Matthews, a captain with the Toronto Maple Leafs, captained the USA at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, where the Americans placed second, behind Canada.

It is a safe choice that reflects Matthews’ status as the best American player in hockey. But it is also one that will raise questions if the U.S. team – loaded with elite players at every position – comes away from these Winter Games with anything short of gold.

The team plays its first game on Feb. 12 against Latvia, faces Denmark on Feb. 14 and Germany on Feb. 15.

Bill Guerin, the USA men’s team general manager, had a number of choices.

There are several players on the roster who serve as captains of their respective NHL clubs, including Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa Senators), J.T. Miller (New York Rangers), Clayton Keller (Utah Mammoth) and Dylan Larkin (Detroit Red Wings).

There’s also Quinn Hughes (Minnesota Wild), who was captain of his former club, the Vancouver Canucks.

Matthew Tkachuk does not captain the Florida Panthers, but he had led them to two consecutive Stanley Cup titles.

Matthews, 28, is an enormously skilled player. He twice has reached 60 goals in a season and fell one goal shy of 70 in 2023-24.

What he does not have is a record of leadership in the playoffs when games are on the line. In career Game 7s – and once out of the preliminary group stage, every Olympic game is an elimination game – Matthews has not scored a goal in six showdowns, producing just three assists and a minus-4 rating.

MILAN — Despite winning a gold medal, Amber Glenn considered her Winter Olympics debut ‘lackluster.’

The reigning U.S. champion skated for the first time in Milan, competing in the women’s free skate portion of the team event Sunday, Feb. 8. She was shaky on her first two elements in triple Axel and the triple flip-triple toe loop combination, which made for a concerning start to the program. However, she regained control after that and landed her jumps, notably hitting the sequence of the triple loop-double Axel-double Axel.

Glen held on the rest of the way, but didn’t get a great score, earning a 138.62, with 70.91 technical score and 67.71 in the components category. She dropped to third overall after Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto scored a 148.62 for first place. Second place went to Anastasiia Gubanova 140.17.

She left many points on the table and didn’t feel her best, she said.

‘I just did not feel wonderful, like even in the warm ups,’ Glenn said. ‘My leg was just sore, and it’s not an injury, it’s nothing that we need to worry about. It’s just something that I need that rest and recovery time.’

There was a noticeable sense of disappointment from Glenn as she left the ice and heard her score. She knew it was a battle going against Sakamoto, but Gubanova’s exceptional performance put her in a great spot.

‘I feel guilty,’ she said. ‘My team has done so well, and my performance was lackluster. I scored lower than my median and what they were counting on, and I placed lower than what would have been expected.’

It resulted in a tie between the US and Japan at 59 points entering the final event of the night, the men’s free skate. Team USA needed Ilia Malinin to win in order to take home the gold medal, which he did to help secure back-to-back gold medals for the U.S. in the event.

Glenn felt bad for putting more pressure on Malinin to secure the win, but when it was confirmed the U.S. won gold, she picked up Malinin as the rest of the Team USA celebrated.

 ‘I’m so sorry that I had to put this pressure onto him,’ she said. ‘I wish that I could have kept that lead for us, but unfortunately, I lost it.’

Watch Olympic figure skating on Peacock

Glenn is one of the medal contenders in the women’s singles competition, and has a big opportunity to bring Team USA one step closer to a gold medal in the team event for the second consecutive Winter Games.

A day off is likely in store since she has been constantly training, so she thinks she needs some rest now to get her ready for the women’s single. It will be better since it will be a normal competition schedule instead of getting thrusted into the free skate without doing the short program.

Former NFL player and Super Bowl champion Barry Wilburn died early Feb. 6 in a house fire in Tennessee, his family confirmed on Saturday.

Wilburn was 62.

A standout defensive back at Ole Miss, Wilburn was selected in the eighth round of the 1985 NFL draft. He spent the first five years of his NFL career in Washington, where he led the NFL with nine interceptions in 1987 and was named first-team All-Pro.

Wilburn recorded an interception of Denver quarterback John Elway in Washington’s 42-10 victory over the Broncos in Super Bowl 22.

Wilburn also played for the Cleveland Browns in 1992 and for two seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1995 and 1996.

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Breezy Johnson has conquered Cortina. 

