field

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Josh Allen took a pounding, doled out punishment and delivered Buffalo its first road playoff victory in more than three decades.

With linebacker Devin Lloyd bearing down on him, Allen found Brandin Cooks for 36 yards just before the two-minute warning and then capped the go-ahead drive with a 1-yard touchdown run in which Jacksonville let him score.

On the play before his score, Allen gained 10 yards on a sneak, refusing to go down while being pushed and pulled to the goal line.

Focused on getting rid of the ball quickly and negating Jacksonville’s pass rush most of the game, Allen completed 28 of 35 passes for 273 yards and a touchdown. He ran for two scores, was sacked just once and played turnover-free football.

It was necessary considering NFL rushing leader James Cook was mostly bottled up, finishing with 46 yards on 15 carries.

Buffalo (13-5) intercepted a deflected pass on Jacksonville’s final drive to seal the victory. The Jaguars (13-5) took the lead with 4:03 to play but couldn’t hold it against Allen.

The Bills had been 0-5 on the road in the playoffs under coach Sean McDermott, starting with a 10-3 loss at Jacksonville in the 2017 wild-card round. The Bills had dropped eight consecutive postseason games on the road since winning at Miami in the 1992 AFC championship game. It had been the NFL’s second-longest, active road playoff skid.

The Lakers have two of the best clutch players in the NBA in LeBron James and Luka Doncic. They have been the best clutch team in the NBA this season because of them and because they have led the way for the Lakers. They have won an NBA-best 13 games in the clutch this season.

But when the game hung in the balance Friday night, when the Lakers needed James and Doncic to be clutch, neither was able to deliver, their inability to do so a direct result in L.A. dropping a 105-101 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at Crypto.com Arena.

For as much as James did in keeping the Lakers in the game by scoring 13 of his 26 points in the final quarter and by nearly collecting a triple-double with 10 assists and nine rebounds, it was his last-second turnover that doomed them.

For as much as Doncic did in producing a near triple-double with 24 points, nine assists and nine rebounds, his poor shooting and foul trouble was not helpful in the end.

“I’d love to go undefeated in clutch games for a season, but you know, you can’t get too high, can’t get too low on stats like that,” James said. “You just play the game. And they made some plays. Big three by [Myles] Turner by our bench; obviously the free throws down the stretch by KP [Kevin Porter Jr.]. So, we had our chances.”

The score was tied at 101-101 after Jake LaRavia (13 points) drilled a three-pointer off a pass from Doncic.

Lakers guard Luka Doncic, center, makes a backwards pass over Bucks guard AJ Green (20) during the first half Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

The Lakers never scored again. James missed a driving layup for the lead that was blocked by Giannis Antetokounmpo. Then Doncic fouled Porter on a three-pointer with 16.2 seconds left. It was Doncic’s sixth foul.

“I think we missed a couple of good shots down the stretch. Then I fouled (out). I had six fouls. First time in a long time,” Doncic said. “So, that’s on me. I can’t foul at that point.”

Porter made two of the three free throws for a 103-101 Bucks lead.

Doncic was asked about the foul.

“Yeah, I don’t think he shoots like that,” Doncic said of Porter’s three-pointer. “The referee said it was a foul. So, I guess it’s a foul.”

Still, the Lakers were down only two points and they still had James on the court.

But on his drive to the basket, James lost control of the ball for a turnover with 1.5 seconds left.

“For me? … I turned the ball over. You definitely can’t do that at that point and time,” James said. “So, Giannis, he made a great play by getting his arm and tipping it from behind, but can’t turn the ball over — obviously.”

Doncic lamented his shooting during the game.

He made his first two three-pointers to start the game, but it was all downhill from there. He was eight-for-25 shooting the field and had a rating of minus-14.

“Obviously my shot didn’t go well today,” Doncic said. “You know, could get better shots. So, wish I could have executed better than that.”

The Lakers played their fourth game this week, at times looking sluggish because of the workload.

It was the kind of night that saw Doncic pick up his fifth foul with 2.1 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Lakers trailed by as much as 12 in the second quarter, looking a bit slow.

So much — if not all — of the Lakers’ game plan was on trying to deal with the nearly unstoppable force that is Antetokounmpo.

And much of that job went to Lakers center Deandre Ayton, whom the LA felt was best equipped to handle the assignment because of his size (7-foot), length and strength.

But it also was going to take the Lakers as a group to slow down Antetokounmpo, who finished with 21 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Jarred Vanderbilt gave the Lakers a big effort with nine points and nine rebounds off the bench, and his usual tough defense.

Hachimura update

Lakers forward Rui Hachimura missed his sixth consecutive game because of right calf soreness. Hachimura has been working out and there is some hope that he can play Monday night in Sacramento.

“He’s made a lot of progress just in terms of regaining strength and mobility in his calf and had a good workout today,” coach JJ Redick said. “There’s a lot of optimism that he’ll be available Monday, but we’ll see how the next few days go.”

The Galaxy will begin the new season the same way they finished the old one — with Riqui Puig on the sideline after knee surgery. That’s a big problem because Puig is about the closest thing MLS has to an irreplaceable player. And with training camp starting in a couple of weeks, the team has precious little time to try to replace him.

In 2024, the last time Puig was on the field, he led the league in touches and passes and set career highs for goals (13) and assists (15). With him directing the attack, the Galaxy set a record with four players scoring 10 or more times en route a sixth MLS title. It was one of the best seasons in franchise history.

In 2025, without Puig, the only records the Galaxy set were for futility, starting the season winless in their first 16 league matches and finishing with just seven wins, a franchise low for a full season. No reigning MLS Cup champion has fared so poorly.

The contrast is so stark because Puig doesn’t just define the way the team plays; he is the way the team plays. He’s the quarterback and the point guard. His speed, dribbling and passing ability make the Galaxy go, opening up space for opportunity for his teammates. He’s the rare player who truly makes everyone around him better.

Even Lionel Messi isn’t as important to his team as Puig is to the Galaxy.

“The game changes when Riqui’s on the field,” coach Greg Vanney said.

Puig first tore the ACL in his left knee in the Western Conference final in 2024, assisting on the game’s only goal after sustaining the injury. The Galaxy originally thought they’d have him back by late summer, in time for a playoff push. So last winter they felt comfortable trading Mark Delgado and Gastón Brugman, the two most likely fill-ins for Puig, largely to fit their payroll under the MLS salary cap.

In the interim, the plan was to make Marco Reus the team’s midfield maestro. But Reus had his own injury problems and didn’t start consecutive MLS games until early May. By then the Galaxy had gone winless through their first 10 matches.

Reus went on to play well at times, but the season was effectively over by then. There would be no playoff push, so the Galaxy felt no need to rush Puig back.

This winter the team’s entire offseason preparation was based on Puig’s return — both on and off the field.

Off the field, the Galaxy filmed a multi-part documentary called “Riqui Puig’s Road To Recovery” and used his return to hype ticket sales. On the field, believing the midfield to be set, general manager Will Kuntz added two top-tier defenders in Jakob Glesnes and Justin Haak, committing more than $2 million in salary to the pair.

But then, one day into the new year, Puig and the team learned he needed another operation and would have to miss a second season, throwing all of the Galaxy’s plans into the dumpster.

The Galaxy never blamed their troubles last season on Puig’s absence, but they didn’t have to. It was obvious. And if they couldn’t replace the irreplaceable last season, what confidence should anyone have that they can do it this season?

The team’s biggest mistake last year was not planning for Puig’s absence. The team entered the winter knowing he’d miss most of the season and didn’t act accordingly. They even kept Puig’s $5.8-million salary and designated-player roster spot on the books in the hopes he’d play at some point.

Don’t expect them to make the same mistakes this time. Instead, the Galaxy are all but certain to place him on the season-ending injury list, opening up a DP slot and erasing the hit his salary takes on the budget cap.

The good news, if there is any, is that Vanney believes the Galaxy eventually figured out how to play without Puig last year. After going winless in their first 16 MLS games, the Galaxy went 7-6-5 in league play and finished third in the Leagues Cup, earning a spot in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.

“By the end of the year, we were beating MLS playoff teams and we beat the top teams in Mexico,” Vanney said. “We found how this group could be successful without the pieces that were missing.”

Now they’ll have to do that again.

What exactly happened with Puig hasn’t been made clear. He was more than a year into his rehab when he returned home to Barcelona for the holidays. Puig had trained alongside the team last fall and he continued training in Spain. The recovery seemed to be going well.

But something — a quick move or an uncertain cut — sent Puig back to the doctor and a day later he underwent a second operation.

ACL revision surgeries (multiple procedures) are not rare, with some studies suggesting they are needed between 10% to 20% of the time, especially for athletes who play so-called pivoting sports such as soccer. Most commonly, a second surgery is needed because the first graft has re-torn.

Christen Press, a two-time World Cup champion, torn the ligament in her right knee eight games into her first season with Angel City and needed four operations to repair the damage. She started just three more matches over the next 3 ½ seasons before retiring.

