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While You Were Sleeping: A case for the NFL’s best team
There is poetry in how the AFC’s two best teams have navigated this season, one they began together. In the league opener, Kansas City bested Baltimore by a literal toe. Both teams have been elite since, in opposite ways. And I can only assume this year ends for one of them at the other’s hands.
Consider:
In a 41-31 road win over the 4-3 Buccaneers that wasn’t as close as the score suggests, the Ravens declared themselves as the NFL’s hottest — if not overall best — team. Baltimore ran up 41 points in three and a half quarters of play, all while snatching two interceptions. Lamar Jackson accounted for five touchdowns. The Ravens, who came into this game No. 2 in total DVOA, looked elite in every phase against a good team. Remember when they started 0-2? Looks far away now. Nobody wants to play this 5-2 team.
Yes, the Chiefs are 6-0, the NFL’s last undefeated team. But watching them is a slog, a crock-potting of the highest proportion. A tough defense and a just-good-enough offense helmed by the best quarterback alive. It very much works, mind you, but it does not dazzle the eye as the Ravens have. I can only hope the playoffs get us a second round of empirical data on this matchup.
Last night’s game had a sad finish, however: Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin suffered a gruesome ankle injury with less than a minute left in the contest. Maybe don’t go look up the replay.
We also had a Monday nightcap:
Another crazy turn of events in Arizona!
A potential Chargers TD turns into a fumble into the end zone
📺: #LACvsAZ on ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/3l0XuKKkHz
— NFL (@NFL) October 22, 2024
That’s a near-touchdown turned into a fumble turnover at the goal line. Yeesh. Moving on:
News to Know
WNBA work stoppage?The WNBPA opted out of the league’s current collective bargaining agreement yesterday, a move that comes as no surprise but is nonetheless quite important. This comes at a time when the WNBA is soaring in popularity; its players, naturally, want to be better compensated as money flows into the sport. A source told The Athletic the players are prepared for work stoppage, though both sides are entering the negotiation on good terms. Read our full report here.
NBA extensions galoreYesterday marked the deadline for NBA teams to process rookie-scale contract extensions, and multiple teams turned in the test right before the buzzer: the Magic locked up Jalen Suggs (five years, $105 million), the Rockets inked both Alperen Şengün (five years, $185 million) and Jalen Green (three years, $106 million), the Hawks retained Jalen Johnson (five years, $150 million) and the Pelicans rewarded Trey Murphy (four-year, $112 million). Whew. Also, outside of the youngsters: The Nuggets retained crucial title piece Aaron Gordon on a four-year, $133 million max extension. Enough math for the day.
Tiger’s return in new leagueTiger Woods is expected to play competitive golf again this January, in conjunction with the launch of the TMRW Golf League, a new competitive league with a slightly different twist on the game. Woods is the captain of the TGL’s Jupiter Links Golf Club (Max Homa, Tom Kim and Kevin Kisner are teammates), and contests will take place in more of a virtual setup, with only the chipping and putting happening on a live green. Read more here on Woods, and here’s a story from last year on basics about the TGL.
More news
Two Players, One Ring: It’s Judge, Ohtani, and everyone else
Legacies can be tricky. An entire career’s worth of accomplishments can be undone by one series. Or an entire career’s worth of mediocrity can be lovingly replaced by a single postseason feat. Unfair? Probably. But that’s how this works.
Two players, Shohei Ohtani, and Aaron Judge have their spots in baseball history already ensured. Judge is one of the most prolific hitters to ever live. Ohtani is probably the most talented player to ever step onto a diamond.
But in this World Series, their legacies are on the line. Quickly:
For years, Ohtani toiled in frustration, amassing records and never sniffing the postseason as a Los Angeles Angel. Now, mere months after signing with the Dodgers in free agency, he has already made the World Series. He has been awesome this postseason, too, OPSing .934 over two series with three home runs and 10 RBI. As Ken Rosenthal wrote yesterday, he is ready for greatness.
For Judge, the frustration has been different — he has been close to this stage many times, never coming through. In eight full seasons as a Yankee, he’s made the playoffs seven times with four ALCS appearances. Judge has been a sub-.200 hitter in the 2024 playoffs and has just a .761 OPS through 14 playoff series in his career. Woof. Judge, for all his honors, has to hit well in this World Series, or he’ll officially earn an unsavory label: choker.
It will be an epic World Series, as Jayson Stark writes. The only bummer is that we have to wait until Friday.
Watch and Listen
📺 NBA: Knicks at Celtics 7:30 p.m. ET on TNTIt’s basketball night. Strap in. And this is probably our best game — the defending NBA champions against their best competition in the Eastern Conference (or so we think).
📺 NBA: Timberwolves at Lakers 10 p.m. ET on TNT Against LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the new-look T-Wolves get a chance to re-emphasize their place. I expect Minnesota to be fun. Also, both Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. will be in attendance to hopefully watch LeBron James and Bronny James achieve the NBA version of the Griffeys’ feat: becoming the first father-son duo to appear together in a game.
Get tickets to games like these here.
🎧 I’m excited for this: “The NBA Daily” launched yesterday morning and should become your new NBA podcast of choice. It releases six days a week, at 5 a.m. ET, recapping the previous night’s action. Listen and subscribe here.
Pulse Picks
Lost in the NBA shuffle somehow: the Golden State Warriors, who are on the precipice of a dynasty’s final act. The man facing the entire spotlight: general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr., who still has the trust of his superstars despite not making a splash this offseason. Make time for this deeply reported piece today — including the backstory on the Paul George acquisition that nearly happened.
Zach Harper has thoughts on every NBA over/under win total. Extremely helpful.
Colorado is winning in a shocking way: quietly. As David Ubben writes this morning, the once-destitute Buffaloes are on the precipice of a bowl game — and if they keep going, maybe even a Big 12 title.
Who has the best NHL front office? We had 40 executives vote and came away with one big winner: the Dallas Stars. See the full rankings here.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Our story on the AP Top 25 college football rankings. We might have more on this later in the week.
Most-read on the website yesterday: Jason Lloyd’s column on why the Deshaun Watson era should be over in Cleveland.
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(Top photo: Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images)
