Category: MLB

The third preseason game for the Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots did not include a lot of players who will play a lot of snaps in Week 1, but it did include a lot of roster bubble guys. The amazing Browns fans were planning to tune in, with QBs Dillon Gabriel and Taylen Green taking the snaps this week:

The biggest stories coming out of the game will be any injuries and how those bubble players perform with the chances that they are given. Some of the evaluation is tougher given the level of talent on the other side of the field, with the Patriots also not playing their top guys. Take everything within that perspective.

A few takeaways from Thursday Night Football off the shores of Lake Erie:

Rocket Sanders looks good

Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson have locked up the top of the depth chart, but Raheim Sanders still has to secure his spot as the third guy. A few carries in the first few series looked like Sanders, nicknamed “Rocket,” is on his way to having that role.

Luke Floriea trying to make Browns roster decision tough

One of Shedeur Sanders’ favorite targets, Floriea just keeps making plays, including this touchdown from Gabriel:

And again!

Defensive questions

CB D’Angelo Ross is a special teams star and looked totally out of place getting beat for a touchdown throw where he wasn’t anywhere near the receiver while looking into the backfield. Overall, the defense made a couple of big plays, but seemed to benefit from the bad New England offense more than making stops themselves.

Dillon Gabriel shows talent, value

As noted above, level of competition is a key reference point, but Gabriel showed out in the first half. Not only with the stats, but the long-term college starter looked under control, was rarely rattled, and was smooth with his decisions and delivery of passes. As much as Monken values “operation,” Gabriel was pretty clean throughout.

As for the stats, this is Preseason Performance Hall of Fame level:

• 12 for 15
• 186 yards
• 3 touchdowns
• 4 rushes, 3 yards
• 157.9 rating

There were some very good throws, as well as his receivers making plays and Patriots defenders not making the plays they needed to. For example, the text of this tweet is… interesting… given the play being made by RB Ahmani Marshall after a simple Gabriel pass, but a touchdown is a touchdown:

QB run going to be a big piece of the offense

Both Gabriel and Green ran some zone read and other quarterback run-oriented plays. Green’s QB sweep was really well designed and put defenders in difficult positions.

It is one reason I believe Watson won the starting QB job and think the QB run will be a huge part of this

Al Michaels just saying whatever was funny

Michaels made a number of mistakes, railed on the refs, the virtual measurement, and more. Perhaps too much celebration of his 60th wedding anniversary (seriously, that is amazing). Given that the game didn’t matter, Michaels being a little less professional, and showing a little chest hair, was kind of appropriate.

Taylen Green’s legs a weapon, a few good passes too

As noted above, the QB run game was shown more in this game, but Green’s legs were useful as a scrambler as well. Defenders have to be ready for the run from Green, which can open up lanes for the running backs in option oriented palys and even receivers in some passing concepts.

Green finished with eight rushes for 66 yards.

Not everything was perfect, of course, but Green hit a few passes as well, including a key checkdown to Floreia to keep a drive going.

Social media and our game chat were full of ideas to have a package for Green or to use him on sneaks, the problem there is that Cleveland would have to keep three quarterbacks on their active game-day roster, instead of two and an emergency third QB. Seems unlikely unless injuries require it. Green is only likely to be active if/when he’s the backup QB (or starter).

4 running backs?

Davon Booth and Marshall both made plays in the third preseason game. Will the Browns keep four running backs and rely on a tight end to take the fullback role? Veteran FB Michael Burton hasn’t practiced during training camp, while Rocket Sanders, Booth, and Marshall have all made a case for making the roster as well. Perhaps Monken gets creative with his usage, including Sanders taking some snaps at fullback.

What were your takeaways from Browns vs Patriots?

Preseason Week 3 is a wrap, and the Buffalo Bills close out the exhibition slate with a 26-7 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Highmark Stadium. Thanks for your love in the first article of this series, and glad to be back for another one. Here’s everything I wrote down as it happened.

1st Half

• Skyler Bell moves fluidly and is a huge mismatch running routesinside. The way he moves reminds me of Stefon Diggs a lot.
• Shane Buechele isn’t close to Kyle Allen as a passer. And Allen isn’t great.
• Trent Sherfield is a lock to make this roster IMO.
• Joe Andreessen will make the team. They wouldn’t keep him out of this game if he wasn’t part of their roster. They’d give him a chance to put up more on tape for his NFL future elsewhere.
• Keonta Jenkins in trouble? Maybe PS bound again.
• Mitch Wishnowsky is gone. A 19-yard punt when battling for his life? Oof.
• Ray Davis messed up with his punt return case. Better now than in week 1, I guess? It might cost the Bills a roster spot, though. The punt returner job might not be settled. Mecole Hardman hasn’t been good, Khalil Shakir is simply a guy for safety there. Maybe Keon Coleman will get another shot? I’m not very excited about any of those options.
• A battle for the CB2 job in week 3 of preseason? Davison Igbinosun is giving Maxwell Hairston a run for his money. I won’t be surprised to see him alongside Christian Benford in week 1.
• T.J. Parker reminds me of Shaq Lawson right now. I know Shaq never became what we expected from him, but that’s not a bad comp for T.J. as he starts his career. He has the potential to become better and more complete.
• I wouldn’t keep Damar Hamlin or Geno Stone in my 53, going with Jordan Hancock and Jalon Kilgore as my backup safeties. I think the Bills will carry one of them, though. Hamlin’s probably getting the nod with another INT.
• Phidarian Mathis looks good, too bad he’s on PEDs.
• Kani Walker is an awesome find. Undrafted? This guy looks better than Levi Wallace, who was also undrafted, and Dane Jackson, who was a 7th-round pick. He’s young Benford-like, but Benford was a 6th round pick. Awesome find.
• Andre Jones Jr. giving Max Iheanachor, a 1st round pick, some trouble is a good look for somebody who’s fighting for a PS place.
• Rough half for the OL.