The same course that ended her Olympic dreams in 2022 delivered gilded immortality Sunday, as she won the women’s downhill gold medal with a time of 1:36.10. The win came on the same day U.S. teammate Lindsey Vonn suffered a hard crash and was airlifted to a local hospital and just over a week since Vonn ruptured the ACL in her left knee.

Johnson skied sixth in the lineup, her time holding up as the remaining 30 skiers raced. About halfway through the remaining order, while Johnson was still in the winner’s seat, she appeared to be tearing up, realizing she would be an Olympic medalist.

After an emotional medal ceremony, Johnson walked over to the mixed zone with an empty ribbon around her neck, the medal she worked all her life for sitting in her front right coat pocket.

‘Well,’ she said, ‘I was jumping up and down in excitement and it fell off,’ she deadpanned about her newly won gold – the first medal captured by Team USA at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.

While sitting with German silver medalist Emma Aicher and Italian bronze medalist Sofia Goggia during the post-event press conference, Johnson playfully warned Aicher, who was holding her medal: ‘Don’t jump.’

Johnson, a two-time Olympian, also made history, becoming the first American woman not named Mikaela Shiffrin or Lindsey Vonn to win an individual medal in Alpine skiing since Julia Mancuso in 2014 (bronze in super combined).

But one wouldn’t know by Johnson’s cool, casual demeanor after the race. She munched on a chocolate protein bar as she fielded questions from American reporters around 2:40 p.m. local time – her first bit of nourishment since a strudel at 10 a.m, roughly an hour and a half before the race.

Johnson, who turned 30 on Jan. 19, made jokes, but she was earnest when explaining how much this accomplishment meant to her after an injury kept her from competing in the previous Olympics in 2022, and a suspension by the U.S. U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for ‘whereabout failures’ kept her off the World Cup circuit in 2024.

‘I think people are jealous of people with Olympic gold medals,’ Johnson said. ‘They’re not necessarily jealous of the journey it took to get those medals. I don’t think my journey is something that many people are envious of. And it’s been a tough road, but sometimes you just have to keep going, because that’s the only option.

‘And if you’re going through hell, you keep walking because you don’t want to just sit around in hell. And sometimes when you keep going, maybe you’ll make it back to the top.’

Johnson suffered a devastating crash at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina during a training run four years ago. The accident partially dislodged a large chunk of cartilage in her right knee. As a result, she had to withdraw from the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games.

She told reporters Feb. 6 ahead of the first downhill training run that she needed to exorcise her Dolomiti demons. She finished that run sixth and won Saturday’s training session that was abbreviated due to weather.

American skiing star Mikaela Shiffrin – who is skipping the speed events at these Games to focus on the slalom and giant slalom – was one of the first people to offer congratulations to Johnson.

The two have been friends since they were kids, so Shiffrin was glued to her TV to watch the race.

Another American teammate, Bella Wright, was also blown away by Johnson’s race.

‘I think that this was the best run Breezy’s ever skied,’ said Wright, who finished 21st in the downhill. ‘I’ve seen her ski ever since I was 8 years old. We’ve competed with each other. And today she had some mistakes. She had some wild moments, but she really was so gritty. And I knew it was going to be a hard run to beat.’

On Sunday, Johnson skied down the mountain toward Olympic glory.

The next track she’d like a shot at?

‘I mean, I crashed in Meribel (France),’ Johnson said. ‘I heard the Olympics are there in four years.’

Indeed. The 2030 Winter Olympics are being held in the French Alps.

