The Sportsletter - House Call 📞

BY JEFF YODER & MATTHEW CAHILL

SEP. 16, 2022  |  SUBSCRIBE  |  REFER  |  WEB VIEW

Happy Friday 👋

If you blinked last night, you missed something big. We've got house calls in the AFC West, another retirement from a tennis legend, MLB playoff races and WNBA Finals history. The weekend is upon us and there's another NFL Pick 'Em contest with your name on it.

Letter Rip!

NFL PICK 'EM

Make Week 2 Picks

Week 1 of the NFL season is in the rearview mirror, but the fun and games don’t stop. We’re resetting the points on our weekly NFL Pick 'Em contest with RunYourPool. If you missed Week 1, you’re still eligible for the Week 2 prize.

Thursday Night Football Games Not Included to Allow Players to Make Picks Until Sunday Morning

NFL

House Call in Kansas City

Photo: Cooper Neill / Getty Images

99-Yard Pick-Six by Jaylen Watson Swings AFC West Showdown as Chiefs Beat Chargers (27-24)

Thursday Night Football pitted two of the league’s best young quarterbacks against each other, but it was a seventh-round pick who swiped the game ball, literally. A few years ago, Chiefs DB Jaylen Watson was working at a Wendy’s. Last night, he cooked up a 99-yard pick-six that swung an early-season AFC West battle. Justin Herbert and the Chargers held a 17-7 lead before Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs scored ten unanswered to tie the game heading into the fourth. Herbert had the Bolts knocking on the door at the 1-yard line when Watson snatched the ball and went the length of the field. Arrowhead erupted. And the former seventh-round pick had his first career house call. The Chiefs held on to win, 27-24.

AFC West Early Takeaways

The Chiefs (2-0) are the early frontrunners out west, but there’s little doubt the toughest division in football will have something to say. The Chargers (1-1) were one mistake away from a road win, but they’ll now await news of Herbert’s injury status. The Raiders (0-1) lost to L.A. by one score in Week 1, and the Broncos (0-1) were 1-point losers to the Seahawks. It’s KC out early, but the AFC West will surely be a dogfight.

QB Comparison

J. Herbert (LAC): 33/48, 334 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT

P. Mahomes (KC): 24/35 235 yards, 2 TDs

Other Stats

WR M. Williams (LAC): 8 receptions, 113 yards, 1 TD

RB C. Edwards-Helaire (KC): 12 touches, 118 yards

Watch: Chiefs Rally to Beat Chargers With 99-Yard Pick-Six (27-24)

Additional Storylines

Yahoo! Sports: Rookie Jaylen Watson Stars as Chiefs Hold Off Chargers

NBC Sports: Justin Herbert is “OK” After Abdominal Injury in 4th Quarter

TENNIS

Goodbye Roger 👋

Photo: Mohammad Farag / Getty Images

Roger Federer Announces Retirement from Competitive Tennis, Follows in Serena Williams' Footsteps

Not even two weeks after Serena Williams retired following her third-round defeat at the US Open, another tennis icon is calling it quits. Roger Federer announced on Thursday that he will officially retire after the Laver Cup next weekend. Given his age (41) and the amount of knee injuries he’s been dealing with throughout the back-half of his career, it was only a matter of time before this announcement came. 

An Endless Amount of Accomplishments

Federer’s announcement caps off one of the greatest tennis careers of all time. In his 24 years as a professional, he’s won 20 Grand Slam championships, which is the third most in men’s tennis history. His 1,251 victories in singles matches is good for the second most in the Open era. Finally, his streak of 237 consecutive weeks (over four years) as the top-ranked player in the world is the longest of all time. What’s even more impressive is that he accomplished most of this while competing against Novak Djokovoic and Rafael Nadal, creating the most competitive era of men’s tennis history. With the first of the ‘Big Three’ hanging it up, it will be extremely bittersweet watching one of the greatest to ever play the sport compete for the last time. 

Watch: Roger Federer Career Highlights

Additional Storylines

SI: Roger Federer Leaves Behind Distinct, Beautiful Mark on Tennis

Guardian: ‘A Champion’s Champion’: Nadal and Other Tennis Stars React to Roger Federer Retirement

MLB

The Playoff Picture

Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty Images

A Look at the MLB Playoff Bracket if the Season Ended Today

The MLB regular season ends in less than three weeks. There is plenty of baseball still to be played, here is what the current playoff picture looks like if the season ended today. With the new format this year, there are now six teams total as a third Wild Card team now makes the playoffs. While the three Wild Cards in the American League are in a tight race to figure out where they’ll be playing, this new format is going to end up putting a major handicap on one of the top teams in the National League as well. 

