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The Atlanta Falcons go as Bijan Robinson goes. Robinson rumbled for 194 rushing yards in Atlanta’s first win of the season, a 35-14 triumph over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in a primetime showing in Week 3. Robinson was buoyed by the return of Michael Penix Jr., who posted 256 passing yards and a touchdown, creating balance in Atlanta’s offense. But it’s Robinson who is the straw that stirs the drink and is the engine of Atlanta’s offense. Since 2023, Robinson tops the league with 6,115 scrimmage yards. He also leads the league this season with 467 scrimmage yards, showing out when the rest of the Falcons’ offense looked lackluster in the first two weeks of the year. Robinson’s explosiveness and ability to run through trash stand out. He’s averaging 5.3 yards per carry and, according to Next Gen Stats, 4.9 yards after contact per carry — second among running backs with at least 25 carries this season. Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski should know how to take advantage of Robinson’s unique skill set. The Cleveland Browns’ offense Stefanski oversaw as head coach finished in the top 12 in rushing in four of his six years at the helm, with Nick Chubb shining out of the backfield. But Robinson could reach heights that Chubb didn’t, if he hasn’t already. Currently, Robinson is fourth in Offensive Player of the Year odds at DraftKings Sportsbook (+1200) behind Kenneth Walker III, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Jahmyr Gibbs. Robinson will need more performances like the one against the Packers to stay in the running with some of the top playmakers in the league. Let’s take a closer look at my picks for the top three of all the major awards heading into Week 4. Offensive Player Of The Year The skinny: The Kansas City Chiefs are getting the best version of Kenneth Walker through three games, who has 442 scrimmage yards and four scores. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, meanwhile, has started that year by recording at least 120 receiving yards in each of the Seattle Seahawks’ first three games as he looks to become the first player to win the award in back-to-back seasons in over two decades. Jahmyr Gibbs also deserves a mention here, as Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing has done a nice job of creating innovative ways to get the dynamic runner in space. Gibbs has forced 29 missed tackles this season. Defensive Player Of The Year The skinny: Greg Rousseau leads the NFL in sacks (6) and tackles for loss (8). He also has three forced fumbles, which is tied with Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Nakobe Dean for the league lead. Will Anderson and T.J. Watt are among the league’s top pass rushers again, at least to start the season. Anderson has four sacks (2.5 came in the Houston Texans’ Week 3 loss to the Indianapolis Colts) and T.J. Watt has 3.5 sacks. Dallas Turner also deserves a mention. He leads the league in quarterback pressures (25) and has 3.5 sacks on the year, greatly benefiting from defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ blitz-happy scheme. Coach Of The Year The skinny: Few NFL observers expected first-year head coaches in Klint Kubiak and Todd Monken to have their teams atop the division at this point of the season, and both have done it with veteran quarterbacks considered past their prime. Kirk Cousins is tied for the league lead in passing touchdowns with nine, and Deshaun Watson has stayed healthy and is playing efficient football in Cleveland for the first time since the trade. Kevin O’Connell, meanwhile, has yet to get Kyler Murray on track. But the Minnesota Vikings are the only undefeated team in the NFC North, and their start is too strong to ignore. Offensive Rookie Of The Year The skinny: Kenyon Sadiq has been a revelation for the Jets. The athletic tight end out of Oregon had his first 100-yard receiving effort as a pro, posting seven catches for 105 receiving yards and a score in a close loss to Detroit. Denzel Boston continues to show explosive playmaking ability. The Cleveland Browns’ wide receiver leads all rookies in receiving yards (195), logging long touchdown grabs in each of the first two weeks of the season. But Jeremiyah Love leads all rookies in scrimmage yards (204) after a solid performance against San Francisco in Week 3, putting up 109 total yards. Defensive Rookie Of The Year The skinny: Hezekiah Moses leads all rookies in interceptions (3) and pass breakups (4). And he has been one of the reasons the Raiders’ ball-hawking defense is tops in the NFL in takeaways (9). Genesis Smith moved into the top three on the strength of a two-interception effort against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. Miami Dolphins linebacker Jacob Rodriguez also deserves some credit, totaling six combined tackles — including three tackles for loss — and an interception in a tough loss to Kansas City. David Bailey should get a mention as well, leading all rookies in sacks with two, giving the New York Jets some solid pass-rushing ability. MVP The skinny: Patrick Mahomes continues to impress less than a year after tearing his ACL. He helped the Chiefs improve to 3-0 with a 246-yard, two-touchdown performance in a 24-10 win over the Dolphins, and he’s now top five in passing yards (812) and passing touchdowns (7). All Jared Goff does is put up impressive numbers. The Lions’ quarterback is second in the league in passer rating (116.1), with eight touchdown passes and no interceptions. But Brock Purdy’s numbers largely stand alone to start the season. He hasn’t been sacked in three games and is the only quarterback with multiple touchdown passes and a passer rating of at least 100 in each of the first three weeks of the season. Purdy also leads the league in passer rating (133.1) and is tied with Cousins for the league lead in touchdown passes with nine.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Dylan Raiola was texting Dan Lanning all week. He heard one thing about USC in a press conference and spotted something else while watching film, and wanted his head coach to know. Raiola, Oregon’s backup quarterback, was unlikely to take a snap against the Trojans last Saturday. But he wanted to be helpful and proactive, just in case. The best backups, whether they’re quarterbacks or play another position, often say they prepare as if they’re going to start. They study and stay ready even without first-team reps. We don’t always see that effort pay off. But in Raiola’s case, it did. The Nebraska transfer was thrust into Saturday’s game against USC early in the second quarter after Oregon starter Dante Moore took a frightening hit to the head. Moore, a Heisman Trophy candidate and projected first-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, had led the Ducks to the College Football Playoff semifinal last season. After receiving medical attention for several minutes, Moore was taken off the field on a stretcher before leaving in an ambulance. It was later announced that he had suffered a concussion, but did not have any additional injuries. On Wednesday, Lanning said that Moore is “healthy and doing well.” Moore and Raiola are close friends and have developed something of a mentor-mentee relationship. So while Raiola was shaken up after seeing his teammate go down, there wasn’t much time to dwell on it. He had to lock in and take over. “Every guy had faith in him,” Lanning told reporters after the Ducks’ 41-27 win at the LA Coliseum. “He was ready for his moment.” Raiola’s story is well-known by now. Originally from Buford, Georgia, he was a five-star prospect in the 2024 class who initially committed to play for Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs before flipping to play for Matt Rhule and the Cornhuskers. Raiola started 22 games at Nebraska until he broke his leg last November, ironically against USC. He transferred to Oregon in the offseason, and shortly after, Moore announced he would be returning for his senior year. This kind of situation is unusual in the transfer portal and NIL era, when players often change schools in search of more playing time or better monetary opportunities. Coming off a major injury, Raiola knew he could learn from Moore, who had gone through a similar transition after transferring from UCLA to Oregon ahead of the 2024 season and sitting behind Dillon Gabriel. “They want each other to be the best QB they can both possibly be,” said former Oregon Hall of Fame running back Kenjon Barner, who remains closely connected to the program. “I don’t think there’s another QB room in the country that has what this room has in two starters. When you go back to Dillon Gabriel and Dante, it was the same type of situation. The way their relationship is, [Gabriel] laid the foundation; Dante stood on that foundation.” Raiola had barely seen the field this season, earning his first meaningful snaps when he completed 11-of-11 passing attempts in garbage time of Oregon’s 84-0 rout of Portland State in Week 3. He certainly wasn’t expecting his next opportunity to come against USC. “It’s complicated,” Raiola said following the win over the Trojans. “You don’t ever want to see someone be hurt, especially how much [Moore] means to me, how much he teaches me, how much he means to the team.” It was an emotional few moments after Moore was carted off the field. Lanning said everybody wanted to “go get in a street fight,” but the Ducks remained composed and chose to honor their teammate by winning the game. Raiola leaned on the preparation he’d done earlier in the week, while offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer adjusted the game plan to better suit his backup’s skill set. On Raiola’s second play of the game, he found wide receiver Evan Stewart for a 3-yard touchdown pass to give Oregon a 10-7 lead. There were only a few times Saturday night when Raiola made a decision and Lanning thought, “OK, that’s not where we wanted the ball to go.” For the most part, Lanning was impressed by Raiola’s ability to execute the offense, get rid of the ball when necessary and avoid taking sacks. He finished the night 19-of-25 passing for 289 yards and two touchdowns. “Dylan has never stopped seeing himself as the guy,” Barner said. “To step into that spot with so much pressure speaks volumes about the professional that Dylan Raiola is. When you watch that kid play, he doesn’t allow anything to affect him. He remains the same player every week – calm, cool, collected, completely in control of the offense.” That kind of poise and confidence is a reflection of the growth Raiola has made since first arriving in Eugene. “I’m very proud of Dylan,” Lanning said. “That moment happens in sports a lot of times when guys aren’t ready and that becomes the story. And regardless of how Dylan would have performed, like, I love that guy. He works so hard – so incredibly hard – to put himself in that position to be successful. He came in and he operated, man, and we’ve seen that go other ways before. “To know he put in the work, the prep, was ready in his moment, and then didn’t come in and try to force it, he just played the game, man,” Lanning added. “I can’t say enough great things about Dylan and how he operates. That’s why he came here.” On Monday, Matt Rhule, who coached Raiola for two seasons at Nebraska, was asked about his former quarterback during his weekly press conference. “There’s no doubt that Dylan is an elite quarterback,” Rhule told reporters. After rallying to beat Boise State in its season opener and falling to Oklahoma State the following week, Oregon has rebounded to put itself in position to make another CFP run. The Ducks are now 4-1 and ranked No. 15 in the country. They’re idle this week before diving into the heart of their conference schedule – Oregon hosts No. 23 UCLA on Oct. 10 and visits No. 5 Ohio State on Nov. 7. There’s no timetable yet for Moore’s return. But if Raiola is needed again, he’s shown he’s ready. “I never knew when my moment was going to happen or what to expect,” Raiola said. “The ultimate goal is to win, no matter how it happens, no matter, sadly, whoever goes down. The game of football doesn’t feel sorry for us. We’ve got to step up and keep fighting and those guys in that locker room did just that. Coming in on the road and doing what we did is not normal.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

The Los Angeles Rams, who were historically heavy favorites to win the Super Bowl at the start of the year, are now among the NFL’s early-season bottom feeders with their 1-2 start. On the surface, that record shouldn’t be cause for concern. In fact, they still hold a 70% chance of reaching the postseason (according to The Athletic) and they have -250 odds to make the playoffs. However, the Rams’ start has been poor enough that the Buffalo Bills have surpassed them as the betting favorite to win it all. And the road to the 1-2 start hasn’t been pretty as Sean McVay’s Rams are licking their wounds. They bungled their travel plans to Australia, where they got drilled by the San Francisco 49ers. This past Sunday, they suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Denver Broncos, blowing a 16-0 lead before a questionable defensive pass interference call in the final minutes helped decide the game. After apologizing to local media for leaving his media availability early minutes after his team’s loss in Mile High City, the always positive McVay continued to find a silver lining in the disappointing start to his team’s season. “The only real growth occurs through some of these adverse moments, and you certainly don’t want it,” McVay told reporters this week. “I know this; we’ve talked a lot about it, and this is when you get a chance to lean in. I love the resiliency of this group.” But as McVay searches for the positives, maybe he should be focused on the negatives. I predicted in the offseason that the Rams would not reach the postseason this year before amending that take after the Rams traded for Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald unretired. It’s worth going back and revisiting the reasons for suggesting one of the best rosters put together this century might wind up on the outside looking in this postseason, though. Mainly, I pointed to an aging roster, led by a 38-year-old quarterback coming off his best year statistically as a pro — leading to some natural regression, and playing one of the toughest schedules in the league, with the second-most travel miles in the NFL. Seeing Matthew Stafford wince in pain after throwing an interception and trying to tackle Denver safety Talanoa Hufanga on his return for a score brought back memories of L.A.’s 5-12 Super Bowl hangover after winning it all in 2021. The Rams entered that season with high expectations as they returned the nucleus of that Super Bowl team. Those expectations were squashed, though, when Stafford suffered a back injury that kept him out for the second half of that season. It’s one of the reasons Los Angeles spent a first-round pick on his eventual replacement, Ty Simpson. And Father Time is undefeated, even if Stafford insists he’s OK. “A little elbow, but I came back and threw the ball the rest of the game and I was fine,” Stafford responded when asked after the game about his elbow issue. Stafford has unfortunately looked his age this season, failing to play at the MVP level he performed at a year ago. He led the league in passing yards (4,707), passing touchdowns (46) and finished second in passer rating (109.2) in 2025, totaling just eight interceptions last season. This year through three games, Stafford is third in passing yards (872), tied for ninth in passing touchdowns (6) and 17th in passer rating (88.1). Only Drake Maye (6) has more than Stafford’s four interceptions this season. Specifically, Stafford struggles when pressured. Stafford is 13-of-36 (36.1%) for 171 yards, with no touchdowns and two interceptions when pressured, according to Next Gen Stats. He’s been sacked five times in those situations, posting a 28.8 passer rating. Last season during his MVP campaign, Stafford completed 84-of-155 (54.2%) of his passes for 1,040 yards, with five touchdowns and no interceptions when pressured. He was sacked 23 times in those situations, posting an 86.0 passer rating. With the fourth-oldest roster in the NFL, the Rams are already showing their age. Garrett, 30, lasted one game before going on injured reserve to fix a knee injury he aggravated during training camp. Garrett’s missed two games and will miss two more before he’s eligible to come off injured reserve, but could be out longer. Cornerback Jaylen Watson, who was brought in to help revamp the secondary over the offseason, left the loss to the Broncos early due to a shoulder injury and is expected to miss Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Even the young players for the Rams are getting hurt. Physical, but oft-injured No. 1 receiver Puka Nacua has missed the last two games with a groin injury. McVay said Nacua’s expected to return this week, but there was some discussion that the star wide receiver could end up undergoing surgery if the injury persists. Second-year tight end Terrance Ferguson is also expected to miss time due to an ankle injury he suffered in the loss to the Broncos. In total, the Rams currently have six players listed on injured reserve, with a few other players (like Ferguson and Watson) set to miss time and could join that list, too. Los Angeles is in the middle of a tough, five-game slate to start the year. After losing at Denver, the Rams travel to Philadelphia — a place they have struggled in years past — to face the Eagles. The franchise is 1-5 in games at Philadelphia since 2002, with the lone win coming in the COVID-impacted 2020 season. Then, the Rams head back to the West Coast to host Josh Allen and one of the best teams in the NFL, the Buffalo Bills. Los Angeles could be looking at 1-4 before getting a reprieve by hosting former offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur and the Arizona Cardinals in Week 6. Their schedule is set to get easier in November after closing October with a matchup against the surging Las Vegas Raiders, but they have the Kansas City Chiefs, Seattle Seahawks (twice) and the 49ers in the final month of the season. While missing the playoffs is on the Bingo card, McVay said it’s been a challenging start to the season — and he wouldn’t want it any other way. “A lot of people are afraid to put themselves out there, give everything that you got towards something and if you fall short, you feel that pit in your gut and God dang does it get you,” McVay told reporters this week. “It gets you good, but it’s all about the response. “I’m excited to be on this journey with this group. I love the men in this locker room. I love our coaching staff. I love the staff and our ownership group. I just want to do my part to try to influence and affect positive changes. These represent opportunities to be what you say. I see better than I hear, and talk is cheap. I want us to be able to move forward the right way, go back to work and be solution-oriented.” Hall of Fame offensive lineman Will Shields played for the Kansas City Chiefs when the Raiders were the big bully on the block. Back then, as a young rookie, Shields was blocking for fellow Hall of Famer Marcus Allen as the running back took it to his former team, the Raiders. So, Shields, recently added to the Hall of Fame selection committee, understands what Raiders Week means as the Chiefs head to Las Vegas in a battle of the 3-0 AFC West rivals. “Who do you pick as your nemesis? Who do you pick as the gold