Olympic women’s downhill results

Breezy Johnson, USA ….. 1:36.10
Emma Aicher, Germany ….. 1:36.14
Sofia Goggia, Italy ….. 1:36.69
Jackie Wiles, USA ….. 1:36.96
Cornelia Huetter, Austria ….. 1:36.96
Laura Pirovano, Italy ….. 1:37.04
Kajsa Vickhoff Lie, Norway ….. 1:37.08
Ariane Raedler, Austria ….. 1:37.20
Kira, Weidle-Winkelmann, Germany ….. 1:37.26
Federica Brignone, Italy ….. 1:37.29
Mirjam Puchner, Austria ….. 1:37.65
Nicol Delago, Italy ….. 1:37.65
Laura Gauche, France ….. 1:37.98
Corinne Suter, Switzerland ….. 1:38.01
Ilka Stuhec, Slovenia ….. 1:38.08
Romane Miradoli, France ….. 1:38.10
Janine Schmitt, Switzerland ….. 1:38.28
Jasmine Flury, Switzerland ….. 1:38.51
Malorie Blanc, Switzerland ….. 1:38.77
Elvedina Muzaferija, Bosnia and Herzegovina ….. 1:38.81
Isabella Wright, USA ….. 1:38.85
Julia Pleshkova, Individual Neutral Athletes ….. 1:39.69
Camille Cerutti, France ….. 1:40.41
Jordina Caminal Santure, Andorra ….. 1:41.34
Barbora Novakova, Czechia ….. 1:41.89
Cassidy Gray, Canada ….. 1:41.99
Matilde Schwencke, Chile ….. 1:43.31
Rosa Pohjolainen, Finland ….. 1:44.08
Alena Labastova, Czechia ….. 1:44.55
Nicole Begue, Argentina ….. 1:44.73
Elisa Maria Negri, Czechia ….. 1:45.48
Anastasiia Shepilenko, Ukraine ….. 1:47.70
Lindsey Vonn, USA ….. DNF
Nina Ortlieb, Austria ….. DNF
Cande Moreno, Andorra ….. DNF
Valerie Grenier, Canada ….. DSQ

Reach USA TODAY Network sports reporter Payton Titus at ptitus@gannett.com, and follow her on X @petitus25.

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Lindsey Vonn overcame one crash to make it to the Olympic start line. The second kept her from the finish.

Vonn had to be airlifted off the Olimpia della Tofane course after crashing about 13 seconds into her downhill run Sunday, Feb. 8 at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. The US Ski & Snowboard Team issued a statement at 5 p.m. local time that Vonn, ‘sustained an injury, but is in stable condition and in good hands with a team of American and Italian physicians.’

Vonn had surgery at Ca’Foncello Hospital in Treviso to stabilize a broken left leg, the hospital said in a statement. She had initially been taken to a hospital in Cortina but, after evaluation, was transferred to Ca’Foncello, about two hours away.

Vonn’s crash in Sunday’s downhill race had nothing to do with the ACL she tore eight days ago, when she crashed during the final downhill race before the Olympics. Instead, Vonn hooked the fourth gate with her right arm, and it spun her off-balance. She fought to regain control, but her legs had already splayed and her weight quickly shifted to the back of her skis, pulling her backward. She fell to her right and then tumbled head first in the snow.

‘Things just happen so quick in this sport,’ U.S. teammate Bella Wright said after the race. ‘It looked like Lindsey had incredible speed out of that turn, and she hooked her arm and it’s just over just like that.’

The three-time Olympic medalist remained prone in the snow, and she could be heard wailing in pain. The gasps and groans from fans faded into shocked silence as medics worked on her. Vonn remained on the course for approximately 13 minutes before being loaded into a helicopter.

About 18 minutes after the crash, the helicopter slowly began flying toward Cortina. “Let’s let Lindsey Vonn hear us!” the American announcer said as the chopper flew away with her, and the crowd cheered and applauded.

American teammate Breezy Johnson, who took the early lead and held on for her first ever Olympic medal, covered her eyes with her right hand upon witnessing Vonn’s terrifying tumble. 

‘I can’t imagine the pain that she’s going through. And it’s not the physical pain. We can deal with physical pain, but the emotional pain is something else,’ said Johnson, who missed the Beijing Olympics after a crash in Cortina four years ago. ‘I wish her the best and I hope that this isn’t the end.’

Johnson said in the medalist’s news conference that Vonn’s coach had told her Vonn was cheering for her from the helicopter.

‘I hope for the best for her,’ Johnson said. ‘My heart aches for her. It’s such a brutal sport sometimes.’

It’s the second time in as many weeks Vonn has left a mountaintop on a chopper. She fully ruptured her left ACL, sustaining meniscus damage and bone bruising, in a downhill crash on Jan. 30, in the final World Cup event prior to the start of the Olympics.

A statement from the US Ski & Snowboard team said Vonn would be ‘evaluated by medical staff.’ Johan Eliasch, president of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, said he didn’t know the severity of her injury, but that it would determine whether she was taken to a local hospital or one further away.

Eliasch called the crash ‘tragic’ but cautioned against blaming Vonn’s knee injury for it.

‘Knowing Lindsey, she knows her body, she knows her injuries, and she knows also what she’s capable of,’ Eliasch added. ‘Everybody had such high expectations. And yeah, it’s tragic, but again, it’s ski racing and accidents do happen.’

