• Morning Blitz
  • Posts
  • ⚾️ MLB Championship Series, Bills vs. Jets on MFN, and Updated NFL Rankings

⚾️ MLB Championship Series, Bills vs. Jets on MFN, and Updated NFL Rankings

Where does your team rank in our updated week 6 power rankings?

AuthorAuthor

Matt St. Jean & Keith McGonigle
October 15, 2024

Morning Blitzers,

Lots to cover on this Tuesday morning. We saw a lot of flags last night, so in order to avoid a flag for delay of game, we’ll get right into things!

WTF Stat: Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty is currently on pace to break Barry Sanders single season rushing record. A record that has stood for 36 year, see the comparison so far this season:

Written By: Keith McGonigle and Matt St. Jean

🏈 In a tightly contested game, the Bills defeated the Jets 23-20, gaining control of the AFC East. QB Josh Allen went 19/25 for 215 yards and 3 Total TDs. The game never really picked up any momentum as there were 3 missed field goals, 22 penalties (for 204 yards), and a total of 6 points scored in the second half.

  • Bills Takeaways: With RB James Cook being a late scratch, the Bills were left with limited options on offense again. This is going to continue to be an issue for their team (I hope they’ve made a few calls to the Raiders about WR Davante Adams). But either way, the Bills were able to pull out a gritty division win on the road. They now have a bit of a break (upcoming games against the Titans, Seahawks, Dolphins, and Colts) before they play the Chiefs, 49ers, and Lions in a 4 week period.

  • Jets Takeaways: The Jets continue to play like… the Jets. 1 for 4 in the redzone, costly missed field goals, no killer instinct, and fail to make a big play when needed. The one positive for Jets fans is you have the best Hail Mary thrower of all-time on your roster, so that always comes in handy. QB Aaron Rodgers threw his 4th successful Hail Mary of his career:

🏀 Philadelphia 76ers star Paul George suffered a hyperextended left knee during the second quarter of a preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks and did not return. George expressed some concern but was hopeful about a quick recovery. This news comes as the 76ers are already managing Joel Embiid's health, having ruled him out for the rest of the preseason and it’s already being reported he’ll miss regular season games.

  • 🔥 Take: I’m convinced the 76ers have a, ‘Trust the Process’ curse on their team. You remember when the 76ers tanked for 4 years in a row, and sat out their top players due to ‘injury’. They claimed it was all part of the plan and to ‘Trust the process’. That motto created a culture that was okay with losing and not trying in order to get better draft picks and win down the road. It bred soft/malcontents like Ben Simmons and James Harden, and injury prone players like Embiid. So, I say it serves them right. Play to win and play hard, and good things will happen. Until that point the curse will remain.

MLB Playoffs

  • Mets 7, Dodgers 3: With two runners on, two outs, and first base open the Dodgers walked red-hot Francisco Lindor, and brought Mark Vientos to the plate. Vientos took that personally, and unleashed his rage on the baseball, hitting a grand slam and giving the Mets an early 6-0 lead. The Dodgers rallied in the sixth inning, but it was too little too late and the Mets bullpen came in and shut the door, including Edwin Diaz striking out 3 in the 9th. The series is now tied and moves to New York for Game 3 on Wednesday.

  • Yankees 5, Guardians 2: Giancarlo Stanton hit his 13th career playoff HR and continues to carry the Yankees, while Juan Soto chipped in with a HR of his own. Carlos Rodon lived up to his potential in this one, limiting the Guardians to just two singles and striking out nine without any walks. The Yankees lead the series 1-0 and will play Game 2 tomorrow at 7:38 EST.

Tuesday’s NFL Power Rankings

This Week’s Theme: Star Wars Universe

Note: episodes 7-9 are not canon in my opinion and will not be showing up on this list.

Tier 1 - Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back & Episode VI - Return of the Jedi

Is it cheating to put the two best movies first? Yes, yes it is. But the movies just like these teams in this tier, are elite in every aspect. We have the old familiar faces duking it out (Chiefs, Ravens). We get brand new characters who are awesome: Lando Calrissian and Jabba the Hutt (the Commanders and Texans). And we’re introduced two old mysteries masters (Yoda and the Emperor) who no one knew were out there (Lions and Vikings). Incredible from top to bottom!

