Monday’s 6-pack:
— Reds 1, Cubs 0- If the playoffs started today, Cincinnati would be in.
— Mariners 7, Astros 3- Seattle sweeps the Astros, leads AL West by 3 games.
— Twins 6, Guardians 2- Loss ends Cleveland’s 10-game winning streak.
— Rays 7, Red Sox 3- Boston/Cleveland are tied for AL’s last Wild Card slot.
— Blue Jays 8, Royals 5- Toronto clinches a spot in the playoffs.
— Marlins 4, Rangers 2- Marlins have won six games in a row.
Quote of the Day
“I loved it, and also their D-coordinator was the one that cut me in Carolina.”
Baker Mayfield, talking about Jets’ DC Steve Wilks
Monday’s quiz
Who is the Carolina Panthers’ all-time leader in passing yardage?
Sunday’s quiz
Hall of Famer Dick Vermeil is the only head coach who coached both the Eagles, Rams in a Super Bowl.
Saturday’s quiz
Of all the current major league ballplayers, Giancarlo Stanton has hit the most career home runs.
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Monday’s Den: Wrapping up an NFL Sunday……..
Browns 13, Packers 10
Browns kicked a 55-yard FG at the gun for the win.
Green Bay led 10-0 with 4:00 left in the game.
Cleveland’s first seven drives: 41 plays, 113 yards, no points
Cleveland’s last three drives: 18 plays, 83 yards, 13 points
Packers had 14 penalties for 75 yards, Browns 8 for 90.
Green Bay was 10-18 on third down, Cleveland 4-13.
Packers are 4-12-1 ATS last 17 games as a road favorite.
Total yardage: Green Bay 230, Cleveland 221.
Buccaneers 29, Jets 27
Jets took 27-26 lead, scoring TD on blocked FG with 1:49 left.
Tampa Bay kicked a 36-yard FG 0:03 left for the win.
Bucs are 3-0, with all three wins coming on last-minute scores.
Last time Tampa Bay was 3-0 was 2005.
Buccaneers led 23-6 after the third quarter.
Bucs outgained Jets 347-267; they were +2 in turnovers.
Tampa Bay survived 14 penalties for 124 yards.
Jets lost first three games, giving up 34-30-29 points.
Eagles 33, Rams 27
Rams led 26-7 early in the third quarter.
Rams had two FG’s blocked; the last one was run back for a TD.
Eagles in first half: 21 plays, 29 yards, 7 points
Eagles in second half: 40 plays, 260 yards, 20 points
Saquon Barkley was held to 55 yards on 22 touches.
AJ Brown caught six passes for 109 yards.
Eagles won ten of last eleven series games.
Rams were 4-6 on FG’s; need to be better in red zone.
Chargers 23, Broncos 20
Chargers kicked a 43-yard FG at the gun for the win.
Chargers had tied game on a 20-yard TD pass with 2:44 left.
Bolts have already beaten all three of their AFC West rivals.
Justin Herbert is the youngest QB ever with 2,000 career completions.
Chargers were 8-17 on third down, Denver 2-13.
Bolts ran 80 plays for 376 yards, Denver 48 plays for 265 yards.
Chargers are 7-2 SU/9-0 ATS last 9 games vs AFC West rivals.
Under Payton, Denver is 6-9 ATS as a road underdog.
Colts 41, Titans 20
Colts are off to a 3-0 start, scoring 32-29-41 points.
Colts have scored on 20 of 25 drives, have punted once.
Indianapolis led 20-6 at halftime.
Colts outgained first two opponents by 207-149-83 yards.
Rookie QB Ward threw a horrendous pick-6 on third play of game.
Titans have three TD’s, 10 FG’s on their 34 drives.
Tennessee is 3-11 ATS last 14 games as an underdog.
Indianapolis won/covered last five series games.
Jaguars 17, Texans 10
Jaguars drove 83 yards in 7 plays, scored winning TD with 1:48 left.
Just third win for Jaguars in last 15 games vs Houston.
Jaguars are 5-2 ATS in last seven AFC South home games.
Jaguars have had three takeaways in all three games this year.
Houston’s only TD was a 50-yard pass to Collins with 9:17 left.
Texans lost first three games, by 1-5-7 points.
Texans have only three TD’s on 30 drives this year.
Both teams converted 4-15 third down plays.
Steelers 21, Patriots 14
Steelers drove 67 yards in nine plays, scored GW TD with 2:16 left.
Steelers’ first two drives: 20 plays, 144 yards, 14 points
Steelers are 26-14-1 ATS last 41 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Pittsburgh ran ball 26 times for only 64 yards.
