Editorials Articles - Page 11

Just when it’s looking like the Minnesota Timberwolves have begun to figure it out, they fall back into old habits. Carrying a four-game winning streak into Christmas made it seem as though the Timberwolves were going to establish themselves as a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference, especially when that streak included a huge win […]

The play was over, a routine fast-break for the Memphis Grizzlies leading to a second-quarter timeout, but the lesson was just beginning. As the rebuilding Washington Wizards grabbed some water, CJ McCollum was already deep in conversation with Alex Sarr, diagramming a read. It was a small moment, invisible to the public for the most […]

The Detroit Lions’ Christmas Day loss to the Minnesota Vikings secured a playoff berth for the Green Bay Packers, who certainly played without any urgency in their Week 17 game against the Baltimore Ravens. Although the Packers have secured their spot in the postseason, they are beginning to struggle at the worst time. The Week […]

The Cleveland Browns have often been known for the NFL Draft over the entirety of the 21st century, often for all the wrong reasons. The team has become notorious for selecting massive draft busts. They’ve owned the first overall pick on numerous occasions, too, and they’ve had varying results with the top selection. Their draft […]

The Denver Broncos entered Week 17 with a lot to gain, even against a Kansas City Chiefs team that had nothing to play for. The Broncos began the week as the frontrunner to clinch the AFC’s No. 1 seed in the NFL playoffs, a position that has only strengthened since. It did not come easy, […]

The Arizona Cardinals are firmly inside a state of rebuild. After another season derailed by injuries and inconsistency, the 2026 NFL Draft looms as a defining inflection point for the franchise. With a roster in need of an identity reset, Arizona’s draft strategy must balance immediate talent infusion with long-term flexibility. Using the PFF mock […]

For the Miami Dolphins, the 2026 NFL Draft represents more than roster building. It’s a referendum on direction. After an uneven 2025 season, Miami enters the draft cycle at a crossroads. With cap space tight and expectations still high inside the building, the Dolphins must rely on the draft to stabilize key positions and define […]

The Jacksonville Jaguars have made an insane comeback this season. They started at the bottom of the AFC South this season, partly due to their own issues and partly due to the Indianapolis Colts’ resurgence. With the Colts dropping off as of late, though, the Jaguars took advantage and went on a six-game winning streak […]

It’s hard to look at Saquon Barkley’s 2025 season with the Philadelphia Eagles and consider it anything other than a disappointment. Now granted, he hasn’t been bad per se, he will still finish out the 2025 NFL season with well over 1,000 yards, maybe as high as the mid 1,200s, but after going for over […]

For the Cincinnati Bengals, the 2026 NFL Draft isn’t about tweaking a contender. It’s about course correction. They were once considered annual Super Bowl threats behind Joe Burrow. Now, the Bengals find themselves staring at a third straight year outside the postseason. They have been undone by injuries, defensive collapses, and a roster that has […]

Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson expressed extreme disappointment after his team suffered a 117-100 loss to the Houston Rockets on Saturday. That final score was generous, as the Cavs trailed by as many as 31 points in the fourth quarter and barely showed a pulse in their follow-up to a promising week of basketball. […]

So, it’s HBCU award season, and I’m fortunate enough—in my three years covering HBCU sports for ClutchPoints and HBCU Pulse—to have a single vote for a postseason award in the HBCU space. The honor is the Quarter Phi Back Award, which honors the best high school and HBCU quarterback in the nation. Now, there are […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Perfection is usually impossible, but the Washington Wizards were close to perfect in their 138-117 home win over the Toronto Raptors on Friday. That’s partially because third-year guard Bilal Coulibaly had his best game of the season after returning from a sprained ankle on Tuesday. The 21-year-old opened up post-game about how […]

After three years in Austin, Quintrevion Wisner will seek a new team from the college football transfer portal. The Texas running back has led the team in rushing each of the last two seasons, but will end his college football career with a new school. Wisner hits the portal with 1,734 rushing yards and 11 […]

Week 17 of the NFL and Fantasy Football is finally upon us and the most important matchups of the fantasy playoffs are here. Whether or not you’re in the fantasy championship thanks to your quarterback, a solid performance at the position in Week 17 could be the difference in winning a league title. The final […]

Who expected the Seattle Seahawks to be here? Before the start of the season, Seattle was pegged to be a middle-of-the-pack team this year. Perhaps they’d be a high Wild Card team at best. Yet, here we are. With two games left in the season, the Seahawks hold the first seed in the NFC. It’s […]

Championship week is supposed to be about confidence, conviction, and one last bold decision. Injuries, though, have a way of ripping that certainty apart. As the 2025 NFL regular season barrels toward its conclusion, Week 17 arrives with playoff implications, personal milestones, and fantasy football titles all colliding at once. For fantasy managers still standing, […]

It may not be panic time quite yet for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but every loss must be sending the Cavs closer and closer to manning their panic stations. They are now 17-15 on the season after suffering a fourth-quarter meltdown on Christmas Day en route to a 126-124 loss to the New York Knicks, and […]

The Tennessee Titans are past the point of pretending the margins will save them. This is no longer about a tweak here or a veteran stopgap there. After another season spent buried in the AFC South cellar, the Titans look ahead to the 2026 NFL Draft needing identity as much as talent. Using the PFF […]

The Cleveland Cavaliers have not nearly been as good this season as they were the previous campaign. In fact, the decline has been steep. Following the Cavs’ disappointing 126-124 Christmas Day defeat to the New York Knicks, Cleveland is now the owner of a disappointing 17-15 record. For reference, the Cavs lost all of 18 […]

