The Sportsletter - Beasts Out East 🏈

BY JEFF YODER

SEP. 26, 2022  |  SUBSCRIBE  |  REFER  |  WEB VIEW

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Only two teams are 3-0 after Week 3 in the NFL, and they reside in the NFC and AFC East. If your team is one of them, history says there's a 75% chance they make the playoffs. Meanwhile, the U.S. dominated the Presidents Cup and Albert Pujols is officially a member of the 700-HR club. Let's unpack the weekend that was...

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NFL

Week 3: Beasts Out East

Photo: Megan Briggs / Getty Images

Dolphins & Eagles Stay Undefeated, Upset Specials & More From Week 3 Sunday in the NFL

It’s still September, but the NFL hierarchy is beginning to take shape. Sunday on the gridiron saw two teams stay unbeaten, two legendary quarterbacks go head-to-head and a pair of upsets you definitely didn’t pick in our weekly NFL Pick ‘Em contest. Colts over the Chiefs? Don’t lie. You didn’t. That being said, the 2022 NFL season is already full of surprises. Here are the Week 3 storylines and highlights in 60 seconds…

Week 3 Playbook

Staying Perfect: Eagles & Dolphins

Two teams reached the 3-0 mark on Sunday with the Giants (2-0) hoping to join them tonight. In the NFC East, the Eagles belittled the Commanders (24-8) with another offensive outburst via early MVP candidate Jalen Hurts (340 yards, 3 TDs). The Dolphins proved their power in an AFC East showdown with the Bills (21-19) despite 400 yards passing from Buffalo QB Josh Allen. We’re just three weeks in and only three teams are still perfect.

Upset Specials: Colts & Jaguars

Just when we thought the AFC South was a dumpster fire, three teams won on Sunday. The Titans got their first win over the Raiders (24-22), but it was the Colts and Jaguars who fixed their early season woes. Indy shocked the Chiefs (20-17) courtesy of a muffed punt and missed field goal by Kansas City. The Jaguars took the Chargers to the woodshed (38-10) in a stunning 3-TD performance by QB Trevor Lawrence. And suddenly the AFC South has life.

Battle of the GOATS: Rodgers vs. Brady

One of Sunday’s marquee matchups pitted Tom Brady vs. Aaron Rodgers in their fifth and (potentially) final meeting barring a playoff showdown. Both quarterbacks were solid. Rodgers (255 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) gave the Pack an early 14-3 lead, but Brady (271 yards, 1 TD) brought the Bucs back with a late touchdown, but a failed two-point conversion prevented overtime. Rodgers (4) and Brady (3) combined for the most MVPs between quarterbacks in a game in NFL history. Brady still leads the all-time head-to-head matchup, 3-2.

Undefeated Teams: Eagles (3-0), Dolphins (3-0), Giants (2-0)

Winless Teams: Raiders (0-3), Texans (0-2-1)

All Week 3 Scores & Highlights

Browns def. Steelers (29-17) | Bears def. Texans (23-20) | Titans def. Raiders (24-22) | Colts def. Chiefs (20-17) | Dolphins def. Bills (21-19) | Vikings def. Lions (28-24) | Ravens def. Patriots (37-26) | Bengals def. Jets (27-12) | Eagles def. Commanders (24-8) | Panthers def. Saints (22-14) | Jaguars def. Chargers (38-10) | Falcons def. Seahawks (27-23) | Rams def. Cardinals (20-12) | Packers def. Buccaneers (14-12) | Broncos def. 49ers (11-10)

Monday Night Football

Cowboys at Giants (8:15 pm ET)

Additional Storylines

NFL: What We Learned From Sunday’s Week 3 Games

SI: Bills Assistant Coach Ken Dorsey Goes Viral in Press Box Outburst

ESPN+: Judging NFL Week 3 Overreactions: Is Jalen Hurts the MVP?

MLB

Pujols Joins 700-HR Club

Photo: Media News Group / Getty Images

Albert Pujols Hits Home Runs No. 699 & No. 700 in 2-HR Outing on Friday

And then there were four… With a vintage two-homer performance on Friday night against the Dodgers, Albert Pujols made history. The 42-year-old hit home run No. 699 in the third inning. In the top of the 4th, he stepped back to the plate with the eyes of the world watching and delivered a towering three-run blast over the left-field wall. Hugs and emotions followed before the Cardinals rolled the Dodgers (11-0). He’s just the fourth player in MLB history to hit 700 home runs, joining Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714). Quite the Mount Rushmore of baseball’s home-run hitters. Take a bow, Big Al!

