NFL:
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott lost the handle on the ball while being rushed in the end zone, spotted the Eagles an easy touchdown and then proceeded to dismantle them.
Prescott threw for three touchdowns in his first home game since he suffered an ankle injury on the same field almost a year ago, Trevon Diggs returned an interception 59 yards for a score and Dallas dominated Philadelphia 41-21 on Monday night. Except for the fumble, Prescott was efficient, going 21 of 26 for 238 yards without an interception in the first NFC East game for both teams.
Ezekiel Elliott ran for a season-high 95 yards and two touchdowns, and tight end Dalton Schultz had the first two-TD game of his career.
Prescott’s first game at AT&T Stadium since the season-ending compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle in Week 5 last year against the New York Giants was also the return to full capacity, with 93,267 inside and the retractable roof open at the $1.2 billion facility.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are sending cornerback CJ Henderson, the ninth overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft, to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for tight end Dan Arnold.
The deal also includes a swap of draft picks in 2022: Jacksonville gets Carolina’s third-rounder, the Panthers get a fifth-rounder in return from the Jaguars.
Trading Henderson fills a need for unbeaten Carolina and unloads a headache for the winless Jaguars. Panthers first-round pick Jaycee Horn broke a bone in his right foot against Houston on Thursday night and could miss the rest of the season. Henderson had become Jacksonville’s latest first-round flop.
Elsewhere in the NFL:
The Denver Broncos will be without speedy receiver KJ Hamler for the rest of the season. Hamler tore his left ACL in the Broncos’ 26-0 win over the New York Jets. He was the Broncos’ second-round pick last season. Their top 2020 pick is wide receiver Jerry Jeudy who is also injured.
Panthers coach Matt Rhule said the team has decided not to place running back Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve while he recovers from a strained hamstring. Had McCaffrey been placed on IR he would have missed at least three games. However, by keeping him on the 53-man roster there is a chance he could return sooner.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid has been released from the hospital. He felt ill and was taken by ambulance to be treated for dehydration following the Chiefs’ 30-24 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. The 63-year-old Reid is expected to coach Sunday when the Chiefs visit Philadelphia.
MLB:
Mitch Haniger hit two identical three-run homers and the Seattle Mariners gained precious ground in the AL wild-card race with a 13-4 win over the Oakland Athletics.
Seattle’s 10th straight victory against Oakland tied the team record for most consecutive wins against a single opponent. The Mariners have won eight of nine overall and nine of their last 11. They are 1 1/2 games behind Boston for the second wild card, with Toronto a game back of the Red Sox. Both those teams were off Monday. Oakland fell 3 1/2 games behind Boston and two back of the Mariners with two more games to play in Seattle.
In other Monday action:
Josiah Gray pitched into the sixth inning to earn his second career win, and the Washington Nationals beat the Colorado Rockies 5-4. Luis García hit a two-run single and Alcides Escobar had three hits for the Nationals. Gray, who made his major league debut with the Dodgers on July 20, has won consecutive starts. The prized right-hander was acquired July 30 in the blockbuster trade that sent Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to Los Angeles. Colorado has lost 10 of 11 home games, including two three-game sweeps by the San Francisco Giants.
Joey Votto homered twice and drove in four runs, and the Cincinnati Reds pounded the Pittsburgh Pirates 13-1 to stay alive in the race for the second NL wild card. Nick Castellanos, rookie Jonathan India and Eugenio Suarez also connected as Cincinnati posted its fourth straight victory, clinching a second straight winning season. Castellanos had five RBIs, and India finished with four hits and scored four times. The Reds pulled within 5 1/2 games of idle St. Louis for the second wild card. The Cardinals need just one more win to secure the spot.
Eloy Jiménez hit a two-run home run, Yasmani Grandal homered to spark a six-run fourth inning and the AL Central champion Chicago White Sox held off the Detroit Tigers in a testy 8-7 win. The benches cleared after Chicago first baseman Jose Abreu and Detroit shortstop Niko Goodrum exchanged words when Abreu was tagged out attempting to steal second base in the ninth.
The Cleveland Indians have won their last home game before they become the Guardians, beating the Kansas City Royals 8-3. Amed Rosario homered, drove in three runs and had four hits and Cal Quantrill pitched six strong innings to delight a Progressive Field crowd that came to see the Indians play one last time under the name they’ve carried since 1915. The team announced the name change earlier this year in the wake of a nationwide reckoning over racist names and symbols.
Cleveland’s Bradley Zimmer homered off his brother, Kansas City reliever Kyle Zimmer, in the eighth.
Giants first baseman and home run leader Brandon Belt has a broken left thumb and his availability for the final week of the regular season and playoffs is unclear. The Giants said an X-ray showed the broken bone and Belt will “continue to meet with doctors over the next couple of days to develop a recovery plan and timetable for his return.”
The injury is a big blow for the NL West leaders, who begin a home series with the Diamondbacks on Tuesday night still seeking to close out their first division title since 2012. The Dodgers are two games back to start the season’s last week.
NBA:
Forward Michael Porter Jr. has agreed to a five-year maximum extension with the Denver Nuggets that could be worth up to $207 million. His agent, Mark Bartelstein, confirmed the deal to The Associated Press.
Porter’s agreement would be worth at least $173 million over five years and could rise to the supermax level of $207 million over that span if he reaches certain criteria this season.
He’s assured of making at least $29.8 million in 2022-23, a figure that would rise if he qualified for more by being voted onto an All-NBA team or winning the league’s MVP award this season.
Elsewhere in the NBA:
Giannis Antetokounmpo says he feels fine as he prepares for the Milwaukee Bucks’ title defense but will be careful with the left knee that he hyperextended during the championship run. Antetokounmpo missed the final two games of the Eastern Conference finals after hurting his knee but returned to earn MVP honors in the NBA Finals. He scored 50 points in a title-clinching Game 6 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
- Unable to attend the Brooklyn Nets’ media day, Kyrie Irving asked for privacy when pressed about his vaccination status and availability for home games. The All-Star guard spoke via Zoom through a monitor set up in the interview room at Barclays Center. If a player is not vaccinated, he would be forced to sit out the Nets’ home games. Irving says his status will be cleared up at a later date.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are familiar with change. They’re undergoing plenty of it with training camp about to start. The biggest shakeup came last week when president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas was fired. Star center Karl-Anthony Towns says he had just joked the day before the dismissal about the offseason being strangely quiet until then. There’s also an ownership transfer taking place from Glen Taylor to partners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez. The $1.5 billion sale is scheduled to be completed in two years, when Lore and Rodriguez will become majority owners.
All contents © copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved