Le Journal

After knocking off the Los Angeles Chargers and Houston Texans in the first two rounds of the NFL playoffs, the New England Patriots are one win away from the Super Bowl. The path to this point has been relatively easy for the Patriots, who benefited from one of the easiest regular-season schedules in recent NFL history. New England took full advantage, going 14-3 and tying for the best record in the league. Much of their regular-season success came from their offense and Drake Maye, who emerged as an MVP candidate in his second season. Maye has struggled during his first taste of the postseason, however, completing fewer than 60 percent of his passes while taking 10 sacks, fumbling six times and getting picked off twice. Fortunately for Maye, his defense has picked up the slack, limiting the Chargers and Texans to just 19 points combined while forcing six turnovers and notching nine sacks. The Patriots defense is tracking for the record books. pic.twitter.com/KiJTarTzEo— Boston Cream 🍩 (@BostonCream) January 20, 2026 In fact, the Patriots’ defense has been historically good, allowing just 3.42 yards per play in these playoffs. That’s the fifth-lowest mark in NFL postseason history through at least two games, ranking near legendary defenses such as the 1985 Chicago Bears and 2000 Baltimore Ravens. The four teams ahead of them all made the Super Bowl, with three of them winning it. Much of New England’s defense success has stemmed from its aggressive pass rush, which leads all teams this postseason with 72 pressures, per PFF. The Los Angeles Rams are second with 59. The Patriots have wreaked havoc in the backfield, sending Justin Herbert and C.J. Stroud running for their lives and forcing numerous bad throws. They capitalized on Los Angeles’ depleted offensive line and Stroud’s poor decision-making under duress. That strategy should serve them well in Sunday’s AFC title game against Denver Broncos backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham, who’s filling in for the injured Bo Nix. Stidham hasn’t thrown a pass in an NFL game in two years and has never appeared in the playoffs, so New England’s defense should feast on him and punch the Patriots’ ticket to the Super Bowl. More Patriots: NFL Writer Pinpoints One Reason Patriots Can Win Super Bowl

… Source : ObservAlgerie

The Boston Celtics rolled the Indiana Pacers 119-104 at TD Garden on Wednesday night, winning their season series against the Pacers 3-1 and improving their record to 27-16. It was another great all-around performance from the Celtics, who took a double-digit lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Jaylen Brown led the way with 30 points and 10 rebounds, Sam Hauser drained five 3-pointers and Neemias Queta racked up a season-high five blocks. Pascal Siakam put up 32 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers. Boston put on a show for the Boston Red Sox’s newest star, Ranger Suarez, who watched the game courtside with his agent, Scott Boras. The Celtics showed him on the Jumbotron during the game, drawing cheers from the crowd. Welcome to Boston ☘️ pic.twitter.com/gAixY5BszW— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 22, 2026 Suarez and Boras were in town for the All-Star pitcher’s introductory press conference at Fenway Park earlier on Wednesday. After eight years with the Philadelphia Phillies, the 30-year-old lefty inked a five-year, $130 million deal with the Red Sox in free agency last week. Suarez joins fellow All-Stars Garrett Crochet and Sonny Gray in Boston’s loaded rotation, which also includes Brayan Bello and Johan Oviedo. Spring training in Fort Myers, Florida, is still several weeks away for the Red Sox, who are aiming for their fifth World Series title this century. Pitchers and catchers report on Feb. 10. As for the Celtics, they’ll look to continue their winning ways in Friday’s road game against the lowly Brooklyn Nets, who have dropped 11 of their last 13 games and are coming off a historic 120-66 loss to the New York Knicks. More Red Sox: Red Sox’s AL East Rival Projected To Sign All-Star Pitcher

The NFL playoff field is down to just four teams. In the AFC, the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos will fight for a spot in the Super Bowl. While in the NFC, it’s between the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams. With no NFC North rival team to root against, Detroit Lions fans no longer have a clear rooting interest in the two conference championship games. And if you’re the type that roots for the ever-struggling franchise with little-to-no historic success, you’re out of options there, too. Here was the last championship for each franchise: Patriots: 2018Broncos: 2015Rams: 2021Seahawks: 2013 Ugh. Some fan base that has already celebrated a Super Bowl in the past dozen years will get to do so again. Maybe one year… Anyway, for those reasons alone, it doesn’t really seem like there’s a team to really get behind, but I’m curious if any of you feel differently. Today’s Question of the Day is: Is there any playoff team still worth rooting for? My answer: I guess I’m still rooting for the Rams. I’ve mentioned this before, but as a lifelong Matthew Stafford fan, I would like to see him build out his resume enough to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He may get his first MVP this year, which would be a huge help to get him his gold jacket, but a second Super Bowl ring—and maybe a Super Bowl MVP—would really be the push over the top. But even Stafford getting into the Hall of Fame would provide some mixed feelings. With the majority of his team success coming with the Rams, I’m not sure he’d even be recognized as a Lion in his HOF induction. That wouldn’t completely spoil it for me, because I’m simply a fan of the player, but it certainly would feel strange. And the Rams’ success would also bring out some frustration that the Stafford/Goff trade that was supposed to eventually set Los Angeles back due to the loss of draft capital, has proved to be a huge win for the Rams. They’ve managed to climb themselves out of the draft pick hole to surpass the Lions again after it appeared Detroit had jumped them. That is all to say that I have mixed feelings about rooting for the Rams. But I’m still rooting for them over a Seahawks franchise that has caused the Lions a lot of recent pain, a Patriots team that is impossible to root for even with Brady/Belichick gone, and a Broncos team led by a coach who seems like a jerk. So… yeah. This group of teams is pretty unlikable. Do you see it differently? Offer your thoughts in the comment section by scrolling down and sharing your thoughts.