Everyone needs an occasional confidence boost from time to time. Whether from a friend or a professional peer in a high-wire field, just hearing the support of others can help a player. GG Jackson knows this all too well after years with the consistently inconsistent Memphis Grizzlies and some recent trade rumor news. So does […]

The New York Jets are once again staring at the wreckage of a failed quarterback experiment. This time, there’s no ambiguity about what comes next. After cycling through Justin Fields, Brady Cook, Tyrod Taylor, and desperation itself, the Jets are no longer pretending they can duct-tape the position together. The 2026 NFL Draft represents a […]

With Week 17 of the NFL Regular Season already here, Fantasy Football championship rounds are nearing or have already concluded by this point. The final few weeks of the fantasy season can be a confusing time – injuries, teams falling out of playoff contention, and players resting ahead of the NFL Playoffs all plays a […]

One of the biggest games on the NFL Week 17 slate will come in prime time on Sunday night when the Chicago Bears take on the San Francisco 49ers in a battle of NFC contenders. Both the Niners and the Bears have already locked up a playoff spot, but there is still plenty to play […]

Before their Christmas Day battle with the Houston Rockets, JJ Redick made it clear that his Los Angeles Lakers needed to give more effort and that the “shortcuts” some players have been taking defensively are unacceptable. The lack of effort and intensity Redick saw from his group in a 132-108 loss to the Phoenix Suns […]

The banged-up Memphis Grizzlies reached Christmas Week still searching for traction, their recent stretch a study in uneven execution, fluctuating availability, and narrow margins. Those same trends have defined much of the season’s news. Sure, there have been some unexpected road victories. Too many frustrating setbacks are highlighted in the ongoing defensive lapses and challenges […]

The college football transfer portal received a captivating new addition on Friday in James Madison quarterback Alonza Barnett III. The veteran joins an intriguing portal class after a first-round loss to Oregon in the College Football Playoffs. Although the Dukes suffered a 17-point beatdown from the Ducks, Barnett proved to a number of people that […]

The Los Angeles Chargers have dealt with as many injuries as just about anyone so far this season, but they keep winning games. A strong defense under Jesse Minter and some more great quarterback play from Justin Herbert have Los Angeles sitting at 11-4 on the season, already with a playoff berth in hand. On […]

Have you checked the small fantasy football boxes, like kicker? Don’t forget to look at the full list for defense. But if you need an update after the three Christmas Day games, here are a couple of last-minute defense and special teams streaming options, and one to avoid, for NFL Week 17. The main defense […]

The NBA owns Christmas Day, regardless of what other leagues try to do to assert their dominance on the 25th of December. That was pretty evident on Thursday, as all five Christmas Day games in the NBA delivered compelling storylines and must-see action. This marquee five-game slate Santa Claus gave us started with a two-point […]

Call of Duty Black Ops 7 enables players to prestige while receiving rewards along the way. However, not everyone knows the full list of Prestige or Prestige Mastery Rewards. Therefore, we created a list of all Prestige Awards in Call of Duty Black Ops 7. Without further ado, let’s dive right in. All Prestige Rewards […]

It has been a packed year of concerts, from Oasis’ long-awaited 2025 reunion tour to year five of Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour. Legacy acts hit the road in 2025; Paul McCartney has brought his Got Back Tour back to North America this year, and The Who embarked on their farewell tour. That […]

The Los Angeles Rams have clinched a playoff spot, but they have higher ambitions. Despite it’s recent reputation as a playoff team killer, the number one seed in each conference is still highly coveted. When used properly, a bye week before the playoffs is a godsend. The Rams seemed like they were on track to […]

While the Los Angeles Rams may be without Davante Adams, the Atlanta Falcons are pumped and ready. And here are bold predictions for their Week 17 Monday Night Football clash. The Rams are 11-4 and still chasing the NFC West title and a possible No. 1 seed. Meanwhile, the Falcons are 6-9, having won two […]

The 2025 edition of AEW’s Worlds End PPV is finally here and has the fans all geared up. On Dec. 27, 2025, AEW is set to host one of its annual traditional PPVs at Now Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. With 10 matches confirmed for the PPV, here are ClutchPoints’ predictions for the show. AEW […]

Christmas Day at Ford Field became a brutal audit of everything that went wrong when the margins disappeared. The Detroit Lions’ loss to the Minnesota Vikings was an unraveling. Against a Vikings team starting a third-string quarterback, Detroit imploded in the one way it absolutely could not afford to: with the football. Turnovers erased effort, […]

Christmas Day was supposed to be a measuring stick for the Washington Commanders. They were supposed to show resilience, pride, and progress in a season that’s been anything but smooth. Instead, it became another reminder of how far this team still has to go. Against the Dallas Cowboys, Washington showed flashes of fight but was […]

There was a time when Christmas at Arrowhead meant inevitability. It meant touchdowns, noise, and a Kansas City Chiefs team that always found a way. On Christmas night in 2025, it meant something very different. With playoff hopes already extinguished, the Chiefs trudged through a sobering loss to the Denver Broncos. It felt less like […]

The Orlando Magic made it clear this past offseason that they were looking forward to taking the next step in their road to contention. They traded away a king’s ransom of future draft picks to bring in Desmond Bane, hoping that he’ll be the shooter the team has sorely needed amid their struggles on the […]