NFL

Jets 24, Patriots 3

After two imperfect weeks, these were the Jets that optimists were hoping to see. Yes, the Patriots are underwhelming and didn’t put their best foot forward last night — I’ll get to that in a bit — but New York excelled in every phase.

Let’s start with the passing game. Aaron Rodgers was vintage in this win, finishing a cool 27-for-35 for 281 yards and two touchdowns. That’ll do. The Rodgers-Garrett Wilson connection isn’t quite there yet, but that’ll come. Wilson recorded five receptions for 33 yards and a score last night.

Rodgers did plenty on his own in this game, breaking away from pressure to find receivers for big gains on multiple occasions, but make no mistake about it — the 40-year-old signal-caller was well protected. New York’s big offseason investment in offensive line help is paying off, even if right tackle Morgan Moses misses time.

Now, the defense. New York doesn’t have Haason Reddick (holding out), Bryce Huff (signed with the Eagles) or Jermaine Johnson (injured). It didn’t matter. Jeff Ulbrich’s defense is still generating tons of pressure, which culminated in seven sacks for the unit yesterday. New York’s defense won’t be fortunate enough to face the Patriots’ lackluster offensive line every week, but Robert Saleh should feel good about the Jets’ stop unit moving forward. Two of the team’s seven sacks were recorded by Will McDonald, who has five on the season.

The Patriots entered 2024 predicted by some to finish with the NFL’s worst record. Save for abomination that is the Carolina Panthers, New England looked the part of the league’s worst team last night.

New England simply could not move the ball in this tilt. After two weeks of finding success on the ground — mostly with Rhamondre Stevenson — the Patriots were outgained, 400-139. New England is lucky the final score was only 24-3. It could’ve been so, so much worse.

Jacoby Brissett and the Patriots’ skill position players on offense aren’t any good. Let’s get that out of the way. However, New England’s offensive line gave the team little opportunity to score all night, as players like Caedan Wallace struggled to block a ferocious New York front. At this point, it wouldn’t be beneficial to Drake Maye’s development to start him in any game this season. Jacoby Brissett, the Patriots’ lead passer for now, finished just 12-for-18 for 98 yards. Quite pedestrian.

I thought New England’s defense fared alright in this contest — to be expected for a deep unit full of solid players. Jahlani Tavai led the way with 10 tackles, including one for a loss.

The Patriots have some time off before they travel to San Francisco for a beatdown in Week 4.

NCAAF

South Alabama 48, Appalachian State 14

I wasn’t super tuned into this contest, as I was more focused on Patriots-Jets, but I noticed Appalachian State came out flat — again. Maybe that’s to be expected, though, against a red-hot South Alabama team that dropped 87 points on Northwestern State last week.

The 2-2 Jaguars looked the part of a Sun Belt contender last night, led by intriguing freshman passer Gio Lopez. Lopez was a quintessential dual threat in this win, throwing for 154 yards and two touchdowns and running for another 105 yards and a score. Lopez and Fluff Bothwell are quite the first-year duo. Bothwell recorded 116 rushing yards and two more touchdowns yesterday.

South Alabama travels to LSU next week, trying to shock an underperforming Tigers program.

2-2 Appalachian State needs to get it together. The Mountaineers were eviscerated by Clemson in Week 2 — many of us gave them a mulligan for that one — but this blowout is inexcusable for a proud program. The defense needs fixed in Boone. It ranked 103rd in SP+ entering this game — it’ll drop even further after this letdown.

Liberty comes to town next week. That’ll surely be another stiff test for Appalachian State’s defense.

MLB

Orioles 5, Giants 3

Who saw Anthony Santander hitting 42 home runs this season? Not me. The Orioles right field totaled 33 long balls in 2022, but he’s leveled up this year — a needed boost for a good, yet inconsistent Baltimore offense.

Braves 15, Reds 3

We already know Chris Sale is going to win the NL Cy Young, but I don’t think most realize how impressive the 35-year-old’s comeback has been. Sale pitched last year for the Red Sox — not to great results — and battled injuries prior to that, leaving 2018 as the southpaw’s last good season prior to 2024. This season, though? It’s been arguably the best of Sale’s illustrious career, as he’s now 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA after pitching five solid innings yesterday.