Takeaways, big questions: Colts’ Taylor scores five TDs, Packers, Titans upset
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Week 11 featured arguably the best individual performance of the 2021 NFL season. Colts running back Jonathan Taylor ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns, and he added 19 more yards and a fifth score on three catches. Indianapolis pulled off the big upset of the Bills behind Taylor’s huge day, winning 41-15. The Vikings also upset the Packers on a final-play field goal, and receiver Justin Jefferson helped them get there with 169 receiving yards and a pair of TDs.
But perhaps the biggest upset of the week was the Texans’ 22-13 victory over the Titans. Tennessee quarterback Ryan Tannehill threw four interceptions. Washington coach Ron Rivera won against his former team in Carolina, and the Dolphins won their third straight game. The Browns narrowly avoided a loss to the winless Lions, and the Ravens — playing without quarterback Lamar Jackson — hung on to beat the Bears after Justin Fields was forced to leave the game with a rib injury.
The Eagles’ run game continued to look good in a 40-point outburst against the Saints, with three rushing scores from Jalen Hurts and 94 rushing yards from Miles Sanders, and the 49ers took care of business in Jacksonville. Oh, and the Patriots looked dominant on Thursday in a shutout of the Falcons.
Our NFL Nation reporters react with the takeaways and lingering questions from this week’s action. Plus, they each look at the bigger picture with their current team confidence rating — a 0-10 grade of how they feel about each team’s outlook coming out of the week. Let’s get to it.
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GB-MIN | IND-BUF | NO-PHI
BAL-CHI | WSH-CAR | HOU-TEN
DET-CLE | SF-JAX | MIA-NYJ
NE-ATL
Texans
What to know: Tyrod Taylor gives the Texans the best chance to win. David Culley said it over and over while Taylor was injured and rookie quarterback Davis Mills was starting, but on Sunday, Taylor showed why Culley had so much confidence in him, completing 14 of 24 passes for 107 yards and rushing for two touchdowns. Taylor became the third quarterback in Texans franchise history with multiple rushing touchdowns in a game, joining David Carr and Deshaun Watson. Taylor struggled in Week 9 in his return from his left hamstring injury, but he did not turn the ball over against the Titans. Every team deals with injuries — the Titans were without Derrick Henry and Julio Jones — but it’s easy to wonder how competitive the Texans would have been had Taylor not injured his left hamstring in Week 2. — Sarah Barshop
Did the Texans just cost themselves the No. 1 draft pick? Houston entered the game a half-game back of the Lions for the worst record this season, but a big victory in Nashville for the Texans firmly puts Detroit in the driver’s seat. The second half of the Texans’ schedule is far easier than the first half, and if Taylor can stay healthy, Houston looks like a team that could win a few more games. The Texans have two more important games for draft position: Week 12 against the New York Jets (2-8) and Week 15 in Jacksonville (2-8). — Barshop
Barshop’s confidence rating (0-10): 1, up from 0.5. The Texans played their best game of the season since Week 1, and it was against a team that entered the game tied for the best record in the NFL.
Next game: vs. Jets (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)
Titans
What to know: The Titans have a tendency to play up to their competition and, in this case, down to it as well. Tennessee was 7-0 against playoff teams entering their game against Houston, and the Titans were favored by 10 points against the Texans, who came into Sunday with just one win. Starting with the first drive, though, sloppy play cost them. Houston controlled the game after jumping out to a 12-0 lead. — Turron Davenport
Is it now officially time to worry about the offense? The Titans’ offense showed little life today. The lack of playmakers to take over the game continues to hurt them. But Ryan Tannehill‘s interceptions deeply hampered Tennessee’s chance to win the game. Tannehill threw an interception after a defensive stop late in the fourth quarter that all but ended a chance at another comeback win for the Titans. The question remains, can the Titans win with Tannehill carrying the bulk of the offensive load? His four-interception performance against the Texans makes it seem unlikely. — Davenport
Davenport’s confidence rating (0-10): 8.5, down from 9. Losing to the Texans is inexcusable for this team. The Titans came out flat and never recovered. The defense can only do so much to keep them in the game. Tennessee’s offense simply didn’t carry its share of the load, and it showed. The injuries continue to mount with A.J. Brown being knocked out of the game with a chest injury. The Titans just don’t have many playmakers left on the offense.
Next game: at Patriots (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)
Vikings
What to know: When it was gut-check time, the Vikings’ offense answered the bell in a wild back-and-forth game that puts the team at .500 (5-5) for the second time this season. Minnesota built off its win over the Chargers by continuing to establish an identity as an offense that gets the ball to its playmakers, and Justin Jefferson keeps taking his game up a notch every week. The second-year receiver caught eight passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns and was already at 100 yards receiving at the end of the first quarter. Teams will always throw added defenders Jefferson’s way, but the Vikings got creative in getting him open by lining him up in the backfield before sending him out on a shallow route over the middle on his first touchdown. Jefferson also drew a 37-yard pass interference in the first half that set up Adam Thielen’s touchdown. Cousins utilized his top two receivers well, with Thielen contributing eight catches for 82 yards and the TD. — Courtney Cronin
Why can’t the Vikings protect a double-digit lead? Minnesota is now 2-2 on the season when leading by at least 13 points. The Vikings have built double-digit leads just as easily as they’ve lost them; they threw punch after punch on offense by staying aggressive and taking shots down the field, yet their defense still allowed the Packers to come back in the game. After Green Bay took a 24-23 lead in the fourth quarter, Minnesota thundered back behind Jefferson’s second touchdown catch and Dalvin Cook’s 2-point conversion, only to have Rodgers hit Marquez Valdes-Scantling on the first play of the Packers’ next drive to wrestle back the lead. Minnesota’s defense let Rodgers scramble for six-plus seconds on two of his touchdown throws, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. It’s up to the Vikings’ defense to protect leads if they want to land one of the final two seeds in the NFC playoffs. — Cronin
Cronin’s confidence rating (0-10): 7, up from 4.5. The Vikings beat the best team in the NFC by hanging on late and staying aggressive on offense. If they can beat San Francisco in Week 12, the rest of their schedule is incredibly favorable for their chances of making it back to the postseason.
Next game: at 49ers (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET)
0:34
Vikings get the win over the Packers after Greg Joseph kicks the deciding field goal as time expires.
