(Newser)
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A former five-time MLB All-Star with the Texas Rangers has turned himself in to police on a charge of injuring his eldest child. According to an arrest warrant, Josh Hamilton threw a full water bottle at the chest of his daughter, described as younger than 14, after she'd made a comment he didn't like on Sept. 30. The 38-year-old is then accused of throwing the chair the girl's feet were resting on and pulling her to the ground, per the Dallas Morning News. The warrant claims the former outfielder—who previously battled substance abuse issues—then threw the girl over his shoulder, carried her to her room, pressed her face into the bed, and struck her legs with an open hand and closed fist. The warrant mentions injuries including a bruised hip and scratches, reports NBC News.
Hamilton allegedly told his daughter, "I hope you go in front of the f------ judge and tell him what a terrible dad I am so I don't have to see you anymore and you don't ever have to come to my house again." She then told her mother—Hamilton's ex-wife—about the alleged incident. Child protective services investigated before Hamilton surrendered to the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office near Fort Worth on Wednesday. He has since been released from jail on a $35,000 bond and could face two to 10 years in prison if convicted of injury to a child, a third-degree felony in Texas, per CNN. Hamilton "is innocent of the charge against him and looks forward to clearing his name in court," lawyers tell the Morning News, which reports Hamilton's career ended in 2017. In August 2019 he said, "I stopped to be a dad. My girls need me to be a dad more than I need baseball." (Read more Texas stories.)
Gerrit Cole, a pending free agent, wasted no time distancing himself from the Houston Astros Wednesday night as the star pitcher donned a baseball cap bearing his agent's logo and telling reporters he was "not an employee of the team."
Cole, one of the front-runners for the American League's Cy Young award this season, warmed up but did not appear for the Astros as they slipped to a crushing Game 7 defeat against the Washington Nationals in the World Series.
When he spoke to reporters after the game, Cole told an Astros spokesperson, "I'm not an employee of the team," before adding "I guess as a representative of myself..."
He subsequently told reporters he had made "a lot of good friendships" during his two years in Houston.
Houston Astros starting pitcher Gerrit Cole walks to the dugout after the third inning of Game 5 of the baseball World Series against the Washington Nationals Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019, in Washington.
(AP)
“Obviously l learned a lot about pitching from my teammates. From the pitching coaches and pitching staff. I learned a lot more about the game from [manager] A.J. [Hinch]. And it was just a pleasure to play in the city of Houston," he said.
He also donned a hat bearing the logo of Boras Corp, the company of superagent Scott Boras.
Speaking after the game, Hinch said his decision to opt for pitcher Will Harris, which ultimately led to the Nationals seizing the lead, was "a decision I'll have to live with."
"I wasn't going to pitch him [Cole] unless we were going to win the World Series and have a lead," Hinch said. "He was going to help us win. He was available, and I felt it was a game that he was going to come in had we tied it or taken the lead."
Speculation has mounted that Cole, a native of Southern California who amassed 326 strikeouts this season, may return to his home state next season, possibly for the Angels or Dodgers. The New York Yankees are also expected to be in play for what is expected to be a record free agent contract for a starting pitcher.
Washington Nationals catcher Yan Gomes celebrates the the trophy after Game 7 of the baseball World Series against the Houston Astros Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019, in Houston. The Nationals won 6-2 to win the series.
(AP)
The Nationals won in come-from-behind fashion, smacking a pair of home runs in the seventh inning on their way to a 6-2 win in the final game of a Fall Classic that saw the visiting team win all seven games. Washington starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg, who could opt out of his contract to become a free agent, was named the Series MVP.
Washington won the first two games in Houston, then Houston returned the favor by taking three straight in D.C. With Wednesday night’s victory, the Nats took two more in Texas.
LOS ANGELES -- Suddenly, the Golden State Warriors are light years behind the rest of the NBA.
After winning three NBA titles in the past five years, the Warriors’ championship armor has absorbed various dents in recent months. On Wednesday evening, the Warriors suffered a significant crack that could completely destroy that armor.
Stephen Curry broke his left hand after falling to the floor following a hard collision with Aron Baynes in the third quarter of the Warriors’ eventual loss to the Phoenix Suns at Chase Center. Curry landed hard on his left wrist and Baynes fell on top of him.
Curry plans to receive an MRI and CT scan to determine if he needs surgery. Though that result will give the Warriors clarity on the severity of their latest nightmare, even the best-case scenario will likely lead to bad dreams.
Instead of holding out hope they can remain a playoff contender in the super stacked Western Conference, the Warriors may already begin a rebuilding season just 4 ½ months after losing to the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Finals. Since then, the Warriors’ identity has changed drastically.
Two-time NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant bolted to Brooklyn as a free agent. In hopes of offsetting his departure, the Warriors completed a sign-and-trade with Brooklyn to acquire D’Angelo Russell. With that move leaving the Warriors hard-capped, they dealt veteran Andre Iguodala to Memphis in a salary dump. Shaun Livingston retired without much pushback. And Klay Thompson will remain sidelined until at least NBA All-Star weekend in mid-February, if not longer, after tearing the ACL in his right knee in a decisive Game 6 loss to Toronto.
The Warriors did not envision this when they opened Chase Center, a privately financed arena that cost $1.5 billion, in San Francisco after spending the previous 47 seasons at Oracle Arena in Oakland.
