Power Rankings: We picked this season’s Achilles’ heel for each team
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NFL NationESPN
While the NFL Power Rankings prefer to look at the league through a positive lens, sometimes we have to go to Negative Town. That’s where we are this week, as we asked our NFL Nation writers to pick the weakest aspect of their team through eight weeks.
Of course, some teams have more problem areas to choose from than others, and some of those issues are a bit more detrimental to winning games. So while teams such as the Houston Texans, Detroit Lions and the residents of New York City had quite a few more ailments than the relatively minor problems of the NFC’s Fab Five (or six if you ask the New Orleans Saints), every team has wrinkles to iron out. The entire game experience is covered this week, from not being able to rush the passer to not converting on third down to not being able to defend onside kicks (Los Angeles Rams fans know that pain). So here’s what your team, and every other team, is bad at midway through the 2021 season.
How we rank our Power Rankings: Our power panel — a group of more than 80 writers, editors and TV personalities — evaluates how teams stack up throughout the season.
Previous rankings: 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | Preseason
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Previous ranking: 4
Biggest Achilles’ heel: The red zone
The Packers were one of the best red zone teams last season on both sides of the ball. They led the NFL in red zone offense, scoring touchdowns on 80% of their trips inside the opponents’ 20. This season, they’re tied for 20th at 57.6%. On defense in 2020, they were eighth, allowing opponent touchdowns on 57.7% of their red zone possessions. This season, they’re 30th at 78.3%. They had the awful run of 15 straight touchdowns allowed on opponent red zone possessions. That finally ended in Week 7, when punchless Washington went 0-for-4. But the same issues recurred Thursday against the Cardinals, who went 3-for-4. The one stop, however, was Rasul Douglas‘ game-clinching interception in the end zone in the final seconds. — Rob Demovsky
Previous ranking: 1
Biggest Achilles’ heel: Run defense
As the world saw Thursday night, when the Packers ran for 151 yards, if a team can eat the clock on the ground, the Cardinals become vulnerable. Their run defense has been suspect throughout the season, giving up an average of 120.1 yards per game but 4.88 yards per carry, which is the second most in the NFL. Arizona has given up more than 100 rushing yards in five of its eight games. Running against Arizona has become a team’s best defense against quarterback Kyler Murray, who sits on the sideline as teams pound the ground for yards and clock. — Josh Weinfuss
1:44
Sam Acho explains what LB Von Miller brings to the Rams’ already impressive defense.
Previous ranking: 3
Biggest Achilles’ heel: Special teams
The Rams have been unable to settle on a consistent kick and punt returner, leaning instead on sure-handed receiver Cooper Kupp, which makes it difficult not to hold your breath when such duty is required of the NFL’s leading receiver. Rookies Jake Funk, Tutu Atwell and Ben Skowronek have also tried their hand at returning, but Funk suffered a season-ending injury, and neither Atwell nor Skowronek has proved capable of handling the full-time job. And it’s not just the Rams’ return game that’s in question. In a Week 7 win over the Lions, the Rams allowed an early onside kick and watched as two fake punts were converted into first downs. — Lindsey Thiry
Previous ranking: 2
Biggest Achilles’ heel: Penalties
If the secondary was the Bucs’ Achilles’ heel last season, penalties are this season. The Bucs’ 59 penalties this season are one shy of the league high of 60 by the Philadelphia Eagles. The Bucs’ 580 yards in penalties are also the most in the league. Their 11 penalties for 99 yards were a key culprit in the Saints’ advancing the ball despite losing Jameis Winston in the Bucs’ 36-27 loss Sunday. — Jenna Laine
Previous ranking: 6
Biggest Achilles’ heel: Big plays allowed
To a degree this feels like a nitpick because the Cowboys’ defense has outperformed expectations so far entering the season. But when they play better quarterbacks down the stretch — and potentially in the playoffs — they can’t have these types of lapses. They have allowed 31 plays of at least 20 yards in the first seven games. They allowed the same amount through the first seven games a season ago. The difference is this season they are getting takeaways and coming up with stops. This was a focus of the coaches during the bye week, but the Cowboys allowed four more big plays against the Vikings. It has not hurt them yet, but it could later. — Todd Archer
