Monday’s 6-pack:
— Tigers 4, Orioles 3- Right now, Detroit is the 3rd AL Wild Card
— Red Sox 8-9, Twins 1-3- Minnesota picked a bad day to lose a twinbill.
— Giants 2, Royals 0- Blake Snell tossed six shutout IP.
— Mets 2, Phillies 1- Mets/Arizona are tied for last two NL Wild Card slots.
— Brewers 10, Arizona 9- Diamondbacks led 8-0 in third inning.
— Padres 4, White Sox 2- San Diego’s magic number to clinch playoff spot: 2
Quote of the Day
“I’m smiling inside. I’m absolutely beat. This has been an amazing week, but again a really heavy week just with all the factors, just getting back to work and to continue to push to establish our culture and process.”
Carolina Panthers coach Dave Canales, after his first NFL win Sunday
Monday’s quiz
Who was manager of the New York Mets, last time they were in a World Series?
Sunday’s quiz
Paul Allen, the late owner of the Seattle Seahawks, founded Microsoft with childhood friend Bill Gates.
Saturday’s quiz
Buffalo Bills’ QB Josh Allen played his college football at Wyoming.
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Check out Jimmy Fallon’s TV show Monday night at 11:30; friend of mine’s daughter is going to be on, in a segment they call “Instant Song Writer”.
Her name is Jules Olson; very talented young lady, a singer/song writer.
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Rams 27,
49ers 24
Rams’ first TD drive was 87 yards, fueled by a successful fake punt.
Rams’ last four drives: 24 plays, 174 yards, 20 points.
LA kicked a 37-yard field goal at the gun for the comeback win.
Kyren Williams ran ball for 89 yards, two TD’s.
49ers’ first two drives: 21 plays, 123 yards, 14 points.
Jennings caught 11 passes for 175 yards, three TD’s.
San Francisco outgained the Rams 425-296.
Opponents’ team total: over 2-0-1
Eagles 15,
Saints 12
Saints led this game 3-0 after the third quarter.
Eagles’ first six drives: 49 plays, 284 yards, 2 turnovers, blocked punt.
Eagles’ last three drives: 16 plays, 180 yards, 15 points.
Saquon Barkley ran ball 17 times for 147 yards, two TD’s.
Saints scored only TD with 2:10 left to take a 12-7 lead.
Eagles drove 64 yards, scored game-winning TD with 1:02 left.
First two games, NO had 11 touchdowns on 20 drives.
First two games, Saints averaged 8.3/14.2 yards/pass (5.0 in this game)
Colts 21,
Bears 16
Colts led this game 7-0 at halftime.
Bears ran 84 plays for 385 yards, Colts 54 plays for 306 yards.
Indy is 18-13-1 ATS in last 32 games coming off a loss.
Under Steichen, Colts are 8-5 ATS in games with spread of 3 or less points.
Williams threw for 363 yards, with 2 TD’s, 2 INT’s.
Bears were 3-12 on third down, Colts 9-21.
Bears have been outscored 40-13 in first half of their games.
Chicago is 10-16-1 ATS in last 27 games as road underdogs.
Giants 21,
Browns 15
Giants lost a fumble on the opening kickoff.
Browns threw a 24-yard TD pass on first play after the fumble.
On Browns’ next 30 plays, they gained a total of 25 yards.
Giants outscored Cleveland 14-0 in last 2:00 of first half.
Cleveland scored 17-18-15 points in its 1-2 start (5 TD’s on 34 drives).
Browns are 8-43 on 3rd down so far, 7-11 on 4th down.
Amari Cooper caught seven passes for 86 yards and a TD.
Cleveland is 9-16-1 ATS in last 26 games coming off a win.
Steelers 20,
Chargers 10
QB Herbert (ankle) left game with 6:20 left in 3rd quarter, game tied 10-10. Chargers in second half: 15 plays, minus-5 yards, no points.
Pittsburgh outgained the Chargers, 346-168.