Even after losing Durant, Iguodala and Livingston, the Warriors firmly believed they could pivot from mimicking the Chicago Bulls’ dynastic run in the 1990s to emulating the San Antonio Spurs’ long-term success through the past two decades. The reason? The Warriors still had two All-Stars (Curry, Draymond Green), a trusted coach (Steve Kerr), a respected general manager (Bob Myers) and a deep-pocketed owner (Joe Lacob).
Instead, the Warriors have labored through a 1-3 start. Without Curry, the Warriors no longer have the person most responsible for their revolutionized offense and team-oriented culture. And unlike past seasons when Curry became hobbled with ankle and groin injuries, the Warriors no longer have the infrastructure to absorb his absences.
Green can master all five positions on defense, but he lacks consistent scoring punch. Russell has the opposite issues. And the Warriors have the NBA’s third-youngest team largely because of nine new players.
With their playoff chances strongly in question, the Warriors cannot exactly shift toward hoping they cash in big in the NBA Draft lottery. When the Warriors acquired Russell, they dealt their 2020 first-round pick that is protected. Therefore, the Warriors may only be able to spend the rest of the season developing their young roster.
This much we do know: The Warriors’ fortunes for a successful season seem as likely as making a 40-foot shot.
Only Curry can do that.
Follow USA TODAY NBA columnist Mark Medina on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
President Trump apparently didn't take it personally Sunday night when many Washington Nationals fans booed him at Nationals Park after he arrived to see Game 5 of the 2019 World Series.
On Wednesday night, after the Nationals defeated the Houston Astros in Game 7 in Texas, to claim the team's first world championship -- and the first for the nation's capital since 1924 -- the president acknowledged the D.C. team's achievement in a Twitter message.
"Congratulations to the Washington Nationals on a great season and an incredible World Series," the president wrote. "Game 7 was amazing."
The Nationals won in come-from-behind fashion, smacking a pair of home runs in the seventh inning on their way to a 6-2 win in the final game of a Fall Classic that saw the visiting team win all seven games. Washington starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg, a soon-to-be free agent, was named the Series MVP.
Washington Nationals catcher Yan Gomes celebrates the the trophy after Game 7 of the baseball World Series against the Houston Astros Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019, in Houston. The Nationals won 6-2 to win the series. (Associated Press)
.
In addition to Trump, others sent their congratulations to the newly crowned champions – including Washington's other professional teams, such as the NHL’s Washington Capitals and NBA’s Washington Wizards.
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SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 30: Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry (30) reacts after injuring his hand against the Phoenix Suns in the third quarter at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Phoenix Suns' Aron Baynes, left, gets up after falling onto Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019, in San Francisco. Curry left the game. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
The gallery will resume inseconds
Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry, left, grimaces after Phoenix Suns' Aron Baynes fell onto him during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019, in San Francisco. Curry left the game. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 30: Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry (30) reacts after injuring his hand against the Phoenix Suns in the third quarter at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, left, observes Stephen Curry (30) after Phoenix Suns' Aron Baynes fell onto him during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019, in San Francisco. Curry left the game. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 30: Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry (30) leaves the court after injuring his hand against the Phoenix Suns in the third quarter at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry looks at his left hand after Phoenix Suns' Aron Baynes fell onto him during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019, in San Francisco. Curry left the game. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 30: Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green (23) grimaces on the bench during their game against the Phoenix Suns in the first quarter at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 30: Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green (23) holds his lower back during their game against the Phoenix Suns in the first quarter at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
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SAN FRANCISCO — You probably have heard of LaMelo Ball.
But do you know who Anthony Edwards is?
What about James Wiseman? Cole Anthony?
Warriors fans should start getting familiar with those names now, because after Stephen Curry broke his left hand in the Warriors’ latest embarrassing loss Wednesday, the path forward for this team is clear:
Curry’s injury means this season is lost. It was probably already lost, but now it’s official. The Warriors now need to do everything they can to maximize their 2020-2021 season — which means even more minutes for young players and building up their 2020 NBA Draft lottery odds.
Yes, the Warriors need to make it a priority to lose as often as possible going forward.
Though, to be fair, I don’t think that’ll be too much of an adjustment for these Dubs.
It’s early, of course — four games — but the Warriors were so egregiously bad in three of those first four contests that it was fair to wonder how soon the team should pack it in. How could your mind not go there when they fell behind 47-14 to the Suns — the Phoenix Suns! — in the early goings of the second quarter on Wednesday?
But when Curry tumbled over Suns center Aron Baynes — a 7-foot center who was, for some reason, taking a charge against a 6-foot-2 guard — the answer was given.
Call it a small sample size if you must, but the Warriors didn’t look like a team that was going to be competing for the playoffs with Curry. Without him, they don’t stand a chance of making the postseason.
(Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
It doesn’t matter if Curry is out for a few weeks or a few months with a second broken metacarpal, either. He needed to play at least 70 games for the Warriors this season for the team to be competitive (and even that might not have been enough). That number looks like it will come in well under with this injury, even if the best-case scenario — a three-or-four week absence — comes to pass.
Curry’s hand will heal, of course. He’ll be able to play again some point this season but I’m not sure there will be much to play for once that day arrives. There’s no value in mediocrity in the NBA and that’s likely the Warriors’ ceiling with Curry out of the lineup for an extended period of time.
So they might as well keep him on the shelf for as long as possible. Right? He’s played in five-straight NBA Finals — rest those legs for a while, fella.