Previous ranking: 5
Biggest Achilles’ heel: Special-teams inconsistency
Buffalo doesn’t punt often (third fewest in the NFL with 21). But when Matt Haack has been needed, he has been inconsistent, averaging a net of 36.1 yards (second lowest of any team). Only 28.6% of his punts have been taken over inside the 20-yard line. Kicker Tyler Bass has been solid for the Bills this season, and defensive back Siran Neal has been dynamic in kick coverage, but returner Isaiah McKenzie muffed a punt vs. the Dolphins in Week 8 and was bailed out by Jake Kumerow. The inconsistencies on special teams have put the Bills in some dangerous situations. — Alaina Getzenberg
Previous ranking: 8
Biggest Achilles’ heel: Tackling
Lamar Jackson can produce big plays, but he can’t stop them. In Baltimore’s two losses, the Ravens’ pass defense has allowed 15 completions over 20 yards. It’s not because receivers are getting behind the defense. It’s the inability of Baltimore to get receivers on the ground. The Ravens’ poor tackling has led to 1,200 yards allowed after the catch — worst in the NFL. “Until we get that [tackling problem] fixed, we’ll be a very mediocre defense,” coach John Harbaugh said. — Jamison Hensley
1:04
Rex Ryan and Ryan Clark explain how crucial of a loss Derrick Henry’s injury is to the Titans’ season.
Previous ranking: 9
Biggest Achilles’ heel: Kickoff return
Entering training camp, the Titans were excited about having Darrynton Evans make an impact as a kick returner. That never happened as Evans suffered a knee injury and was placed on injured reserve before the season even started. Evans was activated and added to the 53-man roster last month only to end up on injured reserve once again, which ended his season. Chester Rogers, Marcus Johnson, Cameron Batson, Jeremy McNichols and Evans have all gotten a shot to return kicks. Through eight games, the Titans are averaging 17.3 yards per kick return, tying the Dolphins for the worst in the NFL. — Turron Davenport
Previous ranking: 7
Biggest Achilles’ heel: Offensive inconsistency
Cincinnati’s boom-or-bust offense is a problem. The Bengals rank 31st in plays per drive and have the second-highest three-and-out percentage in the league. And yet, Cincinnati is still fourth in touchdowns. But the inability to sustain drives has proved to be a problem, as evidenced by the minus-71 play differential, which is also the second highest in the league. If that trend continues, it will continue to place significant pressure on the defense and leave that side of the ball weary in December, which is when the Bengals are hoping to secure their first playoff berth since 2015. — Ben Baby
Previous ranking: 13
Biggest Achilles’ heel: Passing game
Quarterback is the obvious choice in the wake of Jameis Winston‘s knee injury. But even when he was healthy, the Saints’ lack of proven WR and TE targets was a glaring problem. They rank 31st in the NFL in passing yards per game (180.9) and completion percentage (58.8) — and dead last in receptions by WRs (7.9 per game) and receptions by TEs (2.4 per game). Needless to say, they’re eagerly awaiting Michael Thomas‘ return from an ankle injury. — Mike Triplett
Previous ranking: 11
Biggest Achilles’ heel: The constantly reshuffled offensive line
Derek Carr‘s personal protectors of LT Kolton Miller, LG John Simpson, C Andre James, RG Alex Leatherwood and RT Brandon Parker have kept the Raiders QB upright and clean without a sack the past six quarters. But the reshuffled O-line is just that — constantly in flux and a work in progress. The bye week should have helped with nagging injuries, and veteran left guard Richie Incognito, who has not practiced since injuring his right calf in a joint practice with the Rams on Aug. 19, could potentially start practicing this week. — Paul Gutierrez
Previous ranking: 10
Biggest Achilles’ heel: Lack of consistency on offense
Never thought I’d write this, not with Justin Herbert at QB and the number of top receivers the Chargers have, but they have struggled at times, especially this past Sunday against the Patriots. Herbert threw two interceptions against the Pats (one of which was returned for a pick-six), which gives him six on the year. He had just 10 as a rookie. He hasn’t been helped by his receivers, because of either drops (running back Austin Ekeler) or running the wrong routes (tight end Jared Cook). Worse yet, the Chargers have put themselves in tough third-down situations due to inconsistent play on first and second down. — Shelley Smith
0:55
Ryan Clark breaks down Mac Jones’ play in the Patriots Week 8 win over the Chargers.
Previous ranking: 18
Biggest Achilles’ heel: Cornerback
After trading Stephon Gilmore and placing top slot Jonathan Jones on injured reserve, the Patriots are thin at cornerback. J.C. Jackson and Jalen Mills are the starters — with opponents often attacking Mills, as the Chargers did on their late TD on Sunday — and practice-squad call-up Myles Bryant is the top slot option. Joejuan Williams and Shaun Wade are next on the CB depth chart. Chargers coach Brandon Staley made the point that the Patriots played more zone than man Sunday, in part because of their short-handed situation. — Mike Reiss
Previous ranking: 15
Biggest Achilles’ heel: Vertical passing attack
The Steelers are slowly developing into a balanced offense as their run game emerges, but their biggest weakness is obvious: the vertical passing attack, particularly over the middle. Against the Browns, Ben Roethlisberger attempted just three passes of more than 20 air yards and only one between the numbers. Each fell incomplete. Roethlisberger has completed just 25.5% of deep passes since 2020, down from 30.5% between 2016 and 2019, per NFL Next Gen Stats. Relying too heavily on throws within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage risks a one-dimensional attack. A bolstered run game and offensive line will divert just enough to attention to open up more efficient, vertical options — especially in crunch time. — Brooke Pryor
Previous ranking: 14
Biggest Achilles’ heel: Pass rush
The Chiefs had a league-low eight sacks and a feeble pass rush win rate of 35.2% heading into Monday night’s game against the Giants. There’s no mystery why opposing quarterbacks had a 61.4 QBR against them. It’s difficult to see any hope that the defense will make significant improvement unless these numbers improve. The Chiefs were getting little from Chris Jones and Frank Clark, two of the highest-paid players on their roster. The two combined for two sacks, with Clark contributing zero going into the Giants game. — Adam Teicher
Previous ranking: 12
Biggest Achilles’ heel: Passing attack
The Browns’ passing attack has fallen off a cliff, and it’s not just due to the injuries — even if they have been a major factor. Baker Mayfield, battling the torn labrum to his non-throwing shoulder, has been up and down, but he isn’t getting much help from his highly paid star receivers, either. Jarvis Landry had multiple drops late in the fourth quarter in the loss to Pittsburgh, along with a key fumble. Odell Beckham Jr., meanwhile, has become a total nonfactor. Cleveland’s passing game last season gradually got better. This season, it seems to be getting worse. — Jake Trotter
Previous ranking: 20
Biggest Achilles’ heel: The turnover battle
There are plenty of things we could discuss here, but let’s keep it simple: The Niners are minus-6 in turnover differential, which is fourth worst in the NFL through the first eight weeks. This is actually the perfect choice because it points to deficiencies on both sides of the ball and it’s the single stat that most correlates to winning. The offense has 11 giveaways, the defense has just five takeaways and the Niners have been on the positive side of this stat just once in seven games. Given that, it’s no surprise that San Francisco sits at 3-4 right now. — Nick Wagoner
Previous ranking: 21
Biggest Achilles’ heel: Offense
The Broncos currently reside in a points-scoring neighborhood where they’ve spent the past six seasons. They are one of 10 teams averaging fewer than 20 points per game this season, and of those 10 teams, only the Broncos (4-4) and the Steelers (4-3) do not have losing records. In short, that’s not where a legitimate playoff hopeful finds itself. The Broncos haven’t averaged more than 21 points a game in any of the previous four years and haven’t averaged more than 23 points per game since 2014. — Jeff Legwold
Previous ranking: 17
Biggest Achilles’ heel: Offense
A seven-game sample size reveals the Vikings’ offense is not cut out for the modern NFL. Minnesota has routinely come out of the gates swinging and scoring on its first possession, but the offense has disappeared after that to the tune of no second-half touchdowns in five of seven games. In a loss to Dallas, the game plan turned quarterback Kirk Cousins into a predictable checkdown machine whose average depth of target was 4.5 yards and totaled a measly 184 yards passing. This unit went from explosive to dull and conservative in a year’s time and has evolved into Minnesota’s chief downfall this season. — Courtney Cronin
Previous ranking: 24
Biggest Achilles’ heel: Pass protection
The offensive line proved it could run block, paving the way for Carolina to rush for a season-high 203 yards on 47 attempts in Sunday’s win at Atlanta. That kept the Falcons from loading up against the pass as teams did the past four weeks, collecting 15 sacks against Sam Darnold during that span. But teams will load the box and force the Panthers to pass, and the line remains vulnerable. — David Newton
Previous ranking: 23
Biggest Achilles’ heel: Not having QB Russell Wilson
On Sunday, Geno Smith played his best game since Wilson went down in Week 5 with his finger injury. But when Smith replaced Wilson in that game and in his next two starts, Seattle’s offense only functioned in spurts and didn’t have the finishing touch it has under Wilson. Smith and the Seahawks were dominant against the one-win Jaguars, but with tougher games ahead — at Green Bay following this week’s bye, then at home vs. Arizona — the Seahawks will have to be better finishers than they’ve been so far. And with no guarantee that Wilson will be back for the Packers game, they might need Smith at quarterback. — Brady Henderson
2:29
Stephen A. Smith is fed up with Carson Wentz and says that he is holding back the Colts.