2nd Half

• Nice to see Bell being moved around and getting open no matter where he lined up. It’s against backups at this point or even people who won’t make the team, but we’re talking about a 4th round pick, it’s not like he’s supposed to be a stud out of the gate. His versatility will give him opportunities.
• I’ve heard all the talk about the new stadium, but I’ll tell you one thing: it looks gorgeous on TV, especially as the night comes.
• It’s just preseason, and with a lot of backups and camp bodies on the field at this point, but I’m really excited for the new defensive schemes. Jim Leonhard’s defense should be fun.
• Bad bad look for the Special Teams allowing that punt return for a TD. No discipline, poor angles, and even worse tackling. Teaching tape on what not to do for the guys in the final 53.
• That Pittsburgh PR, though. Dude is a real weapon. (Kaden Wetjen, 4th round pick). One of the best punt returners coming out of college recently (Two-time Jet Award winner, 2024-25).
• It’s extremely frustrating how Buechele doesn’t risk anything downfield, like, ever. Give his WRs a chance to make some plays. It’s always a check-down or scrambling. (He just gave Max Tomczak a shot as I was typing this, and guess what? It worked).
• I wish Ja’Mori Maclin had more chances, but, as said above, Buechele.
• Last drive and Buechele starts to let it fly. Gave Dante Pettis two chances and good things happened — a 1st down completion on 3rd and 14, and a long PI call setting the Bills up inside the 10.
• Pettis is an NFL receiver. He ate his competition alive late in the game, including on the game-winning 2-point conversion. Can he become the punt returner and make the team? I’d rather have him than Hardman, but I don’t think any of them make the team.
• 1 min left, 1-point game. The type of situation Sean McDermott’s D failed miserably, again and again. Not Leonhard’s though. 4 and out, game over. What’s that? Is it real life? Love to see it.

Catch up on all this and more with the latest edition of Leading the Charge!

Most of the talk about Chicago’s amazing season so far is either about the hitting, which is chugging right along despite some serious slumping here or there. Or even the pitching, which looks like it may be running out of steam (please notice how both references cleverly tie in to old trains). As long as the Savannah Bananas keep furnishing hitters and if management can cleverly find a blister somewhere on Sean Burke so he can get a few weeks of R&R like Davis Martin before the stretch run, both may work out just fine.

That leaves … fielding.

The team’s defense certainly seems to pass the eyeball test with better marks than in recent years, with many fewer bizarre incidents. But should we trust professionally-developed algorithms, or our lying eyes? The algorithms aren’t horrible, but they aren’t impressive, either.

Let’s take a look. For this look, we’ll go with Baseball-Reference. Defense is the category where B-R and FanGraphs are most likely to disagree, because there is some subjectivity to how they value things, but using both all the way through would provide way too many numbers to try to cope with.

Within B-R, we’ll go with the most easily comparable figure, which is Defensive Runs Saved. DRS is created in a way that the league average at each position is zero, so figuring out good versus bad is fairly easy.

And we’ll go by position.

First, a strong point — pitchers
Amazingly, at least amazingly if you remember all the pickoff throws to Row Q in recent years, White Sox pitchers score third best in the majors at fielding their position. Yep, they’re at +7 DRS, behind only the Mets and Cubs. There are obviously a whole lot of players involved in this case, so no one or two pitchers get the credit, but the staff as a whole is defending extremely well.

That’s good, because …

Yuck — catchers
White Sox catchers have been very good at throwing out runners with larcenous intent, nailing 27% compared to an MLB average of 23%. But that’s where any goodness ends. And boy, is the bad stuff bad.

As a team, they’re 29th, at -10 DRS. Why, you ask?

Well, it may not seem quite as awful as back when Zack Collins was chasing every third pitch back to the wall behind home plate, but the several catchers used by the Sox this year are the runaway leaders in allowing wild pitches. Sure, the pitchers get charged with those, but everything that touches dirt is called a wild pitch these days, and catchers are supposed to block most of those. They haven’t — 60 times they haven’t, five worse than any other team (Angels) and twice as many as the better backstops.

There have been so many different bodies behind the plate, it’s only fair to call it a position-wide problem, not an individual weakness.

The just sorta blah — the infield
The infield positions on the South Side share a defensive trait — they’re all slightly worse than average.

That’s a good result at first base, where most scouts figured Munetaka Murakami would be awful. He’s not. Mune scores a -2 DRS — not good, but not terrible, either. That’s in 789 innings of 1,188 the Sox have played, with the two subs while he was on the IL, Miguel Vargas and Jacob Gonzalez, bringing the score up just one point. Overall, the first base D is right in the middle.

It may be a surprise that second base scores more below average, at -4 DRS, 20th in MLB. Half of that is on Chase Meidroth, who has played all but 90 innings at the position, to the tune of -2 DRS. Meidroth makes some terrific plays (and we may forget the awful ones) but his subs — Sam Antonacci being the key — have racked up -2 in just a handful of games.

Even more surprising may be third base, given that the TV crews constantly say what a great fielder Miguel Vargas is. Turns out, he isn’t. The third base total is -3 DRS, and Vargas is good for 921 innings of the coverage there. What he is really good at is catching the ball — only two fielding boo-boos, second-best in MLB. What he’s really bad at is throwing the ball — eight throwing errors, second-worst in MLB for third basemen.

Then, there’s shortstop. Overall, Sox shortstops score -4 DRS, good for 20th place. Colson Montgomery, who has covered 787 of the 1,188 innings, is even worse, at -6 DRS, ranking last of 18 shortstops with qualified innings according to FanGraphs. He has made only eight errors, only two of those throwing, but comes up short (get it?) on getting to balls. (Being slightly below-average on defense would be perfectly fine for a power hitter destined to knock more than 30 homers, but his recent slump also puts Colson at a just-below-average 98 OPS+ even though OPS tends to favor power hitters, and the strikeouts … well. Too bad it’s too late in the season for another Arizona intervention like the one that saved his career last spring.)

So, every infield position is poor, but none are horrible.

At the extremes — the outfield
The three outfield spots cover the gamut in defensive performance, at least as far as DRS is concerned.

Right field is right in the middle. As a team, the Sox score just below average there, at -2 DRS. Most of the action in right these days involves Braden Montgomery, who has handled 576 innings at a completely neutral 0 DRS. He had several predecessors in the spot, none noteworthy. As for Braden, his fantastic arm is unfortunately balanced by a tendency to throw before actually catching a ball on the ground, leading to leakiness.

Center field is the true bright spot of the D. The team scores a +6 DRS, good for seventh in MLB, with Tristan Peters amassing all six runs in his 791 innings patrolling the area. Combine that with his sudden surge in hitting in August, and every team is apt to be sending a bunch of scouts to cover Savannah Bananas games from now on.