Packers
What to know: Well, maybe the Packers don’t quite have a championship-level defense just yet. Sure, the unit made plays, notably a pair of sacks by Preston Smith, but when it needed one more stop, it couldn’t come through. Unlike in the Oct. 28 win at Arizona, there was no miracle interception in the end zone from Rasul Douglas. This was simply a defense that gave up 10 points on the Vikings’ final two possessions, including the game-winning field goal at the final gun. They had no answer for Justin Jefferson, the Vikings star receiver who caught eight passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns. The second was a beautiful 23-yard fade that gave the Vikings a 31-24 lead with 2:17 left. The problem was the Packers then scored too soon, when Aaron Rodgers hit Marquez Valdes-Scantling for a 75-yard touchdown to the tie it with 2:08 left. The Packers’ defense, which came in ranked third in fewest yards allowed and third in fewest passing yards allowed, let Kirk Cousins throw for 341 yards and three touchdowns. — Rob Demovsky
How bad will Elgton Jenkins’ knee injury hurt the Packers? They can probably handle losing Jenkins, assuming it’s as bad as it looked when he limped off unable to put much pressure on his left knee, if David Bakhtiari is finally ready to play. But that’s still a big if, especially after Packers coach Matt LaFleur wouldn’t say much last week about why Bakhtiari appears to have taken a step back in his attempted return from ACL surgery in January. Bakhtiari seemed on track to play a couple of weeks ago when he came off the PUP list, but then he didn’t practice at all last week. With Bakhtiari back, the Packers could have moved Jenkins back to left guard, where he was a Pro Bowler last year. Now, they could be down to their No. 3 left tackle for a while. — Demovsky
Demovsky’s confidence rating (0-10): 7, down from 7.5. It’s waning in part because the Packers desperately need to get to their bye week, and they won’t get it for another two weeks. First, they have to deal with the Rams (7-3), who should be rested coming off their bye.
Next game: vs. Rams (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET)
Browns
What to know: The Browns may have won the game. But once again, they didn’t resemble anything close to a playoff-caliber team while slogging their way to victory over the winless Lions. Even with the return of Pro Bowl running back Nick Chubb, who closed out Detroit on the final drive, the offense remains a mess. Quarterback Baker Mayfield is ailing. And so too is the passing game. In turn, Cleveland has scored more than 17 points in a game only once since Oct. 10. To have any chance of making a run to the playoffs, the Browns will have to produce an immediate and drastic turnaround offensively. — Jake Trotter
How can the Browns get Mayfield going again? Unfortunately for Cleveland, Mayfield is going to be playing injured the rest of the season. He was noticeably limping around in the second half — his knee and foot injuries compounding the torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder. Reestablishing a running game that, when rolling with its full complement of players is among the best in the NFL, should help put Mayfield in more favorable situations. Ultimately, though, Mayfield is going to have be sharper than he was Sunday, no matter the injuries. Getting back to taking better care of the ball would be a start. — Trotter
Trotter’s confidence rating (0-10): 6, up from 5.9. Cleveland’s season ultimately hinges on what it does in its next two games — both against the Ravens.
Next game: at Ravens (Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET)
Lions
What to know: Running back D’Andre Swift showed why he’s the Lions’ best offensive threat with a career-best 136 rushing yards, marking his second straight game of 100 or more. In the third quarter, Swift ran for a career-long 57-yard touchdown, which was the longest rushing touchdown by a Lions player since Jahvid Best had an 88-yarder against the Chicago Bears in Week 5 of 2011. The play was the lone bright spot on offense for the team. — Eric Woodyard
Should the Lions continue to start Tim Boyle when Jared Goff gets healthy? No. Although he didn’t play terribly, Boyle doesn’t look like the long-term answer for this team, either. He ended with just 77 passing yards for the game and didn’t do anything spectacular enough to take over Goff’s job on a permanent basis. His approach was much like Goff’s, too, opting for check-down passes and not experiencing much success on throws of 10 or more yards. — Woodyard
Woodyard’s confidence rating (0-10): 2.3, down from 2.5. The performance in Cleveland was just another example of what we already knew about this team: What they lack in talent, they try to make up for in competitiveness. But they just don’t have enough firepower on the roster.
Next game: vs. Bears (Thursday, 12:30 p.m. ET)
Eagles
What to know: The Eagles have officially entered the playoff conversation. With their win over New Orleans, they now have a 40% chance of making the playoffs, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index. It would have dropped to 11% with a loss, showing the significance of this game. Both sides of the ball have hit its stride. Coach Nick Sirianni’s offense rushed for 175-plus yards for the fourth straight game — their longest streak since the 1950 season, according to the Eagles — while the defense caused three turnovers and played winning football for the third time in four games. The Eagles entered Week 11 with the second-easiest closing schedule in the NFL, and with tiebreakers over the Saints, Falcons and Panthers, they are in good position to make a serious charge at a wild-card spot. — Tim McManus
Is Jalen Hurts on his way to securing the QB job long-term? He’s making a pretty compelling case. Hurts rushed for 71 yards and three touchdowns against the top rush defense in the NFL, capping his day with an Allen Iverson-like cutback en route to a 24-yard TD run that put the home crowd in a frenzy. He now has three games with multiple rushing TDs this season. In the past 20 years, Cam Newton is the only other QB to pull that off, per ESPN Stats & Information. With as many as three first-round picks in April’s draft, much of the talk has been about using that capital to bring in a top-end QB. Hurts is trying to prove they already have one in-house. — McManus
McManus’ confidence rating (0-10): 5.9, up from 4.8. The Eagles took their lumps early in the season under first-year head coach Sirianni, but with the teeth of their schedule behind them, the momentum should continue to build.
Next game: at Giants (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)
0:52
Darius Slay scores his third touchdown in four games with this 49-yard interception return.
