🏈 Y! Sports AM: Chiefs eliminated

👋 Good morning! Welcome back.

In today's edition: Chiefs eliminated as Mahomes tears ACL, Mendoza wins the Heisman, Wemby's Spurs down the Thunder, Messi's tour of India turns chaotic, Baker's Dozen, and more.

Let's sports...

🚨 ICYMI

🏐 Husker heartbreak: Texas A&M stunned previously undefeated Nebraska in the NCAA volleyball quarterfinals, knocking out the No. 1 overall seed to join Kentucky, Pitt and Wisconsin in the Final Four.

🏒 NHL blockbuster: The Wild acquired superstar Quinn Hughes in a blockbuster trade with the Canucks, bringing the 2024 Norris Trophy winner (best defender) to Minnesota as they seek to snap their skid of nine straight playoff series defeats.

🎓 UM launches investigation: Michigan has hired a law firm to investigate how things have been handled by its athletic department in the wake of numerous scandals, most notably those involving Connor Stalions and Sherrone Moore.

⚾️ MLB deals roundup: RHP Merrill Kelly is returning to the Diamondbacks (2 years, $40M) months after they traded him away; 2B Jorge Polanco is going to the Mets (2 years, $40M); active saves leader Kenley Jansen is going to the Tigers (1 year, $11M).

🏈 FCS Final Four: No. 2 Montana State (over No. 7 Stephen F. Austin), No. 3 Montana (over No. 11 South Dakota), No. 12 Villanova (over No. 4 Tarleton State) and Illinois State (over No. 8 UC Davis) notched quarterfinal victories to reach the semifinals of the FCS playoffs.

See what else is trending on Yahoo Sports.

🏈 END OF AN ERA

Mahomes lays on the ground after his fourth-quarter injury. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

The Chiefs' season went from bad to worse on Sunday in Kansas City, where a 16-13 loss to the Chargers officially eliminated them from the playoffs and a late knee injury put Patrick Mahomes out for the season with a torn ACL.

Dynasty over? Even before Mahomes' devastating injury, many presumed the Chiefs were nearing a crossroads in the dynasty that saw them make 10 straight postseason appearances, reach seven straight AFC title games and win three Super Bowls. The question now is whether that dynasty will be put on pause, or end altogether.

From Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson:

This is what a crossroads in a dynasty feels like. You look left, there's some problems. You look right, some more problems. The Patriots experienced it during their decade-long Super Bowl drought. And it was brought upon in some of the same ways this Chiefs team came up short.

But the key for the Patriots was that in their drought, Brady and Belichick hung in and eventually the right levers were pulled and the correct buttons were reset. They certainly had the titanic-sized egos that could have sunk it all. Go ask the early 1990s Dallas Cowboys about that.

Maybe that's the first real task in Kansas City. To absorb the (for now) one lost season and turn the microscope within. Some dynasties end in sports. A spare few others just pause. Distinguishing what makes the difference between the two is the next great chapter that Mahomes and Reid have to write together.

Josh Allen and the Bills pulled off a stunning 21-point comeback to snap the Patriots’ 10-game win streak. (Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)

Scoreboard:

• Bills 35, Patriots 31
• Broncos 34, Packers 26
• Seahawks 18, Colts 16
• Saints 20, Panthers 17
• Vikings 34, Cowboys 26
• 49ers 37, Titans 24
• Commanders 29, Giants 21
• Texans 40, Cardinals 20
• Jaguars 48, Jets 20
• Ravens 24, Bengals 0
• Bears 31, Browns 3
• Eagles 31, Raiders 0

Sunday recap:Winners and losers

🏈 HEIS-MENDOZA

(Adam Hunger/Getty Images)

Indiana's dream season continued on Saturday night in Manhattan, where junior QB Fernando Mendoza was awarded the Heisman Trophy.

• In addition to being Indiana's first Heisman winner in over 127 seasons of football, he's also the first Big Ten player to win the Heisman since Ohio State's Troy Smith in 2006.
• Mendoza is the fourth straight Heisman winner who transferred schools during his college career, joining Travis Hunter (2024), Jayden Daniels (2023) and Caleb Williams (2022).

Voting tally: Mendoza finished with 2,362 total points (643 first-place votes) to beat out Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia, who was second with 1,435 points (189 first-place votes). Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love was third with 719 points and Ohio State QB Julian Sayin was fourth with 432 points.

Overlooked no more: "I want every kid out there who feels overlooked, underestimated, to know I was you," said Mendoza, a 2-star recruit out of high school. "The truth is, you don't need the most stars, hype, or rankings. You just need discipline, heart and people who believe in you. I hope this moment shows you that chasing your dreams are worth it, no matter how big or impossible they seem."

