Florida Sports Wire

  The Jaguars have to exorcise those Houston' nightmares of the past.   They need to take an early stance against a struggling 3-5 Texans' team that did manage to take Denver down to the wire last week. Playing in Houston won't be easy. The Houston Texans were once a thorn in the side of the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Houston had won seven straight games in Jacksonville, and they led the overall series in dominating fashion, 31-15. That was until Sept. 21 when the Jags posted a 17-10 victory at the Bank. It was the end of a  streak that saw the Jags usually come out flat against the Texans. Now, the Jags have to win in Houston Sunday. They lost last year, 24-20, in the Lone Star state, but previously posted victories there in 2022 and 2023. A playoff berth isn't out of the question in their foreseeable future. Playoffs? No, it’s not too early and you can't take anything for granted.  This Sunday suddenly looms as a must-win situation for them. At 5-3, they currently...

NEW YORK — As the 2025 season crosses the halfway point, six of the eight divisions have a team in first place or tied for first that did not win its division last season.  Denver (7-2), Indianapolis (7-2), and New England (7-2) are tied for the best record in the NFL while seven teams – Buffalo, the Los Angeles Chargers, the Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Tampa Bay – have six wins through Week 9. Berlin bound: As part of the league’s commitment to playing regular-season games in Germany, the NFL will continue its international slate of games with the first-ever regular season game in Berlin in Week 10 as the Atlanta Falcons (3-5) meet the Indianapolis Colts (7-2) (Sunday, 9:30 a.m. ET, NFL Network) at the Olympic Stadium Berlin. Indianapolis running back Jonathan Taylor ranks second in the NFL with 1,113 scrimmage yards this season while Atlanta running back Bijan Robinson ranks third with 1,058 scrimmage yards. It will mark the first game since Week 1...

ORLANDO – Major League Soccer today announced that Orlando City SC defender Alex Freeman has been named to the 2025 MLS Best XI, which recognizes the league’s top players at each position as determined by members of the media, MLS players and MLS club technical staffs. The honor marks the second post-season award for the Orlando City defender, following him being named the 2025 MLS Young Player of the Year earlier last week. At 21 years and 88 days old, Freeman is the youngest player to be named to the MLS Best XI since Philadelphia’s Brenden Aaronson earned the honor in 2020 (20 years, 29 days). The right back is the first Orlando City player in Club history to be named to an MLS Best XI, following his first MLS season as a full-time player, in which Freeman produced a career-best nine goal contributions (six goals, three assists) in regular-season play, netting his first MLS goal on March 1 against Toronto FC. Among all defenders in 2025, the attacking fullback’s six regular-season g...

TALLAHASSEE – Junior wide receiver Duce Robinson was named as a midseason addition to the Biletnikoff Award Watch List Wednesday. The award – named for former Florida State wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff and presented by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation – honors the best FBS receiver. Robinson, from Phoenix, leads Florida State with 34 receptions, 689 yards and four touchdowns. His three games with at least 140 receiving yards are second in the country and the most for a Seminole since All-American Snoop Minnis in 2000. Robinson is a two-time ACC Receiver of the Week, FSU’s first two-time winner since 2018. He caught five passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns against East Texas A&M without playing the second half. His touchdowns against the Lions came from 42 and 82 yards, FSU’s longest touchdown pass since 2019, and his 160 yards in the first quarter are the most nationally in a quarter this season. Robinson’s 173 receiving yards are the most in the ACC this season a...

  ST. AUGUSTINE – The Flagler College women’s golf team remained No. 14 in the nation according to the latest poll by SCOREBOARD, powered by clippd. The Saints have an average weighted points score of 30.09. Flagler has completed its fall schedule and is preparing for the spring slate. Flagler is one of three Peach Belt Conference teams in the top 25. The University of North Georgia stayed at No. 9 while Lander University also remained the same from last week at No. 19. Five of the top 10 are comprised of South/Southeast Region teams. Wingate University holds the top spot again while Anderson University held firm at No. 3. Lee University and Lynn University stayed put at Nos. 7 and 8, receptively. Three Saints are ranked in the top 100 individually. Henriette Stranda is ranked No. 2 again with an AWP score of 57.85. Sofia Terzoli moved up to No. 92 with an AWP of 19.46 and Tabitha Hanely jumped two spots to No. 98 with an AWP of 19.05.

  If you watched the Dolphins-Ravens game Thursday night, you had a sense something was going to happen. There were plenty of shots of the signage honoring the 1972 undefeated Dolphins team as well as booth shots of owner Steve Ross and legendary quarterback Dan Marino. It was a way to rekindle the golden days of old when the Dolphins were recognized as one of the premier franchises in the league. The fans with the brown bags over their heads signified the current tarnished state of the team. And, yes, something did happen, but not what was expected after the Fins had 11 yards in the third quarter and were basically hapless after halftime en route to a 28-7 defeat. Four-year beleaguered head coach Mike McDaniel wasn't fired, but nine-year GM Chris Grier was. It was a bit shocking, but it did send a settling message that there is more to come.   To fire McDaniel at this point with eight games to go wouldn’t make much sense unless you had a veteran coach waiting in the wing...

