the show was pulled off YouTube within less than an hour,” the school’s report on the matter states. The report states that both incidents were unintentional and “not a direct effort to gain any recruiting advantage.” It also noted that Sanders and Johnson “have both received past rules education about recruiting publicity.”

Self-reporting and correcting such violations is considered a sign of diligence and integrity in the NCAA, as opposed to sweeping them under the rug to avoid trouble. The school didn’t immediately provide additional comment but said in a similar story last year that it was committed to complying with NCAA regulations and that it takes ‘all infractions seriously, regardless of the severity.’

Why was this a violation of NCAA rules?

Like many other NCAA rules, the gag order on unsigned recruits was put in place by member schools for a reason even if it seems trivial. It makes life easier for all NCAA coaches, because without it, they’d feel constant pressure to publicly hype up every recruit they might want to sign.

“The NCAA’s recruiting publicity bylaws were written with the intent of keeping the recruiting process private between university staff and prospective student-athletes, in large part to both help minimize intrusion into prospective student-athletes’ lives and to keep the recruiting environment equitable,” said Joshua Lens, an associate professor at Iowa who previously worked in NCAA rules compliance at Baylor.

Variations of this NCAA rule have been around for decades, according to NCAA records. In 1972, the NCAA reprimanded St. John’s University after its athletic department arranged a press luncheon to announce the commitment of two recruits. In 1982, the NCAA reprimanded West Virginia when its basketball coach participated in a press conference conducted by a recruit to announce his commitment to the program.

What were other Colorado football violations?

The other NCAA reports obtained by USA TODAY Sports all involved minor violations of technical rules, including some that originated in 2023 but apparently didn’t get finally processed until 2024.

In one case, a recruit signed with Colorado on Dec. 20, 2023, and was vacationing in Florida when he met up with an active Colorado player who was in Florida at the time. The active Colorado player’s brother was there, too, and had contact with the same recruit on Dec. 22.

But because the contact came during the NCAA’s recruiting “dead period,” and because this brother is considered a “representative of Colorado’s athletic interests,” this contact was deemed to be a minor violation. As a result, the schools said it would provide rules education and reduce recruiting-person days by two.

The school’s report stated the brother believed that the contact was permissible because he is not on the football staff and not recruiting for Colorado.

In another incident that originated in September 2023, a recruit was taken to a go-karting event for entertainment, which cost $67. But according to NCAA rule 13.6.7.4, an institution may provide only up to $60 per person to entertain a prospective student-athlete. To resolve this $7 transgression, the recruit was declared ineligible for competition until repayment was made to a charity.

“Rules education on entertainment during official visits was provided to the football recruiting staff, and the entire football staff,” the school’s report states.

Other minor violations involved prospective recruits entering a premium seating area at a football game when they shouldn’t have and the impermissible observation of a contact drill by a strength and conditioning coach.

None resulted in serious penalties.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

The Philadelphia Eagles have aspirations of reaching their second Super Bowl in three seasons with a win this Sunday when they host the Washington Commanders, but without a healthy Jalen Hurts those hopes could be squashed.

Hurts missed the final two games of the regular season after suffering a concussion and gave Eagles fans a scare again in the divisional-round win against the Los Angeles Rams.

In Sunday’s divisional-round victory, he came up hobbled after a third-quarter sack. He was bent backward by Desjuan Johnson and Jaylen McCollough.

The quarterback promptly went to the medical tent after the drive. Hurts returned to the game on the Eagles’ next possession, wearing a knee brace and finished the contest.

Here’s the latest on Hurts, including updates on his practice status heading into the NFC championship:

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Jalen Hurts injury update

Hurts was listed as a limited participant on Wednesday. The Eagles held a walkthrough, meaning that the injury report is an estimation.

It’s expected that the quarterback will suit up, especially after he was able to finish the game against the Rams. Whether or not that limits his mobility this week remains to be seen.

Hurts said he is taking it a day at a time, but believes he is on track to play in the NFC championship game.

With the focus shifted to Hurts’ availability for Sunday, his practice status is worth monitoring the rest of the week.

Who is the Eagles backup QB?

The Eagles backup quarterback is Kenny Pickett. Tanner McKee will likely be the emergency quarterback on Sunday afternoon. He can only enter the game if both Hurts and Pickett leave and do not return.

Who are the Eagles playing in NFC championship?

No. 2 seed Philadelphia Eagles vs. No. 6 seed Washington Commanders

The Eagles will host the Commanders in the NFC championship game this Sunday.

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