Previous ranking: 16
Biggest Achilles’ heel: Pass rush
For as good as Colts GM Chris Ballard has been in selecting some talent in the draft — RB Jonathan Taylor, WR Michael Pittman Jr., LB Darius Leonard and G Quenton Nelson — he has struggled mightily in finding pass-rushers. The Colts are tied for 16th in the NFL in sacks with 17. To put things in perspective, the Colts are tied for the league lead in takeaways with 18. — Mike Wells
Previous ranking: 22
Biggest Achilles’ heel: Offense
The Bears’ defense collapsed in last Sunday’s loss to the 49ers, but Chicago’s offense has been its biggest Achilles’ heel throughout the season. The Bears rank at the bottom or near the bottom of almost every major offensive category, including points per game and yards per game. It really says something when scoring 22 points — as the Bears did versus San Francisco — is considered an offensive explosion. The Bears’ offense played a little better in Week 8, but it’s nowhere close to good enough. — Jeff Dickerson
Previous ranking: 25
Biggest Achilles’ heel: Inexperience
Nick Sirianni is a first-year head coach surrounded by the youngest coaching staff in the NFL. Quarterback Jalen Hurts has started 12 games in the NFL and doesn’t have a primary wide receiver over 23 years old. The result is inconsistency in both game plan and performance. The Eagles have beaten a pair of teams by 26-plus points and have also been manhandled at times. You never know what you’re going to get. — Tim McManus
Previous ranking: 19
Biggest Achilles’ heel: Pass rush
There are a lot of issues with the Falcons at the moment, but the team has had very little pass rush throughout the season — particularly with Dante Fowler Jr. on injured reserve. No Falcons player has more than two sacks (Fowler, Deion Jones and Jacob Tuioti-Mariner) and more critical, only two Falcons have more than five quarterback hits — Grady Jarrett with six and Foyesade Oluokun with five. Pressure is sometimes worth sending only if the players can get there, and that’s been a problem for Atlanta, but it also alters the entirety of what the Falcons can and can’t do on defense. — Michael Rothstein
Previous ranking: 27
Biggest Achilles’ heel: Pass rush
Forget about sacks. The Giants’ defense can’t even get consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks without a high-end edge rusher. The team entered Monday night 24th in the NFL with a 25.2% pressure rate, per NFL Next Gen Stats. It has prevented this defense from repeating its success from last season and is the Giants’ biggest weakness. — Jordan Raanan
Previous ranking: 26
Biggest Achilles’ heel: Pass coverage
Washington is tied for 29th in the NFL with seven passing touchdowns of 20 or more yards, and most of those stem from a secondary not in synch with its reads, leading to blown coverages. It ranks 26th in yards allowed per pass attempt and last in the NFL in third-down conversions at 56.5% — a lot of which is the result of opposing quarterbacks having completed 70.6% of their passes vs. Washington on third down. No defense has allowed a worse number. This isn’t just on the secondary, though. The corners have not played as well as anticipated, and the linebackers have blown their share of assignments, too. And the pass rush must be better. — John Keim
Previous ranking: 30
Biggest Achilles’ heel: Quarterback inexperience
It might seem like an odd time to single this out, considering Mike White just passed for 405 yards and three touchdowns, but it doesn’t change the fact that White and Zach Wilson have only seven combined starts in their careers. The Jets have a league-high 13 interceptions, in large part because of their inexperience. There will be good days and bad days, depending on the quality of the opponent and style of defense. There’s nothing the Jets can do to change it; they just have to ride this out, hoping it pays long-term dividends. — Rich Cimini
Previous ranking: 29
Biggest Achilles’ heel: Pass defense