standard that you want to be better than? I think that’s what happened, especially in the 1970s and 80s,” Shields told me. “Those were the teams you wanted to be like and beat up on – and show that you’re just as good. And that’s how you set up that mantra.” These heated AFC West rivals have been competing since 1960, with the Raiders owning the series in the ‘70s and ’80s before the Chiefs’ recent domination following Andy Reid’s arrival and Patrick Mahomes’ ascension. The Chiefs have also won 16 of the last 20 games and nine straight AFC West titles before the Denver Broncos won the AFC West last season. But in their shared history, this is the first time the Chiefs and Raiders have each begun the season with a 3-0 record. The two teams combined for nine wins last year, both missing the playoffs. However, the Chiefs rebounded nicely from a 6-11 record, with new addition Kenneth Walker III leading the way. And the Raiders surprised the league by going undefeated to start the year under new head coach Klint Kubiak, with 38-year-old Kirk Cousins expertly guiding the offense. So, Sunday’s game will serve as a real barometer for where Las Vegas stands amid its surprising start, just like the Raiders’ matchups with the Chiefs did decades ago. Raiders icon and Hall of Fame cornerback Michael Haynes told me he could count on a chess match twice a year facing the Chiefs during his time with the Raiders in the 80s. “Playing against them and doing really well, it was going to take coaches calling the right plays, everybody playing effectively and not letting them do what they’ve been doing (laughs),” Haynes told me. “They were going to come out and play their ‘A’ game, and they knew that’s what they were going to have to do to beat us.” That feeling is held by current Raiders stars, too. Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby enjoys matching up against Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Crosby has sacked Mahomes five times, the most of any NFL player. “He knows what it is,” Crosby said. “It’s war — there’s no other words needed. It’s as simple as that. I can’t wait.” And as the Raiders gear up for war, former members of the Chiefs are excited to see what unfolds in Sunday’s game. “It’s pretty cool that it’s being revived,” Shields told me. “It gives someone an opportunity to play hard, beat up on each other and enjoy the banter back and forth. It’s not a mean-spirited rivalry, but you’re trying to control the AFC West.” Los Angeles Chargers safety Genesis Smith, a fourth-round pick in this year’s draft, turned heads with his two-interception performance against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills — part of five turnovers generated by the Bolts’ defense in their loss. Smith was part of an entire University of Arizona secondary selected in this year’s draft — a rare accomplishment for a college football school. The Wildcats joined LSU (2020) and The Ohio State University (2017) as the only schools to accomplish this feat. Along with Smith, Treydan Stukes (second round) and Dalton Johnson (fifth) went to the Raiders, while Michael Dansby went in the seventh round to the Seattle Seahawks. At 6-2 and 202 pounds, Smith tested well at the NFL Scouting Combine, posting a 42.5 vertical and a 10-foot, 8-inch broad jump. Smith finished with five career interceptions for the Wildcats. FOX Sports NFL draft analyst Rob Rang, who also works as a scout for the CFL’s B.C. Lions, evaluated Smith out of college and thinks the Chargers selected a mature, versatile playmaking safety who will continue to develop. “He’s an explosive athlete who tested really well, and you can see it on tape,” Rang told me. “He’s got range and that classic size. He’s got above-average size, speed and range at the free safety position. And it gives you an awful lot of flexibility for the coverages that you want to run with him.” Rang noted a little inconsistency in Smith’s tackling in his tape from college but says that’s something he can clean up if he’s willing to work on it at the next level. Rang said, off the field, Smith fits the Chargers’ profile of wanting mature athletes who handle their business away from the facility. “Talking to some of the scouts there, they just described him as really mature, on and off the field,” Rang told me. “I know with the Chargers that’s a big deal for them. They place a high priority on guys being high-character dudes.” 5. Denver Broncos The Rams dropped out of the top five with a road loss to the Broncos, who’ve picked up two straight impressive wins. Quarterback Bo Nix now has seven fourth-quarter comebacks and nine game-winning drives since the start of last season, which is the most in the NFL in that span. 4. Las Vegas Raiders Free-agent pickup linebacker Nakobe Dean has been the anchor of the Las Vegas defense, leading the team in tackles with 27. But he’s also tied for the league lead in fumbles with three. 3. Seattle Seahawks Sam Darnold surprisingly struggled in his return from injury with a two-interception performance against the Commanders. Jaxon Smith-Njigba continues to dominate, though, logging his third straight 120-plus-yard game to open the season. 2. San Francisco 49ers Brock Purdy is playing at an MVP level, but will he have to complete passes to himself by the end of the year with this injury-plagued roster? Star wide receiver Mike Evans joined the ever-growing list of Niners receivers to go down with an injury in their Week 3 win over the Cardinals. 1. Kansas City Chiefs Kenneth Walker has made Mahomes’ job easier, and the defense is playing better than expected. Walker’s 442 scrimmage yards are the third-most in the league through the first three weeks. “He understands what’s going on. He needs to take care of the ball. There’s some things fundamentally where we can focus on and we’re going to continue to give him the ball, we trust him. We know that he’s going to work hard to do his part as well.” Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald on rookie running back Jadarian Price, who’s already lost two fumbles this season.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Who better to weigh in on the Heisman Trophy conversation than a former Heisman winner himself? Robert Griffin III earned college football’s most prestigious award in 2011, throwing for 4,293 yards and 37 touchdowns while leading the nation with 14.8 yards per completion. Now, Griffin, who serves as an analyst for FOX Sports, analyizing which players are worthy of joining him on the list. Here are RGIII’s top five Heisman Trophy candidates through Week 5 of the 2026 season: Griffin’s take: “The one, the only Kamario Taylor from Mississippi State. Last week, he went 27-for-38 for 360 yards, three touchdowns, and the last one was a 24-yard game-winner with 3:57 left in the game to beat No. 19 Missouri. That’s Mississippi State’s first top-25 win since Dak Prescott in 2014. On the season, he has a 69.2% completion percentage, he’s thrown for 1,192 yards, 14 touchdowns and only two interceptions. … Plus, he’s got another 185 yards rushing yards. He’s ruining the SEC right now.” Griffin’s take: “Let’s just keep it real. This guy is a monster. He could have went pro his freshman year. [He had] 12 catches for 217 yards and four touchdowns against Illinois. Career highs all across the board. This guy is unguardable.” Griffin’s take: “Florida’s back, y’all. [Baugh had] 29 carries for 142 yards and three touchdowns in an absolute beatdown against Ole Miss. This guy has four straight 130-yard games and 11 touchdowns in four weeks. For the season, he’s averaging 7.2 yards per carry and 150 yards a game. Welcome to the Heisman conversation, Jadan Baugh.” Griffin’s take: “Once again, [Mensah went] 23-for-27, 338 yards and three passing touchdowns and a rushing score against Central Michigan. I just want to see him do it against better competition because, right now, he’s rewriting all the quarterback record books.” Griffin’s take: “He leads the FBS in rushing yards. [He had] nine carries against William & Mary, but he turned those nine carries into 116 yards and a score with 12.9 yards per carry. Nate Sheppard, you might not know the name, but this guy’s got game.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

A few teams we’ve grown accustomed to playing well in recent years have opened the 2026 NFL season 3-0. And then there are a pair of surprises that have also gotten off to an undefeated start, including the Las Vegas Raiders. What should we make of the Raiders’ 3-0 start? Well, in the most recent edition of Tom Brady’s power rankings, the seven-time Super Bowl champ wasn’t afraid to put them in his top 10. In fact, he went as far as placing them in the top five, claiming that there was “no hometown bias.” We’ll see if the Raiders can continue their hot streak in Week 4, when they host one of the four other undefeated teams: the Kansas City Chiefs. As the Chiefs are out to a 3-0 start, were they able to move into the No. 1 spot in Brady’s power rankings following the Seattle Seahawks’ Week 3 loss? Here’s Brady’s full top 10. Brady’s thoughts: Tyler Loop, a walk-off 56-yarder in Rio? The trio in Rio? That’s what Jim Nantz said — I loved that. Another incredible performance by Lamar Jackson. Week in and week out, he’s unstoppable. I think they’ve got to sustain some of those drives in the second half to put these teams away. I think you’ve got to play to win and do what you need to do to continue to put points on the board until midway through the fourth quarter, when the clock becomes an issue. I think momentum swings are so huge in the NFL. If you take your foot off the gas for just a little bit and the other team gains a little momentum and the snowball starts going downhill, you may not be able to stop the other team. Brady’s thoughts: Huge win against the Rams, and having already played one of