Author: MLB Baseball News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games

The 2012 edition of the famed Madden game was graced by Peyton Hillis. He earned that honor after a season where he rushed for 1,177 yards and 11 touchdowns. What followed was a season where he missed six games, he ran for less than half as many yards (587), and only found the end zone three times. In fact, after his double-digit touchdown season, he only found pay dirt six more times for the rest of his career. 

This is just one example of what is known as “The Madden Curse.” A phenomenon where NFL players are destined for a terrible season (and, in the case of Hillis, a terrible career) whenever they are bestowed with the privilege of being on the cover of the sport’s most popular game.

Why am I bringing this up? The NBA has something of a curse of its own brewing. You’ve likely heard some variation of this stat: there has not been a back-to-back champion since 2018. We’ve had eight brand new teams hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy in the last eight years. Even more damning, no reigning champion has even made it back to the NBA Finals in their title defense.

The reason for this is mainly due to the introduction of aprons making it hard to maintain your core for very long, but that’s besides the point. Right now, the New York Knicks are the top dogs in the association, staring down the brutal Curse of a Champion. But do they have what it takes to end this nonsense once and for all?

What’s Changed?

The Knicks do have quite a bit of continuity. Eleven of their 13 top players in total minutes played from last year are back. However, one of the two guys missing from that group is Mitchell Robinson – the second-best offensive rebounder in the NBA (Steven Adams is the king of the crop) and the heart and soul of a team that has finished top-six in the advanced version of that stat in four of the last five years. And the other loss was his heir apparent: Ariel Hukporti.

Their big addition is Andre Drummond – a veteran journeyman who is also known as a chairman of the boards. He should be able to mitigate some of the loss felt by Robinson. And offensively, their perfectly-fine tuned machine should keep running smoothly. 

The East has become more challenging. Both Robinson and Hukporti went to contenders, and the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Indiana Pacers, Toronto Raptors, and Cleveland Cavaliers all made trades in the last six months that should (theoretically) improve their teams. The San Antonio Spurs – the final boss for the Knicks this past postseason – are another year older and more battle-tested. The Oklahoma City Thunder are still a looming giant, and, for their sake, hopefully the injury gods aren’t so cruel this go around. The Los Angeles Lakers are re-tooled and frisky.

Can The New York Knicks Go Back-To-Back?

The big question for me is how much of last title run was real. According to Spotrac, the Knicks had the second-fewest dollars lost due to injury last season. Their postseason strength of schedule wasn’t exactly a Murderers’ Row, either. Before the Spurs (2nd in net rating), they beat the Atlanta Hawks, 76ers, and Cavaliers, who ranked 12th, 18th, and 9th in net rating, respectively.

These points aren’t intended to dismiss the scope of their accomplishments. All past champions have benefitted from luck in some form or the other, but that doesn’t change the fact that luck played a part, and that luck isn’t something you can consistently bank on.

Even more than that, the Knicks unlocked were in a special kind of flow state for the final 16 games of the postseason – winning 15 of those contests by an average margin of victory of 17.1. Their ball movement and variance in attack points was exquisite, while their defense moved together like five puppets on a string in harmonious fashion. 

Did the Knicks crack the code and find basketball nirvana? Is this just who they are now? Or was this just lightning in a bottle – brought upon by a perfect confluence of factors? 

On FanDuel, the Knicks currently have the third-highest odds (best odds in the Eastern Conference) of winning the 2027 NBA Championship at +900 (an implied probability of 10%). I’m personally bullish on the Toronto Raptors and think they have the best blend of two-way balance on their roster of any East team, but even with that view, I still think they are only slightly better than the Knicks. And to me, I’d say that the oddsmakers are right to rank them as a top tier Eastern Conference team.

At the end of the day, it’ll come down to how well they can overcome the loss of Robinson, how much their continuity gives them an edge over the teams playing with new toys, how much of their postseason success carries over to next year, and if they can get another relatively clean bill of health. 

If those storylines end up falling in their favor, I certainly wouldn’t be shocked to see the Knicks repeat as champions and put an end to this dreaded curse once and for all. 

Anyone who has followed the Jets at any sort of detailed level over the years knows they have seen their fair share of preseason standouts. For the most part, these players don’t work out.

For every Wayne Chrebet, there have been countless guys who Jets fans have gotten excited about, only for them to never make much of an impact at the NFL level. Zach Sudfeld, Rontez Miles, Chris Streveler, Ryan Spadola, Clyde Gates…well, you get the point.

Preseason normally doesn’t tell us much, and unfortunately, beating up on a bunch of backups and fringe roster players doesn’t necessarily translate to making valuable contributions during the regular season. However, what if I told you there was a player on the 2026 Jets who might actually be able to make an impact going forward because of his intriguing profile and history?

Listen, listen. I know how this sounds.

I just gave you a complete warning about why you cannot delude yourself into buying into positive preseason performances. I’m always reminded of Tobias Fünke’s hilarious line from Arrested Development whenever I start talking myself into one of these guys:

That pretty much sums it up. It never works. Or, at least, it hardly ever works in NFL terms. But as fans, we delude ourselves into thinking there’s a chance.

This year, my guy is Nate Lynn.

Lynn is a recent acquisition who stood out in the Jets’ preseason opener last week. And while it would be incredibly premature to suggest he’s going to become some sort of impact player (or even make the team), there are enough things about his background and profile to make me at least a little more interested than I normally would be in a preseason standout.

Let’s take a look at Lynn’s history and why there might be something here.

Background

Lynn is a 24-year-old edge rusher entering his third season in the NFL.

He originally came into the league as an undrafted free agent in 2024 after a strong collegiate career at William & Mary. Known for his versatility, Lynn played all over the defensive line in college, often moving inside despite weighing around 255 pounds.

That versatility was a big part of what made him interesting. He had impressive speed for someone who spent so much time lined up around the B-gap, although his testing numbers were much more modest when viewed strictly through the lens of a stand-up edge rusher.

Still, Lynn evidently did enough to impress then-Lions general manager Brad Holmes and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn.

After a solid offseason and training camp, Lynn’s rookie season was unfortunately cut short in his very first preseason game against the Giants. He suffered a torn ligament in his shoulder, which was particularly discouraging considering he had already flashed with a sack in the game.

Lynn spent the entire 2024 season on injured reserve. Then came 2025.

