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Two teams that started the season undefeated tumbled, as the Seattle Seahawks snapped a league-leading 12-game winning streak with a loss to the Washington Commanders, and the Cincinnati Bengals also fell from the ranks of the unbeaten with a defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Buffalo Bills almost joined the list, but they overcame three Josh Allen turnovers in a come-from-behind victory over the hapless Los Angeles Chargers. The Las Vegas Raiders joined the Bills in the undefeated club, also picking up a comeback win over the New Orleans Saints. Some teams continue to surprise, like the 2-1 Cleveland Browns and New York Giants, while Super Bowl-contending teams like the 0-3 Houston Texans and the 1-2 New England Patriots are searching for answers again. Here are my overreactions for Week 3. The Chargers had their best defensive output of the season under new coordinator Chris O’Leary. Entering Sunday’s contest, Josh Allen hadn’t thrown an interception in his last 190 regular-season pass attempts, the longest active streak in the NFL. But the Chargers ended the streak by forcing two Allen interceptions, both secured by rookie defensive back Genesis Smith. Add in three Buffalo fumbles (one by Allen) and the Chargers totaled five takeaways. But the Chargers scored just 10 points off those miscues. Buffalo had lost 16 straight when committing at least five turnovers, with the last win coming in 1997 against Indianapolis. Playing quarterback for the Colts that day? Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh. The Chargers finished 1-for-4 in the red zone and managed just 13 points on offense. Since taking over the Bolts in 2024, Harbaugh-led teams are 20-2 when they score at least 20 points. But they’ve been unable to reach that mark in three games led by Mike McDaniel, considered one of the best offensive coordinators in the league. In fact, the Chargers have now scored fewer than 20 points in six straight games dating back to last season (regular and playoffs) — their longest streak since 1998. Herbert is playing his worst football since joining the Chargers in 2020, with career lows in completion percentage (59.3%), passer rating (71.6) and average passing yards per game (200.5). Conclusion: Not An Overreaction You can’t lose a game when the defense forces five turnovers. In one of the most critical moments of the game, Herbert once again fell short when his team needed a winning play. With his team in control of the game and driving to score up 13-10, Herbert tried to force a ball into double coverage to Marquez Valdes-Scantling in the back of the end zone. Instead, the ball was picked off by veteran defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who returned it close to midfield. Herbert was picked off once but could have thrown as many as three interceptions. Allen drove the Bills and scored the go-ahead touchdown, allowing Buffalo to escape with a victory even though he acknowledged afterward they did not deserve it. The play was a microcosm of Herbert’s time with the Chargers. He has fallen short in those situations more times than expected, including a 0-3 playoff record. The Chargers played well defensively, ran the ball for 131 yards on the road against one of the best teams in football. They just needed Herbert to play efficient, mistake-free football on offense. Instead, they turned the ball over, had another handful of head-scratching pre-snap penalties, dropped passes and a missed field goal by kicker Cameron Dicker, his second of the year. The Chargers don’t need heroics from their star quarterback — just competent play that leads to winning games. A strong consideration to win the league’s MVP award last year, Drake Maye has looked like a shell of himself so far this season. It started with a three-interception performance in the fourth quarter against the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks to start the year. However, that has proven to not be a blip on the radar, but a trend that continued through the first quarter of the season. Maye finished with two interceptions and a lost fumble in an embarrassing 35-6 road loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Maye has thrown a league-high six interceptions and just one touchdown through three games. Maye threw eight interceptions all last year. Maye’s 58.6 passer rating is the worst among qualifying passers this season. The second-worst? Herbert (73.4) Conclusion: Overreaction Maye certainly could benefit from better pass protection from a banged-up offensive line, but sometimes it helps young quarterbacks by giving them a breather so they can watch the game from the sidelines. Bryce Young certainly benefited from that approach from head coach Dave Canales with the Carolina Panthers a few years ago, and the Alabama product is now playing at a Pro Bowl level. The Patriots also had Maye start out his rookie season watching Jacoby Brissett play before putting him in the starting lineup in 2024. New England’s backup is Tommy DeVito, who’s 3-5 as a starter and would give the Patriots a chance to win if placed in the lineup. But Maye is the team’s franchise quarterback for a