In the meantime, the Warriors should let D’Angelo Russell dribble excessively and shoot a contested floater 40 times a game. Give Jordan Poole 30-plus minutes of run, too. Give those two-way contract guys all the minutes they can handle. Let’s see is Eric Paschall is the second coming of Draymond Green by letting Green load manage his way through the campaign — no need for him to use up any of his valuable but dwindling milage on a lost season.
Will owner Joe Lacob like it? Of course not. He just opened up a brand new arena that he built his own money. Is Steve Kerr going to like it? Not at all — he’s a competitor. Green is for sure going to hate it — losing eats at his soul.
But effectively turning this season into a developmental camp is the pragmatic thing to do for the long-term future of this team. It’s a worthy sacrifice for a brighter tomorrow.
(Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
The Warriors will be fine next season, regardless of where they pick in the 2020 draft. The core of (a should-be rested) Curry, Green, and Klay Thompson will be back together again — with Andre Iguodala likely to be back in the fold, too. The Warriors will be a formidable team.
But the better the draft pick the Warriors can get out of this season, the better chance that core can expand to include another premier player, either via trade (you can’t land Giannis for Russell straight-up) or selection.
And in this league, we know that premier players are everything.
It’s absurd, but over the team’s last six games, they’re lost Kevin Durant (to injury and for good), Thompson (ACL), and now Curry to serious injury.
The basketball gods have spoken. They are cruel and perhaps unjust, but their message is unmistakable:
Shut it down, Warriors. Turn this into your 1997 Spurs season — the year San Antonio tanked so they could land Tim Duncan. (The next year, they won the title.)
It might hurt now, but I swear, it’s for the best.
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Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors will be out indefinitely after breaking his left hand in the Warriors’ home loss to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night.
Early in the third quarter of Golden State’s 121-110 defeat, Curry drove to the basket and collided in midair with the Suns’ burly center Aron Baynes, who appeared to land hard on the left arm of the fallen Curry after first trying to take a charge.
The Warriors confirmed during the fourth quarter that Curry had broken his hand, which means that they have now lost both halves of their All-Star backcourt to injury. Klay Thompson tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in Game 6 of the N.B.A. finals and is expected to be sidelined until at least March — and possibly for the whole season.
According to the Warriors’ broadcast on NBC Sports Bay Area, Curry will undergo a CT scan this week to determine if surgery is required and how long he may need to recover.
Wednesday’s loss dropped the Warriors to 1-3 this season. They fell behind the Suns by as many as 34 points — including a whopping 29 points in the first quarter at 43-14 — snuffing out the momentum Golden State had hoped to carry over from Monday night’s victory in New Orleans. A far more painful fate awaited in the second half.
Curry’s exit meant that the Warriors have lost three All-Stars to long-term injuries in their last six official games. In Game 5 of last season’s finals, Kevin Durant ruptured the Achilles’ tendon in his right foot, ending his career in Golden State prematurely before he signed with the Nets in free agency in July.
The lone remaining holdover from Golden State’s core that made five consecutive trips to the finals — Draymond Green — also exited Wednesday’s game early with a back injury.
The roster that remains for the Warriors, apart from the former Nets All-Star D’Angelo Russell, is filled with young, unproven players. Even with a healthy Curry and Green, fears had quickly begun to mount amid Golden State’s 0-2 start that the team did not have sufficient talent and depth to compete for a playoff spot in the ever-rugged West.
“It’s been a tough start for us on many levels,” Warriors Coach Steve Kerr said after the game, “and obviously this puts us in a tough spot.”
Now there are bound to be widespread calls for the Warriors to focus on draft position in hopes of adding a top pick next season alongside a fully healed Curry and Thompson. Golden State sent a first-round pick to the Nets in the sign-and-trade deal that sent Durant to the Nets and Russell to the Warriors. That pick is 1-to-20 protected, meaning that the Warriors will keep it as long as it falls no lower than No. 20 in next June’s draft.
It marks a move in a different direction for the NCAA and its view of student-athletes, whom the organization sees as amateurs.
Tuesday's announcement is just a first step, and it remains to be seen how players will benefit from the change and what the specifics of the new rules will be.
Many people saw the news as a positive, including one NBA superstar, who skipped playing in college.
LeBron James tweeted it was a "beautiful day."
"Thank you guys for allowing me to bring more light to it. I'm so proud of the team at @uninterrupted bringing focus on this and to everyone who has been fighting this fight. Not a victory but a start!" he wrote.
James' partner at Uninterrupted, which calls itself an athlete empowerment brand, Maverick Carter was also taking a wait-and-see approach while applauding the NCAA.
"Today's decision by the NCAA is a big step forward, but there's a lot more that needs to be done," he said. "We're looking forward to continuing that work alongside anyone who believes, as we do, that the athletes deserve to benefit from their talent and hard work."
Former Olympic skier Jeremy Bloom, who in the 2000s fought the NCAA for the right to continue to play football for the Colorado Buffaloes, was "highly skeptical" of the governing body.
He pointed in a tweet to the NCAA's language in their news release.
It mentions athletes could be allowed to benefit "in a manner that is consistent to the collegiate model."
"What in the world does that mean?" said Bloom, who was ruled ineligible for his final two football seasons because he took endorsement money for skiing. "Bottom line, state legislators need to continue to down the path and keep the pressure high while the NCAA figures out how to hold up their house of cards."
Bloom titled his statement: "Don't buy the NCAA hype."
Nancy Skinner, a state senator who was the co-sponsor of California's Fair Pay to Play Act, lauded what she saw as the state's role in the NCAA's decision.