NE outgained Steelers 369-203, but had 5 turnovers, losing 4 fumbles.
Patriots are 4-13-1 ATS last 18 games as a home underdog.
NE is 9-18-3 ATS last 30 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Patriots had a drive that took 17 plays, 92 yards, but it ended in an INT.
Famous birthdays, September 22:
Harold Carmichael, 76
Jeffrey Leonard, 70
Wally Backman, 66
Scott Baio, 65
Vince Coleman, 64
Mark Guthrie, 60
Mike Matheny, 55
Alexei Ramírez, 44
Carlos Correa, 31
Jeremy Pena, 28
Vikings 48, Bengals 10
Vikings had defensive TD’s of 87-66 yards in the first half.
Minnesota outgained the Bengals, 352-171.
Will Reichard made a 62-yard FG, longest in Viking history.
QB Wentz has a 48-47-1 record; he’s won a game for 5 different teams. .
Cincinnati got outgained by 186-50-181 yards in their first 3 games.
Bengals have run ball 61 times for only 147 yards in those games.
Bengals’ first four drives: 17 plays, 20 yards, no points.
Cincinnati turned ball over five times on 13 drives.
Panthers 30, Falcons 0
Panthers scored on 11-yard pick-6 to go ahead 17-0 in 3rd quarter.
Ryan Fitzgerald made a 57-yard field goal for Carolina.
Panthers are 13-8-1 ATS last 22 games as a home underdog.
Carolina is 7-2-1 ATS in last ten NFC South home games.
Falcons missed FG’s (49-55 yards) on two of first three drives.
Under Morris, Atlanta is 3-6-1 ATS as a road favorite.
Under Morris, Atlanta is 5-11 ATS in games coming off a win.
Morris is 30-49 as a head coach.
Commanders 41, Raiders 24
Washington ran for 174 yards in 1st half, led 20-10 at half.
Under Quinn, Commanders are 8-2 ATS as a home favorite.
Last three years, Washington is 10-6 ATS vs AFC opponents.
Mariota was 15-21/207 yards passing in his first start since 2022.
Commanders ran a punt back 90 yards for a TD.
Raiders were 3-14 on third down, Las Vegas 5-10.
Raiders have run ball 71 times for only 217 yards.
Las Vegas is 19-25-1 ATS in last 45 games coming off a loss.
49ers 16, Cardinals 15
49ers kicked a 35-yard FG with 0:04 left for the win.
49ers drove 57 yards in 10 plays to set up the FG.
Cardinals took 15-13 lead on a safety with 3:26 left.
49ers led 6-3 at half; it was 6-6 after three quarters.
49ers outgained Arizona 355-260, but ran for only 73 yards.
Last 2+ years, 49ers are 7-12-1 ATS in games coming off a win.
Last two years, 49ers are 1-6 ATS in NFC West home games.
49ers are 3-0, took over first place in NFC West.
Seahawks 44, Saints 13
Seattle ran a punt back 95 yards for a TD in first quarter.
Seattle also blocked a punt later in the first quarter.
Seattle’s first seven drives: 39 plays, 283 yards, 37 points
Jason Myers kicked a 56-yard field goal for the Seahawks.
Saints have converted only 12-36 third down plays.
New Orleans has been outscored 71-23 in first half of games.
Spencer Rattler is 0-9 as an NFL starting QB.
Saints are 7-14 ATS in last 21 games coming off a loss.
Bears 31, Cowboys 14
Caleb Williams threw for 298 yards, four TD’s.
Williams hit Luther Burden with a 65-yard TD pass on a flea flicker.
Bears scored on four of first six drives, led 24-14 at halftime.
Chicago is 6-3-1 ATS last ten games as a home underdog.
Last two games, Cowboys allowed 422-298 passing yards.
Chicago was 8-14 on third down, Dallas 3-11.
Chicago averaged 10.6 yards/pass attempt.
Dallas is 4-7 ATS in last 11 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Chiefs 22, Giants 9
Chiefs were 3-4 on field goals, on five first half drives (led 9-6 at half)
Chiefs in second half: 29 plays, 184 yards, 13 points.
Chiefs were 8-15 on third down, Giants 1-10.
Chiefs are 8-4 ATS in last 12 games coming off a loss.
Last 14 years, Giants are 2-12 SU/1-13 ATS in home openers.
Malik Nabers caught only two passes for 13 yards.
Giants in second half: 33 plays, 152 yards, 3 points.
QB Wilson is 130-88-1 as an NFL starter, 23-35 last 4+ years.