  1. Kansas City Chiefs (5-0)

  2. Minnesota Vikings (5-0)

  3. Detroit Lions (4-1)

  4. Baltimore Ravens (4-2)

  5. Houston Texans (5-1)

  6. Washington Commanders (4-2)

Tier 2 - Andor (and Rogue One)

I may get some hate for this one, but Andor is my favorite Star Wars content that has been released since Episode 6. Unlike much of the other Star Wars content since the original movies, it doesn’t rely constantly on callbacks and old characters. The story is so good it would be successful even if it weren’t in the Star Wars universe. I can’t wait for season 2. Anywho, if you’ve been reading these ranking from previous weeks, you’ll note that many of my favorite teams are on the list below. I had many of these teams ranked much higher (Falcons, Bears, Buccaneers) in early rankings simply because I liked the cut of their jib. These teams aren’t in the elite tier but no one wants to face them right now, and just like Andor, they’re super fun to watch.

  1. Atlanta Falcons (4-2)

  2. Green Bay Packers (4-2)

  3. Buffalo Bills (4-2)

  4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-2)

  5. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2

  6. Chicago Bears (4-2)

Tier 3 - Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope

Ahh the old classic. What a way to start a franchise. Much like a New Hope, I will continue to put these teams high in the rankings and defend them. On re-watch are they a little bit slower, a little bit less exciting than you remember? Perhaps, but they’re originals and I expect to see them in the playoffs.

  1. San Francisco 49ers (3-3)

  2. Los Angeles Chargers (3-2)

  3. Philadelphia Eagles (3-2)

  4. Cincinnati Bengals (2-4)

  5. Seattle Seahawks (3-3)

Tier 4 - Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

This is a very entertaining movie, but just like these teams it has its flaws. These teams are solid, but I do not grant them the rank of tier 3. After the Cowboys loss on Sunday they’re lucking they didn’t get kicked down to the bottom tier. A few things break right for these teams they could find themselves in the playoffs for now, they’re similar to Episode III.

  1. Denver Broncos (3-3)

  2. Dallas Cowboys (3-3)

  3. Indianapolis Colts (3-3)

  4. New York Jets (2-4)

Tier 5 - Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

Just Like Star Wars Episode I, these teams all have at least one redeeming quality. In the movie it was obviously Darth Maul and the Duel of the Fates. That’s the Alvin Kamara and Rashid Shaheed for the Saints, the Raiders D-line, WR Malik Nabers for the Giants, and the QB Tua Tagovailoa supposedly coming back this season for the Dolphins.

  1. New Orleans Saints (2-3)

  2. New York Giants (2-4)

  3. Miami Dolphins (2-4)

  4. Las Vegas Raiders (2-3)

Tier 6 - Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

What younglings is to Anakin, these teams are to NFL fans. Or to put it another way, I don't like these teams. They’re coarse and rough and irritating and they lose everywhere. Tell them Anakin:

This movie was bad, and so are these teams:

  1. Arizona Cardinals (2-4)

  2. Los Angeles Rams (1-4)

  3. Cleveland Browns (1-5)

  4. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-5)

  5. Tennessee Titans (1-4)

  6. New England Patriots (1-5)

  7. Carolina Panthers (1-5)

Top NHL Games

Ottawa Senators 8, LA Kings 7: In a high-scoring overtime thriller, Josh Norris scored the game-winning goal just 56 seconds into OT. Norris and Zack MacEwen each netted two goals. The Kings saw Kevin Fiala and Alex Laferriere also score twice. This game marked the Senators' eighth instance of scoring and allowing six goals in a match.

Florida Panthers 4, Boston Bruins 3: Sam Reinhart scored twice, including a power play and a short-handed goal that gave Florida the lead in the second period. The Panthers managed to secure the win despite missing key players Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk.

Pittsburgh Penguins 6, Montreal Canadiens 3: Lars Eller scored two goals against his former team, while Evgeni Malkin added a goal and two assists. Tristan Jarry made 24 saves, and Sidney Crosby remained one point shy of 1,600 career points. It took Montreal 15:30 to register their first shot on goal, drawing sarcastic cheers from the crowd.

See full NHL scoreboard here, and standings here.

In honor of last nights MNF game, what team has the infamous record for most penalties ever in a game?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

On this day in 1989, Wayne Gretzky passes Gordie Howe (1,850 career points) as NHL's all time leading scorer. Gretzky would finish with 2,857 points and break Howe's goals record in 1994.

Yesterday’s Trivia Time Answer

Jayden Daniels currently has a 107.1 QB Rating, he is on pace to break the best passer rating by a rookie QB, 104.9, set by who?


B) Dak Prescott - Prescott was only a 4th round pick out of college, but started all 16 games of his rookie season and playing extremely efficient. Here is a look at the best rookie QBs by passer rating:

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