But Press was 33 when she was injured. Puig is 26. And though that suggests the odds for a full recovery are high, Puig’s age also adds to the poignancy of the situation since the injury will now take two years off his career when he was at his prime.

Another season like 2024 could have had Puig, who played 42 games over four seasons for Barcelona, planning for a return to Europe or at least another big payday in MLS. Now he won’t play another game until he’s 27 and in the final year of his contract, when the pressure to prove he’s healthy and still a dynamic game-changing player will be immense.

In the meantime, the Galaxy find themselves once again trying to replace the irreplaceable.

⚽ You have read the latest installment of On Soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and shines a spotlight on unique stories. Listen to Baxter on this week’s episode of the “Corner of the Galaxy” podcast.

Jan. 4 (Asia Today) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited what state media called a key military factory on Friday, inspecting upgraded production lines and ordering a roughly 2.5-fold expansion in output as he signaled a push for mass production and deployment of tactical guided weapons.

The Korean Central News Agency said Kim toured a “technologically upgraded” production area and a “flexible automated production system,” then directed the plant to increase its current capacity.

KCNA said Kim reviewed a “multi-purpose precision-guided weapon” produced at the factory and said it would be systematically fielded to major units starting in the first half of the year. The report said he told the Defense Ministry and the General Staff to expand production to meet unit-level demand.

State media portrayed the visit as a move to shift tactical guided weapons from years of testing and demonstrations toward operational deployment. KCNA said Kim pointed to shortcomings in production line design, mass-production facilities and modernization of the assembly process.

Kim also called for advancing modernization work while keeping current production running, a directive KCNA described as aimed at minimizing production gaps during new equipment investments. The report said he ordered a comprehensive review of construction and modernization plans for 2026 and demanded revised proposals.

KCNA separately released photos and footage of Kim inspecting guided-weapon production, including what the report described as anti-tank systems, while emphasizing improvements in the quality of parts supplied by cooperating factories.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

The Offensive Most Valuable Player of the Rose Bowl game easily could have gone to Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza. The Indiana quarterback finished the game with more touchdown passes than incompletions , threw for 192 yards and spread the ball to three teammates on scoring plays during their 38-3 rout of Alabama.

Instead, the sportswriters and broadcasters awarded center Pat Coogan and the rest of the offensive line. After it was announced, the biggest celebration came from Mendoza, who jumped with excitement, smiled from ear to ear and pumped his fist as he swarmed his center with the rest of his teammates.

Just another assist from a leader.

“We work really hard every single day because not only do we enjoy football, we also enjoy winning,” said Mendoza, who completed 14 of 16 passes. “And we know what that takes. So every single day we’re always going to put our best foot forward.”

Coogan was the first offensive lineman to win the award since Norm Verry won it for USC in 1944.

“It’s all a credit to my teammates and my coaching staff for just believing in me and the ability to make my calls and diagnose a defense and fully entrusting in me and my abilities,” Coogan said.

Against the Crimson Tide, Indiana had its love for the game fully displayed on both sides of the field. The defense held Alabama to a field goal and 23 rushing yards while forcing two fumbles and recovering one.

The crucial recovery came as the Tide approached Hoosiers territory as the second quarter was coming to a close. With Indiana ahead 10-0, Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson ran on third and seven toward Indiana’s 40-yard line. Instead of gaining a first down, Simpson fumbled on a hit by Hoosiers cornerback D’Angelo Ponds. On its next drive, Indiana scored to make it 17-0.

Ponds earned the Defensive MVP award for his pivotal hit and thanked defensive coordinator Bryant Haines for their preparation.

“He did a good job scheming [Alabama],” Ponds said. “He knew what they liked to run, their tendencies and stuff like that.”

The coaching staff set the standards for Indiana and it all started with head coach Curt Cignetti, Coogan said.

“The complacency factor, the [fear] to death of complacency, the never-ending journey of improving, taking it day-to-day, taking each day as the most important day in the history of the program,” he said. “It all starts with [Cignetti], and he makes sure all of our eyes are focused forward and we’re all thinking alike as he always says.”

Cignetti called the game a great team victory for Indiana against an opponent with great tradition and history, but there’s still football to be played.

Up next, the Hoosiers go up against Oregon at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta on Jan. 9. This will be the Big Ten teams’ second meeting this season.

“Good to have another rematch against Dante Moore and a great Oregon team next week,” Mendoza said.

It’ll be the third time Mendoza faces the Oregon quarterback. The first time they met was in 2023 at the Rose Bowl, when they played for Cal and UCLA, respectively. Mendoza came out victorious 33-7.

