Le Journal

There has to be a small contingency of San Francisco 49ers fans who fleetingly wondered what would have happened if the Niners kept Sam Darnold after the 2023 season. Brock Purdy is almost universally beloved in the Bay Area. Still, Darnold led the Minnesota Vikings and then the Seattle Seahawks to 14-3 records and earned Pro Bowl nominations in the past two seasons. On Saturday, his 110.9 quarterback rating more than doubled Purdy’s 54.6 in Seattle’s 41-6 rout of the Niners. Still, the 49ers don’t have reason to harbor the same level of regret as the Vikings. Darnold threw for 35 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and 4,319 yards in Minnesota last year. It’s eerily similar to his 25-touchdown, 14-interception, 4,048-yard stat line with the Seahawks this season. Meanwhile, J.J. McCarthy threw for 11 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and 1,632 yards as a first-year starter this season. He played in only 10 games this season, and the Vikings have not committed to him as their starter next year. Still, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah doesn’t want to dwell on the past. “I always go back to what we thought at the time,” Adofo-Mensah said at his end-of-season press conference. “It’s easier to kind of go and be revisionist and results-based. But going through what we had at the time, I still understood why we did what we did.” Darnold exited last season with his two worst performances of the year. He completed only 43.9% of his passes and threw for 166 yards in Week 18 at Detroit. Darnold followed that up by going 25 for 40 for 245 yards, with a touchdown and a pick, in a neutral-site playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams. The Vikings had drafted J.J. McCarthy to be their franchise quarterback. They also brought in Daniel Jones after the New York Giants released him, and he looked like a reliable veteran backup for McCarthy. However, Jones saw a better opportunity to compete for a starting job with the Indianapolis Colts. In training camp, he beat out Anthony Richardson, the fourth-overall pick in 2023. Jones threw for 3,101 yards, with 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions, leading Indianapolis to an 8-5 record before tearing his Achilles tendon in Week 14. “I think [Jones] being here was something that we kind of considered and thought would impact his decision,” Adofo-Mensah admitted in his end-of-the-season press conference. “But ultimately, there are free agents. [In terms of] learning lessons, [from an execution standpoint], you have to treat it as such, no matter what the conversation is or relationships are.” The Vikings were likely overconfident that they could re-sign Jones. The 28-year-old quarterback probably felt Minnesota wanted McCarthy to start this year. Therefore, it wouldn’t be an open camp competition. To use a Kwesi term, the Vikings also probably over-indexed on Sam Darnold’s final two games. He threw an accurate deep ball most of the year, and Justin Jefferson was productive with him under center. Darnold played well enough most of the season that Week 18 and the first-round playoff games appeared to be outliers. Still, Darnold had other concerns. He played poorly in the middle of the season and panicked in big games against the Lions and Rams. Ultimately, the Vikings likely always viewed him as someone who could bridge the gap until McCarthy was ready. The football world thought the Rams exposed Darnold again when they picked him off four times in Week 10. Darnold panicked again against a familiar foe. Maybe he can’t play in big games. However, Darnold settled in after that. He went 7-0 in Seattle’s final seven games, throwing for 1,507 yards, with eight touchdowns and four picks. He led the Seahawks to victory over the Niners in Week 18, and then beat them again in the playoffs. Minnesota could have franchise-tagged Darnold and given McCarthy a year to develop under him. It would have given the Vikings options. If Darnold plays well, they could trade McCarthy. Or, if Darnold didn’t, they can move on to the player they drafted…

49ers’ 2026 NFL Draft position finalized after Rams beat Bears in playoffs“Following Sunday night’s Divisional Round playoff game—when the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Chicago Bears—the 49ers officially secured the 27th overall pick in the first round.” 49ers’ improbable season ends with defiance, pride despite thumping from Seahawks (paywall)“Nobody thought we’d be here, let alone thought we would win this game,” said offensive tackle Trent Williams, who had a similar message when he spoke to teammates in the locker room minutes after the final whistle. “At the end of the day, we’re playing with house money when we get to this point, considering who we played with.” Fullback Kyle Juszczyk, who, like Williams, has been in the NFL for well over a decade, called 2025 “one of the most enjoyable seasons that I’ve had.” “It’s just a really special group,” Juszczyk said. “It’s just fun to play with other guys that will put absolutely everything on the line. Because that gives you confidence to do so yourself. Because you know your brothers have your back this year.” Coach Kyle Shanahan said he didn’t talk about the game when he gathered his team in the locker room afterward. “I thanked them for the whole season, how much they battled for everything,” he said. “I know everyone was sick about tonight, how it went in every facet, but I tried not to make it about tonight when I was with them. I thanked them for what they’ve done all year, and I’ve been extremely proud of everyone in that room throughout this year.” Kawakami: What the 49ers proved this season — ‘It’s not the end for us’ (paywall)““I’m super excited for what we have with this group, the future that we have,” Williams said later at the podium when asked about his address to the team. “Obviously, tonight sucks, but it’s not the end for us. … “A lot of people tried to fight until they couldn’t fight no more.” It wasn’t the end to this 49ers journey. It’s closer to the beginning. It’s about suffering a litany of devastating injuries, figuring out how to win 12 regular-season games and knocking off the defending-champion Eagles in the wild-card round.  And it’s about inevitably running up against a healthier, tougher, more talented team on Saturday and understanding that they can and maybe should be healthier, tougher, and more talented than everybody next season. And maybe the season after that, too. Which made everything about the 49ers’ postgame mood very different than all the other painful playoff losses of this era — twice in the Super Bowl and twice in the NFC Championship Game. Those old moments were unalloyed torment for the 49ers, filled with tears and dead silence. Those really felt like the end of something that might never be regained. But on Saturday, Williams, Kyle Shanahan, and other team leaders made sure that this wasn’t about the pain of what could’ve been. It was about the agony of what already happened and was overcome…. They also have money to spend after last offseason’s financial reset and the offloading of Brandon Aiyuk’s contract. The 49ers have just a few very specific needs that should be addressed directly — a dynamic defensive end opposite Bosa and probably multiple playmaking wide receivers.  The 49ers had those holes in their roster all season and, until Saturday, survived it. Then the Seahawks erased the 49ers’ wobbly receiver corps, shut down McCaffrey and the run game, and powered through the 49ers’ defense whenever they had to. But those are fixable points for the 49ers. It’s all possible.  Can they win the Super Bowl in February 2027? “One hundred percent, yeah,” Purdy said.“” 49ers vs. Seahawks PFF grades: Best and worst from the playoff game, plus snap counts“Right tackle Colton McKivitz was the next-highest-graded offensive lineman, earning a 75.7 offensive grade. He also posted the best run-blocking grade (73.6) among linemen with significant playing time. Veteran left tackle Trent Williams recorded the best…

Il arrive, plus rarement qu’on ne le croit, qu’un grand journal de gauche consente à regarder le réel sans fard, sans le plier aux dogmes qui lui servent d’ordinaire de lunettes. L’enquête récente publiée par The Guardian, signée par Andrei Netto, avec le soutien d’une fondation de la galaxie de George Soros, appartient à cette catégorie devenue […]

Figure de la scène militante britannique, Tommy Robinson (Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) affirme aujourd’hui avoir entamé un tournant spirituel. Dans un long entretien accordé à The European Conservative, l’ancien fondateur de l’English Defence League (EDL) explique qu’un passage en détention et un accompagnement pastoral régulier l’auraient conduit à se définir comme chrétien pratiquant, avec une formule qui revient comme […]