Saints, Vikings, Buccaneers pull surprises; Bengals, Rams, Ravens collapse; Arch Manning thrives

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🏈 Football Five

1. Azeez Al-Shaair got away with a punch, the Bears got away with a hip-drop tackle, and the Texans got a penalty-filled 19-13 win over the Bears behind four Ka’imi Fairbairn field goals.
2. Aaron Rodgers is back in the win column after the Jets‘ 24-17 victory over the Titans. Rodgers threw touchdowns to running backs Breece Hall and Braelon Allen, and the defense got a late red-zone stand.
3. Malik Willis threw his first career touchdown in Green Bay’s 16-10 win over the Colts. And that’s despite Packers center Josh Myers puking on the ball.
4. The Giants lost in part because kicker Graham Gano — who entered the game with a groin issue — got hurt on the opening kickoff. Commanders kicker Austin Siebert, meanwhile, made a franchise-record seven field goals in the 21-18 win. It’s an unprecedented way to lose for New York.
5. Over in college football, Colorado thumped Colorado State, 28-9, and is showing signs of progress, Dennis Dodd writes. It was all smiles at the press conference.

🏈 Good morning to all, but especially to …

THE MINNESOTA VIKINGS, THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS AND THE TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

Who are these guys, and what have they done with Sam Darnold, Derek Carr and Baker Mayfield?! The Vikings, Saints and Buccaneers are all 2-0.

Let’s start with Darnold and Minnesota, which surprised the 49ers, 23-17. Darnold threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns — highlighted by a 97-yarder to Justin Jefferson — against his former team, and the Vikings sacked Brock Purdy six times and turned him over twice. The 49ers usually play games on their own terms, but the Vikings flipped that script, Cody Benjamin writes from Minneapolis.

All the better, Jefferson, who exited early with bruised quadriceps, said, “I’m not seriously injured.”

Swinging to the NFC South, the Saints are the league’s biggest earliest surprise after a 44-19 thrashing of the Cowboys, Scorigami-style. Carr threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, but it was Alvin Kamara‘s 180 total yards and four touchdowns that stole the show. Paulson Adebo and Tyrann Mathieu picked off Dak Prescott.

The Saints have had 21 possessions this season and they’ve scored touchdowns on 12 of them, including each of the first five against Dallas. The offensive line has been a bright spot, Carr has taken advantage, Kamara keeps on chugging, and the secondary looks excellent. Make sure to credit new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, too, Will Brinson writes.

Not to be outdone, the Buccaneers also beat an NFC power, topping the Lions, 20-16. Mayfield threw for a touchdown and ran for another, and Christian Izien and Zyon McCollum picked off Jared Goff.

Both New Orleans and Tampa Bay are among Cody Benjamin’s Week 2 winners, and both earned strong marks in John Breech’s weekly grades

A year ago, Darnold was a backup, Carr was struggling in his first year in New Orleans, and Mayfield was viewed as a bridge quarterback. It’s clear these three guys are having a moment right now.

😃 Honorable mentions

• Justin Fields helped the Steelers get to 2-0 with another solid performance. Pittsburgh is the first team since the 2000 Lions to start a season 2-0 despite scoring just one touchdown.
• The United States beat Europe to win the Solheim Cup for the first time since 2017, and this caddie celebration is a must-see.
• Lionel Messi is BACK.
• How about this goal and celebration from Trinity Rodman?!
• Canelo Alvarez defeated Edgar Berlanga by unanimous decision to retain his WBC, WBO and WBA titles at 168 pounds.
• At UFC 306, Merab Dvalishvili defeated Sean O’Malley for the bantamweight title, and Esteban Ribovics beat Daniel Zellhuber in a Fight of the Year candidate.
• Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic will meet at UFC 309 on Nov. 16.
• Pablo Sandoval … the pitcher?
• Chris Buescher won the Go Bowling at the Glen.

🏈 And not such a good morning for …

THE CINCINNATI BENGALS, THE BALTIMORE RAVENS AND THE LOS ANGELES RAMS

Who are these guys, and what have they done with the Bengals, Ravens and Rams?! All three — projected playoff contenders, if not Super Bowl contenders — are 0-2.

The Bengals snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Leading 25-23 and having pinned the Chiefs to fourth and 16, Daijahn Anthony committed a pass interference. Four plays later, Harrison Butker kicked the back-to-back Super Bowl champs to a 26-25 win. For all the miracles Patrick Mahomes has pulled off, this was the first time he’s earned a first down on fourth and 16 or longer.

Cincinnati’s offense was better than in Week 1, but Ja’Marr Chase had another quiet day — except for when he got too loud asking for a flag and got flagged himself — and remains disgruntled about his contract. Yikes.

The Ravens dropped a 26-23 stunner to the Raiders after leading by 10 early in the fourth quarter. Baltimore has blown four double-digit fourth-quarter leads since 2022, tied for most in the NFL, so that’s not new. But Derrick Henry hasn’t gotten going, and the new-look offensive line hasn’t been great. The defense is struggling. Even Justin Tucker is struggling.

But the “Who are these guys?” line best applies to the Rams, who got their doors blown off, 41-10, by the Cardinals. Already without Puka Nacua and several offensive linemen, the Rams also lost Cooper Kupp (ankle). But it wasn’t just the offense. The defense allowed 489 yards, its most since 2018. Even the Sean McVay/Matthew Stafford duo can’t overcome that, and Jeff Kerr says it could be a long season.

😕 Not so honorable mentions

• Things are really, really bad for Bryce Young and the Panthers.
• Trevor Lawrence was quite blunt about the Jaguars‘ struggles.
• WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert admitted she “missed the mark” when discussing hateful online discourse.

🏈 College football Week 3: Georgia survives, Arch Manning thrives, Florida State falls to 0-3

There’s a reason they play the games on the field, not on paper. One week after being blown out by South Carolina, Kentucky pushed Georgia to the limit, with the Bulldogs ultimately staving off an upset bid, 13-12. Ahead of a gigantic showdown with Alabama (which beat Wisconsin, 42-10), Georgia has legitimate concerns, David Cobb writes.

Texas, meanwhile, got a different kind of scare with Quinn Ewers suffering a strained abdomen against UTSA. It didn’t take Arch Manning long to assuage those fears. He had five touchdowns, including a 67-yard run, and Heisman oddsmakers took notice. So, too, did AP Top 25 voters: The Longhorns are atop the new AP Top 25 (and second in the Coaches Poll).

On the other end of the spectrum, Florida State … goodness. The Seminoles are 0-3 after a 20-12 loss to Memphis, making them the first preseason top-10 team to start a season with three straight losses to unranked opponents. Mike Norvell said he’s evaluating everything in a postgame press conference that was, fittingly, interrupted by fire alarms. But Will Backus says the team has already punted on this season.

• Backus: “Florida State lacks an apparent leader to pick the team up when its back is against the wall. If such a player, or even coach, existed, then the Seminoles wouldn’t be in this position. … This is Norvell’s fifth year with the program. These problems aren’t early growing pains; they’re endemic in a culture that has spiraled out of control — or one that doesn’t exist at all.”

Hilariously, Florida State already clinched the “under” on its projected wins.

If it makes Florida State fans feel better, things aren’t much better at Florida.

Here’s more from the weekend:

• Grades | Overreactions | Winners and losers
• Bowl projections
• Notre Dame bounced back in a big way.
• LSU escaped South Carolina, but things still aren’t quite right. The same goes for Oklahoma, especially on offense.
• Things finally looked right for Oregon.
• A game was canceled due to … whooping cough?

⚾ MLB Power Rankings, standings, more

We’re inside two weeks until the end of the MLB season, and we’re in for some high drama with these wild card races. Here’s a look at who’s vying for the three AL wild-card spots:

1. Orioles (+4.5 games)
2. Royals (+2.5)
3. Twins (–)
4. Tigers (-2.5)
5. Mariners (-2.5)
6. Red Sox (-4.5)

And in the NL:

1. Padres (+3.5)
2. Diamondbacks (+2)
3. Mets (–)
4. Braves (–)

As for the best of the best, here’s the top five of Matt Snyder’s Power Rankings:

1. Phillies (previous: 2)
2. Yankees (3)
3. Brewers (4)
4. Dodgers (1)
5. Guardians (5)

And here’s more from the weekend:

• Gerrit Cole struggled against the Red Sox, and Alex Cora believes Cole hit Rafael Devers on purpose.
• Francisco Lindor is having back issues, bad news at a bad time for the Mets. 
• The Mets promoted Luisangel Acuña, brother of Ronald Acuña Jr. However, they also shut down Paul Blackburn.
• Tyler Glasnow (strained elbow) is likely done for the season.
• Alec Bohm is off the IL.
• So is Carlos Correa.
• Ozzie Albies plans to return, but there’s a catch.

🏀 A’ja Wilson reaches 1,000 points; career-high 35 for Caitlin Clark

The WNBA season is winding down, but its stars — and the drama — are ramping up. With the regular season ending Thursday, here’s what’s happening around the league:

• A’ja Wilson, who already owns the single-season scoring record, crossed the 1,000-point milestone.
• After setting the WNBA’s single-season assist record Friday, Caitlin Clark scored a career-high 35 points and broke the rookie single-season scoring record Sunday. The Fever clinched the No. 6 seed in the playoffs.
• Oh, and in case you were wondering, Clark also dominated this childhood tradition.
• The Mystics, Sky and Dream are all tied for the eighth and final playoff spot. Here’s the playoff picture.

Here are Jack Maloney’s takeaways from a busy Sunday.

📺 What we’re watching Monday

🏈 Falcons at Eagles, 8:15 p.m. on ESPN