Why the Braves' World Series run was so improbable, plus are any NFL teams actually ... good?

Hello sports fans, it's Shanna McCarriston back to give you the sports news of the day. This week I've been packing for my upcoming trip to Cooperstown, N.Y. I'm heading north this weekend to check another item off my sports bucket list. I've been to the Basketball Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame twice, so I'll have to see how the Baseball Hall of Fame stacks up.

Now to what we will talk about today. Last night the Braves won the World Series and it was the NFL trade deadline so ... we are not lacking anything to discuss!

Let's get to it.

📰 What you need to know

1. Braves rout Astros in Game 6 to win World Series ⚾

The Atlanta Braves are World Series champions! The Braves took home their first title since 1995 with a shutout 7-0 win over the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Jorge Soler was named the MVP of the World Series. He is just the fourth Brave ever to hit three home runs in a single World Series ... and all of them gave the Braves the lead.

Atlanta got off to a hot start in Game 6 with two multi-run home runs early on. In the third inning, Jorge Soler recorded a monstrous homer that went 446 feet with an exit velocity of 109.6 mph. Then in the fifth inning, Dansby Swanson hit a two-run homer off reliever Cristian Javier to put the Braves up 5-0.

Here are some takeaways from the game and series:

Fried recovers from rocky start: Max Fried allowed the first two runners he faced to reach base, but then quickly turned things around for a shutout performance. It was a needed change from his other start in the series, in which he got crushed in Houston
It's long-awaiting and improbable title for Atlanta: For a good chunk of the season, it didn't seem likely that the Braves would win the World Series ... but here we are, and they did it without outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr., who is out with a torn ACL
Astros have questions ahead: Manager Dusty Baker's contract is set to expire and there are questions about what the Astros will decide to do. They also have impending free agents in shortstop Carlos Correa, starters Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke

Overall, this was a wild way for the MLB season to end. The Astros were always expected to make noise in the American League. The same cannot be said for the Braves, who did not lead the NL East for most of the regular season. But that doesn't really matter, does it? Atlanta got hot at the right time, and it paid off.

2. Grading the NFL trade deadline moves 🏈

The NFL trade deadline is now behind us, but who improved the most and which teams didn't play it as smart? Here are CBS Sports, we don't just give you deadline updates, we break it all down for you and assign grades for each trade.

A major question heading into the deadline was: what will happen with the Texans and Deshaun Watson? The Dolphins were rumored to be in the conversation, but nothing came of it, meaning Tua Tagovailoa gets to keep his job.

The Chiefs and the Rams were two teams that improved, acquiring Melvin Ingram and Von Miller, respectively. It will definitely be weird to see Miller in colors other than orange and navy.

Here are some of the trades that went down, as well as the grade for each team:

Chiefs acquire DE Melvin Ingram from Steelers in exchange for 2022 sixth-rounder -- Chiefs: B, Steelers: B
Rams acquire OLB Von Miller from Broncos in exchange for 2022 second-rounder, 2022 third-rounder -- Broncos: B, Rams: B+
49ers acquire DE Charles Omenihu from Texans in exchange for 2023 sixth-rounder -- 49ers: B+, Texans: D
Eagles acquire CB Kary Vincent Jr. from Broncos in exchange for 2022 sixth rounder -- Eagles: B, Broncos: A-
Jets acquire OG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif from Chiefs in exchange for TE Daniel Brown -- Jets: B, Chiefs: C +

For more trade deadline analysis, check out our winners and losers from the day.

3. NFL Power Rankings: Packers take top spot 🏈

The NFL is all over the place this year and that was no more obvious than in Week 8 of the regular season. The only undefeated team fell, the Jets beat a division leader, the Titans moved up after a win over the Colts, but then lost their star RB and the Chiefs continued to struggle, barely beating the Giants. Not to mention the Buccaneers essentially lost to a third string quarterback (yes it is a good Saints team, but still not a game Tom Brady usually loses).

Chaos, I tell ya. CHAOS!

It seems like each week there is no clear cut winner, so CBS Sports asks: is any team actually good this year? We are entering those two months of the regular season that decide who is for real and who is a fraud. They're like the junior playoffs, with important games as seeding starts to take shape.

Some important moves in our rankings before I reveal the Top 10:

With the Cardinals losing, we have a new No. 1 this week in the Packers
The Saints moved up to the No. 6 spot with a win over the Bucs.
The Chargers lost to the Patriots and in turn fell the most, down five spots to occupy the No. 16 slot

OK, let's take a look at the top 10 this week:

No. 1: Packers (7-1)
No. 2: Rams (7-1)
No. 3: Bills (5-2)
No. 4: Cardinals (7-1)
No. 5: Titans
No. 6: Saints
No. 7: Buccaneers
No. 8: Cowboys
No. 9: Ravens
No. 10: Raiders

For the full rankings and commentary on each team, click here.

4. College Football Playoff Rankings: Georgia opens at No. 1 🏈

The first installment of the College Football Playoff Rankings was released last night and ... *drumroll please* ... Georgia landed in the No. 1 spot. It was expected that the undefeated Bulldogs would be the top dog (pun intended) after an impressive first half of the season.

Georgia's rival, Alabama, is right below them at No. 2 with a 7-1 record. This is the highest a team with one loss has ever been ranked in the first installment. The Crimson Tide's lone loss came to Texas A&M.

The surprise of the rankings is Oregon with a 7-1 record ahead of a few undefeated Power Five teams teams. Oregon was at No. 4 while Oklahoma checked in at No. 8 despite their 9-0 record and 8-0 Wake Forest sits at No. 9. Both are on the outside of the playoff field looking in.

Here is a look at the top 10 teams in College Football Playoff Rankings:

No. 1: Georgia (8-0)
No. 2: Alabama (7-1)
No. 3: Michigan State (8-0)
No. 4: Oregon (7-1)
No. 5: Ohio State (7-1)
No. 6: Cincinnati (8-0)
No. 7: Michigan (7-1)
No. 8: Oklahoma (9-0)
No. 9: Wake Forest (8-0)
No. 10: Notre Dame (7-1)

Click here for the full CFP Rankings and here for analysis of it all.

📝 Odds & Ends

Odell Beckham's dad pinned his son's struggles on Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield in an Instagram video
The Raiders released receiver Henry Ruggs III following a fatal car accident he was involved in and pending felony DUI charges
Scottie Pippen slammed Michael Jordan over 'The Last Dance' in his upcoming memoir, writing, 'I was nothing more than a prop'

📺 What to watch tonight

🏀 Celtics vs. Magic, 7 p.m. | ORL +7.5 | TV: NBA.TV

🏒 Hurricanes vs. Blackhawks, 8:30 p.m. | CHI +140 | TV: NHL.TV

🏒 Blues vs. Kings, 10 p.m | LA +115 | TV: TNT

🏅 Best thing I saw on the internet

The Braves won the World Series last night and, boy, watching all of the celebrations, the emotions and the fan reactions is just a ton of fun. Am I bitter it's not the Red Sox? Yes. But the sports fan in me is just excited for the story and to close the final chapter of another entertaining season of baseball. The moments with players, coaches and staff's family is always my favorite. Watching the pure joy and knowing their family member who has supported them through the baseball dream is there with them for the biggest moment in the sport always makes me smile.