🏈 Texans Blowout Cowboys, New QB for the Giants, ROY Awarded, + More!

Blitzers,

Good morning to everyone, and if you’re a Cowboys fan, my guess is you’re nursing a pretty bad hangover/may have cried yourself to sleep last night. We’ve all been there, shake it off, there’s always next year. Because I’m a nice guy, I’ll give you some silver linings. You’ll likely have a top 10 pick next year (could get yourself the second coming of Deion Sanders in Travis Hunter), have a legitimate shot at Bill Belichick to coach your team, and you still will have the core of QB Dak Prescott, WR CeeDee Lamb, LB Micah Parsons, and CB Trevon Diggs. The future is bright (sort of). Let’s get to the Morning Blitz!

WTF Stat: If you’re looking for some good news as a Cowboy fan, you may have found something in WR KaVontae Turpin. He did his best Tyreek Hill impression on this slant, and got up to 22.36 MPH, the fastest speed for any ball carrier this season:

🏈 The Texans handed the Cowboys their fifth straight loss with a dominant 34-10 victory on MNF. Joe Mixon continues to star for the Texans, racking up 153 total yards and 3 TDs. The Texans move to (7-4) snapping a two-game losing streak and now have a two-game lead in the AFC South. Derek Barnett added to the score with a strip sack that he picked up and returned for a TD.

🏈 The Giants have benched QB Daniel Jones, demoting him to third-string and naming Tommy DeVito their new starting QB. DeVito started last season in a surprise run due to injuries, Drew Lock will remain the backup. Jones, signed a four-year, $160 million contract in 2023.

⚾️ Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes and Yankees pitcher Luis Gil named NL and AL rookies of the year. Skenes, who debuted in May 2024 after being drafted No. 1 overall in 2023, posted one of the best rookie pitching seasons in MLB history. He also earned a spot as a finalist for the NL Cy Young Award. Skenes received 23 of 30 first-place votes, beating out Jackson Merrill and Jackson Chourio, who finished second and third, respectively. Gil won the AL Rookie of the Year award after a standout season for the Yankees, edging out teammates Austin Wells and Baltimore's Colton Cowser. Gil earned 15 first-place votes, narrowly defeating Cowser, who received 13.

Tuesday’s NFL Power Rankings

This Week’s Theme: Best NFL YouTube Videos

Tier 1 - John Henderson Getting Slapped

(NSFW - language)

This isn’t just the best NFL YouTube video, this is the best video on the whole internet, in my humble opinion. I laugh every time I watch it. I may or mayn’t have asked for the occasional slap to get myself going as well. Like this video, the teams in Tier 1 have separated themselves from the pack. As the kids would say, these teams… slap. Any way, we have a shake up in the rankings this week with Detroit taking the top spot after making the Jaguars look like a high school team and the Bills moving into #2 after finally knocking off the undefeated Chiefs.

1. Detroit Lions (9-1)

2. Buffalo Bills (9-2)

3. Kansas City Chiefs (9-1)

4. Philadelphia Eagles (8-2)

5. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-2)

6. Baltimore Ravens (7-4)

7. Minnesota Vikings (8-2)

8. Green Bay Packers (7-3)

9. Los Angeles Chargers (7-3)

Tier 2 - Brian Dawkins - Weapon X

I’m here for any content from Brian Dawkins (the longer ‘Weapon X’ tribute is awesome/hilarious as well). Tier 2 consists of some pretty streaky but dangerous teams. Absolutely no wants to play the Broncos right now. The Texans and Commanders are the two best young teams in the NFL, and then you have the Cardinals, Rams, and Falcons who can either play like a bottom of the league team or like Dawkins when he turns into Weapon X.

10. Houston Texans (7-4)

11. Washington Commanders (7-4)

12. Denver Broncos (6-5)

13. Arizona Cardinals (6-4)

14. Los Angeles Rams (5-5)

15. Atlanta Falcons (6-5)

Tier 3 - Ed Reed Pump Up Speech

This was when Ed Reed was in college but it’s still an all-time moment. Best part about this speech was it came during halftime from the softer spoken Reed, while Miami was up 21-13 against Florida State. They ended up winning 49-27. Most of these teams below I think came into the season penciled in for the playoffs. The Bengals and Dolphins now have less than a 10% chance at making it into the playoffs. 49ers have the best chance out of this group at 30%, but they all need an Ed Reed pump up speech because they’re way too good to end the season on a whimper.

16. San Francisco 49ers (5-5)

17. Seattle Seahawks (5-5)

18. Indianapolis Colts (5-6)

19. Cincinnati Bengals (4-7)

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-6)

21. Miami Dolphins (4-6)

Tier 4 - Stefon Diggs - Dating Sisters

These teams are the Stefon Diggs of the NFL locker room. No one wants to watch them/let them date their sisters.

22. Chicago Bears (4-6)

23. New Orleans Saints (4-7)

24. Dallas Cowboys (3-7)

25. Carolina Panthers (3-7)

26. New England Patriots (3-8)

27. New York Jets (3-8)

28. Cleveland Browns (2-8)

29. Las Vegas Raiders (2-8)

30. Tennessee Titans (2-8)

31. New York Giants (2-8)

32. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9)

Let us know which videos were missing - I know there are plenty out there!

Top NBA Games

Bucks 101, Rockets 100: Damian Lillard hit a clutch driving layup with 3.9 seconds left, lifting the Bucks to a 101-100 win and snapping the Rockets' five-game win streak. Lillard, who missed the previous three games due to concussion protocol, finished with 18 points. Houston struggled with shooting, hitting only 9 of 32 from three-point range and recording their lowest field-goal percentage of the season at 40%.

Hawks 109, Kings 108: Dyson Daniels, who had four blocks in the game, sealed the victory with a critical block on De'Aaron Fox in the final seconds, helping the Hawks hold off a late Kings rally. Trae Young orchestrated the offense with 19 assists but scored just seven points (on 1/7 shooting).

Clippers 102, Warriors 99: Norman Powell scored 23 points, and the Clippers won their fifth straight home game. James Harden contributed 12 points and 16 assists, while Ivica Zubac grabbed 17 rebounds. Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 26 points, but was unable to tie the game on a wild sequence to end the game:

See full NBA scoreboard here, and standings here.

Top NHL Games

Sharks 5, Red Wings 4:  Macklin Celebrini scored 46 seconds into overtime to give the Sharks a 5-4 victory. William Eklund scored twice, and Alexander Wennberg added two assists for the Sharks, who snapped a three-game winless streak.

Avalanche 3, Flyers 2: Cale Makar scored twice, his seventh and eighth of the season, helping extend his strong start as a defenseman with 27 points in 19 games. Casey Mittelstadt also scored for Colorado, giving the Avalanche a 3-0 lead in the third period before the Flyers mounted a late comeback.

Capitals 6, Utah Hockey Club 2: Alex Ovechkin scored two goals, tying an NHL record (scoring on 178 different goalies), before leaving with an apparent leg injury. Dylan Strome and Brandon Duhaime also had strong performances, with Strome recording a goal and an assist.

See full NHL scoreboard here, and standings here.

On this day in 1984, Dwight Gooden, 20, becomes the youngest player to be named NL Rookie of the Year. Gooden finished second in the NL Cy Young Award voting that year, even though he had more NL wins, strikeouts, innings pitched, and a lower ERA than the NL winner, Rick Sutcliffe.

Yesterday’s Trivia Time Answer

Who is the youngest NBA player to win the MVP award?

C) Derrick Rose - Rose is the youngest player to win the NBA MVP award, winning it at the age of 22 in 2011.

Check back tomorrow for the answer to today's trivia question and more info!