Vonn is 41, and also skiing with a partial replacement of her right knee. She had dominated the sport before the crash, making the podium in all five downhill races this season and winning two of them. 

Despite the latest injury, Vonn was determined to race at her fifth and final Olympics. She said her knee felt stable and strong, and she’s spent the last week doing intense rehab, pool workouts, weight lifting and plyometrics. She skied both training runs, posting the third-fastest time in the second run before it was cancelled because of fog and snow. 

Vonn’s sister Karin Kildow was at the course today for the downhill and spoke to NBC reporters during their live broadcast:

‘I mean that definitely was the last thing we wanted to see and it happened quick and when that happens, you’re just immediately hoping she’s okay. And it was scary because when you start to see the stretchers being put out, it’s not a good sign,’ Kildow said. ‘But she really … she just dared greatly and she put it all out there. So it’s really hard to see, but we just really hope she’s okay.

‘She does have all of her surgeons and her PT staff here and her doctors, so I’m sure they’ll give us a report and we’ll meet her at whatever hospital she’s at.’

American skier Jackie Wiles reacts to Lindsey Vonn crash

‘Watching Lindsey go down from the start was pretty awful,’ said Jackie Wiles, after finishing fourth in the downhill. ‘I mean, we have such a sisterhood. I mean, we travel with each other on the road. We’re a family and to watch someone that you care about so much, it really sucks, and my heart kind of just broke for her in that moment.

‘But that’s the inherent risk of this sport. I feel like we all know what can happen and I think we all have a lot of love and respect for each other because with the inherent risk. And yeah, it sucks when it’s someone you care about so much.’

American Breezy Johnson wins gold in downhill

American Breezy Johnson has conquered Cortina. 

The same course that ended her Olympic dreams in 2022 delivered gilded immortality Sunday, as she collected the first medal of any kind in any sport for Team USA in these Games.

Johnson, who skied sixth in the lineup, won gold medal with a time of 1:36.10. 

She became the first American woman not named Mikaela Shiffrin or Lindsey Vonn to win an individual medal in Alpine skiing since Julia Mancuso in 2014 (bronze in super combined).

Germany’s Emma Aicher took silver, and Italy’s Sofita Goggia took bronze. American Jackie Wiles finished just off the podium in fourth.

IOC president sends Lindsey Vonn message

Olympic women’s downhill results

Breezy Johnson, USA ….. 1:36.10
Emma Aicher, Germany ….. 1:36.14
Sofia Goggia, Italy ….. 1:36.69
Jackie Wiles, USA ….. 1:36.96
Cornelia Huetter, Austria ….. 1:36.96
Laura Pirovano, Italy ….. 1:37.04
Kajsa Vickhoff Lie, Norway ….. 1:37.08
Ariane Raedler, Austria ….. 1:37.20
Kira, Weidle-Winkelmann, Germany ….. 1:37.26
Federica Brignone, Italy ….. 1:37.29
Mirjam Puchner, Austria ….. 1:37.65
Nicol Delago, Italy ….. 1:37.65
Laura Gauche, France ….. 1:37.98
Corinne Suter, Switzerland ….. 1:38.01
Ilka Stuhec, Slovenia ….. 1:38.08
Romane Miradoli, France ….. 1:38.10
Janine Schmitt, Switzerland ….. 1:38.28
Jasmine Flury, Switzerland ….. 1:38.51
Malorie Blanc, Switzerland ….. 1:38.77
Elvedina Muzaferija, Bosnia and Herzegovina ….. 1:38.81
Isabella Wright, USA ….. 1:38.85
Julia Pleshkova, Individual Neutral Athletes ….. 1:39.69
Camille Cerutti, France ….. 1:40.41
Jordina Caminal Santure, Andorra ….. 1:41.34
Barbora Novakova, Czechia ….. 1:41.89
Cassidy Gray, Canada ….. 1:41.99
Matilde Schwencke, Chile ….. 1:43.31
Rosa Pohjolainen, Finland ….. 1:44.08
Alena Labastova, Czechia ….. 1:44.55
Nicole Begue, Argentina ….. 1:44.73
Elisa Maria Negri, Czechia ….. 1:45.48
Anastasiia Shepilenko, Ukraine ….. 1:47.70
Lindsey Vonn, USA ….. DNF
Nina Ortlieb, Austria ….. DNF
Cande Moreno, Andorra ….. DNF
Valerie Grenier, Canada ….. DSQ

Jackie Wiles just misses getting Team USA second medal

American Jackie Wiles just missed the podium in the women’s downhill, finishing fourth behind teammate Breezy Johnson, Germany’s Emma Aicher and Italy’s Sofia Goggia.