Saints
What to know: The Saints’ season is officially on the brink after losing three straight games — for the first time since 2016 — and falling to 5-5. The schedule doesn’t get easier with the Bills and Cowboys coming into New Orleans over the next two Thursday nights. The hope is that the magnitude of Sunday’s flop was somewhat of an anomaly since they were without running back Alvin Kamara and offensive tackles Terron Armstead and Ryan Ramczyk (all of whom should be back soon). But the Saints’ passing offense has struggled even at full strength this year, and this was also a step back for the defense. — Mike Triplett
Are we getting closer to seeing Taysom Hill at quarterback? The Saints have to consider anything that will shake up this sagging offense. For the third straight week, QB Trevor Siemian finished strong in the fourth quarter after he struggled mightily early in the game. He completed 22 of 40 passes for 214 yards and three touchdowns, with one TD run and his first two interceptions of the season. Hill’s health is a factor, too. He barely practiced all week with a foot injury, then he was held out of his usual role as a runner/receiver Sunday while serving as New Orleans’ only backup. And the Saints have only three days between games this week. — Triplett
Triplett’s confidence rating (0-10): 5.5, down from 6.5. The only glimmer of hope here is that the Saints showed how high their ceiling can be earlier this season. But they have now squandered the head start they built up against the rest of the NFC’s playoff contenders (including Philly).
Next game: vs. Bills (Thursday, 8:20 p.m. ET)
Ravens
What to know: The Ravens can win without quarterback Lamar Jackson. For most of the game, it wasn’t pretty or exciting. But with Jackson out with an illness, backup Tyler Huntley led Baltimore on a winning drive in the final minute. His 30-yard pass to Sammy Watkins set up Devonta Freeman’s go-ahead, 3-yard touchdown with 22 seconds remaining. This was an improbable and gutsy win considering the Ravens were without an MVP candidate in Jackson and top wide receiver in Marquise Brown (thigh) and they have 13 players on injured reserve. — Jamison Hensley
Will the Ravens’ defense ever solve its big-play issues? It’s nearly the same script every game. Baltimore plays shutdown defense before a costly mistake ruins it. On Sunday, the big plays nearly cost the Ravens the game. Ravens cornerback Chris Westry allowed a 49-yard touchdown on fourth-and-11 with under two minutes left in the game. The other Bears touchdown came on a 60-yard wide receiver screen to Darrell Mooney. Baltimore has given up 11 passes of 40 yards or more, tied for the most in the NFL. — Hensley
Hensley’s confidence rating (0-10): 7.6, up from 7.5. The Ravens know they need to play better heading into the toughest part of their schedule, where they don’t face another team with a losing record in the final seven weeks.
Next game: vs. Browns (Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET)
Bears
What to know: Ugly, ugly, ugly. The Bears found a way to lose to a Ravens team without quarterback Lamar Jackson. Chicago’s defense allowed Baltimore backup Tyler Huntley to do enough to set up Justin Tucker for three field goals, and then lead a last-second scoring drive to squeeze out the victory. Too bad, because it ruined Andy Dalton’s memorable afternoon. Dalton, who entered the game in the third quarter after Justin Fields left with a rib injury, promptly hit Darnell Mooney on a wide receiver screen early in the third quarter and let the speedster do the rest. Mooney broke a pair of tackles and then turned on the jets to outrace the Ravens’ defense for a 60-yard touchdown. Dalton later tossed what appeared to be the winning touchdown pass to Marquise Goodwin on fourth down with under two minutes left, until Chicago’s defense collapsed at the end. The game represented a form of redemption for Dalton, who lost his starting job to Fields when he got hurt early in the season. But this was a game the Bears had to win. At 3-7, the Bears’ season has all but slipped away. — Jeff Dickerson
Is there another quarterback controversy in Chicago? Probably not. The job belongs to Fields when he’s healthy. Of course, there is a scenario where next week’s tight turnaround — the Bears play on Thanksgiving Day at 12:30 p.m. ET in Detroit — makes it difficult for Fields to play, depending on the severity of his injury. Dalton is nice insurance, but the organization is focused on developing Fields for the future. The moment Fields receives the medical clearance to play, the rookie will be back out there, and Dalton will return to the bench. — Dickerson
Dickerson’s confidence rating (0-10): 2, down from 2.5. The Bears can’t even beat the Ravens without Lamar Jackson. Good luck the rest of the way.
Next game: at Lions (Thursday, 12:30 p.m. ET)
Washington
What to know: Washington continues to lose bodies yet somehow wins games. It was missing its top two tight ends and both starting defensive ends and needed to turn to its third center during the game. Yet it kept finding a way to stick around. A lot of credit goes to quarterback Taylor Heinicke, who played a smart and gutsy game. The day was supposed to be about the Panthers’ Cam Newton, but Heinicke threw three touchdown passes, completed 16 of 22 throws and ran for 31 yards. On the game-winning drive, he completed a fourth-down pass in which he had to scramble and was nearly sacked. Running back Antonio Gibson was benched for a couple of series after a fumble, yet he responded with 95 hard-earned yards. They have a lot of confidence and have made the final stretch a lot more interesting. Their mindset is terrific. — John Keim
Can Washington sustain this level of play? Why not? Washington’s defense is playing well — it has held three consecutive opponents under 300 yards. It will get end Montez Sweat back in a few weeks, which will help. But a big key has been the play of the secondary, especially Kam Curl and Landon Collins. Curl’s ability to cover Christian McCaffrey helped on a couple of throws, including a late tackle on fourth down. The offense has found a rhythm and, more important, an identity. Washington’s commitment to the run game has allowed it to play more physically and limit Taylor Heinicke’s dropbacks. His efficiency the past two weeks has been terrific — a combined 12 incompletions. — Keim
Keim’s confidence rating (0-10): 5.9, up from 5. The ability to overcome mistakes and bad plays happens when you play with confidence. Washington is playing with a lot of confidence; it has had numerous chances to buckle the past two weeks, yet it keeps overcoming, thanks to its mindset.
Next game: vs. Seahawks (Monday, Nov. 29, 8:15 p.m. ET)
0:26
Taylor Heinicke finds Terry McLaurin in the end zone to even the score just before the end of the half.
Panthers
What to know: Cam Newton did his part. He brought energy and playmaking, throwing two touchdown passes and rushing for another (24 yards). The league’s No. 2 defense that this team is being built around didn’t do its part. The Panthers (5-6) were beaten by Taylor Heinicke, another former Carolina quarterback, who threw three touchdown passes and engineered the game-winning field goal with a clutch fourth-down pass. Newton’s biggest mistake was throwing a late fourth-down pass short of the line of scrimmage. — David Newton
Can the Panthers be a real playoff contender and have a losing record at home? Newton said the goal this week was to reclaim Bank of America Stadium, where the Panthers were dominant during their past playoff runs under the quarterback. He gave away 50 tickets to help the cause. Instead, Carolina lost its fourth straight at home to fall to 2-4 there this season. The Panthers now have lost to the Eagles, Vikings, Patriots and Washington. Not a good résumé for a serious playoff contender. — Newton
Newton’s confidence rating (0-10): 4.9, down from 5.4. The schedule gets tougher after next week’s game at Miami, with two games against the Bucs and road games against Buffalo and New Orleans making it hard to imagine the Panthers can win enough to be a factor in the NFC.
