⚾️ 🏈 Weekend Recap: NFL Week 5, College Football Upsets, MLB Divisional Series + More!

Good Morning, Blitzers!

What a great weekend in sports! If you’re looking for a rundown of all the action including: the wild weekend in the MLB, NFL Week 5, and all the big upsets in college football, well then you’ve come to the right place. We’ve got all of that and more coming right at you!

WTF Stat: Hardest throws by position this season in baseball:

C - Korey Lee - White Sox - 88.3 MPH

1B - Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - Blue Jays - 86.6 MPH

2B - Andrés Giménez - Guardians - 86.7 MPH

3B - Christopher Morel - Cubs - 90.7 MPH

SS - Oneil Cruz - Pirates - 95.6 MPH

LF - Nolan Jones - Rockies - 98 MPH

CF - Brenton Doyle - Rockies - 97.3 MPH

RF - Fernando Tatis Jr. - 95.6 MPH

If you watch the link, Doyle’s and Tatis’ throws both being off balance were the most impressive.

🏀 The New York Liberty defeated the Las Vegas Aces 76-62 to advance to the WNBA Finals, with Sabrina Ionescu scoring 22 points. This victory marks the Liberty's sixth trip to the finals as they seek their first championship title.

Alyssa Thomas led the Connecticut Sun to a crucial 92-82 victory over the Minnesota Lynx, forcing a decisive Game 5 in their WNBA semifinal series. Thomas recorded 18 points, 11 assists, and 8 rebounds, while Ty Harris contributed 20 points, showing her recovery from an ankle injury

• 🔥Take: We have yet to see an upset in these playoff series. Even though the #3 seeded Sun beating the #2 seeded Lynx wouldn’t be much of an upset it would be fun to see. For those wondering the Sun were 1-2 versus the Liberty in the regular season while the Lynx were 2-1.

🏒 The Boston Bruins have signed goalie Jeremy Swayman to an eight-year, $66 million contract, resolving a contract standoff just before the regular season. Swayman, a restricted free agent, missed all of training camp but will now return as the team's No. 1 goalie. Last season, he alternated as a starter with Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark.

• 🔥Take: This was a pretty contentious negotiation, good for the Bruins to get this done. Anytime these things go public, it’s always the players that are going to suffer. So all the pressure is now on Swayman, if he struggles, the Boston fans will certainly not go easy on him, and Boston’s front office will be partially to blame. The NHL season starts tomorrow!

MLB Playoffs

• Phillies 7, Mets 6: In a crazy Game 2, Nick Castellanos walked things off in the bottom of the 9th. The home crowd was booing their team early in the game, but the crowd erupted after Castellanos hit a game-tying homer in the sixth and when he scored the go-ahead run in the eighth on a Bryson Stott triple. Despite the Phillies blowing their lead in the ninth, Castellanos delivered a two-out single to clinch the win. This victory ties the series, giving the Phillies renewed hope as they head into Game 3, where Aaron Nola will pitch.

• Padres 10, Dodgers 2: The Padres had everything working last night, from Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill hitting everything, to starter Yu Darvish delivering 7 strong innings of 1-run ball, to the great defensive plays (like this one or this one). The series is now tied and will head back to San Diego where the Padres have strong momentum. One thing to note about this game is that there was some bad blood between the two teams, the fans got involved at one point as well (the game had to be stopped because a ball was thrown at Jurickson Profar in the outfield). Stay tuned, because this series is only going to get more heated as it goes.

⚾️ Tonight

The Tigers vs Guardians square off at 4:08 EST on TBS, the Guardians lead the series 1-0. While the Royals vs Yankees matchup at 7:38 EST, the Yankees lead the series 1-0.

NFL Week 5

What You Missed

→ Bills give away close game against Texans - Tied 20-20 the Texans punted and pinned the Bills on their own 3-yard line with 32 second left in the game. Run the ball 3 times and play for overtime, right? Wrong. The Bills proceeded to pass the ball 3 times, and only take 16 seconds off the clock before punting. After a 13 yard return, the Texans only needed 7 seconds and one play to get kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn in range to hit a 59 yard game winning field goal. Poor coaching cost the Bills (QB Josh Allen going 9/30 didn’t help either).

