The Pulse Newsletter 📣 | This is The Athletic’s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.
Good morning! We’re football-heavy today.
Clarity: The NFC’s best comes into view
Yesterday, we talked about the randomness of this NFL season, particularly focused on the top of the AFC, which includes no teams from Kansas City, Baltimore or Buffalo. Today, we turn our intense gaze to the NFC, where two games — one last night, one next weekend — should give us striking clarity on the current hierarchy.
Let’s start with last night’s rock fight:
- In a battle of NFC behemoths, the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles (7-2) escaped Green Bay with a 10-7 win. It was a defensive masterpiece on both sides marked by a wonky final sequence, which ended with Brandon McManus’ potential game-tying 64-yard field goal blocked. The Packers (5-3-1) suffered late, and our Green Bay writer Matt Schneidman even wrote on the live blog that coach Matt LaFleur could be coaching for his job the rest of the season. Gulp.
Philadelphia, despite some offensive woes last night, clearly deserves a spot at the top of the NFC. For now, it has the best chance of a first-round playoff bye of any NFC team, according to our simulator. And fresh NFL Power Rankings are up, by the way.
Which brings us to our other game of note:
- Sunday, the Seahawks travel to Los Angeles to face the Rams in a matchup of the NFC’s two other elite teams, who might also be the most exciting teams in the entire NFL. They happen to inhabit the same division and sit tied with a 7-2 record, which feels unfair as we look toward the future. In the short term, we profit.
- Seattle boasts a feisty defense, architected by coach Mike Macdonald, paired with the still-resurgent QB Sam Darnold, who looks like one of the best decisions of the offseason. On the other side, Matt Stafford is the MVP front-runner at this point for a Rams team whose two losses have come by a total of 10 points. We’ll get this best-on-best treat twice in the next month.
Hopefully, they score a few more points than Philly and Green Bay did last night. Also of note last night:
- The YouTube TV/ESPN standoff rages on, as last night’s game marked the second straight week “Monday Night Football” has been off the streaming giant’s air. YouTube will issue those $20 credits this week, too.
Let’s keep moving:
Things You Need to See: Some buzzer-beaters are just art
Let’s be clear and acknowledge that all buzzer-beaters are great. Hitting any shot to win any game in the final seconds is dope. But there is something a little more poetic about what Andrew Wiggins did last night in Miami:
OMG WIGGS! pic.twitter.com/6mMUhL1RTo
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) November 11, 2025
This wasn’t a tough shot, no separation with a defender in his grill. But it was the only shot the Heat could get in 0.4 seconds, and Erik Spoelstra’s play worked to perfection. Bellissimo. Miami is now 7-4 after the overtime win against the Cavaliers.
- Elsewhere in buzzer-beaters: Desmond Bane’s “ho-hum” (actually electric) jumper to give the Magic a much-needed victory over the Blazers. See it here.
- The Pistons (now 9-2!) also got in on the act. Just watch it all.
It was a wild night in the NBA. The Bounce will have more later.
News to Know
Patrick McDermott / Getty Images
Daboll canned in New York
The Giants fired coach Brian Daboll yesterday after a 2-8 start to his fourth season in charge, a move many saw coming as far back as last offseason. Daboll, a respected offensive mind, went 20-40-1 during his tenure and never capitalized on his 2022 Coach of the Year season. Not even Jaxson Dart’s emergence could save him, though Dart’s concussions — and Daboll’s response — likely led to the coach’s downfall.
Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka will take over as interim coach, and he will have a shot at the full-time gig — or someone else’s. Another idea: Mike Tomlin, anyone? As for Daboll, it’s easy to wonder if he returns to Buffalo to help save the flailing Bills offense.
Drug test discovers tumor
Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton was randomly selected for a drug test two weeks ago, a routine thing under the NFL’s program. No drugs showed up on the screening, but it did lead to the detection of a tumor and diagnosis of testicular cancer. Singleton had surgery Friday after playing in the Broncos’ win Thursday. What a story.
More news
- Former LSU coach Brian Kelly filed a lawsuit against the school, alleging it is still seeking to fire him for cause to avoid paying his full buyout figure. Full report here. Sigh.
- Texas authorities confirmed to The Athletic yesterday that Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland crashed into a pickup truck after the police chase the night of his death. See more details here.
- Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has been cleared to practice. The 21-day window to decide Burrow’s season is open.
- Japanese pitcher Tatsuya Imai will be posted for MLB teams by the Seibu Lions. He may be the most intriguing player coming out of Japan this offseason. Read our scouting report.
- A’s slugger Nick Kurtz won AL Rookie of the Year unanimously, while Braves catcher Drake Baldwin won the NL award in a tight race.
- UCLA is trying to leave the Rose Bowl to play its football games at SoFi Stadium. The Rose Bowl is fighting back.
- The NCAA banned six ex-college basketball players for gambling violations. Read our full report.
📫 Love The Pulse? Check out our other newsletters.
What to Watch
📺 NBA: Celtics at 76ers
8 p.m. ET on NBC/Peacock
These teams are both middling for now, but I’m most interested to watch Tyrese Maxey, who’s tied for second — with reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — in the league scoring 33.2 points a game, less than a point behind leader Giannis Antetokounmpo (33.8). We might be writing about Maxey’s superstar turn soon.
📺 NCAAM: No. 9 Kentucky at No. 11 Louisville
8 p.m. ET on ESPN
I love early season rivalry matchups, and tickets to this game are going for nearly $200 a pop. Easily worth a watch, especially for two top-15 teams.
📺 NHL: Ducks at Avalanche
9:30 p.m. ET on TNT/HBO Max
Anaheim is 11-3-1, atop the Pacific Division standings, giving signs of life for the first time in nearly a decade. Colorado, as expected, leads the Central Division. And according to our latest Power Rankings, these two are the best in the entire NHL. Great game.
Get tickets to games like these here.
Pulse Picks
Streameast is dead. Streameast lives. Adam Leventhal has a great story on the corporate game of whack-a-mole that is taking down a piracy giant. Read it (or listen!) here.
The Athletic’s NBA staff ranked the top 25 NBA players of the 21st century. It was difficult.
Chris Vannini yanked Indiana from its perch atop his Athletic 136 this week in favor of Ohio State. Hm. See the full rankings.
Don’t miss Jake Ciely’s Week 11 fantasy football waiver wire recommendations, of course.
A new stadium named after President Donald Trump? David Aldridge says the Commanders have better options.
Mike Sando detailed the dire situation for Kyler Murray in Arizona. Is it time for baseball?
FIFA’s next cash cow: World Cup parking prices.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: The full dossier of evidence against Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz in the ongoing betting scandal.
Most-read on the website yesterday: The Daboll news.