Next game: at Dolphins (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)
Dolphins
What to know: In basketball, sometimes shooters need to see the ball go through the hoop to end a cold streak — different sport but same concept here. The Dolphins have now won three straight after a seven-game losing streak, and it appears that the fix to their cold streak was simply getting another win under their belts. For the first time this season, Miami’s offensive line didn’t look like a sieve, and for just the third time, its run game topped 100 rushing yards (115). Safety Eric Rowe said winning games validated the team’s efforts and built up its confidence, which was fading after they didn’t see positive results on game day for a month and a half. The Dolphins are making big plays on both sides of the ball and finishing games; there’s hope for this team yet. — Marcel Louis-Jacques
Has Miami’s offense been too reliant on big plays these past two weeks? Over the past two games, the Dolphins have hit on plays of 52, 64 and 65 yards. Outside of those three plays, they have averaged just 4.5 yards per play. Entering Week 11, the Bears rank last in the NFL in that category at 4.7 yards. Look, part of football is capitalizing on your opponents’ mistakes — which is what Miami has been able to do these past two weeks. But it will have to figure out ways to move the ball effectively between those big plays. — Louis-Jacques
Louis-Jacques’ confidence rating (0-10): 6.5, up from 6. It wasn’t pretty, but the Dolphins did enough to win a game that they should have won; they’re rolling as they prepare for a 32-day stretch of not having to leave South Florida.
Next game: vs. Panthers (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)
Jets
What to know: Coach Robert Saleh made the right call by replacing Mike White with Joe Flacco at quarterback. Too bad he couldn’t replace a bunch of other players, including kicker Matt Ammendola (two FG misses). Flacco, the surprise choice to start, did what was expected. For the most part, the savvy pro handled the Dolphins’ prolific blitz. He made a couple of mistakes, but he didn’t stall the offense and fed the ball to emerging rookie Elijah Moore (eight catches, 141 yards, one TD). Flacco finished with 291 yards and two TD passes. The Jets were doomed by dumb penalties and a major coverage breakdown in the secondary, resulting in a 65-yard touchdown. What they need now is to get rookie QB Zach Wilson (knee) back in the lineup. If he’s healthy, he should start. Period. No controversy. — Rich Cimini
Will the Jets lose the rest of their games? Don’t snicker; it’s a legit question. The Dolphins (4-7) were supposed to be one of the soft spots on the schedule, but the Jets were handled at home. If they fall to the pathetic Houston Texans (2-8) next Sunday on the road, where will they get a win? They face the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-8), but you can’t win if you can’t stop anybody. Right now, the Jets’ defense, gutted by injuries, is a shell of its former self — and its former self wasn’t too good. — Cimini
Cimini’s confidence rating (0-10): 3.5, up from 2.5. Well, at least they didn’t get blown out. That’s what this season has deteriorated to.
Next game: at Texans (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)
Colts
What to know: Finally. It took nearly a year, but the Colts have finally ended their eight-game losing streak against playoff teams from last season. They didn’t just end it — the Colts did it in the fashion that showed they’re right in the thick of the AFC playoff race while moving above .500 for the first time all season. The Colts led from start to finish and had some Buffalo fans heading to the door with about four minutes left in the third quarter after they forced three turnovers and were leading 31-7. Looking ahead, the challenge doesn’t get any easier for the Colts, who are still on the outside looking in. Four of their remaining six games are against teams with a winning record, starting with Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Indianapolis in Week 12. — Mike Wells
Is Jonathan Taylor the best running back in the league? Yes, especially with Tennessee’s Derrick Henry potentially sidelined for the rest of the season with a foot injury. Taylor racked up 185 rushing yards and five touchdowns (four rushing, one receiving). It marked the 18th time in NFL history a player scored five touchdowns in a single game. He now leads the NFL with 1,122 rushing yards, and barring any kind of injury, he’ll likely remain at the top of the list the rest of the season because the Colts will continue to lean on him down the stretch. — Wells
Wells’ confidence rating (0-10): 5, up from 3.9. Sunday’s victory over the Bills was the Colts’ most impressive win since they won at Kansas City in October 2019.
Next game: vs. Buccaneers (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)
Bills
What to know: The Bills’ No. 1 defense looked far from it against a Colts offense that has been inconsistent this year and came into the game ranked 12th in the league. The defense was without starting defensive tackle Star Lotulelei, who is on the COVID-19 list, and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (hamstring), but even while keeping those absences in mind, Buffalo’s run defense has had a hard time stopping the game’s best running backs. Coming into the game, it was clear that the Colts would try to run the ball with the success Derrick Henry had (143 yards) against this defense in Week 6. Even with that knowledge, Jonathan Taylor scored five touchdowns and rushed for 185 yards. The Bills entered Sunday having allowed five TDs to running backs this season (tied for fourth fewest). Taylor reached that in three quarters. The Colts’ 264 rushing yards are the most by a Bills opponent in the last five seasons. — Alaina Getzenberg
Do the Bills have a serious problem on special teams? Something has to get corrected, because the rain-soaked turf wasn’t the cause of all the special teams woes. The worst play of the day — on an afternoon with many rough moments — was returner Isaiah McKenzie fumbling the football untouched on a kickoff return in the second quarter. The Colts recovered the football at the Bills’ 2-yard line and took it in for a touchdown on the next play. Kicker Tyler Bass also missed two field goals (from 57 and 49 yards) on a wet field. Bass had made 16 straight field goal attempts entering the day, and it’s the first time he has missed two field goals in a game since Week 7 of last year. Going forward, Bass will likely get things corrected, but this wasn’t McKenzie’s first time losing the football. For a team that places such importance on special teams, there have been too many clumsy plays this year. — Getzenberg
Getzenberg’s confidence rating (0-10): 7.2, down from 7.8. This confidence rating has been so up and down for the Bills over the past few weeks — good performances have been quickly erased by disasters, including this loss to the Colts with all three phases falling short — and the Bills have a lot to prove before this rating can go significantly up again.
