The 1 seed vs. the 2 seed in the AFC should make for an amazing and intense matchup. Both offenses feature a young top-tier quarterback and an explosive receiver in Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Tyreek Hill, and Stefon Diggs.

On Thursday night, New York Jets fans got a huge piece of hope as the organization hired former San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, one of the most passionate coaches in the NFL as well as a defensive mastermind.

Although we are only 8 games into this weird NBA season, there are already some unexpected performers. Every season there are breakout stars who no one expected to play as well as they end up doing. This season, it is even more interesting because of circumstances like the shortened schedule, lack of present fans, and the constant COVID testing. Let’s look at 3 players who are turning heads game by game!

This past Sunday, we witnessed one of the worst defeats in NBA history. In the early afternoon game, the Los Angeles Clippers took on the Dallas Mavericks in LA. The Mavericks won 124-73, a 51-point loss. While the Clippers are a team with high expectations, they were without their best player Kawhi Leonard who suffered a mouth laceration on Christmas Day.

Over the past 3 games for the New England Patriots, Cam Newton has thrown for 273 yards total. Mitch Trubisky of the Chicago Bears threw for that in one game last week and he is not a former MVP. To see Cam Newton, who has won MVP and gone to a Super Bowl, look this bad in the league is very saddening.

On Wednesday night, the NBA world was shocked once again when Houston Rockets point guard Russell Westbrook was traded to the Washington Wizards in exchange for former All-Star John Wall. This trade is interesting for a few reasons. The most interesting part of this is actually something off the court, so let’s dive in a little deeper.

This might be one of the most surprising NFL seasons, and not for the reasons you probably think. Currently, there are only 7 teams with above 7 wins. There is a whole division in which every team in the division has a losing record. There is currently an undefeated team in the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are 9-0 and are on a tear.

The issue I want to bring up today is the softness of the NBA. I mean, just look at the photo above. Recently, John Wall said something that got me thinking. In an interview with former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas, Wall said, “A lot of guys are too friendly now. Like [Arenas’] era, they weren’t friendly, they tried to rip each others’ heads off. Now it’s like guys buddy-buddy.”

I would like to address the decline of the big man in the NBA. Some people believe that having a great big man in this day and age is not an advantage unless they can shoot three-pointers or defend multiple positions. I disagree.

The NBA playoffs have been going on for quite some time now. We are now in the conference finals and the best part is that the focus has not been 100% on basketball. Players are taking every opportunity to speak about the Black Lives Matter movement and the unjust killings and actions against black people by the country’s police.