data-mm-id=”_y3v9bxg25″>The Minnesota Vikings are the NFL's most surprising team three weeks into the 2024 NFL season. They sit atop the NFC North with a 3-0 record and have scored the second-most points in the league behind a revitalized Sam Darnold, who has thrown an NFL-best eight touchdown passes.Execution on the field is only part of the blueprint for football success. Teams need a lot of luck along the way as well, especially when it comes to injuries.RELATED: Antonio Pierce shares harsh critique of players after Raiders' upset lossOn Monday, the Vikings were fortunate to discover that Darnold's knee injury in Sunday's 34-7 victory against the Houston Texans isn't serious. An MRI revealed that the quarterback only has a knee bruise and is expected to not miss any time.#Vikings QB Sam Darnold’s MRI revealed a knee bruise and no structural damage, per source. pic.twitter.com/CdWuEuNlwR— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 23, 2024Minnesota and Darnold were popular topics for sports talk shows on Monday. "The Pat McAfee Show" gave them their flowers during its weekly visit with Bill Belichick, who's been ubiquitous this season in his new role of NFL analyst.Belichick provided insight about the Vikings' new identity as a team to beat and new challenge as the NFC North leader."I don't think anybody's looking past Minnesota, not that they were before, but I don't think anybody's looking past them now," Belichick said. "And probably their opponents coming up in the future are saying, 'Hey, this is how we measure our program, how do we (measure) right now against one of the top two or three teams in the league."That's when the New England Patriots coaching legend couldn't resist taking a shot at one of his former AFC East rivals — the New York Jets, who drafted Darnold third overall in 2018 but traded him to the Carolina Panthers just three years later."Everybody has liked Darnold, except the Jets," Belichick said. "The people at Carolina that I talked to, they really liked him. He was at the Rams, not for very long, and they liked him, and I think they wanted to re-sign him (but) he was looking for more of an opportunity than play behind (Matthew) Stafford. I know that Kevin (O'Connell) and some of the coaches at Minnesota, they really like this guy too."So it seemed like the only people who didn't like Darnold were at the Jets.""Right now the Vikings are one of the top two or three teams in the league..Everybody has liked Sam Darnold except for the Jets" ~ Bill Belichick #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/Q6OadTmjwl— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 23, 2024Belichick sought another NFL head coaching position after parting ways with the Patriots in January. He interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons before they hired Raheem Morris. Surely, a football franchise could still gain from the six-time Super Bowl champion's wealth of wisdom.Until he gets that next coaching gig, NFL fans will continue to benefit from Belichick thriving in media and speaking his mind.MORE TOP STORIES FROM THE BIG LEADNFL: Should the “two-high” safety formation be banned?WNBA x MLB: Phillies invite Caitlin Clark to broadcast boothGOLF: There’s now a Ryder Cup path for LIV playersSPORTS MEDIA: Candidates to replace Woj as ESPN’s NBA Insider
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Paul Le Guen admitted his Oman side were far inferior to Australia after they were thumped 4-0 in the Asian Cup on Tuesday.
The Socceroos dominated their opponents at Stadium Australia, as goals from Matt McKay, Robbie Kruse, Mark Milligan and Tomi Juric sealed a comprehensive victory at Sydney s Stadium Australia.
Apart from some early pressure on the Australia goal with Mat Ryan pulling off an excellent diving save to keep the visitors out Oman had no answer to the hosts.
The result means Australia are assured of their place in the quarter-finals, while Oman s hopes of reaching the last eight are now over.
They were far better than us in each part of the game, Le Guen said.
We were not able to cope with such pace three days after our g…
Simone Inzaghi saluted Inter s unity after the Nerazzurri kept Porto at bay to secure their place in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Inter are through to the last eight of Europe s premier club competition for the first time in 12 years, after a goalless draw at Estadio do Dragao sealed a 1-0 aggregate victory over Sergio Conceicao s side.
The visitors survived a late flurry of chances as Porto struck the woodwork twice in quick succession through Mehdi Taremi and Marko Grujic, while Denzel Dumfries blocked Ivan Mercano on the line.
And Inzaghi heaped praise on his players efforts as they held out to prevail.
We played a great game, the group came together and played a great match, he told Mediaset. [We were] excellent first half. In the last part o…
Manchester United great Andrew Cole expects Erik ten Hag to act decisively on Harry Maguire s future at the end of the season, having found a brilliant defensive duo in Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez.
Maguire has struggled for regular minutes since Ten Hag took charge last year, only making five starts during an encouraging Premier League campaign for the Red Devils.
The defender – who was named in Gareth Southgate s England squad for games against Italy and Ukraine on Thursday – has been linked with an exit after seeing Varane and Martinez establish themselves as regulars.