Once again, Lynn generated buzz throughout the offseason, with Brad Holmes publicly describing him as “impressive.” And his preseason performance backed that up. In four preseason games (the Lions played in the Hall of Fame Game) Lynn accumulated 10 total pressures and a sack. Those 10 pressures ranked among the top three of all edge rushers that preseason, while his PFF grade and pass-rush win rate were both in the 99th percentile among qualified pass rushers. Despite all of that, Lynn was cut.

That came as somewhat of a surprise. A quick look at the Lions 53-man roster projections from beat writers that summer shows that Lynn was generally expected to make the team. The overall sentiment seemed to be that he had done enough to stick around. Instead, he ended up signing with the Titans’ practice squad.

Then came another regime change, and Robert Saleh ultimately opted not to keep him around. That brings us to the Jets.

So, What Do We Make of Him?

Lynn has played just one preseason game with the Jets, but he immediately looked like one of the best players on the field, even if he was doing it against backups. He finished with two sacks against the Steelers and was the Jets’ second-highest graded defensive player in the game. One of those sacks came against Steelers starting tackle Broderick Jones.

Obviously, none of this means Lynn is suddenly going to become a star. If anything, he might still be more likely not to make the Jets’ 53-man roster. That’s the reality of being an undersized, relatively unproven edge rusher who has bounced around the league. The intriguing part though, is Lynn has now produced in essentially every preseason setting in which he’s been given an opportunity. In 2025, he was one of the most productive pass rushers in the entire preseason and still couldn’t crack the Lions’ roster. Now, a year later, he has joined another team and immediately flashed again.

Maybe this is just another case of a guy dominating against players who won’t be on NFL rosters in a few weeks. There are certainly plenty of reasons to believe that. But unlike some of the classic Jets preseason stars we’ve fallen in love with over the years, Lynn at least has a track record that makes me a little more interested. He has collegiate production, legitimate versatility, and he has already flashed on multiple occasions in preseasons.

Now he has one more preseason game to make his case. He’s got a lot to play for tonight. And I’ll be rooting for him.

Tue Denver Broncos host the Minnesota tonight for their preseason finale. Coming off an embarrassing blowout loss to the Green Bay Packers last week, the Broncos have a lot of issues to work out. Here are several storylines to watch this evening in Denver’s last gridiron battle before the regular season kicks off in a few weeks against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football.

Can the Broncos play disciplined and dial back the penalties?

The Broncos have experienced an impressive turnaround with Head Coach Sean Payton leading the way. Despite incurring a historic amount of dead cap by moving on from Russell Wilson several seasons ago, Denver has assembled one of the best rosters in the NFL. Moreover, General Manager George Paton has done a tremendous job inking the team’s best players to long-term contracts that have aged well as the market continues to explode at premium positions.

Coming off their first AFC title in a decade and 14-win season, the Broncos are in the best spot they have been in ages. However, they have one of the toughest schedules for the upcoming 2026 season. They face a gauntlet in the first half of the season—going head-to-head against a lot of playoff teams and potential Super Bowl contenders. It’ll be tough to win those games, especially if they continue their poor trend of drawing flags.

Last season, the Broncos were the fourth-most flagged team in football. A lot of offensive drives were stalled due to them, and many drives for the opposition were extended due to consistent defensive holding, pass interference, or roughing the passer penalties. So far this preseason they have had 18 called against them. That’s a nine per game average which is absolutely alarming.

This is a well-coached team, but the miscues and penalty issues that have plagued them for the past several seasons needs to be addressed. Payton was visibly upset with their lack of discipline after their loss to the Packers and mentioned it has to be rectified. That’s one of the major things I’m looking forward to seeing.

Will the Broncos’ rushing attack bounce back?

One of the reasons why the Broncos were able to trounce the Atlanta Falcons in the preseason opener was because of their ground game. They rushed for over 160 yards. By doing so, they set the pace of the game and controlled the clock. Against the Packers last week, they had less than half of that and barely averaged three yards per carry.

That isn’t going to cut the mustard when it matters most. The Vikings have a well-coached defense led by Brian Flores who has a penchant for being aggressive and blitzing. Sometimes, that can backfire on them, and they were in the bottom half of the NFL last season with respect to run defense. I want to see Denver take advantage of that and have a strong rushing performance this evening.

Having a solid ground attack will make a huge difference for the Broncos this season. Fans across Broncos Country saw what happened in the second half of the season without J.K. Dobbins. I’m hoping to see Denver deploy a formidable rushing attack against Minnesota and would like Dobbins, alongside RJ Harvey and Jonah Coleman, to show what kind of trio they can be in the regular season.

What players make the strongest case to make the final 53-man roster?

Continuity was a major theme for the Broncos this offseason. Outside of trading for Jaylen Waddle and their 2026 NFL Draft class, Denver didn’t opt to bring in a lot of outside players to their roster. It’s a team loaded with quality starters and solid backups at most positions. Truth be told, there aren’t a lot of positions up for grabs.

The preseason finale against the Vikings will be the last chance for fringe roster players to make a case to earn a spot on the roster. The spots I’m looking at the most are who impresses the most at safety. With Taylor Rapp in the fold alongside Brandon Jones and Talanoa Hufanga, those three will be locks for the final roster.

The last two spots, if Denver opts to keep five safeties like last season, will come down to Devon Key, Tycen Anderson, J.L. Skinner, and Miles Scott. Key, given his prowess as an All-Pro special team’s player seems likely. Whichever player flashes the most in their defensive reps, in my opinion, will be the one to make the squad.

Outside of safety, the battle for two depth spots behind Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad looms large. Karene Reid has played well in both preseason games and seems like a good bet to make the squad. The last spot will come down to Red Murdock, Taurean York, and Jordan Turner. My gut tells me Murdock has the inside track for this one given the praise he has received from Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph throughout training camp.

Last but not least, I’ll be keeping a close eye on the offensive trenches. The Broncos have been banged up at center and most all the reserve lineman struggled immensely last week against the Packers. While I’m confident in the team’s starters to play at a high level, finding the right combination of depth players behind them will be crucial. There have been far too many offensive line penalties and blown blocks the past two weeks.

What about you, Broncos Country? What things are you keeping a close eye on in the preseason finale against the Vikings? Sound off in the comments section and let me know what you think.