reason, and he needs to figure out how to work through this adversity at the start of his career. He has a better chance of breaking out while playing on the field instead of watching from the sideline. Also, Maye is missing his best receiver, A.J. Brown (ankle) out. Every year, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones cranks up the hype train, tricking us into believing his team has a chance to compete for a Super Bowl after a three-decade absence. And every year the season starts and we realize that we’ve been hoodwinked again. This year, the Cowboys were supposed to have a much-improved defense to along with one of the best offenses in the league – a group infused with young talent and enthusiasm led by a new energetic defensive coordinator in Christian Parker. But through three games, consistent tackling has evaded the Dallas defense and (stop me if you’ve heard this before) the Cowboys can’t figure out how to stop the run.6 Meanwhile, the Baltimore Ravens hired defensive guru Jesse Minter to turn that side of the ball around. But through three games, the Ravens are allowing 26 points a contest. Conclusion: Not An Overreaction The Ravens needed a last-second 26-yard pass to Zay Flowers to set up a game-winning 56-yard field goal for a 34-31 win over the Cowboys in Brazil. It’s a tough way for Dallas to lose and once again shows the youth and injuries affecting the secondary for the Cowboys. The Dallas defense did have an impressive goal-line stand led by rookie linebacker Jayshawn Barham, but the Cowboys still struggled to stop the run, allowing the Ravens to rush for 192 yards on the ground. The Ravens didn’t fare much better in this shootout, giving up 415 total yards, including 148 on the ground against an explosive Cowboys offense. If both teams want to legitimately compete for a postseason berth later in the year, they need improved play from their defenses. With the Bills squeaking past the hopeless Chargers at home and the Seahawks and Bengals all falling on the road, the Chiefs have a claim to the title of best team in football. Yes, Kansas City struggled on the road against the worst team in football, the Miami Dolphins. But good teams find ways to win games when they aren’t playing their best. Kenneth Walker III continues to play well, finishing with 73 scrimmage yards and two scores. And Kansas City’s defense is holding opponents to 252.5 total yards per game, which is the third-best mark in the NFL. Conclusion: Not An Overreaction The Chiefs have rebounded from a disappointing 6-11 campaign last season by starting the year undefeated. Kansas City has benefited from an easier schedule, with back-to-back AFC West games against the Chargers and Raiders over the next two weeks. But the No. 1 reason the Chiefs are back has been the play of Patrick Mahomes, who has been efficient and is playing at an MVP level just nine months from returning from a season-ending ACL knee injury that required surgery. Davis Webb was promoted to offensive coordinator this offseason, taking over playcalling duties for head coach Sean Payton. Through three games, it’s been an up-and-down experience for quarterback Bo Nix and Denver’s offense. The Broncos did not score a touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams until midway through the third quarter. Webb’s inability to consistently move the football put pressure on Denver’s defense, considered one of the best in the league. However, the Broncos’ offense got into a rhythm in the second half, scoring 23 points and earning a comeback win over the Los Angeles Rams. Conclusion: Overreaction Payton has served as one of the best offensive play-callers for most of his NFL coaching career. It’s one of the reasons he was hired as head coach of the Broncos, and something that has given him an edge in years past. While the second-half performance against one of the better defenses in the league generated confidence for Nix and the offense, it will be tough for Payton to not at least consider taking back play-calling duties because of the success he’s had with quarterbacks like Drew Brees in years past. So, Webb needs to string together another solid offensive performance for the return of Payton as the team’s play caller to go away as a talking point nationally. Aaron Rodgers looked like a four-time MVP winner in his team’s 30-27 victory over the visiting Cincinnati Bengals. Rodgers threw for 292 yards, with three touchdown passes. His only blemish was an interception by Bengals safety Jordan Battle. Specifically, head coach Mike McCarthy and Rodgers finally figured out a way to push the ball down the field and loosen up an improved Cincinnati defense, finishing with five passing plays of at least 20 yards. Pittsburgh also got the running game going, with Jaylen Warren totaling 127 yards rushing on 17 carries. The reigning AFC North champs, the Steelers, now sit tied atop the division with the Browns at 2-1. Pittsburgh is traveling to Cleveland next week. Conclusion: Overreaction While the improved numbers are certainly a good sign for McCarthy and Rodgers, we need to see more. With the relationship between the head coach and veteran quarterback, though, it makes sense that Rodgers would figure out a