As for left, that’s sad, especially for those of us who consider Antonacci our favorite player. The eyeball test hasn’t seemed bad, but the data is very unhappy: -12 DRS in left as a team, last in the big leagues. Most of that isn’t on Sam, but he’s at -5 for 771 innings, which is, to put it bluntly, lousy. We can’t even blame Andrew Benintendi’s defensive incompetence for the problem, because he’s been nailed to the bench for all but 55 defensive innings. Heck, we can’t even say, “At least he’s not as awful out there as Andrew Vaughn was,” because Sam’s even worse — at least worse than Vaughn’s first year, when in a similar number of innings he was only -2 DRS. (Vaughn got much, much worse his second year in the outfield, so we have to hope the same thing doesn’t happen with Antonacci.)

So …
It’s unlikely Chicago’s drive to the postseason will be led by fancy glovework, but it shouldn’t be killed by defensive lapses, either. Except maybe behind the plate.

The New England Patriots concluded their preseason with a 37-13 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night.

With Drake Maye and the Patriots frontline players out again, it was a rough showing from New England’s depth players on both sides of the ball — outside of an early highlight from Kyle Williams scoring on another deep ball touchdown.

Here’s everything that went down in the preseason finale.

Final score: Patriots 13 : 37 Browns

Thursday, Aug. 27, 8 p.m. ET | Huntington Bank Field, Cleveland, OH | Broadcast information | Game day roster

First Quarter

The Patriots lost the coin toss putting the defense on the field first against Dillon Gabriel and the Browns reserves. A third-down defensive pass interference penalty downfield on Kindle Vildor quickly put Cleveland outside the red zone. From there, the Browns needed just four plays to find the end zone. [Patriots 0 : 7 Browns]

Tommy DeVito drew the start for the Patriots with QB coach Ashton Grant calling offensive plays. After quickly working across midfield, DeVito and Kyle Williams struck again as they connected on a 45-yard touchdown down the left sideline. [Patriots 7 : 7 Browns]

The Browns offense quickly got back to work. Rookie Gabe Jacas bit on a zone-read to allow Gabriel to pick up a third-down with his legs, before the left quarterback found a pair of chunk gains through the air over the middle — the second being a 14-yard touchdown. [Patriots 7 : 14 Browns]

New England then went three-and-out on their next possession as a third-down pass was slightly behind and dropped by Lan Larison out of the backfield. New punter Matt Haack then punted away.

Cleveland’s first play of its new drive goes 52 yards on a deep connection to wide receiver Ben Patterson. Multiple Patriots defenders wrap up Gabriel behind the line of scrimmage on third down in the red zone for a registered sack before kicker Andrew Szmyt adds three to the Browns’ column from 35 yards out. [Patriots 7 : 17 Browns]

Nearing the end of the first quarter, seventh-round rookie Behren Morton replaces DeVito at the helm of the offense. But the signal-caller’s first pass attempt of the evening bounces off the foot of tight end CJ Dippre and falls into the hands of the opposing defense.

Second Quarter

As a result, the Browns took over at New England’s 31-yard line. And after a three-play sequence, Szmyt splits the uprights once more. [Patriots 7 : 20 Browns]

Looking for a response, Morton drove the Patriots offense into the red zone, where kicker Andy Borregales made a 26-yard field goal attempt midway through the frame. New England’s quarterback scrambled for a gain of 14 before connecting for 19 more yards with Kyle Dixon, sitting in a zone coverage soft spot, to cross midfield on the drive. [Patriots 10 : 20 Browns]

Starting its response series just past midfield in New England territory after outside linebacker Amari Gainer was flagged for roughing the passer, Gabriel found running back Ahmani Marshall in the flat, who shed a tackle to secure the score. Cornerback Charles Woods allowed two chunk conversions totaling 39 yards prior. [Patriots 10 : 27 Browns]

The Patriots, taking over with just over two minutes remaining until halftime, had Borregales drill a 33-yard field goal with seven seconds left on the clock. A defensive pass interference call that overturned a deep Morton interception set the Patriots up in Cleveland territory before the no-huddle tempo took effect. [Patriots 13 : 27 Browns]

Third Quarter

Opening the second half, Browns defensive tackle Coziah Izzard broke into New England’s backfield, sacking Morton on a first-down snap. The Patriots were forced to punt after the setback, but seventh-round rookie Quintayvious Hutchins brought down the scrambling returner at the two-yard line after he attempted to create extra yardage.

As Taylen Green replaced Gabriel on Cleveland’s following drive, his offense couldn’t overcome the poor field positioning, going three-and-out.

Despite New England quickly regaining possession, a three-and-out of its own sent the ball right back to the opposition. Recently signed punter Matt Haack delivered a 63-yard kick, pinning the Browns at their own two-yard line halfway through the third.

Fourth Quarter

Nevertheless, to end the quarter-long scoring drought, Cleveland running back Davon Booth capped off a nine-minute, 98-yard scoring drive. The ball carrier broke a missed tackle by Patriots cornerback Kobee Minor, easily waltzing into the end zone for the touchdown. [Patriots 13 : 34 Browns]

The Patriots, operating in an even larger scoring deficit, followed with an offensive series that only lasted five plays. Punting from midfield, Haack’s punt sailed to the Browns’ 19-yard line for a fair catch with 12 minutes remaining.

Cleveland’s goal to close out the game is to chew the clock, which it did for five and a half minutes during a nine-play possession, securing three first downs.

New England then attempted to put together a scoring drive, starting from its own 11, but Morton was hit as he threw on a fourth-and-two play, resulting in an interception. The Browns returned the takeaway to the Patriots’ 12-yard line, turning the defensive stop into a successful field goal just ahead of the two-minute warning. [Patriots 13 : 37 Browns]

Morton completed a couple of passes on the final drive of the contest as the clock ran out.

Sept. 17

Today in sports history

Today is Sept. 17. On this date in:

1906: Future Hall of Famer Eddie Collins made his major league debut for the Philadelphia Athletics, beginning a 25-year career that produced more than 3,300 hits.

1912: Casey Stengel debuted with Brooklyn and collected four singles in a 7-3 victory, launching a career that later led to Hall of Fame honors as a manager.

1920: Representatives of 11 professional football teams met in Canton, Ohio, and formed the American Professional Football Association, which became the NFL in 1922. Massillon withdrew during the meetings; Jim Thorpe was elected the league’s first president.

1931: Boston Red Sox outfielder Earl Webb established a major league record by reaching 65 doubles on the season, a mark he eventually pushed to a still-standing 67.

1941: Stan Musial made his major league debut and doubled home two runs as the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Boston Braves in the second game of a doubleheader.

1947: Jackie Robinson was named The Sporting News Rookie of the Year after breaking Major League Baseball’s color barrier during his historic first season.

1953: Ernie Banks became the first Black player in Chicago Cubs history, starting at shortstop in his major league debut against the Philadelphia Phillies.