Labor Day steals fast upon us, and in baseball language, this means we’re closing in on the point in the season when a team’s record and standings are a truer indicator of underlying value than vague talk about “parts” and “clubhouse vibes” and “potential.” It’s been a difficult year for the Orioles by most measures—a losing record (65-69), injuries hitting both the rotation and the bullpen, and a trade deadline that saw several key pieces sent off. Even so, with roughly a month remaining in the season, the Orioles remain within range in a tight AL Wild Card race: the Yankees and Red Sox hold the top two spots, while the Cleveland Guardians hold the third, with Baltimore, Texas, and a few others a handful of games away.

The Orioles have us at least thinking about believing again. But is hope warranted? There is good news and bad news here.

One hopeful piece is the offense: the lineup has started to heat up at just the same time Cleveland has to be caught. The Orioles’ offense has been a drag all year —while they’ve hit well for power, their .237 team batting average is one of the worst in the league. But you wouldn’t know it of late. The batting average is up by 20 points, and their latest series against the Cardinals was one of their most prolific to date. The Birds put up 13 runs on Tuesday, eight more on Wednesday, and five more in Thursday’s loss. Several players are leading the charge. Pete Alonso has nine homers in his last 16 games. Coby Mayo has been part of the resurgence too—he’s tied Matt Olson for the MLB lead with 14 homers against lefties—and Christian Encarnacion-Strand is suddenly OPS’ing over .800 and racking up clutch hits right and left. Dylan Beavers and Jackson Holliday are finding it, too. Eight different O’s hitters are now carrying a 100-plus wRC+.

The trouble is, the offensive resurgence is coinciding with a stretch where the pitching is starting to flag. The bullpen is one culprit, if not a surprise one. This is a collection of nobodies, to put it affectionately, especially given the injuries. Keegan Akin was lost to elbow pain in July and is done for the year. Ryan Helsley has been on the injured list since July 3 with UCL inflammation—his second elbow-related IL stint of the season—and while he’s avoided surgery, there’s no clear return date. Félix Bautista has been on the shelf with elbow troubles for over a year. And selling off Tyler Wells at the trade deadline, the closest thing the O’s had to a closer with Helsley on the shelf, certainly wasn’t a move designed to help win close games now. Recently calls to the ‘pen have proven suspect: manager Craig Albernaz still hasn’t settled on a ninth-inning option, cycling through Andrew Kittredge—who did lock down Wednesday’s save—Rico Garcia, Grant Wolfram, and Alex Hoppe, the last of whom only arrived in early August.

Another, less expected problem is that the Birds’ rotation is looking as shaky as it has all season all of a sudden. This is a solid group on paper—Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish, Chris Bassitt, Shane Baz, and Brandon Young—but lately they’re showing wear and tear. On Thursday, Trevor Rogers showed signs of fatigue, allowing six runs on seven hits in five innings, undone by a hanging changeup and control problems. Kyle Bradish is also losing his magic, collapsing in the fifth inning Wednesday and leaving the bullpen to cover 4⅔ scoreless frames just to save the win. Bradish just signed a five-year extension and is already at 143 innings this season, after throwing barely 70 combined in the previous two years while recovering from elbow trouble. Brandon Young, the rookie who nearly threw a perfect game this year, is also worth watching for fatigue: his 3.50 ERA is a genuine achievement for a consummate dark horse, but 123⅓ innings is already more than he’s ever thrown as a professional. And Shane Baz, through no fault of his own, is apparently a bad-luck charm for the Orioles’ offense, sporting a league-high 14 losses despite a 4.02 ERA and the third-worst run support of any starter in baseball.

Circling back to the question of the playoffs, it’s hard to think, even if the Orioles continue to hang tough with the Cleveland Guardians, that these flaws won’t surface down the stretch against a bunch of competitive AL East teams hungry to make the playoffs. The Yankees (75-58) and Red Sox (73-60) are already hold the two spots, and they’re pretty well uncatchable at this point. Three games separate the Orioles from Cleveland, bearer of the third spot, but their schedule requires them to face all their neighbors in the AL East down the stretch. A thin bullpen and a tiring rotation might be surmountable against the Athletics and Rockies, but they’re much harder problems against Boston, Tampa Bay, and Toronto—all clubs with real postseason ambitions of their own—on the way to the finish line.

The O’s are more than talented enough to make noise in the wild-card race, but do they have the depth to do much damage beyond it? It’s hard to think so. At the same time, you want to catch the bug and ride out the momentum of this season while we can. So let’s enjoy a stretch against weaker competition, a three-game set at Oakland beginning today and a weekend trip to Colorado, while we try to figure out once and for all who the 2026 Orioles really are. If this team is for real, this stretch is the time to prove it.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are in town for a weekend set with the Tigers, and the story will certainly revolve around Tarik Skubal’s return to Detroit. Rarely in franchise history has the organization had such a talented pitcher and it was a pleasure to watch the two-time Cy Young award winner’s career unfold. While Casey Mize, Matt Manning, and Alex Faedo were the hotshot first round picks, Skubal was the afterthought who, through a lot of hard work and development, turned himself into one of the greatest pitchers in Tigers’ history. At the same time, the circumstances between Skubal and the Tigers over his final year with the team are still too fresh in many minds for a dispassionate assessment.

My first experience with Tarik Skubal was just looking him up as a matter of course on draft day 2018, when the Tigers selected him in the ninth round. What we saw was a skinny, young left-hander with an obviously good fastball, but nothing else that really stood out. His breaking stuff and changeup were really mediocre, and my first thought was that he might make a good fastball heavy reliever.

He was impressive in a brief look in A-ball, but there wasn’t much new to report. Then came his full season dominance in 2019 as he tore through High-A, and then went absolutely nuts during a 42.1 inning stint at Double-A to close the year. He was comfortably sitting 95 mph and hitting 97-98 mph here and there, but the carry traits on his fourseamer were just outrageous. His slider was somewhat improved, but he was still heavily fastball reliant, and yet no one could hit him. He struck out 48.2 percent of hitters faced, with an insane 21.7 percent whiff rate. There still wasn’t much artistry to his approach. Instead it looked like a game of catch on steroids as he just threw fastballs by everyone with abandon.