the NFL’s toughest schedules, give this team a lot of credit. Bo Nix gets it done once again in the fourth quarter — insane the way he plays down the stretch — and defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and this defense, I give them a lot of credit for keeping them in the game, too. They did it last year, and they’re doing it in the early part of this year, too. One thing Nix can do to elevate his game as a passer is this: having your feet planted in the right place to get to your first and second read, and then knowing when the play is over and not trying to make every play a hero-type play. Find the open guy, cut it loose. If it’s not there, move onto the next play. No negative plays, keep your team on track. Brady’s thoughts: Jared Goff has eight touchdowns and no picks. They’re squeaking by in some tough wins. They show a lot of toughness in Detroit; that’s what that city is made of. I love Jahmyr Gibbs, and I love Saquon Barkley and I love Bijan Robinson. I saw James Cook the other day in person, and he’s pretty ridiculous, too. The NFL’s stacked right now at the halfback position. Brady’s thoughts: Incredible, back-to-back games holding teams in single digits? How about Dennis Allen and that defense? And a veteran quarterback who hasn’t started in like, a million days? Case Keenum said it in the locker room after the game: It’s not his first f—ing rodeo. It’s still early in the season, and Keenum got a lot of training camp reps. So, it’s not quite like it would be in December, where he’s basically been sitting on the sideline the whole time. But I give him a lot of credit; it’s still hard to do. He hasn’t started in a long time, and he came in and delivered for his team. Brady’s thoughts: Someone finally beat the best. The Seahawks drop from No. 1, but outgained the Commanders by almost 200 yards. The run game vanished, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba can only do so much. The Seahawks have got to find a way to get back on track. I always liken JSN’s shoulder plane to Greg Maddux’s pitching exhibition: When the ball comes out of his hand, everything looks the same and it’s all late movement. It’s a lot like what JSN does. Shoulders are low, arms are driving and he’s such a smooth route runner. His start and stop is so difficult to know. He’s always got them on their heels. Brady’s thoughts: No hometown bias here. Listen, undefeated gets you in the top five. That’s just the way my power rankings work. You can only be who you play, and when you’re undefeated, you’re better than the teams that have lost games. That’s just the way it works for me. The Raiders had four takeaways against the Saints. How about their fourth-quarter performance on defense? Taking the ball away, knocking it off, interceptions, fumble returns — they did it all. That’s how you secure a win on the road in the NFL. I think the culture is always about your teammates. I always think it’s about “We” over “Me.” And I think if you go out there and you play for your teammates every single game, you try not to let your teammates down. I love the culture that’s being built in Las Vegas right now. Brady’s thoughts: No one would’ve guessed this, certainly not with the injuries at quarterback. But the Vikings had six sacks, 12 QB hits, a punt return touchdown and winning in all phases of the game against the Buccaneers. I’m excited to see how Kyler Murray grows in this Kevin O’Connell offense. I would say that probably for most quarterbacks, it takes half a season to get acclimated to a new offense. Possibly a season or two, depending on how complicated the offense is and how familiar the quarterback is with some of those things that are being done. Football is football. Concepts are concepts. But it’s really about the verbiage, the vernacular, and how things really just come out of your mouth over the course of the game. These are all different languages from these teams and everybody coaches their offenses a little differently, but I’m really impressed with what the Vikings are doing right now. Brady’s thoughts: That was a lot of ugly football. I mean, look, there were a lot of crazy plays happening. It was really fun to call, and I love seeing the Bills play and I love seeing the Chargers play. But the Bills, they had five turnovers. Five turnovers, and a win! That shows the talent the Bills team has. They’re not going to be able to get away with that later in the season, though. Brady’s thoughts: Winning by 14 while losing the time of possession by nine minutes against the Dolphins. What? That rarely ever happens. But Miami, that’s a tough place to play; believe me, I know. In September, regardless of record, when it’s hot, it feels so good to go in there and get a win. I think what serves every team well is when you have continuity. When you have continuity at head coach, quarterback, GM and defensive coordinator, so many of the culture drivers that the Chiefs have, they’re on their stuff. They can solve problems quickly. There’s so much variation on offense. And because K9 (Kenneth Walker) is doing so much for them, the passing game doesn’t need to be what it was five or six years ago. They can win a balanced game. They can win defensively. That’s a tough team to beat. Brady’s thoughts: They were pretty much unheralded all offseason because everyone was talking about Seattle and the Rams. But it’s the 49ers at No. 1. Why? They’re undefeated. We know that. But they have the best point differential in the league. Brock Purdy’s playing as well as anybody; anybody. He should be considered in the Tier 1 QB discussions. At least he is in my eyes. It sure looks like Purdy is an elite quarterback now. He’s playing within the system, throwing the ball accurately, no negative plays, getting his team in and out of the right plays — I love the way he’s managing every single game.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Mike Vrabel pulled Drake Maye aside on the sideline in Jacksonville. The Patriots coach put both hands on his struggling young quarterback’s shoulders and appeared to offer words of encouragement. But you’ve got to wonder what in the world Vrabel said. What could he say? Vrabel seems to think he knows what’s wrong with Maye. But he can’t possibly know how to fix it. No one can. The coach-QB moment came in the fourth quarter of New England’s 35-6 loss to the Jaguars on Sunday. Maye was done for the day as backup Tommy DeVito took over in garbage time. It wasn’t a benching — just a case where the game got so far out of hand that it wasn’t worth risking Maye’s health, physical or mental. For the defending AFC champions, the whole season seems to already be getting out of hand. So much so that it’s really not Maye’s offense right now. He doesn’t seem to have command of the unit in the same way as last year — or even in the same way as during training camp this year. How have things gone so wrong for the Patriots? And for Maye, in particular? At age 23 last season, Maye was the legitimate runner-up in the MVP conversation. Every vote that went his way was justified. Maye was also the NFL runner-up, losing in the Super Bowl. You can debate all you want about whether his run was a product of a soft schedule. But he and the Patriots made it to Super Bowl Sunday. All the context in the world won’t wipe away his championship appearance. But during these first few weeks of 2026, Maye has not resembled that version of himself. We always play the game of QB comparisons. And I have an unfortunate one for Maye this year: Zach Wilson. Here’s another one: the Jets’ version of Sam Darnold — back when he was seeing ghosts against the Patriots. Every time Maye let go of the football on Sunday, I felt like I was watching a car screech toward the rear bumper of another. If it all sounds hyperbolic, check out these stats. We can start simple: one touchdown, six interceptions, two fumbles. Woof. And there are many more esoteric numbers that show the futility of New England’s offense. The Patriots have scored 29 points on 30 drives this year, the fewest points per drive (.97) by any team through three games since the 2021 Jets — led by Wilson as a rookie. The Patriots have the lowest percentage of drives ending with a touchdown this season, per PFF. Yes, even lower than the Miami Dolphins. Going back to the start of the postseason last year, Maye has nine fumbles and 10 interceptions. He’s the first player to do that in a seven-game span since Jameis Winston in 2019, when he threw 30 interceptions for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Last week, it seemed like Maye was underthrowing his downfield passes. This week, Maye overthrew a big play to DeMario Douglas, who could have — and probably should have — walked into the end zone. The disappearance of Maye’s deep-ball efficiency has drastically changed his (and the offense’s) capacity to produce. It didn’t help that the Patriots traded receiver Kayshon Boutte to the Houston Texans before the season. He was the team’s staggeringly reliable deep threat. I don’t think the Patriots would be better off with another season of Stefon Diggs, whose act gets old quickly. The additions of A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs were supposed to offset these departures. But Brown suffered a high ankle sprain in the season opener, and Doubs has not acclimated quickly into the system. Tight end Hunter Henry, formerly the QB’s security blanket, has just 10 targets for seven catches and 71 yards. Maye is a quarterback whose bad decisions have led to more bad decisions. And it has come to the point where, when he makes good decisions, he doesn’t seem to have confidence in them. There’s caution — and maybe even apprehension — sneaking into his throwing motion. “We need to stop trying to choke the life out of every single play. We need to relax,” Vrabel told WEEI sports radio