NFL
Josh Allen threw four touchdown passes and ran for a score, and the Buffalo Bills brought Miami’s unbeaten start to an emphatic end, beating the division rival Dolphins 48-20. A week after Miami had one of the most impressive offensive performances in NFL history in a 70-20 win over Denver, Buffalo showed the Dolphins a thing or two about efficient offense. Stefon Diggs caught three touchdowns and finished with six receptions for 120 yards. Allen went 21 of 25 for 320 yards and had his 10th game with four passing TDs. Miami finished with 393 yards of offense, but the Bills forced two turnovers and sacked quarterback Tua Tagovailoa four times.
Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs shook off a subpar performance during which they blew a 17-point lead, but held on to defeat the New York Jets 23-20. Mahomes was intercepted twice and struggled to get much going after a quick start with pop superstar Taylor Swift watching Travis Kelce and the Chiefs for the second straight game, this time from a suite at MetLife Stadium. Michael Carter II intercepted Mahomes on third-and-20 but it was negated by a holding call on Sauce Gardner. Mahomes ran for 9 yards on third down to the Jets 2 to seal the victory.
DaRon Bland returned one of his two interceptions for a touchdown, Leighton Vander Esch scooped up a fumble for a score and the Dallas Cowboys blew out the New England Patriots 38-3. Mac Jones was responsible for all three turnovers and was pulled in the second half of Bill Belichick's worst loss in 29 seasons as a head coach. The Cowboys spoiled former star running back Ezekiel Elliott’s Dallas homecoming with their 10th consecutive home victory.
Jalen Hurts threw for 319 yards and two touchdowns, and Jake Elliott kicked a 54-yard field goal in overtime to lift the Philadelphia Eagles to a 34-31 win over the Washington Commanders. Philadelphia is off to its second straight 4-0 start. Elliott also kicked field goals of 41, 47 and 36 yards before booming the winner that sent the crowd into a frenzy. The NFC champion Eagles are 4-0 in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1992-1993. Eagles wideout A.J. Brown had nine catches for 175 yards and two touchdowns.
Taylor Swift couldn’t just shake off another chance to watch Travis Kelce on the football field. The 12-time Grammy Award winner arrived at MetLife Stadium about 40 minutes before kickoff Sunday night to watch Kelce and his Kansas City Chiefs take on the New York Jets. SNY posted video of Swift, wearing blue jean shorts, a long-sleeved black top and leather jacket, entering the stadium’s security area with actors Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively and Hugh Jackman. NBC's telecast cut to Swift several times during the game, including a shot of the pop superstar with her arm around Kelce's mother, Donna.
A livid Robert Saleh stormed down the sideline and shouted at an official as several New York Jets players jumped around on the field in disbelief. Frustrated fans booed in disgust, knowing the game just turned on a questionable call. With the Kansas City Chiefs up by three points and looking to put away a win Sunday night, Michael Carter II intercepted Patrick Mahomes’ deep pass intended for Marquez Valdes-Scantling. But Sauce Gardner was called for defensive holding on the play, giving the ball back to Mahomes and the Chiefs and they worked the clock the rest of the way to hold on for a 23-20 victory.
New York State Police are investigating a plane crash Sunday in Lake Placid which killed former NFL tight end Russ Francis and Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association senior vice president Richard McSpadden. AOPA says the plane, a Cessna 177 Cardinal, experienced an emergency after takeoff and failed to make the runway on a return attempt shortly after 4 p.m. An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board is underway. Francis played 167 games in the NFL, and caught 40 touchdowns during a career that stretched from 1975 to 1988. He played for the Patriots and the San Francisco 49ers.
WNBA PLAYOFFS
Jonquel Jones scored 25 points, including five in the final minute, and New York earned its first trip to the WNBA Finals in 21 years with an 87-84 win over the Connecticut Sun. The former Sun star added 15 rebounds and four blocked shots for the Liberty, who will face defending champion Las Vegas in a matchup of the league’s two so-called “super teams” that starts on Oct. 8. League MVP Breanna Stewart led New York with 27 points and Betnijah Laney added 21 in the Game 4 clincher. MVP runner-up Alyssa Thomas had 17 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists for Connecticut. It was her first triple-double of the post-season after recording a record six during the regular season.
MLB
Zack Greinke threw four-hit ball into the sixth inning and, backed by a trio of home runs, helped the Royals beat the Yankees 5-2 on Sunday. It was quite possibly the end of the six-time All-Star's career and Greinke left to a standing ovation. He earned only his second win of the season after beating Baltimore in May. Michael King took the loss for New York, allowing a trio of homers among eight hits that yielded four runs in four innings. The Royals went 56-106, matching the franchise record for losses in a season. The Yankees finished 82-80, their worst record since going 76-86 in 1992.
