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

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🏈 The Football Five

1. The Chiefs are 3-0 by the skin of their teeth, getting two late red-zone stops in a 22-17 win over the Falcons. Nick Bolton, who was excellent, made the game-saving fourth-down stop with under a minute left.
2. The Ravens racked up 274 yards rushing and held on for a 28-25 win 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’s … less than inspiring. Dallas has real issues on both sides of the ball. As Will Brinson writes, “How can you not be freaking the bleep out if you’re the Cowboys?”
3. Oh, so that’s why the Eagles got Saquon Barkley. The superstar running back 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 A.J. 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 a wild one: James Madison beat North Carolina 70-50 — yes, 70-50! — in what Will Backus called “a historic low” for UNC under Mack Brown. After the game, Brown offered to step down(?!?!?!), but his players urged him not to. The Tar Heels were one of the week’s biggest losers.

🏈 Good morning to all, but especially to …

JUSTIN FIELDS AND THE PITTSBURGH STEELERS …

They’ve had the defense for years. Now, they may 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 Chargers, who also entered the game undefeated.

Fields was fine during Pittsburgh’s first two victories, 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 halfway through the fourth quarter.

Fields’ sack rate — a major issue his first three seasons — has plummeted while his accuracy has skyrocketed as he’s relied more on shorter passes. He can still push it downfield effectively, too.

Defensively, Pittsburgh notched five sacks, one of which ended Justin Herbert‘s day (ankle), and limited the Chargers’ rushing attack to 61 yards on 20 carries. T.J. Watt is excellent, and Nick Herbig had a pair of sacks.

It might 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 fluke. The Vikings, with their journeyman quarterback, their superstar wide receiver and their truly excellent coaching staff, are legit. Minnesota thumped 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 undergo an MRI on his knee after an awkward fall; he missed just one play. Outside of that, though, Kevin O’Connell, Darnold 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 as good, if not better. C.J. Stroud, much like Brock Purdy last week, was flummoxed, and only the Ravens have allowed fewer yards rushing per game this season. Minnesota earned an “A+” John Breech’s Week 3 grades.

😁 Honorable mentions

🏈 And not such a good morning for …

THE SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS AND THE MIAMI DOLPHINS

The 49ers and Dolphins — both with sky-high 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 Rams, a game the 49ers led by 10 halfway through the fourth quarter and by seven with under two minutes left. Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle missed the game, but the offense was fine. 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 had been 50-0 when up double digits in the second half under Kyle Shanahan. That’s no more.

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

This leads me to one of my favorite anecdotes. Once, former Colts offensive coordinator Tom Moore was asked why Peyton Manning‘s backups didn’t get more practice reps. Moore responded: “Fellas, if 18 goes down, we’re f—ed. And we don’t practice f—ed.”

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

Finally, Sean McVay and Mike Macdonald deserve massive props.

😞 Not so honorable mentions

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

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

First, Tennessee is ready for big-time football, and Oklahoma‘s welcome to said big-time football in the SEC was a rude awakening. The Volunteers showed they’re more than a high-flying offense in a 25-15 road win, so thorough a win 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 got fired by it. The return was an emotional one, but this game was about the future, not the past, Brandon Marcello writes.

Next, 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 rugged ways of the Big Ten. Also, shoutout to record-breaking cornerback Will Johnson. What a player.

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

Here’s more:

⚾ MLB playoff races coming down to the wire

We’re inside 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 playoffs: The Guardians (AL Central) clinched their division over the weekend, joining the Brewers (NL Central) as division winners. The Yankees, Dodgers and Phillies also have clinched postseason spots.

OK, now for the playoff 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’re tied for the second AL wild-card spot. Here are the standings:

1. Orioles (+4 games)
2. Royals (–)
3. Tigers (–)
4. Twins (1 GB)
5. Mariners (2 GB)
6. Rays (4 GB)
7. Red Sox (4 GB)

The Diamondbacks helped make the NL wild-card race a bit 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. Padres (+3.5 games)
2. Mets (–)
3. Diamondbacks (–)
4. Braves (2 GB)

Here’s Matt Snyder’s Power Rankings.

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

The WNBA playoffs got underway Sunday. Here are the full results:

• The day she was announced as unanimous MVP, A’ja Wilson overcame a slow start as the Aces rallied for a 78-67 win over the Storm. Seattle scored two points in the fourth quarter.
• The Sun shut down 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 off the bench in the Sun’s 93-69 victory.
• The top-seeded Liberty cruised past the Dream, 83-69. Leonie Fiebich, whom Jack Maloney identified as an X-factor, had 21 points.
• The Lynx outlasted the Mercury, 102-95, behind 38(!) points from Napheesa Collier.

📺 What we’re watching Monday

🏈 Jaguars at Bills, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏈 Commanders at Bengals, 8:15 p.m. on ABC