Rangers into first ALCS since 2011; Patriots in dire straits; what to do about Justin Jefferson, De'Von Achane

Getty Images

This is an article version of the CBS Sports HQ AM Newsletter, the ultimate guide to every day in sports. You can sign up to get it in your inbox every weekday morning here.

Happy Wednesday, everyone. Before we get to the games, we have some sad news regarding two icons: First, Mary Lou Retton, who became the first American woman to win the individual all-around gymnastics gold at the 1984 Olympics, is "fighting for her life" while battling pneumonia, according to her daughter. Furthermore, Barry Melrose has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and is stepping away from his hockey analyst role.

I hope this newsletter finds you and your loved ones well. Let's get right to it.

⚾ Good morning to everyone but especially ...

THE TEXAS RANGERS

Beat the AL's second-best team? Check. Then beat the AL's best team? No problem. After sweeping the 99-win Rays in the wild card, the Rangers swept the 101-win, AL-champion Orioles, finishing the series with an emphatic 7-1 Game 3 win.

Texas is into its first ALCS since 2011.
For the third straight game, Texas chased Baltimore's starter early: Dean Kremer lasted just 1 2/3 innings, allowing six runs, including home runs from Corey Seager and Adolis García.
Nathan Eovaldi continued his postseason mastery, allowing just one run over seven innings. Eovaldi has a 1.32 ERA this postseason and joined Cliff Lee as the only Rangers to throw six-plus innings with one or fewer runs allowed in consecutive playoff games.

This offense is ridiculous. García, Jonah Heim and Evan Carter have each hit safely in all five games this postseason. Seager has reached base safely three times in all five games. Opposing pitching staffs get no breaks or easy outs. This is what the Rangers spent and spent and spent to become; it's coming to fruition.

Texas now awaits the winner of Astros-Twins, which could come as early as tonight. Cristian Javier continued his playoff greatness with five scoreless innings, and José Abreu homered twice as Houston cruised to a 9-1 win and a 2-1 series lead.

It was Javier's third playoff game of five-plus innings and one or fewer hits allowed, most in MLB history. The twist? He's done it in three straight games.

👍 Honorable mentions

The NHL season is underway! The Lightning, Blackhawks and Golden Knights are all in the win column. Here's your opening-night recap.
Travis Hunter could be back this weekend for Colorado.
Austin Ekeler expects to return this weekend, too, for the Chargers.
Here are the results from the annual NBA GM survey.
The Rams traded Van Jefferson to the Falcons.
Rintaro Sasaki, the 17-year-old Japanese phenom, plans to play college baseball in the U.S.
This is a terrific story on Michael Beasley by Isabel Gonzalez.
Here's our WNBA Finals Game 2 preview.
The Sky are hiring Teresa Weatherspoon.

💔 And not such a good morning for ...

THE BALTIMORE ORIOLES

The unsweepable Orioles have been swept. In the coming weeks and months, it'll be easier for Baltimore faithful to look forward to a really fun future. But for now, there's just the heartache of a wonderful season that came to a crashing halt.

The starting pitching was always a looming shadow on what was otherwise a sunshine-filled season. The three playoff starters -- Kremer, Grayson Rodriguez and Kyle Bradish -- threw eight innings ... combined. Neither Kremer nor Rodriguez even made it two innings. All three were making their playoff debut. The attempts to find a grizzled vet who could anchor a playoff rotation were half-hearted ... and that ultimately failed the team. Kyle Gibson struggled all season, and Jack Flaherty -- acquired at the trade deadline -- was even worse. I'd love to see Baltimore make a significant investment in the rotation this offseason.

The offense, meanwhile, was tasked with coming from behind for much of the series. There were nice moments but never enough to overcome Texas' barrage. The result? Baltimore's first time being swept since May 2022 -- 91 series ago. It came at the worst time, and it's not easy to swallow.

But the sun will come up tomorrow -- and based on this young core, for many more days to come -- in Baltimore. Just how bright that future is depends on how much the Orioles and their front office learned from this and whether they'll use it as motivation going forward.

👎 Not so honorable mentions

A pair of former Pro Bowlers ripped Dak Prescott. At least Jerry Jones still believes in him.
Dillon Brooks got ejected from his preseason debut with the Rockets.
The Official World Golf Rankings board rejected LIV Golf's application for its golfers to earn points.

🏈 NFL Power Rankings: Patriots sinking, and changes are needed

Here are three not-so-fun facts about the Patriots:

They are 1-4.
They are averaging 10.6 offensive points per game, on pace to be the lowest since the 2009 Rams, who went 1-15.
They are the first team to allow at least 72 points and score three points or fewer over a two-game span since the 1987 Falcons.

It's bad. Scratch that ... it's awful. The Patriots are hard to watch for even a neutral observer. Sunday, they ran nine plays in opponent territory. They totaled -3 yards on those plays.

Long story short, Pete Prisco says "This team is toast" and drops them to 29th in his latest NFL Power Rankings. Only the Giants, Broncos and Panthers are lower.

If firing Bill Belichick the coach is a suggestion, Pete doesn't want to hear it. But Bill Belichick the GM? "That guy should be fired," Pete writes.

Tyler Sullivan took a deep-dive look at the dilemma developing in New England.

Sullivan: "There's a very simple explanation to why the Patriots find themselves where they're at: They lack talent. High-end talent. ... This is where, to steal a reference from Bill Parcells, allowing the coach to shop for the groceries goes haywire, or at least it has in this case with the Patriots. ... Not only are the Patriots simply missing talent, but there also seems to be something fundamentally wrong with the scouting process."

As for the top of Pete's rankings ...

49ers (previous: 1)
Eagles (2)
Chiefs (3)
Dolphins (7)
Lions (9)

🤕 Fantasy impact of Justin Jefferson, De'Von Achane injuries

They say football is a young man's game, but Week 5 revealed injuries spare no one ... not even some of the league's brightest young stars. Justin Jefferson's trip to IR highlighted a brutal day of injury news.

Jefferson slipped late in the Vikings loss to the Chiefs on Sunday and did not return due to a hamstring injury. He'll seek several opinions on the injury, but for now, he's guaranteed to miss at least four games.
Despite the 1-4 Vikings' woes, Jefferson has been his normal terrific self: His 571 yards receiving are third in the NFL. Among the 12 players with at least 30 catches this year, only Tyreek Hill has a higher yards per catch than Jefferson's 15.9.
Since entering the NFL in 2020, Jefferson has accounted for nearly 36% of Minnesota's yards receiving, most in the league.

T.J. Hockenson, Jordan Addison and K.J. Osborn all figure to see an increased workload, but Cody Benjamin has another player who could be worth watching. If you're one of those unlucky Fantasy managers who will be without Jefferson for the foreseeable future, Chris Towers has trade targets and waiver-wire options to consider, including ...

Towers: "Chris Olave, WR, Saints -- After putting up 302 yards in the first three games, Olave has just 16 over the past two, which makes him the perfect definition of a buy-low. His struggles have coincided with Derek Carr's shoulder injury, and the production should return as Carr gets closer to 100%. We've seen that duo produce huge numbers already, so I'm fully willing to write off Olave's slide as a one-off."

Here's more from an injury-filled day:

De'Von Achane, the breakout Dolphins star running back, is likely out multiple games with a knee injury. Achane's seven touchdowns are most ever through four career games, and his 12.1 yards per carry mark is on pace to demolish the current NFL record (8.4 by Michael Vick in 2006). Here's the Fantasy fallout.
James Conner (knee) is on IR.
In case you missed it, Anthony Richardson will miss "some time" with an AC joint sprain. There's been no decision regarding his IR status. Gardner Minshew will take over behind center.
Deshaun Watson (shoulder) remains day-to-day.

📺 What we're watching Wednesday

⚾ Astros at Twins, 2:07 p.m. on Fox
⚾ Braves at Phillies, 5:07 p.m. on TBS
🏒 Blackhawks at Bruins, 7:30 p.m. on TNT
🏀 Liberty at Aces, 9 p.m. on ESPN
⚾ Dodgers at Diamondbacks, 9:07 p.m. on TBS
🏒 Avalanche at Kings, 10 p.m. on TNT