Good morning to everyone but especially to…
THE KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
There was controversy, jaw-dropping plays and plenty of drama. And then, as is the case so often, there was Patrick Mahomes leading the Chiefs to yet another comeback win in a 30-29 victory over the Raiders.
- Patrick Mahomes threw for 292 yards, four touchdowns — all to Travis Kelce — and no interceptions. Kelce’s four touchdown receptions tied the record for a tight end and set a Monday Night Football record, regardless of position.
- The Chiefs trailed by as much as 17-0. It’s Mahomes’ largest career regular-season comeback.
- Since 2018, Mahomes is 12-9 (.571 win pct) in games he trails by double digits, including playoffs. All other quarterbacks combined are 156-873-4 (.153 win pct) in those situations.
Mahomes and Kelce were the headliners, but there were plenty of other crazy moments in this one.
- After an absolutely perfect throw from Derek Carr to Davante Adams pulled the Raiders to within 30-29, they went for two, but Josh Jacobs came up inches short.
- The Raiders got the ball back late, but a would-be big catch from Adams was overturned, and the Raiders turned the ball over on downs shortly thereafter. Adams took his frustration out on a cameraman after the game.
- Not only did the Chiefs overcome a 17-point deficit, but they overcame maybe the worst roughing the passer penalty you’ll ever see (yes, even worse than the one Tom Brady drew Sunday).
- The Chiefs did get a make-up call in the fourth quarter: The Raiders were called for defensive holding on a Chiefs’ missed field goal early in the fourth quarter, giving the Chiefs a first down. They would later score a touchdown. It was the first time defensive holding has been called on a field goal since 2014.
The Raiders fall to 1-4 and have already blown two 17-point leads this season. The Chiefs, meanwhile, are 4-1, and their superstar quarterback-tight end duo has never been better.
Honorable mentions
And not such a good morning for…
THE CAROLINA PANTHERS
Things got so bad for the Panthers that they are now paying someone more than $40 million to not coach their team anymore. That’s right: Matt Rhule became the first NFL head coach to get the pink slip this season, fired after a 1-4 start in his third season with the franchise. The Panthers also fired defensive coordinator Phil Snow. Meanwhile, Steve Wilks will take over as interim head coach.
- Rhule finishes his time in Carolina with an 11-27 record. Only four teams — the Jaguars, Jets, Lions and Texans — were worse over that span… and all four of those franchises had made head coaching changes.
- Since starting last season 3-0, Carolina is an NFL-worst 3-16.
- This season, Carolina is last in yards per game and 29th in offensive points per game.
Rhule showed impressive program-building skills at both Temple and Baylor before joining the Panthers, but those skills never translated at the pro level. A big issue was quarterback play. Here were the Panthers’ starting quarterbacks under Rhule:
As a result, the Panthers went an absurd 1-27 when allowing more than 17 points under Rhule. The team failed over and over with misguided attempts to fix its quarterback situation and predictably, ended up in arguably the worst position — short- and long-term — of any NFL team.
For everything else about this move:
MLB Divisional Series preview: X-factors, how to pitch to Aaron Judge ⚾
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Cancel any plans you may have had: All four MLB Divisional Series begin today, which means an afternoon and evening full of baseball is upon us (here’s the schedule.)
Our MLB expert Mike Axisa looked at X-factors — both obvious and not-so-obvious — in the divisional series, including a potential weakness for the regular season’s best team:
- Axisa: “Obvious X-factor: The Dodgers’ closer. It seems unlikely Craig Kimbrel will be entrusted with a small ninth-inning lead. … Los Angeles intends to mix and match in the ninth inning and they have good options (Evan Phillips, Alex Vesia, etc.), though the more buttons you have to push, the more likely you are to push the wrong one. Ninth-inning issues can lead to a quick postseason exit.”
This was an excellent look into the storylines and trends you need to know. As for a storyline you already know, Aaron Judge takes center stage after his AL-record 62-home-run season. How should the Guardians pitch to him? Our MLB guru R.J. Anderson took a look at Judge’s tendencies and asked a question many teams may have asked themselves:
Should we just walk him every time?
- Anderson: “For as much damage as Judge did, he still made an out in more than 57 percent of his plate appearances, and for as many home runs as he launched, they accounted for fewer than 10 percent of his trips to the plate. … giving him an automatic free pass would drastically increase the frequency with which the Yankees’ other good hitters bat with a runner on base, and would thereby increase the chances of realizing the outcome you were trying to avoid to begin with: surrendering runs.”
Here’s everything else you should know:
The NHL returns: Previews, storylines and Stanley Cup picks 🏒
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The NHL is back — well in North America, at least — tonight. After the Predators beat the Sharks twice in the Global Series in the Czech Republic last week, the regular season begins in the U.S. with a doubleheader: Lightning-Rangers and Golden Knights-Kings.
The defending champion Avalanche begin their season tomorrow against the Blackhawks, and with much of their core returning, could they go back-to-back? That’s one of the top storylines this season, writes our hockey expert Chris Bengel. Another top storyline is Alex Ovechkin‘s shot at history.
- Bengel: “Ovechkin just needs 22 more goals to pass Gordie Howe for second place on the all time goals list. In addition, the Capitals winger can also become the first player in NHL history to have 10 50-goal seasons. Right now, Ovi is tied with Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy with nine 50-goal seasons. Ovechkin certainly should be able to pass Howe this coming season, but if he were to reach the 50-goal plateau once again, that would be something very special.”
Chris and fellow hockey scribe Austin Nivison have also made their bold predictions, award picks and Stanley Cup picks.
Finally, we have previews of both the Eastern Conference and Western Conference. Enjoy!
UEFA Champions League Matchday 4 preview: Picks, predictions ⚽
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Group play in the UEFA Champions League will officially pass the halfway point today when Matchday 4 gets underway. Here are the eight matches, all streaming on Paramount+.
- FC Copenhagen vs. Manchester City — 12:45 p.m.
- Maccabi Haifa vs. Juventus — 12:45 p.m. (preview)
- Borussia Dortmund vs. Sevilla — 3:00 p.m.
- PSG vs. SL Benfica — 3:00 p.m. (preview)
- AC Milan vs. Chelsea — 3:00 p.m. (preview)
- Dinamo Zagreb vs. FC Salzburg — 3:00 p.m.
- Celtic vs. RB Leipzig 3:00 p.m.
- Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Real Madrid — 3:00 p.m. (preview)
You can check out all of our writers’ picks here and James Benge’s bold predictions here.
What we’re watching Tuesday 📺
⚽ UEFA Champions League, 12:45 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Paramount+ (details here)
⚾ Phillies at Braves, 1:07 p.m. on FOX
⚾ Mariners at Astros, 3:37 p.m. on TBS
🏒 Lightning at Rangers, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
⚾ Guardians at Yankees, 7:37 p.m. on TBS
⚾ Padres at Dodgers, 9:37 p.m. on FS1
🏒 Golden Knights at Kings, 10 p.m. on ESPN