Ten Hag has taken several big decisions since arriving at Old Trafford – not least to allow Cristiano Ronaldo s departure – and Cole expects him to be similarly firm with Maguire…
Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic were both involved in Manchester United training on Tuesday as they prepare to face Sevilla in the Champions League last 16.
France star Pogba was struck down by a mystery illness ahead of the Red Devils FA Cup win over Huddersfield Town last weekend.
However, the midfielder was reported to have trained on Sunday and was again involved with the rest of the team as they completed final preparations to face the Spanish side in Wednesday s away first leg.
It remains to be seen if Pogba will start with his form and relationship with manager Jose Mourinho under intense scrutiny, although the manager slammed reports of a falling out with his player as lies before the meeting with the Huddersfield clash.
Great to see these three…
Having missed out on signing Piotr Zielinski two years ago when the 23-year-old midfielder moved from Udinese to Napoli, Liverpool are getting ready to reignite interest in Poland international.
Zielinski joined Partenopei in 2016 for a reported £13 million fee and went on to establish himself as a key first-team member, helping his time further strengthen their Serie A title bid this season.
Polish international has thus far made 24 league appearances during which he bagged four goals, while also scoring 1 in two Champions League outings.
Italian media claim that Napoli have revealed a release clause for their midfielder star and that Liverpool are prepared to get back in the race to sign him next summer. With Emre Can likely to leave for Juventus, the Reds ar…
Bobby Zamora will be part of QPR s Premier League squad this season after agreeing a new one-year contract at Loftus Road.
The striker was QPR s hero in May as he scored the decisive goal in the play-off final versus Derby County at Wembley to send Harry Redknapp s side back into the top flight at the first time of asking.
Zamora s time at the club has been beset by injuries, meaning he has only scored 11 goals since his arrival from Fulham in January 2012.
But the 33-year-old has penned a new deal to give him another shot in the top flight.
I m over the moon, he told the club s official website. I ve had an up and down time at QPR.
I started off really well but then picked up a couple of injuries and didn t perform as well as I wanted to.
…
Jose Enrique has outlined his ambition to follow in the footsteps of Jamie Carragher and establish himself as a Liverpool legend.
Carragher will call time on his career at the end of this season, having played over 700 times for the club and serving with distinction since making his first-team debut in 1996.
The 35-year-old has won the FA Cup twice, the League Cup on three occasions and was memorably part of the side that was victorious in the 2005 UEFA Champions League final against AC Milan.
Enrique, who joined Liverpool in 2011 from Newcastle, has paid tribute to Carragher’s attitude and application and stated his desire to emulate his exploits.
One of the reasons I came here was Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard and now Luis Suarez, he told LFCTV. …
Borussia Dortmund interim head coach Edin Terzic and Axel Witsel lauded Youssoufa Moukoko following his historic Bundesliga performance.
Moukoko became the Bundesliga s youngest ever scorer in Dortmund s 2-1 defeat at Union Berlin on Friday, aged 16 years and 28 days.
The prodigious striker lashed home a ferocious shot from just inside the penalty area to restore parity on the hour-mark, after Taiwo Awoniyi s opener three minutes earlier.
Union went on to win thanks to Marvin Friedrich s 78th-minute goal but Moukoko – who surpassed the record set by Bayer Leverkusen s Florian Wirtz (17 years, one month and three days) – earned praise post-match.
Youssoufa played a really good game, Terzic told Bundesliga.com.
The goal that he scored. He had…
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Looking to continue on what has been a real romp on home soil, New York will welcome Philadelphia to the Red Bull Arena in the early hours of Friday morning.
New York Red Bulls
Starting with the hosts, while New York might have been disappointed by the way they ended June, The Red Bulls certainly bounced back in some style last time out. Despite making the trip to a high-flying Orlando City outfit earlier in the week, Gerhard Struber s side picked up an eye-catching 2-1 win on the road and they have continued to impress since bringing in the former Barnsley boss. Now with their sights firmly set on breaking back into the top-seven in the Eastern Conference, the former MLS champions have bounced back from that action-packed 3-2 loss a…
Despite watching his team struggle to deliver on the big stage, coach Gerardo Martino claimed Argentina deserved to win the Copa America Centenario.
In a centenary tournament that promised so much, it ended in more disappointment for Argentina, who lost 4-2 on penalties in a rematch of last year s final following 120 minutes of goalless action, which was overshadowed by red cards to Mauricio Diaz and Marcos Rojo in the first half in New Jersey on Sunday.
Captain Lionel Messi skied his spot-kick over the bar, while Lucas Biglia s missed penalty proved decisive after Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Aguero failed to find the net in regulation as Argentina lost a third consecutive major final, with the South American giants still waiting to snap 23-year title drought.
An…