NFL
Saquon Barkley had at least a first down, maybe even a touchdown, in his grasp that would have sealed the Eagles’ win in their home opener. Barkley instead bobbled a reception and couldn’t hold on to Jalen Hurts’ short pass. It was one giant drop on third down at Atlanta’s 10-yard line with 1:39 left in the game that stopped the clock late and forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal. Barkley’s botch was the opening the Atlanta Falcons needed to pull off the stunner with the kind of flawless drive the Eagles couldn’t pull off. Kirk Cousins capped the winning drive with a touchdown pass to Drake London and stun Philadelphia 22-21 in its home opener last night.
Kirk Cousins led a flawless last-minute drive for Atlanta and connected with Drake London for a 7-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left to give the Falcons a 22-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. Saquon Barkley dropped a short pass that stopped the clock with 1:46 left and forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal instead of a game-sealing first down. That was plenty of time for Cousins — especially against an Eagles defense playing soft coverage with a nonexistent pass rush. Cousins hit Darnell Mooney for 21 and 26 yards on consecutive plays during the final drive.
The Carolina Panthers have benched 2023 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young after the second-year quarterback’s rough start to the season. Andy Dalton will take over as the starter for Carolina’s next game on Sunday at Las Vegas. Panthers head coach Dave Canales said he made the decision after watching game film from Sunday’s 26-3 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Miami Dolphins are signing backup quarterback Tyler Huntley off the Ravens’ practice squad as Tua Tagovailoa remains out with the third diagnosed concussion of his pro career. Coach Mike McDaniel confirmed the move first reported by NFL Network, saying that Huntley is being added for depth behind current No. 2 quarterback Skylar Thompson. Tagovailoa remains in the NFL’s concussion protocol after leaving a 31-10 loss to Buffalo last Thursday. McDaniel said there’s still not enough information to know whether Tagovailoa will go on injured reserve.
Bryce Young has been benched by the Carolina Panthers after 18 starts. It’s not the fastest hook for a No. 1 overall pick. John Elway was replaced by veteran QB Steve DeBerg in his first two career starts with the Denver Broncos in 1983, and he was eventually benched after five games. Elway returned to the starting lineup in Week 11 and went on to have a Hall of Fame career, leading the Broncos to consecutive Super Bowl victories in his final two seasons in the NFL. Overall, 36 quarterbacks have been selected No. 1 overall in the history of the NFL draft, including 28 in the Super Bowl era.
MLB
Starling Marte lined a game-ending single in the 10th inning that lifted the New York Mets to a critical 2-1 win over the Washington Nationals. New York moved a game ahead of rival Atlanta for the final National League wild card when the Braves were blown out 9-0 at home by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Playing again without Francisco Lindor, who will be sidelined for a few days due to a sore back, the Mets got just two runners beyond first base in the first seven innings. But then Jose Iglesias, replacing Lindor at shortstop and atop the lineup, hit an RBI infield single off the glove of reliever Derek Law with two outs in the eighth.
Joey Ortiz and William Contreras each drove in two runs, and the Milwaukee Brewers moved a step closer to clinching the NL Central title by beating the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies 6-2. The Brewers’ magic number is down to two as they seek their third division championship in the last four years. Milwaukee can wrap it up tonight with a win and a Cubs loss.
Shota Imanaga struck out a career-high 11 in winning his fifth straight start, Dansby Swanson homered while tying his season high with four RBIs and Chicago Cubs defeated the Oakland Athletics 9-2. Chicago remained five games behind the New York Mets for the final NL wild card with 12 games remaining. Imanaga (14-3) allowed five hits over six innings, including Brent Rooker’s 38th homer, a two run-drive in the third. The 31-year-old left-hander walked three.
Yu Darvish had his best outing since being sidelined for more than three months, and rookie Jackson Merrill and Jurickson Profar homered as the San Diego Padres beat the Houston Astros 3-1. The Padres took a 2 1/2-game lead over Arizona for the top NL wild card and stayed 3 1/2 games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. Houston’s lead in the AL West dropped to four games over idle Seattle. Padres leadoff hitter Luis Arraez struck out for the first time since Aug. 10, snapping a streak of 141 plate appearances without whiffing. He went down swinging against rookie Spencer Arrighetti to end the second inning. It tied Padres Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn for the fifth-longest streak in the last 40 seasons.