way to make it work. Rodgers completed passes to nine different receivers. But the most important connection was a 6-yard touchdown to DK Metcalf, his first of the season. If the Steelers are going to consistently create explosive plays, Rodgers must figure out how to regularly get Metcalf the football. After victories over winless teams to start the year against the Dolphins and Chargers, the Raiders earned their most impressive triumph this season with a 35-27 road win over the New Orleans Saints. With the win, the Raiders are one of six undefeated teams to start the year. The decision to start veteran Kirk Cousins over Fernando Mendoza has proven the correct one for Las Vegas, as the Michigan State product has been surgical in his execution of head coach Klint Kubiak’s offense. Cousins threw for 248 yards and three scores; he has nine touchdowns on the year. The Raiders snapped a 39-game streak without reaching 30 points by scoring 35 against the Saints, per FOX Sports Research. Conclusion: Not An Overreaction The Raiders have not reached the playoffs since the 2021 season, the last time Las Vegas started the season 3-0. And they have a legitimate chance to compete for a spot in the postseason if they can continue at this pace. Las Vegas entered Week 3 with the second-most takeaways in the NFL (5) and added four more on Sunday. They also have one of the best defensive closers in edge rusher Maxx Crosby, who has 14 quarterback pressures and 1.5 sacks through three games. But the reason for success in the desert has been the change in culture by Kubiak off the field, creating a belief that Las Vegas can compete with anybody in the NFL.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

The Los Angeles Rams appeared to be cruising to a second victory in a row on the road against the Denver Broncos, but Bo Nix had other plans. The third-year quarterback authored a 30-point, second-half comeback to take a 30-26 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night. Dubbed the “Dream Team” before the start of the regular season because of blockbuster offseason moves for players like star pass-rusher Myles Garrett and cornerback Trent McDuffee, the Rams dropped to 1-2 with the loss. Denver improved to 2-1. The Rams had one last chance from Denver’s 19-yard line, but Matthew Stafford’s attempt to Davante Adams was intercepted by safety Talanoa Hufanga, his second of the game. Denver’s offense was nowhere to be found in the first half. The Broncos were blanked on the scoreboard by L.A.’s defense while the Rams offense stayed on the field for most of the first two quarters. It was the same story as the first two weeks of the season. Denver has now scored 10 first-half points through its first three games this season. But that all changed in the second half, as Nix led his offense on back-to-back touchdown drives and successful two-point conversions, allowing Denver to tie the game at 16-all with two minutes left in the third quarter. On the game-winning drive, Nix and the Broncos benefited from two defensive penalties – a defensive pass interference on cornerback Josh Wallace where he appeared to intercept the ball, and then an illegal hands to the face on safety Quentin Lake – that allowed the drive to continue. Nix eventually scored on a quarterback sneak from a yard out for the victory. The Rams’ 38-year-old reigning MVP had a roller-coaster performance against one of the best defenses in the league in facing the Broncos. Stafford struggled against Denver’s dominant defensive front. When Stafford was blitzed, he was 11-of-23 for 204 yards, according to Next Gen Stats, with two touchdowns and two interceptions by Hufanga, including one returned 66 yards for a score. When Stafford faced any pressure, he was 5-of-18 for 70 yards and an interception. It was Stafford’s 33rd pick-six of his career, the most in NFL history. He was seen holding his elbow after that interception but didn’t miss any snaps. However, Stafford also finished with 390 passing yards and two TDs, including a 48-yard touchdown to wide receiver Konata Mumpfield that put Los Angeles up late in the fourth quarter. Stafford was helped by the running game. Running back Kyren Williams finished with 158 scrimmage yards and looked like the best player on the field at times, while Adams was excellent, as well. Stafford kept his team in the game and kept the pressure on Denver’s defense, but it ultimately wasn’t enough. Los Angeles played a second straight game without the team’s No. 1 receiver Puka Nacua, who sat out with a groin injury. Fortunately for the Rams, they have another elite receiver in Adams. Adams finished with 195 receiving yards and two touchdowns last week in a vintage performance against the Giants on Monday night. He followed that up with seven receptions for 138 yards matched up against one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL, the Broncos’ Patrick Surtain II. Per Next Gen Stats, Adams against Surtain. Adams also got open deep twice on double moves against Surtain, but he was overthrown both times. Nacua has a chance to return to play next week, when the Rams head east to take on the Eagles. In Nacua’s absence, Adams has been productive in leading the passing offense, stepping up and filling the role of WR1 very well.