in Boston. I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again: Relaxing is quite difficult when — seemingly — the entire world is telling you to relax. And Boston is not a quiet city of sports fans. It’s not a quiet sports media environment. The place has an attitude and, after years of success, the expectation is for more. “When [WEEI host] Greg [Hill] and I go golfing, we really want to make a good score, right? Sometimes we’re so focused on it that we try to choke the life out of the golf club, and we’re squeezing it so damn tight that the ball has no choice but to go sideways,” Vrabel said. Will Maye’s entire season go sideways, and with it, the Patriots’ entire season? Any golfer who has tried to fix his swing knows how hard it is to find the fairway. The one thing I haven’t mentioned yet is that Maye might not be 100 percent. During the team’s playoff run last season, he needed pain-relieving injections in his throwing shoulder. “Yeah, I wouldn’t say there’s a problem with my shoulder,” Maye said. “I think there’s times where I think you look back on the playoff run in that Denver game and when I took the hit and to now. I felt good during training camp and continue to let it loose.” That answer is so vague and incomplete that it’s actually confusing. But it means something when a player doesn’t outright say: I’m healthy. Then again, here’s how Vrabel responded to questions about Maye’s shoulder: “That’s not anything that I would even consider. I don’t anticipate that being any issue going forward.” Maye hasn’t appeared on the injury report this season. So it would be curious — confusing even — if he was managing an undisclosed injury. So let’s try to relax. Let’s hold the club a little looser, to steal from Vrabel’s analogy. Maye can fix this. The Patriots can get back on track. But the work won’t be easy, particularly not with the schedule they have on the horizon. “Drake Maye looks very uncomfortable. He’s lost his confidence,” said Julian Edelman, former Patriots receiver and current FOX Sports analyst. “There’s always a little dry spell here and there in everyone’s game where they go through confidence issues. He’s in one of those right now. … He’s just pressing a little bit.” There’s no mechanical issue. There’s no major footwork problem. Maye just needs to sort out the red lights (don’t throw) and green lights (throw) in his mind — and untangle the spots where the wires are crossed. For that, there’s no easy solution. No quick fix. No shortcut. “I can’t manufacture confidence. I can’t just say, ‘Hey, be confident,’” Vrabel told reporters on Monday. “You have to practice. You have to hit those plays in practice, and you have to feel good about it.” The seemingly obvious solution to Maye’s issues is, of course, the return of Brown. Back in training camp, Maye used Brown as his get-out-of-jail-free card. Free blitzer coming? Hit Brown. Nobody open? Throw to Brown. Maye grew to rely on the star receiver in a short time. Brown’s return to the lineup — perhaps around Week 7 — should push Maye along on the path to recovery. But that’s not a holistic fix. It’s more like a Band-Aid. It’s clear that Maye overachieved in 2025. And it’s also clear that he’s currently underachieving. The Patriots’ season depends on their 24-year-old quarterback’s ability to level out rather than continue to spiral.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Six postseason teams from last season already have a losing record. The Las Vegas Raiders, meanwhile, are just the fourth team in the Common Draft Era to start 3-0 after having the No. 1 overall pick. Each week, I dive into the All-22 coaches’ film before offering a few insights to watch. Here are four developments that could be long-term storylines, from the Raiders’ fast start to a trio of 2025 contenders trying to get back on track. The Green Bay Packers have been a perennial contender in the Matt LaFleur era, largely because of an efficient, explosive offense that has routinely lit up scoreboards around the league with Jordan Love (and previously Aaron Rodgers) under center. After stumbling out of the gate to a 1-2 record that has the Titletown natives growing restless, the Packers’ struggling offense is under fire. Observers accustomed to seeing high-arcing spirals flying over the top of opposing defenses and hard-charging runners bursting through massive lanes between the tackles cannot recognize the sputtering offense that ranks dead last in rushing yards and 22nd in points per game (18.7). Although the passing game ranks fourth in pass yards per game (266.7), Love’s accuracy woes and inconsistency from the pocket have prevented the offense from getting into the rhythm needed to produce fireworks. Moreover, the offense hasn’t found its identity, and that uncertainty has led to a lot of bad football from Green Bay. “Right now, I don’t know what we’re doing well offensively,” LaFleur said recently. Looking at the tape, it is as ugly as the aforementioned numbers suggest. The Packers are getting dominated at the line of scrimmage, and the offensive line’s woes are killing the unit’s chances to move the ball. To be fair, the patchwork frontline lost a key member in right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele to a season-ending injury in Week 1, while left guard Aaron Banks has missed two games due to injury. With the backups struggling (Donovan Jennings and Jager Burton) and right guard Jacob Monk also underperforming, the Packers are attempting to shore up the OL with veteran fill-ins with significant experience. Laken Tomlinson and Mekhi Becton were recently added to the 53-man roster and practice squads, respectively, to upgrade the middle of the offensive line. Most importantly, the veteran additions should help the running game get going despite the lack of blue-chip talent in the backfield. The absence of Josh Jacobs, in particular, has robbed the Packers of a workhorse runner with home run potential. Without the three-time Pro Bowler, the Packers have relied on a trio of young players (MarShawn Lloyd, Kaleb Johnson, and Chris Brooks) who haven’t done the job. The Packers are averaging just 48.7 rushing yards per game and have produced the fewest rushing yards (146) in the NFL through three games since 2019. With defenses completely disrespecting the running game, Love has struggled as a passer. The sixth-year pro is completing just 52.3% of his passes, the lowest percentage in the NFL among quarterbacks with 100-plus pass attempts since Sam Bradford in 2011, per ESPN. Love also ranks 23rd with an 83.5 passer rating, highlighting the Packers’ passing inefficiency. While Packers fans want LaFleur to rearrange the Xs and Os to help the offense break out of its slump, the unit’s “Jimmys” and “Joes” must play better for the results to change on the scoreboard and in the win column. From sustaining and finishing their blocks better to the running backs running through holes with more aggression to the receivers creating more separation at the catch point, the Packers’ protectors and playmakers must raise their respective games for the team to turn things around and reemerge as a contender. If LaFleur remains consistent with his instruction, schematics and messaging, the Packers can bounce back and play to their potential as a high-powered offense. How they fare against the battered Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4 will be telling. It is rare for an MVP runner-up quarterback to look like a QB2 less than a year after earning rave reviews for his performance, but Drake Maye looks nothing like the playmaking gunslinger who carved up the league in 2025. The third-year pro is off to a horrendous start with a 58.6 passer rating and seven turnovers in three games. He has tossed just one touchdown pass in 80 attempts after totaling 31 touchdowns a season ago. The massive drop-off in performance and production has coaches, scouts and executives wondering how long it will take for the 24-year-old Pro Bowler to regain his mojo. After digging into the All-22 coaches’ tape, Maye has completely lost his confidence as a playmaker. Despite the occasional splash plays that show off his exceptional talent, he is hesitant and uncertain in the pocket. While some of his jitters may stem from the Patriots’ leaky offensive line, he isn’t playing with the poise and composure that helped him carve up opponents with surgical precision a season ago. After leading the NFL with a 113.5 passer rating thanks to efficient play from the pocket, Maye is bailing out early on his progressions and playing “hero ball” on the run. Although his athleticism and mobility are a huge asset, he is making poor decisions on the move, leading to momentum-swinging turnovers. From his game-ending interception against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1 to his costly pick to Travis Hunter against the Jacksonville Jaguars this past Sunday, the 6-foot-4, 225-pound Maye has repeatedly made egregious errors while throwing on the run during the Pats’ 1-2 start. Given those issues, Maye needs to prioritize ball security instead of explosive plays when things break down. Whether he tucks it and runs when the pocket collapses or throws it away, he must ensure his team retains possession at the end of each play. Granted, it is easier to prioritize ball security when he can play on schedule with a WR1 on the perimeter; A.J. Brown’s Week 1 injury has made the Patriots’ passing game easier to defend without a pass-catcher who can dominate one-on-one matchups. The three-time Pro Bowler is a natural “X” with the size, strength and playmaking ability to win against any defensive tactic. Even if teams roll coverage his way, the 6-foot-1, 225-pound Brown will bully smaller defenders and snatch 50-50 balls on the boundary. With a proven “go-to guy” on the outside to target, Maye could slowly