Next game: at Saints (Thursday, 8:20 p.m. ET)
49ers
What to know: The 49ers have won two straight in dominating fashion and increasingly look like a legitimate NFC playoff contender. A convincing win against the Jaguars isn’t a huge feat in itself, but it’s exactly the type of performance a team with real postseason aspirations would have. And it shouldn’t be sold short considering the Niners were coming off a short week and traveling across the country for an early body clock start. At 5-5 with seven games to play, the real tests await, including next week against fellow wild-card contender Minnesota, but the 49ers handled business as they should have, something that hadn’t happened much prior to Sunday. — Nick Wagoner
Are the 49ers on their way to an offensive drive that eats up an entire quarter? It sure looks like it. On Sunday, the Niners opened the game with a drive that ate up a whopping 13:05, the longest drive by a team this season and the longest of any team in the past 20 years, according to ESPN Stats & Info. In consecutive weeks, San Francisco’s offense has posted the two longest drives of the season (11:03 last week). Is it a coincidence? To some extent, yes, but the Niners are clearly fine with using the opening drive to assert physical dominance and rolling from there. The only problem on Sunday was it ended with a field goal instead of a touchdown. Either way, those kinds of drives set a tone that is difficult to overcome. — Wagoner
Wagoner’s confidence rating (0-10): 5.8, up from 5.3. The Niners’ embarrassing loss to Arizona two weeks ago seems like a distant memory, and they appear to be rounding into form with some key games coming up.
Next game: vs. Vikings (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET)
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Jimmy Garoppolo stands in the pocket and throws a dart to Brandon Aiyuk for the 7-yard touchdown.
Jaguars
What to know: An already limited Jaguars offense is dead in the water without a healthy James Robinson, and unfortunately he’s going to be battling his knee/heel injuries the rest of the year. He just doesn’t have the same burst he did before the injuries. That means the offense is going to be all on Trevor Lawrence‘s shoulders. That’s an unfair ask for a rookie, especially with the Jaguars’ unimpressive group of receivers, and it’s a burden for which he’s not ready. — Mike DiRocco
What do the Jaguars do at cornerback? Shaquill Griffin left the game with a concussion and Tyson Campbell suffered a shoulder injury. That left Nevin Lawson and Chris Claybrooks as the top two corners — possibly for the near future. The Jaguars have the Falcons and Rams the next two weeks. The Jaguars had been relatively healthy all year until Sunday, when five key players got hurt. — DiRocco
DiRocco’s confidence rating (0-10): 1.5, down from 3. Penalties and turnovers, inept offense, failure to get off the field on third down … just an awful performance against a team that played on Monday night, flew across country, and kicked off at 10 a.m. PT.
Next game: vs. Falcons (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)
Patriots
What to know: The Patriots’ defense is legit. In each of the past three games, the unit has allowed no more than seven points and 250 yards. They’re only the third defense in the past 15 seasons with a streak that long, and the other two teams made the Super Bowl — the 49ers in 2019 and Seahawks in 2014. A physical defensive front makes it tough to run against them, and the defensive backs are ballhawks. The Patriots intercepted a pass on four straight drives to end Thursday’s game, which is the second time under Bill Belichick they’ve recorded an interception on four straight drives, with the last time coming in 2001. — Mike Reiss
Are the Patriots the best team in the AFC? No one would have been asking that question five weeks ago when they were 2-4. But winners of five in a row, the Patriots are now one of the hottest teams in the NFL, playing complementary football with a hard-hitting D, an efficient offense, and solid special teams. The Titans and Bills are among the teams that can stake a claim to top-of-the-AFC standing, and as it turns out, the Patriots play them in three of their next four games (Titans on Oct. 28, Bills on Dec. 6 and Dec. 26). That will be telling. — Reiss
Reiss’ confidence rating (0-10): 6.5, up from 6. Five wins in a row, and playing such a physical game on a Sunday-to-Thursday turnaround, highlights a team that has found its identity.
Next game: vs. Titans (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)
Falcons
What to know: The Falcons are in a bad place at the moment. They haven’t scored a touchdown in more than 130 minutes of football and offensively there are problems. The offensive line is struggling to block. The running game is essentially nonexistent. Matt Ryan threw two interceptions and had his second straight subpar game. Yes, these losses were against good teams, but that also tells you where the Falcons are as a team. — Michael Rothstein
How does Atlanta solve its offensive problems? Falcons coach Arthur Smith said they have to evaluate everything during the team’s mini-bye over the weekend, and while there aren’t any easy answers, there need to be some answers. Whether that’s shaking up the interior of the offensive line or as simple as getting a healthy Cordarrelle Patterson back, something has to shift — otherwise Atlanta might not win many more games this season. — Rothstein
Rothstein’s confidence rating (0-10): 3.4, down from 4. Two games without a touchdown leads to a franchise in flux.
Next game: vs. Jaguars (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)
Sports
Red Sox in must-win mode? Are Yankees back? What you should — and shouldn’t — believe in the American League
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David Schoenfield
A few days ago, we checked in on what to believe and what not to in the National League. Well, the American League is perhaps even more chaotic.
The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are in the midst of a crucial four-game series at Yankee Stadium — with the final game on “Sunday Night Baseball” at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. Both teams will try to make a statement and inch closer to the Toronto Blue Jays at the top of the division while staying ahead in the wild-card race.
The Blue Jays had been hot — except they just lost a series to the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates. The Houston Astros were recently shut out three games in a row (and four out of five) but kept their slim hold on first place in the AL West because the Seattle Mariners went 2-7 on a recent road trip, including a brutal three-game wipeout in Philadelphia. Meanwhile, the Detroit Tigers might be back on track, and the Kansas City Royals are suddenly surging.
Let’s check on the current states of overreaction in the AL and make some verdicts.
Overreaction: Judge! Bellinger! Stanton! The Yankees are back, baby!
Calm down there, tiger. The Yankees took two of three from Minnesota. They scored 24 runs in sweeping St. Louis, and then they bashed nine home runs in a win over Tampa Bay.
The middle of the order is leading the way. Aaron Judge is back off the injured list. Cody Bellinger has proven to be one of the most unheralded pickups of last offseason, on his way to his most home runs since his MVP season of 2019. The big shocker has been Giancarlo Stanton, though. He missed the first two-plus months of the season because of what was described as a double tennis elbow, as if he had spent the offseason working on his backhand slice, preparing for the French Open. In 46 games since returning in mid-June, he’s hitting .311/.389/..642, producing what is easily his highest OPS since his MVP season of 2017, and has been so hot that the Yankees played him a few games in right field to keep his bat in the lineup (allowing Judge to DH while working on returning to the field) even though Stanton is less mobile than the monuments in center field.
So, it has been a nice stretch after losing records in June and July. But there are still issues. Max Fried, who starts Friday night, is scuffling, with a 6.80 ERA over his past eight starts. He hasn’t had a quality start since June. The back of the bullpen is still sorting out things, as David Bednar has replaced Devin Williams as the closer (and blew the save Wednesday, although the Yankees won in extra innings), but Camilo Doval and Jake Bird, two other trade deadline acquisitions, haven’t made an impact. There could still be a terrific bullpen here, especially if Williams gets straightened out, but let’s hold off on declaring that.
And Judge still hasn’t played the outfield. Though manager Aaron Boone played Stanton in right field at Yankee Stadium, where there is less ground to cover, he hasn’t played Stanton in the field on the road, leaving him as a part-time player for now. Ryan McMahon, the team’s other big deadline move, has been getting on base but has one home run in 22 games with the Yankees.
VERDICT: OVERREACTION. You can make the argument that if everything was clicking for the Yankees, they have the most upside and deepest roster in the AL: a potential ace in Fried, a potential No. 2 in Carlos Rodon, a potential wipeout bullpen, the best hitter in the sport in Judge and power up and down the lineup. They haven’t played that well against the top teams in the AL, however, including a combined 4-13 record against the Red Sox and Blue Jays, and Fried’s current struggles are a big concern. Let’s not put the Yankees in the playoffs yet.
Overreaction: The Red Sox have to win this series against the Yankees
The likeliest scenario in a four-game series between two evenly matched teams is, of course, a split. That would leave the Red Sox where they started the series, one game behind the Yankees and in third place in the AL East, but potentially in a much tighter wild-card picture. Still, after winning their first five games in August, the Red Sox went 3-7 in their past 10 games entering the Yankees series, so that makes this series a little more pressure-packed even for a late-August Red Sox-Yankees showdown.
Most frustrating, the Red Sox lost two games in extra innings in that 3-7 stretch and also lost both games that Garrett Crochet started. He had one bad start against the Houston Astros, lasting four innings in his worst start of the season, and then the bullpen blew a 3-1 lead to the Miami Marlins as Greg Weissert and Steven Matz allowed ninth-inning home runs when Aroldis Chapman was unavailable to close. Chapman had pitched the previous games and had thrown only 14 pitches over the two outings, so it was a dubious decision by manager Alex Cora (Chapman had appeared in three consecutive games earlier in the season).
One key for the Red Sox down the stretch: How much will Cora push his top pitchers? Crochet is already past his innings total of 2024 and hasn’t pitched on four days’ rest since June 18, with rest periods of seven and nine days during that span. Chapman has had a dominant season but has pitched just 48 innings in 53 appearances and has rarely made even back-to-back outings. The Yankees series begins a stretch for Boston of 13 games in 13 days and 19 in 20, so Cora will have to make some decisions with his rotation.
VERDICT: OVERREACTION. Is there urgency to turn things around? Of course. Is this a do-or-die series? No, it’s still too early to make that claim, especially with the Red Sox still in a solid wild-card position (granted, chasing down the Blue Jays remains the ultimate goal). On the other hand, this eight-game road trip to New York and Baltimore looms large, given the Red Sox are just 28-34 on the road– and the Orioles have been playing better of late. A bad road trip could be disastrous. Check back next week.
Overreaction: The Blue Jays — not the Tigers — are now the best team in the AL
The Blue Jays have gone 48-26 since May 28 — the second-best record in the majors behind Milwaukee since that date. They have the highest OPS in the majors since then and only the Brewers are close to them in runs scored (Boston has scored the third-most runs and is 50 runs behind the Blue Jays since May 28). It hasn’t been just Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette either. George Springer and Addison Barger have mashed, Daulton Varsho has had a big August and role players such as Davis Schneider, Joey Loperfido, Ernie Clement and Tyler Heineman have been excellent. Toronto has a sneaky deep lineup.
Oh, and Max Scherzer has suddenly reeled off five straight quality starts.
On the other hand, the Tigers seem back on track after that stretch in July when they lost 11 of 12. They’ve won four series in a row, granted, three of those were against the Los Angeles Angels, Chicago White Sox and diminished Minnesota Twins, but they also just swept the Astros, knocking around Framber Valdez in the series finale Wednesday and tossing shutouts in the other two wins. Charlie Morton has helped stabilize the rotation with three excellent starts in his four turns with the Tigers, and the bullpen — with added reinforcements from the trade deadline — has been much better in August after struggling in July. Kerry Carpenter has also been mashing since his return in late July.
VERDICT: OVERREACTION. If you’re buying Scherzer and Eric Lauer as frontline starters and all the surprising offensive performances, then it’s not unreasonable to suggest the Blue Jays are the team to beat. Some of those offensive numbers are skewed by that crazy series at Coors Field when they scored 45 runs in three games, however, and when considering the entire season, the Tigers still have the better run differential (as do the Yankees and Red Sox). The Jays’ bandwagon is gaining momentum, but the AL still feels like one big group of teams that will all finish 92-70.
Overreaction: The Astros can’t hit, and the Mariners can’t pitch
Does anyone want to win the AL West? It doesn’t seem like it (you can even throw in the Texas Rangers, who were tied with the Mariners on July 30 but have gone 6-13 since then in playing a difficult August schedule). The Astros are hitting just .226 in August with a .649 OPS. Carlos Correa has been their best hitter, so it’s hard to criticize that trade, but Jesus Sanchez has hit .150 with one RBI for Houston while rookie Cam Smith has fallen into a slump. Getting back Yordan Alvarez, who just began a rehab assignment, will be a big lift if he’s healthy.