→ Vikings (5-0) offense stalls but still win in London - If you didn’t wake up in time for the early game in London, don’t worry, you didn’t miss much. Neither team could run, QB Sam Darnold didn’t look very comfortable going against his former team. Minnesota was able to pull off the win because they made 40-year-old Aaron Rodgers throw the ball 54 times; he had 3 interceptions, including a pick-6 (see above) and a game ending interception.

→ The Commanders (4-1) are the hottest team in the NFL - The Commanders came into this game as only 3 point favorites, which was frankly insulting. This one was never close as the Commanders won 34-13. The Commanders have now won 4 games in a row, the last two by an average of 24.5 points. Oh, and Jayden Daniels may be the best deep ball passer in the NFL.

→ Sunday Night Football ended up being worth staying up for - If you didn't stay up for this game, I don't blame you. SNF got a late start because of weather delays in Pittsburgh, and then overall it was a defensive stalemate for most of the game. But in the 4th quarter, we started to see some fireworks. QB Justin Fields drove the Steelers down the field and scored with 4:56 left in the game. Not to be outdone, the Cowboys and QB Dak Prescott went on a 15-play, 70-yard drive taking up the remainder of the clock and scoring on 4th down to seal the 20-17 victory.

What We Learned

→ Throw their records out the window, the Bengals (1-4) & Ravens (3-2) are two of the best teams in the NFL - This game was awesome. Almost 1,000 yards of total offense, 9 TD passes, multiple lead changes, and a crazy overtime to finish things off. I will say, the Bengals did play pretty timid in overtime (after a Ravens turnover they ran the ball 3 times and played it safe to try a 53-yard field goal). It’s going to be an uphill battle for the Bengals to make the playoffs (only 6% of teams that have started 1-4 have made the playoffs), but I’d put my money on QB Joe Burrow and the Bengals. One more highlight, because… Wow:

→ Having a kicker is important - The 49ers (2-3) got upset by Cardinals (2-3) at home 24-23, in part because their kicker Jake Moody got injured. Instead of kicking ~44 yard field goal late in the game, they had to go for it on 4th and 23. The Cardinals rallied back with help from some strong defensive play and QB Kyler Murray being Kyler Murray (including calling his shot, see below).

→ If you like torture, watch the Pats or Dolphins play - Just gross football around. Even though it ended up being a pretty close game (Dolphins won 15-10). It just wasn’t a whole lot of fun watching this one. But if you like check downs, penalties, and punts, this game was for you.

Surprises

→ The Bears (3-2) - Now this is the Bears team many envisioned before the season (they won yesterday 36-10 against Carolina). Strong defense, dynamic offense, blowing out less talented teams. They have another easier game upcoming at home against Jacksonville next week, and should go into their bye 4-2.

→ QB Joe Flacco - The Colts were decimated by injuries this week, Flacco took the helm and all he did was pass for 359 yards, 3 TDs and 0 interceptions. The Colts ended up losing 37-34 on a last second field goal, but looking back it’s strange that there weren’t more teams looking to sign Flacco to be their starter or backup.

Standouts

CB Pat Surtain II - already widely considered the best CB in NFL, Surtain had himself a game with 2 picks including a 100 yard TD. Surtain and the Broncos defense helped carry their squad to a 34-18 win over the Raiders.

RB Tyrone Tracy Jr. - With RB Devin Singletary injured the Giants turned to rookie 5th rounder from Purdue and he stepped up. He ran for 129 yards on 18 carries (7.2 YPC) and help deliver a win for the Giants against the Seahawks 29-20.

Bonus: this has nothing to do with Tracy, but LB Isaiah Simmons blocking this game-tying kick with 1 minute left and then destroying the kicker made me laugh:

🏈 Tonight

The Saints @ Chiefs tonight kicks off at 8:15 EST on ESPN.

College Football Roundup

The Shocker

Vanderbilt 40 - Alabama 35: Ummmmm, what? The Commodores had never beaten an AP Top 5 team ever. EVER. Just one week after Alabama took down Georgia and reclaimed the top spot in the country, Vanderbilt sent a shockwave through the college football world. However, don’t fret Tide fans, with the new playoff format, this is simply just a bump in the road…albeit a very embarrassing bump. The Tide weren’t the only Top 10 team to bite the dust this weekend.

Statement Games

Arkansas 19 - Tennessee 14: Sam Pittman just saved his job with a single victory. Arkansas did just enough to stave off the Volunteers and complete the upset of the number 4 team in the country. The Volunteer faithful can just shake their collective heads as they suffer another painful loss when they had a sparkling opportunity to go to the top of the SEC. Oh well.

