Burke Sports Talk

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NFL Panthers LB Shaq Thompson out for season with torn Achilles tendon Thompson, a key cog for the Panthers’ defense since 2015, was a player the team could ill-afford to lose. The linebacker has almost always been one of the better players in the league at his position, but the 30-year-old was having arguably his…

NFL Cowboys EDGE DeMarcus Lawrence out for at least four weeks with mid-foot sprain Dallas has Micah Parsons, so I suppose it could withstand an injury to any other edge rusher on the roster, but it’ll miss Lawrence has his three sacks this season. In Lawrence’s place, the Cowboys will lean on second-round rookie Marshawn…

MLB Brewers 5, Pirates 2 I can’t say I’d fully trust Aaron Civale in a postseason series, but he has a believer in manager Pat Murphy — and that’s all that matters. In his final tune-up before October, Civale was precise, pitching six scoreless frames to lower his ERA to 4.36. It’s hard to evaluate…

NCAAF UNLV QB Matthew Sluka to redshirt I’m going to steer clear of the semantics — NIL related — surrounding this decision, but I did not expect to see this news overnight yesterday. UNLV, a contender for a playoff spot, will now be without its starting quarterback for the remainder of the season. If you’re…

NFL Bengals OT Trent Brown out for season with torn patellar tendon So I guess this is why the Bengals drafted Amarius Mims in the first round. Brown wasn’t bad at all through three games at right tackle, but he’s replaceable, especially by the towering Mims. Cincinnati’s offense shouldn’t drop off with the 31-year-old sidelined.…

NFL Bills 47, Jaguars 10 Many projected Buffalo to take a step back after losing several key players last offseason. That won’t be happening. The 3-0 Bills have a case for being the best team in football, and it’s hard to argue against Josh Allen being the MVP through three weeks. Allen has usually had…

NFL Ravens sign RB Justice Hill to two-year, $6 million contract extension I can’t get behind this deal — it’s about $1 million per year too high. The Ravens already have Derrick Henry and Keaton Mitchell around, so Hill — a fine running back in his own right — would be third in Baltimore’s pecking…

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.…

NFL Panthers name Andy Dalton starting quarterback Bryce Young’s NFL journey isn’t over — heck, he’ll probably start more games for the Panthers — but the 2023 No. 1 overall pick is shaping up to be a bust. It’s not all that difficult to figure out how we got here. Carolina traded a bounty to…

NCAAF Alabama 42, Wisconsin 10 I left last week believing there were three — Georgia, Texas and Ohio State — maybe four teams separating themselves from the rest of college football. After this game, I feel confident there are four elite teams in the sport, including Alabama. Jalen Milroe is one of the nation’s most…

NFL Bills 31, Dolphins 10 Entering last evening, this contest figured to be a closely-contested battle of two AFC East heavyweights. It was far from that. The Bills, through two games, look to be the second-best team in the loaded AFC. Sure, Buffalo defeated a rebuilding Arizona team in Week 1 and a flat Miami…

MLB Pirates 3, Marlins 0 Bailey Falter has had an up-and-down season, but he’s been good enough to secure himself a place in Pittsburgh’s 2025 rotation. The 27-year-old tossed 7 1/3 scoreless innings yesterday, improving his ERA to 4.20. Guardians 6, White Sox 4 Cleveland’s dominant bullpen has earned endless praise this season, and it’s…

NFL Vikings sign DT Harrison Phillips to two-year, $19 million contract extension Not many recognize how solid a player Phillips is, but at least the Vikings do. The 28-year-old had a strong season in 2023 with 92 tackles and three sacks, and carried that play into this year, recording five tackles and a sack on…

NFL Dolphins sign CB Jalen Ramsey to three-year, $72.3 million contract extension This feels unnecessary. I’ve said it over and over again — cornerbacks are underpaid relative to wide receivers — but Ramsey shouldn’t represent the top of the market at the position, at least not at this stage of his tremendous career. The 29-year-old…

NFL Chiefs 27, Ravens 20 It’s so, so great to have NFL games to write about again. Let’s get to it. We had ourselves a thriller to kickoff the season. Kansas City entered this campaign as the best team in football, and there wasn’t much from last night that would change anyone’s mind about that.…

NFL Broncos sign CB Pat Surtain II to four-year, $96 million contract extension Surtain has a case for being the league’s best corner, so him shattering the contractual ceiling for the position isn’t surprising. With a rookie quarterback in Bo Nix, Denver will lean on its defense to win games, and that starts with Surtain,…

NFL Steelers sign DT Cameron Heyward to three-year, $45 million contract Heyward is aging fast, but the Steelers wanted to make the franchise stalwart happy, so they added two years to his existing contract. It’ll pay off if the 35-year-old returns to his pre-2023 form, when he recorded a combined 21.5 sacks from 2021-22. That’s…

AFC AFC EastJets 12-5Bills 10-7Dolphins 9-8Patriots 3-14 AFC NorthRavens 13-4Browns 11-6Bengals 11-6Steelers 8-9 AFC SouthTexans 9-8Jaguars 8-9Colts 8-9Titans 6-11 AFC WestChiefs 12-5Chargers 9-8Raiders 6-11Broncos 4-13 NFC NFC EastCowboys 14-3Eagles 12-5Giants 5-12Commanders 3-14 NFC NorthLions 12-5Packers 10-7Bears 9-8Vikings 6-11 NFC SouthFalcons 10-7Buccaneers 8-9Saints 7-10Panthers 2-15 NFC West49ers 13-4Rams 11-6Seahawks 6-11Cardinals 6-11 Playoffs AFC5 Browns at 4…

NCAAF Boston College 28, Florida State 13 I couldn’t watch this game. The DirecTV and Disney carriage dispute is affecting millions, and I’m one of them. I obviously hope it ends soon, but I’m not super optimistic about it. Therefore, I don’t have a ton to say regarding this game. Boston College entered this contest…