🏈 Ravens Take Care of Chargers on MNF, NFL Rankings, College BBall Updates, + More!

Good Morning Blitzers,

Let’s continue with feel good intros. We had some cool family moments yesterday with two brothers coaching opposite teams on MNF:

Then we got to see a live gender reveal before the game:

I’m not crying, you’re crying. Let’s Blitz!

WTF Stat: Lamar Jackson's 40-yard TD pass to Rashod Bateman traveled 57.4 yards in the air, Jackson's 2nd-longest completion of the season and his 2nd over 50 yards of air distance. Jackson's four longest completions this season have all targeted Bateman.

🏈 Lamar Jackson led the Baltimore Ravens to a 30-23 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers, accounting for three touchdowns—two passing and one rushing. John Harbaugh now moves to 3-0 record against his younger brother, Jim. Despite the Chargers leading 10-0 early, the Ravens scored on five consecutive drives, including a 40-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to Rashod Bateman and a 6-yard touchdown to Mark Andrews. The Chargers struggled after losing running back J.K. Dobbins to a knee injury.

⚾️ Due to Hurricane Milton's damage to Tropicana Field, the Tampa Bay Rays will play their 2025 season at Steinbrenner Field, the Yankees' spring training facility. MLB adjusted the Rays' schedule to accommodate this, with Tampa Bay set to play 19 of its first 22 games at home. The team will have 64 of their last 108 games on the road.

Tuesday’s NFL Power Rankings

This Week’s Theme: Thanksgiving Sides

Tier 1 - Stuffing

Stuffing is the clearly the best Thanksgiving side for a number of reasons: 1) It only really comes out during Thanksgiving - no idea why 2) No two stuffings are the same, everyone has their own variation of it - it’s a choose your own adventure every time 3) The main ingredients are typically bread, broth, butter, and seasoning (then a bunch of other stuff), but that combination will never disappoint. Just like stuffing, the tier 1 teams are starting to heat up during the holidays. Watchout for Denver, they’re like the secret spicey sausage or apple mixed in, unexpected but a nice surprise.

1. Detroit Lions (10-1)

2. Buffalo Bills (9-2)

3. Kansas City Chiefs (10-1)

4. Philadelphia Eagles (9-2)

5. Baltimore Ravens (8-4)

6. Green Bay Packers (8-3)

7. Minnesota Vikings (9-2)

8. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3)

9. Denver Broncos (7-5)

P.S. If homemade pies were a side, and some may argue they are, they would take the top spot.

Tier 2 - Mashed Potatoes & Gravy

I don’t even love mashed potatoes, but you throw enough cheese, butter, cream, and gravy on them and I become a huge fan. Some weeks these teams show up and play like piping hot mashed potatoes with gravy poured all over them. Sometimes they show up like cold leftover mashed potatoes that your parents made you eat growing up because you’re Irish, and there are starving kids around the world, and you’ll finish your plate and like it. Am I right?

10. Los Angeles Chargers (7-4)

11. Washington Commanders (7-5)

12. Houston Texans (7-5)

13. Seattle Seahawks (6-5)

14. Miami Dolphins (5-6)

15. Atlanta Falcons (6-5)

16. Arizona Cardinals (6-5)

17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-6)

Tier 3 - Mac & Cheese

I didn’t even know Mac & Cheese was a Thanksgiving side as a young man. It was not a thing at my household. I was a young, naive kid. I now understand that it ranks as a top side dish for many families. I really missed out. Just like these teams this year, unbelievably talented, big expectations but haven’t really shown up to the table this year.

18. Los Angeles Rams (5-6)

19. San Francisco 49ers (5-6)

20. Cincinnati Bengals (4-7)

21. Indianapolis Colts (5-7)

22. Chicago Bears (4-7)

Tier 4 - Cornbread

Growing up in the Northeast cornbread and corn muffins were commonplace. My Dunkin’ order includes a corn muffin warmed with butter. But it turns out cornbread and corn muffins aren’t really that big on the west coast. This is an embarrassingly low spot for cornbread, but it needed a shoutout. The one thing that I absolutely despise, however, and I may be called childish for this, is when people try and get fancy and throw actual corn kernels in the cornbread. Why would I want a random piece of corn stuck in my teeth while eating warm delicious cornbread. It doesn’t even add flavor, just terrible texture! It’s ridiculous. Anyways these teams are cornbread with corn in it. Potential yes, but make me irrationally angry and want to throw them in the trash when you get to their core.