Alec Bohm hit a tiebreaking homer in the sixth inning, sending the playoff-bound Philadelphia Phillies to a 9-1 victory in Buck Showalter’s final game as New York Mets manager. Bryce Harper and the Phillies will head home to face the Miami Marlins in a best-of-three National League wild-card series starting Tuesday. Showalter ended his pregame news conference by saying the Mets — who plan to announce the hiring of David Stearns as president of baseball operations on Monday — told him they were “going to go in a different direction with the manager next year.” Showalter’s exit after two seasons, the shortest of his five big league stints.
Tanner Houck threw six innings of one-hit ball and the last-place Boston Red Sox earned a split in the four-game series against the AL East champion Baltimore Orioles with a 6-1 victory in the regular-season finale. The Orioles have home-field advantage throughout the American League playoffs and will host a Division Series opener starting Oct. 7. Houck did not allow a hit Sunday until Anthony Santander singled up the middle with two outs in the sixth. Houck had six strikeouts and three walks on 87 pitches. Boston finished 78-84, the same record as last year.
MLB’s postseason bracket is set, with the American League and National League wild-card matchups beginning Tuesday. It’s the second year for the new October format, which includes an opening round, best-of-three series with all of the games at the higher seed’s ballpark. In the AL, the No. 6 seed Toronto Blue Jays will face the No. 3 Minnesota Twins and the No. 5 Texas Rangers travel to the No. 4 Tampa Bay Rays. The NL features the No. 6 Arizona Diamondbacks against the No. 3 Milwaukee Brewers and the No. 5 Miami Marlins at the No. 4 Philadelphia Phillies.
Buck Showalter was fired as New York Mets manager after a disappointing season in which baseball’s highest-spending team tumbled from contention by midsummer. The 67-year-old Showalter said before Sunday’s game against Philadelphia that he will not return next year, and a few minutes later the fourth-place Mets said the team had decided on the change. New York entered 74-86 and 29 1/2 games behind NL East champion Atlanta. The Mets are expected to hire David Stearns as president of baseball operations above general manager Billy Eppler, and Showalter’s departure with a year remaining on his three-year contract clears the way for Stearns to pick the next manager. Showalter’s exit leaves the Mets searching for a new manager for the fifth time in six years.
Tim Wakefield, the knuckleballing workhorse of the Red Sox pitching staff who bounced back after giving up a season-ending home run to the Yankees in the 2003 playoffs to help Boston win its curse-busting World Series title the following year, has died. He was 57. The Red Sox announced his death in a statement Sunday. Wakefield had brain cancer, according to ex-teammate Curt Schilling, who outed the illness on a podcast last week — drawing an outpouring of support for Wakefield. The Red Sox confirmed an illness at the time but did not elaborate, saying Wakefield had requested privacy.
RYDER CUP
The Ryder Cup is staying in Europe, just like always. Team Europe had a big lead at Marco Simone outside of Rome and made sure it capped off a dominant week. Rory McIlroy won his match to become the leading scorer for Europe for the first time. Tommy Fleetwood delivered the winner by driving the 16th green to assure the half-point Europe needed. The Americans were never really in this Ryder Cup after falling behind big on the first day. They were coming off a 10-point win at Whistling Straits and thought this might be the year they ended three decades of losing on European soil. The final score was 16 1/2-11 1/2.
European captain Luke Donald was delivering his Ryder Cup victory speech at Marco Simone when his celebrating players standing beside him started a chant that quickly swept through the grandstands. “Two more years” was the cry that was seemingly led by Rory McIlroy and drew a broad smile from Donald. Donald has tempered any talk of him staying on as captain after orchestrating Europe’s 16½-11½ victory over the Americans that won back the 17-inch golden trophy on Sunday. But the players clearly want him to go again. Donald has a solid core of established stars and up-and-coming talent if he wants to lead the defense of the trophy at Bethpage Black in 2025.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Georgia’s hold on No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll loosened as the Bulldogs received a season-low 35 first-place votes out of possible 62. The Bulldogs needed a late touchdown to escape with a win at Auburn and still extended their streak to 16 appearances at No. 1 in the AP Top 25. No. 2 Michigan got 12 first-place votes and 1,436 points but nearly was passed by No. 3 Texas, which received 10 first-place votes and 1,426 points. No. 4 Ohio State got one first-place vote and No. 5 Florida State received four. The top seven teams were unchanged while Kentucky and Louisville entered the AP Top 25 and Florida and Kansas dropped out.
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