1954: Heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano, fighting with a badly split nose, knocked out Ezzard Charles in the eighth round of their rematch at Yankee Stadium.

1955: Brooks Robinson made his major league debut with the Baltimore Orioles, the first game of a Hall of Fame career at third base.

1964: Mickey Mantle recorded both his 2,000th career hit and 450th home run in the Yankees’ victory over Detroit.

1965: Hank Aaron hit two home runs and drove in three runs as the Milwaukee Braves snapped San Francisco’s 14-game winning streak in the Braves’ final win in Milwaukee before moving to Atlanta.

1968: Gaylord Perry struck out nine and threw a no-hitter against Bob Gibson and the St. Louis Cardinals, leading the San Francisco Giants to a 1-0 victory at Candlestick Park.

1983: Cincinnati Reds star Johnny Bench hit the 389th and final home run of his career on “Johnny Bench Night” at Riverfront Stadium.

1984: The California Angels’ Reggie Jackson hit his 500th career home run, reaching the milestone exactly 17 years after hitting his first major league homer.

1993: The expansion Colorado Rockies surpassed 4 million in home attendance during their 71st home date, breaking Major League Baseball’s single-season attendance record.

1996: Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Hideo Nomo threw the first and only no-hitter in Coors Field history, beating the Colorado Rockies 9-0 in one of baseball’s most hitter-friendly ballparks.

2000: Thirteen-year-old Lionel Messi arrived in Barcelona from Argentina for a trial with FC Barcelona, beginning the process that led to his celebrated career.

2000: The Miami Dolphins retired Dan Marino’s No. 13 jersey, honoring the Hall of Fame quarterback’s 17-year career with the franchise.

2004: Barry Bonds hit his 700th career home run off San Diego’s Jake Peavy, becoming the third major league player to reach the milestone.

2011: Mariano Rivera recorded his 601st career save in the New York Yankees’ 7-6 victory over Toronto, tying Trevor Hoffman’s major league record.

2017: Anna Nordqvist won the Evian Championship after a playoff victory over Brittany Altomare, securing her second of three major championships.

2024: Juan Soto hit his 200th career home run and became the eighth major league player to reach the milestone before his 26th birthday as the New York Yankees defeated Seattle.

— USA TODAY Network

This story was created with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of information gathering, review, editing and publishing. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Today in sports history, September 17

NaLyssa Smith has been ruled out for the remainder of the 2026 season, the Las Vegas Aces announced Thursday. Smith, one of the Aces’ starters and a key part of last year’s championship team, suffered a non-contact left leg injury against the Toronto Tempo on Sunday and left the game immediately.

Smith was the fourth-leading scorer on the Aces’ active roster with 11.7 points per game and was the second-leading rebounder with 6.4 per contest. She was also leading the WNBA in field-goal percentage (63.8 percent). By most advanced metrics, she was the most valuable player on Las Vegas outside the big three of A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray.

“Lyss is a soldier,” Wilson said postgame Sunday. “God has his hands on her, and we’re going to continue to be beside her through this whole process.”

The Aces acquired Smith on June 30 last season. She joined the starting lineup one game later, and the team went 21-5 the rest of the way before winning a third title in five seasons.

The team now has a gaping hole at the power forward slot. Head coach Becky Hammon often closes with a small lineup, with either Gray or Jewell Loyd playing the 4 on defense. However, for the rest of the game, Brianna Turner and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus are closer to centers; Turner has offensive limitations while Hammon doesn’t appear to trust Parker-Tyus’ defense. Rookie Justine Pissott seems unlikely to gain a larger role in the rotation, as she has played only 81 minutes in 2026 thus far.

Smith’s absence will be felt most acutely on the glass. Las Vegas struggles to generate second chances without her on the court. The sixth-year forward is an athletic rebounder and has learned to fill the gaps created by defenses focusing on Wilson in the frontcourt.

The Aces have already been granted a season-ending injury exemption for Smith, so they can sign a free agent at a minimum contract to replace her. They were in the running for DeWanna Bonner but lost out to the Atlanta Dream. The deadline has passed for players to be eligible for the postseason if waived by another team, so Las Vegas has to look outside the WNBA for options.

It has already done so this season by signing Mai Yamamoto on July 17 to replace Janiah Barker. Yamamoto has become a key part of the rotation since. The upcoming 17-day FIBA break could be an opportunity for a new player to acclimate to Hammon’s system in Las Vegas.

The Aces are third in the WNBA standings, a half-game ahead of the Dream with the tiebreaker. They have the easiest remaining schedule in the league; all five of their upcoming games are against lottery teams.

It’s unlikely that Las Vegas can move up, as the No. 1 seed is out of reach and the Golden State Valkyries are two losses ahead with only one game remaining against a fellow playoff team. However, the No. 3 seed should be the floor for the Aces, even without Smith the rest of the way.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Las Vegas Aces, WNBA

2026 The Athletic Media Company

Sept. 16

Today in sports history

Today is Sept. 16. On this date in:

1919: Cincinnati defeated the New York Giants 4-3 to clinch the first National League pennant in franchise history.

1924: St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Jim Bottomley went 6-for-6 with two home runs and a major-league-record 12 RBIs in a 17-3 victory over the Brooklyn Robins.

1937: Washington, DC’s NFL team played its first regular-season game since relocating from Boston, defeating the New York Giants 13-3 at Griffith Stadium.

1950: The four-time All-America Football Conference champion Cleveland Browns made their NFL debut by routing the defending NFL champion Philadelphia Eagles 35-10.

1960: At age 39, Milwaukee Braves pitcher Warren Spahn struck out 15 and threw the first of his two career no-hitters, defeating the Philadelphia Phillies 4-0.

1973: Buffalo Bills running back O.J. Simpson rushed for 250 yards and two touchdowns in a season-opening victory over the New England Patriots, beginning his march toward the NFL’s first 2,000-yard rushing season.

1975: The Pittsburgh Pirates crushed the Chicago Cubs 22-0 at Wrigley Field, producing the largest shutout victory in the major leagues since 1900. The Pirates’ Rennie Stennett went 7-for-7, becoming the only player since 1900 to collect seven hits in a nine-inning game.

1981: Sugar Ray Leonard stopped previously unbeaten Thomas Hearns in the 14th round at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas to unify the welterweight championship.

1988: Cincinnati Reds left-hander Tom Browning pitched the first perfect game in franchise history, retiring all 27 Los Angeles Dodgers in a 1-0 victory at Riverfront Stadium.

