For each game he broadcasts during the 2024 NFL season all the way through Super Bowl LIX, FOX Sports lead NFL analyst Tom Brady is choosing one standout star as his LFG Player of the Game.

After another all-around team win from the now 6-0 Kansas City Chiefs, Brady chose one of the more overlooked members of the defending Super Bowl champions as his LFG Player of the Game: Chiefs offensive lineman — and Brady’s former New England Patriots teammate — Joe Thuney.

Tom Brady’s LFG Player of the Game: Chiefs OL Joe Thuney | Week 7 DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE

Thuney and his fellow linemen came up huge in Kansas City’s run game on a day when quarterback Patrick Mahomes had one of his worst statistical passing performances of his career. The Chiefs had 184 rushing yards, averaged 4.7 yards per carry and scored all four of their touchdowns on the ground in their 28-18 win over the San Francisco 49ers.

“As an offensive line, we always take pride in trying to run the ball, especially when the defense knows we’re going to run the ball,” Thuney told Brady. “In those situations, it takes all 11 guys — tight ends blocking, wide receivers blocking, running backs running hard, Pat making great calls — so it’s a total team effort. And [we] just couldn’t be happier.”

The Chiefs remain undefeated despite losing several key offensive weapons around Mahomes and Travis Kelce, including starting running back Isiah Pacheco, No. 1 wide receiver Rashee Rice and — early in Sunday’s game — veteran wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster. 

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“It’s really a next-man-up mentality,” Thuney said. “During the week, everyone’s practicing so hard [and] getting the playbook regardless [of whether] they’re starting or not. It’s football, it’s tough. Injuries happen. But it’s just a great team to be a part of. Everyone’s contributing to the win and really proud.”

Still, few quarterbacks in the NFL (especially now that Brady is retired) are as consistently clutch as Mahomes. That confidence in Mahomes — even on a day when he has a 59.3% completion rate, 154 pass yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions — pays dividends. Such as when he has a career-best 33-yard scramble that sets up a crucial fourth-down touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

“He’s just making plays left and right,” Thuney said. “Everyone has so much trust and faith in him, and he’s always coming through. And we all just try and do our part to make this offense succeed, and you’re just gonna be more proud.”

Thuney said he considers himself lucky to have played with both Brady and Mahomes — even while sidestepping Brady’s question over which quarterback buys him better Christmas gifts.

“You guys are 10 out of 10,” Thuney said. “Both you guys are unbelievable.”

The inaugural honor went to Cowboys pass-rusher Micah Parsons in Week 1, followed by star New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara in Week 2, Baltimore Ravens RB Derrick Henry in Week 3, Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield in Week 4, Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray in Week 5 and Detroit Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell in Week 6.

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LAS VEGAS – Cameron Smotherman was in Saudi Arabia to corner a teammate when he got a call that changed his life.

Just a few days ahead of UFC Fight Night 245, Smotherman (12-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) received a call from his manager asking him about his weight because Jake Hadley’s original opponent, Brady Hiestand, could no longer compete.

Smotherman did everything he could to ensure the opportunity wouldn’t pass him.

“I run to another hotel to check my weight, and then I’m like, “Oh, this sh*ts a little heavy,’” Smotherman said with a laugh during a post-fight news conference. “I’m not about to let this chance go to waste, and so I take a picture, but I grabbed the wall, and I just gave myself a little DC boost and took the picture, sent it.”

Smotherman said he immediately went to start cutting weight. A few minutes later, Smotherman received word he was in to face Hadley (11-4 MMA, 3-4 UFC), and needed to get on a plane immediately. He didn’t know who he would be facing, but he packed his bags and let his teammate know he was leaving.

“They were like, ‘Well, you know you’re not going to get here until Wednesday night?’ Smotherman said. “So, I’m like, ‘I don’t give a f*ck when I get here. I could get here Friday morning, and I’m going to f*cking make the weight.’ I got here Wednesday night and had to cut 20 pounds or some sh*t in a day and a half.”

It was all worth it. Smotherman weighed in at 135.5 pounds for the bantamweight bout against Hadley and fought to an impressive unanimous decision win as a sizable short-notice underdog.

Everything moved so fast that things really didn’t start to hit Smotherman until he was in the middle of a post-fight interview in the octagon. It was then he could barely contain himself that he was now a winning UFC fighter, a dream that seemed bleak after being finished on Dana White’s Contender series last August.

That loss to Charalampos Grigoriou nearly sent Smotherman down a different path, but he stuck fighting, even though it was hard. He won his next three fights on the regional scene, stopping two of those opponents.

Despite winning three in a row, a path to the UFC didn’t seem realistic. So, how did he stay positive after the DWCS loss?

“Easy answer: You don’t stay positive,” Smotherman said. “I was negative as f*ck. I was about to quit every day. We were talking about this a few weeks ago. It was a running joke at the gym, ‘Oh, you know Cameron, he’s always about to quit.’ I’m like, because I am, motherf*cker! I’m not about to just – for me, I like fighting, but I don’t just love the sh*t to where I’m not about to just be fighting to fight.

“I’m fighting because I think I have a future in it, and I feel like I can do something with it. But yeah, it was hard as f*ck. I was depressed for a year and I didn’t even know it. … But I also realized in the back, that the reason I wanted to quit so much is because I was scared of failing.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 245.

Watch as former Liverpool and Chelsea manager Rafael Benitez analyses Curtis Jones’ match-winning performance during the Reds’ 2-1 victory against the Londoners which kept them top of the Premier League table.

READ MORE: ‘The performance we’ve been waiting for’ – how Jones capped his perfect week

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LAS VEGAS – Charles Johnson is calling for a step up in competition.

Now on a four-fight winning streak, Johnson (17-6 MMA, 6-4 UFC) is hoping to get one of the bigger names in the flyweight division – Kai Kara-France or Manel Kape. This request comes after Johnson defeated Su Mudaerji (16-7 MMA, 3-4 UFC) in a unanimous decision on the main card of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 245.

“I would love to fight a Kai – not Asakura, but the other one: Kara-France,” Johnson said at the UFC Fight Night 245 post-fight press conference. “I would love to fight a Manel Kape. I would love to fight those guys in the top eight. I think I’ve done enough to show I’m ready for that.”

Johnson is hoping the UFC pushes him more in opportunity and promotion. He believes he could make big noise at 125 pounds, a division needed of big names.

“It feels like I’m getting every undefeated guy, every tough challenge before I get that opportunity and I just want to show them I’m an American, I can talk, I’ve got the swag,” Johnson said. “I’ve got everything this weight class needs. Y’all need somebody to market? These guys can’t speak English. Just because they’re foreign, I’ve got nothing against them. But they don’t know how to market themselves. Nobody is talking. … I just think I’m in a prime position to take over and do what needs to be done to make this a weight class people are excited about.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 245.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Fight week wasn’t smooth for Francis Ngannou, nor was the fight camp for his return to MMA.

The former UFC champion has experienced a ton personally and professionally since leaving the promotion early in 2022.

Some things were great. Ngannou (18-3) landed a lucrative contract with PFL that allowed him the freedom to compete in boxing, and he did that twice against a pair of champion-level heavyweights. Even though he lost both fights, an event that occurred between the bouts against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua nearly broke him.

Ngannou endured an unthinkable tragedy when his 15-month-old son Kobe died unexpectedly.

For a while, Ngannou struggled to process everything. He didn’t know which direction he wanted to go in life. As the days passed and the healing process began, he found a purpose in competition. Now, he was doing it for Kobe.

While Ngannou found a purpose, the days before his return to MMA to face Renan Ferreira at PFL: Battle of the Giants were not without mental hurdles. He admits there were days in camp when he was overcome with emotions and even questioned whether he wanted to compete during fight week, yet that purpose kept him pushing forward.

“Sometimes, it’s good to just take it one at a time,” Ngannou said in his dressing room after the fight. “Some days are tougher than others, and you just have to tell yourself, deal with this day, and tomorrow you will find out. Even when I came here in Riyadh, I landed on Thursday night. On Friday morning, I had a second thought about this fight because my rib was hurting so bad. We checked at the hospital and it was nothing, it was just a pain, but it was painful.

“Overall, during the camp, there was days that you break down, and get very emotional. You don’t want to keep going and you just give it a shot. It’s all about one foot at a time, let me see how it goes.”

Ngannou’s process worked. He made it to the PFL’s cage 1,000 days after his previous MMA fight, when he defeated Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 to defend the heavyweight title. His return didn’t last long. Just three and a half minutes was all it took to put Ferreira (13-4) out with punches.

“The Predator” is back, and now has a win in Saudi Arabia, where he lost both boxing bouts. However, the location of his emotional return wasn’t on his mind. It was all about Kobe, which he says meant more than his UFC title wins.

“I wasn’t thinking about it like having a win here in Riyadh, I was thinking about it just like a fight for my son,” Ngannou said. “Keeping my son in memory feels more better than everything. Make people remember him.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL: Battle of the Giants.