Containers set up to house athletes from various countries participating in the 20th Asian Games, in Nagoya, Japan. (PTI Photo)

NEW DELHI: India’s karate team is heading to the Asiad without a dedicated coach while five equestrian riders in Tokyo are scrambling to get accreditation for their personal coaches. Some are even considering a two-hour train journey to Nagoya to sort out the issue in person, TOI has learnt.For the karate contingent, reigning Asian champion Alisha Choudhary’s repeated pleas to sports authorities and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) officials for accreditation for her coach, Vikas Panchal, have gone unheard. The two-member team also includes Chetan Bhatt (men’s kumite 84kg), with Adikessava Peroumal Sinouvassane the designated ‘team leader’.When the sports ministry’s sanction clearing coaches was issued on September 2, no coach was named for karate. Alisha has since sent multiple emails and reminders, underlining that Panchal has trained her for 11 years and guided her to every major international achievement, including her historic gold at the 2026 Asian Karate Championship. He is certified by the World Karate Federation and Asian Karate Federation and has accompanied her to international camps and competitions.Interestingly, during a bout, only a coach can occupy the coaching corner and seek a video review by throwing the challenge block onto the mat. The team leader cannot perform those duties, leaving India’s karate athletes without vital technical and tactical support.The equestrian camp, meanwhile, is caught in its own accreditation scramble. All five foreign coaches are awaiting accreditation and, without it, cannot enter the competition or training venue. The riders are coordinating by phone with IOA contingent staff based in Aichi and Nagoya, a logistical headache made worse by the distance between the two locations.Some riders are now contemplating a roughly two-hour train journey from Tokyo to Nagoya simply to meet IOA officials and get their coaches’ accreditations sorted, potentially losing an entire day of crucial training.It is learnt the five coaches were approved late by the IOA and sports authorities, despite the rider-horse combinations and coaches’ names having been shared with the IOA in May. The riders had also been following up on travel approvals.None of these five coaches are govt funded. Their entire Games expenses will be borne by the riders themselves. Yet, they are still struggling for the accreditation needed to do the job. The accreditation troubles come on top of the equestrian contingent scrambling for hay, bedding and fodder for their horses, with the IOA-appointed ad-hoc committee citing a “shortage of govt funds”.

Dual Melbourne Cup champion Half Yours is set for a challenging campaign as weights for the 2026 race have been released.

The Tony and Calvin McEvoy-trained stayer has been handed 59kg for this year’s Melbourne Cup, a significant 6kg rise from his winning weight 12 months ago.

Half Yours carried 52.5kg in the Caulfield Cup, and his weight for that event has now increased to 57.5kg, with Sir Delius assigned the topweight of 59kg.

Following consultations with industry groups, this year’s Cups will implement a minimum weight of 51kg, a 1kg increase on last year’s benchmark.

This 1kg rise also necessitates a 59kg minimum for the topweight when weights are initially announced.

While Sir Delius was the obvious topweight for the Caulfield Cup (2400m) on October 17, the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained galloper was not entered for the Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on November 3.

This absence required an adjustment of 1.5kg to the Melbourne Cup weights to achieve the 59kg minimum topweight.

“Sir Delius, a three-time Group 1 winner, stands out as the best performed horse and natural topweight for this year’s Caulfield Cup, however his absence from the Melbourne Cup has necessitated two different sets of weights,” said David Hegan, Racing Victoria’s Head of Handicapping.

“Last year saw the introduction of a 1kg overall increase to the weight structure of both races where topweights must be assigned 59kg at the release of weights and the minimum weight for older horses is 51kg.

“Half Yours was the dominant Caulfield and Melbourne Cup champion in 2025 and has been weighted accordingly. He effectively rises 4.5kg from his Melbourne Cup performance before the additional 1.5kg was applied to ensure a 59kg topweight.”

“That increase applies to all Melbourne Cup entrants above the minimum weight.”

Hegan highlighted Highwayman, a recent winner of the English St Leger, as one of the more interesting contenders in the handicap.

Having achieved the same rating as the 2024 winner Jan Brueghel, Highwayman has been allocated 56.5kg under the new weight scale.

Last year’s Melbourne Cup runner-up, Goodie Two Shoes, will carry 55kg, an increase from the 51.5kg she shouldered in the previous year’s Cup.

Joseph O’Brien, trainer of two Cup winners, has 11 runners entered, including Sons And Lovers (57.5kg) and Defiantly (56.5kg), who are carrying significant weights.

Aeliana has been assigned 58kg for the Melbourne Cup and would have been the topweight, were it not for the 2kg weight-for-age allowance for mares.

The current Caulfield Cup favourite, Green Spaces, has been allocated 54.5kg following his Australian Derby victory at Randwick in the autumn, the same weight as European Group 3 winners Enfjaar and Wine Dark Sea.

Check out the latest racing odds for the Melbourne Cup with top online bookmakers.

Alejandro Tosti took off. 

On his Instagram story late Thursday afternoon, the Argentine pro posted videos of what looked like him aboard a two-seat seaplane flying over the mountains near Asheville, N.C. — a quick joy ride between the first and second rounds of the PGA Tour’s Biltmore Championship Asheville. There was a post of him about to board. Another showed his plane to the side of a commercial plane nearing take-off. Others showed him in the air, and one showed that his plane touched down in a lake.

All of that, though, preceded another departure. 

His caddie’s. 

On Thursday, Tosti and his looper, Cliff Ellis, started the Biltmore Championship on hole 10 at the Cliffs at Walnut Cove, played the back nine, then things got weird. As first reported by Golfweek’s Adam Schupak and then shown Friday on Golf Channel, Ellis stopped carrying Tosti’s bag — on his ninth hole. 

To that point, Tosti had parred his first eight holes, but, according to Schupak’s report, Tosti and Ellis had had a disagreement on Tuesday during a practice round, and it seemingly spilled over to Thursday. On Golf Channel, the two were seen going back and forth as they approached the 18th green, then Ellis dropped Tosti’s bag in the middle of the fairway, took off his caddie bib and walked away. In a text exchange, Tosti told Schupak that he thought Ellis on Thursday had gone to a restroom on the 18th hole. Schupak also reported that Tosti wrote: “He couldn’t keep up with eight pars in a row,” followed by laughing emojis. 

In his eight years as a pro, Tosti has made a few headlines, including one with a caddie in March — at the Tour’s Valspar Championship, caddies wear personalized bibs, and this year, the bib of Tosti’s caddie read: “Need a wife.” In 2023, Tosti was also forced to withdraw from a Korn Ferry Tour event for what was called “a disciplinary measure.” In 2024, Tosti and Tony Finau were at odds over their playing order at the PGA Tour’s Houston Open. 

On Thursday, Tosti shot a one-over 72 — and Golf Channel said he pulled a fan from the crowd to tote his bag for the back nine. As of this writing on Friday, Tosti was through seven holes in his second round and still at one over, four off the projected cutline. He also had new looper on his bag, Patrick Talledo.

Below is Golf Channel’s footage of what happened:

Week 2 of the college football season was nothing but thrilling. 

Oregon and Oklahoma faced massive upsets, Texas claimed the No. 1 spot in the rankings and Bob Chesney and UCLA are continuing to prove their offseason hype in the regular season. Notably, Mississippi State’s Kamario Taylor defeated its first Big Ten opponent on the road for the first time since 1980. 

But after two weeks, where do some teams sit in terms of their outlook on the rest of the year?

On “The Joel Klatt Show,” FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt broke down teams that fall into three categories: Time to panic, stay calm and get excited. 

Time To Panic

Klatt’s thoughts: “If not for those two defensive scores, that is a route. A route! The film was alarming for Oregon. On both sides of the ball. I think it’s time to panic. It’s not just the result, now they’re dealing with some injury issues… Injuries are always going to happen, there’s no doubt, but you don’t want them to happen when you’re trying to right the ship.

“I was on a deep dive in both last year’s film from Oregon, and this year against Boise State, and what did I find? Oregon has run-pass tells in their offense, and this is a devastating deal… but the film was also alarming on the defensive side.”

Klatt’s thoughts: “Oklahoma doesn’t have an offensive line and they cannot run the football. And in order to move the ball, John Mateer has to be Superman, or they’ve got to create explosive plays. And they couldn’t do either of those things against Michigan last week. Can you really rely on splash explosive plays the entire season? I don’t think you can, it’s ultimately what their Achilles heel was a year ago.”

Klatt’s thoughts: “Washington barely snuck out a win against Utah State, 16-14 last week. The offense has not clicked, and that’s where Jed Fish’s experience and expertise lies. And yeah they’re 2-0, but I’m sitting here looking at their schedule and I’m like, ‘Oh I don’t know about this.’ 

“The offense has been hit by a ton of injuries right now. They lost their top two running backs. They lost wide receiver Christian Moss to a leg injury. Starting wide receiver Rashid Williams, he’s week to week… they’re banged up right now.”

Klatt’s thoughts: “Does ‘panic’ encapsulate Florida State? I don’t think it does. Fired their athletic director on Monday – by the way that was the same guy who gave Mike Norvell his extension, so handwriting is on the wall there. The athletic department finished the 2025 fiscal year with $437 million of debt. Yikes.

Florida State enters Week 3 on the road at Alabama. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)

“The debt thing is a big deal, because if you fire Mike Norvell in the middle of the year you’re going to owe him $50 million… it would be roughly $800,000 a month until 2031… I bring all of that up because this roster is limited, reportedly it’s in the bottom half of the ACC as far as funding goes. They’re 3-14 in their last 17 ACC games. And look at their next four games against Power 4 opponents – this is like panic, panic, panic: at Alabama this weekend in Tuscaloosa; Virginia, which is a good team, they’re ranked; Louisville, which is a very good team, almost beat Ole Miss; and at Miami, who we think is one of the best teams in the country.”

Klatt’s thoughts: “Time to panic. They were 8-0 last year at one point behind Haynes King. Now all of a sudden, they’ve lost six of their last seven. Their only win was a fourth quarter comeback against Boston College. I don’t love that. I don’t love the trajectory that’s going on at Georgia Tech. I just don’t. It’s time to panic there.”

Stay Calm

Klatt’s thoughts: “I think it would be easy to get excited based on the way that Colorado ran the ball against Georgia Tech, the way that they threw the ball last week against, granted, FCS Weber State, but this looks different. This looks a lot more real than any of the versions of Colorado. You see their nine-win team with Travis Hunter, Heisman trophy winner and Shedeur Sanders at quarterback – they largely just had elite, upper-level skill position players, and then got by everywhere else. This looks a lot more fundamentally sound.

“They changed their philosophy over the offseason. They went from trying to go after splash recruiting and roster building to production over potential roster building, and it shows. They’re a lot tougher on the line of scrimmage, their defense can actually play up front, they’re committed to the run – they do it with a tight end and a fullback at times, which I really love that physical aspect of the run game.”

Klatt’s thoughts: “Let’s all relax about Ohio State. Would they have liked to win that game? Obviously. Were they in position to win that game? Yes… Let’s just take a bit of a chill pill, can we? I mean this is a team that was dominating Texas in their building for three quarters, basically. 

Are they going to be ok? Yes, they are going to be ok. Mainly, the one they’ve got to get fixed is the fact that their defense was exposed late to volume. That’s what happened… What killed Ohio State was the fact that their defense was on the field for the entire fourth quarter and part of the third. So what’s the fix? Well. you’ve got to figure out the red zone. They’re going to have to find a run game in the red zone, and find ways to execute better in the red zone.”

Klatt’s thoughts: “Cautiously optimistic about BYU. I think that they are very good, but what we don’t know is can they level up? We’ve seen this before. I know Bear Bachmeier is a grinder and he’s a good player. I know LJ Martin is a good player. I know you’re going to play solid defense. I know all these things – I know you’re going to beat teams that are at your level or below.

“I don’t know what to make of BYU at that level until they play Notre Dame, until they play a Texas Tech.”

Klatt’s thoughts: “I’m going to stay calm. Let’s let Keelon Russell get good at quarterback. I wanted to get excited about them, and not because of Russell and not even because their defense was dominant against Kentucky… this other element showed up in the second half against Kentucky…they stayed committed to the run game…and they ran for over 150 yards. Now that’s a blueprint, a blueprint that allows you to keep the pressure off of your young quarterback. He’s going to continue to get better. 

Keelon Russell led the Crimson Tide to a 45-17 win over Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

“I’m cautiously optimistic about Alabama… I think they’ve got real high potential, a high ceiling if they can run it, bring their quarterback along, and allow him to be explosive both in the pass game and in the run game down the stretch. 

Klatt’s thoughts: “The freshman are really good, I love what they’ve got going out there. At wide receiver, Trent Mosley is a star, Kayden Dixon-Wyatt is very good. Their tight end, Mark Bowman, he’s excellent. Luke Wafle, their defensive end, is one of the better freshmen defensive ends that I’ve seen in a long time – he creates havoc in the backfield. And this is looking like what Lincoln Riley told us about over the course of the offseason.

“But I’m going to be cautious with this one, and the reason is I still want to see it from a defensive perspective against better competition. I still need to see them play well, get after the quarterback and more specifically stop the run in a big matchup-style game.”

Get Excited

Klatt’s thoughts: “I’m excited about UCLA. Now, this doesn’t mean I think they’re going to the playoff. This means that, if I’m a UCLA fan, I am thrilled with how this season has started. You’ve got an experienced quarterback in Nico Iamaleava…Wayne Knight has been tremendous…

(Bob) Chesney knows what he’s doing. He brought that entire staff, he brought all that core of players, this is a team that I think is going to knock somebody off in the Big Ten that we don’t expect them to knock off in the Big Ten. That’s a real team.”

Klatt’s thoughts: “I am absolutely thrilled and excited about Miami. I think they’re better than they were a year ago. Here’s the thing that I’m going to hang my hat on: Darian Mensah looks like an upgrade at quarterback from Carson Beck. He looks dynamic, and that’s scary because they’re still dominating at the offensive line level.

“They’re still dominating at the defensive line. That’s the DNA of their program, they’ve recruited very well… the one thing that gets me the most excited: Malachi Toney. Malachi Toney is an absolute cheat code. He is phenomenal, you can get him the ball anywhere and he can dominate a game.”

Klatt’s thoughts: “Yeah it was sloppy for Texas, but I’m excited about Texas. If I’m a Longhorn fan today, I am fired up. Why? Because the ceiling has now been lifted off of my program. [Coach Steve] Sarkisian said it himself in the postgame presser: ‘Now we know we can.’ That was the most important comment, from any coach, across America on Saturday.

Arch Manning and Texas are the new No. 1 team in the nation after upsetting Ohio State 24-23. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

“What’s more dangerous than a talented team? A talented team that believes. And now Texas believes. It wasn’t pretty. In fact, they’re watching the film thinking to themselves, ‘We should have won that by more.’ … I’m excited about those backs. Woo! Those backs can run, man.” 

Klatt’s thoughts: “You could tell me, ‘No, no, no, Joel, you need to stay calm.’ I’m not going to stay calm, I’m going to get excited about Michigan. And here’s the reason why: they won Kyle Whittingham’s way. His DNA was all over that field. He won the tug of war.

“New coaches have to go in and win the culture of that locker room. And to win the locker room over, you’ve got to be more steadfast than the locker room. And that’s what that win did for them against Oklahoma. They did it with man coverage – that’s Kyle Whittingham. They did it with great pass rush. That’s Kyle Whittingham. And they did it running the quarterback, being rugged on offense. That’s. Kyle. Whittingham.”

Kamario Taylor and Mississippi State defeated Minnesota on the road 38-13. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)

Klatt’s thoughts: “I am excited about Mississippi State, and I think you should be too. They’re quietly out there. They went up there and hammered Minnesota, and that’s not a bad Minnesota team… That’s a really good win for Jeff Lebby and Mississippi State. I love their quarterback, Kamario Taylor. He’s the new star on the block. This kid can throw it, he’s athletic. He’s big, 6-foot-4, 230 pounds. He’s mobile, he’s got an absolute cannon. This kid executes this system really well. 

“They will beat someone that raises your eyebrows in the SEC this year. I’m excited about Mississippi State this year. I really like them. Defense is playing well. In particular, last week didn’t allow an offensive touchdown against Minnesota.”

Andoni Iraola almost did too well for his own good at Bournemouth. As Liverpool stuttered and stalled towards the end of Arne Slot’s reign, they were nearly caught by the rising force on the south coast. Bournemouth finished the season unbeaten in 18 league games. Had the campaign been a couple of weeks longer, they may have overtaken the team in fifth. And as that side was Liverpool, maybe Iraola would have cost himself the chance to manage in the Champions League.

Instead, they held on, three points ahead of Bournemouth. The Cherries’ first foray abroad for a competitive game came this week in the Europa League, in Iraola’s native Basque country, to beat Real Sociedad. It may have been particularly special for a former Athletic Bilbao captain; but, long before Bournemouth came sixth, Iraola had already informed them he would not renew his contract. They had a successor lined up before Liverpool sacked Slot and anointed him as their next head coach.

Perhaps, had Iraola known he would be staying in the Premier League and would require three points at the Vitality Stadium a month into the next campaign, he may not have been as helpful. Maybe it was entirely in character that he was. One of his last acts at Bournemouth was to hold a meeting with his replacement, briefing Marco Rose. It was part of an amicable transfer of power. It was a rarity in football.

“I think everything was so clean with the club that normally in this process you don’t have the chance to talk to the previous manager,” Iraola said. “Everyone knew in this case the situation, everyone knew that Marco was coming. I stayed in Bournemouth until the kids finished school at the end of June. We had chance to have a proper meeting and we were talking until they stopped us, over two hours.”

Iraola took Rose through the squad he would inherit, one by one. “Yes, we had a lot of good players,” he said. “Private things also that I hope can help him in this process. All the club, all the staff, all the players, it is nice to know. It was good for him and good for me also.” Iraola had questions in return. “I asked him about other teams he has previously had and he is a good manager and a good person,” he said.

That may not have just been polite conversation. Iraola is the Spaniard with pressing principles that is more associated with the German school of thought. Rose has managed both Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig. Liverpool chose Iraola in part to try and return to Jurgen Klopp’s high-paced football. Rose may be a seamless successor to Iraola in Dorset.

“I don’t think they’ve changed too much, definitely not in terms of names,” said Iraola. “You see mostly the same starting 11, very few changes. They lost Marcos Senesi and they’ve signed [Antonio] Silva that is a very similar kind of player. I also have this advantage – I know their strengths, their weaknesses.”

He also has the disadvantage that he took Bournemouth to a new level. Eddie Howe may forever remain Bournemouth’s greatest manager but Iraola took them to the highest finish in their history. He was the first man to take them into Europe.

If there are similarities between his old and new side, it is understandable. One may be unwelcome at Anfield: a drawing habit. Liverpool have drawn three of their four league games under him. Bournemouth have drawn their last three under Rose, to follow 18 last season. Eight of their final 12 matches under Iraola finished all square. Had they won a couple more, and every other result stayed the same, they would have ended up above Liverpool.

Iraola may have shared his knowledge with Rose. He realises he cannot carry on sharing the points with other managers. “It’s something that I knew before coming here,” he said. “When you draw 2-2 at Newcastle with Bournemouth, it is a good result, but I understand that with Liverpool it is not. If you draw a game, you lose two points.”

A question for Iraola, as for every manager who makes the step up to a club of Liverpool’s stature, is whether his methods work at elite level. In his case, it means whether his players will buy into his requests for relentless running, as Bournemouth’s did. “For me the demands on the players and positions are the same,” Iraola said. “I don’t give different instructions to one player because he is more expensive than another player because he has cost us less money.”

At Bournemouth, though, they never cost huge sums, by Premier League standards. His side were the energetic underdogs whose running took them further than most had expected. Now he faces the team he built and improved, with the risk his unselfishness will backfire if his parting advice to Rose proves telling.

Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season is in the books, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Especially if you’re a fan of good offense.

Each week, I dive into the All-22 coaches’ film before offering five insights to watch. Don’t be surprised if the points are here to stay. 

That’s the million-dollar question floating around league circles this week with the Vikings set to take on the league’s most explosive offense Sunday in Chicago. Ultra-aggressive defensive coordinator Brian Flores has befuddled quarterbacks throughout the league with his complex six-man pressure schemes and hot coverage concepts. He has also featured various zones with exotic alignments to test the patience and discipline of QBs distracted by the constant harassment from Minnesota’s chaotic pressure paths. 

Interestingly, Bears coach Ben Johnson holds a 5-1 record over Flores in their head-to-head matchups as playcallers. Johnson will challenge the Vikings with a multiple offense featuring bunch formations, pre-snap shifts and misdirection to slow down an aggressive defense that wants to attack on every down. He will also utilize the running game to control the tempo and force Minnesota to play on Chicago’s terms. With a pair of explosive runners (D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai) in the backfield with big-play potential, the Vikings can’t completely focus on QB Caleb Williams and the passing game or else run the risk of seeing the Bears run for 200-plus yards on an assortment of inside and perimeter runs that attack the weakness of the defensive scheme. 

Flores will welcome the challenge as an astute chess master and use static zones that let his defenders play fast as “see ball, get ball” defenders who will pursue the ball at a breakneck pace. The veteran defensive assistant will put the game on Williams’ shoulders to play efficiently without a critical mistake. Despite his success as an improvisational playmaker with a big-play mentality, Williams does force throws into coverage under duress. 

Moreover, he loses his discipline against soft coverage when he is forced to settle for checkdown after checkdown when he wants to push the ball down the field. In a marquee game that is destined to be decided in the final five minutes, Johnson versus Flores will come down to the tricks and treats that neither playcaller pulled out of his bag in Week 1. 

And based on their head-to-head track record, I give Johnson the upper hand in Sunday’s showdown.

It did not take long for the Ravens’ new offensive coordinator to figure out how to unlock the explosive potential of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry. The two-time MVP and two-time NFL rushing champ looked like an unstoppable force torching an overmatched Indianapolis Colts’ defense in Week 1. 

Jackson threw for 324 yards and a touchdown, while running for 40 yards and another score as part of the Ravens’ 500-plus-yard effort in a 41-23 road win. Henry added 144 yards and three scores while pummeling the Colts on downhill runs that tested the defense’s toughness, physicality and discipline. With Zay Flowers totaling 150 receiving yards in two quarters of work, the Ravens’ offense has the football world buzzing about its potential under first-time playcaller Declan Doyle. 

Studying the All-22 game tape, there is so much to love about Doyle’s approach, with an electric quarterback and running back taking turns punishing the Colts’ defense. Jackson, in particular, was on fire from the pocket, completing 17 of 25 passes with a 12.96 yards-per-attempt average. The three-time All-Pro settled in quickly, directing an exotic offense that blended traditional drop-back passes, bootlegs and option routes, along with the read-pass options (RPOs) that have made him the league’s most dangerous playmaker for almost a decade.  

Henry benefited from Doyle’s creative scheming on the ground, with various motions from the tight end/H-back creating creases at the point of attack. The deceptive use of the tight end/H-back as a lead blocker on the move will keep defensive coordinators up at night, trying to solve for the extra hat in the running game. Considering Henry still flashes the strength and power to run through defenders in tight quarters, the Ravens’ diverse running game will be a problem for defensive coordinators going forward. Next in their path is the Saints, who allowed the Lions’ Jahmyr Gibbs (156 yards) to run wild in Week 1. 

After watching a banged-up 49ers defense attack clubs with a straightforward approach under Robert Saleh last year, 2026 opponents should prepare to face a more dynamic defensive scheme with Raheem Morris now in charge. It’s apparent after just one game that the former head coach has enhanced the Niners’ vaunted scheme by adding more pre-snap disguise, five-man fronts and simulated pressures to the playbook. He has also simplified the 49ers’ coverage structure to let the defensive backs play faster in the back end. 

Such changes were evident against the Rams, as the 49ers suffocated one of the league’s best offenses for four quarters. From stuffing the run with five-man structures that knocked the Rams’ blockers off their path to creative pre-snap movement and shifts that morphed five-man fronts into four-down structures, with defensive linemen dropping into coverage, the chaos at the line of scrimmage forced Matthew Stafford and Co. to pause. 

The Niners linebackers and defensive backs benefited from a streamlined approach that prioritized simplicity over complexity. Although the 49ers have utilized more pre-snap disguise to play games with Stafford, it has been by buzzing into a coverage that is easy to understand and execute. With the 49ers emphasizing speed and relying on instincts as a “see ball, get ball” defense, the Rams struggled to handle the speed and physicality of a defense built to hunt from every angle. 

Looking at the stat sheet, the tweaks worked out well, with Stafford held to fewer than 200 pass yards and Puka Nacua and Davante Adams combining for eight catches and 100 receiving yards. The Rams had just one play go for more than 16 yards all day. Moreover, San Francisco produced a pair of takeaways and a pivotal goal-line stand that flipped the game in its favor. 

With Fred Warner and crew embracing these changes with enthusiasm, the NFC should worry about a new and improved defense possibly sparking a title run in the Bay Area. 

The NFL is a copycat league, with coaches often stealing concepts from other coaches when they think it will help their teams win. While some of the thievery involves new, innovative concepts swiped from the league’s creative wizards, veteran coach Andy Reid has a knack for taking and implementing plays from old-school playbooks to help the Chiefs put points on the board. 

Against the Denver Broncos this past Monday night, the three-time Super Bowl winner was up to his old tricks again, using a play popularized by Glen “Pop” Warner in the early 1900s to get Kenneth Walker III a walk-in touchdown in the fourth quarter. 

Aligning in an unbalanced Single Wing formation with Walker at wingback on the left, the Chiefs perfectly executed a counter-shovel pass, with Mahomes sprinting left before underhand tossing the ball to his star RB headed back to the right behind a convoy of blockers. The overload alignment and misdirection caught the Broncos’ defense by surprise, as Walker scooted through a crease into the end zone. 

The bold throwback play in a marquee game set social media on fire, with historians and old-school football fans immediately recognizing it. The fanfare also prompted me to dig deeper and discover that the Single Wing has been part of the Chiefs’ short-yardage package for years. Back in 2023, Rashee Rice scored against the New England Patriots on the exact same play, with Jerick McKinnon flipping the touchdown to the wingback Rice on an inside reverse/counter. 

Digging deeper, I discovered the Chiefs broke out a toy from an old Notre Dame box in Super Bowl LIV against the 49ers to nearly score a touchdown with Damien Williams. Aligned in a full-house backfield, the Chiefs shifted to an unbalanced Single Wing formation to the right. The deceptive pre-snap shift diverted the defense’s attention from Williams, who fielded the direct snap and plunged between the tackles on a fullback dive from the overload formation. Although the Chiefs did not score on the play, the creative use of a throwback-era play is another example of Reid’s willingness to steal from the throwback era to put points on the board. 

With Single Wing enthusiasts anxiously awaiting Reid’s latest spin on the legendary formation, the Chiefs’ short-yardage/goal line package has suddenly become must-see television. 

The NFL operates in cycles, with teams reverting to old-school tactics every few seasons. This year, we are seeing a return to old-school football, with teams embracing more under-center work and heavy personnel groupings to jumpstart their offenses. 

Part of the rationale is to set up the quarterback for success by using the running game and play-action to slow down aggressive fronts attacking gaps with various pressures, stunts and games. Additionally, the return to under center work is part of a bigger plan to force opponents out of the two-high shells defensive coordinators are featuring, limiting explosive plays from quarterbacks trying to connect with speedy receivers on vertical routes. 

As teams park their safeties in the stadium parking lot with split-field structures and more defensive backs in exotic sub-packages, offensive coordinators are countering the soft coverage with a run-based game plan out of tight end-heavy formations. Last season, the Rams terrorized opponents out of “13” personnel because three tight ends on the field created a physical advantage. Two or three tight ends aligned together create extra running gaps and expose smallish sub-package defenders who get overwhelmed as run-gap defenders. 

With offensive playcallers mixing in traditional drop-back or play-action passes from under center on five- and seven-step drops, the second-level defenders are easily lured to the line of scrimmage, leaving voids at intermediate range for digs and crossers on play-action concepts. Given the “chunk” plays derived from run-action plays, it’s no surprise more teams are looking to juice up their offenses with old-school formations and run-pass concepts. 

The numbers show the league-wide percentage of under-center plays from Week 1 (23.3%), suggesting teams will be more committed to a throwback approach than last season (17.6% for all of 2025). Given the offensive fireworks from season openers across the league — the 791 points scored tied the all-time record for Week 1 — we should expect more teams to use various under-center concepts to get their offenses going. As running backs find more traction plunging between the tackles on downhill concepts (there were six 100-yard rushers in Week 1), the threat of the run and the successful execution of those concepts will make the game easier for quarterbacks and playcallers this season. 

Former world champion Johnny Nelson has named a Hall of Famer who he would back against prime versions of Floyd Mayweather and Terence Crawford.

The two Americans retired as unbeaten five-division world champions and, generally speaking, were regarded as the finest talents of their respective eras.

Throughout Mayweather’s career, there were often doubts over his appetite for the toughest challenges but, by the end of it, no one could dispute his status as an all-time great.

Similarly, Crawford crafted a Hall of Fame-worthy legacy and became a three-division undisputed champion by dethroning Canelo Alvarez in his first outing at 168lbs.

Yet even with both men having placed their greatness beyond any reasonable doubt, Nelson believes that a prime Shane Mosley would have defeated them both.

‘Sugar’ was widely considered to be at the peak of his powers between the late 1990s and early 2000s, back when he made eight lightweight title defences before becoming a two-division world champion at 147lbs.

Mosley did so by dethroning Oscar De La Hoya with a split decision victory and, against Crawford, Nelson has told Daily Mail Sport that he believes the American would have had comparable success.

“I’m going Shane Mosley. On his day, he was a badman.”

Nelson also backed Mosley to defeat Mayweather, despite him losing their welterweight showdown in 2010.

“When they fought, [Mayweather] got the old version of him. So I’m going Mosley.”

At the age of 38, Mosley was widely credited with giving Mayweather one of his toughest fights and even managed to hurt ‘Money’ with a right hand in round two.