1989: Raghib “Rocket” Ismail returned two kickoffs for second-half touchdowns as No. 1 Notre Dame defeated No. 2 Michigan 24-19 before 105,912 fans at Michigan Stadium.

1992: The first matches of the newly rebranded UEFA Champions League were played, beginning the inaugural season of Europe’s premier club competition under its new name.

1993: Minnesota Twins designated hitter Dave Winfield singled against Oakland’s Dennis Eckersley to become the 19th major-league player to reach 3,000 career hits.

1996: Paul Molitor collected his 3,000th career hit and became the first major leaguer to reach the milestone with a triple.

2000: Switzerland’s Brigitte McMahon won the women’s triathlon at the Sydney Games, capturing the first Olympic gold medal awarded in the sport.

2000: Chicago Cubs star Sammy Sosa hit his 50th home run of the season, becoming only the second player in MLB history to reach 50 homers in three consecutive years.

2004: NHL owners locked out the players after the collective bargaining agreement expired, beginning the labor stoppage that ultimately wiped out the entire 2004-05 season.

2007: Tiger Woods won the Tour Championship by eight strokes at East Lake and captured the inaugural FedEx Cup championship.

2007: Jim Thome hit his 500th career home run in dramatic fashion, delivering a two-run, walk-off shot in the ninth inning of the Chicago White Sox’s 9-7 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

2007: The Phoenix Mercury defeated the defending champion Detroit Shock 108-92 in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals, winning the first championship in franchise history as Cappie Pondexter earned Finals MVP honors.

2018: Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw six touchdown passes in a win over Pittsburgh and set an NFL record with 10 touchdown passes through his team’s first two games of a season.

— USA TODAY Network

This story was created with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of information gathering, review, editing and publishing. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Today in sports history, September 16

The Chicago Bears held their second joint practice of training camp, closing out the camp season, with the Tennessee Titans Thursday, at Vanderbilt Health Football Center, a roughly two-hour, padded session against Robert Saleh’s Titans two days before Saturday’s preseason finale at Nissan Stadium (5 p.m. CT).  It was hot, physical, and chippy. From the Bears’ side the day split cleanly: the offense — especially Caleb Williams and the tight ends — won the first half; Tennessee’s defense and first-round receiver Carnell Tate won the second after Chicago lost both starting corners for stretches. Ben Johnson framed the week as “another controlled test” link against an “attacking front” designed to meet the Bears at the line of scrimmage — a different problem than Joe Burrow and the Bengals. This is the last chance for the Bears to evaluate position battles and get both the offense and defense ready for a season that will kick off in less than two weeks, and where the Bears will face their first test of the season against the Carolina Panthers.

On a very hot day in Nashville, Caleb Williams got off to a hot start according to CHGO’s Adam Hoge, noting Caleb had six straight completions and was 9 of 11 overall for that period.  Hoge also reported that Caleb spread the ball around to eight different receivers.

Ben Arthur (FOX, covering the Titans) described the tape: Williams hit Rome Odunze in stride off an RPO, stepped up and found Cole Kmet on a shuffle pass, and ripped a dart into a tight window outside the numbers.

Red-zone work was even better for Chicago. The Tennessean’s live blog had the Bears scoring six touchdowns in 12 combined red-zone snaps across first, second, and third units. Caleb threw two red-zone scores in one period, including an out to rookie WR Zavion Thomas and a play-action shot to a wide-open Kmet. D’Andre Swift scored in the red zone and was part of a trick play: handoff, pitch back to Williams, downfield to Kmet. Johnson had said before practice that Swift looked as good as he has at this point of any year — vision, bounce, cut-up timing. That showed up today in the practice with the Titans.

The tight-end room was the most consistent Bears’ weapon of the day. Colston Loveland drew praise from Titans reporters on the other sideline (“looks legit”; “big, tall, fast, and very good”). He had a highlight after a Swift-to-Williams lateral and a YAC spin for a chunk gain. Rookie Sam Roush, working later units with Case Keenum, caught a deep ball and an end-zone score for “big plays” according to Nick Moreano of REKAP, in the 11-on-11 period. agreed that Johnson’s pre-practice line on Roush still applied after the session: flashes that get a staff excited, consistency not there yet, which is expected for a rookie tight end.

In the second half of the practice, the Bears were taught to remember the Titans (you come here for the news and coverage, you stay for the Dad jokes). Adam Hoge noted the “good response” by the Titans defense during a long team period in which they were better in coverage and got more pressure on Caleb.  Also said that that the Titans did not like Tyson Bagent going to make a tackle on an interception. Williams finished a two-minute drive around the 20 with 12 seconds left and threw an interception to Tony Adams intended for Loveland. Titans 1s also sacked him and forced incompletions in the period after the break.

Chicago arrived today in Nashville short on the defensive line. Dan Wiederer of the Athletic reported that Gervon Dexter (hamstring or trade negotiations – hard to say which) and Austin Booker (groin) did not travel. Then both starting corners left early. Jaylon Johnson hurt his right arm on a run play in 11-on-11, lost his helmet and pads, stayed on the sideline next to DBs coach Al Harris, and kept chirping. Tyrique Stevenson favored his right leg after a collision with Tate / a red-zone breakup, left with trainer Andre Tucker, then returned with the starters. While Johnson took off his pads and did not return to the field, he stayed on the sidelines. Cam Lewis gave the defense its best moment: an interception of Cam Ward on a throw behind TE Gunnar Helm. Malik Muhammad broke up one would-be Tate touchdown. Otherwise, with Johnson out and Stevenson in and out, Tate feasted. Luther Burden III traveled and did individual work only while still easing back from a groin injury; he stayed vocal on the sideline. A hit on Titans WR Wan’Dale Robinson, later identified as having been delivered by Xavier Woods, was called “cheap” by Saleh in the post-practice interview. It cleared both benches and sent Robinson off for a concussion evaluation.

There seemed to be a consensus among both Bears and Titans beat reporters that the Bears had the advantage early in practice but that the Titans got the best of the Bears in the later period. Jim Wyatt, senior writer for the Tenessee Titans, thought that the Titans “held their own” against a “good football team” in the Chicago Bears at practice today. He also thought that former Chicago Bear, now Titans backup, Mitch Trubisky had a solid day with a 19-26 performance. AtoZ’s Kole Noble said it most directly from the Chicago beat: the Titans “seemingly won the day,” with plenty of Bears positives still on the field. Chris Kwiecinski and Devan Kaney of FOX 32 sounded the most Bears-optimistic voice among the reporters covering the practice, writing that Williams was the catalyst and that “the Bears’ offense was winning the day over the Titans” – but that assessment was before the practice break. All in all, while the Titans seemed to get the best of the Bears in the second half of the practice, both teams seem to have come away with positives, despite the jawing and occasional fisticuffs, and despite the scare with the injuries to Johnson and Stephenson, and the hit on Robinson, both teams seem to have come away relatively healthy.

Some other news of note, nuggets, if you will:

Swifty of the Swift Sports Network indicated that Caleb thinks that only Braxton Jones and Theo Benedet are left in the left tackle competition.

Patrick Finley of the Sun-Times remarked that Zavion Thomas was ready to fight any and every Titan on the field:

In the same vein, Brad Biggs of the Tribune observed that the Bears were very vocal with the Titans throughout practice today:

Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that Sean McDermott, the former Buffalo Bills head coach, was at practice and consulting with Ben Johnson:

And a few videos from the day.

With training camp winding down, tomorrow night’s preseason contest is the last real chance for many of the rookies on our Miami Dolphins to make a statement to the coaching staff. With that in mind, I asked the following question a couple of nights ago:

Which Miami Dolphins player or players do you and/or others believe were shoo-ins for the Dolphins’ 2026-2027 roster who now must show something above and beyond what we have seen from them thus far in camp and the preseason if they have any hope of making the final 53-man roster, and why?

Below are some of your thoughts and answers-

Dolfanjoe sees all the possibilities for success falling on Willis’s shoulders.

Willis has to lead and perform. Trading the first or second pick in the 27 draft is what will help build this team for years to come. If Willis is the man, Our future is looking very bright!

Molly Polly II wants to see a QB who has shown nothing to show something.

Defense! Gonna get ugly if Tua embarrasses our defense so I’m hoping to see some QB pressure and DBs steppin up.

Offensively , I’d like to see Miller secure that second spot, Ewers doesn’t cut it.

FFFL66IBA&O seems to want more focus this week.

I’m just hoping Everybody get’s their head’s outta their @$$€$ this week and…..PLEASE GET YOUR HEAD’S IN THE GAME!!!

SlayerNation1 is not sure who will step up in week one.

Not sure which of Our bright stars will be shining come Week 1… but it will be…

Chris Myers, Mark Schlereth singing their praises.

JUK points to a variety of areas on the roster, and it will be close for certain guys.

Lots of people under pressure this week, with roster spots up for grabs in most rooms:

QB – Ewers. He’s had a terrible camp, and I think we will be looking for backups in the market if he doesn’t show something this week

WR – the vets Tolbert and Atwell. Both have partially guaranteed contracts but might not be enough to save them especially with Bell back early. I’m not sure either make it unless something changes this week

O line – Charlie Heck has done nothing to suggest he deserves a roster spot but would probably get one today as there is no one else. But cut down day would have me looking for an upgrade

D line – think the 5th spot behind Sieler and the 3 second year guys is wide open.

LB – Gay. Camp stand out for splash plays and energy every year, but doesn’t translate into playing time. Too much freelancing? He’s got to show he can be disciplined without losing impact

CB – like D line but even more so. Johnson, Brents and Marshall are locks but there are probably 5 guys (not even including the 2 on PUP) competing for 2-3 spots.

Luvs2drnk knows who it won’t be.

Well, we know it won’t be Tahj Washington. Just released and replaced with Ryan Miller.

MiamiItaliano just wants to see anyone brought in who can be a competent backup QB.

Need to see Gronowski, Miller or someone with a pulse off the street shine at backup QB. If not, cut them. Can Malik play during the season wearing a protective suit?

NeenerWhacker will be watching the wideouts and the secondary.

Needs to come from the boundaries on each side of the ball. One (or all 3) of the rookie WRs must step up. My bet is on Douglas making more splash plays, Bell will get the tough yards and Coleman a possession guy on 3rd downs

Will also need something special out of Marshall or Juju. Seems like Johnson is going to start in the nickel until one of them go down. Juju has all the potential in the world

Well, those are our comments for this evening. If you missed the original post and have a guy or a few guys who you expect to be playing for one of the last roster spots tomorrow night, please share your thoughts in the comments section below. As always, thank you to each of you who took the time to answer our PQOTD.

Buying into an organization that isn't based in a marquee city like New York or Los Angeles, but rather a place built on a winning attitude and a constant drive to improve, was once one of the Detroit Red Wings' greatest strengths. 

Now, the franchise finds itself somewhere it's rarely been, stuck in a decade-long playoff drought, with the winning culture behind the Winged Wheel wearing thin enough that a cornerstone piece like Dylan Larkin has stopped trusting the process.

What Detroit is chasing is something it used to be, a destination where the winning culture matched the appeal of an underrated city like Detroit, Hockeytown in every sense of the word. That kind of destination-building has played out recently just north of the border, with the Winnipeg Jets.

Winnipeg Jets Respond To Connor Hellebuyck's Trade Request Becoming PublicGeneral Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff addresses the star goaltender’s public demand for a change of scenery as the organization weighs high-stakes trade offers ahead of a looming training camp.

Despite years as a legitimate Stanley Cup contender, the Jets still sit on plenty of players' no-trade lists. So how did a market like that build itself into a Western Conference power, one that won the Presidents' Trophy as the league's best team during the 2024-25 season? 

A lot of it traces back to longtime general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, who has steered the franchise since its relocation from Atlanta and built something that both the team and the city have earned.

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While free agents on the open market have often steered clear of Winnipeg, the Jets' own core has stayed. Stars at nearly every position, Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor up front, Josh Morrissey on the back end, and Connor Hellebuyck in net, have all signed long-term deals and bought into the organization, something that would have seemed unlikely for a franchise with little track record of sustained success before recent years.

Winnipeg took a step back this past season due to some free-agent signings that didn't pan out and rough injury luck, and it's currently navigating its own controversy surrounding Hellebuyck's future. 

But even that situation reflects the strength Cheveldayoff has built. Convincing Hellebuyck to sign long term in the first place, and now holding the leverage to trade him on Winnipeg's terms if it comes to that, all while a three-time Vezina winner and Olympic gold medalist still has term left on his deal, is the kind of position most organizations would envy.

In many ways, that's exactly what Detroit has lost. The Red Wings could use Winnipeg's handling of the Hellebuyck situation as something of a mirror for their own with Larkin. 