And while Wiles was thrilled for Johnson, she teared up when discussing the brutal reality of missing a medal.

‘I’m extremely happy for Breezy. It’s incredible. She did an amazing job today,’ an emotional Wiles said. ‘But of course it is hard being in fourth. I feel like after everything I’ve been through in my career at my age, I don’t have many chances left. ‘So yeah, it hurts. It’s really hard, but trying to look ahead, so I’ll have more racing and that’s all I can do.’

American Breezy Johnson retains lead … barely!

Cameras show Breezy Johnson’s mouth dropping open and doing a ”whew” motion with her hand when Germany’s Emma Aicher crossed the finish line, 0.04 seconds behind the American.

American Breezy Johnson lays down top early speed

Great googly moogly Breezy Johnson. The reigning world champion in downhill threw down a blistering run that is going to force everyone else to go for broke if they want to top it.

Skiing right on the very edge, Johnson took tight lines around most of the turns and sailed on the jumps. She took the lead in the second section, then expanded it to almost a second in the third section. She came into the finish area with a spray of snow, pumping her fist at the cheering U.S. fans.

Johnson hit a top speed of 80 miles per hour in the upper part of the course, and was still hauling at almost 69 mph at the final speed marker 

Johnson crashed during a training run on this track in 2022, which kept her out of the Beijing Games. Redemption appears not only possible but likely for the second-time Olympian.

Fast slope for downhill competition

There’s speed to be had on the Olimpia Dells Tofane today, especially in the middle section of the course. Current leader Ariane Radler’s time of 1:37.2 is 0.7 seconds ahead of Breezy Johnson’s top time in the second training run.

Federica Brignone leads Italian contigent in downhill

Federica Brignone, reigning overall champ and Italian flag bearer, is the first Italian skier up. The home crowd hyped at the start, ringing bells and cheering for the local star, who trains in Cortina.

Over half a dozen Italian flags billowed in the stands as Brigone waved with both hands to an adoring home crowd.

Olympic women’s downhill competition begins

Switzerland’s Malorie Blanc is first on the course and a big cheer went up when she was shown pushing out of the start gate on the Jumbotron.

What time does the Olympic women’s downhill start?

The women’s downhill medal event at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics is scheduled to start at 5:30 a.m. ET (11:30 a.m. local).

What TV channel is the Olympic women’s downhill on?

USA Network will have live coverage of the women’s downhill medal event at the 2026 Winter Olympics at 5:30 a.m. ET. NBC will air a replay of the event at 9:20 a.m. ET.

How to stream Olympic women’s downhill

You can stream the downhill on Peacock or NBCOlympics.com (you must log in with your cable or satellite prover).

Where is the Olympic women’s downhill race?

The women’s downhill medal event at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics is being held at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

Where will Lindsey Vonn start in women’s downhill?

Lindsey Vonn’s bib number could be a good omen.

Vonn will start 13th in the downhill at the Milano Cortina Olympics on Sunday, Feb. 8. The only other time she’s drawn that number this season – for the super-G in Val d’Isere, France – she finished third. It was the first of her two super-G podiums this season.

Breezy Johnson, who had the fastest time in training Saturday, Feb. 7, is the first American to start, at No. 6. Jackie Wiles, who had the fastest time in training Friday, Feb. 6, goes 17th. Bella Wright is the last of the four Americans in the 36-skier field, at No. 24.

Ideal weather conditions for women’s downhill

After two days of disruptions due to fog and snow, conditions at the Alpine venue are near perfect. Skies are blue with a few clouds. 

SAN JOSE, CA – “I love Sam Darnold.”

It was a simple, explicit message adorning the T-shirt worn by Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp on Thursday, the final day he and his teammates met with reporters in the lead-up to Super Bowl 60.

“I’m a fan of our quarterback,” said Kupp. “Pretty self-explanatory.”

And, seemingly, a pretty universal sentiment – even if it’s been expressed in a variety of ways.

If, like me, you don’t have a rooting interest in Sunday’s game between the New England Patriots and Darnold’s Seahawks, he sure seems like a worthy guy to pull for − and that’s no knock against coach Mike Vrabel, convivial QB Drake Maye or an edition of the Pats well removed from Bill Belichick’s Evil Empire dynasty.

But Darnold’s teammates paint a picture of a resilient guy whose overcome adversity with class and a smile.

Seattle linebacker Ernest Jones IV famously resorted to an F-bomb while defending Darnold following a four-interception game to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 11, which also happens to be the Seahawks’ most recent loss.

“You don’t go too far without a good quarterback, and Sam’s been the right piece,” Jones told USA TODAY Sports this week. “I think that’s carried us over the hump.”

Yet colorful language still seems to emerge when anyone suggests Darnold, a Pro Bowler the past two seasons, might be Seattle’s weak link.

“We don’t read into that,” Seahawks tight end AJ Barner told USA TODAY Sports, “we know it’s all (b.s.), to be honest with you. He shows up to play, and we follow his lead.”

And, by nearly every account, that’s what Seattle players and coaches have done from the minute Darnold arrived after signing a three-year, $100.5 million deal during free agency last March.

“I think when you saw him show up and just treat everybody really well, all about football, serious about his business but not taking himself too seriously, great worker – and then it’s like, OK, that’s how he is. And then he’s doing that every day of the week, and then the next week and the next week. You learn to rely on that person and (say), ‘I like who this guy is, and he’s the same guy every day,’” Seahawks special teams coach Jay Harbaugh told USA TODAY Sports.

“It’s a great thing. Season comes, and he plays well. Bad practice, same guy. Good practice, same guy. Good game, bad game, same guy. It’s a neat thing, that stability, the consistency – guys gravitate towards people like that.

“He’s been fantastic, and we’re really thankful to have him.”

The CliffsNotes version of his NFL journey, if you’re somehow unfamiliar with it at this point: Darnold, a USC product, was the No. 3 overall pick of the 2018 draft by the New York Jets, who gave up on him after three seasons – after they provided him little help on the field or a supportive infrastructure away from it – starting a stretch where he played for five teams in six seasons … but blossomed over the past two years for the Minnesota Vikings and Seahawks, who signed him to replace jettisoned QB1 Geno Smith.

Got it?

“What he’s done is special,” said Kupp, the Super Bowl MVP four years ago, when he was with the Rams. “Find me another player – another quarterback specifically – who’s had the start of a career like he has, to be counted out like he has, and then be able to come back and do what he’s done the last couple years. I mean, the mental fortitude to overcome all these people that said, ‘You can’t do it anymore,’ – that’s a very difficult thing to do.”

Darnold has left a fascinating NFL trail.

Jets GM Joe Douglas traded the quarterback, whom he didn’t draft, to the Carolina Panthers in 2021. Douglas was eventually fired. Panthers GM Scott Fitterer, who acquired Darnold, didn’t re-sign him after his rookie contract expired following the 2022 season. Fitterer was eventually fired. Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, who signed Darnold prior to the 2024 season and watched him lead Minnesota to a 14-3 record, didn’t even bother to use the franchise tag on him last spring and at least give the Vikes some options. Adofo-Mensah was fired Jan. 30.

What did they all miss?

Darnold was certainly consistently inconsistent on the field with the Jets and Panthers, though neither of those teams had much in the way of assets around him, whether players or top-tier coaches.

“I’ve always believed in myself, and I’ve always had confidence in myself to do my job. And I learned,” Darnold said this week, “I learned a ton from the mistakes that I made early on in my career, and I feel like that kind of mindset has gotten me to this point.”

And despite the early ups and downs in terms of his performance, ask anyone, and the image of a very consistent person takes shape.

“He’s the same person every single day, and that’s awesome,” Seahawks safety Ty Okada told USA TODAY Sports. “You want that out of your leader, your quarterback. Nothing phases him. He’s just a great all-around person, teammate, leader in the locker room.”

And though Okada has only been Darnold’s teammate for one season, the quarterback’s personal pattern extends back for years.

Leonard Williams, who’s flourished as a Pro Bowl defensive lineman since coming to Seattle in 2023, was also a first-round pick of the Jets – three years before Darnold. They also briefly overlapped at USC.

“Even then, I remember him just being a great guy, great teammate, a great leader, a professional. I’ve seen that only progress over time,” Williams told USA TODAY Sports. “Now that he’s here, he’s just the ultimate teammate, the ultimate leader – just so proud to have him on my team. I’m definitely proud of him because I’ve seen that in him always.