"California's leadership is a game-changer once again! The NCAA's announcement shows promise on giving college athletes' NIL rights. But the devil is in the details on what the NCAA means by adhering to the 'collegiate model,'" she tweeted.
A top legislator in Florida, one of the other states considering legislation on college athletes and possible payments, said he was pleased with the NCAA decision but he still plans to pursue a new law.
"While this is a great first step, we must ensure Florida's student-athletes are provided fair treatment and long-term protections found in my bill, HB 251," said Kionne L. McGhee, the leader of the state's Democratic representatives.
Washington Nationals manager Davey Martinez was, ahem, not happy about home plate umpire Sam Holbrook’s decision to call Nats shortstop Trea Turner out for runner interference on a pivotal play in the top of the seventh inning Tuesday night. Turner’s squib back towards the mound resulted in Astros pitcher Brad Peacock rushing a throw to first and, as Turner ran through the bag, he collided with Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel’s glove, knocking it off his hand.
The controversial call robbed Washington of a prime scoring opportunity that the baseball gods—and Anthony Rendon—atoned for shortly after by hitting a towering two-run shot to stretch the Nationals one-run advantage into a 5-2 lead.
Martinez was clearly peeved by the call, and there may have been some residual frustration simmering in the Nats dugout about some close balls and strikes calls over the past couple of games. The Nats manager tried to protest the call, prompting the umpires to put on the headset and confer on the ruling with MLB in New York. After the four-plus minute delay, Martinez appeared to have gotten his frustration out, and life appeared to move on. That is, until the middle of the inning, when the national TV audience went to commercial, the organist cued up “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” for the seventh inning stretch, and Martinez went bananas trying to fight though Nats bench coach Chip Hale first to get in Holbrook’s face, and then to tangle with crew chief Gary Cederstrom. It was like an old school, performative manager-umpire bust-up and it got Martinez tossed, making him the first manager in nearly 25 years to get ejected from a World Series game.
“Part of me just said, ‘Hey, we’ll protest the game.’ I know we can’t. But just check the rules, and they did that,” Martinez said after the game. “Honestly, [I was protesting] nothing because I knew we couldn’t. But I wanted them to go look at the replay.”
“It was the right call,” MLB chief baseball officer and former manager Joe Torre said. “Of course, then you watch Davey Martinez, and I can relate to that.”
"I'm good," Scherzer declared as he walked off the field.
After some light tosses to warm up, Scherzer threw with his full pitching motion -- he brought his hands over his head and everything -- and with intent. If he wasn't throwing with 100 percent effort, it was pretty close. Scherzer played catch on flat ground only and did not throw in the bullpen.
"As of right now, yes," Martinez said when asked whether said Scherzer would start a potential Game 7. "... He threw, he felt good. We'll see what transpires between now and tonight. But he said he feels good. As of right now, he'll definitely start Game 7."
Scherzer, ahead of Game 5, admitted he'd felt discomfort for a few days, and described the injury as a "little thing that turned into a big thing that turned into a giant thing." He received a cortisone shot, which typically take 48 hours to fully kick in, Sunday afternoon. His throwing session came after the 48 hours.
"If Max tells me tonight that he's good, then Max would pitch until his neck decides he can't pitch anymore," Martinez added. "I can't see myself telling Max, 'Hey, you're only going to go 75 pitches.' He's going to want to go as long as he can."
Scherzer did warm during the game in the bullpen, and Martinez admitted that he contemplated using him in Tuesday's win. In the end, Martinez opted to save Scherzer for the Game 7 start instead. Game 3 starter Anibal Sanchez and Game 4 starter Corbin will also be available in relief.
With the season at its virtual midpoint, we have a ferocious Big Four at the top of the Power Rankings.
Could a team invade the space and replace one of the members of the Holy Quadrant? Sure. A lot can happen between now and the end of the regular season. But as things stand right now? There are the first four teams in the Power Rankings ... and then there's everybody else.
Let's get to it.
NOTE: The previous rankings referenced in the lineup below are from the Week 8 Power Rankings.
Career win No. 300 was another breeze for Bill Belichick and the
Patriots, who are halfway home to regular-season perfection at 8-0. New England's defense was once again too much for an inferior opponent to handle, as
Stephon Gilmore erased
Odell Beckham Jr., who finished the game with five catches on seven targets for 52 yards, while
Baker Mayfield was harassed series after series. Sitting atop Mayfield's enemy list was
Jamie Collins, who finished Sunday with 13 tackles, 1.5 sacks and two quarterback hits. That's the type of superstar production the
Browns hoped for when they gave Collins a ton of money a few years back. Meanwhile, let's use some numbers to add some perspective to just how dominant New England has been in the first half of 2019: The
Patriots are scoring more points per game (31.3) and allowing fewer points per game (7.6) than any of the six Super Bowl-winning teams in franchise history. Halloween terror.
Absolute dominance on Sunday by the
49ers, who welcomed the red-hot
Panthers to their house ... and
promptly crushed their spirits. This is what the great teams do, and week after week, we're seeing that San Francisco should be viewed through that prism.
Tevin Coleman was the big star on offense, piling up four touchdowns (three on the ground) in the best game of his career. The standout on defense was rookie defensive end
Nick Bosa, who finished with three sacks and
an acrobatic leaping interception that he nearly returned for a score. Bosa has removed all doubt from the Defensive Rookie of the Year race -- and now you have to start thinking of Bosa as a very real candidate for Defensive
Player of the Year. Lawrence Taylor (1981) is the only rookie to win DPOY, and Bosa's impact on the Niners is similar to LT's on those
Giants. Every team needs a Bosa boy.