It’s easy to forget how long a process it really was for Skubal to transform himself physically, mentally, and in terms of his actual stuff, into the beast we watched from mid-2023 until he was traded. His 2020 debut during the short COVID season wasn’t impressive at all, and he was marginally better as his slider improved in 2021, but still shockingly home run prone. It didn’t help that MLB cracked down on the sticky stuff in June of 2021, and Skubal’s fastball spin rate notably declined after the new policies and umpire inspections of pitchers was instituted. No doubt there was an adjustment period for him three in recalibrating the heater.

The first big evolution of his pro career came in the wake of those changes, as Skubal started using his sinker and slider more, and the latter pitch improved significantly. He also started leaning into his natural tendency to cut the fourseam fastball and began pitching inside much more aggressively to right-handed hitters, with good results. After being incredibly home run prone his first two seasons, he drastically cut down the home runs allowed in 2022 and was on his way to a very good season before blowing out the flexor tendon in his left elbow at the beginning of August. The process of recovering from that surgery was really where Skubal turned himself into the ace version of himself.

When Tarik Skubal emerged to start making rehab outings in June of 2023, he looked like a whole different person. His legs had turned into tree trunks, and his whole frame was bulked up with good muscle and moving faster and more efficiently than ever before. Suddenly the fastball was routinely 98-99 mph. Reportedly, analysts in the Tigers front office had come up with a seam-shifted changeup for him, and once Skubal got the feel for that pitch he was off to the races with the best fastball-changeup combination in the game.

From that point in mid-2023 through 2025, Skubal was the best pitcher in baseball. In the process, he transformed what was possible for a club still trying to build up their roster. The Tigers front office was slow on the uptake in my opinion, and really never made a serious effort to capitalize as their young talent from the great Avila draft classes of 2018-2020 came into their own. The Tigers won a pair of Wild Card series, and came close to advancing to the ALCS last fall, but ultimately they were always a big piece or two short of looking like a legit World Series contender.

The point of going back through his history is just to re-emphasize that Skubal was never the guy. He turned himself into the monster he became with a ton of drive and hard-work. He did so as a perfect citizen in the Tigers’ clubhouse, providing leadership and motivation to all around him. He breathed fire on the mound and wasn’t shy of a little chirping with opposing teams and fanbases, all while maintaining a very open, light-hearted approach to the media. This isn’t Justin Verlander, who was always the man right from the start, with all the physical gifts one could ask for in a pitcher, including downright ludicrous durability. Skubal was a nobody who built himself up into one of the most overpowering pitchers in recent history, and secured his place in history already by winning back-to-back AL Cy Young awards.

It’s hard to find much fault with Skubal here. The time to pursue an extension was after his 2023 breakout. The Tigers apparently made one vague, lowball extension offer in 2024, and neither party broached the subject again. At that point he was too close to free agency to go offering a huge discount. Whether Skubal wanted to stay or not, and he’s always insisted that he’d love to be a Tiger for life, Scott Harris never seemed very interested. At the same time, as a Scott Boras client and union rep for the Tigers, whether Skubal would have considered a less than full market value extension is an open question. A question the Tigers never tested with an offer.

Losing a player of this caliber is really hard on a fanbase. Smaller market clubs are accustomed to being poached by the Dodgers and Yankees of the baseball world, but it never feels good, especially on a team that actually had preseason hopes. Tarik Skubal’s emergence as the best pitcher in baseball helped open a window of contention and gave us all a pretty good dose of postseason baseball. While some remain frustrated that he didn’t pitch an extra inning in Game 5 of last year’s ALDS, he’s certainly the one who did the most to get them there.

From the end of the 2025 playoffs until he was traded on August 1 to the Dodgers, an absolute storm of scutiny and speculation from national and local media followed Skubal wherever he went. At times, he didn’t handle it that well, as his natural desire to be open and well-liked by the Tigers’ fanbase led him into some traps. He couldn’t talk numbers, and by then it was finally clear to everyone if it wasn’t already, that he was going to free agency. But because he’s the one center stage and can’t hide from the drama, it was up to him to field the same types of questions over and over for the nine months until he was traded. He arguably put his foot in his mouth a few times, but for the most part he conducted himself admirably.

Fundamentally, all a player can do is play and conduct themselves like a professional. They’re judged by how they perform, and to a degree for how well they represent the franchise and the fanbase with their conduct. Skubal was close to impeccable on both counts, and while it’s natural for some to have some hard feelings, there’s really no reason to direct any of that at Tarik Skubal. He did everything he could to win in Detroit, even rushing through a bit of an experimental procedure on his elbow in May to try and get back to action as soon as possible. We were fortunate to have him and there’s really nothing to suggest the Tigers ever seriously pursued keeping him long-term.

What is really going to be interesting now though, is whether a combination of his somewhat injury plagued season and a whole host of issues with the league, the Dodgers, and the next CBA will impact his free agency. A year ago, he looked like he might land a $400 million deal from the Dodgers. Now, with a slightly down year at age 29, with the 2027 season in at least some doubt, and with their ownership mired in financial trouble, things are a lot less clear. Will the Tigers be involved? Who knows, but at least the field seems to be opening up.

When Tarik Skubal returns to the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight, let’s hope he gets a full throated standing ovation from the Tigers’ faithful. He’s earned it. His peak puts him among the best Tigers’ pitchers of all-time, and when some of the heat from the drama of the past year subsides, that legacy in Detroit is all that will remain. Seeing him on the mound is going to bring up a broad mix of emotions from Tigers fans, but it’s also a bit of a relief to have the drama behind us. The Tigers are headed into a tricky time for the organization and there’s a lot to consider going into the offseason. Tarik Skubal is not really one of those things right now, so perhaps Friday night will just be cathartic in a sense and everyone can move on, at least for now.

Welcome back home, Tarik. We hope you get the love you deserve, and then the Tigers drop an eight-spot on you somehow. It’s all in the game.

Good quarterbacks are tough to find. And even generational talent coming out of college doesn’t always end up being as generational as you’d hoped. I’m looking at you Trevor Lawrence. This also wasn’t the best year for quarterbacks in the draft. But, so much depends on coaching, opportunity and the players around quarterbacks, that some fantasy value could come out of this draft class, but we may need to wait on it.