ICYMI:Watch his full speech

🏀 NBA CUP

(Steve Marcus/Getty Images)

Victor Wembanyama returned from a 12-game absence on Saturday night in Las Vegas to help the Spurs beat the league-best Thunder, 111-109, and advance to the NBA Cup Final.

What he's saying: "I keep asking these guys for the last 12 games, just get better, do some beautiful things," said Wemby after posting 22 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks in 21 minutes. "I'm just glad to be a part of something that's growing to be so beautiful. Pure and ethical basketball."

From Yahoo Sports' Kelly Iko:

If the first quarter of Saturday night's semifinal was a reminder of the reign of terror the Thunder have enjoyed for months, the second was a reminder of the French force that refuses to bend the knee. His introduction to the game — coming off the bench for the first time in his career — changed everything.

The friendly skies that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had coasted in since October were now met with 7-foot-4 turbulence. Missed Spurs shots became simple second-chance opportunities for the gangly center. Half-court sequences that OKC would typically carry out in its sleep were now being second-guessed.

For one glorious evening, the now 24-2 Thunder looked less like the most devastating team in the sport and more like a group that forgot just how impactful Wembanyama truly is.

What's next: The Spurs will face the Knicks in tomorrow's NBA Cup Final after New York eliminated Orlando, 132-120, behind Jalen Brunson's season-high 40 points.

🌎 SNAPSHOTS

Hoke Smith II reacts after a first-half touchdown. (David Jensen/Getty Images)

🇺🇸 Baltimore, Maryland — Navy retained the Commander-in-Chief's trophy with a comeback 17-16 win over Army on Saturday in the 126th edition of their storied rivalry.

Elsewhere: Bowl season got underway as Washington routed Boise State, 38-10, in the LA Bowl and South Carolina State outlasted Prairie View A&M, 40-38 (4OT), in a thrilling Celebration Bowl.

U.S. keeper Aerin Frankel makes a save. (Leila Devlin/Getty Images)

🇨🇦 Edmonton, Canada — The U.S. women beat Canada, 4-1, on Saturday at Rogers Place to clinch the first sweep in the seven-year history of their Rivalry Series. Next up: the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Total domination: The Americans outscored the Canadians 24-7 across the four-game series, led by five goals each from Abbey Murphy and captain Hilary Knight.

(Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 London, England — Another day, another goal from Erling Haaland. Two, in fact, as he scored a brace in Manchester City's 3-0 win over Crystal Palace to keep them two points shy of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table.

Wild stat: Haaland has now scored more goals with Manchester City (147) than Cristiano Ronaldo did with Manchester United (145), despite playing fewer than half as many games (168 vs. 346).

Security personnel attempt to control the crowd as Messi leaves the stadium. (Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP via Getty Images)

🇮🇳 Kolkata, India — Lionel Messi's tour of India got off to a chaotic start on Saturday when fans — angry that he was barely visible during his brief appearance at Salt Lake Stadium — hurled objects onto the field. The event's chief organizer was jailed and pledged to refund tickets.

Immortalizing the GOAT: The three-day tour's festivities began earlier in the day when a gargantuan 70-foot statue of Messi was unveiled in soccer-crazed Kolkata.

📺 VIEWING GUIDE

Acrisure Stadium. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)

• 🏒 NHL: Panthers at Lightning (7pm, NHL) … These Sunshine State foes have won four of the last six Stanley Cups.
• ⚽️ Premier League: Manchester United vs. Bournemouth (3pm, USA) … United (7-4-4) have just one loss in their last nine league games.

🏀 FINALS

Allan Houston makes a move against Sean Elliott in the NBA Finals. (Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Knicks and Spurs, who will meet in the NBA Cup Final, have also faced off once in the NBA Finals.

Question: What year did that matchup take place?

Answer at the bottom.

🍿 BAKER'S DOZEN

(Yahoo Sports)

1. 🏈 Hail (Lake) Mary
2. ⚽️ From way out!
3. 🏀 Jaxson Hayes slam
4. 🏀 Baba Miller slam
5. 🏒 Shootout save
6. ⚽️ Ridiculous strike
7. 🏐 Keeps it alive!
8. ⚽️ Final Four goal
9. 🏈 Caleb to DJ
10. 🏀 Seton Hall alley oop!
11. 🏈 Hutchinson INT
12. 🏒 Heckuva save
13. 🏀 Cleared for takeoff!

Watch all 13.

Trivia answer: 1999 (Spurs won, 4-1)

Thanks for reading! Wanna be friends? Follow me on X and Instagram, or drop me a line: [email protected].