  By Jeff Moeller, Florida Sports Wire For the Jaguars, the time is now. They’ll get back into action Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas against the hapless Raiders, who have lost four of the last five games and stand at 2-5. The last time the Jaguars went to the West Coast they were involved in a tight battle with the 49ers, and they dug down deep to pull out a rather unexpected victory. That catapulted them into their epic Monday night victory over the Chiefs, and the Jags were suddenly in the discussion with the league elites with their 4-1 record.   Unfortunately, their stay at the top was short lived, as they suddenly slipped through a trap door. A London loss to the Rams, and a flat game against the Seahawks left them at 4-3, and those postseason aspirations now  have a longer route. Then there’s the Colts at 7-1, and they’re not going away anytime soon. Daniel Jones has a solid line in front of him, arguably the league’s best running back in Jonathan Taylor, and a ...

  ORLANDO - No. 9 Orlando City SC will face No. 8 Chicago Fire FC in the Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs Eastern Conference Wild Card game on Wednesday, Oct. 22, at SeatGeek Stadium, the league announced today. Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m. ET on MLS Season Pass and Apple TV. The winner of Wednesday’s Wild Card game will advance to the Audi MLS Cup Round One Best-of-3 series.  The Lions’ six straight playoffs appearances stand as the longest active streak in MLS. Over that six-year span, Orlando City has amassed 308 regular-season points, fourth-most in the league. This year’s squad added to that legacy, setting a new club record with 63 goals scored in a single season.  Orlando City will host a series of activations to celebrate the start of the Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs, including Kingston’s Scavenger Hunt—a city-wide fan experience featuring exclusive prizes, playoff swag, and more—along with official watch parties for all away playoff matches. More details, along with addi...

  Photo Courtesy LA Rams NEW YORK –– Three teams – Cincinnati, Denver and Green Bay – recorded game winning scores in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter in Week 7. Denver defeated the New York Giants, 33-32, after trailing 19-0 entering the fourth quarter and 26-8 with six minutes remaining, becoming the first team since 1970 to overcome a deficit of 18-or-more points with six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and win in regulation. The Broncos’ 33 fourth quarter points are tied with Dallas on Dec. 4, 2022 (33 points) for the second-most points scored by one team in a fourth quarter in NFL history, trailing only Detroit on Sept. 30, 2007 (34 points en route to a 37-27 win against the Chicago Bears). Denver quarterback Bo Nix became the first player in NFL history with two touchdown passes and two rushing touchdowns in a fourth quarter. Seven teams that missed the playoffs last year have at least four wins through Week 7, including three – Carolina, Chicago and New En...

Photo Courtesy LA Rams By Jeff Moeller, Florida Sports Wire For Liam Coen, the honeymoon is officially over. It appeared to end prematurely last week when the Jaguars overall looked flat on a home loss to the Seahawks, who most of the football world didn’t take seriously despite having Sam Darnold and their 4-1 record.  Yet, there was redemption ahead in a trip to London despite playing the 4-2 Rams. This time around, though, London wasn’t calling for them. Instead, they suffered another clunker in a 35-7 loss that wasn’t even as close as that. The 35 points were the most allowed by new defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile’s unit that once led the league in takeaways. Now, Coen has to deal with his first problem. If the Jags had a reality check last week against the Seahawks, this was a real awakening against the Rams. The Jags’ offense that hasn’t  been hitting on all cylinders, but still  getting some good mileage, needs a tuneup. That issue centered around Trevor La...

NEW YORK  –– A look at seven statistical highlights from games played during ton Sunday, October 12, the sixth week of the 2025 season. With three games remaining in Week 6, eight games were within one score in the fourth quarter and six games were decided by one score (eight points or fewer), including two – wins by Carolina and the Los Angeles Chargers – that featured the game-winning score in the final minute of the fourth quarter. The Indianapolis Colts improved to 5-1 after missing the postseason last year. In 35 of the past 36 seasons (1990-2025), at least one team that missed the playoffs the year before has won at least five of its first six games the following season. The Denver Broncos totaled nine sacks in their 13-11 victory over the New York Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, marking the second of three games to be played in London this season. The Broncos are the third team since 1990 with at least five sacks in four of their first six games of the season, joining th...

By Jeff Moeller, Florida Sports Wire JACKSONVILLE - There was that feeling. It wasn’t the anticipated atmosphere at EverBank Stadium for a 4-1 Jaguars team that has the chance to move to 5-1 for the first time since 1999. There wasn’t the buzz you might have expected for a team that already looked postseason bound, and there was a good share of empty seats among the announced tickets distributed crowd of over 61,000. It was the same type of an electric playoff atmosphere of the Chiefs’ win last Monday night. Instead, it was a Chiefs’ hangover. You had the feeling the Jaguars would have a clunker like they have had at the start of the season the past several years. Unfortunately, for the most part of Sunday afternoon’s 20-12 loss to the Seahawks, it was. This was a reality check for the Jaguars, and a reminder that you have to show up on both sides the ball. It was an afternoon lost mainly on the offensive line that allowed seven sacks and 17 quarterbacks hits and 20 press...

  By Jeff Moeller, Florida Sports Wire The Jaguars’ 28-point playoff game comeback over the Chargers in 2022 still stands as one of their all-time signature wins. Back then, it was seen as Trevor Lawrence’s coming out party as the generational player many expected, and the Jags were ready to reach another level. Unfortunately, Lawrence never reached that level, mainly due to injuries and inconsistencies. In turn, the team took a turn in the opposite direction.  Their last-second 31-28 victory over the Chiefs Monday night may have topped it. And Lawrence once again showed his anticipated potential, and the team is on its way to another level with their 4-1 record. This was one of Lawrence’s finest performances, as he remained poised battling through his share of adversity - his 22nd lost fumble in his career - and never lost his composure and concentration like he has in the past. However, was Lawrence convincing enough to keep pulling the Jaguars out of their state of mediocri...