As for the Mariners, they have their top five starters healthy for the first time, but this road trip exposed their secret: Their rotation is vastly overrated. The Mariners are 26th in rotation ERA on the road. Bryan Woo is the only starter of those five with an ERA under 5.00 on the road. Logan Gilbert has a 2.22 ERA at home and 6.00 on the road. Luis Castillo‘s road OPS is nearly 300 points higher than it is at home. They pitch well at home because T-Mobile Park is such a pitcher-friendly park. The Mariners still have two road trips remaining: a nine-game trip to Cleveland, Tampa and Atlanta, and then a six-game trip to Kansas City and Houston.
VERDICT: NOT AN OVERREACTION. Both concerns are legitimate. The Astros’ offense hasn’t been terrible this season, but it rates as middle of the pack, and Correa is replacing the injured Isaac Paredes, so he’s not an upgrade. Seattle’s rotation struggles on the road — and lack of bullpen depth — are perhaps an even bigger concern. The season series is tied 5-5. FanGraphs projects a dead heat for the division title. The teams will meet once more in Houston during the second-to-last weekend of the regular season — and that series might decide the AL West.
Overreaction: The Royals will make the playoffs
As the Red Sox, Astros and Mariners have stumbled over the past 10 games, it opened the door for the Royals, who won five in a row and seven of eight to inch closer in the wild-card race (with Cleveland right there, as well). Bobby Witt Jr. is raking in August, Vinnie Pasquantino has been crushing home runs and, further proof of the unpredictability of the trade deadline, Mike Yastrzemski and Adam Frazier, two seemingly minor pickups, have been outstanding.
The Royals are doing this without Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic, but Noah Cameron continues to pitch well and fellow rookie Ryan Bergert, who came over in the Freddy Fermin trade, has delivered three good starts. Just like last year’s team, the Royals have that spark of optimism rising at the right time.
VERDICT: NOT AN OVERREACTION. We’ll learn more about the Royals with this weekend’s series in Detroit and then the rematch next weekend in Kansas City. Otherwise, however, their schedule is pretty soft the rest of the way, including a season-ending road trip to Anaheim and Sacramento against two teams that will be playing out the string. The vibes are good. The Royals will sneak in as a wild-card team.
Sports
Overreactions to the dog days of August: Brewers’ dominance, Mets’ struggles and more from the NL
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David Schoenfield
Whew. That was some weekend. The Milwaukee Brewers kept winning — until they finally lost. The New York Mets kept losing — until they finally won. The Los Angeles Dodgers made a big statement, the Philadelphia Phillies suffered a crushing injury, and the Chicago Cubs managed to win a series even though their bats remain cold.
What’s going on with these National League contenders? With fan bases in euphoria or despair, let’s make some verdicts on those current states of overreaction.
Overreaction: The Brewers are unquestionably MLB’s best team
“Unquestionably” is a loaded word, especially since we’re writing this right after the Brewers reeled off 14 consecutive victories and won a remarkable 29 of 33 games. They became just the 11th team this century to win at least 14 in a row, and you don’t fluke your way to a 14-game winning streak: Each of the previous 10 teams to win that many in a row made the playoffs, and four won 100 games. Baseball being baseball, however, none won the World Series.
The Brewers were just the sixth team this century to win 29 of 33. Cleveland won 30 of 33 in 2017, riding a 22-game winning streak that began in late August. That team, which finished with 102 wins but lost the wild-card series to the New York Yankees, resembled these Brewers as a small-market, scrappy underdog. The Dodgers in 2017 and 2022 and the A’s in 2001 and 2002 also won 29 of 33. None of these teams won the World Series, either.
For the season, the Brewers have five more wins than the Detroit Tigers while easily leading the majors in run differential at plus-168, with the Cubs a distant second at plus-110. Those figures seem to suggest the Brewers are clearly the best team, with a nice balance of starting pitching (No. 1 in ERA), relief pitching (No. 10 in ERA and No. 8 in win probability added), offense (No. 1 in runs scored), defense (No. 7 in defensive runs saved) and baserunning (No. 2 in stolen bases). None of their position players were All-Stars, but other than shortstop Joey Ortiz the Brewers roll out a lineup that usually features eight average-or-better hitters, with Christian Yelich heating up and Andrew Vaughn on a tear since he joined the club.
On the other hand, via Clay Davenport’s third-order wins and losses, which project a team’s winning percentage based on underlying statistics adjusted for quality of opponents, the Brewers are neck-and-neck with the Cubs, with both teams a few projected wins behind the Yankees. Essentially, the Brewers have scored more runs and allowed fewer than might otherwise be expected based on statistics. Indeed, the Brewers lead the majors with a .288 average with runners in scoring position while holding their opponents to the third-lowest average with runners in scoring position.
Those underlying stats, though, include the first four games of the season, when the Brewers went 0-4 and allowed 47 runs. Several of those relievers who got pounded early on are no longer in the bullpen, and ever since the Brewers sorted out their relief arms, the pen has been outstanding: It’s sixth in ERA and third in lowest OPS allowed since May 1.
Then factor in that the Brewers now have Brandon Woodruff and Jacob Misiorowski in the rotation (although Misiorowski struggled in his last start following a two-week stint on the injured list). The Brewers are also the best baserunning team in the majors, which leads to a few extra runs above expectation.
VERDICT: NOT AN OVERREACTION. The Brewers look like the most well-rounded team in the majors, particularly if Yelich and Vaughn keep providing power in the middle of the order. They have played well against good teams: 6-0 against the Dodgers, 3-0 against the Phillies and Boston Red Sox, 4-2 against the New York Mets and 7-3 against the Cincinnati Reds. They’re 5-4 against the Cubs with four games left in the five-game series. None of this guarantees a World Series, but they’re on pace to win 100 games because they are the best team going right now.
Overreaction: Pete Crow-Armstrong‘s struggles are a big concern
On July 30, PCA went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs in a 10-3 victory for the Cubs over the Brewers. He was hitting .272/.309/.559, playing electrifying defense in center field, and was the leader in the NL MVP race with 5.7 fWAR, more than a win higher than Fernando Tatis Jr. and Shohei Ohtani. The Brewers had started to get hot, but the Cubs, after leading the NL Central most of the season, were just a game behind in the standings.
July 31 was an off day. Then the calendar flipped to August and Crow-Armstrong entered a slump that has featured no dying quails, no gorks, no ground balls with eyes. He’s 8-for-52 in August with no home runs, one RBI and two runs scored. The Cubs, averaging 5.3 runs per game through the end of July, are at just 2.75 runs per game in August and have seen the Brewers build a big lead in the division.