23. Dallas Cowboys (4-7)

24. New Orleans Saints (4-7)

25. New York Jets (3-8)

26. Cleveland Browns (3-8)

Tier 5 - Canned Cranberry Sauce

Listen if you like cranberry sauce, good for you, I have no problem with you. To those of you that just eat it straight by itself from the can, I think you may be a serial killer, but hey, I’m not trying to get on your bad side. These teams are the cranberry sauce of the NFL. It’s a time for giving thanks so I’m not going to hate on these teams, but I just don’t want them on my Thanksgiving plate.

27. Carolina Panthers (3-8)

28. Tennessee Titans (3-8)

29. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9)

30. Las Vegas Raiders (2-9)

31. New England Patriots (3-9)

32. New York Giants (2-9)

Which sides are we missing?

College Basketball Shootaround

Over the Weekend

The Baha Mar Hoops - Bahamas Classic: The Tennessee Volunteers dominated the Bahamas with double-digit wins over Virginia and #13 Baylor. Rick Barnes’ crew is 6-0 on the young season with wins over some big time programs. They’ve got a balanced offensive approach with four players averaging double figures, but PG Zakai Zeigler has been the key averaging 11 points and nearly 8 assists per game. Meanwhile, Scott Drew’s Baylor Bears have lost two games in the early goings.

#12 Duke 69 - #17 Arizona 55: The Blue Devils, led by 24 points by Cooper Flagg handed Arizona its 2nd loss in as many games. This was a big test for the young Blue Devils after losing to Kentucky earlier in the season. The Dukies have another tough match-up this week (see below).

Nebraska 74 - #14 Creighton 63: Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner is one of the best players in the country and in-state rival Nebraska held him to just 4 points. It’s very early, but if the Huskers prove to be contenders, the Big 10 is going to be real deep this season.

Monday, November 25th

The Maui Invitational

Memphis 99 - #2 UConn 97: Wild ending to this game. The Huskies erased a late double-digit deficit and Solo Ball (WHAT A NAME) hit a buzzer-beating three to force OT against Penny and the Tigers. In OT, all hell broke loose. UConn coach Dan Hurley lost his cool, got T’d up, and PJ Carter sank four straight free-throws to give Memphis the lead and they never surrendered it. The Tigers snapped UConn’s 17-game win streak and are undefeated on the season.

#4 Auburn 83 - #5 Iowa State 81: Johni Broom’s tip-in with under two seconds left gave Auburn its second win over a Top 5 opponent (beat #4 Houston). The Cyclones led by 16 points at halftime, but Auburn went on a 15-2 run after halftime and from that point on it was a dogfight. Keshon Gilbert played a heck of a game (game high 23 pts), but his late turnover gave Auburn the opportunity to win the game.

#12 UNC 90 - Dayton 87: UNC avoided the upset thanks to some clutch play from Seth Trimble (27 points, 9 rebounds) and RJ Davis (26 points, 5 assists) and a late 3-pointer turned to a 2-pointer. Dayton led for much of the game, starting the second half up 18 but UNC regained the lead with 1:13 remaining and were able to close things out. Dayton had six players with double-digit point totals.

Women’s Basketball

Over the Weekend

#6 Notre Dame 74 - #3 USC 61: The Irish went into LA and came away with a big win over the favored Trojans. Hannah Hidalgo outdueled JuJu Watkins playing a complete game (24 pts, 6 reb, 8 ast, 5 stl). The Trojans were ice cold from deep, only making one 3-pointer.

#5 UCLA 77 - #1 South Carolina 62: Across town in another Top 10 match-up, the Bruins pulled off a major upset over the South Carolina Gamecocks. UCLA not only beat USC, they beat them by 15 ending a 43-game winning streak.