If you are in a 10-12 team dynasty that starts one quarterback, there really is no need to worry all that much about rookie quarterbacks, especially this season. Yes, Fernando Mendoza is going to play and Klint Kubiak may be able to get him into the upper tier of fantasy QBs sooner than later, but I’m not betting on its especially when I can make bets on RB, WR, and TE instead.

Of course, if you are in a 2QB league, you’re going to need to take fliers on quarterbacks, because their value is much higher when you need 24 starting QBs instead of 12. When those bye weeks come around or injuries pop up, you’ll feel that crunch and desperation for any warm body set in.

The good news is that rookie quarterbacks are cheap to roster, especially this year. Throw them on your bench and see how it goes.

Fernando Mendoza, Raiders

Mendoza is the only quarterback in this draft assured to make an NFL start. The team invested the first overall pick in hi, and they’ll do all they can to make him an NFL QB. I’m still not taking him ahead of the top offensive players in this draft, even if it is a 2QB league. That doesn’t mean he is very much worth drafting for your bench in hopes that Klint Kubiak can work his magic.

Ty Simpson, Rams

After Mendoza, Ty Simpson is the only quarterback with strong draft capitol and he has an old Matthew Stafford nearing retirement ahead of him. This alone makes him worth a pick, but the talent is suspect. Sean McVay and Puka Nacua are enough to give Simpson more upside than he deserves though. He’s a must draft in 2QB leagues and 14 team leagues with deep benches.

The New Orleans Saints are 0-2 in the preseason so far and didn’t look pretty in a 34-0 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. With New Orleans entering their final preseason match, it feels vital to go into the regular season on a high note.

Head coach Kellen Moore has already announced very few starters will see playtime against the Dallas Cowboys. Despite the reserves seeing the bulk of the playing time, there’s still plenty of matchups to pay attention to on Friday night.

Saints secondary vs. QB Joe Milton III

Cowboys quarterback Joe Milton III has been lighting it up in the preseason. Through two games, Milton has thrown for 286 yards and 3 touchdowns with just seven incompletions. For short, the Saints defense that just allowed 254 passing yards is in for a challenge.

Milton’s talent is exceptional, and he may be one of the league’s best raw talents. While he hasn’t been able to put it all together as a starter in the league, his name often comes up as a trade target for teams looking for a young passer.

The Saints secondary had a strong showing against the Jacksonville Jaguars in their first preseason outing, despite the loss, but followed it up quickly with a poor performance against the Rams. With questions entering the season centered around the secondary, they’ll need a strong performance on Friday to increase confidence in the depth.

Saints pass rush vs. Cowboys pass protection

Part of Milton’s success has been the Dallas pass protection. Through two games, the Cowboys have only allowed one sack, with Milton himself not suffering a sack.

In preseason week one, the Saints pass rush logged four sacks, with Michael Heldman recording two. But like every other facet of the game, the Saints’ pass rush was terrible against the Rams, failing to record a quarterback hit.

If New Orleans wants to slow down the powerful Cowboys offense, it will come with slowing down the Dallas quarterbacks. If the Saints can replicate their success from their first outing, they will severely increase their chances of coming out on top and winning their first game of preseason.

RB Kendre Miller vs. Cowboys run defense

Running back Devin Neal and Ty Chandler each suffered significant injuries against the Rams. These injuries only emphasized the depletion of available backs the Saints have in the running back room. With the injuries, the Saints traded for Zamir White.

Despite the trade, running back Kendre Miller is still the player with the best chance to take over for Alvin Kamara while he’s away with an injury. Through two games, the Cowboys have allowed 242 rushing yards. While facing a defense that has been vulnerable to the run, the Saints’ run game has been inconsistent.

In his preseason debut against the Rams, Miller only rushed for 22 yards on six carries. While underwhelming, the fourth-year running back had plenty of plays negated by penalties and still showed the ability to create explosive plays. Friday’s matchup is a great opportunity for the young running back, who has a big opportunity to see playtime this season.

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The Chicago Cubs welcome the Cincinnati Reds to Wrigley Field for a weekend set, trading at 64% on Polymarket.

My Reds vs. Cubs predictions break down why the hosts will come out on top in a high-scoring game.

Read my free MLB picks for Friday, Aug. 28 below.

Who will win Reds vs Cubs today: Cubs moneyline (64%)

The Chicago Cubs own the best offense in baseball (5.19 runs per game), and they’ll be licking their chops today when they face Cincinnati Reds starter Rhett Lowder.

The right-hander owns a massive 5.14 xERA (10th percentile) and .266 xBA (16th percentile), while ranking in the 15th percentile in pitching run value.

The Cubs have been on fire at the dish this week, led by Ian Happ, who’s sporting an insane 1.335 OPS with 10 RBI. As a club, Chicago leads the majors in runs (39), SLG (.512), and OPS (.858) over the last seven days.

Take the Cubs up to 67%.

COVERS INTEL: The Cubs are batting .301 (third in MLB) with a .373 wOBA (second in MLB) against the sinker, which is Lowder’s most utilized pitch (29.2%).

Reds vs Cubs Over/Under pick: Over 8.5 (50%)

We know Lowder has been lousy, but David Peterson has been just as bad for Chicago.

The southpaw has a 4.84 xERA and .271 xBA, with a pitching run value in the ninth percentile. The Reds’ offense is also much more respectable against left-handed pitching, as they sit eighth in MLB in OPS vs. southpaws (.731).

The Cubs have cashed the Over in eight of Peterson’s last 10 appearances, while the Over is 2-0 in their two prior games against Lowder this season.

The Over is the play up to 52%.

Reds vs Cubs home run prediction: Ian Happ (19%)

What a week it’s been for Happ.

The Cubs outfielder leads the majors with 10 RBI over that span while batting .350 with a ridiculous 1.335 OPS and three dingers to boot.

Happ has hit eight of his 23 home runs against either the sinker or the slider — Lowder’s two main offerings.

Happ’s on fire and we’re getting a great price on him to go yard again. Play him up to 21%.

Reds vs Cubs weather

Wrigley Field will see clear skies with temperatures in the mid-70s and light winds pushing in from right field.

Reds vs Cubs odds

• Moneyline: Cincinnati (37¢) | Chicago (64¢)
• Run line: Cincinnati +1.5 (56¢) | Chicago -1.5 (47¢)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (46¢) | Under 8.5 (55¢)

Reds vs Cubs trend

The Cubs have covered the run line in 28 of their last 45 games (+16.10 Units / 31% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Reds vs. Cubs.

