⚾️ Playoff Baseball, Chiefs vs. Saints on MFN, and Updated NFL Rankings

Morning Blitzers,

Hope your week is off to a good start! If not, don’t worry we have the start of the NHL season today, more playoff baseball, and we have 55 days of football starting Thursday. Hopefully that will lift your spirits, plus you get to take a break and read the Morning Blitz below!

WTF Stat: Cool little Venn Diagram of how SMU is scoring touchdowns every way possible:

Also, for those who may have forgotten (me, I forgot), SMU is now part of the ACC, and doing quite well, they’re 2-0 in division play, 5-1 overall and ranked #25 in the country.

🏈 The Chiefs got the 26-13 win over the Saints on MNF as QB Patrick Mahomes threw for 331 yards and RB Kareem Hunt added 102 rushing yards and a TD. This win improved the Chiefs' record to 5-0, while the Saints dropped to 2-3, suffering their third consecutive loss.

• Chiefs Takeaways: I’m starting to think I could strap on shoulder pads and look pretty good at WR as long as Mahomes is throwing it my way. It doesn’t matter what weapons he has around him, Mahomes will find a way to get it done. Add in the fact that the Chiefs defense continues to shut down opponents, and you have to like the Chiefs chances to win their 3rd Super Bowl in a row.

• Saints Takeaways: Through two weeks in the season the Saints were on top of the world, scoring at will, and looking like the surprise team of the year. Now, they have three losses in a row, their offense is stalling. More bad news: QB Derek Carr left the game with an oblique injury. The formula to beat the Saints seems to be to get into Carr’s face and he’ll make mistakes. They need to do a better job establishing the run (easier said then done against a tough Chiefs d-line), adding more play action and screens, and working more bootlegs/qb action into their play calling. Can’t have Carr standing back in the pocket and just slinging it.

🏈 Raiders coach Antonio Pierce is currently evaluating the quarterback position after benching QB Gardner Minshew in favor of QB Aidan O'Connell during the 34-18 loss to the Denver Broncos. Minshew (12/17, 137 yards) struggled with consistency, and threw a costly pick-six that shifted the game's momentum. O'Connell (10/20, 94 yards) was brought in to finish the game. Last year O'Connell finished the season strong, with eight touchdowns and no interceptions in the final four games.

• 🔥 Take: I like both of these QBs but this is a no brainer, you have to go with O’Connell. It was a bit surprising he didn’t get the starting nod to begin the season after finishing last season 4-1, with 8 TDs and 0 interceptions. Even WR Davante Adams (who has requested a trade) endorsed him before the season started. After 6 seasons, we know what Minshew is, he’s a wild card that can certainly win you games, but he’s best as a backup. We don’t know what O’Connell is, so start him for a few games and figure it out, and then if he’s not the guy, draft one or pay one next offseason.

MLB Playoffs

• Tigers 3, Guardians 0: Emmanuel Clase had one of the best seasons ever for a closer. He was virtually unhittable (he had a .66 WHIP) and had not allowed a run since late August. But throw all of that out the window when it comes to playoff baseball. Tied 0-0 in the top of the 9th Kerry Carpenter hit three-run blast to bring home the W for the Tigers and tie the series 1-1. Tarik Skubal was his usual dominant self going 7 shutout innings and striking out 8.

• Royals 4, Yankees 2: Salvador Perez's homer in the fourth inning ignited a four-run rally, and helping the Royals tie the series 1-1 before heading back home to Kansas City. The Royals bullpen got it done in this one, with starter Cole Ragans pitch count in the high 80’s early, he was pulled after 4 innings. The bullpen came in and allowed 1 run over 5 innings of work, and earning the win, 2 holds, and a save.

⚾️ Tonight

Phillies at Mets starting at 5:08 EST (series is tied 1-1), and then the Dodgers at Padres at 9:08 EST (series is tied 1-1), both games on FS1

Tuesday’s NFL Power Rankings

This Week’s Theme: Coach Quotes

Tier 1 - Biting Kneecap Tier

These are the clear top teams in the NFL right now. They’ve won with style, they’ve won with grit, and they’ve bitten a few kneecaps off. Anytime I hear this speech, I get jacked up. These teams are this speech personified.

1. Kansas City Chiefs (5-0)

2. Minnesota Vikings (5-0)

3. Detroit Lions (3-1)

4. Baltimore Ravens (3-2)

5. Houston Texans (4-1)

6. Washington Commanders (4-1)

Tier 2 - We’re on to Cincinnati Tier

These teams that have all had their, “we’re on to Cincinnati” moment or need to have it. The Falcons and Cowboys started 1-2 but have both righted the ship the last two weeks. The Packers lost their opener and then had their starting QB go down but kept things moving. The Bills are now the team that needs to turn the page. All of these teams are talented, and remember just because you’re playing poorly early in the season doesn’t mean much, just focus on the next one like Bill Belichick and the Patriots did (they wound up winning the Super Bowl that year).

7. Atlanta Falcons (3-2)

8. Buffalo Bills (3-2)

9. Green Bay Packers (3-2)

10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-2)

11. Dallas Cowboys (3-2)

Tier 3 - The Bears Are Who We Thought They Were

This is a big mix of teams that I feel like are really good but have a bad record (Bengals, 49ers, Eagles) or maybe not that good but have a good record (Bears, Broncos, Steelers). I’m picking up what Dennis Green is putting down with this quote. The Bears (Broncos and Steelers) are what we thought they were… overrated. Or are they? Could I be wrong about these teams? Are the 1-4 Bengals, who lost to the 1-4 Patriots, as bad as the Patriots? Should we actually be crowning the Broncos? Only time will tell.

12. Chicago Bears (3-2)

13. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2)

14. Seattle Seahawks (3-2)

15. Cincinnati Bengals (1-4)

16. San Francisco 49ers (2-3)

17. Philadelphia Eagles (2-3)

18. Denver Broncos (3-2)

19. Los Angeles Chargers (2-2)

20. New York Jets (2-3)

Tier 4- You Play To Win the Game

Any given Sunday these teams have proven they can go out and win. Whether it was the Cardinals against the 49ers, Colts against the Bears and Steelers, Giants against the Seahawks… these teams can win against top teams in the NFL. And that is why every time you take the field, take it away Herm Edwards, ‘You play to win the game… Hello?’

21. Arizona Cardinals (2-3)

22. New Orleans Saints (2-3)

23. New York Giants (2-3)

24. Indianapolis Colts (2-3)

Tier 5 - Playoffs You Kidding Me? Playoffs?

I can take watching losing teams, just give me a silver lining. Give me something to grasp on to and say, ‘well, at least they have X” or “all they need is a better QB”. But these teams, I don’t really even know if I can find a silver lining. As the great Jim Mora said, ‘I just hope (we) they can win a game'.

25. Los Angeles Rams (1-4)

26. Las Vegas Raiders (2-3)

27. Cleveland Browns (1-3)

28. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-4)

29. Miami Dolphins (2-3)

30. Tennessee Titans (1-3)

31. New England Patriots (1-4)

32. Carolina Panthers (1-4)

On this day in 1961, New York Yankee pitcher Whitey Ford breaks Babe Ruth's record of 29 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings in the World Series; he goes on to extend the streak to 33 2/3 innings.

Yesterday’s Trivia Time Answer

The Vikings lead the NFL in sacks with 20 so far this season, which team had the most sacks in a season with 72?

A) 1984 Bears -Three players had 10 sacks or more (Richard Dent, Dan Hampton, and Steve McMichael) pretty impressive that this record has stood for this long considering the NFL is so different now. There were 28% more pass attempts last season than there was in 1984, but the 1984 Bears were just different.

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