The Sportsletter - Lucky 7s 🎰

BY JEFF YODER

OCT. 23, 2023 |  SUBSCRIBE  |  WEB VIEW

Welcome Back 🙌

In yesterday’s Sunday column, I wrote a piece about the Patriots’ abysmal season. Then they upset the Bills. The Lions were our No. 1 team in last week’s power rankings, and they lost by 30. What is happening in the NFL? We’ll put our crystal ball away and just try to enjoy it. You have to love the parity in pro football. You don’t have to love the officiating, because it was awful on Sunday.

Read of the Day: The NFL Needs Common Sense Referee Reform (SI)

In today's edition: It's a lucky 7s Monday with NFL Week 7's Top 7 and an ALCS Game 7 on the way.

Letter Rip!

  NFL   

Top 7 From Week 7: Sunday Shockers

Photo: Patrick Smith / Getty Images

7-On-7: The 7 Biggest Storylines From a Sunday of Shockers & Awful Officiating in NFL Week 7

Well friends, your guess is as good as mine. For the third straight week, we ranked a new No. 1 team in our weekly power rankings only to watch them fall from the throne almost instantly. The Ravens didn’t just beat the Lions on Sunday after we slotted Detroit at No. 1, they rolled ‘em with flare. Lamar Jackson gets this week’s game ball, and LJ is quickly making his case for MVP. Week 7 Sunday in the NFL came with some upset victories all across the league. Three one-win teams were victorious — Patriots, Bears and Broncos — and Bill Belichick’s 300th career win came on the heels of our Sunday column calling for the Pats to move on (what do I know?). Then, the primetime showcase featured an Alabama reunion between Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa, as well as the most beautiful jerseys, I don’t know, ever? There’s a reason the Eagles’ kelly green throwbacks broke the record for most sales by a retro uniform.

To top it all off, NFL officiating had some head-scratchers all day long. It’s 49ers-Vikings tonight on Monday Night Football, but let’s rerun Week 7 Sunday with a 7-on-7 drill.

7 Biggest Week 7 Storylines

1. Ravens Rock the Lions: Detroit entered Sunday with one loss on the resume (an overtime loss, no less), but the Ravens gave the Lions a reality check. Lamar Jackson racked up 393 yards and 4 touchdowns in an absolute clinic against the Lions defense. Baltimore won convincingly (38-6), and they might’ve turned the corner and unleashed one of the league’s most potent offensive attacks. The Ravens and Lions are both 5-2, but one of those 5-2 records feels a little stronger today.

2. Belichick’s 300th Win: The Patriots’ 1-5 start was the worst for the franchise since 1995, and that had many sportswriters (me included) calling it the impending end of the Bill Belichick era. News broke on Sunday that Belichick had secretly signed a multi-year extension in the offseason, then the Pats stunned the Bills (29-25). Belichick joined Don Shula and George Halas as the only coaches with 300-plus wins. And Buffalo is quickly becoming the league's biggest case of "are they/aren't they."

3. Eagles Fly in Primetime Throwbacks: An Alabama reunion took center stage in primetime with former Crimson Tide teammates Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa squaring off in Philadelphia. The Dolphins made it a game with a pick-six in the third quarter, but Hurts and the birds — rocking those kelly green throwbacks — held the Miami to just one offensive touchdown and pulled away late (31-17). The Eagles were 4-for-4 on the "tush push" and they improved to 6-1.

4. National Tight End Day: Sunday was National Tight End Day in the NFL, a holiday started by 49ers tight end George Kittle. Tight ends around the NFL popped off for big days. Chiefs TE Travis Kelce (12 receptions, 179 yards, 1 TD) had the best performance with Taylor Swift in the booth. Dallas Goedert (Eagles), Darren Waller (Giants), Mark Andrews (Ravens) and other TEs found the end zone. Go big fellas.

5. Cleveland, Colts, Controversy: Colts fans had some warranted beef with the officials after a barn-burner in Indy with the Browns. Indy held a 38-33 lead before they forced a strip-sack and fumble recovery that would’ve iced the game. A defensive holding call kept the ball with Cleveland, and a questionable pass interference call on the ensuing play gave the Browns the ball at the 1-yard line. They scored (39-38), and Colts fans were sick. Browns DE Myles Garrett was a monster in this one (2 sack-fumbles, 1 blocked field goal).