The Jaguars have given up more than 300 yards passing four times in seven games (Teddy Bridgewater, Kyler Murray, Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa) and they’re allowing opposing QBs to complete 74% of their passes — the second-highest completion percentage in the league. QBs are also averaging 8.94 yards per attempt against Jacksonville (the second-highest mark) and have a Total QBR of 64.2, the highest in the NFL. — Mike DiRocco
Previous ranking: 28
Biggest Achilles’ heel: Offensive inefficiency
This is a question with about a dozen different answers, but Miami’s struggles on offense stand out. The Dolphins rank 30th in yards per game, 31st in yards per play and 28th in scoring. In almost unbelievable fashion, Miami attempts the fourth-most passes per game yet still ranks 25th in passing yards. As Sunday’s loss to the Bills proved, Miami is still capable of playing good defense — but without an offense that can carry its own weight, the Dolphins won’t win many more games. — Marcel Louis-Jacques
Previous ranking: 31
Biggest Achilles’ heel: Running game
It’s hard to pick just one category for a 1-7 team, but one area the Texans have struggled in all season — and not because of injury — is running the ball. Houston ranks dead last in Football Outsider‘s rush DVOA and is averaging 76.1 rushing yards per game. Now that Houston has traded lead back Mark Ingram II, it has four running backs: veterans David Johnson, Phillip Lindsay and Rex Burkhead and second-year pro Scottie Phillips. After Ingram was traded, it was Burkhead who led the way in Sunday’s loss to the Rams — but the group was still held to 44 yards on 14 carries. — Sarah Barshop
Previous ranking: 32
Biggest Achilles’ heel: Offense
Following a 44-6 loss to the Eagles on Halloween, the Lions fell to 0-8 for the first time since the infamous 0-16 season. Coach Dan Campbell acknowledged that the offense looked “very anemic,” which has been the case all season. The Lions rank near the bottom of nearly every offensive category, notably offensive efficiency and points scored. Jared Goff has suffered 11 consecutive losses, including the playoffs, which is the longest active streak for any quarterback. Tight end T.J. Hockenson feels that the offense hasn’t been able to overcome self-inflicted wounds such as penalties and mistakes in critical moments. “That’s what good offenses do is be able to keep moving the ball and overcome mistakes that you make on yourself,” Hockenson said. — Eric Woodyard
TORONTO — Thirty-two years of frustration and failure, of disappointment and self-loathing, of trauma worn as a badge of honour, burst in magnificent fashion Friday night. The sixth inning of Game 1 of the World Series was an exorcism. Toronto, one of the world’s great metropolises, a city that has loved its baseball team through decades of it not loving back, screamed and bellowed and remembered what championship baseball looked like. And the Toronto Blue Jays, architects of an 11-4 devastation of the heavily favored Los Angeles Dodgers, did more than just author one of the greatest offensive innings in World Series history.
They showed the world what they were already certain of coming into the 121st World Series: They are no pushovers.
“We’ve had a genuine feeling for a long time that if we just played a certain brand of baseball, that we then will win the game,” Toronto right-hander Chris Bassitt said, and he’s right. In an era of copious strikeouts, the Blue Jays don’t. In a time of shoddy defense, the Blue Jays play clean. And even against a juggernaut like the Dodgers, a team full of late bloomers and second chancers can look like a dominant force.
Nothing personified that like the bottom of the sixth. It was one of the great half-innings in World Series history, a nine-run frenzy filled with everything the Blue Jays’ offense does well. Toronto entered the series with by far the best offense in Major League Baseball this postseason, scoring 6½ runs a game, nearly two more than the Dodgers. The sixth illustrated how.