The rich get richer. The
Saints had been whupping up on teams with
Teddy Bridgewater behind center.
Drew Brees returned to the lineup on Sunday against the
Cardinals, and New Orleans promptly rolled up more than 500 yards of offense in
a 31-9 win. New Orleans' only other 500-plus yard game came in Week 1 -- not coincidentally the only other game Brees started this season. Brees and
Michael Thomas (11 catches for 112 yards and a TD on 11 targets) picked up where they left off, and running back
Latavius Murray continued to play like an All-Pro while
Alvin Kamara works his way back from an ankle injury. Murray became only the second player in
Saints history with 100-plus rushing yards, 50-plus receiving yards and both a rushing and receiving score in a single game. Throw in one of the best defenses in football, and Sean Payton's team is a juggernaut.
"They've turned that guy into a superstar." Those were the words of
Around The NFL Podcast colleague Chris Wesseling as we watched
Aaron Jones rumble to the end zone with the
Packers'
game-winning score on Sunday night
against the Chiefs. There's so much to like about Green Bay right now, but Jones' ascent to legit dual-threat monster has opened up a surging
Packers offense that was expected to suffer when receiver
Davante Adams went on the shelf with a toe injury. With Adams out since Week 4,
Aaron Rodgers and first-year coach Matt LaFleur have essentially turned Jones into a productive wide receiver. According to Next Gen Stats, Jones caught four of five targets aligned wide for 127 yards and a touchdown against the
Chiefs. That's 53 more yards than the next-closest running back lining up out wide in a single game since the Next Gen era began in 2016. Good teams find a way to make the most of their personnel.
It wasn't the blowout most expected, but the
Vikingstook care of the Redskins on
Thursday Night Football and have now won four straight after last month's apparent
near-mutiny in the locker room.
Kirk Cousins failed to complete just three of 26 attempts, but the real star was
Dalvin Cook, who piled up 171 yards of total offense and provided the game's lone touchdown on another monster day. Cook is the NFL's leader in scrimmage yards and has become a dual-threat in the backfield on par with
Saints star
Alvin Kamara and fellow MVP candidate
Christian McCaffrey. According to NFL Media Research, Cook is averaging 11.6 yards after the catch per reception this season, tops in the league. Spinning forward, we'll learn a lot about the Vikes in the next two weeks, with road matchups
against the Chiefsand Cowboys on tap. Cousins has struggled historically in high-visibility showdowns against
Super Bowl contenders -- can he quiet that ugly narrative?
The
Seahawks authored a classic Jekyll and Hyde performance against the
Falcons on Sunday, following a dominant first half with an unsightly second half in an eventual
27-20 win. This was not supposed to be a close game, with Atlanta QB
Matt Ryan sidelined by an ankle injury, but a Matt Schaub-led
Falcons offense still managed to pile up more than 500 total yards against the
Seahawks. Strange.
Russell Wilson threw only five passes in the game's final two quarters, feeding into the feeling that Pete Carroll was content to coast to a victory rather than attempt to bury the one-win
Falcons. One big loss on Sunday: Center
Justin Britt suffered a torn ACL and
will undergo season-ending surgery. Center is not a position of depth for the
Seahawks, who might be active at the trade deadline in search of a replacement.
The
Cowboys hit their Week 8 bye with a win and the warm feeling that
Ezekiel Elliott is playing like
Ezekiel Elliott again. The star running back, who looked a step or two slow in the weeks after he ended his contract holdout, now has more than 140 scrimmage yards in consecutive games.
Dak Prescott showed earlier this season that he is capable of carrying the Dallas offense when he's hot, but having Elliott at the center of the universe is the best and most stable version of this attack. In other 'Boys news,
last week's trade for defensive lineman
Michael Bennett could be great for
Robert Quinn and
DeMarcus Lawrence, who have been the focus of constant double-teams. Bennett has a habit of wearing out his welcome (he's on his fifth team in 11 seasons), but he's been an impact producer everywhere he's gone. He should make the
Cowboys better.
J.J. Watt told the world
he is "gutted" after learning his season has been ended by
a torn pec muscle suffered in
Sunday's win over the
Raiders. Bill O'Brien can relate. The
Texans' head coach and de facto general manager went all in on 2019, making a series of aggressive roster moves with the goal of getting Houston to its first
Super Bowl in February. Even
with Watt, who remained an All-Pro stud before his latest injury, the
Texans were facing an uphill challenge as they battled both inconsistencies in their week-to-week play and the grim understanding that the defending Super Bowl-champion
Patriots have that 16-0 glow. Losing Watt significantly weakens Houston -- that much is obvious. Does it remove the
Texans from the conversation of legitimate contenders? Counting out any team led by a player as special as
Deshaun Watson would be foolish, but this was an undeniably crushing blow.
Who would have thought the 2019
Chiefs would suffer three losses at Arrowhead before Halloween? Kansas City
couldn't find a way to get past the
Packers in prime time, with
Patrick Mahomes stuck on the sideline with that bad knee. The most frustrating part of the loss is that the
Chiefs didn't lose because of quarterback play. Backup
Matt Moore performed extremely well, completing 24 of 36 passes for 267 yards and two touchdowns while leading the
Chiefs back from two deficits, including a 14-0 hole in the first quarter. The regret here is that K.C. didn't get help from the players it counts on. Running back
LeSean McCoy had
a key fumble, tight end
Travis Kelce dropped a pass in the end zone and receiver
Sammy Watkins let a huge potential gain bounce off his hands. The
Chiefs had to be razor sharp without the MVP in the lineup ... especially against peak
Aaron Rodgers. On Sunday night, they weren't.