A player wanting out doesn't have to mean blowing up everything an organization is building, and that appears to be the mentality guiding Winnipeg as it continues to look like not just a playoff contender, but a team that has proven several times that they can win a series against some of the best in the West. Detroit is looking for its own version of that formula from whoever becomes its next general manager, and league insiders seem to agree on what that will take.

Discussing the Red Wings' GM search on a recent episode of 32 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman relayed that the organization has made clear it wants a new hire who comes in with a plan, one that shows they can make players proud to wear the Winged Wheel once again.

The blueprint from a place like Winnipeg is straightforward enough as they will need to draft smart, prioritize player development above all else, lock core players in early, and convince them the organization's direction is built around winning first.

Detroit has the pieces to follow that path, however, the harder task will be convincing players like Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond, the two players expected to define the franchise's future, to stay locked in and believe better days are ahead.

If Detroit can pull that off, there's a real path to the other side of the rebuild, and a chance to become the kind of consistent contender the Jets have built themselves into.

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On Thursday, the hockey world was rocked by the news that Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck had requested a trade, confirmed in a public statement released by his agent, Ray Petkau. 

The confirmation follows Hellebuyck's pointed comments during his end-of-season media availability back in April, when he made clear that after winning gold with Team USA at the Olympics, all that's left on his mind is winning a Stanley Cup.

The Jets have already come close at least once to moving the 33-year-old Michigan native. Around the draft, a deal reportedly came together that would have sent the fourth overall pick and additional assets to Winnipeg in exchange for the three-time Vezina Trophy winner, but the trade ultimately fell through.

In his statement, Hellebuyck said he first made the request privately several months ago and had "tried to handle the situation quietly and respectfully while giving the organization time to explore its options." 

Statement from Connor Hellebuyck: pic.twitter.com/hW8sNw1LJi

— Ray Petkau (@RayPetkau) August 27, 2026

He didn't leave much ambiguity about where things stand now. "My position has not changed, and I believe moving on is the best path forward for me and my family," he wrote, while also thanking the organization and its fans, adding that Winnipeg "has been my home for my entire NHL career, and I will always be grateful for my time there."

With training camp fast approaching, the trade request appears likely to carry into the season unresolved. The Jets responded with their own statement, attributed directly to general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff. 

Statement in response to Connor Hellebuyck’s request for a trade. pic.twitter.com/plv5xH92M4

— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) August 27, 2026

"Connor has been open with us about his desire for a change," Cheveldayoff said. "He has been an important part of the Winnipeg Jets organization for many years and we have tremendous respect for what he has accomplished here. While we will continue to work through the situation in a thoughtful manner, there is no update at this time."

It's a tough development for a Jets team already dealing with plenty of uncertainty, and Hellebuyck's statement leaves little doubt that his preference is to begin the season somewhere else. 

Still, there's a case to be made that Winnipeg can find its footing either way. If the situation drags into camp, the Jets already have a reliable option in net in Stuart Skinner, brought in via free agency this summer, and whatever return eventually comes back in a Hellebuyck trade could give the front office real assets to retool the roster. 

Just because Hellebuyck no longer believes in the team's current direction doesn't mean the Jets can't make the best of the situation, using a deal involving a genuine superstar to reshape the roster and push back toward playoff contention.

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.

Sept. 15

Today in sports history

Today is Sept. 15. On this date in:

1870: Tom Morris Jr. won the Open Championship at Prestwick, claiming his third consecutive British Open title.

1899: Willie Smith captured the U.S. Open at Baltimore Country Club by 11 strokes, one of the most dominant victories in tournament history.

1901: The Detroit Tigers routed the Cleveland Blues 21-0 in the most lopsided shutout of baseball’s modern era to that point.

1921: Babe Ruth hit his 55th home run of the season, surpassing the major league record of 54 he set the previous year, as the New York Yankees swept a doubleheader from the St. Louis Browns.

1923: Bill Tilden defeated Bill Johnston to win the U.S. National Championships, securing his fourth straight national singles title.

1938: Pittsburgh’s Lloyd and Paul Waner became the first major league brothers to hit consecutive home runs, connecting in the fifth inning against New York Giants pitcher Cliff Melton.

1950: Johnny Mize hit three home runs for the sixth time in his career, establishing a major league record though the New York Yankees lost to the Detroit Tigers.

1953: The National Boxing Association adopted the 10-point must scoring system, a significant business and rules change that became the standard for professional boxing.

1960: Montreal Canadiens legend Maurice “Rocket” Richard announced his retirement after 18 NHL seasons, ending a career that concluded with a then-record 544 goals and eight Stanley Cup championships.

1963: Felipe, Matty and Jesús Alou became the first three brothers to play together in the same major league outfield, appearing for the San Francisco Giants against Pittsburgh.

1969: St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Steve Carlton struck out a major league-record 19 batters in nine innings but lost 4-3 to the New York Mets after Ron Swoboda hit two two-run home runs.

1971: Houston’s Larry Yount injured himself while warming up after being announced as a relief pitcher and left without throwing a pitch, making his major league debut and final appearance in the same game.

1978: Muhammad Ali defeated Leon Spinks by unanimous decision in their 15-round rematch at the Louisiana Superdome, becoming the first boxer to win the world heavyweight championship three times.

1979: Bob Watson became the first player in major league history to hit for the cycle in both the National League and American League.

1982: The Houston Rockets traded reigning NBA MVP Moses Malone to the Philadelphia 76ers for Caldwell Jones and a future first-round draft pick; Malone led Philadelphia to the 1983 championship and won another MVP award.

1990: Chicago White Sox closer Bobby Thigpen became the first major league pitcher to record 50 saves in a season, securing a 7-5 victory over the Boston Red Sox.

1995: St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Ozzie Smith set a major league record with his 1,554th career double play turned.

1996: The Texas Rangers retired No. 34 for Nolan Ryan, the first retired number in franchise history.

1996: Andrés Galarraga’s three-run homer helped the Colorado Rockies break the modern major league record for runs scored at home in a season; Colorado finished the year with 658 runs at Coors Field.

2002: Arizona’s Curt Schilling recorded his 300th strikeout of the season, making him and Randy Johnson the first major league teammates with 300 strikeouts apiece in the same year.

2004: Arizona’s Randy Johnson surpassed Steve Carlton to become the career strikeout leader among left-handed major league pitchers, finishing a victory over Colorado with 4,139 strikeouts.

2013: Suzann Pettersen won the Evian Championship by two strokes, capturing the event’s first edition as an LPGA major championship.

2019: Suzann Pettersen sank a seven-foot birdie putt on the final hole of the final match to give Europe a 14½-13½ Solheim Cup victory over the United States, then announced her retirement.

2020: The Denver Nuggets defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 104-89 in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals, becoming the first NBA team to overcome two 3-1 series deficits in the same postseason.

2022: Roger Federer announced that the upcoming Laver Cup would be his final ATP event, bringing to a close the career of one of tennis’ most accomplished champions.

— USA TODAY Network

This story was created with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of information gathering, review, editing and publishing. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Today in sports history, September 15

The Detroit Lions closed out training camp with a competitive scrimmage-style practice. And after a very strong month from the Lions defense, it was nice to see the offense put together a solid string of practices to close out camp.

As a reminder, you can get the latest news on injuries and participation in these practices with our daily injury report.

For these final observations, I’m going to package them by unit, going drive-by-drive.

First string

Drive #1 — Starting on own 1-yard line

Result: 99 yards, TD

Key plays:

• Back shoulder catch from Jameson Williams on the first play for 21 yards (Rock Ya-Sin in coverage)
• Third-and-12 conversion to Williams on a screen play
• Amon-Ra St. Brown 22 yards on a crossing route with Malcolm Rodriguez in coverage (!!)
• Play-action bootleg pass to Isaac TeSlaa for 14 yards
• Fourth-and-goal catch from Williams at the back of the end zone, where he just barely got a knee in (D.J. Reed in coverage

Other notes:

• The starters on offense and defense were who you would normally think, but Levi Onwuzurike, Skyler Gill-Howard, Rodriguez, and Devin White all got some rotational work
• Run game was pretty ineffective with runs of 5 yards, -2, -1, 2, and 1.

Drive #2 — Starting on own 24-yard line

Result: Debatable three-and-out

Key plays:

• Tyleik Williams batted down a pass at the line of scrimmage
• On third-and-10, Williams caught a post route for a first down, but a holding penalty negated it
• On third-and-10, St. Brown caught a screen pass and looked to convert thanks to good downfield blocking, but Dan Campbell called him short

Drive #3 — Starting on own 29-yard line

Result: 2 plays, 71 yards, TD

Key plays:

• TeSlaa catches a quick curl, makes Jack Campbell miss, and turns it into 12 yards
• Gibbs, following a block from Tate Ratledge, takes a 59-yard run to the house

Drive #4 — Starting on own 45-yard line

Result: 52-yard FG

Key plays:

• Play-action screen pass to Sam LaPorta goes for 18 yards
• Avonte Maddox completely blows up a third-and-short run for a 5-yard loss

Drive #5 — Starting on own 45-yard line

Result: Three-and-out

Key plays:

• Rodriguez tallies a sack on third-and-long…. although the whistle came awfully quick, and Jared Goff completed a pass to a wide-open LaPorta that would’ve gained at least 20. Goff was not happy about the whistel.

Drive #6 — Starting on opponent’s 40-yard line

Result: Missed 63-yard field goal

Key plays:

• Jack Campbell blew up a second-and-short run for a 2-yard loss (Tyleik Williams was also close)
• Another holding penalty erased a third-and-5 conversion
• Pressure from Skyler Gill-Howard and DJ Wonnum force a third-down incompletion.

Drive #7 — Starting on opponent’s 40-yard line

Result: 16-yard TD to St. Brown… as seen here:

Key plays:

• Goff hit St. Brown down the sideline between Ya-Sin and Maddox for 14
• St. Brown took a bubble screen on third-and-3 for a first down thanks to a stiff arm of D.J. Reed
• TD pass to St. Brown up the seam (see above)

Drive #8 — 1:38 left, 20-23, opponent’s 25-yard line, two timeotus

Result: 16-yard TD run from Jahmyr Gibbs

• On second-and-long, Gibbs kept his feet moving and with the help of the offensive line pushing him, set up a third-and-1
• Roger McCreary had tight coverage on St. Brown on an end zone shot. It looked like St. Brown came down with it, but out of bounds
• On fourth-and-1, the Lions pitched it out to Gibbs with Penei Sewell as the lead blocker and he took it to the house with only seconds remaining

Overall takeaways:

• Thought this was perhaps the wide receivers’ best day against what has been a sticky secondary
• Run game was just okay, but it did produce a couple of explosives and successful plays
• Aidan Hutchinson was shockingly quiet

Second teamers

Drive #1 — Starting on own 1-yard line

Result: Six plays, 20 yards

Key plays:

• Sione Vaki picked up a third-and-1 with a run up the middle for 10 yards, key blocks from Miles Frazier and Ben Bartch
• Gill-Howard forced an incomplete pass with a pressure
• Joe Bachie was all over a crossing route to Tay Martin to limit it to 5 yards
• Devin White sack on third down

Drive #2 — Starting on own 34-yard line

Result: Missed 71-yard field goal … yes, you read that right

Key plays:

• Luke Altmyer fumbled two snaps from Mason Miller, who was filling in for a missing Seth McLaughlin
  • Notably, Miller has not played any center in the NFL or in college
    • The two spent extra time after practice working on exchanges
• Nick Whiteside, mostly playing safety again, was all over a quick slant attempt to Tom Kennedy to break up the third-down pass and end the drive
• Why the Lions tried a 71-yard kick, I don’t really know
  • The wind wasn’t in Jake Bates’ favor, either, and the kick wasn’t close

Drive #3 — Starting on opponent’s 40-yard line

Result: 31-yard TD run from Trayveon Williams

Key plays:

• Altmyer did a good job sliding from the pocket and finding Jackson Meeks on a short curl
• On Williams’ 31-yard run, he did a great job drawing the defense inside, then bouncing it outside of cornerback Ekow Boye-Doe, who lost outside contain

Third teams

Drive #1 — Starting on own 22-yard line

Result: Six plays, 10 yards

Key plays:

• Anthony Lucas picked up a sack, costing the offensive 9 yards
• But on third-and-19, Josh Dobbs found Dominic Lovett open on a crossing route, and the second-year receiver turned it upfield for a big gain and a first down
• Pressure from Ahmed Hassanein forced an incompletion and third-and-7
• Eric O’Neill ends the drive with a sack

Drive #2 — Starting on own 45-yard line

Result: Four-and-out

Key plays:

• Khalil Dorsey with a nice pass breakup on Malik Cunningham’s post route
• On third-and-3, Dobbs nicely skirted pressure, but way overthrew his receiver downfield
• Fourth-and-3, Gill-Howard absolutely danced around the guard for an immediate pressure and incompletion forced