In October, they matched up again, this time with their current teams. Again, the Hoosiers quarterback came out on top, 30-20.

But can lightning strike twice in a season?

“It’s very hard to beat a really good football team twice,” Cignetti said. “There’s no doubt about that.”

Indiana will take its unblemished record to Atlanta to face Oregon and hope the Hoosiers’ chemistry carries them to Miami Gardens for a shot at the national championship.

“We are efficient because we have good players with high character,” Cignetti said. “They’re great team guys and really good leaders, and they listen and they buy in.”

Through tears, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza thanked every member of his family after becoming the first Hoosier to ever win the Heisman Trophy. The Cuban American quarterback recognized his family for believing in him throughout his career.

He was a two-star high school recruit who drew little attention before finally landing an opportunity to play at California. After three years with the Golden Bears, including a redshirt year, he transferred to Indiana. On Thursday, the No. 1 Hoosiers will take the field at the Rose Bowl, where they will face college football traditional power Alabama in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.

Pressure is familiar for Mendoza. He’s faced challenges throughout his career — from proving himself as an overlooked high school athlete to earning his starting role at Cal.

Anytime Mendoza has met a hurdle, he considers how to help those around him shine.

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza holds back tears while accepting the Heisman Trophy on Dec. 13 in New York.

(Todd Van Emst / Associated Press)

“I know that’s my responsibility to my coaches, to my teammates and to the entire team, to be able to be sharp mentally and not have outside influences, pressures and noise able to impact my game,” Mendoza said. “I think one thing is just keeping the process on how I got here, how the entire team got to this place, which is keeping the process that I’ve kept for every single game.”

The Hoosiers finished the season undefeated. They will play for their first Rose Bowl victory in 57 years and it’ll be the second year in a row Indiana has reached the College Football Playoff.

“His leadership has increased in those crucial moments and I think that’s what makes him such a special player — because when the stakes are the highest, he steps up and gets the team going,” Indiana linebacker Isaiah Jones said. “He’s a guy that people want to get behind and run a play for.”

Mendoza became the third player with Latino heritage to win the Heisman Trophy. His grandparents on both sides of the family were born in Cuba and during his acceptance speech, he made sure to thank them in Spanish.

In the NFL, Latino players have become a growing demographic. From 2021-25, representation jumped from 12 to 47 players who identify as Latino, with 32 on 53-man rosters at the start of the season. Mendoza is not in the league, but his elevated presence in the college football world has come with extra pressure of representing a culture and proving Latinos can succeed in football.

“To be able to play in this atmosphere in the Rose Bowl, it’s a special moment for myself, for my family, and I would say just being able to play in front of a Hispanic and Latino crowd, it’s what I do,” Mendoza said. “I want to inspire young Latino kids and I want to always represent my culture to the highest.”

On Thursday, Mendoza will take the field for the first time as a Heisman winner, adding another layer of intensity to his game. The award winner is expected to do many national media interviews and Mendoza recently was a prominent voice during a “60 Minutes” segment about Indiana.

“What you see on camera is who he is,” Jones said. “Whether it’s in the locker room or out to eat with some of my teammates, he is one of the more genuine people on the team.”

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti hopes the expectations that come with the Heisman Trophy don’t change the quarterback’s style.

“It’s really critical now that he develops a sharp edge in his preparation and doesn’t play like, ‘Oh, I’m the Heisman Trophy winner and I’ve got to do this or do that,’ because we’ve all been following this game long enough to know we’ve seen some of those performances,” he said.

Cignetti understands the difficulty of the opponent standing in front of Mendoza. The Alabama defense works to throw the quarterback off balance. The Tide have great players who play hard and fast. In order to win, Mendoza and his teammates need to play the way they have all season.

“At the end of the day, it’s all about execution, left tackle doing his job, running back, receiver, and Fernando being on point,” Cignetti said.

Mendoza said he is up to the challenge. When he takes the first snap in Pasadena, he won’t be thinking of personal statistics or awards, he’ll be thinking about the national championship.

“Now we have to get the ultimate team award,” he said.

Dec. 27 (Asia Today) — China’s push to become a major aircraft carrier power, which gained momentum after it commissioned its first carrier in 2012, could expand into a fleet of nine carriers by 2035, according to a new U.S. Defense Department report.

China had no aircraft carriers before it commissioned the Liaoning in September 2012 after purchasing the unfinished former Soviet carrier Varyag from Ukraine in 1998 and refitting it for 14 years, according to Beijing-based sources familiar with military developments.

