Mahomes throws for 3 TDs, Chiefs overwhelm Buccaneers 41-31
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 249 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Kansas City Chiefs to a 41-31 victory over Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Playing in a packed stadium only four days after Hurricane Ian ravaged portions of Florida, Mahomes had TD throws of 16 yards to Travis Kelce, 1 yard to Clyde Edwards-Helaire and 10 yards to Jody Fortson. Mahomes made NFL history by reaching 20,000 passing yards faster than anyone else. Edwards-Helaire and tight end Noah Gray rushed for TDs for the Chiefs, who won the first meeting between Mahomes and Brady since Tampa Bay’s 31-9 rout of Kansas City in the Super Bowl two seasons ago.
Braves sweep Mets, take 2-game lead in East with 3 remaining
ATLANTA (AP) — Dansby Swanson and Matt Olson homered for the third straight game, Travis d’Arnaud hit a go-ahead two-run single in the third inning, and Atlanta Braves beat the New York Mets 5-3, completing a three-game sweep of their NL East rival and taking a two-game lead in the division with three games to play. The Braves have been chasing the Mets the entire season. In the final series of the season, any combination of one Atlanta win or one Mets loss would give the Braves their fifth straight division title. New York plays its final three games of the season against worst-in-the-majors Washington. Atlanta closes out the regular season with a three-game set in Miami. Atlanta also claimed a tiebreaker over the Mets, winning their season series 10-9.
AP Top 25 Reality Check: Reset welcome 7 new ranked teams
This was reset week for Associated Press college football poll voters. A season-high 10 teams that entered the weekend ranked in the AP Top 25 lost. That included five ranked teams losing to unranked opponents. The fallout was more than a quarter of the poll turning over Sunday. The voters tossed out seven teams, five of which had been ranked all season, including Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Baylor. Among the seven new arrivals, six made their season debut. Kansas was the headliner. The Jayhawks had not been ranked in 13 years, the longest drought among Power Five conference teams.
High-profile QBs on new teams had another rough week
High-profile quarterbacks on new teams had a rough week. Russell Wilson finally got Denver’s offense moving, but the Broncos lost to Las Vegas 32-23. Matt Ryan had another turnover-filled game for Indianapolis in a 24-17 home loss to Tennessee. Carson Wentz tossed two interceptions in Washington’s 25-10 loss at Dallas. Baker Mayfield struggled again in Carolina’s 26-16 home loss to Arizona. There’s a long way to go in the season, but the early results are dismal. The four QBs are 5-10-1 combined. Only Wilson doesn’t have a losing record at 2-2. He also had the best day among the group, posting a 124.9 passer rating and leading the Broncos to a season-high in points.
Baseball tiebreaker games now a thing of the past
With the baseball postseason expanding to 12 teams this year, if two teams end up deadlocked for a division title or playoff spot, there will no longer be a one-game playoff to break those ties. Instead, head-to-head record from the regular season is used to determine the winner — with other tiebreakers possible if head-to-head can’t separate the teams. The new system made for a suspenseful weekend in Atlanta as the Braves and New York Mets jockeyed for first place in the NL East and for supremacy in their season series.
Rodgers, Crosby's OT FG lead Packers past Pats, Zappe 27-24
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Mason Crosby made a 31-yard field goal as time expired in overtime, and the Green Bay Packers topped New England 27-24 to spoil Patriots rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe’s NFL debut. Zappe played the majority of the game after Brian Hoyer left with a head injury. Aaron Rodgers bounced back from a dreadful first half to continue his recent home mastery of AFC teams. The Packers are 18-1 in the last 19 home games Rodgers has started against AFC foes.
4th-down stop, last-second kick lift Bills past Ravens 23-20
BALTIMORE (AP) — Tyler Bass kicked a 21-yard field goal on the game’s final play, and Josh Allen rallied the Buffalo Bills from a 17-point deficit to beat the Baltimore Ravens 23-20. With the score tied at 20 in the final quarter, the Ravens decided to go for it on fourth down from the Buffalo 2-yard line. Lamar Jackson threw a pass into the end zone that was intercepted by Jordan Poyer with 4:09 remaining. It was a disastrous result for the Ravens because it meant the Bills weren’t pinned deep like they would have been following an incompletion. Josh Allen calmly guided Buffalo into range for the final kick.
Yankees star Judge tries again for AL-record 62nd home run
New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge has hit 61 home runs, matching the American League record set by Roger Maris of the Yankees in 1961. Judge tries to set the mark when the Yankees play at Texas on Monday to begin a season-ending, four-game series.
Tom Brady gets Bucs offense going, defense struggles
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tom Brady looked more like himself, carrying Tampa Bay’s offense with his arm. Only problem for the Buccaneers was the defense couldn’t stop Patrick Mahomes and the rest of Kansas City’s offense. The Chiefs scored touchdowns on four of the first five possessions and didn’t punt until late in the fourth quarter in a 41-31 win over the Buccaneers on Sunday night. They also had a pair of short TD drives, starting from Tampa’s 21 after Rachaad White fumbled the opening kickoff, and from Tampa’s 20 after Brady was strip-sacked in the second quarter. The bright spot for the Buccaneers (2-2) was Brady and the offense finally got going after totaling three TDs in the first three games.
STAT WATCH: Bearcats' 11 sacks ties most in FBS in 3 years
Cincinnati begins this week at the top of the national sacks chart after recording 11 against Tulsa. The total tied the American Athletic Conference record and matches the most in a Bowl Subdivision game in three years. Jabari Taylor had a team-high 2.5 sacks and 10 players were credited with at least a half-sack. The Bearcats have 23 for the season. Four players posted 200-yard rushing games. Utah's Clark Phillips is the first player with three interceptions. Missouri’s Harrison Mevis kicked the longest field goal of the season with a 56-yarder against Georgia.