Since 2019, Chargers are 8-26-7 ATS in games with spread of 3 or less points
Steelers won first three games, allowing two TD’s on 27 drives.
Steelers’ offense has only three TD’s on 30 drives (10 field goals).
Pittsburgh is 14-6-1 ATS in last 21 games with spread of 3 or less points.
Steelers outrushed first two opponents, 392-214.
Vikings 34,
Texans 7
Houston ran ball only 14 times for 38 yards.
Since 2016, Texans are 2-9-2 ATS as road favorites.
Houston is 4-9 ATS in last 13 games coming off a win.
Stefon Diggs caught 7 passes for 94 yards in his return to Minnesota.
Minnesota won first three games, giving up three TD’s on 31 drives.
Vikings outscored first three opponents 41-10 in first half.
Minnesota’s 4 TD drives were short: 56-21-44-53 yards.
Vikings are 7-1-1 ATS in last nine games coming off a win.
Famous birthdays, September 23:
Julio Iglesias, 81
Bruce Springsteen, 75
Jason Alexander, 65
Larry Krystkowiak, 60
Cuonzo Martin, 53
Ricky Davis, 45
Matt Kemp, 40
Brandon Jennings, 35
Broncos 26
Buccaneers 7
First NFL win for rookie QB Nix, who threw for 216 yards.
Broncos’ first four drives: 26 plays, 145 yards, 17 points (led 20-7 at half).
Lutz kicked four field goals for Denver.
Under is 16-10 in their last 26 road games.
Tampa Bay hasn’t been 3-0 since 2005.
Bucs were outgained 352-233, averaged 3.3 yards/pass attempt.
Last two games, Tampa Bay was outgained 815-449.
QB Mayfield is 44-49 as an NFL starter, 12-10 with Buccaneers.
Packers 30,
Titans 14
Titans traded QB Willis to Green Bay August 26.
Willis threw for 202 yards, ran for 73 more.
Green Bay is 21-9 ATS in last 30 games as an underdog.
First three games, opponents are 9-32 on third down.
On its first drive, Tennessee drove 65 yards for a TD
Next drive, down 10-7, QB Levis (3-9 as a starter) threw a pick-6
Titans have been outscored 48-17 in second half of games.
Packers outrushed Tennessee, 188-33.
Panthers 36,
Raiders 22
Veteran QB Dalton made his first ’24 start, threw for 319 yards, 3 TD’s.
Carolina averaged 7.8 yards/pass attempt (3.9/2.5 first two games)
Carolina scored four TD’s on 11 drives; they had one TD on first 23 drives.
Hubbard ran ball for 114 yards, Johnson had 122 receiving yards.
Las Vegas was outgained 437-331, ran ball for only 55 yards.
First three games, Raiders gave up 176/151/131 rushing yards.
Raiders have converted only 12-37 third down plays this year.
QB Minshew is 16-24 as an NFL starter; Raiders are his 4th team.
Lions 20,
Cardinals 13
Lions in first half: 35 plays, 240 yards, led 20-10 at half.
Detroit in 2nd half: 34 plays, 133 yards, no points.
Lions are 19-38 on third down, opponents 8-31.
Goff is 28-25-1 as Detroit’s QB (was 44-30 with Rams)
Arizona was 1-9 on third down, Lions were 6-12.
On their first drive, Cardinals drove 75 yards on 8 plays for a TD.
Rest of game, Arizona ran 45 plays for 202 yards, six points..
QB Murray is 29-39-1 SU as an NFL starter.
Ravens 28,
Cowboys 25
RB Henry ran ball for 151 yards and two TD’s.
Baltimore led 28-6 after three quarters.
Ravens are 17-4 ATS in last 21 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Only nine of Ravens’ 60 plays came on third down (4-9)
First five drives, Dallas ran 30 plays for 132 yards, 3 points.
Last six drives, Dallas ran 40 plays for 280 yards, 22 points.
Last two games, Cowboys allowed 10 TD’s on 18 drives.
Over is 33-17 in last 50 Dallas home games.