China later commissioned the Shandong in December 2019, its first domestically built carrier, and recently added a third carrier, the Fujian, which U.S. officials described as China’s first indigenously designed flat-deck carrier.

Foreign media reports have said China plans to operate six aircraft carriers by 2035, including two nuclear-powered ships, a target that some analysts consider plausible given the pace of its buildup since 2012.

However, the U.S. Defense Department’s annual report on China’s military power, released Tuesday, said “the PLAN aims to produce six aircraft carriers by 2035 for a total of nine,” raising the possibility that China’s carrier force could approach U.S. levels within a decade.

Chinese media have reported that China’s fourth aircraft carrier could enter service in 2027 and may be nuclear-powered with a displacement of about 120,000 tons, as Beijing continues to expand its blue-water capabilities.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

WASHINGTON — When Charlie Kirk was killed by an assassin this fall, Republican leaders credited the organization he founded for enabling President Trump’s return to power.

Now that organization is mobilizing behind Vice President JD Vance.

Uninterested in a competitive Republican primary in 2028, Turning Point USA plans to deploy representatives across Iowa’s 99 counties in the coming months to build the campaign infrastructure it believes could deliver Vance, a Midwesterner from nearby Ohio, a decisive victory, potentially short-circuiting a fractious GOP race, insiders said.

It is the latest move in a quiet effort by some in Trump’s orbit to clear the field of viable competitors. Earlier this month, Marco Rubio, the secretary of State previously floated by Trump as a possible contender, appeared to take himself out of the running.

“If Vance runs for president, he’s going to be our nominee, and I’ll be one of the first people to support him,” Rubio told Vanity Fair.

After Kirk’s widow, Erika, endorsed Vance on stage at Turning Point USA’s annual conference in Arizona last week, a straw poll of attendees found that 84% would support Vance in the coming primaries. Yet, wider public polling offers a different picture.

A CNN poll conducted in early December found that Vance held a plurality of Republican support for 2028, at 22%, with all other potential candidates, such as Rubio and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, registering in single digits.

The remaining 64% told pollsters they had “no one specific in mind,” reflecting an open field with plenty of room for other figures to gain ground.

While a recent Gallup poll found that 91% of Republicans approve of Vance’s job performance as vice president — an encouraging number entering a partisan primary — only 39% of Americans across party lines view him positively in the role, setting Vance up for potential challenges should he win the nomination.

Potential presidential candidates on both sides of the political aisle are expected to assess their chances over the next year, before primary season officially kicks off, after the midterm elections in November.

Closing out the Turning Point USA conference, Vance called for party unity amid escalating conflicts among right-wing influencers over the acceptability of racism and antisemitism within Republican politics.

“President Trump did not build the greatest coalition in politics by running his supporters through endless, self-defeating purity tests,” Vance said. “Every American is invited. We don’t care if you’re white or Black, rich or poor, young or old, rural or urban, controversial or a little bit boring, or somewhere in between.”

Charlie Kirk, he added, “trusted all of you to make your own judgment. And we have far more important work to do than canceling each other.”

Vance’s remarks drew criticism from some on the right for appearing to tolerate bigotry within the party. The vice president himself has been subjected to racist rhetoric, with Nick Fuentes — a far-right podcaster who has praised Adolf Hitler — repeatedly directing attacks at Vance’s wife and children over their Indian ancestry.

“Let me be clear — anyone who attacks my wife, whether their name is Jen Psaki or Nick Fuentes, can eat s—,” Vance said in an interview last week, referring to President Biden’s former press secretary. “That’s my official policy as vice president of the United States.”

In the same interview, Vance praised Tucker Carlson, another far-right podcaster who has defended Fuentes on free speech grounds, as a “friend of mine,” noting that he supported Vance as Trump’s vice presidential pick in 2024.

Trump has floated Vance as his potential successor multiple times without ever explicitly endorsing his nomination, calling him “very capable” and the “most likely” choice for the party.

“He’s the vice president,” Trump said in August. “Certainly he’s doing a great job, and he would be probably favored at this point.”

Several of Trump’s most ardent supporters have pushed the president to seek a third term in 2028, despite a provision of the Constitution, in the 22nd Amendment, barring him from doing so.

Trump himself has said the Constitution appears clear on the matter. But Steve Bannon, an architect of Trump’s historic 2016 campaign and one of his first White House strategists, continues to advocate a path forward for another run, reportedly disparaging Vance as “not tough enough” to lead the party to victory.

“He knows he can’t run again,” Susie Wiles, the president’s White House chief of staff, told Vanity Fair in a recent profile of her. “It’s pretty unequivocal.”

