NFL
Zach Wilson had three interceptions in his first start after Aaron Rodgers’ season-ending Achilles tendon injury and Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys crushed the New York Jets 30-10. CeeDee Lamb had 143 yards receiving and Brandon Aubrey kicked five field goals as the Cowboys finished a season-opening sweep of the New York teams. Wilson had a 68-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson to get the 1-1 Jets within three points in the second quarter. But New York had just 147 yards otherwise and four second-half turnovers.
Daniel Jones threw for 321 yards and two touchdowns, Graham Gano connected on a 34-yard field goal with 19 seconds remaining and the New York Giants rallied from a 21-point third-quarter deficit to stun the Arizona Cardinals 31-28. It was the biggest comeback win for the Giants since a 21-point rally in 1949 — also against the Cardinals. Arizona blew its biggest lead since 2011. New York trailed 20-0 at halftime and 28-7 in the third quarter. But Jones and Saquon Barkley rallied the Giants from there. Barkley caught a touchdown pass and ran for a score.
Josh Allen rebounded from a four-turnover, season-opening dud by throwing three touchdown passes and leading the Buffalo Bills to a 38-10 rout of the Las Vegas Raiders. Linebackers Matt Milano and Terrel Bernard each intercepted Jimmy Garoppolo, and the Bills eased the lingering frustrations following a 22-16 overtime loss at the New York Jets and a week full of off-field distractions. The Raiders dropped to 1-1 following a season-opening 17-16 win at Denver.
Raheem Mostert had a pair of TD runs, including a 43-yard romp in the fourth quarter, and Tua Tagovailoa added a 2-yard touchdown pass to Tyreek Hill to help the Miami Dolphins hold off the New England Patriots 24-17. Mostert carried 18 times for 121 yards and Tagovailoa completed 21 of 30 passes for 249 yards for 2-0 Miami. The loss drops the Patriots to 0-2 for the first time since 2001, which was Bill Belichick’s second season as coach. New England QB Mac Jones finished 31 of 42 for 231 yards, a touchdown and interception.
Joe Burrow’s calf is sore again, and that means this year’s 0-2 start may not be like last year’s for the Bengals. Cincinnati lost its first two games in 2022 but rallied behind Burrow to finish 12-4 and win the AFC North. This year has been even rougher thus far. Burrow missed training camp with a calf injury, then came out with a dud in a season-opening loss to Cleveland. Burrow was better Sunday in a 27-24 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, but he was seen massaging his calf on the sideline late in the fourth quarter. He says he'll have to see how it feels in the next couple of days.
The Washington Redskins secured their first 2-0 start in 12 years with a 35-33 win over the Denver Broncos. Sam Howell threw for two touchdowns in his first road start and rallied Washington from an 18-point deficit, the second-biggest comeback in franchise history. The Commanders held on after Russell Wilson connected with Brandon Johnson on a 50-yard Hail Mary that was deflected multiple times. Wilson tried to hit Courtland Sutton for the tying 2-point conversion, but cornerback Benjamin St-Juste broke it up. St-Juste appeared to get away with pass interference, but no flag was thrown.
Indianapolis quarterback Anthony Richardson sustained a concussion Sunday against the Houston Texans. Richardson was taken to the locker room early in the second quarter to be evaluated and the team later announced that he was out with a concussion. Richardson ran for two touchdowns in the first quarter to help the Colts build a 14-7 lead. He went to the medical tent after a drive to start the second quarter and was soon escorted to the locker room.
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua set the NFL single-game record for most receptions by a rookie with 15 catches in a 30-23 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Nacua broke the record with a 17-yard reception late in the fourth quarter. He surpassed the former mark of 14 held by Washington’s Roy Helu, the New York Giants’ Saquon Barkley and Pittsburgh’s Najee Harris. Nacua’s 25 receptions this season are also the most by a rookie in his first two games.
Tonight on Monday night football, New Orleans is at Carolina at 7:15 and Cleveland is in Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers at 8:15.
MLB
Pinch-hitter Daniel Vogelbach had a three-run double in the seventh inning, and the New York Mets hurt Cincinnati’s wild card chances with an 8-4 victory over the sloppy Reds. Cincinnati (78-73) is a half-game behind the Chicago Cubs and Miami for the NL’s final wild card berth. Third baseman Noelvi Marte, first baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand and pitcher Carson Spiers made errors for the Reds. Cincinnati allowed a pair of unearned runs against the Mets,
Jason Delay hit a tiebreaking double in the seventh inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates edged the New York Yankees 3-2 to avoid a three-game sweep. Delay turned on a curveball from Carlos Rodon and sent a bouncer that nicked the outside of third base and rolled into left field, allowing Jared Triolo to score from second. Miguel Andujar hit a solo home run for Pittsburgh against his former team. Anthony Volpe hit his 21st homer for the Yankees. New York starter Carlos Rodón allowed three runs in 6 2/3 innings and recorded his 1,000th career strikeout when he fanned Ke'Bryan Hayes in the fourth inning. Rodón struck out a season-high 10.
Matt Chapman hit a game-ending double off the center-field wall in the ninth inning, lifting the Toronto Blue Jays over the Boston Red Sox 3-2 for a three-game sweep. Toronto, which swept its ninth series this season, entered in the AL’s third and final wild card spot, a half-game behind Texas and a half-game ahead of Seattle. Boston has lost eight of 10 and dropped nine games back of the Blue Jays with 12 games left.
Jordan Walker hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning and Paul Goldschmidt drove in three runs to lead the St. Louis Cardinals over the Philadelphia Phillies 6-5. St. Louis avoided a season sweep after losing its first five meetings with the Phillies this year. Alec Bohm homered for Philadelphia, which leads the NL wild-card race. Walker homered off Seranthony Domínguez with two outs to snap a 5-all tie. John King allowed one run in one inning for the win, and Ryan Helsley earned his 11th save in 15 opportunities.
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Kayla McBride scored 28 points and Napheesa Collier added 26 points and 13 rebounds as the Minnesota Lynx beat the Connecticut Sun 82-75 to force a deciding Game 3 of their first-round playoff series. Alyssa Thomas scored 26 points and DeWanna Bonner added 24 for the No. 3 seeded Sun, who won the first game of the series by 30 points on Wednesday, but now must win a road game to advance. The Lynx led by six points at halftime and stretched that to 16 with the help of a 12-0 run in the third quarter. A 3-pointer from Bonner cut the lead to 76-73 with 2 1/2 minutes to play, but the Lynx made several big defensive stops and scored the next six points to put the game away.
A’ja Wilson scored a playoff career-high 38 points to help the defending-champion Las Vegas Aces finish off a first-round 3 game sweep of the Chicago Sky with a 92-70 victory. The Aces, who beat Chicago 87-59 in the first game of the best-of-3 series, will play either the No. 4 seed Dallas Wings or the fifth-seeded Atlanta Dream in the semifinals. Game 1 will be played in Las Vegas next Sunday. The Wings lead their series 1-0 with Game 2 on Tuesday in Dallas. Wilson sank 15 of 23 shots from the floor and made 8 of 10 from the free-throw line. Kahleah Copper had 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead Chicago.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
No. 13 Alabama is out of the top 10 of The Associated Press college football poll for the first time in eight years and Georgia remains No. 1. The Bulldogs received 57 first-place votes in the AP Top 25. Michigan held at No. 2 with two first-place votes. No. 3 Texas flipped spots with No. 4 Florida State. The Longhorns received three first-place votes and the Seminoles got one. After scraping by South Florida on Saturday, Alabama saw its streak of consecutive AP poll appearances ranked in the top 10 snapped at 128.
The 19th-ranked Colorado Buffaloes enter the heart of their schedule after winning a double-overtime thriller against Colorado State in a game that stretched into early Sunday. The Buffs visit No. 10 Oregon next weekend, followed by a game against fifth-ranked Southern California. All three teams are 3-0. The Buffaloes will be without two-way star Travis Hunter, who was hospitalized after a late hit to his midsection on an incompletion in the first half of their 43-35 win over the Rams.
Missouri quarterback Brady Cook experienced some redemption on Saturday by leading the Tigers to a 30-27 victory over then-No. 15 Kansas State. He has struggled to win over their fanbase during his year-plus under center, even though Cook has played through a hurt shoulder and endured a sprained knee in the last-second win over the Wildcats. With his coach and teammates behind him, Cook is leading the Tigers toward a date with Memphis next week and the potential to start 4-0 for the first time in a decade.
NHL
Mike Babcock has resigned as coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets after just two months on the job following revelations that he asked players to show him photos on their phones. The team announced Babcock’s abrupt departure Sunday in the aftermath of an investigation by the NHL Players’ Association into his conduct. Former NHL player Paul Bissonnette reported on his podcast Tuesday that Babcock was asking players to show him photos and projecting them for others to see in an invasion of privacy. Babcock and captain Boone Jenner said it was just a way of the new coach getting to know players. Still, Babcock said continuing as the Blue Jackets coach was “going to be too much of a distraction.” Pascal Vincent has been named his replacement.
FORTINET CHAMPIONSHIP
Sahith Theegala made more than enough birdies to cover for his mistakes while playing with the lead, shooting a 4-under 68 for a two-shot victory at the Fortinet Championship. It's Theegala's first win in 74 starts on the PGA Tour. The 25-year-old Theegala, who began the day with a two-shot lead, pulled away by playing his first five holes in 3 under while being followed by a large, jubilant group of friends and relatives, including his parents. Theegala finished at 21-under 267. S.H. Kim shot 68 to finish second. Justin Thomas was fifth, six shots back, in his final tuneup for the Ryder Cup.
© 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