With the
Ravens exiting their bye week, let's use this space to contextualize
Lamar Jackson's greatness this season through numbers. Let's start with the offense Jackson leads: The
Ravens are averaging 30.6 points per game and 434.9 yards per game, both the best marks in franchise history. Jackson's 576 rushing yards were good for 10th in the NFL entering Monday. You won't find another quarterback on that list of top runners until
Kyler Murray, ranked 38th in the league. Jackson had more rushing yards on his own than seven other teams in the NFL entering Week 8, and he's currently on pace for 1,316 rushing yards, which would shatter Michael Vick's NFL record for a quarterback of 1,039 yards, set in 2006. Throw in the fact that Jackson has more than twice as many touchdown passes (11) as he does interceptions (5), with a passer rating near 100, and yes, the
Ravens have a legit MVP candidate under center.
"The throw was stinking impressive." That's how
Colts coach Frank Reich described
Jacoby Brissett's
35-yard sideline strike to
T.Y. Hilton late in the fourth quarter
against Denver, a completion that came after Brissett dodged a potential game-deciding sack by
Von Miller, rolled to his right and found his favorite receiver. Two plays later, a suspect horse-collar tackle penalty on the
Broncos moved Indy to the fringe of field-goal territory, and
Adam Vinatieri completed a topsy-turvy day with
a 51-yard kick to put the Colts ahead with 22 seconds to play. Vinatieri missed an earlier field-goal attempt and a PAT try that would have tied the game 13 in the third quarter. His inconsistency remains a concern for the
Colts, but this was another Sunday where Indy found a way. All five of Indy's wins have been by seven points or less, with three of those victories decided by three points or less.
How about
Cooper Kupp? Last year around this time, Kupp was getting his left knee reconstructed on an operating table. Now? He just might be the best of all the
Rams' skill players. He certainly was on Sunday, when he piled up over 200 receiving yards and a touchdown in
a win over the Bengals. Right now, he's my choice for Comeback Player of the Year. The
Rams will need Kupp to continue to produce after the disappointing news that
Brandin Cookssuffered yet another concussion against the
Bengals. That's now four concussions for Cooks since
Super Bowl LII and two in the span of 24 days. This could lead to an extended absence for Cooks, which would be a significant loss for a
Rams offense that counts on the speedy wideout to stretch the field.
Consider
Sunday's loss to the Eagles fuel for those who don't believe Buffalo to be a legitimate contender despite its 5-2 record. A struggling Philly team went to Western New York and bullied the
Bills in their own house.
Josh Allen had
another costly fumble (he's up to eight on the season, with three lost), while the Buffalo defense -- which has played at an elite level for most of the year -- got pushed around in the second half, allowing a season-worst 31 points on the day. A disappointing performance, no doubt, but it's not time to panic. This was a classic Cornered Animal Game for the
Eagles, who played like a dangerous team fighting for its season. The
Bills, meanwhile, have an
extremely inviting schedule over the next month, with home matchups against the
Redskins and
Broncos and road games in Cleveland and Miami. Buffalo remains on the inside track for a playoff return.
That was a potential
season-saving performance in Orchard Park. Rookie running back
Miles Sanders made the play of the game,
a 65-yard burst to the end zone early in the third quarter that put the
Eagles in control. That's why Philly used a second-round pick on the former Penn State star. The
Eagles ran for 218 yards against a normally stout
Bills defense, the highest rushing total in the Doug Pederson era. Speaking of Pederson, this performance reflects very well on the coach coming off
a week of a drama surrounding his team. With chatter everywhere, the
Eagles showed up to Buffalo focused and took out their frustrations on a
Bills team that entered the game with just one loss. Now the biggest question: Can the
Eagles sustain this momentum?
Up next are the Bears, who are about as desperate now as the
Eagles were entering Sunday.
Well, that was rough. The
Panthers entered their matchup against the
49ers riding a four-game winning streak. They left after
being force-fed a 50-burger and slice of humble pie. "This was the ultimate team meltdown," is how tight end
Greg Olsenput it. Yep, it was a classic bury-the-ball game for pretty much every
Panthers player not named
Christian McCaffrey, who somehow still managed 155 total yards and a touchdown. Quarterback
Kyle Allen was overwhelmed by a great Niners defense, throwing three interceptions with a 28.9 passer rating in absorbing his first loss as a starter. Coach Ron Rivera quickly announced Monday that Allen
will start again in place of the injured
Cam Newton this Sunday
against the Titans. You get the feeling that Cam will get cleared to return to action soon. Could Allen be playing for his starting job in Week 9?
Matthew Stafford isn't getting the national recognition he deserves this season. The
Lions quarterback is enjoying one of the best seasons of an underrated career, and we saw him spinning magic again in
a 31-26 win over the
Giants to snap a three-game losing streak. Stafford completed 25 of 32 passes for 342 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, once again turning
Kenny Golladay (six catches, 123 yards, two touchdowns) into his modern-day version of
Megatron. Stafford is on pace to set career highs in yards per attempt, touchdown-to-interception ratio and passer rating. The
Lions, following the lead of their star quarterback, have now scored 30 points or more three times this season, matching their total over 16 games a year ago. Stafford is doing his best work in the red zone, where he has thrown for 10 touchdowns without an interception. Detroit needs to build a winner around its QB before it's too late.
