Diggs, Bills hand Rodgers, Packers 4th straight loss, 27-17
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Stefon Diggs ran his mouth before running past Green Bay’s secondary as he led the Buffalo Bills to a 27-17 win over the Packers, who are off to their worst start eight games into a season under Aaron Rodgers. Diggs began by exchanging words before and after pregame warmups in the tunnel with Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander. He then burned Green Bay with six catches for 108 yards and a 26-yard touchdown. The AFC-leading Bills never trailed in winning their fourth straight and matching their best start to a season since 1993 at 6-1. The three-time defending NFC North champion Packers dropped to 3-5.
McCaffrey throws, catches, rushes for TDs, Niners rout Rams
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Christian McCaffrey became the 11th player in NFL history with a rushing touchdown, a passing touchdown and a receiving touchdown in one game, and the San Francisco 49ers extended their regular-season mastery over the Rams to four full years with a 31-14 victory over Los Angeles. McCaffrey threw a 34-yard TD pass to Brandon Aiyuk in the first half, caught a TD pass from Jimmy Garoppolo in the third quarter and then put the Niners in control with a TD run early in the fourth quarter of their eighth consecutive regular-season victory over their NFC West rivals.
AP Top 25: Tennessee, Ohio St tied at 2, UGA next for Vols
Tennessee moved into a tie with Ohio State for No. 2 in The Associated Press college football poll. That sets up a 1 vs. 2 matchup next week between the Volunteers and top-ranked Georgia. It'll be the 25th regular-season game matching the top two teams in the AP poll, and the third straight involving Southeastern Conference teams. Neither the Bulldogs nor the Volunteers have ever played in a 1-2 game in the regular season. Georgia remained No. 1 for the fourth straight week, receiving 30 first-place votes and 1,528 points. The last time there was a tie at No. 2 in the AP poll was Nov. 14, 2004, between Auburn and Oklahoma behind No. 1 Southern California.
Patriots' Kraft, school statements denounce antisemitism
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and other members of the sports world around the U.S. are condemning recent incidents of hate speech toward Jewish people. Some of the most prominent statements have come from the music mogul formerly known as Kanye West. There’s a strong push by team executives and athletes to continue to be vocal against hatred and intolerance — on and off the field. An antisemitic phrase was projected on a football stadium during the Florida-Georgia college football game. The NBA and the Brooklyn Nets issued statements after Kyrie Irving appeared to back an antisemitic movie. And a foundation funded by the Patriots owner is pushing back Sunday by airing an ad calling for people to stand up against hate speech toward Jewish people.
Phillies set to host Houston with World Series tied at 1-all
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The World Series is set to return to Philadelphia for the first time since 2009 when the Phillies host the Houston Astros in Game 3 on Monday night. The series is tied at one game each after the teams split a pair in Houston. The always entertaining Phillie Phanatic mascot and the Philly fans figure to make it a fun time at Citizens Bank Park, especially with the game being played on Halloween night. One possible damper, however, is there's rain in the forecast. Noah Syndergaard starts for the Phillies against Lance McCullers Jr.
Seahawks topple Giants 27-13 to stay atop NFC West
SEATTLE (AP) — Tyler Lockett caught a 33-yard touchdown pass from Geno Smith with 9:18 left, and the Seattle Seahawks won their third straight, 27-13 over the New York Giants. The only matchup of teams with winning records in the NFL this week was a slugfest until the fourth quarter. That's when Lockett made up for two big mistakes earlier in the game and Seattle rookie running back Kenneth Walker III finally broke free, helping the surprising Seahawks stay atop the NFC West at 5-3. New York saw its four-game win streak snapped entering its bye week and fell to 6-2, losing ground to undefeated Philadelphia in the NFC East.
Belichick passes Halas, Patriots beat Jets 22-17
Bill Belichick passed George Halas for second place on the NFL’s career coaching victories list and the New England Patriots continued their mastery of the New York Jets by beating them for the 13th straight time, 22-17. Devin McCourty had two of the Patriots’ three interceptions of Zach Wilson. Nick Folk kicked five field goals against his former team, and Belichick’s bunch ended the Jets' four-game winning streak. Belichick got win No. 325 and now trails only Don Shula, who had 347. The victory was also Belichick’s 100th in the regular season against AFC East opponents as coach of the Patriots.
Koo's OT FG gives Falcons improbable 37-34 win over Panthers
ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta’s Younghoe Koo booted a 41-yard field goal in overtime after the Carolina Panthers missed a pair of kicks that could have won the game. That gave the Falcons an improbable 37-34 victory that maintained their hold on first place in the NFC South at 4-4. The teams combined for three touchdowns in the final 3:06 of regulation before a silly penalty by the Panthers' D.J. Moore opened the door for the Falcons to pull it out. Moore hauled in a 62-yard touchdown pass from P.J. Walker with 12 seconds left, but his unsportsmanlike conduct penalty pushed the extra point to a 48-yard attempt. Eddy Piñeiro missed it, then missed a game-winning try in overtime from 32 yards.
Bell wins, Chastain rides the wall to earn title race spots
Christopher Bell worked his way into NASCAR’s championship round the only way he could, winning at Martinsville Speedway to claim a spot in the finale. Ross Chastain reached the title race with a move out of a video game. The pair will face Joey Logano, who entered Sunday’s race with his spot in the title race assured, and Chase Elliott for the championship at Phoenix Raceway. Chastain earned his berth by pinning his Chevrolet against the outside wall of the 0.526-mile speedway and using the wall to move from 10th place to fifth.
James, Davis help Lakers win for first time this season
LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James scored 26 points and Anthony Davis added 23 to help the Los Angeles Lakers to their first win of the season with a 121-110 victory over the Denver Nuggets. Russell Westbrook had 18 points for the Lakers (1-5), who had lost their first five games of the season under first-year head coach Darvin Ham. Los Angeles was the last winless team in the NBA. Westbrook drove the lane and scored on a layup to extend the Lakers lead to 117-106 in the final minutes as the Lakers closed out the win. Nikola Jockic scored 23 points and Jamal Murray added 21 for the Nuggets (4-3), who had four of their last five and two straight games before Sunday’s loss.