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Week 3 brought another round of records, led by three players who keep finding new ways to make history. Jaxon Smith-Njigba joined Jerry Rice and Marvin Harrison Sr. on exclusive lists, while Jahmyr Gibbs matched a mark set by fellow Lions running back Billy Sims. Derrick Henry climbed two all-time leaderboards and Josh Allen continues to find a way to get it done. Elsewhere, last season’s MVP frontrunners had a tougher time. Drake Maye’s turnover troubles continued, and Deebo Samuel made history in a way few could have ever imagined. From familiar names rewriting the record books to one of the strangest plays of the season, here are the numbers that defined Week 3: This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

No one was comparing Mike Vrabel and Drake Maye to Bill Belichick and Tom Brady just yet — not even after the New England Patriots HC-QB duo went to the Super Bowl in their first year together. But Pats fans were feeling pretty good about their future. The franchise seemed set for a sustained run of success. It turns out that last year, when Vrabel was the Coach of the Year and Maye was nearly the league MVP, were the good old days — already gone, and maybe soon to be forgotten. Because as good as last year was, that’s how bad this year has been. And the way Maye and the 1-2 Patriots are going, their Super Bowl hangover might linger through the fall. Yes, it’s almost time to write off the 2026 Patriots, who suffered a humiliating 35-6 loss in Jacksonville on Sunday. Maye, in particular, has been awful this season. He was just 14 of 25 for 199 yards and two interceptions against the Jaguars. Those are basically his season averages through three games, as he’s passed for less than 600 yards and thrown just one touchdown pass with six interceptions. That puts him among the worst quarterbacks in football, one year after he was easily one of the best. And he’s not alone in his ineptitude. Vrabel appears to have no answers for a team with no running game, no pass rush, no consistency, no spark. Maybe the world should have seen this coming. When Vrabel should’ve been focused on the NFL draft and laying the groundwork for another Super Bowl run, he was embroiled in personal scandal with NFL insider Dianna Russini this offseason, which included a marriage counseling retreat. That was a bad way to prepare for a season in which his Pats were already facing a big jump in strength of schedule. Still, they should have been good enough to at least not embarrass themselves in the face of stiffer competition. But what they really couldn’t have seen coming was Maye’s regression. The third-year pro looks lost at times on the field. He’s made some incredibly bad decisions. Both his interceptions against the Jaguars were to well-covered receivers who didn’t have much of a chance to make the catch. That included one in the end zone where Maye threw on the run, off his back foot and right into the defender’s hands. A year ago, when Maye threw 31 touchdown passes and just eight interceptions, he made few decisions like these. He played with poise and remained accurate, even when his offensive line had him under duress. But through three games this year, he’s just been alarmingly ineffective. And he’s getting no help from an anemic rushing attack. On Sunday, New England’s defense couldn’t get off the field on third downs and was worn down by its own offense repeatedly putting it back on the field. That all falls on Vrabel and his coaching staff. They’d surely argue that his distraction-filled offseason had nothing to do with the Pats’ current problems, but with each stumble, that gets harder to believe. Coming out of the Super Bowl, albeit a lopsided loss to the Seahawks, I believed they were just getting started on a long run of contention. It feels premature to suggest their title window could already be closing, but it might be too late for them to reverse course in 2026. Their Waterloo may come this Sunday in Buffalo — a last chance to stop the Bills from turning the AFC East race into a rout. Because after that, even while playing in a division with the Dolphins and the Jets, the Patriots’ schedule is too unforgiving to assume they’ll fix their myriad issues on the field enough to even be in the wild-card hunt. And that’s shocking, really, because a mere eight months ago there were legitimate reasons to believe that New England was perhaps building another dynasty. The calendar still says September, and the Pats already look like last year’s AFC title was a fluke. After three straight years of seemingly knocking on the door of Super Bowl contention, that door has now slammed shut in the face of the Houston Texans. And soon they’re going to have to grapple with a very difficult problem concerning their quarterback: C.J. Stroud isn’t good enough to lead them to a title. Right now, this era in Texans football is going to be remembered as a waste. Never mind that they had three trips to the playoffs and three playoff wins in the past three seasons. The bigger picture is they had the best defense in football last season, and maybe the best in the league since DeMeco Ryans became the coach in 2023. And somehow it just wasn’t enough. Stroud, who was sensational as a rookie in 2023, has been average, at best, ever since. On Sunday, he became a game manager against a Colts defense that had given up a ridiculous 1,029 yards through its first two games. He was just 16 for 27 for 167 yards and a touchdown in the Texans’ 19-17 loss. He’s thrown just three touchdown passes this season. The Texans started 0-3 last year, too, but their defense was good enough to drag them to the playoffs. This year’s defense is still good, but hasn’t quite shown the same level of dominance. That means that to pull out of this tailspin, the Texans will need to see the dynamic version of Stroud that has been missing the past two-plus years. Absent that, they’ll head into the offseason wondering if they made a mistake even picking up his fifth-year option, which will pay him $25.9 million in 2027. Given his talent and potential, it was probably worth the relatively low price. But it’s going to be hard to argue Stroud is worth a lucrative, long-term commitment when contract talks resume after the season. It wouldn’t surprise me if the front office was already studying what might be a loaded quarterback draft class. The quarterback situation in Minnesota is bordering on miserable. Kyler Murray, in his first game back from a concussion Sunday, looked like a shell of his former self. Carson Wentz was barely serviceable, not even reaching 300 total yards in Murray’s near-two-game absence. And J.J. McCarthy, the 10th overall pick in 2024, can’t get on the field. So, how are the Vikings 3-0? It’s a combination of some impressive defensive play (and scheming by Vikings DC Brian Flores) and O’Connell coaxing just enough offense out of his underwhelming unit. On Sunday, they beat the reeling Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-16 despite just 168 passing yards from Murray, 78 team rushing yards, and just two catches from top receiver Justin Jefferson before he left with an ankle injury. Minnesota pulled off another improbable win by generating six sacks and constant pressure, plus a pair of interceptions inside the final 100 seconds to officially end the game. Such success is probably unsustainable if the Vikings can’t get more out of their offense. But the way Flores’ defense is playing, they might not need much. If O’Connell can turn Murray into anything close to what he was in Arizona, maybe work some of the magic he conjured up with Sam Darnold two years ago, this becomes a dangerous team. Right now, the Vikings are probably a notch below the three contenders in the NFC West, and maybe even the Philadelphia Eagles. But don’t count out O’Connell, who might be the early front-runner for NFL Coach of the Year and has gotten the most out of middling QBs in the past. The Cleveland Browns were supposed to be one of the worst teams in football, especially after trading away All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett. And Deshaun Watson was universally considered a well-deserved disaster waiting to happen at quarterback. But it turns out, maybe Todd Monken wasn’t completely delusional with the confidence he showed heading into his first NFL head coaching job. Because after their 21-18 win over the Panthers on Sunday, the Browns are 2-1, and it would be foolish to dismiss them as a punchline anymore. They still have issues, particularly at quarterback. Watson wasn’t good at all for the first three quarters against Carolina (10 of 21, 67 yards), before he engineered the game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter and won it with his third touchdown pass. But the embattled QB is surrounded by a host of young talent (RB Quinshon Jenkins, TE Harold Fanin, WR Denzel Boston, DL Jared Verse, LB Carson Schwesinger and more) and a coach who has put them in the right places to succeed against back-to-back NFC South teams. Maybe it won’t last. And maybe at some point this season Cleveland will be better off giving Shedeur Sanders another look. But don’t dismiss these wins as a fluke. And don’t pretend like there was anyone outside of Monken’s office who thought the Browns were capable of a 2-1 start. Fernando Mendoza figured to be one of the most exciting rookies to watch this season, once the Las Vegas Raiders drafted him in April with the No. 1 overall pick. Now it’s not clear if we’ll even get a chance to watch him this season at all. The way Kirk Cousins is playing for the Raiders right now, the wait for Mendoza could be an unexpectedly long one. The 38-year-old Cousins has given the undermanned Raiders exactly what they need: relatively solid and stable play at the most important position. Cousins has thrown nine touchdown passes and just three interceptions. He threw 10 all of last year (in eight starts) and led the NFL in interceptions in 2024. Stunningly, he’s been the anchor to Las Vegas’ 3-0 start. Now, the Raiders’ schedule has been suspect — they’ve beaten the 0-3 Dolphins, the 0-3 Dolphins and now the 1-2 Saints. But two of those wins came as road underdogs. Over the next eight weeks, they’ll play Kansas City, Buffalo, the Rams, San Francisco, Seattle and Denver, so maybe the bubble is about to burst. But Cousins’ presence has at least given the Raiders a chance to get better, and maybe to even stay on the fringe of the playoff chase for a little while. As long as he’s doing that, there’s no rush for coach Klint Kubiak to turn things over to Mendoza. The kid can learn plenty by standing on the sidelines, watching the veteran lead the team, adopt good habits and build a strong culture. That’ll make it easier for Mendoza when he does finally play. In other words, there’s no reason to rush the rookie. The Raiders’ future can wait. In NFL Fallout, Ralph Vacchiano breaks down the impact of the biggest events every Sunday.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

It all came down to Game 162 to round out the 12-team MLB postseason field. The Astros won the American League West (with the worst full-season record by a playoff team in MLB history) and the Phillies held off a late surge from the Diamondbacks to secure the final National League wild-card spot on the final day of the regular season. Despite going just 81-81, the division-champion Astros will get to host the White Sox for their wild-card series. Meanwhile, the Yankees will host the Red Sox, the Braves will host the Phillies and the Padres will host the Cubs, with each best-of-three series beginning Tuesday. Let’s rank the eight wild-card teams who’ll play this week for the chance to reach the Division Series. Wild Card Opponent: vs. White Sox (winner plays the Guardians) The Astros made it in with the worst full-season record by a playoff team in MLB history, winning the AL West over the Rangers by a game. Suddenly, they find themselves in a terrific position. They have 13 fewer wins than their No. 3 seed National League counterpart (the Braves), and they get to play a worse team in the wild-card round than Atlanta does. Depth issues have been a problem all year across the roster in Houston, which was a major reason general manager Dana Brown was let go in August. But they did hit the most home runs in MLB this year, and they have AL MVP favorite in Yordan Alvarez to mask some of their offensive issues, which are particularly obvious in an outfield that produced the lowest batting average and on-base percentage in MLB. They’re short in the pitching staff, too, but they have Hunter Brown at the top of the rotation and closer Josh Hader — who had a 1.01 ERA while converting all 26 of his save opportunities — at the back end of the bullpen. Plus, their first-round opponent might have even bigger pitching questions than them… Wild Card Opponent: at Astros (winner plays the Guardians) Whatever happens from here, this year has been a greater success than anyone could have imagined on Chicago’s South Side. After three straight 100-loss seasons, including the worst season in modern baseball history two years ago, the White Sox are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2021. While they fell short of winning the AL Central after leading the division by three games entering the season’s final month (they went 12-13 while the Guardians went 17-8 in September), the White Sox will get to play the worst team in the playoff field and will enter the postseason with some momentum after winning each of their last three series of the year.  Their young, all-or-nothing offense can mash. They ranked fifth in MLB in home runs — Munetaka Murakami, Miguel Vargas and Colson Montgomery all finished the year with more than 30 homers — though they also had the fifth-most strikeouts in the sport. They’ll need those bats to get hot because there are serious questions both in their rotation, which ranked 26th in ERA, and a taxed bullpen that threw the most innings in MLB. Wild Card Opponent: at Braves (winner plays the Dodgers) Well, that was a lot more stressful than it needed to be! The Phillies led the Diamondbacks for the final wild-card spot by four games with five to play … and it still took until Game 162 for Philadelphia to clinch the final NL wild-card spot. The Phillies’ offense was anemic in September, and Jesús Luzardo’s late-season injury certainly didn’t help matters, but they made it in. Considering where this year began (9-19 with their manager fired), it only seems fitting that the ending was also tense and uncomfortable. It’s notable that they had to use Aaron Nola on Saturday and Zack Wheeler on Sunday to seal their spot in the postseason, considering so much of their advantage in a short series is the top of their rotation. Being unable to line up Wheeler and uncertain of what Luzardo can provide (though he did throw a scoreless inning Sunday) will make life tougher for them against a Braves team that won the NL East and beat them nine out of 13 times during the regular season. But it was all hands on deck for the Phillies, who ultimately avoided what would have been a devastating collapse to reach the playoffs for a fifth straight year. Wild Card Opponent: at Yankees (winner plays the Rays) It’s hard to overstate just how much Willson Contreras means to this offense, so getting him back in the regular-season finale for the first time since he was hit by a pitch on the hand on Sept. 17 is a huge deal. Contreras ranked third among all qualified MLB players in OPS and hit 51% better than league average by wRC+; his next closest qualified teammate was Wilyer Abreu at 12% above league average. If Contreras is still aching, though, there will be even more pressure on Roman Anthony and deadline acquisition Adley Rutschman to help provide an offensive boost to a team that ranked last in MLB in runs scored in September (and 23rd for the season). Luckily for the Red Sox, both Anthony and Rutschman have been playing well lately, and their pitching staff should keep them competitive against any team. The Boston bullpen had the lowest ERA in the sport this year, and the Red Sox rotation offers upside. Rookie Payton Tolle had a 2.59 ERA with 75 strikeouts in 59 innings over his last 10 starts of the season. Sonny Gray went 18-5 with a 2.72 ERA on the year, and Ranger Suarez had a 3.22 ERA. That trio could make life tough on the Yankees’ lineup in the wild-card series. Wild Card Opponent: at Padres (winner plays the Brewers) They have the National League MVP frontrunner in Pete Crow-Armstrong, who just put together a 40-40 season that will go down as one of the best in Cubs history. His standout year was not enough, however, to end the Brewers’ reign atop the NL Central or to earn home-field advantage in the wild-card series. The Cubs’ offense slowed down in September, but they still finished the year with the highest OPS in the sport. A significant reason for that was the second-half surge from Alex Bregman. So, it had to feel great for Cubs fans to see Bregman go 4-for-4 with two home runs in the regular season finale, just a week after he suffered facial fractures when he was hit by a foul ball. The Cubs have another recent injury to monitor, after Kevin Gausman hurt his non-throwing shoulder while making a tag in his last start. Gausman’s health adds to a growing list of concerns about a beleaguered Cubs pitching staff that had issues both in the rotation (18th in ERA) and bullpen (13th). They do, however, have the best defense in baseball, and their offense is capable of outscoring any opponent they face. Wild Card Opponent: vs. Cubs (winner plays the Brewers) On July 23, the Padres were 50-53 with 7.4% playoff odds, according to FanGraphs. Now, they’re hosting a wild-card series. It has been a tale of two halves for the San Diego offense, which was the worst in MLB before the break and has been one of the best since. It’s not hard to understand why. Fernando Tatís Jr. had three home runs through his first 82 games and then launched 22 over his last 72. Jackson Merrill had a .628 OPS in the first half and a .908 OPS in the second half. Their best players look like superstars again, and their bullpen is the most overpowering unit in the sport. They’ll need to rely on their relief arms, considering their rotation leaves a lot to be desired, but this is a team no one will want to see in October. They’ve been the best team in baseball since July 24 and will be a threat to anyone they face. That’s especially the case at home, where they went 51-30 this season. Wild Card Opponent: vs. Red Sox (winner plays the Rays) I thought about bumping them further down this list, given the uncertainty surrounding Aaron Judge’s health. I don’t have to tell you how big of a deal it is if he can’t play or look right in the wild-card series. They went 41-25 (.621) when he was in the lineup and 52-43 (.547) when he wasn’t. However, Ben Rice is looking more like the MVP contender he was early in the year, Austin Wells has improved at the plate, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. is back from injury. Along with Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt and deadline additions Heliot Ramos and Luis Garcia Jr., the Yankees may have just enough offense to survive and make a run even without a healthy Judge. Most importantly, they’ll have AL Cy Young favorite Cam Schlittler, Gerrit Cole and Max Fried in the rotation. That’s a huge advantage in a wild-card series, even if Cole hasn’t looked quite so sharp lately. They’ll also have Carlos Rodón available, and Will Warren can shift to relief to assist a bullpen that has some real concerns. Wild Card Opponent: vs. Phillies (winner plays the Dodgers) It’s unlikely he’ll win the National League Cy Young Award because Jacob Misiorowski exists, but we can’t overlook what Chris Sale is doing. At 37 years old, he had a 2.16 ERA and 200 strikeouts. He is an ace in every sense of the word. But there’s a lot of pressure on Atlanta to win the game he starts. Tyler Mahle, who had a 1.99 ERA in nine starts for the Braves, was brilliant after getting traded to Atlanta at the deadline. But he lacks the typical swing-and-miss stuff you’d like from a starter in October, and the rotation depth gets much thinner after the top two. Still, the Braves employ one of the best bullpens in baseball to help shorten games. And while the offense underwhelmed down the stretch, Ronald Acuña Jr. started to heat up at the right time, Matt Olson hit 41 home runs, Drake Baldwin was one of the best catchers in baseball, and Michael Harris II enjoyed a bounceback year. This is the best team in the wild-card field — one that proved last year’s 76-win season was just a blip.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports