Chiefs hold on, Cowboys fall short, Vikings dominate again; Tennessee makes a statement |Max Sporty|

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🏈 The Soccer Five

1. The bosses is 3-0 by the skin of his teeth, getting two late red-zone stops in a 22-17 win over the Falcons. Nick Boltonwho was great, made the game-saving fourth-down stop with less than a minute left.
2. The Crows collected 274 yards rushing and held on for a 28-25 victory over the cowboys. Derrick Henry had 174 total yards, and after the game, Jerry Jones said the Cowboys couldn’t afford Henry this offseason. That is… less than inspiring. Dallas has real issues on both sides of the ball. As Will Brinson writes, “How can you not scare the beeper if you’re the Cowboys?”
3. Oh, so that is why the Eagles got Saquon Barkley. The superstar ran for 147 yards and two touchdowns — both in the fourth quarter, including a 65-yarder — as Philadelphia topped New Orleans 15-12 despite being without. AJ Brown and losing both Lane Johnson and DeVonta Smith (concussions) during the game. The saints managed just 219 yards on 4.0 yards per play; they entered the game averaging 406 and 6.9, respectively.
4. In college football, Missouri barely escaped Vanderbilt, 30-27, in double overtime.
5. This was wild: James Madison blow North Carolina 70-50 — yes, 70-50! — in what Will Backus called “historic low.”for UNC sub Mack Brown. after the game, Brown offered to retire (?!?!?!)but his players urged him not to. The Tar Heels were one of the the biggest losers of the week.

🏈 Good morning to everyone, but especially to…

JUSTIN FIELDS AND THE PITTSBURGH STEELERS …

They have had the defense for years. Now, they might have the quarterback, too. Justin Fields had his best game in a Steelers uniform, and Pittsburgh moved to 3-0 with a 20-10 win over the Chargerswho also entered the game undefeated.

Fields was good during Pittsburgh’s first two wins, during which they scored one touchdown. But against the Chargers, he stepped up with 245 yards passing, one touchdown through the air and another on the ground. He got off to a strong start — 10 consecutive completions — and finished with flair, finding Calvin Austin III for a 55-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.

Fields’ sack rate — a major problem his first three seasons — has dropped while his accuracy has exploded as he relies more on shorter passes. He can also push it down effectively.

Defensively, Pittsburgh notched five sacks, one of which was a completion Justin Herbertday of (ankle), and limited the Chargers’ rushing attack to 61 yards on 20 carries. TJ Watt is great, and Nick Herbig had a couple of bags.

It may not always be pretty, but as long as it isn’t ugly at quarterback, the Steelers can make it work.

… AND SAM DARNOLD AND THE MINNESOTA VIKINGS

This is no accident. The vikingswith their journeyman quarterback, their superstar wide receiver and their really great coaching staff, are legit. Minnesota beat Houston, 34-7, behind a four-touchdown day for Sam Darnold and another defensive masterpiece coordinated by Brian Flores.

Darnold, it should be noted, will to undergo RM on his knee after an awkward fall; he only missed one play. However, apart from that, Kevin O’ConnellDarnold and the offense are absolutely cooking. Aaron Jones (148 total yards), Justin Jefferson, Jalen Nailor and Johnny Mundt all caught touchdowns. Jeff Kerr calls Darnold the best quarterback in the NFL this year.

Flores’ defense is just as good, if not better. CJ Stroudmuch like Brock Purdy last weekwas confused, and only the Ravens have allowed fewer rushing yards per game this season. Minnesota earned an “A+” John Breech’s Week 3 grades.

😁 Honorable mentions

🏈 And not so good morning for…

THE SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS AND THE MIAMI DOLPHINS

The 49ers and Dolphins — both with lofty expectations for 2024 — just aren’t close to meeting those expectations, and given the injuries, maybe we shouldn’t be surprised.

San Francisco ran out of steam in a shocking 27-24 loss to the Ramsa game that the 49ers led by 10 halfway through the fourth quarter and by seven with less than two minutes left. Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle missed the game, but the offense was good. It just wasn’t good enough to overcome special teams miscues (missed field goal, fake punt conversion allowed) and penalties (seven for 111 yards). The 49ers were 50-0 when they went up double figures in the second half under Kyle Shanahan. That is no longer the case.

At least the 49ers had a chance. The Tua Tagovailoa-fewer Dolphins have never done in a 24-3 loss to the Seahawks. Skylar Thompson was ineffective before suffering a rib injury. Tim Boylewho joined the practice squad just a few weeks ago, took over. But Miami has non-quarterback issues everywhere — offensive line, wide receiver depth — as well.

This leads me to one of my favorite anecdotes. Once upon a time foals offensive coordinator Tom Moore they asked why Peyton ManningThe backups didn’t get more practice reps. Moore replied: “And if 18 goes down, we’re f—ed. And we don’t practice f—ed.”

The Dolphins could be… well, you fill in the blank.

finally, Sean McVay and Mike Macdonald deserves massive props.

😞 Not so honorable mentions

🏈 Tennessee beats Oklahoma in Josh Heupel homecoming; Michigan tops USC; Colorado escapes after Hail Mary, OT

This college football weekend was full of statements. Let’s go through a few:

first, Tennessee is ready for a big soccer game, and Oklahoma‘s welcome to said big football in the SEC was a a rude awakening. The Volunteers showed they are more than a high-flying offense in a 25-15 road win, a victory so thorough that they gave the Sooners a quarterback conundrum after Jackson Arnold‘s benching.

Speaking of Sooners quarterbacks, Tennessee coach Josh Heupel used to be one. He won a title as one. He later coached his alma mater … and was fired by it. The return was emotional, but this game was about the future, not the pastBrandon Marcello writes.

later, Michigan delivered a blast from the past in a 27-24 win over USC. The Wolverines turned to Alex Orji at quarterback and he ran the ball 46 times for 290 yards, 159 of which came from Kalel Mullings. The quarterback switch helped Michigan rediscover its identity and showed USC the crude ways of the Big Ten. Also, shout out to a record cornerback Will Johnson. What a player.

Last but certainly not least, Colorado has shown it has more resilience than some may give them credit for. Shedeur Sanders completed Hail Mary to TheJohntay Wester to force overtime against Baylorand Travis Hunter forced a fumble in overtime to seal the win. The 14-point comeback is the biggest in Deion Sanders‘ coaching career, and Coach Prime apologized to the Bears and Dave Arandawho had to wade through field-rushing students. Shehan Jeyarajah takes us in from the return.

Here’s more:

⚾ MLB playoff races coming down to the wire

We’re within a week until the end of the MLB season, and it’s going to be a wild next six days. Let’s start with the teams already in the finals: The Guardians (TO Central) clinched their division over the weekend, joining the Brewers (NL Central) as division winners. The Yankees, Dodgers and Phillies also has clinched postseason points.

Ok, now for the final races. In the AL Wild Card picture, the Tigers have crashed the party. They were 8.5 games back of the twins at the beginning of August. Now, they are tied for the second AL Wild Card spot. Here are the ratings:

1. Orioles (+4 games)
2. Royal Family Members (–)
3. Tigers (–)
4. Twins (1 GB)
5. Sailors (2 GB)
6. Radios (4 GB)
7. Red Sox (4GB)

The Diamondbacks helped make the NL Wild Card race a little tighter, too, but not in a good way: Arizona blew an eight-run lead — the largest blown lead in franchise history — and things now look like this…

1. Priests (+3.5 games)
2. Mets (–)
3. Diamondbacks (–)
4. Braves (2 GB)

That’s it Power Rankings by Matt Snyder.

🏀 A’ja Wilson wins MVP as WNBA playoffs begin; Caitlin Clark is struggling

The WNBA playoffs began on Sunday. Here are the full results:

• The day she was announced as unanimous MVP, Ah, Wilson overcame a slow start as the aces rallied for a 78-67 win over the a storm. Seattle scored two points in the fourth quarter.
• The sun shut up Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark (11 points, 4-for-17 shooting) in her playoff debut. Connecticut got a team-high 27 points from Marina Mabrey from the bench in the 93-69 victory of the Sun.
• The top-seeded Freedom cruised past the a dream83-69. Leonie Fiebichwhich Jack Maloney identified as X factorhad 21 points.
• The Lynx survived the Mercury102-95, behind 38(!) points from Napheesa Collier.

📺 What we watch on Monday

🏈 Jaguars at Bills7:30 pm on ESPN
🏈 Commanders at Bengal8:15pm on ABC