Rookie Kyle Manzardo hit a two-run, go-ahead homer in the eighth inning and Emmanuel Clase recorded his 46th save as the Cleveland Guardians rallied to beat the Minnesota Twins 4-3 to tighten their grip on the AL Central. Manzardo connected on the first pitch from Griffin Jax sending it deep into the right-field seats for his third homer. Their 40th come-from-behind win moved the Guardians 7 1/2 games ahead of the defending division champion Twins. It also reduced Cleveland’s magic number for clinching a playoff berth to two. Clase worked the ninth for his 33rd consecutive save and No. 46 this season, tying him with José Mesa for the club’s single-season record.
Colt Keith hit a two-run homer, Matt Vierling had three hits while driving in the go-ahead run, and the Detroit Tigers rallied from an early four-run deficit to beat the Kansas City Royals 7-6. Pinch hitter Wenceel Pérez also drove two runs for Detroit, which began its final road trip of the regular season by moving within 1 1/2 games of Minnesota for the final AL wild-card spot. The Twins lost to Cleveland earlier in the night. Brenan Hanifee earned the win in relief for Detroit while Jason Foley worked the ninth for his 24th save. Sam Long took the loss, allowing three runs and retiring just two batters.
Andrew Benintendi homered twice for the third time this season and drove in four runs, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels 8-4 for their first three-game winning streak in nearly three months. It is only the fourth time the White Sox have won at least three in a row — and the first since June 27-29, when they beat Atlanta and Colorado. Chicago took two of three from Oakland over the weekend to snap a string of 20 consecutive series losses. On Tuesday night, Chicago will try to match its season-high winning streak of four, which happened May 8-11 against Tampa Bay and Cleveland. The White Sox are 36-115 with 11 games left and are trying to avoid the post-1900 record of 120 losses by the 1962 expansion New York Mets.
Freddie Freeman hit a three-run homer against his former team and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat Atlanta 9-0, dropping the Braves out of a playoff position. Shohei Ohtani was 0 for 4 with a walk and a pair of run-scoring grounders that increased his RBIs total to 108. He did not hit a home run or steal a base during the series, remaining at 47 home runs and 48 steals as he tries to become the first 50-50 player. Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed four hits and two walks in four innings, throwing 72 pitches in his second start since returning from a right arm injury.
Andre Pallante outdueled rookie Paul Skenes, striking out a career-high nine over seven innings to lead the St. Louis Cardinals over the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0. Pallante allowed four hits and one walk. Andrew Kittredge and Ryan Fernandez each pitched a perfect inning, finishing a four-hitter and the ninth shutout for the Cardinals this season. Skenes gave up one run and four hits in six innings with seven strikeouts and one walk, falling to 0-2 in three starts against St. Louis.
Brenton Doyle scored the winning run on a ninth-inning throwing error, and Colorado dealt a blow to the Arizona Diamondbacks’ playoff chances with a 3-2 win in a game that marked the return of Rockies pitcher Antonio Senzatela from Tommy John surgery. Ezequiel Tovar and Hunter Goodman homered for the Rockies, who beat the Diamondbacks for only the third time in 11 meetings this season. Ketel Marte hit a two-run homer for the defending NL champion Diamondbacks, who are in the second NL wild card position, one game ahead of the New York Mets and two in front of Atlanta.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The American Athletic Conference has renewed interest in adding Air Force as a member to put all three service academies into the same league for the first time. That's according to a person with knowledge of the AAC’s discussions who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday because conference officials were not making their internal discussions public. The news comes days after the Pac-12 announced Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State would be leaving the Mountain West to join Oregon State and Washington State in a reconstructed Conference of Champions, starting in 2026.
OLYMPICS
Seven candidates are competing for one of the biggest and best jobs in world sports that traditionally becomes available only every 12 years. The International Olympic Committee has announced the members that entered the race to be its next president. The election by secret ballot is in March. The winner will replace Thomas Bach, who will reach the maximum 12 years in office. The 10th IOC president could be its first female leader, or its first from Africa or Asia or even Britain. They will take over a financially stable organization that demands deft skills in sports and real-world politics.
NASCAR
The NASCAR playoffs head to Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee this weekend for the final race of the first round. Four drivers will be eliminated from Cup Series championship contention. Denny Hamlin had a tough day over the weekend at Watkins Glen. He finished 23rd and was dropped to 13th in the playoff standings, six points behind Ty Gibbs on the postseason cutoff line. Hamlin says he can win Saturday night at Bristol and earn the automatic spot into the second round.
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