How to watch Reds vs Cubs and game info

Reds vs Cubs latest injuries

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Hickory was rained out.

Andrew Susac went 0.2 IP for Hub City, walking three and allowing four runs.

Paxton Kling was 2 for 3 with two walks and two stolen bases. Gleider Figuereo had a hit. Maxton Martin had a hit. Eduardo Mejia had a hit and a walk. Chandler Pollard had a hit.

Hub City box score

Eric Loomis threw a scoreless inning for Frisco, striking out two and walking one. Leandro Lopez struck out three and walked one in three shutout innings. Josh Trentadue struck out two and walked one in two scoreless innings.

Frisco box score

Round Rock starter Winston Santos allowed one run in 3.2 IP, striking out six and walking two. Ben Peoples struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings. Michel Otanez struck out two in two shutout innings. Emiliano Teodo allowed five runs in 0.1 IP, walking two. Joe Russ allowed four runs in 1.1 IP, walking two and striking out one. Marc Church allowed a run in 0.1 IP, walking two.

Round Rock box score

The Detroit Lions enter their final preseason game with likely most of their roster spots decided, but one that may still be up in the air is the backup quarterback job.

Entering training camp, there likely wasn’t going to be much drama at the position. However, Teddy Bridgewater’s abrupt retirement midway through camp forced the Lions to pivot. While undrafted rookie Luke Altmyer has been with the team all offseason, suddenly thrusting a 23-year-old into the backup position wasn’t something the Lions were willing to do unopposed. So they quickly added nine-year veteran Josh Dobbs to the room.

But thus far in camp, Altmyer has continued to get the bulk of the backup reps. And what seemed like a far-fetched approach—letting Altmyer be the backup to veteran Jared Goff—now seems closer to reality than ever.

On Thursday, Lions coach Dan Campbell asked what he needs to see from Altmyer to have the confidence that he can handle such a critical role.

“Consistency. Just play good smart football,” Campbell said. “We don’t need some wild throws, whatever. Be able to run the offense, be efficient, make smart decisions, even if that means that you’re punting the ball. That’ll be the most important thing. We don’t want the wild plays and then there’s an ill-advised throw across the middle for an intercept—those won’t get it done. So just be smart, take what’s there, run the offense and that’ll go a long way.”

It hardly seems like a coincidence that Campbell would bring up the example of an ill-advised pass over the middle that was intercepted. That could be fresh in his mind because Altmyer’s competition, Josh Dobbs, did exactly that in the team’s second preseason game last week.

But under Dan Campbell, the Lions have seemingly preferred to have a veteran set of eyes behind Goff. Be it Bridgewater, David Blough, or Kyle Allen, the Lions almost always wanted a seasoned player among the quarterback reserves, with the lone exception being 2024 (Hendon Hooker, Jake Fromm).

Campbell admitted they prefer to have experienced players at quarterback, but that won’t trump overall talent when it comes to cut-down day.

“I mean, you would like that because those guys have played, there are real reps. They’ve been under real fire in real football games and that is important. But that’s not the end all be all, either,” Campbell said. “If you think there’s somebody to work with here and that he’s shown enough progress and he’s only going to get better, then we don’t close our eyes to that either.”

Further complicating the Lions’ decision is the amount of roster gymnastics they could try to perform to keep both players around. Because Dobbs is a veteran, the Lions could opt to cut him, not subject him to waivers, and bring him back later either on the practice squad or 53-man roster. But at the same time, how likely is it that Altmyer would get claimed on waivers if Detroit opted to cut him? Last year, there were only 27 total waiver claims after initial NFL roster cuts, and just one of them (Tommy Devito) was a quarterback. So the Lions could keep Dobbs on the roster, and bring back Altmyer assuming he clears waivers.

Regardless, the Lions won’t make that decision until after Saturday’s preseason finale against the Indianapolis Colts. It’s unclear how the Lions will share the load between Altmyer and Dobbs on gameday, but their performance could be the tipping point for a difficult decision.

Welcome to rivalry weekend. The Yankees will take on the Red Sox in the Bronx after dropping two of three to the Astros. After scoring 16 runs in the first two games of the series the bats only got a single run in the finale.

On the other side, Boston has been rolling since the All-Star break, going 27-12. Since the season got back underway, they have a team OPS of .796, and in the month of August that number currently sits at .810. The Red Sox swept the Giants at home before taking two of three from the Marlins down in Miami most recently. 

After a day off, Boston’s pen is rested and ready. However, they are a little banged up as former Yankee Garrett Whitlock, who is having an exceptional season with a 2.05 ERA and an impressive 0.89 WHIP, and Justin Slaten, a trusted arm, are both currently on the injured list.

Expect to see a healthy dose of the toxic lefty Aroldis Chapman, who is having a great season with 30 saves and a 1.81 ERA, along with another former Yankee in righty Greg Weissert, who is 3-2 with a 3.93 ERA. Boston’s early-game lefty reliever is Erik Miller, who is sporting a 2.09 ERA with a 1.28 WHIP, and they often call on righty journeyman Tyron Guerrero, who has 17 holds and a 1.07 WHIP this year.

The Yankees’ pen took a big blow this week when it was announced that Fernando Cruz was diagnosed with a partial UCL tear. Heading into the weekend, closer David Bednar should be fresh after not being used in the Astros series. Most of the regulars should be ready after Justin Topa grinded out the last bit of last night’s game. Going four games in three days is always tough, and with a trip to the West Coast looming, I would expect the bullpen to shuffle a good bit over the weekend.

This weekend series features a twin bill on Saturday, which is a makeup for the game that was rained out back in June. This will be the last time these two teams meet until a possible October showdown. Currently, Boston holds a 5-4 advantage in the season series, further adding to the need for the Yankees to win this series. Now, let’s dive into the pitching matchups.

Friday: Cam Schlittler vs. Patrick Sandoval (7:15 p.m. ET)

It is not hard to gush over how great Schlittler has been this season and boy, do the Yankees need him to be that guy tonight, coming in with an impressive 11-6 record, a 2.17 ERA, and a 0.96 WHIP to top it off. In three starts against Boston this season, Schlittler is 1-1 with a 0.96 ERA across 18.2 innings. This will be Schlittler’s fifth start in August. So far in the month, he has a 1-0 record with a 2.95 ERA, and over his last three outings he has only given up a single earned run each time out. The young ace will look to set the tone in game one and simply do what he has done when he faces his hometown team.

