The Sportsletter - 12 Men On The Field ⚠️

BY JEFF YODER

NOV. 14, 2023 |  SUBSCRIBE  |  WEB VIEW

Good Morning,

After five turnovers and 15 penalties, the Broncos-Bills ugh-fest left viewers in awe. For a moment, the Bills appeared to have stolen a win in primetime. But wait — 12 men on the field. Unbelievable. Hug a Bills fan today.

Letter Rip!

  PICKS  

NFL Pick 'Em Leaderboard (Week 10)

Congrats to this week’s winner, Glenn Enderson! Glenn was the only player who hit 12/13 picks — no tiebreaker needed. Glenn’s only miss was the Falcons-Cardinals game (a 29-26 nail-biter). The rest of the top-5 are playoff-bound. Week 11 is waiting…

Week 10 Leaderboard

1. Glenn Enderson (12/13)

2. Cory Konieczny (11/13)

3. Richard Minnick (11/13)

4. Tom Dorr (10/13)

5. Mike Kulick (10/13)

Play The Sportsletter's NFL Pick 'Em (Week 11)

*Winner Gets $50 / Top-5 Make Playoffs

  NFL  

Kick-Tastrophe: Bills Blunder Bails Out Broncos

Photo: Bryan M. Bennett / Getty Images

Broncos Beat Bills (24-22) With Walk-Off FG in Wild Penalty-Filled Finish; NFL Record 6th Game-Winning Kick in Week 10

What did we just witness? If you missed the Monday Night Football battle between the Broncos and Bills, you missed one of the most chaotic finishes of the season in the NFL. Denver and Buffalo went back and forth in an ugly, low-scoring game full of penalties (15) and turnovers (5). Although WR Courtland Sutton submitted his catch-of-the-year bid. The Broncos took the lead late in the 4th (21-15) before Allen and the Bills marched 75 yards to take it right back (22-21) and set up a heart-wrenching finish.

A Flag-Filled Finish

With just under two minutes to play, Broncos QB Russell Wilson moved down the field and got a 3rd-down bailout on a desperation pass interference call that put Denver in field goal range. Broncos’ kicker Wil Lutz missed the game-winning field goal, but the Bills had 12 men on the field. That gave Lutz another shot, and he buried the 36-yarder for the walk-off winner (24-22).

Blazing Broncos: After a 1-5 start, the Broncos (4-5) have won three straight, including road wins against the Chiefs and Bills. Wow.

Fun Fact: Lutz’s game-winner was the sixth game-winning field goal of Week 10 after five on Sunday, which set an NFL record. The previous record for most game-winning kicks in a single week was four.

Allen Under Fire: Bills QB Josh Allen had three turnovers in the game (2 INTs, 1 fumble) bringing his season total to 13 TOs. That leads the NFL. No one has more turnovers than Allen (83) since he entered the league in 2018.

QB Comparison

R. Wilson (DEN): 24/29, 223 yards, 2 TDs

J. Allen (BUF): 15/26, 190 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs

Top Performers

RB J. Cook (BUF): 15 touches, 120 yards

RB J. Williams (DEN): 25 touches, 110 yards, 1 TD

WR C. Sutton (DEN): 8 receptions, 53 yards, 1 TD

Records: Broncos (4-5) / Bills (5-5)

Watch: Broncos Beat Bills on Wild Walk-Off FG (24-22)

Read More

CBS Sports: Inexcusable Mistakes Cost Buffalo in Last-Second Loss to Denver

Yahoo! Sports: Huge Penalties & Turnovers Doom Bills in Bad Home Loss to Broncos

FTW: Josh Allen in Total Shock After Bills’ Catastrophic Penalty on Last-Second Field Goal

  NCAA  

Early Risers: Upsets Shake NCAA Polls 📊

Photo: Justin Casterline / Getty Images

Men: Purdue & Arizona Climb / Women: South Carolina & Iowa Now 1-2

Take ‘em down! The first week of the college basketball season wasted no time slashing the tires of the top teams. Four top-5 squads, including both of the top-two women’s teams, fell victim to opening-week upsets — #4 Michigan State (M), #2 Duke (M), #2 UConn (W) and #1 LSU (W). That opens the door for plenty of early movement in the polls. Here are the new top-10s (links to full top-25s).

NCAA Men’s AP Poll

1. Kansas (2-0) | —

2. Purdue (3-0) | ↑1

3. Arizona (3-0) | ↑9

4. Marquette (2-0) | ↑1

5. UConn (2-0) | ↑1

6. Houston (3-0) | ↑1

7. Tennessee (2-0) | ↑2

8. Creighton (2-0) | —

9. Duke (1-1) | ↓7

10. Florida Atlantic (1-0) | —

NCAA Women’s AP Poll

1. South Carolina (2-0) | ↑5

2. Iowa (3-0) | ↑1

3. UCLA (3-0) | ↑1

4. Utah (2-0) | ↑1

5. Colorado (3-0) | ↑15

6. Stanford (2-0) | ↑9

7. LSU (2-1) | ↓6

8. UConn (1-1) | ↓6

9. Virginia Tech (1-1) | ↓1

10. USC (3-0) | ↑11

College Basketball Highlights

NCAAM

#2 Purdue def. Xavier (83-71)

#3 Arizona def. Southern U. (97-59)

#6 Houston def. Stetson (79-48)

#12 Miami def. Florida International (86-80)

NCAAW

#10 USC def. Le Moyne (93-42)

#15 Tennessee def. Memphis (84-74)

  MLB  

MLB Awards Week: Unanimous Rooks

Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images

Corbin Carroll (NL) & Gunnar Henderson (AL) Named Unanimous Rookie of the Year Winners

Welcome to the 2023 MLB awards week! Baseball opens the offseason with a full week of hardware, and it started yesterday with the Rookie of the Year awards. Two former teammates in the 2018 All-America Game have been linked together for years as they progressed to the majors. Corbin Caroll (Diamondbacks) and Gunnar Henderson (Orioles) had two spectacular rookie seasons with clubs that saw drastic turnarounds. Both were unanimous selections, marking the fifth time in league history that both ROY awards were undisputed. The last time was 2017 (Cody Bellinger & Aaron Judge).

NL ROY: Corbin Carroll (Diamondbacks)

The D-Backs’ centerfielder was perhaps the biggest catalyst sparking Arizona to an unlikely World Series run. Carroll hit .285 this season with 25 HRs, 76 RBIs and 54 stolen bases. The man was also a star in the outfield while playing in 155/162 games. 2nd Place: Kodai Senga (Mets) / 3rd Place: James Outman (Dodgers)

AL ROY: Gunnar Henderson (Orioles)

The Orioles’ 3B was a big reason why Baltimore earned the No. 1 seed in the AL with 101 wins this season. Henderson logged a .255 batting average with 28 HRs, 82 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. The O’s got a good one for a long time. 2nd Place: Tanner Bibee (Guardians) / 3rd Place: Triston Casas (Red Sox)

MLB Awards Week Schedule

Tuesday: Manager of the Year

Wednesday: Cy Young Award(s)

Thursday: MVP Award(s)

  HIGHLIGHTS   🎥

🏀 NBA

Celtics def. Knicks (114-98)

Bucks def. Bulls (118-109)

Kings def. Cavaliers (132-120)

Raptors def. Wizards (111-107)

*Pascal Siakam (39-11-7) Leads 23-Point Comeback

🏒 NHL

Avalanche def. Kraken (5-1)

Oilers def. Islanders (4-1)

*Leon Draisaitl (1G, 3A) Has Stick on Every Goal

  STORYLINES  

🏀 NBA Surprises & Disappointments

Hard as it may be to believe, the NBA season doesn't always go according to plan. But which surprises and disappointments are legitimate? Which are flukes, driven by the small sample sizes inherent to the early portion of the basketball calendar? (B/R)

🏈 CJ Stroud’s MVP Convo is Starting

The Texans QB is no longer just in the company of Bryce Young and Anthony Richardson—he’s now being talked about with Dan Marino and Andrew Luck in terms of all-time rookie seasons. How’s he doing this? And just how good can he be? (The Ringer)

⚾️ Hot Stove: Ohtani Open for Biz

The 2023-24 MLB offseason is nearly two weeks old and we're still waiting for the first major move. That's not unusual. The latest hot stove rumors will pick up soon, but we’re learning that geography may not be a priority for one Shohei Ohtani. (CBS Sports)

  NEWS   📰 

• Jim Harbaugh Plans to Attend & Speak at Michigan Court Hearing (ESPN)
• NFL Kickers Set Sunday Record Wih 5 (Now 6) Walk-Off Field Goals (Yahoo! Sports)
• Nuggets & Head Coach Michael Malone Agree to Contract Extension (SI)
• Mississippi State Fires Football Coach Zach Arnett After Less Than 1 Season (CBS Sports)

• Brewers Promote Bench Coach Pat Murphy to Replace Craig Counsell as Manager (B/R)

• Jaguars WR Zay Jones Arrested on Domestic Battery Charge (NBC Sports)

  SCHEDULE   🗓️ 

Today's Must-Watch List

🏀 NCAAM (Champions Classic)

#2 Duke at #4 Michigan State (7:00 pm ET, ESPN)

#1 Kansas at #16 Kentucky (9:30 pm ET, ESPN)

🏀 NCAAW

#4 Utah at #21 Baylor (7:30 pm ET, ESPN+)

🏀 NBA

Pacers at 76ers (7:00 pm ET)

Spurs at Thunder (7:30 pm ET, TNT)

Mavericks at Pelicans (8:00 pm ET)

Clippers at Nuggets (10:00 pm ET, TNT)

Timberwolves at Warriors (10:00 pm ET)

🏒 NHL

Bruins at Sabres (7:00 pm ET, ESPN+)

Golden Knights at Capitals (7:00 pm ET, ESPN+)

Lightning at Blues (8:00 pm ET, ESPN+)

Devils at Jets (8:00 pm ET, ESPN+)

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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