Trump, who will be 82 when he is slated to leave office, has told Wiles he understands a third term isn’t possible “a couple times,” she added.

Alan Dershowitz, a prominent constitutional law professor and a lawyer to Trump during his Senate impeachment trial, recently presented Trump with a road map to a third term in an Oval Office meeting, which he will publish in a new book slated for release next year.

Even he came away from their meeting believing Trump would pass on another bid.

“That is my conclusion based on what he has said in public,” Dershowitz told The Times.

“He has said in the past,” he added, “that it’s too cute.”

Jared Verse was on the field running at the Rams’ Woodland Hills training facility. Byron Young was nearby working out in the weight room.

When Rams coach Sean McVay informed the two edge rushers that they had both been voted to the Pro Bowl, Young ran to meet Verse, and a celebration ensued.

“It was kind of weird the way we, like, hype up each other,” Verse said, laughing heartily.

The two players hugged and jumped in a circle. They tackled each other to the ground. Then they got to their feet and hugged again.

“It was something you can’t fake,” McVay said. “It was one of those moments. … You step back and you say, ‘these are the moments of why you do this.’”

Verse and Young have become a celebrated duo for a Rams team that is 11-4 heading into Monday night’s game against the Atlanta Falcons (6-9) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Verse, the 19th pick in the 2024 draft, is accustomed to receiving postseason honors.

Last season, he had 4½ sacks and was voted to the Pro Bowl. He also was named the NFL defensive rookie of the year.

This season, he has become the focus of opponents’ protection schemes, regularly drawing double teams. He earned Pro Bowl recognition despite having only 6½ sacks, well behind the statistical leaders.

“Honestly, not getting the stats can be frustrating at times,” he said, adding, “So to know that my impact’s still being felt, it’s a good feeling.”

Young, a third-round pick in 2023, steadily improved his first two seasons before this season’s breakout.

He has 11 sacks, tied for ninth most in the NFL.

“It means a lot,” he said of making the Pro Bowl. “All the hard work the past few years, learning from my mistakes … and just taking a better approach to this offseason — I feel like it paid off.”

The 6-foot, 4-inch, 265-pound Verse and the 6-2, 260-pound Young are a violent combination on the field, and a comical one off of it.

“I’ll get on ‘BY’ for anything,” Verse said. “I saw him trip the other day and I clowned him for like two days.”

But it isn’t always fun and games.

While coaches playfully refer to them as stepbrothers, Verse said the relationship goes deeper.

“‘B.Y. is somebody that I genuinely talk to outside of here,” Verse said. “If I have any problems in my personal life, me and him will be talking to each other. … That’s somebody I genuinely count on.

“If I’m going through a tough time, I come to him and vice versa.”

Said Young: “We push each other to be better, hold each other accountable and I feel like that’s why we’ve been successful.”

Verse and Young both have improved from last season, when the Rams advanced to the NFC divisional round before losing to the eventual Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles.

During training camp, Verse said that he spent the offseason studying the positive plays he made as a rookie, but also the ones he missed.

With veteran outside linebacker Michael Hoecht moving on, Young focused during the offseason on improving his flexibility with Pilates workouts. He also vowed to assume more of a leadership role.

“Seeing it all pay off is really amazing,” Young said.

Verse and Young are part of an outside linebacker group coached by Joe Coniglio that also includes rookie Josaiah Stewart, Desjuan Johnson and Nick Hampton.

Verse and Young, along with defensive linemen Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske and Poona Ford, make up a formidable starting front.

Verse’s and Young’s contributions go beyond sacks and quarterback pressures, defensive coordinator Chris Shula said.

“It’s the down-in, down-out play,” Shula said, “how they’re affecting the game.”

Turner, like Young a third-year pro, has come on in the second half of the season to amass seven sacks. He said Verse and Young complement each other, aiding the entire line to work in tandem.

“They’re relentless,” Turner said. “Their mentality helps us all.”

Stewart, a third-round pick from Michigan, playfully described Verse and Young as “two knuckleheads” who set an example with their work ethic and results.

“I’ve seen them put in the work since I got here and they have helped me along the way,” he said.

While honored to be voted to the Pro Bowl, Verse and Young would much prefer to be preparing with the Rams for Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara when the Pro Bowl Games are held that week in San Francisco.

The Rams have clinched a playoff spot and they are currently seeded sixth in the NFC, with games against the Falcons and the Arizona Cardinals remaining.

Verse and Young will continue to play off each other as the Rams make their postseason push.

Verse is proud to share Pro Bowl recognition with Young.

“People hype him up because of how many sacks he gets, the pressure and everything that he does,” Verse said, “but to see the amount of work he puts in, to see it finally pay off.”

And Young is proud to share it with Verse.

“Since he got in the league, I feel like we’ve been competing with each other,” Young said. “He brings an energy to the team, and just making me be a better player.”

The Chargers have never won five in a row under coach Jim Harbaugh, but they have a chance to do so Saturday. It won’t be easy against this Houston Texans defense, ranked No. 1 in the NFL.

The Texans crushed the Chargers in the first round of the playoffs last season, intercepting Justin Herbert four times in a 32-12 drubbing.

Now, the Texans are riding a seven-game winning streak and haven’t dropped a game since a three-point home loss to Denver at the beginning of November.

The Chargers clinched a playoff berth this week but are looking for more than a wild-card spot. If they win Saturday, the AFC West title — and at least one more game at SoFi Stadium — is within reach. Even the AFC’s No. 1 seed is in play.

How the Texans can win: Houston’s defense can hold up against the run and has the secondary to challenge Herbert, but the Texans offense has been one of the league’s worst in the red zone. The Texans need to convert those opportunities into touchdowns. C.J. Stroud is at his best throwing between the numbers when protection holds, although he has a suspect offensive line, and the Texans will lean on short passes to compensate for a shaky running game. Forcing a turnover or two is critical. Houston thrives when it shortens the field and avoids asking the offense to sustain long drives. Field goals alone won’t be enough.

How the Chargers can win: Control the game with balance and patience. Houston’s defense is opportunistic and excellent at forcing turnovers, but it can be stressed if Herbert has time and the Chargers stay committed to the run. That won’t be easy if Kimani Vidal is out. Even modest success on the ground forces the Texans to respect play-action fakes and opens throwing lanes, particularly over the middle. Herbert’s ability to escape pressure and run, especially up the middle against man coverage, could be a hidden weapon late. If the Chargers protect the ball and finish drives instead of settling for field goals, they can keep Houston from dictating the tempo.

Kawhi Leonard scored a season-high 41 points and James Harden added 29 as the Clippers beat the Houston Rockets 128-108 on Tuesday night.

Leonard shot 16 for 23 from the field and four for five from long distance as the Clippers won consecutive games for just the second time this season. The Clippers were coming off a 103-88 win over the Lakers on Saturday that broke a five-game skid. The Clippers also won consecutive games Oct. 24-26, against Phoenix and Portland.

Harden, who shot seven for 14 from the field and three for eight from long distance, was helped by 12-for-13 shooting from the line.

John Collins and Kobe Sanders added 13 points apiece and Kris Dunn scored 11 for the Clippers (8-21), who shot 54% (20 for 37) from three-point range.

Kevin Durant scored 22 points on eight-for-15 shooting, and Alperen Sengun finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds for Houston (17-10), which was nine for 30 (30%) from long distance.

Amen Thompson added 19 points for Houston, and Jabari Smith Jr. scored 16 for the Rockets, who have lost four of their last five games.

The Clippers, who trailed by six points after one period, outscored Houston 34-23 in the second and led 63-58 at the break. The Rockets were helped by 10-for-22 shooting from three-point range in the first half. Leonard had 18 points on eight-for-12 shooting in the opening quarters and Harden scored 11.

Durant had 17 first-half points to lead the Rockets. Sengun scored 15 and Smith had 11.

The Clippers led 98-82 after three periods.

Who’s going to beat them?

Who’s going to stop the unstoppable offense? Who’s going to score on the persistent defense? Who’s going to outwit the coaching genius?

Who can possibly halt the Rams on their thunderous march toward a Super Bowl championship?

After yet another jaw-dropping Sunday afternoon at a raucous SoFi Stadium, the answer was clear.

Nobody.

Nobody can spar with the Rams. Nobody can run with the Rams. Nobody can compete with the Rams.

• Share via Close extra sharing options

Gary Klein breaks down what went right for the Rams in their 41-34 victory over the Detroit Lions at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.

Nobody is talented enough or deep enough or smart enough to keep the Rams from winning their second Super Bowl championship in five years.

Nobody. It’s over. It’s done. The Rams are going to win it all, and before you cry jinx, understand that this is just putting into words what many already are thinking.

The Rams’ second-half domination of the Detroit Lions in a 41-34 win should again make the rest of the league realize that nobody else has a chance.

The Seahawks? Please. The 49ers? No way. The Eagles? They’ve been grounded. The Bears? Is that some kind of a joke?