Sandoval, a lefty, takes the hill for Boston to counter Schlittler. This will be Sandoval’s ninth start of the season coming off his rehab for Tommy John surgery. In his eight starts since returning, he has posted a 1-2 record with a 4.54 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP. Sandoval primarily throws a slider, changeup, and sinker, profiling as the crafty lefty who relies on deception and movement. The Yankees might be able to take advantage of the rust, as Sandoval has walked 18 batters in 39.2 innings thus far.

Saturday Game 1: Carlos Rodón vs. Jake Bennett (1:05 p.m. ET)

The Yankees will send Rodón out for game one of the doubleheader. He has made two starts since coming back off the injured list due to elbow inflammation. The veteran lefty went 4.0 innings in each outing, giving up an earned run in each and throwing 66 and 76 pitches, respectively. As Peter detailed back on Monday, Rodón has been using his sinker more since he returned. Injuries have limited him to 11 starts, but in those starts Rodón has posted a 3.15 ERA, with 58 strikeouts across 54.1 innings. Rodón pitched five scoreless innings against the Boston Red Sox on June 28, allowing just one hit and four walks while striking out six.

Boston sends their second straight lefty to the hill in Bennett for game one. Bennett faced the Yankees back on June 27. He picked up the win while allowing just one run over 6.1 innings in that game. The Red Sox rookie has an 8-6 record with a 3.49 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 15 appearances on the season. The 6-foot-6 southpaw has a low three-quarters arm slot with a high leg kick, with an arsenal that features a four-seamer, sinker, changeup, and cutter.

Saturday Game 2: TBA vs. TBA (7:15 p.m. ET)

As of Thursday night, neither team has announced a starter for the second game of the doubleheader. It is expected that the Yankees will activate and roll Max Fried following his recovery from a recurring bone bruise, while Boston has indicated they might do a bullpen game featuring a heavy dose of righty Brayan Bello, who has fared well in a bulk role since losing his rotation spot.

Sunday: Will Warren vs. Ranger Suárez (1:35 p.m. ET)

The Sunday matinee features the ever-present William Warren. Warren might not be your favorite pitcher on the team, but you have to respect his availability and how hard he fights each outing. Warren has made 25 starts on the year and has posted an 8-6 record with a 4.39 ERA and 126 strikeouts. In his last start, he went 5.0 innings and gave up two earned runs against the Astros. It is very possible the tiebreaker for the season series with Boston comes down to Warren’s right arm.

If Sunday’s game has that much storyline, the Red Sox counter with offseason signing Suárez. The veteran lefty has been average at best so far in August, giving up nine earned runs in 18.1 innings of work. However, in his last start he worked 5.0 innings of one-run ball against the Marlins. Suárez has faced the Bombers twice in 2026. In his first start back in April, he lasted only 4.2 innings and gave up four earned runs, taking the loss. Suárez looked much better against the Yankees the second time around in June when he tossed 6.1 innings of one-run ball.

All these lefties make me feel like a Heliot Ramos, earn your pinstripes series is loading and ready to launch. What do you predict for this weekend? Who takes the season series?

The New England Patriots played a horribly boring and just downright horrible game on Thursday in Cleveland to close out their preseason. Even though their 37-13 loss to the Browns was disappointing very much from start to finish, there are always lessons to be learned.

Let’s get into what the Patriots’ final preseason contest of 2026 taught us about the team.

Depth concerns

The Patriots didn’t play any starters on Thursday night, and, truthfully, they probably didn’t play many backups either. The lack of depth was still startling. They were outmatched at pretty much every position on the field, and blown out by a team that could be one of the worst in football this year. The Browns also didn’t start anyone of consequence, so it’s not like they were facing tougher competition.

It just illustrates the point that head coach Mike Vrabel had made last week about New England’s depth. When looking at the starter level, the Patriots have gotten significantly better as a team. If you start to look down the depth chart, that falls apart pretty quickly. It is like that for a lot of teams, but the Patriots need to continue to string good drafts together and find competent UDFAs to help fill out that depth. The hope is that they can do that moving forward, because it was tough to watch some of the guys out there on Thursday.

RB3 competition heating up

Hassan Haskins isn’t going to be returning kicks any time soon, but he did look good running the ball. He ran tough and picked up yards even while getting hit behind the line of scrimmage. Conversely, Lan Larison had two straight drops when he was on the field, and, while JaMichael Hasty had a few nice runs, I don’t think he’s the guy who the Patriots want as their third back either.

This all might be moot, because Jam Miller didn’t even have a carry, which could signal that the Patriots already know that he’s the RB3, and they didn’t really need to see anything else from him on Thursday night. If I had to put money on it, I’d put my money on Miller, but I guess we’ll find out this weekend.

Gabe Jacas, error repeater

The Patriots knew that they might not be getting the best out of Gabe Jacas early on with him missing time in the spring and at the beginning of camp, but I can’t imagine they thought he would look quite this bad in actual game action. What worries me is not the lack of production when it comes to rushing the quarterback, or even stopping the run, but the fact that he keeps making the same mistakes. He is continually burned on bootleg, RPO, and option plays, and instead of holding the outside integrity, he comes flying in and gives up the edge.

It’s happened in every game that he’s played in. At a certain point, you need to ask whether or not he’s ever going to figure it out. I know we’re not even into the regular season of his rookie year, but I would love to see more from him particularly against replacement-level opponents. Until he figures it out, the Patriots simply cannot put him out on the field on a regular basis — which is not good news considering that he currently projects as the team’s third edge.

For the love of god, please sign Christian Gonzalez

The depth shouldn’t even matter when we’re talking about Christian Gonzalez, but my goodness, it was even worse than anyone could have expected. Kindle Vildor looked awful, Karon Prunty played okay, but had trouble finishing his tackles. Meanwhile, Kobee Minor and Marcellas Dial Jr. both had horrendously bad plays that led to touchdowns. Again, this should have next to no impact on the Patriots signing one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL, but it certainly can’t hurt.

Not sure what exactly the hold up has been for the Patriots, or why they wouldn’t be willing to extend one of not only their best players, but one of the best players in the league, but there is no excuse to them not getting something done.