Watch: Albert Pujols Hits 700th Home Run

MLB Quick-Hitters

Royals Rally With 11-Run Inning: The Royals and Mariners delivered a wild outing on Sunday in Kansas City. Trailing by nine runs in the fifth inning, the Royals reeled off an 11-run sixth inning before claiming a 13-12 victory. It was KC’s home finale.

Dodgers Tie Wins Record: After surrendering the 700th homer to Pujols on Friday, the Dodgers won games against the Cards on Saturday (6-2) and Sunday (4-1) to tie the franchise wins record with 106 and clinch the top spot in the NL playoffs.

Guardians Clinch AL Central: A weekend sweep of the Rangers gave the Guardians their first division title since 2018 on Sunday. Cleveland has won seven straight games and nine of their last ten heading toward the postseason.

GOLF

U.S. Defends Presidents Cup

Photo: Ben Jared / Getty Images

United States Outlasts International Team for 12th Presidents Cup Win

Another one goes to Team USA! For the 12th time in 14 events, the United States defeated an international group of challengers in the bi-annual Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow. The U.S. held an 11-7 advantage heading into the singles matches on Sunday. The international squad gave it their all and made things interesting, but close wins by Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay, Jordan Spieth and Collin Morikawa kept the challengers at bay. Spieth was perfect in the event (5-0) to lead the charge for Team USA.

Final Score

USA: 17.5

International: 12.5

Presidents Cup History: The U.S. improves to 12-1-1 all-time in the event, and they’re 8-0 on American soil.

Sunday Singles Scores

Watch: Sunday Highlights

Additional Storylines

Yahoo! Sports: Presidents Cup Singles Recaps: U.S. Clinches 12th Win

WaPo: Spieth Goes 5-0 as Americans Rule Presidents Cup Again

CFB

Week 4 Wow Factor

Photo: Brian Bahr / Getty Images

Two Top-10 Teams Survive Upset Scares, Two Others Tumble

Week 4 of the college football season finally brought a shakeup in the top-10, and it was nearly a complete overhaul. While #5 Clemson and #7 USC needed late miracles to avoid upsets, #6 Oklahoma and #10 Arkansas took losses that will bump them from the top-10. Arkansas missed a game-winning field goal against #23 Texas A&M in heartbreaking fashion. Oklahoma suffered a stunner against Kansas State. With two teams dropping, expect the top-5 to remain in tact while teams 6-10 will look vastly different in Monday’s rankings. Here’s the rundown from the weekend that was…

Upsets & Thrillers

#23 Texas A&M Upsets #10 Arkansas on Missed FG (23-21)

Kansas State Shocks #6 Oklahoma (41-34)

#5 Clemson Survives #21 Wake Forest in 2OT (51-45)

#11 Tennessee Chomps #20 Florida (38-33)

#15 Oregon Holds Off Washington State (44-41)

Texas Tech Upends #22 Texas (37-34)

Middle Tennessee Baffles #25 Miami (45-31)

Other Top-10 Highlights

#1 Georgia def. Kent State (39-22)

#2 Alabama def. Vanderbilt (55-3)

#3 Ohio State def. Wisconsin (52-21)

#4 Michigan def. Maryland (34-27)

#7 USC def. Oregon State (17-14)

#8 Kentucky def. Northern Illinois (31-23)

Additional Storylines

ESPN: Clemson & USC Survived, But Not Everyone Escaped Week 4

CBS Sports: Week 4 Report Cards: Oklahoma Gets ‘F’ in K-State Loss

🎥 THE HIGHLIGHTS

⚽️ SOCCER: Japan Blanks USMNT (2-0)

A friendly World Cup tuneup for the U.S. Men’s National Team led to a disappointing 2-0 loss to Japan on Friday. The U.S. failed to record a shot on target. It was their first of two warm-up games before traveling to Qatar next month.

👟 RUNNING: Kipchoge Shatters Marathon Record

Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge keeps raising the bar. The superstar marathon runner broke his own world record in the Berlin Marathon with a 2:01:09 time, busting his previous mark by 30 seconds. At 37 years old, Kipchoge has won 15 of his 17 career marathons.

📰 THE HEADLINES

• Marlins to Part Ways With Manager Don Mattingly After Season (ESPN)
• Orlando Magic’s Markelle Fultz Fractures Toe in Preseason Workout (B/R)
• Stephen F. Austin Delivers 98-0 Rout Against NAIA Opponent (Yahoo! Sports)
• White Sox Manager Tony La Russa Will Not Return to Dugout This Season (USA Today)

• Bills Assistant Ken Dorsey Goes Viral for Press Box Outburst (SI)

• Georgia Tech Fires Head Coach Geoff Collins After 1-3 Start (CBS Sports)

• Tyler Reddick Wins NASCAR Playoff Race at Texas Motor Speedway (NBC Sports)

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