Ohio State 35 - Iowa 7: While other top teams stumbled, the Buckeyes stomped Iowa at home. QB Will Howard managed the game well and let the elite defense lead the way. Huge game next weekend at Autzen Stadium against Oregon.

Texas A&M 41 - Missouri 10: I would have put this is in “The Shocker” category, but I’m not shocked at all. A&M dominated this game from the jump and Missouri finally got exposed.

Washington 27- Michigan 17: Speaking of exposed, Michigan’s lack of a passing game bit them in the ole behind again. The Huskies get a measure of revenge in the Natty rematch.

Minnesota 24 - USC 17: The Golden Gophers showed the USC Trojans that there are no easy games in the B1G. After a big win against LSU to start the year, USC now has two losses and next week they’ll host Penn State. Oh boy.

Ole Miss 27 - South Carolina 3: The Rebels bounced back in a big way and it was the defensive side of the ball that was the most impressive coming off a bad home loss to Kentucky. Big boost with a date with LSU in Death Valley next week.

That Could Have Been Embarrassing

Miami 39 - California 38: The Hurricanes needed an epic 4th quarter comeback to avoid an upset at the hands of the Golden Bears. QB Cam Ward and the Hurricanes are undefeated and Ward is making a pretty good case for Heisman. A loss to Cal would have been brutal.

Video Game Stats

QB Cam Ward (Miami): 35/53, 437 yds, 2 TD, 6 car, 15 yds, TD

QB Brendon Lewis (Nevada): 22/30, 213 yds, 2 TD, 13 car, 90 yds, 2 TD

RB Ashton Jeanty (Boise State): 13 car, 186 yds, 3 TDs

RB Taj Brooks (Texas Tech): 21 car, 128 yds, 3 TD

WR Jalen Royals (Utah State): 9 rec, 211 yds, 2 TD

Top Ten Power Rankings

*Note this isn’t an AP Top 25, this is who I think are the best ten teams after this week. Come at me.

1. Ohio State - W vs. Iowa, 35-7

2. Texas - Bye

3. Alabama - L vs. Vandy, 40-35

4. Georgia - W vs. Auburn, 31-13

5. Miami - W vs. Cal, 39-38

6. Oregon - W vs. MSU 31-10

7. Penn State - W vs. Ill, 21-7

8. Clemson - W vs. Stan, 40-14

9. Ole Miss - W vs. So. Car, 27-3

10. Tennessee - L vs. Ark, 19-14

Knocking on the Door: Iowa State, Texas A&M, LSU

Premier League Weekend Recap

Chuffed

1. Brentford - Five goals for the fighting Brents! A lovely Saturday evening for the team and their supporters at home.

2. Brighton - After a winless September, the Gulls get a W in the win column at home against Tottenham.

3. Liverpool - Liverpool got a narrow win on the road at Crystal Palace and remain atop the Premier League.

Gutted

1. Chelsea - A home draw against Nottingham Forest is not what Chelsea supporters wanted heading into the work week.

2. Manchester United - Another lackluster performance, the Red Devils haven’t scored a Premier League goal since September 14th.

3. Erling Haaland - Didn’t score a goal. He may be human after all.

Five Stars

1. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) - Goal, two assists in the Gunner victory.

2. Mateo Kovacic (Man City) - Two goals in City’s win over Fulham

3. Jarrod Bowen (West Ham) - Goal, assist, West Ham stomped Ipswich

4. Rayan Ait-Nouri (Wolves) - Goal, assist in losing effort vs. Brentford

5. Mikkel Damsgaard (Brentford) - Two assists 

The Mint Matches of the Week

International Break

On this day in 2012, Saints QB Drew Brees breaks Johnny Unitas' NFL record for consecutive games with a TD pass (48) when he connected with WR Devery Henderson in the Saints’ 31-24 win over the Chargers. Brees would finish with 54 in a row. After that streak ended, he started a second streak passing for 45 consecutive games with a TD pass.

Friday’s Trivia Time Answer

Which MLB players has the most career walk-off HRs?

B) Jim Thome - Thome stands alone with 13 walk-off HRs. Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Mantle, Stan Musial, Albert Pujols, Frank Robinson, and Babe Ruth all have 12.

Check back on tomorrow for today’s trivia answer and more info!