Even before Sunday night. Even before his left elbow went in a direction no elbows should venture, Jayden Daniels’ sophomore NFL season was a big letdown.

Last season’s rookie of the year came into 2025 ranked as one of the top five fantasy quarterback prospects. Not surprising after he led the mildly-talented Washington Commanders into the NFC championship game in January.

But he has underwhelmed. Averaging less than 200 passing yards per game. And while he has eight touchdown passes and two TD runs, more was expected.

He’s not alone. Here are some other fantasy disappointments in the season’s first half:

Saquon Barkley (Eagles RB): We knew he wasn’t going to duplicate his 2,000-yard career season from 2024, but come on! Ranked as RB3 in the preseason, he’s averaging a little more than 80 total yards per game. And his TD total of six is held down, again, by Jalen Hurts and all of those Tush Pushes.

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs with the ball during an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025 in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)

Chase Brown (Bengals RB): Cincinnati hit the skids after Joe Burrow went down, and Brown bore some of the collateral damage, tallying less than 70 total yards per game and scoring three TDs. Not terrible, but not great for the preseason RB6.

Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown (30) hurdles Chicago Bears defensive back Kevin Byard III (31) on a run during an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)

A.J. Brown (Eagles WR): The WR5 of summer has turned into a pumpkin of autumn. Averaging just four catches for 55 yards per game, and only three scores to boot.

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) walks off the field after a win over the Minnesota Vikings in an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Nico Collins (Texans WR): Houston’s offense has disappointed, and Collins is one reason why. He’s averaging a modest five catches for 59 yards, and just three touchdowns.

Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins (12) stretches for a first down in the first half of an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Maria Lysaker)

Brian Thomas Jr. (Jaguars WR): Came into the season as WR10. Seems a long time ago. Averaging just four catches for about 50 yards. He has but one TD reception and a single TD run.

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (7) runs after catching a pass in front of Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson (35) during the first half of an NFL football game, Monday, Oct. 6, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

David Njoku (Browns TE): It’s been a great year for tight ends, but not for the preseason TE12. Just two touchdowns for the lowly Cleveland offense, with about four catches and 37 yards per game.

Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku (85) lines up for a play against the New England Patriots in the second half of an NFL football game on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Kyler Murray (Cardinals QB): It’s telling that he has been outplayed by backup Jacoby Brissett since his foot injury. Though ranked ninth in summer, Murray has averaged under 200 passing yards per game, with just six passing TDs and a lone TD scramble.

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) warms up against the Green Bay Packers during an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Harrison Butker (Chiefs K): Remember when this opinionated fellow was a perennial top kicker? Not anymore. His 65 points rank only eighth in the league, and he has missed three of his past eight tries from beyond 40 yards.

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, left, misses a field goal attempt against the Baltimore Ravens during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025 in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

Sitting stars

Packers quarterback Jordan Love disappointed last week against Carolina, and he’ll be even more disappointing against the Eagles. … Whichever running back lines up for Tampa Bay, Bucky Irving or Rachaad White, they will have trouble with tough New England run defense. … New Orleans RB Alvin Kamara won’t do much against Carolina’s improved D. … Two receivers that will be kept in check are Pittsburgh’s D.K. Metcalf against the Chargers and Jets’ Garrett Wilson versus the Browns. … Indy QB Daniel Jones looked like his old bad self last week, and he may again versus Atlanta. … And with Daniels out, there are really no Commanders you can be confident in against an angry Detroit squad.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) on the field before an NFL game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps

Matchup game

Baltimore’s defense still isn’t great, so Vikings we expect to thrive this week include RB Aaron Jones and WR Jordan Addison. … Miami stinks, but De’Von Achane is still a great starting option against Buffalo. … Chicago RB Kyle Monangai could have another big week against Giants with D’Andre Swift still ailing. … Three tight ends to start this week are Vegas’ revived Brock Bowers vs. Denver, Detroit’s Sam LaPorta against Washington and the Chargers’ Oronde Gadsden against Pittsburgh. … Hot and cold Houston QB C.J. Stroud might be sizzling when he faces Jacksonville.

Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones (33) runs with the football as Detroit Lions safety Thomas Harper (12) tries to tackle during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Injury watch

The heck with injuries. The bye week is the bigger scourge this week with Chiefs, Cowboys, Bengals and Titans out of action. … Other than Daniels, the biggest injury was the season-ending knee damage suffered by Packers tight end Tucker Kraft. The long list of questionables includes two running backs (Browns’ Quinshon Judkins, Patriots’ Rhamondre Stevenson), five pass catchers (Rams’ Puca Nacua, Bucs’ Chris Godwin, Seahawks’ Cooper Kupp, Pats’ Kayshon Boutte, Packers’ Matthew Golden) and two quarterbacks (49ers’ Brock Purdy, Cardinals’ Murray).

Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft (85) carries during the first half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Deepest sleeper

Jacksonville kicker Cam Little was having a bit of a sophomore slump, missing four of eight coming into Sunday’s game. Then he broke the NFL record with a 68-yard field goal. The former Razorback’s kick would have been good from at least 72 yards. So you might want to grab him if your kicking slot is currently filled by a mediocrity.

Jacksonville Jaguars place kicker Cam Little (39) makes a 68-yard field goal during the first half of an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

The Thursday pick

Raiders at Broncos (-9½)
Pick: Broncos by 7

Jordan Poyer #21 of the Miami Dolphins tackles Brock Bowers #89 of the Las Vegas Raiders in the fourth quarter at Hard Rock Stadium on Nov. 17, 2024 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images)

You can hear Kevin Cusick on Thursdays on Bob Sansevere’s “BS Show” podcast on iTunes. You can follow Kevin on X– @theloopnow. He can be reached at kcusick@pioneerpress.com.

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By BRUCE SCHREINER, HALLIE GOLDEN and DYLAN LOVAN, Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The airport in Louisville, Kentucky began resuming operations early Wednesday after a UPS cargo plane crashed and exploded in a massive fireball while taking off from the company’s global aviation hub there, killing at least seven people and injuring 11, authorities said.

A fireball erupts near airport property after reports of a plane crash at Louisville International Airport, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)

The plane crashed about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday as it was departing for Honolulu from UPS Worldport at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.

Video showed flames on the plane’s left wing and a trail of smoke. The plane then lifted slightly off the ground before crashing and exploding in a huge fireball. Video also revealed portions of a building’s shredded roof next to the end of the runway.

The death toll had risen to at least seven Tuesday night, and four of those killed were not on the plane, officials said.

Death toll could rise, Kentucky’s governor says

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said he expects the death toll to increase. Eleven people were also hurt, some of whom had “very significant” injuries, he said.

“Anybody who has seen the images, the video, knows how violent this crash is,” he said.

Beshear said he didn’t know the status of the three crew members aboard the plane, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 made in 1991.

UPS’s largest package handling facility is in Louisville and the company announced Tuesday night that it had halted package sorting at the center and didn’t say when it would resume. The hub employs thousands of workers, has 300 daily flights and sorts more than 400,000 packages an hour.

“We all know somebody who works at UPS,” Louisville Metro Council member Betsy Ruhe said. “And they’re all texting their friends, their family, trying to make sure everyone is safe. Sadly, some of those texts are probably going to go unanswered.”

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg says the National Transportation Safety Board is handling the investigation and sending 28 people. He said city emergency management officials put together a form where nearby residents can report debris in their yards.

Mayor Craig Greenberg speaks at Louisville Regional Airport Authority about the crash of UPS Flight 2796 at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)

Airport is resuming operations after being shut down

The airport, meanwhile, shut down for the night. It began to resume operations Wednesday morning, with flights that were canceled Tuesday scheduled to depart and arrive first. Some flights previously scheduled to take off from the airport on Wednesday morning were canceled.

Some stranded passengers spent the night in the airport.

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Some roads near the airport remained closed Wednesday and a public school district in Louisville canceled classes and activities for the day.

Pablo Rojas, an aviation attorney, said that based on the videos it looked like the aircraft was struggling to gain altitude as a fire blazed on its left side around one of its engines. Given the large amount of fuel it was carrying, once the fire started in that area, it would’ve been only a matter of time before there was an explosion or the fire grew rapidly.

“Really the plane itself is almost acting like a bomb because of the amount of fuel,” he said.

The governor said a business, Kentucky Petroleum Recycling, appeared to be “hit pretty directly,” and a nearby auto parts operation was also affected.

People gather seeking information about missing loved ones

Eric Richardson stood outside a police training academy where people gathered looking for information about missing loved ones Tuesday night, hoping to find out what had happened to his girlfriend. She had been at a metal recycling business near the explosion and wasn’t answering her phone, he told The Associated Press. Her phone’s live location said she was still there.

Bobby Whelan, Richardson’s friend, had been in front of her in line, but had left minutes before the explosion. He said he was about a quarter mile down the road when he heard what sounded like a bomb exploding.

“We don’t even want to think about anything but the best,” Whelan said. “All our friends were there.”

A video taken by Leirim Rodríguez shows several massive balls of flames exploding into the sky in a row, followed by large billowing clouds of black smoke.

Tom Brooks Jr., who runs a metal recycling business down the street, said the unbelievable magnitude of the crash “just rocked the whole place.”

“This was massive. I mean, it literally looked like a war zone,” he said.

Destyn Mitchell was working as a host at an Outback restaurant, about a 15-minute drive from the crash, when she heard a loud boom.

“The mood in the restaurant was very shaken up,” she said. “Everyone is really concerned. People who just sat down to eat got up and left in under 30 minutes and packed up their food because they wanted to hurry up and get home.”

The Louisville airport is only a 10-minute drive from the city’s downtown, which sits on the Ohio River bordering the Indiana state line. There are residential areas, a water park and museums in the area.

