Ravens crush Bills to cap wild NFL weekend; inside Georgia vs. Alabama; MLB playoff field nearly complete

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🏈 The Football Five

1. The 4-0 Vikings just keep going. Sam Darnold tossed three touchdown passes and Minnesota held on for a 31-29 win over the Packers. The Vikings also picked off Jordan Love three times (though he threw four touchdowns) in his return from a knee injury. Minnesota is one of Cody Benjamin’s Week 4 winners. Meanwhile, Packers coach Matt LaFleur was “absolutely embarrassed.”
2. The Chiefs are also 4-0, having defeated the Chargers, 17-10, but Kansas City was dealt a setback in the process: Star wide receiver Rashee Rice is feared to have torn his ACL, a devastating blow. Here’s how K.C. can try to move forward.
3. The Steelers fell from the undefeated ranks with a 27-24 loss to the Colts, even though Justin Fields had a huge game and Anthony Richardson (hip) left early and didn’t return. Ageless wonder Joe Flacco was terrific in Richardson’s stead. Minkah Fitzpatrick, meanwhile, had pointed words about the officiating.
4. Todd Bowles‘ domination of Jalen Hurts continued as the Buccaneers thumped the Eagles, 33-16. Tampa Bay sacked Hurts six times, and Baker Mayfield threw for 347 yards and had three total touchdowns. Brandon Graham called a team meeting after the loss. Yikes.
5. Also yikes: Jacksonville. C.J. Stroud threw a 1-yard touchdown to Dare Ogunbowale with 18 seconds left as the Texans beat the Jaguars, 24-20. The Jags are 0-4, and changes could be coming. There was a bad beat, too.

🏈 Good morning to all, but especially to …

THE BALTIMORE RAVENS …

From the very first offensive snap — Derrick Henry‘s franchise-record 87-yard touchdown — the Ravens came to dominate. This time, they made sure that effort continued all the way through. Baltimore walloped the previously unbeaten Bills 35-10 in a complete performance.

• Lamar Jackson threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, and Henry ran for 199 yards and had two scores.
• Justice Hill showed it’s not just those two in the backfield. He had 96 total yards and a score, and I love his skill set as a complement to Henry’s.
• Early MVP frontrunner Josh Allen had his first touchdown-less game since November of 2021.

Baltimore blew a big lead against the Raiders in Week 2 and nearly blew a huge lead against the Cowboys in Week 3. It appeared it might happen again: The first three drives of the second half were Baltimore three-and-outs sandwiching a Buffalo touchdown. Buffalo was driving again, down 21-10, before Kyle Van Noy made an incredible strip sack on Allen. Buffalo never threatened again, and Baltimore, after an 0-2 start, once again appears among the cream of the NFL crop.

… AND ALSO A GOOD MORNING TO THE ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE AND COLLEGE FOOTBALL FANS

The phrase “all-timer” gets thrown around haphazardly. Not every great game is an all-timer.

But this one? This one, my friends, was an all-timer.

Alabama beat Georgia, 41-34, in a heavyweight battle for the ages with one of the best finishes I’ve ever seen.

• After leading 28-0 early and 30-7 at halftime, Alabama’s offense stalled out, and Georgia’s got going.
• Trailing 33-28, Georgia got the ball back with under three minutes left, and Carson Beck found Dillon Bell on the first play of the drive to put the Bulldogs in front, 34-33.
• One play later, Jalen Milroe found Ryan Williams for a 75-yard touchdown on a play I cannot stop watching. The catch. The balance. The awareness. The body control. The moves. The speed. The everything. And Williams is 17 years old!!! Is he the next Julio Jones?
• Beck got one more chance, but Zabien Brown, a true freshman just like Williams, picked off a jump ball in the end zone.

Here’s John Talty’s excellent column from Tuscaloosa.

If anyone thought the 12-team College Football Playoff would ruin the sport, think again. When Beck found Bell to give Georgia the lead, no one thought, “Who cares?” When Williams jumped and juked and scored to give Alabama the lead back one play later, no one thought, “This is meaningless.” And when Brown picked off Beck to end it, no one yawned and went straight to bed, heart rate having remained steady all night.

No, this one meant something. Georgia’s margin for error narrowed, and it still has Texas, Ole Miss and Tennessee on its schedule. Not every game should feel do-or-die. But would anyone object to seeing that game again … and again?

The new playoff leaves open the chance for more all-timers. Every fan should embrace that.

Here’s more:

👍 Honorable mentions

⚾ And not such a good morning for …

THE CHICAGO WHITE SOX

The White Sox set the record for most losses in a season in modern MLB history, finishing 41-121. The 1962 Mets lost 120, so it really came down to the wire; Chicago actually won five of its last six games.

Here’s more on the season that will live on in infamy …

Maybe next year! (but probably not) (and probably not soon)

👎 Not so honorable mentions

⚾ MLB playoffs nearly set: Mets-Braves doubleheader to determine NL field

As the late Ernie Banks would have said: “It’s a great day for a ball game. Let’s play two.”

I will add: “And find out the last two playoff spots!”

With all other teams having completed their regular seasons Sunday, the Mets and the Braves will play a doubleheader today to determine the second and third NL Wild Card spots after Hurricane Helene postponed two of their meetings last week.

It’s not just the Mets and the Braves who have much at stake. The Diamondbacks will be paying close attention, too. Here’s why:

• Mets win both games: Mets No. 5 seed, Diamondbacks No. 6 seed, Braves eliminated
• Braves win both games: Braves No. 5 seed, Diamondbacks No. 6 seed, Mets eliminated
• Braves, Mets split games: Braves No. 5 seed, Mets No. 6 seed, Diamondbacks eliminated

Things weren’t as dramatic in the AL. The Tigers clinched a playoff spot on Friday, as did the Royals. Both represent magical turnarounds: Detroit sold at the trade deadline and was 10 games back of the wild card on Aug. 10 before winning 31 of its next 42. Kansas City is just the second team to make the playoffs one year after a 100-loss season.

So … after all of that … The playoffs are (nearly) set:

AMERICAN LEAGUE

• Bye: No. 1 Yankees and No. 2 Guardians
• Wild Card: No. 6 Royals at No. 3 Astros (winner plays Guardians)
• Wild Card: No. 5 Tigers at No. 4 Orioles (winner plays Yankees)

NATIONAL LEAGUE

• Bye: No. 1 Dodgers and No. 2 Phillies
• Wild Card: No. 6 TBD at No. 3 Brewers (winner plays Phillies)
• Wild Card: No. 5 TBD at No. 4 Padres (winner plays Dodgers)

⛳ U.S. wins 10th consecutive Presidents Cup

The Presidents Cup is staying with the United States, but this time, it meant a little extra for the clinching player. The U.S. beat the International team 18½-11½, with Keegan Bradley fittingly earning the clinching point with a 1UP win over Si Woo Kim. It’s the Americans’ 10th straight Presidents Cup victory and the largest win by an away team in the event’s history.

Bradley got left off last year’s Ryder Cup team in controversial, heartbreaking fashion and hadn’t played on a Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup team since 2014. He’ll be the Ryder Cup captain next year. But he got to ride off into the sunset as a U.S. player (maybe) on an emotional high.

It wasn’t always such a blowout. The U.S. swept Thursday’s session 5-0 before the Internationals swept back on Friday. But the U.S. won both of Saturday’s sessions 3-1, setting up for a relatively straightforward Sunday, when the U.S. took 4½ points in the first six contests.

As for standouts, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa and Patrick Cantlay all went 4-1-0 on the week, and Sam Burns went 3-0-1.

Credit the International team for bringing a ton of energy (Si Woo Kim imitated Stephen Curry‘s “Night Night” celebration) and making things interesting heading into the weekend. Credit the U.S. for quelling the threat in masterful fashion.

🏀 Liberty, Sun win semifinal Game 1s

Breanna Stewart made a statement early: This isn’t last year. Stewart scored 34 points as the Liberty beat the Aces, 87-77 in Game 1 of their semifinal series, a rematch of last season’s WNBA Finals.

Stewart did a bit of everything en route to her sixth career playoff 30-pointer, tied with Angel McCoughtry for second all-time.

In the nightcap, the Sun eked out a 73-70 win over the Lynx, with Alyssa Thomas (17 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists) narrowly missing out on a triple-double … but making two huge shots late.

Also over the weekend, the WNBA gave out more awards.

🏀 Knicks acquire Karl-Anthony Towns in stunning blockbuster

Just when we thought the coast was clear, the NBA delivered another bombshell. The Knicks acquired Karl-Anthony Towns from the Timberwolves, a shocking deal weeks before the season begins. Here are the details:

• Knicks acquire: Karl-Anthony Towns
• Timberwolves acquire: Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, 2025 top-13-protected first-round pick (via Pistons)
• Hornets acquire: DaQuan Jeffries, salary, draft compensation

Towns is an incredible talent, an all-time great shooter who can be an offensive fulcrum … all at 7 feet tall. He doesn’t fit typical Tom Thibodeau‘s favored scrappy, tireless defender archetype, but Sam Quinn gave New York and Minnesota strong marks in his trade grades.

• Quinn: “Knicks: B+: He’s not just a good shooter. He is, by almost any statistical measure, the greatest shooter ever to play the center position. Having that caliber of shooting out of a big man changes everything. … Timberwolves: B+: Anthony Edwards has a chance to be the best player in the world … If sacrificing Towns is what it takes to ensure Edwards has a long-term contender around him, then it was worthwhile.”

Here’s more:

📺 What we’re watching Monday

⚾ Mets at Braves, 1:10 p.m. on ESPN2
⚾ Mets at Braves, 4:40 p.m. on ESPN2
🏈 Titans at Dolphins, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏈 Seahawks at Lions, 8:15 p.m. on ABC