Quarterback/Floridian folk hero
Gardner Minshew played perhaps his best game of the season
against the Jets, using his great escapability and deft touch to burn New York repeatedly, often on third down.
Nick Foles, who's been out since Week 1 after breaking his collarbone, is still a few weeks away from being ready -- it's hard to imagine Doug Marrone putting Minshew back on the bench if the rookie continues to thrive. It was a well-rounded win for the
Jaguars, who sacked
Sam Darnold eight times and continued to thrive with the traded-away
Jalen Ramsey out of the picture. The Jags have forced seven turnovers in the last two games, a return to the opportunistic ways of the Sacksonville defense of 2017. With
J.J. Watt's season over in Houston, the AFC South remains wide open.
Things were not looking good for the
Steelers on Monday night. Down 14-0 to the
Dolphins with
Mason Rudolph playing like a guy who could use a few more weeks on the sideline. But Rudolph improved as the game progressed, and
James Conner lent a much-needed hand with a big day on the ground (though he exited late with an injury). Even
JuJu Smith-Schuster delivered a 100-yard game with a score, much to the delight of impatient fantasy owners. On the defensive side,
T.J. Watt clinched the win with
a sack/forced fumble/recovery in the fourth quarter, and
Minkah Fitzpatrick had two interceptions against the team he couldn't wait to get away from. I'm sure that felt nice. The
Steelers have won three of four with
the AFC South-leading Colts up next. Good test for a team that was left for dead at 0-3.
The
Raiders have been one of the NFL's most pleasant surprises, but they
missed a golden opportunity Sunday to put themselves on the inside track in the AFC playoff race. Oakland had an eight-point lead over the
Texans midway through the third quarter, and
Derek Carr and the offense were going up and down the field on the Houston defense. But
Deshaun Watson put Houston on top with consecutive touchdown drives covering 77 and 75 yards, then ran out the clock on the final possession with a trio of first downs. Watson did this with his right eye nearly swollen shut following
a cleat to the face on his fourth-quarter touchdown pass. Not how Jon Gruden wanted to end a largely successful marathon road swing. But all is not lost. The
Raiders will finally play their first true home game since Sept. 15, with favorable matchups
over the next three weeks. Just win, baby.
This is fast turning into a Murphy's Law season for the Bears:
Whatever can go wrong will go wrong. On Sunday, it was the kicker ... again.
Eddy Pineiro missed a 41-yard attempt wide left as time expired, giving the
Chargersa 17-16 win at Soldier Field.
Matt Nagy offered a fiery response to reporters who questioned his decision to not attempt a move deeper into Bolts territory before the kick, but you wonder if he felt as resolute about his decision when he put head to pillow on Sunday night. The
Bears have now lost three straight, a slump that has buried them in the NFC North and put their playoff hopes in great peril in a loaded NFC.
Mitchell Trubisky committed two killer turnovers in the fourth quarter against the
Chargers, but Nagy announced Monday he will stick with his starter. It's must-win time for the
Bears and their QB.
Another lost week for the
Browns, who are running out of time to make something of a once-promising season. Sunday's challenge was always going to be titanic against the undefeated
Patriots, but Cleveland was not nearly sharp enough to win in Foxborough. We heard during the Week 7 bye that Freddie Kitchens' team had committed itself to cleaning up the sloppy play that had undermined it during a 2-4 start ... then Cleveland came out Sunday and committed turnovers on three consecutive plays in the first quarter to fall behind, 17-0. To their credit, the
Browns battled back to make it a one-score game midway through the third quarter, but
a 59-yard gain on a screen pass from Tom Brady to James White set up the New England touchdown that put this one out of reach. Spinning forward, Cleveland finds itself in virtual must-win territory
on Sunday against the
Joe Flacco-less Broncos. Better find a way.
With some better execution (and some worse field-goal kicking by their opponents), the
Broncos could be 5-3 at the season's midpoint. But the execution hasn't been there, and the opposing kickers have been true, and so the
Broncos are 2-6 and all but dead in the AFC playoff race.
Sunday's loss to the Colts was painful, as was
Monday's news that
Joe Flacco will miss time with an ominous-sounding neck injury.
Flacco called out the
Broncos' conservative game plan in his postgame press conference on Sunday, but now it will be on
Brandon Allen, claimed off waivers Sept. 1 from the
Rams, to lead the offense against the
Browns in Week 9. Second-round pick
Drew Lock has recovered from his thumb injury, but
the Broncos have not decided whether he is prepared to see live game action this season. Well, that sounds ominous, too.
The final score doesn't quite tell the story of the
Cardinals'
31-9 loss to the
Saints. Arizona did a nice job hanging around with an NFC powerhouse, until a gutsy call by Kliff Kingsbury brought disastrous consequences. The scene: Trailing 10-6 with less than eight minutes to play in the third quarter, the
Cardinals faced fourth-and-1 from their own 30-yard line. Kingsbury elected to go for it, and
Chase Edmonds was flattened for no gain. The
Saints took over and reached the end zone five plays later.
Game over. Kingsbury knew the
Cardinals had to be bold to beat the
Saints, but the execution simply wasn't there. Speaking of Edmonds, the running back exited early with
a hamstring injury, and the team
subsuquently acquired running back
Kenyan Drake from the
Dolphins on Monday. Drake is a talented runner -- it will be interesting to see where he fits in long-term in a crowded but banged-up backfield.