Golden reported from Seattle. AP reporters Ed White in Detroit, John Raby in Cross Lanes, West Virginia, and Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee, contributed to this report.

By WAFAA SHURAFA and SAM METZ, Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Officials at Gaza’s largest functioning hospital said Wednesday that the bodies of 15 more Palestinians were returned from Israel, as exchanges outlined in last month’s fragile ceasefire continued despite allegations of violations.

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The International Committee of the Red Cross has transported 285 bodies held in Israeli custody to Gaza since last month’s agreement was brokered, though health officials in Gaza have said identifying the remains is complicated by a lack of DNA testing kits.

Israel has not disclosed how many bodies it is holding or where they were recovered, but has been returning 15 each time the remains of an Israeli hostage are returned from Gaza.

The 15 were returned to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on Wednesday a day after Palestinian militants in Gaza handed over the body of an Israeli soldier taken hostage in the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack that started the war.

The exchanges are the central component of the initial phase of the U.S.-brokered agreement which requires Hamas return all hostage remains as quickly as possible. The exchanges have gone ahead even as Israel and Hamas have accused each other of breaching other terms of the deal.

Hamas returned 20 living hostages to Israel on Oct. 13. The group has since also returned the remains of 21 bodies. Israeli officials have decried parts of the process as a violation of the agreement, accusing Hamas of handing over partial remains in some instances and staging the discovery of bodies in others.

It has pushed to speed up the returns and in certain cases has said the remains were not those of hostages.

Hamas has said recovering bodies is complicated by the widespread devastation in the coastal enclave and has returned one to three bodies every few days. It has accused Israel of opening fire at civilians and restricting the flow of humanitarian aid into the territory. The number of casualties has dropped since the ceasefire took effect.

But health officials in Gaza — who do not distinguish between civilians and militants — have continued to report deaths from strikes, while Israel has said that soldiers have also been killed.

The deal will not move to subsequent phases until all the remains of Israeli hostages are returned.

The next parts of the 20-point plan call for creating an international stabilization force. Its makeup hasn’t been finalized, but diplomats are working to define its role, persuade Arab countries to take part, and win wider international support.

“What we believe is that whatever entity that is created in Gaza should have the legitimacy of a mandate from the Security Council,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters in Doha on Tuesday.

The fragile agreement aims to wind down the war that was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage.

Israel responded with a sweeping military offensive that has killed more than 68,800 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by independent experts.

Israel, which has denied accusations by a U.N. commission of inquiry and others of committing genocide in Gaza, has disputed the ministry’s figures without providing a contradicting toll.

Metz reported from Rabat, Morocco.

By SEUNG MIN KIM, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is heading to Miami on Wednesday — the anniversary of his reelection to a second term — to speak to a forum of business leaders and global athletes about what he sees as his economic achievements.

His speech to the American Business Forum will be a broad look at his economic agenda and how investments he has secured abroad help U.S. communities, according to a senior White House official. It’s a significant effort from Trump to put a positive spin on the economy at a time when Americans remain uneasy about the state of their finances and the cost of living — and when major campaigns in Tuesday’s election were centered on affordability and the economy.

The AP Voter Poll survey, which included more than 17,000 voters in New Jersey, Virginia, California and New York City, suggested the public was troubled by higher prices and fewer job opportunities despite Trump’s promises to tame inflation and unleash growth.

In his speech, Trump will touch on deregulation, energy independence and oil prices, and affordability, said the White House official, who was granted anonymity to preview the president’s address.

Trump spent five days in Asia last week with stops in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea. He worked to ease trade tensions with Beijing in a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. In Tokyo, he promoted several major energy and tech projects for the U.S. that will be funded by Japan.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said he thinks Trump’s recent travels “have been transformational in his presidency” and said his speech will be a highlight of the forum, which organizers have described as a more accessible version of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, or the Milken Institute Global Conference, which gathers the world’s elite for discussions on the economy.

“This conference not only is creating this incredible collection of people, but it’s also creating them in a particular moment in time,” said Suarez, a Republican.

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Trump’s visit also highlights how the Miami area is playing a key role during his second term.

Trump is set to host leaders of the world’s leading rich and developing economies at next year’s Group of 20 summit at his golf club at the nearby city of Doral, despite what critics say is the appearance of impropriety.

Trump’s sons have taken over running the Trump Organization while their father is in the White House, and the president has insisted that his family’s business will not make any money by holding the summit at the golf club.

The city is where Trump wants to locate his future presidential library, which is now facing a legal challenge over whether the plot of land in downtown Miami is being properly transferred. Miami is also one of the U.S. host cities for next year’s World Cup, which Trump has eagerly promoted as the kickoff to several major global sporting events for which the U.S. is playing host. Ensuring the success of the World Cup has been a top priority for the Trump administration.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino, with whom Trump has developed a close friendship, is scheduled to speak at the Miami forum later Wednesday.