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Morning Edition

January 24, 2025

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Josh Allen’s Bills are 0–3 in playoff games against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. On Sunday, they seek revenge—and the game should draw the NFL’s highest viewership of the season.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]] and Colin Salao [[link removed]]

As Bills Seek Playoff Revenge vs. Chiefs, Viewers Will Be at Attention [[link removed]]

Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Parity is one of the NFL’s biggest selling points, but the Chiefs are starting to become the counterpoint to that claim.

Kansas City will play its seventh consecutive AFC championship game Sunday as Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs chase the first three-peat in the Super Bowl era. The path this year has been eerily similar to their recent playoff runs, including a battle with Josh Allen and the Bills.

Buffalo will face the Chiefs in the postseason for the fourth time in five years. It has served as one of Kansas City’s biggest foils, despite being 0–3 against the Chiefs in the postseason with Allen under center. But the last two games were decided by one score—including the controversial overtime game in the AFC divisional round in 2022 that influenced a change to the overtime rules in the playoffs [[link removed]-].

Despite the ostensibly rinse-and-repeat scenario, the NFL is likely not complaining about this matchup. A battle between the Chiefs— the league’s best viewership draw this year [[link removed]]—and their playoff rival all but guarantees massive ratings.

Playoff Pull

Here are the viewership numbers from their last three postseason battles:

2024: 50.4 million ( most-watched AFC divisional-round game [[link removed]]) 2022: 42.7 million ( highest in five years for AFC divisional-round game [[link removed]], per Sports Media Watch) 2021: 42.3 million (AFC title game)

The AFC championship game in 2021 was the lone matchup that didn’t provide huge viewership numbers, especially considering it was deeper into the postseason than their last two games. But it was also their first duel in this era—so the rivalry had yet to be solidified—and the Chiefs won by 14 points.

The two teams met in the regular season on Nov. 17—the Chiefs’ only loss this year with Mahomes as a starter—and the game drew 31.1 million viewers. That was the most-watched regular-season game of the year [[link removed]], excluding Thanksgiving.

Questioning the Refs

A battle with the Bills isn’t the only thing about this Chiefs run that mirrors past years.

Opposing players have questioned whether the referees have given favorable calls to the Chiefs, and it continued after Kansas City’s divisional-round win over the Texans. Mahomes drew two penalty calls on drives in the first and third quarters that led to points.

“We knew it was going to be us versus the refs going into this game,” Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. said after the game [[link removed]].

Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey, whose team was eliminated by the Bills on Sunday, also expressed his disdain for Kansas City on social media.

“I have no reason of saying this other than being a hater. The Bills or whatever NFC team gotta beat the Chiefs. We can’t let them keep getting away with this,” Humphrey tweeted Tuesday [[link removed]].

And it’s not only the players. NFL game analyst Troy Aikman, who called the Texans-Chiefs game for ESPN, called out the refs—and for the league to take action [[link removed]]. “I could not disagree with that one more. He barely gets hit,” Aikman said. “They’ve got to address that in the offseason.”

EXCLUSIVE

The sponsorship deal between Fanatics and the Pivot podcast hosted by former NFL stars Ryan Clark, Channing Crowder, and Fred Taylor ended in late 2024, representatives of both sides confirmed to Front Office Sports. The show had been the first direct digital media sponsorship play by Fanatics. You can read more [[link removed]] about the split from FOS reporter Ryan Glasspiegel.

For all of our sports media reporting and insights, subscribe to the free Tuned In newsletter, [[link removed]] which will arrive in your inbox twice a week.

Depleted Lions: Campbell’s Coaching Tree Thrives Amid NFL Hiring Frenzy [[link removed]]

David Reginek-Imagn Images

Lions head coach Dan Campbell hasn’t won a Super Bowl—at least not yet. Even without that title, though, Campbell is quickly amassing one of the most extensive coaching trees in the NFL, a prominent sign of the league’s ongoing coaching carousel [[link removed]].

Earlier this week, the Jets named Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn as their new head coach, with the selection coming a little more than 24 hours after the Bears hired Ben Johnson [[link removed]], Detroit’s offensive coordinator, as their head coach. Campbell also just lost defensive line coach Terrell Williams from his staff, as he is joining new Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel as that team’s defensive coordinator.

The departures are hardly a surprise, as it’s long been a custom in NFL hiring circles for rebuilding teams to focus on rising talent from successful ones. To that end, both Glenn and Johnson have been long seen as top head coaching candidates. Lions GM Brad Holmes said Thursday that they’ve been preparing for this scenario and were actually somewhat surprised to be able to retain Johnson and Glenn as long as they did.

Still, it’s rather unusual to have so much coaching talent leave a single organization in such a concentrated window of time.

“There’s literally nothing else to do but pick yourself up and get back to work,” Holmes said.