American League

AL West: Houston Astros (94-50)

AL East: New York Yankees (87-56)

AL Central: Cleveland Guardians (76-66)

Wild Card: Seattle Mariners (80-62)

Wild Card: Toronto Blue Jays (81-63)

Wild Card: Tampa Bay Rays (80-63)

In the Hunt: Baltimore Orioles (75-67) 4.5 GB

National League

NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers (98-44)

NL East: New York Mets (90-55)

NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals (84-60)

Wild Card: Atlanta Braves (88-55)

Wild Card: Philadelphia Phillies (80-63)

Wild Card: San Diego Padres (78-66)

In the Hunt: Milwaukee Brewers (76-67) 1,5 GB

What to Keep an Eye On: The NL East Race 

The most intriguing storyline down the stretch of this season is the race for the NL East title. Even though the Braves and Mets comfortably have the second and third best record in the National League, one of them is going to get the short end of the stick and end up the fourth seed. Since the division winners automatically get the top three seeds, that means whoever loses out on the NL East title isn’t just going to have to play in the best-of-three Wild Card series, but they’ll be on the Dodgers side of the bracket, which is far from ideal. They’ve been two of the best teams in the league this season, but one of them is going to have to go through the gauntlet if they want to make a trip to the World Series. 

Additional Storylines

ESPN: 2022 MLB Playoffs: Clinching Scenarios, Bracket and Schedule

CBS: MLB Playoff Picture: Standings, Bracket, Matchups, Projections, New Baseball Postseason Format Explained

WNBA FINALS 🏆

Sun Erupt in Game 3

Photo: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images

Sun Shoot Lights Out to Win Game 3 (105-76) Behind Alyssa Thomas’ Historic Triple-Double

Game 3 of the WNBA Finals looked nothing like Games 1 and 2. After the Aces took a 2-0 lead and pushed the Sun to the brink, Connecticut fired back on Thursday. The Sun bookended Game 3 with massive 1st and 4th quarters, outscoring the Aces by 15 (1st) and 21 (4th) while shooting above 50 percent from the field (55.8%) and 3-point range (53.3%). All five Sun starters scored in double figures, including a historic triple-double from Alyssa Thomas (16-15-11). It was the first triple-double in WNBA Finals history. Game 3 was never in doubt.

Game 3 By The Numbers

Connecticut completely flipped the script in Game 3. They out-rebounded the Aces by a landslide (38-24) and racked up 10 steals to earn an advantage in possessions. They got up 17 more shots due to the defensive effort. They made it a focal point to keep A'ja Wilson off the boards, holding her to a season-low four rebounds.

Watch: Sun Dominate Game 3 (105-76)

Additional Storylines

SI: Alyssa Thomas Revives Sun in Must-Win Game 3

NBC Sports: Sun Stay Alive With Resounding Game 3 Win Over Aces

THE STORYLINES

⚾️ Pro Sports’ Longest Drought is Ending

The Seattle Mariners have come far in 2022, putting together a 79-61 record that has them within reach of their first postseason since 2001. The longest playoff drought in all four of the major North American men's professional sports leagues would finally be over. (Bleacher Report)

🏈 Week 2 Preview & Analysis

We saw big upsets, significant injuries and breakout performances aplenty. Good news: We're just getting started. We’ve assembled a guide to every game that will be played in Week 2, including schedules, matchups and analysis. (FOX Sports)

⚽️ Ranking Nike’s World Cup Kits

With the opening game of the 2022 FIFA World Cup at the Al-Bayt Stadium in Qatar on Nov. 20 getting ever closer, the 32 teams are finalizing the kits they will be wearing on the pitch. We run through the plethora of new kits released this week with a no-nonsense "hit" or "miss" rating. (ESPN)

📰 THE HEADLINES

• Nike Reveals USMNT’s 2022 World Cup Kits (SI)
• Simona Halep Won’t Play Again in 2022 After Nose Surgery (USA Today)
• Commanders RB Brian Robinson Jr. Back at Practice 2 Weeks After Shooting (Yahoo! Sports)

• Rays Make History With MLB’s First All-Latino Lineup on Roberto Clemente Day (CBS Sports)

• Suns Governor Calls for Robert Sarver to Resign After NBA Suspension (B/R)

• NHL Considering World Cup Play-In for 2024 (ESPN)

🗓️ WEEKEND SCHEDULE

The Must-Watch List

College Football (Saturday)

#1 Georgia at South Carolina (Noon)

#6 Oklahoma at Nebraska (Noon)

#12 BYU at #25 Oregon (3:30 pm)

#22 Penn State at Auburn (3:30 pm)

#11 Michigan State at Washington (7:30 pm)

#13 Miami at #24 Texas A&M (9:00 pm)

Full CFB Schedule

NFL Week 2 (Sunday)

Dolphins at Ravens (1:00 pm)

Bucs at Saints (1:00 pm)

Patriots at Steelers (1:00 pm)

Cardinals at Raiders (4:25 pm)

Bears at Packers (8:20 pm)

Full NFL Schedule

MLB

Twins-Guardians Series

Orioles-Blue Jays Series

Yankees-Brewers Series

Phillies-Braves Series

Full MLB Schedule

WNBA Finals

Gm 4: Aces at Sun (Sun. 4:00 pm)

Soccer

EPL: Tottenham vs. Leicester City (Sat. 12:30 pm)

SPA: Atletico Madrid vs. Real Madrid (Sun. 3:00 pm)

FRA: Lyon vs. PSG (Sun. 2:45 pm)

*All Times ET

Support The Sportsletter Team

Writer & Editor: Jeff Yoder

Product Manager: Matthew Cahill

Lead Designer: Joe Stella

Technical Lead: Kevin Lonergan

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