Dominated at the line of scrimmage

The Patriots obviously didn’t play any starters, or even a lot of second-stringers, but they were completely dominated on both sides of the line. I thought that Caleb Lomu was able to hold his own when he was in there, but I didn’t see much from anyone else on the offensive line. On defense, they got almost no pass rush and couldn’t stop the run either. It was as bad of a night as you could imagine, with no one showing much of anything.

I really like the starters that they have on both sides of the ball, but, as soon as guys start going down, there isn’t a lot of depth behind them. 

Do we have a punter competition?

New England brought in a new punter, Matt Haack, because Bryce Baringer got banged up in the game against the Eagles last weekend. Haack had four punts in his Patriots debut, with thrree of them pinning the Browns inside the 20, including a 63-yarder that was downed at the 2.

Baringer looked pretty solid in camp, and it’s clear that kicker Andy Borregales is comfortable with him as his holder. That said, Borregales went 2-for-2 on field goal attempts on Thursday night, and the punts looked great from Haack as well. I think there’s going to be a conversation about which punter to keep starting the season, especially with Baringer a little banged up.

Kyle Williams might be a one-trick pony, but it’s a heck of a trick

There was a whole lot of concern at the beginning of camp about Kyle Williams. He wasn’t getting enough time with the starters, and people were worried that he was on a worrisome trajectory. Well, he might not be a WR1 at this point in his career (or maybe ever), but he had consistently shown that he does one thing extremely well: he is untouchable on a go-route, especially with no safety help.

This single skill should be enough to earn him a few looks a game from Drake Maye, one of the best deep ball throwers in the NFL. I am hoping that he will eventually add more tools to his bag, but having the ability to quickly win off the line and consistently beat coverage deep is a valuable skill, and one which I believe is going to be an important part of the Patriots offense this year.

Namdi Obiazor makes a few plays

On a night where most guys looked terrible, sixth-round draft pick Namdi Obiazor looked at least pretty good. Starting linebackers Robert Spillane and Christian Elliss weren’t dressed, and neither was the injured Khalil Jacobs, leaving Obiazor to look like the best linebacker on the team on Thursday.

Granted, that might not be a high bar, but the youngster nonetheless was one of the few defenders to show up on Thursday. It also helps that he plays a bunch of special teams. This, plus his potential to develop into a player on defense, would be a big boost for a team who doesn’t have any noteworthy long-term depth behind Spillane and Elliss.

Behren Morton is unimpressive

I have mostly liked what I’ve seen from Behren Morton in training camp, and when he has been given reps, he has made pretty good decisions. He looked pretty poised for a rookie, and looked to be a good candidate to eventually become a backup to Drake Maye. All of that went out the window on Thursday.

Morton looked frazzled, made some really bad decisions, and missed on a few throws that could have been big plays — all while going against players who mostly will be out of a job come Sunday night. Ultimately, I think he’s a good guy to keep on the practice squad to see if you can develop him into a usable backup, but, after seeing what I saw Thursday, I’m not going to be super upset if someone claims him off of waivers if the Patriots cut him this weekend. 

Cutdown day is looming

The Patriots have to trim their roster from 91 all the way down to 53 by Sunday afternoon, and they have some tough decisions to make. The first few they are going to have to make involve injuries. Will Harold Landry and/or Brenden Schooler be ready to start the season, or be ready to play in the first few weeks? If not, they are going to have to put them on injured reserve and bring them off when they’re ready. Bryce Baringer is in the same boat; it didn’t sound serious, but they are going to have to make a decision, and putting him on IR could give them a few weeks to figure out whether or not it’s working with Matt Haack.

Lastly, as mentioned before, they have to figure out what to do with the depth. Is it possible that they cut below 53 and claim or sign a few guys who get released? Or do they find another way to fill out their roster? All these questions will be answered by Sunday, and, of course, just because someone is on the practice squad doesn’t mean they won’t play this year. It is still a good line of demarcation for the season, and should signal to everyone that real football is right around the corner.

Of course, in order not to miss any Patriots moves, please make sure to regularly visit our roster cuts tracker.

Last year was a tough one for top-end tight ends, as both George Kittle, Tucker Kraft and Brock Bowers had injury trouble that derailed their fantasy seasons. That left Tre McBride to pick up the slack, catching a crazy 126 passes to set the NFL record for receptions in a season. At this point there is a real chance all three of those injured stud tight ends might be available for Week 1!

We had some fresh talent infuse the tight end position last season, with three rookies putting up strong numbers. Tyler Warren, Colston Loveland, and Harold Fannin Jr. all proved their fantasy worth and look to build on their strong rookie campaigns. It’s nice to have those guys added to what is usually a pretty shallow pool of top fantasy tight ends.

In twelve team leagues that start one tight end, there are often not enough capable fantasy tight ends to go around. This year I’d be happy with eleven of this group being my starter. And since we can wait longer to pick up a TE starter we like, we don’t have to waste a second or third round pick on a stud.

Tight end injuries

George Kittle, 49ers

Kittle ruptured his Achilles in 2026 and is trying to play in Week 1 of the 2026 season at the age of 33! The odds are stacked against him, but I wouldn’t put it past him to have yet another strong year in Kyle Shanahan’s offense. We get a discount on him this season, but for good reason.

Tucker Kraft, Packers

Kraft was absolutely on fire to start last season, putting up 32 receptions for 489 yards and six touchdowns through seven and a half games. Unfortunately, a torn ACL ended his amazing start. All signs point to him playing in Week 1 and Kraft is only 25 and going into his fourth season. I’m not as worried about him as I am Kittle.

Late round TE pick

Terrance Ferguson, Rams

There aren’t many late round tight ends who will have a chance or the ability to be a top fantasy player this year. There are good, solid players who can be useful, but they aren’t going to exceed expectation very often. But, the Rams have Terrance Ferguson, who is a field stretching tight end and if give a chance, could put up big numbers. The question is if he will get that chance. The Rams have plenty of tight ends and will mix and match them, giving none enough consistent work for fantasy greatness. But, the Rams need a WR3 behind Puka Nacua and Davonte Adams. Ferguson could fill that role from the tight end position and it’s worth taking a flier on him to see if that happens.

Tight end PPR Rankings