Bills throttle Dolphins and the Bengals have a Joe Burrow problem. Plus, Europe wins Ryder Cup

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🏈 Football Five

Taylor Swift was among many stars in the crowd (and cheered hard for the Chiefs), but on the field it was Isiah Pacheco (career-high 158 yards from scrimmage) leading the way as the reigning Super Bowl champs topped the Jets, 23-20. Andy Reid's 250th career win ties him with Tom Landry for fourth all-time.
Kenny Pickett left the Steelers' 30-6 loss to the Texans with a knee injury and did not return. Mike Tomlin promised there will be changes after the blowout loss. Houston continues to show excellent early returns in the DeMeco Ryans era. C.J. Stroud threw for a pair of touchdowns to Nico Collins.
Mac Jones threw a pick six to DaRon Bland and lost a fumble that resulted in a Leighton Vander Esch scoop and score as the Cowboys walloped the Patriots, 38-3. It's the largest loss in Bill Belichick's head-coaching career.
The Bears fell to 0-4, allowing 24 consecutive points in a 31-28 loss to the Broncos, which also entered winless. The Bears join the Panthers as the only winless teams in the league. The good news? The Bears currently own the first two picks in the draft.
Commanders-Eagles earned game-of-the-day honors. Philadelphia prevailed, 34-31, in overtime on Jake Elliott's 54-yard field goal. Washington forced OT on Sam Howell's touchdown pass to Jahan Dotson with no time left in regulation; Ron Rivera explained why he played for overtime instead of the regulation win.

🦬 Good morning to everyone but especially ...

THE BUFFALO BILLS

All offseason, the Jets were the talk of the league with Aaron Rodgers front and center. All week, the Dolphins were the talk of the league with their 70-point explosion as good an offensive performance as the NFL has ever seen. On Sunday, the Bills reminded everyone they can be the talk of the league, too. Maybe they liked flying under the radar, but they can't do that any more.

Buffalo thrashed Miami, 48-20, to knock the Dolphins off their previously unbeaten perch.

The offenses were as advertised to start: Each of the first five drives of the game ended in a touchdown.
Then the Buffalo defense showed why this team is a bona fide Super Bowl contender because of its strength on both sides: Miami's final nine drives resulted in one touchdown, three punts, three turnovers on downs, a fumble forced by Matt Milano (recovered by Terrel Bernard) and an interception by Micah Hyde.
Josh Allen improved to 10-2 (playoffs included) in his career against Miami. He threw for 320 yards and accounted for five touchdowns (four passing, one rushing) with 120 yards and three touchdowns going to Stefon Diggs. Cody Benjamin named Allen one of this week's big winners.

It wasn't a perfect day -- Tre'Davious White's Achilles injury is a gut punch -- but Buffalo's all-around performance resulted in a statement sent league-wide and an "A" in our weekly grades.

😊 Honorable mentions

Khalil Mack had six sacks -- one short of the NFL record -- in the Chargers' 24-17 win over the Raiders.
Brock Purdy set a 49ers franchise record for completion percentage.
The WNBA Finals are set: The Liberty beat the Sun, 87-84, behind a huge effort from Jonquel Jones. The Liberty will face the Aces.
Canelo Álvarez defeated Jermell Charlo to retain his super middleweight championship. Here are Brent Brookhouse's takeaways.
Ryan Blaney won the YellaWood 500.

🐅 And not such a good morning for ...

Cincinnati Bengals v Tennessee Titans — Getty Images

THE CINCINNATI BENGALS

These Bengals aren't just underachieving given their expectations. They're underachieving at decades-worst rates. After a 27-3 loss to the Titans, Cincinnati has its fewest points through four games (49) since 2002, and now they have major questions to answer regarding their franchise quarterback.

Joe Burrow's calf isn't close to healthy, and the result is 4.8 yards per attempt, the worst mark by any player through four games (min. 150 attempts) since 1950.
He's completing 28.9% of his throws at least 10 yards downfield, on pace to be the worst mark by any quarterback since Ja'Marcus Russell in 2009.
Burrow is also a sitting duck in the pocket: His 2.3 yards per scramble is worst of any quarterback with multiple starts this year.
Frustration and injuries are mounting: Star wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase said postgame he's "always f---ing open," and Tee Higgins could miss time with a rib injury.
The defense, expected to be solid at worst and potentially one of the league's better units, allowed 400 yards, the Titans' second-most in the past two seasons.

On one hand, I don't think the Bengals should keep playing Burrow. Even one week off could help. In his Sorting the Sunday Pile column, Will Brinson says, "Any and all options should be on the table to get him as much time as he needs."

On the other hand, the Bengals' lack of an investment at backup quarterback -- Jake Browning has one career pass attempt -- puts the Bengals between a rock and a hard place.

😕 Not so honorable mentions

UConn center Donovan Clingan (foot) will miss a month.

⚾ MLB playoffs are set! Bracket, predictions, more

The calendar has turned to October, and that means playoff baseball is finally here. We start with the Wild Card Series.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Byes: No. 1 Braves, No. 2 Dodgers
Wild Card: No. 3 Brewers vs. No. 6 Diamondbacks AND No. 4 Phillies vs. No. 5 Marlins

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Byes: No. 1 Orioles, No. 2 Astros
Wild Card: No. 3 Twins vs. No. 6 Blue Jays AND No. 4 Rays vs. No. 5 Rangers

Here's the full schedule.

Mike Axisa had winners and losers from the weekend, but today we're all winners because we have expert World Series picks to read. We also have award picks and season-ending Power Rankings.

We'll get into much more Tuesday -- there are no games Monday -- but it's worth looking back on some players whose seasons (or careers) ended.

Matt Snyder has a tribute to Miguel Cabrera.
Adam Wainwright got an at-bat in his final game.
Is this the end of the road for Zack Greinke? What about Brandon Crawford?
Joey Votto got ejected in maybe his last game.
Cal Raleigh called out Mariners ownership after Seattle fell short of the postseason.
Aaron Judge says the Yankees need more urgency.
The Mets fired Buck Showalter. We have replacement candidates.

⛳ Europe reclaims Ryder Cup as stars shine

Last week, I promised magnificent golf. Only one team delivered. The other, at this rate, might never deliver away from home again.

Europe beat the United States, 16.5-11.5, to take back the Ryder Cup, using a huge early lead to cruise home over the final two days.

Europe swept the Friday morning foursomes (alternate shot) and won the afternoon four-ball (better score on each hole) session, 2.5-1.5, with Viktor Hovland and Jon Rahm crushing any American hope. It was the first time ever the U.S. failed to win a match on the first day.
The U.S. finally notched wins Saturday, but the biggest on-course headline was Hovland and Ludvig Aberg beating the brakes off of Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka, 9&7 -- the largest victory in foursomes history.
The biggest off-course headline was the drama caused by the United States' hat-waving rallying cry ... which gave way to a heated confrontation between Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas' caddie, Jim "Bones" Mackay.
Facing a 10.5-5.5 deficit entering Sunday, the U.S. needed the largest comeback in Ryder Cup history to win. It didn't happen. The non-dramatic battle ended in a non-dramatic way: Tommy Fleetwood clinched the win after Rickie Fowler conceded the 16th hole, guaranteeing Fleetwood at least a halved match and Europe the requisite 14.5 points.

The United States still hasn't won a Ryder Cup in Europe since 1993. Team Europe's humility and team culture continue to prevail, writes Kyle Porter.

Porter: "We often think this doesn't apply in golf because it's not usually a team sport. ... The Europeans have solved the riddle. It's not 35 years of overachieving; it's 35 years of culture building. That may only work on the road occasionally, but it will almost always work at home. This year was evidence of it."

🏈 College football wrap up: Georgia rallies, USC tops Colorado

Georgia absolutely could win a third consecutive national championship, but it's not looking like it will be as easy this year as it was in years past. The Bulldogs had to rally from a double-digit deficit to beat Auburn, 27-20. Brock Bowers had the game-winning 40-yard touchdown reception, and Will Backus calls him "the best non-quarterback in college football."

From a team that had to pull off a comeback to one that had to stave off one, USC held off Colorado, 48-41, after leading by 27 late in the third quarter. Caleb Williams threw for six touchdowns and stole the show from Deion Sanders, writes Dennis Dodd. Still, defensive questions loom large, which meant the Trojans only earned a "D" in Barrett Sallee's weekly grades, and Lincoln Riley was one of the week's losers in the eyes of Shehan Jeyarajah.

Here's more from the weekend that was:

We have a new AP Top 25 and a new Coaches Poll. We also have Jerry Palm's bowl projections and a full top 25 recap.
Ole Miss topped LSU, 55-49 ... and then got fined for storming the field.
Sam Hartman led Notre Dame to a dramatic 21-14 win over Duke. If it's any solace, Blue Devils fans, Riley Leonard's injury is reportedly not season-ending.
Bru McCoy suffered a brutal ankle fracture-dislocation.

🏀 Celtics acquire Jrue Holiday from Trail Blazers; Joel Embiid reacts

The Jrue Holiday era in Portland lasted all of a few days. Sent from Milwaukee to Portland as part of the Damian Lillard deal, Holiday is heading to the Celtics. Here are the trade details:

Celtics receive: Jrue Holiday
Trail Blazers receive: Robert Williams III, Malcolm Brogdon, 2024 first-round pick (via Warriors), Celtics' unprotected 2029 first-round pick

Holiday was never long for the rebuilding Trail Blazers, and Boston swooped in to bring the two-time All Star back to a title contender in the Eastern Conference where he'll join one of the NBA's best star duos in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

The Blazers earned the higher mark in Jasmyn Wimbish's trade grades -- Brad Botkin even says GM Joe Cronin locked up Executive of the Year already -- but Boston's grade is nothing to scoff at, either. If you're a long-time reader of this newsletter, you'll know I loved that the Celtics could pair the 3-point-shooting of Al Horford with the rim-protecting and rim-running of Williams to make a front court that checked all the boxes, but Holiday is truly outstanding.

And that's what makes it all the more frustrating for a member of another Eastern Conference contender, Joel Embiid. The 76ers remain mired in the James Harden dilemma, and Embiid tweeted, "This off-season was fun lmao."

Something tells me he is not really laughing his you-know-what off. And the 76ers need to figure things out soon, writes Colin Ward-Henninger.