The Patriots? Not yet. The Broncos? Not yet. The Bills? Not ever.

The Rams trailed by 10 points at one juncture Sunday and then blew the Lions’ doors off in the second half to clinch a playoff berth for the seventh time in nine seasons under Sean McVay, setting them up for the easiest ride in sports.

With a win in Seattle on Thursday night — and, yes, they should beat a team that just barely survived Old Man Rivers — the Rams essentially will clinch the NFC’s top seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

That means they have to win only two games at SoFi to advance to a Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. That means they can win a championship without leaving California, three games played in the sort of perfect climate that gets the best out of their precision attack.

And as Sunday proved once again, they’re good enough to win three essentially home playoff games against anybody.

“I love this team,” McVay said.

There’s a lot to love.

They have an MVP quarterback, the league’s most versatile two-headed running attack, an interior defense that gets stronger under pressure, and the one weapon that no team can match.

They have Puka Nacua, and nobody else does.

Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua is tackled by Detroit cornerback Amik Robertson during the second half Sunday.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Is he unbelievable or what? He is Cooper Kupp in his prime, only faster and stronger. He caught a career-high 181 yards’ worth of passes on yet another day when he could not be covered and barely could be tackled.

“He’s unbelievable,” McVay said. “He’s so tough, a couple of times he just drags guys with him … he epitomizes everything we want to be about … he’s like Pac-Man, he just eats up yards and catches.”

Pac-Man? The Rams even score on their old-school references.

In all, it was another Sunday of totally fun football.

They outscored the league’s highest-scoring team 20-0 at one point, they outrushed the league’s toughest backfield 159-70, they racked up 519 total yards against a team once thought destined for a championship.

And they did it with barely a smile. With the exception of Nacua repeatedly banging his fist to his chest — can you blame him? — the Rams are steady and steadfast and just so scary.

”All we want to do is go to work and find a way to be better,” said Matthew Stafford, who likely answered the crowd’s chants by clinching the MVP award with 368 yards and two touchdown passes. “It’s a fun group right now but we understand there’s more out there for us.”

Lots, lots, lots more.

This year a similar column appeared in this space regarding the Dodgers. By the first round of the playoffs, one just knew that they were going to run the table.

The same feeling exists here. The Rams look unrelenting, unfazed, unbeatable.

“Guys just kept competing, staying in the moment,” McVay said.

This moment belongs to them. One knew it Sunday by the end of the first half, which featured a Stafford interception and a struggling secondary and Jared Goff’s vengeful greatness and a 10-point Lions lead.

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford passes in the first half of a 41-34 win over the Detroit Lions at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Then the Rams drove the ball nearly half of the field in 30 seconds in a push featuring Stafford and Nacua at their best. Stafford connected with Nacua on a brilliant 37-yard pass in the final moments that led to a Harrison Mevis 37-yard field goal to close the gap to seven.

“Right before that I told the guys, ‘Let’s go steal three,’” Stafford said.

Turns out, they stole a game.

“One of the key and critical sequences,” McVay said of that late first-half hammer, which led to a dazzling third quarter that finished the flustered Lions.

“We never panic,” Blake Corum said. “Because we know … what we have to bring to the table.”

What they’ve increasingly been bringing is a running attack that perfectly complements the awesome passing attack, as evidenced Sunday by Corum and Kyren Williams combining for 149 yards and three touchdowns.

The Lions’ more vaunted backfield of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery? Seventy yards and one score.

“We push each other to the limit,” Corum said of Williams.

Rams running back Kyren Williams stiff-arms Detroit Lions safety Erick Hallett II during the first half Sunday.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Potentially disturbing was how one noted Ram may have pushed past his limits, as receiver Davante Adams limped off the field early in the fourth quarter after apparently reinjuring his troublesome hamstring.

To lose him for the playoffs would be devastating, as he frees up space for Nacua and is almost an automatic touchdown from the five-yard line and closer.

Then again he’ll have a month to heal. And the Rams still have a bruising array of tight ends led Sunday by the touchdown-hot Colby Parkinson, who caught 75 yards’ worth of passes and two scores, including one inexplicable touchdown in which he clearly was down at the one-yard line.

The Rams got lucky there. But even if the right call was made, they would have scored on the next couple of plays. The way the Rams attacked, they could have been scoring all night.

“You knew that it was going to be that kind of game where there was some good back-and-forth,” McVay said. “You needed to be able to know that points were going to be really important for us, and our guys delivered in a big way.”

Just wait. By the time this season is done, McVay’s guys will have delivered a trophy representing something much bigger.

It rhymes with Strombardi.