🏈 Chiefs Stay Undefeated, NFL Power Rankings + More!

Morning Blitzers,

Hope your week is off to a great start! Monday Night Football did not disappoint last night, as we got to witness a great back-and-forth game in Kansas City. Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but QB Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs found a way to win a close game. We’re covering that game and more in today’s Morning Blitz, so let’s get into it!

WTF Stat: I’m not sure how this is possible, but the Bears hate road trips:

🏈 A fun, rainy game on MNF. QB Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, as the Chiefs defeated the Buccaneers 30-24, improving to 8-0. In his second game since being traded, WR DeAndre Hopkins caught 8 receptions for 86 yards, and two touchdown passes, including a go-ahead score in the fourth quarter.

Tampa Bay, trailing 24-17, rallied with a late touchdown from QB Baker Mayfield to WR Ryan Miller, tying the game with 27 seconds left. Troy Aikman was imploring the Bucs to go for two, and he was right ultimately as the Chiefs easily marched down the field in overtime and set up a 2-yard RB Kareem Hunt TD run to win the game.

⚾️ Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, has decided to stay with New York on the original four-year, $144 million contract he had previously opted out of. While the Yankees initially explored extending his deal by one year to make it a five-year, $180 million contract, they ultimately chose not to pursue that option. Instead, the two sides reached an agreement that allows Cole to remain on his original deal, avoiding the opt-out without additional modifications.

Tuesday’s NFL Power Rankings

This Week’s Theme: Best/Worst Parts of Fall

Tier 1 - Fall Clothing

The one great thing about fall is you’re typically never going to be too hot or too cold. You get to start pulling out your quarter-zips, sweatshirts, turtlenecks, your plaids, maybe even throw a wool cap in the mix depending on how hipster-ish (Travis Kelce-ish) you’re feeling. The teams on this list are like pulling your favorite sweater/sweatshirt out of the closet, just super reliable, comfortable, and makes you feel good about yourself when wearing/watching.

1. Kansas City Chiefs (8-0)

2. Detroit Lions (7-1)

3. Buffalo Bills (7-2)

4. Washington Commanders (7-2)

5. Philadelphia Eagles (6-2)

6. Baltimore Ravens (6-3)

7. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2)

8. Atlanta Falcons (6-3)

9. Minnesota Vikings (6-2)

10. Green Bay Packers (6-3)

Tier 2 - Fall Colors/Smells

This may be more of a regional thing - but fall has the best defining seasonal change moment, which is when everything starts changing colors. This is especially apparent if you’re in a forested region of the US. Fall also brings those distinct dewy smells in the morning and the burning wood smell at night (again this may be more a regional thing). Outside of the Texans, who had a tough showing on TNF, these teams are all on the rise and changing their identity/colors at the right time of the year.

11. Houston Texans (6-3)

12. Los Angeles Chargers (5-3)

13. Arizona Cardinals (5-4)

14. Los Angeles Rams (4-4)

15. San Francisco 49ers (4-4)

16. Cincinnati Bengals (4-5)

Tier 3 - Apple/Pumpkin Products

Nothing more synonymous with fall than Apple and Pumpkin Pies. But my question is, are we starting to get a bit too crazy with pumpkin and apple products? I think releasing the new pumpkin spice latte in July and selling it as a deodorant scent may be crossing the line a bit. These teams are similar in that way. I do really like a lot of what they bring to the table, but you start believing in them too heavily and you’ll end up being disappointed.

17. Denver Broncos (5-4)

18. Chicago Bears (4-4)

19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5)

20. Indianapolis Colts (4-5)

21. Seattle Seahawks (4-5)

Tier 4 - Autumn Rain

I love a good summer thunderstorm to cool things down, or even when it rains in the winter and turns to snow, or in the spring when it brings out all the flowers. But rain in the fall… What’s the point? As we saw last night in the MNF game, no one likes it. You start adding in all the wet leaves on the ground after it rains and it makes things even worse. Fall rain is like these teams, with the rosters they have you would think that in any other season they would be great, but unfortunately we’ve witnessed their downFALL (I’ll be here all week) this season.

22. Dallas Cowboys (3-5)

23. New York Jets (3-6)

24. Miami Dolphins (2-6)

Tier 5 - Sunlight

Getting done with work and having to commute back home in the dark is one of the worst feelings in the world. It’s kind of like watching these teams play football, you feel like you just wasted your whole day and it’s already over. At least you always have tomorrow, whereas for these teams, the sun has set permanently on their seasons.

25. Tennessee Titans (2-6)

26. Carolina Panthers (2-7)

27. Cleveland Browns (2-7)

28. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-7)

29. Las Vegas Raiders (2-7)

30. New England Patriots (2-7)

31. New York Giants (2-7)

32. New Orleans Saints (2-7)

Top NBA Games

Cavaliers 116, Bucks 114: Darius Garland scored 39 points, helping the Cavs improve to 8-0 on the season. Jarrett Allen contributed 14 points, 15 rebounds, and a critical block on Damian Lillard in the final seconds. Garland's go-ahead 3-pointer with 45 seconds left helped the Cavs rally in the final minutes, outscoring the Bucks 18-8 over the last 6:06.

Nets 106, Grizzlies 104: The game was tied at 101 with 1:13 left when Dorian Finney-Smith hit a key 3-pointer, followed by a driving layup from Dennis Schroder (20 points on the night) to give the Nets a 106-101 lead with 32 seconds remaining. Santi Aldama missed a potential game-winning 3 as time expired. Rookie Zach Edey had a strong performance with 25 points and 11 rebounds.

Kings 111, Heat 110: Domantas Sabonis scored the game-winning basket off an offensive rebound with 0.7 seconds left, lifting the Kings to a thrilling 111-110 victory. The Kings erased a 15-point deficit to secure the win, with De'Aaron Fox leading the way with 28 points. Sabonis finished with 16 points, 16 rebounds, and 7 assists.

Suns 118, 76ers 116: Kevin Durant scored 35 points, including a clutch driving layup with 24 seconds remaining, leading the Suns to victory. The win spoiled Paul George's debut for the Sixers, as he returned from injury to score 15 points in 32 minutes. Despite a strong performance from Tyrese Maxey (32 points), and a solid outing from George, Philadelphia fell to 1-5 on the season.

See full NBA scoreboard here, and standings here.

Top NHL Games

Kings 3, Predators 0: Darcy Kuemper recorded 16 saves for his first shutout of the season and the 32nd of his career, leading the Kings to a 3-0 win. Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist, while Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala also scored for the Kings.

Devils 3, Oilers 0: Jake Allen recorded 31 saves to secure his second shutout of the season and the 26th of his NHL career. Jesper Bratt contributed with a goal and an assist, while Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils, who improved to 8-5-2 and have now won three of their last four games after a four-game skid.

See full NHL scoreboard here, and standings here.

Arizona Diamondbacks beats New York Yankees, 3-2 in Game 7, as Luis Gonzalez hits a walk-off single off Mariano Rivera in the ninth inning:

Yesterday’s Trivia Time Answer

Jaxson Dart is the 2nd SEC QB to throw for 500 yards and 6 TDs in a game. Who did it first?

B) Drew Lock - Lock threw seven touchdowns, and 521 yards, for Missouri in a 2017 season-opening 72-43 victory against Missouri State.

Check back tomorrow for the answer to today's trivia question and more info!