“Anyone will make testaments to his character.”

Seahawks linebacker Uchenna Nwosu and Darnold were USC teammates for three seasons before both were drafted in 2018, Nwosu in the second round by the Los Angeles Chargers.

“Sam’s the same guy he is now that he was then – always looking to the positive, always looking to get better, always looking to the future,” Nwosu told USA TODAY Sports. “That’s one thing I respect about Sam a lot.”

Nwosu also characterized Darnold as “hard-nosed” and “all about ball” but also as a “jokester.” (He’s typically found time to rib reporters and teammates during his news conferences in recent weeks.) Nwosu is grateful they reunited in the Pacific Northwest after each struggled early in their NFL careers.

“Seattle gave us new life,” he said.

However Darnold’s rebirth may have truly begun in 2023, the lone season he spent as a backup with the San Francisco 49ers.

“It was a great experience for me and something that was, I think, crucial to me just growing as a player,” Darnold said of his year with the Niners.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan gave him a fresh education on offensive schemes but also new strategies for attacking defenses and coverages. Darnold got to know assistant Klint Kubiak, now his offensive coordinator and a key advocate for bringing him to Seattle. And there was even a Super Bowl dry run that season as he watched QB1 Brock Purdy handle the media maelstrom and game preparations ahead of what would be an overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 58 at Las Vegas.

“I try to do the best that I can in whatever role that is throughout my career,” said Darnold, who always strove to help Purdy while giving his San Francisco teammates good looks in practice. Ironically, he might get crowned on the 49ers’ home field at Levi’s Stadium.

“I’ve just always done whatever I could to help the team – and not only help the team, but help my teammates, help my family, all my friends in any way that I possibly could,’ Darnold continued. ‘Just try to be a good person – I think at the end of the day, like that’s all we can all do every single day, and that’s what I aspire to do every day.”

It’s an approach Darnold says was instilled by his parents, whom he calls his idols. His father, Mike, a plumber, would wake up at 2 or 3 a.m. every morning before going to work in order to be home in time to play with Sam and his sister, a volleyball player, and attend their practices and games.

“I’m very internally motivated,” Darnold said this week, feeling his one-day-at-a-time approach has served him well through the ups and downs of the NFL. “I know that I’m gonna push myself harder than any external force could ever push me. That goes back to (whom) my parents raised me to be.

“I don’t think this would be possible without the bumps that I went through early on in my career.”

And now? Darnold sure looks like a lot like the quarterback the Jets hoped they were getting. Hardly a weak link, he passed for five touchdowns and more than 600 yards in what proved to be two season-defining wins over the Rams, including in the NFC championship game, following that Week 11 flop in LA.

“He really saved us,” said Williams, noting that a team vaunted for its defense surrendered 64 points to the Rams in Seattle’s two late-season defeats of them.

Darnold’s 122.4 passer rating is far and away the league’s best in this postseason. Doesn’t sound like a guy the Patriots should expect will implode.

“Sam’s just been so resilient,” said Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald. “He’s so steadfast in his approach. I think he’s confident in who he is. I think he understands how much his team believes in him and has his back. Just keeping firing away, man. Keep being you. Go to the next play. He’s the same guy after he has a perfect passer rating, and he’s not strutting around like he just solved all the world’s problems compared to a game where maybe we didn’t execute as well – so that’s what you appreciate about him.

“He’s just real, that’s who he is.”

The entire sports world continues sending all positive thoughts and prayers to Lindsey Vonn following her crash during the women’s downhill at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics on Sunday.

The latest to lift Vonn up is International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry.

‘Dear Lindsey, we’re all thinking of you. You are an incredible inspiration, and will always be an Olympic champion,’ Coventry said in a message shared by the IOC Media account on X (formerly Twitter).

Coventry was elected in March 2025 to succeed Thomas Bach as the IOC president and is the first woman to serve in the role. The former Auburn swimmer won seven Olympic medals while representing Zimbabwe at five Olympic Games in her career, which includes two gold medals.

Sunday’s crash in the women’s downhill medal event is the second in the last few weeks for the U.S. skier, who is considered one of the great American (and world) skiers of all time. Her first crash came in her final race before the 2026 Winter Olympics, where she sustained a ruptured ACL in her left knee.