6. Mahomes Magic on Display: The Chiefs were doing Chiefs things again on Sunday with you-know-who in attendance, and the Mahomes-to-Kelce combo was cooking. Mahomes threw for 424 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT while finding Kelce a dozen times for 179 yards and a score. The Chiefs took down the Chargers (31-17), and Kansas City has won six straight since their opening-night loss to the Lions by one point. The Chiefs (6-1) own the NFL’s longest active win streak at six games, and (spoiler) they’ll be the No. 1 team in this week’s rankings.

7. Bears, Bagent, Beileve It: Here’s a fun one. The Bears and Raiders were both without their starting quarterbacks on Sunday. Enter Tyson Bagent — a former Division II star who stepped in for the injured Justin Fields. Bagent was an efficient 21-for-29 with 162 yards and a touchdown to lead the Bears over the Raiders (30-12). Chicago’s defense stepped up, and Chicago found their second win of the season.

All Week 7 Scores & Highlights

Jaguars def. Saints (31-24)

Bears def. Raiders (30-12)

Browns def. Colts (39-38)

Patriots def. Bills (29-25)

Giants def. Commanders (14-7)

Falcons def. Buccaneers (16-13)

Ravens def. Lions (38-6)

Steelers def. Rams (24-17)

Seahawks def. Cardinals (20-10)

Broncos def. Packers (19-17)

Chiefs def. Chargers (31-17)

Eagles def. Dolphins (31-17)

Tonight (Monday Night Football)

49ers at Vikings (8:15 pm ET, ESPN)

Read More

B/R: Eagles Show NFL They’re Still NFC’s Top Contender With Dominant Win Over Dolphins

The Ringer: The Hot Read, Week 7: Lamar Jackson for MVP

FTW: Myles Garrett Jumped Over the Colts Line for the Coolest FG Block

CBS Sports: Bill Belichick Joins Don Shula & George Halas as Only Coaches With 300 Wins

  MLB PLAYOFFS   

ALCS: Texas Take 7

Photo: Alex Bierens de Haan / Getty Images

Adolis Garcia Smashes 9th-Inning Grand Slam in Game 6 (9-2) to Force Game 7 Between Rangers & Astros

No World Series bids just yet! After a wild weekend in the NLCS and ALCS, we’ve set the stage for a Monday doubleheader that could launch some Fall Classic tickets. The Phillies hold a 3-2 lead in the NLCS after taking Game 5 following Diamondbacks' wins in Games 3 and 4. In the ALCS, the Astros took a 3-2 lead before Sunday night’s survival game for the Rangers that concluded with Adolis Garcia’s punctuating grand slam in the 9th inning.

Seasons will be decided tonight. We’ll have full coverage of Game 6 (NLCS) and Game 7 (ALCS) in tomorrow’s edition.

MLB Playoff Highlights

ALCS Games 5 & 6

Gm 5: Astros def. Rangers (5-4)

Gm 6: Rangers def. Astros (9-2)

Series Tied (3-3)

NLCS Games 4 & 5

Gm 4: Diamondbacks def. Phillies (6-5)

Gm 5: Phillies def. Diamondbacks (6-1)

PHI Leads Series (3-2)

Tonight’s Schedule

NLCS Gm 6: D-Backs at Phillies (5:07 pm ET, TBS)

ALCS Gm 7: Rangers at Astros (8:03 pm ET, FS1)

Read More

MLB: Is This the Best Possible Day of Playoff Baseball?

CBS Sports: Texas Forces ALCS Game 7 With 3 Homers, Grand Slam in Houston

  CFB   

Big Ten Battles & New CFB Poll

Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty Images

Ohio State Knocks Off Penn State, Michigan Responds in Key Big Ten Weekend

The college football focus centered around the Big Ten on Saturday where #3 Ohio State and #7 Penn State met with a potential CFB Playoff ticket on the line. The Buckeyes stayed perfect with a big night from star WR Marvin Harrison Jr. (11 catches, 162 yards, 1 TD). Up in East Lansing, Michigan State played host to #2 Michigan after the Wolverines' week of scrutiny regarding a new NCAA investigation for sign-stealing. Michigan responded by dumping their in-state rival 49-0. Elsewhere, Alabama rallied to upend Tennessee, and USC suffered their second loss at the hands of Utah (34-32), effectively ending their playoff hopes and QB Caleb Williams’ repeat Heisman chances. Six unbeaten teams make up the top-six while other undefeated teams include #19 Air Force (7-0) and #25 James Madison (7-0).

College Football Highlights

#2 Michigan def. Michigan State (49-0)

#3 Ohio State def. #7 Penn State (20-12)

#4 Florida State def. #16 Duke (38-20)

#5 Washington def. Arizona State (15-7)

#6 Oklahoma def. UCF (31-29)

#8 Texas def. Houston (31-24)

#9 Oregon def. Washington State (38-24)

Virginia def. #10 North Carolina (31-27)

#11 Alabama def. #17 Tennessee (34-20)

#14 Utah def. #18 USC (34-32)

AP Top-10

1. Georgia (7-0) | —

2. Michigan (8-0) | —

3. Ohio State (7-0) | —

4. Florida State (7-0) | —

5. Washington (7-0) | —

6. Oklahoma (7-0) | —

7. Texas (6-1) | ↑1

8. Oregon (6-1) | ↑1

9. Alabama (7-1) | ↑2

10. Penn State (6-1) | ↓3

Rest of Top-25: 11. Oregon State (6-1) | 12. Ole Miss (6-1) | 13. Utah (6-1) | 14. Notre Dame (6-2) | 15. LSU (6-2) | 16. Missouri (7-1) | 17. North Carolina (6-1) | 18. Louisville (6-1) | 19. Air Force (7-0) | 20. Duke (5-2) | 21. Tennessee (5-2) | 22. Tulane (6-1) | 23. UCLA (5-2) | 24. USC (6-2) | 25. James Madison (7-0)

Read More

Yahoo! Sports: #3 Ohio State Smothers #7 Penn State to Stay Undefeated

ESPN: QB Zac Larrier Leads Air Force Past Navy to Keep Falcons Undefeated

  HIGHLIGHTS   🎥

🏒 NHL: Hot Wings in Detroit

The Red Wings won their fifth straight game (6-2) against the Flames on Sunday, and Alex DeBrincat netted a hat trick to make some Detroit history. He’s the first player with eight goals in the team’s first six games, and he leads the league in goals (8) and points (12) through a blistering 5-1 start.

⚽️ EPL: Arsenal Rally to Draw Chelsea

Among the weekend soccer scoreboard was a battle of Premier League royalty that took a twist. Chelsea held a 2-0 lead for much of their match against Arsenal until the Gunners fired a pair of goals in the final 15 minutes to salvage a draw.

🏎️ F1: Verstappen Ties Record at US Grand Prix

Regardless of the track, Max Verstappen is unstoppable. The Formula 1 driver won his 50th career F1 race on Sunday at the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. It’s his 15th of the season, which equals his season record from last year.

🏀 BONUS: Victor Wembanyama’s Block That Went Viral

  NEWS   📰 

• Grizzlies’ Center Steven Adams to Undergo Season-Ending Knee Surgery (USA Today)
• Michigan State Apologizes for Hitler Trivia Question on Videoboard at Football Game (CBS Sports)
• Coyotes’ Travis Dermott Becomes 1st NHL Player to Defy League’s Pride Tape Ban (Yahoo! Sports)
• Amazon Seeking to Create NBA Version of ‘Thursday Night Football’ (SI)
• Bill Belichick ‘Quietly’ Agreed to Lucrative Multi-Year Contract in Offseason (B/R)
• NFL Warns Teams of ‘Significant’ Discipline for Fighting Before or During Games (ESPN)

  CHALLENGE   

Referral Challenge Leaderboard 🚨

The Sportsletter is celebrating this month’s “Sports Equinox” by giving away jerseys from Mitchell & Ness (1st Place: $300+ value) and Fanatics (Drawing: $150+ value). All it takes is one referral for a chance to win. Here’s how to enter:

• Sign up for the challenge here
• Make referrals using your unique team ID link (found here) 

Every referral counts as an entry into the Fanatics jersey raffle. The person who makes the most referrals gets a free Mitchell & Ness jersey of their choice. The ball is in your court. Let’s see who comes out on top!

Challenge Leaderboard

Reader Fortune E. leads the way with 18 referral points to date. There's still time to catch up! The challenge concludes on Monday (Oct. 30).

  SCHEDULE   🗓️ 

Tonight's Must-Watch List

NFL (Monday Night Football)

49ers at Vikings (8:15 pm ET, ESPN)

MLB Playoffs

NLCS Gm 6: D-Backs at Phillies (5:07 pm ET, TBS)

ALCS Gm 7: Rangers at Astros (8:03 pm ET, FS1)

NHL

Canadiens at Sabres (7:00 pm ET, NHLN)

Soccer

EPL: Tottenham vs. Fulham (3:00 pm ET)

Download The Sportsletter's Must-Watch Calendar

  THE TEAM  

Writer & Editor: Jeff Yoder

Product Manager: Matthew Cahill

Lead Designer: Joe Stella

Assistant Writer: Marissa Kasch

Social Media: Aaron Yorke

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