Monday, November 25th

#13 Duke 73 - #9 Kansas State 62: Ashlon Jackson was dialed in from deep, making six 3-pointers (Kansas State as a team only made 2) to give the Blue Devils a big early season win over #9 KSU.

Games to Watch

Men’s Basketball

Tuesday, November 26

#6 Houston vs. #9 Alabama - 8:00 PM

#1 Kansas vs. #11 Duke - 9:00 PM (ESPN)

Memphis vs. Michigan State - 6:00 PM (ESPN)

#5 Iowa State vs. 12 UNC - 11:00 PM (ESPN)

Wednesday, November 27

Rutgers vs. #9 Alabama - 10:00 PM (TBS)

Women’s Basketball

Wednesday, November 27

#20 NC State vs. #7 LSU - 1:30 PM

#13 Duke vs. #8 Oklahoma - 4:00 PM

#19 Illinois vs. #14 Kentucky - 8:00 PM

Thursday, November 28

#4 South Carolina vs. #15 Iowa State - 1:30 PM (FOX)

Friday, November 29

#3 Notre Dame vs. #17 TCU - 5:00 PM

Top NBA Games

Knicks 145, Nuggets 118: OG Anunoby scored a career-high 40 points, leading New York to a dominant victory over Denver. Jalen Brunson added 23 points and tied a team record with 17 assists, helping the Knicks match their single-game assist record of 45, set in 1979. The Knicks shot an impressive 60.9% from the floor and led by as much as 30 points during the game.

Nets 128, Warriors 120: Dennis Schroder scored 31 points to lead the short-handed Nets to a 128-120 comeback victory. Despite missing Ben Simmons and Nic Claxton, the Nets overcame an 18-point deficit. Cam Thomas added 23 points, and Jalen Wilson chipped in 18 points. Schroder, returning from ankle soreness, hit crucial 3-pointers to tie the game and give Brooklyn the lead in the second half.

Celtics 126, Clippers 94: The Boston Celtics extended their win streak to six games led by Jayson Tatum and Payton Pritchard who both scored 20 points. Kristaps Porzingis made a strong season debut, scoring 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, adding six rebounds and two blocks.

See full NBA scoreboard here, and standings here.

Top NHL Games

Hurricanes 6, Stars 4: The Hurricanes mounted a dramatic comeback in the third period, scoring five goals to rally past the Stars 6-4. Martin Necas scored the game-winning power-play goal with 2:07 remaining, and Andrei Svechnikov sealed the win with an empty-netter. Shayne Gostisbehere, Brent Burns, and Sebastian Aho also scored in the third, helping Carolina secure its eighth straight home win.

Jets 4, Wild 1:  Connor Hellebuyck made a season-high 43 saves, leading Winnipeg to a 4-1 win. Hellebuyck's performance helped secure his 15th win of the season, with Jacob Middleton's goal in the first period being the only one to beat him. Alex Iafallo scored twice, including his 100th career goal with a power-play tip-in in the third period. Nino Niederreiter also contributed with a goal to give Winnipeg a 2-1 lead in the second period.

Capitals 4, Panthers 1:  Lars Eller scored twice to lead the Capitals to a 4-1 win over the Panthers, who are struggling with a 1-6 record in their last seven games. Jakob Chychrun also contributed with a goal and two assists, while Logan Thompson made 21 saves, improving his season record to 9-1-1.

See full NHL scoreboard here, and standings here.

On this day in 1968, the Heisman Trophy is awarded to O.J. Simpson from USC. He rushed for 1,880 yards and 23 touchdowns.

Obligatory O.J. Simpson Heisman joke:

Yesterday’s Trivia Time Answer

Which QB currently leads college football in passing yards?

C) Kyle McCord (Syracuse) - McCord leads all college football with 3,946 yards passing. Interesting after he got pretty much kicked to the curb by Ohio State last year and was forced to transfer. He’s already thrown for more passing yards and TDs than he did all of last year with an objectively less talented team.

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