build confidence by repeatedly throwing the ball to a ball winner. While Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels must scale back the playbook to let Maye play faster and with less clutter, the team must increasingly rely on the running game to ease some of the pressure to carry the offense. If the offensive line can get back on track with Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson playing better behind them, the “less is more” approach could help the Patriots’ young franchise quarterback temporarily settle into a managerial role until he rediscovers his magical playmaking skills. When the Rams added Myles Garrett to a super squad that would eventually lure Aaron Donald out of retirement, Hollywood’s favorite football team was expected to make a Super Bowl run behind a disruptive defense that perfectly complemented the high-powered offense led by Matthew Stafford. While the reigning MVP hasn’t always been sharp leading a Puka Nacua-less offense, it’s the Rams’ defense that has disappointed most through three games. While Garrett’s injury has naturally hurt the unit’s performance, the defensive line’s overall lack of pressure and sack production is alarming for a frontline with the individual and collective talent to destroy opponents with simple schemes. The 35-year-old Donald, who’s still knocking off the rust from his two-year hiatus, hasn’t provided the inside rush presence that commands double-team attention that would afford Kobie Turner and Byron Young more playmaking opportunities. Additionally, the lack of high-end depth on the defensive front has enabled opposing quarterbacks to comfortably target their preferred receivers at short and intermediate range behind overmatched linebackers unable to jump into the passing lanes. Although a pair of top-notch cover corners with superb man-to-man skills were acquired to reduce the friendly skies behind the Rams’ vaunted D-line, defensive coordinator Chris Shula’s preference for zone-based concepts has robbed the duo of its superpowers. Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson were expected to throttle receivers on the perimeter with their nose-to-nose playing style and aggressive downfield tactics. After just three weeks, and with a Week 4 showdown against the Eagles looming, it’s time for Shula to go back to the drawing board. With their restrictive bump-and-run style eliminating “free access” routes, the Rams’ cornerback tandem will snuff out elite receivers and force playcallers to go to the back pages of their play sheets. By taking away layups and deep perimeter shots, the Rams can force opponents to drive the length of the field and rely on turnovers or faulty execution to end drives before points hit the scoreboard. If McDuffie and Watson can get more comfortable within a scheme that needs some tweaking to showcase their talents, the Rams’ pass rush will also improve as stickier coverage would create more time to harass the passer. Should Garrett return by midseason to a defensive scheme modified to help the stars and role players shine, the Rams should have no trouble overcoming this rocky start and reemerging as the title contenders everyone feared heading into the season. It is no surprise that the return of an All-Pro pass-catcher ignited an offense in desperate need of a No. 1 threat. But tight end Brock Bowers’ stellar 2026 debut in Week 3 reminded everyone of his impact as a perimeter playmaker. The 6-foot-4, 235-pounder caught 10 of 13 targets for 116 yards and a touchdown versus the New Orleans Saints. Most impressively, the third-year pro is doing so as a quasi-receiver, aligning anywhere from the slot to out wide to create and exploit mismatches in space. The Raiders moved Bowers around the formation in their “11” (RB, TE and 3 WR), “12” (RB, 2 TE and 2  WR), “13” (RB, 3 TEs and 1 WR) and “22” (2 RB, 2 TE and 1 WR) packages to take advantage of his dynamic route-running skills and pass-catching ability against overmatched linebackers and defensive backs. New head coach Klint Kubiak’s creative deployment of his star tight end continues a trend that has helped Bowers dominate the league since he entered the league as the No. 13 overall pick in the 2024 draft. During his first two seasons with the Raiders, Bowers aligned detached from the formation on 55.8% of his snaps, as he aligned in the slot (38.1%) and out wide (17.7%) per Next Gen Stats. He amassed 1,284 of his 1,874 receiving yards from detached formations, which was the second-most during that span among tight ends from those alignments. With Kubiak featuring Bowers like a WR1 because of his versatility, the Raiders have found a way to create more problems for defensive coordinators already struggling to neutralize their All-Pro tight end. The schedule is about to get markedly tougher for the 3-0 Raiders in the coming weeks, beginning with this weekend’s tilt against the Kansas City Chiefs. But the return of Bowers gives their offense room to grow as well.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

The format of the wild-card series means that after one game, you are already on the brink of elimination. Thanks to stellar pitching and some big bats, the Yankees and Padres took care of business to leave the Red Sox and Cubs, respectively, on the verge of an early exit. Meanwhile, the Braves rallied past the Phillies with some late-inning theatrics, while the White Sox cruised past the Astros. Here are our takeaways: Rowan Kavner: Braves infielder Austin Riley grinded through the worst offensive season of his eight-year career. Jhoan Duran was the one reliable piece in the Phillies’ shaky bullpen. This is why October is so unpredictable, so entertaining, so stupefying. Riley, the ninth-worst qualified hitter in baseball by wRC+ this season, hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning off Duran, an All-Star closer who converted 33 of his 35 saves during the regular season, to put the Braves ahead for good in a 5-3 Game 1 win. “Everybody knows kind of how my season went, not the way I wanted it to,” Riley said. “But that’s the beauty of the postseason. You kind of get a clean slate.” It was just the third home run that Duran has surrendered all year, and it erased the impressive work of starter Jesús Luzardo, who gave the Phillies far more than anyone could have reasonably expected. Luzardo hadn’t started a game since the last time he faced the Braves 22 days ago, yet he managed to throw five innings of one-run ball. Atlanta took the lead soon after his departure, but Philadelphia answered right back on a go-ahead, two-run triple by catcher J.T. Realmuto in the seventh inning right after Atlanta ace Chris Sale left the game. Phillies manager Don Mattingly didn’t want to mess around with a bullpen that produced the worst ERA in the sport in September, so he turned immediately to the guy he trusted most. Duran produced a scoreless seventh on 12 pitches. Mattingly sent him back out for the eighth. After two quick outs, the second inning of work spiraled on the closer. Outfielder Michael Harris II singled, second baseman Ozzie Albies got hit by a pitch, and Riley delivered the deciding blow. “In our minds, we had our best guy out there,” Mattingly said. “You live with this one.” Considering the lack of depth in Atlanta’s rotation, and that the Phillies have lefty Cristopher Sánchez ready to go for Game 2, this Sale start felt like a game the Braves had to have. Deesha Thosar: Two years ago, this would have seemed absurd. Somehow, the White Sox outplayed the Houston Astros and took Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series with a 6-3 win on Tuesday at Daikin Park. It was their first postseason win since beating the Astros in Game 3 of the 2021 American League Division Series. Maybe it was Pope Leo XIV’s letter to the White Sox organization, in which he “willingly invoked the Almighty’s abundant blessings” upon Jerry Reinsdorf, the team’s owner. Maybe it was the continuation of what has been an unexpected magical year for the South Siders. Whether it was divine intervention or underappreciated talent from a team with so much to prove, the White Sox are one of the best stories in baseball. Through the first five innings of Game 1’s bullpen game, Chicago had eight hits, five of which came off the bats of the players they acquired in the trade that sent lefty ace Garret Crochet to Boston two years ago. The White Sox’ first run of the game was a first-inning sacrifice fly from Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami, their biggest acquisition of the offseason. From there, Chicago kept pouring it on Houston. Left fielder Sam Antonacci’s two-run single, right fielder Colson Montgomery’s solo home run and second baseman Chase Meidroth’s RBI single gave the White Sox a statement-making 5-0 lead by the top of the fifth inning. “I love playing baseball when it’s just like every pitch matters, and that’s kind of what I felt today,” Montgomery said. “It was really fun playing out there and especially with everyone on our team. We were all so locked in at the plate. We were sticking to our plan and our approaches, our game planning and stuff, really well. I think that’s what showed for us today. Looking to continue that tomorrow.” The 84-win White Sox finished with the fifth-best wRC+ (104) in the majors this season, slightly worse than the Astros (105). But no one would believe that stat going by the series opener. Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez, the presumptive AL MVP award winner, went 1-for-4 at the plate, with his only hit of the night coming in the eighth inning on a single to right field. Veteran second baseman Jose Altuve, playing in his 106th career playoff game, hustled on a groundball to third to cut Houston’s deficit to 6-3 in the eighth, but that was all the Astros could muster. Now they face elimination in Wednesday’s Game 2 after what has been an extremely disappointing year for the two-time World Series champions. “Oh, the message is clear: We got to win tomorrow,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “I don’t need to tell ’em that, they know. Our backs have been against the corner before, and I think that’s when we are our best, when we fight back. We know it’s a do-or-die and we’ve been here before, so I really admire how they bounce back and they react to challenges. I expect them to go out there and bounce back and get our offense going.” Deesha Thosar: The “M-V-P!” chants rained down on Cam Schlittler all night. When Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake – not manager Aaron Boone — walked out for a mound visit in the sixth inning, the crowd booed. The Bronx faithful knew the end was near for their ace, but they so badly did not want him to leave his impeccable start. When Schlittler is dominating the Red Sox like he was in front of Tuesday night’s raucous sold-out crowd in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card series, there is nothing else like it. Nearly 48,500 fans were living and dying on every pitch in the Yankees’ 9-0 win. Ever since he stifled Boston in last year’s wild-card series-clinching Game 3, the main character in the latest rendition of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry has been Schlittler — the imposing 6-foot-7 right-hander with a perpetual chip on his shoulder. So you can imagine the roar he received when he came back out for the seventh inning on 107 pitches. “There’s a natural adrenaline you can take onto the mound with them treating every at-bat like it’s two outs, two strikes in the ninth inning,” Schlittler said of the rowdy home crowd. Schlittler finally ended his night on a career-high 117 pitches, the most pitches thrown by a Yankee in a postseason game since CC Sabathia threw 121 against the Orioles in the 2012 ALDS. Schlittler struck out 10, allowed one walk and just two hits over 6 ⅓ scoreless innings against the Red Sox, his favorite childhood team after growing up in New England. “It’s very well known that if you want to be a legend,” Schlittler said, “You gotta do it in the postseason.” In six career starts against Boston, including the postseason, Schlittler has a 0.47 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 38 ⅔ innings. In the first inning on Tuesday, he threw a 101 mph four-seamer, the fastest pitch of his career. The Red Sox, who had one of the worst offenses in baseball in September, never stood a chance. All Schlittler needed was some run support, and his teammate and fellow Massachusetts native was happy to oblige. Designated hitter Ben Rice homered twice in the series opener, none louder than his eighth-inning grand slam that increased the Yankees lead to 9-0. Rice, who crushed 41 home runs in the regular season, became the first Yankee to record six RBI and collect four hits in a postseason game, which is astounding given the club’s rich playoff history. “I’ll remember getting a W versus the Red Sox, there’s nothing better than that,” Rice said. “I’ll remember Cam going out there, just being lights out like he always is. I’ll remember the atmosphere. Just an awesome night. Great way to kick off the series.” Rowan Kavner: If the Cubs were hoping to take away one of the sport’s most electric home-field advantages, Matthew Boyd might want his first pitch back. The party at Petco Park began immediately Tuesday night when Padres starter Michael King struck out National League MVP favorite Pete Crow-Armstrong on three pitches to start a perfect top of the first before Fernando Tatis Jr. sent the Cubs’ first pitch of the night 405 feet out to center for the first leadoff home run in Padres postseason history. Tatis admired the blast for a moment, then took off for first as the best center fielder in baseball went barreling toward the wall attempting to track it down. When the ball sailed over Crow-Armstrong’s outstretched arm and a sea of yellow rally towels started twirling, Tatis pounded his chest rounding the bases. All night, those towels kept whirling in an 8-0 San Diego win that was over from the start. Clearly, these aren’t last year’s Padres. Not after they rebounded from a 50-53 start to the year to post MLB’s best record from late July through regular season’s end. Not after they went 18-6 in September. Not after the second-half resurgence from Tatís and the San Diego offense continued into the start of the playoffs. Last postseason, Tatis and Manny Machado combined to go 2-for-22 in their wild-card series loss to the Cubs. On Tuesday, Tatis and Machado were 2-for-2 with two homers in the first inning alone. Padres stars Tatis, Machado and Jackson Merrill combined for six hits, two homers, a double, five runs and five RBI. Meanwhile, Cubs sluggers Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman combined to go 0-for-8 with six strikeouts. The only hit that King and the Padres allowed came on an infield single by Nico Hoerner with one out in the seventh, as King overwhelmed MLB’s highest-scoring offense with eight strikeouts over seven shutout innings. It was a complete beatdown from start to finish. Tatis, who became the first player ever to hit 25 homers in a season after going homerless through his first 50 games, kept the crowd going throughout, capping off his electrifying evening by stealing second base, advancing to third when the ball trickled into shallow left field and continuing on home to score the Padres’ eighth and final run in the seventh. The game, of course, was long decided by then. The Padres scored more runs through their first five innings Tuesday than they did in three games against the Cubs last postseason. Good luck stopping this San Diego freight train.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

The first day of the 2026 MLB playoffs opened with a late Braves rally and a White Sox win, followed by a lightning-fast start in San Diego and a Cy Young favorite doing Cam Schlittler things in the Bronx. Four Wild Card Series openers, four Game 1 winners. Austin Riley hit the postseason’s first home run, a go-ahead three-run shot in the eighth inning that lifted the Braves past the Phillies 5-3. The White Sox, who followed consecutive 100-loss seasons with a playoff berth, beat the Astros 6-3 for their first postseason win since 2021. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado homered in the first inning as the Padres beat the Cubs 8-0. And Ben Rice hit a grand slam and drove in six runs while Schlittler struck out 10 in a 9-0 Yankees rout of the Red Sox. Here is everything you might have missed on Day 1 of the MLB Playoffs: Biggest Moments The first home run of the 2026 postseason was a big one. Austin Riley launched a two-out, three-run shot over the wall in right-center field for a three-run shot off Phillies closer Jhoan Duran in the eighth inning, turning a 3-2 deficit into a 5-3 Atlanta lead and, ultimately, the win in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series. The homer also answered a Philadelphia rally in the seventh, when J.T. Realmuto’s two-run triple erased a 2-1 Braves lead after Chris Sale, who struck out nine, left the game. It gave the Atlanta Braves a 5-3 victory in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series. The ball left the bat at 104.6 mph and traveled a projected 385 feet. It was an especially sweet swing for Riley, who hit only .219 with 19 homers during the regular season. Fernando Tatis Jr. jumped on the very first pitch from Cubs starter Matthew Boyd and sent it 405 feet to center field, the first leadoff homer in Padres postseason history. Two batters later, Manny Machado pulled a Boyd changeup 391 feet to left for a 2-0 lead. It was the first time San Diego hit two homers in the first inning of a postseason game. Tatis walked in the fourth and Machado drove him in with a double off the center-field wall, and Xander Bogaerts followed with a homer into the second deck in the fourth. Best Hitter Ben Rice tormented the Red Sox from start to finish. He went 4-for-5 with two home runs, a double and six RBIs in a 9-0 Yankees win. He doubled in the first inning, then crushed a solo homer off Erik Miller in the fifth for a 2-0 lead. He singled in a run in the seventh, when the Yankees broke the game open, and then put it away with a grand slam in the eighth. Rice hit 41 homers in the regular season. With Aaron Judge out with a calf injury and off the Wild Card roster, the Yankees needed him to carry the offense, and he did. Rice grew up in Massachusetts and went to college at Dartmouth in Hanover, New Hampshire, before the Yankees drafted him. Best Pitcher Michael King carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning against MLB’s highest-scoring offense. The Padres right-hander was hitless through six innings and 83 pitches. Chicago finally got its first hit in the seventh, when Nico Hoerner’s hard grounder down the third-base line got past Manny Machado. King finished the inning with a line of seven innings, one hit, no earned runs, three walks and eight strikeouts. He had not gone more than seven innings all season, so a complete-game no-hitter was always a long shot. It was still a statement against a Cubs team that went 5-1 against San Diego in the regular season. The Padres’ offense gave him plenty of room, building a 7-0 lead by the fifth inning. What’s Next For the Phillies, Astros, Red Sox and Cubs, their season is on the brink, as one more loss on Wednesday means they are out. For the Braves, White Sox, Yankees and Padres, another victory clinches a spot in the division series, with those matchups beginning on Saturday. A win by any of the trailing teams would force a decisive Game 3 on Thursday. Here’s how it could shake out on Wednesday:​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Welcome