The moves are also a testament to the Lions’ dramatic turnaround [[link removed]] over the past two years, now reaching the point where many other NFL teams look to Detroit as a near-optimal franchise. That’s even with the team falling short in the NFC championship game last season and being upset by the Commanders [[link removed]] last weekend in the divisional playoff round. Johnson was quick to acknowledge that in his introductory press conference in Chicago, an event aimed at establishing him in his new Bears role.

“They’re in our division, and they’re a rival now, but that runway has been built there,” Johnson said of the Lions. “I think they’re going to be a juggernaut. I really do.”

Campbell and Holmes conveyed a similar sentiment, insisting the Lions’ championship window is still wide open, even with the spate of coaching departures.

“You’ve got your culture, you’ve got your identity, and you’ve got players that fit into that, and we’ve got that,” Campbell said. “We’ve got players in every pivotal position you can ask for to have success, and those guys are made the right way, so absolutely, our window is open.”

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Adam Silver on Potential NBA League in Europe: ‘Still on the Table’ [[link removed]]

Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

On Wednesday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver confirmed to reporters that its strategy in Europe may involve an independent league [[link removed]] similar to what the NBA has built with the Basketball Africa League.

But the next day, Silver spoke at a press conference ahead of a two-game slate in Paris between the Spurs and Pacers and said that nothing is set in stone with a potential league. He said that “everything is still on the table,” including bringing in teams from the EuroLeague.

“The potential to include existing clubs, absolutely, should there be interest. The opportunity to create sustainable competition? Yes. Would we want to have a broad base of countries represented? Absolutely. I mean, that’s the benefit we have now by coming in and looking at this from a blank canvas,” Silver said.

The EuroLeague, which was established in the 1950s, is widely regarded as the second-best basketball league in the world after the NBA. Should the NBA build a league in Europe, it would have to compete directly with the EuroLeague.

IMG, the EuroLeague business arm, agreed to a long-term extension with the league earlier this year. However, according to The Athletic, the extension comes with opt-out clauses for its teams [[link removed]].

Silver did not comment on the deal between IMG and the EuroLeague, simply recognizing the NBA has relationships with both organizations.

“We’ve been partners in the past with the EuroLeague, and are close with many of their clubs, and are appreciative of the effort that’s going into growing basketball throughout Europe,” Silver said.

Exploring Team World vs. Team USA

Silver was also asked about the All-Star Game—which has been tweaked this year from a traditional East vs. West game to a tournament-style format [[link removed]]—and whether the league has considered a Team USA vs. Team World game.

The commissioner, who repeatedly mentioned that about 30% of NBA players have international backgrounds [[link removed]], confirmed the league has discussed the potential format. However, Silver said he also wanted to remain respectful of the development that individual countries have made over the years.

“[It may] be a little bit of an old-fashioned concept where we come in as Americans and say we’ll take on the world. I’m not sure how well that would be received by our international players,” Silver said.

However, he left the door open to a Team World vs. Team USA game. “Maybe we will do that one day,” Silver said.

SPONSORED BY POLESTAR

Polestar Added As Presenting Partner

Front Office Sports and Excel Sports Management are excited to share Polestar as the presenting partner of The Breakfast Ball [[link removed]]. Polestar is the Swedish electric performance car brand with a focus on uncompromised design and innovation, and the ambition to accelerate the change towards a sustainable future. Official partners also include Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers and Tommy John.

The Breakfast Ball is a Celebrity Pro-Am golf tournament and hospitality experience gathering the biggest names in sports, entertainment, and media leading up to the Big Game this February.

Learn more about the event here [[link removed]].

Conversation Starters Netflix released a teaser for Court of Gold, a docuseries on Team USA’s men’s basketball team at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Watch it here [[link removed]]. The A’s unveiled their new sleeve patch to commemorate the team’s first season in Sacramento. Check it out [[link removed]]. Major League Volleyball, a professional women’s league backed by volleyball legend Kerri Walsh Jennings and singer Jason Derulo, is expected to launch in January 2026 [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks Carmelo Anthony Testimony Appears to Backfire in NASL-U.S. Soccer Trial [[link removed]]by Daniel Kaplan [[link removed]]The judge criticized Anthony’s appearance in the $500 million trial Wednesday. Monumental RSN Investment Is Paying Off in D.C. [[link removed]]by A.J. Perez [[link removed]]Monumental is all over Alex Ovechkin’s historic goal chase. NFL Told Patriots to Take Down Bluesky Account [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]The Patriots tried to be the first NFL team to get on Bluesky but were picked off. Question of the Day

Are you planning to watch Sunday’s AFC championship game between the Bills and Chiefs?

YES [[link removed]] NO [[link removed]]

Thursday’s result: 52% of respondents think the Suns will be able to work out a trade for Bradley Beal and the $161 million on his contract.

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