Though it was
another loss for the G-Men, Sunday's contest brought some much-welcomed progress on the
Daniel Jones front. The rookie quarterback, who has struggled in recent weeks, put together a monster statistical day against the
Lions -- 28 for 41 for 322 yards and four TDs. That's more touchdowns than he had in New York's prior three games combined. Meanwhile, the
Giantsmade a trade with the Jets (yes, the Jets) on Monday, sending third- and fifth-round picks across the building to acquire defensive lineman
Leonard Williams. It's a fairly hefty price, given Williams' lack of production and impending 2020 free agency. Perhaps GM Dave Gettleman believes he can unlock the promise inside Williams, who was widely hailed as a steal for the
Jets in 2015 when he went sixth overall. Gettleman has been investing heavily in the
Giants' defensive line, a strategy he brought over from his "hog molly" days with the
Panthers.
Bruce Arians has every right to be mad. Referees did it again, apparently prematurely blowing a play dead that wiped out a potential game-changing touchdown. It burned the
Saints against the
Rams in Week 2, and it might have cost the Bucs a game
against the Titans on Sunday. "My biggest thing is, referees aren't held accountable,"
a still-agitated Arians said Monday. "Coaches get fired. General managers get fired. Players get cut. Referees aren't accountable. And it's a shame." Had the official not blown his whistle, safety
Andrew Adams would have put the Bucs ahead with less than four minutes to play on a fumble return for score. One can understand the frustration of the Bucs and their head coach, but let's not bury the reality that
Jameis Winston had four more turnovers and continues to put Tampa Bay in difficult positions on a weekly basis. Change is coming.
Another week,
another loss for the
Falcons, who managed to turn a blowout into a narrow defeat to the
Seahawks but still seem like a rudderless operation at the season's midway point. After the game, owner Arthur Blank
said the team would use its Week 9 bye to "evaluate where we are, and whatever decision we have to make, we'll make." None of that sounds particularly promising for head coach Dan Quinn, who is very clearly on borrowed time in Atlanta. On the positive side of things, let's give it up for
Matt Schaub, the 38-year-old backup to
Matt Ryan who started a game for the first time in forever and damn near threw for 500 yards. It's a reminder that with skill players like
Julio Jones,
Calvin Ridley and
Austin Hooper, the
Falcons have no right to be this far adrift. Unfortunately, none of those guys can play defense.
The
Jets continue to tailspin, and their young quarterback is along for the ride. Six days after
a scary-bad performance against the
Patriots,
Sam Darnold tossed three more interceptions -- including a back-breaker midway through the fourth quarter -- in
a loss at Jacksonville. Darnold's day actually started brilliantly: He went 7-of-7 for 89 yards and a touchdown to tight end
Ryan Griffin on the
Jets' opening possession. But Adam Gase's offense managed just 120 yards the rest of the way in another unimaginative performance. Darnold continues to struggle with turnovers, but the 22-year-old is being done no favors playing behind an offensive line that's non-competitive most weeks. Darnold was sacked eight times, and
Le'Veon Bell fared no better in another quiet afternoon. The
Jets are in teardown mode (again), and the process began Monday with
Leonard Williams' trade to the Giants. GM Joe Douglas has a gargantuan task on his hands.
On the
Around The NFL Podcast, we call
Andy Dalton the prime meridian of NFL quarterbacks. The theory goes like this: If your QB is better than Dalton, your team is armed with a franchise passer. If your quarterback is worse than Dalton -- or below The Dalton Line -- he is a replaceable commodity. Dalton lives in that gray area between two very different worlds, and his success or failure is based entirely on the supporting cast around him. To wit: With
Sunday's loss to the
Rams, Dalton became the first quarterback in NFL history to open seasons both 0-8 and 8-0. That undefeated start came with the 2015 version of the
Bengals, a team with an excellent offensive line and skill players all over the field. Dalton has had the opposite of that situation in 2019, with harrowing results. I'm sending my FREE ANDY DALTON T-shirts into production.
A strange game
against the Vikings. The
Redskins remained in striking distance for much of the night, but interim coach Bill Callahan never seemed overly motivated to steal a win away from a superior Minnesota team.
Around The NFL Podcast colleague Gregg Rosenthal
put it well: With the last two
Redskins games clocking in at well under three hours, it's almost as if Callahan is running out the clock on the season. With Washington at 1-7, one could understand the temptation. Rookie QB
Dwayne Haskins replaced a concussed
Case Keenum to start the third quarter and was permitted to throw the ball just five times, despite Washington facing a deficit during the entire second half. We keep hearing whispers and reports that the
Redskins don't believe their first-round pick is ready to play -- but it's a little more disconcerting when he's forced into a game and they still keep him out of the action.
Monday felt like the big night. Victory No. 1. Glory ... or whatever passes for glory in this deeply weird season for a once-relevant franchise. The Miami defense was forcing
Mason Rudolph into bad decisions, while
Ryan Fitzpatrick had led the offense to the end zone twice for a 14-0 lead. But, as often happens with bad football teams, the wheels fell off in a hurry. The defense stopped getting stops, Fitzpatrick stopped moving the offense and the
Steelers scored the game's final 27 points. Jumping out to a double-digit lead counts as progress, but the
Dolphins losing streak is up to 10 dating back to last season. This Sunday is the Gase Bowl:
Jets vs. Dolphins. 1-6 vs. 0-7. Something tells me this will not be the Tony Romo-Jim Nantz game on CBS. It's arguable whether it should even be televised.