Crow-Armstrong’s slump isn’t necessarily a surprise. Analysts have been predicting regression for some time due to one obvious flaw in PCA’s game: He swings at everything. He has the fifth-highest chase rate among qualified batters, swinging at over 42% of pitches out of the strike zone. It seemed likely that it was only a matter of time before pitchers figured out how to exploit Crow-Armstrong’s aggressiveness.
Doubling down on the regression predictions, PCA has produced strong power numbers despite a below-average hard-hit rate (44th percentile) and average exit velocity (47th percentile). Although raw power isn’t always necessary to produce extra-base power — see Jose Altuve — those metrics were a red flag that PCA might have been overachieving.
VERDICT: NOT AN OVERREACTION. OK, here’s the odd thing: PCA’s chase rate has improved in August to just 28%, but that hasn’t translated to success. His hard-hit rate isn’t much lower than it was the rest of the season (although his average fly ball distance has dropped about 20 feet). His struggles against left-handers are real: After slugging .600 against them in April, he has hit .186 and slugged .390 against them since May 1. He’ll start hitting again at some point, but it’s reasonable to assume he’s not going to hit like he did from April through July.
It’s not all on PCA, however. Kyle Tucker has been just as bad in August (.148, no home runs, one RBI). Michael Busch is hitting .151. Seiya Suzuki has only one home run. Those four had carried the offense, and all are scuffling at once. For the Cubs to rebound, they need this entire group to get back on track. Put it this way: The Cubs have won just three of their past eight series — and those were against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox.
Overreaction: The Mets are doomed and will miss the playoffs
On July 27, the Mets completed a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants to improve to 62-44, holding a 1½-game lead over the Phillies in the NL East. According to FanGraphs, New York’s odds of winning the division stood at 55% and its chances of making the playoffs were nearly 97%. A few days later, the Mets reinforced the bullpen — the club’s biggest weakness — with Ryan Helsley and Tyler Rogers at the trade deadline (after already acquiring Gregory Soto).
It’s never that easy with the Mets though, is it? The San Diego Padres swept them. The Cleveland Guardians swept them. The Brewers swept them. Helsley lost three games and blew a lead in another outing. The rotation has a 6.22 ERA in August. The Mets lost 14 of 16 before finally taking the final two games against the Seattle Mariners this past weekend to temporarily ease the panic level from DEFCON 1 to DEFCON 2. The Phillies have a comfortable lead in the division and the Mets have dropped to the third wild-card position, just one game ahead of the Reds. The team with the highest payroll in the sport is in very real danger of missing the playoffs.
VERDICT: OVERREACTION. The bullpen issues are still a concern given Helsley’s struggles, and Rogers has fanned just one of the 42 batters he has faced since joining the Mets. Still, this team is loaded with talent, as reflected in FanGraphs’ playoffs odds, which gave the Mets an 86% chance of making the postseason entering Monday (with the Reds at 14%). One note, however: The Reds lead the season series 2 games to 1, which gives them the tiebreaker edge if the teams finish with the same record. A three-game set in Cincinnati in early September looms as one of the biggest series the rest of the season. Mets fans have certainly earned the right to brood over the team’s current state of play, but the team remains favored to at least squeak out a wild card.
Overreaction: Zack Wheeler’s absence is a big problem for the Phillies
The Phillies’ ace just went on the IL because of a blood clot near his right shoulder, with no timetable on a potential return. The injury is serious enough that his availability for the rest of the season is in jeopardy. Manager Rob Thomson said the team has enough rotation depth to battle on without Wheeler, but there are some other issues there as well:
• Ranger Suarez has a 5.86 ERA in six starts since the All-Star break.
• Aaron Nola was activated from the IL on Sunday to replace Wheeler for his first MLB start in three months and gave up six runs in 2⅓ innings, raising his season ERA to 6.92.
• Taijuan Walker has a 3.34 ERA but also a 4.73 FIP and probably isn’t someone you would feel comfortable starting in a playoff series.
• Even Jesus Luzardo has been inconsistent all season, with a 4.21 ERA.
Minus Wheeler, that arguably leaves Cristopher Sanchez as the team’s only sure-thing reliable starter at the moment. Though a trip to the playoffs certainly looks secure, all this opens the door for the Mets to make it a race for the division title.
VERDICT: NOT AN OVERREACTION. Making the playoffs is one thing, but it’s also about peaking at the right time, and given the scary nature of Wheeler’s injury, the Phillies might not end up peaking when they need to. Nola certainly can’t be counted on right now and Suarez has suddenly struggled a bit to miss bats. There’s time here for Nola and Suarez to fix things, and the bullpen has been strengthened with the additions of Jhoan Duran and David Robertson, but even with Wheeler, the Phillies are just 22-18 since the beginning of July. Indeed, their ultimate hopes might rest on an offense that has let them down the past two postseasons and hasn’t been great this season aside from Kyle Schwarber. If they don’t score runs, it won’t matter who is on the mound.
Overreaction: The Dodgers just buried the Padres with their three-game sweep
It was a statement series: The Dodgers, battled, bruised and slumping, had fallen a game behind the Padres in the NL West. But they swept the Padres at Dodger Stadium behind stellar outings from Clayton Kershaw and Blake Snell, and a clutch Mookie Betts home run to cap a rally from a 4-0 deficit. Still the kings of the NL West, right?
After all, the Dodgers are finally rolling out that dream rotation: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, Snell and Kershaw are all healthy and at full strength for the first time this season. Only Roki Sasaki is missing. Yamamoto has been solid all season, Ohtani ramped up to 80 pitches in his last start, Glasnow has a 2.50 ERA since returning from the IL in July, Snell has reeled off back-to-back scoreless starts, and even Kershaw, while not racking up many strikeouts, has lowered his season ERA to 3.01. That group should carry the Dodgers to their 12th division title in the past 13 seasons.
VERDICT: OVERREACTION. Calm down. One great series does not mean the Dodgers are suddenly fixed or that the Padres will fade away. The Dodgers’ bullpen is still battling injuries, Betts still has a sub-.700 OPS and injuries have forced them to play Alex Freeland, Miguel Rojas and Buddy Kennedy in the infield. Check back after next weekend, when the Padres host the Dodgers for their final regular-season series of 2025.
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