Her crash on Sunday was not due to her previous injury, though. It instead came 13 seconds into her downhill after Vonn’s right arm hooked the fourth gate, spun her off balance, and sent her crashing into the snow headfirst. As previously reported by USA TODAY, Vonn remained down in the snow and could be heard wailing in pain following her crash. She’d remain on the course for approximately 13 minutes before being loaded into a helicopter.

The US Ski & Snowboard Team issued an update on Vonn at 11:05 a.m. ET on Sunday, saying that the three-time Olympic medalist ‘sustained an injury’ and ‘is in stable condition and in good hands with a team of American and Italian physicians.’

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Teams who are looking to sustain drives may be in need of a Carr.

Former NFL quarterback Derek Carr is mulling a return, according to reports. NFL Media says that Carr could unretire for the ‘right situation and coaching staff.’

Carr, 34, retired in the lead up to the 2025 season as he nursed and rehabbed from shoulder surgery. Weeks earlier, the Saints would draft Tyler Shough in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, putting into question the future of the Carr era in New Orleans. As it turns out, it didn’t last much longer.

Now, the veteran passer may consider a return to the field, and if nothing else, teams may view him as an intriguing bridge option or a stop-gap veteran who could provide a modicum of stability for otherwise unbalanced QB rooms.

If Carr is serious about a return, where could he land? Here are a few spots that make sense for the veteran quarterback’s services;

Derek Carr landing spots

New York Jets

The Jets and Carr flirted during the 2023 offseason, with the quarterback reportedly wined-and-dined by Jets brass. Could the Jets make the call to consider Carr again?

New York finds itself in quarterback purgatory entering the offseason. With only Fernando Mendoza labeled as a slam-dunk first-round NFL draft prospect, the No. 2 pick isn’t going to do New York any favors in the QB hunt. A Day 2 or 3 pick seems more likely, but also is much less of a sure thing.

If New York is looking for some level of stability or a bridge passer entering the 2026 season, Carr would make a lot of sense. The Jets own multiple first-round picks in the 2027 NFL Draft, meaning they could target their passer of the future next draft cycle.

If head Aaron Glenn wants a passer that could provide a competent floor offensively with intriguing weapons and an ascending offensive line, then maybe Carr is the guy for the job.

Pittsburgh Steelers

With Mike McCarthy landing in Pittsburgh, a rumored reunion between him and former Green Bay Packer quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been floated.

If Rodgers decides to call it a career, though, Carr could be another option while the Steelers look for their elusive long-term successor to Ben Roethlisberger.

McCarthy has plenty of regular-season success and a Super Bowl ring to show for it. Now with the Steelers, it’ll be on the veteran coach to find the answer at quarterback. For now, in a division that’s in flux with the departures of John Harbaugh, Kevin Stefanski and the entrance of Todd Monken, Carr might be a shot in the arm for an offense that was among the league’s most middling in 2026.

Las Vegas Raiders

Could a return to the Raiders make sense for both sides?

Some of that depends on what Carr would want coming out of retirement. Does he want an opportunity to start and stick as a team’s QB1 for the long-term? Or would he be willing to enter a QB competition just to get a taste of the game again?

With Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza the presumptive No. 1 overall selection come April, it may benefit all involved with the Raiders to ease along the passer and not throw him into the fire, especially after a season of turmoil along Las Vegas’ offensive line, the worst in the NFL.

That doesn’t sound like an overly desirable situation for any veteran passer, but there may be a hook for Carr: the passer’s one-time offensive coordinator in New Orleans, Klint Kubiak, is reportedly tabbed to be the next head coach in Vegas. That could make for the right coaching staff, but the situation may be TBD.

Miami Dolphins

Could Derek Carr take his talents to South Beach?

There’s the looming question of Tua Tagovailoa, his contract and how he’ll fit in new head coach’s Jeff Hafley’s vision for the Dolphins. Miami would have to find a way to move on from Tagovailoa – something that he would welcome – or reassign his role on the team, something that might not sit well with the veteran passer.

That said, the Dolphins have endured a few seasons of organizational strife at passer and Carr, as mentioned, would give a floor of competent quarterback play. Is the situation ‘right?’ In a loaded AFC East that features the AFC champion New England Patriots and the perennial contender Buffalo Bills, maybe not. But options across the league are fleeting, and Carr may not have many of those if he is serious about an NFL comeback.