Starting with a six-pitch walk, adding a single, drawing a hit-by-pitch on the ninth pitch of the at-bat and chasing two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell set the tone. A single scored the first run and gave the Blue Jays a 3-2 advantage. A nine-pitch walk scored another run and a single added one more. And after a tapper to the mound drew the first out on a force play at home, Blue Jays manager John Schneider called on his third pinch hitter of the inning, Addison Barger.
The past week has been hectic for Barger. On Monday night, the Blue Jays ousted the Seattle Mariners in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series to clinch the pennant. Barger said the next morning, he flew to meet his wife at the hospital for the birth of their third child. A day later, he flew back to Toronto for the Blue Jays’ workout — but didn’t have anywhere to stay.
“They set up a place, but I was like, for a few days, I’m not paying for a hotel room,” Barger said. “I know that sounds crazy, but I’m just trying to save a buck.”
So after crashing on the couch of Blue Jays outfielder Myles Straw for a couple of days, Barger spent Friday night with teammate Davis Schneider, sleeping on a pullout couch in the living room of the hotel suite that overlooks Rogers Centre from center field. Barger wasn’t exactly comfortable — Schneider said he heard squeaks from the bed as Barger tried to find peace — but it didn’t impede him from unleashing the biggest hit of his young career.
On a 2-2 slider from reliever Anthony Banda, Barger rocketed a ball over the center-field wall for the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history, unleashing chaos inside the domed stadium, where primal screams bounced off the roof and reverberated to create a tsunami of sound.
The Blue Jays’ expertise in this style is nothing new — they won the most games in the AL this season precisely because they’re so adept at grinding at-bats like sandpaper to pitchers’ souls — but to see it on this stage, against a Dodgers team that limited Milwaukee to four runs in the National League Championship Series, hammered home that Toronto will not be just another layover on Los Angeles’ path to back-to-back championships.
The deluge continued. A Vladimir Guerrero Jr. single. Another home run, from catcher Alejandro Kirk, who went 3-for-3 and had drawn a nine-pitch walk in the first, when the Blue Jays made Snell throw 29 pitches and forecast his early exit. All told, Toronto saw 44 pitches, scored nine runs — the third most in a World Series inning and the most since 1968 — and turned a 2-2 nailbiter into an 11-2 stomping.
This is who the Blue Jays are. They’ve got a superstar (Guerrero) and a veteran of playoff wars (George Springer) and a returning All-Star (Bo Bichette, who played for the first time since Sept. 6, at a position, second base, that he hadn’t played since he was in Triple-A six years ago). The rest of their lineup is stocked with players who have bought into Toronto’s philosophy that as long as the Blue Jays don’t beat themselves, they’re good enough to outlast anybody — even a team as talented as the Dodgers.
“If we don’t strike out and we don’t give outs away and we essentially don’t beat ourselves and don’t give up home runs, we’re going to win the game,” Bassitt said. “It’s not about facing any team. It’s just the belief in our team that no matter who we play, this brand can win.”
It’s the kind of brand that has made the city fall in love with the Jays again. Toronto knows baseball heartbreak. After consecutive championships in 1992 and 1993, the Blue Jays fell into a pattern of perpetual mediocrity. Even when they were good in the mid-2010s, they fell short in the ALCS. Their previous three postseason berths ended in wild-card series sweeps. They tried to get Shohei Ohtani in free agency. He went to the Dodgers. They tried to get Juan Soto in free agency. He went to the New York Mets. The Blue Jays, snakebitten for decades, entered 2025 with little hope for a turnaround.
Baseball is funny that way, though. Sometimes, a team coalesces around an idea, and that idea turns into an ethos, and that ethos fuels a revolution. And the Dodgers are so good that all of this joy, this wellspring of emotion and excitement, could be short-lived. Maybe this was the apex of a season that was great, just not great enough.
Or perhaps the 44,353 at Rogers Centre were onto something when, with two outs in the ninth and Ohtani at the plate, a chant started to percolate through the stadium.
“We don’t need you,” Blue Jays fans said to the best player in the world. They didn’t need him this season. They didn’t need him Friday. They didn’t need him going forward.
It was hubristic, but that’s understandable. For the past 32 years, Toronto hasn’t experienced a night like this. The Blue Jays have had moments, sure. The Jose Bautista bat flip. The Edwin Encarnacion home run. All of it, ultimately, for naught. This time, though? With this team of true believers? In a city that’s living a dream?
The rest of the World Series will provide the answer. On this night, however, it was true. The Toronto Blue Jays needed only themselves. And they were plenty.
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Alden Gonzalez
TORONTO — The bases were loaded with none out, Game 1 of the World Series was still tied, and a sold-out Rogers Centre crowd was going berserk when Emmet Sheehan came out of the bullpen in Friday’s sixth inning.
Sheehan is a 25-year-old with fewer than 150 career innings in the major leagues. Before that moment, he had checked into the middle of an inning only once before, while following an opener Sept. 15. What followed — a nine-run barrage that propelled the Toronto Blue Jays to an 11-4 rout in their first World Series game in 32 years — highlighted a glaring weakness the Los Angeles Dodgers carry into this final round:
If their starters don’t pitch deep into games, they’re in trouble.
“Just a tough game,” Dodgers ace Blake Snell said after recording just 15 outs, “but a lot to learn.”
On the eve of this World Series, the Dodgers learned Alex Vesia, one of their best relievers, was dealing with what the team described as a “deeply personal family matter” that would force his removal from the roster. Vesia’s absence essentially whittled down the list of trusted high-leverage relievers to four: Sheehan, Anthony Banda, Blake Treinen and Roki Sasaki. Two of them, Sheehan and Sasaki, are converted starting pitchers.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts hoped to give Sheehan only clean innings in these playoffs. But when Snell’s 100th pitch plunked Daulton Varsho in the upper back to load the bases with the score tied 2-2, it was Sheehan who was called to clean up the mess. When he put the next three hitters on base, it was Banda’s turn. And by the end of Banda’s outing — featuring the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history, courtesy of Addison Barger, and a two-run homer by Alejandro Kirk — the Blue Jays had become the first team to score at least nine runs in a World Series inning since the Detroit Tigers in 1968.
“We just didn’t make pitches when we needed to to keep that game close,” Roberts said.
Sheehan allowed an RBI single to Ernie Clement on his second pitch, giving the Blue Jays a 3-2 lead, their first of the game. Then, he lost pinch-hitter Nathan Lukes on a full count, issuing a bases-loaded walk, and left a changeup over the plate that Andres Gimenez lined for another run-scoring single. Banda was called on to face the left-handed-hitting Barger, but Banda’s 2-1 slider caught too much of the plate, resulting in the 413-foot home run that elated Blue Jays fans. Three batters later, Kirk hit Banda’s 1-0 fastball near the middle of the zone 403 feet.
It was the first time Banda had allowed two home runs in an appearance, and it came at the worst time.
“I just didn’t do a very good job of executing,” Banda said.
With Vesia off the roster, Evan Phillips recovering from Tommy John surgery and Michael Kopech no longer considered viable, Banda and Treinen are the only remaining back-end relievers from last year’s bullpen-fueled championship run. The two relievers signed over the offseason to supplement that group, Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates, struggled throughout the year and were not deemed healthy enough to crack the World Series roster. It’s why Treinen and Banda are so critical, even during up-and-down seasons. It’s why Sheehan, a breakout starting pitcher who has allowed seven runs in 3⅔ innings this postseason, needs to pitch better.
“With the construct of our pen, we’re going to need them,” Roberts said. “We’ve got a long way to go, a lot of baseball, but they certainly got to make good pitches.”
The Dodgers’ pitching staff held the Milwaukee Brewers to four runs while sweeping them in the National League Championship Series, during which they deployed only their best pitchers. Sasaki, Vesia and the Dodgers’ four starters — Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani — accounted for all but nine of the Dodgers’ outs in that series, a byproduct of their rotation’s dominance.
In this series, though, they face a Blue Jays lineup that is every bit as patient but far more powerful than Milwaukee’s. Snell, lacking his typical fastball command and struggling to locate his changeup, needed 29 pitches to escape the first inning and ran his pitch count into the triple digits before recording his first out in the sixth. In five-plus innings, he allowed eight hits and issued three walks. When he exited, the bullpen was tasked with recording 12 outs.
Before the relievers recorded just three, the game was essentially over.
“We’re confident,” Snell said of a Dodgers team that entered the World Series with a 9-1 record in these playoffs. “We know how good we are. That was a tough game, and then they came out swinging it and had a better game. It’s four games. You got to win four.”
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