to the Quarterback Notebook, where I’ll cover the past week in NFL quarterbacking — from the most interesting passers, plays and storylines to some other stuff that caught my eye while watching film this week. This week, we’ll look at the driving factor in Brock Purdy’s hot streak, officially give up on Cam Ward and pedal some Kyler Murray optimism. Let’s talk quarterbacks. It feels like 2023 again. The 49ers are tearing through NFL defenses with no signs of slowing down, and Brock Purdy is lapping the field in passing efficiency metrics. After filleting the Cardinals defense in a 36-30 win this past weekend, he’s back in the MVP conversation thanks to stats like this. All of Purdy’s numbers are outstanding, but this one might be the most impressive: We’re nearly a month into the season, and Purdy hasn’t been sacked. He’s the only starting quarterback who can make that claim. And as the analytics nerds will tell you, sacks are a quarterback stat, so Purdy deserves a lot of the credit for keeping himself clean … just not all of it. Purdy’s offensive line deserves some credit. He’s been pressured on a league-low 22% of his dropbacks, per Next Gen Stats. He’s faced only nine quick pressures, tying Kirk Cousins for the fewest in the NFL. For context, Jordan Love faced nine against Atlanta in the second half alone. Purdy is known for getting the ball out quickly, but his average time-to-throw is 2.91 seconds, a top-five figure. His hurry probability chart shows how staggering Purdy’s pass protection has been the last two weeks. The red line represents Purdy’s pressure rate the deeper he gets into a dropback; the grey line is the league average. Over the last two weeks, Purdy’s hurry probability three seconds into a dropback is just 15.8%. The league average is 33.2%, which means other quarterbacks are twice as likely to be pressured three seconds into a dropback. Purdy is essentially playing 7-on-7 out there. He’s playing in an environment that quarterbacks rarely get to enjoy. He’s still playing well, but that’s important context for his unreal statistical production. While the pass protection has been nothing short of amazing, Purdy has done his part to mitigate pressure. He’s handled the few quick pressures he’s faced with aplomb. If you take out the two screen passes, Purdy has completed four passes when facing quick pressure, and the plays are genuinely impressive. He made a jump throw from a fully collapsed pocket against the Rams. Against the Dolphins, he spun out of an unblocked pressure, flipped his hips, and found Mike Evans along the sideline for another completion. On this one, he steps up into space and hits DeMarcus Robinson on a crosser. The fourth completion was a bit lucky – Purdy overthrows the intended target, but Evans saves the day – but he did well to avoid a sack. The “zero sack” stat is the result of a perfect football storm. You have an offensive line playing at a high level, a play-caller who can de-fang a pass rush with pre-snap motion and play-action fakes, and a slippery quarterback with a knack for getting off a pass right before the pressure gets home. This offense hasn’t been tested by a top pass rush yet. The Rams were playing a hobbled Myles Garrett, the Dolphins defense is a zombie unit, and the Cardinals just aren’t very good. But with the Broncos coming up on Sunday, it’s a good bet that Purdy and the offensive line will be under fire this weekend. How will they handle it? The answer could set Purdy up for a legitimate MVP campaign – or it could derail his campaign before it really gets off the ground. I tried to hold out as long as possible, but Cam Ward’s stinker in a 12-7 loss to the Giants showed me enough. As much as I admire Ward’s ambitious approach to the position, the evidence that he’s a bad quarterback is too overwhelming. I’m even willing to look past the ugly numbers, like his 3-17 record after 20 games. Tennessee hasn’t put him in a position to succeed, and I don’t believe the Robert Saleh/Brian Daboll brain trust has done much to change that. But quarterback evaluation is mostly pattern recognition, and the patterns are easy to read with Ward: he does a lot of things we see bad quarterbacks do – throwing inaccurately, running into sacks, turning the ball over, etc. – and very few of the things we often see good quarterbacks do. Here’s the play against the Giants that finally forced me to throw in the towel. And it’s not the one you’re thinking. Sure, the game-ending interception was atrocious, but it wasn’t a bad decision. Just a bad throw. On this play, he makes two terrible decisions and follows them up with an exceptionally bad throw. The Titans are running an RPO. With two cornerbacks in tight man-to-man coverage and a safety creeping over the top, this should be a handoff, as there is no numbers advantage outside. Ward takes the pass option, and here’s what he sees out on the perimeter. The Titans are trying to pick the slot corner to free up Wendale Robinson, but the defender navigates the traffic while sticking tight to the receiver. Any discerning quarterback would throw the ball into the dirt or toss it into the stands. Ward throws it up field and directly into the hands of the defensive back. We often hear about quarterbacks throwing their receiver open. Ward throws the defender open here. From the pre-snap decision, to the post-snap decision, to the throw itself, everything is bad here. And while it would be unfair to hold one play against a quarterback, this reflects a much larger sample of bad process. At this point, the sample is too big to overlook. Kyler Murray’s first full game as the Vikings quarterback was a bit of a dud. He completed 15 of his 29 attempts for 168 yards and was sacked three times. That added up to a QBR of just 25.4, and Pro Football Focus graded him as the 18th-best quarterback of the week, so the more advanced metrics didn’t rate his performance highly, either. Those numbers lack some key context, though. It was Murray’s first full game in nearly a year, and he’s attempted just eight passes in a live game over that span, including preseason games. Murray struggled in all the ways you’d expect a quarterback needing to knock off some rust would struggle. He hesitated to make quick throws underneath, had some miscommunications with receivers, and holstered some deep throws we’ve seen him make throughout his career. Murray’s stat line wasn’t pretty but it wasn’t marred by ugly decisions. His lone interception came off a pass that was tipped and ricocheted off another player. PFF didn’t charge him with a single “turnover-worthy play.” The bright spots aren’t limited to bad play avoidance. Murray put a couple of throws on tape that will remind you he was once a first-overall pick. He connected with Jordan Addison on a big corner route after a play-action fake from under center. Before Justin Jefferson left the game early in the third quarter, Murray found him on a deep in-breaker off play-action. Murray linked up with Addison again on his lone touchdown pass, after changing the play at the line of scrimmage and manipulating the safety who could have helped out on the deep throw. Those two plays have to make Kevin O’Connell excited about what this passing game could evolve into as Murray continues to knock of the rust and acclimate himself to the Vikings offense. Murray doesn’t throw to the middle of the field with the confidence and ability Sam Darnold did in this offense two years ago, but he can match Darnold throw-for-throw outside the numbers and is a more efficient processor when running quick-game concepts. The 2024 Darnold-led unit finished just outside the top-10 in efficiency. With Murray in the lineup, this year’s offense has a similar ceiling. A quick aside before we move on: O’Connell couldn’t have foreseen Murray suffering a concussion in the first half of the opener, but it’s partly his fault his quarterback is so behind schedule. From putting on the shambolic camp competition with J.J. McCarthy to the lack of preseason reps for Murray, the Vikings coach could have done a lot more to get his quarterback ready for the season. Jalen Hurts could have played Monday night’s game with his left eye closed, and not much would have changed. But I’m less concerned with the lack of targets to the left side of the field and more worried about the complete dearth of targets to the middle of the field. That’s been the knock on Hurts throughout his career. He rarely throws to the middle of the field. The new offense was supposed to change that, but Hurts ranks near the bottom of the league in middle-of-the-field target rate. The Eagles aren’t calling play-action from under center, either. This Philadelphia passing game is starting to resemble the ones we’ve seen in past years. Here’s a sentence I didn’t think I’d be writing this season: Geno Smith is playing like a top-10 quarterback. That has little to do with Smith, himself. He’s a talented thrower with good pocket movement. I just didn’t believe the Jets could provide an offensive environment that would bring the best out of him. Through three weeks, they have and Smith is playing his best ball since the Seattle days. Since I did some light hating on Purdy, it’s only right that I credit him for this ridiculous effort that should have earned a completion. I blame Shanahan, who should have challenged the play on principle alone. This honor really belongs to Cam Ward and the throw I broke down above. But Andy Dalton gets an honorable mention for getting picked off on his only attempt of the night in Philadelphia’s loss to Chicago. How does a 38-year-old veteran get fooled by a rookie safety? Dillon Thieneman didn’t have to do too much on the play. He just slowly shuffled over in front of the receiver, and Dalton tossed him a freebie.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports