Tim Crean Articles - Page 5

The Chicago Bears need a new head coach next season and Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson looks like an ideal candidate. The OC worked wonders with Jared Goff, turning him from a trade throw-in to a legit MVP candidate, and the hope is he could work the same magic with 2024 No. 1 overall […]

The Indianapolis Colts head into Week 17 against the New York Giants with an outside chance to make the playoffs thanks to the Cincinnati Bengals beating the Denver Broncos on Saturday. Indy will turn to veteran backup Joe Flacco to get the job done as starting quarterback Anthony Richardson is out with injuries. Whether Flacco […]

The Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings face off in a crucial Week 17 NFC North showdown as both teams vie for playoff positioning ahead of the postseason. The Packers may be shorthanded on offense, though, as it sounds like wide receiver Christian Watson will miss the game with a knee injury. “Packers WR Christian […]

The Cleveland Browns restructured the massive Deshaun Watson contract to give the franchise a little more financial flexibility moving forward. However, with a fully guaranteed deal, there was little the team could do to change the fact that they are stuck with the QB, who was not good in 2024. Long story short, the Browns […]

The Los Angeles Rams take on the Arizona Cardinals in Week 17 with a spot in the playoffs on the line. The clinching scenario for LA is win, and you are probably in the postseason (more on that below). That win seems like it just got a little easier for the Rams and the Cardinals’ […]

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Let’s kick off the holiday season (and the NFL Week 17 slate) with two Christmas Day games as the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens do battle with the Houston Texans. So, without further ado, let’s jump right into the ClutchPoints NFL Week 17 […]

Things just keep getting worse for the New York Giants. The team has just two wins on the season and hasn’t sniffed a W since October 6. Now, after the Giants’ 34-7 Week 16 beatdown by the Atalanta Falcons this iteration of the G Men is officially the worst in the organization’s long and storied […]

Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell suffered a gruesome and devastating injury in the team’s 27-19 Week 16 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Dell suffered a dislocated knee cap and stayed in a Kansas hospital overnight. On Sunday, head coach DeMeco Ryans shared a little good news, that Dell was headed home to Texas. […]

The Cincinnati Bengals still have a chance to get into the playoffs in Week 16. The team is 6-8, which puts them two and a half games behind the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos for the final AFC Wild Card spots. It’s a long shot, but after an 0-3 (then 1-4) start, it’s impressive […]

The Chicago Bears take on the Detroit Lions in Week 16, and the Bears’ next head coach might be calling plays on the opposite sideline Sunday. Rumors are that the Bears are interested in Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who is one of the most sought-after names on the NFL coaching carousel heading into 2025. […]

Another NFL slate, another solid divisional matchup in Week 16 as the football festivities kick off with the Denver Broncos coming down the mountain to play the Los Angles Chargers in La La Land. This starts a run of pro football that goes for eight of the next 10 days. Happy Holidays! And without further […]

The Detroit Lions lost 48-42 to the Buffalo Bills in Week 15, but the team’s losses went well beyond the scoreboard. In an all-too-familiar sight, several Lions defenders left the field with injuries Sunday, and head coach Dan Campbell says at least two of them may be done for the rest of the season. “Lions […]

The 5-8 Cincinnati Bengals are playing the 3-10 Tennessee Titans in Week 15, and while the game means nothing in the playoff race, the first half has been a wild ride. There have been turnovers, TDs, big men rumbling, and unfortunately for Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard, an injury right after scoring a touchdown. With […]

The San Francisco 49ers’ playoff hopes ended in Week 15 after their 12-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. During the game, linebacker De’Vondre Campbell refused to go into the game after losing his starting spot to the returning Dre Greenlaw. Refusing to play when called upon is a major faux pax in professional sports, […]

As the Cleveland Browns get ready to face the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 15 head coach Kevin Stefanski made the unusual move of benching starting kicker Dustin Hopkins and going with a backup just over an hour before kickoff. “The Browns have made a kicking change for today’s game against the Chiefs. Dustin Hopkins […]

Before he was Carolina Panthers wide receiver Adam Thielen, he was Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen, and you can’t think about Vikings wide receivers without thinking about Randy Moss. The Hall of Fame wideout announced on Friday that he is battling cancer, and on Sunday, Thielen paid tribute to his former franchise-mate. Thielen rocked […]

When NFL legend Tom Brady became a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, it was unclear what (if any) role he would have in the organization. Now, after a losing season that featured Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew at quarterback, majority owner Mark Davis says his new partner will be intimately involved in searching […]

As the Tennessee Titans get ready to take on the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 15, the team got some good news on the Tony Pollard injury front. The team’s star running back will be available on Sunday despite dealing with an ankle injury. That is also good news for Pollard as he gets close to […]

The Jacksonville Jaguars were supposed to take the next step in 2024, but instead, they are 3-10 heading into Week 15 and currently picking firmly in the top 10 of the 2025 NFL Draft. With four games to play, the injury-riddled Jags could move as high as pick No. 3 or 4 with a few […]

The New York Jets are 3-10 heading into Week 15 of a season where many pundits picked them to not only win the AFC East but maybe even make the Super Bowl. While that record is both disappointing and embarrassing, it also means one positive thing: A high draft pick. Currently sitting in the neighborhood […]

The NFL season moves to Week 15, and the MVP race is heating up. There are now just four real candidates for the 2024 NFL MVP Award, and in Week 14, the leader of this list may have wrapped up the trophy. Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen made NFL history in a thrilling 44-42 loss […]

To start Week 15 of the NFL season, we get yet another terrific divisional matchup — as the league has given us nearly all season — with major NFC West and NFC Wild Card implications as the Los Angeles Rams travel north up the 5 Freeway (or Highway 1 if you want to take the scenic […]

There’s good news and bad news for the New England Patriots as they start to turn their attention to the 2025 NFL Draft. The negative is that they’ve played just a little too well of late to get the top of even a top-three pick. However, the positive is twofold. The team absolutely has its […]

As the Dallas Cowboys get ready for a Week 14 Monday Night Football matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals, the team got some good Trevon Diggs injury news. The All-Pro cornerback hasn’t played since Week 10 when groin and knee injuries knocked him out of action. Now, Diggs is back, and that means that the Cowboys’ […]

Longtime Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy is at an impasse after his school gave him a simple ultimatum, take a pay cut or get fired. While the options are simple, the situation is anything but, and the latest reports are that Gundy, whose Cowboys finished 3-9 this season, is willing to “compromise” with the […]

As the Los Angeles Chargers prepare for their massive Week 14 AFC West clash with the Kansas City Chiefs, the team is cautiously optimistic that star rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey will be able to play despite dealing with a knee injury. “The Chargers have some level of hope for the availability of Ladd McConkey […]

Bill Belichick shocked the football world Thursday when it emerged that the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach interviewed for the North Carolina football head coaching job. With a handful of enticing NFL jobs open or soon-to-be-opening and Belichick just 26 victories shy of Don Shula’s all-time wins record, everyone assumed that the former New England […]

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott may be out for the season with an injury, but he still has strong feelings about his head coach Mike McCarthy, and his future with the franchise. In his most recent comments, Prescott not only said he felt “helpless” not being able to win games for his embattled head coach, […]

The Detroit Lions moved to 11-1 on the season with their 34-31 Week 14 victory over the Green Bay Packers. That gives them a game-and-a-half lead in the NFC for the one-seed as the playoffs approach. However, ESPN analyst Ryan Clark still believes the 10-2 Philadelphia Eagles are the best team in the conference. “The […]

The Detroit Lions kept control of the NFC, the NFC North, and their 11-game winning streak by beating the Green Bay Packers 34-31 in a thrilling Week 14 Thursday night game. The game ended on a 35-yard Jake Bates field goal, but the Lions won it on the play before when Dan Campbell decided to […]

Week 14 of the NFL season is here. With Thanksgiving in the rearview mirror and the final bye week upon us, it’s time for the mad dash for playoff spots, seeding, and draft position. The slate this week starts with possibly the game of the week as NFC North rivals and Super Bowl contenders the […]

The Buffalo Bills dispatched the once-mighty San Francisco 49ers with relative ease in a snowy Week 13 35-10 victory. With that, they became the second team in the NFL to clinch a 2024 playoff berth and the first to clinch its division. So, despite the five remaining weeks of the regular season, it’s fair to […]

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy had an incredible game against his old team, the Denver Broncos. The fifth-year wideout had nine catches for 235 yards and a touchdown in the Browns’ 41-32 loss in the Mile High City. During the game, Jeudy, who requested a trade away from Denver, heard plenty of boos from […]

The Baltimore Ravens lost 24-18 to the Philadelphia Eagles in the best matchup of Week 13. Baltimore missed several opportunities throughout the game, including kicker Justin Tucker pushing two field goals and an extra point wide. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson also missed chances to run when the space was there, and after the game, his […]

Rivalry Week got heated as the Ohio State-Michigan game when the Wolverines planted their flag on the OSU logo following the Team Up North’s 13-10 upset of the No. 2 squad in the nation. While the Michigan flag-planting incident was the most publicized of the weekend, the move led to fights in several rivalry games […]

It’s not just Week 13 in the NFL this week. It’s Thanksgiving Week! A holiday where we celebrate friends, family, and football with the Chicago Bears vs. Detroit Lions, New York Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys (a perfect game to ignore while eating turkey, and the Miami Dolphins vs. the Green Bay Packers to cap the […]

Former NFL quarterback turned ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky will forever be known for his biggest boneheaded play. In Week 5 of the 2018 season, the then-Detroit Lions QB tried running away from Minnesota Vikings legend Jared Allen and ran right out the back of the end zone for a safety. In the Houston Texans’ 2024 […]

The fifth-ranked Indiana Hoosiers have been the darlings of the 2024 college football season but after getting demolished 38-16 by the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes, the team’s undefeated season is officially over. So, now the question is how far will Indiana fall in the College Football Playoff rankings and the AP Top-25 College Football […]

When things are going badly, it’s good to keep a sense of humor about it. That said, now-former New York Jets general manager Joe Douglas probably wishes he wasn’t so on the nose with his joke to interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich about getting fired by owner Woody Johnson. “Jets owner Woody Johnson arrived in […]